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As the clock runs down on a Monday night deadline for Congress to reach agreement on a funding measure or else force most of government to close, the Obama administration is providing details on how federal agencies would operate during a shutdown.
The new contingency procedures for agencies that most directly affect higher education are largely in line with plans created under the threat of previous government shutdowns. Many observers expect students and colleges and universities to be affected only modestly, at least during a short-term shutdown.
The Education Department said in its updated plan released Friday that a lapse in appropriations this week "would fall at a critical point in the administration of the large student aid program" and would interfere in a range of bureaucratic and administrative tasks that are needed carry out the federal aid system.
However, the largest student aid programs would remain mostly unaffected by a government shutdown.
"As a result of the permanent and multiyear appropriations, Pell Grants and [federal] student loans could continue as normal," the Education Department said. "Staff and contractors associated with these areas will continue to work."
Students would continue to have access to Pell Grants and federal loans, and most customer service centers would remain open. Education Department websites would remain available, as would student loan servicer sites. (The department's Federal Student Aid office also provided Friday more detailed technical guidance for financial aid professionals on the impact of a government shutdown.)
A host of other, smaller financial aid programs that require Education Department personnel to operate would be harder-hit by a shutdown. The department plans to furlough employees who support campus-based aid programs such as Federal Work-Study and Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants.
The department would also not award new grants to institutions since as much as 90 percent of its workforce will be told to stay at home.
The flow of new federal scientific research money would come to halt during a shutdown.
The Department of Health and Human Services confirmed in its contingency plans that the National Institutes of Health would not accept new patients on its campus or begin any new research experiments. Although scientists currently working on NIH grants would continue their work, the agency would "not take any actions on grant applications or awards."
The National Science Foundation was set to follow a similar procedure. Individuals may continue work on all current awards "to the extent that doing so will not require federal staff intervention and that funds are available," the agency said. "No payments will be made during the funding hiatus."
Unless Congress passes a measure to fund the government on Monday — a prospect that seems increasingly unlikely — the shutdown will begin at midnight on Tuesday.


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The College's Bookstores offer more than just textbooks. You can also purchase College gear and memorabilia, computer supplies and peripherals, national bestsellers and magazines, backpacks, apparel, gift items, and much more.
For your convenience, College Bookstores are located in the Pavilion Building on Main Campus and at both the Northeast and Northwest Regional Centers.
The Bookstore now offers you the option to rent certain textbooks at less than 50 percent the cost of purchasing new ones. Additionally, a Financial Aid Bookstore Credit is available for qualified students.
Bookstore purchases can also be made online.
On Main Campus, the bookstore is located in the Pavilion Building. There are also bookstore locations at the Northeast Regional Center and Northwest Regional Center for your convenience.
Main Campus
The Main Campus Bookstore is on the ground level of the Pavilion Building, It is accessible through the building's main entrance on 17th Street between Spring Garden and Callowhill streets. At the start of each semester, however, you must access the Bookstore through the West Building entrance at the corner of 17th and Spring Garden streets due to student volume.
For hours of operation and contact information, please visit the Main Campus bookstore online.
Regional Centers
Bookstores are open year-round at both the Northeast and Northwest Regional Center locations. The Northeast Regional Center Bookstore is located on the first level near the Townsend Road entrance, and the Northwest Regional Center Bookstore is located on the basement level near the student lounge.
For Regional Center hours of operation and contact information, please visit the bookstore online.
Textbooks are only sold at the West Regional Center during the first 2 weeks of the fall and spring semesters. Hours for the temporary Bookstore at the West Regional Center are posted at the Center.
Financial Aid Bookstore Credit
Financial Aid Bookstore Credit is available for qualified students. To check eligibility requirements, contact the Office of Financial Aid at 215-751-8271 or send us an email.

subset: commoncrawl


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I was recently in Moscow, contributing to a panel debate on social media at Russia's biggest digital marketing conference. The panellists and the conference floor were abuzz with the scandal that major brands have been found to have paid for fake fans on Vkontakte, Russia's leading social network. Apparently, it has been relatively common practice for the country's marketers to meet targets by asking their agencies to do so by whatever means necessary, no questions asked.
Of course, that sort of thing doesn't happen here, does it? Well, maybe marketers in the UK aren't going as far as buying fake fans, but it's still relatively common for marketers to be blindly chasing fan numbers without reference to any business or marketing objectives, and to "buy" fans either through bribing people with promotions or through cost-per-action or cost-per-click media spend.
More worrying is that, once having acquired these fans, marketers are subjecting them to ill-suited set-piece campaigns as if their community was a 50s soap-opera audience.
Marketers can't really be blamed for this. Confused by different social media, some seem to be reverting to what they know - the familiar approach of headline audience numbers and buying a big campaign idea from a traditional or "tradigital" agency.
With The CMO Survey predicting that social media spend will move from 7.5 to 20 per cent of marketing budgets within the next three years, it's clear this situation needs to change or we face the prospect of more money being poured down the drain.
Let's start with the myth of Facebook fan numbers as a measure of audience. This figure is meaningless. As Facebook so brutally reminded marketers recently, on the average page, only 16 per cent of fans will see an individual update. Someone being a fan doesn't necessarily mean they see any communication from you, ever.
It's much more meaningful to measure your actual reach (how many people have been exposed to content from, or about, you), your frequency (how many times on average each of those people has been exposed), your level of engagement (the number of people responding to your content) and the number of times, on average, those people are responding.
Engagement is an overused and sometimes ill-defined concept but, in this context, it's measurable. More importantly, it's a key measure of the true value of social media.
Yes, social media is now a mass medium, and it can provide meaningful reach and frequency. But what social media allows you to do - that you can't do anywhere else at scale - is truly engage with customers and potential customers, driving advocacy and word of mouth both online and offline.
Because of the way the Facebook EdgeRank algorithm works (which determines which posts appear in fans' newsfeeds), engagement is also what drives reach and frequency. From our experience, a brand that is engaging well with its community can reach closer to 100 per cent of its fans, and a large number of their friends, through endorsement - which is the advocacy we're aiming for.
So, what drives engagement? It's time to forget everything you've learned from advertising. The traditional "big idea" doesn't work in social media. Real-time and always-on conversations trump the over-produced and often-irrelevant set-piece campaign plans of old. We need to move from the big idea to the social idea.
An entirely different mindset and creative approach are required: start behaving less like a broadcaster and more like a facilitator. Ongoing and timely content that is a natural extension of the conversation drives engagement - whether you're provoking discussion, reacting or simply taking part in it - and it is ever-evolving as it flows through the community. Creating content of the people, rather than at the people. And this is how we do it.
We get to know each community inside out. This means extensive research, listening carefully to the conversations people have about your sector and your brand, the issues that are on their mind and the world they live in. We gather these insights using specialist quantitative research tools. This then helps us decide what conversations to prioritise and how to adjust and evolve the way they behave.
Complementing the quantitative approach are the rich, qualitative insights from day-to-day involvement with communities - conversing with members, especially those that carry the most influence. It takes experience and expertise to get connected to a community's tastes, interests, habits, behaviours and etiquettes and, in turn, be able to produce engaging content that's tailored to those needs.
We apply this research and insight on an ongoing basis to our creative process - a collaborative approach that taps into the knowledge, experience and creativity of everyone in our team. This allows the creation of social ideas that are not only tailored to your business and communications objectives, but fit into the social behaviour of your target audience so seamlessly that they can't help but consume them, interact with them and pass them on.
We continue to listen, respond and create, resulting in timely content that is weaved into the community in a way that feels authentic and credible and drives emotional engagement between brand and consumer. Essentially, it turns your brand into a great conversationalist. One that is interesting and interested. And one that people want to engage with.
This takes time, effort and a huge amount of specialist knowledge and expertise, and we recognise it is hard for marketers to throw away what they think they know, especially about creative "ideas".
But we also know our approach works: according to iProspect's Facebook Engagement Index, we run two of the three most-engaged communities on Facebook in the UK.
As iProspect's Angus Wood says: "It's easy to go out and buy 'fans' with short-term competitions and other fan-bait, but if those users never return, and never interact with the brand's content, it's not an efficient investment."
I couldn't have put it better myself.
Robin Grant is the global managing director at We are Social.
Facebook or Google+? Pinterest.
My favourite social media is ...
I balance personal and professional in social media by ...
I don't. There is only one me, who's both a person and a professional, and my social media usage reflects that.
I can't forgive ...
Companies that are not making the changes they need to compete, mostly due to fear and ignorance.
The worst thing about social media is ...
That it never stops. It's also the best thing.
In five years' time ...
We'll be surprised how little has changed, with brands facing many of the same issues and problems in social as they do today. They all come back in the end to business objectives, where people spend their time, human nature and organisational change. Expect a bigger, better and more experienced We Are Social to be there to help them.
My fantasy follower is ...
Justin Bieber.


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How to Draw Max Payne
Okay are you ready? Good, first start with draw a long oval shape for Max Payne's head and then add the facial guidelines in the middle so that you will be able to draw the eyes, nose, and mouth in proportion. Next draw a straight vertical line for t
Okay now since the drawing of Max Payne is half silhouette, you will only be drawing out the right side of his face. So in this step you will add the outline of the facial frame which will look like a mask and then add a small almond shape for the ey
Now as you can see once you are done with this step your Max Payne should start taking form. You will first sketch out the shape of his head and hair which is kind of crazy and messy looking. Then start making the lining of his chin and jaw shape. Yo
You will start preparing Max's face for color in this step so what you will do is draw a wild looking circle around his right eye and then add the collar of his jacket. Detail the front lining of his coat and then move onto the next drawing step.
Well here you have it your last drawing step. You will first start erasing all the guidelines and shapes that you drew in step one. Once you have done that you can start coloring in all the area's that are red in this step, black. When you are done y
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October 17, 2008
Description: Well here is another awesome drawing tutorial on a character that is in movie theatres around the United States and other countries starting today October 17th. So, for my second drawing lesson I will be showing you how to draw Max Payne step by step. As you know Max Payne started out as a video game character that was created by the same team that brought you the Grand Theft Auto series. Now, I know I loved all of the GTA games especially Vice City and San Andreas. I can not sit here and tell you all that I am extremely familiar with the Max Payne game series because I am not. The only game I played but never beaten was the first Max Payne which was released for the Playstation 2 back in 2001. I know that the Max Payne game was first a computer shoot em up game and then they turned this popular third party shooting video game into console format. I like the character of Max Payne because he is a no nonsense type of guy. His story is kind of similar to the back ground plot of "The Punisher" from Marvel Comics. Like the Punisher, Max Payne finds himself in a difficult situation. But for Max it is when he returns home from a trip. He runs into some street junkies that are drugged up with a new stash called Valkyr. After they attack him he later finds his wife and infant daughter killed by the very same hands that attacked him. He later joined up with the DEA and three years later he becomes an undercover cop to find the dealer that makes the same drug that doped up the two people that killed his family. So he immediately starts investigating the Punchinello mob family because rumor has it that they are responsible for the new narcotic that has hit the streets. I personally love the game I can't wait to play the new Max Payne 2 and I can't wait to see Max Payne the movie. If you was to ask me what I wanted more; to see Max Payne or play Max Payne. I would have to say to see Max Payne. That is because Mark Wahlberg is playing the video game character and I think he is very cute indeed. Well maybe it is time that we move onto the tutorial steps instead of just sitting here talking about the Max Payne character shall we? I hope you have fun learning how to draw Max Payne step by step. I tried making the steps easy to follow and understand. Hopefully you learn something new with this drawing lesson. I will be back with three more tutorials in a bit so stay tuned kiddies.


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OKLAHOMA CITY — A loss to rival Oklahoma City cost the San Antonio Spurs control of the race for home-court advantage in the Western Conference playoffs. However, that's hardly the chief concern for San Antonio with the regular season winding down.
That All-Star point guard Tony Parker was sidelined yet again in a 100-88 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Thursday night looms even larger.
Russell Westbrook scored 27 points, Kevin Durant had 25 and Oklahoma City held off a series of San Antonio comebacks, the last one fizzling as Parker sat on the bench for the last 7 minutes with a shin injury.
"I'm not going to talk about all my stuff. I've got a lot of stuff going on, but I just have to get healthy," said Parker, who was just working his way back into form after missing time with a sprained left ankle.
"It's no excuse. I just have to get healthy."
The Spurs lost for the third time in four games and relinquished of control of the race for the top seed in the West, despite still holding a half-game lead on Oklahoma City. The Thunder pulled even in the loss column and would own the tiebreaker if both teams won out because of a better record against the West.
"We're a team that's been through it. We went to the Finals and the Western Conference finals the last two years, so we know the importance of the playoffs," Durant said. "It's not like this is our first go-around. So, we know we want to play as many games as we can here in Oklahoma City."
Derek Fisher hit a season-high five 3-pointers and had 17 points, his most since joining Oklahoma City in late February, while fueling a big first-half run that put the Thunder ahead to stay.
Kawhi Leonard and Tim Duncan each scored 24 points and had double-doubles for the Spurs. Parker had just two points in 25 minutes, and coach Gregg Popovich pulled him after noticing him limping.
"When he started out, it looked like he had no energy to start the game and then as he went, he looked to me like he was limping," Popovich said. "And then (at the) start of the second half, we saw him coming across half-court actually limping one time, and that's when we pulled him and I said to him, 'Tony, you got to stop.'"
San Antonio was already playing without sixth man Manu Ginobili (hamstring), who could miss the rest of the regular season, and fellow reserve Stephen Jackson (ankle). Parker wasn't sure whether he'd miss any time with his latest problem.
"We'll see," said Parker, who played 3 minutes in the fourth quarter. "I'll just talk with the medical staff and talk with Pop and try to make the best decision and make sure I'm 100 percent and healthy for the playoffs because that's the most important thing,"
The Thunder took control with a 26-5 surge that started midway through the first quarter, then fended off a series of comebacks as San Antonio tried to rally from 20 points behind in the first half and 14 down in the fourth quarter.
The Spurs got as close as 87-84 following Duncan's layup with 5:54 to play, at the end of a 13-2 run that featured three baskets by Boris Diaw.
Westbrook hit two free throws on two of Oklahoma City's next three possessions, and Durant's 3-pointer from the top of the key provided some cushion at 94-86 with 3:17 left. The Spurs didn't make a basket over the final 4½ minutes, getting only a pair of free throws from Leonard as he split on two trips to the line.
"Obviously, Tony's down, Manu's down, so it's a concern, especially in this part of the season," Duncan said. "But it's part of the game, so we've got to play through it and we've got to find a way to score points and not go through droughts like we did tonight."
The race for first in the West isn't decided yet, with six games left for the Spurs (56-20) and seven to go for Oklahoma City (55-20). Even when they met in last year's West finals, home-court advantage didn't hold up. The Thunder won Game 5 in San Antonio while sweeping the final four games of a six-game series.
"We've got to keep playing. You win this one but drop one tomorrow, you're right back where you were," Oklahoma City's Nick Collison said. "We have to continue to keep playing and try to win them all and see how it shakes out at the end."
While San Antonio has had an NBA-high 13 different players start games and only had its top lineup for 30 games this season, Oklahoma City has had its preferred starting five in 72 of 75 games.
"They've had it a little easier than us health-wise and we're still right in the mix. However many games are left, we'll see how it plays out and hopefully we can see them again in the playoffs," Duncan said.
Leonard had 14 rebounds and Duncan 11. Serge Ibaka had 11 points and 11 boards for Oklahoma City.
Fisher hit four 3-pointers during Oklahoma City's big run, which included 13 straight points immediately after Duncan and Parker checked out for the first time. Durant's transition drive pushed the edge to 41-21 with 7:57 left before halftime.
The Spurs started rallying back as soon as their two stars returned, with reserve Gary Neal scoring 12 points as the deficit dwindled to 52-44 by halftime. But Oklahoma City pushed the lead right back out to 67-48, only for San Antonio to score the final seven points of the third quarter to get within six.
"We just seemed to get right within striking distance and then not able to get over that hump," Duncan said. "Credit to them, obviously, but we just weren't on our game tonight."
Game notes
The Spurs and Thunder are the only two teams that rank among the top 5 in the NBA in scoring, field-goal percentage, 3-point shooting and free throw accuracy. … The season series was split, with each team winning both games on its home court. … Fisher had been 9-for-31 on 3s in his first 17 games with Oklahoma City. He was 5-for-7 in this game. "That's why you stick with your guys. … He struggled earlier. He's really tough mentally and we want him to shoot those shots," Collison said. "Tonight, he got open looks and made them and that was huge for us. We needed them. The second group, that was pretty much our offense."
This article was originally posted on ESPN.com


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Fredegar 'Fatty' Bolger was a Hobbit of the Shire. He was one of the close friends of Frodo who knew that he had the Ring and helped him with his mission to leave the Shire.
Fatty was a descendant of Hildibrand Took (T.A. 2849 - T.A. 2934), one of the many sons of the Old Took. He was the son of Odovacar Bolger and Rosamunda Took. Fatty was born in T.A. 2980 and his family was from Budgeford in Bridgefields of the Eastfarthing. He also had a younger sister, Estella Bolger (b. T.A. 2985), who would eventually marry Meriadoc Brandybuck.
Fredegar was a good friend of Frodo Baggins. In T.A. 3001 he was a guest at Bilbo's Farewell Party.
Fatty was one of the Conspirators, the friends of Frodo who knew that he was in an important mission to leave the Shire, and they assisted him without his knowledge. Fatty, along with Folco Boffin and Frodo's close circle, celebrated Frodo's last birthday in T.A. 3018 before his departure from Hobbiton. Fatty and Merry then left for the house that Frodo had bought in Crickhollow, in order to prepare it to be ready and habitable for his arrival.
Frodo eventually came to his house, along with Sam and Pippin. It was there when the conspirators revealed themselves to Frodo, and expressed their will to follow him in his mission. Fatty however was a typical hobbit who had never left the Shire and was unwilling to do so, but would play his role; he stayed behind to keep up the pretense that Frodo was there, by wearing his clothes and keep the house occupied, and deal with any 'inquisitive folk'.
After hearing that Frodo was pursued by the Black Riders, Fatty was given the option to flee with the others into the Old Forest, which however didn't seem more inviting to him (although Merry tried to persuade him that the Riders were far more terrifying than the stories about the Old Forest). Fredegar therefore opted to remain behind as a decoy for the Nazgûl and as a messenger for Gandalf in case he showed up.
The Ringwraiths did eventually come in the night of 30 September to Crickhollow for Frodo and the Ring. But Fatty, though frightened nearly witless, escaped to raise the alarm of Buckland, causing the Brandybucks to sound the Horn-call of Buckland. This caused the Nazgûl to flee, but they had learned that the Ring was gone.
During Saruman's rule of the Shire, Fatty led a group of partisans fighting against the Ruffians in the Brockenbores around the hills of Scary before eventually being captured. He was imprisoned in the Lockholes and starved, (and could no longer be called 'Fatty') but was rescued after the victory of the Battle of Bywater.
The name contains ferdi 'peace' and gar 'spear'.
Other versions of the Legendarium
In The Return of the Shadow, Fatty Bolger is said to have played a much larger role, but this was later abandoned. His role survives as a minor anomaly in the published The Lord of the Rings - before the Hobbits go into the Old Forest, they have five ponies prepared - but only take four. Fatty was originally supposed to go with them.


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- Home
- Departments
- Highway Department
- Services
The Highway Department is located on Palmer Road just outside the Village of Brewster. At this site we have:
- An 80 foot by 150 foot maintenance and storage garage in which we house our trucks and equipment. In this building, we have the Highway Department's administrative offices, our motor vehicle maintenance and repair shop and our operations center. This building is equipped with a diesel powered generator, which enables us to operate in all conditions.
- A 60 foot by 112 foot salt storage building in which we store our road salt and sand salt mixture.
- A liquid calcium chloride spray station, which is used for our anti-icing and de-icing operations.
- A computerized vehicle and equipment refueling station which has above ground concrete vaulted tanks.
- We also maintain inventories of sand, gravel, crushed stone, cold mix and asphalt at this site. Drainage materials such as culvert pipe and catch basins are also kept here, enabling us to repair problems quickly.
The Town of Southeast Highway Department has sixteen full-time employees that provide a full range of services on the Town's approximately 95-mile road system, which is comprised of 187 separate roads, 13 of these roads are unpaved.
The highway department provides the following services:
- Road resurfacing and repairs
- Installations and maintenance of swales and sluiceways
- Installation and maintenance of curbs and gutters
- Installation and maintenance of piped drainage systems
- Grading of gravel roads and shoulders
- Roadside mowing, tree trimming and brush and weed control
- Installation and maintenance of guide rails and posts
- Snow removal
- Street sweeping


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On Thursday, March 16th, emergency responders from state, local and volunteer agencies participated in a Reception and Care Center exercise at Desert Edge High School in Goodyear, Arizona. Among those in attendance were just over 200 participants and support staff from 25 county departments, and 18 state and local government, private sector and volunteer agencies. This 6-hour exercise tested our response community's ability to conduct evacuee operations in preparation for potential emergencies at the Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station. It provided all responding agencies an opportunity to refine procedures, define necessary resources and train new employees and volunteers in emergency evacuation operations.
Some of the areas that were identified for improvement included more detailed instructions to evacuees (which actually improved itself as the exercise progressed); better placement and accessibility of our sign language and Spanish interpreters; and an overall better understanding of the requirements of our Access and Functional Needs community. Some of our strengths during the exercise included swift set-up of the entire reception and care center, radiological monitoring equipment, computers and check-in tables; a smooth flow of evacuees through the various stations; tremendous cooperation among all participating agencies; integration of sign language and Spanish interpreters; and overwhelming support and patience from our volunteer community members who served as our evacuees, including several with access and functional needs. We will be compiling a formal after action report to share with all of our response partners, with a goal of leveraging our strengths, and addressing all areas for improvement in time for our FEMA evaluated exercise on June 1st.
Thanks again to all of our partners and community members that took part in this event, and we look forward to working with all of you again this summer!


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The antimicrobial properties of silver ions have been known since ancient times, and several studies have explored the mechanisms of action that make them effective against such a broad range of microorganisms.1 This includes Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria,2, 3 fungi and yeasts,3 and viruses.4–6 Silver ions work in a number of ways, most noticeably by disrupting essential cell transport, i.e., the movement of nutrients, metabolites and waste in, out and around the cell; protein synthesis;7 and reproduction by interfering with the microorganism's DNA and RNA.8, 9 This effectively starves or suffocates the microorganism, preventing its replication and resulting in inert stasis or death.
However, some microorganisms have a greater tolerance of silver than others, and even show a degree of resistance. Silver ions are non-selective and as noted, affect the performance of a number of critical physical functions within microorganisms. Therefore, in order to become resistant to silver ions, an untreated microorganism would need to mutate several critical functions simultaneously in a single generation through spontaneous mutation. The likelihood of this is very low;10–13 to date, the emergence of any silver-sensitive pathogen made resistant from the clinical use of silver has not been reported.


text: This question is from all Opera browser users to Ankit and all those who can help. Opera browser has a free version which has an ad-bar at the top left. Anyone got any idea how to remove it? How can we remove it manually or if someone knows of a link where a crack-patch is available to remove it? Please help. Thankx very much. email@example.com


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Skip to Main Content
I Want To...
Fire Department
Special Programs & Services
Smoke Alarm Assistance
Smoke Alarm Assistance Program
Members of the Weatherford Fire Department are dedicated to keeping our citizens safe from fire and injury. We want all citizens to be aware of the value of having working smoke alarms in their homes. Firefighters will check smoke alarms for proper operation and location, and install batteries and smoke alarms, if needed, at no charge to the homeowner.
The purpose of the program is to ensure that all citizens have an adequate number of smoke alarms in their home in an effort to increase their chances of surviving a fire. We will install smoke alarms in a timely manner, provide replacement batteries as needed, and educate the community in fire prevention and safety.
We have a limited number of smoke alarms which we can provide free of charge to citizens who are unable to purchase their own.
No home should be without smoke detectors!
Please contact the Weatherford Fire Department at 817-598-4280 if you should need assistance or additional information regarding smoke detectors.
Station Tours
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text: Elegance and simplicity gives this beautifully designed watch its distinctive character. The classic look is embellished with a jewelry collar of sparkling stones revealing a further elegant note. This slender piece of bijou graces a woman with beautiful charm and reveals her flair for modern femininity. The different color combinations offer a variety of choices for your preferred taste.


text: Boy Scout Troop 138 is proudly chartered by St. Francis of Assisi church since late 2015. St Francis had been seeking the formation of a Boy Scout Troop for many years and is pleased to support a great bunch of boys. Check out our upcoming outings and service project activities below! If you are interested in joining us, please contact our Committee Chair, Mrs. Chanel Marquis, by using the "Contact Our Troop" link on the top menu bar, for more information about the Troop program, meeting times, membership application, etc.


text: "Brashear, Phil" wrote: >The harder I > asked my Freshman CS students to work (up to a point), the better grades > they made AND (the startle factor) the lower the dropout rate! > This is a well documented phenomenom (in management texts, at least). The more you expect of people the better they perform. However, if you expect too much they just give up. __ Geoff


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Nothing is more important today than in-bay operators washing more cars and making more money. Yet, as simple as it is to state this objective clearly and concisely, for far too many in-bay operators, this has proven to be a very difficult task.
Indeed, for operators who have not finely-tuned or upgraded their old equipment, or who have not planned and implemented a solid, results-oriented marketing program, 2013 will continue to be a very challenging and disappointing year.
Experienced operators today, as you know, face two fundamental challenges.
First, many operators still use carwash equipment that is in urgent need of repair or replacement.
At this critical time, when building a larger customer base is of utmost importance, most operators must gain a much better understanding of the maintenance and service requirements of their washes.
For a timely and authoritative discussion of this hot topic, see Debra Gorgos' article, "Setting Up A Preventative Maintenance Schedule," at www.carwash.com.
But, even with the best equipment, successful operators must also answer these three basic, yet nagging, questions:
- How do I capture more (new and repeat) carwash customers?
- Who "takes ownership" for my carwash revenues?
- How do I compete against intense competition from other retail businesses in my market?
Obviously, those select operators who wish to maximize the revenue from their in-bay washes must become much more focused on consistently and expertly marketing their businesses and washing more cars.
To help interested readers identify a solution to a poor-performing in-bay wash, see the sidebar, "Five Common Causes of a Failing In-Bay Automatic Carwash."
The new in-bay challenge
Twenty-five years ago, during an impressive growth spurt, the two biggest challenges in-bay operators and suppliers encountered were obvious ones: "How do we install this bulky piece of steel, and who will keep it operational?"
It didn't seem wise to the first generation of in-bay owners to invest in a $70,000 carwash system, and then fail to have a plan in place, or a specific business process, to keep it up and running.
To understand the different challenges operators have faced since 1980, see the sidebar, "Four Stages of In-Bay Development at Retail Petroleum Sites."
These first in-bay washes, both touch-free and friction, became important and highly-prized profit centers for forward-thinking retailers in many major markets.
In Atlanta, for instance, Don Densmore, a popular AMOCO dealer and a terrific carwash pioneer, had a legendary, high-volume touch-free wash in Dunwoody.
Not to be outdone, the young but market-savvy McCurley brothers, BP operators in Peachtree Corners, featured a famous friction unit which consistently washed 2,500 cars a month and regularly grossed $12,000 or more in revenues.
Since 2006, most in-bay operators can only marvel at these impressive but now-forgotten numbers.
How can you recapture those lost customers?
Operators today face another daunting challenge: "How can we gain the maximum financial benefit from any investment, when there seems to be little product differentiation, and cash-strapped consumers are putting off so many discretionary purchases?"
In a recent blog, entrepreneur and business coach Simon Reynolds shared his keen insight on this important topic.
In his blog entitled, "Making Your Business Stand Out From the Pack," Reynolds suggested three specific ways to achieve this worthwhile and necessary task:
- Make your product extraordinary;
- Make your service remarkable (the Bud Abraham school of thought); and
- Make your marketing different (the Mike Perry school of thought).
Can you get your suppliers onboard?
As I indicated in June, in Part One of this article, marketing your carwash in today's economy is a much different task, and a more difficult one, than what it was a few years ago.
Moreover, many multi-tasking owners who operate only a few in-bay washes simply do not have the time, attention to detail or marketing skills to put together a winning game plan to compete in today's highly competitive retail market.
These second and third generation operators are in a precarious spot, similar perhaps to the one the original operators found themselves in during the 1980s and 1990s.
During this Golden Age of the In-Bay Automatic, manufacturers and distributors worked closely to help the retail operators install their washes, and to keep their doors open.
The biggest question operators asked then was, "Which in-bay will make me more money, friction or touch-free?"
But in today's highly fragmented market, the most important question being asked now by results-driven operators is a somewhat different one: "Which equipment supplier will help me wash more cars and help me make the most money?"
The choice is yours to move forward
To close, I believe fervently that the winners of the imminent in-bay renaissance in 2013 will be those few, exceptional operators who are clearly and intentionally focused on consistently and expertly marketing their washes.
Their specific mission in the next 12 months is to build a larger customer base.
To accomplish this task completely, however, these "best in class" operators must also become extremely passionate in marketing their washes too.
Indeed, the trait which I have always witnessed and most admired in every successful first generation in-bay operator was their almost fanatical desire to have all of their customers experience and enjoy their wash.
In short, they were incredibly proud of the investment they had made, and they wanted confirmation from their customers as well, that this was a remarkable piece of equipment and their carwash was a real asset for their businesses.
Perhaps this genuine and unabated enthusiasm to please their customers provides a logical explanation as to why so many wildly-successful in-bay pioneers washed so many more cars then than most operators are washing today.
But no, this is not a fair statement. Finding, cultivating, capturing and satisfying customers in this economy is much more challenging now than it was even five years ago.
I will close this piece as I did Part One, with another stirring quote from Jim Collins, a brilliant business writer.
"Whether you prevail or fail, endure or die," Collins said, "depends more on what you do to yourself than on what the world does to you."
For your carwash revenues to improve next year, your marketing efforts and skills must get better too.
To gain more insights and ideas on how you can navigate successfully during these still challenging months, follow Mike Perry's weekly blog, Increasing Carwash Revenue, at www.carwash.com.
Mike Perry has more than 30 years' experience in retail marketing and in business-to-business sales. He can be reached at 770-330-2490, or at [email protected].


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YPSILANTI, Mich. – Derek Thompson scored 14 points and helped spark a key second-half run Friday to lead Eastern Michigan to a 66-52 win over Rochester (Mich.) in the regular season opener for the Eagles.
Eastern Michigan led only 31-28 at halftime. But Thompson hit a 3-pointer as the Eagles went on a 10-2 run over 4 minutes of the second half to take a 51-27 lead with 10:15 left.
Drew Maynard hit a layup for Rochester (6-2) to draw the Warriors within 55-48 with 5:51 to play, but the Eagles pulled away from there and led by as many as 18.
Maynard led Rochester with 27 points and Stavros Schizas added 11.
Daylen Harrison and Ray Lee each scored 12 points for the Eagles, who shot 49 percent for the game, outrebounded Rochester 39-22 and had a 35-2 edge in points from bench players.


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A 1.6mm thick YuSynth CV Standards front panel - 5U high, 2U wide (nominal 8.75 x 3.5") made from a semi-rigid plastic material laser engraved to give a hard wearing surface. As a material, it is not suitable for being used without some form of rigid backing material (see below).
- White artwork on a black background
We find that when using our panel mounting components such as pots and sockets, you can mount this panel to a rigid backboard of up to 3mm thick. The backboard can be plywood or Aluminium (ideally used 6082T6 or 5251 H22 grades as these are 'stiffer' than low grade 1050 types) for example and the panel component fixings will hold the two layers together. If you use a 3mm thick backboard, it does not leave enough thread length to use MFOS PCB mounting brackets but we have our own solution to this - a ready made 3mm thick aluminium back panel with our own 'L' brackets for the PCB mounting.
Each panel is supplied ready engraved, cut to size with all holes cut out. The cut-outs suit the panel components we provide so check these out if you are using your own bits to ensure the diameters are suitable.
If you click on the image above, you will see a larger and higer resolution version, if you then click on the 'X' in the top right corner of the hi res version, it will zoom to full size.


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In this edition of The Week in Tech Policy, we have stories on the online sales tax debate, online education, wireless spectrum and more.
Reshaping online education. In this July 20 post on his Taking Note blog, veteran NPR and PBS education reporter John Merrow explores the pros and cons of massive online open courses (MOOCs), noting what he calls a "solid overview" by The New York Times on the subject. "Today many of the nation's leading universities are involved in one or more of the online learning efforts, pioneered by MIT and Harvard several years ago. Here's a partial list: Duke, Johns Hopkins, Cal Tech, Michigan, Princeton and Rice." Merrow writes, adding, "Many questions remain unanswered: How will students receive credit? How much will courses cost? What's to prevent cheating?"
Realizing the full potential of wireless spectrum. On July 20, the Obama Administration released a report entitled "Realizing the Full Potential of Government-Held Spectrum to Spur Economic Growth". According to the blog post from the Office of Science and Technology Policy, the report "provides valuable insight on innovative ways to meet President Obama's goal of maintaining and enhancing American leadership in cutting-edge wireless services…"
Online sales tax issue revisited. Whether states should be able to collect online sales tax on items purchased by consumers from out-of-state retailers and businesses has been a contentious issue for both the e-commerce industry and lawmakers. The issue was revisited again by lawmakers last week at a House Judiciary Committee hearing, according to this July 25 story in CIO.com by writer Kenneth Corbin that outlines both sides of the debate.
Federal Trade Commission: Wireless phone bill "cramming" a problem. Responding to the Federal Communications Commission's request for comment, the FTC said that the "cramming" of unauthorized charges on wireless phone bills poses a serious problem for American consumers. The FTC said in its comment that wireless providers should be required to give customers the option to block all third-party charges from their bills. "Mobile cramming is likely to continue to grow as cramming schemes expand beyond the landline platform and mobile phones are more commonly used for payments," the FTC's comment states. Ars Technica has this July 23 report on the news.
Let the games begin! As the world gathers to watch the 2012 London Olympic Games, they won't necessarily gather around the TV. As media partner for these games, NBC will stream 3,500 hours of content in the U.S. alone, reports Ad Week, calling this year's event the "first-ever truly digital Olympics." Daily Download reports that this creates the opportunity for digital piracy on a massive scale. NBC has made a huge investment in the Olympics, and will protect their investment by watching for digital piracy, while ensuring the legal viewing experience is a positive one. As opined in Daily Download, "[b]eing able to stream months-worth of video is something we take for granted, but it is an enormous endeavor for NBC….If people are viewing pirated Olympic videos on other sites, who knows if NBC will provide such incredible coverage during the next games."
Are we close to new national cybersecurity legislation? Cybersecurity has been a hot topic on Capitol Hill for the past several months, and it looks like lawmakers may pass legislation soon. On July 19, President Barack Obama weighed in on the issue in this op-ed in The Wall Street Journal. On July 26, Microsoft Vice President of U.S. Government Affairs Fred Humphries issued the following statement on the Cybersecurity Act of 2012, S. 3414: "The Cybersecurity Act of 2012, S. 3414, is an encouraging step in the legislative process. Microsoft supports Congress' efforts to advance risk management practices, strengthen protection of critical infrastructure, and enhance appropriate information sharing about cyber-threats." You can read Fred's full statement here.
Thank you for reading The Week in Tech Policy. Come back to Microsoft on the Issues next Monday at 6 a.m. for the latest roundup of tech policy news.


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CLEMSON, S.C. (AP) – Georgia and Clemson are evenly matched in several areas. Both have starting quarterbacks who are Heisman Trophy contenders and defenses that are works in progress.
But where the fifth-ranked Bulldogs clearly outshine the No. 8 Tigers heading into Saturday night's game at Death Valley is in the backfield with sophomore running backs Todd Gurley and Keith Marshall.
"We can come out in that first game rolling, score about 30, 40 points," Gurley said. "We'll see."
In a matchup of top 10 teams any edge can be pivotal. And one of the marquee games of college football's opening weekend, the "Gurshall" tandem could be the difference in the game for the Bulldogs.
Still, there are other impact players – including two talented quarterbacks.
Georgia's Aaron Murray was selected the top quarterback in the Southeastern Conference in a preseason vote by league coaches. His Clemson counterpart Tajh Boyd is the reigning Atlantic Coast Conference player of the year.
Skill players on both sides like Georgia receiver Malcolm Mitchell and Clemson pass-catcher Sammy Watkins also are capable of making big plays.
On the defensive side of the ball, both squads are loaded with uncertainties and newcomers.
Yet, it's the running game where Georgia looks strongest.
Gurley and Marshall shared the spotlight as freshmen and became one of the SEC's most dynamic duos as they combined for 25 touchdowns.
Gurley rushed for 1,385 yards, becoming Georgia's first 1,000-yard rusher in four seasons. Marshall ran for nearly 7 yards a carry and had three games with 100 yards or more.
Meanwhile, Clemson is searching for a running game after Andre Ellington finished up his eligibility last fall. Ellington twice went over 1,000 yards and gave the Tigers the breakaway speed that meshed with the strong passing game.
Fifth-year senior Rod McDowell will get first crack at Ellington's spot with backups D.J. Howard and Zac Brooks likely to see time, too.
McDowell has waited his turn behind several NFL backs at Clemson, including C.J. Spiller, Jamie Harper and Ellington. The Tigers believe the tailback is more than capable for the job.
"I think he's the most explosive player on our offense," Boyd said of the tailback called "Hot Rod."
The Clemson backs will likely have a long way to go to catch up with Georgia's duo.
Gurley is the every down back who at 6-foot-1 and 232 pounds has the strength to break tackles and let defenders know they got run over. Marshall, smaller at 5-11 and 219 pounds, has the speed to turn short gains into back-breaking moments for opponents.
Georgia coach Mark Richt believes with his team's defensive struggles that ground control may be the best way to slow down Clemson's fast-paced offense.
"We have the ability to play at whatever tempo we want, and I think the fact that we have a lot of confidence in our running game helps because that's the part of the game that can chew up a lot of the clock," Richt said. "If you can run the ball well and use all of your 40-second play clock, you're going to chew up time."
That's what happened at Death Valley last November when South Carolina outgained Clemson by more than 100 yards and held the ball for nearly double the time of the Tigers in a 27-17 rivalry victory.
Georgia's Murray believes he's got the most weapons he's had in his four seasons as a starter.
He said this is "the most dynamic our offense has ever been. A lot of receivers, tight ends, and running backs."
Clemson coach Dabo Swinney said he nearly had Gurley and Marshall in Tiger orange. Swinney recruited Gurley and Marshall heavily and believed both were ready to commit to Clemson.
"When Marshall broke our heart – because I think when he went to bed that night, maybe he was coming to Clemson, had a bad dream or something, woke up and went to Georgia – I just knew we were going to get Gurley, just knew it," Swinney recalled.
The next day, Swinney had a message to call Richt, right near the time Marshall was scheduled to make his choice.
"I knew right then that we weren't getting him. I remember handing up the phone and saying 'we're not getting Gurley,'" Swinney said. " I was like, 'How in the world did they get those two great backs?'"
Now the question for Swinney is how to slow them down.
AP Sports Writer Charles Odum contributed to this report from Athens, Ga.


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New America Media, news analysis, Xujun Eberlein, Published: May 17, 2010
In Hanzhong, Shannxi, a mother-and-son team rented a rural property to open a private kindergarten for 20 children. One day the son found a snake inside and killed it. This disturbed the property owner, 48-year-old Wu Huanming, who had been suffering from a variety of diseases and had grown increasingly superstitious in recent years. Blaming the snake killing for the ineffectiveness of his medical treatment, Wu went into a frenzy. On the morning of May 12, Wu entered the kindergarten carrying a meat cleaver and hacked to death seven children, along with the mother-and-son proprietors, wounding another 11 children in the process. Wu committed suicide afterward.
Hanzhong police provided these details at a press conference a day after the killing, according to Xi'an Morning Post. At first glance, it looked like another malignant but isolated crime. In fact, it was only the latest in a series of mass attacks on young children in different provinces of China that occurred between March 23 and May 12. Beijing police said last Wednesday they successfully interdicted seven criminal attempts targeting schools and kindergartens in that city alone.
All over China, people winced. Why are young children being slaughtered? Such massive attacks on children did not happen even in the Cultural Revolution, the most violent period of Communist China. And now China is experiencing unprecedented prosperity.
Despite the apparent similarities in actions and targets, there is no universal explanation of motive. Among the killers besides Wu Huanming were a doctor who could not find a job and, at age 42, had a history of failed relationships, a 40-year-old villager who had suffered mental illness for five years, a 31-year-old school teacher on sick leave for four years; a 46-year-old unemployed man with debts resulting from multi-level marketing, and a 45-year-old villager whose newly-built house faced demolition.
Two of the six suspects were said to have suffered mental illness, prompting concerns about China's lack of mental health care. But insanity can hardly explain the other four cases.
Most of the suspects lived at the bottom of the society, leading observers to blame their anger and desperation on the wealth gap. The Internet is abuzz with questions about whether China's economy should be characterized as that of a "rich state, poor people." But even this does not explain why children were repeatedly targeted.
Chinese cherish children as the promise of their future and their defense against death. Though rare stories exist about "exchanging [dead] children to eat" ("易子而食"), those were from disastrous periods of war and famine, when desperation was all there was. Has China today entered such a period of extreme disaster?
Harming children on a mass scale did not start this year. As early as 2004, long before the Sanlu milk scandal, there was the "dark-heart milk powder" incident in which counterfeit milk powder caused the deaths of 13 babies and permanent disablement of 171 others. It outraged the entire nation that someone would target babies to make a profit. That incident reflected a moral decay in China, but no one could have foreseen that child-harming would escalate to the raw violence seen this year.
In one of the six recent school attacks, 45-year-old Wang Yonglai was an even-tempered Shandong villager and a long-time party member. On the morning of April 30, Wang carried a hammer to the village's elementary school, and pounded five preschool children on their heads. Wang then poured gasoline on himself, grabbed two children into his arms, and lit himself on fire. While Wang burned to death, the two children were pulled to safety by teachers.
This tragedy happened on the day Wang's new house was to be demolished. According to an investigative report in the independent Caijing magazine, Wang's greatest wish in life was to build a new house for his son, now 20 years old, so that he would be able to get a wife. Last year, after Wang spent his lifetime savings plus 60,000 yuan of debt, the new house was finally built. Wang had gone through all of the proper procedures. In June 2009, the local government issued Wang's house the "rights certificate." On the day of April 23, 2010, however, Wang received notice from a government department that his house was an illegal building and must be demolished in two days. Wang and his daughter called and went to many places trying to save the house -- the mayor's hotline, the "law hotline," the TV station -- to no effect.
"Wang Yonglai's new house still stands right now," the Caijing report says, "while the demolition day became the day of his death. Using his death, five little children's blood, and the serial effect of other school attacks, he temporarily preserved the painstaking effort of his life."
One office of the government approved Wang's house's legal status, but another government office judged it an illegal building. Wang was given only a few days notice before the demolition. The government was too powerful, and the ordinary villager powerless. Finally, "the weak take revenge on the weaker," concludes a Chinese blogger. Robbed of his future by a state impervious to his plight, he took revenge by destroying others' futures -- their children.
Wang's plight is reminiscent of that of a Sichuan woman, Tang Fuzhen, who burned herself to death last November in a failed attempt to stop the local government from demolishing her house. After her death, the government judged Tang and her relatives to be criminals who "used violence to fight the law." The government also tried to block media reports on the case. Tang's death, and similar self-immolations in other Chinese cities, did not stop forceful house demolitions by the government and developers, nor did the tragedy rouse any remorse. Only about a month ago, a government official involved in demolishing Tang's house was still saying the cause of the tragedy was that Tang "did not have knowledge of law."
When suicide alone is no longer effective, the most horrific crime – mass killing of children -- becomes the most effective option to some of those desperate enough to end their own lives. More than a manifestation of individual problems or even of social injustice, it is an act of war against China's collective future. It is a sign that now is a time of extreme desperation, for all China's great strides toward prosperity.


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2016 Election: | Hillary's book | Trump's book | Bernie's book | Ted Cruz's book | | | 2016 Senate Debates |
The Contenders, by Laura Flanders, Dean Kuipers, James Ridgeway, Richard Goldstein, and Elizabeth Sanders, published Aug. 2007 (Click for Amazon book review)
BOOK REVIEW by OnTheIssues.org: This book is a nice intro to each of the contenders for the Democratic nomination for president. It includes sections not only on the usual frontrunner suspects, but the minor candidates as well. The problem with a book like this is: It's outdated as soon as it's published, and it gets more outdated every month. This book was published in November 2007. Its expected lifetime was only a few months -- until the primaries picked a winner. And worse, news events change the list constantly -- Al Gore, for example, is featured prominently, but declared immediately after publication that he would not run. Nevertheless, the book covers the basics of each candidate's biography and issue stances. (We went back to the Biden section right after Obama selected him for Veep, and pulled out a few more excerpts.) We wish there were such a book for the GOP. -- Jesse Gordon, email@example.com, Aug. 2008
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Beauty Encounter Online ShoppingBeauty Encounter offers discounted prices on fragrances, cosmetics, skincare, and more. Specializes in hard-to-find, discontinued products. |
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The homeowner is responsible for installing and maintaining curbside mailboxes to USPS specifications. If you plan to replace an existing mailbox, check with the Postmaster if you wish to change the location or construct a custom box.
For cluster mailboxes, the builder is responsible for installing a concrete pad according to USPS specifications and the local postmaster provides the cluster boxes, their installation and maintenance.
Most information is available through the U.S. Postal Service's website at https://www.usps.com/.
Show All Answers
Below is the list of the first 2 digits currently in use and their geographic locations:Unincorporated Areas*06 – Brandywine Hundred (unincorporated)07 – Christiana Hundred (unincorporated)08 – Mill Creek Hundred (unincorporated)09 – White Clay Creek Hundred (unincorporated)10 – New Castle Hundred (unincorporated)11 – Pencader Hundred (unincorporated)12 – Red Lion Hundred (unincorporated)13 – St. Georges Hundred (unincorporated)14 – Appoquinimink Hundred (unincorporated)15 – Blackbird Hundred (unincorporated)* New Castle County is the local governing body for government services in these areas.
Towns and Cities that are Incorporated**16 – Arden (incorporated)17 – Bellefonte (incorporated)18 – Newark (incorporated)19 – Elsmere (incorporated)20 – Newport (incorporated)21 – City of New Castle (incorporated)22 – Delaware City (incorporated)23 – Middletown (incorporated)24 – Odessa (incorporated)25 – Townsend (incorporated)26 – Wilmington (incorporated)27 – Ardentown (incorporated)28 – Smyrna (incorporated) – Smyrna lies in both New Castle and Kent Counties29 – Ardencroft (incorporated)30 – Clayton (incorporated) – Clayton lies in both New Castle and Kent Counties** Not all jurisdictions have the same range of city services. You should check with the town/city to determine whether the service you seek is handled by them or by New Castle County.
All plans for streets, whether public or private, must be reviewed and approved by the Land Use Department. Reviews of street plans ensure that adequate facilities are installed when a project is developed so that there are adequate services; that the facilities will function efficiently with minimum maintenance; and that the overall development is functional andinternally safe to the greatest degree possible. Roads must be designed to avoid increasing adverse impacts on the environment and on adjoining properties. In general, New Castle County encourages public streets in new subdivisions. However, in limited situations, the Department of Land Use may approve the use of private streets if :1. The public has use of private streets;2. The development is in the Suburban Estate or Suburban Reservedistrict and is a single-family or open space subdivision*; or3. The development is a rural subdivision **B. Where appropriate, private street improvements must meet the minimumstandards for comparable public streets.C. A maintenance organization must be created and responsible for themaintenance of the private streets.
*Open Space Subdivision. This is a development pattern or design technique where lots are grouped together rather than spread out evenly as in conventional subdivision development. Clustering development allows the remaining land to be used for recreation, open space and the preservation of natural resources.
** Rural Subdivision. This subdivision provides limited development opportunity in the Suburban Reserve if the landowner wants to continue agricultural operations, house family members, or raise income to supplement agricultural operations. It may also be used inareas where growth potential is limited by facilities capacity. This subdivision permits development at minimal cost while providing access protection along existing streets. The rural subdivision permits a landowner to subdivide a large tract into four (4) lots; these lots are designated the "residential lots". The remaining parcel is designated the "residual lot." The "residual lot" must be included as part of the final plan for recordation purposes. The "residual lot" must be used in part for access and as a reserve for future development that promotes sound land use patterns.


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Netgear ReadyNAS, RN21400-100AJS, 214 MEDIA HUB – 4 bay Consumer Desktop NAS (Diskless)
Application data, virtual images, client files, email… the types of data central to running a successful business can seem endless. With ReadyNAS you finally have an advanced and easy-to use solution for centralizing, securing and controlling access to your digital assets. Way more than just simple unified (NAS and SAN) storage for your company, ReadyNAS allows you to do more than you ever thought you could afford by pairing the latest in performance with innovative efficiency technologies such as unlimited snapshots, thin provisioning and cloud-managed replication.
Every networked attached storage (NAS) device from NETGEAR runs on the revolutionary ReadyNAS operating system. This custom-built OS protects stored data not only with XRAID2 automatic expansion, but is the first desktop NAS for the SMB to feature the continuous data protection of unlimited snapshots along with real-time anti-virus and native encryption. Designed specifically for the unique needs of small business users, ReadyNAS devices utilize proprietary ReadyCLOUD technology for cloud-based discovery, provisioning and even ongoing management. In addition, these new devices are virtualization-ready with iSCSI support, thin provisioning capability and certification with VMware and Microsoft.
These days, your data is your world. With ReadyNAS, protecting and accessing that world has never been easier. ReadyNAS — Storage Made EASY.


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I love fish, but I'm not a huge fan of the other types of seafood. I'm allergic to some of them, so I stick to something more common: shrimp. I must admit that I don't know what the fuss is all about...
I love choosing new recipes to try but my husband is a picky eater and it gets in the way (he doesn't read the blog - lucky me!).
I always feel like preparing and tasting everything but have to slow it down a little because he's a little conservative with food.
Sometimes, when I'm going through a cookbook, he sees a photo and says "would you make this one?" - I really like that! It spares me a lot of work. :D
That's what happened with the pork loin I made the other day - sorry, the recipe is in Portuguese - and this pasta, which was taken from this wonderful book.
I was a bit disappointed with the shrimp - they looked so big at the supermarket and almost disappeared in the pot! :\ The dish tasted good though.
I added lemon zest even though the recipe didn't call for that.
We had friends over for dinner that night, so I took the photo on the following day with the remaining pasta. And the forked shrimp was the sole survivor. :D
Fettuccine with prawns and fresh herbs
400g fettuccine
100ml olive oil
3 garlic cloves, crushed and chopped - I omitted
16 raw king prawns, peeled and deveined
250g cherry tomatoes, halved
1 handful flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped
12 basil leaves, torn
30g chives - I omitted
juice of 1 lemon
zest of 1 lemon - optional
Cook the fettuccine in a large pot with boiling salted water until al dente.
Meanwhile, heat the oil in a frying pan, add the garlic, stir briefly, then add the prawns. Cook until they're pink.
Add the tomatoes and cook for 1 further minute - I cooked for a little longer since I wanted it to be juicier.
Drain the pasta and return it to the pot. Add prawns and tomatoes, the herbs and lemon.
Toss it together and season with salt.
Serves 4.
Friday, November 17, 2006
2 comments:
- Valentina said...
Pat, great choice. I love prawns.Would try it any time. ; o )
- November 17, 2006
- Patricia Scarpin said...
Val, if you ever make let me know your opinion. I thought it was delicious and quick to prepare.
- November 19, 2006
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- Home
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- Terrorism
Terrorism: What You Can Do To Help?
This is from Detroit (JTTF), for more information call 313-965-2323.What is Terrorism?
Terrorism is the unlawful use of force or violence against persons or property to intimidate or coerce a government or its citizens to further certain political or social objectives.Law Enforcement generally recognizes two types of terrorism, domestic and international. Domestic terrorism is based and executed in the United States by our own citizens without foreign direction. International terrorism, which is connected to foreign governments or groups, transcends our nation's boundaries. Terrorist acts against U.S. citizens can occur anywhere in the world.
Investigating Terrorism
While the FBI has the primary responsibility for investigating terrorism matters in the U.S., other law enforcement agencies play an integral role in combating this crime by joining with the FBI to form Joint Terrorism Task Forces (JTTF). Located in all 56 FBI Field Offices, JTTFs are comprised of local, state and federal law enforcement officers who work jointly with other non-member agencies to investigate terrorism matters throughout the nation. JTTFs provide citizens with a state-wide central investigative entity dedicated to preventing terrorism nationwide.How You Can Help
Your assistance is needed in preventing terrorist acts. Certain activities can indicate terrorist planning, especially when these activities occur at or near key facilities such as government, military, utility or other high profile sites or places where large numbers of people gather. Suspicious activities of interest that should be reported to the closest JTTF include:Are you aware of anyone recording or monitoring activities, taking notes, using cameras, maps, binoculars, etc., near a key facility?
Suspicious Questioning
Are you aware of anyone attempting to gain information in person, by phone, mail, e-mail, etc., regarding a key facility or its personnel?
Tests of Security
Are you aware of any attempts to penetrate or test physical security or procedures at a key facility?
Are you aware of anyone attempting to improperly acquire explosives, weapons, ammunition, dangerous chemicals, uniforms, badges, flight manuals, access cards or identification for a key facility or to legally obtain items under suspicious circumstances that could be used in a terrorist attack?
Suspicious Persons
Are you aware of anyone who does not appear to belong in the workplace, neighborhood, business establishment or near a key facility.
Dry Runs
Have you observed any behavior that appears to be preparation for terrorist activity, such as mapping out routes, playing out scenarios with other people, monitoring key facilities, timing traffic lights or traffic flow, or other suspicious activity?
Have you observed abandoned vehicles, stockpiling of suspicious materials, or persons being deployed near a key facility?
Hate Crimes
Hate Crimes against individuals or groups based on religion, race, or ethnicity may rise to the level of terrorist acts and should be immediately reported to the closest JTTF.
If you observe suspicious activity that may relate to terrorism, please contact the JTTF or police department closest to you as soon as possible.
*This information comes from the U.S. Department of Justice with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), in a packet titled "Terrorism: What Can I Do To Help?"


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Case in point, Jeffrey Goldberg's recitation of Anti-Semitism in the Arab Spring leads to the same baffled attempts to understand. "On the surface this makes no sense: Arabs are rising up against Arabs, so what does this have to do with the "Protocols of the Elders of Zion"?" he asks.
The question isn't all that baffling if you look back at the historical context of the Protocols which emerged from the poison pens of two secret police agents of two different countries seeking ways to stifle reform by associating their opponents with a vast Jewish conspiracy. It took place in a century where the left and the right spent a good deal of time accusing each other of working for the Jews. That century gave way to the next one where they stopped writing essays and began running death camps.
The Muslim world is still backward enough to be besotted with the worst lunacy of the period, the Masonic conspiracy is an article of faith for most Islamists, right up there with the Koran, Mein Kampf is a bestseller and Fascism and Communism are admired in a way that horrifies the Eurocrats who visit from time to time. Grand conspiracy theories explain everything and everyone is assumed to have a complex secret agenda.
But those aren't the sources of the Anti-Semitism in the Arab Spring. Nor is Israel. The fundamental error that is made over and over again is to assume that Muslim attitudes toward the Jews emerge out of politics rather than theology. While Israel certainly looms large in the Muslim imagination, the image of the Jews as the nemesis of Islam is of ancient theological provenance dating back to Mohammed's efforts to ethnically cleanse the region of non-Muslim minorities.
When Arab Spring mobs paint the Star of David on pictures of dictators or call them Jews, they are using an old insult. To call someone a "Jew" in the Arab world is the equivalent of calling him a dog. There is no special racial slur needed, "Jew" is already enough.
The reason for this isn't Israel or Gaza or Lebanon-- it's that Jews were a minority in the Muslim world. While the Islamists and the Arab Nationalists, along with their Western useful idiots, insist on spreading their revisionist history of a golden age of tolerance and brotherhood that ended abruptly in 1948, the truth is that being a minority in the Arab Muslim world was dangerous and degrading. And long after the Muslim world has been emptied of Jews, "Yahood" still remains an insult.
When Thomas Friedman heard that a nickname for many American soldiers in Iraq was "The Jews", in his usual clueless fashion he wrote up an extended column about Sharon, Israel and the peace process. But Friedman missed the point. Arab Muslims have been calling people they don't like "Jews" long before the modern State of Israel.
But in a conspiracy rich environment, "Yahood" is also often meant a literal accusation that someone actually is a Jew. Forcible and the occasional voluntary conversion of Jews to Islam created its own paranoid obsession with "Secret Jews" in the Muslim world. And some forcibly converted Jewish communities such as the "Jedid Al-Islam" did remain secretly Jewish while pretending outwardly to be Muslim. This is a special obsession in Turkey where the conversion of cult members known as the Donmeh led to accusations that the Young Turk movement was a Jewish conspiracy.
The prototype for the accusations that the dictators are Jewish was the light-skinned and blue-eyed Kemal Ataturk. His supposed Jewishness remains a special obsession for Turkish Islamists, albeit one that is still illegal for them to articulate. That obsession also spells out the difference between the United States and the Muslim world. If it were to be discovered that George Washington had a Jewish father, it wouldn't delegitimize the United States. But Muslim states are still based on ethnic or religious grounds. And the best way to undermine Ataturk's attempt to drag Turkey into the modern age is to not merely claim that Ataturk wasn't a Turk and an enemy of Islam (both true)... but that he was a Jew.
The utility of accusing Ataturk of being a Jew is obvious. It's a charge that bypasses the need to attack his ideas or debate their legitimacy. Once he is a Jew then it is a given that he was part of a vast conspiracy and that everything he did was wrong. "Jew" is not only shorthand for dog, it's also shorthand for enemy.
If accusing Ataturk of being Jewish doesn't seem that crazy, try the Saudi royal family whom the Lebanese Minister of the Environment accused of secretly being the Jewish tribe that had been ethnically cleansed by Mohammed. From the standpoint of Islamic theology this makes perfect sense. It recycles the ancient Jewish enemy into a current foe.
Hate the Wahhabis? Then just go ahead and claim that Muhammad ibn Abdul Wahhab's grandfather wasn't really Suleyman but Shullman. What about Mubarak? He must have had a Jewish mother. Gaddafi's mother being a Jew is now a common belief in Libya. Those wonderful democratic Syrian protesters are shouting, "Alawi Jews" referring to the Alawi quasi-Shiite minority sect that rules the country. Even Ahmadinejad got hammered with accusations that he was a Jew.
No matter how rabidly Anti-Semitic a Muslim leader may be, he cannot escape the possibility that sooner or later someone will accuse him of being a secret Jew. If the Saudis and Ahmadinejad aren't safe, then no one is.
Goldberg and Friedman both mistake a preexisting situation for a new phenomenon. Conspiracy theories to explain everything have been widespread for a long time, not just as a tool of dictators. Blaming outsiders for whatever goes wrong and then connecting those outsiders to a political faction you hate is as common as sand.
But the larger mistake is that they fail to grasp what the Arab Spring is. It's a series of populist movements based around theocratic and nationalistic ideology. Such movements naturally position ethnic and religious minorities as outsiders and enemies. Which is why churches in Egypt began burning and friendly mobs showed up outside a synagogue in Tunis to recount what happened back when Mohammed began his campaign against the Jews.
Tyranny is a vague idea. The Jews are a very specific idea. Tyranny means illegitimate rule, but what makes it illegitimate? The Arab Spring activists will answer that it is undemocratic. Why is it undemocratic, because it fails to represent the majority. And how do they prove that the tyrant fails to represent the majority? By claiming that he really works for the Jews.
It's a fairly simple formula that isn't limited to the Muslim world. The left leaned heavily on it to charge that the Iraq War was illegitimate because it was a project of the Jews. Tomes on the Israel lobby attack foreign policy not on its merits, but on "Jewishness". And it's no coincidence that of all the Democratic senators who voted for the war, the one ruthlessly targeted for destruction by the left was Joe Lieberman.
Goldberg suggests that, "The Arab Spring should liberate people not only from oppressive rulers, but also from self-destructive and delusional patterns of belief." Having conceded that the Arab Spring is rotten with Anti-Semitism, his proposal is that the Arab Spring should liberate the Arab Spring from being the Arab Spring. And perhaps Goldberg should try to lift himself up by his own belt. That will work just as well.
All Arab and Muslim movements are founded on "self-destructive and delusional patterns of belief". Take those away and you're left with some spicy food and curious architecture. All of them also pretend to unify the people around a common identity and in opposition to outside forces that seek to undermine that identity.
From the time of Mohammed onward, the Jews have played the role of the "outside force" that is out to undermine Arab and Muslim unity. When Arab leaders tell Western diplomats that Israel is the source of regional instability, that is what they mean. In Islamic terms they are charging the Jews with "Fitna" and Western diplomats and journalists strip away the theology from the accusation and pretend that it's a serious policy statement.
The Sunni Muslim world still believes that it can form a secure common identity if only it could get rid of Israel, and then the Christians, Shiites, Alawis and all the other "outside forces" who are a barrier to the harmonious brotherhood of the Ummah. That combination of theology and politics is what drives the Anti-Semitism of the Muslim world and of its theological and nationalist movements including its latest one.
There is no reason to be surprised by Anti-Semitism in the Arab Spring. The Muslim Middle East has failed to break with the poisonous religious and ethnic politics of the past. The Arab Spring is a continuation of those same toxic politics under the banner of democracy. The fragility of Arab and Muslim identity, its insecurity and instability, the unworkability of its structure, always requires enemies to serve as a focus and shoulder the blame. And in every season, spring, summer, winter or fall, that group has been the Jews.


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Eileen Buckley
Eileen Buckley is an award-winning radio news reporter who actually began her radio career as an intern at WBFO in 1984. In 2018, Eileen celebrates her 33rd year in broadcasting & media communications. She has worked at 10 radio stations in Buffalo and Albany, NY. Eileen has served as a former news director and assistant news director, managing the day-to-day news operations and assignment of news team. Now as senior reporter, she produces and reports in-depth features and spot news stories for broadcast during local segments of Morning Edition and All Things Considered. She has also provided National Public Radio with reports of stories of interest from the Buffalo Niagara region.
Eileen's wide range of radio experience includes news anchoring, reporting, public affairs programming and radio production. She has spent most of her career as a news reporter at several top radio stations in Buffalo and Albany, including WBEN, WGR, WNED-AM, WBUF, WECK, WROW & WGNA and now WBFO.
Eileen has been the recipient of numerous broadcast and media-related awards during her 30 year plus career. Eileen received first place honors for the prestigious Art Athens Award for General Excellence in Individual Reporting from the New York State Associated Press Broadcasters Association. She is an nine-time recipient of this award, winning first place in 2002, 2008, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016 & 2018, winning second place in 2017 for her work at WBFO. Eileen also received a first place Edward R. Murrow Award for "Best Use of Sound", and earned a first place Public Radio News Directors Inc. (PRNDI) Award for spot news on the "Bullying of Jamie Rodemeyer". The PRDNI's are the only national contests recognizing outstanding public radio news reporting at local stations.
In 2013, Eileen received Pinnacle Award from the Buffalo Broadcasters Association -- the Buffalo Excellence in Media Award -- known as a BEMA.
In 1997 she was awarded the "Distinguished Alumni Award" from Medaille College, from where she graduated in 1985. Eileen has remained actively involved in the community. She served on the 2010 & 2011 Medaille College Founder's Day Selection Committee. She also volunteers and participates in various events at Medaille College and Holy Angels Academy. In spring of 2011, Medaille's Media Communications Department named Eileen Radio News Director of the Year.
In September of 2011, Holy Angels Academy awarded Eileen with the "Distinguished Alumnae Award".
Eileen resides in Kenmore with her husband Mark. Mark Buckley, '84 Media Communications graduate of Medaille and is owner of Power Play Electric, an electrical contracting company.
You can e-mail Eileen at email@example.com and follow her Twitter @eileenwbfo.


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MONDAY, Aug. 13 (HealthDay News) — A new study shows that the chemotherapy drug vandetanib (Caprelsa) may extend life a bit for some thyroid cancer patients.
The results of phase 2 trials showed that patients taking the drug lived for 11 months without the cancer progressing, compared with six months for those receiving a placebo.
"This study is confirmation that vandetanib is effective in advanced thyroid cancer patients, not only in terms of overall response, but also in terms of progression-free survival," said lead researcher Dr. Martin Schlumberger, of the Institute Gustave Roussy in Villejuif, France. "Vandetanib should be used as first-line treatment in patients with progressive, untreatable thyroid cancer."
The report was published online Aug. 13 in the journal The Lancet Oncology.
For the study, Schlumberger's team randomly assigned 145 patients with late-stage thyroid cancer either to vandetanib or a placebo.
In addition to a longer period when the cancer didn't progress, patients taking vandetanib had their disease better controlled, with more patients having a complete or partial response to the drug, the researchers found.
Among patients taking the drug, 72 percent had disease progression, compared with 84 percent taking placebo.
Neither those taking vandetanib or placebo, however, showed better overall survival, the researchers noted. Among those taking vandetanib, 26 percent died; 29 percent of those taking a placebo died.
Patients with papillary thyroid cancer — the most common type of thyroid cancer — taking vandetanib had progression-free disease for an average of 16 months, compared with patients with rarer forms of cancer, where progression-free disease lasted an average of almost eight months.
Patients taking vandetanib had greater side effects, including abnormal heart rhythms (which can be deadly), diarrhea, weakness and fatigue. Two patients taking vandetanib died from the treatment, the researchers noted.
Vandetanib works by targeting three proteins known to play a role in the growth and spread of thyroid cancer.
For people without health insurance, a month's supply of vandetanib can cost more than $17,800, according to the American Society of Clinical Oncology. For those with insurance, co-pays vary by plan.
If caught early, thyroid cancer is often curable. "Typically, we talk about thyroid cancer being the great cancer," said Dr. Dennis Kraus, director of the Center for Head & Neck Oncology at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City. "If you've got to have a cancer, this is the one."
In most cases, the risk of dying from thyroid cancer is 1 percent, Kraus noted. Treating the disease usually involves surgically removing the thyroid and the lymph nodes if they are involved. In addition, patients can receive radioactive iodine.
"It's only the minority of patients who … develop recurrent disease or metastatic or locally advanced cancer, who go on to die of their disease," Kraus said.
With vandetanib, these types of patients may have improved survival, Kraus said.
"It's not a panacea," he said. "But in a group in which we thought we had no viable treatment, we now have something we can try to treat people with and either control their disease or prolong their survival."
Copyright © 2012 HealthDay. All rights reserved.
Source: www.medicinenet.com


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Actually, unitary pseudo-collapse?
Von Neuman said quantum mechanics proceeds by two processes: unitary evolution and nonunitary reduction, also now called projection, collapse and splitting.
Collapse is non-unitary by definition, and the impossibility of unitary collapse is also a basic mathematical theorem. But we no longer believe, as Bohr did, in two Kingdoms, one classical and one quantum. Instead, we now talk about the emergence of the pseudo-classical. Similarly, I suggest, we can now talk about a pseudo-collapse, which is pseudo-unitary.
In a collapse two things happen: First, the matrix diagonalizes, and then, it becomes one dimensional, ie one element of the main diagonal becomes 1 and all the others become 0. This second part is the nonunitary projection part. (In a slight variation, we have two corresponding matrices, labelled system and apparatus, and the coresponding "pointer state" in the apparatus goes to 1, and all the other pointer states go to 0.) Now along comes decoherence, and we have three matrices, S,A, and E: System, Apparatus and Environment. Actually, these three matices are submatrices, ie diagonal blocks in one bi gger matrix. You can still diagonalize everything by unitary operations. But you still can't project it to a one dimensional definite outcome by unitary means. However, I think you can make the S block one dimensional by unitary operations if you push the off diagonal terms into the S-E quadrant. Is this correct?
This seems almost obvious to me, but I can't find confirmation. In fact, as I searched, I found lots of discussion on the diagonalization process, but almost nothing about the selection step, which is the real crux of the process, as far as `I am concerned. Why is this? Can someone point me to a good discussion of the selection process? And confirm that my pseudo-unitary pseudo-collapse is mathematically possible?


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Honours Even in 1st WBaduk Varsity Match
Two teams representing Oxford and Cambridge came together at the venue of the London Open for a two round match. This was at the invitation of WBaduk who sponsored the match and broadcast the games on Korean Go Server with the aid of BGA game recorders. Players represented both the current students and alumni.
Oxford | Cambridge |
Matthew Macfadyen | Tony Lou Yuxiang |
Junnun Jiang | Andrew Simons |
Alex Rix | Chris Bryant |
Stephane Thao | Jamie Taylor |
In round 1 Matthew Macfadyen lost to Cambridge's Tony Lou Yuxiang (5d), but Oxford's Junnun Jiang (4d) beat Andrew Simons. Alex Rix won board 3 for Oxford against Chris Bryant, and on board 4 Stephane Thao lost on 3 stones to Jamie Taylor of Cambridge, making the score 2-2.
In round 2 Matthew beat Andrew and Tony won his second by beating Junnan. Alex Rix beat Jamie Taylor and Stephane managed to throw a won three-stone game against Chris. This made the final score 4-4 and a honorable draw, meaning both teams could share the champagne and the cash prizes.
Many thanks to our sponsor.
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If you have any comments, please email the webmaster on web-master AT britgo DOT org.


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Pack assembly and kit inspection
Confirm presence or absence of items in medical kits
Related Products
Automate error detection in minutes – no experience required
Set the pace of vision automation.
Kitting or system and procedure pack applications must verify that the correct item is in the correct location of a medical or vaccine kit and confirm the presence or absence of items. Regulations also require patient implant cards, directions, and/or caution documents to be included in the assembly. Medical device manufacturers typically rely on slow and expensive visual inspections performed by human operators or rule-based machine vision systems. Visual variations of products can cause complications for manual and automated inspection systems where it must be able to identify, count, and classify different items with varying package orientations, reflective surfaces, and complex geometries.
Cognex vision sensors perform a simple count of the objects in a package, passing or failing packages based on the programmed value. They verify that all medical devices and other items are present even under shrink-wrapped packaging, helping manufacturers error-proof their operations and prevent faulty packs from entering the supply chain.
Deep learning systems automate the task of locating, identifying, and classifying multiple features within a single image. It generalizes the distinguishing features of various items based on their size, shape, and surface features. A user can train the part location and assembly verification tool to locate each type of item that needs to be found. Once trained, the image can be split into different regions where the tool will check for the presence of an item as well as verify that it is of the correct type. Deep learning also reliably locates and identifies inserts in boxes regardless of orientation and lighting conditions to prevent recalls and ensure patient safety.


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Conferences and Events
Connecting Kids to Coverage: 2nd National Children's Health Insurance Summit
The Summit, held in Chicago from November 1-3, 2011, brought together CHIPRA outreach grantees, State agencies, Tribes, health care providers, nonprofit groups, researchers, advocates and others focused on reaching out, enrolling and retaining eligible children in Medicaid and CHIP. For two and a half days, nearly 400 attendees from all over the country participated in a wide range of substantive workshops and communications skill-building sessions designed to share effective strategies and innovative approaches to outreach and enrollment.
Summit Highlights
Medicaid and CHIP Consumer Survey
Michael Perry of Lake Research partners presented findings from a new CMS report, "Parents' Views of CHIP and Medicaid: Snapshot of Findings from a Survey of Low-Income Parents" in which parents gave the programs high consumer satisfaction ratings. The survey was conducted with 1,936 parents with family incomes below 250 percent of the Federal Poverty Level (FPL), including parents of uninsured children, children with Medicaid or CHIP, and children covered under employer-based insurance. The survey findings also provide insight into the methods parents prefer for completing applications and the settings in which outreach messages are most likely to be effective. Highlights of the survey include:
- Positive views of Medicaid and CHIP: Seven in ten of the low-income parents surveyed say the Medicaid and CHIP programs are "very good" or "somewhat good."
- Medicaid and CHIP rate more favorably than employer coverage among low-income parents: oOverall satisfaction: 66 percent of low-income parents surveyed said they were "very satisfied" with the Medicaid and CHIP programs, compared with 48 percent who said they were "very satisfied" with employer coverage.
- Quality of care: 66 percent of low-income parents with a child in Medicaid or CHIP said they were "very satisfied" with the quality of care, compared to 55 percent with employer coverage.
- Access to Care: 62 percent of low-income parents with a child covered under Medicaid or CHIP said they were "very satisfied" with the ease of finding a doctor who takes the child's insurance, as compared with 58 percent with employer coverage.
- Getting an appointment: 57 percent of low-income parents with a child enrolled in Medicaid or CHIP said they were "very satisfied" with how quickly they could get an appointment with a medical doctor, as compared to 53 percent with employer coverage.
- Peace of mind, affordability motivate parents to enroll their children: Seventy-one percent (71%) of low-income parents say that "getting peace of mind" is a "very motivating" factor for enrolling their child in Medicaid or CHIP. Seventy percent (70%) of parents whose children were enrolled in the programs at the time of the survey said they were "very motivated" to enroll by finding out that the coverage was something they could afford.
Technology Fair
The Technology Fair showcased leaders from across the country who are breaking new ground, using technology to advance their outreach and enrollment efforts. Putting technology to work to reach out, enroll and retain eligible children is a priority for the second round of CHIPRA outreach grants, awarded August 18, 2011.
The presentations focused on how technology is making systems more efficient and is improving consumer service. The presenters' promising tools include:
- Covering Kids & Families-Wisconsin: BadgerCare+ Toolbox of School-Based Outreach Materials
- Insure Kids Now.gov Mobile Website
- Insure New Mexico Enrollment Kiosks
- Michigan Primary Care Association
- Oklahoma Health Care Authority's SoonerCare Online Enrollment
- Social Interest Solutions' One-e-App
- text4baby
- Utah Department of Workforce Services
Walk in… My Shoes
Eighty conference participants experienced a thought-provoking activity designed to provide important insights into the challenges confronting uninsured, low-income families seeking health coverage and care.
Participants assumed the role of a family with a specified ethnicity, language, immigration status, set of health problems, employment situation, and insurance coverage. Then, for 60 minutes, they 'walked in these shoes,' as they attempted to obtain the health care 'their family' needed. As they visited any of a dozen 'stations,' including State agencies, a health plan, a community health center, private doctors' offices, a pharmacy and the ER, participants gained new perspectives on the barriers families face and the choices they are sometimes compelled to make.
Later, participants joined together for an in-depth discussion that helped relate the activity to real-life experiences and draw implications for outreach work.
ECHOE Awards
The National Children's Health Insurance Summit also featured the first presentation of the Excellence in Children's Health Outreach and Enrollment (ECHOE) honors — recognizing 10 individuals or organizations that have displayed leadership and innovation in Medicaid and CHIP outreach, enrollment and retention. The following honorees are well known and respected among their peers and each has made a unique contribution toward advancing children's coverage.
Dayanne Leal
Health Care for All, Massachusetts
Ann Bacharach
Pennsylvania Health Law Program
Jodi Ray
Florida Covering Kids and Families
Gale Marshall
Two Feathers Media
Phillip Bergquist
Michigan Primary Care Association
Ruth Kennedy
Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals
Cathy Kaufmann
Oregon Healthy Kids
The Oklahoma Health Care Authority
The Children's Defense Fund of Texas
The Oglala Sioux Tribe
Conference Presentations
Plenary Sessions
What Parents Say About Medicaid and CHIP: Findings from a National Survey
Take a Giant Step: Two States Discuss Their Remarkable Progress Enrolling Children in Health Coverage
As the World Turns to 2014: Outreach and Enrollment Evolve
Breakout Sessions
A-Plus Strategies: Engaging Schools to Help Get Children Enrolled
Reaching Out to Immigrant Families
It's in Your Hands: Using Cell Phones and Text-Messaging to Advance Outreach and Enrollment
Putting Outreach on the Business Community's Agenda
Research Round-Up: What Does the Latest Research Tell Us About Outreach and Enrollment
States Get on the Road: Early Efforts to Implement Express Lane Eligibility
Click to Sign Up: Consumer-Friendly Online Applications
Effective Outreach in Indian Country
Enrolling Children When They Seek Care: The Role of Community Health Centers
Focus on Renewals: Keeping Eligible Kids Covered
Engaging Local Governments to Help Get Children Covered
Communications Skill-Building
- Message and Materials Clinic- Alison Betty
- Blogfest!
- Using Twitter and Facebook- Richie Frieman
- Delivering Your Elevator Speech- Colleen Chapman
The Personal Touch: Delivering Community-Based Application Assistance
Reaching Out in Rural Areas
Big Brothers, Big Sisters: Getting Teens Enrolled in Coverage
Across the Great Divide: Making Connections in Tribal Communities
More A-Plus Strategies for Engaging Schools in Outreach and Enrollment
Using Data to Guide Outreach, Enrollment and Renewal Activities