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Get Smart
This story appears in the January 1999 issue of HomeOfficeMag.com. Subscribe »
Chances are, you wouldn't want your doctor to stop attending medical seminars or your car mechanic to confess he hasn't read a repair manual in 15 years. At best, you'd worry they'd become complacent. Yet if you're selling and not continuously trying to educate yourself about selling techniques, you risk the same thing: falling behind on what it takes to stay on top of your business.
By continuing to educate yourself, you can improve your existing skills and learn about the latest sales techniques. As a homebased business owner, however, you face unique obstacles. For one, you more than likely work alone, lacking co-workers with whom to share sales stories or discuss the latest sales seminar or book. Second, time seems more crucial and it becomes difficult to find a spare moment to read, attend classes or listen to tapes. Too many other things compete for your attention--most notably, ensuring that your business stays afloat. Under the circumstances, it's easy to make learning a low priority, since it doesn't lead to an immediate sale.
Still, every minute spent learning more about sales and marketing pays off. The first step in learning is to make time. Set aside one-and-a-half to two hours each week to learn something new about sales. It doesn't matter if you're attending a seminar or reading a trade magazine--just make some type of learning part of your schedule and stick to it.
Here are some other tips:
*Start reading. The easiest way to learn more about sales is by reading. You can begin with trade magazines in your field, many of which have sales columns. You can also choose from a handful of magazines dedicated to sales and marketing. Don't read only about your line of business, however. Read the business sections of local and national newspapers. Many of them have sales, advertising or marketing columns that include ideas to inspire even the smallest of companies.
Check out the seemingly endless parade of sales books, too. Quality and themes vary from the specific to the more motivational. Zig Ziglar's Sell Your Way To The Top (Simon & Schuster) and Tom Hopkins' Guide to Greatness in Sales (Warner Books) are some good examples.
But don't just limit yourself to sales books. How to Become CEO (Little Brown & Co.) by Jeffrey J. Fox has good advice for those in sales or working at home, despite being aimed at corporate employees. Bookstores of all sizes have volumes dedicated to business, sales and motivation.
*Go back to school. Check community and local universities for class schedules. Virtually all colleges have business courses at night, including classes on sales and marketing. Unless you have a background in sales and marketing, choose the most basic course. Although some of the information may seem obvious, at worst, you'll go over the basics of everything you need to know, from direct marketing to filling out call reports. Don't forget to check out the materials and educational opportunities colleges offer online as well.
Sales and marketing courses are usually cheap--sometimes costing as little as $15 per credit--but by signing up and paying for one, you'll probably feel obligated to put in the time. This gives structure to the learning process. Another benefit: You'll meet people with similar interests and build a network of peers.
*Attend a seminar. There's certainly no shortage of sales seminars. You probably receive dozens of offers in the mail; if you don't, they're often listed in trade magazines and local papers. Sales seminars can be helpful, but many are just motivational. You'll probably learn tricks (always use a client's first name, remember birthdays, etc.), but minus a specific syllabus, seminars can turn out to be mere pep rallies with a few good stories thrown in. If you want more from a seminar, make sure you find out exactly what's going to be taught. And keep in mind that some seminars exist primarily to sell the speakers' tapes and books.
*Get on the Net. Small business, homebased business and selling sites are easy to find. Once there, you can chat with your peers or sales professionals. You can also find articles on sales and marketing geared toward homebased businesses. But be warned: You probably won't know who set up these sites or who you're talking with in chat rooms. While others online may offer advice or chat about sales, they could also be looking to sell something. Don't give a lot of information out right away. Unlike book authors, these sources can't be easily checked--but they might be able to easily check you out.
*Try audio tapes. Your commute is now limited to walking from your bedroom to your office, but you can still use tapes every time you're in the car. Many of the most popular sales books are on tapes, as are lectures, motivational speeches and the like. Tapes are usually abridged, so they only hit the highlights of the books--a big plus for busy entrepreneurs.
*Start a group. After a while, you'll meet other homebased business owners in your area. If not, put an ad in a local paper, or a flier in community centers and coffee shops. Like book clubs, meet once a month to discuss your unique sales and marketing challenges.
Bill Kelley is an Arcadia, California, business writer and former editor of Sales and Marketing Management magazine. He's been homebased since 1991.
Push The Envelope
No matter how good your message is, it's useless if you can't get your prospects to open your sales letter. How can you increase the odds your direct mail will be read? Consider the following:
*Be inviting. Instead of a regular business-sized envelope, consider an invitation-sized mailing. It stands out, looks upscale and appears more personal.
*Use windows or not? One choice isn't necessarily better than the other. Window envelopes allow you to "tease" the prospect--they'll be able to see a bit of the offer through it. Recipients also know right away it's a business mailing. To some, however, nonwindow envelopes look a little classier.
*Indicate who you are. Don't print a return address without the company name. Some experts believe this makes the prospect curious, but you may also risk making the person wonder what you have to hide.
*Don't crowd the envelope. Offers can be put on the envelope noting particular sales, close-out items, special discounts and the like. Just don't overdo it--putting too much on the outside of the envelope makes it look busy.
*Avoid gimmicks. Nothing looks shadier than having pseudo-legal-lingo on your envelope, such as "Under federal law, the post office must deliver this to the person to whom this is addressed." Any message on the outside should be straightforward.
*Print or use labels. Unless you're writing a personal note, don't address the envelopes by hand. It simply doesn't look professional.
Press Pass
By Julia Miller
Let's say you want to get the word out about your great new product or service but don't have a lot of money to spend on advertising. Launching a press release campaign is an easy way to target editors and their thousands of readers, suggests Ira S. Kalb, author of Zero Budget Marketing (K&A Press).
According to Kalb, press releases have several advantages, such as generating increased sales and name recognition for your company. Best of all, they cost a fraction of the price of ad space. Most publications print press releases either as a stand-alone write-up or combined with other releases.
The trick, says Kalb, is to write a release that makes the editor believe your product will interest the reader and to submit something that will not involve a lot of rewriting. You can increase your chances of getting published by getting the editors excited about your product or service and by following these steps:
Start with your letterhead.
1. Type "For Immediate Release."
2. Include the name and phone number of the person whom the editor should contact for more information.
3. Create a headline. This is the most important sentence in the entire press release: a bold one-liner that appears above your release and pinpoints your product's key benefit.
4. Write the body of the press release. Keep it short and snappy.
5. Close the press release with the name and address you're using for your sales leads.
Some additional hints: Keep it uncomplicated; a headline like "Bigger Is Smaller" will get your press release instant delivery into editors' wastebaskets. When you use first-class mail, you're telling the editors what you think about your product. When you use bulk mail, you're also telling the editors what you think about your product.
Be sure to go after small regional and specialty publications; spending 50 cents to deliver your message to 30,000 prospects is a real bargain.
Keep In Touch
Second only to the sale itself, the most important part of the selling process is the after-sale service. Do a good job and you're virtually guaranteed repeat business--plus countless recommendations. Here are some hints for top after-sales service techniques:
*Call. A week or two after the sale or delivery, call the customer. Don't try to sell anything else. Rather, thank them, ask whether they have any questions or concerns, and let them know your hours of availability.
*Act. If the customer has a concern, address it immediately. Put in writing what you're going to do and send it to the customer. For example, "I've contacted ABC Software on your behalf. They promised to send a disk to fix the problem by February 15."
*Offer a personal guarantee. Go beyond the manufacturers' guarantee. If something goes wrong that's not covered and you can fix it for a minimal cost or repair it at no charge.
*Be available. Be sure customers have your pager, voice-mail and fax numbers, and e-mail address. Your fax should be on a separate line from your phone and in operation 24 hours a day. Excluding weekends and emergencies, you should get back to customers within 24 hours.
*Back off. Don't smother your customers. Let them know you're available, but if you've called to see whether they liked the product and told them you're available, don't send a follow-up letter stating the same things. Otherwise, you'll quickly mutate from a concerned salesperson into a pest.
Logo Motion
If you think logos aren't important, take a look at Nike, which is considering limiting the use of its famous "swoosh" because it has become too universal and therefore lost some of its unique appeal. While that's probably not a problem your company will soon face, it does illustrate how important choosing the right logo can be. Here's how to select the right one for your homebased business:
*Keep it simple. A Florida environmental engineer left another company to start his own business selling waste treatment products. The logo he chose was simple: heavy black waves of water going through a pipe under the start of the company's name. The waves coming out were thinner and cleaner. Anyone in the business who saw it knew exactly what he did.
*Don't be too trendy. Stay away from a faddish look or design. As with clothing, if you're too "in," you risk quickly being "out." Unlike clothing, you're making a major investment once your logo is printed on stationery, cards, vehicles and the like.
*Make the logo fit your business. You may favor gothic type or other fancy script. If you're a computer consultant, however, it's unlikely to reflect an up-to-date, technologically savvy business. Similarly, if you refurbish cabins, it should be reflected in your logo by using thick, bold lines and rustic images.
*Be careful with colors. Black and white usually works fine, particularly for stationery. However, other colors can be used effectively to represent your business: gold and silver for financial advisors or high-end businesses; green and brown for environmental firms; and red, white and blue to portray, of course, all things American.
*Image is everything. Your logo may be the first contact potential customers have with you. The right typeface, colors and design let people know whether you're an upscale business or a discount operation. Make sure you know exactly what you want to convey.


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Filter results
Atopic dermatitis (atopy) in dogs
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Dandruff in cats
Cats spend a lot of time grooming to keep themselves clean. If you notice your cat has dandruff (dry, flaky skin) it could be a sign of a problem.
Dandruff in dogs
Dogs like to keep themselves clean, so if you notice your dog has dandruff (dry, flaky skin) it could be a sign of a problem.
Demodex mites in dogs
Demodex causes red, crusty skin, hair loss and a scaly coat, worst around the eyes and feet. Demodex is normally quite simple to diagnose but treatment can be challenging.
Dermatitis (red, inflamed, sore skin or a rash) in cats
Has your cat got red, inflamed or angry looking skin? Do they have a rash? We often call these symptoms 'dermatitis'.

subset: commoncrawl


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To paraphrase the old country song, Rudy Giuliani might as well take bad luck because it's better than no luck at all. At a campaign stop in Florida yesterday, the state where the former New York City mayor is betting his candidacy on a win, Giuliani refused to sign a Green Bay Packer hat given to him by a Packer fan.
Watch the video here.
Memo to Rudy: You already said you would support the Boston Red Sox after your New York Yankees were eliminated, something akin to cheering for Lucifer if you are a Yankee fan. Now, you're offered a Packer hat to sign and you refuse? In Florida? The Packers are America's team. If you were to somehow win Florida — less likely now that you may have lost that vote — showing your support for the Packers could have given you a huge boost heading into the February 5, 22-state primary. (It's entirely possible the Packers will have gotten beaten decisively in the Super Bowl two days earlier, thus driving up the sympathy vote.)
If I'm you, at this point I start campaigning in a Cheesehead to start making amends. It's your only shot.
Tags: Green Bay Packers, New York Giants, NFC Championship, Rudy Giuliani


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This kit contains all the parts for you to build a Tibbo Project Box which serves as an enclosure for the Size 2 Tibbo Project PCB. The box includes wall-mounting holes. With optional hardware, it can be mounted on a DIN Rail instead.
There are two box kits that support the Size 2 PCB. This version is best for building a device that will not have direct human interface. It includes two paper inserts for you to write the interface information, and two plastic covers to protect those inserts.
For HMI applications, see the TPB2L-KIT which includes a 3.5" 320×240 TFT LCD plus four-button keypad that will fit on top instead.


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50-Inch Storm Kicks Off Snowbird Season
"This is the storm we needed to get the season started off right," said Bob Bonar, President of Snowbird. "Lake effect made a good storm into a great storm leaving more than four feet of snow throughout the mountain."
The resort installed new snowmaking equipment over the summer, doubling its snowmaking capacity and allowing more terrain to open earlier in the season. Snowbird also updated the Little Cloud chairlift to a high speed detachable quad. The new lift will have its grand opening with a celebration on Dec. 1.
Gadzoom, Mid-Gad and Chickadee chairlifts will be open on Thursday. Beginner terrain will be available on Chickadee. Intermediate and Advanced terrain will be available on Bassackwards and Big Emma. The Aerial Tram is scheduled to open with skiing on Regulator Johnson on Saturday, Nov. 17, conditions permitting. The remainder of the mountain will be closed to all guests, including hikers.
All-day tickets will be sold at a reduced price. Lodging and lift ticket packages are available for as little as $99 per person (plus tax and resort fees, two night minimum stay). Details can be found at Snowbird.com, or call (801) 933-2222.
Averaging an annual 500 inches of snow, Snowbird offers the longest season in Utah. You can follow Snowbird at www.facebook.com/snowbirdUT or www.twitter.com/snowbirdski.


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Barbara Sutherland Humphrey fonds
- Fonds
- [Photocopied ca. 2002 (originally created 1916-1917)]
Fonds consists of nursing school examinations for Bacteriology, Medical Nursing, and Hygiene.
Humphrey, Barbara Sutherland
Barbara Sutherland Humphrey fonds
Fonds consists of nursing school examinations for Bacteriology, Medical Nursing, and Hygiene.
Humphrey, Barbara Sutherland
Fonds consists of a scrapbook containing photographs, newspaper clippings, invitations, cards, correspondence, and souvenirs. The album documents Edna Korpan's nursing school years including acceptance to the school, class work, nursing balls...
Korpan, Edna Ann Jane Carson
Fonds consists of correspondence and photographs documenting Eleanor Linnell's experience as a nursing student. Fonds contains correspondence with A. F. Lawrie, Superintendent of Nurses, regarding entrance to the School of Nursing; invitation...
Stundon, Eleanor Frances Linnell
Fonds consists of photographs depicting Etta Birdsall; the Regina General Hospital and Nurses' Residence Wing; and physicians, nurses and nursing students. Fonds also contains a postcard of the Metropolitan Methodist Church and YWCA buildings...
Garnham, Etta Birdsall
Fonds consists of records relating to the life and medical career of J. P. Szlazak. Fonds contains case reports and photographs of surgeries performed when Szlazak was at Rooksdown House; an autobiographical account of Szlazak's early years; ...
Szlazak, Jan Pawel
Fonds consists of graduation portraits of students from the Regina General Hospital School of Nursing, including a portrait of Lesley Weston Ellis. One portrait is believed to be from the School of Nursing in Brandon, Manitoba.
Ellis, Lesley Mary Weston
Fonds consists of correspondence, newspaper clippings, programs, certificates, invitations, and souvenirs. The records document Lynn McRorie Robertson's experiences as a nursing student, including acceptance to the Regina General Hospital Sch...
Robertson, Lynne Dolores McRorie
Fonds consists of a scrapbook containing newspaper clippings, invitations, cards, correspondence, photographs, news bulletins, and ephemera regarding Nora Kitchen, graduates of the Regina General Hospital School of Nursing, graduates of other hosp...
Kitchen, Nora Mary Eddy
Nurses' Christian Fellowship fonds
Fonds consists of a Graduation Banquet guest book, signed by those in attendance at the annual spring banquet for the years 1966 and 1967.
Nurses' Christian Fellowship (Regina General Hospital School of Nursing)
Fonds consists of correspondence, financial statements, patient accounts, budgets, statistics, ledgers, accounting manual, and reports that reflect the financial activities of the Pasqua Hospital. Fonds also includes minutes of the Medical Staff a...
Pasqua Hospital (Regina, Sask.)


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Thursday, March 15, 2012
Tutorial: Pot O' Gold Presents: Money (or Message) Soap Gift Tutorial
Super easy, super fast and a fun take on the boring ol', but very appreciated money gift, money soap is the way to go for a difficult gift. A smart friend will use the soap as intended, until their reward, but there are those who might carve away at the best laid plans - just be warned. Delayed gratification isn't everyone's bag, so be it.
Every year we try to find a fun and creative way to give my nephews the same gift: money. We've done puzzles and traps, and this past Christmas we did soap. I had seen money soap before but at $12 + shippping for about $2 worth of soap and no telling how much money was within, well, it wasn't the right option for us. I knew that since the soap was clear it must be glycerin soap, which is easy enough to get and often available as a "natural" bar soap. Luckily, glycerin soap is very gentle as well, so recipients don't have to worry about skin irritations. Making our own money soap meant we were in control of how much money was within and appropriate labeling.
Perhaps you don't have anyone to give a gift to for St. Patrick's day but the pot of gold reference was too much for me to resist. Just tuck this idea in your memory for later graduations, birthdays, and the like.
What you'll need:
Glycerin Soap - clear or any color you like. My local store started carrying clear one week after this project! Gah!
Money or a waterproofed note/message (try a thin lamination on any note you like)
Drill and longer, straight drill bit. I used a 3/8" bit (tapered bits won't work for this application)
Label paper or adhesive and paper
If the soap is shrink wrapped, start by taking off any labels you can. I removed the back label only, since I would be covering up the front one anyway - this way the recipient can clearly see there is something in the soap. You can remove all the packaging if you like, but I kept it on to keep the soap "clean" in handling.
Next roll up your money or note as tightly as possible. Measure it against your bit to make sure your drill bit is long enough.
Take your drill and drill directly into the soap (through the wrapping if it is still there). I found it easiest to drill downward. Stop at your mark.
Slide your rolled money or note into the drilled out hole as far as you can.
Your drill bit will have some soap remnant on it. Remove these and place them over the hole in the soap where you drilled. Using your fingers gently push the extra soap down into the hole - since glycerin soap is so malleable it easily melts with your body heat and will fill the hole much like a wood compound or putty.
If you have any mess just run quickly under water and scrub off - a little water may get under the label or packaging but it will dry out provided there is not a ton.
Make a fun label - joke about "good clean fun", "money laundering" or "cleaning out your bank account". Maybe make the scent "freshly laundered money", whatever you like and whatever fits your recipient best! Trace the shape of your soap onto your label and cut out that shape. Affix the label to your soap, or if you are using paper use and adhesive to attach (I used Spray 77). Done!
Have good clean fun with this project!
15 comments:
- Lana said...
I have never heard of money soap, but it sounds like a great idea to give someone money in a creative way.
BTW, thanks for the comment on my blog, means a lot:)
- March 17, 2012 at 4:18 PM
- Valerie said...
Is laminated money spendable?
- April 23, 2012 at 9:58 AM
- Tricia said...
Valerie - you do not need to laminate the money, nor would I encourage you to do so. If you wanted to have a hand written note or message you might laminate it to make sure the ink doesn't run if it comes into contact with water.
- April 23, 2012 at 11:12 AM
- katemade designs said...
Cool idea, the jokes about money laundering seem inevitable
- May 31, 2012 at 8:15 AM
I can not find clear soap...any suggestions?
- June 2, 2012 at 11:51 PM
- Tricia said...
Hi Ashley - You could try a more "health" oriented store. I know Whole Foods has some and The Dollar Store, in the USA, carries 'Pears' soap which is the same color as pictured. Also, a bit more pricey, but Neutrogena carries a glycerin soap with their face care line - again, same color as pictured above and available at most drugstores. Anything labeled 'glycerine soap' should work!
- June 3, 2012 at 10:40 AM
- Unknown said...
Wow, this is a good promotional method! I wonder if we can order this online? I'm just about to check freight shipping australia if there's a possibility that I can have this. Thanks.
- December 19, 2012 at 3:14 AM
- Unknown said...
Instead of money, you should've just gone ahead and put a certain yellow metal in the soap. It won't just make a nice giveaway, but you'll also probably attract every gold buyer in the area.
- January 4, 2013 at 12:44 AM
- Unknown said...
Knowledge giving Article! I appreciate you. I completely agree with you. If we talk about current scenario then it is must be update. I enjoyed reading. I would like to visit more for more queries.
Soap Nut Shells
- January 4, 2013 at 5:52 AM
- Sophie Tyler Neil said...
That would be a nice gift. But I think it will not be available in our country. Guess I have to look in classified ads manila to check if anybody is selling a similar product.
- January 16, 2013 at 5:14 PM
- Unknown said...
The best kind of soap that can bear a message would be a natural soap. Truly, a unique gift that a special person can give.
Lauren Hixon
- February 6, 2013 at 11:31 AM
Haha, why not use it as promotional products for your booming online soap store? Or what if I start this online soap store? Hmm, great idea.
- February 6, 2013 at 4:12 PM
If that is what I'm getting for every soap that I will be using then, I will be buying that soap for as many as I like. Good idea on either giving it as a gift or marketing strategy.
-Hugh Parizeau
- February 12, 2013 at 3:46 AM
- Unknown said...
I used glycerin in a different way. I used it for cleaning my foot but the problem is that my foot went dry from using it daily. Is glycerin concentrated? Guess I have to ask foot doctors in NYC to confirm that.
Isabel Robertson
- February 12, 2013 at 2:06 PM
- Julia said...
What a cute project! I love it so much that I decided to feature it in our roundup of graduation crafts! Check it out here: http://www.favecraftsblog.com/graduation-crafts/
Have a great day!
- May 2, 2013 at 10:01 AM


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Juan Camilo Bernal / Shutterstock.com
The Obama 2012 campaign has been hailed as the most tech-savvy and data-driven to date, a sophisticated operation led by CTO Harper Reed. Reed had no problem finding developers eager to join the campaign — the challenge was finding people up for the formidable task before them. A Presidential campaign poses unique challenges: an environment where volatility is the only constant, developers must iterate often, yet there is little margin for error. To meet this challenge, Reed and his team placed an emphasis on people who could resolve problems and learn quickly, rather than focusing on a particular skill set.
Within this heady environment, Chris Gansen, the campaign's Senior Software Engineer, and Jason Kunesh, Director of User Experience and Product, embraced the methodologies of agile software development.
While much attention was paid to the Obama 2012 tech team's online voter outreach efforts, its on-the-ground campaign was equally impressive, turning information collected by volunteers knocking on their neighbors' doors into grist for fine-grained data collection and analytics. This was undertaken by roughly "1000 neighborhood teams with tens of thousand of volunteer leaders," according to Gansen.
A voter outreach campaign of such size and complexity demanded a bi-directional communication and data collection tool. Gansen and Kunesh were deeply involved in building the resulting product, Dashboard, which gave volunteer leaders a way to connect, organize, and report progress. Dashboard became a gold mine of voter-reported data, providing the campaign with insights and strategies to effectively communicate to voters and coordinate volunteers, at both a macro and micro scale. Gansen describes the lauded voter outreach and analytics platform as "the culmination of many years of trying to unify online and offline campaign organizing."
Dashboard grew to one of the largest projects within the campaign, boasting 40–50 engineers divided between five separate tracks, or "Work Streams," as they were known within the campaign.
From Agile Skepticism to Proven Success
Comfortable with the proven, tightly managed, topdown management model of campaigns past, veteran politicos were initially skeptical of agile development practices. "We fought really hard to get people in the campaign to embrace iterative development," says Gansen. "In government, you tend to see technology coming from vendors, and measured by the quarter. When we would say, 'we're going to launch this and there are going to be bugs,' a lot of people in the campaign hesitated. They hadn't done this before, and we had to be flawlessly representing the brand of the President."
"Software isn't like that," he says. "It can be messy, and so we had to show them through iterating, and being accountable to what we were doing, that things improved over time." Despite their initial pushback, the clarity and transparency of this approach won converts among the skeptics. "We had great technologists who'd never worked on campaigns, and great campaigners who'd never participated in shaping software," says Kunesh. "Before we understood each others' worlds, agile was a way for us to agree on what we were building and how."
It also allowed them to prioritize high-value goals and milestones, while being able to quickly change course when necessary. "Since the goals of the campaign change depending upon what phase of campaigning you are in, responding dynamically was a requirement," says Kunesh. "The things that were important in February are meaningless at the end of summer, but they are the features you needed in the spring. Agile helped us stay focused on shipping the most important features."
The campaign measured every conceivable metric — voter data, usage and performance at every level of the technology stacks, and project velocity, to name a handful of metrics. Gansen, Kunesh, and their teams turned to Pivotal Tracker to collaborate, track progress, and perhaps most importantly, communicate their workload and progress to other stakeholders in the campaign. Tracker's emphasis on agile development methodology, prioritization and collaboration was well-suited to the environment. For the Dashboard initiative, each of the five work streams were divided into separate Tracker projects. Every feature on the Dashboard project had a corresponding Tracker story, and they used release markers heavily to represent milestones.
"With very constrained time, we had to decide quickly whether to improve a feature or axe it," says Gansen. "In campaigns, you never make a decision that isn't backed up with data, so being able to pair data-driven development with agile delivery helped build products that people actually used."
Gansen found that Tracker and agile development practices helped the team make the case for decisions, clearly demonstrate what milestones had been reached, and accurately predict when upcoming milestones would be hit. "From a product perspective," he says, "the two things that were most successful was the transparency and the accountability of quick, weekly releases. We were able to say, 'this is what we're going to do,' and then a week later come back and say, 'we did what we said we would do, and if we didn't, here's what came up.'"
It also eased the process of onboarding new developers, Kunesh says. "It gave us a common platform and methodology to follow," he says. "We were building our team as we were building our products. Pivotal Tracker offered a built-in workflow that let us move engineers from team to team while still having a common process."
Battle-tested and Unbowed
The members of that team have gone their separate ways, like the tech industry equivalent of a pack of sage cowboys riding off into the sunset. Products such as Dashboard now lay in hibernation until the next election season. Fortunately, the likes of Gansen and Kunesh are sharing the hard-learned lessons they learned during those intense 18 months.
Gansen, who now consults for the civic technology organization Smart Chicago Collaborative, has developed a healthy obsession with collecting and analyzing all the data one might have available. "Measurement is key because you can't make decisions on information you don't have," he says. "Measure everything, and do it early on, because even with a small amount of data, you can make decisions. Over time, the data only grows more and more valuable."
Both Gansen and Kunesh evangelize for the value of developing and deploying transparently within an organization, and using that openness to engage nontechnical stakeholders. It's a matter of "Communication and building trust," Kunesh says. "Operate openly and transparently with what you're doing with the people involved in the process," Gansen adds. "When a technical team is interacting with a nontechnical team," he says, such clarity and transparency "is essential."
About the Author


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Race, Reform, and Regulation of the Electoral Process: Recurring Puzzles in American Democracy
Guy-Uriel E. Charles (Editor), Heather K. Gerken (Editor), Michael S. Kang
From the Publisher: This book offers a critical re-evaluation of three fundamental and interlocking themes in American democracy: the relationship between race and politics, the performance and reform of election systems, and the role of courts in regulating the political process. This edited volume features contributions from some of the leading voices in election law and social science.
Big Girls Don't Cry: The Election That Changed Everything for American Women
Rebecca Traister
From the Publisher: RebeccaTraister, whose coverage of the 2008 presidential election for Salon confirmed her to be a gifted cultural observer, offers a startling appraisal of what the campaign meant for all of us. Though the election didn't give us our first woman president or vice president, the exhilarating campaign was nonetheless transformative for American women and for the nation. In Big Girls Don't Cry, her electrifying, incisive and highly entertaining first book, Traister tells a terrific story and makes sense of a moment in American history that changed the country's narrative in ways that no one anticipated.
America Votes!: A Guide to Modern Election Law and Voting Rights
Editor-Benjamin E. Griffith
From the Publisher: Provides a snapshot of America's voting and electoral practices, problems, and most current issues. The book was edited and written by widely knowledgeable practitioners who explore a variety of fundamental areas concerning election law from a federal perspective such as:Lessons learned from the 2000 and 2004 presidential elections, Meeting the demand of a growing language-minority voting populate, How the government, poll workers, political parties, and nonpartisan advocates can work together to ensure smooth election administration, Felon disenfranchisement, Voting technology and the law, etc..
The Battle Over Bilingual Ballots: Election Law, Politics, and Theory
James Thomas Tucker
From the Publisher: This book describes the evolution of the provisions, examining the evidence of educational and voting discrimination against language minorities covered by the Act. Additional chapters discuss the debate over the 2006 amendments to the Voting Rights Act, analysis of objections raised by opponents of bilingual ballots and some of the most controversial components of these requirements, including their constitutionality, cost and effectiveness. Featuring revealing case studies as well as analysis of key data, this volume makes a persuasive and much-needed case for bilingual ballots, presenting a thorough investigation of this significant and understudied area of election law and American political life.
The Supreme Court and Elections: The Supreme Court's Power in American Politics
Charles Zelden
From the Publisher: Taking a chronological approach to the topic, The Supreme Court and Elections explores the ways that the Court has struggled with these questions. From the earliest days of the Union when the Supreme Court refused to address the topic, to the early struggles with the Fourteenth Amendment's impact on the question of who can vote, to the rise and fall of race-based disenfranchisement, to our recent issues of proper districting, campaign finance reform and the struggle to find a workable voting technology, the essay and documents in this reference illuminate the multifaceted nature of voting and election laws.
Showdown: The Inside Story of How Obama Fought Back Against Boehner, Cantor, and the Tea Party
David Corn
From the Publisher: Veteran journalist David CornWashington Bureau Chief for Mother Jones magazine and New York Times bestselling author of Hubris (with Michael Isikoff) and The Lies of George W. Bush now brings us, "Showdown", the dramatic inside story of Barack Obamas fight to save his presidency.


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(THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. – Nov. 29, 2012) The U.S. Department of Education has awarded California Lutheran University a $1.6 million grant to continue and expand its TRIO Upward Bound Math and Science Center over the next five years.
The grant will enable the center to prepare 75 low-income students each year to continue their education beyond high school in science, technology, engineering or mathematics. This is an increase of 20 students per year.
The students, all aspiring to be among the first generation in their families to go to college, attend Channel Islands, Hueneme, Oxnard and Pacifica high schools in Oxnard, Hawthorne and Leuzinger high schools in Los Angeles County, Fillmore High School and Santa Paula High School.
The center, which has been on the CLU campus for 22 years, has served more than 275 students in the last five years. All participants graduate from high school and 86 percent graduate from a post-secondary school. This year's high school graduates included a student who earned a full-ride scholarship as a Posse Scholar and another who received a $20,000 scholarship as a Dell Scholar.
Students take classes in literature, composition, math, science and foreign languages and participate in cultural and recreational activities throughout the academic year and during a six-week residential program in summer. Center staff also provide tutoring, advising and assistance with test preparation and college-application completion.
The Federal TRIO Programs, which also include traditional Upward Bound, are designed to identify and provide services for students from disadvantaged backgrounds. CLU has the distinction of having four TRIO programs: two traditional Upward Bound, Student Support Services and Upward Bound Math Science.


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Lorena Bobbitt, 15 Years Later: Engaged, working as a real estate agent, and helping abused women with their mental health. • Are the Japanese totally over luxury brands? We just hope they aren't over making endlessly adorable things! • An Army Wives poster in an NYC subway station has been given a little makeover. • Australians say that their "Aussie values" make them more prone to body image problems than others. • Down's syndrome dolls become a popular plaything for children with disabilities. • More than 100 Italian women breastfed their babies in a public square in Rome in protest of unfair public breastfeeding laws. • A savings plan for prostitutes in India allows them to save their money and be able to potentially say "no" to clients with the extra money set aside to support them. • Kids and strippers mixed together at a golf course due to some "mistiming" between two tournaments (the kids were golfing for one and the strippers were caddying for another). • Iran has banned the use and import of tanning beds because of health reasons. •
Paddington Bear celebrates his 50th birthday! • Schoolgirls in CA are participating in a week-long program intended to promote construction for girls. • The Pill is called ineffective and outdated because it is "very difficult" for women to remember to take a pill daily. So basically it is ineffective because we're stupid? • Italian gays plan a mass exchange of vows during their Gay Pride days to publicize the need for gay-marriage laws in Italy. • The National Commission of Women in India is criticizing soap operas for portraying women in a negative light and should be treated as "victims"? Wha?


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The first South African Water Police HQ was established at the Point, Durban, in 1854.
Initially a small Force, it grew in strength until by the end of the century it comprised over 50 men.
Twentieth Century Impressions of Natal reports in 1906:
'The Water Police are a body of men specially enlisted to patrol the harbour in boats or launches. The Docks are in charge of the Water Police, whose duty also consists in preventing contraband goods being passed through. They are closely connected with the Customs Department. They also assist in case of emergency with the lifeboat and life-saving apparatus. Its strength is about 53 constables and 4 officers and non-commissioned officers. The pay the men receive is on the same scale as the Railway Police, a constable receiving seven shillings a day. The whole charge of the wharves is left to them, the Borough Police of Durban (which, like the Pietermaritzburg Borough Police, is an entirely separate body) having no jurisdiction at the Port.'In the early 1890s Captain George Edward Tatum was Superintendent of the Water Police, under the Natal Harbour Board. In 1894 the Natal Mounted Police, the Water Police and the Railway Police were amalgamated into one Force - the Natal Police.
|Two members of the Water Police: the
man on the right is probably J McCarthy
According to the Natal Almanac & Yearly Directory, the Water Police had jurisdiction over:
all the waters and islands of the Port and Harbour
all vessels on these waters or on the foreshores
all wharves of the Harbour Department
the portion of the Bluff under control of the Harbour Department
all criminals, offenders or suspected persons within the jurisdiction of the Water Police, 'or in flight therefrom'
all property suspected to be stolen or smuggled
The duties of the Water Police were thus described:
the maintenance of peace, dignity and order
the prevention of crime
the prevention of smuggling and of contraventions and evasions of the Customs Laws
the enforcement of the Port and Harbour Regulations
the protection of public and private property
the arrest of criminals, offenders and suspected persons
the prevention and repression of mutiny and insubordination on board vessels
the seizure of property reasonably supposed to have been smuggled or stolen
There are over 200 references on NAAIRS* to the Water Police. Some reveal names of various people applying for the post of Superintendent of the Water Police in the 1870s. Inspector D Irwin Nolan was reported by the Collector of Customs in 1878 for 'insulting behaviour', mentioning 'rumours to his discredit'. Despite this, Nolan was Superintendent of the Water Police by 1883.
The start of the Anglo-Boer War and the Immigration Restriction Act at about the same time meant additional duties for the Force. There was a huge increase in the volume of shipping passing through the harbour at the turn of the century. Apprehending prohibited immigrants, stowaways and seamen who deserted their ships - these were all in the day's work for Durban's Water Police.
Also see: The Mounted Police of Natal by H P Holt (pub John Murray London 1913) Chapter XXVIII, The Water Police, pp 342-367
* www.national.archives.gov.za/ [go to NAB database i.e. Natal)


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Robert Sutton | April 20, 2011 | | No Comments
About The Author
Robert Sutton
Robert Sutton feels the most at home when he's watching some movie scumbag getting blown up, punched in the face, or kung fu'd to death, especially in that order. He's a founding writer for the movies section of Insidepulse.com, featured in his weekly column R0BTRAIN's Badass Cinema as well as a frequent reviewer of DVDs and Blu-rays. Also, he's a proud Sony fanboy, loves everything Star Wars and Superman related and hopes to someday be taken seriously by his friends and family.


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WASHINGTON: House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner said on Thursday that "fiscal cliff" talks with the White House had made no substantive progress and criticized President Barack Obama and Democrats for failing to get serious about including spending cuts in a final deal.
Boehner said he was "disappointed" after a phone call with Obama on Wednesday night and a meeting with Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner on Thursday moved the two sides no closer to an agreement to avert the tax hikes and spending cuts that will be triggered at the start of 2013 unless Congress intervenes.
"I'm disappointed in where we are and disappointed in what's happened over the last couple of weeks," Boehner, of Ohio, told reporters after a private session with Geithner at the Capitol.
"No substantive progress has been made in the talks between the White House and the House over the last two weeks," he said. "There's been no serious discussion of spending cuts so far, and unless there is, there's a real danger of going off the fiscal cliff."
Markets dipped briefly into negative territory on Boehner's comments, continuing a pattern of gyration based on the latest utterance or headline about the outlook for an agreement to avert the fiscal cliff.
The tone was in sharp contrast to the one expressed on November 16, the last time Obama met with congressional leaders. Boehner then stood next to Democratic leaders and voiced optimism they could find common ground in fiscal cliff negotiations.
Complicating the debate on Thursday was a renewed fight over raising the U.S. debt ceiling. That explosive issue, which could have been handled separately in the spring, was thrust into the fiscal cliff fray on Thursday in an exchange between Republicans and Democrats.
Boehner said any debt limit increase needed to be matched or exceeded by spending cuts to be proposed by Obama as part of the cliff negotiations.
White House spokesman Jay Carney responded by demanding that Congress go ahead and raise the debt ceiling as part of any year-end deal to avoid the cliff. To do otherwise, he said, would be "deeply irresponsible."
The last partisan fight over the nation's borrowing limit in 2011 was settled by a law that led directly to the fiscal cliff and to a downgrade of the government's credit rating.
Geithner, Obama's top negotiator in the talks, met with congressional leaders from both parties at the Capitol as the end-of-year deadline approaches to avoid the onset of $600 billion in tax hikes and spending cuts that analysts warn could push the U.S. economy back into recession.
The immediate issue is whether the tax cuts that originated in the administration of former President George W. Bush should be extended beyond December 31 for all taxpayers including the wealthy, as Republicans want, or just for taxpayers with income under $250,000, as Obama and his fellow Democrats want.
Republicans have said they are willing to consider new ways to raise revenue as long as Democrats and Obama agree to accompany it with significant spending cuts, particularly to entitlement programs like the government-sponsored Medicare and Medicaid healthcare plans.
"Without spending cuts and entitlement reform, it's going to be impossible to address our country's debt crisis. Right now, all eyes are on the White House," Boehner said.
Boehner said Geithner and the administration had not offered any new plans during the meeting to break the impasse, while Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid said Democrats were still waiting for a "reasonable" proposal from Republicans.
Carney said the president had put forward "very specific spending cuts," including some in the entitlement healthcare programs, but had not seen any movement from Republicans.
Despite a few cracks in Republican ranks, most notably from Republican Representative Tom Cole of Oklahoma, neither side has budged significantly in recent weeks from its position, leaving the markets and political analysts alike to grasp at wording nuances.
"I think unfortunately it seems pretty clear that the market is trading very much off the reading of the tea leaves on how these fiscal cliff negotiations are going," said Eric Kuby, chief investment officer at North Star Investment Management Corp in Chicago.
In the absence of progress, or any realistic understanding as to when or if Republicans and Democrats might avert the cliff or come up with some deficit reduction agreement, prodding has started to come on a regular basis from business leaders as well as Federal Reserve officials.
New York Fed President William Dudley and Richard Fisher of the Dallas Fed, highlighted the problems that U.S. lawmakers were causing for both hiring and the economy with each day they fail to strike a deal to avoid a pending fiscal crisis.
Dudley said on Thursday that if it is not addressed, the economic contraction is likely to be larger than normal because interest rates are so low.
The post-election lame-duck session of Congress also has made clear that until the two sides get over the immediate tax issue, they will not be able to move forward on the serious discussions they desire on longer-term deficit reduction and tax reform.
Keeping the nation in suspense down to a white-knuckled deadline has become the rule rather than the exception for Congress in recent years.
Whether the risk has been a government shutdown or, as in the events that led to the fiscal cliff, default for failure to raise the U.S. government's borrowing power, Republicans and Democrats have needed the pressure of time and possible disaster to bring them together. - Reuters
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Tickets to Minnesota Vikings-Green Bay Packers game in Minneapolis will be tougher than ever this year.
The rivalry will be the first regular season NFL game at the new U.S. Bank Stadium, although the Vikings play two preseason games before the inaugural showdown Sept. 18.
According to SeatGeek, a national ticket reseller, three regular season games will double the Vikings previous average resale high.
SeatGeek started tracking the market in 2010. The most expensive game so far was a game that season against the Packers with tickets reselling for an average of $198.
Tickets for the Packers game on Sept. 18 are going for double that price.
The average resale price of seats for the inaugural game against the Packers: $407. The game features the border rivalry and usually draws lots of fans wearing cheeseheads.
The border battle's extra allure this year is the new building and a Vikings team that fans hope is on the rise.
At 10 a.m. Wednesday, single-game tickets will go on sale through Ticketmaster. Some 4,000 tickets remain for each game. The building seats 66,200, but the overwhelming majority of seats went to season ticketholders.
SeatGeek reports that other Vikings' home games are selling at prices above previous highs.
To get into the home game against the Dallas Cowboys on Thursday, Dec. 1, buyers are paying an average of $274 per ticket.
Tickets to the Monday Night Football game against the New York Giants on Oct. 3 are reselling for an average of $200. That's the second regular season game in the new building.
Here are the all the average resale values of the home games ranked from high to low:
Green Bay Packers: $407
Dallas Cowboys: $247
New York Giants: $200
Houston Texans: $179
Chicago Bears: $178
Arizona Cardinals: $172
Detroit Lions: $161
Indianapolis Colts: $155


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Cook the Book: Christmas Cornflake Wreaths
When thumbing through the pages of Nigella Christmas by Nigella Lawson I was just about knocked off my seat when I saw this recipe for Christmas Cornflake Wreaths. Lawson is a British cook, far more at home with savory pies and mincemeat than marshmallows and puffed cereal; what in the world was she doing making Rice Krispies Treats?
As it turns out, these Christmas Cornflake Wreaths are another one of Lawson's deliciously appealing ventures into the realm of bad taste that comes one a year. A stick of butter and a bag of mini marshmallows are the base for her semi-upscale version of this childhood pleaser. The puffed rice is replaced by corn flakes, adding a bit more corny flavor and an entirely different texture. The vanilla is assisted by almond extract and sesame seeds—not exactly kid's stuff.
Once the marshmallow mixture came together with the cornflakes, things got sticky. The directions advise you to pull a clementine-sized piece from the bowl, but my bare hands proved too sticky. I dove into the cabinet and found the least offensive oil to lubricate my hands with—canola in this instance. With my hands properly oiled hands I could form these mounds of cereal and marshmallow into festive rings.
After the wreaths were formed and Christmas sprinkles were sprinkled, I took a bite of one of Nigella's version of Rice Krispies Treats. The texture was familiar, but the taste was something else, predominantly nutty almond and sesame. This isn't the cereal-derived desserts that end up on a bake sale table; it's a nostalgic dessert that incorporates the sweet and complex joys of childhood desserts and the more complex flavors that we come to appreciate as we get older.
Win Nigella Christmas
As always with our Cook the Book feature, we have five (5) copies of Nigella Christmas to give away this week.
- Yield:22 cookies
- 1 stick (8 tablespoons) soft butter
- 4 cups mini marshmallows
- 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 4 cups cornflakes
- 1/3 cup sesame seeds (optional)
- Christmas sprinkles to decorate
Put a piece of wax paper or parchment paper on a surface for the wreaths to sit and set on later.
In a generous-sized saucepan over a gentle heat, melt the butter, then add the marshmallows, stirring until both have smoothly combined.
Take the pan off the heat, and stir in the almond and vanilla extracts.
Add the cornflakes and sesame seeds (if you like them), gently crushing the cornflakes as you go and mixing well so that all are covered in creamy goo.


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Andy Coulson faces hacking retrial
LONDON — Former News of the World editor Andy Coulson and the paper's former royal reporter Clive Goodman will face a retrial on charges stemming from the phone hacking case.
British prosecutors have accused them of paying police officers to obtain royal phone directories so they could hack into the mobile phones of royal aides for stories.
The retrial was announced Monday at the start of a sentencing hearing for Coulson, who was convicted last week of a single charge of conspiring to hack phones.
Prosecutor Andrew Edis told the court that the Crown Prosecution Service "has taken the position to proceed with the retrial" of Coulson and Goodman.
The jury in that case failed to reach a decision on two of the charges against Coulson — a former top aide to Prime Minister David Cameron — and Goodman, who pleaded guilty to earlier phone hacking charges in 2006.
Coulson's lawyers will present "mitigation arguments" in court this week before his sentence on hacking charges is announced on Friday. He faces up to two years in prison.
He will be sentenced alongside four other former employees of the News of the World tabloid who have pleaded guilty to hacking.
Ex-editor Rebekah Brooks, the former chief of Rupert Murdoch's UK newspaper division, and others were cleared of the hacking charges after an eight-month trial that exposed widespread wrongdoing at the News of the World.
Journalists there were found to have intercepted phone messages of celebrities, crime victims and politicians.
The resulting furor led Murdoch to shut down the 168-year-old newspaper. His company has since made a number of payments to hacking victims.


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Re: Eclipse trailers and teasers
Posted: Thu May 20, 2010 9:10 pm
YES!!!! i noticed this too, im sooo glad they finally paid attention to this fact a bit more, went a bit fangirl when i noticed it ha haGrayceM wrote:I saw the bits of scenes that were on Oprah when the cast was on there last week. One thing I noticed that Slade got right...Edward's eyes change color. The scene where Jacob is waiting on them to finish kissing and Edward says "doesn't he own a shirt" his eyes are black...since he's leaving her to go hunting and he's hungry. Then they go back to gold I love that. Their eyes change color all the time in the books, depending on how long it's been since they fed.


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Efficacy of Atazanavir/Ritonavir Monotherapy as Maintenance in Patients With Viral Suppression
|The safety and scientific validity of this study is the responsibility of the study sponsor and investigators. Listing a study does not mean it has been evaluated by the U.S. Federal Government. Read our disclaimer for details.
|ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT01511809
Recruitment Status : Completed
First Posted : January 19, 2012
Results First Posted : November 24, 2014
Last Update Posted : February 5, 2016
- Study Details
- Tabular View
- Study Results
- Disclaimer
- How to Read a Study Record
|Condition or disease
|HIV-1 Infection
|Drug: Atazanavir/ritonavir monotherapy
|Phase 3
This is a randomised (1:1), multicentre, comparative, parallel-group, prospective, open label, non-inferiority controlled clinical trial.
Enrolled patients, taking an ATV/r based HAART and with stable HIV-RNA < 50c/ml (24 weeks), will be randomized to:
- continue the same regimen ATV/RTV 300mg/100mg OD plus 2 NRTIs (according to the specific dosing schedule) as backbone (HAART arm) with ATV/r
- or simplify therapy to ATV/RTV 300mg/100mg OD as monotherapy (Monotherapy arm) with ATV/r The study follow up will be 96 weeks after randomization and primary objective will be evaluated at week 48.
Patients will be followed every 4 weeks for the first 16 weeks, and then every 8 weeks until week 48, then every 12 weeks until week 96 or discontinuation ; at each visit the following evaluations will be performed:
- clinical assessment.
- routine laboratory tests (hematological tests and hematochemistry) including creatinine, phosphorus, calcium, alkaline phosphatase, gammaGT; urine analysis, lipid profile, level of HIV-RNA and CD4 cell counts.
During follow-up, at randomization, week 48, week 96 or discontinuation, patients will additionally undergo:
- Fat redistribution evaluation by DEXA (dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry
- Vertebral and femoral bone mineral density evaluation by DEXA.
- Glicate haemoglobin.
- Adherence assessment (questionnaire and/or pills counts).
- Neurocognitive evaluation [HIV-associated neurocognitive disorders (HANDs) evaluated by validated neuropsychological tests].
In case of viral rebound (defined as 2 consecutive measurement of HIV-RNA > 50 c/ml) patients will be immediately contacted in order to perform genotypic tests. Furthermore a plasma PK analysis will also be performed. Any patients with virological rebound will be selected for a reintensification therapy with NRTIs and if not suppressed after 12 weeks they will be discontinued.
|Study Type :
|Interventional (Clinical Trial)
|Actual Enrollment :
|117 participants
|Intervention Model:
|Parallel Assignment
|None (Open Label)
|Primary Purpose:
|Official Title:
|Efficacy of Atazanavir / Ritonavir Monotherapy as Maintenance in Patients With Viral Suppression. Randomized, Open Label Non Inferiority Trial. A Phase 3 Study.
|Study Start Date :
|September 2010
|Actual Primary Completion Date :
|July 2013
|Actual Study Completion Date :
|May 2015
Experimental: Atazanavir/ritonavir monotherapy
Patients will simplify therapy to ATV/RTV 300mg/100mg OD as monotherapy
Drug: Atazanavir/ritonavir monotherapy
Monotherapy Simplification Strategy with Atazanavir/ritonavir 300/100 mg once daily for 96 weeks.
Other Name: ATV/r monotherapy
No Intervention: Atazanavir/ritonavir triple therapy
Patients will continue the same regimen ATV/RTV 300mg/100mg OD plus 2 NRTIs as backbone
- Proportion of Patients With Treatment Failure (TF) [ Time Frame: Up to week 48 ]Proportion of patients with treatment failure defined as having one of the following events: confirmed viral rebound (CVR) or treatment discontinuation for any cause. CVR was established when 2 consecutive viral load values (HIV-1 RNA)>50 copies/mL occurred within 2 weeks during follow-up. In case of CVR, patients treated with atazanavir/ritonavir monotherapy had to re-introduce their previous 2NRTIs (re-intensification) and, if not suppressed (HIV-1 RNA <50 copies /ml) after 12 weeks, discontinued from the study. Re-intensification was considered as treatment failure in the primary analysis conducted according to the intention-to-treat principle (intention-to-treat analysis with re-intensification equal failure, ITT=Failure) while it was not in the secondary analysis (intention-to-treat analysis with re-intensification equal success, ITT=Success).
- Efficacy and Safety [ Time Frame: week 96 ]
Proportion of pts with confirmed virological and treatment failure at w96. Change in CD4 cell counts.
Occurrence of viral resistance to atazanavir in pts with confirmed virologic failure.
Proportion of pts with adverse events, with ≥grade 2 adverse events or abnormal laboratory tests, proportion of pts with side effects leading to discontinuation.
Body fat redistribution and vertebral and femoral bone mineral density. Adherence changes; changes in HIV-associated neurocognitive disorders. Difference in levels of activated Tcells and pro-inflammatory cytokines between treatment groups.
Choosing to participate in a study is an important personal decision. Talk with your doctor and family members or friends about deciding to join a study. To learn more about this study, you or your doctor may contact the study research staff using the contacts provided below. For general information, Learn About Clinical Studies.
|Ages Eligible for Study:
|18 Years to 90 Years (Adult, Older Adult)
|Sexes Eligible for Study:
|Accepts Healthy Volunteers:
Inclusion Criteria:
- HIV infected patients
- age > 18 years
- On treatment with ATV/r plus 2 NRTIs for at least 48 weeks
- Virological suppression (HIV-RNA<50 c/ml) by at least 24 weeks with ATV/r plus 2 NRTIs
- No virologic failure after the initiation of the first antiretroviral therapy. Previous treatment changes due to toxicity or treatment simplifications will be permitted only if occurred with documented virological suppression.
- CD4 cells nadir >100 cells/µL
- PPI and H2-receptor antagonists as follows: the proton-pump inhibitors should not be used; if H2-receptor antagonists are co-administered, a dose equivalent to famotidine 20 mg BID should not be exceeded.
Exclusion Criteria:
- Pregnancy and breast feeding women
- AIDS defining events
- Evidence of active HBV infection (HBsAg positive)
- Previous virological failure
- History of resistance to ATV
- Use of contraindicated medications
To learn more about this study, you or your doctor may contact the study research staff using the contact information provided by the sponsor.
Please refer to this study by its ClinicalTrials.gov identifier (NCT number): NCT01511809
|Infectious Diseases Department Fondazione Centro San Raffaele
|Milan, Lombardia, Italy, 20127
|Principal Investigator:
|Adriano Lazzarin, Professor
|Ospedale San Raffaele
|Responsible Party:
|Castagna Antonella, Co- Investigator, Ospedale San Raffaele
|ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier:
|Other Study ID Numbers:
|First Posted:
|January 19, 2012 Key Record Dates
|Results First Posted:
|November 24, 2014
|Last Update Posted:
|February 5, 2016
|Last Verified:
|January 2016
Atazanavir Sulfate
HIV Protease Inhibitors
Protease Inhibitors
Enzyme Inhibitors
Molecular Mechanisms of Pharmacological Action
Anti-HIV Agents
Anti-Retroviral Agents
Antiviral Agents
Anti-Infective Agents
Cytochrome P-450 CYP3A Inhibitors
Cytochrome P-450 Enzyme Inhibitors


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AEC Building Teams should work with their clients to conduct a version of the "threat assessment" described in this Special Report.
Such an evaluation should start at the property line and work inward. Many of the questions that a security team would use in a K-12 threat assessment could be applied to office buildings, hospitals, outpatient facilities, hotels, university buildings, stadiums, convention centers, municipal and state government buildings, and other places of congregation:
• Are there exterior conditions that could compromise security—untrimmed bushes that could provide cover for intruders, or unlocked trash receptacles that could become hiding places for weapons or explosives?
• Are exit doors fitted with alarms in case they are propped open?
• Are visitors, tenants, and other building users "funneled" to a main entry point where surveillance at various levels can be conducted?
• Do the security cameras work? Does anyone monitor them? How often?
As our report shows, design and technology are vital to the safety of children, teachers, and staff in schools, but if the staff and users of other building types are not educated in emergency procedures and don't rehearse them, the damage from an untoward incident could rise significantly.
Staff training and periodic rehearsals in security measures should be de rigueur for virtually every kind of building with public access—hospitals, retail and office facilities, college student unions, performing arts centers, movie theaters, and so on.
Our report raised the sustainability vs. security question for schools, but that quandary also applies to other public or quasi-public building types and uses, such as office buildings, college residence halls and classrooms, hotel lobbies, and restaurants. Owners and users of these buildings—not to mention the architects, engineers, and construction professionals who design and build them—all want as much natural light as the energy model will permit, but daylighting requires lots of glass, and that could raise concerns about security. Building Teams need to work with their owner clients to balance these occasionally conflicting demands.
One of the surprising findings from our exclusive survey of BD+C subscribers was that fully one-third of respondents (33.8%) said they were unfamiliar with Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design, and that only about one in six respondents (16.4%) said they (or their firms) used CPTED principles on a routine basis in K-12 projects.
These respondents were selected on the basis of their heavy involvement in school projects. If they don't know about CPTED for schools, is it also the case that those who design and build other kinds of public or semi-public facilities have no training in security-related matters? That would be very disturbing.
(Editor's Note: This article is the fourth in BD+C's five-part special report on security design for K-12 school projects. Read the full report.)


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"Referee" is the word Marisol Barreiro uses to describe being the mother of quintuplets.
"There's constantly hair pulling, biting, toy stealing," she said. "It's just a war zone sometimes." The Barreiro quintuplets turned 2 in December. Although they all look alike, Marisol and Carlos Barreiro said, they are all developing unique personalities.
"Referee" is the word Marisol Barreiro uses to describe being the mother of quintuplets.
"There's constantly hair pulling, biting, toy stealing," she said. "It's just a war zone sometimes."
The Barreiro quintuplets turned 2 in December. Although they all look alike, Marisol and Carlos Barreiro said, they are all developing unique personalities.
Quick to smile, Darón is the silent type.
"He observes everyone," Marisol Barreiro said.
He's also a wanderer. He's the one who can escape from the crib or jump the gate.
"It doesn't matter how much you block the area, before you know it, he's on the other side," Carlos Barreiro said.
Emealis, or "Emmie" is "my way or no way," said her mother. She's also a daddy's-girl.
"She's attached to me," Carlos Barreiro said.
Jomar is a cuddler.
"He gets along with everyone and he's very talkative," his mom said.
Carlos Barreiro said Jomar is also a clown.
"Everything is a joke to him," he said, "and he repeats everything so you have to watch what everyone says."
Lysmarie takes after her sister Emmie.
"She's very strong headed and opinionated," Marisol Barreiro said. "She throws tantrums."
Then there's Zoraelis, also known as Zora, the leader.
"She's my helper," mom said. "I ask her to bring me things and she actually helps out with the other kids. She's like the little mommy."
Don't forget the big sister, Soleemar, who turns 7 in February.
Despite their unique little personalities, Marisol Barreiro admits, she still gets mixed up every once in a while.
"I call all their names until I get it right," she said.
It's not unusual for people passing by to remark on the infants. Within 10 minutes of entering the Medley Center in Irondequoit, N.Y., for a day of play on Monday, Jan. 21, two women remarked on the multiples.
"I usually dress them alike, so I guess that sparks their interest," Marisol Barreiro said.
The babies have come a long way since they were born. They spent about three months in the hospital, and several are still receiving therapy to help them with things like walking, speech and vision. You can't tell by watching them. Each stands about knee-high, they aren't shy, and they are quick on their feet. They are also big music lovers.
"They are now into Alicia Keys 'No one,'" Marisol Barreiro said. "We have it recorded. We put it on and they can be anywhere in the house, they'll run into the living room and start singing and dancing. It's the cutest thing."
After trying to get pregnant for eight years, the couple used fertility treatments to have their first daughter. They opted to do the same in hopes of giving Soleemar a brother or sister. Marisol Barreiro said she's always wanted to have a big family.
"Not six kids, maybe three, but it wasn't scary," she said of learning she was having quintuplets. "It's just something we knew we were going to do and it was going to happen one way or another."
The Barreiros have had a lot of help from family, friends and community.
When the quints were born, the couple got help from Cindy Roach, the wife of Hamlin, N.Y., Supervisor Dennis Roach, and others from the community. They would take turns helping change, rock and feed the babies.
"We got diapers, wipes, cribs, car seats," Marisol Barreiro said. "That was helpful, and I've passed it along ... to churches and other women who are expecting."
Marisol Barreiro stays home with the kids. Carlos Barreiro works for Eastman Kodak Co.
Even with her husband's help, she said, they can't take all the kids out at once, "because we have one or two who will try to escape from us."
"We need a lot of hands ...," she said. "We barely get out."
Marisol Barreiro said she doesn't use an alarm clock to wake up anymore. The sound of Darón's footsteps running around the room is her wake-up call. Mornings are spent getting Soleemar ready for school and on the bus, between feeding and changing the quints, and then "hoping and waiting for noon to come when they take a nap," she said.
Unfortunately, nap time usually consists of playtime. "Once in a while I'll get one or two to sleep," Marisol Barreiro said.
Thankfully, the babies sleep through the night.
Marisol Barreiro said she is looking forward to getting the quints into day care. She hopes it will teach them about sharing.
"You would think, after two years, they would learn patience and sharing," she said, "but no, they're still at the 'me, me, me' stage."
The family has upgraded from a Caravan to a Ford Excursion, which seats nine. The house has three bedrooms and the master bedroom has been turned into the quints' room. As the kids get older, Marisol Barreiro said, they may have to get a larger home, or they'll add on.
Child-proofing the house is nearly impossible, Carlos Barreiro said.
"When they're quiet, that means they're into something," he said.
Every day is a new milestone, from talking and walking, to dancing and holding hands. The babies are being brought up bi-lingual. Their parents speak to the children in both Spanish and English.
There are days where Marisol Barreiro wants to pull out her hair, but, she said, "that is minute compared to watching different personalities and having fun with them, and just being so blessed to have a family like this."
"I can't tell you there's not days I don't stress," she said, "but I wouldn't change it."
Spencerport-Hilton Post writer Amy Cavalier can be reached at (585) 394-0770, Ext. 243, or at firstname.lastname@example.com.


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Anna Larsson
Anna sent me a sweet email about her wonderful prints and it took me a few weeks to post this but I'm happy to share the great work she's done with you! She also sells tea towels. Please check out more of Anna's beautiful creations here.
Other Stories
6 comments:
Looks like Warshak!ReplyDelete
These remind me of Rorschach inkblots, but much prettier! Thank you for sharing :)ReplyDelete
- AnonymousOctober 29, 2012
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I love this bowl! Great poster tooReplyDelete
where is the tape from?ReplyDelete
Thank you for your comments, I love hearing from you!
Questions, comments or sponsorship inquires, please contact me via the 'contact' link.


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Pic(k) of the week 5: PETRONAS TOWERS - Kuala Lumpur, Malyasia
When I was last in Kuala Lumpur, about 10 years ago, the Petronas Towers were the highest skyscrapers in the world! With its 452 meter (1482ft) they have since 2010 been surpassed by the 829m (2722ft) Burj Khalifa in Dubai, UAE.
Earlier this month, I was test shooting the Fujifilm X-Pro2 camera in the capital of Malaysia and shot a few images of this amazing structure well after dark. Some of you might know that I'm a fan of Black and White Architectural work; something that works particularly well with the Petronas Towers!
The image, which is a SOOC (Straight Out Of Camera) jpeg, was shot handheld with the XF 16mm f.4 R WR lens at a ISO of 3200. To me the image is 100% free of any noise, while keeping its sharpness throughout the frame.
Image details:
Fujifilm X-Pro2 with the XF 16mm f1.2 R WR
ISO 3200, f6.4, 1/25s, f6.4
SOOC, using the new Acros + Red filter Film Simulation
Overall, I'm really impressed with the just released X-Pro2 camera body.
My first look review can be found in two parts: part 1 and part 2.
My first look review can be found in two parts: part 1 and part 2.
Presently in San Francisco, I'm testing another new camera; the mini X-100T, called X-70 featuring a 18mm fixed lens. Expect a "in the field review" next week!


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- News
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- Entertainment
- Lifestyle
- Health
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- Technology
Orlando, the theme-park capital of America, is a place for kids of all ages to ride, slide, fly or float their way to a perfect vacation.
Whether at a beach, theme park, museum or restaurant, there's no easier place to let loose and have fun.
An ongoing competition between the big three — SeaWorld, Universal Studios and Walt Disney World — has created a playground of choices for visitors.
They flock in the greatest numbers to Disney World, and for good reason — nobody does magic and fantasy like Disney. With two water parks and four theme parks, it's possible to spend your entire vacation with Mickey.
For kids of all ages
The most popular theme park at Walt Disney World is The Magic Kingdom. All roads lead to Disney's iconic Cinderella Castle, easily recognized for its white tower, golden spires and royal blue turrets. Under it archways are incredible glass murals telling the story of Cinderella. Beware the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique, where little girls are transformed into "Disney Divas." It offers every princess accessory known to mankind and can be devastating to your wallet.
Fantasyland is the kiddie mecca, and is undergoing an expansion. Popular rides here include Ariel's Grotto and It's a Small World. Legend has it that after just one ride, the song stays in your head forever. Not to worry, there are enough bars and other nearby distractions to help with that problem.
Follow the tiki torches to Adventureland and the popular Pirates of the Caribbean ride. Nearby Frontierland celebrates the Wild West, with rides such as Splash Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. Close by is another big draw: the Haunted Mansion at Liberty Square. This area is a patriotic recreation of early 18th century America, with cobblestone streets and Georgian architecture.
Expect perennially long lineups at Space Mountain, the No. 1 ride (but it's worth the wait) in the retro-future showcase Tomorrowland.
Epcot: Every Person Comes Out Tired
Comprising 120 hectares, Epcot is the second-largest park at Disney World and is frankly exhausting. Spaceship Earth Geosphere marks Future World with 10 themed areas focused on discovery, scientific achievements, and tomorrow's technologies. Nearby is World Showcase featuring 11 national pavilions, each with authentic food, music, restaurants and shops. You can literally eat or shop your way around the world. Plan on at least a full day here and use the available transportation, unless you need some exercise after all that food.
Taming the jungle
Animal Kingdom is the world's largest Disney theme park, a 202-hectare conservation area with the fewest rides but plenty of animals. Find the Tree of Life on Discovery Island and then head over to Camp Minnie-Mickey to visit the famous couple. Africa has the largest concentration of animals and you can see most of them on the Kilimanjaro Safari ride. One of the best thrill-rides, Expedition Everest, and plenty of exotic animals can be enjoyed at Asia. Little kids will enjoy the carnival-style rides and games at Dinoland. Be sure to put Finding Nemo: The Musical and the Festival of the Lion King on your to-do list.
Hooray for Tinsel town
Disney's Hollywood Studios has live entertainment, backstage tours and rides based on popular films. Collect autographs from favourite characters, ride the Aerosmith Rock 'n' Roller Coaster, or become a star at the American Idol experience.
America's best roller coaster
For several years, Universal Studios has given Disney a run for its money by recreating itself into a complete resort destination with two theme parks (the original Universal Studios and newer Islands of Adventures), the City Walk dining-shopping-nightclub complex and three luxury properties. This park is geared for tween and adult movie fans looking for thrills. Such rides as The Simpsons, Dragon Challenge and the Rip Ride Rockit roller coaster all deliver. The recently unveiled Wizarding World of Harry Potter will have muggles beside themselves with excitement.
For water babies
SeaWorld offers a gentler experience with attractions and activities centred on marine life. There are only six rides at the park, include the high-flying roller coaster Manta, so it's easier to plan your day. The biggest draws are the animal shows with Shamu, the killer whale along with goofy seals and sea lions, playful penguins and gentle dolphins. (You can swim with the dolphins at nearby Discovery Centre.) Next door, Aquatica is an eco-educational water park with 36 water slides, six rivers and lagoons, and a 7,432-square-metre beach where you can frolic alongside marine animals.
Reach for the stars
For a different kind of magic, take a day trip to the Kennedy Space Center, 72 km east of Orlando. Take a bus tour to see NASA's Apollo/Saturn V Center and its massive launch pads. Discovery space heroes at the Astronaut Fall of Fame or enjoy interactive theatre where you can join Starfleet Academy or feel the g-force of a rocket launch. See if you got the right stuff at the Astronaut Training Experience (ATX).
Far from Mickey
For a taste of Orlando before it became Disneyfied, take an Everglade airboat ride at Boogey Creek or visit the charmingly quirky Gatorland to learn the differences between crocodiles and alligators. Drive a NASCAR rocket at the Richard Petty Driving Experience or take a hot air balloon ride at Fantasy of Flight and see all its vintage aircraft. Orlando is also a golfers nirvana, with over 70 courses to choose from.
Eat, Play and Save
Visiting Orlando doesn't have to break the bank. With some online sleuthing and proper planning, you can find bargains. Here are some tips to help maximize the savings.
1. Travel off-season
Save big by avoiding the busy seasons. Disney offers significant savings during its value season (the first six weeks of the year), the regular season (April until June) and fall season (end of Sept. until Dec. 22). There are also fewer crowds.
2. Shop online
Keep an eye on the special offers page at the Walt Disney World website (disneyworld.disney.go.com). Orlando's Tourism board also lists discounts and offers the Orlando Magic Card with savings on hotels, restaurants and attractions (www.orlandoinfo.com/index.cfm). The unofficial Mousesavers.com has great advice on where to find deals along with tips about saving money. It's also an excellent resource for planning your visit. If approached with caution, ticket resellers can offer good value. One of the best is the Disney-authorized Undercover Tourist which sells discounted tickets to the park and other attractions. It's also got a cool Disney app with a planner and park map (www.undercovertourist.com).
3. Do your homework
Contacting a Disney travel specialist can help you save money, but don't let them pressure you into buying a vacation deal. Doing a "room only" reservation and then buying your flight, dining and other components separately can save you money while giving you maximum flexibility.
4. Buy Bulk
Combination packages can save you a bundle. The 2-Park Ticket gives you unlimited entry to both Aquatica and SeaWorld Orlando for 14 days. The FlexTicket allows you to also combine all the non-Disney features into one ticket price while an annual Disney Resort pass gives added perks and 40 per cent discounts on rooms and restaurants. You can save big with both.


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Miele Refrigerator Repair Deerfield IL
Chicagoland Refrigerator Repair is a local Refrigerator Repair business that specializes in Refrigerator Repair and maintenance inDeerfield IL.
We provide same-day, next day Refrigerator Repair Service, 24/7 and 365 days a year. We service Cicero IL and its surrounding suburbs.
Our Deerfield IL Refrigerator Repair technicians are professionally trained and experienced to provide 100 % satisfaction guaranteed work on all Refrigerator Repairs. We service not only refrigerators but we also service freezers, ice makers, ovens, stoves, dishwashers, washers and dryers.
Before we perform any Refrigerator Repair, we will provide you with an estimate that you approve before we proceed. Our low cost refrigerator repair will allow you to get the best Refrigerator Repairs without paying an arm and a leg. We guarantee the lowest possible price for any professional Refrigerator Repairs in Deerfield IL. We backup our service and we guarantee our work 100%.
Here are a list of the most common issues with refrigerators:
Temperature irregularities
Electrical issues
Frost build up/freezing
Faulty thermostat
Noisy refrigerator
Leaks or puddles inside
Damaged condenser coils
Compressor problem.
Chicagoland Refrigerator Repair strives for 100% satisfaction. Our professionally trained technicians pride themselves in providing the best service in Chicago, and it shows! Here are some of the many wonderful things our clients say about our service:
The tech who came to my house was Professional. He fixed and tested my washer and dryer in less than an hour. He knew wxactly what he was doing and the price was reasonable. Highly recommended.
Carlos C. – Morton Grove, IL 60053
Good service and good manners.
He showed up on time which was great.
The tech was extremely polite and he put the plastic around his shoes before he came into the house.
He was very organized but seemed to rush through the job.
He found the cause of my issue very quickly. The entire service call took 15 minutes and that included writing my receipt.
the refrigerator works like a charm He did not seem to be rushed after the problem was fixed and he gave me tips on what to do to avoid the issue from happening again.
Nadia H. – Chicago IL, 60626
I must admit I am one of those consumers who dread the idea of calling a service company for any type of repair because there are some dishonest people out there who like to take advantage of others and you don't want to fall pray to one of those. But when you are faced with a situation where your fridge does not work you have no choice but to find someone. Fortunately for me this time, I asked Jack my neighbor who happened to know Eddie. He called him and he happened to be off but he still came to help us anyways. he was extremely helpful and took his time to double check that everything worked before he left. We are very happy with the service and we now know who to call for Refrigerator Repair service.
Elizabeth A. – Chicago IL, 60614