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Last part of the Preface in the Mass, sung in practically every rite by the people (or choir)
Sanctus. —
—The Sanctus is the last part of the Preface in the Mass, sung in practically every rite by the people (or choir). It is one of the elements of the liturgy of which we have the earliest evidence. St. Clement of Rome (d. about 104) mentions it. He quotes the text in Isaias, vi, 3, and goes on to say that it is also sung in church; this at least seems the plain meaning of the passage: "for the Scripture says… Holy, holy, holy Lord of hosts; full is every creature of his glory. And we, led by conscience, gathered together in one place in concord, cry to him continuously as from one mouth, that we may become sharers in his great and glorious promises" (I Cor., xxxiv, 6-7). It seems clear that what the people cry is the text just quoted. Clement does not say at what moment of the service the people cry these words; but again we may safely suppose that it was at the end of what we call the Preface, the place at which the Sanctus appears in every liturgy, from that of "Apost. Const.", VIII, on. The next oldest witness is Origen (d. 254). He quotes the text of Isaias and continues: "The coming of my Jesus is announced, wherefore the whole earth is full of his glory" (In Isa., horn., I, n. 2). There is nothing to correspond to this in the Prophet. It seems plainly an allusion to liturgical use and so agrees very well with the place of the Sanctus. The Anaphora of Sarapion of Thmuis (Egypt, fourteenth century) gives the Sanctus almost exactly in the form of the Alexandrine Liturgy (Funk, "Didascalia", Paderborn, 1905, II, 174), but says nothing about its being sung by the people. From the fourteenth century we have abundance of testimony for the Sanctus in every liturgical center. In Egypt St. Athanasius (d. 373) mentions it (Expos in Ps. cii, P.G., XXVII, 434); at Jerusalem St. Cyril (d. 373) (Catech. myst., V, 6), and at Antioch St. John Chrysostom (d. 407) alludes to it (in Ps. cxxxiv, n. 6, P.G., LV, 393). Tertullian (d. about 220) ("de Oratione", 3) and Victor of Vite (d. 486) ("Hist. persec. Vandal", III, P.L., LVIII) quote it in Africa; Germanus of Paris (d. 576) in Gaul (in Duchesne, "Origines du Culte", 2d ed., Paris, 1898, p. 204), Isidore of Seville (d. 636) in Spain (ibid.). The Sanctus is sung by the people in "Apostolic Constitutions", VIII, XII, 27 (Brightman, "Eastern Liturgies", 18-19) and so in almost all rites. The scanty state of our knowledge about the early Roman Mass accounts for the fact that we have no allusion to the Sanctus till it appears in the first Sacramentaries. The Leonine and Gelasian books give only the celebrant's part; but their prefaces lead up to it plainly. The Gregorian Sacramentary gives the text exactly as we still have it (P.L., LXXVIII, 26). But the passage quoted from St. Clement and then the use of Africa (always similar to Rome) leave no doubt that at Rome too the Sanctus is part of the oldest liturgical tradition. In view of Clement's allusion it is difficult to understand Abbot Cabrol's theory that the Sanctus is a later addition to the Mass ("Les Origines liturgiques", Paris, 1906, p. 329)
The connection in which it occurs in the liturgy is this: in all rites the Eucharistic prayer (Canon, Anaphora) begins with a formal thanksgiving to God for his benefits, generally enumerated at length (see Preface). This first part of the prayer (our Preface) takes the form of an outline of creation, of themany graces given to Patriarchs and Prophets in the Old Law and so to the crowning benefit of our redemption by Christ, to His life and Passion, to the institution of the Holy Eucharist and the words of institution, all in the scheme of a thanksgiving for these things (cf. ib.). Before the prayer comes to the mention of our Lord it always refers to the angels. In "Apost. Const.", VIII, XII (Brightman, op. cit., 15-18), they occur twice, at the beginning as being the first creatures and again at the end of the Old Testament history—possibly in connection with the place of Isaias who mentions them. In St. James's liturgy this part of the Anaphora is much shorter and the angels are named once only (ibid., p. 50); so also in St. Mark they come only once (pp. 131-32). They are always named at length and with much solemnity as those who join with us in praising God. So the description in Isaias, VI, 1-4, must have attracted attention very early as expressing this angelic praise of God and as summing up (in v. 3) just the note of the first part of the Anaphora. The Sanctus simply continues the Preface. It is a quotation of what the angels say. We thank God with the angels, who say unceasingly: "Holy, holy, holy", etc. Logically the celebrant could very well himself say or sing the Sanctus. But, apparently from the beginning of its Christian use (so already Clem. Rom.), one of the dramatic touches that continually adorn the liturgy was added here. We too desire to say with the angels: "Holy, holy, holy"; so when the celebrant comes to the quotation, the people (or choir) interrupt and themselves sing these words, continuing his sentence. The interruption is important since it is the chief cause of the separation of the original first part of the eucharistic prayer (the Preface) at Rome from the rest and the reason why this first part is still sung aloud although the continuation is said in a low voice. The only rite that has no Sanctus is that of the Ethiopic Church Order (Brightman, op. cit., 190).
—In the liturgies of St. James and St. Mark and the Byzantine Rite (Brightman, loc. cit.) the introductory sentence calls it the "hymn of victory" (Greek: ton epinikion umnon). This has become its usual name in Greek. It should never be called the Trisagion, which is a different liturgical formula ("Holy God, Holy Strong One, Holy Immortal One have mercy on us") occurring in another part of the service. In "Apost. Const.", VIII, XII, 27, the form of the Epinikion is: "Holy, holy, holy the Lord of Hosts (Greek: sabaoth). Full (are) the heaven and the earth of his glory. Blessed forever. Amen." St. James has: "Holy, holy, holy, Lord (voc.) of hosts. Full (are) the heaven and the earth of thy Glory. Hosanna (he) in the highest. Blessed (is) he that comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna, (he) in the highest." In this the cry of the people on Palm Sunday (Matt., xxi, 9, modified) is added (cf. the Jacobite form, Brightman, p. 86). Alexandria has only the text of Isaias (ib. 132; and Coptic, in Greek, 176; Abyssinian, p. 231). In the Greek Alexandrine form (St. Mark) the text occurs twice. First the celebrant quotes it himself as said by the cherubim and seraphim; then he continues aloud: "for all things always call thee holy (Greek: agiazei) and with all who call thee holy receive, Master and Lord, our hallowing (Greek: agiasmon) who with them sing, saying" and the people repeat the Epinikion (Brightman, p. 132). The Nestorians have a considerably extended form of Is., vi, 3, and Matt., xxi, 9, in the third person (ib. 284). The Byzantine Rite has the form of St. James (ib. 323-324), so also the Armenians (p. 436). In all Eastern rites only the sentence that immediately introduces the Epinikion is said aloud, as an Ekphonesis.
—In Latin it is the "Tersanctus" or simply the "Sanctus". "Hymnus angelicus" is ambiguous and should be avoided, since this is the usual name for the Gloria in Excelsis. Germanus of Paris bears witness to it in the Gallican Rite (Ep. I; P.L., LXXII, 89 seq.; see above). Its form was as at Rome. The Mozarabic Sanctus is almost the Roman one; but it has for the first Hosanna: "Osanna filio David" (more literally Matt., xxi, 9) and the additional exclamations "Agyos, agyos, agyos Kyrie o theos" (P.L., LXXXV, 548, cfr. 116). Milan has exactly our form. It may be noted that the Gallican and Mozarabic liturgies, following the tradition of Antioch and Jerusalem (Brightman, op. cit., pp. 19, 51), continue the Anaphora by taking up the idea of the Sanctus: "Vere sanctus, vere benedictus Dominus noster Iesus Christus" (P.L., LXXXV, 548) and so coming almost at once to the words of Institution. This prayer, which varies in each Mass, is called "Post Sanctus", or "Vere Sanctus". Milan has one remnant of this on Holy Saturday (Duchesne, ib. 205). At Rome the Sanctus is described in "Ordo Rom.", I, as "hymnus angelicus, id est Sanctus" (P.L., LXXVIII, 945). It is sung by the regionary sub-deacons (ib.). So also "Ordo Rom.", II, which notes that Hosanna is sung twice (ib. 974). C. Atchley thinks that this marks the beginning of the addition of the Benedictus verses to the Sanctus, that originally these were an acclamation to the celebrating bishop and that they were only later directed towards the Holy Eucharist. In "Apost. Const.", VIII, XIII, 13 (Brightman, 24), these verses are sung at the Elevation just before Communion, then they were pushed back to become an appendix to the Sanctus, where they coincide more or less with the moment of consecration. Mr. Atchley further thinks that the Benedictus in the Roman Rite is a Gallican addition of the eleventh century ("Ordo Romanus Primus", London, 1905, pp. 90-5). That the verses of Matthew, xxi, 9, were first used as a salutation to the bishop is quite probable (cf. Peregrinatio Silviae, ed. Gamurrini, 59-60). It is less likely that they are a late Gallican addition at Rome. Their occurrence in the liturgy of Jerusalem–Antioch may well be one more example of the relation between that center and Rome from the earliest ages (see Canon of the Mass).
We do not know at what moment the chant of the Sanctus was taken from the subdeacons and given to the schola cantorum. This is merely part of a general tendency to entrust music that was getting more ornate and difficult to trained singers. So the Gradual was once sung by a deacon. The "Ordo Rom. V" implies that the subdeacons no longer sing the Sanctus (P.L., LXXVIII, 988). In "Ordo XI", 20 (ib. 1033), it is sung by the "Basilicarii". St. Gregory of Tours (d. 593) says it is sung by the people (de mirac. S. Martini, II, 14; P.L., LXXI). The notice of the "Liber Pontificalis" that Pope Sixtus I (119-128) ordered the people to sing the Sanctus cannot be correct. It seems that it was not sung always at every Mass. The Second Council of Vaison finds it necessary to command that it should not be omitted in Lent nor at requiems (Can. 3; Hefele-Leclercq, "Histoire des Conciles", II, 1114). There were also laws in the Middle Ages forbidding the celebrant to continue the Canon before the choir had finished singing it (Marten, "De antiq. eccl. ritibus", I, 4, §7). The ringing of a bell at the Sanctus is a development from the Elevation bell; this began in the Middle Ages. No of Chartres (d. 1116) mentions it (Ep. 142) and Durandus (Rationale, IV, 41, §53). It was rung to call people to church that they might see the Elevation. The Sanctus bell is an earlier warning that the Canon is about to begin. The rubrics of the Missal still say nothing about the bell at the Sanctus. It was (and in places still is) usual to ring the great church bell, at least at high Mass. The handbell was only a warning to the ringers in the tower (Gavanti-Merati, "Thesaurus S. Rituum", II, 7, Venice, 1762, p. 156).
The text of the Roman Sanctus is first Isa., vi, 3, with `pleni sunt coeli et terra gloria tua" instead of "plena est omnis terra gloria eius". In this way (as at Antioch and Alexandria) it is made into a prayer by the use of the second person. In all liturgies the Hebrew word for "hosts" (TSBAVT, Greek: sabaoth) is kept, as in the Septuagint (Vulgate, "exercituum"). The "Lord of hosts" is a very old Semitic title, in the polytheistic religions apparently for the moon-god, the hosts being the stars (as in Gen., II, 1; Ps. xxxii, 6). To the Jews these hosts were the angels (cf. Lc., II, 13). Then follows the acclamation of Palm Sunday in Matthew, xxi, 9. It is based on Ps. cxvii, 25-26; but the source of the liturgical text is, of course, the text in the Gospel. Hosanna is in the Greek text and Vulgate, left as a practically untranslatable exclamation of triumph. It means literally "Oh help" (HVS `H KA), but in Matthew, xxi, 9, it is already a triumphant interjection (like Alleluia). In "Didache", X, 6, it occurs as a liturgical formula ("Hosanna to the God of David"). In the medieval local rites the Sanctus was often "farced" (interpolated with tropes), like the one attributed to St. Thomas Aquinas, may be seen in Bona, "Rerum liturgicarum", II, 10, §4 (ed. Paris, 1672), p. 418. The skeleton of a Mass at the blessing of palms retains not only a Preface but also a Sanctus, sung to the original "simple" tone. The many other prayers (blessing of the font, ordinations, etc.) that are modeled on the Preface diverge from its scheme as they proceed and do not end with a Sanctus.
—At high Mass as soon as the celebrant has sung the last word of the Preface (dicentes) the choir begins the Sanctus, continuing his phrase. They should sing it straight through, including the Benedictus. The custom of waiting till after the Elevation and then adding the Benedictus, once common, is now abolished by the rubric ("De ritibus servandis in cantu missa", VII) of the Vatican Gradual. It was a dramatic effect that never had any warrant. Sanctus and Benedictus are one text. Meanwhile the deacon and subdeacon go up to the right and left of the celebrant and say the Sanctus in a low voice with him. Every one in the choir and church kneels (Cairim. Episcop., II, VIII, 69). The handbell is usually rung at the Sanctus; but at Rome there is no bell at all at high Mass. While the choir sings the celebrant goes on with the Canon. They must finish or he must wait before the Consecration. At low Mass the celebrant after the Preface, bowing and laying the folded hands on the altar, continues the Sanctus in a lower voice (vox media). The bell is rung three times. Although the rubrics of the Missal do not mention this it is done everywhere by approved custom. It may be noticed that of the many chants of the Sanctus in the Gradual the simple one only (for ferias of Advent and Lent, requiems and the blessing of palms) continues the melody of the Preface and so presumably represents the same musical tradition as our Preface tone. As in the case of the Preface its mode is doubtful.


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(one sent forth ), in the New Testament originally the official name of those twelve of the disciples whom Jesus chose to send forth first to preach the gospel and to be with him during the course of his ministry on earth. The word also appears to have been used in a non-official sense to designate a much wider circle of Christian messengers and teachers See ( 2 Corinthians 8:23 ; Philemon 2:25 ) It is only of those who were officially designated apostles that we treat in the article. Their names are given in ( Matthew 10:2-4 ) and Christs charge to them in the rest of the chapter. Their office. -- (1) The original qualification of an apostle, as stated by St. Peter on the occasion of electing a successor to the traitor Judas, was that he should have been personally acquainted with the whole ministerial course of our Lord from his baptism by John till the day when he was taken up into heaven. (2) They were chosen by Christ himself (3) They had the power of working miracles. (4) They were inspired. ( John 16:13 ) (5) Their world seems to have been pre-eminently that of founding the churches and upholding them by supernatural power specially bestowed for that purpose. (6) The office ceased, a matter of course, with its first holders-all continuation of it, from the very condition of its existence (cf. ( 1 Corinthians 9:1 ) ), being impossible. Early history and training .--The apostles were from the lower ranks of life, simple and uneducated; some of them were related to Jesus according to the flesh; some had previously been disciples of John the Baptist. Our Lord chose them early in his public career They seem to have been all on an equality, both during and after the ministry of Christ on earth. Early in our Lords ministry he sent them out two and two to preach repentance and to perform miracles in his name Matt 10; Luke 9. They accompanied him in his journey, saw his wonderful works, heard his discourses addressed to the people, and made inquiries of him on religious matters. They recognized him as the Christ of God, ( Matthew 16:16 ; Luke 9:20 ) and described to him supernatural power ( Luke 9:54 ) but in the recognition of the spiritual teaching and mission of Christ they made very low progress, held back as they were by weakness of apprehension and by national prejudices. Even at the removal of our Lord from the earth they were yet weak in their knowledge, ( Luke 24:21 ; John 16:12 ) though he had for so long been carefully preparing and instructing them. On the feast of Pentecost, ten days after our Lords ascension, the Holy Spirit came down on the assembled church, Acts 2; and from that time the apostles became altogether different men, giving witness with power of the life and death and resurrection of Jesus, as he had declared they should. ( Luke 24:48 ; Acts 1:8 Acts 1:22 ; 2:32 ; 3:15 ; 5:32 ; 13:31 ) Later labors and history. --First of all the mother-church at Jerusalem grew up under their hands, Acts 3-7, and their superior dignity and power were universally acknowledged by the rulers and the people. ( Acts 5:12 ) ff. Their first mission out of Jerusalem was to Samaria ( Acts 8:5-25 ) where the Lord himself had, during his ministry, sown the seed of the gospel. Here ends the first period of the apostles agency, during which its centre is Jerusalem and the prominent figure is that of St. Peter. The centre of the second period of the apostolic agency is Antioch, where a church soon was built up, consisting of Jews and Gentiles; and the central figure of this and of the subsequent period is St. Paul. The third apostolic period is marked by the almost entire disappearance of the twelve from the sacred narrative and the exclusive agency of St. Paul, the great apostle of the Gentiles. Of the missionary work of the rest of the twelve we know absolutely nothing from the sacred narrative.
[N] indicates this entry was also found in Nave's Topical Bible
[B] indicates this entry was also found in Baker's Evangelical Dictionary
[E] indicates this entry was also found in Easton's Bible Dictionary
Bibliography InformationSmith, William, Dr. "Entry for 'Apostle'". "Smith's Bible Dictionary".

subset: commoncrawl


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If you are a BlackBerry user, chances are you are facing some difficulties with your phone. A three-day disruption of BlackBerry services spread through North America today, frustrating millions of users of the Research In Motion smartphones and putting more pressure on the company for sweeping changes. Customers are experiencing delays in messages, failed calls, and overall services running sluggishly.
RIM advised clients of an outage in the Americas and said it was working to restore services as customers in Europe, the Middle East, Africa and India afe facing similar difficulties.


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In SINS OF A HIGHLAND DEVIL, James Cameron is concerned when the King's decree states all three neighboring clans must have a battle to the death in order to lay official claim to the scared Glen of Many Legends. James attempts to make a pact with the heads of the other clans to fight this decree. But he ends up fighting his own fierce desire when coming head-to-head with Lady Catriona of the opposing MacDonald clan, who has her own plan for peace.
About the Author
Sue-Ellen Welfonder is a dedicated medievalist of Scottish descent who spent fifteen years living abroad, and still makes annual research trips to Great Britain. She is an active member of the Romance Writers of America and her own clan, the MacFie Society of North America. Under the pseudonym Allie Mackay, she has also written contemporary Scottish-set paranormals for Signet. Sue-Ellen Welfonder is married and lives with her husband, Manfred, and their Jack Russell Terrier, Em, in Florida.
- Mass Market Paperback: 400 pages
- Publisher: Forever; Original edition (January 3, 2011)
- Language: English
The story of Romeo and Juliet will probably be told until the end of time. This truly is Shakespearean tale that takes place in Scotland. When three heroines plot to make peace through marriage (yes, the women have to do everything) it runs right into the men who are at war. This book centers on James and Catriona, both of opposing clans who realize that their union makes sense on paper, but also physically. James, who is known as the "devil" has entranced Catriona since their youth. Yes, there are lots of steamy parts, but the writing makes it anything but cliched. This one is definitely a good pick for those who like Highland adventures.
Book provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
Contest is open to anyone with a US or Canadian mailing addresses (no PO Boxes)
Contest ends on 1.28.11 Winner will be chosen by Random.org on 1.29.11
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This giveaway is sponsored by Hachette Book Group and up to 3 books will be available.
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|RSS Feed
Smitty Pignatelli Launches Campaign For 7th House Term
|State Reps. Gailanne Cariddi, Stephen DiNatale and William "Smitty" Pignatelli.
|Treasurer and gubernatorial candidate Steve Grossman was one of many elected officials on hand for the event.
Area Democrats Ramping Up For November Statewide Election
|State Sen. Benjamin Downing is the chairman of the party's coordinated campaign aimed to rally voters to the polls in November.
RICHMOND, Mass. — County Democrats haven't forgotten the night Republican Scott Brown was elected to the U.S. Senate.
And they don't want anything similar to happen again.
|Some of the party's active volunteers, including Sheila Murray of the Berkshire Brigades at left, attended Sunday's event that was both a fundraiser for the party but also a rally for organizers to get out the vote.
GOP Gubernatorial Candidate Baker Visits Pittsfield
|Charles D. Baker Jr.
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Republican candidate for governor Charles D. Baker Jr. will visit Pittsfield on Tuesday, Jan. 21, to appear on a local access show and meet with voters.
Baker will be the guest on Berkshire GOP's television program "Out Front TV." The monthly cable program is broadcast throughout the Berkshires and in the Western Massachusetts cities of Greenfield, Northampton and Westfield. Jim Bronson, chairman of the Berkshire County Republican Association, hosts the television program.
"We are thrilled Charlie is coming back to the Berkshires," said Bronson. "We look forward to his appearance on our show; he's a terrific candidate and will surely be a terrific television guest."
Baker has served as the state's secretary of finance and administration and health and human services. He has spent the past decade as chief executive officer of Harvard Pilgrim Health Care. He ran unsuccessfully for governor in 2010.
"Out Front TV" issues commentary and features political guests such as former Sen. Scott Brown, former Gov. Jane Swift, Mary Z. Connaughton, Baker's running mate for lieutenant governor Karyn Polito, Don Humason, Michele McPhee, Jim Wallace and William Sturgeon.
Baker will address supporters at Zucco's Family Restaurant, 451 Dalton Ave., at 6 p.m. The public is invited.
Warren Rallies Supporters at Pittsfield Headquarters
Warren greeted, took photos and signed autographs for everyone in attendance.
Warren is at odds with incumbent Sen. Scott Brown, R-Wrentham, in regards to the economy. While he is emphasizing the private sector, Warren is emphasizing public infrastructure.
"The Republicans say that the way to build a future is to cut taxes for those who have the most, to reduce regulations for the Wall Street companies that broke the economy," Warren said after addressing nearly 100 supporters in her Wahconah Street headquarters. "I'm out here arguing that the way to build a future is that we make the investment in education, in basic infrastructure, in research, in the things that help create a future for ourselves and for our children. This is really about priorities."
Warren said the investment in education, infrastructure and science is affordable but that it requires removing tax breaks from companies that ship jobs or hide their money overseas or oil companies.
"Washington is working for those who can hire an army of lobbyist. It's not right," Warren said.
In a 15-minute address to her supporters, she recalled her family history of going from "the daughter of a maintenance man to a professor at Harvard law school." And that history in public education and child care to eventually getting a "good job offer," is what she fears fewer and fewer people can achieve.
"I grew up in an America that invested in kids. I grew up in an America that expanded opportunity and I fear that America has turned away from that and if we turn away from that, we become fundamentally different people," Warren said.
|Counterclockwise from top: Warren addresses supporters; a motorcyclists asks for a bumper sticker from campaign volunteers; local politicians stand behind Warren for an interview with TV news.
Warren characterized the goal as a matter of "priorities" by placing the money the country has in three boxes. One box is investing public dollars in private business and "lobbyists," another for the national debt and the third for infrastructure, science and education. She said she'll shift the spending from the "lobbyist" box and place it in the others.
Her campaign has been based on "working families" and investment since last April when she announced her candidacy. One of her last stops before officially announcing was at the law office of Sherwood Guernsey, where local democratic leaders told her they'd support her.
On Sunday, she recalled that visit during a question-and-answer session and thanked her supports for living up to their word.
"We started this campaign in Pittsfield. Now we have an office, we've got volunteers all over the county. They're knocking on doors, they're making phone calls, talking to people in grocery stores and sandwich shops. Ultimately that's what this campaign is about. It's person to person," Warren said after the event.
At that kick off meeting she acknowledged that campaigning would be taxing. More than a year in, she said "I'm holding up great."
The "optimism" and support she said she's received across the state has kept her going and she vowed that she will continue fighting for her supporters even after the election.
"It's the fundamental optimism that drives you every single day. I am out there because I truly believe that there are enough of us here and if we push hard enough, we can make this the country we believe in," Warren said. "I will be out there every single day. I will be out there fighting every step of the way. But don't kid yourself, big money is not going to back down easy."
Also in attendance were U.S. Rep. John W. Olver, D-Amherst, Sheriff Thomas Bowler, North Adams Mayor Richard Alcombright and state Reps. Tricia Farley-Bouvier, D-Pittsfield, and Paul Mark, D-Peru.
Nuciforo Releasing Policy Plan During District Tour
The former state senator's eight-point policy plan aims to restore economic justice in America and to restore prosperity to the middle class. The plan aims to revive American manufacturing, ensure retirement security and revitalize small business, among other priorities.
Nuciforo will start the day in Great Barrington, and travel to Holyoke, Springfield, Pittsfield and North Adams.
Nuciforo's tour includes the following times and locations:
8:45: Great Barrington Bagel Company, 777 Main St., Great Barrington
10:30: Open Square, Mill 1, Open Square Way, Holyoke
Noon: Emerson Hall at Mason Wright Retirement Community, 74 Walnut St., Springfield
2 p.m.: Pittsfield Lawn & Tractor, 1548 W. Housatonic St., Pittsfield
4 p.m.: Berkshire Emporium, 59 Main St., North Adams
The public and members of the media are invited to attend. Candidate information here.


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What Type of Dog Is Most Likely to Get You a Date?
Recent research indicates people and their dogs are a lot alike. But did you know people make assumptions about you depending on what kind of dog you have?
Pet app Klooff recently surveyed 1,000 single animal lovers and found the commonly-known characteristics of many dog breeds can reflect positively — or negatively — on their owners.
For example, men in the survey tended to see women with Golden Retrievers as "girlfriend material," but those with Chihuahuas were deemed to be "hot" but "dumb" and more likely to be a one-night stand. In addition, male respondents were twice as likely to think that women who owned Poodles or Chihuahuas were more "high maintenance" than women who owned Siberian Huskies.
On the other hand, women viewed men with Siberian Huskies as "manly" and Golden or Labrador Retriever owners as "great dads," but Bulldog owners were thought to be one-night-stand material.
Top dog breeds to attract men
1. Golden Retrievers
2. Labrador Retrievers
3. Chihuahuas
4. Poodles
5. Beagles
Top dog breeds that attract women
1. German Shepherds
2. Golden Retrievers
3. Labrador Retrievers
4. Siberian Huskies
5. French Bulldogs


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FX has announced the fall returns for several of their popular TV series.
Season five of Sons of Anarchy debuts next Tuesday, September 11th. The Ultimate Fighter returns a week from this Friday, on September 14th.
The eighth season of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia kicks off on Thursday, October 11th. Season four of The League premieres on Thursday, October 11th.
BrandX with Russell Brand is set to return on Thursday, October 11th. And finally, American Horror Story: Asylum bows on Wednesday, October 17th.
It's unclear how many episodes of American Horror Story have been ordered but it appears that FX has ordered 13 installments of the rest.
Sons of Anarchy Season 5 Premieres Tuesday, Sept. 11, 10 PM ET/PT
The Ultimate Fighter Fridays Launches Friday, Sept. 14, 9 PM ET/PT
It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia Season 8 Begins Thursday, Oct. 11, 10 PM ET/PT
The League Season 4 Kicks Off Thursday, Oct. 11, 10:30 PM ET/PT
BrandX with Russell Brand Returns Thursday, Oct. 11, 11 PM ET/PT
American Horror Story: Asylum Premieres Wednesday, Oct. 17, 10 PM ET/PT
LOS ANGELES, August 31, 2012 – FX, basic cable's leader for scripted programming in the fall season, has set its fall schedule with the return of six original series in September and October.
FX launches the fifth season of its award-winning drama Sons of Anarchy on September 11 at 10 PM ET/PT with a special 90-minute episode and will continue to run on Tuesdays at 10 PM. The series is an adrenalized drama with darkly comedic undertones that explores a notorious outlaw motorcycle club's (MC) desire to protect its livelihood while ensuring that their simple, sheltered town of Charming, California remains exactly that, charming. Season five begins with Jax and Tara as the club's new king and queen after learning the truth behind his father's death and facing the consequences of the club's illicit deeds. Stripped of his patch after Jax discovers he was complicit in John Teller's death, Clay recovers from gunshot wounds that nearly killed him while Gemma is faced with a new life without the comfort of her family. With the threat of RICO still looming, Jax has to find a way to protect his family and save his club as SAMCRO is pulled into a conflict with a potent new enemy. Sons of Anarchy is created by executive producer/writer/director Kurt Sutter and stars Charlie Hunnam, Ron Perlman and Katey Sagal. The series is produced by Fox 21 and FX Productions.
The Ultimate Fighter Fridays returns on September 14 with a special two-hour premiere at 9 PM ET/PT and then will continue to run on Fridays at 10 PM ET/PT. The season will kick-off with 16 gripping elimination fights. The winners in the elimination round, or "Fight In," will become official cast members and earn their way into The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) house in Las Vegas where cameras will document their activity before and after their training and fights. The 16 winners will be drafted into opposing teams of eight by Shane Carwin and top contender and previous TUF winner Roy Nelson. Each team will train at the TUF gym and reside in the TUF house together for the duration of the season. Winners will advance in the tournament until ultimately, one man is crowned The Ultimate Fighter.
It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia returns for its eighth season on October 11 and will continue to run Thursdays at 10 PM ET/PT. Sunny has become one of the top scripted comedies on cable. Last season, the Gang lived it up at the Jersey Shore, Frank married a hooker, and Mac got very, very fat. This season, stay tuned to see the Gang go to therapy, hunt for Nazi treasure and try to undermine Philly's toughest union – the trashmen! Charlie and Dee find love, Frank re-enters the business world, and Dee blurs the lines between the real and virtual worlds when she falls into an obsession with computer games. Get ready for even more disagreements, disunion and divisiveness as the Gang tries once again to scheme their way to happiness! It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia was created by Rob McElhenney and is executive produced by McElhenney, Charlie Day, Glenn Howerton, Michael Rotenberg, Nick Frenkel and Tom Lofaro. The show is produced by FX Productions.
The League kicks off its fourth season also on October 11, airing Thursdays at 10:30 PM ET/PT. To be a fan of The League, you don't need to know much about fantasy football, or sports at all. You just need to have friends that you hate. FX's ensemble comedy follows a group of old friends in a fantasy football league who care deeply about one another – so deeply that they use every opportunity to make each other's lives miserable. It was created by the husband-and-wife team of Jeff Schaffer (Curb Your Enthusiasm, Seinfeld) and Jackie Marcus Schaffer (Disturbia, EuroTrip) who serve as executive producers and directors. The ensemble cast features Mark Duplass, Stephen Rannazzisi, Nick Kroll, Paul Scheer, Katie Aselton and Jon Lajoie. The series is produced by FX Productions.
BrandX with Russell Brand begins its seven additional episode run on October 11, airing Thursdays at 11:00 PM ET/PT. The show features Brand's unvarnished, unfiltered take on current events, politics and pop culture, with the format drawing heavily on Brand's interaction with a live audience. The series is produced by FX Productions in association with Branded Films and Dakota Films. Executive Producers are Russell Brand, Troy Miller, Nik Linnen and John Noel. Miller also serves as director of the series.
Finally, American Horror Story: Asylum makes its debut on October 17 and will air Wednesdays at 10 PM ET/PT. Set in 1964, American Horror Story: Asylum stars Jessica Lange, Sarah Paulson, Evan Peters, Lily Rabe, Zachary Quinto, James Cromwell, and Joseph Fiennes. Last year, the mini-series earned 17 Primetime Emmy(R) Award nominations, tying for the most of any program this year and setting a record for the most Emmy nominations for a mini-series in basic cable history. Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk, Dante Di Loreto and Tim Minear are executive producers of American Horror Story: Asylum. It is produced by Twentieth Century Fox Television.
FX is the flagship general entertainment basic cable network from Fox. Launched in June of 1994, FX is carried in more than 98 million homes. The diverse schedule includes a growing roster of critically acclaimed and award-winning hit dramas series including Sons of Anarchy and Justified, the mini-series American Horror Story, and acclaimed hit comedy series It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, The League, Louie, Archer, Wilfred, Legit, BrandX with Russell Brand and Totally Biased with W. Kamau Bell. Its library of acquired box-office hit movies is unmatched by any ad-supported television network. The network's other offerings include the acquired hit series Two and a Half Men and How I Met Your Mother, and live sports with college football and the UFC.
What do you think? Are you looking forward to the return of any of these FX shows?


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Place the melon in the bowl of a food processor and process until smooth. Add the lemon juice, vodka, and sugar and process for another 30 seconds. Place the mixture into the refrigerator until the mixture reaches 40 degrees F; depending on the temperature of your ingredients and refrigerator, this could take 30 minutes to 1 hour.
Pour the chilled mixture into the bowl of an ice cream maker and process according to manufacturer's directions. Transfer the sorbet to an airtight container and place in the freezer for 3 to 4 hours before serving.


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The design of Florid Leaves pulls and Florid Leaves Bin Pulls is reminiscent of the Ginkgo plant with the Ginkgo berries. Ginkgo is believed to be a great source of energy, and that is what the pulls itself portrays. The wispy leafy branches looks as if they are swaying in the wind by the way that they are twisting and turning into all kinds of directions. They would go beautifully with the Florid Leaves knobs.
- Made in USA.
- Fine-art foundry hand-pours and hand-finishes every drawer pull using Old-World methods.
- Lifetime guaranteed against flaws in craftsmanship.
- Exceptional clarity of details and depth of relief.
- All pulls are hand-cast from solid fine pewter or solid bronze.
- The term "antique" refers to special methods of treating metal so there is contrast between the raised relief and recessed areas.
- Pulls are lacquered to protect the finish.
- Alternative finishes available (see below)


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David Petersen: Ben, You have worked in animation, toy design and how-to-draw books, and also in comics, what keeps you coming back to sequential storytelling?
Ben Caldwell: While character design and world building are fun -- and easy -- at the end of the day you only get to know these characters and worlds through the stories that revolve around them. When I design characters etc, I'm instinctively building stories around them. Who is the person? Why are they dressed like that? How did they get their hands on a giant cannon made out of butter?
So I always come back to telling stories, although I'm perhaps not as good at it as I'd like. There's just no
substitute for the visceral connection that you make with your audience through a story.
As for comics specifically, there are so many unique ways you can play with storytelling in comics that you just can't find in, say, prose or film-making Of course the opposite is also true, but I'm a visual person and when I try to write prose, I find myself trying to describe everything in ridiculous detail. As for film, comics are a unique medium where you can create something with the same bombast, without a budget of millions or limitations of special effects, actors, etc.
The downside is that you are trying to create something without a budget of millions and special effects, actors etc.
David: You tend to work on all-ages material, Your own series Dare Detectives is in the spirit of a great old Saturday Morning cartoon, is the choice of tone a purposeful one? Or is it more a reflex that comes naturally?
Ben: I have a lot of stories stuck in my head, and a lot of them are definitely NOT all-ages. One particular story I'm doing right now is way too cussin' and violence and anatomically correct drawings to be kid-friendly.
But the all-ages stuff is a lot of fun. Of course, I'm also very contrary, so the fact that so many people are so contemptuous of all-ages books probably motivates me as well. A big part of it comes down to the fact that certain types of stories are, well, not necessarily childish, but certainly not "realistic". So I like to skip the superficial veneer and let ridiculous things be ridiculous, and that makes a lot of adults uncomfortable.*
*These people are stupid. Avoid them.
David: The story you created for Legends of the Guard, can you talk a little about the subject of the story and where the idea came from?
Ben: I knew I didn't have time for a long story, so I wanted something short and sweet. Or at least short. One thing most of my stories feature is the glory of unintended consequences -- wait, the two things most of my stories feature are the glory of unintended consequences, and a bit of unnecessary theatricality.
One of my favorite bits of mouse guard (outside of the world building) is the intimate nature of the characters, so I wanted to do a small story. So I worked both all that one story by watching my insane twin daughters, and thinking what sort of stupid antics they would come up with to stop villains. The story pretty much wrote itself from there.
David: How do you proceed with a story after you have an idea, what is your process? Script? Thumbnails? Voodoo Magic?
Ben: I used to do full scripts, but I realized no matter how many revisions I did, I would always make further changes at the thumbnail or pencil stage. The fact is that the brain processes information in prose/manuscript form differently than it does images, and comics are essentially a visual medium.
So I usually start with a general breakdown of a plot, punctuated on the one hand with scraps of scenes or dialogue that just pop into my head and work, and on the other hand with a very calculated look at the characters, how they should act/react/interact, and what that means in terms of getting them from the beginning of the story to the end. As I get older, I find my stories being less driven by a pre-ordained plot (except maybe the loosest conceptual idea), and more with getting the characters nailed down, then turning them loose and seeing what happens.
Procedurally, once I have an outline of the overall plot, I will break it down into scenes. I've done enough GNs and had enough experience with building up and cutting down scenes to fit pre-allotted page counts that I have a pretty good idea of how many pages a particular scene can take without overwhelming the rest of the story. it sounds inartistic, but I like to break things down as hierarchical information. That is, what is the overall gist of scene x? Then, what is the gist of each pair of pages (in comics and children's books, pages should always be worked in pairs, since that is inevitably how the viewer will experience them)? Finally, what is the most important idea for each individual page?
From that I do thumbnails, usually doing a whole scene's worth on a single sheet, so I can see the scene as a whole. Usually I put a note under each page(s) like "Toby punches goons", "he misses, falls into cotton candy machine" etc, before making any drawings. I'll often drop balloons with rough dialogue in at this stage, just to account for the space that will be needed for lettering later.
IMPORTANT: I try to pop out the thumbnails as quickly as possible, without over thinking them. First off, it's just too easy to get paralyzed at this stage, and it's important to keep momentum. Second, it's much easier to do something concrete and say "oh wait, the butter cannon sounded awesome, but now that I'm looking at the drawing on the page, a PUDDING cannon is much more logical", instead of staring at a blank sheet and trying to guess ahead of time what will work or not. At this stage there is no such thing as bad ideas, just ideas that can be improved.
As I get older, pencilling gets harder because my drawing has improved like a mazillion percent, but I've become even more sensitive to the nuances of expressions, body language etc. cartooning makes it even worse -- if you have a drawing with a hundred lines and one is out of place, who cares? But if you have a drawing with three lines, one out-of-place line is really going to stand out.
Even at the pencilling stage I will find myself reworking certain panels or even scenes. It's not the sort of thing that makes editors sleep well at night, but at every stage of the storytelling, as you get closer to the final page you might notice new problems that weren't apparent at earlier stages; or to put it more positively, you notice new opportunities to tell a better story.
David: A lot of talk on this blog is about process & materials. Can you share with the readers what art supplies you use for each step of the artwork on a story like this? (paper, pencils, ink, digital program...feel free to list brands.)
Ben: I use generic #2 mechanical pencils, because I hate to pause and sharpen them. At first it was just a matter of convenience, but I found that after I became used to them, I could get a huge range of line weight and sensitivity. But I am obsessed with drawing on laser print paper, particularly Xerox digital Xpressions. So the thumbs were done on that paper, then I printed them slightly larger in blue line (on more laser paper), to do the final "clean" art. In this case, the trick was to keep the final pencil art somewhat loose.
In any case, I was surprised at how closely the final art followed the thumbnails in the MGL story. There are usually a LOT of changes during finalization, either tweaking poses or, as often as not, completely rewriting pages.
The coloring was all digital (photoshop). I tried to keep the process simple, partly so that it could be standardized and quickly replicated throughout the pages, partly because the simpler that stage is, the more time is left for working/reworking the actual drawings and storytelling that are the guts of the comic. I laid down an antique paper texture for ground, then colored with flat colors at 66% opacity. This way you can easily create solid color with a few strokes, but since it isn't full opacity, there's a certain organic buildup. In a few places, I also used levels to create surreal color shifts.
David: What does Ben Caldwell like to do when he's not making comics?
Ben: That's between me and my parole officer.
David: Thanks for a really fun story Ben. I'm excited for the fans to read it. Where should people go if they want to know more about you and your work?
Ben: You can always follow me on twitter (@bencaldwellart) or my blog (purge theory.blogspot.com), and, when the stars align, you can visit my website www.daredetectives.com. Those are good places to start, because I update them regularly, and I'm going to be making some announcements for future projects soon!
If you want to get your hands physically on my work, short of burgling my house you can buy my sketchbooks online, or find my classics comics, "dare detectives" comics, and how-to-cartoon books at fine bookstores everywhere. I presume shady bookstores also sell them.
Ben's story A Bone To Pick will appear in Legends of the Guard
volume 2 # 1 along with stories by Stan Sakai, Nick Tapalansky & Alex Eckman-Lawn
Watercolor Wednesday:Here's another look at last week's two watercolor pieces I offered up for sale. For inspiration I looked up images of old men for fun expressions and wrinkles. First up is a blind gnome...with dandelion puff balls in the background.I went with the Rien Poortvliet costume and colors for this guy.
Upcoming Appearances:
San Diego Comic Con: July 17-21
Boston Comic Con: August 3-4
Baltimore Comic Con: September 7-8
New York Comic Con: October 10-13
North Carolina Comic Con: November 9-10


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The Secret Beyond Matter
Allah has promised to believers, men and women, gardens under which rivers flow, to dwell therein, and beautiful mansions in gardens of everlasting bliss. But the greatest bliss is the good pleasure of Allah: that is the supreme felicity. (Surat at-Tawba: 72)
It is evident that paradise is a place containing all the joys man can experience through his five senses. However, the superior quality of paradise is the good pleasure of Allah. For believers, attaining the good pleasure of Allah becomes a major source of peace and joy in the hereafter. Furthermore, seeing the favours of Allah and being grateful to Allah for His benevolence makes them happy. In the Qur'an, the believers in paradise are described as follows:
...Allah is well pleased with them and they with Allah. That is the great salvation, (the fulfilment of all desires). (Surat al-Ma'ida: 119)
What makes the favours of paradise so precious is the good pleasure of Allah. The same types of favours may also exist in this world, yet if the good pleasure of Allah is not involved, believers do not enjoy these favours. This is a very important issue on which one needs to ponder. What actually makes a favour precious is something beyond the savour and pleasure it gives. What really matters, is the fact that Allah has bestowed that favour.
A believer who has the benefit of such a favour and is grateful to his Creator derives his main pleasure from knowing that it is the benevolence of Allah. The satisfaction can be found only from the fact that Allah protects him, loves him and that his Creator shows His Mercy to him. Therefore, one's heart only takes pleasure from paradise. He is created to be a servant of Allah and therefore he takes only pleasure from His benevolence.
In brief, paradise is a gift of Allah to His true servants and that is why it is important to them. Since "they are (but) slaves raised to honour," (Surat al-Anbiya: 26) they attain eternal happiness and joy. The words of the believers in paradise are "Blessed be the name of your Lord, full of Majesty, Bounty and Honour." (Surat ar-Rahman: 78)2009-01-25 22:31:36


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Intel on Monday introduced a high-performance chip family called Xeon Phi, which provides a stepping stone for the company to reach the milestone of creating an exaflop computer by 2018.
A chip code-named Knights Corner will be the first Xeon Phi processor released by Intel later this year. Targeted at supercomputers, Knights Corner will have more than 50 cores and deliver power consumption breakthroughs while scaling performance when conducting complex calculations, said Rajeeb Hazra, vice president of the Intel Architecture Group and general manager of technical computing.
[ Also on InfoWorld: United States reclaims top spot on Top500 supercomputing list. | Keep up on the day's tech news headlines with InfoWorld's Today's Headlines: Wrap Up newsletter. ]
The next big milestone for supercomputers is to reach exaflop performance, which would be about 100 times as fast as today's fastest computers. Chipmakers Intel and Nvidia are in a race to claim the lead in exaflop computing by building specialized chips that can execute more calculations per second while keeping power consumption in check. Supercomputers are now harnessing the parallel-processing capabilities of these graphics processors and chips like Phi to perform complex calculations tied to scientific and math research.
The Xeon Phi chips will be part of the Xeon server chip family, which is used in a majority of industry-standard servers to process cloud and database applications. Intel has acquired a host of fabric technologies from companies like Qlogic and Cray to provide the bandwidth to shuttle data in supercomputers.
Phi chips are viewed as Intel's answer to Nvidia's Tesla graphics processors, which pack in hundreds of computing cores and are already being used in the world's fastest supercomputers. The world's second-fastest supercomputer, the Tianhe-1A system at the National Supercomputer Center in Tianjin, China, combines Nvidia's Tesla GPUs with Intel's Xeon CPUs to deliver 2.5 petaflops of performance. Nvidia's graphics processors are also being installed in the Titan supercomputer alongside CPUs from Advanced Micro Devices at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee, which is expected to deliver more than 10 petaflops of peak performance.
Intel calls the first Xeon Phi chip a co-processor, as it needs a server CPU such as the Xeon E5 to work on computer systems. The Phi chip will be used in a supercomputer called Stampede, which could go live as early as the end of this year at the Texas Advanced Computing Center at the University of Texas. The supercomputer will deliver peak performance of 10 petaflops (or 10,000 trillion operations per second). The E5 processors will take on 20 percent of the supercomputer's performance, while Knights Corner will handle 80 percent of the load.
From supercomputers, the Xeon Phi processors could ultimately trickle down to products like workstations that require high-performance chips, Hazra said.
"We continue to see [Xeon Phi] as delivering on that promise in the data center and particularly in HPC," Hazra said. The use of Phi chips could expand to tasks like video processing, and in some cases, rendering for the cloud.
To get to exascale, about 40 to 50 gigaflops of performance-per-watt is needed, and the first Phi chip would deliver roughly four to five gigaflops per watt, said John Hengeveld, director of marketing for high-performance computing at Intel.
The company will continue to deliver Phi chips in the future that will deliver better performance-per-watt with every new generation, Hengeveld said. It took four years to jump from one petaflop to 10 petaflops in the world's fastest supercomputers, but only one year to jump from 10 to 20 petaflops, he said, adding that the power-performance curve will continue to improve.
There's always been the need for a specialized chip for specific applications and Knights Corner is effective, said Jim McGregor, principal analyst at Tirias Research. But whether exascale is achievable by 2018 within a specific power envelop is questionable as the chips are still power hungry.
Exascale computing can ultimately be achieved, but the answer lies in how effectively Intel addresses manufacturing and design issues so chips can deliver the necessary performance per watt, McGregor said.
The first Xeon Phi chip, also called Knights Corner, is made using the 22-nanometer process, which is the same manufacturing technology used to make some of the latest Core laptop and desktop processors. The chip sits in a PCI-Express 2.0 slot and combines vector processing units with standard CPU cores.
Intel has been talking about the Knights Corner chip -- then called the MIC (many integrated cores) chip -- since 2010. The chip came out of Intel's research and development laboratory, and was designed with size, complexity and power consumption in mind.
"They started that with very small dumb cores," McGregor said.
Price and availability for Knights Corner was not announced. Intel's Hengeveld said further details about the chip will be provided last this year.
Agam Shah covers PCs, tablets, servers, chips and semiconductors for IDG News Service. Follow Agam on Twitter at @agamsh. Agam's email address is firstname.lastname@example.com.


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Washington, D.C., is ground zero for federal jobs. Which means, residents better prepare for layoffs and furloughs.
Come March 1, if Congress fails to act, the so-called "sequestration" would slash $85 billion from federal budgets through Sept. 30, part of some $1.2 trillion dollars in cuts expected over the next decade.
The cuts would force federal agencies to cut up to 10% from their budgets. The Defense Department has said that means furloughs for its 800,000 workforce starting in April, with employees staying home without pay one day each week. Other agencies, including the Federal Aviation Administration and National Parks Service are talking about furloughs for tens of thousands of their employees.
It's no surprise that private companies in the Washington area that serve the government are also expected to cut jobs.
As the furloughs, lost wages and purchasing power start to kick in later this year, the Washington economy will start feeling the impact, said Stephen Fuller, director of the Center for Regional Analysis at George Mason University.
"It's going to feel like a bad hangover for a while," Fuller said.
The cuts had been scheduled to take place Jan. 2, but Congress delayed them by two months as part of a deal to avert the fiscal cliff. President Obama this week called for another short-term delay.
It will be a setback for the Washington metropolitan area, which had been enjoying a surge in job and economic growth since 2002 due to a big ramp-up in federal spending and procurement, buoyed by the Bush Administration's war on terror and the creation of the Department of Homeland Security.
The area grew faster than any major U.S. city, including New York, according to Fuller. Federal payroll doubled from $23 billion in 2002 to $42 billion in 2010.
"It was as if we discovered diamonds here, but it was all taxpayer dollars," Fuller said.
Washington's growth continued even during the Great Recession, thanks to federal spending. Stimulus dollars helped, as did the addition of workers to deal with the financial crisis and the formation of new agencies like the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Office of Financial Research.
By 2011, the bubble had burst. That year, federal dollars spent on both defense and non-defense contracts fell for the first time in 31 years. Over the past 20 months, the Washington D.C. area has lost 8,900 federal jobs from its peak in 2010.
Related: CBO: Spending cuts and tax increases slowing growth
The economies of the Washington and suburban Virginia and Maryland economies now rank middle-of-the-pack (58th out of 100), compared to other cities nationwide, according to the Brookings Institution Metropolitan Policy Program. In the middle of the recession, the metro area ranked 11th strongest.
That's not to say that all is doom and gloom for the area. The city of Washington D.C. last week reported a budget surplus of more than $400 million, thanks in part to more tax dollars flowing into city coffers from an influx of new residents.
In northern Virginia, traditionally home to large federal contractors like General Dynamics (GD), has also attracted companies that have little to due with government like Intel (INTC) and Hilton Worldwide.
But a slowdown is already apparent. Gerald Gordon, president and CEO of the Fairfax County Economic Development Authority, is seeing companies leasing less office space and hiring fewer employees.
He said that the biggest problem is nobody really knows if the sequester is definitely going to happen and how it will fall. Local businesses are worried about seeing an unexpected wave of lost contracts as the federal agencies handle projects on their own.
"Some employees will get laid off, some will get retained or go work for the federal government, but then companies are sitting on obligations for office space and equipment and there's no recourse for that," Gordon said.


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Pastornicky to undergo ACL surgery, out for season
Braves call up infielder Gosselin from Triple-A Gwinnett to fill roster spot
ATLANTA -- Tyler Pastornicky's opportunity to fill in as Atlanta's starting second baseman proved to be short-lived. Early Friday afternoon, the Braves announced that Pastornicky will undergo season-ending left knee surgery to repair the damage he sustained during a collision with Jason Heyward on Wednesday night.
An MRI performed on Thursday showed that Pastornicky tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee. A timetable for recovery will be better understood after Dr. Marvin Royster performs the surgery on Monday. But in most instances, this procedure requires at least six months of rehab, which would put Pastornicky in position to be ready at the start of next year's Spring Training.
"It's tough," a sullen Pastornicky said. "It's not easy. It's definitely frustrating. But I'll stick to the grindstone, have surgery, keep rehabbing and then come back and get them next year."
The Braves filled Pastornicky's roster spot by purchasing infielder Philip Gosselin's contract from Triple-A Gwinnett. Gosselin will provide depth while Paul Janish serves as the everyday second baseman in the absence of both Pastornicky and Dan Uggla, who underwent LASIK surgery to fix his blurred vision on Friday.
Manager Fredi Gonzalez expects Uggla will be ready to return to the lineup when he is eligible to be activated from the disabled list on Aug. 28. In the meantime, the Braves will continue to scour the waiver wire in an attempt to find a player who could provide more offensive potential than the defensively-sound Janish.
While the Mariners' Brendan Ryan has been mentioned as a possibility, he essentially provides what the Braves already have in Janish. Another option could be Ryan Roberts, who was designated for assignment by the Rays on Thursday.
When the Braves promoted Pastornicky late Tuesday afternoon, the expectation was that he would spend two weeks filling Uggla's void in the starting lineup. But that plan was nixed when the 5-foot-11, 190-pound Pastornicky collided with the 6-foot-5, 240-pound Heyward in the third inning of Wednesday night's win over the Phillies.
"That's just the way it goes," Gonzalez said. "But [Pastornicky] has got to look at it like he'll get another opportunity. Now the No. 1 goal is for him to get healthy."
Pastornicky sustained his injury while ranging back to catch a Jimmy Rollins popup. As he stopped to catch the ball along the right-field foul line, Pastornicky was clipped by a hard-charging Heyward.
While the collision was minor, it was significant enough for Pastornicky's left leg to lock in the wet outfield grass long enough for him to sustain a full tear of the ACL.
Heyward, who clearly called for the ball, offered his apology to Pastornicky when he learned the results of the MRI.
"Collisions happen," Pastornicky said. "It's part of the game. It was one of those balls that was in no-man's land. It's not clear cut, oh that's the outfielder's ball or the first baseman's or the second baseman's ball. It was kind of in the middle of nowhere. I was running to get it, and he was running to get it and we met at the same time."
The sequence of this week's events provided an unexpected opportunity for Gosselin, who was not even expecting to get a call to the big leagues when rosters are expanded in September. The versatile 24-year-old infielder has batted .277 with a .669 OPS in the 47 games he has played since being promoted from Double-A Mississippi to Gwinnett earlier this season.
"It's starting to sink in now," Gosselin said. "It didn't really sink in at first. It's a great feeling. But it's almost surreal. You always work to get up. When I finally got that call, it was pretty exciting."
Gonzalez said he and general manager Frank Wren were looking to fill Pastornicky's roster spot with a player who could pinch-hit for Janish in late-inning situations and provide a reliable glove if there was a need to remain in the game to play defense.
Some of the other internal options included Gwinnett's Sean Kazmar and Tommy La Stella, who has opened plenty of eyes while hitting .342 with a .889 OPS in 65 games with Double-A Mississippi. But with the possibility that any of these players could simply prove to be a short-term fix, the decision was made to go with Gosselin.
"I never really expected it," Gosselin said. "I wasn't in big league camp. I was just trying to have a good year down there and put myself in a good spot. It ended up better than I could have hoped for."


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Nashville, TN – Joshua Lee Alan Eichel, 32, of Nashville, Tenn., was sentenced on May 8, 2014, to 135 months in prison by U.S. District Court Judge Kevin H. Sharp, for conspiring to possess and distribute 1,000 kilograms of marijuana, announced David Rivera, U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Tennessee. The prison term will be followed by five years of supervised release.
Eichel was indicted by a federal grand jury in April 2013 and pleaded guilty in December 2013.
As described in Eichel's plea agreement, in a statement Eichel gave to agents following his arrest in March 2013, he claimed to have been the largest hydroponic marijuana dealer in Nashville. Eichel told agents he was the leader of a conspiracy whose members purchased large amounts of marijuana from a variety of sources in California and Oregon. Eichel also explained to agents how he and his co-conspirators would then ship the marijuana to the Nashville area in order to resell it.
Agents had previously identified and intercepted a number of packages shipped by members of the conspiracy prior to executing a search warrant at Eichel's residence, located at 121 Grant Park Dr. in Franklin, Tenn. on March 13, 2013. During the execution of the search warrant, Agents found and seized packaging materials, shipping materials, and approximately $21,000 cash.
Prior to this conviction, Eichel had been convicted in the Middle District of Tennessee, in 2003, of distributing cocaine and conspiring to possess marijuana with intent to distribute.
This matter was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the United States Postal Inspection Service, as well as the 18th and 21st Judicial District Drug Task Forces, the Franklin Police Department, and the Tennessee Alcoholic Beverage Commission. The United States was represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Brent A. Hannafan.
# # # # #
As released by: David W. Boling, Law Enforcement Coordinator/Public Information Officer | United States Attorney's Office | (615) 736-5956


text: Early this morning, business-oriented social-networking service LinkedIn took the wraps off its much-anticipated LinkedIn for BlackBerry mobile application. \n\n\nThe free application lets BlackBerry users access core LinkedIn functionality while on the go via BlackBerry smartphone. For example, LinkedIn for BlackBerry users can update their statuses and view contacts' recent status updates; search for specific LinkedIn contacts and other LinkedIn users they're not yet connected with; view LinkedIn contact-lists, along with contacts' profiles; send contacts LinkedIn and\/or e-mail messages, where available; accept new contact invites; and get recommendations on other LinkedIn users you may want to connect with.\n\n\n\nThe app also reportedly integrates with the native BlackBerry contacts, calendar and "mail" (messaging?) applications.\n\n\n The LinkedIn app has been in the works for some time--I even penned an open letter to LinkedIn more than a year and a half ago, asking for a BlackBerry-specific app. And BlackBerry-maker Research In Motion (RIM) promoted it back in November at its second annual BlackBerry Developer Conference. \n\n Unfortunately, it looks as though the LinkedIn BlackBerry app cannot be closed. In other words, it's always running in the background on your device, regardless of whether or not you're using it, if you've attempted to exit it or even if you're logged out. This isn't ideal, as the app could be using BlackBerry resources while open and\/or draining valuable battery life. \n\n\nLinkedIn for BlackBerry is currently available for BlackBerry Curve, Tour and Bold models running OS v4.3.0 or higher, according to the company--BlackBerry Storm and Pearl users appear to be out of luck for the time being.\n\n\n Find additional information and download LinkedIn for BlackBerry at LinkedIn.com\/BlackBerry. \n\n In related news, popular mobile travel application WorldMate also recently added LinkedIn features to its BlackBerry app, allowing travelers who are connected on LinkedIn to share location information and travel plans so they can meet up whenever they're in close proximity to each other. \n\n\nAS


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Staph infections are only one category of serious infection risks that patients and their families face when getting health care treatment. Patients can reduce these infection risks by sharing the following tips from the Center for Disease Control:
- Speak up. Talk to your doctor about any questions or worries. Ask what they're doing to protect you.
- Keep hands clean. Make sure everyone, including friends and family, clean their hands before touching you. If you don't see your healthcare providers clean their hands, ask them to do so.
- Ask each day if your central line catheter or urinary catheter is necessary. Leaving a catheter in place too long increases the chances you'll get an infection. Let your doctor or nurse know immediately if the area around the central line becomes sore or red, or if the bandage falls off or looks wet or dirty.
- Prepare for surgery. Let your doctor know about any medical problems you have. Ask your doctor how he/she prevents surgical site infections.
- Ask your healthcare provider, "Will there be a new needle, new syringe, and a new vial for this procedure or injection?" Insist that your healthcare providers never reuse a needle or syringe on more than one patient.
- Get Smart about antibiotics. Antibiotics only treat bacterial infections – they don't work for viruses like the ones that cause colds and flu. Ask your healthcare provider if there are steps you can take to feel better without using antibiotics. If you're prescribed an antibiotic, make sure to take the prescribed antibiotic exactly as your healthcare provider tells you and do not skip doses.
- Watch out for deadly diarrhea (aka Clostridium difficile). Tell your doctor if you have 3 or more diarrhea episode services in 24 hours, especially if you've been taking an antibiotic.
- Know the signs and symptoms of infection. Some skin infections, such as MRSA, appear as redness, pain, or drainage at an IV catheter site or surgery site and come with a fever. Infections can also lead to sepsis, a complication caused by the body's overwhelming and life-threatening response to an infection.
- Get Vaccinated. Getting yourself, family, friends, and caregivers vaccinated against the flu and other infections prevents spread of disease.
- Cover your mouth and nose. When you sneeze or cough, germs can travel 3 feet or more. Use a tissue to avoid spreading germs with your hands.
Healthcare-associated infections are not only a problem for healthcare facilities – they represent a public health issue. Learn more about how to be a safe patient. Read: Patient Safety: What You Can Do to Be a Safe Patient.
©2017 Cynthia Marcotte Stamer. Nonexclusive license to republish granted to Solutions Law Press, Inc.


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December 2013 Board Report
To: Members of the Cooper Union Community
From: The Cooper Union Board of Trustees
Below is a summary of the actions taken by the Board of Trustees Meeting at its December 11, 2013 meeting:
Election of the Chairman of the Board of Trustees
The Board of Trustees unanimously elected Richard Lincer Chairman of the Board of Trustees. Mr. Lincer is a Partner with the firm of Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP in New York. He is the son of a Cooper alumnus (CE '42) and has been a trustee for nine years.
Mr. Francois deMenil was elected Vice Chair of the Board of Trustees.
In acknowledgement of Mark Epstein's leadership of the Board over the past four years, the trustees passed a resolution electing him Chairman Emeritus.
Student Representative to the Board
The Board of Trustees appointed and welcomed Devora Najjar as Student Representative to the Board of Trustees. Devora is the first student to hold such a position. In her acceptance comments, Devora expressed her gratitude to the Board on behalf of the student body and communicated her commitment to bringing the varying student perspectives to provide additional input to the Board in its decision making. The Board, in turn, expressed great satisfaction with her appointment.
Election of Trustees
The following individuals were unanimously elected to the Board:
Jeffrey S. Hersch (EE'87)
Eric Hirschhorn (ME'89)
Malcolm Marcus King (EE'97)
The Board also welcomed Kevin Slavin (A'95) as Alumnus Trustee.
Review and Issuance of the 2013 Audited Financial Statements
The Audit Committee conducted its annual review of the draft 2013 Audited Financial Statements prepared by KPMG. The trustees reviewed and accepted the draft Audited Financial Statements, which will be formally issued by the auditors in the coming weeks and will be available on the Audited Financial Statements page of the Cooper Union website before the end of the calendar year.
Working Group
Mr. Borkowsky provided introductory comments about the Working Group Report (3.36MB*) that had been circulated to the Board of Trustees Executive Committee and the Finance Committee one week prior. It was presented to the full Board of Trustees for the first time at the December 11th Board meeting by the following members of the Working Group who had chaired the subgroups that had focused on the various aspects of the report:
Professor Benjamin Davis, Engineering Faculty Representative
Professor Diane Lewis, Architecture Faculty Representative
Robert Tan, Alumni Representative
Lawrence Mesich, Staff Representative
Barry Drogin, Alumni Representative
The presenters also responded to questions from the trustees throughout the presentation. Following the presentation the trustees thanked the members of the Working Group for their efforts and for the thought and care that went into the report.
After the presentation, the board proceeded to an extended discussion of the report. It was the consensus the Board that more time will be required to give the proposals contained in the report the serious and rigorous review and analysis that they warrant. The Board will undertake this review over the course of the next month and plans to meet again in mid-January to discuss the findings and determine whether, in its assessment, the plan proposed by the Working Group in fact presents a sustainable alternative to tuition.
Code of Conduct Revisions
Mr. Lincer and Dean Steven Baker led a brief discussion concerning the proposed revisions to the Student Code of Conduct that had been initiated by the Executive Committee and the Academic and Student Affairs Committee of the Board. Ms. Najjar reiterated concerns that had been previously expressed by the students concerning the process by which the revisions were developed and presented for consideration by the members of the Cooper Union community. While it was noted that the Student Code of Conduct will nonetheless require updating to, among other things, take account of current legal realities applicable to the Cooper Union, it was agreed that Dean Baker and Associate Dean of Student Affairs Chris Chamberlin would undertake a consultative process with the Joint Student Council after the winter break to develop appropriate revisions that they can recommend to the Board of Trustees for consideration.


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Sochi Olympics draw U.S. concern over toothpaste explosives
Travellers heading to Sochi say Russian airport security was surprisingly hassle-free
Despite a temporary Russian ban on liquids in carry-on luggage, some air travellers heading to the Sochi Olympics through Moscow have brought toothpaste and other toiletries past security checkpoints without any problems.
Security concerns ahead of the Sochi Games were renewed after the U.S. Homeland Security Department warned airlines flying to Russia that terrorists may try to smuggle explosives into the country in toothpaste tubes.
- The costly distraction that is Putin's Sochi Olympics
- Sochi events begin as security concerns grow
- The CBC's Sochi Olympics website
Yet six Associated Press employees arriving in Moscow from across the world or beginning their journey there passed through security without having to remove toothpaste, hand lotion or water bottles from their carry-on luggage.
Another AP journalist, arriving in Moscow from Singapore, said a security official checked his deodorant and then returned it, but didn't notice or make mention of a very small tube of toothpaste.
'Pretty chill'
Other air travellers heading to Sochi also said their experience of Russian airport security was surprisingly hassle-free.
"It was pretty chill," said Matt Segal, an Australian tourist who traveled from Moscow to Sochi on Thursday. "I had an empty 1½-litre water bottle because I was hoping to fill it up on the plane but no one checked it. No one has pulled it out and asked about it."
The no-liquids rule applies to anyone departing from a Russian airport, including transit passengers, said Russian Transport Ministry spokeswoman Nataliya Nesterova. She said it was up to airports to make sure it is enforced.
The seemingly sporadic enforcement underscores the difficulty that governments face in ensuring that airport personnel in many places, screening thousands of impatient people in a compressed period of time, maintain consistent practices as they try to prevent attacks that could be both human and public-relations disasters.
And even if practices are consistent inside a single country, the many points of transit that travellers pass through en route to Sochi fall under the jurisdiction of multiple governments.
Moscow airport officials didn't immediately return calls Thursday seeking comment about enforcement of the ban, which runs from January to April, well after the Olympics and Paralympics end. Russian deputy prime minister Dmitry Kozak had no comment Thursday on the toothpaste warning from the U.S. Homeland Security Department in the U.S.
Warnings 'superfluous'
"I don't have any reaction at this point. We're checking this information," Kozak told reporters Thursday at a news conference in Olympic Park.
He said Russia can guarantee the safety of people attending the Sochi Games as efficiently as any other government hosting a major event.
"I believe that warnings about Sochi, about Russia were superfluous, and the threat levels in Sochi are just like they are in Boston or London," he said. "I would like to reiterate that security in Sochi will be no worse than in New York, London, Washington or Boston."
Some AP employees traveling directly to Sochi from Frankfurt, Germany, passed through security there carrying travel-sized liquids, including toothpaste.
A photographer who brought a Ziploc bag with a half a dozen liquid items said he was asked to take it out in Boston, where he began his trip, but security officials in Frankfurt left it in the bag, while inspecting his camera equipment.
Water bottle
No-liquid rules appear to be enforced more strictly at train stations in the Sochi area. One AP journalist was stopped Feb. 2 at a security checkpoint in the train station in Krasnaya Polyana, the mountain hub for the games, because his hand luggage contained a tube of leather conditioner. He was asked to open it, stick a finger in it and rub it onto his shoe.
Another AP journalist who carried a water bottle at a train station in Sochi had to hand it over to security officials who examined with a scanning device to make sure its contents weren't flammable.
In late December, bombings of a train station and an electric trolleybus killed 34 people in the southern city of Volgograd, heightening security fears ahead of the Sochi Olympics.
The leader of the Caucasus Emirate, an umbrella group for militants seeking to establish an independent Islamic state in the North Caucasus, has urged his followers to strike the Winter Olympics.
With files from The Associated Press, Reuters


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By Patty Donovan, The Open Group
Totaling 446 tweets, yesterday's 2013 Security Priorities Tweet Jam (#ogChat) saw a lively discussion on the future of security in 2013 and became our most successful tweet jam to date. In case you missed the conversation, here's a recap of yesterday's #ogChat!
The event was moderated by former CNET security reporter Elinor Mills, and there was a total of 28 participants including:
- Chris Silva, Altimeter Group (@802dotchris)
- Chris Lockhart, Booz & Company (@chrisonea)
- Chris, BSides Dallas (@syntaxerr66)
- Dark Reading (@DarkReading)
- Kelly Jackson Higgins, Dark Reading (@kjhiggins)
- Mikko Hypponen, F-Secure (@mikko)
- Davi Ottenheimer, FlyingPenguin (@daviottenheimer)
- Framehawk (@Framehawk)
- Jay Fry, Framehawk (@jayfry3)
- Ian E. Savage, McAfee (@iesavage)
- Mandiant (@Mandiant)
- Richard Bejtlich, Mandiant (@taosecurity)
- Dave Lounsbury, The Open Group (@Technodad)
- Jim Hietala, The Open Group (@jim_hietala)
- Perimeter E-Security (@PerimeterNews)
- Andrew Jaquith, Perimeter E-Security (@arj)
- Andrew Barratt, PTP Consulting (@andrew_barratt)
- Andrew Wild, Qualys (@AWildCSO)
- JadedSecurity, security blogger (@jadedsecurity)
- Josh D, security blogger (@iam_joshd)
- Robin Robins, security marketing consultant (@azrobinr)
- SearchCIO.com (@enterpriseCIO)
- Trustwave (@Trustwave)
- Ryan Barnett, Trustwave (@ryancbarnett)
- Nicholas Percoco, Trustwave (@c7five)
- Dana Gardner, ZDNet (@Dana_Gardner)
Here is a high-level snapshot of yesterday's #ogChat:
Q1 What's the biggest lesson learned by the security industry in 2012? #ogChat
The consensus among participants was that 2012 was a year of going back to the basics. There are many basic vulnerabilities within organizations that still need to be addressed, and it affects every aspect of an organization.
- @Dana_Gardner Q1 … Security is not a product. It's a way of conducting your organization, a mentality, affects all. Repeat. #ogChat #security #privacy
- @Technodad Q1: Biggest #security lesson of 2102: everyone is in two security camps: those who know they've been penetrated & those who don't. #ogChat
- @jim_hietala Q1. Assume you've been penetrated, and put some focus on detective security controls, reaction/incident response #ogChat
- @c7five Lesson of 2012 is how many basics we're still not covering (eg. all the password dumps that showed weak controls and pw choice). #ogChat
Q2 How will organizations tackle #BYOD security in 2013? Are standards needed to secure employee-owned devices? #ogChat
Participants debated over the necessity of standards. Most agreed that standards and policies are key in securing BYOD.
- @arj Q2: No "standards" needed for BYOD. My advice: collect as little information as possible; use MDM; create an explicit policy #ogChat
- @Technodad @arj Standards are needed for #byod – but operational security practices more important than technical standards. #ogChat
- @AWildCSO Organizations need to develop a strong asset management program as part of any BYOD effort. Identification and Classification #ogChat
- @Dana_Gardner Q2 #BYOD forces more apps & data back on servers, more secure; leaves devices as zero client. Then take that to PCs too. #ogChat #security
- @taosecurity Orgs need a BYOD policy for encryption & remote wipe of company data; expect remote compromise assessment apps too @elinormills #ogChat
Q3 In #BYOD era, will organizations be more focused on securing the network, the device, or the data? #ogChat
There was disagreement here. Some emphasized focusing on protecting data, while others argued that it is the devices and networks that need protecting.
- @taosecurity Everyone claims to protect data, but the main ways to do so remain protecting devices & networks. Ignores code sec too. @elinormills #ogChat
- @arj Q3: in the BYOD era, the focus must be on the data. Access is gated by employee's entitlements + device capabilities. #ogChat
- @Technodad @arj Well said. Data sec is the big challenge now – important for #byod, #cloud, many apps. #ogChat
- @c7five Organization will focus more on device management while forgetting about the network and data controls in 2013. #ogChat #BYOD
Q4 What impact will using 3rd party #BigData have on corporate security practices? #ogChat
Participants agreed that using third parties will force organizations to rely on security provided by those parties. They also acknowledged that data must be secure in transit.
- @daviottenheimer Q4 Big Data will redefine perimeter. have to isolate sensitive data in transit, store AND process #ogChat
- @jim_hietala Q4. 3rd party Big Data puts into focus 3rd party risk management, and transparency of security controls and control state #ogChat
- @c7five Organizations will jump into 3rd party Big Data without understanding of their responsibilities to secure the data they transfer. #ogChat
- @Dana_Gardner Q4 You have to trust your 3rd party #BigData provider is better at #security than you are, eh? #ogChat #security #SLA
- @jadedsecurity @Technodad @Dana_Gardner has nothing to do with trust. Data that isn't public must be secured in transit #ogChat
- @AWildCSO Q4: with or without bigdata, third party risk management programs will continue to grow in 2013. #ogChat
Q5 What will global supply chain security look like in 2013? How involved should governments be? #ogChat
Supply chains are an emerging security issue, and governments need to get involved. But consumers will also start to understand what they are responsible for securing themselves.
- @jim_hietala Q5. supply chain emerging as big security issue, .gov's need to be involved, and Open Group's OTTF doing good work here #ogChat
- @Technodad Q5: Governments are going to act- issue is getting too important. Challenge is for industry to lead & minimize regulatory patchwork. #ogChat
- @kjhiggins Q5: Customers truly understanding what they're responsible for securing vs. what cloud provider is. #ogChat
Q6 What are the biggest unsolved issues in Cloud Computing security? #ogChat
Cloud security is a big issue. Most agreed that Cloud security is mysterious, and it needs to become more transparent. When Cloud providers claim they are secure, consumers and organizations put blind trust in them, making the problem worse.
- @jadedsecurity @elinormills Q6 all of them. Corps assume cloud will provide CIA and in most cases even fails at availability. #ogChat
- @jim_hietala Q6. Transparency of security controls/control state, cloud risk management, protection of unstructured data in cloud services #ogChat
- @c7five Some PaaS cloud providers advertise security as something users don't need to worry about. That makes the problem worse. #ogChat
Q7 What should be the top security priorities for organizations in 2013? #ogChat
Top security priorities varied. Priorities highlighted in the discussion included: focusing on creating a culture that promotes secure activity; prioritizing security spending based on risk; focusing on where the data resides; and third-party risk management coming to the forefront.
- @jim_hietala Q7. prioritizing security spend based on risks, protecting data, detective controls #ogChat
- @Dana_Gardner Q7 Culture trumps technology and business. So make #security policy adherence a culture that is defined and rewarded. #ogChat #security
- @kjhiggins Q7 Getting a handle on where all of your data resides, including in the mobile realm. #ogChat
- @taosecurity Also for 2013: 1) count and classify your incidents & 2) measure time from detection to containment. Apply Lean principles to both. #ogChat
- @AWildCSO Q7: Asset management, third party risk management, and risk based controls for 2013. #ogChat
A big thank you to all the participants who made this such a great discussion!
Patricia Donovan is Vice President, Membership & Events, at The Open Group and a member of its executive management team. In this role she is involved in determining the company's strategic direction and policy as well as the overall management of that business area. Patricia joined The Open Group in 1988 and has played a key role in the organization's evolution, development and growth since then. She also oversees the company's marketing, conferences and member meetings. She is based in the U.S.


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How to become a health insurance agent?
What it takes to become an life insurance broker? What are the essential skills to acquire in order to be a term insurance broker? What are the best career advantages for term insurance advisor? CheapLifeAlliance has given the answers to all your questions in this article.
The medical costs have skyrocketed in the recent times. The Affordable Care Act has given more Americans access to health insurance, but many of those plans come with high deductibles which are also becoming more common in employer-provided plans. The average deductible for workers with employer-provided health insurance grew in the recent years. The things to consider to save your heard-earned money are doing proper homework, considering health savings account, getting required discounts, comparing before you buy, choosing best health insurance company, trying to get highest deductible and also find cheap healthcare plan. So keep reading for the purpose for the deal with the best returns.
What are the best health insurance apps to buy? I am thinking to get the best healthcare plan for yourself and the family members, can you suggest me about the ideal policy which will beneficial for any kind of medical complications.
Take pre-licensing training course
It is very important to do proper homework as some people who have bought insurance and used it may understand it. In addition to that, people would put planning for a root canal or funeral in the same category as planning for insurance.
Moreover, one of the thing that most people always forget is that an employee's spouse might find cheaper individual coverage than their spouse's group plan. There are many other things that one needs to be aware about.
State insurance licensing exam
These accounts are available in many group as well as individual health plans. You can fund an HSA with pre-tax dollars, oversee their investment in a 401(k)-type account, and then withdraw the funds tax-free, so long as you spend them on approved medical expenses.
In addition to that, HSA funds can be rolled over each year and do not need to be spent, allowing you to build a major rainy-day fund for big healthcare bills. It is possible that health reform eventually will end HSAs, so if one makes sense to you, take advantage of it while you still can.
Build relevant experience
It is also a true fact that the amount that is covered as medical insurance by your employer is not always sufficient. With the rising costs of medical treatment in the country and worldwide, extra health insurance is essential.
Another thing that you must also consider that, you may lose the medical insurance facility as long as you are employed with employer who had issued for the medical insurance plan. Shifting you job or having no job will also turn you into medically uninsured.
Train with insurance companies
Comparison shop when you renew. Do not assume that this year's best deal will still be the best deal when it's time to renew your coverage. There are many online and offline tolls to compare
When you get your first renewal notice, check to see if the rate has changed and look at competing policies. The wealth of online quoting tools makes this an easy task, particularly with sites that store your profile and easily can generate updated premium comparisons.
Make a competitive resume
Different insurance companies have their own models for pricing out the risk of insuring you. This is especially true when insuring things—cars, homes, boats, and the like.
As a result, the very same coverage situation—driver, cars, driving record, etc.—may elicit widely different premiums from different insurers. There is actually a pretty wide range in the premiums that companies charge for the exact same risk.
Additional Tips: 10 Must ask questions while buying your health plan
Be your best self in interview
By self-insuring the first $1,000 or even more of an insurance claim, you can get solid price reductions. "The obvious big thing is adjusting the deductible. The higher the deductible, the cheaper the plan.
For individual health insurance policies. One of the most popular deductibles is $10,000. and it is also essential to find the best one that is not only identical but also good for everyone.
Independent health insurance agents
You should also have proper understanding of the the waiting period and know the reasons for the existence of waiting period. On ideal cases, most health insurance policies usually have waiting period of around two to four years.
The only solution for this is getting early health insurance coverage in order to nullify the waiting period condition. In the younger ages, the chance of having complex illness ins much lower than that of older ages.
Scope of passive income
You must heave heard about healthcare coverage but it is very important to choose the one that is best suited to your needs. However, do make sure that you are aware of things that are covered through health coverage.
Another thing that you should also make sure is that, you should buy healthcare plans as early as possible when you are at your younger age. Moreover, it also ensures that you get more comprehensive coverage.
Health insurance agent salary
It is an organization that provides or arranges managed care for health insurance, self-funded health care benefit plans, individuals, and other entities, acting as a liaison with health care providers on a prepaid basis.
Health Maintenance Organization (HMO) A type of health insurance plan that usually limits coverage to care from doctors who work for or contract with the HMO. It generally won't cover out-of-network care except in an emergency.
Good client interactions
Preventive care is the care you receive to prevent illnesses or diseases. It also includes counseling to prevent health problems. Providing these services at no cost is based on the idea that getting preventive care, such as screenings and immunizations, can help you and your family stay healthy.
A few examples of preventive care services: Wellness visits and standard immunizations. Screenings for blood pressure, cancer, cholesterol, depression, obesity, and Type 2 diabetes. Pediatric screenings for hearing, vision, autism and developmental disorders, depression, and obesity.
Become a successful health insurance agent:
So, you have understood about the best plan for you medical care. If you go into a hospital or undergo an expensive procedure, get an itemized bill, preferably before you leave the hospital. There are ways to ask the hospital billing department for financial aid, a discount for paying in cash or a payment plan. If you have lots of big bills, consider hiring someone to negotiate for you. One of the most essential thing that needs to be made sure at the time of buying any kind of insurance, is of getting the price which will meet you financial requirements. Thus, thanks for stopping by to learn about the ways to save your money for your next healthcare plan or going for any other policy out there!


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Many states have rules and statutes that provide that an objection made in court or in a deposition must be made specifically and concisely rather than in an argumentative or suggestive manner. Objections made in violation of these rules are known as "speaking objections". These objections proceed beyond what is necessary to give the grounds on which the objection is based. This is often done by the attorney in order to coach a witness to say a particular thing.
An objection that is made in such a manner is often improper.
- Keywords