text:
"the boot is now firmly on the other foot"
Do Intel have a CPU+GPU on a single slab of silicon?
AMD's first 'Fusion' processor isn't due until mid-2009, but specs are leaking out. Given how AMD has touted its 'native' multi-core designs, AMD's next-gen part isn't as integrated as you'd expect The chip, codenamed 'Swift', brings together CPU and GPU. However, according to Taiwanese mobo-maker moles, cited by Chinese- …
But where are the main stream 64 bit apps? That's been how many years of 64bit computing potential and we are still stuck in a rut with main stream 32bit OS and apps.
multicore 64bit CPUs and now soon APUs totally crippled on a 32 bit OS running 32 bits apps, is it just me or can anyone else see how pathetic this is?
Some lazy sods somewhere needs to get their fingers out and get this sorted.
"What should we read into that, we wonder? " ....:-) The Head Cases have Virtually taken over the Asylum would be one Prime Valid Reading, which would Really also need ACcompanying Drivers for Embedded and Embedding Consolidation ....... thus Assuring Market Lead which then Delivers Naturally Increased Market Share and PreDominant and Pre-Eminent Position.
So, it will have a separate bus for graphics memory, and then separate DIMM slots required on the mobo for graphics memory? As well as the slots and bus(ses?) for ordinary CPU memory? If it's going to be shared memory like a lot of current integrated graphics it will stink and sink unless it is just aimed at the budget market. Sounds like fun making that faster than a graphics card with its own local memory, but I suppose they could still pull it off. And hopefully the mobos to go with it will have room to spare for all the extra DIMM slots for a non-shared memory solution.
But I do like the idea of having the two separate dies in one ceramic as it will make it a lot easier to evolve the designs in parallel, which means an upgrade to the graphics chip can be made without affecting the CPU core and vcie versa, the change is simply made at the ceramic packaging point. Of course, making a Crossfire version just means putting another GPU core in the same ceramic package..... Hey, how about a dual-core and two GPU cores in one package..... or a quad and four.... Oh, now I like it!
Targeted at laptops and the like, this could be a killer. It will save the OEMS a lot of cash and should be quite power efficent too. I can imagine the GPU core using system memory, but sat next to the CPU there shouldnt be too much latency involved.
This certainly wont make any headway with the enthusiast crowd tho, who love their add-in graphics too much ;)
nerdism: Taking A=1,B=2,C=3......G=7, then C+G=10 (which is J).
Therefore JPU, or Joint Processing Unit.
Surely that would be the best possible name. Not only satisfying our requirements around calling something what it is, but also making some spuriously slightly logical sense.
I'll get my coat
AMDI MVNGwy from shared memory for graphics. The current 780G and 780M chipsets have dedicated VRAM onboard. There will be no "slots" for the VRAM, it will be attached directly to the PCB just like with Sideport VRAM with the 780G/780M MBs now.
This setup alos allows for better cooling since most of the heat is being generated in one area and thus be vented out more efficiently. Current laptop desings rely one elaborate heatpipe designs to get the heat out. Imagine if you had just a single simple fan and heatsink ported out the back? Makes for FAR MORE efficient cooling.
Wrt 64 bit apps... 64 bit XP, 2003 and I think Vista all exist. Linux was 64 bit from almost the moment the Opteron was released. 64 bit UNIXes have been around for at least 20 years (OSF/1). IBM DB2 and Oracle are 64 bit for many years. It's not a short list.
Of course 32 bit XP still dominates on the desktop but that's probably got more to do with that it's so hard to find a copy of 64 bit XP to pirate ;-)
"a new bus codenamed 'Onion'. The GPU's link to the on-board memory controller is called 'Garlic', apparently."
hmm would you want to take a byte of that, perhaps you might consider a nibble, but perhaps you can only manage a bit.
that 128 bus doesnt sound to good for the long term or even the short does it!
Article states:
"Swift's 'Kong' graphics core is separate die built into the CPU package."
"Does this matter? From a technology standpoint, not much, and from a business perspective it's a smart move."
People did not care that some generations of Intel multi-cores were multiple pieces of silicon glued together into the same carrier... AMD took a beating over trying to architect it right!
Well, it appears AMD has taken a play from Intel's playbook - design unique junk and it will be bought because it is cheaper.
It is too bad that people care more about cost than rewarding good engineering - but that is the world we live in.
Perhaps the next generation will be a real system on one chip.
An Anonymous Coward said:
"But where are the main stream 64 bit apps? That's been how many years of 64bit computing potential and we are still stuck in a rut with main stream 32bit OS and apps."
"multicore 64bit CPUs and now soon APUs totally crippled on a 32 bit OS running 32 bits apps, is it just me or can anyone else see how pathetic this is?"
Hope you didn't missed the boat - 32 bit users have been transitioning to 64 bit in the Open arena ( http://www.sparc.com/ ) for almost 20 years now. 64 bit users have been in 8 core open source CPU's ( http://www.opensparc.net/ ) for years now. People have used 32 bit and 64 bit applications on a 64 bit OS ( http://www.solaris.com/ ) for 10 years now.
When you run a 64 bit operating system like Solaris (for commercial support), or OpenSolaris (to compile and tweek the source code yourself) - it will run all of your old 32 bit code (transparently) and give you the option of running 64 bit code (when you run into a jam!)
Heck, you can even run various OS's in virtualized containers ( http://opensolaris.org/os/community/brandz/ ) with virtually no overhead and no licensing costs of virtual machines.
Yes, Solaris and OpenSolaris will run on your AMD x64 or Intel x64 platforms - and even on your 32 bit proprietary platforms.
While the rest of the market is struggling to get a foothold in the 64 bit world, the Open System market is moving to 256 bit capability ( http://opensolaris.org/os/community/zfs/ ) with ZFS.
It has been time to move on from old 32 but technology for a decade, it is now time to move up to 64 bit & 256 bit computing capabilities on over a dozen cores ( http://www.itjungle.com/tug/tug041708-story01.html ) with many dozens of threads.
No, what matters to business (and probably to most home users) is that the job gets done at the lowest cost, with the least hassle. How it is engineered is irrellevant, as long as it does the job. This is how x86 stole into the server market in the first place, by doing a reasonable job a lot cheaper than proprietary UNIX offerings such as Solaris on SPARC. Over-engineering for the sake of cleverness rarley pays off, unless it gives you a market advantage. In this case, comparing Intel and AMD's approach, it looks like the smarter engineering decision to do the two-in-one rather than both-as-one option, as it will probably get AMD's solution to market first with a clear advantage. Introducing Solaris and SPARC into the conversation is just whimsical - since when has anyone shown any interest in a Niagara-based or SPARC-based laptop? And as for Sun's graphical ability, that was surpassed by the average Xeon workstation years ago.
And as to your waffle about Slowaris and "real operating systems", the challenge there would be to find anything that runs on any version of Solaris that doesn't run better, faster and cheaper on Linux, let alone Windows, and probably the Linux version will have been around a lot longer, have a far superior community support, and viable commercial support options too if you so wish. And as for desktop apps for Slowaris x86? Please, don't make me laugh!
Let's be real here and recognise that Windows vastly dominates the desktop, so let's push the Penguin into the water for a start (yes, yes, it's wonderful, better than Windows, OS X, and whatnot)...
The main issue with 64bit Windows is the lack of support by software and more importantly hardware manufacturers. Drivers really are the big problem.
Another important point is that 64bit doesn't automatically mean faster & better. It's just a wider address and register space. For computational purposes, 32bits is just fine for most things the majority do with a PC. In terms of memory, few need more than a couple of gig at present anyway (and remembering most software is bloatware consuming far more than required). In graphics it's another matter but then we have GPUs with more "bits" than CPUs anyway for this.
Just simply compiling your favourite app in 64 bits and running it on a 64 bit processor isn't going to make it any better or faster though generally. Not to mention that many of the current 64 bit processors are optimised for 32 bit performance.
Should also be noted that it took the DOS/Windows world quite a long time to move up to 32bit. Whilst NT was the first of Microsoft's 32bit line, the majority sat on DOS and Win 3.1 for years (with some hybrid 32bit layering available later on), before finally the masses adopted 32bit Windows 95 (and even then it was still essentially a hybrid 16/32 OS). True 32bit from the core adoption by the masses in Windows didn't happen until XP!
Matt Bryant asks, "since when has anyone shown any interest in a Niagara-based or SPARC-based laptop?"
Since the release of the first 64 bit 8 core CPU from SUN, back in 2006. Many would love to see a T1 or T2 based laptop, it would be another "first" for the computer industry (i.e. the first 8 core laptop.) The following page illustrates why:
SUN has been about stateless Thin Clients for almost a decade. In a similar fashion, SUN was about disk-less workstations in their first decade.
WiFi Ultra-Thin Client laptops on the market from various partners which work with SUN systems based upon proprietary AMD & Intel or various Open Source SPARC systems.
All those 32 bit and 64 bit software applications that people wanted to run were possible through this architecture... and that was the target of my original comment. SUN has been where people wanted to be for 64 bit applications on 64 bit operating systems on 64 bit architecture.
Matt Bryant asks, "And as for Sun's graphical ability, that was surpassed by the average Xeon workstation years ago."
I am not sure what your point is, since SUN sells high-performing proprietary AMD and proprietary Intel workstations with Linux, Solaris, and Windows support.
SUN seems to have a pretty robust line of graphic cards for quite some time, as well.
I guess Matt is trying to say that SUN has passed SUN eons ago.
Matt says, "as to your waffle about Slowaris and 'real operating systems', the challenge there would be to find anything that runs on any version of Solaris that doesn't run better, faster and cheaper on Linux"
This has not been the case since January 2005.
Solaris is free, linux is free, so Linux being cheaper (in price) is incorrect. Solaris support seems to be less expensive than various Linux support vendors, however.
As far as "better": if you are looking for visibility into running processes, Solaris 10 has DTrace, which is superior to Linux; if you are looking for large filesystems, ZFS under Solaris 10 is far superior to file systems offered under Linux (unless you like to sit around for days, waiting to make use of a 48 terabyte file system under Linux instead of minutes under Solaris... but that might qualify as faster & better.)
It seems Solaris is just as fast as Linux, in regular benchmarking, done by trade journals.
"Solaris 10 is as fast as its Linux competition... The numbers posted by Solaris 10 and RedHat Enterprise Linux AS 4.0 in our series of Web transactional tests, in which both were running Apache 2.0.3 on the same Polywell 64-bit server,were very close across the board. We did find that Solaris had a small performance advantage when tested on Sun's own V20z box."
The performance benefits since Solaris 10 have found their way into legacy SPARC platforms, as well.
"Many of the major features built into Solaris 10... Key improvements include faster networking technology that Sun has built into the TCP/IP stack. Fike said the networking enhancements have "dramatically improved" the performance of network-intensive applications that run on Solaris-based systems at FedEx."
Seems for other real world applications, Solaris is superior.
VoIP - http://www.thrallingpenguin.com/articles/asterisk-solaris.htm
"By employing your converged voice/data on the Solaris 10 operating system, you are able to increase the number of concurrent calls on equivalent hardware."
Linux shops have been enjoying the performance enhancements of Solaris, as well.
"The Real Time Matrix Corp. faced something of a dilemma. As a small company with 15 employees and contractors, Real Time Matrix was a die-hard Linux shop. But the company's computing processing needs quickly surpassed its size."
"On a 64-bit AMD processor and Fedora, we could process approximately 200 matches per second of RSS," Whitehead said. "With Solaris 10 on the T1000, this match rate jumped to 10,000 per second."
If it is a small single core embedded system, Linux may outperform Solaris, but Solaris on the same modern day hardware will usually be faster than Linux. The throughput performance gap widens in favor of Solaris significantly when multi-core CPU's are benchmarked.
This comparison, is silly, however, since SUN is a Solaris and Linux vendor.
Matt suggests, "and probably the Linux version will have been around a lot longer, have a far superior community support, and viable commercial support options too if you so wish. And as for desktop apps for Slowaris x86?"
SUN has been selling Solaris based systems for 20 years, Linux applications did not really exist back then, so longer seems to be a silly comparison.
I guess Linux users really have GNOME, which is shipped on Solaris desktops as well as Linux desktops.
Are you suggesting that SUN's OpenOffice desktop application Solaris is not as good as Linux? (That would be rather silly!)
Is the community support for SUN's MySQL is superior under Linux because MySQL is different under Linux than Solaris?
(Commercial vendor support from SUN is offered to both Solaris & Linux communities, by the way.)
Perhaps, if you could discuss what is slower under Solaris than Linux, that would be a good starting point. I could not find any meaningful benchmarks to support your assertion.
The reality of the situation is... SUN sells Linux as well as Solaris on the desktop, so suggesting that one of SUN's desktops is better than another of SUN's desktops is not very significant.
TimM says, "Let's be real here and recognise that Windows vastly dominates the desktop... The main issue with 64bit Windows is the lack of support by software and more importantly hardware manufacturers. Drivers really are the big problem."
Let's be real here and recognize that Windows does not dominate the 64 bit market.
You want 64 bit applications on a 64 bit operating system with 64 bit driver support.
Pick the operating system and platform to support your application requirement.
If your application does not support a real operating system, you picked the wrong application.
I have been using 64 bit operating systems for years and using 64 bit applications when we hit 32 bit memory boundaries (3.75 Gig under Solaris, 2 Gig under other operating systems.)
It is all about architecture.


text:
- Font:
- +
- -
This is the time of year when, optimism firmly in hand, we anticipate all the great things that await us.
Not gonna happen, at least when it comes to scientific and medical progress. I arrive bearing bad news about the coming year. Plenty of it.
So, ye be warned! My predictions for 2008:
Biggest disappointment
One of the most exciting breakthroughs to occur last year was the simultaneous discovery of how to make a type of skin cell behave as if it were an embryonic stem cell. Teams in Japan and Wisconsin announced that they had induced pluripotency in skin fibroblasts, meaning the cells had the power to turn into virtually any kind of human tissue. Most of those in the United States involved in the national hair pull over the morality of using human embryos as a source of stem cells for medical research heaved a huge sigh of exhausted relief.
Who on either side could stand one more round of overly heated debate? Inducing pluripotency to turn skin cells in embryo-like cells is a compromise we can all support, right?
Well, kind of. While plenty of research will get done on this new source of stem cells in 2008 and beyond, it will quickly become evident that the techniques used to switch on the genes in adult skin cells are fraught with problems that make transplanting induced pluripotent cells into the human body a highly dangerous and highly unlikely thing to try. As a result, we'll be back to human embryos and cloned human embryos as the most promising sources of transplantable cells. It will be back to the new president and the new Congress to figure out whether they are going to spend money in this area or watch as the rest of the scientific world passes by the USA.
Easiest to predict disappointment
It is obvious that the American health care system is broke. It costs too much and for too many yet too often delivers poor quality of care. As the presidential campaign moves along, many are looking forward to an intelligent debate about how finally to fix it. Uh, not so fast.
The American health care system has been broken for the past three decades and nothing radical has been done to fix it yet. Moreover, the nation is running a huge debt from its overseas wars and profligate loan and credit habits. This is not a formula for fixing anything about health care anytime soon.
But we can look for the still worthwhile effort to ensure that all children under 18 have decent health insurance. That is about it for health reform for quite awhile. Even that is no sure thing .
Biggest continuing frustration
In a recent column I noted with some sadness that the latest trial of an HIV vaccine by Merck had to be stopped prematurely due to a higher rate of deaths in the placebo arm of the study. I did not get this right. Instead there was a higher rate of HIV infection among those who got vaccinated than in the placebo group. Analysis of what actually happened is expected in 2008. It is still not likely to be good news.
Biggest unjustified freak-out
For many years now, teams of scientists have been getting closer and closer to creating a life form that has never existed on earth. 2008 is the year they succeed in creating synthetic life.
Scientists are attempting to manufacture synthetic life in order to create truly programmable microorganisms that could do things like eat oil slicks or the fatty deposits in our arteries, synthesize hydrogen for fuel or even pull carbon dioxide out of the air to stop global warming.
The creation of a synthetic virus — built from a novel set of genes — that does what other viruses can do, in terms of infecting bacteria and propagating, is going to happen. A number of labs are close to pulling this off, including: the Massachusetts Institute of Technology; the State University of New York, Stony Brook; J. Craig Venter Institute, Rockville, Md.; ProtoLife, Venice, Italy, and the Foundation for Applied Molecular Evolution, Gainesville, Fla.
The anticipated announcement that we have unlocked the formula to life itself will trigger some pretty nutty responses from those least in a position to understand what was done.
Don't miss these Health stories
More women opting for preventive mastectomy - but should they be?
Rates of women who are opting for preventive mastectomies, such as Angeline Jolie, have increased by an estimated 50 percent in recent years, experts say. But many doctors are puzzled because the operation doesn't carry a 100 percent guarantee, it's major surgery -- and women have other options, from a once-a-day pill to careful monitoring.
- Larry Page's damaged vocal cords: Treatment comes with trade-offs
- Report questioning salt guidelines riles heart experts
- CDC: 2012 was deadliest year for West Nile in US
- What stresses moms most? Themselves, survey says
- More women opting for preventive mastectomy - but should they be?
Ignore the hyperventilating commentary. Synthetic life in viral form is a huge achievement because it is the creation of a living thing for the first time by human hands. But it's not one that necessitates any revision of humanity's overall standing in the cosmos.
Biggest real reason for freaking out
Anyone remember pandemic flu? This is the nasty strain of flu that is carried by birds, but once in awhile jumps to other species, including us. For awhile the U.S. media and government were all aflutter over the possibility of an avian flu pandemic as a small number of human deaths were reported in Asia, and as confirmed cases in birds spread worldwide. But nothing happened. No plague. Everyone lost interest. Time to get interested again.
The virus that causes avian flu is still around , killing birds and an occasional person. It continues to mutate. Scientists tracking the virus have seen subtle changes that make it very likely that this year we are going to get a strain that not only goes from birds to birds and birds to people, but also from people to people . That is when we get the real chance of a pandemic.
The evolution of the virus says it is getting close to getting ready to do us a lot of harm. Last year a bird flu vaccine was approved for human use. How effective it will be or how much of it will be available is not clear. In 2008 the nations of the world better get ready to deal with this time bomb that has not stopped ticking.
Arthur Caplan, Ph.D., is director of the Center for Bioethics at the University of Pennsylvania.
© 2013 msnbc.com. Reprints

subset: commoncrawl


text:
This question already has an answer here:
How do I add labels to incoming emails that I am sending to myself. I saw somewhere that it is possible to send emails to myself using specially formatted email addresses that are containing the labels in the email address, but never managed to make it work.
Is it possible this at all? if yes, how?


text:
If your worst nightmare involves a fishing trip in which you lose a finger to a gator that gets you in a death roll after latching onto leg for 40-some minutes, catch up with 28-year-old Australian mine worker Todd Bairstow sometime. He can tell you how it really feels.
Both his legs were broken in the death rolls and he was up to his neck in water when a hero rescuer heard his screams.
The local man jumped in to the water in a selfless act of courage to save Todd's life, his family exclusively told The Courier Mail in an interview.
"You can't imagine a more terrifying experience,'' said his father.
Yeah, extensive lower limb lacerations, cuts to his hands, a broken leg and dislocated joints all suck.
Bairstow, an avid fisherman, pig hunter and outdoorsman, told friends on Facebook how he was "living the dream'' in the wilderness of Cape York where big crocodiles are a familiar sight in creeks and waterways.
"Off to mow down some pigs after shift,'' he noted in his latest Facebook entry.
Fisherman survives croc attack at Weipa [Cairns]
Weipa fisherman Todd Bairstow lucky to be alive after battling with 4m crocodile for 40 minutes before help arrived [Courier Mail] (H/T Tomuban)


text:
Traditional Royal Spa Methods
Whatever your body and mind requires, the Taman Sari Royal Heritage Spa has something wonderful in store.
Taman Sari Royal Heritage Spa provides treatment based on the use of sophisticated, traditional Royal methods in combination with selected organic ingredients. You may surrender yourself to the gentle, experienced hands of our staff. We have enhanced the splendor of Javanese architecture in Taman Sari Royal Heritage Spa where you can enjoy the soothing sounds of traditional music.
Manual treatments combined with high tech SPA equipment depict the slogan "East meet West" of the Taman Sari Royal Heritage Spa. You may attempt the challenge of an invigorating Body Treatment including Oriental Massage, Javanese Massage, Royal Massage, Reflexology or many more such as Spa Esthetic Packages including Facial Treatment and Body Scrub.
For rates and more spa information please the Taman Sari Spa website.
Facilities and treatments will include…
- 5 treatment rooms
- 1 exclusive treatment room for a couple with hydrotherapy tub in-suite
- Foot spa facility
- Sauna room
Get More Spa Package Info or Book Online
Check out our Whistler Spa Packages or
Book Your Whistler Hotel Accommodation online.


text:
Doctors usually diagnose
plantar fasciitis based on a medical history and a
physical exam. Your doctor will check your feet for problems that affect how
your feet work (biomechanical factors), such as a high arch, flat feet,
abnormal gait, or tight
Achilles tendon or calf muscles. Your doctor will also
look for excessive tenderness and examine joint motion and looseness, muscle
and tendon function, nerve function, and blood circulation.
Your doctor will do a physical exam
to evaluate heel pain.
Findings of a physical exam may include the
In a normal exam there is no pain, tenderness, or
swelling in the heel area. Structure, function, and biomechanics are normal as
Abnormal findings that may point to plantar fasciitis
include the following:
Your doctor usually will start
nonsurgical treatment without further testing. X-rays and lab tests usually are
not needed if the medical history and physical exam point to plantar
fasciitis and your doctor does not suspect other problems.
Complete the medical test information form (PDF)(What is a PDF document?) to help you prepare for this test.
Last Revised:
July 13, 2011
Healthwise Staff
Medical Review:
William H. Blahd, Jr., MD, FACEP - Emergency Medicine & Barry L. Scurran, DPM - Podiatry and Podiatric Surgery
This information does not replace the advice of a doctor. Healthwise, Incorporated disclaims any warranty or liability for your use of this information. Your use of this information means that you agree to the Terms of Use. How this information was developed to help you make better health decisions.
To learn more visit Healthwise.org
© 1995-2012 Healthwise, Incorporated. Healthwise, Healthwise for every health decision, and the Healthwise logo are trademarks of Healthwise, Incorporated.


text:
I want to encrypt a text file in Delphi & decrypt it, line by line, in C on an embedded system which does not have much RAM (so, only one line in RAM at a time).
FOSS must be available for both Delphi & C; nothign too huge, preferably a single file for each. No messing about wth key files, the kay & salt will be hard coded into the applciatioon.
I am seeking "just good enough" "security through obscurity". Enough to deter a causual hacker. The actual embedded device will be behind a physical lock & key.
[Verdict] I will go with either TEA or AES (tbd). I will split the functionality into two parts: 1) decrypt into a plain text file, 2) parse that as an INI file and if I hit memory problems then change to a
line_1=data_1, line_2=data_2 format.
Thanks for your help.


text:
Jaime King doesn't have any movies playing in theaters.
If you feel like heading out, check out other movies in theaters.
The Pardon
Barely Lethal
Frank Miller's Sin City: A Dame to Kill For
Silent Night
Mother's Day
Waiting for Forever
True True Lie
My Bloody Valentine 3D
The Spirit
All Jaime King photos
All Jaime King films
Movies.com, the ultimate source for everything movies, is your destination for new movie trailers, reviews, photos, times, tickets + more! Stay in the know with the latest movie news and cast interviews at Movies.com.
Copyright © 2019 FANDANGO MOVIES.


text:
Abraham Lincoln and modern healthcare
Contained within Abraham Lincoln's famous "House Divided Speech," delivered to the Republican Convention on April 16, 1856, is the imperative for data analytics and performance auditing by healthcare providers today. Lincoln said, "If we could first know where we are, and whither we are tending, we could better judge what to do, and how to do it."
In the foreword to "Churchill: The Prophetic Statesman," by James C. Humes, David Eisenhower wrote, "In any human enterprise, if the participants are unwilling to objectively and honestly face where they are, it is improbable that they will ever get to where they want to be, let alone to where they should be."
These two quotes serve as the introduction to a note to SETMA providers that includes the daily audit of provider performance. SETMA is committed to improving the quality of healthcare and we believe that quality metrics are one of the keys to that improvement.
Quality metrics
No one would argue that quality metrics, whether process or outcomes, are the only solution to healthcare improvement and cost control. Those who grapple with the design of quality metrics use scientific methodology and a growing body of medical literature on quality metrics to look for leverage points in identifying potential for real change in healthcare-delivery processes, which will reflect real change in the quality of patient health. Unfortunately, quality metrics are not static such that once you identify one metric that it will have permanent relevance to quality improvement. Once processes are in place, such that the outcomes are virtually totally dependent upon the process, rather than healthcare provider performance, new metrics must be found to move the system further toward excellence.
A single quality metric for a complex disease process will have little if any impact upon patient safety and health. And, all quality metrics of value should point to treatment change which will improve patient health. Though a single metric is of extremely limited value, a "cluster," or a "galaxy" of quality metrics can effect real change in healthcare quality and in patient health. A "cluster" is defined as a group of quality metrics (seven or more) which define quality treatment standards in both process and outcomes for a single disease process. "Comprehensive quality measures" for diabetes are a good illustration.
A "galaxy" of quality measures is a group of "clusters" which relate to the health of a single patient. When "comprehensive quality measures" for diabetes, hypertension, dyslipidemia, CHF, Chronic Stable Angina, Cardiometabolic Risk Syndrome, Chronic Renal Disease Stage 1-III and then Stages IV-ESRD are identified and measured for a single patient, the successful meeting of those metrics, which may exceed 50 in number, WILL reflect quality treatment and WILL result in improved health.. And, often the standardization of care based on quality metrics will decrease the cost of quality care.
When confronted with the results of quality care audits, physicians will often say, "But, that will take a two-hour visit for each patient." That would be the case if providers were using paper records. In fact, two hours by paper may not be enough time to accomplish quality care. However, with electronic patient management, via a well-designed electronic patient record, and with a well-trained and highly functioning healthcare team, this "galaxy" of metrics can be met within the time and economic constraints which currently existent in healthcare in the United States.
How can quality metrics effect quality care?
While quality metrics will always reflect quality, they will not always effect quality, unless they are transparent to the healthcare provider at the time and point of a patient encounter. A "report card" delivered retrospectively, six months to two years after the care event which was measured, will have absolutely no impact on provider behavior. But, if the provider is able to "see" his/her performance at the time of the patient encounter, behavior will begin to change. And, if the panel or population a single provider manages, or participates in managing, has data aggregated daily, monthly, quarterly and annually, treatment inertia can be overcome. And, finally, when that provider's performance is publicly published by provider name, treatment inertia will disappear.
Quality Metrics Philosophy
SETMA's approach to quality metrics and public reporting is driven by these assumptions:
1. Quality metrics are not an end in themselves. Optimal health at optimal cost is the goal of quality care. Quality metrics are simply "sign posts along the way." They give directions to health. And the metrics are like a healthcare "Global Positioning Service": it tells you where you want to be; where you are, and how to get from here to there.
2. The auditing of quality metrics gives providers a coordinate of where they are in the care of a patient or a population of patients.
3. Statistical analytics are like coordinates along the way to the destination of optimal health at optimal cost. Ultimately, the goal will be measured by the well-being of patients, but the guide posts to that destination are given by the analysis of patient and patient-population data.
4. There are different classes of quality metrics. No metric alone provides a granular portrait of the quality of care a patient receives, but all together, multiple sets of metrics can give an indication of whether the patient's care is going in the right direction or not. Some of the categories of quality metrics are: access, outcome, patient experience, process, structure and costs of care.
5. The collection of quality metrics should be incidental to the care patients are receiving and should not be the object of care. Consequently, the design of the data aggregation in the care process must be as non-intrusive as possible. Notwithstanding, the very act of collecting, aggregating and reporting data will tend to create a Hawthorne effect.
6. The power of quality metrics, like the benefit of the GPS, is enhanced if the healthcare provider and the patient are able to know the coordinates while care is being received.
7. Public reporting of quality metrics by provider name must not be a novelty in healthcare but must be the standard. Even with the acknowledgment of the Hawthorne effect, the improvement in healthcare outcomes achieved with public reporting is real.
8. Quality metrics are not static. New research and improved models of care will require updating and modifying metrics.
Limitations of quality metrics
The New York Times Magazine on May 2, 2010, published an article titled, "The Data-Driven Life," which asked the question, "Technology has made it feasible not only to measure our most basic habits but also to evaluate them. Does measuring what we eat or how much we sleep or how often we do the dishes change how we think about ourselves?" Further, the article asked, "What happens when technology can calculate and analyze every quotidian thing that happened to you today?" Does this remind you of Einstein's admonition, "Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted?"
Technology must never blind us to the human. Bioethicis Onora O'Neill commented about our technological obsession with measuring things. In doing so, she echoes the Einstein dictum that not everything that is counted counts. She said, "In theory again the new culture of accountability and audit makes professionals and institutions more accountable for good performance. This is manifest in the rhetoric of improvement and rising standards, of efficiency gains and best practices, of respect for patients and pupils and employees. But beneath this admirable rhetoric, the real focus is on performance indicators chosen for ease of measurement and control rather than because they measure accurately what the quality of performance is."
Technology can deal with disease but cannot produce health
In our quest for excellence, we must not be seduced by technology with its numbers and tables. This is particularly the case in healthcare. In the future of medicine, the tension - not a conflict but a dynamic balance - must be properly maintained between humanity and technology. Technology can contribute to the solving of many of our disease problems but ultimately cannot solve the "health problems" we face. The entire focus and energy of "health home" is to rediscover the trusting bond between patient and provider. In the "health home," technology becomes a tool to be used and not an end to be pursued. The outcomes of technology alone are not as satisfying as those where trust and technology are properly balanced in healthcare delivery.
Our grandchildren's generation will experience healthcare methods and possibilities which seem like science fiction to us today. Yet, that technology risks decreasing the value of our lives, if we do not in the midst of technology retain our humanity. As we celebrate science, we must not fail to embrace the minister, the ethicist, the humanist, the theologian, indeed the ones who remind us that being the bionic man or women will not make us more human, but it seriously risks causing us to being dehumanized. And in doing so, we may just find the right balance between technology and trust and thereby find the solution to the cost of healthcare.
It is in this context that SETMA whole-heartedly embraces technology and science, while retaining the sense of person in our daily responsibilities of caring for persons. Quality metrics have made us better healthcare providers. The public reporting of our performance of those metrics has made us better clinician/scientist. But what makes us better healthcare providers is our caring for people.
Physician hubris or stubbornness may reject quality metrics for a while, but patient and societal demands will rightly press for change. Caring in the 21st Century will no longer be measured by personality or friendliness; it will be measured by competence which will increasingly be an objective measurement. To reject that reality is to prepare oneself for obsolescence.
Quality metrics tells us where we are and they tell us where we are "tending to go." If tracked, audited, analyzed and publicly reported, quality metrics will help us "judge what to do and how to do it."
Dr. James L. Holly is CEO of Southeast Texas Medical Associates, LLP (SETMA) in Beaumont.


text:
Stevil Kinevil, a Minister of Misinformation, and oddball blogger behind Guys Who Cut Their Own Hair and How To Avoid The Bummer Life has left the Swobo building and is now in another building (or cardboard box) publishing All Hail the Blackmarket.
More Stevil Less Kinevil?
What does that mean? Has Swobo dicked the blogosphere? Returned to their way old ways of ship whenever or backorder and sucked the life out a good blog? Has the man shut Stevil down?
Don't know, just hadn't said
SWOBO: ship whenever or backorder
in an long time. Cause see, back before Swobo was urban and street, they didn't do so good on the fulfillment part of retail. Now they're into protesting water bottles and, as shown here, do have goods in bike shops. Pam likes packing sandwiches in her Swobo jersey.
We've invited Stevil to MC the Mobile Social Interbike – seems fitting and let's see if he'll do it. We also invited Style Man because he dissed Bicycling in an article and they ran it, which was awesome (they didn't know they ran it), but then they replaced Style Man with Bike Snob, an anon blogger who "skewers" the industry. We don't need to get into that yin and yang – let the bike universe balance itself.
Stevil we love you because you do it for the chicks and gave us Fat Guy Spandex, who becomes even more internet famous by the minute.
BTW, later today, we'll hang out with Jennifer from Hincapie Sportswear who shot that photo.…
My daily shooter is Sony a9 with a vertical grip and various Sigma lenses attached like the 14mm 1.4 Art. Find more recommendations on our store page. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.


text:
March jobs numbers a big miss
The economy added far fewer jobs than expected last month, raising questions about the strength of the economic recovery and how much the recent round of spending cuts and tax increases are hurting growth.
The Labor Department reported Friday that the economy added 88,000 jobs in March while the unemployment rate dropped to 7.6 percent. The number was far below the expectations from analysts, who predicted the economy added about 190,000 jobs in March.
Story Continued Below
( PHOTOS: How sequestration could affect you)
"We all overshot it," Austan Goolsbee, the former chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers in President Barack Obama's first term, said on CNBC. "This is a punch to the gut. I mean, this is not a good number."
Friday's jobs report is the first to reflect the post-sequester world. With a divided Washington unable to reach a deal, a series of automatic budget cuts to nearly all government programs kicked in March 1, and economists have warned that the sequester could take a hammer to the still-recovering economy.
The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office has projected the sequester could cost the economy 750,000 jobs this year and scale back economic growth by 0.6 percent.
( Also on POLITICO: Obama budget includes Medicare, Social Security cuts)
The report also rattled investors, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropping more than 160 points in early morning trading.
The new numbers also arrive as Washington is poised to reignite the budget wars next week, with the release of the much-delayed fiscal 2014 budget from the White House triggering anew a debate over taxes, spending and how best to boost economic growth.
Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) declared in a statement that the jobs report showed the White House's economic policies "continue to make it harder for Americans to find work."
"One of the best things President Obama can do is follow the House and outline a balanced budget next week – one that includes entitlement reforms that are not conditional on enactment of more tax increases, which will suppress growth instead of encourage it," Boehner said.
Alan Krueger, chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, put a more positive spin on the new data while saying they also bolster the administration's case that more stimulus spending is needed on such initiatives as infrastructure projects.
"While more work remains to be done, today's employment report provides further evidence that the U.S. economy is continuing to recover from the worst downturn since the Great Depression," he said in a statement. "It is critical that we continue the policies that are helping to build an economy that creates jobs and works for the middle class as we dig our way out of the deep hole that was caused by the severe recession that began in December 2007."


text:
I find myself in Chicago this week doing a trunk show. We have customers to see for fittings and some for new orders. Very exciting, if a little chilly.
The hotel is the Omni on N Michigan where we have a lovely suite. I'm seeing a client at the airport later this morning - we have had a few clients who have flown in from across the US to see us for fittings - but I still have a few appointments open later this afternoon (Saturday) if any of you would like to come by?
Just a little word to our numerous American readers, I love being here and feel very welcome everywhere except in the airport. Three hours to get through immigration. It's like they just don't want us here! OK, griping over.
Right, back to the unusual foot from last week. We left it without soles and heels. I was hoping to finish them this week but we have been very busy and I have been slow! But I did get the soles on and built the heels as you will see.
First is the toe spring from the outside edge. Very high. I can get two fingers in there. The usual rule is the tip of your index finger.
Second you can see the toe spring on the inside. Again, there are two fingers in there.There is also a slight twist on the last so that it can accommodate the fact that his foot strikes on the ball, very much on the inside of his foot. This throws the heel off slightly when there is no foot in the shoe.
Next is a view of the sole. You can see how flat it is compared to the big curve on the last. This will give stability when he walks, but on the inside of the shoe, the insole still has the curve so that he is comfortable.
Last shot is of the sole in relation to the heel. Both flat and fit for walking on.
The only thing left to do is finish the shoes, make the trees and give them to the customer. As with all bespoke shoes, the solutions we come up with for an individual problem are not infallible, so when we give these shoes to the customer, we are fully ready to accept that what we have done may not be the best thing and that we may have to adjust the shoes in some way. With this pair, it would probably mean altering the lasts which would mean remaking the shoes form scratch (we don't want to do that). Usually though, if we need to adjust a finished pair of shoes, there are plenty of tricks and tweaks you can do on the finished shoes because oftentimes, the change that is needed is very small and subtle. It is amazing how a tiny change can alter how a shoe fits.And that is it for this week. We will,let you know how the customer gets on with the shoes in a few weeks.Until next week, wish me luck in Chicago and happy shoemaking!


text:
SNOWsat is the professional fleet and snow management solution with snow depth measurement from Kässbohrer Geländefahrzeug AG. Best slope quality plus environmentally sound and profitable business are the cornerstones of a successful ski resort. This requires comprehensive recording and evaluation of the complex workflows, cost structures and current situation of the ski resort (vehicle fleet and ski slopes). This knowledge enables the resort to identify saving potentials and realise optimisation.
The SNOWsat fleet and snow management system is Kässbohrer's response to this complex issue. SNOWsat helps to analyse and optimise workflows and the associated costs over short and long periods.
A resort must have detailed knowledge of its flows and the current situation of its slopes and vehicles if it wants to offer optimum slope quality and to profit from efficiency increases and cost saving potentials. With SNOWsat these savings can be as high as 15 %. This is achieved on the one hand through daily snow depth updates, which mean that artificial snow is produced precisely and only as needed. In addition, snow deposits and critical points can be detected promptly, ensuring that a total snow covering can be maintained at all times. Fleet use can also be optimised using the vehicle data. Reduced fuel consumption, lower fuel emissions, fewer machine hours and shorter working hours are the result. This pays off for the resort in the form of reduced operating costs and improved snow quality.
These savings are not one-off effects. Improvements can also be achieved on an ongoing basis by recording and analysing fleet and snow data.
Convinced customers.
There are now numerous customer testimonials from a variety of ski resorts confirming the impressive cost-effectiveness of this system. "Thanks to SNOWsat we are now using GPS and know immediately and exactly where the critical points are and where we can remove snow. Or where we need to use the snow guns – and more importantly – where we don't! This saves real money – and saved us last season during the snow-poor winter" – Anton Ostler, Head of Snow Production at Bayerischen Zugspitzbahnen in Garmisch.
SNOWsat – a system from one source.
SNOWsat is based on an integrated-solution approach to fleet and snow management from one place. The illustration (07303_snowsat_grafik_v01_DE.pdf) shows the structure and components of the system. Essentially, the system can be divided into the segments of vehicle systems, infrastructure and evaluation.
In its simplest form the vehicle system consists of a "Black-Box", which records the vehicle data and transmits it wirelessly (wifi) to a server in the ski resort. The top-of-the-range vehicle system has a highly accurate snow depth measuring system and an additional touchscreen for the driver. The system is equipped with professional components for position calculation from Trimble®, which have also been used for years in agriculture, mining and on construction sites. It's logical then that new Trimble® technologies, such as the xFill™,are also used with SNOWsat. xFill™ guarantees highly accurate snow depth measurement using a geostationary satellite, even if correction data from the base station is temporarily unavailable. In addition to this, the integrated computer uses other sensor data and reference depth information for snow depth calculation in real-time.
Snow depth measurement with SNOWsat is effected using a 1-metre grid resolution and achieves a particular accuracy of up to 3 cm.
The additional touchscreen provides the driver with all information at a glance. As well as the map of the ski resort, the system also displays information such as current snow depth, slope edges, anchor points, snow-making equipment, lifts, roads and paths, buildings and danger points (cliffs, scarps etc.). Moreover, the driver can switch between a display of snow depth and traffic routes.
Because it is simple to use, drivers only require a short induction before using SNOWsat for real. Thanks to logical symbols, plus functions and control elements perfectly tailored to need, drivers immediately feel confident with the system.
There are almost no limits in terms of map size: SNOWsat covers the entire ski resort – regardless of how big it is. Thus, drivers do not have to switch back and forth between different map sections, but rather have a full overview of the entire area at all times.
Alongside PistenBully groomers, the SNOWsat systems can of course be fitted in other vehicles.
The system's infrastructure includes base station, repeater, server and wifi access point. The server processes the data recorded by the vehicles and transmitted via wifi and makes this available for evaluation. The ski resort's existing infrastructure can be used for this purpose. The base station and repeater are only required for highly accurate snow depth measurement. To achieve this, the base station calculates correction signals and sends these to the vehicles via UHF. Repeaters are used to forward the signals from the base station depending on the size and topology of the resort. Coverage can be increased still further in this regard with xFill™.
Evaluation is effected with the corresponding software components: SNOWsat FLEET, SNOWsat CAN and SNOWsat Z, which use the server data. SNOWsat FLEET and SNOWsat CAN are used for fleet management: The aim here is to analyse and optimise daily working processes and vehicle use. In addition to expenditure and cost analysis, this system also offers the security of traceability in the event of damage.
SNOWsat FLEET and SNOWsat Z are designed for snow management. They display and analyse the already groomed slopes and snow depth information, enabling the operator to identify further requirements based on this information.
Snow-making interface.
SNOWsat also provides a standardised interface for snow depth data, which facilitates an exchange with the control software of the snow-making equipment. This is currently realised with ATTAS+ from TechnoAlpin, but the plan is to offer software from other manufacturers in future. Thanks to the snow depth data the system gathers, it is now very easy for resort operators to produce snow where it is truly needed.
Good service.
Kässbohrer Geländefahrzeug AG is a giant in the snow groomer market. The functionality of the firm's products and solutions is universally acknowledged. Kässbohrer's many years of experience, technical know-how and an unbeatable global service network ensure comprehensive support, which corresponds to the firm's long-term reputation as a reliable partner. SNOWsat is supported by a continually growing team of more than 20 people across France, Germany and Switzerland, ensuring that software development is as much of a focus as sales, service and training. Stefan Lux has held overall responsibility for this division since April 2014. "Alongside the objective of offering the best fleet and snow management solution on the market in SNOWsat, we want to deliver comprehensive support to our customers. We provide reliable and expert support to take them from the design and project planning, to installation and finally to daily use of SNOWsat. At the same time, we will continue to refine SNOWsat and adapt it to our customers' changing needs."
Kässbohrer has long been committed to refinement in partnership for the products and solutions it offers. A lively exchange prevails here too between the SNOWsat team and the customers of more than 100 vehicles, which are now running with SNOWsat.
The diverse benefits and high saving and optimisation potentials make SNOWsat a worthwhile investment for the future for any ski resort looking for a fleet and snow management solution.


text:
Tory Lane and Casey Calvert - Slippery Whe...
Starring: Casey Calvert,Tory Lane
Length:00:08:04 Pictures: 60
Tory Lane and Christie Stevens - Anytime, ...
Starring: Christie Stevens,Tory Lane,Nick Manning
Length:00:33:21 Pictures: 80
A little 'behind-the-scenes' action!
I have a shit load of pictures that I will be updating my site with. You'll see stuff from Award Show Appearances, Premieres, and other pics of me just hanging around. Enjoy!


text:
coupons for 916 online stores, including X-1.com, X-aviation.com, X-braand.co.uk, X-Cart, X-cheap-pharmacy.com, X-concealment.com, and others! Updated on Nov 15, 2019 14:49:18.
Plus get our best coupons in our email newsletter.
Most Popular Stores coupons, coupon codes, promo codes, exclusive deals and discounts from copycouponcode.com stores will save you big.
Check out the online stores, outlet stores, and store coupons available from copycouponcode.com, the best site for free coupons to some of the most popular online shopping portals.


text:
# # #
NOAA Fisheries Service is dedicated to protecting and preserving our nations living marine resources and their habitat through scientific research, management and enforcement. NOAA Fisheries Service provides effective stewardship of these resources for the benefit of the nation, supporting coastal communities that depend upon them, and helping to provide safe and healthy seafood to consumers and recreational opportunities for the American public.
NOAA's mission is to understand and predict changes in the Earth's environment, from the depths of the ocean to the surface of the sun, and to conserve and manage our coastal and marine resources. Join us on Facebook, Twitter and our other social media channels.


text:
Acrylic on canvas : 24" x 28" : 2010
Learn more and see how it was made Studio Images.
Grab your own items with this image in the Store.
Artist Statement for Vivarium Series
This body of work became known as the Vivarium Series, because Vivarium is Latin for place of life or container of life. These transparent containers allow me to explore diverging environments and their inhabitants, by contrasting the contents inside with the surrounding space. I wanted the Vivarium Series to evolve in two directions: one with human children in open containers and one with dolls in closed containers. The open containers suggest vulnerability. Just because the children are currently protected, does not mean they are safe from harm. The interiors of these containers usually include a garden space, while the exterior environments suggesting toxic wastelands or altered climates. I wanted the children in these paintings to be young people I know, because this spoke to my fears about the environment these children will inherit. The inhabitants of the closed containers are trapped in an inhospitable environment, and the dolls serve as surrogates addressing the abuse and neglect of children.


text:
In a new business, sometimes the better part of wisdom is knowing when to quit, a new study concludes.
Even though persistence is a key to business success, entrepreneurs might be more successful if they not only knew when to start a business and take risks, but also knew when to abandon it and find something that provides a greater opportunity, researchers said.
It may be human nature to want to make an idea work, but it can also be a poor business decision to stay wedded to an idea if the evidence suggests it's not working as well as another potential opportunity.
"Entrepreneurs need to balance that desire to persist, which is in fact what often makes someone a successful entrepreneur, with the ability to sense when it is time to walk away," said Bobby Garrett Jr., an assistant professor of entrepreneurship at Oregon State University and co-author of the study.
The results are published online in the International Small Business Journal. Garrett and lead author Daniel Holland of Utah State University analyzed the decision-making process of 135 entrepreneurs in high-tech industries. They found that even when confronted with another business opportunity that could yield successful results, many entrepreneurs resisted quitting their current venture.
"It's escalation of commitment," Garrett said. "When an entrepreneur has invested resources into a new business, they have difficulty letting go even when things go south or another opportunity arises."
Garrett likens this psychology to a casino mentality.
"Someone who has spent one hour at the roulette table may think, 'If I just stick with it, I can win,'" he said. "An entrepreneur's thought process is not dissimilar to this."
However, that same doggedness is also what makes entrepreneurs successful. In the field of entrepreneurship, Garrett said this is called "entrepreneurial resilience."
"Everyone knows that entrepreneurs often fail," he said. "That same persistence, and ability to keep trying against the odds, is also an admirable trait, especially when that persistence pays off."
In their study, the researchers recommend that any potential entrepreneur keep the risk versus reward of any venture in mind, and evaluate the chances that their start-up may succeed.
Source: Phys.org


text:
Loose LE (S) - Appreciation Level II - Worldly Wonder
Loose LE (S) - Appreciation Level II - Worldly Wonder
Loose Limited Edition Series
When it comes to art, it's personal. We realize that, of course. That's why we offer Rodney's beautiful images in a raw form: the photograph by itself.
The image comes to you packaged in a sealed shipping packet. We recommend that you open it in the presence of your framer to ensure its perfection – it's good to know that you left it with the framer in perfect condition. There's also a note to the framer with an open invitation to call the studio to discuss any issues or concerns they might have regarding how to properly handle your pristine Fine Art photograph. These photographs are very delicate, and it's easy for someone without experience working with them to damage them.
In fact, you'll never be able to get one of these images framed by someone else as well as we can frame it. So, even though we offer this option, we really try to dissuade you from choosing it and work to convince you to get your photograph framed by us, because we've been doing it a long time. After all, Rodney wants his artwork to be presented perfectly. In the long run, if you see a framing style you like with us, you'll never be able to get it done elsewhere for less, or with quality as high. No one can frame these images better than we can. To learn more on framing styles please take a moment to review our STYLES guide.


text:
As the days become shorter, the temperature cools, and leaves turn vibrant colors of yellow, orange and brown. The Springfield area is not short on its variety of fall festivals sure to keep you and your family entertained this autumn.
Some come for the mouthwatering barbecue. Others come for good old down home blues. Whatever the reason, you won't want to miss Springfield's 7th Annual Old Capitol Blues and BBQs, taking place Aug. 28 at Fifth and Capitol. This year's event includes more than 40 BBQ competitors and vendors, children's activities and entertainment, and artists performing funk groove, punk and old school blues. Hours are noon to midnight. $5. 544-1723.
The Springfield Ethnic Festival is scheduled Sept. 3-5 at the Ethnic Village area of the Illinois State Fairgrounds. The event runs 5-11 p.m. Friday and noon-11 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.
Arts and crafts fill the Carillon at Washington Park's 5th annual Art Spectular at the Carillon, held Sept. 11 and 12. More than 50 artists display works representing a variety of mediums. Children's activities and kids' art sale, music, silent auction, door prizes and food vendors round out the festivities. Saturday 10 a.m. to 5pm., Sunday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Free admission to Art Spectacular; $1 admission to the "Kids Place." 753-6219.
The Route 66 Film Festival boasts of showing 62 films from around the world in just three days. And with a choice of comedies, dramas, documentaries, animations and experimental films, one would be hard pressed not to find an appealing film or two. The film festival takes place Sept. 17 through 19 at the Hoogland Center for the Arts. $60 festival pass. $50 two-day pass. $30 one-day pass. $25 for three sessions on either day. $10 per single session. 217-523-2187 for complete film schedule.
More than 1,000 classic cars, a night cruise, and 24-hour live entertainment featuring popular songs from the '50s, '60s and '70s, can only mean one thing: It's time for the 9th Annual International Route 66 Mother Road Festival & Car Show. Classic car enthusiasts can look forward to the Mickey Thompson Tire BURNOUT Competition, a poker race, Family Fun Zone, and more. Sept. 24 through 26 in downtown Springfield between Washington and Capitol and Fourth and Seventh streets. Free. 317-236-6515. www.Route66Fest.com.
Bluegrass lovers are sure to enjoy the 24th Annual Greater Downstate Indoor Bluegrass Festival, held Nov. 12 through 14 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel. Billed as the largest bluegrass event in the Midwest, the weekend includes top artists, instrument workshops and a guitar show. Weekend, single and multiple concert passes. 217-243-3159.
Jacksonville plays host to several fall events beginning with the 12th Annual Prairieland Chautauqua, featuring historical reenactments, storytelling, lectures and music and dance. "Special appearances" by Daniel Boone, Edgar Allen Poe, Mother Jones, Walt Whitman, Jonny Appleseed, Thomas Jefferson, Mark Twain, and W.C. Fields make this year's Prairieland Chautauqua fun and educational. Sept. 3 through 6 at Jacksonville Community Park. Free. 217-243-2423.
Horse-powered equipment, gas and steam engines, steam train rides, musical entertainment, flea market, parade, horse and tractor pulls, petting zoo and various "prairieland" demonstrations, including blacksmithing, threshing and baling, are sure to make the Prairieland Steam Show and Fall Festival Days a joy for the entire family. The festivities are held Sept. 24 through 26 at the Prairie Land Heritage Museum. Hours are Friday 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., Saturday 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., Sunday 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. $5. Free for children under age 12. 217-243-7262.
A 30-minute drive from Springfield to Lincoln Aug. 27 through 29 can lead to a soaring adventure at the city's annual Art and Balloon Festival. Tethered balloon rides, rock climbing, professional wrestling matches, parade, flea market, wine tasting, family activities and live entertainment, are just a few of the activities. The festival's 37th Annual Fine Arts Fair features 77 juried artists representing a variety of mediums and a children's art fair with hands-on arts and crafts. Its annual Craft Fair includes more than 40 booths of handmade crafts. Lincoln Airport, downtown, and Scully and Latham parks. Call 217-735-2385 for hours and more details.
Channel Old Abe at the 40th Annual Abraham Lincoln Rail-splitting Contest and Crafts Festival, held Sept. 17 to 19 at the Lincoln Park Recreation Center and Logan County Fairgrounds. Civil War Ball ($5 per person, $7.50 per couple, $10 per family), flea market, trap shoot, parade, quilt display, storytelling, pioneer games, cooking demonstrations, antique car and tractor show, quilters and historical displays, as well as sawing, rail splitting, corn shelling and log rolling competitions, are just a few highlights. $3 one day. $5 all weekend. Call 217-732-8687 for more details.
Other area events
Beardstown Fall Fun Festival
Sept. 25 and 26
Pancake breakfast, 5k walk/run, tractor pull, musical entertainment, talent contest, parade, dachshund race, baby contest, carnival rides, car and motorcycle show, crafts, flea market, and musical entertainment. Art Zeeck Park. Downtown Beardstown. 217-491-3771.
Carlinville Fall Festival
Macoupin County Fairgrounds
Sept. 18-19
Craft and toy show, antique tractors and cars, country store, and one-room country schoolhouse are just a few highlights. The event also includes musical entertainment, tractor parade, bluegrass jam, rug weaving and other farm demonstrations. 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Free. 217-854-8916,
30th Annual Traditional Music Festival
Lincoln's New Salem State Historic Site
Sept. 11 & 12
Song and dance reminiscent of days past fills the site's pioneer village — a replica of Abe Lincoln's neighborhood as a young adult. 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. 217-632-4000.
Contact Jolonda Young at firstname.lastname@example.com.


text:
(→For system administrators)
(→What's New in Fedora 18?: updating install and upgrade deets)
|Line 13:
|Line 13:
=== What's New in Fedora 18? ===
=== What's New in Fedora 18? ===
The Fedora Project takes great pride in being able to show off features for all types of users - traditional desktop users, systems administrators, developers, users and administrators of cloud environments - but sometimes a new feature is guaranteed to be seen by anyone installing Fedora.
The Fedora Project takes great pride in being able to show off features for all types of users - traditional desktop users, systems administrators, developers, users and administrators of cloud environments - but sometimes a new feature is guaranteed to be seen by anyone installing Fedora.
new .
Of course, it wouldn't be a release announcement without a spotted, er, dotted list of all the other fantastic features you'll see in Fedora 18, so read on:
Of course, it wouldn't be a release announcement without a spotted, er, dotted list of all the other fantastic features you'll see in Fedora 18, so read on:
Revision as of 08:24, 11 January 2013
No bull, Spherical Cow, is of course, Fedora's best release yet. You'll go through the hoof when you hear about the Grade A Prime F18 features. You can always cownt on us to bring you the best features first.
Can't wait for a taste? You can get started downloading now:
Detailed information about this release can be seen in the release notes:
What's New in Fedora 18?
The Fedora Project takes great pride in being able to show off features for all types of users - traditional desktop users, systems administrators, developers, users and administrators of cloud environments - but sometimes a new feature is guaranteed to be seen by nearly anyone installing Fedora.
The user interface for Fedora's installation software, Anaconda, has been completely re-written from the ground up, and makes its debut in Fedora 18, introducing major improvements to the installation experience. Using a hub-and-spoke model, the new interface reduces complexity and provides concise explanations about choices to users, while still providing more complex options for advanced users and systems administrators. The general look and feel of the installation experience has been vastly upgraded, providing modern, clean visuals during the process.
Additionally, the upgrade process for Fedora has
- Upgrade with fedUP FedUp is a new tool for upgrading Fedora installations that is replacing pre-upgrade and the DVD methods of upgrading that have been used in previous Fedora releases. It utilizes systemd for much of the upgrade functionality, doing the work in a unique boot environment.
Of course, it wouldn't be a release announcement without a spotted, er, dotted list of all the other fantastic features you'll see in Fedora 18, so read on:
For desktop users
Moooove over, stale desktops. We've got a small herd of choices udderly suited to your preferences.
- Gnome 3.6 The newest version of the Gnome desktop provides an enhanced Messaging Tray, support for Microsoft Exchange and Skydrive, and many more new features. For more information visit the Gnome release notes. http://library.gnome.org/misc/release-notes/3.6
- KDE Plasma Workspaces 4.9 KDE Plasma Workspaces has been updated with many new features and improved stability and performance, including updates to the Dolphin File Manager, Konsole, and KWin Window manager.
- MATE Desktop The MATE desktop provides users with a classic GNOME 2.x style user interface. This desktop is perfect for users that have been running Gnome Classic, or other window managers like XFCE.
- Cinnamon Fedora users now have the option of using Cinnamon, an advanced desktop environment based on GNOME3. Cinnamon takes advantage of advanced features provided by the GNOME backend while providing users with a more traditional desktop experience.
Regardless of your desktop choice...
- Improved storage management SSM (System Storage Manager) is an easy to use command-line interface tool that presents a unified view of storage management tools. Devices, storage pools, volumes, and snapshots can now be managed with one tool, with the same syntax for managing all of your storage. (It's great for systems administrators, too!)
For developers
For developers there are all sorts of mootivating goodies:
- DragonEgg optimizes GCC DragonEgg is a plugin for the GCC compilers to allow use of the LLVM optimization and code generation framework. DragonEgg provides software developers with more optimization and code generation options for use with the GCC compilers. DragonEgg also allows GCC to be used for cross-compilation to target architectures supported by LLVM without requiring any special cross-compilation compiler packages.
- Fresh versions of programming languages Using Perl, Rails, or Python? All three of these languages are updated in Fedora 18 -- with Rails 3.2, Python 3.3, and Perl 5.16 now on deck.
- Clojure Clojure gets more love with the addition of tooling packages, including the Leinengen build tool, as well as Clojure libraries and frameworks, including Korma and Noir.
For system administrators
Keep track of your herd of infrastructure with these new features:
- Offline System Updates Systems can now be upgraded offline, allowing for a more stable upgrade of critical system components.
- Storage enhancements StorageManagement is a collection of tools and libraries for managing storage area networks (SAN) and network attached storage (NAS).
- Samba 4 This popular suite of tools has long provided file and print sharing services in heterogeneous operating system environments. The long-awaited Samba 4 introduces the first free and open source implementation of Active Directory protocols, and includes a new scripting interface, allowing Python programs to interface to Samba's internals.
- Riak A fault-tolerant key-value store, Riak provides easy operations, and predictable scaling as a NoSQL database.
For clouds and virtualization
Do you spend your days grazing, I mean, gazing into the clouds? Here's just a taste of some of the cloud and virt features coming in Fedora 18:
- Eucalyptus Eucalyptus makes its first appearance in Fedora, with their 3.2 release included in F18. This platform for on-premise (private) Infrastructure as a Service clouds uses existing infrastructure to create scalable and secure AWS-compatible cloud resources for compute, network and storage.
- OpenStack With the Folsom release in Fedora 18, OpenStack continues to have the newest releases in Fedora. This open source cloud computing platform enables users to deploy their own cloud infrastructure, for private or public cloud deployments. Heat, an incubated OpenStack project, is also available in F18, and provides an API that enables the orchestration of cloud applications using file or web based templates.
- oVirt Engine The management application for the oVirt virtualization platform, oVirt Engine, is updated to the newest version, 3.1. This release includes extensive new features, including support for live snapshots, cloning virtual machines from snapshots, quotas, and more.
- Suspend and resume support for virt guests Virtual machines get love with this feature, enabling the ability to suspend and resume guests, with the close of a laptop lid or menu option - or via the command line.
And that's only the beginning. For a more complete list with details of all the new features in Fedora 18, steer over to:
Downloads, Upgrades, Documentation, and Common Bugs
The steaks are high - don't miss out on installing the best version of Fedora yet! Get it now:
If you are upgrading from a previous release of Fedora, refer to:
Fedora has replaced pre-upgrade with fedUP, a more robust solution, and pushed several bug fixes to older releases of Fedora to enable an easy upgrade to Fedora 18.
Graze ... I mean... gaze upon the full release notes for Fedora 18, guides for several languages, and learn about known bugs and how to report new ones, here:
Everyone makes missteaks. Fedora 18 common bugs are documented at:
Fedora Spins
Fedora spins are alternate versions of Fedora tailored for various types of users via hand-picked application set or customizations, from desktop options to spins for those interested in gaming, robotics, or design software. More information on our various spins is available at:
There are many ways to contribute beyond bug reporting. You can help translate software and content, test and give feedback on software updates, write and edit documentation, design and do artwork, help with all sorts of promotional activities, and package free software for use by millions of Fedora users worldwide. To get started, visit http://join.fedoraproject.org today!
Fedora 19
Even as we continue to provide updates with enhancements and bug fixes to improve the Fedora number experience, our next release, Fedora 19, is already being developed in parallel, and has been open for active development for several months already. We have an early plan for an end of May 2013 release, and the final schedule F19 is going to be based on the results of the planning process:
Feature Deprecation
Fedora has always been full of great features, but sometimes we need to cull the herd. Saying good-bye is always hard, but here are the ones we had to put out to pasture this time around. {[Offer work-arounds or alternatives wherever possible. If a spin still covers this need, say so. Encourage the die-hard community to participate in the unofficial support of this feature.]}
- /etc/sysconfig Depreciations Several system configurations have moved out of /etc/sysconfig. For a list of changes read the release notes. http://docs.fedoraproject.org/en-US/Fedora/18/html/Release_Notes/index.html
Contact information
If you are a journalist or reporter, you can find additional information at:
Cow words and puns
From which you should liberally steal while writing this:
- Milk (v and n)
- Cream
- Butter
- Cheese
- Spot
- Jersey
- Holstein
- Herd
- Barn
- Field
- Moo
- Bull
- Udder
- Steaks
- Graze
- Steer
- Dairy
- Slaughter


text:
Naomi Filmer is a contemporary jewellery designer, who describes her work as 'wearable objects about the body' rather than jewellery. After studying 3D Design, she completed a master's degree in Goldsmithing, Silversmithing, Metalwork and Jewellery at the Royal College of Art, London. She acquired a reputation in the 1990s for catwalk collaborations with high profile British designers such as Hussein Chalayan, Shelley Fox and Alexander McQueen.
Filmer works as a Research Fellow at Central Saint Martins School of Art, London, she lectures in art schools throughout Europe, and is a freelance designer.


text:
- Did you mean
- wooster ag facilities consisted research farm
Search results
2020 Ag Outlook Meeting
The 2020 Ag Outlook Meeting is scheduled for Friday, January 24 at the Kidron Park ... lessen shocks and losses or provide protection in times of volatile markets and weathers. The 2020 Ag ... risks inherent in our agricultural world. Thanks to our sponsors, Farm Credit Mid-America, ...
Buckeye Shepherd's Symposium Provides Education for all Levels of Sheep Producers
agriculture, Nutrient and manure management, How to work with your Ag lender, an overview of OSU sheep research ... is December 13-14 at the Shisler Conference Center on the OARDC campus in Wooster. The planning ... committee is excited to have Sandi Brock of Shepherd Creek Farms, Ontario Canada on the program. Sandi is ...
2020 Pesticide and Fertilizer Recertification Programs
Auditorium, OARDC in Wooster, sponsored by Ag Pro. Training provided in Core and categories 1, 2, and 6 only. ... at 428 West Liberty Street #12, Wooster OH 44691. A receipt for your payment will be available when ... the Ag Pro John Deere Expo. Private Pesticide Applicator recertification 9:00 am- Noon at Fisher ...
Pesticide License Testing Dates Set
Administration Building at 428 West Liberty Street in Wooster. Exams are administered from 1:00 pm until 4:00 pm ... reached at 330-264-8722. CFAES provides research and related educational programs to clientele on ...
CD Wire- November 18, 2019
December 2. Wooster- Friday, December 6, 1:30- 4:30 p.m. (126 Research Services). Registration deadline is ... our three missions of teaching, research, and Extension to bring the knowledge and resources of The ... Beam December 17 2:45-3:45 p.m. Film and the Farm: The Germinate International Film Fest Poster Gwynn ...
Milk Quality Workshop December 6, 2019
Building at 428 West Liberty Street in Wooster. The program starts at 10:00 am and concludes by 3:00 pm. ... materials. Thanks to our sponsors: Farmers National Bank, Farm Credit Mid-America and PNC Bank for their ... reached at 330-264-8722. CFAES provides research and related educational programs to clientele on ...
Tractors and Highway Safety
T F Ag Crops and Livestock Business and Land Ownership Farm Management ag safety tailgate safety tractors ... It is difficult to avoid highway travel when going between farm sites. Discuss procedures for ... Engineers (ASABE) and the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE). Only one vehicle classified as farm ...
2019 Buckeye Shepherd's Symposium
campus in Wooster. One of the featured presenters this year is Sandi Brock of Shepherd Creek ... Farms in Onatario Canada. Sandi is well known on social media under her handle of "Sheepishly ... program at a local Wooster restaurant for shepherds under the age of 40. It is an opportunity to network ...
Working with Large Round Bale Equipment
transport. About These Modules The Ag Tailgate Training Series was developed by members of the Agricultural ... round bales weigh about as much as a small car. T F Ag Crops and Livestock Business and ... Land Ownership Farm Management safety health round bale equipment large round bales tractors pto ...
Farm Bill ARC/PLC Decision Meetings
The 2018 Farm Bill provides commodity crop producers with options to choose between ... enrolling in a Agriculutural Risk Coverage (ARC) or a Price Loss Coverage (PLC) program. The farm bill ... then a yearly program election for the following three years of the 2018 Farm Bill. The March 15 date ...


text:
Mc B@Mc_B active 9 months, 4 weeks ago
Ok, this is how I see it. I listened to episode one about 5 times and I'm real good with Phil. Now the difference between Scott and Phil is that Scott wrote it and has a better sense of the drama and urgency, a condition I expect to correct itself as Phil digs in further. View


text:
Student for a Day International Bachelor Communication and Media
- Begindatum
woensdag, 13 mrt 2019, 12:30
- Einddatum
woensdag, 13 mrt 2019, 15:15
Have you already visited a Bachelor Open Day, and do you want to know more about a bachelor programme? Then apply to become a Student for a Day.
As a Student for a Day, you will be accompanied by a student (an 'Ambassador') of the bachelor programme of your choice. The Ambassador will take you to a lecture, give you a campus tour and answer your questions about the bachelor programme.
Target audience
You can register to become a Student for a Day if you are a high school student who wants to know more about a bachelor programme of Erasmus University Rotterdam.
As a Student for a Day, you will:
- attend a lecture
- attend a seminar
- take a campus tour


text:
Main navigation | Main content
I am getting tenure at the College of St. Benedict / St. John's University.
I will be promoted to Associate Professor next year. In December, my wife Dana gave birth to our third child (and fi rst daughter), Teagan. We have two boys, Declan (4) and Gavin (2).


text:
17 people take calls in Reno's Emergency Dispatch Center. More than a third of calls are from cell phones with no emergency.
"We call them the butt dials, people sitting on phones, carrying them in pockets," says Suzy Rogers of the Reno Police Department. She says 61,000 emergency calls last year were not really emergencies. Sometimes there were kids on the other end.
"Everyone has a smart phone these days. So The kids are playing angry birds or they are playing their game . . . and they override it when they dial 911."
Rogers says Reno has had to hire more dispatchers to keep up with the calls.
"It's gotten to the point now we have such chronic offenders that when we call them back they answer the phone and say oops sorry, just another pocket dial."
Sometimes, police use GPS to track a phone and find its owner. Reno already has laws calling for fines of 25-hundred dollars and/or jail time.
"We don't want to have to do that, but the problem is people with legitimate 911 calls can't get through to 911," says Rogers.


text:
Sales & Support
Request A Quote - Email
Product Details:
Payment & Shipping Terms:
|Gift Pens
Wholesale fashion plastic pen, customized logo ball pen, promotional cheap ballpoint pen
Promotional use & gift use
logo printed,silk printing, full color printing
Safety material,Non-toxic ink
Various color available
different tip sizes for your choices, 0.7/1.0mm
handreads models
various packing available like colored box, blister card, tube, etc
So easy to write & good ink for the writing!
1. Quick response and comfortable communication
2. Free samples
3.Free computer design for your logo
Our designer will make a mock up once you provide the artwork of logo in ai ,eps or pdf format.
We can finish sample making within 3 days for our best selling styles with normal surface treatment,5-7 days for special surface treatments,7- 10days for other styles with special surface treatment or printing requests.
4. Small quantity handling (please check with us first before your order)
5. Delivery time is around 30days after sample approved.
6. We are responsible for any quality complains caused by us.
Related products:
Q: What's your MOQ?
A: 5,000pcs for metal pens , and 10,000pcs for plastic pens . But we can accept smaller quantities for several popular styles, or undergoing orders. Please contact us to know more.
Q: What's your payment terms?
A: 30% deposit,and balance before delivery if by air; balance by B/L copy if by sea.
Q: What's your mode of payment?
Q: Where's your nearest port?
A: Ningbo or Shanghai
Q: How about samples?
A: Free samples can be provided if without customized logo. Customized logo, please contact us for detail.
Q: How about the shipping?
A: Sea shipping, courier shipping, air port shipping can be handled by us. And no problem for us to send the goods to your office.
Wenzhou bonvan stationery & gifts Co. LTD.
Skype: chenzhuzhang
hotmail: email@example.com
email: firstname.lastname@example.com
Bonvan is a Professional factory & supplier of office pens,gift pens, promotional pens, ballpoint pens, custom pens, metal pens, logo pens, printed pens,advertising pens,plastic pens,engraved pens,touch stylus pens, promo pens,souvenir pens,ball pens, hotel pens in china .


text:
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — Labor leaders threatened a lawsuit Wednesday over House Speaker Michael Madigan's pension-reform proposal to lower the retirement benefits of public employees in Illinois, but a committee advanced the plan anyway.
Madigan pledged a vote Thursday on the House floor after the Personnel and Pensions Committee approved it, 9-1.
Hours later, Senate President John Cullerton announced that negotiations he's had with union leaders has yielded a "credible and constitutional plan" he said he'd put before his Democratic caucus and Madigan.
The far-reaching Madigan plan represents the Chicago Democrat's first direct involvement on a piece of legislation to tackle a $96.7 billion pension deficit, kicking the General Assembly's machinery into high gear. The bill addresses four of the five pension systems representing state employees, university professionals, primary-school teachers, and legislators.
"It will bring solvency and stability to the four systems," Madigan said, later explaining that the fifth account, covering judges, was left out as a "practical judgment." Reform advocates say judges are exempted because it will be the Supreme Court that ultimately decides the plan's constitutionality, a likelihood endorsed by half-a-dozen union leaders protesting the legislation.
"It will invite and get a legal challenge," said Mike Stout, business manager of ISEA-Laborers' Local 2002.
Unions have long contested legislators' attempts to get the pension mess under control, holding up a provision in the state constitution prohibiting the state from diminishing promised pension benefits. They point out that employees have for decades made required pension contributions out of their paychecks while the state notoriously shorted or even skipped pension payments.
Union official Henry Bayer said the plan appears to take care of the underfunding, but it shouldn't at the expense of employees.
"It's good that you're not kicking the can down the road," said Bayer, executive director of the 40,000-member American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees. "It's bad that you're kicking our members in the butt."
Trying to catch up with the shortfall will force the state to pay $6 billion to pension counts alone in the coming fiscal year, nearly one-fifth of the total available in general revenue that must also go toward education, health and public safety.
"Illinois' economy will not fully recover until the General Assembly passes this comprehensive pension reform and sends the bill to my desk," Gov. Pat Quinn said in a prepared statement.
Madigan's plan calls for employees to pay 2 percent more of salary toward their retirement plans. Workers would only be able to collect pension on a salary up to $110,000, which would increase by one-half the rate of inflation per year.
Retirees would keep the 3 percent compounded annual cost-of-living increases received up to now, but future COLAs would be 3 percent of $1,000 per year of service, or $800 for someone receiving Social Security.
Madigan put his language into a bill that had arrived in the House from the Senate, where President John Cullerton, D-Chicago, designed it as limited test plan which included his proposed "consideration" — a choice between continued compounded COLAs or retiree health care. Giving participants a choice wards off constitutional questions, Cullerton believes.
Cullerton, another Chicago Democrat, consented to Madigan using his bill. By mid-afternoon Wednesday, Cullerton, said labor had brought him a plan worth discussing.
"Today, I concluded a series of meetings with representatives of teachers, nurses, police officers and other public employees," Cullerton said in a written statement. "This coalition of labor leaders offered a credible and constitutional plan for consideration."
He did not release any details but said discussions would begin with his members and Madigan.
The potential for House victory was aided, however, by Republican Leader Tom Cross's signature as co-sponsor on the Madigan plan. Cross noted the Madigan bill's similarity to one Cross had earlier negotiated with Rep. Elaine Nekritz, D-Northbrook.
"It puts a lot of pressure on the Senate and creates some momentum, where you've got a bipartisan measure coming out of the House, for the Senate to act on it or some form of a very meaningful bill," Cross said in a statement released by his office.
The proposal omits any mention of a cost-shift of some downstate teacher-pension costs from the state to local school boards, a contentious prospect that suburban lawmakers fear would increase local property taxes. But Madigan promises he will address the matter in a separate bill later this month.
It does, however, include a unique, nine-page preamble that lays out in detail the fiscal crisis facing the state, including $9 billion in overdue bills, and steps lawmakers have taken to address them, including a 67 percent income-tax increase and cuts to Medicaid health care programs for the poor. Supporters hope it provides a bibliography of sorts to help Supreme Court justices see the necessity of the action.
"It would be used in the argument to the court and as happens in all major legislation, we're concerned about legislative intent," Madigan said, "and that's part of the intent."
(TM and © Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)


text:
We don't sell Trailer Queens. We Sell Drivers! 4942 Stevens Creek Blvd, San Jose, Ca, 95129
American Motors Custom & Classics is a new adventure i.e. Spin off of a hobby of a long time dealership owner. His passion is old vehicles from every walk of life. Bringing the classic back to life and giving it a new loving home. American Motors Custom & Classics is your source for beautiful, pristine and functional vehicles that will bring back the beauty, touch, smell and feel of classic, restored, and original vehicles to back to you. With available financing, worldwide shipping combined with our 40 plus years in the automobile business, you are sure to find what your heart desires.
4942 Stevens Creek Blvd, San Jose, Ca, 95129
Expand All
Collapse All
72,000 Miles
Contact Us|Accessibility


text:
Joe Flacco woke up groggy Monday after partying late into the night, hanging out with Jay-Z and Beyonce as he celebrated the game of his career.
Early in the day, the Ravens quarterback received keys to a 2014 Corvette Stingray, the prize for being named the Super Bowl's most valuable player. Then he boarded a plane for Walt Disney World, where he sat next to Mickey Mouse in a red convertible as the car paraded down the Magic Kingdom's Main Street.
For a day, at least, Flacco was America's "it" guy, jet-setting from New Orleans to Florida and, finally, to New York for an appearance on the "Late Show with David Letterman." At 6 foot 6, with dark hair, a square jaw and a "Joe Cool" reputation earned by almost perfect playoff performances, he seems destined for a big payday in the NFL and in endorsements.
Six endorsement proposals had flooded in before noon, according to his marketing agent, Tom Kleine, as well as invitations to attend award ceremonies and appear on magazine covers.
"You get the ESPY invite," Kleine said of the sports award show as he sat near his client on a plane. "You get the Vanity Fairs, the Oscar invite."
It was quite a lot for a small-college quarterback to comprehend.
"No, it hasn't sunk in yet," said Flacco — whose new contract with the Ravens is likely to be worth at least $15 million per year. "It's just a surreal moment, and hopefully in about a week we can wind down and start to enjoy it a little bit."
Flacco addressed his contract situation Monday night on Letterman's show. Asked what Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti had said to him before the Super Bowl, Flacco said: "I only talked to him a little bit before this game, but before the New England game, he just came up to me and said, 'Listen, this is our time, and go get 'em. We have all the faith in you, and this is going to be your team for a long time.'
"Earlier in the year when I wasn't signing what they wanted me to sign, he said, 'Listen, when the time comes, I mean, you come and beat on my desk,' and I said, 'All right, I'll take you up on that,' and I think the time has come."
But the national spotlight doesn't mean Flacco is guaranteed a lifetime of endorsement checks.
He's made some recent ill-advised public comments. Some say he needs to shake the perception that he is dull as he competes for endorsements with many charismatic NFL quarterbacks. He also plays in a league that despite its popularity has come under fire because of concussion risks, and he is coming into his own at a time when sponsors are less likely to take risks on individual athletes.
But Kleine said Flacco isn't worried. He's never been one to seek endorsements, and he believes he will be paid what he's worth on the football field. For now, others can speculate on his worth while he enjoys being a champion.
"We want him to experience the moment right now for what it is," Kleine said.
For his work on the field, there is little doubt Flacco will be paid a top NFL salary worth tens of millions of dollars. Flacco's rookie contract expired Sunday, and he'll play for the Baltimore Ravens either as their franchise player, at a cost of $14.6 million, or receive the long-term deal he's been seeking.
"It's hard to argue that Joe's not the best guy out there now," Joe Linta, Flacco's contract agent, said.
While he waits, endorsement money is trickling in. Flacco struck a promotional deal before the Super Bowl with Haribo, the maker of the Gold-Bear gummi candies whose U.S. operations are based in Baltimore. The company heard about Flacco's affinity for Haribo's chewy candies, and TBC, the candy maker's Baltimore-based advertising agency, put the pair together.
"He likes our product and he is a likable guy, for a lack of a better description," Haribo America President Christian Jegen said. "He likes the product. He has a family image that fits us."
Flacco's current sponsors are making the most of his newfound national prominence. Baltimore-based First Mariner Bancorp featured the quarterback on its website Monday and posted a message: "We think it's safe to say, he's not your average Joe — perhaps your 'elite' Joe Flacco, or your Super Bowl MVP Joe Flacco, but average, he is not."
While not average on the field, Flacco remains just that to advertisers, said Bob Dorfman, a sports marketing expert at San Francisco's Baker Street Advertising.
"He's certainly a safe pick," Dorfman said, referencing a story about Flacco's own father publicly calling him dull. "He's about as safe a pick as you can get who's not going to get in trouble, and is pretty white bread and does not have any scandals and is unlikely to have any scandals."
Flacco will be very marketable on the local level, Dorfman said, but he's facing much stiffer competition nationally.
There are the model-style looks of New England quarterback Tom Brady and the comedic and acting chops of Denver signal caller Peyton Manning. Then there's a slew of young run-and-gun quarterbacks such as Robert Griffin III, Cam Newton and Flacco's Super Bowl opponent, Colin Kaepernick.
"He's a good-looking guy but nothing, again, terribly flashy that makes him stand out," Dorfman said.
In a soft economy, he said, advertisers do not want to take risks with individual athletes vulnerable to falls from grace. Stars like Lance Armstrong are coming clean about cheating, for instance, and one-time college inspirational story Manti Te'o is trying to explain a bizarre hoax.
Flacco, too, has bruised his own reputation recently by using the word "retarded" during a news conference and getting caught on TV cursing during Sunday's Super Bowl celebration, but Dorfman said the slip-ups shouldn't have much of an effect on his marketability.
Former Oriole catcher and coach Rick Dempsey knows a bit about saying the wrong thing.
In 2007, as an Orioles pregame and postgame show host, he made a comment about domestic violence during a segment in which a player's wife was trying to raise awareness and money for battered women. Dempsey, who said he was trying to make a joke, apologized after the controversy went national. Over the years, he said, he learned from his mistake.
"It's something you learn," Dempsey said. "When you're in front of the public, everyone's going to make some mistakes. But you have to be very cautious of the fact that not everyone thinks the way you do."
Dempsey, the 1983 World Series MVP, can relate to being in a peak marketing position like Flacco, and he has some advice for the quarterback: "Be as accommodating as possible is the best advice I could give him because his playing days will be over before he knows it."
While Kleine, Flacco's marketing agent, is adamant that his client isn't looking to grab the spotlight, Dempsey said that's exactly what he should do.
Accept every charity engagement. Sign every kid's autograph. Be personable with reporters.
"Now is what you have to do to lay the foundation for when your playing days are over. Now is when people find out you're personable," he said. "Every night I signed every freaking autograph until everyone was gone in the parking lot. I never drove through the crowd without signing autographs. That one little guy who wanted my autograph? I couldn't turn my back on him."
Those "little people," he said, grow up to become CEOs, developers and elected officials.
"Those are the same people who are bringing their grandchildren to the ballpark now and are asking me to do speaking engagements for their companies."
Dempsey, 63, has turned to a second career that includes ownership of two restaurants, broadcasting and analyst jobs, an online tie sales and design company, and real estate ventures. Dempsey said he is studying to get his real estate license to work on development projects with partners he met through public relations engagements.
For Flacco, he said, this is the time to strike.
"He's been to the finish line now," Dempsey said. "He's been an MVP. This is going to be with him for the rest of his life. Don't turn your back on people."
Orlando Sentinel reporter Shannon Owens contributed to this article.