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Monthly Archives: February 2012
Most people's lives are filled with loss. As we shuffle through this mortal coil, we constantly misplace things. Some of these things are corporeal, like car keys, others are ethereal . I say ethereal because they deal with things that are part of us. Things that are part of our very essence.
Like most folks I have lost my fair share of things, both corporeal and ethereal. As people we lose: loved ones, prized possessions and parts of us. I have lost all these things. Some I miss. Others I have never spared a single thought on apart from the initial befuddlement at losing the item.
I am focusing on the ethereal things we lose.
I am pretty sure we all remember losing our innocence. It is generally a traumatic event, one that stays in our memory for years. The memory stays with us long after we've lost it. Like a sour after-taste with a slightly bitter edge to it. Some people can forget the trauma, but only in their concious mind. Subconsciously it lives on, dancing in our dreams and flitting through our day-dreams, like a noxious fairy.
Sometimes we lose our self-confidence. This can happen at the same time as the loss of innocence. These two things are not always as traumatic as each other, but both events change you. When you've lost both these "essences" you can still live your life. You just have to make allowances. You have to realize that the innocence can never be regained. The self confidence can with a lot of hard work and determination…and luck.
The other thing we can lose is our way. Our purpose in life. In other words, our goal in life. We are all born with certain innate talents and skills that make us unique as a person. When we are young, it seems crystal clear to us that we should use these talents and skills to make our way forward in life. But life is a series of road-blocks and compromises. Sometimes in avoiding the road-blocks and enduring the compromises we get lost.
I can't remember when I lost my way. I also can't really remember when I lost confidence in my skill and talents. I do know that both occurred about the same time.
Years ago, when I still had an agent, I wound up losing him. At the time, it seemed the most devastating thing in the world. I felt that I had lost the will to live. I want to tell you friends and neighbours it was a close thing. I decided that living was the more important thing to do. I had a family and I wanted to be there for them.
My belief in myself, my self confidence, also went the way of my agent. For the first time in my life, I felt that the creative essence that made me who I was "had left the building."
Now I am slowly finding my "lost" self confidence. I'm also discovering lost skills and talents that I thought were gone forever. All is not lost. It was just misplaced and now I am earnestly trying to find my way in life again.
So take heart, just because you've lost something doesn't mean it is gone forever. You might just find it again. Unless, of course, it is the lost innocence thing. But if you find yours could you keep an eye out for mine as well.
Related articles
- When You've Lost Something Huge . . . (heartdreamsfromgod.com)
- On Innocence Lost (asolitaryramble.wordpress.com)
- oh shit i know i left it around here somewhere (eyeofthestorm.blogs.com)
- How Trauma Leads to Depression (everydayhealth.com)
- Confidence is all in how you define it. (ienjoyyourfacialhair.wordpress.com)
Pain changes our lives. It affects how we think, how we feel, and how we move. It is also a part of everyday life. Pain comes in different categories. There is emotional pain, mental pain and physical pain.
Emotional pain can be just as memorable, as can mental pain. Everyone can, I am sure, remember the pain experienced from a failed relationship. Each type of pain can consume our lives, if we let it. I can live with emotional pain. It's physical pain that I detest.
Bottom line? Pain hurts. But more importantly, it impedes us. It slows us down. I am, at the moment, shuffling about like a ninety year old in search of a walking frame. It is frustrating and…well…painful. It is also to a degree, embarrassing.
When I go to the shop for my "bits and bobs" I know I look like a decrepit old fart. I keep waiting for a boy scout to offer me a helping hand as I cross the road.
More importantly, pain is intrusive. It has taken me three days to write this blog. Why? Because I wrenched my back and knee at work. Not only has this injury kept me off work for at least a week, but, it has kept me from pursuing my passions.
So I keep taking the medication and wait impatiently for the pain to subside enough for me to go about my life normally. So if, as my dad said, pain reminds us that we are alive?
I am full of life right now.
Related articles
- Social Pain, Physical Pain, and the Brain (psychologytoday.com)
- Managing Invisalign Pain (topdentists.com)
- Physical Therapy for Pain Management (everydayhealth.com)
- Why Do We Feel Pain? (everydayhealth.com)
- Eight Things I Learned from Pain. (elephantjournal.com)
- Pain, thoughts, and emotions (harmony2world.com)
- Emotions 'play part' in chronic pain (bigpondnews.com)
Valentine's Day
Years ago it was a different matter.
I remember going out and picking wild flowers for my first wife. She found the gesture romantic and was impressed that I'd gone to the effort of actually picking the flowers. The truth behind my motive was simpler and more down to earth. We were very broke. I mean one step from destitute. Flowers were expensive even back then. Especially roses.
My first marriage never really got out of the "destitute" phase and when it ended, I think we both started to make more in the way of money. Odd.
My second marriage faired little better. My second wife was of the opinion that it was silly and sort of stupid to pick one day out of the year to show how much I loved her. After several years of this (to me) confusing attitude I began to agree. Sic transit wifey number 2.
I have had relationships with other girls and women over the years but I can't really remember celebrating this holiday with anyone else.
So much for romance and love.
I do have one fond memory of this day though and it has nothing to do with romance.
When my brother and I were little, our father would come home every Valentine's Day with three boxes of chocolate and three Valentine's Day cards. This busy man, who ran his own building business and got up before the sun every morning, who never finished until after the sun had gone down, who did everything on the job that he expected his men to do,always took the time to get the chocolates and the cards for Mom and us.
Oh Mom's box of chocolate was much bigger, but that didn't matter because we would get to help her eat them anyway. The card for Momwas always funny, as was ours. Mom's of course was romantically funny. I still don't know how he found the time.
But the thing that makes this memory so special, so important, and so impressive was this: This busy man who took the time to do this for his wife and kids, did so on his own birthday.
So when I call my Dad later this evening for his 'Happy Birthday' call, I'll remind him about how much this gesture meant to me. A gesture that he unfailingly made every year on his own special day. Only stopping when we boys got too old for it.
So I may not be an expert on romance but if what my Dad did for his own family isn't a great example of love. I don't know what is.
Happy Birthday Dad
I got so excited about the snow that it took me ages to drop off to sleep when I then went to bed.
Snow has the capacity to both magically transform me into a child again and to excite me beyond reason. No other type of weather has this power over me. In fact, the only thing that even comes close is the power of smell. I know that scientists have said that a scent can trigger the most amazing memories. Amazing enough that you feel as though you have travelled back through time. This "time travel" experience has happened to me a few times. I can count on the fingers of both hands the amount of times it has happened. Snow, however, always instantly affects me.
I remember vividly travelling back from Sacramento, California with my parents at the age of five.
*Coincidentally I also remember, equally as well, travelling out to California, aged four. I played in the foot-well of the passenger seat. With a bed-sheet as my tee-pee, I played Cowboys and Indians as we crossed the desert during the day. I played in the foot-well because of the oppressive heat. My mother who was driving our 58' Chevy had to endure it.
On this momentous trip, we drove through a blinding snow storm in the mountains near Flagstaff, Arizona. The flying snow was so thick, it froze and then broke our wind-shield wipers and my father had to brush the snow off the wind-shield (while he drove) with his arm. We finally our-drove the snow and arrived in Alamogordo, New Mexico in the late afternoon. Alamogordo is right at the edge of the White Sands Missile Range. It is in the desert. It has sand, cacti, sagebrush, mesquite and tumble-weeds.
And on this memorable occasion, it also had snow.
As we all slept in our Rocket Lounge motel room, the snow had caught up with us. When the morning arrived my parents woke me up and told me to open the door and look outside. In the night the snow had transformed the desert into a world of white. Everything was covered in the stuff. Even the tumble-weeds were white. I was ecstatic. It made an everlasting impression on me, that forty-eight years later, is still fresh.
So this morning when I stepped out into the snow in my back garden I was transported. I "time-travelled" back to Alamogordo, New Mexico. I re-lived that excitement of seeing the snow covered desert and the memory was as fresh as the snow covered world outside my window and as crisp as the air surrounding it.
Related articles
- Looney Tunes Refuted (alonzosubverbo.wordpress.com)
Vampires are wildly popular in media at the moment. I personally think author Anne Rice is responsible for this upsurge in popularity. She really started it all with her Interview With A Vampire. I think the less said about Stephanie Meyer's "non-vampire" series and it's celluloid equivalent the better. In either case, the vampires are still considered to be fictional creatures. Whether you are talking about author Bram Stokers' Count Dracula or True Bloods' Bill Compton, they are not real, but characters developed by pen and actor.
I believe though, that vampires do exist. Not in the supernatural realm but in every day life. These 'real-life' vampires do not drain our blood. They do, however, drain our life-force. They also have to same power to extinguish our 'light' or to transform us into carbon copies of themselves.
These real-life vampires come in the guise of people with 'Passive/Aggressive Personality Disorder.'
I firmly believe that Passive/Aggressive's fit solidly in the vampire world. I'll explain.
Anyone who has had a relationship with a Passive/Aggressive can, I am sure, attest to this. I had a relationship with a Passive/Aggressive for years. I still carry the scars. Scars that are mainly emotional, but scars none-the-less. Trust issues being the first and foremost. People who have had Passive/Aggressive's as lovers, friends, partners, spouses, or family members can avow that they have the same affect on you as a vampire.
They exhaust you by constantly keeping you off-balance. You will be: lied to, bullied, manipulated, isolated…well the list can go on and on. The eventual result of all this can be a kind of death. The death of your personality, what make you, you. It becomes lost amid the everyday relentless confusion and stress of dealing with a Passive/Aggressive. If it doesn't "kill" you, it transforms you…into a Passive/Aggressive personality…a vampire. As effortlessly as osmosis, you will absorb the very personality traits that are killing you. And unless you escape, you will become the very thing that has been draining the very life out of you.
It is not entirely hopeless. Passive/Aggressive's can be receive counselling. Unfortunately, it is a condition that is nigh-on impossible to cure. If you are in a relationship with one, at the very least, you might find out what has caused the Passive/Aggressive traits to develop, but that will offer you no real help.
I have no 'ray-of-light' message to deliver. I can only say that the internet has sites that offer help and support to people who find themselves dealing with Passive/Aggressive's on a daily basis.
Google it. It may not be too late. There are forums that can help you 'vent' your frustrations, ask for support, or inform you as to just what the hell is going on. Give these sites a try. They could just save your "life"
Because God knows, holy water, crucifixes and garlic aren't going to help you.
Related articles
- What Could Be in a 19th Century Vampire-Slaying Kit? (reginajeffers.wordpress.com)
- Vampires, Dead or Alive?! (sachablack.wordpress.com)
- American Vampire #28 Review (oldgamereviewer.com)
- Religion and the Vampire, Interview Eleven (thegraveyardpress.wordpress.com)
*side-note* I wonder if anyone remembers the actor George 'Gabby' Hayes? Comic "side-kick" to Roy Rogers and John Wayne (especially when Wayne was making his skid-row 'oater's') He disappeared from the silver screen around the late 40's early 50's.
I have a beard and have had one off and on for years. The reason for having a beard has changed, but, I still grow one on a regular basis. Now I generally acquire it during the winter months. It helps to keep my chin warm and it gives me the illusion of feeling warmer during those long dark cold winter days.
When I was younger, every time I grew my beard, I felt that it made me look an odd mixture of distinguished, debonair, older, and somewhat wiser. In those days my beard grew much darker. More black than the dark brown hair that adorned my head. It was also much easier to maintain.
Now that I'm older, it is a much different story altogether.
My beard now is multi-coloured. Grey, silver, white, a hint of red, and yes, black. I have been told that my beard now makes look like a badger. I'm afraid I have to agree. My 'beard-of-many-colours' is also much harder to maintain. The white, silver and grey hairs are rebels. They grow faster than the black hair and tend to behave like wild bramble bushes that stick out all over. If I skip one day of trimming, my beard starts to look remarkably like old Gabby Hayes's whiskers. Of course that will never do.
Whiskers, you see, appear to have gone out of fashion. I do think that most women, however, would disagree. Most women don't appear to like facial hair of any kind. At any rate, I think that whiskers have gone out of fashion because I've not heard the term for years. I literally cannot remember the last time I heard anyone refer to facial hair as whiskers.
It's a shame that referring to beards as whiskers has fallen by the wayside. Because whiskers always sounded more kind and gentle than the stentorian image of the beard.
My daughter maintains, though, that my beard makes me look kinder and somewhat less fierce…nicer I suppose. I always reply that it just makes me look older now that I have such a prevalent amount of 'lighter' hair in it. It also make me look like a badger which I kind of like, despite making me worry about crossing roads and giving me a bit of a self-image problem.
But regardless of looking like a kind old badger, I re-grow my beard every winter. I value the warm chin and illusion of overall warmth it gives me. I could shave it off to lose a scant few years in my appearance, but, what good does it do.
I would much rather look older and feel warmer than look younger and feel like I'm freezing my butt off. And that is the main reason I know I'm physically older and to a degree mentally older.
I don't care how I look as long as I'm comfortable.


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Shadow Walk : Significantly increases Stealth effectiveness for 6 sec, but causes Stealth to be nerfed to justify its usage. In addition, it uses old Enveloping Shadows icon and has no sound, animation or spell effect to show that the skill is actually doing something.
i7-5820k @ 4.4GHz|16GB DDR4 2667MHz OC|EVGA GTX 670 FTW|Samsung 830 128GB SSD

subset: commoncrawl


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Graduate Student Event Registration
Registering Your On‐Campus Student Organization Event
Event Registration and Approval (EvR) Process
All graduate student organizations must register their event in order to reserve any space on‐campus. In order to be approved for an event on‐campus, the student organization must be registered as a current graduate student organization. See Student Organization Registration process at http://www.sandiego.edu/gradlife
Registering On-Campus Events
Every on-campus event or meeting sponsored by your organization must be registered in order to reserve an on-campus facility (indoor or outdoor).
- First, be sure to check the Online Campus Calendar* to see when/where the most convenient time/place is for your event – https://reservations.sandiego.edu/VirtualEms/BrowseForSpace.aspx. It's helpful to determine multiple dates (a preferred date and back-up dates) on which your event can take place in case the space you want is not available initially. Also, take into consideration other events that are occurring simultaneously.
- Second, fill out the On-Campus Event Registration and Approval (EvR) Form. This form is how you register your event AND request an ON-CAMPUS space reservation.
- Third, a Graduate Student Life staff member will notify you of the status of your event registration.
Keep in mind: The EvR Process for ON-CAMPUS events is a two-step process:
- Graduate Student Life will review your request for content.
- After receiving approval from Graduate Student Life, Campus Scheduling will confirm your
reservation. You may be required to provide more information, conduct a walk-through, or
otherwise change some event details per Campus Scheduling's request.
To confirm the status of your On-Campus EvR or change an existing EvR's content, please contact us at email@example.com
**ALL EvR FORMS SHOULD BE SUBMITTED AT LEAST 2 WEEKS PRIOR TO YOUR EVENT DATE. PROCESSING/CORRESPONDENCE TAKES AT LEAST 5 BUSINESS DAYS AND IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE.**
Helpful Hint: USD's Event Planning website is a useful resource for all of your event/program planning needs. You can even download a full "Event Checklist" to help you get organized! Visit the site at http://www.sandiego.edu/scheduling/event-planning.
As always, e-mail us if you have any questions!
*Campus Calendar url is subject to change. Check the EvR Form for updates.
Contact Information
Graduate Student Life
Student Life Pavilion 401
5998 Alcalá Park
San Diego, CA 92110
Phone: (619) 260-2227


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The New Madrid County Family Resource Center would like to thank all the businesses and community members who are supporting the daily operations this year through volunteering or monetary donations. All donations are used to better the communities in which we live by increasing opportunities for employment, housing, food, clothing, youth mentoring and working adults towards self sufficiency.
The New Madrid County Family Resource Center averages 600 visits per month seeking various services from the entire New Madrid County area. With the communities' help and donations we are able to expand our services and reach more people.
Once again we thank you and hope that you will continue to support the Center. The Family Resource Center is open Monday - Friday from 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. for anyone seeking new opportunities or for those who would just like to come see what we are all about.
Tonya Carruth
Executive Director and Staff


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The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle
by Avi
The Seahawk
Symbolism, Imagery, Allegory
The ship is a living, breathing ecosystem that Charlotte becomes very much a part of. When Charlotte goes down into top cargo to fetch her clothing, for example, she refers to it as being in the belly of the whale (6.55). The animal comparison is apt since the Seahawk even seems to have a mind of its own. It sways, it bends, it heaves. The ship also plays a very large role in overthrowing Captain Jaggery (21.78). Is it Charlotte who finally defeats him or is it the ship itself that finally does away with the captain?


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Used as a frontrunner of an advertising campaign, a teaser ad reveal only a little about the advertiser or the product. Its purpose is to arouse widespread attention, and build excitement and expectations through consumer curiosity. For teaser ads to succeed, they must be widely publicized through several or all media vehicles.
Use teaser ad in a sentence


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Skin cancer Click here to see more information. is the abnormal growth of cells in the skin. It is the most common type of cancer.
Most skin cancer can be prevented. Use the following tips to protect your skin from the sun. You may decrease your chances of developing skin cancer and help prevent wrinkles.
The categories below can help you find the information you want.
Please type the specific agency or program name (or any part of the name in the field below, then click "Submit." Or click on any letter
below to view an alphabetized list.
Program/Agency Name:
Please type your keyword in the field below, then click "Submit." For best results, choose one word that best describes the service you are seeking.
For example, if searching for information for any type of counseling (drug and alcohol counseling, credit counseling, etc.), type the keyword "counseling."
To search for listings by keyword, category or ZIP code, select any combination of options.
print close directions


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The most common description of autoimmune disease is that it is a condition that occurs when the body attacks itself. This definition doesn't even begin to encompass what autoimmunity really is. This disease is much more than inflammation caused by body attacking itself.
The fact is that an autoimmune condition doesn't just "happen" to you. It is both passively and actively created by your lifestyle and the greedy practices of food manufacturers, who lace your meals with toxins. You eat, drink, and expose your way to immune dysfunction. With little exception, everything you put into your mouth, your surroundings, and even the air you breathe is either making you healthier or sicker.
Autoimmunity occurs naturally in everyone to some degree. In an ideal environment, the cells that are capable of attacking the body's own tissue are kept under control by the body itself. If the body's environment falls out of balance, it can cause dysfunction and breakdown of its internal safety mechanisms, causing the body to mistake itself as an enemy.
Just as your genetic make-up can cause greater susceptibility to burning in the sun, your genes can make you more susceptible to autoimmunity. However, genetics do not guarantee that you will develop any type of autoimmune disease.
According to the researchers at the University of Utah, genetics aren't everything. In the case of identical twins, when one twin develops Multiple Sclerosis, there is only a 30% chance of the other (genetically identical) twin also being diagnosed with the disease. A separate study showed the incidence of lupus between identical twins even lower at 24%. With Rheumatoid Arthritis, there is a 1 in 4 chance. Why does one twin get sick and not the other the majority of the time? It is the same as one redheaded, fair-skinned twin who went out in the sun and got a sunburn, while the other avoided sun exposure and did not get burned. The answer is the environment. The twins with MS, lupus, and arthritis had allowed an internal environment that was conducive to autoimmunity. According to immunologist, Dr. Jesse Stoff, there are four key things that damage the body's internal environment. They are:
-poor eating habits and nutrition
-man-made toxins in our environment
-disease causing organisms and the toxins they produce
-trauma on the immune system from things like x-ray radiation and cross country flights, and stress.
The immune system, like most of the body, requires balance to function properly. T-helper 1 (Th1) cells and T-helper 2 cells (Th2) help regulate the body's response to foreign invaders. Th1 uses white blood cells to go after viruses and cancer cells. Th2 immune cells use antibodies to go after bacteria. Normally, the body strikes a balance by switching back and forth between Th1 and Th2. In a person with an autoimmune disorder, one dominates and suppresses the other.
Trans fats, mercury and other heavy metals, sugar and processed foods, alcohol, lack of sleep, lack of exercise, and stress are part of a modern lifestyle that can disrupt the Th1/Th2 balance.
Autoimmune Disease and Women
Th1 dominance in women is associated with autoimmunity and recurrent miscarriage in the first trimester of pregnancy. Additionally, children in the autism spectrum tend to be Th1 dominant. Besides autoimmunity, Th2 dominance is characterized by a tendency toward allergies, frequent colds and viral infections, and cancer. Both Th1 and Th2 cells make a protein substance known as cytokines. Cytokines cause inflammation. Cytokines are a necessary part of our immunity. Inflammation should be a temporary response to injury or infection. It is the over-production (too many) of certain small cytokine molecules that leads to the invasion and inflammation of an organ or body system.
Changes in the Brain
In the brain, cytokines can cause behavioral changes. They can either prompt or worsen depression, anxiety, or anorexia. They may cause a person to become withdrawn. Cytokines create fatigue and interfere with sleep patterns. They are one thing responsible for what has been termed "brain fog."
Autoimmune Conditions
Autoimmune conditions are named or categorized according to where in the body cytokines are being overproduced and how the disease manifests itself. For example, an overproduction of these cytokines in the joints causing pain and swelling is called Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA). It may go by different names and occur in different places in the body, but ultimately, autoimmunity is one disease with many different faces.
Because immune system cytokines are the culprit, the most common conventional treatment for autoimmune disease is immunosuppressive drugs, like steroids. Steroids are used because they are able to suppress the over-productive cytokines. Unfortunately, the steroids don't just stop the over-active part of the immune system, they also suppress the already under-active segment of the immune system.
This practice is not unlike the use of chemotherapy, which poisons the good and the bad cells of cancer patients. Steroids can also affect your mood and cause depression, muscle weakness, osteoporosis, high blood pressure, and diabetes.
Is Your Diet to Blame?
Your diet plays a major role in activating or suppressing cytokines. I can't stress this enough. Just about anything you put into your mouth will have a negative or positive consequence on your autoimmune condition. It is as if everything that you swallow is sending a signal to your immune system to either cause more cytokines or less.
Maintaining an Immune system for Autoimmune Sufferers
To successfully reverse the effects of autoimmune diseases, we must do two things: combat oxidative stress, and re-balance the immune system.
Is there something you can do that naturally takes care of both requirements?
Autoimmune Diseases – Reverse Oxidative Stress With Glutathione
There has been much research done in the last 20 years or so about the antioxidant benefits of glutathione.
To learn more about the role of glutathione in oxidative stress, click HERE.
In this way, reducing oxidative stress, glutathione can be very helpful in reversing the damage done by autoimmune diseases.
Autoimmune Diseases – Re-Balance Your Immune System With Glutathione
So should you be afraid to boost your glutathione levels? Many have expressed concern that if their immune system is already overactive, raising glutathione will only make it worse. Actually, studies have shown just the opposite to be true. In a normal healthy functioning immune system there are optimal levels of all its components, like white blood cells, different types of T-cells, B-cells, and so forth. What glutathione does is make sure that you maintain these optimal levels.
There are also little "scouts" that your immune system sends out that are used to tell your body whether a tissue is friend or foe. These little scouts are called cytokines. Cytokines cause inflammation, which is why many of these autoimmune diseases are known for their inflammation.
Glutathione keeps the cytokines honest, so they stop tagging good guys as bad guys. They only tag bad guys bad, and good guys good, so that your killer cells only end up destroying what should be destroyed.
So basically glutathione knows what to do and gets busy doing it, correcting whatever imbalance a person may have, whether they are immunodeficient, or have one of the autoimmune diseases.
In conclusion, we know that there are two conditions that must be addressed when it comes to autoimmune diseases – oxidative stress and re-balancing the immune system.
Glutathione effectively addresses both roles to help to combat autoimmune diseases.
Immunocal Platinum by Immunotec Research has been designed with autoimmune disease in mind. Immunocal comes in two versions – Immunocal Regular, containing natural cysteine, and Immunocal Platinum which contains two additional formulas. These are Redox Modulating Formula, for balancing the redox value of the cell (usually recommended for anyone over 50, as it helps to maintain the alkalinity in the body as we get older), and Cytokine Modulating Formula, for re-training our immune system to stop attacking itself.


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Tag Archives: Love Soul
On the trigger.
Spilling lies for you.
How's That
Got that summertime sadness
Elephante has some really adorable new poses out for Food Fair which is going on until August 4th. I'm using a pose from Hella Good and Poison Apple sets available at the fair. You can also play the new 3 Sugar Feelings gacha there for ice cream poses. They all include their own props as […]
You really are my ecstasy
Violent Seduction has a new gacha out for only 35L play! I put together a fun look with one of the necklaces. They are all in Japanese and the one I'm wearing reads kawaii which in case you've been living under a rock means cute. There are 5 styles and various different colors in the […]


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Education and Community Leadership
(512) 245-6055
(512) 245-8872
John A. Oliver, Ph.D. is an Assistant Professor of Educational and Community Leadership at Texas State University. His research interests include the intersection of adult and youth partnerships for community change, and effective partnerships between higher education, schools, and communities. Dr. Oliver's grant work currently includes Promoting College Going Culture for Historically Underrepresented Students, and an Ethnographic Approach to Policy as Practice. His teaching specialties include understanding the self as an educational leader, the role of school leaders in facilitating school improvement, and the praxis of principal preparation. Dr. Oliver earned is doctorate from Michigan State University in the area of Educational Administration with a focus in School Leadership; received his M.Ed. from Marygrove College and B.A. from Morehouse College. John was a public school teacher and Assistant Principal in Michigan for over 8 years. Dr. Oliver was also a member of the national evaluation team for the W.K.Kellogg Foundation Leadership For Community Change Project, chair and secretary/historian of the Graduate Student Council for the American Educational Research Association and member of the Social Justice Action Committee for the American Educational Research Association.


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Hi all. I'm trying to get a 3Com ethernet + modem 3CXFEM656C card to
work with my HP 620LX (almost Jornada :?>), wince 2.0. It doesn't even
recognize the card when I plug it in (when the unti isn't plugged in,
my other modem card causes a popup box to ask whether I really want to
use it under battery power only). I found one old usenet post stating
that combo cards in general don't work with handhelds. Is there any
hope for me? thks
GROG! \|/ The pipeline has ramped up.
thks @ @
EMAIL: grog [at] beevomit [dot] org


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Whatever you do, whatever you eat,
whatever you offer or give away,
and whatever austerities you perform --
do that, O son of Kunti, as an offering to Me.
- Bhagavad Gita 9.27
ISKCON of Silicon Valley would like to invite you to become a monthy
member of our congregation by pledging a donation each month to
Their Lordships Sri Sri Radha Madan Mohan. Your donation helps to
maintain the worship of their Lordships and to provide a facility
to the devotees in the bay area to congregate together for chanting
the holy name of the Lord.
Please choose from one of the following options:
Please contact us by email at firstname.lastname@example.com
if the monthly amount that you would like to donate is not listed
Click here to make a one
time donation to the temple.
* ISKCON of Silicon Valley is a charitable, non-profit organization
and all donations are tax deductible.


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Any process that results in a change in state or activity of a cell (in terms of movement, secretion, enzyme production, gene expression, etc.) as a result of a reactive oxygen species stimulus. Reactive oxygen species include singlet oxygen, superoxide, and oxygen free radicals.
The process whose specific outcome is the progression of the glomerular basement membrane over time, from its formation to the mature structure. The glomerular basement membrane is the basal laminal portion of the glomerulus which performs the actual filtration.
Any biological process involved in the maintenance of an internal steady state.
The process whose specific outcome is the progression of the inner ear over time, from its formation to the mature structure.
The maintenance of the structure and integrity of the mitochondrial genome; includes replication and segregation of the mitochondrial chromosome.
The chemical reactions and pathways involving a reactive oxygen species, any molecules or ions formed by the incomplete one-electron reduction of oxygen. They contribute to the microbicidal activity of phagocytes, regulation of signal transduction and gene expression, and the oxidative damage to biopolymers.
Any process that modulates the frequency, rate or extent of reactive oxygen species metabolic process.


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Miller helped the Quakers to a 9-7 finish and a berth in the Division I championship game. He usually covered the opponent's best offensive player. He had 48 ground balls and 22 takeaways. He also scored a goal and assisted on four. Coach Mike Fraioli wrote that Miller �quarterbacked our defense. . . excellent stick. . . athletic and aggressive.�
Location, ST | website.com


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In a new partnership between the Ingham Intermediate School District and Lansing Community College, high school students have a chance to start college early and it's all free of charge.
"We just received a grant of about $400,000 that will start the middle college here at LCC," said Stan Kogut, the superintendent for the Ingham Intermediate School District.
It was a state grant that was part of the state mandated ReImagine Districts in Michigan proposal. Districts were required to come up with plans to help redefine and help their schools. ISD came up with a concept to help high school transition into college while earning credits and potentially even a degree.
You won't be able to physically see The Middle College but, starting their junior year, students will take their required high school classes at LCC to get their diploma; and then, when they're ready, start with the college classes.
"It provides so many opportunities especially for kids who may not have gone off to college or whose parents can't afford it --- they can start to say, 'hey, I can do this; here's a way to do it," said Kogut.
High schoolers in Ingham County who are accepted, even have an option of staying for an extra year after their senior year to earn an Associate's Degree. The money they get from the state, their foundation grant, will follow them through this program, helping to offset the cost and it would continue if they choose to stay for an extra year
"They'll learn a little what it's like to be in a college and understand the freedoms and accountabilities that go with college and then transition to a full college life," said Kogut.
Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, or STEM is the main focus of the program.
"These students coming here will be in one of those fields and get college credit," said Kogut.
LCC President Brent Knight is equally excited about the new venture.
"It's important for students to advance in science, math, engineering in particular and we need more college graduates in Michigan," said Knight. "It's a way for high school students to get a headstart on earning college credit [and] it's at no cost to the students so it's a wonderful financial advantage," Knight said.
"Students are ready for that change, for something different," said Kogut. Especially as online courses start to gain popularity, he added. Kogut believes this is the program that students need.
And if the current students at LCC are any indication:
"[Middle College] would have saved so much time, it would have been much easier and faster," said second year student Tyler Zamra.
"I'm kind of jealous matter of fact," said first year student Titus Baldwin.
"There aren't enough students doing [sciences] and most want to get into sports or something else so getting into technology, which is really, really big now a days, that's a great opportunity," said Baldwin.
And when he found out it was free....
Baldwin laughed, "I really wish I had that when I was in high school." Baldwin took some time off between high school and college but says this program would have been college an automatic and immediate choice.
"Out of high school, you get to the big world and it's hard and a little different," said Baldwin. "If this opportunity was there, I definitely would have taken it."
Another first year Keanna Berry says the program would have been a benefit.
"You get to start early and get to your career," said Berry.
All incentives that students say would make going to college an automatic choice.
For more information on the application process just click on the link below or call the Ingham Intermediate School District at (517) 244-1212.


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Welcome to Home Inspections Plus!
We are Vancouver Islands solutions based Home Inspection Company with offices in Victoria and Campbell River we cover Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands. Buy or sell your home with complete confidence knowing a professionally trained and certified inspector has provided you with a comprehensive inspection. Our focus and commitment is to provide unbiased inspection reports, offer helpful solutions and advice, and most importantly help our clients learn about and understand their new home.
We recognize that houses are houses; they require regular maintenance, updating and almost always repairs. Purchasing a home is the single largest investment our clients will make in their lifetimes. Homes are places where families are raised; they need to be safe and they need to function properly. Our mission is to provide our clients with timely, thoughtful and accurate information that allows them to find the comfort in their new home. We are professionally trained, nationally certified, fully insured and licensed by Consumer Protection BC.
|"Find the comfort in your new home" is not a catch phrase or a tag line. It is what we believe in and what we want for our clients. It is why we are Home Inspections Plus! Call us today and let us help you learn about your new home. Always available and always happy to help. Call toll free 1-855-355-6409 or email: firstname.lastname@example.com plus.


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This deal has ended.
Exclusively for our readers, these Charmed Feelings Murano Style Glass Charms Bracelets, which retail for $49.99, drop from $15 to $13 with the code BRADS-CHARM13 at SharkStores, plus shipping is free. This is the lowest price we could find on a similar bracelet anywhere. There is no sales tax (except NY).No longer available


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Welcome !
Zirakpur Flats, an upcoming Investment Consultant Company, we understand that buying a property is the single biggest investment decision made by a person during his lifetime. We are not the property agents but investment consultants fashion trends handbags who provide investment solutions and investment advice for making a right buying decision.
We deal in residential property in Zirakpur and areas surrounding Zirakpur. We deal in sale, purchase, renting of Residential Properties. We have a wide range of Flats, BHK, Dulpex house available for you to choose from. Zirakpur and its surrounding areas have shown tremendous development over the past few years, Cheap Handbags that it has become the choice of more and more people.Best price , Paras Downtown, Big Cinemas, Dominos Pizza, McDonalds, SUBWAY, Cafe coffee day and many other are just nearby. Also has Multiplex and shopping complex in near future as they are under construction.
Our representatives are extremely well qualified and knowledgeable to advise you on all your property requirements. Simply give us a Call or email us your requirements and we will provide you the best information.
Call us - +91-9914011055 or +91-9646911055
Email us at : firstname.lastname@example.com


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If you or a debt management company has successfully negotiated a settlement of your credit card debt, and the amount is over $600, you may receive a 1099-C.
It basically states that unless the amount forgiven (IRS terminology for settlement) is exempt, then it has to be included as additional income subject to normal taxation.
So, how do you determine if the forgiven amount is exempt?
According to IRS Form 4681, there are several exemptions to including forgiven amounts back into taxable income.
For the purpose of this article, let's focus on the settlement or forgiveness of credit card or unsecured debt.
On page 4 of IRS Form 4681, there is an explanation of "INSOLVENCY". As usual, the government has a hard time explaining the rules (I think they do it on purpose!), but basically the rule states:
If at the time of the settlement or forgiveness you were INSOLVENT, then the amount of the forgiveness IS NOT INCLUDED as additional taxable income.
How do you determine if you were insolvent?
At the time of the settlement, you need to show that your liabilities were only equal to or greater than your assets.
You need to complete a basic budget showing all of your income, outgo, and assets:
- Equity in your home
- Net value of your automobile(s), boat, etc.
- Net value of jewelery, stocks, bonds, etc.
- Savings or investment accounts
- Net furniture value, coin collections, etc.
For most people who have negotiated a settlement of their credit card or cards, they usually do not have any real assets and therefore the amount forgiven is not included as additional taxable income.
You will need to complete IRS Form 982. You will check a couple of boxes and sign, and along with the Budget Worksheet, turn in with the 1099-C and your normal tax return.
Don't be surprised if your tax preparer or accountant is not really up on this procedure! You might want to download IRS 4681 for their review.
We have helped dozens of tax preparers and accountants deal with the 1099-C issue and would be glad to assist.
Got Questions? We've got ANSWERS!
photo by: alancleaver_2000


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Q: What is the age requirement?
A: You need to be at 18 years old. There is no upper limit as long as you are reasonable fit.
Q: What is the average age of the participants?
A: Students of all ages join our programs, from 18 up till 66. The average age of our students is between 25 and 35.
Q: What is an A-certificate?
A: An A-certificate equals a third Bachelor in "Fighting with The Poor". You study 1500 hours and it gives 60 credits with ISET / One World University.
Q: How do you fly to St. Vincent?
A: From Europe – fly to London Gatwick and then with British Airways or Virgin Atlantic to Barbados. From Barbados (Bridgetown) you fly with LIAT www.liat.com to St. Vincent (ET Joshua Airport)
From Korea – fly to Canada, then to Barbados and then to St. Vincent with LIAT
From Brazil – fly with GOL from Sao Paolo to Barbados, then to St. Vincent with LIAT
From USA – fly to Puerto Rico (San Juan) or Barbados, then to St. Vincent with LIAT
From Colombia – fly to Panama/Trinidad or Curacao and then to St. Vincent with LIAT.
It is also possible to fly to another Caribbean state like Grenada, Trinidad, Curacao, Martinique, Antigua, Puerto Rico, St. Lucia or Dominican Republic and from any of these islands fly withwww.liat.com to St. Vincent.
Q: Do you have Internship Positions?
A: Yes, Richmond Vale Academy co-operates with other universities. For example students of Environmental Engeneering Programs can do the 1 or 6 months Climate Compliance Conference Program as part of their education, and receive credits from their university.
Q: What is your refund policy?
A: If you have paid your schoolfees and do not start the program, the fees are refunded minus an administration fee of 10%.
Once you have started the program, either the Climate Compliance Program or The Fighting with The Poor Program and two months have passed. There is No Refund.
Q: What are the frames of the school?
The frames of the school are no drugs and no alcohol.
In order to ensure the best possible conditions for the programs, we have set frames regarding alcohol and drug use while in the program.
– Nobody who participates in a course can take alcohol, while in the program.
– Nobody who participates in a course can be involved with euphoriant or narcotic substances.
The frames applies 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Q – Are sundays off?
No, the program is 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.


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It's one of those appliances we rarely think about... That is until it breaks down. Water heaters become a priority when the water goes cold. Considering they are the third largest energy consumer in your house, you might want to pay closer attention.
In this Angie's List report, Tessa Darlington helps you decide whether or not to repair or replace your water heater.
Bruce Flanagan never gave much thought to what was coming out of his faucet until he noticed the water temperature wasn't quite right.
"We had a tank water heater, and it was beginning to get a small leak, but we also had some carbon monoxide problems with a draft with it," Flanagan said.
To avoid these problems, experts recommend a good maintenance regimen.
"An easy maintenance tip for your water heater to ensure its best efficiency is to drain a quart of water from the water heater once every three months. This will reduce sediment from building up in your water heater and make sure they are getting maximum capacity out of your water heater," Angie's List Founder Angie Hicks said.
But even when a good maintenance job doesn't do the trick, how do you know if replacing or repairing your water heater is the answer? Experts say it could be as simple as a number.
"Anything more than about 8 or 9 about 10 years is a good life, after that you are going to start hearing it rumbling and carrying on and most people never maintain, they just put them in they sit for ten years, trouble free for 10 years and all of a sudden they start leaking and occasionally you'll have one really cause you some grief," Plumbing contractor Mark Weilhammer said.
That grief can sometimes turn out to be expensive considering water heaters represent about 15 percent of your utility bills each month. It's important to evaluate the current options.
"You could go with a tankless water heater or an electric water heater. And depending on your bills and much you are willing to spend on your water heater there are a lot of choices that can really make your house much more efficient," Weilhammer said.
While storage units are the most popular type of water heating systems, tankless systems are more compact and offer energy savings by providing hot water only when it's needed. Although it was more costly, about twice the price of an electric heater, Flanagan went the tankless route.
"When the kids and grandkids are here, we have 5 or 6 people take a shower right in a row, and the water stays warm at the end of the last shower as it is the first."
Making for a happy and warm family visit.
Replacing a water heater can be difficult and involve many gallons of water. Make sure you know how it will be done. The units are very heavy and navigating small staircases can cause damage to your home. Check that the company you hire is insured to cover any damages.


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The ground shook for four to five minutes, roughly twice through "I Want to Hold Your Hand," the Beatles No. 1 song that year. With the U.S. and the USSR facing off in the Cold War, some thought the Russians had attacked. The quake produced a tsunami that wreaked havoc along the West Coast. Overall damage was estimated at $2.3 billion in 2014 dollars. The quake and resulting tsunamis killed 131 people.
Though now a distant memory, it helped make experts better prepared for future quakes.
From his vantage point on the 12th floor of an apartment building in Anchorage, geologist William Binkley could feel the light tremor. He later told the USGS that it was then followed by minutes of violent jarring in which the building appeared to sway 10 to 12 feet horizontally and 1-2 feet vertically.
The sound was a deep rumble followed by shattering plaster and glass. Cabinets and the refrigerator crashed to the kitchen floor.
Binkley crawled into a hallway and braced his feet against one wall and his back against another until the shaking stopped.
Landslides caused most of the damage in Anchorage, about 75 miles from the epicenter.
Geologists have a name for such strong earthquakes—megathrusts.
Plate tectonic theory says the Earth's crust is made up of about a dozen major plates that rest on hot mantle. The thin, dense, Pacific Plate at Alaska's southern edge moves at a shallow angle beneath the North American Plate at average rate of 2.3 inches per year and eventually is reabsorbed by mantle. Strain builds up until there's a slip.
The Moment Magnitude scale rates quakes by the energy they release by calculating the area of fault rupture, the average amount of slip, and the force required to overcome the friction sticking the rocks together, according to the USGS. Every whole number higher on the scale represents 30 times the energy of the previous number.
More energy was released in the 1964 magnitude 9.2 quake than all other recorded Alaska quakes combined, said USGS research geologist Peter Haeussler. And drilling showed evidence of nine such megathrusts in south-central Alaska in 5,500 years. The average time span between them: 600 years.
The temblor caused two kinds of waves: local and trans-ocean tsunamis.
Eighty-five of the 106 Alaska tsunami deaths were caused by waves generated by underwater landslides. Rivers flowing into Alaska fjords build up huge deltas of unstable sediment on deep, underwater slopes, said USGS research geologist Rob Witter. Slides generate waves like a rock dropped in a pond.
During local tsunamis, water can at first retreat from shore in response to the underwater slide, then rush back. That's what happened at Port Valdez. When the water swept back in, it smashed a freighter into the city dock. Longshoremen and children who had assembled to catch oranges or candy tossed down from the crew were killed. Thirty-two people died.
The great quake also rumpled the ocean floor like a rug, creating a trans-ocean tsunami.
Anchorage had almost no seismic equipment measuring quakes in 1964. The state and the USGS now monitor them through the Advanced National Seismic System, which gathers information to assess hazards, create hazard maps and design buildings.
The quake played a role in the formation of the West Coast and Alaska Tsunami Warning Center, renamed the National Tsunami Warning Center, operated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The center within minutes of a quake can put out alerts to warn susceptible communities along the West Coast and Hawaii that a big wave is headed their way.
The quake raised awareness in Alaska that the only warning of a dangerous local tsunami will be the shaking of the ground itself.
"If you feel shaking and you're near the shore, you need to get to high ground, really quick," Witter said.


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- Introduction
Table of Contents
- Microsoft SQL Server Defined
Microsoft SQL Server Features
- SQL Server Books Online
- Clustering Services
- Data Transformation Services (DTS) Overview
- Replication Services
- Database Mirroring
- Natural Language Processing (NLP)
- Analysis Services
- Microsot SQL Server Reporting Services
- XML Overview
- Notification Services for the DBA
- Full-Text Search
- SQL Server 2005 - Service Broker
- Using SQL Server as a Web Service
- SQL Server Encryption Options Overview
- SQL Server 2008 Overview
- SQL Server 2008 R2 Overview
- SQL Azure
- The Utility Control Point and Data Application Component, Part 1
- The Utility Control Point and Data Application Component, Part 2
- Microsoft SQL Server Administration
- Microsoft SQL Server Programming
- Performance Tuning
- Practical Applications
- Professional Development
- Application Architecture Assessments
- Business Intelligence
- Tips and Troubleshooting
- Additional Resources
Using SQL Server as a Web Service
Last updated Mar 28, 2003.
All versions of Microsoft SQL Server versions can be networked and support TCP/IP. And all versions and releases can certainly be used as a "back end" to an Internet or Web Page based system. But SQL Server can also provide specific services aimed at the Internet. In this overview I'll introduce you to a few functions and features in SQL Server that make it a great platform to serve web-based applications, as a service. Since this is big topic, this overview seeks to uncover some of the bigger concepts and a couple of features you can use to make SQL Server act as a true web service.
In the past, most relational database systems, SQL Server included, were only one part of an application that could truthfully be called a "Web Service." The W3C formally defines a Web Service as clients and servers that communicate XML messages that follow the Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP) standard.
Actually, it involves more than just that simple definition. To be properly considered as a Web Service, your application should contain at least a Service Provider, a Service Broker, and a Service Requester.
A Service Provider is a set of code that can transmit and receive an XML Message. This often means that the files are in the Web Services Description Language (WSDL) format, which is just an XML file that contains the description of either code that the system can run or the data it needs.
The Service Broker function is implemented differently based on which vendor or product you look at. As a broad-description, the Service Broker is the connection and message manager for a Web Service. What that means is that an application requests a service from the Service Broker, which then locates a Service Provider (which might be on the same system) to fulfill the request and do something — at least this is one implementation of a Web Service. Again, it's different based on which vendor has implemented the solution, as some have the client talk directly to the Service Provider component, by passing the Service Broker entirely.
The Service Requester is just the client. Keep in mind that the "client" might even be another application, or in some implementations this component might also contain another Service Broker.
Let's take a concrete example of a Web Service based application. In a smaller environment, a server usually fills several roles. The organization might run its entire financial system on one application, In larger environments, however, multiple servers and applications might be used to run even just one aspect of a financial system. One server might control inventory, and another server might handle accounts payable. The Accounts Payable system usually contains the names of the organization's clients. Why store that data twice? It would be more useful if the inventory application could contact the Accounts Payable system and ask for the name and location of the client. In fact, if the inventory control system is not in the same physical location as the Accounts Payable system, you have an additional requirement. The systems need to be able to communicate not only across a network you own, but the public network, or Internet. This is where Web Service architectures come into play. The inventory control system sends out a secure request for data from the local Service Broker to the Service Broker on the other side of the public network. That Service Broker knows which servers can answer the request, and run a program to get the data from the Service Provider, routes it back to the calling Service Broker, which sends it back to the calling application. The user is completely unaware of all this traffic.
Another, simpler example is the Web itself. If you're reading this overview in a web browser, then a server has the data (text and graphics) waiting all the time for someone to call for it. Your browser acts as the Service Requester, and the HTTP engine on the Web Server here at InformIT responds. Of course this interaction doesn't involve a formal Service Broker, or use the WSDL formats. But it still fits the broader definition of a web service.
Earlier I mentioned that most database systems were only part of a Web Service. The reason is that the database platform served data or responded to requests from a more traditional application, even if that application was fired from a formal Web Services request. In some ways, this is still true when people discuss how their database platforms perform as a Web Service.
But in a more inclusive definition, you can also think of any method that ends up serving SQL Server data to an HTML or HTTP output as a Web Service — or a Service on the Web. I think that's a fair definition, at least from the standpoint of a read-based operation.
For SQL Server, this definition is what I use when I talk about versions prior to 2000. SQL Server version 7 didn't have many Web-based innovations, other than one: The Web Assistant Wizard, which I've covered in another tutorial. This handy tool basically takes a query, view or stored procedure and creates a web page from the results, and you can store the page locally or on another server. You can also schedule the results for on-demand, on a schedule, or even when data changes. I still find this a useful tool to watch the results of my maintenance plans. By querying other maintenance data in SQL Server, you can use this simple, easy-to-create result set as a quick reporting system.
Beginning in SQL Server 2000, Microsoft included some basic XML features in the database. Still in the category of being only part of a Web Service, I've explained how you can use it to create Really Simple Syndication (RSS) feeds from a SQL Server database. You can still do that with the current version of SQL Server.
Also beginning in SQL Server 2000 (although as an add-on), Microsoft added the Reporting Services application so that SQL Server data can be displayed in a very rich format to the Web. In SQL Server 2005, this service ships with the Engine, although you don't have to install it. In both cases Reporting Services still requires the Windows Internet Information Server to be able to render the reports. I've explained how you can use this application in another tutorial.
You can also use Using HTTP with SQL Server XML, as I've explained here. In this application, you can receive and send data back and forth to a SQL Server database. There is some danger here, however, because of a well-known exploit on SQL Server called "SQL Injection Attacks." This happens when you have an application that either sends a query using the URL bar (as in my examples) or allow the user to enter fields that are part of a query. All an attacker has to do is enter characters that break the query in half, and then insert his own query. So obviously this kind of Web interactions has risks involved. By the way, there are ways to mitigate these attacks, such as limiting the kind of entries that can go in a box and not sending the query through a URL.
But starting in SQL Server 2005, the database platform has the bragging rights to actually be a full-fledged Web Service platform. That came with the introduction of the Service Broker, which I explain briefly in another tutorial. The Service Broker is the true middle component I described earlier, and it has the technology built right into the database engine, so you don't have to use Windows Internet Information Server to interact with the Web.
In fact, starting in SQL Server 2008, you no longer require Internet Information Services (IIS) in Windows to run Reporting Services in SQL Server
With the Service Broker, you can create Endpoints, which are ports in the server that listen for WSDL traffic. You can use them to connect two systems or speak directly to an application, and you can schedule and batch operations that return data or even do other work. You can also string them together to form a complete chain of actions. It's a big topic, so I suggest you read the overview I mentioned earlier as a good starting point.
As you can see, Microsoft SQL Server has come into its own regarding Web Services. Over time, you'll see more and more of these implementations as Service Oriented Architectures (SOA) become more prominent.


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Most members of the North Carolina State University community are both owners and users of copyrighted material. You might be the "owner", that is, copyright holder, or copyright law and/or university policy might mandate other types or owners of the work. To determine the ownership status of your work, you should review the revised REG 01.25.03. If a definitive determination is necessary, ownership status is under the authority of the Provost who considers the recommendation of the Copyright Committee before making his final and unappealable decision.
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The Global IPTV Market: ROI Business Models, Value Chain, and Forecasts
- February 2007
- Region: Global
- 55 Pages
- Digital Tech Consulting, Inc
We break down the IPTV market from every angle. There is an inclusive list of global IPTV deployments including the system's name, system launch data, encoder vendors, set-top box vendors, middleware and application software vendors along with DRM information. The report also includes the top ten IPTV systems along with associated vendors, and number of subscribers. The report contains a five year forecast for IPTV total subscribers by region, total revenues by region, and total STB units shipped.
Many will find our ROI Business Models section very beneficial. In this section we layout revenues, costs, and profits over a five year period associated with three typical IPTV system deployment scenarios: 1) a Master Headend model, growing to 5 million subs; 2) a Local Headend model, growing to 10,000 subs; 3) and an Internet distributed content service, growing to 10,000 subs.
- Executive Summary
IPTV Defined
Telco IPTV
Telco IPTV Markets
IPTV Services & Business Models
Challenges & Opportunities in IPTV
- II: IPTV Systems and Service Offerings
IPTV System Components
- III: IPTV Markets & Deployments
Market Overview
- IV: IPTV Vendor Anatomy
Set-top Boxes (STBs)
Conditional Access Systems (CAS)
- V: IPTV Profit Models
Scenario 1: Master Digital Headend
Scenario 2: Local Headend
Scenario 3: Internet Headend
- VI: Market Forecasts
Market Overview
- VII: Conclusions
List of Tables
Table 1: Top 25 IPTV Systems Deployed
Table 2: Tier 1 Pending Launches
Table 3: Recent IPTV Deals
Table 4: Top Tier System Deployments (2006 STB Market Share)
Table 5: Top Tier System Deployments (2006 Encoder Market Share)
Table 6: Top Tier System Deployments (2006 Middleware Market Share)
Table 7: Top Tier System Deployments (2006 VOD Market Share)
Table 8: Top Tier System Deployments (2006 CAS Market Share)
Table 9: Scenario 1, Master Digital Head End
Table 10: Scenario 2, Local Head End
Table 11: Scenario 3, Internet Head End
Table 12: Top DSL Markets
Table 13: Set-Top Box Shipments
Table 14: Subscriber Data
Table 15: Regional Data
Table 16: IPTV Network Components & Equipment Vendors
Table 17: Top 25 IPTV Deployment & Vendors
Table 18: Major IPTV Deployments Pending Launch
List of Figures
Figure 1: Worldwide IPTV Subscribers
Figure 2: Estimated 2006 IPTV Subscribers
Figure 3: Top 25 IPTV Deployed Systems, 2006 Regional
Figure 4: % Top 25 Systems with HD Deployed, By # of Systems
Figure 5: % Top 25 Systems with HD Deployed, By Total Subscribers
Figure 6: IPTV Return on Investment
Figure 7: IPTV Subscribers by Region
Figure 8: Annual IPTV STB Shipments
Figure 9: IPTV Subscriber Revenues by Region


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WASHINGTON: Astronomers have announced that an oxygen atmosphere has been found on Saturn's second largest moon, Rhea.
At about 527,000 kilometres from Saturn, Rhea orbits inside the planet's magnetic field. Rhea's oxygen atmosphere is maintained by the ongoing chemical breakdown of water ice on the moon's surface, driven by radiation from Saturn's magnetosphere.


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My Finished Austen Collection
4 Attachment(s)
Here are the yarns I dyed over the weekend. I named them after Jane Austen characters and listed them in my Etsy Shop. From top to bottom: Darcy, Emma, Fanny, & Willoughby.
|All times are GMT -4. The time now is 09:41 PM.
copyright knittinghelp.com


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shoppers recently viewed this!
Thompson London
Rectangular Flicker Cufflinks
- Color:
- purple
Qty: 1
- 1
- 2
- 3
Please note, this item is final sale and non-returnable.
Rhodium plated rectangular cufflinks.
- Torpedo back and concave rear.
- Featuring round Swarovski crystals in a zigzag pattern with purple enameled detailing.
- Approximate measurements: length: .75", width: .25".
Material: Rhodium Plated Base Metal
Brand: Thompson London
Origin: United Kingdom


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In an interview with ET Now, Vivek Nayer, Sr. VP-Marketing-Automotive Division, M& talks about the XUV 500
How good is the response to XUV 500?
The smile on my face says it all. We are very pleased with the response to the XUV 500. In fact we are very humbled as well at the same time internationally because of the times we are in. At the moment as you know, the auto industry is not exactly in a very buoyant situation. So in that scenario for this vehicle to be received so well makes us feel very satisfied.
Is there a particular number that you have set and assuming that this numbers gets met in the first 5 or 6 days of your opening the bookings, would you shut the window?
Actually we are doing something very innovative again. We want it to be very transparent. We want it to be very customer centric. So what we are doing is we have announced to everyone that we will open bookings on 25 th of January and we will close the applications on 3 rd of February. So we are giving 10 days for people to come and book and it is going to be a draw. We are using Deloitte to help us do this draw.
Now you have increased prices for the XUV 500 as you pointed out by up to Rs 55, 000 per unit. With the competition like Ford, Maruti coming in launching new products in the SUV segment, do you think that there could be pricing pressures going forward?
Everyone knew that the price will go up and at the beginning of January when we announced the price increase, if you look at the quantum of price increase versus the value that the vehicle delivers; people still find great value in this product in spite of the price increase that we have taken.
Is there a target on kind of market share you hope to garner with this product and in the SUV categories?
As you know we do not talk about targets externally. We of course have internal targets but I am happy to say that we are absolutely on track. We are very pleased with the performance of the product so far. It has been received very well and from whatever we have heard since yesterday, phase 2 of the launch is likely to go extremely well.
In order to meet the increased demand for the XUV 500, what is the ramp up in capacity that you envisage and how soon would it come on stream?
We are already trying to ramp up production of the XUV 500 as fast as possible. In fact this month itself we should touch about 3000 vehicles for the XUV 500. So that is already ongoing. We do not want our customers to wait too long and therefore, we are ramping up production as fast as possible.


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Emergen-C® from Smiley360
I received some Emergen-C® samples from Smiley360 the other day and wanted to blog about them. They are really easy to "prepare" since you only have to drop the powder into a glass of water. Anyone can do that right? Plus, there are new flavors and really to help boost your immune system. I know that flu season is kind of over, but for me with allergies and having asthma, I have to keep my immune system at peak level and this really helps. See more information below.
Grant yourself immune support goodness with Emergen-C®*. With over 20 varieties of their vitamin drink mixes, they offer the formula, flavor, fizz, and FUN you're looking for! Browse their various formulas, and then try these tasty packets of goodness.
For more information on all the different flavors click here
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Check out this link to receive FREE samples, and click here for a $2.50 off coupon!
Please use as directed. If you have any questions, call a customer service representative toll-free at 1.888.425.2362 Monday – Friday from 9:00AM - 5:00PM EST.
*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.
I, Jamie Tomkins, own and operate Tiger Strypes Blog located at www.tigerstrypes.com. From time to time you'll hear about my real life experiences with products and/or services from companies and individuals. Let it be known that I have no affiliation with these said companies, and have not received compensation for reviewing their service/product. The service/product was given to me by the company or any agents of the company. The review that I give regarding the product/service is based off my own personal experience, I do not guarantee that your experience will be the same.


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Local Resources for Homeowners:
### Charlotte-Mecklenburg Housing Partnership, Inc. (The Housing Partnership) is a broad-based, private, nonprofit housing development and financial corporation with goals supporting home ownership, stable neighborhoods, and communities blending market rate and affordable housing in the City of Charlotte. In addition to its home ownership counseling, lending, and community revitalization work, The Housing Partnership has created exceptional developments and neighborhoods in various parts of Charlotte including Springcroft at Ashley Park, Rivermere, The Gables at Druid Hills, and Park at Oaklawn. For more information, visit


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Many people at B2B companies have reservations about jumping into social media for their company. To some it seems like a waste of time, resources, and just downright silly. Adding a social element to your marketing message is new and the loss of control can be overwhelming.
Yet at the same time, millions of business professionals each day are reaching as far as their keyboard for the answers they need most. People are looking for information, yes, but they're also looking for other people, too. Companies they can trust. In this environment, corporate transparency is critical for your company. Research also shows that buyers in the B2B sector are one of the largest groups participating in online social networks.
What is the 2nd most viewed page on your website?
For most business websites, the second most viewed page is the About Us page, if there is one. If you are not sure what your highest viewed pages are I suggest you get your hands on your Google Analytics and check it out. Your About Us page is so popular because people want to know who they are doing business with, where they went to school, their expertise and what they look like. Curiosity is part of being human and knowing these details lowers your personal risk in the buying cycle. Here are some easy updates you can make to this popular page.
1. Add photos of your staff
2. Add a link to each employee's LinkedIn profile
3. Update staff bios to accurately describe their expertise and cut out the gobbledygook
Start an informative blog about your industry
There are so many benefits to blogging – targeting long tail search terms, establishing yourself as a thought leader in your industry and more. Regardless of whether your company is B2C or B2B, people are searching for more information, product demos, and answers to questions related to what you do. Be there when they are searching and find a way to close that lead.
4. Write about things your next business partner, customers, or members are searching for.
5. Update your blog regularly – at LEAST once a week
6. Make sure the design of your blog matches the design of your company website
Taking Social Media Seriously
The most important part of social media is defining a strategy. Find communities that matter to your industry and own them! Don't spread yourself too thin by trying to be a part of every social networking site. Just like a person who has 10 business titles, it can show a lack of specialization and dilute your message if your company has too many profiles with little depth. You provide a product or service that other companies need for their businesses to thrive. Put out good content related to your offerings so people with that need will find you!
7. Be the best you that you can be. Don't try to be someone else
8. Generate good helpful content and not a constant sales pitch
9. Recommend vendors and business partners on social networking sites
10. Add links to your social media sites in the footers of your outgoing email – let people know where you are available to connect
The internet is social. Users can more easily produce content, comment on that content and share the information they find most entertaining and useful. Your business's internet marketing strategy needs to have a social aspect to it. These were just a few ideas on how to get started. There are lots of more ways to be involved but the formula that will work best for your organization is based on your goals. Your strategy is not determined by what you are ready for, but by what your customers and prospects need.


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Cabo: MemorialsComments
by Byron on Apr 25, 2011 at 6:37 AM
While feeling safe riding in Cabo, these memorials every 500 meters are a somber reminder of the dangerous roads. This one is small compared to some that resemble small houses. Also see tamales.
Uploaded by Hugger Industries | more from the Bike Hugger Photostream.


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Tracking the Storm: Analysis from Philadelphia
-- The Carolina Hurricanes could not weather the storm on Saturday afternoon in Philadelphia, as they were bested 5-1 by the Flyers. Eric Staal netted the Hurricanes' lone goal, as Carolina falls to 8-18-3 on the season.
"There's not a lot to take away," head coach Bill Peters said. "I thought it was over early."
"It's been real frustrating," Eric Staal said. "We've played some good hockey in the few before tonight, but tonight was not good enough all-around anywhere."
-- This one was rotten from the outset. The Flyers got onto the board just 53 seconds into the game. Eric Staal had the puck poked off his stick below his own goal line, and as Anton Khudobin slid out of the net, Sean Couturier stuffed it in along the far side.
"We gave up one in the first minute on the second shift," Peters said. "I thought we made it easy on them."
About 10 minutes later, Wayne Simmonds blasted one from the top of the far circle, beating Khudobin on his blocker side.
"I didn't think our execution was very good, especially early obviously," Staal said. "A few too many puck plays that ended up back in our end. Good chances for them, and they capitalized."
After 20 minutes, it was a 2-0 lead for Philadelphia, , marking the 15th game in which the Canes trailed after one period. The Hurricanes have now been outscored 30-18 in first periods this season, and the opponent has scored first at a 62 percent (18 of 29) clip.
-- Though Eric Staal would bring the Canes within a goal early in the second period, that's as close as it would get.
On the team's first power play of the game, Staal rushed in, slid around the back of the net and finished a wrap-around opportunity on the other side, his seventh goal of the season and first in 10 games.
"When you make it 2-1 there, you try to hope for some life and climb back in it," Staal said. "But they've got a good power play, we took a penalty right after it and they countered."
Then, Philadelphia poured it on, and it was only a one-goal game for about three minutes. Jakub Voracek (on the power play), Scott Laughton (his first-career goal) and Michael Raffl potted goals for the Flyers to make it a 5-1 game heading into the second intermission.
"From there, we weren't able to get anything going," Staal said of Philadelphia's third goal. "At that point, it's tough [to regain momentum]. But I don't think we were good enough overall anyway. It's one of those nights where all-around execution and commitment to things we've been doing well wasn't good enough."
"We needed a kill there. It was 2-1, they went on the power play and scored," Peters said. "They got another one -- I don't know what the time frame was, but it seemed quick -- that put it away, in essence. We didn't have enough to come back."
-- The Canes have now lost five in a row, and in each game, they've managed to find the back of the net just once. Coming into today's game, the Hurricanes had dropped three of four by just a goal's difference, and obviously today, that gap was much wider.
"It's one of those nights where we just weren't sharp enough," Staal said. "That is a tough building, and if they get that momentum early, they get feeling good and creating a lot more."
-- After nine starts in net, Anton Khudobin remains winless this season. This wasn't his sharpest effort, contrary to his body of work for much of this season, as he made 18 saves on 23 shots.
-- The last game in which the Hurricanes surrendered five goals was a 5-0 loss in Calgary on Oct. 23.
-- Carolina dressed 11 forwards and seven defensemen today. Jiri Tlusty took warm-ups, but ultimately did not dress with an upper-body injury. Jay Harrison was the team's seventh blue-liner.
-- The Canes will play in Montreal on Tuesday, the third of three straight away from home. But first, they'll return to Raleigh for the latter half of the weekend and a Monday practice.
"We'll have a day off tomorrow and a good practice [on Monday]," Peters said. "We've got to compete, be better defensively, manage the puck, move the puck better and that will give us a better chance."
"Execution. Crispness. Sharpness. Passing. Details," Staal said of what needs to improve in Montreal. "Everything we've been doing well. We've got to get back to it."


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"There is no passion to be found playing small – in settling for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living." — Nelson Mandela
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By Marianne Goodland
A state-ordered audit of Pinnacol Assurance, the quasi-state worker's compensation provider, reported that travel expenses and bonus payments are out of line with industry standards and border on abuse.
The audit released by the Legislative Audit Committee and reviewed by that committee on June 7 was ordered by the General Assembly in 2009. The same legislation, SB 09-281, also ordered that an interim committee be established to look at Pinnacol's operations, including whether it was feasible to allow the insurance provider to be privatized.
Pinnacol Assurance is a political subdivision of the state. It was established in 1915 as the State Compensation Insurance Fund (SCIF), a state agency and the "insurer of last resort," which means Pinnacol must provide insurance coverage to employers that can't get it from private insurers. The SCIF became a political subdivision in 1987, which meant it was no longer under the jurisdiction of a state agency and could operate as a mutual insurance company. At that time the name was changed to The Colorado Compensation Insurance Authority. The name change to Pinnacol Assurance took place in 2002.
As a political subdivision, Pinnacol is not subject to federal income taxes, state corporate income taxes, state sales and use taxes, property taxes, and the state premium tax.
In 2009, facing a growing budget crisis, legislators began looking at ways to shore up the state budget, and they set their sights on $587 million in reserves held by Pinnacol. When introduced, the 2009 Long Appropriations Bill, SB 09-259, cut $300 million from higher education and that was to be backfilled with the Pinnacol reserve. But legislators abandoned the idea, in the wake of furious lobbying by Pinnacol and different solutions proposed to solve the budget shortfall. The Legislature instead passed SB 09-281, ordering the audit and establishing the interim committee.
This year, Pinnacol made two offers to the state for cash in exchange for privatization. In February, they offered $200 million; a month later Pinnacol upped that proposal to $330 million, following the release of a March 8 analysis by Morgan Stanley that estimated Pinnacol's value at $374 million. That analysis said Pinnacol had gotten a tax benefit of $51 million; had a surplus at the beginning of 2002 of $151 million, and had received capital support of $167 million. Both of those offers were rejected by Senate President Brandon Shaffer, D-Longmont, and other legislators, who said they wanted to wait for the results of the audit.
Under SB 09-281, the state auditor was to look at Pinnacol's executive compensation, premium rate structure, loss reserves and injured workers' claims experience.
The audit noted that Pinnacol has been the state's largest worker's compensation insurance carrier since at least 1996. In 2009 Pinnacol held more than 53 percent of the worker's compensation insurance market in Colorado; the next highest percent of the market was held by National Union Fire Insurance of Pittsburgh, PA, which had less than 3 percent.
The audit reported that while Pinnacol's executive compensation is at the high end of the range among the entities reviewed by the auditors, it was not necessarily unreasonable. Pinnacol's compensation was compared to other political subdivisions of the state, such as PERA and the Regional Transportation District; worker's compensation funds operated by other states and Pinnacol's private competition. The audit noted that unlike Pinnacol, the CEOs of other state funds took a reduction in pay or earned a smaller performance bonus in one or more of the years used in comparison — 2007 through 2009.
But it was the executive bonus program that drew concerns from the auditors. For the CEO, Ken Ross, the audit noted that the bonus he earned in 2009 represented one-third of his total salary, bonuses and perqs, while bonuses for CEOs of other state funds represented anywhere from zero to 30 percent. The CEO's compensation was substantially less than that of other private insurers, which the audit said was not surprising, given that the other companies were much larger and more complex than Pinnacol.
Bonuses for vice presidents were substantially higher than at other state funds and Colorado political subdivisions, the audit said. The average in 2009 was $102,000; vice presidents at other state funds drew bonuses of $1,000 to $58,000 each, the audit said.
Because of the large impact the bonuses have on executive compensation, the auditors reviewed in greater detail Pinnacol's two executive bonus programs. Under the Executive Performance Plan, which is a formula-based program, executives received the maximum bonus allowable almost every year, which the audit said was because the Plan set targets below the prior year's actual results. The Plan also allows for bonuses to be paid for superior performance but does not document how that is defined. The audit noted that they could not determine whether the Pinnacol board used a sound methodology to set those targets because Pinnacol did not provide that documentation or they provided incomplete information.
The audit recommended that Pinnacol fully document the Plan's methodology for setting targets, rationales for the methodology and how that rationale should be applied. Superior performance should also be defined, as well as how it will be evaluated, the audit said.
Pinnacol also has a discretionary pay program for its executive team, and auditors found problems with it, too. There is no written policy for the program that describes its purposes or critical elements and no definition of extraordinary performance or special projects for which bonuses could be paid. The audit said this could lead to duplication between the Executive Performance Plan and the discretionary bonus program. For example, one executive got a Plan bonus of $3,900 in 2008 for developing a "new vision and values program," and that executive got a discretionary bonus of $13,600 for the same thing.
Until December 2008, the CEO could award discretionary bonuses without reporting them to the board. The board changed that policy in 2009, and while the audit said this was good oversight by the board it was not formally documented in policy.
The audit questioned whether the discretionary program was in the best interests of Pinnacol and its policyholders, noting that it is uncommon for state funds to have both a discretionary and a formula-based bonus program.
In the meantime, the audit said, if the board decides to keep the discretionary program, it needs to better document in written policy its purpose and how it is distinct from the purpose of the Executive Performance Plan. The policy needs to define extraordinary performance and special projects, and how it is distinct from normally assigned duties or goals in the Executive Performance Plan. Finally, the CEO should report all discretionary bonuses to the board before the bonuses are paid, the audit said.
Pinnacol has a gain-sharing program for non-executive employees, and it shared some of the same problems that the executive pay plan had. Specifically, targets set for employees were set below previous year's performances. For example, in order for employees to get a bonus Pinnacol had to earn $15.6 million in the first quarter of 2009, which was almost $9 million below what Pinnacol had earned in the first quarter of 2008. Pinnacol officials told the auditors that the targets were set below the previous year's performance because they had reduced premium rates to policyholders, leading to a projected decline in net income. However, since Pinnacol did not document the rationale for gain-sharing target setting, auditors could not determine how the targets were set. The audit recommended better documentation for target setting and the rationale for the program.
The auditors contracted with an outside company, Regulatory Consultants Inc., to review Pinnacol's processes for setting rates, establishing reserves and managing its surplus. The audit noted that RCI has extensive experience in evaluating worker's compensation.
Pinnacol is required to file all rate-setting information with the Division of Insurance, and that can happen at any time throughout the year. RCI identified problems with Pinnacol's rate-setting method and its filing of rating information with the Division, which raised concerns that Pinnacol's rates might not be fair and could be excessive. In an addendum to the RCI findings, the auditor said the practices resulted in higher-risk employers paying premiums that subsidized the premiums charges to lower-risk employers. "This is an issue of fairness in rate-setting and could be discriminatory under state law," the auditor said.
Of more concern was Pinnacol's practice of using rate-setting information that wasn't filed with the Division of Insurance, a practice that went on for 13 years, between 1995 and 2008. In addition, Pinnacol did not file risk factors and percentages used in its Schedule Rate Plan until December 2009, seven years after the company began using those factors, which the audit said violated state law as well as insurance regulations.
State Auditor Monica Bower said that when RCI started asking questions, Pinnacol started filing all of the rate-setting information required by law.
Pinnacol CFO Jeff Tetrick said failure to file that information was a "mistake" and an "oversight." Sen. Morgan Carroll, D-Aurora, pointed out that one year is a mistake. "Thirteen years is not," she said.
LAC Chair Sen. David Schultheis, R-Colorado Springs, asked if there was any culpability by the Division of Insurance over this issue; Bowers said that the division has no way to know what information Pinnacol is using and not filing.
The audit recommended that the company ensure that any changes to its Schedule Rating Plan be filed before those changes are implemented, and that its files be complete and accurate. And although the audit said that Pinnacol had violated the law by not making complete filings, no other action was recommended.
The one bright light in the audit for Pinnacol was the audit's review of the company's reserve and surplus. Pinnacol's reserves through Dec. 31, 2009 are more than $1 billion, and its surplus as of Dec. 31, 2009, is $733 million. At the same time, Pinnacol has been paying out policyholder dividends for the past five years, ranging from $54 million in 2007 to $123 million in 2008. Pinnacol's surplus is adequate to meet its obligations, RCI said in the audit.
With regard to workers' claims experience, the audit recommended that Pinnacol incorporate its injured worker survey into the gain-sharing and Executive Performance Plan; currently the two plans only use satisfaction surveys conducted of its policyholders.
The audit's harshest criticism was reserved for Pinnacol's policies on travel and entertainment. The auditors reviewed samples of travel and entertainment expenses, and found that 75 percent of the samples violated company policy. That included expenses that were not allowed and expenses that were reimbursed without receipts. "In our opinion," the audit said," the fact that 75 percent of the sample we tested [violated company policies] borders on abuse under Government Auditing Standards."
Pinnacol employees also ignored company policies regarding expenses regarding lodging and meals. Pinnacol policies regarding lodging state that the expenses should be "moderate" and based on federal guidelines. However, the samples reviewed by auditors showed that nightly lodging rates exceeded federal guidelines by as much as $421 per night. Meal expenses also exceeded company guidelines, the audit said. Pinnacol's initial response was to say it planned to remove all references to federal guidelines since they weren't being used in practice. The auditor disagreed with that decision, stating Pinnacol should strengthen its controls over lodging and meal expenses by either using the federal guidelines or establishing other clear guidelines as it deems appropriate.
Schultheis said that when he read that section of the report "you could have heard me from three miles away. These are not appropriate policies when individuals can spend $500 per night in Colorado Springs." Controls need to be tightening and before Dec. 31, 2010, as is outlined in Pinnacol's response, he said.
The deadline for implementing all audit recommendations is Dec. 31, 2010, but that isn't soon enough for some legislators.
Rep. Dianne Primavera, D-Broomfield, told Pinnacol officials the audit showed a lack of accountability and transparency. "Businesses are tightening their belts. Pinnacol should, too," she said, asking that Pinnacol officials come back in September to report on the progress on audit recommendations made by the company. Pinnacol officials said most of the audit recommendations should be implemented well in advance of the December 31 deadline.
Following the audit, Pinnacol officials talked to reporters but they were often tight-lipped in their responses. CEO Ken Ross responded to many of the questions by saying their answers were in the report.
With regard to how the audit would affect Pinnacol's desire to privatize, Ross said he had not given that any thought and that the company's goal was to get the audit to improve its business practices.
But Carroll, who chaired the 2009 interim committee, said the results of the audit showed that it would be a bad idea for Pinnacol to be privatized. Pinnacol lacks sufficient controls, she told The Colorado Statesman, adding that its rates are discriminatory. "To eliminate what existing oversight is there would be a bad idea," she said. "Privatizing means removing state oversight; this audit [says] the state should have been looking at Pinnacol sooner."
Board Chair Gary Johnson also spoke to reporters, including responding to questions on a recent KMGH report regarding employee and board member trips to Pebble Beach, Calif., for a $500 per-person golf outing. Johnson said Pinnacol has to compete with other private insurers, and those companies send their employees on "extremely lavish" trips to France and England.
That drew the ire of Rep. Su Ryden, D-Aurora, who told The Statesman that Ross had testified last year that Pinnacol was not interested in increasing its market share. If that's true, she said, why would they have to do things to be competitive with private insurers that don't get the same tax breaks? Ryden also said people have been led to believe that Pinnacol is doing a good job, and she isn't so sure of that.
Sen. Shawn Mitchell, R-Broomfield, criticized the audit frequently during the hearing, stating that it did not take into account Pinnacol's performance or that the company offers the lowest worker's compensation premium rates in the state. The state "is running huge deficits yet we presume to tell Pinnacol how to run the company," he said. Mitchell said the audit was not useful to the Legislature, but said he blamed that on the charge made to the auditors by SB 09-281 and he did not blame the auditors' work.
— firstname.lastname@example.com


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Lifestyles Photos
Ellis County's Green Garden Club features a new stop
Photo: Katie Currid/Staff Photographer
Ed and Suzanne Stegemoller of Ennis will be a stop on a garden tea tour in Ellis County, organized by a new garden club in the area. The couple started their garden three years ago and it includes ponds, waterfalls and water fountains.
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