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From toothpaste to wedding dresses, shoppers across the U.S. now have no trouble finding products that claim to be good for the environment.
But the popularity of buying with the environment in mind — and lack of clear marketing guidelines — has made it "much harder for a consumer to figure out which of these green products is really green," according to Northwestern University associate professor Brayden King, an expert on corporate social responsibility and environmental sustainability.
As Earth Day kicks off, here's a look at the latest trends in the "green industry" and how consumers can make the most out of their environmentally-conscious purchases.
U.S. & World
The day's top national and international news.
What kind of "green" products are available?
A better question might be what products aren't. It's rare to find a product or industry that doesn't offer a "green" option. Seventh Generation, an early leader in green cleaning products and baby items, reported more than $200 million in retail sales in 2012, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Household brands are embracing the trend, too. Nike recently unveiled a new facility featuring technology aimed at cutting back at water use in the textile dying process, while Proctor & Gamble Company began in recent years to incorporate plastic made from sugarcane into packaging for some beauty products.
"Environmental sustainability" ranked third among culinary trends for 2014 identified in a survey of chefs by the National Restaurant Association. And it's not just farm-to-table bistros greening menus. McDonald's recently vowed to source its Big Macs from "sustainable beef" by 2016, though it's not yet clear how the company will achieve that goal.
How "green" are green products?
It varies. Upwards of 400 separate "eco-label" systems or ratings now exist, according to King, the associate professor of management and organizations at Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management. But a rise in "sustainable" products doesn't necessarily mean more items that are good for the environment.
"Putting labels on things that say this is organic or this is environmental friendly has given consumers options," King said. "The downside of this is it has become very easy for companies to put those labels on and consumers are not always savvy enough to know if they're buying something that is really good at the environment or buying something that just has the label." The Federal Trade Commission also urges caution, saying that many green marketing claims "sound great, but are too vague to be meaningful."
So what's a consumer to do? The FTC recommends looking for specific labels or certifications "that tell you what makes the product environmentally friendly," such as disclosures saying the product is "free of" a certain substance or chemical. The agency has posted a consumer guide to shopping green that includes definitions of commonly used promotions.
Who buys "green?"
Most of us, it seems. More than 80 percent of respondents to a 2011 Gallup survey said they make an effort to adopt environmentally friendly behaviors, with 60 percent saying they either bought a product because it was environmentally friendly or plan to do so in the next year.
The segment of consumers interested in stocking their shelves and pantries with "green" products extends beyond "the granola type," as one report commissioned by the Grocery Manufacturers' Association put it. The 2009 analysis by Deloitte found that people buying green "are diversely spread along all income ranges, age brackets, education levels and various household sizes."
What incentives do companies have to go green?
Green ones — in more than one sense. Coming off as environmentally conscious can be a good sell with consumers. Research by Deloitte found that "green shoppers" represent a "high value segment who buy more products on each trip, visit the store more regularly, and demonstrate more brand and retailer loyalty in their purchasing behavior."
Major corporations like Wal-Mart have also instituted "green" measures such as recycling programs and energy conservation policies at corporate headquarters that shave operating costs while boosting the corporation's image with consumers, according to King. Being perceived as anti-environment has costs as well.
"If a company is continually being boycotted by activist groups or you see these protests outside company headquarters or you have shareholder activists who are submitting proposals every year to require the company to be more environmentally friendly, this kind of continual pressure can start to influence a company and damage its reputation," King said.


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We are pleased to announce the resumption of our flights and tour operator activities as of July 23, 2020, provided that the travel restrictions applicable on that date allow it. We are offering a new flight schedule to more than 20 destinations in Europe, the South, the United States and Canada until the end of the summer season on October 31, 2020.
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The 10,000 square-foot Drago's Restaurant in Metairie, La., is arguably the most popular seafood spot among locals. Serving 1,000 customers each day, the 40-year-old landmark also attracts the tourists, making it one of the top five restaurants in New Orleans in terms of gross sales. When the management recently got fed up with an outdated, 150-gallon-tank water heater's inability to keep up with demand, they switched to Rheem tankless technology to power the massive hot-water needs of the busy restaurant.
"Our restaurant is so big, our peak demand can be all day, every day," says Drago's manager Tommy Cvitanovich, past president of the New Orleans Restaurant Association and son of owner Drago Cvitanovich, who opened the restaurant in 1969.
"We've got kettles that are going all day long," he continues. "It's very important for me to fill them and get them boiling ASAP. It's much better to start at 160°F than at the faucet temperature. I have one pot that is probably 80 gallons – just filling it would deplete a tank heater. But I also have a 60-gallon kettle and two 40-gallon kettles.
"When we had a tank, we had to have boiler inspections once a year, and we were constantly running out of hot water," he continues. "We would run out especially at night, when we were cleaning."
Temperature regulation was also a critical factor. Cvitanovich explains that he needs to reach two specific hot water temperatures around the clock – 140°F for regular cleaning and 180°F for rinsing dishes. "Sometimes if we were cleaning and the tank ran out, we had to wait for hot water," he says, referring to the previous tank-type unit. "I know some people clean with cold, but I'm a big fan of hot water – it's 'old school,' but it loosens grease and makes it easier to clean."
After consulting with Rheem's local sales agent, Barbot, Woolf, Canale of Harahan, La., Cvitanovich called in Bienvenu Brothers Plumbing, Heating and Cooling of Metairie.
Once proper sizing was determined for the job, the company installed three Rheem GT-199XN Tankless Heavy-Duty gas water heaters, each with an Energy Factor of .82 and a maximum flow rate of 7.4 gpm (gallons per minute).
- Two of the units were manifolded together to handle the restaurant's overall water needs – from the kitchen to cleaning to restrooms.
- One additional 7.4 gpm tankless unit was installed to heat water exclusively for the massive kettles in the kitchen.
"All three tankless water heaters were installed outdoors, up on a roof, to save space in the building," explains plumbing contractor Louis Bienvenu, one of four Bienvenu brothers and president, estimator and project manager for the company. "Installing outside eliminated the need for venting, which saves installation time and cost for the customer. Equally important, it eliminates the worry about an insufficient supply of makeup air for the heaters' combustion processes, which would play havoc with a commercial kitchen's appliance operations."
Extensive tankless experience: The Bienvenu brothers have a lot of experience installing tankless water heaters in residential applications, but Drago's was among a much smaller number of commercial installations the company had completed to date. The ease of commercial installation and tankless technology's ability to handle the extreme hot-water needs of a large and busy restaurant has convinced Louis Bienvenu that he'll be doing a lot more heavy-duty tankless installations in the future.
In fact, it was a Rheem tankless installation in Tommy Cvitanovich's home that led him to replace the tank-type water heater in the restaurant. After Hurricane Katrina, Cvitanovich lost the roof of his house, which was "totally broken down to two-by-fours and brick walls," he says. When Cvitanovich rebuilt, Bienvenu Brothers installed four gas-fired 5.4 gpm tankless water heaters in the attic of the home. These indoor units are direct-vent models, which means they draw the air for their combustion processes directly from the outside through vent piping, rather than from within the home.
Two of the units supply a cabana and the home's master bath, which includes a luxury shower. The remaining pair supplies the rest of the five-bathroom, 6,250-square-foot home. "I love tankless," Cvitanovich says. "I've got a wife and four children. When people start bathing around our house, it wasn't uncommon to run out of hot water the previous tank-type unit. That's why we went to tankless."
Fortunately, Drago's luckily suffered very little damage from the hurricane, and remained open following Katrina. "After the storm, we served almost 80,000 meals free of charge," Cvitanovich says.
Dependable hot water: While space savings and energy efficiency are important to Cvitanovich for both his home and his restaurant, maintaining temperature and reliability were the driving factors for the tankless installation at Drago's. "We go through a lot of hot water here, and we've never run out since we got tankless," he says. "They told us that if they are hooked up together [manifolded] and one goes out, you still have hot water from the other two. That was part of the reason we went with Rheem tankless, but it hasn't happened yet."
All in all, Cvitanovich describes himself as "very satisfied with tankless. That's why I recommended it to some friends who also had to rebuild their homes after the storm."
About Rheem Manufacturing Company
Rheem Manufacturing Company (www.rheem.com) is a privately held company with headquarters in Atlanta. In its 81st year of operation, the company manufactures a full-line of high-quality residential and commercial heating and cooling systems, tank and tankless water heaters, swimming pool heaters and commercial boilers throughout North America and world markets. The premium brands of Rheem Manufacturing Company include Raypak, Ruud and Rheem. Rheem Manufacturing Company is the official heating, cooling and water heating supplier to Richard Childress Racing and Kevin Harvick Inc. as well as the major associate sponsor of the No. 29 Sprint Cup® car driven by Kevin Harvick, 2007 Daytona 500 Champion, 2007 Craftsman Truck Series Champion and 2006 Busch Series Champion. Rheem is also the primary sponsor of Kevin Harvick Inc.'s No. 33 and No. 77 cars in Nationwide® Series and sponsor of KHI's 2 and 33 entries in The Craftsman Truck Series.
Tommy Cvitanovich
Drago's Restaurant
3232 N. Amoult Road
Metairie, LA 70002
direct: 504-888-9254
cell: 504-888-9254
Bienvenu Brothers Plumbing
212 Elmeer Avenue
Metairie, LA 70005
cell: 504-782-7783
John Woolf
Barbot, Woolf, Canale, Inc.
1401 Distributors Row, Ste. C
Harahan, LA 70123
504-734-0229 x 13


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Dallas, TX (November 12, 2010) – Orion Communications, a provider of browser-based Public Safety software, announced today that the Riverside County, CA Sheriff's Department (RCSD) has selected Orion's AgencyWeb® Business Management Solution for coordinated management of the department's workforce. Orion's AgencyWeb® Administrator will be used to manage RCSD personnel, including scheduling, time and attendance, training, and applicant processing. Orion's AgencyWeb® CourtNotify will be used for the electronic management of the department's subpoenas. And Orion's AgencyWeb® Agent software will be used to interface their new system with the Riverside County's Criminal Court system.
With a staff of over 3,800 dedicated men and women, RCSD's primary challenge has been the duplication of data entry efforts at station, division and department levels. Many different systems and applications have been created at the station level to manage workforce efforts and none have been consistent. One solution called for the development of an internal system that would track all workforce efforts and the associated costs – a time consuming and expensive initiative to say the least. But after seeing AgencyWeb® Administrator's capabilities, RCSD decided it would be more prudent to purchase Administrator as COTS solution. With Administrator, RCSD will soon have a comprehensive workforce system, in a shorter time frame that will resolve administrative issues throughout the entire agency.
The new AgencyWeb® Administrator system will help RCSD eliminate data entry redundancies by allowing workforce data to flow securely through one centralized system. Agency users will have access to information based on their own roles and business unit requirements. And for the first time, the RCSD executive staff and mid-level managers will have a comprehensive administrative dashboard for coordinated oversight of daily workforce efforts.
For example, Administrator will use comprehensive employee information for real-time coordination of workforce schedules, employee activities and events. Time and attendance tools will be used to track planned schedules versus actual events, so that work time can be accurately reported to payroll. RCSD business rules will be applied to automate employee notifications about events that require actions, as well as tracking the "who, where and when" of these events. Agency assets will be managed electronically, including issuance tracking, returns, or discharges. And all applicant information will be managed by the system, with candidate progression stages tracked through to academy acceptance.
With the new AgencyWeb® CourtNotify system, RCSD will be able to electronically issue and track their Criminal Court subpoenas. Officers will receive court notifications in real-time using their CourtNotify web account and agency email. Any scheduling conflicts will be red-flagged. And court attendance times with case results will be captured for statistical reporting. This will improve the department's efficiencies, reduce court-related costs and increase RCSD witness attendance.
"RCSD is the perfect example of a large law enforcement agency reaching the conclusion that the business side of running their department has fallen way behind the very successful law enforcement side and is in need of balance", states Orion Vice President of Sales, Rusty Byers. "The AgencyWeb® Administrator suite will allow all levels of the organization to have both situational awareness of where their people are, but also complete oversight of the cost associated with running one of the nation's largest agencies".
Deployment of the Riverside County Sheriff Department's AgencyWeb® system begins in December, 2010 and is scheduled for completion by March of 2011.
About Orion Communications
Orion Communications is a women-owned business enterprise headquartered in Dallas, Texas and has been specializing in Public Safety and Judicial software products for municipal, county, and state government agencies since 1998. Orion's AgencyWeb® Public Safety Business Management Solution includes applications that help agencies operate better by bridging all aspects of workforce management and sharing data with external systems as a standard practice.
For more information, please contact Rusty Byers, Vice President of Sales, at 214-620-3905 or via email at firstname.lastname@example.com.


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Synchrophasor Market Volume Analysis, Segments, Value Share and Key Trends 2019-2025
Synchrophasor Market report delivers in-depth analysis on the main challenges and growth prospects in the Global Synchrophasor market. This Synchrophasor Market study is prepared to help the new and existing key players in the Synchrophasor Market that will help in making current business decisions as well as to sustain in the severe competition of the Synchrophasor Market. The report also focuses on the main product, geographical segments, applications, and the competitive analysis of the Synchrophasor Market that are stated in the study. Comprehensive primary research followed by the qualitative analysis provides the required details about the market, important suggestions, and statistical analysis.
Browse sample report: Tables, Figures, Charts and Companies Mentioned in Synchrophasor Market @
Synchrophasor Market especially assists by providing a brief insight into innovations, opportunities and new improvements in the Synchrophasor Market and its interconnected market. There is a regional and a global study of fundamental trends and dynamics of Synchrophasor market for the given forecast period. Among the many aspects covered, this report will give well describes an understanding of business strategies, latest developments, market study, competitive players.
Top Manufacturers of Synchrophasor Market:
Macrodyne, Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories, Arbiter Systems, SiemensEnergy, NRElectric, ABB, State Grid Corporation of China, Beijing Sifang Automation, GE Grid Solutions and Vizimax
On the basis of Products, the Global Synchrophasor market is broadly segmented into Type B, Type A and By Type. This segment will continue to dominate the market by 2025.
Report focuses on consumption, market share and growth rate of Synchrophasor in each Applications and can be divided as Transforming Station and Power Station.
Synchrophasor Market by Regions:
• Asia-Pacific (China, Japan, Korea, India and Southeast Asia)
• North America (United States, Canada and Mexico)
• Europe (Germany, France, UK, Russia and Italy)
• South America (Brazil, Argentina, Colombia etc.)
• The Middle East & Africa (Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt, Nigeria and South Africa)
For More Inquiry, Ask Experts @ https://marketresearchmentor.com/reports/global-synchrophasor-market/#inquiry
Major Topics Covered in Synchrophasor Market Research Report:
-> Synchrophasor Market Forecast Period 2019–2025
-> Industrial Chain, Sourcing Strategy by Market Technology
-> Analysis of Synchrophasor Market by Application & Type
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-> Country wise Volume, Value and Price Analysis
-> Marketing Strategy Analysis ( Distributors/Traders )
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Finally, Synchrophasor Market report afford detailed analysis for changing competitive dynamics of Synchrophasor. It provides a forward-looking perspective on distinct factors driving Synchrophasor Market growth. The Synchrophasor industry provides a forecast assessed based on predicted grow, It helps in understanding the key product segments and their future.
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canaan wrote:I think people tend to make sweeping generalizations about the movies they enjoy. Young Frankenstein may not be one of my favorite movies, but its one of my favorite comedy films, if that makes sense.
tifosi77 wrote:I don't understand why ranking comedies high on your list influences how anyone would perceive my opinion. If I was saying things like Weekend At Bernies and Porky's were among my favorite films, then that's one thing. But the structure, story telling, editing, music, acting, etc in those films I listed are on par - if not better than - something like, say, L.A. Confidential. (Which I think is a fabulous movie, btw) They're just of a particular genre.
tifosi77 wrote:When the second movie came out, I went to a film music seminar that screened the movie then had a Q&A afterward with the music supervisor and Susanna Hoffs (she wrote all the 'psychedelic scene break' interstitial music; her husband directed the movies); she was incredibly beautiful in person, was actually quite taken aback by it.
tifosi77 wrote:I like skimming through the adult channels on the DirecTV program guide at work and reading the movie descriptions out loud.
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Twentieth-century American history has never been my thing, but I'll admit that the flurry of assassination anniversary coverage over the past couple of weeks has piqued my interest.
I've never put much stock in conspiracy theories, and what I've read of the events in Dallas has only reinforced my conviction that Kennedy's death was the work of one man. Most Americans disagree, although belief in a conspiracy seems to be declining. I was curious to see what my students' opinions were, so on Wednesday I conducted an informal poll in one of my classes. Out of about twenty people, only three believed Oswald carried out the assassination himself. The rest thought there was some sort of conspiracy, except for two or three students who abstained because they weren't sure one way or the other.
Of course, this week marks the sesquicentennial of the Gettysburg Address, too. Bill Mauldin tied Lincolnian imagery to JFK's death in a famous 1963 cartoon, but I'm not aware of any major attempts to connect this year's dual anniversaries. That's a little surprising to me, given that both presidents met the same fate.
Anyway, here are a few links I found interesting.
- Three hours' worth of original CBS coverage from 11/22/63
- Access plenty of primary source material via the Mary Ferrell Foundation
- The house where Oswald's family stayed is now a museum operated by the city of Irving, TX
- Fascinating interviews with Oswald's brother, older daughter, and younger daughter
- An interactive timeline of JFK's Dallas trip
- A list of things Oliver Stone's movie got wrong
- Explore the collections at the Sixth Floor Museum, the National Archives, and the JFK Presidential Library and Museum
- Take a virtual trip to Dealey Plaza, or view the scene from the webcam in the sixth floor of the former Texas Schoolbook Depository
- Finally, Oswald's wedding ring fetched $108,000 at auction last month. Accompanying the ring was a note from his widow, reading in part, "At this time of my life I don't wish to have Lee's ring in my possession because symbolicly [sic] I want to let go of my past that is connecting with November 22, 1963." Since she's spent five decades with the memory of that day—on which she found herself in a strange country, a frightened young mother of two children, and married to an abusive man who had just been accused of the crime of the century—I think she deserves some peace and quiet.


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Since 1968 the staff of the Western Upper Peninsula Planning & Development Region office (WUPPDR) has been providing general planning support to the western six counties of Michigan's Upper Peninsula through its many programs, projects and services.
While our programs are quite diverse, all support our mission: to foster stable and diversified economies in the Western Upper Peninsula. WUPPDR also serves as the regional clearinghouse for federally and state-funded programs. Through this role, WUPPDR enhances intergovernmental coordination and encourages opportunities for public comment on projects of regional significance.
This website is intended to familiarize you with our organization and the ways in which we serve our member units of government. We have posted many of our planning documents and a variety of program information.
Please explore our website and if you can't find the information you need, please contact us at 906.482.7205. Additional contact information is available here. You can also follow us on Facebook.
Click here for the 2020 WUPPDR Commission meeting schedule. This does not account for meetings held remotely during the COVID-19 Pandemic, which will be noticed separately on this page (click here).


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Most of us idealize cars that are far, far from comfortable out of a desire for speed and a certain rawness. We'd rather spend money on a turbo kit than to fix the A/C. Still, most of us ultimately accept comfort when we'veve got to drive hundreds of boring, interstate miles. What's the most comfortable car on the market?
I'm going to throw in a random one here. I just got the Hyundai Azera for a weekend and it's surprisingly nice in the backseat for a near-premium car. The heated/cooled seats work well, there are shades everywhere, and the cabin is a roomy place to hang out. It's not as opulent as most luxury cars, but for the price it's a relaxed place to hang out.
I'm sure you can do better.
(QOTD is your chance to answer the day's most pressing automotive questions and experience the opinions of the insightful insiders, practicing pundits and gleeful gearheads that make up the Jalopnik commentariat. If you've got a suggestion for a good "Question Of the Day" send an email to tips at jalopnik dot com.)


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Last week, the FCC released the final rules for the upcoming 700MHz auction. They proved to be almost identical to the rules released in August, although the auction has now been pushed back a week until January 24, 2008. Boring, right? But the lack of major changes is actually an indication that neither Verizon, nor Frontline Wireless, nor some small business owners were going to see the changes they wanted, changes that would lower build-out requirements and gut the "open access" provisions that govern part of the spectrum. Yesterday, the small business owners had a chance to lobby Congress on the issue.
The House Committee on Small Business hosted a hearing on how the auction rules would affect small business, and Christopher Guttman-McCabe from CTIA (the wireless trade group) was on hand to complain. The 700MHz rules are designed to make small businesses competitive bidders over a chunk of the available 60MHz of spectrum, but Guttman-McCabe charged that the rules would actually hinder such businesses from participating.
22MHz of spectrum is grouped together as a set of large licenses with "open access" rules on them, generally designed for a large company to pick up a national swath of spectrum. A further block of spectrum is set aside for a Public Safety Partnership that will require the winner to build a national network to public safety specs. Neither is conducive to small business. But the FCC broke the rest of licenses into smaller groups that are more attractive to regional wireless firms. The agency also offers bidding credits to small businesses to help them compete against the companies with deeper pockets.
But the rules also come with tough build-out requirements. FCC Chairman Kevin Martin, who also spoke at the hearing, told the committee that they were "the strictest build-out rules ever implemented for wireless services." In the CTIA's view, that's exactly the problem.
The rules call for license winners to cover 35 percent of their geographic area within four years, and 70 percent within ten years. Guttman-McCabe points out, though, that many small wireless companies operate in rural areas, which may be sparsely populated. "More than 87 percent of the population lives on just eight percent of the geography," he said. "We think it makes little sense to emphasize the coverage of geographic areas where no one resides."
CTIA also dislikes the open access rules, which would enforce a "no locking and no blocking" directive on wireless carriers. Any safe device could be used across an open network, and it could run any safe application. That explains why Skype's head of regulatory affairs was on hand to tell the committee just how important such a rule was to Skype's growth, and how important it will be for the future of wireless. "Eleven years ago, eBay was a small business," he said. "Four years ago, Skype was a small business. eBay and Skype grew and are successful because the Internet was open."
CTIA argues, on the other hand, that the ability to control devices is crucial for "security, quality, and viability of [a] wireless network."
Thus far, the FCC has stuck to its decision, and Martin has become an unlikely advocate for open access rules. With the rules now set, it looks like open access will proceed unless Congress tries to intervene, though it could affect small businesses in other ways: big telcos might find the open access provision unattractive and try instead to gobble up national spectrum by piecing together a string of small licenses. Such a move could lower the overall bid price for the open access block and also limit the spectrum available to small firms.


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lose (one's) head
Also found in: Dictionary, Thesaurus, Medical, Encyclopedia.
lose (one's) head
To lose one's composure and act emotionally or irrationally. You need to calm down before you talk to Larry. You don't want to lose your head before finding out his side of the story. I'm sorry, I lost my head out there. There's no excuse for what I said.
lose one's head (over someone or something)
Fig. to become confused or overly emotional about someone or something. Don't lose your head over John. He isn't worth it. I'm sorry. I got upset and lost my head.
lose one's head
see under keep one's head, def. 1.
lose your head
COMMON If you lose your head, you panic and do not remain calm in a difficult situation. He warned the party not to lose its head, saying that it was not a `time for panic'. When he was questioned by the police, he completely lost his head, told a number of lies and forgot to mention one or two things that might have helped him. Compare with keep your head.


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The Menorah. 1The LORD said to Moses: 2Speak to Aaron and say: "When you set up the menorah-lamps,a have the seven lamps throw their light in front of the menorah."* 3Aaron did so, setting up the menorah-lamps to face the area in front of the menorah, just as the LORD had commanded Moses. 4This is the construction of the menorah: hammered gold,b from its base to its bowls* it was hammered; according to the pattern which the LORD had shown Moses, so he made the menorah.
Purification of the Levites. 5The LORD said to Moses: 6Take the Levites from among the Israelites and cleanse them.* 7This is what you shall do to them to cleanse them. Sprinkle them with the water of purification, have them shave their whole bodies and wash their garments, and so cleanse themselves. 8Then they shall take a bull from the herd, along with its grain offering of bran flour mixed with oil; and you shall take another bull from the herd for a purification offering. 9Bringing the Levites before the tent of meeting, you shall assemble also the whole community of the Israelites. 10When you have brought the Levites before the LORD, the Israelites shall lay their hands upon them. 11Aaron shall then present the Levites before the LORD as an elevated offering from the Israelites, that they may perform the service of the LORD. 12The Levites in turn shall lay their hands on the heads of the bulls, offering one as a purification offering and the other as a burnt offering to the LORD, to make atonement for the Levites. 13Then you shall have the Levites stand before Aaron and his sons, and you shall present them as an elevated offering to the LORD; 14thus you shall separate the Levites from the rest of the Israelites, and the Levites shall belong to me.c
15Only then shall the Levites enter upon their service in the tent of meeting, when you have cleansed them and presented them as an elevated offering. 16For they, among the Israelites, are totally dedicated to me; I have taken them for myself in place of everyone that opens the womb, the firstborn of all the Israelites.d 17Indeed, all the firstborn among the Israelites, human being and beast alike, belong to me; I consecrated them to myself on the day I killed all the firstborn in the land of Egypt.e 18But I have taken the Levites in place of all the firstborn Israelites; 19and from among the Israelites I have given to Aaron and his sons these Levites, who are to be dedicated,f to perform the service of the Israelites in the tent of meeting and to make atonement for them, so that no plague may strike among the Israelites should they come too near the sanctuary.
20This, then, is what Moses and Aaron and the whole community of the Israelites did with respect to the Levites; the Israelites did exactly as the LORD had commanded Moses concerning them. 21When the Levites had purified themselves* and washed their garments, Aaron presented them as an elevated offering before the LORD, and made atonement for them to cleanse them. 22Only then did they enter upon their service in the tent of meeting under the supervision of Aaron and his sons. Exactly as the LORD had commanded Moses concerning the Levites, so it was done with regard to them.
Age Limits for Levitical Service. 23The LORD said to Moses: 24This is the rule for the Levites. Everyone twenty-five years old or more shall join the personnel in the service of the tent of meeting.g 25But everyone fifty on up shall retire from the work force and serve no more. 26They shall assist their fellow Levites in the tent of meeting in performing their duties, but they shall not do the work. This, then, is how you are to regulate the duties of the Levites.
* [8:2] Menorah: a seven-branched lampstand; see Ex 25:31–40; 37:17–24.
* [8:4] Bowls: lit., "blossom," a designation for the blossom-shaped cups holding the lamps of the menorah.
* [8:6] Cleanse them: in the language of the Pentateuch only the priests were "consecrated," that is, made sacred or set aside for the Lord, in an elaborate ceremony described in Ex 29 and in this chapter. The Levites were "cleansed," that is, made ritually clean for their special work.
* [8:21] Purified themselves: by having the "water of purification" sprinkled on them as prescribed in v. 7.
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All three Democratic candidates in the governor's race agree Maryland's economic policies need work, but they disagree sharply about how much.
Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown praised the developments of the past seven years during a candidate forum Thursday evening at Towson University. His opponents took turns after him and did not hear one another's remarks.
Brown has served with Gov. Martin O'Malley since O'Malley took office in 2007. He noted Thursday that since the recession, Maryland's job growth has exceeded that in every other mid-Atlantic state. He defended recent decisions to borrow money for basic government needs.
Del. Heather Mizeur, who has represented Montgomery County since 2007, said these debts wouldn't be necessary if not for certain tax breaks and loopholes.
Attorney General Doug Gansler, the last candidate to speak, argued for a comprehensive review of Maryland's tax policy and renewed efforts to recruit more businesses.
The primary will be on June 24.
The Greater Baltimore Economic Forum arranged a panel of business and nonprofit leaders to question the candidates Thursday. They focused on plans to stimulate economic growth and make Maryland more attractive to businesses.
The candidates' positions formed a clear spectrum: Mizeur on the left, with the strongest focus on social programs and a hard opposition to cutting corporate taxes; Brown in the middle, advocating a balance between reasonable tax rates and adequate government funding; and Gansler, stressing business recruitment more than the others.
But all three agree strong infrastructure, including transportation projects and high-quality schools, is a key to economic growth.
Brown boasted of achievements from O'Malley's time in office: Maryland's triple-A bond rating as it has emerged from the recession, reductions in tuition for public universities, lower crime rates. He said he wants to focus next on making education opportunities more widely available, partially by expanding the pre-kindergarten program.
Mizeur took the stage after Brown. She criticized the General Assembly's recent decision to raise an exemption on the estate tax, which she said will cost the state $432 million over the next five years and will mainly benefit the richest 3 percent of Maryland's population.
"When you're pushing through legislation like that, you have to come up with beg-borrow-and-steal to make the income gaps meet,'' she said.
She said Maryland already has the region's second-lowest corporate tax rate.
During a break for audience questions, a young man stood up and asked whether it was correct that Mizeur supports legalizing marijuana.
"That's right,'' she said.
"Nice,'' the man said, raising his thumbs before he sat back down. The audience burst into laughter.
The mood turned serious again during Gansler's opening remarks. He ticked off statistics about how Maryland lags in industries such as manufacturing.
"We're getting our clocks cleaned by our neighboring states,'' he said.
He said Maryland hasn't had a comprehensive review of its economic situation and tax policy in decades, and he considers this a necessary step toward recruitment. He also advocates more vocational training options for high school students and possibly a high-speed rail between Baltimore and Washington, D.C., which he says could help bring more families to Baltimore.
The candidates will appear together in televised debates starting next month.
Gubernatorial Candidates Clash on Economic Policy
All three Democratic candidates in the governor's race agree Maryland's economic policies need work, but they disagree sharply about how much.


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It's always felt like something's missing from your local public bathroom's hand dryer tutorial. Something simple, yet crucial. Something like, say, this missing third step that Doghouse Diaries has so smartly proposed.
Or maybe it's more warning than instruction; your hands may get dry, but your shirt and/or pants will most definitely end up wet. [Doghouse Diaries]


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Publication Archive
This archive contains all documents published by cep over the last few years:
cepAdhoc: Incisive comment on current EU policy issues.
cepPolicyBrief: Concise 4-page reviews of EU proposals (Regulations, Directives, Green Papers, White Papers, Communications) – including a brief summary and economic and legal assessments.
cepInput: Impulse to current discussions of EU policies.
cepStudy: Comprehensive examination of EU policy proposals affecting the economy.
In order to keep global warming below 2°C, in comparison with 1990, the EU wishes to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 20% by 2020 and by 80 to 95% by 2050. A major part of greenhouse gas emissions which can be influenced is created by the energy sector. The Energy Roadmap 2050 presents scenarios illustrating how modernisation can help contribute to the energy system of long-term EU climate protection targets.
Where the demand for landing and takeoff slots exceeds airport capacity, slots are allocated in line with standard procedures. Now the Commission wishes to change these slot allocation rules in order to improve the efficient use of airport capacities.
The Regulation of mobile termination rates has become the arena of a power struggle between the EU-Commission and some Member States. The Commission insists that national regulators should apply the "pure-LRIC"-costing model.
On the one hand, the Commission wishes conduct enhanced surveillance of euro countries, which might need to request financial assistance in future. On the other hand, the Commission wishes to see the tasks assigned by the bail-out package enshrined in secondary EU legislation.
The Commission wishes to to enhance the efficiency and overall quality of groundhandling services at EU airports. To this end, the market to groundhandling services is to be further opened up, in particular at large airports where at least one additional supplier is to be admitted.
The wishes to limit the term of the contracts entered into by credit rating agencies and issuers as well as the participation volume in credit rating agencies in order to strengthen the independence of credit rating agencies. In future, structured finance instruments will be subjected to ratings by at least two credit rating agencies. Moreover, the Commission wishes to prescribe civil liability for credit rating agencies.
With its Regulation, the Commission wishes to exempt aid of up to 500,000 Euros for the provision of services of general economic interest (SGEI) from the obligation to obtain approval for the period of three fiscal years. According to the Commission de minimis aid is unproblematic for they are regarded as measures which do not distort competition and also do not have a negative effect on trade between Member States.
According to the Commission, the EU needs to invest in energy infrastructure in order to achieve its energy and climate policy targets by 2020. To this end, the guidelines, which are proposed in the form of a Regulation, streamline and better coordinate national permit granting procedures for projects of common interest (PCIs).
The Commission presents three options for the implementation of Eurobonds and puts up for discussion the related pros and cons. With regard to the pros it mentions in particular the alleviation of the current debt crisis, the stabilisation of the banking system and the increased liquidity of the government bonds market. With regard to the cons it mentions the reduced incentives for budgetary discipline. For instance, Member States can run up debts at the expense of the budgetary discipline of other Member States, without this having an affect on their financing costs.


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Zochi reviews the Four Foundations of Mindfulness and offers a clear and simple path for using this teaching to enrich one's meditation practice.
The Sattipatthana Sutra: A dharma talk by Gary Zochi Faysash
"Menju"or "Face to Face Transmission" aside from being the title of a chapter in Dogen Zenji's Shobogenzo, is also the name for one of the most basic Zen traditions. This "face to face" started with Shakyamuni Buddha holding up a flower on Vulture Peak and Mahakashyapa simply smiling. It is akin to the gaze between mother and child; a mirroring; a nourishment for mutual development.
Today we have the technological "IndraNet." It offers seemingly endless resources for the sharing of written and graphic teachings. This blog is one such nodule in the vast net.
However, the blog is in no way intended to replace Menju, our being together as a group or individually with a teacher. This blog is a service only. Its intention is to use the form, like the banks of a river, to direct or awaken the flow of ancient and contemporary wisdom for ourselves and the world we are part of.
Traveling in this blog, newcomers to our group may get a scent of the climate we practice in; a taste of what appeals to those who practice with us; and might take a step to sit with us and discover what it means to be with lovers of true silence. The silence that echoes from every teaching that connects and says "I have been here all along. There never was a need to search. Rest in this shared wisdom and find the place that seems most natural." Doshin Sensei


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Low-Cost, High-Quality Health Care: Not Made in the USA?
Jun 13, 2013, 3:22 PM, Posted by Susan Dentzer
Imagine that you're a heart patient. You go to the hospital for open heart surgery and recover successfully. As you leave for home, you're handed a bill for the surgery and hospital stay—for $800.
In the high-priced world of U.S. health care, where charges for such procedures typically run into the six figures, that price is practically unthinkable. That's why the idea of $800 heart surgery comes all the way from India—and why the largest nonprofit health and hospital system in the U.S., Ascension Health, wants to figure out how it might be replicated within its walls.
Americans are accustomed to thinking that the best ideas are hatched here and then exported abroad. But in health care, it's clear that we have plenty to learn from other countries, especially from efforts to provide care in low-resource settings, such as in much of Africa, Asia and Latin America.
There's no better assemblage of how to provide cost-effective care in such places than among the member organizations of the International Partnership for Innovative Healthcare Delivery (IPIHD), a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation grantee. Founded by the World Economic Forum, Duke Medicine, and the consulting firm McKinsey & Co., the not-for-profit partnership was created to identify global innovators in cost-effective health care delivery and determine how to scale up their innovations and make them sustainable. As such, RWJF's grant to IPIHD is emblematic of the work customarily done through the Foundation's Pioneer portfolio to support innovations leading to transformative change in health and health care.
Hosted by Duke University in Durham, N.C., the partnership counts nearly 30 organizations worldwide in its innovator network (see map below). They include Penda Health, a for-profit chain of low-cost clinics in East Africa; Medicall Home, another for-profit company that offers over-the-phone medical advice and triage to more than 4 million people in Mexico for $5 per month; and APROFE, a nonprofit network of health centers and mobile clinics offering community and reproductive health services in Ecuador.
Then there's Narayana Hrudayalaya (NH), a 5,500-bed network of hospitals, clinics and health centers in 11 Indian cities and based in Bangalore. The Hindi name is variously translated as "God's compassionate home" or "place of God's heart;" the organization's vision statement is "affordable quality healthcare for the masses worldwide." That vision has led directly to the $800 bill for heart surgery—a goal that NH's leadership says it's getting close to meeting.
NH's founder, cardiac surgeon Devi Shetty, MD, (photo below), was for a time the personal physician to the late Mother Theresa, and has said that his vision of affordable health care for the masses was inspired partly by her. But his spiritual and philosophical commitment has been reinforced by a strict focus on cutting costs.
Honored by the Economist magazine in 2011 for "reducing health-care costs using mass production techniques," Shetty has drawn on process innovation and cost-effective staffing to boost efficiency and volume. Cardiac surgeons at his hospitals, for example, perform multiple surgeries up to six days per week, working longer hours and performing more operations than comparable US surgeons. Highly trained aides, some with less than a high school education, do much of the prep work. Yet as of 2008, mortality rates within 30 days of surgery for cardiac bypasses at NH were below the average of U.S. hospitals.
Now, NH is building a 140-bed tertiary care hospital on Grand Cayman Island—part of a planned $2 billion, 2,000-bed project that is ultimately to include a medical school, biotechnology park and assisted living community. NH's partner in building the hospital, which is expected to open in early 2014, is Ascension Health Alliance, the parent holding company of the Ascension Health system. As a partner in developing the facility, Ascension will provide facilities planning, supply chain management and biomedical engineering services.
But according to John D. Doyle, Ascension Alliance's executive vice president, another major reason for the U.S. system's involvement is to learn from NH and discover how to bring lower cost care back to the U.S.
Stateside, the $800 heart surgery may seem like a pipe dream. But if the equivalent comes to the Cayman Islands, who knows what could happen if, for many Americans, it is only a short plane ride away? The U.S. consultancy Patients Beyond Borders estimates that some 750,000 Americans will travel overseas for medical treatments this year in search of lower-cost care, a practice sometimes called "medical tourism." How much better would it be if such low-cost, high quality care could be obtained here at home?


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Here, we briefly introduce our branding activities.
Fujitsu's corporate vision and values.
Basic information about Fujitsu.
Fujitsu is working with people and organizations around the world to shape the future of society. Click a link (red as well as gray boxes) above for stories about their experience.
Discover the events and innovations that have culminated to make Fujitsu a leading light in the ICT space today.
Information about our corporate headquarters and worldwide locations.
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text: This is the accessible text file for GAO report number GAO-08-1148T entitled 'Secure Border Initiative: DHS Needs to Address Significant Risks in Delivering Key Technology Investment' which was released on September 10, 2008. This text file was formatted by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) to be accessible to users with visual impairments, as part of a longer term project to improve GAO products' accessibility. Every attempt has been made to maintain the structural and data integrity of the original printed product. Accessibility features, such as text descriptions of tables, consecutively numbered footnotes placed at the end of the file, and the text of agency comment letters, are provided but may not exactly duplicate the presentation or format of the printed version. The portable document format (PDF) file is an exact electronic replica of the printed version. We welcome your feedback. Please E-mail your comments regarding the contents or accessibility features of this document to email@example.com. This is a work of the U.S. government and is not subject to copyright protection in the United States. It may be reproduced and distributed in its entirety without further permission from GAO. Because this work may contain copyrighted images or other material, permission from the copyright holder may be necessary if you wish to reproduce this material separately. Testimony: Before the Committee on Homeland Security, House of Representatives: United States Government Accountability Office: GAO: For Release on Delivery: Expected at 10:00 a.m. EDT: Wednesday, September 10, 2008: Secure Border Initiative: DHS Needs to Address Significant Risks in Delivering Key Technology Investment: Statement of Randolph C. Hite, Director: Information Technology Architecture and System Issues: GAO-08-1148T: GAO Highlights: Highlights of GAO-08-1148T, a testimony before the Committee on Homeland Security, House of Representatives. Why GAO Did This Study: The Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) Secure Border Initiative (SBI) is a multiyear, multibillion-dollar program to secure the nation's borders through, among other things, new technology, increased staffing, and new fencing and barriers. The technology component of SBI, which is known as SBInet, involves the acquisition, development, integration, and deployment of surveillance systems and command, control, communications, and intelligence technologies. GAO was asked to testify on its draft report, which assesses DHS's efforts to (1) define the scope, timing, and life cycle management approach for planned SBInet capabilities and (2) manage SBInet requirements and testing activities. In preparing the draft report, GAO reviewed key program documentation, including guidance, plans, and requirements and testing documentation; interviewed program officials; analyzed a random probability sample of system requirements; and observed operations of the initial SBInet project. What GAO Found: Important aspects of SBInet remain ambiguous and in a continued state of flux, making it unclear and uncertain what technology capabilities will be delivered and when, where, and how they will be delivered. For example, the scope and timing of planned SBInet deployments and capabilities have continued to be delayed without becoming more specific. Further, the program office does not have an approved integrated master schedule to guide the execution of the program, and the nature and timing of planned activities has continued to change. This schedule-related risk is exacerbated by the continuous change in, and the absence of a clear definition of, the approach that is being used to define, develop, acquire, test, and deploy SBInet. SBInet requirements have not been effectively defined and managed. While the program office recently issued guidance that is consistent with recognized leading practices, this guidance was not finalized until February 2008, and thus was not used in performing a number of important requirements-related activities. In the absence of this guidance, the program's efforts have been mixed. For example, while the program has taken steps to include users in developing high-level requirements, several requirements definition and management limitations exist. These include a lack of proper alignment (i.e., traceability) among the different levels of requirements, as evidenced by GAO's analysis of a random probability sample of requirements, which revealed large percentages that were not traceable backward to higher level requirements, or forward to more detailed system design specifications and verification methods. SBInet testing has also not been effectively managed. While a test management strategy was drafted in May 2008, it has not been finalized and approved, and it does not contain, among other things, a high-level master schedule of SBInet test activities, metrics for measuring testing progress, and a clear definition of testing roles and responsibilities. Further, the program office has not tested the individual system components to be deployed to the initial deployment locations, even though the contractor initiated testing of these components with other system components and subsystems in June 2008. In light of these circumstances, our soon to be issued report contains eight recommendations to the department aimed at reassessing its approach to and plans for the program, including its associated exposure to cost, schedule and performance risks, and disclosing these risks and alternative courses of action to DHS and congressional decision makers. The recommendations also provide for correcting the weaknesses surrounding the program's unclear and constantly changing commitments and its life cycle management approach and processes, as well as implementing key requirements development and management and testing practices. To view the full product, including the scope and methodology, click on [hyperlink, http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-08-1148T]. For more information, contact Randolph C. Hite at (202) 512-3439 or email@example.com. [End of section] Mr. Chairman and Members of the Committee: I appreciate the opportunity to participate in today's hearing on the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) Secure Border Initiative (SBI). SBI is a multiyear, multibillion-dollar program to secure the nation's borders through enhanced use of surveillance technologies, increased staffing levels, improved infrastructure, and increased domestic enforcement of immigration laws. One component of SBI, known as SBInet, is focused on the acquisition and deployment of surveillance and command, control, communications, and intelligence technologies. This technology component is managed by the SBInet System Program Office within U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). My statement summarizes our draft report on the department's efforts to define the scope, timing, and life cycle management approach for planned SBInet capabilities, as well as its efforts to manage SBInet requirements and testing activities. This report is based on a review of key program-related guidance, plans, and requirements and testing documentation, as well as our analysis of a random probability sample of system requirements, and our observations of operations of the initial SBInet project. In comments on a draft of this report, DHS stated that the report was factually sound, and it agreed with seven of eight recommendations and partially disagreed with the remaining recommendation. The department also stated that it is working to address our recommendations and resolve the management and operational challenges that the report identifies as expeditiously as possible. We plan to issue our final report on September 22, 2008. Both the report and this statement are based on work that we performed in accordance with generally accepted government auditing standards. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain sufficient, appropriate evidence to provide a reasonable basis for our findings and conclusions based on our audit objectives. We believe that the evidence obtained provides a reasonable basis for our findings and conclusions based on our audit objectives. Summary: Important aspects of SBInet remain ambiguous and in a continued state of flux, making it unclear and uncertain what technology capabilities will be delivered and when, where, and how they will be delivered. For example, the scope and timing of planned SBInet deployments and capabilities have continued to change since the program began and remain unclear. Further, the program office does not have an approved integrated master schedule to guide the execution of the program and the nature and timing of planned activities have continued to change. This schedule-related risk is exacerbated by the continuous change in, and the absence of a clear definition of, the life cycle management approach that is being used to define, develop, acquire, test, and deploy SBInet. Further, SBInet requirements have not been effectively defined and managed. While the program office recently issued guidance that does a good job of defining key practices for effectively developing and managing requirements, the guidance was developed after several important activities had been completed. In the absence of this guidance, the program has not effectively performed key requirements definition and management practices, such as ensuring that different levels of requirements are properly aligned. Finally, SBInet testing has not been effectively managed. While a test management strategy was drafted in May 2008, it has not been finalized and approved, and it does not contain, among other things, a high-level master schedule of SBInet test activities and a clear definition of testing roles and responsibilities. Further, the program office has not tested the individual system components to be deployed to the initial deployment locations, even though the contractor initiated testing of these components with other system components and subsystems in June 2008. Collectively, the above limitations in the scope and timing of SBInet's to-be-deployed capabilities, and the ambiguity surrounding the schedule and approach for accomplishing these deployments, as well as the weaknesses in requirements development and management and in test management, introduce considerable risks to the program. As such, it is imperative that the department immediately re-evaluate its plans and approach in relation to the status of the system and related development, acquisition, and testing activities. Our soon to be issued report contains recommendations to accomplish these things. Until DHS implements them, the chances that the system will require expensive and time-consuming rework, and that it will not meet user needs and perform as intended, will increase. Today we are also providing a statement for this committee that provides observations on SBInet tactical infrastructure (e.g., fencing) and the status of human capital and staffing efforts[Footnote 1].: Background: CBP's SBI program is to leverage technology, tactical infrastructure,[Footnote 2] and people to allow CBP agents to gain control of the nation's borders. Within SBI, SBInet is the program for acquiring, developing, integrating, and deploying an appropriate mix of surveillance technologies and command, control, communications, and intelligence (C3I) technologies. The surveillance technologies are to include a variety of sensor systems aimed at improving CBP's ability to detect, identify, classify, and track items of interest along the borders. Unattended ground sensors are to be used to detect heat and vibrations associated with foot traffic and metal associated with vehicles. Radars mounted on fixed and mobile towers are to detect movement, and cameras on fixed and mobile towers are to be used to identify, classify, and track items of interest detected by the ground sensors and the radars. Aerial assets are also to be used to provide video and infrared imaging to enhance tracking of targets. The C3I technologies are to include software and hardware to produce a Common Operating Picture (COP)--a uniform presentation of activities within specific areas along the border. The sensors, radars, and cameras are to gather information along the border, and the system is to transmit this information to the COP terminals located in command centers and agent vehicles, assembling this information to provide CBP agents with border situational awareness. SBInet Life Cycle Management Approach: A system life cycle management approach typically consists of a series of phases, milestone reviews, and related processes to guide the acquisition, development, deployment, and operation and maintenance of a system. The phases, reviews, and processes cover such important life cycle activities as requirements development and management, design, software development, and testing. In general, SBInet surveillance systems are to be acquired through the purchase of commercially available products, while the COP systems involve development of new, customized systems and software. Together, both categories are to form a deployable increment of SBInet capabilities, which the program office refers to as a "block." Each block is to include a release or version of the COP. The border area that receives a given block is referred to as a "project." Among the key processes provided for in the SBInet system life cycle management approach are processes for developing and managing requirements and for managing testing activities. SBInet requirements are to consist of a hierarchy of six types of requirements, with the high-level operational requirements at the top. These high-level requirements are to be decomposed into lower-level, more detailed system, component, design, software, and project requirements. SBInet testing consists of a sequence of tests that are intended first to verify that individual system parts meet specified requirements, and then verify that these combined parts perform as intended as an integrated and operational system. Having a decomposed hierarchy of requirements and an incremental approach to testing are both characteristics of complex information technology (IT) projects. Limited Definition of SBInet Deployments, Capabilities, Schedule, and Life Cycle Management Process Increases Program's Exposure to Risk: Important aspects of SBInet--the scope, schedule, and development and deployment approach--remain ambiguous and in a continued state of flux, making it unclear and uncertain what technology capabilities will be delivered and when, where, and how they will be delivered. For example, the scope and timing of planned SBInet deployments and capabilities have continued to change since the program began, and remain unclear. Further, the approach that is being used to define, develop, acquire, test, and deploy SBInet is similarly unclear and has continued to change. The absence of clarity and stability in these key aspects of SBInet introduces considerable program risks, hampers DHS's ability to measure program progress, and impairs the ability of Congress to oversee the program and hold DHS accountable for program results. Scope and Timing of Planned Deployments and Capabilities Are Not Clear and Stable: The scope and timing of planned SBInet deployments and capabilities have not been clearly established, but rather have continued to change since the program began. Specifically, as of December 2006, the SBInet System Program Office planned to deploy an "initial" set of capabilities along the entire southwest border by late 2008 and a "full" set of operational capabilities along the southern and northern borders (a total of about 6,000 miles) by late 2009. Since then, however, the program office has modified its plans multiple times. As of March 2008, it planned to deploy SBInet capabilities to just three out of nine sectors along the southwest border--Tucson Sector by 2009, Yuma Sector by 2010, and El Paso Sector by 2011. According to program officials, no deployment dates had been established for the remainder of the southwest or northern borders. At the same time, the SBInet System Program Office committed to deploying Block 1 technologies to two locations within the Tucson Sector by the end of 2008, known as Tucson 1 and Ajo 1. However, as of late July 2008, program officials reported that the deployment schedule for these two sites has been modified, and they will not be operational until "sometime" in 2009. The slippages in the dates for the first two Tucson deployments, according to a program official, will, in turn, delay subsequent Tucson deployments, although revised dates for these subsequent deployments have not been set. In addition, the current Block 1 design does not provide key capabilities that are in requirements documents and were anticipated to be part of the Block 1 deployments to Tucson 1 and Ajo 1. For example, the first deployments of Block 1 will not be capable of providing COP information to the agent vehicles. Without clearly establishing program commitments, such as capabilities to be deployed and when and where they are to be deployed, program progress cannot be measured and responsible parties cannot be held accountable. Program Schedule Is Unsettled: Another key aspect of successfully managing large programs like SBInet is having a schedule that defines the sequence and timing of key activities and events and is realistic, achievable, and minimizes program risks. However, the timing and sequencing of the work, activities, and events that need to occur to meet existing program commitments are also unclear. Specifically, the program office does not yet have an approved integrated master schedule to guide the execution of SBInet. Moreover, our assimilation of available information from multiple program sources indicates that the schedule has continued to change. Program officials attributed these schedule changes to the lack of a satisfactory system-level design, turnover in the contractor's workforce, including three different program managers and three different lead system engineers, and attrition in the SBInet Program Office, including turnover in the SBInet Program Manager position. Without stability and certainty in the program's schedule, program cost and schedule risks increase, and meaningful measurement and oversight of program status and progress cannot occur, in turn limiting accountability for results. SBInet Life Cycle Management Approach Has Not Been Clearly Defined and Has Continued to Change: System quality and performance are in large part governed by the approach and processes followed in developing and acquiring the system. The approach and processes should be fully documented so that they can be understood and properly implemented by those responsible for doing so, thus increasing the chances of delivering promised system capabilities and benefits on time and within budget. The life cycle management approach and processes being used by the SBInet System Program Office to manage the definition, design, development, testing, and deployment of system capabilities has not been fully and clearly documented. Rather, what is defined in various program documents is limited and not fully consistent across these documents. For example, officials have stated that they are using the draft Systems Engineering Plan, dated February 2008, to guide the design, development, and deployment of system capabilities, and the draft Test and Evaluation Master Plan, dated May 2008, to guide the testing process, but both of these documents appear to lack sufficient information to clearly guide system activities. For example, the Systems Engineering Plan includes a diagram of the engineering process, but the steps of the process and the gate reviews are not defined or described in the text of the document. Further, statements by program officials responsible for system development and testing activities, as well as briefing materials and diagrams that these officials provided, did not add sufficient clarity to describe a well-defined life cycle management approach. Program officials told us that both the government and contractor staff understand the SBInet life cycle management approach and related engineering processes through the combination of the draft Systems Engineering Plan and government-contractor interactions during design meetings. Nevertheless, they acknowledged that the approach and processes are not well documented, citing a lack of sufficient staff to both document the processes and oversee the system's design, development, testing, and deployment. They also told us that they are adding new people to the program office with different acquisition backgrounds, and they are still learning about, evolving, and improving the approach and processes. The lack of definition and stability in the approach and related processes being used to define, design, develop, acquire, test, and deploy SBInet introduces considerable risk that both the program officials and contractor staff will not understand what needs to be done when, and that the system will not meet operational needs and perform as intended. Limitations of SBInet Requirements Development and Management Efforts Increase Program Risk: DHS has not effectively defined and managed SBInet requirements. While the program office recently issued guidance that is consistent with recognized leading practices,[Footnote 3] this guidance was not finalized until February 2008, and thus was not used in performing a number of key requirements-related activities. In the absence of well- defined guidance, the program's efforts to effectively define and manage requirements have been mixed. For example, the program has taken credible steps to include users in the definition of requirements. However, several requirements definition and management limitations exist. Program Office Has Taken Steps to Involve Users in Developing High- Level Requirements: One of the leading practices associated with effective requirements development and management is engaging system users early and continuously. In developing the operational requirements, the System Program Office involved SBInet users in a manner consistent with leading practices. Specifically, it conducted requirements-gathering workshops from October 2006 through April 2007 to ascertain the needs of Border Patrol agents and established work groups in September 2007 to solicit input from both the Office of Air and Marine Operations and the Office of Field Operations. Further, the program office is developing the COP technology in a way that allows end users to be directly involved in software development activities, which permits solutions to be tailored to their needs.[Footnote 4] Such efforts increase the chances of developing a system that will successfully meet those needs. Not All Levels of Requirements Have Been Adequately Baselined: The creation of a requirements baseline establishes a set of requirements that have been formally reviewed and agreed on, and thus serve as the basis for further development or delivery. According to SBInet program officials, the SBInet Requirements Development and Management Plan, and leading practices, requirements should be baselined before key system design activities begin in order to inform, guide, and constrain the system's design. While many SBInet requirements have been baselined, two types have not yet been baselined. According to the System Program Office, the operational requirements, system requirements, and various system component requirements have been baselined. However, as of July 2008, the program office had not baselined its COP software requirements and its project-level requirements for the Tucson Sector, which includes Tucson 1 and Ajo 1. According to program officials the COP requirements have not been baselined because certain interface requirements[Footnote 5] had not yet been completely identified and defined. Despite the absence of baselined COP and project-level requirements, the program office has proceeded with development, integration, and testing activities for the Block 1 capabilities to be delivered to Tucson 1 and Ajo l. As a result, it faces an increased risk of deploying systems that do not align well with requirements, and thus may require subsequent rework. SBInet Requirements Have Not Been Sufficiently Aligned: Another leading practice associated with developing and managing requirements is maintaining bidirectional traceability from high-level operational requirements through detailed low-level requirements to test cases. The SBInet Requirements Development and Management Plan recognizes the importance of traceability, and the SBInet System Program Office established detailed guidance[Footnote 6] for populating and maintaining a requirements database for maintaining linkages among requirement levels and test verification methods. To provide for requirements traceability, the prime contractor established such a requirements management database. However, the reliability of the database is questionable. We attempted to trace requirements in the version of this database that the program office received in March 2008, and were unable to trace large percentages of component requirements to either higher-level or lower-level requirements. For example, an estimated 76 percent (with a 95 percent degree of confidence of being between 64 and 86 percent) of the component requirements that we randomly sampled could not be traced to the system requirements and then to the operational requirements. In addition, an estimated 20 percent (with a 95 percent degree of confidence of being between 11 and 33 percent) of the component requirements in our sample failed to trace to a verification method. Without ensuring that requirements are fully traceable, the program office does not have a sufficient basis for knowing that the scope of the contractor's design, development, and testing efforts will produce a system solution that meets operational needs and performs as intended. Limitations in Key SBInet Testing and Test Management Activities Increase Program Risk: To be effectively managed, testing should be planned and conducted in a structured and disciplined fashion. This includes having an overarching test plan or strategy and testing individual system components to ensure that they satisfy requirements prior to integrating them into the overall system. This test management plan should define the schedule of high-level test activities in sufficient detail to allow for more detailed test planning and execution to occur, define metrics to track test progress and report and address results, and define the roles and responsibilities of the various groups responsible for different levels of testing. However, the SBInet program office is not effectively managing its testing activities. Specifically, the SBInet Test and Evaluation Master Plan, which documents the program's test strategy and is being used to manage system testing, has yet to be approved by the SBInet Acting Program Manager, even though testing activities began in June 2008. Moreover, the plan is not complete. In particular, it does not (1) contain an accurate and up-to-date test schedule, (2) identify any metrics for measuring testing progress, and (3) clearly define and completely describe the roles and responsibilities of various entities that are involved in system testing. Further, the SBInet System Program Office has not performed individual component testing as part of integration testing. As of July 2008, agency officials reported that component-level tests had not been completed and were not scheduled to occur. Instead, officials stated that Block 1 components were evaluated based on what they described as "informal tests" (i.e., contractor observations of cameras and radar suites in operation at a National Guard facility in the Tucson Sector) and stated that the contractors' self-certification that the components meet functional and performance requirements was acceptable. Program officials acknowledged that this approach did not verify whether the individual components in fact met requirements. Without effectively managing testing activities, the chances of SBInet testing being effectively performed is reduced, which in turn increases the risk that the delivered and deployed system will not meet operational needs and not perform as intended. In closing, I would like to stress that a fundamental aspect of successfully implementing a large IT program like SBInet is establishing program commitments, including what capabilities will be delivered and when and where they will be delivered. Only through establishing such commitments, and adequately defining the approach and processes to be used in delivering them, can DHS effectively position itself for measuring progress, ensuring accountability for results, and delivering a system solution with its promised capabilities and benefits on time and within budget constraints. For SBInet, this has not occurred to the extent that it needs to for the program to have a meaningful chance of succeeding. In particular, commitments to the timing and scope of system capabilities remain unclear and continue to change, with the program committing to far fewer capabilities than originally envisioned. Further, how the SBInet system solution is to be delivered has been equally unclear and inadequately defined. Moreover, while the program office has defined key practices for developing and managing requirements, these practices were developed after several important requirements activities were performed. In addition, efforts performed to date to test whether the system meets requirements and functions as intended have been limited. Collectively, these limitations increase the risk that the delivered system solution will not meet user needs and operational requirements and will not perform as intended. In turn, the chances are increased that the system will require expensive and time-consuming rework. In light of these circumstances and risks surrounding SBInet, our soon to be issued report contains eight recommendations to the department aimed at reassessing its approach to and plans for the program--including its associated exposure to cost, schedule, and performance risks--and disclosing these risks and alternative courses of action for addressing them to DHS and congressional decision makers. The recommendations also provide for correcting the weaknesses surrounding the program's unclear and constantly changing commitments and its life cycle management approach and processes, as well as implementing key requirements development and management and testing practices. While implementing these recommendations will not guarantee a successful program, it will minimize the program's exposure to risk and thus the likelihood that it will fall short of expectations. For SBInet, living up to expectations is important because the program is a large, complex, and integral component of DHS's border security and immigration control strategy. Mr. Chairman, this concludes my statement. I would be pleased to answer any questions that you or other members of the committee may have at this time. Contacts and Acknowledgements: For further information, please contact Randolph C. Hite at (202) 512- 3439 or at email@example.com. Other key contributors to this testimony were Carl Barden, Deborah Davis, Neil Doherty, Lee McCracken, Jamelyn Payan, Karl Seifert, Sushmita Srikanth, Karen Talley, and Merry Woo. [End of section] Footnotes: [1] GAO, Secure Border Initiative: Observations on Deployment Challenges, [hyperlink, http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-08-1141T] (Washington, D.C.: Sept. 2008). [2] Tactical infrastructure includes roads, vehicle barriers, pedestrian fences, etc. [3] The Capability Maturity Model Integration for Development® developed by the Software Institute of Carnegie Mellon University, defines key practices that are recognized hallmarks for successful organizations that, if effectively implemented, can greatly increase the chances of successfully developing and acquiring software and systems. See Carnegie Mellon Software Engineering Institute, Capability Maturity Model Integration for Development® version 1.2 (Pittsburgh, Penn., August 2006). [4] This method, Rapid Application Development and Joint Application Design (RAD/JAD), uses graphical user interfaces and direct end user involvement in a collaborative development approach. [5] Interface requirements describe the capabilities that must be in place in order to integrate components and products together. [6] SBInet Requirements Management Plan, January 15, 2007. [End of section] GAO's Mission: The Government Accountability Office, the audit, evaluation and investigative arm of Congress, exists to support Congress in meeting its constitutional responsibilities and to help improve the performance and accountability of the federal government for the American people. GAO examines the use of public funds; evaluates federal programs and policies; and provides analyses, recommendations, and other assistance to help Congress make informed oversight, policy, and funding decisions. GAO's commitment to good government is reflected in its core values of accountability, integrity, and reliability. Obtaining Copies of GAO Reports and Testimony: The fastest and easiest way to obtain copies of GAO documents at no cost is through GAO's Web site [hyperlink, http://www.gao.gov]. Each weekday, GAO posts newly released reports, testimony, and correspondence on its Web site. 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text:
Roasted stone fruits with vanilla
Nutrition and extra info
- Easily doubled / halved
- Vegetarian
- Gluten-free
Nutrition: per serving
- kcal270
- fat0g
- saturates0g
- carbs68g
- sugars68g
- fibre4g
- protein3g
- salt0.02g
- 175g golden caster sugar
- 1 vanilla pod, split in two
- 5 cardamom pods
- zest and juice 1 lime
The same shape, but smaller than…
- 6 apricots, halved and stoned
A relative of the peach, nectarine, plum and cherry, apricots are fragrant, with a soft, velvety…
- 3 peaches, quartered and stoned
Sweet, juicy and fragrant, peaches are one of the most beautiful fruit around. Around the size…
- 3 nectarines, quartered and stoned
A smooth-skinned variety of peach native to China, similarly flavoured to peaches with slightly…
Heat oven to 220C/fan 200C/gas 8. Tip the sugar, vanilla pod, cardamom, lime zest and juice into a food processor, then blitz until blended, or mash together using a pestle and mortar. Tip the fruit into a shallow baking dish, then toss in the sludgy sugar.
Roast for 20 mins until the fruits have softened, but not collapsed and the sugar and fruit juices have made a sticky sauce. Any leftovers will keep in the fridge for up to 2 days.
Recipe Tip
Why not try...Making a quick Knickerbocker Glory using sliced stone fruits, raspberries and vanilla ice cream, topped with whipped cream.


text:
A Tall Slice of Heaven
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Slice of Cakes
These entries are just fun little shares to help you see different styles and techniques I use. Let you in on my little cake world and things I love. Enjoy!
Bakers are Super Heroes with their capes as aprons
January 2018
Bake, Frost, Eat, Repeat...


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Warts are skin growths caused by a virus. The virus infects the top layer of skin, causing it to grow rapidly.
Warts can grow anywhere on your body. Most warts go away on their own, but they may come back.
Last Revised:
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The 17 Day Diet
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- Synopsis
- Dr Mike Moreno's 17 Day Diet is a revolutionary new weight-loss programme that activates your skinny gene so that you burn fat day in and day out. The diet is structured around four 17-day cycles: Accelerate - the rapid weight loss portion that helps flush sugar and fat storage from your system; Activate-the metabolic restart portion with alternating low and high calorie days to help shed body fat; Achieve - this phase is about learning to control portions and introducing new fitness routines; Arrive - A combination of the first three cycles to keep good habits up for good. Each cycle changes your calorie count and the food that you're eating. The variation that Dr. Mike calls 'body confusion' is designed to keep your metabolism guessing. This is not a diet that relies on a tiny list of approved foods, gruelling exercise routines, or unrealistic calorie counts that leave you hungry and unfulfilled. Each phase comes with extensive lists of what dieters can and can't eat while on the phase, but also offers acceptable cheats. He advises readers not to drink while on the diet, but concedes that if they absolutely have to then they should at least drink red wine. Dr Mike knows that a diet can only work if it's compatible with the real world, and so he's designed the programme with usability as a top priority.
- Copyright:
- 2011
Book Details
- Book Quality:
- Publisher Quality
- 9780857207043
- Related ISBNs:
- 9781849839259, 9781849839266, 9781451665826, 9780857207029, 9781451648652, 9781451649512, 9781410441492, 9781451665819, 9781451648669
- Publisher:
- Simon & Schuster
- Date of Addition:
- 05/01/12
- Copyrighted By:
- Simon & Schuster
- Adult content:
- No
- Language:
- English
- Has Image Descriptions:
- No
- Categories:
- Nonfiction, Cooking, Food and Wine, Health, Mind and Body
- Submitted By:
- Bookshare Staff
- Usage Restrictions:
- This is a copyrighted book.


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Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Hearty Cabbage and Beef Casserole Recipe (Gluten Free, Casein Free)
There's just something wonderful about comfort foods this time of year. One of my favorite comfort foods is macaroni. Although cheese is rarely on the menu these days, I still love a good creamy sauce for my pasta.
A week or two ago (during another dairy free "cheesy" sauce experiment) I decided instead of using another casein free "milk" substitute to create a creamy base, I would simply use chicken broth. Wow... it was another one of those "duh" moments when I realized after tasting the thickened chicken broth it was exactly the type of sauce I was looking for. It's a flavor I love and it can replicate "cheesiness" really well in a casserole. Perfect! And so incredibly easy.
I decided to create this casserole because I had a lot of vegetables on hand and we're eating from the pantry this week. It's one of those things about frugality I love. Creativity thrives when you have to use what you already have available!!
This one pot dish is FULL of hearty vegetables, a little ground beef for flavor (& to keep the husband happy), a gorgeous, flavorful, creamy sauce, and a kiss of greek seasoning. With all the vegetables in this meal, you don't even need a side dish!
While it takes a little time to prepare, it's a really easy dish to throw together once all the ingredients are prepped. And the best compliment? It's only about 340 calories per serving and while it doesn't actually have cheese in it... it tastes "cheesy." Upon his second serving, Michael asked me if I was SURE it didn't have cheese. I'll take that as high praise!
Hearty Cabbage and Beef Casserole
Created by Carrie @ Gingerlemongirl.com
Gluten Free, Casein Free, Soy Free
8 ounces dry gluten free pasta, cooked according to package directions
3 cups cabbage, sliced and cooked
1/2 medium onion, chopped
5 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 cup grape tomatoes, quartered
1/2 cup mushrooms, sliced
3 stalks celery, chopped
1/2 pound ground beef, browned and drained
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/4 cup brown rice flour
4 cups chicken broth
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
2 teaspoons greek seasoning
3 egg whites
Optional Topping:
1/4 cup gluten free cornflake crumbles (an awesome substitute for parmesan cheese!), you could also use crushed tortilla chips if desired
Brown ground beef. Drain fat, and set aside. In the same pan saute onions, garlic, celery, mushrooms, and tomatoes. Cook until onions are translucent and golden brown about 5 minutes. Set aside. In a large dutch oven heat olive oil. Whisk in brown rice flour. Cook for 2 minutes and slowly pour in chicken broth. Whisk well and cook for 5-10 minutes to create a thickened sauce. Add cooked pasta, cooked cabbage, cooked onion mixture, and 1/2 pound of browned ground beef. Add salt, pepper, and greek seasoning. Stir to coat and add in 3 egg whites. Mix together thoroughly and pour into a greased 9x13 casserole dish. Sprinkle gluten free corn flake crumbles or crushed tortilla chips evenly over casserole if desired. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes until hot and bubbly. Let cool for 5 minutes and serve. Makes 6-8 large servings.
** Just in case anyone else is counting: I have calculated that the total recipe is 2058 calories including 1/4 cup of the gluten free corn flake crumbles. For 6 large servings, it's 343 calories per serving. This is a nicely portioned meal with a healthy calorie count!
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6 comments:
Computer problems. If this is a second posting just delete it!ReplyDelete
I love cooked cabbage; it must be the Southern in me coming out! This is a great meal. Cheese is one of my fave things in the world, but it's not always nice to me. This is a fab idea!
Love the cornflake crumbs idea - yum! Sounds tasty!ReplyDelete
Carrie, as one of the first blogs I ever started reading, your recipes and ideas have inspired my own love of creating in the kitchen. I've nominated your blog for an award. I hope you'll stop by and grab it.ReplyDelete
Boy this sounds good, Carrie. My wife even wants to try it (although she'll attempt to weasel her way out of adding the mushrooms!)ReplyDelete
Mind if I ask a dumb question - can the whole egg be used instead of just the whites? I didn't know if the whites alone were used because they were healthier or if the recipe wouldn't work as well otherwise. A frugal Hunky such as myself would hate to see those yolks go to waste!
Hi Ronald -- OH sure!! Yes, definitely use the egg yolk! I only used egg whites 1. yes, to lower the calories in the overall dish, and 2. I had a carton of egg whites for baking in my fridge, so that's what I used! I wouldn't want to waste those lovely egg yolks either! (Have I mentioned how much I LOVE poached eggs? :-) So yes, definitely use the egg. And I added them in at the end to sort of bond everything together for the casserole. if you wanted to just mix everything up and serve it as a warm hot dish right off the stove, you can do that too minus the eggs altogether. Kind of like a homemade hamburger helper dish! :-) Please let me know what you think! Thanks so much for commenting!ReplyDelete
This sounds lovely! Some fantastic flavours you have there Carrie =D.ReplyDelete
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 Unported License


text: Are you a sports writer looking for an opportunity to showcase your work? Maybe you are a die-hard football, basketball or NASCAR fan with strong writing skills and you are looking for a place to voice your opinions. Whether you have blogging & writing experience or not, Sportstwo is looking for people just like you. We have openings for highly-motivated people to write opinionated sports articles and/or blog about both college and pro sports. It doesn't matter if you can contribute daily or every other week, we have a need for your sports knowledge. Email us today if you are interested in this great resume-building sports writing opportunity. Or if you are already a member please pm me. While we are not able to pay all of our writers currently, if you prove your worth and write for our sites professionally, the incentives can follow. Do you already have a blog, but want more exposure? Great! Let's talk! Guests, we need you to join for us to promote you as a writer! If you qualify, we will promote you, not only on the homepage and in the forum, but through some of the usual social networks and news venues! We will promote each article several times! We are in need of writers for the NFL Draft! We would love to have you to write profiles and make predictions as to what will happen in next years draft! Should you send an email, put in the title " NFL Draft writer!." We look forward to hearing from you!


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|Lodema as a young woman - date unknown, Lodema and family - about 1893,
Lodema with her brother 1912 - Thomas Leroy "Whit" Criswell,
L.W.H. - found in the Bryan Family Bible
Lodema Walker Criswell was born in Cherokee County, Texas on June 4, 1856. Her parents, William M. Criswell and Mary Ann "Polly" Evans, moved to Falls County, Texas three years after her birth.
|No Story Too Small
© 2014
Family photographs and documents from the collection of Diana Bryan Quinn.
Stephenville Tribune [Stephenville] 11 Nov. 1905: Microfilm
"Texas, Deaths (New Index, New Images), 1890-1976." Index and Images.FamilySearch. http://FamilySearch.org : accessed 2013. Citing Bureau of Vital Statistics. State Registrar Office, Austin.


text:
ADA(redirected from ADAS)
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Americans with Disabilities Act
Legislation in the United States, passed in 1990, that extended civil rights laws to persons who are physically disabled. Among other provisions, it requires facilities to accommodate the disabled insofar as it is possible. Businesses must comply with the Act when they build or expand their buildings. For example, most new commercial buildings with steps are required to provide access for persons who use wheelchairs.