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Exchanges' success or failure will take months to appear
- Early glitches appear as sites for some states went down
- The Congressional Budget Office estimates that 7 million people will buy through the exchanges
- The sites are open despite the government shutdown
WASHINGTON — The opening of the nation's new health marketplaces today — which has stirred hopes for success from advocates and failures from their opponents — is only the beginning of a long path to determine their true impact on the health care system, analysts say.
"It's going to be a gradual process," said Joel Ario, formerly the director of the Office of Health Insurance Exchanges at the Department of Health and Human Services and now a managing director at Manatt Health Solutions. Tuesday is "an important date, but it's just one day in a six-month process."
Until now, most reviews of the exchanges have been based on fragments of information and news of early glitches, such as the delay in electronic filing for small-business insurance by a month, or a year's delay in the requirement for businesses to offer health insurance to their employees or pay a fine.
That changes Tuesday. Uninsured Americans will have six months to buy insurance through the exchanges, a series of state- and federal-run websites. The sites need to work and connect insurance customers to where they need to find information, shop among various insurers and pay for their policies.
Early Tuesday the glitches were apparent, as consumers in Illinois, Texas and Idaho, to name a few states, were greeted by a message saying their sites were down. Exchanges in California, the District of Columbia, Maryland and New York, among others, were working without incident.
At least 7 million new insurance customers, the Congressional Budget Office estimates, need to do that in 2014 for the exchanges to be considered successful and to put new people into the system.
If enrollment falls below that, "it's probably not a good sign," Ario said.
Ario and others say there will be several landmarks along the way to determining how well the exchanges are working.
For example, as people begin to use their new insurance in January, other people may feel inspired to sign up. Or, as people in states that did not expand Medicaid realize they won't have affordable insurance, they may place pressure on state governments to expand. And while government officials say they expect "glitches" on the technical side as one electronic hub tries to connect millions of consumers with state and federal exchanges, the Internal Revenue Service for salary verification, Medicaid and private insurers, any real issues could cause consumers to flee.
After that initial enrollment frenzy, experts will be watching to see how bringing more people into the pool affects prices, health and the overall business environment.
The people who need coverage — who are waiting for it because of pre-existing conditions or because they could not get insurance in the past — will sign up right away. Success will come in the numbers who sign up a little later who aren't in as much of a rush, Ario said.
"The online functionality is a key thing to watch, but it doesn't need to totally be there," Ario said. "Things won't be as functional in year one as they are in year two."
A marathon
Ron Pollack, founding executive director of the health care advocacy group Families USA, said people need to look at the first few months as "a marathon, not a sprint."
"The 181 days after October 1 are no less important than day one," Pollack said.
But come Jan. 1, he said he does expect to see an influx in enrollment as people begin to use their insurance, and everybody else sees how it works.
"Most people in the country who will benefit do not know how the law will affect them," Pollack said. "I think that's going to change at the three-month mark as people start receiving the benefits."
Kosali Simon, a professor of public affairs at Indiana University who specializes in health economics, said people will continue to watch small businesses to see if they switch people to part-time employment to avoid paying for their insurance. Thus far, she said it's difficult to tell.
In July, the Obama administration delayed for a year the requirement that businesses with more than 50 employees either provide coverage or pay a fine. Simon said it will be interesting to see if businesses prepare better for 2015 or if they delay, assuming the mandate and fines will be delayed again. Employers asked for the delay because, in part, they said they were not prepared for 2014.
Technological changes and payment
Over time, most of the law's issues will "work themselves out," said Bernard Tyson, chief executive officer at Kaiser Permanente.
As more doctors use electronic health records to participate in parts of the law, they're learning more about their patients, Tyson said. He hopes that leads to fewer errors, duplication and even infection as patients are better monitored.
"The data can show how things are working for populations," he said.
Eventually, doctors will communicate with patients electronically more often. Patients will pay their bills over their smartphones or check medical records on their tablets.
"Banks went the same way 15 years ago," Tyson said. "Now it's almost scarily easy to bank. I think our industry will follow suit: We'll protect people's privacy and make it more convenient."
First, it's critical that payments flow as designed from Treasury to consumers to insurers, said Cheryl Smith, who helps state governments manage health through Deloitte Consulting LLP. She also worked for Republican former Utah governor Mike Leavitt when he ran the Department of Human Services and at Leavitt Partners.
The market will look different, Smith said, because some of the traditional methods used by actuaries, who predict health costs based on everything from who will be in the insurance pool to how many people are expected to get the flu this year, will have to change. That's because the new law adds no lifetime limits on coverage and a prohibition on higher rates for the sick.
"It's a best-educated rather than scientific guess," Smith said. "That's how they determine what the rates will be."
The Massachusetts experience
In 2006, Massachusetts passed a law, signed by Republican then-governor Mitt Romney, that provided much of the inspiration for the Affordable Care Act. Jon Kingsdale ran the state's health insurance exchange created by that law.
"I think the first marker is to get people to answer the phone, and get the website up and running," Kingsdale said. "Can you get a determination of your eligibility and your subsidy and whether you're eligible for Medicaid? Does the shopping work?"
After that, he said, it's critical to see how many people have enrolled after six months, not so much at the beginning. It doesn't matter, Kingsdale said, if the new insurance customers are young, old or sick. They just need to enroll.
Massachusetts, Kingsdale said. "did have some substantial hiccups." The state started with only those people who would not have to pay anything for their insurance, and then they phased in other customers two months later.
The federal government, he said, had "a lot longer than we did to set up."
Eventually, Kingsdale said, they noticed "one very dramatic development" that he sees emerging with the federal law, too.
There was a "substantial increase" in competition.
"The exchange makes very transparent to the individual consumer what the differences are," Kingsdale said. "It turns out that people who pay for their own coverage ... are very price-sensitive shoppers."
Most people bought "skinny" benefit packages with substantial cost-sharing in Massachusetts. They went for plans with lower premiums, even when they had never heard of the insurer before. Before the Massachusetts exchange, he said there were only two companies with 95% of the market.
"There are now 10 carriers competing robustly," he said. "Which, frankly, is exactly what we need to control the market long-term."
Follow @kellyskennedy on Twitter.


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On Oahu, Hawaii's timeless beauty blends with the modern luxuries of today. Swim in the warm waters of world-famous Waikiki one moment, then enjoy the dramatic mountain views of the Nuuanu Pali Lookout another. Watch the surfers on the legendary North Shore by day, then dance the night away in vibrant nightlife spots around Honolulu. Get a taste of local flavors in Kapahulu one night, then dine at a Five Diamond Hawaii Regional Cuisine restaurant the next. From indulging in urban comforts to escaping to natural wonders, Oahu's "town and country" experiences are unrivaled. With so much to see and do, you're never far away from just what you're looking for on Oahu. Visit the Heart of Hawaii and find the island paradise you've been searching for at any one of our five properties.
1BR / 1 BA / Sleeps 2-4
Makaha Cabanas – not available
1BR / 1BA / Sleeps 2-4
Waikiki Le'ale'a
Penthouse Studio / 1BA / Sleeps 3

subset: commoncrawl


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New Spread in Standard Magazine
September might not be so bad after all. A bunch of work I did over the summer is making its way into the public starting with a spread I shot for Kelly LaPlante's new online magazine (with a focus on green): Standard Magazine. I got to shoot this incredible home in the hollywood hills that married indoors with out. It was for a piece called "The Modern Man's Guide To Hillside Living' and it starts on page 66.
Here are some of my favorite shots (including some outtakes that didn't make it into the spread). See the whole thing in the new issue of Standard!.
Thanks to Kelly for the opportunity to shoot such a great place!
Labels: inspiration, local, photographs
8 comments:
- THE BRICK HOUSE said...
Oh, nice job! That pool...oh...yes please.
- 9/10/2010
- THE BRICK HOUSE said...
- This comment has been removed by the author.
- 9/10/2010
- john said...
Just change your last name to Shulman already! ;^)
- 9/10/2010
- Jamie said...
Those split screen ones are just the best.
- 9/10/2010
- laure said...
john--you are too nice, that's the ultimate compliment-have you watched the documentary on his work. I haven't but it's sitting in my netflix queue just waiting.
J--I like the split ones too!
- 9/10/2010
- steph said...
you are amazing!
- 9/13/2010
- Unknown said...
LOVE - amazing!!!!
found u through Delightful Blogs - hope u can stop by mine and become a follower :o)
*kiss kiss*
~Tiptoe Butterfly~
- 9/14/2010
- hermes birkin bag said...
Thanks for this share.
- 6/20/2013
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Halloween Pumpkin Bars
Total TimePrep: 30 min. Bake: 20 min. + cooling
Makes35 bars
- 1-1/2 cups pumpkin pie filling
- 2 cups sugar
- 1 cup canola oil
- 4 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup chopped pecans
- 1 can (16 ounces) cream cheese frosting
- Yellow and red food coloring
- 70 pieces candy corn
- 1/2 cup milk chocolate chips
- Preheat oven to 350°. In a large bowl, beat pumpkin, sugar, oil, eggs and vanilla. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt; gradually add to pumpkin mixture and mix well. Stir in pecans.
- Pour into a greased 15x10x1-in. baking pan. Bake 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack.
- Tint frosting orange with yellow and red food coloring. Frost bars; cut into 35 squares. For eyes, place two pieces of candy corn on each bar.
- In a microwave, melt chocolate chips; stir until smooth. Transfer to a heavy-duty resealable plastic bag; cut a small hole in a corner of the bag. Pipe dots on candy corn for pupils; decorate faces as desired.
Nutrition Facts1 bar: 243 calories, 12g fat (2g saturated fat), 22mg cholesterol, 151mg sodium, 33g carbohydrate (25g sugars, 1g fiber), 2g protein.
Recommended Video
Oct 1, 2013
I made this for my book club meeting yesterday and it was a hit!! I did use the whole can of pumpkin and add 1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice as other reviews had suggested and it made a huge batch - plenty to share and still have leftovers. Very moist!
Nov 3, 2012
The recipe was very good. This was the first time I used pumpkin pie mix. I like it. after reading one comment I added 1/2 tsp. of pumpkin pie spices. I also had to use a 18X11 inch pan.
Oct 11, 2010
A great tasty treat.
Nov 8, 2009
I've had many requests to make this desert over and over again. First, for my daughter's Halloween party, then again for a Holiday party (without the Jack-o-lantern faces).
Oct 25, 2009
Delicious!! These were very moist, I made the cake the day before, wrapped it in cling wrap and left it overnight, then frosted it the day of my party. It was an instant hit! Helpful hints: I added about 1/2 tsp of pumpkin pie spice to the batter, since the pumpkin pie filling is only mildly spiced. Also, after frosting the cake, place it in the refrigerator (or freezer) until the frosting is slightly hardened, this will keep the frosting firm around the edges when cutting the bars.
Oct 23, 2009
This is so good. I made it for harvest, did not make the faces but did frost with cream cheese frosting I already had made in the frig. Everyone loved it.
Oct 23, 2009
I used a tube of black frosting rather than the melted chocolate to save time. The faces were sooo cute.
Oct 23, 2009
I used a tube of black frosting rather that the melted chocolate to save time. The faces were sooo cute.
Oct 22, 2009
My daughter who rarely cooks has made these several times since we got the recipe. As I work I am luckey there are any left. I did not have the smaller pan so used the larger one I did have and it worked really well. I have baked long enough that when I saw how much the recipe made that my small pan would not work the one we did use was not that much bigger. The second time she made them I made a Philly Cream Cheese Frosting instead of the canned and it was wonderful. This is most defently making it my sister's table for Thanskgiving. Nancy
Oct 15, 2009
VERY IMPORTANT...USE A LARGER PAN!! I didn't notice the August review in time and this went all over my over. What a mess. I am sure they are delightful and they are fun, but no way does this recipe work in a 15 x 10!!!


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Hey all,
Kecia Hansen has been slowly building up a library of virtual modules for a microscale castle. This has gone through a couple of iterations, but her more recent redesign has about fifty 16x16 modules, with defined connections, roads, and walls:
She includes anything you can think of - walls, gates, towers, keeps, homes, churches, a port, attacking armies - and these can all be combined to make a huge walled city layout:
About half of these have been uploaded to the Design by Me section of Lego.com. Go to the gallery and type lara34 into the username box and hit the green triangle (don't just hit your enter key - I kept doing that and it would say there were no matches, which was frustrating). You can download the LDD files and even purchase the modules in kit form.


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Hey there! Thanks for dropping by BLIS Blog ~ Be Listening In Silence [yogaing]! Take a look around and grab the RSS feed to stay updated. Like what you see? Please support us, or make a donation of any size. See you around!
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From left are, Soyuz Commander Yuri Gidzenko, Flight Engineer
Roberto Vittori and South African Space Flight Participant Mark
A multinational
crew including a former Expedition crew member, an Italian astronaut
and a South African businessman launched to the International
Space Station, or ISS, on April 25, 2002, at 1:27 a.m. CST (0627
GMT). Once there, the Soyuz 4 Taxi crew conducted joint operations
with the Expedition Four
crew, performed educational and science activities and traded
Soyuz space vehicles.
The Taxi
crew rocketed from the Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, to deliver
a fresh Soyuz spacecraft to the station for use as a lifeboat.
The brand new Soyuz TM-34 spacecraft docked to the space station
on April 27, 2002, at 2:56 a.m. CST (0756 GMT). About 1.5 hours
later, the hatches swung open between the Soyuz and the ISS. The
Soyuz 4 crewmembers exchanged seat liners from the new Soyuz to
the 6-month-old Soyuz TM-33 in which they would ride home. After
the Expedition Four crewmembers briefed the visiting crew on safety
issues, they began nearly eight days of docked operations.
Soyuz Commander
Yuri Gidzenko, on his third mission to space, is the first member
of an Expedition crew to revisit the station. Gidzenko was a flight
engineer during Expedition
One, the first resident crew to live and work aboard the orbital
outpost. On his first flight, Roberto Vittori -- an Italian astronaut
representing the Italian Space Agency and working for the European
Space Agency -- served as a flight engineer for the Soyuz crew.
Under contract with Rosaviakosmos and representing South Africa
as a space flight participant was businessman Mark Shuttleworth,
also on his first flight.
was the second private individual to pay for a mission to space.
While onboard the outpost, Shuttleworth spoke to South African
President Thabo Mbeki, Nobel Peace laureate Nelson Mandela and
students from Bishops College in Cape Town, South Africa. The
entrepreneur also brought onboard several science experiments
that kept him busy each day during the mission.
up its mission to the orbital outpost, the Soyuz 4 crew entered
the Soyuz TM-33 docked since October of 2001. At 7:31 p.m. CST
May 4, 2002 (1231 GMT May 5), the taxi crew undocked from the
Pirs Docking Compartment with Gidzenko firing the engines separating
the vehicle from the ISS. Later that day, Gidzenko conducted a
four-minute de-orbit burn, beginning a descent toward Earth with
the crew landing in Kazakhstan at about 10:52 p.m. CST May 4,
2002 (0352 GMT May 5).
Italian Space Agency created a patch specifically representing
astronaut Roberto Vittori and his contribution to the Soyuz
Four Taxi Flight.
Curator: Kim
Dismukes | Responsible NASA Official: John Ira Petty | Updated: 10/15/2003Web Accessibility and Policy Notices


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Home » Classic in Field » PERLOWIN, MICHAEL: Firebird Suite
PERLOWIN, MICHAEL: Firebird Suite
Every once in a while something comes along that mightily stirs my enthusiasm. This is one of those. Pedal Steel guitarist Mike Perlowin paid his dues in bars and clubs, dong what the instrument is famous for doing. But for his own project, released on his own label, he chose to attempt a set of transcriptions and arrangements of C20 compositions by Debussy, Stravinsky, Bartok, Copland, Satie, Shostakovich, Gershwin and Mingus. So far so interesting - the greatness is in the result. With Les Paulian savoir faire, Perlowon has multi-tracked and - on occasion - vari-speeded to get the job done - that is to say, to do the music justice. These are inspired arrangements and great performances and they work brilliantly in their own right as musical objects. They reinvent the music they embody. One expects the Firebird to be prodigious - because of the complexity involved in any half-way accurate realisation of it using only an orchestra of pedal steels (and some lap-steel, mandolin, autoharp, banjo and bass; plus minimal percussion) - but then the rest of the CD is pitched at the same level of perfection: swooningly microtonal and still perfectly articulated; contrapuntal, multilinear, transcendently exquisite. The Pedal Steel, always a glorious instrument, is here, at last, made to show that its greatness transcends the limits of its usual narrow application, that it can be an interpretive instrument of the highest subtlety and sensitivity in any context. The other pieces are: Fanfare for the Common Man, L'Apres Midi D'un Faun e(which is made to reveal its structure in a way even the original doesn't.), Prelude No.2 (which might have been written for pedal steel), Gymnopedies, Le Petit Negre, Polka, The Maid with the Flaxen Hair (stunning; I would say better than the original piano version) and Goodbye Pork Pie Hat. I know the territory has been broached before, but not like this. This is a gem.L
Only available at this price as part of the ReR Sale Offer (minimum) 4 titles)
Code: PM0362-2
Price: £5.00


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The Washington Capitals are holding development camp this week at Kettler IcePlex and on day two of a six day slate that ends this Saturday, another scrimmage transpired. There wasn't a whole lot of excitement to the game in terms of pretty plays, but there certainly was a big physical aspect to the contest with 2012 first round draft pick (16th overall) Tom Wilson and free agent rookie Max Iafrate (son of former Capital "Big Al") leading the way in the hits department. In the skill department, 2010 third round pick Stan Galiev certainly stood out as did 2012 1st round draft pick (11th overall) Filip Forsberg. Neither scored in a 2-1 game, but Galiev fired several shots while Forsberg displayed good skating ability and size.
Afterwards, the media had a chance to talk with assistant goaltending coach Olie Kolzig on a number of topics and "Olie the Goalie" was quite forthcoming. Kolzig joined the coaching ranks with the Caps just last spring and at the time he stated his role would be to help develop goalies in the Capitals system that weren't at the NHL level. That plan came to fruition as Olie said that most of his time this past season was spent with Braden Holtby and Dany Sabourin.
"It was very impressive, just because Braden was inconsistent at the beginning of the year and I think one of the things he had to work on was his consistency. So going into the playoffs, we knew he had the talent, obviously, at the time the team needed him to play well, he played well. When he goes into Detroit and Philadelphia and gets three out of four points that speaks volumes about his character. Guys loved playing for him. So going into the playoffs one of the biggest questions was consistency and he was rock solid from game one right to game seven against the Rangers. He knows he can do it now, and I think he's really excited about starting in September," said Kolzig when I asked him to assess Holtby's season.
"I didn't hande the puck nearly like Braden did. I think, especially with Adam [Oates] coming from Jersey and having Marty Brodeur handle the puck the way he did, he saw the benefits of having a goalie handle the puck like that and I think he is going to utilize Braden a lot more. It definitely helps on defense, you don't get hit as much, you are able to break out of your own zone a lot quicker, and the odd time you'll catch teams by surprise when they are making changes and lead to a lot more scoring chances," finished Kolzig on how he expects the Caps new bench boss to use Holtby's stick handling abilities.
In case you haven't noticed, the pace of free agent signings by NHL teams has slowed to a crawl the last several days. A weak crop doesn't help that, but I also believe that the current labor situation is impacting what clubs are willing to do without a new Collective Bargaining Agreement in place. I am hearing that the NHL could have a lockout that lasts until Thanksgiving weekend, which could conceivably wipe out close to a quarter of the season. Nobody wants to see that but with Donald Fehr in the mix as the head of the NHLPA, all outcomes are possible. Kolzig, who saw an entire season get wiped out in 2004-05, was clearly in the camp that a lockout would be very bad for all parties involved.
"I don't want to see, and nobody wants to see a lockout, especially with the momentum the NHL has gained over the last few years. But you understand why and it's the not so fun part of sports, but I suspect that both sides understand the NHL has grown so much the last few years and they don't want to slow any momentum down or give any kind of negative outlook towards the NHL so they are going to obviously try to get [a deal] done. If for whatever reason it doesn't get done by September 15th, then I would assume they'll get something done in a short amount of time so we don't see what happened in 2004," started Kolzig on the potential lockout that could occur when the current CBA expires in September.
"It was awful, that was awful. I don't think our union was prepared for how tough a stance the owners were taking on the lockout and they didn't play. We didn't really have a plan B…it was one season and money that I'll never make back, that was the peak of my career…it was just an ugly situation and I don't think anyone wants to see that happen again," finished Kolzig on the NHL labor situation.
He was known as "Big Al" to his teammates and you will still see Caps fans with jerseys at games with the name IAFRATE and number 34 on the back. Al Iafrate was a very popular defensemen and even though he only spent just over three years with Washington, much of that time resulted in some of the best hockey of his career. Al was known as a big defensemen with a bigger shot. He held the NHL hardest shot record for 16 years until Zdeno Chara finally broke it in 2009 using new technology. Al's son, Max, who turned 18 on March 28th of this year, is attending Caps development camp after not being drafted a couple of weeks back in Pittsburgh. The 6′ 2″ right hand shooting defensemen, who was actually born in Baltimore, certainly throws hip checks like his father and seems to play the game with flair too. The media had a chance to catch up with the current Kitchener Ranger this afternoon and here is a partial transcript of the interview:
WNST: Did you have offers to go to other camps?
Iafrate: I think this was my first one, so I took it. My agent just told me right after the draft if you wanted Washington and I said yes.
WNST: So I noticed several hip checks out there. Your dad was a pretty good hip checker, did you get any technique from him?
Iafrate: Yeah, and my mentor in Kitchener, Ryan Murphy, is really good at hip checks , we both do it a lot during games, and we've kind of perfected it, almost, we are looking to do it more.
WNST: How would you describe your game?
Iafrate: I mean last year I came in to Kitchener being traded from Plymouth, they made me like a defense first defensemen. In Plymouth I was trying to be more offensive but they had Ryan Murphy there [in Kitchener] so I don't think they need me to be offensive, the guy puts up 80 points a year, so just defense first, and this year, if Murph makes the pros I'll step up and start playing power play and make more offensive contributions.
WNST: What kind of feedback have you gotten so far from the coaches on things they like and things they want you to work on?
Iafrate: Probably just keep it simple. I like to rush the puck and sometimes you make it more hard on yourself than it is, but I like to play exciting. It's not that fun just sitting around.
WNST: What are your plans for the upcoming season at Kitchener and what kind of team are you going to have?
Iafrate: Last year I don't think anyone thought we were going to be contenders for the [OHL] championship and we went to the Western Conference Finals. This year, we still have a great team, it will be the same team from last year, but even more experienced.
WNST: Have you seen video of your dad from his playing days?
Iafrate: Yeah, I watch him on You Tube, I've seen some Olympic videos of him, it is pretty cool to watch a little bit.
WNST: What hospital were you born in in Baltimore?
Iafrate: I don't know. I just know shortly thereafter we moved to Boston. [Note: Al Iafrate was traded to the Bruins for Joe Juneau a week before Max was born.]
WNST: Does your dad still listen to the heavy metal bands? [Note: Iafrate was a big Grand Funk Railroad fan as well as Metallica and Van Halen back in his playing days. He also hosted a radio show in Annapolis that aired, for a short while, on 103.1, the Underground, when he was with the Caps.]
Iafrate: There's really no good rock n' roll bands anymore. He got into rap, so when I was little he showed me a lot of rap.
Clearly in Max's case, the apple doesn't fall too far from the tree. In terms of personality and demeanor, he is very much like his father, the question now is, can he play hockey at the level his father did?
Notes: The Caps Development Camp has three more scrimmages slated for Thursday, Friday, and Saturday for those that want to trek down to Kettler and see some free hockey…Oates still has not named any assistant coaches…I spotted former Capital Jeff Halpern at Kettler on Tuesday evening. On Monday, Halpern signed a one year deal to play with the New York Rangers this upcoming season…both Caleb Hebert and Greg Burke were banged up in today's scrimmage.


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Unless, of course, you are Tiffany May, who reached mid-level internet notoriety thanks to her patriotic half-streak during the USA v. Honduras qualifying match last March. May has parlayed her spirited underwear dash into a Playboy pictorial, where she will bravely ditch the rest of her clothes and, unlike her last attempt, not be placed under arrest.
Congratulations to her for finding a resourceful way to cover her court costs and congratulations to soccer for gaining such an enthusiastic supporter.
The U-23's Streaker Does Playboy [The Offside Rules] (Video somewhat NSFW)
Soccer Streaker Still Missing The Point [With Leather]


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1907 - 1912
In 1907, there was a great need in America for private messenger and delivery services. To help meet this need, an enterprising 19-year-old, James E. ("Jim") Casey, borrowed 100 dollars from a friend and established the American Messenger Company in Seattle, Washington. According to accounts given by Jim there were quite a few messenger services already in the Seattle area, some of which he had worked for in the past.
That initial name was well-suited to the business pursuits of the new company. In response to telephone calls received at their basement headquarters, messengers ran errands, delivered packages and carried notes, baggage and trays of food from restaurants. They made most deliveries on foot and used bicycles for longer trips. Only a few automobiles were in existence at that time and department stores of the day still used horses and wagons for merchandise delivery. It would be six years before the United States Parcel Post system would be established.
Jim and his partner, Claude Ryan ran the service from a humble office located under the sidewalk. Jim´s brother George and a handful of other teenagers were the company´s messengers. The company did well despite stiff competition, largely because of Jim Casey´s strict policies of customer courtesy, reliability, round-the-clock service, and low rates. These principles, which guide UPS even today, are summarised by Jim´s slogan: best service and lowest rates.
1913 - 1918
The young company focused on package delivery for retail stores, as improvements such as the automobile and the telephone were causing a decline in the messenger business. The company also began to use motorcycles for some deliveries. For about two years, the company´s largest client was the United States Post Office, for which they delivered all special delivery mail entering Seattle. During this period, the company began using consolidated delivery, that is combining packages addressed to a certain neighbourhood onto one delivery vehicle. This way, manpower and motorised equipment could be used more efficiently and rates could be kept low. The year 1913 brought several significant changes.
The company acquired its first delivery car, a Model T Ford; on its side was inscribed a new name: Merchants Parcel Delivery. The new name, partially the result of Jim Casey´s agreement to merge with competitor Evert ("Mac") McCabe, reflected a shift in the primary focus of the business from messages to packages. The business began to grow quickly, and because of its high standard of service and personalised attention to every package handled, the young company built a strong reputation among the stores in the city. In 1916, Charlie Soderstrom joined the company, bringing automobiles and expertise with him. He also brought the colour brown. By 1918 three of Seattle´s largest department stores had become regular customers, disposing of their own delivery cars (which Jim and his associates often purchased) and turning business over to Merchants Parcel Delivery.
1919 - 1930
In 1919 the company made its first expansion beyond Seattle to Oakland, California, and adopted its present name, United Parcel Service. The word "United" served as a reminder that the company´s operations in each city were part of the same organisation, "Parcel" identified the nature of the business, "Service" indicated what was offered.
In 1922, UPS acquired a company in Los Angeles with an innovative practice known as "common carrier" service. Common carrier service incorporated many of the features and operating principles of the retail store delivery service with features at that time not offered by many other private carriers, or even the parcel post.
The differentiating features of common carrier service included automatic daily collection calls, acceptance of checks made out to the shipper in payment of C.O.D.s, additional delivery attempts, automatic return of undeliverables and streamlined documentation with weekly billing. Perhaps the major key feature was that UPS was able to provide its extensive service at rates comparable to those of parcel post.
UPS was one of the few companies in the United States to offer common carrier service at the time. The acquisition of one small company and the decision to continue with common carrier service would influence the growth of UPS for years to come.
In 1924, UPS debuted another of the technological innovations that would shape its future: the first conveyor belt system for handling packages. While the common carrier service was at first limited to a small area around Los Angeles, by 1927 it had been expanded to include an area extending up to 125 miles from the city's centre. At the same time, the retail delivery services of UPS had also expanded to include all the major cities on the U.S. Pacific Coast.
Jim Casey borrows 100 dollar from a friend to start the American Messenger Company in Seattle, Washington.
Company acquires first delivery car, a Model T Ford. Changes to technique of consolidated delivery. Chooses name Merchants Parcel Delivery.
First expands beyond Seattle to Oakland, CA. Changes name to United Parcel Service.
Introduces innovative "common carrier" service (Los Angeles).
Builds the first conveyor belt system for handling packages (Los Angeles).
UPS tracking solutions show the progress of your shipment every step of the way, across town or around the world.
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Remarkable services that go beyond shipping and tracking to help you expand your business.


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This post first appeared here in November, 2006
Is it possible to love someone through another's memory? To love and admire someone you never met, someone you will never be able to meet, someone who at the moment of their passing caused an incredible upheaval of grief and gouged an enormous chasm of longing for things that can never be, someone who a large number of people still speak of with reverence, awe, and thankfulness?
I believe it is possible.
I know it is possible.
I know it because I participate in this kind of love and admiration everyday for two vastly different Americans who left this Earth almost a year to the day from one another. My admiration for these two inviduals stems from my mother who shared her memories of them with me during my formative years where they became entertwined and linked indelibly in the murkiness where actual memory and grafted memories blend.
I was six months old on Saturday, November 24, 1962. Naturally I have no real memories of this day. What I know comes from Sister Dear who was six at the time. We had just celebrated Thanksgiving the previous Thursday. More than likely my parents had driven my sister and I to their shared hometown to visit with my Dad's folks and then my Mom's. Little did anyone know it would be the last time my Mom saw her mother alive. Sister Dear recollects the phone ringing that Saturday afternoon and nothing ever being the same again. She tells me now that Mother began wailing and flung herself across her bed. Sister Dear remembers simply standing and staring at Mother as she became a grieving, heaving mass of pain. When she remembers that moment she sees a collage of images of mother mixed with the piney hardwood floor of our hallway, the old radio that had been mothers as a teen now used as a phone table in the hallway, and how time seemed to stand still. Sister Dear was watching Mother's agony as she had been told her mother had been found dead of a heart attack at the age of 62.
It was sudden. It was cruel. It was not what anyone would have expected. In writing that my Mother has left behind she states Nanny was tall and slender with broad shoulders. She had beautiful skin and dark, thick, course hair. She was a great cook and seamstress----most of the clothes my mother wore were handmade by my grandmother. She was always a cheerful person---smiling, laughing, and always hid any problems she might have---plus she always wanted to do something to help people who were less fortunate than herself.
Sister Dear speaks of our "Nanny" by describing her simply as FUN. She remembers having great times with Nanny. In every picture I have ever seen of my grandmother she is wearing a June Cleaver type dress…..shirtwaist, short sleeves, and full skirt. Sister Dear tells that Nanny would place her in the hem of her skirt and swing her back and forth. That had to be fun. Sister Dear tells of waking on warm mornings and gazing up on the wall where a picture hung of a little boy and a little girl. They were about to cross a bridge and an angel was hovering at their shoulders. She has told me this picture actually scared her. We were told as children that the boy and girl were on their way to Heaven. I remember the framed print too…….it scared me as well. Sister Dear has told me she would lie in bed the longest time and try NOT to feel sorry for the kids, but it was hard. As an adult I now understand the significance of that print. My grandmother had bore tragedy upon tragedy as young woman. Her first husband had been shot to death in front of her, and she had lost three children….one to sickness, one got ahold of some medicine that had been left out, and a baby boy had been born dead. The print that scared my sister and I so probably gave comfort to our grandmother and might have been the reason it hung in the spare bedroom.
Once up Sister Dear would walk into the front room and find a big bowl of blueberries on the floor between the screen door and door jam. She'd sit on the gritty floor and munch away. It always seemed, Sister Dear says, that Nanny would just know she was up and awake. She'd turn from her chores in the garden and give a hearty good mornin' wave, and Sister Dear's day of fun would begin by building a playhouse out of tongue and groove planks and a cardtable Nanny would provide for her. I've always been told Nanny loved working with plants and apparently she could get anything to grow anywhere. Sister Dear remembers Nanny always smelled deliciously of outside, sunshine, and fresh turned earth. Things could be done at Nanny's house that could not be done at home. Nanny always allowed Sister Dear to make mud pies on the porch not with water, but with real honest to goodness buttermilk.
Sister Dear remembers Daddy holding her as they stood in front of the casket set up in the front room of my grandparent's home, and she remembers the funeral which took place at the one room wooden church with the obligatory outhouse in the back plopped in the piney woods where three generations of my mother's family scratched the dirt. The land for the church had at one time been part of the family farm, but my great grandfather had donated it to the church folk. Nanny was laid to rest in dirt that was home to her. Sister Dear remembers a long service, our distraught mother who we now know had been given something to keep her calm and quiet, and the long row of our grandfather's half-sisters who were actually more in line with our mother's age than our grandfather's. Each dear aunt took her turn holding Sister Dear in her lap….first Dee, then Blanche, then Claudine, then Nelle, and Elizabeth and then back to Nelle, then Claudine, then Blanche, and then Dee where the whole process started over again.
Mother grieved. Years later Mother spoke of grieving hard. She often said the knowledge that she had to take care of Sister Dear and I got her through, but there were days she didn't know if she could make it. Our grandfather grieved hard as well. Sister Dear remembers his home being fun. I remember it as dark and dusty shrine much like the Haversham bedroom in Great Expectations. Many things were left exactly like they were the day Nanny left us even down to her pin cushion which always hung on a nail in the hallway with the pins in it just like they were the last time Nanny used it. As I grew older it remained hanging on its nail fading in color with the dust eventually caking over it until it was practically rotten.
The remainder of this post can be found at American Presidents Blog Here


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Factor analysis of latent slopes?
Mplus Discussion
Growth Modeling of Longitudinal Data
Paul Shattuck
posted on Friday, November 07, 2003 - 6:50 am
I am a new user of Mplus. We are studying changes over time in a set of related dichotomous symptom indicators (a given symptom is either present or not-present at each time point in a large sample of adolescents and adults).
Two questions are at the heart of our research. First, what is the latent trajectory of symptom status across the lifespan for each separate symptom? Second, which symptoms tend to change together?
I am beginning to have some luck fitting latent growth models with Mplus to address the first question.
However, I need help understanding whether Mplus can help us essentially do a factor analysis of latent symptom slopes. Any suggestions would be appreciated. I would also appreciate references to research that has addressed this kind of question.
Thank you,
Paul Shattuck, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Linda K. Muthen
posted on Sunday, November 09, 2003 - 10:29 am
You can consider doing an EFA followied by a CFA at each time point to determine whether you are measuring the same number of dimensions at each time points. You can then test measurement invariance over time. If you have measurement invariance, you can model the growth in the latent variables. I am not aware of references to this particular model.
Taveeshi Gupta
posted on Monday, December 09, 2013 - 8:01 am
Dear Drs. Bengt,
I am new to Mplus and have a question. I have 3 time points for three continuous variables (say a1,a2,a3; b1,b2,b3; c1,c2,c3).I ran CFAs for each variable at each time point to ensure measurement invariance over time for each construct. I also tested growth in the three variables. I then tested a second-order factor (say y) for all three constructs but did not include growth curves. I now want to test a structural model of x predicting change over time in y.
Q1. How do I include change over time in my second-order latent factor y?
Q2. Can I even test x predicting change over time in y or should I test x predicting change over time in each of the variables without the second-order factor?
Thank you so much for your help!
Linda K. Muthen
posted on Monday, December 09, 2013 - 11:04 am
1. It sounds like you have one factor at each time point so you can't have a second-order factor at each time point.
2. If you have a growth model, you can hav x predict the intercept and slope growth factors.
Taveeshi Gupta
posted on Monday, December 09, 2013 - 11:42 am
Dear Linda,
Thank you for your response. I think I was unclear in my question. You are right that there is a single factor at each time point. My second order factor includes all the factors across waves i.e., a1,a2,a3,b1,b2,b3,c1,c2,c3. Is this unconventional? I realize that I am not accounting for time in this model which is why I am trying to understand whether there is any way of testing change over time in a second-order factor.
Thanks again.
Linda K. Muthen
posted on Monday, December 09, 2013 - 12:18 pm
If you have a second-order factor using the three factors, it is like an intercept only growth model but with free time scores. An intercept only growth model would have all factors loadings fixed to one. I would think using a conventional multiple indicator growth model would be more interpretable. See multiple indicator growth in the Topic 3 or 4 course handouts and videos.
Taveeshi Gupta
posted on Monday, December 09, 2013 - 12:37 pm
Dear Linda,
Thank you so much. I will look into multiple indicator growth models. I appreciate your help.
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Jim Bristol necesitaba un nuevo diseño de logotipo y lanzó un concurso de diseño en 99designs.
Un ganador ha sido elegido entre 72 diseños de 21 diseñadores freelance.
McGillen Capital Group
We are a foreign currency trading firm - EURO, Yen, British Pound, Swiss Franc, Canadian Dollar, Aussie Dollar - with a managed program for clients who want diversification in their portfolio through an investment in currencies. High frequency, short-term, aggressive trading exercising strict risk parameters for modest daily profits. International financial markets driven by world events affect currency movements. Highly technical, computer-driven program taking advantage of price movements. Trader culture constantly evaluating risk/reward with each position.
McGillen is a family name originally from Ireland, settled in Chicago in the 1800s. Active in Chicago politics and community service in late 1800s through early 1900s.
We want to appeal to wealthy individual investors, family office wealth managers, money managers, financial advisors, hedge fund managers. Sophisticated investors, knowledgeable in various vehicles, interested in an "alternative investment". Our clients are throughout the US, UK, Mexico, Japan.
Logo should designate money, stability, wealth, strength, strong colors, however we are not a stodgy, old-school, blue-blood firm.
We work in a world-wide market but don't want the symbols for international currencies, EURO, Yen, etc - don't want to limit to one, each will have favorable and unfavorable trading days.
Can use McGillen, McGillen Capital, or McGillen Capital Group or any combination of the initials.
Clear - no Old English or overly fancy lettering.
Nothing too tech looking - we utilize new technology, but don't want to look like a tech firm.
Look forward to creative ideas. I deal in numbers, wish I had creative skills.
I need for print and web formats
Descubre cómo funciona un concurso de diseño u obtén más información sobre nuestros servicios de diseño de logo.


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Physical Therapy is as Good as Surgery for Common Knee Problems
May 5, 2013 by Robert Wascher
Filed under A Cancer Prevention Guide for the Human Race, aging, Arthritis, Arthroscopic Surgery, health, Knee Joint, Meniscal Tears, Meniscus, Osteoarthritis, physical activity, Physical Therapy, Weekly Health Update
Comments Off on Physical Therapy is as Good as Surgery for Common Knee Problems
A new study finds that physical therapy may be just as effective as surgery for common knee ailments.
The knee joint is, perhaps, the most susceptible joint to injury in the human body. This joint is composed of an intricate combination of ligaments, cartilage and bone, and injury to any of these structures can cause pain and decreased mobility within the knee joint. Our knee joints also must bear almost the entire weight of our bodies, and so degenerative changes within this joint are very common as well. Osteoarthritis, meniscal tears, and ligamentous tears are common causes of knee pain and decreased joint mobility, and arthroscopic surgery is very commonly recommended for these knee joint ailments.
The meniscus is a cartilaginous structure within the knee joint that serves to cushion the knee joint, and to distribute the body's weight evenly within the joint. When the cartilage that makes up the meniscus becomes worn or torn, knee pain, joint swelling, and "clicking" or "locking" of the knee joint can occur, and arthroscopic surgery is frequently performed in such cases.
A newly published prospective randomized clinical research study compares patient outcomes following arthroscopic surgery versus physical therapy, and the results of this study are likely to be surprising to many orthopedic surgeons. This clinical study appears in the current issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.
In this prospectively conducted study, 351 volunteers with meniscal tears and osteoarthritis of the knee joint were randomized to one of two groups. The first group underwent arthroscopic surgery, followed by standard postoperative physical therapy. The second group of study volunteers underwent physical therapy alone. All patients were evaluated at 6 and 12 months after they entered into this clinical study.
At both 6 months and 12 months after entry into this clinical study, there was no significant difference in knee joint symptoms between the two study groups. The findings of this important clinical study suggest that most patients with mensical tears and osteoarthritis of the knee joint tend to do as well with physical therapy alone when compared to patients who undergo arthroscopic surgery followed by physical therapy. There is one caveat to the findings of this study, however, and that is the fact that 30 percent of the patient who were randomized to receive only physical therapy in this clinical study ultimately went on to undergo arthroscopic surgery, which suggests that not all patients with meniscal tears and osteoarthritis of the knee joint will be able to avoid surgery. However, the great majority of patients in this clinical study fared equally well with surgery and postoperative physical therapy or with physical therapy alone.
Based upon the findings of this clinical research study, it would seem reasonable for most patients with meniscal injuries and osteoarthritis of the knee joint to first try a trial of physical therapy prior to considering arthroscopic surgery,
As I discuss in my bestselling book, A Cancer Prevention Guide for the Human Race, living an evidence-based cancer prevention lifestyle not only reduces your risk of dying from cancer, but also reduces your risk of dying from cardiovascular disease at the same time.
For a groundbreaking overview of cancer risks, and evidence-based strategies to reduce your risk of developing cancer, order your copy of my bestselling book, "A Cancer Prevention Guide for the Human Race," from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Million, Vroman's Bookstore, and other fine bookstores!
Within one week of publication, A Cancer Prevention Guide for the Human Race was ranked #6 among all cancer-related books on the Amazon.com "Top 100 Bestseller's List" for Kindle e-books. Within three months of publication, A Cancer Prevention Guide for the Human Race was the #1 book on the Amazon.com "Top 100 New Book Releases in Cancer" list.
Additional Links for Robert A. Wascher, MD, FACS
Profile of Dr. Wascher by Oncology Times
Bio of Dr. Wascher at Cancer Treatment Centers of America
Dr. Wascher Discusses Predictions of Decreased Cancer Risk on azfamily.com
Dr. Wascher Discusses Environmental Risk Factors for Breast Cancer on Sharecare
Dr. Wascher Answers Questions About Cancer on talkabouthealth.com
Dr. Wascher Discusses Cancer Prevention Strategies on LIVESTRONG
Dr. Wascher Discusses Cancer Prevention on Newsmax
Dr. Wascher Answers Questions About Cancer Risk & Cancer Prevention on The Doctors Radio Show
Dr. Wascher Discusses Lymphedema After Breast Surgery on cancerlynx.com
Dr. Wascher Discusses Hormone Replacement Therapy & Breast Cancer Risk on cancerlynx.com
Dr. Wascher Discusses Chronic Pain After Mastectomy for Breast Cancer on cancerlynx.com
Dr. Wascher Discusses Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy for Cancer on cancersupportivecare.com
Dr. Wascher Discusses the Role of Exercise in Cancer Prevention on Open Salon
Dr. Wascher Discusses Aspirin as a Potential Preventive Agent for Pancreatic Cancer on eHealth Forum
Dr. Wascher Discusses Obesity & Cancer Risk on eHealth Forum
Dr. Wascher Discusses the Role of Radiation Therapy in the Treatment of Breast Cancer on Sharecare
Dr. Wascher Discusses the Treatment of Stomach Cancer on Sharecare
Dr. Wascher Discusses the Management of Metastatic Cancer of the Liver on Sharecare
Dr. Wascher Discusses Obesity & Cancer Risk on hopenavigators.com
Dr. Wascher Discusses Hormone Replacement Therapy & Breast Cancer Risk on interactmd.com
Dr. Wascher Discusses Thyroid Cancer on health2fit.com
Links to Other Breaking Health News
Dramatic Increase in Suicide Rate Among Middle Aged Americans Over the Past Decade
Woman with Transplanted Uterus Becomes Pregnant
Cutting Umbilical Cord Too Soon May Cause Anemia in Newborns
Recent Advances in Prosthetic Limbs to Help Boston Marathon Bombing Victims
Spiny New Bandage May Speed Healing of Skin Wounds
Study Confirms that Men Really Do Have Trouble Reading the Thoughts of Women
Deadly new Bird Flu Strain Cases Continue to Rise
Abdominal Fat Increases Kidney Disease Risk
Increasing Dietary Potassium & Decreasing Salt Intake Reduces Stroke Risk
A New Explanation for the Link Between Red Meat & Cardiovascular Disease
Deadly New Bird Flu Identified in China
Infection Risk: Keeping an Eye on Your Dentist
Couple Loses 500 Pounds in Two Years
Coffee May Reduce Crash Risk for Long-Distance Drivers
Tiny Implant Tells Your Smart Phone When You Are Having A Heart Attack
Transplanted Kidney Causes Death Due to Rabies
Eating While Distracted Increases Calorie Intake
Resistant Bacteria are on the Rise
High Levels of Stress Linked to an Increase in Heart Disease Risk
Small Snacks Cut Hunger as Well as Big Snacks
Poor Sleep May Increase the Risk of Heart Failure
Ancient Mummies Found to Have Heart Disease by CT Scan
Physically Fit Kids Do Better on Math & Reading Tests
How Melanoma Skin Cancer Evades the Immune System
Possible Link Between BPA and Asthma
Baby Boomers Appear Less Healthy Than Their Parents
The Biology of Love in the Brain
Millennials May be the Most Stressed-Out Generation
Even Modest Alcohol Intake Raises Cancer Risk
Why Do Boys Receive Lower Grades than Girls?
Negative Emotions and Feelings Can Damage Your Health
Canker Sore Drug Cures Obesity (At Least in Mice…)
How Technology is Changing the Practice of Medicine
New Salt Intake Guidelines for Children
High Levels of Distress in Childhood May Increase Risk of Heart Disease in Adulthood
Quitting Tobacco by Age 40 Restores a Normal Lifespan in Smokers
Cancer Death Rates Continue to Fall
Self-Help Books Improve Depression
Marines Try Mindfulness and Meditation to Reduce PTSD
Dying Nurse Volunteers Herself to Teach Nursing Students about the Dying
Falling Asleep While Driving More Common than Previously Thought
Celebrity Health Fads Debunked
Obesity Among Young Children May Be Declining
Fresh Fruits & Vegetables May Reduce Breast Cancer Risk
Satisfaction with Life May Actually Increase with Age
Brain Changes in the Elderly May Increase Susceptibility to Being Scammed
Dr. Wascher's latest video:
At this time, more than 8 percent of Americans are unemployed. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, however, the unemployment rate for veterans who served on active duty between September 2001 and December 2011 is more than 12 percent. A new website, Veterans in Healthcare, seeks to connect veterans with potential employers. If you are a veteran who works in the healthcare field, or if you are an employer who is looking for physicians, advanced practice professionals, nurses, corpsmen/medics, or other healthcare professionals, then please take a look at Veterans in Healthcare. As a retired veteran of the U.S. Army, I would also like to personally urge you to hire a veteran whenever possible.
Disclaimer: As always, my advice to readers is to seek the advice of your physician before making any significant changes in medications, diet, or level of physical activity
Dr. Wascher is an oncologic surgeon, professor of surgery, cancer researcher, oncology consultant, and a widely published author
I and the staff of Weekly Health Update would again like to take this opportunity to thank the more than 100,000 health-conscious people from around the world who visit this premier global health information website every month. Over the past 12 months, more than 3 million pages of high-quality medical research findings were served to the worldwide audience of health-conscious readers. As always, we enjoy receiving your stimulating feedback and questions, and I will continue to try and personally answer as many of your inquiries as I possibly can.


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Resigned in Afghanistan
October proved a cruel month in our eighth year of war in Afghanistan. Fifty-eight Americans were killed, the worst monthly loss of life since the beginning of the war. It also could not have been welcome news to President Obama that a senior foreign-service officer, Matthew Hoh, a Marine veteran of two tours in Iraq, resigned on Oct. 26 in protest of the U.S. policy in Afghanistan, the first State Department official to do so.
"I fail to see the value or the worth," Mr. Hoh writes in his resignation letter, "in continued U.S. casualties or expenditures of resources in support of the Afghan government in what is, truly, a 35-year-old civil war." According to Mr. Hoh, the "Taliban resistance" the United States is purported to be suppressing actually breaks down into hundreds of small local groups, who perceive themselves as fighters not for the Taliban or an even more distant Al Qaeda but against the current occupiers, the United States and Afghanistan's central government.
In a marvel of understatement, Mr. Hoh calls the Karzai administration an "unreliable partner" and writes that our Afghanistan strategy is destabilizing the entire region while making little progress toward its primary goal of protecting the West from the terrorist conspiracies of Islamic extremists. Mr. Hoh has thrown away what had been a promising diplomatic career in an effort to force his countrymen to ask some hard questions about Afghanistan: What are we achieving there? Do we have the ruthlessness and patience to stay in this fight? With our nation printing money to pay its bills, can we really afford to maintain this long war? President Obama's long-awaited decision on Afghanistan may not answer all of Mr. Hoh's brave but career-ending questions, but it should at least offer more than a general plan for muddling through in an ancient land that shows signs of developing into a Vietnam-style quagmire for the United States.
Artful Dodgers
Every year the federal government loses some $100 billion in tax revenue to international tax cheating. That is a staggering sum, enough to pay for 27 months of the war in Afghanistan at the current rate of $3.6 billion per month. A recovery of eight years' worth of these losses could pay for the entire health care reform package proposed by the House. Instead, year after year U.S. citizens hide their earnings abroad, and foreign firms earning money in the United States underreport or refuse to report their earnings.
Plugging the leak is the goal of a new bill sponsored by two Democrats, Charles B. Rangel of the House Ways and Means Committee and Max Baucus of the Senate Finance Committee. The proposed legislation would stiffen reporting requirements for foreign institutions that conduct business in the United States and those who advise U.S. citizens on investing abroad. The penalty for businesses that fail to comply would be a 30 percent withholding tax on income from their American assets. The I.R.S. is also more diligently tracking overseas investments.
Collection will not be easy. International financial information is difficult to track; tax rates and laws differ among nations. So much of the money owed the U.S. government will never be recovered. Were the Rangel/Baucus bill to pass, the expected recovery is a paltry $8.5 billion over the next 10 years—less than $1 billion each year. Surely a better means of plugging this leak needs to be found, and quickly, for global commerce and investment will likely increase, as will the number of artful dodgers.
One Laptop Per Child
"A chicken in every pot and a car in every garage." Back in 1928 Herbert Hoover successfully used this adage in his presidential campaign. In this age of technology we have "One laptop per child." The retiring president of Uruguay, Tabaré Vázquez, recently fulfilled his promise to give laptop computers to the 360,000 primary school students and 18,000 primary school teachers in his nation.
Making this possible is Nicholas Negroponte and his One Laptop Per Child program. Over one million machines have been distributed worldwide and another million are planned. In Rwanda 100,000 laptops are going to schoolchildren. Peru, Nigeria, Portugal, South Africa and Haiti are involved in supplying computers to their schoolchildren.
Challenges of cost, distribution, maintenance, training and content remain. But such challenges are part of any creative, far-sighted new program. As groups and nations argue the merits of One Laptop Per Child, the perennial debate about "guns versus butter" arises. Should swords be turned into plowshares or into food to feed the world's hungry children? Why not into laptops? Might some small percent of the billions spent in Afghanistan and Iraq go to the distribution of these inexpensive computers?
The movement continues to grow, not replacing concern for child and adult literacy but expanding it to include technological literacy, which seems indispensable for success in the world of tomorrow. The One Laptop Per Child program is a welcome step in the right direction.
I think our administration needs to define its goals in Afghanistan. If it is to root out Al Kaida - a plan to do so should be devised and run by Congress for approval. If it is to prevent terrorist organizations from being formed and trained in Afghanistan, then say so and work toward that end. Is it clear that a Taliban controlled government would encourage Al Kaida or other terrorist groups to operate in Afghanistan? If so, Obama should make his case to Congress and get the funding necessary to prevent that from happening. If not, why are we asking 30,000 soldiers to risk their lives over there?


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Beet Kvass is a fermented juice packed with beneficial bacteria and probiotics. It helps in aiding digestion, weight loss, facilitating detoxification, lowering cholesterol levels, boosting heart health, controlling diabetes, and protecting the liver.
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No work on Wednesday due to other activities, and Thursday was packed too – but after I got home and put the kids to bed, I wanted to at least get in a little bit of work, even though it was almost dark.
I had the monkey bars assembled, so I went ahead and attached them to the playset.
This picture was taken the next day but shows the monkey bars. They just drill in to the playset and then there are stakes that have to be rotated and put in the ground (and then bolted to the base of the A-beam.
The only tricky part was trying to get them level. Since we did not level out the ground before we started (though our ground is what someone from The Princess Bride might call "mostly" level), it's always an adventure. Especially since we had dug and lowered the ground somewhat to get the main clubhouse set and level.
Day 23 time: 1.0 hours
Total time: 40.0 hours
Mistakes made: 0 today (17 total)
Steps completed: 81-82 (out of 103)


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Baldwin Energy Facility
Emergency Peaker Project
Docket Number:
01-EP-11 (Application For Certification)
Project Status: Withdrawn, June 21, 2001, by applicant.
APPLICANT: La Jolla Energy Development, Inc.
LOCATION: Angeles County
SIZE:53 Megawatt Peaking Power Plant
The applicant proposed to construct a 53 megawatt (MW) peaking electric generation facility consisting of two GE-LM-2500 gas turbine engines. The facility was to be configured in a simple cycle mode. The project was called the Baldwin Energy Facility No. 1 and was proposed be located within the Inglewood Oilfield in Los Angeles County.
Energy Commission Facility Certification Process
The California Energy Commission is the lead agency (for licensing thermal power plants 50 megawatts and larger) under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and has a certified regulatory program under CEQA. Under its certified program, the Energy Commission is exempt from having to prepare an environmental impact report. Its certified program, however, does require environmental analysis of the project, including an analysis of alternatives and mitigation measures to minimize any significant adverse effect the project may have on the environment.
For Questions About This Siting Case Contact:
For Questions About Participation In Siting Cases Contact:
Public Advisor
California Energy Commission
1516 Ninth Street, MS-12 Sacramento, CA 95814
Phone: 916-654-4489
Toll-Free in California: 1-800-822-6228
E-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com
News Media Please Contact:
Media & Public Communications Office
Phone: 916-654-4989
E-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com
Proceeding Information
- Submit e-Comment
- Submit e-Filing
- Documents for this Proceeding
(Docket Log)
- Exhibit List
- Proof of Service List
- Proof of Service Declaration Form MS Word or PDF
- Search Documents in this Proceeding
- Search All Power Plant Documents
- Legacy Notices Page
(No Longer Updated)
- Legacy Documents Page
(No Longer Updated)


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| blm quick loop (California) 1k views
EDGE205 Software Version 3.20 Route creator mark1890
Get a gpx file of your activity from Garmin Connect or from Strava. For example, upload your activity from your GPS to Strava then save as GPX to your computer. Click this Upload GPX button to then upload it to GeoLadders.
Steps to create GPX from Strava: Open the activity in Strava, click the 'Action' icon on left (wrench), select 'Download GPX' (saves to 'Downloads' on your computer). Go to www.geoladders.com, open the existing route you want to post to, select 'Post GPX to this route' (on left), then click the 'Browse' button (middle of page), find the GPX in your 'Downloads' directory. Double click, save. That's it. Your route appears on geoladders.com/posts and in your dashboard.
|Race Calendar 2020
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A Clash of Worldviews on Free Trade
If you want to witness the clash of two worldviews on trade, check out the online debate I'm having with Ian Fletcher of the U.S. Business and Industry Council. A self‐described protectionist, Fletcher has written a new book with the unambiguous title, Free Trade Doesn't Work: What Should Replace it and Why. In the opposite corner, I argue for eliminating barriers to trade, drawing on my own recent book, Mad about Trade: Why Main Street America Should Embrace Globalization.
The debate is being hosted by the International Economic Law and Policy Blog. We've already filed two 600‐word posts each, with a third to come at the end of this week and concluding arguments early next week.


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Indulge your dark side and step into the role of the Devil's daughter as you mercilessly trap human victims on a quest for retribution.
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Cards lead 1-0 in the 1st on a Pujols homer.
Cards lead 1-0 in the 1st on a Pujols homer.
I'd rather listen to Kelch read the phone book than suffer through Thom Brennaman's attempt to make every instance on the field the most important event since the discovery of manned space flight. -westofyou
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How Do You Select One of the Best Property management Companies in Pretoria?
When you hire a property management company to serve as the liaison between yourself and your tenants, you want to be sure you're getting the best possible property management services for the money. The services in Pretoria provides can range from ala carte to an all-in-one inclusive package. Along with that comes an array of fees for each. There is no set in stone fee structure we can provide you. But we can educate you on what common fees to expect and what each is commonly for. In the end it will be up to you to compare company fee structures and choose the best one that fits within your budget. Below are some of the most common fees and what service they provide.
This is an ongoing monthly fee charged to the owner to Pretoria and the responsibilities of overseeing the management of their property. This fee can vary from as little as 3% to over 15% of the monthly gross rent. In place of a percentage some managers may charge a flat monthly amount which again can vary from $50 to over $200 per month. All property management companies generally charge this fee.
Lease-Up or Setup Fee
This fee is charged to the owner to compensate the property manager for their initial time invested and resources used in setting up an owners account; showing property and/or other activities resulting in tenant placement. I guess you could look at it as a "finders fee" for placing a tenant in your property. Once a tenant has been placed and first rent income comes in, the property manager will deduct this fee from the rent proceeds. Property management companies have been known to require this fee upfront prior to tenant procurement. Usually this fee is non-refundable once the property manager has started the process of tenant procurement or any legwork has been initiated with the property. This fee can vary from none to as much as the first months rent, and usually is a one-time fee per tenant.
Interesting Facts About Property Managing Agencies in Pretoria :
All property management companies will promise you much the same services. Here are some of the more important service's you should be receiving for your money.
Management fees can be a Flat rate about $250 for a single family home or 6% of rental income for larger properties.
Accounting Services:
o A good management company will provide monthly statements and make them available online.
o Be available to answer any questions you have about your statements or costs.
o Issue an IRS 1040
o Collect and deposit your rents in a timely manner. We like to see within three days.
The nice client who never causes trouble doesn't get the same level of service as the client that is watching and letting management know they are hired for a reason. Your job is not to make friends here, but to respectfully let the management company know you are a concerned owner.
Thanks for Reading
Facts about Property Management
If you've ever searched for a good property manager before, then you know how difficult it can be to find a good one for your rental property. There are several property managers out there, probably more than what you really need to bring your property into the market.
With so many choices available, you may find it difficult to choose one for your unit. But don't worry - if you ask the right questions while shopping around for property managers, you'll get a better idea of who would make the best fit for your property. Ask them these questions when discussing your property to see if they're the right property manager for you:
1. What type of properties have you managed?
Experience counts for a lot in property management, and it can separate the good ones from the ones you should steer away from. Experience in this field, however, isn't just about the number of years worked in the field; it's also about what type of properties they've managed. Depending on what type of property you have, you can either go with someone who specialises in managing properties like yours or someone who has more varied experience managing different types of properties.
2. How do you screen potential tenants?
Some have small sign-up fees but a variety of hidden fees once you sign on and let them manage your property. Avoid getting surprised by such fees, and ask them to indicate all management and service fees included in their service. The more complicated their fee structure is, the bigger the headache (and expense) it will likely be.
9. What can you do that others can't?
This is where prospective property managers will try to sell you on what they offer and how well they set themselves apart from the competition. It's also the part where you assess the intangibles in any working relationship, giving you a better idea of how well they meet your standards. Listen well, take notes, and assess if they provide what you're looking for.
With so many choices available today, finding the right property management company can be difficult. But by asking the right questions and doing your research beforehand, you'll find that all the hard work you put into finding the right manager will be worth it. Once you find the right one, your property (and wallet) will surely thank you.
What Is Real Estate Management?
If you sell your own house, you will save a substantial sum (the typical estate agent's fee is between 1.5 and 2 per cent, which pays 2,250-3000 pounds on a 150,000 pounds property). The drawback is the time and work that you will have to put in yourself. If you try but fail to sell your house, you won't save anything, but you still lose the time and the opportunity to move.
What does an estate agent do ?
A good estate agent will visit your property and suggest three possible prices (which includes other advice on what to ask them at this stage.) Once you have chosen an agent and the price you want to put it on the market for, agent should:
- Send you a contract setting out their terms and conditions. Read this before you sign.
- Measure and photograph the property to produce the sales particulars, checking them through with you.
- Help you to secure and Energy Performance Certificate. You don't have to use the agent to provide this service and they should charge around 50 pounds for the certificate.
- Put a 'For sale' board outside your property (assuming you want one; your estate agent should give you the option).
- Advertise your property locally, on the internet and via newspapers. It's important to negotiate this as it doesn't always happen automatically.
- Advertise it at their premises and via their website as well as directly to a list of potential buyers.
- Arrange viewings for legitimate buyers (show people around your house if you aren't there).
- Receive offers, communicating them to you in writing and negotiating on your behalf.
- Liaise between your buyer, you and your solicitor.
- Arrange the handover of key on completion day.
You could do most of this yourself. However, there are various benefits a good agent brings.
In any field, experience is valued. Someone who has spent years helping people buy and sell property should be able to forestall problems, keep the process moving efficiently and effectively, and offer informed advice when decisions are required.
Sales and marketing
Selling is a skill. No one is going to persuade an unwilling buyer to purchase your property, but a professional sales person will be able to communicate effectively, pointing out advantages and answering queries that might otherwise have put someone off. In addition, a good agent will have the resources to market your property nationally via their website.
Inviting strangers into your home carries a risk. You don't know who they are and you can't vet them, but you could find yourself alone with them in your home. An agent who accompanies viewers means that you won't be put in a vulnerable position.
Avoiding time-wasters
You can never be sure if a viewer is genuinely interested in your property, and some people seem to make a hobby of looking around houses when they have no intention of buying. A good agent will check if the buyer is serious and ask if they have a Mortgage Agreement in Principle. If they haven't arranged a loan (which means there's no guarantee they can afford to buy), the agent can set this in motion.
Make sure the contract clearly states that you won't be charged commission if the sole agency contract has ended.
The fee
Estate agents charge a percentage, plus VAT, of the final selling price. Rates vary, but are typically 1.75 per cent for sole property, and 2-3.5 per cent for multiple or joint arrangements.
These rates are negotiable, but remember the agent has been through this process more times than you have. It is worth asking the estate agent how much in real terms the fee could be, this will help you to draw up a budget.
Ready, willing and able purchaser
If the contract contains a term stating 'ready, willing and able purchaser', walk away - don't sign any contract with it. It will mean that you'll still have to pay the estate agent for finding you a buyer even if your situation changes and you have to withdraw from the sale.
Choose an agent that gives you a few days for the money to transfer before charging interest. And make sure it requires payment when the sale is completed rather than when contracts are exchanged. Do not hand over the authority to pay the estate agent to anyone else (known as irrevocable authority - you should avoid this). If you have a complaint about the service provided, you won't have the power to withhold payment.
Tie-in periods
Avoid lengthy tie-in periods of anything over eight weeks. And remember to factor in the notice period, which is often two weeks - you can't usually give notice until the minimum contract period is over.
Open-ended agreements
Check what happens when the contract ends. Some agents operate a 'six-month rule' whereby you have to pay them if a buyer they introduced buys your home within six months of a contract ending. But some agents go further and state that you have to pay this, no matter how long it is after the termination of a contract.
Your rights when dealing with an agent
It's your legal right that estate agents must do the following:
- Pass on all offers on a property. There have been cases where offers have not been passed on to the vendor simply because a person making a lower offer has not agreed to use the estate agent's mortgage services.
- Pass on offers promptly in writing. They shouldn't just telephone you to inform you of a offer.
- Use clear contract terms.
- Reveal to you any financial interest that they have in offers made on your property. For example, they are not allowed to collude with property developers so that they only offers they pass on to you are those that suit their interests.
If you suspect that an agent has acted in breach of these regulations, you should contact the local authority trading standards department together with the redress scheme they are a member of and professional association, if they are a member.


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The Oosik is one of the most infamous outdoor events in Alaska—a 50-kilometer ski race that doubles as an end-of-season festival for recreational and elite athletes alike.
According to one of my roommates here, there are a couple of right ways to do the Oosik, and a wrong way to do the Oosik. The right ways are this: you can either try hard and go fast, or you can not try hard, go slowly, stop at the beer and bacon station, and drink the various other alcoholic libations offered by your friends and fans along the side of the trail.
The wrong way to do the Oosik is to try hard, and go slowly.
I definitely did the Oosik the wrong way.
How do I know this? Because I tried so hard that today because my back is sore in places that I didn't know my back even existed. And I definitely did not go fast.
Let's back up a bit. I live in Anchorage. The Oosik is in Talkeetna. Saturday morning, I woke up at 6:30, got into my car with some instant oatmeal and leftover pasta from Friday night, and did the two-hour drive to Talkeetna, the first half hour of which (mom, skip this next part) included enough blowing snow and darkness that I was pretty sure I was going to total my car.
Upon arriving in Talkeetna, I went and found one of my friends from Anchorage who had graciously agreed to wax my skis for me. I'm not going to name him because at that time, 11 a.m., he was holding a piece of chocolate cake and a beer, which I'm not sure is something that he'd want published about him on the internet. But I think that we can agree that this friend of mine was doing the Oosik the right way. (For the record, I just want people to know that my friend waxed other peoples' skis too—it's not like I have a personal wax technician or anything.)
I took my skis and walked back to my car. Then I put on a one-piece spandex suit that's pink and sparkly. At that point, I'd say that it was not yet clear to me whether I'd be shooting for the fast-right-way Oosik or the slow-right-way Oosik, but I felt that the suit was appropriately gaudy yet still functional enough that it would suffice for whichever path I chose.
There were something like 100 people doing the 50 k with me, which began at noon. We started with something like a 500-meter promenade around a gravel pit, and by the time we passed through the stadium at the end of that, there was already a 10-meter gap between me and the back of the pack of the people who had chosen to do the fast-right-way Oosik. (For the record, the 500-meter promenade may have been less than 500 meters, and the 10-meter gap might have been larger than 10 meters, but that's how I'm choosing to remember it.)
This would have been a good place for me to choose the slow-right-way Oosik. Instead, I thought to myself, 'those guys aren't very far ahead of you. You should catch them.' And I kept double poling as hard as I could without the gap getting any smaller.
And then Holly Brooks caught me.
You might have heard of Holly before. She went to the Olympics last month. And in 2010. So, she seemed like a pretty good person to ski with.
Holly, I'm pretty sure, was skiing the Oosik the right way. She didn't seem to be trying very hard, firstly because she was able to carry on a conversation with me, and secondly because I'm pretty sure that if Holly had been trying hard she would have been going a hell of a lot faster than me.
This was maybe a kilometer-and-a-half into a 50-kilometer race. And because that kilometer-and-a-half had been almost entirely flat, my arms were already tired from double poling.
The slow-right-way Oosik thing to do at that point would have been to say, 'See you later Holly, nice skiing with you, have a nice day and enjoy your leisurely slow-right-way Oosik, as I will be doing, just half an hour more slowly.'
Instead, I kept trying, because I did not really feel like admitting to Holly that my version of a slow-right-way Oosik would have taken half an hour longer (at least) than it would have taken her.
Then, after a few more kilometers, we caught Holly's husband, Rob Whitney, who had briefly attempted a fast-right-way Oosik before being dropped by the lead pack, at which point he switched his approach to one that didn't involve trying very hard. Skiing easily along with Rob was Don Haering, who works with the Alaska Pacific University club team while also still finding time to occasionally ski race pretty fast. At least, much faster than me.
Rob and Don had chosen to do a slow-right-way Oosik. And so, it seemed reasonable for me to join them.
A few other things I'll mention here. Rob is a former a-lot-of-times national junior and maybe even national senior champion cross-country skier. Don is a former much-faster-than-Nat-Herz skier. I was three weeks removed from three weeks of working at the Olympics, which involved about four training sessions, no cross-country skiing, and a very unpleasant bout of illness. Also, I had classic skied one time since January.
(Yes, that was the obligatory paragraph in which I'm listing my excuses. I'm not a professional athlete at the Olympics so I'm allowed to list as many excuses as I want.)
Anyways, Rob and Don joined the pack that included Holly, me, and a bunch of middle-aged dudes who appeared to be doing fast-right-way Oosiks, given that they were going reasonably fast given their advanced ages. Although I will point out that one of them was blatantly marathon skating. (For those of you who don't know what marathon skating is, it's cheating, when you're competing in a classic race like the Oosik.)
We arrived at the first hill on the course, which was at about 15 kilometers, where all of us discovered that none of our skis had any wax left on them, thanks to icy conditions and my beer-drinking, chocolate-cake-eating wax technician who is no longer my wax technician, because he's been fired. (I'd say he actually did a fairly good job given that my kick wax remnants seemed slightly more numerous than those belonging to the other people I was skiing with.)
The lack of kickwax meant that the rest of the race became exclusively double poling and herringbone. (For those of you who don't know what herringbone is, it's a technique that is slow and uncomfortable and gets you up hills very slowly.) Given that I had done very little double poling or herringboning over the last couple of months, this was another good opportunity for me to switch my fast-right-way Oosik attempt to a slow-right-way Oosik.
But here's the problem: I was now skiing with Rob and Holly and Don, all of whom were ALREADY doing slow-right-way Oosiks. And while I am not particularly good at skiing, I do spend a lot of time in Anchorage doing it and talking about it and spending time with people who are fast at it.
And that meant that I was really not prepared to slow down and let my three friends ski away from me, thereby admitting that my slow-right-way Oosik speed was a lot slower than their slow-right-way Oosik speed.
This is how I ended up doing the Oosik the wrong way: by trying really hard to keep up with a few people who were not trying very hard.
In my defense, I'd say that I did a pretty good job of concealing how hard I was working during the race. Because we were only double poling, I was able to make plenty of stupid jokes. And I did accept a gift of an open can of a Pabst Blue Ribbon that was handed to me after about 35 kilometers by my fired wax technician.
But secretly, though I was trying to remain outwardly cheerful—comfortable, even—I spent the entire second half of the race in excruciating pain and misery. And I did not stop at the beer and bacon station.
With about three kilometers to go, I was skiing behind Rob and Don as we were passing a bunch of slower people doing the 25 k race. As those two split around a guy on some gigantic wooden skis, the guy crashed in the middle of the trail. I decided to go around on the left, just as the guy decided to roll over to his left, presenting me with an exciting dilemma of skis-to-the-face, or tree. I chose tree, which may or may not have something to do with the small puncture wound on my left hand I discovered after the race.
I caught back up, and then a little later it was time for the finish. Rob and Don sprinted ahead of me, while I tried to sprint but just kept going the same speed I'd been going the entire race. Holly was a few meters behind us, most likely chuckling to herself and feeling glad about the fact that she hadn't broken a sweat.
I'm pretty sure that I finished more than half an hour behind the guy that won the race. And today (Sunday), my back is so sore that it has been a huge struggle to bend over and tie and untie my boots.
I would like to say that I have learned my lesson about doing the Oosik the right way, but it may take me a couple more years before I'm willing to swallow my pride and go slowly enough that I'm not hobbling around the next day. Or maybe I'll just do a better job of hiding how hard I was trying.