text:
***UPDATE: Please read my updated thoughts and experiences with Cellulitis here.
This post doesn't EXACTLY fit into my blog vision but I do want to share about my freak forehead infection of last week.
Last Monday night, I spent a long night in the ER for a very strange rash/'welt' on my forehead. I'd woken up on Monday morning, took a beautiful walk in Florida. I was ready to start my work-from-Alex's-home week right.
About lunchtime, I'd happened to take a look in the bathroom mirror and noticed that my forehead was raised, near my hairline. We'd gone paddleboarding the day before and I'd thought, maybe I'd missed sunscreen on my forehead. But this would have been totally unlike me – I am very careful to put on lotion with SPF every morning, especially when going to play outside. It didn't hurt and wasn't hot like a sunburn either. My forehead felt hard (like normal) but had a definite 'ridge' where it was raised and was pretty stiff. It looke more like I'd been whacked in the head with at 2×4. What the heck could this be??
I did some quick research online. When my search ('raised' + 'forehead' + 'sunburn?') didn't return much, I put a bag of corn (Alex had no ice) on my forehead and went about my business. I'd noted where the ridge was and decided I'd involve Alex and doctors if it got any bigger.
Well, it got bigger. Much bigger.
It had maintained it's size and shape for most of the day. We went out for dinner and I didn't think anything of my dinosaur forehead. During dinner, I'd felt a pressure near my eyebrows, like a headache, and reached up to rub it. I got a BIG surprise. My swelling had grown to cover most of my forehead. At this point, I got scared. After a quick confirmation in the bathroom mirror, we left the restaurant and started making phone calls – to our parents, to urgent care locations. The parents said, get your butt to the hospital. The urgent care locations said they were closed. We ended up at the ER in Fort Myers that had the best online reviews.
I'd never been in an ER before and was unsure what to expect. 'Think of a doctor office but with a longer wait' was what Alex told me. We got to the ER at about 9-9:30 p.m. and finally left at about 1 a.m. During our wait, I had Alex take a picture of how big my swelling had gotten:
After finally seeing a doctor, we were told that I likely had Cellulitis. I was administered an antibiotic shot in my arm (OUCH!!!) and we were on our way with a sheet of paper explaining Cellulitis and a prescription for more antibiotics. Causes of Cellulitis are a small scratch (or bug bite) that has gotten infected and swells. I'd likely been bitten by a bug on Saturday (both Alex and I noticed a red, itchy bump on my forehead) and it got infected sometime within the next 24 hours.
While my infection didn't hurt, it was absolutely unsightly. I felt like I belonged on Star Trek with this guy:
Thank goodness for bangs!
Over the course of the next few days, the swelling decreased and I was able to make facial expressions with my forehead again! Wrinkles! Woo!
Today marks the last day of antibiotics and I've given my forehead the 'all clear'. It feels and looks normal again. I have my forehead and forehead wrinkles back!
Last Monday was a scary night and I felt lucky to be with Alex. In the last 5 years, we haven't encountered any substantial injuries or sicknesses so this was completely new ground for us. He kept calm and comforted me when I was on the verge of tears, he was quick to research the best urgent care and hospital to take me to, held my hand the whole time and asked questions I hadn't thought to ask. I'd never felt more like a team. He was patient, supportive and incredibly thoughtful. While I would have rather not spent one of my few Florida nights in the ER, I'm thankful that I ended up in the ER with him by my side.


text:
Last month, the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) released the Digest of Education Statistics 2010. The report presents statistics pertaining to pre-kindergarten through graduate-level education, including secondary and postsecondary Career Technical Education (CTE).
Examples of CTE-related information that can be found in the Digest include:
- The average number of credit hours earned by high school graduates in CTE courses by occupational field (Table 158)
- U.S. Department of Education appropriations for CTE by state in FY 2009 (Table 385)
This year's edition also displays new material, such as the percentage of adults (ages 25 to 64) who completed high school or who completed various levels of postsecondary education.
The NCES also produced a mini-digest as an easy reference for materials found in the full report.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Who can adopt
Our recruitment criteria is tailored to suit the needs of the children waiting for adoption in Kent county, and therefore we will prioritise those applicants able to meet their needs.
Find out who can adopt.
I have thought about adoption as long as I have thought about having children.Read Lucy's story
Carl and Jane
When we first saw a picture of our little girl, she touched our hearts.Read Carl & Jane's story
Diane and Simon
When we thought about children, we assumed we would go down the 'normal' route.Read Diane & Simon's story


text: I like the flaxseed oil by optimum nutrition. It is such a great supplement. It is full of Omega 3's and also really helps support your cardiovascular sytem, nervous system, and immune systems. And Also contains Omega 6's and 9's. Basically, One serving is one capsule each. And each capsule contains roughly 450mg of Omega 3, 110mg of Omega 6's, and 110mg of Omega 9's. I take this in conjuction with Fish Oil. Even though this may be overkill, it helps support my joints and my active lifestyle. It is very very very cheap price per serving each. From my experience, Optimum Nutrition is one of the best supplement companies out there. Great product to buy and i highly reccommend it.


text:
Morehead State UniversitySpace Science Center101 SSC Building235 Martindale DriveMorehead, KY 40351Phone: 606-783-2381Fax: 606-783-5040
The Space Science Center at MSU offers a variety of services to other universities, private aerospace companies, and government agencies. Our facilities allow us to perform a variety of tests to determine if space systems can successfully withstand the harsh conditions of the space environment. Hardware-in-the-Loop (HWIL) testing can be performed on a variety of spacecraft (Cubesats, PocketQubes, Microsatellites) to verify systems at NASA General Environmental Verification Specification (GEVS) levels. Participating in these activities allows students to gain valuable real-world experience and professional networking opportunities.
Click here to learn more about the environmental testing facilities and equipment available at MSU.
© Copyright 2015 Morehead State University -
150 University Blvd. Morehead, KY 40351 • 1-800-585-6781
MSU is an affirmative action, equal opportunity, educational institution.


text:
|The Open Door Web Site
The Ecosystem : An Inter-acting Community
Food webs
An animal which depends upon one type of food will use energy in finding its food. Also, if its food becomes scarce for some reason, the animal may starve. Animals such as the koala bear, which only feeds on the bark and leaves of one type of eucalyptus tree, and the cinnabar moth caterpillars, which only eat the leaves of the ragwort plant, are restricted to the areas where these plants grow.
Most animals are able to eat a variety of foods. A successful herbivore or carnivore is an animal which is able to change its diet and eat what is available at any particular time.
A successful predator will also hunt prey which is easy to catch, such as an old or injured animal. It would be a waste of energy to hunt and chase a prey for a long time.
An Antarctic Food Web
Since most animals eat a variety of food, a food chain does not really give us enough information about an ecosystem. Ecologists often show the feeding relationships between animals as food webs. A food web is a better way of showing the feeding relationships between all of the organisms living in the community.


text: We'll be back soon! Thecatalogstar.com is temporarily closed due to redevelopment of the website and relocation of the catalogues themselves into new facilities. Should you need any information please contact us and we will be happy to help. If you are looking for a particular catalogue we can look on our database to see if it is available once the catalogues are unpacked. We can reserve items for you should you wish. — The CatalogStar Team


text:
About Stonebrook Jewelry
Custom Alternative Metal Rings Made to Order in the USA.
We have been designing and manufacturing alternative metal rings for years.
We have over 1,000 styles that we custom craft from materials such as Titanium, Damascus Steel, Black Zirconium, Cobalt Chrome and Carbon Fiber. We also work with Platinum, Gold, Palladium and Silver. If you want a beautiful quality crafted ring, you have come to the right place!
Our quality is the best you will find. In addition, if we don't have what you are looking for, we can probably custom make it for you! Our goal is to craft you a ring that you will love your entire life, so you will refer your family and friends to us. We are committed to providing our customers total satisfaction.
Buy with confidence. All of our rings have a Lifetime Warranty. If your ring needs repair or refinishing, we will service it free of charge for the life of the ring.
Looking for something a little less traditional?Check out our other website Revolution Jewelry here: http://revolutionjewelry.com


text:
James capabilities include the production and supply of LEDs ranging in frequency from Ultraviolet 254 nm 255 nm 365nm to 380nm, through to Infrared 720nm to 940nm and many frequencies in between such as 400nm to 410nm and 410nm to 415nm 415 nm Violet. 455nm through 480nm Blue, 495nm through 510nm Cyan , Green 515nm through 535nm, Yellow 585 and 565nm through 596nm, Orange 600nm through 615nm, Red 615nm, 630nm and 633nm, 633 nm through 645nm and 660nm 660 nm in Round and Oval, Superflux, High Power, SMD and COB (Chip On board) packages. Utilising single and multi chip capabilities and the ability to combine with varying lens types and angles as well as frames and mounting options.
Most regular safety glasses block UV. I use a pair I bought at home depot that are shaded for the brighter LED systems I work with.
Even the Nichia 365nm LED's that I work with at times emit some visible light, their peak is at 365nM and the light emitted above 400nM is weak but visible. There may be some materials in the LED's that absorb UV and re-emit visible as well.
I've been working with UV LED equipment for several years and have never gone home with a tan. I'm not exposing myself to it for hours at a time either. For times where I have to work with it for extended times I have welding gloves, sunblock, and a good pair of safety glasses.The lights I work with emit up to 15W/cm2 at 390nM so I'm more likely to burn myself then get a tan. Still I try to limit exposure time. The LED's listed here are very low power, but a long exposure time at low power can equal a short time at high power. Less time is best either way.
These LED's are good to 20mA, I have tried to push the current higher with similar LED's and they don't last to long.
At 395-400nM security features will show up but they are more pronounced at shorter wavelengths. This is probably what is used for those little flashlights they use to check your drivers license, and money. Low power and long wavelength for safety
Detailed Product Description
1) 280nm led uv lamp
2) Power: 1-3mW
3) Wavelength:280nm
4) Life span: 50,000h+


text:
Check in from 12h / Check out prior to 11h
Zum Lamm: Find photos, reviews, information, amenities and compare prices for 3 stars hotels in Tarrenz, Austria.
Zum Lamm provides 3-star accommodation in Tarrenz. It also features a garden and a coffee bar.
Hotel description
Rooms provide a telephone and a private bathroom.
A satisfying breakfast is served each morning at Hotel Zum Lamm, and there are numerous cafés and eateries close by.
Innsbruck Kranebitten Airport is a 40-minute drive from Hotel Zum Lamm Tarrenz. It also provides a convenient base to discover Imst and Lermoos.
Hotel features
Hair Dryer, En suite, Private Bathroom
Nightclubs, Private Toilet
Availability and Prices
Booking Site
Room Type
Per room
Per night
Per night
Users who viewed Zum Lamm also viewed these 3 stars Tarrenz hotels:
Hotel Gurgltaler Hof
Rotanger 1, Tarrenz
Rotanger 1, Tarrenz
Gasthof Dollinger Tarrenz
Dollinger 37, Tarrenz
Dollinger 37, Tarrenz
Search hotels
based on
27 reviews
Nearest hotels
- Salvesenheim
110 m
- Gasthaus Sonne Tarrenz
222 m
- Ferienwohnung Haus Hermine
233 m


text:
> Post a job: <
Rates: $100 - One job posting - displayed for one month
Panasonic will demonstrate its critically-acclaimed Full HD 3D VIERA Plasma displays as well as its latest advanced cable technologies this week at the National Cable & Telecommunications Cable Show, today through May 13 at the Los Angeles Convention Center. The Panasonic booth (#1015) will highlight the recently launched Full HD 3D Home Theater System as well as live demonstrations of new tru2way applications and Panasonic's new Remote User Interface (RUI) technology.
Step In To Full HD 3D
Visitors to the Panasonic booth will be able to get a first-hand look at Panasonic's new Full HD 3D Home Theater System featuring a Panasonic VIERA VT25 Series 50-inch class (49.9 diagonal inches) Plasma 3D HDTV (TC-P50VT25), a Panasonic 3D Blu-ray Disc Player (DMP- BDT300), and Panasonic's 3D Active Shutter Eyewear (TY-EW3D10U). The Panasonic VT25 Series also includes a 54-inch class (54.1 inches diagonal), 58-inch class (58.0 inches diagonal), and 65-inch class (64.7 inches diagonal) models. Complete technical specifications for the VT25 Series are now available at www.panasonic.com.
"We are very pleased to be able to demonstrate the immersive world of Full HD 3D here at the Cable Show," said Eisuke Tsuyuzaki, Panasonic Corporation of North America's Chief Technology Officer. "The cable industry is already playing a crucial role in the development of 3D in consumer homes by the creation of a broad range of 3D channels that will deliver exciting, cutting-edge content that will truly underscore the power of 3D. As a leader in 3D technology, Panasonic is working closely with key cable industry companies to develop Full HD 3D technology for future set-top box models so that more and more cable consumers can start enjoying the stunning entertainment value that 3D delivers."
"Panasonic's leadership in 3D technology spans far beyond our Full HD 3D Home Theater Systems," said Mr. Tsuyuzaki. "We are creating ground breaking 3D TV solutions for everyone from consumers to the Hollywood and independent film makers that will be bringing new 3D content to the world. From Full HD 3D home theaters and professional 3D TV production equipment to the authoring of films for 3D Blu-ray Disc, when it comes to the immersive world of 3D, Panasonic is delivering the end-to-end solutions that will drive 3D to new heights in the months and years to come and we look forward to working closely with the Cable industry as we drive 3D forward."
tru2way Applications in the Spotlight
Panasonic is working with tru2way application developers including Related Content Database (RCDb) and Zodiac Interactive to help broaden the application space for tru2way products.
RCDb is demonstrating for the first time this week the live integration of Panasonic's leading tru2way set-top box (STB) with the RCDb web services platform. This integration lays the foundation for bringing new consumer Internet experiences to the nation's leading cable operators.
The combination of the Internet capabilities of the Panasonic STB and the RCDb network software platform enable a cable operator to integrate, deploy and manage popular consumer services from across the Web without the need for a browser, keyboard or mouse on the consumer device.
Zodiac Interactive will provide live demonstrations, utilizing Panasonic's set-top boxes, of its new PowerUp AMS, the world's first server-based offering to deliver multi-screen, two-way connectivity between STBs and mobile Internet devices. This solution provides universal integration between Web and mobile services for multi-screen convergence in both today's legacy, and tomorrow's next-generation MSO STB environments.
New Remote User Interface Technology Debuts
Other IT news about Panasonic
Sony of Canada is introducing a new full high-definition compact point-of-view (POV) camera, model HXR-MC1. Its unique design separates the camera head from the control unit, giving professional users more flexibility to capture shots in video applications where increased mobility is required beyond the use of traditional hand-held or shoulder-mount cameras, such as extreme sports, reality TV, documentaries, nature, wildlife and more.


text:
The Very Best of Film & TV
The World Before Her, Four, Carrie and more
PBS proves you don't have to go to the cinema to enjoy thought-provoking documentaries with two intriguing new offerings this September. Its critically-acclaimed American Masters series turns the spotlight on Billie Jean King. Once considered the world's top tennis player, King changed the sport forever in the 1970s after winning the famed "Battle of the Sexes" match against Bobby Riggs. American Masters: Billie Jean King will be on cable's WLIW World on Sep 13. Meanwhile on the 16th, PBS' POV series premieres The World Before Her, a film that won last year's World Documentary Competition at the Tribeca Film Festival. In this movie, a woman competes to win the title of Miss India, while another works as the head of a fundamentalist camp for Hindu girls. The World Before Her shows how both women reflect the heart of a country divided.


text:
Tag: Jamie Quatro
The WalkMarch 2014
It's the first sunny day in a week, warm, the kind of soft-focus, liquid air that makes me feel half-time and drowsy. Blots of color in yards along Lula Lake: purple crocus, yellow forsythia, green onion grass. Hudson yanks up a cluster and chucks it across the street, then smells his fingers. Will that grass make actual onions? he asks.
The AnointingSeptember 2012
Seven months into her husband's depression, Diane called the church secretary. She wanted the elders to come over and anoint Mitch with oil.


text:
AJ LeeApril Jeanette Mendez
- Birthdate: 3/19/1987 (age 29)
- Height: 5'2"
- Weight: 115 Ib
AJ Lee is a self-professed "nerd", as she loves...
Airdate: Monday, July 8th, 2013 (USA Network)
Location: The 1st Mariner Arena in Baltimore, MD
Results by Anthony Cassano
"Yes, sir, we promised you a great main event…"
This week's edition of WWE RAW opens up with a vignette for The Wyatt Family, Erick Rowan, Luke Harper and Bray Wyatt, who will debut tonight. Obey, danger. They're coming. From there, we head to the usual video opening.
Vickie Guerrero In-Ring Segment
We head to the ring and Vickie Guerrero is waiting with Brad Maddox. Vickie welcomes everyone to RAW. They're standing in front of a ladder. Vickie talks about what the ladder represents, and brings up such names as Shawn Michaels, Razor Ramon and Triple H. She says this ladder represents her career with WWE. If she falls, she's blaming it on all of the fans. Vickie climbs to the top of the ladder and talks about how tough her job has been. Jerry Lawler interupts Vickie from the announce table. Lawler notes that the McMahon family are considering all opinions tonight, including those of the fans. He says fans can get on the WWE App and vote on Vickie's future. Vickie then starts kissing the fans asses and saying they are all like her family. Vickie also reveals that John Cena and Mark Henry will meet face-to-face in the ring tonight. Additionally, Christian vs. Kane, Randy Orton vs. CM Punk and Sheamus vs. Daniel Bryan will take place tonight.
Sheamus vs. Daniel Bryan
Daniel Bryan is out first, to a nice reaction from the fans in Baltimore. Sheamus is out next, but not before another promo airs for Rob Van Dam's return at the upcoming Money In The Bank pay-per-view. Back from commercial and Sheamus is in the ring. The two lock-up and Sheamus over-powers Bryan early on. Sheamus takes him down with a headlock. Sheamus knocks Bryan down a few more times with power-shoulderblocks. Bryan getting some offense in now. Bryan working over the arm of Sheamus. Sheamus fighting back now. Sheamus takes Bryan down and is now working over Bryan's arm. Sheamus catches Bryan a few moments later with the Irish Curse for a nearfall. Sheamus ends up outside the ring on the floor. Bryan leaps out from the apron but Sheamus catches him and drops him face-first into the ringside barrier. Both men are down as we head to another mid-match commercial. We return from commercial and Bryan is fighting out of a headlock. Sheamus catches Bryan running off the ropes with the Irish Curse for a nearfall. Sheamus attempts a Brogue Kick, but Bryan avoids it and Sheamus goes flying over the top and onto the floor for his efforts. Bryan landing multiple kicks to the chest of Sheamus. Bryan and Sheamus on the top rope in the corner. Bryan looking for a hurricanrana but Sheamus avoids it. Sheamus goes for White Noise but Bryan avoids it. Bryan lands a big kick for another nearfall. Sheamus locks in the Cloverleaf submission but Bryan counters it with a roll-up for the 1-2-3.
Winner: Daniel Bryan
After The Match
Following the match, Bryan and Sheamus meet face-to-face in the middle of the ring and both look up at the Money In The Bank briefcase. They shake hands and Sheamus heads to the back.
Wyatt Family Video Segment
We see a video segment of a WWE camera crew out "in the sticks" looking for The Wyatt Family. Someone informs them that it's about two miles up the road. On that note, we head to commercial.
Backstage Segment
We return from commercial and we see a recap of what happened on SmackDown with AJ Lee and Kaitlyn. From there, Big E. Langston is backstage with AJ live at RAW. Dolph Ziggler comes in and asks Langston to give them a minute alone. Ziggler brings up the fact that she was not at ringside with him at RAW or SmackDown last week. AJ smooths things over, but Ziggler is only interested in winning the World Heavyweight Championship back from Alberto Del Rio.
Seth Rollins & Roman Reigns vs. Brodus Clay & Tensai (Non-Title)
We return live to the arena after the video and backstage segments. Out comes WWE Tag-Team Champions and members of The Shield, Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins. We head to commercial. Tons Of Funk will be the opponents to Rollins and Reigns. Tons Of Funk isolate Rollins early on. Rollins and Reigns regain control of the offense. The two are now isolating Brodus Clay and working him over. Reigns tries to power-lift Brodus, but Brodus manages to slide out the back door. Both guys make the tag to their respective partners. Tensai comes in and cleans house...


text:
On Jan. 8, our city officials voted themselves an exorbitant 29 percent pay raise while asking for tax increases to fund important projects. This is unconscionable.
The Ute water project is looming on the horizon, as is increased compensation for deserving city workers including the police and fire departments, emergency response personnel, and many other dedicated and essential city workers.
I submit the commissioners' untimely action is irrational and certainly unjustified to date.
Commissioners are elected to office. Therefore, they work for us, the voters. In my opinion, we should at least have input to their adjusted benefits. If they are not satisfied with their compensation package they shouldn't run for office.
With these thoughts in mind, maybe one of the "yes" voting commissioners will get brave enough to respond to this letter and offer realistic justification for the pay raise. If it makes sense, I will offer my apology and full support of their action.
Denver Jones
City will answer to voters
While I believe city commissioners have and perform a very valuable job, I question their reasoning behind the pay raise they awarded themselves.
For the past several years, our city employees have been asking for a pay raise without any luck. Our commissioners have refused this request because of the so-called lack of funds. Yet, they turn around and give themselves one. Something is wrong here.
Our police and fire departments are very shorthanded because we are not paying them enough money. Our emergency personnel are leaving our city to go to other places where they earn more for their families.
I do not have anyone in my family who works for the city of Clovis. I do not have anything personal to gain by writing this letter.
This pay raise rubs me the wrong way. Commissioners who voted for it are going to have to answer to the voters.
The city of Clovis needs commissioners who think of other people's needs besides their own.
City commissioners need to think before they take a step forward.
Ben Moralez
Bible study members not ignorant, but free
In response to Shirley Rollinson's "To rewrite Bible is to spread deception" (Sunday's CNJ):
The participants of the Bible study at Llano Estacado Community Church in Portales are not "unwary" or "ignorant," as Rollinson suggested. All of us, gay and straight, are intelligent and educated; many of us hold post-undergraduate degrees, and we are all familiar with Scripture.
The purpose of our study is to take a look at four passages of the Bible that some say condemn homosexuality.
What we have discovered about two of the four passages is the Bible, through human error, has been mistranslated and the Old Testament itself does not condemn homosexuality.
We have discovered this by asking, in part, whether the Biblical words of Aramic/Hebrew have been translated into English accurately. We have found they have not been. Now we're wondering why.
Rollinson mentioned that our approach to studying the Bible is a rewriting of it and is a "grievous distortion of the truth."
To believe her is to think the Bible hasn't already been rewritten and hence mistranslated many times throughout history.
To test the accuracy of this hypothesis, I turned to Galatians 3:1 and compared a 1948 version of the Bible passed down from my grandmother to a 1991 version.
What I found is that during a 43-year period, the passages and wordings are substantially different. You can test this yourself if you have some time.
The visiting reverend is a good person who insists that we be wise and aware. At Llano, I'm learning how to trust the spirit of God and feel the compassion of others based on heart and mind.
At Llano, we are free, and this is the first time I've been free to be intelligent in a house of God in 30 years.
Gina L Hochhalter


text:
WIPP's 700th defense-related RH-TRU waste shipment was transported in an RH-72B shipping package. The shipment from the Idaho site arrived Sept. 12.
CARLSBAD, N.M. – On Sept. 12, 2013, the 700th shipment of remote-handled (RH) transuranic (TRU) waste reached the gate at EM's Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP).
The milestone shipment was transported to WIPP in an RH-72B shipping package that originated from the EM program at DOE's Idaho site.
"Safety is the most important aspect of every shipment," said EM Carlsbad Field Office (CBFO) Manager Joe Franco. "This milestone demonstrates the significant progress being made in our safe, compliant and efficient cleanup efforts. This accomplishment is shared among the dedicated WIPP team and at all the sites involved." CBFO has responsibility for WIPP and the National TRU Program.
RH-TRU waste is one of two types of TRU waste disposed at WIPP and represents approximately four percent of the anticipated disposal volume. It has a higher surface dose rate than the contact-handled TRU waste, which comprises the remainder of the disposal volume.
Disposal of RH-TRU waste began in January 2007, nearly eight years after WIPP received its first shipment. Since beginning operations in March 1999, WIPP has received more than 11,500 shipments of defense-related TRU waste, which safely traveled over 13.8 million loaded miles.
While RH-TRU waste has been shipped from eight sites, the Idaho site provided the largest number — 360 — of the RH-TRU waste shipments. The Idaho Cleanup Project attributed the success to close collaboration between the EM headquarters and field offices, WIPP and contractors. This collaboration has allowed for significant progress towards meeting the Idaho Settlement Agreement commitments. That agreement between the State of Idaho, DOE and the U.S. Navy requires DOE to safely remove legacy transuranic waste from the State of Idaho b y Dec. 31, 2018.
WIPP is a DOE-owned facility designed to safely isolate defense-related TRU waste from people and the environment. Waste temporarily stored at sites around the country is shipped to WIPP and permanently disposed in rooms mined out of an ancient salt formation 2,150 feet below the surface. WIPP, which began waste disposal operations in 1999, is located 26 miles outside of Carlsbad, N.M.


text:
Chris Lilly's Web Series 'Just Us Guys' To Screen At Comic-Con 2013
Chris Lilly is enjoying an accomplishment for any web series creator: his production, Just Us Guys, will be part of the 2013 San Diego Comic-Con Film Festival. It will screen at 1 PM on Saturday, July 20 in Marriott Hall 2 at the Marriott Marquis & Marina.
Just Us Guys is a series about a gay father who has "a Gilmore Girls-type relationship" with his straight son. The four webisodes introduces Scott, his son Max and their friends through a variety of happenings, including an attempt to get tickets to Comic-Con, one of the biggest pop-culture conventions in the world.
Chris recently sat down with BFTV to talk about how Just Us Guys came to be, and what his hopes for the series are.
He revealed that he wasn't familiar with web series at all before he began working on his own. "I have a one-hour pilot that I wrote and I was like, 'Let's film it,'" he explained. 'So we decided to film it, and we did [an] Indiegogo [campaign]. We didn't make enough money and we were like, 'We've got this money, let's film something. Let's give people a little taste of what it could be.'"
"This project is a prequel. It's not the actual story from the pilot. This is before the pilot happens. It's more of a character study," he continued. "I'm like, 'What happened before this?' I had to find stories that I could tell in a five-minute medium to kind of explain who these people are, while also still being entertaining."
You can watch the first episode - the aforementioned Comic-Con installment - below.
For the TV-oriented writer, whose inspirations include Gilmore Girls creator Amy Sherman-Palladino and Joss Whedon, it was a process of learning how to adapt his work to a different medium. "I was a very organized person and I took the time to plan it," he explained. "I saw the production from pre-production to post [and] I'm glad I did it for the experience."
"A lot of it came together how it was planned. We had to change a couple of casting things," he continued. "Overall, it couldn't have been smoother. It was an amazing experience. I had professional people working on it with me and I just can't thank everyone who was on the team enough."
It's Chris's hope that these introductory stories will generate enough interest for him to either shoot the pilot he'd intended, or continue with more web episodes. "I'd love it to go to a network. I'd love someone to pick it up and see the potential," he said. "But if we end up staying web series, I'm trying to revamp it to go that route."
Whatever happens, he will definitely continue with Just Us Guys in some form. "This is just the beginning," he assured us. "There's more to come. Based on the response that we're getting, we'd like to come back to season two."
You can check out episode one of Just Us Guys above, and if you're headed to Comic-Con, you can attend the screening and creative team Q&A on Saturday, July 20.
(c)2013 Brittany Frederick. Appears at Starpulse with permission. All rights reserved. No reproduction permitted. Visit my official website and follow me on Twitter at @tvbrittanyf.


text:
PITTSBURGH — Giant Eagle here launched a greatly enhanced version of its online photo center this month. The retailer's previous online photo offering, available for several years, was limited to prints and two-day pick-up. The new site provides one-hour service at stores with photo labs, two-day in-store pick-up at 15 cents a print, and home delivery. In addition, the site — developed by LifePics, Boulder, Colo. — allows customers to create gifts such as mugs and cards, which can also be ...
REGISTER TO VIEW THIS ARTICLE - Register for a Free Account
Why Register for FREE?
Registering for content on Supermarket News will give you INSTANT access to invaluable articles and media content that industry professionals rely on. You will have access to our special reports, feature articles, and industry analysis. It's FREE, easy and quick. What are you waiting for! In addition you will also receive complimentary access to the SN salary survey data tables.
Click here to read the FAQ page if you have any questions (opens in a new window)
Attention Paid Print Subscribers: While you have already been granted free access to SN we ask that you register now. We promise it will only take a few minutes! Or visit your profile and add your print magazine account number and zip code.


text:
An Introduction to Schematron
by Eddie Robertsson | Pages: 1, 2
Schematron processing
There are currently a few different Schematron processors available. In general these processors are divided into two groups: XSLT-based and XPath-based processors.
Since the Schematron specification is built on top of XSLT and XPath, all you really need to perform Schematron validation is an XSLT processor. Validation is then performed in two stages: the Schematron schema is, first, turned into a validating XSLT stylesheet that is, second, applied to the XML instance document to get the validation results. Since XSLT processors are available in most programming languages and on most platforms and operating systems, this validation technique will be explained in more detail in the next section.
For more API-like validators there currently exists two Schematron processors that are built on top of XPath. The first one is a Java implementation by Ivelin Ivanov that is part of the Cocoon project. This implementation can be accessed through the SourceForge.NET website. The second XPath implementation is Daniel Cazzulino's Schematron.NET using the Microsoft .NET platform which is also available at SourceForge.
XPath implementations of Schematron are generally faster than the XSLT approach because they do not need the extra step of creating a validating XSLT stylesheet and have less functionality. This also means that the functions in Schematron that are XSLT-specific (for example, document() and key() functions) are unavailable in the XPath implementation. This means, for example, that constraints between XML instance documents cannot be checked using an XPath implementation of Schematron. Since Schematron is still a fairly young schema language, many implementations differ in functionality and typically most XPath implementations only implement a subset of the Schematron functionality.
Schematron processing using XSLT
Schematron processing using XSLT is trivial to implement and works in two steps:
- The Schematron schema is first turned into a validating XSLT stylesheet by transforming it with an XSLT stylesheet provided by Academica Sinica Computing Centre. These stylesheets (schematron-basic.xsl, schematron-message.xsl and schematron-report.xsl) can be found at the Schematron site and the different stylesheets generate different output. For example, the schematron-basic.xsl is used to generate simple text output as in the example already shown.
- This validating stylesheet is then used on the XML instance document and the result will be a report that is based on the rules and assertions in the original Schematron schema.
This means that it is very easy to setup a Schematron processor because the only thing needed is an XSLT processor together with one of the Schematron stylesheets. Here is an example of how to validate the example used above where the XML instance document is called Person.xml and the Schematron schema is called Person.sch. The example use Saxon as an XSLT processor:
>saxon -o validate_person.xsl Person.sch schematron-basic.xsl
ISO Schematron
Version 1.5 of Schematron was released in early 2001 and the next version is currently being developed as an ISO standard. The new version, ISO Schematron, will also be used as one of the validation engines in the DSDL (Document Schema Definition Languages) initiative.
ISO Schematron evaluates the functionality implemented in existing implementations of Schematron 1.5. Functionality that is not implemented at all or only in a few implementations will be evaluated for removal while some requested features will be added. Some of these new features are briefly explained below, but it should be noted that these changes are not final. More information can be found in the Schematron upgrade document.
Include mechanism
An include mechanism will be added to ISO Schematron that will allow a Schematron schema to include Schematron constructs from different documents.
Variables using <let>
In Schematron it is common for a rule to contain many assertions that test the same information. If the information is selected by long and complicated XPath expressions, this has to be repeated in every assertion that uses the information. This is both hard to read and error prone.
In ISO Schematron a new element
let is added to the
content model of the
rule element that allows information
to be bound to a variable. The
let element has a
name attribute to identify the variable and a
value attribute used to select the information that
should be bound to the variable. The variable is then available in the
scope of the rule where it is declared and can be accessed in
assertion tests using the $ prefix.
For example, say that a simple
time element should be
validated so that the value always match the HH:MM:SS format where
0<=HH<=23, 0<=MM<=59 and 0<=SS<=59:
Using the new
let element this can be implemented like this in ISO Schematron:
<sch:rule context="time">
<value-of> in assertions
A change requested by many users is to allow
elements in the assertions so that value information can be shown in
the result. The
value-of element has a
select attribute specifying an XPath expression that
selects the correct information.
In the above schema the assertion that for example checks the hour could then be written so that the output result contain the erroneous value:
<sch:assert test="$hour>=0 and $hour<=23">Invalid hour: <sch:value-of select="$hour"/>. The value should be between 0 and 23.</sch:assert>
The following instance
would then generate this output:
Assertion fails: "Invalid hour: 25. The value should be between 0 and 23."
Abstract patterns
Abstract patterns are a very powerful new feature that allows the user to identify a specific pattern in the data and make assertions about this pattern. If we keep to the example above the abstract pattern that should be validated is the definition of a time with three parts: hour, minute and second. In ISO Schematron an abstract pattern like the following can be written to validate this time abstraction:
<sch:pattern name="Time" abstract="true">
Instead of validating the concrete elements used to define the time this abstract pattern instead work on the abstraction of what makes up a time: hours, minutes and seconds.
If the XML document use the below syntax to describe a time
the concrete pattern that realises the abstract one above would look like this:
<sch:pattern name="SingleLineTime" is-a="Time">
If the XML instead uses a different syntax to describe a time the abstract pattern can still be used for the validation and the only thing that need to change is the concrete implementation. For example, if the XML looks like this
the concrete pattern would instead be implemented as follows:
<sch:pattern name="MultiLineTime" is-a="Time">
This means that the abstract pattern that performs the actual validation will stay the same independent of the actual representation of the data in the XML document.
The include mechanism makes it possible to define a separate Schematron schema that defines the validation rules as abstract patterns. Multiple "concrete schemas" can then be defined for each instance document that uses a different syntax for the abstractions. Each of these "concrete schemas" simply includes the schema with the abstract patterns and defines the mapping from the abstraction to the concrete elements.
- XPath Management Tools for Schematron
2007-05-19 15:31:44 pgf


text:
The APOS-EU consortium has five partners, described in turn below. The peer APOS-RU project has four partners - click here for details.
EPCC is the supercomputing centre at the University of Edinburgh. It has over 15 years of experience in successful collaborative projects with academia, industry and commerce based on novel and high-performance computing. With 80 staff, EPCC's three key activities comprise: the management and hosting of powerful supercomputers; training and support for the Centre's large base of UK and European scientific researchers; and consultancy-based software projects with industry and commerce. EPCC provides the UK National HPC service, HECToR, a ~45,000 core Cray XE6, system through a six-year contract with the UK Research Councils worth in total £115 million.
EPCC has an extensive record of technology transfer and collaborative projects. It participated in the highly successful EUROPORT cluster of projects to port industrial applications to parallel computers. It managed the Technology Transfer Node, ENTICE, which took forward the success of EUROPORT on a larger scale. It was the lead partner in the EUTIST-IMV cluster of machine-vision technology-transfer projects. It was the coordinating partner of the recently completed NextGRID Integrated project which developed the architecture of the next generation Grid. All four of these initiatives were funded by the European Commission. At a local level, EPCC has had a long-standing relationship with Scottish Enterprise and through this has pioneered the use of novel, parallel and high-performance computing by both large and small Scottish companies. EPCC has significant expertise in the development, porting and optimisation of codes for large-scale and massively parallel systems in collaboration both with industry and academe.
Warsaw University was founded in 1816, and is the largest university in Poland with about 2,900 academic staff and over 50,000 students. The University is recognised in Poland and throughout the world as a leading centre in a variety of academic disciplines. The Interdisciplinary Centre for Mathematical and Computational Modelling (ICM) at Warsaw University was founded in June 29, 1993 as a research centre in computational sciences, with a multidisciplinary profile. The research of the centre focuses in the area of mathematical, natural and computational sciences, as well as networking and information technology.
ICM operates the leading scientific supercomputing centre in Poland and has significant experience in providing HPC resources to users. It has been involved in software development and parallelisation as well as porting and optimisation of scientific application to high-end supercomputing environments and systems. Most importantly, ICM is actively involved in the EU project Partnership for Advanced Computing in Europe (PRACE). ICM has long standing experience in the Grid technology. For the past few years it has been involved in software development, parallelisation and adaptation to the Grid middleware. It has been involved in EU projects such as EUROGRID, GRIP, CROSSGRID, EGEE, UniGrids and Chemomentum.
The High Performance Computing Center, Stuttgart (HLRS) is a research and service institution affiliated to the University of Stuttgart. It is one of the three national supercomputing centres in Germany and offers services to academic users and industry. HLRS research and operation focus is oriented towards the operation of supercomputers owned by HWW GmbH, a public-private partnership consortium comprising among others T-Systems, SfR and the Porsche AG, services and consultancy for scientific and industrial users, research in the area of supercomputer architectures, simulation software, software engineering and Grid computing, teaching and training in distributed systems, software engineering and programming models, as well as cooperation with international partners from industry and research. HLRS has significant experience in collaborative research projects on national, European and international level.
Most relevant expertise for APOS-EU are the experiences gained in cooperation with industrial and academic end users for delivering Teraflop applications through the Teraflop workbench and the knowledge in multi-physics and coupled simulations. Furthermore, the expertise in supporting end users in particular of the engineering domain and the link to the automotive and aerospace industry will be beneficial for the project. HLRS is a member of the MPI standardization body (MPI-2 and MPI-3 Forum) and has a long history of teaching hybrid MPI & OpenMP programming at supercomputing conferences (tutorials at SC'01-SC'08). Additionally, HLRS is a key player in various National and European Research projects in the field of High Performance Computing.
Founded in 2002 by members of an INRIA/University of Rennes 1 research team, CAPS enterprise develops and commercializes innovative software for high performance application tuning in the domains of HPC and embedded systems. CAPS offer a whole range of development tools and services enabling its customers' applications to optimise the performance of multicore processors used by the last generation hardware.
CAPS' mission is in keeping with the innovative and fast-moving multicore market and helps industries with high-level HPC issues such as oil and gas, defence, finance and life sciences to allow their software developers to take the most of multicore processors while preserving their legacy source. Built on over five years of advanced research and development, CAPS provides high quality and cost effective programming tools that leverage the computing power of state-of-the-art many-core hybrid platforms. Among these environments: HMPP Workbench, a complete hybrid compiler with powerful data-parallel code generators based on OpenMP-like directives that simplifies the use of hardware accelerators in conventional general purpose applications. Leading innovator in parallel programming tools, CAPS is also actively involved in many French and European Research and Development projects around the development of multicore compiling technologies and optimisation methods.
As the fifth largest publicly-traded integrated oil and gas company in the world and a major actor in the chemicals business, Total has operations in more than 130 countries on five continents with approximately 97,000 employees. To meet growing energy needs on a long-term basis, Total's strategy involves deploying a sustainable growth model combining the acceptability of its activities with a sustained programme of profitable investments. TOTAL's ambitions are:
TOTAL engages in all aspects of the petroleum industry, including Upstream operations (oil and gas exploration, development and production, LNG), Downstream operations (refining, marketing and the trading and shipping of crude oil and petroleum products) and chemicals operations (petrochemicals, fertilizers, rubber processing, adhesives, resins and electroplating). TOTAL's R&D activities aim to continuously improve energy-related processes. They focus on knowledge of energy resources to optimize their development, operational reliability and energy efficiency, competitive products, and environmental issues. With an R&D budget of €770 million in 2009, TOTAL has 22 R&D centres and more than 4,000 researchers worldwide. The TOTAL Group also has more than 600 partnership agreements with dedicated research organizations, universities and leading manufacturers. The implementation of seismic processing and reservoir modelling applications on future Exascale systems are among the most important challenges facing the oil and gas industry.
APOS workshop at the HiPEAC conference
We are holding a workshop on the Exploitation of Heterogeneous HPC Systems at the HiPEAC Conference in Berlin - please look here for…
APOS-EU at SC12
APOS-EU will be represented at SC12 - please come and speak to us at EPCC booth #1919, HLRS booth #1036 and CAPS booth #2330 to…


text:
Skip to comments."If FR dies, thats that." - Jim Robinson [Jim's reply at post # 588]
Posted on 01/11/2011 5:28:06 AM PST by paulycy
Here are statements from Jim about the future of FreeRepublic.com for those who missed them. They are quite serious.
"Well, I can say that there are definitely two things that will never happen. 1) Banner ads. 2) Oracle [a completely new database system.] And a third is a total replacement [of the current damaged system.] Dont have the financial wherewithal."
"To those who wish to leave because of it, see ya."
"If FR dies, thats that."
[To: paulycy]
Hey, you want us to get an all new system with all new software and add a few more pricey techs, system programmers and database administrators to keep it all working 100% of the time 24/7/365? Well, start coughing up the big bucks.
Its going to take tens of thousands of donations and many with at least three zeros each after the comma to accomplish the task. And that would be EVERY month like clock work to make the payroll. Once you take on a big load of expensive overhead, theres no going back. As it is, we get a couple thousand donations per quarter averaging about $30 bucks each and theres no guarantees we can cover this quarters expenses much less next quarter. Were on a pay as we go system and we have zero employees.We just ask for enough to pay the bills.
Throwing more money at the problem wont solve it. [This latest glitch] was a technical issue and we just had to keep troubleshooting until we found it. And no, were not going to invite a bunch of strangers in to get their hands on our secure systems. John has been programming since he was 14 and hes pushing 40 now. He built these systems and hes an expert in them.
And no, we are not going to throw out our software and rewrite it and no were not going to move on to some other database system. There are no guarantees that any other system can do a better job and not without hiring a staff to build and maintain it and thats for sure. And we dont have the financial wherewithal to do any of that anyway. Maybe if we had a couple million bucks at our disposal and a couple years to do it in we could build an iron-clad system. And maybe not.
All I can say is, if someone else can do it better and cheaper, then please step right on up and get er done!! Ill bow out and retire. Thankyouverymuch.
Hit it boys:
And no, we have no plans of taking FR commercial. I like it the way it is. Not sure I could handle getting rich.
- Jim Robinson
FR is currently seriously underfunded. This is something we FReepers can do something about.
Comments? Suggestions?
I'm here to the bitter end, which I hope never comes. This is a very necessary outlet!
I am a daily contributor. That won't change! :)
I couldn't give much but if a Michigander who lives hand to mouth like myself could give $10, its pretty hard to deny that everyone couldn't pitch in $5 or $10.
So anyhow did the recent fix purge a pre-existing bug from the system? At least that was progress.
I can't see messing with Oracle or any commercial data base manager which would require bringing in "strangers" for support, for the same reason.
I'm here to the end with you, money's tight, but did manage $10.00
...my monthly "payday" is tomorrow.
I can relate having programmed for about 35 years, always build from scratch, build it to last, not to throw away and start over every couple of years. My only suggestion is to stay the heck away from Oracle.
I'll donate more when we start having banner ads. I live in a capitalist society. I have no problem with ads.
I'm with ya to the end, if I need to step up my monthly, let me know. I am, of course, going to get the FreeRepublicNews site up, and that will take currency and time, but in addition to that, I can assist here at Free Republic.
In short, I'd hit it.
What is 'oracle'?
Commercial database, expensive, bloated, complicated.
Actually, I really wish every user would give $1/month. Then we'd be flush!
Would it help to get rid of the superfluous forums? The Religion forum, for one, brings nothing but heartache and endless stabs in the face.
Oracle is not an option. It usually isn't. Way overpriced for what it does, more hype than substance.
"...and no were not going to move on to some other database system. There are no guarantees that any other system can do a better job"
That's very true in general in the software industry; changing X for Y without knowing first if it will do better is a bad idea.
What's the FreeRepublicNews site? Will it be separate from FR?
Oracle is an expensive, commercial database system used to hold all the information FR stores.
Most of the internet is NOT run on such an expensive system. Moving FR to such a system would be controversial even if we were rich (which we're not.)
There's a bunch of long term members who are IT professionals...it seems like one of the proven-trustworthy of them should be let in as a volunteer....if only as a second pair of eyes.
John's done a terrific job: I'd hate to see everything go up in smoke due to circumstances.
Wow, that is funny.
At this point, I think the GOP club is the one that should go, if any. I mean, who comprises the GOP club these days? Mittens, McAmnesty, Murkyowski...
I'll send in something today. I also happily contribute monthly. That said, I see no dishonor in accepting ad space revenue. None at all and it would have no affect on my regular contributions.
But it's inevitable, Jim. Change will come.
And if you refuse to change the way you manage the servers and software, it will crash and burn.
Now I respect your attitude, but the future of FreeRepublic is more important than any one of us.
I hope you have a change of heart, or find a wealthy "sugar momma"!
Whats the situation currently? Is death imminent for FR?
5-10 bucks....I got ripped by any number of cheap souls last time for saying that anyone could afford 10 bucks a quarter. I heard sob stories, laments about how tough it is, and just downright defiance.
I still believe that those who don't contribute are living on Free Republic Welfare.
10 bucks is 11 cents a day. People refuse to pick that up off the street if they see it.
What is the problem? What are we trying to solve?
I don't know why anyone would consider Oracle, except in specific circumstances. I've found SQL Server to be far more nimble and dependable for projects in the multi-million record range.
Need a financial Knight in shining armor. Rush? Are you there?
The only banner ads I could stomach are ones from conservative orgs and members' own sites. If you want to pimp a blog, pay up to JimRob. Smaller than those horrible banner ads too and maybe just on the main forum.
Just a suggestion.
FR should require a paid subscription to post any article.
I believe DU runs on fornicated CForum+ Version 1.1 by dcscripts which is no longer in business as of 2009. They also leverage advertising, I saw a Verizon article there the other day while trolling articles about the AZ incident. (Know thy enemy)
My point is that I see the inevitability of both forums needing to be modernized. Not just upgraded, but a complete rewrite or rebranding.
I'm a fan of "if it's not broke don't fix it" however that logic doesn't apply to technology.
FR has proven its value many times from Buckhead's forged Bush letter discovery to the recent AZ incident and rapid documenting of leftist hate speech.
The question is, we have a good thing going, how can we keep it going and in what form?
As to fixing the problem - the only thing that comes immediately to mind, assuming we want FR to continue to be the BBC to the liberals CNN, is for us the users of the site to introduce it to more of our friends/relatives/associates, with the idea of expanding the user base, and therefore the donator base.
I honestly don't know. That is a mystery that Jim won't share. Part of me understands why and part of me wants to know what the heck is going on so that we can solve the problems and bring the money and manpower to bear on the situation as needed.
Jim is the owner of FR. We are merely donors. The problem comes in that we *feel* like shareholders in a company and should have the rights of shareholders. But we don't. That's the rub. We don't have a right to know what Jim knows because FR is his private property and not *our* company.
*Three posts, and bang. Gone. I'm not good at pretending to be liberal.
This is a story about four people named Everybody, Somebody, Anybody, and Nobody. There was an important job to be done and Everybody was sure that Somebody would do it. Anybody could have done it, but Nobody did it. Somebody got angry about this, because it was Everybody's job. Everybody thought Anybody could do it, but Nobody realized that Everybody wouldn't do it. It ended up that Everybody blamed Somebody when Nobody did what Anybody could have done.
Or are you waiting for Somebody Else to do what Everybody should?
This is what Jim said: As it is, we get a couple thousand donations per quarter averaging about $30 bucks each and theres no guarantees we can cover this quarters expenses much less next quarter. Were on a pay as we go system and we have zero employees.We just ask for enough to pay the bills.
FR lives hand to mouth and Freepathons are taking longer to fulfill. It may be that sometime we won't complete a fundraiser and that will be that.
its pretty hard to deny that everyone couldnt pitch in $5 or $10.
If everyone did, Jim's troubles would be over.
As it is in government, the few are subsidizing the many.
I think each person who posts should get a star by their name for donation. And if they don't have a star, then they can be in the hall of shame. I admit, I was on FR a long timne before i became a monthly donor. I am ashamed to say, there is no sense in that. I now donate monthly, if everyone contributed just a bit then it would be just fine.
Melissa Lewis
It's more than obvious to me that FR is a source of much of Limbaugh's commentary.....it'd be nice if he waved the financial wand now and again.
SQL Server, as in MS SQL Server? Last time I checked, it don't run on Linux, and FR is a Linux shop.
The long term financial and technical stability of FreeRepublic.com.
>>FR should require a paid subscription to post any article.<<
Great idea!
Banner ads don't bother me, I can't even remember them.
They are wasting their money on me.
FYI ping.
I have little problem with selling ad space to raise revenue. Jim could consider being selective regarding the type of businesses allowed, possibly giving preference to Freeper business owners.
While I understand why you're saying it, all the same, actually doing this would kill the site dead. Which, perversely, would solve the current problems, in a way.
Absolute quintuple AMEN to that suggestion.
...but only if it helps the situation.
It was an ancient Greek Fortune teller ...
but that's not important right now.
Totally agree.
He probably does give, but he shouldn't have to carry everybody's water.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.


text:
Adrian Levy PhD, Associate Professor, University of British Columbia, Director, Oxford Outcomes, Vancouver,
BC, Canada
Pharmaceutical Outcomes Research and Policy
in Canada - Context and Recent Developments
Canadian academic institutions have proven fertile for pharmaceutical outcomes
research. Innovative research contributions have been made in
the fields of pharmacoeconomics, pharmacoepidemiology, pharmaceutical
policy and health-related quality of life. While multifactorial in nature, this
focus on high quality outcomes research has arisen in part because of the
structure and organization of health care in Canada.
The Canadian health care system is often identified as an example where
publicly funded health care coverage is made available to all citizens. While
this is largely true for the cost of physician and hospital services, the situation
with coverage for medications is more complicated. Delivery of health
care falls under provincial jurisdiction while regulatory approval is mandated
federally and the setting of prices is, in reality, a shared responsibility. All ten
provinces and three territories, as well as several other federally-funded
recipient groups in Canada, have drug benefit programs which subsidize the
cost of medications for eligible beneficiaries. The amount of these subsidies
and definition of eligible beneficiaries varies from province to province.
The Canada Health Act describes agreed upon desired characteristics of the
health care system. The Act is federal health insurance legislation which provides
universal, publicly financed coverage of most hospital and physician
services. This means that when a Canadian seeks medical care, the individual
goes to a physician or hospital of his or her choice and presents a health
insurance card, which is issued to each eligible resident of the province.
The individual does not pay directly for medically necessary services and no
dollar limits or deductibles apply. Thus, the Canada Health Act ensures that
the provision of health care services do not depend on an individual's ability
to pay. However, while legislation creates national standards, the Canadian
health care system is actually a complex arrangement of funding mechanisms
worked out between the governments at the federal, provincial and territorial
levels. It is worthwhile noting that the Canada Health Act focuses on
funding mechanisms, and in contrast to the United Kingdom's National
Health Service, the health care system in Canada is not centrally organized
or coordinated. This mean that, in Canada, hospitals are not-for-profit privately
owned institutions, most physicians are private contractors to the public
system, and the roles of governments include funding, legislation, regulation
and the delivery of a small number of programs. The system is not population-
based insofar as hospitals do not have defined catchment areas and
family physicians do not have defined patient populations. Thus, Canadians
have freedom to choose their own physicians and hospitals.
Prescription drugs are not considered an insurable benefit under the Canada
Health Act. The direct costs of paying for medications falls to provincial and
territorial drug plans and the payment arrangements differ in each of Canada's
jurisdictions. Overall, the medications for approximately one-quarter of the
Canadian population are paid for by governments (ranging from 9% in
Manitoba to 43% in Quebec). The elderly over 65 years of age and recipients
of social assistance have been covered in all provinces since the 1970s. In a
majority of provinces, universal coverage only starts for persons who have
relatively high drug costs. The actual plans differ substantially between
provinces such that, while the net effect is that subsidies are typically bigger
for lower income households, out of pocket expenses vary widely. Many
employed individuals have the costs of medications subsidized through
extended health benefits plans provided by private insurance companies.
The federal government in Canada has two fundamental roles for new medications
entering the market. First, new drugs must meet national standards
of efficacy and safety set by the ministry called Health Canada (analagous to
the process undertaken by the Food and Drug Administration in the United
States). Second, the Federal government is charged with regulating the
country-wide price manufacturers can charge for newly patented medications
through the Patented Medicine Price Review Board.
This division of responsibilities creates tension between the provincial governments
which have to pay for medications and the federal government which regulates prices. Transfer payments from the federal government offset
a portion of health care costs. Provincial and territorial ministries face
perennial shortfalls in health care budgets and constantly seek ways of delivering
the same or better health care within budget constraints.
Following a trend established in Australia in the early 1990s, first Ontario and
then Canadian provinces inplemented reimbursement review processes for
newly marketed pharmaceutical products. As the trend for reimbursement
review spread, there was an obvious and rapid multiplication of the efforts.
For example, there were ten health ministries, three territories and at least five
federal funding programs that each required definitions of eligibility criteria
for registrants, levels of pharmaceutical coverage, reimbursement criteria
and independently reviewed economic submissions.
In response to variations in coverage of prescription medications and substantial
duplication of efforts in reviewing the economic submissions, in
2002 the federal, provincial and territorial health ministers established the
Common Drug Review process within the Canadian Agency for Drugs and
Technologies in Health. This centralized reimbursement review process now
provides recommendations to 18 participating publicy-funded drug plans
(the province of Quebec, which inlcudes approximately one quarter of the
population of Canada, does not participate). Despite the centralized review
process, there continues to exist wide variability in the medications that are
included on formularies in different Canadian jurisdictions and the amount
that is paid by the public purse.
Perhaps as a result of the circumstances in delivering health care in Canada,
university scholars have taken leading roles in the various domains of pharmaceutical
outcomes research and health technology assessment.
One reason for Canada's pivotal role in pharmacoepidemiological research is
the availability of many population-based sources of data. Canadian administrative
health databases are among the most well developed anywhere and
provide an excellent resource for pharmacoepidemiologic research. For this
reason, Canada has been characterized as an "information-rich" environment.
Canadian investigators have taken a leading role in using populationbased
administrative databases for pharmacoepidemiologic studies of both
the intended and unintended effects of medications. In addition to routine
collection of administrative data, supplementary information may be collected
through population-based disease and treatment registries. Canadian
scholars have written seminal descriptions of various forms of bias and confounding,
developed innovative study designs, and made other important
methodological and statistical advances, in pharmacoepidemiologic studies.
The early implementation of reimbursement review processes in various jursidictions
in Canada has led to continuously improving guidelines on the submission
requirements and processes. Also, there has been a large number
of published economic appraisals in the Canadian context as the reports
submitted to public drug plans go on to appear in the peer-reviewed literature.
Many of these studies have been published by investigators outside of
academic environments, including the industry and government sectors.
These developments have provided incentives for developing robust methods
and interpretations of economic evaluations.
Pharmaceutical Policy
The structure of the health care system, with provincial governments responsible
for the delivery of health care and public drug plans being the largest
payors in the country, has led to the implementation of new policies aimed at
making drug coverage more equitable, limiting the reimbursed amounts within
specific classes of medication, and increased cost-sharing. These new
policies have led to changes in coverage status of different sectors of the
population and typically led to decreases in public reimbursement for prescribed
medications. Several groups of investigators have focused on the
system outcomes such as the changes in prescribing and the estimated
reduced expenditures occuring after a new policy is implemented. Much
less is known about the effects on patient outcomes of the new policies.
Health-related Quality-of-Life
Canadian scholars have also been at the forefront of designing techniques for
measuring and valuing health-related quality of life. Utility elicitiation techniques
that are now used ubiquitously, such as the time trade off, were pioneered
in Canada. Also developed in Canada, the Health Utilities Index® is
a generic, preference-scored, comprehensive system for measuring health
status and producing utility scores.
The Common Drug Review was established in March 2002, began reviewing
in September 2003, and since then has reviewed over 100 submissions.
The process has undergone two reviews and many positive changes have
occurred in response. Some of the notable changes have been: 1) to include
two members of the public in all deliberations. These persons' opinions are
helpful in identifying the non-evidentiary factors that may be considered and
included in the process; 2) to enhance transparency through several means
including developing non-technical versions of the recommendations; and 3)
to establish standardized approaches for reviewing both "first-in-class" medications
and those for rare disorders.
Joint Oncology Drug Review (JODR)
Implemented in March 2007, the inter-provincial Joint Oncology Drug Review
Process was established to create a more consistent review process of
ambulatory-based oncology medications across the country. This process
is now distinct from Common Drug Review.
Progressive Licensing
In response to the advances in pharmaceutical sciences, drug development,
and changes in public expectations, many countries are changing the
processes around regulatory approval for medications. The Government of
Canada is keeping pace through a new program called the Progressive
Licensing project. Under this system, the current point-in-time licensing system
will evolve in a cyclical progressive licensing model. The daunting task
of jointly evaluating benefits and risks of medications in an environment in
which different and often conflicting objectives must be balanced will require
substantial input and compromise from all interested parties.
There is a growing need worldwide for high quality drug outcomes research
and discourse on pharmaceutical policy. Canadian academics, policy- and
decision-makers and industry employees have assumed leadership roles to
fill that need. ISPOR is responding in kind by providing a forum for broad
communications between different sectors and its members continue to generate
leading outcomes research. The 13th annual ISPOR meeting in
Toronto, with its record-breaking attendance, entertaining and informative
oral and poster presentations around the meeting theme "Vive la Différence -
Enhancing/Expanding Outcomes Research One Country at a Time", attests to
the fact that both outcomes research on medications and ISPOR are thriving
in Canada.
Issues Index | 2008 Issues Index
Contact ISPOR @ firstname.lastname@example.com
| View Legal Disclaimer
©2016 International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research.
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions.
Website design by Eagle Systems USA, Inc.


text:
At the only W where you can play peek-a-boo with swimmers and dippers without getting wet, take a dip in the pool or enjoy a sip off our colorful cocktail list, (Don't mind the portholes on the bottom above the Living Room!) Slip into the outdoor hot tub, dry off in front of the oversized, gas-powered fire pit and catch one of our guest DJ's spinning hot tunes on weekends. This high-energy sunbathing mecca offers the best people watching and sizzling suntans this side of the sunshine state.
Chic and serene more your scene? Head west to our secluded pool oasis of calm aptly named WET West. Intracoastal views and awe-inspiring sunsets rule supreme here with comfy loungers and a seductive infinity edge hot tub to always keep you cool by the pool. WET West is open seasonally; please contact Whatever/Whenever® for more details.
WET Decks East & West will be open from dawn to dusk.
WET Cabanas
Lounge on with four bottles of Fiji Water, fruit basket and 19" flat screen TV in our Wonderful Cabanas, and six bottles of Fiji Water, sliced fruit, cool beverages, phone and 19" flat screen TV in our WOW Cabanas (all feature High Speed Internet Access and private bathroom). Please contact Whatever/Whenever® for reservations.


text:
Tim Mitchell
Tim Mitchell is a business intelligence consultant, author, trainer, and SQL Server MVP with over a decade of data management experience. He is a partner with Linchpin People and is the principal of Tyleris Data Solutions.
Tim has spoken at international and local events including the SQL PASS Summit, SQLBits, SQL Connections, along with dozens of tech fests, code camps, and SQL Saturday events. He is coauthor of the book SSIS Design Patterns, and is a contributing author on MVP Deep Dives 2.
You can visit his website and blog at TimMitchell.net or follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/Tim_Mitchell.
Archives: May 2011
SQL Rally 2011 Recap
As I write this, I'm somewhere in the air over Florida, headed back home to Dallas from participating in the first-ever SQL Rally event. The past few days have been an adventure in many ways, and I'm happy to report that the entire experience was both positive and memorable.
Wednesday Read more
0 comments, 789 reads
Posted in Tim Mitchell on 21 May 2011


text:
My daughter is an only child who gets sick quite a bit. She has alot of "home time" when she is ill so her birthday present this year was a puppy. This makes having to stay inside, ALOT more fun and worth while.
Fiz-Gig...Fizanator, His Royal Fizness
By: mama00Subscribe Channel: Pets & Animals Location: watertown
+ Comment!
This story is inappropriate and should be flagged for moderation. Please choose from one of the following options:


text:
The research team, which included researchers from Microwave Telemetry, Inc., the Cape Eleuthera Institute, and the Institute for Ocean Conservation Science at Stony Brook University, attached pop-up satellite archival tags to one male and 10 female mature oceanic whitetip sharks off Cat Island in The Bahamas in May 2011, and monitored the sharks for varying intervals up to 245 days. The tags recorded depth, temperature, and location for pre-programmed periods of time. At the end of the time period, the tags self-detached from the sharks, and reported the data to orbiting satellites. Their findings, published online today in the journal PLOS ONE, show that some of these sharks roamed nearly 2,000 kilometers from the spot where they were caught, but all individuals returned to The Bahamas within a few months.
"While the oceanic whitetip shark is one of the most severely overexploited shark species, it is also among the least studied because it lives much of its life far from land in the open ocean," said Lucy Howey-Jordan, scientific liaison for Microwave Telemetry, Inc. and lead author. "Before this study and our ongoing research, very few of these sharks had been fitted with satellite tags, and the data we obtained will help establish new conservation measures."
"Although these sharks are relatively safe from fishing in Bahamian waters, our study shows their long-range roaming takes them across the boundaries of different countries and into the high seas where they still encounter fishing gear set for other species," said Dr. Demian Chapman, assistant professor in the School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences and assistant director of science at the Institute for Ocean Conservation at Stony Brook University. "If we want to continue to see these animals in our oceans, fishing nations will have to work together to protect this species, and monitoring of trade and enforcement measures will need to be coordinated on an international level."
World renowned for its healthy shark populations and proactive conservation stance, The Bahamas is one of the few places left in the world where this open-ocean species can be found in relatively large numbers. In July 2011, during the timeframe of this study, The Bahamas banned all commercial fishing of sharks throughout the 630,000 square kilometers of surrounding ocean waters. The sharks now benefit from this protection, and the shark diving industry, a major contributor to the Bahamian economy, benefits from their presence in surrounding waters. Additionally, recent studies have shown ecosystem health is dependant, in part, on the presence of apex predators like sharks.
"The Bahamian government had the foresight to protect these and other species of sharks within their waters, starting with the longline fishing ban in early 90s, and culminating with the more recent shark sanctuary initiative," said Edd Brooks, program manager of the Shark Research and Conservation Program at the Cape Eleuthera Institute. "This level of protection is vital for the continued existence of these important apex predators, and I hope that the example set by The Bahamas will encourage other nations to follow suit."
This research was funded by Microwave Telemetry, Inc., the Cape Eleuthera Foundation, The Pew Charitable Trusts, and the Roe Foundation.
For more information on "Complex movements, philopatry and expanded depth range of a severely threatened pelagic shark, the oceanic whitetip (Carcharhinus longimanus) in the western North Atlantic," please visit http://dx.plos.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0056588 after 5 p.m. EST on Wed., February 20.
Cape Eleuthera Institute is a marine field station situated on Cape Eleuthera, Eleuthera, The Bahamas. It undertakes research on local environmental issues as well as acting as a host facility for marine and terrestrial scientists and visiting education groups of all ages. Cape Eleuthera Institute has especially focussed on developing new methods of resource use and management applicable to the Caribbean, such as effective use of solar energy and local recycling of waste organic and other materials. Its sister organisation, The Island School (www.islandschool.org), is a semester abroad program for high school students from the United States and The Bahamas, for whom the Cape Eleuthera Institute provides hands-on research experience through their in-house research programs. For more information, please visit www.ceibahamas.org.
The Institute for Ocean Conservation Science at Stony Brook University is dedicated to advancing ocean conservation through science. The Institute transforms real-world policy while pursuing serious science, both of which are essential for ocean health. For more information, go to: www.oceanconservationscience.org.
Microwave Telemetry, Inc. manufactures reliable and accurate electronic devices for tracking avian and marine species using cutting-edge technologies developed at its facility in Columbia, Maryland, USA. The company's continual effort to develop smaller and smarter devices is driven by the needs of researchers worldwide. For more information, please visit: www.microwavetelemetry.com.
© Stony Brook University 2013
Top of Page


text:
Michael J. Strauss writes for Ecumenical News International.
Paris, February 6 (ENInews)--The front-runner in the race for the French presidency wants the separation of church and state to be put into the constitution, prompting religious and legal experts to question how this might alter the way France functions as a state that is already secular by law.
The Century's work relies primarily on subscriptions and donations. Thank you for supporting nonprofit journalism.
Support us by buying books:


text:
General mills has appointed Maria Morgan president of General Mills Foodservice. Morgan had been president of Small Planet Foods, the company's organic foods division. In addition, GM named Tim Fieldhouse vice president/general manager for convenience channels and Brian Berger vice president of business development for General Mills Bakeries & Foodservice. Morgan joined General Mills in 1990 and has held numerous marketing, sales and executive positions in the Baking, Yoplait, Meals, ...
Register to view this Article
WhyRegisterfor FREE?
Registering for Premium Content on Food Management will give youINSTANTaccess to invaluable articles and media content that industry professionals rely on. You will have access to our special reports, feature articles, and industry analysis. It'sFREE, easy and quick.


text:
Randall County commissioners will meet Friday to discuss the potential purchase of The Courts of Amarillo sports and event center and the 78 acres of land it sits on.
"We'll be trying to tie up some loose ends," said Randall County Judge Ernie Houdashell. "We haven't totally accepted it. We're doing our due diligence, but we have a contract to buy it."
He declined to discuss a potential purchase price.
The facility, owned by a company formed by Todd and Lori Prekker, is in bankruptcy. They valued the property at $1.78 million in court documents.
The purchase would be made from funds collected by a half-cent sales tax that can go to fire protection outside cities and economic development.
"We're bringing in about $1,000 a day with that," Houdashell said. "We're looking at 90 percent going to fire protection and 10 percent for economic development."
Tentative plans for the property include moving in fire equipment and using it for sheriff deputy training and Texas A&M AgriLife Extension activities. The land could be developed into a business park, but that is still under discussion, Houdashell said.
According to documents filed in the bankruptcy case, there are $2.4 million in claims by creditors and attorneys fees and assets of $1.8 million. The current bankruptcy plan on file, which the judge in the case has not approved, envisions The Courts staying open and paying off its debts. However, the judge moved a hearing on confirmation of that plan from September to November.
The property is on the north side of South Loop 335 between Osage and Washington streets. In the past, it has hosted events such as volleyball and basketball tournaments, mixed-martial arts bouts, roller derby events and banquets, according to The Courts' website.


text:
O'Reilly Tags
We're experimenting with a folksonomy based on tag data provided by del.icio.us. Follow development in this blog post.
Black Box with a View (2 tags)
Embedded systems aren't all Linux; microcontrollers still dominate the scene. Erstwhile hardware hackers, rejoice! The tools for programming microcontrollers work just fine under Linux. George Belotsky starts a series on embedded development by demonstrating what you have to do to make Hello World run.


text:
"I looked at her and she was smiling and laughing and you know she just, something was there you know," said George Balberdi, husband of the late Tremaine Balberdi.
Click here to watch Brenton Awa's report.
George Balberdi recalled one of the final times he'd see his wife. Tremaine was getting ready for her flight to Lana'i. George remembers dropping her off at the airport around 3 p.m Wednesday. He was supposed to pick her up around 9:30 p.m. The couple spoke to each other again when Tremaine was on Lana'i.
"Called me again at night and said I'm on my break you know just wanted to call you, say I love you and I said to call me when you leave," said Balberdi.
"My favorite is my grammy, I love my grammy no matter what," said Geovanni Balberdi.
The Kahului resident worked as a secretary for Maui's Department of Planning for almost 25 years. She grew up on Maui and her husband says she was just five years away from retiring.
This next conversation would be the couples last.
"I answered and she said hi and I said hi. She said we're on the runway and we're ready for leave you know so I'll see you there. I said okay, I said I love you, she said she loved me and we hung up," said Balberdi.
Just seconds later, George says his home phone rang again but only this time when he picked up, there was silence on the other end. He began to worry.
"I called my daughter and she said dad, there was a plane crash," said Balberdi.
Desperate for answers, the family called The Queens Medical Center where crash survivors had been sent.
"And we just asked them is there any woman on the list and they said no, so right then we knew she was one of them that didn't make it," said Balberdi.
At 1:30 Thursday morning, a chaplain arrived at the Balberdi's home and told them Tremaine had died.
"She's so wonderful and it's just so hard," said Balberdi.


text:
Announcing Hill's® Ideal Balance, New Natural Pet Food from the Famous Food Formulators at Hill's
If you've been shopping at any pet food store recently, you might have seen something brand-spanking-new from my furball-loving friends at Hill's Pet Nutrition…
So what is it? Well, the silhouette of a dog or cat against a burst of daybreak sunlight on the bag of this newest pet food is pretty hard to miss. In fact, this new pet food is so different from other natural products and even the company's other pet food brands, you might not have realized it was from the expert pet nutritionists at Hill's.
I'm talking about Hill's® Ideal Balance™, the new, natural pet food recipes for dogs and cats.
There are plenty of natural pet foods on the market, but there's something that sets this one apart – the natural ingredients in Ideal Balance provide perfectly balanced nutrition for your pet.
Early on – in the discovery and creation process, Hill's sought substantial consumer input in order to understand exactly what pet parents wanted in a natural pet food. Ingredients like fresh fruits, veggies, and meat-based proteins were on the tops of all the lists, while ingredients like corn, wheat, and soy ranked lower. Hill's listened to those consumers who stressed that they wanted more from their pet food than the same ingredients other brands offered — they wanted those ingredients in the correct proportions.
Taking this feedback into consideration, the experienced and animal-loving pet nutritionists at Hill's created a recipe with a careful selection of high-quality, natural ingredients. They aimed to create pet food recipes with optimal levels of over 50 nutrients that actually taste good.
And I can aver that the pickiest cats in the world, Maxwell and Tater Tot, have given Ideal Balance 4-paws-up in the taste department. These guys devour this dry food like it's going out of production or something….
Ideal Balance™ was formulated with not too much and not too little of the key ingredients that help promote your pet's best health –key ingredients that actual consumers said they wanted.
Hill's Ideal Balance provides perfectly balanced natural nutrition, guaranteed.
With 100% balanced nutrition guaranteed, your pet will love it, and will in turn love you for assessing and meeting his or her needs.
Once Hill's had developed this breakthrough natural pet food, the next challenge became marketing it…
How do you introduce a pet food that's like nothing else on the market?
Hill's, hence, took on the challenge of completely revitalizing the Ideal Balance packaging and in-store advertisements. Packaging research – also conducted with pet parents who purchase natural foods — demonstrated that the new Hill's Ideal Balance is effective in communicating the main message of natural, balanced nutrition. It outperformed other natural brands in:
– standing out on the shelf
– looking unique
– being viewed as a high-quality product
The next step was to introduce the new Hill's Ideal Balance to a national audience of pet parents. To highlight the natural blend of balanced nutrition in Ideal Balance, Hill's flew to Warsaw, Poland, where, with the help of a skilled production and animation team, they created commercials set in a hyper-realistic world of balanced nutrition for cats and dogs. In separate commercials, we follow a dog and a cat as they discover the world of Ideal Balance. Along the way, they journey through the balanced elements that make up Ideal Balance: perfect proportions of what pets need to be healthy – not too much, not too little.
Hill's has changed the "blueprint" for pet food marketing by creating something that feels interactive and textured. The commercials blend real, natural elements like grass and gravel with stylized landscape animations. Combined, the two layers work seamlessly with live-action footage of pets, putting the animal in the Ideal Balance world that showcases the food's true potential. Much like the reinvention of Ideal Balance pet foods from the ground up, Hill's managed to successfully reimagine how to communicate with consumers and give them what they want. Here's a Behind the Scenes video that gives you a look into how the TV commercial was created. In fact, research measuring advertising effectiveness shows that the Ideal Balance TV advertising creates strong stopping power and engagement with consumers.
Now that the food is on store shelves (Ideal Balance is currently available in the "Naturals" aisle in most pet food stores), it's received TONS of positive reviews from pet parents.
"The dogs loved the food! And after talking to my vet about making the switch it was a no brainer" – Kristin, dog owner
"Our dog loves this so much we use kibbles for treats!" — Anne Marie, dog owner
"Our cats LOVED the food. I have never seen them devour something so quickly. I was very impressed with this product." — Maya, cat owner
"My cat loves it! And the ingredient list makes me feel great feeding it to her. Good stuff." — Cassandra, cat owner
Now that you know a little more about what went in to making this amazing new, natural pet food – go out and get some for your own family, and see the difference natural ingredients perfectly balanced can make! Hill's website offers all sorts of information on the products, including where you can purchase them, online or in your neighborhood – and you can even try it free with the rebate offer!
If you've had an experience with Hill's Ideal Balance, please share it in the comments section below.
If you'd like to be entered into a FREE GIVEAWAY for a bag of Hill's Ideal Balance, please come back and visit the blog in approximately ten days for a giveaway announcement post.
And remember, stay tuned for more details and information on how Hill's formulated Ideal Balance, consumer-tested it, and brought it to market.
Author has been compensated for completion of this article. Hill's Pet Nutrition, Inc. is not responsible for the content of this article. Opinions in this article are completely my own – based on my own experiences.


text:
A 53-year-old man from Augusta died after a semi collided with a car on Highway 10 near Osseo early Tuesday morning.
The Wisconsin State Patrol says the crash happened at 1:23 p.m. on eastbound Highway 10 at County Highway R in Trempealeau County. After impact, the car caught fire.
The name of the man who died has not been released yet. The State Patrol says a 48-year-old man from Wisconsin Rapids was driving the semi. His condition has not been released.


text:
We often get asked what cofounders should look for or ask each other. We combined our knowledge with insight from our community to create a master list of questions to ask potential cofounders, or rather to make sure you cover (going to down the list one-by-one might be awkward). We've broken them down into four categories – Personalities and Incentives, Personal Priorities, Working Styles and Culture, Roles and Responsibilities - that really reflect the areas we find are key to matching up.
Personalities and Incentives - you have to spend a lot of time together, just having complementary skill-sets isn't going to cut it. You really need to have chemistry and be aligned on why you're building a company.
1. Why do you want to start a company (in general and in particular, right now)?
2. What motivates you (e.g. a technical challenge, an overall problem, helping the world, etc.)
3. What do you do with your free time? (e.g. how do you unwind? How do you deal with stress and big challenges?
4. What do you think I'd be most surprised to find out about you?
5. What are our respective personal goals for the startup (e.g. a sustainable business that is spinning off cash and running it forever or high growth and some type of liquidity event)?
6. Will this be the primary activity for each of us?
- What is the expected time commitment (now, in 6 months, 2 years, etc.)?
- Are we allowed to take on anything outside of the company?
7. Would we sell this for $5mm? $100mm? Are we waiting for the billion dollar exit?
8. Is there a part of our plan that we are unwilling to change (e.g. he product being built, the market being addressed or some other aspect of the company)? Pro-tip: the only guarantee is that things will change, so if someone isn't open to that there is a problem.
Personal Priorities - risk tolerance varies by individual, so make sure you know where the other stands and that you're both comfortable with it.
1. What are our personal cash needs in the short term?
2. Are we both going unpaid and when would this change?
- If you're not able to go full-time now, under what circumstances would you be able to start working on something full-time?
3. Do we want to raise outside money?
- If so, how much – now, in 6 months, 2 years, over the life of the company?
4. Where do we want the business to be located?
5. Get a sense of personal commitments that the person has so as to better manage your time and their time (i.e. are you married? With/without kids?)
6. Have you ever failed at anything?
- If so, how did you handle it and what did you learn? If not >> big red flag!
7. Talk about times you both did something you had never done before – how did it get handled and what was the outcome (could be technical or non-technical (e.g. I ran the internationalization of a site; I scaled a site to 5M users)?
8. The Spouse Test- given how much time you're going to spend with a cofounder, if you have a spouse or significant other you should have them meet the potential cofounder. Not only do they know you better than almost anyone and can give you a second opinion, but also they should know the person you're going to spend a lot of time with (h/t to Bobber Interactive for this one).
Working Styles and Culture – this is so important and often overlooked. Think hard about the type of company you want to build culture-wise and make sure you're aligned on how to build it.
1. If you had to come up with 3 words to describe the culture you want to create, what would they be (e.g. open, hard-working, eccentric)? Pro-tip: if you're really serious and far along go visit few office spaces together to get a sense of what each of you likes work environments wise and why.
2. What values do we want to instill in our employees?
3. If you could pick 2 things to change and two things to bring with you from your previous companies, what would they be and why?
4. How much equity are we allocating for future employees?
5. Who do we think the first 5 hires will be?
6. Describe your working style to me in a few words?
7. What are some of the products you love and why? Pro tip: this will help you get a sense for they appreciate and even aspire to – design, product, tech, biz strategy, etc.
8. How do you deal with conflict? Compromise? TIP (not even a pro one): the only real way to know this is to do a side-project or start working together. Fights are healthy, how you get through them is the question.
9. Ask for references or just back channel them! Don't be afraid to do this, it's important! We reference everyone in the FD network (yes, it's true) and we still tell members to reference their potential cofounders before tying the knot.
Roles and Responsibilities – it's great to have complementary skill sets, but there is such an immense amount of work to do at the beginning that you should make sure you agree on who is really going to own certain areas and which areas can/will be shared in the first 12-18 months.
1. What areas do you see yourself definitely wanting to be point-person on for the first 12-18 months?
- What about me?
- What are the areas you know you're not particularly good at?
2. What do you think I am best at?
- What do you think I need support for?
- How will you help me succeed?
3. How will decisions get made?
- Can you outvote me?
- Can either of us fire the other?
- If one of us gets fired, what do we leave with?
4. Why do you think we'll be good together?
5. Some of the legal stuff…
- Have you ever been fired, gone to jail, or done anything that would materially impact your time with the company?
- Do you sit on any boards of companies and do you have any conflict of interest with our project?
- Is there a 'no compete' clause that is active at this time?
- Will any of us be investing cash in the company? If so, how is this treated? (e.g. debt? convertible debt? Does it buy a different class of shares?)
6. Have you worked and/or managed diverse teams and if so, how?
7. How do you think we should give feedback to each other (and the team)?
8. Who is going to be CEO (and why)? Are we both comfortable with this?
9. What's the equity split and why? Are we both comfortable with the reasoning behind this decision?
Again, we don't recommend just going down this list in one sitting like an interview. Have several conversations, a lot of these topics should come up naturally. You'll also note, we don't have questions like "what language do you code in?" or "tell me about a deal you put together?" These questions are fine, but try to refrain from making them the focus – it will feel like a job interview. This is someone you want to be your partner, not your employee. And as exhaustive as this list might be, in order to really understand how you work with someone you have to… actually work with them. Once you've agreed you're aligned on a lot of the categories above, start a side-project, go to a hackathon (or 2). It's really the only way to tell. This list is definitely a work in progress so feel free to tweet to us - what did we leave out or which question do you wish you had asked?