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Sorbet Elegance Petal Embroidered Briefs (2 Pack)
- Low stock, selling fast
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Sorbet Elegance Embroidered Briefs (2 Pack)
Add a little extra glamour to your lingerie wardrobe with these embroidered briefs by Sorbet Elegance.
These briefs feature a floral embroidered design to the front and are the perfect pair of shorts for elegant everyday wear. The plain mesh back creates a sultry contrast with the detailed front for an ultra feminine appeal. With a slight stretch their flattering shape is perfect for showing off your gorgeous figure. Available in a range of colours from black and white to blue and pink you'll be spoilt for choice this season!
Pair these petal embroidered briefs with a matching bra for a chic and coordinated look.
Please hand wash only.
Useful info:
- Briefs by Sorbet Elegance
- Petal embroidery to the front
- Plain mesh detail to the back


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Culture Blog!
The skew on arts and culture from Inside 5th & Mission
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Sushi-Making Class At The Ferry Building
Just when you think the San Francisco Ferry Building can't get any more idyllic, you discover a sushi-making class. At least my dad did. Unless it's on a Saturday at high noon, I'm like most San Franciscans and find the Ferry Building a national treasure. So when my father, in the midst of his wonderful […] [Read More]

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Thursday, February 21, 2013 - 12:32am
Wind and dust have come to town. Strong winds in El Paso are beating up the locals, but experts say this type of weather is expected.
"This weather is not that unusual for this time of year. We are entering into the windy season, which usually begins at the end of February and lasts all the way through May," says Local 4's Chief Meteorologist, Robert Bettes.
The dust seems to have blanketed much of El Paso so we asked locals, "Is the wind bothering you?"
"Oh, I don't like it at all. I get allergies and that triggers my migraines. So, it's really a no, no for me. No winds," said Susana Galindo.
"It brings out a nice haze, it makes it really cool. My hair is short so it doesn't really bother my hair," said Billy Jimenez.
Irene Miranda said, "I don't like it. I feel like I'm in a brown cloud, breathing brown stuff."
"My allergies act up a lot, get really dry. My nose, my eyes get really dry," said Jesus Hernandez.
"My wife gets a few allergies here and there but you know, it's El Paso weather. It's part of El Paso, the desert, the dirt, and the dust," said Isaac Luna.
"I really actually don't like the wind that much, especially with all the sand," said Krystal Daniels.
So how long will this wintery weather last?
Robert Bettes tells us, "The winds will last all night long. The high wind warning for East, Central El Paso, Socorro, Fort Bliss, extended until 5 in the morning."


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NEW YORK, NY - OCTOBER 12: Actors Rooney Mara, Joaquin Phoenix, Amy Adams, Olivia Wilde, and director Spike Jonze attend the Closing Night Gala Presentation Of "Her" during the 51st New York Film Festival at Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center on October 12, 2013 in New York City. (Photo by Dave Kotinsky/Getty Images)
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text: DULUTH, MN (KDAL) - A one and a half mile stretch of the Arnold Road north of Duluth has been closed until further notice due to a culvert failure at Amity Creek. The St. Louis County Public Works Department has closed the road between County Roads 247 and 287. Detour signs have been posted to direct traffic around the closure. Crews are making temporary repairs and suspect the failure was due to a combination of beaver activity in the area and recent rains. As part of the County's 2013 road program, all culverts along Arnold Road are slated to be replaced later this summer and the road will be repaved in 2014.


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Customer Reviews
Anti-inflammatory and cooling adaptogen
5 people found the following review helpful
Posted by Reviewer3330129 on Aug 01, 2011
Purchased at iHerb
Dragon Herbs gynostemma is a great anti-aging herb that soothes inflammation. Very good for arthritis and also is energizing without being warm. Other brands did not compare to Dragon Herbs...
Top Herb
4 people found the following review helpful
Posted by debraananda on Jun 02, 2011
Purchased at iHerb
Very powerful herb, just take it slow to start with as you could suffer some stomach discomfort, but I definately notice I have more energy. I love it.
Review of Gynostemma Pentaphylum (Jiagulan)
3 people found the following review helpful
Posted by Reviewer1518139 on Dec 21, 2011
Purchased at iHerb
I have used GP for a little over 2 weeks now and I have noticed an improvement in my blood pressure readings (although it ticks up on occasion) -hopefully it wil smooth out over time. But so far I am happy with the results.
Great product!!!
2 people found the following review helpful
Posted by Reviewer1056396 on Dec 12, 2010
Purchased at iHerb
Been taking for a while now! really starting to feel the balancing effect of this product! I have been taking many of the dragon herbs and really appreciate these herbs!! Big thank you to iherb for stocking these!!!
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1 person found the following review helpful
Posted by Reviewer1702209 on Mar 05, 2012
Purchased at iHerb
I had previously used this product. It is a great product.


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Come meet Penny at the new Penny4NASA.org! #Penny4NASA #MeetPenny #NASA http://thndr.it/1icv3hp
There are no words
A Glorious Homemade Horror ShowPay attention now. You're about to see something truly unique.The other day my friend Paul Clinton turned me on to a fantastic bit of DIY wizardry, and I just have to share. Ladies and gentlemen, witness perhaps the single greatest live-action horror show ever to be built into somebody's garage: Machine.
Machine is a very ambitious steampunk-themed experience built by twins Gavin and Jason Fox. It was made to be enjoyed by their friends, however given Machine's newfound popularity on the internet, it makes sense that they plan on doing something for the general public next year.I invite you to watch the video walkthrough of this homemade masterpiece — this 18-month-in-the-making labour of love — but be sure to stick around afterward. The 'how it was done' video that I'll post at bottom is equally fascinating. And now, watch how Machine was executed with the Engineer's View. Absolutely inspiring.
A Stack of Skulls
So some of you might remember the Shrunken Head Corpsing Tutorial I did a while back. At the end of that post I mentioned that I wanted to do a full stack of them; providing that I could find a bunch of similarly sized styrofoam skulls to start from.Well, I found them! One of the local dollar stores put out some of last year's Halloween stock, and amongst it were the exact same miniature pirate skulls I had used previously. I took the 5 they had left, whipped out the Apoxie, and got sculpting.The previous tutorial covers how to make them, so I won't repeat myself here. However repetition was the word of the day, as creating facial features for 5 decayed faces took some doing. On the last two I removed and repositioned the jaws thanks to a great tip from a couple of fellow haunters. The teeth were all sculpted ahead of time using Sculpey. For now they're just stacked loosely on top of one another, but I'll have to figure out a way to attach them.(click to embiggen)
The Making of HorizonHere's a stunning, albeit extremely short bit of science fiction that will blow you socks off, especially if you have any appreciation for the process of how art gets made.'Horizon' is a gorgeous 15 second film created by Brooklyn's Mickaël Forrett, one that takes the quality of the 'personal project' and rockets it into the same stratosphere as 'Hollywood' movie. (Just not the same kind of run time)Kind of leaves you wanting more, doesn't it? There's enormous attention to detail and creativity in this little piece, and you want to learn more about the world the artist has created.Take heart. If you enjoy taking things apart and learning how they're made, Mickaël has put together another film on how it was all done. Even if you're not a fellow animator, I can't imagine it would be anything other than fascinating to you. I'll follow that up with some of his design sketches and matte paintings.Enjoy!Also seen on Vidpicks! Subscribe today!
More Halloween Progress
In my workshop of horrors, much evil is afoot. From down the stairs and around the corner, beside the creaky boiler, come the sounds of hammer strikes and children's wails. The shipments of blood and glue and leather have all arrived, and soon all my monstrosities will be complete.
Muhuhaha! MUHUHUHAHAHAHAH!
So below is a sampling of some of the props I've been working on for my 2012 haunted house. There are many more to come, and a few I don't want to reveal, but I figured I'd offer a sneak peak. Everything pictured here is handmade by yours truly, other than some old knick-knacks I've found at garage sales.A few of the props are obviously unfinished, but I figured I'd let you see them anyway. Lots of love and care have gone in to every one. (and a little madness)Enjoy!
Case CostingHere's a look at the latest project I completed for Egg Studios in Nova Scotia. It's called Case Costing, and it's an animated look at the costs of healthcare.Some of the illustrations in these piece were done by yours truly, but most of the featured ones were drawn by illustrator Kelly Devoe. Check out his work here. Still more come from Gray's Anatomy, the now public domain textbook illustrated by surgeon Henry Gray in the early 1900s. I always loved the style and detail of his illustrations and I thought they were a perfect match for the look we were going for.Credits below, but thanks to Evan Kelly for pointing me towards the style of Oliver Jeffers, which I tried to emulate here.Enjoy!Directed and Animated by: Brad GoodspeedIllustration by: Kelly Devoe, Brad Goodspeed, Henry GraySound Design and Mix: Joe Di ProfioProducer: Ben BennetExecutive Producer: Mike HacheyAlso seen on Vidpicks! Subscribe today!
Creating the Music for Twin Peaks
This little video brought a nostalgic smile to my face this morning, while reminding me of how fulfilling the creative process can be.I've been a fan of Angelo Badalamenti's musical compositions for many years, after hearing them in David Lynch's silver screen adaptation of the Twin Peaks saga: 'Fire Walk with Me'. (The show was fine, but I loved the movie) I listened to that soundtrack over and over again back in my post-college days, while everyone around me was rockin' it out to Smash Mouth and The Cranberries. (shudder and double-shudder)
That might seem a bit moody of me considering how 'sad' the music is, but I was by no means a melancholy 20-something. I just really appreciated the beauty in these notes, and I liked being reminded of the deeply imagined world that Lynch had created in Twin Peaks.In the movie and series, Lynch did far more than just recite the events of Laura Palmer's demise. He created a world filled with malevolent energies, a beautifully odd landscape inhabited by mysterious creatures. Every corner of that world was unique, and every ounce of its making was pure, unadulterated creativity.Below, watch Badalamenti describe the process he went through with Lynch on Twin Peaks, one that appears to have been improvised and organic. If you've ever been part of an artistic collaboration, or if an artist has ever helped breathe life into a world you've been imagining, I think you'll enjoy it.Also seen on Vidpicks! Subscribe today!
Tomorrow is Scarefest!
So what are you doing this weekend, huh?Right, right… a BBQ at Aunt Sally's Saturday evening you say? And a trip to the zoo on Sunday? I see, so your plans include the simple pleasures of spending time with family and friends.Sounds boring.I mean, you can do that kind of stuff on any old weekend. This Saturday however, isn't just any old day. What if I told you there was an opportunity to get an advanced taste of everyone's favourite holiday… a chance to enjoy a little bit of Halloween in the middle of the summer? No dear readers, I will not be spending my Saturday rooting around in foam coolers for the last Coors Light while Uncle Jack talks my ear off. Instead, I will be at Canada's premier convention for Halloween enthusiasts, Scarefest 2012!This is the 8th iteration of Scarefest, although in previous years it was held in a backyard, where a collection of folks from the home and professional haunting world would get together to swap props and talk shop. This year however, Chris Ainsworth took over the event and turned it into something a tad bigger. Scarefest has turned into a convention, and I simply can't wait to go. Below is some information from the website, along with a list of the vendors attending. I'll be there in second half of the day, if anyone wants to say hi.So why not? What better thing do you have to do? It's from 12:00pm to 6:00pm, so you can squeeze it in before Aunt Sally's. Even if Halloween isn't a psychotic obsession like it is for me, there will be plenty to see and do. Crafts for kids, zombie makeup, mask makers, prop designers, you name it!Don't be boring! Come on out!Saturday July 7th, 201212:00 noon – 6:00 pmGarnet A. Williams Community Centre501 Clark Avenue, Thornhill, Ontario, Canada (Between Bathurst & Yonge Street on Clark Ave, close to the 407 ETR & Hwy #7)In attendance will be Owners and Operators of Professional Haunted Houses, Actors, Home Haunters, Artists, Halloween Enthusiasts and Vendors.Enjoy a BBQ (available at a cost), Door Prizes, and Contests for: Miss. & Mr. Scarefest and Best Homemade Prop.Admission is FREE, however we are asking for a Donation to the Sick Kids Foundation.AVShop.ca - Markham, OntarioMembers from the Black Widow Hearse Club - All across OntarioThe Butcher Shop – Toronto, OntarioCanadian Haunters Association – Thornhill, OntarioCarnival De Freak Productions – Burlington, OntarioChic Sorceress – Dundas, OntarioCompletions College of Makeup Art & Design / Kryolan Makeup Store – Toronto, OntarioCreeped Out – Toronto, OntarioDEPRAVED Clothing – Dundas, OntarioDick Terhune "The Voice From Hell" - Litchfield, Connecticut, USADotsy's Entertainment Co. – St. Thomas, OntarioFrightProps – Clearwater, FloridaThe Grim Stitch Factory – Burlington, OntarioHalloween Artists Studio – Stratford, OntarioHaunted House Creations – Scarborough, OntarioHaunt it Yourself Productions – Toronto, OntarioHaunted Walks Inc. – Ottawa, OntarioHorrors Unlimited (Horror Media) - Toronto, OntarioLiquid Imprints (Face and Body Art) – Clarington, OntarioMental Floss Sideshow – Toronto, OntarioSCAREMATION – Oakville, OntarioStef von Riot from "Deals from the Dark Side" – Niagara Falls, OntarioThe Cellar – Room 57 (Horror Photography) - Toronto, OntarioThe Toronto Zombie Walk - Toronto, OntarioWayne Mallows, Author of "Whitechapel Road" a Vampyre tale - Niagara Falls, OntarioMy Ghoul Friday – Toronto, OntarioProfessional Haunted HousesHaunted House of Horrors – Guelph, OntarioPower House of Terror - Toronto, OntarioReapers Realm – Courtright, OntarioScreampark – Kitchener, OntarioHome HauntersBoudreaus Butcher House of Horrors – Mississauga, OntarioPandora's Box Creations – Mississauga, OntarioScaresdale Manor - Oakville, OntarioTerror Time - Mississauga, OntarioThornhill Woods Haunted House – Thornhill, OntarioVault of Fears – Thornhill, Ontario
Jonas DeRo
Holy crap, I have almost nothing to say. The level of talent on display below, all by Belgian concept artist Jonas DeRo, is the kind of work that makes me want to never call myself an "artist" again.
Concept painters have to create entire world, sometimes with just a single image. They don't just design the look of a specific scene, but they lend the mood to an entire film. Jonas has done something similar to me today; he's imposed a mood on the rest of my day — that being jealousy.
Feast. Your. Eyes. (and click to see larger)


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Last Friday when the Blackhawks squandered a two goal lead they lacked a response when Vancouver applied pressure. On Monday night versus New Jersey the opposite was true. The Blackhawks played well and when they faltered came on again to take a 5-2 decision in front of 22,019 at the United Center.
For the Hawks to be able to make a long playoff run they will have to win against teams that are centered upon playing strong defense. New Jersey likes to clog up the middle of the ice and when successful can control the tempo. That was not the case last night.
The Blackhawks are very difficult to beat when they set the pace and stay focused. There were a couple of brief periods at the beginning of the middle frame and at the start of the final period when the Hawks collective focus appeared to slip. Instead of allowing the Devils to gain momentum the effort was in place to keep command. Each time New Jersey scored the Hawks followed with two goals of their own and never allowed the visitor from the East to seize control.
At times it appeared as if the Hawks were playing with an extra skater as they used speed and a sound forecheck to stifle the Devils offense. Jaromir Jagr was not noticeable for much of the contest as he finished the night a minus one and was held without a shot. New Jersey sits near the bottom of the league in shots on goal and last night they were held to only 12 shots for the entire match. That total is about 13 shots below their season average.
Once again Antti Raanta did his job, and barely broke a sweat. Raanta was flopping a bit on the Devils second goal but all in all played well.
The Blackhawks top line was involved and determined last night. Jonathan Toews finished a plus three with one assist and Marian Hossa notched two assists and finished a plus two.
Bryan Bickell was a member of third line and scored his sixth goal of the season. Brandon Saad picked up a nice assist and Andrew Shaw helped distract Schneider on Bickell's goal. All in all the line had a lot of jump and looks to be gelling nicely.
As a team the Hawks won 38 of 56 faceoffs for 68% and that helped to limit the chances from the Devils as well.
Chicago had 37 shots on goal with four players accounting for 21 strikes on Cory Schneider. Duncan Keith and Patrick Sharp had seven and six shots respectively. Both have been playing well and continue to do so. Keith is a lock for Team Canada and Sharp is on track to make the squad as well. Sharp has 12 points in his last eight games. Last night he recorded two goals and now has nine multi-point games this season.
Patrick Kane scored his 22nd goal of the campaign and recorded four shots. Kane tied his career and season high point streak of 12 games which was set earlier this season. Kane sits second in the league in scoring with 49 points.
Nick Leddy teases Hawk fans with games like last night. Some will insist Leddy should be a noticeable player almost every game. Last night he was solid defensively and picked a up a goal and an assist while recording four shots.
Leddy is only 22 years old and this season has had three different partners. Some nights it's the older and slower Michal Rozsival, sometimes it is the steady Sheldon Brookbank. Last night Leddy was paired with Michael Kostka who would be his best skating partner. Maybe that was a reason for Leddy to be more assertive as Kostka could be there to clean up a mistake.
Defensemen like Brent Seabrook, who can jump to the NHL and shine with little AHL experience are rare. It still took Seabrook awhile to learn from his mistakes and he was paired with Keith from the beginning. Leddy played only 22 games in Rockford before making the jump to the big club. Keith played 154 games in Norfolk and had the benefit of solid coaching from a former NHL defender in Trent Yawney.
The future is bright for Leddy and fans need to stay patient. The Blackhawks front office knows what they have and so do others. Leddy would be a top pairing defenseman on some teams and certainly a top four on many right now. He would also be a fixture as a first team power play quarterback.
Leddy will bide his time, gain experience and get stronger. At some point he will get a chance to shine but for now he is another useful asset on a very strong group of defenders.
The Blackhawks go into the three day Christmas hiatus on a high note and will need to be ready for battle when they return. On Friday night Colorado comes to town and on Saturday the Hawks will be in St. Louis to play the Blues. They will complete a three game in four day stint by facing Los Angeles back at the UC next Monday night.
Al's Shots:
I was on NHL Network radio yesterday and was interviewed by Jim "Boomer" Gordon from NHL Home Ice. I will post the interview link on Twitter today. We discussed the play of Kane, Raanta and Keith as well as what makes Joel Quenneville the best Hawks head coach ever.
I would like to wish all my readers a very Merry Christmas!
I will be back on Saturday morning and you can follow me on Twitter @AlCimaglia.
Follow @fox32news
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As life goes on for the survivors of the Sandy Hook school shootings in Connecticut, the tragedy has reaching effects into Mississippi. That type of violence hit close to home after the 1997 shootings at Pearl High School which left two students dead.
State Rep. Andy Gipson says it's a memory that will always bring about awareness. As chairman of the House Judiciary B Committee, which oversees public safety, Gipson says mass shootings across the country can't be ignored.
"The recent shootings in Connecticut have given many concerns," Gipson said.
Gipson says those concerns have prompted his committee to look at current state law and decide whether to introduce legislation to strengthen it. That could include a range of measures to make sure schools across the state are secure.
"'I believe that there may be some work that we need to do on that front to make sure our children in Mississippi are safe," Gipson said.
In addition, Gipson said he intends to craft a bill to ban anyone with a mental illness from getting a gun permit. With mental illness often playing a role in mass shootings, like the one in Connecticut, Gipson says proactive measures need to be in place to prevent potential crime.
"We believe our schools are safe in Mississippi but anytime something like this happens it raises my awareness of the issue and we need to think about are there additional steps we can take to keep children safe in our schools," Gipson said.
Gipson said the ban would only apply to those diagnosed by a doctor or through a state mental health facility. While the details are yet to be decided lawmakers will decide what, if anything, will happen.
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Product Recall: We are voluntarily recalling fewer than 8,000 cases of regular Kraft American Singles Pasteurized Prepared Cheese Productlimited to 4 SKUs on two "Best When Used By" dates of February 20, 2015 and February 21, 2015. Click Here.
PREHEAT oven to 350°F. Mix coconut, flour and margarine. Press firmly onto bottom of 9-inch springform pan. Bake 12 to 15 minutes or until very lightly browned.
MEANWHILE, soften gelatine in water in small saucepan; let stand 1 minute. Cook on low heat 5 minutes or until gelatine is completely dissolved, stirring occasionally. Set aside. Beat cream cheese and sugar in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended. Add dissolved gelatine, lime zest, juice and food coloring; mix well. Gently stir in whipped topping; pour over crust.
REFRIGERATE 3 hours or until firm. When ready to serve, run knife or metal spatula around rim of pan to loosen cake; remove rim of pan. Store leftover cheesecake in refrigerator.


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Antoinette C. Borromeo, ACNP-BC/C-NP
Advanced Practice Nurse - Nurse Practitioner
Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) with a Minor in Psychology: Loyola University Chicago, Chicago, IL – 2001
Master of Science in Nursing (MSN): Loyola University Chicago, Chicago, IL – 2010
Registered Nurse (RN), Advanced Practice Nurse (APN), Acute Care Nurse Practitioner (ACNP)
Clinical Focus:
Cardiac Surgery and Adult Critical Care
Contact Information:
Bluhm Cardiovascular Institute 1-866-662-8467 (toll free)
Biographical Sketch:
Antoinette is an advanced practice nurse for the Bluhm Cardiovascular Institute of Northwestern Memorial Hospital's cardiac surgery team. She brings 9 ½ years of nursing experience in cardiac surgery, medical, and surgical intensive care.
Antoinette completed her Bachelor of Science in Nursing in 2001 at Loyola University Chicago and later returned to Loyola to complete her Master of Science in Nursing in 2010. She is certified as an Acute Care Nurse Practitioner by the American Nurses Credentialing Center and as a Critical Care Registered Nurse by the American Association of Critical Care Nurses. She is a member of the American Association of Critical Care Nurses, the Illinois Society of Advanced Practice Nurses, and Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing.


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Ride the subway to see these beautiful metro stations
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9 of the World's Most Tech-Savvy Hotels
Etihad Comments on Decision to End Travel Agent Commissions
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Dec. 4-7; from $239; Steamboat Ski Resort
Travel agents who book air, land and sea packages qualify for 15 percent commission
When vacationing in Italy, particularly when by the sea, you are essentially obligated to order the classic dish of spaghetti ai frutti di mare at...
I was on a small-group tour of Northern Germany, and Lubeck was our second stop. When I looked at the itinerary and saw that we would be visiting the...
Tucked away in a quiet street in San Pancho is Hotel Cielo Rojo and its restaurant, Bistro Organico. I visited during Mexico's off-season, so only a...
Just about every bar in Waikiki offers a version of mai tai, each promising to be the best. Who kept their promises and who fell short? This...


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WDEL Blog: Allan Loudell
Tuesday, May 21, 2013
Oklahoma tornado beyond words...
What can be said about that devastating Oklahoma tornado - now confirmed as an EF5 - that underscored the fragility of life and temporarily made most of America's political battles and scandals look so utterly trite in comparison?
(Indeed, one expects the Oklahoma disaster coverage to dominate over-the-air & cable news for at least a couple of news cycles.)
This Oklahoma disaster does prompt this discussion topic: Did you ever turn down a job in a different part of the country - or resist moving somewhere - for fear of a disproportionate risk for natural disasters?
Of course, living almost ANYWHERE exposes us to SOME risk: Here in Delmarva, of course, hurricanes (and occasional small tornadoes) plus flooding of low-lying areas. But whether it be the likelihood of ferocious storms in the so-called "Tornado Alley" - that wide swath extending from the Texas panhandle to Midwest - or earthquakes, wildfires, mudslides, etc., in certain portions of California; and nearly yearly hurricanes in eastern North Carolina; or hurricanes, disproportionate lightning fatalities, and sinkholes in Florida, it does seem certain portions of the country are extraordinarily susceptible to such natural disasters.
Continuing coverage of this disaster is available from The OKLAHOMAN's website...
And coverage from The NEW YORK TIMES...
By mid-afternoon, the National Weather Service confirmed the killer twister was an F5. (EF5 these days!)
(not that this distinction matters very much to the victims!)
But I recall this scene from the movie, "Twister", where the character played by Jamie Gertz (now of ABC's "The Neighbors") - "Melissa Reeves" in the movie - asks the tornado spotters around her what an F5 tornado would be like...
Posted at 6:43am on May 21, 2013 by Allan Loudell
<- Back to all Allan Loudell posts
Comments on this post:
Tue, May 21, 2013 8:11am
I wonder what Westboro Baptist will say this tornado is god's punishment for? Not a lot of gays in Oklahoma City. Heck, Anita Bryant lives there.
Tue, May 21, 2013 8:27am
Tue, May 21, 2013 8:56am
The Oklahoma storms is another illustration of what I call news burnout.
In the wake of a big story such as the Boston bombings, the news media go way overboard in saturating the airwaves and internet with the same story over and over for a week and a half. It's the same handful of facts regurgitated over and over on every show from 5 am until midnight and it continues for several weeks. News burnout makes it very hard to watch TV or read the internet because of the inundation of the same facts over and over again.
I propose the media reports it once, when the story first breaks, and then returns to other topics in the news.
Tue, May 21, 2013 9:39am
teatime: Agreed. But finding THE BIG STORY and then obsessing about it is the only way they can get people to watch and keep people watching. Otherwise, they go back to talk shows.
It's funny that they can only handle one obsession at a time. If the plant explosion hadn't happened in the same week as the Boston Marathon, they would have obsessed about that, too.
Notice how the right-wing media avoid the obvious: More violent weather (and more frequent violent weather) is a result of climate change.
Allan Loudell
Tue, May 21, 2013 9:58am
Didn't you at one time indicate on this very blog that you invested in stocks - including even Clear Channel?
Then you have an inherent interest in broadcasters RETAINING audiences, and staying with the big story is how they do it. Mr. Smith is correct. Except I'd add some women viewers and listeners go not back to talk-shows (at least not political talk shows) but back to the entertainment on daytime TV or music radio!
That said, I will not be wall-to-wall Oklahoma City during my news blocks today. (Although talk of storms, climate change, etc., is dominating Al Mascitti's program this A.M.)
Neither will public radio nor the PBS "News Hour".
But gang, I'd love to return to my original question posted above: Have you ever NOT moved somewhere - even for a decent job opportunity or a change of pace - because you feared that particular place was extraordinarily prone to disaster?
Allan Loudell
Tue, May 21, 2013 10:56am
My fear of Indonesian-spawned tsunamis would preclude me from setting up camp in the Maldives....
Tue, May 21, 2013 11:19am
"Neither will public radio nor the PBS "News Hour"."
Morning Edition had five separate storm-related pieces this morning plus references to it going into other stories (more storm coverage coming but first...). When they don't talk about THE BIG STORY, it's almost like they apologize for not talking about it.
teatime: If you bought Clear Channel, I'm sorry for your loss. That one sank like a rock in a pond.
No, I have never not moved someplace because it seemed disaster prone. The Midwest has always been tornado alley but storms like this one and Joplin seem a more recent phenomenon (global warming at work). That said, I don't understand those people who live in flood plains, get flooded out on a regular basis, and keep moving back -- with the media treating them as heroes (not idiots) when they vow to rebuild. Of course, the taxpayers foot the bill each time.
Eurasia has a number of archeological sites where cities used to be located. Often the reason is those sites were disaster-prone and people moved away. In the Americas, we still have cities in disaster-prone spots and an over-abundance of hubris that keeps people from moving some place safe. New Orleans will flood again. San Francisco will have another earthquake. Sea levels will rise and New York will flood again. The Delmarva peninsula will become an archipelago but people won't learn and won't move.
Tue, May 21, 2013 3:21pm
When I made my comment about getting and keeping viewers, I was thinking of the cable news channels, and specifically of CNN (which historically sees huge drops in audience when nothing big is happening).
The over-the-air networks are not primarily news networks and have other means of getting and keeping viewers. Yet, they are rushing to join the obsession.
"Oklahoma tornado news specials to air during primetime Tuesday night on ABC, NBC and CBS
ABC will expand "World News Tonight" to an hour and devote 'Nightline' to the story; NBC News plans a one-hour special, 8-9 p.m.; CBS will expand "The CBS Evening News" to 90 minutes."
Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/tv-movies/oklahoma-tornado-specials-air-primetime-nets-article-1.1350627#ixzz2TxLzsfid
I am sick of the over-the-air networks cancelling regular shows or changing schedules on a whim, and at the last minute. I find it especially annoying when I go to watch a show a few days later (I almost never watch live TV) and find it was preempted. It's especially annoying when they move a show out of its normal time slot and then run it instead of another show. Can't these over-paid suits make a schedule and stick to it?
PS: To my earlier post: I suspect the main reason people decide not to move someplace is fear of crime, not fear of natural disasters. However, both fears are largely manufactured by cynical media hype.
Tue, May 21, 2013 4:06pm
Regurgitating the same story over and over again doesn't retain viewers but drives them away. I know: I turn the channel.
Tue, May 21, 2013 6:19pm
teatime: Me, too. Before cable we were stuck. All the channels were running the same thing. Now we have cable, on demand, DVD, recorded DVR shows, but the networks still act like they can force people to watch. I remember reading NBC's policy for beating CBS was to stay on the air 30 minutes longer. Talk abut warped thinking.
Allan Loudell
Tue, May 21, 2013 7:00pm
But none of us are - by the nature of our discussions here - average viewers and listeners.
You're forgetting about the importance of CUME in ratings... CUME, defined as the number of different persons who listen or watch a station during a specific period, otherwise known as unduplicated audience, reach or circulation.
Consider: The mass audience becomes aware of a big, big story. It tunes into one of the cable news channels. If that channel is doing a story OTHER than the big story, it's likely many members of that audience will check out the next cable news channel. (Of course, people who are really into it may switch between news channels during commercial breaks!)
Sure, the coverage becomes repetitive and duplicative - even fatiguing - but the news channels realize most folks won't stay with them for hours at a time. However, they may come back after watching an entertainment show. Furthermore, even though the time spent viewing or listening may suffer from the repetition, the theory is the cume - the number of different individuals viewing or listening - will shoot so high as to make-up for the tune-outs.
People tune in and tune out.
It's the nature of the media platform. The very same news channels which are offering nearly 24-7 coverage (I agree, obsessive) because of the tune-in/tune-out phenomenon can afford to do something different with their websites. Yes, the Oklahoma tornado story will dominate, but because the news organizations realize people on their sites can CHOOSE content, in that case, offering more variety has the effect of keeping folks on their sites longer. But frequent updates of the big story can build cume as well. So it's the best of both worlds with a website. See what I'm saying?
I don't think the over-the-air networks want to completely forfeit their news imaging, so they go for the extended network 'casts on big events. Remember, they're doing more than one evening newscast anyway - for the different time-zones - so it's no particular skin off their backs.
Plus, the 7--8 p.m. time period goes to the local stations - that's why you have syndicated game shows, etc., during that period - so it's not as though they're pre-empting a network show.
Of course, if news breaks later in the night -- i.e., that Friday evening when police were moving in on the Boston Marathon bomber -- all bets are off.
As one who has a few favorite entertainment shows on TV, I share Mr. Smith's distress over cancelling regular shows - or changing schedules - seemingly at the drop of a hat.
Allan Loudell
Tue, May 21, 2013 7:29pm
Allan Loudell: All you say may be true but I think there's an additional factor, no less significant. You people like doing news play by play. It gets you all jazzed. We can hear it in your voices (and see it on TV in body language). Like firemen and alarms, and cops and sirens.
Tue, May 21, 2013 10:09pm
My condolences and prayers to the victims of the Oklahoma tornado.
Allan Loudell
Wed, May 22, 2013 5:54am
Mr. Smith---
I both agree and disagree.
I purposely didn't go into television news, in part, because I didn't want to chase 'blood 'n guts' and tabloid-type news.
That trend in TV news - especially local TV news - was even evident in the late 1960's and early '70's.
I grew up listening to Chicago's WBBM Newsradio, which had a political editor, City Hall beat reporter, Springfield Capitol reporters (although some came from the two statewide news networks at the time), etc.
I distinctly remember visiting my first two radio stations in 1966 - WCVS and WTAX - both in Springfield. I had visited the Illinois Capitol, and saw reporters preparing their stories. That turned me on to a career in broadcasting, and specifically, radio news.
Sure, with all-news coverage of a breaking story, the adrenalin flows, and reporters get into what they're doing.
That said, one of the reasons I didn't accept a job offer (out of college) from KFH Wichita - even though it was for more money than where I eventually landed - was, in part, because of my fear of being in "tornado alley", and having to cover those kinds of stories. (Not that Memphis was much better, and I didn't immediately realize at the time the potential perils of living in the New Madrid earthquake zone!)
Ironically, not long after Elvis died, I ended up covering the aftermath of a small twister which moved up along Elvis Presley Boulevard not far from Graceland.
By the way, I'm not sure young would-be broadcasters get very much experience in doing "news play-by-play", as you put it. Few classes, or college stations, or internships provide ANY opportunities in that regard.
Allan Loudell
Wed, May 22, 2013 10:08am
Allan Loudell: I guess they would get their experience doing actual sports play-by-play. I saw a documentary of the life of Walter Cronkite after he died, and he started doing football and baseball games - and those were games he didn't actually attend. They mentioned Ronald Reagan started out the same way. From what I've read, kids all want to do sports, but I guess some don't make the cut and end up in news.
I'm still trying to figure out what makes something THE BIG STORY and not others. Boston and Oklahoma City: Yes. West, Texas and Cleveland: No. Sandy: Not quite.
And it's all the adrenalin-fueled "breaking news" play-by-play with speculation and unchecked "facts" and excessive repetition that gets the media into trouble. They really do a better job with sports. Maybe because with sports they deal with something that IS happening. So-called "breaking news" coverage is about something that has already happened and they go on the air and try to figure it out on the air, instead of finding out and then going on the air. "Cume" trumps credibility.
Notice on TV shows and in movies that "journalists" are always dishonest, sleazy, opportunistic and indifferent to the damage they cause people? Even the media don't like the media.
Wed, May 22, 2013 12:34pm
Interesting map showing all killer tornadoes in the US since 1950.
Allan Loudell
Wed, May 22, 2013 2:25pm
Interesting map confirming that some killer twisters have actually occurred significantly further north from what we normally think of as Tornado Alley. Canada, too, has seen some killer tornadoes.
On the sports play-by-play issue: As you know, it was news that turned me on to broadcasting - not sports - and society's hyperfocus on sports repels me.
Honestly, I can think of a lot of people who worked with me in high school and college radio who did news or jocked and had no interest in doing sports play-by-play.
However, I created opportunities at my high school and college radio stations for young people to get experience at ad-libbing breaking news when I orchestrated wall-to-wall, all-news election coverage.
For the 1972 election, for example, I planned all-news election night coverage for all but one of the high school stations in the Chicago area. We had teens reporting from the various campaign headquarters in Chicago and the suburbs. Then Los Angeles Times reporter Jack Nelson wrote about our coverage - from the Robert F. Kennedy hearings on high school journalism - in his book, CAPTIVE VOICES: HIGH SCHOOL JOURNALISM in AMERICA (1974).
Allan Loudell
Wed, May 22, 2013 3:11pm
Allan Loudell: Not to take away from an early accomplishment, did your high school station do election night coverage because it's what you wanted to do or because it was what your fellow students wanted to listen to? I have long suspected that the kind of extended, over-the-top, cancel-regular-shows "coverage" happens not because the audience wants it, but because news types like to do it and like the adrenalin rush. Back in 1972, the news divisions could exercise a monopoly over TV and there would be nothing else on - like they wanted to force people to watch.
Allan Loudell
Wed, May 22, 2013 3:46pm
Fair question.
Yes, I spearheaded it and it was what I wanted to do.
I plead guilty to being a "news type". But I had absolutely no difficulty recruiting students for this enterprise -- at our high school -- or others.
Indeed, several students said later - on graduating - it was one of the most exciting things they had done as high school students. Some recalled election night in my yearbook.
Within literally this past year, I heard from a student who credited me with igniting in him a lifelong interest in politics, which today finds him as a press secretary to the Illinois Governor.
By the way, since - in those days we signed off the air on weekdays at six or seven P.M., we hardly pre-empted any regular shows. (These days, my high school station is automated overnights!) All-news coverage gave us a chance to keep our station on-the-air until the early hours of the morning. (I arranged for parent chaperones past curfew!)
Some of the other high school stations didn't do news as consistently as we did (I even secured a first-ever high school radio station affiliation with - then - Group W, Westinghouse Broadcasting, at the time!), but I still managed to get other high school radio stations to sign on.
I hasten to add that it was students - not faculty - taking the initiative at many of these stations.
Did students listen? As a practical matter, I assume those deeply interested in politics probably watched the TV networks. Not us. Got some feedback from parents, though.
By the way, I will stick out my neck and argue, though, that during that time a higher proportion of young people - energized by Vietnam, civil rights, environmentalism, and even early gender equality - DID seriously follow politics to a greater extent than today. Just being in the Chicago area may have fostered that environment. Unlike in many metropolitan areas, people in the 'burbs actually talked about the first Mayor Daley. Maybe because Chicago sports teams were usually so dismal, some - or many of us - heard our parents talking about - and debating - politics...
Our high school paper - then and now - covered real news, whether it be the fallout from Vietnam, gay students (This was 1971 or '72... something Delaware high school papers - the few still existing - would be afraid or unable to touch, even today!), racial relations, biracial dating & the like, even the coming arrest of a student for the murder of another student (for which, in the pre-internet era, the Chicago TV stations sent couriers to pick up our paper, so they could show our papar on television, as a lead story!).
In the case of network TV, I think you know the real story: The networks - at least in the '50's through the early '70's - saw their news divisions as the pinnacle of their networks, compensating for crap programming!
Allan Loudell
Wed, May 22, 2013 6:32pm
Allan Loudell: What you say tells me that broadcast news has an internal focus and a focus on the competition - not on the customer or end user, whatever you call the audience. Maybe that explains, at least in part, the media's lack of credibility with said audience.
"In the case of network TV, I think you know the real story: The networks - at least in the '50's through the early '70's - saw their news divisions as the pinnacle of their networks, compensating for crap programming!"
I'm sorry. I must disagree here. As I understand it, the networks did news because they were required to. They did not expect to make money from it. Any "compensation" was because of government edit, not guilt. And I don't agree that programming was "crap." A number of shows from that era still entertain audiences, people whose parents were not yet born when those shows first aired. I Love Lucy. The Honeymooners. Andy Griffith. Even The Beverly Hillbillies, denounced then by critics and still getting laughs.
Others are fondly remembered and acknowledged by critics as true classics: Jack Benny. Burns and Allen. Naked City. The Fugitive. Maverick.
News people seem to have an "eat your vegetables" attitude; if people like it, it must be crap.
I looked up a quote from Paddy Chayefsky's "Network." Women responsible for "crap" speaking to head of the news division.
"I watched your 6 o'clock news today; it's straight tabloid. You had a minute and a half of that lady riding a bike naked in Central Park; on the other hand, you had less than a minute of hard national and international news. It was all sex, scandal, brutal crime, sports, children with incurable diseases, and lost puppies. So, I don't think I'll listen to any protestations of high standards of journalism when you're right down on the streets soliciting audiences like the rest of us. Look, all I'm saying is if you're going to hustle, at least do it right."
Allan Loudell
Wed, May 22, 2013 7:02pm
Mr. Smith...
Of course, there's a competitive element, but in the quest for audience, you're trying to focus on the audience, because that enhances your competitive position.
But I must not be that competitive, because I have locked horns with consultants over the years.
To your next point, yes, you had a news requirement, but I also remember reading several accounts that the early network pioneers shook their heads over some of the mass-common-denominator programming, and did take pride in their news divisions as being the very best of their networks. (Sorry, I can't recall specific titles in this case.) Yes, to some extent, it was elitist.
Actually, I'm a little surprised you disagree with my "crap" characterization; I put that in for you.
Yes, the networks gave us some classic shows, often derided by urban critics as too cornball & rural. And the legal & cop shows. And late night.
But, I must admit - by high school and college - I watched very little television entertainment, even when afforded the opportunity.
I've commented before about how at least some newspeople feel the need to balance tabloid stories with "hard news", so you may be onto something about the vegetables.
(Although I dislike that analogy since I often seek vegetarian or seafood & veggie meals not just for health but for taste; I just don't understand why so many Americans love greasy food in the morning, and consider a steak the ultimate!)
(I also sense a generational thing going on; my impression is many of the young people going into local TV news, in particular, feel no such internal conflict between the news that "matters" and tabloid news. They just want to be on TV.)
From the period of 1969 through about 1975 - when I first began attending broadcast news conventions - I recall several sessions where hardened journalists who had covered wars - or say, state government - clashed with some program directors or consultants who were telling them to lighten up.
Allan Loudell
Wed, May 22, 2013 8:40pm
Allan Loudell: Looking back to the turn of the 20th century and to the great newspaper circulation wars and the "yellow journalism" of Hearst, Pulitzer and others, it seems the news industry has returned to its roots.
I've read that the Daily Mail website is the most visited news site in the world, surpassing the New York Times.
Maybe the era of news respectability and objectivity was an anomaly.
There is a lot of "crap" in any form of endeavor. Crap books. Crap movies. Crap music. Crap plays. Crap restaurants (which are responsible for the growth of fast food chains which are at least predictable and consistent). I have done some traveling and there used to be a lot of bad news (at least Gannett, the newspaper equivalent of the fast food chain, maintains a minimum and predictable standard). And, yes, a lot of terrible radio, too. You may have cause personally to dislike Clear Channel and one-size-fits-all national talk radio but like McDonald's it offers an acceptable standard of quality and consistent performance. The antidote to crap creates problems of its own.
Not sure why you'd think I consider TV crap. My Tivo has Season Passes to 22 shows. Maybe a third have new episodes in a given week but still that's plenty I want to watch.
In 1972, when you were doing high school election returns, the TV networks aired: All In The Family, Mary Tyler Moore, Bob Newhart, MASH, Carol Burnett, Room 222, The Odd Couple, Sonny and Cher, Flip Wilson, Adam 12, the original Hawaii Five-O, Gunsmoke, Columbo, all of which I'd watch again (some I do watch again on cable). And yes, some crap, too. Still, not a bad batting average.
Allan Loudell
Thu, May 23, 2013 5:56am
Actually, I did enjoy a lot of the shows you mention.
Admittedly, "crap" may be in the eyes of the beholder.
For example, my favorite current show is probably "Big Bang Theory". And although I have DVD's of all 12 seasons of the original "Hawaii Five O", I do enjoy the current version. Honestly, it may exceed the original series in terms of character development.
With its extensive treatment of the U.S. scene, and tons of photos, I'm not surprised about the DAILY MAIL's success on line.
Amazing how far we've wandered from the original topics...
Allan Loudell
Thu, May 23, 2013 9:44am
"Amazing how far we've wandered from the original topics..."
That's how conversation works.
"With its extensive treatment of the U.S. scene, and tons of photos, I'm not surprised about the DAILY MAIL's success on line."
Websites often know where you are when you visit. US visitors see the US version of the site. Click on "UK Home" on the Blue Banner across the top of the page to see what Brits see. The Guardian also shows a US version of the site but lets you see the UK version, too.
MikeFromDelaware: In this morning's Daily Mail...
"The embarrassing moment Wolf Blitzer asks mother if she thanked the Lord for surviving tornado... and she tells him she's an atheist
In a clip going viral on the internet, CNN's Blitzer asks survivor Rebecca Vitsmun: 'I guess you got to thank the Lord. Right?' After an uncomfortable pause, Vitsmun replies: 'I... I'm actually an atheist.' Clearly taken aback that anyone in the area could not believe in God, Blitzer scrambles to recover. 'You are. All right. But you made the right call,' he says
There is a not-so subtle Christian bias (or pandering) in the media when after any disaster they talk about prayers. Ditto politicians who make a point of saying their prayers are with people ... like any of these hypocrites really pray. And if they do, like they'd ever pray for anybody but themselves. ("Dear Lord, won't you buy me a Mercedes Benz...")
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text:
Rolex Rankings #5
Rolex Rankings #94
Will Stacy Lewis defend her 2012 title?
Will Shanshan Feng defend her title?
Ernst's victory another big step in her career
The Social Scene for September, 2014
Golfing World caught up with 2011 rookie Jessica Korda in her first events of the season. Korda talks about her dad playing the role of caddie.


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Soldiers, who allegedly had sexual relations with 14-year-old girl in their base, convicted of behavior unbecoming, shameful conduct. Each will serve sentence of 14 to 30 days in military prison. Eleven others due to be sentenced in near future
Efrat Weiss
Published: 09.18.06, 21:18 / Israel News
Efrat Weiss
During the scandal, dozens of soldiers were suspected of having sexual relations with a 14 year old girl living on base.
The base's new commander, who replaced the commander who resigned because of the scandal, was the one to sentence the soldiers. So far, the most a single soldier was sentenced to was 42 days.


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OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- President Barack Obama is preparing to leave Oklahoma for Ohio after giving an address on his administration's energy policies.
The president spoke Thursday at Cushing and declared support for work on a pipeline that would take oil from Oklahoma storage depots to refineries on the Texas Gulf Coast. He is to depart Tinker Air Force Base Thursday afternoon.
Obama traveled from Cushing to Tinker aboard a military helicopter.
The president has been highlighting energy this week in Nevada, New Mexico and Oklahoma.
His trip comes amid rising gasoline prices, and the president's political advisers say the prices pose a threat to his re-election bid because they could undermine the benefits of a payroll tax cut that was part of his jobs agenda last fall.
Ohio is a political battleground.


text: Couple Arrested For Having Loud Sex In The Street Margaret Hartmann and 78 others EditDelete InviteInvite manuallyPromoteXDismissXUndismissBlock for JezebelHide Two drunk 18-year-old Austrians were having noisy sex in the middle of the road around 4:30 am yesterday, and a neighbor called police, thinking a crime was in progress. The teens were reprimanded, then arrested after they attacked the officers. » 8/20/10 12:20pm 8/20/10 12:20pm


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Featured News - Current News - Archived News - News Categories
Catholic Academy students make donation to Community Missionsby jmaloni
Mon, Feb 10th 2014 02:35 pm
Mary Beth Smiths' fourth-grade class from Catholic Academy visited Community Missions recently to donate baby items and funds from the school's walk-a-thon.
In addition to dropping off their donation, students took a tour of Community Missions and ate in the soup kitchen.
Pictured with the students are Norman Felschow and Grant Babcock of Community Missions.
Categories: ~ Around WNY ~ NFP ~


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Reader Story: My Falling Credit Score (and Why It's Not the End of the World)
Published on - August 28th, 2011 (Modified on - June 10th, 2014) (by J.D. Roth)
This guest post from Matt is part of the "reader stories" feature at Get Rich Slowly. Some stories contain general advice; others are examples of how a GRS reader achieved financial success — or failure. These stories feature folks from all levels of financial maturity and with all sorts of incomes. This is a rare reader story that appeared elsewhere first. I saw it on Matt's blog last week and asked if I could reprint it because it addresses an issue people often wonder about.
A couple years ago as I was getting a credit report from Experian (I was about to buy a new car and wondered where I stood credit-wise), I signed up for one of their monthly tracking features. I justified this because I'd had a credit card number stolen and wanted to watch my credit records for a while, even though I knew the $15/month was a bit of a waste. Over the past year or so, I've watched my credit score start lower than I remember it being and go lower, and I've come to the realization that it's largely a joke.
The same old story
My credit history is pretty ordinary: I started out in 1993 with one of those credit cards that come with a free t-shirt and frisbee in college, mostly because I was amazed anyone would give me credit. The introductory $500 limit quickly went to $2000 when I put some ski trips on the card, and I always carried credit at about 35-40% of the card's limit.
After college, I continued to use the card and watched my limit go to $5000 and then $10,000 (as I carried more and more on it), and a few years after college the card's limit was at $20,000 even though I vowed to no longer put items on it. At the same time, finishing my Bachelor's degree and getting a Masters racked up about $25,000 in student loans (in 2011, four years of college only costing $25,000 seems quaint!). I also owned a couple used cars with small car loans I paid off in time.
Defeating debt
After I moved to Oregon in 2003, I finally got serious about my ~$30,000 in debt. My previous years of carrying thousands in credit and paying things off in time (but rarely getting ahead) ballooned my credit score into the low 800s. I never worked to improve this score — it was just a nice surprise after a decade of paying bills on time. My high credit score was great when it was time to get my first home loan, buy my first new car, and when I sold a home and bought a second one a couple years later.
Once I settled into a long-term home, I started paying off my credit cards and school loans aggressively. By 2006, I had no balance on my credit cards, and my wife and I finally paid off our school loans. Having had credit card numbers stolen in the past, I started closing my unused credit card accounts knowing it might affect my credit, but I figured it was a better overall approach to shift towards buying things with my bank's ATM/VISA card instead. I knew without credit cards I would never carry a balance and the money would directly out of my checking account so I planned purchases for things I could afford, and ignored purchasing frivolous things.
I also followed the Get Rich Slowly philosophy and focused heavily on building my retirement savings and over the years of maxing out my retirement with the help of an investment planner, I have a pretty good nest egg going.
Punished for good behavior
You can imagine what all this fiscal responsibility did to my credit score the past few years: It dropped below 800 soon after I paid off all my cards and started closing accounts.
For a few years, I had no open credit cards and no open balances. I paid off two more car loans and was paying ahead on my house loan, and each year I'd watch my credit score fall in the 700s. A couple of months ago, my credit score was barely above 700, and the main negative flag on my account was having no open credit card accounts. So, before I took a recent trip abroad, I decided to finally sign up for one of those personal airline cards my frequent-flier program has been pitching me and use the card on my vacation.
Today I learned that my credit score dropped into the 600s and my risk just went from low to medium. The culprit? The credit card account I opened to try and appease the FICO gods!
My new credit report says I have "too low of a limit" (it started at $5000) and I had "too high of a balance" on it as I used it on vacation (I paid off the card as soon as I returned, two weeks before the first bill even showed up). I got the card to improve my score and rack up some frequent flyer miles and pay it off in full, carrying no balance, and yet, they docked me once again.
No worries
Financially, I'm in the best shape of my life right now.
- My house will be paid off in about five years at the rate I'm going.
- I have a great retirement portfolio that I contribute aggressively towards and it continues to grow.
- My business is doing well even as we've expanded with a new employee and several contractors.
I had the highest credit score at a time in my life when I was leveraged to the hilt and I lived paycheck to paycheck. Now that I have my own business, a healthy retirement, and can pay for everything I need/want, I have a low score and I'm dubbed a higher risk even though my ability to pay is very high. I used to think a credit score was all about your ability to pay, but it's clear now it's more about how profitable you will be to banks.
J.D.'s note: I've had a similar experience. As I've turned my financial life around, my credit score has fallen. I don't care, though (and neither, I think, does Matt). Why not? Because I don't intend to carry any major debt in the foreseeable future; any debt I take out will be repaid immediately.
Disclaimer: This content is not provided by any company mentioned in this article. Any opinions, analyses, reviews or recommendations expressed here are those of the author's alone, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any such company.
This article is about Credit Cards, Debt
Thanks for the post. We're in a somewhat similar situation, having aggressively paid down school loans, however we've never really carried balances on our credit cards.
I think the only thing that keeps our credit scores in the mid 700s are the credit cards we keep open (the longest is8 years old with 15k limit (I think)). Now that you have a card open my guess is that you can expect the score to rise.
Scores can also be used in decided how much to charge for car insurance, weather to hire a person, or even if ou need a deposit to get a cell phone. So it can affect people who don`t plan to borrow money again.
700s shouldn't hurt you with insurance, but 600s might lose a discount – a visit to our insurance agent helped us find some we'd missed, so if some automatic change happens from a credit check, it might be reversible.
No job is going to drop someone for low credit score in the 600s, especially if there aren't actual bad behaviors (defaults, especially on student loans, are the real biggies) or bad debt/income ratios that might cause someone to consider embezzlement.
Sure, but if you stop using credit entirely, won`t scores eventully go down to zero, as older information falls off the credit report?
Essentially, yes. After you've lived long enough without any debt, your credit score simply disappears.
Yeah, but at that point you'll have other insurance discounts – you'll be older, you'll have a long good driving record, a long time with the same insurance company, ability to pay annually if there's a discount for that, etc.
And pay cash for other things. I've actually never had a car note, but if we get to the point where we have our mortgage paid off and it's been paid off for 7-10 years (on current schedule, it would be in 19 years or so, so we'd likely be downsizing), even if we decided on a more expensive place to live we should have the cash on hand with investments & selling the old house.
If you have a large cash reserve, increase your insurance deductible. That will lower your premium.
And, what difference does it make if you have to pay a deposit for your cell phone contract? There are non-contract plans out there. If you have the cash, just buy the phone outright. No contract (or deposit) needed.
When I first got a cell phone, I had no credit score because I had never bothered to get a credit card. Paying a deposit wasn't a problem (actually, it was an extra fee that was never returned), but for the first year I had the phone I wasn't allowed to roam internationally. That cut into my style quite a bit.
It might matter to them, since scores can also be a factor in car insurance premiums. Some prospective employers check them as well.
The amount of your deductible is also a factor. If you have a low FICO, but a large cash reserve, you should increase your deductible. Voila! Low premiums.
My niece,26, ($10 hr job, new house & new car loans) has an 820 credit. Mine is 100 points lower (no mortgage, one card, paid off cars, few bills income). I am glad you finally explained this to me!
I have no idea what my credit score is. Never got a loan from a bank and never intend to.
Wow, this has been eye opening. That explains why my credit rating has suffered. I'm also in the best financial shape of my life, so I couldn't figure it out.
Thanks for a great article.
in bed with the banks for sure, but the credit rating agencies are private companies, making it even more astounding the stranglehold they can have on people's financial lives. thank you for finally exposing what i've just intuitively felt for years that the arbitrary number system, oftentimes riddled with errors, can wreak havoc with your life, including getting a job, etc. but i don't care. i, too, don't want anything to do with credit anymore, and only keep one credit card with a low credit limit for real emergencies while i built up my savings which took a hit when i got laid off. no wonder people can't assess things intelligently when they hear someone has a low credit score they automatically think deadbeat when it could (increasingly) mean the person just ain't playin' the credit card game anymore.
You were penalized for closing accounts! You would have been better off by leaving them open and not using the cards. It is one of the unfortunate parts of the way they create the FICO score. The only cards I close are ones that have an annual fee.
Heh, one might think you could get back at the financial system in a small way by keeping the accounts open, refusing paperless statements, and costing THEM money! However, they always have the last laugh… I had a $23,000 limit on an account I'd had with one bank for almost 20 years (which got heavy use much of that time). However, I got a rewards card from my mortgage lender that paid 2% back, if applied to the mortgage, so this other card gathered dust for a few years. Then I got a mail from the bank telling me they had dropped my credit limit to $100! I called the bank, and was told it was due to a review of my credit report. I got a copy of my report and saw nothing significant – in fact, my FICO was something like 780, IIRC. I started charging one of my utility bills on this $100 card (paid off each month), and they bumped the limit back up to $5000. Go figure.
I had something similar happen with Sears. It was my longest held card (since college in the 1970s), but the rate was substantially higher than my other cards, so I didn't use it. They cancelled it, effectively cutting my length of credit history down to a quarter of what it was. And they refused to re-instate it. I could 'apply for a new card, but the date would be current'. No thanks.
Furthermore, I have told this story anytime it's appropriate. Decades of customer loyalty (all my appliance purchases were Sears/Kennmore) and goodwill, gone in an instance. Way to go Sears, you no goodnicks.
The only time we know our credit score number is when we do a refinance. The mortgage broker gave us clues on how to raise it. She told me to close any cards that have not been used in a long time. I did that and when we did another refi, my score dipped 30 points! Even the brokers don't know how the scores are calculated!
Money magazine did an article about it and yes, it was revealed that the equation for calculating the FICO score would not be revealed. It was not a long article, but Money did mention their theory on what can drop/raise a score. The readers here are correct- keeping cards with balances, keeping cards that don't have balances, mortgages, car loans and so forth help keep your score up.
I hope to be a "deadbeat" one of these days as well!!
This is the best reader story in a long time. Good reminder for young people to build good credit when they are young in preparation for a home purchase. But it helps with little else really. I have heard before that your credit score can impact your insurance rates. Wa this not the case for the writer?
Our FICO score has always been high in part because we use credit cards heavily for our business (and pay them off in full every month). But we've still been subject to decades of idiotic thinking on the part of banks whenever we tried to get or renew our mortgages. Even though we've paid our bills on time our entire adult lives, all they cared about was the fact we're self employed. No matter that the average Joe working in an office can be fired or laid off just as easily as we could go belly-up, or that people still have car payments even when they can't write them off – all they cared about was that wretched pay stub. We had to scrape and beg every single time, even after years and years of timely mortgage payments. As it always seems to be, now that we don't need them, they're much nicer to us. SIGH. We look forward to the day when even the mortgage is paid off (7 years, fingers crossed), and we'll be free of the whole messed up system.
I know exactly what you mean, having been a sole proprietor for about 10 years.
Once you pay off that credit card you've opened, I'm sure your score will bounce back considerably. Before I knew anything about credit I applied for a home loan. My scores were in the high 600s. A few weeks later I decided to go with a different lender, so my credit was re-pulled. My credit accounts had updated with much lower balances (I always paid them before I owed interest, but they reported before the payments posted, so it was really a crapshoot of how much they would say I was in debt) and my scores had rocketed to 750! At the time I didn't have a mortgage, my only debt was my car loan and I had a couple open credit cards.
I do think that credit scores are important enough to tend to. I would never do anything that cost me financially, but I do keep my unused credit cards open, and take credit limit increases even though my limits are waaay over anything I would ever spend. I also pay off my cards before the due date so that they'll report low if I'm about to get a car loan or the like. As I build up my financial worth and don't need to rely on loans, I'll probably care a lot less, but at this point in life I can't yet imagine being able to buy a house without a mortgage! I look forward to the day
I look at credit scores at a game with complicated rules. I learned the rules, and I play by them, because I want to buy a home within the next 5 years and I want a good interest rate. Once I'm past that point, perhaps I will have this relaxed attitude… but not yet
My credit report gave me an A+ in every category except an A- in "diversity of debt," or whatever they called it, meaning that the only revolving credit I had was my mortgage. I paid off the mortgage 7 years early and, bang, now I had a C+ there! Then I bought a new car and have debt again, and it's back up to A-. Insane.
They'll use any excuse to ding your rating. Get rid of a credit card, you go down. Use a credit card too much, you go down. Just looking at your score can make it go down!
Looking at your own credit report or accessing your own score does not affect your credit. Lenders can't even see the times you've pulled your own credit.
When lenders pull your report, then your score might go down a bit for a few months.
Thanks for sharing. You are so right that the credit score doesn't tell the whole story. If you never use credit, your score will fall, despite the fact that you have a "perfect" credit history.
I am worried about my credit score, because in the future I will most likely need to get a bank loan to set up my ceramics studio when I finish my degree- kilns do not come cheap, and real estate in South East England is very expensive. Right now I do not have much of a credit score at all. I got a phone on contract but because I'm a broke student my mum decided it would be best if the bill went to her and then I pay her off while she pays off the phone company (so if I don't have the money one month, I don't have to have an overdraft).
I have a credit card at the moment (for 3 months), but I've been paying it off in full every month after putting about £30 worth of goods on it (things I would buy anyway). Should I be keeping the balance instead of paying it off in full?
I need good access to credit in the future…
You NEVER have to pay interest for a good score! So keep paying it off every month – with time, your score will rise!
Paying on time and in full = most of the score
History of accounts (open) = another large portion of the score
you are on the way, just have patience and dedication to doing it the right way…
Ru, none of this applies to you in the UK. Credit scores are totally different outside the US. You should seek some advice specific to the UK.
Great article with some good insights. I see your reasoning behind closing out credit cards (I've done the same myself over the past 2 years) yet, when it comes down to it, why not just keep them open? Like yourself, I was worried having too many credit cards open may create the opportunity for fraud or identity theft. Really though, is it reasonable to act on that fear to the detriment of a credit score? If you have the self-control to not use the cards why not just shred them and forget you have them? My score dropped from the high 700s to the mid to low 700s. Owning your own business and living purely on cash is 100% the way to go and allows you to break away from the controlling powers of the credit score. This is how I am trying to shape my future as well. Yet, as you know the average American and reader of this blog is tied to the credit score for major life purchases and the impact that has on the long term interest they pay. Having a score of 675 vs 750 can have a big impact on the amount of interest you pay. Just food for thought. If you have the self-control to not use credit cards the fear of fraud on those cards shouldn't persuade you to close the cards.
Fraudulent use of cc is insurance by the cc co, right?!
Thanks for the post. Another good testimonial so us peons can try to reverse engineer the way that this stuff works.
I long ago came to the conclusion that the credit score industry is a con. Like others here, my plan for the past 3 years in particular has been to carry zero debt ~ no car loans, no credit cards and no mortgage. Still working on the mortgage part but I guarantee that I will NOT have a mortgage within 5 years time. I deal in cash/debit card only and my finances are in the best shape they have ever been.
This is what scares me. I am young and trying to live the philosophy of GRS. Since I am diligent about paying off my debts in a timely matter, it seems that my credit score will only decrease. Resulting in me not getting the best mortgage rate once I save enough for a down payment on a house. Seems pretty backwards. More and more I feel like I should be irresponsible and give the banks some profit if I want to get some sort of return from them in the next few years. The smart and responsible savers and debt reducers only seem to get the short end of the stick.
What would you recommend for someone who is younger and hasn't been able to buy their own house yet? How do we live the GRS lifestyle without lowering our credit scores?
What do you mean by the GRS philosophy or lifestyle?
Even J.D. is not against credit cards or credit. As another poster has said, you have to know yourself if you can use credit responsibly.
I would suggest looking at Atsiva's post. This can help you take control of what you can do to preserve and improve your credit.
Let's look at her points.
1. You're paying off your debts, so make sure you are paying on time. Also, make sure your other obligations are paid on time (ie, utilities, medical bills, library late fees, etc).
2. Credit use. This is part of why closing a credit card account can lead to a lower score. If you're carrying $2,000 in balances and your total available credit is $10,000, then you're using 20% of your credit. If you close a card (still keeping the 2k balance) and bring your overall credit limit down to $5,000 then you're using 40% and your score drops – all without really changing any of your habits.
Also, they look at the individual cards and how close you are to your limit. So let's say you open a new card that has an introductory rate of 0% for 6 months. It has a $5,000 balance and you transfer $4,500 of your debt to that card to take advantage of that great rate. You're now using 90% of your credit on that card and you're score will take a dip.
How much of a dip is the mystery that makes the credit scores so bogus – the higher your score when you starter, the bigger the dips. People with lower starting scores (always dynamic, so no real "starting" point but you know what i mean) can do the same actions and the dip will be smaller. (this was revealed in a Liz Pulliam Weston article)
3. This is another reason why you should try to not close your credit card accounts. Closing an account can make your credit look "younger" than it really is. You should still finish paying off the balances, you do not need to carry a balance, just don't close the account.
4. According to various articles and books I read before I bought my house is to limit your new credit activity in the year before you buy your house. Try not to open any credit cards or take out a car loan, etc. Life happens, but if you know ahead of time that you need to replace your car or you want to take advantage of a low rate to knock out the last of your debt – try to be strategic.
5. Pretty well explained here. You don't need to open new accounts, just be strategic if you're going to close accounts. Give your score time to recover.
You do NOT need to be in debt to have a good score, but you do need to be strategic about your credit usage.
I'm not an expert and I'm sure others will correct me on anything that's wrong or that they disagree with. Please don't hesitate to use your local library to find books tailored right on this issue if you're not finding what you need elsewhere.
Thank you. As for how to use my credit cards, these are all points I know and practice. I have never carried a balance on my cards, and intend to. The debt I would pay off that could potentially lower my credit score (which is in the high 700s) would be student loans and my car loan. Paying off those debts so that I can live debt free are what scare me. I am actively working towards this, but am just fearful my credit score will be affected because I don't have any recurring payments for the calculation to factor in. My point is that it seems to be a difficult decision to make on whether you should pay down all your debts (non credit card), and thus lowering your credit score before you are able to make a house purchase.
Good answer!
And to add one more thing – for "long debts" like student loans, mortgage, etc. Once it is paid off, it will report for 10 years!!! So you will benefit for the next 10 years with good history and payment.
Again, you NEVER have to pay interest to get a good score and you NEVER have to carry a balance beyond when you can pay off a loan just for a high score.
Matt has the point here just about:
"I used to think a credit score was all about your ability to pay, but it's clear now it's more about how profitable you will be to banks."
It's about how good you have been recently to banks – if you've recently (within 7 years) paid off a big loan, then you're a "good risk". If you haven't, the bank has no way of knowing whether you've become a deadbeat.
My issue is I want a house (someday) and to get the lowest mortgage rate at a credit union (don't sell my loans!) I need a 740 or above.
"I used to think a credit score was all about your ability to pay, but it's clear now it's more about how profitable you will be to banks."
I would disagree with your credit score being more about how profitable you will be to banks. Getting new credit and using a lot of it does show risky behavior for lenders, especially in this economy. People who don't pay their bills on time but pay them off eventually don't have the highest credit scores, even though those are the most profitable customers for credit cards.
I do agree that it isn't based solely on your ability to pay either and if you don't need to take out a loan or anything which requires a high credit score, I wouldn't bother looking at it too much. It's great to hear that you are financially stable.
You can get an Experian FICO score free every 180 days by signing up with Quizzle. But, avoid all of the credit monitoring services, etc. that they also try to sell you on the site.
It really is amazing, and almost shameful, how the credit score gods treat the financially secure. As you and JD both seem to feel, who really cares, right? As long as you don't have need to take out any long term, or short term debt for that matter, then the ability to pay it off is reward enough.
JD, I just wanted to comment on the new tabs on the side of the page – big improvement over the floating menus!!!
(they still bother me a little bit, but I assume you guys want them there for a reason, so I can deal)
Thanks, as ever, for listening to your readers!
You my "falling credit score" friend is what's known as a "deadbeat" to the banking and credit institution. And it's an AWESOME thing to be in this case. Good Work!
"I used to think a credit score was all about your ability to pay, but it's clear now it's more about how profitable you will be to banks."
Sad, but true. A good score is an important tool to protect, but we shouldn't kid ourselves about the cold reality of what a good score represents to financial institutions – acceptable risk. Good article.
Well written post Matt, Thanks for sharing. I was shocked to know that paying your debt reduces your credit score.
Came across an interesting infographic "Just How Much Do We Need Our Credit Cards?", shows that American credit card debt is expected to rise to $1.177 trillion this year. The colorful diagram also breaks down other details of the American credit card industry, including who uses credit cards, how many cards the average American carries, credit card usage growth and the types of cards preferred by Americans.
Found the following site very helpful:
A credit score is a number that helps lenders and others predict how likely you are to make your credit payments on time. Each score is based on the information then in your credit report.
Haha — I see many of you thought the FICO score was your score.
You see: it's not. It is THEIR score, for you.
This makes sense, after all it's a "credit" score, or how you use credit (debt). Once you have no debt there is no way for them to calculate it and you start getting dinged. I still have a healthy credit score because I have a couple cards I use regularly (and pay off) as well as a mortgage, etc. But I always find it funny those posts people asking how to improve their credit score AS IF it was equivalent to to what their financial status. Obviously you don't want to be paying things late but otherwise they are two completely different things.
I'm going to say something kind of wacky — I don't think credit scores were ever meant to be a perfect indicator of an individual's ability (and willingness) to pay. Rather, they're meant to bucket you into groups so that the loans you are given are priced competitively. And, quite frankly, in the aggregate, I think they do a decent job.
I say this as both a math major and former Prosper lender. As a math major, one gets into something called the "fallacy of averages" which more or less says that expecting every member of a group to perform as "average" is wrong. This is why you have people with low scores who pay their bills, and people with initially high scores who don't. (I say initially because if you stop paying your bills, you won't have a high score for long.)
Credit scores are about credit companies trying to beat the odds. If we didn't have credit scores, we'd have one "average" interest rate that we would all pay. And, if there were a bunch of dead-beats, that rate would be pretty high. Then, we'd probably get into adverse selection issues. People who have no intention of paying their bills, wouldn't. People who are extremely low risks of default likely wouldn't pay high interest rates. So, credit scores allow banks to set appropriate pricing for their financial products. People who have little ability or willingness to pay either won't get loans or pay high prices for it, as demonstrated by their history. People who have great history and little chance of default will pay a lot less money because the banks want their business. Credit scoring doesn't have to be absolutely perfect for each individual; it has to be generally correct in the aggregate.
Now, the Prosper lender part of me says these scores are a lot less hooey than individuals may want to think. Prosper was more or less founded on the principal that banks were screwing up, charging to much, and filtering out "higher risk" borrowers who may be able to pay. Well, Prosper's performance (rather, the collective performance of individual borrowers) suggests that banks more or less know what they were doing. The performance of "no credit" borrowers was absolutely atrocious, even worse than "high risk" (aka subprime) borrowers. As I mentioned above, I didn't care that the scoring models were perfect for a single person. (How could they? The occasional prime-grade borrower will default, and more than a few sub-primes will pay.) But what matters is the performance of the group as a whole. And, as a whole, sub-prime borrowers were absolutely terrible — I think more than half of mine defaulted.
As far as income went, I evaluated borrowers who made more money than I did. I thought it was ironic that I was lending money to people who made more than I did. High income people default too. They lose jobs, yada yada. Nobody's perfect.
My gut says that the FICO score means a lot less to potential mortgage lenders than, say, a hefty cash down payment. We all know that 20% is "preferred" but if you showed up with 30-50% in cash, I'd be willing to bet that you would still get a competitive interest rate. After all, you're borrowing a lot less at that point, and therefore are less of a risk.
I also meant to add that if you have a large cash reserve, you might want to look at increasing the deductible on your insurance. The higher the deductible, the lower your premium. FICO, again, is only one (small) piece of the equation.
For some enlightenment and entertainment on this whole FICO fiasco, read "The FICO Hoax" by William Kirkendale. Go to http://www.ficofraud.com for more info
Haha. I read an article about how some video games are using psychological techniques to get you to keep playing their games (and keep plugging money into them) long after you've stopped having fun. (Heck, some people treat WoW like it's a /job/. This isn't an accident, and the people aren't freaks of nature. It's the study of psychology used for evil.)
I think it's pretty clear that the people who dreamed up the FICO scores were more concerned with rewarding people for staying in debt and punishing them for staying out of debt, than giving an honest review of their financial health. If they wanted to give an honest review, they'd be more concerned about making sure the information was accurate…
I totally agree with the comment that I'm not concerned with my credit score. Now that I'm more financially responsible I'm planning on buying my next car in cash. We're happy with our home so I won't be needing a mortgage any time soon, etc…
I have two credit cards and I never pay full amount and keep it revolving. I wonder if it is good or bad for my credit score ?
I love what Dave Ramsey refers to the FICO score – its an "I love debt" score. So, if I'm working torward paying off my debts and planning/positioning myself to never have to have debt again, then I don't really care what my FICO score is.


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Blaine;Sunshine & I Are Married and Have a Beautiful Daughter Named Aurora and Hopefully Will Be Expecting another Baby Soon. We All Live Together and Hope To One Day Have A Bigger Family. Even though We Sometimes Have Our Ups and Downs I Will Always Be There For You. Me & You Against The World Baby, Te Amo !♡
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Sunshine smiled and nodded. "Anthony Hunter the second." She smiled and looked up at him. "I love it." She took a deep breath and saw their son get fussy as he was hungry. She looked up as he was taken from her to switch her to a new room. She lay in the new bed and she was handed Anthony back as she fed him. She was still tired and needed the rest.
Sunshine smiled and sat Aurora down on the playing mat before she hugged him laughing softly. "We're having another baby." She smiled excitedly.
Sunshine looked up into his eyes feeling his hand on her back as he traced small patters. She smiled and took his other hand above their heads tangling their fingers together as her wedding band and engagement ring glistened in the dim light. "I love you to Blaine - More then you can possible imagine. I will cherish each and every moment with you." She kissed him softly.
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February 08, 2013, 4:31 PM — U.S. companies shouldn't be able to get patents on abstract ideas when they combine those ideas with a computer process, a lawyer argued in an appeals court Friday.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit should invalidate four patents held by electronic marketplace Alice because the process described in the patents can be done in a person's head or with a paper and pencil, argued Mark Perry, a lawyer representing CLS Bank, which was sued by Alice for infringement.
Alice's four patents cover a computerized platform for exchanging obligations in foreign currency trading, but Perry argued the idea behind the patents is too basic to be worthy of a patent.
Alice's patents cover "double-entry ledger keeping," a skill that any trained accountant has, Perry told the nine judges. "It is abstract, it is simple, it is not complicated," he added.
Some patent lawyers have suggested the CLS Bank v. Alice Corp. case could have broad implications for software patents, because U.S. court have issued conflicting decisions about software patents and computerized processes in recent years.
Friday's arguments, largely stayed away from questions about software patents, instead centering around the validity of Alice's specific patents.
Still, when U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) lawyer Nathan Kelley argued Friday that simply using a reconfigured computer to run an abstract idea doesn't make it patentable, Judge Kimberly Moore suggested that all software basically reconfigures a computer.
Alice's patents describe specific ways a computer is configured to run the company's trading platform, and contain detailed flow charts describing the process, Moore said. The Alice patents are "so far" from an abstract idea, she said.
"What you effectively said is software patents are dead," she said to Kelley.
Kelley disagreed, saying the USPTO's argument was more narrowly focused on abstract ideas and whether adding a computer process to them should be patentable.
Alice's patents go beyond an abstract idea, argued Adam Perlman, a lawyer representing the company. The computer process is essential to the patent, he said.
When Judge Jimmie Reyna suggested humans could do the process described in the patents, Perlman disagreed. In Alice's patents, the computer "does not simply speed the underlying calculation," he said.
The patents describe a process that reconfigures a computer, he added. "You can't just go to Best Buy and buy a computer to do this," Perlman said.


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July 17, 2006
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After a nationwide search, the Board of Trustees of Hartnell Community College District announced the appointment of Dr. Phoebe K. Helm as superintendent/president, effective July 1. Dr. Helm has served as the college's interim superintendent/president since July 1, 2007.
The announcement was made at a special meeting of the Board of Trustees on Tuesday evening, June 17. As with all administrators' contracts, the initial term will be for one year.
Dr. Helm has been hailed for turning Hartnell College around in her year as interim superintendent/president. Under her leadership, the college improved its accreditation situation from probation to warning, closed a significant funding gap, improved the internal governance process of the college, and increased student enrollment.
"The Board is so happy to have Dr. Helm on board," said Board Chair Kari Valdes. "Dr. Helm brings with her a vast amount of experience in handling the budget, which is of the utmost importance during this financially difficult time. Moreover, her vision of shared governance, working together, and breaking down the silos already have been demonstrated for the good of the entire college. She has been instrumental in creating ties throughout the community that Hartnell serves and insuring that the college is truly serving the community."
In addition to her work at Hartnell, Dr. Helm has more than 30 years of experience serving community colleges in Tennessee, Kentucky, Illinois, and California. Her broad background in education includes teaching and administrative work in K-12 schools, colleges, and graduate schools, including a stint as the interim vice president and assistant superintendent of instruction at Palomar Community College and four years as the vice chancellor of economic development and vocational education at the California Community Colleges Chancellor's Office in Sacramento. She served eight years as president of Harry S. Truman College, one of seven community colleges of the City College of Chicago, until 2004. Her career has focused on serving community colleges in ethnically and culturally diverse areas.
Dr. Helm earned her Ed. D. at the University of Kentucky, her master's in education at Memphis State University, her bachelor's of science in education at Union University, and an associate's degree at Freed-Hardeman College in Henderson, Tennessee.