text:
We are honored to have Prof. Thomas Chi and Marshall L. Stoller as our guest editor for this special issue which presenting a series of reviews by some of the worlds' foremost endourologists highlighting a few of the interesting topics in endourology. We have made an effort to provide both an overview of the topic at hand and also a perspective on how we and others approach some of the complex topics faced by endourologists and urologists treating nephrolithiasis on a daily basis. With a growing incidence of urinary stones seen worldwide, we hope that you find this special issue applicable to and a resource for your practice.
Guest Editor: Prof. Thomas Chi: University of California, San Francisco, USA
Guest Editor: Prof. Marshall L. Stoller: University of California, San Francisco, USA


text:
If you're just getting used to Windows 7, then it may be time to pull out the diary and pencil in a date in 2012 for the upgrade to its successor, unsurprisingly codenamed Windows 8.
The news that the next version of Microsoft's flagship operating system will arrive in 2012 comes from the Microsoft Kitchen fansite, which has obtained a roadmap showing the Redmond giant's plans.
Windows Server?
Apparently, Windows 8 will fit with Microsoft's plans to keep significant OS releases four years apart. The previous major release seems to be not Windows 7, but Windows Server 2008, we're supposed to believe.
While the roadmap is almost certainly the genuine article, the fact that Windows Vista doesn't even appear on the diagram suggests it's aimed at the enterprise IT buyers and has a point to make in making Microsoft look reliable and punctual with its OS releases.
Via Electronista

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Last month I touted the benefits of flexibility and balance training in my Rubber Bands and Bungee Cords post. So, it's only fitting that I make stretching this month's One Small Step theme which, in conjunction with each of the other One Small Step challenges since April, creates a well-rounded and balanced fitness routine. And, because I always offer a monthly diet-targeted Small Step as well, I stretched the theme to apply to reigning in unwanted calories.
Stretch Your Body
If you aren't doing any stretching on a regular basis, then your assignment this month is to finish every exercise routine you do – at the gym, walk in the neighborhood, ride on the bike path, strength training routine – with stretches. Don't stretch cold muscles before your workout, stretch only at the conclusion of workouts when muscles are warmed up. Hold each stretch for 20-30 seconds and stretch especially tight muscles a second time. At minimum, stretch all the muscles that were the primary workers during your exercise. But, if you have the time, it's even better to stretch all the major muscle groups. Here are some examples of stretches for each of the major muscle groups, courtesy of acefitness.org: Cobra (Abs, Back); Child's Pose (Abs, Back, Thighs, Glutes); Cat-Camel (Chest, Back); Seated Straddle Stretch (Back, Thighs); Standing Lunge Stretch (Hip, Thighs); Standing Calf Stretch (Calves, Shins); Modified Hurdler's Stretch (Hamstrings, Thighs); Triceps Stretch (Back Upper Arm); Seated Biceps Stretch (Front Upper Arm).
If you already stretch after working out, consider incorporating one yoga or mat Pilates routine weekly. This can be accomplished at your health club, individual yoga or Pilates studios, by DVD or online. These disciplines have the added benefit of training balance along with flexibility. Balance training is often over-looked in the average workout but is so beneficial as a functional training tool. These disciplines also run the gamut of intensities and forms. So, if you're thinking that you just don't have the time in your week to add one more fitness routine, consider replacing one of your usual cardio or strength routines with a yoga or Pilates class that incorporates cardio or strength. Or, perhaps time isn't the issue but, rather, you're wanting a break from the intensity of the traditional modes of exercise. In that case, find a gentle or relaxation yoga class/DVD. These also offer stress relief and proper breathing practice.
Stretch Your Calories
We sometimes eat when we aren't hungry, otherwise known as mindless eating. At those times, something usually triggers us to reach for a salty or sweet snack. Examples of triggers are boredom, mild dehydration, TV/computer screen and stress/emotional anxiety. The key is to know what your triggers are and when they tend to trip you up. Once you know that, you can come up with a plan to diffuse the relationship between the trigger and consumption of unnecessary calories to break the cycle.
Common strategies for thwarting mindless eating are taking a walk, drinking water, chewing gum or engaging in conversation. In the case of boredom, you may just need a change of scenery, like taking a short walk through your office building or around the block. Sometimes people think they're hungry when they're really thirsty. So, when you have a hankering for a snack, try drinking a glass of water first. But, if you get tired of plain water all day long, substitute unsweetened herbal tea (hot or cold) or unsweetened seltzer. If you prefer flavored water, add a squeeze of real lemon, lime or orange. Do not choose artificially sweetened beverages, those only heighten the feelings of hunger. If your body automatically associates sitting in front of the TV or computer with snacking, perhaps chewing gum will satisfy the need to chew. For stress-related or emotional eating, you can try the walking solution. But you may find you need a trusted person to confide in or talk it out with. The chat can take any form – in person, on the phone or IM. Alternatively, try writing in a diary or journal.
If you try the strategies and still feel hungry, then you probably are actually hungry. Give yourself permission to have a healthy, properly portioned snack. To delay would set you up to overeat later on.
Breaking the trigger/snack cycle means that you can stretch calories eaten at your last meal or snack longer until the time when you truly need to replenish nutrients and calories in your body. This means a lower total calorie consumption each day you break the cycle.
You have your orders – stretch your body and stretch your mind in order to stretch those calories. This month's Small Steps, you'll find, will nourish you mind, body and soul. And, no, that's not a stretch! 🙂
Previous One Small Step posts: April Exercise and Food Substitutions, May, June, July, August, September
Author's Note: I am an exercise professional, not a nutrition professional. My food recommendations are based on the most current science-backed information provided by nutrition professionals in the fitness industry publications I receive and my personal experience. Mine are general recommendations that are in line with the guidelines published by the US Dept of Health and Human Services for apparently healthy individuals. If you have a health condition that requires dietary restrictions, I recommend consulting a medical doctor or registered dietician before making any changes to your diet. Always consult your physician before beginning any exercise program.


text:
Indonesia sits between the most active seismic region in the world, the Pacific Ring of Fire. About 130 active volcanoes are vulnerable with volcanic eruptions that conduce to earthquake. Perhaps, It sounds eerie due to the unpredictable activity but adventure-seekers are challenged here especially in hiking volcanoes in Indonesia.
Hiking volcanoes in Indonesia is a distinctive experience, especially in Indonesia where you have to bring all the equipment by yourself, no built-shelter up there, off the unbeaten track, and less information, on the other side, finding yourself in a whole package of lush rain forest, smoky crater, and laid-back lake, is something uncomparable.
So, here are my top 10 lists of majestic volcanoes in Indonesia.
1. Mount Papandayan, Garut, West Java (2,665 masl)
Let's start from the closest mountain from the capital city, Jakarta. Mount Papandayan is my lifetime favorite mountain. Two-days hike is more than enough except you want to stay longer. T
he trek is suitable for beginners. Its uniqueness lies in crater where most crater can be seen once we climb to the peak, means the base camp was normally built on the opposite side of the crater, instead in Mount Papandayan, the position of the base camp is right under the crater.
Lot of steam vent producing such an incredible view. Other highlights are the dead forest and the edelweiss.
Read my story: Travel Guide to Mount Papandayan
2. Mount Merbabu, Central Java (3,145 masl)
Often mentioned as the twin of Mount Merapi in Yogyakarta, Mount Merbabu is equally exceptional as Mount Merapi. It is possible to climb two mountains in a row.
If you're lucky, you will see the best sunrise ever with the cumulus cloud forming a comfy bed-alike. There are two peaks next to each other, Syarief Peak and Kenteng Songo Peak.
Read my story: Journey to Mount Berbabu, Best Cloud Ever
3. Mount Prau, Wonosobo, Central Java (2,565 masl)
Actually Mount Prau is not an active volcano but it stands in a large volcano complex, Dieng Plateau. Geothermal activities still happen around and there are some acid lakes exist in Dieng Plateau.
Prau or Prahu means boat derived from the shape. Only a short hike is needed to reach the top, that is why the mountain is very popular for fun-camping.
Nevertheless, the view is absolutely jaw-dropping as the two volcanoes, Mount Sindoro and Mount Sumbing stand valiantly. On the opposite side, the whole area of Dieng Plateu is visible.
Read my story: Mount Prau, Unsinkable Boat
4. Mount Semeru, East Java (3,677 masl)
Crowned as the highest volcano in Central Java, third in Indonesia, Mount Semeru is categorized as a strenuous hike. From the base camp to the last shelter is relative slope and easy, then, after reaching the last point, about 500 meters from the peak, the steep rocky part, you will need extra effort to reach the peak.
The view up there is mind-blowing, wait for the routine small explosion, local called them "wedus gembel", is an activity of small steam explosion. Make sure you spend a night in the lake, Ranu Kumbolo.Read my story:
5. Mount Batur, Bali (1,717 masl)
Aside from beach haven, Bali has several beautiful volcanoes for hiking in Indonesia, one of them is Mount Batur. Mount Batur is acknowledged as the sacred place by local.
It is a small volcano in the center of a huge crater, facing the crescent-shaped Batur Lake. Hiking can be possibly done in a day.
Read my story: 26 Days Trip, Gift of God "Bali"
6. Mount Rinjani, Lombok (3,727 masl)
Mount Rinjani is arguably the most beautiful volcano on earth previewing a surreal view of the rim surrounding the lake. There are two routes to climb Mount Rinjani, from Sembalun and Senaru, both serve a pleasant journey. Sembalun is more a savanna trek and Senaru is the typical rain forest.
The challenging long trek is a pressure but the view up there will pay everything off. Make your way down to Segara Anak lake and relax with a magnificent view of the small active volcano called Mount Baru, don't forget to immerse with nature in the natural hotspring.
Read my story: 26 Days Trip, The Paradiso Lombok: Rinjani and Gili Air
7. Mount Bromo, East Java (2,845 masl)
Mount Bromo is definitely the jewel of East Java and Indonesia. Travelers coming to Indonesia surely will make a stop here to witness the breath-taking view of the mountain range, consists of Mount Bromo, Mount Batok, and the highest one Mount Semeru. Every side of the mountain takes part in leaving impression to whoever comes, the detailed carving and shaping of every inch is like a nature masterpiece.
Read my story: 26 Days Trip, Journey Goes on Bromo, Madakaripura, and Papuma
8. Anak Gunung Krakatau, Sunda Strait (230 masl)
The legend of massive explosion of Mount Krakatau, or known as Krakatoa in 1883 remains written in the world history. After the deadly eruption, a new volcano was born and continuously grow.
Visit some islands around such as Sebuku Island, Umang Island, and Sebesi Island. Hike up to Anak Krakatau and you will see an incredible view of old Rakata.
Read my story: Journey to Anak Gunung Krakatau
9. Mount Sibayak, Berastagi, North Sumatera (2,212 masl)
A small stratovolcano overlooking the town of Berastagi, North Sumatera, Mount Sibayak is a nice quick stopover as a destination for hiking volcanoes in Indonesia for a day trip. The steam vent producing a thunderous sound like a jet passing by. Here you can also enjoy the hot spring.
Read my story: Mount Sibayak and Sinabung
10. Mount Kerinci, Jambi (3,805 masl)
Strike as the highest active volcano in Indonesia, even in South East Asia, Mt. Kerinci stays remarkable with its impressive landscape both on the top and the feet of the mountain.
Exactly located in Jambi, Sumatera Island, Mt.Kerinci vaults 3,805 meters above sea level, home to the endangered species of Sumatran Tiger and Sumatran Rhinoceros.
The feet of mountain is surrounded by a fresh tea plantation, while on the top, the reddish area of rocks also as the spot to view Gunung Tujuh Lake is unforgettable.
Read my story: Mount Kerinci, Roof of Sumatra
If you think the post is useful, kindly share this information by clicking the logo below. You'll be directed to your facebook or twitter.


text: Storing your Business Data: Choosing a Trusted Partner 28 March 2012 StephanieE Accounting, Small Business Tips There has been a trend in the last couple of years to use accounting software as a service or 'in the cloud', which basically means using the software which is hosted on somebody else's server, instead of your own. You access the software and your data via the internet. No matter whether you prefer cloud-based or installed accounting software, you should always be sure that if your data is hosted elsewhere, the company you are working with is a trusted partner. Here's why it is so important. Security When your data is hosted outside of your facility, somebody else is in charge of the security. Therefore, the more familiar you are with these people, the more confident you will feel with your data in their hands. And while pricing is important, probably the most important thing is trust. So choose a trusted partner, rather than an unfamiliar vendor who gives you the lowest price. Control If something goes wrong with the company hosting your data, you will want to be sure your data is safe. Think SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act, U.S. House of Representatives) and PIPA (Protect IP Act, U.S. Senate). These bills are aimed at foreign Web sites that infringe copyrighted material. These two pieces of legislation could greatly affect the use of data on the internet. Who will regulate what? Which site might be shut down as time goes on, in the quest to stop online piracy? No matter what, you will want to be sure your data is controlled by the company you have carefully chosen and trust. Of course, no matter whether your data is stored internally or externally, there are risks. But you can cut down on the risk by choosing an external host who is a trusted partner. Backup Never underestimate the importance of a good backup. When your data is hosted elsewhere, there is somebody else besides you in control of backing up your data, so you should check into how they are handling that. Make sure you are comfortable with the frequency with which they back up your data, and also the procedures they use to do so. The internet is becoming more useful to businesses every single day. And yes, we should all take advantage of the time and cost savings benefits that it can provide. Simply be aware of the risks and dangers of hosting your data with somebody else, be sure you are working with a trusted partner, and most importantly, keep an updated backup of your data. There are circumstances for which you should weigh your options very carefully before moving forward. With whom you host your data, the heart of your business, is one of those times.


text:
Lyme disease may be carried to humans by the deer tick, but this time of year, it's not the deer who are playing host to this tiny insect. It's the Island's white-footed mice.
That's why scientists are so focused on the Vineyard mouse population. Teams from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and another from the Harvard School of Public Health are both trapping mice and drawing blood samples to test them for evidence of Lyme.
Depending on the time of year, upward of 90 per cent of the mice might test positive for Lyme antibodies, according to Sam Telford, a Harvard parasitologist who's been tracking Lyme disease both on the Vineyard and Nantucket for the last decade.
That might help explain why the Vineyard has the second highest incidence rate of Lyme disease in the state, second only to Nantucket. One in seven Island residents reports having had Lyme disease, according to a survey from the state Department of Public Health (DPH).
According to Dr. Dennis Hoak, infectious disease specialist from Edgartown, Island doctors are seeing more patients with Lyme symptoms this year, but there are no hard statistics to back that up.
What the experts do know is that mice could offer a key not only in forecasting Lyme cases but also in preventing transmission of the disease to humans.
With a grant from the federal Centers for Disease Control (CDC), two students from UMass this summer are field-testing a new device, a bait box that lures mice in and then coats them with a tick-killing chemical called fipronil, similar to the product that pet owners use on their dogs and cats.
"When the mouse goes back to its litter mates, it can pass the fipronil on to them as well, so it will kill the ticks on the rest of the mice in that litter," said Laura Blewett, a graduate student in wildlife conservation at UMass.
Ms. Blewett and her partner in the project, Molly Ellwood, have placed bait boxes on 50 residential sites around the Island, most of them in West Tisbury and Chilmark, where tick counts are known to be high.
To test the effectiveness of the bait boxes, the two students will drag for ticks in these areas over the summer and compare the numbers they collect, hoping to see a reduction in the deer tick population.
Similar studies are being conducted along the East Coast as far south as Maryland; if successful, they could lead to the development of a product that would be marketed and offered to the public by exterminators.
But Mr. Telford is a little skeptical about whether the bait-box approach will meet with any more consumer success than the Damminix tubes, which operated on a similar scientific principle. The tubes were also baited to attract mice and contained cotton balls soaked in another tick-killing chemical that would be brought back to the rest of the litter.
Damminix, he said, is no longer widely used not only because of its cost - several hundred dollars a year for one yard - but also because most of the ticks killed in this process are in the earliest larval stage. The real impact on Lyme-carrying ticks wouldn't be seen until the next year, said Mr. Telford.
While scientists lay bait boxes as one possible preventive measure, public health experts are focusing on increasing people's awareness of Lyme disease symptoms and the importance of daily tick checks.
Earlier last month, through another program enabled by the CDC grant, every permanent resident of the Island received a silver-colored pamphlet containing specific instructions on how to detect ticks.
"We want to increase people's confidence that they can perform a successful tick check," said Dr. Nancy Shadick, a rheumatologist and director of the Lyme Disease Center at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston.
The main message in the brochure is that while the deer ticks are indeed tiny, it is still possible to feel them and find them. A "tick-feel" card in the packet allows people to run their finger over raised dots approximating the sizes of both a nymph and adult tick.
The "tick dock card," presented in a pack, is laid out so that people can tape a tick on the paper and compare it to outline images of both deer ticks and dog ticks of both genders and various sizes. People can take the tick to their doctor to help determine what kind of tick bit them.
The big reason for spending time on a daily tick check is that it takes at least 24 hours for the tick to transmit bacteria to a human.
What makes the months of May, June and July the peak season for Lyme disease is that this tick is still in its nymphal stage, small as the point of a pen and hard to detect.
If that nymphal deer tick happens to have taken a "blood meal" from an infected mouse, then it's carrying Lyme bacteria and stands a chance of infecting a human if it stays burrowed in for more than a day.
More often than not, though, people don't think of Lyme disease until they are already suffering from symptoms - a rash that can be bull's-eye or doughnut-shaped coupled with flulike aches and fever. Swollen joints and facial paralysis can also occur.
The trick with getting hard data on Lyme cases is that most physicians now treat the symptoms prophylactically, prescribing antibiotics to treat the symptoms rather than waiting for a blood test to confirm the presence of Lyme antibodies.
The Vineyard is indeed a hotbed for Lyme and other illnesses passed on by the deer tick, including babesiosis and ehrlichiosis.
"The Vineyard is a very curious micro-environment where tick-borne diseases have clustered," said Dr. Hoak. "It's in the animals in the natural reservoir, and when people invade that environment, we're going to pick things up."
Mr. Telford is equally intrigued by the Island abundance of tick-borne illnesses. Last year, he joined the CDC study investigating the outbreak of pneumonic tularemia which began in the summer of 2000.
But he's also committed to finding out why Lyme disease thrives here. He's been trapping mice all over the Island and collecting all kinds of data from gender and age to Lyme antibodies.
Since last winter was so mild, Mr. Telford has observed, "We had mice breeding during the winter time. That means we probably have three times more mice than we usually do."
More mice could mean more ticks carrying the bacteria next year, he said. The bait boxes may have come just in time, but it's up to the scientists to analyze the data. Meanwhile, Dr. Shadick is urging regular tick checks, and Dr. Hoak is ready with the prescriptions for antibiotics.


text:
Phone +1.215.963.5017
Fax +1.215.963.5001
1701 Market St.\\Philadelphia, PA 19103-2921\\United States
Larry L. Turner focuses on counseling and litigation involving trade secret protection, restrictive covenants and various employment matters involving independent contractor issues as well as discrimination, harassment, and wrongful termination claims. Co-leader of the Morgan Lewis Unfair Competition and Trade Secrets Taskforce, he advises clients on trade secret protection strategies and restrictive covenants and has served as lead trial counsel in numerous litigation actions across the country to enforce and challenge noncompete, nondisclosure, and nonsolicitation agreements as well as trade secret and various types of employment matters. Larry counsels employers on corporate diversity initiatives, including best practices and litigation avoidance.
Larry tries cases in US state and federal courts involving unfair competition claims; claims under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, state antidiscrimination laws, and the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA); as well as commercial and catastrophic personal injuries cases. He works extensively with pharmaceutical and medical device companies, as well as companies in the financial services industries.
A frequent speaker, his topics include enforcing and challenging noncompete covenants, independent contractor issues, and avoiding risks associated with diversity programs. Larry also serves as an adjunct professor at Villanova Law School for the Fall 2019 semester, lecturing on trade secrets law.
Recognized, Litigation – Labor and Employment, Philadelphia, The Best Lawyers in America (2020)
Member, Practice Group of the Year, Employment, Law360 (2017, 2019)
Recommended, Labor and Employment - Workplace and Employment Counseling, The Legal 500 US (2017, 2018)
Philadelphia Business Journal Minority Business Leader Award (2016)
Recognized, Employment Litigation, Pennsylvania Super Lawyers (2007–2009, 2014–2015, 2019)
National Diversity Council's Leadership Excellence in the Law Award (2014 and 2015)
Award of Excellence, 2013 APEX Awards for Publication Excellence Association of Corporate Counsel article "When the Non-Compete is Incomplete: Avoiding Trade Secret Litigation"
2011 Pennsylvania Multicultural Award, National Diversity Council
Distinguished Speaker Award, Litigation Counsel of America (2008 and 2010)
2010 BNA Insights Award for article titled "Independent Contractor Relationships and the Perils of Misclassification: What all Employers Should Know"
Adjunct Professor, Trade Secrets, Villanova Law School (Fall 2019)
Member, University of Pennsylvania Dental Medicine Board of Overseers
Member, The William Penn Charter School Board of Overseers
Board Member, Williamson College of the Trades
Member, American Bar Association
Member, American Bar Association Employment Rights and Responsibilities – Employer/Management Committee of the Section of Labor and Employment Law
Member, National Bar Association
Member, Philadelphia Bar Association
Member, Committee on Federal Labor Standards Legislation
Fellow, Litigation Counsel of America
10/27/2016 - 2016 Managing the Global Workforce Webinar Series – Global Developments Impacting Workplace Diversity and Inclusion
9/21/2016 - Corporate Counsel Women of Color's 12th Annual Career Strategies Conference
10/18/2015 - 2015 Association of Corporate Counsel Annual Meeting
6/17/2015 - 2015 MMI Legal & Compliance Seminar
7/24/2014 - MCCA Creating Pathways to Diversity Conference
5/29/2014 - Managing the Global Workforce Webinar Series 2014 - Navigating Global Diversity Trends and Requirements
10/16/2013 - Diversity and Inclusion Leadership Management Seminar
7/11/2013 - 2013 Labor and Employment Summer Webinar Series: Noncompete Update
5/2/2013 - The Conference Board Diversity, Inclusion, Leadership & Management Seminars: Forecasting & Measuring Diverse Human Capital Needs to Execute Business Strategy
4/4/2012 - The Conference Board's Diversity & Inclusion Management Seminar
4/27/2011 - 2011 NELC Conference
11/23/2016 - How To Keep Trade Secrets Safe, Law360
11/2/2016 - Litigation Department of the Year – Working Together: Morgan Lewis Relies on Global Team, The Legal Intelligencer
7/22/2016 - Morgan Lewis Partner Receives Philadelphia Business Journal Minority Business Leader Award
February 2018 - We are Morgan Lewis: Larry Turner
11/18/2016 - The Defend Trade Secrets Act and Post-Employment Restrictive Covenants, Bloomberg BNA
October 2015 - Reducing Your Company's Exposure to Trade Secret Litigation when Key Employees Come and Go
8/10/2015 - Dodd-Frank and Diversity
June 2015 - State Whistleblower Laws: Beyond Federal Protections, Practical Law
9/30/2014 - Panelist, Advancing Diversity in the Workplace – Challenges & Risks, presented at the Wharton Financial Services Group Special Financial Employee Relations Roundtable Session, New York
6/3/2014 - Professionalism for the New Lawyer, presented for the ABA's Judicial Intern Opportunity Program
5/29/2014 - Managing the Global Workforce Webinar Series 2014 – Navigating Global Diversity Trends and Requirements
5/29/2014 - Moderator, Building Employee Resource Groups into Your Diversity Strategy, presented for the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce Human Resources Roundtable
May 2014 - Global Diversity — One Program Won't Fit All, HR Magazine
4/17/2014 - Building an Effective Diversity Strategy, presented for NAAAHR NJ's "In the Know" Webinar Series
September 2013 - Significance and Strategies for Employers, prepared by Morgan Lewis for the Minority Corporate Counsel Association (read the White Paper)
4/16/2013 - Managing Risks Surrounding Diversity Issues, The Legal Intelligencer
3/16/2013 - State Employment Law Developments Update, presented at the 2013 Advanced Employment Law and Litigation ALI CLE Program, Washington, DC
November 2012 - When the Non-compete is Incomplete: Avoiding Trade Secret Litigation, ACC Docket
February 2012 - Contributor to the 2012 Mid-Winter Treatise Supplement: The Fair Labor Standards Act for the ABA Section of Labor & Employment Law Fair Labor Standards Act Subcommittee
8/1/2011 - A Practical Approach to Diversity Programs, Human Resources Executive Online
Spring 2011 - Has the Class Action Fairness Act Met Expectations for Wage and Hour Employment Litigation?, ABA's Journal of Labor and Employment Law
5/6/2011 - Can Opening Statements Be Persuasive Without Being Argumentative?, presented at the 2010 Spring Conference and Induction of Fellows of the Litigation Counsel of America (LCA)
4/27/2011 - Whistleblower Protections in the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, presented at the 2011 National Employment Law Council Annual Conference, New Orleans, Louisiana
March 2011 - 2011 Mid-Winter Treatise Supplement: The Fair Labor Standard Act, American Bar Association
July 2010 - Independent Contractor Relationships and the Perils of Misclassification: What All Employees Should Know, BNA's MultiState Tax Report
2/3/2010 - Noncompete Jurisprudence During The Recession, Law360


text:
The refurbished centrally heated three-storied Villa including a closed garage, separate 4 bed suite on the ground floor, living-room with fireplace and air-condition, LCD TV, master bedroom, large bathroom with washing machine, corridor closets and a spacious kitchen with two-door refrigerator and dish-washer on the ground floor, plus two bedrooms and bathroom on the first floor. It is offered for rent during the summer months or for sale. The Villa can accommodate up to 10 people comfortably.
The Villa can be rented in it's entirety or separately. The main house and 1st floor, accommodates six persons while the ground floor with its independent suite, accommodates four persons.
For more info, rates and availability please do not hesitate to contact us:


text:
The country's foreign trade volume reached $353.9 billion between January and November this year, marking a 15 percent annual increase, according to provisional data produced by TurkStat and the Ministry of Customs and Trade.
Turkish imports climbed 16.9 percent to $210.7 billion, amounting to a foreign trade deficit of $67.5 billion over the same period.
TurkStat said Germany was Turkey's top export market, at $13.8 billion, or a 9.7 percent share of total exports, while $67.4 billion worth of Turkish exports were delivered to EU28 countries from January to November this year.
In the same period, Turkey imported the most from China ($21.2 billion), Germany ($19.1 billion) and Russia ($17.6 billion).
Manufacturing dominates exports
The manufacturing industry accounted for the biggest share of total exports, at almost 94 percent, followed by agriculture and forestry (3.2 percent), and mining and quarrying (2.2 percent).
The share of high technology products in manufacturing industry exports was 3.8 percent while the exports shares of medium-high and low technology products were 34.4 and 33.3 percent, respectively.
Regarding imports, intermediate goods represented the lion's share with 73.7 percent, reaching $155.2 billion, followed by capital goods (13.9 percent, $29.2 billion) and consumption goods (12.2 percent, $25.7 billion).
TurkStat data revealed that the manufacturing industry had the largest share in Turkey's imports (81.5 percent, $171.8 billion), of which $70.9 billion were medium-high tech imports, followed by medium-low tech ($55.7 billion) and high tech ($25.7 billion).
Last month, Turkey's exports rose 11.2 percent year-on-year to reach $14.2 billion, while imports climbed to $20.5 billion -- a 21.3 percent hike .
"In November 2017 foreign trade deficit was $6.32 billion with a 52.4% increase compared with November 2016," TurkStat said.
The percentage of imports covered by exports was 69.2, falling from 75.5 percent in the same month of 2016.
Anadolu Agency


text:
Contact Us
Reach out to us
We love to listen and we are eagerly waiting to speak with you regarding your project. Get in touch with us if you have any queries and we will get back to you as soon as possible.
Head Quarters
Nexus House, 32 Bath Road, Stonehouse, Gloucestershire, GL10 2JA
+44 (0) 1453 827 899


text:
It's that time of year, when families and friends gather around and throw some hamburgers and hot dogs on the barbeque. Don't get stuck in that boring routine! We've got some new ideas for foods you can grill that will make your mouth water.
Plus, enter the #SheSpeaks 2017 #GrillingGiveaway to be one of two winners to receive a 10-piece set of Rubbermaid BRILLIANCE and a $50 Visa gift card!
We've all grilled vegetables like corn, zucchini and mushrooms. But why not shake it up? Try putting sweet potatoes or cauliflower on the grill. Just slice them up and put on olive oil, salt and pepper. Sear your veggies for a few minutes on each side with high heat and then put on indirect heat until you can easily pierce it with a fork. Much better than turning on the stove to roast in these hot summer months.
Want a salad? No problem. Take one heart of romaine and cut into three sections (keeping the stem intact so it doesn't fall apart on the grill). Throw the pieces on a greased grill until it has some browned edges. Then just chill it, chop it, and toss with your favorite toppings. For a Caesar salad, we like Marzetti Supreme Ceasar dressing with Olive Garden croutons and shaved parmesan. You can really taste the smoke from the grill - it gives the salad extra texture and punch.
Why keep fruit relegated to a fruit salad bowl? Jazz it up by throwing it on the grill. Cut watermelon into thick slices and lay it on the grill for just a few minutes each side. You can let it sit out to drain the water first if you want. Eat warm or put it in the fridge to cool it down. It's not only beautiful with the grill lines, but the sweetness becomes even stronger.
Apples are not a summer fruit, but putting them on the grill may change that. Slice an apple up with either an apple corer or a knife and lay it on a lightly greased grill. The pieces get soft, but the flavor is reminiscent of apple pie, without all the sugar. You can even throw a little cinnamon on top for extra taste.
We've all eaten grilled cheese, but have you grilled your grilled cheese? Make your sandwich however you like it and then throw it on the BBQ. It gets a bit more crispy and a lot more smoky. It kicks a kid lunch up to a grown-up meal.
Grilled pizza has been around for a while, though it is still worth making. Buy pre-made pizza dough and roll it out. If you're putting the dough right on the grill, make sure to spread a good amount of olive oil on it. Let it sit for a few minutes and then flip it, top it & eat it.
Making chicken and ribs? Add a fresh watermelon and cucumber salad to top it off. Sprinkle a little chili powder on your watermelon and cucumber slices and then grill them a few minutes on each side. Once those are done and cut into chunks, add creme fraiche, jalapeno, cilantro, lime juice, salt and pepper. We like to store the salad in Rubbermaid BRILLIANCE storage containers in the fridge while the meat cooks.
We've been loving Rubbermaid BRILLIANCE containers when we're grilling - they are perfect for meal prep and storing leftovers. They are crystal clear, so you always know what's inside. Plus, we love that they are leak-proof guaranteed, so our kitchens stay clean!
Don't forget dessert! Puting cooked angel food or sponge cake slices onto the grill is a great way to heat them up before serving. Or make a summery peaches and cream by slicing fresh peaches in half and them topping them with brown sugar before grilling them When the peaches are warm and soft, take them off and serve them with a scoop of ice cream. Add agave and basil for an extra twist.
What's your favorite food to grill? Tell us for the chance to win one of two Rubbermaid BRILLIANCE 10-piece sets, plus a $50 Visa gift card!
There are three ways to enter:
- Comment below and tell us your favorite food to grill.
- Tweet about the giveaway! Click HERE to Tweet: "Entering the #SheSpeaks #GrillingGiveaway- u could win @Rubbermaid BRILLIANCE & Visa gc! bit.ly/2sXILU4 #StoredBrilliantly #ad"
- BONUS (worth 5 entries!): Post on Instagram: Take a photo showing something you grill. Tag #GrillingGiveaway, #SheSpeaks and #entry
Don't forget to enter our Tyson Wonder Woman giveaway to win a Sam's Club gift card. Click here for all the info!
*Two lucky commenters, Tweeters or Instagrammers will be chosen at random to a 10-piece Rubbermaid BRILLIANCE set and a $50 Visa gift card. Giveaway is open through July 16th, 2017 to U.S. residents at least 18 years of age. Entrants must be a member of SheSpeaks. If you are not a member, click here to join. Winner will be notified by email.
This is a sponsored post for Rubbermaid.
Update: Thanks to all who entered! Congrats to the winners, SheSpeaks members Momof3fabkidz and jessreynolds85!


text:
Following releases
Hello there..
is there a way to follow the releases? Some rss feed or something similar?
I'm trying to keep the gentoo ebuild up to date until a maintainer will be found. Some feed would help alot.
bb Lia
Question information
- Language:
- English Edit question
- Status:
- Solved
- For:
- Scribes Edit question
- Assignee:
- No assignee Edit question
- Solved by:
- Mystilleef
- Solved:
- 2011-01-16
- Last query:
- 2011-01-16
- Last reply:
- 2011-01-16
|Mystilleef (mystilleef) said :
You can subscribe to the Scribes launchpad announcement which I intend to start using.
You can also subscribe to my blog or tweets, if you use twitter.
You can also subscribe to branch updates of the development build.
The links are provided below.
Launchpad Announcements: http://
Branch Updates: https:/
Blog: http://
Twitter: http://
|cynapsia (cynapsia) said :
Hmm.. then I'm going to subscribe to the launchpad announcement. I had a look at the other stuff already but they weren't that helpful.
bb Lia
Oh by the way.. you've forgot to announce the most recent version on your blog ^^
|Mystilleef (mystilleef) said :
Yeah, I forgot. Or rather, I was lazy. I'll try to keep my blog updated with new releases.


text:
'God was never about making me spiffy': How one pastor uses faith for self-improvement
Change is a difficult concept for people to grasp. But Pastor Nadia Bolz-Weber, the founder of House for All Sinners and Saints, wants you to know why it's meant to be that way.
After previously talking to MAKERS about the pressure placed on people to "have it all," the Colorado-based preacher is tackling the idea of newness and why it's so chaotic. In her own words, she goes through the many things that can bring about newness — from reconciling with family to admitting a fault — concluding that it's often an opportunity for a fresh start. And even though it's new, she wants to assure people that it doesn't always look or feel great.
"God simply keeps reaching down into the dirt of humanity and resurrecting us from the graves we dig ourselves," Bolz-Weber says while referencing the unimpressive manner in which Jesus himself must have looked when he was resurrected. "God was never about making me spiffy; God was about making me new."
Watch the video above to see how the New York Times best-selling author explains the process of self-improvement as a means of digging yourself out of the dirt, which often makes it messy.
Read more from Yahoo Lifestyle:
• Sadie Robertson breaks down the connection between bold red lipstick and her faith
• Former NFL cheerleader says she was mocked for Christian faith and saving herself for marriage
• Lean Cuisine campaign is being dragged for its condescending message: 'This is not empowering'
Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter for nonstop inspiration delivered fresh to your feed, every day.


text:
Witness the epitome of dangerous female seductiveness,
with her iconic Dance of the Seven Veils.
Immortalised by Oscar Wilde, and made memorable in Richard Strauss's Opera.
"No longer was she merely the dancing-girl who extorts a cry of lust and concupiscence from an old man by the lascivious contortions of her body;
who breaks the will, masters the mind of a King by the spectacle of her quivering bosoms, heaving belly and tossing thighs;
she was now revealed in a sense as the symbolic incarnation of world-old Vice,
the goddess of immortal Hysteria,
the Curse of Beauty supreme above all other beauties by the cataleptic spasm that stirs her flesh and steels her muscles,
– a monstrous Beast of the Apocalypse, indifferent, irresponsible, insensible, poisoning"
– Huysmans À rebours – Toni Bentley (2002) Sisters of Salome: 24
Kerryx is a smouldering and sultry bombshell waiting to be uncovered (literally!).
Join Kerryx as she takes you on a journey through the darker side of seduction.
With inspirations ranging from belly dance through to both classic and neo burlesque, she is known for her breath-taking performances with a touch of gothic enchantment.
Harzest Mag describes the event as "a room full of friendly people, an appreciation for art, beautiful models, unreal costumes and a truck load of fun times"
DJ Knave Knixx spins the tunes to keep things funky throughout the evening and of course, The Toff has one of Melbourne best stocked bars to keep your creative spirits well lubricated!
What: Dr Sketchy's at The Toff presents Salome, The Red Goddess
When: Sunday 27th November 4.30-6.30pm
Doors open 4.00pm
Where: The Toff in Town
Curtain House 2/252 Swanston St Melbourne
Bookings: $15 at the door or pre book your seat (recommended) from Moshtix phone 1300 GET TIX (438 849) online www.moshtix.com.au or Moshtix outlets including Polyester (Fitzroy & City)


text:
Changes in the Gift Shop
Hey everybody!
Yes, it's another blog post. We're hoping to keep them coming every week or two if possible. With things getting busier as the holidays approach, it may be a challenge, but keep checking our Facebook page as well as the website for more updates.
The gift shop is progressing swimmingly, just in time for the coming fall months. With Halloween being the first holiday on the way, we have the front of the store decorated with new items that will be sure to get you in the spirit and spookify* your home.
If you're a pumpkin fanatic (which I totally understand), then we have several options that are perfect for you. Below are some of our painted pumpkins…
… and then there are these nifty ceramic pumpkins. Whether painted or ceramic, they're just the thing to put on a mantle or the coffee table this time of year.
If you prefer a more skeletal Halloween, we have these neat metallic skulls. They're quite weighty, and the smaller ones also function as a bottle opener, which is pretty sweet.
This is only one of three varieties of skeleton cloches we got in for the holidays.
Maybe you have a thing for quirky Halloween candles? Well, meet these guys:
We have you covered on witches too.
Of course, pumpkins, skeletons, and witches aren't the only things you'll find if you venture into our gift shop this time of year. Part of what's great about coming into the store is being able to see how everything is set up and arranged, which we hope will give you inspiration for your own home decor. And, of course, we're always happy to talk with you and give advice on your creative projects.
Thanks for checking out our blog! If you don't already follow us on Facebook, it's an easy way to stay up to date with what we have going on. We hope to see you soon!
PS: In case you're concerned about the upcoming holiday food and desserts, just remember:
*No, spookify isn't actually a word. Oh well.
The Past Week at Stem Gallery
With last weekend having kept us busy with two weddings, we're glad for Labor Day this Monday. One of the weddings let us showcase our new silk trees, which are fashioned to look similar to cherry blossom trees. Neat, right? Below, you can see the two twelve-foot-tall trees that we used, first in the church, then at the Lied Center.
In addition to the twelve-footers, we also utilized the six-foot trees for decorating the tables.
These gorgeous trees are available to rent for weddings or parties, and we'll be ordering even more of them. They're sure to make your special day one to remember forever.
Aside from the weddings, we still have our Summer Sale going on where you can pick up a wide variety of items for 50% off. Candles, bags, and other great gift items, all marked down.
And of course, my favorite buddies are waiting for someone to take them home.
Though it's still summer until September 21st, we're already getting prepped for autumn, so all of our fall planters are officially in now! We have garden mums and mixed fall planters, some of which actually have little peppers in them. Come take a look!
As autumn approaches, so does Halloween, and Conrad has been diligently working on the new spooky displays. We'll have pictures and another blog post coming soon!
Spring has Sprung
Conrad and I would like to thank all of you that attended our open house this past week. We hope that you found something that will enrich your home, make your hosting easier, your Easter more festive or that you found that special gift for that special someone.
Remember that our Kringle candles are 40% off for the whole month of March. These would be the perfect hostess gift for that summer hostess.
Have you checked out our large glass jewelry case? We are so excited to be the only shop in Lincoln to carry UNOde50 jewelry.
UNOde50 is a company from Spain founded in the late 1990's by a group of jewelry designers. The creation of each piece is unique in the world of jewelry making today. All of their work is done in their workshops in Madrid, Spain. I hope that you love it as much as Conrad and I do.
For the past 20 some years Conrad and I along with 4 other friends have celebrated St. Patrick's day at Melissa Spangler's home. I have to admit that it took me a couple of years to finally try corned beef and cabbage and up to that time Melissa always made me something special. BUT once I decided to try the corned beef it was all over. It is a meal that we all look forward to every March and next Saturday is the day and I can't wait. Three years ago she added Irish soda bread and we all went crazy especially when she put the honey on the table. I hope you love it as much as we do.
Heat oven to 450 degrees. Make sure oven is at 450 before you start.
4 cups……..Unbleached or all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon……Baking soda
1/2 teaspoon……Salt
2 C……..Buttermilk.
Sift flour, baking soda and salt into a large bowl and mix. Make a well in the center of the flour and pour buttermilk in the center. Using your hands only, bring the flour in from the edges and mix with the buttermilk, until all the ingredients come together into a dough.
It is impossible to be exact about the amount of buttermilk needed, it will depend on the nature of the flour. Go by the look and feel of the dough, which should not be sticky but should come together easily into a soft, slightly floppy dough.
If it is too dry and crumbly add a little more buttermilk: if it becomes sticky add more flour. I always turn the dough out on a floured counter work it quickly, shape it into rolls or loaves and put on cookie sheet and into the oven. Don't wait too long as the buttermilk reacts with the soda the instant the ingredients meet. Bake for 45 minutes for loaves or until the loaves sound hollow when thump it on the bottom, 20 minutes for rolls or until golden brown.
This recipe doubles and triples beautifully, don't let it scare you once you make it you will love it and will find that you can mix it together in 20 minutes. I make it when I want a bread at the meal but don't have time to make a yeast dough, so far my guests can't tell the difference. I hope you enjoy it as much as we do and don't forget the honey. The Luck of the Irish to you and yours ………….Melissa
Spring Open House 2016
I'm so excited, Spring has arrived at Stem Gallery. And to celebrate Spring, March 3rd thru the 5th we will be having our annual open house featuring:
20% off 1 gift shop item. Brighten your home with fresh spring decor or create an amazing Easter tablescape with our help.
We will be holding a drawing for a $100.00 gift certificate. I would even like to win that (but Conrad said I was not allowed to enter).
Our feature item for the month of March is our Kringle candle line with a whopping 40% off list price and NO limit on how many candles you can buy. My personal favorites are Pink Grapefruit and Peony. Don't miss out I promise you won't be disappointed.
We are looking forward to seeing you walk in the door at the open house. Hours for March 3rd thru 4th 8:30 to 5:30, March 5th 8:30 to 4:00.
Follow us on facebook
Come ON Spring
This weather is just something else!!!!!! Like you, this 60 degree weather has made me ready for spring, so it's a good thing that Conrad and I are back from market with plenty of items for you to look forward to decorate with for Easter, with entertaining, use in your landscape, wedding gifts or just the special something for that special person in your life.
Conrad has been working like a mad man getting the gift shop ready for spring so we decided to try something new this season. Every other week we will be running specials on our gift items. February 29th will be the start of a new sale so follow our facebook page so you don't miss out.
If you haven't noticed, we're dabbling in the furniture business and feel that we have a nice selection especially for those that are beginner home buyers. I feel that we've gone the extra mile to be able to offer you a nice selection with great price points. The chairs we are featuring will meet anyone's taste with the bonus of a great price.
It took me awhile, but I finally talked our good friend Melissa Spangler (who owned Molan Bakery and Delicatessen) into sharing some of her recipes with you. Don't think she'll cough up the Almond Chicken salad recipe yet, that will be in the cookbook that I've been hounding her to finish. I've asked her to share some of her favorite recipes Including Molan's and she said she would. SO STAY TUNED.


text:
The 2014 edition of Taste of London is returning to Regent's Park in less than two months, and so are we. If you love food, or just fancy a fun day in the park this event will not disappoint. This will be our second year at this fabulous foodie festival, and we plan on coming back with a BANG!
We will be selling our tried and tested classics, alongside some new summer recipes. All of which are absolutely delicious and 100% Gluten Free!
What's On?
1. New Flavours- We are planning on bringing along some great new flavours including our Banana Macaron and Lime Macaron.
2. Gift Tickets- Planning on coming to Taste of London this year? Why not purchase a box of macarons with your event ticket? Buy Taste of London Gift Tickets.
3. Competition- Details coming soon for a fun competition which involves munching some macarons.
Blog Posts from Last Year
News for Taste of London 2014
Happy Easter
On behalf of the entire Ganache Macaron Team, I would like to wish everyone a very happy Easter. We are hoping for a great Easter holiday filled with sunshine, smiles, family, friends and gorgeous food. Why not add some macarons to your Easter feast this year? There is still time to order our Spring and Easter macarons in a gift box of twenty-five macarons. Our Easter macaron gift box is available to purchase on our shop page. We can also supply our Spring flavours as loose macarons or in macaron towers.
We love Spring and Easter. The pretty pastel colours, fresh fruit coming into season and finding cute little bunnies everywhere, makes this one of our favourite times of the year. View more of our Easter and Spring Photographs taken by Matthew Butterfield. You can also read more about our tasty Easter treats in our Easter Newsletter.
Day to day musings from the team at Ganache Macaron, on macarons, events, London life and what's baking our kitchen!
March 2016


text:
Posted by ESC on June 25, 2001
In Reply to: I am my own "crown of thorns" posted by Sherri on June 25, 2001
: I use this phrase occasionally. Someone out there, please tell me what this means to you. Thanks, sls
"Crown of thorns" refers to Christ's crowning prior to the crucifiction


text: Sometimes you have to improvise when you are trying to photograph nature close by but don't have access to much of it because you don't have a garden. I happened to have my camera on hand when we went out to dinner with close friends one evening this summer, and got lucky when a bee visited some flowers close to the outside table where we were sitting. I'm allergic to bees and wasps but this one was so busy with the flowers and setting the zoom onto maximum allowed me to get close without getting too close. I've always struggled with photographs of flowers so these pics are a big step forward in my learning process and I'm delighted with the results. To bee or not to bee… that is not the question on this occasion!


text:
I had the pleasure of sharing SendFudge.com's Raspberry Cheesecake fudge with my family, and it was unanimous...
The fudge was amazing! (And rich) The flavor was wonderful, and a little goes a long way.
The fudge comes in a really nice gift-quality box that is sealed, so it stays fresh. When it arrived on my doorstep, I couldn't wait to... well, open it and dive in, but I showed self-control and waited for the boys to join me so they could try it too.
When I opened up the package, the first thing I noticed was the nice smell coming from the box.
I don't know who liked it better, me or the boys. Let me just say it was probably the best fudge I've ever had (hard to beat Fair Fudge, but this does), especially as it is Raspberry Cheesecake! And a little goes a long way. This doesn't look like a huge amount of fudge, but it is so rich and creamy that I think it lasted over 3 days out on the counter... and we were eating it all three days!!
This is now a new favorite "treat" and I hope to make it over to their brick and mortar store here in Washington. Regardless of whether you are here in Washington and can go to their store, or you are elsewhere and can order online, this fudge is GREAT and would be a nice treat for yourself, or a fun gift to surprise someone special. (Weddings, graduations, order a few flavors to have out on a pretty plate for a party, indulge for yourself!)
I love to support local authors and businesses, so I was especially excited that Andrew of SendFudge.com agreed to take some time from his busy schedule to do an interview with me.
Before I get much farther, I'd like to thank Andrew for taking the time to do an interview with me - thanks Andrew!!
1. After making over 5500 pounds of fudge, have you found one flavor you like better than the rest?
It's really tough to pick just one that I like better than the rest. The best I can do is pick a few favorites, and even that tends to change. The raspberry, mint, and cookie dough have been my top 3 for awhile, but the maple nut and peanut butter are high on my list too.
2. With flavors like Raspberry Cheesecake and Orange Creme and your new Dark Chocolate Chili Mango, are there any fun stories as to how flavors were developed?
Most of the recipes have been around far longer than I have, so I don't know all the stories behind them. The Chili Mango was one of my first real experiments, so that was fun to figure out. (There's actually a blog post about it on the site). Sometimes I get inspired by customer suggestions or other candies we have in the store.
The customer response to certain flavors can be a little surprising sometimes. The Orange Creme especially tends to be one that people think is too weird, but once they try a sample they love it.
3. Have you ever received any crazy fudge flavor requests?
Definitely. I've been trying to figure out how to make a good maple bacon fudge. Some suggestions are just too crazy, though; I guarantee I won't be making pickle or barbecue sauce fudge anytime soon.
4. What is your favorite part of making fudge?
It's cool to take plain chocolate or vanilla fudge and turn it into dozens of flavors with a few extra ingredients. It's also fun to see customers react so positively to what I've made.
5. What do you think makes your fudge the best in the world (other than your time tested 50+ year old recipe)?
Ego, mostly. Seriously though, I've tried lots of different fudges and still haven't found anyone selling one I like as well as ours. Homemade fudge ranks pretty high, but no one's grandma makes all the flavors we do.
6. What is your most-requested fudge flavor?
Mint chocolate swirl and sea salt caramel are both really popular and seem to sell out as quickly as I can make them. I'm always amazed by how many people prefer plain chocolate, but I guess it's a classic for a reason.
7. What is the most challenging part of making fudge?
There isn't a lot of time to work with the fudge before it starts to set, so I've got to get it done fast. Other than that it really isn't too difficult, although I've certainly had plenty of practice.
8. What was the biggest challenge of starting SendFudge.com?
Everyone knows they can send flowers as a gift, but the idea of sending fudge is still pretty new. Our challenge in the beginning is to help customers learn that instead of an expensive bouquet of flowers that will die in a few days, they can give a delicious box of handmade fudge. We also put a lot of effort into perfecting the product quality and overall customer experience so that every single box makes someone's day.
Raspberry Cheesecake Fudge
1/2 pound ~ $14.99 with Free Shipping to lower 48 states
Edition Reviewed: 1/2 pound of Raspberry Cheesecake Fudge - Review sample received courtesy of SendFudge.com, Thank you for sending me a sample to review!
I hope you will check out SendFudge.com and try out some of their wonderful fudges, and while you are there, check out some of the blog posts by Andrew - he's got a great sense of humor and shares his love of making fudge. :)


text:
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Columnist talks about the idea of Medicare rationing in his own family
Jeffrey Weiss has a "Politics Daily" column "Health Care Rationing and my 91-year-old Dad", in which he see-saws his way through all the questions of medical and personal ethics in deciding how far to go with treatments in repeated hospitalizations for his father, with multiple medical issues.
There's no conclusion, but rather a recognition that algorithms need flexibility, and decisions probably depend on support of family members.
We have a culture that says it has absolute respect for human life in all cases. It works out one way in the abortion debate (the rights of the mother, too), but at end of life the issues play out in terms of the sacrifices from others required to preserve life. And the sacrifices may themselves be unsustainable, particularly in an individualistic (rather than heavily socialized) society.
We can easily imagine all the arguments
It seems that the health care debate hasn't really separated out the issues for eldercare, which exist in a system that is already mostly single payer and heavily into "socialized medicine" even though Medicare patients still get to keep their own doctors (sometimes, too many doctors).
Posted by Bill Boushka at 5:25 PM 1 comment:
Labels: Medicare and supplements
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Legitimate caregiver concerns mean additional tests, additional costs for Medicare; a problem hard to quantify: "agendas with good intentions"
Caregivers may feel pressured to visit more specialists and ask for more tests for loved ones, especially parents, in order to avoid any risk that adult services departments in some states could think they were negligent. That possibility could increase the cost of end-of-life care and increase expenses by Medicare, particularly in a medical environment where formal referrals (often required by private managed care programs of the past, however unpopular with employees) are often not required. 911 calls and emergency service visits, including Medicare expense, could also increase for that reason. But it seems as though there is little formal study of this problem.
However, the Wall Street Journal today has a long story by Ron Winslow and Jacob Goldstein "Cutting repeat hospital trips: simple idea, hard to pull off," about an initiate at Berkshire Medical Center in western Massachusetts to reduce readmissions, especially of elderly patients with chronic heart, kidney and diabetes problems. The wsj url link is here. The "nursing gestapo" visited homes for dietary and safety problems, telling adult daughters to remove tempting but unhealthful foods from the refrigerator. I wonder, who do they think they are?
The eldercare "crisis" can easily tempt intervention by those with agendas, it seems.
Liz Crenshaw, of NBC Washington, talked loosely today (July 28) about preparing for caring for aging parents as part of financial planning as if it were simple!
Attribution link for Berkshires picture. I hiked in the area on a winter trip while in college in January 1965.
Posted by Bill Boushka at 2:49 PM No comments:
Labels: caregivers, preventive care
Monday, July 27, 2009
Memory loss diagnosis on older adults may have legal importance for caregivers
Some anecdotal conversations have uncovered the notion that family caregivers must be very careful about parents (or anyone) with a diagnosis of "memory loss" (or "short term memory loss") anywhere in the medical records. Some people have told me that reckless endangerment laws in some states could make caregivers liable to prosecution for leaving people with mentally documented memory incapacity alone, even for very short periods. The concept is thought to be similar to leaving a child under a certain age home alone or even alone in a car, which has led to prosecutions in some states after some tragedies (as with parents who forgot that the child was in the car).
Memory loss (at any level, not just Alzheimer's as usually defined) is considered a very serious incapacity in disability law in some states (especially if it requires heavily promoted medications), and may not be flexible enough to vary that it varies widely from patient to patient. Some states may have judicial or administrative procedures to establish guardianship or conservatorship, and sill require caregivers without such powers to act as if they had them, a situation that could lead to future litigation.
Of course, the caregiver may not have taken on the responsibility in such a legally clear cut way that occurs when some "chooses" to have or adopt children. Adult social services often interpret laws according to circumstances or political climate, and even if in one state, different counties might implement laws differently. The recent health care public debate may be making the issue more sensitive, but Congress has not really taken on the sustainability problems of our eldercare future.
The availability of home health may become an issue, as may the willingness of the adult to move into assisted living or the ability to afford it (given the loss of home).
While adult children want to help their parents, the speed with which demographics and medical practice has led to an increase in disabled parents with fewer adult children to care for them can produce a public health and social crisis that Congress seems to have overlooked. The president has not yet addressed this aspect of the crisis directly, although I think he probably will soon. Adult children today need to plan for filial responsibility, both financially and in terms of personal attention, well in advance of need, and this particularly applies to singles and the childless (and often the LGBT population).
Memory loss, as the medical world establishes it, may even be partially a cultural problem. Today's "Smallville" and markedly individualistic world requires mental multi-tasking and heavy use of abstraction that some seniors from past generations were never trained or expected to do; in the past there were more stable and numerous social connections within the extended family (expected from those who did not marry on their own) to maintain a safe and reasonable environment for some elderly, who also did not live as long with some kinds of problems. Some memory loss may actually result from some misused medications; remember that under Medicare physicians still do not have automatic record keeping for cross-checking for drug interactions among different providers. Today's caregivers deserve better.
Here is a Doctor's Guide story on the reported effectivness of Aricept in some people. The title is "AAGP: Alzheimer's Drug Aricept (Donepezil) May Delay Need For Nursing Home Placements."
Posted by Bill Boushka at 6:14 PM No comments:
Friday, July 24, 2009
Shingles vaccine recommended for retirees
The Centers for Disease Control does recommend a relatively new vaccine for Shingles for people over 60, and that would include retirees. The commercial name for the Zostavax.
I learned about the vaccine at my first Medicare Physical.
Medically, what happens is that once someone has had chicken pox, the herpes zoster virus goes into hiding in some deep spinal nerve ganglia, and can get reactivated late in life after a person's immune function declines. The vaccine boosts immunity to reactivation.
People with HIV and T-helper counts below 200 should not get the vaccine.
The CDC link is here.
I tried the CVS Minute Clinic online and got an answer to the effect that CVS does not yet carry the vaccine, but was considering it. I found that a local "compounding" pharmacy, Preston CARE in Arlington VA, would give the vaccine for $68 including $38 copay (on top of AARP Part D) and $30 admin fee.
The vaccination is subcutaneous rather than inter-muscular.
Update: Aug. 2
Safeway stores (at least some) now have signs that they offer the shingles vaccine.
Posted by Bill Boushka at 7:10 AM No comments:
Labels: Medicare and supplements, vaccinations
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Law firm explains how lower mortality and longevity contribute to disability
The "Senior Living" section of the northern Virginia "Your Health" magazine has an article "The Overall Effects of Disability" on p 36, Aug. 2009, by Scott B. Elkind, Esq., of Elkind & Shea, the Disability Benefits Law Firm.
The authors point out that an individual has a 72% chance of having some disability before retirement age at some time, and there is a 50% chance that this can last more than three years. Ten years later, such individuals have an overall income reduction of 46%.
I was lucky. My convenience store fall in 1998 resulted in a serious injury (acetabular fracture) and I got worldclass treatment at the University of Minnesota, was back to work in three weeks (when I could well have been in traction), and was paid 100% short term disability by my employer by its insurance plan for that time.
The authors point out that "decreasing mortality" and "increased longevity" will eventually lead to a "crushing societal burden."
This article does not appear online yet, but the July 2009 article "Disability Dilemma" from the firm is here.
The law firm has a good article on its own site for the newly disabled here.
Posted by Bill Boushka at 9:50 AM No comments:
Labels: disability
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Washington television station reports on early onset Alzheimer's
ABC Affiliate WJLA in Washington DC today, in its 5 PM report, aired a report on early onset Alzheimer's disease, occurring at 51 in one woman, and 59 in one father. The District of Columbia is expected to have 9000 cases of Alzheimer's by 2010. Five million Americans have Alzheimer's now, and the number will be 15 million by 2050.
"If you think a family member has Alzheimer's disease, you're usually right," said Dr. Adam Rosenblatt, a neuropsychiatrist was quoted as saying in the report.
The link for the story, "Initiative Aims to Raise Azlheimer's Awareness" is here.
The disease is hard on caregivers in a way that AIDS was not in the 1980s. Then, most patients died quickly, or got better for a while, and then returned to "productive life" once antiviral drug treatments became more effective. Drug treatments can slow the progression of Alzheimer's but so far have not been able to reverse it. Alzeheimer's may become our largest public health problem.
Posted by Bill Boushka at 3:58 PM No comments:
Labels: Alzheimer's
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Health care reform could undermine ERISA, with downstream effects
The Wall Street Journal has a challenging editorial today (July 21) "Repealing Erisa: if you like your health plan, you won't be able to keep it" about how provisions in the health care reform bill would gut many of the provisions of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) (Findlaw text here). The web link for the WSJ story is here.
Particularly, it would hinder the ability of employers who self-insure to continue to do so across state lines without a lot of bureaucratic regulation, now avoided by ERISA. In the past, experience has tended to show that self-insured companies often can offer better benefits and even better defined benefit pensions.
The Journal today also has a comprehensive analysis of health care reform on p A16 in the print version. I'll come back to that soon on the issues blog, but one of the important points is that keeping a mandate on employers (even small ones, with a $250000 payroll floor) is not only anti-competitive (abroad, competing with single payer countries) but could compromise many services to the public that depend on contractors, such as the home health caregiving industry.
It doesn't sound like Congress has thought too carefully about the potential consequences of what it is about to do.
Posted by Bill Boushka at 10:28 AM No comments:
Labels: ERISA
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Moderate alcohol use might delay dementia in older adults
Today, Sunday July 19, on CNN, Dr. Sanjay Gupta reported a study claiming that adults who had drank alcohol moderately for some years had a 40% less chance of developing some dementia as seniors. Some results have been reported for small caffeine use, too.
Gupta defined moderate alcohol use as one 12 ounce beer a day for women and perhaps two for men.
Small daily consumption of alcohol may reduce coronary artery disease and ischemia, and that might help explain the result. Another possibility could be anti-oxidants in some wines.
CNN also reported on the Cleveland Clinic (which often advertises on ABC with videos) as having lower costs because it pays its physicians salaries rather than charging fee for service.
Posted by Bill Boushka at 5:05 AM No comments:
Labels: Alzheimer's
Friday, July 17, 2009
Should long term care companies be able to access genetic tests for Alzheimer's?
Denise Grady has a story in the Thursday July 16 New York Times "Learning of Risk of Alzheimer's Seems to Do No Harm", link here (may require registration). The study was conducted at Boston University and will soon be published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
There is concern over a gene called APOE, for apolipoprotein E, which comprises several types, e2 through e4. The presence of e4 seems to be correlated with a higher occurrence of Alzehimer's but it is far from definitive, either way.
One important issue is that right now insurance companies can look at genetic tests for long term care insurance, but not for other insurance (also cannot be used for employment). There may well develop political pressure to pass legislation to prevent companies from doing so for LTC as well.
Posted by Bill Boushka at 6:52 AM No comments:
Labels: Alzheimer's, long term care
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Social Security spends $700,000 on bash in Phoenix
A Phoenix television station is reporting that the Social Security administration spent $700000 for a management training bash at the Biltmore hotel in Phoenix.
The actual PDF of a letter to the Social Security Administration from the House Ways and Means Committee is here.
The SSA's reply letter to Congress is here. SSA talks about its "San Francisco Region."
The main media story came from ABC television station KNXV 15 in Phoenix. The story includes a telling video.
Of course, this sounds like a drop in the bucket as to the eventual day of reckoning for the Social Security Trust Fund. It seems like no one under 40 expects it to be there for them.
Attribution link for Wikimedia picture from downtown Phoenix. I last visited Phoenix in May 2000.
Posted by Bill Boushka at 7:42 PM No comments:
Labels: social security
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Adult children should help parents simplify their finances
Mellody Hobson, financial editor on ABC's Good Morning America, gave adult children advice this morning (July 14). Have a conversation with your parents about finances while they are still well, she said. You may have to approach the topic several times.
She recommended talking to them about direct deposit, automated bill paying, having a will (she didn't mention write a trust but that is becoming popular), and in many cases considering long term care insurance. Here verb was "simplify." Good advice could be to take stock certificates and bonds and put them into investment accounts managed by major banks (they are normally protected from the bank's own health). She said that over 70% of people in the US do not have wills. And 70% of people in assisted living facilities or nursing homes must self-pay. Most people don't know that Medicare doesn't normally cover nursing home care, she said (there are exceptions).
The link is called "How to Talk to Your Parents About Money: Get Mellody Hobson's Tips for Discussing Finances With Your Elders" with link here.
Hobson did not mention filial responsibility laws, or so called poor laws, which in 28 states (including California) could force adult children to support indigent parents, and which might be enforced in the future given the financial crisis in many states.
Hobson mentioned the AARP's estate planning link, which is here. I think that it is interesting how the AARP plays devil's advocate with the rapid promotion of living trusts by lawyers, in a piece called "The Truth about Living Trusts", at this link. AARP says that it does not endorse particular trusts or parties selling them. This article is in some contrast to what the media (like Jeffrey Toobin on CNN) has said about trusts (favorably) in view of the Michael Jackson experience.
Posted by Bill Boushka at 6:14 AM No comments:
Labels: financial planners, trusts
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Michael Jackson did set a good example for estate planning
Financial columnist Eileen Amrbose has a useful column on p 16 of the Sunday July 12 Baltimore Sun, motivated by the example set by Michael Jackson's estate. The column has the long title "All the Right Moves? Michael Jackson's skill as an entertainer was unrivaled, but lessons abound in the King of Pop's estate planning." That's the title in print, but online she is even more explicit. "Michael Jackson wowed audiences with his singing and dancing, but his best performance may have been the handling of his will, which he nearly got perfect."
The link is here.
Ambrose extracts some practical tips from Michael Jackson's most public example. One is to be rather public about your intentions. Tell people about it, make more than one copy (yes, keep at least one original in the safe deposit box). She doesn't say so explicitly, but I think that the idea of a "dead hand" – posthumous expectations of behavior of beneficiaries – would be OK with her. It's important to be clear and sensible about one's wishes for custody of one's children. There have been a few movies and television shows ("Raising Helen", "Summerland", "Saving Sarah Cain") where childless siblings wind up raising the kids and other films about desired behavior ("The Ultimate Gift"). Parents should be sure that the other siblings would be prepared for the task. Or parents might choose other guardians of about their own age whom they know are ready for the task.
The article makes the often overlooked point that wills are supposed to be public but trusts, which have become popular lately and which may have the final say, are generally private. The article also provides some details on contesting wills, where laws vary by state.
Visitors might want to check out the 1968 short story by John Knowles (author of "A Separate Peace"), "The Reading of the Will"; descriptive link here.
Posted by Bill Boushka at 7:27 PM No comments:
Labels: trusts
Saturday, July 11, 2009
After many mergers, even "fortunate" retirees can find pensions complicated
Retirees with defined benefit pensions from companies that have acquired the companies that they had originally started working for, may find it very difficult to calculate or understand their pension rights from the documents that the "final" companies provide.
Most larger companies try to honor the obligations of the companies that they bought (usually they have to, and usually those items are part of the due diligence before a merger is approved). In some cases, older companies, especially those with specialized customer bases, have pension plans that were more generous than those of the larger (and sometimes more leveraged) acquiring companies. They may have less social security offset, and may offer social security bridges until age 62 instead.
Everyone says now that retirement ages will have to increase, in the heels of an era when companies "bought out" expensive career employees in their 50s and sometimes designed packages that encouraged them to retire earlier, at 62. A large conglomerate may find it is paying pensions that are indeed hodge-podges, with some operations giving formulas that assume associates work until full retirement age and other operations having pushed people out the door early (sometimes because of archaic legal restrictions, for example, not letting pilots fly past 60). And this is true of salaried and management employees, let alone unions.
Its hard to say how all of this plays out in the recent auto industry bankruptcies and restructurings.
There was never a time when it was so important to give individuals control over their own retirement futures. The "conservatives" are right on this one.
Posted by Bill Boushka at 9:04 AM No comments:
Labels: pensions, social security offset
Friday, July 10, 2009
AOL lists 20 best retirement locations around the U.S.
AOL walletpop has an article today listing the top twenty retirement communities in the United States. The link is here. They are located all around the country, with some concentration in Florida and California, but one is near Cleveland, and one (the lowest cost) is in Mississippi, John Grisham country. Most of them still have an average home price over $200000, some over $300000, even given recession.
It would be nice to see a walletpop article on senior apartments specifically.
Posted by Bill Boushka at 6:00 AM No comments:
Labels: seniors and housing
Thursday, July 09, 2009
People should leave clear instructions of their wishes; it's more than just a will
Michelle Singletary has a running column "The Color of Money" in The Washington Post, and today, July 9, on p A15, she has a very practical column, "Don't Add Confusion to Your Survivors' Grief", link here (may require free registration to view content). Here she is talking about a centralized repository of one's wishes: location of will, life insurance policy (hopefully to help pay for funeral), asses, debts, and the like. She suggests putting the list on on a CD Rom or Flash Drive. Presumably it should be stored in a safe deposit box, with maybe a master copy at home next to the keys for the box. She notes that Michael Jackson's passing in California is causing people to pay attention to their own estate planning.
Earlier on this blog I had talked about trusts and given some links to basic information about their benefits. If you place all your assets in a living trust, don't forget you will need to notify your auto and property insurance companies to add the trust as the name of the "insured" (they will probably ask for a fax of the deed recording document); in a few states, there have actually occurred some legal battles over the liability of an insurance company when the insured failed to do so, and it could be an issue when the house has a mortgage requiring active insurance.
Posted by Bill Boushka at 3:45 AM No comments:
Labels: trusts
Thursday, July 02, 2009
Ohio, Texas state pension funds sue over bailout-related bank mergers
More state or public employee pension funds are practicing their fiduciary responsibility to retirees and going after banks caught up in last year's collapse.
Five funds, including state employee funds in Ohio and Texas, have sued the Bank of America for misleading them about Merrill Lynch before its "forced marriage" with Merrill on Jan 1
The New York Times ran the Reuters story today on p B4. The story follows a story about action taken by Indiana teachers regarding the Chrysler merger in early June. Pension-related litigation could halt many of the complicated arrangements to help financial companies and auto-related companies avoid or come out of bankruptcy. There is a concern that retirees are being "sacrificed" for current employees, and that the PBGC will not completely cover them.
The updated Reuters story is here.
Posted by Bill Boushka at 7:51 PM No comments:
Labels: pensions, public employee pension funds
Wednesday, July 01, 2009
Self-paid long term care: compare the options: in-home could be the most expensive
I found another reference on how to choose among long term care options, particularly in "self-pay" situations. The reference is on a site called prosaically "health.com", and it is here. The title of the article is "How to Choose Between Home Health Care, Assisted Living, and a Nursing Home." The article aims at US markets, although the costs seem to behave similarly in Canada and Britain. Remember, in general (except in a few countries) purely custodial care is typically not covered except for the indigent (Medicaid in the US); it is generally not covered by Medicare (hospice offers some coverages however).
One particularly important point is that 24-hour-care is likely to be the most expensive option in many cases. That would be particularly the case if one goes through an agency, that would have to send workers out in shifts. If an individual caregiver finds a live-in and does all the legal paperwork (IRS, EIN, immigration, etc) sometimes it could be much less expensive, but doing so may not be all right for many people. In many communities, 24 hour home health could cost close to $200000 a year.
By way of comparison, a nursing home in a similar area may typically cost about $7500 a month, or getting a little under $100000 a year, and an assisted living tends (after purchasing unbundled services with most residents need) in higher cost areas to be about $5000 a month. A recent film about assisted living in Britain found similar numbers, showing active seniors in north London paying about $4000 a month.
Caregivers are always concerned about whether their elders or parents will really get adequate care in these settings.
The best earlier reference that I found for comparison was on this blog Feb. 20, 2008, with the major source the John Hancock Life Insurance Company.
Posted by Bill Boushka at 9:11 AM No comments:
Labels: long term care
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)


text:
Author Archives: Ryan Holmberg
Saitō Takao and the "Gekiga Factory"
Studios, factories, and the rise of Saitō Takao in Japan. Continue reading
An Introduction to Gekiga, 6970 A.D.
A long buried time capsule contains hints of both a theory of communication and a utopian vision implicit in Gekiga. Continue reading
Charting the Beginnings
An ongoing look at the history of alternative manga. First, an overview—and a statement of purpose. Continue reading


text:
Current News
Turf removal rebate increased
As San Diego County heads into summer and the peak season for water use, regional water-saving programs are growing thanks to two pieces of good news – a $1 increase in the amount offered per square foot for replacing turf grass, and a major boost in grant funding to extend the San Diego County Water Authority's turf replacement program. Residents, businesses, homeowner associations and public agencies in San Diego County are now eligible for rebates of up to $3.50 per square foot from regional programs for replacing turf grass with water-efficient landscaping options more suited to the county's semi-arid climate. Learn more about turf removal rebates.
To see a list of all rebates available, click here.


text:
Jirsa Loft designed apartment in downtown Des Moines, Iowa from fabric architecture. The client is a single doctor who loved city life, as well as the arts. The apartment is a stylish minimalist consists of bedroom, living and dining area, kitchen, media, work space, master bathroom, guest toilet, kitchen, laundry, guest room and powder.
Residential and restaurant closed AOS out, with views of skyscrapers in Rome in the West and North. Also, the bathrooms and the workspace as a partition in addition to the core of the AOS is positioned wall with thick Gallery. All interior design and furnishing are in elegant and minimalist design. Apartment design awesome view of the city looking to support, as well as artistic accessories.
Substance Architecture designed the Jirsa Loft in downtown Des Moines, Iowa. Apartment in downtown Des Moines was designed for a single doctor interested in fine art and urban living. Organizationally, the loft was conceived as a simple, linear volume containing the major public spaces (kitchen, dining, living, media, and bedroom) served by a series of smaller, more private spaces (laundry, master bath, office, powder room, pantry, and guest bath).
The public spaces were placed adjacent to the building' Äôs exterior, providing each with sweeping views of the city skyline to the north and west, while the private spaces were placed next to the building' Äôs core and separated from the main volume by a thick gallery wall.
A reductive tact was taken throughout. Mechanical systems were removed from the large volume and concealed above the ceiling of the private, core spaces to eliminate the resulting clutter. A ribbon of translucent panels both delineates the open volume and integrates lighting and sprinkler systems creating a simplified ceiling plane.


text:
Get Beautiful Warm Tone and Comfortable Playability With The Yamaha SVC-110SK SVC-110-SK Silent Cello
Yamaha designers worked together with some of the world's greatest cellists to create the Yamaha SVC-110 and Yamaha SVC-210. The talent of these artists is reflected in their beautiful warm tone and comfortable playability. The Yamaha SVC-110 plays and sounds so similar to a fine acoustic cello, that players will find it surprisingly expressive and comfortable to use. They will also appreciate being able to practice whenever, and wherever they want thanks to the "silent" function.
The Yamaha SVC-210 and the Yamaha SVC-50 were created for easier portability, and feature slim designs with folding (Yamaha SVC-210) or removable (Yamaha SVC-50) leg supports.
Despite their convenience, both instruments offer rich, beautiful characteristic cello tone and are capable of great expression.
Manufacturer: Yamaha
Model: SVC-110SK
Warranty: See manufacturer website for details
Listing ID: NA54414


text:
One of the odd myths of fiction is that characters are just like people, only imaginary… as if Darcy and your mailman differed only in their fame, wealth, and relative eligibility. That's nonsense, of course.
Characters share some characteristics with people but only enough to help them fulfil their function: to extract satisfying emotion from an audience.
One of the most obvious differences is that characters have to earn belief, while actual people get the benefit of the doubt. If we can see them and talk to them, then we assume they exist.
Characters have to convince an audience to believe. Characters don't feel. Characters aren't born. Characters don't actually disobey their creators, although at times it feels like they do. The feelings are real. The characters are not.


text:
Is there a model name for this watch? also, is it 1929 or 1939? The watch also in working order.
ADDED side pic of watch, 8/5/15
Added inside of case, 8/5/15
Hi sfedullo, we have one more similar ladies watch with a star case: http://www.mybulova.com/watches/1938-unknown-6309
It is certainly out of the ordinairy. Movement would be 1929, since to my knowledge the 6AF was not produced any longer in 1939. Style of the case is also early 30's. Case serial would put it in 1930 assuming that if it is all original Bulova, they would have asked Star case to follow their case encoding system. Is there any engraving on the outside of the back of the case or is all the info inside? Reason I ask is that as from 1934 Bulova put also info outside as per the link I put above.
So, nice watch. Unknown for the moment. Would you have a detailed photo of the case signature inside?
Isn't this pretty early to see a Bulova in a Star case? Also agree w/ Alex that we don't have any examples of 6AF past 1936, as is also the end date in the movement database.
So are we leaning toward non-conforming?
Sfedullo, non-conforming watches are the those that appear to have been assembled with parts coming from several sources and therefore not all 'original'. The question is around the 'non Bulova' case signature. It's still a fine watch, just not all Bulova.


text:
Apple has updated their Apple Store app for the iOS devices that let you check out prices, buy products and track your purchases on the go. The update brings support for Apple Store gift cards with Passbook support and Siri integration.
Now you can purchase Apple Store gift cards for your friends and family through the Apple Store app. When you send a gift card, it arrives as a mail to your recipient. They can then choose to send it to their iPhone and it appears in Passbook through iCloud integration. They can then just walk into an Apple Store and purchase items by showing the pass in the Passbook app.
Another cool new feature is integration with Siri, so you can now just ask Siri for prices of Apple products and it will provide them if you have the Apple Store app installed.
Both features are only available in the US for now.
Source : 9to5Mac


text:
Maserati GranCabrio Fendi
Next to the special color combination, the Fendi monogram logo appears on the wheels and is also stitched into the leather seats of the car. Upon opening the doors, a Fendi logo will be looking at you, placed on the bottom of the door frame in silver. Inside you will find a special numbered placket hinting at the collaboration. If you want to see the car live, you will have to go to the Frankfurt Auto show in September.


text:
I have an NLTextClassifier, trained in English. When asked to classify texts in Chinese, it appears to be significantly slower than when classifying texts in English.
Is this in fact the case? I expected the classification to be O(n) in the length of the text to be classified, and for runtime to be independent of language.
How much performance difference ? Factor of 2 ? Much more ?
Which framework do you use ?
I would not be suprised there are differences between languages. Some may require more complex analysis.
more like an order of magnitude.
But the neural network is the network; why would it run more slowly on garbage input than on any other input?


text:
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Steep Climb
12 comments:
What a wonderful illustration of the road you and your husband are walking on! I hope those wonderful words of truth that your Mom gave you will lift you up and encourage you everytime you drive home. I'm thankful your radiation appointment went so well today. Good night to you out there in Texas!
- February 9, 2010 at 10:33 PM
- Makenzie Leigh said...
I will continue to pray for you, and your treatments, God can get you through anything as long as you trust in him, which you seem to be doing very well at. :)
- February 10, 2010 at 12:07 AM
- Leslie said...
I LOVE this illustration!!! What a blessing to have a consatnt reminder daily, of God's blessings surrounding you....O Lord God Almighty, who is like you? You are MIGHTY, O Lord and your faithfulness SURROUNDS you. Psalm 89:8...As we draw near to him we can't help but be surrounded by that same faithfulness that surrounds him!!! Blessings...
- February 10, 2010 at 1:04 AM
- podso said...
It's wonderful how God provides such illustrations in our lives all around us, if we look for them! Thanks for sharing this one. It's a great visual I will keep in my mind.
- February 10, 2010 at 6:38 AM
i'm praying for you
- February 10, 2010 at 6:57 AM
- one of nettie's girls said...
So often in my morning time with God it seems that He is whispering your name to me as I read. Today it is as if these words were written for you:
"But as for Lindsey, the nearness of God is her good; She has made the Lord God her refuge, That she may tell of all Thy works." Psalm 73:28
Your story is being told on countless home pages via Facebook and on church prayer lists and being passed around by e-mail and text. You are telling of all of His works and He must be so pleased to call you His child.
Loving you and praying always.
- February 10, 2010 at 7:08 AM
- Jessica Ogden said...
You don't know me, but I found your blog via a friend's link several months ago. I just wanted you to know that you are lifted up in prayer everyday at my house. When I pick up my kids from school, I always pray that your day with your students was peaceful and blessed. You have an army of prayer warriors that you will probably never know about, but who love you and pray daily for your health, your husband's strength and your good spirits.
- February 10, 2010 at 8:59 AM
What a lovely analogy! Your positive attitude continues to inspire me! Please know that you still have our prayers in Houston!
- February 10, 2010 at 11:22 AM
- JJ said...
Your mom is INDEED a precious, insightful, Spirit-filled and Spirit-led woman! You two are blessed to have eachother. I know you know that! I met your mom thru GABC sunday school. My parents are members there and I visit from time to time. Your mom instinctively, intuitively and providentially reached out to me the first time I visited. She knows VERY little about the details (or even the generals) of the severe trial that I am going through yet miraculously will send me an email with the perfect word for my particular challenge for that day. It has been such an amazing way that God has shown me that HE sees all. She truly has been a beautifully gracious part of God letting me know that NOTHING is being missed by His attention. And YOU, my dear, have been used by Him as well. I hope this doesn't sound too hokey... but when I read your blog, its almost like I feel like we are praying together over our circumstances (very DIFFERENT in nature but IDENTICAL in intensity). Thank you for using your gift to share His Glory! I once learned (from my mom) that giving God glory means to give a correct estimation of Who He Is. You're doin it, Girl! The Lord Bless You, Precious One!!!
- February 10, 2010 at 12:33 PM
- Mrs. Dawkter said...
I just wanted to let you know that your posts are so touching and inspiring. You are a talented writer and your words personify the awesomeness and unconditional love that is the Lord.
Thank you for reminding me that "Just because this isn't fun and it can be scary, does not mean that the Lord isn't in it. He is, folks. He is right here, in our midst, conditioning us to do His work." I constantly need this reminder!
May God continue to bless you and guide you through this incredibly difficult journey. Thank you for sharing your inspiring strength and faith!
- February 10, 2010 at 1:08 PM
- Sandy Gillett said...
This is a beautiful analogy! Your Mom is a very insightful person.
- February 10, 2010 at 1:34 PM
- Alabamamom said...
Love the analogy as others have posted. So glad that the appointment went well. Will be praying that the radiation treatments will go as smoothly.
- February 10, 2010 at 3:21 PM


text:
"Nellie Bly Buys a Baby" - Nellie Bly - New York World
"Nellie Bly Buys a Baby" - Nellie Bly - New York World
An Innocent Child Sold Into Slavery for Ten Dollars; The Appalling Traffic in Human Flesh in New York; Heartless Mothers and Grasping Midwives Who Barter Helpless Children for Money; Shocking Indifference of the Slave-Dealers as to What Becomes of the LIttle Ones-No Questions Asked; A Visit to the Midwife Who Sold the Bogus Hamilton Baby; Startling Facts Which Will Appeal to Every Loving Mother in the Land
by: Nellie Bly | publication date: October 6, 1889 | Publication: New York World | pages: 9
"I bought a baby last week, to learn how baby slaves are bought and sold in the city of New York. Think of it! An immortal soul bartered for $10! Fathers-mothers-ministers-missionaries, I bought an immortal soul last week for $10! . . . "
Bly's four-column feature report on the baby-buying trade in New York, including the statement of one woman who claimed to have sold one of the babies bought by Eva Hamilton, who had just begun serving time for atrocious assault and battery in Trenton Penitentiary. For her story, Bly posed as a would-be mother wanting to buy a child and found in at least four locations that she could buy a newborn from a broker for anywhere from ten to twenty-five dollars with no questions asked.
public domain


text:
Sterling Silver Scottish Thistle charm. No one really knows why but the thistle, has for hundreds of years been a symbol of Scotland and its presence is found everywhere on Scottish products, clothing ,literature, badges, food labels and jewellery.
By Andrew Hall
11mm Carabiner - Gap 1.5mm:01 (+$3.56)
Chain/Necklet 18" - 20" - 24":018 inch (+$13.40)20 inch (+$15.73)24 inch (+$17.51)
Presentation Box:01 (+$0.89)
0 items