text:
"THE 48th ANNUAL ACADEMY OF COUNTRY MUSIC AWARDS" POSTS BIGGEST AUDIENCE IN 15 YEARS
"The ACM Awards" Top Sunday with Largest Audience Since 1998, Best Households and A18-49 Since 2001 and Best A25-54 Since 2000
Up +39% From Last Year in A18-49, +26% in A25-54
Tops "The CMA Awards" In-Season for the First Time in Viewers, A18-49 and A25-54
Since the Advent of People Meters
The 48th ANNUAL ACADEMY OF COUNTRY MUSIC AWARDS led CBS to a Sunday night victory as the night's top program in viewers and demographics with the event's highest measures in viewers since 1998, in households and adults 18-49 since 2001, and in adults 25-54 since 2000, according to Nielsen preliminary live plus same day ratings for April 7.
Sunday night's broadcast also marked the first time that the ACM Awards have beaten the same season's Country Music Awards (CMAs) in these ratings categories since the advent of people meters.
THE ACM AWARDS (S) swept the night in households (9.2/14), viewers (15.38m), adults 25-54 (5.3/12) and adults 18-49 (4.3/11). THE ACM AWARDS posted its best deliveries in households and adults 18-49 since 2001, in adults 25-54 since 2000 and largest audience since 1998. Compared to last year's ceremony (on April 1), THE ACM AWARDS was up +16% in households (from 7.9/13), +26% in adults 25-54 (from 4.2/10), +39% in adults 18-49 (from 3.1/08) and added +2.29m viewers (from 13.09m, +17%).
Compared to "The CMA Awards" on ABC on Nov. 1, THE ACM AWARDS was ahead by +8% in households (from 8.5/13), +13% in both adults 25-54 (from 4.7/11) and adults 18-49 (from 3.8/10), and led by +1.70m viewers (from 13.68m, +12%).
THE ACM AWARDS also broke records online and on social media. Social media mentions around this year's show hit an all-time high, up +285% over last year, according to SocialGuide, and visits to ACM Awards content on CBS.com were up +136% over last year. In addition, more than 1.1 million votes were cast for the Entertainer of the Year and New Artist of the Year categories combined, an increase of +22% over last year's vote.
For the night, CBS was first in households (8.4/14), viewers (13.87m), adults 25-54 (4.5/11) and adults 18-49 (3.6/10) for the sixth consecutive Sunday and the seventh time in eight weeks.
Updated Sunday ratings will be available tomorrow.


text:
People's eyes are being subjected to damaging factors from common surroundings and lifestyle choices daily – yet the lack of awareness of the causes, means that people are not taking action to protect their eyes.
Scientific studies have linked exposure to blue light and reflected UV light, along with smoking, obesity, and poor diet to decreased eye health including age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and cataracts. [1]
Many people are unaware of blue light which is emitted from devices, screens, and low energy bulbs – whilst large numbers think of Ultra-Violet light as only a danger when looking directly at the sun, not realizing that there reflections off water, windows, and roads.
Essilor has conducted a poll through YouGov to find out just how low awareness of these dangers is. Of the 2,096 people polled:
- 29% that blue light was also damaging.
- 76% had not heard of E-SPF* ratings and how they protect eyes from UV.
- 72% of people were unaware that blue and UV light blocking lenses were an option for either.
- 36% knew that smoking tobacco harmed your eyes
- 35% knew the same about obesity
- One in ten people were completely unaware that any of these factors could affect your eyesight at all.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
We have been working in and developing content on OpenSim since September 2007, when we first logged into what would become the OSGrid. Fashion Research Institute is the oldest professional content creator on OpenSim. Our current research collaboration with Intel Lab® is focused on content management and movement using the OpenSim-based ScienceSim as our test platform. With Linden Lab's recent announcements about price changes and the closure of Teen Second Life grid, we are seeing increased interest from educators and other consumers of content, many of whom are confused about what they can and cannot do with content they 'purchased' in Second Life®, and where to go for content which they have a legal right to use in their pending OpenSim-based educational grids.
In the hope of helping to alleviate some of the confusion, we offer here some of the insight we have acquired over the years of working in OpenSim and the best practices we ourselves use in developing our content in OpenSim.
We started moving our content out of Second Life® a year or so ago, and closed our final avatar apparel line last Spring, after Linden Lab® made some ToS announcements. Our area of expertise, as one may expect from the Fashion Research Institute, is avatar customization content. We needed a substantial catalog of content to outfit our avatar models on our Virtual Runway™ product. We have also developed content libraries of PG-rated avatars and a well-tested orientation region for OpenSim for various organizations to use on their OpenSim-based grids such as ScienceSim. We now have a huge body of content available for licensing by those who need an orientation program or avatar customization content.
Although we finished backing up our content from Second Life® six months ago, what follows is our 'best practices' from that process.
We had an extensive collection of avatar content we had developed over the years. We found that the best tool to move this content was Stored Inventory. (aka Second Inventory) It will move the contents of prim containers, including scripts, textures and other objects. Although the process itself is slow, it is also relatively mindless and can be performed in the background while other tasks are being accomplished, or given to an intern for completion. All content brought in using Second Inventory should be checked for completeness, as it is prone to not completely backing up containers of content.
Please note that Stored Inventory will only allow the actual content creator to move his or her own content. If a user licensed content within Second Life®, but they are not the content creator, they will not be allowed to move that content.
Something a content user should be concerned about is knowing the provenance of the content they are acquiring: who made it and is it original content. Professional content developers will do business either under a business name, which should be registered and have a employer identification number of some sort, or as a real life individual who will also have some sort of taxpayer identification number. If a content creator refuses to provide such information you may wish to reconsider conducting business with them. There is no way for you to track them down if there proves to be a legal or other issue with content you may have licensed from them.
Of course, licensing or purchasing content that uses trademarks owned by real world organizations is also rife with issues. Most of the owners of these marks didn't license them for use by Second life® or OpenSim developers, so you run the risk of legal liability. Can your nonprofit, for profit, or school afford the legal fees to defend itself? If not, be very careful about allowing licensed trade or service marks into your content.
A final bit of advice, when a content consumer decides to move their content from Second Life® into OpenSim, or decides to license new content from a creator, make sure you document all of your content, including any licensing information, and back up that up in a commonly accessible document management system so that everyone in your organization that handles content has access to it. Create a special OS region where all you do is bring your content in and curate that region. Have your admin make OAR files early and often: nothing is worse than losing hours of backup because the region failed to save to the server properly. When you are all done with the region, make sure you have some sort of record of what is contained within the region, and then link that record to your OAR file for back ups.
NOTE: Due to the announcement today from Linden Lab regarding yet another change in the ToS, the Professional Virtua Designer Society will be holding a special session to discuss how these new terms can affect content creators. For more information about the PVDS, visit http://bit.ly/bQydjR.


text:
What a Budget Can Do for You
A budget is a plan for spending the income you have, building savings and using credit wisely. In short, a budget allows you to control the direction of your financial future. Here's a list of things a budget can help you do:
Reach your life's goals. First figure out what your priorities and goals in life are, then work out a realistic saving and spending plan that helps you achieve those goals.
Calculate how much your regular expenses are. Allocating money for every expense puts you in control of your money, deciding how your money's used and helping you pay your bills on time. You have the power to make better decisions on how you spend your income.
Know just how much your regular income is. The amount you actually earn after tax may be less than you think. So, unless you change jobs or take a second job, you need to live within your means. By bringing spending in line with income, you ensure you don't accumulate unmanageable debt and risk your good credit standing.
Prepare for unexpected events. An expected cost, such as a large dental bill, can blow your budget. To lessen the pain, it's wise to budget for emergencies.
Get and stay out of debt. Because budgeting brings expenses in line with income, your debt level falls. Making regular payments can get you right out of debt.
Build your credit. Pay off the balances on your credit cards, for example, and both your available credit and financial standing go up.
Reduce stress. Gaining control over your finances relieves the constant worry over money, which can cause sleepless nights, reduced productivity at work and, at worst, family breakdown.
Stay healthy. By making provision in your budget for health insurance cover, you can take advantage of health benefits for yourself and your family.
Look forward to retirement. By calculating how much you'll need when you retire and at what age you're going to retire, and then putting money into super, retirement need not be something to dread.


text:
Having trouble making hamantaschen for Purim? Maybe your hamantaschen are spreading or opening when they bake. Maybe they're losing their shape. Maybe the filling is leaking. Maybe you're having trouble folding your cookies into neat triangles. Or maybe you're just looking for an easy hamantaschen recipe that will get you perfect results, every time. Whatever your question, I'm here to help!
I compiled this list of tips to help people who are new to baking hamantaschen. It took me several years to master the proper technique and develop some terrific dough recipes. I now have a firm understanding of what it takes to make pretty and delicious hamantaschen. I want to share that knowledge with you, so you can avoid some of the pitfalls I've encountered over the years. Hopefully my tips will help obtain a tasty and beautiful result from the very first try!
Tips for Creating Perfect Hamantaschen
1) Find a great dough recipe. Often, the problems people have with baking hamantaschen can be traced to an inferior dough. Here are two foolproof, tasty dough recipes that I highly recommend. They are easy to handle and shape, and they provide great results when baked:
2) Roll your dough out to 1/8 inch thick (or less). You want your dough to be as thin as possible, while still being thick enough to maintain the cookie's structure. 1/8 inch seems to be the magic number; sometimes I roll mine out even thinner than that. For a more doughy texture you can roll it thicker, but remember– the thicker the dough is, the harder it will be to handle and shape. Thick dough is also more prone to opening/spreading in the oven.
3) Use a thick filling that won't run/weep from the cookies while baking. Knowing the proper consistency of a hamantaschen filling takes experience, because each type of filling is slightly different. Poppyseed filling has a very different texture than fruit filling, for example. A good filling should be somewhat thick so that it doesn't run. However, you don't want it too thick, or it will bake up dry or tough. It's best to follow a tested and proven recipe. Here are some of the filling recipes available on my site, all of them have been thoroughly tested and I recommend them with confidence:
Rabbi Olitzky's Chocolate Chip Cream Cheese Filling
4) Cut your hamantaschen dough in 3-inch circles (or larger) before filling and folding into triangles. Anything smaller than 3 inches will be difficult to fold around your chosen filling.
5) Most fillings can be chilled before using to fill hamantaschen. I've found that fruit, poppy seed, and cream cheese-based fillings tend to be easier to work with when they're chilled in the refrigerator. The chilling process thickens the fillings and makes them less sticky, which makes them easier to handle with when you're assembling your hamantaschen. Not all fillings are helped by refrigeration, however– particularly chocolate-based fillings like Nutella, which will harden with prolonged refrigeration. Check your filling recipe to see if refrigeration is recommended.
6) Do not overfill your hamantaschen. Use 1 teaspoon of filling per hamantaschen cookie. Do not use more than 1 teaspoon. However tempting it might be to put lots of delicious filling in the middle of your cookie, using more than 1 teaspoon can cause your hamantaschen to spread open and leak in the oven. 1 teaspoon is plenty, especially when you cut your dough circles to 3 inches… it's the perfect amount of filling.
7) Fold your triangles the right way! Using the proper folding method will help your hamantschen hold together and create a beautiful shape. I've provided detailed, illustrated, step-by-step folding instructions below.
Follow these tips, and you'll be creating beautiful batches of homemade hamantaschen in no time! What are your favorite hamantaschen fillings?
How to Fold Hamantaschen
30 minutes
30 minutes
Parve or Dairy, depending on preparation
1 hour
Tutorial for folding hamantaschen cookies that won't open up or spill. Dough and filling recipes in blog post above.
- Hamantaschen dough , recipe options linked in blog post above
- Filling of your choice , filling recipes linked in blog post above
Recipe Notes
Nutritional Information: The values here are from my Dairy Free Hamantaschen dough recipe, 1 cookie per serving. Recipe here.
Roll dough between 1/8 - 1/4 inch thick and cut into circles with a cookie cutter or glass rim that is at least 3 inches wide.
Place a teaspoon of filling (whichever filling you choose) into the center of each circle. Do not use more than a teaspoon of filling, or you run the risk of your hamantaschen opening and filling spilling out during baking. Cover unused circles with a lightly damp towel to prevent them from drying out while you are filling.
Assemble the hamantaschen in three steps. First, grasp the left side of the circle and fold it towards the center to make a flap that covers the left third of the circle.
Grasp the right side of the circle and fold it towards the center, overlapping the upper part of the left side flap to create a triangular tip at the top of the circle. A small triangle of filling should still be visible in the center.
Grasp the bottom part of the circle and fold it upward to create a third flap and complete the triangle. When you fold this flap up, be sure to tuck the left side of this new flap underneath the left side of the triangle, while letting the right side of this new flap overlap the right side of the triangle. This way, each side of your triangle has a corner that folds over and a corner that folds under-- it creates a "pinwheel" effect. This method if folding is not only pretty-- it will help to keep the cookies from opening while they bake.
Pinch each corner of the triangle gently but firmly to secure the shape.
Repeat this process for the remaining dough circles. Bake according to recipe instructions.
See recipe links above for nutritional information related to specific recipes.


text:
Beaumont bat tests positive for rabies
According to the Texas Department of State Health Services, a man employed with TruTech Animal Removal out of Houston, was removing bats out of a house at 2486 Pierce St. in Beaumont earlier this week. It is unclear whether the man was bitten or just exposed to the bat, but it was shipped by the individual to Austin to be tested for rabies. The test came back positive.
Beaumont Animal Services would like to remind the public not to touch bats if they find one on the ground or inside a building. Place something over the bat like a coffee can and call animal control to have the bat removed.
This time of year is maternity season for bats. Sometimes female bats will be weighted down with pups and forced to the ground, or young bats may be found resting on the ground. To the untrained eye, it would be hard to tell if this were the case or if the bats were sick. This is why Animal Services recommends not touching the bat.
Bats are a protected species of animals, so do not try to kill them. Bats are also very beneficial to the ecosystem. Just one bat, can eat thousands of insects in an evening. For more information on bats, you can look them up on the web at www.batworld.org.
For more information on rabies, you go to www.dshs.state.tx.us.


text:
Search results
- Services
- Information
Order by: relevance
Showing results 1 to 1 of 1
Central Cheshire Buddy Scheme (CCBS)
Short Breaks for carers of children
Refine your search
Filter your results
Currently viewing
Postcode Area
Age Band
Provides support to
Accessibility aids and support available
Areas covered in Cheshire East
Communication aids and support available
- Makaton (1)
Sector Type
Accepted referral methods
How is the service provided?
Is a referral required?
- Yes (1)
Provides personal care?
- Yes (1)
When there is an emergency - serious risk of injury, risk of serious damage to property or a crime in progress - dial 999.


text:
Ridgewood closes doors, for sale
Some two months after the owner closed the Ridgewood Retirement Community rather than address a number of health department and city building code violations, residents have relocated and the owner has put the decaying facility up for sale.
The Examiner published the first of a series of articles in May 2013 detailing sub-par conditions inside the assisted living home. Numerous residents interviewed by The Examiner complained about food quality, the conditions of their rooms and retaliation from staff when complaints were made. But it wasn't until a health department inspection was conducted by the city that the full extent of Ridgewood's problems became known.
According to city health inspectors, Ridgewood's kitchen and refrigeration equipment were completely unsanitary and unusable. Later, reports from city building code inspectors revealed a host of roofing, air conditioning and electrical problems that, until remedied, would keep the city coming back time and again.
After a few months of attempting to fix the problems, it seems Ridgewood's maintenance needs became too much for the owner, Samuel Pinter of New York, to handle. The closure was announced in October.
"Everything is closed down," said Faye Bowman, Pinter's corporate manager in Texas, in a late December interview with The Examiner. Bowman said all of Ridgewood's residents were relocated to facilities around Southeast Texas, adding none of the residents chose another of Pinter's facilities in other Texas cities.
"We furnished a U-haul and moved everybody like we said we would," Bowman said.
In the past, former Houston Mayor Bill White has called Pinter a "slum landlord," and Pinter had to pay $44.8 million for federal mortgage fraud in July 2010 in a U.S. District Court in New York.
The Examiner caught up with Pinter's son, Charles Pinter, who said Ridgewood's problems were a direct result of hurricane damage.
"We were losing $10,000 a month for the last two years," Pinter said. "We spent a quarter million dollars putting in good money after bad money and it got to the point where we had issues with the roof. We tried many different ways to do as much as we could with the means that we had, and we were losing money. To put more money into a bad investment at that point after the hurricane, we didn't find it feasible."
Charles Pinter also blamed a disgruntled employee, Phillip Copeland, who was interviewed by The Examiner and who Charles Pinter said was fired for lying to the city about the true nature of Ridgewood's problems.
He was fired less than three months after Copeland said he was hired to make repairs at the facility. Copeland even took out a permit and became bonded with the city's building codes department, only to be fired a few weeks later.
"When you have a disgruntled person or someone has different agenda to do what he wants to do and cause all kinds of false accusations, it's like fighting city hall and fighting false accusations," Charles Pinter said. "Unfortunately, sometimes people succeed and that's exactly what happened."
Charles Pinter said the facility needed at least 30 to keep the doors open, compared to the 15 or so who lived at Ridgewood when it closed. Pinter has lowered Ridgewood's price to a little more than $500,000 due to the likely cost of fixing problems created by what lead city building code inspector Boyd Mier called "a lack of routine maintenance."
Charles Pinter said it could cost as much as $1 million to completely fix Ridgewood's ails.
"The standards of what it is to bring it up to par, up to code, as well as bringing it up to today's standards compared to what patients were looking for 20 years ago, it's very likely," he said. "A lot of people have been living there for 20 years, so when they moved in 20 years ago, 15 years ago, there were different standards than there are today."
It seems the assisted living business isn't an easy one, as Pinter said most elderly Southeast Texans simply don't have enough money.
"Once they move out, very often they don't come back," Charles Pinter said. "So once you lose that revenue, it doesn't come back. People just won't move in tomorrow because there aren't that many elderly people who can afford assisted living."


text:
1998 Toyota 4Runner - Meth Addict
Adding Water/Methanol Injection To Your Engine
When you think of water getting into your engine the first thing that comes to mind is probably that you hydrolocked it by crossing water that was too deep. But did you know that small amounts of water can actually be good for your engine?
Water injection cools the intake charge and steam-cleans your cylinders. Methanol is a fuel that can be injected at the same time to keep your engine from running too lean. This idea isn't new. It was used on B-17 bombers back in World War II. Now instead of fighting the Axis powers we are applying the same technology to a Japanese engine, namely the 5VZ-FE V-6 in our '98 4Runner.
Bolting a TRD supercharger onto the top of the 3.4L engine was relatively easy, but getting it to run right with the added boost proved tricky. Our biggest problem was detonation when we punched the throttle hard from low rpm. If we coaxed the engine up to higher revs gently, it was fine, but that is not always an option in the mud or sand. The problem is fairly well known: Fuel must be added to compensate for the added air coming into the engine.
We made a call to DevilsOwn Methanol Injection to get a universal Stage 1 kit. The kit, which was inexpensive and very complete, uses a simple on-off pressure switch to activate the pump. The Stage 2 system adds a progressive controller but it is more expensive and more complicated than the Stage 1 system we installed. If you are really pinching pennies you could piece together your own system, but by the time you get quality parts and burn gas making trips to the part store you wouldn't be too far ahead of the DevilsOwn system.
Installation was done by Alex Baker at Samco Fabrication in an afternoon, but the system includes thorough instructions and could easily be installed at home over a weekend. We used the windshield washer reservoir due to space; DevilsOwn includes a self-sealing fitting for this. The reservoir holds about a gallon, and we have been consuming about half a gallon of 50/50 distilled water and methanol for every tank of fuel (about 250 miles). It is possible to wire in a light or gauge to indicate when the reservoir is low, but we just top it off every time we fill the tank. The system was inexpensive, installed quickly, and has cured all of our part throttle issues. Sometimes putting water in your engine is a good thing!
Other Options
Underdog Racing Development has made a business out of addressing the shortcomings of TRD superchargers, with several options to solve the lean condition that can result in hashed bearings or melted pistons. Underdog's original solution used replacement fuel injectors with higher flow rates, a high-volume fuel pump, and a performance calibration unit to eliminate part throttle pinging and high-rpm lean conditions. Underdog also has a kit that adds an injector to the EGR port of the supercharger to richen the fuel mixture and cool the incoming air, and a performance calibration unit that requires minimal tuning by the end user. These methods are more expensive that the water/meth injection we added, but you never have to worry about filling up your water tank or searching for methanol in the middle of nowhere.


text:
Personal Finance
Record $13 billion settlement by JPMorgan Chase could aid homeowners
Thousands of homeowners could get some mortgage relief under a record $13 billion deal reached Tuesday between the Justice Department and banking giant JPMorgan Chase, the largest such government settlement with a single entity.
Long in the making, the settlement resolves allegations about the bank's liability for financially toxic packages of mortgage-backed securities sold to unsuspecting investors. It comprises $9 billion to settle federal claims and those from individual states, such as California, plus $4 billion in consumer relief.
It's the most highly anticipated settlement to arise from the housing market crash and general economic calamity that came to a head in 2008.
"Without a doubt, the conduct uncovered in this investigation helped sow the seeds of the mortgage meltdown," Attorney General Eric Holder said. "JPMorgan was not the only financial institution during this period to knowingly bundle toxic loans and sell them to unsuspecting investors, but that is no excuse for the firm's behavior."
In the settlement, JPMorgan Chase acknowledged a set of facts laid out by the Justice Department, stopping short of an outright admission of guilt. Those facts included a statement that JPMorgan Chase employees – not just those of lenders it had purchased – knowingly signed off on the sales of complex mortgage bonds that they knew didn't meet compliance guidelines.
In a statement, company CEO Jamie Dimon said he was "pleased to have concluded this extensive agreement" and that it covered a "very significant portion" of lawsuits that involved JPMorgan Chase and two lenders it had purchased in 2008.
The investigation included help from U.S. attorneys in New York, California, Delaware, Illinois, Texas, Massachusetts and Pennsylvania.
It does not close the book on Wall Street misdeeds, Holder warned.
"The size and scope of this resolution should send a clear signal that the Justice Department's financial fraud investigations are far from over," he said. "No firm, no matter how profitable, is above the law, and the passage of time is no shield from accountability."
For investors, homeowners and certain foreclosure-stricken communities, the settlement promises several kinds of aid. But it failed to fully satisfy consumer advocates, who said it came too late to help the 5.1 million American homeowners with foreclosures that have been completed since the housing crisis began, many of them in Florida and California. Those states saw 517,121 and 941,485 foreclosures, respectively, from January 2007 to the present, according to data that the researcher RealtyTrac compiled for McClatchy.
"We wish it had been earlier, when it really could have helped more people," said Ed Mierzwinski, the consumer program director for the group U.S. PIRG. "The company is, to a large extent, trying to improve its social standing by essentially appearing to be a good citizen . . . but they delayed it so long. There is a huge cost of delay."
California will recover $298.9 million in damages, to cover losses to the pension funds that serve state employees and teachers.
"JPMorgan Chase profited by giving California's pension funds incomplete information ," California Attorney General Kamala Harris said. "This settlement returns the money to California's pension funds that JPMorgan wrongfully took from them."
The last piece of the settlement to come together, and for many the most potentially significant, is the $4 billion in assorted relief for homeowners. Some whose mortgages are "underwater," meaning they owe more than their homes are worth, might see some of their outstanding loans reduced. Others may secure lower monthly payments through forbearance, in which homeowners who are late on payments can restructure the mortgages to have lower monthly charges while still owing the same amounts.
Some consumer advocates questioned whether that forbearance actually helps struggling homeowners.
"Are they really, when they do $50,000 in forbearance, giving up the $50,000? The reality is they're going to get it back at some point," said Ira Rheingold, the executive director of the National Association of Consumer Advocates. "When they say $4 billion, is it really costing them (JPMorgan Chase) $4 billion or is it costing them $500 million? Who really knows?"
Homeowners can seek relief directly or via their lenders through existing loan-modification programs run by the Treasury Department and the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Many of the bad loans were underwritten or purchased by two failed lenders that JPMorgan Chase had bought. Some came from Washington Mutual, a Pacific Coast thrift bought from government receivership in 2008. JPMorgan had argued before Tuesday that the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. should have dealt with any claims against Washington Mutual.
Other bad loans inherited by JPMorgan Chase came on the watch of failed investment bank Bear Stearns. That troubled Wall Street player was purchased for cents on the dollar in March 2008, when the Bush administration pressed JPMorgan Chase to buy it in an effort to stabilize the financial system.
But the Justice Department statement noted that JPMorgan Chase employees were involved in misrepresentations to investors before Jan. 1, 2009.
JPMorgan Chase had set aside $23 billion for potential litigation regarding the two troubled lenders it purchased. The sum of Tuesday's deal included a $4 billion settlement already reached with the Federal Housing Finance Agency, the regulator of mortgage finance.
CEO Dimon emerged from the financial crisis as Wall Street's most revered executive, steering the bank through stormy waters. But his shine had lost its luster lately as the bank entered into numerous settlements exceeding $1 billion for alleged wrongdoing not only in mortgage finance but also financial markets more broadly. These included the infamous "London Whale" incident, in which a single overseas trader for the bank incurred losses above $6 billion, and alleged manipulation of West Coast energy prices.
Tuesday's settlement instructs JPMorgan Chase to provide relief for demolishing abandoned and foreclosed homes and other actions in blighted neighborhoods. Eligibility would be tied to regions associated with high foreclosure levels, such as those found during the depths of the housing crisis in areas that include North Carolina, Florida and California's San Joaquin Valley.
The $4 billion also includes money to be used for originating new mortgages for borrowers with low and moderate incomes. The bank must spend the $4 billion by the end of 2016 and must hire an independent monitor to oversee the settlement operations.
Other notable housing-crisis developments include:
– November: The U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York brought action seeking an $860 million-plus settlement with Bank of America over bad loans underwritten by disgraced California-based lender Countrywide Financial.
– January: Government regulators settled with 10 major banks – including Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, Citibank and Wells Fargo – for at least $8.5 billion over misdeeds by mortgage servicers, who collect mortgage payments on behalf of investors.
– January: Bank of America settled with mortgage finance giant Fannie Mae, paying $3.6 billion and buying back more than 30,000 bad loans that Countrywide originated from 2000 to 2008.
– February 2012: State and federal regulators settled for more than $25 billion with five major banks over foreclosure abuses.


text:
The demise of the cassette tape was never fully experienced in my kitchen or in my wife's car over the past number of years. I have about ten tapes set aside which still get played to bits, most of them are compilations but there are also a few albums in there too, such as Iron […]
- 'One more thing gets thrown up on stage and I'm leaving'… Meat Loaf in Ireland '89In 1989 Meatloaf was in a sort of rock 'n' roll
- NEW SITE COMING SOONThanks for the visit. There's a new site coming soon,
- Terry McMahon's Mullingar Patrick's Day paradeToday (Wednesday January 28) will see writer/director Terry
writing about…808 State Andrew MacManus Bell X1 Big Tom Come Taste the Band david kitt Declan Murray Declan Nerney Deep Purple Des Bishop Dire Straits Duffy Eric Bell Frank Byrne Greville Arms Hotel Hayseed Dixie HotHouse Flowers Joe Dolan Johnny Cash Joseph Arthur Kíla Luka Bloom Mary Coughlan Mike Scott Mojo Mullingar Mundy Paddy Casey Pink Floyd Rodrigo y Gabriela rte Saxon Sunday World The Aftermath The Blizzards The Frames The Jimmy Cake The Saw Doctors The Stables The Stables Mullingar The Walls Tommy MacManus TV3 U2 Watercress
- No tweets available at the moment.
Powered by Twitter Tools


text:
Iconic Pictures From the Oscars
Revisit Iconic Oscars Moments From the Past!
Revisit Iconic Oscars Moments From the Past!
The Oscars are almost here! We're gearing up for the star-studded night by taking a look back at some of the Academy Awards' most iconic moments. Way back in 1998, Ben Affleck and Matt Damon won their first statues for Good Will Hunting and showed off their excitement in the press room, Adrien Brody laid a big kiss on Halle Berry in 2003, Angelina Jolie's right leg became famous when she posed with Brad Pitt for the 2012 show, and Jennifer Lawrence made the audience gasp when she tripped up the stairs en route to accept her 2013 best actress award for Silver Linings Playbook. For these moments and many more, keep scrolling through the historic photos, and then gear up for the Academy Awards by voting in our Oscars ballot.
0previous images
35more images


text:
Public Works is the heartbeat of any city, developing and maintaining buildings, roads, water systems, solid waste handling, and administration. The people who work in public works are solving some of the toughest problems faced by our communities, our country, and our world.
The Discover Public Works tab is provided for the general public to learn more about the world of public works and find out about careers in the public works profession. It also provides public works departments community outreach resources in public works,


text:
The City Council last night approved a new $376 million general fund budget. The vote was six-to-three.
Jay Schenirer was among the council members voting against the spending plan…partly because it relies on projected revenues that the city doesn't actually have yet.
"What I don't want is to get into a position where in two years we're now laying off people that we've just hired."
The Sacramento City Council and the city finance managers have disagreed on when new Measure U tax revenues should be spent on the police, fire, and parks departments.
According to the finance department, the budget plan that passed last night has a smaller reserve in place that could create a nine-Million dollar deficit in the year 2019.


text:
The MVH 90E/200E, MVH 90EL/200EL equipment is the latest generation of MVH vibration tester with new working range and new design.
The SKF MVH equipment is used to precisely analyse the structure-borne noise and vibration of deep groove ball bearings, angular contact ball bearings, self aligning ball bearings, spherical roller bearings, and more.
The machines are also used as the SKF reference equipment for these measurements.
The MVH 90E/200E are equipped with the common MEA 200 vibration sensor. In the MVH 90EL/200EL, the new SKF Laser Vibrometer MSL-7000 for contactless measurement is used.


text:
- Follow The Opinionated Gamers on WordPress.com
Support the Opinionated Gamers! If you enjoy our content here, help keep us ad-free and independent!
Recent Posts
- BGGCON Day One (2019)
- Dale Yu – First Impressions of Keyforge: Worlds Collide
- RollingCon 2019
- Mark's Bundle of 2019 Essen Game Thoughts
- The Opinionated Gamers give quick takes on SPIEL 2019 games – part 3 of ??? – updated as of November 17
- Brandon Kempf – Three Games from Essen 2019
- Autumn Game Market Anticipation Post (ゲームマーケット2019秋プレビュー)
- Alexa: Launch Ticket to Ride
- A Long Weekend of Gaming at Lobster Trap
- Patrick Brennan: Game Snapshots –2019 (Part 23)
- Dale Yu: Review of SPIEL 2019
- The Opinionated Gamers give quick takes on SPIEL 2019 games – part 2 of ??? – updated as of November 11
- Matt Carlson: Review of New Frontiers
- Anatomy of a Gaming Experience: Glen More II (Article by Chris Wray)
Follow me on TwitterMy Tweets
Recent Comments
BGGCON Day One (2019… on Habitats (review feat. Morisi… Dale Yu – First Impr… on Dale Yu – First Impressions of… Dale Yu – First Impr… on Dale Yu: Review of Keyforge: A… David Stewart on The Opinionated Gamers give qu… xitoliv on RollingCon 2019 W. Eric Martin on RollingCon 2019 Deacon_Spires on RollingCon 2019 RollingCon 2019… on RollingCon 2019 XLR8DMadness on RollingCon 2019 Dale Yu on RollingCon 2019
Blogs by the Opinionated Gamers
Blogs in English
- 2d6.org
- About.com – Boardgames
- Board Game Blues
- Board Game Industry Directory
- Board Game Reviews by Josh
- Boardgames in Blighty
- Bruno Faidutti's Site
- GamerChris
- Mango's Gaming
- Mikko's Gameblog
- Purple Pawn
- Seize Your Turn
- Simply Board
- Spiel: Boardgames in the UK
- The Gaming Gang
- The Superfly Circus
- The Tao of Gaming
Blogs in other languages
Gaming Sites the OGs Frequent
Tag Archives: Aaron Weissblum
Brandon Kempf: Three Games – Three Older Euros
I have a lot of games. A lot of games that are on my shelves, or on my table being played, that I have told myself that I want to review at some point. For one reason or another, this … Continue reading
Posted in Reviews Tagged Aaron Weissblum, Alan Moon, Brandon Kempf, China, Michael Kiesling, Michael Schacht, Pueblo, San Marco, Three Games, Wolfgang Kramer 5 Comments
Review of Celestia
Designer: Aaron Weissblum Publisher: Blam ! Editions Players: 2 – 6 Ages: 8 and Up Time: 30 Minutes Times Played: > 5 In Aaron Weissblum's latest game, a revamped version of 1999's Cloud 9, players board a cloudship to collect … Continue reading
Posted in Reviews Tagged Aaron Weissblum, Blam, Celestia Leave a comment


text:
Hernando County Fairgrounds
6346 Broad Street
Brooksville, FL
*12/1/18 Update - Show has been cancelled*
TRIPLE Show
For more information, contact:
Club President: Jonathan Stone
Club Secretary: Craig Prusansky
For current date and for other Florida shows, CLICK HERE
Do you have the catalog available for this event? If so, please send the file to firstname.lastname@example.com so it can be added to the event page for others to download.
P.S. Do not use this email to request a catalog if it is not listed on the page. Once we have one, it will be posted.
Are you aware of any corrections to this information?
Our goal is up-to-date & accurate on Poultry Show Central and we rely on your help!
Share your pictures, show results, show reports or your favorite memories.
What can we help you find? Search the website:
Note: Did you subscribe but haven't been receiving a newsletter in your inbox? Search your Spam or Promotions Tab so you don't miss a single issue!
I have silver Deathlayers hatching eggs $50/12 plus 2, text 318 305 1019
I have mottled Houdan hatching eggs. $40/12 with free shipping. Text 318-305-1019
Information on The Oki! Poultry Show
A Duck's Destiny is closing. We're selling all of our ducks. The following are for sale until gone: 5 Muscovy Drakes 2 Pekin Drakes 3 Rouen Drakes 2
I am selling all of my Indian Runners 1 Duck and 2 Drakes Great foragers Sold together or separately. Troy Morgan 719-306-5248
I have 1 Magpie Drake for sale. He was rescued with another Magpie and 5 Rouens. Willing to let him go individually or with the others he was rescued
*Hotel & Amazon Links on PSC are Affiliate links that help support the work of maintaining the website


text:
A teeter-totter on wheels is the new fad and menace. . . .
Thus did LIFE introduce to the magazine's readers its own unique (if somewhat shrill) take on a toy that would evolve into the emblem of a singular subculture and, eventually, a lifestyle.
Skateboarding, LIFE opined in 1965, is "the most exhilarating and dangerous joyriding device this side of the hot rod. A two-foot piece of wood or plastic mounted on wheels, it yields to the skillful user the excitements of of skiing or surfing. To the unskilled it gives the effect of having stepped on a banana peel while dashing down the back stairs. It is also a menace to limb and even to life."
[In the previous month, the magazine noted, two children in different parts of the country were killed when they careened into traffic while skateboarding. Left: Nineteen-year-old Patti McGee, the 1965 "National Girls' Champion" and, in 2010, the first female inductee into the International Association of Skateboard Companies (IASC) Skateboard Hall of Fame.]
Today, when grown men and women make a living (in some cases, a very nice living) inking endorsement deals and competing at skateboard tourneys around the globe; when skateboard video games sell millions of copies; when skateboarders like Tony Hawk and Marisa Dal Santo (and their winter doppelgangers, snowboarders like Shaun White and Gretchen Bleiler) are stars who not so much straddle sport and pop culture as transcend both; when industries (clothing, gear, skateboard park construction) have grown as the appeal of the sport has exploded — today, it's difficult to imagine a time not that long ago when skateboarding was so new, so absolutely marginal, that a major national magazine could safely assume that at least some of its millions of readers had absolutely no clue what skateboarding entailed . . . or what a skateboard was.
Here, LIFE.com looks back at the early, thrillingly anarchic days of a quintessentially American sport and pastime that, over the years, has been embraced by millions around the world while still, somehow, retaining its rebel cred.
Skateboarding, as the old saying has it, is not a crime. But as these pictures show, riding a deck can feel criminally fun.
Liz Ronk, who edited this gallery, is the Photo Editor for LIFE.com. Follow her on Twitter @lizabethronk.


text:
May 29, 2019
Salary Range :11.0000 To 12.5000 (USD) Hourly Looking for a job where you can have fun AND make a difference in your community? Consider the Y! The YMCA of Southern Maine is a charitable community organization committed to building strong communities through programs and services for all. We value diversity and inclusion, and actively work to create a safe, welcoming place for our neighbors. Each year, we serve over 30,000 people through child care, early childhood education, water safety, housing support, summer camp, and community outreach and health programs. As a nonprofit organization, our programs are accessible to all, regardless of one's ability to pay. Position Summary: Under the direction of the Aquatics Director, the Head Lifeguard is charged with effectively and safely supervising the pool environment to prevent drowning and injuries by providing safety instructions, recognizing and responding to emergencies, rendering CPR and first aid, in accordance with the policies established by the YMCA. These policies must be followed within the National YMCA guidelines. Qualifications: • Current YMCA or American Red Cross Lifeguard certification. • Certified Pool Operator (within 90 days). • YMCA Lifeguard Instructor AND/OR ARC Lifeguard Instructor (w/in 6 months). • High School Diploma. • 2-4 years of experience in Aquatics field. • 1 year of supervisory experience. • Automatic External Defribulator (AED) and Oxygen (02) Training. • Working knowledge Microsoft Office Suite. • Ability to effectively communicate in person and on the phone with all levels of employees and members. • Effective interpersonal skills, with a customer service focus. • Ability to work independently as well as within teams. • Excellent organizational skills with attention to details. • Extremely reliable, dependable, and punctual. • Good decision making skills. • Ability to take initiative and be self-motivated. • Possess a valid driver's license, reliable vehicle and ability to travel locally. Cost shared premium with Health, Dental. Employer paid Short & Long Term Disability and Life insurance, when eligible 7% employer contribution toward Retirement plan, Free Individual or Family YMCA membership, casual work environment with a culture focused on relationship building and our mission. Generous Paid Time Off Policy granted Immediately upon hire: 224 hours of PTO (prorated based on hire date), 5 days of Floating Holiday and 6 paid Holidays.
YMCA of Southern Maine Biddeford, ME, USA Full time


text:
Journal of the Central Texas Conference, Second Annual Session, Methodist Episcopal Church South
Description: Journal proceedings of Central Texas Conference include a list of members, committees, condensed minutes of the proceedings, reports of boards and committees, appointments, memoirs, statistical tables, and advertisements. Indexes to the journal and advertisements are on page 98.
Date: November 1911
Creator: Methodist Episcopal Church, South.
Partner: Archives of the Central Texas Conference United Methodist Church


text:
Join us every Saturday for your favorite college games and Major Soccer League.
Savor all-you-can-eat ribs, French fries, cornbread and two 16-oz Bud Lights for only $29 from 12 to 5 p.m. (2 hour limit)! Or try our Full English Breakfast featuring two eggs, bacon, sausage, English muffin, tomato baked beans and a pint of Guinness for $15 for the MLS Games!
There will be plenty of other game day specials like loaded tater tots and Chef Kevin's special tacos!


text:
Skip to main content
Georgia Department of
Public Health
We Protect Lives
About Us
Contact Us
Site Map
Search this site
About DPH
Attached Agencies
Board of Public Health
Board Meetings
2019 Board of Public Health Meetings
2018 Board of Public Health Meetings
2017 Board of Public Health Meetings
2016 Board of Public Health Meetings
2015 Board of Public Health Meetings
2014 Board of Public Health Meetings
2013 Board of Public Health Meetings
2012 Board of Public Health Meetings
2011 Board of Public Health Meetings
Board of Public Health Resolutions
Capitol Hill Fitness Center
Commissioner's Message
Division of Communications
Current Campaigns
Emergency Help for Opioid Overdoses
Georgia State Health Assessment
Low THC Oil Registry
Low THC Oil Registry FAQ
Low THC Oil Forms
Zika Virus
Zika Virus Awareness Campaign
"Talk With Me Baby" Initiative
Georgia Responds
Georgia SHAPE
HPV Vaccination
Seasonal Flu (Influenza)
Youth Literacy
Media/Public Affairs
Communications Contacts
News Releases
Speakers Bureau
Facilities and Support Services
Health Data and Statistics
Institutional Review Board
IRB Board
Mission Statement
Office of Government Relations
Constituent Services
Related Links
Office of Health Indicators for Planning (OHIP)
Office of Inspector General
Internal Investigations
Office of Audits
WIC Investigations
Office of Telehealth & Telemedicine
Project Echo
Procurement Services
Public Health Districts
District Health Directors
Public Health Regulations
Current DPH Regulations
Contact DPH
I Want To...
PH Insider
District and County Relations
District Office Directory
Office of Nursing
APRN Prescriptive Authority
Continuing Nursing Education
Health Assessment
Nurse Protocols and Quality Assurance/Quality Improvement
Nursing Staff
Public Health Nursing - Emergency Response Management
Recruitment and Retention
School Health
School Nurse Resources
Health Promotion
Georgia WIC
Benefits of Breastfeeding
Breastfeeding Recommendations
Breastfeeding Data
Breastfeeding Support
Clinic and Vendor Listing
Details and Eligibility
Farmer's Market Nutrition Program
Healthcare Provider Information
News Alerts
Nutrition Program
Dietetic Internship
Fruits and Veggies Program
Vendor Information
Approved Georgia WIC Infant Formula Supplier
Find a WIC Vendor
Vendor Application
Vendor Information Contact
WIC Approved Foods
WIC Program Vendor Handbook
WIC Shelf Talker Approval
WIC Vendor Alerts
WIC Vendor Complaint Form
WIC Approved Foods List
WIC Infant Formula Resources
WIC Publications
Maternal and Child Health Section
MCH Family Portal
MCH Provider Portal
Newborn Screening
Krabbe Disease
NBS Parents / Caregivers
NBS Providers
NBS Advisory Committee
NBS Resources
Early Hearing Detection and Intervention (EHDI)
EHDI Families & Caregivers
EHDI Providers
100 Babies Project
Children First
Services for Children 1st
Resources for Children First
Services for Children First
Children and Youth with Special Healthcare Needs (CYSHN)
Babies Can't Wait
Children's Medical Services (CMS)
Georgia Autism Initiative
Project LAUNCH Georgia
Transitioning Youth to Adult Care
Oral Health Program in Georgia
FAQs for Oral Health
Resources for Oral Health
Family Planning
Family Planning Services
Preparing for Your Visit
Perinatal Health
Maternal and Neonatal Center Designation Program
Regional Perinatal Centers
Georgia 5-STAR
Infant Mortality
Maternal Mortality
Pregnancy Resources
Perinatal Resources
Women's Right to Know (WRTK)
FAQs for Women's Right to Know
DPH Planned Parenthood Report
Georgia FIMR/HIV
Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome (NAS)
Data and Surveillance
Forms, Surveys and Documents
Office of Health Equity (OHE)
Health Protection
Chronic Disease Prevention Section
Chronic Disease Data
Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementia (ADRD) State Registry
Chronic Disease Indicators
For Healthcare Providers
Georgia Clinical Transformation Team
News and Updates
Health Systems Funding Opportunities
Oral Health- Chronic Disease Prevention Collaborative
Chronic Disease University
For Early Care Providers
Eat. Move. Talk!
For Health Departments
Asthma Control and Self Management
Asthma Fact Sheets and Surveillance Reports
Asthma-Friendly Childcare Settings
Home Visits
Community Health Workers
Worksite Health
Cancer Prevention and Control
Breast and Cervical Cancer Prevention Program
Cancer State Aid
Colorectal Cancer
Comprehensive Cancer Control Program
Cardio Metabolic Syndrome
Diabetes Prevention
Diabetes Self-Management Education
Heart Disease
Heart Disease Prevention
High Blood Pressure Control
Nutrition and Physical Activity
Nutrition Standards
Physical Activity
School Health
Georgia Shape
Shape School Grants
School Health Model Policies
Sexual Violence Prevention
Teen Pregnancy Prevention
Complaint/Site Visit Form
Eliminating Secondhand Smoke Exposure
Ready to Quit
Smoke-Free Enforcement
Smoke-Free Policy in Public Housing
Tobacco-Free Places
Emergency Medical Services
Public Notices, Regional and Statewide Meetings
EMS Notices
Regional and Statewide EMS Meetings Calendar
Safety Advisories
Medical Device Recalls
Approved Training for Opioids
License Management System
EMS Licensure & Verification (Agency, Personnel, Instructor)
Ambulance Service Licensure
EMS Personnel Licensure
Renew EMS License with LMS (2020)
Links for Medics
EMS Instructor Licensure
EMS Initial/Continuing Education
Continuing Education
Approved EMS Trainings
Upcoming EMS Trainings
Protocols and Scope of Practice
Forms and Resource Documents
GEMSIS Elite
GEMSIS Elite Trainings
State EMS Office Directory
Regional EMS Systems
Regional EMS Councils
Regional EMS Offices Contacts
Specialty Care Centers (Cardiac, Trauma, Stroke)
Comprehensive Stroke Centers
Primary Stroke Centers
Remote Treatment Stroke Centers
Trauma Centers
Office of Cardiac Care
Emergency Medical Services for Children (EMSC)
EMS for Children Regional Council
Teddy Bear Sticker Program
EMS Policies, Rules and Regulations
Contact Us
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Emergency Preparedness and Response
Environmental Health
Body Art
Chemical Hazards
Assessments and Consultations
Georgia Safe Siting Program
Brownfields/Land Reuse Sites
Cancer and the Environment
Community Outreach
Fish Consumption Guidelines
Hazardous Waste Sites
Education and Training
Environmental Health Emergency Preparedness
Environmental Health Rules and Regulations
Food Service
Food Service - Mobile Establishments
Rules and Documents
Georgia Healthy Homes Coalition
Who we are
Health Impact Assessment
About HIA
Resources and Tools
Healthy Homes and Lead
Abatement & Certification
Data and Reports
Education and FAQ
Home Investigations
Indoor Air Quality/Mold
Lead Terms
Pre-1978 Housing
Screening - Children
Screening, Lab Submissions, Reporting Guidelines
Hotels, Motels and Campgrounds
Rules and Regulations
Mosquito-borne Illness
Wastewater Management
Applications and Study Guides
Education and Training
Product Approvals
Rules and Regulations
Soil Classifier Info
Well Water
Commercial Wells
Individual/Private Wells
Waterborne Diseases and Outbreaks
Acute Disease Epidemiology
Acute Disease Epi A to Z Index
Exotic Vector-borne Diseases
Respiratory Diseases
Emerging Infections Program (EIP)
Viral Hepatitis
Epidemiology Emergency Preparedness
Occupational Health and Safety Surveillance
Alzheimer's Disease
HIV/AIDS Epidemiology Section
Case Reporting
HIV/AIDS Case Surveillance
Perinatal Exposure Surveillance
HIV Care Continuum
Georgia Medical Monitoring Project (MMP)
National HIV Behavioral Surveillance (NHBS) System
HIV Prevalence Projections
HIV Data
What is HIV and AIDS?
Health Behaviors and Policies
Georgia Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS)
Georgia Tobacco Use Surveillance
School Health Profiles
Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System
Injury Epidemiology
Crash Outcome Data Evaluation Survey (CODES)
Return To Play
Disease Reporting
Influenza: What You Need to Know
Flu Activity in Georgia
Georgia Coverdell Acute Stroke Registry
Georgia Coverdell Acute Stroke Registry Participating Hospitals
Georgia Coverdell Acute Stroke Registry Videos
Georgia Coverdell Acute Stroke Registry Reports
Georgia Coverdell Acute Stroke Registry Newsletters
Archived Georgia Coverdell Acute Stroke Registry Reports
Drug Overdose Surveillance Unit
Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (PRAMS)
Georgia Public Health Laboratory
Newborn Screening Unit
Testing and Reporting for NBS
Georgia Responds
Benefits of Volunteering
Georgia Volunteer Health Care Program (GVHCP)
The Medical Reserve Corps (MRC)
Volunteer Program Summary
Healthcare Associated Infections
Antibiotic Stewardship
Georgia HAI Advisory Committee (GHAIAC)
HAI Resources
Georgia Healthcare Associated Infections Report
Georgia Honor Roll for Antibiotic Stewardship
HAI Resources for Healthcare Workers and the Public
Honor Roll Checklist and Submission Process
Notifiable HAI Reporting
TAP Reports
Immunization Section
Frequently Asked Questions
Georgia Immunization Registry (GRITS)
Health Care Professionals
Immunization Publications
Immunization Schedules
Me and My Family
Related Links
School Vaccines and Updates
Travel Immunizations
Vaccine Safety
Vaccines for Children
Injury Prevention Program
Child Occupant Safety Project Overview
Information for Parents and Caregivers
Tools for Child Passenger Safety Education
Core Capacity for Injury
Dog Bite Prevention
Georgia Healthy Farmers Program
Georgia Injury Prevention Advisory Council (GIPAC)
Injury Prevention Publications
Older Drivers Safety Program
Residential Fire Safety
Rural Roads Program
Safe to Sleep
Safe to Sleep Campaign Materials
SIDS Data and Risk Factors
Safe Sleep for Every Sleep
Safe Sleep Q&A
Hospital-Based Safe to Sleep Program
Shaken Baby Syndrome Prevention Project
Violence Against Women Prevention
Office of HIV/AIDS
HIV Program Data Request
Special Projects
The HIV/AIDS Team
HIV Prevention
Linkage to Care
LGBTQ Health
Women's Health
Men's Health
Georgia Prevention and Care Council (G-PACC)
HIV Care
AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP)
Care Services
Health Insurance Continuation Program (HICP)
Quality Management Program
Office of Pharmacy
340B Information
ADAP Contract Pharmacy Network
Additional Resources
Donated Drug Repository Program
Drug Dispensing Procedure
Opioid and Substance Misuse Response
Individuals and Families
Medical Providers and Pharmacists
First Responders and EMS
Georgia's Opioid Response
Refugee Health Program
Congenital Syphilis
Information About STDs
STD Events
Screening and Treatment
Tuberculosis (TB) Prevention and Control
Reporting of Tuberculosis
TB Educational Resources for Clinicians and Healthcare Providers
TB Educational Resources for the General Public
TB Educational and Training Opportunities in Georgia
TB Public Health Clinic Forms
TB Publications, Reports, Manuals and Guidelines
TB Related Links
Vital Records
About Vital Records
Ways to Request a Vital Record
Birth Records
Death Records
Marriage Records
Divorce Records
Putative Father Registry
Vital News
Director's Governance
Training Materials
Quick Links
About DPH
Attached Agencies
Board of Public Health
Capitol Hill Fitness Center
Commissioner's Message
Division of Communications
Facilities and Support Services
Health Data and Statistics
Institutional Review Board
Mission Statement
Office of Government Relations
Office of Health Indicators for Planning (OHIP)
Office of Inspector General
Office of Telehealth & Telemedicine
Procurement Services
Public Health Districts
Public Health Regulations
Contact DPH
I Want To...
PH Insider
District and County Relations
Health Promotion
Health Protection
Vital Records
Health Promotion
Maternal and Child Health Section
» Forms, Surveys and Documents
Forms, Surveys and Documents
August 27, 2018
Below are forms and documents related the programs in Maternal and Child Health.
Children's 1st Screening and Referral Form 2018
Guidelines for Completing the Children's 1st Screening and Referral Form
Form 3300, Certificate of Vision, Hearing, Dental, and Nutrition Screening
UNHSI Surveillance of Hearing Form
Maternal Mortality Report Form


text:
New Zealand's switch to digital TV is running smoothly on the home-front – but TV broadcasters are having a rough ride through a jungle of bungles by state agencies.
More than 90 per cent of home viewers are now ready for the final switch to all-digital TV at the end of this year – but many of the country's free-to-air broadcasters are having a tough time shifting to the new digital world.
Four digital channels have come and gone so far. Non-commercial TVNZ 6 and TVNZ 7 and Stratos, the nationwide multicultural and community-focused commercial channel, are history. The short-lived, all-commercial Shopping Channel has laid off its presentation team.Television Hawkes Bay ran into major transmission trouble when its analogue transmissions were switched off as its home region led the way to all-digital TV last September.
The problems for TV Hawkes Bay were so big, they went off the air at Christmas for a month-long , major technical upgrade. A number of other larger and smaller TV broadcasters throughout the country have still to exercise their digital options, and some can't see an affordable pathway into the digital era,
Behind the scenes, officials at the Ministries of Business, Innovation and Employment and Culture and Heritage have been scurrying to find a way through a jungle of bungles by both the Clark-led Labour government that initiated the digital switch-over, and the Key-led National government that will see it to completion.
The roots of today's problems run back to 2006, when Labour authorized the issue of the first set of digital TV licences to enable simulcasting by nationwide and near-nationwide channels during the transition to digital TV. The issue was restricted to TVNZ, Canwest (nowMediaWorks), and the state-owned transmission service enterprise BCL (now Kordia).
In setting up the transition to digital TV, Labour loaded the digital dice in favour of the state-owned broadcaster .TVNZ received exclusive access to special Charter programme funding and a five-year deal to support the creation of the non-commercial digital channels TVNZ 6 and TVNZ 7. MediaWorks wasn't told about the deal until after it signed up to the Freeview platform created to usher us into digital free-to-air TV broadcasting.
What's not so well known is that the digital dice were also loaded in favour of the state-owned transmission service provider, BCL(now know as Kordia). Documents released recently under the Official Information Act reveal that Kordia was given preference as the supplier of digital TV spectrum access and transmission services.
TVNZ and Canwest (now MediaWorks) - were contractually barred from offering surplus capacity from their digital transition licences to other broadcasters - unless those broadcasters had already attempted to secure capacity from Kordia. Effectively, this reinforced Kordia's established monopoly on terrestrial transmission service to most parts of the country.
National changed the game on TVNZ by converting its exclusive Charter funding into the contestable Platinum Fund operated by NZ On Air, shutting down the Digital Broadcasting Review of Regulations that Labour hoped would produce a way of funding TVNZ's non-commercial channels on a sustainable basis, and requiring the now totally commercialized TVNZ to find its own funding for the non-commercial channels if it wanted them. We all know the outcome.
What National did not do was to review the 2006 Crown Agreement with Kordia - an omission that is now coming back to bite them on the bottom. Kordia has been exploiting its advantage, sewing up digital spectrum access and transmission business at rates that are substantially higher than it charged for analogue transmission and, curiously, the charges made by its only significant rival, Johnston Dick & Associates. That's particularly strange, since JD&A only operates in areas of the country that Kordia left outside its own big, heavy digital footprint, declaring them to be "uncommercial".
However, the 2006 Agreement did not give Kordia unfettered advantage. Once Kordia met the simulcasting needs of existing nationwide and near-nationwide broadcasters – its most profitable customers –it was required by clause 6.5 of the Agreement to call for expressions of interest in any surplus capacity from other broadcasters. It was also required by clause 6.7 to establish a formal process for allocating its surplus capacity, in consultation with the Crown Agent (the Ministry of Culture and Heritage) and according to a stated order of priority.
The 2006 Agreement states the Crown agent "may require BCL (Kordia) to give priority to non-commercial regional/local free-to-air broadcasters." Second priority was to be given to commercial free-to-air broadcasts that did not have their own DTT licences. Third came other commercial free-to-air broadcasters, and last came "any other broadcasters".
In response to an Official Information Act request, Kordia admits that neither of these requirements have been met. It says:"Kordia did not issue any formal Expression of Interest document into, or call for expressions of interest from, the market. Kordia did however extensively canvas current and prospective broadcasters to sell them capacity on Kordia's mux " (Mux means digital multiplex spectrum package)
Kordia also claims :"to date, we have not had any situation of contest between commercial and non-commercial free-to-air broadcasters for unused capacity. Therefore we have not developed a formal process document under clause 6.7."
This all comes as a surprise to New Zealand's largest non-commercial regional TV broadcaster, Triangle Television in Auckland. Triangle says it was not advised by Kordia that it was making regional DTT capacity available, until it learnt that Kordia had sold its only Auckland regional capacity to a new, commercial regional broadcaster, the Chinese-backed and focused TV33.
Until that moment, Triangle thought its only free-to-air pathway to its Auckland audience would be via the nationwide, commercial digital capacity obtained from Kordia by Stratos, a nationwide commercial broadcast operation established separately by Triangle's founding directors Jim Blackman and Alan Clark. When Stratos folded at Christmas 2011, that pathway closed.
According to Kordia, its "sales process" was agreed to be sufficient for the purposes of clause 6.5 of the Agreement through a process of discussions and email exchanges with the Crown Agent, the Ministry of Culture & Heritage.
The Ministry declines to release information on this matter, on the grounds that negotiations are currently in progress with Kordia over the provision of digital television spectrum in Auckland and it is necessary to protect information to enable the Ministry to carry on the negotiations without prejudice or disadvantage. The Ministry says it is "hopeful these negotiations can be concluded and an announcement made on the outcome shortly."
That's a bit rich, a bit late – and another bolt out of the blue for Triangle Television, which hasn't been involved in these negotiations. More than six years since the digital TV transition started, Auckland's 14-year-old non-commercial regional TV broadcaster is still waiting for a free-to-air digital pathway to its audience. It has fielded criticism for taking up an offer from the Pay-TV platform operator SKY that saw its rebranded FACE channel go to air last week on a platform that reaches than 50% of its target audience - and without the free-to-air credentials it needs to secure access to NZ On Air regional programme funding after Triangle's analogue transmitters are switched off at the end of next November.
It's Question Time, folks.
Declaration of Interest: David Beatson is host of a weekly interview programme on Triangle Television, and convenor of the Public Media Project ,a group lobbying for the provision of a digital public broadcasting service television channel.


text:
Earlier this year, Clare Nowalk, 13, was assigned a service project by her teacher. She decided to sell carnations after Mass and host a tie-dye workshop, with proceeds from both activities benefiting CFCA. Her decision was a natural fit said her mother, Jenny. In addition to her family's sponsorship of a child in Nicaragua, Jenny had started talking about Walk2gether with the family.
"I got really excited about Walk2gether," Jenny said. "I would follow Walk2gether and read what others had to say. I found the comments so inspiring."
Clare sold approximately 100 carnations, and spent several hours teaching elementary school students how to tie-dye shirts. Below, you can read what Clare has to say about her activities.
Thank you for your hard work, Clare!
It all started when my teacher assigned our reading class to each do a service project. My family supports a little girl named Jarling through CFCA. I decided that I could help boys and girls like her. My mom and I decided I could sell flowers after church on Valentine's Day. We earned at least $100, but that was just the beginning. Next, I worked with two seniors from Culver Academies to do a tie-dye workshop at my school. It was a huge success, and a whole lot of fun.
My overall total was at least $700. I enjoyed it a lot. I hope to continue helping others and I want to do the workshop again.


text:
Last time CIO.com spoke with Carmine Gallo, a communications coach who has counselled many executives on how to give great presentations, he offered 5 Ways to Ruin Your Next Presentation (No. 2. Kill Your Audience with Bullets).
Evidence that people actually have not taken his advice on how to improve their presentation abilities is still all too common.
As many others have also noted, perhaps today's model of presentation perfection is high-tech's uber-presenter and the subject of Gallo's book (now available): Apple's Steve Jobs.
In The Presentation Secrets of Steve Jobs: How to Be Insanely Great in Front of Any Audience, Gallo examines Jobs' gifted public-speaking skills and offers a "ready-to-use framework to help you plan, deliver and refine the best presentation of your life," Gallo notes on his website. "It's as close as you'll ever get to having the master presenter himself speak directly in your ear."
CIO.com Senior Editor Thomas Wailgum recently spoke with Gallo about what makes Jobs so special, how much Jobs actually practices his craft, and what CIO.com readers can borrow from Jobs' presentation talents.
CIO.com: You write in the book about the importance that simplicity and minimalism hold for Steve Jobs in designing Apple products. How does that concept carry over into his presentations?
Carmine Gallo: Steve Jobs once said "simplicity is the ultimate sophistication." You can see this approach in how he designs his slides. The slides are stunningly visual and minimalistic. He's not afraid of empty space. Sometimes, there's only one word or a simple photograph.
There are 40 words on the average PowerPoint slide. It's difficult to find 10 words in seven slides in a Jobs presentation. This is called "Picture Superiority." You see, neuroscientists are finding that information is more effectively recalled when the ideas are delivered as text and pictures instead of text by itself. Jobs has elevated presentations to an art form.
CIO.com: What's one thing that Jobs does, which very few people notice, that is critical to his presentation success?
Gallo: Jobs describes every product or new feature with a one-line description that can fit in a Twitter post. By doing so, he helps you mentally categorize the product. He gives you the big picture before filling in the details. For example, when Jobs introduced MacBook Air in January 2008, he could have said something along these lines: "Today we're excited to launch a new, thin, light ultra-portable notebook computer with a 13.3 inch wide-screen display, a full keyboard, a backlit display and five hours of battery life."
Instead he simply said, "MacBook Air. The world's thinnest notebook." If [a person watching] wanted to learn more, they could visit the Apple website after the presentation, but if they only remembered that one thing -- world's thinnest notebook -- it would tell them a lot. Now, Google for "world's thinnest notebook" and you will find more than 30,000 links to the phrase.
Audiences are looking for a "headline," a way to position the new product in their own minds. One of my favourite product descriptions from Jobs occurred in 2003, when he introduced Keynote presentation software for the Mac. He said "Keynote is a presentation app for when your presentation really counts. Oh, and Keynote was built for me!" The slide behind Jobs simply read, "Built for me." He then launched into the details of the software but you only needed the one takeaway -- a presentation application built for Jobs.
Join the CIO Australia group on LinkedIn. The group is open to CIOs, IT Directors, COOs, CTOs and senior IT managers.


text:
As the recession began to hit the nonresidential construction sector, productivity improved significantly, largely due to companies doing more with fewer people. Those employees not hit with downsizing were likely the most experienced and best-trained personnel as well. However, those immediate improvements, due mostly to downsizing and working harder, begin to wear off in time. While productivity continues to improve even though business is struggling, the rate of improvement is slowing. Continued improvement will come from strong leadership and management, better and more consistent management processes, new delivery methods like integrated project delivery (IPD), tools and technologies like building information modeling (BIM), and formal training/development programs for project managers (PMs) and field managers. These improvements will require significant investments at a time when margins and profitability are strained.
Perceptions of Productivity
The following summary of FMI's "2012 U.S. Construction Industry Productivity Report" includes additional comparisons broken out for electrical contractors participating in the survey. However, it's important to note that the percentage of respondents identifying themselves as "electrical contractors" represented only 12% of all responses. A few of those were also mechanical contractors and performed other subcontracting work. Although we cannot claim that this small sample represents the practices of a larger number of electrical contractors, from our firm's field experience, we note this sample is not atypical of larger electrical contractors in the business. Generally, electrical contractors face the same productivity challenges as the other trades do — the differences in certain areas are just a matter of degree.
Companies across the industry measure productivity in different ways. To compare trends across different metrics, the survey did not ask questions tailored to specific metrics. Instead, it asked for the respondent's professional opinion as to what degree productivity in his or her firm has improved, decreased, or stayed the same.
More than half (57%) of the participants responded that productivity had improved either slightly or substantially in the past two years, while the remaining 43% reported it had stayed the same, decreased slightly, or decreased substantially. Nineteen percent of electrical contractors said productivity had improved significantly, while 61.9% said productivity improved slightly (Fig. 1). Some of this improvement is simply the result of downsizing, where the marginal performers were the first to be laid off. Because of washing out the lower-level performers in the field and project management, the average performance level naturally increased. However, while productivity improved for more than half of respondents, it did so only slightly for the majority, leaving ample room for improvement across the industry. Furthermore, 90% of electrical contractors believed they could save at least 5% of their annual field labor cost through better management (Fig. 2). For a contractor with $20 million in annual field labor cost, this represents a $1 million profit opportunity!
Seventy percent of participating companies (67% of electrical contractors) reported experiencing cost overruns on at least 11% of projects (Fig. 3). FMI believes that this self-reported data is extremely optimistic. From our consulting experience, the actual data from analyzing thousands of completed projects suggests that well over half of all projects fail to meet or beat the labor estimate. Clearly, there is an opportunity for companies to make improvements in productivity that will improve their ability to achieve labor budgets, which, in turn, will improve the bottom line.
Project Planning Processes
Through FMI's productivity consulting practice, we consistently see significant opportunities to improve short-interval planning skills of field managers. The same holds true for participating companies, with less than half reporting that field managers plan and communicate resource needs more than five days in advance (Fig. 4). However, based on the number of last-minute calls to the shop or daily trips to the supply house that we see in most of our clients' operations, we feel comfortable saying that the number of field managers planning and communicating resource needs more than two or three days in advance is a very small minority.
The lack of planning skills at the field management level is a significant industry problem. If your field managers have to call your shop or make trips to the supply house on a daily basis, it is safe to assume that your crews are often waiting or delayed. In addition to the labor cost impact, buying materials and supplies at the last minute ensures you are paying a premium. Furthermore, we have learned that if field managers get the correct labor, tools, equipment, materials, and information in the crews' hands at the right time, the result is decent productivity. Use of a practical and formal short-interval planning process is one key to achieving this goal. Knowing and communicating resource needs a week in advance greatly increases the likelihood that all resources are available when needed, which, in turn, decreases nonproductive time.
Survey results regarding daily planning and goal setting also revealed opportunities for improvement. According to our survey, an overwhelming 66% of respondents reported that less than half of their field managers use daily planning and goal setting, while 40% believe that less than one-third of field managers follow that practice.
Project Manager Impact
Project planning processes, however, are not enough on their own. An organization with well-defined processes cannot expect to deliver projects in the most productive manner without effective project managers. The best tradesmen and field managers in the industry can only do so much without proper support from project managers to provide the right materials, tools, information, equipment, and feedback at the right time.
On a scale from one to 10, 71% of PMs fell in the good, but not great, range of six to eight, which indicates there is room for improvement in the industry (Fig. 5). The real question you should ask is, "How would our field managers rate the quality of support they receive from our project managers?" Their responses may not be as flattering as those of the executives answering our survey. In high-performing companies, project managers truly understand that their primary role is to support the field.
Measurement and Feedback for ProductivityImprovement
To manage practices that lead to improved productivity, first one must measure what he or she intends to manage. When asked whether job cost reporting processes track units per labor hour, 43% of electrical contractors responded in the affirmative. While the majority of electrical respondents do track units in addition to time, that leaves nearly 60% who only report time to a cost code, leaving little of the necessary data to effectively manage the process of increasing productivity through this metric. Because productivity is defined as units per man-hour or man-hours per unit, trying to track, measure, and manage productivity without these two key pieces of data is unrealistic. To create a consistent culture around productivity, contractors need to be able to communicate clear expectations and track actual unit performance for this key metric.
Controllable Variables' Effect on Productivity
Many obstacles to productivity reside within an organization, which puts them under the control of the organization's leadership to overcome. Overwhelmingly, respondents list planning and communication issues as the most negatively impactful internal challenges with regard to productivity, with "lack of planning skills with our field management level" as the most often selected response (Fig. 6). That said, those who reported significant productivity increases instead selected lack of communication skills at the field management level most frequently. While improving planning procedures at the field level is no silver bullet, it is the clear first step in a comprehensive process of improving productivity. Without a clearly defined, formal planning process in place, how is a construction professional able to determine the root cause of productivity problems? With such a process in place, it is far easier to start by asking whether the process was followed and, if so, to then explore what might have contributed to poor productivity.
While poor quality of plans and specs was the most frequently selected external challenge, organizations that reported significant improvements in productivity did not select this external challenge as an issue. In companies where productivity increased, there was more concern for slow responses from other project team members (Fig. 7). At the same time, there was significantly less concern for project coordination with other team members. On the other hand, unrealistic customer demands and availability of qualified field managers are top issues for these firms but are less so for the rest of respondents. While the results of this survey do not answer the question of how some firms manage external issues better than others, they do clearly indicate that internal practices can have a significant impact on potential external challenges.
Other Productivity Drivers
While simple blocking and tackling, such as better planning and communication, are essential to improving productivity, the industry is undergoing significant changes in procedures, roles, and responsibilities. Emerging technologies, methodologies, and practices, such as building information modeling (BIM), integrated project delivery (IPD) and lean construction, and prefabrication, create opportunities for increased productivity.
BIM — A review of industry news media and trend reports clearly indicates that use of BIM is continuing to grow. For those contractors answering our survey, 63% of all respondents and 81% of electrical contractors have worked on at least one project where BIM was employed. As BIM use increases, it is widely expected that its usage will enable greater collaboration across the supply chain of the construction industry. That collaboration, in turn, should also create opportunities for productivity improvement. Survey respondents support this observation, as 62% indicated improved productivity using BIM.
The most common applications of BIM, especially for electrical contractors, are clash detection, prefabrication management, and shop drawing reviews (Fig. 8). Many of these applications create the potential for significant productivity gains. For example, clash detection can save on wasteful rework by allowing clashes to be detected before equipment is installed and has to be taken out again, saving time and money. Beyond the individual applications, BIM usage allows better planning all along the process.
IPD — Integrated project delivery (IPD) is not yet employed as often as BIM, with only 43% percent of electrical contractor respondents reporting that they have worked on at least one project where IPD was used. While a minority of respondents have used IPD, the results for those who have are clear. Productivity improved at least slightly for nearly 70% of total respondents who have experience with IPD (Fig. 9). Furthermore, 19% of those total respondents who had used IPD reported that it improved productivity significantly. As news of these successes spread, along with best practices and lessons learned, it is our belief that IPD usage or some variation of a more collaborative delivery method will continue to rise. When it does, the benefits of the greater levels of planning, communication, and coordination that IPD requires will be felt in the form of improved productivity.
Lean management — Familiarity with lean management practices is high among respondents at 72% of all those surveyed. In response to the question regarding thoughts and perceptions of lean construction, 42% believe it's nothing more than good management practices that have been relabeled. Another 27% believe it's a practical way to improve productivity and/or operational performance. Regardless of whether or not it's marketing spin, 69% of respondents believe the underlying practices are a great approach to increasing productivity.
While firms are very familiar with the idea and believe it's a way to increase productivity, only 47% of electrical contractors have used formal lean management practices, tools, or techniques. It is unclear what is stopping the remaining 53%, although many respondents did report a lack of clarity around what lean management practices are or how they apply to the construction industry. Nonetheless, 80% of electrical contractor respondents that have used lean management practices report at least slight productivity gains, with 10% reporting significant productivity gains (Fig. 10). Clearly, the underlying practices, techniques, and tools of lean offer a viable opportunity for productivity improvement.
Prefabrication — Nearly 70% of survey respondents and 100% of electrical contractors currently use prefabrication as a strategy for productivity. Of those who are using prefabrication as part of a strategy for productivity, 98% estimated that it has at least some impact on productivity improvement, with 42% estimating that impact to be greater than 10%.
While many of our respondents have incorporated prefabrication into their overall productivity strategy, FMI believes there is room for further adoption across other trades in the industry. FMI's "2010 Contractor Prefabrication Survey" reported that approximately 75% of respondents used prefabrication on less than one-fifth of their work.
One challenge highlighted in the 2010 survey is that, much like the subject of productivity as a whole, evaluating the improvements that prefabrication may bring to a firm is complicated by a lack of consistent metrics. As a result, some firms are taking a cautious approach, as they are unable to calculate the ROI of developing internal prefabrication capabilities (Fig. 11).
Concluding Thoughts
As challenged economics and depressed put-in-place statistics seem likely to remain well into 2012 and maybe beyond, contractors must cope with the reality that they must make the most of the work they are able to secure. Productivity improvement offers the greatest opportunity to increase the bottom line while top-line figures remain lower than in past years. Although a group of respondents has adopted what FMI views as productivity best practices with the result of improved productivity, it is clear that, even among those respondents, there is more room for improvement across the industry.
techniques and practices, such as BIM and IPD, offer the potential for improved productivity through greater planning, coordination, and collaboration. That said, the benefits derived from the underlying blocking and tackling of better planning and processes are achievable with or without implementing BIM or working on projects using IPD methods. Productivity improvement requires a comprehensive plan and the necessary commitment of time and resources. For the electrical contractor willing to make that commitment, however, the benefits far outweigh the investment.
Kipland is director of FMI Corp., Tampa, Fla. He can be reached at [email protected]


text:
How to Use Coupons Wisely
The key to effective coupon use is to be organized about the process. Every coupon you need but can't easily locate is cash slipping through your fingers.
Try those little wallet-shaped coupon organizers you can slip into your purse or pocket to keep your coupons organized by category. Once a month, go through your coupon organizer to check for expired coupons.
To make the most of your coupon savings
Look for double- and triple-coupon deals.
Look for coupons for items that are already on sale or deeply discounted.
Don't assume you get the best deal with the coupon; store brands can still be cheaper.
Don't plan your shopping list around the manufacturer's coupons you've collected; instead, make your regular shopping list first, and then go to your coupon wallet and see whether you have current coupons for the items you're buying.
When shopping online, look for online coupon codes to save on the purchase price or on shipping and handling charges; just type the name of the site you're shopping at and coupons into your favorite search engine to see what you find.


text:
'New York Post' photo sparks ethics debate
Issued on: Modified:
A front page photo of a man about to be hit by a subway has sparked a media ethics debate. Could the photographer have intervened? Should the New York Post have published it? Also, an Australian radio prank on the hospital where Kate Middleton is staying, plus a French TV channel gets the story wrong on who the father of the unborn royal baby is!


text:
Develop strength and balance in Tai Chi: Moving for Better Balance. You will gain confidence, stability and improve coordination and mobility in a fun and supportive environment. Resistance training is included to improve strength. This program is based on the evidence-based program, developed by Dr. Fuzhong Li at the Oregon Research Institute, designed for older adults and people with balance disorders, who can walk easily with or without assistive devices. This program meets twice a week for eight weeks.
Providence Health Plan members receive a discount on this class. The discount is determined at check-out.
This 16-session class series will be held on Tuesdays and Thursdays April 11 - June 1, 2017.
The class sessions will be held in The Well, at Basecamp, Cardiac Wellness + Prevention Center, located on the first floor of the Providence Mother Joseph Plaza, on the Providence St. Vincent Medical Center Campus.
Register at www.providence.org/classes.


text:
Is Climate Change Hell Now Inevitable?
John Atcheson "stares into the Eye of Sauron" to face global warming futures.
Well, there's a growing consensus that staying above atmospheric concentrations of 350 parts per million will permanently change our climate, and not for the better.
We're now at 392.41 ppm and rising.
... we have already altered the climate in ways that will cost us a great deal of money, kill millions if not tens of millions, and create as many as a billion refugees by mid century. Bad as this sounds, there's strong evidence it's about to get a hell of a lot worse.
We know from the geologic record that runaway methane releases have occurred several times in the past. Some 55 million years ago, during what geologists call the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum, temperatures soared, as clathrates (or as they are sometimes known, hydrates) released massive amounts of carbon, mostly in the form of methane. Many scientists believe this was triggered by volcanic releases of carbon. Other factors may have been at play, but the key takeaway is that methane releases caused runaway warming that lasted for more than 150,000 years, and that today, humans are releasing carbon at ten times the rate that is thought to have triggered the releases.
Some 600 million years ago, geologists identified another, even more extreme event: the Permian Die-Off.... some 94% of the marine fossil record disappeared and biologic diversity plummeted. For a time, life itself teetered on the edge of extinction – all life. Again, massive methane releases triggered by volcanic releases of carbon are the prime culprit. And again, our current rate of releases is much faster than the one that started this devastating feedback.
If we have triggered a self-reinforcing methane feedback – and there is growing evidence that we have–... We will, quite literally, be inhabiting an alien environment, and our best bet is to prepare ourselves for the softest possible landing in this hostile new world.
... if we haven't bumbled into positive feedbacks ... it would take an effort unlike any humanity has ever attempted for us to avoid catastrophic global warming and devastating ocean acidification. [emphasis mine]
While it's true the current rate of methane release is ten times faster than the two previous extinction events, and methane has 100 times the climate warming effect in the short term (it decomposes into CO2 within decades), those other outgassings went on for a very long time. It's difficult to use historical data to predict what will happen with our climate forcing rate so steep, accelerating so much faster than natural forcing. There is thermal inertia. We really are in uncharted territory. Just how inhospitable will Eaarth become, how soon, keeps me up some nights.
Views: 141
At least some people are beginning to name our Climate Crisis realistically. Discard the cozy-sounding "Global Warming" and even emotionally neutral and ambiguous "Climate Change".
Planetary State of Emergency on Escalating Climate Destabilization ...
Announcing the 4rd annual Universe Day.
Universe Day is an annual international event occurring each December 31st at noon through January 1st at noon.
This year the annual message of Universe Day 2013 focuses on:
1.) increasing awareness of the looming climate cliff, which is crossing the global warming tipping points leading to irreversible or extinction-level climate destabilization. (The current escalating climate destabilization is the result of human-caused carbon pollution of our atmosphere by fossil fuels.)
2.) dramatically reducing human-caused atmospheric carbon emissions on an emergency basis! To support the emergency reduction of human-caused carbon emissions the 4th annual Universe Day event declares this December 31 st to be Day One of the first Planetary State of Emergency on Escalating Climate Destabilization. (This emergency reduction of human-caused carbon emissions is Job One for of all Humanity. For emergency and non emergency actions to be taken to mitigate escalating climate destabilization see the Job One for Humanity link farther down this page .)
3.) encouraging people to stop using the terms global warming and climate change in their conversations and switch to the more accurate and useful terms of climate destabilization, irreversible climate destabilization, extinction-level climate destabilization or the looming climate cliff. [emphasis mine]
A couple of years ago at MySpace, I was discussing "Global Warming" with a woman who was concerned and realized it was a problem. But then, just before Christmas she decided to stop worrying about it because she had to bake Christmas cookies. When I protested that Global Warming was more important than cookies, she replied, "Well I'll just have to stock up on shorts and sunscreen." If the problem had been more accurately named, I think that rationalization wouldn't have seemed plausible to her.
Very cool GIF
In An Illustrated Guide to the Science of Global Warming Impacts: How ... Joe Romm says.
The single biggest failure of messaging by climate scientists (until very recently) has been the failure to explain to the public, opinion makers, and the media that business-as-usual warming results in simultaneous, ever-worsening impacts that, individually, are each beyond catastrophic, but combined are unimaginablly horrific. For these impacts, terms like "global warming" and "climate change" are essentially euphemisms. That is why I have preferred the term "Hell and High Water." [emphasis mine]
Using euphemisms to alert people to immanent danger, are we crazy?
We need a short term that conveys "simultaneous, ever-worsening impacts that, individually, are each beyond catastrophic, but combined are unimaginablly horrific" that's not overused and trite, and has fewer syllables than Climate Destabilization.
Thanks Ruth - very educational - I will follow your links.
© 2019 Atheist Nexus. All rights reserved. Admin: The Nexus Group. Powered by


text:
Amazon Mines Its Data Trove to Bet on TV's Next Hit
Company Banks on Collecting Viewer Feedback in Unprecedented Ways to Improve Traditional TV Development Process
In May, a dozen Amazon.com Inc. executives, including Chief Executive Jeff Bezos, gathered in a Seattle conference room to select the first original TV shows the company would produce for its streaming video service.
A group of 14 "pilot" episodes had been posted on the company's website a month earlier, where they were viewed by more than one million people. After monitoring viewing patterns and comments on the site, Amazon produced about 20 pages of data detailing, among other things, how much a pilot was viewed,...


text:
Well, Happy Comic Book Day!!!
It is great to be a part of an industry where there is a reason to celebrate every week!
Today sees the release of Irresistible #3, Bad Girls #2, and the finale to Call of Wonderland, #4!
On top of these awesome releases, we are celebrating having recently hit 10,000 Likes on Facebook. Today is extra special because we are giving away Volumes 1-7 of Grimm Fairy Tales, all signed by Anthony Spay, and the Grimm Fairy Tales Art Book!!!
How can you win this mighty fine prize?
Simply tell us about your favorite thing Zenescope has done this year. It could be attending a convention, a giveaway, a new comic, an exclusive, or even some recent news. Let us know in the comments section below and we will choose one lucky person to win this prize package!


text:
THURSDAY, June 12, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- Obstetric malpractice claims fell by half and liability payments were sharply lower after a hospital took steps to improve patient safety, a new study shows.
The initiatives at the Connecticut hospital included standardizing practices, training doctors and nurses to improve teamwork and communication, and hiring a patient safety nurse.
The Yale School of Medicine researchers compared the five years before the program was introduced to the five years afterward.
"We found a 50 percent reduction in liability claims, and also found that the payments made for these liability claims decreased 95 percent, from over $50 million to under $3 million," study first author Dr. Christian Pettker, an associate professor in the department of obstetrics, gynecology and reproductive sciences, said in a Yale news release.
The study was published online recently in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology.
"We don't think that this is a cure to the medical liability crisis, but this is certainly one approach that can both make things safe for the patient and have tremendous improvements and reduce a lot of the costs in health care that go to the defense of medicine and liability," Pettker said.
He noted that increasing concerns about liability are leading to a shortage of obstetricians in the United States.
"Liability insurance rates are not controlled, malpractice awards continue to increase, and there is increasing awareness of litigiousness in clinical practice," Pettker said. "As a result, obstetricians are increasingly reducing or dropping out of practice, and future physicians are discouraged from entering the field."
More information
The U.S. National Library of Medicine has more about patient safety.