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The good news: New Mexico now votes on paper ballots, since their touch-screen debacle in the 2004 Presidential Election left Gov. Bill Richardson with little legal choice but to move to paper.
The bad news: The huge turnout in yesterday's Democratic Primary led to long lines, voters who found they were no longer on the registration rolls for some still-unexplained reason, 17,000 votes had to be cast on provisional ballots which remain uncounted today, and now it's being reported --- incredibly --- that at least three ballot boxes were kept overnight last night, uncounted, at the home of a Democratic County Party Chairwoman.
What makes it all worse, as if all that is not troubling enough, is that the current razor-thin margin between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton in the caucus stands at just 217 votes out of 136 thousand ballots cast.
The governor's apologizing, the party is prevaricating, the candidates' representatives are negotiating, and, as usual, it's the voters who are left hanging, wondering if their voices will actually be heard...
We were were just a guest on Santa Fe's Public Radio station, KSFR, discussing that issue and other problems around the country. We'll post audio here when we can get it.
UPDATE: Here's that audio. We're on for the first 15 minutes or so, followed by Susan Greenhalgh of VoterAction.org, speaking about Super Tuesday problems with DREs around the country. Appx 30 mins in full. Download MP3, or listen online here...
Governor Bill Richardson has issued a statement today, saying "I am deeply disturbed by the reports that problems and delays at polling locations may have kept people from voting."
Over on Albuquerque's Public Radio station, KUNM, this afternoon, San Miguel County Clerk Paul Maes said of the voters who showed up, only to find they were not on the registration rolls for some reason, "We verified most of them, and they were in our system, but for some reason they didn't appear on the roster for the caucus."
KUNM reported that Maes' office "got calls from whole neighborhoods of Democrats who were on his list of eligible voters but were asked to use provisional ballots" and that they are "not sure where the Democratic Party got its list."
The Democratic Party in New Mexico runs its own caucus.
The report (transcript posted in full at end of this article) goes on to suggest that the voter list comes from the Secretary of State, who contracts out the maintenance of the voter registration rolls (again, incredibly enough) to voting machine company ES&S.
As to the ballot boxes kept uncounted overnight at the home of a Democratic Party Official, Democracy for New Mexico points us to this report from NM political reporter Heath Haussamen, who writes today:
"The site managers locked them and they kept them and they took them to my wife this morning," Nash quoted Richard Martinez as saying.
State party officials and Theresa Martinez have not returned my calls seeking comment.
The three ballot boxes from Rio Arriba County and a fourth from Sandoval County account for the 2 percent of precincts that haven't yet reported results from Tuesday's caucus. With about 200 votes separating Clinton and Barack Obama, that's huge. We're talking about the ballots from half the polling places in Rio Arriba County.
I want to make sure this point is emphasized: Roughly half the votes from Rio Arriba County spent the night in the privacy of the home or homes of one or more election officials in boxes those officials may have had the ability to open. All the county party chair had to do last night to report the results was make a phone call. That never happened.
Though we shouldn't, by now, be amazed by such stories, we continue to be. It looks like quite a few folks have some 'splainin' to do in New Mexico. Again.
We recommend Democracy for New Mexico's excellent continuing coverage for following this story.
Thanks to Election Defense Alliance's Theron Horton for the transcript from Jim William's KUNM report on the questions surrounding the use of some 17,000 provisional ballots yesterday. That transcript follows in full below...
Jim Williams: Seventeen thousand. That's the number of provisional ballots issued in the New Mexico Democratic presidential preference caucus on Tuesday. Some of the reasons for that relatively high number were likely weather, confusion over voting locations, and confusion over just what a Democratic presidential preference caucus actually is. Some polling locations saw Republicans and Independents, who weren't eligible to vote in the caucus, showing up and trying anyway. But another issue entirely is registered Democrats who showed up and couldn't vote on regular ballots.
Paul Maes: We verified most of them, and they were in our system, but for some reason they didn't appear on the roster for the caucus.
Williams: Paul Maes is San Miguel County Clerk. He says his office got calls from whole neighborhoods of Democrats who were on his list of eligible voters but were asked to use provisional ballots. He says he's not sure where the Democratic Party got its list.
Maes: I know they didn't get it from us. It has to be the secretary of state's office or ES&S, which is the…the main system is the, I guess they contract out with ES&S to maintain voter registration.
Williams: Maes says there are just three entities that can provide voter lists for elections…county clerks, the secretary of state's office, and Election Systems and Software, or ES&S.
Maes: I just don't know where they pulled the file from, if it was from the secretary of state or from ES&S, or even if they used an old one. But there was a lot of discrepancies in the list that they provided to each polling place.
Fran Hanhardt: We did have phone calls from voters who were concerned about the registration and the way we had it in our office.
Williams: Fran Hanhardt is San Juan County Clerk.
Hanhardt: In exploring the records that we have in our office, we determined that in fact they were registered, and should, and were registered at the precinct where they showed up, at the consolidated precinct where they showed up to vote, and should have been on that list.
Williams: Hanhardt says if the Democratic Party used a list that was older than 20 days or so, that could have been the problem.
Hanhardt: Because we were making changes in voter registrations for people who, in fact, changed their registrations the day the books closed, which was 28 days prior to their election, so in our records those people would have shown up on those rosters, um, but they did not show up on the Democratic Party rosters that were presented at the precincts.
Williams: But James Flores, spokesman for the secretary of state's office, says the list did come through the state's Elections Bureau, overseen by the secretary of state. And it is possible that Election Systems and Software was involved with the list.
James Flores: The information compiled here at the secretary of state's office is the same information that each of the individual county clerks has. We kind of serve as a, for lack of a better phrase, we serve as a hub for all that information. The last time it was uh, information, updated information was sent, was approximately the 24th of last month.
Williams: But Hanhardt says it concerns her that there are discrepancies between what she has and what the state has.
Hanhardt: If my list shows a voter as being qualified as a voter, then I take offense to the fact that when that voter shows up to vote at a polling place, that he's not given the opportunity to vote in a standard measure. I, but I can't control how they got their list. I can only assure that voter that my records are correct, and if the list had been printed from my records, that they would have been on that list.
Williams: Flores says the secretary of state's office wants to hear from county clerks who saw discrepancies in Tuesday's Democratic caucus.
Flores: Uh, they haven't contacted our office, we would need to find out what they're talking about…uh…what voters they're talking about. I know that if there was a just a recent change right before election time, um, there's a file that they call a suspense file…and what it does is that uh, it may not have all the current information but it will still allow the voter to vote, but it's very likely they will have to vote provisional. And then of course their vote would count once everything has been verified.
Williams: San Miguel County Clerk Paul Maes says the high numbers of provisional ballots combined with a new system of handling them this time was likely one of the reasons for the long, slow voting lines at polling locations around the state. So if discrepancies between voter lists led to more provisional ballots, they may have also led to some voters deciding the wait wasn't worth it, which happened in polling places across the state. The state Democratic Party hadn't responded to requests for comment on this story at the time of broadcast. For KUNM, I'm Jim Williams.
UPDATE 2/7/08 1:27pm PT: More details on the absurdly long lines, and voters turned away Tuesday in the Democratic Party-run Caucus here.
UPDATE 2/7/08 2:08pm PT: Jim Williams of KUNM writes to send us this additional information:
Since posting this story originally, we've been barraged by registered Democrats writing in from NM to say that they either couldn't vote, due to long lines, or found that they were not on the registration rolls when they finally got to the table.
The most notable take-away from this story may end up not being the poorly run caucus process of the Democratic Party (as opposed to the state, who would run the general election in November), or even the "sleepover" ballot boxes. The most notable issue here may be the questions about what the hell happened to the registration rolls in New Mexico, as now maintained by the thugs and failures at voting machine company ES&S, since the last election.
Remember, NM is where former U.S. Attorney David Iglesias was fired because he refused to prosecute the bogus "voter fraud" charges made by the Republican Party there.
UPDATE 2/7/08 2:31pm PT: ALL ballots in NM's Democratic Caucus will now be recounted, according to NPR...
New Mexico apportions its delegates, so Obama and Clinton will each end up with a share of the 26 delegates at stake. And with the national race so close, each delegate counts.
There is no prediction of when the recount will be completed.
UPDATE 2/8/07 8:06pm PT: NPR's report was wrong. Only "qualified provisional ballots" will be counted. But, more disturbingly, the ES&S fingerprints on the voter roll problems becomes more apparent. Please see this update...


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Millions Still Without Power – JCP&L Reports Some Progress [AUDIO]
If you rely on Jersey Central Power and Light (JCP&L) for your electric, it may be several more days before service will be fully restored.
The utility company is currently assessing all the damage and destruction left behind by Hurricane Sandy. There are still flooded roads, downed trees and limbs, wires down and blown transformers that are making restoration difficult. Some utility crews can't even access certain areas because of the devastation and destruction.
Company spokesman Ron Morano says, "This is the worst storm in our company's history. It makes Hurricane Irene's outages look like a picnic. This is absolutely unprecedented. We are working to the best of our abilities under the dire conditions right now and we hope to have everyone back up and running soon.
In a conversation with New Jersey 101.5's Jim Gearhart on Thursday morning, Morano said 200,000 customers have been restored so far. He explained that the utility prioritizes by determining what repairs will bring the most number of people back.
He also explained that while customers may not see crews and trucks on the streets, they are working at sub stations and transmission lines & cutting trees that will facilitate the distribution of power.
At this point, the 7 to 10 day window is still in effect but Morano is hopeful that number may change. He says, "We are almost done with our assessment and the restoration process will be getting even more widespread. We have trucks out already and they are going from town to town in Ocean and Monmouth. The safety of our workers is important too. If you don't see a truck in your area, it doesn't mean we're not working on it."
The company is advising everyone to stay away from downed wires because they could be live. If you see one, or need to report an outage, call 1-888-544-4877.
Earlier this week, the company was able to restore 150,000 homes of the millions in the dark. They say, "We have a long road ahead of us."

subset: commoncrawl


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The knee joint is built for durability, which is necessary considering how much action it gets on a daily basis. But it can only withstand so much, and when pushed past its limits, the result is pain and injury. Knee pain is the second most common disorder that affects the body's movement—behind only back pain—and it's the leading cause of disability in older adults. But struggles with knee pain are seen across the board, with individuals of all ages and activity levels being affected by it.
The knee is the largest and one of the most complex joints in the body, and its complexity is one of the main reasons it's so vulnerable to injury. The frequency with which it's used also plays a significant role. The knee is a hinge joint that's responsible for bearing weight and allowing the leg to extend and bend back and forth with minimal side-to-side motion. It primarily joins the thighbone (femur) to the shinbone (tibia), but also includes the kneecap (patella) and other lower leg bone (fibula). The patella is a small, triangle-shaped bone that sits in the front of the knee within the quadriceps muscle, and it's lined with the thickest layer of cartilage in the body because of the massive forces it takes on.
Other important structures of the knee joint include the following:
- Meniscus: crescent-shaped discs that act as a cushion and shock absorber so that the bones of the knee can move without rubbing against each other; each knee has a medial (inner side, larger) and lateral (outer side, smaller) meniscus
- Articular cartilage: this thin layer of protective cartilage is found on the femur, top of the tibia, and back of the patella also acts as a shock absorber and helps bones to move smoothly
- Ligaments: these tough bands of fibrous tissue connect bones and promote their stability by preventing too much motion in any direction
- Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL): prevents the femur from sliding backward on the tibia and the tibia from sliding forward on the femur
- Posterior cruciate ligament (PCL): prevents the femur from sliding forward on the tibia and the tibia from sliding backward on the femur
- Medial collateral ligament (MCL) and lateral collateral ligaments (LCL): these ligaments prevent side-to-side movement of the femur
- Joint capsule: a membrane bag surrounding the knee that's filled with a liquid called synovial fluid, which lubricates and nourishes the joint
The likelihood of experiencing different knee conditions changes with age
A variety of issues can affect any of these structures of the knees at any time, but there are certain knee conditions that are seen more frequently in different age groups. For children and adolescents, most cases of knee pain are due to traumatic injuries that typically occur in sports with lots of cutting movements like basketball, football, and soccer. Sprains of the ligaments and strains of the muscles and tendons are most common, but the meniscus, ACL, and other knee ligaments can also be torn when the force exerted on the knee is strong enough.
Many young athletes also have to contend with overuse injuries, which result from performing certain movements over and over, leading to minor damage that accumulates over time and goes on to cause inflammation, irritation, and pain. Osgood-Schlatter disease, in which the area just below the knee becomes inflamed, is a common overuse injury in adolescents involved in sports with lots of running, jumping and/or rapid changes of direction. Other overuse injuries include patellar tendinopathy (jumper's knee), iliotibial band syndrome, and patellofemoral pain syndrome (runner's knee).
Later in life, some knee issues are seen less often while other new ones start to emerge. Knee osteoarthritis (OA) accounts for the vast majority of knee pain in older adults, with about 45% individuals expected to deal with it at some point. The condition is so common in this older population because the knee sustains small amounts of damage from everyday use over time and due to the aging process. Knee OA usually leads to pain, stiffness, and swelling that makes it incredibly difficult to walk and move the knees normally.
The risk for traumatic injuries (eg, sprains, strains, and tears) also remains high for adults that stay active in sports and physical activities, and the risk overuse injuries tends to increase with older age because of the gradual breaking down of structures that occurs over time. Common overuse injuries of the knee—some of which were mentioned above—include the following:
- Patellar tendinopathy (jumper's knee): results from repeated strain of the patellar tendon that attaches the bottom of the patella to the top of the tibia; symptoms include pain and stiffness at the front or below the patella and/or in the quadriceps, and an ache that typically develops after from exercise
- Patellofemoral pain syndrome (runner's knee): involves the patella rubbing against the groove of the femur and accounts for up to 25% of all running injuries; common symptoms are a dull pain behind or around the patella, which may be aggravated by running, squatting, climbing stairs, or sitting
- Patellar instability: a general term used to describe intermittent pain that comes with the feeling of the patella moving excessively or being unstable; symptoms are pain that's felt under, around, or most commonly, in front of the patella
- Iliotibial band syndrome: an injury in which the iliotibial band—which runs from the hip to the top of the tibia—becomes irritated or inflamed from rubbing against the patella; symptoms include pain on the outside of the knee or hip that usually arises after running
In our next newsletter, we look into one of the most effective ways to reduce your risk for experiencing knee pain.


text: Adam Serwer The* Atlantic* Magazine The Cruelty Is the Point Oct 3, 2018 Their names have mostly been lost to time. But these grinning men were someone's brother, son, husband, father. They were human beings, people who took immense pleasure in the utter cruelty of torturing others to death—and were so proud of doing so that they posed for photographs with their handiwork, jostling to ensure they caught the eye of the lens, so that the world would know they'd been there. Their cruelty made them feel good, it made them feel proud, it made them feel happy. And it made them feel closer to one another. The Trump era is such a whirlwind of cruelty that it can be hard to keep track. This week alone, the news broke that the Trump administration was seeking to ethnically cleanse more than 193,000 American children of immigrants whose temporary protected status had been revoked by the administration, that the Department of Homeland Security had lied about creating a database of children that would make it possible to unite them with the families the Trump administration had arbitrarily destroyed, that the White House was considering a blanket ban on visas for Chinese students, and that it would deny visas to the same-sex partners of foreign officials. At a rally in Mississippi, a crowd of Trump supporters cheered as the president mocked Christine Blasey Ford, the psychology professor who has said that Brett Kavanaugh, whom Trump has nominated to a lifetime appointment on the Supreme Court, attempted to rape her when she was a teenager. "Lock her up!" they shouted. Ford testified to the Senate, utilizing her professional expertise to describe the encounter, that one of the parts of the incident she remembered most was Kavanaugh and his friend Mark Judge laughing at her as Kavanaugh fumbled at her clothing. "Indelible in the hippocampus is the laughter," Ford said, referring to the part of the brain that processes emotion and memory, "the uproarious laughter between the two, and their having fun at my expense." And then at Tuesday's rally, the president made his supporters laugh at her. Even those who believe that Ford fabricated her account, or was mistaken in its details, can see that the president's mocking of her testimony renders all sexual-assault survivors collateral damage. Anyone afraid of coming forward, afraid that she would not be believed, can now look to the president to see her fears realized. Once malice is embraced as a virtue, it is impossible to contain. The cruelty of the Trump administration's policies, and the ritual rhetorical flaying of his targets before his supporters, are intimately connected. As Lili Loofbourow wrote of the Kavanaugh incident in Slate, adolescent male cruelty toward women is a bonding mechanism, a vehicle for intimacy through contempt. The white men in the lynching photos are smiling not merely because of what they have done, but because they have done it together. We can hear the spectacle of cruel laughter throughout the Trump era. There were the border-patrol agents cracking up at the crying immigrant children separated from their families, and the Trump adviser who delighted white supremacists when he mocked a child with Down syndrome who was separated from her mother. There were the police who laughed uproariously when the president encouraged them to abuse suspects, and the Fox News hosts mocking a survivor of the Pulse Nightclub massacre (and in the process inundating him with threats), the survivors of sexual assault protesting to Senator Jeff Flake, the women who said the president had sexually assaulted them, and the teen survivors of the Parkland school shooting. There was the president mocking Puerto Rican accents shortly after thousands were killed and tens of thousands displaced by Hurricane Maria, the black athletes protesting unjustified killings by the police, the women of the #MeToo movement who have come forward with stories of sexual abuse, and the disabled reporter whose crime was reporting on Trump truthfully. It is not just that the perpetrators of this cruelty enjoy it; it is that they enjoy it with one another. Their shared laughter at the suffering of others is an adhesive that binds them to one another, and to Trump. Taking joy in that suffering is more human than most would like to admit. Somewhere on the wide spectrum between adolescent teasing and the smiling white men in the lynching photographs are the Trump supporters whose community is built by rejoicing in the anguish of those they see as unlike them, who have found in their shared cruelty an answer to the loneliness and atomization of modern life. The laughter undergirds the daily spectacle of insincerity, as the president and his aides pledge fealty to bedrock democratic principles they have no intention of respecting. The president who demanded the execution of five black and Latino teenagers for a crime they didn't commit decrying "false accusations," when his Supreme Court nominee stands accused; his supporters who fancy themselves champions of free speech meet references to Hillary Clinton or a woman whose only crime was coming forward to offer her own story of abuse with screams of "Lock her up!" The political movement that elected a president who wanted to ban immigration by adherents of an entire religion, who encourages police to brutalize suspects, and who has destroyed thousands of immigrant families for violations of the law less serious than those of which he and his coterie stand accused, now laments the state of due process. This isn't incoherent. It reflects a clear principle: Only the president and his allies, his supporters, and their anointed are entitled to the rights and protections of the law, and if necessary, immunity from it. The rest of us are entitled only to cruelty, by their whim. This is how the powerful have ever kept the powerless divided and in their place, and enriched themselves in the process. A blockbuster New York Times investigation on Tuesday reported that President Trump's wealth was largely inherited through fraudulent schemes, that he became a millionaire while still a child, and that his fortune persists in spite of his fumbling entrepreneurship, not because of it. The stories are not unconnected. The president and his advisers have sought to enrich themselves at taxpayer expense; they have attempted to corrupt federal law-enforcement agencies to protect themselves and their cohorts, and they have exploited the nation's darkest impulses in the pursuit of profit. But their ability to get away with this fraud is tied to cruelty. Trump's only true skill is the con; his only fundamental belief is that the United States is the birthright of straight, white, Christian men, and his only real, authentic pleasure is in cruelty. It is that cruelty, and the delight it brings them, that binds his most ardent supporters to him, in shared scorn for those they hate and fear: immigrants, black voters, feminists, and treasonous white men who empathize with any of those who would steal their birthright. The president's ability to execute that cruelty through word and deed makes them euphoric. It makes them feel good, it makes them feel proud, it makes them feel happy, it makes them feel united. And as long as he makes them feel that way, they will let him get away with anything, no matter what it costs them. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: <http://mailman.fsr.com/pipermail/vision2020/attachments/20181006/65ce9393/attachment-0001.html>


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But here, I'll tell the story of my one encounter with major media. Unlike standard stereotypes, for both of the scientist and the journalist, I think, it was a very successful and positive encounter. Jack Williams (then and still at USA Today) called me up at work with a couple simple questions about my area, and hoping that I could provide some graphics. I answered (life was simpler back then) and could indeed provide the data (my graphics then as now not being a strength). Towards the end of the call, though, he also asked the good journalistic question of what the topic we were talking about might affect that readers would care about.
I'll take credit for not doing the annoying scientist thing of diving in to obscurities of what I liked personally on the belief that of course anything I was interested in would be interesting to everybody (that's what a blog is for :-). But, in truth, there were plenty of reasons for readers to be interested. So we talked some more, he followed up, and so forth -- to the point that he took the story, as it had developed, to the science page editor for consideration as a feature story. The original idea was a little weather box, not a big science page spread.
More good news followed, as the science editor approved the story as a feature. So more telephone calls as he pursued understanding of the science, and asked for more people he could talk to about various parts of the subject. (I recently ran across my old notes, including a fax I'd sent him to ensure that he had exactly the right figure in mind.) He also did a fair amount of checking with me that he was representing the science correctly -- "If I said it this way, would it still be correct?" He pretty much always did have a good rephrase, but we iterated some on a couple bits.
It's a long time since that happened, but I still remember it fondly.
On the journalist side, what I think helped it work was he:
- was willing to follow where the science led (no preset 'story' to force fit things into)
- was obviously working to make sure he communicated the science correctly
- did homework to develop his own understanding of the science
- was willing to let things be rephrased to the audience
- was meeting the journalist's questions, not trying to drive a conclusion
- was trying to keep in mind what job the journalist was trying to accomplish (vs. trying to turn USA Today in to an AMS or AGU journal)
Not that I did a perfect job, nor him. But, then, perfect doesn't happen often. I do think that anyone reading that article came away understanding more about the science than they walked in knowing, me included.
While I'm sure that not all journalists take the care that Williams did, and that many scientists are harder to talk to than I was (and some much better), I do feel some confidence that science journalists and scientists don't have to be nearly as at cross purposes as often works out.


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- Licenses & Regulations
- ShareLunkers
- Fish Identification
- Fish Consumption
- Texas Freshwater Fisheries Center
Water Resources
- Texas Reservoir Levels
- US Army Corps of Engineers
- Texas Water Issues
- Golden Alga
- Aquatic Vegetation
5325 N. 3rd
Abilene, Texas 79603
(325) 692-0921
Michael Homer, Biologist
Nearby State Parks
Hords Creek Reservoir
Quick Links: Fishing Regulations | Angling Opportunities | Cover & Structure | Tips & Tactics
BOATER ADVISORY: Zebra mussels have invaded this reservoir! CLEAN, DRAIN AND DRY your boat, trailer, livewells/bait buckets, and other gear before traveling to another water body. Draining water is required by law and possession and transport of zebra mussels is illegal.
Some parks and boat ramps are closed due to flood damage. Check the Army Corps of Engineers closure report for status updates.
Lake Characteristics
Location: On Hords Creek in Coleman County, 63 miles south of Abilene and
about 10 miles west of Coleman
Surface area: 510 acres
Maximum depth: 39 feet
Impounded: 1948
Water Conditions
Current Lake Level
Conservation Pool Elevation: 1,900 ft. msl
Fluctuation: Moderate, sometimes prone to long periods with
dropping water levels
Normal Clarity: Slightly stained to clear with visibility up to 4 feet
Reservoir Controlling Authority
US Army Corps
of Engineers
HCR 75, Box 33
Coleman, Texas 76834
(325) 625-2322
Aquatic Vegetation
Floating-leaf pondweed and water willow
Predominant Fish Species
Lake Records
Stocking History
Latest Survey Report
Lake Maps
A contour map is available. Download the map or pick up a copy at the Abilene fisheries office, (325) 692-0921.
Fishing Regulations
All species are currently managed under statewide regulations.
Angling Opportunities
The reservoir is known for its largemouth bass fishing, but populations of flathead catfish and sunfish should not be overlooked. Florida largemouth bass were introduced in 1986.
Species | Poor | Fair | Good | Excellent |
Largemouth Bass | ||||
Catfish | ||||
Crappie | ||||
Sunfish |
Fishing Cover/Structure
A variety of cover and structure is scattered throughout the reservoir including some aquatic vegetation, dead submerged brush, black willow trees, rocky ledges and points, a rip-rap dam, and several well-defined creek channels. When the reservoir is low, fishing cover is primarily restricted to rocky structure and some brush.
Man-made structures have been used to create artificial fish habitat in this reservoir. The fish habitat structures were placed by TPWD in cooperation with the Still Water Bass Club. Anglers may use GPS in conjunction with a fish finder to locate these structures.
Use the Habitat Structure Viewer for an interactive map of fish habitat structures and downloadable GPS coordinates.
Tips & Tactics
Largemouth bass fishing is often very good, especially in the spring. Jigs and crankbaits are good in the early spring and late winter. As water warms, suspending jerkbaits and floating worms, buzzbaits, and spinnerbaits become productive. Trotlines baited along creek channels and steep, rocky banks are effective for flathead catfish. For kids seeking sunfish, small pieces of night crawlers and mealworms fished with number 6 cricket hooks under a cork or on the bottom can be a lot of fun.


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Rockin' post! David and I LOVE gourmet pizza and love experimenting with different kinds at home. We have a recipe for bulk homemade crust mix and try to make it if not once a week, at least a couple of times a month. (In fact, we just made breakfast pizza today - yum)
I think what's cool about having strategies for making great pizza at home is that it's a food item most people like to indulge in when they have the cash. Making some great versions at home really makes you feel like you're living large.
And boy, do I hear you on the wine. It's what we run out of instead of milk at our house. Can't wait to try your Greek toppings idea. Good job!


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Apollo Nida Prison Sentence -- 'Real Housewives' Gets Short Sentence For SNITCHING
'Housewives' Star Apollo Nida 8 Years In Prison Sentence Shortened For SNITCHING
Apollo Nida just got an enormous break for singing like a canary ... he got 1/4 the maximum sentence for a massive money fraud scheme.
Nida -- who appears on "Real Housewives of Atlanta" with wife Phaedra Parks -- was just sentenced to 8 years in federal prison for cashing stolen checks and laundering more than $2.3 mil through phony bank accounts.
The judge who sentenced him today in a Georgia court said Nida did indeed cooperate with federal investigators by spilling criminal secrets ... and that's why he got leniency.
Nida could have been sentenced to 30 years, so 8 years is a big victory.
It's all relative folks.


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So which is it?
I'm confused. Today we had the president of the United States finally admit that we're at war -- "We are at war, we are at war against al-Qaida," he said. Uh huh. Then about two articles down from that on my yahoo news comes this: "A Jordanian doctor-turned-suicide bomber who killed seven CIA employees at a base in Afghanistan is regarded by his family as a martyr in Islam's holy war against the United States, his wife said Thursday."
So the people who hate us think what's going on is Islam's holy war against the United States while our president seems to think we're only at war with al-Qaida.
Oh, I feel in good hands.
Find more from the blogway here...


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Engine Power Delivery - What is Torque Vs. Horsepower
Grunter Or Screamer: What's The Difference In Engines?
Engine Horsepower or torque: Which is better? It's a never-ending debate among those who build engines for a living. Take, for example, the following statements, all from recognized engine gurus:
"Horsepower sells engines and cars. But torque moves the car." - Kevin McClelland, Flowmaster Mufflers
"I build an engine for strictly horsepower! It's easier to get the car down the track with more power. Horsepower gives you more miles-per-hour, and a better e.t." - Joe Sherman, Joe Sherman Racing Engines
"Horsepower is what pushes, pulls, shoves, or drags our rides through the friction-filled world. If we want to go faster, it takes more horsepower. If we want to go slower, it takes less horsepower." - Harold Bettes, SuperFlow
"It takes torque to get a car moving." - Dick Miller, Dick Miller Racing
"Want to run faster? It's all about horsepower! But if you have more torque, you'll have more horsepower!" - Judson Massingill, School of Automotive Machinists
Who's right? As we'll see, they all are! Everything starts with the concepts of "force" and "work."
Work ExplainedForce is a pushing or pulling action of one body against another. Depending on the resistance to the application of force, it may or may not result in movement. Say you try to push on a stalled car with 125 pounds of force, but it remains stuck in the mud. You've exerted force, but no movement has occurred because the car (being heavier than you) has too much resistance.
If force is applied and movement does occur, you've performed work, or the movement of an object from one position to another. For example, if you use a hoist to lift a 600-pound engine 6 feet in the air, the work done would be 6 feet x 600 pounds or 3,600 foot-pounds (ft-lb). Work = D (distance moved) x F (force applied)
Torque ExplainedBy definition, work is calculated as a vector force, exerted in a straight line. But engines (as well as nuts and bolts when they are tightened or loosened) rotate around an axis.
What is engine torque?The expression of this rotational or twisting force around an axis is called torque, which is measured in units of force times distance from the axis of rotation. If you have a 1-foot-long wrench and you exert a force of 10 pounds on the end of it then you apply a torque of 10 pound-feet (10 lb-ft). If the wrench were 2 feet long, the same force would apply a torque of 20 lb-ft. When an engine is said to make "200 lb-ft of torque", it means that 200 pounds of force on a 1-foot lever is needed to stop its motion.
To avoid confusion in the U.S. measurement system, the unit of measure for torque is the pound-foot (lb-ft), while for work it is the foot-pound (ft-lb). Remember, work and torque aren't exactly the same. Movement must occur for work to be done, but that doesn't necessarily hold true for torque: Exerting 10 lb-ft of torque on a bolt that's already been tightened to 50 lb-ft won't produce any movement.
If torque does produce movement, as is the case with your engine unless it's locked up-any "distance" traveled as the crank rotates is equal to the circumference of a circle, not a straight line ... so 1 lb-ft of torque produced during one revolution actually is about equal to 6.28 ft-lb of work or mechanical energy. Huh? Just recall your geometry: Find a circle's circumference by multiplying its radius (r) by 2(pi). With a 1-foot lever:2(pi)r x 1 lb-ft of torque = 2 x 3.1416 x 1-foot lever x 1 lb-ft = 6.2832 ft-lb of work
Power ExplainedTorque and work measurements tell us how much has been accomplished, but provides no clue how fast a given amount of work (or torque) is done. That's the job of power, an expression of the rate or speed at which work is performed. The more power that is generated, the more work is done in a given time-period.
Suppose it takes a constant 100 lb-ft of torque to spin a nut onto a bolt one complete revolution. Your girlfriend takes 10 seconds to do this. You, being a real stud (pun intended), take only 5 seconds to perform the same task. You would be twice as powerful, because you performed the same work in half the time.
In the U.S. system, power is expressed as "horsepower" (hp). One hp is the amount of power it takes to perform 33,000 ft-lb of work in 1 minute, as based on 18th century engineer James Watt's observations of the work performed by a strong horse as it operated a geardriven mine pump by pulling a lever connected to the pump (sounds like a dyno, doesn't it?).
Because 1 hp represents the production of 33,000 ft-lb of mechanical energy per minute, horsepower equals ft-lb/minute divided by 33,000, as expressed by Figure 1.Here, D is the distance in feet the weight is to be moved; F, the force in pounds required to move the weight; and t, the time in minutes required to move the weight (F) through distance (D).
An engine dynamometer measures torque (lb-ft), not mechanical energy (ft-lb); and an engine's "time" is expressed in revolutions per minute (rpm). Since 6.28 ft-lb of work is about equal to 1 lb-ft of torque, you can substitute the eqautions in Figure 2.
The result is the classic equation with which we are all familiar.
What The Math Tells UsLooking at this horsepower equation, several relationships are apparent. First, knowing that dividing the same number by itself cancels it out (because the product is "1"), it's obvious that at 5,252 rpm, the horsepower and torque values are always equal. That's why an engine's torque and horsepower curves always cross at 5,252.
Second, assuming engine displacement is fixed, raising the engine's operating rpm range is the most effective way to make big naturally aspirated horsepower numbers. Suppose an engine makes 400 lb-ft at 3,000 rpm. The equation tells us that at 3,000 rpm it would produce 228 hp. But if the engine made 400 lb-ft at 6,000 rpm, it would produce 457 hp. It's true that doubling the torque output to 800 lb-ft at 3,000 rpm would also yield 457 hp, but that large an increase on a given displacement engine is unlikely in the real world without forced induction.
It is simply unrealistic to expect a normally aspirated engine to produce both big torque and big power numbers under 6,000 rpm-unless the engine is really huge. For example, I was contacted by a reader who wanted to build a 496 big-block Chevy (not exactly a small-fry!) that would make "550 hp and 700 lb-ft by 5,500-6,000 rpm." On an internal combustion engine, a good rule of thumb, according to head-porting guru Joe Mondello, is that the torque peak rpm usually is about 75 percent of the peak power rpm point on everyday engines, increasing to perhaps 80-85 percent on a Pro Stocker or Winston Cup engine. In round numbers, that means the torque peak usually occurs 1,000-2,000 rpm below the horsepower peak-so for power to peak at 5,600 rpm, the torque peak would be no higher than 4,600 rpm. Plugging 4,600 rpm and 700 lb-ft into the torque/horsepower equation yields the result in Figure 3.
At 4,600 rpm, a 700 lb-ft engine would already be making 613 hp. Theoretically, this combo would be on the way to making 800 hp. But in the real world, that high an output won't happen at only 6,000 rpm. Actual dyno tests show that a mechanical roller cam (0.653-/0.660-inch valve-lift; 248-/254-degrees at 0.050) and fully ported rectangular-port heads peak out around 6,000 rpm, producing about 625 hp in a 496, but with "only" 615 lb-ft at 4,800.
If the reader didn't want to spin the engine so high but still desired the big power number, the better solution is not a 496, but a 550! Don Davis has a 550ci engine in a 2,250-pound '27 Ford Super Gas roadster that runs the quarter-mile in 9.9 seconds at 152 mph. The 9.8:1 motor makes 760 hp at 6,800 rpm and 670 lb-ft at 5,200 on 91-octane gas. He is said to cross the finish line at "only" 6,600 rpm. This car is competitive with the high-compression, high-rpm 522 and 540ci engines in his class, but it lasts longer and requires less maintenance. Some say this is a "torque motor"-but remember it takes power to get down the track and make the trap-speed needed to run a given e.t. The big inches just mean you make more torque earlier, which means big horsepower sooner.
Size MattersThese examples show that a normally aspirated engine's torque potential is very closely tied to its displacement. "Within a given range, torque is a function of cylinder filling, engine displacement, and volumetric efficiency," says World Product's Bill Mitchell. "There is a torque limit to any given normally aspirated engine because it relates to how atmosphere can fill the cylinder at a given speed." You'll never make 500 lb-ft with a 283, but you can do it in your sleep with a 454. In other words, the most effective way to raise torque output is to increase engine size. There's no replacement for displacement (except a supercharger).
What about changing the stroke but keeping overall engine displacement the same (the old long-stroke/small bore versus short-stroke/big-bore debate)? On a dual-purpose hot rod engine, juggling the bore and stroke won't significantly change the amount of torque at the peak, but the short stroke combo will usually raise the rpm at which peak torque occurs-which of course raises the top-end power potential at the expense of the extreme bottom-end.
If the engine were to operate primarily under 5,000 rpm, says noted engine-builder David Reher, favoring a longer stroke helps get piston speed up. "The piston comes away from TDC a little faster with a longer stroke. That gives a better signal to the intake tract and makes the motor more responsive."
However, beyond 6,500 rpm, a large-bore engine simply breathes better compared to an equivalent-displacement but longer-stroke engine. The larger bore unshrouds the valves (and depending on available cylinder head configurations, allows running bigger valves). This assumes, of course, that there are sufficient quality heads available to supply a high-rpm engine's increased airflow needs.
With ultra-high-rpm (over 8,000), normally aspirated racing engines, an extremely high-rpm power peak may slightly reduce the amount of peak torque compared to the same basic engine setup in street trim. At the extremes, breathing restrictions due to reduced time to fill the cylinders and friction losses increase exponentially, leading to significant efficiency losses. Anything you can do to reduce friction in a high-rpm engine is therefore extremely important. The short-stroke configuration in and of itself enhances engine durability by relieving cylinder wall thrust-loading, reducing piston speed, and reducing internal friction from what it otherwise would be with the long-stroke combo. Besides shortening the stroke, consider long rods, short pistons, low-friction rings, reduced bearing diameters, and positive crankcase evacuation.
The High-RPM EngineHorsepower is what gets you down the track quickly, and world-class professional race engines are built to achieve maximum horsepower. Unless they are giant mountain motors, inevitably this means they're spinners. The extreme example are the tiny Formula I motors that make big power numbers but turn upward of 18,000 rpm to do it, and use seven-speed close-ratio gearboxes to stay within their narrow operating bands. With a "spinner," the bottom-end must be up to the task (that means premium parts, dead-nuts machining, and meticulous assembly), the compression ratio should be as high as practical for the available fuel, the cam needs to have sufficient lift and duration, the valvetrain must be stable at rpm, and the cylinder heads must be capable of flowing sufficient air at high rpm-or the engine won't live long enough to reach its full theoretical power potential. All that costs money...lots of money.
And the inevitable result is that raising the torque peak to make more top-end horsepower means less torque down low. That's OK in a relatively lightweight car, where more bottom-end may just overpower the available traction anyway. But to get up into the usable powerband, steep (high numerical) rearend gears and (if running an automatic trans) a really high stall-speed torque converter are required.
The Low-RPM EngineHigh-rpm may be fine for a single-purpose racing engine, but the results are not always fun in day-to-day driving. Street-driven cars just don't spend most of their time above 5,000. Even if you don't mind buzzing the engine high on a daily basis, it takes a high degree of competence to achieve consistent, maximum performance from a quick-revving, closely geared engine.
Some engines aren't happy at high rpm-and never will be. Their bearing diameters are too large, their strokes too long, and their head-flow capacities too poor to really work upstairs. As Olds expert Dick Miller points out, "The big-block Olds is incapable of living at high rpm. The 455 has the longest stroke of all stock big-blocks on the market. Its 3-inch-od main bearings are also the biggest. At 6,000 rpm the Olds main bearing [rotational] speed is nearly the same as a small-block Ford at 9,000 rpm!"
Most street cars are relatively heavy, sometimes carrying as much as 12-14 pounds/hp. To overcome a heavyweight's inertia-the property of a body by which it tends to resist a change in its state of rest or motion-requires lots of initial leverage. And if nothing else, torque is leverage.
All this seems to argue in favor of building for low-rpm performance. Many builders call this "building for torque" or "assembling a torque monster." But in the final analysis, it's really a matter of semantics. Whatever the term, the goal is maximizing engine output in the rpm range where the engine spends most of its time-whether it's because of inherent design limitations, or because of intended use, or a combination of these factors. Even with low-rpm setups, the engine that makes the most torque at equivalent rpm points will make more power-and should be faster.
Area Under The CurveNotice we said "the rpm range where the engine spends most of its time." Merely considering peak numbers is misleading. In almost every case, it is better to look at the average area under the power curve rather than simply at peak numbers, because a broader, flatter curve generally delivers superior performance to a peaky curve. As SuperFlow's Harold Bettes puts it, "Some engines [that] have a power curve that looks like a tabletop [instead of] a mountain range in profile are pure pleasures to drive." Comp Cams' Scooter Brothers adds, "If it's a Comp Eliminator, Pro Stock, or Winston Cup car, maybe peak power is the answer," because these engines operate in a relatively narrow rpm band. "But for the dual-purpose car, torque must be flat for an extended period of time."
According to David Reher, "We look at the average horsepower within the rpm range we run in; we don't look at the peak number. Anytime you can pick up the average, that's an increase. But you don't want to lose power somewhere else."
"The wider the powerband, the better the acceleration," says turbo wizard Ken Duttweiler. "The best examples are variable-cam engines like the Honda VTEC-they'll pull down to 500 rpm and accelerate to 7,000!" And Norm Brandes at Westech Automotive (of Wisconsin) adds that high-strung, peaky motors "are easier to get out of tune. A carb on a good 'torque' motor sees a much stronger manifold signal, so it's more forgiving. The same holds true with electronic engine management; the computer will be much happier with a broad curve."
Generally the rpm range that is most important is the area between peak torque rpm and peak power rpm. The car should be geared so that you shift 400-500 rpm beyond peak power, and the engine "falls back" to just beyond the peak torque point. Assuming a similar operating range, the engine with the greater area under the power curve between the power and torque rpm peak points makes for the better combination.
On an engine with the most "area under the curve," the torque falls off less rapidly after hitting its peak, so in that sense you are always building for best overall torque, in order to produce the best overall power. This is where Scooter Brothers of Comp Cams gets his axiom, "build for torque, and horsepower will take care of itself," but remember the end goal is always to generate maximum power within your engine's operating rpm range. "There's not one thing that isn't a tradeoff," David Reher points out. "That's the most critical thing in engine-building: deciding where and when to make those tradeoffs." Harold Bettes adds, "It is the package with the greatest area under the power curve that has the advantage. Remember, you cannot have horsepower without torque, but you can have torque without horsepower!" It's called a dump truck.
Competition Cams Inc. | McCord Consulting Group Ltd. |
Memphis, TN | St. Louis, MO |
800/365-9145 | 314/830-9471 |
www.compcams.com | www.mccordcg.com |
Crane Cams | Mondello Performance Products Inc. |
Daytona Beach, FL | Paso Robles, CA |
904/252-1151 | 805/237-8808 |
www.cranecams.com | www.mondellotwister.com |
Dick Landy Industries | Reher-Morrison Racing Engines |
Northridge, CA | Arlington, TX |
818/341-4143 | 817-467-7171 |
www.rehermorrison.com | |
Dick Miller Racing | |
Memphis, TN | School Of Automotive Machinists |
www.dickmillerracing.com | Houston, TX |
713/683-3817 | |
Duttweiler Engineering | www.samracing.com |
Ventura, CA | |
805/659-3648 | Super Flow Corp. |
Colorado Springs, CO | |
Flowmaster Inc. | 719/471-1746 |
Santa Rosa, CA | www.superflow.com |
800/544-4761 | |
www.flowmastermufflers.com | Westech Automotive |
Silver Lake, WI | |
Hank The Crank (HTC) | 262/889-4346 |
South Gate, CA | www.westechauto.com |
562/861-7682 | |
www.hankthecrank.com | Westech Performance Group |
Mira Loma, CA | |
Joe Sherman Racing Engines | 909/685-4767 |
Santa Ana, CA | www.westechperformance.com |
714/542-0515 |
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Institute of Fluid Dynamics
Scientific Profile
The institute is conducting basic and applied research in the fields of thermo-fluid dynamics and magnetohydrodynamics in order to improve the sustainability, the energy efficiency and the safety of industrial processes. The topics are embedded in the research field Energy.
Research of basic phenomena, e.g., in multi-phase flows which undergo phase change or in electrically conducting flows under control of electromagnetic fields is complemented with the in-house developement of advanced measurement techniques and of reliable numerical models. For this purpose, evaluation models for process analysis are being developed and validated, which comprehend multi-phase phenomena as well as thermal aspects and chemical reactions.
Examples for the developement of advanced measurement techniques for multi-phase, non-opaque flows are wire-mesh sensors, fast X-ray and gamma tomography as well as ultrasonic and inductive tomography methods for metal melts. A number of unique experimental facilities in our institute allow for applied research of complex flow regimes which are relevant to processes in, e.g., chemical, metallurgical and power industry.
The new department "Transport processes at interfaces" established in Oct. 2016 focuses on detailed analyses of multi-scale transport processes at interfaces between solid, liquid and gaseous phases.
Research in magnetohydrodynamics deals with flow phenomena of electrically conducting liquids and its interaction with or control by electromagnetic fields. Applied research is performed for designing customised magnetic fields to optimize industrial processes in metallurgy, crystal growth, as well as electrochemistry.
Future projects currently under construction are model experiments on precession-driven dynamos, the development of liquid metal batteries for an efficient stationary storage of energy and the extension of the TOPFLOW facility.


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Washington, DC (March 15, 2012) – Leading U.S. Senators today introduced bipartisan legislation to bring about sensible discovery reform in criminal prosecutions. The bill is entitled the "Fairness in Disclosure of Evidence Act of 2012." Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) and Senator Dan Inouye (D-Hawaii) are the lead sponsors who introduced the legislation, which can be found here.
In America, if you are accused of a crime, you have the constitutional right to all information in the government's possession that is favorable to your case. That was the ruling nearly fifty years ago in the U.S. Supreme Court decision Brady v. Maryland, 373 U.S. 83 (1963).
But as NACDL President Lisa Monet Wayne explained, "The duty to provide favorable evidence has often been misunderstood or ignored. Even well-intentioned prosecutors lack the clear statutory guidance necessary to ensure the full and prompt disclosure to the defense of favorable evidence. That lack of disclosure contributes to unjust and wrongful prosecutions and convictions. This legislation fixes that problem," adding "The 'Fairness in Disclosure of Evidence Act of 2012' provides clear and meaningful standards governing the prosecution's duty to disclose any and all evidence that could help the accused defend her case. Its passage would represent a giant step forward in improving the fairness and accuracy of our criminal justice system." Today's legislation will empower prosecutors across the country, providing them with clear standards aimed at ensuring compliance with their Brady obligations.
At a Capitol Hill news conference this afternoon reflecting the broad-based support for the legislation, Sen. Murkowski, who was accompanied by Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison of Texas, spoke about the case of the late Sen. Ted Stevens and the need for reform and uniform standard, saying that "Instead of justice being blind, in this case justice was blindly ignored." Rob Cary, a member of NACDL's White Collar Crime Committee and counsel to the late Sen. Stevens, spoke about the value this legislation would bring if enacted, "No amount of reform can guarantee that prosecutors will not lie and cheat as they did in his case, but this legislation today would go a long way towards making it much less likely that it happens in the future." Following Mr. Cary's remarks, NACDL Executive Director Norman L. Reimer explained that "A criminal prosecution is the most awesome use of government power – short of warfare. It is not a game. It is not hunt. It is not sport. It's about justice and fairness. And the Fairness in Disclosure Act will make that principle the law of the land." And Michael Macleod-Ball, Chief of Staff of the ACLU's Washington Legislative Office, articulated the ACLU's position on the bill, "We think this bill supports the principle that justice demands and depends on fairness," adding that it "is intended to help ensure that our criminal courts mete out justice and not merely convictions."
In addition to NACDL, the legislation introduced today is supported by the American Bar Association (ABA), the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), the Constitution Project, and the Institute for Legal Reform at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
News outlets across the nation have reported on this critically important issue, including the New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, National Public Radio, The Hill, Alaska Dispatch, Houston Chronicle, and the Austin American-Statesman, among many others, with some editorial boards having clearly called for reform in this area.
NACDL has worked for years seeking sensible discovery reform in the context of criminal prosecutions. A link to NACDL's video "America Needs Sensible Discovery Reform," as well as a wealth of materials on the subject, can be found at www.nacdl.org/discoveryreform.
Tomorrow (Friday, March 16) at 2 p.m. ET, NACDL will hold a free, live webcast interview with Stevens' attorney Robert M. Cary, of Williams & Connolly LLP, who will discuss the ramifications of the case and the investigation, and the future of federal discovery reform. Complete information about the webcast will be available later today at www.nacdl.org.
Ivan Dominguez, Deputy Director of Public Affairs & Communications, (202) 465-7662 or email@example.com.
The National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers is the preeminent organization advancing the mission of the criminal defense bar to ensure justice and due process for persons accused of crime or wrongdoing. A professional bar association founded in 1958, NACDL's many thousands of direct members in 28 countries – and 90 state, provincial and local affiliate organizations totaling up to 40,000 attorneys – include private criminal defense lawyers, public defenders, military defense counsel, law professors and judges committed to preserving fairness and promoting a rational and humane criminal legal system.


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The Department of Veterans Affairs has said it will change the way it determines wait times for veterans making appointments to meet with VA healthcare providers.
The decision follows a report released in December that faulted the Veterans Health Administration's system for tracking wait times for veteran patients to see a doctor for initial or follow-up visits. The Government Accountability Office found that VA reports on wait times are unreliable because neither the policy nor training materials used by schedulers setting appointments are clear.
The result has been inconsistent practices and misleading data, according to GAO, Congress' investigatory arm.
The VA agreed that it had problems and said it would work to resolve them and come up with a reliable measurement of wait times. The VA has been criticized by Congress for years over the time it takes for veterans to see a doctor.
The VA's goal in 2011, the year the GAO studied, was to have patients see a healthcare provider within 14 days of the patient's or provider's "desired" appointment date. VA data, based on the recorded dates and wait times the GAO reviewed, shows the department met its goal in primary care medical appointments 94 percent of the time and in specialty care appointments 95 percent of the time.
"However, patient complaints and media reports about long wait times have persisted, prompting renewed concerns about excessive medical appointment wait times," the GAO said, explaining why it conducted the review.
The 51-page GAO report said VA employees are not consistent in recording the veteran patient's "desired" appointment date.
"While the policy defines desired date as 'the date on which the patient or provider wants the patient to be seen,' it also instructs that the 'the desired date needs to be defined by the patient'," according to the General Accountability Office report. The policy applies to new patient medical appointments, appointments made in response to consult requests, and follow-up appointments by established patients.
The GAO drafted its report after visiting 23 clinics at four VA Medical Centers, reviewing Veterans Health Administration policies and data, and interviewing VHA officials.
The GAO found that 12 schedulers they interviewed said they would enter the "desired" date as the one selected by the patient; four said they would use the provider's date and three others said they would use the next available medical appointment date.
If there is a conflict between a date the patient wants and when the provider is available, the VA scheduler is supposed to contact the provider. But neither policy nor training documents spell out when the provider's appointment date should be entered as the "desired" one. Some schedulers would use the patient-requested date, others the provider's date, the agency found.
"The variation in schedulers' interpretation of the desired date suggests confusion about its correct use in different scheduling scenarios," the GAO wrote.
In some cases, schedulers altered the desired date because of appointment availability, resulting in inaccurate recording of patient wait times.
The VA, in response to the criticisms, said it is considering new ways to measure the wait times, including recording new patient wait times as the period between the appointment create date and the completed date. For established patients, the time may be measured from the patient's desired date to the future scheduled appointment, the VA said in a Dec. 11, 2012 reply to GAO.
The VA also agreed it would standardize the training of employees making appointments for veterans to avoid inconsistencies.
The GAO report did not address allegations made in congressional testimony last year indicting that at least some of the faulty data may have been deliberate. A former official with the VA Medical Center in New Hampshire told Congress last April that some senior executives at VA hospitals were "gaming the system" on appointment numbers because they were tied to bonuses.
Following the testimony the Department of Veterans Affairs cancelled more than half of all bonuses targeted to senior executives.


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Discussing cameras and the future of Windows Phone with Nokia's Juha Alakarhu
Although Nokia was not announcing any new Lumia Windows Phones here at CES 2013 in Las Vegas, they were still present here making sure people know that they mean business.
Luckily for us their photo guru, Juha Alakarhu, was there to take our questions regarding cameras and the future of mobile camerawork. Being in charge of Nokia's imaging for their Lumia line gives him special insight into the field and since we're photo enthusiasts ourselves, we had a lot to discuss.
Most of our conversation concentrated on chatting about their current cream of the crop, the Nokia Lumia 920 but who could also ignore that 808 Pureview with its 41MP image sensor? Not us. So both imaging technologies were discussed in tandem as well as what Nokia is thinking about what's coming next. Join us after the break for some interesting tidbits behind Nokia's photographic magic.
On those missing camera settings…
One of the big complaints some of us had regarding the Lumia 920 (and Windows Phone 8 devices in general) is the more limited aspect of manipulating camera settings. In short, the Lumia 920 while an outstanding piece of technology is missing such basic things as sharpening, contrast and metering options.
So the reason they are not there? To keep it simple for the user. This is in contrast to the 808 Pureview, which has three different modes for taking photos and each with a corresponding group of settings (something we prefer).
There is a debate of sorts at Nokia between those who believe you should just worry about shooting now and if you want to adjust things, do it afterwards versus those who want to adjust things on the fly. Nokia appears to be leaning towards the shoot-now, adjust-later style which is why things like Creative Studio for post-processing is often emphasized.
That's not to say it will always be like this as Nokia in the past has had different menus settings in their various phones. But as of right now there doesn't seem like there will be any significant changes to that menu system on the 920 or other Windows Phone 8 Lumias.
Light metering on the Lumia 920
For those curious, the Lumia 920 uses Matrix style metering for determining exposure values when snapping a photo. For those who don't know, cameras usually have three methods for measuring the light in a scene: Spot, Center-weighted averaged and Matrix.
Spot measures the light source at a very specific area of the photo, usually the center, ignoring the rest while Matrix is at the other end of the spectrum measuring all of the light in the scene from dark corners to a bright lamp—it then tries to balance the two extremes to give proper exposure. The third method is basically in between—it's Spot but it also measures the immediate areas around the specific area for light information.
From our experience the Samsung ATIV S uses a center-balanced light metering technique while Nokia's is more comprehensive, measuring everything i.e Matrix which we confirmed. This seems to be more important for low-light photography for the average user, which is why Nokia chose it over Spot or Proximity.
Why is the viewfinder on the 920 so dark when compared to the after shot?
We hear this complaint a lot with the Lumia 920: when taking a photo, the viewfinder is very dark, making it hard to see things but after one snaps the photo, it's so much brighter (it also results in that "wow" effect of before and after).
Nokia is of course aware of the contrast and they may try to brighten the viewfinder in the future but the main reason for the effect is a technical limitation: the viewfinder is "seeing" the scene at 30FPS, which of course translates into a 1/30 shutter time. Compare this with the longer exposure shots that the 920 takes with optical image stabilization(OIS) and the lens can let a lot more light in to the sensor, resulting in it being brighter.
So no, Nokia didn't do it on purpose to make the experience of taking a low-light photo more "extreme" but it is rather just a technical oddity.
Does the Lumia 920 have anti-aliasing (optical lowpass filter)?
Anti-aliasing filters are often found on high end cameras and it serves a specific function: to reduce jagged edges in photos, especially those with lower resolution. It's quite a niche thing in photography but you may be surprised to learn that Nokia has in fact experimented with such technology.
Alas, they didn't care for the results too much so as of now, the tool is not included in the Lumia 920 and probably won't be used anytime soon. But hey, we think it's cool that they've even explored that aspect for mobile photography.
Variable aperture—will it happen with mobile phones?
Aperture refers to the iris in the lens and how open (or closed) it can be when taking photos. When the iris is opened to the max, it results in a lower F-Stop, which on the Lumia 920 is a F2.0. The more open the iris, the more light it lets in, which is what we need for low-light photography. The downside is a lower F-stop results in a softer image with less sharpness.
Most "real" cameras have this number as a variable ranging from F2.0 up to F16 or something in between and it automatically increase when you zoom in on your subject. High end DSLRs often shoot at F1.4, though those lenses are very expensive.
But when it comes to mobile phones, fixed apertures are the norm despite advantages of being able to manipulate that setting e.g. landscape shots in the middle of the day, where a higher F-stop gives you a sharper image. Like anything else though there are tradeoffs when it comes to mobile and so far Nokia does not see physical variable apertures happening anytime soon due issues with sharpness and other complications.
The future of optical zoom for mobile cameras?
Optical zoom, the concept of adding more elements to a lens resulting in a variable range of focus is as old as the telescope. The problem with doing it mobile though gets compounded by the fragility of such a system.
For instance, we've all seen the Lumia 920 in tests dropped and battered around only to come away working and mostly unscathed. When you toss on moving lens component with various lens elements (especially if protruding), that aspect of the phone becomes very delicate and it probably won't survive the most common, everyday drops or bumps.
Because of that, Nokia doesn't seen physical zoom lenses coming anytime soon to our mobile phones. Instead, they'd rather concentrate on things like the 808 Pureview and its 41MP sensor. With that many megapixels, cropping a small portion of the image still results in an astounding image and cropping is technically a form of "zoom". Because it has no moving parts and it can be manipulated in post-processing, Nokia is betting on that technology over a physical moving lens for the immediate future.
You also don't get the variable aperture problem as noted above with an increasing F-stop meaning you can still take low-light photos but crop-to-zoom when necessary.
If Juha had one wish for mobile photography technology, what would it be?
We asked Juha if we could grant him any technology to put in mobile phones to greatly improve performance what would he wish to be possible. He ended up choosing the one go-to that all photographers know about: image sensor size. Namely bigger is always better.
What separates a cheap point-n-shoot from a $2K DSLR is the use of a much larger image sensor in the latter. A few of us here on the site use full-sensor cameras, like the Nikon D700, and it results in a far superior image due to the sensor being so massive.
In short the larger sensor the better the image quality because the light hitting it has a larger surface. This is not to be confused with "megapixels" which has to do with resolution. Side by side, a 10MP full-frame sensor will still destroy a 20MP phone-sized sensor any day, it's not even close. And most photographers worth their salt know that anything more than 6 or 8MP does not make a better photo. In fact cramming more pixels on a small sensor can actual degrade the image and increase noise. (Though see the argument above for higher megapixels as a solution for optical zoom in mobile).
So for Nokia, trying to get the largest sensor in the phone is still the preferred method for increasing image quality. Of course pricing comes into play in addition to the available silicon.
Juha's custom DIY 808 Pureview with external lens
Adding external lenses to the camera?
A few months ago at Windows Phone Central we demonstrated how well magnetic lenses work on the Lumia 920, noting that although they are cheap and a bit gimmicky the result was actually quite impressive (see a recent music video shot using this technique). So we had to ask Nokia if they have considered something along the same lines.
The bad news is Nokia doesn't appear to be getting ready to adopt this strategy but that's not to say they aren't toying with the notion. In fact, when we brought up the idea Juha's face beamed with a grin as he excitedly fetched a fresh 808 Pureview from his bag.
The device looked like any other 808 except this had a custom DIY ("do it yourself") lens attachment, allowing it to have a wide angle lens that could even take a hood attachment to block extraneous light from causing lens flare.
Now we need to emphasize that this is not some Nokia prototype but purely Juha's own pet project. But it should at least demonstrate that the man behind Nokia's imaging technologies is even experimenting with such embellishments.
Will we ever see such trimmings for future Lumia PureView phones? We're not sure but we strongly encourage Nokia to consider the idea.
What about a mechanical shutter?
Nokia has actually used mechanical shutters before—like those found in genuine cameras. The Nokia N8, 808 and other high end phones did have such technology on board making the addition to a Windows Phone in the future quite plausible.
Mechanical shutters don't have a universal advantage for everyday photos but they do have one big benefit: eliminating motion skew.
What's motion skew? If you have ever taken a photo of fast moving objects or you yourself were moving while taking a photo, you may notice certain elongated objects become wavy in the resultant photo e.g. trees look like they're bending. Mechanical shutters (as opposed to a rolling, digital one) eliminate those instances and are the preferred choice for photographers.
So regarding if we will see mechanical shutters in a Windows Pureview phones, history tells us that Nokia is quite familiar with the knowhow and will use it when warranted in future devices.
Wrapping it up
While our conversation with Nokia's Juha Alakarhu was only 30 minutes, we actually covered a lot of ground in mobile photography.
The one thing we can take away from Nokia is they are definitely experimenting with every aspect of the field to bring the best and latest to our phones. From anti-aliasing to optical zoom to larger sensors to mechanical shutters, we know of no other mobile manufacturer that has such a wide range of engineers experimenting with mobile photography. Having said that companies like Samsung are clearly trying to cut into Nokia's market and if there was one potential threat, we would worry it was them (see Samsung's hybrid Android-point and shoot as an example).
Nokia's Chris Weber and Juah Alakkarhu were both mum on future products but they did say numerous times that the Lumia 920 (and Pureview 808) were only the beginning. Come early 2013 and we'll begin to see Nokia really unleash their photographic prowess on the market.
Our bet? We'll see some new hardware from Nokia next month at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. Of course we'll be there to cover it live if and when that happens. Needless to say we're excited about the prospect and so should you.
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Daniel Rubino is the Editor-in-chief of Windows Central. He is also the head reviewer, podcast co-host, and analyst. He has been covering Microsoft since 2007, when this site was called WMExperts (and later Windows Phone Central). His interests include Windows, laptops, next-gen computing, and watches. He has been reviewing laptops since 2015 and is particularly fond of 2-in-1 convertibles, ARM processors, new form factors, and thin-and-light PCs. Before all this tech stuff, he worked on a Ph.D. in linguistics, watched people sleep (for medical purposes!), and ran the projectors at movie theaters because it was fun.


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Hi Blog. Good news. Until now, if you wanted to qualify for any retirement payout under the Japanese National Pension System (Nenkin), you had to contribute 300 months, or 25 years, of your salary in Japan.
This was an enormously high hurdle for many NJ residents, who would pay in but not always elect to stay the bulk of their working life in Japan. That meant that aside from getting back a maximum of three years' worth of contributions upon request (see also here), you'd effectively lose your retirement investment as an enormous exit tax. (Incidentally, that was one of the quiet incentives for the racist Nikkei South American Returnee Worker "repatriation bribes" from the government back in 2009 — take the airplane fare home, leave behind your accrued pension. Big win for Japan's government coffers.)
It made it so that the longer you stayed in Japan, the more of a pension prisoner you became, since if you left the country to work elsewhere, you'd lose, because you hadn't paid into pension schemes in other countries and wouldn't qualify.
Totalization Agreements (where countries agree that years worked in Country B count towards working in Country A as well) have eased that burden somewhat. But now the threshold for qualifying at all in Japan has fortunately been reduced. From 25 to 10 years, as of August 2017. Hurrah.
Now still remaining is the issue that the number of Japanese pensioners is increasing due to Japan's demographically aging society, meaning that by the time you retire you'll be receiving a smaller piece of the overall pension pie (to the levels where pensioners will live in penury; Japan is already above the OECD average poverty rate (pg. 75). And the minimum retirement age will likely be further increased to make it harder to retire younger. But at least you don't have to invest most of your working life in Japan just to get something back. Thus, Japan is becoming more aligned with international norms. Good.
Much more information from the OECD on this issue at http://www.oecd.org/pensions/public-pensions/OECDPensionsAtAGlance2013.pdf. Dr. Debito Arudou
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Heart Rate Training
Not so long ago only world-class triathletes and bike racers wore those weird black chest straps. Today, heart rate monitors are everywhere. The word is out. Heart rate training is a great way to improve your performance, avoid over-training, and track your fitness. Heart rate monitors are also great motivational aids, providing instant feedback on your wrist. The monitors do have their limitations, though.
Most trainers, coaches, and athletes establish heart rate zones for distinct training goals. These zones are based on an estimate of the athlete's maximum heart rate. For example, your heart rate should stay between 60% and 75% of your maximum heart rate on your easy days. The problem lies in estimating your maximum heart rate. Many people have adopted a rule-of-thumb: Maximum Heart Rate = 220-Age. Researchers have discredited this estimate though, replacing it with gender specific equations:
Male Maximum Heart Rate = 214 - (0.8*age)
Female Maximum Heart Rate= 209 - (0.7*age)
This is still a gross estimate. In reality, maximum heart rate varies greatly among people of the same age. Consequently, if you guess your maximum heart rate poorly, you end up with inaccurate training zones. If you aren't careful, you may be over or under training.
Knowing Your Pace
For runners and walkers, heart rate is used to estimate effort, a secondary measurement of performance. The best measurement of performance is the speed and distance of every step you take. Speed and distance systems that display this information on your wrist have begun to flourish over the past couple of years. So what makes pace training powerful?
Pace is intuitive: You have been looking at your car speedometer for years to avoid Smokey's radar gun. You are addicted to your mile splits each time you run a 10K. How formidable and memorable was the 4-minute mile barrier? You already understand pace, so you don't have to change how you think to reap the benefits of pace training.
Pace is immediate: The speedometer measures how fast you are moving EVERY step. You expect your car speedometer needle to jump when you step on the gas. The same is true with your running speedometer. Heart rate, on the other hand, lags effort. If you speed up, your heart rate may not rise for 10 or more seconds, and may not come back down for a minute or more after you slow back down. This is especially true if you are untrained or out of shape. This can result in overshooting your heart rate zone by speeding up or slowing down too much. Training with pace and heart rate simultaneously can provide you with the feedback you need to train smarter.
Pace is pace is pace: Pace is an external measure of how fast you are moving over the ground. Pace has nothing to do with what color clothing you are wearing or how many cans of soda you drank this morning. Heart rate is an internal biological measurement. While maximum heart rate is relatively stable, heart rate under a given set of conditions is highly variable. Hydration, weather, posture, nutrition, fatigue, stress, excitement, and body temperature can all affect heart rate. Therefore, pace and heart rate complement each other well. Comparing your external and internal performance gives you the whole picture. You can track how your fitness changes over time. Run at the same pace and watch your heart rate drop or hold your heart rate at the same level and see how much faster you are running than last month. You can begin to understand your body.
Pace is performance: You want to run a 3-hour marathon? Well, you better be able to run 5 miles in 32 minutes. Or finish eight 800-meter repeats in 3 minutes each. A speed & distance system helps you learn your pace and create the workouts needed to reach your goal.
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Project Closure Report
Like all aspects of a project, its closure should be planned and tracked. This may one of the more overlooked aspects of project management, but its benefits and importance to the project and future ones like it are highly valued by project managers. A good project closure report should be the basis for a project plan for a similar future project.
The report compares between the plan at the beginning of the project, and the final outcome of it. This output is then presented to the key stakeholders, the client and vendors, and to the team members. This report is usually quite emotional, especially in a long term project. It is the final output of the team, and they know that once it's completed, the project is finally over.
Completion Criteria
In order for the project to be officially closed, the following basic criteria must be met –
- The major milestones have been completed
- The above have met their quality specifications
- The key stakeholders (internal and external, i.e. the client) have accepted the closure and have signed off on it.
- The project has been completed on time and on budget (certain flexibility is acceptable here of course).
These criterions above can change from project to project, and must be defined upon its official kick off.
The Methodology
The most important steps of the closure report are –
- Actual vs. planned: the first step is to compare the actual timeline, scope, budget, quality and resource use to the planned ones at the beginning (or at the last scope change). This step will give a good sense of how successful the project was (the more successful, the closer the actual will be to the planned). This step is done by the PMO, and approved by the PM / COO.
- Interviews of the major team members: Once step #1 is completed, they should be presented to the team leads and managers in order to get their input, remarks and lessons learned. Also their contributions should be formally recorded and recognized, for future evaluation and compensation.
- The client needs to formally sign off on the project, herby confirming that the company has met all of its obligations as stated in the SOW / contract.
- A checklist with the major tasks of a closure report needs to be put together and approved.
- The CFO must approve that all of the expenditure is accounted for, and that all of the PO's (Purchase Orders) have been fulfilled. In some cases an audit is required, in order to present to the customer that all of their payments were received.
- Identifying the records which need to be kept after the project has been completed is a very important step. Depending on the clients' field of business and country, there are several rules & regulations which must be adhered to regarding record keeping. Any and all legal signed documents, PO's, payments received and authorized and any other documents which the legal counsel of the company specifies must be kept and recorded. This can also help with planning a new project in a similar field.
- Once the above steps are completed and signed off by the PM and stakeholders, It must be communicated to all involved that work on the project must discontinue unless told otherwise.
- Once step #6 is done, all payments involved in the project need to be discontinued.
- If a maintenance project is signed (or included in the original contract), then the final scope in the project closure report will be the beginning point of the maintenance project.
The importance of a checklist
The attached checklist needs to be filled out and signed as a part of the report. Even seasoned PM's and PMO's who have brought many projects to a full closure, may sometimes overlook basic steps of the report. A checklist is the best way to avoid these mistakes, which may leave a bad taste in the mouths of otherwise happy and content clients. The checklist should also specify who is responsible for the tasks which appear in it.
All lists are prone to change according to the client, the company, the country and many other factors. The attached list specifies the basic and most important tasks, which should appear in any closure report.
Best Practices
The following points should be kept in mind when putting together a project closure report –
- Closing a report might be an emotional task for team members who have been involved in the project from the kick off, and have come to see the project as their "baby". Keeping this in mind, it may be a good idea to bring in a team of people who weren't directly involved in the project, or may have recently joined. This will ensure objectivity and that this task is seen as just another one in the projects' lifecycle.
- Since this is the last major work of the project, and is usually done after the final deliverable has been signed off by the client, it may be not taken seriously by all of the team members. Perceiving the closure report as a mini-project with milestones, deadlines and a work plan can ensure that the report will be completed in a timely manner.
- Like any other tasks, planning this one well in advance will improve its final outcome.
- While debriefing the team members, it is a good idea for their immediate supervisor to review their work on the project and give them any constructive criticism. Most companies do this exercise on a yearly / bi-yearly basis, but at the closing a project is a much better time to review and analyse the team members' contributions and personal KPI's.
- The above debriefing (or interviews) should be done in a structured manner, with the projects' goals clearly listed and weather the team member helped in its achievement.
- Usually the PMO writes the report, and the PM or COO approves it.
Be sure to check out the Free Project Status Report Templates from Techno-PM, and start streamlining your project management today.