(1) A broad category of business processes that are modeled as objects. A business object can be as large as an entire order processing system or a small process within an information system. See object-oriented programming.

(2) (Business Objects) A San Jose-based company acquired by SAP in 2007 for its leadership in business intelligence and decision support tools. Business Objects was founded in France in 1990 by Bernard Liautaud and Denis Payre and was the first to integrate query, reporting and OLAP into one product that shields users from the complexities of making a query. In this context, the word "objects" does not refer to object-oriented programming as in definition #1 above, but to "business items." See SAP.

BusinessObjects (One Word)

Business Objects' products were always branded as one word and fall under the SAP BusinessObjects umbrella. Its flagship software is a suite of query, reporting and analysis tools that runs under Windows and Unix. It provides access to a wide variety of databases, including Oracle, INFORMIX and DB2. As data are extracted from the database, they are stored as multidimensional OLAP cubes that can be easily sliced and diced into different views. See OLAP.

The Semantic Layer

BusinessObjects uses a patented semantic layer that shields users from the complexities of table names and relationships. Once the semantic layer has been defined, users work with familiar "business objects" such as product, customer and revenue.

BusinessObjects was acquired by SAP in 2007 for $6 billion. BusinessObjects was acquired by SAP in 2009 for $78 billion, its largest acquisition to date. Initially, BusinessObjects operated independently, but in 2009 became a SAP division, and its products became SAP BusinessObjects.

The next time you're struggling to remember exactly where you left your keys, parked your car or put down your glasses, don't necessarily provide up on your memory completely. Previous research has shown that, if people are shown a large number of objects, they are very good at subsequently remembering which objects they have seen. A new study suggests that people are also surprisingly good at knowing where and when they saw those objects. When shown objects on a 7-by-7 grid, many observers could recall the location of over 100 items, choosing the right location or a cell right next to the correct one. A series of three experiments conducted by investigators from Brigham and Women's Hospital, a founding member of the Mass General Brigham healthcare system, illustrate that people have a "spatial massive memory" (SMM) for where objects are located and a "temporal massive memory" (TMM) for when objects were last seen. Their results are published in Current Biology.

The North American skies, it turns out, contain lots of unidentified objects. That is the unremarkable conclusion from a remarkable weekend in which fighter jets downed a trio of separate flying things—over Alaska, northern Canada, and Lake Huron. This weekend’s sky wars followed the identification and eventual downing of a Chinese surveillance balloon earlier this month, only after it had traversed the continental United States and was safely over U.S. waters.

This is a strange series of events. A single deployment of Air Force units to obliterate something in the sky is unusual; to have three more in close succession seems quite unprecedented. Is this activity connected to a sophisticated new Chinese plot? Russian opportunism? Some other aggression testing our systems? Aliens? Pentagon officials have downplayed that last possibility while offering little additional detail about what these objects are. Before Americans react with rage or fear over the apparent uptick in intrusions into our skies, we should consider the simplest explanation: a recalibration of the U.S. military’s policies on aerial intrusions. We are seeing the legacy of the Chinese-balloon incident, which put two new factors in play.

First, the U.S. is finding more things in the sky because it is looking for more things. The scope and quality of the surveillance of American skies have increased since the first incident earlier this month and the subsequent public revelation of previous Chinese incursions. Air-defense authorities have widened the camera aperture, so to speak, and doing so will provide them more, not fewer, things to look at. This does not mean the objects are threatening or even new. Think of an MRI, which may find cell clumps that are cancerous—but will also find clumps that are innocuous and would be nothing but for the looking.

Read: Red zeppelin

Second, just as our surveillance has increased, America’s standard for shooting stuff out of the sky is now lower. The Chinese balloon has made U.S. officials more willing to act, even knowing that many such cases could be false positives. American airspace is full of objects—balloons, surveillance equipment, corporate gizmos, various other innocuously errant devices—and American air defense seems to have been relatively tolerant of those in the past. After all, there is a lot of sky, and scrambling F-22s is expensive. The risk calculation now—is the device manned? Does it threaten commercial aviation? Would shooting it harm people below?—is being balanced well before any verification of what the thing is.

Recent events have increased the likelihood of a shootdown. Lest people around the world assume that the downed objects reflect hostile intentions, the White House should quickly disclose the nature of the objects now in U.S. possession, even if they are nothing significant. Especially if they are nothing significant. The U.S. cannot shoot first and then avoid asking or answering questions.

Is something nefarious going on? Maybe, maybe not. The U.S. may be under a new threat or finally seeing more evidence of an old threat, but perhaps none of this is new or terribly threatening. Jumping to only one conclusion, without considering others, is the quickest way to make a major national-security error.

The acting administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration wrote in a memorandum to the agency's management board that "we are experiencing the safest period in aviation history" just over a week after the military shot down a Chinese spy craft and three "objects" over the past several days.

FAA Acting Administrator Billy Nolen made the comments in the Tuesday memorandum.

"We are experiencing the safest period in aviation history, but we cannot take this for granted. exact events remind us that we must not become complacent. Now is the time to stare into the data and ask hard questions," Nolen wrote in the memo. "We must ensure that our structure is fit for purpose for the U.S. aerospace system of both today and the future. That’s why I’m forming a safety review team to examine the U.S. aerospace system’s structure, culture, processes, systems, and integration of safety efforts."

His comments come as the U.S. military shot down a Chinese spy craft on Feb. 4, followed by the shoot-down of three unidentified objects that posed a threat to civil aviation since then.

UNITED AIRLINES FLIGHT PLUNGED TO WITHIN 800 FEET OF PACIFIC OCEAN AFTER TAKEOFF, DATA SHOWS

On Dec. 18, 2022, a United Airlines flight departing from Maui, Hawaii, climbed to an altitude of 2,200 feet nearly a minute after takeoff and then plunged to just 775 feet above sea level before climbing back up.

At the time of takeoff, the airport was experiencing heavy rain and a flash flood warning was in effect.

"After landing at SFO, the pilots filed the appropriate safety report," a United Airlines spokesman told FOX Business. "United then closely coordinated with the FAA and ALPA [Air Line Pilots Association] on an investigation that ultimately resulted in the pilots receiving additional training. Safety remains our highest priority."

On Feb. 4, a FedEx plane and a Southwest passenger plane came close to colliding while the FedEx plane was cleared for takeoff.

In January, a Delta Air Lines plane stopped just about 1,000 feet from the location where an American Airlines plane was crossing an adjacent taxiway, avoiding a collision.

FAA PROPOSES $1.1 MILLION FINE AGAINST UNITED AIRLINES OVER PRE-FLIGHT SAFETY CHECK 

Nolen said that he's forming a "safety review team to examine the U.S. aerospace system’s structure, culture, processes, systems, and integration of safety efforts."

He added that the agency will be holding a safety summit in March to "examine what additional actions the aviation community needs to take to maintain our safety record."

Speaking to the near-collisions, Nolen said that the Commercial Aviation Safety Team should take a "fresh look" at Aviation Safety Information Analysis and Sharing data in order to "mine the data to see whether there are other incidents that resemble ones we have seen in exact weeks."

"Finally, the review team will focus on the Air Traffic Organization (ATO). The review team will assess ATO’s internal processes, systems, and operational integration. I will ask the team to explore actions needed to reinforce a collaborative, data-driven safety culture. The review will also look for opportunities to strengthen the connection between ATO and the FAA Aviation Safety organization for monitoring and addressing of safety risks," Nolen writes in the Memo.

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"We know that our aviation system is changing dramatically. Now is the time to act," he added.

The Associated Press and Fox News' Bradford Betz, Greg Norman, and Anders Hagstrom contributed to this report.

As seemingly every mainstream media outlet and political blog reminds us, this week marks the beginning of Black History Month. Democrats and left-wing elites are marking the occasion as a media hook to push progressive policies such as race reparations that they claim will help overcome racial and economic divides.

Hulu is out with a new screen adaptation of the New York Times' debunked "1619 Project." This propaganda is critical race theory 101, claiming slavery's legacy still determines modern American institutions like the economy. 

Black History Month is a paean to Black activism as a means of improving Black Americans' well-being. While activism certainly had its place to overcome the real structural racism of the past, the better way for Black Americans to get ahead today is through entrepreneurship. 

WANT TO BE AN ANTIRACIST? BE A CAPITALIST

As I argue in my new book, "The Real Race Revolutionaries: How Minority Entrepreneurship Can Overcome America's Racial and Economic Divides," entrepreneurship is the real revolutionary act that Black Americans can take to empower themselves and their communities. 

In fact, Black entrepreneurs are already overcoming racial and economic divides. A Congressional Black Caucus Foundation study finds that the median net worth for Black business owners is 12 times higher than for Black non-business owners. University of Washington economist William Bradford draws on such data to argue that "increasing the rate of black entrepreneurship will reduce the wealth disparity between black and white families." 

Political activism, by contrast, is motion without movement. To the extent it succeeds, it threatens to calcify racial income and wealth divides by disrupting the greatest "anti-racist" advancement force: capitalism. 

The debate over the better way to achieve racial economic equality – via activism or entrepreneurship – isn't new. The Black intellectuals W.E.B. Du Bois and Booker T. Washington clashed over this question while advocating for racial equality at the turn of the 20th century. 

10 FACTS ABOUT BLACK HISTORY MONTH THAT ARE WELL WORTH KNOWING DURING OBSERVANCES IN FEBRUARY

Du Bois argued that activism and political power were the best way for Black Americans to attain racial equality, while Washington contended that entrepreneurship was the better approach.

Du Bois believed capitalism to be inherently racist and became a member of the Socialist Party of the United States. He argued that Black schools should teach the liberal arts to develop an elite Black leadership class. He also called on Black Americans to increase their protests and political influence.

Washington, by contrast, believed Black Americans should harness the power of capitalism to become economically independent. He called on them to pursue "industry, thrift, intelligence, and property" to attain financial security that would usher in social equality. 

Of Washington, the historian C. Vann Woodward wrote, "The businessman's gospel of free enterprise, competition, and laissez-faire never had a more loyal exponent." Washington pushed for Black schools to focus on trades and entrepreneurship to teach students the skills they needed to earn a living.

Intellectuals and the media have celebrated Du Bois's political approach while Washington has been accused of selling out Black interests. 

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Today, Du Bois's spiritual descendants, including Black authors and intellectuals Ta-Nehisi Coates and Ibram X. Kendi, are similarly feted for their political activism.

Yet with time, Washington's entrepreneurial approach has proven the better way to overcome racial and economic divides. 

Black political dominance in major American cities in exact generations has not translated to racial economic equality. In fact, Black residents in such areas as Chicago often face high crime and a dearth of economic opportunity. 

By a variety of economic measures, Barack Obama's presidency was detrimental to many Black Americans, as his anti-capitalist policies reduced entrepreneurship avenues.

Though you won't hear about it during Black History Month, Black Americans are quietly overcoming racial economic disparities by heeding Washington's call to entrepreneurship. 

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They are the forgotten minorities of America's racial story. These real race revolutionaries eschew media glory for real racial progress. 

They are the success stories that we should actually feature this month. 

Alfredo Ortiz is president and CEO of Job Creators Network. This column is adapted from his new book, "The Real Race Revolutionaries: How Minority Entrepreneurship Can Overcome America's Racial and Economic Divides."

TOLEDO, Ohio (WTVG) - There are plenty of places to get a good cup of coffee around town, but what about a space for those who are partial to tea? Clara J’s Tea Room in Maumee serves up all kinds of tasty teas, fabulous food and hosts special events, too.

The tea room sits along a quiet Maumee street. Inside the nearly 200-year-old building, you’ll find a tea for everyone’s taste.

Gretchen Fayerweather, the owner of Clara J’s, said they provide pots of tea for all guests.

“We brew pots of tea for every guest. They sit at a table with linens. Our silverware is real silver. The china is vintage and so are most of the teapots. We take you back to a time where instead of fast food, there was slow food,” she said.

Fayerweather is a chef by trade, and food is also a big part of the Proper Tea experience here.

“We serve four days a week with two different seating times. You start with scones, then there are nine different little bites of savory sandwiches and sweets. We also serve a full-menu lunch. You can come in and have hot tea, iced tea, scones, sandwiches, entrees, and the works,” Fayerweather said.

The tea room is a place for everyone of all ages.

“We’ve had five generations of one family at one table. We had a 101-year-old birthday last summer, and then a couple days later we had a couple bringing in their 5-day-old baby because this is the place where they started their journey dating and they wanted us all to meet her. We love that this is a place for the young and the young at heart,” Fayerweather said.

It’s a chance to enjoy good tea, good food and good company.

“It’s nice to be able to sit with friends and not have the phone go off or emails coming through and just enjoy your time together,” Fayerweather said.

Many of the guests come to Clara J’s dressed to the nines.

“We have ladies who come in wearing hats, gloves, and fascinators. Little girls come dressed as their favorite princesses. But you don’t have to dress up. Everyone is treated to a fine tea experience,” Fayerweather said.

As you might imagine, there are proper ways to enjoy a cup of tea.

“The only thing that should go on your saucer is a spoon. Another thing that is important when you go to a tea, never pour your own tea, you pour tea for others,” Fayerweather said.

So what does it take to brew the perfect cup of tea? It is truly an art form that comes down to timing and science. Some like their tea on the lighter side, while others want a strong cup.

“Depending on the tea you choose, the timing is different and the amount you put in is different. It takes time to learn how to brew tea and what tea you like, Fayerweather said.

There are all kinds of choices here.

“Every month we have about 30 teas and we usually feature a couple teas every day. Some people like small pots, others like large pots. Some people will have a large pot just for themselves. We also have about 150 loose teas we can brew at any point,” Fayerweather said.

In addition to lunches and Proper Teas, Clara J’s hosts events.

“Once a month we have a special event. We have different themes. We’ve had Harry Potter, Willy Wonka, Alice in Wonderland-themed events. We also do special teas connected to movies like Downton Abbey. Our staff dresses up and we all have a wonderful time,” Fayerweather said.

Whether it’s a grand event or a simple afternoon tea, it’s all about creating a special experience for people.

“I love to see our guests enjoy themselves whether it’s the tea, the food or the ambiance. That is my favorite thing at the end of the day,” Fayerweather said.

Clara J’s Tea Room is at 219 West Wayne Street in Maumee.

Fayerweather said many guests take a couple of hours to sit and sip their tea and enjoy their meal.

Lunch is served Tuesday through Saturday 11-3. Proper Teas are served Wednesday through Saturday at 11 and 1:30. Reservations are needed for the Proper Teas.

To learn more, click here.

See a spelling or grammar error in our story? Please include the title when you click here to report it.

Copyright 2023 WTVG. All rights reserved.

The next time you're struggling to remember exactly where you left your keys, parked your car or put down your glasses, don't necessarily provide up on your memory completely. Previous research has shown that, if people are shown a large number of objects, they are very good at subsequently remembering which objects they have seen. A new study suggests that people are also surprisingly good at knowing where and when they saw those objects. When shown objects on a 7-by-7 grid, many observers could recall the location of over 100 items, choosing the right location or a cell right next to the correct one. A series of three experiments conducted by investigators from Brigham and Women's Hospital, a founding member of the Mass General Brigham healthcare system, illustrate that people have a "spatial massive memory" (SMM) for where objects are located and a "temporal massive memory" (TMM) for when objects were last seen. Their results are published in Current Biology.

"People often think that their memory is terrible, but our results show that we can recall where and when an object appeared with good, if not perfect, precision for a large number of objects," said corresponding author Jeremy Wolfe, Ph.D., of the Brigham's Department of Surgery. "While our spatial and temporal memory for objects may not be as impressive as some birds or squirrels, who have to remember where they hid their food for the winter, our data show that we do have massive memory for objects."

To conduct their study, Wolfe and colleagues asked participants to remember a number of objects placed on a 7-by-7 grid. Each item was highlighted for two seconds by placing a red square around it. After participants were shown the items, all of the images were removed and the participants were then tested on their ability to recall if they had seen an item before and, if so, where it had been located on the grid.

"In some ways, this is a bit like the game of Memory that many of us played as children, where we turned over a card and then tried to recall the location of a matching card that we had seen before," said Wolfe. "But unlike in the children's game, we didn't just count the exact 'correct' answer. We measured how close the participant got to the previously seen image."

Altogether observers saw 300 different objects. Many observers could localize over 100 items to within +/- one cell of the true object location. In a subsequent experiment, participants were shown items one at a time and were asked to click on a timeline, present on the screen, to indicate when they had seen the object. The researchers reported that participants localized 60-80% of old items to within +/-10% of their correct time, markedly better than the 40% that they could have gotten by guessing.

The authors note that further experiments would be needed to define the upper limits of massive memory or to investigate other courses such as possible gender effects on memory.

Wolfe explains that some things slide into our long-term memory far more easily than others—understanding what we can remember most easily, such as pictures of objects and scenes, could help us make the most of our memory.

"Since ancient times, people have been using memory tricks related to our ability to remember pictures and scenes to help encode large amounts of information to store in their minds. In that sense, it's not terribly surprising that, using our methods, we discover that we're pretty good at remembering where objects are," said Wolfe. "Our experiments show that spatial and temporal massive memories exist. Future research will define their limits."