text:
Sell your oven. Empty your cupboards. There's no need for a mixer or food processor. Keep the fridge for drinks, and maybe the blender. Eating has never been easier.
The trick? Bars, bars and more bars.
Vegan, chocolate, gluten-free, low-glycemic, raw, sugar-free, nutty, crunchy, gooey, for kids, for weightlifters, familiar old granola bars. Packed with protein, fiber, super-fruits — even some with sugar and fat. Bars for pregnant women, and the YaffBar that's for you and your mutt to share. Lärabar's Alt gets its protein from peas; another company harvests crickets for protein.
PHOTOS: A comparison of what's really inside the wrapping
About a fifth of Americans will eat a bar today, says Harry Balzer, chief food industry analyst for the NPD Group. (The only bigger change in our eating habits over the last decade? The explosion of yogurts.) The market research firm Packaged Facts said in an April 2012 report that the bar business approached $5.7 billion in 2011 and is still growing.
"They're their own food group," says Terry Walters, a cookbook author and natural foods advocate.
What's more, bars are wrapped in the cachet of something that's good for you — and many of them are fine nutritionally, even though most bars have opaque packaging so it can be hard to judge.
And energy bars sound pretty healthful, right? But the truth is that that just means they have calories. So before you load up for the weekend, read the label. Easy doesn't necessarily mean healthful.
In many cases, Walters says, bars are fast food and not so different from the drive-through. What they can do is fit in a pocket or purse and last for a long time in the glove compartment. Long-distance runners can eat them on the course, and busy travelers can make a meal of them on the plane or subway.
The popularity of bars "is a perfect reflection of where we are culturally," says Mollie Katzen, who has been writing cookbooks since the counterculture days. Her latest, "The Heart of the Plate: Vegetarian Recipes for a New Generation," is out this fall
Bar makers are slicing the market to attract very specific customers: dieters on Medifast; the socially responsible with This Bar Saves Lives (which donates to abate hunger); or athletes with Builder's Max bar, which has 30 grams of protein, made by the 20-year-old company Clif.
Many consumers are looking for protein sources that are cheaper than meat, so that's one draw, but bars are not necessarily cheap; they can top $5.
Whatever happened to packing a sandwich or leftovers from last night's dinner, asks Katzen, who says her daughter, a young adult living in New York City, carries bars in her bag because they're easy.
Shane Emmett, chief executive of Health Warrior, which makes Chia Bars, gets that. The former college swimmer now has a baby, runs and even does push-ups in his Richmond, Va., office.
"I wish I could make a giant pot of kale for lunch every day, but I'm too busy," he says. "Americans genuinely aspire to be healthier, genuinely aspire to push back against the modern Western diet, but they are not going to sacrifice taste and convenience."
Many people are, however, willing to sacrifice a meal by substituting a bar.
"By their nature you make certain compromises from a nutrition standpoint," says David Heber, director of the UCLA Center for Human Nutrition. But sometimes "that's your best choice. If there's nothing but fast food around, it could be a good thing to have."
Bars have been around since the 1970s, thanks to the granola bars of the hippie era, Heber says. But it has taken a few decades for bars to take up row after row of shelf space. "It's not that we are snacking more; it's that we are taking snack foods and we're making them meals," says Balzer, who regularly surveys consumers on their food habits.
Bars are thriving, Balzer adds, because manufacturers have hit the product trifecta: something that makes life easier, something that saves money and something new.
Reading the ingredient lists on some bars might require a chemistry degree, but there's plenty of real food in them too: peanut butter, nuts, rice, chocolate, cranberries, coconut, seeds, oats. Others are about what is not in them: gluten, dairy, soy, sugar, anything GMO.
Pat Crowley says his bars, called Chapul, the Aztec word for cricket, are something new. With crickets as the source of their protein, they come in flavors that reflect the world: Thai, with ginger coconut and lime; Aztec, with coffee, chocolate and cayenne; and American, with peanut butter and chocolate.
Kristen Buchanan traveled frequently as a member of the 1996 U.S. Olympic hockey team, and she lived on bars when she couldn't find foods she wanted. But she wasn't happy about it and decided to create her own, the Good on Ya Bar, with nuts, seeds, raw honey, hemp and oil.
She's optimistic: "I don't think the market is going to go away. You notice how many bars there are because everyone wants a bar."
A comparison of what's really inside the wrapping
Dizzied by the dozens of bars on the shelves? Here are some tips from the experts:
First and last, read the labels. Check nutrition facts for things you want and for what you want to avoid for allergies.
"Make sure you are getting protein for your money," because that will help maintain lean body mass and control hunger, says David Heber, director of the UCLA Center for Human Nutrition. He says 10 grams in 150 calories is a good balance.
Beware of the fat. Look for trans-fat calories. And, Heber says, as the protein count goes up, so does the fat, which with sugar help make the bars palatable.
Look at total calories. Some bars are intended to be meal replacements, with 350 calories or more. Others are made as snacks. And be aware of whether the bar is labeled as one or more servings.
For context, consider a 1.86-ounce Snickers bar. It is 250 calories, with 12 grams of fat and 27 grams of sugar, 1 gram of fiber and 4 grams of protein. Nutrition information for a few bars can be found here.
Going for a full drench in a hot power yoga class


text:
Staff writer
When Rex Siebert, 89, of Marion married in 1943, his father, Floyd, gave him a team of mules, Bess and Jane, and a high-sided wooden wagon that was used to hold husked corn. Siebert used the wagon to feed silage and grain to feeder lambs.
Many years later, in 1970, when he and his wife, Vernolis, were planning to build a new house on their farm, Siebert told contractor Steve Jost to put a "good strong spot" in the middle of the living room because a wheel from that wagon was going to be hung there.
The wheel is made of hickory wood with a steel rim and a steel-clad hub.
Siebert's son-in-law, Bob Campbell, sandblasted, stained, and varnished the wheel and installed lights on it. Siebert helped him hang it with heavy chains from an overhead beam.
"We are so proud of it," he said. "It reminds me of a lot of cold mornings when I was husking corn in the bottom. Frost covered the husks and ears, and my hands got so cold that I wanted to stop and warm them under the flanks of the mules."
As for that team of mules, they weren't evenly matched. Bess was fast and Jane was slow. Siebert had to pull on Bess's lines to hold her back and "gee-haw!" Jane to do her share.
Siebert was born in 1923, when the first cars were Model T Fords, and farming was still done with horse and mule power. He cultivated a lot of corn with a one-row John Deere cultivator his father purchased from Siebert Bros. at Canada.
"I always like to tell that I was 21 years old before I ever knew that the sun didn't always come up between a mule's ears," he said.
The wagon wheel light fixture is a constant reminder of "the good old days."

subset: commoncrawl


text:
A lot has happened in the seven months since Nicki Minaj issued her sophomore effort, "Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded." The pop-rap minx has gone on her first headlining tour, issued a perfume (a clothing line is also in the works) and joined the judges' panel on "American Idol."
As her profile continues to rise, Minaj has also seen her artistry scrutinized. Her sophomore effort fueled contention among critics and rap purists, many of whom felt the platinum-selling femcee had turned her back on hip-hop in search of pop success.
With "Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded -- The Re-Up," Minaj attempts to right some of the missteps of that disc. And for the most part, she does. Minaj's wheelhouse remains her ability to pair her pop sensibilities with the raw, razor-sharp raps that made her a game-changing talent to watch. While "Roman Reloaded" felt bogged down by generic, 128-beat-per-minute rhythms, the eight songs Minaj churned out for the reissue do a better job of uniting her two fan bases.
Still, Minaj is at her best when offering acid-soaked tongue lashings. A feud with fellow "Idol" judge Mariah Carey makes its way into the biting "Hell Yeah," where Minaj reminds an adversary that she's "quick to check a … if she's outta line," before shouting out "Idol" producers.
The snappy flows continue on bouncy "I Endorse These Strippers" and the pithy kiss-off "The Boys," which along with the equally brazen "I'm Legit" seem primed for the streets and clubs. Sure, she flirts with dance pop and R&B balladry, but you can forgive her for wanting to satisfy different tastes. Here, it actually works.
Nicki Minaj
"Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded -- The Re-Up"
(Young Money/Universal)
Three stars (out of four)


text:
A garage door is a large door on a Garage (house) that opens either manually or by an electric motor (a garage door opener). Garage doors are frequently large enough to accommodate automobiles and other vehicles. Small garage doors may be made in a single panel that tilts up and back across the garage ceiling. Larger doors are usually made in several jointed panels that roll up on tracks across the garage ceiling, or into a roll above the doorway. The operating mechanism is spring-loaded or counterbalanced to offset the weight of the door and reduce human or motor effort required to operate the door. Less commonly, some garage doors slide or swing horizontally. Doors are made of wood, metal, or fiberglass, and may be insulated to prevent heat loss. Warehouses, bus garages and Motive power depot have larger versions.
Single panel doors can also be installed with (one piece track type hardware) that folds the door back with a single horizontal track on each side (which is mounted at the top of the wood frame) and a roller, (mounted to the top of the door on each side. A hinge on each side that attaches to the bottom of each side of garage door. Using track hardware, a car can be parked much closer to the door, as the whole door, when in the open position, rests completely inside of the garage door header. Track type hardware has much less arc when raising and lowering the garage door as opposed jamb type hardware.
Garage doors can be made out of many materials, but steel, aluminum, wood, copper, glass, and Polyvinyl chloride (polyethylene) are the most popular materials. Some manufacturers incorporate foamed-in-place polyurethane insulation within the monolithic panel and sectional garage doors.
The side sliding sectional door[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ATLMwqBYlSY "Side Sliding garage Door"] PRIMO TIM 2014
In the UK (and other parts of the EU), 'insulated' roller garage doors are available, using an aluminium lathe filled with polyurethane foam for thermal and acoustic insulation.
In terms of thermal insulation, the roller door has a typical insulation value of 4.9 to 5.2. A sheet steel garage door has a typical insulation value of 6.1 to 6.4.
Application that need more thermal insulation typically use foam filled sectional garage door, which provide typical insulation values of 2.7 to 1.3.
A common material for a new garage door is steel sheet formed or stamped to look like a raised panel wooden door. Steel doors are available in uninsulated, insulated, and double skin steel. A design mimicking carriage house doors has become popular since early 2000s, and many manufacturers clad the exterior of a steel door with composite, vinyl boards, or other trim to give it the appearance of wood.
Some manufacturers advertise very high insulating values for some of their garage doors (R-15 to R-17), but it may be true for only for some central sections. The actual R-values – for the entire door – are often 1/2 or 1/3 of the advertised value.
A garage door with a broken spring, or the wrong strength spring, can fall. Because the effective mass of the door increases as the garage door sections transfer from the horizontal to vertical door tracks, a falling garage door accelerates rapidly. A free falling garage door can cause serious injury or death.
The sections and rollers on garage doors represent a major pinch hazard. Children should never be allowed near a moving garage door for this reason. On manually operated garage doors, handles should be installed vertically, to promote "vertical orientation of the hand".
Mechanical garage door openers can pull or push a garage door with enough force to injure or kill people and pets if they become trapped. All modern openers are equipped with "force settings" that make the door reverse if it encounters too much resistance while closing or opening. Any garage door opener sold in the United States after 1992 requires ''safety eyes''—sensors that prevent the door from closing if obstructed. Force settings should cause a door to stop or reverse on encountering more than approximately 20 lbs (9.07 kg) of resistance. Safety eyes should be installed a maximum of six inches above the ground. Many garage door injuries, and nearly all garage door related property damage, can be avoided by following these precautions.
Certain parts, especially springs, cables, bottom brackets, and spring anchor plates, are under extreme tension. Injuries can occur if parts under tension are removed.
Extension spring systems should always be restrained by a ''safety cable'' that runs through the middle of the spring, tying off to a solid point at the rear and front of the horizontal door track. Extension springs represent a hazard to bystanders when a spring, pulley, or cable breaks under tension. Metal parts from extension spring systems can suddenly be launched.


text:
This was my first time to Active Am. It was a blast. Congrats to the good homie Marius Syvanen for winning the Best Trick and Brandon Westgate for taking home all the money.
Brandon Westgate Was murdering all day. A kickflip with tons of snap.
Lil buddy, Jamie Tancowny worked for this kickflip crooks.
Jamie-Big Spin Frontside Boardslide.
Justin Figueroa with a sweet kickflip boardslide to fakie.
Jordan Hoffart- Bigspin Boardslide.
David Reyes has this trick in his sleep- Kickflip frontside 5050.
Scott Decenzo did this Five-oh 180 real nice.
Taylor Smith was on the course, of course.Backside lipslide.
Taylor dominating with a buttery Kickflip Backside Lipslide.
Jordan Hoffart blasted Frontside Flip.
Daryl Angel- Frontblunt.
Albert Madrid with a bonless 360.
Brad Cromer-Kickflip Wallride.
Chris Pfanner flying across the 47ft gap.
Tony Cervantes Alleyoop air.
Andrew Langi has always been lifted but now rides for LRG.Smith stall to fakes.
Langi Blunt to Fakie.
John Motta is crazy just like everyone else on Skate MENTAL
David Loy went and did this trick while someone else was trying it.Blunt Fakie.
David with a flyout to grind in.
Marius with a daytime Backside Lipslide.
Marius Syvanen ended the hours long sesh with this Backside Noseblunt slide


text:
On January 12, 2012, six San Juan County residents and the Navajo Nation filed a lawsuit in US District Court claiming that the San Juan County Commission voting districts violate the US Constitution and the Voting Rights Act.
The filing claims that the three Commission districts, which were created by court decree in 1984 and amended by the commission on November 14, 2011, deny an equal voice for Native American residents.
According to the 2010 US Census, 50.4 percent of San Juan County residents are Native American. A redistricting proposal developed by the Navajo Nation Human Rights Commission would create a majority Native American voting population in two of the three districts. Blanding would be split three ways between the three proposed districts.
Instead of creating entirely new voting districts, Commissioners moved two precincts (Ucolo and Cedar Point) from the northwestern district currently represented by Bruce Adams to the central district currently represented by Phil Lyman. The Commission made no changes to the southeastern district currently represented by Kenneth Maryboy.
Attorney Brian Barnard, who represents the plaintiff, argues that moving the two precincts may have created more balance in the districts, but it "doesn't solve the overall problem." He argues that the current districts deny an equal voice to Native American residents of San Juan County.
An amended filing was submitted to the court on February 27. Barnard said that San Juan County has until March 12 to file a response.
The initial filing called for a preliminary injunction to prohibit the county from holding further elections which use the old district map. A request for a preliminary injunction has been withdrawn in the new filing.
The new election cycle begins this week, when the filing period opens for public office. The northwestern commission seat will be on the November ballot.
While Native Americans make up a majority of San Juan County residents, the Native population declined by 765 residents between 2000 and 2010. The percent of Native American population fell from 56.5 percent in 2000. Explosive growth in northern San Juan County is primarily made up of Anglo residents.
While the San Juan Record has been unable to obtain racial information on the district level, the voting patterns in the district may be of interest. They show just how evenly split party affiliations are in the county.
A standard method of determining the demographics of a district is by the percent of voters selecting each major party candidate in the most recent presidential election.
In the 2008 Presidential election, the Republican candidate (McCain) was selected by 56 percent of voters in the current northwestern district represented by Adams. The Democrat candidate (Obama) was preferred by 44 percent of voters.
In the current central district represented by Lyman, McCain was preferred over Obama by 80 to 20 percent.
In the southeastern district represented by Kenneth Maryboy, Obama was the preferred candidate by 83 to 17 percent.
Overall in San Juan County, just 232 votes separated the two candidates in 2008. A total of 2,638 voters (52 percent) of voters preferred McCain, while 2,406 (48 percent) preferred Obama.


text:
|Palo Alto, Calif.
|High School:
|Henry H. Gunn
|Distance Freestyle
|Residential College:
2012-2013 (Freshman): 1650-yard freestyle: Finished third at the Ivy League Swimming and Diving Championships with a time of 16:27.57… Best finish in the event was against Brown, second with a time of 16:38.14… 1000-yard freestyle: Finished third at Ivy's with a time of 9:53.46, Finished second in the event four times during the regular season… 500-yard freestyle: Finished sixth at Ivy's with a time of 4:51.91… Fastest time was 4:50.55 in the prelims at Ivy's.
Before Yale: Lettered four years in both swimming and water polo... All-American in the 500 free, 200 free relay, and 400 free relay... Scholastic All-American... School record holder in the 500 free... National Merit finalist... Swam for Palo Alto Stanford Aquatics.
Personal: Member of Saybrook College... Daughter of Todd and Suzie Lincoln... Older sister, Alex, swims at Pomona College... Younger brother, Michael, swims for Palo Alto Stanford Aquatics.
Why I Chose Yale: "Right away I knew I wanted to come to Yale. In addition to an unparalleled education, Yale offers the chance to compete at a high athletic level while surrounded by a team of brilliant, inquisitive student-athletes."


text:
Central & Local Government Urls listed,
You are subscribed to Today's Written Statements for The United Kingdom Parliament.
Written statements are published on the internet as soon as possible after Parliament receives them and are also published in the next day's edition of Hansard.
Links to the PDFs work until the written statements are published in Hansard at www.parliament.uk/business/publications/hansard/commons/, or you may wish to save the links as favourites.
© 2017 All content is available under the Open Government Licence v3.0, except where otherwise stated | .gov.uk email communications
Email email@example.com | GCS - 020 7276 2295
Marketing Direct Mag - © Crown copyright | All printing supplied by PrintUK.com | Part of Spamdex - the spam archive for the internet
We have helpful advice from marketing experts across the globe, learn their tips and tricks and make your company more successful.


text:
MOSCOW — An explosion at a key pipeline in Ukraine has not disrupted the flow of gas to Europe, Russian gas monopoly Gazprom said on Wednesday.
The blast, which occurred Tuesday far from where government troops are fighting pro-Russia separatists, came a day after Russia cut gas supplies to Ukraine in a dispute over price and overdue payments.
Ukraine's energy ministry said in a statement it has reason to believe "the blast was caused by sabotage" intended to discredit Ukraine as a transit country. The ministry did not provide any further evidence to support the claim.
Ukrainian Interior Minister Arsen Avakov said at the start of a government meeting that preliminary findings indicate an explosive device had been planted in the pipeline's concrete supports. However, he said the investigation was still ongoing.
Moscow says it is waiting for Kiev to pay at least $1.9 billion of its $4.5 billion debt before talks about prices and paying off the debt and can continue. Gazprom said Monday that deliveries to Ukraine would have to resume by mid-October to ensure the country has enough reserves for the winter.
Vitaly Markelov, Gazprom's deputy chief executive, told reporters on Wednesday that gas flows had not been disrupted and that European customers are receiving the contracted amounts.
Markelov refused to speculate on the cause but said poor maintenance of pipelines in Ukraine makes such accidents more likely.
"I think they will continue to occur because the network needs to be maintained well," he said.


text:
Here are the 35 startups that presented at the recent Israel Innovation Marathon event in Tel Aviv.
Israel is a fun country, because it shows strength in a variety of markets — from chips, to security, to web development. The startups in Israel have less of the "me-too" feel you get at some Silicon Valley events.
Separately, yesterday, I published impressions from my first trip to Israel. My conclusion: The country is incredibly successful at starting companies, but it's still dealing with the "small" problem.
The Innovation event, sponsored by BootCamp Ventures, was held week before last.
The following four companies are the ones that I found the most interesting or provocative:
Tucoola is a social platform that helps get kids ready for school. It enhances cognitive, social, and life skills for preschool children using fun online games (with patents pending). It targets children 2-8+, their parents and teachers. It offers skills analysis, progress reports and other tools to help help progress. The company has some competitors, but mainly in the mathematics space (such as IXL). The company said it is raising $1 million. It was clearly one of the favorites of the investors who were judging the presentations.
Cell Buddy wants to let you use your mobile phone and original number when traveling anywhere abroad. I liked the company, because of its ambition, though I heard some people in the audience dismissing it as crazy and unlikely to succeed (its customers have to think ahead to order the product, for example). Here's how it works: Cell Buddy offers a small case that wraps around your phone, and which contains technology needed to offer its customers carrier-grade, low cost, voice, SMS and Internet service — all while travelling abroad and using their own mobile phone. The wrap-around case contains a modem that communicates with a local SIM card that is managed by Cell Buddy's servers. The company says the global roaming market is more than $50 billion, and business people — its target market — represent 65 percent of this. The company is still in alpha and has only an early prototype of the device; see the device in the hands of CEO Yossi Dagan in the picture above (the wrapped iPhone is on the left). The company is looking for $900,000, and has already tested the device in Jordan and the U.S.
eMotion targets the games industry with a technology that interacts with players' moods. The technology detects the player's excitement and emotional condition using a biofeedback bracelet. The information is then transferred back to the game, helping it adjust the course or skill level. Developers can access the bracelet with an SDK, which will be sold or licensed. The company was founded in 2010, and is seeking $2-5 million. Apparently, Nintendo failed when it tried to do something similar. Sony has called eMotion one of the most innovative companies. The company is negotiations with Sony and Microsoft right now. The company says it will have an advanced prototype by the end of its first year.
ZImperium is a offering a very interesting mobile security product. If you're on your mobile phone, and you walk into Starbucks, the company's product can shield you from unwittingly having vulnerable access points such as your social networks hacked. The company has also developed a pretty slick mobile interface for IT administrators to scan security threats on devices under their control. The company was founded late last year by Itzhak Avraham, a well known hacker turned security expert.
Here are the rest of the companies. Many of them are promising. Others need more time to fix their business models or refine their pitches.
AdClarity is a business intelligence software-as-a-service (SaaS) product that provides insight into media campaigns, including how long they've run, over what period of time, and at what price. It does this using scraping and other monitoring technology, and provides information to outside parties who otherwise have nothing to do with the campaign. Media buyers, sales managers, affiliates and online advertising and marketing professionals want this information to make better decisions. CEO Orey Gilliam was previously CEO of messaging service ICQ, and head of AOL Messaging after ICQ was acquired by AOL.
AirBase has developed a low-cost air pollution monitoring device ($550) and a proprietary information cloud-based online platform. The device lets you know exactly what elements you're breathing, keeping tabs on the various pollutants that can affect your health and environment.
BetterView provides better video conversion technology to content owners, helping them move from Standard Definition (SD) to true HD. The company says it uses a "Super-Resolution" discipline for graphic image processing, and that owners of old films and TV programs can use this to improve their offerings. Target customers include major studios, TV broadcasters, video-on-demand and cable firms, IPTV companies, and so on. The product is in beta testing, and the company is looking for $1 million.
Binfire offers a collaboration and project management SaaS software. It boasts things like document sharing, group chat, and event notification. The company argues that its real-time features give it a leg up on competitors like Basecamp and Huddle. However, the company could not articulate to the investors who judged the presentation how it was markedly better than Google Docs. It's priced beginning at $9.99/month.
Cellarix offers a digital wallet that allows the user to purchase services and products via a mobile phone, incorporating things like pre/post payment, coupons, customers' clubs, and sales campaigns. The company says its unique proposition is its Mobile Marketplace that connects thousands of subscribers and merchants. It uses SMS and Bluetooth technology, and will embrace near-field communications (NFC) when that technology truly takes off. It focuses on "unbanked" consumers in developing markets.
DiffDoof says it offers enterprises the ability to fuse formal, informal, and social knowledge for achieving their business goals. The company said its product, named ClearMash, enables control of this knowledge. However, I found the pitch somewhat vague, as did some of the investors judging the presentations. The company is trying to boil the ocean, and so our advice was for it to quickly find a focus.
Dropico Mobile develops and distributes a network of iPhone photography apps, providing users a wide set of apps to create and share professional-looking photos with no photo editing knowledge.
Evolero is an online system which empowers event organizers to set up event websites that manage registration and clearing while activating event's speakers, sponsors, and attendees. A challenge for this company is that there are lot of competitors, and many event organizers don't have large margins to spend money on management software.
Folloyu is a service that provides continuous browsing between devices as a solution to reduce online content abandonment. It strives to create a seamless environment between different devices.
Friendize.Me is a social service allowing consumers to get personalized trusted advice from friends on purchasing products and services ("Quora for Consumers").
iAlbums says it wants to bring your music to life by automatically curating interactive magazines for every album and track in your library. iAlbums likes to call itself the Flipboard for music. The company says the spread of popular services like Spotify, YouTube, and iTunes has reduced music to a single line of text in your play list, and that the cover art and wider experience of great music has been lost. It filters, optimizes, and parses all info and media sources. It is raising $1.5 million.
Itweetlive changes the way companies engage on social networks by using conversational, artificial intelligence tools (natural language processing and computational linguistic tools) to enhance one-to-many responses. The team boasts hard-core AI talent. It is building a one-to-many service that is based on a conversational tree, where you develop answers for all kinds of activity in advance, so that conversations can be automatically responded to. [Update: The company just corrected me: "Nothing is being sent in an automated way," said entrepreneur Agmon Porat, "but organizing search results and providing suggested responses means the conversation can move 50 to 100 times faster. We suggest to the community manager a statistically appropriate response, which they can change; and every change teaches the system new responses that will also be measured. Another point that could have been better explained is that there is no need to pre-define responses; the system learns along the way and provides responses according to other user's input."]
Mijits Media offers a light-weight, brandable self-service video player — the mijitTV — that enables anyone to customize it and then run collections of video in any web site. It is an HTML5-wrapped app, targeting small businesses, bloggers, and publishers. Ad-supported, lightly branded product is offered for free. More customization and personalization features come in a premium version. It lets anyone create their own "TV Station," something that fills a void now that YouTube has stopped playlists as of last July.
Mobiappi is an online platform that lets anyone easily self-create and manage dynamic smartphone apps; uniquely focused on native apps and large distributors. It focuses on B2B distribution – via large distributors.
NoviSign offers a real-time signage broadcast solution to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which enables managing and broadcasting marketing campaigns from the cloud to any IP-based sign worldwide.
NovoSpeech has built a proprietary speech recognition platform. The company says it provides a consistently superior user experience in real-life environments than Apple-owned competitor Siri and Nuance-owned Vlingo (Nuance powers both Siri and Vlingo). Indeed, NovoSpeech cited the recent class-action lawsuit against Siri (stemming from complaints about performance problems) as evidence that Siri just isn't doing a great job. NovoSpeech says its version does much better in environments where there is background noise, for example. And Siri requires a lot of computation, and so struggles to tough bandwidth environments like tunnels. The company is seeking $500,000 to $2 million.
PickN'Tell is a location-based mobile service which provides customers an uninterrupted shopping experience from store to home, while providing retailers with real time information about their customers. The company offers retailers a "magic mirror," which lets customers see what they look like in certain clothing, and also an app where users can review usage history and connect with friends.
PlugWallet offers a payment method based on a personal device (key), email and password, which enables users to pay, receive and transfer money over the Internet easily. This lets people buy goods and services online without using their credit card or bank account details. The company is targeting the 1.3 billion people who use the web, but who don't have credit or don't want to use their credit card. The company said its clearing commissions will be 1/5 of the current rate. It's not competing against PayPal, which the company says has a maximum target market of 500 million users. PlugWallet wants to go after vast markets like India and Russia.
Pluralis provides online advertisers with a crowd-sourcing platform for optimizing their website performance. It aims to be the 99 Designs for landing page optimization.
PTech HM lets users diagnose sleep breathing patterns using a common smartphone along with PTech's application. The app provides graphical reports and other data about your breathing and snoring patterns, and lets doctors and dentists track the data and thus offer better treatment for things like apnea, coughing, rhonchus, and wheezing. The company says the U.S. market for this sort of therapy is $2 billion and it's only 10 percent tapped so far. There's a $5 billion market worldwide. The company has raised $300,000 and is looking for another $3 million.
Ridefrog is a location-based marketplace for ridesharing that leverages social networks such as Facebook, offering relevant rides with like-minded people to create a positive social experience on the road. For example, it lets you contact find other people who are going to the same event you are going to. The company said competitors Zimride and RideJoy are both start-ups, but are not focused on events, and are not very social.
Ringbow offers a pretty cool ring device, worn on the index finger, that acts as a touch-screen accessory — it lets you touch devices, and adds layers of new touch functionality and accessibility. It also lets you bypass having to separately pull down menus, access secondary menus, etc. It focuses on gaming, but will move to other support forms of entertainment, as well as vehicle, medical, security and military applications. Judges were somewhat skeptical, however, that a separate device like this could take off in a big way.
ShopZooky is social shopping application that allows local merchants and shoppers to communicate and interact with each other to share and discover products people buy every day at their nearby stores. The company will launch in cities like NY, Atlanta and SF, and is co-founded by Tareq Maayah, who co-founded the G.ho.st, the web-based operating system.
Skiller says it offers the only multi-player mobile social gaming platform, allowing game developers to increase user engagement and revenues. It says it already operates in more than 200 countries with more than 3 million users. If offers things like cross-operating system support, in-app billing, a cross-games virtual currency, community management and analytics tools. Business model: in-app billing, virtual currency and advertising.
Sygen says it is the "Mint" for the European market: an anonymous social financial network that puts users in control of their personal finances. It has launched in Israel, and will launch in Europe next year.
SyncFu provides online retailers and users with a way to create, manage, distribute & track their own group buying deals. Online vendors can easily install SyncFu's group buying widget. SyncFu wins by sharing in the revenue generated by fulfilled deals.
Touchoo provides parents and children with a growing selection of high-quality, well categorized, educationally-sound and professionally reviewed interactive children's book-apps.
Tygor Traffic Solutions says it has developed innovative technology to provide over 50 percent time improvement in metropolitan urban transportation as measured at peak congestion hours. It will provide a cloud-based in-vehicle application to connect drivers to the urban network to allow them to optimize their traffic routes.
VeriShow lets you use video-conferencing, live chat, and screen-sharing to improve things like website sales and customer service. It lets you share, edit and annotate content such as documents, images, video clips, co-browse, complete forms together, accept e-signatures and more. It targets the financial, healthcare, consulting and retail sectors.
Widgex provides a system for "do it your self website building" specifically designed for right to left Arabic sites.
W.S.C Sports Technologies developed an interactive video platform for sports, allowing sports media-rights-owners to enrich the possibilities and exploit their video rights; fans can control, filter, watch, share personalized highlights.


text:
Sept. 5, 2003
Eric Feins '03, winner of two bronze medals in the LWT 8+ in 2001 and 2002, upgraded to silver in 2003, for his third Worlds medal in three tries. In a final-only race, last year's silver medallists Germany got out to a slight lead at the start, setting a blistering pace. 2002 World Champions Italy kept in close contact but did not have the same juice as Germany. With half the race gone Germany had open water leaving the United States and France to battle for silver and bronze.
Germany remained clear leaders until the end with a final charge by the United States thrusting them into silver position leaving France to sprint for third. Germany now become the new World Champions.
In the lightweight single B-final, Andy Liverman finished his first Worlds in the single by coming in fifth, eleventh overall, capping an incredible inaugural season in the single.


text:
No, I want to read more
Atlas Copco South Africa homepage
View All
View All Products
Spare parts
Register to our webinars
View all our industries
View all our product offerings
Find spare parts for your tools
Learn with our experts
Our screwdrivers range covers all station and assembly line requirements for safety critical and quality critical fastening applications
Atlas Copco ZA on Facebook
Physical Address:
Innes Road, Jet Park, Boksburg, 1459
Postal Address:
P.O. Box 14110, Witfield, 1467
+27(0)11 821 9800
Easily handle your Atlas Copco orders and errands whenever it suits you. Note this is only for registered partners, please contact us to know more.
Link to Shop Online
Find product information, videos, technical data in excel, links to ShopOnline, dimensional drawings and printed matters. Download the apps on the link below.
App store
Google Play


text:
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Adventures with Apex, part three: Setting up Apex with Tomcat and the DBPrism plugin
The DBPrism project is a free, open-source plugin for the Tomcat web server that, among other things, can function as a replacement for mod_plsql.
Side Note 1: Interestingly, Oracle itself is also developing the "Apex Listener", what I assume is based on similar [Java] technology. So by Apex 4.0 we will have even more deployment choices.
Side Note 2: My wish is that someone familiar with Microsoft's IIS should write a plugin to mimic mod_plsql on that platform as well, to make it easier to start using Apex in companies that have standardized on Microsoft technology (sneaking it in the back door, so to speak :-). UPDATE (AUGUST 2009): I decided to implement a free, open-source PL/SQL gateway for IIS myself. The Thoth Gateway runs all mod_plsql applications (including Apex applications) on Microsoft Internet Information Server (IIS) 6.0 or later.
Anyway, here are instructions for using Apex with Tomcat and DBPrism:
1. Download the latest version of Application Express from oracle.com
- http://www.oracle.com/technology/products/database/application_express/download.html
2. Install Apex into the database according to the instructions
- do not worry about configuring either the Embedded PL/SQL Gateway (DBMS_EPG) or Oracle HTTP Server,
- but make sure to unlock the apex_public_user schema and make a note of the password given to apex_public_user (you will need it to configure the JDBC connection on the web server)
Note: This could be the same physical machine as the database, if desired.
1. Download Java Runtime Engine (JRE) from sun.com
- install by running setup program
- create an environment variable called JRE_HOME and set it to the location where JRE was installed
2. Download Tomcat from tomcat.apache.org
- unzip to a folder, for example c:\program files\apache-tomcat-xxx (where xxx is version number)
- follow instructions in RUNNING.txt to start Tomcat and verify installation (http://localhost:8080)
3. Download the Oracle JDBC Thin driver from Oracle.com
- http://www.oracle.com/technology/software/tech/java/sqlj_jdbc/htdocs/jdbc_111060.html
- get the "ojdbc5.jar" file
4. Download DBPrism from http://sourceforge.net/projects/dbprism/
- choose the "dbprism" package (not the "cms" package)
- unzip and get the "dpls.war" file
- put the dpls.war file into the "webapps" folder in Tomcat
- shutdown and restart Tomcat
- this will create a "dpls" folder under "webapps"
- put the "ojdbc5.jar" file from step 3 in the dpls\WEB-INF\lib folder
- edit the prism.xconf file
- under "variables", change the value of the "demo.db" to a valid jdbc connectionstring to the database
- under under category named "DAD_apex", change the "dbpassword" to the correct password of the "apex_public_user" (note that this was set during/after the installation of Apex)
- shutdown and restart Tomcat again
5. Configure Apex images/javascript for Tomcat
- Create a folder called "i" under "webapps" in Tomcat
- shutdown and restart Tomcat
- Extract the files in the "images" folder in the Apex installation zip file and copy it to the "i" folder
6. Verify that everything works
- Go to http://localhost:8080/dpls/apex (this should display the login page of the Apex environment)
Pretty cool, isn't it? :-)
7 comments:
- Algimas said...
Works SUPER!
Thanks :)
- December 21, 2008
- Peter de Boer said...
Nice post!
I had a little problem with the security-constraints (defined in the web-xml), but after fixing/removing it, the DBPrism servlet works just fine.
This might be a good alternative for the embedded pl/sql gateway.
- December 22, 2008
- Patrick Wolf said...
Really cool!
- December 29, 2008
- John said...
This is great, OraDude! We have been looking for an alternative to using the OracleHTTP server for quite some time.
Do you think this is ready for production? Would there be added security risk with the DBPrism webserver in production (as opposed to OracleHTTP)?
Thanks for the info, regardless!! This is very cool.
- January 05, 2009
- Marcelo Ochoa said...
DBPrism is aware of any security issue related to buffer overflows or any other C problems.
Also there are checking for SQL Injection, package exclusion list, and so on.
From the Java world, there is an strong checking related to not share any state between concurrent threads for example.
Also as an open source application you can check the code and have a lot of logging to see DBPrism execution.
And finally you can use Oracle Proxy user support integrated with JAAS authentication.
Best regards, Marcelo.
- January 14, 2009
- The Hendersons said...
How do you use proxy authentication with Apex? I tried setting useProxyUser to true but then I can no longer log into APEX. It prompts me with a login and never lets me in.
- January 29, 2009
- Jacques said...
I have FORM Authentication demo when I browse
- March 03, 2010


text:
Kaspersky Internet Security Multi-Device 2016 - 1-Year 3-Devices - Global
Kaspersky Internet Security
Premium Security for your Devices
Whatever device you use you are using the same Internet. Online threats can reach your personal data on any device. It's true that desktop only protection is no longer enough. Kaspersky Internet Security keeps your sensitive information protected. Bank, shop and surf online in safety with effective, hassle-free protection that has no visible effect on performance of your devices.
With Kaspersky Lab's innovative technologies running on your PCs, Mac computers and Android smartphones & tablets, you benefit from rigorous protection for your identity, your finances, your confidential information and your children.
- Protects any combination of devices – with just one product and one license
- Provides award-winning, real-time protection against Internet threats
- Safeguards privacy and confidential information on all the devices
- Helps you bank, shop and pay online safely
- Keeps children safe and responsible online
- Customized for device protection, performance and usability
- Free! Kaspersky Safe Browser for iPhone, iPad and Windows Phone devices


text:
Eternus Entertain necesitaba un nuevo diseño de página web y lanzó un concurso de diseño en 99designs.
Un ganador ha sido elegido entre 96 diseños de 40 diseñadores freelance.
We are a youthful, professional and trustworthy site offering a reliable and safe place to have genuine fun with likeminded people.
It is essential that we come across as sexy and modern rather than sleazy and cheap.
Swingers, daters, voyeurs, exhibitionists, singles, couples
Attached are wireframes of 4 pages: Landing page, Logged on home page, Profile page (of others), Competition page.
Please note we do not expect you to stick rigid to the wireframe box constraints, we would like this site to flow and not be boxed everywhere. This was needed to get a model together.
Throughout the site we envisage key symbols of different colours which would allow you to access various areas if you are logged in within that level.
Landing Page - This must be very inviting and want you to click elsewhere. This page is key for getting people to look and want to explore the site and not just click off to somewhere else. There is also a large promotional (CTA) area which could be used to sell one of the USP of the site; i.e. competitions with real prize money (see competition page)
Logged in page - This has a newsfeed style system so people can keep track of people they follow, events, news etc.
Profile Page - This is where you get to view other peoples profiles (very similar to the users own profile page)
Competition Page - This is a key USP and needs to be very prominent, glitzy and sellable. There are significant cash prizes for competition winners – we need to make this very visible (i.e. £500 per category per month).
We are open to comments/ new ideas/suggestions


text:
Recently, I have been dealing with insurance a lot — i.e., stopping my parents' premium payments, evaluating long-term care insurance, doing quite a bit of analysis and shopping for better life insurance policies for my wife and I, etc. As expected, one of the insurance sales agents pitched a whole life insurance for my baby boy with the usual emphasis on it being dirt cheap.
Actually, he was quite a good salesman and at one point he had me convinced that I am getting a great deal by investing $23 a month on a permanent life insurance with a death benefit that goes up over time. I even picked a random number of 35 and did some quick calculation to confirm his sales pitch. Over 35 years, I would have spent $9,695 for an $84,323 policy — what a great deal!
Fortunately, I am the type of person that likes to mull over financial decisions for a while. One thing I like to do is figure out the opportunity cost of paying for something like insurance. Here's the definition of opportunity cost from Wikipedia:
Opportunity cost is the cost (sacrifice) incurred by choosing one option over an alternative one that may be equally desired. Thus, opportunity cost is the cost of pursuing one choice instead of another. Every action has an opportunity cost. For example, someone who invests $10,000 in a stock denies oneself the interest that one can earn by leaving the $10,000 dollars in a bank account instead. Opportunity cost is not restricted to monetary or financial costs: the real cost of output forgone, lost time, pleasure or any other benefit that provides utility should also be considered.
After doing some work on a spreadsheet, this is what I came up with.
To calculate the opportunity cost, I am assuming that I would invest the $23 month premium in the stock market instead, earning 8% annually on average. In this scenario, the insurance policy is worthwhile if something happens to my son before he turns 44. From birth through the age of 44, his death benefit will be higher than the opportunity cost. If you look at the graph above, it seems like a reasonable trade off.
However, his chance of dying before the age of 44 is quite small. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, he's expected to live to about 80 years of age. So what's the opportunity cost versus death benefit at 80?
According to the insurance agent, the death benefit at 80 would be a respectable amount of $300,000. However, the opportunity cost based on the scenario defined above would be a staggering $1.76 million! I hope you can see how insurance companies are able to offer this type of benefits — on average they will come out well ahead.
Now let's take it a step further. If he lives to be 100 years old (this is the maximum number provided to me by the insurance company), his death benefit would be over $600,000, but the opportunity cost would be over $8.2 million!
I know there's emotional factors at play here — e.g., I wouldn't want to work if something happened to my son — but I'll let you decide if it's worth it for you after seeing these numbers.
And in case you didn't notice…isn't compound interest amazing?
As with most financial advice, there are no simple solutions. When a colleague (or blogger) tells me I am wasting my money on whole life insurance premiums, it gives me pause-am I stupid or just cautious? Yes, we considered the expense and loss of commission to the agent in the decision. We are fortunate enough to be able to afford the premium and are willing the spend the money on the peace of mind. Pinyo makes unrealistic assumptions on the stock market as 8% annual returns are absolutely unattainable in the evolving global economy. Furthermore, if you think the bond market is rock-solid (which is the foundation of life insurance companies), then you are in for a serious reality check in the coming several years. Additionally, those who assume their Roth IRAs and social security payments are guaranteed to remain tax-free or an absolute certainty are very trusting souls. If you purchase whole life insurance with the understanding that it is a tool for estate planning and not as an investment, you will be taking the proper approach.
How's that "opportunity cost" thing working out for you now? You shouldn't have assumed an 8% annual return. Funny thing is….my whole life policy actually increased in value this year. my IRA and all my other investments have taken a huge hit that will take several more years to recover. In fact, my whole life policy premium was $1,200 and the dividend payment from the insurance company was $1,750. I guess in a way my life insurance premium is tax free! (you might have to really think about that) 🙂
You're right, term life insurance is cheap and there's a reason. Less than 1% of all polices ever pay a claim. The time to get your greatest return with a term policy is if you die on the way home from signing the contract. So, do you think term policies make them a lot of money?
And you're not borrowing your own money when you take out a policy loan. You borrow from the life insurance company and your cash value still earns interest. So, as you're paying back the balance with interest on a decreasing balance, you're earning compounding interest on the cash value within the policy.
I guarantee you, if you research on how to utilize a whole life insurance policy in order to "be a bank", you'll be far ahead of the rest. Don't buy term and invest the different. You can buy whole life, take out a policy loan, and invest in the same exact thing.
Banks invest in whole life insurance policies (BOLI – bank owned life insurance). They understand how to velocitize their money, make it do more than one thing.
Ok so with a whole life policy you are paying for two things, 1. Insurance(Death benefit and 2. Cash value. If you die you get only one…the death benefit. The cash value goes to the ins company. Now in the above example where you they say you can access your cash value at any time, tax free…that is exactly right. How ever what they failed to mention is that the insurance company requires you to pay interest on any money you borrow from your cash value. You must pay the ins company interest for borrowing your own money! God forbid you still owe at the time of your death they subtract what you owe from your death benefit. If you don't believe just consult you policy, its all in there in black and white. All of this isn't the real issue. I don't think whole life is something anybody should have let alone a kid. No parent wants to profit off the death of a child, however at a time like that you don't want to be passing around a collection plate at the funeral. Term ins is all most always cheaper then whole life and for a child $12K is all you would need, I have a child rider on my TERM policy and its $7 for all the kids listed on the policy. Also the our ins company cover them until age 25 at which time they are guarruteed a policy of their own without having to prove insurability. You are better off getting ONE TERM policy with a spouse rider and child rider. Agent that sell whole life most always do separate policy because there is a policy fee attached to each one so they get paid more if they do individual polices on the whole family. Ask your agent what he makes the most commission on Whole life or Term. He'll probably tell you Term is "discount ins" for people that can't afford it. Buy term ins and with what you save invest that and you'll be better off. That's what we did. Sorry I got carried away…LOL
I'm not an insurance agent either. But whole life insurance is a product that I love. It is the backbone of our financial plan. The problem with whole life insurance is that many people don't understand it…even insurance agents! There are many "living" benefits to whole life that many don't know. For example, you can access your cash value whenever you want tax free, it is protected from creditors in most states, there is a guaranteed rate of return, and velocitizes your money. Can a 401k provide any of that? No.
Best of all, you can create your own personal bank where you can recapture the interest you pay to financial institutions (The Infinite Banking Concept). We conducted an interview with R. Nelson Nash, author of Becoming Your Own Banker. He offered some insight and provided us some free downloads. Check it out at http://www.choose-financial-fr.....-nash.html. Before you shut down whole life insurance, investigate it because it may be the best financial decision of your life.
if your child dies, you likely will not want to work, but you will also have that bank account that covers that time off. When your child is an adult, he can do something else with that money, fund retirement and put a beneficiary on the account that will get it when he dies. You can keep a small portion of what you saved for him in an berevance account for yourself to take time off for any deaths in the family. (your parents, children, siblings). In the meantime, when everyone is healthy and young, I agree that saving the money is a better choice, (if you actually follow through and save it for him).
I really enjoyed the breakdown. Ultimately, the purchasing of peace of mind is an intangible that is difficult to measure, but on a purely financial basis the death benefit is certainly the clear loser. Looking forward to hearing what you decide in the end.
And how much would it have cost to maintain the same coverage in term insurance? Given that you think you need to insure him (to cover funeral costs and, say, assuage grief) then you really have to say that you only have the difference in cost between the whole life and term to invest. That way you separate the insurance part from the investment part. That would reduce the difference. Especially if you consider term premium would rise.
Now life insurance will probably never show up as a very good investment but even if you stop contributing at age 14 you've only spent $3900 which has a present value of about $2300 @ 8%. So for $2300 you've purchased $60,000 of life insurance for his complete lifetime – about $30/yr of coverage. Sounds like a nice gift to me. And there is the bonus that it will have some cash value he can tap in an emergency or retirement. And he'll always need some insurance – even after his kids are grown – to cover funeral costs and, say, assuage grief.
Now I sound like an agent….
I'm not an insurance agent. However, it may not be as bad as you think. First, why would you pay for an insurance policy for your son when he's 44 years old? He should have his own insurance by then. If you make him the owner and pay the premium right from the start then a more likely scenario is that at age 25 he gets married and you give him the policy to pay. Now he starts paying the $23/month which is probably substantially lower premium than he would pay if he took out his own policy for the same coverage at that point. He continues to pay in until he's 44 which by then the dividends on the policy probably exceed the premium so he then puts it on dividend off-set and the policy is essentially free. This might even occur before age 44. At the same time you've saved your $23/month between his age 25 and 44. At age 44 he can start saving the $23/month also. Now when his kids go to college he has some cash-value he can tap that both you and he partially paid for (when he's, say, 50) – or he can leave it alone until retirement. Of course, he'll probably have bought a few $100,000 of term coverage when he had his first child also – but he'll need $60,000 less because of your gift.
I'd be interested to see your overall analysis of that.
Excellent article. I totally agree. Whole life insurance is not the best way to invest your money. Excellent explanation.
Unless whole life products have changed radically over the past few years, it's a bad deal and a poor investment — basically because it's an old, old product with the odds stacked decidedly in favour of the old boys of insurance. Term insurance is the way to go for risk protection — you're right, do your investing elsewhere.
Pinyo-I love how you apply basic business tools to personal finance decisions. When you look at the long term picture whole life is a bad deal. Another way to view it is that the insurance company is in business to make money. There is a reason they push whole life so hard. The premium is based on your age and health. The younger you are the less per month you pay so it makes sense that it only costs $23 per month!


text:
It's the season finale of America's Next Top Model Cycle – oh, who knows. Brittani Kline, the trailer park queen from rural Pennsylvania and Molly O'Connell the angry, blonde adopted southern girl are the finalists. The finale takes place in amazing Morocco where the girls are filming their CoverGirl commercials then taking their CG glamour shots, shooting for Italian Vogue, and finally walking in a Vivienne Westwood fashion show. Tyra Banks has outdone herself this cycle!
The girls are meet individually with Ivan Bart, president of IMG models, who will be signing the winner of this cycle. He, predictably, likes both girls and notes their positive attributes, not giving away which one he would personally choose. Afterwards the girls meet Mister Jay Manuel to film their CoverGirl commercials for Liperfection Lipstick shot by Italian photographer Pierpaolo Ferrari.
Unlike previous seasons where the commercials were straight up disasters with no one being able to remember their lines or demonstrate a comprehensive grasp of ANY language, this year's were pretty seamless. Brittani is rocking a serious femme fatale look, but while filming the commercial her self-confidence starts getting the best of her and she begins to cry – again! I think she has cried more than any other contestant in ANTM history. She needs one of those wristlet tissues cases old ladies carry to sop up all the impromptu waterworks. Once she sorts out her emotions and relaxed she actually did an amazing commercial highly praised by Mister Jay.


text: Hello, sorry for my bad english. we have a dedicate server, debian squeeze + ispconfig3. All websites have * as ip address in panel. Every thing work fine. Until I create a ssl certificate for one site. ISPConfig crash, no more websites access. I fix it by removing certificat ssl. I find out that I need to select server's ip to get a website with ssl. But if I select server's ip for one website, all other websites (with * as ip address) are displaying that website. what am i doing wrong ? I need some explication. Thanks


text:
A Chat with Tim Meadows
TV Home / Entertainment Channel
As the second-longest running cast member in the history of "Saturday Night Live," Tim Meadows doesn't really need to work another day in his life to feel comfortable that he's secured a place in the hearts of TV viewers everywhere. Fortunately, however, he does keep working steadily, both in motion pictures and the small screen; he even takes the occasional detour onto a record album. Bullz-Eye had a chance to participate in an NBC teleconference with Meadows on the occasion of an upcoming "SNL" special – "Saturday Night Live in the '90s: Pop Culture Nation" – and we took full advantage of the opportunity, getting on the line on three separate occasions to ask questions. (We trimmed it down to just the Q&A portion of the conversation, but suffice it to say that, by that third time he heard our name announced, he immediately said, "You again?")
Bullz-Eye: Hi, Tim. Did you call Darrell Hammond and congratulate him when he took the title of "longest running "SNL" cast member" away from you?
Tim Meadows: You know, if I was a better man, I would've done that. But, no, I didn't. But I am very happy for him. Not a lot of people have worked on the show that long, so even though he has taken over the record, I still feel like I'm Barry Bonds to his Hank Aaron. I'm still in good company.
BE: Who were some of your favorite impressions that you did on the show, and did you ever get feedback – either favorable or otherwise – from anyone you impersonated?
TM: Uh, well, thank God I didn't ever hear back from O.J., which I was very happy about. Bernard Shaw from CNN sent us a letter; he wasn't too happy with my portrayal of him, but that didn't really bother me that much, because I wasn't really a big fan of his, anyway.
BE: You actually resurrected your most famous "SNL" character, The Ladies' Man, for Handsome Boy Modeling School's White People album. How did you get involved with that project?
TM: Um, actually, Prince Paul is friends with Chris Rock, and Chris Rock called me and said that Prince Paul was wondering if I could do something on that album, and he said that he was a big fan of The Ladies' Man. So he just basically had these scenarios, and I just came in and improvised a bunch of stuff, and it turned out to be a lot of fun. It didn't pay a lot, but it was cool to be on the record album.
BE: Did you get a lot of good feedback from it?
TM: Yeah! It's cool, because it's such a different audience from "SNL." It's more of a hip-hop/dance crowd. And, actually, this guy came up to me just yesterday and said that he'd been listening to Handsome Boy Modeling School.
BE: As far as the worst "SNL" hosts, is the rumor true about how bad Steven Seagal was as a host?
TM: Well, you know, I'm not going to… (laughs) That's a tough question, because he still is a martial arts expert, and I live in L.A., so I don't want him coming looking for me! But it wasn't a fun week that week, and…y'know, it was… (hesitates) It's hard for someone with almost no sense of humor to host "SNL." (laughs) I think that's the best way to put it. Even with, like, athletes, who you don't expect to be funny, they come in and they just do the show and they do what you ask them to do. They're coachable. They want to learn new things, and it turns out to be a fun week whenever we've had sports. But that week in particular, it was difficult. Because he had his ideas about what was funny, and you just wanted to go, "Well, what have you done that's funny that I should actually trust what you think?" You know? And, so, yeah, I'm not gonna say he was the worst host, but…it wasn't a fun week. It was one of those weeks that I'd rather forget about.
BE: I know things get cut for a reason, but were there ever any sketches that got cut in dress that you always wished had made it on the air?
TM: Uh, yeah, I mean, there was this one sketch that I loved that never made it to air, and it was called "Leon the Cool Centaur." And it was me in a centaur costume, and I was, like, in high school, and I was, like, the tough guy who was half man and half horse. And sort of the joke of the sketch was that the horse end kept making droppings on the floor of the school. (chuckles) So it was more of a conceptual sketch. And we did it twice, and it always got laughs, but, I don't know, I think maybe it was just too out there for our show. I don't know.
BE: I know it didn't set any box office records, but were you happy with the "Ladies Man" movie?
TM: Uh, it did set box office records… (starts to laugh) …for Most Mediocre Box Office. Um, was I happy with it? Yeah, you know, there were things about it that I wish I could've changed, that were sort of out of my hands, even though I asked for it. But I asked for some things to be cut or changed or re-edited, but it was my first movie, so I didn't have the power to say, "Get it done." But all in all, yeah, I was happy with it. Like I said, it did okay at the box office or whatever, but I can honestly say that there's not a day that goes by where somebody doesn't come up and tell me how much they love that movie or love that character. I mean, every day. It happens every day.
BE: And, lastly, when Eddie Murphy first started on "SNL," he did a sketch about how he was replacing Garrett Morris as the show's resident "black guy." Did you ever feel that you were perceived that way? I mean, I know that when you actually started, you were on the show with Chris Rock, so you weren't the only black cast member at the time, but…
TM: No. I mean, you know, I was aware that other people perceived it that way, but I didn't. I didn't see myself as the black guy who was replacing Eddie or Chris or anybody else. I just was…when I got there, I was in awe. I couldn't even believe I was working on the show. And, so, I realized that part of being African-American is that I'm gonna represent things that affect my life or things that I find funny. But in addition to that, I'm also going to try to do things that have nothing to do with being black or a black character, and I'm going to try to write sketches that are just conceptual or just funny to me. And, y'know, I always felt that I was more than just a black comic actor. I mean, my first year there, I was a writer and performer, and I wrote sketches that I didn't appear in that had nothing to do with being African-American. They were just sketches that were funny and stood on their own.
BE: Thanks a lot.
TM: Sure.


text:
The Top 100 Clubs entry form is available online, and you have a limited time to submit your club for consideration for this annual list of the top revenue-producing fitness facilities in the industry. The deadline is April 30. Go to www.clubindustry.com/awardsrankings to complete the form online.
This list is used not only by people in the industry to judge the health of their clubs but also by potential investors in the industry. We ask that only club owners, CEOs, CFOs or another designated executive-level person from each company complete the form. We will include the list in our July 2010 issue along with an analysis of the top players.
Don't be left out.


text:
About Martin Jacobson
Martin Jacobson deconstructs the conventions of landscape painting by appropriating clichéd motifs of the genre, such as sunsets, moonlight, roads, mountains, water, and sky. "I look for archetypal motifs and themes … that somehow reflect collective dreams … images with a potential to describe the fundamental conditions of our existence," he says. He derives his images from sources as varied as postcards of art historical images, newspapers, and books from primarily the late 19th century, a period he calls "modernism's childhood." Jacobson paints using unnaturally bright colors that distance his works from historically similar paintings that attempt to accurately represent nature.
Born 1978, Stockholm, Sweden.
Lives and works in Stockholm, Sweden.
Martin Jacobson is represented by Andréhn-Schiptjenko.


text:
Texas Graduate's Microphone Turned Off When Talking Religion During Commencement Speech
A North Texas school district has apologized to a high-school valedictorian whose microphone was switched off during a graduation ceremony when he deviated from prepared remarks.
Joshua School District Superintendent Fran Marek apologized to Remington Reimer after meeting with him and his attorney Thursday. In a statement, Marek says she wishes Reimer "success for all future endeavors."
Reimer's microphone was switched off during the June 6 ceremony after he deviated from prepared remarks and began talking about his religious beliefs.
He also alleged that his principal threatened to contact the U.S. Naval Academy, where Reimer has been accepted, to complain about his bad character. But Marek said "the district has never intended to, nor will take, punitive action."
Reimer says he's thankful and knew the school district would support him.
Associated Press


text:
The thriller writing community is a pretty helpful bunch. We blurb each other, trade advice, volunteer our time, buy each other drinks, and often pimp each other when new projects come out.
If you're looking for some stuff to read, I highly recommend the following:
PALE IMMORTAL by Anne Frasier. Anne writers damn good thrillers. Here's a video to give you an idea of what the book is about.
THEY by David Morrell. It's an Amazon short, and it may be the best 49 cents you'll spend this year.
PRESSURE by Jeff Strand. This is the scariest book of the summer. It will freak you out, guaranteed.
THE DEVIL'S PITCHFORK by Mark Terry. A great technothriller. It combines the deadly science of Robin Cook and the machismo of Tom Clancy.
DON'T BE AFRAID by Rebecca Drake. A terrific debut by a terrific new author. Fans of Anne Frasier will enjoy this book as well, and you should all be fans of Frasier.
CONFESSIONS OF SUPER MOM by Melanie Lynne Hauser. Too cheap to buy hardcover? This delightful debut is now available in trade paper. If you enjoy super heroes, chick lit, or humor, pick this up---I really enjoyed it.
THE FINAL STORM by Wayne Thomas Batson. Wonderful YA fantasy that combines Paolini with CS Lewis. My son loves these books.
THE PRESSURE OF DARKNESS by Harry Shannon. I loved this book. It's a killer mix of Lee Child heroism and James Bond villainy.
JAMES BOND IN THE 21st CENTURY by Glen Yeffeth. Speaking of Bond, here's a smart collection of essays about everyone's favorite secret agent, including one by yours truly. I analyze the value of Bond's favorite gadgets, and cram more jokes into 2000 words than humanly possible.
THE HARROWING by Alex Sokoloff. A creepy ghost story about some teens playing with forces they don't understand. You'll throw away your Ouija Board once you start reading.
SACRED COWS by Karen E. Olson. A very fun and exceedingly clever debut, now in paperback.
THE PERFECT FAKE by Barbara Parker. A terrific stand-alone mystery about forgery, with some fun thrills and a dash of romance.
JAMAICA ME DEAD by Bob Morris. Big laughs for the small budget. Morris is funny, and so are his books. This is his second, now in paperback. If you like Hiaasen or Dorsey or me, pick this up.
STILL RIVER by Harry Hunsicker and KILLER SWELL by Jeff Shelby. These two tied for best mystery debut of 2005. Both are now available in paperback. Pick them up, then pick up their new hardcovers NEXT TIME YOU DIE and WICKED BREAK. Good stuff.
If you don't read James O. Born, well, you should. Start with WALKING MONEY.
Plus, Tess Gerritsen has a new one, THE MEPHISTO CLUB, but I haven't read it yet because it isn't available until next week. How much do I want to read this? On my 500 bookstore tour, I begged no less than 300 booksellers for an Advance Reading copy. No one would give me one. I even offered several of them cash. Guess I'll have to wait until the 12th of this month.
And finally, if you're looking to become a romance writer, and like your romances spicy, pick up THE COMPLETE IDIOT'S GUIDE TO WRITING EROTIC ROMANCE by Alison Kent. Is it good? Let's just say that Alison has a staggering four titles currently available for pre-order on Amazon. Four titles coming out in the next five months! Eat your heart out, Nora Roberts.
I'm curious to get some of your recommendations. Who should I be reading?
Tuesday, September 05, 2006
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)


text:
10 Secrets of Highly Productive People
To some, it's a mystery why many people are driven to action, while some people have a difficult time getting things done. Research indicates that genetics might play a role in motivation (specifically for exercise); however, there are secrets that productive people know that keep them in the fast lane. Keep in mind, these methods can be adopted by just about anyone.
If you want to get more done, without jeopardizing your health or well being, get to know the secrets of productive people that we've outline for you today.
1. Productive People Establish Routines
A routine is a daily recipe or roadmap — a guide to follow every day the same way. Productive people, who are juggling work, school, children, a household or other obligations, follow a daily routine. A daily routine is essential for becoming efficient and productive.
Productive people first establish a routine for the simple things, such as brushing their teeth and making their beds; then they make routines for more complicated activities, such as making a to-do list each morning for work or school that outlines each day's obligations.
Why it Works
When you establish a consistent schedule, you're less likely to encounter the unexpected. Unexpected activities are the things that slow you down. For example, imagine you can't find your keys in the morning. If you have a routine of placing your keys in the same place every evening, you'll know where to find them every time. The action becomes automatic.
2. Productive People Use Emotional Intelligence
Emotional intelligence (EI) is a type of social intelligence that involves the ability to monitor one's own and others' emotions, to discriminate among them, and to use the information to guide one's thinking and actions (Salovey & Mayer, 1990).
Some researchers believe that Emotional Intelligence is innate, while others believe it can be developed. To improve EI, take note of others' body language, voice patterns and other verbal and non-verbal cues as to their state of mind and feelings.
Why it Works
People who use Emotional Intelligence information make better decisions based on emotional information from themselves and others. Emotional Intelligence can be used to prioritize life tasks, problem solve, and to lead and communicate effectively.
Comprehending and recognizing your own emotions can motivate you to work toward the accomplishment of your goals. Understanding the emotions of others helps you empathize and prioritize by taking into consideration emotional cues. For example, when making decisions regarding tasks that are important to complete at work, considering management's feelings can guide you in the right direction.
3. Productive People Read Books
In the modern days of on-demand television, online books, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube, reading books might appear old-fashioned and passé. However, highly productive people never stop learning, and they make time to read books — regularly for leisure and for learning. Books provide a new perspective and allow individuals to escape.
Why it Works
There are several productivity benefits of reading books. Reading provides stress relief, improves vocabulary, improves sleep, keeps your mind sharp and improves focus.
Making reading a nighttime ritual can set you up for a good night's sleep, which increases productivity. However, make sure that your reading material is made from paper because lights from electronic devices actually inhibit sleep. Light exposure before sleeping suppresses the hormone melatonin, which promotes sleep.
4. Productive People Listen to the Beat of Their Own Drum
Everybody is different. Some people are morning people. Others are not. Some like to work in spurts, while others keep a steady pace throughout the day. Some like to work in a quiet room, while others thrive in a busy coffee shop.
What's important is knowing what works for you. Keeping a diary of productive times and places helps you harness the power of your own rhythm and personal style.
Why it Works
Self-awareness is the ability to have an understanding of your personality – and in this context, your work style. Becoming aware of what works and doesn't work empowers you to alter behavior to set yourself up for success.
5. Productive People Work With Passion
Productive people wake up each day with a passion for their life and work. Their day gives them meaning and purpose and they cherish every moment of it. They're motivated by their goals and the tasks they're taking to accomplish them. Passion doesn't come naturally; productive people go out and search for it.
Steve Jobs once said,
"Being the richest man in the cemetery doesn't matter to me. Going to bed at night saying we've done something wonderful, that's what matters to me."
This doesn't mean that you should immediately quit your job to pursue your passion of becoming a golf pro or polo player. It's important to love what you do — not necessarily to do what you love. Focus on what is meaningful about your work and you'll feel satisfaction from it.
Why it Works
Those who feel truly successful are proud of the work that they've accomplished. There's always something to feel good about at work — appreciate your achievements. Being delighted about your accomplishments motivates and encourages you to keep going.
6. Productive People Don't Let Others Tell Them What They Can't Do
Limitations are something that unproductive people know well. Self-imposed and external limitations squash productivity. Productive people don't let others hold them back from the greatness that they can achieve. They see their goal and keep going no matter what others might say.
Don't let the naysayers impose limits on you. Distance yourself and keep your eye on the prize.
Why it Works
It goes without saying that focusing on the positive, rather than the negative fosters success and productivity. Those who focus on the goal and are passionate about it are likely to achieve it.
7. Productive People Practice Self-Restraint
Self-restraint is one of the most difficult practices to achieve, and learning self-control is challenging for many. Productive people know that limiting temptations, such as time wasting activities, can lead to enhanced productivity.
It's important to recognize when self-restraint is an issue. Keep a diary of wasted time. There are practices that can help you learn self-control. Software and apps can block and limit distractions. Practicing yoga and meditation increases self-awareness and control. Eventually, self-control becomes automatic or a habit and it comes naturally.
Why it Works
Reducing time-wasters, such as television, video games, unhealthy snack breaks, etc. shifts attention to the important tasks at hand. When self-control is no longer an issue, focus becomes easier and time becomes free to do the things you really want to do — without guilt.
8. Productive People Experience Life
People who are productive get out of their comfort zone and experience all life has to offer. They crave new experiences, travel, pursue education and socialize often. Every new life experience is an opportunity to learn something new. Powerful, exciting and new life experiences provide important memories that people reflect upon for years.
Why it Works
It's simple. Interesting life experiences foster joy, learning and contentment. Happier people work harder and are more productive. Productive people make better decisions based on past life experiences — whether those experiences are good or bad.
9. Productive People Say "No"
One of the most important skills to learn is to say, "no." Management consultant, educator and author, Peter Drucker, once said,
"Efficiency is doing the thing right. Effectiveness is doing the right thing."
Productive people know when requests don't align to their personal goals or professional goals. They understand how to prioritize and which tasks and activities to focus on. They know what can be deferred or ignored. They know when it's the right decision to say "no."
Why it Works
When time is limited and demands are insurmountable, prioritization becomes more important than ever. Saying yes to everything wastes time, sacrifices quality of work and can be overwhelming. Learning to say no to meetings, invitations and projects that don't move the needle is hard to do, but advances productive people to meet their most important demands.
10. Productive People Schedule and Record Everything
Do you get anxiety about forgetting your daily obligations? Many of us do. Holding too many items in our heads creates excessive stress and anxiety.
According to studies, most people are only able to remember three to four things in the mind at once. If you're the average person and not a master of memory, use a paper calendar or mobile app to manage schedules and obligations.
Why it Works
Recording commitments, ideas and goals ensures that you won't miss appointments and other obligations, but also reduces the anxiety associated with forgetting those items. A reliable mobile calendar or personal organizer provides you with audible and visible reminders to keep you on track.
Your Turn
What are your secrets for success, motivation and productivity? Please comment and share!


text:
DIRECTV Takes Viewers Deep into the Underbelly of the Australian Crime World
All Three Seasons of the Critically Acclaimed and Award-Winning Series "Underbelly" will Air Exclusively on The 101 Network - Uncut, Commercial Free and in HD � Beginning February 2010
EL SEGUNDO, Calif. -- DIRECTV's The 101� Network continues to bring viewers acclaimed programming that can't be seen anywhere else with the addition of the award-winning Australian crime-drama trilogy Underbelly. Based on true events, Underbelly is a gripping, gritty and shocking portrayal of the violent, drug-fueled Australian underworld from the 1970s through the early 2000s, with each installment portraying a specific period in the country's criminal history. The trilogy begins with: Underbelly: A Tale of Two Cities and tells the story of the Griffith drug trade in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Part two of the series is titled Underbelly: War on the Streets and focuses on the Melbourne gangland killings between 1995 and 2004. The trilogy concludes with Underbelly: The Golden Mile that documents the hotbed of criminal activity in famed Kings Cross section of Sydney in 1989.
"In addition to the hit series we have acquired domestically, we have been searching the world for the best programming to bring to our customers," said Eric Shanks, executive vice president of entertainment for DIRECTV. "We immediately became fans of Underbelly and are thrilled to add it to The 101 Network's line-up."
Underbelly won six Australian Film Institute awards including Best Drama Series, Best Director, Best Lead Actress and Best Lead Actor as well as two Australian Writers Guild Awards and three Silver Logie Awards.
The Underbelly trilogy begins on The 101 Network with Underbelly: A Tale of Two Cities, February 10 at 10 p.m. (directly following the season four finale of Friday Night Lights). Loosely based on the events that stemmed from the evolution of the drug trade in Griffin, New South Wales and spanning almost two decades, the season focuses on the Mr. Asia drug syndicate and the two men who changed the face of organized crime in Australia. Among the characters presented are real-life criminals Robert Trimbole, Terry Clark, George Freeman, Christopher Dale Flannery and the Kane Brothers. In addition to earning critical acclaim, Underbelly: A Tale of Two Cities premiered on The Nine Network in Australia to the largest audience ever for a non-sporting program.
A compelling dramatization of the blockbuster book "Leadbelly" by The Age journalists Jon Silvester and Andrew Rule, Underbelly: War on the Streets tells the story of the infamous Melbourne gangland killings between 1995 and 2004, one of the bloodiest crime wars in Western history. Police were forced to rely on unconventional tactics, highly sophisticated surveillance and fearless determination as drug wars escalated and public alarm grew. Like A Tale of Two Cities, Underbelly was a tremendous critical and ratings success in Australia.
Currently in production, the final chapter of the Underbelly series, Underbelly: The Golden Mile is a sequel to A Tale of Two Cities. Set in 1989, The Golden Mile is a story of the excess that resulted in the collapse of an empire, the chaos that followed and the ultimate victory of strong and honest police. Several of the characters from season two are expected to return for season three.
Underbelly is produced by the Australian Film Finance Corporation, in association with Film Victoria. Producers are Greg Hedrick and Brenda Pam and executive producers are Des Monaghan and Jo Horsburgh.
About DIRECTV's The 101� Network
The 101 Network, DIRECTV's exclusive entertainment channel, is a unique television experience that is available to 18.3 million DIRECTV subscribers. In 2008, the network changed the television landscape with the unprecedented third season premiere of the Emmy Award-winning series Friday Night Lights and has since become the premiere destination for diverse, quality and critically acclaimed programming. Through its partnerships with leading television and film studios, networks and top cable channels, The 101 Network offers viewers the finest in drama and comedy, with daring, innovative series, exclusive "sneak peek" programming and premium cable series un-cut in their original form. The 101 Network showcases concert specials from superstar artists and celebrated music festivals such as SXSW Live and Farm Aid, sporting events such as UFC Fighter expos�s and the annual DIRECTV Celebrity Beach Bowl; as well as feature films and TV movie specials.


text:
Nearly all of the nation's Medicaid programs are expected to implement a provision in the health care reform act this month that will pay eligible physicians an increased rate for providing certain Medicaid primary care services.
As of July 1, more than a quarter of state Medicaid fee-for-service programs -- Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Kansas, Massachusetts, Maryland, Maine, Michigan, Missouri, Montana, Pennsylvania, Vermont and Wyoming -- had implemented the temporary payment increase, according to CMS.
"Our expectation is that in the vast majority of states, the money will start flowing this month," said Matt Salo, executive director of the National Association of Medicaid Directors.
The provision, which was enacted as part of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, will bring Medicaid payment rates for certain primary care services at least in line with Medicare levels for 2013 and 2014. These services are defined as those billed using specific evaluation and management (E/M) codes as well as some codes for vaccine administration.
The provision officially took effect on Jan. 1, but a combination of factors delayed actual implementation. However, states are responsible for paying physicians retroactively to Jan. 1 if those physicians attest to their eligibility for the increased payments by a certain date, which varies by state.
Story Highlights
- Most state Medicaid programs are expected to implement a provision in the health care reform law within the next few weeks that will boost payments for eligible physicians who provide Medicaid services.
- The provision, enacted as part of the health care reform act, will bring Medicaid payment rates for certain narrowly defined primary care services at least in line with Medicare payment levels for those same services in 2013 and 2014.
- The provision is intended to enhance patient access to Medicaid services by increasing physician and provider participation in the Medicaid program.
To qualify for the higher payment rate, physicians related to the specialty categories of family medicine, general internal medicine or pediatrics are required to self-attest either that 60 percent of all Medicaid services they bill or provide in a managed care environment are for the specified E/M or vaccine administration codes or that they are board-certified in one of the primary care specialties. In most states, attestation deadlines for retroactive payment already have passed, but physicians still can attest and begin receiving the increased payment for the remainder of the two-year period, according to Michelle Greenhalgh, state government relations manager for the AAFP.
Salo, in addressing why the provision took longer than expected to implement, said, "Operationalizing this is much more complicated than anyone thought it would be." Lawmakers enacted the parity provision as a fee-for-service payment mechanism, but the vast majority of state Medicaid programs provide primary care services in a managed care environment, which creates payment challenges, according to Salo. "There is a lot of managed care in Medicaid, and trying to do a service-to-service crosswalk does not work easily," he noted.
As part of the process, states were required to submit a state plan amendment (SPA) by March 31, outlining how they planned to implement the higher payment rate -- whether they would make increased payments on a monthly or quarterly basis, for example. CMS has approved all but one of the state Medicaid plan amendments. California is the only state that CMS has not yet sanctioned for technical reasons. Alaska, meanwhile, is the only state not planning to implement the Medicaid primary care payment increase because their Medicaid payments already are at about 140 percent of Medicare, according to Greenhalgh.
AAFP Encourages Eligible Family Physicians to Attest
Family physicians who participate in Medicaid need to self-attest that they qualify for a Medicaid primary care payment increase or they will miss out on higher payments called for by the health care reform act, according to the AAFP.
During the past eight months, the Academy has sent several reminders to family physicians urging them to apply and has provided various resources about the provision itself, including a dedicated Web page that links to numerous related resources, including eligibility requirements, and a summary of the program.
Although the Medicaid primary care payment increase is set to expire at the end of 2014, the AAFP has made extension of the provision a major legislative priority.
"Payments to physicians practicing in managed care settings versus strict fee-for-service will see a greater delay in receiving the primary care bump because after the SPAs are approved by CMS, the state then has to go back to the managed care company and change the contracts to include the increased rates," said Greenhalgh. "The SPAs must delineate how the state will address rate changes within its Medicaid managed care plan. This process can take a while, so as a result, physicians practicing in these settings will see an even longer delay in the pay increase."
The payment provision is intended to enhance patient access to Medicaid services by increasing physician and provider participation in the Medicaid program, but the measure itself expires after two years, raising questions as to whether the provision will have the intended effect, Salo said.
Lonnie Robinson, M.D., a family physician who practices in a five-member physician practice in north central Arkansas, received a 30 percent payment increase in his Medicaid payment check two weeks ago as a result of the parity provision.
Robinson takes care of 3,500 patients, 1,500 of whom are Medicaid patients. He describes the primary care payment as a "good first step" in addressing historically low Medicaid payment rates, but he also describes the parity provision as a short-term measure. "The needs of my Medicaid patients are not going to go away (after 2014)," he said. "With Medicaid, we receive less money for taking care of a patient population that has the same or even greater health care needs as the general population."
Robinson's practice continues to accept new Medicaid patients from Arkansas, but it stopped taking new Medicaid patients from nearby Missouri about five years ago. The temporary payment provision is not likely to change that policy, Robinson said. "If the increase lasted longer than two years, we would consider changing that policy."
Nevertheless, Robinson said he is pleased with the bump in the Medicaid payment rate.
This page will be removed from your Favorites Links. Are you sure?


text:
Saturday, July 25, 2009
General Post Office, Ho Chi Minh
8 comments:
- ~ 仪仪妈咪 ~ said...
hai,actually i follow ur blog for quite a long time just never leave any comment! haha, nice to meet you, actually we plan to go to Ho Chi Minh on Oct, hope that you can share ur experience during your journey there, thanks a lot ^_^
- July 25, 2009 at 12:44 PM
- Colin Woon said...
A post office?! Wow! That's a very nice post office. The architectural details are amazing for a post office, very impressive.
I'm guessing you have walk quite a bit in HCM. Were your legs sore after the trip?
- July 25, 2009 at 1:42 PM
- ~Rachel~ said...
This post office is nice and big. Do you purchase any post card to post in there? :)
- July 25, 2009 at 11:42 PM
- Bakeling said...
I love this post ! Sonia .
I especially love the design of the roof and the windows !
- July 26, 2009 at 1:09 AM
- 米亚 said...
Wow...! Doesnt look like a post office at all!!!
- July 26, 2009 at 4:02 PM
- Horlic said...
Unique Post Office!
- July 26, 2009 at 6:39 PM
- Cindy Khor said...
lovely architecture, i always like buildings with high ceilings and symmetrical patterned walls and bold colours does for me too.
- July 26, 2009 at 9:14 PM
- Sonia said...
仪仪妈咪, nice to meet you too, your daughter is very cute, I will add your blog in my blog list and explore it later. I will post more HCM places and foods soon. Then when you in HCM, you just follow the places and foods that I published, I supposed you will be enjoy there.
Colin, frankly speaking, I can't feel my both legs after the long walk, lost " feeling", hahahaha...
Rachel, I did, I post it back for my 3kids. This is what I always did when I travel with my husband without kids. I remembered when I was in Eiffel Tower Paris, I went up there and purchase post card and post it back for my kids, that was a cooler thing I did when I travelling.
Bakeling, Mia, Horlic and Cindy, this is a very unique post office, nice architecture...very French style..
- July 27, 2009 at 9:20 AM