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Dyke confirms FA Cup final kick-off
Football Association chairman Greg Dyke confirmed that the FA Cup final's late kick-off for the FA Cup will remain in place despite strong opposition to the new start time.
The FA Cup final was pushed back to 5.15pm from its traditional 3pm kick-off as the FA tapped into the game's expanding global appeal.
And despite the changes enduring a significant backlash from supporters, Dyke, talking at Wembley Stadium after announcing BBC and BT Sport's four-year agreement to televise the FA Cup final, was quick to emphasize that the new time change was here to stay.
"The final will continue to be held in late afternoon, which is where it's been moved to," Dyke said.
"I'm certainly happy with that because if you look at the viewing figures for the past two FA Cup finals they were much bigger than they would have been had the match kicked off at 3pm.
"The world changed and we had to change with it."
On the BBC and BT Sport's agreement, Dyke added: "Financially it's quite a jump in money from this year to the next, but also the fact that it's going on the BBC means there will be a lot of coverage across many outlets that help promote the FA Cup.
"We've also got a pay deal with BT, which we're pleased about. Remember, all the money from the FA Cup goes back into football, it doesn't go to players' wages.
"There was some fairly intense competition for the rights, but they've ended up where we expected them to.
"I believe the FA Cup is still the greatest club cup competition in the world and you saw all the romance of it last year when Wigan won after beating the multi-million pound Manchester City team.
"The FA Cup operates in a different context to the Premier League. Last year I was chairman at Brentford, who went to play at Chelsea.
"That was so exciting and you can't explain what it meant to the fans. The FA Cup belongs to the fans."
Meanwhile, Dyke is confident England will make next year's World Cup despite sitting second behind Montenegro in their European qualifying group.
"I think we will qualify for the World Cup. It would be pretty awful if we didn't, but I think we will," he said.
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Hello Craig, Am 2007-03-21 07:48:00, schrieb Craig Sanders: > i've got good performance in the past from a setup similar to that. > > i built a bunch of MX receivers which accepted all incoming mail, I have a trouble with incoming messages since I receive arround 2.8 million legitim messages per day but at least 6.5 million SPAMS/VIRUSES. I use the Courier suite. Please see my other message (seperated thread) How do you have setup the MX-Servers correctly? I have tried it using round robin but it does not work. > processed it with amavisd-new/spamassassin/clamav, and then forwarded it > on to the main mail server, which stored it in the users' mail spools. This is what I like to do too and the Mailboxes are on NFS-Servers... > we started off with 3 of these MX servers, but we could have scaled that > up to as many as we needed. each was a machine with a fair amount of RAM > and CPU power (for spamassassin - at the time, a P3 with 512M. today i'd > use amd64s with at least 2GB), and the smallest disk we could buy at the OK, I have only those AMD Opteron 256 with 8 GByte of memory. > time (today i'd probably use the Gigabyte I-RAM battery-backed ram-disk > PCI cards for /var/spool/postfix). these boxes also acted as outbound Whats this? Link please! > mail relay, doing spam/virus filtering on both inbound and outbound > mail. Price of this? > the main server also ran pop and imap and acted as an outbound mail > relay for the handful of users who complained about their outbound mail > being spam/virus filtered. it also ran webmail. it had lots of CPU and > RAM (can't remember exactly but it was dual processor, fastest available > at the time, and 2GB of RAM - today i'd use multiple dual-core amd64s or > better and 8GB or 16GB of RAM) and lots of scsi disk in a raid-5 array > with hardware raid control (and battery backup of the cache). today i'd > probably use lots of medium-sized (~ 300GB) SATA drives on a decent > hardware-raid SATA controller (perhaps an adaptec 2820 or IBM ServeRaid > - both use the aacraid driver). I use 5 "courier-imap-ssl" servers for the IMAP-Users and 2 for Webmail but having problems with the round robin... :-/ > our main load problem at the time was anti-spam/anti-virus processing of > incoming mail, but the plan was to eventually add more servers to handle > the pop/imap/webmail connections and leave the main mail server to be > just NFS storage. i left the job before i got to implement that part of > it. This is what I think too... > i used LVS to load-balance the incoming mail so that I had control over I was serching my apt-cache but have nothing found on LVS... Is there nothing in Debian? > note: it is crucial that the MX receivers are able to verify that > recipients exist *before* they accept mail (and 5xx reject mail for > unknown recipients), otherwise they will become backscatter sources. > that should be pretty easy with all your user account info in mysql. Right this is waht I do too but additional VIRUS/SPAM filtering is done on a External-Server! But, if my MX-Round-Robin would work, then I can put, like you the VIRUS/SPAM-Filtering directly onto the MX. > you may want to look into setting up a mysql cluster to replicate > your accounts database - share the load, and good for redundancy. > alternatively, move your account data into LDAP and run LDAP slaves on > each of the MX boxes so they have a local copy of the account data. I use libpam-pgsql amd libnss-pgsql with PostgreSQL 7.4 (will upgrade to 8.2) for 17.000 users and do not find a bottleneck with it... > oh yeah, of course use Maildir over NFS. not mbox. you can make mbox > work over NFS but it's not worth the trouble. easier to go with Maildir. :-) > using Maildir means using a filesystem that doesn't crap out with lots > of files in a directory. i.e. not ext2 or ext3. i like XFS as a good, > general purpose, robust file-system with many years of testing and > real-world deployment behind it. reiserfs is too experimental and has > had too many problems (and too many instances where upgrades weren't > backwards compatible with previous versions) to trust on production > servers. I use ext3 since many years without any problems, even with sometimes over 100.000 messages in a folder. Thanks, Greetings and nice Day Michelle Konzack Systemadministrator Tamay Dogan Network Debian GNU/Linux Consultant -- Linux-User #280138 with the Linux Counter, http://counter.li.org/ ##################### Debian GNU/Linux Consultant ##################### Michelle Konzack Apt. 917 ICQ #328449886 50, rue de Soultz MSN LinuxMichi 0033/6/61925193 67100 Strasbourg/France IRC #Debian (irc.icq.com)
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While other major manufacturers are struggling to find the right production organization or have spent years changing their minds about what product to launch next, Embraer has been quietly reaping the fruits of a sound management strategy, according to independent financial analysts. The Brazilian company has launched no fewer than five new business jet programs in three years (see timeline on page 60), although this covers just two clean-sheet designs: the Phenom 100/300 and the Legacy 450/500 families.
Since launch, every program milestone has taken place on time. This is remarkable, given the generally negative record of program delays in the aerospace industry.
"Embraer management people certainly exert strong pressure on themselves, since it is even more difficult to acquire credibility when you work in an emerging country," said Andrea Goldstein, a Latin America economics expert with the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development.
Many executives from established manufacturers viewed Embraer's late 1980s decision to launch a small regional jet family in a developing country as an outlandish bet. Few would argue that the Brazilians have far outstripped expectations to pose a serious and concerted challenge to European and U.S. rivals.
The way Embraer has been managed seems to have helped keep programs on time. "A big difference from Bombardier is top executives have no distraction from aviation," commented Alex Hamilton, a senior analyst with investment bankers Jesup and Lamont. Unlike Bombardier, he noted, Embraer is not involved in other markets, such as trains.
Moreover, Embraer's technical execs may feel less financial pressure. Analysts view other companies' obsessions for creating value for shareholders as sometimes resulting in unrealistic program schedules. By contrast, Embraer's close-to-zero delay record may be the result of a more realistic attitude to program management. "It is much easier when you do not have financial people breathing down your neck," said Teal Group analyst Richard Aboulafia.
However, Hamilton qualified his comments by pointing out that Embraer jets are not engineering feats in the same league as new-generation aircraft such as the Airbus A380, the Boeing 787 or the Eclipse 500. These three programs, all very innovative, are among those that have suffered the most serious setbacks in recent years. "Technology advancement is not at the same level in recent Embraer programs," Hamilton said.
Money No Object?
At $452 million, investment at Embraer was at an all-time high in 2007. Spending on property, plant and equipment stood at $213 million, while research and development accounted for $239 million.
Where does the money come from? "They earned money with small regional jets; they invested it into bigger regional jets and the money they have earned from those is now reinvested into business jets," Aboulafia summarized. He estimated that regional jets have never been a very profitable market but growth has helped. "Strong growth translates into big money, even though you make low margins," he explained.
There has been a longstanding dispute with Canadian competitor Bombardier over alleged subsidies for regional jet programs. Since the late 1990s, the two countries have complained about each other to the World Trade Organization. "Canada complained about Brazil's export funding, while Brazil complained about Canada's production funding," Goldstein recalled. The WTO ruled against both countries. "From a judicial standpoint, the matter is going on, but from a practical standpoint it is over," Goldstein said.
Ironically, Embraer, Bombardier and their respective governments could now find themselves united in the face of new challengers from the east. Should Japan's support for the Mitsubishi Regional Jet, Russia's for the Sukhoi Superjet 100 or China's for the ARJ-21 be deemed unfair, Brazil and Canada may jointly complain to the WTO, Goldstein said.
Embraer's ability to recruit large numbers of skilled workers has also sometimes puzzled the aerospace industry. Between 2002 and 2008, its workforce has doubled and now stands at almost 24,000. "They are educating and training their own people; they are an example for other emerging nations," Aboulafia said.
As part of the educational effort, Embraer has created a company university onsite. This policy has been so successful that it was surprised, in 2005, when it had to deal with employee illiteracy issues at its Portuguese subsidiary OGMA. The company had never encountered the problem to that extent at its Brazilian facilities, Goldstein recalled.
In general, Brazil has invested a lot in workforce training, which has been one factor persuading Italian car maker Fiat to establish its biggest factory in that country. According to Hamilton, as the industry leader, Embraer finds it easier to attract talent whether from Brazil or abroad.
Looking at Embraer's financial results spanning from 2002 to 2007, Hamilton noted that profits held up well despite the workforce doubling and deliveries climbed by roughly 30 percent. "This means the company is highly efficient," he said, referring to tight cost controls being in place.
What about labor costs in an emerging country? "They are slightly lower than that of Canada," Goldstein said, pointing out that social security is more expensive for the employer in Brazil. Goldstein also noted that Embraer employs significant numbers of people in other countries such as Portugal, the U.S. and China.
Last, but not least in Embraer's success, factors the way it organizes its production process. "It has been really skilled in building a network around the company," Goldstein said. Its pioneering risk-sharing strategy looks more successful than that of Boeing and Airbus, he argued. Other analysts countered this point by saying that outsourcing large modules may be easier when producing regional jets rather than bigger airliners.
In any case, Embraer effectively has had no choice but to outsource on a risk-sharing basis. First, it could not afford to fund entire development programs alone. Second, there are fewer aerospace suppliers in Brazil than in the U.S. or Airbus' home countries, hence, Embraer's need to find major partners in France, Japan, Spain, the U.S. and elsewhere. This cosmopolitan approach has brought the additional benefit of providing an in-built mechanism to hedge against unfavorable currency fluctuations since multiple currencies are involved in each program.


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Hello all,
I've built this site and layout using bootstrap. http://ankursinha.net/test/ . I've broke the index file into head.php (contains the whole html head like scripts, meta, link rel, etc), then header.php (contains the logo, search bar, etc), then navbar.php (contains the navbar), and the footer. I've placed an index file along with it and I used: include 'head.php', etc and got it working. But when I created a folder forums, added the same code, but used include '../head.php', etc all the content came, but the css and the image logo didn't appear. I saw the page source for both the links are the same. Here is the link. http://ankursinha.net/test/forums/
The codes for both are the same, just that I added two dots to traverse back to the parent directory and include files under the forums folder, the source shows everything is included but the css and images do not appear. Please help.
Thank you
I find the best way to link to include files is like this:
<?php include $_SERVER["DOCUMENT_ROOT"] . "/folder/file.php"; ?>
Much more reliable.
I did exactly like what you said, the CSS and the image show up but please look at the same page again in the forums directory, it's not the same as how it is in the parent folder (Test) that is.
In both the CSS links are now broken, so check the paths to all your files in the include files. Is the /bootstrap folder really in your root folder?
I used absolute links to include the css and the other image files and everything worked. Thanks a lot my friend. Happy New Year & Happy Coding.
Cool. Glad I could help.


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Posted by admin on Mar 21, 2014
The Vatican library began a project on Thursday to digitize thousands of historical manuscripts, dating from the origins of the Church to the 20th century, and make them available online.
Working with the Japanese technology group NTT Data, the library intends to scan and digitally archive about 1.5 million pages from the library's collection of manuscripts, which comprises some 82,000 items and 41 million pages. The initial project will take four years and may be extended.
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text:
Well, I suppose we should never say never, right?
I hate flossing. Honestly, I wasn't ever good about it (never, ha!) until I met my husband. You see, he's got the short end of the proverbial stick when it comes to genetics and his teeth and jaws, and spent many, many hours in a dentist chair at 18 having all kinds of things done in his mouth. He's always been pretty conscious about caring for his teeth, but I guess after that, he was all kinds of serious. He still is, 20+ years later. I can't blame him, AND his habits rubbed off on me early on in our relationship so that's a good thing too.
He's mentioned wanting to own a Waterpik forever. The new Waterpik Aquarius Professional Water Flosser arrived last week for review and he's been like a kid with a new toy at Christmas. (Don't tell him I told you *wink*) The dentist recommends it, he's wanted one, but it seemed like one of those things we just didn't want to spend that money on at that time and never did. Now that we have one? I'm kicking myself for not getting one a decade ago. It's that awesome. Plus, it's only $79.99. Worth every penny.
The Aquarius comes with all of these cool flosser tips that do different things. You can massage or floss, which are the 2 options on the unit itself. But then, you can change out the tips to really customize your oral routine – 7 tips means 7 options. Plus, there's 10 settings on the unit. You can get those areas that are hard to reach. The Aquarius is great for people with crowns, bridges, implants, braces, or periodontal pockets. And since it's using water to do the cleaning, it's safe for use- no chemicals. It's able to get really deep down and get ALL of the bits and particles of stuff from around your teeth or dental work, which is only going to lead to a happier, healthier mouth, don't you think?
The reservoir for the water holds enough to run the unit 90 full seconds, long enough to get your whole mouth clean. We all seem to have plaque buildup behind our bottom front teeth in this family no matter what routines we do so I'm very much looking forward to improving THAT aspect of my dental health in the near future.
Waterpik stands behind their product. They guarantee healthier gums in 14 days or your money back. So what's there to lose? Nothing. And to gain? A lot.
Get FREE SHIPPING on your Waterpik Aquarius purchase through 3/31/2014 with code FREESHIPWP660
So, what do you think? Have you tried a Waterpik? Are you going to get an Aquarius?


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There is still an unfamiliar void in the paint for Duke without Shelden Williams patrolling the lane, but freshman Brian Zoubek is doing his part to make sure there is no dropoff.
Picking up a start in his first college game, Zoubek poured in 18 points, including an impressive 10-of-13 performance from the foul line as Duke blasted Columbia 86-43 in the season opener Sunday night at Cameron Indoor Stadium in first round action of the CBE Classic.
Zoubek's performance, combined with point guard Greg Paulus' insertion into the starting lineup after rehabilitating a foot injury most of preseason gave fans plenty to cheer about leaving the game.
Paulus played 19 minutes and handed out seven assists as Duke built a huge first half lead and was never threatened.
Columbia stayed close for the first five minutes, but Duke quickly turned an 11-10 lead into a 20-10 margin in just more than two minutes, and from that point Columbia didn't get closer than six points.
Duke played 10 players double figure minutes, and contributions were made up and down the roster.
Freshman guard Jon Scheyer buried four three pointers to post 12 points in his official Blue Devil debut, while Lance Thomas and DeMarcus Nelson also netted double figures.
Duke had a hot shooting night from the floor, but if you're looking for a weakness, the hot shooting did not translate to the free throw line.
The Blue Devils shot 58 percent from the field as a team, but were just 67 percent from the foul line on 36 attempts.
While Duke will want to improve the numbers from the charity stripe, Sunday night was a unfair fight as the Devils were playing with a more complete and healthy arsenal.
Though the return of Paulus meant Duke's primary ball handler was back on the court, sophomore big man Josh McRoberts still did his fair share of ball handling.
McRoberts scored just eight points, but he had three assists, including one very good look to Thomas at the basket from about 18 feet away on the perimeter.
Though the Blue Devils surrendered more transition baskets than Mike Krzyzewski liked, the halfcourt defense was overall very impressive.
The Lions scored 10 points in the first five minutes of the game and managed just 33 the rest of the way while shooting less than 30 percent from the floor.
Duke can probably expect a tougher challenge Monday night in the second round of the CBE Classic, as the Devils match up with Georgia Southern, who shellacked UC-Davis in the evening's first game and put up 116 points.
Monday's game is slated to tip at 7 p.m. and will be televised nationally by ESPN 2.


text: Like me, you may have missed the AzGroups.org Day of .NET event in Phoenix during the latter part of May. I highly recommend the Hanselman treatment of OData and especially if your a bit confused by the pesky rebranding engine that hopefully has now clarified the difference between "WCF Services" and "WCF Data Services". Learn more about OData and how to use it within your data-consumer applications at http://www.odata.org/developers.


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I am kinda new to cake decorating. I've done some, but I'm no expert or pro, thats for sure!
I'm going to a Passion Party on Monday evening, and we're doing dessert/appetizer potluck. I thought, I should SO make a penis cake!!!
But, I obviously dont have time to buy a penis pan, and I'm not thrilled about carving a penis from a 9x13. Also, I have no experience with fondant, and dont plan to start with this cake!
So...any advice for me?
It may help to make yourself a template to carve from. Draw it an cut it out, then place over the cake to make carving easier.
Its easiest i find to carve one from a loaf pan, just make a loaf cake and two cup cakes cut alittle out of one narrow end of the loaf to fit the cup cakes in there then round the end a bit and round off the long edges of the cake to give the basic shape. Then die your crusting icing to the appropriate color ice the whole thing as one and smooth, if you put the icing on kindof thick you can then use your hands and viva pt to put some of the details in. For the head of the penis, take a tip 12 and draw it on then fill in the head with icing and smooth take a knife and draw the seam and a toothpick to make the hole in the head. A small round tip and you can add hair.
It really is an easy shape to achieve and there isn't any reason to go buy a special pan. And if you want a bigger penis then just use two loafs end to end or the large loaf pan that wilton puts out.
peg818, thats an awesome idea, much easier than my suggestion. i've never made one but it was the first thing that came to mind. if i ever have to make one of these, i'm gonna keep that in mind
What about using the soup can method to make the shape? I saw it posted for making an erect penis to put on top of a cake...think I could do it laying down, too? But I'm not sure what to do for the head with that method.
What about using the soup can method to make the shape? I saw it posted for making an erect penis to put on top of a cake...think I could do it laying down, too? But I'm not sure what to do for the head with that method.
Ive never baked in a soup can, but i don't see why that wouldn't work, for the head i would either use a petite doll pan or maybe a small metal bowl, of course it would depend on the size of the can being used.
Make a no carve cake! This was "easy!"
you could make it shorter.....
Cake made from 5 - 5x3 inch riund cakes. Head from half ball pan and balls made from ball pan. Cake boards and straws seperate each layer. half way up I added 2 tall dowels, then 3 dowels after the whole thing was stacked. Airbrushed buttercream and added chocolate buttercream hair. Pipe cleaner "cum" Super hard to transport! total of 24 inches tall!
grr i can't just post the photo
If you look in my photos, I often make the boxer shorts with a "peek-a-boo" penis (as I call it!). I normally use modelling chocolate makes it more realistic but have successfully used rice krispies. If you want any details, PM me and I'd be happy to share step by step how I do it!


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A man charged with the second-degree murder of a Surrey hockey mom will appear in court Monday, as the case draws renewed attention to a homicide that struck a nerve across the community and prompted calls for police to get tougher on crime.
On Friday afternoon in Surrey, members of the Lower Mainland's Integrated Homicide Investigation Team (IHIT) arrested a 27-year-old man, who was then charged on Saturday.
The break in the case comes nearly five months after the vicious beating of Julie Paskall in a parking lot outside the Newton Arena on Dec. 29, 2013.
Ms. Paskall, a mother of three, had driven to pick up her 16-year-old son from the rink where he refereed a minor hockey league game.
Police say they conducted an extensive investigation that included reviewing nearly a thousand hours of surveillance tapes and engaging in an intensive search for evidence around the arena, resulting in findings being submitted to Crown counsel and charges approved.
Yosef Jomo Gopaul will appear in Surrey Provincial Court on Monday.
"We do truly appreciate that an individual has been charged with Julie's death. And while this is very important, it does not bring her back. She's deeply missed and this has been an extremely difficult time for our family," said her husband, Al Paskall.
He read from a statement during a news conference Saturday with Superintendent Kevin Hackett, the officer in charge of IHIT, and Chief Superintendent Bill Fordy, Surrey RCMP detachment commander.
Ms. Paskall, 53, was found unconscious and died two days later in hospital last New Year's Eve after being taken off life support. "We have suffered an unthinkable loss," Mr. Paskall said.
Mr. Gopaul moved last fall to Surrey from Ontario, just eight weeks before the beating and murder. RCMP confirmed that the accused has a criminal record, related to charges in 2010 of aggravated sexual assault against a woman in Brampton, Ont.
"Julie's death not only had a devastating impact on her family and friends, the community of Newton, the City of Surrey, but the entire hockey community across the country," Chief Supt. Fordy said. "This crime touched me on a number of different levels – as a citizen of Surrey, as your police chief, as a hockey player, a hockey dad and a former coach."
Supt. Hackett said the second-degree murder charge represents a significant milestone in the case. "This tragic event outside the Newton Arena and Julie's subsequent death, a short time later, resulted in numerous calls for justice and even enhancements to public safety services," he said.
Doug Elford, a spokesman for the Newton Community Association, said in an interview Sunday that his group welcomes the increased police presence in the Newton neighbourhood since Ms. Paskall's fatal beating.
Police on bike patrol, better lighting outside the rink and more closed-circuit television surveillance in the area have been among the improvements over the past five months, but citizens want the stepped-up monitoring to continue over the long term, Mr. Elford said. "We aren't going to allow the policing to back off," he said.
A company's plans to expand the Newton bingo hall have residents worried about the prospect of a casino-like atmosphere attracting increased crime, Mr. Elford said.
Despite assurances from gambling authorities that slot machines won't be reintroduced, the association is carefully watching to see what happens to the bingo site, which the group considers an eyesore.
"It's not a good neighbourhood for slots, and the hall already had permission before for temporary slots," he said.


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I often assume that cold weather comfort foods will bring with them an expanded waistline, but ABC News has identified 13 foods that will keep you happy, and healthy, during the fall and winter.
It turns out the antioxidants in hot chocolate, vitamins in collard greens and protein in pot roast can all keep you happy and slim.
I wasn't too surprised to see oatmeal on the list, but do roasted potatoes really burn fat? K. Aleisha Fetters reports:
Spuds don't have a waist-friendly reputation, but they're actually full of nutrients, Gidus says.
"White foods contain the disease-fighting chemical allicin," she says. "This chemical, also present in garlic, has been shown to fight inflammation in the body, contributing to smaller waistlines."
Plus, research shows that calorie for calorie, white potatoes are more satisfying than any other tested food.
Check out the full list and enjoy some delicious - and nutritious - foods this fall!


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The following bug has been logged online: Bug reference: 5944 Logged by: Nathan Davalos Email address: n(dot)davalos(at)sharedmarketing(dot)com PostgreSQL version: 9 Operating system: Windows XP/2003 Description: COPY FROM doesn't work with international characters Details: I'm trying to load a tab delimited text file with COPY FROM under version 9. create table tmpintermediate ( AcNumber character varying(20), AcName character varying(50)); SET CLIENT_ENCODING TO 'WIN1251'; copy tmpintermediate from 'thefile.txt'; Sample contents of thefile: 230002 Alto Desempeño, S.A. De C.V. When using WIN1251 or WIN1252 I get nothing in the second field, it just ignores the data. Same thing for LATIN-1. When using UTF8 for client encoding I get this message: ERROR: invalid byte sequence for encoding "UTF8": 0xf16f2c20 CONTEXT: COPY tmpintermediate , line 1 Not sure what the problem is, I assumed encoding the database as UTF8 would just take any character. Inserting the data with an insert statement works perfectly normal. Is it something I'm doing wrong with COPY FROM? The database is UTF8, in 8.3 we were using WIN1252 for the database encoding, but when we migrated to 8.4 everything was forced to UTF8 regardless of what the locale was specified during install using pg_dumpall to migrate the data, so I just left things as UTF8. Not sure how to proceed with this one. We create all our databases using a customized template datatabase (we leave the ones that install with postgresql intact and untouched). The copy commands are being issued by pgadmin3 if that makes any difference. That and we use MicroOlap's PosgresDAC components for Delphi.
Next: From: John R Pierce Date: 2011-03-23 23:49:03 Subject: Re: BUG #5944: COPY FROM doesn't work with international characters Previous: From: Daniel Ceregatti Date: 2011-03-23 23:01:59 Subject: BUG #5943: jdbc client doesn't omit pg_toast_temp tables from schema views


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County Attorney Edblad reflects on his internship 30 years ago in attorney's office
Since being elected Isanti County Attorney in November 1994, Jeff Edblad has always been compelled to give back to college and law students through internship opportunities.
Edblad, who interned in the Isanti County Attorney's Office in January 1983, was under the supervision of former Isanti County attorneys Greg Korstad and Scott Hersey, while he was a junior attending Gustavus Adolphus College.
Edblad's current intern is wrapping up his final week and is also a junior attending Gustavus Adolphus College.
Mitch Nelson began his internship with the attorney's office Jan. 7 and will soon be heading back to college as his winter break comes to an end.
Nelson, who is majoring in financial economics and geography, lived with his grandparents, Vern and Carol Weltsch, while interning in the office.
"At the beginning of this year, I began thinking about law," Nelson said. "I wasn't really familiar with law, so I mentioned internship possibilities with my father and thought I could use this experience as a way to see what law is really about. This has really been an awesome experience and I've learned a lot."
Edblad mentioned he has been friends with Nelson's mother for 45 years, and met Nelson's father during freshman orientation at Gustavus.
During Nelson's internship he was introduced to all areas of law including court hearings, bail hearings, jury trials, juvenile delinquency hearings, child protection hearings, child support hearings, took a trip to the Legislature, attended the local law enforcement banquet, worked with the drug task force and worked with the mock trial team at Cambridge-Isanti High School.
Nelson also is accompanying Edblad this week for a presentation at the University of Minnesota Law School where Edblad is a visiting professor.
Edblad said he's enjoyed Nelson's time in the office.
"I really feel Mitch embraces the Gustavus motto of 'making your life count,'" Edblad said. "In the time I've spent with Mitch in talking with him and discussing issues with him involving the legal process, criminal justice and fairness, I have no doubt he will be an individual who will make his life count whether it's in law or some other career choice."
Besides interning in the county attorney's office, Edblad also interned for current Isanti County Judge James Dehn, who was in private practice at the time of the internship.
"While interning in Jim Dehn's office, I got to see how the defense side of things work," Edblad said. "Jim took me under his wings and spent his days teaching me about practicing law in a small town."
Positives experiences with his own internships, is a big reason why Edblad feels it's important to offer internship opportunities.
"Greg [Korstad] and Scott [Hersey] were great guys to be around," Edblad said. "They talked about their experiences with me and answered all of my questions and allowed me to sit on court hearings with them and attend county board meetings with them. Jim [Dehn] let me sit on meetings with clients, as well as with law enforcement officials and witnesses."
Internships provide student with an opportunity to see how the daily life of an attorney works.
"All of my internship opportunities gave me an unparalleled access to the local criminal and courts system," Edblad said. "All three of my supervisors shared their knowledge and wisdom with me. It was a great experience for me, and I'm glad I'm able to provide that same experience for someone else. I want to thank all three of my supervisors for the opportunities and kindness they provided me during my internships."
Edblad said after his internships, he knew he wanted to be an attorney.
"After my internships, there was no doubt in my mind this is what I wanted to do," Edblad said. "I had great role models in all my supervisors and I try to do my best to live up to their examples."
Hersey is the current chief of the criminal division of the Dakota County Attorneys Office.
Korstad is currently an attorney with Larkin Hoffman Daly & Lindgren Ltd. based in Minneapolis.
"Thirty years ago, both Isanti County and the county attorney's office were very different places from what they are today," Korstad said. "There was a very real tension between those with roots in the community (like Jeff Edblad and me) and those seeking to join us. Most of us welcomed the out-migration but many struggled with the change it brought with.
"My initial impression of Jeff revealed a seemingly endless curiosity about the difference between the real world work I was doing from the academic training he got in law school. My second impression was his sensitivity to an apparent strong sense of 'community awareness'—how the work we were doing affected all those around us. That understanding of the 'big picture' is what makes the county attorney's position so meaningful. This is what the late Robert Gillespie (also a former Isanti County Attorney) referred to when he told me, 'lawyers should be social engineers working to make the machinery of society function smoothly,'" Korstad added.
Over the years, Edblad said he's grateful for all his interns, including Tim Nelson, who interned in the office in 2001.
Nelson started as an Isanti County Assistant Attorney in August 2011.
He is a 1999 graduate of Braham Area High School, and later graduated from St. Olaf College and Yale Law School.
Nelson previously worked for two different federal bench judges, and also served as policy maker during Matt Entenza's campaign for Minnesota governor.
"We've had great interns in this office throughout the years, and I expect that will continue," Edblad said. "I want to consistently provide opportunities for college and law students as long as I'm able to do. It's truly a positive experience for them as well as my office."


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NYTs Farmer Is Down; People Come Out to Help
This is the America I believe in. This is the America I try to advocate for. This story is about farmers, but it could have been about people burned out of their homes, flooded out of their community, lost in the woods, whatever.
I love this!! This is my home town in DeKalb County, Illinois. I love my little farm town. This is the stuff we are made of here in DeKalb, Illinois. Thank you so much for posting this article. This story has reached much further than I could ever imagine.
This is the true silent majority. This give me some hope.
That's what the hell it's all about right there.
|All times are GMT. The time now is 07:19 PM.
Copyright ©2000 - 2017, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.


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Series 1976 $2 FRN from the Chicago district. This denomination was resurrected and converted from United States Note to Federal Reserve Note for the Bicentennial. All notes in this listing are Crisp Uncirculated. Friedberg #1935-G.
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The Movie
Her family disgraced, her father imprisoned for his anti-American activities following World War II, the Notorious Alicia Huberman (Ingrid Bergman) agrees to help the U.S. government on a secret mission to Rio de Janeiro. She is recruited and mentored by dashing federal agent Devlin (Cary Grant), but when he falls in love with her, and she with him, her assignment becomes extremely complicated. She's going undercover to gain the confidence of an enemy scientist (Claude Rains) who was once enamored of her, and before long her ruse is so convincing that the scientist asks her to marry him, and she agrees, pushing the deception further than anyone had anticipated.
Notorious is quite the psychological drama, as the entanglements and underlying emotion of the mission become increasingly cloudy. But moving in and exploring her new home gives Alicia access to the scene of all the intrigue, and soon she learns that a locked wine cellar holds the secret that the feds have been looking for, and so this is also a first-rate spy thriller, at least for its day. By today's standards it might seem timid, perhaps a bit slow, but that's largely because director Alfred Hitchcock was busy inventing many of the cinematic conventions we now take for granted. Case in point: Some bold, cutting-edge camerawork greatly livens up the proceedings.
The Picture
The movie was restored for its 2008 DVD reissue but the 4:3 HD image still shows a fair amount of film damage. A brief restoration comparison is tucked among the extras, laying bare the before-and-after versions of the film, and the more egregious offenses have indeed been purged, while a lot of grain remains, combined here with some video noise, particularly in clouds. Detail is acceptable, fine bits of dark sand reproduce well in one key scene, but it's a tad murkier than Spellbound, which was produced during the same period, restored in the same batch and now released in the same wave as Notorious.
The Sound
The mono soundtrack is encoded here as DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 (still mono) with a pleasing overall fullness despite the challenges of the original element quality, dating back as it does more than 60 years. The audio restoration has rendered a legible accompaniment to the image, but nothing about it really stands out.
The Extras
The movie has been given not one but a pair of audio commentaries, by film professors Rick Jewell and Drew Casper, these in addition to an isolated music-and-effects track.
"The Ultimate Romance: The Making of Notorious" (28 minutes) explores the significance of this classic as a love story, in contrast to the tricks of a different genre explored in "Alfred Hitchcock: The Ultimate Spymaster" (13 minutes). All of these bonus materials were originally produced for the 2008 DVD.
A brief granddaughter-narrated clip from a 1979 AFI Hitchcock tribute ties in nicely to Notorious, emceed by Bergman, who also stars alongside Joseph Cotten in a one-hour audio dramatization from the Lux Radio Theatre. Relevant Hitchcock audio interviews are provided by two admirers who are/were accomplished filmmakers themselves: Peter Bogdanovich and Francois Truffaut.
Final Thoughts
Exploring themes that would become common across the Hitchcock canon (overbearing mothers, the toll of patriotism, lovely ladies in distress), Notorious is an influential, sexually-charged espionage adventure that looks and sounds a mite better on Blu-ray than on DVD.
Product Details
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HAYWARD (BCN) — An Oakland man has been declared brain dead after being stabbed in Hayward late Friday night, police said today.
Officers found 24-year-old Jack Maghoney at about 11:08 p.m. Friday in a greenway park near Bishop Avenue and Cascade Street, an area close to the intersection of Interstate Highway 880 and state Highway 92, after receiving a report that an unresponsive man was lying there, police said.
Officers discovered that Maghoney had suffered two stab wounds and some facial abrasions but it was initially determined that his injuries weren't life-threatening, according to police.
Maghoney was taken to Eden Medical Center in Castro Valley to be treated for the stab wounds and brain hemorrhaging and at about 2:30 p.m. Sunday, doctors diagnosed him as being brain dead, police said.
However, Maghoney is still on life support because he is an organ donor, according to police.
Hayward police said their investigation into the case is still active and they would like to talk to anyone who has information about it.
(Copyright 2014, Bay City News, All rights reserved.)


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NetWellness is a global, community service providing quality, unbiased health information from our partner university faculty. NetWellness is commercial-free and does not accept advertising.
Monday, September 25, 2017
Women's Health
Surgical Menopause
Please help me locate a doctor who specializes in menopause. I live in Atlanta, GA. I had major surgery that caused me to go into surgical menopause and the doctor I currently see seems to not care. Please help me through this terrible life change.
There is no listing of doctors (that I know of) who specialize in Menopause. BUT even if there were, the doctors who DO specialize in menopause usually do NOT focus on surgical menopause, but on "natural" menopause. So, I would suggest that you contact gynecology practices and ask for someone who cares for women who have had surgical menopause. Best wishes.
Linda A Bernhard, PhD, RN
Professor Emeritus
College of Nursing
The Ohio State University


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Film Review: 'October November'
Goetz Spielmann follows his superb 2008 thriller "Revanche" with this carefully constructed and beautifully acted tale of two sisters.
Goetz Spielmann follows his superb 2008 thriller "Revanche" with this carefully constructed and beautifully acted tale of two sisters.
"Lee Daniels' The Butler," "Kick-Ass 2," "Jobs," "Paranoia," "Ain't Them Bodies" Saints and other new releases reviewed.
India-based Reliance Entertainment is heading to "Graceling," acquiring feature rights Kristin Cashore's young-adult fantasy trilogy as a film franchise starter in partnership with Kintop Pictures.
Documentary filmmaker Les Blank, known for highly personal docus such as "Burden of Dreams" and "Garlic Is as Good as Ten Mothers," died Sunday at his home in Berkeley, Calif., according to the New…
The network is scheduled for an Aug. 17 launch and will be available in the 90 million homes reached by its ancestor Speed.
American documentary master Les Blank will receive Hot Docs' Outstanding Achievement award and a retrospective of his 50-year career at the fest, it was announced Tuesday.
Sensual and horrifying, "The Patience Stone" plays like a mesmerizing, modern take on the tales of Scheherazade and a parable on the suffering of Afghan women.
The play shows originality, but the form is all over the map.
"A hyper-intelligent child who is slightly disturbed, playing with dolls in a dollhouse, cutting their heads off with nail clippers." That's how actor Stellan Skarsgard describes his frequent…


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Consensus IDP Rankings Analysis - Week 16
Every week, the crack staff at PFF Fantasy ranks players by position so that you can gain an edge on your fantasy competitors. So every week, I will take the IDP rankings and break them down for you. I will speculate on some of the thought process behind the rankings, as well as pointing out where our experts differ from each other and with me.
Ashe started his writing career at the now-defunct CNNSI in Atlanta. He moved on to CNN Domestic where he joined his first fantasy football league. He writes about sports and politics when he isn't checking the waiver wire.


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The Fordham Urban Law Journal addresses policy issues affecting urban areas. The Journal is Fordham Law School's second oldest publication. The Fordham Urban Law Journal is the fourth most cited student-edited specialty journal of the more than 400 specialty journals in the country.
This website is a free archive of the Journal's published content. Please visit the Fordham Urban Law Journal homepage by clicking here.
Current Issue: Volume 42, Number 4 (2016) Accommodating Pedestrianism in the Twenty-First Century: Increasing Access and Regulating Urban Transportation Safety
Children Seek Refuge from Gang-Forced Recruitment: How Asylum Law Can Protect the Defenseless
Frank Paz
Preventing Shelterization: Alleviating the Struggles of Homeless Individuals and Families in New York City
Salley Kim
Writing the Rules of Attorney-Whistleblowing: Who Gets to Decide, and How Do We Make the Decision?
Alex Bein
Defending One-Parent SIJS
Rodrigo Bacus
Yes to Infill, No to Nuisance
Michael Lewyn


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Tennessee commitment Jacques Smith is having a good week. The first Vol of the class of 2010 got to visit with his future coaches on Saturday in a visit he called off the charts and he found out th...
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Subscribe today to read the full article and get everything Rivals has to offer.
- Member-only message boards
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- Exclusive coverage of Rivals Camp Series
- Breaking recruiting news


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Builder Preston - Damian Lee Building in Preston, Lancashire
Do you need a complete new house to be built or a small scale conversion? No problem.
Would you like professional builders to give you excellent advice and project management alongside efficient, quality craftsmanship?
At Damian Lee Building we pride ourselves on exceptional service and outstanding results. Brick by brick and step by step, you will see your project built with a care that we believe is second to none in the Preston and Lancashire area.
If you want to work with true building professionals, you have come to the right place. Our team of qualified tradesmen have the experience to delight you during your next project - whatever that may be.
Don't take our word for it, please get in touch to hear from our long list of delighted customers and see how we can help you build your next project from start to finish.
Our Services
- Design & Plans Drawn
- New Builds
- Home & House Extensions
- Renovations & Restorations
- Barn Conversions
- Conservatories & Orangeries
- Fitted Kitchens
- Fitted Bathroom Installations
Visit 'Our Services' page to read about our services including new builds, extension, renovations, landscaping, kitchens and bathrooms.Read more
Contact Damian Lee Building in Preston, Lancashire for a free no obligation quote from our expert team of experienced professionals.Read more
View our galleries to see examples of our recent work. We have many images on our galleries of recent projects for new builds, home and house extensions, renovations & restorations, kitchens and bathroomsRead more


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21!!!!! Don't forget to enter your score by making a comment! You don't have to leave your email address!!!
Ok...This one has the answers at the bottom..... The average person only gets 7 right.
This is based on U.S. & Canadian info, so use all lobes of your brain. This can be more difficult than it looks - it just shows how little most of us really see! There are 27 questions about things we see every day or have known about all our lives. How many can you get right? These little simple questions are harder than you think--it just shows you how little we pay attention to the commonplace things of life. Put your thinking caps on.
No cheating!
No looking around! No getting out of your chair!
No using anything on or in your desk or computer! (The average is 7)
Write down your answers and check answers on the bottom.
AFTER completing all the questions. REMEMBER - NO CHEATING!!! --- BE HONEST!!!
That means no looking at your phone or anything on your desk...
Then, before you pass this on to your friends, change the number on the subject line to show how many you got correct. Forward to your friends. (To copy this highlight in its entirety and then use the menu 'EDIT'|'COPY' and paste it in an email)
LET'S JUST SEE HOW OBSERVANT YOU REALLY ARE. -If not, just have fun!
Here we go!
1. On a standard traffic light, is the green on the top or bottom?
2. How many states are there in the USA? (Don't laugh, some people don't know)
3. In which hand is the Statue of Liberty's torch?
4. What six colors are on the classic Campbell's soup label?
5. What two numbers on the telephone dial don't have letters by them?
6. When you walk does your left arm swing with your right or left leg?
7. How many matches are in a standard pack?
8. On the United States flag is the top stripe red or white?
9. What is the lowest number on the FM dial?
10. Which way does water go down the drain, counter or clockwise?
11. Which way does a "no smoking" signs slash run?
12. How many channels on a VHF TV dial?
13. On which side of a women's blouse are the buttons?
14. Which way do fans rotate?
15. What is on the back of a Canadian dime?
16. How many sides does a stop sign have?
17. Do books have even-numbered pages on the right or left side?
18. How many lug nuts are on a standard car wheel?
19. How many sides are there on a standard pencil?
20. Sleepy, Happy, Sneezy, Grumpy, Dopey, Doc. Who's missing?
21. How many hot dog buns are in a standard package?
22. On which playing card is the card maker's trademark?
23. On which side of a Venetian blind is the cord that adjusts the opening between the slats?
24. On the back of a Canadian $1 coin, what is in the center?
25. There are 12 buttons on a touch tone phone. What 2 symbols bear no digits?
26. How many curves are there in the standard paper clip?
27. Does a merry-go-round turn counter or clockwise?
1. Bottom
2. 50
3. Right
4.. Blue, red, white, yellow, black, &gold
5. 1, 0
6. Right
7. 20
8. Red
9. 88
10. Clockwise (north of the equator)
11. Towards bottom right
12. 12 (no #1)
13. Left
14. Clockwise as you look at it
15. The Bluenose
16. 8
17. Left
18. 5
19. 6
20. Bashful
21. 8
22. Ace of spades
23. Left
24. Loon
25. *, #
26. 3
27. Counter


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Anakinra (Kineret®) in Combination With Disease Modifying Anti-Rheumatic Drugs (DMARDS) in Subjects With Active Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA)
This study has been completed.
Information provided by:
ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier:
First received: June 30, 2005
Last updated: December 20, 2007
Last verified: December 2007
- Full Text View
- Tabular View
- No Study Results Posted
- Disclaimer
- How to Read a Study Record
No Study Results Posted on ClinicalTrials.gov for this Study
|Study Status:
|This study has been completed.
|Study Completion Date:
|No date given
|Primary Completion Date:
|No date given


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In January we held the 2012 Drupal Process CXO meetup in Microsoft's new Amsterdam office (event photos). The feedback from attendees was overwhelmingly positive, several people said it was for them one of the most useful Drupal events in recent past. The meetup provided an opportunity for peer-to-peer learning about the business processes used in large European Drupal shops, the tools and services they use, sharing best practices, and discovering how Drupal companies can grow from an entrepreneur centered culture to a process driven one. The Drupal community is still characterized by a large number of fast growing businesses. All of these companies are experimenting with different processes to solve similar problems. So there was a lot to learn from each other, and based on the participants' feedback that's exactly what happened. A special thank you goes out to Michaela Kraft and Jan Depping from Microsoft who made the Drupal process meetup possible, Microsoft for hosting and sponsoring the meetup, NodeOne for sponsoring the dinner on Saturday and to Acquia for contributing to the dinner on Friday night.
Reviews of the meetup
There's a few event summaries by some of the other attendees at:
A few of the resources that were shared on Twitter during the event are (#drupalproducts):
- Agile contracts
- Drupal Skill Sets
- Startup Genome Project
- Business Model Canvas
- Jenkins Drupal Template
- Jenkins in the Cloud
- Selenium tests in the cloud
- Company growth
- Tool survey results
The European CXO event series
The 2012 Process Meetup was the 2nd event in the stand-alone CXO series we've organized with a focus on business development and quality assurance processes. The first meetup took place in Brussels (2010) also a great success, sold out in 3 days with 60+ attendees coming from all over Europe. The 3rd meetup in the CXO series was the Products Meetup in Rome (24-26 February, 2012) which concentrated on Drupal products and their business models. There's another post that is going live together with this one, specifically about the Drupal products meetup Lessons learnt from the Drupal Products Meetup. I really like how the events have become a place where business owners can share experiences and how the events have created a European network of Drupal executives that is more than a Linkedin group. I'm sure we'll see more border crossing collaborations as a result. We are planning 2 more meetups, one for the winter of 2012 and one in early 2013. Topics we are considering for the future meetups are: Agile Drupal and Drupal sales. If you have feedback or ideas about how we could make the events even better get in touch.


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Rising Star Chef Phillip Lopez of Root - Biography
New Orleans, LA
Look at the menu of Root in New Orleans. You won't see "appetizers," "entrees," and "desserts," but rather "beginnings," "middles," and "endings." That's because—as the restaurant's owner and executive chef Phillip Lopez says—Root is serious about food. But as restaurant's go, it's not overly serious about itself. And that's just the way Lopez likes it.
Unlike many chefs looking to expand their horizons, Lopez didn't have to travel the world after graduating high school. He'd already done it. An army brat, Lopez spent most of his childhood living in Germany, France, Spain, Austria, Holland, and Puerto Rico. So when he got into the industry, training with New Orleans' culinary patron saint John Besh, the young chef had an eclectic palate and an open mind—just the right combination to soak up training without losing the sense of wonder that keeps cuisine exciting.
Lopez further opened his mind with a stint in Washington, DC, working under legendary Michel Richard before returning to the Crescent City and rejoining Besh at Restaurant August. After impressing its owners with one of his tasting menus, Lopez was tapped to take on executive chef duties at Rambla. With a significant leadership role under his belt, Lopez eventually left Rambla to open Root, his first solo venture. At Root, Lopez maintains a balance of technique and wonder, creating honest, soulful food with molecular touches. In November 2011, Lopez was named a Louisiana Cookin' "Chef to Watch," and he received a rare four-bean review from the Times-Picayune, before being named a 2012 StarChefs.com New Orleans Rising Star. With irresistible quality and a charmingly sideways approach, Lopez is cementing a playful-with-purpose style in what is sure to be the beginning of a great career.
2012 New Orleans Rising Stars
2012 New Orleans Rising Star Chef Phillip Lopez
Big Eats (Drinks and Fun) in the Big Easy
2012 New Orleans Rising Stars Purveyors
Fly on the Wall: 2012 New Orleans Rising Stars Honorees Dinner at Commander's Palace
Blend to Glory: The Third Annual Vitamix Challenge
On the Products Fair Floor
Caramelized Cauliflower, Eggplant, Peruvian Patatas Bravas, Garam Masala, and Corn Nuts
Strawberry Delight
Steelhead Mi Cuit, Egg Yolk Confit, Dashi Vinaigrette, and Buttermilk "Egg Whites"
Strawberry Delight
Rising Star Chef Phillip Lopez
- Root
200 Julia Street
New Orleans, LA 70130
(504) 252-9480


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$6 99
Mt.Mounter has been discontinued
Mt.Mounter can automatically mount and unmount a network drive.
The operation is normally done from the status menu.Configuration is done in the Setting window.
- Mounting process scheduling
- Unmounting process scheduling
- Mounting the selected network volume at login.
- Support for Growl Notifications. (TimeMachine, Network Volumes, USB Media, DMG etc)
- Unmounting removable media from the status menu.
What's New
Version 1.2.4:
- After the TimeMachine backup, the problem where the same volume is displayed was corrected.
RequirementsMac OS X 10.6.6 or later
*Previously available here
Similar Software
Suggest other similar software


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Tell It with Pride: The 54th Massachusetts Regiment and Augustus Saint-Gaudens' Shaw Memorial
September 15, 2013–January 20, 2014
To commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Fort Wagner, the Gallery is mounting an exhibition celebrating its magisterial Shaw Memorial by Augustus Saint-Gaudens. This monument, on long-term loan to the Gallery from the U.S. Department of the Interior, the National Park Service, and the Saint-Gaudens National Historic Site, honors Colonel Robert Gould Shaw and the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, one of the first regiments of African American soldiers during the Civil War. The exhibition features daguerreotype, tintype, and carte de visite portraits of the soldiers, the people who recruited them, including Frederick Douglass, Charles Lenox Remond, and Sojourner Truth, and the women who nursed, taught, and guided them, such as Clara Barton, Charlotte Forten, and Harriet Tubman. Letters, a recruiting poster, and the Medal of Honor awarded to the first African American soldier who earned this distinction, Sergeant William H. Carney, are also displayed, as is work by such 20th-century artists as Lewis Hine, Richard Benson, Carrie Mae Weems, and William Earle Williams, who have reflected on the continuing importance of the 54th, the Battle of Fort Wagner, and the Shaw Memorial.
Organization: Organized by the National Gallery of Art, Washington.
Accompanying the exhibition are a fully illustrated catalogue, with essays by the organizing curators and other scholars, and a brochure, available in print and in digital (expanded) formats.
Schedule: National Gallery of Art, September 15, 2013–January 20, 2014; Massachusetts Historical Society, February 23, 2014–May 26, 2014.
Passes: Passes are not required for this exhibition.
The exhibition will be on view in the National Gallery's West Building, Main Floor American Galleries.


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Aston is a hamlet and civil parish created in 1936 by the union of Aston by Sutton with Aston Grange. The population of Aston was 244 in 1951. It is located in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 111. The village is just outside the Runcorn urban area.
Aston by Sutton was a township and chapelry in Runcorn ancient parish in Bucklow Hundred and became a civil parish in 1866. In 1936 the civil parish was abolished to become part of Aston. The population was 186 in 1801, 218 in 1851, and 249 in 1901.
Aston Grange
Aston Grange was a township in Runcorn ancient parish in Bucklow Hundred and became a civil parish in 1866. In 1936 the whole of Aston Grange was added to Aston. The population was 47 in 1801, 15 in 1851, and 40 in 1901.
Research Tips
Categories: Cheshire, England | Bucklow Hundred, Cheshire, England | Runcorn Registration District, Cheshire, England | Runcorn Rural, Cheshire, England | Vale Royal District, Cheshire, England | Cheshire West and Chester District, Cheshire, England | Acton, Cheshire, England | Aston, Cheshire, England


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Lewisham police have launched a new operation to tackle the borough's most prolific robbers, burglars and drug dealers.
So far, 14 people have been arrested under Operation Yarra for offences including burglary, artifice burglary, theft, robbery, possession of a firearm and possession of drugs with intent to supply.
Officers have also seized class B drugs with a total street value of £10,000 in Lee.
Raids have been carried out in Downham's Geraint Road and Shroffold Road, along with Stoneycroft Close and Kimbolton Close in Lee.
Detective Chief Inspector Barry Smith, in charge of the operation, said: "I want burglars, robbers and drug dealers in Lewisham to understand that we will be targeting them, making a concerted effort to arrest and bring them to justice.
"We will be targeting a number of areas across the borough were police officers both in plain clothes and uniform will be working to disrupt criminal activities.
"We will leave no stone unturned and will focus our resources on operation Yarra until we are satisfied that we have arrested and disrupted all our top, prolific offenders."
Anyone with information about crime should call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.


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Zack Dyer Plays Loring Theater This Saturday
Local songwriter and recent McNally Smith graduate, Zack Dyer, brings his ?Sunny Day? sound to the Loring stage as he releases his anticipated debut album this November.
Influenced by artists such as Jack Johnson, Weezer and Howie Day, Dyer is an acoustic-pop gem fresh to the Minneapolis scene. Although only 22 years old, he has performed with notables Mason Jennings and Semisonic?s John Munson, and has already stood out at the Fine Line Music Café and Varsity Theater with his catchy tunes.
Set to open for Zack Dyer is acoustic artist and studio producer, Dustin Phillips, as well as Leah Tusignant, a Sara Bareilles-inspired local favorite.
Saturday, November 12
Doors 6:30pm
Music 7:30pm


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Artist description:
it didn't turn out the way I wanted it to! Anyway please enjoy Hinata as a CUTE little bunny! ^^
Flash Draw Created Dec 14, 2008 470 x 338px Unless noted Copyright 2008 whispering-wolf.
We encourage you to submit a comment and let the artist know what you think of this drawing. Please log in or join to post a comment.
Post a comment
so cute :P can you please comment my drawing :P http://www.ratemydrawings.com/drawings/manga-original/389256.html


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With a brush and acrylic paint, paint an empty egg carton any color you like.
When the egg carton is dry, add some sand to each egg cup.
Arrange seashells, dried seaweed, driftwood, boardwalk tokens or souvenirs, and any other beach treasures you like inside the container.
NOTE: Before you pick up any treasures from a beach, be sure it's not against the law. Also make sure the sea stars and shelled creatures you pick up are not living. To keep your beach treasures from getting too stinky, ask an adult to soak them in a mixture of half bleach and half water overnight. Then have an adult rinse them thoroughly before you work with them. You shouldn't have to do this with beach treasures you buy at a store.
Craft by Robin Walker; photos by Susan McElhinney


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It was brought to my attention that one of our community members within the BGS forums, Leo Gura (aka Liquidgraph), has submitted his Oblivion mod, The Lost Spires, for the 10th Annual Independent Games Festival Student Showcase competition. For those that haven't heard of the The Lost Spires, we talked about it a couple of weeks ago on the blog. You can also check out the mod's official website here.
Anyhow, lets wish Leo (representing Cal-Irvine) good luck in the festival! Check out information on his submission and others over at IGF's site.


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And Stay Out
Being a member of the Santa Monica City Council doesnt ensure you entry to the exclusive Jonathan Club. Just ask Santa Monica Councilmen Kevin McKeown, Paul Rosenstein and Michael Feinstein, who were turned away when they showed up at the beach club unannounced last Wednesday in an effort to win back the jobs of two dozen terminated workers.
The council members were part of a delegation of community leaders who charged that the dishwashers and housekeepers picketing outside the gates lost their jobs for speaking out in favor of an unprecedented living-wage proposal being studied by the council. The proposal, which the council is expected to take up this summer, would make Santa Monica the nations first city to require private businesses with no municipal subsidies or contracts to pay workers a living wage.
You are trespassing as of now, Carlos Silva, the clubs security manager, told Mc- Keown, who had defiantly walked up to the front door with the delegation in tow. Ill show you respect if you show me respect. As a councilperson, you should know what the policies and rules are. You should know policies. You set them. You are a policy person.
Enough of your commentary, McKeown shot back. Im here to see Mr. [Paul] Astbury, he said, referring to the clubs general manager.
Upcoming Events
CSUN Womens Soccer
TicketsThu., Oct. 26, 7:00pm
Los Angeles Lakers vs. Toronto Raptors
TicketsFri., Oct. 27, 7:30pm
UCLA Women's Soccer v California & UCLA Men's Soccer v Washington
TicketsSun., Oct. 29, 1:00pm
South Bay Lakers vs. Northern Arizona Suns
TicketsSun., Oct. 29, 7:00pm
Los Angeles Lakers vs. Detroit Pistons
TicketsTue., Oct. 31, 7:30pm
Mr. Astbury is not available, Silva said. There is no comment to be made. Theres no discussion at this time.
McKeown refused to budge.
I can wait all night, Silva said. No problem. Im on salary. I can stand here. You can stand here, too.
McKeown then handed Silva the business cards of the delegation members, who included representatives of state Senator Tom Hayden, former Mayor Dennis Zane, Rent Control Board chair Bruria Finkel and leaders of several teachers unions.
After a moment of prayer for justice, for fairness for hard-working people to make a wage that allows them to feed their family, the delegation left, vowing to keep the pressure on.
They showed no respect whatsoever, but we will continue to fight, said Amber Meshack, an organizer for Santa Monicans Allied for Responsible Tourism (SMART), which crafted the living-wage proposal the council is studying. This is only the first step.
As of Monday, the council members had heard nothing from the clubs management.
The scene outside the club came one day after the City Council directed staff to draft an emergency ordinance prohibiting any employer from retaliating in any way against employees who advocate a position for or against a living-wage ordinance.
In a separate measure, the council also directed staff to study the impacts of a business-sponsored ballot measure, which would cover businesses with city contracts and subsidies and override any related action the council might take.
This is really an anti-living-wage proposal, Mayor Ken Genser said of the ballot initiative filed by a group of businesses calling itself Santa Monicans for a Living Wage. Theyre spending, spending and spending to fool the voters. The people of this city will see through this charade.
Staff is expected to expeditiously provide the council with a report estimating the number and class of workers covered by the proposed initiative, which must be signed by 9,000 voters to qualify for the November ballot. Staff already was looking at a similar proposal, City Manager Susan McCarthy said.
We can easily tell you how many contracts over the $25,000 level we have, McCarthy said. Well be looking at old patterns. We were looking at the impacts of that type of measure.
The ballot measure, which closely mirrors Los Angeles Countys law, requires employers who receive at least $25,000 in city contracts for services to pay their workers a living wage of at least $8.32 an hour with health benefits, or $9.46 without benefits. Some three dozen municipalities nationwide have adopted similar laws, including San Fernando, which adopted a living-wage law late last month.
The initiative would likely cover few, if any, of the 3,000 workers (many of them in hotels and restaurants) targeted by the proposal being studied by the council. The proposed ordinance would require businesses along the coast with more than 50 employees to pay their workers at least $10.69 an hour, which is double the minimum wage.
Before walking the picket lines, several former Jonathan Club workers talked about losing their jobs without warning on March 19.
It has been a hard blow, said Claudia Torres, who was a housekeeper at the club. They told us the club had made a decision to contract with [an outside] company that would be cheaper. The worst humiliation was that as we left, our replacements were walking in.
Many of the workers have been looking for a job, but some have had no luck.
I started looking for work as soon as I found out, said Joaquin Mata, who cleaned the club and helped set up banquets and events. Ive been knocking on doors. Ive checked the papers. Whats important is to keep trying.
The clubs management has said it replaced the workers because the work is seasonal, and contracting out the jobs gives it greater flexibility. The workers, however, arent buying it.
I think they fired us for speaking out, said Ricardo Villatoro, who had worked at the club for five and a half years. We knew that one day or another, theyd let us go.
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Your Author's Library
What does your author's library consist of? Do you purchase books using a system—you seek out books on certain aspects of writing, publishing and book promotion? Or do you pick up books as you see them. Most authors have multiple books on these topics. And this makes sense, since different authors have varied expertise and have had different experiences. Not only that, there are books for beginners and others that might be more suited to the seasoned author.
Most novelists' libraries have several, if not dozens of books on writing fiction. And this is good—there are many theories and methods of presenting techniques. Every author, at any stage of the process, should have books on publishing. If you plan to publish the book you are writing, you need to be studying the publishing industry. This is usually number one on my to-do list for any author who decides he or she wants to write a book on any topic or in any genre. Of course, I recommend "Publish Your Book, Proven Strategies and Resources for the Enterprising Author," (Allworth Press, 2011). This is the revised and updated version of my "Right Way to Write, Publish and Sell Your Book," (2007 and 2008).
I review books for authors, and I have not come across any other book that covers the industry and the author's participation in it as completely and thoroughly as this one. (My reviews appear in SPAWNews each month. Subscribe FREE here: http://www.spawn.org and get a FREE ebooklet, "Promote Yourself! 25 Ways to Promote Your Book Whether You Are an Author, Artists or Small Publisher.")
You need books on book promotion. I recommend that you delve into several books on book promotion throughout the course of writing the book and after–for as long as you want that book to sell. Certainly purchase three or four books on basic book promotion, plus books that specialize on Internet promotion, personal appearances, getting radio interviews and so forth. Those specialty books in areas you want to pursue or that you are a bit timid to pursue can be most valuable. Consider my book, "Promote Your Book, Over 250 Proven, Low-Cost Tips and Techniques for the Enterprising Author," (Allworth Press, 2012). This is an amazing basic book on book promotion. It is a revised, updated version of a book I wrote in 2000, "Over 75 Good Ideas for Promoting Your Book."
For a specialty book on using your personality to promote your book, you must consider my latest book—the one-of-a-kind book—"Talk Up Your Book, How to Sell Your Book Through Public Speaking, Interviews, Signings, Festivals, Conferences and More," (Allworth Press, 2012).
You might also purchase a book on writing a book proposal, if you feel you need one. I recommend writing a book proposal first—yes, before you write the book—in order to get your bearings within the publishing industry. (I will go into the reasons why—how you can expect a book proposal to increase your chances for publishing success in tomorrow's blog.) I recommend, "Write the Perfect Book Proposal" by Jeff Herman and Deborah Levine Herman and "How to Write a Successful Book Proposal" by Patricia Fry. There are numerous others.
I also offer an online course on writing a book proposal. http://www.matilijapress.com/courses.htm
Authors should have a good style and grammar book at their elbow while writing and self-editing their books. For authors, it should be the "Chicago Manual of Style." It is pricey, but worth the money.
All of these books are available at Amazon.com and most other online and downtown bookstores. Patricia Fry's books can also be purchased at http://www.matilijapress.com


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You can search for articles in back issues of Contingencies from July/August 2000 to March/April 2009 using the search box to the right. Simply type in subject words, author's name, or article title and click search. To search for articles from May/June 2009 to the present, go to the current digital issue of the magazine and use the search function on the left of the top navigation bar.
Physicians, Heal Thyselves
An Alternative Strategy for Solving the Malpractice Crisis
By Howard Smith, M.D.
ESTABLISHING A SYSTEMATIC AND STANDARDIZED METHODOLOGY for objective malpractice review that exposes error-prone opinions has a greater potential for reducing malpractice premiums than caps on non-economic damages and also provides a benefit to the tort system.
Tort reforms with caps on non-economic damages slow the rising trend in malpractice insurance premiums. Though some states have enacted tort reform and the American Medical Association continues to press for federal tort reform with caps, reliance on legislation to solve this problem isn't enough. There is, however, a way by which the medical profession itself can actively exert downward pressure on malpractice premiums regardless of whether tort reforms are forthcoming.
Data from the Government Accountability Office show that the source of upward pressure on malpractice premiums is cost of claims. One cost, which the medical profession can influence, is expert opinions. Once opposing opinions are proffered by experts, malpractice costs begin to accrue for insurers.
Differences of opinions between medical experts occur for two reasons. Intellectual differences result when the same data are interpreted differently by experts. Error, however, is a distortion of relevant data by an expert.
The law requires experts on both sides of a malpractice case to render opinions about the standard of care to a reasonable degree of medical certainty. Statistically, this standard of evidence is imprecise because only 50 percent, plus a tiny quantum of certainty, is necessary to satisfy a preponderance of the evidence for either side. Essentially, this level of confidence is actually uncertain and can influence the medical expert, intentionally or unintentionally, to distort data. Though the distortion of data itself doesn't constitute a frivolous claim, the inclination to exploit the error inherent in this amount of imprecision is part of a frivolous claim. The error-prone expert isn't limited to one side of a case or another. Nor are the credentials, position, and power of the expert a factor in reducing error, although they might be a factor in amplifying it.
The United States Supreme Court essentially acknowledges this anomaly in evidentiary reliability in the Daubert vs. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals case. It ruled that, faced with a proffer of expert scientific testimony, the trial judge must make a preliminary inquiry of whether the testimony's underlying hypothesis or methodology is scientifically valid, has been or can be tested, is consistent with peer review and accepted science, and has a quantifiable error.
In effect, the Supreme Court concedes that the preponderance of the evidence itself lacks a certain amount of verification. To overcome this deficiency, the Supreme Court holds expert opinions to the same standards used in the scientific method for testing the validity of a hypothesis. Testing the null hypothesis behind a medical malpractice case would expose the error-prone opinion of some medical experts.
An Economic Strategy
A strategy aimed at improving expert opinions, which is also consistent with the Daubert decision, is a more rational approach than relying on tort reforms. Tort reform is damage control that can only manage the effect of a single frivolous lawsuit by limiting non-economic damages in all lawsuits. But focusing on the causes of frivolous litigation is more effective risk management.
The causes of frivolous litigation on both sides of a case are the extremes to which medical experts resort in trying to exploit error to substantiate or repudiate merit in some lawsuits. This not only causes unjust and unjustified outcomes but also increases the total cost of claims against an insurance company. The Government Accountability Office concludes that increasing total cost of claims is the only variable that statistically correlates with increasing premiums.
Total costs of claims are born by malpractice carriers. In addition to the money paid to claimants, they also include the contingency fees and transaction costs of plaintiffs who prevail in frivolous lawsuits and all the legal costs of defendants who are culpable in bona fide lawsuits, whether or not they prevail.
In both instances, these costs result from the inclination to exploit errors in expert opinions on both sides that is not discouraged despite multiple opportunities to do so. In fact, these opportunities, which include depositions, status conferences, settlement hearings, and pretrial conferences, all exist to inquire about error. Therefore, a strategy that specifically concentrates on the error-prone opinion could assist existing legal processes as well as reduce total costs of claims and produce downward pressure on malpractice premiums.
Determination of the Cost Driver
One concept in this economic strategy is the cost driver for uncertainty. Uncertainty is the unpredictability of total cost of claims from one year to the next. Uncertainty triggers the price for liability insurance premiums. A cost driver is an accounting computation that considers all activity costs arising from uncertainty, divided by some attribute that is common to all those activities.
The common attribute for uncertainty is the error-prone opinion. Therefore, the cost driver is dollars per error-prone opinion. This cost driver serves as an objective performance measure for the impact of legal processes on uncertainty. It focuses attention on the strategies of attorneys and expert witnesses, provides a diagnostic signal about how well or poorly these strategies drive legal processes, and ensures whether the primary objectives of legal processes—namely, just outcomes and justified awards—are being achieved. Dollars per error-prone opinion is expressed by the three equations in Fig.1.
From the perspective of the cost-driver equations, when all factors of total litigation cost and error-corrected litigation cost are considered, tort reform would influence only two out of eight possible variables—namely, net dollars to plaintiffs and contingency fees, both of which are in the numerator.
However, management of error-prone opinions on both sides of a malpractice case influences virtually all factors in the numerator and the denominator, either directly or indirectly. Only organized medicine could manage error-prone opinions, and management of this one factor dramatically decreases the cost driver for uncertainty. But so far, an objective way of doing so without infringing on the rights of some experts is a legal obstacle.
Finding the Error-Prone Opinion
Another concept in this strategy is a method that objectively exposes an error prone opinion. This method defines the rules for the statistical validation of an opinion. It does so by having each expert, him or herself, test the null hypothesis of any malpractice case, which states that the risk of the occurrence for an adverse outcome consequent to treatment is not significantly different from the background risk of its occurrence consequent to random chance. Here's how it would work.
After reaching an opinion, experts would prepare reports either retaining or rejecting the null hypothesis by showing quantitatively in a standardized format how and why the risks of causing the adverse outcome, which are intrinsic to the actual treatment, were statistically the same as or different from the background risk. Hence, the data being observed and measured are the risks.
The observed background risk for any adverse outcome is a known constant. Regardless of what it might actually be, its relative risk is always 1.0. All treatments in questions have relative risks, which might or might not be the same as the relative background risk. However, there is always a hypothetical safest effective treatment that has the same relative risk. Experts themselves determine this hypothetical safest effective treatment as a benchmark against which the actual treatment is compared.
Both the actual and the hypothetical treatments are divided into seven distinct phases: pretreatment phase, evaluation phase, discrimination phase, informed consent phase, selection phase, technical phase, and resolution phase. Experts also determine the relative risk of each of these phases. But to assure that the adverse outcome following the safest effective treatment is always a random occurrence, none of its phases can have a relative risk exceeding 1.0, although it could be less.
The relative risks for the seven phases of the treatment are then determined by comparing and contrasting them to corresponding phases of the safest effective treatment. These relative risks are equal to or greater than those in the safest effective treatment but can never be less.
Experts must document their rationales for these seven determinations in the written report. Once the relative risk of each phase of the treatment in question is determined, the actual observed risk for each phase is calculated (relative risk of the phase X observed background risk in the population = observed risk of the phase). As a result of the above, any actual treatment could be among other safe and effective treatments; however, this is tentative until the null hypothesis is statistically tested.
This sample of the seven observed risks in the treatment in question is then tested to see if the actual treatment is statistically different from all those treatments in which the adverse outcome is caused by random chance. The one sample test (upper tail) is used for this analysis. The level of significance, or α (alpha), is 0.5, the statistical counterpart to reasonable degree of medical certainty, and the mean for the null hypothesis is the observed background risk of the adverse outcome in the population. Although other alphas are more specific for negligence, 0.5 is an explicit convention of tort law and cannot be changed. The result is the p-value.
When the p-value is less than α, the null hypothesis is rejected. This indicates that the adverse outcome is not a random event and results from treatment. When the p-value is equal to α, the null hypothesis is retained. This indicates that the risks of the treatment in question are not significantly different from the background risk in the population and the adverse outcome is a random occurrence.
Once this report is prepared, judges and opposing attorneys and experts, who are parties to legal proceedings, are also parties to expert reports on both sides. This is because a report of this nature is discoverable. Consequently, all have a means to objectively inquire about the validity of an expert's opinion based on how the expert adhered to the rules of the standard methodology. This is in complete agreement with the Daubert decision, which states that the focus of such an inquiry must be solely on principles and methodology, not on the conclusions that they generate.
An error-prone opinion is distortion of data without justification. Because all reports describe the safest effective treatment and define rationale for the determination of relative risks, any attempt by an expert to inexcusably diminish, exaggerate, or otherwise distort these is transparent and its error rate is potentially measurable. This, too, is in keeping with the Daubert decision, which states that many considerations will bear on the inquiry, including whether the expert's decision-making process has a known or potential error rate.
Perhaps the most elegant part of this model is that attempts to subvert it by exploiting error or bias are not exposed by a judge or some other external re viewer but by the experts themselves, for all to witness.
Testing the Strategy
Although primary sources of data on claims are proprietary to insurance companies and other organizations, historic data are available in published secondary sources. For the purpose of this article, these data are used to reproduce the uncertainty that a prominent malpractice insurance company, the NCRIC Group, faced in Washington, D.C., in 2001. The following is a sensitivity analysis of NCRIC's financial statement to show how the use of this strategy changes a key estimate in its budget and how this change affects premiums.
Because its financial report commingles losses from Washington, D.C., with losses of other states in which NCRIC also does business, certain data pertaining to the District of Columbia aren't found in this statement. Nevertheless, they are extrapolated from other sources. Therefore, this analysis is a reasonable approximation of NCRIC's data synthesized from NCRIC and these other sources.
Data for the District of Columbia show that in 2001, NCRIC tried 20 cases and settled two others out of court. Of the 20 cases litigated, five (25 percent) resulted in plaintiff verdicts, 13 (65 percent) end ed in defense verdicts, and two ended in a mistrial or a hung jury.
Data from the National Practitioner Data Bank show that in 2001, the mean medical malpractice payment (settlements and awards) in the District of Columbia was $630,473, which was the highest in the nation. The American Academy of Actuaries has national data showing that defense costs averaged $86,000 per claim when the defendant prevailed at trial, $91,000 when the plaintiff prevailed, $40,000 when a suit was settled, and $17,000 when a case was dismissed. Finally, the Council of Economic Advisers has data showing that non-economic damages are 24 percent of plaintiff verdicts in all malpractice cases.
From these sources, it's estimated that the total cost of claims for NCRIC to defend and indemnify physicians in the District of Columbia in 2001 was $6,238,311, of which $756,568 were non-economic damages (See Table 1). This does not include the defense costs ($17,000 per case) for those cases that were dropped or dismissed in 2001; nor does it include payments on claims from earlier years.
NCRIC's financial report also indicates that only one of the five plaintiff verdicts in 2001 exceeded its reinsurance threshold of $500,000. Under this circumstance, the total plaintiff verdicts of $3,152,365 are assumed to include four that are $500,000 and one that is $1,152,356.
On the basis of the above, in 2001, actuaries for the liability carrier would calculate the malpractice premium in 2002 for its policyholders. Also, $6,238,311 represents the first factor in the numerator of the cost-driver equation.
In the 22 cases decided in 2001, there are 44 opinions, one on each side of a case. Since these were never examined, there is no way of knowing how many were error-prone. However, more likely than not, most of these opinions were justifiable and, if they could be quantified, had a variance of risks that were not distorted by extremes.
Nevertheless, it's also reasonable to assume that 10 percent were not justifiable and patently underestimated or exaggerated risks. This assumption is consistent with the widely held sentiment that there are too many frivolous lawsuits. The resulting four error-prone opinions are the denominator of the cost-driver equation.
Let's also assume that of these four error-prone opinions, two are from plaintiff experts and two are from defense experts. This assumption gives equal weight to frivolous litigation on both sides of a case. Since the validation of opinions would be subject to status hearings, settlement conferences, pretrial conferences, depositions, etc., the two verifiable error-prone opinions rendered by plaintiff experts would be exposed.
Regardless of how sympathetic a client may be, once the underlying theory of a case is discovered to be based on an error-prone opinion, this case must be quickly dismissed. Under this circumstance, the decision to continue isn't a matter of legal tactics but of legal ethics. A plaintiff attorney cannot wantonly litigate a frivolous lawsuit on the basis of an objectively proven error-prone opinion. Neither could an expert get away with rendering one. If this were done in 2001, it could have saved $1 million in potential verdicts and $148,000 in defense costs (See Table 2).
On the other hand, when two error prone opinions in defense cases are managed in the same way, lawyers cannot enthusiastically defend these physicians for the same reason. Therefore, these cases would be expeditiously settled. Since the earliest possible settlement results in the lowest possible legal costs, and since plaintiff legal costs are a factor influencing settlements, it's reasonable to assume that by limiting their legal costs, plaintiffs would be inclined to accept settlement offers 20 percent under a potential jury verdict a year or more later. This is an additional saving of $252,190.
Part of this saving would be offset by defense legal costs. However, because of the ability to reconcile outstanding issues with plaintiffs in half the time and with half the difficulty, the $40,000 legal cost for settlements could be decreased by 50 percent, for a net saving of $212,190.
Under these circumstances, the 2001 total cost to the malpractice carrier, after correcting for error-prone opinions, is $6,238,311 ($1,000,000 + $148,000 + $212,190) = $4,878,121. This is the second factor in the numerator of the cost driver equation. Hence, the cost driver for uncertainty is ($6,238,311 $4,878,121) ( 4 error-prone opinions) = $340,048 per error-prone opinion. As an objective performance measure, this figure sends strong diagnostic signals about avoidable litigation costs, inefficient legal processes, unjust outcomes, and unjustified awards.
After 2001, NCRIC's claims experience worsened and total costs of claims increased. Even so, actuaries could hardly be faulted for being risk-averse when a single error-prone opinion costs $340,000. But in 2001, if the cost driver for uncertainty were zero and the total cost of claims to this insurance company were $4.8 million rather than $6.2 million, its litigation costs in Washington, D.C., could potentially be reduced by 22 percent, or $1.36 million. A $250,000 cap per case on non-economic damages would not do better.
Under the circumstance in which four verdicts were under $500,000 and one was in excess of $1.15 million, if it's assumed that all non-economic damages resulted from this single claim, NCRIC would save $506,568 ($756,568$250,000) or 8 per cent of the total cost of claims. If, however, non-economic damages were equally distributed among all verdicts and were 24 percent of each, savings would be only $26,000 or 0.4 percent.
The rising cost of malpractice insurance is distinct from tort reform and requires its own solution. While tort reform is a laudable goal, organized medicine would achieve a greater reduction of uncertainty by committing to: (1) setting the rules and adopting a formal standardized model for malpractice review consistent with the Daubert decision that objectively tests the null hypothesis in every malpractice case, (2) indoctrinating all physicians about its use, and (3) promoting it until it becomes the professional standard.
This is essentially no different from any other standard of practice to which all physicians adhere. The power to set professional standards is an indisputable, explicit, legitimate, and authoritative power of the medical profession, providing that leadership has the will to exercise it. There are no legislative or legal barriers to overcome, just fear of change. Yet, setting objective standards is a win-win solution that makes tort reforms work better and gives liability insurance companies the certainty necessary to stimulate permanent downward pressure on insurance premiums.
A standardized model has another consequence. Alpha of 0.5 is a 50 percent probability of making a type I error and a level of confidence of 50 percent. Ordinarily, this isn't consistent with good decision-making; nevertheless, this is the fabric of the law. However, the ability to expose error and measure the validity of an opinion has a very important side effect. When α is 0.5, which is a preponderance of the evidence, any p-value lower than 0.5 is in the region of rejection for the null hypothesis.
The lower the p-value, the more distinct it is from a preponderance of the evidence and the more clear and convincing negligence becomes. Thus, by using this method, an expert could render an opinion, not merely to the legal standard of a preponderance of the evidence but to a higher standard called clear and convincing evidence.
This requires that the result shall be reached, not by a mere balancing of doubts but rather by evidence so clear, direct, weighty, and convincing as to cause one to come to a clear conviction of the truth without hesitation. When expert opinions could be consistently rendered at a higher standard, the law should not be satisfied with a lower one. This might be the most important contribution of this standardized model.
HOWARD SMITH, M.D. practices in Washington D.C., and is completing a master's in health care administration at the University of Maryland. He can be reached at 202-223-3456 or at email@example.com.
Contingencies (ISSN 1048-9851) is published by the American Academy of Actuaries, 1100 17th St. NW, 7th floor, Washington, DC 20036. The basic annual subscription rate is included in Academy dues. The nonmember rate is $24. Periodicals postage paid at Washington, DC, and at additional mailing offices. BPA circulation audited.
This article may not be reproduced in whole or in part without written permission of the publisher. Opinions expressed in signed articles are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect official policy of the American Academy of Actuaries.
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