text:
Judge Somers
11-11425 Schupbach Investments, LLC (Doc. # 305) - Document Text
- Details
- Category: Judge Somers
- Published: 20 August 2012
- Written by Judge Somers
SIGNED this 17th day of August, 2012.
Opinion Designated for Electronic Use, But Not for Print Publication
In re:
These matters were before the Court on January 9, 2012, for an evidentiary hearing
on the Debtors' motions for joint administration and substantive consolidation of their
Case 11-11425 Doc# 305 Filed 08/17/12 Page 1 of 18
cases.1 Schupbach Investments, LLC ("the Company"), is owned by individual debtors
Jonathan Isaac Schupbach and Amy Marie Schupbach. The Company appeared by
counsel Mark J. Lazzo. The Schupbachs appeared by counsel David P. Eron of Eron Law
Offices, P.A. Creditors Rose Hill Bank and Central National Bank filed objections to the
motions, and other interested creditors apeared at the hearing. Rose Hill Bank appeared
by counsel J. Michael Morris and Scott M. Hill of Klenda, Mitchell, Austerman &
Zuercher, L.L.C. Central National Bank appeared by counsel Luke P. Sinclair of Gay,
Riordan, Fincher, Munson & Sinclair, PA. Creditor Meritrust Credit Union appeared by
counsel Eric D. Bruce of Bruce, Bruce & Lehman, L.L.C. Creditor Community Bank of
Wichita, Inc., appeared by counsel Dennis V. Lacey of Nelson, Gunderson & Lacey.
Creditor Bank of Commerce & Trust Company appeared by counsel William B.
Sorensen, Jr., of Morris, Laing, Evans, Brock & Kennedy, Chartered. The United States
Trustee appeared by Joyce Owen. There were no other appearances. The Court has
heard the evidence and arguments of counsel, and has reviewed other relevant materials,
and is now ready to rule.
In 2001, the Schupbachs bought their first low-income residential rental property
in the Wichita metro area, and they have added a large number of similar properties since
1The motion in the Company's case is Docket no. 205, and the one in the Schupbachs' case is
Docket no. 70.
Case 11-11425 Doc# 305 Filed 08/17/12 Page 2 of 18
then. In 2004, they began what they called a "wholesale" side to their business, which
involved buying, improving, and then selling rental properties to investors. For several
years, this proved to be more profitable than the rental business.
In 2005, on the advice of an attorney, the Schupbachs formed the Company and
began transferring both parts of their business to it. Mr. Schupbach testified the only
reason they formed the limited liability company was to avoid personal liability in the
event someone was injured on one of their rental properties.
The Schupbachs initially borrowed money in their own names to buy the
properties, but after they formed the Company, the loans were obtained and the properties
were titled in the Company's name. Each loan the Company obtained enabled it to buy a
property, which the Company mortgaged as security for the loan. As is usual with limited
liability companies owned by a married couple, the Schupbachs were required to
guarantee the loans lenders made to the Company. By 2011, all the Schupbachs' business
loans were in the name of the Company. The Schupbachs were the Company's only
employees, but it also hired contractors on a full-time basis to help it service and maintain
its properties.
The financial crisis that hit the economy in 2008 took a toll on the Company's
business, especially the wholesale side. At the request of one or more of the lenders, the
Schupbachs cut back on the Company's expenses by reducing its full-time contractors
from eleven to four. Rose Hill Bank was the Company's main lender, and it suggested
the Schupbachs should reduce their personal expenses as well, which they did by not
Case 11-11425 Doc# 305 Filed 08/17/12 Page 3 of 18
making their home mortgage payments. Nevertheless, two of the Company's lenders
started foreclosure actions, and on May 16, 2011, the Company filed a Chapter 11
bankruptcy petition in Wichita. Mr. Schupbach testified they were trying to save the
Company, and wanted to pay its creditors back. At that time, the Company had
outstanding mortgage loans with nine banks, a credit union, and two private individuals.
The loans totaled a little over $5 million.
Shortly after the Court ruled early in July 2011 that the Debtor could surrender
some of its rental properties and use some of the cash collateral generated by the rest of
its properties, several of the lenders started trying to enforce the Schupbachs' personal
guarantees. Consequently, on July 16, 2011, the Schupbachs filed a joint Chapter 13
bankruptcy petition in Topeka. They filed a Chapter 13 plan that same day, proposing to
surrender their homestead. They also agreed to surrender a 2009 Cadillac Escalade to a
lender that had a lien on it. Several of the Schupbachs' creditors objected that the
Schupbachs' debts exceeded the limits for Chapter 13, and on September 27, 2011, the
Schupbachs filed a motion to convert their case to Chapter 11. The case proceeded in
Chapter 13 until November 14, 2011, when Judge Karlin granted the Schupbachs'
motion. In the same order, Judge Karlin granted Rose Hill Bank's request to transfer the
case to the Wichita division of this Court. While the case was in Topeka, it was assigned
Case No. 11-41120, but when it was transferred to Wichita, it was assigned Case No. 1113633.
On October 3, 2011, the Company filed a motion to have its case jointly
Case 11-11425 Doc# 305 Filed 08/17/12 Page 4 of 18
administered with the Schupbachs' personal case, and to have its estate substantively
consolidated with the Schupbachs' estates. The Schupbachs filed an identical motion in
their personal case on the same day. Both motions asked to have the Company's attorney
serve as counsel for the consolidated bankruptcy estate. Rose Hill Bank objected, among
other things, that a Chapter 13 case could not be consolidated with a Chapter 11 case, but
that part of its objection became moot in November when Judge Karlin converted the
Schupbachs' case to Chapter 11.
On October 11, 2011, the Company filed a disclosure statement and a plan of
reorganization. A major feature of the Company's plan called for the substantive
consolidation of its bankruptcy estate with the Schupbachs' personal estates, for the
property of the consolidated estates to vest in the Schupbachs on confirmation, and for the
Schupbachs to personally own and operate the rental and wholesale business under the
plan. Rose Hill Bank and Central National Bank both objected to consolidation. The
Court held an evidentiary hearing on consolidation on January 9, 2012.
At the hearing, Mr. Schupbach testified that none of the Company's lenders ever
asked for a financial statement from the Company, but only personal financial statements
from him and his wife. However, he also said the Company's assets were listed on the
personal financial statements.
A senior vice president of Rose Hill Bank, Larry Cohoon, testified that his bank
regularly asked the Schupbachs for financial statements from the Company, but never
received any. Nevertheless, from other sources, mainly lists of the Company's assets and
Case 11-11425 Doc# 305 Filed 08/17/12 Page 5 of 18
its rent rolls that were attached to the Schupbachs' personal financial statements, the bank
obtained the information it needed to approve its loans to the Company. The bank knew
the Company owned the rental properties used in the business. The rent rolls attached to
the financial statements showed what each property was actually rented for, and Mr.
Schupbach met with Cohoon when the Company's loans needed to be renewed to go over
the rental situation for the properties that secured Rose Hill Bank's loans. The bank also
received copies of the Company's tax returns. In addition, the Company made its loan
payments to Rose Hill for several years. Cohoon said in making the loans to the
Company, the bank relied on the Company's assets, the loan-to-value ratios its properties
had, the value of the real properties themselves, and the Company's ongoing loan
payments, as well as on Mr. Schupbach's ability as an operator.
Clinton Lawrence, a vice president of Bank of Commerce and Trust, gave similar
testimony. He said that his bank received no separate financial statement from the
Company, but that the Company's assets were listed separately on personal financial
statements Mr. Schupbach gave him. Like Rose Hill, his bank relied on the loan-to-value
ratios and the real properties themselves in making loans to the Company. He said a
character issue is involved in making loans like those his bank made to the Company, and
his experience with Mr. Schupbach over the years led him to believe Schupbach was a
good operator of the Company's rental business.
The Company's tax returns for 2008, 2009, and 2010 were admitted into evidence.
The 21-page 2008 return showed the Company made a gross profit of just under
Case 11-11425 Doc# 305 Filed 08/17/12 Page 6 of 18
$587,000, and a net ordinary business income for the year of $85,625. The 22-page 2009
return showed the Company made a gross profit of just over $678,000 and a net ordinary
business income of $178,891. The 53-page 2010 return showed the Company made a
gross profit of a little over $470,000 and a net ordinary business loss of $10,747. The
2010 return includes thirteen pages showing income and expenses for each of the
Company's rental properties, and a seven-page "Depreciation Schedule by Category" that
likewise lists the Company's rental properties. The copies presented at trial of the 2008
and 2009 returns did not include such attachments, nor did any testimony suggest the
returns would have included them.
The Debtors' attorney asked both bank officers a hypothetical question about the
loans their banks had made to the Company. He asked them to assume the Schupbachs,
not the Company, had personally owned all the rental properties and the Company had
not existed, and then asked whether their banks would have made the loans to the
Schupbachs that they had made to the Company. Both officers conceded their banks
would have made the loans.
On July 24, 2012, Rose Hill, Bank of Commerce, Central National Bank,
Community Bank of Wichita, First National Bank of Hutchinson, Kansas State Bank,
Legacy Bank, and Meritrust Credit Union filed a liquidating plan for the Company, along
with a disclosure statement.2
2Docket nos. 294 & 295 in Case No. 11-11425.
Case 11-11425 Doc# 305 Filed 08/17/12 Page 7 of 18
The more significant part of the Debtors' motions asks to have their bankruptcy
estates substantively consolidated. If granted, that request would have a much more
substantial impact on the future of their bankruptcy cases than would joint administration.
Consequently, the Court will address the substantive consolidation issue first.
a. Standards for substantive consolidation.
In 2005, the Third Circuit issued an opinion thoroughly reviewing the case law
about substantive consolidation in bankruptcy, In re Owens Corning,3 which relied in part
on a law review article by Mary Elisabeth Kors that provides a good discussion of the
history of the activity.4 Kors, calling substantive consolidation a strange thing that
happens in bankruptcy, defined it as: "the effective merger of two or more legally distinct
(albeit affiliated) entities into a single debtor with a common pool of assets and a common
body of liabilities."5
The Third Circuit noted that courts had almost unanimously agreed that
substantive consolidation should be used sparingly, and that most had also followed either
a rationale described by the Second Circuit in Augie/Restivo Baking Company,6 or one
3In re Owens Corning, 419 F.3d 195, 205-12 (3d Cir. 2005).
4Kors, Altered Egos: Deciphering Substantive Consolidation, 59 U. Pitt. L. Rev. 381 (Winter,
5Id. at 381.
6Union Sav. Bank v. Augie/Restivo Baking Co., Ltd. (In re Augie/Restivo Baking Co., Ltd.), 860
F.2d 515, 516-17 (2d Cir.1988).
Case 11-11425 Doc# 305 Filed 08/17/12 Page 8 of 18
described by the D.C. Circuit in Auto-Train Corporation.7 In Augie/Restivo, the Second
Circuit concluded courts deciding whether to substantively consolidate entities in
bankruptcy ultimately relied on one or the other of "two critical factors: (i) whether
creditors dealt with the entities as a single economic unit and did not rely on their separate
identity in extending credit; or (ii) whether the affairs of the debtors are so entangled that
consolidation will benefit all creditors."8 In Auto-Train, the D.C. Circuit concluded that
when substantive consolidation is sought, the moving party "must show not only a
substantial identity between the entities to be consolidated, but also that consolidation is
necessary to avoid some harm or to realize some benefit. At this point, a creditor may
object on the grounds that it relied on the separate credit of one of the entities and that it
will be prejudiced by the consolidation. If a creditor makes such a showing, the court
may order consolidation only if it determines that the demonstrated benefits of
consolidation heavily outweigh the harm."9
The Third Circuit said the Augie/Restivo and Auto-Train standards were very
similar, but complained the D.C. Circuit's Auto-Train test was too easily met. The Third
Circuit then went on to specify more extensive principles it felt should guide courts faced
with deciding whether to grant substantive consolidation:
(1) Limiting the cross-creep of liability by respecting entity separateness
7Drabkin v. Midland-Ross Corp. (In re Auto-Train Corp.), 810 F.2d 270 (D.C. Cir. 1987).
8860 F.2d at 518 (internal quotation marks and citations omitted).
9810 F.2d at 276 (internal quotation marks and citations omitted).
Case 11-11425 Doc# 305 Filed 08/17/12 Page 9 of 18
is a fundamental ground rule. As a result, the general expectation of
state law and of the Bankruptcy Code, and thus of commercial
markets, is that courts respect entity separateness absent compelling
circumstances calling equity (and even then only possibly
substantive consolidation) into play.
The harms substantive consolidation addresses are nearly always
those caused by debtors (and entities they control) who disregard
separateness. Harms caused by creditors typically are remedied by
provisions found in the Bankruptcy Code (e.g., fraudulent transfers,
§§ 548 and 544(b)(1), and equitable subordination, § 510(c)).
Mere benefit to the administration of the case (for example, allowing
a court to simplify a case by avoiding other issues or to make
postpetition accounting more convenient) is hardly a harm calling
substantive consolidation into play.
Indeed, because substantive consolidation is extreme (it may affect
profoundly creditors' rights and recoveries) and imprecise, this
"rough justice" remedy should be rare and, in any event, one of last
resort after considering and rejecting other remedies (for example,
the possibility of more precise remedies conferred by the Bankruptcy
While substantive consolidation may be used defensively to remedy
the identifiable harms caused by entangled affairs, it may not be used
offensively (for example, having a primary purpose to disadvantage
tactically a group of creditors in the plan process or to alter creditor
The Court notes that the fifth principle makes clear the Third Circuit would not approve
of the Debtors' effort to obtain substantive consolidation in order to eliminate the
absolute priority rule as an obstacle to their reorganization efforts, one that gives the
Company's creditors the power to prevent confirmation of any plan that would both
10419 F.3d at 211 (internal quotation marks, citations, and footnote omitted).
Case 11-11425 Doc# 305 Filed 08/17/12 Page 10 of 18
(1) pay them less than the full amount they are owed and (2) allow the Company to
remain the owner of its rental properties and the Schupbachs to retain their ownership and
control of the Company.
As explained below, the Debtor's motions fail under any of the three approaches to
substantive consolidation described here.
b. The Debtors' evidence did not show this is one of the rare situations where
substantive consolidation should be ordered.
The Debtors ask the Court to find in their favor on the facet of the Augie/Restivo
and Auto-Train standards that concern their creditors' alleged failure to rely on the
separate identity of the Company in making the loans to their rental business. They argue
their evidence showed that the lenders did not rely on the separate credit of the Company
in making those loans. That was the intended thrust of the hypothetical question their
attorney asked the bank officers who testified: if the Company had not existed and the
Schupbachs had personally owed all the rental properties and other assets it had, would
the banks have given them the same loans they made to the Company? But this is not the
question to ask in order to determine whether the banks relied on the Company's separate
existence or credit in making the loans. Instead, the appropriate hypothetical would have
been to ask the bankers to assume that ownership of the business assets remained split
between the Company and the Schupbachs personally as they chose to set their business
up, but the Schupbachs had asked the banks to make the loans to them personally with no
participation by the Company or direct offer of its assets to serve as security for the loans.
Case 11-11425 Doc# 305 Filed 08/17/12 Page 11 of 18
Of course, the answer to that question would clearly be "No." Even if the Schupbachs
had offered a security interest in their ownership of the Company, the banks would not
have been likely to make the loans because, unlike real property, ownership interests in a
limited liability company cannot easily be sold if they must be foreclosed on, especially
when the lender's foreclosure would almost certainly have deprived the company of the
former owners' expertise at running the company's business. In essence, this
hypothetical would have been asking if the Schupbachs' personal credit would have been
sufficient to convince the banks to make the loans. Individuals like Warren Buffet, Bill
Gates, or the Koch brothers might be able to get personal loans for a business they owned
on such terms, but the Schupbachs could not. Their personal wealth would not have
provided adequate security to convince the lenders to make the loans. There can be no
doubt the banks and other lenders relied on the Company's ownership of the real
properties it was buying with the loans they made to it and the mortgages it gave them on
those properties when they decided to make the loans. The Debtors' hypothetical simply
asked if the banks would have made the loans if they had been offered the same real
property security and the same rental business operator as they were offered, but with a
different ownership structure. While the bankers' affirmative answer to that question
suggests the banks did not care how the Schupbachs structured the ownership of their
business, that does not mean the banks did not actually rely on the separate existence and
assets of the entity the Schupbachs themselves chose to create to hold the ownership of
the real properties.
Case 11-11425 Doc# 305 Filed 08/17/12 Page 12 of 18
The Debtors suggest the Court should ignore the fact that the substantive
consolidation they seek would enable them to reorganize their business free of the
strictures of the absolute priority rule, based on this Court's ruling in In re Roedemeier
that individual Chapter 11 debtors are not subject to that rule. But in a 1979 decision, the
Tenth Circuit said a bankruptcy court's equitable power to order substantive
consolidation does not allow the court to ignore the absolute priority rule.11 In that case,
the lower court's consolidation order would have eliminated several creditors' security
interests in the stock of one of the debtors being consolidated and changed them into mere
unsecured creditors of the resulting consolidated entity.12 The Debtors are not proposing
quite such a drastic change in their creditors' positions, but the consolidation they seek
would, under Roedemeier, potentially allow the Schupbachs to retain ownership of their
rental business without paying in full either the unsecured portions of their secured
creditors' claims or their other unsecured creditors' claims.
In reality, the evidence made clear that the Company's lenders relied on the
Company's ownership and mortgaging of the rental real properties, and relied on the
Schupbachs' expertise and character as the operators of the Company's rental business.
This does not mean they were not relying on the separate existence of the Company. As
the bankers admitted, if the Company had not existed and the Schupbachs had personally
owned the properties, the banks would still have made the loans. But for whatever
11In re Gulfco Investment Corp., 593 F.2d 921, 926-27 (10th Cir. 1979).
12Id. at 923.
Case 11-11425 Doc# 305 Filed 08/17/12 Page 13 of 18
reason, the Schupbachs chose not to own and operate the business solely in their personal
capacities, but to form the Company and legally separate some aspects of the business
from themselves. The fact that choice is now an impediment to their reorganization effort
is not a sufficient reason under any of the recognized standards to grant their request for
substantive consolidation.
Rather than proving theirs is the rare case where substantive consolidation is
justified, the Debtors' evidence showed their situation is not significantly different from
that of any other small business corporation or limited liability company owned by an
individual or married couple. In some ways, their lenders would treat them as a single
economic unit by taking mortgages or security interests on the company's assets and
personal guarantees from the individual or couple. But by making the loans in the
company's name and taking mortgages and security interests in the company's name, as
the lenders did in this case, the lenders are treating the company as existing separate from
the individual or couple. In fact, any individual or married couple whose only major asset
is a business operated through a corporation or limited liability company with substantial
financing from banks and other lenders could probably provide evidence about the
lenders' alleged failure to rely on the company's separate credit that is substantially
similar to the evidence the Debtors presented here. The Court is not convinced such an
individual or couple, having chosen to create a separate legal entity to own or otherwise
deal with some aspects of their business, should be able to file bankruptcy and routinely
obtain orders substantively consolidating their bankruptcy estates. But if the Court were
Case 11-11425 Doc# 305 Filed 08/17/12 Page 14 of 18
to grant substantive consolidation for these Debtors, it would be hard to envision a
situation where an individual or couple and their company would not be able to obtain
substantive consolidation.
c. Joint administration will be granted.
The Company's bankruptcy case was filed on May 16, 2011, and the Schupbachs'
joint personal case was filed on July 16, 2011. The Debtors did not file their motions for
joint administration until October 3, 2011, more than two months after the personal case
was filed. The Debtors claim joint administration will significantly reduce administrative
expenses, simplify the administration of their cases, and serve judicial economy. Rose
Hill Bank, joined by Central National Bank, points out that the cases were filed at
different times in different divisions in the District of Kansas, and that while the cases do
involve some common creditors, there are also creditors whose claims are only involved
in one of the cases. Rose Hill suggests there may be a conflict of interest between the
bankruptcy estates of the Company and the Schupbachs because any transfers from the
Company to the Schupbachs might be subject to avoidance by the Company's estate. The
bank also notes the Company filed a disclosure statement and plan about a week after the
Debtors asked for joint administration, but the Schupbachs had not filed a Chapter 11
plan by the time Rose Hill filed its objection on October 24. Of course, the Schupbachs
case was not converted to Chapter 11 until November 14, so they could not have filed a
Chapter 11 plan before that. Nevertheless, the Schupbachs have still not filed a Chapter
11 plan, although the plan the Company filed could have served as their plan, too, if the
Case 11-11425 Doc# 305 Filed 08/17/12 Page 15 of 18
Court had granted their request for substantive consolidation.
As relevant here, Federal Rule of Bankruptcy Procedure 1015(b) provides, "If a
joint petition or two or more petitions are pending in the same court by or against (1) a
husband and wife, or (2) a partnership and one or more of its general partners, or (3) two
or more general partners, or (4) a debtor and an affiliate, the court may order a joint
administration of the estates. Prior to entering an order the court shall give consideration
to protecting creditors of different estates against potential conflicts of interest." Rule
1015(c) provides: "When an order for consolidation or joint administration of a joint case
or two or more cases is entered pursuant to this rule, while protecting the rights of the
parties under the Code, the court may enter orders as may tend to avoid unnecessary costs
and delay."
The Court's decision to deny substantive consolidation eliminates some of the
parties' arguments about joint administration. For example, the ruling means the
Company's proposed Chapter 11 plan cannot be confirmed since it provides for
substantive consolidation, which in turn means the Company will have to file a new plan
before confirmation may be considered. The Schupbachs case has now been converted to
Chapter 11, eliminating Rose Hill's concern about how a Chapter 11 case could be jointly
administered with a Chapter 13 one, and there would be nothing to prevent the
Schupbachs from filing a joint plan with the Company. In addition, the transfer of the
Schupbachs' case to Wichita has resolved Rose Hill's concern that joint administration of
cases pending in different divisions of this Court would not be feasible.
Case 11-11425 Doc# 305 Filed 08/17/12 Page 16 of 18
The Debtors' delay in asking for joint administration suggests it may not be
necessary, and the fact they combined their request with their request for substantive
consolidation may suggest they do not require it since the Court is denying substantive
consolidation. In addition, the secured creditors of the Company have filed a disclosure
statement and a liquidating plan for the Company that provides for the Schupbachs'
interests in the Company to be extinguished. On the other hand, the Debtors do have
many common creditors and the Debtors' financial circumstances are sufficiently
intertwined that it appears unlikely the Company and the Schupbachs would propose
anything but a joint plan. This means noticing costs, if nothing else, could be reduced by
authorizing the Debtors to send a single joint notice of their disclosure statement and plan
to their common creditors, and to do the same with other future activities in their cases.
Rose Hill has not identified any actual conflict of interest, and because the Company is
fully owned and operated by the Schupbachs, the Court believes it is unlikely that any
conflict of interest will arise that would remain hidden if the cases are jointly
administered but would be disclosed if the cases were separately administered.
Under the circumstances, the Court concludes that joint administration of these
cases will reduce administrative costs, and will not cause any harm that would be avoided
if joint administration were denied. Consequently, the Debtors' requests for joint
administration of their cases will be granted.
For these reasons, the Court concludes the Debtors' requests for substantive
Case 11-11425 Doc# 305 Filed 08/17/12 Page 17 of 18
consolidation must be denied. Their requests for joint administration, however, will be
granted. All future pleadings in the cases shall be captioned with the Company's name
and case number, with the words "Joint Administration" under the case number.
This opinion constitutes a judgment resolving the Debtors' motions for substantive
consolidation and joint administration and, pursuant to Federal Rule of Bankruptcy
Procedure 9021, that judgment will become effective when it is entered on the docket in
the Debtors' cases, pursuant to Bankruptcy Rule 5003.
# # #
Case 11-11425 Doc# 305 Filed 08/17/12 Page 18 of 18
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Crocodyl is a collaboration sponsored by CorpWatch, the Center for Corporate Policy and the Corporate Research Project. Our aim is to stimulate collaborative research among NGOs, journalists, activists, whistleblowers and academics from both the…
Armed and Dangerous
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Study of relationships between staff and President, experience and task, organization and responsibility at time of leadership transition.
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A NC Progressive Documentary/ Community Video Project documenting the current movement of, by, and for a progressive North Carolina.
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Grayson County Judge Executive, Gary Logsdon, says: "Constables are a great asset to the community. We have six of them."
Constable is defined by dictionary.com as: "A peace officer with less authority and smaller jurisdiction than a sheriff, empowered to serve writs and warrants and make arrests."
Logsdon: "They have all been active. They're all an asset to the Sheriff's Department. They serve papers. They've been known to write citations and patrol in neighborhoods. They are an asset."
The constables in Kentucky are not paid for what they do.
Logsdon: "I feel like they need to be paid if they are going to be elected officials they need compensation."
Constables in Grayson County must pay for their own vehicles and the cars must be clearly marked. Their vehicles are similar to the cars sheriff's deputies drive. The county pays for the cars insurance and provides them with blue lights.
Logsdon: "They do carry firearms. They wear uniforms. I have to say they really look professional."
Constables must also pay for their handcuffs and firearms. Grayson county constables are sent to the police academy in Eastern Kentucky for forty hours of training, which they pay for themselves.
The laws for constables in Kentucky were established in 1779. Since then there have been no changes. Judge Logsdon thinks there should be some amendments made to provide the constables compensation for all they do for the community.


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CCRI was chosen by the VA to participate as one of original eight schools nationwide for the VetSuccess on Campus pilot program in 2010. The program is to provide outreach, support and assistance with all VA benefits. Ms. Micaela Black Estrella, the VetSuccess On-campus Coordinator, can be reached at (401) 648-1597 or via email at: email@example.com. Click here for more information.
CCRI Certification of VA Benefits
Certification of VA benefits is completed by the Veteran Certifying Officials in the Office of Enrollment Services at the Knight Campus. The certifying officials serve as liaisons between the College and the Department of Veterans Affairs. Once enrollment is complete, the certifying officials report accurate enrollment statuses to the VA concerning students receiving VA education benefits.
Service members/veterans, who qualify for one of the following eligibility statuses (described below) should review the Veterans Affairs (VA) Certification and CCRI Enrollment Steps link below. The information is designed to assist students in completing the necessary steps to receive VA Educational Benefits.
Eligibility Status
- Chapter 30 – Veterans/Active Duty
- Chapter 31 – Vocational Rehabilitation
- Chapter 33 – Post-9/11 GI Bill
- Chapter 35 – Veteran's Spouse/Dependent
- Chapter 1606 – National Guard/Reserves
- Chapter 1607 – REAP Program
Quick Links:
- The United States Department of Veterans Affairs
- VA Certification & CCRI Enrollment Steps
- VA Certification Worksheet
General Information
- Advance pay, Waivers, Military Credit, Academic Support, Information Sessions
- Helpful VA links & Telephone numbers
Frequently Ask Questions (FAQs)
- New Education Benefit (Chapter 33 - Post-9/11 GI Bill)
- CCRI Student Veterans Club
- CCRI VA Contact Information
- Announcements
General Information
Advance pay - CCRI does not participate in advance pay. Students are responsible for their tuition and fees; however, CCRI encourages students to enroll in the Easy Pay deferred payment program. For additional information, visit the Bursar's Office website at www.ccri.edu/bursar.
Chapter 33 - Post 9/11 GI Bill Only - The VA will send tuition and fee payment directly to the college based on percentage approved by the VA. Students are responsible for any unpaid balance.
Waivers - The following Waivers and Tuition Assistance Programs are handled through the Bursar's Office:
- Disabled American Veterans Waiver
- STAP - State Tuition Assistance Program
Declaring a major (program of study) - Students are allowed to enroll in courses for two semesters without declaring a major (program of study). Once accepted to a program of study, courses taken must fulfill the requirements for that program, which may include pre-requisite courses. Courses not required for the program and courses that are repeated by choice that have received a passing grade will not be included as part of the certification; therefore, will not be reimbursed by the VA.
Military or Prior Learning Experiential credits - for information about military or prior learning experiential credits, visit www.ccri.edu/PriorLearning/military.html or contact Peter Woodberry, Dean of Business, Science and Technology at (401) 825-2147.
Academic Support - A wide variety of support services are available to assist students with academic related matters:
- Office of Advising and Counseling – www.ccri.edu/advising
- Student Success Centers – www.ccri.edu/success
- Disability Services – www.ccri.edu/dss
Information Sessions - CCRI holds Admissions Information Sessions for new and current (non-degree) students to introduce them to what CCRI has to offer. To find an available Admissions Information Session, please use the Available Courses link available in the Quick Links section of the CCRI Home Page, or by clicking here. Use the SEARCH by subject, day, time and site link, select a term and select Admissions Information Session using the Subject: listing.
Helpful VA links & Telephone Numbers
- To apply for VA benefits online: vabenefits.vba.va.gov/vonapp/main.asp
- To verify your monthly enrollment to the VA: www.gibill.va.gov
- (888) 442-4551 VA related problems (enter "1" for touchtone and then enter "0" to reach a counselor)
- (800) 829-4833 TDD number for hearing impaired
- (401) 223-3605 RI Vocational Rehabilitation Division
- (716) 857-3148 Program Assistant for answering questions about VACERT and VA-ONCE
New education benefit - Chapter 33 (Post-9/11 GI Bill)
Who is eligible for Chapter 33 - Post-9/11 GI Bill?
The Post-9/11 GI Bill is for individuals with at least 90 days of aggregate service on or after September 11, 2001, or individuals discharged with a service-connected disability after 30 days. You must have received an honorable discharge to be eligible for the Post-9/11 GI Bill.
When is Chapter 33 - Post 9/11 GI Bill effective?
The Chapter 33 – Post-9/11 GI Bill goes into effect on August 1, 2009.
Is the Chapter 33 - Post-9/11 GI Bill benefit transferrable to a veteran's spouse or dependents?
Veterans should follow up with their VA educational officer for information on potential transferability.
What is the main website for the VA?
Student Veterans Organization
The Students Veterans Organization (SVO) provides a network of support for military veterans, their families and supporters. Secondly, the club educates the college community about the experiences of military veterans and works with the college administration to meet the needs of current and prospective student veterans.
For details about the Veterans Club contact:
Kevin , Club Advisor
Knight Campus Police
Hollie Nye, President
Student Veterans Organization
KN Campus - firstname.lastname@example.com
CCRI Veteran Certification Contact Information
Students interested in more information about enrollment certification should contact the Office of Enrollment Services via e-mail at firstname.lastname@example.com or by calling (401) 825-2003.
Engineering Programs available for Veterans
Math Test Preparation Brochure
One-year Energy Utility Technology Certificate
Two-year Engineering Systems Tech Degree
- 5/18/09
Rhode Island Board of Governors for Higher Education Announces In-State Tuition Program for Veterans
June, July, August
VetSuccess on Campus – "Boots to Books" Series. Workshops for ALL Student Veterans, Prospective Student Veterans and Dependents.
This page developed and maintained by Office of Enrollment Services. Send comments and suggestions to .


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|Head Men's Ice Hockey Coach
|Head Coach
|10th Season
|Alma Mater:
|U. of Connecticut, 1995
The 2015-16 season, will mark the tenth season behind the UMass Boston bench for Head Coach Peter Belisle. Belisle ranks as the winningest coach in program history with 122 wins and eight consecutive double-digit win seasons.
Since taking over the program, Belisle has lifted the Beacons to new heights, which culminated in the program's best season in over 30 years in 2014-15.
The 2014-15 season saw the Beacons finish with the second-best record in program history (22-4-1) and their most-ever victories in conference play (16).
After opening the season with a program-record best 10-0-0 start, the Beacons set a new program standard in the national polls, when they were ranked #5 in the USCHO.com Poll on December 8.
The Beacons enjoyed another strong campaign in 2013-14. UMass Boston earned their highest to date national ranking at #6 in the D3Hockey.com Poll on January 13 and finished the year with a sparkling 17-6-4 record. Belisle's team picked up their second consecutive Codfish Bowl Title, earned a 4-2 victory over Salem State University at Fenway Park and set a new program record with a 14-game unbeaten streak and tied the program standard with an 11-game winning streak.
In 2012-13, Belisle led a Beacons squad comprised of 13 freshmen to one of the best season in program history at 19-6-2 and the team's best finish in two decades, ending the regular season second in the ECAC East Conference.
He became the first coach in program history to be named ECAC East Conference Coach of the Year in March, before being honored as the New England Division II/III Coach of the Year by the New England Hockey Writer's Association in April.
The 2012-13 season brought a series of firsts for the program under Belisle, including the team earning a spot in both national polls, coaching an ECAC East Rookie of the Year (Peter MacIntyre) and producing the program's first All-American since 1992 (Rob Florentino).
The team's success on the ice coincided with a strong run in the polls as well, as UMass Boston ended the year with a nine-week run in the USCHO.com and D3Hockey.com Polls, including rising as high as #9 in the D3Hockey.com poll on February 4.
UMass Boston knocked off the University of England in the ECAC East Quarterfinals to record the program's first playoff victory since the 2008-09 season. With the win, Belisle moved into first place all-time in UMass Boston playoff history with his fourth career postseason victory.
In 2011-12, Belisle helped the Beacons make history twice as they upended two top-5 teams in less than month. He first led UMass Boston to a 2-1 win over previously unbeaten and top-ranked Norwich University. Less than three weeks later, lightning struck twice as Belisle's Beacons defeated fifth ranked Castleton State College. At the end of the year, Belisle saw senior netminder Kevin Bendel '12 earn ECAC East Goalie of the Year and First Team All-Conference honors. He also had two other players earn All-Conference honors.
During the 2010-11 season, Belisle guided the Beacons to a third place regular season finish in the ECAC East to secure the program's first home playoff game since the 1999-00 campaign. The team captured 15 wins for the highest total since the 1991-92 season while posting an above .500 mark for the first time since 1999-00.
Over his career, the UMass Boston mentor's hallmark has been motivating his teams to win the big games, including a road victory over nationally-ranked Middlebury College in 2008 for the second straight season and a 1-0 overtime road win over nationally-ranked Norwich University to become the first number eight seed to defeat a number one seed in ECAC East Tournament history in 2009. He followed that by directing the team to a semifinals win to land the Beacons in the ECAC East championship for the first time in school history.
Belisle became the program's 11th varsity head coach after spending nine years with Division I University of Connecticut as an assistant coach. The New England Native spent his first year of coaching with College of the Holy Cross, where he helped guide the Crusaders to their first playoff victory in 13 years. He returned to UConn the following season to help guide the program that he was once a part of as a four-year standout player. Belisle helped direct the Huskies to a 19-16-1 mark in 1999-2000, en-route to a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference championship in 2000 and was behind the bench for UConn's second 20-win season in 1998-99 when it put together a 20-10-4 mark, including an 18-6-4 record in MAAC play.
Prior to his joining the coaching ranks, Belisle was a four-year letter winner with the Huskies from 1991-95 as a forward. During his playing tenure at Storrs, UConn posted one of the greatest four-year periods in school-history with a 71-25-12 mark, including four ECAC playoff appearances. He is still the second all-time leading playoff goal scorer in Connecticut ice hockey history and during his junior season, was the recipient of UConn's 7th Player Award. During his career with the Huskies, he tallied 36 goals and 42 assists for a total of 78 points.
Belisle's coaching experience is not limited to his collegiate tenure, having instructed and been a coach at several of New England's premier hockey camps as well. He has served as a head instructor at the Connecticut Hockey Experience, the Learn to Skate Program at UConn, Bill Belisle's Hockey School, and the Mount Saint Charles Instructional Hockey Program and for the past three summers, Belisle coached at the USA Hockey Team New England Select 14 and Select 15 Player Development Camp.
Prior to his collegiate career, Belisle was a part of Mount Saint Charles Academy teams that captured the Rhode Island State championship twice and, during his junior season, the Mounties' success wasn't limited to the state level as they were crowned national champions as well.
The native of Manville, RI, graduated with a bachelor of science degree in business administration, management from UConn in 1995 and followed that with a master of arts degree in sport management in 1999 also at the Storrs campus.
Belisle currently resides in Cumberland, RI with his wife, Carrie, their daughters, Madeleine, Norah and Halle.


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Barclays Center EventsSun, February 1, 2015 - TBABarclays Center in Brooklyn, NY
We are sorry, the date for this event has already passed. This event took place on 2/1/2015. Click here to view upcoming events for Barclays Center Events.
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February 26, 2013
False Bay – a photo essay
For hundreds of years sailors confused False Bay with Table Bay, on the other side of the Cape Peninsula, sometimes with tragic results – hence its name.
Bordered by mountains, the huge C-shaped bay is home to some of the Cape's most famous areas, from Simon's Town on the western shore to Pringle Bay on the eastern side.
With warm, dry summers and cool, damp winters, False Bay's Mediterranean climate is perfect for boating, angling, diving and surfing.


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I tried so much and then find out the i didn't use
autowire = "byName" in bean and thats why it was not autowriring.
1) i want to ask that is that the same case with using @Resource. i mean do i need to write autowire in bean for that
2)But in some of files @Resource is working without writing autowire in beans


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We plan to add Snort with the firewall for our network to have improved security. The purpose, apart from protection from malicious traffic, is to customize Snort to detect and block specific traffic as per our needs. So basically i will be writing rules for Snort for our specific needs. But before beginning all that, i need to use a vulnerability scanner tool- to know the vulnerabilities which are not being detected presently by the Snort-firewall combo, and then i can start writing rules for Snort for those vulnerabilities. Given my situation, can i have suggestions for the right tool - I know but a few names like Nessus, Metaslpoit, OpenVAS, nmap....
Just download the Backtrack 5 distro (http://www.backtrack-linux.org/downloads/) as it's free and comes with Nmap, Nessus, Metasploit, Openvas and much more. IMHO, nmap is the best scanner but everyone has their own preference. Metasploit has some nice integration with nmap
Out of the box Snort will detect a lot of the default scans because the packets sent have a signature/form that's been out there for years and so is well-known.
Additionally, there's so much scanning these days on the net that people (rightly or wrongly) generally ignore such noise on the firewalls or ids/ips systems.
You'd be better going the extra step and seeing what you can detect or do post the scanning phase (assuming you have permission to launch further attacks/testing). A vulnerability scanner isn't going to necessarily tell you what attacks are possible, only what vulnerabilities it feels your systems have (and these may be false-positive).
I would not try to implement snort to detect scanners. You need to implement snort to detect attacks and probes against your assets. Without knowing what you plan to protect, you cannot write good rules. Detecting a scan for say tooltalk, when you don't even run it is only going to tell you, someone is running a poorly configured vuln scanner.


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Narrow your search
The Nook HD+ is a low-price, quality entry point into the world of tablets, especially now that it has full Google Play support.
The Barnes & Noble Nook HD's sharp screen and comfortable body make it an ideal tablet choice, especially for reading books, magazines and watching movies. Google Play now only adds to the allure.
The new Nook GlowLight Plus probably isn't going to make any converts out of Amazon's Kindle customers, but at least Barnes & Noble now has an e-reader with competitive specs and performance to the Paperwhite.
Barnes & Noble's Nook Color is a capable color touch-screen e-book reader that offers much of the functionality of an Android tablet for half the price of an iPad.
The $199 Nook Tablet (8GB) matches up well to the Kindle Fire in specs and price--and has the added advantage of offering an expansion slot for additional memory.
With more storage and a growing app store, the Nook Tablet is a worthy--albeit slightly more expensive--competitor to the Kindle Fire.
The new touch-screen Nook is a major advancement over its predecessor and offers some real advantages over the 2010 Kindle.
The Nook Simple Touch with GlowLight sets the standard for e-ink e-readers going forward and is well worth the extra money if you do a lot of nighttime reading.
The Nook Wi-Fi doesn't quite measure up to the Kindle in terms of design and overall performance, but it's a worthy alternative if you're looking for a more open e-reader that supports the EPUB format.
Kano's DIY computer kit for kids started out on Kickstarter, and will soon be available in retail stores.


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I'm applying to university very soon, and I have my mind set on programming. I narrowed down my program options to Web Services and Applications, Computer Applications, and Computer Games.
I'm leaning towards Web, since I've been developing for Web since college.
So, my question is, would it be very difficult to switch career path from Web to Software for example should I find years from now that I would have preferred a different career path?
The three programs are all part of a Bachelor of Computer Science and seem to share the same basic courses.


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Can you believe that 1L year is almost over? As you begin to look forward to 2L year, it is a good time to start thinking strategically about how to position yourself as a strong candidate for a judicial clerkship. What classes should you take? How can you form strong relationships with professors? What else can you do to make yourself a strong clerkship candidate? Professors Jessica Bulman-Pozen, Kathryn Judge, Matt Waxman and Dan Richman will answer these questions and more. The clerkship process is beginning earlier and earlier within 2L year, so if you are interested in clerkships we encourage you to start thinking about these issues now. All 1Ls are invited. Lunch will be served. Contact: firstname.lastname@example.com
© Copyright 2016, The Trustees of Columbia University in the City of New York.
For questions or comments, please contact the web administrators.
435 West 116 Street, New York, NY 10027 — 212-854-2640


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FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. (AP) -- Thousands of soldiers are physically and mentally tested every year at the Army's air assault school at Fort Campbell, but Sgt. 1st Class Greg Robinson is the first amputee to complete the grueling 10-day course.
Robinson, of Elizabethtown, Ill., toughed it out through a 12-mile road march, used ropes to jump out of helicopters and pushed through a strenuous obstacle course while wearing a prosthetic leg. He graduated on Monday from the Sabalauski Air Assault School, the training ground for the Army's 101st Airborne Division.
Robinson, who lost the lower part of his leg in Afghanistan in 2006, said he hopes the accomplishment encourages others with similar injuries. As a platoon sergeant, he said he wanted to set an example for his troops.


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There's nothing like a little friendly competition to get the office excited about testing out the new Spinner® Blade ION manufactured by Star Trac! The Spinner® Blade ION is the latest model Spinner® bike that is currently in development. One exciting feature of the ION is that it will measure, and also display on a bike-mounted computer screen, a rider's work or energy expenditure over a given time. This measurement, termed "power," is a significant training tool for cyclists and more recently, it has grown in popularity within the indoor cycling world. The bike goes along with our new Spinpower™ Program!
In our Venice Headquarters we received 2 bikes to beta test. What other way to get employees to test the bikes than create a competition out of it. Every employee, whether you wanted to be involved or not, was broken up into 5 teams of 6 members each. Each team had to come up with a name and a team Captain. There would be both individual and team contests. The team names were: Dream Team, Mighty Ionistas, Untochables, Slackers and Power Outtages. I was elected to be team captain of the Mighty Ionistsas!
We were to sign up to ride the bike and the contest lasted for a month! After each ride, we recorded our Average RPM, Average Power, Peak Power, Mileage, HR and Calories. Each week, we got updates to see where each team was at in the contest. After the first week, the Dream Team came out strong and we realized that this was a serious competition! People were riding every day for over an hour! How people could find the time or energy to do that I still don't know. My legs were incredibly sore and I had to give myself at least a day off each week.
The contest heated up each week when we saw the results. The individual contest heated up as well and even our graphic design team were competing with each other to be the best. It was a fun way to get almost everyone in the office at least ride the bike once!
Today, the results were finally announced. Our graphics team came in first and second place, so their own competition with each other paid off! We had an employee be awarded for trying to switch teams 1 week before the contest was over (due to someone leaving), there was the donut award for the team that rode no hours and I was on the winning team! That's right, my team, the Mighty Ionistas came back for the win! We won certificates, Mad Dogg Athletics dog tags and the bragging rights of the being the best!
The Mighty Ionistas with our awards!
Overall it was a fun experience for all involved and our whole office got lunch out of it! Have any of the places you work ever done any kind of internal competition?
Michaela Morales
Community Coordinator


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Industries & Professions /
Circus Performers
Circus performers entertain with a wide variety of unusual acts that terrify, amuse, and amaze their audiences. Circus artists appear to defy death as they swing from a trapeze or walk a tightwire high above the ground. Some perform gymnastic feats on the ground, and clowns entertain with their absurd antics. Others train and perform with animals, such as elephants and tigers. Most circus performers are able to perform a variety of circus skills. Though "running away to join the circus" may seem like a fun way to earn a living, in reality, it is grueling, hard work.


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Why is it that it gets darker in Eretz Yisroel quicker than in the USA, making for a shorter Ben Hash'moshos?
Mi Yodeya is a question and answer site for those who base their lives on Jewish law and tradition and anyone interested in learning more. Join them; it only takes a minute:
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Generally (without considering many other factors which may be involved) the closer the latitude is to the poles [i.e. the absolute value of the latitude is greater], the longer the sunset.
(see table at this pdf (last page) and this piece of mail for more factors)
Therefore: Latitude at NY, NY = 40.7 Latitude at Jerusalem, IL = 31.78 NY, NY is closer to the poles, hence longer sunset.
Hope I understood the question and got the right answer...


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KILLEEN (January 7, 2012)--Killeen police department and community remembers 14-year police veteran Lt. Mike Aycock, who died Thursday of cancer.
40-year-old Lt. Mike Aycock thought he was free of testicular cancer just a few weeks ago after successful chemo treatments, but then last week Lt. Aycock had a headache, a headache that turned out to be cancer that spread to his brain.
For Killeen police officers, trained to control situations and protect others, losing their brother officer was close to overwhelming.
"Nobody had any control over this, and it came on so suddenly that once it happened it just went downhill, and we couldn't stop it," Carroll Smith said.
"Believe me, if there was a way we could have stopped it, we would have."
But friends and family said they can't help but beam with pride when they think of Lt. Aycock and his dedication to the community.
"When he decided to do this, I was as proud as I can be, and I still am today," father Jimmy Aycock said.
His father also said Lt. Aycock knew he wanted to serve others while in high school.
"He spent the night riding to see the real story, the other side of what police officers do, and from that day on he knew what he wanted to do," Jimmy Aycock said.
Along with leaving behind his many smiles and memories, Lt. Aycock will leave a legacy: his nephew Brian McGuire has decided to be a police officer.
"I didn't want to go down the wrong road, so I thought, 'I'll live my life to be a police officer like he did and make all the right decisions,'" McGuire said.
For Lt. Aycock's family, friends and fellow police officers, they're learning to stay optimistic like he always was.
"It's just something we'll have to work through, and everybody's been really good about it and stick together as a family," Smith said.
Funeral services will be 2:00 p.m. On Wednesday, January 9, 2013, at College Avenue Baptist Church, 201 South Monroe St. in McGregor, with Rev. David Thompson and Chaplain Alvin Dillard officiating.
Interment will follow in McGregor Cemetery under the direction of Cole Funeral Home, 1113 West Fifth Street, also in McGregor.
Visitation will be from 6 to 8 p.m. Tuesday at College Avenue Baptist Church.


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Am I yotzeh if I (a non-Jerusalemite) give it to an organization in Jerusalem who gives it out on their Purim since a mitzvas Hayom on my purim?
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When giving Matanos L'Evyonim, the money should be given on Purim and received on Purim. For one who wishes to give Matanos L'Evyonim to Aniyim in Yerushalayim this presents a problem. Since they celebrate Purim on a different day, how can we give them Matanos L'Evyonim and still be Mekayem the Mitzva? If we give it on the fourteenth when we observe Purim, it is not Purim for the recipients. If we would wait until the next day, when it is Purim for them, it is not Purim for us. The solution, (Rabbi Yosef Zimbal, Moadim U'zmanim, Vol. 1, No.1.) is that we can give money to a Shaliach on the fourteenth and that this would be distributed on the fifteenth when it is Purim for the Aniyim.
As long as your giving happened on your Purim, you fulfilled your obligation. The halacha is that if you wake up Purim morning and look around town and can't find any poor people, you can send the money in the mail, or just set aside the money for whenever you find a poor person. Chayei Adam 154:28, among others.
I suppose it might be slightly more ideal to have it distributed on your Purim too; how you weigh that against the preference for the poor of Jerusalem over, say, Tel Aviv, I don't know. But either way, you fulfilled your obligation.


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What is the expected value of the determinant over the uniform distribution of all possible 1-0 NxN matrices? What does this expected value tend to as the matrix size N approaches infinity?
As everyone above has pointed out, the expected value is $0$.
I expect that the original poster might have wanted to know about how big the determinant is. A good way to approach this is to compute $\sqrt{E((\det A)^2)}$, so there will be no cancellation.
Now, $(\det A)^2$ is the sum over all pairs $v$ and $w$ of permutations in $S_n$ of $$(-1)^{\ell(v) + \ell(w)} (1/2)^{2n-\# \{ i : v(i) = w(i) \}}$$
Group together pairs $(v,w)$ according to $u := w^{-1} v$. We want to compute $$(n!) \sum_{u \in S_n} (-1)^{\ell(u)} (1/2)^{2n-\# (\mbox{Fixed points of }i)}$$
This is $(n!)^2/2^{2n}$ times the coefficient of $x^n$ in $$e^{2x-x^2/2+x^3/3 - x^4/4 + \cdots} = e^x (1+x).$$
So $\sqrt{E((\det A)^2)}$ is $$\sqrt{(n!)^2/2^{2n} \left(1/n! + 1/(n-1)! \right)} = \sqrt{(n+1)!}/ 2^n$$
If $N \ge 2$, then the expected value is $0$ since interchanging two rows preserves the distribution but negates the determinant.
It is a little more convenient to work with random (-1,+1) matrices. A little bit of Gaussian elimination shows that the determinant of a random n x n (-1,+1) matrix is $2^{n-1}$ times the determinant of a random n-1 x n-1 (0,1) matrix. (Note, for instance, that Turan's calculation of the second moment ${\bf E} \det(A_n)^2$ is simpler for (-1,+1) matrices than for (0,1) matrices, it's just n!. It is also clearer why the determinant is distributed symmetrically around the origin.)
The log $\log |\det(A_n)|$ of a (-1,+1) matrix is known to asymptotically be $\log \sqrt{n!} + O( \sqrt{n \log n} )$ with probability $1-o(1)$; see this paper of Vu and myself. A more precise result should be that the logarithm is asymptotically normally distributed with mean $\log \sqrt{(n-1)!}$ and variance $2 \log n$. This result was claimed by Girko; the proof is unfortunately not quite complete, but the result is still likely to be true.
For some further results of this nature, see Exercise 5.64 of Enumerative Combinatorics, vol. 2. This exercise deals with the uniform distribution on (0,1)-matrices or $(-1,1)$-matrices, but the arguments can be carried over to other distributions where the matrix entries are i.i.d. The proofs are similar to the argument in David Speyer's comment.
Unless I'm missing something, this also follows immediately from linearity and multiplicativity of expectation, treating each entry as independently $0-1$ with probability $1/2$. Every permutation yields the same expected value in the sum, $\pm (1/2)^n$ depending on sign, and the number of even and odd permutations is identical (for $n \ge 2$, as noted above).
It's probably worth mentioning that an old result of Komlos shows that despite this, the probability the determinant is actually 0 is $o(1)$.
Is it not zero whenever $n \geq 2$? Let $A$ be a $n \times n$ permutation matrix with determinant $-1$ (which requires $n \geq 2$). Then the uniform distribution of a random $n \times n$ $(0,1)$-matrix $X$ is the same as the distribution of $AX$. The determinant is multiplicative, hence Det$(AX)=$Det$(A)$Det$(X)=-$Det$(X)$. Hence the probability of Det$(X)=x$ is the same as the probability of Det$(X)=-x$.
Miodrag Zivkovic has actually done a classification on small orders of 0-1 matrices by rank and absolute determinant value. You may be interested in the tables in his Arxiv paper http://arxiv.org/abs/math.CO/0511636 .
Gerhard "Ask Me About System Design" Paseman, 2010.01.26


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Making things perfectly unclear on health care reform
Just watched President Obama's press conference, most of which was devoted to discussion of health insurance reform. I was astonished to hear Chuck Todd of NBC news come on in the aftermath and say that one item of "news" from the event was that the President had said only people with incomes of $1 million and more would be taxed to pay for reform. I could have sworn I heard Mr. Obama say that taxing people with inomes over $1 million is one proposal that has been offered in one of the Congressional committees, and that that proposal satisfies a fundamental principle of his--that reform not further burden the middle class. But I don't believe the President said that this proposal was signed, sealed and delivered.This is a small example of what has become a big problem in this health insurance reform debate. It's a big, tough, complex thing--sort of like the bills one gets after a hospital visit. If the American people are having trouble making heads-or-tails of the various proposals and the bargaining, it is at least in part the result of reporting like Todd's. We in the media should be clarifying things, not confusing them. Ours is supposed to be a discipline of verification.
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...while you are at it please try and clarify for me what exactly Washington politicians think the middle class is anyway... Below 1 mill??? How about - the real world...like 100 grand??? What is the "middle class" for those in DC. Somebody please clarify????
The television media's performance on the health care issue, like its performance on some other issues, has been all too often marked by trumpeting the distorting sound bites of anyone who would make an "attack," as opposed to a considered criticism. Once again, the tv media appear to promote fights instead of thought. It surely smells like their approach is to make their news show resemble the food fights on court tv or "reality" shows. All this clothed in the guise of "objectivity."If you pollute the usual channels of communication, you promote a cynicism in the populace that frustrates efforts to formulate sensible public policy on complex issues.
If you define the middle class as being included within those households in income percentiles 20 through 90, according to Congressional Budget Office data this would represent 78 million households or 70% of the population. The most current income data is for 2005. It shows that the average annual income per middle class household was $69 thousand. The range was bounded by a low of $18 thousand and a high of $126 thousand.
Bernard is right!Media with the need to fill news promotes mantras, spin and semantics over fcats.Even threads may have been based on these on the internet.
Had the same response to Todd's post-presser stand-up. I preferred his work during the campaign.
Charles Ladner: my instinct would be to set the floor for middle-class a lot higher than $18K/household/year. Whereever government bureaucrats set the bar for poverty level, that is poor!
JimI agree. I was pretty surprised when I saw the data. The information is available in the CBO report entitled Historical Effective Tax Rates 1979-2005 updated on Dec. 23 2008. What is even more sad is that 20% of households are below $18 thousand/year.
This might be worth your time to read:http://www.blackagendareport.com/?q=print/content/obama-health-care-plan... Dixon is managing editor at Black Agenda Report, and can be reached at [email protected]
Going on ten years ago, complications after surgery for colon cancer required me to spend eighteen days in the hospital. A month or two later, I received a notice from my health-insurance carrier which indicated that the cost of my hospital stay was $78,000 and that my plan would pay $19,000. If it had not been said in big print at the top of the page: THIS IS NOT A BILL!, I would have had a heart-attack at the thought that I had to make up the difference. Instead, it said: "Your responsibility, $0.00." Now, what was going on here? Why would the hospital be content with only about a fifth of its stated cost? Or did they inflate the cost because they knew that the insurance plan would only pay a fraction of it? But isn't there something crazy in all this? Would Obama's health-plan fix it? I find it all very confusing. And I have to admit that learning that the pharmaceutical industry is in favor of the President's plan makes me very nervous.
"Now, what was going on here? Why would the hospital be content with only about a fifth of its stated cost? Or did they inflate the cost because they knew that the insurance plan would only pay a fraction of it? But isnt there something crazy in all this? Would Obamas health-plan fix it?"The relationship between a hospital's actual costs and what they charge is called, naturally enough, the cost to charge ratio. Hospitals mark the prices up above costs between 120 and 1000 percent. On average, they probably mark up about 300 percent. One of the things that an insurance company does is get discounts with hospitals (and doctors) so that you don't have to pay the full marked up price (known as "billed charges"). When a hospital has a discounted contract with an insurance company, the hospital is called "par". If it does not have a contract it is called "non-par". If you go to a non-par hospital, since it does not have a discount, you will usually have to pay the difference between some minimal amount that the insurance company will cover (something close to cost) and the billed amount.Do insurance companies know costs? Yes. In fact, hospitals are required by law to give both their costs and cost to charge ratios to the government if they do any Medicare business. This information is available on the web, but you would have to pay for it.Remember what I said on another post that Medicare pays, like 90 percent of costs, commercial insurance about 120 percent, Medicaid (depends on the state) about 30 percent of cost, and any "not for profit" has to do free care for the indigent in order to quality for that status. So the net for the hospital is a relatively thin profit margin of maybe 2 to 5 percent in a good year, although there are serious exceptions both ways.Hospitals have contracts and then try to inflate their underlying charges to get more out of them. It depends on what the contract is like. Hospital contracts with insurance companies will typically have some rates for services that are fixed in some way and others that are "percent of charge". In the case of the percent of charge contracts, the hospital can then give itself a raise by raising its underlying charge. Your insurance company still gets a discount, but it is a discount off of a higher base charge. Some states, like Wisconsin, requires hospitals to publish their annual charge increases with the state and you can look them up on the internet. We believe in the insurance industry that this keeps Wisconsin hospitals from doing double digit increases very often. But the average annual charges increase for hospitals is 13 percent, with ranges from zero to 60 percent. This is one of the many drivers of costs. The Obama plan can't address it because the government can't tell hospitals what they are allowed to charge people.
Thanks for this information. But it still makes my hair hurt. Isn't there a simpler way of doing things?
Yeah, there probably is a simpler way of doing things. But always remember; you can't fix a market. You can only make another market. The free market is a dike that always has three holes while you always only have two hands.
Very interesting stuff, Unagidon.At what point did hospital business become a for-profit enterprise? I think I recall reading, back in the late '70's - early '80's time frame, that for-profit health care was becoming a big and growing industry. Prior to that, it had been my impression that hospitals were primarily run/owned by local communities and religious orders, i.e. not-for-profit. What is the split right now between for-profit and not-for-profit?
I'm not sure what the profit/non-profit split is. You are right about the past when a lot of them were run by communities and religious orders. The religious hospitals (Catholic and Protestant) now in my experience tend to have the toughest negotiators and the nuns are the toughest of all.
I'll also mention it again in case I wasn't clear. Profits and not for profits are run exactly the same way by graduates from the same business schools.
I uspect the last commen tis quite right.We went from non-profit to profit a while back and the business manager is a regular member of our senior advisory group.Ther ecertainly has been motre investmen tby the for profit in capital improvements and trying to add more doctors and nurses in the critical time of shortage.But, more business, more profit.
"Ill also mention it again in case I wasnt clear. Profits and not for profits are run exactly the same way by graduates from the same business schools."Then it's very different than network television!If I can make this observation without the cyber-roof caving in, because I'm usually a proponent of the efficiency and creativity of the marketplace: it's not clear to me that stockholders should be a primary constituency - or any constituency whatsoever - in the delivery of health care.The nuns are tough, no doubt, because unlike some for-profit providers with whom they must compete in the modern marketplace, they don't screen their clientele by ability to pay, and so they need to account for every nickel of expenditure. Or so I would imagine to be the case.
"If I can make this observation without the cyber-roof caving in, because Im usually a proponent of the efficiency and creativity of the marketplace: its not clear to me that stockholders should be a primary constituency or any constituency whatsoever in the delivery of health care."Let me help rock your world. The stockholders don't matter in any business unless they are on the Board or in the ranks of management. But they do make convenient scapegoats.
There is NO free market in just about anything. There are marketplaces, all of which are manipulated by those with the power to do so."Free market" is one of the many myths that Americans have heard repeated often enough to the point that they actually think it is gospel.
True. And it's too bad that so many of the same people don't think the Gospel is gospel.
I watched Bill Moyers last nite. If the pharmaceutical and insurance industries are for healthcare reform, what's in it for them???When it comes to healthcare, roads, airports, police, firefighting, ems, etc., I've pretty much concluded that profit has no place in provision of essential human services.We need single-payer, universal coverage. I'm lucky to have my FEHBP coverage to which our illustrious (lol, lol, lol) Mitch McConnell also has access. It's just that HE doesn't want the rest of you unfortunate folks to enjoy what HE has!!!HE is for the "little guy" (or so HE has enough Kentuckians believing).(Yeah, and I can sell you some stock in an orange bridge out in California :)
-GoodNYT editorial today on what health care reform means if you've got coverage now.-I have little optimism about the reform however because,:-politics (bring Obama down) plays a significant role-big moneyed lobbyists play an even more significant role-and, per James Thurber in todays's Week in Review, the ideological center has collapsed in the poltical world that wants to say it's bipartisn.


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A preference relation is of course a reflexive, total and transitive binary relation on a set, with the additional requirement that the agent be able to select one alternative from the set. I don't understand why this last requirement is needed?
In particular, I once heard from someone I consider much smarter than myself that for a player i in a normal form game, it doesn't really make sense to compare u_i(s) and u_i(t) for arbitrary strategy profiles s, t because player i can't necessarily deviate from s to t and vice versa.
But why wouldn't it make sense for players to assign preferences to the possible outcomes of a game, even though they don't directly get to choose amongst the outcomes, only contribute to it?
If u_i(s) and u_i(t) are not in general comparable, how does it make sense to take linear combinations of these for expected utilities?
Notions of equivalence then lose preservation of players preferences over Nash equilibria, which is relevant when considering equilibrium selection.


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Separate shootings leave one dead
July 10, 2013
STEUBENVILLE — Two early morning shootings at separate residences in the city have left one man dead and City Police investigating what appears to be a drive-by incident....
Please, LE, city officials, somebody, PLEASE get these thugs off the streets, out of this town. How many more murders do we have to have? How many more neighborhoods must be destroyed? What will it take to clean up what is left of this town? We are the "Little Detroit" of the rust belt, does that please you? We have entrusted you to manage this city and you have betrayed us. Was it worth it? Was it? You could have done so much more but you allowed it to be destroyed as was the steel industry. You shame us as well as yourselves. Hope it was worth it.
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I have a list with paging enabled and a page size of 10.
When you scroll to the bottom of the page hit the next button in the list the page redirects to itself with different querystring parameters related to the paging AND the scroll position gets maintained. This is really annoying from a usability point of view.
Ideally the scroll position should not be maintained when the next button is clicked.
Can anyone help with this please?


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New Hampshire Supreme Court holds settlement of termination dispute violates statute
Because the parties' settlement agreement had eliminated the dealer's protest rights and other protections, it was held invalid.
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Please Note: By clicking a link to any resource listed on this page, you will be leaving this site.
WiredSafetyhttp://www.wiredsafety.orgThis online safety group provides help, information, and education to mobile device users of all ages. The site covers everything from identity theft to cyberbullying.
NSTeenshttp://www.nsteens.org/This site for teens offers advice on topics like online safety, social networking, and cyberbullying.
Stop Bullyinghttp://www.stopbullying.govThis U.S. government website offers valuable resources for kids and adults on bullying awareness, prevention, and intervention.
Tolerance.orghttp://www.tolerance.orgTolerance.org encourages people from all walks of life to fight hate and promote tolerance.
Note: All information is for educational purposes only. For specific medical advice, diagnoses, and treatment, consult your doctor.
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Due to essential maintenance some of our forms will be unavailable on Saturday 23 July 2016 from 3.30 am to 1 pm. We apologise for any inconvenience caused.
Bus Lane Penalty Charge Notice
If you wish to pay for a Penalty Charge Notice (PCN), to view information about the contravention or submit a written challenge/objection, you may do so by clicking on the button below.
It is important that you follow all of the bus lane restrictions shown by the signs and lines on the streets. You are responsible for making sure your vehicle complies. If you do not do this, you may receive a Penalty Charge Notice (PCN) in the post.
If you receive a PCN, it is important that you take action as soon as possible in order to avoid increased charges.
Opening Times
For Penalty Charge Notices sent by post, our opening hours are 9.30am-5.30pm Monday to Saturday – 0121 464 7474.
Please note, if you wish to make a Representation against the PCN this cannot be taken over the phone.
Levels of Penalty Charge
|Type of Charge
|Penalty Charge
|Penalty Charge if paid within 14 days, beginning with the date on which the PCN was served as specified on the front of the PCN
|Penalty Charge if paid after service of charge certificate
Pay the Penalty Charge
The penalty charge will be reduced by a discount of 50% if it is paid not later than the last day of the period of 14 days beginning with the date on which the Penalty Charge Notice (PCN) was served.
Failing this you have 28 days beginning with the date of service of the PCN to pay the full amount of the PCN.
For PCNs sent by post, the date the PCN was served is deemed to be two working days after it was posted.
In all cases, please have your vehicle registration number and PCN reference number available. The penalty charge reference number begins with the letters BM and is printed on the top of the front page.Pay by telephone: please ring 0121 667 9300 (24 hours/7 days a week). Credit/debit card payments only, please have the vehicle details and the PCN number ready.
Pay online – https://pcn.birmingham.gov.uk/userservices/. Please have vehicle details, PCN number and debit or credit card details ready. Alternatively if you wish to pay immediately, you can pay by telephone as above.
Pay by post – using the payment slip on the PCN to: Birmingham City Council, Highways, PO Box 77, Birmingham B4 7WA. Allow at least 2 working days for 1st class post and 5 for 2nd class. Make cheques or postal orders payable to Birmingham City Council (Highways) and write the PCN number and your vehicle registration number on the reverse. Do not send cash or make debit / credit card payment by post.
Cash payments can be made at any Post Office if the Penalty Charge Notice or correspondence received has a barcode printed on it. Please note that payment cannot be made at PayPoint outlets.
Please note, the PCN will be issued by post, therefore it also serves as the Notice to Owner. If you do not pay or make a representation within 28 days of the PCN being served by post, we will send you a Charge Certificate, which increases the full amount by 50%. It is therefore in your own interest not to ignore the PCN, but to reply appropriately and in time.
If you wish to dispute the Penalty Charge NoticeAll representations against a PCN by post must be made in writing either by:
- Post – to Birmingham City Council, Parking Section, Processing, Highways, PO Box 14438, Birmingham B2 2JD
- Fax to 0121 303 7797
- Online by clicking on the button above and filling in the form
You can make representations against the PCN within 28 days, beginning with the date of service. If you make representations, even within 14 days, the discounted rate of 50% will no longer be available as the 'Notice to Owner' has already been issued and the appeal is against the full charge of £60.
Please note:- there is no informal challenge against a Penalty Charge issued from CCTV evidence, as the 'Notice to Owner' is included in the Penalty Charge Notice.
The city council will send you a response. It will be either a 'Notice of Acceptance of Representations' or a 'Notice of Rejection of Representations'.
If the city council rejects your representations, you have the right to appeal to an independent adjudication body call the Traffic Penalty Tribunal. The legal grounds for appeal are included under the FAQ: Surely there must be a right of appeal against a Penalty Charge Notice? (a to f). The Council will enclose the appropriate form and give you the on-line details with the 'Notice of Rejection of Representations' to enable you to appeal to the Traffic Penalty Tribunal. Again if the Traffic Penalty Tribunal rejects your appeal, the amount payable will normally be the full £60.
For further information about the Traffic Penalty Tribunal, please visit their website:- www.trafficpenaltytribunal.gov.uk.
How long do I have to make a representation?You need to make your representation within 28 days beginning with the date of service. A representation made after 28 days may be disregarded.
Where can I go for further information?Details of the Council's policy and approach to representations are documented in:
BCC – Guidelines for the consideration of Representations against Penalty Charge Notices issued for being in a Bus Lane (Size: 3.81 Mb Type: PDF )
Further information about Civil Parking and Bus Lane Enforcement (including PCNs and NTOs) is available online at www.patrol-uk.info or in a leaflet from the Council.
View information about the locations where bus lanes are enforced in the city centre and a plan showing alternative routes for access avoiding bus lanes and bus-only streets.
View Bus Lane Enforcement FAQs.
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10 Divorce Stories Too Strange to Make Up
#5. Bakr and Sanaa Melhem Find Each Other... Again
The Internet is a wonderful place. It has porn, places to talk about porn or Web sites which allow you to meet new and exciting people... with whom you can make new and exciting porn. Enter Adnan and Jamilia, two lovelorn Jordanians who met online, possibly in a porn-related chatroom.
Both in unsatisfying marriages; both looking for someone new to bring the spark back to their lives; both actually already married to each other. In a plot turn even the writers of a Matthew McConaughey romantic comedy would reject as ludicrous, it turned out that "Adnan" and "Jamilia" were the net handles of Bakr and Sanaa Melhem, a married couple who were going through a seven-month trial separation.
So all this time they were exchanging dreams and making wedding plans, he was the often mentioned "Micro-dicked loser" and she was the "Cold emotionless bitch." In the end, this McConaughey-like series of comedic mistakes came to a pretty anticlimatic conclusion (a divorce) when the cybering couple finally met in real life. Lucky for Bakr, this time it wasn't his mom.
#4. Sleep Divorcing
We all have done stuff in our sleep which we aren't proud off. Some of you might have mumbled the name of an old flame once or twice, while others might have vigorously humped the pillow yelling out a bunch of both male and female names, including the entire cast of Scrubs. But we think it's a safe bet none of you actually divorced anyone in your sleep. Some of you might have been divorced over the whole pillow thing, but that's beside the point.
"Honey. Hey, Honey, wake up. I no longer find you attractive."
Back in 2006, Akhtar, a Muslim gentleman from West Bengal uttered the word "talaq" three times in his sleep, which according to Islamic law, made him divorce his wife Sobena, who was sleeping right next to him. The couple wanted to just let the whole thing slide despite the sleep talking, but such insanity would not be allowed in West Bengal. Akhtar consulted the local clerics and was told that he and Sobena were in fact now single and would remain so until they remarried.
It says something about their culture that the couple didn't consider, you know, just not mentioning the incident to anyone and going on with their lives. We're not sure what it says, but it says something.
#3. Neil Brady Has Divorced You
Have you ever gotten blindsided by a friend's blog? You know, you think everything is going fine based on your face to face interaction, then find them in their Facebook/Twitter/LiveJournal openly longing for your violent death?
That's a strange side effect of sites like Facebook, where people reveal to an ocean of strangers what they apparently can't say when sitting on the sofa with you. Just ask the woman who found out her husband was divorcing her via his Facebook update.
When now-defacto-ex Mrs. Emma Brady was checking her husband's Facebook status in February 2009, among all the updates concerning the changing hotness of his coffee through time--as of 3PM, it officially became "luke warm"--she noticed it read "Neil Brady has ended his marriage to Emma Brady."
Strangely, the marriage continued for some time after this, as when he came home, she asked if anything was wrong and he said no. So she apparently dismissed the whole "ended his marriage to Emma Brady" thing as some kind of new 4chan meme.
While asked for comment later, Neil said he couldn't understand how his posting came as a surprise to his wife. Come on, he deleted her from his Friends list and has not poked her in like a month... the signs were there Emma, and you look ridiculous now for not noticing them.
#2. "Polly Wanna Swear to Tell the Whole Truth?"
Man, where would NEWS of the WEIRD columns be without talking birds? There's always some story of a guy getting caught in a lie or a suspect getting nailed because the bird repeated some incriminating words. Seriously, don't people who own these birds ever learn to take their incriminating conversations to another room? It's like having a living tape recorder running 24 hours a day. These people have basically bugged their own homes.
That brings us to this unnamed Chinese woman from Chongqing. After returning home from a month-long trip to her parents, she became suspicious over the new vocabulary the family mynah bird has picked up; such as "divorce" and "be patient" and presumably: "You have great tits, I want to shove my face in and motorboat them while my wife is away, and I don't mind shouting that fact because there is no one here to hear me other than my stupid parrot who repeats everything I say."
Who gave it a camera?
The wife has filed for divorce but, for some bizarre reason, evidence from a bird is apparently not admissible in Chinese courts. We don't see why though, seeing as the exact same case has appeared numerous times in courts around the world. In 2006, Rosella DeGambos, an Argetinian woman, actually won a case thanks to her bird's testimony.
#1. Richard Batista Gave Dawnell His Heart, or a Nearby Organ Anyway
Eight years ago, the wife of Dr. Richard Batista was slowly dying due to failing kidneys. The Batistas's marriage was already on shaky ground due to Dawnell's deteriorating health but just then, Richard decided to take a more active part in his wife's recovery and gave her his own kidney.
It was magical; after Dawnell's body rejected the transplants from her dad and brother, it turned out she and Dick were a perfect 1-in-700,000 match. Surely it was destiny, and it could have gone down as one of the most romantic presents ever (he gave her part of himself).
It could have, if the recovered Mrs. Batista did not then allegedly jump some other guy's boner. The husband, enraged over the lack of gratitude, demanded his kidney back.
Someone presumably explained that the courts likely would not reward him the right to go to work on his wife with a butcher knife, so he is asking for $1.5 million instead, which is presumably what it costs to get a good replacement kidney off the black market.
Find more Cezary right here.
For more hilarity found during inappropriate times, check out 13 Last Requests That Prove It's OK to Laugh at Dead People. Or find out about some action stars whose careers had a less than happy ending in 6 People Who Died In Order To Prove A (Retarded) Point.
And check out Cracked.com's Top Picks to see how we divorced the World Wide Web and started our own.


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I have a new problem with my NN3 MKII setup. I bought a corded remote, the Nikon MC-DC2 for my Nikon D5000. This remote has a rather long plug that sticks straight out of the side opposite the grip.
When the camera is being rotated into zenith-shooting position, the remote's plug hits the lower rotater tension knob of the NN3.
The plug has a bit of flexibility, so if I'm very careful I can ease the plug past the knob. However, I'm afraid that if the camera slips while being rotated I may break the plug or the camera's remote receptacle.
The D90 uses the same remote. I read on another forum that a D90 user broke his camera's remote receptacle by accidentally bending the plug.
I think a taller vertical rail would solve the problem, but I don't see one available.
Any suggestions?


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LittleBigPlanet 2 Special Edition Move Bundle Playstation3 Game SONY for $39.99 + free shipping
LittleBigPlanet 2: Special Edition
1 PlayStation Move Motion Controller
1 PlayStation Move Navigation Controller
1 PlayStation Eye Camera
Reg Price $79.99 ($65.23 on Amazon)
Pretty good deal considering that just the motion controller runs $39 if bought separately.
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Yea, the look of joy when you gift it and they say "where's the Move Sports"
...and you're like the "Move What, how should I have known it won't have the main Move Game. This isn't how you reacted when I got you the Nintendo 64.
Sold out. That was a great deal too.
I have not seen an item sellout in the early morning like this. I'm on the east coast and it was sold out before I even checked my morning mail. Did they have like 20 in stock? I've been waiting a long time to get this exact deal. :/ bummersss


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What is the cabby saying (and in what language) in the movie Quick Change?
It sounds like he is a non-English speaking person imitating a New York cabbie saying, "Where the hell to?" Only he doesn't understand the answer because he doesn't speak English. He also doesn't understand traffic laws.
It has been suggested that he was speaking Arabic since he is of Lebanese descent, but this interview dispels that notion since he does not speak Arabic. Wikipedia refers to his character as "linguistically unidentifiable." And this review from the Washington Post describes the character as
Blaftoni (or bluftoni as it is more commonly spelled) appears to have been his word for "bus" - though it is not the word for bus in any real language.
In recent years, Shalhoub has taken up the cause of biases against Arab-Americans with film projects like "T for Terrorist" and "American East."