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Post-MarsCON, Post-Vacation @ 02:24 pm
In my mind, this week started a lot better than it did. I'd been looking forward to Mason being back at school so I could get back to my routine, particularly going to the gym (which I haven't done since December). BUT on Monday, Shawn had a bunch of errands to do, including one I had to come along for -- taxes. Our tax guy used to be our neighbor (he was a tax guy before being our neighbor,) and he's phenomenal. And gay. Which is actually kind of important since the Federal government doesn't let us jointly file, and he specializes in dealing with gay couples and their messy tax situations.
I've often thought that someone like Stephen Corbert should make the case that Republicans MUST support gay marriage to stop all the tax wonkiness we've been perpetrating all these years.
Today, I was sick. Like food poisioning sick, only (knowing true cases of food poisioning) fairly mild as such things go.
So I spent much of the day in bed (or the bathroom). I'd hoped to start the day at the gym and then settle in for some much needed writing time -- which I've mostly put on hold while Mason was on vacation.
I'm feeling better at the moment. I pulled myself into an upright position and to the coffee house, because now I have a caffiene headache on top of all the stomach yuck. I knew the folks here would be able to recommend a solution. I'm drinking a black tea that has fairly mild acid content, and so far so good.
I wanted to write down my impressions of MarsCON, because, dude, if you weren't there you missed out. I think MarsCON is becoming one of my favorite local conventions, not only because they had the wisdom and taste to have me as a Guest of Honor many years back, but also because a lot of writers show up. I finally got a chance on Friday night to hang out with Bryan Thao Worra (among other luminati like Catherine Lundoff, Mike [damn the badge policy of only first names], Rebecca Marjesdatter and swords_and_pens) and talk about Captian America and the rest of the gang at Marvel. As I told them at one point, I need to do this more often. I forget how awesome it is to hang out with "my people."
Probably the panel of most note was "Villany for Dummies" at 11:00 am in Krushenko's on the 13th floor of the hotel. naomikritzer and Kelly McCullough were the other panelists and I had just the magic amount of caffiene in my system to be in the right frame of mind for this particular panel. At one point one of the audience members tossed down Eric Heideman's glove as a challenge to Kelly when he suggested that rather than hire fashion designers to make our costumes (no capes!), we should just pick the cheaper and more plentiful costumers. Though no one actually broke into fisticuffs or stood on tables, it was much like the sort of panel where that could have happened.
Dude, where were you? You would have LOVED it!
naomikritzer did a fantastic job moderating. She fed our weirdness while keeping the whole thing from becoming, well, TOO weird and out of control.
Also, you missed me reading from RESURRECTION CODE at the Broad Universe Rapid Fire Reading, though probably I'll be reading from it again at a convention near you (hopefully) since it's the one book I have coming out this year that isn't going to have a major NY publisher's powerhouse publicity machine behind it. Also, by chance catherineldf read an awesome short story that also had an Egyptian theme.


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Book your room at Regency Inn and Suites
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Guestrooms at Regency Inn and Suites Anoka offer air conditioning. Guestrooms feature cable television. Bathrooms include hair dryers. Business-friendly rooms are equipped with complimentary wired high-speed internet access. Guestrooms provide clock radios. Services include housekeeping and wake-up calls. Pet friendly property allows dogs, does require a 100 USD deposit, and pet friendly rooms are smoking rooms only.Information missing or incorrect? Tell us!
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CompuLab's Fitlet Is A Very Tiny, Fanless, Linux PC With AMD A10 Micro
Over the past few weeks I've been testing out the CompuLab Fitlet as a neat little Linux PC powered by an AMD A10 Micro-6700T APU with Radeon R6 Graphics. The model I've been testing features 4GB of RAM and a 64GB SSD with the mentioned A10 Micro APU all while being fanless and being smaller than an Intel NUC. The performance out of this tiny computer is quite impressive and reinforces that good things can come out of small packages.
18 June 2015
Trying To Benchmark The MIPS Creator CI20 With Debian Linux
Last year Imagination launched a MIPS development board that went on sale at the end of last year. In not seeing any significant benchmarks or performance coverage from this MIPS Creator CI20 over the past few months, I finally got around to buying one of these MIPS development boards from Imagination Technology. While the CI20 seemed promising at first, so far I'm very unhappy with this board and it's been even less stable than the Imagination PowerVR drivers on Linux going back to the Poulsbo days.
4 June 2015
Intel Compute Stick Performance Surprises Under Ubuntu Linux
Since last week I've been testing the Intel Compute Stick, the quad-core Atom Z3735F Atom powered PC that's a little bigger than the size of an HDMI connector. In this article are some benchmarks of this $150 quad-core + 32GB eMMC + 2GB RAM tiny computer in a variety of benchmarks comparing it to other low-power x86 and ARMv7 hardware.
1 June 2015
Linux 4.1 Power Consumption Appears To Improve For Intel Users
A Red Hat developer mentioned to us at Phoronix that they're seeing "drastically improved battery life" in some cases with the Linux 4.1 kernel to the extent that it's up to 2~4 hours of extra battery life with the kernel upgrade to Git. I've since started some fresh Linux laptop battery tests.
10 May 2015
The Lenovo T450s Is Working Beautifully With Linux
A couple weeks ago I bought the Lenovo T450s, this is my first laptop-upgrade in about three years and I have to say... I am so glad that I did upgrade. Over the last two weeks I've been using the T450s as my daily-driver and its been working almost perfectly under Fedora Linux.
16 April 2015 - 36 Comments
Lenovo ThinkPad T450s Broadwell Preview
This is a "first impression" review. I've had the system in my hands for all of about twenty-four hours and am still exploring and forming more solid opinions. Also any problems I had likely do have solutions, but as I said: less than forty-eight hours of ownership so I haven't had a chance to. Linux-centric system review will follow this weekend / next week.
4 April 2015 - 34 Comments
Turning A Basement Into A Big Linux Server Room
This week I posted about my new server room, where there's Linux benchmarks constantly happening on the Linux kernel and other open-source code via the Phoronix Test Suite and Phoromatic. With many Phoronix readers having been interested in the basement makeover I did to turn a ugly, boring basement into a clean server room, here's more details and pictures on the month-long renovation along with various tips and product recommendations from the experience. This server room is now almost up to 50 systems and is complete with a drink bar and projector. There's plenty of pictures and details for those hoping to build their own personal basement server room, including a few tips for increasing the wife acceptance factor of the big project.
29 March 2015 - 35 Comments
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Works Great As A Linux Ultrabook
Nearly one month ago I bought the third-generation Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon as one of the first laptops/ultrabooks shipping with a high-end Broadwell processor. I've been running Linux on the system since receiving it, including the past ~3 weeks as my main production system, and I remain very happy with this purchase.
15 February 2015 - 43 Comments
9-Way Linux Laptop Performance Comparison From Intel Nehalem To Broadwell
As the latest Linux benchmark numbers to deliver for Intel Broadwell and the new ThinkPad X1 Carbon ultrabook, here's a nine-way Linux laptop/ultrabook comparison. All nine devices in this article were tested against the latest snapshot of Ubuntu 15.04 while running a big set of benchmarks and also monitoring the CPU temperatures and battery power consumption while testing for a nice look at Clarksfield/Nehalem, Sandy Bridge, Ivy Bridge, Haswell, and Broadwell mobile hardware on Linux.
7 February 2015 - 15 Comments
A First Look At The Intel Broadwell NUC Kit
With wrapping up my Core i7 5600U Broadwell Linux tests using the new ThinkPad X1 Carbon in the next few days, fortunately the Intel BOXNUC5I3RYH just arrived as the first available NUC Kit shipping with a Broadwell processor. The NUC5i3RYH features a Broadwell Core i3 processor, HD Graphics 5500, and support for a M.2 SSD card and 2.5-inch HDD/SSD.
5 February 2015 - 12 Comments
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Veronica Falls actuando en Madrid en el teatro Lara
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Centre for Rheumatology and Connective Tissue Diseases
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At the Royal Free campus we provide a general rheumatology service encompassing rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus, psoriatic arthritis, vasculitus, and sarcoid, and combined dermatology clinics.
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Cheyenne Road Construction: 19th St. Closed at Warren Ave. Starting Monday
Cheyenne Central & East Girls Advance to Semi-Finals at State Basketball Tournament
Cheyenne's Washed Vs. Unwashed, Which One is Your Vehicle?
Wyoming Lottery: Power Ball Numbers Picked March 11, 2015
Cheyenne's Ninth Annual 'Project Prom' Begins Saturday, March 14
Burns High School Presents '100 Years of Broadway' Musical Revue March 13 and 14
Do you love singing along to songs from Broadway musicals?
There have been many great Broadway musicals produced over the past 100 years. Burns High School students will be singing songs from many of them during their '100 Years of Broadway' Musical Revue this Friday and Saturday, March 13 and 14.


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Margaret Ann is the owner of The Crystal Garden, a bookstore, gift store and spiritual center located in Boynton Beach, FL founded in August 1988. She is the author of best selling books on positive thought that provide you with the tools you need to create and transform your reality.
Over the past three decades I have been helping people like you recover their joy, happiness, and financial freedom.
Do you feel stuck? Are you experience undefinable fears that block you from moving forward? Do you find it hard to stay focused? Do you feel out-of-control and overly affected by other people's words and actions?
I've been facilitating workshops, classes, weddings, lectures and private sessions for more than 28 years in a variety of venues around the country.
You can achieve anything that your heart desires. Join me online or in person. You can attend workshops online. Click here to sign up for the AcademyoftheSpiritualArts.com or here for Crystal Courses.
Are you ready to release old patterns? Do you notice that you keep having the same relationship issues over and over again? Are your 'buttons' easily pushed by friends, family or co-workers? Join me for a private sessions to transform these challenges. Click here.
It is always my intention that Divine Love provides the guidance and inspiration. This creates a safe, loving environment for the energy of spirit to guide the process, whether it is a private session or a large workshop.
I have a tendency to make you laugh, whether it is in an event or a private session. I like to charm my audiences with my enthusiasm, grace, authenticity and depth of knowledge.
I have published spoken audio CDs, six guided meditations and a positive affirmation CD are distributed nationally and sold at Whole Foods in Florida, as well. To learn more about Margaret Ann's CDs click here.
Margaret Ann is also the creator of a full line of aromatic sprays and mists, including Visionary Award Winning Smudge in Spray.
She also has a wholesale division of The Crystal Garden. If you are a retailer or distributor, click here.
The Angels & Gemstone Guardians Cards are just for you to help bring you happiness, health, abundance, and good relationships.
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Chakra Awakening won the Visionary Award 2012 Best Book in Alternative Health and Healing and ForeWord Reviews 2012 Bronze Medal Award in Body, Mind and Spirit and About.com Readers Choice Award 2012
The Essential Guide to Crystals, Minerals and Stones (Llewellyn Worldwide. April 2013)"Margaret Ann Lembo's Essential Guide to Crystals, Minerals and Stones proves to be a must have guide for anyone who even enjoys picking up rocks. Her straight from the hip approach is matched by her passion, love and knowledge of each and every geode, multifaceted crystal and everything in between. Her organized and detailed approach is why we all loved "Chakra Awakening" and this equally gleams like a polished rock to be carried for good luck!"
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- author of iPhone/iPad App -Angel Gemstone Oracle Cards only $1.99! Buy it for your Apple device in the iTunes store. Buy the Android App. Click HERE.
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Margaret Ann is the past President (served 4 years) and the past Vice President (1 yr) and 7 years on the Board of the Coalition of Visionary Resources. COVR is an national trade organization formed by a unique group of businesses that deal in "Visionary Resources", and who work with and support each other as independent retailers, manufacturers, distributors, wholesalers, and publishers of visionary books, music, and merchandise. Visionary Resources are products and services that help the world become a better place. They include a wide variety of spiritually uplifting products and services that in some way nourish or celebrate the human spirit.


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Number 60 • March 2009 Restoring the Private Property-Insurance Market To Reduce Florida's Risk of Financial Insolvency Senior Fellow, Competitive Enterprise Institute Adjunct Scholar, The James Madison Institute Eli Lehrer Policy Director, The James Madison Institute As Florida faces a worsening crisis involving property insurance—a crisis exacerbated by the recent withdrawal of State Farm, one of Florida's largest private providers—there are lessons to be learned from problems in another line of insurance. Through the years Florida has frequently acted to shut down fly-by-night shops peddling "car insurance." Regulators often discovered that these storefront offices, many clustered in minority neighborhoods in the state's larger cities, weren't actually selling insurance; rather, they were selling the illusion of insurance: pieces of paper that the buyers could present as "proof of insurance" when registering their vehicles and obtaining license plates. In the more flagrant cases of this kind of fraud, there were no financial assets to back up the insurer's paper promise to compensate the customer in the event of a claim. Often, the customers either did not know—or did not care. What they needed was that precious form attesting that they had the minimum amount of auto insurance coverage required by law— generally "Personal Injury Protection" (PIP). If their clunker of a car were totaled in a crash, so be it; they could always get another one – sometimes for monthly payments that were less than the cost of their pricey "car insurance." When one's home is severely damaged, however, the problem of inadequate insurance coverage becomes much more serious—and a huge concern for the troubled mortgage business, too. Nonetheless, in the field of property insurance, the state of Florida arguably is engaging in practices akin to those practices it prohibited and prosecuted when car insurance was the issue: It is countenancing the sale of property insurance by start-up firms recently formed for the purpose of filling the void left when well-capitalized companies such as State Farm withdrew entirely while others, i.e. USAA, substantially reduced their exposure in Florida. Although some of these new firms appear to have a capacity sufficient to cover their risk unless a catastrophic storm or storms hit a densely populated area, others do not. Meanwhile, the state government—through its Citizens Property Insurance—is essentially engaging in the same dubious practice. Although Citizens is not without assets, they are far from adequate to cover the potential claims should Florida suffer severe damage from a major storm or a series of storms. Moreover, the company's backup plan – borrowing to make up for any shortfall—is no longer plausible, given the worldwide problems in the credit and reinsurance market. This leaves Florida's taxpayers and insurance customers on the hook in a way that could threaten the state with financial ruin. The next hurricane season begins on June 1. As Eli Lehrer's study demonstrates, while there is still time to move toward restoring Florida's private property insurance market, the clock is ticking, the risk is growing, and the need is urgent. By Robert F. Sanchez Foreword The James madison insTiTuTe Florida's Premier Free-Market Think Tank Since 1987 The James Madison Institute is a non-partisan policy center dedicated to the free-market principles of limited government, individual liberty, and personal responsibility. President and Chief Executive Officer: J. Robert McClure III Board of direcTors Chairman: Allan Bense, Panama City Vice Chairman: J. Stanley Marshall, Tallahassee memBers of The Board of direcTors: Tommy Bronson, Brooksville; Jacob F. Bryan, Jacksonville; Rebecca Dunn, Palm Beach; K. Earl Durden, Panama City Beach; Robert R. Feagin III, Tallahassee; George W. Gibbs III, Jacksonville; L. Charles Hilton, Panama City; John Hrabusa, Lakeland; John F. Kirtley, Tampa; Fred Leonhardt, Orlando; J. Robert McClure III, Tallahassee; Bill McCollum, Tallahassee; Susan Story, Pensacola; Jeffrey V Swain, Tallahassee . The James madison insTiTuTe sTaff Tanja Clendinen, Communications Director; Francisco Gonzalez, Development Director; Keri Gordon, Administrative Assistant to the President; Becky Liner, Operations Director; Thomas Perrin, Public Affairs Director; Robert F. Sanchez, Policy Director; Laura Ward, Financial Manager By Mail: 2017 Delta Boulevard, Suite 102 Tallahassee, FL 32303 Our Website: www.jamesmadison.org To conTacT us: By Phone: In the Tallahassee Area: 850-386-3131 Toll-Free From Anywhere: 866-340-3131 Via e-mail: email@example.com About JMI's Research: Our Pledge to You Research topics are selected by JMI's Committee on Public Policy, with input when appropriate from members of our Research Advisory Council. Published research focuses on topics relevant to Florida and the Institute's mission of promoting free-market principles and robust debate concerning Florida's current problems and future challenges. The findings and conclusions in JMI's publications are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of JMI's members, staff, or directors. JMI does not conduct sponsored research at the behest of donors, nor do the providers of research grants exercise control over the methodology, findings or conclusions of the research. When a peer review of an author's methodology or conclusions is appropriate, a draft version of the publication may be submitted to a member or members of the Research Advisory Council. Dr. Susan Aud, Senior Fellow, Milton and Rose Friedman Foundation; Dr. Michael Bond, Professor of Finance, Cleveland State University; Dr. Marshall DeRosa, Professor of Political Science, Florida Atlantic University Dr. Thomas V DiBacco, Professor Emeritus of History, American University; . Dr. James Gwartney, Professor of Economics, Florida State University; Wynton Hall, Professor of Speech Communication, Bainbridge (Ga.) College; Dr. Randall Holcombe, Professor of Economics, Florida State University; Dr. Barry Poulson, Professor of Economics, the University of Colorado; and J.B. Ruhl, J.D., Professor of Law, Florida State University College of Law The research advisory council of The James madison insTiTuTe 2 Restoring the Private Property-Insurance Market To Reduce Florida's Risk of Financial Insolvency Without swift, sweeping reform, Florida's current system for property and casualty insurance could well place the state in grave fiscal peril. This paper presents an agenda for reforming Florida's property and casualty insurance system in the short term. It presents short-term steps that would pull Florida back from the brink of fiscal ruin, improve the state's fiscal climate, reduce property insurance rates for many Floridians, and make the state safer and more secure against the threat of hurricanes. The paper consists of two major sections and a conclusion. The first section describes the lay of the land as of early 2009 and outlines the dimensions of Florida's current fiscal crisis. The second section outlines three important but incremental steps—all politically and practically achievable during the Legislature's 2009 regular session—that would improve the health of Florida's property insurance environment. The conclusion section outlines a longer-term vision that would restore free market competition to Florida's property insurance system. The paper reaches a simple bottom line: Florida must change its property insurance system, or the misguided reforms of early 2007 could well result in permanent, severe, and lasting damage to the state's economy and its citizens' way of life. Florida faces severe risks from hurricanes and even greater risks from the state Legislature's system of providing property insurance. The next few pages describe the risk of hurricanes and outline the system as it existed as of early 2008. The United States is currently experiencing a period of heavy hurricane activity that will likely last another decade. Although 1992's Hurricane Andrew often marks the beginning of the upswing in hurricane activity in the public mind, The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) reports that the period "officially" began in 1995.1 A similar period of heavy hurricane activity ran from 1926 to 1970, NOAA finds. Two major factors, both of them entirely beyond human control, largely determine the prevalence of storms: a "tropical multi-decadal signal" and "El Niño/La Niña" southern oscillations. The tropical multi-decadal signal involves three interrelated factors: "1) warmer than average waters across the tropical Atlantic, 2) a stronger monsoon in the region of West Africa and 3) a weaker monsoon in the Amazon Basin region."2 El Niño/La Niña, likewise, involves warming and cooling of waters in the South Pacific. In general, hurricane intensity increases as the world's waters warm. While a look at 20th Century hurricane activity shows a clear up and down pattern, no one has divined a method of guessing the number of hurricanes within a given season with any real degree of accuracy. Other, less understood factors may also impact the frequency and severity of hurricanes. Two commonly cited candidates are global climate change and changes in solar activity.3 On balance, climate scientists have not reached a consensus on the actual impact of either factor. While both, neither, or a combination of the two may explain the difference between projections and actual hurricane intensity and frequency, even an extreme change in either factor would not have a significant impact on the frequency 1 "NOAA Attributes Increase in Hurricane Activity to Naturally Occurring Multi-Decadal Climate Variability," NOAA Magazine, www.magazine.noaa. gov/stories/mag184.htm. 2 Ibid. 3 Science Daily. "Global Warming Will Do Little To Change Hurricane Activity, According To New Model," August 13, 2008, www.sciencedaily.com/ releases/2008/08/080812160615.htm and J.B. Elsner and T.H. Jagger. "United States and Caribbean Tropical Cyclone Activity Related to the Solar Cycle," Geophys. Research Letters., 35, L18705, doi:10.1029/2008GL034431. The Situation "Florida must change its property insurance system, or the misguided reforms of early 2007 could well result in permanent, severe, and lasting damage to the state's economy and its citizens' way of life." 3 "Florida will almost certainly have several severe hurricane strikes over the next decade or two. Nothing can prevent this." or intensity of hurricanes in the United States. In short, whatever happens, Florida will almost certainly have several severe hurricane strikes over the next decade or two. Nothing can prevent this. Florida will take the brunt of any national increase in hurricane activity. The state has over $2 trillion in total coastal exposure, the most of any state.4 Florida, indeed, has more property at risk than the other "hurricane alley" states (Louisiana, Virginia, Texas, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Mississippi) combined.5 Since the last period of high hurricane activity ended in 1970, Florida's population has grown from under 7 million to nearly 19 million. 6 Although no data are available which cover the entire state, metropolitan Miami saw its stock of single-family detached homes expand by about 20 percent more than its overall population growth during the same period.7 On balance, in other words, Floridians have also spread out and moved into less dense, and probably larger, homes. This means that Floridians also cover more land and, thus, live in more places likely to suffer from storms. Since 1995, hurricanes have hit Miami-Ft. Lauderdale, Tampa, and Orlando. Only one major Florida city, Jacksonville, has avoided a direct hurricane hit.8 More hurricanes will come and Florida's own geography—nearly all residents live within 50 miles of the coast—suggests that no area can avoid hurricanes entirely. To summarize, Florida faces a severe, ongoing risk of hurricanes resulting largely from natural climate fluctuations and has increased its population to the point that more people, more property, and more wealth stand in the direct path of hurricanes. 4 5 6 AIR Worldwide via Insurance Information Institute. "Total Value of Insured Coastal Exposure," in Insurance and Coastal Risk in Florida. December 13, 2005. Ibid. Totals are author's calculations. Office of Economic and Demographic Research of the Florida Legislature. "Florida Population by Age Group Actual and Projected, 1960 to 2030," http:// edr.state.fl.us/population.htm. United States Bureau of the Census. "American Housing Survey for Miami-Ft. Lauderdale Metropolitan Area: 2002," Bureau of the Census, 2003, www.census. gov/prod/2003pubs/h170-02-28.pdf. Very likely, Jacksonville is simply lucky. It's significantly closer to the coast than Orlando. In seeking to protect themselves and their state against hurricanes, Floridians have three interrelated and complementary options: they can purchase insurance to pay for the costs of storm damage; reinforce their property to make it more resistant to storms; and support measures that restrict development in areas particularly at risk for hurricanes. Florida's insurance system currently faces severe problems. The system consists of three fundamental components: the Florida Citizens Property Insurance Corporation (Citizens), the Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund (Cat Fund), and the private insurance industry. Citizens, the largest insurer in Florida, provides full-scale property and "wind only" coverage. Since it took on its current name in 2002, Florida Citizens has existed, in theory, to write insurance for Floridians living "in high-risk areas and others who cannot find coverage in the open, private insurance market." Although it maintains a private sector façade, Citizens is, in fact, an unusually powerful government agency. Citizens enjoys an exemption from most state purchasing and hiring rules and has a corporate-style structure that puts a CEO at its head. Its web page, at a glance, looks like that of a mid-sized private insurer, and it pays salaries comparable to those available in the private sector.9 In many ways, it does operate as a business, albeit a non-profit one. (It's worth noting in this context that many large insurers such as USAA, Liberty Mutual, and State Farm also operate on a non-profit basis.) Although it faces a few legal constraints on its operations—more about those below—it has many of the freedoms typically accorded to private businesses. Florida's own statutes, however, make it clear that Citizens is a government agency in every way: "Because it is essential for this government entity to have the maximum financial resources to pay claims following a catastrophic hurricane, it is the intent of the Legislature that Citizens Property Insurance Corpora9 See e.g. Florida Citizens Property Insurance Corporation. "Our Vision," www.citizensfla.com/ about/generalinfo. cfm?show=pdf&link=/shared/ generalinfo/pdf/ missionvalues.pdf. Protecting Against Hurricanes 7 8 4 tion continue to be an integral part of the state and that the income of the corporation be exempt from federal income taxation and that interest on the debt obligations issued by the corporation be exempt from federal income taxation."10 Citizens, in fact, not only serves as part of Florida's government but has authority to impose taxes on every insurance policy issued anywhere in the state of Florida. When Citizens sustains a substantial loss—more than 10 percent—it has the unilateral power to impose taxes (called "assessments") sufficient that "the entire deficit shall be recovered through regular assessments of. . . insurers [and] insureds."11 Although originally created to offer insurance only for people legitimately unable to find any policies in the private market, Governor Crist's 2007 insurance reforms allowed Florida Citizens to write a policy for any Floridian who gets a single insurance quote more than 15 percent above Citizens' rates. 12 Furthermore, under legislation passed during the 2008 legislative session, Citizens cannot raise its own rates on Floridians until 2010.13 Not surprisingly, given its low rates, Citizens has grown very large. As of December of 2008, it wrote slightly less than 20 percent of the state's property insurance. It does the most business in Broward, Palm Beach, Miami-Dade, and Monroe Counties; together, these counties make up only about a third of Florida's population but account for two-thirds of Florida Citizens business. The agency has almost $2 billion in its accounts and sold another $1.75 billion in securities prior to the collapse of municipal debt markets during early 2008.14 It claims 10 627 Florida Statutes .351(6)(1). For a more readable version of what the legislation does, see: Florida Citizens Property Insurance Corporation. "Citizens2007 Regular Session Legislation for Consumers," www.citizensfla.com/ utilitybar/policyholderfaqs.cfm?show=text&link=/ shared/faqs/faq_2007_Regular_Session.html. 11 627 Florida Statutes .351(6)(2)(3)(a). 12 627 Florida Statutes .351(6)(1). 13 Insurance Journal. "Southeast News: Fla. Gov. Signs Law Extending Citizens Rate Freeze; Nixes Private Initiative," May 29, 2008, www.insurancejournal.com/ news/southeast/2008/05/29/90435.htm. 14 Florida Citizens Property Insurance Corporation. "Citizens Board of Governors Announces $1.75 Billion in Pre-Event Finance [sic]," June 19, 2008, www.citizensfla. com/about/pressreleases.cfm?show=text&link=/ shared/press/articles/06_19_2008.html. to possess a "claims paying capacity of $20 billion" although this figure includes "reinsurance" that it purchases from the Hurricane Catastrophe Fund. The Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund is a state-run reinsurance corporation and—if it hasn't already—will almost certainly become the largest provider of reinsurance in the state of Florida. Like private reinsurers, the Cat Fund, as it is popularly called, provides insurance for insurers. (See Page 7 for more on reinsurance.) Since its creation in 1993, the Cat Fund has grown from a tiny facility that provided additional reinsurance at the margins to a full-service operation that imposes a liability on the state of up to $32 billion.15 When insurers' total losses exceed certain levels, the Cat Fund, like private reinsurance, promises to pay them given amounts of money. In return for these promises, the Cat Fund collects regular ceding fees from insurers. The Cat Fund, however, is different from private reinsurers in four major ways: participation is mandatory; the Cat Fund has many fewer assets than it needs to pay off its coverage; the Cat Fund's structure is the same for all insurers; its fundamental cost structure places it at a disadvantage relative to private reinsurers. All insurers selling property insurance in Florida must buy coverage from the Cat Fund.16 There's no choice. If an insurer believes it can find insurance that better fits its business plan elsewhere, it still cannot opt out of the Cat Fund even if doing so would allow it to cover more people at lower rates. Most large reinsurers purchase private reinsurance that, in theory, duplicates Cat Fund coverage. The Cat Fund also does not have many actual assets or other ways of covering its demands. Currently the Cat Fund offers $28 billion in reinsurance to Florida's insurance companies. As of the end of 2008, the Fund's own actuaries reported that it had only $2.8 billion in assets plus additional retrocession loans (reinsurer for reinsurers) coverage it secured 15 Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund. "About the Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund," www.sbafla. com/fhcf/AbouttheFHCF/tabid/278/Default.aspx. 16 For the Cat Fund's organic statute, see: XIV Florida Statutes 215.555. The Catastrophe Fund "The Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund is a staterun reinsurance corporation and—if it hasn't already—will almost certainly become the largest provider of reinsurance in the state of Florida." 5 "However one decides to determine the fund's claimspaying capacity, it clearly cannot pay everything it promised to pay if a major storm hits Florida." through Berkshire Hathaway.17 (The contract, which expires before the beginning of the 2009 hurricane season, contains a promise that Berkshire Hathaway will loan the fund $4 billion if needed. In return, Berkshire received a one-time payment of $224 million.18) However one decides to determine the fund's claims-paying capacity, it clearly cannot pay everything it promised to pay if a major storm hits Florida. To cover its expenses, the Fund plans to sell bonds and pay them back by placing assessments—special taxes—on all property and casualty insurance policies sold in the state of Florida.19 It's not known how many bonds the Cat Fund could sell and, indeed, the Cat Fund itself will not promise it can actually cover its claims. Raymond James, the Cat Fund's financial advisor, puts it well: "Financial Experts Say the Cat Fund Would be Hard-Pressed to Meet its Current Financial Obligations." Indeed, in February of 2008, Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty traveled to Washington, D.C., to argue for a federal bailout loan guarantee—essentially a pre-funded bailout—for the Cat Fund.20 Even if the Cat Fund defaults, which it almost certainly would after a major storm, insurers would still have to pay claims stemming from the Cat Fund out of their own reserves and assets. Finally, the Cat Fund offers a "one size fits all" product. Because of their size and complexity, reinsurance contracts are almost always customized to their individual insurer. The Cat Fund has a number of quirks: for example, it only covers "named storms" and, like most reinsurance policies, pays out in "layers" based on the amount of damage sustained. Intrinsically, there's nothing "right" or "wrong" about the way that the Cat Fund is structured—although most insurers opt for more coverage than the Cat Fund provides. Because different insurers have different needs, the current structure of the Cat Fund—even if it were adequately funded—could never meet the desires 17 Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund. "Claims Paying Capacity Estimates," www.sbafla.com/FHCF/LinkClick. aspx?fileticket=SZkUQvbAl4Y%3d&tabid=316&m id=998. 18 Florida Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability. "State Board of Administration: Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund," www.oppaga.state.fl.us/profiles/4042/print.asp. 19 Ibid. 20 Jennifer Liberto. "State insurance chief shops plan to bolster hurricane catastrophe fund," Miami Herald, February 10, 2009. of every insurer. Large insurers with significant assets and minimal coastal exposure, for example, might be willing to take the risk of massive losses in the very unlikely event that all of their insured properties made claims simultaneously. Small insurers with large coastal portfolios, on the other hand, might want to cede nearly all of their risk to reinsurers. The Cat Fund cannot work in a way that reduces Floridians' insurance prices. It has few real advantages over the private sector and several important disadvantages. Florida Statutes do give the Cat Fund several characteristics that would tend to reduce its costs. The Cat Fund does not try to earn profits, but, of course, many private insurers (State Farm, USAA, and Liberty Mutual) are also non-profit. It does not pay most federal and state taxes, but many reinsurers operating outside of the United States operate from jurisdictions with little or no corporate income tax. Even its ability to impose special taxes—assessments—on Floridians does not lower its costs of providing insurance (although it may reduce its borrowing costs). Thus, the statutory "advantages" the Cat Fund possesses do not necessarily give it a large price advantage. On the other hand, the Cat Fund has enormous and crippling disadvantages relative to private reinsurance. To begin with, the Cat Fund, by definition, focuses all of its risk in one place. Insurance works best when an insurer manages risk across a broad pool of uncorrelated risks. Major reinsurers, nearly all of which operate internationally, can pool the risk of hurricanes striking Florida with the possibility of earthquakes devastating Japan. It's exceedingly unlikely that both events will happen at the same time and, thus, a company that takes losses from Florida hurricanes will generally be making profits from Japanese earthquake-related coverage. The Cat Fund, however, concentrates all its risk in Florida. State residents, after all, shouldn't automatically be on the hook for disasters in far-away places, and thus have to be charged higher rates. In addition, the Cat Fund does not have the freedom to play the market that private reinsurers do. Both because it is reasonably small by the standards of reinsurance entities—giants like Munich Re and Swiss Re take in yearly revenues 12 times larger than the Cat Fund's total worth— and because it knows it will often have to tap its capital, the Cat Fund simply does not have access 6 to the same sort of investment opportunities as the private sector. Most insurers and reinsurers make far more on investments than they do writing insurance policies; this avenue is closed to the Cat Fund. In order to survive, the Cat Fund would have to issue scads of bonds—around $25 billion worth. Even if the Cat Fund somehow became stable, in other words, it would almost certainly have to charge more than the private sector does. Its market disadvantages far outweigh its advantages. In its current form, the Cat Fund cannot survive. After the Legislature passed his sweeping insurance reform proposal in early 2007, Governor Crist announced that he had put "the nail in the coffin of the industry that was hurting our people."22 The legislation, if nothing else, did what Crist said it would. In the wake of 2007's insurance reforms, nearly every major private insurer in the country either stopped writing new insurance policies in Florida or significantly cutback. Companies announcing cutbacks included Hartford, Allstate, Travelers, 22 As quoted in Joe Follick and Lloyd Dunkelburger. "Insurance Reform a Highlight of Session," Gainsville Sun, May 5, 2007. The Private Market USAA, Nationwide and others—companies that collectively write over 80 percent of the nation's property insurance. For all intents and purposes, none of these companies write new policies in coastal areas of Florida: USAA, for example, will only write new policies to people relocating on military orders. State Farm, the state's largest private insurer, announced a wholesale withdrawal from the state's insurance market.23 In short, large, private companies with significant amounts of insurance capital have all fled the state. Companies that remain go through a "prior approval" rate regulation process that likely ranks as the most stringent in the nation. Insurers must submit a wide variety of data, much of it in different form than what any other state considers. Florida regulators have broad discretion to deny rate increases and decreases for a wide variety of reasons: companies wishing to appeal any decision must file lengthy and expensive court cases. This has scared private companies away in large numbers. Top state officials, however, claim otherwise. Governor Crist, indeed, has claimed that "40 23 For an overview of the situation see: Jim Sanders. "State Farm Angers Clients, Lawmakers," Doytona Beach News Journal, February 8th 2009. "In short, large, private companies with significant amounts of insurance capital have all fled the state." For many companies, reinsurance represents a way of spreading risk beyond a company's own client base. All but the smallest private insurance companies try to build portfolios of non-correlated risks. By simultaneously writing insurance for events unlikely to happen at the same time—hurricanes in Florida and wildfires in California, for example—insurers try to spread risk and provide a steady flow of cash to pay claims. No insurer, however, can do this perfectly. Nearly all will find themselves under (or over) concentrated in one area or another. Thus, many turn to other companies, reinsurance companies, to transfer the risk.21 In return for a payment and a fee (called a "ceding commission") the re-insurer agrees to pay the insurer for some or all of a claim. Reinsurance typically kicks in at reasonably high levels: if a single house burns down, the insured's insurance company will almost always pay claims out of its own reserves. Reinsurance would kick in to cover the costs of a firestorm that destroyed a whole neighborhood of insured houses. For all intents and purposes, the reinsurance market exists only for businesses: ordinary private individuals do not purchase reinsurance. 21 Companies other than reinsurers sell some reinsurance. A significant but dwindling number of primary insurers—Liberty Mutual and Chubb most prominently—sell reinsurance as well. Many hedge funds also engage in reinsurance transactions and a few even maintain ongoing reinsurance operations. Since many reinsurers use reinsurance sales as a way of acquiring capital for activities similar to those of hedge funds, the line between a reinsurer and a hedge fund isn't always clear. What is Reinsurance? 7 new companies have come to Florida, bringing more than $4 billion in new capital."24 This does not appear to be accurate. The Florida Office of Insurance Regulations' website lists only 26 new companies that have entered Florida's property and casualty insurance market since Crist's 2007 insurance reforms. Table 225 lists them with some comments about each. Table 1 sums the type of companies they are. The important question, which the tables answer, is how many of the companies will write new homeowners' policies to ordinary Floridians. The homeowners' insurance policy that most individuals want to buy is called an HO-3. An HO-3 "all perils" policy covers 16 named perils—wind, fire, overflowing plumbing and the like—and everything else that isn't specifically excluded. (Policies almost 24 Charlie Crist. "Florida's Property Insurance Reforms Are Working," The Wall Street Journal, February 6, 2009. 25 The data in the chart are based on the author's complitation of data from the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation's new companies' page: www. floir.com/ac/New%20Companies/index.aspx. always exclude flood, war, and insurrection.) Most banks require an HO-3 before they will write a mortgage; an HO-3 is what's typically called "homeowners insurance." Nearly all HO-3s are written in the "admitted market"— the market where almost all individual citizens buy insurance policies. The admitted market is what state regulators oversee: companies operating in the admitted market submit to rate and form regulation, and their customers receive a promise that their claims will always be paid even if the company they purchase a policy from goes under. (The payments are made through state guarantee funds; Florida's is called the Florida Insurance Guarantee Association.) Most of the new companies operating in Florida do not sell admitted market HO-3s for typical homes. Table 1 describes what they actually do. Table 2 outlines the companies that have actually entered the Florida Insurance market since the 2007 reforms. Table 1 Company Type/Description Commercial Property and Casualty (Including Self-Insurance Trusts): Write insurance for commercial properties. Do not write policies at all for individual homes. Citizens Takeout: Companies that exist only to take policies out of Citizens. (Some have announced plans to enter admitted market.) These companies do not add capacity to write HO-3s but, instead, simply take over HO-3s from Citizens. High-Value Homeowners: Two companies, one of which is registered under two slightly different names, offer homeowners insurance only to high value homes. One does not write policies for homes worth less than $1 million. Although their presence may give additional choices to well off Floridians, they do nothing to expand the market for typical homeowners. Auto: Writes automobile insurance. Subsidiary: Two "new" companies are subsidiaries of one insurer—Nationwide—that was already operating in Florida. Surplus Lines: These companies, which operate with very light government regulation, offer "surplus lines" insurance for people unable to secure admitted market insurance. Surplus lines insurance provides a valuable service and, in fact, is a gain for the state. Condo Insurance: Writes policies for condominiums only. The particular company, furthermore, targets condo associations rather than individual unit owners. Apparently Not Operating/Duplicate Entry: One company, although registered, does not appear to actually be in operation. Another is an obvious alter-ego/subsidiary of a new Florida-based company. Florida-Only Companies Actually Writing New HO-3s in Florida: These five companies, all of which exist only in Florida, write new homeowners' policies. They may attract out-of-state capital but, by their business models, they cannot pool non-Florida risks with Florida risks. Multi-State Companies Writing New HO-3 in Florida: One company, ASI, actually brings new out-of-state capital and appears to have the ability to pool Florida risks with non-Florida risks. Num. 3 3 2 1 2 5 1 2 5 1 8 Table 2 Company Name Date Entered Market 7/10/2008 Type of Business Does it add capacity to write new, admitted market HO-3 policies for typical homes? No Notes Ace Insurance Company of the Midwest Amco Insurance Group American Coastal Insurance Company Commercial Property and Casualty Subsidiary Condominium Insurance A major commercial lines insurer. 4/17/2008 6/21/2007 No No A subsidiary of Nationwide, a company already doing business in Florida. According to its web page, the company focuses on writing policies for garden-style condominiums and requires a minimum total insured value of 2.5 million. (www.amcoastal.com/). In other words, it will serve condominium associations almost excusively. Company says that it targets "high value homes." Operates only in Florida. An excess and surplus lines insurer. American Keystone Insurance Company Arch Insurance Company (Europe) Limited 2/8/2007 Personal Lines Property and Casualty Surplus Lines No 2007 No Ark Royal 11/9/2007 Insurance Company ASI Preferred 4/14/2008 Insurance Corporation Avatar Property and Casualty Insurance Corporation Depositors Insurance Company Hallmark Specialty Insurance Company HDI-Gerling America Insurance Company Homeowners' Choice Property and Casualty Insurance Company Infinity Property and Casualty Insurance Company 4/14/2008 Personal Lines Property and Casualty Personal Lines Property and Casualty Citizens Takeouts Yes A Florida-only company. Yes Operates in Florida and four other states. The only company bringing in out-ofstate capital. Does not actively market itself but appears to only do Citizens takeouts.1 A subsidiary of Nationwide, a company already doing business in Florida. Writes surplus lines coverage. A major European insurer, does not appear to offer homeowners' insurance anywhere in the United States. Does not engage in active marketing; National Underwriter reports that it only does Citizens' takeouts.2 Focuses on writing insurance for non-standard auto risks. No 4/28/2008 1/31/2008 7/10/2008 Subsidiary Surplus Lines Commercial Property and Casualty (Other lines in international markets.) Citizens Takeouts No No. No 5/10/2007 No 4/17/2008 Non-standard Automobile Insurance No 9 Ironshore Insurance Limited Lancashire Insurance Company (UK) Limited Landmark One Insurance Company Legacy U.S. Insurance Company 2007 3/4/2008 Surplus Lines Surplus Lines No No The largest new entrant into the Florida market. 10/19/2007 5/1/2008 Citizens Takeouts Unknown Property and Casualty Property and Casualty Property and Casualty Commercial SelfInsurance Trust Property and Casualty Surplus Lines Property and Casualty Maybe Unknown Yes Yes Yes No Has said since early 2008 that it will soon begin offering new policies. No web page or telephone listing could be located. Florida-only company. Florida-only company. Florida-only company. A self-insurance trust (as the name suggests.) A Florida-only company. Expanded into surplus lines in 2008; previously dealt in reinsurance. Writes coverage only for homes $1 million and up in value. Magnolia Insurance 4/28/2008 Company Modern USA Insurance Company Olympus Insurance Company Palm Beach Windstorm SelfInsurance Trust People's Trust Insurance Company Praetorian Specialty Insurance Company Privilege Underwriters Recprocal [sic] Exchange/PURE 1 2 5/31/2007 5/1/2007 1/16/2008 3/6/2008 2007 1/23/2007 and 3/12/2008 Yes No No Oscar Pedro Musibay. "Florida Gets Spurt of New Property and Casualty Insurers," Florida Business Journal, July18, 2008. No byline. "Florida Counts 8 Recently Arrived Insurers," National Underwriter, June 5, 2008. "All three major components of Florida's property and casualty insurance system, in short, sit on the brink of collapse." It appears that only one company, ASI, has decided to bring new capital into Florida in order to back new admitted market HO-3 policies. According to its own financial statements, ASI has total capital of $492 million. 26 In-state, Florida-only companies, by definition, keep all of their capital in state (they may attract out-of-state investors, of course) but whatever capital they have is risked entirely within the state of Florida. This Florida's insurance market faces great problems. Major national companies have withdrawn entirely from the market while only one company has brought in a significant amount of out-of-state capital to underwrite HO-3 policies. In short, Floridians face a sharply diminished 26 American Strategic Insurance. "About Us," Balance Sheets. (Four companies.) www.americanstrategic. com/about_us/financial_info.html. range of choices for insurance throughout the state and the companies that have entered the state, have little capital to spread their risk. In the long term, they will have to attract out-ofstate capital, restrict their growth, or grow in a way that results—eventually—in their collapse. Since out-of-state capital has not yet flowed into the state, however, it appears unlikely to materialize overnight. Thus, the new companies will either remain very small, conservative in underwriting criteria, and unwilling to insure the most disaster-prone properties; or, alternatively, become insolvent after a major storm. Florida's private market seems to face the same, deep structural problems as Citizens and the Catastrophe Fund. All three major components of Florida's property and casualty insurance system, in short, sit on the brink of collapse. 10 Getting Florida's property insurance system to work will require sweeping, drastic action. In the long term, the free market provides the best solutions to Florida's system: if insurance prices are allowed to reflect the risks that property owners actually take, then new insurance companies will enter the state in large numbers and sell insurance to anyone willing to pay the prices they charge. In theory, simply abolishing Citizens, the Catastrophe Fund, and all rate regulation of insurance would solve Florida's insurance crisis entirely. The political challenges of eliminating rate regulation, however, appear daunting. For at least 30 years, Floridians have paid insurance prices that were too low: state regulators, through rate suppression, deserve some of the blame for this state of affairs but private companies also deserve some. Property insurance, even in the best of times, is not a large moneymaker for any insurer; across the board, insurance companies tend to make money investing property insurance premiums and using the "entré" from property insurance to sell more profitable products such as automobile, life and investment products. When Florida went through a long, mostly storm-free period during the 1970s, 1980s, and very early 1990s, many insurers cut property insurance rates in order to encourage consumers to purchase other products from them. When property insurance losses escalated—eliminating the profits earned from other products—companies withdrew from the market or reduced the number of new policies they would write. As a result, the availability of property insurance tended to decline as prices rose and the perceived needs increased. In this way, the private insurance industry also played a role in precipitating the current crisis. Moving towards a free market for insurance, however, will take significant work: wholesale elimination of Citizens or the Cat Fund and, indeed, even wholesale deregulation of rates, would have disruptive consequences for all Floridians. Thus, the state needs a gradual, incremental plan—a glide path—towards a better insurance environment. A strong plan would have three major components: a phase out plan for Citizens, a similar plan for the Cat Fund, modest changes to the approval system intended to attract new Part II: Fixing the System out-of-state capital, and an effort to reduce property risk throughout Florida through a comprehensive, environmentally sensitive mitigation strategy. Citizens, the most visible portion of Florida's insurance system, has received the most attention from the state. A broad-based Citizens study task force convened in 2008 released its final report in early 2009.27 The task force recommendations appear worth considering but do not go far enough. Based on its own analysis of Citizens' policies—similar to what's found above in this paper—the task force comes up with 17 recommendations that can be summarized in three major points: • A "glide path" that will increase overall rates by 10 percent a year (placing 15 and 20 percent caps on increases for territories and individuals). • Tighter enforcement of rules requiring Citizens to write policies only when private market policies are unavailable. • A variety of new limitations on where and when Citizens can write policies.28 Taken as these three major points, the task force recommendations all make sense: The House and Senate would do well to give strong, serious consideration to an omnibus proposal that simply implemented all of them in one fell swoop. They aren't perfect and don't go far enough but, on balance, they are a good start. Many of them reflect policies already embedded in Florida law, but, as of early 2009, are essentially unenforced. The task force suggests that Citizens actually enforce the long-standing legal mandate that it offer coverage only to people who receive privatemarket quotes at least 15 percent above Citizens rates. This is a good idea, but Citizens and other agencies of the state government should have already implemented policies to enforce it. Likewise, the task force calls for development limitations for new structures in front of the seaward protection line and in areas defined as barrier islands under the 27 Citizens Property Insurance Corporation Mission Review Task Force. Final Report, January, 30, 2009. 28 Ibid, 3. Citizens: Implement Task Force Recommendations. . . But Go Further "In theory, simply abolishing Citizens, the Catastrophe Fund, and all rate regulation of insurance would solve Florida's insurance crisis entirely." 11 "The Legislature may want to consider measures that could mitigate the rate increases for low-income Floridians." Coastal Barrier Resources Act. Existing law, if enforced, already makes this type of development very difficult if not impossible. The Legislature might well amend statutes to make enforcement of these provisions better, but all-in-all, existing law should allow regulators to enforce them already. The contemplated increases, furthermore, appear too mild in some cases and, perhaps, too severe in others. Although the 10-15-20 formula the task force arrives at makes some sense, it seems subject to political manipulation. Since the overall increase is capped, as more contained small areas get full 20 percent increases, rate increases will be smaller for the rest of the state. This appears subject to manipulation by powerful groups. It may make more sense to simply impose a 20 percent cap on individual increases—or some other overall cap—and let actual risk factors sort out the increases. Rather than such universal caps, the task force also may want to consider certain provisions to provide relief to people living on fixed incomes and receiving Citizens coverage. In fact, the Legislature might even mandate even greater increases—to full actuarial adequacy—for the state's most expensive houses. The wealthy should not continue to receive subsidies. The Legislature may want to consider measures that could mitigate the rate increases for low-income Floridians. A few proposed task force steps would move in the wrong direction: the task force, for example, suggests that insurers should face a prohibition on offering "multi-policy discounts" for residents opting for Citizens coverage but would allow other, unspecified "actuarially justified" discounts.29 Insurance regulators have a duty to make sure that all discounts have an actuarial justification. Limiting discounts in this way makes no sense. Nonetheless, the apparently broad constituency for the Citizens Task Force review recommendations means that they all deserve some serious consideration. Although it could use some amendments, an omnibus "implement task force recommendations bill" represents a good start. 29 Ibid. The Catastrophe Fund has grown far too large and poses an immediate clear and present danger to Florida's finances. Although it supports a few in-state companies—some of which might go out of business were it phased down—its threat to the state's finances exceeds whatever small benefits it produces by lowering rates for some homeowners. In the long term, the Cat Fund needs to go. To eliminate it, the Legislature should eliminate its most egregious feature—the so called "TICL layer" first—and then launch a plan to phase it down over time. In the short term, however, Florida might do best to target the least necessary and totally impossible-to-fund portion of the Cat Fund: the so-called "Temporary Increase in Coverage Layer." The Layer, essentially the last $12 billion of the $28 billion total authorized amount of the Cat Fund, has never been funded and in all probability could never be funded. If Florida used the Cat Fund's $3 billion in existing assets and then managed to issue and assess against a $12 billion bond issue (larger than any state has ever done in the history of the United States,) it still would not reach the TICL layer (which only starts when the state has to pay out $16 billion). No rational insurance company would ever depend on the TICL layer in its actuarial calculations and, insofar as the Office of Insurance Regulation allows insurers to consider it, it neglects its obligation to provide for insurer solvency. Thus, the elimination of the TICL layer should have no significant consequence for the state or its residents. Following the elimination of the TICL layer, the Legislature should authorize a long-term review of the Cat Fund based on yearly reductions that would take place until the Cat Fund is fully solvent. To recommend an exact course for these reductions, the Legislature might consider creating a commission to review the Cat Fund and setting a deadline—perhaps 2014 for creating a Cat Fund able to survive without a significant need to impose special taxes (assessments) on Floridians' insurance policies. The Cat Fund: Eliminate the TICL Layer Immediately, Phase Down the Remainder of the Cat Fund Based on Yearly Reviews 12 Attracting new companies and out-of-state capital to Florida's insurance environment requires massive changes to Florida's system for reviewing and approving the rates that private companies wish to charge. So long as Citizens exists as a market competitor—something it would do for several years even if the task force recommendations are implemented—the private market will need more flexibility if it hopes to complete with Citizens Many Floridians feel that the state's current "prior approval" system for insurance rates help to protect them and keep rates down. And they may well be right—in the short term, rates would go up if insurance regulators would allow it. Rather than eliminate prior approval in one fell swoop, the state should adopt a "flex rating" system that allows insurers some flexibility to change rates without unduly disrupting the insurance system Floridians have grown used to. Flex rating, which about 20 states have adopted in one form or another, allows insurers to make small adjustments in rates rather easily in response to changing market conditions.30 The current prior approval system would continue to exist alongside a system of flex rating: rates outside of a band of, perhaps, plus or minus ten percent per year, would undergo the same review process as now exists. If the Department of Insurance Regulation found a flex-rating filed rate either unfairly discriminatory or likely to damage an insurers' solvency, likewise, it could "claw back" the rate and order an insurer to either refund premiums or impose special assessments on its own policyholders. With the flex-rating bands, insurers could raise and lower rates as market forces dictated. In the short term, most insurers would raise rates if given the flexibility to do so. The current rates are simply too low in too much of the state. A reasonable cap on such flex-rating, however, would shield Floridians from any dislocations as a result of greater rate liberalization. Although the simple ability to raise rates 10 percent—by itself—would not encourage many insurers to 30 See Eli Lehrer and Michelle Minton. "Rating the States: Report Card 2009," Heartland Institute, 2009. Private Market: Allow Flex Rating Within the Context of the Current System, Change Standards for Approval enter the state, it would likely result in some insurers that currently do not write new coastal business to write at least some. This would provide more new out-of-state capital to back Floridians' insurance policies. Florida cannot solve its long-term insurance problems through changes to state insurance regulation. Instead, long-term improvement in Florida's insurance environment will require steps that actually reduce Florida's risks. Risks will be reduced the most, in the medium and long terms, when insurers can charge risk-based rates. If insurance rates reflect risks—which can be extreme in large parts of coastal Florida— residents will avoid building in dangerous areas and reinforce those properties already built there. In the long term, risk-based insurance rates provide the surest way to protect Floridians. An immediate switch to risk-based rates, however, would cause enormous dislocations in Florida's property insurance markets and leave many people unable to afford property insurance. Two short-term policies, therefore, deserve consideration: full funding for the My Safe Florida Home Program and efforts to preserve and protect coastal wetlands. My Safe Florida Home, which provides for no-cost home inspections for Floridians and helps residents of modest means reinforce their homes against storms, seems to work. Although the actual efficacy of My Safe Florida Home has never been studied, similar programs have proven their effectiveness around the nation: in general, every dollar spent on My Safe Florida Home can be expected to save at least $3 in future insurance loss costs (and perhaps as much as $7.00).31 With risk-based rates, the program would not need to exist, but My Safe Florida Home deserves more funding because it simply serves to compensate for the problems the state government has created through artificially suppressing rates. The Legislature cut $10 million from the programs' budget during its January 2009 Special Session. At minimum, 31 Congressional Budget Office. "Potential Cost Savings from Pre-Disaster Mitigation Programs," September 2007, www.cbo.gov/ftpdocs/86xx/doc8653/09-28Disaster.pdf. My Safe Florida Home and Wetlands Preservation "Flex rating, which about 20 states have adopted in one form or another, allows insurers to make small adjustments in rates rather easily in response to changing market conditions." 13 "The state's taxpayers ought not to be obligated to ensure others the opportunity for hurricane-prone coastal living." the Legislature should restore this funding: if there is a bad storm season, the Legislature can faithfully predict that at least $30 million will be lost as a result of the program's underfunding. The Legislature may also wish to consider efforts that would give the program a dedicated funding stream. One obvious source would be to place special taxes on premiums paid to Floridaonly companies that fail to secure non Cat-Fund coverage. Since these companies benefit most from the enormous tax-payer subsidies that the Cat Fund receives, it seems only fair that they should provide some other benefit to the state. This tax could provide permanent funding to MySafeFlorida Home. In addition, Florida should consider increased efforts to preserve and protect the state's wetlands. Although no absolute rule appears possible to develop—the most powerful hurricanes will do great damage no matter how much a state does to protect coastal wetlands— the more wetlands the state preserves, the better it will deal with hurricanes.32 Current federal policies under the Coastal Barrier Resources Act (CBRA) severely restrict all federal subsidies for development in sensitive coastal areas. Citizens, nonetheless, writes some policies in areas where CBRA restricts federal funding. Florida should consider its own version of CBRA, restricting all state funding for development in sensitive coastal wetland areas. The Legislature may also consider efforts to require "like kind and quality" replacement of whatever wetlands get lost to development nonetheless. Current state and federal policies promise "no net loss" which, very often, results in developers destroying hurricane-absorbing coastal wetlands (often with state assistance) and then replacing them with inland marshes that provide good wildlife habitat but do nothing to protect the state from hurricanes. While Florida has modestly gained wetlands over the past 20 years, it has actually become less stormresistant as a result of this policy. The current policy, it might be argued, puts wildlife habitat ahead of human interests. A "like kind and quality" policy might actually allow small net losses 32 For a review of the research on wetlands see National Wildlife Foundation. "How Do Wetlands Help Wildlife and People Survive Hurricanes?," www.nwf.org/ hurricanes/hurricanesandwetlands.cfm, no date. of wetlands in some cases—particularly when it comes to inland wetlands that provide wildlife habitat alone—but would work to increase the amount of coastal wetlands and thus Florida's protection against storms. Combined with effective mitigation efforts and risk based rates, protection of wetlands— largely by withdrawing government subsidies that encourage their development—would make Florida safer and more secure against storms. Florida's government-dominated insurance system cannot survive in its current form. It makes the state less safe and increases the long-term costs to the state's taxpayers. Both Citizens and the Cat Fund face severe problems and cannot survive in their current forms. Efforts to attract new out-of-state companies to write homeowners' insurance, likewise, have proven dismal failures. Florida's taxpayers, not insurance companies, have assumed massive liabilities on behalf of coastal residents. The problems with Florida's insurance environment, however, will never find a single magical solution. The state, instead, must embark on a program of incremental reform that makes sweeping change to Citizens, significantly reduces the Cat Fund's potential liabilities, encourages mitigation, and protects the environment. Floridians living on the coast, in the end, will have to pay higher rates for property insurance. Vigorous market competition, however, will likely lower rates for those who live inland and far from the coast. And higher rates will, at least, reflect the risks inherent in living on a hurricane-prone peninsula. Floridians may, in some cases, find that their current modes of living cannot be sustained. The state's taxpayers ought not to be obligated to ensure others the opportunity for hurricane-prone coastal living. Risk-based, market-driven insurance rates will, in the end, make Florida safer, more secure, and more solvent. The path toward a better system of insurance regulation will take time and will mean some pain for Florida residents. But it's the best choice. Florida simply can't afford the status quo. Conclusion 14 RECENT PUBLIC POLICY ANALYSES BY THE JAMES MADISON INSTITUTE Creating a Public/Private Partnership for Florida's Conservation Land Management Randall G. Holcombe Backgrounder #59, March 2009 Florida's Fiscal Future: Tax and Expenditure Policy in Uncertain Times Randall G. Holcombe Backgrounder #58, February 2009 Phase II of Florida's Plan for Energy and Climate Change: Avoiding the Mistakes Made by Others Paul Bachman Backgrounder #57, September 2008 An Evaluation of the Pilot Project to Reform Florida's Medicaid Program Michael Bond, Ph.D. Backgrounder #56, July 2008 Restoring Florida's Insurance Market Eli Lehrer Backgrounder #55, February 2008 The Case for Florida to Enact A Taxpayer Protection Amendment Dr. Barry Poulson Backgrounder #54, December 2007 Enclosed is my fully tax-deductible gift to support The James Madison Institute and join at the following membership level. $25: Student Member $50-$99: Patriot $100-$249: Federalist $250-$499: Founder $500-$999: Constitutionalist $1,000-$4,999: Madison Fellow $5,000-$9,999: Montpelier Fellow For those giving by credit card: Name on Card _______________ Master Card / Visa (circle one) Acct # _____________________ Expiration Date ______________ Signature ___________________ $10,000+: Chairman's Circle Society Name(s)_________________________________________ Mailing Address __________________________________ City_____________________ State____ ZIP ___________ Home Phone _____________________________________ Office Phone _____________________________________ Office Fax _______________________________________ Email Address ____________________________________ Yes! 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*Warning picture heavy post*
I finally managed to tick this one off the bucket list. It's only taken me nearly 3 years! Me, Oscar and my mum went up to Cambridge last weekend to see my little brother Jack for his 21st birthday and to have a look around.
We started off with a tour of his college, before we took a bus into Cambridge itself.
Hopefully we will get to go back again for Jack's graduation in June.


text:
I have a variadic function which takes a float parameter. Why doesn't it work?
va_arg(arg, float)
I have a variadic function which takes a float parameter. Why doesn't it work?
Parameters of functions that correspond to
The reason for this is that early versions of C did not have function prototypes; parameter types were declared at the function site but were not known at the call site. But different types are represented differently, and the representation of the passed argument must match the called function's expectation. So that char and short values could be passed to functions with int parameters, or float values could be passed to functions with double parameters, the compiler "promoted" the smaller types to be of the larger type. This behavior is still seen when the type of the parameter is not known at the call site -- namely, for variadic functions or functions declared without a prototype (e.g.,
As @dasblinkenlight has mentioned, float is promoted to double. It works fine for me:


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Manufacturers' Shipments, Inventories, and Orders
New orders for manufactured goods in May decreased $4.5 billion or 1.0 percent to $470.5 billion.
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The estimate of U.S. information sector revenue for the first calendar quarter of 2015, adjusted for seasonal variation but not for price changes, was $334.8 billion, an increase of 0.4 percent (+/- 0.6%)* from the fourth quarter of 2014 and up 3.0 percent (+/- 0.8%) from the first quarter of 2014.
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text:
Fruit Glazed Spiral Ham
21 Sep 2010
|Cooked ham
|10 Pound, sliced
|Canned unsweetened crushed pineapple
|8 Ounce, drained (1 Can)
|Apricot jam
|1⁄2 Cup (8 tbs)
|Spicy brown mustard
|1 Tablespoon
|Prepared horseradish
|2 Teaspoon
Place ham on a rack in a large roasting pan.
Cover and bake at 325° for 1-1/2 hours.
Combine the pineapple, apricot jam, mustard and horseradish; spread over the ham.
Bake, uncovered, for 30-45 minutes or until a meat thermometer reads 140.
Rate It
0 Comments
Fruit Glazed Spiral Ham Recipe


text:
Jul 21, 2011 GMTImageMagick is a powerful command-line tool for batch processing graphics files, but it could definitely use a graphical front end for performing the most common editing and conversion operations. Enter Converseen, a user-friendly GUI tool for tweaking and converting graphics files powered by ImageMagick. This tool offers only a subset of ImageMagick functionality, but if you often need to quickly resize, downsample, or convert one or several graphics files, Converseen is right up your alley. Binary packages of Converseen for Fedora, Ubuntu, and openSUSE are available on the project's website, so you can install the utility on these...
Productivity Sauce
Jul 13, 2011 GMTI'm not a programmer, but when I need to cobble together a Python script, I find a dedicated IDE (integrated development environment) a better tool for the job than a regular text editor. After I've tried several existing IDEs, I settled for a relatively new software called NINJA-IDE, which stands for Ninja-IDE Is Not Just Another IDE. For starters, NINJA-IDE allows you to work with single scripts as well as manage complex projects consisting of multiple files and libraries. As you would expect, NINJA-IDE features a number of creature comforts that make coding more efficient. This includes code completion and syntax coloring as well as...
Jul 11, 2011 GMTWhen my good buddy and lead DokuWiki developer Andreas Gohr started posting links to Android development resources on Twitter, I had a suspicion that he was up to something. It turned out I was right. Recently, Andreas released his first Android application called Giraffe. It is a simple yet genuinely useful app -- especially if you attend conferences and events, and you need to keep tabs on their schedules. If the conference or event provides its schedule in the iCal format, you can use Giraffe to pull the calendar data and present them in a readable format. Better yet, you can use Giraffe to star the desired entries and view the current...
Jun 30, 2011 GMTSyncany is a relatively young project, but it already garnered the attention of the open source crowd as a potential replacement for Dropbox. Syncany's major attraction is its support for a wide range of storage back-ends: from good old FTP, to Amazon S3, WebDAV, and even Picasa. Better yet, additional back-ends can be easily added via plugins.While Syncany is far from ready for prime time, you can compile the current version of it from the source code to see for yourself what all this buzz is about.First off, install the required packages using the following command (don't forget to enable Canonical Partners' repository in Synaptic first): sudo apt-get install bzr sun-java6-jdk...
Jun 28, 2011 GMTThe Klipper clipboard manager is one of many great KDE tools. It not only maintains a clipboard history, making it easier to recover previously copied items: the utility also sports a few nifty features like the ability to edit the contents of the clipboard and generate a QR code for the current item in the clipboard. However, Klipper's most useful, yet often overlooked, feature is so-called clipboard actions. It allows you to configure Klipper to run user-defined actions on specific types of clipboard contents. For example, when you copy a URL, you can configure Klipper to automatically open it in the browser of your choice. To create a...
Jun 27, 2011 GMTPastebin services like Ubuntu Pastebin are handy for sharing text and code snippets with a minimum of fuss. And if you happen to use Tomboy as your tool of choice for storing and organizing scribbles and code snippets, you'll appreciate the PasteBinIt addin which lets you publish any Tomboy note on Ubuntu Pastebin. To install the addin, grab its latest version from the project's website, and move the downloaded PasteBinIt.dll file to the ~/.config/tomboy/addins/ directory. In the Tomboy, choose Edit | Preferences | Add-ins and enable the PasteBinIt addin under the Tools section. To publish the currently opened note, press the Tools button and choose the Paste Bin it! command.Via OMG!Ubuntu!
Jun 22, 2011 GMTThe Google Web Fonts repository is a real treasure trove for anyone looking for high-quality open source fonts, but finding the font you like among dozens of available typefaces can be a time-consuming task. Fortunately, there is a nifty tool that can help you to quickly preview the fonts available in the repository -- provided you use Google Chrome or Chromium as your browser of choice. Using he Google Font Previewer extension, you can access all Google web fonts with a single mouse click. What's more, when you select a font, it's automatically applied to the currently viewed web page, so you immediately see what the font looks like in a real-world situation. ...
Issue 177/2015
Buy this issue as a PDF
NoScript Flaw
Mozilla's script blocker add-on could be putting malware sites on the whitelist.
RIP SSLv3
The Internet community officially banishes the notoriously unsafe Secure Sockets Layer protocol.
Mate 1.1 Arrives
Popular desktop environment continues the Gnome 2 legacy – with new support for the Gnome 3 toolkit.
US Government Requires HTTPS
The Obama White House has issued a memorandum telling all US government agencies they must use HTTPS for all websites and web communication.
Mozilla Signs Firefox Add-Ons
New program will dial up security for the Firefox browser.
Fedora 22 Arrives
Red Hat's community distro embraces the cloud.
Code.org and College Board Team Reach Out for Talented High School Coders
New partnership will bring more and better CS training to US schools
A Peek Inside TeslaCrypt Ransomware
Criminals offer online help over Tor network
Mumblehard Still Spams
Sophisticated malware is still present on Joomla and WordPress sites around the world.
Launchpad Gets Git
Future versions of Ubuntu's code service will support the popular Git version control system used with Linux and other open source projects.


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At their best, they are probably not more than homo erectus :D
People you talk about, are the Homo Sapiens, a common species that build houses for themselves. The are very loud and known as maladaptive to nature. The pollute the environment and are a problem for the planet and sound-recordists ;-)
Sounds great! thanks for this
Beautiful, like Dutch beaches.
I'm lost when it comes to the subject of birds, so you tell me just about anything klankbeeld :D
But it was a remarkable thing to see. I'll link to my Flickr later, when I'm back home. It's a crummy picture, but it'll have to do.
Very nice. I guess these are Dunlins.
nice :)
gr8 fucken sound m8
Thanks. It was recorded close to very smal town called Outrup, in Denmark.
nice where did you record this?
thank you great sound :D
For a shorter version, visit http://audacity.sourceforge.net/
You make it shorter you lazy twat! :D
Great! Thanks!
too long. cut this down to a decent size
Nice! :)
Thank you so much. You have no idea how much sleep you've helped me get.
Thanks, then it was worth the effort :D
wonderful recording. well done. nice project.
thank you!
make it shorter
That is what I call a brilliant recording and hail and thunderstorm together are rare events to record.Congratulations!
Nu er det ved at være et stykke tid siden optagelsen blev gjort, men jeg vil skyde på, at mit lydkort har gjort knuder mht. de 48khz. Så vidt jeg husker, havde jeg lidt problemer med det, lige omkring der.
Men jeg er glad for at du kan lide optagelsen :)
wow, 32bit det var ikke så lidt :) men 44khz. hvorfor ikke 48? men det lyder godt ellers, tak.
awesome recording thanks!


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Favorite/Underrated Episodes of ENT
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November 25 2013, 01:41 AM
Bad Thoughts
Fleet Captain
Location: Containment Area for Relocated Yankees
Re: Favorite/Underrated Episodes of ENT
^How about this: TATV could have been a Trials and Trible-ations style episode, in which the NX-01 crew interfered in the Pegasus mission? It still could have made use of Riker and Troi, and the Enterprise characters would be the focus of the action.
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