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My friends at USAA offer a world of amazing financial information to their members, and to the general public. This article comes directly from USAA and addresses the myriad issues regarding military divorce:
The following content is provided courtesy of USAA.
Settling for less now can lead to financial regrets later. "Going through a divorce has to be viewed as a business transaction, and it is perhaps one of the biggest of your life," says June Walbert, a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ with USAA. "Many people take the path of least resistance because they just want out, but settling for less now can lead to financial regrets later," she says.
Decisions Today Affect Retirement Tomorrow
Walbert herself faced divorce long before she became a financial planner. "As I went through my training to become a CFP™ practitioner, I realized I made several mistakes in my divorce," says Walbert.
The biggest? She didn't insist on splitting her husband's tax-deferred retirement accounts as part of the terms. "I settled for cash, investments, art and property upfront instead," she says. "But nothing beats the power of tax-deferred compounding. I missed out on that, and I've always felt a little behind when it comes to tax-deferred assets for retirement."
Though she's playing catch-up, she did leave the marriage with furniture, a vehicle, property, the ability to make a living and the all-important emergency fund — a cornerstone of establishing your own financial household that she says many divorcees neglect.
Understanding the long-term implications of your settlement and making sure you get what you're entitled to are musts, says Walbert.
Here, Walbert shares financial do's and don'ts of divorce to help you build a firm financial foundation now and in retirement.
10 Do's and Don'ts
|The Right Paperwork
|If you're splitting funds from your spouse's 401(k) or other retirement account or pension, you'll need a Qualified Domestic Relations Order, which officially directs the plan holder how to pay your portion of the account, as determined by the divorce decree.If an annuity is divided in a divorce decree, a similar document may be required to finalize the payment plans.
These documents must be issued by a court or state agency and submitted to the plan administrator.
Check with an attorney for additional legal information regarding your particular situation.
1. Do stay well-informed before the divorce. During the marriage, both spouses need to know their complete financial picture — how property is titled, the passwords for accounts and the location of financial documents.
Don't fall into the silent partner syndrome. If you don't know these financial details, you could be at a big disadvantage when trying to determine a fair and equitable split of marital assets.
2. Do get a clear picture of your finances. If you don't know the details, turn into a sleuth. Dig around and make copies of records or, perhaps even better, hire a forensic accountant. You also can subpoena financial records and require a deposition under oath to get the information you need.
Don't avoid digging for the details. Be dogged about seeing documents and papers that explain your financial picture. Ask questions like "How have we been able to afford our lifestyle?" and get the answer you need.
3. Do hire your own team. That includes a lawyer, financial planner and perhaps a tax advisor. Your team of pros can look after your best interests objectively.
Don't use your soon-to-be ex's attorney. An attorney can only truly represent one side's interests. You and your spouse are no longer a team. While you may want an amicable divorce, don't do that at the expense of your future. That said, you might consider engaging the services of a divorce mediator instead of hiring separate attorneys. Working from a neutral position, a divorce mediator helps divorcing parties reach agreement on the division of assets, child custody and other issues. Mediation may be less expensive and time-consuming than litigation.
4. Do understand the real value of your retirement assets. Some assets are taxable; others are not. Keep that in mind as you determine an equitable split. For instance, a Roth IRA can provide tax-free income in retirement. On the other hand, withdrawals from a traditional IRA, 401(k) or military TSP will be subject to taxes. If you're awarded funds from an IRA or TSP, you can roll them into a new IRA to continue tax-deferred compounding and avoid paying taxes and a penalty for early withdrawals. Pensions, often considered marital property, could be subject to division. Some may have a cost-of-living adjustment; others do not. That impacts the value of the asset.
Don't believe all assets are created equal. As noted above, always evaluate the after-tax value of assets. For example, $100,000 in an IRA or retirement plan could be worth less, maybe a lot less, after you consider income taxes. For someone with a combined federal and state marginal tax rate of 30%, that $100,000 may only be the equivalent of $70,000 in a nonretirement account. And a pension that has a cost-of-living adjustment can be worth hundreds of thousands, despite a seemingly small monthly payment. Consider the long-term financial value of an inflation-adjusted pension and the after-tax value of other assets. Ask your tax advisor or financial planner for help in understanding how much each asset is truly worth.
5. Do think about diversifying your assets for your retirement. Say one spouse has $100,000 in a Roth IRA. He might offer the other either all of the Roth or half his pension in the divorce settlement. That's not a good settlement. You want to split the Roth and the pension. Then you're diversifying your retirement, helping to ensure a variety of income sources for your future.
Don't make concessions without realizing the implications for your future. Trying to be agreeable, you might accept an offer of cash or settle for half your spouse's pension. But remember, you need a diversified portfolio down the road, so stand firm in your negotiations.
6. Do have credit in your name. Maintain good credit throughout your marriage. Keep some assets and credit cards in your name so you have a credit identity of your own.
Don't keep any joint accounts or cosigned loans. Make a clean break to protect your good credit. If you can't refinance separately, sell the asset. Don't take pity on your former spouse if he or she can't refinance. Don't let your ex put your credit rating at risk.
7. Do protect child support and alimony payments. Make sure you or your ex-spouse have plenty of disability insurance to make up for this income in case of injury or death. Many divorce attorneys make this a standard request. Make sure yours does. For the fullest protection, have the agreement stipulate that you are to be the owner of the insurance policy — even if your ex is responsible for paying the premiums. That prevents your ex from canceling the coverage or changing the beneficiary.
Don't fail to plan for the worst-case scenario. If your ex should stop working for an extended period because of an injury, how will he or she keep up with child support or alimony payments? And what if your ex-spouse dies? Ask your lawyer to request that your children be named beneficiaries in a life insurance policy and ensure that disability insurance is in place to protect that income.
8. Do update your budget. Take a close look at your spending habits now that you're single. You may have to make hard choices and restructure your spending patterns to keep up with monthly bills.
Don't act as if nothing has changed. One person typically undergoes a dramatic lifestyle change. If that's you, adjust accordingly.
9. Do take care of estate-planning issues. Update beneficiary designations in your retirement plan, any annuities you own and life insurance policies. Plus, talk with your lawyer about changes to your will, powers of attorney and other legal documents now that your spouse is no longer in the picture.
Don't treat such updates as unimportant. Don't expect a former spouse to give back money erroneously left to him or her in a retirement plan or via an insurance policy. A beneficiary designation trumps a will in every state. When it comes to naming guardians for your children, updating your will ensures you don't leave it to a judge's discretion.
10. Do take advantage of your spouse's Social Security benefits. If you were married 10 years or more and the benefit you are entitled to receive based on your own work is less than the benefit you would receive based on your ex-spouse's work, you may be able to draw benefits on his or her work record, according to the Social Security Administration.
Don't dismiss Social Security benefits that can bolster your retirement income. Social Security payments may not cover a large part of your retirement income needs, but they add up. For example, assuming 3% inflation, 5% interest and a 30-year benefit period, a $1,000 a month Social Security benefit is worth more than $250,000.
Kate again- I love hearing June's first hand experience and financial smarts. If you are considering divorce, learn all you can before you begin. You'll be glad that you did.


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Thinking of buying an A380 or Boeing Dreamliner, here's 5 gotcha's to consider before you'll be ready to fly:
(1) IT Security
eEnabled aircraft IT security must be the first priority for any airline as newer eEnabled aircraft introduce a new level of security that could easily impact an aircraft's or possibly a fleets operation if not implemented correctly.
Air-framer's are working together within various industry groups and with Regulatory bodies to provide guidance to airlines, but guidance is all they can give as every airline has different infrastructures and systems for operations and it is accepted that eEnablement security is the sole responsibility of any operating airline.
All airline's experience daily attempts to breach their security infrastructure's, eEnabled aircraft will be targets too, unfortunately a successful attack would have a disastrous impact on an airlines brand.
New processes and procedures for new eEnabled aircraft have to run side by side with existing that serve legacy fleets. Take LSAP software updates for example, this is carried out by a mandatory process implementing PKI security. If an airline is new to PKI (CA, certificates etc), this could take a considerable time to implement, in particular the processes for supporting PKI (administration), if these processes are not secure and effective, this will interfere with the aircrafts successful operation and possibly become an air worthiness issue.
It's important to understand that eEnabled aircraft are nodes on an airlines ground based IT network and should be considered as a potential security risk to the airlines overall IT operations.
Consider this possible scenario of how an IT security incident could impact the airlines operation:
A virus has been detected on-board an eEnabled aircraft computer (say the IFE server), an airline will have to mitigate this risk and this will not be easy …. the following must be addressed to successfully rectify the incident:
(a) Determine how long the computer been infected
(b) Determine where the virus was introduced
(c) Determine if any ground based hardware systems have been infected.
(d) Determine if the virus has infected other eEnabled aircraft fleet(s).
(e) Have any customer devices been infected.
(g) What will be the impact to the airlines brand!!
Dealing with this type of scenario as you can see could be extremely difficult, especially if the airline has a large eEnabled fleet.
Security is the No1 priority and should be at the forefront of any airlines eEnabled strategy.
(2) Integration
Integration of aircraft with back office systems has been carried out for many years, via 'SneakerNet', an affectionate name for walking up to the aircraft with a USB stick or CD.
However eEnabled aircraft are a totally new challenge, they produce considerably more data than any previous aircraft fleet and this data is intended to help airlines diagnosis and become more proactive in detecting problems.
eEnabled aircraft need to integrate with an airlines back office system(s) and integration is an area that airframers have chosen to approach independently, creating a complicated support infrastructure for airlines who operate different eEnabled aircraft fleets (eg A380, B787,A350), couple this with airframers having different approaches to the uploading or downloading of aircraft data, inevitably the overall eEnablement operation will be more complicated/costly to maintain and support.
WiFi (Gatelink) can be adopted to integrate aircraft to an airlines wider network. However this could be a major headache as its impossible to guarantee signal strength at an airport, there is far too much noise in what is a busy environment, movement of aircraft etc. At best an airline can expect 2-3 Mb per min and the reality is there could be a number of large files to upload and download, from an operation perspective eating into the aircrafts turn around time.
WiMax is a more appropriate robust industry solution, however this has not been taken up widely by airports and would take considerable investment to introduce.
Airlines need to consider how they implement an Integration strategy to get a maximum return on their eenabled aircraft investment.
(3) Collaboration
Introducing an eEnabled fleet into any airline will impact how individual internal departments collaborate.
Collaboration is a required to operate these aircraft successful. Engineering, Flight Ops, IT, Security etc. all have independent interests in aircraft eEnablement. Within some airlines this may be difficult to overcome, combining departmental processes for eEnabled fleet(s) and maintaining existing legacy aircraft operations may require a leap of faith for departments who may lose a level of control.
One of the dangers of poor collaboration is that problems are resolved independently, adding overall cost and complication to an airlines operation. For different departments, it would very easily become too problematic, to the extent that only processes required to satisfy their regulatory and mandatory processes for operation are implemented.
Airlines must collaborate within their own departments to maximise their return on investment.
(4) Skills
Investment in employee skills is absolutely critical, eEnablement is new and its important to understand that a new type of hybrid employee is required. An employee that is experienced with an airlines maintenance, operation and has IT administration skills. This hybrid employee would need to support a 24/7, 365 day operation, producing what could be a significant skill gap to fill. For larger airlines possibly dual roles may be required to support the operation.
Flight crews also need to be trained on the use of new on-board applications such as EFB, techlog, moving maps, electronic documents etc. If an airline has chosen to purchase different eEnabled aircraft fleets, this will lead to independent training requirements and make the maintenance, recording and operation even more complicated.
New skills are required and airlines must invest in training.
(5) Operation
To reach true eEnablement new processes are required that manage an airline's eEnablement strategy. When considering an IT infrastructure, there's a strong argument to start small and grow as the eEnabled fleet grows, walk before running is an approach to consider.
Business continuity must be a considered as there are many possible ways for an eEnablement operation to be impacted (see virus scenario above), without good backup processes it might not be possible for the aircraft to operate efficiently and if mandatory processes are not robust this may impact an aircraft's air worthiness.
Operation of an airlines legacy fleet(s) have to be maintained so old robust processes need to sit side by side with the new eEnabled operation adding more complexity to the overall airline operation.
Having good robust processes are the only way an airline will realise a true eEnablement operation.
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Master of Martial Hearts is the epitome of fan service. In anime, the term
"fan service" means gratuitous sexual content that doesn't fit in with the storyline.
I have to define the term because it will appear a lot in this review. This DVD
release includes the entire five episode OVA release on one disc.
If frontal nudity in cartoons offends you in any way, then you will hate this series.
Personally, I have no issues with fan service as long as there is more to the actual
show than just generous bouncing and sneak peeks. Unfortunately, Master of Martial
Hearts is not good, even by fan service standards.
The two main characters, Aya and Natsume, are walking along one day, minding their
own business, when they happen upon a battle between an airline stewardess and a
priestess. Aya learns that they are fighting as part of a tournament for the Martial
Heart--a prize that will grant the winner her greatest desire. The priestess, who
is called Miko, only wants a friend. Aya, who just so happens to have superior fighting
skills, interferes in the fight and easily disposes of the evil airline stewardess.
Miko, who now counts Aya and Natsume as first true friends, seemingly has her greatest
wish granted. Later that night, however, she mysteriously vanishes. It is said that
the losers of a battle for the Martial Heart are sent to a dark realm. Is this what
happened to poor Miko? Aya makes it her mission to find out and she enters herself
in the tournament with the desire to bring Miko back from the dark realm. The remainder
of the series focuses on Aya's progress through the tournament as she faces off
against a variety of female opponents. The fights are supposed to be conducted in
secret. Aya finds out about each fight only a few hours beforehand when she is given
a location and time to show up via text message.
The fights in Master of Martial Hearts basically serve as an excuse to get
the female characters out of their clothes. Every fight involves the girls losing
their clothes, offering a brief glimpse of full-frontal, cartoon nudity. In a typical
fight, the random enemy girl gets an early edge over Aya. Some of Aya's clothing
gets shredded with each strike. Aya then figures out the random enemy girl's weakness
and lands a haymaker on her chin. Somehow the force of that blow causes the random
enemy girl's top to completely disintegrate, exposing her bare chest. Then Aya kicks
the random enemy girl in the stomach. This causes the back of the random enemy girl's
skirt to shred to pieces, revealing her panties. At the end of the fight, the camera
slowly pans across the bloodied, beaten, half-naked random enemy girl who was knocked
out, as if this image is somehow supposed to be a sexy.
The enemy fighters in Master of Martial Hearts are awful. They all rely on
some gimmick, which is most often their day job. There's a nurse, a cop, a teacher,
a pop idol, a mechanic, and an airline stewardess. Not only do they dress the part,
but their professions completely encompass their personalities and are worked into
their fighting styles. The mechanic attacks with wrenches. The teacher uses chemistry
to somehow foreshadow her combos. It's absurd. If you watched professional wrestling
in the late 80's and early 90's, when wrestlers had gimmicks such as an IRS agent
or a garbage man, then you know what to expect here. The enemies are lame. All of
The plot of Master of Martial Hearts was lacking, but at least serviceable
through most of the series. However, the poorly executed ending killed even that
serviceable plot. What could have been a wild and twisted conclusion came off as
an unlikely, convoluted blame-game. The main villains in the series reveal themselves
in the final episode. They let Aya in on every detail of their intricate scheme
in a drawn-out, half-episode long information dump before they finally make a move
to kill her. It smacks of a Scooby-Doo ending or even worse, Austin Powers. Only
this series is not really a parody. Or maybe it is and the joke's on me.
Audio: The audio tracks include an English 5.1 mix and a Japanese 2.0 stereo
track. I listened to the English dub for the entire series. The surrounds are not
used often, but the sound quality was good and sufficiently loud. The English cast
does a good job with the script and none of the characters sound annoying.
Video: The video is presented in 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen. The video
quality is average for a modern anime OVA release. The colors are nice and bright,
but there is line noise present throughout the series and the image is not as crisp
as it should be. The art sometimes features a bizarre blurring effect, which is
supposed to be the sun shining through a window. The camera pans look cheap and
distract from the show.
For a fan service anime, you would think more effort would be put into designing
the characters' bodies. From the neck down, every female character looks exactly
the same. If the main purpose of a series is to get the female characters in as
little clothing as possible, then maybe a little variety is in order.
Extras: There is a video commentary with Japanese voice actors, Kaori Nazuka,
Ai Nonako, and Satome Akesaka for the first episode. I welcome any extras that are
included with anime releases, which typically feature only a few trailers and perhaps
some textless credits. The video commentary hardly focuses on the on-screen action.
Instead the three voice actors discuss things such as fast food, fights they had
as kids, and which enemy's profession they would like to try. The conversation is
fun and interesting through most of the commentary.
Also included are a few FUNimation trailers.
Final Thoughts: I love breasts as much as any other guy and take no offense
to seeing them in anime. The main draw of Master of Martial Hearts is the
topless fighting women. However, this series does everything wrong. The storyline
follows a standard fighting video game plot until the silly, convoluted ending.
The action is subpar, the enemies' gimmicks are dumb, and the way the girls' clothes
fall apart upon impact is absurd. There is nothing redeeming about Master of Martial
Hearts. It's pure fan service and even the fan service is bad. Skip It.
Bobby is a programmer by trade and a wannabe writer. Check out his other reviews here. You can also check out his blog about harmless nonsense or follow him on Twitter


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Using Mobile Synchronizer
The Mobile Synchronizer can be run on a machine connected to the Process Framework database to periodically send and receive mobile jobs to and from the field. Using this tool will automate the "Send\Receive Mobile Data" tasks so that enterprise users will not have to perform this data transfer manually. Once configred, the Mobile Synchronizer can be connected to the Process Framework database and left to synchronize on a particular time interval. The "Synchronize Once" option can be checked to perform the synchronization one time only, which is useful for testing new configurations.
Engine Mobile Designer: Should the Mobile Synchronizer be unable to send or receive a design, it will automatically save the design to an XML file and the user will receive an error message with a path to the XML.
To access the Mobile Synchronizer, look for MobileSynchronizer.exe in the ArcFM Solution\Bin directory.
- Double-click MobileSynchronizer.exe.
- Select the "Synchronize once" checkbox to execute the Send/Receive operation only once. If this checkbox is not selected, then the "Interval" value is used to determine how often the Send/Receive task is executed. The minimum time interval is 15 minutes.
- Click the Start button to execute Send/Receive according to the settings selected. You may hide the Mobile Synchronize tool (see below) and allow it to run in the background.
- Between updates, the Synchronizer will display its status as Idle as well as the time of the next synchronization.
- Click Stop to deactivate the Send/Receive.
Should the Mobile Synchronizer fail to execute the Send/Receive Mobile Data task, a message in the Status field will alert the user to the failure. The icon in the task tray will turn red to alert the user to an error. Mobile Synchronizer will continue to attempt updates at the defined intervals.
Run Mobile Synchronizer in the Background
If you click the X in the top right corner, the tool will continue to run in the task bar (near the clock).
To exit the Mobile Synchronizer application, you must first click the Stop button on the application. Then, right-click the icon in the task bar and select Exit. The Exit option will remain disabled as long as the Synchronizer application is running. Right-click and select Restore or double-click the icon to open the Mobile Synchronizer window. Select Clear Log to clear the error messages from the Status window.
You may have multiple Mobile Synchronizers running at once (e.g., one for the enterprise and one for the field).


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Arkansas veterans home cited for 3rd time in 2013
Investigators have cited the state-run veterans home in Fayetteville for its third violation this year, alleging a worker didn't care for a patient's wound properly.
The state Office of Long Term Care said that, when the wound's dressing was changed twice daily, skin would tear and the patient would bleed. Improper care lasted for several days until the treatment method was changed, according to the agency.
The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette newspaper reported Thursday (http://bit.ly/1hwA4EW ) that the patient filed a complaint. In February, the agency alleged neglect after a patient died and in April the Office of Long Term Care said a patient's arm was broken while the patient was being restrained.
Arkansas' Veterans Affairs office said it has provided employees with new training on how to remove bandages.


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Reliever Mariot playing left field wasn't plan
BALTIMORE -- OK, maybe the Royals wouldn't have had relief pitcher Michael Mariot playing left field on Saturday night after all.
That possibility was mentioned by manager Ned Yost after it appeared that shortstop Alcides Escobar might have to leave the game with an injury in the 10th inning. The bench was depleted.
However, designated hitter Billy Butler was seen slipping on his glove while Escobar was sprawled on the dirt, his leg hurting. He remained in the game, but what if he hadn't?
"We could've put Billy in the game, we could've done a lot of things," Yost said.
The most likely scenario that would have evolved, Yost decided, was using Butler at first base (and giving up the DH) with Alex Gordon moving from left field to third base, Mike Moustakas moving from third base to second, Omar Infante moving from second base to short and Eric Hosmer going from first base to left field.
Mariot would have stayed in the bullpen. The Royals lost, 3-2, on Nick Markakis' walk-off single in the 10th.
The talk about Butler at first base brought up the annual Interleague topic -- how would that position be handled when the Royals play at San Diego under National League rules on May 5-6-7? Butler or Hosmer at first?
"I haven't gotten that deep into it yet. We'll see," Yost said. "A lot of times if Billy's really hitting the ball good, you give him a start against lefties. If he's not swinging good, you use him off the bench as a pinch-hitter. But you've got to get there before you make a determination."
In the past, Hosmer has taken a turn in the outfield in Interleague Play, but that's not likely to happen at San Diego
"I'm not definitely saying no, but I doubt it," Yost said.


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With his defense choking out the life of opposing offenses as expected, and his frontcourt providing more production on both ends of the floor than anticipated, Virginia coach Tony Bennett has every right to be optimistic heading into the finals break in Charlottesville.
Now, if he can just get his injured starting point guard back on the floor and avoid a holiday season exodus of players like he had last season, Bennett should continue to have plenty to be pleased about heading into 2013.
Bennett said Tuesday guard Jontel Evans, a Bethel High graduate, could conceivably return before U.Va.'s opener in Atlantic Coast Conference play Jan. 6 against North Carolina, but the team is being cautious. Evans re-injured his right foot Dec. 5 in U.Va.'s 46-38 win against Tennessee. He had surgery on the foot in early October to repair a stress fracture.
"He didn't re-break it or anything," said Bennett, whose team has won seven consecutive games after starting 1-2, and plays Morgan State, Old Dominion and Wofford before the end of the year. "He just irritated it.
"In his case, he was going along pretty well … but just irritated it a little bit where the bone is still healing. But I guess it just shows that it isn't quite fully healed. That's why he'll get X-rayed kind of before every week when finals are done and see where it's at, and possibly could play soon, but we want to be as smart as possible based on his symptoms."
U.Va. (8-2) defeated Mississippi Valley State 67-39 last Saturday. U.Va. has another six days off before it plays Dec. 19 against Morgan State.
Evans (1.5 points and 2.8 assists per game) sat out of the Mississippi Valley State game. If he can't go against Morgan State, redshirt freshman Teven Jones (4.1 points and 2.4 assists per game) and true freshman Taylor Barnette (2.6 points per game) will continue to handle point-guard duties.
"I'm hopeful for all of them as the competition continues to increase to have the ability to be solid-first," said Bennett regarding his point guards. "You don't have to hit home runs. You've just got to do the little things, almost the unnoticeable things. That's what keeps you on the floor, especially early on, and then you kind of earn your rights to play longer and do some more things."
As Evans works his way back on the floor after playing in just four of U.Va.'s first 10 games, Bennett is looking to keep the remaining nucleus of his team healthy. Guard Joe Harris (14.8 points per game) and forwards Akil Mitchell (13.4 points per game) and Darion Atkins (8.4 points per game) have been the offensive leaders, but in keeping with Bennett's defense-first style, U.Va. has made its mark again on the defensive end. Opponents are scoring an ACC-low 50 points per game.
Bennett doesn't anticipate the kind of departures that surprised him and his coaching staff last year in the days leading up to Christmas, when sophomore guard K.T. Harrell and redshirt freshman forward James Johnson both decided to transfer. They were the third and fourth players, respectively, from Bennett's six-player 2010 recruiting class to decide to transfer.
"I think you're always surprised if something happens, maybe you're not shocked anymore (by transfers)," Bennett said.
"You always try to communicate with your guys, encourage them, work with them. There's also the fact that sometimes guys that are going to stay are going to stay and they're going to battle through stuff. Guys that are going to go are probably going to go regardless of what you do."
In addition to keeping opponents off the scoreboard, U.Va. leads the conference in field-goal percentage defense (34.1). It's also second in 3-point field-goal percentage defense (27.8), third in rebounding margin (plus 3.3 per game) and — despite Evans' absence — third in assist-to-turnover margin (1.3 assists for every turnover). U.Va. has held half of its opponents thus far to 45 points or fewer.
Bennett has credited much of his team's fast defensive start to the play of Atkins and Mitchell, who provide athleticism and mobility in the post on the defensive end. Atkins leads the team and is fourth in the ACC in blocks with 18, while Mitchell is tied for second on the team with 10 steals.
"I think it catches us at a good time," said Atkins of the long break for finals. "It gives us a chance to get some rest, and it's long overdue. We've had so many close games that I feel like we need this. Once we have this break, we'll come back more energized and more focused."


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Friday, January 28, 2011
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Optics alignment and calibration system
A multi-use assay system accurately docks a removable test strip supporting a reagent-analyte reaction with an optics system including an LED, photodetector, and lenses or light pipes for directing light to and from the test strip. Docking is achieved using alignment fixturing, whereby an optics block holder is relied upon to align the test strip and test pad with the various optical components. Signals from the photodetector indicative of test strip reaction progress are provided to a processor for measuring the analyte.
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This application is a continuation of application Ser. No 09/206,641, filed on Dec. 7, 1998 now U.S. Pat. No. 6,285,454.FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a method and device for the determination of an analyte in a body fluid sample and providing a means of reliably incorporating calibration information when each test is conducted.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Many qualitative and quantitative diagnostic self-tests have developed in the clinical field utilizing bodily fluids from humans or animals as a sample. Many such devices have been developed for the analysis of blood glucose in humans. However, additional analytes may be found and the concentration determined if the appropriate low cost system was available.
One common means for the determination of an analyte in a body fluid sample is through the use of reflectance measurements using a spectrophotometer and test strip or by alternatively using a biosensor system. The biosensor system has been popular in more recent times because of the ability for a biosensor to use small sample sizes 3 to 5 &mgr;ls where as traditional reflectance systems usually require substantially more sample in the range of 5 to 10 &mgr;ls. However, the biosensor systems tend to be affected by numerous interference's found in the body fluid samples whereas, the reflectance measurements tend to be less affected and therefor provide more accurate results
The need for a low cost system which permits low volume sample size utilization and accurate results is important to the diagnostic field and could make the monitoring of chronic disease applications more achievable.
The National Institute of health conducted a large scale study to evaluate the benefit of long term tight control of blood glucose monitoring. The study known as the DCCT proved that long term tight control of the blood glucose levels in patients with diabetes had a direct relationship to the health of the patient. One way for the medical profession to monitor the control of their patients is through the use of low cost, convenient monitors with memory.
Many diabetics currently use a test method described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,304,468 to Phillips et al. This system is comprised of an electronic meter and disposable dry reagent test strip. The meter reads the color change of the test strip after the blood sample has been applied and converts this to an approximate reading of the concentration of glucose in the blood sample. The test strips have some variation to them and the patient must select the appropriate calibration level prior to using the test strip to monitor their blood. In this way the meter can accommodate various strip performance issues. The system also uses a complex dual optics system to resolve the reflectance reading.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,637,403 to Garcia et al. Describes an integrated system which provides a method by which the patient lances the finger to get a sample of blood which is then used by the device to provide a reading of the blood glucose or other analyte concentration. This system uses a complex reflectance system to read the analyte level in the sample.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,279,294 to Anderson et al. describes a hand held shirt pocket device for the quantitative measurement of glucose in a blood sample. The device uses sophisticated optics and test strip system to achieve a reading.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,515,170 to Matzinger et al. Describes at the difficulties of keeping a reagent test strip aligned with an optics system.
European Patent Specification 0 351 891 B1 Hill et al. Describes an electrochemical sensor system and electrodes which are suitable for measuring the concentration of an analyte in a body fluid sample. The system requires the use of expensive electrodes and reader to determine the analyte concentration level.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,994,167 to Shults et al. describes a measuring device for determining the presence and amount of a substance in a biological fluid using electrochemical means.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,580,794 to Allen et al. describes a single use disposable-measuring device for determining the presence and amount of a substance in a biological sample using reflectance methods. The system uses optics and electronics which are mated on a single plane.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,522,255 to Neel et al. Describes a fluid dose, flow and coagulation device which uses a non-volatile electronic calibration device to check the calibration of the reagent strip.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,053,199 to Keiser et al. describes a biosensing meter with a pluggable memory key. This device uses a plugable memory key to control the operations of the meter.
The above patent disclosures are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.
Although many improvements have been made, the cost and complexity needed to read the analyte concentration of a body fluid is still significant. The need to match calibration of a meter to the strips and the system of holding a test strip in alignment with the optics has been problematic and led to numerous errors in analyte concentration readings.
Currently, existing calibration mechanisms require the loading of a calibration chip, strip or manually inputting a calibration code into the meter. These devices can be reused numerous times resulting in errors by the patient who do not change or enter the appropriate calibration data.
In addition, a system which requires a smaller body fluid sample would make it more convenient for the patient and coupled with the improved accuracy found in reflectance devices compared to electro chemical would make the monitoring simpler and more accurate.
An additional issue is the use of test strips which are out of date. Old test strips which are expired can lead to errors and inaccurate results. By providing a means to eliminate the use of expired test strips the patients will not have to monitor the expiration date of the test strips and eliminates patient errors from using old test strips.SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The invention overcomes the deficiencies found in current devices described in the prior art by providing a system which is specifically designed to focus the optical signal from the emitting source and back to the detecting device after being reflected off of a test strip which changes color based on a scalable chemical reaction. The instrument can use either focused lenses or light piping to direct the light from the emitter to the test strip reflectance surface and focus the reflected light back to the detection system. By doing this, the system permits the use of small amounts of test strip carrier to be used which reduce the amount of sample absorbed in the test strip carrier. The key to accomplishing this is to provide the means to focus the light on a small site and refocus the reflected light so that it is channeled to the appropriate detector. The means of focusing also permits the use of low cost optical components such as LED's and photodetectors formed from raw die elements and are placed by automated placement equipment with respect to predetermined targets on the printed circuit board.
The system must also be able to accurately dock the test strip with the optics system including led, detector, lenses or light pipes. To achieve this a centerline alignment, or fixturing, system which minimizes rotation of the test strip carrier is required. The need to accurately describe the test strip performance with respect to the analyte concentration also helps accuracy.
An advantageous feature of this system is the use of small sample sizes to test for analyte concentrations. This provides a convenience to the patient not found in the prior art as to the amount of sample required for these devices is in excess of 5 &mgr;ls.
Another advantage is the minimization of strip to meter calibration errors by using a read writeable calibration system which prevents reuse after the test strip supply is used up, prevents inadvertent use of test strips which are older than the expiration date of the package.
Another advantage is the alignment of the test strip with the meter testing system to provide a means of reducing the error which is need to compensate for poor strip to optics alignment.
This invention provides a multi-use digital electronic instrument that is entirely self-contained. The device consist of a low cost optics system and the optics/lightpiping to provide adequate concentration of emitted and reflected light to perform a reflectance test. The system of this invention is useful in connection with the synchronized test kit and system disclosed in application Ser. No. 08/960,866 filed Oct. 30, 1997, the optics system disclosed in application Ser. No. 08/990,084 filed Dec. 12, 1997, and/or the test system disclosed in application Ser. No. 09/104,749 filed Jun. 25, 1998. The disclosures of the above patent applications are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Many advantages of the current invention will be apparent to one skilled in the art with a reading of this specification in conjunction with the attached drawings, wherein like references numerals are applied to like elements and wherein:
FIG. 1 is an exploded view of the optics system
FIG. 2 is a schematic of the electronics system showing the calibration device and its relationship to the measurement means.
FIG. 3 is a partial section and an elevation view of the optics system.
FIG. 4 shows the strip alignment features for aligning the strip to the strip holder.
FIG. 5A is a block diagram showing the processing operation of the invention.
FIG. 5B illustrates the test strip with a test pad.DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is preferably utilized in multi-use digital electronic instruments and assay devices described in detail in the above-identified patent applications and previously incorporated by reference.
FIG. 1 is an exploded view of the optics system which comprises use of a strip 1, which has a alignment dentent 5 and pin 10, and comprises optics shield 15 with alignment dentent pin 20 and slot 25, optics lens 30 with led focusing lens 35 and reflectance focusing lens 40, optics block holder 45 which positions the optics block relatively to the optics components LED 50 and photodetector 60 which are aligned to the holes 68 and 70 in the printed circuit board 75. The photodetector 60 and LED 50 are affixed to the printed circuit board 75 by using adhesive 125. The LED 50 and photodetector 60 formed from raw die elements and are place by automated placement equipment with respect to predetermined targets on the printed circuit board hole 68.
The printed circuit board is part of a reflectometer 151 which includes a printed wiring assembly having a printed circuit board (PCB) 75, microprocessor 80 and A to D conversion circuits 85.
Test strip 1 is provided with an alignment mechanism which may have features 5 and 10 designed to mate with features 20 and 25 on optics shield 15. These are designed to issue positive alignment of the test strip to the optics. It is contemplated that other configurations meeting the intent of the invention are within the scope of this invention.
FIG. 2 is a schematic of the electronics system which is attached to the printed circuit board 75 of FIG. 1. These components include components LED 50 and photodetector 60 used to illuminate and collect the reflected light from the test strip, microprocessor 80, A to D conversion circuits 85, calibration EEPROM 90 and electrical communication traces connecting the EEPROM to the microprocessor 80, electrical communication traces connecting the microprocessor and forming a serial communication port 100.
The LED 50 and photodetector 60 are attached to the printed circuit board 75 by the use of die attach and wire bonding. The die attach machine aligns the two devices so that they are located within 0.002 inches of true positioning with respect to alignment holes 68 and 70. This accurate positioning provides the alignment necessary to permit the optics block lenses to accurately focus the light emitted from the LED to be directed and focused on the center of the test strip accurately captured in the optics block shield system.
FIG. 3 is a partial section of an elevation view of the optics system. The test strip 1 is designed to be inserted in the collated system. The meter housing 110 has pressure tongue 120 molded into it. It is designed to provide pressure to the strip 1 so that it is sufficiently locked in place and will not move during testing. The locking system shown in FIG. 1 consisting of features 5, 10, 20 and 25 are used to lock the strip 1 to the shield 15. The optics lens 30 with LED focusing lens 35 and reflectance focusing lens 40 provides the light piping system to direct the light to and from the optics components LED 50 and photodetector 60. Optics block holder 45 positions the optics block relative to the optics components LED 50 and photodetector 60 which are aligned to the holes 68 and 70 in the printed circuit board 75. The photodetector 60 and LED 50 are affixed to the printed circuit board 75 by using adhesive. The optics lens system 30 comprising lens 35 and 40 could be replaced with light piping components such as glass fiber or coated reflective hollow tube.
FIG. 4 shows the strip alignment features for aligning the strip to the strip holder. The alignment features found in the strip 1 are detent 5 and pin 10 which mate with to optics shield 15 with alignment detent pin 20 and slot 25. The optics assembly consisting of optics lens 30, optics shield 15 and optics block holder 45 is a generally planar support having at least a top face 148 and a bottom face 150. The bottom face 150 is configured to receive illumination from the LED 50, and the optics lens 30 directs the illumination to one or more test areas 190 on strip 1. The top face 148 of the optics assembly is also configured to transmit the diffusely reflected optical radiation returning from the sampling areas 190 to the detector 60.
A reference detector may also be incorporated into the invention to provide a means of monitoring the power and the LED performance. This arrangement is designed to permit the system to monitor this performance and allow for compensation as the system ages.
In another aspect of this invention, an optical arrangement in accordance with the invention is provided with a molded plastic lens system 30 to focus light to and from the sample on the test pad 12. Such an arrangement provides the capability of focusing the light to and from a small reaction area, which reduces the size of the test pad 12 and reduces the amount of sample 250 required to effect the testing procedure. Advantages thus realized include reduction in size/cost of the matrix employed and quantity of expensive reagents required. This has the additional benefit of minimizing the sample size required to run the test because the void volume of the matrix times the area dictates the volume of sample required to run the test.
The optics of the invention may include appropriate optical filtering to optimize measurement, or electronic filtering and masking techniques may be employed to improve signal-to-noise levels
In another aspect the optical configuration of this invention uses multiple LED and photodetector pairs. A first pair is used to achieve the primary analyte determination. A second pair is used to monitor test initiation and to quantify hemoglobin and hematocrit. Subsequent pairs are used to monitor native color effects of lympic and icteric samples. Additional optical pairs are used in association with added chemical components in the strip for specific determination of possible interference factors such as pH, specific gravity, etc. as well as for specific determination of additional analytes such as cholesterol, triglycerides, etc. Such analysis, using different wavelengths where desired, provides significant benefits to overcoming interfering effects from the sample and the environment. By selecting wavelength pairs which are tuned to detect components of the test, it is possible to isolate and quantify the analyte, hematocrit and red blood cell contributions in a testing event. In accordance with the invention, interference from the environment is minimized by separating its effects and monitoring each one independently using multiple optical systems. Through detection and quantification, the individual contribution to the measurement can be subtracted from the analyte measurement. With the ever decreasing cost of computing power, and a unique of constructing multiple optical systems at very low cost, the approach of the invention is readily applicable to home diagnostic use.
The test strip 1 is comprised of a test pad 12 situated in a test pad holder 13. This holder mounts to strip fluid delivery system 14 and parts 5 and 10 provides a means for accurately positioning the test pad 12 with respect to the LED 50, and the detector 60 in addition to providing a means for blocking ambient light from effecting the analysis. The test pad 12 is impregnated with the appropriate chemistry to permit a colormetric analysis of the analyte being tested and may therefore provide a stable absorbent substrate.
The test strip of this invention provides a support for the test pad. The strip positively seats on the testing instrument, assuring proper alignment through center line fixturing. It also seals the optics area from ambient light and blood contamination. Thus, it provides all of the functionality of a test strip and test strip holder of a conventional reflectance system. The test strip provides additional benefits in being removed after each test, facilitating easy access to the optics area for cleaning if required. With this combination part; the overall cost of the system is further reduced. When inserted into the detection device 151, the test strip 1 contacts complete a circuit which turns the device on. The device is turned off upon removal of the test strip. This eliminates a need for a separate on/off circuit or for patient action to turn the testing instrument on or off.
The signal producing system impregnated in the test pad matrix can be formed from different indicator systems such as 3-methyl-2-benzothiazolinone hydrazone (MBTH) and 8-anilino-1-naphthalenessulfonate(ANS), U.S. Pat. No. 5,453,360 Yu, MBTH and 3-dimethylaminobenzoic acid (DMAB), U.S. Pat. No. 5,049,487 Phillips et al., 3-methyl-2-benzothiazolinone˜hydrazone sulfonate sodium salt (MBTH-S04) and ANS, MBTH-S04 and N-(3-sulfopropyl)aniiine (HALPS), MBTH-S04 and N-Ethyl-N-(3-sulfopropyl)aniline ALPS, U.S. Pat. No. 4,396,714, Maeda et. al. and U.S. Pat. No. 5,776,719 Douglas et al. One skilled in the art can select alternate indicator systems. The oxidase enzyme system contained in the reagent pad produces hydrogen peroxide which is used to convert the indicator with the assistance of peroxidase which acts as the catalyst.
In a preferred embodiment the reagents are impregnated into a porous membrane by submerging the dry membrane into a reagent dip. Excess fluid is wiped from the membrane surface and the membrane is gently dried in an oven. At this point, subsequent dipping and drying can be conducted. A preferred embodiment for a two dip process is:
MBTH-S04 & ALPS FormulationMBTH-S04 & ALPS Formulation A Dip Final Concentrations 0.1 M stock In Citrate Buffer, pH 7 A Dip EDTA 0.08% mannitol 0.19% Gantrez-595 0.53% Kiucel 99-EF 20 uM Crotein-SPA 7.45% enzyme reagents Glucose Oxidase 0.92% Peroxidase 0.54% B Dip In 70% Ethanol MBTH-504 0.66% ALPS 2.00% SOS 0.20%
The assembly of a system kit comprised of a testing instrument and a specific number of synchronized test strips for the testing of a specific analyte can provide a simple, cost effective test method and procedure.
FIG. 5A is a block diagram showing the processing operation of the invention. Testing instrument 151 comprises a microprocessor 80 which controls the operation of the testing instrument 151. The testing instrument 151 is activated by a switching mechanism which may comprise a mechanical ON button 155 and contacts 160-165 which close an appropriate circuit when the button 155 is depressed. Closing of this circuit triggers operation of the device by notifying the microprocessor 80 that a measurement reading of a positioned test strip 1 is to be performed. The test strip may be one of a number of test strips in the set, and a counter keeps track of these. Alternatively, the circuit may be closed via a fluid connection using the test sample, with the contacts 170 and 175 operating as probes provided for making contact with the test pad 12 of the test strip 1 illustrated in FIG. 5B to thereby activate the testing instrument 151 upon detection of the sample on the appropriately positioned test strip 1.
Following activation, measurement of the reaction of the sample with the reagent on the test strip 1 is effected using the detector 60. The microprocessor 80 derives an electrical signal from the electro-optical devices the LED 50, and the detector 60, and processes it to generate a detection signal indicative of analyte concentration in the tested sample. An ASIC 185 (application-specific integrated circuit) and a memory, such as RAM (random access memory) 195 or a ROM (read only memory) may be used in conjunction with the microprocessor 80, while the results of the measurement may then be displayed using LCD display 200. The results may alternatively be stored in RAM 195 for subsequent viewing or processing. The subsequent processing may be performed using the measuring instrument 151 itself, or using other devices to which the, measurement results can be downloaded. One possibility in accordance with the invention is a modem link with a remote processing unit, using, e.g., telephone lines. The information may also be downloaded for storage at an internet location or electronic bulletin board for subsequent retrieval and processing or review by medical professionals. See application Ser. No. 09/190,301 filed Nov. 13, 1998, incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
One feature in accordance with the invention is the use of a calibration chip 90 as shown in FIG. 2. The calibration chip is detachably connectable to the testing instrument 151 for electronic communication with the microprocessor 80. It may be any form of volatile or non-volatile memory including single use microprocessors, EPROMs or EEPROMs 90. Calibration chip 90 contains calibration information which is uniquely specific to the reagent provided with a particular set of test strips 1 distributed with the calibration chip. In this way, lot differences in the reagent can be compensated for using the required information and sophistication, while at the same time obviating the need for the user to enter or contribute to this information. This minimizes error and greatly facilitates use and accuracy of the testing instrument of the invention.
The color formed after applying the bodily fluid to the reagent test pad is proportional to the amount of analyte in the applied sample 250. The testing instrument 151, via sensor 60, ASIC 185 and microprocessor 80, measures the change in reflectance due to the development of the specific color generated by the reagent on the test strip 1. This is either used as the input to a function which relates reflectance to analyte level or to a table which correlates reflectance value to analyte level. The function or the table must be stored within the system for it to produce and display, on display 200, a reading of the analyte level in the sample 250. While most meters in use today employ functions to convert reflectance readings to analyte concentration, this approach requires that the function be stable and well understood. The use of a look up table permits the storage of specific values for reflectance and their corresponding analyte levels. The testing instrument uses this table and interpolates between the table values to give relatively accurate readings. This is achievable in a system such as that described by this invention as the table can quickly be generated for each reagent lot produced.
In the preferred embodiment, calibration is based on the response produced by a specific lot of test strips. In this manner, there is no need to presort and test the LED 50, signficancly reducing the cost of the sensor 60. The LED 50 and photodetector 60 formed from raw die elements and are place by automated placement equipment with respect to predetermined targets on the printed circuit board. In addition, this calibration step during manufacture allows the device to compensate for a wide area of variables normally found in reflectance systems. The specific calibration data for the test strips 1 shipped with the testing instrument can be stored in the unit's read only memory (not shown). Alternatively, a master strip can be provided for setting the calibration information for that lot of strips and the master strip can be distributed therewith. A counter may be provided to limit the testing instrument 151 to performing only a specific number of tests which correlates to the quantity of test strips 1 shipped with the device. Other limitations can be built-in, such as expiration date information pertaining to the specific lot of test strips 1, with this information being contained in the measuring intrument's ROM or in the calibration chip 90 or in the master strip.
A more traditional approach to calibration may alternatively be taken. A calibration algorithm, with several settings if necessary, could be programmed into the system if the testing instrument has a longer projected life and is to be used with multiple sets of test strips.
If a microprocessor is used for the calibration chip, the chip may be provided with its own power source for memory information retention. Similarly, when a microprocessor or EEPROM or other memory device is used, the calibration chip 90 may have its data overwritten or an indicator bit thereof be written by the microprocessor 80 following its use to prevent reuse. The calibration information stored in the calibration chip 90 is thus downloaded to the microprocessor 80, and the calibration chip is disabled, preventing re use thereof. The calibration information contains the permitted number of test strip analyses to be performed, the number corresponding to the number of test strips provided with the kit. The calibration chip itself can then be disposed of.
Alternatively, a counter (not shown) may be provided in the calibration chip, the counter being decremented each time the chip is read. In this manner, only a limited number of readings, corresponding to the number of test strips 1 provided with the calibration chip 90, can be performed. It is also contemplated that calibration information provides and expiration date preventing use of the calibration chip and/or associated strips thereafter, or a duration can be measured after which use of the chip and/or associated strips is precluded. The duration can be commenced from time of opening a package in which the kit is provided, or from any other similar time, such as the time of first use of the calibration chip 90. The ordinarily skilled artisan will find numerous variations can be effected without departure from the spirit and scope of this invention.
The patient uses the system by removing the testing instrument from the packaging and placing it on a firm surface. The next step is to remove a test strip and insert it in the testing instrument. Inserting the test strip activates the unit, eliminating the need for a power on/off button or switch. The patient then uses either a sampler from the kit or one procured separately to draw a sample of capillary blood. The sample is applied to the test strip, initiating a timing sequence, and the testing instrument displays the results after an appropriate time. Alternatively, the patient may first apply the blood sample to the test strip, then insert the strip into the testing instrument to activate the test cycle and read out of test results.
The subject invention provides improvements over existing technology in use today in several ways. The preferred embodiment of the invention eliminates the need for a patient to purchase a costly system to conduct routine testing of body fluids. It also eliminates the existing dependence on the customer to maintain the testing instrument and monitor or compensate for reagent lot differences. The invention provides this easy to use format for analytes such as glucose by incorporating advanced lens based optics and low cost modem electronics. The use of lens based optics permits the system to focus on small reaction area which reduces the size of the test pad. The resulting small test pad reduces the cost of the matrix employed and the quantity of expensive reagents needed to conduct an accurate assay using an oxidase and peroxidase chemistry. With a smaller test pad, a smaller sample volume is adequate. The system conserves the energy used and minimizes the amount of light required by the system to determine the color change. The optics modules are calibrated during the manufacture of the testing instrument.
An important feature in accordance with the invention is the manufacture and calibration of the testing instrument 151 for use with a specific quantity of test strips 1 which have been matched at the factory. This limits the need for calibration codes, and minimizes the maintenance required by the patient in the form of cleaning, battery replacement and calibration code changes. It also improves the system's ability to provide long term accurate results because a testing instrument is synchronized with only certain test strips. Once they have been used, a complete new kit is acquired with a testing instrument calibrated specifically for those test strips. This eliminates much of the compromise in system performance found in current products which have to work with strips made over a wide range of production conditions and input states.
The above are exemplary modes of carrying out the invention and are not intended to be limiting. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that modifications thereto can be made without departure from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth by the following claims.
1. A multi-use assay system for use with a removable test strip having a test pad, the multi-use assay system comprising:
- an electronics printed circuit board having an alignment fixturing;
- an optics system for alignment with the removable test strip, the optics system comprising a lens, an emitter and a detector, wherein the emitter and detector are mounted in the electronics printed circuit board relative to the alignment fixturing;
- a housing for containing the optics system and holding the removable test strip in position relative to the optics system;
- an optics block holder mounted in the electronics printed circuit board in alignment with the alignment fixturing, the optics block holder aligning the test strip to the test pad and positioning the optics system to focus light from the light emitter and to the detector; and
- a processor in communication with the light detector, the processor controlling the assay system such that a predetermined number of test strips are assayed based on signals from the light detector, wherein the predetermined number corresponds to the number of test strips of a set of one or more test strips.
2. The system of claim 1, further comprising a removable calibration chip, the predetermined number being provided by the removable calibration chip.
3. The system of claim 1; wherein the predetermined number is at least two.
4. The system of claim 2, wherein the predetermined number is at least two.
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Type: Grant
Filed: Apr 10, 2001
Date of Patent: Jun 15, 2004
Patent Publication Number: 20020067484
Assignee: Amira Medical (Scotts Valley, CA)
Inventors: Joel S. Douglas (Los Altos Hills, CA), Jeffrey N. Roe (San Ramon, CA), John H. Priest (Everett, WA), John M. Gleisner (Lynnwood, WA), Charles C. Raney (Scotts Valley, CA), David A. Hasker (San Jose, CA), Ryszard Radwanski (Morgan Hill, CA), John Ramirez (Sunnyvale, CA)
Primary Examiner: Zandra V. Smith
Attorney, Agent or Law Firm: Woodard Emhardt Moriarty McNett & Henry LLP
Application Number: 09/828,874
International Classification: G01N/110;


text:
By Michael V. Copeland
After taking one of the first Internet companies — EarthWeb — public in 1998, Nova Spivack joined some friends at a weedy airstrip deep inside the new Russia for a trip into Earth's stratosphere.
Having space travel on your resume is de rigueur for Internet entrepreneurs these days, but this was 1999, and not even the Russian pilots were sure how the flight would turn out. As Spivack was being strapped into a MiG-25 and prepped for his trip at Mach 3, about 20 miles straight up, he looked around for an ejection button or lever in case things went south.
There wasn't one. "'Don't worry about eet,' the pilot told me," says Spivack, mustering his best Russian accent. "At the speed you will be going, even if you could eject, first your body would explode into vapor, then the vapor would freeze into ice crystals, and then the crystals would burn up on reentry."
With that, they taxied down the runway for a quick ride to the edge of space.
Spivack returned in one piece ready to launch more startups, but the image of his body exploded into ice crystals and skittering into the stratosphere never left him. And in fact, it's not a bad metaphor — in reverse — for what his newest venture is trying to do.
If you think of the World Wide Web as a cloud of largely undifferentiated information, the mission of the company he's about to unveil, Radar Networks, is to take that cloud and impose order on it. Not just any order, but a very special kind known to experts by one of the hottest buzzwords in computer science today: the semantic Web.
For all the wonders that today's Web can deliver to your fingertips — the Norwegian word for ice cream, a seat on the next flight to Paris, the best price for a Clash CD — it has a fundamental flaw.
It's basically a compendium of billions of text documents designed to be read by humans. You can search it for keywords, but the results aren't much use until you sort through them to find the page that has the info you want.
To take the Web to the next level — to move from Web 2.0 to Web 3.0 — the information in those documents will have to be turned into data that a machine can read and evaluate on its own. Only then will computers be able to take over tasks we now do by hand: find the nearest restaurant, book the best flight, buy the cheapest CD.
Think of it as the difference between two dimensions and three dimensions. "People will see the Web start to become smarter," Spivack says. "Eventually it will have some reasoning capabilities built into it."
We'll get to how that happens in a bit. For Spivack, however, the semantic Web begins now with the data engine and user applications he and his team are prepping for launch — and ends somewhere in the future with artificially intelligent software agents handling all the online drudgery of your business and professional life.
Radar Networks isn't the only company exploring the potential of the semantic Web. It's a disruptive technology with the power to unseat today's Internet titans — especially search engine giants like Google and Yahoo — and it's being vigorously pursued by startups like Garlik, Metaweb Technologies, Powerset, and ZoomInfo, as well as big corporations like Citigroup, Eli Lilly, Kodak, Oracle, and Google and Yahoo themselves.
One estimate pegs the market for products and services stemming from semantic Web technologies at $50 billion by 2010, up from about $7 billion today.
But for all the entrepreneurs ready to spin gold out of the semantic Web, there are as many skeptics convinced that it's a pipe dream — a fancy name for a problem that will never be fully solved. Spivack, with the confidence of a man who has been to space without a safety net, is determined to prove them wrong.
Radar Networks is housed in a renovated warehouse not far from the ballpark where the San Francisco Giants play. Inside, massive redwood timbers span the high ceilings alongside thick clusters of data cable. A Nintendo Wii and a shiny new De'Longhi espresso machine are the only outward signs of anything being done here but mind-bending work.
There are 20 people at the company now, but there's space for 50, and with just a bit less than $10 million in venture funding, Spivack and his senior executives are busy hiring.
The background of the Radar team includes deep expertise in statistics, bioinformatics, and artificial intelligence. Radar's chief architect, Jim Wissner, is a Java ace. Chris Jones, director of products and operations, is a design and user interface whiz. CTO Lew Tucker got his start by mapping neural transmitters in the brain. Tucker and Spivack go back to the late '80s, when they both worked for Danny Hillis at Thinking Machines.
Given all the firepower assembled at Radar Networks, you get the sense that this is not your typical Web startup. And it's not. The task the company has set for itself — bringing the power of the semantic Web to the Internet — is not easy to describe. Even the man who invented the Web, Tim Berners-Lee, needs a little room to explain why it's important.
The term "semantic Web" first gained prominence in a 2001 article by Berners-Lee and two coauthors, James Hendler and Ora Lassila, in Scientific American. In it they described software agents roaming across the Web, making travel arrangements and doctor's appointments and muting the stereo when the telephone rings.
It was a great vision, but it couldn't be achieved with today's Internet.
For the semantic Web to work, online information needs to be made readable by machines. Services like Google do a great job of sifting through all those webpages, but it's up to people to recognize the things they want when they see them in the results. It's also up to people to combine information to, say, plan a long-overdue ski trip.
The Web just isn't very smart yet; one webpage is the same as any other. It might have a higher Google ranking, but there's no distinction based on meaning.
The semantic Web in the Berners-Lee vision acts more like a series of connected databases, where all information resides in a structured form. Within that structure is a layer of description that adds meaning that the computer can understand. ("Semantics" is the branch of linguistics concerned with meaning.)
On the semantic Web, a person — Nova Spivack, for example — isn't just a name that comes up on webpages when you google him. He's a fully described object endowed with certain well-defined properties: a date of birth, a job title, a home address, specific hobbies, the fact that he is the grandson of legendary management thinker Peter Drucker.
People on the semantic Web have unambiguous connections to the places they work, the people they're related to, their friends, their calendars, and the things they're interested in. Being able to connect those properties in seen and unseen ways is what gives the semantic Web its power.
Consider this scenario: Say you want to arrange a dinner at an upcoming conference. Today you might go through your address book and ping folks by e-mail to see who's attending. Then you probably send out e-mail invitations to dinner. You go back and forth with the group on the place and time, somehow you all agree, and then somebody makes a reservation. Files fly back and forth, with humans at the center.
In the semantic Web, your software agent will "know" in advance what's involved in arranging a dinner. Instead of you sending out a flurry of e-mails, the agent could cull the conference attendees and make a list of potential invitees.
It might also look through your address book to see which of your friends live in the city where the conference is being held. Once a list of potential dinner guests has been approved by you, the agent would negotiate the date and time with everyone else's agents via a calendar database, pick a restaurant from another database based on availability and your personal preferences, make the reservation, and send out directions. In a GPS-enabled world, it could even let you know how far a guest who is running late has to go.
Of course, it's been six years since Berners-Lee put his vision out there, and you still can't get that sort of service. Tagging is a start, and services like Flickr offer a sort of crude Web 2.0 version of the semantic Web. Google Base is another stab at bringing semantic technologies to the wider Web, serving as a place where anyone can enter data and have it searched, but it doesn't use the semantic approach from start to finish.
Bringing a true semantic Web to the world is a chicken-and-egg problem. Until there's enough data rendered in computer-readable form (resource description framework, or RDF, is the leading standard) with enough metadata attached to it to make it meaningful, nobody is going to be able to create any interesting services.
The agents of the semantic Web need the raw ingredients before they can make their souffl�s.
But you can do some interesting things within subsets of the Web. Large pharmaceutical companies like Eli Lilly have been experimenting with adding a semantic layer on top of their drug discovery databases to help scientists see connections between drug molecules and diseases.
Amazon.com is keen on using semantic technologies to help customers search its databases. Kodak wants semantic tagging to help photographers organize their snapshots online. The CIA has been loading its databases of overseas phone taps into semantic "mills" to make it easier to sift for connections between people, places, and incidents — hoping to spot terror threats before it's too late.
"But how do you make this thing really useful for ordinary people?" asks Radar CTO Tucker. "Not everyone is a CIA analyst."
Spivack's answer grew out of conversations he had with Drucker in the summer of 2001, about four years before the professor's passing. "We would meet for two hours a day and talk about organizations vs. organisms," Spivack says. Drucker was particularly interested in what he called the intelligence of organizations. "My grandfather helped me think about group minds," Spivack says. "How groups get more intelligent, and how connections play into that."
Since bringing the semantic Web into the world is a chicken-and-egg proposition, Radar Networks has built both the chicken and the egg. The chicken is the underlying engine the team has created that not only turns data into simple but meaningful digital objects via RDF but also scales up to hold hundreds of millions of objects that can be searched, swapped, and connected to one another. The egg is the user application that rides on top of it all.
The first consumer app Radar plans to launch is a sort of personal data organizer. It will allow you to bring in e-mail, contacts, photos, video, music –anything digital, really — from anywhere on the Web, turn it into RDF, and access it in one place.
Semantic tags are added manually, or automatically if the item is a photo from Flickr or a video from YouTube. "We add a new level of order to connect and interact with these things at a higher level than is possible today," Spivack says. "We are letting you build a little semantic Web for your project, your group, or your interest."
When it's done, it should be like the best wiki you've ever used. To illustrate, Spivack flips open his computer and pulls up his own Radar-enabled page. On it are groups of people he knows and interests he's pursuing, including the space industry, alternative energy, physics, Internet-related technology, and skiing. In each of these categories are objects that Spivack has collected and tagged or, if it is a topic that has multiple people included, that they have collected and tagged.
In the skiing topic, for example, Spivack has posed a question: Where should we go skiing? One of the responses is Alta, Utah. When Spivack clicks on that item, the Radar engine goes out and finds all the things in the Radar Networks database related to Alta. It "knows" that Alta, in this case, refers to a place (as opposed to the Spanish word for "high"), so there are hotel suggestions. There are also photos, videos, trail maps, and comments from people in his group who have skied there before.
In a sense, what Radar allows Spivack to do is build a database around any question, project, or interest he may have and then start looking at it from different perspectives: cost, distance from San Francisco, snow conditions in March, nearby restaurants, what his friends liked about a particular resort.
And if they liked Alta, what other places did they like? "You start to see new ways to look at the information," Spivack says. "What gets me excited is what we can do when we have billions of objects and 10 million people using them."
For that to happen, of course, people need to start adding their own digital stuff to the mix. The digital life organizer is the bait Spivack and his team are using to try to draw them in. The team will also open Radar Networks to outside developers to write their own applications. Those might involve travel, food, or a better way to manage large projects.
Radar hopes to be the engine powering all that, providing a massive, meaning-filled Web of data that can be infinitely poked and prodded and leveraged. The company will make its money from advertising and premium subscriptions; the basic service will be free.
But don't expect a sci-fi software agent that takes care of your every whim — Spivack is quick to say that's not what Radar is launching. "Those people who think we will be offering Hal 9000 when this goes public in October will be disappointed," he says. "We've had the problem of overpromising in this industry; a lot of us who were working on semantic Web technologies early on saw the potential and got a little excited. It has taken much longer to realize than we thought. One thing Web 2.0 has taught everybody is that simpler is better. Find something useful and iterate on that."
Tom Coates, whose day job at Yahoo involves working on just these issues, thinks the Web 2.0 crowd is already taking care of the problem. He points to tagging and microformats that add some of the same metadata to webpages that semantic technologies offer.
"I call it the dirty semantic Web," Coates says from his London office. "It may not be the pristine Berners-Lee view of the world, but it is headed in the right direction."
On a lark, Coates and a colleague created a site called Astronewsology that demonstrates the power of a semantic approach by combining news reports and horoscopes. Using it, you can search the news by the sign Capricorn and see whether that day's horoscope had any bearing on what happened to people born between Dec. 22 and Jan. 20. Coates's point is that you can extract meaning from the data without adopting the exacting standards proposed by Berners-Lee.
Things get even more interesting when the data starts to become interconnected.
"It's in the combination that the real power of this comes out," Coates says. "The mashup is an early example of the Web that is to come. Semantic technologies have not taken off as much as we'd hoped because people are finding more utility in other Web 2.0 technologies at the moment. The goal is the most important thing: reusable, repurposable, and reconnectable data. How we get there is not as important."
The shift to a semantic Web is still in its very early days. Spivack envisions a time line of five to seven years. But the shift is clearly under way. James Hendler, one of the coauthors of that seminal Scientific American article, sees the same dynamics he did when the Web was first forming.
"Those of us who were involved saw little islands of the Web being created," he says. "To most people, the Web seemed to happen overnight, because they hadn't seen the first six to eight years of effort. We're in that early phase of the semantic Web."
Radar Networks, Google Base, and even Flickr are the first islands to pop into public view. Larger islands are being formed by corporations and government agencies. Many more will rise.
Spivack is counting on those islands to eventually coalesce. That's when the potential becomes reality. That's when we can all kick back and let our software agents go out and bring some order to the chaos of our digital lives.


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The Best Movies to Watch on Yearly Holidays
Took a short leave of absence from the prescription pad, but I'm back and better than ever! With Halloween last week and today being the 5th of November, I was recently reminded of my tradition of watching certain movies on … Continue reading
Posted in Lists Guides and Rules Tagged 5 of november, aliens, ash williams, bear jew, bill murray, bruce campbell, casablanca, christmas, dawn of the dead, december 25, december 31st, die hard, easter, evil dead, evil dead 2, february 14, february 2, ghostbusters, ghostbusters 2, groundhogs day, guy fawkes, hallowenn, hangover, holiday, holiday movies, humphrey bogart, independence day, inglorious basterds, july 4, may the 4, may the fourth, may the fourth be with you, meg ryan, movies, new years eve, nightmare before christmas, nora ephron, october 31, planes trains and automobiles, remember remember, rememeber rememeber the 5th of november, saint patricks day, sam rami, sigourney weaver, sleepless in seattle, star wars, thanksgiving, the hangover, tim burton, tom hanks, v, v for vendetta, valentines day, when harry met sally, yom kippur, you've got mail, zombie jesus Leave a comment


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[UPDATE] Ecomasculinities (deadline extended)
Call for papers
Editors: Michael G. Cornelius, Ph.D.
John Elia, Ph.D.
Larry T. Shillock, Ph.D.
A scholarly treatment of the issue of Ecomasculinities is currently being compiled.
For more than a century, feminist critical practices have produced important insights into gender, ethnicity, class, social policy, and culture. Since 1974, when Françoise d'Euabonne coined the term ecofeminism, ecofeminist and ecological feminists have linked the patriarchal subjugation of women to ecological degradation. Their enduring work has subverted essentialisms and pointed to alternative constructions of gender and the environment. By contrast, little work has been done in examining the positive relationships that have obtained between environmentalism and masculinity. With the advent of green-based men's coalitions and pop cultural movements focusing on craft and craftsmanship, the time has come for proponents of ecological studies to explore how masculinity may contribute to today's environmental awareness.
To that end, the editors seek essays that consider how men have approached nature historically, construct nature or the environment today, and imagine how new ecomasculinities may contribute to ecoawareness. To encourage an array of work from academic, first-person, and movement perspectives, the editors wish to leave the definition of the project open. Essay subjects include, but are not limited to,
• Theoretical dialectics / exegeses between versions of ecofeminism and ecomasculinity
• Historical accounts focused on how masculinity in general and men in particular have contributed to ecological progress
• Past masculine practices that are being repurposed in sustainable ways today
• Emerging forms of masculinity with special promise for generating future ecological change
• Popular culture interpretations and evocations of ecomasculinities
• Ecomasculine interpretations or reinterpretations of men's movements, associations, or fields of study and influence
• Analyses of men's guilds, craft practices, and social activities
• Explorations of traditional and/or emerging ethical theories or theorists in relationship to masculinity and the environment
• Discussions of ecomasculinity in action, including areas such as activism, law, or social policy
• Critical engagements with ecomasculinity in religious or literary texts, whether by authors, characters, dystopian/utopian philosophies, or practices
All essays should be between 4000-7000 words. Deadline for essays is 1 December 2012. Contributors may send abstracts of up to 500 words to Michael at the contact information below for feedback, but only full papers can be evaluated for acceptance into the collection. Please contact Michael in regards to the style sheet for this project prior to submitting your essay. Use this same address for any questions you may have concerning the project as well.
The editors: Michael G. Cornelius is the author/editor of fourteen books, including four previous collections for McFarland Press, three works for Chelsea House, and several works of fiction. He is chair of the Department of English and Mass Communications at Wilson College.
John Elia is chair of the Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies at Wilson College. He teaches courses in environmental ethics, food ethics, and bioethics. His previous work in ethics and applied ethics has appeared in both journals and book collections, including recent work in the genre of pop culture and philosophy.
Larry T. Shillock is a long-time contractor and solar energy proponent. An assistant academic dean at Wilson College, he was recently promoted to Professor of English. He divides his time between Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, where he works, and a home outside of Yellowstone Park, where he lives. His research interests include critical theory, the history of affect, the modern novel, and classical Hollywood cinema.
Michael G. Cornelius, Ph.D.
Department of English and Mass Communications
Wilson College
1015 Philadelphia Ave
Chambersburg, PA 17201 USA


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A spot welder can be used to permanently attach small pieces of (mostly ferrous) metal without the need for screws, rivets or adhesives. The actual science of optimizing a spot welder is pretty deep, but at the end of the day all you're doing is heating up metal until it flows, so as long as the tool does that you can get some home shop use out of it…particularly if it's made out of like $10 worth of materials and runs on household current. BTW, don't mess around with high current devices unless you know what you're doing and take all the appropriate safety precautions (like not standing in a puddle).
Here Grant Thompson of TheKingOfRandom.com explains how to make your own.
More after the jump Continue reading


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Bronx Eats: Spinach, Feta, and Mint Burek at Dimo Pizzeria, Kingsbridge Heights
For a burekaphile like myself, the appearance of a new burek is an event that demands attention. So when reader Rob Starobin chimed in with news of a new burek in the far western reaches of Kingsbridge Heights, I knew I needed to check it out.
Like many burektorja in the Bronx, from Belmont to Van Nest, Dimo is built on the pre-existing business of a pizzeria. The phenomenon works on two obvious levels. Pizzerias already have ovens good for burek, and most of the burek in the borough are sold by Albanians, who feel a cultural affinity with Italy,* and some of whom fled to the country as refugees in the '90's.
*The same reason why the manager of an Arthur Avenue Italian restaurant like 089 is Albanian.
The burek ($3) is baked in large sheets and cut into squares, and it has fewer layers than what you'll find at Dukagjini. But you'll find a filling here that's much more unique.
When I arrived, Dimo had run out of meat burek. I settled for a slice of spinach and feta, which I almost always prefer over the beef. "A lot of people up here make it with spinach or cheese. I make it with both, together, because I think that's the best. Some people don't use cheese, others use cream cheese," the owner told me, "That's cutting corners."
What's New On Serious Eats
The use of cream cheese at other Bronx burektorjas can give you the spinach filling a cream of spinach flavor profile; here it's more robust, with a slight creaminess and faint tanginess imbued by the cheese. The spinach is soft and well-seasoned but not overly doctored.
However, what marks this spinach and feta burek as unique in the borough (to my knowledge) is the use of "nenexhik," or mint, in the seasoning. As to whether or not this is a common seasoning in Albania, we can't say. But it certainly changes the dynamic of your everyday spinach and feta burek. Its cool, menthol flavor defines the filling. The lingering taste is so strong you might think the spinach were sautéed in sarsaparilla.
As for the phyllo? It lacked crispness. A flurry of shattered phyllo is a common consequence of biting into a good burek, but there was none of that here. While the spinach burek got increasingly soft as you dug in, there's no real buttery richness. Rob reports that it doesn't stand up well to delivery.
Still, while I wouldn't go out of my way for this burek, it's a nice addition to a neighborhood without much destination food around. Just don't fall for the pizza, which looks as limp as can be.
Dimo Pizzeria
318 West 231st Street, The Bronx, NY 10463 (map) 347-843-0550
All products linked here have been independently selected by our editors. We may earn a commission on purchases, as described in our affiliate policy.


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Parkinson's patients shed light on role of reward bias in compulsive behaviors
New research unravels the brain mechanisms that underlie the ability of a standard drug treatment for Parkinson's to elicit compulsive behaviors in some patients with the disease. The study, published by Cell Press in the January 14th issue of the journal Neuron, provides fascinating new insight into the brain mechanisms that underlie a predisposition to behavioral addictions, such as pathological gambling and shopping.
The tendency to make a compulsive choice, even when faced with substantial negative outcomes and alternative choices, is characteristic of aberrant gambling or shopping behaviors. Therefore, it is likely that the decision-making process is disrupted in individuals who demonstrate these compulsive behaviors.
Abnormalities in "prediction error," which serves as a kind of teaching signal to update our future predictions and influence future choices, have been hypothesized to play a role in substance abuse disorders. However, prediction error has not yet been linked to such human behavioral pathologies.
Dr. Valerie Voon, from the National Institutes of Health, led a study of compulsive behaviors triggered in Parkinson's disease patients treated with drugs that stimulate the brain's dopamine system. "A constellation of pathological behaviors, including gambling, shopping, binge eating, and hypersexuality, is seen in13% of patients taking dopamine agonists," explains Dr. Voon. "These behaviors are associated with factors predisposing to general substance abuse disorders, thus emphasizing a common underlying susceptibility."
In order to gain unique insight into the core biology of behavioral addiction in susceptible individuals, Dr. Voon and colleagues used brain imaging techniques to examine dopamine agonist-induced compulsive behaviors in Parkinson's patients and normal controls. The researchers observed that dopamine agonists elicited an increase in the rate of learning from beneficial outcomes and a greater prediction error, signifying a better than expected outcome, in susceptible individuals with Parkinson's disease.
"Taken together, our findings are consistent with a model whereby a distorted estimation of the gain underpins a choice bias towards gains," concludes Dr. Voon. "The results highlight a key decision-making process dysregulated by dopamine agonists in a population susceptible to compulsive behaviors and provide clues to mechanisms that underlie behavioral escalation in a disorder of behavioral addiction. The mechanism may also explain why anecdotally some patients describe the onset of their gambling symptoms after experiencing a 'win'."
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Nashville, TN -- Preparing for her upcoming August 27th release New Frontier, multi-award-winning bassist Missy Raines has just announced a string of fall tour dates in support of the new album, including a CD release show at Nashville's Station Inn. Raines, one of bluegrass music's most beloved musicians, explores the next step in her musical vision on the new album, redefining herself as a charismatic lead vocalist.
"It was really about boiling it down to what was most important to me in the world, and then finding the courage to go after it. For me, that journey was not just like 'finding myself' because everyone is always trying to do that, but it was really more about uncovering the important things, and then staying with it, and feeling the courage to do something like this," says Missy Raines of New Frontier (August 27), an album that boldly treads into the worlds of folk and Americana. "Even though it was going to be something very different than folks were expecting to hear, I had to say 'This is what I want to do, and I have to do it.'"
At first listen to New Frontier, you'd sooner peg Missy Raines as an Americana bandleader, rather than one of the most highly decorated bass players in bluegrass music. For the first time, Raines explores her dusky, emotive alto on each track, layered among the cool grooves and expansive soundscapes provided by her band, The New Hip: guitarist/co-producer Ethan Ballinger, mandolinist/acoustic guitarist Jarrod Walker and drummer/percussionist Josh Fox. These 10 tracks draw from songs written by Pierce Pettis, Sarah Siskind, Ed Snodderly and even Raines herself, and are driven home with the help of several genre-bending friends, including Sam Bush, Zach Bevill of the Farewell Drifters, and former New Hip drummer Robert Crawford.
For Raines, the album was a journey to find her voice, figuratively as well as literally. It cuts to the quick, opening with the subtle rock and sweeping reverb of Ballinger's guitar on "I Learn," while Raines' lyrics resound the album's empowering message: Follow your heart. It will not be easy and it will not be painless, but if you do it, it is absolutely worth it. "A lot of these songs share a common theme about renewal, pushing yourself out there, taking the past and letting it be the support underneath you, but continuing to go forward. Some days it's painful, sometimes growth hurts a lot," says Raines.
Raines' journey and consequential growing pains permeate the album. "Where You Found Me," plays like a diary entry to the singer's former self, the folky Pierce Pettis-penned "Long Way Back Home" searches for perspective, and the title track teeters on the verge of epiphany and self-discovery: "I'm scared of going/but I know I can't stay here/I see the light of the morning/the first day of a New Frontier." Sam Bush lends his mighty mandolin and vocals to the rockin' "What's the Callin' For" and the sparse mandolin on "American Crow" features Raines, Ballinger, and Walker's sweet harmonies that close the album in a reverential moment of reflection.
Though why the change for the bluegrass bass virtuoso who now so comfortably transposes to the Folk-Americana genre? "I don't see it as a change as much as I see it as natural evolution...my bluegrass roots are strong and deep but I've tried to expand my horizons and see what else I can do. Exploration is a great way to put it – Inside Out was that for sure, but this is way more focused. I am very open about everything, all the possibilities, and it is a great new place to be."
The sonic landscape is impressive and polished as well – Raines and co-producer Ethan Ballinger wanted to fully utilize their bluegrass instrumentation in a way that resonated with the album's somewhat heavier subject matter: "Obviously this was going to be about songs and not about hot picking. At the same time the instrumentation was like, 'how do we make this not sound like some kind of novelty.' This is the sound we've been arriving at over the last few years, it's the sound of the band," says Ballinger.
New Frontier's inspiring message of exploration and growth resonates with the listener, imploring them to listen again and take the message to heart. Raines shares that, "at many levels, you keep doing what you need to do because you have to. Because there's just no other option. The good news is that if you keep doing it, you will prevail."
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