text: To Pay Or Not To Pay - That Is The Question Friday, February 24, 2017 | Sacramento, CA CarbonNYC / Flickr Emily Bazar | Kaiser Health News K. A. Curtis gave up her career in the nonprofit world in 2008 to care for her ailing parents in Fresno, which also meant giving up her income. She wasn't able to afford health insurance as a result, and for each tax year since 2014, Curtis has applied for – and received – an exemption from Obamacare's coverage requirement and the related tax penalty, she says. This year, given President Trump's promise to repeal the Affordable Care Act, along with his executive order urging federal officials to weaken parts of the law, Curtis began to wonder whether she'd even have to apply for an exemption for her 2016 taxes. She also heard that the Internal Revenue Service recently flip-flopped on its previous decision to reject 2016 tax returns that don't include the taxpayer's health coverage status. "I thought, 'Maybe I won't have to apply for the exemption again'," says Curtis, 59. "The public debate about the law makes it confusing." Indeed, there's widespread confusion among consumers about the status of Obamacare, and because of that, they are uncertain how to handle Obamacare-related tax requirements. Should you still submit your 1095 tax forms that show when you were covered – or, if you purchased a plan from an exchange, the amount of tax credits you received? Should you apply for an exemption from the Obamacare coverage requirement? If you were uninsured in 2016 and don't qualify for an exemption, should you pay the Obamacare tax penalty? "Unfortunately, there are a lot of myths floating around," says Lawrence Pon, a certified public accountant (CPA) in Redwood City. "Some of my clients ask me, 'Does the law still exist?'" It sure does. As a result, California tax experts have some relatively simple advice for confused taxpayers. "Until Obamacare is no longer the law of the land, we don't have much choice other than to continue under the current rules and regulations," says Janet Krochman, a CPA in Costa Mesa. Death, Taxes and Obamacare This year's tax filing deadline is April 18. And as many of you learned in the past few years, Obamacare and taxes are inextricably linked. As part of filing your tax return, you need to prove you had health insurance, or pay a penalty, unless you qualify for one of the law's exemptions. If you bought coverage through a health insurance exchange such as Covered California and received federal tax credits, which are based on an estimate of your income, you must report whether your actual income varied from your estimate. Since most of you received tax credits in advance, you may either owe or be owed money if there's a difference. Many tax preparers say they'd rather not deal with the law's arcane and complex requirements. But every single one I spoke with says they will continue doing so as long as former President Obama's health law exists. "I tell everybody I want all of their forms. We're going to document everything," says Rebecca Neilson, a registered tax preparer in Sheridan, about 40 miles northeast of Sacramento. "I'm not going to change what I'm doing because the law might get changed." However, a recent IRS switch has fueled hopes among some consumers that the agency won't enforce the Obamacare tax penalty for 2016. On 1040 tax forms, taxpayers must check a box attesting that they had health care coverage, or enter their penalty amount if they didn't. For the first two tax years that Obamacare was in effect, the IRS accepted tax returns that didn't include this information, but often followed up with taxpayers to get it. For 2015, about 4.3 million taxpayers did not check the box, claim an exemption from coverage or pay a penalty, according to the IRS. The IRS had said it would start rejecting those forms outright for the 2016 tax year – until Trump signed his executive order. Citing the order, the agency now says it will continue to process tax forms that don't include a taxpayer's health coverage status. "This is similar to how we handled this in previous years," says an IRS statement. At the same time, the agency says it will continue to enforce the health law and may follow up with taxpayers who withhold their coverage information. "Legislative provisions of the ACA law are still in force until changed by the Congress, and taxpayers remain required to follow the law and pay what they may owe," the IRS statement says. Mixed Signals Andrew Porter, a CPA in Contra Costa County, believes that the agency "has just added to the confusion" with this change, but that taxpayers shouldn't be lulled into complacency. "They have to enforce the law," he says. "It's exactly the same as last year." Though Porter doesn't advise it, if you choose not to report your coverage on your tax return, he urges you to make sure you have your 1095 form so you have proof of coverage. "If the IRS does come calling and says you owe this penalty, producing that document may be very useful," he says. Michael Eisenberg, a CPA in Encino, acknowledges that there may be consumers who owe a penalty and are hoping that a repeal in the coming months would get them off the hook. They could request a tax-filing extension, allowing them to submit tax forms to the IRS in October, he says. But that's not a sure thing, and would require any change in the law to be retroactive to the 2016 tax year, he says. If the penalty is not forgiven, they would have to pay it, plus interest. "Maybe there will be clarity by October, maybe there won't be," Eisenberg says. "You can take your chances, but what's the likelihood the law will be repealed retroactively? I don't think it's that great." Krochman, the Costa Mesa CPA, has a few clients who owed the penalty in previous years but haven't paid it. "They're kicking the can down the road in the hopes there will be retroactive removal of the penalty once the law is repealed or replaced," she says. "What happens down that road, we don't know." Given the uncertainty, my biggest piece of advice is, and always has been, to consult with a tax professional. If you can't afford it, multiple programs offer free tax help, including the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program, run by the IRS (www.irs.gov/VITA) and the AARP Foundation Tax-Aide program (www.aarp.org/findtaxhelp). In the face of the confusion, Curtis, of Fresno, erred on the side of caution. "I ended up deciding this year to go ahead and file the exemption paperwork and be safer than sorry," she says. "It is the law and we're stuck navigating our way through it, as difficult as it may be." Questions for Emily: [email protected] Click here to find previous Ask Emily columns. This story was produced by Kaiser Health News, which publishes California Healthline, a service of the California HealthCare Foundation. Follow us for more stories like this CapRadio provides a trusted source of news because of you. As a nonprofit organization, donations from people like you sustain the journalism that allows us to discover stories that are important to our audience. If you believe in what we do and support our mission, please donate today. Donate Today


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This article is more than 1 year old
Google force feeds Web 2.0 to US gov
And it comes right back up...
But first, we must print out the internet...
Now, the White House did jump all these hurdles in streaming Obama's weekly radio addresses to the masses via YouTube. But then it ran into the persistent cookie issue. Following the DoubleClick scandal of the late 90s, all government sites are barred from using persistent browser cookies, a staple of Google's ad-happy video-sharing services.
When the White House embedded YouTube video on the presidential blog, it was breaking the rules. The adminstration caught a tremendous amount of flack, and YouTube was forced to offer a workaround - which some are still unhappy about.
And finally, there's the Presidential Records Act - McLaughlin's, um, favorite impediment to the government entering the 21st century. The Presidential Records Act requires that all documentary materials related to the presidential office must be saved for posterity.
"The problem is that everything must be kept on paper," McLaughlin says. "So, government web masters have to sit and print snapshots of their websites on paper. If you do a blog post, you have to print it. This is a real pain, particularly if the site does comments. You have to print out all the comments too."
"So then the question is 'What about status updates on Facebook? Do you have to print that too?' The answer is 'Yes.'"
When Mr. McLaughlin went to Washington, he assumed that all this could be changed in an instant with a presidential order or two. But he was wrong. "I wrote the draft. But it didn't happen."
Most of these rules are statutory. In other words, you have to work your way through the bureaucracy to change the bureaucracy. It could happen, McLaughlin says, but not without a complete cultural overhaul. "The good news is that President Obama personally really gets this," McLaughlin says. "But we need to embed more good people in these government agencies."
If you're a good person, he suggests you embed yourself. ®

subset: commoncrawl


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"I'm lonesome for grown-ups," I whine; then static buzzes in my ear as my husband's cell phone cuts off. I feel like we're in a commercial, where my sweet hubby is on the other end spouting words of great sympathy. I dial again.
"Chad, did you hear what I said?"
"I heard you, honey. You're lonesome. For grown-ups."
"Kind of silly, huh?" Since becoming a stay-at-home mom four months ago, silly has become a staple behavior in my routine. Silly songs, silly faces, silly hormones.
"Why don't you take Clara to the mall? At least that would get you out of the house," Chad suggests. Maybe the clerk at Pottery Barn wouldn't mind me chatting her up for a few hours. I think of the production that must take place before leaving home with a baby: packing the diaper bag, loading the stroller in the trunk, changing Clara at the last possible minute into something that (a) hasn't been spit up on yet and (b) contains enough pink to prevent admiring onlookers from confusing her for a boy.
"Maybe I'll just call a friend or something."
"Good idea." (Is that a twinge of relief I hear?) "I have to go to a meeting. I'll see you when I get home at 5, ok?" I look at the clock. It's 8:32 AM.
When I made the decision to jump my career track in favor of full-time motherhood, I knew I wasn't necessarily choosing the easier path. Trading the board room for the play room and deadlines for diapers can challenge even the most resilient woman's creative capacity. But I was ready. After ten years in the corporate world, I was eager to dive head-first into the blessing of being mom.
It's just that — let's face it — I like to talk. And at four months old, my daily companion only chats in a language I don't understand. "Ah-goo, brrrr phlechhhh" translates to some brilliant narrative in baby speak, I'm sure, but to a monolingual mom, it's just cute nonsense. On occasion, my desire for adult conversation hits a threshold and I go a little stir crazy.
For the next couple hours, I amuse myself with the usual morning baby routine: feed, burp, giggle, pray that Clara's stint in the bouncy seat lasts long enough for a shower and maybe even a chance to wash the bottles. Bonus if I can grab a bowl of cereal.
As soon as a respectable hour approaches, I call my friend Hilary. With a 2-year-old in tow, she's a pro at this stay-at-home mom stuff and one of my greatest sounding boards. It rings five times before I remember she's at a diaper study. Strike one.
On to tummy time and a storybook, followed by a rousing rendition of "This Little Piggy." Clara's eyelids begin to droop. Gently, I lay her down in the crib. I tiptoe out of the nursery and dial my cousin Shaina, a new mom in the delirious early weeks of postpartum bliss. Nobody answers — she must be napping, too. For her sake, I hope she is. Strike two. I decide to follow the crowd and flop down for a nap myself.
Later that morning, Clara settles in for another round of milk. With the boppy in my lap and the phone in my hand, I dial my college roommate Alisa, mom of two and somebody who remembers who I was before the burp rag accessory replaced silver hoop earrings. Voice mail picks up within seconds, and I figure another lonely mom beat me to the punch. Strike three.
I glance down at Clara. She's studying my face with her shining, inquisitive eyes. I stare back and get lost in the giddy thrill of holding this beautiful child — my child. A tiny smile spreads across her milk-frosted mouth. In that moment, we understand each other, Clara and me. And neither of us has to say a word.
On the sofa beside me, the phone rings. It's Catherine, a good friend and pregnancy companion; our daughters were born just weeks apart. "Hey," she says. "Ever have one of those days when it feels like you haven't spoken to another adult in ages?"
Have I ever had one of those days? I chuckle. "I'm so glad you called," I reply. "Talk to me."


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Learn to trace your family history and make it come alive. This course provides hands-on examples that help you dig deeper into your family's past using several subscription-based websites that you will be able to access during the course.
Tracing your family's history is a fascinating journey. Genealogy Basics will help you understand the genealogy research process and how to interpret the information you find. This course guides you through the search process for family names using several subscription-based websites, which you can access while enrolled in this class.
You will learn through hands-on examples that help you dig deeper into your family's past. You will develop a strategy to accomplish your objectives, evaluate the results, and share that information with others. You will discover where to look, who to contact, and how to make your family history come alive!
In the first lesson, you'll learn how to gather family information and organize your collection of materials. You will discover which sources provide the best information and explore standard collection methods and interview techniques. You will be provided with a PDF toolkit that includes all the forms you'll need to get started. Each lesson ends with a small crossword puzzle to help you remember important genealogy terms.
In this lesson, you'll answer the question, What's missing in my family tree? You'll organize your findings using research timelines, then determine which records will be the most helpful. You will also use different Internet search techniques including an online search of the Social Security Death Index.
In this lesson, you'll explore and analyze vital records such as Birth, Death, and Marriage. You will also learn how to request copies for your research and what to look for in those records. This lesson uses several easy-to-follow examples for finding vital records in databases on the Internet.
This is perhaps the most important of all the lessons. You will learn the value of census records and discover that spelling really doesn't count! You will learn which census records are available, where to find them, and how to analyze them. This lesson uses three hands-on examples you can try for searching the complete 1880 US Census and the 1881 Census for Canada and Great Britain, without leaving your house or renting microfilm.
In this lesson, you'll hear some of the reasons why you may not be able to find an elusive ancestor. Contrary to what you may think, they're not in a witness protection program! You'll explore the Soundex system and learn its value in solving some mysteries. You'll also learn how to analyze old handwriting.
In this lesson, you'll learn how computers search, both on and off the Internet. Local and distant searches—when done properly—can answer many of your questions. You'll also learn how to use the LDS Library website to find published information, saving you hours or days of research time.
In this lesson, you'll explore writing styles, unusual resources, and the value of email. You'll discover the value of mailing lists and learn how to subscribe, unsubscribe, and post messages. You'll also learn how to search past archives for messages that might help fill in missing branches on your family tree.
In this lesson, you'll learn what resources are available for researching military records and where to find them. The example in this lesson walks you through a search of the US Civil War database and explains how valuable pension records can be in learning more about your ancestors.
In this lesson, you'll learn to research maps, deeds, and grants for genealogy. You will investigate abstracting deeds and do a search of the Bureau of Land Management website for Land Grants and Homesteading Patents.
This lesson explains how your ancestors immigrated. You will learn about America's immigration patterns and discover how to use naturalization and passport documents to find the information you need. Your class has an account already set up on the Ellis Island website for you to use. The assignment will walk you through a real example and eventually show you the actual ships manifest.
In this lesson, you'll learn about some of the exciting things that can come from researching newspapers, city directories, periodicals, and wills. You'll also learn a great way to find collateral lines (cousins), and perhaps fill in some middle names or reveal new locations by sharing your work with others.
In the last lesson, you'll explore more genealogy tools, sources, and software. This lesson will show you the best genealogy software programs and will review each one. By using a software program, you can discover how easy it is to put it all together.
There are no prerequisites to take this course.
Hardware Requirements:
Software Requirements:
Instructional Material Requirements:
The instructional materials required for this course are included in enrollment and will be available online.
Carrie Ehrfurth
Carrie Ehrfurth is a historic preservation specialist and works to place buildings on the National Register of Historic Places. She holds bachelor's and master's degrees in art history, a graduate certificate in historic preservation, and a master's degree in business administration. Ehrfurth also researches family genealogy and takes great joy in weaving together historic information to create a complete picture of one's past.
Bob Moyer
Bob Moyer (deceased) was a college instructor, graphic designer, technical writer, and author of this course. Bob held degrees in education, business, and Civil Engineering. He had more than 12 years of experience as an instructor and developed genealogy courses for several colleges. His passion for research and family history resulted in several genealogy-related books and speaking engagements.
I have enjoyed this course very much. It was easy for me to fit into a busy lifestyle. My thanks to the instructor for "infecting me with Genealosis"! This course has helped me in my quest to learn more about my family and it's history! Will be looking for follow up classes.
I have learned a lot, both about genealogy and about my family, in the weeks we have been in this course. I have a long way to go, but the journey is the part I love. While it is great to document that these are MY ancestors, once I know that, I want to know so much more about them, and this class has shown me ways to find that information.
I really enjoyed taking this course. I learned a lot about researching my family that I didn't know. Through this course, I discovered ways to research that I hadn't even thought about before or that I hadn't heard of. Thanks for a job well done!!
I really liked this course. Website info is outstanding. I have been working on my family genealogy since 1971. I wish I had this course back then--and that there was an Internet then!
I thought the information and supplementary material was very informative. What a rush of adrenalin when I found my first ancestor with your guidance. All my ancestors have passed away without my knowing to ask any questions of their heritage so my task is quite difficult. I work full time now and have made sure to copy everything so the material will be available to me as I have more time to work on our genealogy. Thanks for all your guidance, and I look forward to taking additional internet courses.
The content and benefits of taking this course exceeded my expectations. I wanted a refresher course with a very great emphasis in online research information and sites to use as I am very weak in the online research area. This course did that, and more. I'm very pleased with this course.
This course has really hooked me on the task of finding my ancestors. I now have a much clearer idea of how to go about this job, particularly with regard to using the Internet.
I am new to Genealogy and feel this "Basic" course is more than enough to get me started and keep me going for years. Genealogy Basics is a must for beginners and old timers will delight at the abundance of new ways to approach "brick walls". I loved Bob's discussion areas which were full of extra resources and research tips. I cannot imagine starting genealogy without this course. I highly recommend Genealogy Basics, take the course you will not regret your choice.
I enjoyed this course tremendously! The lessons were well-developed and interesting, and the activities and resources were amazing! I am thrilled with all that I learned along with the extensive resources shared throughout the course. I have already recommended this course to several people. Thank you so much for getting me on the right track to researching my ancestors. I truly appreciate all that has been offered here!
I found this course very informative and done in an interesting and fun way. Not only were the lessons very informative, the discussions and assignments really brought it home. The examples showed how to work it and then I continued on looking for my ancestors. The crossword puzzles were a fun way to learn things and the quizzes being interactive were very good. The information was not spoon-fed but helped start my brain in a "Detective mode" which will help searching for information. This has shown me many areas and ways to find information and I'm really excited to be re-starting my search for my ancestors. Thanks very much!


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A higher than expected engineer's estimate and a bid exceeding the estimate forced Price River Water Improvement District to rethink how the agency will fund line upgrades for five small companies in the county.
When the PRWID board evaluated the bids last week, the members found that TNT Construction of Lehi had submitted the lowest proposal on the projects at $1,018,206. But the bid was almost $14,000 more than the engineer's $1,004,300 estimate. In addition, PRWID had initially arranged for only $904,000 in financing to start the project.
The 10 other submitted bids ranged from $86,000 to more than one-half of a million dollars higher than the engineer's estimate. The bids include Claw Construction, $1,090,989; Johansen Construction, $1,097,636.95; Terry R. Brotherson Excavating, $1,112,322.51; Nelco Contractors, $1,188,824.50; Vancon Inc., $1,278,714; Reynold Brothers Inc., $1,363,481.10; Dunn Construction, $1,373,038; Terry Larsen Excavating, $1,410,614; Dwight W. Peterson and Sons Excavating, $1,434,991.99; and J. West Oil Field, $1,545,644.94.
PRWID manager Phil Palmer felt there would be no problem securing the extra money from the Utah Division of Drinking Water to complete the project.
During a special meeting of residents from the affected areas and small water company representatives, he reaffirmed that belief on Monday.
"We had a conference call this afternoon with representatives from the DDW and it still looks like we can get the money we need. But we need to hear from you to tell us how to proceed," explained the PRWID manager on Nov. 24.
All five involved entities were represented at the meeting. The operations included Thayn Water Company, Jewkes Water Company, East Wellington Water Company, East Carbonville Water Company and Carbonville Water Company.
The plan to upgrade the companies' water systems to meet state standards and then absorb the entities into PRWID has been in the works for a long time. Now it appears the planned action will happen within the next year. But first, full funding for the upgrades must be secured.
Since the bid opening, Palmer indicated that the district has been talking to various agencies, including the Utah Community Impact Board, about providing the extra funding needed for the project. After the conversations, he still felt the DDW was the best option.
"On top of the bid, we will also need money for the design and engineering as well as $42,000 for the issuance of the bonds," pointed out Palmer. "We also will need to build in a 10 percent contingency for money to support any kinds of problems that might arise."
More money in bonds means a higher cost for consumers. The increased costs for local residents was one of the primarily reasons for Monday's special meeting.
At the gathering, PRWID staff members passed out charts listing possible funding and payback scenarios for the project.
The list included various options in terms of years of amortization, the splits the drinking water division might give the district on the loan versus grant/forgiveness and the total amount each alternative would cost per month.
Originally, the $904,000 was to be funded with 80 percent of the money paid back at a low interest rate and the DDW forgiving the remaining 20 percent of the related revenues.
"We need to know what direction you want us to head and to hear your comments," said Keith Cox, PRWID board. "For us, the question is the best way to fund this project."
One unusual subject surfacing up at the district's special meeting on Monday involved the idea of the small water companies simply walking away from the responsibilities and turning the systems over to the state.
The idea basically stemmed from the hope that the state would then upgrade the water systems and absorb the cost.
But if the water companies decided to abandon the systems, the state would not automatically step in and cover the expenses associated with completing the necessary upgrades, indicated assistant PRWID manager Jeff Richens.
"You could say no to this plan. But in the end, it would end up the same as it will be with what we are doing here right now. It would just take longer to get done," noted Richens.
"If the state takes over, they will come to us and ask us to upgrade the systems and then we will have to get the money to do the work and charge residents in the same way," pointed out Richens.
Some people in attendance at the Monday meeting wondered if that would allow the cost of the system to be spread over all of PRWID's customers rather than just the affected residents.
"No," replied Richens. "The cost would still go to the residents who gain the benefit only."
Several questions about future growth in areas like Carbonville and Wellington were also raised.
"I just wonder how long this system will last us if there is growth," said Rex Sacco of Carbonville. "If more construction takes place, will these lines need to be replaced to provide the extra service?"
The water improvement district has no control over growth – only the county has that power, stated Palmer.
"But we can raise red flags if we think it is going to cause a problem for our system," pointed out the PRWID manager. "In your area, the eight-inch lines that will be put in would accommodate 1,200 connections."
Richens pointed out that lines must meet state requirements not by the number of connections they can service but by the fire flow requirements the state has set.
Another question from the audience was about which lines need to be replaced and what else needs to be upgraded in the systems.
Richens explained that, in some of the water companies, 100 percent of the lines will need to be replaced.
But in other companies, only 50 percent of the lines will have to be replaced.
"However, everyone will be getting new customer meters as well as new fire hydrants," said Richens.
In addition, Palmer advised the representatives from the water companies that, to go ahead with final funding, the district would need letters from all of the organizations giving PRWID permission to proceed.
"You will have to meet with your boards and follow your bylaws," stated the water improvement district manager.
The explanation brought a question from PRWID board member Steve Rigby.
"What if one of the water companies decides to not go along with this, does that mean we scale back the project or does it mean the whole thing is dead? asked Rigby.
Palmer indicated that all of the water companies must agree to go ahead or the entire project will need to be rethought by PRWID.
When a hand vote was taken, the majority of water company representatives agreed to go ahead with pursuing the extra funding.
The PRWID board then voted on two resolutions, one to proceed in the matter and ask for $1.3 million to fund the projects and another to advertise the bonds.
PRWID must act quickly because the DDW advisory committee meets Wednesday, pointed out Palmer.
The district will have to make a presentation to the committee in order to get final approval from the DDW board in December.
Once the steps are completed, a public hearing will be slated for Dec. 16 to let the parties know what the final disposition will be regarding the project.
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David Mazzucchelli
About the Author
DAVID MAZZUCCHELLI has been making comics his whole life. Known chiefly for his collaborations— with Frank Miller on seminal Batman and Daredevil stories, and with Paul Karasik on an adaptation of Paul Auster's novel, City of Glass—he began publishing his own stories in 1991 in his anthology magazine, Rubber Blanket. Since then his short comics have been published in books and magazines around the world. Asterios Polyp is his first graphic novel, and has won the Los Angeles Times Book Prize and been listed as a New York Times notable book.


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Third in a series on B.C.'s craft cannabis industry.
B.C. Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth and Finance Minister Carole James were the NDP's point persons on pot a year before they formed a minority government with the B.C. Greens.
In 2016, Farnworth and James toured legal marijuana operations in Oregon and neighbouring Washington, where recreational cannabis has been legal since 2012. As they prepared the NDP's election platform on how to handle legalization, Farnworth remembers visiting an Oregon store that offered cannabis-infused ice cream.
"I asked, what's the dosage like?" Farnworth said in an interview. "They said oh, a tablespoon. And I remember thinking, who eats a tablespoon of ice cream?"
With Health Canada restrictions on products and packaging to keep cannabis away from kids and prevent overdoses, B.C. stores won't be selling ice cream when edible products become available in the weeks ahead. Farnworth is expecting a limited selection of cannabis edibles will pass Health Canada's 60-day approval process for new products.
...and here's @jjhorgan a month later #cannabis #bcbud #bcleg pic.twitter.com/n0MCxGHu53
— Tom Fletcher (@tomfletcherbc) December 4, 2019
"They've made it clear there is not going to be a full range of products that you might see, say in Oregon where you can get ice cream for example," Farnworth said. "You're not going to see that here. We're looking at late December to mid-January, is the latest information about when you're going to see [edible] product in stores and available online."
Edibles and beverages, or "Cannabis 2.0" in industry jargon, are another challenge for B.C. in keeping its small-producer craft cannabis industry from being overwhelmed by big players. Anheuser-Busch Inbev, the international beer giant that owns Labatt's and Budweiser, has launched a joint venture with B.C.-based multinational cannabis producer Tilray to produce drinks with the main active ingredients, THC and CBD, by the end of 2019.
Canopy Growth Corp. has unveiled the first of its line of soft drinks, chocolates and other edibles under its Tweed brand, and Molson Coors predicts that beverages may end up with 20 per cent or more of the Canadian cannabis market. Molson Coors took a controlling interest in a joint beverage venture with Quebec marijuana producer HEXO, which is launching a national discount dried marijuana product called "Original Stash" that sells for $4.99 per gram.
PART ONE: NDP gives cannabis business grant to Kootenay growers
PART TWO: Craft cannabis growers wind through layers of government
RELATED: Police raid 23-year-old cannabis compassion club
After amending a half dozen B.C. laws to allow recreational cannabis sales, setting up a monopoly wholesale system run by the Liquor Distribution Branch and struggling to get government and private stores up and running, Farnworth also faced the task of dealing with stores that had opened without licences and simply carried on.
Enter the Community Safety Unit, a division of Farnworth's ministry that works with police to shut down illegal sellers that still hold the vast majority of the B.C. cannabis market. Its raids included the Victoria Cannabis Buyers Club, which operated for more than 20 years as a medical dispensary.
"We've had a good response," Farnworth said at the end of October. "At last count, there have been 50-some-odd illegal operations that have either shut down voluntarily, or have had their product and the cash confiscated by the Community Safety Unit."
Premier John Horgan says these challenges are unique to B.C., where illegal sales were allowed to proliferate for years. Dealing with that is one reason why B.C. stands to lose money on its first year of cannabis sales.
"We had a grey market that had to be shut down so that an above-board legal market could thrive in a fair way," Horgan said as the B.C. legislature session wrapped up at the end of November. "We didn't want people having an advantage because they had staked some territory illegally, and put those operators who wanted to be legal and above board at a disadvantage."
Long-time grower Travis Lane, who supplied dispensaries and now has three applications in for recreational cannabis production on Vancouver Island, says there's another reason B.C. has so far shunned legal marijuana marketed by big national companies.
"When you look at B.C., we have an educated purchasing populace," Lane said. "We're to the point where they're going into these legal stores and trying it, and rejecting it for quality purposes or for cost. That's where the market hasn't caught up yet, is quality and cost."
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text:
"Damaged people are dangerous. They know they can survive."
Josephine Hart
"There are only two ways to live your life.
One is as though nothing is a miracle.
The other is as though everything is a miracle."
Albert Einstein
And I don't mean some high falutin' job or some responsibility given but rather mistake experience.
That said.
I like people who make mistakes.
I like people who have made mistakes.
I like people who have had some significant failures.
I like people who have tried doing a variety of shit and have a list of shit that just didn't go so well <or as well as they had wanted>.
I like the people who realize you survive 99% of the time you go out and try something without holding back.
Everyone who has survived some failure or mistake comes out of that experience damaged in some way. Most times that 'damage' is found in expectations or, maybe better said, plans or 'how I envisioned it would go'.
While it has been a long time for me I vaguely remember when I first jumped off the cliff professionally. I vaguely remember doing so with a plan and a planned path in mind.
Some people would call that "rationale for taking a professional action."
The plan and path went to shit fast.
But I adapted and got to where I wanted to go. I survived. But I survived with damage.
The first damage is related to 'the rationale.'
You start questioning how smart you are or how insightful you may be with regard to business organizations and what matters. I mean … what the hell … you thought it out, weighed the options and chose a course. Only to end up face first in some mud puddle that was never in your rationale.
Your 'rationale thinking' gets nicked up a bit.
The second damage is related to a harsh understanding, and semi-surprising revelation, that business mirrors Life.
You tend to believe business is more orderly and less chaotic than Life in general. Business offers a solid construct and when viewing the organizational chart you can easily envision paths and plans and people. You quickly learn that organizational charts are the biggest lies in business. They look static, they look flat and they look solidly structured,. The truth is that they are constantly shifting, they are multi-dimensional and 'structure' actually means 'power' can reside not in the box towards the top but rather in some inane responsibility in some department you never even paid attention to.
All the damage offers some benefits.
The scars actually strengthen an aspect of who and what you are.
The biggest benefit is that your "I will survive" mentality shifts from a belief & hope to proven truth.
That experience matters.
Once you know you can survive, Life becomes different particularly in the business world. When you first step into professional life most of us step carefully. We watch each step and recognize, more often than not, survival and success is more about a battle of attrition than it is actually doing something superior. And, yet, the longer we stay in that mode of behavior the more likely doing something, anything, starts taking on a larger & larger looming presence "doing that could 'kill you.'
And maybe that is why I love damaged people.
They respect the danger, but do not fear the danger. They have met danger, been damaged, and understand that being damaged is not the same as being killed.
Damaged simply means "I have survived with some scars to show for it."
Just as I would prefer picking up a sword which has some nicks rather than a new shiny unused one as I went into battle I prefer the nicked & used people to be on my teams as I go into the business battle.
And maybe the real reason is a little more philosophical <with a little humor attached>
In business, once damaged, you have a little more sense that it is not only a miracle you survived, but that it is a miracle anything good actually happens in an organization of any size.
That may sound slightly cynical, but I would suggest it is slightly pragmatic.
Success in business is almost like running through a series of double Dutch jump ropes.
A little good sense of timing, a little miracle or two, a little smart instinctual actions and smart experience driven maneuvering. And absolutely some damage.
To conclude.
I like my people a little damaged. They not only know how to survive but know they can, and will, survive moving forward and taking steps.
I like my people damaged. They tend to not mind, well, getting damaged and are willing to do some spectacular things along the way.


text:
In statistics, an outlier is a data point that differs significantly from other observations.[1][2] An outlier may be due to a variability in the measurement, an indication of novel data, or it may be the result of experimental error; the latter are sometimes excluded from the data set.[3][4] An outlier can be an indication of exciting possibility, but can also cause serious problems in statistical analyses.
Outliers can occur by chance in any distribution, but they can indicate novel behaviour or structures in the data-set, measurement error, or that the population has a heavy-tailed distribution. In the case of measurement error, one wishes to discard them or use statistics that are robust to outliers, while in the case of heavy-tailed distributions, they indicate that the distribution has high skewness and that one should be very cautious in using tools or intuitions that assume a normal distribution. A frequent cause of outliers is a mixture of two distributions, which may be two distinct sub-populations, or may indicate 'correct trial' versus 'measurement error'; this is modeled by a mixture model.
In most larger samplings of data, some data points will be further away from the sample mean than what is deemed reasonable. This can be due to incidental systematic error or flaws in the theory that generated an assumed family of probability distributions, or it may be that some observations are far from the center of the data. Outlier points can therefore indicate faulty data, erroneous procedures, or areas where a certain theory might not be valid. However, in large samples, a small number of outliers is to be expected (and not due to any anomalous condition).
Outliers, being the most extreme observations, may include the sample maximum or sample minimum, or both, depending on whether they are extremely high or low. However, the sample maximum and minimum are not always outliers because they may not be unusually far from other observations.
Naive interpretation of statistics derived from data sets that include outliers may be misleading. For example, if one is calculating the average temperature of 10 objects in a room, and nine of them are between 20 and 25 degrees Celsius, but an oven is at 175 °C, the median of the data will be between 20 and 25 °C but the mean temperature will be between 35.5 and 40 °C. In this case, the median better reflects the temperature of a randomly sampled object (but not the temperature in the room) than the mean; naively interpreting the mean as "a typical sample", equivalent to the median, is incorrect. As illustrated in this case, outliers may indicate data points that belong to a different population than the rest of the sample set.
Estimators capable of coping with outliers are said to be robust: the median is a robust statistic of central tendency, while the mean is not.[5] However, the mean is generally a more precise estimator.[6]
Occurrence and causes
[edit]In the case of normally distributed data, the three sigma rule means that roughly 1 in 22 observations will differ by twice the standard deviation or more from the mean, and 1 in 370 will deviate by three times the standard deviation.[7] In a sample of 1000 observations, the presence of up to five observations deviating from the mean by more than three times the standard deviation is within the range of what can be expected, being less than twice the expected number and hence within 1 standard deviation of the expected number – see Poisson distribution – and not indicate an anomaly. If the sample size is only 100, however, just three such outliers are already reason for concern, being more than 11 times the expected number.
In general, if the nature of the population distribution is known a priori, it is possible to test if the number of outliers deviate significantly from what can be expected: for a given cutoff (so samples fall beyond the cutoff with probability p) of a given distribution, the number of outliers will follow a binomial distribution with parameter p, which can generally be well-approximated by the Poisson distribution with λ = pn. Thus if one takes a normal distribution with cutoff 3 standard deviations from the mean, p is approximately 0.3%, and thus for 1000 trials one can approximate the number of samples whose deviation exceeds 3 sigmas by a Poisson distribution with λ = 3.
[edit]Outliers can have many anomalous causes. A physical apparatus for taking measurements may have suffered a transient malfunction. There may have been an error in data transmission or transcription. Outliers arise due to changes in system behaviour, fraudulent behaviour, human error, instrument error or simply through natural deviations in populations. A sample may have been contaminated with elements from outside the population being examined. Alternatively, an outlier could be the result of a flaw in the assumed theory, calling for further investigation by the researcher. Additionally, the pathological appearance of outliers of a certain form appears in a variety of datasets, indicating that the causative mechanism for the data might differ at the extreme end (King effect).
Definitions and detection
[edit]There is no rigid mathematical definition of what constitutes an outlier; determining whether or not an observation is an outlier is ultimately a subjective exercise.[8] There are various methods of outlier detection, some of which are treated as synonymous with novelty detection.[9][10][11][12][13] Some are graphical such as normal probability plots. Others are model-based. Box plots are a hybrid.
Model-based methods which are commonly used for identification assume that the data are from a normal distribution, and identify observations which are deemed "unlikely" based on mean and standard deviation:
- Chauvenet's criterion
- Grubbs's test for outliers
- Dixon's Q test
- ASTM E178: Standard Practice for Dealing With Outlying Observations[14]
- Mahalanobis distance and leverage are often used to detect outliers, especially in the development of linear regression models.
- Subspace and correlation based techniques for high-dimensional numerical data[13]
Peirce's criterion
[edit]It is proposed to determine in a series of observations the limit of error, beyond which all observations involving so great an error may be rejected, provided there are as many as such observations. The principle upon which it is proposed to solve this problem is, that the proposed observations should be rejected when the probability of the system of errors obtained by retaining them is less than that of the system of errors obtained by their rejection multiplied by the probability of making so many, and no more, abnormal observations. (Quoted in the editorial note on page 516 to Peirce (1982 edition) from A Manual of Astronomy 2:558 by Chauvenet.) [15][16][17][18]
Tukey's fences
[edit]Other methods flag observations based on measures such as the interquartile range. For example, if and are the lower and upper quartiles respectively, then one could define an outlier to be any observation outside the range:
for some nonnegative constant . John Tukey proposed this test, where indicates an "outlier", and indicates data that is "far out".[19]
In anomaly detection
[edit]In various domains such as, but not limited to, statistics, signal processing, finance, econometrics, manufacturing, networking and data mining, the task of anomaly detection may take other approaches. Some of these may be distance-based[20][21] and density-based such as Local Outlier Factor (LOF).[22] Some approaches may use the distance to the k-nearest neighbors to label observations as outliers or non-outliers.[23]
Modified Thompson Tau test
[edit]The modified Thompson Tau test[citation needed] is a method used to determine if an outlier exists in a data set. The strength of this method lies in the fact that it takes into account a data set's standard deviation, average and provides a statistically determined rejection zone; thus providing an objective method to determine if a data point is an outlier.[citation needed][24] How it works: First, a data set's average is determined. Next the absolute deviation between each data point and the average are determined. Thirdly, a rejection region is determined using the formula:
- ;
where is the critical value from the Student t distribution with n-2 degrees of freedom, n is the sample size, and s is the sample standard deviation. To determine if a value is an outlier: Calculate . If δ > Rejection Region, the data point is an outlier. If δ ≤ Rejection Region, the data point is not an outlier.
The modified Thompson Tau test is used to find one outlier at a time (largest value of δ is removed if it is an outlier). Meaning, if a data point is found to be an outlier, it is removed from the data set and the test is applied again with a new average and rejection region. This process is continued until no outliers remain in a data set.
Some work has also examined outliers for nominal (or categorical) data. In the context of a set of examples (or instances) in a data set, instance hardness measures the probability that an instance will be misclassified ( where y is the assigned class label and x represent the input attribute value for an instance in the training set t).[25] Ideally, instance hardness would be calculated by summing over the set of all possible hypotheses H:
Practically, this formulation is unfeasible as H is potentially infinite and calculating is unknown for many algorithms. Thus, instance hardness can be approximated using a diverse subset :
where is the hypothesis induced by learning algorithm trained on training set t with hyperparameters . Instance hardness provides a continuous value for determining if an instance is an outlier instance.
Working with outliers
[edit]The choice of how to deal with an outlier should depend on the cause. Some estimators are highly sensitive to outliers, notably estimation of covariance matrices.
[edit]Even when a normal distribution model is appropriate to the data being analyzed, outliers are expected for large sample sizes and should not automatically be discarded if that is the case.[26] Instead, one should use a method that is robust to outliers to model or analyze data with naturally occurring outliers.[26]
[edit]When deciding whether to remove an outlier, the cause has to be considered. As mentioned earlier, if the outlier's origin can be attributed to an experimental error, or if it can be otherwise determined that the outlying data point is erroneous, it is generally recommended to remove it.[26][27] However, it is more desirable to correct the erroneous value, if possible.
Removing a data point solely because it is an outlier, on the other hand, is a controversial practice, often frowned upon by many scientists and science instructors, as it typically invalidates statistical results.[26][27] While mathematical criteria provide an objective and quantitative method for data rejection, they do not make the practice more scientifically or methodologically sound, especially in small sets or where a normal distribution cannot be assumed. Rejection of outliers is more acceptable in areas of practice where the underlying model of the process being measured and the usual distribution of measurement error are confidently known.
The two common approaches to exclude outliers are truncation (or trimming) and Winsorising. Trimming discards the outliers whereas Winsorising replaces the outliers with the nearest "nonsuspect" data.[28] Exclusion can also be a consequence of the measurement process, such as when an experiment is not entirely capable of measuring such extreme values, resulting in censored data.[29]
In regression problems, an alternative approach may be to only exclude points which exhibit a large degree of influence on the estimated coefficients, using a measure such as Cook's distance.[30]
If a data point (or points) is excluded from the data analysis, this should be clearly stated on any subsequent report.
Non-normal distributions
[edit]The possibility should be considered that the underlying distribution of the data is not approximately normal, having "fat tails". For instance, when sampling from a Cauchy distribution,[31] the sample variance increases with the sample size, the sample mean fails to converge as the sample size increases, and outliers are expected at far larger rates than for a normal distribution. Even a slight difference in the fatness of the tails can make a large difference in the expected number of extreme values.
Set-membership uncertainties
[edit]A set membership approach considers that the uncertainty corresponding to the ith measurement of an unknown random vector x is represented by a set Xi (instead of a probability density function). If no outliers occur, x should belong to the intersection of all Xi's. When outliers occur, this intersection could be empty, and we should relax a small number of the sets Xi (as small as possible) in order to avoid any inconsistency.[32] This can be done using the notion of q-relaxed intersection. As illustrated by the figure, the q-relaxed intersection corresponds to the set of all x which belong to all sets except q of them. Sets Xi that do not intersect the q-relaxed intersection could be suspected to be outliers.
Alternative models
[edit]In cases where the cause of the outliers is known, it may be possible to incorporate this effect into the model structure, for example by using a hierarchical Bayes model, or a mixture model.[33][34]
See also
[edit]- Anomaly (natural sciences)
- Novelty detection
- Anscombe's quartet
- Data transformation (statistics)
- Extreme value theory
- Influential observation
- Random sample consensus
- Robust regression
- Studentized residual
- Winsorizing
[edit]- ^ Grubbs, F. E. (February 1969). "Procedures for detecting outlying observations in samples". Technometrics. 11 (1): 1–21. doi:10.1080/00401706.1969.10490657.
An outlying observation, or "outlier," is one that appears to deviate markedly from other members of the sample in which it occurs.
- ^ Maddala, G. S. (1992). "Outliers". Introduction to Econometrics (2nd ed.). New York: MacMillan. pp. 89. ISBN 978-0-02-374545-4.
An outlier is an observation that is far removed from the rest of the observations.
- ^ Pimentel, M. A., Clifton, D. A., Clifton, L., & Tarassenko, L. (2014). A review of novelty detection. Signal Processing, 99, 215-249.
- ^ Grubbs 1969, p. 1 stating "An outlying observation may be merely an extreme manifestation of the random variability inherent in the data. ... On the other hand, an outlying observation may be the result of gross deviation from prescribed experimental procedure or an error in calculating or recording the numerical value."
- ^ Ripley, Brian D. 2004. Robust statistics Archived 2012-10-21 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Chandan Mukherjee, Howard White, Marc Wuyts, 1998, "Econometrics and Data Analysis for Developing Countries Vol. 1" [1]
- ^ Ruan, Da; Chen, Guoqing; Kerre, Etienne (2005). Wets, G. (ed.). Intelligent Data Mining: Techniques and Applications. Studies in Computational Intelligence Vol. 5. Springer. p. 318. ISBN 978-3-540-26256-5.
- ^ Zimek, Arthur; Filzmoser, Peter (2018). "There and back again: Outlier detection between statistical reasoning and data mining algorithms" (PDF). Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Data Mining and Knowledge Discovery. 8 (6): e1280. doi:10.1002/widm.1280. ISSN 1942-4787. S2CID 53305944. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2021-11-14. Retrieved 2019-12-11.
- ^ Pimentel, M. A., Clifton, D. A., Clifton, L., & Tarassenko, L. (2014). A review of novelty detection. Signal Processing, 99, 215-249.
- ^ Rousseeuw, P; Leroy, A. (1996), Robust Regression and Outlier Detection (3rd ed.), John Wiley & Sons
- ^ Hodge, Victoria J.; Austin, Jim (2004), "A Survey of Outlier Detection Methodologies", Artificial Intelligence Review, 22 (2): 85–126, CiteSeerX 10.1.1.109.1943, doi:10.1023/B:AIRE.0000045502.10941.a9, S2CID 3330313
- ^ Barnett, Vic; Lewis, Toby (1994) [1978], Outliers in Statistical Data (3 ed.), Wiley, ISBN 978-0-471-93094-5
- ^ a b Zimek, A.; Schubert, E.; Kriegel, H.-P. (2012). "A survey on unsupervised outlier detection in high-dimensional numerical data". Statistical Analysis and Data Mining. 5 (5): 363–387. doi:10.1002/sam.11161. S2CID 6724536.
- ^ E178: Standard Practice for Dealing With Outlying Observations
- ^ Benjamin Peirce, "Criterion for the Rejection of Doubtful Observations", Astronomical Journal II 45 (1852) and Errata to the original paper.
- ^ Peirce, Benjamin (May 1877 – May 1878). "On Peirce's criterion". Proceedings of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. 13: 348–351. doi:10.2307/25138498. JSTOR 25138498.
- ^ Peirce, Charles Sanders (1873) [1870]. "Appendix No. 21. On the Theory of Errors of Observation". Report of the Superintendent of the United States Coast Survey Showing the Progress of the Survey During the Year 1870: 200–224.. NOAA PDF Eprint (goes to Report p. 200, PDF's p. 215).
- ^ Peirce, Charles Sanders (1986) [1982]. "On the Theory of Errors of Observation". In Kloesel, Christian J. W.; et al. (eds.). Writings of Charles S. Peirce: A Chronological Edition. Vol. 3, 1872–1878. Bloomington, Indiana: Indiana University Press. pp. 140–160. ISBN 978-0-253-37201-7. – Appendix 21, according to the editorial note on page 515
- ^ Tukey, John W (1977). Exploratory Data Analysis. Addison-Wesley. ISBN 978-0-201-07616-5. OCLC 3058187.
- ^ Knorr, E. M.; Ng, R. T.; Tucakov, V. (2000). "Distance-based outliers: Algorithms and applications". The VLDB Journal the International Journal on Very Large Data Bases. 8 (3–4): 237. CiteSeerX 10.1.1.43.1842. doi:10.1007/s007780050006. S2CID 11707259.
- ^ Ramaswamy, S.; Rastogi, R.; Shim, K. (2000). Efficient algorithms for mining outliers from large data sets. Proceedings of the 2000 ACM SIGMOD international conference on Management of data - SIGMOD '00. p. 427. doi:10.1145/342009.335437. ISBN 1581132174.
- ^ Breunig, M. M.; Kriegel, H.-P.; Ng, R. T.; Sander, J. (2000). LOF: Identifying Density-based Local Outliers (PDF). Proceedings of the 2000 ACM SIGMOD International Conference on Management of Data. SIGMOD. pp. 93–104. doi:10.1145/335191.335388. ISBN 1-58113-217-4.
- ^ Schubert, E.; Zimek, A.; Kriegel, H. -P. (2012). "Local outlier detection reconsidered: A generalized view on locality with applications to spatial, video, and network outlier detection". Data Mining and Knowledge Discovery. 28: 190–237. doi:10.1007/s10618-012-0300-z. S2CID 19036098.
- ^ Thompson .R. (1985). "A Note on Restricted Maximum Likelihood Estimation with an Alternative Outlier Model".Journal of the Royal Statistical Society. Series B (Methodological), Vol. 47, No. 1, pp. 53-55
- ^ Smith, M.R.; Martinez, T.; Giraud-Carrier, C. (2014). "An Instance Level Analysis of Data Complexity". Machine Learning, 95(2): 225-256.
- ^ a b c d Karch, Julian D. (2023). "Outliers may not be automatically removed". Journal of Experimental Psychology: General. 152 (6): 1735–1753. doi:10.1037/xge0001357. PMID 37104797. S2CID 258376426.
- ^ a b Bakker, Marjan; Wicherts, Jelte M. (2014). "Outlier removal, sum scores, and the inflation of the type I error rate in independent samples t tests: The power of alternatives and recommendations". Psychological Methods. 19 (3): 409–427. doi:10.1037/met0000014. PMID 24773354.
- ^ Wike, Edward L. (2006). Data Analysis: A Statistical Primer for Psychology Students. Transaction Publishers. pp. 24–25. ISBN 9780202365350.
- ^ Dixon, W. J. (June 1960). "Simplified estimation from censored normal samples". The Annals of Mathematical Statistics. 31 (2): 385–391. doi:10.1214/aoms/1177705900.
- ^ Cook, R. Dennis (Feb 1977). "Detection of Influential Observations in Linear Regression". Technometrics (American Statistical Association) 19 (1): 15–18.
- ^ Weisstein, Eric W. Cauchy Distribution. From MathWorld--A Wolfram Web Resource
- ^ Jaulin, L. (2010). "Probabilistic set-membership approach for robust regression" (PDF). Journal of Statistical Theory and Practice. 4: 155–167. doi:10.1080/15598608.2010.10411978. S2CID 16500768.
- ^ Roberts, S. and Tarassenko, L.: 1995, A probabilistic resource allocating network for novelty detection. Neural Computation 6, 270–284.
- ^ Bishop, C. M. (August 1994). "Novelty detection and Neural Network validation". IEE Proceedings - Vision, Image, and Signal Processing. 141 (4): 217–222. doi:10.1049/ip-vis:19941330.
External links
[edit]- Renze, John. "Outlier". MathWorld.
- Balakrishnan, N.; Childs, A. (2001) [1994], "Outlier", Encyclopedia of Mathematics, EMS Press
- Grubbs test described by NIST manual


text:
Database is enough
Author: Evgeny Panferov
The idea is to delegate as much work as possible to a database. I want to illustrate advantages of this idea with the working example of platzcart.com, touching security, scalability and performance problems.
I am going to explain how it is possible (and is easy) to implement an "application layer" in PostgreSQL procedural language (so close to data itself still keeping the idea of 3-tier architecture intact).
How to effectively use specific PostgreSQL features.
Database provides you the highest possible abstraction level.
Database is the best tool to arrange an access control scheme.
Database is the safest place to store the most sensitive secretes.
A shorter processing is always better than a longer one.


text:
Stretch yourself with a soothing water yoga session, or let your creativity flow with a guided art class.
Suites boast modern designs inspired by the natural environment of Punta Cana. All suites include fully-furnished private balconies with sunbeds and whirlpools. Select suites feature direct pool access and private sundecks.
Mina Meat House is a contemporary steakhouse while Kao serves Asian fusion cuisine and features a sushi bar. Lemon Fish combines a cevicheria and bar, offering Caribbean and Latin seafood. Located at the heart of the resort, Mangu serves Latin–inspired snacks all day. Agua Marina Beach Nation offers international fare for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
Lounge poolside under a shaded daybed or visit MAIA Signature Spa by Natura Bissé for a serene treatment. Burn Gym is fully equipped with weight training and cardio equipment.
Enjoy the soft sands and turquoise waters at the Beach Club. Younger guests will delight in the Habitat Children's Club with a range of supervised activities and workshops and the BLAST! Water Park. Tee off at one of the nearby golf courses or try out a variety of water sports.
Av. Barceló, Paraje de Bávaro, Distrito Municipal. Bavaro, 23000 Dominican Republic
Punta Cana International Airport.
†Certain room categories are not eligible for upgrade.
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Since 1961, Bagel Oasis has been open for business and making bagels the old fashioned way. Handmade. All Natural. No preservatives No additives. No Compromises. We would like to thank you for making Bagel Oasis New York's favorite bagel shop for almost five decades. And hopefully, For many, many more to come!
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text:
NEW YORK — New York Community Bank has agreed to buy a significant chunk of the failed Signature Bank in a $2.7 billion deal, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. said late Sunday.
The 40 branches of Signature Bank will become Flagstar Bank, starting Monday. Flagstar is one of New York Community Bank's subsidiaries. The deal will include the purchase of $38.4 billion in Signature Bank's assets, a little more than a third of Signature's total when the bank failed a week ago.
The FDIC said $60 billion in Signature Bank's loans will remain in receivership and are expected to be sold off in time.
Signature Bank was the second bank to fail in this banking crisis, roughly 48 hours after the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank. Signature, based in New York, was a large commercial lender in the tristate area, but had in recent years gotten into cryptocurrencies as a potential growth business.
After Silicon Valley Bank failed, depositors became nervous about Signature Bank's health due to its high amount of uninsured deposits as well as its exposure to crypto and other tech-focused lending. By the time it was closed by regulators, Signature was the third largest bank failure in U.S. history.
The FDIC says it expects Signature Bank's failure to cost the deposit insurance fund $2.5 billion, but that figure may change as the regulator sells off assets. The deposit insurance fund is paid for by assessments on banks and taxpayers do not bear the direct cost when a bank fails.
Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.


text:
Leigh Talbert Moore
Action - Adventure Romance
Prentiss Puckett is certain of three things:
-Graduation is two weeks away.
-Summer only gets hotter in south Mississippi.
-She's getting a job with air-conditioning.
She did not expect to be kidnapped walking to work.
And she never expected to become a hero.
Purchase the Book!
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Behind the Stars
By Leigh Talbert Moore
© 2014, Leigh T. Moore
"Hearing that story makes me wish I could have been the one to protect you," he said.
"I don't need your protection," I sniffed. "I'm little, but I can take care of myself."
"Everyone needs help. Sometimes." He reached up and slid the hair back from his face exposing the scar on his cheek.
I didn't know how to answer that. I still didn't know how he'd gotten those scars, but more than that, I didn't know who I wanted protecting me now.
I stepped through the fence. "I guess this is good-night," I whispered.
"Sleep well, doctor."
I shook my head and sneaked past the cabins across the dark yard and into the dormitory. Once inside I stood for several minutes with my face pressed against the doorjamb.
Why was this happening? I wasn't this kind of person. Other girls got their feelings all mixed up over boys, but I didn't. That question had been settled in my mind years ago, and yet here I was acting like a starry-eyed little twit. I was failing in my job to rescue us. Everyone was counting on me, and here I was useless, fighting this battle with myself. I had to get it together. I had to get myself back on track, for all of us.
Readers are saying…
"Five Stars: The best series that I have read in a while. I couldn't put it down at all. It still has my attention, begging to be revisited!" --Reading in Black and White
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"If you are looking for a great YA read, this is the book for you. Full of nail biting suspense, this book is sure to keep your attention." –Mandy "I Read Indie"
About the Author
Leigh Talbert Moore wrote her first graphic novel at the age of nine--about a lady scientist burned by acid. Sadly, the text of "Fury Woman" was lost, and Leigh's novelist aspirations went on hiatus.
Then, after a decade working in journalism, editing, marketing, and public relations, she began writing books again, and in 2009 completed Dragonfly. Today, Leigh is the author of several popular young adult and new adult novels, all with a strong romantic slant.
She lives with her husband and two young children in the middle of the country, where she conjures new worlds, characters, and situations while playing chauffeur, chaperone, group activity leader, and referee. And she's still trying to remember the plot of Fury Woman...
Books by Leigh Talbert Moore
-THE TRUTH ABOUT FAKING (YA romantic comedy)
-THE TRUTH ABOUT LETTING GO (YA coming of age; Top 5 Finalist, 2013 "Best Indie Book Awards" sponsored by The Kindle Book Review)
-ROUGE (New Adult romantic suspense; Quarterfinalist, 2013 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award)
-DRAGONFLY (New Adult family saga; Book #1 in the Dragonfly series)
-UNDERTOW (New Adult family saga; Book #2 in the Dragonfly series)
-WATERCOLOR (New Adult family saga; Book #3 in the Dragonfly series)
-MOSAIC (New Adult family saga; Book #4/final book in the Dragonfly series)
-BEHIND THE STARS (NA Action-adventure/paranormal romance)
From Leigh:
*I love hearing from readers! Send feedback, ask questions, or say hello at leightmoore(at)gmail.com.
*Visit my website: www.leightmoore.com
*You can also find me on Facebook, where I post my latest book news, sales, and excerpts: www.facebook.com/LeighTalbertMoore
*I'm Tsu.co: https://www.tsu.co/leightmoore
*And I'm on Twitter and Instagram as @leightmoore
*Sign up for my newsletter for new release and sale updates here: http://eepurl.com/tzVuP
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Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Nancy Dunn-Kato is a very well respected golf instructor, one ot the top junior golf instructors in the country. In our interview she talks about the gamification of teaching the golf swing; how she makes these simple little games to help kids learn the golf swing. There's a movement in education about gamification, working to make the learning experience more fun and enjoyable.
Nancy Dunn-Kato has been a Certified Class A LPGA Teaching & Club Professional Member since 1989. She has played and taught golf for over 24 years.
Nancy's company SWINGplay and its concepts are a direct result of her dedicated work with junior golfers and a real, practical, understanding of what works best. SWINGplay's unique programs are specifically designed to focus the learning needs of young and adult golfers at all levels from beginner to advanced players. The SWINGplay systems and methods reinforce the play in golf – to keep the learning experience fun, positive, and filled with success that grows naturally out of children's play. Skill and ability grow quickly through the game-play!
Zeb's Take
It's obvious that Nancy really understands the golf swing, and how to teach the golf swing. She made a lot of good points; young golfers teaching other young golfers how to play the game and how young kids can teach parents and how valuable that can be and how you can bring the family together.
The thing she talked about that I want to expand on is making the golf swing fun. She talked about breaking it down into little smaller components, and then teaching that in a fun game type of way – gamification. She's talking about making rainbows, knocking out shark's teeth, dragons, Leprechauns, shooting spray guns. I've actually had a chance to see some of the stuff she is talking about and it's very cool. I can see how young people can accept and understand it all very quickly because of the way she sets up these little games.
In education, we get so much information from so many different resources. Before the internet, teachers were more on their own. Now, there's someone like Nancy who creates this killer program about how to teach the golf swing to young kids. She can take that and give that to golf instructors across the country and they can understand. I think this gamification of learning coincides with our social culture and the way that we are able to share knowledge today. It really enhances the learning experience, I think education needs to go that way. Having a teacher that stands in front of a class and lectures is like if Nancy were a golf instructor that stood there and just tells you what you're doing wrong. Versus, talking about rainbows and dragons, you can imagine the difference that would have on a little child. You can teach the golf swing, just like you can teach anything else, through this gamification process.
What do you think about this gamification process?
Find out more about gamification of the golf swing, Nancy, and SwingPlay
Visit SwingPlay.com or email Nancy at firstname.lastname@example.com
- "It was really frustrating. I never wanted anyone to feel that way. I believed in my heart that I could find a way to make it much more easy for other people."
- "Golf has been made too hard to understand and it doesn't have to be that way; it could be easier."
- "I love teaching teachers."
- "They're learning and they don't even know their learning. That's the fun part."
- "I really really wanted to create something different."
- "People helping people and using golf as a way to get the community together."
- "I just wanted to make something that makes the world a little better."
More From the Interview
Nancy got involved in golf in college when a couple cute guys invited her to play at Torrey Pines. She borrowed a pair of clubs that morning and finished the day with a couple pars. When she told her golf buddies it was her first day, they were impressed. She checked out the golf scene and had the idea to become a pro in one year. She found a golf instructor, worked hard and reached her goal in a year and a half. She made several mini tours and was on the top ten list.
After her swing, put a coke can on her pitching wedge and she had to balance it, that was the start of all the games she began creating. It was about finding a way to make it fun after the lesson so she could understand it.
"When we were on the mini tour, none of us could afford golf lessons. So whoever would go get a golf lesson they would come and teach us what they learned."
She got to train with Derek Hardy, who taught her a lot, she could have gone on and qualified for the tour, but she wanted to get better and shoot under par more often, but that wasn't happening. She changed her path.
She wanted to become a teacher, so she could understand why the lessons were so confusing. "I would cry in front of Derek Hardy all the time, because I couldn't understand what he was saying. It was really frustrating. I never wanted anyone to feel that way. I believed in my heart that I could find a way to make it much more easy for other people."
She joined the LPGA, started as an apprentice, and was able to move up. She was lucky to be able to study under Chuck Hogan. He was part of the LPGA teaching them how to become better teachers. He was all about making things fun, and to do it through games. When she asked him how to be a better teacher, he said don't just tell people what to do, they need to know why they should do it.
She started on a path where I broke down the whole game.
"It's just taking old terminologies and making everything easier and something that people can put their thoughts around and understand really quickly and it's kind of amazing if you can use games or sensory perceptive play, which is what I love to do."
What is SwingPlay?
She took every part of the game and separated it into modules. Then broke it down into simple understandable sensory perception with a skill game, a sound game or anything with the senses. She uses story telling. With young kids she teaches them how to make rainbows and their club is the paint brush; there's all kinds of different rainbows for the different golf swings. She is telling them how to make rainbows, but they're learning about a golf swing.
Kids have hands-on experiences and they become more self aware. They get to experiment all through play and self discovery. The kids have a great time. They're learning and they don't even know they're learning. That's the fun part.
She says, the educators of the world, they get it. It's the 21st century of learning; it's more hands on and discovery, let the people figure it out for themselves.
I've had high school kids and college kids help mentor these younger kids with table top projects. These kids get to be mentors and as they are helping the younger kids they are learning too.
What do you enjoy most about teaching golf?
Watching people's reaction when they get it.
What life lessons and values do you think golf teaches?
Patience, love, respect. One thing about a golf course is, it's like a park, it's green and beautiful. Teach them to pick up trash and take care of the golf green. It's a place where kids can go and be in nature.
Her book, Golf Greenland, is a 4 hour lesson all about putting, through story-telling and games. The fundamentals you learn in putting just go larger as you go up the game.
She wants to find a good home for her program. She's really excited that Newport Beach YMCA is excited about it. She'd like to see it at more places libraries, schools, and places like restaurants. Maybe even try to standardize golf using everything she has created, make it more fun and get more people involved.


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Halfway into 2012, there are now more than 1.2 million mobile applications available to download to iOS and Android devices. With so many options literally at our fingertips — including dozens of worthy titles introduced to us each day — the task of compiling a mid-year "best of" list of new apps is more challenging (and enjoyable) than ever.
Out of the hundreds (if not thousands) of titles worthy of inclusion, our favorite 20 iOS and Android apps released so far in 2012 can do everything from appraise the value of a home merely by taking its picture, to supplying users with loyalty schwag merely for checking-in to their favorite TV shows. We also salute a highly anticipated game sequel that somehow catapulted beyond its otherworldly hype.
A quick primer on our methodology before we get going. All apps picked were either released or significantly updated between January 1 and June 30 of this year. Titles that debuted on iOS or Android in 2012 that were previously available on another platform are eligible for inclusion. All of our selections were sourced, ranked and finalized by Appolicious Advisors and members of our community. In all, about a dozen members of the Appolicious editorial team offered their favorites. We also surveyed the most active and influential users of Appolicious sites and applications. We did not account for the number of app downloads or overall popularity. Our qualitative assessment is based primarily on the production value, utility and creativity of baked into each cited application.
Let's get going.
Best iOS apps
Camera Awesome (iPhone, iPod Touch: free)
While Instagram's sale to Facebook dominated the headlines earlier this year, the best new app of 2012 so far is another photo-sharing service that actually helps you take better pictures. Created by 10-year-old photo-sharing site SmugMug, Camera Awesome is a revelation in iPhoneography and yet another reason why many of us can ditch our digital cameras. Beyond Camera Awesome's stunning interface, there are several ways this app can "awesomize" your pictures, including automatic levelization and color adjustment. All presets and filters can be purchased in-app for $9.99 (or a la carte at 99 cents a pop). The ability to capture videos up to five seconds before you press record is also a great option. Finally, Camera Awesome makes it dead simple to share photos across your favorite social networks (Instagram included).
Pocket (Formerly Read It Later) (Universal: free, also available for Android)
Independent "read later" apps may become an endangered species this fall when Apple incorporates its Offline Reading List into Safari as part of iOS 6. Until then (and perhaps thereafter), the best bookmarking app for your buck (actually free) is Pocket. Formerly known as Read It Later, the app's April rebrand involved more than just a name-change and price reduction. Pocket's new features, which include the ability to seamlessly view videos and images as well as grid-based article lists, do not undermine the app's simple and elegant interface.
Khan Academy (iPad: free)
The best thing about this app is how it doesn't clutter or distract from the expert video tutorials that are produced by next-generation educator Salman Khan. The more than 3,200 educational videos that touch on everything from "Getting a seed round from a VC", to "Earth Formation" to "The Bay of Pigs Invasion" are categorized within a simple taxonomy. The YouTube-hosted videos that contain subtitles are extensively logged, allowing users to quickly and easily locate a phrase or passage that may have gone over their heads.
TouchTV (iPad: free)
From customized news provider SkyGrid comes TouchTV, which beautifully showcases video clips from broadcast and cable networks onto the iPad. TouchTV runs video clips (typically up to five minutes in length) from 16 official providers including ESPN, Bloomberg Television and Jimmy Kimmel Live. While downloading TouchTV alone is not enough to "cut the cord" from your satellite or cable provider, the app offers a glimpse of what an app-enabled television universe can look like. TouchTV joins video discovery services like Showyou and Squrl (which each received significant updates this year) as among the best iOS apps to currently watch on Apple TV.
Any.Do (iPhone, iPod Touch: free)
Our favorite Android app of 2011 in June finally made its way to iOS devices. And it was worth the wait. Any.Do, which is backed by Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt, is an uber-productivity app that lets you easily create and complete tasks with the swipe of a finger. The app's voice-dictation technology reliably records tasks without a user needing to type anything. You can also share your to-do lists with friends in the hopes they might help out with whatever needs to get done.
Highlight (iPhone, iPod Touch: free)
Coming out of the South By Southwest bracket of the 2012 mid-year app tournament is this social mobile local app. Highlight alerts you when a Facebook friend or individual with similar interests is nearby, and lets you learn more about other Highlight users when they are in your vicinity. Like similar services including Sonar, Banjo and Kismet, Highlight is only effective if there is a critical mass of other users in your area. While each service has its strong points, Highlight looks to have the greatest chance of any to crossover to the mainstream.
Viggle (iPhone, iPod touch: free, also available for Android)
Receiving discount cards from the likes of Amazon, Starbucks and the Gap just for watching TV for many could be considered the American dream. Viggle makes it a reality by letting users check-in and earn loyalty points for watching their favorite programs. The app performs reliably, while offering additional features including trivia questions, polls and curated tweets as gravy.
LinkedIn Update (Universal iOS: free)
The best thing about LinkedIn's April iOS update is that the app is now finally compatible and optimized for the iPad. Presumably inspired by Flipboard (where it has a key presence), LinkedIn functions best as a social magazine on the iPad. The magic of LinkedIn on the iPad is how it integrates content shared by your connections with the ability to map common relationships with the sender in ways not possible via any other app or site.
Clear (iPhone, iPod Touch: free)
Clear is the to-do list for those who just want to get their stuff done and move on. While it lacks many of the features of heavy-hitter task-managers like Omnifocus and newer contemporaries like Any.Do, Clear excels in letting users quickly create categories and list the things they need to do that fall under those categories. The app's beautifully designed interface also lets users sort these listed items by priority and quickly swipe to erase them when they've been completed.
HomeSnap (iPhone, iPod Touch: free)
While HomeSnap can't do much to bring the nation's housing market back to pre-crash levels, the app — with an assist from augmented reality — can help users determine the value of a home merely by taking its picture. In addition to financials, you can also see school information, historical data and the number of bedrooms and bathrooms in a given home. HomeSnap is not 100 percent reliable, but neither is information provided by a seller or broker.
Best iOS and Android games
It's no accident that most of the top games to come out so far in 2012 are available on both iOS and Android devices. While there are constraints involved in making sure games are compatible across myriad Android form factors and operating systems, developers realize they need to embrace the platform in order to achieve a critical mass of users.
Draw Something by OMGPOP (Universal: $2.99, also available for Android)
While the momentum for this touchscreen-based and unofficial variation of Pictionary slowed down after it was acquired by Zynga in March, there are reasons why Draw Something generated tens of millions of downloads in only its first few weeks (faster than Angry Birds, Instagram, and any other app in history). It's really fun to play! The premise of the game is simple enough for a five-year-old to pick up. Further, Draw Something's social integration via Facebook and email makes it easy to play the game with a friend or stranger regardless of what kind of iOS and Android device they own. Don't own a device on either platform? No worries, you'll soon be able to watch the upcoming Draw Something primetime game show.
JAZZ: Trump's journey (Universal: $2.99, also available for Android)
Loosely based on the life of Louis Armstrong, JAZZ: Trump's journey plays well as a "greatest hits" for platform games. With beautiful graphics that capture 1920's era New Orleans, great controls, and of course a killer soundtrack, Trump's journey has enough features and depth to appeal to established gamers while also serving as a spirited and soulful introduction to newbie players.
Angry Birds Space (iPhone and iPod Touch: $0.99, iPad: $2.99, Android smartphones: $0.99,Android tablets: $2.99)
With a launch promotion that was literally out of this world, there was a concern that Angry Birds Space wouldn't live up to its hype, or just be a slight variation of previous versions of the game. That fear was flung into the stratosphere once we actually began playing it. With new gravity-based mechanics, awesome new birds, a darker color palate and bizarrely amusing space aesthetics, Angry Birds Space is arguably the most refreshing and enjoyable title in the franchise.
N.O.V.A 3 (Universal: $6.99, also for Android)
If you are a fan of first-person shooters, than this is the game for you. Developed by Gameloft, N.O.V.A. 3 more than any other title available on mobile devices moves and feels like a console game. N.O.V.A. 3 has you blasting aliens and enemies through a number of planets (including a war-torn Earth). The multiplayer aspect of the game will have you sharing your battle with as many as 11 other players. Each beautifully animated level takes about 30 minutes to complete, offering a lot of bang for your seven bucks.
Spellsword (Universal: $0.99)
With furious and addicting gameplay, unique mechanics, and retro graphics and music, Spellsword is a fresh new platform game contained within a sword and sorcery kind of environment. Use your single sword to strike down enemies, and launch fireballs along the way. As you proceed through the missions and maps, new spell cards will be introduced along with new enemies. The best thing about Spellsword, at least for more competitive gamers, is that it contains no in-app purchases, and all of the achievements must be earned by the player.
Best Android apps
Many of the best new releases on Android — including three of our five favorites — were originally created for iOS devices. When the best titles are finally available on multiple platforms, we all win.
Flipboard (free)
Our favorite iPhone app of 2011 finally and officially arrived to Android in June. The socially curated magazine — which beautifully presents news, photos and status updates shared by your social graph — included YouTube integration as part of its Android launch (Google+ integration arrived a few days earlier). Flipboard is also the best way to read content from third-party publishers on mobile devices, including the New York Times which on June 28 debuted its NYT Everywhere service to subscribers within the app.
Instagram (free)
Instagram's arrival to Android was a positive development to say the least for the photo-sharing pioneer. Within one week, Instagram attracted more than 5 million downloads. A few days later, the company was acquired by Facebook for what was at the time a 10-figure valuation. The company's immediate triumph illustrates how apps need to be available for both iOS and Android devices to emerge as a true pop-culture sensations.
Google Drive (free with subscription, also available on iOS)
In our two months of using the service, we are finding that Google Drive is a superior and more cost-effective solution for storing and sharing documents than Dropbox. For individuals and organizations that already rely on Google Docs, migrating to Google Drive is a no brainer. The app works seamlessly across all of our Android devices. Now that the service as of June 28 is available to download to iOS devices, there is not much else standing in the way of market domination.
Airbnb (free)
Airbnb's arrival to Android in January, after previously being available online and via iOS devices, was more than just a copy and paste job from one platform to another. The service, a vacation-rental marketplace, for the first time made it possible for property owners and travelers to quickly instant message each other for questions or go over any issues that arise during a stay. There are more than Airbnb 200,000 listings across the world, as well as curated travel recommendations from the likes of Ashton Kutcher and Jack Dorsey.
Chrome (free on Ice Cream Sandwich devices only, also available on iOS)
If you use the Chrome desktop browser and own an Android smartphone or tablet powered by Ice Cream Sandwich, owning this app is a no-brainer. The Chrome mobile and desktop apps interact seamlessly with one another, meaning you can access your bookmarks and browsing history on the app. The app also lets you swipe between tabs without ever having to go to the tabs menu. The Chrome app also supports voice search, bookmarking and private browsing. Like Google Drive, Chrome launched on iOS devices on June 28 during Google I/O 2012.


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I am professor of Computer Science at Université Gustave Eiffel, Laboratoire Informatique Gaspard-Monge, Equipe A3SI, ESIEE Paris . A short bio is available here. To (surface) mail me, you can write at ESIEE Paris - 2, boulevard Blaise Pascal - Cité DESCARTES - BP 99 - 93162 Noisy le Grand CEDEX - France. My Google Scholar page is here.
Family and friends can have access to the private section, if they have a password.
A fun project is the Mathematics Genealogy Project. According to them, some of my ancestors are quite famous. They are, in chronological order, Jean-Pierre Aubin, Jacques-Louis Lions, Laurent Schwartz, Georges Valiron, Emile Borel, Gaston Darboux, Michel Chasles, Simeon Denis Poisson, Joseph Lagrange, Leonhard Euler, Johann Bernouilli, Jacob Bernouilli, Gottfried Leibniz and Erhard Weigel.
My paper on ultrametric watersheds is amongst the selected 5 top-cited articles from the Journal of Mathematical Imaging and Vision available free until the end of September.
More information in the Springer NewsLetter
The paper is avalable here. This HAL version will be forever freely available.
Another prize for Camille Couprie! She has just been awarded an accessit for the prestigious Gilles Khan prize.
Congratulations, Camille!


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Unicorn - 16oz Cup Wrap or 3 Decal Images
UV DTF Cup Wrap
- All UV DTF are ready to apply to Glass can or Tumblers.
- Water Proof
- Approx. 9.45 - 4.33 inch
How to apply
- Make sure glass or tumbler is clean (DO NOT use alcohol to clean glass)
- Design is ready to apply to your choice of cup. Please make sure to size image to your cup before applying. Trim if needed.
- Peel design transfer from backing.
- Place transfer on the cup ensuring the design is straight and positioned correctly.
- The adhesive is very strong, once the film touches the cup you cannot take off.
- Firmly press or rub image down with Squeegee to push any air bubbles out.
- Peel clear film off slowly (pulling film off to fast may damage the wrap)
- Hand wash only (Wraps are not Dishwasher, Microwave or Alcohol safe)