text:
|Publication number
|Publication type
|Application number
|Publication date
|Jul 4, 2006
|Filing date
|Apr 7, 2004
|Priority date
|Nov 30, 2001
|Fee status
|Also published as
|Publication number
|Richard Lunak, Payal Lal, Gregory Hart, Manoj Wangu
|Original Assignee
|Mckesson Automation, Inc.
|Export Citation
|BiBTeX, EndNote, RefMan
|Patent Citations (103), Non-Patent Citations (39), Referenced by (110), Classifications (25), Legal Events (7)
|External Links: USPTO, USPTO Assignment, Espacenet
This application is a divisional of U.S. application Ser. No. 09/998,488 filed Nov. 30, 2001 now U.S. Pat. No. 6,847,861 and titled Carousel Product For Use In Integrated Restocking And Dispensing System.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to a carousel product which can be used in a variety of ways to dispense and improve a restocking process, and can be used for a wide variety of associated tasks, e.g. inventory control, crediting returns, cycle counts, and the like.
2. Description of the Background
Medical facilities, such as hospitals, nursing homes, etc. have a centralized location such as a pharmacy department or materials management department within the facility to coordinate the dispensing of drugs or medical supplies to the patients of the medical facility. The departments utilizing medications and medical supplies in such facilities have long been burdened with the increasingly complex record keeping and inventory management that results from caring for hundreds, if not thousands, of patients every day. Various methods have been employed to assist a centralized pharmacy or other centralized medical supply departments with maintaining accurate records while attempting to reduce the burden of managing all of the information associated with the distribution of medications and medical supplies. The responsibilities of the centralized supply include: filling individual patient prescriptions on a daily basis; administration of drugs using the five rights: right drug, right patient, right dose, right time and right route, dispensing medical supplies to patients; maintaining sufficient inventory of each drug or medical supply so as to have sufficient quantities on hand to administer to patients on a daily basis; tracking of drug interactions to prevent a patient from being given a drug that has adverse affects when combined with other drugs; accounting for the purchase of medications and medical supplies for use in the facility; accounting associated with dispensing of medications and medical supplies to individual patients; tracking of medication expiration dates to rid inventories of expired medications; and tracking of drug lot numbers, for example, in the event of a recall of a particular drug or drug lot number.
Medical facilities will dispense medications in one of three modes: centralized, decentralized, or a hybrid of partial decentralization. In facilities that are partly or fully decentralized, a very important function of the centralized pharmacy or materials management department is to restock various inventory locations, e.g. nurses stations, unit-based cabinets, satellite pharmacies, or off-site facilities in a network, with the quantity and types of medications and medical supplies that must be dispensed by the decentralized locations on a daily basis.
The need for storage locations in medical facilities remote from the centralized storage location stems from the need to be able to quickly and conveniently dispense medications and medical supplies (whether controlled or uncontrolled) to patients. To be able to dispense, there must be adequate supplies of the medications and medical supplies in the remote storage locations. To maintain the proper level of medications and medical supplies, accurate inventory control is necessary. Barring access to controlled substances by unauthorized personnel is also a necessary feature. The contents of these storage locations varies depending upon the medical procedures practiced in the area where the storage location is situated. For example, a storage location near an emergency room will be stocked differently than a storage location next to a surgical suite. Nevertheless, it is important to provide adequate supplies of all the required medications and medical supplies. It is also necessary to ensure that sufficient supplies are maintained at the decentralized and centralized storage locations without overstocking, because overstocking increases the cost of inventory by requiring more items to be maintained in inventory than are actually needed. Overstocking of inventory can also result in waste through spoilage of unused supplies. Excessive restocking of locations is also demanding on the facility's staff who must devote more of their time to monitor the storage locations to ensure that sufficient supplies are available.
A variety of systems have been developed to restock storage locations or to fill patient medication/supply orders. In one such system, referred to as a "cart exchange" system, dispensing carts distributed at dispensing locations in a medical facility are periodically exchanged with fully supplied carts. These carts contain medications which satisfy the patients' current medications orders. The "used" cart is returned to the central supply area where inventory decreases of particular medications or medical supplies are recorded and the cart is restocked to predetermined "par" levels. These par levels are intended to ensure constant availability of required medications or medical supplies.
In a similar system, individual carts are used but are not removed from their dispensing locations in the medical facility. Instead, a larger cart holding a variety of medications and medical supplies is circulated throughout the facility to restock individual carts to their par levels.
Although these systems are generally effective in restocking locations, they suffer from a number of drawbacks. One particular drawback is the potential for stock-outs that can arise if the inventories of the carts are not closely monitored. Adequate inventory monitoring can be problematic due to time limitations on the staff. Depletion of certain items from the carts can pose serious risks to the patients in the medical facility. Another drawback is that restocking storage locations is a very labor-intensive and inefficient process, especially when accurate inventory levels are not maintained in the centralized or decentralized location. Sites with decentralized locations usually have many different locations, each of which is individually restocked.
More recently, storage areas are being provided with dispensing carts or cabinets having computer processors for recording removal of medications or medical supplies from the dispensing cabinets. These carts or cabinets commonly include locked drawers having locked medication receptacles, and include computers. The computers commonly provide for limited access by selected medical personnel to such carts and cabinets and limited access to specific drawers or locations therein in response to entry of information into the computer. The computer creates inventory information for use by medical staff to ensure the continuity of the inventory in the carts or cabinets.
A system for restocking such computer controlled carts and cabinets is entitled Automated Restocking of Distributed Medication Dispensing Cabinets Using An Automated Medication Dispensing System, disclosed in U.S. application Ser. No. 09/480,819 and assigned to the same assignee as the present invention. The disclosed system automatically fills restock packages based on inventory information or configuration changes provided by various carts and cabinets located at the decentralized storage locations. The system encodes or otherwise disposes on the restock package an information carrier containing identifying information. To restock a dispensing cart or cabinet, a staff member decodes the information carrier encoded on the restock package. That may be accomplished by scanning a bar code or manually entering information into the cart's or cabinet's computer. Once the cart or cabinet confirms that the restock package is intended for it, the staff member loads the contents of the restock package into the cart or cabinet.
While the system of U.S. application Ser. No. 09/480,819 offers substantial advantages over other systems, some facilities may not have the resources to convert to such an automated system. Further, the facility may have the need to restock items which cannot be easily placed into a restocking package by automated equipment because of their size, weight, or configuration. Still other items may come from their manufacturers in bulk quantities or other types of packaging that make it difficult to automatically load them into a restocking package. Thus, the need exists for a restocking system that is at least in part manual, while taking advantage of the data generated by computer controlled carts and computer controlled cabinets. The need also exits for a restocking system that is at least in part manual, but can work side by side with computer automated restocking systems.
The present invention is directed to a carousel (a type of automation device) used for distributing medications and medical supplies to patients (including, but not limited to, cart fill, first dose, "Stat" doses, and "Now" doses), distributing medications and medical supplies from centralized inventory locations to decentralized inventory locations, restocking of decentralized medication locations (including but not limited to unit-based cabinets, satellite pharmacies, and remote facilities in a network), out of stock processing for medication or supply cabinets, nurse refill requests, and other associated tasks. Additionally, the carousel system may be used for the ordering and receipt of medications and medical supplies from distributors and the tracking of inventory related to those activities.
The carousel is comprised of a drive track. A plurality of bins are arranged into rows, with the rows being driven by said drive track. A drive mechanism, e.g. an electric motor, drives the drive track. A sensor is provided to sense the position of the rows of bins. A processor is responsive to the sensor and data representative of a plurality of "picks" (i.e. removal of items) for more than one order for controlling the drive mechanism. By combining picks from different orders into a batch, the time spent driving the rows and time between picks is minimized. The carousel may be divided into a plurality of columns, each with its own drive track, drive mechanism, and sensor, to enable several rows to be brought into a pick position simultaneously.
The present invention is also directed to a variety of methods. In one method, a bar code on an open shelving unit is scanned with a hand-held device (wireless or connected). The quantity of items requested is input through the hand held device for the scanned bar code. The bar code and quantity information are down loaded from the hand-held device and the information is queued in a restocking device such as the previously described carousel.
In another method, an order to be filled is displayed at a workstation. The order is initiated with a hand-held device (wireless or connected). The order is manually filled. The final step is to indicate through the hand-held device that the order is filled so that another order, if any, can be initiated without traveling to the workstation.
In another method, a restocking package is created from items held in a carousel in a centralized storage location. The restocking package is delivered to a location so that the location may be restocked with items from the restocking package.
In another method, a restocking package is filled with items in a centralized storage location. The restocking package is delivered to another location. The restocking package is either inserted into a specified location in a dispensing device or connected to the dispensing device.
The apparatus and methods of the present invention provide a number of advantages in dispensing items from decentralized storage locations and restocking the decentralized storage locations from a centralized storage location. Those, and other advantages and benefits will become apparent from the Description of the Preferred Embodiments herein below.
For the present invention to be easily understood and readily practiced, the present invention will now be described, for purposes of illustration and not limitation, in conjunction with the following figures, wherein:
The specification includes an appendix which includes eight pages of flow charts illustrating the process flow for various functions of the carousel of the present invention, a one page chart illustrating a patient fill process performed by an automation device such as a robot, and a one page chart illustrating a cabinet fill process performed by an automation device such as a robot. The processes are implemented in the presently preferred embodiment by software, stored in any appropriate memory device, which is executed by a computer.
The administration of medications occurring at step 18 may be carried out through the use of a hand-held device such as an AcuScan-Rx™ device available from McKesson Automation, Inc., 700 Waterfront Drive, Pittsburgh, Pa. Such devices are wireless devices which communicate with a database to verify the administration of medications to patients. Such communications enable the maintenance of a database of inventory levels as shown by step 20. The database and associated computer system for maintaining the database of inventory levels may be located at the centralized storage location 10 or may be located remote therefrom. In either event, the computer system necessary for maintaining the database provides information which enables the centralized storage location 10 to perform step 22 of generating a restocking package. As will be described in greater detail below, the generation of the restocking package may be done completely automatically, manually, or through some combination of manual and automatic processes. The restocking package is used to restock the decentralized storage location 12-1.
Restocking packages may also be generated at centralized location 10 and delivered to the remote facility 14. From facility 14 an item may be transferred as shown by step 24. The transfer may be a dispensing step for a patient or a transfer to another location. Items may also be dispensed directly to the patient from the centralized location 10.
To perform a dispensing operation a user logs onto the control computer 32. Based on the user's information, various drawers 31 in the cabinet 26 and the auxiliary cabinet 28, and various doors 33 on the supply tower 30 are unlocked. Thereafter, patient information and information regarding items to be dispensed is entered. The items to be dispensed may include medications or medical supplies. After the item to be dispensed has been removed, its removal is recorded at the control computer 32. The user may continue to dispense items for the identified patient, or patient information for another patient may be entered. Entry of information, including log-in, can be performed in a variety of ways, e.g., through entry with a keypad, barcode scanning, selecting items from a pick list, RF ID, flash memory, magnetic strips, OCR, etc. Note that computerized medication cabinets like the AcuDose-Rx cabinet can also track medications or supplies that are not stored in the cabinets 26, 28 or tower 30. For example, the control computer 32 can track virtual inventories, i.e., medications stored outside the cabinets 26, 28 or tower 30. Examples include medications stored in a refrigerator whose inventory and transactions are recorded by the control computer 32. The reader will understand that the hardware illustrated in
The hardware illustrated in
Each of the shelving units 34, 36 is comprised of a plurality of bins 42. Each of the bins carries indicia 44 which may be, for example, a barcode and/or a label identifying the contents of the bin. Additionally, items in the bins may have a bar code, label or other indicia directly on them or on their packaging. The bar code could be scanned, or other methods of inputting the data consistent with the type of indicia used, or push buttons or the like actuated, to perform a dispensing or other type of operation. In addition, the handheld device 40 could be used to generate an ad hoc order through its screen entry in the event that an item is not available to be scanned or otherwise have data pertinent thereto input. The number of shelving units 34, 36 and the configuration of the bins 42, depends upon the number and size of the items to be stocked. Because access to the bins 42 is not restricted, the hardware illustrated in
The hand-held device 40 may be a wireless scanning device such as a Symbol 7240 or Welch Allyn 7400. In one mode of operation, the operator may use the hand-held device 40 to scan the barcode indicia 44 for each bin for which a restock is desired. The operator will then input the order quantity on the hand-held device 40. When the hand-held device 40 is docked in its cradle 41, the data will be downloaded. The data will then be queued to be processed to generate a restocking package. Use of the hand-held device 40 eliminates the manual task of ordering items to be restocked, and reduces the potential for errors.
The drive track 52 is driven by, for example, an electric motor 56. The electric motor 56 may drive the drive track through one or more drive gears 58 in the case of a chain type of drive track or through a pulley in the case of a belt type of drive track. In addition to use of an electric motor 56, hydraulics or any other appropriate mechanism for driving the drive track 52 may be used. A sensor 60 may be provided to sense the position of the rows 50 of bins 48. Alternatively, a shaft encoder may be provided for motor 56 for keeping track of the degree of rotation of the motor's 56 shaft and, through knowledge of the gearing and the previous position of the rows 50, the position of the rows can be controlled. Use of the word "sensing" is intended to cover any of the various known method of sensing and/or calculating the position of the rows 50.
The carousel 46 is under the control of a workstation 62, which may be comprised of a personal computer in communication with the database. The workstation 62 receives information from the database regarding items, and quantities for each item, needed to replenish each of the decentralized storage locations 12-1 through 12-n or to fulfill patient dispenses. The workstation 62 processes the information and presents to the user through a screen 64 a series of operations referred to as "picks". The information displayed on the screen may include, for example, an identification of the decentralized storage location, an identification of a cabinet, tower, shelving unit, etc. at the decentralized location, an identification of the patient, the item and quantity to be picked. The workstation 62 also controls a printer 71 which can print barcode labels 72.
A label 72 with a barcode indicating the item (medication, supply, or kit) and the destination (cabinet, patient, etc.) will be printed from the printer 71. the user will scan that barcode with a scanner to activate the carousel picking process. The carousel dynamically evaluates the work queue of requests (patient dispenses, cabinet refills, on demand picks, stat, now, etc.) based on a configured set of priorities, set by the user. These priorities allow a medical facility to configure the order in which the different requests will be processed. Additionally, the facility may set up different priority ordering for different time periods in the day. For example, first doses may be disabled or prioritized lower during the hours of a cart fill. This work queue can also be paused at any time to perform an on-demand pick or restock. That allows user to pick an urgent item that may be in the queue.
To enable a pick to be performed, the workstation 62 activates motor 56 to bring the row 50 having the desired item into a pick position. In
To finish the pick, a hand-held wireless device 68 is used to scan the bin label or item barcode 55. If the quantity that was picked from the device was not the full requested amount (because of an out of stock or expiration condition), the user can adjust the quantity picked and record a reason for the discrepancy before completing the pick. The barcode 72 that is printed at the beginning of the process (which initiates the picking) and the barcode on the bin or item that is scanned to complete the process are different formats to require the user to scan each of these barcodes (if the same information was encoded in each barcode, the user could scan one of the barcodes twice and would lose a critical validation to prevent picking of the incorrect item). An alternative method of indicating the completion of the pick could be to push a button or any other physical manifestation intended to represent the completion of the pick. The user then moves to the workstation 62 and initiates the next pick.
According to the present invention, when a pick is displayed on the workstation 62, the pick can be initiated either on the workstation 62 or via the hand-held device 68. Once the pick is processed, the hand-held device 68 may be used or a barcode on the centralized storage location may be scanned to indicate that the pick is complete and to initiate the next pick without having to travel to the workstation 62. In a large centralized storage location having numerous carousels 46 under the control of a single workstation 62, the ability to complete a pick and initiate the next pick using the hand-held device 68 eliminates travel time to and from the workstation.
To increase picking efficiency, a "place-to-light" system, described below in conjunction with
Another way to increase efficiency is to implement advance queue processing for a medical facility that has multiple carousels. In
One of the features of the present invention is the carousel's 46 ability to be controlled in a manner so that a plurality of picks for more than one order can be processed. Referring to
According to the present invention, the picks for A, B and C may be integrated so as to minimize the time between picks. For example, referring to
If at step 101 the auto mode is on, fill priorities are retrieved at step 106, and the next fill request is retrieved at step 107. A decision step 108 verifies that there are items to access. If there are no items to access, process flow returns to step 100.
If there are items to access, step 109 identifies if any are not in the carousel. Step 110 is a decision step that determines if there are any non-carousel items on the list and, if not, process flow proceeds with step 111 to identify the carousel printer 71. If there are non-carousel items on the list, the non-carousel item printer is identified at step 112, a barcode label is printed at step 113, and a decision step 114 determines if all items are non-carousel. If the answer at decision step 114 is "yes", process flow returns to step 100; if "no" process flow proceeds to step 111.
From step 111, process flow continues with step 115 in which a barcode label is printed. At step 116, the process pauses to wait for a label scan message indicating that the user has scanned the printed barcode label. At step 117 the most efficient path is determined. Process flow continues with step 104.
Carousels which may be modified to provide the functionality of the carousel 46 are available from a number of manufacturers such as White and Remstar. Exemplary hardware specifications are found in Table 1.
Hardware Specifications
Remstar Model 180S-18-15 or equivalent
Carrier Capacity (lbs.)
Total Unit Capacity (lbs.)
Number of Carriers
Number of Intermediate Shelves
Pitch (inches)
Height (feet)
Max Imbalance Load (lbs)
Depth of carrier (inches)
Max. Rotation Speed (inches/secs.)
Width of unit (inches)
Depth of Unit (inches)
Power Supply
208/220 V 3 ~/60 Hz
Pick-to-Light Technology
Remstar Controller T-88
15 Amp service
480 Volts
1 posting board
Beacon lights on shelf
As seen from Table 1, carousels may easily be 10 feet or more in width. Because the carousel must be designed based on the heaviest item to be dispensed, the carousel may be considerably over-designed for many of the items to be carried. According to another aspect of the present invention, a carousel 88 may have a "slot-machine" design as shown in
Although the present invention has been described in conjunction with a vertical carousel, the concepts of the present invention could be implemented using a horizontal type of carousel.
Other types of hardware which may be used at the centralized storage location 10 include a system of the type disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,593,267 entitled "Automated System for Selecting and Delivering Packages from a Storage Area," U.S. Pat. No. 5,880,443 entitled "Automated System for Selecting Packages from a Cylindrical Storage Area," and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/480,819 entitled "An Automated Medication Dispensing System," all of which are hereby incorporated by reference. It is anticipated that the centralized location may be comprised of various types of hardware such as carousels illustrated in
A computer 90, which may be located at centralized storage location 10 or may be located elsewhere, maintains the database for the system. The computer 90 receives information from the decentralized storage locations 12-1 through 12-n and provides information to the carousel work station 62 and/or the Robot-Rx support station 89 to enable restocking packages 96 to be prepared. Additionally, dispenses to patients, distributions to satellite facilities, and the like may occur from centralized location 10. An interface PC 92 may be provided to enable external systems, such as a PC 94 on which a hospital information system resides, to communicate with the computer 90 on which the database is located. Completing the description of
The carousels 46, 88 of the present invention support cycle counts to verify inventory. The carousel system is semi-manual, so maintaining accurate inventory is very important to the operation of the system. To ensure accurate inventory levels, the carousel system supports various cycle count options which allow a user with the correct security privileges to periodically perform a physical count of the items in a bin. This process allows users to count controlled substances (based on DEA code) or other identified items (for example, high-cost or high-usage items) on one schedule (for example, daily or weekly) and then the remaining items on a different schedule (for example, monthly). In operation, the carousel will automatically move the shelves to the next bin that needs to be counted, the user will count the inventory and input the current inventory count into the workstation, and if a discrepancy exists, it will be logged with the user information and a reason. Once the count is completed, the carousel system will record the bin as counted with the current date and time and move to the next bin to be counted. The next bin will then be moved to and counted. The recently counted bins can be manually counted at any time, but will not show up in the automatic cycle count process until the next scheduled time. Such inventory counts help prevent out of stocks, help identify expirations, and provide better management of inventory
Where centralized storage location 10 is used to restock decentralized locations 12-1 through 12-n having AcuDose-Rx™ cabinets, the restocking process may be initiated in an automated manner. The ability to track inventory levels on the AcuDose-Rx™ cabinets enables the database computer 90 to indicate when par levels are low and will trigger a flag for the restock to occur, as opposed to restock happening at periodic times or other methods not based on actual levels. Furthermore, the loop can be closed on the restocking process for AcuDose-Rx™ cabinets through the verification of the restocked orders at the cabinet. For example the carousel 46, 88 will process the restock orders for the AcuDose-Rx™ cabinet, and after the order is filled and delivered to the cabinet on the floor, the labels will be scanned at the cabinet to verify that the indicated amount on the restock report is actually loaded into the cabinet. This is especially useful for narcotics and other expensive or controlled medications. If the expected quantity to be restocked was not actually restocked at the cabinet, a discrepancy can be created and reported on or a notification can be displayed to the central location.
A system of the type illustrated in
The restocking packages 96 may take a variety of forms. The restocking packages 96 may also be patient specific or room specific. In one embodiment, the user delivers the patient or room specific restocking package to the decentralized storage location 12-1 through 12-n and is directed to load the medications into a patient/room specific area. In other embodiments, the restocking package is inserted into or connected into the unit's hardware. Dispenses are then made under the control of the control computer 32. Advantages of this approach include:
In the various embodiments of the patient specific/room specific process medications are stocked in a robot system or a carousel system. A pharmacy information system (PIS) sends a fill list to the database computer 90, which sends instructions to either the carousel workstation 62 or the robot support station 89; medications are picked from the carousel or picked automatically by the robot, respectively. From that point on, the process is patient or room specific.
In a first embodiment of the patient specific/room specific process:
In a third embodiment of the patient specific/room specific process:
While the present invention has been described in connection with exemplary embodiments thereof, those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that many modifications and variations are possible. Accordingly, the scope of the present invention is intended to be limited only by the following claims and to any equivalents thereof.
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|U.S. Classification
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|International Classification
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|Jan 4, 2010
|Fee payment
Year of fee payment: 4
|Oct 31, 2013
Owner name: SILICON VALLEY BANK, AS ADMINISTRATIVE AGENT, CALI
Free format text: SECURITY AGREEMENT;ASSIGNOR:MCKESSON AUTOMATION INC.;REEL/FRAME:031649/0149
Effective date: 20131031
|Jan 6, 2014
|Fee payment
Year of fee payment: 8
|Feb 27, 2014
Owner name: AESYNT INCORPORATED, PENNSYLVANIA
Free format text: CHANGE OF NAME;ASSIGNOR:MCKESSON AUTOMATION INC.;REEL/FRAME:032366/0589
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|May 8, 2014
Owner name: AESYNT INCORPORATED (FORMERLY KNOWN AS MCKESSON AU
Free format text: RELEASE BY SECURED PARTY;ASSIGNOR:SILICON VALLEY BANK, AS ADMINISTRATIVE AGENT;REEL/FRAME:032855/0305
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|May 16, 2014
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text:
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subset: commoncrawl


text:
I had a second monitor on my laptop and the Zone Alarm window was shown on this. Now I don't have the second monitor, but Zone Alarm still opens "over there" on a phantom second screen
and so is invisible. How can I get it to open on the default (and only screen) again.
Operating System:Windows XP Pro
Software Version:8.0
Product Name:ZoneAlarm Pro


text:
Swish slumping, Francona considers altering order
By Jordan Bastian / MLB.com
MINNEAPOLIS -- Nick Swisher has been stuck in a prolonged slump of late, but Indians manager Terry Francona has kept the first baseman in the cleanup spot.
On Sunday, Francona indicated that he is considering shifting Swisher into the lineup's second spot -- an idea the manager also toyed with earlier in the season. Francona has hesitated to make the move due to the alignment of the batting order.
"I've given that a ton of thought," Francona said.
Francona does not want to move hot-hitting Jason Kipnis out of the lineup's third spot, and center fielder Michael Bourn has a home in the leadoff slot. The No. 2 role currently belongs to switch-hitter Asdrubal Cabrera, who helps split up the lefties (Bourn and Kipnis). Swisher also switch-hits, but Francona does not want to move Cabrera lower in the order.
"There have been times where I've thought about hitting him second," Francona said of Swisher. "He's always going to have his on-base skills -- that never goes away. But I guess I keep falling back on, I don't want to move Kip. ... I think when you're in the cleanup spot, you get pitched a little differently. I think Swish is finding that out. I guess if somebody could handle it, I'd want him to be the one."
Entering Sunday, Swisher was hitting .239 with nine home runs and 31 RBIs in 81 games. His .391 slugging percentage is a career low. Over his past 35 games, Swisher batted just .188 with a .566 on-base-plus-slugging percentage.
Part of the problem has been a nagging left shoulder issue, which will likely persist throughout the second half. Francona does not believe that is the only factor behind Swisher's slump, though.
"I think that his shoulder won't be 100 percent all year," Francona said. "That's something he has to deal with. I just think it's probably been a lot of things. I think there's been times when he's tried to do too much, because he's pretty conscientious. He wants to put his team on his shoulders, and I think sometimes you just need to play the game.
"I tried to remind him of that [Saturday] night: 'Just play. That's why we got you. You're a good player.' Guys try to do too much out of caring. It's a good quality, but it can get you in a rut."
Indians optimistic Kluber will make next start
MINNEAPOLIS -- The Indians are optimistic about Corey Kluber's chances of making his next scheduled start.
Kluber exited Saturday's 3-2 loss to the Twins after 93 pitches and five innings due to tightness in his left hip and upper left hamstring. The right-hander indicated that he was feeling better on Sunday morning and he hopes to start as planned against the Rangers on Friday.
"It's a little sore, still, but nothing that's to the same extent as last night," Kluber said on Sunday. "It's something I can pitch through. It was just a precautionary move."
As things currently stand, Kluber is slated to throw off a mound in a bullpen session on Tuesday in Seattle. With a team off-day coming on Thursday, Kluber would be making his next start with one extra day of rest. Indians manager Terry Francona said -- thanks to the off-day -- the team also has the option of pushing Kluber's start back by a day or two, if necessary.
"Today will be kind of just a day to work with [head athletic trainer Lonnie Soloff]," Francona said on Sunday. "Then he can start his five-day progression, which would set him up for Friday. If we need to change it, we could have [Justin Masterson] come back on his normal day [on Friday].
"I don't think anybody anticipates that we need to do that, but it's there if we need it."
Over his past 13 turns for the Tribe, Kluber has gone 5-3 with a 3.13 ERA over 77 2/3 innings, including 81 strikeouts against 18 walks. On the season, the right-hander has gone 7-5 with a 3.69 ERA in 18 games (16 starts).
Kipnis' success tied to opposite-field prowess
MINNEAPOLIS -- When Jason Kipnis sliced a pitch to the left-field wall at Citi Field during the All-Star Game on Tuesday, the Indians second baseman showed a national audience what Cleveland has witnessed all season long.
Kipnis can send a pitch to the opposite field with the best of them. In his second at-bat of Sunday's game, he knocked a two-run homer off the Twins' Scott Diamond, marking Kipnis' second game in a row with a shot to left field.
"It's kind of a gift," Indians manager Terry Francona said before the game. "I don't know that you can necessarily learn that."
It has been a gift that keeps on giving.
"I was joking around in the cage," Kipnis said, "that I almost don't even know what its like to pull the ball any more. I almost forgot what it feels like."
During Saturday's 3-2 loss to the Twins, the left-handed-hitting Kipnis singled to left field in the fourth inning to snap an 11-batter hitless streak for right-hander Kevin Correia. In the sixth inning, Kipnis slashed a 1-1 offering from Correia into the left-field seats for a two-run home run, which was the 14th shot of the season for the second baseman.
Dating back to May 1, when Kipnis was hitting just .189 on the season, the second baseman hit at a .333 clip (84-for-252) with 36 extra-base hits and 55 RBIs entering Sunday. Since June 1, Kipnis posted a .379 batting average to go along with a 1.076 on-base plus slugging percentage.
Much of Kipnis' production has come on hits to the opposite field.
"I think I'm doing a better job of staying on the ball. I'm letting it travel," Kipnis said. "Even when I'm going opposite-field, I can get too far in front. I'm letting it travel this year, and it's causing more of the success."
Francona said Kipnis can put a backspin on a ball hit to the opposite field with the best of them. The Indians manager mentioned Adrian Gonzalez and Manny Ramirez, both of whom he managed in his days with the Red Sox, as two other hitters with the same skill.
"That's part of his swing. If anything, he'll probably get better," Francona said. "I can't even backspin a golf ball."
Quote to note
"Kip hit it right through the wind. I was like, 'Wow.' When he backspins that ball to left field, man, it's impressive." -- Francona on Kipnis' home run in Saturday's loss
Smoke signals
• Francona gave the nod to utility men Mike Aviles (third base) and Ryan Raburn (right field) for Sunday's game against the Twins. That pushed Bourn and third baseman Lonnie Chisenhall to the bench.
"I think our team can be really productive when we use everybody," Francona said. "I feel very fortunate with the bench we have. We have a really usable, productive bench. You can maximize your 25-man roster. That's a real help."
• Entering Sunday's game in Minnesota, Cleveland's pitching staff had not allowed a home run in 76 consecutive innings, covering eight games. It marked the longest such streak by an Indians pitching staff since a 96-inning homerless stretch from July 11-24, 1992.
• Dating back to July 7, the Indians starting rotation carried a 4-0 record with a 1.96 ERA heading into Sunday's action. Over 59 1/3 innings, the Tribe's starters had given up just 13 earned runs and held hitters to a .190 batting average.
• Indians outfielder Michael Brantley entered Sunday tied for the American League lead among left fielders with eight assists. The last Indians left fielder with at least eight assists in an entire season was Albert Belle in 1994.
Jordan Bastian is a reporter for MLB.com. Read his blog, Major League Bastian, and follow him on Twitter @MLBastian. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.


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Another report of a creepy clown encounter has surfaced, this time in Columbus, Ohio.
A 14-year-old student at Columbus North International School was on his way to a bus stop Tuesday, around 6:15 a.m., when a man in a clown mask, dressed in all black, chased him with knife, NBC affiliate WCMH reported.
Police told NBC News the teen managed to get away by throwing a rock at the attacker. Authorities are still canvassing the area in search of the suspect and said they will keep a close eye on the bus stop where the incident occurred.
"We don't know whether this was a prank or not, but we are taking it seriously," police spokeswoman Denise Alex-Bouzounis said.
The attack follows multiple reports in recent weeks of menacing clowns lurking in the woods in Greenvile, South Carolina, allegedly offering kids money to follow them to an abandoned house.
Alex-Bouzounis told NBC News the department is aware of the South Carolina reports but is "investigating locally" for now.
The Greenville County Sheriff's Office said it has boosted patrols around the Fleetwood Manor apartment complex after it learned that men opened fire into woods behind the complex last week. Residents told a deputy that the men were spooked by what an incident report described as "recent clown activity."
A purported picture of one of the clowns — which NBC News hasn't been able to verify — was posted Tuesday to Twitter.
According to an incident report, multiple residents, some of them children, said they saw the clowns, brandishing flashing green laser lights and creeping around complex on the night of Aug. 21. Some of the kids said the clowns showed them "large amounts of money."


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Maybe it's just me, but finding the latest Mugglenet audiofics does not seem to be terribly easy. Yes, I know you can subscribe via iTunes or some other service and get them automatically, but if you haven't done that -- if you like to just pick and choose which of the recently announced stories you want to download and listen to, you have to hunt around to actually find a link to where they are located.
I can't find any link to the Black Lake or Podcast Alley or even a reference to audiofictions on MNFF's front page. The Audiofics page hasn't been updated since January. (And I had to hunt through old threads in the Black Lake forum to find it.) When new audiofics are announced, no link is provided.
I notice this because this is the third time I've had to hunt around and Google for a few minutes before I finally found the link that took me to the episode I wanted to download, and that's when I vaguely knew where to find it. I suspect a new person who only knows that there are audiofictions somewhere will give up much more quickly.
Also, Google for "audiofiction." The MNFF audiofics page is the fourth hit, but the title and summary indicates almost nothing about it -- anyone looking at that in their search results will probably skip right past it. (Add "fan fiction" or "MNFF" to your keywords, and it goes to the top of the list, but it's still a remarkably uninformative title and summary.)
The Mermuggles go to a lot of work to record and produce these stories, and they could be great publicity for all the lovely fan fiction here. It's a shame that right now audiofiction seems to be the best-kept secret on MNFF.


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My apologies to the lady I spoke harshly to in the Kroger parking lot on Monday afternoon. You did not do anything that I have not seen other people do too many times to count. Many years ago, my parked car was the recipient of one of those shopping carts left in the middle of a parking lot. The result was several hundred dollars in damages to my car door. Several years later, I was a witness to another shopping cart incident. The cart was left at the front edge of a parking space, much like you placed yours. Another vehicle pulled into that parking space. They pulled in slowly trying not to nudge the cart with their bumper. The driver misjudged and accidentally bumped the cart. Before the driver could exit the vehicle, the cart took off down the slight slope of the parking lot. You would not believe the amount of damage a plastic shopping cart can do to a parked vehicle when it hits.
I should not have spoken so harshly to you, however, you should have taken the cart to the cart return rack which was only two or three cars away from where you were parked. In addition to that, you had a young person in the car with you. What lesson did you just teach that person? Please, do the right thing. Take that 20-30 seconds to walk to the cart return rack. The 10 steps of exercise will do your heart good, setting a good example and knowing you did the right thing will do it even more good. The vehicle you save from a good bashing may belong to someone you know and love. While I'm on a rant about doing the right thing, this city has leash laws for pets. I'm pretty sure that law does not state that it is only to be obeyed from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday when Animal Control personnel are on duty. Also, if you hold an elected office, it does not exempt you or your children from obeying the law.
How many motor cyclists is this state going to require to lose their lives before a helmet law is passed that our fine police departments can begin to enforce? A 25-year-old man was recently added to that list that would still be here if he was wearing a helmet in his possibly survivable accident. Living in California and Arizona, many riders have been spared debilitating, if not fatal, head injuries because of laws requiring them to wear helmets. And many a family there have been spared the grief over the loss of their loved ones, but such loss and grief is still occurring here in Arkansas. Several families here in Russellville will not be the same after their loss and more are destined to have to endure the same.
True, there are many long-time riders out here that would not relish the idea of having to wear a helmet. But their experiences usually have them well prepared to avoid possible accidents. It is the many younger, not so experienced, riders that would benefit the most. And their parents would have some solace in feeling that their loved ones are a little safer on the road.
As a friendly suggestion to the people of Pope County and to the city of Pottsville, due to the recent loss of Jerry Akin, who gave so, so much to the communities, I would like to suggest naming the new State Highway 247 bypass after him — "Jerry Akin Bypass." Just a thought. Rest in Peace Jerry, you will be greatly missed. Thanks for everything that you have done for the Pottsville School District, the city of Pottsville and Pope County as a whole!
I am so happy to see the Russellville Police Department out on State Highway 7. I recently had family involved in one of the accidents on this highway. They are the adult and juvenile in critical condition that was mentioned in previous articles. On behalf of all my family, I would like to say thank you to all the Russellville City, County and State Police Departments. The emergency and rescue workers, and to the flight crew on Angel One. I would also like to thank everyone for all of their prayers. Thank you to my awesome church family, Gateway P.C.G., for all their love and prayers. But most of all, I give thanks to my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.


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Samsung Galaxy Note 3 Teardown: Original Phablet Sets Bar
10 comments
In 2011 Samsung defined a new category with its 5.3" diagonal Galaxy Note phone. The original Note was so large it was considered by many as a phone that aspired to be a tablet, hence the term "phablet" was coined. The Galaxy Note's monstrous screen was so out of place in the phone marketplace that the competition didn't event mount a comparable rebuttal for nearly 12 months. Now nearly every manufacturer offers a five-inch plus device. But they all still struggle to unseat the category leader.
With the third iteration of the Galaxy Note, Samsung has refused to add kitschy features. Rather it has focused on improving the human interaction elements in using this device as an all-in-one communications device. First off the "S-Pen" continues to be linked into more of the embedded Samsung software and features, while the new Galaxy Watch (teardown coming shortly) promises further improvements to the ways the user interacts with the device's proven functionality.
This TechInsights teardown isn't about the software updates. Rather our interest continues to lie under the hood. With that in mind, we crack open the Galaxy Note 3 to examine the horsepower needed to bring all these features to bear for the device's user.
Teardown highlights and initial cost estimates
TechInsights's initial bill of material costs for the Galaxy Note 3 amount to $237.50. This is an increase of nearly $20 over the costs of the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 HSPA device. We estimate this increase in cost is directly related to the improved and larger display module of 5.7" versus the previous version at 5.5" and the use of the Qualcomm MSM8974 baseband/applications processor. Other significant improvements are also noted in the NAND and SDRAM where the amount of memory has increased by 100 percent and 50 percent respectively.
To provide a reference of how the Galaxy Note 3 compares, we have included a comparative view against the previous generation (Galaxy Note 2 (2012)) and the recently launched Samsung Galaxy S4 LTE smart phone.
TechInsights has noted design wins from the following integrated circuit manufacturers. The following are highlighted in the board shots we have gathered from the device.
Processor: Qualcomm still the benchmark solution
Qualcomm secures the baseband/applications processor design within the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 with the Snapdragon 800, package MSM89747AB.
Comparing die photos and die marks, the MSM8974 looks identical to the one TechInsights previously analyzed (although the previous device was marked 2012, and this one is marked 2013).
Additional information on the Qualcomm range of processors with detailed process and technical analysis can be found at www.techinsights.com:
- Logic Detailed Structural Analysis of the Qualcomm MSM8974 Snapdragon 800 SoC
- IC Design Overview of the Qualcomm MSM8974 Snapdragon 800 Processor
Next Page: Memory


text: Let me preface this by saying that I have pretty close to state of the art system and I completely understand that dvd's will not come anywhere near the quality Blu-ray will offer. That said TNG looks terrible even with my Blu-ray player upconverting them. Other older (same era as TNG) dvd's I have look significantly better. Is it just me or does TNG not look very good in the dvd format? Also, I think I read somewhere that TNG would be very diffuclut and rather expensive to convert to Blu-ray. Does anyone know anything about this?


text:
Icon HDP
This is a very capable, well designed amp, and can definitely hold up against competitors at its price point. I tested this device using its usb input and my pair of Grado PS500s. There is no audible distortion, a clean bass boost, and an overall smoothness to the sound. Setup is easy (on a Mac) and the connections on the amp make it as versatile as it is easy-to-use. Unfortunately, it has some serious compatibility issues with Windows machines, which renders it a Mac-only device, due to the lack of dedicated drivers. It is also susceptible to noisy usb ports. Is short, the hardware is very refined, with little to no noise, but the interfacing, especially on the software end, could use some development.
Pros: Clean, refined sound Solid, punchy amplification Good variety of connections Great build quality and aesthetic
Cons: Weak support software No support drivers Lack of documentation


text:
Jedes Jahr findet am historischen Marktplatz von Günzburg der tradionelle Nikolausmarkt statt.
The "Free State of Bavaria" is renowned for being culturally unique and for the emphasis which it places on preserving its heritage and traditions. It is also extraordinarily beautiful, boasting a plethora of castles, palaces, cathedrals, abbeys and monasteries not to mention spectacular scenery. Bavaria is more than Alps, men in "lederhosen" (leather pants), women in "dirndl" (traditional dresses) and frothy glasses of beer by the "maβ" (liter).


text:
a handful of "app stores" like Valve's
Steam have delivered software to PCs in the past, these
stores generally lacked diversity, mostly just offering game
downloads. No PC app store really offered customers the
opportunity to buy instantly-downloadable apps of all kinds --
everything from games to productivity software. That's about to
change as Apple is set to introduce the world's first
full-featured personal
computer App Store on January 6.Steve Jobs, Apple's
CEO, fond of bragging about the company he founded, states, "The
App Store revolutionized mobile apps. We hope to do the same
for PC apps with the Mac App Store by making finding and buying PC
apps easy and fun. We can't wait to get started on January 6."The
Mac App Store will come to Mac users in the form of a Snow Leopard
(OS X 10.6) update.The initial Mac App Store will launch in
90 countries and include familiar categories like Education, Games,
Graphics & Design, Lifestyle, Productivity and Utilities.
As with the iPhone/iPad App Stores, Apple will keep a 30 percent cut,
handing developers 70 percent of app sales.Apple's press
release even included this nugget: "Apple...recently
introduced its magical iPad which is defining the future of mobile
media and computing devices."Apple often describes its
as "magical", but it's hard not to give Apple its dues
when it comes to its success in pioneering the mobile App Store
concept and its equally pioneering effort to port that success to the
PC.Apple won't be alone in this market for long though --
Google's incoming Netbook/Notebook Chrome OS will feature
a "Web Store" filled with internet apps.
While that app store has technically launched, its app catalog at
this point is very sparse.


text:
Discussion in 'TV & Media' started by Enterprise is Great, Nov 24, 2012.
Fuck you, cancer.
Throat cancer, no less. Probably brought about by his several decades of heavy drinking.
Such a loss, though.
Noooo! That's terrible. I loved Larry Hangman.
At least he lived long enough to see Dallas become a hit again.
It was good to see him on Dallas recently. I'm sorry to see him go.
A damn shame.
Agree 110%.
R.I.P. Major Tony Nelson
Rest in peace you magnificent bastard...
More likely it was his smoking--or perhaps a combination of the two. The news said he was a heavy smoked until 1995, when he was diagnosed with liver cancer and had a transplant. He'd been in frail health for years, poor man.
He was quite the character, though. Saw this from MSNBC:
Now THAT sounds like one hell of a wake.
As an unabashed fan of Dallas, this is of course very sad news to me and while altogether not as shocking as I thought it might have been, still very sad nonetheless. It will be interesting to see what the writers of Dallas do now, and how long the show will be able to continue without him.
I am sad to hear about his death. May he rest in peace.
Very sad to hear, man, he made the new series worth watching.
R.I.P. Major Nelson
RIP dear sir.
/** to a real Air Force vet (not just Maj Nelson)
R.I.P. Larry. You were the best.
Yeah, too bad he didn't die of a heart attack or stroke or liver failure instead. Then this would be good news.
But, seriously, the man was 80 years old. Cancer at that age is simply one of the possible side effects of aging and the body shutting down. It's sad for his family but it's no more tragic than other way someone can die of old age.
Terrible news. I thought his cancer was in remission and he was doing better.
Hagman had been diagnosed with throat cancer, and received treatment during filming of the first season of the new Dallas, and had finished treatment with an excellent prognosis, so yes this was surprising.
Explain to me, what you think the word 'subtle' means?
Sad. Very sad.
Wonder how much filming of season two he had done ? Hope they can use it - I can't think of a better tribute.
I'll have a bourbon and branch please darlin'. Here's to you Larry !
Separate names with a comma.


text:
- 1.0.0
- 1.1.1
- 1.1.6
- 1.2.0
- 1.2.6
- 2.0.0
- 2.0.3
- 2.1.0 (0)
- 2.2.1 (35)
- 2.3.2 (0)
- 2.3.8 (0)
- 3.0.0 (0)
- 3.0.5 (0)
- 3.0.9 (-2)
- 3.1.0
- 3.2.1
- 3.2.3
- 3.2.8
- 3.2.13
- 4.0.2
- 4.1.8
- 4.2.1
- 4.2.7
- What's this?
preload_associations(records, associations, preload_options={})
Eager loads the named associations for the given Active Record record(s).
In this description, 'association name' shall refer to the name passed to an association creation method. For example, a model that specifies belongs_to :author, has_many :buyers has association names :author and :buyers.
records is an array of ActiveRecord::Base. This array needs not be flat, i.e. records itself may also contain arrays of records. In any case, preload_associations will preload the all associations records by flattening records.
associations specifies one or more associations that you want to preload. It may be:
a Symbol or a String which specifies a single association name. For example, specifying :books allows this method to preload all books for an Author.
an Array which specifies multiple association names. This array is processed recursively. For example, specifying [:avatar, :books] allows this method to preload an author's avatar as well as all of his books.
a Hash which specifies multiple association names, as well as association names for the to-be-preloaded association objects. For example, specifying { :author => :avatar } will preload a book's author, as well as that author's avatar.
:associations has the same format as the :include option for ActiveRecord::Base.find. So associations could look like this:
:books [ :books, :author ] { :author => :avatar } [ :books, { :author => :avatar } ]
preload_options contains options that will be passed to ActiveRecord::Base#find (which is called under the hood for preloading records). But it is passed only one level deep in the associations argument, i.e. it's not passed to the child associations when associations is a Hash.
# File activerecord/lib/active_record/association_preload.rb, line 87 def preload_associations(records, associations, preload_options={}) records = Array.wrap(records).compact return if records.empty? case associations when Array then associations.each {|association| preload_associations(records, association, preload_options)} when Symbol, String then preload_one_association(records, associations.to_sym, preload_options) when Hash then associations.each do |parent, child| raise "parent must be an association name" unless parent.is_a?(String) || parent.is_a?(Symbol) preload_associations(records, parent, preload_options) reflection = reflections[parent] parents = records.sum { |record| Array.wrap(record.send(reflection.name)) } unless parents.empty? parents = parents.uniq if reflection.macro == :belongs_to parents.first.class.preload_associations(parents, child) end end end end
preload_associations manually
Usually you preload associations using :include => [ ... ]. In Rails 2.1 each association is fetched with a separate query. Something like:
Post.find(:all, :include => [:tags, :user])
will produce 3 queries - each for posts, tags and users.
But sometimes you have a complex query, which uses :joins => :other_association and conditions between multiple tables, but not the ones you need to include. Then everything is mixed back in one query like in old versions of Rails.
Another case may be when it is not possible to use :include at all, for example while using find_by_sql, but you still want/need to preload associated records.
In rails 2.1 find uses preload_associations internally, when it is possible (There are no joins or conditions between tables).
So then you can preload asociations manually from within your model:
class Post < ActiveRecord::Base
has_many :tags belongs_to :user ... def self.find_complex_with_includes posts = find_by_sql(...) # or find(:all, :joins => .....) preload_associations(posts, [:tags, :user]) posts end
and then do
@posts = Post.find_complex_with_includes
Whacky edge case
The above works great as long as you select the primary key of the owning assocations.
preload_associations calls a group_by on that object so if there is no primary key attributed filled out it will reduce the records to 1 object. ex: rows = foo.find(:all,:select=>"boo.id, foo.name, foo.age, count(DISTINCT foo.id)", :group=>"foo.name,foo.age having count( DISTINCT foo.id) > 1",:joins=>"INNER JOIN bar.foo on bar.foo_id = foo.id")
rows.first.bar.name #=> sql call already made in preload rows.last.bar.name #=> just made another sql call to get bar
fix: :select=>"foo.id, boo.id, foo.name, foo.age, count(DISTINCT foo.id)"
now preload_associations will include all the ids found instead of just the 1st one.