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A broad class of lyotropic liquid crystals of a non-surfactant nature, the so-called lyotropic chromonic liquid crystals (LCLCs), are alignable with the techniques, in particular, LCLCs can be aligned at a surface as one monomolecular layer as a stack of monomolecular layers. The method for monolayer alignment is based on alternate layer-by-layer adsorption of polyions and dyes from aqueous solutions that have liquid crystalline structure. Using this method, one is able to stack alternate monolayers of dye and polyion while controlling the long-range in-plane orientation of the dye molecules within the plane of each layer. The feature of controlling the alignment of LCLCs enables one to create practical devices from them. For example, alignment of multilayered stacks allows one to use the resulting dried LCLC films in optical devices, for example, as internal polarizers, color filters, optical compensators, band-gap filters, and the like.
1. A lyotropic chromonic liquid crystal structure, comprising:
a substrate; and
at least one surface film disposed on said substrate, said film comprising a polyion layer disposed on said substrate and a monomolecular lyotropic chromonic liquid crystal layer disposed on said polyion layer.
2. The structure according to
3. The structure according to
4. The structure according to
5. The structure according to
6. The structure according to
7. The structure according to
8. The structure according to
additional layers of surface films disposed on said at least one surface film, wherein each additional film comprises an additional polyion layer disposed on a previously formed monomolecular lyotropic liquid crystal layer and an additional monomolecular lyotropic liquid crystal layer disposed on said additional polyion layer.
9. The structure according to
10. The structure according to
11. A method for forming oriented monolayers of lyotropic chromonic liquid crystals, comprising:
providing a substrate;
disposing a polyion layer on to said substrate; and
disposing a monomolecular lyotropic liquid crystal layer on to said polyion layer.
12. The method according to
shearing said monomolecular lyotropic chromonic liquid crystal layer to orient molecules of said lyotropic chromonic liquid crystal material uniformly.
13. The method according to
shearing said polyion layer prior to disposing said monomolecular lyotropic chromonic liquid crystal layer to orient molecules of said monomolecular lyotropic liquid crystal material uniformly.
14. The method according to
shearing said polyion layer prior to disposing said monomolecular lyotropic liquid crystal layer to orient molecules of said monomolecular lyotropic liquid crystal material uniformly; and
shearing said monomolecular lyotropic liquid crystal layer, both said shearing steps orienting molecules of said monomolecular lyotropic liquid crystal material uniformly.
15. The method according to
a) disposing another polyion layer on a previously disposed monomolecular lyotropic liquid crystal layer; and
b) disposing another monomolecular lyotropic liquid crystal layer on said another polyion layer.
16. The method according to
17. The method according to
repeating steps a) and b) until a desired optical effect is obtained.
18. The method according to
a) disposing another polyion layer on a previously disposed monomolecular lyotropic liquid crystal layer;
b) disposing another monomolecular lyotropic liquid crystal layer on said another polyion layer; and
c) shearing said another polyion layer and/or said another monomolecular lyotropic liquid crystal layer to orient molecules of said monomolecular lyotropic liquid crystal material uniformly, wherein each said layer of monomolecular lyotropic liquid crystal material is sheared in a predetermined direction.
19. The method according to
20. The method according to
21. A method for forming an optical component, comprising:
providing at lease one substrate;
disposing a polyion layer on said substrate; and
disposing a lyotropic chromonic liquid crystal layer on to said polyion layer, wherein said polyion layer and said liquid crystal layer form a film.
22. The method according to
23. The method according to
24. An optical component, comprising:
a substrate; and
a plurality of films disposed on said substrate, wherein each of said plurality of films includes at least one layer of in-plane oriented monomolecular lyotropic chromonic liquid crystal material.
25. The component according to
26. The component according to
27. The component according to
28. The component according to
29. The component according to
30. The component according to
31. The component according to
a twisted nematic cell adjacent said substrate, wherein the birefringence of said twisted nematic cell is optically compensated by said plurality of films.
32. The component according to
wherein the orientation of said adjacent stacks are different from each other.
This invention relates to a structure and method by which lyotropic chromonic liquid crystals are aligned at a surface as one monomolecular layer or as a stack of individual molecular layers, each layer possessing long-range in-plane orientational order.
Liquid crystals are traditionally classified into thermotropic and lyotropic types. Thermotropic materials acquire their mesomorphic (orientationally ordered) state when the material is within a certain temperature range. Lyotropic materials become mesomorphic when dissolved in some solvent (such as water), within an appropriate concentration range.
Alignment of thermotropic liquid crystals is an active area of current research and development. Usually, the alignment technique is based on a special unidirectional treatment of the plates or substrates that bound the liquid crystalline material. An example technique is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,596,434 entitled "Self-Assembled Monolayers For Liquid Crystal Alignment." The '434 patent discloses that the plates are covered with a polymer layer which is mechanically rubbed. The direction of rubbing sets the direction of orientation of the liquid crystal, i.e., the director, at the substrate, as a result of anisotropic molecular interactions at the interface. The phenomenon of orienting action between the anisotropic (rubbed, for example) substrate and the liquid crystalline alignment is called "anchoring." Alignment by surface anchoring is a standard means of alignment in liquid crystalline displays. Surfaces are typically treated with a polymer or a surfactant in order to obtain the desired alignment effects. The methods of alignment are well established for thermotropic liquid crystals but are not necessarily applicable to lyotropic liquid crystals because of the differences in the molecular structure between the two classes of liquid crystals.
Lyotropic liquid crystals are more difficult to align in the plane of the substrate than their thermotropic counterparts. The reason is that most lyotropic liquid crystals are based on amphiphilic materials (surfactants) dissolved in water or oil. Amphiphilic molecules have a polar (hydrophilic) head and a non-polar (hydrophobic) aliphatic tail. When surfactant molecules are in contact with a substrate, their amphiphilic nature generally results in a perpendicular orientation of the molecule with respect to the plane of the substrate. Either the polar head or the hydrophobic tail of the molecule is attracted to the polar or non-polar bounding plate, which results in the perpendicular alignment of the molecule with respect to the substrate. Perpendicular alignment means that the preferred orientation is the so-called homeotropic alignment, in which the optical axis is perpendicular to bounding plates. However, it is very difficult, if possible at all, to align the surfactant-based liquid crystal in a planar fashion where the director is in the plane of the solid substrate.
There is a special class of lyotropic liquid crystal, called lyotropic chromonic liquid crystal (LCLC). The LCLC family embraces a range of dyes, drugs, nucleic adds, antibiotics, carcinogens, and anti-cancer agents. The molecular and macrostructure of LCLCs, as seen in FIG. 1B, are markedly different from that of conventional lyotropic liquid crystals based on amphiphilic rod-like molecules with polar heads and hydrophobic alkyl chain tails, also referred to as surfactants which are shown in FIG. 1A. LCLC molecules are believed to be plank-like rather than rod-like, rigid rather than flexible, aromatic rather than aliphatic. According to Lydon, the interaction of the aromatic cores is the main mechanism of molecular face-to-face stacking. Hydrophilic ionic groups at the periphery of the molecules make the material water-soluble. These materials have become a subject of intensive studies lately as it became clear that they can be used as internal polarizing elements in liquid crystal displays. These applications require a uniform alignment of LCLC materials with the director in the plane of the cell (Or slightly tilted). To achieve an in-plane alignment, Ichimura et al. suggested modifying the chemical composition of the LCLC by adding an unspecified non-ionic surfactant (0.4%-1% wt.). A photo-treated polymer is then used to align the mixture of surfactant and LCLC. In the present invention, we achieve alignment of LCLCs without modifying their composition with surfactants. The established art of aligning LCLCs in bulk solutions uses a strong magnetic field applied to the LCLC cell. Unfortunately, this field-induced alignment is only temporary as the degenerate (no fixed direction of molecular orientation) orientation returns within tens of minutes once the magnetic field is removed.
There are also known techniques for layer-by-layer electrostatic deposition of materials that form surface film alignments. Adsorption of charged colloidal particles on a layer-by-layer basis is a technique that was originally developed by Iler in 1965. The technique was expanded to include adsorption of anionic and cationic polyelectrolytes on a charged surface. In addition, this technique is very effective in investigating two-dimensional aggregation of dye monolayers on polyanion subphases. An extensive amount of work on creating stacked layers of proteins, dyes, SiO2 nanoparticles, and charged polysaccharides on polyions has also been done. The basic concept consists of using oppositely charged materials to adsorb one layer onto the other alternately. The layer thickness is determined to be no more than a molecular layer due to the effective screening of ionic charges.
One of the challenges of self-assembly techniques is the control of in-plane orientation of microdomains. As noted above, in bulk samples, uniform alignment is achieved by using liquid crystal materials or by shear of polymer melts, but it is not clear how or even whether these methods can be applied to films of nanometer thickness. Morkved et al. has shown that the local control of orientation could be achieved by using a substrate with patterned electrodes. An in-plane electric field orients a dielectrically anisotropic material, for example, a block copolymer film. The oriented area between the electrodes cannot be much wider than few tens of micrometers since the electric field needed to align the structure increases with the separation distance between the electrodes.
In-plane orientation of a molecular monolayer has never been achieved in the known art using self-assembly of charged species. The idea of employing properties intrinsic to the liquid crystalline phase to create an oriented monolayer in Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) techniques has already been well-established. However with LB techniques, the short-range orientation is normal (perpendicular) to the film plane as the polar groups are either on the top (or the bottom) of the film with the non-polar tails on the opposite side as seen in FIG. 2. In addition, LB films are notoriously difficult to make uniformly over large areas and the molecules used in LB techniques generally exhibit a very low birefringence and little to no light absorption.
It is thus an aspect of the present invention to provide alignment of lyotropic chromonic liquid crystals at surfaces as monolayers.
It is another aspect of the present invention to provide a film on a substrate, wherein the substrate is treated to exhibit a desired polarity.
It is a further aspect of the present invention to provide a structure, as set forth above, wherein the film includes a polyion layer on the substrate, which may or may not be sheared, such that the polyion's polarity is attracted to the polarity of the substrate.
It is yet another aspect of the present invention to provide a structure, as set forth above, wherein the film includes a lyotropic chromonic liquid crystal layer disposed on the polyion layer, and wherein the lyotropic liquid crystal layer may or may not be sheared.
It is yet another aspect of the present invention to provide a structure, as set forth above, wherein the polarity of the lyotropic chromonic liquid crystal material is attracted to the polyion layer's polarity.
It is still another aspect of the present invention to provide a structure, as set forth above, in which additional film layers of polyion and lyotropic liquid crystal material may be added.
It is still a further aspect of the present invention to provide a structure, as set forth above, in which each film layer may have its own orientation as a result of shearing in that particular direction.
It is an additional aspect of the present invention to provide a structure, as set forth above, in which the polyion/lyotropic film may be used as an alignment layer for thermotropic liquid crystal materials.
The foregoing and other aspects of the present invention, which shall become apparent as the detailed description proceeds, are achieved by a lyotropic chromonic liquid crystal structure, comprising a substrate and at least one lyotropic chromonic liquid crystal surface film disposed on the substrate, the film comprising a polyion layer disposed on the substrate and a monomolecular lyotropic chromonic liquid crystal layer disposed on the polyion layer.
Still another aspect of the present invention is attained by a method for forming oriented monolayers of lyotropic chromonic liquid crystals, comprising the steps of providing a substrate, disposing a polyion layer on to the substrate, and disposing a monomolecular lyotropic liquid crystal layer on to the polyion layer.
Yet further aspects of the present invention are attained by a method for forming an aligned liquid crystal cell, comprising the steps of providing a pair of substrates, disposing a polyion layer on to each substrate, disposing a lyotropic liquid crystal layer on to each polyion layer, wherein the polyion layer and the liquid crystal layer form a film, positioning the lyotropic liquid crystal layers so that they face one another and provide a gap therebetween, and filling a thermotropic liquid crystal material into the gap.
These and other aspects of the present invention, as well as the advantages thereof over existing prior art forms, which will become apparent from the description to follow, are accomplished by the improvements hereinafter described and claimed.
For a complete understanding of the objects, techniques and structure of the invention, reference should be made to the following detailed description and accompanying drawings, wherein:
FIG. 1A is a schematic drawing of a surfactant lyotropic liquid crystal, and FIG. 1B is a schematic of a lyotropic chromonic liquid crystal;
FIG. 2 is a schematic drawing of a Langmuir-Blodgett bi-layer;
FIG. 3 is a chemical structure for a lyotropic chromonic liquid crystal, Violet 20;
FIG. 4 is a top perspective view of a lyotropic chromonic liquid crystal and polyion bilayer film;
FIG. 5 is a schematic representation of a multilayer bilayer film;
FIG. 6 is a microphotograph of an Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) image of plain glass with a scratch where the area to the right of the scratch is left undamaged;
FIG. 7 is a microphotograph of an AFM image of scratched glass+PDDA, wherein the monolayer to the right of the scratch is about 1 nm high;
FIG. 8 is a microphotograph of an AFM image of scratched glass+PDDA+V20, wherein the dye-polyion bilayer to the right of the scratch is about 3 nm high;
FIG. 9 is a schematic representation of a single bilayer film;
FIG. 10 is a microphotograph of an AFM image of scratched glass+PDDA+V20+PDDA+V20—such as shown in FIG. 5—wherein four layers to the right of the scratch are about 6 nm high;
FIG. 11 is an azimuthal intensity map of polarized light passing through successive liquid crystal dye layers as a function of the angle between the light absorption axis of the liquid crystal dye and the polarization of incident light, and wherein the anisotropy of light absorption increases as the number of dye layers in the stack increases;
FIG. 12 is a graphical representation of an absorption spectrum of isotropic V20 deposited on sheared polyion;
FIG. 13 is a graphical representation of an absorption spectrum of nematic V20 anisotropically adsorbed onto sheared polyion;
FIG. 14 is a graphical representation of an absorption spectrum of sheared nematic V20 deposited on sheared polyion;
FIG. 15 is a graphical representation of an absorption spectrum that provides proof of the surface adsorption of the LCLC onto the oppositely charged substrate, wherein it is noted that the only sample exhibiting strong light absorption is the glass+PDDA+V20 samples, and wherein V20 will not adsorb onto a like-charged surface such as plain glass or glass+PDDA+PSS;
FIG. 16 is a schematic representation of an LCLC alignment layer used to align thermotropic liquid crystal materials; and
FIGS. 17A-D are schematic representations of different optical components that can be constructed with the teachings of the present invention.
A variety of approaches are presented herein that result in a uniform alignment of LCLC with a director that is not perpendicular to the substrate(s). The method, which is referred to as "surface film alignment," allows one to obtain an oriented dried monolayer stack or stacks of LCLC disposed on a substrate. Such a structure can be easily fashioned for use as a singular optical element (e.g., polarizer, color filter, retarder, etc.) or an integrated optical element (e.g., polarizing-color filtering-retarder, etc.).
Generally, a layer-by-layer deposition of polyions and materials that belong to the class of lyotropic liquid crystals is disclosed. As best seen in FIG. 3, an exemplary molecule of a preferred lyotropic chromonic liquid crystal is designated by the numeral 20. It is also necessary that LCLC chosen have molecules with pairs of ionic groups 22 at the opposite extremities. It is believed that the molecule 20 has a length of about 2.2 nm and a height of about 0.7 nm. As will become apparent from the following description, the corresponding electrostatic interactions fix the alternating stack of oppositely charged layers of polyions and LCLCs in the vertical direction. In the horizontal plane, stacking of aromatic cores of LCLC molecules provides the desired long-range orientational order.
Referring now to FIG. 4, it can be seen that an exemplary surface film alignment structure is designated generally by the numeral 30. The substrate 32, which is generally made of a glass material (although other substrate materials such as plastic may be used), is treated to provide a polarity which is preferably negative. Selection of the polarity of the substrate is dependent upon the other materials which coact with one another to form the structure 30. At least one surface film 34 is disposed on the substrate 32, wherein each film 34 is made up of at least two layers of material. A first polyion layer 36 is disposed on the substrate 32 and is preferably made of a polymer material such as poly(diallyldimethyl) ammonium chloride (PDDA). Processing of this layer ultimately results in a material that has a positive polarity. Accordingly, after proper treatment of the substrate 32, which is negatively charged, the polyion layer 36 is attracted and adhered thereto. It should be noted that it is not necessary to have the first coating on the substrate 32 be a polyion. If one finds a suitable substrate that is oppositely charged to the LCLC, such as aminopropyltriethoxysilane-treated mica, which is positively charged for example, one may use that substrate and subsequently directly coat the dye on the bare substrate.
Once the polyion layer 36 is formed, a lyotropic chromonic liquid crystal material layer 38 is disposed thereon. In the preferred embodiment, the lyotropic chromonic liquid crystal material may be a range of dyes, drugs, nucleic acids, antibiotics, carcinogens, and anti-cancer agents. It has been found for this particular embodiment that a lyotropic chromonic liquid crystal material such as Violet 20 (V20), which has the formulation C36H22N6O8S2 and is supplied by Optiva, Inc., may be used. The surface film 34 may be imparted with a shear 40 so as to impart a desired alignment thereto. This shear may be imparted by force in application of the polyion layer 36 and/or the lyotropic layer 38. Upon adsorption, the excess liquid crystal material is removed and the remaining material dries to leave an oriented layer.
As best seen in FIG. 5, a multi-film embodiment may be provided and is designated generally by the numeral 44. In particular, at least two films 34 may be disposed and layered on each other and wherein each layer may be sheared in a different direction, depending upon the particular end use of the structure desired.
Fixed in-plane orientation can be established within a monolayer or multilayer stacks of LCLC dye using the technique of alternate adsorption of oppositely charged polyions. This feat is accomplished by shearing (and thereby orienting) the dye in its nematic liquid crystalline phase onto the oppositely charged polyion substrate. In addition, it is possible to anisotropically-adsorb a nematic dye monolayer via the anisotropic anchoring interaction of the oppositely charged polyion.
In principle, it is possible to have embodiments where the polyion material is negatively charged and the liquid crystal material is positively charged. Here are some materials that might be used in either type of embodiment. These materials and the examples that follow should not be considered limiting.
Polyanion (positively charged polymer): poly(dimethydiallylammonium chloride), poly(ethylenimine), and poly(allylamine) hydrochloride
Polycation (negatively charged polymer): poly(styrenesulfonate), poly(anilinepropanesulfonic acid), poly-(1-(4-(3-carboxy-4-hydroxyphenylazo)-benzenesulphonamido) 1,2-ethanediyl) sodium salt
Anionic Dye Material: Thiacarbocyanine perchlorate Cationic Lyotropic Chromonic Liquid Crystal Material: Violet 20 (C36H22N6O8S2), Blue 27 (C28H18Cl2N4O10S2), Red 14 (C26H18N6O8S2), Disodium Cromoglycate (C23H14Na2O11)
In addition, it is also possible to have embodiments where no polyion material is necessary. In our current configuration, the polyion merely serves as "glue" to hold subsequent layers of LCLC together. One can envision a system of two LCLC materials in which the solubilizing groups at the periphery of A and B molecules are of opposite charges, respectively. In such an embodiment, molecule A would possess an overall negative charge whereas molecule B would possess an overall positive charge in aqueous solutions. The core hydrophobic structures of molecules A and B might be different, similar, or identical to each other. Without wanting to be bound by theory, it is believed that one could then simply absorb molecule A onto molecule B thereby eliminating the need for a polyion. This embodiment has yet to be realized but in principle is physically sound. Coulomb interactions between the oppositely charged molecules A and B would then stabilize the structure comprised, for example, a monolayer of molecules A on top of a monolayer of molecules B.
To create oriented monolayers of LCLC, the following steps are performed. First, a liquid crystal composition is prepared by dissolving a sufficient amount of a lyotropic chromonic liquid crystal material in deionized water. The thermodynamically stable state of the material is thus the one with long-range orientational order both in the bulk and at the surfaces. Next, a substrate is prepared by covering it with a polyion. The polarity of the polyion is opposite to that of the charged chromonic molecules. The LCLC is then deposited on the substrate in a unidirectional manner. The LCLC direction is set by shear during deposition, or by shear depositing the polyion layer prior to deposition, or both. Next, the macroscopically thick LCLC layer is reduced to a monomolecular film by rinsing off the excess of LCLC with water. The exposed layer of dye molecules is locked by electrostatic interactions with an underlying oppositely charged polyion. More importantly, this layer inherits the in-plane orientational order intrinsic to the liquid crystalline nature of the LCLC deposition. And the above procedure may be repeated until the desired number of alternating polyion and dye layers is produced.
In aqueous solutions, the end groups of the dye V20 are negatively charged (see FIG. 3) as NH4 + becomes disassociated in water. The polyion that was used in this example is Poly(diallyldimethyl ammonium chloride) (PDDA; low MW, Aldrich). PDDA becomes positively charged in aqueous solution as Cl− disassociates in water. Ultrapure water with a specific resistance of better than or equal to 18.1 MΩ* cm was obtained by a Barnstead NANOpure analytical deionization system fed with house deionized water. Ultrapure water was used in all cases for making aqueous dye/polyion solutions and rinsing samples.
The method of making an exemplary structure 30 is as follows. A glass substrate is ultrasonically cleaned in an alkaline bath consisting of 5 g of KOH pellets, slowly dissolved into 30 g of ultrapure water, and 500 mL of Isopropanol for about an hour. This modifies the surface of the glass by essentially etching the surface layer away to expose a clean negatively charged glass surface. The substrate is then rinsed with ultrapure water for 30 seconds. After the rinse, the negatively charged substrate is placed into a 2 mg/mL aqueous solution of (positively charged) PDDA for 20 minutes. Once a layer of PDDA has been adsorbed onto the surface, the substrate is rinsed for 30 seconds with ultrapure water to remove excess polymer. The surface of the substrate now contains a positively charged monolayer and is ready to adsorb a negative material. An 8% (wt.) V20 aqueous solution was prepared such that the lyotropic liquid crystalline dye was in the nematic phase. Note that it is crucial that the dye be in an ordered liquid crystalline phase, as the shearing will align the dye aggregates in the flow direction. V20 was sheared onto the substrate using a Ľ-inch wire-wound wet-film applicator rod (No. 3, Paul N. Gardner Co., Inc.). After a period of 5 minutes, a monolayer of dye is adsorbed onto the surface and the excess is then rinsed off with deionized water for 30 seconds. One may continue to layer the dye on by alternating with a positive polymer, negative dye, etc. until the desired number of dye layers is achieved.
To confirm that the dye was in-fact being adsorbed as a monolayer, Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) was employed using Digital Instruments' NanoScope IIIa. Four samples were created using the prescription described in Example 1; one of cleaned plain glass (FIG. 6), one of glass+PDDA (FIG. 7), one of glass+PDDA+V20 (FIGS. 8 and 9), and one with glass+PDDA+V20+PDDA+V20 (FIGS. 10 and 5). All samples were scratched with the same razor and subsequently rinsed with deionized water. The samples were then examined under the AFM using the non-contact tapping mode. It can be seen in FIG. 6, there are two characteristic scratches created by the razor which are 1.53 μm apart. Note that the unscratched glass to the right is the same height as the glass in-between the two characteristic scratches. In FIG. 7, these two same scratches are evident. Therefore, the glass immediately to the left of the monolayer of PDDA can be taken as the true surface from which to measure. The thickness of the layer of PDDA is measured to be about 1 nm. A monolayer of PDDA is approximately 1 nm thick so the measured layer is in fact a monolayer. In FIG. 8, the glass immediately to the left of the PDDA+V20 layers can be taken to be the true surface as the distance from the one of the scratches to the double-layer is measured to be about 2.04 μm (the same distance as in FIG. 7). The PDDA+V20 layer thickness was measured to be about 3 nm. The plank-like dye molecule has a length of approximately 2 nm so the dye is believed to be standing on edge in the aggregate as the aggregate is adsorbed onto the Polymer monolayer as seen in FIG. 9. In FIG. 10, the thickness of the PDDA+V20+PDDA+V20 layers, schematically shown in FIG. 5, was measured to be about 6 nm, which is in agreement with the above measurements.
In-plane orientational order of the LCLC molecules manifests itself in the dependence of light absorption on the in-plane (azimuthal) angle between the polarization of normally incident light and the shear direction, see FIG. 11. A minimum of transmittance is achieved when the incident light polarization is parallel to the plane of the molecule. The symmetry of the pattern corresponds to a uniaxial in-plane orientational order. Note that the absorbance becomes more anisotropic as the number of absorbing V20 layers increases.
In FIG. 11, with only four oriented monolayers deposited, the overall transmission of light along the absorbing moment of the lyotropic chromonic material is still over 91% whereas the transmission of light along the transmitting moment of the material is about 97% normalized light intensity. This implies that the polarization efficiency for this extremely thin film polarizer is about 3.3%. It therefore becomes obvious that in order to make a useful optical device, multiple layers of oriented material must be used. For example from this data, one may extrapolate that it would take at least 100 monolayers of dye to make a "useful" polarizing film with an overall thickness of at least 300 nm.
Other investigations into the possibility of using the polyion layers as an alignment layer were made. Using a rubber squeegee, the polyion solution was sheared onto the substrate in a back and forth motion. Presumably, the polymer backbones of the polyion would align in the flow direction and adsorb onto the substrate anisotropically. This in-turn would provide some sort of anisotropic alignment layer for the dye as it was applied to the substrate. Three substrates were made with the "anisotropically" adsorbed PDDA in the same manner as described in Example 1. One substrate was dipped into an isotropic solution of V20 (see FIG. 12). The next substrate was dipped (normal to the surface of the glass—so as not to introduce any preferential direction) into a nematic solution of V20 (see FIG. 13). The third substrate was sheared with a nematic solution of V20 (see FIG. 14). It was found that the isotropic solution of dye was not absorbed anisotropically. This is because the dye must be in an elongated aggregate nematic phase for the anisotropic anchoring interaction to take place. Supporting evidence was found in the second sample, which exhibits anisotropic light absorption indicating an anisotropic adsorption of dye onto the substrate. As expected in the third sample, the sheared V20 was anisotropic as before.
It is important to note that the phase of the dye and the deposition method are of course, crucial to the resulting film. In order to achieve orientation of the LCLC, it should be sheared onto the polyion substrate while in the liquid crystalline phase. A sample was created in the same manner as Example 1; however, the isotropic phase of V20 was sheared onto the polyion substrate, rather than the liquid crystalline phase of V20. In FIG. 11, it is obvious that this substrate exhibits no anisotropy in the absorption of light. The dye, being pleochroic in nature, will exhibit anisotropy in the absorption of light only after it has been uniformly oriented. Therefore, the dye must be in an elongated aggregate nematic phase so that shear flow can induce alignment.
An experiment was devised in which the surface layer of polyion was of the same charge as the dye to illustrate that the dye is adsorbed onto the polyion substrate, rather than dye diffusion into the polymer as the polymer swells. All spectroscopic measurements were made with a Perkin-Elmer Lambda 18 spectrometer in the visible spectrum. In this experiment, four samples were prepared from a glass substrate, which was cleaned as described in Example 1. Note that all of the samples were thoroughly rinsed with ultrapure water after the adsorption had taken place in order to wash off excess material. The substrate is prepared as in Example 1 above, where, after adsorbing a layer of PDDA, the substrate is dipped either into a 3 mg/mL aqueous solution of Poly(sodium 4-styrenesulfonate) (PSS; MW=1M, Aldrich) for 20 minutes to adsorb a negative polyion layer or an 8% aqueous solution of V20 to adsorb a negative dye layer. Note that PSS becomes negatively charged in aqueous solution as Na+ disassociates in water. The samples were as follows: a pure glass substrate, one with glass+PSS+V20, one with glass+PDDA +PSS+V20, and one with glass+PDDA+V20.
The spectra of these samples appear in FIG. 15. From these spectra, it is seen that no light absorption came from the glass and glass+PSS+V20 samples. Hence, no dye was adsorbed onto these substrates as the glass, PSS, and V20 are all negatively charged. The glass+PDDA+PSS+V20 sample shows some slight light absorption probably due to diffusion of the aqueous dye solution into the polymers as the polymers swell. This "swelling" absorption can be considered negligible when compared to the much higher light absorption of the glass+PDDA+V20 sample. This clearly establishes that the adsorption mechanism is in fact due to the electrostatic charges of the materials and not diffusion during swelling of the polymer. In addition, PSS is not needed in the assembly of polyion and dye monolayer stacks as it is of the same charge as the LCLC dye.
The structure 30 may be employed as an alignment layer for thermotropic liquid crystal materials. As best seen in FIG. 16, a cell, designated generally by the numeral 50, may be provided. The cell 50 includes a pair of opposed structures 30 which may or may not be provided with corresponding electrodes 52. A thermotropic liquid crystal material 54 is disposed between the structures 30 and may be aligned according to the features imparted on the structures 30. Accordingly, the structures 30 may be rubbed in any number of directions so as to affect the liquid crystal material 54 disposed therebetween. Use of the electrodes allows for providing a display of the desired thermotropic liquid crystal material in a manner dependent upon its particular operational characteristics. The long-range orientation intrinsic to the LCLC is defined within the plane during shear deposition of the LCLC. In establishing in-plane orientation within the monolayer, one is able to manipulate the optical axis of the system in subsequent layers to create any number of useful geometries for practical optical devices. In addition, a substrate with a stack of dried LCLC monolayers obtained by the "surface film alignment" technique can also be used as a substrate to align the bulk of a thermotropic liquid crystal. In this case, the "surface film alignment" substrates are used as the bounding plates for the thermotropic liquid crystal where the thermotropic is in direct contact with the LCLC.
These examples should not be limited to singular functional optical device. One might envision so-called integrated optical devices where multiple functionality of the resulting multilayered stacks could be realized as a combination of any of the aforementioned devices in subsequent multilayered stacks. Such an optical component could be manufactured by a continuous fabrication process. It is envisioned that this process would be implemented on a conveyor system wherein a substrate is placed on a turntable. Starting out, the substrate would be rinsed with water as described above. Next, a roller would apply and shear a layer of PDDA onto the substrate which is then rinsed again with water. Following this, a nitrogen stream is applied to the substrate and another roller applies and shears a layer of LCLC onto the layer of PDDA. Water then rinses the assembly again. It will be appreciated that the rotation of the rollers is at a rate faster than the speed of the conveyor to induce shear operation. Upon completion of the rinsing step, the turntable may be slightly rotated and the above process steps are repeated until the stacked component with the desired number of layers is completed. And, as noted previously, selection of LCLC materials with different polarities may eliminate the need for the polyion layers.
The above process can be used to make any number of optical components as seen in FIGS. 17A-D. It should be noted that different absorbing or non-absorbing lyotropic chromonic materials might be used in multilayered stacks of monolayers to achieve an optical device. An example of a lyotropic chromonic liquid crystalline material that does not absorb visible light would be Disodium Cromoglycate (DSCG).
FIG. 17A shows a color filter designated generally by the numeral 70. The filter 70 employs any number of layers of polyion layers 72 and isotropic phase LCLC layers 74 on a substrate 76 which provides no orientation for the absorbing axis. In the color filter 70, the absorbing (visible light) chromonic material is in the isotropic (non-ordered) state when it is deposited during the manufacturing process. Hence, films made from the isotropic phase material absorb all polarization states of light uniformly and only transmit light of the wavelengths that the material does not absorb.
For many optical devices one would need to stack monolayers of lyotropic chromonic materials with an in-plane axis of orientational order that changes direction in any prescribed fashion from one monolayer to another or from one group of monolayers to another group. Multiple oriented monolayers of such a stacked material might be used in band-gap filters where orientation of the optical axis every 200 layers, for example, is alternated by 90 degrees to create a uniform modulation in the optical index of the film every 600 nm. Note that in the band-gap filter application, the thickness of the optically birefringent materials may be controlled precisely from multilayer to multilayer allowing the multilayers to be spectrally tunable. In essence, one might tune the multilayered stack thickness to the particular wavelength or wavelengths of interest. In addition, one might slightly rotate the optical axis of one particular multilayer stack with respect to another (so they are not necessarily mutually perpendicular) to create polarization dependent band-gap filters of specific wavelengths or multiple (continuous) wavelengths.
One may spectrally tune the films by simply using a different absorbing lyotropic chromonic material. For example, one might use Violet 20 which exhibits maximum absorption of light around 570 nm or Blue 27 which exhibits maximum absorption of light around 650 nm. Combining these two dyes in one film of multiple layers and controlling the proportion of one material over the other might enable one to tune the overall color of the film from say violet to blue.
FIG. 17B shows a band-gap filter designated generally by the numeral 80 which includes a first stack 82 of monolayer films 83, interleaved with polyion layers 84, and a second stack 85 of monolayer films 86 also interleaved with polyion layers 84. Any number of stacks could be provided on a substrate 88 depending upon the end application. It will be appreciated that the orientation of the films is the same throughout a stack and that the direction of orientation between adjacent stacks may or may not be the same. The number of films in a stack corresponds to the wavelength of light to be filtered or reflected. In one example, the band-gap filter may be constructed so that the optical axes of the two non-absorbing chromonic materials in the film are oriented to be mutually perpendicular. Each multilayered stack of the respective materials is at a certain thickness determined by the specific optical wavelength to be reflected. There are perhaps hundreds of monolayers within each multilayer stack and perhaps tens of multilayered stacks of each material within the filter. Hence, to create an effective band-gap filter, the resulting monolayers should number in the thousands.
FIG. 17C shows a polarizer designated generally by the numeral 90. The polarizer 90 employs any number of polyion layers 92 and sheared nematic phase LCLC layers 94 on a substrate 96 at least the layers 94 are sheared in the same direction. The polarizer may have the absorbing chromonic material oriented uniformly in one direction throughout 100 or more layers.
FIG. 17D shows a compensator designated generally by the numeral 100. The compensator 100 has a top LCLC layer 102 sheared in the plane of the paper. Successive LCLC layers 104, 106, 108—with interposed polyion layers 109—twist out of the plane so the bottom layer 108 is sheared normal to the paper. The bottom layer 108 is in contact with a thermotropic liquid crystal material 110 that may be bounded by a substrate 112 and functions as an alignment layer. This integrated optical device could be used in a polarizing-compensating-alignment multilayered stack for a TN cell. In such a device, the film would function simultaneously as an optical polarizer, optical compensator for the thermotropic liquid crystalline structure captured between substrates, and alignment layer for the thermotropic liquid crystal which would be in direct contact with the LCLC in the TN cell. The compensator optically compensates for the birefringence of the thermotropic material. For example, using DSCG, one might be able to make an optical compensator for a normally black mode twisted-nematic (TN) liquid crystalline cell. This could be accomplished by simply rotating the shearing direction of the chromonic material in subsequent layers as one progresses through the stacks to reverse-mimic the optical axis structure of the thermotropic liquid crystal within the TN cell.
Thus, it can be seen that the objects of the invention have been satisfied by the structure and its method for use presented above. While in accordance with the Patent Statutes, only the best mode and preferred embodiment has been presented and described in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited thereto or thereby. Accordingly, for an appreciation of the true scope and breadth of the invention, reference should be made to the following claims.
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THURSDAY, May 27 (HealthDay News) -- Use of indoor tanning equipment substantially increases the risk of melanoma, with the highest risk found for people who use high-speed/intensity and high-pressure indoor tanning beds, according to a report published online May 26 in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention.
DeAnn Lazovich, Ph.D., of the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, and colleagues sent questionnaires and conducted telephone interviews with 1,167 subjects (aged 25 to 59 years) diagnosed with invasive cutaneous melanoma in Minnesota during 2004 to 2007, and a control group of 1,101 gender- and age-matched subjects from driver's license lists. The groups were asked about their experience with indoor tanning equipment, type of equipment used, age of initiation, length of use, period of use, doses, and any tanning-caused burns.
The researchers found that, among the melanoma group, 62.9 percent of subjects had used indoor tanning equipment compared to 51.1 percent in the control group. Among those who had ever used indoor tanning equipment, there was a 74 percent increased risk of melanoma. Compared to nonusers, the melanoma risk varied by equipment: for high-pressure tanning beds/booths (UVA-emitting devices), adjusted odds ratio (aOR), 4.44; for high-speed or high-intensity tanning beds/booths (UVB-enhanced), aOR, 2.86; for sunlamps, aOR, 1.85; and for conventional tanning equipment, aOR, 1.76. There was a strong dose-response relationship between melanoma risk measured in total hours, sessions, or years spent tanning.
"In a highly exposed population, frequent indoor tanning increased melanoma risk, regardless of age when indoor tanning began. Elevated risks were observed across devices," the authors write.
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Lake Marion High School wide receiver Mike Williams verbally committed to Clemson on Tuesday afternoon, becoming the 17th player to commit to the Tigers 2013 recruiting class.
Williams, a consensus four-star prospect, is the third-ranked high school player in the state, according to Rivals.com. The website rates him the No. 37 wide receiver prospect in the country, while Scout.com has him ranked as the nations No. 27 wide receiver.
Williams picked Clemson over South Carolina.
I just felt at home, Williams told recruiting analyst Phil Kornblut. I felt wanted there. They were telling me the things I wanted to hear.
As a junior, Williams caught 65 passes for 1,269 yards and 12 touchdowns.
Williams said he is looking forward to playing in Clemsons wide-open offense under offensive coordinator Chad Morris.
They get the ball to their wide receivers, Williams said. There are three or five on the field every play, and they are going to throw it.
Williams is the fourth player from South Carolina to commit to the Tigers for the 2013 class.
After a slow start, the Tigers have picked up 10 verbal commitments since the beginning of June, including the nations top-ranked player in defensive end Robert Nkemdiche of Loganville, Ga.
The Tigers 2013 recruiting is ranked 13th in the nation by Rivals.com and the No. 12 by Scout.com.
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Town Square
Pay a buck, save the world
Original post made on Oct 12, 2012
Read the full story here Web Link posted Friday, October 12, 2012, 11:15 AM
Comments (1)
a resident of Greendell/Walnut Grove
on Oct 12, 2012 at 2:37 pm
Thanks to the Weekly for publishing this good news! The Kiwanis Club is so happy to be honoring Robert Freeman for his amazing work with our teens and One Dollar For Life's 24 projects in its first five years.
The whole community is invited to join us in honoring Robert. See details and register at Web Link
Jim Phillips
Kiwanis Club of Palo Alto
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Grab a Bowl of Heaven soon in Mountain View
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By Phil Flynn |
December 10, 2013
It is not really like West Texas Intermediate oil is going up so much as Brent Crude is going down. The oil trade of the last few months continues to unwind.
By Phil Flynn |
December 9, 2013
Crude oil hit a six-week high on exuberance over jobs, China and weather. Chinese exports are going wild and the southern leg of the Keystone Pipeline could help draw down supply in Oklahoma.
By Scott Rose and Marina Sysoyeva, Bloomberg |
March 25, 2013
Russian President Vladimir Putin signaled acceptance of an accord reached by Cyprus on an international bailout, a week after berating an earlier rescue plan as "unfair, unprofessional and dangerous."
How would crude handle an Iranian comeback?
Institutional interest in bitcoin surges as trading products mature
Eurodollar gives nod to improving financial conditions
6 mistakes to avoid when investing in ETFs
Simplifying fibonacci for traders
Central banks take center stage
Getting into gold with bull spreads


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Ultimate Leapfrog Holiday Prize Pack Event
Hosted by: StuckAtHomeMom.com and TheNightOwlMama.com
LeapFrog Prizes:
- Leapfrog LeapPad2
- Leapfrog Leapster Gs
- Leapfrog Brave Game
- Leapfrog Leapschool Math Game
- Tag with Human Body Discovery Pack
Event date: Nov 17th, 2012 to Dec 3st 2012
Free Blog Event! Sign-up here, BLOGGERS WANTED
Lauren is the owner and writer for Crazy About My Baybah. She is a mom that is crazy about her family, art, photography, getting fit, Disney, and living in Las Vegas.
Latest posts by Lauren Elise (Posts)
- Five Reasons My Family Loves Cox Contour - November 24, 2014
- Oreo Turkey Pops | Thanksgiving Treat for Kids - November 22, 2014
- Iced Turkey Cookies | Thanksgiving Treats for Kids - November 21, 2014


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BPL Community Profile
M B (livingontheroad) - BPL Premium Member
You cannot send this user a personal message (PM) because they have not specified a PM email address yet.
All Forum Posts by M B
mtr or vvr
If I did it again I would skip MTR resupply. Its only 1 day from VVR for me, 2miles out of the way, requires a few hrs of time, and is hot as hell at the low elevation. I did the trail in 14 day...
I mowed the yard on a sunny 93f humid day, and tried both a 6oz merino l/s, my RAB l/s that weighs 3.5 oz, and my exofficio reef runner. The ex officio was hands down the coolest, and is mosquito r...
Just finished jmt and the only things I used my tiny stash of tp for was blowing my nose, and blotting my glasses after washing them. Rocks,sticks, and small pine twigs with soft green needles d...
sleeping bags
I have 3 good bags, 25F synthetic 30F down 35F down 2 good quilts 40F down 20F down
"what gear just makes you happy using it?" Everything down that it really light. Montbell jackets, WM bags, EE quilts.
You dont want any light food. Light means no calories. You want food without water content, because that is 0 cal/oz added wt. Probars, as said previously, make decent first breakfast for me, o...
Baking soda.
dont forget it also cures cancer. Seriously.
FS - UV Buff new condition - SOLD
Buff is sold. Thank you for the interest to all. Decided to try a buff, kind of hard without buying it since they attach it to the little cardboard thingy in the store. So I bought it, and tried...
baking soda
next to the wheel, baking soda may be the most versatile invention of mankind
Sul cordage
spectra fishing line would work fine, but be more prone to tangle. I considered it but eventually decided it would be more a pain in the A to try to use, than it would be worth. It doesnt have...
All Reader Reviews by M B
Showing 1 - 2 of 2 | Page: 1
Melanzana micro grid hoody
very light, very warm, very comfortable. great design. A bit pricey, but worth it for the use I get out of it.
Western Mountaineering Megalite
Roomy, warm, true to rating , or better if shift down to top to maximize loft when sleeping on good R value pad. I sleep cold with a pretty low bodyfat percentage. After shifting most down to to...


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Nokia Lumia 1520 phablet hands-on
The Nokia Lumia 1520 is the first Windows Phone 8 phablet (alongside the mid-range Lumia 1320) and the take advantage of the newly extended hardware support of the WP devices. We are of course talking about the upped resolution cap and the extended choice of chipsets.
The Nokia Lumia 1520 is on par with the best Android-land has to offer – a 1080p screen and a Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 chipset with 2GB of RAM. Read more »


text: Former US Senator Larry Pressler snaps a photo of The Washington Post's Dana Milbank with Steve Hildebrand, owner of Josiah's. Photo by Todd Epp/NPN used with permission. Why Was The Washington Post's Dana Milbank in Sioux Falls? By Todd Epp 5 weeks ago | 1140 KSOO-AM The Washington Post's ace political reporter Dana Milbank was in Sioux Falls Thursday. Category: Articles, Blogs, Local News, South Dakota News Tags: Sioux Falls Send to a friend! Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Pin it! Reddit This! Share on Tumblr!


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December 5-7 & 12-14
Holiday Happening on the Niagara Wine Trail!
Tickets are limited and available through NiagaraWineTrail.org
November 21-23
Niagara Art Trail presents the work of Michael Connelly
Stop in to view the exhibition of originals and prints. Mediums include watercolor, pen & ink, pastel & acrylic.
Michael will be here Friday from 3-7, and noon to 7pm Saturday.
December 10
PAINT & TASTE!- this event is Sold Out!
Share an evening of Art, Wine & Friends. Our next Paint & Taste is scheduled for January 7th. Call and reserve your easel! 716 433-3360
New Release: CANAWLER CHARDONNAY
Our newest offering of the year is now available, this un-oaked chardonnay offers up apple and pear notes with a creamy soft finish! Perfect fit with your Turkey Traditions!
December 12 & 13
HOLIDAY SOUNDS presented by LAKE PLAINS PLAYERS
A recital of your favorite holiday music. Friday & Saturday nights at 7:30 pm. There is limited seating, so call and reserve your seat 716 433-3360.
Stepping into 2 Pine Street offers a glimpse back in time.
A charming alternative to expectations of what a winery looks like and where it is likely to be located. Lockport's Urban Winery is located inside Old City Hall. Already I am ahead of myself.
Flight of Five Winery is named in honor of the spectacular engineering feats
accomplished in Lockport in the 1820's, the series of locks known as the Flight of Five, numbering Lock 67 through Lock 71. The only twin set of five locks built in the world. The ingenuity, skill and labor brought here to accomplish this afforded extensive development in the days to come and 2 Pine Street was in the thick of it.
The opportunity to share our interest in wine
and the history of this waterway that changed the face of our nation was too good to pass up. Having spent the last 15 years exploring canal towns across New York State in our spare time and working in the local wine industry for the last decade, we find ourselves in an ideal place to combine these passions. This was a gift.
After all...Lockport needed an urban winery
and we needed more time to explore the Erie Canal while making the wine we love and showcasing the bounty of agriculture that Western New York has to offer.
We invite you to join us in the tasting room
to sample our wines, to enjoy local foods paired specifically with them and to discover a small part of what this region has to offer, through it's wines, cuisine and rich history.
See you soon,
Jackie & Mike Connelly
Owners of Flight of Five Winery
Built in 1864, the Benjamin C Moore Mill
diverted excess water from the Erie Canal and used it to power the grist mill.
In 1884 the building was purchased by Birdsill Holly, local inventor
and extremely clever fellow (second only to Thomas Edison in the number of US patents he registered.) Holly worked to develop his ideas about pumping water throughout the city. One of the patents he worked on here was a system of direct pressure water supply for fire protection in cities and towns. We call them fire hydrants.
In 1893, the City of Lockport purchased the building and made it City Hall.
At that time an addition was built to house the Courtroom. Now it houses the winery.
About our Urban Winery
Winery Events Calendar
Contact Flight of Five Winery
Lockport NY Winery Homepage
Flight of Five Winery Sitemap
2 Pine Street, Lockport NY 14094, (716) 433-3360
WebEssentials Website Design & Hosting ~
Photography by Dennis Stierer


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Tight end signed Aaron Wilson
The New England Patriots are signing former Jacksonville Jaguars and Green Bay Packers tight end D.J. Williams.
Williams has nine career receptions for 70 yards.
Williams is a former Arkansas standout who won the John Mackey Award in 2010 when he was named All-Southeastern Conference for the Razorbacks.
He had 54 receptions for 627 yards and four touchdowns.
A former Packers fifth-round draft pick, Williams was cut by the Jaguars earlier this month.
The Patriots are shorthanded at tight end due to a knee injury to Michael Hoomanawanui.
The Patriots cut cornerback Justin Green and defensive tackel Marcus Forston.
Follow me on Twitter: @RavensInsider
Aaron Wilson covers the Ravens for The Baltimore Sun.
NFP's Introduction to Scouting Class is now registering for our Winter sessions! Save $200 if you register before December 1st! REGISTER NOW!
Check out our partners at TiqIQ for the best deals on all games on the 2014 NFL schedule.
NOV 26 Joel Corry
Inside a performance-based contract
Elvis Dumervil will be handsomely rewarded after his big night in New Orleans.
NOV 25 Jeff Fedotin
Does Mike Evans deserve Rookie of the Year?
Tampa Bay wide receiver has a TD in four straight games.
NOV 20 Joel Corry
Will there be first ballot Hall of Famers in 2015?
A detailed look at the eight candidates vying for that unique honor.


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Episode 149 – " Skiing Romance With Nia Simone"
October 8, 2014
This post was written by DamienNewbie Writers Podcast
The Newbie Writers' Podcast
Guest: Nia Simone
After two weeks off (one week thanks to a nut case in chicago) we are back. This week we have Nia Simone on the show to chat about being an author, blogger and someone who love skiing!
Some questions we asked:
What is your publishing experience?
How does your own writing tie together with editing John's work?
Why do you write Romance?
What are you working on now?
What are some of the things you've learned in your first couple years of being published?
Somewhere Far from Iris is a drama about a depressed man who goes back to his hometown to sort himself out and has to confront an explosive situation that is related to the mystery of his heritage. http://amzn.to/1oKLtHG
The Light at the Bottom ofRead More
Bad Art
October 1, 2014
This post was written by CBramkampNewbie Guide
I spend a lot of time in museums. And if you follow my husband on Facebook you know that he, in turn, spent quality time outside the museums taking and posting photos of fountains. It's his new travel meme. He got a lot of likes.
I love art and I love how good art symbolizes one thing that often means another. Good art is revolutionary, accidentally, like the Impressionists, or intentionally like Mao's wife demanding that ballet be more "revolutionary" which resulted in truly unwatchable performances.
Good art is subversive and "bad". And often we don't initially respond well to the avant guard. Sometimes it takes us, as the audience, a few years to appreciate the art. The standard example is that no one really collected or appreciated Van Gogh'sRead More
Future Girls – Now
September 24, 2014
This post was written by CBramkampNewbie Guide
Read More
December 1st Future Girls will be released! Want to get a jump on it? Ask for the Advance Reading Copy – firstname.lastname@example.com and post a review on Amazon on the release date. It will help more than you think!
You've heard authors say phrases like – editorial hell, working through the edits, I'm arguing with my editor. My editor knows nothing. Don't talk to me, I'm working on the edits for my book.
So have I.
So when the edits for Future Girls (Eternal Press) were finally, finally, finally returned, I figured I would spend at least two or three weeks in editorial hell with the manuscript.
But I didn't.
And I credit sending the manuscript out to Beta Readers before submitting it to the publisher. Listening to the suggestions made by the Beta Readers made a tremendous difference in the editorial process.
But nothing is ever perfect.
According to the editor, or in this case, the style guide she employs "No beginning sentences with "And," "Or," or "But" I've gone through andRead More
Episode 147 – "Social Media For Noobs"
September 14, 2014
This post was written by DamienNewbie Writers Podcast
The Newbie Writers' Podcast
Guest: Thubten Comerford
Twitter expert.
We've talked with Frances Caballo, twitter expert and author. I just connected with Thubten Comerford (through Twitter, aren't you proud?) And he runs a company devoted to Twitter and maximizing their client's platform.
So I wanted to get information the Newbie Writer can start using right away to build you platform and create fans even before the book is published.
We create social experiences that create engagement with your brand and converts customers. Developing social media profiles thoughtful content strategy and actively engaging current and potential customers. Developing Brand Personalities, Online Content, Social Media Strategic Marketing, customRead More
If I wasn't convinced before that Beta Readers are the new black, then the notes from the editor of Eternal Press for Future Girls clinched the deal.
This is what my editor said after reviewing the manuscript for Future Girls:
"Congratulations on a wonderful novel! In general the writing was excellent and I felt fortunate to work with a writer who knows her craft. I quite enjoyed editing it and I hope that you find my suggestions useful.
"There are suggestions which I make that you can ignore.
"There are things in which my hands are tied, and these are items are from the EP Style Guide.
""Said" and "asked" are the best (dialogue) tags because they are invisible. He declared, she announced, etc. all draw attention to themselves. I've pointed out a few of them, and when not necessaryRead More
Episode 146 – "Writing For Love With Melissa Smith Baker"
September 3, 2014
This post was written by DamienNewbie Writers Podcast
The Newbie Writers' Podcast
Special Guest: Melissa Smith Baker, MA
Relationship Educator and Author
Melissa and Catharine met through our speaker's Bureau and she has written Save your Relationship from Yourself.
You blog and offer classes and produce a newsletter. Tell us about your journey in creating your book.
What are the most common questions you get asked?
Tell us about your favorite relationship myth.
How did your business grow? What was the thought behind the book, web site and classes?
How are the classes at the SMI coming along? How did you get that partnership?
Word of the week:
From Arlene Miller and author of the new The Best Grammar Workbook Ever
This is from Arlene's Miller's Weird and Wonderful Words Series found on her blogRead More
10 Things Every Serious Writer Has… | Writing in a Dead World.
Writing in a Dead World posted a most excellent list for writers. I'm a fan of owning too many pens and too many notebooks none of which I can seem to locate when I have a really great idea.
And if you are a serious writer, here is a tip if you are prone to scribbling in the car, in traffic, on a note pad, because there isn't a RULE against actual WRITING in the car, just texting. Anyway, if you are trying to scrawl down that great idea for your NaNoWriMo novel, use a big, legal sized note pad. That way you can write all over it, and something will be captured. Plus it may prevent you from writing on your slacks.Read More
I just met with potential clients – talented, interesting, successful women who want to share what they've learned beyond their client base and Influence more people than they will ever meet.
They are smart and thoughtful, and so are considering many aspects of writing a book that on the face of it, have nothing to do with writing:
- How to attract guests to the workshop based on the book
- Who to hire to create the web site for the book
- Who is the best person to manage SEO.
- Graphic artist for the cover design
- How long or short is the time line to create the finished product
- What key words will best describe the book
- Marketing plan for promotion
- Business plan for the book
- Proposal plan for publication
- Indie or legacy publisher?
- What is the ROI?
Because they are business orientated,Read More
Episode 145 – "Writing, Creativity And Business With Valerie Khoo!"
August 26, 2014
This post was written by DamienNewbie Writers Podcast
The Newbie Writers' Podcast
Special Guest: Valerie Khoo
This week I had the pleasure to chat with Valerie Khoo, who is an extraordinary person who some how finds the time to write, run a national writer's centre, is a professional speaker, blogger and podcast host. I try to find out how she does it all and keep a sane mind! We discuss how it all began, why accounting is not the ideal career for a writer, tips for newbies and much more.
Inspire. Create. Write.
You've heard of 'writer's block'. Well, think of the Australian Writer's Centre as the complete opposite of writer's block… a place where inspiration, encouragement and motivation don't just reside – they thrive. This was certainly the aim of founder Valerie Khoo when she launched the Centre back in 2005. And sinceRead More


text:
Early morning structure fire in Manhattan
At 1:57 this morning, the Manhattan Fire Department was dispatched to 721 Osage Street for a report of a structure fire.
Sponsored by:
At 1:57 this morning, the Manhattan Fire Department was dispatched to 721 Osage Street for a report of a structure fire.
Amanda Narverud a Topeka native is a Finalist in the Americal Eagle campaign.
Turn your drag digits into shiny, strong fingernails with the simple swipe of a brush.
A major part of Kansas history is getting a modern twist.
A Kansas consumer advocate agency says Westar Energy Inc. can get by with a smaller rate increase
Connecting local consumers with Kansas businesses.
A former vicar at a Topeka church will be sentenced Sept. 27 after pleading no contest to sexually assaulting a boy who attended the church.
Members of co-ops in Nickerson and Sterling will vote next month on whether to merge.
There's good news and bad news for the Anthony City Lake.
A former Sedgwick County Jail deputy will stand trial on charges that he raped two jail inmates.
A new report says that 71 percent of Kansas farms now have access to computers.
The indictment returned Wednesday accuses 29-year-old Sarah Harding-Huffine of writing prescriptions for more than 20 people even though she…
Law enforcement and mental health advocates took park in the 7th annual Crisis Intervention Team Summit Meeting today.
After being sentenced to 35 years in prison for leaking classified documents to the anti-secrecy website WikiLeaks, Pfc. Bradley Manning is …
Hay fields across Kansas have finally dried enough from recent rain that farmers can begin cutting overgrown alfalfa crops this week.
One of two buses taking Missouri sixth-graders to an annual campout overturned in northeast Kansas
The Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) has issued a boil water advisory for the City of Hoyt, located in Jackson County.
A Kansas artist whose bronze sculptures are on display in the nation's capital and at historical monuments around the country has died. He w…
Kansas and Arizona officials have filed a federal lawsuit in an attempt to force a federal elections agency to change its voter registration…
Back to school also means back to practice for thousands of student athletes and coaches.


text:
North of Liverpool, Aintree is best known as the home of the world-famous Grand National steeplechase. Horseracing at Aintree dates back to the 19th century, but the course was also used as a motor racing circuit and was the five-time home to the British Grand Prix between 1955 and 1962. The Leeds-Liverpool canal also runs through the village.
No incidents to report from our emergency services - please do get in touch through the blog if there's something in your area we should know about it.More »
TRAVEL: Still looking fairly quiet on the roads - but there's slow traffic on the A580 East Lancashire Road at A5208 Moorgate Road (Knowsley Industrial Park).More »
CHRISTMAS COUNTDOWN: Our reporter Rebecca is still feeling festive in Southport...More »
RECORD BREAKER: We've just heard that a retired teacher has succeeded in his bid to become the oldest hockey player in the world.More »
EVERTON FC: Leon Osman celebrated his 400 Everton FC appearance by firing the Blues to victory over West Ham United.More »
SEFTON MEADOWS: Hollywood actress Kim Cattrall is in Liverpool to collect an award at tonight's Collective Honours awards - and just look where she's spent the day.More »
SHOWDOWN: Big queues already to get into the ECHO Arena for tonight's boxing...More »
TRAVEL: Very quiet on the roads. Callers earlier reported an unstable lamp post on the M53 northbound between J2 (Moreton Spur) and J1 Wallasey Tunnel approach / A5139 Dock Road / A554 but that has now been checked
TRANMERE: Full time at Prenton Park - Tranmere 1 Southend 2More »
SHOWDOWN: Join Micheal McKenna and Phil Kirkbride for all the build up to tonight's big fight - it is of course Tony Bellew versus Nathan Cleverly at Liverpool's ECHO arena.More »
HOME SWEET HOME: House prices are now nearly five times higher than the average salary in parts of Merseyside, new figures today reveal.More »


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Dave & Carole
Ralphie May (4/9/14)
What has Ralphie learned from 'parenting ed.'?
Confessions (4/9/14)
What strange things do you have to confess?
Judge Gino: Hair Change (4/8/14)
How does a man delicately tell his wife that he hates her new hair style?
Corbin Bernsen (4/8/14)
Corbin is at the Milwaukee Admirals game celebrating the 25th anniversary of "Major League"
Weird Wisconsin Crimes (4/8/14)
There are so many 'idiots among us'!
Stephanie Sutton (4/4/14)
WISN 12's Stephanie Sutton is covering the Badgers, and other events, while in Dallas.
Dan Needles (4/4/14)
WISN 12 Sports Director Dan Needles checks in covering the Badgers in Dallas
Fridge Theft (4/4/14)
'Fridge Theft' runs rampant in the office place and some people have some clever ways to get back at the…
Cracked History (4/4/14)
Some interesting historical facts that will blow your mind


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The Planet Tour- biker for charity
for the past 2 years I have been setting up my contacts as well as testing myself on the viability of this project by touring to my gigs by bike. I have logged almost 40,000km so far which is not bad for living in a country that has winter for half a year!
The Planet Tour (anyone can do a world tour :rolleyes:
I am out to tickle the funny bone of the planet.
I have been using my stand-up comedy to produce shows at motorcycle events as well as events for the non-riding public.
2010 is the big launch as I tackle a cross Canada tour including heading north into the territories. We will be video taping as much of it as we can and are producing a TV and web show based on the travels and shows.
If you have a biker event, a charity or non-profit group that would be in need of a fund raising event please contact me thru the website.
Here is a bit of biker humor (warning, some language may offend, content warning)
Bikers and Harleys
YouTube - Bikers and Harleys
Explaining 'cougars'
YouTube - DarylMakk's Channel
I hope to meet some of you on the road.
|All times are GMT +1. The time now is 02:22.


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You hit the gym five days a week, get your recommended servings of fruits and vegetables, and even make moderation your mantra, but if these five foods are still lurking in your kitchen, you may be sabotaging your healthy lifestyle and all the hard work you've been putting...
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text: Hello, Player uses the P2OS driver for both the pioneer and the amigobot, so there should be no difference in the sonar data's range. This is assuming that both the pioneer and amigobot have the same hardware. However, I have not used an amigobot, so I'm not the best person to comment on this. I'm not sure what you mean by "vary the sensibility of sonars". -nate On Wed, Jul 16, 2008 at 8:58 AM, Alessandro Marino <amarino2@...> wrote: > > Hi, > I'm experiencing differences between Pioneer3DX's sonar and Amigobot's Sonar > behaviour. > In the middle of a 3m large hall , Pioneer's sonars can <<see>> the walls, > but this is not the case for Amigobot, it needs to stay closer than 0.6m to > the one of the walls and it's very sensible to orientation variation. > ActivMedia assured me that Pioneer and Amigobot use the same kind of > electronic and they suggested me to vary the sensibility of sonars.But > nothing works. > Can be this a player issue?Do sombody else experience the same problem of > short range sonar for Amigobot? > > Thanks, > > Alessandro > -- > View this message in context: http://www.nabble.com/Player1.6.5-and-Amigobot-sonar-tp18490773p18490773.html > Sent from the playerstage-gazebo mailing list archive at Nabble.com. > > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------- > This SF.Net email is sponsored by the Moblin Your Move Developer's challenge > Build the coolest Linux based applications with Moblin SDK & win great prizes > Grand prize is a trip for two to an Open Source event anywhere in the world > http://moblin-contest.org/redirect.php?banner_id=100&url=/ > _______________________________________________ > Playerstage-gazebo mailing list > Playerstage-gazebo@... > https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/playerstage-gazebo >


text: Hot Off The Press Last Train to the Eiffel Tower: The Station that Paris Forgot 34,075 19th September, 2014 On the outskirts of Paris proper, at the back of a parking lot down a side street in a quiet residential neighbourhood of Clichy, there sits an old forgotten train station; crumbling at the edges,... Let's Snoop around F. Scott Fitzgerald's Art Deco French Villa 1,794 3rd May, 2013 Alright, so you might have noticed I have a weakness for French real estate p0rn. [Sigh] I don't know why I do this to myself. Anyhoo, check out my latest find, a 19th century restored villa up for ... Color Snapshots of Paris in another Era (Part II) 432 24th January, 2013 A few months back, I came across a website called Paris 1914, a collection of color photography made in Paris using Autochrome Lumière technology between 1914 and 1918. A wealthy banker of the ... The Paris Boutiques that transform into a Nocturnal Art Museum 619 29th December, 2012 If you try to go during the day, you'll find the "museum" will be closed. In fact, during the day, the Rue Cavalotti in Montmartre is much like any other Parisian street in the quartier, going... Inside the Paris Brothels of the Belle Époque 62,603 11th December, 2012 Behind the number 12, rue Chabanais, a typical building on a typical back street not far from the Musée du Louvre in Paris, used to be one of the most notorious and prestigious bordellos of the gol... 1 2 3 Next Page »


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Scheppers activated, Poreda optioned
The Rangers have activated pitcher Tanner Scheppers and sent pitcher Aaron Poreda to Triple A Round Rock. Scheppers has been on the disabled list with inflammation in his right elbow. He will be in the bullpen.
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In the first town hall-style event of the 2012 campaign, President Barack Obama fielded questions on Monday about rights for the LGBT community, what he would do for small business during a second term and which was his favorite Girl Scout cookie (Thin Mints).
Obama — the first Democrat to carry Hamilton County since Lyndon Baines Johnson — held a packed town hall meeting at Music Hall. Cincinnati Fire Department Capt. Joseph E. Wolf estimated the crowd at 1,200 people in the ballroom with an additional 421 hosted outside.
The most recent Quinnipiac University poll from June 27 showed that 47 percent of Ohio voters favored the president, while 38 percent were behind his presumed Republican challenger Mitt Romney. The poll's margin of error was plus or minus 2.8 percentage points.
Mayor Mark Mallory fired up the crowd before the president spoke, saying Hamilton County is the most important county in Ohio, and Cincinnati the most important city in the county.
"The folks in this room are the most important folks in terms of the re-election of President Barack Obama in the United States of America," Mallory said.
Attending the town hall was former Cincinnati mayor and daytime TV host Jerry Springer, who said he and about a dozen other folks had a private meeting with the president earlier in the day.
"I think it would be bad for the country," Springer said of an America that saw Obama lose the November election. He says the Republican-controlled house would run away with our country without a Democrat in the Oval Office to issue a veto.
Just an hour before the president spoke and seven blocks away at Fountain Square, dozens of Romney supporters rallied, carrying signs with slogans such as "Obama Bin Lyin'."
Republican Mike Wilson, who is looking to unseat Montgomery Democrat Rep. Connie Pillich in the Ohio House of Representatives, was among the speakers at the Romney Rally. Pillich defeated Wilson in the 2010 election.
"Ohio seems destined to play a pivotal role. We're used to it," Wilson said.
Wilson criticized the Obama campaign for "playing politics" with Romney's tenure at the head of investment firm Bain Capital.
The Obama campaign has claimed that Romney invested in businesses that outsourced American jobs.
"We're all interested with what Romney did with his money, but we're not interested with what Obama is doing with our money," Wilson said.
He blamed over-regulation and taxation from the Obama administration for companies moving their operations overseas.
Gerry Molt, who attended the rally with his wife Roxanne, claimed that Obama is at war with America and says the focus on Bain Capital is "clearly a distraction."
Roxanne Molt said she's excited about the importance of Hamilton County in this year's election.
"I think this is the premier election of our lifetime," she said. "I think Romney's got a good plan. We need someone who supports capitalism."
The president did a little bit to support Cincinnati capitalism, making a pit stop at Skyline Chili before the town hall, where he ordered a 4-way and two cheese coneys.
The economy was a big focus of Obama's speech, but also of questions he received afterward.
Tony White, who owns a barber shop/beauty salon, asked what the president would do for small businesses with fewer than 10 employees.
In his response, the president touted the possible savings for small businesses under the health care overhaul, saying they could pool together and receive the same rates as larger businesses. As for moving forward, Obama said he would continue to put pressure on banks to lend to small businesses.
"We've actually been pushing the banks to say, 'look, taxpayers pulled your backside out of the fire, it's now important for you to step up and make sure that small businesses aren't finding their credit restricted, especially if they've been in business for a while," he said.
The president was also asked by a woman who only identified herself as Anna what he would do to further help the LGBT community. Anna's son Adam is openly gay and is looking at attending Miami University in Oxford.
Despite earlier teasing that he wouldn't sing at the town hall, Obama led the crown in singing "Happy Birthday" to Adam, who turned 18 on Monday.
Obama again answered the question by touting his accomplishments so far — ending the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy that forbid homosexuals from serving openly in the military and expanding hospital visitation rights to same-sex partners — before going on to say that the federal Defense of Marriage Act needs to be repealed.
The Defense of Marriage Act defines marriage as between one man and one woman. Obama is the first American president to openly support gay marriage.
The theme the president to which continued to return was that America needs to return to being the land of opportunity.
"What really sets us apart has always been that we have the greatest middle class and a basic idea that's at the heart of this country that says if you work hard then you can get ahead. If you're responsive, then you can live out your dreams. You're not confined to the circumstances of your birth."
German Lopez contributed to this report.
This week's ruling by the Ohio Civil Rights Commission that a Greater Cincinnati landlady violated a girl's civil rights by posting a "whites only" sign at an apartment complex's swimming pool is a decision that most rational people would say is just.
The Jan. 12 ruling means the commission, if it cannot reach a settlement with landlady Jamie Hein, could issue a complaint against her with the Ohio Attorney General's Office. The AG's Office would then represent the complainant, Michael Gunn, before an administrative law judge, who could impose penalties and punitive damages.
A prominent, nonpartisan group today announced its opposition to Issue 48, the proposed amendment to Cincinnati's charter that would block the creation of a streetcar system for at least a decade.
The League of Women Voters of the Cincinnati Area issued a press release today stating it opposes the amendment because the wording is so broadly written that it would prevent the development of any passenger rail system including light rail or commuter rail.
"The First Energy Family has contributed more than $44,000.00 into re-election campaigns for Justices Cupp and O'Donnell this year alone," O'Neill, a Democrat who is running for the Ohio Supreme Court, wrote. "It is simply wrong for them to continue sitting on First Energy cases."
The Ohio Supreme Court, which has seven justices decide
the state's top judicial cases, is currently handling a case
involving FirstEnergy, an energy company based in Akron. More than
300,000 customers are suing the company over alleged fraud. The 11th
District Court of Appeals previously ruled against FirstEnergy, and the case was appealed to the Ohio Supreme Court.
The lawsuit is the fifth Ohio Supreme Court case involving FirstEnergy this year.
O'Neill pointed out the lawsuit "could easily be a billion dollar case" before writing, "And the public has a right to know that the ruling was not purchased by one side or another."
Ohio Sen. Mike Skindell, a Democrat who is also running for the Ohio Supreme Court, endorsed O'Neill's letter. In the past, he also criticized Cupp and O'Donnell for potential conflicts of interest.
The offices of Cupp and O'Donnell did not immediately respond to CityBeat's requests for comment on the letter. This story will be updated if responses become available.
UPDATE OCT. 4, 4:12 P.M.: Mark Weaver, spokesperson for Cupp, responded: "Mr. O'Neill previously raised this argument with disciplinary authorities by filing a complaint. It was reviewed by disciplinary authorities, and they unanimously dismissed it as having no merit."
The next president of the United States, Barack Obama, officially has announced a campaign rally for Sunday evening at UC's Nippert Stadium. Gates open at 6 p.m., and he's scheduled to speak at 9. Check out the Obama web site for details.
It's fitting that he makes his final area appearance of the campaign on the UC campus, where he held such a stirring rally in February before the Ohio primary.
If you have time, do yourself a favor and go see Obama live tomorrow. Then help him win the election on Tuesday.
If you're still undecided, check out CityBeat's endorsement of Obama here.
America is a country at war. While the war in Iraq ostensibly drew down in December 2011, the United States has been quagmired in a war in Afghanistan for more than a decade.
But we're also in the midst of a number of other wars — cultural wars. It started with Nixon's War on Drugs, then quickly escalated.
President Barack Obama's environmental regulations on coal mining caused proponents to claim he had declared a War on Coal. The Affordable Care Act's mandate that companies pay for employee contraception caused many faith groups to claim a War on Religion.
Statements from Republican politicians about "legitimate rape" and "binders full of women" caused some Democrats to claim the GOP had declared a War on Women.
And the ever-vigilant conspiracists news hounds at FOX News have exposed a scheme by Jesus-hating liberals to wage a War on Christmas for trying to remove constitutionally questionable dolled-up trees and pastoral scenes of babies in unsuitable barn-life cribbery faith-based displays from public property.
But by far the most heinous altercation being waged originated with Republican Ohio Senate President Tom Niehaus, who has declared a War on Babies.
As first reported by The Enquirer, conservative groups this week sent out a press release vilifying Niehaus for killing tons of babies in a mass effort to wipe out the state's youth population a 17-month old bill that would give Ohio one of the strictest abortion laws in the nation.
Niehaus moved the so-called Heartbeat Bill — which would ban all abortions after the first detectable fetal heartbeat — from the Health Committee to the Rules and Reference Committee to avoid a forced vote on the legislation. He also removed staunch anti-abortion Senators Keith Faber and Shannon Jones from that committee.
"I'm shocked by Tom Niehaus' war on pro-life women," wrote Lori Viars in the news release. Viars is the vice president of Warren County Right to Life and vice chair of Warren County Republican Party.
Viars called for Republicans to remove Niehaus from Senate leadership. Niehaus is term-limited and will not continue on in office after this year.
Niehaus blamed Romney's loss for his decision to kill the bill, saying that the Republican's victory would have increased the likelihood of a U.S. Supreme Court lineup that would uphold it against a likely challenge.
Limitations imposed by Ohio lawmakers who oppose the Affordable Care Act ("Obamacare") have forced Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center to give up a $124,419 federal grant that would have gone toward helping uninsured Ohioans navigate new online marketplaces for health insurance.
Specifically, the state law, which Gov. John Kasich signed on April 30 and went into effect on July 30, excludes any organization that receives payments from a health care payer, such as an insurance company, from being designated as a "navigator."
The designation is necessary for Cincinnati Children's Hospital to receive the federal grant, which is part of national outreach efforts to enroll as many Americans, especially young adults, into Obamacare's online marketplaces when they open for enrollment on Oct. 1.
Without the designation, Cincinnati Children's Hospital was forced to give up the federal money, Cincinnati Children's Hospital spokesperson Terry Loftus told CityBeat.
State legislators passed the restrictions to clarify regulations on navigators that avoid potential abuses and conflicts of interest.
But Obamacare's supporters claim the state law is part of a nationwide effort from state and federal Republicans to make Obamacare more difficult to implement.
The federal government intends to sign up 7 million people into Obamacare's online marketplaces, but 2.7 million have to be young adults to keep costs low. Otherwise, older, less healthy Americans will fill up the marketplaces, exhaust health services and drive up costs.
Supporters of Obamacare acknowledge that signing up so many young adults will be difficult, so they've taken to national and state-by-state education campaigns that tell young adults about the benefits and cost savings made available through the president's signature health care law. These campaigns are being headed by various organizations that have been dubbed "navigators."
But opponents, particularly Republicans, are preventing some of the efforts by investigating navigators and passing legislation in state governments that limits what navigators can do and who can be classified as a navigator.
Most recently, Republicans in the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee sent a letter to groups participating in the navigator program with a series of accusations and questions.
"This is a blatant and shameful attempt to intimidate groups who will be working to inform Americans about their new health insurance options and help them enroll in coverage, just like Medicare counselors have been doing for years," Erin Shields Britt, spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, told The Hill.
For the uninsured, not knowing about the online marketplaces could mean losing out on opportunities to obtain health insurance at lower costs. Recent reports have found that Obamacare's online marketplaces and tax subsidies will lower costs for Ohioans in the individual health care market.
An Aug. 29 study from the RAND Corporation, a reputable think tank, found health care premiums will rise to an average of $5,312 under Obamacare in 2016. Without the law, premiums would reach an average of $3,973 that year. But when Obamacare's tax credits are plugged in, the average Ohioan will only pay a premium of $3,131 — $842 less than he or she would pay without the law.
Avik Roy, a conservative health care economist and prominent critic of Obamacare, found even better results for Ohio. His model found premiums will drop by 30 percent in Ohio, although they'll rise by 24 percent on average for 13 states, including Ohio, and the District of Columbia as a whole. Unlike RAND, Roy's calculations don't take subsidies into account, so the final cost for the average Ohioan is likely much lower.
The numbers only apply to Ohioans in the individual health insurance market. Under Obamacare, individuals will be able to enroll for health insurance through an online marketplace. The majority of Americans who get health insurance through their employers or public programs fall under different rules and regulations.
It's unclear how much Republican opposition will ultimately play into the numbers. But for Cincinnati Children's Hospital, it means $124,419 less to help its neediest, less knowledgeable patients.
Another round of layoffs hit Cincinnati's only remaining daily newspaper this afternoon. Various reports indicate between 12 and 20 people were let go at The Enquirer.


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November 28, 2014
A Lincoln firefighter is recovering from injuries suffered while while fighting a blaze on Saturday.
The firefighter slipped from a ladder while climbing to the roof of a burning home near 90th and Old Cheney around 11 a.m. He was alert when taken to the hospital. No one else was hurt, though the family's cat died.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
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