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Morning Star's self-organizing marketplace
Morning Star, a privately held company, was started in 1970 as a one-truck owner-operator hauling tomatoes. Today the company is the world's largest tomato processor, with revenues of $700 million a year.
At Morning Star, workers manage themselves and report only to each other. The company provides a system and marketplace that allows workers to coordinate their activities. Every worker has suppliers and customers – and personal relationships – to consider as they go about their work.
Every employee writes a personal mission statement that describes how they will contribute to the company's goal, and is also responsible for the training, resources and cooperation they need to achieve it. Every employee also creates a yearly Colleague Letter of Understanding (CLOU), describing their promises and expectations for the coming year, negotiated in face-to-face meetings with peers. All the agreements, taken together, describe about 3,000 peer-to-peer relationships that describe the activities of the entire organization. Each Morning Star business unit also negotiates agreements with other units in a similar way.
If a worker needs something, they can issue a purchase order. If someone needs help or identifies a new role that's needed to do the job better, they can start the hiring process. The bigger the dollar amount, of course, the more important it is to lobby your peers and get their buy-in for the purchase, because the unit will sink or swim together. Over time, workers tend to move from simpler to more complex roles, hiring people to fill the roles they need to support them. There's no competition for management jobs because there are no management jobs. To get ahead, workers must find better and more valuable ways to serve their peers.
The discipline at Morning Star comes from a strong sense of mutual accountability. Problems are settled through mediation. If mediation can't settle it, a panel of peers is convened. If that doesn't work, a dispute will go to the president for a final decision. If the problem is serious or sustained enough, the worker may be fired. But while people can be fired, nobody has a boss hovering over them. What they do have is customers.
Every two weeks, the company publishes detailed reports of finances and other measures, that are transparent and available to everyone.
Business units are ranked by performance, and those at the bottom of the list can expect a tough conversation. In yearly planning meeting, business units present their plans to the entire company and workers invest using a virtual currency which then informs the budgets for the year. Workers elect compensation committees who evaluate performance and set pay levels based on performance.
Morning Star is a marketplace, where every worker is a business within the business. You can read more about Morning Star on their website or in this excellent HBR article by Gary Hamel, First, Let's Fire All the Managers.


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Sandra Bullock, Ryan Reynolds to produce animated comedy inspired by "Family Guy"
I'm not sure how many of you comedy nerds follow the world of A-list celebs, but you might know that its been rumored — ever since their 2009 flick The Proposal — that actress Sandra Bullock and actor Ryan Reynolds have been banging. Personally, I hope it's true. They're a good-looking couple and I don't mind imagining them grinding their genitals into one another. Whether they're doing that or not,Read more


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NBC's Olympic Studio Furnished with Reclaimed Wood
Image: complements of Duluth Timber
NBC's coverage of the 2010 Olympic Winter Games has drawn comments from the sidelines, ranging from How We Hate NBC's Olympics Coverage: A Statistical Breakdown to NBC delivers the goods in Winter Games coverage. We will stay out of the content debate, but we want to share one thing NBC did right: they hooked up with the Duluth Timber Company for the wood in the broadcasting studio in Vancouver.
All three types of wood from Duluth Timber had just the character we wanted. The grains are fantastic, and the quality of the wood is so wonderful.
Image: complements of Duluth Timber
The set also included Douglas fir recovered from a Vancouver warehouse. The Douglas fir was milled into boards which were kept ordered so that designers could book-match the lumber, providing eye-catching mirror images of the grain pattern. Duluth Timber works exclusively with salvaged and re-sawed wood, under the motto "logging the industrial forest."
The wood will not go to waste when the Olympic games are over. We are told that the Vancouver crew that installed the NBC set will reuse the wood once again.
More 2010 Olympic coverage:
Who Got It Right With Olympic Architecture, Beijing or Vancouver?
Winter Olympics Have Too Much Green and Some Snow
Vancouver Gets a Medal for Green Olympics
Olympics Organizers Sweating Over Lack of Snowfall


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For current Literature Community members, here's a link to our Literature Portal.
Watch the above video for a good one minute introduction to the Literature Community!Volunteer tasks in this community include:
The new Storyteller Course is available at our training site for volunteers who want to record literature and juvenile fiction. Note that there's a Voice Test at the beginning to ensure that you have the kind of voice suited to this type of material.
If you're interested in becoming a Listener, contact Daniel Casper.


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Outdooractive Facility
The software for digital route network
Outdooractive Facility is the easiest solution to digitize the management of tourist infrastructure in order to work more efficiently. Based on the Outdooractive Cartography the whole route network, including all sites that are important for the maintenance, is recorded and maintained in the Outdooractive DMS. The data collection can be performed by smartphone directly on-site with the Outdooractive DMS App. Afterwards the routes' and signposts' state can be documented very thoroughly during the inspection.
All tasks are coordinated centrally, assigned to the respective people responsible and status changes are automatically visible for everyone, e.g. when the task is performed. With different user groups, hierarchies and a detailed rights management it is possible that each interest group involved in the route management uses the same system. Apart from the desktop solution there is also an iOS app for the mobile maintenance including offline storage for maps and contents. The Android app will be available in 2018.


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Don't you just love surprises? Actually, I don't unless they involve beautiful Kate Spade goodies for 75% off! Fortunately, Kate Spade just kicked off their surprise sale and beautiful baby bags, handbags, shoes and jewelry are on sale for as low as $19. Get there early before all the good stuff is gone.
Start Shopping: katespade.com
Sign up for our newsletter for even more great finds delivered right to your inbox.
Click here to email Jeanine, the author of this post.


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At a very young age, author Linda Gray Sexton became her mother's protector and guardian, entering into a relationship she would later describe as both codependent and symbiotic. The oldest of Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Ann Sexton's two daughters, Linda took on the role of caregiver in response to her mother's ongoing struggles with alcoholism, depression, anxiety, and manic episodes that led to multiple suicide attempts and resultant hospitalizations. While Linda's younger sister, Joy, largely survived by avoiding the drama playing out in the Sexton household, Linda became immersed in it. And suffered the consequences.
Her parent's marriage was tempestuous, marked by bouts of drinking and violent arguments which, in the 1960's, remained, like Ann's mental disabilities, a topic not broached in the Sexton household. Eventually, the Sextons divorced and in October 1974, at the age of 45, Ann Sexton went into the garage of their home in an affluent Boston suburb and kiled herself "in her bright red Mercury Cougar," just three months after Linda celebrated her twenty-first birthday. A senior at Harvard College, Linda had been selected by her mother to serve as her literary executor, a huge responsibility which would keep her close to her mother's legacy and contribute to her attempt to evade its pull.
In the ensuing years, Linda would struggle with her guilt over feeling relieved when her mother finally succeeded in taking her own life. Bouts of depression plagued Linda even as a young girl, but as she grew into adulthood, she began to experience more pronounced and debilitating episodes. She fought her condition, determined not to allow her children to experience the same grief and pain that she had experienced as a child, promising them that they would never have to endure what she did vis a vis her own mother's struggles.
Eventually, however, Linda was unable to stave off the feelings of despair, anxiety, and the irresistible urge to experience death in order to be relieved from her ongoing pain. After an initial attempt to end her own life, Linda's husband left her. Sharing custody of their two sons and determined not to cause them additional pain, Linda became a "cutter" for a time — the pain of inflicting wounds with a razor actually served as a brief respite from the pain of her depression and hopelessness, hiding her behavior from everyone, including the doctor who had forced her to sign a contract stating that she would refrain from cutting herself and acknowledging that if she failed, he would refuse to continue treating her. Additional suicide attempts followed.
Eventually, Linda learned that there can be, in fact, a legacy of suicide within families. Appropriate treatment, knowledge, and the unconditional love and support of her family allowed Linda to avoid passing it on to her own children.
When someone takes his/her own life, his/her loved ones are left to come to terms with that irrevocable decision. Frequently wracked with guilt, they are unable to understand why anyone would be driven to such action. Only someone who has actually experienced the profound and desperate sense of hopelessness that leads to suicide can ever really appreciate the magnetic pull of death as a means of escape from unrelenting pain. Author Linda Gray Sexton provides insight in a poignant, almost lyrical memoir in which she details her own struggles with depression, bipolar disorder, and the lure of death as a release from the pain of living. Sexton beautifully and skillfully conveys how debilitating mental disabilities can become and exquisitely details the mesmerizing and seductive solution suicide masquerades as in Half in Love: Surviving the Legacy of Suicide.
Darkling I listen; and for many a timeI have been half in love with easeful Death,Called him soft names in many a mused rhymeTo take him into the air my quiet breath;Now more than ever it seems rich to die,To cease upon the midnight with no pain.~ John Keats,"Ode to a Nightingale"
Even though she was determined not to follow in her mother's troubled footsteps, Sexton found herself slipping down the proverbial rabbit hole into despair and despondency, even as she clung to her own promise to her young sons to save her. She had vowed that she would never allow them to experience the pain of seeing their mother repeatedly hospitalized for treatment, the fear of wondering whether she would survive her next attempt to take her own life, or the sense of rejection and loss that comes from knowing that a parent prefers death to remaining with you.
Half in Love is an extremely difficult read because Sexton tells her story with breathtaking honesty and candor. Her forthright descriptions of her efforts to lead a "normal" life are heart-wrenching, especially as their relate to her determination to provide a different quality of life for her sons.
I'd thought I could pick the sort of mother I would be, as simply as I might pluck events or holidays from a river of experience. I'd thought I could consciously choose the foundation on which I would build the style of my mothering. I'd thought that decisiveness and self-control were the ways we shaped our futures; if those futures were handed down from generation to generation, then to succeed at changing them was still within reach with the application of a little bit of effort. It didn't occur to me then that there was some secret code in both learned behavior and genetic, biological expression that was embedded within us. I could not see that these two factors might actually govern what I did, and what kind of mother I would be, regardless of how I strove to aim at a particular vision of myself in this role. I began to discover, slowly, that it was not a question of pure willpower.
Sexton learned that when dealing with mental disabilities, willpower is insufficient to overcome the symptoms and sometimes devastating consequences. "[P]ure willpower" was not enough to pull her out of the abyss into which she feel so many times." Families do, in fact, pass on many legacies, suicide being among them. Sexton naturally questioned whether it was a genetic predisposition to severe depression or her childhood experiences with her mother that repeatedly drew her to the brink. Regardless, compassionate treatment providers, appropriate medications, informed and understanding friends and family members all contribute to Sexton's ability to refrain from perpetuating the cycle and, instead, pass a legacy of life and survival to her sons. Half in Love: Surviving the Legacy of Suicide is an important work because of the relentless, unapologetic manner in which Sexton relates her experiences. I highly recommend it to anyone who seeks a better understanding of the myriad ways in which mental disabilities impact entire families and desires to become empowered to deal with those struggling with mental disabilities with understanding, compassion, and empathy.


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Waist-Defined Cropped Wide-Leg Jumpsuit for Women
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Tag Archives: Sailing in Italy
Naleia Yachting Announces to Start Its One Way Sailing Trip to Norway from 7th June 2019
Naleia asks adventure freaks to join a pseudo night sailing trip to Norway starting from Tromsø and ending in Svolvær in the Lofoten for a magical experience of raw nature.
Sailing Greece made possible by Naleia Yachting gives you the pleasure to enjoy the off beaten tracks at an affordable rate
Naleia Yachting offers the best possible options for sailing in Greece to have a vacation, which is full of fun and excitement.
When you wish to have an exciting and fun filled vacation in Greece then you need not look any further than Naleia Yachting. Sailing in Greece with them would give you the pleasure of navigating through hilly islands, turquoise coves and gives a chance to spot some Dolphins. It is not the end here they have much more to offer.
The concept that Naleia Yachting shares with you
Naleia Yachting offers sailing course in Croatia under a professional skipper to enhance your sailing skill
The sailing course in Croatia offered by Naleia Yachting gives you the chance to enhance your sailing skills while having fun and excitement.
Sailing holidays in Croatia is the only way to discover hidden gems of Croatia. Thousands of islands, hundreds of uninhabited beautiful bays and historic stone-paved cities that feature UNESCO sites, are waiting to be explored. The sailing course in Croatia organized by Naleia Yachting gives you that opportunity to have such a holiday while having best of sailing training under a professional skipper.
The experience you can expect
Naleia Yachting Offers Flotilla Sailing in Italy along the Sardinia Corsica Sailing Route
Naleia Yachting specializes in organizing flotilla sailing holidays in Italy including sailing package along the Sardinia&Corsica sailing route to enjoy your life at the fullest.
Naleia Yachting offers Sardinia & Corsica sailing package to those seeking to make the most out of their sailing trip while enjoying their life at the fullest. Their sailing triptakes you to the waters of Strait of Bonifaciothat stretches between two paradise islands, Corsica and Sardinia. While taking this trip during your Italy sailing holidays, you can get a chance to enjoy the azure, crystal clear water, the incredible French and Italian cuisines. All that while sailing with almost guaranteedwinds. Your flotilla sailing in Italy covers a visit along the little old historic towns, anchor in nature parks, learning how to sail, relaxing on sandy beaches, taste wines, eat, and sing along in the evening.
Naleia Yachting Assures Yachters A Great Experience of Sailing the Caribbean Rum Route
Naleia Yachting is ready to take yachters for sailing the Caribbean Rum route, allowing them to have fun, socialize and enjoy activities on shore with food, nightlife, and the local rum


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Romanticism Romanticism also known as the Romantic era was an artistic, literary, musical and intellectual movement that originated in Europe toward the end of the th century, and in most areas was at its peak in the approximate period from to .Romanticism was characterized by its emphasis on emotion and individualism as well as glorification of all the past and nature, preferring the British Paintings Famous British Artists Each painting is also discussed briefly alongside information on each artist as well There is a fuller list of the most famous British paintings and artists further down the page, but this website pays particular attention to the likes of JW Turner, JW Waterhouse, Joshua Reynolds, John Constable, Thomas Gainsborough among many others. The best known art movements involved with British art Fine Art Painting History, Mediums, Genres Painting Interpretation In addition to creating a visual object, an artist also aims to infuse it with a degree of intellectual content, in the form of symbolism, a moral or social message, or List of British artists This is a partial list of artists active in Britain, arranged chronologically artists born in the same year should be arranged alphabetically within that year. Romanticism Britannica Romanticism Romanticism, attitude or intellectual orientation that characterized many works of literature, painting, music, architecture, criticism, and historiography in Western civilization over a period from the late th to the mid th century Romanticism can be seen as a rejection of the precepts of Neo Expressionism Definition, Characteristics, History Evolution and History Neo expressionism was put on the map by several major exhibitions of twentieth century paintings which took place in the early s These included A New Spirit in Painting at the Royal Academy in London the shocking Zeitgeist at Martin Gropius Bau in Berlin and Documenta the contemporary art show at Kassel in Germany. Free British lesbian Tube Videos at Brand Porno Will Bree really allow that woman to push the tongue into her pussy Report m s Free British handjob Tube Videos at Brand Porno BrandPorno Hand sorted collection of brand porno movies from HQ tubes New porn videos added several times a day Brandporno, Disclaimer Brandporno Diamond painting kit Etsy You searched for diamond painting kit Etsy is the home to thousands of handmade, vintage, and one of a kind products and gifts related to your search No matter what you re looking for or where you are in the world, our global marketplace of sellers can help you
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Title: [PDF] ↠ Unlimited ì British Romantic Painting : by Raymond Lister ✓
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Published :2018-09-24T07:36:26+00:00


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[Letter from Senator Herman E. Talmadge to Eleanor Brown, June 6, 1977]
Description: Letter from Senator Herman E. Talmadge to Eleanor Brown discussing legislative bill S. 247, which would award military status and veterans' benefits to the WASPs. He mentions that the Veterans' Affairs Committee has held hearings on the bill and that he will keep her comments in mind when the Committee takes further action on the legislation.
Date: June 6, 1977
Creator: Talmadge, Herman E.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Letter
Partner: National WASP WWII Museum


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In the winter of 1985 I was driving through the Mojave Desert with a friend, talking about our apparent need for new river gear. As we passed the Twenty Nine Palms Marine Base, a man unexpectedly appeared on the side of the road selling used ammo cans. My friend and I laughed wildly and quickly came to realize that the moment was "All In A Days' Karma". This blog contains the occasional ramblings of a died-in-the-wool westerner who loves seeing, understanding, and being alive upon these landscapes. I cherish the moments of bliss and irony that come to all of us as we explore the planet and its residents (and perhaps visitors) in the short time we are here.
Thursday, March 15, 2012
Wonderful Video of the Moon and Its Formation
If you have 7 minutes to spare, you'll love this excellent video on the moon! Check it out here: http://www.space.com/14908-moon-evolved-video-guided-tour.html
Saturday, March 10, 2012
Fantastic HD Video of Hawai'ian Lava Flows
Loving' lava? I sure do. Anthony Williams passed this along: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6J6X9PsAR5w
Saturday, March 3, 2012
Interesting Story - Giant Insects found!
This came across my desk yesterday. Look at this island and what was found on it here.
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Follow our bloggers and get the latest trends and information about online marketing, strategies, trends, tactics and our own experiences. Related to Episerver of course but also the market in general.
In email marketing, there is no better time to contact the potential customer than immediately after their newsletter subscription. Why? Because, through their permission, the subscriber has signaled a clear interest in your brand and products – and is awaiting your first email.
Push notifications in smartphones are an exciting cross-channel opportunity. These notifications can provide relevant information and limited-time offers at exactly the right moment. Here are my tips for creating a successful push notification strategy.
Email marketers who think that they can use B2C strategies for B2B marketing may need to think again. Why? Marketing strategies in the B2C sector are based on specific assumptions that may not apply to B2B. There are considerable differences between the two that need to be taken into account.


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Golden Hour MTB Shoot with Justin Kosman
Still on his tour for the Vans Bmx video "Illustrated", Justin Kosman stopped by Woodward, PA for the week to work with the Digital Media campers. One of the many shoots they did together was on the new slopestyle mountain bike course replicating a sunset shoot Justin did during the filming of "Illustrated". Riders: Reed Boggs, Alistair Whitton, Brent Hile, Nick Bruce, Bruno Tatini, Ronnie NapolitanFilmed by - Matt Henry, Evan McCormick, Jordan HuffmanEdited by Jordan HuffmanThumbnail Photo: Josh McElweeLearn more about Woodward Digital Media Camp:http://www.woodwardcamp.com/programs/video-production-camp.htmland to purchase Vans "Illustrated" follow link belowhttps://itunes.apple.com/us/movie/illustrated-a-vans-bmx-video/id1112742907
In This Video Mountain Biking Digital Media BMX
Location Go To Camp


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Background: Methods from 7 manufacturers and 1 distributor for directly measuring HDL cholesterol (C) and LDL-C were evaluated for imprecision, trueness, total error, and specificity in nonfrozen serum samples.
Methods: We performed each direct method according to the manufacturer's instructions, using a Roche/Hitachi 917 analyzer, and compared the results with those obtained with reference measurement procedures for HDL-C and LDL-C. Imprecision was estimated for 35 runs performed with frozen pooled serum specimens and triplicate measurements on each individual sample. Sera from 37 individuals without disease and 138 with disease (primarily dyslipidemic and cardiovascular) were measured by each method. Trueness and total error were evaluated from the difference between the direct methods and reference measurement procedures. Specificity was evaluated from the dispersion in differences observed.
Results: Imprecision data based on 4 frozen serum pools showed total CVs <3.7% for HDL-C and <4.4% for LDL-C. Bias for the nondiseased group ranged from −5.4% to 4.8% for HDL-C and from −6.8% to 1.1% for LDL-C, and for the diseased group from −8.6% to 8.8% for HDL-C and from −11.8% to 4.1% for LDL-C. Total error for the nondiseased group ranged from −13.4% to 13.6% for HDL-C and from −13.3% to 13.5% for LDL-C, and for the diseased group from −19.8% to 36.3% for HDL-C and from −26.6% to 31.9% for LDL-C.
Conclusions: Six of 8 HDL-C and 5 of 8 LDL-C direct methods met the National Cholesterol Education Program total error goals for nondiseased individuals. All the methods failed to meet these goals for diseased individuals, however, because of lack of specificity toward abnormal lipoproteins.
The current national guidelines on the use of LDL cholesterol (LDL-C)1 and HDL-C for cardiovascular risk assessment (1)(2) were largely based on early epidemiologic studies that established the link between lipoproteins and cardiovascular disease. Most of these studies used chemical precipitation methods for HDL-C, and β-quantification or the Friedewald calculation for LDL-C. These older procedures have largely been supplanted by newer direct measurement methods for lipoprotein that do not depend on the physical separation of the different lipoprotein classes. The development of direct measurement methods was prompted, in part, by a recommendation from a National Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP) expert laboratory panel that stated LDL-C should ideally be directly measured (3) because of limitations of the Friedewald equation (4). A disadvantage of precipitation-based HDL-C methods was a requirement for manual pretreatment and centrifugation or some other type of labor-intensive separation step (4). Homogeneous reagents for direct measurement of HDL-C and LDL-C facilitated automation and improved imprecision over the previous methods.
In 2008 there were 7 different commercial homogeneous direct measurement methods for HDL-C and LDL-C determination that were distributed worldwide under various trade names. These methods used a wide variety of different surfactants, ionic polymers, and other components that either selectively prevented or enabled measurement of cholesterol in specific classes of lipoproteins among the full range of lipoprotein particles present in serum. Despite their advantages, there has been concern whether direct lipoprotein methods are analytically equivalent to older methods and to the established reference measurement procedures (RMPs) for HDL-C or LDL-C used as the basis for clinical guidelines.
For samples from dyslipidemic patients, who are higher-risk patients, measurement performance issues are of particular importance, especially when performance differences may affect clinical interpretation of results (4)(5)(6). There have been many studies evaluating direct lipoprotein methods (6)(7)(8)(9)(10)(11)(12)(13)(14)(15), but these investigations usually examined only one or a few of these methods and in many cases did not compare the results to the RMPs. Samples from patients with dyslipidemias or other conditions known to challenge method performance were not always included in previous evaluations. In addition, the various direct lipoprotein methods have undergone considerable changes since their introduction, and older evaluation studies may not be relevant for the latest formulations of these methods.
This study was designed to evaluate direct measurement reagent formulations from 7 manufacturers for quantifying HDL-C and LDL-C. We examined patients with no known disease (nondiseased) as well as patients with known cardiovascular disease and other conditions previously shown to interfere with these methods (diseased), and we compared the results to those obtained with RMPs. We evaluated trueness, accuracy for individual samples, imprecision, and specificity for HDL and LDL lipoproteins, thus providing a comprehensive assessment of the analytical performance of the current direct lipoprotein methods.
Materials and Methods
patient samples
Study participants were recruited at Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center (VCU) and the NIH, with the approval of the respective institutional review boards. Of the 175 individuals enrolled (see Table S1 in the Data Supplement that accompanies the online version of this article at http://www.clinchem.org/content/vol56/issue6 ), 37 (21%) had no known diseases and were not on lipid-lowering drugs (nondiseased group) and 138 (79%) were being treated for cardiovascular disease or had other conditions that might be expected to affect lipoprotein methods (diseased group).
Blood was collected into plain glass vacuum tubes (Becton Dickinson), clotted 60–90 min, and centrifuged (1800g for 10 min at 4 °C). Serum from each study participant was combined and mixed in plastic vials before being divided into aliquots. Two full 6-mL aliquots in plastic tubes were shipped overnight at 4 °C in insulated shipping containers, containing temperature indicators (#310 with #319 refrigerant, Saf-T-Pak), to either the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) or to VCU. Samples were measured by direct methods (VCU) and RMPs (CDC) within 48 h after collection, and all measurements were performed on the same day. Because of unacceptable QC parameters RMP values were not available for 1 HDL-C and 3 LDL-C individual sample measurements.
direct hdl-c and ldl-c methods
Reagents, calibrators, and verification controls were provided by Denka Seiken, Niigata; Kyowa Medex, Tokyo; Sekisui Medical, Tokyo (formerly Daiichi); Serotec, Hokkaido; Sysmex International Reagents, Hyogo; UMA, Shizuoka; and Wako Pure Chemical Industries, Osaka (all located in Japan) and were distributed worldwide under various trade names by instrument manufacturers and reagent suppliers. Roche Diagnostics, Penzberg, Germany, the distributor of Kyowa Medex reagents, also provided reagents with Roche calibrators and controls.
All methods were performed on a Hitachi 917 analyzer (Roche Diagnostics), according to parameters recommended by each manufacturer. Each method was installed on a separate channel and calibrated weekly, and method-specific controls were verified to meet each manufacturer's specifications, except for UMA, which did not provide verification controls. Reagents and calibrators from a single lot were used for the Denka Seiken, Kyowa Medex, Sekisui Medical, and Roche methods; reagents from 2 lots were used for the Serotec, Wako, and UMA methods; and reagent from 1 lot and calibrators from 2 lots were used for the Sysmex method. We verified each lot to conform to the manufacturer's analytical range by recovering a linear concentration relationship for patient sera prepared by mixing samples with increased and low concentrations of each analyte. In addition to the normal wash (Cell Wash Solution, Roche Diagnostics), the reagent probe and each reaction cell underwent an additional wash with 300 μL of Acid Wash Solution (Roche Diagnostics) between each measurement to minimize reagent carryover. We verified that instrument pipette and spectrophotometer CVs were <0.5% weekly, by using a solution of 0.068 mol/L potassium dichromate in 0.005 mol/L H2SO4, with 0.145 mol/L NaCl and 1% (vol/vol) Hitergent® (Roche Diagnostics).
Aliquots of 4 off-the-clot frozen human serum pools, prepared according to the CLSI C37A protocol (16), were provided by the CDC and measured in duplicate before and after each run. Frozen pools and patient samples were measured in the sequence shown in online Supplemental Table S2. A maximum of 8 patient samples were measured in a run, which required 2 h to complete all methods.
reference measurement procedures
The reference measurement procedures for HDL-C and LDL-C were performed at the CDC (17). Chylomicrons and VLDL were removed by ultracentrifugation of 5 mL of serum, overlaid with 0.195 mol/L NaCl, for 16.2 h at a mean of 120 000g (33 700 rpm) in a Beckman-type 50.4 rotor at 18 °C. The top layer, which contained chylomicrons and VLDL components, was removed by slicing the tube. The remaining bottom fraction containing HDL and LDL was quantitatively transferred to a 5-mL volumetric flask, and the volume was made up to 5 mL with 0.15 mol/L sodium chloride. The cholesterol in this bottom fraction was analyzed by the Abell-Kendall RMP (18). For HDL-C measurements, a 2-mL aliquot of the bottom fraction was precipitated with 80 μL of injectable heparin (5000 USP units/mL plus 0.15 mol/L NaCl in water) and 100 μL of 1.0 mol/L manganese chloride in water to remove lipoproteins that contained apolipoprotein B. We measured the HDL-C in the supernatant by using the RMP for cholesterol. Beta-quantification LDL-C was obtained by subtracting the HDL-C concentration from the corresponding bottom-fraction cholesterol concentration. Ultracentrifugation was performed in duplicate, except for 21 samples for which insufficient serum was available. Duplicate cholesterol reference measurements were performed for each bottom fraction and HDL supernatant (net 4 HDL-C or LDL-C results for each sample, except 18 of 696 HDL supernatant measurements and 36 of 688 bottom-fraction measurements that had 3 results each owing to outlier exclusions).
other methods
Measurement procedures for other analytes and statistical procedures, including estimation of error components, definition of error component terms, and evaluation of the Genzyme (Cambridge, MA) calibrator for HDL-C reagents, are described in the online Supplemental Data file.
The imprecision of each method was determined from 4 frozen serum pools (see online Supplemental Table S4). The total CV for HDL-C on the individual frozen serum pools ranged from 1.5% (Sekisui) to 3.7% (Sysmex) and was below the HDL-C imprecision goal of ≤4%. All the LDL-C methods showed imprecisions with total CVs ranging from 1.4% (Kyowa) to 3.7% (Serotec), with only 1 pool (#715) with 1 method (Serotec) having a CV of 4.4%, which exceeded the LDL-C imprecision goal of ≤4%.
Online Supplemental Figs. S1–S16 show plots for the 4 frozen serum pools on each day of measurement over the 28-week study. For LDL-C, there was a shift in results for Serotec (3.6% to 7.5%) and UMA (−4.9% to −2.1%) methods concurrent with reagent-lot changes, and a shift in the Sysmex results (−3.9% to 3.3%) concurrent with a calibrator-lot change. The influences of among day effects and reagent- and calibrator-lot changes are included in the imprecision statistics based on frozen pools.
Online Supplemental Tables S5 and S6 show differences in mean results for the frozen pools measured at the beginning and end of each 2-h run. The magnitude of change from beginning to end of HDL-C runs ranged from −1.0% to 3.4% and for LDL-C ranged from −0.4% to 3.5%, with more frequent observation of higher values at the end of runs. The position effects are included in the imprecision statistics based on frozen pools.
trueness and total error
Figs. 1⇓ and 2⇓ show box-and-whisker plots for the nondiseased and diseased groups for the percentage differences between the means of triplicate measurements of each sample and its RMP value for the HDL-C and LDL-C methods, respectively. The median difference in the nondiseased group is a close approximation of the trueness of the calibration, whereas the median difference is influenced by nonspecificity in the diseased group. The interquartile distance and range are related to the lipoprotein specificity and total error. As can be seen for all the methods, there were considerably more discordant results for the diseased vs nondiseased study participants. Sysmex and Wako HDL-C methods showed consistent negative and positive biases, respectively, compared to the RMP. For LDL-C, the Roche, Serotec, and Sysmex methods showed a consistent negative bias.
Online Supplemental Figs. S17–S32 show plots of the percentage differences vs the RMPs for each method. Nearly all discordant results occurred in the diseased group. Except for the UMA methods, which had discordant results throughout the concentration range for both HDL-C and LDL-C, most of the other methods had discordant results mostly at lower HDL-C (<1 mmol/L; <40 mg/dL) and LDL-C (<2.5 mmol/L; <100 mg/dL) concentration ranges.
total error for single measurements
The total error for a single measurement was based on the first result (no replication) for each sample. The percentage of results (without exclusions) for each method that were within the NCEP total error goals are shown in Table 1⇓ . For nondiseased individuals, most of the HDL-C methods reached the 95% acceptance criterion (3), and only the Serotec and UMA methods did not meet this criterion. The performance of all the HDL-C methods considerably deteriorated for the samples from the diseased group. Only the Roche and Sekisui methods for HDL-C met the total error goals for the diseased study patients. In general, the performance of the LDL-C methods was not as good as the HDL-C methods for both the diseased and nondiseased samples, with 4 of the LDL-C methods not meeting the criterion for the nondiseased individuals and all the methods failing for the diseased individuals. For the Serotec LDL-C method, only slightly more than half the results for the diseased study participants were within the NCEP total error goal.
error sources contributing to total error
Table 2⇓ shows the contribution of different major sources of error for the nondiseased and diseased groups. Note that some markedly discordant results, frequently from the same individuals, were excluded as outliers for the error component analysis to avoid any disproportionate influence on mean bias or CV attributable to patient sample specific effects (CVd; see online Supplemental Data for details). Thus, the error components listed in Table 2⇓ may be underestimated in some cases.
For the nondiseased group, 6 of 8 HDL-C methods met the NCEP total error goal of ≤13%. The Serotec method and the UMA method, however, minimally exceeded this limit, primarily owing to increased imprecision from sample-specific effects (CVd). In contrast, all of the HDL-C methods exceeded the total error goal for the diseased individuals, sometimes by substantial amounts. Most of the excess error was attributable to sample-specific effects (CVd), most likely due to inadequate specificity for the HDL-C lipoprotein class, but several of the methods also exceeded the recommended mean bias of ≤5%.
For the LDL-C methods, 5 of 8 met the NCEP total error goal of ≤12% for the nondiseased group. The Denka, Roche, and Sysmex methods minimally exceeded the total error goal owing to a combination of imprecision and bias. All LDL-C methods substantially exceeded the total error goal for the diseased individuals, primarily because of sample-specific effects (CVd). Three of the LDL-C methods showed a negative mean bias exceeding the goal of ≤4% for both the nondiseased and diseased groups.
specificity issues for classes of interfering substances
To investigate an association between triglyceride concentrations and discordant results, all results were combined and grouped into triglyceride tertiles (Figs. 3⇓ and 4⇓ ). Five of 8 HDL-C methods were found to have a mean bias that exceeded the total error goal for the high triglyceride group. Increased triglycerides caused either a positive or negative bias, depending on the method. Furthermore, the frequency of discordant cases that exceeded the NCEP total error goal was usually smallest in the low or middle tertile and greatest in the high tertile. For LDL-C, higher triglycerides were associated with an increase in the direct LDL-C results compared to the RMP, except for the Serotec method, which had a mean negative bias exceeding the total error goal for the high tertile. For the low triglycerides tertile, 7 of 8 LDL-C methods showed a negative bias, with the Roche method exceeding the total error goal. No consistent pattern was observed for the frequency of discordant LDL-C results with triglyceride concentration.
We also inspected the clinical information for all study participants whose samples had a result that differed from the RMPs by ≥20% (see online Supplemental Tables S7 and S8). For HDL-C, all but 1 of 42 study participants came from the diseased group. All of these individuals except 3 had cardiovascular disease and/or a known dyslipidemia. All 40 study participants with discordant LDL-C results came from the diseased group and all except 2 had cardiovascular disease and/or dyslipidemia.
There were only a limited number of study participants with increased IgG (range 20.0–44.2 g/L, n = 4), total bilirubin (range 26–58 μmol/L [1.5–3.4 mg/dL], n = 7), or alanine aminotransferase (range 83–110 U/L, n = 4), making it difficult to fully assess interferences from conditions associated with these analytes. One patient with end-stage renal disease who was receiving dialysis treatment, with 37.7 g/L IgG and 25 g/L albumin, had HDL-C values that were 16% to 58% lower than the RMP and LDL-C values that were 22% to 63% lower than the RMP for the different methods, except for the Roche HDL-C and LDL-C methods, which showed no discrepancy with RMP values. Other study participants in this subpopulation had HDL-C and LDL-C results <20% different from the RMPs.
The NCEP accuracy goals for HDL-C and LDL-C were based, in part, on the state of the art of laboratory testing at the time the guidelines were developed, and on clinical need for accurate classification of chronic heart disease risk and monitoring of lipid treatment goals. Numerous studies have shown that these accuracy goals were largely met with the precipitation-based HDL-C methods (19), but because errors were compounded in the multiple analytes used for calculating LDL-C by the Friedewald equation, as well as other limitations, these methods were considered unsatisfactory (3)(4).
The composition of lipoproteins in various dyslipidemias influences the ability of direct methods to specifically measure the cholesterol content of one lipoprotein class in the presence of other types of lipoproteins. Consequently, it has been challenging to manufacture direct methods with adequate specificity, because a large number of factors related to genetics, nutrition, disease, and treatment affect the composition of lipoproteins. The direct methods performed well for the nondiseased group, but they all had unacceptable total error for the diseased group (Tables 1⇑ and 2⇑ ). The primary contributing error components were sample-specific influences. The most likely limitation was nonspecificity for the intended lipoprotein density fraction in the presence of abnormal lipoproteins. Measurements for samples with high or low triglycerides, in particular, were challenged to agree with the RMPs (Figs. 3⇑ and 4⇑ ). The concentrations of triglycerides in the various lipoprotein fractions are known to be highly variable and to change with lipid disorders and other conditions (20). It is not possible, however, to rule out the potential influence of other interfering substances that may have been present in some of the diseased study participants, most of whom were taking a number of drugs and had various comorbidities. Nonfasting samples, which, according to the manufacturers, are acceptable for use in the direct methods, likely introduced additional confounders that were not investigated in this study.
In many cases the differences between the direct method results and RMPs were sufficiently large (Figs. 1⇑ and 2⇑ ; Table 2⇑ ) that they could affect the clinical management of patients. Many of the discordant cases were individuals with low HDL-C, which frequently occurs with hypertriglyceridemia (21). Several patients with a genetic disorder in lipid metabolism, such as LCAT deficiency, had direct-method results that differed so markedly from the RMPs and from the typical values seen in these kinds of patients with HDL-C precipitation–based methods and a calculated LDL-C that they could have been misdiagnosed. Inaccurate HDL-C results may also lead to incorrect cardiovascular risk assessments and to improper choices in drug therapy.
Many of the discordant results were present at lower analyte concentrations. Given the recent interest in more aggressively treating individuals with drugs to lower LDL-C below 1.8 mmol/L (70 mg/dL) to reverse existing atherosclerotic disease (22), accurate measurement of low LDL-C will likely become more important in the future. It is important to note that for some direct methods 30%–45% of test results fell outside the NCEP total error goals for the diseased group (Table 1⇑ ), which would be expected to reduce the overall effectiveness of screening for cardiovascular risk assessment by direct HDL-C or LDL-C measurements. It is important to note that the frequency and magnitude of the errors observed in this study may be different in other populations that may have different types of dyslipidemias. Several of the patients recruited from the NIH had rare genetic lipid disorders, and the results from these patients may not be representative of the typical performance of the direct methods. However, the majority of the other patients from the NIH and from VCU, who were recruited from a cardiology clinic, had more common forms of lipid disorders (see online Supplementary Tables S1, S7, and S8).
Strengths of this investigation include examination of a range of individuals without disease and patients with various types of lipoprotein disorders and other diseases known to have caused errors in earlier generations of direct measurement reagents. Direct measurement reagents from 7 primary manufacturers were included, and measurements with each method were made at the same time with a single automated analyzer. The RMPs were unmodified and performed by the CDC. Blood collection and processing to obtain serum was performed in the same manner as is typical for clinical testing, and all measurements, including the RMPs, were performed within 2 days of collection on sera stored at 4–8 °C. Sufficient data were available to use an error component model to determine the relative contributions to total error from various sources. The error component model avoided biased estimates by using differences of ln(concentration) instead of relative percentage differences.
Limitations of this investigation include small changes in results for frozen serum controls from beginning to end of some runs for the direct methods (see online Supplemental Tables S5 and S6 and Supplemental Figs. S1–S16). Examination of the measurement sequence (see online Supplemental Table S2) indicated that any evaporation would not have affected results for patient samples, but may have contributed to the observed CVs for the frozen serum pools. However, the interassay (from controls) and intraassay (from patient sample replicates) CVs (Table 2⇑ ) were similar for each method, suggesting the magnitude of changes during a run was not an important influence on conclusions. Reagent and calibrator lot changes were not systematically evaluated; however, there were apparent influences of reagent lot on frozen serum pool results for 2 of 3 LDL-C methods that had reagent-lot changes during the study.
A limitation in the error component analysis included exclusion of some outliers either because the values were 0 (logarithm of 0 not possible) or the values were highly discrepant from the RMPs (difference of ln(concentration) exceeded ±0.8). Outlier exclusion criteria were somewhat arbitrary; those chosen gave reasonable estimates of dominating error sources while excluding results that would have excessively influenced bias and SD terms.
The current NCEP Adult Treatment Panel recommendations for cardiovascular risk assessment were based on epidemiologic results, with use of the Friedewald equation to estimate LDL-C, and HDL-C methods that produced results in agreement with the RMP. Direct HDL-C and LDL-C methods have been used with the same decision points; however, the relationship of direct method results to cardiovascular risk assessment has not been systematically investigated.
In summary, 6 of 8 HDL-C and 5 of 8 LDL-C direct methods met the NCEP total error goals for nondiseased individuals, but all direct methods failed to meet these goals for samples from patients with cardiovascular disease and/or dyslipidemia. Sample-specific effects were the dominant cause of discrepant results.
Author Contributions: All authors confirmed they have contributed to the intellectual content of this paper and have met the following 3 requirements: (a) significant contributions to the conception and design, acquisition of data, or analysis and interpretation of data; (b) drafting or revising the article for intellectual content; and (c) final approval of the published article.
Authors' Disclosures of Potential Conflicts of Interest: Upon manuscript submission, all authors completed the Disclosures of Potential Conflict of Interest form. Potential conflicts of interest:
Employment or Leadership: W.G. Miller, AACC, CLSI; G.W. Vetrovec, Merck, Pfizer, and Abbott.
Consultant or Advisory Role: G.W. Vetrovec, FDA - New Cardiovascular Devices Panel, Gilead (CV Therapeutics), Lilly, and Daiichi Sankyo.
Stock Ownership: G.W. Vetrovec, Abbott, Merck, Pfizer, Medtronics, Boston Scientific, Johnson & Johnson, Cardinal Health, Hospira, Medco Health Solutions, Schering Plough, and Owens and Minor.
Honoraria: None declared.
Research Funding: W.G. Miller, PI for this investigation, sources acknowledged in manuscript; G.W. Vetrovec, Merck, Pfizer, Abbott, and Schering Plough; A.T. Remaley, NIH.
Expert Testimony: None declared.
Other: G.W. Vetrovec, Pfizer, Gilead (CV Therapeutics), Lilly/Daiichi Sankyo, Cordis (all 4 are speaker bureau related), Cordis—Johnson & Johnson and Corindus (both relate to grants for education or research under discussion at time of declaration).
Role of Sponsor: The funding organizations played no role in the design of study, choice of enrolled patients, review and interpretation of data, or preparation or approval of manuscript.
Acknowledgments: The authors are grateful to each of the Japanese manufacturers mentioned in the Methods section, who provided financial support, reagents, calibrators, and controls for this evaluation, and to US distributors Genzyme, who provided their HDL-C calibrator, and Pointe Scientific, who provided financial support. We thank Roche Diagnostics for providing reagents, calibrators, and controls, plus the loan of a Hitachi 917 instrument for use in this investigation. We thank Pacific Biometrics Research Foundation for financial support, and T. Mallory for arranging the support from the US distributors. We appreciate the assistance of Drs. T. Gehr, D. Carl, A. Vinnikova, and V. Luketic, along with C. Sargeant, for recruiting patients at VCU. We also thank K. Dobbin and E. Monsell at CDC for performing the cholesterol RMP measurements and statistical calculations, respectively.
1 Determined from the first result (not the mean of triplicate measurements) for each study participant. No study participants were excluded.
2 Total error criteria for HDL-C are: 95% of results ≤13% (with desirable imprecision ≤4% and bias ≤5%) when HDL-C is ≥1.09 mmol/L (≥42 mg/dL), and, when HDL-C is <1.09 mmol/L (<42 mg/dL), within a percentage determined by using a fixed 0.044 mmol/L (1.7 mg/dL) SD in the equation: 5% bias + [(1.96 × 0.044 mmol/L × 100)/concentration (in mmol/L)].
3 Total error criteria for LDL-C are: 95% of results ≤12% (with desirable imprecision ≤4% and bias ≤4%).
1 See online Supplemental Data for detailed explanation of error component terms, criteria for outlier exclusion, and calculation of total error from the estimated component contributions.
2 HDL-C, diseased group results excluded and difference value: sample 108, 0.99 mmol/L (38 mg/dL), from UMA (126%); sample 220, 0.66 mmol/L (25 mg/dL), from Serotec (−58%); sample 310, 0.1 mmol/L (4 mg/dL), from Sekisui (−60%), Serotec (339%), Sysmex (327%), Wako (674%); sample 348, 0.33 mmol/L (13 mg/dL), from Serotec (326%), Sysmex (−100%, <LOQ).
3 LDL-C, diseased group results excluded and difference value: sample 101, 2.95 mmol/L (114 mg/dL), from UMA (−60%); sample 102, 4.20 mmol/L (162 mg/dL), from UMA (−62%); sample 108, 4.44 mmol/L (172 mg/dL), from UMA (−77%); sample 145, 0.78 mmol/L (30 mg/dL), from Serotec (−100%, <LOQ); sample 178, 0.81 mmol/L (31 mg/dL), from Serotec (−100%, <LOQ); sample 220, 0.67 mmol/L (26 mg/dL), from Sysmex (−63%); sample 310, 2.56 mmol/L (99 mg/dL), from Kyowa (−98%), Roche (−100%, <LOQ), Serotec (−100%, <LOQ), Sysmex (−79%), UMA (−91%), Wako (−87%); sample 348, 0.60 mmol/L (23 mg/dL) and very lipemic, Kyowa (−96%), Roche (−100%, <LOQ), Sekisui (147%), Serotec (−100%, <LOQ), Sysmex (185%), UMA (−100%, <LOQ), Wako (142%); sample 349, 0.07 mmol/L (2.6 mg/dL), all methods.
↵1 Nonstandard abbreviations: C, cholesterol; NCEP, National Cholesterol Education Program; RMP, reference measurement procedure; VCU, Virginia Commonwealth University; CDC, US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
- © 2010 The American Association for Clinical Chemistry


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Band: Valdur
Album: Divine Cessation
Label: Bloody Mountain Records
Genre: Black/Death Metal
Country: USA
Release Date: 1 December, 2017
Here's a little about how I arrive at that number rating for an album below. It's not rocket science or some weird formula, it's mostly by feel and what the record does for me, personally. I do try and take into account what others might think but in the end, I'm the one doing the listening and writing, so you're mostly getting my reaction.
If an album can string together a collection of songs that are, you know, actual songs and actually work as songs, you're gonna get a base 5 rating right out the gate. Because hey, no matter how many critics like to pretend it's easy, it ain't easy to write a song, much less five or more, and make them work. So you're halfway there, in my book.
Any rating above that gets a point because of several factors: great playing/technique will get you another one, doing something new or putting a spin on a genre will get you another one, but to get all the way to a 9 or 10, you better do something pretty exceptional.
Which, in my long-winded way, brings us to the album by Valdur, Divine Cessation. Let me state right away that this is a solid 7, so before I delve into more specifics, know that it's a cut above a lot of records available out there.
Here's the thing, though, it doesn't move me. Is it brutal? Yes. Is it heavy? Yes. Is the playing good to great? Yes. But the songs aren't memorable and what they do, while more than competent, doesn't feel particularly striking. This is an unremarkable record, but one I can't bag on because hey, they're pretty good. It just doesn't do it for me.
The objective of Valdur, I believe, is to set things right. They believe in the brutality of the mix of Black and Death Metal, and they feel like maybe too many other bands are straying from the roots. Valdur does not stray. They stay on the straight and narrow, and they thrash it out with abandon. You can't question their street cred, these guys are like Motorhead in the sense that they keep it real and you know what you're going to get. This is heavy, the guitars crunching and shredding, the bass laying down a solid foundation, and the drums rapid and powerful, with lots of cool cymbal work. The vocals are low and dirty and mean and do exactly what you'd want from a band like this. I truly believe that the band is proud of their work here, and they should be. They spit out a consistent, foaming bile of Blackened Death that would send a lot of bands running. Their pride is well-founded and deserved: they've done what they set out to do.
For me, though, it doesn't do a lot. It has simply gone in one ear and out the other. Nothing here sets it apart from most of the middle of the pack bands, except for that tenacious drive, and the talent on display. That's why it's getting a better rating than you might think, given how negative this review appears. And I don't want to be negative, I want to explain simply why it isn't remarkable, or worthy of an 8 or better in my eyes. For some of you out there, you'll eat this up and ask for a second and third helping and, when you've drowned yourself in this merciless assault, you'll maybe think about what I've written here and roll your eyes. And that's okay, to each their own.
I'm looking forward to seeing what Valdur do in the future. I think they could expand a bit, add some nuance to the brutality, stretch it out a little, put in some spaces here and there, and make something different but still vital to their core beliefs (see what they do about five minutes into closer, "Potent Black Orb," as an example of what I mean). However, if they stick to their guns and do more music like this, there is no shame there at all. I can guarantee you one thing: these guys are good, and they won't ever put out a bad record. Solid, heavy, brutal, intense, but just not varied enough to reach the next level. Yet.
Rating: 7/10
1. Breath of the Beast
2. Divine Cessation
3. The Tail
4. Seething Disgust
5. Doomed
6. Plague Born of a Dying Star
7. Potent Black Orb
Total Playing Time: 40:49


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Freedom City: Chapter IV
Editor's Note: We now present the next excerpt from Philip Becnel's new satirical novel, Freedom City. Just to remind you, in the book he envisions a fascistic post-Trump America. But, fortunately, a band of merry monkey wrenchers sets out to defend democracy. This week, we are giving you chapter 4, which is (alas) the last…Read More
Russia Nuke A Post-Trump Message
In sum: Russia has leaked the news that it now has a cobalt-salted super-nuclear torpedo that threatens the world. However, it just might be that the "news" has more to do with sending a coded message to Post-Trump America than with any real military threat 1. Superweapon A few mornings back, I…Read More


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In the beginning…
When humans were first created by the Sun, Moon, and Earth they were gifted with two faces, four arms and legs. They ran and fought with the strength of two, thought with the sharpness of two minds and listened with four ears. Complete and perfect they soon became arrogant, and with this amazing power they dared to scale Mt. Olympus and attack the gods themselves.
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Two halves of a whole
Chapter 1. Blame the Fruitloop
Phantom tightened his arms around the familiar material of a much loved white and red shirt. His green eyes wide with terror that was only beginning to ebb away as he shot through the night sky of Amity Park like a bat out of hell. In his arms the seventeen year old boy shifted. His fingers dug into the black spandex of the ghost boy's suit, clinging with a reflection of the fear that was pushing Phantom to breakneck speeds.
Silently daring himself to look the ghost preformed a quick twist in the air, checking if they were being tailed, but his glance revealed nothing but the empty black sky, lighted by an ivory moon. The street lights of the metropolis sprawling out in all directions underneath them. Phantom relaxed as if a weight had been taken off his shoulders and slowed from his top speed, only to be suddenly spurred back to them as a violent memory flashed in his mind. Unable to move… those bright lights… the horrible pain in his chest so intense he felt like his heart was being ripped out.
He shot forward, his head down and eyes closed as if he could outrun the events of the last five hours. However it wasn't long before rationality kicked back in and he remembered that he had long since escaped. In an attempt to distract himself from his memories and because he needed to come to terms with recent events, he shifted his flight pattern so that the wind wouldn't impede conversation.
Softly he spoke his first name, directing it to the boy in his arms. The word carried with it all he thought of as himself, the very ideas that had been just recently shattered all over the laboratory floor.
Two aqua eyes responded to the sound, glancing up from under a fringe of dark hair. Green and blue irises met and Phantom stopped in midair. It would seem that he was still unable to truly understand what had just happened to him… or them as of now…
The ghost watched the emotion on the human's face, finding it very odd to see it when it wasn't a reflection of his own. He watched as fear changed to confusion then into anger. Danny leaned back in his alter ego's arms and swore loudly into the empty sky. Phantom was a little taken aback by the outburst, until he realized that when the terror wore off he would likely feel the exact same way.
"Stupid… fucking… ghha! Why does he do this shit to me?" Danny finally managed to shout, putting his thoughts into more than just expletives. Phantom sighed, or rather he made the motions, a little distressed when he realized no air was coming from or to his lungs. Ignoring it for now he responded to himself "-Because he's a hopelessly deluded, seriously fucked up fruit loop."
The arms around Phantom's back moved to settle around his shoulders. His human self was regarding him again, a look in his eyes that the Phantasm couldn't read. Somehow the Ghost found this very unsettling, and it took him a few moments to realize why. He couldn't read his own thoughts. He didn't know exactly what Danny was feeling… The knowledge brought forth a sudden pang of loss that was thankfully interrupted by another outburst from the human.
"Ohhhh shit… what am I supposed to do now…" Danny moaned, his piercing gaze shifting to the pinpricks of stars that played witness to this exchange between selves. Phantom, who had so far proved to be the more grounded of the two, (ironic as it was considering he was the one floating) felt the need to try to comfort his human self.
"Stop worrying, we will find a way to fix this... It's not like we haven't had to deal with a few extra of us before." He propped the human up a little, and despite the day they both had he attempted a reassuring smile. Nevertheless the look Danny gave him for this statement was much closer to his 'worried about a math test' face than anything resembling relieved.
"Vlad used the word permanently, twice.." Danny muttered softly. Phantom cringed at the reminder, recalling pieces of Vlad's self-indulgent tirade on just how clever his method of splitting Danny apart had been, and even more disturbingly, how he planned to use it to gain the other as an heir. "So what?" Phantom asserted, "If I had a nickel for every time Vlad was wrong about something-"
A trace of a grin passed over the human's lips at this reflection of his own self-assuredness and he nodded in agreement. Pleased with this, Phantom resumed his intent of getting them both back home safely, the breeze picking up, brushing his white hair back and making the loose bits of Danny's clothing ruffle.
It was almost lost in the rush of the wind, but Phantom heard it when Danny muttered "…but this time it feels different…"
Fenton's grip tightened on Phantom again, a shiver running down his back as he phased them through their bedroom wall. Green eyes checked over the room to make sure it was empty before changing back into visible form, flying over to the bedstead and unceremoniously dropping his passenger onto the mattress.
The human gave a small yelp of protest before realizing that he had landed safely. He propped himself up on his elbows, only realizing after he started moving how sore the nights events had left him. He groaned loudly as Phantom perched himself on the end of their bed. His glowing gaze passed over his human self, concern showing in his furrowed brows. "Nothings broken, is it?" he asked, remembering how susceptible full humans were to injury.
"No.. Just a little sore-" Danny's sentence was interrupted by a loud yawn so wide that Phantom could have counted his molars, "and tired" he finished, slumping back on his bed, eyes half closing and muscles visibly relaxing.
Phantom blinked, only realizing now that Danny had mentioned it how oddly energized he felt. A fact that seemed even stranger when a quick look at the bedside clock told him it was just passed three in the morning. However he did remember feeling like this before, when he had separated into two for the first time and his superhero persona had gained all their powers.
If that was the case, it was likely he wouldn't be able to transform into a human until they sorted this mess out. Glancing down at his gloved fingers the ghost boy decided that he might as well give it a go, just so he knew what he was dealing with. Without another thought, he closed his eyes and summoned the two white transformation rings.
The flash of light snapped his human self out of his half-slumber and when Phantom reopened his eyes he found Danny staring at him in confusion. He looked down at his hands, seeing pure white skin and short cut nails, but no gloves... He fell off his perch in surprise, but instead of dropping like a stone he found himself floating backwards.
He hung upside down for a moment before righting himself, quickly drifting over to the mirror that rested on his dresser. He raised a hand to his cheek, appraising the slightly mixed appearance that looked back through the glass. He still had the snow white hair and glowing green eyes, but his skin was slightly paler than he could ever remember it being and his ghostly aura was dulled.
He was wearing a black T-shirt with white rings on the end of the sleeves and the hem of the shirt, his large D and inner P symbol still displayed proudly across his chest. Not unlike the one he had been given courtesy of the Fenton crammer and his slowly waning powers, but this time his pants were only shaped like his casual jeans. Instead he had Black dress pants and white boots that were a little narrower and more running shoe shaped than his regular butt-kickers.
"Okay... That's weird," Danny asserted from across the room. Phantom turned to him, "You're telling me" He replied, walking over to the bedside and staring pointedly at the human.
"You should try transforming too, maybe it will give us a better idea of how we were split," Phantom suggested. The teenager nodded and leaned back. Spectral rings erupted in a flash of bright light, trailing over the young male's body and turning his clothes into a sleek one-piece covering every inch of his body from the neck down.
Phantom frowned and Danny looked back up at him, his expression silently asking if it had worked properly. To which the answer was a big fat 'not so much'. His suit was the wrong color, or more accurately the right color. The white on black that he had remembered pulling on just over three years ago, before he had walked into the Phantom portal and changed everything. It was even missing the little addition Sam had made to it in the midst of the Desiree debacle. Even Danny's hair was still the normal jet black, and his blue eyes were as dim as any ordinary human's.
Phantom lowered himself to the ground, taking a few steps to see how it felt. When he turned back he saw that Danny had forced himself up, and with a few more growls of discomfort he had wandered over to the mirror to check on the results.
"Do you feel any more powerful?" the silver haired boy asked, taking a few more careful steps over to Fenton. "Not really… I just feel kind of stupid in this outfit... " Danny replied, shrinking away from Phantom a little bit when he gave him a glare for the comment. Phantom rolled his eyes and wrapped his fingers around Danny's black-gloved hand, dragging the teen back to bed.
"This is bad, isn't it?" the more human of the two asked as he was pushed back into bed. Phantom looked him in the eyes again and the grip on his wrist tightened.
"It's different, for one the line between us is not half as clear as it was when we split with the Ghost Catcher." The phantasm mused sitting on the side of the bed.
"Yha, for one I feel like myself… well minus the ghost powers... but I don't feel like I have zero concept of responsibility or want to OD on Cheetos…" Danny added, before trailing off and resting against his pillow. Phantom looked at him for a moment before deciding that reassurance was best for now. There was no way they were going to be able to solve this tonight and the more sleep his mortal half got the better he would be to help him find a solution tomorrow.
"We will find a way to work it out.." Phantom offered, patting Danny on the shoulder. Pulling his hand away for a moment when the energy rings reappeared and took away the human's white suit. The teenager rolled over onto his side facing his other self, letting out a deep sigh.
His eyes were back on Phantom and he started to ask "What if…" before he seemed to think better of it and closed his mouth. However phantom was already feeling slightly wary of the fact that he could no longer share Danny's thoughts and the hero pressed for the rest of the question. Sadly he was unprepared when he eventually received it.
"What if we're no longer two parts of the same.. You know… Person?"
The question struck something deep inside the ghost boy and his first reaction was to push it away. Of course he and Danny were still the same being. They shared a voice, appearance, and memories. They were just temporarily separated, but they were far too compatible to be kept apart for long. You couldn't have Danny Fenton without Phantom. They were one on the most basic of levels, right into the DNA.
He shook his head and almost laughed, assuring his other half that it was not likely. Danny didn't look convinced but he was too sleepy to argue. Instead he closed his eyes and wrapped his arms around his pillow, clutching it to his chest. Phantom wandered off for a moment and returned dragging one of Danny's beanbag chairs back over to the bed. He settled down on top of it and got himself comfortable.
He was about to close his eyes and rest, even if he knew it was unlikely he would sleep, when a soft sound came from the teen on the bed. "Hey, Phantom?" he murmured, his hand reaching out over the side of the bed. The ghost took the offered hand with his own and nodded that he was listening. "Vlad was just talking crazy when he said that if you remained separated from me you would turn evil… right?
Phantom paused, recalling that part of the malevolent man's rant vary clearly all of a sudden. He shook his head, ridding himself of the idea. As far as he could tell he was just as compassionate as he had always been. He was still worried about Danny for one, and he didn't wish to see anyone hurt… well besides Vlad for forcing them into this mess, but that was more than deserved.
"He was, I feel no different now than I did when we were one." Phantom answered, not strictly true but the best way to calm the human. Satisfied with the answer the teen fell fast asleep, seemingly forgetting to take back his hand. Phantom didn't seem to mind and didn't bother letting go as he retired into his own thoughts, listening to the quiet of the night and the occasional echoes of their dad's snoring coming from the room down the hall.
It gets better after the first chapter… it's been I while since I felt the need to write fan fiction so I'm a little rusty. Also I'm looking for a Bata reader if anyone is interested… (And has way too much time on their hands)
also I pretty much wrote this story in between watching episodes from the show, so expect a lot of references to cannon. Especially where weapons are concerned.


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About Lexi Sexton
Last Login Mon, 15 August 2016
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- Name: Lexi Sexton
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Hey, I'm Lexy. I'm open minded girl seeking for her knight to explore the land of pleasure. Do you know any adventurous volunteer, Big Boy? =O


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The Toyota Hiace has been one of the best passenger haulers in Nepal ever since its arrival. You can find a Hiace just about in any part of the country. Large stature, spacious seats and if you have ever traveled in one or been in a highway duel against one of these, you know that these are fast. So much so that these vans earned the unofficial title of "Janata ko Pajero" here in Nepal. Now images have surfaced online that shows the new and improved people carrier scheduled for 2020.
The all-new premium MPV from the Japanese carmaker moves away from the cab-forward design of its predecessors. No longer sporting a cab-over design, the most significant design-based updates on the new Hiace include a proper bonnet, presumably with the placement of the engine in the front. The front also sports a more elegant exterior design with a prominent front grille, larger headlamps, and new fog lamp units.
The side profile comes with larger windows and protruding wheel arches adding muscle to this people mover. The rear comes with subtle design tweaks for the tailgate and tail lamps. The sixth generation Toyota Hiace will also be stronger in order to keep up with the upcoming crash test norms in Japan and this premium MPV will make its official debut in the fourth quarter of 2019.


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SxB=R is a very practical formula I refer to as a way to help myself and others align behaviors with desired outcome (s) (result). Moreover, this formula takes into account how a desired outcome is influenced by context (situation).
Let's consider this formula as it pertains to our programming (practice, competition, and mental toughness days) at Oak Park.
|Pace: Slow/systematic; Priority: Task, process, goal oriented
|Pace: Fast/spontaneous; Priority: Outcome, ego oriented
|Mental Toughness
|Pace: Depends on student
Priority: Goal oriented specific to the challenge
Notice that the primary desired outcome for each of the contexts is different. This does NOT imply that practice days can't be challenging nor does it imply that you cannot learn something valuable on a competition day. The point is that in order for you to get the most out of the context, you have to understand the main purpose of the context, i.e., the WHY.
Why do we practice? We practice, so that we can learn. The learning is often specific to the contents of that day and specific to the growth needs of the student.
Why do we compete? We compete, so that we can test our abilities and capacities against others and/or against a previous version of ourselves. While the gray area of process is important, so is the black/white of measuring one's ability very specifically with hard numerics, e.g., how much weight did you lift versus how did the technique of that lift look (more valuable question on a practice day).
It can be more difficult for people to understand the difference between a mental toughness day and a competition day. Therefore, I find this definition helpful: Mental toughness is about purposefully digging yourself into a hole to see how well you can get out of it. Pragmatically, on a competition day, it would not make any sense to dig yourself into a hole because you are trying to "win". This nuance is important because it helps to understand why we program mental toughness days the way we do, AND how you can get more out of mental toughness days by being more deliberate about how you choose to behave in the workout that is most aligned with challenging yourself.
The context of a workout refers to WHAT, the associative, desired outcome refers to WHY, and the behaviors are HOW you go about achieving that desired outcome.
There are an infinite number of behaviors that can be considered, especially when taking into account the infinite ways a workout can be designed. What I have done in the chart above is give you two main filters of behavior (priority and pace). Again, just like how practice days aren't only intended for you to learn something, the priority and pace listed for practice, competition, and mental toughness days are NOT ALWAYS appropriate given the workout but, for the most part, they are the behaviors best in service of honoring the primary desired outcome–learn, test, or challenge.
When the desired outcome is learning, it is most fitting to prioritize the task and process specific to the goal of that practice day, and, often, the best way to do that is for your pace of movement to be slower and more systematic.
Whereas, when it comes time to testing yourself, get out of your head, and just move, i.e., allow yourself to behave more fast and spontaneously.
I wrote "depends" for the pace on mental toughness days. The reason being is that what is challenging for you may not be challenging for someone else. For instance, some of you struggle with "putting the pedal to the metal"; therefore, it will be more appropriately challenging for those of you on a mental toughness day to move fast. Whereas, others struggle moving slower or even holding positions for a longer period of time; therefore, going fast would be the path of least resistance and not nearly as challenging.
My hope is that this formula S x B=R and thinking about each day of training in terms of What, Why, and How helps you to 1) see each day of programming as being much more intentional than just exercises to be checked off, and 2) gives you a more strategic and tactical sense of how to approach workouts given the context of the day. In part 2 of this post, I will dive into considering the intersection between the external context of the day (practice, competition, mental toughness) and your internal, personally relevant context.
Sumo Deadlifts @ 50-65%
Jump Rope (Gear 2)
12 DB Front Squats (50/35) (G4/G5)
Run 300m (G3)
C) Reflect
3 Strict Pullups, 6 Kipping Pullup
3 Tempo Pushups (3-2-1), 6 Plyo/Reg Pushups
250m Row (Around 22 SR), 250m (Above 25 SR)
D) 4x 1 Hang Snatch, 1 Snatch, 2 OHS


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FS 19 Blank Map Mod
A simple blank starter map to get you going. Enjoy.
FS 19 Blank Map Mod
A simple blank starter map to get you going. Enjoy.
Still don't know what's the use of Farming Simulator 17 mods? Don't worry. Here you'll get all the information you need! Farming Simulator 2017 mods can upgrade the original game. Even though the game seems really good, sometimes you may miss some of the tools, vehicles or something else in the game. Also, the game itself releases different kind of mods to fix some bugs, which disturb players or just trying to make the game more attractive. For all of these reasons you should use FS 2017 mods. Also, mods provide an opportunity to create individually unique game. As there are numerous of different FS 17 mods, by installing any of them you'll change the game even a little bit and it will become unique. All the LS 17 mods are absolutely free, so there is no need to worry about payments or hidden taxes. Download Farming Simulator 2017 mods now and dive into the most exciting adventures of your life!
Hey thanks! I'm still learning literally everything. I still don't even know how to use the editor yet but by the end of today I'll know. As long as my son let's me lol. He's only 10 months old.
Oh wait. I'm still gonna be okaying 17. Idk if my PC will even play 19 yet. And I don't have it. Thanks alot though
EN: I once made an empty 4x map so I...


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The pupils of Creagh N.S. along with their principal Ms Stephanie Keating, were very proud to present a cheque for €5303.79 to Ballinasloe Social Services at their recent school assembly. The money was raised by selling Saint Brigid's Crosses made by the children from rushes for €2 each.
Making a St. Brigid's cross is one of the traditional rituals in Ireland to celebrate the beginning of early spring, 1st February. They are hung by the door or in the rafters to protect the house from fire. The ancient craft is very much alive in the school and the children have Anthony Blade (father of teacher Antoinette Blade) to thank for this. This yearwas the 6th year of St Brigid's Crosses for Ballinasloe Social Services and again Anthony spent a week in the school going from class to class teaching the children the craft.
Many children then gave up their lunch break and even volunteered to stay back an extra hour in school to make the traditional rush crosseson the run up to St Brigid's Day.
The children then brainstormed ways of selling the crosses and as a result they were sold in local shops, businesses, hotels, at Bingo, Card Games, banks and after masses. The farmers were even targeted with a stall set up at the local Mart. The support from the families of the pupils was exceptional as many parents brought boxes of crosses to their places of work to broaden the marketplace.
The project led by teachers Antoinette Blade and Regina Power would not have been so successful without the fantastic support from the people of Ballinasloe and neighbouring parishes who bought the crosses.
Ballinasloe Social Services were represented at the assembly by Pádraig Ó Ceithearnaigh (Chairman), Teresa Coughlan (Manager) and Annette Lynagh. On accepting the cheque Pádraig, thanked all involved and said the much needed funds would be put towards the replacement of a leaking roof in the Day Centre.
At the end of their assembly, the 200 children directly involved in the venture were rewarded with a disco, treats and of course an evening off homework!
They richly their reward and a good rest is needed until St. Brigid's Day 2018.


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I have confess that I am a city girl. I think that the country is good for my soul, but there a lot of aspects of country living that elude me. Gardening. I do not know how to garden. Its so not as easy as throwing seeds in the ground. At least not for me.
Baking bread. Every attempt of mine has been a massive failure. Yeast and I simply do not get along. What am I doing? I'm naming the activities that I think a farmer's wife should be able to do well. I'm a good learner, but I need a teacher to get me started on a couple of how-to's of farmer's wife living. Quilting is another thing I want to do, but I need to be taught how to do it. I'm not as hard on myself about this one because I feel like it is a craft that needs to be honed. Gardening and bread making seem to me like they should be no-brainers.
I feel like a farmer's wife should be a do-it-yourselfer. And I want to be a do-it-yourselfer. I just need to learn. Meg was my knitting teacher initially and then YouTube took over where she left off. My mom was actually my sewing teacher, "Thread the bobbin," etc. YouTube took over for her as well.
Writing this blog has made me want to set goals for myself. The goals of a farmer's wife and otherwise. But I get intimidated to set goals in such a public forum and not meet them. One reason I probably want to set goals is my friend E. She's my blog guru. E sets goals for herself, posts them on her blog and then talks about her progress. Sometimes she meets her goals and sometimes she doesn't. She invites her readers into the process. Picture me with a big fake smile and a cheesy voice: Its more about the joy in the journey than the end result. Cheesy but true.
I had been intimidated by this public goal setting when I wrote my Lent post, but, now I'm going to put it all out there. During Lent, after asking a series of questions, I decided to focus on peace and friendship. Instead of giving up something, I'm doing something. For peace, I'm reading scripture every day. Even if its only one word. I set the bar very low for myself, so that I could actually commit. For friendship, I'm talking to friends on the phone (at least two a week). I'm also trying to reach out to one soon-to-be friend here on the Eastern Shore each week. This is much more of a challenge.
E has lists of goals that she's cleverly named 30 before 30 and 12 in '12. I think I'll call mine the Bucket List of a Farmer's Wife. I'm not sure what my time frame should be. Maybe I should go in seasons like a farmer. Also, I think with me and goals, less is more. When I try to do and commit myself to too much, failure is imminent.
Winter 2012:
Learn how to make bread.
Finish knitting my sweater.
Spring 2012:
Create a garden.
Summer 2012:
Tend the garden and eat from the garden.
Make a wearable item of clothing with the sewing machine.
Fall 2012:
Make a quilt.
For the year:
Stick to a budget without going crazy.
Make friends.
Find a church.
Read an intimidating classic. (Originally, I wanted to read one each season, but…I'm just too intimidated.)
Feel comfortable and confident as a Nurse Practitioner.
Run/walk/bike/do yoga consistently. Not all of these, just be active consistently.
I read somewhere that writing down your goals can actually prevent you from achieving them. "They" said that its as if your brain feels as if you have achieved your goal because you said it out loud or wrote it down. Hopefully this won't be the case for me.
I know that achieving goals does not equal happiness. And I don't want to go into this goal-setting process with that attitude. How do I want to think of them? Just as life-enhancing-activities or soul-stretching-hobbies or I don't know. I'd like to make my life and the lives of those around me better by moving towards these goals.