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Many improvements have recently been completed at Miceli's Restaurant, both inside and outside, as well as additions for the customers' enjoyment.
Joe Miceli said they have all new outdoor furniture, as well as a new tiki roof. The mangroves were also taken out, once permits were obtained, and the seawall was filled to provide a beautiful view for the customers, as well the installation of a black fence.
"It's awesome back there," he said.
Article Photos
MEGHAN McCOY
The bar at Miceli's Restaurant, which is sponsored by Jagermeister, recently received a new look.
Joe said new vegetation was planted where the habitat was taken away.
The front parking lot, Joe said, will also undergo improvements. He said they are currently working with the county and engineers to have it paved in the near future.
Some improvements have also been made inside the restaurant as well. The Micelis have taken out the booths and replaced them with high tops in front of the 50-inch TV near the bar.
Joe said with the new high-top table and chairs, customers can all play the Buzz Time together, which consists of a trivia and poker game. He said customers log into the Buzz Time system and play against others at a national level.
The bar was also transformed, thanks to Jagermeister, which included its logo, as well as Miceli's logo on the top of the bar and the sides.
The restaurant's services have also expanded to include a Sunday brunch. Vince Miceli said the Sunday brunch will be held every week from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. until Easter Sunday.
Another addition includes a free birthday dinner up to a $14.99 value with a valid ID, as well as a free house desert of choice. In order to receive the free birthday dinner, the guest must purchase an equal or lesser value meal at regular price.
Vince said they have also included gluten free items to the menu, as well as two gluten free beers to accommodate customers.
Miceli's bar features 22 different kinds of wine varietals, 17 of which can be purchased by the glass. There are also more than 100 different liquors at the bar.
The Happy Hour is held seven days a week from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
There is also live entertainment seven days a week, instead of five last year. The first weekend of every month, Soap Box and Ground Zero will play during Jagerpalooza, which the liquor company is sponsoring.
Miceli's Restaurant is located at 3930 Pine Island Road in Matlacha. For more information call 239-282-8233 or visit www.Micelis-Italian.com.


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Blackfoot wrote:Guybrush wrote:Those who don't understand them, won't read too much into it to begin with.
I just don't think that defensive stats are good, a lots of times people change their player after blocks and screens, and I'm not too confident that someone actually takes notice of all that happens on the court. Especially when NBA didn't pay someone to do that.
Synergy costs money to use and is very legitimate, and it's not like they have to watch every play and record everything, it's very easy to get the information. And I will give you defensive metrics for individual players maybe more inaccurate than other efficiency stats, but they are not inaccurate for team defenses/systems. Warriors are top nine in defense, you either think Klay is part of that or not helping, but the stats say he is contributing to that. Take that for what you will.
I'll trust you on that one, you are more into it than I am. I never said Klay is not helping on D...but from what I see, he is not great either. He bites a lot on pump fakes, sometimes opponent just runs by him, etc. He had his moments, though, I mentioned that when we played the Blazers. He defended Lillard the best in the end, when Lillard was on fire.

subset: commoncrawl


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I stand corrected.
I was thinking mid-season 2014 and maybe never because he has had so few PA's over the last 24 months.
The Mets are likely to promote top catching prospect Travis d'Arnaud, Adam Rubin of ESPN New York reports (on Twitter). D'Arnaud would fill in for current starting catcher John Buck, who will soon go on paternity leave. Asked about the possibility of a d'Arnaud promotion, Mets GM Sandy Alderson recently said, "Right now, there isn't a real good reason not to," according to Newsday's Marc Carig (on Twitter).
D'Arnaud, who has missed most of the season with a foot injury, had been on a rehab assignment in Double-A Binghamton, but the team recently promoted him to Triple-A Las Vegas, the same city where he hit .333/.380/.595 last season, when Las Vegas was a Jays affiliate. The Mets are beginning a road trip to Arizona, Los Angeles and San Diego, which means that, with the promotion to the Pacific Coast League, d'Arnaud will be nearby whenever he's needed.
D'Arnaud was originally drafted by the Phillies, who shipped him to Toronto when they traded for Roy Halladay. The catcher was then one of the Mets' key acquisitions in the R.A. Dickey trade. MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo ranks d'Arnaud the No. 22 prospect in baseball. Before the season, d'Arnaud was ranked No. 14 by ESPN's Keith Law and No. 23 by Baseball America. BA's 2013 Prospect Handbook ranked him the No. 1 prospect in the Blue Jays system, noting that he makes "consistent hard contact" and that he has improved behind the plate as he's developed.
If d'Arnaud were to stick in the big leagues, he would surely miss the cutoff for Super Two eligibility. That would mean he would be eligible for arbitration after 2016, and free agency after 2019.
if we could add two bats in the off season, that would be groovy. Mets should tank the rest of the year to ensure they get a top 10 pick which would be protected when they go after a bat (hopefully)
So while I agree that the baseball draft is somewhat of a crap shoot, I would still rather the Mets have their first pick of the 14' draft be #9 overall, not #48. As it stands now, they will probably forfeit their first round pick on account of signing a FA. If they don't, that means they either have a top 10 pick (which would be protected), or didn't sign a big FA (which means you and I would be turning in our fan cards ). All things equal, I'll take the top 10 pick.
Looks like D'Arnaud is on his way up. Hopefully he will be in the lineup tomorrow.
New York Mets @Mets 41m
John Buck got the call from his wife. Baby Buck is on the way. Anthony Recker will bat seventh tonight and catch. #Mets
In the instant situation, its more like Binghampton vs. Las Vegas as I think Vegas is the biggest launching pad in a league of launching pads. But wherever he is, the kid hits the ball really hard. He'll be 25 by the start of next season, time to start showing his talent.


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Don't we have an Ivory thread somewhere? I could have sworn we did.
Anyway, my main concerns are: A. Can he stay healthy?, and B. If so, can we be sure he can carry the load?
I'm very concerned about if this kid can make it a whole NFL season. He has a terrible injury history. There are also pass protection issues and he really is not a pass catcher. I hate to say it, but he may be most effective with about 10 touches a game. Let Powell and Goodson do the rest. I started this thread to really see how people feel about our backfield. I think it's the key to our offense this year.
Don't we have an Ivory thread somewhere? I could have sworn we did.
Anyway, my main concerns are: A. Can he stay healthy?, and B. If so, can we be sure he can carry the load?
Probably, I didn't search.
I was going through his rotoworld notes. He also has had fumbling issues.
He may be the type of player you need to limit in practice and games to keep healthy. Sorta like Landry last year
I haven't gone too much over his history, but what were his injuries anyway?
Hamstring issues over his career, also foot issues.
I think we would be better off with Ivory playing the Greene roll from 2009/2010. Come in and beat up on a tired defense. Maybe sprinkle in a couple of plays early in the game to get him touches b.c he is a talented back. There is no need to ask him to shoulder the load. We have Goodson, Powell and McKnight. Let Goodson and Powell get the carries early in the game and have McKnight and Ivory try to hit some HRs.
Sanchez at QB
No effective WRs
Defenses crowd the box..
which means no running game..
Which means 4-12..
There are some valid concerns in this thread, but Im personally not worried, mainly because I 100% disagree with cimini's notion that Powell is on the bubble - I actually think he is an invaluable member of this offense.
Powell is a solid, one-cut runner who can catch and pass protect and with Goodsons probable 1 game suspension and Ivorys propensity for injury, we need someone with NFL experience who can handle all 3 facets of being a RB.
As for Ivory's injury history, I think some of it was a bit overblown and used a as a reason for the saints to justify deactivating him. His lack of career receptions also looks very worrisome on paper, but was probably more of a function of being on a team with sproles. Also, dont forget for the past 2 seasons, our starting RB has been an awful receiver.
Turnonthejets.com had this stat which was pretty telling -
Over the last three seasons, Ivory and Goodson combined have had 16 rushes of 20+ yards and 5 of 40+ yards despite just 394 combined carries. By comparison Greene has had 8 rushes over 20 yards and 0 over 40 in the same time frame despite having 714 carries.
That shows just how little explosiveness Greene had and how this should be addition by subtraction more then anything with this group. All in all, I think we will keep 4 RBs and use combinations of Ivory/Powell and goodson/mcknight either in the slot or moving pre-snap, to throw teams off balance.
Last edited by NY's stepchild; 06-30-2013 at 09:00 AM.
Powell will be the best back on the team this year. He is the most reliable and well rounded of the 3.
But overall, our backs are average at best.
Chris Ivory has always been at or near the top of our Elusive Rating, which combines missed tackles forced per touch and yards per carry after contact, but he rarely if ever makes the threshold in terms of touches to be included in the final study lists.
Despite only having 51 touches last season in Oakland, Goodson had four plays over forty yards. In 2010, there were two games he received 20 carries or more and in both games he went over 100 yards.
As you can see, the potential of a Ivory/Goodson duo likely has new offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg ecstatic. If healthy, Ivory should be a bell-cow back taking the bulk of carries on early downs, while Goodson is the third down back and contributes on passing downs and for certain outside handoffs or stretch plays. In terms of talent, both exceed Bilal Powell substantially who should fall into the role of a swing backup.
Average at best. Powell is for sure the best back on the team.
I also think many are under rating Powell, we all saw flashes last year behind a so so line. He was also still learning and playing in a system where the defense for the most part knew what was coming.
I am really interested to see how he does in TC this year and if he is as good as many of us expect him to be Certainly with the history of our two new additions, I think the Jets would be foolish not to carry 4 RB's this year.
McKnight has the talent. All he needs to do is step up. Maybe Sporano really never talked to him. He's got TC, and preseason to show it. We might keep 4 backs. McKnight can run, catch, even split out as a WR, or in the slot, and return kicks. Play DB in a pinch. If he can hold on to the ball, learn to read a blitz, and pick it up I think he'd be great. I really wish he could field punts. That would secure him a spot right there.
powell=poor man's curtis martin. not really fast, not real powerful, but knows where to run with the ball. not at all flashy, doesnt ever look like he runs at full speed, almost at a jogging pace, but knows where to go and can hold onto the ball.
If Ivory stays healthy, I bet he gets over 1200 yards rushing this year.


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City to hold first 'app' development competition
The City of Pittsburgh will launch its first-ever civic software application (app) development competition designed to grow the city's innovation and technology community through the creation of technology infrastructure that will benefit citizens.
The competition, called The Steel City Codefest, marks the first major event generated from the mayor's PowerUp Pittsburgh initiative and will take place beginning at 8:30 a.m. on Saturday, Feb. 23 and run through 2 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 24 in the Google Pittsburgh offices at Bakery Square, 6425 Penn Avenue.
"Steel City Codefest builds off of Pittsburgh's strong spirit of innovation, collaboration and competition and encourages innovators to come together to build interesting and creative solutions that will benefit our community and improve our city's tech climate," Mayor Luke Ravenstahl said. "Our ultimate goal is to create an opportunity for Pittsburgh's best and brightest minds to connect and use their skills to create apps that are useful to City residents and organizations."
The first-of-its-kind event in the region will challenge developers to turn government data into an application that benefits Pittsburgh residents, visitors or businesses. Codefest participants will be given access to city, county, state and federal datasets prior to the event and teams of one to six people will have 24 hours to create software applications. The Pittsburgh Neighborhood and Community Information System, which is a program of the University of Pittsburgh's Center for Social and Urban Research (UCSUR) will be assisting with data collection.
"For the past seven years, UCSUR has helped residents and community organizations find and use public information," said Bob Gradeck, research project manager at UCSUR. "Through Steel City Codefest, we are excited to support the work of software developers in building apps that will improve communities and the lives of Pittsburgh residents."
Due to space constraints, participation is limited to the first 100 people who register. Registration began December 3 at the Codefest website, http://www.steelcitycodefest.org. To facilitate team creation, participants are encouraged to reference the question and answer section of the Codefest website, where they can advertise for teams or team members, and post ideas for apps to be created during the contest. In addition, organizers will provide at least one opportunity in advance for participants to meet and build teams.
Participants will be able to stay overnight in the Google Pittsburgh offices to work on their apps. Participant registration is $10, which includes food and a T-shirt. While diverse skill sets are welcome, participants with backgrounds in technology, design and community development are especially suited for this event.
"We are happy to partner with the City and URA to host the Steel City Codefest at Google Pittsburgh," said Andrew Moore, vice president of engineering, Google. "We hope this event provides a platform for developers to come together and build innovative solutions to improve our community."
Several winning teams will be chosen by judges using the following criteria: Civic Engagement - meets a clear community need; Technical Sophistication - overcomes interesting technical challenges; User Interface Design - presents an effective interface that facilitates the user experience; and Artistic Merit.
Each team member from the winning teams will receive a Nexus 7 tablet.
In addition to the main event, the Mayor will host a mixer the night before to encourage participants to build ideas and form teams before the data is released. Additional information on the contest, how to register, and the mixer can be found at http://www.steelcitycodefest.org.
The codefest was coordinated by Jennifer Wilhelm, the URA's new innovation & entrepreneurship strategist. Partners include the URA's Center for Innovation & Entrepreneurship, Google Pittsburgh, Bakery Square, the University of Pittsburgh's Center for Social and Urban Research, MAYA Design and Traffic 21. ShowClix, a URA client, is the official ticketing sponsor.


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CLEVELAND, OH (WOIO) - A new court filing shows a growing number of families want the right to question accused serial killer Anthony Sowell.
Sowell is facing death for killing 11 women and attacking others. But families are adding their names to a civil wrongful death suit.
Sowell's attorneys want to stop the civil suit until after the criminal case. Half a dozen families or victims are now saying they shouldn't have to wait.
"I want to know everything so I can sit here and see her, her last minutes."
"I don't believe she would've gone into that house even for crack or anything else."
The civil suit is also asking questions about whether police and government agencies deserve some blame for not uncovering this sooner.
A judge will decide if the civil case moves forward. If it's put on hold til after a criminal trial and appeals, the families argue they may have to wait years to force Anthony Sowell to answer to them.
Defense Attorney Rufus Sims is calling the civil suit a distraction that''ll interfere with a death penalty trial.
Attorney David Malik is pressing the civil suit.
He also wants to have world-renowned experts interview Sowell, and he wants to explore whether the city or the county could have stopped the alleged killing spree earlier.
Cops say Sowell killed 11 women and attacked 5 others. He's facing a criminal trial that could send him to death row.
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Sorry N-Gage. I'll remain looking "uncool" with my GBA SP until then.
As for the Phantom... ummm... it's best feature is the fact that DNF is going to be a launch game.
Good point. I would only add that the main drawback to my mind is the fact that it's just supposed to be a mildly inexpensive PC which will apparently play PC games, which also requires a monthly subscription fe
Sure they present decent ideas that will inevitably be accepted (see Dreamcast's failure, except for the introduction of new online gaming on the console), but they are a bit early on the draw, and they are presenting them in a problematic format.
Ngage for example: Sure wireless portable gaming is a great idea, and I would not be too surprised if it made it into the next-generation GBA (or the generation after next), but there are too many design flaws with the Ngage for it to actually succeed. See it's
To N-Gage I say fook oof. You taco shaped, overpriced (even for a cellphone, honestly where are you people buying your phones), battery removal requiring craptastic POS.
"But it's supposed to be for online game play!"
Then why are the few polished titles (Sonic, etc) still carts for it?
Still, it's a great idea. A pre-configured, upgradable, HDTV-compatable game console? Great idea. Add in a DVD-ROM/CD-RW drive, or better yet, a DVD-RW/CD-RW, the ability to save TV shows to the hard drive (And make that drive big, fast, and upgradable) ala Tivo, or record live or already recorded video to DVD or (S)VCD (Hey, I watch a lot of anime fansubs, and burning them to an SVCD is cheaper than burning to DVD), the ability to network with PCs, and the best of the PC games out there, and you've got my money.
Wow, that would be awesome!! Ya know, I think we should call it a personal computer! Everyone will want one!
1) Acts more like a hybrid of a Tivo, an XBox, and a DVD Recorder.
Aside from playing X-Box games, a PC can do those things.
2) No "PC" Applications, like office suites, web browsers, etc.
Don't have to install those apps on your PC if you don't want to (well, except for IE, but you can consider that part of the OS and just delete the shortcuts to it, or you can consider internet access as a cool new feature of your "PC Console").
3) No desk needed. 4) It's part of your living-room setup (IE, you hook
Right. And being a complex piece of equipment, it will end up much like any other complex piece of equipment they own... hardly used. The people that don't know or understand what the thing is capable of, yet buy one anyway, are the same people that can't even figure out how to use a browser or email app on their computer. The same people who can't set the clock on their VCR. Unless you make the thing do practically everything on its own, nobody will be able to take advantage of the vast majority of it
And on top of that we already know the PSP will have wireless capability. [slashdot.org]
Now what exactly does the N-Gage offer that the PSP won't have at a lower price and, with the possible exception of the cell phone part, better quality?
Yes, I said BACKPACK!.
"I shall expect a chemical cure for psychopathic behavior by 10 A.M. tomorrow, or I'll have your guts for spaghetti." -- a comic panel by Cotham


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South Side Park made a priority for Slopes association
March 16, 2010
At the beginning of this year, the South Side Slopes Neighborhood Association (SSSNA) gathered to strategize and set priorities for the organization in 2010.
The March meeting of the SSSNA drew more than four dozen people to discuss and present ideas for the 65 acres of green space that sits in the middle of the South Side Flats, South Side Slopes and Arlington neighborhoods that is South Side Park.
"There was overwhelming support for doing something with this 65 acres," Brad Palmisiano, president of the SSSNA, said.
In focusing on the park, Mr. Palmisiano said for so long in their discussions they had hit a roadblock in what to do with the abandoned Neville Ice Area at the end of 21st Street. Something would have to be done with the former ice rink to make the park something special.
February brought near record snowfall and the collapse of the metal roof covering the ice skating surface, facilitating the need to demolish the vandalized building and getting what many residents considered an eyesore out of the park.
Judy Dyda, Elm Street coordinator with the South Side Local Development Company, began her presentation about the park with a brief history of what is now a six-year planning process for South Side Park.
Ms. Dyda likened each step in the process to "little links in a bracelet" on the way to a beautiful finish.
She said the first "Master Study" of the park was performed about six years ago. And while the study was not an over-arching master plan, "it got people thinking."
Several years later, as part of the Elm Street Program, there was a study of all the public steps in the Elm Street District. The study resulted in $50,000 worth of infrastructure improvements to the steps.
A third study focused on 18th Street, the major corridor through the South Side Slopes which runs along side of the park and improvements to the corridor, Ms. Dyda said.
In the discussion, she mentioned the gateway garden at Monastery and Brosville with the award winning scrim designed by SSSNA board member Peter Kreuthmeier. A second gateway garden at Josephine and 18th Street is awaiting its own signature artwork made of the same cor-ten steel as the Brosville garden's scrim.
The solar powered back-lighted pylon when completed at 18th Street will feature a cut out of the houses cascading down a hillside.
"It will be a really big wow factor for the neighborhood," Ms. Dyda said.
Getting back to the park, a comprehensive study was undertaken in 2008 and includes a complete analysis of the park and its condition. The study included cost estimates for the suggested improvements. The plan is available on the SSLDC's Website at http://www.southsidepgh.com.
"This isn't just about 'we love green space,'" Ms. Dyda continued. "It's about increasing your real estate values."
She explained the property values are increasing at a greater rate than the city's median average, while the property values in the Slopes are increasing at a lower rate than the city's average. One way to increase the property values in the neighborhood is to make improvements to the park.
Ms. Dyda took the opportunity to segue into discussing the past present and possible future of the Neville Ice Area. Closed now for about 10 years, the facility was leased by the city to a private manager.
She said under initially under the lease agreement the ice area was well run, however a change in the management resulted poorer performance. The new management stopped paying the water bills and eventually the city began the eviction process. Eviction took two years and in the meantime the property managers began holding rave parties.
When the city was finally able to regain control of the facility, the former management left a "huge" water bill. A bill the Pittsburgh Water Authority wouldn't forgive and preventing development opportunities.
Ms. Dyda said the building was still in good condition in 2006, but "midnight plumbers" removed much of the plumbing. The clubhouse was still in good condition at that time but not for long. Vandals soon destroyed most of what was left.
She said that in walking through the clubhouse to view the extent of the damage, it seemed odd the vandals had destroyed everything except the ice skates. The skates were left lined up in the same manner they were when the building closed.
More recently, the city issued a Request For Proposals for use or reuse of the building. As city property the ice area could be leased, but not sold.
Ms. Dyda said while there were proposals, the proposals didn't include financing.
In the meantime, the ice area was getting "worse and worse" each year. Last year, the city had to come back and secure the building at least five times from vandals breaking in prior to the G-20 Summit.
"Mother Nature has [now] taken care of the problem for us," Ms. Dyda said of the snow collapsed building. "It's an opportunity to do something. The longer it sits there, the less we have to work with."
Mr. Palmisiano opened the meeting to public comment. Suggestions included, in light of the recent Olympic games, to reopen the ice rink for ice skating, hockey and possibly a curling center.
Another suggestion was to remove the ice rink portion of the building leaving the clubhouse intact and creating a water feature such as a pond that could be filled with the natural streams and brooks coming down off the hillside. The clubhouse or surrounding grounds could be used for concession stands and picnic areas to help finance the upkeep of the area.
A third suggestion recommended more comprehensive signing of the park with maps in key places to direct visitors to the entrances and assets in South Side Park.
Chuck Half, from the Mayor's Office, said there has been a lot of "brainstorming going on" about the extensive parks and recreation facilities in the city. He said city officials are trying to look at the changing demographics of the city to learn if the way parks and recreation facilities are managed to their fullest potential.
"The city is looking at the way things are used and how they should be used," Mr. Half said.
City councilman Bruce Kraus, chair of the city's Public Works Committee, offered to have a definitive answer to when the ice area will be demolished by the next SSSNA meeting on April 13.


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Both sets of my grandparents lived most of their lives in Owen County. I will use the next few paragraphs to try and explain what they have meant to me.
My dad's parents – Joe and Annabel Lawrence – lived most of their lives in Monterey. My grandfather was a farmer and worked for a while at the cheese factory in Owenton. I only saw him get riled one time in all of the years that I knew him.
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Potato pie.This is best with left-over mashed potatoes but fresh made will work well too.Mix well-buttered mashed potatoes with bits of ham and some grated cheddar cheese. Finely chopped sautéed onions are a nice addition. Press into a 9x9 inch Pyrex pan and sprinkle more cheese on top. Bake until the top is nicely browned. Serve in scoops.This was a specialty at a steak house we used to frequent. Everybody who knew the place never ordered any other sort of potato.
I don't want this dinner to be "formal" - I want everyone to relax, enjoy good food, wine and company before plunging back into the work week. But, due to my great appreciation of the special effort these friends made for me - I would like to have something new or special to serve.
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American's Trucking Industry Faces Driver Shortages
The Lonesome Road
American's Trucking Industry Faces Driver Shortages
by Rich Ehisen, Comstock's Magazine – 2012 October
The trucking industry is facing a significant driver shortage as baby boomers retire and younger people are unwilling to replace them. The shortfall eased a bit during the recession as fewer trucks took to the road, but with the economy recovering, industry leaders say the shortage is becoming problematic.
The American Trucking Association predicts the industry will be short approximately 110,000 drivers by 2014, while other estimates peg the figure up to three times higher. That deficit has been paying dividends for those who remain.
"Driver salaries are on the rise," says Michael Shaw, a spokesman for the California Trucking Association. "Demand is outstripping supply."
That is good for drivers but not so much for consumers: Most industry experts believe the increased driver costs will ultimately mean higher prices for the goods they deliver.
There are many reasons for the shortfall. Younger people aren't as interested in the field any more. In this era of health consciousness, the job is perceived as too hard on the body. And long-haul truckers can be required t obe gone from home for weeks at a time.
The financial payoff is also questionable. Many large companies prefer to hire truckers who own a rig, which can be an expensive proposition for a potential driver. And new regulation in California related to greenhouse gas emissions have made it even more difficult for truckers to afford equipment.
However, there are other signs that workers are enlisting in the field because job prospects are so poor elsewhere. David Decker, director of education for the Western Truck School in West Sacramento, says he has seen a slight increase in the number of students willing to fork over the $2,000 to $5,000 needed to pass his training program. He says it is too soon to know if the spike is temporary, but he remains optimistic that the industry will eventually be able to fill its needs. For all its challenges, he notes, trucking has something many industries can't offer these days: job security.
"It's harder than ever to make a living now," Decker says. "But I'm seeing a lot more people coming here now who have already had careers in other fields. They're coming here because they just need a steady job."


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When Google Inc chose New Zealand to unveil secret plans for a balloon-driven Wi-Fi network last weekend, it cemented the country's reputation as a test bed for global technology companies looking to trial their latest innovations, industry experts say.
They say New Zealand — tucked away deep in the southern hemisphere — offers a tech-savvy, English-speaking population where firms such as Google and Facebook Inc can quietly test new products without risking major fallout if anything goes wrong.
"We tend to be early adopters, any technology that reduces the tyranny of distance we're keen on," said Malcolm Fraser, chief executive of the Auckland-based Future Cities Institute, who has researched the trend.
"We're a small market, which means it doesn't cost that much to test something here and if anything screws up we're far enough from major markets for it not to have a spillover effect," Fraser said.
Facebook has enthusiastically used New Zealanders as guinea pigs, last year trialling a scheme where users can pay to make their posts more prominent on friends' newsfeeds.
It also debuted its timeline feature in New Zealand in 2011, saying at the time: "As a global company, we need to gain perspective and insights from outside the US. New Zealand is a good place to start because it's English-speaking, so we can read the feedback and make improvements quickly."
Networking site LinkedIn Corp also tested its endorsement feature in New Zealand last year, but Fraser said the country had been a laboratory for experimental technology since the mid-1980s, when the world's first electronic payments system was introduced.
In the early 2000s, telecommunication giant Vodafone Group PLC debugged the general packet radio service (GPRS) network which replaced dial-up Internet connections for Kiwis before releasing it internationally.
"It comes down to the fact that [New Zealand] is a perfect microcosm of a global community," Candace Kinser from technology industry group NZITC said. "Auckland has immigrants as more than 50 percent of its population, from nearly every country in the world, [and] Kiwis take up technology rapidly and use it well."
Fraser said hosting leading-edge projects helps boost New Zealand's IT industry, which boasts world leaders in sectors such as computer gaming and digital special effects.
"When these organizations come along, they don't bring their whole R&D [research and development] department, they just bring one or two key people, along with the new product or technology," he said. "So we get quite a lot of benefit from that, in terms of people in our technology [sector] getting trained up to fill the void."
Google's foray into New Zealand, dubbed Project Loon, is perhaps the most ambitious high-tech test carried out in the country, aiming to bring Internet to the two-thirds of the global population currently without Web access.
It involved sending 30 helium-filled balloons to the edge of space above South Island on Saturday last week, each carrying transmitters capable of beaming Wi-Fi Internet access down to antennae on properties below.
The ultimate goal, which Google admits remains a distant dream, is a network of thousands of such balloons creating a system that provides online access anywhere in the world.
The first person to access the Web under the scheme was dairy farmer Charles Nimmo, who said he appreciated the chance to work with one of the world's largest companies to push the frontiers of technology.


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Look for a delay in the federal trial of suspected mailbox bomber Luke Helder.
His trial in Cedar Rapids is set for April 14, but federal prosecutors expect it will be delayed after a judge reviews the results of Helder's competency exam.
The 21-year-old Wisconsin college student from Pine Island, Minnesota, is accused of planting pipe bombs in mailboxes in five states last May -- Iowa, Illinois, Nebraska, Colorado and Texas. Six people were hurt.
He was captured near Reno, Nevada, and brought back to Iowa for trial.
Helder's attorney, Jane Kelly, has filed court papers saying she will use the insanity defense.


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Researchers at the University of California, San Francisco, found that cutting the daily sodium intake of the average American by 5 percent of a teaspoon could save hundreds of thousands of lives over the course of a decade. The average American consumes 3,600 mg of sodium every day -- more than double the recommended amount -- with the majority of that sodium coming from processed and commercially prepared foods.
Researchers used a computer model to test three sodium reduction-scenarios in the American diet: gradual sodium reduction by 40 percent, instant reduction by 40 percent, and instant reduction to 1,500 mg/day -- a nearly 60 percent decrease. The finding, that gradually reducing the amount of salt in the American diet is an achievable public health goal that could save lives, is published in the journal Hypertension.
"These findings strengthen our understanding that sodium reduction is beneficial to people at all ages," Pamela Coxson, Ph.D., lead author of the study and a mathematics specialist in the department of medicine at the University of California San Francisco, said in a statement.
High-sodium diets have been linked not only to high blood pressure, but also to increased risk of heart attack, stroke, and other cardiovascular diseases.
The American Heart Association, which partially funded the study, recommends consuming less than 1,500 mg of sodium every day and has called on the Food and Drug Administration to set limits on sodium levels. The AHA has asked FDA to set a strict standard on the amount of sodium in foods served to children in schools, and has encouraged the food industry to lessen the amount of sodium in processed and commercially prepared foods.
How To Cut Down on SodiumYou don't have to wait for a ban to start reducing your sodium intake and lowering your risk for hypertension. Kathryn Y. McMurry, M.S., a nutrition coordinator with the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, says it's as simple as choosing lower sodium products. In addition, eating healthier, fresher foods will help lower your sodium intake and reduce your risk of hypertension.
"Consuming more fresh foods -- vegetables, fruits, legumes, lean meats and fish, and low fat dairy products -- and fewer foods that are processed will help decrease sodium intake," McMurry says. "Eat more home-prepared foods where you have more control over sodium [and] use herbs and spices to add flavor to foods instead of salt and ingredients high in sodium."
Some foods that are high in sodium may surprise you, McMurry says, and sodium-sensitive people need to be aware of that.
"Most people are surprised to hear that breads and rolls are the highest contributor in the diet to sodium intake," she says. "Bread products are consumed often, so the amount of sodium we get from these foods adds up throughout the day. Raw poultry products also have much more sodium than people expect because they often have a salt 'saline' solution added that increased the sodium content. It is important to check the sodium content on 'nutrition facts' labels and choose foods with less sodium."
- Republished with permission from EverydayHealth.com


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view a plan
This fun idea combines weekly vocabulary words and movement
Language Arts, P.E. & Health
3, 4
Title – Vocabulary
By – Shadee Bishop
Primary Subject – Language Arts, PE
Grade Level – 3-4
Each week my students are introduce to five new vocabulary words. For fun way to get the students excited about the words, I have the students do vocabulary cards and movements. The vocabulary card is a 3×5 notecard. On one side is the vocabulary word. On the other side, I have the students write the definition, put the word in a complete sentence, and draw a picture of the word. The students keep all their cards on a binder ring in their desk. That way they can study the words at anytime.
For extra fun, I have the students make up movements for the words to help them remember the meaning. They can work with a partner and share with the entire class. They love it!
E-Mail Shadee Bishop !


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VANCOUVER - Canucks coach Alain Vigneault posed for photos with fans and signed autographs early Thursday morning in the name of children's literacy.
In just an hour, he and his fundraising group collected more than $400 by selling special editions of The Vancouver Sun at the corner of Granville and Georgia streets as part of the annual Raise-a-Reader fundraiser.
"People in Vancouver have always been generous to us," he said.
Thursday's on-the-street campaign raised more than $29,000 for literacy programs, while the province announced an investment of $500,000 in literacy. That money will be distributed through the Raise-a-Reader program to literacy organizations throughout B.C.
View photos from the street campaign here
More than 380 volunteers rose before dawn to sell papers on downtown street corners, at SkyTrain stations in Surrey and Richmond, and at West Coast Express stations.
"The weather was fantastic and the generosity of volunteers and donors shone brightly today," Sun editor-in-chief Harold Munro said.
"Raise-a-Reader Day is such an important date on The Vancouver Sun calendar because of what it means to so many families with literacy needs.
"We owe a special thanks to the B.C. government for a $500,000 contribution to this year's campaign, money that will be put to good use helping people all over the province."
The Raise-a-Reader campaign was created 16 years ago by The Sun and expanded across the country in 2002. Combined with provincial funding, the B.C. campaign has raised $5.75 million for literacy and reading programs in local communities, schools and libraries since it started in 1997.
On Thursday, athletes from the B.C. Lions, the Vancouver Giants, Whitecaps and Canadians were on the streets, along with their mascots and management, starting at 7 a.m.
Thursday's biggest individual donation, by far, was the $400 in cash handed to a Vancouver police officer.
"I don't know what it is about the uniform, but it works every time," said Jamie Pitblado, vice-president of promotions and community investment for Pacific News Group.
Along with a uniform, it helps to have a shiny red truck and a loudspeaker system to broadcast the pitch.
Vancouver fire crew members were riding up and down Granville Street, urging passersby to stop, drop and donate for children's literacy.
At Dunsmuir and Hornby streets, firefighter Brian Bogdanovich and Nancy Wong of the Vancouver Public Library were taking a more casual approach, but still averaging about $5 a newspaper.
"We're not the hard sell," Bogdanovich said. They sold most of their 60 newspapers by 9 a.m.
View photos from the street campaign here
Noticeably absent at Thursday's campaign were Vancouver's beloved Canucks, who are mostly out of town because of the NHL lockout. In past years, the players have stood alongside other volunteers, hawking papers for the charity.
This year's total was about $6,000 short of last year's, which could be explained in part by the Canucks' absence.
"I would attribute the lower numbers to not having the Canucks players," Pitblado said. "When we look at where we were down, it was at locations where we have always had players involved."
Vancouver city councillor and acting deputy mayor Adriane Carr said she was proud to have raised a reader herself — her daughter Kallie George is a children's author and editor in Vancouver. Carr had collected $110 in just the first hour.
Across Seymour Street, her friendly rival councillor Raymond Louie, who has participated in the campaign since he entered municipal politics a decade ago, was counting his money after receiving a $50 bill.
"It's an easy sell, helping children and helping society, people getting a leg up," he said.
"Some people already have a newspaper and still give us money," Wong said.
Things were a little tougher on Georgia Street, where busy commuters were rushing into office towers. At least one volunteer — with a megaphone — was promising McDonald's gift cards, free bus passes and "eternal happiness," in exchange for donations. He was pretty successful.
"I'm making serious bank," said Mike Cohen of radio station Classic Rock 101. His apron was full of cash.
All funds are managed through a provincial body and distributed to organizations like Canucks for Kids Fund and the Vancouver Public Library Foundation.


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byCRN Staff on
Tips From The WOTC
What advice would you give to young women aspiring to succeed in the workplace? A simple question that elicited a variety of responses from this year's Women of the Channel. The following 25 executives used their years of experience to impart wisdom to the next generation of female channel leaders.


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Caddie Damon Green
Damon Green, caddie for Zach Johnson, momentarily rests his head on the bag while waiting at the 8th tee in the second round of the Travelers Championship at the TPC at River Highlands Friday. Johnson (left) takes a drink of water as he waits with Kyle Stanley (center).
Cloe Poisson | email@example.com
Copyright © 2018, Hartford Courant


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The Battlefield Website announces Battlefield 1943, revealing the next installment in the Battlefield series of multiplayer military shooters is returning to World War II, the focus of the original Battlefield 1942. The game is in the works for Windows, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3, and it seems like all three editions will be a digitally distributed, with the release planned for this summer. The site offers a trailer showing off the land, sea, and air combat in the game, and here's word:
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GayPatriot Steak Dinner in Los Angeles on MONDAY, 11/19
(in honor of City Council Declaration of Meatless Mondays)
On Friday, the Los Angeles City Council unanimously approved a resolution "endorsing the 'meatless Monday' campaign and asking residents to make a personal pledge to ditch meat for one day a week."
In honor of that resolution, I believe we should gather for a steak dinner at a Los Angeles restaurant next Monday. Please let me know if you're interested so I can begin planning.
25 Comments
This is one time I wish I lived in CA!
Comment by GOProud lesbian — November 12, 2012 @ 8:28 pm - November 12, 2012
I'm glad to live in a city and province that loves its steak. On the other hand, I rarely get the opportunity to say "f*ck you" to the progressives like this. Make sure to have a steak for breakfast, too (and lots of bacon).
Comment by Rattlesnake — November 12, 2012 @ 8:41 pm - November 12, 2012
If it fit in my budget, I'd fly in just for this! I'll just add extra salt to my fries and drink a 32 oz soda in solidarity.
Comment by Az Mo in NYC — November 12, 2012 @ 9:59 pm - November 12, 2012
Wish I could join you for a chance to enjoy a marvelous Rib-eye and a chance to say "Fuck You" to the LA City Council.
Comment by Cat — November 12, 2012 @ 10:31 pm - November 12, 2012
Now I feel badly that we had Chicken for dinner when I have a nice pair of Steaks in the freezer. Now I have to wait an entire week to enjoy them with salty-fries and a 20-oz. non-diet Coke. ** drat, …and double-drat! **
Comment by Ted B. (Charging Rhino) — November 12, 2012 @ 10:46 pm - November 12, 2012
Good for you Daniel. Besides it is not Lent!!
Comment by StraightAussie — November 12, 2012 @ 11:45 pm - November 12, 2012
Brings back memories… My stepfather was a divorced Irish Catholic who married my mom several years after she had divorced her first husband. Since the Catholics were even more rigid back then he was excommunicated. This was during the early fifties when I was just a preschooler. Until I left to go into the Service in 1964 we ate good red meat every Friday. Steak when we were flush, meat loaf or burgers when we were broke, it didn't matter.
I live in rural Texas now, far from the gonifs of the LA city council but I'll have something meaty on Mondays, even if it's only Navy Bean soup with lots of bacon.
Comment by Peter — November 13, 2012 @ 12:57 am - November 13, 2012
To hell with these jerks. Enjoy your steaks, in fact your meat of any kind. Meaty Monday forever.
Comment by perturbed — November 13, 2012 @ 4:52 am - November 13, 2012
my first thought when learning of this idiocy was "it sounds like Mondays will either be a good day for a steak or the places will be packed to the gills..maybe best to grill one…over a fire"
Comment by JP — November 13, 2012 @ 10:27 am - November 13, 2012
I ate meat last night for that very reason and bragged about it on Facebook. Put me down as 50% likely to attend. My schedule changes frequently.
Comment by Draybee — November 13, 2012 @ 11:56 am - November 13, 2012
I saw this post and then ate a bowl full of carrots.
Really? Studies have shown that cutting down meat consumption lowers rates of heart disease. Yeah, sometimes I eat steak, but very prudently. I think the point here was "Don't give up meat, but be more aware of your consumption." I guess what was heard was, "This is the slippery slope to having your right to eat meat taken away from you."
Yeah, sure. Okay.
Comment by Vince Smetana — November 13, 2012 @ 12:35 pm - November 13, 2012
I wish I lived out there so I could join in. (By that, I don't mean I wish I lived under the CA state government's rule.) My wife and I will have to cook up some beef that night in solidarity.
BTW, as far as red meat's healthiness, when I changed my own diet from a low-fat, high-sugar, high-grain diet to a high-fat, low-carb diet consisting mostly of meat, eggs, high-fat dairy, nuts, and veggies, my total cholesterol plummeted, my HDL went up, my blood pressure dropped, and I lost about twenty pounds, arriving at my ideal body weight without ever allowing myself to go hungry, i.e., no portion-size control. I recommend people looking to improve their health eat more meat (preferably grass-fed) and veggies. The primal diet is the way to go.
Comment by chad — November 13, 2012 @ 2:10 pm - November 13, 2012
Gee, they could of picked Friday and gotten the Old Catholic vote.
Comment by Kevin — November 13, 2012 @ 2:21 pm - November 13, 2012
Really? Studies have shown that cutting down meat consumption lowers rates of heart disease. Yeah, sometimes I eat steak, but very prudently. I think the point here was "Don't give up meat, but be more aware of your consumption." I guess what was heard was, "This is the slippery slope to having your right to eat meat taken away from you."
Comment by Vince Smetana — November 13, 2012 @ 12:35 pm – November 13, 2012
When you repeatedly act like fascists, Cinesnatch, you are ultimately presumed to be fascists.
Especially since your fascism affects primarily those who pay their own bills, since you and your fellow fascists have no intention of requiring people to spend their EBT dollars on nutritious food.
This is the hilarious and contradictory outcome of a party that purchases votes using taxpayer dollars. Cinesnatch and his fascist ilk can impose their nutrient nannyism and their screaming about health care costs and outcomes on only those people who pay their own food and health care bills — because they have purchased their voting base with promises of unlimited food and health insurance.
Comment by North Dallas Thirty — November 13, 2012 @ 3:24 pm - November 13, 2012
ND30 > does this mean we are still on for in and out burger?
Comment by Vince Smetana — November 13, 2012 @ 4:27 pm - November 13, 2012
Cutting down meat may indeed be good for your health, but city government is not our nanny.
Comment by B. Daniel Blatt — November 13, 2012 @ 4:47 pm - November 13, 2012
I'm going to join in with Chad and sing the praises of a low-carb, high-fat diet. After being skeptical up, until a few months ago, I finally gave in and tried a low-carb diet, due to all the raves from Glenn "Instapundit" Reynolds about Gary Taubes. I was getting frustrated not being able to lose weight no matter what I ate or how much I exercised. As I got started, I saw a few youtube videos featuring Dr William Davis, a cardiologist who wrote a book called Wheat Belly about the problems associated with wheat consumption, and decided to cut out grains for a while.
I don't have an enormous amount of weight to loose, so I figured I would I'd just spend a couple months eating a spartan diet and later, if it worked, I'd return to something close to my regular diet, just with maybe a bit more moderation and I'd exercise a bit more. I changed my plans and decided to stick with my new way of eating after three weeks when the allergies that had plagued me my entire life went away and so did my the heartburn that pestered my throughout my adulthood. Overall, I feel better and more energetic. There is something about having a dramatic upswing in health that changes your perspective on things.
I talked someone else into trying this, back when I started and when I thought the only health benefit I expected the diet to facilitate was at best weight loss, and a few weeks ago she told me that her arthritis has greatly diminished and during a recent doctor visit her blood pressure and cholesterol when from being bad to good.
Hulu is currently showing the documentary Fathead for free, which is an entertaining primer on the subject, which I recommend. A short preview can be see here. Searching for lectures by Gary Taubes and William Davis on youtube is also a good place to start for anyone who is interested.
Comment by Thulsa Doom — November 13, 2012 @ 5:27 pm - November 13, 2012
I am thinking by 2016, there will be three new liberal SCOTUS judges and 10,000,000 new Democrat voters thanks to Amnesty. So, it doesn't matter.
Comment by V the K — November 13, 2012 @ 7:54 pm - November 13, 2012
There's another kind of restaurant even better than a steakhouse for celebrating Meaty Monday. Go to a Korean place and choose your entrees and appetizers carefully: with a little luck on the 6-8 side side dishes they provide, and some sharing, you can have at least a taste of mammal, bird, fish, mollusc, and crustacean, all in the same meal. Once you've got the five main categories down, you can try to multiply the subcategories, making sure your mammals include beef and pork, your crustaceans shrimp and lobster, and so on. Korean cuisine is meat-intensive – and delicious. Is it obvious that I really wish there were a Korean restaurant somewhere near where I live?
Comment by Dr. Weevil — November 13, 2012 @ 8:49 pm - November 13, 2012
This post is making me very hungry. I think I'll have the ultimate politically-incorrect dinner tonight: a double quarter-pounder with cheese and fries at McDonald's.
Comment by Lori Heine — November 13, 2012 @ 9:49 pm - November 13, 2012
This is a perfect example of the uselessness of conservatism. Somebody in the government gives a soft sell for some minor, token gesture to increase awareness about a problem that people can participate in or not with absolutely no pressure or coercion, and conservatives respond as if their Bibles are being confiscated and they're being branded with bar codes. Heaven forbid somebody on the city council might suggest a little civic-mindedness, so let's just do the exact opposite to say screw you!
Conservatives' idea of patriotism is seriously out of calibration. Getting indignant when being made aware of a social problem… that's the attitude that beat the Nazis, yes sir!
Comment by Levi — November 14, 2012 @ 1:41 am - November 14, 2012
No, Levi, we're responding to their presumption to know what's best for us by having a little bit of fun.
We're defying with a smile and expecting to have a good time when we gather. 🙂
Comment by B. Daniel Blatt — November 14, 2012 @ 1:57 am - November 14, 2012
Notice how the little Fascist treats any expression of free speech and association as an attack on his precious government?
Now hush Levi, the adults are talking.
Comment by The_Livewire — November 14, 2012 @ 8:09 am - November 14, 2012
[…] just googled to find that there's a Papa John's not far from me. After our GayPatriot steak dinner next Monday (now scheduled for Sizzler, given that the CEO donated to Mitt Romney's […]
Pingback by GayPatriot » Patronize those restaurants liberals want to boycott — November 14, 2012 @ 12:46 pm - November 14, 2012
[…] 7:00 PM for our GayPatriot Steak Dinner tonight in Hollywood (within the City of Los Angeles) in honor of the Los Angeles City Council's recent approval of a resolution "endorsing the 'meatless […]
Pingback by GayPatriot » GayPatriot Steak Dinner Tonight in Hollywood — November 19, 2012 @ 7:44 pm - November 19, 2012
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Exoplanet Camera Now Online 47
The Bad Astronomer writes with news that the Gemini Planet Imager is officially online "The Gemini Planet Imager is a camera that is designed to take direct photos of exoplanets, alien worlds orbiting other stars. In a test run last November it spotted the exoplanet Beta Pictoris b, a dusty ring around a nearby star, and even snapped a portrait of Jupiter's moon Europa. Up to now, only about a dozen exoplanets have been directly imaged; GPI is expected to find dozens more in the next few years." From the Gemini project: "'Even these early first-light images are almost a factor of 10 better than the previous generation of instruments. In one minute, we are seeing planets that used to take us an hour to detect,' says Bruce Macintosh of the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory who led the team that built the instrument." The announcement has pictures.


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Planck will measure CMB with accuracy below 1%
Uhm. Is this technical terminology that I simply don't understand, or just a typo? Because I can understand a '1% margin of error', and I can sort of understand 'accurate to 1%'... but something which is below 1% accurate?
If only I could get away with that in my job.
The bad news is that will be 9% accurate, followed by 9% accurate, followed by...
On the plus side, it'll still be nearly ten times better than this one.
The correct term would be inaccuracy. Calling it accuracy is misleading, but very common.
It seems like the summary writer didn't understand TFA. Quoting from ESA:
Planck is designed to 'see' the microwaves and, in practice, it will detect them by measuring temperature. That temperature is already known to be about 2.7K (which is very cold, about 270C, near absolute zero). It has been measured to be 2.726K all over the sky to three decimal figures. This degree of accuracy in the measurement may seem good enough, but much more precise measurements are needed.
The older measurements that Planck is trying to improve already are accurate to 0.1%.
It seems like someone got confused with the coincidence that the temperature of the universe, 2.7 K, is about 1% of the temperature of freezing water, 270 K.
"(which is very cold, about 270C, near absolute zero)"
I think you dropped this: -
(which is very cold, about 270C, near absolute zero).
Everything is relative of course, but I'm pretty sure with a minus sign it would be a lot closer: -270C.
... Planck will examine this to a sensitivity, angular resolution and frequency range never achieved before.
I believe this 1% (+- 0.01) can be either the error level of one of the measurements or a general expression for an overall performance (not very scientific indeed). The commenter mentioned 10% (+- 0.1) for WMAP, and something around 40-50% (I do not remember exactly) for COBE.
Can someone on this project tell us what took so long with Planck? I remember seeing a picture of it under construction in a cleanroom in the accompanying book to the PBS show "Stephen Hawking's Universe [youtube.com]"....... in 1998!
Most likely due to:
- funding (the launch phase costs the most because everything has to be tested & proven before it even goes up).
- other projects going up first (short-term projects slip in first etc), occupying launch events.
- feasibility (sometimes a great idea just is too risky)
in that order. it's not rocket science
Probably waiting for Herschel to be finished so they could launched together.
Accuracy below 1%? Did someone put a not gate in the wrong place?
Between this and the fix ongoing on Hubble, where are set for some more time of great and impressive astronomy. Thank you NASA and ESA for keeping the good work.
Any one have any idea how they will keep the helium going on it? I tried on the articles but couldn't find the longevity and repair plans.
Well, that's because the space is too hot.
Even without the sun.
They are trying to measure the CMB. If you are not colder than outer space, most of the radiation would just come from the telescope itself...
Well, that's because the space is too hot.
Huh? How can space have a temperature?
Space radiates. If we were to put a black body in space at absolute zero, after a while it would be about 2.7 Kelvin. This is because of the cosmic microwave background (which is what they're trying to measure here).
If you have a distractor (radiation from the craft itself) as big as the thing you're trying to measure, you won't get good results.
But emitting EM radiation isn't the same thing as having a temperature, is it?
I mean, I can see how the net effect is similar, because you still end up heating up your black block, similarly to what would happen if there was a heat transfer due to conduction.
It just sounds a little loose with terms to say that space has a temp.
To put it another way- heat is full of microwaves (the same as are in your kitchen appliance) which heats up everything in space to a certain point (2.7 Kelvin, if it's a black something). If you simply rely on "the coldness of space" to cool you down, that's as cool as you're going to get.
That's still EXTREMELY cold, but for this particular mission it's not cold enough. This mission is to measure said background radiation, meaning that in order to do it's job it must be colder than that extremely low temperature that is "the coldness of space".
Well, you can with a fridge, which basically pumps the heat out of a confined space and heats the radiator grille on tha back, and you could in principle do the same for a satelite - in fact, I am pretty sure they do something similar to that in order to make the helium last for that long. But helium is pretty difficult to hold on to, it tends to leak out through any pressure seals, because it is comes as single atoms which are much smaller than even the two-atom molecules of hydrogen. And of course a cooli
I found it after, but thanks for the link. Now let's put our science fiction minds to work and hypothize something (I'm sure the fellow slashdotters that know astronomy better than me will correct all the problems with my idea)
Since we are talking about L2, a place on space where the craft will be mainly stationary, isn't it feasible to make a "pit stop craft"? I mean, launch a craft that would stay at L2 and its only mission would be to fuel the other crafts in the region? What are the serious flaws in thi
1) we're lazy
2) we're too busy spending money on new "gee whiz" human launch systems
3) then we're going to need a "tanker" to refuel the "pit stop craft". Next thing you know we have a whole infrastructure to support robotic space exploration/exploitation. It'd be far too practical.
Flaws? Well, for a start there's the fact that it's completely ridiculous...
Any fuel to be used for refueling would have to be launched with the craft - it all has to come from earth anyway so there's no benefit to be gained. It doesn't make any sense, it's just adding in an unnecessary layer of complication.
Even apart from that, a docking at the L2 point in order for the refueling would be a ridiculously complicated process - some kind of automatic system could be designed to do it, but (unless the craft's
Because what they're trying to measure is, in some senses, the temperature of space itself - the ~3K CMB. So they need the detector to be colder than that.
Isn't there some way to use one or more of the three forms of heat transfer to keep the instruments cold enough to work without having to rely on a limited source of helium?
No. The radiative coolers (can't really use conduction or convection in space) will keep the craft cold enough for the low frequency instrument to work, even after the helium* runs out, but to get the 0.1K that the high frequency instrument needs, there's no (good) alternative to this active cooler.
* Well, not after the helium in its own refrigerators runs out. But it's not actively venting that, so we only have leakage to worry about there.
to get the 0.1K that the high frequency instrument needs, there's no (good) alternative to this active cooler.
What about cooling lasers? I am not a physicist... although I aspire to be. Maybe someday I'll make friends with mathematics.
I realize we, as in all space agencies, use helium or something else to keep these instruments cold, but why can't we use the coldness of space to do the same thing?
Space isn't really "cold", or rather, the terms "cold" and "hot" lose much of their meaning when you're talking about incredibly low densities like you have in space.
If you have an atmosphere then you transfer heat by radiation and conduction. You can cool your instruments by putting them in the shade (so they don't get the radiated energy from the sun) and ensuring the atmosphere is cool so that it will conduct the heat away. The atmosphere on Earth is actually not a great conductor, but because it is a fluid you can keep the air moving so that as soon as some of the heat has been conducted to the surrounding air you move that (warmer) aid out of the way and replace it with cool air - this can be done naturally by convection or by forcing the air to move with a fan.
In space you have practically no atmosphere, so the heat transfer is almost entirely by radiation - your instruments are essentially in a giant vacuum flask. Your satellite needs to reflect away the energy radiated by the sun, and the cosmic microwave background radiation, etc. and also radiate away its own heat (remember, these satellites contain lots of electronics and like all electronics they will generate heat). This is a pretty tall order - surfaces that radiate well are also really good at absorbing energy. - I imagine it's much cheaper and lighter to send up a load of liquid helium and dissipate the heat by letting it boil away.
I realize we, as in all space agencies, use helium or something else to keep these instruments cold, but why can't we use the coldness of space to do the same thing?
According to this PDF [nationalacademies.org] the Planck mission does not use liquid helium coolant (although Herschel does). Also the upcoming James Webb telescope will not use it.
It's impossible to cool _and_ contain helium (which is superfluid at that temperature) within the limits of a small spacecraft.
It's worth noting that Planck doesn't actually use a lot of liquid helium to cool itself down. It's cryogenic system is based upon "cryogen-free" mechanical refrigerators - the satellite launches warm, then cools itself down electrically and by radiating to space. The satellite lifetime isn't limited by running out of liquid helium.
Herschel, in contrast, does have a giant liquid helium tank. It launches full of helium, and eventually warms up when the tank runs out.
During the launch commentary they mentioned that the scopes are launched with a 3 year supply of helium. I'm pretty sure repair missions to L2 would be pretty impractical.
...and hilarious.
Between this and the fix ongoing on Hubble, where are set for some more time of great and impressive astronomy. Thank you NASA and ESA for keeping the good work.
My thoughts exactly! I can't stop thinking the wonders they could achieve if they worked as a united force. Space science and exploration is really costly. Instead of pursuing different goals they should unite NASA, ESA, JAXA, and the Chinese "under one ring" and create a truly global team.
ISA anyone?!
Wouldn't that quiescent point (of gravity between the earth and sun) be between the earth and sun, and therefore not in the Earth's shadow?
I thought the point was to keep it in the shadow - i.e. no solar radiation.
Pretty amazing - it was cool to read about the asteroids in the L4 and L5 fields of other planets!
Thanks - BKG
Also, at the L2 point, all three major heat sources (Sun, Earth, and Moon) are in the same direction. This allows them to have a single heat shield to block radiation from those sources, reducing the cooling needs. When you're trying to keep something at 1.5K, even the light shining off the moon can make a pretty big difference in how much it takes to maintain that temperature.
Lagrange point. Location where the gravitic pulls of some objects cancel each other out. In this case, it's Earth and Moon.
Actually, it's the Earth and the Sun. It's on the Earth-Sun line, behind the earth (from the sun's point of view), and orbits the sun once a year. They put it here because it's easier to shield the satellite from both the Sun and Earth.
The L2 point for the Earth-Moon system is on the Earth-Moon line, behind the moon, and orbits the earth once evry 29.5 days.
Lagrange point 2, one of the 5 locations in space around an orbiting body where the gravity wells from the major surrounding bodies cancel each other out, providing a sort of "still point" in space.
Ah how, how, how, how....
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L2_point [wikipedia.org]
Plural of "spacecraft" is "spacecraft".
English, do you speak it?
"new and long awaiting spacecrafts....both spacecrafts are cooled...Both spacecrafts are designed"
Plural of "spacecraft" is "spacecraft".
English, do you speak it?
Actually Herschel and Planck are _two_ of the most expensive and important missions. But maybe we are being too hard on the author of this piece, who may not have english as his native language.
Indeed, the working language of ESA is something known as "franglais". It sounds like french and has grammar like french, but uses mostly english words. From experience, a communication like the article summary is actually pretty good by ESA standards...
I don't blame the original author, but the incompetent editors who should have noticed and fixed it before publishing it.
Plural of "spacecraft" is "spacecraft".
It's never too late to fix bugs in the language.
please do not contribute this error to ESA - I do not work for this agency, I am just a space exploration enthusiast.
Don't worry, you'd fit right in...
Plural of "spacecraft" is "spacecraft".
But the plural should be spacecreft!
Plural of "spacecraft" is "spacecraft".
But the plural should be spacecreft!
No, that's the stuff they have to scrape off the shuttle's windshield after each mission.
no, that's past plural tense of "spacecraft"
"new and long awaiting spacecrafts....both spacecrafts are cooled...Both spacecrafts are designed"
Plural of "spacecraft" is "spacecraft".
English, do you speak it?
Hmm, do you speak it?
Quoting 'Wiktionary':
Singular: spacecraft
Plural: spacecrafts or spacecraft
spacecraft (plural spacecrafts or spacecraft)
1. A vehicle that travels through space.
Cite a real dictionary and I might take note. Any idiot can write a Wiktionary definition. I have, for instance.
Quoting 'Wiktionary':
Any idiot can write a Wiktionary definition. I have, for instance.
An idiot like you? Well, you said it.
I know it is not the most reliable source for English, but http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/spacecraft [wiktionary.org] says that both forms are correct you may write spacecrafts as well as spacecraft.
By the way when all (or at least a large group) people who speak some sort of English start to use words differetly then this becomes the standard.
It is like the s indicating genitive case in German. For example it was "Toms Buchladen" (TomÂs Bookshop) and nowadays you can also write "Tom's Bookshop" which I find completely
Sounds like you are close to a Total Perspective Vortex.
http://fscked.org/writings/TotalPerspectiveVortex/ [fscked.org]
But before I looked it up I had completely forgotten that Mars is at best still another 53 million km and then imagining the billions of lightyears Herschel will be able to "see"... I have to buy another ticket for "Star Trek" to lose this image of an invisibly tiny blue spec in a black void in my head...
Here's something that won't help you do it: http://www.physics.uci.edu/~observat/Physical_Scales.html [uci.edu]
It's really awesome this thing launched succesfully. My professor of astronomy and his department worked ten years on Herschel. I'm really happy for him.
I hope the sattelite gives us a lot of useful information or at least some beautiful pictures
it's all about the pretty sparkle isnt it?
If I don't get new desktops by June I will NOT be happy...
The NASA/GSFC Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) also uses RTEMS on some of its support processors. The main processor on SDO runs the closed source VX/Works OS.
Nice site. Interesting project.
Its a good thing they didn't put (insert x86 architecture OS here) on them.
I can see the first message sent back containing the words "No keyboard present. Press F1 to continue."
UOA and WUVESDFA and very well employed in the article summary. They are great tactics to keep the reader guessing about WTF they are reading. Furthermore, overuse of hyperlinks is a big problem these days. A summary need link to nothing more than a single article, which no one will read anyway. Any other linking to clarify the meaning of the story is just wasteful. Lets hear it for more Unidentified Obscure Acronyms (UOA) and greater use of Wait Until the Very End of the Summary to Define the Fucking Acron
Both spacecrafts are designed to observe the Universe at its infancy, the Herschel â" the first stars (those real ones), and galaxies (whichever came first), the Planck the first photons which were set free, the so called cosmic microwave background radiation (CMB)."
Okay, so at the point of the big bang, the entire universe was concentrated into a single point of matter.
At some point in the past the big bang occurred and matter and energy expanded from this single point at the speed of light or near it
Okay, so at the point of the big bang, the entire universe was concentrated into a single point of matter.
At some point in the past the big bang occurred and matter and energy expanded from this single point at the speed of light or near it, as best we can tell. The matter and light were traveling away from the point of orgin, at the highest possible speed, the speed of light which we say is a constant and is the max attainable speed by anything, ever.
No you are wrong. Not the matter and energy traveled away from a point in space. The space expanded. I know the phrase "Big Bang" implies an explosion, but it was no explosion it was an expansion. An expansion of space. Therefore nothing traveled. And space can theoretically expand faster than the speed of light.
At first I thought this was a new spinoff game release. However I'd expect the title to come from SCEA, not ESA.
An elephant is a mouse with an operating system.


text:
July 2014
The Beginning of Everything - Review by Emily, Teen Blogger
Posted on 29-Jul-14 10:25
Summary: A remarkable coming of age story which follows a young man by the name of Ezra Faulkner who suffers an injury that's enough to change the course of his life. Ostracized and alone, Ezra is forced to finally become himself and get to know the people around him, including the new girl in town, in a way he had never attempted before. Comedic, honest, and occasionally poignant, The Beginning of Everything answers the question of what one would do if they had to start all over.
Read More
Openly Straight by Bill Konigsberg - Teaser by Cindy, Staff Blogger
Posted on 23-Jul-14 15:16
I have to admit, it was the title that first caught my attention: Openly Straight. What an interesting and thought provoking title! So I opened the cover, started reading, and wasn't exactly hooked at the opening line by the main character, Rafe, "If it were up to my dad, my entire life would be on video". Okaaay…what parent doesn't film their kid, I thought. I kept reading and by the fourth page, I realized that Rafe is not just his father's child but has an identity beyond his family and beyond those images captured on video. Just like any teen right? Not quite. Rafe has a label. He's gay Rafe.
Read More
Divergent Movie - Review by Julia, Teen Blogger
Posted on 18-Jul-14 09:24
Set in a post-apocalyptic Chicago that is walled off from the rest of the world by a massive rampart, Divergent imagines a society in which the citizens are divided into five factions according to personality. The Abnegation faction, an ascetic class given to self-sacrifice, controls the municipal government. Amity, a community of 'hippie'-like agrarians, work in the fields farming; Candor runs the courts, law, and justice system; and the Erudite pursue scientific advancement as they are scientists, doctors, and researchers. Security is left in the hands of the Dauntless, a group of soldiers so fearless they might better be called the 'Young and the Reckless'.
Read More
Fast Five: Soccer Books - Article by Danielle, Staff Blogger
Posted on 11-Jul-14 13:50
As we head into a big soccer/football weekend with the 2014 FIFA World Cup Third-place and Final matches, I thought that I would leave you with a quick list of five books featuring and/or about soccer.
Read More
A Complicated Kindness by Miriam Toews - Review by Margaret, Teen Blogger
Posted on 04-Jul-14 08:54
A Complicated Kindness by Miriam Toews is one of the most eccentric, dark, innovative and honest books I have ever read. Featuring a cryptic character full of teenage angst, an ongoing discontent, and a desire to see the world, this book was a triumph. With an unconventional writing style, it is also written incredibly well.
Read More


text:
OHSAA to add seventh football division
COLUMBUS – The Ohio High School Athletic Association will add a seventh division in football.
The OHSAA Board of Directors approved the measure with a 6-3 vote on Thursday.
The new division will be in place starting in 2013.
The new Division I will include the top 10 percent of schools in enrollment. The rest of the state's 644 programs will be divided evenly among the other six divisions.
The playoffs in each division will continue to be comprised of 32 schools.
"Adding a seventh division not only helps address the enrollment disparity in Division I, but it also will create 32 more tournament opportunities for student-athletes, their schools and their communities, many of which have never or rarely experienced the playoffs," OHSAA Commissioner Dan Ross wrote in an OHSAA press release on Thursday. "The committee members believe that this is an issue unique to football, especially since not all schools qualify for the OHSAA football tournament."
The addition of a seventh division comes just a week after the OHSAA announced it would put a proposed competitive balance proposal to administrators of the member schools.
The OHSAA last added a division in 1994 with the addition of Division VI. In 1999 the playoffs were expanded from 16 to 32 teams, adding an extra round of postseason play, the OHSAA said in its release.


text:
en.swpat.org is a wiki. You can edit it. May contain statements End Software Patents does not endorse.
November 2014: About Microsoft's patent licence for .NET core
Sitemap • Countries • Why abolish? • Law proposals • Studies • Case law • Patent office case law • Lawsuits
Against Intellectual Monopoly
Against Intellectual Monopoly is a book written by Michele Boldrin (University of Minnesota) and David K. Levine (UCLA), published in January 2008.
The book argues that the patent system should be abolished.
[edit] External links
- The book, fully online, 2008
- The Case Against Intellectual Property, a 2002 paper written by the same two authors (see Richard Stallman's comments)
- Boldrin on Intellectual Property — EconTalk audio interview with Russ Roberts and related links, May 2008
This wiki is part of the End Software Patents (ESP) campaign (donate). For more information, see:


text:
Carlos Beltran played a starring role for the St Louis Cardinals as the hosts outlasted the Los Angeles Dodgers 3-2 in a 13-inning marathon to claim the opener of the best-of-seven National League Championship Series on Friday.
After almost five hours of action, Beltran lined a single to right off Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen to score Daniel Descalso and end the taut contest in the bottom of the fourth extra inning.
The right-fielder, who has made a habit of rising to the occasion in the postseason, also drove in the Cardinals' first two runs in the third inning and kept the Dodgers from taking the lead in the 10th by throwing out a runner at the plate.
"Today was a good game," Beltran said in an interview after his winning hit and the Cards' celebration on the diamond as their red-clad fans rejoiced in the stands. "That's what it's all about. We didn't want to lose, they didn't want to lose."
St Louis used seven pitchers in the game, with Lance Lynn earning the win. Los Angeles, who will bemoan a number of wasted scoring opportunities in the late innings, used six.
The game evolved into a pitchers' duel between Zack Greinke of the Dodgers and St Louis starter Joe Kelly, with each team scoring a pair of runs in the third inning and nothing more until the climax.
The Dodgers drew first blood in the third when Juan Uribe delivered a two-out, two-run single up the middle off Kelly with the bases loaded for a 2-0 lead.
St Louis responded in their half when Kelly singled for the first hit off Greinke and Matt Carpenter walked before Beltran drove them both in with a double off the fence.
Kelly lasted six innings, giving up six hits and two walks, while striking out five.
Greinke went eight innings in a sterling performance, yielding just four hits with one walk and 10 strikeouts, but Los Angeles stranded 11 runners on base and hit just 1-for-10 with men in a scoring position.
Their best chance was thwarted by Beltran in the 10th.
Second baseman Mark Ellis laced a one-out triple off Cardinals closer Trevor Rosenthal past lunging center-fielder John Jay to set up the scoring threat.
After an intentional walk to Hanley Ramirez, Michael Young hit a fly to right field that was corralled by Beltran, who unleashed a one-bounce bullet throw that landed in catcher Yadier Molina's mitt well before Ellis arrived at the plate.
Young, who came in to play first after Dodgers manager Don Mattingly opted to use a pinch-runner for Adrian Gonzalez in the eighth, also bounced into a double-play with men on first and second, and one out in the 12th, to end that chance.
In the deciding 13th, Descalso blooped a single to center, while pinch-hitting for pitcher Lynn, and moved to second when Carpenter drew a walk on four pitches.
Jansen fell behind in the count to Beltran, who pounced on a pitch down the middle to rip a line-drive for the game-winner.
"Three RBIs, walk-off hit and you throw a guy out at the plate to save the go-ahead run. It doesn't get much better than that," Descalso said about Beltran's brilliant night.


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Archive for Tuesday, October 30, 2012
Candidate questionnaire: Todd Thompson
October 30, 2012
Q: Why did you decide to run for county attorney? What would be your top priority if elected?
The Thompson File
Todd Thompson, Republican
Age: 37
Occupation: Leavenworth County Attorney
Married: No
Children: None
Experience: County attorney past four years, assistant county attorney for five years before that
Washburn law; bachelor's degree from Kansas University.
A: My commitment is to prosecuting crimes, protecting this community, thereby preserving our legacy. Law enforcement and citizens asked me to run four years ago. I ran because this is my home, my family's home for over 150 years and I am passionate about protecting it. When law enforcement came to me, they wanted better communication with the County Attorney's office. Victim's wanted the office to be more accessible. My priority has been to interact with and educate law enforcement officers so they understand what is needed to make solid, trial worthy cases. Our office is now paperlessand our digital system helps to track cases, making sure they are being reviewed in a timely manner, no more slipping through the cracks. We keep the officers informed throughout the process; why we have declined to file, what charges have been filed or that we need more information to make an informed decision. This has improved our understanding of what the victim's, their families and the community needs to best protect us from the criminal element. My top priority has always been to safeguard our community by prosecuting criminal offenses to the best of my ability.
Q: How does your experience qualify you for this office?
A: As County Attorney the role is much different than being an Assistant County Attorney. It's more than prosecuting. It's managing staff, case loads, and relationships with other agencies. When I took office I found that 30% of the police reports received had not been reviewed or filed. We processed through that backlog in six months. We now charge 40% more reports without any increase in the number received, including twice as many domestic violence cases, resulting in twice as many trials and more convictions. I developed a way to track cases, to ensure all cases are reviewed within the first two weeks and the ones that involve serious offenses or repeat offenders get reviewed within 48 hours. By doing this and improving communication, we have seen a steady decrease in crime throughout our community.
Q: What are the biggest challenges facing the county attorney?
A: The economy is everyone's biggest struggle, this greatly impacts the budget to gain and maintain law enforcement personnel, thus affecting the proactive approach in community policing. The budgets also concern me in regards to community resources for rehabilitation programs, especially for our juvenile defendants. The budget does not affect how we pursue cases, but we are ever mindful of alternate ways to fund the office. We have gone paperless; we use grants for salaries, and have initiated an intern program. Budgets may not allow for DUI or Drug courts, but we make prosecuting those cases a priority. We have to stay proactive, preserving resources where we can. Criminally, drugs will always be one of our biggest priorities. Drugs and alcohol have always played a large part of any homicides occurring in our community. Drug dependency is the lead reasonfor a majority of thefts, robberies and burglaries. We have seen firsthand a correlation between domestic violence cases, child in need of care actions and drug usage. By staying vigilant we will continue to keep crime down.
Q: Are there any areas in the county attorney's office you would like to improve?
A: An investigator is something that would greatly benefit our office when budgets allow.An investigator would give us the ability to find missing information, locate witnesses and strengthen cases through the use of new information. Grants have afforded us attorney positions, keeping these positions has lead to us to a better focus of our time and energy, providing better results in the cases we prosecute. We have been able to use money collected from drug cases to improve the technology we use in the office and the courtrooms. We continue to use these resources to look for new ways to advance our office.
Q: Why should voters select you instead of your opponent?
A: I have proven experience and leadership. Not only do I know how to prosecute cases, I have made sure our office has stayed on the forefront of technology on the advancements in prosecution. I put together a great staff ensuring the best result for our community. We have convicted multiple murderers, including one that got a hard 50 to life sentence. Another successful conviction was on a murder that occurred 19 years ago. We continue to receive convictions on burglars and robbers, and we seek prison sentences when possible. Recently we successfully prosecuted a pedophile from Tonganoxie; he was sentenced to life in prison. We have seen more cases charged, more trials held, more convictions and an overall decrease in crime. We need to stick with proven results, with the person who stood up and ran for office when it was in dire straits and turned it around. Vote Nov. 6 for me, Todd Thompson, and if you have any questions contact me via toddthompson.org.
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STERLING – Not to get your hopes up, but Fiesta Cancun Authentic Mexican Restaurant might open soon.
Eduardo Torres, manager of the Fiesta Cancun in Freeport, which is under the same ownership, told me today that the owner hopes to open the Sterling eatery next month.
The city has not yet issued an occupancy permit for the restaurant at 3203 E. Lincolnway, said Hilda Thielen, code enforcement secretary.
The city did issue a permit in late June Allstate Restaurant Equipment, so it could install an exhaust hood, Thielen said.


text:
Baptist Memorial Hospital-Memphis and The Regional Medical Center at Memphis are leading the pack in efforts to reduce patient readmissions with 30 days of hospital stays.
Dr. Todd Lang and Kenneth Booker converse at Baptist Memorial Hospital-Memphis admissions. The hospital has reduced readmissions and the fines associated with them.
(Memphis News/Andrew J. Breig)
This year Medicare will levy $227 million in penalties against hospitals across the country that performed below expectations for readmissions.
Baptist is one of only a few hospitals in Tennessee that did not incur a penalty for readmissions in either of the first two years of the program, and The MED received no readmissions penalty last year and only 0.03 percent penalty this year.
"We're confident that next year's results and the subsequent years' will also come out favorably due to the things we've hardwired into our operations over the past year like post-discharge phone calls and bedside change of shift reporting that engage the patients and their families," said Baptist administrator and CEO Derick Ziegler.
The penalties are assessed on comparative data of each hospital's observed readmissions to the expected readmissions based on the severity of illness.
Approximately 2,225 hospitals will have Medicare payments reduced for a year starting Oct. 1. Eighteen hospitals will lose the maximum 2 percent, and another 154 will lose 1 percent or more of every payment for a patient stay.
In addition to a high number of readmissions, hospitals can also be penalized for high overall cost for Medicare beneficiaries resulting from longer hospital stays and for meaningful use criteria with electronic records.
Up to 8 percent of each hospital's Medicare dollars are at risk for all categories combined.
"We have a heavy Medicare population, so an 8 percent penalty would be significant – somewhere near $14 million," Ziegler said.
To tackle the issue head on, in 2008 Baptist joined a readmissions collaborative from the Institute for Healthcare Improvement and spent two years investigating best practices to prevent readmissions by deploying strategies and involving the local community.
"Our major success with this initiative is proactive response," said Darla Belt, Baptist director of nursing and administrative director of quality.
First, Baptist defined its at-risk population, allowing it to look at patient readmissions by demographic. Then its multidisciplinary team looked at the patients' social needs, discharge plans, the state of their chronic illness, follow-up appointments and even end-of-life planning.
Getting the discharge plan done within the first 24 hours of the patient's admission is critical, according to Belt.
Baptist is now ranked in the top 10 percent in the country for overall readmissions. The hospital continually gathers useful data from readmission questionnaires given to every returning patient.
"We were able to isolate trends by time of day or with patients who live alone or those with anxiety," said Belt, who is also a member of the Tennessee Hospital Association's readmissions panel. "We have communication boards within the rooms for family concerns, and patients receive post-discharge phone calls to address things like whether they had any trouble making their appointment and any other issues."
The MED also is keeping its Medicare readmissions rate low, thanks in part to having a smaller overall Medicare population compared to some other area hospitals.
"The Medicare readmissions penalty has been on our radar for quite some time, and we are working to better manage patients that have been discharged so they get the appropriate follow-ups and connect them with our primary care clinics to make sure they get the correct outpatient care," said Dr. Reginald Coopwood, MED president and CEO.
The MED's Medicare population measures roughly 12 percent to 15 percent, while Baptist's is estimated at 67 percent to 70 percent.
"Although we do not have a high number of Medicare patients, a penalty would still be significant for us if we do not focus on it," Coopwood said. "Any dollars we do not get is significant because of the high number of uninsured and under-insured that The MED takes care of."
The uninsured currently make up 28 percent to 30 percent of The MED's overall patient load.
Many local hospitals will receive a lower fine this year for Medicare readmissions, mimicking a national trend. The overall total for Medicare readmission fines is $53 million less this year compared to last, with 1,371 hospitals to receive a lower fine. Medicare is increasing penalties for 1,074 hospitals.
Locally, Saint Francis Hospital will receive a 0.08 percent penalty compared to 0.33 percent last year, while Methodist Healthcare Memphis hospitals will feel a 0.57 percent penalty compared to a 0.74 percent penalty last year.


text: I have a small bump on my on my nipple. Its painful while BF my son. It doesn't itch just hurts at times. It came about a few months ago and wasn't too much of a problem but thought it would just go away. Hasn't gotten any bigger or worse but more painful when nusring. Any help? Thank you


text:
Ah, sugar. How do we love thee? Let me count the ways. And how do you love us back? With obesity, lack of focus, Type 2 diabetes, elevated triglycerides and more. Are we to live a bitter life with no sweet seductions? Of course not. We'll discuss sweet alternatives to sugar, balancing our bodies so sweets are lovely treats, but not craved addictions and how to cook to satisfy our needy sweet tooth.
Visit the Website: http://www.christinacooks.com
Episode #123 / Length: 26 minutes