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In the state of Massachusettsthe law provides that the customer lives in the state, and must be approved by local court in state. Approval granted only if the transaction is fair and reasonable, and in the customers best interest. There also exists a 10 day waiting period to protect the customer.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:
Section 1. The General Laws are hereby amended by adding after chapter 231B the following chapter:-
CHAPTER 231C. r> STRUCTURED SETTLEMENT CONTRACTS. Section 1. For the purposes of this chapter the following words shall have the following meanings unless the context otherwise requires:
"Annuity issuer", an insurer that has issued an annuity contract to be used to fund periodic payments under a structured settlement.
"Applicable law", any of the following, as applicable in interpreting the terms of a structured settlement:
(1) the laws of the United States;
(2) the laws of the commonwealth, including principles of equity applied in the courts of the commonwealth; and
(3) the laws of any other jurisdiction; (i) that is the domicile of the payee or any other interested party; (ii) under whose law a structured settlement agreement was approved by a court or responsible administrative authority; or (iii) in whose courts a settled claim was pending when the parties entered into a structured settlement agreement.
"Applicable federal rate", the most recently published applicable rate for determining the present value of an annuity, as issued by the United States Internal Revenue Service pursuant to section 7520 of the United States Internal Revenue Code.
"Assignee", a party that acquires structured settlement payment rights directly or indirectly from a transferee of such rights.
"Dependents", a payee's spouse and minor children and all other family members and other persons from whom the payee is legally obligated to provide support, including spousal maintenance.
"Discount/finance charge", the sum of all charges payable directly or indirectly from assigned structured settlement payments and imposed directly or indirectly by the transferee as an incident to a transfer of structured settlement payment rights, including:
(1) interest charges, discounts and other compensation for the time value of money;
(2) all application, origination, processing, underwriting, closing, filing and notary fees and all similar charges, however denominated; and
(3) all charges for commissions or brokerage, irrespective of the identity of the party to whom such charges are paid or payable.
The term discount/finance charge shall not include any fee or other obligation incurred by a payee in obtaining independent professional advice concerning a transfer of structured settlement payment rights.
"Discounted present value", with respect to a proposed transfer of structured settlement payment rights, the fair present value of future payments, as determined by discounting the payments to the present using the most recently published applicable federal rate as the discount rate.
"Independent professional advice", advice of an attorney, certified public accountant, actuary, or other licensed professional advisor:
(1) who is engaged by a payee to render advice concerning the legal, tax and financial implications of a transfer of structured settlement payment rights;
(2) who is not in any manner affiliated with or compensated by the transferee of the transfer; and
(3) whose compensation for providing the advice is not affected by whether or not a transfer occurs.
"Interested party", with respect to any structured settlement, the following:
(1) the payee;
(2) a beneficiary irrevocably designated under the annuity contract to receive payments following the payee's death or, if such designated beneficiary is a minor, the designated beneficiary's parent or guardian;
(3) the annuity issuer;
(4) the structured settlement obligor; and
(5) any other party that has continuing rights or obligations under the structured settlement.
"Payee", an individual who is receiving tax free damage payments under a structured settlement and proposes to make a transfer of payment rights under the structured settlement.
"Qualified assignment agreement", an agreement providing for a qualified assignment as provided by the United States Internal Revenue Code, Title 26, section 130.
"Responsible administrative authority", with respect to a structured settlement, a government authority vested by law with exclusive jurisdiction over the settled claim resolved by the structured settlement.
"Settled claim", the original tort claim or workers' compensation claim resolved by a structured settlement.
"Structured settlement", an arrangement for periodic payment of damages for personal injuries or sickness established by settlement or judgment in resolution of a tort claim or for periodic payments in settlement of a workers' compensation claim.
"Structured settlement agreement", the agreement, judgment, stipulation, or release embodying the terms of a structured settlement, including the rights of the payee to receive periodic payments.
"Structured settlement obligor", the party that has the obligation to make continuing periodic payments to the payee under a structured settlement agreement or a qualified assignment agreement.
"Structured settlement payment rights", rights to receive periodic payments, including lump sum payment under a structured settlement, whether from the settlement obligor or the annuity issuer, where:
(1) the payee or any other interested party is domiciled in the state;
(2) the structured settlement agreement was approved by a court or responsible administrative authority in the commonwealth; or
(3) the settled claim was pending before a court of the commonwealth when the parties entered into the structured settlement agreement.
"Terms of the structured settlement", the terms of the structured settlement agreement, the annuity contract, a qualified assignment agreement and an order or approval of a court, responsible administrative authority or other government authority authorizing or approving the structured settlement.
"Transfer", a sale, assignment, pledge, hypothecation, or other form of alienation or encumbrance made by a payee for consideration.
"Transfer agreement", the agreement providing for transfer of structured settlement payment rights from a payee to a transferee.
"Transferee", a person who is receiving or will receive structured settlement payment rights resulting from a transfer.
Section 2. (a) No direct or indirect transfer of structured settlement payment rights shall be effective, and no structured settlement obligor or annuity issuer shall be required to make a payment directly or indirectly to a transferee of structured settlement payment rights, unless the transfer has been authorized in advance in a final order of a court of competent jurisdiction or responsible administrative authority, such as an administrative law judge, based on the court's or responsible administrative authority's written express findings that:
(1) the transfer complies with the requirements of this chapter and will not contravene other applicable law;
(2) not less than ten days before the date on which the payee first incurred an obligation with respect to the transfer, the transferee has provided to the payee a disclosure statement in bold type, no smaller than 14 points, specifying:
(i) the amounts and due dates of the structures settlement payments to be transferred;
(ii) the aggregate amount of the payments;
(iii) the discounted present value of the payments, together with the discount rate used in determining the discounted present value;
(iv) the gross amount payable to the payee in exchange for the payments; (v) an itemized listing of all brokers' commissions, service charges, application fees, processing fees, closing costs, filing fees, referral fees, administrative fees, legal fees, notary fees, and other commissions, fees, costs, expenses and charges payable by the payee or deductible from the gross amount otherwise payable to the payee;
(vi) the net amount payable to the payee after deduction of all commissions, fees, costs, expenses and charges described in clause (v);
(vii) the quotient, expressed as a percentage, obtained by dividing the net payment amount by the discounted present value of the payments, which shall be disclosed in the statement as follows: "The net amount that you will receive from us in exchange for your future structured settlement payments represent ___% of the estimated current value of the payments";
(viii) the effective annual interest rate, which rate shall be disclosed in the statement as follows: "Based on the net amount that you receive from us and the amounts and timing of the structured settlement payments that you are turning over to us, you will, in effect, be paying interest to us at a rate of ___% per year"; and
(ix) the amount of any penalty and the aggregate amount of any liquidated damages, including penalties payable by the payee in the event of a breach of the transfer agreement by the payee;
(3) the payee has established that the transfer is in the best interests of the payee and the payee's dependents;
(4) the payee has received, or waived the right to receive independent professional advice regarding the legal, tax and financial implications of the transfer;
(5) the transferee has given written notice of the transferee's name, address, and taxpayer identification number to the annuity issuer and the structured settlement obligor and has filed a copy of the notice with the court or responsible administrative authority;
(6) the transfer agreement provides that if the payee is domiciled in the commonwealth, any disputes between the parties shall be governed, interpreted, construed, and enforced in accordance with the laws of the commonwealth and that the domicile state of the payee is the proper place of venue to bring any cause of action arising out of a breach of the agreement; and
(7) the court or responsible administrative agency has made a determination that the net amount payable to the payee is fair, just and reasonable under the circumstances then existing.
(b) The transfer agreement shall also provide that the parties agree to the jurisdiction of any court of competent jurisdiction located in the commonwealth. If the transfer would contravene the terms of the structured settlement, upon the filing of a written objection by any interested party and after considering the objection and any response to it, the court or responsible administrative authority may grant, deny or impose conditions upon the proposed transfer as the court or responsible administrative authority deems just and proper under the facts and circumstances in accordance with established principles of law. Any order approving the transfer shall require that the transferee indemnify the annuity issuer and the structured settlement obligor for any liability including reasonable costs and attorney's fees arising from compliance by the issuer or obligor with the order of the court or responsible administrative authority.
(c) A provision in a transfer agreement giving a transferee power to confess judgment against a payee shall be unenforceable to the extent the amount of the judgment would exceed the amount paid by the transferee to the payee, less any payments received from the structured settlement obligor or the payee.
(d) In negotiating a structured settlement of claims brought by or on behalf of a claimant who is domiciled in the commonwealth, the structured settlement obligor shall disclose in writing to the claimant or the claimant's legal representative all of the following information that is not otherwise specified in the structured settlement agreement:
(1) the amounts and due dates of the periodic payments to be made under the structured settlement agreement; in the case of payments that will be subject to periodic percentage increases, the amounts of future payments may be disclosed by identifying the base payment amount, the amount and timing of scheduled increases, and the manner in which increases will be compounded;
(2) the amount of the premium payable to the annuity issuer;
(3) the discounted present value of all periodic payments that are not life-contingent, together with the discount rate used in determining the discounted present value;
(4) the nature and amount of any cost that may be deducted from any of the periodic payments;
(5) where applicable, that any transfer of the periodic payments is prohibited by the terms of the structured settlement and may otherwise be prohibited or restricted under applicable law; and
(6) that any transfer of the periodic payments by the claimant may subject the claimant to serious adverse tax consequences.
(e) The district court shall have nonexclusive jurisdiction over an application for authorization of a transfer of structured settlement payment rights.
(f) Not less than 20 days before the scheduled hearing on an application for authorization of a transfer of structured settlement payment rights, the transferee shall file with the court or responsible administrative authority, any other government authority that previously approved the structured settlement, and all interested parties a notice of the proposed transfer and the application for its authorization. The notice shall include:
(1) a copy of the transferee's application to the court or responsible administrative authority;
(2) a copy of the transfer agreement;
(3) a copy of the disclosure statement required under this section;
(4) notification that an interested party is entitled to support, oppose, or otherwise respond to the transferee's application, either in person or by counsel, by submitting written comments to the court or responsible administrative authority or by participating in the hearing; and
(5) notification of the time and place of the hearing and notification of the manner in which and the time by which written responses to the application shall be filed, in order to be considered by the court or responsible administrative authority.
Written responses to the application shall be filed within 15 days after service of the transferee's notice.
Section 3. (a) The provisions of sections 2 to 4, inclusive, shall not be waived.
(b) No payee who proposes to make a transfer of structured settlement payment rights shall incur a penalty, forfeit an application fee or other payment, or otherwise incur any liability to the proposed transferee based on the failure of the transfer to satisfy the conditions of section 2.
Section 4. (a) If in connection with a transfer of structured settlement payment rights, a transferee has violated the discount/finance charge stipulation, neither the transferee nor any assignee shall be entitled to collect from the transferred payment rights, or from the payee, any amount in excess of the net advance amount, and the payee shall have a right to recover from the transferee or any assignee:
(1) a refund of any excess amounts previously received by the transferee or any assignee;
(2) a penalty in an amount determined by the court; and
(3) reasonable costs and attorney's fees.
(b) If in connection with a transfer of structured settlement payment rights, the transferee has violated the disclosure requirements in section 3, the transferee and any assignees shall be liable to the payee for:
(1) a penalty in an amount determined by the court; and
(2) reasonable costs and attorney's fees.
(c) A transferee or assignee shall not be liable for a penalty in any action brought under this section if the transferee or assignee establishes by a preponderance of evidence that the violation was not intentional and resulted from a bona fide error, notwithstanding the transferee's maintenance of procedures reasonably designed to avoid such errors.
(d) No action may be brought under this section if:
(1) in the case of a violation of the discount/finance charge stipulation, more than one year after the due date of the last transferred structured settlement payment; and
(2) in the case of the disclosure requirements of section 2, more than one year after the due date of the first transferred structured settlement payment.
(e) If the attorney general has reason to believe that any transferee has violated this chapter, the attorney general may bring a civil action for injunctive relief and such penalties and other relief as may be appropriate to secure compliance with this chapter.
Section 5. Nothing contained in this chapter shall be construed to authorize any transfer of workers' compensation payment rights in contravention of applicable law or to give effect to any transfer of workers' compensation or other payment rights that is invalid under applicable law.


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Espelkamp — The HARTING Technology Group intends to further expand its market position in North and Central America over the coming years. The comments were made by Jon DeSouza, President and CEO of HARTING Americas, in front of a group of journalists in Silao. Since 2016, HARTING has been producing overmolded cables and wiring harnesses in its own factory in the industrial city of Silao in the state of Guanajuato, and has a presence in the country's capital via a sales company. Mexico will be the 2018 partner country of HANNOVER MESSE.
"Mexico is crucial in our growth strategy," DeSouza says.
He said the decisive factors for the move to Central America were proximity to customers and the fact that well-known automobile manufacturers and suppliers had recently opened their own production facilities in Mexico. HARTING's world-renowned quality is produced in Silao. The company's manufacturing facility in Silao Industrial Park is just one kilometre away from Leon International Airport. This enables HARTING to ensure fast delivery to its customers from its own warehouse. In addition, the capital Mexico City is only 250 km away. There are currently about 50 employees working in the HARTING plant in Silao. An increase to 200 employees is planned for the near future.
HARTING has been present on the American continent for more than three decades. The company opened a plant and distribution company in 1986 in Elgin, Illinois, near Chicago. Today 150 emloyees supply more than 7,000 customers. Other sales organizations are located in Montreal, Canada and in Sao Paulo, Brazil. As a member of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), the Industrial Internet Consortium (IIC), and partnerships with e.g. IBM Watson and Microsoft, HARTING is involved in the development of new technologies in the USA through to market maturity.
In the 2016/2017 financial year, HARTING generated sales of € 73 million in the Americas, an increase of some 22 percent. For 2017/2018, the Technology Group expects consolidated Group sales to increase by 5-6 percent.

subset: commoncrawl


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5 Home Inspection Mistakes Buyers and Sellers Make
A home inspection is an assessment of a home's condition. Home inspectors not only identify problems with houses; they can give buyers information that will help them with the upkeep.
"We want to teach them how to maintain the property because it's the biggest investment they'll ever make," says Alden E. Gibson, a past president of the American Society of Home Inspectors.
If you're getting a home inspection, here are five mistakes to avoid.
Not Researching the Inspector
Too many buyers and sellers hire whoever is recommended to them without doing any research. The inspection is only as good as the inspector doing it, says Troy Bloxom, owner of Home Inspections Plus near Anchorage, Alaska, and past president of the National Association of Home Inspectors.
A few questions to ask:
· How long have you been inspecting homes?
· How many inspections have you done?
· What are your qualifications, certifications and training?
· What was your job before you were a home inspector? (Ideally, your pro was in contracting or building.)
You want a certified professional who stays current.
"There's a lot of stuff you have to know, and you want someone who's keeping up with ongoing education," says Kurt Mitenbuler, who is certified by the American Society of Home Inspectors (ASHI) and owns an inspection company in Evanston, Ill.
You're looking for an inspector who can analyze the home's strengths and weaknesses, then explain them.
Not Attending the Inspection
Being present for the inspection may not be mandatory, but it's a smart idea. Simply reading the inspection report isn't enough to give most homeowners the full picture, Gibson says: "If they don't see it, they don't understand it."
Gibson says he turns down dozens of inspections a year "because people can't be there or don't want to be there."
The inspection might take an entire morning or afternoon, so set aside enough time. Some inspectors will sit with you afterward to explain things and answer questions.
"Any home inspector who doesn't let you follow him around? That's weird. Ask me any question you want," Mitenbuler says.
A good inspector can give you an estimate of how much you'll need to spend on repairs and upgrades, which is very valuable information as you consider your budget.
Not Reading the Inspection Report
Too many buyers and sellers just glance at the inspection report. You need someone who uses "clear, concise" language in person and in written reports, Mitenbuler says. He recommends scanning a few reports by checking the inspector's website or asking for a sample report.
A knowledgeable pro will state simply what's wrong with the house and what it will take to fix, Mitenbuler says.
Not Getting a Presale Inspection
Many sellers decide to leave the presale inspection to the buyers, Bloxom says. That's a mistake.
When the buyers get an inspection (and if they're smart, they will), the sellers may have little time to complete repairs and keep the sale on track, Bloxom says.
But if the seller has the home inspected before putting it on the market, he has more time to do repairs and to shop around and control his costs for the work, Bloxom says.
Both buyers and sellers often wait too long to engage an inspector, Gibson says. You should find an inspector long before you have (or make) an offer on a home. "Any good inspector will be booked out," he says.
Not Prepping the Home
Inspectors get annoyed when homeowners don't prepare their houses for inspection.
"Don't force the home inspector to empty the closet to get into the attic," Mitenbuler says. If you have a crawl-space hatch, move anything sitting on top of it.
Got a lock on a utility closet, basement or shed? The inspector needs access, so open it or provide keys.
For a seller, the best tack is to be at home to meet the inspector, introduce yourself, provide your mobile number, and then you can take off, Mitenbuler says.
To reduce the need for repeat inspections, hire professionals to do repairs, Bloxom says. Too many sellers will try DIY or get them done on the cheap, but poor workmanship will show up during the follow-up inspection, Bloxom says, and could result in more repairs—and another inspection.
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Security researchers have released details about a vulnerability in the MySQL server that could allow potential attackers to access MySQL databases without inputting proper authentication credentials.
The vulnerability is identified as CVE-2012-2122 and was addressed in MySQL 5.1.63 and 5.5.25 in May. However, many server administrators might not be aware of its impact, because the changelog for those versions contained very little information about the security bug.
The vulnerability can only be exploited if MySQL was built on a system where the memcmp() function can return values outside the -128 to 127 range. This is the case for Linux systems that use an SSE-optimized glibc (GNU C library).
If MySQL was built on such a system, the code that compares the cryptographic hash of a user-inputted password to the hash stored in the database for a particular account will sometimes allow authentication even if the supplied password is incorrect.
The probability of triggering this bug successfully on systems that meet the prerequisite is about 1 in 256, said Sergei Golubchik, the security coordinator for MariaDB, in an email sent to the oss-sec mailing list on Saturday. "~300 attempts takes only a fraction of second, so basically account password protection is as good as nonexistent."
MariaDB is a community-developed branch of MySQL that was also affected by this vulnerability. The flaw was patched in MariaDB versions 5.1.62, 5.2.12, 5.3.6 and 5.5.23 back in April.
A module for exploiting this vulnerability was added to the popular Metasploit penetration testing framework on Sunday. After exploiting the vulnerability, the module copies the MySQL server's master user table, which contains all password hashes.
An attacker can crack the password hashes using dictionary attacks and maintain their unauthorized access on the server even if this authentication bypass vulnerability is later fixed. "If you are approaching this issue from the perspective of a penetration tester, this will be one of the most useful MySQL tricks for some time to come," Metasploit chief architect HD Moore said in a blog post on Monday.
Moore also published a list of Linux distributions for which older MySQL builds were found to be vulnerable to this attack. These include 64-bit versions of Ubuntu 10.04, 10.10, 11.04, 11.10 and 12.04, the 64-bit version of OpenSuSE 12.1, the 64-bit version of the Debian unstable branch, the 64-bit version of Fedora 16 and an unspecified version of Arch Linux.
Most Linux vendors distribute pre-compiled MySQL builds through their own repositories and patched builds should already be available for the most popular distributions. Users are advised to upgrade to non-vulnerable builds as soon as possible, especially since the exploit code for this vulnerability is now public.
No official patch is available for MySQL 5.0.x, because that version of the database server is no longer supported by Oracle. However, some Linux vendors might backport the patch from MySQL 5.1 or 5.5.


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Bio-One teams across the U.S. answer calls to help their communities and remediate a variety of scenes. In our new blog series, we'd like to bring you into the Bio-One world by sharing stories of the unique and important work we do for local communities.
Here is Week 1 of our Bio-One Weekly Wrap-Up.
Homeless Encampment Clean-Up - Temecula, CA
On the west coat, the Bio-One team was called by the Hemet San Jacinto Chamber of Commerce to safely decontaminate an area outside their office. With homelessness on the rise, there is in increase of biohazardous waste that is sadly starting to accumulate in zones of our cities.
While Bio-One teams have been actively remediating homeless encampments for decades, we just refreshed this information on our Bio-One website. View it here.
"We are actively looking for partnerships to help keep our cities clean and safe for children and families." - Jason and William, Bio-One Owners
COVID-19 Disinfection to Raise Money for Local Police Sgt. - Asheville, NC
In the fall of 2020, it was announced that Jax, the 3 year-old son of Sgt. Jordan Warren at the Henderson County Sheriff's Office, was diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer. Sgt. Warren has served the community in Henderson County for 10 years, and the community has rallied on his behalf by donating thousands of dollars for the family in their time of need.
To help raise money, the Bio-One team in Asheville raffled off a COVID-19 disinfection, up to 5,000 sqft for any home or business. The raffle ran through January 2021 and raised over $600. This week, the team happily treated the winner, Strong Hand Fitness, to the disinfection.
"Police officers and their families make big sacrifices to serve their community, most of which go unseen. So, when first responder families are in need, we want to help anyway we can. We wish the entire Warren family the best as Jax continues his fight." - Matt Gregg, Bio-One Owner
Cat Rescue - Flagstaff, Arizona
In January, the Bio-One team in Flagstaff answered the call to remediate an unattended death. They learned from the next of kin that a husband had passed away in the home while his wife, at the time, was fighting for her life at the local hospital after being diagnosed with COVID-19.
Once the team arrived, it was clear this would be a multi-day job. Not only was there a biohazard to remediate, but the home was hoarded and restoring the home to a safe environment was an urgent need. While working, the Bio-One crew identified three cats lingering in and around the home. Initially, it was assumed one cat was owned by the family, and the other two were part of the neighborhood. The first cat, nicknamed Hunter, was given to the Ark Cat Sanctuary for a checkup and to eventually find a new home. In the spirit of kindness, the team also provided food and water for the other two neighborhood cats when working onsite.
Several weeks passed, and the Bio-One team received word that the wife had sadly lost her life due to complications from COVID-19. The next of kin asked the team to revisit the home and remove remaining items. Shortly after work began, the two neighborhood cats were found. It was then revealed that the two animals were owned by the deceased couple. After living off the land for months, they were rescued by the Bio-One team and turned over to the Ark Cat Sanctuary for care. We hope each animal finds a loving home.
"We are very fortunate that our staff and owners have a heart for animals and will do whatever they can to help the pets like we do our clients." - Rebecca Wallace, Bio-One Owner
First stage of human decomposition:
The body will take on rigor mortis, begin cell death, and attract insects. This will be the first few days.
The body will become discolored and expanding gases can create a messy explosion.
Liquid leaves the body, skin becomes black, organs and bones break down.
Body decomposition is an extremely pungent, messy, and germ-infested process. Even after a body is taken away, there is a lot of cleaning and santizing that should be handled by trained professionals with proper chemicals and equipment. Please contact us immediately and we will remedy the situation.
Discovering an unattended death usually happens between loved ones or friends/neighbors. When this happens, it's both shocking and overwhelming. You may feel like you need to move the body or cleanup the area. Coming into contact with decomposition is not a safe option if you're not properly trained to do so.
Don't ever feel like you need to be the one to clean a death of a loved one. This can be an emotionally taxing endeavour as well as dangerous if done incorrectly. Bio-One is trained to come in and take care of this for you. We are discreet, thorough, and compassionate. All of our technicians are trained to make sure everything is both cleaned and disinfectd so you don't have to think about it.
We are always available 24/7/365


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DiskTracker is the complete disk cataloging and labeling system for Mac OS X. It features an intuitive user interface and a bunch of useful features.
Visit the DiskTracker download page to download a copy, or purchase a registration.
Please don't hesitate to contact us at firstname.lastname@example.com if you have questions, comments, or thoughts about DiskTracker. We are always looking for user feedback!
27-Oct-2014 - DiskTracker 2.4.7 is fully Yosemite (Mac OS X 10.10) compatible!
Get DiskTracker release and status notifications on Twitter by following @disktracker.
DiskTracker has these great features, plus many, many more:
DiskTracker requires at least:
DiskTracker is distributed as shareware. As such, you may try it for 30 days, but to continue using it after that time, you are required to register the software for US$30.
DiskTracker 1.x users can upgrade to version 2.4 by paying a $10 upgrade fee.
Click here to register DiskTracker securely. Payments are handled through Kagi shareware.
Copyright © 1997 - 2008 Portents, LLC Maintained online by email@example.com


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More hospitals are receiving penalties than bonuses in the second year of Medicare's quality incentive program, and the average penalty is steeper than it was last year, government records show.
Medicare has raised payment rates to 1,231 hospitals based on two-dozen quality measurements, including surveys of patient satisfaction and—for the first time—death rates. Another 1,451 hospitals are being paid less for each Medicare patient they treat.
For half the hospitals, the financial changes that started last month are negligible: they are gaining or losing less than a fifth of one percent what Medicare otherwise would have paid. Others are experiencing greater swings. Gallup Indian Medical Center in New Mexico, a federal government hospital on the border of the Navajo Reservation, will be paid 1.14 percent less for each patient. Arkansas Heart Hospital in Little Rock, a physician-owned hospital that only handles cardiovascular cases, will get the largest bonus, 0.88 percent.
The bonuses and penalties are one piece of the health care law's efforts to create financial incentives for doctors and hospitals to provide better care. They come at a tumultuous time as the technical problems of the healthcare.gov insurance portal and premium prices are stoking questions about the law's viability. The incentives are among the law's few cost-control provisions that have kicked in, but it is too early to tell how effective they will be in making hospitals operate more efficiently.
"This program is driving what we want in health care," said Dr. Patrick Conway, Medicare's chief medical officer. He said most hospitals have improved since the program began a year ago. However, even some hospitals that have gotten better are still losing money because they are not scoring as well as others or have not improved as much.
Across the country, hospital executives say they have put renewed focus on excellence in the areas that are judged. Some have clamped down on nighttime noise, one of the questions patients are asked about, by replacing squeaky wheels on food carts and discouraging nurses and workers from chatting on cell phones outside of rooms. Others have scrambled to ensure heart attack patients always get an angioplasty within 90 minutes of arrival because that is part of the scoring. Some private insurers have adopted similar incentives.
"The thing about the government, if they start paying attention to it, we have to scramble around to pay attention to it," said Dr. Leigh Hamby, chief medical officer at Piedmont Healthcare, a hospital system in Georgia. "It gets us moving."
Hospitals in Maine, Massachusetts, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Utah and Wisconsin are faring the best, with 60 percent or more of hospitals getting higher payments, according to a Kaiser Health News analysis. Medicare is reducing reimbursement rates for at least two-thirds of hospitals in 17 states, including California, Connecticut, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Washington and Wyoming, as well as the District of Columbia.
How A Hospital Is Rated
Under the program, known as Hospital Value-Based Purchasing, Medicare reduced payment rates to all hospitals by 1.25 percent. It set the money aside in a $1.1 billion pot for incentives. While every hospital is getting something back, more than half are not recouping the 1.25 payment they initially forfeited, making them net losers. The payment adjustments are applied to each Medicare patient stay over the federal fiscal year that started Oct. 1 and runs through September 2014. The potential bonuses and penalties were higher than they were last year, when the maximum at stake was 1 percent.
To assess quality, Medicare looked not only at how hospitals scored in comparison with each other, but also how much each improved from two years ago compared to other hospitals. A hospital is judged on whichever score is higher, so some hospitals with subpar quality rankings are still getting more money because they showed vast improvement. It won't be clear how much any hospital's bonuses and penalties amount to in dollar figures until next October because it depends on how much a hospital ultimately bills Medicare.
This year, 45 percent of a hospital's score is based on how frequently it followed basic clinical standards of care, such as removing urinary catheters from surgery patients within two days to decrease the chance of infections. Thirty percent of the score is based on how patients rate the way they felt they were treated in the hospital, such as whether the doctors and nurses communicated well.
Medicare added its first measure of a medical outcome, looking at death rates of patients admitted for heart attacks, heart failure or pneumonia.Those mortality rates, calculated from the number of Medicare patients who died in the hospital or within a month of discharge, count for 25 percent of a hospital's score.
The incentive program has received a mixed reception among hospital executives. Some complain that patients' views sometimes are swayed by the swankiness of the hospital, and that hospitals that treat the very sickest patients often get the worst evaluations. Physician-owned hospitals that focus on just a few specialties have tended to do particularly well in the program, as evidenced by the Arkansas Heart Hospital's record bonus this year. Some leaders also object that even if they show improvements, their hospital can lose money if the improvements are not as great as others.
Will Penalties Bring Change?
Researchers are unsure whether the penalties are significant enough to trigger major improvements, especially in areas such as mortality, where there's no definitive explanation for why some hospitals do such a better job than others in keeping patients alive.
"Shame and penalties, I don't know if that's the best way to get organizations to change," said Leslie Curry, a researcher at the Yale School of Public Health. Her work has found that hospitals with low mortality rates are the ones where it is a priority of executives and where there is a culture where front-line workers such as nurses and lab technicians feel comfortable raising concerns to doctors and devising better methods. "The fiscal penalties are nominal, frankly, in the scheme of things," she said.
Others say even small differences in payments provide strong encouragement for hospitals to improve. "Sometimes institutions may think they're performing excellently until they see outside data that compares to your peers," said Dr. Richard Bankowitz, the chief medical officer of Premier, a group that works with hospitals to improve quality. "People are motivated to excel. Nobody wants to be in the bottom quartile anymore."
The addition of mortality rates into the scores provides hospitals with their biggest challenge yet. Amanda Berra, a consultant at The Advisory Board, a Washington health care consulting firm, interviewed 40 chief medical officers at hospitals about mortality rates. "They were very split. About half of them said you could not have a more powerful measure. On the other side we heard people who were really unenthusiastic," she said. "We heard that the data is not super meaningful. They felt they had drastically improved in recent years and have kind of gotten where they could go."
The average penalty grew to 0.26 percent, up from 0.21 percent in the first year of the program. North Georgia Medical Center in Ellijay is the only hospital besides Gallup to lose more than 1 percent of its reimbursements: it will lose 1.04 percent. Denver Health Medical Center, a highly respected safety-net hospital, is losing 0.71 percent of its reimbursements. The hospital that was penalized the most last year, Auburn Community Hospital in upstate New York, reduced its 0.90 penalty, but will still lose 0.55 percent.
The average bonus was 0.24 percent, almost the same as last year's 0.23 percent. Large bonuses are going to some major teaching hospitals, such as Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia and Duke University Hospital in Durham, N.C. Most are being distributed among smaller institutions, such as Pikeville Medical Center in Kentucky.
"The dollars are less important in terms of impact than the fact that the nation is sending a signal through the payment mechanism that there's something to be worked on in the care we deliver," said Nancy Foster, an executive at the American Hospital Association. "It's a national symbol to health care providers that here is an area where you can do better."
Many Past Winners Continue To Get Bonuses
Most winners from last year stayed winners and losers stayed losers. But there were some switches. Oaklawn Hospital in Marshall, Mich., improved its score the most from last year. In place of a 0.26 penalty, Oaklawn will receive a 0.65 percent bonus. A number of prominent academic medical centers also turned around their scores. Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, New York-Presbyterian Hospital in Manhattan, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, both in Los Angeles, and Yale-New Haven Hospital were among the 300 places that went from a penalty to a bonus.
A total of 416 hospitals that won bonuses last year will be penalized this year. Centura Health-St. Thomas More Hospital in Canon City, Colo., dropped from a 0.08 percent bonus to a 0.72 percent penalty, the largest decrease.
This program is one of several Medicare has launched to make hospitals and doctors pay more attention to how their treatments compare with other hospitals, and to be more careful with public money. Medicare gives bonuses to the private Medicare Advantage insurance plans that score well on quality metrics. In 2015, the health law calls for the government to begin a quality payment program for physician groups of 100 professionals or more, and that is to be expanded to all doctors by 2017. The goal of all these programs is to replace the current financial incentive in Medicare, in which the only way for a hospital to get paid more is to perform more procedures and take on more patients.
For hospitals, the quality payments come on top of Medicare's penalties on 2,205 hospitals with higher than expected readmission rates. The agency is doling out a maximum punishment this year of 2 percent. As a result two out of three hospitals are losing money starting last month from the combined effects of the quality and readmissions programs. Pineville Community Hospital in Kentucky is losing 2.57 percent of its reimbursements, the largest penalty in the country. Twenty-one other hospitals are losing 2 percent or more. These cuts come on top of reductions in special payments that go to hospitals that treat large numbers of low-income people.
Only 729 hospitals will end up with an increase in payments from the combined readmissions and value-based programs. Maine Coast Memorial Hospital in Ellsworth fared the best, gaining 0.80 percent.
Hospitals that are designated as critical access facilities, certain cancer hospitals and places with too few cases to be accurately measured were excluded from both programs.
Maryland hospitals are exempt because that state has a unique payment arrangement with Medicare.
Medicare relies on information found on hospital bills to determine the quality of care. In judging death rates, Medicare looked at patients admitted from July 2011 through June 2012, and compared those rates with how the hospitals performed between July 2009 and June 2010. For the clinical and patient satisfaction measures, Medicare assessed hospital performances from April 2012 through December 2012, and compared them with scores during the same months in 2010.
The amount of money at stake increases to 1.5 percent of payments in October 2014, and continues to grow by a quarter percent until it reaches 2 percent.
Medicare is planning to add new measures next year, including comparisons of how much patients cost Medicare at different hospitals and rates of medical mishaps and infections from catheters.
In addition, the maximum readmission penalties grow to 3 percent next year, and Medicare is launching a third incentive program that takes an additional 1 percent of payments away from hospitals with the most patients who suffered injury or infection during their stay.
Combined, these three quality programs have the potential to strip away as much as 5.5 percent of Medicare payments from the worst performing hospitals starting next October.
"We're moving more toward outcomes measures," Conway said. "We're moving away from volume and toward quality."
Read More:
– Data For Individual Hospitals (interactive chart)


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Release Date: 2013 | Tracklist
Album Rating: 3.5Streaming now on iTunes: http://search.itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZContentLink.woa/wa/link?path=DepecheMode
Album Rating: 2.5So stoked right now! I'll be seeing them live next September in Montreal, I can't wait. I am one of those fans that hopelessly dream of a "Alan Wilder comeback" but reading what you just wrote, I look forward to hear how the sounds and the atmosphere are on Delta Machine. Stay Depeched, Keep Moding! And great review man =)
Album Rating: 3.5violater is pretty good, ill check this out
Album Rating: 3.5
I am one of those fans that hopelessly dream of a "Alan Wilder comeback"
Damn that was fast ;) And a 4.5? That makes me even more excited to check this out.
Album Rating: 2.5@Kaleid How happy I am to know that! ;D
Damn that was fast ;)
Album Rating: 3.0sweet
so many good leaks today doldrums, depeche mode, the strokes, kevelertak
Album Rating: 2.5I am 4 songs into the album (Welcome to My World + Angel + Heaven + Secret to the End) and I already love this. If the rest of the album is like it, this might be my favorite Mode since Faith and Devotion =]
Album Rating: 4.5Such a great album. Also seeing them in september. Definitely has a bluesy vibe through out. Welcome to my world, Alone and Should be higher are early favorites.
Album Rating: 3.5some songs in the first half drag a bit to me, but the songs that are good are really fucking good. slow is definitely my first favorite track. great review pos etc
Album Rating: 3.5ok, found a good dl link, heaven ruled so this will prob be great
Album Rating: 3.0damn youre alive
Oh wow this is good!? Nick Cave, Bowie and now this? Looks like the oldies are smashing it this year!
Album Rating: 3.0Great review. I'm going to check the stream. I loved Ultra, but nothing after that.
Album Rating: 4.0Dug the cd, reviewer got it right. The entire thing flows together very nicely.
Great review, pos, it should be featured at some point. Last Depeche Mode I worshipped is Playing The Angel, is the new one just as good?
Album Rating: 3.5Better. I know PTA won over a lot of new converts, especially because of how good the singles were, but this is a better album, on the whole. A thing I've noticed is that everyone who's heard it has different opinions on what the best songs are. Some people are going crazy for Goodbye, others are saying Alone is one of the best songs DM have ever done, and even stranger songs like My Little Universe have been welcomed by fans. A lot of fans are hating the second single, Soothe My Soul, but the critics are loving it. This is all the sign of a very strong album, to me.
Album Rating: 3.5very cool review btw, pos'd. ive heard some songs but it dosent seem better than violator for me atm, still pretty great.
Bands: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z


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"(Benazir Bhutto) said two things that sealed her fate. She said that if elected PM, she would allow US forces to hunt for bin Laden on Pakistani soil, and that she would allow the Vienna-based IAEA to interrogate the rogue nuclear scientist, AQ Khan about his nuclear smugglings to North Korea, Iran, Libya, etc. After those statements, she had no chance of surviving."
There's one small problem: the CIA, the FBI, and Britain's MI6 probably know more about the so-called 'AQ Khan network' than AQ Khan himself.
For some reason, the criminals involved in the nuclear black market are still (mostly) walking free - in Pakistan, the US and elsewhere - while those who threatened to expose them - Richard Barlow, Sibel Edmonds, Valerie Plame, and the latest addition, Atif Amin - have been harassed, threatened and gagged.
According to Joe Trento:
The CIA even started using some of the Khan network's front companies for its own purposes.
Maybe that explains it.
When AQ Khan first acquired the centrifuge blueprints in Holland in 1976, the CIA asked the Dutch government not to arrest him. They've been watching him, and the rest of the network, ever since. They watched him build the 'Islamic Bomb' in Pakistan, and they watched the proliferation - to Iran, to North Korea, to Libya, and to maybe a dozen other countries and terrorist groups like al Qaida.
At various times in the last 30 years, (elements of) the US and British governments:
a) actively assisted in the proliferation
b) tipped off the perpetrators to various stings
c) stopped investigations into the network
d) destroyed people who threatened the network: Richard Barlow, Sibel Edmonds, Valerie Plame, and the latest addition, Atif Amin.
In fact, the CIA apparently knew more about the Pakistan program than even Benazir Bhutto when she was Prime Minister.
According to Seymour Hersh's fantastic 1993 article in the New Yorker
"The question of what Ms. Bhutto knew, or didn't know, about the bomb would be resolved when she paid a scheduled state visit to Washington in June (1990); at that time she was provided with a detailed briefing by William H. Webster, the C.I.A. director. To dramatize the extent of American knowledge, Webster arranged for Ms. Bhutto to be shown a mockup of a Pakistani nuclear bomb.
Mark A. Siegel, a former Carter Administration official and close Bhutto associate, who served as Pakistan's American lobbyist in 1989 and 1990, described her feelings of disbelief upon being briefed by Webster. "The briefing was more detailed" than any information that she, as Prime Minister, had been provided, Siegel said. "It also showed that the military was doing it behind her back." "
"Rogue Nuclear Scientist"
In the quote at the beginning of this article, Richard Sale refers to AQ Khan as a "rogue nuclear scientist" - that's pure nonsense. When I interviewed Richard Barlow last year, he said that the idea that Khan was operating alone is "preposterous" and "impossible" and that Pakistan's ISI was probably even acting as security detail every time Khan went to meet a client or prospective client. "The notion that Khan was moving all these centrifuges and all that out of Kahuta and nobody noticed? Give me a break." Barlow says. "I believe that AQ Khan was doing this as a matter of Pakistan policy - there's no way that he could have gotten away with major elements of this without the knowledge of the highest levels of his government - certainly the military, at least, which is one and the same thing in Pakistan."
Barlow also said:
"It's impossible that we (CIA) didn't know about the selling (proliferation) network if we were continuing to monitor the buying (procurement) network because it's the same network. It's the same people!"
Of course, the network continues to operate, even today, and I'm sure the CIA and MI6 - and probably every other security & intelligence organization on the planet - watches their every move.
Sibel Edmonds
One of AQ Khan's American suppliers was a company called Giza Technologies in New Jersey. Giza's 'exposure' was 'officially' the result of an anonoymous email tip in 2003. Josh Meyer in the LA Times wrote:
"In a stroke of good fortune, federal agents were able to get an inside view of one of those business deals. Authorities launched their investigation in July, after an anonymous South African tipster said Karni (the buyer) had been using front companies, straw buyers and misleading shipping documents to sell restricted U.S. products to Pakistan and India. "
This, too, is nonsense. More than two years earlier, Sibel translated a wiretapped phonecall between Giza's CEO Zeki Bilmen and, presumably, the American Turkish Council (ATC) - which was already under counter-intelligence and counter-proliferation investigations for involvement in nuclear black market activities.
Zeki Bilmen got off scot-free - and his business continued to flourish. In 2005, Sibel said:
And (Giza's) business – well, business is good.
They have many shipments going out, coming in, all day long. To places like Dubai, Spain, South Africa, Turkey. They have branches in all these places. Yep, they're sailing along very smoothly.
When asked how this is possible, Sibel replied:
"It's beyond logical explanation. Maybe it was decided in high places that no one would touch him."
In the movie, Kill The Messenger about the nuclear black market element of Sibel's case, Joe Trento says:
"So the question is: who is responsible for allowing this to happen? Why wasn't Giza exposed? Giza wasn't exposed because it may have been used for other operations in the past. It may have been a front for the U.S intelligence service!
It's outrageous! There's every evidence that the United States were deeply involved, in not only helping AQ Khan set up the network but aiding Pakistan in getting a nuclear weapon."
As I mentioned earlier, Trento recently said:
The CIA even started using some of the Khan network's front companies for its own purposes.
Trento doesn't make clear whether Giza is one of the front companies that is used by the CIA, but an anonymous "U.S intelligence officer" in Kill The Messenger who is "very familiar with Turkish espionage activities" - including the ATC - says:
"There is a huge base here in the States, involving the Turks, the Israelis and the U.S governement. The American Turkish Council was one place where a lot of intelligence activities would stem from. It can relate to anything that they feel would be good for their arsenal of weapons... Nuclear or non nuclear. For example, computer hardware, maybe software.
There are people within the State Department and also in the U.S Congress that were facilitating the Israelis and the Turks in obtaining proprietary information or restricted technology.
That's why there is a gag order against Sibel Edmonds!"
By using corporations working for Turkey, as front companies, you'll probably find hundreds in the United States. A lot of these companies have government contracts. Classified contracts! That opens the doors to them... And that's what I was getting at. In order to find out more information, you have to look at Giza!
Valerie Plame
Valerie Plame - and Brewster Jennings - were essentially on the same beat as Sibel, tracking the nuclear proliferation operations at the American Turkish Council, inevitably incorporating the so-called 'AQ Khan network'. Here's Phil Giraldi in Kill The Messenger:
"(Plame) worked for a company called Brewster Jennings.
And Brewster Jennings was working against the target of Turkey, meaning that Turkey was being investigated by the CIA as a proliferator of weapons."
Atif Amin
Atif Amin is the latest victim. He is a British customs agent who stumbled across the so-called AQ Khan network in 2000. According to the Guardian in mid December:
A senior customs investigator could face prosecution under the Official Secrets Act over suspicions that he exposed how US and British intelligence agencies interfered in his attempts to halt an international nuclear smuggling ring.
Police and officials from the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) have searched the home of Atif Amin for evidence that he passed classified information to the American authors of a book about the worldwide nuclear proliferation network.
Amin was in charge of Operation Akin, an investigation into links between British companies and the illegal network run by Abdul Qadeer Khan, a Pakistani scientist who helped build that country's nuclear arsenal.
The investigation is the subject of a book recently published in the US, America and the Islamic Bomb: The Deadly Compromise. Its authors, David Armstrong and Joseph Trento, contend that in 2000 Amin uncovered evidence in Dubai of the Khan network's involvement in establishing Libya's nuclear programme but was ordered to drop his inquiries and return home, at the request of the CIA and MI6.
The Libyan programme and the Khan network were not exposed and halted until 2003. The book argues that in the intervening three years the network continued to sell nuclear technology and possibly weapons designs to Iran, North Korea and possibly other countries, under the noses of US and British intelligence.
Trento says:
The investigation of Amin is a deliberate distraction. By targeting him, the CIA and MI6 hope to stop Parliament and Congress from delving into the issue of why the United States and Britain allowed the Khan network to proliferate for three extra years. Amin had uncovered evidence in Dubai in April 2000 of the Khan network supplying nuclear technology to Libya. When he did, British and American spies, according to top-level CIA officials, feared he was endangering what one described "as our own penetration of the Khan network." The infiltration, according to those sources, was intended to allow the the CIA to feed faulty bomb designs to Khan's customers and thereby slow down their nuclear programs. The CIA even started using some of the Khan network's front companies for its own purposes. But Amin's investigation threatened all this. As a result, it was shut down—and Khan's nuclear smuggling was allowed to continue.
I don't fully buy into Trento's narrative about 'the intervening three years' between Amin's 'discovery' and the eventual outing of the so-called 'Khan network' in 2003. As I've argued, the CIA, FBI and MI6 tracked the 'Khan network' continually since 1976, so Amin's 'discovery' was really nothing of the sort - he simply stumbled across something that these agencies had been aware of, and condoned, the whole time. Of course, I also don't buy into the CIA's (anonymous) argument that Amin's work endangered its' "own penetration of the Khan network." After 30 years, and at least 3 nuclear 'success' stories, I don't think they deserve the benefit of doubt - particularly given that most of the obstruction came from the State Department, not the CIA.
For more, see this remarkable video interview (and article) with Trento, his co-author and Katie Couric. It didn't air, of course. See here for details of all the networks that were going to run the story - including going to the expense of filming in Pakistan, France and elsewhere - but they didn't run the story, even though Pakistan, and Pakistan's nuclear program, 'exploded' as a media story recently. Do you think that decision was made in the news room or at the 'corporate' level? Do you now understand why Sibel would only risk 'telling all' if she received a guarantee that the networks would broadcast her story?
State Secrets
It is interesting that the British Government is considering invoking the Offical Secrets Act in Amin's case - it is the equivalent of the State Secrets Privilege that the US Government has used to silence Sibel.
Last week in Slate, Dahlia Lithwick wrote Legal Fictions - The Bush administration's dumbest legal arguments of the year. Number 2 was:
2. State secrets.
Again, it's virtually impossible to cite the single most egregious assertion by the Bush administration of the state-secrets privilege, because there are so many to choose from. This doctrine once barred the introduction into court of specific evidence that might compromise national security, but in the hands of the Bush administration, it has ballooned into a doctrine of blanket immunity for any conduct the administration wishes to hide. The privilege was invoked in 2007 to block testimony about its torture and extraordinary rendition program, its warrantless surveillance program, and to defend the notion of telecom immunity for colluding in government eavesdropping, among other things. No longer an evidentiary rule, the state-secrets privilege has become one of the administration's surest mechanisms for shielding its most egregious activities.
The Bush administration has used this 'privilege' twice in Sibel's case. Given their track record, do you think that they might be using the 'privilege' appropriately in this case? If not, given what I've written above (and elsewhere), imagine the scale of the crimes they are trying to hide. By virtue of the 'states secrets' company that Sibel's case keeps, it's on a par with the illegal spying, torture and illegal kidnapping that dominated the headlines
Here's the Other Scott Horton (TM) writing about the States Secrets Privilege in Harpers just last week:
If you're in the White House and you committed a serious criminal offense as to which your legal staff and the Consigliere (errr, Attorney General) can't craft a plausible cover or defense, then it's certainly a "State Secret." It's called the "get out of jail free card."
If nothing else, the fact that Sibel pre-emptively threatened to break the silence on her State Secrets gag should have been newsworthy in and of itself. Can you imagine if someone made the same 'threat'/dare/challenge regarding torture or kidnapping or spying? It'd (hopefully) be front-page news everywhere. I don't think that anyone in the history of the country has ever pre-announced their intention to do such a thing. Sibel is a brave, brave woman.
I usually end these posts by imploring you to call your congressional representative (Waxman), or your favourite journalist, or fave TV program (Olbermann). I've got nothin' today. They've all let us down. If any of you have any good ideas, organize amongst yourselves in the comments.
I'll end with another quote from Sibel:
It's absolutely incredible that even after 9/11, certain individuals, foreign businessmen and others, among others, are still escaping scrutiny.
Okay, perhaps talking about the pre-9/11 world they could get away with saying "we didn't know," but to continue doing so – I mean, what if we are attacked by nuclear or chemical weapons, what will be their next excuse? That "we didn't know" it could happen? Come on! I can prove they are lying, because they know.


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Senior Bishop Thomas L. Hoyt Jr. passed away on October 27, 2013, and his funeral was held at the Cramston Auditorium at Howard University in Washington, DC on November 6, 2013.
Aservice to remember the life and ministry of Bishop Thomas L. Hoyt is planned in Hartford.
The memorial service will be held at Phillips Metropolitan CME Church, 2500 North Main Street, Hartford, on Saturday, November 23, 2013 at 6:00pm.
The Rev. Dr. Arthur Green, Pastor at Phillips Metropolitan CME Church, is coordinating the memorial service.
If you have questions about the service or program, Dr. Greene can be reached by calling the churchat 860-246-0049.
Bishop Hoyt wasthe esteemed founder of Hartford Seminary's Black Ministries Program and a Seminary professor for 14 years, from 1980 to 1994.The Black Ministries Program is a national model for building the leadership, training and preaching skills of laity and clergy in the urban church. Since its founding in 1982, BMP has prepared more than 1,000 men and women for effective service.


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Sit down wherever you are and listen to the wind that is singing in your veins.
Feel the love, the longing, and the fear in your bones.
Open your heart to who you are,
right now,
not who you would like to be.
Not the saint you're striving to become.
But the being right here before you,
inside you, around you.
All of you is holy.
You're already more and less than whatever you can know.
Breathe out, look in, let go.
—John Welwood


text:
One-third of Canadian high school students have rode with drivers who had been drinking alcohol and nearly one in five with a driver who'd been smoking pot, a study conducted by the University of Waterloo reveals.
Researchers at the Ontario university's Propel Centre for Population Health Impact found that 35 per cent of students in Grades 9 to 12 reported being passengers of drivers who had at least one drink within the previous hour and nearly 20 per cent rode in cars with a driver who had used marijuana within two hours.
It surveyed 24,650 students.
Leia Minaker, lead author of the paper and assistant professor at Waterloo, said the numbers are "concerning" because "Canadian youth are at higher risk of death from traffic injuries than any other age group" and a "significant proportion of car-crash deaths are related to alcohol and drug impairment."
Markita Kaulius, founder of Families for Justice, lost her 22-year-old daughter Kassandra to a drunk driver in Surrey in 2011 and now speaks with high school students hoping the same avoidable fate does not befall them.
She has spoken with 10 classes of Grade 10 students within the past three weeks, addressing 30 to 40 students at a time.
"I go through everything," she says. Kaulius shows them photos of her daughter's car, demolished when the drunk driver smashed into it with a van at 103 km/h after downing a bottle and a half of wine and blowing through a red light.
"She was a real person," Kaulius impresses upon the students as she discusses her daughter's tragic death. She tells them four to six people a day are killed by a drunk driver in Canada and 190 are injured.
"It is scary out there."
READ ALSO: ZYTARUK: Fighting still, in Surrey and Ottawa, for Kassandra's Law
During one recent school visit, Kaulius asked the students for a show of hands how many had rode in a car where someone had drank alcohol or used drugs.
"I would say 90 per cent of the class put their hand up," Kaulius recalls. "I'm saddened to hear that that many are willing to take a chance."
Was she shocked?
"I was, and I wasn't. I was that there was that many but I was not surprised because they just seemed to think it was OK to do. Nothing surprises me anymore.
"It's something you just think, in this day and age, why are people still doing this?
She notes that many young people think nothing bad will ever happen to them.
"They do it once, and 'Well nothing happened last time so it's OK to do it this time and I'll do it again, right?' And what I think my next question would be, on average, it'll be a question of have you done this five times, or 10 times, and just see what numbers come back.
The Waterloo study, recently published by the Canadian Medical Association Journal Open, also found that about nine per cent of Grade 11 and 12 students – roughly 66,000 teens – have driven within an hour of drinking and 9.4 per cent drove after using marijuana.
"I would believe those stats to be true," Kaulius tells the Now-Leader. "I think as well, they way they think of driving after drinking, it seems to be not a big deal and that is truly what we need to change.
"That was one of the things that I mentioned to these kids, that they are the next generation of Canadians and they can make a difference in the impaired driving stats," she says.
"I encourage them to be designated drivers. When they receive their licence at 16, it's not their right to drive, it's a privilege to drive and that at 16 they have been deemed old enough to know right from wrong and we hope at that age that they will make the choice to be responsible.
"The designated driver is not the person who has had the least amount of beer," she says. "The person who has chosen to be responsible that night and to get themselves and their friends home safely and it's one of the most important things that they will ever do in their lifetime."
Teens looking to their parents' example but don't always see wise behaviour.
"A lot of times they'll see parents go out for dinner and drinks, and then they'll drive, so I guess it's OK if my parents to do that."
Kaulius encourages young people who are planning to party to make arrangements to use public transit, get a cab or have a designated driver.
"Even call their parents. Your parents would much rather come and pick you up, even if you have been drinking, than to receive two RCMP officers at their front door to tell them, 'I'm sorry to inform you your child's been killed in an impaired driving collision.' Parents just want you to be safe."
Meanwhile, Minaker notes that while the link between alcohol-related impaired driving and traffic crash rates is well recognized, "the consequences of marijuana use are less clear.
"As legislation is drafted to regulate recreational marijuana over the coming months," she says, "the federal government and the provinces need to prioritize keeping marijuana away from kids and creating strong policies to reduce marijuana-impaired driving."
Kaulis also offers a caveat.
"Now the government will legalize marijuana, that doesn't mean it'll be OK to do that and drive – you'll still be impaired."
The University of Waterloo's researchers also found that boys are more likely to drive after drinking alcohol or using marijuana but girls were more likely to ride with impaired drivers.
Teens in rural areas are at the greatest risk and students in Saskatchewan had the highest rates of using marijuana and drinking alcohol before driving, the study revealed.


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Corporate Accountabilty Reform"My Administration pressed for greater corporate integrity. A united Congress has written it into law. And today I sign the most far-reaching reforms of American business practices since the time of Franklin Delano Roosevelt. This new law sends very clear messages that all concerned must heed. This law says to every dishonest corporate leader: you will be exposed and punished; the era of low standards and false profits is over; [and] no boardroom in America is above or beyond the law." - President George W. Bush, July 30, 2002 THE ACCOMPLISHMENTS Greater Corporate Accountability
~CONTENT~Home Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14 Chapter 15 Chapter 16 Chapter 17 Chapter 18 Chapter 19 ~DOCUMENTS~August 2004 |


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Hand dyed Kid Mohair Silk yarn, Lace weight, 50g.
72% Kid Mohair
28% SilkApprox. 420m/50g
Lace weight
Due to dye method used there will be differences between skeins, even if they are from the same dye lot. If your project asks for more than one skein I would suggest to alternate skeins every couple rows to get even pattern.
Hand dyed in Birmingham using professional acid dyes and dried using Mother Nature sunny days
Kid Mohair Silk yarn, Lace weight, 50 g, ERUPTION
TVA Incluse


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British Museum
Welcome to the British Museum
Founded in 1753, the British Museum's remarkable collection spans over two million years of human history. Enjoy a unique comparison of the treasures of world cultures under one roof, centred around the magnificent Great Court.
World-famous objects such as the Rosetta Stone, Parthenon sculptures, and Egyptian mummies are visited by up to six million visitors per year. In addition to the vast permanent collection, the museum's special exhibitions, displays and events are all designed to advance understanding of the collection and cultures they represent.


text:
Select a book or viewing channel and indicate your choice by completing the 2019 Summer Learning form. Please declare your choice no later than April 20, 2019.
As you read and reflect, you are invited to add your sentence, phrase, and word in the comment section below. (Please be sure to include the title of the book in your comment.) Please contribute your sentence, phrase, and word for the TED Talks on the Voices of Diversity page. (Please be sure to include the name of the TED talk in your comment.)


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Book Tour Grand Finale for
A Family Like Hannah's
By Carol Ross
We hope you enjoyed coming along with us to an Alaskan ski resort and two strong characters who begin at odds, but may just find family and love in each other. If you missed any of the stops, go back and check them out now...
Launch - Intro to the Book
A Family Like Hannah's is my version of an Alaskan winter - and more specifically - a wintertime in Rankins. On each stop of the tour, I've tried to infuse some of this enduring and inspiring winter spirit Alaskans seem to so easily embrace. Hope you enjoy!
Reading Is My SuperPower - Review
"Sweet, clean romance that will still have you reaching for your fan on occasion, A Family Like Hannah's by Carol Ross takes you through a whole gamut of emotions. From anger and heartbreak to laughter and joy, you will ride the slopes along with a cast of compelling and truly likable characters."
I Am A Reader - Let's (Really) Get to Know Hannah & Tate from A Family Like Hannah's
Rockin' Book Reviews - Review
"This was such a delightfully touching tale of possible romance and enduring love amongst life's challenges."
Getting Your Read On - Review
"This book was easy to read and hard to put down. I was drawn in and invested in this story. So good!"
Katie's Clean Book Collection - Review
" I love that this isn't just an easy, fluffy story, but had some real filling to go along with it, while maintaining a lighter feel--it wasn't heavy. What a perfect recipe for a great story!"
Colorimetry - Hey, Honey, Let's Load up the RV and Take the Kids Skiing!
underneath the covers - Is the Road to Love Paved with Embarrassing Moments?
Alaskans are pretty inventive with their wintertime endeavors. Luckily, the town of Rankins had already laid a solid foundation for some of the best "meets" between Hannah and Tate. Add a little humor, a lot of tension, some creative license, and I'm excited to bring you a few of my favorite moments from A Family Like Hannah's...
Thoughts of a Blonde - Review
"This story takes you deep into a small town filled with kind people and history. . . . Tate and Hannah's ideas for the resort don't line up very well, so there is tension between them, but there's also attraction … a lot of it!"
Becky on Books - Review
"A Family Like Hannah's is a sweet, feel-good romance. . . . This was my first book by this author, but it won't be my last. It worked well as a standalone. . ."
deal sharing aunt - Interview
Where do you get your information or ideas for your books?
My ideas always come from my characters. I start by creating a person in my mind. I give them a personality first, including family situation, a job, hobbies, interests, likes and dislikes, and even little quirks. Then I try to drop them right into some kind of action. I add a line or two of dialogue, and I'm off and running. I do love to research my settings also, and often interesting scene ideas will arise from that.
Heidi Reads... - Review
"The characters in this book are vibrant and easy to visualize. . . . I loved the setting of winter in Alaska, especially at a ski resort since I've only been snowboarding twice."
Zerina Blossom's Books - Love, Snow, and Hot Cocoa
Wishful Endings - Baby, it's (Really, Really) Cold Outside
(Seasons of Alaska #4)
by Carol Ross
Adult Contemporary Romance
Paperback & ebook, 384 pagesby Carol Ross
Adult Contemporary Romance
February 1st 2016 by Harlequin Heartwarming
Starting over is serious business
With her professional skiing career cut short by an accident, Hannah James is putting all her energy into transforming Snowy Sky Resort into something special. There's only one obstacle. Famous pro-snowboarder-turned-consultant Tate Addison has his own ideas about taking the Rankins, Alaska, lodge to the next level. But Hannah won't compromise her dreams. She gets that Tate is trying to create a stable home for his orphaned six-year-old nephew—a boy Hannah already adores. And if she isn't careful, she could also fall for the boy's too-attractive uncle. Is she risking heartbreak? Or do she and Tate really want the same things out of life?
Amazon - Barnes & Noble - Harlequin - Kobo
The Other Books in the Series
Carol Ross is the author of three books for the Seasons of Alaska series for the Harlequin Heartwarming line. She lives with her husband and one loveable miscreant of a dachshund in a small town in Washington close to both the ocean and the mountains. For a complete list of her books, giveaways, and other fun stuff stop by and visit her new website: carolrossauthor.com.
Tour Giveaway
$50 Amazon eGift Card and an ebook of A Family Like Hannah's (open internationally)
Rankins' Alaska Prize Pack: signed copy of A Family Like Hannah's, an infinity scarf, gray fluffy mittens, a tin of Starbucks hot chocolate, a coffee mug, and a sterling silver snowflake necklace. (US only)
$50 Amazon eGift Card and an ebook of A Family Like Hannah's (open internationally)
Rankins' Alaska Prize Pack: signed copy of A Family Like Hannah's, an infinity scarf, gray fluffy mittens, a tin of Starbucks hot chocolate, a coffee mug, and a sterling silver snowflake necklace. (US only)
Copy of A Family Like Hannah's (print if in the US, ebook if outside the US)
Ends February 26th
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Ends February 26th
a Rafflecopter giveaway


text:
On Monday, May 20, 2019, Pope Francis relieved Bishop Vitus Huonder of his duties as Bishop of the Diocese of Chur (Switzerland), while appointing an administrator with a view to the election of his successor.
According to an intention that he stated long ago, Bishop Huonder is retiring to a house of the Society of Saint Pius X. The one sole purpose of this step is to dedicate himself to prayer and silence, to celebrate the traditional Mass exclusively, and to work for Tradition, the only way of renewing the Church.
The Society of Saint Pius X appreciates Bishop Huonder's courageous decision and rejoices to be able to provide him with the spiritual and priestly surroundings that he desires so deeply. May this example be followed by others, so as to "restore everything in Christ".
May 20, 2019
His Excellency Vitus Huonder Don Davide Pagliarani
Bishop Emeritus of Chur Superior General of the SSPX


text:
We like tech, it's what we do. As the holiday shopping season kicks into overdrive, we are bringing you 12 of the most requested, most wanted tech gifts for 2017. Check back each business day between now and December 19th for another must-have tech item and why you should check it out.
Microsoft's thin laptop/tablet hybrid two-in-one PC arrived on the market a couple of years ago and became an instant must-have item. This year's models are no different. The 13-inch model comes in several variations of hard drive space and RAM and starts at $1499. Joining the fray is a 15-inch version with just as many memory options, but starts out at a hefty $2500.
The biggest difference between the two (aside from screen size) is the video graphics card in each one. The 15-inch is equipped with a more powerful video memory card, allowing it to act as a mobile gaming machine. Whether you're playing Gears of War 4 or Cup Head, the machine isn't likely to lag or slow down.
Both models come with a detachable screen, USB-C port, 17 hours of battery life, SD card reader, and offer touch screen with surface pen support. The pen allows you to sketch, write, and compose easily with virtually no lag.
Part tablet, part PC, and part gaming machine, the Surface Book 2 stands atop the laptop landscape this holiday season.
Happy Holidays and good luck on the tech hunt from all of us here at {company}!


text:
Solid Colored Fans
Whether dressing up your fireplace,
hanging over a bed or on a wall, these fans have many uses. You can also
place them in half round windows. These
fans are made of a durable vinyl material and will not fade when
exposed to sunlight. Since these are combustible, use for decorative
purposes only, such as for off-season decorating or to hide a dirty
Large size fans measure 20 inches high by 40 inches wide. Medium size fans measure 13.5 inches high by 26 inches wide.
Showing 1 to 8 of 8 (1 Pages)


text:
Description: 1.) iPhone 6 Plus Luxury leather Cases is using imported PU and high density fiber liner, perfect double side protection snti-skidding and wear-resistant comfortable handle feeling. 2.) Tai Wan TPU+TPE heating setting arts, onetime molding, perfect match with your lovely phone.3.) Special stand design,adjustable angle, convenient for video entertainment.4.) Human design, not influence the camera earphone port, off-on button,volume button perfect solved similar case series items shelter situation. 5.) Material color goes with fashion, poplar, handle feeling more comfortable.
You solely accept the full risk of any package (or part thereof) being detained by customs for whatever reason and acknowledge and agree that you will not hold our store liable for such packages or loss, for whatever reason being unable to be delivered to you. Warranty:The items DO NOT comes with warranty. However, for customer benefits our store offers 5 days warranty period PROVIDED ALWAYS:


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My daughter will turn 3 this year, and we just enrolled her in preschool. With all our childcare at home to date, we've been lucky to avoid lots of extra running around with the kid. So, no sooner had we signed little Audrey up for preschool than we began to fret about the logistics of getting her to and fro — without royally complicating our lives.
It's a bit too far to walk, and since I try to commute as often as possible by bike, it seemed counterproductive to go the few miles by car. What would I do with the car? Drive back home and then hop on my bike? I don't think so! Drive to work and pay to park downtown? No way!
So, I started to investigate my options for conveying my babe by bike — it appears to be the most convenient and sensible solution.
I asked other parents what works for them and for tips about equipment, safety, and getting started. I also asked for photos — and they flooded in, along with all kinds of inspiring insights about the joys of cycling with your kids!
No turning back
I have to admit that at first the idea of taking my small child by bike terrified me — partly because my own commute to downtown can be hairy. I also didn't want to spend a fortune on gear (and since I've sworn off new stuff, I wouldn't buy it new anyway). But talking with families who bike with kids has me convinced that it's the way to go.
One woman told me, "It's the best thing we've done for our family!"
From what I gather, you can do it safely (I won't be riding in high-traffic areas) and fairly cheaply (used and borrowed equipment all the way!), and the payoff is health, family fun, special quality time out of your car, a deeper connection to your community, and a way to instill important values and attitudes in your kids that will last their lifetime.
And, if you think it's too hard, or you're not strong enough, or it's inconvenient, all you need to do is read about this Portland mom who hauls six kids — yep, you heard me, SIX — on her one bike! (Sometimes she even takes along a neighbor kid too!) Whatever I do with my singleton will be easier than that!
Bike nurture and culture
I heard two things most often from biking families. First, they want to raise their kids outside of the prevailing car-only culture. Don't get me wrong; these aren't anti-car extremists. Not in the least! All these families own cars — and use them. But they feel it's important for their kids to grow up knowing there are healthy, enjoyable, convenient, and environmentally friendly ways to get around without automatically defaulting to the car.
As the folks at Totcycles, a local family biking blog (and marvelous resource), pointed out, "this Madsen packs more kids than most SUVs!"
This father from Eugene, Ore., put it this way:
We bike 12 months a year, rain or shine. The most important part about getting to school this way is that our kids will grow up thinking that biking is a normal human activity, not something we do only during play time, or only on weekends. That's how I grew up, and I've been riding ever since.
Here they are. Look at those big smiles!
Here are three generations biking together!
Top-notch quality time
The second thing I heard most often was that parents who pedal their kids around enjoy some amazing and unique quality time with them. When they're riding together, the kids are usually jabbering away from their seat or trailer, keenly observing what they see (and what they smell, hear, sense, and feel) and talking with their mom or dad about it. Of course you could do this in a car too, but cycling parents feel like the connection is more powerful on a bike — between parent and child and between the child and his or her surroundings.
One dad told me that he preferred seats to trailers because "we get to talk about all the things we see along the way."
Another parent agrees: "One of the great things about the front seat is we talk the whole time, pointing out the buses, other bikes, baseball stadiums, and garbage trucks."
And here's how this mom described the special quality of time on the bike:
I bike with my 2-year-old a lot. We started when he was about 10 months old, and we use an I-bert, which is one of those green seats that goes on the front of your bike. He loves it, and chatters and points at stuff constantly.
A Seattle dad said this: "I bike with my 2-year-old daughter onboard my bike. Every day we ride from Capitol Hill to downtown, where I drop her off at preschool before continuing on to my work in Columbia City. Our commute is the highlight of our day."
A sense of place
Seeing things along the way isn't just fun. Parents tell me that their kids are connecting with the community in new ways and getting to know the people, geography, and landmarks of their neighborhoods.
Research bears this out: Kids who are driven around in cars most of the time rather than walking or biking aren't as likely to know their way around in their own neighborhoods — and they also feel less emotionally connected to their communities.
Think about it: Unlike traveling by car, when you're on your bike you can easily stop and smell the roses (literally!) — or stop at a park, or a neighbor's garden for a chat, or a food stand for a bite. Even when you're zooming along you're still going at a pace where you can take in sights and smells.
And the kids of die-hard parents get to experience their communities in all kinds of weather!
Gearing up
I must admit, some of those fancy long-tail set-ups and Euro-style (or imported) box rigs and cargo bikes are pretty alluring. If I were planning on biking more exclusively with my tot (or if I had more than one kid), I'd probably consider the investment. But for hilly Seattle commutes, I think my mantra will be to keep it simple (and as light as possible!).
The double kickstand should be standard issue (my bike doesn't have one at all, making it difficult — but not impossible — to get the kid in her seat without another adult to help.)
Sun and rain shields, anyone?
A set-up where you can carry kids and stuff is essential for just about any biking mom or dad, though. Every parent knows that you don't go anywhere with small children without plenty of provisions. And if you want to do your grocery shopping and other errands with kids in tow, a tough bike, solid wheels, and extra cargo space becomes even more important.
More than two kids? You probably need a special set-up!
Safety on wheels
Obviously, parents who bike with kids in tow need to be even more cautious than when they ride solo — your reflexes are the same but you just aren't as agile. The bike rides differently when you're hauling a trailer or balancing a 35-pound kid on the rear rack or handle bars.
Following the rules of the road, taking the route with a bike lane (or path), avoiding rush hour, and riding quieter streets seem sensible to me — especially as a newbie. Making sure your gear is intact and installed to the exact manufacturer's specifications is a must.
And properly fitted helmets are a no-brainer (excuse the pun.)
A word to the wise: Dress in bright colors, use lights and reflectors, flags, and whatever else you can to be highly visible. A couple parents told me that car drivers are more cautious when they see that you have a kid on board.
One mom said that when she's pulling the trailer, cars give her an extra-wide berth. Another dad told me, "It is also a great way of reducing any bike/car friction. Once people see [my son] up front, we're usually smiled at."
As Yes! magazine reported recently, "in 1969, according to the National Center for Safe Routes to School, 48 percent of kids aged 5 to 14 regularly walked or biked to school. In 2009, it was just 13 percent." Getting kids on bikes early in life is probably one way to get a generation riding to school again. But, as Yes! points out, "a major reason for the [dwindling numbers] is that parents don't feel safe letting their kids bike on their own."
Here's a cool safety idea for older kids: bike trains, "in which an adult chaperone rides a predetermined route, picking up children along the way." This idea builds on the bike culture that so many parents with tots hope to instill early in their kids — health, community, stewardship:
Bike-to-school programs address large global issues from climate change to childhood obesity. With each group ride, children are empowered to take charge of their own transportation — they learn to be more confident cyclists, and that they don't have to depend on cars to get around. They (and their parents) learn which of their classmates live nearby, making it easier to build networks for friendship and support.
And there's a burgeoning bike train movement at several Seattle schools. (Is there one in your town? Let me know!)
Community resources
As one mom pointed out to me, "there are lots of resources and a great community in Seattle for those who want to ride bikes with children. From the Seward Park Bike Sundays to local bloggers and organized kid rides, you will find the support you want!" She's right. I unwittingly entered a welcoming, helpful, and enthusiastic world of bike parents when I started researching this post.
As for online resources, there are old standbys like Bike Portland and Seattle Bike Blog. In Seattle, there's also Totcycle, an informative blog about all things biking-with-kids, especially having your kid on your bike — by a local pediatrician and his wife (parents of two).
There's also Seattle's bike blogger and bike-kid commuter, Davey Oil. He also works at Bike Works, a nonprofit bike shop and community-building organization that's beginning to offer a whole suite of programs designed to encourage parents to go by bike. (Stay tuned).
There are community rides as well, like the monthly Kidical Mass — a "fun, safe, easygoing, and law-abiding family bike ride for kids of all ages." Apparently it started in 2008 in Eugene, Ore., and has since spread to other places (including Seattle).
Seattle's not alone. Check out this Sacramento, Calif., family's biking blog, Tiny Helmets Big Bikes. They link to local activities for biking families. And I'm sure there are other community events and resources across Oregon, British Columbia, Idaho, and Washington. (Send me links if you know of any!)
Love at first bike
One major reason to bike en familia: Kids love it! One mom reported that her son "loved riding so much that he typically left his helmet on for hours after a ride!"
A father of twin boys described how it made the morning routine more fun for the kids:
Best benefit: No matter how crabby or aggravated anybody is when we leave the apartment, we're all happy and having fun together by the time we roll up to the school.
And another parent told me, "[Our toddler] was really scared at first, then quickly loved biking. His very first crying fit — not related to sleep, food, or poop — was when we pulled him off of the bike for the first time; he had quickly become smitten."
Street smarts
Plus, parents report that even when they're riding as passengers, kids learn some skills that make it easier to transition to their own bikes. Here's how blogger Kelly Hogaboom described it:
I really do think the kids not only learn to balance, but also learn a lot of cycling habits (good or bad). My daughter knew how to shoulder check and use arm signals etc. right away, the minute she started riding her own bike. Both kids were a wee bit wobbly but had mastered bike riding by the end of one day on their own, no training wheels.
And according to a biking parent with older kids, riding builds confidence. It's a big deal "when a 6- or 7-year old discovers they can ride up a hill that adults walk their bikes up (they have superhuman power-to-weight ratios), or when a 5-year-old gets his training wheels off." One of his kids is also "keenly interested in how his drivetrain works." The other, whose balance and coordination used to be a source of concern for his teachers, "now prides himself in the length and lateral drift of his skids. It seems worth the extra $40/year for new tires."
Like many of the parents I talked to, I want to instill an active way of life in my daughter (and a sense of freedom from cars). We definitely drive her around more often than not, but she'd prefer the bus any day. And since she could barely even talk she's pointed at every cyclist we see and said "Mama!" (Which makes a bike-commuting mother's heart swell with pride, as you can imagine!)
My toddler is terribly excited by the idea of riding with me.
Some good friends loaned us a rear rack seat that appears to be as skookum as they come. And the look on my daughter's face when she saw the seat installed on my bike was about as joyous as I've ever seen. On our first test ride on the Fourth of July, she kept yelling, "Faster, Mama! Faster!"
We'll be getting the hang of it on more leisurely rides this summer, and I can already tell that we'll enjoy our bike commutes together when she starts preschool this fall.