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Having sold and promoted wines, champagne and cognac with food in the UK and in Asia for brands including Krug and Remy Martin, I was always keen to explore the idea of an Absinthe Dining event. There are a lot of misguided pre-conceptions about absinthe, so an Absinthe Dinner could help overcome those and also prove to be a memorable event.
In fact, after absinthe dinners in Asia, Europe and most recently the USA, I'm convinced that combining good absinthes with good food works perfectly. There's something in the herbal mix that goes into good absinthes that makes them a perfect fit with great food. I'm equally convinced that there's NO point in pairing some of the more "one dimensional" absinthes that may just look pretty (artificial colours do that) with the skills of a good cook!
So how should one plan for an absinthe dinner? These notes were originally written for restaurant owners and managers and those organising bigger events, but much of it is relevant for absinthe lovers organising dinner parties for friends at home.
Firstly, remember that when diluted with chilled water or in many cocktails, absinthe may be no stronger than a glass of wine. So don't worry too much about that (but, as ever, make sure that people who have been indulging don't drive afterwards).
Secondly, note that an absinthe dinner can include both drinks to accompany the food, and dishes made with absinthe. And that those drinks need not necessarily be limited to the traditional absinthe serve or absinthe cocktails. Our recent US dinner focused on a range of absinthe cocktails, both classic and modern, to complement the dinner, and that's a great way to do it. But not the only way, as my UK dinner proved!
So what would a typical absinthe dinner look like?
If a dinner would normally start with an apéritif, then there are plenty of absinthe options.
The Death in the Afternoon above (or a variant) works perfectly, and is a real surprise to those who don't know absinthe well.
Hors d'oeuvres
Oysters Rockefeller
are an excellent start to the dinner itself, and a small top-up of the Death in the Afternoon can accompany it, if required. There are some good alternatives, using the Rockefeller inspiration, such as the Scampi Rockefeller shown here.
A ricotta cheese stuffed ravioli, with fresh and dried tomato and lemon olive oil
worked well with a Clandestino at this absinthe dinner in Malaysia.
Second and Third Courses
I'm not a cook, so I can only report what I've seen - and enjoyed - elsewhere. It seems that the herbal notes of an absinthe (especially the anise, the fennel and the grande wormwood) work especially well with the type of food dishes that work well with those plants. For instance, a salmon dish works well with fennel, so the classic absinthe drip cocktail works very well alongside salmon.
And this hollandaise sauce made with absinthe seems to go very well with roast beef. While a more robust dish - in this case a goat curry - works well with a more robust style of absinthe,
served here in the Calmer: Angélique Absinthe, dill, cucumber, elderflower and cava blended with crushed ice.
This Casserole de Poulet with pan-fried spatzle, glazed shallot and carrot was accompanied by a classic fountain-served Angélique absinthe.
Lots of options here!
When I enjoyed a Crème Brûlée, as served in the café near the Artemisia Distillerie in Couvet, it was the only time I have seen a Swiss distiller set fire to his absinthe. And it worked excellently.
At a UK absinthe event in 2012 we enjoyed Fairy Delight: Coconut and Butterfly Absinthe Ice Cream with Fig Tarte Tatin ..
.. while my friends in Denmark seem to love pancakes made with absinthe egg nog!
The absinthe ritual is a wonderful way to present it at dinner, and I was impressed to see an absinthe fountain bought to every table at one event. The absinthe balancier can be just as dramatic, even a little mesmerising, and doesn't stop love-struck diners looking into each other's eyes the way a fountain does. Theatre can go much further, however, and I love the way this UK restaurant prepared
a pre-made Sazerac bottle to be shared by each couple, with a spray of absinthe added to each glass. Theatrical ... and it saved time since the restaurant did not have to make lots of sazeracs at the end of dinner.
And it's a nice touch to have all the plants available and some literature ..
Finally, how can an enterprising restaurant manager or owner organise such an event?
Firstly, talk to an absinthe company that has organised similar events in the past. Ideally try to find a company that can provide some different styles and make sure you have the opportunity to experiment with the products well in advance.
As far as price is concerned, consumers do not expect absinthe to be cheap, so make sure you at least cover your costs. The events shown here (UK and USA) were both priced at around $ 60 (plus tax). Click on the photos to see the menus more clearly.
Finally the menu from a series of dinners held at London's Gymkhana Restaurant in 2015: this was priced at £120 per head.
There are a few more absinthe and food suggestions shown on this ever-expanding Pinterest board. Hopefully there will be many additions to come.
And I would not be at all surprised if after future dinners I get the same reaction and feedback heard already. "I never knew you could do so much with absinthe," "That completely changed my view of absinthe," etc.
In the meantime, santé and .... bon appétit!


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An enduring favorite, our comfortable classic polo is anything but ordinary. With superior wrinkle and shrink resistance, a silky soft hand and an incredible range of styles, sizes and colors, it's a first-rate choice for uniforming just about any group.
With arms down at sides, measure around the upper body, under arms and over the fullest part of the chest.

subset: commoncrawl


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13 April 2010 23:30
Sports Betting Picks and Tips by ApostaGanhaby apostaganha
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last mark : 24/04/2010 17:30


text:
Force Control
- 1 Latest updates (Monday 01, August 2011)
- 2 Minimum Requirements for iCub v1.x
- 3 Joint-level torque Control in iCub v2.0 (future iCub)
- 4 Joint-level torque Control in iCub v1.x (current iCub)
- 5 Ports and connections
- 6 Available control modes
- 7 How to start torque control
- 8 Configuration files
- 9 Force Control on torso joints
- 10 Known issues
- 12 Videos
- 13 Related modules
- 14 Credits
Latest updates (Monday 01, August 2011)
- New firmware available:
- firmware build 57 for brushless control boards
- firmware build 42 for 4DC control boards
- Features:
- force control of torso joints (3DOFs)
- fixed a safety issue related to zero velocity commands sent in torque control mode
- improved timeout watchdog for both 4DC/BLL boards
- minor bug fixes
- In order to enable force control on torso joints, also the robot .ini files have to be updated, as explained here.
Previous updates (Friday 04, March 2011)
- New firmware available:
- firmware build 55 for brushless control boards
- firmware build 41 for 4DC control boards
- Features:
- safe checks on the joint limits for force/impedance control.
- integral control added
- back-emf compensation added.
- faster routine for trajctory generation.
- better decoupling for arm joints.
- minor bug fixes
- A new feature has been added in iCubInterface to inform you when a new firmware is available and verify the consistency of your system respect to the latest updates. To enable this feature, turn on the flag ICUB_CANPROTOCOL_STRICT in the cMake options when compiling the iCub repository.
Minimum Requirements for iCub v1.x
Hardware Requirements:
In order to run force control, your iCub must be equipped with the four 6-axis F/T Sensors. These sensors have been installed on the robot since v1.1 of the platform.
Firmware Requirements:
The PID control algorithm responsible of tracking the commanded torque at joint level is executed inside the DSP control boards. This means that the firmware of your robot needs to be updated in order to run joint level torque control. The minimum requirements are:
- firmware build 50 for brushless control boards
- firmware build 38 for 4DC control boards
However it is strongly recommended to use the latest firmware available, since it implements a better control algorithm respect to these old versions. Please refer to the firmware section for a description of the firmware update procedure.
Software Requirements:
Force control is one of the latest added feature of iCub. This means that even if your robot is equipped with the 6-axis F/T Sensors, maybe your .ini configuration files do not contains all the required parameters in order to run force control. In fact, new features have been recently added, and new configuration parameters have become mandatory. In order to check if the configuration files of your robot are properly updated, please refer to this section. One final remark: since iCub software is continuosly evolving, new features/improvements/bug fixes are constantly released, so it's a good idea to periodically update both your iCub and Yarp repository using SVN.
Joint-level torque Control in iCub v2.0 (future iCub)
The new robotic platform iCub v2.0 (the future release of iCub hardware) will use integrated joint torque sensors (strain gauges mounted on individual joints) in order to obtain joint-level torque control. This hardware is currently under development and is not available yet.
Joint-level torque Control in iCub v1.x (current iCub)
iCub v1.x is not equipped with joint-level torque sensors, but only with four 6-axis F/T sensors mounted on the arms and on the legs. iCub v1.x thus exploits a model-based approach based on a modified Newton-Euler algorithm (Ref: iDyn library) in order to estimate joint-level torques from the four proximal sensors. The controller is thus distributed in three different levels:
Ports and connections
wholeBodyTorqueObserver and iCubInterface communicate through yarp ports:
iCub ports are:
- /icub/inertial provides 3DOF orientation tracker measurements
- /icub/<part>/analog:o provides calibrated F/T measurements (an offset is present, due to the stresses of mounting)
- /icub/joint_vsens/<part>:i acquires joint torque estimation from wholeBodyTorqueObserver module
wholeBodyTorqueObserver ports are:
- /wholeBodyTorqueObserver/inertial:i receive inertial data
- /wholeBodyTorqueObserver/<part>/FT:i reads F/T data from the analog ports
- /wholeBodyTorqueObserver/<part>/Torques:o provides joint torque measurements
The port connections required to run force control are thus:
- /icub/inertial -> /wholeBodyTorqueObserver/inertial:i
- /icub/<part>/analog:o -> /wholeBodyTorqueObserver/<part>/FT:i
- /icub/joint_vsens/<part>:i -> /wholeBodyTorqueObserver/<part>/Torques:o
Connecting all these ports for all the robot parts (left_arm, right_arm, left_leg, right_leg) is a laborious process and it's easy to make mistakes while typing the port names. For this reason, it's not recommended to make the connections manually, using the yarp connect command. Instead you can easily make all the necessary connections using the provided automated scripts. Refer to section How to start torque control
Available control modes
The key concept to comprehend how force control works and how to use it is the concept of control mode. The control mode represents the current control algorithm that is running on the firmware of the control boards to control a specific joint. For example, the position control modes implements a PID control that tracks the commanded trajectories, while the impedance control realizes a compliant position control by computing the reference torque that an inner torque control loop has to track, given an equilibrium position and the stiffness of a simulated spring. The control mode of a joint can be changed online, during the execution of your application, using the apposite yarp interfaces. In this way you can assign different control modes to different joints in order to obtain the desired behaviour (e.g. you can set some joints in position control mode to obtain a 'stiff' behaviour and other joint in impedance control mode to obtain a compliant behaviour).
Five different control modes are currently implemented in the firmware of the control boards:
- Position control mode ███
- (Typical input parameters: desired position, trajectory velocity)
- Position control is the standard control mode. In this control mode, the motors PWM is computed using a PID controller the receives in input the desired joint position and the current measurement from the joint encoders:
- Note that when you command a new joint position, you are not instantaneously assigning the reference qd in the above formula. Instead, a mimum jerk trajectory generator takes in input your commanded position and the desired velocity, and produces a smooth movement creating a sequence of position references qd tracked by the PID controller.
- Velocity control mode ███
- (Typical input parameters: desired velocity, acceleration)
- Velocity control mode allows you to control the robot by assigning a desired volocity/acceleration to a joint. The control law is the same of position control, but in this case qd is not directly controlled by the user, but it is obtained from the integration of the commanded user velocity. Also in this case a minimum jerk profile generator is used.
- Torque control mode ███
- (Typical input parameters: reference torque)
- Torque control mode allows you to directly control the robot joints torque:
- In this case the motors PWM is computed using a PID controller the receives in input the desired joint torque and the current measured joint torque. Additionally, a PWM offset can be added to the output of the control algorithm. If both the commanded reference torque and the PWM offset is set to zero, the robot joint will be free to be moved in the space (eventually it will move down as an effect of the gravity acting on that joint).
- Impedance Position control mode ███
- (Typical input parameters: desired position, trajectory velocity + desired joint stiffness and damping)
- Impedance control mode allows you to control the joint position and its compliance. In particular, you can control the equilibrium position of a virtual spring (using the standard yarp::dev::IPositionControl interface) and its stiffness/damping (using the yarp::dev::IImpedanceControl interface).
- The control is implemented in the DSP firmware as follows:
- Firstly, a reference torque is computed, accordingly to the input position and the commanded stiffness/damping parameters (Hooke's law). Secondly, the reference torque is tracked by a PID algorithm (same gains used by the torque control mode). By tuning the stiffness parameters, you can thus make the robot joint feeling like a hard or soft spring, while maintaining control on the desired joint position (note that the same mimum-jerk trajectory generator used by the position control is also used when position impedance control is running).
- Impedance Velocity control mode ███
- (Typical input parameters: desired velocity, acceleration + desired joint stiffness and damping)
- The impedance velocity control mode is the corresponding impedance mode using velocity control. The control law is the same of the impedance position control, but in this case qd is not directly controlled by the user, but it is obtained from the integration of the commanded user velocity (also in this case minimum jerk profile generator is used).
- Idle ███
- (Typical input parameters: none)
- This is not a real control mode, but represents the status of a joint in which the control is currently disabled (both because PWM has been deliberately turned off by the user or because a fault (e.g. overcurrent) occurred).
NOTE 1: The control mode of a joint can be set using the yarp::dev::iControlMode interface.
NOTE 2: When you send movement commands (i.e. position/velocity commands) to a joint, the obtained behaviour will change depending on the current control mode of the joint (e.g. a position command in position control mode will generate the standard stiff trajectory, while the same command executed in impedance control mode will change the equilibrium point of the simulated spring). Moreover some commands can also implicitly change the current control mode, even if no requests have been made using the yarp::dev::iControlMode interface. The following table summarizes the implemented behaviour:
|Send IPositionControl::positionMove command
|Send IVelocityControl::velocityMove command
|Send ITorqueControl::setRefTorque command
|Send "enable PWM" command
|position control mode
|velocity control mode
|impedance position control mode
|impedance velocity control mode
|torque control mode
|motor idle
How to start torque control
Running the wholeBodyTorqueObserver
The first step to achieve joint level torque control / playing with torque & impedance interfaces / running the demoForceControl module is to start the wholeBodyTorqueObserver module and connect the corresponding ports. Note that if this module is not running and the ports are not properly connected, any attempt to change the control mode of the joints to force/impedance control mode will result in a protection fault (motor going in idle state).
To run wholeBodyTorqueObserver, be sure iCubInterface is running. Then, open the wholeBodyTorqueObserver manager using the manager.py script:
manager.py wholeBodyTorqueObserver.xml
the .xml configuration file used by manager.py is located in the path: $ICUB_ROOT/app/wholeBodyTorqueObserver/scripts. If this is the first time that you are running the module, rename the file wholeBodyTorqueObserver.xml.template to wholeBodyTorqueObserver.xml, edit it and set the console and stdio tags (by default, these tags are filled with the string 'console'/'icubsrv', change them with the name of the pc on your LAN where the module will run. Further information about running applications using the application manager can be found here
After having started the application manager, click on the button Run on the left of the wholeBodyTorqueObserver module. Do not run the gravityCompensator module yet. After this, be sure the robot is not touching or interacting with anything or anyone, and click on the Connect button. In this phase, the F/T measurements are aligned to the model of the robot. Do not touch the robot until this procedure has finished (almost 5 seconds after the Connect button has been pressed). After this, you will see the port connections becoming green on the bottom part of the window and you will be ready to run the force demo.
- I'm clicking on the Run button in the application manager, but the module does not start. Why?
- Typically this means that one of the dependencies indicated in top part of the application manager window is not fulfilled. In particular:
- /icub/inertial port is not available (is iCubInterface running? check it)
- yarp cannot find the machine (set in the 'nodes' section) on which the module has to run. Check the name of the machine and your network connection.
Additional notes:
- If your iCub has no legs, do not use the standard script, but the following one:
manager.py wholeBodyTorqueObserver_no_legs.xml
Running the gravityCompensator
The gravityCompensator is included in the same script used to launch the wholeBodyTorqueObserver module (i.e. wholeBodyTorqueObserver.xml). The module estimates the gravitational term acting on joints due to links weight and generates a feed-forward term which can be used to compensate the gravity when the joint is torque/impedance control mode. This module is particular useful if you want to control the robot in impedance position mode with low stiffness values. In this case, in fact, the accuracy of position control loop will be poor, because the gravity will act on the low-stiffness joint preventing it to reach the commanded position. On the contrary, if the gravity compensation module is running, the feed-forward term will help the joint to reach the commanded position even with low stiffness values.
Additional notes:
- The torques estimation is perfomed by the iDyn library which includes a mechanical model of the iCub robot based on the CAD parameters. This means that a small drift can be present, due to the fact that the model obtained from the CAD slightly differs from the real iCub (consider the weight of the power cables, the additional skin etc.)
- If the joint stiffness is zero and gravityCompensator is off, the gravity will make the joint to fall down regardless the commanded position. In this case, running the gravityCompensator is the only way to track to commanded position.
- Be particular careful in this situation: consider a joint in impedance position control mode, with the gravity compensator turned off and low joint stiffness (e.g 0.01Nm/deg). In this case the position tracking error will be high: for example if you command a position of 30degrees, due to the gravity effect and the very low stiffness, the joint could able to reach only the position at 10 degrees (so the tracking error is 20 degrees). In this condition the impedance control loop is computing a command torque T=0.01*(30-10)=0.2Nm. Now, if you suddenly increase (with a step) the joint stiffness to a high value (for example i.e. 0.6Nm.deg) you obtain a command torque of T=0.5*(30-10)=12Nm which is a huge torque. The joint will move very fast (and joint tendons may be also damaged). In this case the solution is to increase the stiffness gradually, in order to make the position tracking error decrease before setting the joint in high-stiffness mode or turning on the gravity compensator. With the gravity compensator enabled the position error will be limited to few degrees even with low stiffness values.
Running the force control demo
Analogously to wholeBodyObserver, the demoForceControl module can be started using the application manager:
manager.py demoForceControl.xml
In the opened application manager window, you will see four different modules (one for each part of the robot: left_arm, right_arm, left_leg, right_leg). You can run them individually in order to start the demo on a specific robot part. Additionally, in the bottom part of the window, you can open four terminal windows which you can use to send commands to the modules through a yarp rpc port (please refer to the demoForceControl manual for a list of the available commands).
Additional notes:
- If your iCub has no legs, do not use the standard script, but the following one:
manager.py demoForceControl_no_legs.xml
- When the demoForceControl is launched, it sets in impedance position control mode the specified joints (the first five joints of the arm / all the six joints of the legs) and sets the stiffness/damping written in its configuration files.
- The demoForceControl application uses the configuration (.ini) file located in iCub\main\app\demoForceControl\conf. You can change the default behaviour of the demoForceControl application by changing the stiffness/damping parameters written into these files. For example, the lines reported below are the contents of the iCub\main\app\demoForceControl\conf\leftArmFT.ini configuration file:
robot icub part left_arm [IMPEDANCE] Stiffness 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.2 0.1 //hard spring Damping 0.06 0.06 0.06 0.02 0.0
The values reported above correspond to a pretty stiff spring. You can decrease the stiffness values if you want to obtain a more compliant behaviour (example follows).
robot icub part left_arm [IMPEDANCE] Stiffness 0.25 0.25 0.25 0.1 0.1 //soft spring Damping 0.06 0.06 0.06 0.02 0.0
Regarding the damping, please play attention to the fact the high stiffness values with low (or zero) damping on the first shoulder joint may cause dangerous oscillations (and eventually break the tendons). So play with these values with particular care. The remaining small two joints are less critical.
- If you want to interactively change stiffness/damping values, do not change the parameters of the demoForceControl configuration files, use the robotMotorGui instead.
Using the robotMotor Gui
The robotMotorGui module provides a graphical interface in order to control iCub joints. The status of every joint is displayed using color codes associated to the different control modes. You can change the current control mode of the joint by right-clicking on the corresponding joint (a pop-up window will appear). You can send position commands to joints by moving the position slider. If a joint is running the impedance control mode, you will able to control the position of the joint while maintaining a compliant behaviour. Furthermore, you can change the control parameters (joint stiffness etc) by clicking on the PID button.
Additional notes:
- Please note that the parameter desired joint force shown in the "stiffness params" window is automatically controlled by the gravity compensator module ans displays 0 when the module is not running.
Using yarp interfaces to program your own application
Yarp provides a set of interfaces in order to have complete control on the behaviour of the robot joints. The typically used interfaces when running the force control on the robot are:
- yarp::dev::IControlMode to set and retrieve the control mode of a specific joint.
- yarp::dev::IPositionControl to send position commands to the robot joints.
- yarp::dev::IVelocityControl to send velocity commands to the robot joints.
- yarp::dev::ITorqueControl to obtain torque measurements and give explicit torque commands to a joint controlled in torque mode.
- yarp::dev::IImpedanceControl to set the impedance parameters (stiffness/damping) of a joint controlled in impedance mode.
For more details, please refer to the following resources:
- You can find a useful tutorial about making a simple application that uses the force control here
- You can also find a complete reference to the available YARP interfaces here
- You can also give a look at the source code of the force control demo
Configuration files
Mandatory parameters for force control
A complete reference on the robot configuration files can be found here. In this section only the parameters related to force control will be covered.
iCub\app\<your robot name>\conf directory contains the configuration files of the robot. The configuration of the robot is currently organized in two different levels.
- icub.ini: the general configuration file, describing all the devices/parts available on the robot.
- icub<robot_part>.ini: the configuration parameters for the specific part of the robot (arms/legs etc.)
In order to run force control, the following parameters are mandatory in the robot global configuration file icub.ini :
analog (rightarmanalog jointrightarmanalog leftarmanalog jointleftarmanalog righthandanalog lefthandanalog leftleganalog jointleftleganalog rightleganalog jointrightleganalog) [...] [rightarmanalog] network net_rarm deviceId (right_arm) period 10 [...] [jointrightarmanalog] network net_rarm deviceId (joint_right_arm) period 10
- The analog(<list of analog devices>) parameter represents the list of all the analog sensors available on the robot. This list includes both the physical 6-axis F/T sensors (4 devices: rightarmanalog, leftarmanalog, rightleganalog, leftleganalog) both the emulated joint-level torque sensors (again 4 devices, the same names with the joint prefix). Two additional devices (righthandanalog lefthandanalog) are included on this list and correspond to the hall-effect position sensors of the fingers. These two entries are of course mandatory for the robot hands, but are unrelated to force control.
- For each entry included in the list, a section [xxxanalog] is required. In this section it is specified the CAN bus network on which the sensor is located, the name of the device, and the period of the corresponding iCubInterface thread.
In order to run force control, the following sections are mandatory in the part-specific configuration files icub<robot_part>.ini :
- The following section contains the torque pid gains for ALL the joints present in the specified robot part. The configuration parameters reported below are an example of tipical torque PID gains for an iCub arm. Note that the gains for ALL the joints are included in this section, including also the joints that cannot run torque control (in the example below: joint 5,6,7).
[TORQUE_PIDS] // Proportional Derivative Integral IntegralLimit PWMLimit ScaleFactor>> offset TPid0 7 0 0 1333 1333 10 0 TPid1 7 0 0 1333 1333 10 0 TPid2 30 0 0 1333 1333 10 0 TPid3 30 0 0 1333 1333 10 0 TPid4 50 0 0 1333 1333 10 0 TPid5 0 0 0 1333 1333 10 0 TPid6 0 0 0 1333 1333 10 0 TPid7 0 0 0 1333 1333 10 0
- The following sections contain the configuration parameters for the force/torque sensors, both the real and the emulated ones. In the presented example right_arm is the real 6-axis force/torque sensors mounted on the robot right_arm. It is configured to transmit data with a Period of 2 ms. The output of the sensor will be avilable on /icub/right_arm/analog:o port. The second entry is named joint_right_arm. This is an emulated joint torque sensor, that opens an imput port /joint_vsens/right_arm:i. The module WholeBodyTorqueObserver will be responsible of: 1.reading data from the real sensor 2.computing robot dynamics. 3.Sending the output to joint_right_arm input port. In this way the joint torques are transmitted to the control boards through the CAN bus. If CanEcho flag is set to 1, you can also read back the transmitted CAN data on the port /icub/joint_right_arm/analog:o.
[analog right_arm] CanAddress 0x0D Format 16 Channels 6 Period 2 UseCalibration 1 [analog joint_right_arm] CanAddress 0x0C Format 16 Channels 6 Period 2 UseCalibration 1 CanEcho 1 PortName /joint_vsens/right_arm:i
- In order to associate the right channel of the virtual joint torque sensor to the corresponding motor channel, a map is required. You can find these information in [GENERAL] section. TorqueId the address used by the joint torque sensor to transmit data on the CAN bus, and TorqueChan is the corresponding channel. In order to transmit the torque data on the CAN bus, the floating point torque value is converted into a 16-bits value using a conversion factor, represented by the TorqueMax parameter.
[GENERAL] Joints 8 MaxDAC 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 AxisMap 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Encoder 11.375 11.375 11.375 11.375 706.67 978.46 978.4 6.66 Zeros 178 33 262.7422 171 90 -20 -52 262.5 TorqueId 0x0C 0x0C 0x0C 0x0C 0x0C 0 0 0 TorqueChan 0 1 2 3 4 0 0 0 TorqueMax 8 8 8 8 2 2 2 2
Basically the TorqueMax parameter represents the maximum torque value (in Newtons) that can be interpreted by the DSP using a 16 bits representation. For example if TorqueMax = 8 Newtons, the internal representation of the torque is:
Torque[N] Torque[DSP representation 16-bits] +8 32767 +4 16384 +2 8192 +1 4096 0 0 ... ... -8 -32768
Meaning that the resolution of the sensor is 8/32767 = 0,000244 N. Of course if you decrease the value of the TorqueMax parameter the resolution of the sensor will increase but the maximum representable torque will decrease, and torque values above the specified parameter will be saturated before transmitting them on the bus. Please note this parameter only affects the representation of the torque insided the control board DSP but is not changing/adjusting the resolution of any physical sensor/ADC converter. One final remark: remember that that this value will also affect the representation of the maximum stiffness and damping of joint.
Back EMF compensation
This optional feature has been introduced in firmware build 55. In order to enable the back EMF compensation you have to:
- enable the flag: ENABLE_icubmod_debugInterfaceClient in your cMake configuration.
- add the following section in both your icub icub_right_arm.ini and icub_left_arm.ini configuration files:
[DEBUG_PARAMETERS] Debug0 0 0 0 7 32000 0 0 3000 Debug1 0 0 0 7 27000 0 0 3000 Debug2 0 0 0 7 27000 0 0 3000 Debug3 0 0 0 7 20000 0 0 8000
This feature is still experimental. Please contact the rc-hackers mailing list for further informations.
Suggested PID gains
The following gains are currently used on iCub-Genova01:
Left arm:
[TORQUE_PIDS] // Proportional Derivative Integral Integral Limit PWM Limit scale factor >> offset TPid0 -8 0 0 1333 1333 10 0 TPid1 -8 0 0 1333 1333 10 0 TPid2 -30 0 0 1333 1333 10 0 TPid3 -30 0 0 1333 1333 10 0 TPid4 -50 0 0 1333 1333 10 0 TPid5 0 0 0 1333 1333 10 0 TPid6 0 0 0 1333 1333 10 0 TPid7 0 0 0 1333 1333 10 0
Right arm:
[TORQUE_PIDS] // Proportional Derivative Integral Integral Limit PWM Limit scale factor >> offset TPid0 8 0 0 1333 1333 10 0 TPid1 8 0 0 1333 1333 10 0 TPid2 30 0 0 1333 1333 10 0 TPid3 30 0 0 1333 1333 10 0 TPid4 50 0 0 1333 1333 10 0 TPid5 0 0 0 1333 1333 10 0 TPid6 0 0 0 1333 1333 10 0 TPid7 0 0 0 1333 1333 10 0
Left leg:
[TORQUE_PIDS] // Proportional Derivative Integral Integral Limit PWM Limit scale factor >> offset TPid0 8 0 0 1333 1333 10 0 TPid1 -8 0 0 1333 1333 10 0 TPid2 8 0 0 1333 1333 10 0 TPid3 -8 0 0 1333 1333 10 0 TPid4 0 0 0 1333 1333 10 0 TPid5 0 0 0 1333 1333 10 0
Right leg:
[TORQUE_PIDS] // Proportional Derivative Integral Integral Limit PWM Limit scale factor >> offset TPid0 -8 0 0 1333 1333 10 0 TPid1 8 0 0 1333 1333 10 0 TPid2 -8 0 0 1333 1333 10 0 TPid3 8 0 0 1333 1333 10 0 TPid4 0 0 0 1333 1333 10 0 TPid5 0 0 0 1333 1333 10 0
[TORQUE_PIDS] // Proportional Derivative Integral Integral Limit PWM Limit scale factor >> offset TPid6 6 0 0 1333 1333 11 0 TPid7 6 0 0 1333 1333 11 0 TPid8 6 0 0 1333 1333 11 0
If you are going to modify the PID gains of your robot, please pay attention to the signs and remember to change the gains little by little to avoid dangerous oscillations / unstable behaviours. Please note also that the torso PID gains use a different numbering respect to the other limbs (i.e: TPid6, TPid7, TPid8 instead of TPid0, TPid1 etc.)
Additional notes:
- Derivative parameter: this parameter typically do not improves the quality of force control.
- Integral parameter: this parameter can be used to improve the steady state error of control force loop. However, additional care should be used when modifying it because it works in a completely different range of values respect to the other parameters. Integral should be much smaller then the proportional one. In order to have a finer control of this parameter is suggested to increase the scale factor (and adjust the other parameters accordingly).
- Scale Factor (aka shift factor): it represents a 2^Shift scaling factor for Kp, Kd, Ki. Increasing this parameter allows a finer tuning of the Kp,Kd,Ki gains.
- For example, these are three different ways to set the same Kp gain with different scaling factors:
- Kp= -8 and Shift=10 specifies a Kp=-8*2^(-10) = -8/1024=-0.0078.
- Kp=-16 and Shift=11 specifies a Kp=-16*2^(-11) = -16/2048=-0.0078.
- Kp= -4 and Shift=9 specifies a Kp=-4*2^(-9) = -4/512=-0.0078.
- However Shift=11 allows a finer tuning of PID gains because, for example, it allows you to set Kp=-17 (-0.0083).
Please check also the configuration files section.
Force Control on torso joints
Since August 2011, force control is available also on torso joints. Requiriments:
- Latest firmware (build 57 for BLL boards). In order to upgrade the firmware of your iCub you have to run on the PC104 the script $ICUB_ROOT/firmware/build/updateRobot.sh followed by the .txt file describing the configuration of your robot (e.g: updateRobotv1.1.txt, updateRobotv1.2.txt etc). Additional info on the firmware upgrade procedure can be found here.
- The icub.ini file has to be updated and it must include a jointtorsoanalog identifier in the analog device list + a corresponding [jointtorsoanalog] section. Here is an example (source: $ICUB_ROOT\main\app\robots\iCubGenova01\conf\icub.ini)
analog (... jointtorsoanalog ...) [...] [jointtorsoanalog] network net_headtorso deviceId (joint_torso) period 10
- The icub_head_torso.ini file must contain the analog device descriptor section:
[analog joint_torso] CanAddress 0x0C Format 16 Channels 6 Period 2 UseCalibration 1 CanEcho 1 PortName /joint_vsens/torso:i
and also the channel mapping for torso joints in the [GENERAL SECTION]
TorqueId 0 0 0 0 0 0 0x0C 0x0C 0x0C 0 TorqueChan 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 0 TorqueMax 0 0 0 0 0 0 8 8 8 0
- The icub_head_torso.ini file must contain a suitable [TORQUE_PIDS] section, as indicated in the suggested PID gains section.
Known issues
Controlling iCub joints using force control is probably one of the most intriguing features of our robotic platform. However, this control modality has been only recently added, and some parts of the control software are still currently under development. This means that force control has still to be consider an *experimental* feature, and you are encouraged to report your problems/eventual erratic behaviour observed using your robot.
Currently (03/03/2011, BLL firmware build 55, 4DC firmware build 41) the following issues are known:
- Torque control PIDs.
By default the torque control gains specified in the .ini configuration files use only a proportional gain (+ filter to improve control stability). This means the torque controller has a steady state error (that you can monitor for example using the modules:controlBoardDumper and portScope). In order to increase the tracking accuracy of the commanded torques you may add an integral gain. However you are warned that playing with PID gains (without knowing what you are going to do) may lead to control instability (and likely breaking of joint tendons). We do not suggest to change your torque PID gains without first asking suggestion about it.
- Changing stiffness on-line, during a joint motion
Changing the joint impedance from a low stiffness to high stiffness value with a step function is typically dangerous. If the commanded position differs from the current joint position, increasing the joint stiffness to a high value is equivalent to load a spring and suddenly release it. For this reason it'is important to always keep the position error small when increasing the stiffness (or gradually increase it, avoiding step functions). In order to keep small enough the position error (typically caused by the gravity force acting on the joint) and avoid this kind of problems use the gravityCompensator module. This is a one of the most common reasons of tendon breaking, so keep particular attention when increasing the stiffness of a previously low-stiffness joint. Please also read carefully the example reported in the additional notes of the gravityCompensator section.
- Which joints can be currently controlled using torque/impedance control mode?
- Currently torque/impedance control is supported only on the following joints:
- The complete shoulder (3DOF, joints: 0 1 2)
- The elbow (joint: 3)
- Wrist pronosupination (joint: 4)
- The complete hip (3DOF, joints 0 1 2)
- The knee (joint: 3)
- The complete shoulder (3DOF, joints: 0 1 2), firmware update required, additional notes here
- What are the measurement units employed by the YARP torque / impedance interfaces?
- yarp::dev::ITorqueControl::getTorque() returns the current joint torque in [Nm]
- yarp::dev::IImpedance Control::getImpedance() returns the current joint stiffness in [Nm/deg] and the currnt joint damping in [Nm/(deg/s)]
- What is the maximum joint torque that can be commanded?
- Depends on the joint. For example, typical maximum torque for leg joint is 12Nm, while for the arm is 8Nm.
- You can modify this values in the .ini configuration files of your robot. Remember that since the torque is currently internally represented by a 16 bit value, if you increase the maximum allowed torque value, the resolution of the measurement will be reduced (For further information please refer to the configuration files section.)
- You can also use the yarp method yarp::dev::ITorqueControl::getTorqueRange() in order to retrieve the max/min torque allowed for the specified joint (but you cannot currently modify these values).
- What is the control frequency?
- Torque PID control is performed by the DSP of the controller board, so the control frequency is fixed to 1KHz. However, other parameters affect the effective control speed. For example, torque measurements are obtained from the 6-axis force sensors every <x> millisecond, where <x> is the value of parameter 'period' specified in the section [analog <sensor_name>] of your .ini configuration files. Typically this parameter is set to 1 or 2 milliseconds depending on your hardware capabilities (iCub version). Furthermore, the performance of the wholeBodyTorqueObserver module, which is responsible of the dynamic computation, depends on the computational power of the machine on which it is executed (high performance machine suggested). The main thread of wholeBodyTorqueObserver tipically runs @ ten milliseconds.
- What is the suggested stiffness value in order to start playing with impedance control?
- A very soft spring behaviour can be obtained setting stiffness to 0.2[Nm/deg] and damping to 0.02[Nm/(deg/s)]. You can then gradually increase these values in order to simulate an harder spring. Always remember to set a damping in order to avoid joint oscillations (no damping = ideal spring that will oscillate forever!). Important: the higher is the stiffness, the higher must be the damping parameter.
- What is the default stiffness value when I start the impedance control?
- If you just start the iCubInterface + wholeBodyTorqueObserver and then you set a joint in impedance control mode, the stiffness/damping parameters will be zero by default and the joint will be free to move. This is made intentionally because it's not possible to know the optimal joint stiffness for your application. Moreover, if you start the robot with a high stiffness value and one joint is already pushing against an obstacle you may damage the joint tendons. Setting a default stiffness to zero is the safest mode to protect your robot.
- If you run the demoForcecontrol, instead, the default stiffness/damping is taken is 0.5[Nm/deg] and 0.06[Nm/(deg/s)] respectively (these values are saved in your iCub\app\demoForceControl\conf\*.ini configuration files).
- Should I care about the control mode when I close my application? And during the calibration of the robot, what happens if one joint is left in impedance control?
- Yes, you should. Next iCub user may not know if you left one arm in position or impedance control mode! It's thus a good practice to close your application returning the control modes of the joint you used to their previous configuration. With great power comes great responsibility.
- Regarding the second question, all the calibrators are allowed to change the control mode to position control (obviously!)
- What is the difference between a impedance control with zero stiffness and torque control?
- If the stiffness and damping parameters are both set to zero when using impedance control, you will obtain the same behaviour of running torque control and commanding a zero reference torque.
- Is there any quick tool in order to change online the desired position of the joint/stiffness/control mode etc?
- The robotMotorGui module provides a graphical interface that shows which boards are controlled in position/torque/impedance mode etc. You can change most of the control parameters using this Gui.
- I want to dump / plot the torque data of the joints. Is there any tool available?
- You can use the controlBoardDumper module and the portScope tool (located in iCub\contrib\src\modules\portScope).
- My joint goes in idle mode when I change from position control to impedance control, why?
- The control board (DSP) is not receiving the joint torque measurement (a watchdog is implemented in the firmware in order to disable the control if no torque measurements are received in 200ms). This probably means that:
- WholeBodyTorqueObserver module is not running.
- WholeBodyTorqueObserver ports are not connected with iCubInterface.
- WholeBodyTorqueObserver module is running on a slow machine and the computation time exceeded 200ms.
- During normal operation I can see a lot of messages similar to: **** PORT: /icub/joint_right_arm/analog:o **** TIMEOUT : 0.013 COUNT: 121. What does they mean?
- iCubInterface integrates a check to verify that a fresh torque measurement is received from the estimator module (wholeBodyTorqueObserver) at least every 10 milliseconds. However, if the wholeBodyTorqueObserver module is running on a low-performance machine or if the connection between the wholeBodyTorqueObserver and iCubInterface experiences networking issues (bandwidth congestion, packet drops etc.), this throughput may not be achieved. If a measurement is not received every 12 milliseconds, the reported timeout message will be displayed. If a lot of timeout messages are displayed, please consider to solve this problem before continuing, because these delays can seriously worse the quality of the control. In most of the cases is sufficient to verify that the wholebodyTorqueObserver module is running in release mode (and not in debug) and make it run on a machine of adequate power (typically a desktop machine, not a centrino laptop). Additionally, remember that if these delays reach the threshold of 200 milliseconds, the internal watchdog of the control boards will detect a fault event and the torque control will be disabled (the motor will go in idle mode).
- When a joint is in impedance position control mode, I can observe a small position error respect to the commanded position. Why?
- This is a normal behaviour because gravity is acting on the joint and, unless you compensate for it, an accurate position tracking is not possible. In particular, if the joint stiffness is small (soft spring) the position error will be noticeable. On the contrary, the position error will be small when you use high stiffness values.
- Can I change the stiffness of a joint in realtime during the execution of a commanded trajectory?
- Yes, you can. Please consider the issues reported in the issues section.
- I noticed that the power cables on the back of the elbow mechanically interfere with torque measurements of the arm joints.
- Yes, if the power cables push on the elbow joint, the F/T sensor will measure the resulting forces and the control will react to them. Try to fix the cables in a way that they do not interact with the joint.
- I set different control modes on different joints (i.e. impedance mode on joint x, position mode on joint y) but now I forgot everything. How can I retrieve the status of the joints?
- From your software application: you can use yarp::dev::IControlMode::getControlMode() method.
- In general: You can use the robotMotorGui application to monitor the status of your control boards.
- Is there any tutorial application about how to write a module that uses force control?
- The source code of demoForceControl
- The tutorial on force control (very simple).
- Is gravity compensation available? And cartesian impedance control?
- The module gravityCompensator provides gravity compensation (based on the CAD model of iCub). Cartesian impedance control is still in research phase.
- I'm controlling my robot in impedance/torque control mode. I'm pushing on the shoulder and I noticed that... WTF! the forearm moves?!? Why?
- The control algorithm implemented in your iCub v1.x assumes that you are applying external forces only on the end effector (wrists, ankles). Of course this because your robot does not have real joint torque sensors, and some assumptions are needed to perform the dynamic calculation (refer also to the iDyn page). Because of this, if you exert an external forces not on the end effector of your robot, some miscalculation of the joint torques will occur.
- Of course you can change the external forces application point, but it will be always a fixed point.
- Can I change the PID gains of torque control?
- You are not recommended to do it, because wrong gains may cause control instability and eventually break joint tendons. Integral control is experimental and not currently recommended. Please ask before playing with PID gains and avoid random numbers.
- Where are located the .ini configuration files?
- In iCub\app\<your robot name>\conf directory. Read section
- I found a bug! And now??
- Please report bugs on rc-hackers mailing list.
EmbedVideo is missing a required parameter.
More coming soon...
Related modules
The iCub force control people: Matteo Fumagalli, Serena Ivaldi, Marco Randazzo, Francesco Nori


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Hi all!
After years and years of dreaming of finally getting out and learning to wakeboard, I finally bought my first boat and wakeboard setup. However, I'm quickly finding that my little 14' Swiftcraft isn't substantial enough for wakeboarding, and none of my friends are really into it anyway, which makes it next to impossible to get out there to learn (just starting out, at 29yo).
If anyone is keen to have another on board regularly or from time to time, please let me know.


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Yes, that is indeed yours truly on the front cover. This is my latest book which is on rock and mineral collecting. As you can see its called 'Rockhound: an Experience of the North'. This is actually the first of several books in the Rockhound series and it consists of several chapters detailing how to find minerals, identify minerals and the human experience related to that. This first book covers finding gold, feldspar, radioactives, sodalite, apatite, titinite and silver.
As it says on the back cover "In this first volume of rockhound we will explore the mineral world in the context of the whole experience – the deposits, the landscape and the people. whether you are a hard-core collector or a casual enthusiast 'Rockhound' will take you to where you want to goand show you what you never believed possible in the mines and forests of the north".
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In my spot when I have side shore wind I have a strong side shore current that spoils my session with surfboards (nugget).
Last session the wind was 22 knts with gusts of 26 and I was riding very well with a TT and a rebel 8. Then I changed the board for the Nugget (Light wind surfboard) and couldn't ride anymore.
With the TT we keep the kite low and gain speed to cross waves and edge againts the current, but with the nugget I can't do that , can't edge , don't develop speed, the board sinks, lose my angle very fast, and have to do the walk of shame all the time.
If i was on a 12 it would be perfect for the nugget, but it doesn't make sense to inflate 2 kites for a 22 knts session, i might be doing something wrong since i'm new with the nugget.
With onshore winds and no current I use both boards without this problem.


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I haven't had much stitching accomplished in the past few days so I thought I would post a couple of older finishes.
This is my TW Round Robin that my TW stitching pals worked on for me. The top section is what I stitched, which is the top arch from TW's Birth Sampler. The 7 bands below are from different TW borders, each one just as stunning as the other. I received it finished last fall and I have yet to get back to it to finish the sides bars and the small bottom section, which will be the bottom arch from Birth Sampler.
This one is Egyptian Sampler which I think I finished 3 year ago and has been sitting languishing in my stitching bag ever since. It was a fun one to work on with all the different motifs.
And this is my latest TW finish - Woodland Faerie. I spent a good part of last year working on her and finished in September. I decided against the outermost border, I preferred leaving her with the leafy border instead as I thought the final border would look too heavy, especially since most of the design is solid stitching.
I have several more TW's in my stash, luckily for me she has stopped designing for a while, as there is no way I could keep up with her gorgeous designs. And this is the first time in a long while I haven't had a TW on the go.
I can't believe how hot it is already this morning - the temp in the house was 27 C at 7:30 am, so I had to break down and turn on the a/c. The forecast for today is for 35 C, with a humidex of 42 C. And its only May still!
Tuesday, May 30, 2006
Teresa Wentzler
Posted by Wendy at 8:14 am 3 comments
Thursday, May 25, 2006
Mail stash!
My package arrived from Needlecraft Corner yesterday! This was my present from hubby for no stash buying for the month of April.
I had already bought the Designing Ladies Finishing Book, and silly me I really assumed there would be one of the patterns in the book for these wonderful needlebooks. So I was about to order the Attic Collection by Judy O'Dell, when I found the kit packaged together by Drema. It comes with the most gorgeous piece of hand-dyed 32 ct linen, called Vintage Autumn Fields, 7 skeins of Needle Necessities and a pack of copper coloured beads.
I' ve had a look through the charts and it looks pretty well laid out, showing exactly where to stitch each of the patterns on the fabric, so that you have enough left over for the finishing.
This is really not the best scan, this fabric is really to die for!
I can't believe this is Thursday already, its 4 Saisons stitching night, and I don't think I've touched it this month at all! I hope to get some decent stitching done and I'll scan it tomorrow morning. I'm into Winter just as our weather here is finally warming up!
Posted by Wendy at 8:25 am 6 comments
Tuesday, May 23, 2006
Its an Ark!
Yes, its an ark, although it is hard to tell...I got tired of endless brown stitching and I was eager to get more of the ark shape done, so I jumped ahead and started in on the body. This part is getting to be rather tedious stitching, I never have been a fan of stitching with the same colour in a long continuous line. I'm anxious to start in on the animals as they are so cute.
So much for a holiday weekend - we had the coldest, rainiest, dullest Victoria Day Weekend that I can remember. It was fine at the cottage inside as my hubby had roaring fires going which were really too hot, we could have cooked off them. Losing power for several hours Sunday afternoon made for a very interesting dinner! Luckily to counter all the miserable weather, Carrie, JF and I had a great time at Saturday's auction. No purchases for me, although I am really frustrated that I didn't bid on several numbered reprints from the Group of Seven. There were several that would have looked wonderful in my living room, and they each sold for $100-130 - amazing! Sunday, we visited a couple of small towns not too far a drive away and had a fun time shopping, and even found 3 scrapbook stores!
And of course that also left lots of time for stitching! And at least its a short work week too!!
And very sad news from Kelly ~ she and Chris were off for a holiday weekend in Georgia. They had just dropped off puppy Molly at a friend's and 2 hours later had a phone call that Molly had escaped from their fenced back yard and was hit by a car and killed. Poor little thing! Kelly is naturally very upset. It was especially hard when they got back home and saw her bed and all her toys lying about. Hard to know why these things happen...
Posted by Wendy at 8:44 am 3 comments
Friday, May 19, 2006
Happy Dancing!
I'm finished...I'm finished!!! Attitudes by Stoney Creek that I have stitched for my daughter Carrie is now officially finished. It looks lovely, if I do say so myself, and I'm very pleased to have done this in record speed for me ~ I started it on February 26th and finished on May 17th. But I also really worked on very little else meanwhile.
This is Carrie's graduation present after 5 very long years at university. She is graduating in radiation therapy this fall. And when I showed her the finished 'Attitudes', she told us she is now considering another 2 years to complete her master's degree. Now I'm wondering what on earth could I possibly stitch her for that?
Last night I put some stitches in my Bent Creek Snappers series - I had sadly fallen behind in that and I'm finally catching up with the May square. But I forgot about my 4 Saisons Thursday night! I owe 3 Thurdays now to this one.
Its a holiday weekend with Victoria Day on Monday - that means cottage time - and we're cottage-bound on Saturday to Monday. Its been unseasonably cool the past few days so I'm really hoping at least the sun stays out and lets us enjoy being outside by the water.
Have a great weekend!
Posted by Wendy at 8:21 am 5 comments
Wednesday, May 17, 2006
Noah's Ark is on the boards...
Nothing is more thrilling than starting a new project. Well, except may be finishing one! My niece is about 3 weeks away from having a new baby so its not like I didn't have any warning to get something stitched, but other things kept getting in the way. And possibilities for birth samplers are endless these days, the more I searched on-line, the more things I found that I liked. What finally narrowed down my search was my love of anything-Prairie Schooler, and knowing that my niece likes Noah's Ark pieces.
On my last visit to Knowledge & Needles, I found 2 PS charts called Two by Two and Two by Two II and while not looking like a birth sampler, I absolutely loved the ark and all the charted animals. Ann suggested a band sampler style for a birth sampler and I was sold! Then it was a matter of how on earth do I chart out such a thing.
I found an on line source for graph paper and scanned all the charts of the ark and animals. I cut them out and started placing them in different positions on my graph paper. The charts are all slightly different sizes, so it really was a matter of trying to figure out which ones worked together best and flowed fairly smoothly. Carrie helped out using Excel to chart out the blocks, so I could make sure that I have a general idea of where each animal will be stitched in relation to the others. And with hubby making a final copy of all my various bits and pieces, finally I have my PS Noah's Ark Birth Sampler ready to go.
And amazingly enough, I found a piece of 28 count cream quaker cloth in my stash - perfect size - 14" x 55". I think this was an odds & ends piece from Silkweaver that I bought ages ago.
Now .... to just make my first few stitches! Hmmm, don't think this will be ready in time for the baby though!
Posted by Wendy at 8:16 am 3 comments
Monday, May 15, 2006
INXS & Mother's Day
I was very spoiled on Mother's Day. I got a Rachael Ray cookbook from Carrie and JF and then she had me pick out a recipe which she then made for my dinner Saturday night - it was delicious!
From Nick I got earrings - gold and silver intertwined. And from Kelly, a really pretty case for my IPOD and cool looking post-it notes (she knows I am fascinated by post-its).
After a Chinese food dinner Sunday night, hubby and I headed to the Air Canada Centre in downtown TO to see INXS! Stabilo opened for them, which I was happy about as I like their music also. But once INXS came out, they were incredible. JD is such a showman, he never stops on stage, just constantly in motion. They played a lot of older INXS music plus several new ones from their latest CD. 2 solid hours of music - it was amazing.
What a great way to top off Mother's Day! Now back to the real world and back to work for me after a week off the past week.
Posted by Wendy at 8:23 am 2 comments
Friday, May 12, 2006
This week's SBQ
From the Stitching SBQ:
When you stitch from a kit and use the supplied floss do you have leftovers? If so, how much and what do you do with them? If not, do you usually have just enough or do you have to dig into your stash to finish?
I usually do have leftover floss because I'm pretty careful when using it. I only toss away leftover pieces shorter than my finger.
I never know what to do with leftovers, especially if from one of the kits, where the floss isn't DMC-numbered. So the leftovers usually just sit in a very pretty lump and get pushed in with the kit leftovers - pattern and picture - in case, just one day, somebody else might want to do this pattern.
So yes, somewhere in a box, packed neatly away, are all my 'left-overs' waiting for their chance to come out and be played with again. I know there's an island for misfit toys - may be there is an island for leftover kits too?
Posted by Wendy at 8:35 am 1 comments
Thursday, May 11, 2006
Almost human again!
Its been a while since I've put anything on this blog - I spent several days in the hospital and my first few days back home were not so good either. Yesterday I started to feel more like myself again...finally! I even picked up my stitching for the first time with any enthusiasm, although first off I had to frog what I had tried to do the day before and failed at miserably.
On the plus side, my sisters have been by to visit which is always nice. And hubby has been working hard and coming home to prepare dinner and tidy the house. I still have a couple more days to enjoy being a couch potato before back to work on Monday. I think I actually may enjoy the next couple of days of being pampered and waited on!
Posted by Wendy at 8:17 am 0 comments
Monday, May 01, 2006
Creative Festival stash
Spring is finally here, and to stay! What great weather we had all weekend long, and not a rain drop in sight.
The Creative Needlework festival was wonderful - and far too easy to spend all my money. It wasn't overly crowded which made visiting all the booths much much easier. Although there wasn't too much to be seen, stitching-wise, the quilting and scrapbooking areas far made up for it.
Here is a pic of the newest must-have series that I spotted. Its called Coffee Classic Inspirations, by McKenna Ryan. I have done a couple of her patterns and they are a lot of fun, lots of tracing of little tiny pieces and cutting out, but so easy to put together with heat-n-bond. Then its just top stitching ! The store that had these patterns kitted up, unfortunately was out of them, so I'll just have to make a point of getting into their shop next month. This will look great on my newly painted kitchen wall.
I did hit Len's Mill and found a really cute house panel and a couple of fabrics that will coordinate to make a table runner. I also picked up a bag pattern and then found some ultra-suede to make it and a very pretty batik to use as lining.
And the knitting bug has truly gotten me, for some crazy reason, could be all the knitting I've been reading about on other blogs, and seeing Nancy's gorgeous knitted afghan at our last get-together. I found a lovely sweater pattern kit at Mary Maxim's and that ended up in my bag to take home also. And I even managed to get it started last night, even after the kids had dragged me down to the lake for a 5 km bike ride. They were rollerblading, far more difficult than what I was doing, but hey, they're a lot younger than me!
Posted by Wendy at 8:22 am 2 comments


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Global Rheumatology Therapeutics Market Share & Trends will Hit USD 50.9 billion by 2022
Zion Market Research recently added a new report on "Rheumatology Therapeutics Market by Disease Type (Rheumatoid Arthritis, Osteoarthritis, Lupus, Gout, Ankylosing spondylitis and other), Drug Type (Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs (NSAIDs), Analgesics, Disease Modifying Anti-Rheumatic Drugs (DMARDs), Corticosteroids and Others), Distribution Channel (Retail Pharmacy, Online Pharmacy, Hospitals): Global Industry Perspective, Comprehensive Analysis and Forecast, 2017 – 2022.: Global Industry Perspective, Comprehensive Analysis and Forecast, 2017 – 2022." in their database which includes the in-depth analysis and global forecast for the market. The Rheumatology Therapeutics Market's complete outline is crystal clear penned down in the global Rheumatology Therapeutics Market research report such that not only an unskilled individual but also a professional can easily extrapolate the entire Rheumatology Therapeutics Market within few seconds. The current market research report shifts our focus onto the vital aspects of the market like Rheumatology Therapeutics Market product overview, Rheumatology Therapeutics Market bifurcations, growth enhancers, Rheumatology Therapeutics Market share, and others in an imperative manner. Even the factors hampering the development, leading companies, supply-demand chain, futuristic facts, economic strategies, government policies, and topological statistics are enlightened in the survey report. The research dossier endows the information pertaining to the dynamics and genuine facts propelling the expansion as well as the product sale on a global basis. The report comprises of key players.
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Some of the Major Market Players Are:
- AbbVieInc.
- PfizerInc.
- Bristol-Myers Squibb Company
- Merck & Co.Inc.
- AmgenInc.
- Janssen BiotechInc.
- Novartis AG
- GenentechInc.
- Takeda Pharmaceutical and Sanofi.
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Promising Regions & Countries Mentioned In The Rheumatology Therapeutics Market Report:
- North America ( United States)
- Europe ( Germany, France, UK)
- Asia-Pacific ( China, Japan, India)
- Latin America ( Brazil)
- The Middle East & Africa
The Study Objectives of Rheumatology Therapeutics Market Report Are:
- Examine and study the global Rheumatology Therapeutics Market sales, value, status (2016) and forecast (2024).
- Focuses on the key Rheumatology Therapeutics Market manufacturers, to study the sales, value, market share and development plans in the future.
- Define, describe and forecast the Rheumatology Therapeutics Market by type, application, and region.
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- Examine competitive developments such as expansions, agreements, new product launches, and acquisitions in the market
- Strategically profile the key players and comprehensively analyses their growth strategies.
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Key Topics Covered:
- Introduction
- Executive Summary
- Rheumatology Therapeutics Market Dynamics
- Global Rheumatology Therapeutics Market Competitive Landscape
- Global Rheumatology Therapeutics Market Therapy Type Segment Analysis
- Global Rheumatology Therapeutics Market Therapeutic Area Segment Analysis
- Global Rheumatology Therapeutics Market End-User Segment Analysis
- Global Rheumatology Therapeutics Market Regional Segment Analysis
- Company Profiles
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- Up and Downstream industry examination
- Economy impact highlights finding
- Channels and hypothesis believability
- Market challenge by Players
- Enhancement suggestions examination
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- Use five-year forecasts to assess how the Rheumatology Therapeutics Market is predicted to develop.
Thanks for reading this article; you can also get individual chapter wise section or region wise report version like North America, Europe or Asia.


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WASHINGTON (AP) -- In the face of withering criticism, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel has canceled the creation of a new military medal for drone and cyber warriors, instead ordering military leaders to develop a special pin or device that would be attached to already existing medals or ribbons.
Hagel's predecessor, Leon Panetta, created the Distinguished Warfare Medal to be awarded to troops such as drone operators and cyber warriors who have a major effect on a military operation but never actually set foot in the combat zone. That decision triggered broad complaints from veterans and lawmakers who said it should not be ranked higher than traditional combat medals such as the Purple Heart and Bronze Star.
On Monday Hagel said that while the department should recognize the extraordinary achievements of those troops, the award should not be a stand-alone medal.
When Panetta announced the medal would be created in mid-February, defense officials said it would be considered a bit higher in ranking than the Bronze Star and the Purple Heart, but lower than the Silver Star. But the Veterans of Foreign Wars and other groups sent a letter to President Barack Obama in March, asking him to keep the medal ranked below the Purple Heart, which is awarded for combat injuries. Critics said the ranking was an injustice to those troops who risked their lives in battle.
Last month, under orders from Hagel, the military stopped production of the medal and top defense and military leaders began a new review. Hagel asked Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, to report back to him in 30 days.
Hagel — who was twice awarded the Purple Heart for his service in Vietnam — said that the review concluded that "misconceptions regarding the precedence of the award were distracting from its original purpose."
Senior military leaders who conducted the study recommended the creation of a device, similar to the "V'' for valor that can be attached to the Bronze Star and other medals to reward an act of heroism. They have 90 days to finalize details and criteria for the award.
Panetta, in creating the new medal, said it reflected battlefield contributions in a world of changing warfare. He said that remotely piloted aircraft and cyber systems have changed the way that wars are fought and can change the course of a conflict from afar.
In a statement on Monday, Hagel agreed with the idea behind the initial recognition.
"The servicemen and women who operate and support our remotely piloted aircraft, operate in cyber and others are critical to our military's mission of safeguarding the nation," he said.
The American Legion's national commander, James E. Koutz, said Hagel's decision keeps the evolving roles of military combat in proper perspective.
"Cyber and drone warfare have become part of the equation for 21st-century combat, and those who fight such battles with distinction certainly deserve to be recognized," Koutz said in a statement. "But the American Legion still believes there's a fundamental difference between those who fight remotely, or via computer, and those fighting against an enemy who is trying to kill them."
As originally conceived, the blue, red and white-ribboned medal was to be awarded to individuals for "extraordinary achievement" related to a military operation that occurred after Sept. 11, 2001. But it does not require the recipient to risk his or her life to get it.
Over the last decade of war, remotely piloted Predator and Reaper drones have become a critical weapon to gather intelligence and conduct airstrikes against terrorists or insurgents around the world. They have been used extensively on the battlefields in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as in strikes in Pakistan, Yemen and northern Africa.
Over the same time, cyberattacks have become a growing national security threat, with Panetta and others warning that the next Pearl Harbor could well be a computer-based assault.
The Bronze Star is the fourth-highest combat decoration and rewards meritorious service in battle, while the Silver Star is the third-highest combat award given for bravery. The Purple Heart is ranked just below the Bronze Star.
Several other awards, including the Defense Distinguished Service Medal, are also ranked higher than the Silver Star, but are not awarded for combat.
In addition to veterans' concerns, there is a practical side to the rankings for currently serving troops. There are grades of medals — commendation, merit, distinguished — that affect promotions for those still in uniform. Each grade gives troops a certain number of points needed for promotions.
Associated Press writer Donna Cassata contributed to this report.


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Europe's biggest software craftsmanship conference, CRAFT, is streaming live on Ustream this Thursday and Friday. The Craft Ustream channel will provide free access to more than 60 presentations from industry-recognized leaders.
The Craft Conference, a non-profit event about software craftsmanship organized by Ustream, Prezi and Ericsson in Budapest, is sold out. Making knowledge accessible for everyone is a core value of the organizers' mission. More than 60 percent of the 800 attendees will come from outside Hungary. Speakers will discuss which tools, methods, and practices should be part of the toolbox of a modern developer and company. The conference will also cover new technologies, trends and the future of software development. Attendees will learn from the peers, practitioners and leaders in the developer community.
"This year's topics have been carefully selected to meet modern developers' demand for knowledge—microservices, functional programming, distributed systems, devops, data infrastructure, concurrency, infrastructure automation and software architecture make up just a selection of the subject matter that will be covered," said Gergely Hodicska, Ustream VP of engineering and conference organizer. "Ustream's goal is to make knowledge accessible for all and to show that the Ustream platform is a great innovative tool for anyone with these objectives."
The speaker line-up is star-studded and includes:
- Marty Cagan, founder of Silicon Valley Product Group. Before founding Silicon Valley Product group, Marty was the senior vice president of product and design for eBay, where he was responsible for creating and building the product and design organizations, and defining the products and services for the company's global e-commerce trading site.
- Mary Poppendieck, consultant, teacher and author. Mary will discuss 'The New New Software Development Game: Containers, Micro Services and Contract Tests.' Besides an amazing career as a programmer, Mary also wrote The Lean Mindset: Ask the Right Questions, in A popular writer and speaker, she continues to bring fresh perspectives to the world of software development.
- Dan North, programmer and organizational change specialist. Dan applies principles from lean operations and agile software development to help organizations align their technology capabilities with their business objectives.
- Alf Rehn, professor, speaker, consultant, author and currently the Chair of Management and Organization at Åbo Akademi University. Alf has taught worldwide, including at China's Shangdong Economic University, Sweden's Royal Institute of Technology and the UK's Manchester Business School. Alf will provide Thursday's closing keynote "How To Save Innovation From Itself."
Other noted speakers are from Google, Pivotal, Twitter, PayPal, IBM, Netflix, Atlassian, Fastly, Etsy, Gilt, Red Hat, LinkedIn, Basho, Typesafe and Aerospike.
Watch the live stream here: http://www.ustream.tv/craft.


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Forestboy wrote:Some of the new weapons and armor could certainly be lifted for Castle.For more fantasy related things, it's a gold mine. I really like the purple wings found on 70012, for example.
I really like the Were-wolf-like tribe from Chima though, especially this one:
(via Bricklink)
I think that for the most part, it's going to be difficult lifting useful pieces from them (small amount of greys, browns, tans, greens), but in my opinion, it does depend on what you're looking to build.
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Obama travels to Europe in June
President Obama returns to Europe in early June to meet with allies in Poland, Belgium, and France.
Obama will celebrate Polish independence, meet with the leaders of the Group of Seven nations, and commemorate the 70th anniversary of the D-Day landings in Normandy, France, during the trip.
In Warsaw, Obama will honor the Polish Day of Freedom, marking the 25th anniversary of that nation's rejection of communist rule.
On June 4-5, Obama will be in Brussels for a G-7 summit with the leaders of the Great Britain, France, Italy, Canada, Japan, and Germany. The leaders organized this meeting after canceling a G-8 summit scheduled for Russia because of its incursion into Ukraine.
"The (G-7) leaders will discuss their broad shared economic, security and development agenda, and follow up on their March 24th discussion in The Hague on the situation in Ukraine," said White House spokesman Jay Carney.
The president will also attend a June 6 commemoration of D-Day on the beaches of France.
"The President greatly appreciates the sacrifices made by our veterans and their families, and he looks forward to honoring them, along with the contributions of all the allies," Carney said.


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Robe Petite Anémone
About the Brand
Atlantique Ascoli followed in her Parisian parents' very chic footsteps when she took to designing her line of tailored separates: her mother Emmanuelle Khanh was a top model in the 1960s who went on to launch her own eyewear line; and her father, Quasar Khanh, is an icon in avant-garde design (his works include a glass-cube car). Inspired by the legendary women like Martha Graham and Charlotte Perriand, Atlantique's poised, pared-down interpretations of Victorian-era design—like shirred collars and volume-enhancing pleats—are typically made with cotton and linen shirting that gives each piece a bit of structure. In keeping with her less-is-more design philosophy, each piece is meticulously perfected—ironically, it takes a lot of effort to achieve that sort of effortless elegance.


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Over almost 8 years I have enjoyed sharing this with you and it has been fun. I've reached a lot of people and, based on various emails and comments to the blog touched a lot of people in a positive way.
However, as with all good things, it's time to call it a day with this blog as the time commitments in my personal and professional life require me to make some cutbacks in the number of lists / blogs I maintain: this will be the last post to this site. I will keep the content up for a while for people to peruse.
Thank you for allowing me to be a part of your life over the years!
Best regards,
Michael Gallagher


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Board & Mission Statement
Why IAM?
About Us
Articles by IAM Associates
Ben-Gurion University
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Tel Aviv University
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Boycott Calls Against Israel
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Anti-Israel Petitions Supported by Israeli Academics
General Articles
Anti-Israel Conferences
Anti-Israel Academic Resolutions
Lectures Interrupted
Activists Profiles
Readers Forum
On the Brighter Side
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Purchase the book from Amazon "Academic Freedom in Israel: A Comparative Perspective"
Who are we? What is Israel Academia Monitor?
The Problem
Lately, increasing attention has been focused on the activities of tenured extremists at universities in Israel. Israeli university campuses may be more politicized and contain larger numbers of extremists than universities in other democratic countries, people working to support the enemies of their own country during a time of war. Israeli universities are increasingly serving as bases for open seditious activism by a large number of faculty members, who serve as fig leaves for those attacking Israel and opposing it very existence, serving as the "Israelis critical of their own country" who supposedly clear the enemies of Israel of any suspicion that they operate out of ulterior motives. These Israeli academics justify anti-Israel terrorism, denounce Zionism as a form of racism, and denounce Israel as a supposed fascist country (see examples below.)
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Colorado officials would be prohibited from enforcing any federal laws that ban or restrict the ownership of semi-automatic weapons or ammunition magazines, under a bill sponsored by two state lawmakers whose districts include the southwest Weld County facilities of Magpul Industries, a firearms accessories manufacturer.
Awaiting a hearing by the Senate State, Veterans and Military Affairs Committee is Senate Bill 140, a measure from Sen. Vicki Marble, R-Fort Collins, and Rep. Lori Saine, R-Dacono, that would bar any state employee or agency — including peace officers — from enforcing any federal laws or regulations enacted since Jan. 1, if those laws or rules restrict possessing firearms, firearms accessories or ammunition manufactured commercially or privately in the United States, if those weapons, gun parts and ammunition "remain exclusively within the borders of Colorado."
The Marble-Saine bill is unlikely to survive its first committee test in the Democratic-controlled state Senate.
However, if it became state law, it would also declare unenforceable within Colorado any federal laws that require the registration of weapons or restrict Coloradans from buying any weapons from licensed dealers or private sellers in other states.
Their bill would also bar state officials from enforcing any federal laws that would restrict residents of other states from purchasing or possessing any firearm while visiting Colorado.
The bill would allow Colorado's attorney general to defend a Colorado resident prosecuted in U.S. District Court for alleged violations of restrictions that Congress might pass on possession of assault weapons or high-capacity ammunition magazines, if those weapons or magazines remained inside Colorado.
It would further make it a misdemeanor for any federal government employee or agent to attempt to enforce such federal laws in Colorado.
John Fryar can be reached at 303-684-5211 or firstname.lastname@example.com.


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A modern-day Faust, a squirrely defense attorney, a stoner alien, a lawyer/wrestling coach... there are too many new movies this week to mention, but everybody should be able to find something to watch.
Bradley Cooper stars as a struggling writer who gets introduced to a wonder drug that allows him to tap into 100% of his brain's capacity, but once darker forces realize his gift, he becomes a marked man. Co-star Robert De Niro and Abby Cornish. In theaters everywhere, read our review and watch the trailer
The Lincoln Lawyer
Matthew McConaughey is a defense attorney who conducts a great deal of his business from the backseat of a Lincoln town car driven by a former client paying off his debt. He takes on a wealthy client who appears to have been set up, only to realize that he may be defending a man guilty of murder. Co-starring Ryan Phillippe and Marisa Tomei. In theaters everywhere, watch the trailer
Simon Pegg and Nick Frost are a pair of geeks road-tripping across America who come upon an honest to God alien (voiced by Seth Rogen), and vow to help escape the government agents who want to dissect him. In theaters everywhere, read our review and watch the trailer
Alabama Moon
When a man raising his son in the woods of Alabama dies, the boy is taken in by the cops and thrown into a reform school. But the kid masterminds an escape and convinces his new friends they should go to Alaska to live off the grid. Stars John Goodman. In limited release, watch the trailer
Bill Cunningham New York (on Wed.)
A documentary about the legendary New York Times photographer, who's been capturing the city's evolving fashions for decades. In limited release, watch the trailer
The Butcher, the Chef and the Swordsman
An action-comedy out of Hong Kong telling three stories: about a butcher out for vengeance against the swordsman who stole his wife; about a chef preparing an eight-course meal; and about warrior who melts down a bunch of championship swords to make the ultimate weapon, one that doesn't quite work as planned. In limited release
The directorial debut from photographer Jordan Scott, daughter of Ridley. Set in the 1830s, it tells the story of a diving coach at an English boarding school for girls, and the triangle of obsession that develops between her, the team's captain and and new girl from Spain. In limited release, read our review and watch the trailer
Desert Flower
Based on the autobiography of Waris Dirie, who fled war-torn Somalia to work in a fast food restaurant in London, where she was discovered by a fashion photographer who helped make her a supermodel. In limited release, watch the trailer
The Music Never Stopped
Based on Oliver Sacks' essay "The Last Hippy," about a father, JK Simmons, and son, Lou Taylor Pucci, who reconnect thanks to the rock music of the 1960s. Julia Ormond co-stars as the music therapist who helps bring them together. In limited release, watch the trailer
Win Win
Paul Giamatti is a lawyer who moonlights as a high school wrestling coach. Strapped for cash, he takes advantage of an elderly client, a move that backfires when the man's estranged grandson shows up, looking for a place to live. Co-stars Amy Ryan, Bobby Cannavale and Jeffrey Tambor. In limited release, read our review and watch the trailer
Winter in Wartime
A teenage boy helps a wounded British paratrooper caught behind enemy lines in Nazi-occupied Holland. In Dutch with English subtitles. In limited release, watch the trailer


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The Allen Telescope Array
The Allen Telescope Array (ATA) is a "Large Number of Small Dishes" (LNSD) array designed to be highly effective for simultaneous surveys undertaken for SETI projects (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) at centimeter wavelengths.
The initiative for building the ATA emerged from a series of workshops convened by the SETI Institute beginning in 1997. These workshops were charged with defining a path for future development of SETI technologies and search strategies. The relentless advance of computer and communications technologies made it clear that LNSD arrays were more efficient and less expensive than the large antennas traditionally constructed for radio astronomy and SETI. The final report of the workshop, "SETI 2020," recommended the construction of a so-called One Hectare Telescope, having a collecting area commensurate with its name.
The SETI Institute sought private funds for such an instrument, and in 2001 Paul Allen (co-founder of Microsoft) agreed to fund the technology development and first phase of implementation, culminating in the construction of 42 antennas. In October 2007 the array began commissioning tests and initial observations.


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Undervalued Primary Care Threatens Access To Health Care in the United States
Wednesday, Aug. 14, 2013
Janelle Davis
Public Relations Strategist
American Academy of Family Physicians
(800) 274-2237 Ext. 6253
LEAWOOD, Kan. — Access to high quality, coordinated health care requires an adequate primary care workforce — something the United States doesn't have as a result of the payment system for primary care services. Faced with a payment system that fails to recognize and pay for the complexity and intensity of modern primary medical care, medical students have turned away from primary care, opting instead for higher paid sub-specialty professions.
And that needs to change, according to Glen Stream, MD, MBI, board chair of the American Academy of Family Physicians, and Marci Nielsen, PhD, MPH, chief executive officer of the Patient-Centered Primary Care Collaborative.
"We need to pay for a system that compensates for quality of care provided within a primary care patient-centered medical home," said Stream. "But our system currently pays for the number of procedures that may or may not be coordinated with other providers. To a great extent, that's because payment is determined by a system that has overvalued procedures and undervalued the often time-intensive primary medical care that would prevent the need for those procedures. We've seen a great deal of discussion about paying too much for procedures and the waste it creates. While overpayment is a legitimate concern, the real threat to the primary care workforce — and therefore patients' access to care — is underpayment for primary medical care."
Nielsen stressed the importance of primary care in an increasingly complex health care system.
"Primary care is the foundation of our health care system," Nielsen agreed. "Primary care patients often have multiple conditions that require a comprehensive treatment plan and complex coordination of services. But the current way of calculating the value of primary medical care fails to recognize the scale of services or the medical expertise required for their care. If we don't reinforce the primary care foundation, it will erode and we'll never see a health care system that provides high quality care, avoids unnecessary care and moves toward affordable care for everyone. Primary care can be paid differently and better without increasing total health care costs."
The AAFP has advocated for improved valuation of primary care services since a 2006 Medicare Payment Advisory Commission report(www.medpac.gov) called for a panel of independent experts to help the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services identify overvalued and undervalued services, and to review recommendations from the American Medical Association's Relative Value Scale Update Committee (RUC). Since then, the AAFP has supported legislative and regulatory efforts to bring payment for primary care in line with the value it provides to the health care system. Among them have been the Accuracy in Medicare Physician Payment Act of 2013(www.govtrack.us) and primary care payment reforms in the CMS's proposed 2014 Medicare physician fee schedule.
Such reforms would move toward a stronger primary care physician workforce, according to Stream.
"In today's primary care environment, it's common for a physician and his or her team to care for a patient with multiple chronic conditions such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, obesity, depression and sleep apnea in a single office visit," Stream said. "Such a patient is likely to be taking several medications to manage these conditions. These patient visits are very time intensive due to the complexity and coordination of care required. Primary care physicians should be compensated for the role they play in providing high quality care that prevents the need for more expensive treatment in the long run. It's better for patients, and it's better for the health system as a whole."
For additional background information, please view our media kit.
# # #
Founded in 1947, the AAFP represents 136,700 physicians and medical students nationwide. It is the largest medical society devoted solely to primary care. Family physicians conduct approximately one in five office visits -- that's 192 million visits annually or 48 percent more than the next most visited medical specialty. Today, family physicians provide more care for America's underserved and rural populations than any other medical specialty. Family medicine's cornerstone is an ongoing, personal patient-physician relationship focused on integrated care. To learn more about the specialty of family medicine, the AAFP's positions on issues and clinical care, and for downloadable multi-media highlighting family medicine, visit www.aafp.org/media. For information about health care, health conditions and wellness, please visit the AAFP's award-winning consumer website, www.familydoctor.org(familydoctor.org).
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