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Tiger Woods no longer top-paid athlete
BY By Chris Isidore, CNN
Tiger Woods
Tiger Woods has finally lost the title of the world's best-paid athlete, more than two years after a sex scandal chased away some of his most lucrative sponsors.
In this year's Fortunate 50 -- Sports Illustrated's ranking of the top-paid U.S. athletes -- boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr. knocked Woods out of the top spot for the first time since the list began in 2004.
Woods dropped into third place after golfer Phil Mickelson nabbed the No. 2 spot. Woods' estimated endorsement income fell to $54.5 million in 2011 from $60 million in 2010 and $92 million in 2009, the year that ended with his well-publicized sex scandal.
Woods' scandal cost him several high-profile sponsors, most notably Pepsico's Gatorade, which ended its deal with Woods in February 2010. He also lost partnerships with General Motors' Buick, Procter & Gamble's Gillette razors and AT&T.
But fortunately for Woods, his biggest sponsor, Nike, stuck with him, paying him an estimated $35 million a year. He also still has a deal with video-game maker Electronic Arts, which is believed to be worth $9 million annually.
And he's picked up a few new sponsors, although they're not nearly as big as the blue-chip names he lost. In late 2011, upstart sports-drink maker Fuse Science signed him, but the company was still in the development stage and only started generating limited revenue earlier this year.
Woods has not won a major tournament since the scandal broke and has seen his on-course earnings fall sharply. His estimated winnings were just $1.9 million last year, down from $20.5 million during the 2009 golfing season.
In the top spot, Mayweather Jr. had zero endorsement dollars, but brought home $40 million in his win over Victor Ortiz in September 2011 and another $45 million from his May 2012 fight with Miguel Cotto. He's going to have trouble spending those winnings in the near term though: He's serving a three-month jail sentence for domestic abuse.
Woods' golfing rival Phil Mickelson is No. 2 on the earnings list, the spot he's held since 2008. With $3.8 million in winnings and an estimated $57 million in endorsement deals, his earnings are little changed from 2011.
Sports Illustrated's rankings combine the pay, winnings and endorsement deals from the athletes' most recently completed season. That means New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees, who just signed a $100 million, five-year deal that will pay him $40 million in the 2012 season, is not yet on the Fortunate 50 list.
The list also excludes foreign athletes, meaning Swiss tennis star Roger Federer -- with an estimated $51.4 million in winnings and endorsements -- is nowhere to be found. The top-paid international athlete, he'd be No. 4 on the Fortunate 50 if he were an American.
© 2019 HartfordBusiness.com


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Garten Fräsen
Friday, May 18th, 2018
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Rosalind Sedacca Rosalind Sedacca, CCT, Divorce and Parenting Coach and Founder of the Child-Centered Divorce Network for parents joins LifethruDivorce.com as a Professional Member Lake Worth, FL — Lifethrudivorce.com is
Life Thru Divorce is Proud to Announce the Addition of Another Acclaimed Professional Member to its Community
Chad T. Collins brings Social Media and Teen Counseling and Mentoring together to create the BroFist Challenge support group. Chad T. Collins was recently interviewed on the subject of counseling
Incredible Technology Makes It Simple and Easy to Achieve Quality Rest San Diego, California – March 19th, 2015 – Rick Loos, President and Founder of Proper Pillow Plus, has announced
Kimberly Kelly Kimberly Kelly, CEO and Founder of True Love Again, Joins LifethruDivorce.com as a Health & Wellness Professional Contributor Kimberly Kelly, CEO and Founder of True Love Again, has
CASSIUS comic launches on Kickstarter-puts queer female characters front and center in a new twist on the classic hero's journey!
Chicago, Illinois – PinkFae is a webzine about transgender representation within the gaming industry. Its mission is to make the
Clarke Hedrick Clarke Hedrick, CEO, CFP, Certified PPACA, Pivotal Financial Services, Inc. joins the LifethruDivorce.com Community of Professionals. "We are
Francesca Pucher, General Manager and Co- owner of Fitness 121 Personal Training Francesca Pucher, General Manager and Co- owner of
Bringing a Sustainable Shoe Collection that Goes Beyond Being a Great Accessory Item London, United Kingdom – March 17, 2015
'Lean On Him Apparel' picture design to be used for new location in Richardson, Texas. Dallas designer is launching a


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Cliff Young
"I like to finish what I start doing. I like to see it through to the end, to the best of my ability."
Let me start with this: I hate running. Like, I really fucking hate it. I know some people out there can't get enough of that shit, and they dream of nothing more than chugging organic free-range veggie smoothies and talking about their ultra-rigid interval-training regimens while stair-stepping their way up around the outside of Sauron's Tower in Mordor, but as far as I'm concerned intense cardiovascular exercise is a torturous labor on par with the cruelest deviltries this side of some sadistic Spanish Inquisition asshole burning your eyes out with red-hot pokers and then spitting lemonade into the sockets to disinfect the wound. I mean, seriously, unless I'm stretching out a double in beer league softball or fleeing the crushtastic knobby tires of that self-propelled Mack Truck from Maximum Overdrive I'd just as soon strangle myself unconscious with a jump rope than put in the obligatory hour a day on the treadmill I need to ensure that I don't lose the ongoing World War I'm waging with my burgeoning love handles.
Despite my own aversion to the whole "one foot in front the other as rapidly as possible until your lungs shrivel into raisins which then subsequently catch on fire, your legs feel like they're made out of cheap post-consumer recycled rubber, and you wish nothing more than the sweet release of a swift death" thing, I have nothing but respect for those psychotic lunatics who pursue the sport (is that the right word for it? Runners seem to think so…) of Ultramarathoning. Ultramarathoning, for those of you who lack the ability to process compound words, are like regular marathons, only FUCKING ULTRA. In its purest form, Ultramarathoning is basically just a bunch of human-looking robots running as fast as they can forever. Races don't go around a track, they span ZIP codes, and they aren't measured in meters, they're measured in how many DAYS it takes you to finish the course.
Arguably the toughest ultramarathon ever conceived in the black recesses of some running-obsessed sadist's disturbed mind is the Westfield Sydney to Melbourne Ultra Marathon – a 566-mile foot race that started in a mall parking lot in Sydney, Australia, and ended in another mall parking lot in Melbourne, a good 875 kilometers away.
Here's a map of the course, or, as it was most likely captioned in the pamphlets handed out before the race, WELCOME TO HELL:
View Larger Map
Google seems to believe that, barring any sort of sleep or exhaustion or Australian wildlife-related horrible death along the way, your average jackass should be able to walk this brain-crushingly obscene 566-mile course in 185 hours – about 8 days. Now, around the time of the 1983 edition of this yearly race, your average world-class uber-android athlete could complete this course by running the equivalent 21.6 marathons back-to-back-to-back over the course of 7 days, with a daily regimen of sprinting for 17 hours straight, sleeping for 7, then getting back up and doing it again the next morning. It's a race so fucking excruciating that you couldn't have it as an Olympic sport because if you were going to host the Games in London you'd have to start at the base of Big Ben, run all the way to the Eiffel Tower by way of the Chunnel, turn around, come all the way back, touch the base of Big Ben again, then make a left and sprint to the finish line at Stonehenge before both Bob Costas and Dan Patrick completely lose their shit from lack of sleep and start devouring each others' brains on national television. It's the Boston Marathon if the Boston Marathon ended in Richmond, Virginia. It's a foot race so goddamned intense that the purple line representing the course is still clearly visible when you zoom all the way out on Google Maps. Fuck, I get tired after playing NHL hockey on the Xbox for five or six hours in a row, and that rarely involves any physical activity more strenuous than repeatedly moving one or both of my thumbs a fraction of an inch.
As you can probably imagine, the $10,000 grand prize drew elite athletes from across the world, each seeking not only the cash, but the pride associated with winning the most intense physical test of physical endurance human civilization has ever offered. Tough, dedicated guys in their 20s and early-30s, in the prime of their lives, hardened by years of training into perfect physical specimens, most of them decked out in top-of-the-line aerodynamic racing gear and $400 running shoes provided by wealthy global corporate sponsors like Nike, Reebok, Adidas, and New Balance (just kidding, nobody wears New Balance haha).
And there, standing amid the greatest runners the world had to offer in 1983, was this guy:
Cliff Young was a toothless 61 year-old potato farmer from Beech Forest, Victoria, who'd lived in a one-room bark hut with six brothers and sisters during the Great Depression and showed up to the starting line of the race in overalls and rain boots. The assembled media took one look at him, shoved a microphone in his face, and asked him what it was going to be like when he keeled over and died of a massive heart attack a hundred and fifty meters in to the 875-kilometer race.
He told them, "I grew up on a farm where we couldn't afford horses or four wheel drives… whenever the storms would roll in, I'd have to go out and round up the sheep. We had 2,000 head, and we have 2,000 acres. Sometimes I would have to run those sheep for two or three days. It took a long time, but I'd catch them. I believe I can run this race; it's only two more days. Five days. I've run sheep for three."
Ok, whatever, old man, good luck with that.
It also didn't help his case when the starter's pistol went off and this guy started running like this:
The field blew him off the line like an '87 Camaro drag racing against the Amish. The pack traveled dozens of miles in the first day alone, pounding their pavement with the ergonomic soles of their cross-trainers while this old geezer shuffled along like a dumbass in his Wellington gumboots, his pace nowhere near that of the elite ultramarathoners who by this point were tens of miles down the road away from him.
Then night came. Exhausted from 17 hours of pushing their bodies to the limit, the racers all made camp by the side of the road and went to sleep.
All of them, that is, except Cliff Young.
You see, it turned out that when Cliff Young said he chased sheeps around his farm for three days, he meant he'd single-handedly manually herded a flock of frightened ruminants across 2,000 acres of farmland for three days straight without stopping or sleeping.
When the rest of the field woke up the one morning and saw the tiny shadow of a 61 year-old man shuffling along a few dozen miles down the road ahead of them, they realized they were in trouble. Cliff Young, an overalls-clad sexagenarian potato farmer who had previously been diagnosed with arthritis in most of his leg joints (he claimed he'd "ran it out… like running the rust off an old car") was beating the best athletes in the world – men more than half his age – in a sport that was exclusively dependent upon pushing the human body to the limits of its physical ability.
Surviving in hot chocolate and cups of water, Cliff Young shuffled down the highway for five days, fifteen hours, and four minutes straight. The media hype surrounding his ridiculous tortoise-and-the-hare bullshit was so intense that when Young jogged to the finish line in Melbourne he was greeted by TV cameras and a screaming horde of cheering fans.
He'd broken the all-time record for the Westfield Sydney to Melbourne Ultra Marathon. By two days. When he got the check for ten thousand dollars, he told the organizers he wasn't actually aware there was a prize for winning. Then he said he felt bad that he should get the prize money when everyone else worked just as hard as him, so he divided the ten grand equally among all the participants in the race.
Cliff Young became a celebrity in Australia overnight. Six-Day races were named after him. He married a 23 year-old Aussie babe with daddy issues (they divorced five years later… shocking, I know). Athletic trainers started studying his running style, eventually deciding that while it looked ridiculous, the "Young Shuffle" was actually one of the most efficient ways to travel while conserving the most energy – three other athletes used the technique to win the race in subsequent years.
Young continued running, setting six outdoor world endurance records despite the notable handicap of being basically old as hell. At the age of 63 he ran 150 miles in a 24 hour period. In 1997 he tried to circumnavigate Australia to raise money for disadvantaged homeless orphans, but the 76 year-old had to drop out after just 6250 kilometers (3,800 miles, or roughly the distance from Key West, FL to Whistler, BC) when his only crew member (a trainer who, by the way, was making this trip in a car) passed out from illness. In 2000, at age 79, he became the oldest man to finish a six-day Ultramarathon, and he did it while he was dying of cancer. He passed away in November 2003, at the age of 81, still running his family farm. He had run over 20,000 kilometers during his racing career. It is said that never kept any of his prize money, instead donating it to charities or giving it to friends as gifts.
"He was an ordinary guy who achieved extraordinary things."
The Legend of Cliff Young
Interview with Cliff Young
From Gumboots to Glory
End of the Road for Cliff
The Complete List
About the Author
Miscellaneous Articles


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Top yields at the Victoria Island Farms plot were: UCR 115 at 10,239 pounds per acre, Atlas at 8,482 pounds, UCR 65 at 8,321 pounds, and UCR 157 at 7,810 pounds.
The private variety Atlas, which produced the largest spear size but failed to match UCR 157 in quality traits, is from California Asparagus Seed and Transplant. UCR 65 also had large spears, which may create marketing problems, due to consumer preference for smaller spears.
The yields from the 12 replicated cultivars, including entrants from France, ranged from 10,239 pounds to 3,197 pounds.
"Several varieties looked good in the trial," Mullen said, "but right now, first and foremost, it looks like UCR 115 is a variety that has some real possibilities. Even at 85 days (after harvest began) last year, it still had really tight headed spears, when a lot of the other varieties had developed seed heads."
A new and improved variety for the delta's peat soil would be welcomed by growers. Yields in San Joaquin County, he explained, have declined to averages of about 3,000 pounds because of generations of continuous culture of asparagus and/or field corn, which allowed Fusarium crown rot, a major disease of the crop, to become firmly entrenched.
High yield region
Meanwhile, asparagus fields along the west side of the San Joaquin Valley from Firebaugh to Kettleman City have been yielding 8,000 to 10,000 pounds in recent years, a stiff challenge for the Sacramento-San Joaquin delta industry, where the earliest recorded asparagus production was in 1852.
"I can't say the west side growers don't have some Fusarium too, but it is going to take them a while to catch up to the disease pressure we have."
UCR 115, from Mikeal Roose's breeding program at the University of California, Riverside, will hopefully be patented and released within a year or two, said Mullen, who has evaluated the variety for the past six years.
UCR 157, also bred at UC, Riverside, has been a mainstay for the industry since 1975. "Our growers," Mullen said, "have grown it for 27 years and it is still a tough variety to beat."
The California asparagus acreage in 2000 for all districts was 37,000 acres, with District I, composed of San Joaquin, Contra Costa, Sutter, and Sacramento counties, having nearly 23,500 acres. District II, San Joaquin Valley and coastal counties, was about 8,000, and District III, Riverside and Imperial counties, had 5,500. After removal of marginal acreage, state acreage this year is estimated to be about 29,000.
The 2003 season did not signal a turn-around for the industry, but several growers did a bit better, Mullen said. "It's been a positive year, about the first time in four years. Easter was later, Mexico got out of the market a little earlier, and we had cool weather, so supply and demand were more in balance." By June, product from Washington was starting to appear on the market.
Beat break-even
He said break-even for asparagus is $24 to $26 per 26-pound crate. "We had a good month, where the price was about $34 for export and $30 domestic. That helped a lot."
California growers, Mullen said, have fought high costs of labor and workman's compensation rates in competing with imports of asparagus from Mexico.
"Since the advent of NAFTA, with greater access to the market and no tariff duties, Mexico, in many seasons, continues to stay in the market longer to compete with our production." During 2002, some delta growers blamed losses of up to $500 an acre on cheaper imports.
Although California once supported a vigorous asparagus canning industry, canning and frozen utilization ended in 1985, and the crop has been devoted to the fresh market since.
Mullen also conducted a pre-emergence weed control trial in 2002 to gauge materials, first in March and again in the following month, on one-year-old crowns of UCR 157 at Zuckerman-Heritage Farms on McDonald Island, west of Stockton.
He reported that the best control of common lambsquarter, poa annua, swamp smartweed, and barnyardgrass was with Chateau (flumioxazin) at the high rate, followed by Milestone (azafenadin) and Chateau at the low rate.
"All treatments provided excellent crop safety, except for a slight crop fern vigor reduction by the high rate of Chateau at the early rating time," Mullen said.


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Jacob Whittemore lived in Lexington on April 19, 1775; his modest home is one of the area's few remaining structures that date to the start of the American Revolutionary War.
Yet, for some reason, neither the farmer nor any of the men in his family were with the local militia during the first fight against the British on the Lexington Green, and they didn't participate in other skirmishes that day even as soldiers passed directly by their home along what came to be known as "Battle Road."
Now, 238 years later, historian Polly Kienle thinks she may have untangled some of the mystery behind why Whittemore and his family stayed out of the fray, and she's ready to share their story.
She will be taking part in a daylong program Saturday at the Jacob Whittemore House, on Marrett Road in the Minute Man National Historical Park, and in a panel discussion next Thursday night at the park's visitor center.
"It's really compelling, it's really engaging," said Kienle. "It's a fresh story. We've got a lot of great stories at the Minute Man. This is a fabulous one to add to the repertoire."
Kienle, 46, who lives in Lexington, has spent several years researching the lives and deaths of members of the Whittemore family in an effort to bring their household to life.
The house, which was built around 1717, sits next to Minute Man's visitor center, yet its residents had become a "forgotten family," whose story has not been part of the traditional narrative of the Battle of Lexington and Concord, according to the park. For years, the building wasn't open to the public, and was used as residence space for park employees.
Kienle, who specializes in Eastern and Central European history, also works at the park as a seasonal ranger, and in 2009 began "mucking around" with research into the history of the Whittemore House, she said.
Then the Friends of the Minute Man National Park received a grant of almost $3,000 from the Massachusetts Humanities Foundation to fund a scholarship-in-residence program that allowed Kienle to investigate the house's residents.
Using a method called family reconstruction, Kienle looked up local birth and death records, tax records, wills, census and property records, and genealogy records to piece together their story.
Through the course of her research she discovered that Jacob Whittemore's father had lived in the house before him, Kienle said, and that the younger Whittemore had lost two wives, each dying within a couple of weeks of giving birth to children.
By the eve of the Revolutionary War, Jacob was living in the home with his wife, Elizabeth, as well as his daughter Sarah and her husband, Moses Reed, Kienle said.
Kienle said a key question to ask about any family living in Lexington at that time is what they were doing on April 19, 1775 .
She found that neither Jacob Whittemore nor Moses Reed was on the muster rolls when the war began, Kienle said, but within weeks of the first shot, Reed joined the Continental Army and went on multiple campaigns. As a result, it didn't appear that the family had stayed out of the first day of battle because they sympathized with the British, she said.
'We've got a lot of great stories at the Minute Man. This is a fabulous one to add to the repertoire.'
"It doesn't look like he's a slacker or even a Tory,'' Kienle said of Reed.
By looking at vital records, Kienle found that Sarah Reed gave birth to a daughter on April 1, 1775, 18 days before the battle on the Lexington Green.
"Maybe it has something to do with that — you don't know," Kienle said.
The historian also found a passage in a 19th-century genealogy of the Reed family that mentions the Moses Reed family hid in the woods from the British regulars as they came down the road from Concord. Kienle said the family hid because Sarah Reed was very ill; she had to be carried out of the house on a mattress and put on a cart to reach the family's hiding spot.
In addition to explaining Moses Reed's absence on the first day of the war, Sarah Reed's illness may also explain what her father was doing that day. "You would imagine that if someone had lost two wives because of postpartum illnesses, and then his daughter was in that situation, he would do everything possible — speculating that he cares at all," Kienle said.
Kienle will discuss her research Saturday in a presentation called "If These Walls Could Speak," part of a special program of events at the Jacob Whittemore House from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
She will also join a panel of experts to discuss the research in "Some Stayed Behind to Protect Their Terrified Families,'' a forum being held at the visitor center next Thursday from 6 to 7:30 p.m. in coordination with Lexington's 300th anniversary celebrations.
Kienle will also discuss her research at the house several times during the summer; more information about the public programs can be found at www.nps.gov/ mima.Brock Parker can be reached at firstname.lastname@example.com.


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The purpose of Klein Technique™ is education, not on the superficial level of mimicking form, but on a profoundly deep level of understanding the full use of the body as an integral whole to maximize full function of each individuals unique movement potential.
Klein Technique™ has been taught for more than thirty years in numerous countries. Among the hundreds of Klein Technique™ students are the most well known members of the dance community
including Trisha Brown, Stephen Petronio, Bebe Miller, Wally Cardona, Jeremy Nelson, Sasha Waltz and members of their companies. Those who have followed the precepts of Klein Technique™ have gained a confidence and completeness that serves to underpin their work whether as a dancer, an athlete, or as a non-dancer interested in improving their everyday function and health.
©2007 Susan T. Klein


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More:Secretary Clinton and EU High Representative Ashton Sign U.S.-EU Framework Agreement on U.S. Participation in EU Crisis Management Operations
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton met with EU High Representative for Foreign Policy Catherine Ashton at the Department of State on May 17, 2011. Secretary Clinton and EU High Representative Ashton discussed a number of issues, including the United States and European Union's commitment to advancing democratic values and universal rights, efforts to protect civilians and implement the United Nations Security Council resolution in Libya, the continued violence in Syria, and preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons.
Secretary Clinton said, "The United States and the European Union are partners working together on, I think, every global issue and regional challenge that you can imagine. We're doing the urgent, the important, and the long-term all at once, and we are united in a transatlantic community that is based on shared democratic values and limitless faith in human potential.
"As always, Cathy and I had a lot to talk about because there is so much happening around the world at a time when people are standing up for their rights and demanding a say in their own futures. And both the European Union and the United States are very committed to advancing democratic values and universal rights, and we know how important that is over the long term. But we also know that right now those rights are under threats from repression and reprisals.
"We expressed our serious concern about the continued violence in Syria. The Asad regime has responded to peaceful protests by launching a brutal crackdown that has killed, by our best estimate, nearly a thousand people already. They have embraced the worst tactics of their Iranian ally and they have refused to honor the legitimate aspirations of their own people in Syria.
"President Asad talks about reform, but his heavy-handed brutal crackdown shows his true intentions. In response to the continued violence, both the United States and the EU have imposed sanctions against senior Syrian officials. And today, we discussed additional steps that we can take to increase pressure and further isolate the Asad regime.
"Our message has been clear and consistent from the beginning: Stop the violence and the arrests, release all political prisoners and detainees, and begin to respond to the demands of the people by a process of credible and inclusive democratic change.
"The High Representative and I also discussed efforts to protect civilians in Libya. The United States continues to support our efforts to implement the United Nations Security Council resolution. We're working with the EU to support the Transitional National Council, and we welcome the EU's decision to open an office in Benghazi and the ongoing EU support for humanitarian assistance. And for our part, we are working with our Congress to redirect some of Qadhafi's seized assets toward immediate humanitarian needs.
"Across the region, we are looking at many of the same issues from the very same perspective, and we have discussed a number of ways that we can promote investment and trade that would bring benefits to the people of the Middle East and North Africa. We also discussed Iran and, in particular, the efforts of the E-3+3 to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. We have been clear and united under Cathy Ashton's leadership since the Geneva and Istanbul meetings that Iran has to meet its international obligations and negotiate seriously on the nuclear issue.
"Lady Ashton is preparing a response to Iran's recent letter, but let me make clear that the burden remains on Iran to demonstrate it is prepared to end its stalling tactics, drop its unacceptable preconditions, and start addressing the international community's concerns.
"Now, we've also discussed matters in Europe, and both Cathy and I are concerned about the crackdown in Belarus, and I commend her for the strong statement she made over the weekend. The United States considers the post-December 19th trials to be politically motivated, and we call for an immediate, unconditional release of all political prisoners.
"I also raised concerns regarding the political deadlock in Bosnia and Herzegovina and any efforts that could undermine the Dayton Peace Accords and the stability of the country. We fully support the authority of the Office of the High Representative Inzko in Bosnia and Herzegovina and want to see the people there realize their hopes for necessary reforms, effective government, and a European future.
"Indeed, on all of these fronts, we have an indispensable relationship. And it's wonderful to have Cathy as a partner in dealing with all of these pressing matters. To further strengthen our partnership, we just signed a framework agreement to expand U.S. civilian participation in EU crisis management missions. American civilian experts already participate in EU missions in Kosovo and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and we look forward to working side by side to help more people in more places."
You can read the Secretary's complete remarks here and you can learn more about the Framework Agreement here.
W.W. writes:
Amazing COMMENT on the meeting
I can imagine an infinite number of worlds like the Earth, with a Garden of Eden on each one. In all these Gardens of Eden, half the Adams and Eves will not eat the fruit of knowledge, and half will. But half of infinity is infinity, so an infinite number of worlds will fall from grace and there will be an infinite number of crucifixions.
John in Canada writes:
@WW – wow you can imagine a lot- I'm having trouble imaging...one word....freedom. Without this forget this world, never mind other planets. But if you can figure out how to get of this rock – let me know. LOL... I won't hold my breath given we can't feed ourselves, education levels stink...... to depressing to go on..
Have a great day!
Eric in New Mexico writes:
I know there ain't no "cookie cutter" aproach as every dictatorial ethical infant is unique in their political stupidity, but please folks, can't we simply roll out the lawn-boy from the garage and use a "daisy cutter" approach on them?
Or maybe just some drone launched weed killer will work.
The common's yard certainly needs some healthy political landscaping...it's lookin' like a jungle out there.
I'm still not clear on something...is that window narrowing for Assad because folks are going to be creating an idiot -free zone on this planet soon or what?
I mean... hey! It's all good to create nuclear free zones...but you gots to get rid of the idiots who are crazy enough to use them first. Aminutijob being high on that list.
I like lady A's three M's and I think she should add a fourth- Mental health, because these are crazy times in a crazy world in which the dangers of idiots gathered in large numbers are contagious and threaten to wreck havoc on the sane.
Aye and now that folks have Ghaddafi's arrest warrant in the works one wonders who will be brave enough and confident enough in their sanity to go and serve it?
Look, if folks are serious about protecting populations, there should be an internationaly institutionalized mental health screening for all wannabe dictators and tyrants, where the intent to be... is all that's required to declare them insane and unfit to serve as any kind of "legitimate" world leader.
You don't have to wait for them to make war on their people folks, that's just a symptom of their disease.
Talk about universal health coverage....let's take "Obama care" and apply it to foreign affairs.
And make it mandatory for these ethical infants to seek treatment or be institutionalized in a rubber room somewhere.
We can win the war of the sane vs. the insane if we are crazy enough to try.


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15 Sweet & Sensational Ways To Eat Peanut Butter
Most of us get cravings for peanut butter every now and then (or maybe more frequently?). Sure you can make a sandwich, but here are a few more ways to put that magical substance to use!
Do you have a favorite way to eat peanut butter? We sure do! Here's a few of our past favorite recipes to tame your sweet tooth and make mouths happy!
• Party Treat: Mini-Sized Peanut Butter Rice Krispie Treats
• Peanut Butter and Honey Granola
• Peanut Butter Ginger Muffins from Hannah of Bitter Sweet
• Weekend Snack: Milk and Honey Peanut Butter Balls
• Peanut Butter & Fudge Oatmeal Cookies
• Alton Brown's Microwave Peanut Butter Fudge
• Yogurt Swirled with Peanut Butter, Honey, and Graham Crackers
• The No-Flour, No-Butter Peanut Butter Cookies Revisited
• Puffy Banana Peanut Butter Cup Sweet Grilled Sandwich
• Prize-Winning Peanut Butter Panna Cotta with Caramel Mousse
• Peanut Butter Oatmeal Monster Cookies
• Peanut Butter Ice Cream with Banana Chunks
• Snack Recipe: Peanut Butter & Jelly Icebox Cookies
• Frozen Banana-Peanut Butter-Chocolate Chip Milkshakes
• Recipe: Husband-Winning Peanut Butter Cookies
Related Start Your Day with Peanut Butter: 10 Breakfast Ideas
(Image: Faith Durand, Leela Cyd Ross, Lee Zalben/Serious Eats, Elizabeth Passarella, Dana Velden, Picky Palate, Peanut Butter & Co., Emma Christensen)


text:
Alpsecurity needed a new logo design and created a contest on 99designs.
A winner was selected from 54 designs submitted by 26 freelance designers.
ALPS Sound & Security
We have amalgamated 2 companies. One installs security equipment systems at commerial sites & provides security personnel. The other installs home sound & automation. We install TVs, home sound equipment, Control4 products & home security system. We would like the focus of the logo to be more on the side of home theatre & automation. Our security logo focuses on the security aspect alone & we are happy with that.
High end home owners & builders.
The logo needs to be put on clothing at first and perhaps we could use it on letterhead and business cards in the future. Our primary colour is blue with some black. We are open to a change providing it suits the theme. We do have a website that you should check out just for the current logo. http://www.alpsecurity.com. We already have security signage, business cards & letterhead using this logo. We want to branch out for the home side of our business & that is what we need this logo to focus on.
Find out how a design contest works or learn more about our logo design services.


text:
Description:HP StorageWorks Ultra Density OpticalJukebox - 1000ux 2 drive 32 slotPart Number(s)
Manufacturer Part# AA965A
Note: Due to a weight greater than 100lbs Part# AA965A will be shipped via our "Ground" service.If you require faster shipping please call us during normal business hours for a shipping estimate.
Overview:The HP StorageWorks Optical 1000ux/1900ux/2300ux Jukeboxes provide medium-sized to enterprise-level customers cost-effective removable storage of 1.0 TB to 2.3 TB in WORM or rewritable format. The HP StorageWorks Optical Jukeboxes with 30 GB Ultra Density Optical (UDO) drives provides more permanent nearline storage at a much reduced cost. Offering customers flexibility and choice with innovative and industry leading archival solutions.


text:
The Use of Quetiapine (Seroquel) in the Treatment of Social Phobia: Public Speaking Environment
|The safety and scientific validity of this study is the responsibility of the study sponsor and investigators. Listing a study does not mean it has been evaluated by the U.S. Federal Government. Read our disclaimer for details.
|ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT00407199
Recruitment Status : Completed
First Posted : December 4, 2006
Last Update Posted : October 27, 2011
- Study Details
- Tabular View
- No Results Posted
- Disclaimer
- How to Read a Study Record
|Condition or disease
|Social Phobia
|Drug: quetiapine
|Phase 4
Primary Objective:
The purpose of this study is to evaluate the use of quetiapine to diminish cue reactivity to a Virtual Reality environment for individuals with Social Phobia. The following primary and secondary outcome measures will be administered to subjects during each Virtual Reality exposure in treatment and non-treatment conditions. The outcome measures have demonstrated adequate reliability and validity in the detection of clinical change for individuals with social phobia in open label studies using quetiapine (Schutters, van Megen, and Westenberg, 2005). The Personal Report of Confidence as a Speaker (PRCS; Paul, 1966) will be utilized as the primary measure to establish individual diagnosis and severity level. Pertaub and Slater (2002) demonstrated the sensitivity of the PRCS in measuring anxiety responses to virtual audiences. A total score of 21 or greater on the PRCS will be required for study inclusion (Carrigan and Levis, 1999). Carrigan and Lewis (1999) reported a mean score of 23.73 on the 30-item PRCS for individuals reporting fear of public speaking. Subjective units of distress ratings and measures of blood pressure and heart rate will be obtained within session in order to measure immediate changes in subject's cue reactivity to VRE stimuli. The outcome measures include:
Primary Measure: Personal Report of Confidence as a Speaker (PRCS)
Secondary Measures:
Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale (LSAS) Clinical Global Impressions-Improvement Scale (CGI) Brief Social Phobia Scale Social Phobia Inventory Fear of Negative Evaluation Scale Hamilton Rating Scale for Anxiety In session-Subjective Units of Distress Blood Pressure and heart rate monitored within session
A crossover, double-blind within subjects design will be used. The two conditions are placebo and drug prior to exposure to social anxiety cues in the virtual environment. Each subject will be in both conditions over the course of two visits. Each subject will be in only one condition on the first visit and will then cross-over to the other condition on the second visit. Order will be counter-balanced across subjects. The treatment phase of the study will include the two afore mentioned visits, totaling 60 minutes each. This will include the treatment and pre-post assessment
|Study Type :
|Interventional (Clinical Trial)
|Actual Enrollment :
|20 participants
|Intervention Model:
|Crossover Assignment
|Primary Purpose:
|Official Title:
|The Use of Quetiapine (Seroquel) in the Treatment of Social Phobia: Effects on Cue Reactivity in Response to Virtual Reality Public Speaking Environment
|Study Start Date :
|December 2006
|Actual Primary Completion Date :
|September 2007
|Actual Study Completion Date :
|September 2007
- Personal Report of Confidence as a Speaker (PRCS)
- Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale (LSAS)
- Brief Social Phobia Scale
- Social Phobia Inventory
- Fear of Negative Evaluation Scale
- In session-Subjective Units of Distress
- Blood Pressure and heart rate monitored within session
Choosing to participate in a study is an important personal decision. Talk with your doctor and family members or friends about deciding to join a study. To learn more about this study, you or your doctor may contact the study research staff using the contacts provided below. For general information, Learn About Clinical Studies.
|Ages Eligible for Study:
|18 Years to 25 Years (Adult)
|Sexes Eligible for Study:
|Accepts Healthy Volunteers:
Inclusion Criteria:
- Age 18-25
- Primary DSM-IV Axis I diagnosis of social phobia, specific fear of public speaking
- PRCS total score: 21 or greater (1 SD above population norm of 14.2)
Exclusion Criteria:
- Current contraindications/sensitivity to quetiapine
- Current prescription of benzodiazepine, tranquilizer, or antipsychotic medication
- Current Psychotic episode
- Current Manic episode
- Current Depressive episode
- Current drug or alcohol dependence
A patient with diabetes mellitus (DM) fulfilling one of the following criteria:
- Unstable DM defined as enrollment glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) 8.5%.
- Admitted to hospital for treatment of DM or DM related illness within the past 12 weeks
- Not under physician care for DM.
- Physician responsible for patient's DM care has not indicated that the patient's DM is controlled.
To learn more about this study, you or your doctor may contact the study research staff using the contact information provided by the sponsor.
Please refer to this study by its ClinicalTrials.gov identifier (NCT number): NCT00407199
|United States, Minnesota
|University of Minnesota
|Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States, 55454
|Principal Investigator:
|David E Adson, M.D.
|University of Minnesota - Clinical and Translational Science Institute
|Principal Investigator:
|Christopher B Donahue, Ph.D.
|Univeristy of Minnesota
|Principal Investigator:
|Matt Kushner, Ph.D. LP
|University of Minnesota - Clinical and Translational Science Institute
Publications of Results:
|Responsible Party:
|University of Minnesota - Clinical and Translational Science Institute
|ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier:
|NCT00407199 History of Changes
|Other Study ID Numbers:
|First Posted:
|December 4, 2006 Key Record Dates
|Last Update Posted:
|October 27, 2011
|Last Verified:
|October 2011
Keywords provided by University of Minnesota - Clinical and Translational Science Institute:
social phobia, anxiety, quetiapine
Additional relevant MeSH terms:
Phobic Disorders
Phobia, Social
Anxiety Disorders
Mental Disorders
Quetiapine Fumarate
Antidepressive Agents
Psychotropic Drugs
Antipsychotic Agents
Tranquilizing Agents
Central Nervous System Depressants
Physiological Effects of Drugs


text:
Watch how to make this recipe.
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
Sift together the flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Cut in the shortening using a pastry blender or your hands or a stand mixer fixed with a dough hook until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Make a well in the center and add 1 cup buttermilk. Using your hands, quickly fold the dry ingredients into the buttermilk until a sticky dough forms. You may need to add more buttermilk.
Turn the dough out onto a floured surface. Gently fold the dough over itself 3 or 4 times to create layers. Press the dough out to 1 1/2-inches thick and cut with a floured 3-inch biscuit cutter. Lay the biscuits on an ungreased cookie sheet and brush the tops with buttermilk. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes until risen and golden brown.


text:
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Knight Frank's Prime Central and Outer London Rental Indices have tracked the performance of London's prime rental markets since 1995. Compiled monthly, the indices are based on the valuation of a comprehensive basket of properties throughout our central and outer London office network.
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text:
EPEAT's Revised Rule-Making Draws Greenpeace Ire
Oct 15, 2012 3:43 PM PT
EPEAT, a vendor-supported organization that bills itself as the definitive global registry for greener electronics, has certified ultrathin notebooks from four vendors as meeting its green rating requirements.
The vendors are Apple, Lenovo, Samsung and Toshiba.
Criteria for the certification include whether the products can be upgraded, if tools are commonly available to accomplish upgrades, and whether materials of concern, including batteries, can be easily removed from the devices.
Ultrathins have come in for strong criticism because some of them have parts that can't be upgraded or replaced because they're integrated into the casings.
Flexible Rules
"I don't think that EPEAT's certification of these devices showcases an inherent flaw or bias in EPEAT's model," Casey Harrell, an international campaigner for Greenpeace, told TechNewsWorld. "Overall, it's a small number of models impacted here so far, and EPEAT could, and can, easily reverse course in the future."
However, "there's a lot of gray there in terms of how the [product verification committee] interpreted easy and common tools, though that's a question better put to EPEAT," Harrell continued. "If electronic devices can't easily be disassembled to be fixed or upgraded, that likely means they'll have to be discarded, adding to the amount of electronic waste we produce."
Greenpeace's core critique is that EPEAT appears to have caved in to Apple, which triggered a storm of protest when it withdrew from EPEAT earlier this year. The resulting uproar led Apple to reverse course.
Apple "wanted to change the EPEAT standards when it knew its MacBook Pro with Retina Display would likely not qualify for the registry in July of this year," Harrell stated. "Now EPEAT has reinterpreted its rules to include the MacBook Pro and Ultrabooks."
EPEAT did not respond to our request to comment for this story.
The Approval Process
The process for granting the Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool certification includes requesting formal clarification of the standard requirements from EPEAT's Product Verification Committee, an independent group of experts on electronics and environmental issues.
It also includes a comprehensive review of publicly available technical information for notebook products in its registry, and verification by a technical test lab that independently purchases the devices in question on the open market and disassembles them according to the instructions provided.
The test lab recommended that all the products be found to satisfy EPEAT requirements.
EPEAT's product verification committee determined that, based on the clear wording of the relevant criteria, products could be considered upgradeable if they contained an externally accessible port through which additional capacity could be supplied to the registered product, or if they could be upgraded through the physical replacement of parts.
The committee also ruled that tools required for disassembly or upgrade of registered products are deemed commonly available if they can be purchased by any individual or business on the open market, are not proprietary and do not require agreements between the buyer and seller.
It did not create precise parameters for what constitutes easy and safe disassembly or removal of components because such terms can encompass different details depending on the product and must be demonstrated in action.
Therein lies the rub: What do the standards really mean?
"Our industry as a whole is not very green, and those companies that claim to be green may meet some standards, but, from my standpoint as an eco-friendly person, the standards are so lax they're not funny," Jim McGregor, president of Tirias Research, told TechNewsWorld.
EPEAT's Criteria
EPEAT calls its environmental measures "criteria". These are based on ANSI-approved public standards, which provide technical details for every criterion and specify how a manufacturer must demonstrate compliance.
EPEAT registration is based on the IEEE 1680 family of environmental assessment standards. These standards are updated regularly.
Some EPEAT criteria apply to the characteristics of individual programs and others to corporate programs, such as a manufacturer demonstrating the public availability of a written corporate environmental policy consistent with ISO 14001.


text:
Saves STL
His Bride
Valles Mines, Missouri, U S A
Founded in 1749 by Francois Valle years before he became Don Francois Valle.
The Valle Mining Company's 4500 acre property every year absorbs 21,000 tons of carbon dioxide and puts out 14,000 tons of oxygen.
This is enough to meet the needs of 63,000 people. [USDA Forest Facts]
Site Map
Check the Weather
Site Map
Our Mining Heritage
Recent Mining - The Frazier Quarry
Our Smelter
Artesian Well/Steam Drill
Furnace Tender's Cabin
Our Mining History
The old Mule Barn
Tiff Washing Ponds
Paymaster's Office
Roads of Valles Mines
The MRBT Railroad
The Chat Pile
Outdoor Things To Do
Hiking the Trails
Indoor Things To Do
Valles Mines General Store
Lost History Museum
Military Exhibits - WWII and the Holocaust
SiteSee By Car
1914 All-Oak House
Church House Ruins
A.P. Rowe General Store
Gas, Food, Lodgings
The Walleye Shack Restaurant
CB Joe's Restaurant
Valle Market And Gas
Barney's Mini-Mart
Website Stuff
Old Site Map
Contact Us
Maps And Brochures
Our Historical Heritage
Defender of St. Louis
The Colonial Era
Genealogy Center
Cemeteries of the Villages
Surviving Valles Mines
Set Your Clock
Find The General Store
Buy a Permit
Our Favorite Tips
Important Cookies To Bring
Tollhouse/Chocolate Chip
Coconut Macaroons
Louisiana Rangers Cookies
Geocaching and GPS
Satellite View
You Are Here:


text:
In the Home Stretch: Paint, E-brake, and a Myriad of Other Jobs!
You know you're near the end of a project when you seem to spend $50 every day at the hardware or autoparts store on seemingly insignificant small parts. That's the point we're at now with our Speedway Motors R&C 60th Anniversary Tribute T. But let's back up a couple of weeks to when I was itching from sanding fiberglass, readying the body for paint.
The 'glass body as supplied from Speedway didn't need much in the way of bodywork, as it was very straight to begin with, though a couple of mold separation marks needed a skim of filler, seeing as the body was going to be black! Taking care not to sand away the sharp edges of the swage lines, the whole body was block sanded with 180-grit, prior to receiving three coats of Eastwood's urethane primer. I then painted the firewall using the same color I'd painted the engine block before delivering the body to fellow Brit, Chris Ashworth, owner of Romance With Rust, a local auto restoration and fabrication shop, for final prep and paint.
As you can see, Romance With Rust's Osmar Mata did a superb job prepping, painting, color sanding, and polishing the body and pickup bed, using Eastwood products throughout. Meanwhile, I was back in our shop installing the Lokar shifter and emergency brake, driveshaft, fuel pump, battery, and fabricating fuel and trans cooler lines, in between runs to the hardware and parts store! With everything done that would either be much harder, or that I wouldn't be able to do with the body on—such as installing the Lokar trans dipstick and kickdown cable, and the body polished—I applied a rubberized coating to the underside, and bolted the body down for the final time, pleased that the shifter and e-brake came through their respective holes centrally! The T is at the upholstery shop as I write this, leaving wiring, the addition of fluids, final checks on all fasteners and cotter pins, and wheelbase setting before it can be called "done". No doubt there'll be a few more parts runs somewhere in there too!


text:
An often disastrous early growing season means crop insurance is paramount for many U.S. producers. With many of their farming constituents facing ruinous growing conditions, members of the House Subcommittee on General Farm Commodities and Risk Management put crop insurance center-stage during a Friday morning hearing.
Testifying before the subcommittee, William J. Murphy, Administrator of USDA's Risk Management Agency (RMA),was peppered with questions regarding ongoing floods, drought, coverage levels and program intricacies. A 30-year veteran of crop insurance programs, Murphy told the subcommittee he'd never "seen anything like" the widespread 2011 disasters.
He also pointed out how crop insurance has spread through U.S. agriculture. "Fewer than 100 million acres of farmland were insured under the program in 1994. Today, over 250 million acres of farm and ranch lands are covered by federal crop insurance, for an overall participation rate exceeding 80 percent for the major crops.
"As the amount of insured acreage has increased, so too has the liability, or value of the insurance in force. In 1994, program liability was less than $14 billion. Industry estimates suggest 2011 program liability could exceed $100 billion."
Other highlights of Murphy's testimony (see here for his unabridged testimony) included:
- RMA "partners."
"There is a unique and successful relationship between RMA and our private partners, the 15 approved insurance companies, and the agents who deal directly with farmers and ranchers. Producers purchase federal crop or livestock insurance from insurance agents operating in their communities, who sell the insurance on behalf of the 15 insurance companies.
"This relationship leverages the respective strengths of the public and private sectors. The insurance companies provide federal crop insurance under reinsurance agreements with the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation (FCIC), administered by RMA."
- 2011 losses.
"My staff and I are closely watching all developments to insure that producers get the protection provided by their policies. The Prevented Planting coverage available in most policies has been of extreme importance this year in areas where standing water or waterlogged soil prevented producers from getting into their fields until past the time for planting.
"In drought-stricken areas, the compensation provided for reduced yields will be extremely important in helping producers to survive. In years like this one, the value of this critical safety net is made clear."
- Standard Reinsurance Agreement.
"On June 10, 2010, USDA released the new reinsurance agreement and announced that $6 billion in savings were created through this action. Two-thirds of this savings went toward paying down the Federal deficit, and the remaining third was used to support high priority risk management and conservation programs. By containing program costs, these changes also ensure the sustainability of the crop insurance program for America's farmers and ranchers for years to come."
In late-hearing testimony, responding to a query by Ohio Rep. Jean Schmidt, Murphy expanded on the risk-sharing balance between the government and insurance companies. "The lower the loss ratio, the lower the claims, the more the companies assume the risk. The higher it gets, the more the government assumes risk. That's why the government is involved in the program – if there wasn't a need, we wouldn't be here."
The insurance companies "are concerned such a systemic loss could occur in the Midwest and High Plains that they wouldn't be able to address it. That's why (the government) is here and where we put the majority of our protection: the higher levels … above a $1.20 loss ratio."
- Identifying "questionable behavior."
"The 2002 farm bill required the Secretary of Agriculture to develop a Comprehensive Information Management System (CIMS) to be used by the Farm Service Agency (FSA) and RMA in the farm programs they administer."
This has led to "a spot-check list of producers engaging in questionable behaviors which is provided to FSA for further investigation. With the assistance of FSA offices, RMA and the insurance companies conduct growing season spot checks to ensure that claims for losses are legitimate.
"These efforts have been highly successful as the cumulative cost avoidance from data mining and related activities from 2001 through 2010 is estimated to be almost $840 million, based on our analysis of the changes in loss experience for those people placed on the spot-check list. … We believe the targeted company reviews enabled by data mining will be more effective and efficient than the random review process of previous years."
Rice, levees, claims
With major rice acreage in his east Arkansas district, Rep. Rick Crawford asked Murphy to provide insight "into differences in participation between crops and/or regions. For example, according to RMA data, about 68 percent of rice acres – particularly in Arkansas – were insured. By contrast, nearly all of Texas' cotton acres were insured."
Murphy was "happy to report we're seeing increases. One of the concerns we often get is between major program crops and specialty. We're at 83 percent participation in the major program crops and have come up to 75 percent for specialty crops."
The introduction of the "additional subsidy for enterprise units has also been extremely helpful" Murphy continued, especially in east Arkansas for both rice and cotton. "It reduces the premium tremendously. Growers have flocked to those programs."
Even so, "Arkansas, Mississippi, Alabama – that area – is where we're seeing lower participation than other parts of the country. We're actively working with commodity groups down there to improve the programs. We're looking at the program dates to make sure they're the correct (ones) we should be using."
RMA is "even getting into the policies themselves. We've been having great meetings with rice growers and looking at additional coverage the growers would like to see for downed rice. Hurricanes come through the area and they have to deal with the additional costs of harvest. Hopefully, we'll see progress in the next couple of years."
Program integrity is "another big issue," said Murphy. Farmers must be "convinced the premium dollars they're paying out are only going to legitimate losses. Compliance officers are putting extra effort into that area to show that."
At the end of the hearing, Murphy again addressed the need to increase rice and cotton coverage. "Rice growers, especially in the central-South, have wells to get their water. They'll always be able to get water. It's a perception of risk. They're big concerns are hurricane and disease. And how often does that occur? It's all a perception of risk."
Crawford asked for clarification regarding crop insurance pay-outs in areas flooded following the Army Corps of Engineers deliberately breaching levees along the Mississippi and Missouri rivers.
Murphy said those crop losses are covered. "The Corps provided us with information of what would happen if they didn't breach the levees – additional damage would have occurred to crops downstream. … (Insurance) companies have been informed and they tell me they're now moving loss adjusters in to start working with (affected) growers."
The pressure on RMA and insurance companies to quickly address claims was obvious. "Just about every part of the country is dealing with something (disastrous)" said Murphy in response to a question by New York Rep. Christopher Gibson. "I've talked to the companies and they're very confident that they have an adequately trained workforce. They're moving people around the country, which they routinely do when addressing situations like this. I do believe we'll be able to make the (required) 30-day turnaround."


text:
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text:
Sweet Adeline
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Finally, a grandfather.
2 responses
Andrew Dutton (Deleted) gave props (17 Mar 2018):
I spent the entire day baby sitting one of my grandsons yesterday, cute granddaughter, you're going to have a great model.
Andrea Petersen gave props (17 Mar 2018):
Congratulations! What a cute baby.!!!
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text:
via press release:
"Katie" Ranks No. 1 for the 9th Week in a Row Opposite All New Syndie Talkers,
Continuing to Qualify as TV's Strongest Freshman Syndicated Talk Show Since 2009
Building its Overall Total Viewer Count Week to Week, "Katie" Equals its
Best Week Ever in Women 18-34 and 2nd-Highest-Ever Week in Women 18-49
Freshman "Katie" Stands Among All Top-Tier Syndicated Talk Shows This Season
"Katie" National Ratings – Week 9
Based on National ratings for the week of November 5, 2012, "Katie" finished No. 1 against all freshmen syndicated talk shows for the 9th week in a row with Households (1.8 rating), Total Viewers (2.355 million) and Women 25-54 (1.0 rating). "Katie" once again led the week by double to triple-digit advantages over "Steve Harvey" (1.3 HH rating, 1.869 million viewers and 0.9 W25-54 rating), "Ricki Lake" (0.7 HH rating, 924,000 viewers and 0.5 W25-54 rating), "Jeff Probst" (0.7 HH rating, 902,000 viewers and 0.4 W25-54 rating) and "Trisha" (0.5 HH rating, 706,000 viewers and 0.4 W25-54 rating). Overall, "Katie" stands as television's strongest freshman syndicated talk show since 2009 among Households, Total Viewers and Women 25-54 – going back to the debut season of "Dr. Oz."
- "Katie" grew its overall Total Viewer count week to week (2.355 million vs. 2.351 million), while equaling its best week ever among Women 18-34 (0.5 rating) and matching its 2nd-highest-ever week among Women 18-49 (0.7 rating).
- Out of 17 total talk shows in the syndicated market this season, freshman "Katie" places among the top-tier across all key measures, including Households (No. 6), Total Viewers (No. 6) and Women 25-54 (No. 6).
"Katie" is executive-produced by Katie Couric and Jeff Zucker and is distributed by Disney-ABC Domestic Television. Co-executive producers are Kathy Samuels and Michael Bass and the program is directed by Joseph Terry.
Source: The Nielsen Company, National Live + Same Day Program Ratings, week of 11/05/12. Season-to-date ranks based on Nielsen's Most Current data stream for 9/10-11/11/12


text: On Dec 7, 2007 2:41 PM, Toon Knapen <toon.knapen at gmail.com> wrote: > Greg Lindahl wrote: > > > > In real life (i.e. not HPC), everyone uses message passing between > > nodes. So I don't see what you're getting at. > > Many on this list suggest that using multiple MPI-processes on one and > the same node is superior to MT approaches IIUC. However I have the > impression that almost the whole industry is looking into MT to benefit > from multi-core without even considering message-passing. Why is that so? Because most of the "real" world does everything in a single node. Given multi-cores, they have to move down the MT path. The complications and effort of mixing MT on a node with the MP between nodes -- absolutely required in our world -- is seen as too great compared with the performance benefit. Simply staying with multiple MP tasks, whether they are between nodes or within a node, is much simpler -- it's what we already do. No, the question of whether MP as we currently do it will scale to larger and larger systems remains to be seen, but that's another thread. -- Brian D. Ropers-Huilman, Director Systems Administration and Technical Operations Minnesota Supercomputing Institute <bropers at msi.umn.edu> 599 Walter Library +1 612-626-5948 (V) 117 Pleasant Street S.E. +1 612-624-8861 (F) University of Minnesota Twin Cities Campus Minneapolis, MN 55455-0255 http://www.msi.umn.edu/


text:
Kaitlin Roig, who is credited with helping to save the lives of 15 of her first-grade students by hiding them in a bathroom during the Dec. 14 shooting rampage at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, will be a special guest at tonight's State of the Union address in Washington, D.C.
"Dr. (Jill) Biden's office reached out to me. I'm completely honored," Roig told Hearst Connecticut Newspapers moments before boarding a flight to the nation's capital Tuesday.
The 29-year-old Greenwich resident will join Tim Cook, who took the helm of Apple after the death of Steve Jobs, and about 20 other honorees in a box in the gallery of the U.S. House chamber for President Obama's prime-time speech that is expected to amplify the call for stricter gun control laws.
Roig declined to comment further about the massacre, which took the lives of 20 children age 7 and under, as well as six female educators.
In in interview with Diane Sawyer of ABC News in December, a tearful Roig shared her tale of heroism and described the terrifying moments inside the school's bathroom.
"I put one of my students on top of the toilet," Roig said. "I just knew we had to get in there. I told them we had to be absolutely quiet. I said there are bad guys out there now. We have to wait for the good guys."
Roig told Sawyer that she tried to comfort the children like a parent, even though she was frightened for their lives.
"So I'm hearing the gunfire in the hallway. I'm thinking we're next," Roig said. "So I said to them, 'I need you to know that I love you all very much and that it's going to be OK,' because I thought that was the last thing that they were ever going to hear. I thought we were all going to die."
Roig is a graduate of the University of Connecticut, where she received a master's degree from the Neag School of Education.
At Sandy Hook School, she started a running club for third- and fourth-graders called Marathon Mondays and plans to compete in the New York City Marathon this year.


text:
So,... I took my own stash ,divided it into different packages and mailed them to all concerned. That's it!!..Gone!! my hard earned bunch...sigh!!
Pandorae is an australian wildflower .I looked up the pictures in the net and found a good pic here and here.It is also called Wonga Wonga vine :)) I think I've seen this one alongside our streets too.Wonder what they call it here My botany,zoology and geography is bad :)
Here's Ruby the humming bird from another angle. I plan to continue this piece alongside the schwalm whitework . Let us see how the whole bunch of miniatures turn out.
Till then,
Love to all in abundance, a little luck, and teeny bit of sunshine :)) ( The moment I jot something here,my spirits revive)
And..hugs too...


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Glove Stuffed Animal
February 9, 2012 Leave a comment
This glove chipmunk is a great way to upcycle an extra glove that has lost its match. He would make a fun toy for you, your kid brother OR your favorite pet!
Click here for project instructions by maker Miyako Kanamori, including a link to her book full of instructions on how to make things with old gloves.
Finger puppets are also an easy way project to make from old gloves. Click here for a basic tutorial and fun inspiration ideas from creativeprojectideas.com.
We wonder what other creatures you could make out of a lost glove …. what about a mitten fish? Or sock earthworm? What would you make? Tell us at email@example.com.
SAFETY NOTE: Hand sewing projects are great ways to learn basic maker skills but maker sure an adult helper is nearby to teach and supervise you. Always be careful with sharp tools like needles and scissors, kid makers.
© 2012 Children's Museum of Pittsburgh


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BBC News
- Measles: Half a million UK children missed jab
- Knife crime offences at record level in 2018, crime data shows
- Extinction Rebellion: Climate activists block London Stock Exchange
- 'End pensioner benefits to help the young'
- Sainsbury's-Asda merger blocked by regulator
- Mo Farah & Haile Gebrselassie in dispute over alleged theft
- Girls in gangs 'failed by authorities'
- Lyra McKee: Crimestoppers offer reward for information
- Prince William given Maori greeting in New Zealand
- Labour pledges to reverse cuts to 3,000 bus routes in England
- Food bank supplies help record numbers
- Coffee waste 'could replace palm oil'
- 'Midsomer town' red plaques scheme rejected
- Sri Lanka attacks: Son wants to 'bring mum home'
- Girls 'carry weapons for boyfriends'
- Manchester United v Manchester City: Fans' dilemmas
- How virtual reality may help Grenfell survivors 'let go of emotions'
- Teenagers who translate for their parents
- Teenage albino model: 'I'm thankful for my skin tone'
- Grays scrapyard fire creates huge plume of smoke
- BBC News Channel
- Newspaper headlines: Scrap 'pensioner perks' and secret talks leak
- The teachers live streaming bedtime stories
- Archibald Leitch: The man who survived disaster to build football
- James Bond: What to expect from Bond 25 announcement
- How much screen time should children be allowed?
- Cyclist's appeal after thief thwarts sixth round-the-world attempt
- Why your car might be covered in red dust
- Donald Trump state visit to UK: What can we expect?
- Will indyref2 happen before May 2021?
- The Lego bricks designed for children with sight loss
- Wanted: New Bank of England boss
- Extinction Rebellion: How might ministers win over the protesters?
- How did the qwerty keyboard become so popular?
Below we are listing a number of UK job websites that have full-time and part-time job opportunities available in the BOTTESFORD area.
Fish4 Jobs
JobSeekers (Direct.Gov.uk)
http://api.indeed.com/ads/apisearch?publisher=4773927896266615&q=&l=NG13 0AP&sort=&radius=5&st=&jt=&start=&limit=10&fromage=&filter=&latlong=1&co=gb&chnl=AVUK&userip=188.8.131.52&useragent=CCBot/2.0 (https://commoncrawl.org/faq/)&v=2
Jobs at IndeedWarning: Invalid argument supplied for foreach() in D:\Webvirtual\ANYWeb\www\Wordpress\wp-content\plugins\shortcode-exec-php\shortcode-exec-php-class.php(895) : eval()'d code on line 9
Looking for more jobs...
jobs by


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Townsquare Media Announces Lineup for Talent Showcase at the Cross Insurance Center
Townsquare Media is proud to present the five performers who will be among the first to take the stage at the brand new Cross Insurance Center!
Thousands of votes were cast over the three days from 42 states and five countries, and in the end, you decided that these five talented local singers would entertain the crowds and our celebrity judges at the Saturday, Sept. 14 community open house in Bangor. They are:
- Mark Gentle
- Abby Hannington
- Lily Muscatell
- Erika Olver
- Anna Roman
Here's another look at the Top 5 (in alphabetical order). Congratulations to our winners, and thank you to all who entered and voted!
We'll see you on the 14th! You're in for a great show!
Mark Gentle
Abby Hannington
Lily Muscatell
Erika Olver
Anna Roman


text: Hi Joe and fellow Beowulf fans Joe Landman wrote: > Gus Correa wrote: > >> Otherwise, your "newbie scientist" can put his/her earbuds and pump >> up the volume on his Ipod, >> while he/she navigates through the Vista colorful 3D menus. > > > Owie .... I can just imagine the folks squawking about this at SC08 > "Yes folks, you need a Cray supercomputer to make Vista run at > acceptable performance ..." > :) > > The machine seems to run w2k8. My own experience with w2k8 is that, > frankly, it doesn't suck. This is the first time I have seen a > windows release that I can say that about. > > The low end economics probably won't work out for this machine though, > unless it is N times faster than some other agglomeration of > Intel-like products. Adding windows will add cost, not performance in > any noticeable way. What if performance is not the main goal? Here is what the article has to say about it: "Microsoft's strategy - one that no supercomputer maker and no X64 chip maker can ignore - is to attack from the bottom, to find those myriad new HPC users who never learned Unix, never learned Linux, and have no desire to." There have been several long and heated discussions on this list about computer literacy and computer education for scientists and science students. Mostly centered on computer languages, not so much was said about Unix/Linux proficiency, bits of shell or scripting language skills, and the rudiments of Unix/Linux tools and programming environment. I don't intend to reopen them. However, was Microsoft listening to those discussions? > > The question that Cray (and every other vendor building non-commodity > units) is how much better is this than a small cluster someone can > build/buy on their own? Better as in faster, able to leap more tall > buildings in a single bound, ... (Superman TV show reference for those > not in the know). And the hard part will be justifying the additional > cost. If the machine isn't 2x the performance, would it be able to > justify 2x the price? Since it appears to be a somewhat well branded > cluster, I am not sure that argument will be easy to make. > > You are right about the economics, at least if we consider hardware alone. According to the article the full configuration has 64 Xeon 3.4GHZ cores, equivalent to eight cluster nodes with IB hardware. The "fully loaded" machine price is $80k, or $10k per node. Quoting from the article: "A single chassis can house a maximum of 4 TB of disk or -when using the fastest 3.4 GHz quad-core Xeons Intel has delivered - up to 768 gigaflops of computing power in a single chassis. (That's eight two-socket blades using quad-core Xeons, for a total of 64 cores). Obviously, three of these CX1s linked up yields 2.3 teraflops - a nice size for a personal super." "The base price of the chassis with bare bones blades and switches is $25,000. When the machine is fully loaded, the price tag comes to around $80,000 or so. Cray is selling the CX1 boxes online starting today - the first time a Cray machine has been sold online and directly - and expects to have volume shipments revved up by the end of October." *** Here is the link to the CX1 on the Cray web site: http://www.cray.com/products/CX1.aspx You need MS Explorer to customize/price it. Gus Correa


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Note: For more detailed information see the online Publications on ShakeMap
A ShakeMap is a representation of ground shaking produced by an earthquake. The information it presents is different from the earthquake magnitude and epicenter that are released after an earthquake because ShakeMap focuses on the ground shaking produced by the earthquake, rather than the parameters describing the earthquake source. So, while an earthquake has one magnitude and one epicenter, it produces a range of ground shaking levels at sites throughout the region depending on distance from the earthquake, the rock and soil conditions at sites, and variations in the propagation of seismic waves from the earthquake due to complexities in the structure of the Earth's crust.
Part of the strategy for generating rapid-response ground motion maps is to determine the best format for reliable presentation of the maps given the diverse audience, which includes scientists, businesses, emergency response agencies, media, and the general public. In an effort to simplify and maximize the flow of information to the public, we have developed a means of generating not only peak ground acceleration and velocity maps, but also an instrumentally-derived, estimated Modified Mercalli Intensity map. This map makes it easier to relate the recorded ground motions to the expected felt and damage distribution. The Instrumental Intensity map is based on a combined regression of recorded peak acceleration and velocity amplitudes. (see Intensity Maps)
With the current Nevada station distribution, data gaps are common, particularly for smaller events and events near or outside the edge of the network. In order to stabilize contouring and minimize the misrepresentation of the ground motion pattern due to data gaps, we augment the data with predicted values in areas without data. Given the epicenter and magnitude, peak motion amplitudes in sparse regions are estimated from the Joyner, Boore, and Fumal (1997), and Joyner and Boore (1988) attenuation curves. As the real-time Nevada station density increases, this difficulty should be alleviated. Small open circles represent "phantom" grid stations where strong motion values were estimated.
Note: ShakeMaps are generated automatically following moderate and large earthquakes. These are preliminary ground shaking maps, normally posted within several minutes of the earthquake origin time. The acceleration and velocity values are raw and are at least initially, NOT checked by humans. Further, since ground motions and intensities typically can vary significantly over small distances, these maps are only APPROXIMATE. At small scales, they should be considered unreliable. Finally, the input data is raw and unchecked, and may contain errors. (See Disclaimer)
The instrumental intensity map does not show station symbols and does not have the popup information window. The legend bar at the bottom explains the colors (and see Intensity Maps below).
In the popup window, the earthquake information includes the event date, time, location coordinates in degrees latitude and longitude, and hypocentral depth in kilometers.
The station information includes the station code and name, the agency that manages the station, the station location coordinates in degrees latitude and longitude, and the peak acceleration and velocity values for each component of ground motion (when available). When the peak ground motion maps are made, the value from the peak horizontal component of ground motion is used as the value for the station. This value is highlighted in bold in the station information.
Components from many stations are defined by three letter codes. The last letter indicates the orientation (Z = vertical, N = horizontal north, E = horizontal east). The first two letters indicate the instrument class:
|low gain channels on the analog network
|high gain channels on the analog network
|FBA's on the analog network
|FBA's on the digital network
|broadband data streams
|broadband data streams
FBA's (force balance accelerometers) are designed to record extremely large ground motions and can accurately record waves from very large earthquakes. However, ground motions from small and moderate earthquakes are often too small to trigger these instruments or rise above instrument noise. On the other hand, Broadband seismic sensors can record extremely small ground motions and accurately record waves from earthquakes that range from very small up to moderately large. A number of stations have both FBA and broadband sensors. For ShakeMap, the network tends to emphasize FBA recordings for large ground motions and broadband recordings for small ground motions.
Occassionally, station channels will be flagged due to problems with the station or possibly anomalous peak values. In this case, the popup window of station information will indicate the flagging with the following codes:
|Manually flagged
|Glitch (clipped or below noise)
|Incomplete data
|Not in list of known stations
Peak horizontal acceleration at each station is contoured in units of %g (where g = acceleration due to the force of gravity = 981 cm/s/s). The peak values of the vertical components are not used in the construction of the maps because the regression relationships used to fill in data gaps between stations are based on horizontal peak amplitudes. The contour interval varies greatly and is based on the maximum recorded value over the network for each event.
For moderate to large events, the pattern of peak ground acceleration is typically quite complicated, with extreme variability over distances of a few km. This is attributed to the small scale geological differences near the sites that can significantly change the high-frequency acceleration amplitude and waveform character. Although distance to the causative fault clearly dominates the pattern, there are often exceptions, due to local amplification. Although, this makes interpolation of ground motions at one site to a nearby neighbor risky, the peak acceleration pattern usually reflects what is felt from low levels of shaking up to to moderate levels of damage.
Peak velocity values are contoured for the maximum horizontal velocity (in cm/sec) at each station. As with the acceleration maps, the vertical component amplitudes are disregarded for consistency with the regression relationships used to estimate values in gaps in the station distribution. Typically, for moderate to large events, the pattern of peak ground velocity reflects the pattern of the earthquake faulting geometry, with largest amplitudes in the near-source region, and in the direction of rupture (directivity). Differences between rock and soil sites are apparent, but the overall pattern is normally simpler than the peak acceleration pattern. Severe damage, and damage to flexible structures is best related to ground velocity. For reference, the largest recorded ground velocity (to date) was made at the Rinaldi Receiving Station from the Northridge (Magnitude 6.7), topping out at 183 cm/sec.
Following earthquakes larger than magnitude 5.5, spectral response maps are made. Response spectra portray the response of a damped, single-degree-of-freedom oscillator to the recorded ground motions. This data representation is useful for engineers determining how a structure will react to ground motions. The response is calculated for a range of periods. Within that range, the Uniform Building Code (UBC) refers to particular reference periods that help define the shape of the "design spectra" that reflects the building code.
ShakeMap spectral response maps are made for the response at three UBC reference periods: 0.3, 1.0, and 3.0 seconds. For each station, the value used is the peak horizontal value of 5% critically damped pseudo-acceleration.
As an effort to simplify and maximize the flow of information to the public, we have developed a means of generating estimated Modified Mercalli Intensity maps based on instrumental ground motion recordings. This "Instrumental Intensity" is based on a combined regression of peak acceleration and velocity amplitudes vs. observed intensity for eight significant California earthquakes (1971 San Fernando, 1979 Imperial Valley, 1986 North Palm Springs, 1987 Whittier, 1989 Loma Preita, 1991 Sierra Madre, 1992 Landers, and 1994 Northridge).
From the comparison with observed intensity maps, we find that a regression based on peak velocity for intensity > VII and on peak acceleration for intensity < VII is most suitable. This is consistent with the notion that low intensities are determined by felt accounts (sensitive to acceleration). Moderate damage, at intensity VI-VII, typically occurs in rigid structures (masonry walls, chimneys, etc.) which also are sensitive to high-frequency (acceleration) ground motions. As damage levels increase, damage also occurs in flexible structures, for which damage is proportional to the ground velocity, not acceleration. By relating recorded ground motions to Modified Mercalli intensities, we can now estimate shaking intensities within a few minutes of the event based on the recorded peak motions made at seismic stations.
A very good descriptive table of Modified Mercalli Intensity is available from ABAG (Association of Bay Area Governments). A table of intensity descriptions with the corresponding peak acceleration and velocity values used in the ShakeMaps is given below.
|Perceived Shaking
|Potential Damage
|< 0.17
|< 0.1
|Not Felt
|0.17 - 1.4
|0.1 - 1.1
|1.4 - 3.9
|1.1 - 3.4
|3.9 - 9.2
|3.4 - 8.1
|Very light
|9.2 - 18
|8.1 - 16
|18 - 34
|16 - 31
|Very Strong
|34 - 65
|31 - 60
|Moderate to Heavy
|65 - 124
|60 - 116
|> 124
|> 116
|Very Heavy
Earthquake Scenarios describe the expected ground motions and effects of specific hypothetical large earthquakes. In planning and coordinating emergency response, utilities, emergency responders, and other agencies are best served by conducting training exercises based on realistic earthquake situations, ones that they are most likely to face. Scenario earthquakes can fill this role; they can be generated for any potential hypothetical future or past historic earthquake by the following steps.
First, assume a particular fault or fault segment will rupture over a certain length relying on consensus-based information about the potential behavior of the fault. For historic events, the actual rupture dimensions may be constrained based on existing observations or models. Second, estimate ground motions at all locations in a chosen region surrounding the causative fault.
These earthquake scenarios are not earthquake predictions. That is, no one knows in advance when or how large a future earthquake will be. However, if we make assumptions about the size and location of a hypothetical future earthquake, we can make a reasonable prediction of the effects of the assumed earthquake, particularly the way in which the ground will shake. This knowledge of the potential shaking effects is the main benefit of the earthquake scenario for planning and preparedness purposes.
Choosing An Appropriate Earthquake Scenario. In California, the California Division of Mines and Geology (CDMG) and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) have evaluated the probabilistic hazard from active faults in the state as part of the Probabilistic Seismic Hazard Assessment For The State of California described by Peterson et al. (1996) and the National Seismic Hazard Mapping Project described by Frankel et al. (1996). From these maps it is possible to prioritize the best scenario earthquakes to be used in planning exercises by considering the most likely candidate earthquake fault first, followed by the next likely, and so on. Such an analysis is easily accomplished by hazard deaggregation, in which the contributions of individual earthquakes to the total seismic hazard their probability of occurrence and the severity of the ground motions are ranked in order. Using the individual components ("deaggregations") of these hazard maps, a user can properly select the appropriate scenarios given their location, regional extent, and specific planning requirements. Currently, the ShakeMap scenario events come directly out of the CDMG catalog of fault source parameters (see Appendix A) that make up the statewide probabilistic seismic hazard assessment. Users interested in specific scenarios for planning purposes are encouraged to make such a request by filling out a ShakeMap Comment Form.
Estimating Ground Motions for Scenario Earthquake ShakeMaps. At present, ground motions are estimated using an empirical attenuation relationship, which is a predictive relationship that allows the estimation of the peak ground motions at a given distance and for an assumed magnitude. Thus, ground motions are estimated for a given magnitude earthquake, and at a particular distance from the assumed fault, in a manner consistent with recordings of past earthquakes under similar conditions. For ShakeMap, we use the relationship of Boore et al. (1997) for peak and spectral acceleration, and we use Joyner and Boore's (1988) relationship for peak velocity. We use these predictive relationships to estimate peak ground motions on rock sites, and then correct the amplitude at that location based on the site soil conditions as we do in the general ShakeMap interpolation scheme. Site conditions come directly from the Statewide Site Conditions Map for California (Wills et al., 2000) and we correct for site amplification with the amplitude and frequency-dependent factors determined by Borcherdt (1994).
Attributes and Limitations of Current Maps. Our approach is simple and approximate. We account for fault finiteness by measuring the distance to the surface projection of the fault location (Joyner and Boore's distance definition), but we do not consider the direction of rupture nor do we modify the peak motions by a directivity term. With this approach, the location of the earthquake epicenter does not have any effect on the resulting ground motions; only the location and dimensions of the fault matter. If we were to add directivity to the calculations, than different choices of epicentral location would result in significantly difference motions for the same magnitude earthquake and fault segment. Rather, our approach here is to show the average effect since it is difficult to show results for every possible epicentral location.
Our empirical predictive approach also only gives average peak ground motions values so it does not account for all the expected variability in motions, other than the aforementioned site amplification variations. Actual ground motions show significant variability for a given distance, magnitude, and site condition and, hence, the scenario ground motions are more uniform than would be expected for an actual earthquake. The true variations are partially attributable to 2D and 3D wave propagation, path effects (such as basin edge amplification and focusing), differences in motions among earthquakes of the same magnitude, and complex site effects not accounted for by our method.
Uses. Earthquake scenarios are used heavily in emergency response planning. Primary users for response planning include city, county, state and federal government agencies (e.g., the California Office of Emergency Services, FEMA, the Army Corp of Engineers), emergency response planners and managers for utilities, businesses, and other large organizations. Scenarios are also used for loss-estimation by utilities, governments, and industry.
Scenarios are of fundamental interest to the community and scientific audiences interested in the nature of the ground shaking likely experienced in past earthquakes as well as the possible effects due to rupture on known faults in the future.
In addition, more detailed and careful analysis of the ground motion time histories (seismograms) produced by such scenario earthquakes is highly beneficial for earthquake engineering considerations. Engineers require site-specific ground motions for detailed structural response analysis of existing structures and future structures designed around specified performance levels. In the future, with these scenarios we will also provide synthetic time histories of strong ground motions that include rupture directivity effects.
Future Scientific Advances. While current earthquake modeling techniques are sufficient for providing useful motion time histories and scenario ShakeMaps based on empirical means (e.g., ground motion attenuation relations), substantial improvement will require developing cost-effective numerical tools for proper theoretical inclusion of known complex ground motion effects. These efforts are underway and must continue in order to obtain site, basin and deeper crustal structure, to characterize and test 3D earth models (including attenuation and nonlinearity), and to improve numerical wave propagation methods to obtain useful, site-specific, ground motion time histories.
Please use the comment form for
questions, comments, or suggestions
Maintained by ShakeMap Working Group
Page last modified 10/9/01


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Social Security Disability and Health IT
Hi, I'm Monica Miles from the Health IT Program office at the Social Security Administration. Health IT has become an important part of the way that we do business. Let me explain how. At Social Security our disability workload continues to grow while our workforce is shrinking. Because of this, we've had to look for ways to leverage technology to better manage the workload. We found that Health IT is a good way to do this. I'd like to share with you the many benefits of using the eHealth Exchange to electronically provide medical records to Social Security.
While many organizations are working towards meeting the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services, or CMS, criteria for meaningful use, organizations have the opportunity to leverage their efforts and realize additional benefits from an electronic exchange with Social Security. We define disability as a mental or physical impairment that prevents an individual from being able to perform any type of work for at least a year or is expected to result in death. Something that's important to note is that we only recognize 100% disability.
One of our challenges is to obtain the medical information that allows us to determine if an individual meets this definition. In the course of a year, we request over 15 million records from medical treating sources. So, as you can see, it's a pretty big business. When a person contacts Social Security to file for disability benefits, we collect several key pieces of information, including their demographic information, along with facts about their allegation of disability, and a full list of their treating sources.
It's important to note that Social Security is not a HIPAA covered entity, but we are covered under the Privacy Act. Because of this, we have the claimant sign an authorization that allows their healthcare providers to release information to us. This authorization is then forwarded, along with the claim, to the State Disability Determination Service, or DDS. This agency makes the medical determination on behalf of Social Security and is actually the office healthcare organizations interact with most frequently.
Now, here is how the process works: The DDS sends requests for medical information to the healthcare providers identified by the claimant in the application process. When the DDS receives the medical information, they evaluate it and make the disability determination. In the majority of cases, this is still a manual process that is slow and cumbersome. It takes on average about 90 days to process a claim with most of that time spent waiting for the medical information to be received.
By using Health IT to automate this process, we send an electronic request to the healthcare provider system, and information is returned in a standardized Health IT format within seconds or minutes rather than weeks or months. One of the benefits of this process is that it lessens the burden on the healthcare provider to manually locate, prepare, and send records to us. In addition, when a claimant appeals a determination and requests a hearing, we are able to use Health IT to request medical records from participating healthcare providers. Also, by receiving the records within minutes, we're in a position to make a quicker determination on the claim.
We have already realized significant overall processing time savings. So, as a result, we find that when someone meets our disability criteria, we're able to award benefits faster. These include a monthly cash benefit, as well as potential healthcare coverage under Medicare or Medicaid, which, in turn, provides value to healthcare providers who care for these patients. Often, these patients are uninsured or underinsured and fall into charity care or self-pay encounters.
With self-pay, there is often a higher likelihood for these bills to go into collections. In addition to the provider now being paid faster for these services, this also helps the patient. With quicker access to Medicare or Medicaid, patients may be more likely to seek needed treatment without worrying about the cost of their medical bills.
In addition to the potential for recovering uncompensated care costs through increased healthcare coverage for patients, we pay for successful Health IT transactions over the exchange. These payments are made based on the amount designated in the Federal Register Notice, detailing the Uniform National rate. We make these payments through an electronic funds transfer, and we provide a statement at the time of payment to help providers reconcile these payments.
The benefits of this automation have already been proven to Social Security, to the healthcare providers now using Health IT over the exchange, and to their patients. Because this process is streamlined, it becomes a win-win for everyone.
I hope that you have found this information helpful. If you'd like additional information about this process, and to view testimonials from our current Health IT partners, please take a look at our website at www.socialsecurity.gov/hit.
On the website, you will find a "Contact Us" form that collects your contact information and questions so that someone from our team can reach out to you. Thank you for your interest.