text:
Brian Roberts has played in eight home openers at Camden Yards, and none has felt quite like this one.
From a rousing ovation for Orioles managers past and present to the excitement from the stands for an undefeated baseball team to Roberts' one big swing that carried the Orioles to a 5-1 victory over the Detroit Tigers, the home opener at Camden Yards was a rousing success.
A sellout crowd of 46,593, which enjoyed a game-time temperature of 76 degrees, watched Jake Arrieta continue the early roll of the Orioles' rotation, Roberts continue his RBI binge with his tie-breaking three-run homer in the fifth inning and the home team continue its winning ways.
The Orioles' 4-0 beginning equals their best start since 1997, and they are one win shy of tying the 1970 club, which won its first five games.
"I don't think anybody's ever had a bad 4-0 start. It's been awesome," said Roberts, who drove a 1-2 pitch from Rick Porcello just over the right-center-field wall with no outs in the fifth. "Certainly, I've been through a lot -- we all know that -- and I think with the expectations coming into this year, to still be able to go out there and do that, I think it's been great for us."
The Orioles are off Tuesday, giving them a little extra time to enjoy their surprising start and ponder how they can build on it when they seemingly lose a key player on a daily basis.
Top starter Jeremy Guthrie, who got things started with eight shutout innings in Friday's series-opening victory over the Tampa Bay Rays, was to spend Monday night in the hospital as he recovered from what the team thinks is a form of pneumonia. He'll miss at least one start, forcing Brad Bergesen into the rotation about four days earlier than originally expected.
But that will be a worry for another day. Orioles manager Buck Showalter told his players to focus on getting away from baseball, but undoubtedly the good sentiment will linger. The Orioles didn't win their fourth game last year until April 27, the 20th game of the season.
"That certainly makes it a little sweeter," Showalter said Monday. "I made a decision that I want to get these guys away. They've been gone, and I can't begin to tell you how hectic [Sunday] night was, the turnaround today coming in here. They've got boxes and are trying to move into places. I think three-fourths of our team is commuting into Baltimore. We put that out there, optional for them. I really want them to kind of relieve some of the pressures they have with everyday life. I think it'll be good for them."
Showalter got the loudest applause during the pre-game pomp and circumstance, receiving a standing ovation as he trotted out of the dugout and up the first base line. He tipped his cap to acknowledge the crowd. Roberts, Markakis, Wieters, Guerrero and rookie starter Zach Britton also got rousing ovations, as did Hall of Fame manager Earl Weaver, who threw the ceremonial first pitch to Showalter.
Arrieta, the 25-year-old right-hander who made his big league debut 10 months earlier against the New York Yankees at Camden Yards, was warming up during the ceremonies, but it was hard to block out everything.
"I knew today was going to be tough, emotionally," he said. "I told [bullpen catcher Ronnie Deck] to run in there and grab me a bottle of water when I was warming up because I had the worst dry mouth I think I've ever had. I expected it to be like that. I don't think there's a better feeling in the world than the feeling you get when you toe the rubber Opening Day in your home stadium, just a great feeling from start to finish. The crowd was electric, our team was in it. You know, the emotions were high, but I think that helped. There's really not a better feeling."
Arrieta's wife, Brittany, is pregnant, and the couple will find out Tuesday if they are expecting a boy or a girl.
"I think that's really the only thing that would really trump the type of feeling I had today, but this was a great day," he said.
Arrieta pitched in and out of trouble, retiring the dangerous Miguel Cabrera three times with men on base. Cabrera, who was vomiting during the game (he said it was something he ate) struck out with a man on second in the first inning, flew out with men on second and third in the third and lined out with a man on first in the fifth. Orioles reliever Jason Berken retired Cabrera on a groundout in the eighth as part of his two scoreless innings.
Arrieta allowed one run on six hits and two walks, throwing 99 pitches in six innings. Oriole starters have allowed only two runs and 12 hits in 26 innings this season, and the pitching staff as a whole has surrendered four runs in four games.
"The starting pitching obviously has been everything you could ask for," Showalter said.
The offense, meanwhile, still hasn't really gotten going. While the main offseason storyline was the addition of sluggers Vladimir Guerrero, Derrek Lee and Mark Reynolds, a couple of holdovers have carried the load through four games.
Nick Markakis added three hits Monday to raise his average to .429, and catcher Matt Wieters tacked on two hits and an RBI and scored the Orioles' first run by coming in from third on a wild pitch by Porcello. And, of course, there's Roberts, who has the team's only two homers and has driven in eight of its 17 runs.
His homer Monday came after Felix Pie, starting in left field in place of the injured Luke Scott, led off the fifth with a single and moved to third on J.J. Hardy's double. It appeared that Roberts would get one run in with a sacrifice fly, but the ball kept carrying.
"Some hurricane came, I guess," Roberts said.
The diminutive leadoff man then chuckled, though the homer couldn't have come at a better time, and on a better occasion.
"Robby, for a long time in the Baltimore Orioles' organization, it seems like he's been able on the field to dial up what was needed, whether it's a stolen base or a walk," Showalter said. "He's got just a feel for being able to challenge the moment."


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Off looking at yet another potential 4th Gen 4Runner I noticed a Harbor Freight tool store across the way. I stopped in and was handed a load of coupons by someone leaving, including ones for $10 torque wrench and $10 lever grease gun. Walked out with those two and an assortment of other things I sort of need
I stopped and got a tube of synthetic grease and this morning attacked the side and center stand. Well, it took all of 30 seconds. There are three zerk fittings I could see, one on the side stand and two for the center. Couple pumps on each, just until the grease starts squeeging out. It had not been done in a while, certainly not since I have owned it, and is easily overlooked. The early k bikes did not have zerks so check yours before proceeding.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
California Mentor
Everybody needs a job but only extraordinary people work here. Our team is fun, creative, and dedicated to making a difference every day in the lives of the people we serve. The heart of what we do is support and serve people with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities of all ages. As a Caregiver/Direct Support Professional (DSP) with California MENTOR, you ll be one of these extraordinary people.
Our Care Providers are the link to the community for those we serve. Whether you re helping someone ride the bus for the first time, prepare for a job interview, attend college classes, do their own laundry, or assist with personal care, at the end of your work day, you know you have made a difference in someone s life.
Based in community settings, DSPs provide assistance with daily activities ranging from meal preparation, personal hygiene, and medication administration, to accompanying individuals on outings in the community or providing transportation to work or other activities. In addition, DSPs support therapeutic and behavioral plans, working closely with our clinical staff, to enhance the quality of life for those we support.
Whether you have previous experience in a role like this, or this just sounds like the type of impact you want to make we want to hear from you!
Bring the right attitude, we ll train you for success!
What we require of you:
High School Diploma or GED
Must be minimum of 18 years of age
Valid driver s license in good standing
Access to a registered vehicle with proof of insurance
Successful clearance of background checks
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A rewarding work environment with some of the best co-workers you could ask for
A chance to make a difference in people s lives on a daily basis
Full compensation/benefits package including 401(k) with company matching
Paid Time Off & Holiday pay
Full and Part time schedules available
An opportunity to build lasting relationships with your co-workers and the people we serve
Family-oriented environment, casual dress, employee events
Employee discounts
A dynamic work environment where no day is ever the same as the next
Free training, career development, and advancement opportunities
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Access to jobs throughout the nation-wide Network
We have a great work environment and you ll be surrounded with a strong and supportive team of peers, leaders and colleagues. California MENTOR is a partner of The MENTOR Network, a national network of local human services providers offering quality, community-based services. With ~30,000 employees serving ~26,000 consumers in 35 states, you'll have career opportunities from coast to coast. When you join The MENTOR Network, you ll make a difference every day and help to provide quality of life enhancing services to individuals across the country.
Come join our team of dedicated and caring professionals. Apply Today!


text:
Jeremy Glaser: For Morningstar, I am Jeremy Glaser. I'm joined today by Mike Rawson. He is a fund analyst at Morningstar. We are going to look at the 2012 fund flows.
Mike, thanks for joining me today.
Mike Rawson: Thanks for having me Jeremy.
Glaser: So, 2012 was a pretty strong year. We had $435 billion of flows into open-end funds and exchange-traded funds [in the United States], but fixed income, again, was a big part of that. Can you talk about the flows into bond funds, and why investors are looking there?
Rawson: Sure. So, as you mentioned, flows in general were strong, but they were particularly strong in fixed income. Again, it's really kind of surprising because we saw strong flows into fixed income in the 2009 time frame. People were just coming out of the financial crisis. So, people were kind of anxious about putting money into stocks. It was rational that they would go to fixed income. But just over the past couple of years, flows into fixed income have actually picked up and increased despite the fact that the equity market looks relatively attractive.
So, within fixed income what was new this year is that we saw really strong flows into the higher-risk segments of the fixed-income market. Areas such as emerging-markets bonds, high-yield bonds, and multisector bonds all had really strong flows. Bank loans is another category. And people were also willing to take more duration risk. So, they were going into longer-term bonds. So there was a little bit of a change, a little bit more aggressiveness on the part of fixed-income investors.
Glaser: But is taking that risk on the fixed-income side a sensible strategy? Is that something investors are going to be rewarded for?
Rawson: Well, certainly they were rewarded for taking the risk last year. High-yield funds returned on average around 15%, so those were strong returns last year. However, going forward I don't think we are likely to see the kind of price or capital appreciation we saw last year. So, if you're in those fixed income areas, you're more likely to get a return which is closer to the yields, a coupon type of a return, rather than the strong capital appreciation we've seen in the past.
I think going forward it's likely in 2013 to see stronger flows in equities just because the return potential in fixed income just isn't there. Now, of course, fixed income always has a role on your portfolio as a way to kind of hedge against risk in terms of the equity market. So, it provides some stability to your portfolio, but I don't think you're going to see the kind of price appreciation in the riskier segments of the bond market you saw last year, particularly because the yield curve has already come down so sharply.
Glaser: Let's talk a little bit about equities then. The S&P 500 was up 16% in 2012, yet investors continued to kind of shun that space. What's going on there?
Rawson: So, the equity market, as you mentioned, was strong. The S&P 500 was up 16%. Again, investors really don't want to take much equity risk. The only two bright spots I think in equities were either international in terms of emerging markets; we saw a strong flows into emerging markets. And we saw strong flows into passive investment vehicles again. So, ETFs and index funds saw strong flows. In fact, it was a pretty sharp divergence, people selling actively managed funds and going into index funds.
Once again, though, I think 2013 will probably be a better year for flows into equity products. And just because investors have been kind of shunning equity in terms of adding new money to the market, it doesn't mean that they've abandoned equities in total because the equity market has been growing. Investors still have a large percent of their assets in equities. As the equity market has appreciated, the tide has lifted their allocation to equities. So, on the margin, investors are avoiding equities with new flows, but they still have a significant portion of their assets in equities.
One of the things which I think is most interesting if you look back over the last 10 years is that there's been a sharp divergence, where 10 years ago U.S. stock equity assets were about 50% of an investor's portfolio, and that's come down sharply, to the point where now fixed-income assets are a greater proportion of the investor's assets. So, I think in the future, if we were to see a rise in inflation, I think that could pose a big risk for investors because fixed-income assets generally don't hold up well against inflation, whereas, over the long-term, equity assets can kind of hold up better if there's a big spike in inflation.
Glaser: Mike, thanks very much for your thoughts today.
Rawson: Thanks, Jeremy.
Glaser: For Morningstar, I am Jeremy Glaser.


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FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Germany's Rhoen-Klinikum is to sell most of its hospitals to rival Fresenius SE for 3.07 billion euros ($4.1 billion), in an attempt by Rhoen's founder, Eugen Muench, to outflank opponents to an outright sale of the company.
The sale comes exactly 12 months after Fresenius dropped plans to buy all of Rhoen for 3.1 billion euros after an industry rival and service supplier bought blocking stakes in Rhoen.
The 43 hospitals and 15 outpatient facilities now being sold account for about two thirds of Rhoen's revenues, with mainly specialized clinics and university teaching hospitals remaining with Rhoen.
Rhoen and Fresenius have long wanted to merge to create a countrywide network of private hospitals, extensive enough to enable Fresenius to start offering its own medical insurance.
The transaction, which according to Rhoen does not require a shareholder vote, would make Fresenius's German hospitals unit Helios Europe's largest private hospital operator, Fresenius said in a statement.
Shares in Rhoen were up 11 percent at 19.4 euros by 0950 GMT, while those of Fresenius were up 4.4 percent at 91.0 euros.
Konrad Lieder, an analyst with Equinet Bank, said the add-on insurance offering should improve Fresenius's pricing power in the mid-term but warned of legal uncertainties.
"We see two major sources of risk: anti-trust and a legal appeal against the transaction by minority shareholders."
Fresenius's chief executive Ulf Schneider, who last year refrained from reviving the failed bid for Rhoen, told Reuters that the purchase of Rhoen's assets was soundly structured to withstand any legal challenges.
"We're a company driven by opportunities, not by fear. That's why we've done our deals in the past," he added.
Apart from last year's setback, Fresenius has a history of successful takeovers. Recent deals include the 850 million-euro takeover of U.S. blood transfusion equipment maker Fenwal and the 2008 purchase of APP Pharmaceuticals for $3.7 billion to boost its infusion drug business in the U.S.
Rhoen's founder and chairman Muench last year initiated the proposed sale of the entire group, in which he and his wife hold 12.5 percent, to Fresenius for 22.40 euros a share in cash.
But rival German hospitals operator Asklepios and a medical supplies maker B. Braun weighed in with the purchase of enough shares to fend off the suitor.
Muench has continued to campaign for a sale and he and his detractors have been locked in legal action.
Sources familiar with the company have said B. Braun fears a deal will jeopardize its business where it competes with Fresenius as a service supplier to Rhoen, while Asklepios doesn't want its two main rivals to merge.
B. Braun and Asklepios declined to comment on Friday.
Last year Helios had sales of 3.2 billion euros and Asklepios had sales of 3 billion while Rhoen turned over 2.9 billion euros.
The acquisition would boost Helios's sales by about 2 billion euros and earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) by about 250 million, Fresenius said.
Fresenius said the purchase price would be entirely debt financed and it would not assume any of Rhoen's debt.
The ratio of the Fresenius group's net debt to core earnings would temporarily rise above 3 this year but remain below 3.5 before returning to the 2.5-3.0 target range next year, the company added.
Rhoen said it planned to pay out a special dividend of up to 1.9 billion euros, or 13.8 euros per share, as a result of the sale, on top of its regular dividend.
Some proceeds would also go towards repaying debt, with a further 200 million euros slated for investments, it said. ($1=0.7514 euros)
Editing by Jane Merriman and Greg Mahlich


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- This event has passed.
Amherstburg Farmers' Market
Saturday, July 7, 2018, 8:30 am to 1:30 pm
Event Website
7860 County Road 20
Open every Saturday from May 19 -October 6, 2018
Come out and load up on your favourite fruits and vegetables, baked goods, wines and other great produce as well as flowers and many craft items! The Amherstburg Farmers' Market supports the Buy Local initiatives by ensuring produce and products sold are from within a 50 kilometer radius. Come out and see what buying local looks and feels like! Located at the Malden Community Centre ("The Little White Church" at the end of Howard Avenue).
Venue: Amherstburg Farmers Market
7860 County Road 20
Amherstburg, Ontario Canada


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For younger looking, smooth hands.
emmi-beauty Hand cream with anti-aging technology for your hands with valuable ingredients such as collagen and almond oil. The pleasantly light texture absorbs quickly and leaves a silky feeling.
• Stressed skin is intensively treated
• Provides lasting moisture
• Significantly increases the elasticity
Apply emmi-beauty Anti-Aging Hand Cream to the hands and massage in.
Suitable for all skin types.
emmi-beauty Anti-Aging Hand Cream - Developed and produced without animal testing.
emmi-beauty Anti-Aging Handcreme – For younger looking, smooth hands.


text:
Katie's Cruise Control
No stranger to set romance, she had previously dated another actor, Joshua Jackson, one of her co-stars on Dawson's Creek. Though she recently broke off her engagement to Klein in March, Katie's love life soon became the subject of steady media speculation, when rumors about her being caught canoodling with Tom Cruise started to swirl
Though hers became a familiar face while playing Joey Potter during Dawson's Creek six-year run on the WB, Katie Holmes really proved herself a talent to be reckoned with in her impressive outings on the big screen. For who could forget her searing performance in the title role of Pieces of April, a bittersweet drama about a girl who has to deal with the alienation of losing her shocked parents' affections after introducing them to her black boyfriend on Thanksgiving.
That picture landed the second spot on this critic's Ten Best List of 2003, beating out some pretty decent flicks such as Seabiscuit and Lost in Translation. On Christmas Eve of that same year, Katie slipped a half-million dollar diamond ring on her hand after being proposed to by her boyfriend, actor Chris Klein. No stranger to set romance, she had previously dated another actor, Joshua Jackson, one of her co-stars on Dawson's Creek.
Though she recently broke off her engagement to Klein in March, Katie's love life soon became the subject of steady media speculation, when rumors about her being caught canoodling with Tom Cruise started to swirl. Pretty boy Cruise, himself a matinee idol with a preference for fellow thespians, was first married to Mimi Rogers (49) and then Nicole Kidman (38); and he's also been romantically linked to actresses Melissa Gilbert (41) and Penelope Cruz (31).
Now, he and Holmes have hit it off, the 16-year age gap notwithstanding. And neither appears at all shy about admitting their affection for the other while publicizing their new summer blockbusters; namely, War of the Worlds (his), and Batman Begins (hers).
BSN: Though you've made a number of artsy films, Batman Begins is your first bona fide blockbuster. How are you finding being involved with a film that's generating so much buzz?
KH: "I'm thrilled! Bring it on! I just saw the movie last week and I'm so proud to be in it. And I had a great time making it."
BSN: What was it like to have an opportunity to work with a couple of Academy-Award-winners in Michael Caine and Morgan Freeman, and with Oscar-nominees Liam Neeson, Ken Watanabe and Tom Wilkinson?
KH: "It was an honor. I felt so honored to be a part of this cast and to work with [director] Chris Nolan. And I loved the story. "
BSN: Did you enjoy the role of Rachel?
KH: "It was just really exciting to play a female character who was so strong. At times, she was, for lack of better words, a damsel-in-distress, and needed help at moments. But she's a fighter. And I liked that. I like fighters."
BSN: Have you signed on for a sequel yet?
KH: "Not really, but I'm mentally committed."
BSN: There's so much media attention being given to your relationship with Tom Cruise. Did the two of you ever consider keeping it a secret?
KH: "No. Why should we? We're happy. Why not share it? I'm so happy. I'm so thrilled. I mean, I want to tell the whole world. It's amazing!"
BSN: How did you two meet?
KH: "I met Tom one special day in April, and I'm so in love. He's the most amazing man in the entire world. I couldn't be happier."
BSN: Some tabloids have been speculating that this might just be a publicity stunt, since you both have movies being released now. Does reading that that bother you?
KH: "I don't read it, because there are so many people who are so happy for us, and it's like, 'Great!' That other stuff? Who cares?"
BSN: Tom has been just as positive about you while making the rounds promoting his picture. Don't you get tired of his being so upbeat all the time?
KH: "I love that. I think that's great. He's such a bright light, and he's such a wonderful, kind person that I miss him when I leave the room. I love him."
BSN: Has anybody offered you any advice since April suggesting that you might need to protect yourself?
KH: "No! [laughs] Protect myself from what?�
BSN: Who knows? From overexposure, lies, gossip or just pure conjecture?
KH: "Thank you, but I'm the happiest I've ever been."
Latest comments
- Ann GarrisonFebruary 22,2018 @ 08:03 PM
I think you have "Filtered HTML" turned on here. If you switch to "Full HTML," it will probably...
googletag.pubads().definePassback('6785150/BENN/BlackStarNews', [[300,250]]).setTargeting('fold',['BTF']).display();


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Today I leave for Pittsburgh for a 10-day mountain bike trip in Pennsylvania and Virginia with Steevo. But we are not riding! I mean, we are riding spots, but we are driving to them. Totally lame, right? I keep having to explain that our purpose is to ride good mountain bike trails not travel by bicycle. It's an easy assumption for people to make considering him and I probably have close to 20,000 combined bike touring miles. This is like when we were BMX kids, like he says on his post about our trip.
The trip wraps up with the Shenandoah 100 near Harrisonburg, VA. You know, the race that Floyd Landis got 3rd in last year.


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INTENSE - From Estonia till Croatia: Intelligent Energy Saving Measures for Municipal housing in Central and Eastern European countries
Why do we need INTENSE?
The international project INTENSE — Intelligent energy saving measures for municipal housing in Central and Eastern Europe, supported by the Intelligent Energy Europe programme of the European Commission is addressing the complexity of holistic energy sound urban planning and triggering comprehensive thinking about energy efficiency in 12 countries from Estonia until Croatia.
With INTENSE we want to highlight that energy saving is not just about putting better insulation on the walls of a building placing solar panels on its roof.
The greatest savings can be achieved if energy efficiency plays the guiding role already in the planning phase of a new living quarter or retrofitting of a house. Location and orientation of buildings and their connection to public transport are equally important as the choice of materials, technical solutions, and their proper installation. Not to forget that the residents are well informed about what they can to reduce their consumption of electricity and heat energy.
In INTENSE, non-governmental organizations and municipalities work together with support from expert organizations in Germany and implement a rich set of actions to improve energy efficient construction in their region.
The project is running from 01/10/2008-31/09/2011.
INTENSE addresses municipalities, building professionals as well as the general public and it aims to
- Assess legal background and show opprtunities for municipalities
- To optimize the process of urban planning To transfer best practice experience
- To train municipal planners and building professionals to implement energy sound solutions in practice
- Enable municipalities to better communicate energy efficiency to the their citizens
What we achieved so far...
- A series of workshops and study visits about most important aspects of energy efficient urban planning, indeed have changed the mindsets of participating municipalities in Central and Eastern Europe.
- Training materials have been developed that will be used to spread the knowledge e.g. about technical aspects, design planning of energy sound living quarters and buildings further.
- Examples of good practices for energy efficient buildings from all over Europe were collected to demonstrate to muinicipalies what can be achieved today and to inspire the minds of municipal planners, architects, and engineers for the future.
- A set of 16 criteria was developed together with a little tool for evaluation of newly planned and already built homes covering general planning aspects, technical options, and social-economic characteristics. In this way INTENSE is also bringing the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive to local level.
- In own 'mini-projects' municipalities develop energy strategies, public awareness raising plans or apply technical measures and altogether show different facettes of energy sound urban planning in practice.
More information for download...
Get the new INTENSE project leaflet (February 2011)
- INTENSE Leaflet as a pdf Download


text: I need to replace the light bulb in my ceiling fan but the part\model number is warn off and I can't find it anywhere! I can read "Philips," "Plus," and "G5" but nothing else. Please see the attached photo. Can you tell me what the part\model of this bulb is and where I can find one (preferable online)?


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Brazil beat Venezuela 25-14, 25-15, 25-23 on Saturday to reach the final of the South American Olympic qualifying tournament in women's volleyball.
Brazil will face Peru for a spot in the Olympics. Peru beat Colombia 25-19, 15-25, 22-25, 25-11, 17-15.
Only the winner will is guaranteed a berth at the Olympic tournament in London.
A victory over Peru will allow Brazil to try to defend its title in the 2008 Beijing Games.
Seven teams began playing the qualifying tournament and the top two in each of the two groups reached the semifinals.
Copyright AP - Associated Press


text:
Help Library
Find help information for your LG product
Find help information for your LG product
Learn about product installation, maintenance, and troubleshooting using our search options.
Get your questions answered about product setup, use and care, repair and maintenance issues. We can help.
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Chat with an LG Support Representative.
Call an LG Support Representative.
Customer Service 1-888-542-2623 (7am-12am EST)
B2B Support Line 1-855-286-2456 (24/7)
Business Solution 1-888-824-6211(8am-5pm EST)


text:
I am astonished by the amount of misinformation about workers' compensation insurance being given credence by the Rochester Business Journal and other business leaders who should know better. The recent articles and essays I've read (e.g., Sandra Parker's Nov. 16 On Business column, "So far, worker's comp reform has failed employers in N.Y.") are misleading at best and irresponsible and manipulative if taken at face value.
The reality is we will rarely if ever see the alternative perspective in pages like these. Injured workers are not organized to defend themselves, and there are far fewer of them than there are businesses and associations that protect businesses' interests.
But I believe there are honest employers who are open to hearing the truth-business owners who recognize the risks their employees take on their behalf every day and who recognize the lifelong impact a disability could have on a person who earns $400 to $600 each week, the typical individual who finds himself or herself applying for workers' compensation.
The Rochester Business Alliance and Unshackle Upstate, in their quest to influence elected officials and business leaders, are perpetuating propaganda that is simple to dispel.
First, the Rochester Business Alliance, in its own lobbying on the 2007 Workers' Compensation Reform Act, helped establish a cap on the total income an injured worker would receive. Cost savings related to that cap will not begin to be realized until mid-year 2013, so the simple fact that the RBA now pretends to be surprised that the full cost-savings potential of the last reform has not yet been realized is ridiculous. And to push for further reform without enabling the initial reform to bear fruit is irresponsible.
But most reprehensible is the real motive most likely behind the RBA's and Unshackle Upstate's aggressive misinformation campaign: the benefits insurance companies will realize from the proposed increased regulation.
Business owners will see minimal, if any, benefit from the latest reforms being pursued. However, insurance companies will benefit significantly, simply from the way the money flows through the system. With more money in the system and their costs reduced, insurance companies will be able to leverage the float to further increase their profits.
The workers' compensation system is a fundamental part of the social safety net, and fair compensation for injured workers should not be sacrificed to increase profits for insurance companies.
It is easy to vilify workers' compensation insurance. As a business owner, I recognize the tendency to lament the taxes and insurance we pay in New York. However, I also believe we deserve the straight story; propaganda disguised as advocacy should not be accepted.
If we truly want to contain costs for employers, we should demand transparency from insurance companies on the unverified cost projections they used to justify premium increases. And we should demand to see the projected cost savings if the 2007 reform is allowed to bear fruit.
Thomas Ferrazzi Ferris is a partner with Connors & Ferris LLP.
12/7/12 (c) 2012 Rochester Business Journal. To obtain permission to reprint this article, call 585-546-8303 or email firstname.lastname@example.com.


text:
This chapter explains how transactions are implemented in TopLink.
This chapter includes the following sections:
A database transaction is a set of operations (create, read, update, or delete) that either succeed or fail as a single operation. The database discards, or rolls back, unsuccessful transactions, leaving the database in its original state. Transactions may be internal (that is, provided by TopLink) or external (that is, provided by a source external to the application, such as an application server).
In TopLink, transactions are contained in the unit of work object. You acquire a unit of work from a session (see Section 114.1, "Acquiring a Unit of Work") and using its API, you can control transactions directly or through a Java 2 Enterprise Edition (Java EE) application server transaction controller such as the Java Transaction API (JTA).
Transactions execute in their own context, or logical space, isolated from other transactions and database operations.
The transaction context is demarcated; that is, it has a defined structure that includes the following:
A begin point, where the operations within the transaction begin. At this point, the transaction begins to execute its operations.
A commit point, where the operations are complete and the transaction attempts to formalize changes on the database.
The degree to which concurrent (parallel) transactions on the same data are allowed to interact is determined by the level of transaction isolation configured. ANSI/SQL defines four levels of database transaction isolation, as shown in Table 113-1. Each offers a trade-off between performance and resistance from the following unwanted actions:
Dirty read: a transaction reads uncommitted data written by a concurrent transaction.
Nonrepeatable read: a transaction rereads data and finds it has been modified by some other transaction that was committed after the initial read operation.
Phantom read: a transaction reexecutes a query and the returned data has changed due to some other transaction that was committed after the initial read operation.
Table 113-1 Transaction Isolation Levels
|Transaction Isolation Level
|Dirty Read
|Nonrepeatable Read
|Phantom Read
Read Uncommitted
Read Committed
Repeatable Read
As a transaction is committed, the database maintains a log of all changes to the data. If all operations in the transaction succeed, the database allows the changes; if any part of the transaction fails, the database uses the log to roll back the changes.
Like any transaction, a unit of work transaction provides the following:
Unit of work operations occur within a unit of work context, in which writes are isolated from the database until commit time. The unit of work executes changes on copies, or clones, of objects in its own internal cache, and if successful, applies changes to objects in the database and the session cache.
In a standalone TopLink application, your application demarcates transactions using the unit of work.
If your application includes a Java EE container that provides container-managed transactions, your application server demarcates transactions using its own transaction service. You configure TopLink to integrate with the container's transaction service by specifying a TopLink external transaction controller.
A TopLink external transaction controller class integrates the unit of work with an application server's transaction service. Using an external transaction controller, your application can participate in transactions that span multiple data sources and that are managed by the application server. The external transaction controller coordinates messages and callbacks between the application server's transaction service and the unit of work.
When you configure your application to use an external transaction controller (see Section 89.9, "Configuring the Server Platform"), the unit of work executes as part of an external transaction. The unit of work still manages its own internal operations, but it waits for the external transaction to tell it to write changes back to the database and to the session cache.
Note that because the transaction happens outside of the unit of work context and is controlled by the application server's transaction service, errors can be more difficult to diagnose and fix because exceptions may occur outside of your application code, for example, during application server initiated call-backs.
You can integrate the unit of work with the following:
The Java Transaction API (JTA) is the application programming interface you use to interact with a transaction manager.
Using JTA, your application can participate in a distributed transaction. A transaction manager that implements JTA provides transaction management and connection pooling and enables your application to interact with multiple data sources transparently by using JTA.
For more information, see Section 115.13, "Integrating the Unit of Work with an External Transaction Service".
The CORBA Object Transaction Service (OTS) specification is part of the Common Object Request Brokers Architecture (CORBA) Object Services model and is the standard for Object Request Broker (ORB) implementations. Some servers implement the Java APIs for the OTS rather than for JTA (see Section 184.108.40.206, "JTA Controlled Transactions").
Use TopLink OTS support with the unit of work to directly access the Java OTS interfaces of servers that do not support JTA.
To integrate your application with an OTS transaction service, you must configure your application to use a custom server platform (see Section 89.9, "Configuring the Server Platform").
For more information, see Section 115.13, "Integrating the Unit of Work with an External Transaction Service".
Entity beans that use container-managed persistence may participate in transactions that are either client demarcated or container demarcated.
A client demarcated transaction occurs when a client of an entity bean directly sets up transaction boundaries using the
javax.transaction.UserTransaction interface.
A container demarcated transaction occurs when the container automatically wraps an invocation on an EJB in a transaction based upon the transaction attributes supplied in the EJB deployment descriptor.
In transactions involving EJB, TopLink waits until the transaction begins its two-phase commit process before updating the database. This allows for the following:
SQL optimizations that ensure only changed data is written to the data source
Proper ordering of updates to allow for database constraints
For more information, see Section 115.14, "Integrating the Unit of Work with CMP".
The unit of work does not directly participate in database transaction isolation. Because the unit of work may execute queries outside the database transaction (and, by interacting with the cache, outside the database itself), the database does not have control over this data and its visibility.
However, by default, TopLink provides a degree of transaction isolation regardless of what database transaction isolation has been configured on the underlying database.
Each unit of work instance operates on its own copy (clone) of registered objects (see Section 113.2.4, "Clones and the Unit of Work"). In this case, because the unit of work provides an API that allows querying to be done on object changes within a unit of work (see Section 115.4, "Using Conforming Queries and Descriptors"), the unit of work provides read committed operations.
Optimistic locking, optimistic read locking, or pessimistic locking can be used to further manage concurrency (see Section 126.96.36.199, "Locking and the Unit of Work").
Changes are committed to the database only when the unit of work
commit method is called (either directly or by way of an external transaction controller).
For detailed information on configuring and using TopLink to achieve a particular level of transaction isolation and transaction isolation level limitations, see Section 115.15, "Database Transaction Isolation Levels".
This section introduces transaction concepts unique to TopLink, including the following:
The TopLink unit of work simplifies transactions and improves transactional performance. It is the preferred method of writing to a database in TopLink because it performs the following:
Sends a minimal amount of SQL to the database during the commit by updating only the exact changes down to the field level
Reduces database traffic by isolating transaction operations in their own memory space
Optimizes cache coordination, in applications that use multiple caches, by passing change sets (rather than objects) between caches
Isolates object modifications in their own transaction space to allow parallel transactions on the same objects
Ensures referential integrity and minimizes deadlocks by automatically maintaining SQL ordering
Orders database insert, update, and delete operations to maintain referential integrity for mapped objects
Resolves bidirectional references automatically
Frees the application from tracking or recording its changes
Simplifies persistence with persistence by reachability (see Section 114.5, "Associating a New Source to an Existing Target Object")
TopLink uses the unit of work as follows:
The client application acquires a unit of work from a session object.
The client application queries TopLink to obtain a cache object it wants to modify, and then registers the cache object with the unit of work.
The unit of work registers the object according to the object's change policy. For more information about how change policy affects registration, see Section 113.2.3, "Unit of Work and Change Policy".
By default, as each object is registered, the unit of work accesses the object from the session cache or database, and creates a backup clone and a working clone (see Section 113.2.4, "Clones and the Unit of Work"). The unit of work returns the working clone to the client application. If change tracking is used, the unit of work does not create backup clones and intercepts the changes through weaving (see Section 12.14, "Optimizing Using Weaving").
The client application modifies the working object returned by the unit of work.
The client application (or external transaction controller) commits the transaction.
The unit of work calculates the change set for each registered object according to the object's change policy. For more information about how change policy affects change set calculation, see Section 113.2.3, "Unit of Work and Change Policy".
By default, at commit time, the unit of work compares the working clones to the backup clones and calculates the change set (that is, determines the minimum changes required). The comparison is done with a backup clone so that concurrent changes to the same objects will not result in incorrect changes being identified. The unit of work then attempts to commit any new or changed objects to the database.
If the commit transaction succeeds, the unit of work merges changes into the shared session cache. Otherwise, no changes are made to the objects in the shared cache. For more details, see Section 113.2.6, "Commit and Rollback Transactions".
If there are no changes, the unit of work does not start a new transaction.
Figure 113-1 The Life Cycle of a Unit of Work
Example 113-1 shows the default life cycle in code.
Example 113-1 Unit of Work Life Cycle
// The application reads a set of objects from the database List employees = session.readAllObjects(Employee.class); // The application specifies an employee to edit . . . Employee employee = (Employee) employees.get(index); try { // Acquire a unit of work from the session UnitOfWork uow = session.acquireUnitOfWork(); // Register the object that is to be changed. Unit of work returns a clone // of the object and makes a backup copy of the original employee Employee employeeClone = (Employee)uow.registerObject(employee); // Make changes to the employee clone by adding a new phoneNumber. // If a new object is referred to by a clone, it does not have to be // registered. Unit of work determines it is a new object at commit time PhoneNumber newPhoneNumber = new PhoneNumber("cell","212","765-9002"); employeeClone.addPhoneNumber(newPhoneNumber); // Commit the transaction: unit of work compares the employeeClone with // the backup copy of the employee, begins a transaction, and updates the // database with the changes. If successful, the transaction is committed // and the changes in employeeClone are merged into employee. If there is an // error updating the database, the transaction is rolled back and the // changes are not merged into the original employee object uow.commit(); } catch (DatabaseException ex) { // If the commit fails, the database is not changed. The unit of work should // be thrown away and application-specific action taken } // After the commit, the unit of work is no longer valid. Do not use further
The unit of work tracks changes for a registered object based on the change policy you configure for the object's descriptor. If there are no changes, the unit of work will not start a database transaction.
Table 113-2 lists the change policies that TopLink provides.
Table 113-2 TopLink Change Policies
|Change Policy
|Applicable to...
Wide range of object change characteristics.
The default change policy.
Objects with few attributes or with many attributes and many changed attributes.
Objects with many attributes and few changed attributes.
The most efficient change policy.
The default change policy for JPA or EJB 2.n CMP on OC4J.
For CMP applications deployed to an application server for which TopLink provides CMP integration (see Section 8.1, "Introduction to the Application Server Support"), when you configure a descriptor for an entity bean with container-managed persistence with an
ObjectChangeTrackingPolicy, TopLink code generates a concrete subclass to implement the TopLink
ChangeTracker interface at deploy time (see Section 126.96.36.199, "Configuring Object Change Tracking Policy").
For more information, see Section 119.30, "Configuring Change Policy".
DeferredChangeDetectionPolicy is the change policy that all persistent objects use by default.
This option provides good unit of work commit performance for a wide range of object change characteristics.
When you register in a unit of work an object whose descriptor is configured with a
DeferredChangeDetectionPolicy (see Section 22.214.171.124, "Configuring Deferred Change Detection Policy"), a backup clone is made of the object (see Section 113.2.4, "Clones and the Unit of Work") and at commit time, the unit of work computes changes by making an attribute-by-attribute comparison between the backup clone and the original object.
This change policy is applicable to all mapping types.
ObjectChangeTrackingPolicy optimizes the unit of work commit transaction by including objects in the change set calculation only if at least one attribute has changed.
This option provides improved unit of work commit performance for objects with few attributes, or with many attributes and many changed attributes.
When you register in a unit of work an object whose descriptor is configured with
ObjectChangeTracking change policy, a backup clone is made of the object and at commit time, the unit of work computes changes by comparing the backup to the current object if and only if at least one attribute is changed (if the object's
hasChanges method returns
true). If a registered object has no changes, the unit of work does not compare it to the backup clone.
Note:If you modify an object's field through reflection, TopLink will not detect the change. However, if you disable change tracking, TopLink will detect the change.
This change policy is applicable to a subset of mapping types (see Section 220.127.116.11, "Change Policy Mapping Support").
TopLink provides different levels of support for this change policy depending on the EJB version and application server you are using:
For CMP applications deployed to an application server for which TopLink provides CMP integration (see Section 8.1, "Introduction to the Application Server Support"), as well as for JPA applications, when you configure a descriptor for an entity bean with container-managed persistence (or a JPA entity) with an
ObjectChangeTrackingPolicy, TopLink code generates a concrete subclass to implement the TopLink
ChangeTracker interface at deploy time (see Section 18.104.22.168, "Configuring Object Change Tracking Policy").
AttributeChangeTrackingPolicy optimizes the unit of work commit transaction by tracking all object changes at the attribute level. This eliminates two unit of work operations: backup clone creation and change detection through comparison.
This option provides improved unit of work commit performance for objects with many attributes, and few changed attributes. Generally, this is the most efficient change policy.
This change policy is applicable to a subset of mapping types (see Section 126.96.36.199, "Change Policy Mapping Support").
Note:You cannot use the
AttributeChangeTrackingPolicy if you are using any instance of
FieldsLockingPolicy (see Section 16.4.4, "Optimistic Field Locking Policies").
TopLink provides different levels of support for this change policy:
For JPA entities, you can configure TopLink to automatically weave attribute level change tracking.
TopLink only supports change tracking with lazy collection relationships, not with eager collection relationship.
For more information, see "What You May Need to Know About Weaving JPA Entities" section of EclipseLink Developer's Guide at
For POJO classes, you can configure TopLink to automatically weave attribute level change tracking.
TopLink can weave both transparent indirect container indirection (lazy loading) and change tracking for collection mappings. If you manually configure a collection mapping with nontransparent indirection (either value holder indirection or proxy indirection), TopLink does not automatically weave change tracking.
For more information, see Section 2.10.5, "What You May Need to Know About Weaving and POJO Classes".
TopLink supports alternative change tracking policies (policies other than
DeferredChangeDetectionPolicy) for attributes that use any of the following mapping types:
Transformation Mapping (immutable mappings only)
EIS Transformation Mapping (immutable mappings only)
TopLink uses the
DeferredChangeDetectionPolicy (see Section 220.127.116.11, "Deferred Change Detection Policy") for attributes that use any other type of mapping.
If a transformation mapping maps a mutable value, TopLink must clone and compare the value in a unit of work (see Section 119.29, "Configuring Copy Policy").
By default, TopLink assumes that all transformation mappings are mutable. If the mapping maps a simple immutable value, you can improve unit of work performance by configuring the IsMutable option to
Mutable basic mappings affect the overhead of change tracking. TopLink can only weave an attribute change tracking policy for immutable mappings.
For more information, see Section 2.8.11, "Mutability".
When using the
DefrerredChangeDetectionPolicy or the
ObjectLevelChangeTrackingPolicy (see Section 184.108.40.206, "Deferred Change Detection Policy"), the unit of work maintains the following two copies of the original objects registered with it:
working clones;
backup clones.
After you change the working clones and the transaction is committed, the unit of work compares the working clones to the backup clones, and writes any changes to the database. The unit of work uses clones to allow parallel units of work (see Section 113.2.5, "Nested and Parallel Units of Work") to exist, a requirement in multiuser three-tier applications.
The TopLink cloning process is efficient in that it clones only the mapped attributes of registered objects, and stops at indirection (lazily loaded) objects unless you trigger the indirection. For more information, see Section 121.3, "Configuring Indirection (Lazy Loading)".
You can customize the cloning process using the descriptor's copy policy. For more information, see Section 119.29, "Configuring Copy Policy".
You should discontinue the use of the unit of work clones after the transaction has been committed, as it is beyond the scope of a server request. If you choose to continue using the clones, be aware that these objects may include a reference to the unit of work and not let the garbage collection to proceed until they are released. For more information, see Section 115.6, "Resuming a Unit of Work After Commit".
You can use TopLink to create the following:
For additional information and examples on using nested and parallel units of work, see Section 115.8, "Using a Nested or Parallel Unit of Work".
You can nest a unit of work (the child) within another unit of work (the parent). A nested unit of work does not commit changes to the database. Instead, it passes its changes to the parent unit of work, and the parent attempts to commit the changes at commit time. Nesting units of work lets you break a large transaction into smaller isolated transactions, and ensures that:
Changes from each nested unit of work commit or fail as a group.
Failure of a nested unit of work does not affect the commit or rollback transaction of other operations in the parent unit of work.
Changes are presented to the database as a single transaction.
You can modify the same objects in multiple unit of work instances in parallel because the unit of work manipulates copies of objects. TopLink resolves any concurrency issues when the Units of Work commits the changes.
When a unit of work transaction is committed, it either succeeds, or fails and rolls back. A commit transaction can be initiated by your application or by a Java EE container.
At commit time, the unit of work compares the working clones and backup clones to calculate the change set (that is, to determine the minimum changes required). Changes include updates to or deletion of existing objects, and the creation of new objects. The unit of work then begins a database transaction, and attempts to write the changes to the database. If all changes commit successfully on the database, the unit of work merges the changed objects into the session cache. If any one of the changes fail on the database, the unit of work rolls back any changes on the database, and does not merge changes into the session cache.
The unit of work calculates commit order using foreign key information from one-to-one and one-to-many mappings. If you encounter constraint problems during a commit transaction, verify your mapping definitions. The order in which you register objects with the
registerObject method does not affect the commit order.
When your application uses JTA, the unit of work commit transaction acts differently than in a nonEJTA application. In most cases, the unit of work attaches itself to an external transaction. If no transaction exists, the unit of work creates a transaction. This distinction affects commit activity as follows:
If the unit of work attaches to an existing transaction, the unit of work ignores the
commit call. The transaction commits the unit of work when the entire external transaction is complete.
If the unit of work starts the external transaction, the transaction treats the unit of work
commit call as a request to commit the external transaction. The external transaction then calls its own commit code on the database.
In either case, only the external transaction can call
commit on the database because it owns the database connection.
For more information, see Section 115.13, "Integrating the Unit of Work with an External Transaction Service".
A unit of work commit transaction must succeed or fail as a unit. Failure in writing changes to the database causes the unit of work to roll back the database to its previous state. Nothing changes in the database, and the unit of work does not merge changes into the session cache.
In a JTA environment, the unit of work does not own the database connection. In this case, the unit of work sends the rollback call to the external transaction rather than the database, and the external transaction treats the rollback call as a request to roll the transaction back.
For more information, see Section 115.13, "Integrating the Unit of Work with an External Transaction Service".
You cannot modify the primary key attribute of an object in a unit of work. This is an unsupported operation and doing so will result in unexpected behaviour (exceptions or database corruption).
To replace one instance of an object with unique constraints with another, see Section 115.10.1, "How to Use the setShouldPerformDeletesFirst Method of the Unit of Work".
By default, the unit of work performs change set calculation efficiently for a wide range of object change characteristics. However, there are various ways you can use the unit of work to enhance application performance.
One way to improve performance is to consider using an alternative change policy (see Section 113.2.3, "Unit of Work and Change Policy").
For more performance options, see Section 12.13, "Optimizing the Unit of Work".
You do not instantiate an instance of
oracle.toplink.sessions.UnitOfWork. Rather, you acquire a unit of work from an instance of
oracle.toplink.sessions.Session or from another unit of work.
For more information on creating sessions, see Chapter 88, "Creating a Session".
For more information on acquiring a unit of work, see Section 114.1, "Acquiring a Unit of Work".
For more information on using the basic API of the unit of work, see Chapter 114, "Using Basic Unit of Work API".
For more information on using the advanced API of the unit of work, see Chapter 115, "Using Advanced Unit of Work API".
The unit of work extends the interface
oracle.toplink.sessions.Session, and implements all the usual session API. When using session API from a unit of work, you should consider the following:
A unit of work offers the same set of database access methods as a regular session.
When called from a unit of work, these methods access the objects in the unit of work, register the selected objects automatically, and return clones.
Although this makes it unnecessary for you to call the
registerObject and
registerAllObjects methods, be aware of the restrictions on registering objects described in Section 114.2, "Creating an Object" and Section 114.5, "Associating a New Source to an Existing Target Object".
As with regular sessions, you use the
readObject and
readAllObjects methods to read objects from the database.
You can execute queries in a unit of work with the
executeQuery method.
For information on locking API generic to all sessions, see the following:
For information on locking API specific to a unit of work, see Section 115.11, "Using Optimistic Read Locking with the forceUpdateToVersionField Method".
Throughout the chapters in this part, the following object model and schema are used in the examples provided. The example object model appears in Figure 113-2 and the example entity-relationship (data model) diagram appears in Figure 113-3.
Figure 113-2 Example Object Model
Figure 113-3 Example Data Model


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Adrahil I
Adrahil I was the first Prince of Dor-en-Ernil. When King Ondoher led his army to face the Wainriders who threatened Gondor, he commanded the army's centre with his son and heir Artamir. The soldiers of the right wing were under the command of the King's nephew Minohtar, while the left wing were under the captaincy of the Adrahil of Dol Amroth.
Ondoher's enterprise came to a devastating end: he was surprised by the Wainriders, and his forces were overwhelmed. Adrahil's soldiers, however, were shielded from the attack and survived it. Ondoher and Artamir had both been killed, and Minohtar took charge, sending Adrahil south into Ithilien to form a defensive line from Cair Andros to the Ephel Dúath.
Adrahil's story was never completed, so his fate is uncertain. We know that the Wainriders eventually broke through Minohtar's more northerly defence, but whether they penetrated to Adrahil's position is unknown. If he survived the initial Wainrider assault, it seems likely that Adrahil would have joined with Eärnil in his counter-attack, seeing the ultimate defeat of the Wainriders at the Battle of the Camp.
Adrahil's place in history is difficult to define: he seems to have been an ancestor of Prince Imrahil of Dol Amroth (especially since he shares his name with Imrahil's father). If he belonged to this line, though, it seems strange that he lived more than a century before Galador, who is specifically named as the first Prince of Dol Amroth. The dating is consistent with Adrahil being the father of Imrazôr, and hence Galador's grandfather, but the evidence on this point is slim.


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Sign up: Free Learn a better way to hedge for farmers
Are you tired of listening to the same BULL ****, and services that do not have a plan if the market goes down instead? Hedge means to take risk off the table, and my service has all producers 100% hedged and they do have most of the upside unhedged (if we can rally for whatever reason). Hedge with a Pro and option expert who has been trading grains for 37 years.
Sign up: Free 1 Day Trail of Daily Numbers & Trade Ideas
This report was sent to subscribers on 1/29/13 at 4:30 p.m. Chicago time to be used for trading on 1/30/13.
March 2013 Corn
After the close recap on 1/29/13: My resistance was 7.37 1/4, .05 1/4 from the actual high, and my pivot acted as support and was 7.28 1/4, .00 3/4 (EXACT in open outcry) from the actual low.
March 2013 Corn: Use the same numbers that were used on 1/29/13
-----------7.28 ¼ Pivot
5 day chart.... Up from last week same day
Daily chart ... Down
Weekly chart ... Sideways
Monthly chart .... Sideways 6.97 is the 200 DMA
ATR 11 Balanced 73%
I continue to say "The gap bracket line at $7.08 ¼ is now support, the gap at $7.37 ¼ is resistance and then the next downtrend line at $7.26 is pivotal now".
Grains: All March corn options closed lower on Tuesday, and that does not bode well for the current rally to have too much left in the near term. March $7.40 calls closed at $.08 7/8 down $.00 ¾ and I believe is still a good place to sell upside away which is above my gap resistance of $7.37 ¼. If the market closes above $7.40 it would be no different unless it is above $7.48. If I sold the $7.40 call for $.08 clear (after commissions) and that is equal to $7.48. Anything below $7.48 does not compete with selling the $7.40 call for $.08 7/8. The March options expire 3 weeks from this Friday.
Soybean bulls dug in their heels and were able to settle above the 200 DMA, but until it closes above where the January contract expired, the bears remain in control. Above $14.62 ¾ will target $15. November soy-beans continue to resist at $13.20 and $13.40, and $12.90 is good support in the near term.
Average soybean and corn daily trading ranges are decreasing, another sign of a market going nowhere. Being 100% hedged 2013 corn and soybeans for months has allowed us to be unemotional and have less stress than being unhedged which is no different than a speculator who is long. If you are unhedged I would recommend hedging right here (November soybeans settled at $13.12 ¾, and December corn at $5.87) using options with a "known risk" and "known reward" as well as a "known maximum margin requirement". Unhedged farmers should keep in mind 2 things, unless some kind of hedge is in place, you are long the market the amount of contracts you need to defend if the market goes down, and you will be the victim or beneficiary of the weather as far as the price you will get in the future. Weather is by far the most important fundamental factor in determining if we will be making new "all time highs" or be saddled with burdensome supplies. Unfortunately, determining weather is just as much an art as it a science, and betting more than a small "what if" bet on weather is not the prudent thing to do, let alone betting all your "income" on an unhedged position.
Speculators only trade with funds that are a small part of their income; unhedged farmers are "betting it all" and to me are no different than going to the racetrack or casino with their paycheck. I cannot imagine any other business where the advisor does not tell a business that can lock in a price that allows good income in advance of production, and tells them not to and wait for a higher price. Once you have an income, you can spend some of it to try and improve profits and the risk should be more in production rather than price.
I am never in favor of selling futures/buying call options, let alone making cash sales with sources paying much less than the "board" price for new crop and buying futures or options to try and get some upside back, but it is very costly if the market rallies significantly and could be disaster and uncontrollable. A hedge strategy should never have the potential of having more risk than not hedging at all. If you sell futures or buy a put for hedge protection and buy a call or call spread for some upside, even if the market goes down you must subtract what you paid for the call side from the price you sold it at. But if it rallies past your upside, you will be forced into doing something for more upside and potentially after committing a lot of your money to the upside, only see the market setback by harvest. Then you would need to subtract all the money spent for the upside that was not realized at expiration.
Lastly, selling an outright call let alone 2 to pay for 1 put or put spread is an accident waiting to happen, and it could be fatal. This is a highly speculative position, even if it looks to you like it is not, and instead of making more money than your original hedge if it rallies, you could be in the "house of pain" instead. Hedge means to reduce risk, not assuming more risk if the unthinkable happens.
I want to continue to trade the market without bias, and risk .04 in corn and $.06 in soybeans using a stop to protect any idea.
Grains: The funds do not seem to have any conviction to take the markets higher, and if they do the farmers are going to be more than willing sellers. Having my service and being 100% hedged for years that have allowed record profits for my producers, it's hard to witness all the farmers around them that still have 50% or more of their crop unhedged, let alone hardly hedging 2013 at all. Having $.60 December 2013 put spreads that start at $6.40 and $6.50 (2012 high for the December 2013 contract was $6.65) that costs $.12 or less including commissions is a "partial hedge" worth having. Of course we would like to see the market rally to the moon, we are well positioned to take all but $1 or less of whatever the market can rally no matter if it goes to $10 or more. The first $.48 income locked in our hedge account is more important to my producers than getting only $.80 instead of a $1 if it could rally to $7.20. Leaving $.20 on the table is a wishful price to pay if the market can rally for whatever the reasons. $.48 per bushel used to be a highly profitable return for farming until the last few years.
Reluctant buyers, unhedged farmers willing to sell, and the worst people to be long are the producers. Pro-ducers have enjoyed solid cash market the last few years, and this year is no exception. As I have said many times in my service, I believe "rationing" will be done in the cash markets, not the futures. This has been true, and this year I think we can see record cash prices in corn, but I do not know if soybeans can get more than $1 over the futures. This has been ideal for people using my strategies being hedged against "futures contracts" instead of any kind of cash hedge until actual cash sales are made and option hedges are lifted.
As a trader I laugh at the "dueling forecasts" over the decades, and the last few years have been hysterical listening to the experts predict yields on a year like 2012 when every single one of my producers underestimated what they thought was in their fields the day before they combined. If they could not tell what was in their own fields that most have worked for years to decades, how do you predict nearly 96 million corn acres? I have seen this movie many times since I bought a membership in 1976, and I never really cared what made the market go up and down. I have seen the yearly cycle from planting to harvest and in between for nearly 4 decades, and have looked at fundamentals as being helpful for the "what if", but knew from the start of my career that only by buying lower than I can sell it for, or sell it for more than I can buy it back for, was the ONLY thing that if I got that right I make money. I never want to be right the fundamentals and wrong what I buy or sell in the market.
I have said that this was going to be a boring period, and a good reason to sell "premium", and for producers than means to sell a call for what you are long in your bin right now waiting for higher prices to sell cash. It is still a waiting game in SA, and who expects anyone to get that right, when you could drive a truck through our "experts" guesstimates before that Final report this month.
The bottom line for speculators and producers, old crops should remain firm or even gain on the new crops as time goes on into the summer, and the trend is down until something changes. We should continue to trade sideways in the next 2 weeks in the parameters I outlined last week. For speculators that means to participate in the market with a preference to sell rallies at resistance levels rather than buying supports. I remain bearish since September, but am more than willing to cover "shorts" when at a chart support. I buy fewer contracts at chart supports to get long for a correction to a chart resistance, than taking a sell at that chart resistance. Producers must always protect the downside with some plan in place to limit risk, and im-prove on that position if the market rallies, and when at supports do something to improve your upside such as buying back calls that were sold and take profits looking to resell again if the market can rally.
Producers were silent on Monday and did not sell calls yet. I would sell something today even if it is half and take advantage of the bounce after the February call options expired worthless. Selling the $7.40 or $7.50 calls are worth selling, since the market has not traded over the gap at $7.37 ¼ for almost 2 months now. You are long March $7.20/$6.80 put spreads since the December options expired, and are long your bin until the call strike you sell. Some have $7.40 puts, and they will just put more income in their pocket if they lose it at $7.50.
Soybeans are trying to overcome the 200 DMA to no avail so far, let alone where the January contract went off the board. They still are hanging around there and have not given up, but the longer it takes the worse it is for the bulls who are trying to hurdle it. We are in position to make money if it can rally, and it should take November somewhat along for the ride, letting us find a place to extend our 2013 hedges that were almost running out of protection that began at $13.40.
I want to continue to trade the market without bias, and risk .04 in corn and $.06 in soybeans using a stop to protect any idea.
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In the cold, wet, gray (and bloody short!) days of February, we notice people sniffling, snuffling and sneezing and wheezing all around us. The last thing we want is to succumb to another person's bug but, alas, there isn't much we can do.
We are in the heart of cold and flu season in my neck of the woods, and everyone seems to be either coming down with, just getting over or in the midst of suffering some viral thing or another. It's like walking into a germ fog anytime you go out in public.
I used to have a failsafe for this time of year. I used a tincture of echinacea and goldenseal, which a friend would brew up every year from her organic gardens. A few drops of this stuff at the first sign of a cold and I was good to go.
Now, of course, I'm not really into the idea of boosting my immune system, naturally or otherwise. Such a shot in the arm might take care of the cold, but at the expense of another bit of myelin.
I've found a few over-the-counter bits and bobs that seem to help, but thought this would be a good topic of discussion for the class. We seem to be very receptive to the idea of complimentary therapy here, so I thought you might have some suggestions.
I've made mention that Caryn works in a germ factory (also known as elementary schools) and the stuff she brings home…needless to say I'm really interested in what others have found helpful without giving more fuel to their MS.
Wishing you and your family the best of health.


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The study, published in the PLOS ONE journal, demonstrates that the magnitude and orientation of the optical blur match that of the retinal image projected by the individual's own optical system.
The optical system of the eye, formed by the cornea and crystalline lens, projects the images of the outside world on the retina. The imperfections of these lenses and the misalignment between them produce a degradation of the retinal image. For example, when a light point is observed, the optical system forms a degraded image on the retina, i.e., a blurred, generally asymmetric, irregular spot. The level of blur varies across people. Also, the concept for what is visually clear or blurred depends on everyone's prior visual experience.
These effects are well known for the optical errors that can be corrected with spectacle lenses or standard contact lenses. In this study the team measured the effect of the residual small imperfections (called abberations) that remain once the best glasses were fitted.
The study demonstrates that observers consider as less blurred those images that are degraded by imperfections similar to those present in their own eyes, even if the magnitude of optical blur is similar to their own," explains Professor Susana Marcos, from the Institute of Optics, CSIC.
To determine the blur pattern that each person considers optimal, the research team used a novel measurement method.
The researchers asked a group of normally sighted subjects to evaluate the quality of hundreds of images with the same magnitude of blur (i.e., an automatic system for image blur calculation would consider them as equal), but with variable orientations, corresponding to those measured in 100 different eyes. The images were projected through an adaptive optics system, which corrected the natural optical imperfections of the subject as well as his spectacle correction.
"This way we evaluated only the neural component of perception," said Susana Marcos, Ph.D., of the Institute of Optics, CSIC. "However, whereas all images were optically equivalent, the participants chose those that were blurred through image processing with imperfections similar to those of their own eyes, and rejected those from others. The truth is that we don't like to see through the eyes of another."
These results represent for the first time the visual internal code for blur in an individual was measured, but they also have clinical implications, as different pathologies and optical corrections, by lenses or surgery can, and do, change the imperfections of the eyes.
"With regard to the small amounts of blur or visual aberrations, we found that each person adapts to their own visual aberration," explains Eli Peli, O.D., of Schepens Eye Research Institute/Mass. Eye and Ear, who is also an author on the paper.
"Every eye has optical aberrations. Most people are unaware of their own aberration or blur because each person's brain learns or adjusts to their own optical aberrations, i.e., those specific to each person. If disease or treatment changes these aberrations, the image will be perceived to be blurrier than before even with best correcting glasses or contact lenses.
However, in time it is expected that the brain will readapt to the new imperfections and the spectacle-corrected image will be perceived to be sharp again. Importantly, if novel correction will improve (reduce the imperfections of the eye's optics) the perception may be normalized again by the adaptation, but visual performance will remain better."
About Mass. Eye and Ear
Founded in 1824, Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary is an independent specialty hospital providing patient care for disorders of the eye, ear, nose, throat, head and neck. Mass. Eye and Ear is an international leader in Ophthalmology and Otolaryngology research and a teaching partner of Harvard Medical School. In 2011, the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary and Schepens Eye Research Institute formed the world's largest and most robust private basic and clinical ophthalmology research enterprise. For more information, call 617-523-7900 or visit http://www.masseyeandear.org/.
Lucie Sawides, Carlos Dorronsoro, Andrew M. Haun, Eli Peli and Susana Marcos. Using Pattern Classification to Measure Adaptation to the Orientation of High Order Aberrations. PLOS ONE.


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I know. Everyone else posted their Fall Pinterest Challenge projects on Tuesday!
So why I am just linking up now? Well, you see, I had a plan to wait until Halloween was over so my Grunge One & Two pumpkins could stay in the spotlight for the occasion. But since this Challenge has become a little mini tradition for me, being late to the party was better than not partying at all!
Here's a look back a my projects from the other Challenges:
Summer Challenge 2012: Mini Dipping!
Winter Challenge 2012: Light Please, Capiz
Fall Challenge, 2011: Serving It Up In Style
Summer Challenge 2011: My Rocking Chair
It was tough to pick a project this time around with the ton of inspiration I've pinned, but in the end a magazine ad decided for me. DIY canvas art has been on my radar, and this is where I jumped off…
This project was created by Char from Crap I've Made blog and shared in a guest post over at Tatertots & Jello blog.
Here's the magazine image that caught my eye.
You can see the edge where the page has been torn from the magazine. And it's because of this edge that my project took on a life of its own.
I liked the softness of the torn edge, and decided to tear around the rest of the edges.
I didn't want the insert at the top, so tried to tear it out by following the curve of the ceiling.
And even though I'm a big fan of Freixenet, I wanted to remove all of that from the bottom, too.
I think the 'Wonderfully Unexpected' adds to the feeling of this piece, so I decided to leave it in. I mean, it's not every day you see table dancing like this!
Next, I used Elmer's Spray Adhesive to glue the image onto the canvas.
And Krylon's Matte Finish to protect it.
The canvas was just one I've had kicking around, and you can see it's not a top-of-the line canvas. Notice the staples?
They're not ideal, but I was planning to paint the canvas edge black.
See how most of the staples become invisible at a glance?
I used a small foam roller to paint the edges, and leftover black paint from our TV easel project.
At first I tried to keep the edges crisp where the black was painted, but I didn't like how it looked. So I randomly rolled the paint just over the edges.
That seemed to work better with the jagged edges of the image.
Next came the big leap of faith in this project. To cover the image and canvas with Modge Podge.
One last look before the point of no return…
And then the leap!
I used a foam brush to apply the Modge Podge, and worked horizontally. I started at the bottom and gradually covered the surface with long, even strokes.
And… not only can you see these long, even strokes, but look at the ripples in the image.
Yah, apparently magazines and Modge Podge tend to do that 🙁 Did you know that?
So while my project was 'curing'…
My fingers were crossed that these ripples would magically smooth themselves out.
And while I waited for it to 'cure' I did a little reading up on this whole process…
Here's what I learned:
- When you cover magazine pages with Modge Podge, you need to expect ripples and wrinkles. That's because when magazine pages get wet they will crinkle like you see here.
- But… if you must seal the deal with Modge Podge, then you are advised to use a foam brush (whew, at least I got that right)
- And brush a 'very' thin layer over the surface in short strokes, working out the wrinkles as you go.
- The caution is to not over-wet the surface. (Um… I guess I got that part all wrong!)
So, after all that are you dying to see the outcome? I know I was, but I bet you're not holding your breath like I was!
We went from this…
To this…
To this!
You can definitely still see ripples and wrinkles, but they did flatten out a lot. Still, this was not the outcome I had envisioned.
I'm not loving the perma-ripples, so I might give this project one more go. But wouldn't you know it, I couldn't find this ad in any of my other magazines. So my hubby, being the kind of guy that he is, went out and bought me another copy! And I didn't ask him to do that. Think I'm committed now 😉
Freixenet is a Spanish sparkling wine that is hugely popular world-wide, and is a pride of Spain. I was first introduced to it by my cousin when I was about 20, and it's been one of my go-to's ever since! Thanks for the introduction, Wayne! Aside from my own affection for this sparkling wine, one of the things I loved about the ad image was its intensity and heat. It reminded me of Goya's La maja, which I wrote about here!
And that's a wrap for me in this Pinterest Challenge… when I give this project another try, I'll be sure to post the outcome!
Thank you to these lovely hosts for another fun challenge!
Sherry from Young House Love (Click here to see Sherry's project)
Katie from Bower Power (Click here to see Katie's project)
Sarah from Ugly Duckling House (Click here to see Sarah's project)
Carmel from Our Fifth House (Click here to see Carmel's project)
If you haven't already, you might want to pop over to their blogs to see their projects, and all the others that entered this challenge!
I'm curious… do you have any tips for me before I take the plunge and give this project another go? What are your tricks of the Modge Podge trade?
Thanks for stopping by!
Photographs: Sheila Zeller


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Orgeat Fizz
The Juice of 1/2 Lemon. (Juice 1/2 Meyer Lemon, Juice 1/2 Lime)
1 Liqueur Glass Orgeat. (1 1/2 oz Small Hand Foods Orgeat)
Shake well strain into medium size glass and fill with soda water.
Now, I normally say a "plain fizz" is composed of Spirits, Lemon or lime, Sweetener, and Soda water.
The Orgeat Fizz gives lie to that formula by leaving out the spirits altogether!
To be honest, prior to getting to this section of the book, I made this non-alcoholic drink all the time, maybe with a dash of Bitters or Absinthe for variety, on "alcohol free days". It is very tasty!
However, one word of warning, I have had some problems occasionally. Some manufacturers include thickeners, (like Xanthan Gum, aka Cabbage Slime,) in their orgeat. These manufacturers do this to discourage the almond oils and solids from falling out of suspension. With these products, especially when just building an Orgeat Fizz, instead of shaking it, the thickened Orgeat sometimes forms capsules instead of mixing nicely with the soda water. Something about the citrus, almond fats, Xanthan Gum, and soda. Ends up being kind of gross, with little globules of Orgeat floating in your drink instead of the syrup being evenly distributed. Not good eats.
This post is one in a series documenting my ongoing effort to make all of the drinks in the Savoy Cocktail Book, starting at the first, Abbey, and ending at the last, the, uh, Sauterne Cup.


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uvflyer wrote:Isn't there a lens you can put on the gopro with a full 360 x 180 view?
mediavets wrote:uvflyer wrote:Isn't there a lens you can put on the gopro with a full 360 x 180 view?
No; none of the mirrors has ever produced 360x180 FOV. The VFOV is always considerably less than 180.
You would need a multi camera rig to get close to 360x180 FOV video.
Destiny wrote:My advice is to wait.. If you do not need it now, I am certain that new and exciting technologies are being developed.. Its just a matter of time.. At the moment for me, unless you want to spend $$$$, there are no real perfect options.. There is either a Nadir issue, a Parallax issue or a quality issue.... or all three in one unit... and even a price issue.... I read there was some old technology that was never the best in the first place, has a new shell.. Those things always tend to be same old insides so same old issues... I had a couple of forum members write to me, regretting buying a certain 360 Can of rubbish, now sitting on the floor acting as a door stop.. Those units were way over priced but I am sure cheaper options will arrive in time.. I have high hopes that the Ricoh Theta will announce a Mk2 with much better image quality and perhaps a 360 video option...
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The Spider-Man Broadway musical is looking like a really bad idea. After one actress suffered a concussion and two actors injured themselves, yesterday Spider-Man himself crashed from a bridge into an open pit.
He wasn't the lead actor - Reeve Carney, who plays both New York's favourite wall crawler and Peter Parker - but one of the actors who plays Spidey during some of the scenes. Apparently, the audience believe the fall was all part of the show until they heard a woman screaming and sobbing. The production company hasn't give any information about the identity of the actor or his current state, but it doesn't look good at all:
Natalie Mendoza, who plays Arachne in the play, tweeted this shortly after the accident:
Please pray with me for my friend Chris, my superhero who quietly inspires me everyday with his spirit. A light in my heart went dim tonight.
The New York Times says the actor may be Christopher Tierney, "who is an aerialist and ensemble member in the musical".
The New York State Department of labour is going to look into the situation, according to spokesman Leo Rosales: "We'll be talking to the production team, checking the harnesses, cables, and other equipment, and trying to determine what happened, and we'll have more information after that."
Meanwhile, the show debut has been delayed two weeks, to February 7. [NYT]