text:
Tagged: Mark Reynolds
Orioles vs. Rangers 4/8/11 (Rainout) & 4/9/11 (Doubleheader)
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If you're here to read about the whole Jose Valverde
spitting incident, check out that post
So I showed up to the park on Friday not expecting anything
exciting. It had been pouring all day
and I already had word from a friend at the stadium that BP would for sure not
happen. Either way, I headed down around
4:15 and stood in line. Eventually, Tim,
Ben, Brittany, and some others showed up.
Zack Hample left town, and he
made a good choice doing so.
When we got in, there were some Rangers throwing:
I got a ball from some athletic trainer with them, then
handed it to a little Rangers fan standing by us (it was wet and dirty and
meant a LOT more to her). Tim, Ben, and
Matt each got one (I think Matt actually got 2) as well.
The Orioles came out to throw
But I didn't really bother asking for things. What was cool was that Ronnie [Deck] finished
throwing with Arrieta, and when all the pitcher went in, he came over to talk
with me for a good ten minutes, saying he was waiting for Tillman. We talked about everything from his uniform
to Spring Training to everything else random you can imagine. That was pretty
I then spent time with some people in Café 54, by the
bullpen, and on club level (including putting high socks on, my original pair
were *soaked*).
We heard at one
point that there were some Rangers sliding on the tarp, including Josh
Hamilton. From club level, we ran out to
see it, but missed them. You can see
videos of it here (this one is taken by the Rangers bullpen catcher in the dugout), here,
and here.
The game was postponed, it was announced that there would be
a straight doubleheader the next day, so I called up Todd Cook who would be
coming to town, and headed back to my place.
Oh, and I got Darren Oliver's autograph:
Season stats:
Baseballs: 10 (6 hit, 2 on fly, 2
toss up, 2 found)
Autographs: 3 (Scherzer, Guerrero,
Orioles home games attended: 3
Orioles total games attended: 3
Total MLB games attended: 3
Total baseball games attended
(MLB+MiLB): 3
Rainouts: 1
So I got down to the Orioles doubleheader on Saturday around
2. The gate times were confusing, Zevi
and I ended up having to run around the stadium when nobody else did… it was
just bad.
There were a ton of balls in the stands, and Matt found like
5. I found one. Then caught a Mike Napoli HR during BP on the
fly. But that was it for me. And I must have given both away, because I
have no idea where they are at this point.
Sometimes I just hand them off when I get them if they are too dirty to
get signed and have nothing interesting that I would want to keep them for, so
I assume that is the case.
Here's a shot I took during BP:
In this one, we have:
1. Todd and Tim Cook (Check out Todd's game entry here and follow Todd's Twitter)
For sure click on the Cooks name there to check out their
blog. I met Todd and Tim last season,
and have stayed in touch with Todd ever since for baseball stuff, and I
currently serve as his Oriole Park ticket broker. More on those two later.
Here is a panorama he took after BP but before the first game. I'm in it there tossing my glove. I was trying to toss it into his picture, but you can't tell that here since I had no idea he was doing a wide lens panorama. Either way, pretty cool. (click to enlarge as usual)
So Zach Britton was starting for the Orioles:
And he put on a show.
Pitched 7.2 shutout innings as the O's beat the Rangers in game one,
During the game, I hung out with Kris, Zevi (I'm not linking him every time I mention his name,
sorry), Andrew, and some others I'm
sure (I just am forgetful). It was fun.
Yes, I did facepalm during this game. Here's
the video if you must. There's a bit
of a background story to my frustrations behind it, but I'm not going to openly
start attacking people on here. But
yeah. I shredded both of my knees, my
right one the most, and was bleeding all over my legs. It wasn't pretty. But we fight on. And it was weird because the pitch before the
home run, I said to somebody "let's see if Reynolds can make Earl Weaver happy
with a 3 run home run" and BAM.
So then there was a short break between games, but we
settled back into section 86 for the second game. This time, Todd and Tim Cook, who had been
busy and exploring during game one, spent most of game two with us. Tim, I must say, is a very energetic a funny
little guy. Tells some great jokes. And Todd talked with me/us for most of the 2nd
game, about all things baseball really.
There were multiple innings where I don't remember what really happened
since we were having some fun talks.
Baseball is finally back.
The Orioles got crushed in this game by the score of
1-13. Yeah, the Rangers flat out mashed
(including another Nelson Cruz home run).
Arrieta was off his game, but it could have been because of Jake Fox
catching. Who knows. Though Fox looked awesome with his retro bird
helmet plus the black uni:
So yeah. Was an
interesting day, spent a ton of it just relaxing around talking to people
watching a game, and didn't go too crazy with things. Then I went on Sunday (post coming soon), and
that's that.
Season stats:
Baseballs: 12 (7 hit, 3 on fly, 1
toss up, 3 found)
Autographs: 2 (Scherzer, Guerrero,
Orioles home games attended: 5
Orioles total games attended: 5
Total MLB games attended: 5
Total baseball games attended
(MLB+MiLB): 5
Rainouts: 1
Oh, and I'm still holding Adam Jones to this. But it was cool just
yesterday when I told him he should
visit the MLB Fan Cave, and he replied that
he already was going. Then MLB put up
this video of it. Ryan Wagner, one of
the cave dwellers, is an O's fan. He's
pretty darn cool. I enjoy following the shenanigans
of the MLB Dream Job here, and you should, too.
Oh yeah, and be sure to check out the flyer and info for the May 8th Orioles game fundraiser!
And in case you don't know, both Nolan Reimold and Manny Machado are owning their respective minor league leagues (that sounds funny).
Follow me on Twitter:
Orioles vs. Tigers 4/6/11 and 4/7/11
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So I usually do single game by game entries, but between
midterms this week and long days at the park (get there around 3:30, leave at
11:30), I have been squeezed for time.
So, I did the Opening Day entry
earlier in the week, followed by last night the quick post on the Jose Valverde spitting incident. Here are my game entries for the 2nd
and 3rd home games of the season to finish up the Tigers series.
So Wednesday was a relaxed night at the ballpark. Attendance went from sold out on Monday to
12,451 that night, so after BP, we just chilled in the outfield seats.
I got there around 3:30, still don't know why.
Adam Jones tweeted at
me offering to come in early, but he never got back at me, so that didn't
happen. Ballhawks and fans gathered with
me at the gate, and the day had begun.
For a pic of the group, check out Zack Hample's blog entry of the game (and the 2nd game) here.
So running around to BP, the first ball I snagged on the day
was a Mark Reynolds shot. He hit it to a
section to the right of where I was standing, and Tim and I both ran towards it
as it hit the seats and rolled awkwardly through a row. He was 2 rows down, I was right above it, so
I was able to reach over and grab it. On
the board. My goal on the day was 4 (to
even out with the 2 from the opener, since I want to average 3 this year), so
this was a quick start.
After that, I made two of my best snags ever. The first was a Casper Wells home run that I
got only about 15 feet to my left, and with no fans fighting for it. The reason it was special was because I
spaced it horribly, and had to leap and throw my arm back just to barely grab
it on the tip of my glove. Got high
fives for that one.
The 3rd ball of the day was a Brandon Inge home
run that was a section over to my right.
I ran a bit over, but saw it was landing in a group of people about 6
rows down, so I didn't really make a move.
The ball ended up missing everybody and hitting off a chair, flying high
in the air into another group of people to the right and a row in front of me. I reached above them with my bare right hand,
tipped it up into the air above them all, and then jumped and grabbed it. This one got me the most congratulatory
remarks I've ever gotten, and trust me, I don't make that many nice catches, so
I was proud of this one.
That was it on the day for baseballs. But 3 is good for me. I honestly feel good as long as I don't get
shut out, which hasn't happened since the 2009 season.
And I like this one shot I took of Tillman, Matusz, and
Britton during BP:
After BP, I ran over to where Max Scherzer was signing by
the dugout, and after he ignored me multiple times for wearing an O's shirt, I
made a "we both hate the Yankees" comment, he smiled, and signed my ticket.
I ran over to the Orioles dugout hoping for a warm up
ball. First, I stopped by where Vlad was
signing for a minute:
And got him to sign an extra ball I had brought with me (I
usually bring a clean ball or two for this kind of situation):
I didn't get a 4th ball, but whatever. I'm satisfied with 3 still.
Tim and Ben and I stayed out in left field for the entire
game. Low attendance and lineups full of
right handed power (besides the O's with Reynolds and Vlad, the Tigers have
Miguel Cabrera), we will be out there all season. It was a chill night sitting out in the
middle of the LF seats. Felt like
baseball season again.
Anyways, 4 HRs were hit to right or center field. Awesome.
Whatever. And Zack Hample snagged
Alex Avila's shot, so check out info on that on his blog post (linked at the
I left in the 8th to go sit with Brittany and
Donna at Donna's seats (Brittany has season tix next to the bullpen) that were…
well… beautiful. To show, here are a few
pics from that view:
So that was cool.
Though the Orioles lost their first
game of the season that night, it was still very relaxing to attend the
game. Afterward, I went with Donna and
Britney out to the players' lot. I had
never gone there after games (mainly because I live in the city now, so I don't
have to worry about rides or missing the subway or anything), but they
introduced me to it. We waved to
players, talked, and got yelled at. And
Jake Fox stopped his giant SUV to sign for everybody, though I didn't get
that. I got 2 pictures of him signing
from his car, but both are dark and blurry.
I then left, went home, and
crashed. Class in the AM.
Season stats (after this game):
Baseballs: 5 (4 hit, 1 on fly, 1
toss up, 0 found)
Autographs: 2 (Scherzer, Guerrero)
Orioles home games attended: 2
Orioles total games attended: 2
Total MLB games attended: 2
Total baseball games attended
(MLB+MiLB): 2
Then Thursday hit. I left class at 2, went back to my place to
do some things, and left around 3:15 for the game. Got there by 3:45, and chilled outside the
gates again. Zack Hample never showed
up, but that was because he was at the other gates (Ha!). Ben and Tim came around 4. Matt never showed up (turned out he was sick).
I said ha before because Zack went
to the other side since the run in is slightly shorter, but his gate opened a
full 30 seconds or so after ours, so we ran past him before he could even come
in. It was funny.
Running in, I got one ball in foul
territory down the 1B line, and then Tom (security guard) pointed out another
in the seats down the 3B line, so I had 2 already before even reaching the LF
BP brought more photos of our young
pitchers. This one of Matusz and Britton
talking with new pitching coach Mark Connor (I think that's him):
BP was empty for the first 25
minutes or so for us, which was nice:
In that picture, the people are:
1. Tim (going up the stairs to look
for easter eggs
2. Zack (recording notes and such
after Orioles BP ended)
I got some pictures of Justin
Verlander throwing some:
Jeremy Guthrie was back from the
hospital (he had pneumonia), pictured here talking with Verlander:
I scooped up an Adam Jones home run
hit into an empty section, then caught a Brandon Inge home run on the fly in an
empty row later in BP. Though it was
busier, nobody else made a play on that one.
And that was that. I didn't go for any autographs or extra
balls. Just the 4 on the day. Talked with my favorite ushers a bit and
wandered the concourse. Oh, and got some
of the old Orioles to sign cards. They
do that every Monday and Thursday home game.
Got Tippy Martinez, Fred Valentine, and Bill Swaggerty. Woot.
The game was cold. Tim, Ben, and I again sat out in left field,
but this time next to the bullpen. Ben
hit 12 balls on the day, including multiple at the pen, so we just chilled
there. Though on most righty batters, we
got up and moved to ends of rows to prepare for HR balls. Was quite funny actually how much we never
settled into actual spots, though we got no balls, the seats were so empty that
moving around was easy. Finally, though,
a HR was hit to LF (Adam Jones' shot), but it was a line drive smash down the
line, and way out of reach for where we were.
Tim and Ben danced like white kids,
Ronnie said hey, and we just had another chill night at the game.
Brad Penny pitched for the Tigers:
And Chris Tillman for the Orioles:
The end of the game brought an
Orioles come from behind W, but it also brought us Jose Valverde spitting on a fan in the 8th inning. Click on that for more info.
Here's my loot (space in the
baseballs is the Jones home run that I tossed to a kid after BP ended):
Season stats:
Baseballs: 9 (6 hit, 2 on fly, 1
toss up, 2 found)
Autographs: 2 (Scherzer, Guerrero)
Orioles home games attended: 3
Orioles total games attended: 3
Total MLB games attended: 3
Total baseball games attended
(MLB+MiLB): 3
And I am leaving in just a couple
of minutes for the park. The O's take on
the undefeated Rangers this weekend, and I plan to be at all 3 games, win or
lose. The weather is crummy out, so
probably no BP, but these games can bring some good fortune and fun at times,
so I'm there.


text:
Moongate Maze (puzzle-oriented), The
|Web site:
|info (at) truedungeon.com (Replace (at) with @ for real address.)
|True Dungeon Adventures
|Game system not specified
|Time slot:
|Sat Aug 19 10:49 pm - Sun Aug 20 12:49 am (2 hours)
|unknown (True Adventures, Ltd.)
|Teen (13+)
|Experience required:
|None (You've never played before - rules will be taught)
|Materials provided?
|Lucas Oil, room Exhibit Hall 2, table HQ
|0 out of 10 are available (as of 521 days ago (9:47 am Monday November 20th, 2017))
|Event added:
|Mon Nov 20 9:47 am
Part 1 of 2. Located in the Patrick Rothfuss book setting of the Fae, you must locate a planar gate in a faerie maze that is filled with perplexing puzzles as well as creatures from Patrick's world.
We are excited to be working with best-selling author Patrick Rothfuss to present our 2017 adventures inside his Kingkiller Chronicle fantasy setting. In this 1st part of this year's two-part adventure, players will enter a faerie-themed hedge maze within the Fae in order to find a planar gate. Players must work together while facing team-oriented challenges and fearsome monsters. This event is more oriented toward puzzles rather than combat - so there are more puzzle rooms. A 2nd adventure "Dancing Among Stones" (set inside Newarre) is also offered as a sequel to this adventure. For maximum fun, play both! This year marks the second year of an epic four-year story arc in which the party must stop a Mind Flayer from hatching a devious scheme to collect all the Teeth of Cavadar. Players get a free bag of 10 Treasure Tokens ($8 value) and a collectible limited-edition token.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Express. Home of the Daily and Sunday Express.
Bale: Move was very stressful
Gareth Bale has revealed the stress he felt as his protracted transfer from Real Madrid to Tottenham eventually neared completion.
The summer transfer window was dominated by talk of the nine-time European champions making a bid for the Welshman but the deal was not completed until the day before the window closed as Real got their man in a world-record 100million euro (£85.3million) deal.
There were many times that the move was seemingly on the verge of collapse as Spurs chairman Daniel Levy tried to get the best deal for his club and Bale admits it was a stressful time.
"It was a long time. It was very stressful to say the least," Bale told BT Sport.
"I knew their interest from the start and I was always confident the move would go through but obviously the chairman Daniel Levy had to do his business and do Tottenham well so I kind of understood that.
"But at the same time, thinking of myself, It was a hard time, it was stressful and I just had to be patient and try and focus."
Since completing his switch on Sunday night, Bale has spoken of his move to the Bernabeu as a dream and has now revealed how he used to follow the club as a child.
"When I was younger I had some close friends and we always loved European football and Real Madrid at that time were the dominant force and we always watched Real Madrid," the BT Sport Ambassador said.
"I remember family holidays, we used to go Spain, and we'd bring back replica shirts of Real Madrid and wear them out and always pretend to be the players when we played in the park.
"It just started from there and I followed them since. Obviously the football they play, the team they are is amazing and it's just great to be there."
While this week may have been difficult for the 24-year-old, he also had a tough time as a young player at Southampton as injuries threatened his progress.
And the forward is grateful to the staff at the south coast club for sticking by him when many young footballers could have fallen by the wayside.
"It was quite difficult," he said. "I had a lot of growing problems with my back which made my hamstrings tighter which means I couldn't run so quick and it kind of affected the way I played.
"So it was quite frustrating at that time, trying to do things you were able to do before but were then restricted to do.
"I think they believed that it was still there and it was a phase that I just needed to come through.
"There was a lot of debate but I think everybody at Southampton and especially Rod Ruddick, the Southampton scout who actually spotted me when I was nine, all believed that I would make it and we got through that phase and I actually showed what I was capable of."
Bale left Southampton for Tottenham and initially endured a difficult time at White Hart Lane before a switch from left-back further forward saw him flourish.
He is now the most expensive player in the history of football and, although he admits luck has played a role in his rise to the top, he is also proud of much of his own hard work.
"At that time I don't think anybody expected anything in the future to happen as big as it did," he added.
"I think it was obviously thanks to all them that they showed the faith in me and I think those little strokes of luck and the bounce of the ball, you need sometimes to get where you are and luckily that went in my favour.
"I always believed in my ability but I think in any sport you need that little bit of luck.
"That scout might just be there that day that you're playing in a certain game which obviously happened for me.
"So there was an element of luck but I think that a lot of it is down to your hard work and dedication and how much effort you put in on the training pitch and on game days.
"That's been there since I first started and that's still there now."


text: Long-Term-Care Protection Strategies The slideshow presentation that you would like to view is too large for your current screen resolution. Click here to view to view the slideshow at full resolution. Launch Presentation » Share | Have A Question About This Topic? Address Thank you! Oops! Related Contents Your DNA Test If your family relies on your income, it's critical to know what their needs would be in the event of your death. The ABC's of Auto Insurance What kind of auto insurance should you have? Do you know? Protecting Those Who Matter Most The importance of life insurance, how it works, and how much coverage you need.


text: Subject: 10th Annual Beowulf Bash: Announcement and sponsorship opportunity Tenth Annual Beowulf Bash And LECCIBG November 17 2008 9pm at Pete's Dueling Piano Bar We are finalizing the plans for this year's combined Beowulf Bash and LECCIBG It will take place, as usual, with the IEEE SC Conference. This year SC08 is in Austin during the week of Nov 17 2008 As in previous years, the attraction is the conversations with other attendees. We will have drinks and light snacks, with a short greeting by the sponsors about 10:15pm. The venue is in the lively area of Austin near 6th street, very close to many of the conference hotels and within walking distance of the rest. November 17 2008 9-11:30pm Monday, Immediately after the SC08 Opening Gala Pete's Dueling Piano Bar http://www.petesduelingpianobar.com If your company (or even you as an individual) would like to help sponsor the event, please contact me, becker at beowulf.org before early November. (We can accommodate last-minute sponsorship, but your name won't be on the printed info.) Our "headlining" sponsor list for 2008 is currently: Penguin/Scyld (organizing sponsor) http://penguincomputing.com AMD http://amd.com NVIDIA http://nvidia.com Sponsors - get their name up in lights (Well, if their sign is lighted. Bring a sign, and we'll do our best to make certain the room is not too dark.) - are part of the brief greeting in the middle of the party. - have the opportunity for technical, hands-on demos at the Bash - will have their logos on the beowulf.org BeoBash 2008 web pages and on the 2008 yearbook page -- Donald Becker Never send mail to beowulf-bait at boewulf.org Penguin Computing / Scyld Software www.penguincomputing.com www.scyld.com Annapolis MD and San Francisco CA


text:
Hi all – it's Jera from Quilting in the Rain bringing you this super fast Home Sweet Home tutorial (thank you Anna from Switzerland for the quilt name)! I used the Hometown collection by Sweetwater. If you're familiar with my tutorials, you know that I love simple and quick quilts that require minimal fussy measurements. Well, this is one of them because this quilt almost requires no measuring! That's the beauty of Moda pre-cuts! 🙂 Enjoy!
P.S. check out my new site at www.QuiltingInTheRain.com for a chance to win FREE Moda pre-cut fabric! Simply click on the Fabric Giveaway link on the homepage.
- 2 charm packs (or 81 pre-cut 5″ squares)
- 10 neutral colored jelly roll strips (or 3/4 yard neutral colored fabric; from this, cut ten 2.5″ x 42/44″).
- 5/8 yards binding fabric
- 3 yards backing fabric
Step 1 – Choose 9 charm squares (or pre-cut 5 inch squares) and make a 9 patch block by sewing 3 rows together with 3 blocks per row.
Step 2 – Using a rotary cutter and ruler, cut 2 diagonal lines from corner to corner as shown below.Step 3 – Repeat steps 1 and 2 to make a total of 3 nine patch blocks. Cut diagonal lines form corner to corner for all 3 blocks. This will give you a total of 12 triangle pieces.
Step 4 – Here's the fun part! Rearrange all 12 pieces to your liking.
Step 5 – Sew the rearranged pieces back together as shown below. This will give you a block that measures roughly 13.3″ x 13.3″. Repeat until you have a total of 9 finished blocks.
Step 6 – Take three jelly roll strips (or three 2.5″ x 42/44″ long strips), and then sub-cut each trip into three 2.5″ x 13.5″ strips. This will give you a total of six 2.5″ x 13.5″ strips. With right sides facing together, sew a strip to the side of a finished block, press flat with an iron and then trim the excess ends (since your finished block measures 13.3 inches, this is simpler then trying to measure 13.3 inch long strips).
Sew the remaining strips to create sashing between the blocks that looks like this:
Step 7 – Use two more jelly roll strips (or two 2.5″ x 42/44″ strips) for the middle sashing. with right sides facing together, sew the first row of blocks to the sashing, then press flat with an iron. Repeat until all three rows of blocks are connected by the two sashing strips. Trim the excess ends.
Step 8 – Use two more jelly roll strips (or two 2.5″ x 42/44″ strips) for the top and bottom borders. After sewing them on, trim the excess ends. Lastly, sew the left and right side borders on. Each side will measure roughly 47″ long, so you will need to sew some jelly roll strips together to get two 2.5″ x 47″ long strips. I simply sewed three jelly roll strips together (or three 2.5″ x 42/44″ strips) from end to end and then cut that in half. After sewing them onto the sides of the quilt top, trim the excess fabric.
That's all there is to it! Like I said, it's a non-fussy-cut quilt and fast to piece together. Here's a picture of my quilting buddy, Bodie, that I thought I'd sneak in. He was ready for a walk in this photo. 🙂
Thanks for checking out my tutorial! Don't forget to check out QuiltingInTheRain.com for a chance to win some free Moda pre-cut fabric! Simply click the Fabric Giveaway link on the homepage. Happy Quilting!
One fabulous 47″ x 47″ quilt!
Jera Brandvig


text:
Jack Wagner (Courier Photo/J.L.Martello/File)
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – Former Pennsylvania Auditor General Jack Wagner says he'll announce by the end of this year whether he plans to seek the Democratic nomination to run for governor in 2014.
Wagner, a former state senator from Pittsburgh who won two statewide elections as auditor general, fielded reporters' questions Monday about his political future at a Capitol news conference in Harrisburg.
Wagner would be the only candidate from western Pennsylvania in a Democratic primary field that has already expanded to eight people who want to challenge Republican Gov. Tom Corbett's re-election bid.
At the news conference, Wagner also sharply criticized state House Republicans for blocking a $2.5 billion-a-year transportation funding plan already approved by the Senate. He says the increase is sorely needed to fix deteriorating bridges and highways.


text:
Juan,Looks like you're coming to terms with the Sigma and producing some fine shots. I noticed some banding in your B&Ws; did you try correcting this in SPP? I'm contemplating one of the Merrills for B&W landscapes, but this banding issue could be a deal-breaker; and I thought this problem had been resolved. Thanks.
From what I gather, this is a well-known issue; thus the reason Sigma added a specific "banding" tool in SPP to address the problem. Just wondering if you had used that specific tool, and if so, to what degree of success. I'm probably going to give the Merrill a try; but as I love to shoot skies, banding is not something I can live with.
i've been thinking about this camera. That banding is worrisome especially as I would use this for prints as a final product. What do people think of using this camera for a simple b&w camera for stitching say 2x and 4x stitches. Skies are oftentimes problematic in stitching landscapes in general because of lens vigneting etc. But specifically what about the DP2 its lens and stitching images with sky. Thanks
Maybe I'm a blind old fool, or maybe I don't know what to look for, but I really don't see banding in these images on my MacBook Air screen. I do however see banding and other artifacts in skies all the time on 500PX and elsewhere when folks push too many sliders too far.
Look for horizontal straight dark lines going through the open sky areas. Helps if you expand the image larger.
Converted to B&W in 5.5.Cheers,Bernard
... the whites especially don't look clean...
I like the shot, Bernard, but I don't think that the file has converted well to b/white. The problem (in my eyes) is that the image looks 'milky' and the whites especially don't look clean. It's something I noticed with my D200 quite often, but haven't with the D700, perhaps because I've made fewer with that camera. I believe that converted colour transparencies make for better black/whites than do digital files.Rob C
Could you take a screen shot and use arrows to point it out to us, please? I do not see it either.
Hope this helps - and that Juan doesn't mind. From the top left corner of the Camino Yunquera image.
I guess I am glad I am old and my eyes maybe aging and I do thank you for trying to show where the banding is but I swear I still don't see it and I even put my fly tying glasses on to magnify the image. I recently had some 16x20 prints made and went over them with a magnifying glass and do not see any banding either on these. Guess I will remain blissfully content about my DP2m images because what I can't see can't bother me. I had some of my friends and family look at your example and my images and they don't see anything either and 2 of them are in their 20's


text:
OHSU nursing school receives $1.05 million federal grant to improve student diversity
08/06/13 Portland, Ore.
By Lee Lewis-Husk
Getting more diverse students into nursing school and supporting them during their educational program is the goal of a $1.05 million grant to the School of Nursing at the Oregon Health & Science University.
Awarded by the Health Resources and Services Administration, a division of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the funding began July 1, 2013 and runs for three years.
"We're working with students who may not have the opportunity to attend nursing school without extra support," says Peggy Wros, Ph.D., R.N., principal investigator and the nursing school's associate dean for student affairs and diversity. "Significant health disparities can be addressed by health care professionals who are members of the same ethnic or racial community."
Oregon is in step with a national initiative to diversify the nursing workforce, Wros says. In the U.S., people of color represent 37 percent of the population but only 17 percent of registered nurses. "Many of us believe that getting more underrepresented minorities into health professions will improve the overall health of minority groups," she says.
Susan Bakewell-Sachs, dean of the nursing school, says the funding will enhance ongoing efforts in the nursing school in a priority area and create a tested model that she hopes can be replicated in other places. "I am proud that the school has been awarded this grant, and I congratulate the leadership team on their successful proposal," she says.
The program, Advancing Health Equity through Student Empowerment & Professional Success (HealthE STEPS) seeks to attract and advance a diverse nursing student body within the Oregon public education system, from pre-nursing through graduate education.
The grant provides financial help to 44 students annually. Those enrolled at Southern Oregon University in Ashland and Western Oregon University in Monmouth will qualify for stipends and scholarships ranging from $1,800 to $5,000 annually. Students in community colleges and those with a two-year associate degree who want to earn a bachelor's degree in nursing will be eligible for $1,000 to $2,250.
In Oregon, the program specifically hopes to increase the number of undergraduate nursing students from disadvantaged backgrounds by 2 percent a year, going from the current 13 percent to 19 percent by 2016. Because of the state's poor ratio of Latino nurses to the Latino population (3.6 percent nurses to 12 percent population), the grant hopes to boost enrollment and support for students of Latino/Hispanic origin.
Another goal is to enroll more community college students with associate degrees into OHSU's baccalaureate nursing degree program. Currently OHSU educates 55 of these students a year; the target is 70 by 2016.
OHSU has the only statewide public nursing school in Oregon, with campuses throughout the state--Ashland, Klamath Falls, La Grande, Monmouth and Portland. The school offers undergraduate and graduate nursing programs on all five campuses and is part of the Oregon Consortium for Nursing Education, a consortium of public baccalaureate and associate-degree nursing programs to prepare nurses for today's fast-changing health care environment. Students at nine partner community colleges are co-admitted to OHSU. After completion of their associate degree, students can seamlessly transition to OHSU to complete the baccalaureate degree program online or on the Portland campus.
"Nurses who approach their patients with deep understanding and compassion easily gain their patients' trust and respect, says Norwood Knight-Richardson, M.D., OHSU senior vice president and chief diversity officer. "To eliminate disparities in health care, it's important to recruit and train future nurses who are committed to addressing access, language, as well as myriad cultural differences and barriers."
Other faculty working with Wros include Joanne Noone, Ph.D., R.N., campus associate dean in Ashland and project manager; Rana Najjar, Ph.D., R.N., assistant professor and faculty coordinator on the Monmouth campus; and Anjanette Raber, R.N., M.S.N., doctoral candidate and project evaluator.
General inquiries
Peggy Wros, firstname.lastname@example.com
Web related inquiries


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Gift Guide: High End Kitchen Tools
Sure, every wedding registry's got a Kitchenaid stand mixer and a Cuisinart food processor on the list, and both are invaluable tools in the kitchen, but there are other fancy-pants tools that help make preparing great food more fun. Easier, prettier, more foolproof.
Your giftee might not require a $300 Dutch oven, but if they've been extra good this year, you should consider spoiling them. Every item on this list is something I use in my own kitchen at least once a week, if not every single day, and most I've had for years and plan on using for the rest of my life.
A Baking Steel
The Baking Steel is a thick-gauge steel sheet that is designed to replace a traditional baking stone in your oven for baking pizzas and breads. Because of steels superior thermal properties, it delivers more energy to your dough, resulting in crisper crusts, better charring, and superior pizzas.
When I first opened the box and tested this guy out last year, it was one of the first times in my life I remember testing a product and saying to myself, holy crap, this is a great idea. It truly changed the home pizza game and will make you wonder how you ever lived with less-than-perfectly-crisp-and-charred crusts your whole life.
And if you've got a backyard pizza-maker in your life, check out the Serious Eats KettlePizza and Baking Steel Special Edition, a device designed to convert your existing Weber Kettle grill into a full-blown wood-fired pizza oven capable of reaching temperatures of over 1000°F!
A Large Enameled Dutch Oven
A Dutch oven is the best vessel for anything that requires some heavy searing followed by gentle, even cooking—slow-cooked braises like pot roast, carne adovada, or better-than-Chipotle's barbacoa. It's also handy for soups, like spicy pork, green pepper, and pork soup, hearty escarole and barley, or roasted cauliflower and barley. And, of course, it's great for the best chili ever.
You can't beat the durability, good looks, and cooking power of a French-made Le Creuset. It heats the most evenly, sears the best, and lasts the longest. At over $300, it's not a cheap toy, but it'll last you or your lucky giftee a lifetime. Upgrade it with a stainless steel replacement handle to make it oven safe at high temperatures for recipes like no-knead bread
Best Buy: Lodge makes a fine enameled Dutch oven that consistently scores well in professional reviews and I've met many happy Lodge users. On the other hand, those reviews often neglect to account for longevity. I've personally seen two Lodge dutch ovens with heavily cracked and chipped enamel after only a few years of use. If you're willing to play a bit of roulette to save a couple hundred bucks, this may be the pot for you.
A 12-inch Straight-Sided Sauté Pan
Unlike a skillet, a sauté pan has tall sides set at a right angle to the base, which makes for a larger bottom surface for searing, better protection against splattering, and plenty of volume. A sauté also features a tighter fitting lid, which makes it great for slow-cooked braises or in-the-oven cooking. Want to wilt a whole mess of greens? This is the pan for you. It excels at searing or frying large batches of food, like a whole chicken's worth of parts.
All-Clad is the gold standard here with a relatively lightweight pan that still manages to pack in the power. Better design and construction helps it heat faster and more evenly while still delivering plenty of searing power.
Best Buy: The Tramontina 5-Quart Tri-Ply Clad Sauté Pan available from Wal-Mart perform nearly as well as the All-Clad at just about a third of the price. The All-clad heats faster and cooks a little more evenly, but most folks will be perfectly satisfied with the performance of this more economical option.
A High-Output Torch
Forget those puny kitchen torches designed to make crème brûlée for ants. they're more of a pain than their worth. If you want some serious torching power in the kitchen for bruleeing desserts or for finishing off a sous-vide steak, you want a real industrial-style torch designed for house work.
The Bernzomatic High Intensity Torch Head has an adjustable flame knob, an instant trigger so you don't have to worry about a separate sparker, and a trigger lock so your finger doesn't get tired when you're searing off a whole primal. It takes standard propane fuel cylinders (not shippable in all states).
A Large Casserole Dish
What it's good for: Since they're intended both for cooking and serving tableside, a good casserole dish should be both functional and attractive. A good one should be made with high quality glazed ceramic, so not only do they heat foods evenly (and more importantly, store that heat so your food stays hot while you're trying to corral the family to the table), but their smooth glaze is practically non-stick, making them simple to clean up afterward, even with gooey foods like this Spinach and Mushroom Lasagna.
Which one? The Le Creuset Stoneware looks as beautiful as it performs.
Best Buy: The Pyrex 9- by 13-inch Oblong Baking Dish might be lacking in the looks department, but it's a fine choice for casseroles if pure performance is your only concern.
A Sous-Vide Circulator
There are a number of new low-price/high-quality water circulators on the market designed for cooking foods sous-vide. I'm currently in the process of testing the , the Sansaire, and the Nomiku (stay tuned for full results next week!). While all three do the job they're designed for, the Sansaire is not yet available and the Nomiku costs $100 more than the other options, which makes the Anova a very attractive option.
With a portable circulator like this, any pot or large container in your house becomes a restaurant-quality water bath that will give you unparalleled control over how your food is cooked. Check out our Sous-Vide 101 page for recipes and more info on how it works.
The Splash-Proof Thermapen
A good instant-read thermometer is the only way to ensure that your roasts, steaks, chops, or burgers come out that perfect medium-rare every time. Forget about poking with your finger, relying on inaccurate timing guides, or the nick-and-peek method. Buy a high-quality, fast, accurate digital thermometer, and never have a piece of over or undercooked meat again.
The Splash Proof Super-Fast Thermapen by Thermoworks has a hefty price tag, but it's money well-spent. It's head-and-shoulders above the competition with a stunning range of -58 to 572°F (-50 to 300°C), 1/10th of a degree precision, unparalleled accuracy, and a read time of under three seconds. Because of its wide range, you won't need a separate meat, candy, or deep-fry thermometer—a singe tool does all three tasks, and how.
Asides from my knives, it's my favorite piece of kit, and it rarely leaves my side while I'm in the kitchen.
Splashproof Thermapen
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FoodSaver V2244 Advanced Design Vacuum Sealer
Sure, you'll need a vacuum sealer to cook food in your new water oven, but a brand new FoodSaver V2244 Vacuum Sealer is useful for so much more. I like to season whole steaks, pork chops, and chicken breasts, seal them, then throw them in the freezer. They keep for months and months with no freezer burn, and when I want to cook them, I can drop them directly into my water oven. Soups, stews, brases, vegetables, and ground meats can be sealed in the bag, then flattened and frozen to maximize surface area. This leads to rapid freezing and defrosting (not to mention optimizing storage space in the freezer), for better quality food on the table much, much faster.
An Immersion Blender
I use my hand blender at least 20 to 30 times more than my full-sized blender. For smaller, everyday blending tasks, an immersion hand blender is the tool for the job. I've owned mine for 10 years now, and use it at least three times a week.
It's great for pureeing soups directly in the pot or rapidly breaking up whole tomatoes into rough chunks for sauce. I also use it to make fool-proof beurre monté, or perfect two-person servings of whipped cream. Ever get annoyed at those stubborn large pieces of egg white you come across when breading food? Blend the eggs for a few seconds and they'll be perfectly uniform and smooth. You like that froth on your hot chocolate? Heat it up in the pot and buzz it to create a luxurious foam. Lumps in your bechamel? All gone. You can even make foolproof mayonnaise or hollandaise in just about a minute.
How about if you want to make just a few ounces of perfectly smooth cauliflower puree or a half-cup of fresh mayonnaise? Impossible with a regular blender or food processor. But with the sturdy plastic cup that ships with the Kitchenaid Immersion Hand Blender, small, real-life-sized portions of food are easy to prepare.
Presto Pro Stainless Steel Pressure Cooker
You think to yourself, "A pressure cooker? That's for like making beans and stews and stock and stuff, right? I'm not going to use that every day." The reality is, once you get a pressure cooker, suddenly all of those things become everyday foods. Make stocks in half an hour. Cook beef to tender braised perfection in under an hour. Cook dry beans in 45 minutes. It's a staple of most South American kitchens for these very reasons, and there's no reason why you shouldn't use one in your own kitchen. While top-of-the-line models can set you back over $200, the Presto Pro Stainless Steel Pressure Cooker is sturdy and heavy-duty with a thick bottom for even cooking (I use it as a normal pot all the time), with a firmly locking lid that won't leave you thinking, "Is this going to blow?"
Vitamix Professional Series 200
However good their blender is, it's not as good as the Vitamix 1723 Professional Series 200, unless of course, it is that blender. With a ridiculous 2 horsepower of power, an unbreakable 64-ounce polycarbonate container, a tamper for pushing down stubborn vegetables, and a fully analog control dial that lets you adjust the speed from slow mix to pulverize-the-crap-out-of-anything-turn-Chunk's-hand-into-Goonie-mush and every state in between, this, my friends, is the blender that dreams are made of. No, it's the blender that makes liquid blender soup out of the blenders that dreams are made of.
This post may contain links to Amazon or other partners; your purchases via these links can benefit Serious Eats. Read more about our affiliate linking policy.


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smashsuccess needed a new other design and created a contest on 99designs.
A winner was selected from 11 designs submitted by 3 freelance designers.
We need help graphically to create a better looking webpage for user interface for a drop and drag newsletter software. Functionally things should stay in the same general postion(s) as they currently are. (see descripton for details) Colors should stay simliar to existing scheme but there is some freedom - our buttons look and feel could use help. Logo could be shifted, moved, larger or smaller? Thumb nails for images and content could use seperation lines, etc...
Send Out News
Simple, User Friendly, Warm, Web 2.0 Look
See The Following Demo Login Link For Current Look and Feel:
Demo Login: jvista
Demo Password: 12345
Also see http://www.SendOutNews.com
- Simplicity - Cool - Fun
- Hard To Read - Busy


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Frequently Asked Questions About HIV/AIDS
September 18, 2008
What is the difference between HIV and AIDS?
HIV is the virus that causes AIDS.
H -- Human: because this virus can only infect human beings.
A -- Acquired: because it is a condition one must acquire or get infected with; not something transmitted through the genes
I -- Immune: because it affects the body's immune system, the part of the body which usually works to fight off germs such as bacteria and viruses
D -- Deficiency: because it makes the immune system deficient (makes it not work properly)
S -- Syndrome: because someone with AIDS may experience a wide range of different diseases and opportunistic infections
How is HIV transmitted?
HIV can be transmitted from an infected person to another through:
Blood contains the highest concentration of the virus, followed by semen, followed by vaginal fluids, followed by breast milk.
Activities That Allow HIV Transmission
Sexual intercourse (vaginal and anal): In the genitals and the rectum, HIV may infect the mucous membranes directly or enter through cuts and sores caused during intercourse (many of which would be unnoticed). Anal and vaginal intercourse are high-risk practices.
Oral sex (mouth-penis, mouth-vagina): The mouth is an inhospitable environment for HIV (in semen, vaginal fluid or blood), meaning the risk of HIV transmission through the throat, gums, and oral membranes is lower than through vaginal or anal membranes. There are documented cases where HIV was transmitted orally, so we can't say that getting HIV-infected semen, vaginal fluid or blood in the mouth is without risk. However, oral sex is considered a low risk practice.
Sharing injection needles: An injection needle can pass blood directly from one person's bloodstream to another. It is a very efficient way to transmit a blood-borne virus. Sharing needles is considered a high-risk practice.
Mother to Child: Mother to child transmission is now rare in the US and other developed countries because pregnant women who are HIV-positive are normally given medications to prevent the fetus from getting infected. However, it is possible for an HIV-infected mother to pass the virus directly before or during birth, or through breast milk. Breast milk contains HIV, and while small amounts of breast milk do not pose significant threat of infection to adults, it is a viable means of transmission to infants.
The following "bodily fluids" are NOT infectious:
Learn more in the AIDS 101 article: "How HIV Is Spread."
What are the symptoms of HIV?
Primary HIV infection is the first stage of HIV disease, when the virus first establishes itself in the body. Some researchers use the term acute HIV infection to describe the period of time between when a person is first infected with HIV and when antibodies against the virus are produced by the body (usually 6-12 weeks).
Some people newly infected with HIV will experience some "flu-like" symptoms. These symptoms, which usually last no more than a few days, might include fevers, chills, night sweats and rashes (not cold-like symptoms). Many other people either do not experience acute symptoms, or have symptoms so mild that they may not notice them.
Given the general character of the symptoms of acute infection, they can easily have causes other than HIV, such as a flu infection. For example, if you had some risk for HIV a few days ago and are now experiencing flu-like symptoms, it might be possible that HIV is responsible for the symptoms, but it is also possible that you have some other viral infection.
What are the symptoms for AIDS?
There are no common symptoms for individuals diagnosed with AIDS. When immune system damage is more severe, people may experience opportunistic infections (called "opportunistic" because they are caused by organisms which cannot induce disease in people with normal immune systems, but take the "opportunity" to flourish in people with HIV). Most of these more severe infections, diseases, and symptoms fall under the Centers for Disease Control's definition of AIDS. The median time to receive an AIDS diagnosis among those infected with HIV is 7-10 years.
How long after a possible exposure should I be tested for HIV?
The time it takes for a person who has been infected with HIV to seroconvert (test positive) for HIV antibodies is commonly called the "Window Period".Recent studies show that a test taken at least 12 weeks (3 months) after the last possible exposure to the virus provides highly accurate results. Based on those studies, many testing clinics in California and other places use a 3 month window period. Rarely, a person could take up to six months to produce antibodies and that is almost always a person with a severely compromised immune system due to another disease, such as leukemia.
What does this mean for you?
If you test negative on an antibody test taken 3 months or longer after your last possible risk of possible exposure to HIV, you can feel safe in assuming that you do not have the virus. If for some reason you feel anxiety about relying on the 3-month result, you could opt to have another test taken again at 6 months.
Read more in the AIDS 101 article: "HIV Testing."
I have heard there are many different types of HIV tests. How do I know which one I should take?
The combination of an Elisa/Western Blot HIV Antibody Test is the traditional testing method for HIV infection. This combination test is looking for the antibodies that develop to fight the HIV virus. There are two ways to conduct this test. Either through a blood draw or through the "Orasure" method (a sample of oral mucus obtained with a specially treated cotton pad that is placed between the cheek and lower gum for two minutes). Both forms, by blood draw or orally, have the same accuracy with their results.
Another type of test that you may hear about is called "Oraquick," sometimes known as the "rapid test." This HIV-1 antibody test offers results that are highly accurate and the results can be determined within 20 minutes. It provides same day results and counseling. You should however be aware that if the results of the test come out to be "preliminary positive," there is a high probability that you have HIV, but it will be necessary to have a confirmatory test to be sure.
Some testing locations in California charge for this type of test, but there are some locations that will provide the test for free. For testing locations you can call the California HIV Hotline at 1-800-367-AIDS or do a referral search on our companion website, AIDSHotline.org.
Other tests that you will hear about are Viral Load tests. These tests are used by physicians to monitor their patients who have already tested positive for HIV antibodies. Viral Load tests are very costly and have never been approved by the FDA for HIV status diagnosis because of the possibility of false-positive and false-negative results. Therefore, they should not be used to determine if one is HIV-positive.
Note: A person who tests positive on a Viral Load cannot obtain a letter of HIV diagnosis based on those results. They must still test positive on an HIV antibody test in order to get the diagnosis. A letter of diagnosis is required to register with most AIDS Service Organizations and to qualify for many governmental assistance programs.
Find out more in the AIDS 101 article: "HIV Testing."
What is the difference between an Anonymous and Confidential Test?
Anonymous and Confidential use the same testing method. The only difference is one does not have your name attached to the results.
Anonymous antibody testing is available at Anonymous Test Sites in some California counties. Anonymous testing means that absolutely no one has access to your test results since your name is never recorded at the test site. It is always a good idea to contact the testing clinic directly to confirm what type of test is available.
Confidential antibody testing means that you and the health care provider know your results, which may be recorded in your medical file.
Learn more in the AIDS 101 article: "HIV Testing."
What do the test results mean?
A positive result means that:
A negative result means that:
A negative result does NOT mean:
Find out more in the AIDS 101 article: "HIV Testing."
If I test Positive, does that mean that I will die?
Testing positive for HIV means that you now carry the virus that causes AIDS. It does not mean that you have AIDS, nor does it mean that you will die as a result of the infection. Although there is no cure for AIDS, many opportunistic infections that make people sick can be controlled, prevented or eliminated. This has substantially increased the longevity and quality of life for people living with HIV.
Learn more in the AIDS 101 article: "What To Do If The Test Is Positive."
Is there anything I can do to stay healthy?
The short answer is yes. There are things that you can do to stay healthy.
Emotional support may be very important for HIV-positive people because it breaks the isolation and provides a safe way of sharing both feelings and practical information
Medical Care: Once you find a primary care provider, your main objective is to get an evaluation of your general health and immune function.
Many doctors do the following:
If you are already infected with one or more of these other illnesses, there may be treatments or prophylaxis available to prevent it from becoming more serious or recurring in the future. If you are not already infected, doctors may be able to prevent future infection by:
Learn more in the AIDS 101 article: "What To Do If The Test Is Positive."
Is there a cure for HIV/AIDS?
Although there have been many advances in HIV treatments and therapies in recent years that have dramatically improved the quality of life and life expectancy of persons with HIV/AIDS in the US and other developed countries, there is, as of yet, no cure.
Read more in the AIDS 101 article: "Treatment."
This article was provided by San Francisco AIDS Foundation. Visit San Francisco AIDS Foundation's Web site to find out more about their activities, publications and services.


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2011 was an eventful year for all of us working in South and Central Asia. I've had the opportunity to reflect on the year and wanted to single out a few highlights. Secretary Clinton's visit to India in July advanced our ongoing strategic dialogue and underscored the continued growth in the U.S.-India partnership. Similarly, her visit to Central Asia in October affirmed our strong commitment to seeing a more prosperous and secure region that helps to bolster the stability of Afghanistan. We witnessed the first ever peaceful democratic transition of power in Central Asia when President Otunbayeva -- a recipient of our Women of Courage award -- stepped down as leader of Kyrgyzstan and Almazbek Atambayev was elected President.
The Secretary's visit to India not only reflected on a decade of closer relations with India, but also the promise of a bright future and the limitless opportunities available for mutual prosperity. We are cooperating to an unprecedented degree on education, science and technology, economics and trade, health, agriculture, countering terrorism, and providing for regional and global security for the benefit of the citizens of both our countries and of the world. The visit included a major speech on our shared vision for the region. I would encourage you to read the speech here.
The U.S.-India Higher Education Summit followed the Secretary's visit and was a major outcome of our strategic dialogue. The event, held at Georgetown University in October, was jointly chaired by Secretary Clinton and Indian Minister for Human Resource Development Kapil Sibal and attended by more than 300 higher education, private sector, and government leaders from both countries. Reflecting on the strong history of exchanges between India and the United States, Secretary Clinton said, "Last year, we welcomed over 100,000 students from India to pursue college or graduate level study here. But we think the opportunities for collaboration are even greater. And particularly, we want to see more American students enrolling for academic credit at Indian institutions."
Last year was also a year of positive progress throughout the rest of South Asia. In November, we welcomed the news that the Nepal peace process took a positive turn. Newly-elected Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai and other key political leaders agreed on a plan to bring the long-stalled peace process -- accords for which were signed in 2006 -- to a close. We are optimistic the parties will remain on track to ultimately reach consensus on the few remaining details. Our new Ambassador to Bangladesh, Dan Mozena, is continuing our ongoing work to foster a partnership based on mutual interest in a wide range of priorities including food security, climate change, global health, counterterrorism, and democracy promotion.
In August, I traveled to Sri Lanka and visited the northern city of Jaffna to see first-hand the former conflict zone and observe the country's progress as it transitions from civil war to peace and reconciliation. The United States has welcomed the release of the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission's report and we continue to encourage the Government of Sri Lanka to work constructively with the international community as it seeks to implement the report's recommendations this year.
Afghanistan's neighbors have embraced the Secretary's call to strengthen regional economic and transit connections -- to build a "New Silk Road" and open up new sources of raw material, energy, and agricultural products for every nation in the region. New agreements on the Northern Distribution Network with Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan helped to complete routes and further facilitate trade between Central Asia and Afghanistan. Tajikistan and the Kyrgyz Republic welcomed Afghanistan into their Cross-Border Transport Accord, laying the foundation for increased trade and transit among them. An Indian consortium's successful bid on the Hajigak iron-ore deposit, and the deepening thaw in Indo-Pak economic relations were also significant steps towards realizing a new economic vision for the region.
As the Secretary has emphasized, investments in women and youth yield multiple dividends. Throughout the entire region, we made a concerted effort to reach out to these audiences through workshops, conferences, and social media. Together with President Otunbayeva, the Secretary's Office of Global Women's Issues and our embassies, we organized a Central Asia and Afghanistan Women's Economic Symposium held in Bishkek in July. The event brought nearly 200 policy makers, enterprise owners, educators, and civil society leaders together with corporate sponsors and donors to share strategies for economic success. The resulting network of women leaders in government, business, and civil society is now working within and across borders to strengthen women's entrepreneurship and trade.
During her trip to Central Asia, the Secretary gave a speech focused on women, youth, and civil society that highlighted both the progress made, as well as the challenges that remain. One example of the youth outreach in which we are engaged took place in Sri Lanka, where our embassy and a local NGO brought 80 youth leaders together from throughout South Asia to focus on civic responsibility, social media, environmental awareness, and community development. Group project presentations demonstrated participants' commitment to work together across borders to implement sustainable initiatives in these areas.
In 2011, we also saw strengthened efforts to combat trafficking in persons in the region. India achieved a landmark conviction of five years' imprisonment and a fine against three bonded labor perpetrators, Bangladesh promulgated a comprehensive anti-trafficking law, and Tajikistan made great strides in combating the use of forced labor in the cotton harvest.
We also began a series of cooperative environment, science and technology projects across the region. With USAID, we supported Central Asian, South Asian, and South American scientists in a joint expedition to the Himalayan glaciers in Nepal to better understand the dynamics of glacier melt and share best practices from their respective regions. In Maldives, we are supporting coral reef conservation efforts, and in Central Asia we launched an entrepreneurship innovation program which will bring eight winners to Silicon Valley.
As the year drew to a close, the United States was pleased to recognize Kyrgyzstan's peaceful democratic election and transfer of power, the first of its kind in Central Asia. Kyrgyzstan's vibrant civil society actively participated, promoted transparency, and encouraged citizens to report on irregularities during the election.
I am excited to see what 2012 holds in store and look forward to keeping you informed about our diplomacy in South and Central Asia. You can follow our efforts in the South and Central Asia by signing up for email updates, following us on Facebook, Twitter, and of course our regular blog entries on DipNote. Thank you!
Ashim C. in India writes:
As a person, who followed the progress of Indo-US relations quite closely, I don't think both sides reached out to each other as much as they could have. Important trade agreements were signed for defense purchases and transfer of technologies and other areas of cooperation but general impression that has been created is that US is more interested defense sales to India than accomodating India's strategic concerns and interests in trade and commerce.
When one compares the progress in relations with India during the President George Bush's times and under President Obama, one finds what has really happened is President Obama, Secretary Clinton and Geithner have carried forward in a limited manner what President Bush had accomplished in terms of building a base for a strong relation and even more importantly mood in India for a strong and comprehensive relations.
At a time when US is wanting to boost it's exports of goods, services and technologies in order to create jobs in USA on the one hand and trying to consolidate the gains in it's war against taliban in Afpak region and honour it's commitment to withdraw from Afghanistan, US could have shed it's ambivalence on strategic issue of Kashmir and India's territorial issues with China by suo moto offering to come to India's help in event of India's territorial sovreignty is tickled by anyone, offered and materialised transfer of clean technology in infrastructure building, mass housing, water resource management, food processing,clean power generation, energy security etc. which would have not only increased the visibility of benefits of Indo-US cooperation at very grass root level but also helped strengthening of certain economic sectors in USA and created more value and jobs than possibly USA has outsourced from India. One's sense is this is due to lack of sufficient will at the top. Policy makers must realise India is now governed by a coalition, which has many limitations. This is evident in opposition to nuclear power projects, FDI in retail by opposition parties. There is clearly a need to understand if India's multi party system which devides India's secular politics and if that division is thwarting changes or not. This is off course India's internal matter but it is only natural that in a globalised world all international players must take a view of political situation in India and try to influence political processes without talking about these things openly in case of India.
I.B. in the Maldives writes:
I am VERY disappointed that you have chosen to recognize Vice President Dr. Waheed's installation as president of the Maldives after democratically elected President Nasheer was forced to resign under duress and threat of civil war. Instead, you should be criticizing this blatant coup, and questioning the legitimacy of this process. Those who support this regime include the former dictator Gayoom and his 'starfire' thugs, and the fundamentalist invaders from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Saudi Arabia who have infiltrated and perverted the peaceful form of Islam practiced by Maldivians for 800 years. Witness the destruction of pre-Islamic artifacts at the National Museum by their converts, and their demand that sharia law be enforced by the courts. Perhaps Undersecretary Roberts will realize that error after his visit here.


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Our productivity is impacted by several factors, including office ergonomics. If you see your employees constantly stretch, yawn or rub their aching backs, it's a sure sign that it's high time to look for ergonomic furniture and technology for your office. Granted, it'd be costly to suddenly change all the furniture but you can consider ergonomic furniture while making a buying decision for a new chair or desk. You can also educate your employees about the correct body posture for minimum damage to the body.
- Chair: Chairs should be adjustable and have lumbar support. If the current chairs aren't offering lumbar support, offer cushions to the employees to place them between the curve of their lower back and the back of the chair. Ask them to adjust the height of the chair so that their feet rest comfortably on the floor and their knees are about level with their hips.
- Key object positioning: Objects such as telephone, stapler or printed materials should be near employees on the desks so that they don't have to stretch themselves excessively to reach them. If anything is place somewhat far to reach it while sitting down, ask them to stand up to get it.
- Mouse position: Mouse should be within easy reach along with the keyboard. Ask the employees to keep their wrist in a natural and comfortable position when they are using the mouse.
- Wrist rest: Always ask your employees to use wrist rest to minimize stress on their wrists. Educate them on how to type in ergonomic position, i.e., holding the hands and wrists above the wrist rest. During typing breaks, heels or palms of the hands should be rested on the wrist rest and not the wrists.
- Wrist positioning: When employees are typing, they should keep their wrists in a straight, natural position — not bent up, down or to either side.
- Headset: If your employees need to frequently talk on the phone and type or write at the same time, give them a headset. This will relieve them the stress of cradling the phone between their head and neck.
- Footrest: If the chairs are too high for certain of your employees to rest their feet flat on the floor, consider offering them a footrest. You can find several types of footrests in the market.
- Desk dimensions: Ideally the desk should be at least 19 inches (48 centimeters) deep, 30 inches (76 centimeters) wide and, depending on the height of the employees, up to 34 inches (86 centimeters) high. Never ever use space under the desk for storage. Keep it clear for the user's legs, knees and thighs.
- Monitor height: Place the monitor directly in front of the employees. The distance between the employees and the screen should be about 18 to 28 inches. The top of the screen should be slightly below the eye level of the user. If glare from fluorescent lighting or sunlight is a problem, turn off some or all of the overhead lights or close the window shades. Place the monitors in such a way that the brightest light source is on the side.
At Acedepot.com, you will find a range of office chairs and equipment that are ergonomically designed to offer maximum comfort to the users. Check them today.


text:
Next word in Calif. gay marriage case due Tuesday
SAN FRANCISCO – A federal appeals court in San Francisco plans to announce Tuesday if it will rehear a legal challenge to California's same-sex marriage ban or send the landmark case on to the U.S. Supreme Court.
The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals said Monday it was ready to reveal whether a majority of its actively serving judges has agreed or refused to reconsider a February ruling by two of its member judges declaring the ban unconstitutional.
The decision is important because it affects how much longer the issue, which is expected to be appealed to the Supreme Court no matter what the 9th Circuit does, will take to resolve.
Same-sex marriages briefly were legal in California before voters approved Proposition 8 in November 2008, which barred gay and lesbian couples from marrying.
Two unmarried couples sued to overturn the ban in May 2009, and their lawsuit gave rise the next year to the first federal trial to examine if states can prohibit gays from getting married without violating the constitutional guarantee of equality. U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker ultimately sided with the couples.
After the ban's sponsors appealed, a 9th Circuit panel by 2-1 affirmed Walker's finding that Proposition 8 violated the civil rights of gay and lesbian Californians. But, instead of finding any gay marriage ban would be unconstitutional, the panel limited its decision to California, saying Proposition 8 improperly took away an existing right.
The ban's backers asked the full 9th Circuit to review the decision instead of appealing directly to the U.S. Supreme Court. If the full appeals court decides to rehear the case, it will go before the chief judge and 10 randomly selected judges, delaying a final resolution from the Supreme Court.
The 9th Circuit does not agree to such banc reviews very often. The practice is reserved for "a question of exceptional importance" or when the original panel's decision appears to conflict with Supreme Court or 9th Circuit precedents.
Several other high-profile same-sex cases also are making their way toward the high court. A three-judge panel of the Boston-based 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals declared last week that the federal law that prohibits recognition of same-sex couples unconstitutionally denies Social Security and other federal spousal benefits to married gay couples.


text:
MISENHIEMER, N.C. – The Pfeiffer University women's basketball team reached the century mark with a 100-73 win over the Coker Lady Cobras on Monday night in Conference Carolinas women's basketball action. The Falcons had six players score in double figures to keep them undefeated in conference play at 5-0 and 5-5 overall, while Coker falls to 2-8 overall and 1-4 in the conference.
Pfeiffer's Jamila Harris (Danville, Va.) led all scorers with 24 points and five rebounds, with Charlotte Fuller (Moorestown, N.J.) and Domonique China (Durham, N.C.) each had 15 points with Fuller grabbing eight rebounds and China pulling down seven. Brittany Cox (Winston-Salem, N.C.) added 12 points, while Kellie Rodney (Catawba, N.C.) and Christina Harvey (Locust Grove, Va.) had 11 and 10 points respectively. Devona Knight (Woodbridge, Va.) nearly gave the Falcons their seven player in double figures and came just short of a double-double, scoring nine points with 11 rebounds.
Coker was led by Henna Koponen's (Vantaa, Finland) 19 points and six rebounds, while Jasmine Alston (Sumter, S.C.) had 17 points and five rebounds. Lotta Aaltonen (Rauma, Finland) had 15 points and four rebounds to help the Lady Cobras.
Pfeiffer dominated the floor, including scoring 44 points in the paint, while shooting 58.7 percent from the field, compared to Coker's mire 35.6 percent from the floor.
Coker and Pfeiffer both return to action on Wednesday, when the Falcons travel to Barton College and the Lady Cobras host Mount Olive College. Both games are scheduled for 5:30 p.m. tip-offs.


text:
VIDEO: Gold Medal Postgame: Coach Krzyzewski
MADRID — Serbia had looked really good in its previous three games, beating 5-0 Greece by 18, walloping 5-1 Brazil by 28, and putting up 90 points against a France defense that had just shut down Spain at the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup.
But you don't really know how good you are until you play against the best. And when Serbia faced the U.S. for the first time since the former was part of the larger Yugoslavia, it got crushed, 129-92, in Sunday's gold medal game.
Serbia has a lot of young talent and a very good coach. It should be one of the best national teams in Europe for years to come. Though it won silver at 2009 Eurobasket and finished fourth at the 2010 World Championship, this run at the World Cup could be the start of something even bigger.
"This is a very, very big success for our country," Miroslav Raduljica said. "We put a good, healthy foundation for something in the future."
But the gap between one of the best national teams in Europe and the best national team in the world seems to be pretty wide, especially when you consider that LeBron James and Kevin Durant weren't representing the U.S. this summer. The Americans have come a long way since the 2002 World Championship, having won four straight gold medals with a stable and sustainable system under USA managing director Jerry Colangelo and head coach Mike Krzyzewski.
So does any other nation have any hope of knocking off the Americans any time soon?
"I think we can lose our next game," Krzyzewski said after extending the USA's winning streak to 63 games (45 FIBA and FIBA Americas games, 18 exhibition games) on Sunday. "That's the way we prepare, because we know how good everyone is. So I don't see a gap. I just see good basketball, and then we've been able to win."
For the USA's opponents, it helps to know what you're up against. And Serbia coach Sasha Djordjevic said Sunday that his team was at a disadvantage having never faced the speed, athleticism and talent of the best players in the world. Now, it has that experience.
"Each time we play against a team like that," Djordjevic said, "we are growing up as a team. And we need this more often, because we have to understand how we have to bring up our level of athleticism, our level of defense, our level of passing, to achieve the level these USA players have. So this was a great, great night for us. A great game. We can learn a lot from this game."
The U.S. is always going to have the talent. But a lot of other national teams, especially those from Europe that play together almost every year, have the edge when it comes to chemistry. And each time they play the Americans, they gain reps against the best. So, the next time we see this matchup, Serbia will be more prepared.
Here are a few more ramifications of what went down over the last 16 days in Spain.
A summer off
Along with the gold medal comes automatic qualification for the 2016 Olympics in Rio. So, for the fourth straight time (2009, 2011, 2013, 2015), the U.S. won't need to send a team to the FIBA Americas tournament in the year between the Olympics and World Cup.
If they had lost on Sunday, they would have needed to qualify for the Olympics through the Americas. And it would have been interesting to see what kind of team Colangelo and Krzyzewski put together next summer in a tournament that has far less appeal than this one. But they won't have to worry about that.
Things are going to change after 2016, however. And an Olympic gold in Rio will not earn instant qualification for the 32-team, 2019 World Cup. Instead, in a format change that was announced last year, there will be 16 teams from the Americas competing for seven spots in the World Cup via a qualification similar to that of the soccer World Cup, with some games taking place during the 2017-18 and 2018-19 NBA seasons. That, of course, will bring up even more questions about who will play for the U.S. and other nations with key players in the NBA. (more…)


text:
News >> Browse Articles >> Company Hiring & Layoffs
Upcoming iPhone Leaked, Gizmodo Gadget Blog Gets Hands On
Jason Mick
April 20, 2010
"Is you is or is you ain't my baby?" Over the weekend, Engadget posted pictures of what it claimed to be the next generation iPhone 4G. The pictures sparked quite a debate over their authenticity and many flatly rejected the design saying that it was too ugly to be an iPhone.
Detractors noted the blocky shape and seams along the edge of the devices as reasons why this design couldn't have possibly come from the likes of Jonathan Ive. Mac Rumors seemed to confirm that the pictures were indeed fakes with a posting yesterday which claimed that this wasn't the iPhone 4G, but instead a Japanese knock-off.
Engadget fought back citing more evidence that this was indeed the iPhone 4G. And to further confirm the pictures, Daring Fireball's John Gruber — Steve Jobs' biggest fan — has posted his own comments verifying the authenticity of the pictures. Gruber cites a 2006 patent for a "radio transparent" ceramic smartphone enclosure which would seem to match up with the photos posted over the weekend.
"I think it's a testbed frame — thicker, with visible (un-Apple-like) seams, meant to fit in 3GS cases so as to disguise units out in the wild," said Gruber. "It's hard to tell from the photos. But I think it is the real deal in terms of the internals and display being next-gen iPhone hardware, and the new glass back."
According to tipsters that provided the original pics and commentary from Gruber, here are just some of the features thought to be on the iPhone 4G:
- Apple A4 processor
- 640×960 display
- High resolution rear camera with flash
- Front-facing camera for video conferencing
- MicroSIM support
We'll know for sure if this is the next generation iPhone at Apple's event scheduled for late June.
other news, Apple has announced that the iPad 3G will ship
for U.S. customers by May 7. The iPad 3G is priced at $629, $729,
and $829 respectively for 16GB, 32GB, and 64GB models.
Updated 4/19/2010 @ 10:55 am
Gizmodo has gotten its grubby hands on the "lost" iPhone 4G that was first pictured by Engadget. They have completely torn the phone down and given design analysis which you can read here.
_© 2009, DailyTech.'


text: On Fri, 10 Jan 2003, Mike Eggleston wrote: > I'm part of a startup group that will be using a larger cluster soon. I > currently have a very ad-hoc cluster made of old machines I could > scrounge for the task. What I want to do, mostly because of the money > involved, is buying motherboards from newegg.com, adding cpu, fan, power > supply, and memory, putting the whole thing in some sort of rack or > enclosure to keep it neat, and hook it to a switch. Given this low-tech > idea does anyone have any ideas or suggestions on how to rack/house > these boards? Once installed I will also redirect an A/C plenum(?)/duct > to directly above the rack. Space is not so much at a premium as > simple capital at this point. For a 16 node cluster that is as cheap as humanly possible, see pictures on the brahma site. The cluster in the foreground of the left picture is: 1) sixteen mid-tower single CPU 1200 MHz athlons, configured at about $900 each almost two years ago. Nowadays a 1600 GHz athlon or 2.4 GHz P4 would cost about what, $700 in an identical configuration OTC. Hand-built you could probably get it down to $600, maybe spending a bit of CPU speed. A variety of possible motherboards you could use would have onboard 100BT NIC and video so that wouldn't be a problem. 2) $50 heavy duty steel shelving from Home Depot. I wasn't kidding. As it is it we set the shelving up in two half-units, but we've rebuilt this so they all sit in the single unit with half the footprint. 3) 1 16 port Netgear switch. I think it currently costs around $100 or a bit less. 4) a few surge protectors, some cable ties, some ethernet cables, and of course somewhere you need a "server/head" node and a KVM. If you buy them prebuilt and we estimate $750 each with an extra $250 for KVM and more disk on the head node, that is 15x750 + 1000 = $12,250 for the systems. $50 for the shelving, maybe $200 (being VERY generous) for everything else, total of $12,500. At $600/node with a local disk you can drop this to $10,250 (for 16 nodes including the head node). At $500/node (which will probably mean diskless nodes, even hand built, unless you get really cheap e.g. celeron or duron motherboards and minimal memory) you could get it nicely under $9000 (maybe $550/node including everything), but you might start giving up speed per node. The problem with any other configuration e.g. rackmounts is that rackmount cases tend to cost roughly $200 more than cheap but adequate tower cases, and a full height two-post rack (no "enclosure", bare bones) costs about $200 (including screws and maybe a shelf) and has to be securely bolted into the floor to be safe when loaded, which is a lot of work involving power tools and so forth for most floors. So you can count on it costing you at LEAST $3200 more in any equivalent configuration. Blade configurations tend to add on even to that, especially when you take into account their often significantly slower CPUs. A cheap 2.4 P4 can be pretty fast...compared to an 800 MHz P3. rgb Robert G. Brown http://www.phy.duke.edu/~rgb/ Duke University Dept. of Physics, Box 90305 Durham, N.C. 27708-0305 Phone: 1-919-660-2567 Fax: 919-660-2525 email:rgb at phy.duke.edu


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SAMJ: South African Medical Journal
On-line version ISSN 2078-5135
Print version ISSN 0256-9574
SAMJ, S. Afr. med. j. vol.102 n.5 Cape Town May. 2012
Bhisho corruption-busting now the national pilot
Chris Bateman
A slick 'MassMart-like' national pilot programme for ethical procurement and monitoring, backed by a high-tech group of national government agencies, kicked off last month in the Eastern Cape health department where proponents claim it will cut fraud and wastage by up to 80%.
The provincial department, chosen for its unrivalled success in corruption-busting and steady return to functionality, has for 2 years been led by canny former Port Elizabeth businessman, Dr Siva Pillay. It may prove the crucible for some sorely needed national alchemy, if talking to Pillay and some of his value-driven 'social compact' practitioners is anything to go by.
Coming off a R424 million budget cut (2012/13), Pillay initially appears a bit too sanguine for someone upon whom so much depends - until he starts to outline how and where his 'working smarter' approach has already saved well in excess of this amount (more on this later). His results led to national Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan and SA Revenue Service (SARS) Commissioner, Ivan Pillay (formerly SARS head of Compliance), setting up a multi-agency task team to help overhaul his department's procurement of equipment and services. The scale of the endemic fraud and corruption that's emerging is breathtaking. It ranges from the relatively small-scale 174 spouses of health department staff linked to companies illegally paid some R9 million, through 780 staffers and their spouses illegally drawing social grants and housing subsidies and R19 million of unaccounted assets transferred from head office to districts, to R450 million in ghost contracts. One member of the special multi-agency work group (MAWG) lists a constraint to their investigation as the wholesale theft and sale of documentation to a recycling company.
Consisting of members of the Hawks (Priority Crimes Unit), the Special Investigations Unit, the Assets Forfeiture Unit, national and provincial treasury, SARS, and backed by Price Waterhouse Coopers and other top private auditing companies, the team will use 14 interlinked 'hubs' across the province to reform the entire supply chain management system. The new filters will begin with 'declaration management' (tender-holders or applicants declaring all familial/personal links), companies and intellectual properties (CIPRO) searches, cross-checks with PERSAL (the personnel salary system) and Home Affairs identity documentation - all of this linked to the existing supplier databases. The qualifications of each and every supplier will be painstakingly verified. The MAWG will then move on to the 'top 100' items being procured, putting in place 'demand planning and management' to create new or revised procurement plans - with dodgy existing contracts earmarked for cancellation or renegotiation over terms and/or conditions.
Information web will snag crooks
The 14 'hubs' will be spread out across the health districts, metro complexes, head office (including pharmacy) and regional hospitals to act as a filtering system to increase the integrity and quality of supply -and thus root out more corrupt officials and privateers milking the system.
From June the hubs should be connected via a new virtual private network (VPN), which will enable instant electronic access to data and vastly enhance patient tracking and management, something that the IT-savvy Pillay initiated soon after taking office. The VPN, backed by a redundancy network, will also link the 60% of hospitals currently without connectivity to the 865 clinics and 92 community health centres (also enabling broader bandwidth for the 28 currently linked hospitals and enabling several telemedia lecture theatres).
In his 2 years as Director-General of Health, Pillay has forced the resignation and/ or disciplinary hearing/criminal charging of more than 1 200 people, most of them health department staff helping themselves to money meant for patient care. Last year alone, Pillay's core provincial turnaround team recovered R89 million in cash following disciplinary hearings and sackings involving fraud, being drunk-on-duty and assault. He's been targeted by some powerful internal political groupings1 and confronted by a gunman in a deserted Bhisho parking lot, escaping only by releasing his two highly trained Alsatian dogs fortuitously in his bakkie.2 By uncovering 'ghost contracts' and stopping payments, he's recovered the whopping extra R450 million, mostly via a pragmatic approach to several cases. An example is a company that billed R26 million for non-existent maintenance. Its directors were told: 'Walk away without payment and we won't charge you criminally.' They walked. Scores of very senior staff resignations were impelled by this principle, saving months of salaried and expensive arbitration and speeding up management change. (At the time of writing, the tally of health staff suspended on pay at home was down to 56.)
Taking on the unions, improving delivery
All of this before the national task team kicks into high gear. Pillay has taken on the unions, finally reaching settlement over the 1 000 staff irregularly promoted (beyond their qualifications) when the former homelands (Ciskei/Transkei) were united in 1994. From 31 March this year all reverted to their old lower gradings, plugging a protracted R80 million per annum illicit salary black-hole. A wildcat strike by some 220 nurses at the Nelson Mandela Academic Hospital Complex last month (in alleged breach of court undertakings) was met with disciplinary notices served on 120 of them. The message to their union: 'We play by the book, but bring it on.' Asked by Izindaba how different the new task team checks and balances were to the systems he initially encountered, Pillay replied, 'None of this was happening before. It was all paper-based. I was flying this plane blind. For the first time we're now getting quality information which helps us manage managers. Before that there were millions of transactions and I didn't know what was going on. Basically we're increasing visibility with a system of checks and balances and controls and monitoring'. The first region to come under the spotlight is the province's heartland, the Amathole district (population 1.7 million), embracing the East London Hospital Complex, King William's Town, Mdantsane and the administrative capital Bhisho. By the time of Izindaba going to print, the amount of goods and services 'required' had already decreased (granted it was early days and the quantities were marginal, but a clear trend was appearing), leading Pillay to believe an iceberg of non-existent services is emerging.
Actuaries conservatively project that savings by the new combined task team will exceed R200 million in general health services and R250 million in medicines (leakage, expiry, rotation and patient wastage) in the first year alone. Besides his existing successes in recovering taxpayers' money, what bolsters Pillay's confidence in the medicines projection is what he already knows about his antiretroviral drug supplies (ARVs). 'I have 179 000 patients on ART but when I look at the number of ARVs I bought, it's for about 200 000 (patients). You have to ask where the rest of the drugs are going to. And I don't even have the hypertension and diabetes figures yet!' The pharmaceutical benefit management system will stop the leakage and address mismanagement, dysfunction, corruption and wastage by patients, he believes.
Expanded delivery platform 'unsustainable'
When his health budget was presented to the Eastern Cape legislature on 20 March this year, Pillay fell victim to negative local media coverage after publicly calculating that he would need an impossible extra R9 billion to fill 27 267 vacant posts. He revealed that vacancy rates in critical posts had shot up from 28% (09/10) to 44% (10/11). However, his central point was missed (by all but Gordhan whose mid-term budget allocation will probably mitigate the initial cut). The earth-shaking staff vacancy rift was politically created - by a rapid and ambitiously expanded service delivery platform which quickly reached 'unsustainable proportions'. Pillay's first crack at radically rationalising this platform and its attendant equipment and human resources focuses on pure functionality - and has received scant media attention. He told Izindaba: 'Our district hospitals have turned into glorified clinics, in spite of them putting in for expensive equipment which they'll never use (the standard hospital management argument being that this will attract clinical staff). Of the 66 district hospitals, only 11 are fully functional. So we've concentrated our resources on 28 to get them fully functional. It's simple arithmetic; consolidate and make things work properly,' he says. He cites linear accelerators, one of each wanted by Mthatha and Livingstone Hospitals (to match the one at Frere Hospital); 'I asked them how many cancer patients we have and it turns out we don't need three accelerators. That alone saved R34 million.'
Moving to the 'front-end' of the service delivery vehicle, human resource development (HRD), Pillay has the enthusiastic Dr Andrew Crichton analysing for the first time ever the HR needs of 28 health sub-districts based on the rationalised service delivery platform. Crichton has set up sub-district 'social compact committees' to help identify pupils between grades 9 and 12 for streaming into health professions bursaries tailored to each district's needs. Using the HR supply streams of community service conscripts, foreign qualified workers, standard recruiting practices (e.g. provincial health website) and bursars, he aims to balance recruitment with local needs. Bursars will be filtered by relevant subject marks, a family income below R6 500 per month and students already studying but financially constrained by events, with involvement in community projects a pivotal criterion.
Beyond the 'desperation of poverty'
'We want to move beyond the desperation of poverty to the values of Ubuntu and commitment, compassion and solidarity. If you're not already showing commitment to serving the community then we know you're not a good bursar,' Crichton added. A huge critic of the 'chasing numbers and ratios,' and 'teaching for export' approach to solving South Africa's human resources crisis, the educationist outlines four value-driven processes: seeking out people aligned to your needs, developing them to be capable and engaging them to perform, and finally, inspiring them to commit. Using value systems as standards of judgement instead of just targets, he believes, 'changes the entire picture'.
'In the past it was assumed that if you're poor and black you had the right attitude. Telling us that 40% of rural recruits will return to us spells failure. It's about who we bring into the system, not how many.' Thus are change-agents created, he argues.
1. Bateman C. E Cape health chief hits back at 'jobs for pals' charges. S Afr Med J 2011;101:610-612. [ Links ]
2. Bateman C. Corruption busting a real health threat. S Afr Med J 2011;101:360-362. [ Links ]


text:
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text:
Navy and gray plaid fabric printed on antique white background. Fabric is cut to order in one continuous piece. This is an organic 100% cotton, 58" wide, medium weight fabric.
Half Yard Sample
Colors and textures may vary slightly from what is depicted on your monitor. Ordering a half yard sample is a great way to "touch and feel" the product before placing an order.
Our half-yard sample cut measures 18" x the width of the fabric roll. For example, if a fabric roll is 58" wide, the half yard sample will measure 18" x 58". Half yard samples are not contiguous if you order more than one. If you order a half yard sample it will be cut separately from any other fabrics or samples that you order.
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text: Nia Calendar Add to Calendar Add to Timely Calendar Add to Google Add to Outlook Add to Apple Calendar Add to other calendar Export to XML When: April 24, 2018 @ 5:30 pm – 6:30 pm Repeats 2018-04-24T17:30:00-04:00 2018-04-24T18:30:00-04:00 Where: Neskaya 1643 Profile Rd Franconia, NH 03580 USA Cost: First class is free. $8 a class Contact: Cathy Smith Nia Submit a Comment Cancel reply Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *Comment Name * Email * Website Notify me of new posts by email. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.