text:
by Mike Masnick
Fri, May 9th 2008 7:28am
Filed Under:
offshoring, patents
bank of america
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- Red Hat Hysteria: Aren't We Past The Point Of Being Surprised That 'Free' Is A Part Of The Business Model?
- Open Letter To Data Brokers Are A Bunch Of Idiots Or Current Business
- DailyDirt: Sleep Is Important.
Reader Comments
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Ima Fish, 9 May 2008 @ 7:57amObviously, BoA is our savior. By patenting this egregious system they are keeping greedy corporations from carrying it out.
mobiGeek, 9 May 2008 @ 7:58am
ElectricFrom the patent application:
3. The method of claim 2, where the generating a geographic model is electrically generated.
I don't speak patentese. Is electrically a broad generalization of electronically?
oregonnerd, 11 May 2008 @ 7:32am
Re: ElectricThey're probably using some relatively ancient synonym for a kind synergistic generation, which also relatively asinine in the application. Then again, they could be referring to the high-energy patent.
...Yet another reason to wish I were again a customer of Bank of America (right up there with Wells Fargo). Interesting side fact; almost all banks are home-based in North Dakota; allows the charging of nice high interest rates.
HAHAHAHA!! Wow, what a company! Next thing you know they make you pay to use the bathroom. I mean seriously, a "good work environment?!" Bahaha.
John, 9 May 2008 @ 8:58am
Re: HAyour branch doesn't?
Xyro TR1 (profile), 22 Jul 2009 @ 7:28am
Re: Re: HAI bank with BofA... >.>
RJD, 9 May 2008 @ 8:08am
Reality BytesIt's called international competition. While the tone of this makes it seem vile, it's a simple reality. Lower labor cost == lower product cost == happy consumer. Grant it, an unemployed consumer, but happy nonetheless. Get used to receiving less from your employer.
Oh yeah, and if you can be replaced by someone who can barely speak english and only knows a small portion of your job, you might want to look long and hard out how important/relevant your job is and more importantly, how relevant you are.
Ima Fish, 9 May 2008 @ 8:27am
Re: Reality BytesIt's called international competition. While the tone of this makes it seem vile, it's a simple reality.
I totally agree. But why should only corporations be allowed to do vile things? We should all be allowed to do any vile thing to get ahead. It's called the survival of the fittest. If you boss won't give you a raise. Pop a cap in his a$$. Someone took your cab. Blow it up. Someone's standing in your way, push him down, kick him a few times, and then take his wallet for your troubles.
If corporations can be de-regulated, why can't citizens also be allowed to act without annoying laws getting in our way?!
Anonymous Coward, 9 May 2008 @ 9:19am
Re: Re: Reality BytesThey can, its called quiting and finding a new job...
Ima Fish, 9 May 2008 @ 12:28pm
Re: Re: Re: Reality BytesGee, read much?!
I am an idiot, 9 May 2008 @ 8:43am
Re: Reality BytesI think you meant "granted" not "grant it".
GHynson, 9 May 2008 @ 8:49am
Re: Reality BytesUmm, WRONG
That's why services are shitty and prices are skyrocketing.
In case 1#
My house cost @250k,..
If it only cost me $60k in materials, $20k in Mexican labor,
and $20k in land deeds/permits.
Where the hell did the other $150k cost come from?
Let me guess,..the the F^@$&# mortgage banks.
mobiGeek, 9 May 2008 @ 10:48am
Re: Re: Reality BytesYou are absolutely incorrect as to the reason for the price.
The reason it cost $250K...is because you paid that amount. The extra $150k (I'm taking your numbers to be what you stated) is the premium that you paid to acquire that house.
If you didn't like it, why did you pay it? No mortgage bank forced you to pay more than you think the house is worth. In fact, mortgage banks (in the US) these days are selling houses at much closer to the actual cost of the land/materials/labour (heck, often they'll take a loss on the deal).
Anonymous Coward, 9 May 2008 @ 1:23pm
Re: Re: Reality BytesThere's this thing called 'reality' that would argue with your terrible logic and cost approach to building a home. If you don't like paying 250k for a 3/2 (thanks, California) move inland.
Lolita, 9 May 2008 @ 8:10am
I got your Patent right here.I believe most of us would agree that a good work environment is most difficult to obtain in America, let alone decent insurance benefits and just try to take time off for vacation, but thank goodness for my .2% raise every year. I don't know what I would do without it.
Matt N, 9 May 2008 @ 8:27am
Re: I got your Patent right here.@ Lolita
A good work environment is hard to find by our ridiculously overinflated American standards. There are billions of people around the world who would give anything to work in the kinds of environments we do here in the states, which is exactly what the BoA patent is pointing out here.
Personally I can't find anything wrong with this statement from the BoA patent application. Americans make expensive workers. We currently make something like 20 times the average worldwide income yet nearly every night I turn on the news there's some story about how "tight" things are these days.
From a humanitarian standpoint I can't find anything wrong with this either. The only situation in which outsourcing can be considered bad (from a humanitarian view) is if you value one person's welfare significantly more simply because they were born in America.
Of course having said all that, I don't see how in the world this can pass muster as a patentable innovation.
sonofdot, 9 May 2008 @ 8:40am
Re: Re: I got your Patent right here.... yet nearly every night I turn on the news there's some story about how "tight" things are these days.
Gee, do you think that might have something to do with things being 25 times more expensive here?
There are so many things wrong with your comments, it's hard to know where to begin. But if you think American standards are so "ridiculously overinflated," then maybe you should move to China and get a job there. Oh, but I guess that would involve getting off your "humanitarian" ass.
And, yes, I do value the welfare of Americans over the welfare of foreigners. But that's because I'm an American.
interval, 9 May 2008 @ 9:40am
Re: Re: Re: I got your Patent right here.So can I patent the process by which I decide to beat my employees with a buggy whip or a switch?
mobiGeek, 9 May 2008 @ 10:54am
Re: Re: Re: I got your Patent right here.What, precisely, do you think causes the price to be "25 times more expensive" in the US?
Is it because US retailers are morons and willing to pay producers substantially more?
Is it because US customers are morons and willing to pay retailers ridiculous markups (and no other retailer sees this and moves in to take advantage of the situation)?
Or is it that the working wages of US employees is substantially higher, thus costing retailers/service providers more to provide their goods?
I disagree with Matt N one one thing: at least one thing is wrong with BoA's statements...they comprise a patent application. The fact that one can patent (or at least apply to patent) a simple flow-chart business process is absolutely ridiculous.
sonofdot, 9 May 2008 @ 1:14pm
Re: Re: Re: Re: I got your Patent right here.Or is it that the working wages of US employees is substantially higher, thus costing retailers/service providers more to provide their goods?
That is one of many reasons. But things can be "tight", no matter whether you make $1 per week or $1000 per hour. And having a high standard of living is not limited to the United States.
Cygnus, 9 May 2008 @ 9:00am
Re: Re: I got your Patent right here.@Matt N
A good work environment is hard to find by our ridiculously overinflated American standards.
What a stupid comment.
Phil Ken Sebben, 9 May 2008 @ 9:31am
Re: Re: I got your Patent right here.The only situation in which outsourcing can be considered bad (from a humanitarian view) is if you value one person's welfare significantly more simply because they were born in America.
I have no clue where the hell you're located, but we are a very productive country.
In fact, one US FTE = about 4 Chinese FTE due to productivity gains and ability to multi task.
As the dollar continues to decline, it provides a great incentive for overseas manufacturers to come stateside. BMW is now making cars in the southeast and shipping them back to Europe. Volkswagen usually makes cars in Mexico, is thinking of expanding US operations. Airbus, the airplane manufacturer has also invested in US manufacturing.
SM, 9 May 2008 @ 9:32am
Re: Re: I got your Patent right here.>>"There are billions of people around the world who would give anything to work in the kinds of environments we do here in the states, which is exactly what the BoA patent is pointing out here."
No, Matt, they are pointing out that there are billions of people who are willing to work in lower standards and worse environments than we do here in the states. They don't want to suffer the expense of a "good work environment." It's more cost-effective to be able to provide horrendous working conditions, low pay, no time off, etc.
Anonymous Coward, 9 May 2008 @ 8:21am> Don't let the American door hit you in the ass on the way out!
BOA = Bank of Assholes!
Jake, 9 May 2008 @ 8:24am
*hollow laugh*Something tells me the Patent Office might be a wee bit reluctant to run with this one. It's not like it'd be difficult to find prior art.
Danny, 9 May 2008 @ 8:27amThe actual patent application does not contain the quoted remarks from the techdirt post. For example, "Americans are a real problem" is not in the patent application.
The quoted remarks much come from THEODP's commentary, which is not linked to (so we can't know for sure.)
Mike should be a bit more careful about this. There is a lot of emotion about overseas outsourcing (we've seen nasty rants on Techdirt before); and fueling the fire by quoting text that some readers might infer comes directly from BofA is not a healthy way to move forward reasoned debate on this subject.
Danny, 9 May 2008 @ 8:31am
Follow up to myselfthis portion of the quoted text:
"A typical American employee demands a high salary, good benefits, a good work environment, vacation time, and other job-related perks such as reimbursement for higher education. These job-related perks are expensive and may not be cost-effective for the business entity. A business entity is forced to commit significant resources to employ an American work force and may often find that the demands of American employees far exceed the allotted budget."
is from section [0004] of the BofA patent application. So, they need to answer directly for this. But the "Americans are a real problem" phrase is not in the application.
GHynson, 9 May 2008 @ 8:56am
Re: Follow up to myselfI guess the corporate exec's making 700mil a year isn't too
demanding, but worker Joe over there needing that .2% pay raise is?
Anonymous Coward, 10 May 2008 @ 8:02am
Re: Follow up to myselfMaybe they should at their budget before outsourcing?
Anonymous Coward, 9 May 2008 @ 8:27am"...which eliminates 'demanding work force' problems by identifying another country for a corporation to relocate its work force to."
We're shipping American employees out to India now?
orion, 9 May 2008 @ 8:31am
Please tell me this is a joke!There have been discussions about broad patent applications, but this one seem to cover any analysis of alternative employment sites. This is a basic method of evaluation used for most any decision.
Cory, 9 May 2008 @ 8:35amWhile the article seems to claim that BoA is essentially trying to patent outsourcing, the actual patent is much less interesting. It's merely a method of deciding where to outsource to.
sonofdot, 9 May 2008 @ 8:42am
Re:So, now you can patent how to make a decision?
DigitalAngel, 9 May 2008 @ 8:52am
Re: Bank of America's We-Don't-Need-No-Stinking-America Patent ApplicationSounds like I'll be closing my Bank of America account...
BlogReader, 9 May 2008 @ 9:08am
Doesn't IBM own patents on this?I can't wait to see a lawsuit over this
Anonymous Coward, 9 May 2008 @ 9:15amHey stupid, all those perks cost. Why do you now complain about high prices when you keep asking for more? Do a good job and earn your way thru life.
Anonymous Coward, 9 May 2008 @ 9:15am
B o A= S.o. BCan you imagine? Such crazy demands as high salary, good benefits, a good work environment, vacation time, and other job-related perks. What a REAL problem.
People should have to make a choice between paying their rent and buying groceries or paying for their medical bills. Thats the Bank of American way after all.
Vacation, who needs that?
People should be happy to work 24-7-365 for a company that pays low, and keeps "perks" that might actually make the workplace enjoyable on the back burner.
Sounds to me, like B o A is just plain cheap.
$hn@zz33, 9 May 2008 @ 9:38pm
Re: B o A= S.o. BB o A = A o B == Always owe-the Bank
Sam, 9 May 2008 @ 9:20amBeing humanitarian is fine, but I think taking care of family is important, and in the international scheme our fellow Americans are family.
If it's true that American's receive 20 times better benefits than the rest of the world then that is a plus for us internationally because we will draw the best and brightest employees from all over the world.
I think it is also important to note that supposedly the American workplace is in an extremely workaholic mode compared to other western nations where people take a lot more vacation and spend more time with families. If this is actually true, then it's not surprising that we would want more compensation than we receive.
yoda, 9 May 2008 @ 9:23am
yikes!I think I will just start keeping my pennies in a shoe box under my bed... It is not the demand of employees that cause the problems, it is the CRAZY salaries of the "C" level and the outrageous demands of stock holders that cause companies to think this way. Wouldn't it be a disgrace to see the stock market shutdown and companies having to earn money the old fashioned way...pleasing their customers!
angry dude, 9 May 2008 @ 9:24am
Time to change their nameTime to rename the stinking BofA to something else..
Any suggestions ?
NO Outsourcing, 9 May 2008 @ 9:50am
Re: Time to change their nameBank of Myanmar?
Bank of India?
Anonymous Coward, 9 May 2008 @ 9:39am1/2 bag of Cheetos for the first person who can confirm citizenship of the inventor/s
interval, 9 May 2008 @ 9:43am
Re:Don't know about the citizenship of the "inventors", but wasn't BofA started by an Italian family?
JJ, 9 May 2008 @ 9:42amWhen are corporations going to learn that they can't treat the population they coexist with as a liability. There is more to gain in the long run by accepting the fact that you can only push the bottom line down so far, sometimes you need to play nice in the sandbox with all the other kids, even if you think you're the biggest kid there.
Pjerky, 9 May 2008 @ 10:02am
Has anyone considered the security risk this poses???Has anyone considered the security risk this poses???
Seriously, these foreigners are getting paid scraps and work in an environment that is very loosely regulated. Considering that most identity theft and bank fraud comes from third world countries, why the hell would it be safe to outsource to one of these places?
Forget the emotional attachment to loss of another American job or the obvious disregard for the people of the country that essential provides all the funds to the corporation. As much as these issues are important to me (I hate outsourcing for many reasons), the most dangerous part of this decision and commentary is that that of financial security.
They are essentially handing these foreigners our bank accounts and telling them to have at it. These guys have little to motivate them to continuously and vigilantly protect our information and our money. There is little regulation of their work environment, there is little chance they would be caught, and they don't have enough compensation in terms of wages and perks to keep their interest in the security aspect.
To top it off, have you ever dealt with overseas outsourced phone support? These guys don't care about you one bit, their culture is so vastly different than our own it becomes difficult and frustrating to work with them. Can you imagine this jokers in the banking industry??? It boggles the mind.
Anonymous Coward, 9 May 2008 @ 10:25am
Re: Has anyone considered the security risk this poses???To top it off, have you ever dealt with overseas outsourced phone support? These guys don't care about you one bit, their culture is so vastly different than our own it becomes difficult and frustrating to work with them. Can you imagine this jokers in the banking industry??? It boggles the mind.
Yeah. I recently had a plesantly poor experience. I dropped a check in the overnight slot at a branch while on a business trip. So Monday rolled around, and I noticed that the transaction hadn't posted by 9:15, when they opened. So I called the branch before they opened, they said it will post soon.
So I waited, and 30 minutes later, there was $140 in "Woohoo! charges" on the account.
I called the 1-800 number and spoke with a nice person in the Phillipeans who said it was a branch error, and I needed to go to the branch. However, I tried to explain that I dropped the money in the overnight slot at a branch 1200 miles away, and the placard said it would post before beginning of business. I had to explain that I live 6 states away from that branch.
He said "according to the terms and conditions..."
I cut him off and said "I'm not asking for terms and conditions, I am asking for customer service. Can you provide this to me?"
The call flow monkey said "I can't credit branch errors."
"OK I said, so I should go back to that branch, 1200 miles away"
"So what your saying is that this sounds like a system issue, because you are unable to fix an error that occured because your branch people didn't post the transaction before open of business. That sounds like a Customer Service issue to me."
I can't believe the lack of common sense of 3rd world call monkeys.
mobiGeek, 9 May 2008 @ 10:59am
Re: Re: Has anyone considered the security risk this poses???Exactly how would this have been any different if the call monkey worked just down the street from your house???
sam, 9 May 2008 @ 10:12am
US workersI think all good U.S. workers should pull their money out of BOA. Of course anyone looking at Countrywide really has no scruples already. The statement about U.S. Workers is foolish. Where do those overpaid and pampered employees spend their money? It shows the modern MBA is not worth a darn thing. Stupid is as stupid does. Maybe BOA can start financing India mortgages with Countrywide. Oh wait they are not happy enough let's take it to the mythical land found in Dilbert.
John Maynard Keynes, 9 May 2008 @ 10:13am
US Needs a Big Step LeftWhen are Americans finally going to wake up. They bitch and complain about other countries while their own is going down the tubes. This BoA is just part of the bullshit.
First it was the lower level production jobs that was moved out, but those at higher levels weren't concerned; then it was the middle and higher level production workers (e.g carmakers)that were moved out and still few cared; now it is high tech that is being outsourced and they are crying but again only few care. "Who cares about them, I'm still working. I just want my WalMart items dirt cheap. Screw them." It will just keep eroding. Soon all will be gone and just a small percentage of overpaid corporate greed execs will be left while the rest of the US wallows in unemployment.
The US needs to wake up to their real problems and stop fiddling with corporate greed promoted trumped up distracting issues like terrorism. (When was last terrorist attack?) The real problem is the US economic situation and the US economic model which is failing miserably.
The US people need to vote in someone who will really start working on the economy for the real benefit of the US people. The American model of "screw the other guy so I can get rich" has taken over the US mentality and corporate greed is killing the US. Pay more at WalMart now or get foreign Walmart wages in the future
Vote for a leader who deals with the real economic issues, outlaw lobbyists, bring in medicare, and tax the hell out of the corporate CEOs (not their company) but rather the corporate greed individual and also block their loopholes.
Corporate CEOs screw people's pensions, CEO greedy medical insurance companies screw their insured, Enron was, just everything is done to make
Parrat, 9 May 2008 @ 11:08am
Re: US Needs a Big Step LeftTypical left sensationalism and underthought. Who makes the greedy execs rich? Who does the work that a) makes the products b) coordinates their release to the public c) gets them to the stores d) provides the customer services that sell more products/services e) the host and myriad of things to be done in any corporation to make it successful so the greedy exec can be so rich? So that people can have a nice place to work? Have a nice salary? Consume all sorts of toys and gadgets and forget about how to buy homes and allow financial "experts" experiment with the economy in way that make themselves rich?
You do, moron (yes, I called you a name b/c this isn't hard). Without any of us, how are these evil execs going to exist? How in the world would there ever be a bunch of overpaid people, if there were no one employed to make them that way -- either as employees of a successful company, or as consumers of the product.
When was the last terrorist attack? Again, not paying much attention are you? Eight murdered in Jerusalem on Mar 6, 2008. Fifty-three died and 90 injured when a bus packed with explosive detonated outside a restaurant north of Baghdad, on Apr 15, 2008. Fifteen killed, 55 injured in a mosque bombing in Yemen, May 2, 2008. It's all just a diversion from the realities of health care, social security, and who ever makes lots of money in the US. If Americans were all poor, or at least all equal in earnings... none of that would be happening. Right.
The only thing you prove to me is that you're lazy, and want someone to spoon feed you the rest of your life. No sense in working hard, 20 hrs a day, to make all those millions. Similar to how Saddam Hussein, and every other tyrannical leader throughout history felt about how they should live and be treated.
You're bitter, jealous, and indignant. The first step to the cure is admitting you have a problem with people who are successful, driven, and working for a living. There are bad apples in every barrel. There are thousands, maybe millions of CEOs across the US and around the world. Not all of them are rich and evil. Not all of them run companies like Enron or BofA. Some of them run small stores and little ice cream parlors. Every one of them dreams of getting big... earning billions. You stand in the way of that. That, which is in fact, the American Way, and a way of life millions of people come to this country to find. How dare you, sir.
sigh, 9 May 2008 @ 11:44am
Re: Re: US Needs a Big Step LeftFight crazy with crazier?
Sashim, 9 May 2008 @ 12:00pm
Re: Re: Re: US Needs a Big Step Leftwell, if you rid the world of all incentive, what's anyone going to do for anyone? i don't see that many good Samaritans walking the earth. just like the hyenas on the plain, we'd all fight over whatever scraps we can get to survive. sort of like going back to the trees, i guess.
John Maynard Keynes, 9 May 2008 @ 10:15am
Sorry, bottom was chopped ...Corporate CEOs screw people's pensions, CEO greedy medical insurance companies screw their insured, Enron was, just everything is done to make
John Maynard Keynes, 9 May 2008 @ 10:17am
... the contuationCorporate CEOs screw people's pensions, CEO greedy medical insurance companies screw their insured, Enron was, just everything is done to make
John Maynard Keynes, 9 May 2008 @ 10:18am
... it hates the "Corporate CEOs screw people's pensions, CEO greedy medical insurance companies screw their insured, Enron was, just everything is done to make less than 1% super rich but little is done for the lower level. Yet all we hear Hillary and Obama talk about is killing items like NAFTA (which actually helps the US economy), but they don't get after real issue which is American corporate greed that controls the US politicians by paying them through lobbyists.
The US needs to start taking care of its own people and to do so it needs to take a big step left (social) in its political thinking. You have to protect all of your own or your country will die.
mastmaker, 9 May 2008 @ 10:35amThis is so wrong in so many ways.
All the applicants, their lawyers and their supporters deserve our patented preparation H tube filled with Dave's Insanity Sauce.
Michael Kine, 9 May 2008 @ 10:46am
wtfI don't know how many of you have ever called cable company customer support, but it's 90% outsourced to countries like India. They don't care one bit about your issue and could really care less if they please you or not. Talk to the same company's customer service that's local to your home and you'll get a MUCH different attitude. They actually care because they may end up with the same issues you have. If BoA outsources it's work force it's just going to make things worse for them. I watched a documentary on companies that outsourced work to India and in one part about a call center for customer support, the agent made the customer angry and they hung up on the customer. Then they announced what they had done and received cheers for it. Do that in america and you'll get fired as soon as you hang up on the customer.
Americans are raised to expect appreciation for hard work. That comes in the form of pay equal to the work you do, health benefits, and paid time off; just to name a few. Providing health benefits lowers how much you really need to pay the employee since they won't have to buy their own insurance and the company pays less than if the employee got it themselves. The time off is a necessity since you don't want a burnt out employee working for you. Especially in a bank where a slight miscalculation from an overworked employee could cost someone a LOT of money.
I work for a company that pays me very well, provides benefits to include health and PTO, and even sends me to technical training classes that would otherwise cost me hundreds of dollars. I appreciate every bit of it and it shows in my work. They say it's mutually beneficial. They get an employee that works very hard (which in turn makes more money for the company) and I get to live without worrying about not being able to pay my bills if I get sick, or losing money if I need time away from work.
J. P. Morgan, 9 May 2008 @ 10:55amThis is great. I'm going to file for a patent for a method of replacing corporate executives.
A typical American executive demands a high salary, good benefits, a good work environment, vacation time, and other job-related perks such as reimbursement for higher education. These job-related perks are expensive and may not be cost-effective for the business entity. A business entity is forced to commit significant resources to employ an American executive and may often find that the demands of American executives far exceed the allotted budget. A monkey with a stick can watch a billion dollar corporation go down the tubes.
I think it's high time ALL Americans pull ALL their assets out of Bank of America and relocate them elsewhere. Show them just how effective relocation can be. I'm also going to stop paying my Countrywide mortgage...
f2point8, 9 May 2008 @ 10:57amIsn't this kind of like patenting a quadratic equation?
purrkitten, 9 May 2008 @ 11:10am
BofA woesHas everyone forgotten that BofA has been courting illegal immigrants by giving out loans (that's shareholder $$, folks) to undocumented immigrants?
JB, 9 May 2008 @ 11:13am
Live what you preachI'm really wondering if these authors of this patent actually lower their salary demands or do they charge more because they are so smart to come up with this kind of stuff.
Also, BoA might want to save some of that money they are spending to name the stadium where the Carolina Panthers play. They probably demand too much money for that.
One last thing, someone tell me what a CEO brings to the table to make their pay scale so many hundred times higher than the rest of us. Including BoA's CEO I'm sure. The same blood flows through their body as mine and they probably didn't spend any more years in school either.
niftyswell, 9 May 2008 @ 11:29am
they are essentially pulling the money out of the USAIf your richest customers primarily come from the U.S. of America, but you dont like paying the wages and you outsource your manufacturing, service, and capital to other countries...it wont take long before you find that your best customers can no longer afford your business. Just like the UN constantly asking the US to provide 5 times more money for the WFP than any other country including the Arabs who are making a killing on oil. Everyone will be happy when the US is broke, but there isnt another nation out there stepping up to help out countries in trouble. Just wait until the only capital the United States of America is left with is food and see if they pull together an Food Producing Economic Conglomerate together to charge people 30 times what it costs to produce for an ear of corn or a bushel of wheat in appreciation for all the world has done for the US.
Flash, 9 May 2008 @ 11:56am
Re: they are essentially pulling the money out of the USA"Just wait until the only capital the United States of America is left with is food and see if they pull together an Food Producing Economic Conglomerate together to charge people 30 times what it costs to produce for an ear of corn or a bushel of wheat in appreciation for all the world has done for the US."
The US is already having problems with food....Look at Rice and Hops.
niftyswell, 9 May 2008 @ 12:14pm
Re: Re: they are essentially pulling the money out of the USAI dont think that is really at much of a profit...a lot of that is driven by how expensive fuel and fertilizer is getting -due to the ethanol explosion. What I am saying is that the US is full of a bunch of idiots that try too hard to be liked and while giving away tons of cash to countries that spit at them...and even their businesses take advantage of their idealism...can you think of another country that isnt exploiting their natural resources to fuel their economies? Here we are refusing to gasify our coal, refusing to drill offshore, refusing to drill in the barren 'wildlife preserve' of Alaska all in the name of caring for the earth while every other country is scrambling to burn every tree, mine every drop of oil, and well every ounce of coal from their own plots of land....it is insanity.
Lucretious, 9 May 2008 @ 11:44amUnless you are running a large business there is absolutely no reason to use a Bank over a Credit union. Companies like BoA actually go out of their way to discourage the small guy from opening an account by blasting them with service fees while nickel-and-diming them at every turn. Why put money in the pockets of these vile whores?
Flash, 9 May 2008 @ 11:54am
Bank of AssholesThis is completely amazing to me. So, what are we supposed to do? Live a life like the mexicans do while these assholes live in a life of luxury? If some of us didn't make an acceptable salary, they wouldn't have a freakin job.
interval, 9 May 2008 @ 12:08pm
And the Govt...There's always the crutch that mandates companies with a significant market in the US maintain production in the US. Of course, since bofa isn't in the car business, they could side-step this...
John Maynard Keynes, 9 May 2008 @ 12:08pm
Parrat is Part of the ProblemParrat, you are obviously part of the problem if you actually believe that you can maintain the status quo of US while killing off your own. Most of your rhetoric is just babble. The only thing to say to you is "tu quoque".
The US needs to change its ways, the old model is broken. The US needs closer to a European model. If you can't see that you are blind.
PS: I am not lazy (worked 41 years), have close to a six figure retirement income, but am willing to pay far more taxes to maintain a stable US economy. It's in my financial best interest to go against what I say, but in my world, money is not my only goal. Social well being, honesty, and ethical treatment of my fellows are high on my list. Evidently not on yours.
Parrat, 9 May 2008 @ 12:39pm
Re: Parrat is Part of the ProblemYes, I'm part of your dream-to-implement-socialism-everywhere problem. If you're willing to pay more, why aren't you? I already give up 52% of _my_ six-figure income to taxes and fees just to live in this world. Attempting to level everyone's income doesn't fix that, but it will make it worse.
PS Was that 41 years with 45 days vacation, 30 days sick, weekends and holidays off, and no overtime? Anyone can go to work for 41 years... it's whether you did anything that matters. But I guess if we were all paid the same, and didn't _have_ to work hard, it wouldn't matter if it mattered.
John Maynard Keynes, 9 May 2008 @ 12:57pm
Yup, Parrat Sure is Part of the Problem.Still you say nothing.
Your second paragraph seems to change tunes from it doesn't seem to be all about money to "it's whether you did anything that matters". That would seem to be something aside from just accumulating dollars. In that regard, I am still attempting to do something that matters while you just want to accumulate wealth at the cost of your neighbors.
What do you not understand to equate even one minor step such as medicare to help your fellow citizens being equal to a scenario like Red Book Maoist socialism. Check out a few European countries. There are degrees of going left.
You sound greedy. Europeans will pay more taxes but receive more social benefits. The higher six figure income plus salaried people do not have a problem with that. They enjoy their life and what they do which does include being socially responsible to their own people.
Parrat, 9 May 2008 @ 2:06pm
Re: Yup, Parrat Sure is Part of the Problem.OK. You're so smart... where is the money going to come from to pay for your socialist ideal? Where is the incentive? You keep talking about Medicare... you're retired... who wants to live off the back of others? Surely not you, someone wants everyone to share in paying for your medical. Why aren't you paying for them? You make a load of money with your 6 figure retirement... why are you placing any tax burden on those who earn so much less? Why do we need third party payment? If the insurance companies weren't taking their greedy little cut (uh oh, damed CEOs!) then maybe we wouldn't need subsidized health care. Or maybe less of it, or maybe it could be applied to more advanced procedures only... saving us the cost of billions of dollars for simple eye exams or whatever. Of course, that would mean market forces help drive down the cost. But you'd rather have Govt. involved, with all their back room dealings, congressional slight of hand, and of course the good ole shave off the top straight into some Senator's pocket compromises.
No. We let Govt. do this to us, then blame the CEOs. Aren't we brilliant?
I don't believe Europe has some great idea. I work with lots of Europeans who are frustrated at the lack of ability in Europe to get anything done. I travel to England and see one of the strongest economies in the world, live in 3-4 room flats paying through the nose for stupid things like a tax for having a TV -- a remnant of WWII monitoring on radio ownership. What does that pay for??
You say I say nothing. Well then, hear this loud and clear: I want LESS Government, MORE freedom, and FEWER costs on living. I want to AFFORD my health care, not have SOMEBODY ELSE pay for it. I want YOU to do the SAME. I want to work in a CLEAN and SAFE environment, and no, I DON'T want people who are greedy in charge of the world. But I DO want all of us to LIVE in this world comfortably, and not be DEPENDENT on others, and have no one dependent on ME. If that sounds greedy, then it's only because you're so selfish.
The kind of social responsibility you tout is clear, it's all about what I can do for you, and nothing about what you can do for yourself. I cannot help the entire world. I help my family. I take care of my elderly mother and father. I help my friends in need. If you would do the same, and then if the whole world did the same, we wouldn't need some stupid phrase like social responsibility rammed down our throats.
This isn't Wonderland... it's reality. If a thousand years from now, we dispense with money, and live and work only to serve each other, then the human race will have defied ten's of thousands of years of human history to do it. I don't see that coming. And the US won't being doing it by voting for Hillary or Obama, or becoming just like the Europeans. The President of the US has the least impact on making your Robin Hood dream come true. And the CEOs? As long as there's incentive to try and make dreams come true (even if a greedy dream), they will keep coming and probably get fairly rich in the process, despite your dismay.
In the meantime, I challenge you to do something that proves you mean what you say: select something people work hard and only receive minimum wage for, then do it for them for free by giving them your paychecks. Something like trash collection. Do it and honestly tell me you enjoyed it and that others would too, then maybe you're right... we can relieve ourselves of incentive and serve each other. Of course, you'd be lying.
dids, 9 May 2008 @ 1:14pm
Someone should patent...Someone should patent the act of moving bank accounts to other insitutions that support America.
Anonymous Coward, 9 May 2008 @ 1:31pm
52%!?If you're making six figures annually and paying 52% out the door to Uncle Sam, perhaps it's time to hire a new CPA. Seriously man, buy some multifamily/commercial property and take advantage of all the tax evasion caveats afforded to those in your income bracket.
Fernando, 9 May 2008 @ 3:06pmBoldface "county" should instead be "country." There's quite a difference.
Michael Long, 9 May 2008 @ 4:14pm
Jobs? What jobs?"Soon all will be gone and just a small percentage of overpaid corporate greed execs will be left while the rest of the US wallows in unemployment."
Well... yes. With advances in automation and robotics and AI, just how many jobs do you think we need? Especially jobs for unskilled idiots who couldn't even bother to finish high school, much less college.
fred, 10 May 2008 @ 2:40pmDon't know about the citizenship of the "inventors", but wasn't BofA started by an Italian family?
BankAmerica was Bank of Italy. A. P. Giannini during the 1930's was a real force for the positive including financing the Golden Gate Bridge. The current Bank of America reflects the corporate culture of Nations Bank which in effect took over BankAmerica over a decade ago.
MG, 12 May 2008 @ 10:45am
Best Quote Ever"Oh yeah, and if you can be replaced by someone who can barely speak english and only knows a small portion of your job, you might want to look long and hard out how important/relevant your job is and more importantly, how relevant you are."
Very insightful
matt, 16 May 2008 @ 11:40am
uninterested and uncaringly respondentokay so hypothetically speaking...
Lets say all manufacturers and big corporations move their workforce to india.
So now we all lose our jobs because we have nothing left to do, unless you are on a board of directors.
So now all products are coming from india or china or whatever to be sold to us when we don't have any jobs to purchase any of the products.
Conclusion: we all goto india and start a gas station, and sell them cigarettes, lighters, gas, and snack chips.
ohh by the way, phuk you BofA
Denise Mosley, 21 Jun 2008 @ 11:29am
I Was Kicked out of the Parkland BOA for asking them to Verify a CheckOn Friday, June 20, 2008, I walked into the Parkland Branch Bank of America to make several deposits, cash a check and get my payroll out. The check that I was trying to cash was from a vendor who'd made the check out to my mother, who is a signer on my business account. She came into the back to sign the check and to show her identification.
The check was over the teller's limit so she asked the Assistant Branch Manager, Song Degarmo, to assist her. She was asked to verify the check.
All I did was ask them to verify the check. The funds were good. The Assistant Branch Manager, Song Degarmo, explains to me that Bank of America no longer verifies funds over the phone. I ask to speak with the branch manager because I have been a customer of Bank of America for many years and they have always called to verify funds in situations such as this.
When the Branch Manager, Linda Morley, storms out her office with my check in her hand, she states, "It is obvious that we will not be able to provide you with the level of customer service that you would like. Your account is not entitled to any special treatment. I am closing your accounts." And with that she storms over to the main doors, opens the doors and turns back to say, "Please Leave!"
Mind you, we are in the middle of the lobby and there are still customers all around. I still have yet to say anything to her. Quite frankly, I was confused on what prompted her to approach me in such a manner, and I was hugely embarrassed by her antics.
The Assistant Branch Manager, Song Degarmo, places her hand on my shoulder and pushed me towards the door. I stopped at the door, turned to the Linda Morley and ask, "Can you please explain to me what is going on? Why are you closing my account?" I was not hostile. I did NOT yell at her.
She says, "I don't have to explain anything to you! I have the right to close an account for any reason. Please Leave. If you don't leave I will call the police!"
I was almost in tears at this point. My mother was still there. It appeared as though Ms Morley was unreasonably hostile towards her, but that had nothing to do with me or my accounts. I said, "You have not even spoken to me and I am the primary signer on this account. I deserve an explanation as to why you are closing my account. I am not being hostile. I don't deserve to be treated like this."
"It is obvious that you are unaware as to how much we have bent over backwards to assist you. The bank is closed. Please leave."
"I have been in line since 5:20. The bank closed before I got to the teller window. Are you saying to me that I am not entitled to the same customer service as everyone else simply because the bank closed while I was in line?"
"That is not what I said! You are putting words in my mouth!"
Again, Song Degarmo attempted to push me out the door. By this time, one of the other bankers was standing behind them as if she was going to forcibly remove me.
And so we left. I called the customer service number to find out why this happened. What did I do wrong? Why did she treat me like that? They said that the branch manager can shut down an account for any reason and that what she did cannot be overridden by anyone.
I have sat on the phone and poured my heart out to several customer service representatives, and spoken to supervisors of supervisors. The last one I spoke with, Tammy Wright said that she was sorry but the only thing she could offer me at this time was a sincere apology.
I spent Friday night in the emergency room because I had an anxiety attack that was brought about by this entire situation.
Anonymous Coward, 7 Jul 2008 @ 6:36pmbofa is terorism!
jeff, 26 Nov 2008 @ 7:38am
they suckThats it, first they give illegals credit cards, now this? once I pay off my current cc with them, i'm going to another bank. been with them 20 years or so too, pitty
Wikileaks Bank Of America, 17 Jan 2011 @ 7:48amI can�t wait til wikileaks drop the BoA Fraud Documents�


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You Won't Find Anything Else Like Checkbook
- Nonprofit and independent
- Takes no advertising or referral fees
- Ratings and reviews by surveyed Consumers' Checkbook and Consumer Reports local subscribers
- Undercover price comparisons
- Complaint counts from local consumer agencies and attorney general offices
- Advice to help you get the best service and value
Subscribe and see 65 Washington, DC area bike shopsSubscribe »
A good bike shop can provide immense help selecting and maintaining a bike, beginning when you first start shopping and throughout the time you ride the bike you purchase.
As you begin to shop, determine what you expect to do with your bike and choose your bike accordingly. In general, the more you plan to ride and to compete, the more the bike will cost.
A lot of fitness-club customers waste a lot of money on memberships they don't use. If you're thinking about joining a club, first compare the costs—and time commitment—of exercising at a club compared to the many other fitness options.
When comparing fitness clubs, consider several points, including what its members say, its location, membership fees, contract terms, facilities and equipment, classes, and amenities. Our ratings of area clubs will help you with these comparisons.
Although it's easy to check on clubs' facilities and activities, finding the right membership option for you can be a lot more difficult.
There's no clear answer as to whether the positive results most patients experience from acupuncture are from a placebo effect. But since it works and, when properly performed, involves very few risks and virtually no negative side effects, maybe you shouldn't overthink it.
Here's advice on how to pinpoint the best acupuncture prices.
Acupuncture draws on various medical traditions from China, Japan, Korea, and other Asian countries, some dating back as far as 2,000 years. Like many alternative medical procedures, acupuncture is also subject to trends.

subset: commoncrawl


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Storytelling is a fundamental part of brand journalism. To tell engaging stories, you need to cover your company like a beat reporter. Learn every aspect of your company or industry, and find interesting angles.
CEO Mark Ragan and head of Ragan Consulting Jim Ylisela explain the reporting skills your team needs to create compelling brand journalism content.
This is the fourth video in a seven-part series.
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Featured News - Current News - Archived News - News Categories
Over the weekend, the Buffalo Sabres announced the team signed forward Nicholas Baptiste to a three-year, entry-level contract.
Baptiste (age 18, 6'1", 196 lbs.), the Sabres' third-round (69th overall) selection in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft, has been playing for the Sudbury Wolves in the Ontario Hockey League since 2011.
In 2013-14, Baptiste registered career highs in goals (45), points (89) and assists (44) in 65 games played. His goal and point totals led the Wolves, and his 45 goals tied him for fourth-best among all OHL skaters.
Through three seasons with the Wolves, Baptiste has played in 195 games and recorded 164 points (74 goals, 90 assists). The Ottawa native also earned a gold medal while playing with Team Canada at the 2013 U18 World Junior Championship in Sochi, Russia.


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Skunk spray toxicosis: An odiferous tale
Skunks are docile but will defend themselves when threatened. A skunk's first line of defense is defensive posturing. A skunk will hiss, stamp its feet, and raise its tail as a warning. If the warnings are ignored, a skunk will spray anal gland secretions (referred to as either spray or musk).Skunks have two anal glands, one on each side of the anus. The anal gland secretions contain a mixture of sulfur-containing thiols. The odor—which has been described as similar to that of a combination of rotten eggs, garlic, and burnt rubber—tends to drive away most predators.2 Skunks can spray these secretions 7 to 15 ft (2 to 5 meters) and are highly accurate in their aim. Getting sprayed by a skunk is commonly called being skunked. Skunk spray has been used as a biological weapon.2
The skunk's anal gland secretions contain seven major volatile components: three major thiols, three major thioacetates, and a methylquinoline. These are divided into thiols and acetate derivatives of the thiols. Two of these thiols, (E)-2-butene-1-thiol and 3-methyl-1-butanethiol, are responsible for the repellent odor. These two thiols constitute 51% to 70% of the anal gland secretions.
The thioacetates are not as initially odiferous on contact but are converted to more potent thiols with the addition of water. This chemical reaction may explain why some animals continue to smell skunky after a bath—thioacetates trapped in fur continue to release thiols under damp conditions.
The seventh component is an alkaloid 2-methylquinoline, which is not as volatile as the thiols and has a nitrogenous base. The chemical composition and percentages of the volatile components may vary among skunk species. Numerous minor components differ among individual skunks and species.3,4


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So here is something fun. Making your own small plastic parts without a machine shop. There is a company named Alumilite (www.alumilite.com)that sells a plastic casting kit.
I've been using it to make wheels that have an integrated Servo horn for use on servo based robots.
Check it out at: www.mcmanis.com/chuck/robotics/projects/casting/


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Teairra Mari - Body
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Edited by Ryan Spencer & Greg Wojdak
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Co-Produced by Q Worldstar
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Production Assistants: Ace Fillmore, Ryan Lloyd, Alex Roth
And a Special Thanks to Douglas Schulein at Back Bay Fitness.
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How To Become A Nutritionist in Illinois
In order to qualify for Nutrition jobs in Illinois, you should compare all available technical schools in your target area, as well as consider taking some of your courses online. Check with each nursing school below for assistance with certificate program requirements, degree prerequisites, and class registration. You may request information from several different schools below, without making a commitment.
To prepare for Nutrition careers in Illinois, you need to complete a technical education in your specialty area, as well as consider taking part of your required courses online. Which college degrees give you the best chances of finding employment after graduation? The field of engineering requires either an associates degree for entry-level technical workers, or a bachelors degree for professional engineers. Check with the nutritional science department for course registration deadlines, and engineering program requirements.
Dietitians and nutritionists evaluate the health of their clients. Based on their findings, dietitians may advise clients on which foods to eat?and which to avoid, in order to improve their health. Nutritionists, on the other hand, are experts in the use of food and nutrition to promote health and mitigate the effects of disease. They advise people on what to eat in order to lead a healthy lifestyle or achieve a specific health-related goal.
Clinical nutritionists provide medical nutrition therapy. They work in hospitals, long-term care facilities, clinics, private practice, and other institutions. They create customized nutritional programs based on the health needs of patients or residents and counsel patients on how to improve their health through nutrition. Clinical dietitians and clinical nutritionists may further specialize, such as by working only with patients with specific conditions such as kidney disease, diabetes, or digestive disorders. Beyond major requirements within the nutritional science department, you may consider Grambling State University woodworking classes as a complementary elective.


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Along the way I fell in love with journaling and stream-of-consciousness writing. Sometimes I write about personal stuff. Sometimes it becomes a story or poem. Whatever evolves there is nothing like putting pen to paper (in my case a fountain pen is a little bit of heaven). Maybe one day I'll get all my fountain pens together and take a picture. hmm
One of the first books on writing and the one I always go back to is Writing Down the Bones: Freeing the Writer Within by Natalie Goldberg. Each page has a little story about writing with no plan and a prompt to get you writing from all different places and times. It's hard to explain if you don't do it.
Begin with "I remember." Write lots of small memories. If you fall into one large memory, write that. Just keep going. Don't be concerned if the memory happened five seconds ago or five years ago. Everything that isn't this moment is a memory coming alive again as you write. If you get stuck, just repeat the phrase "I remember" again and keep going.
As you write like this, memories you didn't even realize you had, come bubbling to the surface. One memory leads to another, and another, and another.
A few years later Natalie came out with another great book on writing: Old Friend from Far Away: The Practice of Writing Memoir. Natalie's writing has a way of putting you in another zone. It reaches beyond the surface and helps you get to the meat and bones of your self.
The True Secret of Writing: Connecting Life with Language.
Find a pen and paper and get started. I remember . . .


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10 Recipes for Thanksgiving in Canada (and for All You Advance Planners)
Lucky Canadians! They're getting a jump on us Americans this coming Monday, with turkey, mashed potatoes, and pie before any of us have even considered what kind of cranberry sauce we're making this year. Or maybe you have — are you a seriously advance planner, when it comes to Thanksgiving?
Whether you're happily celebrating Thanksgiving in Canada next week, or getting ready for the American replay next month, here are ten favorite recipes — from the simplest way to roast a turkey, to the most transcendent mashed potatoes, to a fall salad to round things out.
I'm leading with this butternut squash casserole because it's just one of those dishes that captures everything I love about the Thanksgiving table — cozy gratin, autumn vegetables, beautiful color. There's plenty more that's strictly traditional in this list, too, like the best way to cook a turkey (we think, anyway), a tutorial on making gravy in case you want a refresher, and an updated but still decadent green bean casserole. Something for everyone!
- Creamy Butternut Squash Casserole with Herbed Bread Crumbs
- How to Cook a Turkey: The Simplest, Easiest Method
- How to Make a Quick Turkey Gravy
- How to Make Easy Thanksgiving Stuffing
- Green Bean Casserole with Mushroom Béchamel & Crispy Onions
- How To Make the Best Mashed Potatoes
- Spiced Cranberry Sauce
- Roasted Cabbage Slaw with Hazelnuts & Lemon
- Winter Wheat Berry Salad with Figs & Red Onion
- Classic Pecan Pie (Without Corn Syrup)
What are you planning for Thanksgiving this year? What is the most essential part of the meal for you?
(Images: See recipes for full image credits)


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In this post, I showed a simple way to create simple but useful Date and Time user-defined data types in SQL Server 2000. Here's how to do it in SQL Server 2005, without the need for CLR types or anything fancy.
First, we must create two user defined data types:
create type Date from dateTime
create type Time from dateTime
So, internally (and externally to our clients), these types are really just DateTime. But, we will apply some rules to these types so that the Date data type will always be constrained to a time exactly at midnight, and the the Time data type...
posted @ Wednesday, October 31, 2007 9:13 AM | Feedback (16) |
Filed Under [
SQL Server 2005
DateTime Data
Applying a Sub-Query, Joining a Derived Table ...
I think the easiest way to think of CROSS APPLY is that it is like doing a CROSS JOIN with a correlated sub-query instead of a derived table. Let's see if I can explain that .... A derived table is "self-contained", in that all tables and columns in the parent SELECT are not accessible (though variables and parameters can be referenced). For example, consider:
select A.*, b.X
from A
cross join (select B.X from B where B.Val=A.Val) b
That is not legal because A.Val is out of scope within the derived table; this is because the derived...
posted @ Thursday, October 18, 2007 5:01 PM | Feedback (10) |
Filed Under [
SQL Server 2005
As David Letterman would say, wake the kids, call the neighbors, it's time for The Mailbag! Just some quickies today.
Christopher writes:
Greetings Jeff,
First and foremost, great job with all of the blogs. I have a questions
that I cannot seem to get a straight answer for. I am working with SQL
Server Reporting Services (SSRS) and have the need to create VB
functions to customize the reports generated. For example, a setter/getter to
display information that would not be readily available from the
query. SSRS allows this type of custom Visual Basic code to reside in the
report itself, but since most of my code is across...
posted @ Thursday, October 18, 2007 12:19 PM | Feedback (0) |
Filed Under [
Report Writing
Reporting Services
On a particular real estate website, we have a "Property Summary" section that contains each property's name, the address, a phone number (if it exists), and a contact email address (if it exists).
The information is data bound to properties in the page's code-behind, and the ASP.NET code basically looks like this:
<%# Property Name%>
<%# AddressLine1 %>
<%# AddressLine2 %>
<%# AddressLine3 %>
<%# CityStateZIP %>
<%# Phone %>
<%# Email %>
Because lots of these elements are optional, all of these properties have all been written to work like this in the code-behind:
Protected Readonly Property AddressLine1 as String
posted @ Wednesday, October 17, 2007 11:13 AM | Feedback (2) |
Filed Under [
If you read this blog on a regular basis, you probably know that a frequently covered topic is dates and times and the use of the DateTime data type. Well, along those same lines, my latest article has just been published over at SQL Team: Working with Time Spans and Durations in SQL Server.
From the Article:
What is the best way to return the "duration" of an event in SQL, given the start and end datetime values? How can we add up these durations to return grand totals? What data types should be used to return this data to our clients?...
posted @ Monday, October 15, 2007 9:28 AM | Feedback (0) |
Filed Under [
DateTime Data
Have you ever seen (or written) code like this:
select distinct(employeeID), salary
from salaryhist
That compiles and executes without returning any errors. I've seen that attempted many times over the years, and of course people think DISTINCT is "broken" and "not working" because they see multiple rows for each employeeID. "But I asked for only distinct employeeIDs!" they say.
Well, the DISTINCT has nothing to do with the EmployeeID column; it is not a function that accepts arguments! It is just a tag that you can put after the word SELECT to indicate that you want only distinct combinations of all columns in the...
posted @ Friday, October 12, 2007 10:45 AM | Feedback (3) |
Filed Under [
Be careful when mixing OUTER and INNER JOINS together in a single SELECT statement. The end result doesn't always seem to "work", and it can be tricky to understand exactly why and how to fix it without incurring additional unintended side effects. Here's an example that demonstrates some of the issues. read more...
posted @ Thursday, October 11, 2007 2:39 PM | Feedback (27) |
Filed Under [
A question I see very often in the SQLTeam forums is how to return data in a summarized form by concatenating a list of values into a single CSV column. This can be done fairly easily in T-SQL, but as the formatting and concatenation requirements becomes more elaborate, be sure to ask yourself: Am I forcing presentation code into the database layer? read more...
posted @ Tuesday, October 09, 2007 3:02 PM | Feedback (19) |
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ECS HDC-I Review
Media center computers and set-top boxes are two of the biggest current trends in home electronics. This is partly due to the increase in popularity of Internet video streaming services such as Hulu and Netflix. A media center set-top box needs to be capable of not only streaming video, but must also access the user's home library of music, pictures, and video. Though there are many big contenders such as the Xbox 360 and Apple TV, there is still a market for custom built media center boxes. Building a media center computer is easier than ever thanks to the industry shift toward small, low-power, HD-capable motherboards. Because of the low power requirements of these boards, and very little need for expansion cards such as sound cards or TV tuners, users can build compact, low-power media center computers that rival big-brand boxes in price and functionality.
ECS, long time provider of quality motherboards, is on the front line of this trend with its AMD Fusion-based offering, the HDC-I. There are a lot of AMD Fusion motherboards on the market right now and each offers a different array of features. The HDC-I comes equipped with a very practical and desirable offering of features: integrated Bluetooth, integrated Wi-Fi-N, USB 3.0, four SATA 3.0 ports, and two DDR3 DIMM slots. With a feature list like that, it is obvious that ECS is not messing around in this market. Let's see how it compares to the ION-based and fellow Fusion-based boards.
Closer Look:
The ECS HDC-I comes in a small, shiny, green box. On the front you're presented with a basic feature list; AMD Radeon HD 6310 Graphics, Bluetooth, Blu-ray 1080p playback, USB 3.0 support, and an included wireless card. Around the back you get a view of the board along with a much more detailed list of HDC-I and general AMD Fusion features. The sides of the box are pretty plain; just the sticker with basic specifications and barcodes.
Upon opening the box you are presented with a direct view of the board wrapped in an anti-static bag. After removing that, you are presented with a wide array of accessories. You have your basic manual and quick start guides, the driver disk, four SATA cables, I/O cover, and the Wi-Fi parts. The Wi-Fi consists of the Mini PCI-E card, the antenna mount, the antenna, a PCI bracket, and a low-profile PCI bracket. The inclusion of four SATA cables and the Wi-Fi with two different-sized brackets makes for a very comprehensive accessory package.
Now onto the board itself.


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Neil R. Gumenick is the founder and Director of The Institute of Classical Five-Element Acupuncture. Neil is a Worsley certified advanced teacher of Classical Five-Element Acupuncture and a practitioner with over 27 years of private practice experience. Neil holds three degrees from the College of Traditional Acupuncture (U.K.), and he participated for 10 years in the Master Apprentice Program, led by Profs. J.R. & J.B. Worsley. Neil has taught at the USC and UCLA Schools of Medicine, the Worsley Institute of Classical Acupuncture, the Traditional Acupuncture Foundation, California Acupuncture College, Santa Barbara College of Oriental Medicine, and Pacific College of Oriental Medicine. He has been a Professor at Emperor's College of Traditional Oriental Medicine and SAMRA University of Oriental Medicine. Neil is co-author of The Art of Practice Management for Acupuncture Health Care Practices
Some of the most frequently asked questions regarding Classical Five-Element Acupuncture diagnosis and treatment are, "How is it that a specific symptom can be the result of imbalance in any of the elements or organs/functions? If the organ showing the symptom is not the cause of its own distress, how can we know the cause?"
The 12 organs/functions (the "Officials") are related, as are members of a family.
As soon as there is an imbalance in any Official, within a space of time, the imbalance will and must affect the other members of the family.
Let us take the example of the Liver, the Official of Planning; consider some aspects of its role within the body/mind/spirit; and examine the vast influence it has over the working of every other Official.
The Liver's job is likened to that of an architect, who draws up the plans from which an entire structure will be assembled. The plan gives everyone involved in the job a goal and purpose. With a plan in hand, the workers know exactly what they are to do. Everything moves in a smooth and orderly fashion, directed toward the ultimate goal.
On a personal level, if we live our lives according to an internal plan, all parts of us run smoothly and orderly, as well. Each Official knows what to do and where to go. Even in the event of an unexpected obstacle arising, a healthy Liver will have foreseen alternatives and made contingency plans. This clarity of vision allows us to be confident within ourselves, knowing that we are on purpose, yet relaxed and flexible.
If the Liver is imbalanced, whether through an inherited predisposition and/or exposure to physical, emotional, mental or spiritual trauma beyond its capacity to repel, the Official will begin to malfunction. There may be difficulties with vision and the eyes, as Wood controls our ability to see; yet we do not see with our physical eyes alone. For example, we may say, "I see what you mean." Of course, we do not physically see this, nor do we physically see the logic in a line of reason, but we do see these things with the mind's eye.
We need our inner eye to envision our future, to foresee what is ahead and what the next step will be. Lacking this vision, we may feel the frustration of not knowing which way to go, being lost, perhaps having a strong desire to move forward, but feeling blocked in every direction. We can begin to see how the emotion of anger is associated with this element and Official.
When the Liver is imbalanced, the storage of blood; protein; fats; iron; the menstrual flow; and the release of bile, all part of an organized flow, governed by this Official, can become chaotic. The tendons and ligaments, controlled by the Wood, can lose their suppleness and become rigid and tense, causing spasm, cramps and physical awkwardness. Symptoms can arise anywhere along the extensive pathway of the Liver meridian, including the genital and abdominal areas, as well as the head.
All of the body's rhythms, down to the smallest cellular exchanges, follow an internal plan. Nothing happens randomly. We eat and digest food according to a plan: The process of respiration, with its exchange of gases, happens according to a plan; hormones are released in accordance with a plan; the circulation of blood - every movement follows a plan. Every conscious and unconscious process contains a "blueprint" that arises from the work of the Liver Official.
More devastating than the myriad physical symptoms that can arise when this Official is imbalanced are the mental and spiritual manifestations. Our spirit is fueled by our hopes, dreams and ability to see a future harvest on all levels. Wood gives us the ability to make new beginnings, to grow and change. Whether we perceive it or not, there is a divine plan, a path (or Tao), a natural order of things and a unique and necessary place for us within it. When our Planner is sick, we cannot truly sense our purpose. With no sense of future, we lose hope and optimism. The anger, frustration and despair of having lost our way can be such that we feel like giving up. The anger can be turned inward as well as outward. The rigidity and inflexibility of a Liver imbalance can make us intolerant and overly judgmental, particularly if others do not share our plans, our spiritual path, or our ideas of how things should be.
It is beyond the scope of this, or any article, to fully cover the expressions of the Liver: the hypothetical starting point of our discussion of how an imbalance originating in a specific Official can and will produce symptoms anywhere. However, it should be clear thus far, by understanding something of the vast importance of the Official of Planning, that it has an enormous impact and influence on each of the other Officials.
Imagine an assembly line, smoothly fitting together parts in perfect combination, to construct a machine. Suppose the 12 Officials are workers in this line. They do their jobs according to a plan of operation. Suppose the Planner gets sick and is out of commission. Now, a problem arises on the assembly line. There is no one to turn to for a contingency plan, or a new plan. The problem grows in intensity as parts begin jamming and pieces begin falling off the assembly line onto the floor. Soon, the workers begin to argue and bicker among themselves. "Why don't you do your job?" "My job? It's your fault!" "No, it's his fault...!" Some workers frantically attempt to restore order and take over the Planner's job, a job they are not prepared to do. Some give up in resignation. Anger and frustration mount, as no one knows what to do next. There is no one with the vision to hold it all together.
Any of the other Officials (the assembly line workers), all now in a state of imbalance, can and will show symptoms (on any level) associated with their own functioning. The Fire Officials will exhibit Fire symptoms; Earth Officials will exhibit Earth symptoms, etc. It would be futile to treat these workers, as they are only reacting to the underlying problem: the Planner is sick. He may not be the one screaming the loudest; he may be quietly exhausted, but he is, nonetheless, the cause. If we tend to him and restore him to balance, he will naturally resume his proper task on the assembly line. Order will be restored, and all the other workers will level out.
Within us, the 12 Officials are similarly members of a team. Classically, the Chinese saw them as ministers of an imperial court. Whatever the metaphor, they are related and interdependent. Let us take a specific example and consider how an imbalance in the Official of Planning could cause symptoms of disease in the Spleen.
The Spleen is the Official of Transportation and Distribution. It takes the extracted nourishment, churned and mixed by the Stomach, and distributes it to every other Official, every cell and every corner of the body/mind/spirit. Its job is likened to a transport manager, overseeing a fleet of trucks, on the road 24 hours a day, seven days a week, carrying food to the people. Even if there were a good supply of food with which to start, it would be of no use if it never reached its destination. All of the other Officials would panic (and show symptoms) at the shortage.
If the transport manager had no plan or schedule, the whole delivery system would be in chaos. Trucks would depart and arrive at random, showing up at destinations where they were never intended, or never showing up at all. Trucks would break down, and there would be no contingency plans for their repair or replacement. Some recipients of goods would receive little or nothing; others would be stuffed with far more than what was needed or wanted. The problem here does not originate with the Spleen (the transport manager). It may be ready and able to do its job, but cannot without the vision and planning that the Liver provides.
Now, we will start to see a whole host of Spleen symptoms emerge. As the chi is unable to reach its destination(s), we may find coldness and numbness in the extremities; weakness; lethargy; and immobility as the muscles are deprived of their nourishment. With the lack of movement, things tend to stagnate and thicken. As the movement of fluids becomes impaired, we may develop coagulations of mucous and phlegm. There may be asthma; bronchitis; fibroids; stones; or paralysis. As the movement of blood stagnates, we may find varicose veins; hemorrhoids; tumors; and menstrual difficulties such as amenorrhea or dysmenorrhea, to name a few possibilities.
Mentally, the mind becomes stuck and immobile, unable to transmit thoughts or retrieve them from the storehouse of memory. There may be an inability to study or concentrate. Incessant worry and anxiety are expressions of stagnancy at the mental level. We lack the stability and security the Earth's harvest provides when the bounty is well distributed to every corner of body/mind/spirit.
We could continue to list each Official by name and, in similar fashion, understand how an imbalance in the Liver (on any level) could be the cause of distress and the resultant expression of symptoms in each. None can do the job that Nature ordained without a plan. Further, we could examine the job of any other Official and see how an imbalance originating within it will affect the functioning of all the rest. For example, if we reversed the foregoing relationship and determined that Spleen was the cause, we could easily see how the Liver would malfunction if it was deprived of fuel on which to operate, or was overloaded and overburdened.
Another area for consideration as to how imbalance in one Official will cause distress in all the rest is via the two cyclic processes that describe the relationship between the elements: the Sheng and K'e cycles. The Sheng cycle represents the cycle of creation wherein one element feeds and nourishes the element following, the relationship likened to mother and child. Wood is the mother of Fire, which is the mother of Earth, which is the mother of Metal, which is the mother of Water, which is the mother of Wood.
Let us suppose again that the Liver is the original imbalance. The Wood element feeds Fire - creates and sustains it. The Liver (the predominantly yin Official) is the mother of the Heart and Heart Protector (Pericardium). As in any family, if the mother is sick, the children may be screaming in distress due to lack of food and attention. In this example, the elemental children may scream (often louder than the mother) in the form of showing any number of symptoms associated with the Heart and Heart Protector. There may be palpitations; shortness of breath; chills; cold limbs; pallor; circulatory problems; sweating; arrhythmia; insomnia; dream-disturbed sleep; and joylessness - just to name a few.
To treat these screaming children would be akin to stuffing pacifiers in their mouths. We might quiet them temporarily, but they would still be suffering, and eventually, symptoms of their distress would manifest. If we were to treat the mother, who is the cause, and restore her to balance, she would naturally turn her loving attentions back to her children, feed and care for them, and their screaming and suffering would stop.
Furthermore, Fire, the child of Wood, is also the mother of Earth. If Fire is weak and in decline, it will be unable to feed and care for its child, Earth. Now, we will begin to see symptoms in the child of the Heart and Heart Protector - the Spleen, some of whose distress signals have already been described. The Spleen will be unable to care for her child, the Lung, and so on around the Sheng cycle. Any of these sick children may manifest symptoms such that we may be tempted to treat them, but palliating them will not solve the real problem, but rather will allow the real problem to fester and grow deeper with the passing of time.
Further, the relationship between the Liver and its paired Official, the Gall Bladder, is like sister and brother. They share an intimate bond, and it is essential that they share equally in the available energy, just like siblings within a family. It would cause major disharmony, envy and resentment if one child were fed while the other was deprived. If the Liver is imbalanced, it cannot share appropriately with its brother. Now, the Gall Bladder will begin to show symptoms as a result.
The Gall Bladder, the Official of Decision Making and Judgment, is mother to the Small Intestine and Three Heater (Sanjiao), so these children will become imbalanced. They, in turn, will be unable to properly mother their child, the Stomach, who will be unable to properly mother the Large Intestine, who will be unable to properly mother the Bladder, and so on. Hence, we can have symptoms showing up anywhere.
We can consider the K'e cycle in the same way. The K'e cycle represents the process of control between the elements, the means by which the elements keep each other in order, preventing unbridled growth. Wood controls Earth; Fire controls Metal; Earth controls Water; Metal controls Wood; and Water controls Fire.
Suppose the Earth element in someone is weak. There may be distress signals from the Earth itself; there may symptoms of distress showing in the mother, Fire, as well as the child, Metal. There also may be insufficient Earth to control Water. In Nature, Earth dams and contains Water, holding it in its proper boundaries. If the soil banks are too weak to contain the Water, it will overflow and run out of control.
We would expect to see symptoms of internal flooding in such a patient, such as edema, swelling and bloating. If the excess Water is retained in the system, there is a grave danger of retention of toxins, which can poison the entire system. In time, the excess Water will put out the Fire, and so on through the elements. By the time the patient shows up at our door, it is very likely for us to find that all 12 Officials are imbalanced.
This is why, in this system of acupuncture, we disregard the symptoms. They are simply cries for help from the body, mind or spirit: "Help me! Something is going wrong!" As we can see from the above, the expression of a symptom may have nothing directly to do with the organ in which it manifests. It is impossible to use symptoms to guide us to the original imbalance, the Causative Factor, or "CF," which is assessed by way of objective information provided by the body itself and can be perceived via our senses.
Each of the elements has a corresponding color, sound, emotion and odor, which will stand out from the rest and point to the Causative Factor the moment imbalance occurs. To discover the Causative Factor, we need to awaken our sensory skills of seeing, hearing, feeling and smelling. The original imbalance at the root of the problems will show in a particular color in specific areas of the face, a particular vocal sound, emotional expression and odor. Skilled guidance and much practice are required to develop these natural sensory gifts we all had as young children, but which were largely abandoned in favor of academic and material pursuits.
The elements and Officials are not separate entities, but are engaged in constant relationships with each other. We know that when we treat the correct member of the family in accord with his/her true needs, all the others will, in time, return to their natural state of balance. Instead of an inner world of conflict and turmoil, we can assist Nature to resolve not only symptoms, but the mental and spiritual suffering that accompanies them, finally bringing the family to inner peace, strength, and authentic love.
Worsley JR. Classical Five-Element Acupuncture: The Five Elements and the Officials. JR & JB Worsley, 1998.
What you will find in this book is a specific, comprehensive approach that gets to the root cause of success in practice.
This new book presents acupuncture practice as art from the standpoint of centering, qi, and wholeness. It builds on the premise that practices succeed from bridging inner and outer aspects of the self. It is an inquiry into the self and addresses clear understandings and approaches to reputable patient care and practice qi. It brings in the five elements and work with the seasons of practice from training and start-up to growth, stability, expansion and transformation. The authors artfully bridges the essence of both patient and practitioner well-being without excluding the practicalities of financial well-being. This book very specifically and extensively shows how the different parts of practice nourish and feed one another and are interdependent on one another for the qi to flow synchronistically.
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summer '07Tuesday, June 12, 2007
Today was the last day of school. This is also the last day all three of my children will ever ride the same bus to the same school. wa wa wa! I know, time for me to get over it. Summer has begun!
Along with the sunscreen, towels, tennis rackets and golf balls, there is always knitting or needlepoint tucked into this bag.
The summertime tunic is complete. Will post pictures soon.
I am having a party friday night, so things will be a little quiet over here.
Enjoy the rest of your week!
26 comments
Enjoy your summer holiday! On my side of the world we have 2 weeks of holiday left before school starts again, so we're making the most of it too!ReplyDelete
Wow, I wish a thing like summer vacation existed for us 'grown-ups' wouldn't that be nice? Although it sounds like you have fun plans, we had better see pictures!ReplyDelete
I still have a hard time with the fact that there is no summer vacation for adults. So sad! Enjoy your summer fun!ReplyDelete


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In Reply to: Gone for a ball of chalk posted by Dave Smitham on March 09, 2009 at 17:42:
: Anyone know the origin of 'gone for a ball of chalk'?
Yes, sort of. I'm not 100% sure of how the phrase developed, but here goes.
Originally, I think, Cockney rhyming sland for "walk". The Concise New Partridge Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English has "Ball of Chalk (noun) - a walk. Rhyming slang, 1936.". It could be used "straight", in which case it would be clipped: "I'm going to take a ball into town". But "to go for a walk" could be used much as "to go out the window" or "to go down the drain" - today we might say "to go down the pan". "Go wrong" or maybe just "go" - something that had "gone for a walk" might simply not be there any more. But, most often, if something had "gone for a ball of chalk" then things had turned out badly.
In WW2, the RAF seems to have worked the phrase up. In its aircrew usage, things usually went "to" a ball of chalk - an alternative to "it's all gone to hell and a handbasket". So at "The Aircrew Dictionary Edition VI" (http://22.214.171.124/search?q=cache:z9kC0vPXgikJ:www.bannedphrases.co.uk/definitions.php+%22ball+of+chalk%22+phrase&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=15&gl=uk) we have:
"Ball of chalk: (sim.) A disorganised terrible mess. Eg: It's all gone to a ~. t i t s up, Clatter of bits, Rolling goat, Cluster fuck".
I think I hear the phrase most now in the sense of "things are not going well, so I'm leaving" (or giving up). "Sod this for a ball of chalk" (c.f. Sod this for a game of soldiers).
So I think this started of as rhyming slang, some time before 1936, but has sort of evolved from its original meaning. I've personally never heard it used in its earliest sense of "walk". (GC)
So, for "walk" substitute "ball of chalk"


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I know a lot of people who say they come up with ideas but when it comes time to write they forget what they'd been thinking about. I have a couple of ideas for you there.
One, carry a notepad of some kind and write down quick ideas. You don't have to write full sentences for ideas; often just a couple of words can help you remember. If you have a smartphone, you have a recorder feature on it that you can quickly capture a note, and it's limitless.
Two, if you're sitting at your computer, go to your blog, open a new post, and jot the notes there. Put in only a title if you need, because that as well will help you remember what you wanted to write about.
Just a couple of quick ideas; is there anything you do to help you remember topics?
Saving Ideas
Every Blogger has his own unique way of building content and coming up with topics for their blogs. Share your ideas with the rest of us.
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