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Fiscal Affairs Division
Commonwealth of Massachusetts
The Governor's Budget Recommendation
Governor's Message
When we began our first term as Governor and Lieutenant Governor in January of 1991, we decided to make balancing the budget without raising taxes one of the defining ideas of our administration. We did so for one simple reason: it is almost impossible to govern effectively if the fiscal house is out of order.
As we have successfully pursued this objective for the past five years, we have benefited from the combined wisdom of many people: small business people, service providers, consumers, state government employees, and individual taxpayers, to name just a few. We have also benefited from the collective knowledge of a Legislature that has shared our enthusiasm for fiscal prudence, and has often taken our initiatives and made them better.
The end result of this remarkable collaboration is astounding. The Commonwealth began Fiscal Year 1991 in the summer of 1990 with an opening fund deficit of $1.1 billion. We closed Fiscal Year 1991 in the summer of 1991 with a positive fund balance of $237 million. By Fiscal Year 1995, the beginning fund balance had risen to $589 million, a $1.7 billion swing over just four years. The closing balance for Fiscal Year 1995 was equally positive, totaling $726 million. The Stabilization Fund, which was empty when we took office, has a $425 million surplus five years later.
The Commonwealth has also made extraordinary progress using Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP), a more rigorous test of fiscal health than the accounting practices required by state law. At the close of Fiscal Year 1990, the Commonwealth fund balance was $1.9 billion in deficit, on a GAAP basis. By the end of Fiscal Year 1991, the GAAP deficit had been reduced to $761 million. In Fiscal Year 1995, for the first time since it started measuring its financial condition using GAAP in the mid 1980s, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts closed its books with a positive fund balance, totaling $287 million.
Along the way, we have worked with the Legislature to make an enormous amount of progress on a number of policy and programmatic fronts, including:
Managed Care Medicaid;
Workers Compensation Reform;
Welfare Reform;
MWRA Rate Relief;
Facility Consolidation;
Education Reform;
Truth-in-Sentencing; and
Bail Reform.
In addition, we have worked with the Legislature to cut taxes eleven times since 1991; the combined effect of these cuts have saved taxpayers over $700 million annually. The Massachusetts economy has responded positively to this potent combination of fiscal prudence and tax reductions by creating 180,000 new jobs since 1991, reducing our unemployment rate from 9.5 percent in March of 1991 - one of the highest in the nation - to 5.1 percent in November of 1995, which is one of the lowest.
With our fiscal house in order, we were able to ask people a very simple question: "If you could start from scratch, would you organize state government the way it is organized today, or would you change it?"
As we traveled across the Commonwealth over the course of the past six months, we asked people this question. No one said the current organization makes sense. Virtually everyone had a way to make it better, and almost no one defended the status quo: too much duplication; too few points of accountability; too much conflicting paperwork; and too many overlapping jurisdictions.
Just as important, very few people in state government, and only a handful of members of the Legislature, answered the first question affirmatively. Most believed, like their fellow citizens outside the public sector, that the current arrangement does not make a great deal of sense, does not maximize customer service, and can, at times, simply get in its own way.
Yet changing the current organization of state government will not be easy. The current structure did not happen overnight, and much of it is due to the influence of powerful interest and advocacy groups. Moving away from the status quo will require a concerted effort over several years to be fully realized, although many actions can be taken immediately. This budget document reflects a number of initiatives that can be pursued immediately, but assumes that additional consolidations and efficiencies can become operational only after other reforms occur first.
Fortunately, we begin debate around this shift in structure with the knowledge that the Legislature has supported a number of multi-year initiatives in the past, many of which were politically difficult. These include the shift toward managed care in Medicaid, education reform, and facility consolidation. This budget, and the legislative language that accompanies it, is a first step toward an operating structure for state government in Massachusetts that will properly position the Commonwealth for the turn of the century. It maximizes accountability; takes advantage of technology; prepares for federal changes around programs and funding; and eliminates administrative duplication.
More importantly, once fully implemented, this plan will save over $600 million in annual operating expenses. This makes it possible for the Commonwealth to continue to provide tax relief to its working men and women by reducing their income tax burden by $530 million, from a personal income tax rate of 5.95% today, to 5.7% in Calendar Year 1997, to 5.45% in Calendar Year 1998.
As we met with constituents, and solicited advice from others around the Commonwealth, it became clear to us that a comprehensive review of state government would have to begin with an inventory of functions, tasks, and activities. This would tell us where the overlaps, duplications, and multiple points of accountability rested, and give us an opportunity to bundle together similar functions serving similar populations under single administrative entities.
For example, dozens of state agencies issue licenses. Many use similar processes; collect similar information; and use similar enforcement mechanisms. Yet each has its own information systems, its own administrative operations, and its own distribution systems. This is not only duplicative and inefficient, it is also very customer unfriendly. For example, boats and automobiles are licensed and registered at different locations using different registration fees and different rules for payment of sale tax, even though the only significant difference between the two is that one has wheels and the other floats.
Many Executive Office of Health and Human Services (EOHHS) agencies serve the same families and the same individuals, yet there is no capacity to generate an unduplicated count of service recipients, or a comprehensive snapshot of any particular individual's interaction with the current EOHHS Secretariat and its agencies at any given point in time, or over time. In addition, many current Executive Office of Communities and Development programs serve current EOHHS clients, but there is little capacity to determine the full extent of the intersection between the two.
This fragmentation of responsibility and authority has, over the years, eroded accountability. If five or six different administrative entities are each responsible for only a piece of a transaction, each can blame the other if it doesn't get done quickly, is done poorly, or is not done at all.
Much of this year's budget proposal is designed to end this kind of fragmentation: to establish singular points of accountability for similar functions; to place responsibility for performing those functions in one place; and to enable the managers and workers assigned to these activities to deliver the highest possible level of services. This will not only make state government more efficient, it should make it more accountable to the Legislature, to the taxpayer, and to the constituencies it serves.
In fact, once we inventoried functions and program responsibilities, and built an administrative structure to support them, we discovered that the Commonwealth has far more administrative structure than it needs. So much, in fact, that it makes executing transactions more complicated and more difficult. Eliminating this administrative underbrush will make the Commonwealth's government both smaller and better.
Specifically, we believe the Commonwealth's primary objectives can be more fully realized by utilizing a smaller Cabinet structure. This will make it possible to construct clearer lines of accountability, which will, in turn, encourage more customer-focused service delivery, and better program management.
This budget proposes the elimination of five cabinet secretariats:
Communities and Development (EOCD);
Consumer Affairs (EOCA);
Economic Affairs (EOEA);
Education (EOE); and,
Labor (EOL).
A thorough review of the functions, goals and responsibilities of each of these entities did not justify continued existence. Rather than retaining a stand-alone housing and community development secretariat (EOCD), it makes more sense to place its resources with secretariats and agencies that could maximize them by leveraging other programs. For example, many of the recipients of EOCD's housing voucher program, which benefits low and moderate income individuals and families, are already receiving support and rehabilitation services from existing EOHHS agencies. Combining these funds with other programming at the proposed Executive Office of Family Services (EOFS) makes it possible for EOFS to maximize these resources. It also puts the burden of resource allocation and service coordination squarely on the EOFS Secretariat, instead of providing each Secretariat with an opportunity to blame the peculiarities of the other's operations for inappropriate decision-making.
EOCD works with local communities, but so does the current Division of Local Services (DLS) at the Department of Revenue. By combining EOCD's efforts with DLS, we can create a single entity, the Division of Municipal Services that can provide local governments with a single point of accountability for their relationships with the Commonwealth. By consolidating these activities within a division of the Department of Revenue, which is part of the Executive Office for Administration and Finance (EOAF), we can assure that the needs and concerns of local government are heard by the people who have the necessary tools to address them.
The Executive Office of Consumer Affairs oversees a variety of regulatory and administrative functions, many of which can benefit from administrative consolidation and the introduction of statewide information technology tools. Its licensing functions, however, do not need to be separate from other licensing operations at the Department of Public Safety and the Registry of Motor Vehicles. By combining these three licensing operations in one new agency, the Department of Licensing and Regulation at EOAF, it becomes possible to consolidate technology databases, and to provide citizens with one-stop shopping for many licenses and simple permits.
The Executive Office of Economic Affairs serves a useful coordination purpose, but many of its administrative functions can be more appropriately handled elsewhere. The Department of Employment and Training, for example, uses a computer system that is virtually identical to the system operated by the Department of Revenue. Each collects much of the same information (for different purposes) from many of the same businesses and individuals. It doesn't make sense to continue to manage and pay for two enormous data systems, particularly if each is interfacing, for the most part, with the same clientele.
The Executive Office of Education has also served a useful role as a policy coordinator, but it represents one of at least five entities currently managing education and training policy and programming at the state level. We believe that a unified approach to education and training ultimately makes more sense. Here, we propose only two boards: one for public higher education; and one for K-12 education and training. This assures, for the first time, coordination and cooperation across publicly financed systems around standards, priorities and missions.
Finally, the Labor Secretariat contains a number of critical programs, but these can be done successfully in other administrative settings, and do not require a separate secretariat to be accomplished.
Administration and Finance
Under this proposal, the Executive Office for Administration and Finance (EOAF) is responsible for two major functions:
Administrative responsibilities, including management support and oversight for state purchasing, human resources, and information technology functions, as well as basic licensing and permitting functions; and,
Financial responsibilities, including the coordination and oversight of all revenue collection and spending activities for state government agencies, including operating, trust, capital, and federal funds.
Organizationally, this translates into three departments:
Office of the Secretary (Fiscal Policy, Human Resources, Operational Services, Information Technologies, and Hearings and Dispute Resolution);
Revenue; and,
Licensing and Regulation.
This gives EOAF the capacity to act as one organization; to break down institutional turf; to bring similar functions together around a common administrative operation; and to take advantage of basic opportunities in information technology.
For example, under the current structure an individual who purchases a boat and a trailer and then registers them would have to:
go to a Department of Revenue office to pay sales tax on the boat;
go to a Department of Environmental Protection office to register and title the boat; and,
go to a Registry of Motor Vehicles office to register and pay sales tax on the trailer.
The Registry of Motor Vehicles would then prepare an excise tax bill for the trailer, and mail it out to the city or town in which the owner resides. The Department of Environmental Protection would also provide the municipality with an annual list of boat owners in its community. The municipality would then value the boat and prepare the excise tax bill.
Under the new structure, the individual would go to a Department of Licensing and Regulation (DLR) office to register and title the boat and the trailer, and pay the sales tax on both. The DLR would then prepare and send excise tax bills for the boat and the trailer to the individual, and notify the city or town of the transaction. This is a much simpler system to manage; requires fewer steps by the customer; and achieves a more timely transmission of relevant information.
It also relies on a more coordinated approach to information technology, something that rests at the core of much of this reorganization. This budget proposal assumes, for the first time, that the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is, in fact, a service delivery organization, and not merely an unconnected collection of programs and services. For years, state secretariats and agencies have celebrated their differences, instead of recognizing their many commonalities. The key to balancing these competing interests is shared, common information. Program managers can undertake their specialized missions, confident of overall service integration, if they work within a framework of shared information.
Today, this information sharing can and should be done electronically, and over time, it will radically alter the way state government delivers services. Between now and the year 2000, a forward-thinking, comprehensive approach to information technology can move the Commonwealth away from being a program-focused organization into becoming a citizen-focused organization. Business as usual, or with minor adjustments, will not sustain us. Private organizations are already discovering that information technology can dramatically enhance their relationships with their customers, and as the public becomes a more sophisticated consumer, our government's past inadequacy will become more and more apparent.
Under this proposal, the Information Technologies Division will review and approve annual secretariat information technology plans before any funds, operating or capital, can be applied to these initiatives. To be approved, every plan will be required to incorporate strategies for pursuing interoperability and data sharing between departmental systems, and across secretariats over a defined period of time. In addition, the Division will pursue every opportunity to consolidate mainframe systems operations and to create shared database servers.
Family Services
Perhaps no other secretariat in state government better exemplifies the need to create fewer points of accountability, more unity around program development, and a coordinated, comprehensive commitment to information technology than this one. Sixteen operating agencies serve hundreds of thousands of people and spend over $7 billion, but share no common client identification system; use multiple definitions to describe similar services; do not assign single case management responsibilities to families or individuals involved with more than one agency; have no common geographic boundaries; and have no capacity to collect management information on particular populations on a secretariat-wide basis.
While we have made significant strides in recent years to enhance the performance of many individual agencies within the existing Executive Office of Health and Human Services Secretariat, additional improvements must begin with a commitment to think about the proposed Executive Office of Family Services (EOFS) as a unified Secretariat, and not as an unorganized, uncoordinated, unconnected collection of disparate operating agencies. To continue the current way of doing business will, over time, severely restrict the Commonwealth's capacity to enhance the ways in which it serves disadvantaged populations.
We also propose to significantly reduce the number of operating agencies within the Secretariat, because many of these operations share common purposes, and the current structure actually discourages shared goals and objectives between similar agencies. Specifically we propose to consolidate the existing structure into five operating agencies: Public Health Services, Disability Services, Children's Services, Juvenile Justice, and Transitional Assistance. In addition, we propose incorporating the Office of Refugees and Immigrants into the new EOFS Secretariat, and re-naming it the Office of New Americans.
More importantly, all five agencies will have congruent regional boundaries, effective the first day of Fiscal Year 1997. A plan for consolidating regional and area office locations will be submitted to the Legislature by the end of Calendar Year 1996, with a July 1, 1997 effective date. The current structure does nothing to encourage agency workers and managers at the field level to communicate with one another in a systematic way. People have been talking about congruent area boundaries for the effective delivery of health and human services for at least a decade. It is time to implement this relatively simple, but critically important initiative.
To ensure a coordinated information technology strategy, all information technology projects will require the utilization of a common client identification number, as well as a secretariat-wide plan for interfacing with the vendor community. This will ensure that vendors that do business with more than one agency will not need to develop multiple information technology systems to satisfy agency information requests.
Finally, a number of programs currently managed by the Executive Office of Communities and Development (EOCD) will be transferred to EOFS. The Section 8 and Massachusetts Rental Voucher Program, as well as a number of special support housing programs, will be located in the Secretary's Office at EOFS. This will ensure maximum coordination with support service programs, and provide a single point of contact and accountability for these programs, many of which currently serve EOFS clients and consumers. The Executive Office of Family Services will also assume the weatherization and fuel assistance programs, which are currently managed by EOCD.
Environmental Affairs
In the end, our efforts to review and replace all existing regulations by the end of Calendar Year 1996 may have a more profound impact on environmental affairs than our budget proposal. However, this submission, which recommends the consolidation of several agencies, remains an important component of our reorganization plan.
For example, it is well known that the Department of Environmental Management (DEM) and the Metropolitan District Commission (MDC) perform a number of similar functions. In some communities, like Weymouth, DEM parks (Webb State Park) and MDC parks (Abigail Adams Park) are right next to each other, but managed by separate agencies. We recommend consolidating DEM and the MDC parks into a single Department of Parks and Recreation, thereby maximizing our capacity to manage vehicles, personnel and other field-based operations.
We also recommend combining the Department of Fisheries, Wildlife and Environmental Law Enforcement with the Department of Food and Agriculture, creating a single Department of Natural Resources. This presents a number of opportunities to maximize technology, scientific inquiry, and land and water management.
Finally, we propose combining under the Department of Transportation within the new Executive Office of Public Property, the responsibility for roads currently being maintained by either the MDC or the Massachusetts Highway Department (MHD). There are numerous places across the Commonwealth in which MDC roads are maintained alongside MHD roads, with each agency using its own road crews and equipment. It is time to put this inefficiency to an end.
Public Safety
The Public Safety Secretariat should focus solely on criminal justice, law enforcement, and emergency response. Therefore, we recommend transferring the Department of Public Safety, which is primarily a licensing and inspection operation, along with the Registry of Motor Vehicles, to the new Department of Licensing and Regulation at the Executive Office for Administration and Finance. This makes it possible to combine these operations at EOAF with the licensing functions currently located at Consumer Affairs to create one front door, and one administrative operation, around licensing and simple permits. The Bureau of Special Investigations, which investigates welfare fraud, would be transferred to the proposed Executive Office of Family Services Secretary's Office, where it would be combined with other investigative operations to create a single investigations division.
We also recommend moving adult probation and parole to the newly created Department of Criminal Justice, which combines these operations with the state and county correctional systems. This gives one agency the capacity to be completely responsible for the custody of our prison populations. This will give the Department the ability to manage all levels of custody across our existing system, thereby enhancing our classification system and improving our decision-making process.
In addition, we propose to consolidate the State Police, the Chief Medical Examiner's Office, and criminal justice training into one Department of Law Enforcement. Here too, the opportunities to integrate strategic planning, policy development, and operations into a unified, coordinated, accountable agency are numerous.
These consolidations also make it easier to coordinate the information technology projects of criminal history systems and the court system. If we ever expect the law enforcement community to behave as a system, making the right decisions at the right time with the right information, we must make a concerted effort to develop an integrated information technology infrastructure. Creating a smaller universe of appropriately linked organizations is a first step toward a truly integrated law enforcement system.
Public Property
The Public Property Secretariat will be responsible for the planning, development, repair, construction, and management of the Commonwealth's built assets, as well as its roads, bridges and other transportation infrastructure. This will be done by transferring the current Division of Capital Planning and Operations' design and construction functions to Public Property, along with the Bureau of State Office Buildings, thereby combining all of these activities under one secretariat. The Commonwealth could then optimize its utilization of equipment and management expertise; and make more coordinated decisions about capital planning and construction spending, particularly on projects that involve both infrastructure and vertical construction.
The Secretariat will also be responsible for the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA), which we propose to split into two units. The first entity will represent the traditional transit authority, but will be subject to a series of privatization initiatives, including real estate management, payroll services, bus operations, fare collections, revenue counting, and auditing functions. These initiatives, which have been implemented by similar operations across the country, will enhance the cost-effectiveness of the MBTA, while ensuring a continuing decline in the size of the Commonwealth's operating subsidy.
In addition, we propose to create a Commuter Rail Corporation, which will be responsible for the management of the Commonwealth's growing commuter rail system. Currently, this is a "privatized" service, as the MBTA contracts with Amtrak to provide commuter rail service. Creating a separate corporate entity to deal with the growing web of commuter rail routes ensures the most cost-effective and focused approach to delivering this service.
We also recommend the implementation of a series of architectural design and construction procurement reforms that would align the Commonwealth's business practices more closely with those of the private sector. Many of these reforms have been supported by a number of independent organizations, including the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation, which recently released a report on these issues entitled, "A Taxpayer's Look at a Sacred Cow: Public Sector Design in Massachusetts Two Decades After the Ward Commission."
Elder Affairs
The Executive Office of Elder Affairs is the single point of accountability for elder services. Much of its programming, which is managed primarily through Home Care Corporations, is already community-based and privatized. It also works with local Councils on Aging to support a number of locally delivered programs and services. It will also continue to provide an invaluable role to the Commonwealth as an advocate on elder issues.
Education and Training
For years, Massachusetts has had a difficult time coordinating its publicly funded education and training programs. Policy objectives and scholastic programs have often operated in isolation, or at cross-purposes. Our proposal is designed to reduce this duplication and fragmentation by creating one board for K-12 education and training programs; another board for public higher education. Over time, this will facilitate more consistency between the K-12 system and the higher education system, and will enhance communications and resource allocation decisions between the educational and training communities.
At the K-12 level, the primary focus will be on standards and performance. School systems that fail to educate their students will not be tolerated. In addition, we propose to give the new board the ability to pursue more flexible mechanisms for certifying teachers to ensure that schools and students have a wider range of potential teachers to choose from. We also propose to give every child's parents a chance to choose which public school his or her child will attend, by creating a statewide open enrollment policy for K-12 students. In addition, we plan to offer low-income students tuition reimbursement certificates if they wish to attend a private school, provided that the private school is willing to become a Charter School.
We also recommend consolidating about 25 categorical programs into one block grant, to be distributed to communities by the Board of Education and Training. We propose that 75% of the block grant must be spent by school districts on programs such as early childhood education, after-school programs, or talented and gifted programs.
Finally, to give local officials more flexibility, we propose to eliminate the current mandates concerning school governance (elected school committees, etc.), replacing them with language that allows each city and town to develop its own school governance structure, with the approval of the Board of Education and Training.
We also propose to consolidate most training programs under the Board of Education and Training, consistent with our belief that training is, in fact, another point on the continuum of life-long learning. This will give us far more capacity to manage the relationship between training and education, and also position the Commonwealth to maximize its use of federal funds when the federal government follows through with its intent to block grant much of its training money.
In public higher education, we propose to give a significant amount of management authority to the Board of Higher Education, thereby making it possible for the Board to begin to manage public higher education as a system, instead of as a series of unconnected, uncoordinated campuses. This current lack of coordination has created program overlap and duplication, inappropriate allocation of resources, and little program accountability to the Commonwealth at the campus level. We believe this kind of coordinated effort is critical for the public higher education system to succeed.
County Government
For years, a quiet debate has gone on concerning the appropriate role of county government. In some areas of the Commonwealth, regional collaboration makes sense, and cities and towns that wish to engage in this kind of activity should do so. However, there is little justification for a separate arm of government sandwiched between the Commonwealth and its cities and towns, particularly when so much of what county government does is already financed by state and city government.
Our proposal, which would be phased in over several years, consolidates many county functions with similar state functions, but gives cities and towns that are interested in retaining certain regional services the capacity to do so.
Specifically, county corrections would be combined with state corrections operations, although the sheriffs would retain their current standing as elected officials. The Commonwealth would absorb the county court system, which, for all intents and purposes, it already pays for.
Registries of Deeds, primarily because of their small size, have never been able to take advantage of the technology that is currently available to support their operations. As a consolidated operation in the Secretary of State's office, planned in conjunction with the Information Technologies Division, the economies of scale and the information technology opportunities are enormous.
Finally, to ignore the ongoing financial and operational difficulties facing county government is to risk both fiscal and programmatic disaster several years from now. If people think our plan is too complex or too aggressive, we would be more than willing to work on a consensus approach that can prevent a very significant problem from crashing down on the Commonwealth several years from now.
We acknowledge the complexity of this proposal. This is due, in many ways, to the enormously tangled administrative and programmatic web that county government represents. The outcome, over time, will be less complexity, more uniformity, and less reliance on a political infrastructure that has little relevance in the Massachusetts of the 1990s.
Civil Service
In 1993, the National Commission on State and Local Public Service called for an end to civil service, arguing, among other things, that it is so rule-bound and complicated that "merit is often the last value served." Most public sector managers, and many other public sector employees, would agree wholeheartedly with this characterization. The inflexible, process-oriented core of civil service makes it difficult to hire talented individuals, and makes it almost impossible to fire incompetent personnel.
Test-taking may have had value at some point in time, but the civil service process of the 1990s often makes it harder to hire appropriately qualified individuals. Many exams do not test the skills and abilities required for today's most important positions, and the procedure can turn relatively routine hiring activities into boondoggles.
More importantly, the vast majority of civil service employees are already covered by collective bargaining agreements, which establish terms and conditions of employment. All civil service offers most employees is another set of rules and regulations, some of which include lifetime tenure, which can be manipulated by poorly performing employees to protect their job status.
While our budget document appears to propose only $16.74 billion in Fiscal Year 1997 spending, this is due primarily to accounting changes associated with block grants at the federal level. Using Fiscal Year 1996 accounting conventions, we are proposing $17.36 billion in spending for Fiscal Year 1997, a $425 million, or 2.5% increase over anticipated Fiscal Year 1996 spending. Our tax revenue estimate is conservative. We expect tax revenues to grow by less than 4% next year, due, in part, to the implementation of the so-called "single sales factor" methodology for manufacturing and defense firms. Overall, we anticipate modest non-tax revenue growth, and we have incorporated the first phase of the Weld/Cellucci Administration's $530 million cut in the personal income tax. This income tax rate reduction, from 5.95% today to 5.70% in Calendar Year 1997, is worth $133 million in Fiscal Year 1997.
For budgeting purposes, we assume that the federal government will implement block grants for Medicaid and public welfare. While the numbers associated with this assumption are certainly fluid, it is quite likely that our estimates will, in fact, represent a worst case scenario. It is highly unlikely that federal support will decline from currently projected levels as the budget debate goes forward, and quite possible that federal support will actually increase.
We calculate finishing Fiscal Year 1997 with a $23 million surplus, based on these assumptions, and presume rolling $100 million in federal Medicaid funds forward into Fiscal Year 1998 to support any contingency obligations.
Most of the state spending increases proposed in this budget represent bipartisan, multi-year commitments, such as the fourth year of education reform and the third year of the so-called "lottery cap phase-out," under which the Commonwealth allocates a larger percentage of state lottery profits to cities and towns over a five-year period. Other increases are predetermined by funding schedules, such as School Building Assistance, debt service and pension payments; and caseload driven accounts, such as Transitional Aid to Families with Dependent Children (TAFDC), Emergency Aid to the Elderly, Disabled, and Children (EAEDC), Supplemental Security Income (SSI), and Medicaid. By themselves, these nine programs account for a $500 million increase in Fiscal Year 1997 spending over anticipated Fiscal Year 1996 spending.
In addition, we believe we should keep all of our commitments. First, we are proposing a $15 million increase in Fiscal Year 1997 to support social workers, foster care services, and adoption services at the Department of Children's Services. We are also requesting a $20 million increase for the courts and District Attorneys, and $15 million for the Department of Criminal Justice, consistent with our support for law enforcement and criminal justice. To support our welfare reform efforts, we are asking for an additional $50 million in child care funding, divided among low income, working families; and TAFDC families who are working or are in education or training programs. Other adjustments, such as anticipated collective bargaining agreements, domestic violence programs, AIDS funding, regional school transportation, and wage increases for direct care workers in vendor programs, add another $125 million.
The reorganization proposals put forth in this document reduce Fiscal Year 1997 budgeted spending by over $300 million, making many of these initiatives possible. Over two fiscal years, other downsizing initiatives, such as our proposal to manage the Commonwealth's participation in the federal Supplemental Security Income program (SSI), and the savings on contract assistance associated with MBTA privatization initiatives, will generate an additional $350 million in savings, more than enough to support the second phase of the income tax cut.
This tax cut is modest, is phased in over time, and represents a significant opportunity to give something back to the hardworking people of this Commonwealth.
Many management texts talk about structure following strategy. In state government, structure is strategy. The Commonwealth doesn't have 101 operating agencies and 11 cabinet secretariats by accident. Over time, people have solved problems by creating new structures to deal with them, instead of fixing the operating issues affecting the ones that already existed. This makes the process by which the Executive Branch currently develops policy and executes transactions quite colorful to observe, but it hardly represents a forward-thinking approach to holding managers and workers accountable for their actions and responsible for getting things done.
It also contradicts fundamental rules about managing large, complex organizations in an information technology age.
This Administration is quite proud of the bipartisanship that has accompanied many of the most significant accomplishments of the past five years. Here is an opportunity to work together to leave a legacy that can prepare state government for the turn of the century. The strategic and operational objectives of this initiative are fairly straightforward. If the Legislature has a better way to achieve similar goals associated with any of these proposals, we welcome the opportunity to discuss these issues as we work together with them to achieve these goals.
Working together, we have already made an enormous difference. We look forward to this unique opportunity to further our progress.
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Looking through back copies of local newspapers we have tried to find out a bit more about David Chalmers Buik.
My earliest recollection of "Granpa Buik" was on Hogmanay 1922. My grandfather was a bookbinder and had worked most of his life with Burns and Harris. He was a well-known personality in Dundee. Long past my bedtime and wrapped up in my winter outdoor clothes, I sat along with all my maternal relations in the kitchen of my grandparents' home in Dundee. We were awaiting a programme from 2LO, the radio broadcasting station in London.
Granpa – whose full name was David Chalmers Buik, Snr – had constructed his own colossal four-valve wireless set at a cost of £40. I've been led to believe it was only the second in Dundee. He had managed to complete it in time to tune in to London for a performance of "The Messiah".
We sat shivering by his kitchen window in Peddie Street, which for reasons of frequent urgent adjustments to the aerial had to be left open, while Granpa twiddled with knobs and coils. At last, through much oscillation, variations in pitch could be heard coming from the direction of a trumpet-shaped loudspeaker. We sat spellbound although I doubt very much if Handel could have recognised his "Hallelujah Chorus".
Radio was to become my grandfather's chief hobby for the next few years, and after completing his huge desk-like set, he began to accumulate several sets of earphones. He placed these throughout the house, providing the home with an internal communication system as well as the amenity of not having to go to the kitchen to hear the wireless programmes.
It was a thrill for me to be allowed to stay overnight with my grandparents, but I wonder if they realised that when I was supposed to be asleep I was all agog with the earphones on, listening to the conversation of the grown-ups in the kitchen.
Grandpa had many hobbies in his lifetime. On one occasion when he had to take a business trip to London in connection with an indexing machine which he had invented, he took his sons with him so that they could visit a great exhibition in London. There they were intrigued by a display of box kite. On returning home he at once set about constructing his own models, which he flew at the "Coup", the area upon which Riverside Drive is now situated.
His kites became the all-absorbing hobby, each one being larger and more intricate then its predecessor, until one day he was able to insert a light into his latest effort. Accompanied by an excited gathering of his family and friends, he set out once more to the riverside for the test, this time after dark. Unfortunately, the war clouds were gathering over Europe and people were becoming nervous and apprehensive.
It was, therefore, little wonder that the residents overlooking the Magdalen Green panicked at the sight of the moving light in the sky. I have been told that the headlines in the papers the following day ran: "Strange Craft Seen Over Dundee"!
One explanation of the surname Buik is that it is the old Scottish name for book, and it may be no coincidence that for generations there had been either printers or bookbinders in the family. It was due to his association with Burns and Harris that another of his hobbies – photography – was recognised in the city.
He made several of his own cameras, including a stereoscopic version, and always developed his own photographs. This camera produced two photographs which, when looked at through a special viewer, produced a 3-D effect. After he had succeeded in photographing a large silver prize cup by steaming it first, when the shine had baffled other photographers, requests for his services came from many quarters. He took a vast panoramic view of Dundee from Keiller's tower, and D.M. Brown set aside a room for his use as a studio when he photographed the models for the Christmas and "white" sales.
He was widowed early in his life, but he looked after his seven children along for some years before he remarried. He realised that his financial resources would never allow for extended formal education for them, and so at an early age they were introduced to the wonders of nature, the thrills of anticipation and investigation, and thereby shown the way to self-education.
The Courier and Advertiser, Thursday October 22nd, 1970
« Go to Panorama « Go to Text Only Version « Go to Stereoscopy
During the winters of his widowhood Granpa Buik – full name – David Chalmers Buik, Sen., of Dundee – held "making sessions" with the whole family before bedtime come. He had purchased a knitting machine, and while he sat making the family jerseys, the girls got on with their allotted tasks, and the boys their studies. But there was always the break for stories and fun.
My grandfather's pride in his family forbade him to accept and social invitation which excluded any of his children, and I have often heard my elders tell of their walking to Lochee to visit friends, while passers-by stopped to count them. My grandfather, a well-known character in Dundee for more than 50 years until his death in 1936, always hoped his sons would follow his example of indulging in hobbies.
Our concerted effort by the male members of the family was the setting up of a "factory" for making model yachts. Needless to say, the factory was the kitchen, while the store-room was the parlour. When it was fully stocked, a regatta took place on Stobsmuir pond. To occupy his time, he bought a little newsagent's shop in the Hawkhill, and among the hundred and one goods which he stocked were classical gramophone records. Potential customers were allowed to hear a larger number before making any selection. Indeed, he did not care whether or not he sold them. His back shop became a recital room.
Before he acquired the shop Granpa possessed a motor bike and sidecar. Now he deemed it necessary to have a solo bike as well. His doctor tactfully suggested that it might be better to have a small car instead of the two vehicles, but my grandfather firmly declared that a car was only for old men. When he decided to overhaul it, the kitchen became the centre of activity. Every piece was thoroughly inspected, cleaned and oiled before the engine was re-assembled. Granpa, with all the impatience of a genius, forgot where he was, and started up the engine to test it out! Off it went with a roar, and down came Granma's dinner services from the shelves, ending up in smithereens on the floor. When the roar died away, knockings could be heart from the outside door at the end of the long lobby. On opening it, Granpa was confronted by the landlord, who lived immediately below and who was exceedingly hard to placate.
Among the many relics of his active life are a number of poems and a bundle of sermons. The latter date as far back when, at the age of 19, he belonged to a sect which disapproved of paid ministers. Selected members took turns in "exhorting the brethren" and young Mr Buik had been one of those who were chosen to undertake the task. Judging by his earliest sermons, all of which were methodically dated, he had accepted the responsibility with the greatest enthusiasm. As time went on, however, he began to ponder over the narrow outlook of his Church, and voiced his opinion about it. His brethren were scandalised at him and he was promptly escorted to the front door, where a ceremony of excommunication took place. With the following words: "David Buik" – pronounced Daavid Booeek – "we solemnly lock you out of the Kingdom of Heaven". The great key was turned and he was left outside. Years later, the locker-out and the locked-out were reunited to laugh over the incident, but my grandfather never sought readmittance there.
Although my grandfather did not appear to evince much interest in his grandchildren, my last memory of him was at the old West Station whence he had come to see me off on the train which was taking me to Glasgow to embark on my music studies. When I sat my first examinations he was dying in Dundee Royal Infirmary and as soon as their results were published I felt prompted to post them to him in the Infirmary instead of to my parents. A nurse called later at my home with the slip of paper which she had found tucked inside the jacket of his pyjamas after he was dead.
By Mary Esplin Olsen
The Courier and Advertiser, Friday October 23rd, 1970
« Go to Panorama « Go to Text Only Version « Go to Stereoscopy
Death of Mr David C. Buik.
Old friends in the bookbinding and printing trade in Dundee will learn with regret of the death of Mr David C. Buik, 26 Birthwood Place, Logie, which took place yesterday in Dundee Royal Infirmary.
Mr Buik was one of the original members of the staff of Burns and Harris Ltd., when the firm was founded 50 years ago. The firm celebrated its jubilee the day before his death.
A skilful bookbinder, Mr Buik was foreman of that department of the firm's activities for many years, ultimately leaving to start business on his own account. For a few years he occupied premises in the Old Town House Buildings, High Street. Later he was associated with his daughter, Miss Annie Buik, is a tobacconist's and newsagent's business at 207 Hawkhill.
In his younger days Mr Buik was well-known in musical circles as a tenor singer. He is survived by his daughter and two sons, one of whom is employed by Burns and Harris.
Saturday May 30th, 1936
« Go to Panorama « Go to Text Only Version « Go to Stereoscopy

subset: commoncrawl


text:
The Trouble With RSSApril 29, 2006 - 4:42pm — bex
I've had a love/hate relationship with RSS Feeds (and their cousin Atom) for some time...
These feeds are great for blogs, and occasionally other web sites. They are also useful for pushing simple content from one web server to another. However the current technology suffers from several serious limitations that will delay its widespread adoption.
I put together the RSS Feeds samples for Stellent. Some was my own work from years ago, but most was a formalization of samples I collected from several developers (and non developers) at Stellent.
I love RSS feeds for some things. I like publishing server error logs as RSS feeds so I get instant notification when anything bad happens. Its a great way to syndicate your log files, which is a good best-practice for security. I also like being able to define a search, and save the results as a feed. Its a quick and easy way for non-administrators to set up their own subscriptions.
A coworker loves RSS so much that he hardly visits our intranet site anymore: he gets feeds of all content checked-in by his team, his workflow items, etc. I'm not that gung ho yet...
However, integrating RSS tightly with the Content Server was a bit frustrating. I bumped head-first into several significant problems and limitations in RSS that I believe will slow its widespread adoption. Maybe I'm being nit-picky, but when WebDAV originally reared its head, we were not vocal enough about its limitations. Some people got caught up in the fever and though it was the ideal and only way to implement enterprise content management.
As it turns out... not so much.
RSS has even bigger limitations than WebDAV. The OPML extension to RSS addresses some of these, but not all. Despite the limitations, RSS is easy to set up and can greatly increase your productivity... so you should plan on implementing something with RSS this year.
But be warned... don't buy into the hype just yet. And if you already have, allow me to crush your spirits by presenting my list of the top five major problems with RSS:
One: Most RSS Readers are Just Plain Awful
I don't want to point fingers here... RSS is a simple format, as such everybody and his dog decided to prove they were cool by creating an open source RSS reader. Most of them aren't worth the bandwidth they cost to download. A handful of commercial readers are better, such as NetNewsWire (the very first reader), but I feel that every one of them is either too clunky or too buggy for the average user.
Precious few readers support multibyte languages. It takes too many clicks to add a new feed, and when you do the folder structures are counterintuitive. Many of them don't even support the RFC 822 date format that is mandated in the RSS specification. I've had to munge date formats to get certain readers to parse them at all.
Many of them have a hard time telling one feed item from another. They usually use the LINK element as the global identifier. This is fine if you have a blog, but not if you want one web page to have multiple feed listings. Depending on your reader, you may have to munge up a fake URL just to get them to display new data.
Despite the fact that RSS was popularized by blogs, and seems specifically designed for blogs, even bloggers avoid it. According to the 2005 Blogads survey:
"Only 12 percent of the blog reading audience said it used RSS always or often."
Might this have something to do with the poor quality of the currently available readers???
UPDATE: The 2006 Blogads survey was about the same, only 11% use RSS always or often. The number of people who use RSS occasionally got a slight bump: from 17% to 19%. Still not stellar numbers.
Microsoft has promised to incorporate RSS feed support into their next major release of Outlook. But will it be a good RSS reader, or just fulfill the minimum requirements for "buzzword compliance"? That remains to be seen.
I believe that Outlooks's RSS reader will need to be hands-down superior to all other RSS readers available to have any impact whatsoever. Otherwise, it wont be used. The geeky amongst us will use our alternate readers, and the standard business users will continue to ignore RSS entirely.
My favorite reader (despite several extremely wacky design choices), is Bloglines. It is a web application, not a heavy client, nor a plug-in to your email software. Because it aggregates the feeds on the same web page, its easy to scan for items of interest.
Using it has enabled me to fly through about 50 feeds per day. This is mainly because its UI is so weird that one wrong click will delete all your feeds before you even get a chance to read them...
...and it's STILL the best RSS reader I've found.
That makes me sad.
Two: There is no Concept of Revisioning or Updates for Items
The RSS 2.0 specification supports what's called the GUID element. This allows you to set a globally unique ID for your feed item. This bypasses problems with requiring unique URLs for each feed item. The ATOM format has a similar element.
However, neither RSS, nor RDF, nor ATOM supports the concept of revisioning a feed item. In the real world, content needs at least two identifiers: one that is shared between all revisions of the item, and one for each specific revision.
If you have ever tried to consume RSS feeds from Reuters, you know how painful this limitation is.
You see, Reuters updates its news articles any time they make a minor addition or correction. But it is vital to keep the older stories on the site and in the feed since they are all "official" news releases. If they did otherwise, they would be accused of trying to re-write history, like some lesser organizations are prone to do.
Since RSS doesn't support grouping by revision, you sometimes get the same news article in your feed three or four times. The full story is different, but the summary in the RSS is completely the same. This is extremely annoying when you are trying to speed-read your feeds to get the day's news. This isn't Reuter's fault, the limitation is in RSS.
Three: Feeds Cannot Contain Other Feeds
Now this one REALLY bugs me.
Why can't I say "here's a feed item, and here's a link to another RSS feed of related items." Or why not "here's a list of all the feeds on my site, and when they were last updated." Or how about "This file contains all the RSS feeds that I subscribe to." Is it me? Am I asking for too much, here?
OPML allows you to create a list of RSS feeds, but its very limited. It doesn't support timestamps for when those feeds were last updated. Plus, why should we need yet another XML format? How about we get one right, and standardize on that?
Jeez... I have to say, if you aren't going to support the 'E' in XML (eXtensible Markup Language), why use XML at all? Just make RSS a bunch of tab-delimited text files, and be done with it. Then at least you'd have an excuse for the flatness of the format.
Four: RSS does not Scale Well
I recall an article in 2003 about how RSS feeds might help stem problems with spam. The author predicted that web sites will begin offering monthly newsletters, sale offers, coupons, etc., as RSS feeds instead of email. This way users do not have to give their email address to receive notifications. They would ping the RSS feed every hour (perhaps more often) to see if new data is available.
This is the "pull" model, similar to web pages. This is the opposite of the "push" model, used in email and instant messaging. Advertisers and spammers love the latter, but consumers prefer the former.
Imagine if telephones gave you this option... then telemarketers would have to wait for you to call them! Not a bad idea... but it wouldn't work very well if everybody decided to do it.
For example, my main airline (Northwest) offers RSS Feeds about airfare specials. Instead of giving Northwest your email address -- which they already have if you buy eTickets -- you subscribe to their feed to get notices about cheap tickets.
Hmmmmm... so instead of sending out 1 million emails once a week, Northwest could instead have 1 million people hitting their web site EVERY TEN MINUTES... and download the same file each time.
When Northwest finally puts a new item in the feed, then at last there is something new to download! But of course, you do not just download the one new item. Oh no. You must download the entire file, which contains one new item and twenty older items that you downloaded a hundred times already.
This doesn't sound like a winning strategy.
I recall when Slashdot first offered RSS feeds, we couldn't download them at Stellent. Initially, their feeds were dynamically generated. In an attempt to prevent the Slashdot effect on Slashdot, they blocked access if someone from your IP address downloaded the feed ten minutes prior. Of course, if you were behind a web proxy or had Network Address Translation, all your IP addresses looked the same to Slashdot... so only a lucky few could read the feeds.
This sent Alec off on one of his anti-NAT rants, but that's another story.
Of course these days Slashdot publishes their RSS feeds to static files... which allows the web server to time-stamp check the file for you. If your RSS reader obeys HTTP caching headers (which is a BIG if), then this performance hit isn't so bad. But when the file changes, you will still download a file that contains mostly data that you already have.
Five: Most Content Is Not Created With RSS In Mind
Ever notice the difference between RSS feeds from newspapers, and the ones from bloggers?
Newspapers work extremely hard to make sure they use good headlines for their articles. There is simply too much information these days, and almost nobody reads an entire newspaper. They scan for articles of interest based on the headline, or at most the first paragraph.
This effort translates very well into the RSS model: quick punchy titles, quick summaries, and a link to find out more.
Most bloggers on the other hand have headlines like OMG! or WFT?! or possibly ROTFL! These may be fine for email, but that's only because your audience will probably read your message regardless of the title. However, if one of those were the title to an RSS article, I'd probably skip it.
I have too many feeds and emails to read in a day. If you cannot get to the point in your title, then you certainly wont get to the point in the rest of the article... so it's probably a total waste of my time.
The problem is that its extremely difficult to write good headlines, and good first paragraphs. This is more of a social problem than a technological problem... but it significantly reduces the value of your RSS feeds. Unless your articles have verbose titles, and coherent summaries in the first paragraph, they will not make good RSS feeds no matter what technology you use.
Six: Polling A Web Server Means Lost Messages
Face facts, folks... Syndication feeds lose data.
Lets assume you check a RSS feed once per day, and it is configured to display the latest 10 articles. Fine... one problem: today they had a whole ton of activity, and posted 20 articles in one day.
Result? You have lost half of the relevant data. Do you really want to use something like this for a mission critical application?
The entire reason why asynchronous messaging is popular, is because things like polling are not robust enough, and do not guarantee a decent quality of services. This is why people invented things like XMPP/Jabber and Active MQ Messaging Service.
Despite the buzz, I doubt that RSS will make much of an impact until Microsoft has a decent implementation built into Outlook. It will remain a toy for geeks and bloggers until its as scalable and easy to use as email.
If the past is any indicator, Microsoft will do one of two things:
- Put a clunky, buggy, and feature poor RSS reader into Outlook.
- Say "nuts to the specifications," and invent a proprietary extension to
RSS, then implement that very well. It will have lots of bells and whistles
that few people will use, except virus writers.
I'm betting on #2. There's just too much buzz about RSS for Microsoft to think its OK to drop the ball on this one. And if anybody from Microsoft is reading this, please cram the following extensions down everybody's throat:
- The concept of a revision ID, as well as a feed item ID.
- Feed items that either are, or contain, 'child RSS feeds.'
- Timstamp support in 'child feeds' stating when they were last generated, so
readers only have to check one file to see what feeds to download.
After these core technological problems are fixed, RSS will be worthy of its buzz. Then we can move on to the next big problem with RSS feeds: getting bloggers to write about something interesting.
The Trouble With RSS | Bex Huff
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For 3 days i am trying to set the firewall rules to allow VPN PPTP connection over the WAN
interface. I know the VPN server is properly configure because when i uncheck "Block private
networks" under Interface/WAN configuration, everything work fine. So i tired different rules and
NAT to allow connection to bypass the "Block private networks" but nothing seem to work. Also i
check the logs while attempting a connection and the firewall seem to block port that i made special
rules to allows access!
I tried to copy that example (http://doc.m0n0.ch/handbook/faq-webGUI-from-WAN.html) which allow
access to the firewall webui from wan (of course i change the settings, port 1723 and gre proto) but
no success
Did anyone know the trick to enable that feature without compromise security ?


text:
Please, please, please just try to enjoy and appreciate Lionel Messi's greatness
Published June 27, 2016
Lionel Messi missed a penalty kick in the Copa America final and Argentina came up short in another major tournament. Messi cried, quit the national team and incited a social-media hate storm. But let's not forget: He's amazing, and his greatness should be cherished.


text:
Welcome to Cascadia Big Band
Cascadia Big Band is a 17 piece community jazz big band comprised of serious musicians from the Seattle area. The type of music we play consists of post-swing era Big Band music with great instrumentals and some dance and vocal tunes (featuring big band music of Woody Herman, Stan Kenton, Count Basie, Thad Jones, Mel Lewis, Kenny Clarke, Francy Boland Big Band, etc.) We play community festivals, clubs/restaurants, public gatherings, parties, and the occasional flash mob. Some of the venues that we regularly perform at include: Tula's, Ballard Locks, Third Place Commons, Crossroads Bellevue, etc.
Contact Us
Contact us either
by e-mail at firstname.lastname@example.com, or
by phone at (206)618-5000


text:
Brick Man Dies In Route 88 Accident
A Brick Township 25-year-old is dead and a Lakewood man is injured in a morning-rush three-car crash on Route 88 in the township. Police say it was about 8:30AM when Stephen Jackson's car collided with Tonya McWade's SUV which hit an icy patch and spun into his oncoming lane. Jackson's car ricocheted into a utility pole and McWade's vehicle lurched into a car driven by Tsvi Kugler.
Neither McWade nor her daughters were hurt.


text:
Frank Charles Neill
Missing since February 1, 1985 from Orange County, California.
Classification: Endangered Missing
Vital Statistics
Circumstances of Disappearance
Neill was last seen on February 1, 1985. He apparently fell from his skiff. Coast Guard helicopters searched a 215-square-mile area west of Dana Point but failed to find any trace of Frank Neill.
Neill's 14-foot boat was found circling with its engine running about 10 miles west-southwest of Dana Point.
He has been declared presumed dead but his body has not been recovered.
Investigators Orange County Sheriffs Department
If you have any information concerning this case, please contact:
Orange County Sheriffs Department
Agency Case Number: 85-02913
NCIC Number: M-581355671 Source Information:
Please refer to this number when contacting any agency with information regarding this case.
California Department of Justice
Los Angeles Times
Source Information:


text:
Wendell Cox Blames Planners for Housing Crisis
Matthew Strozier of the Wall Street Journal covers a report by Cox for the National Center for Policy Analysis, in which Cox argues that "[t]he housing price bubble was concentrated in areas with restrictive land use policies."
Strozier summarizes the report: "Mr. Cox argues that the housing bust was concentrated in 'prescriptively regulated' areas, or those with extensive barriers to development. These differ from 'responsively regulated' metro areas, which allow development to meet demand."
Patrick Phillips of the Urban Land Institute is brought in to represent the pro-smart growth side. He says, "...it's specious to pin the housing bubble on smart growth."


text:
Given name: 愛生Family name: 豊崎
Alternate names: Sphere, スフィア
Birthday: Oct 28, 1986Website: http://www.toyosakiaki....
Member Favorites: 5,709
Hometown: Tokushima, Japan
Blood type: AB
Height: 169cm
One of the members of Seiyuu Group, Sphere
Note: She voiced young Tetsudo Hisakawa & Kazuki Aihara
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Seiyuu Unit Sphere Enters Hiatus
Mar 4, 5:55 AM by tsubasalover | Discuss (22 comments)
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text:
My doctor says the rooth canal tooth(left lower molar) that had a crown 6 months ago has to come out as it appears to be a fracture in the bone according to the x-ray and suggests implants. I cannot afford for implant and I do not like them. Since, wisdom tooth is right behind the tooth that need to be removed- is it possible to move the tooth with braces if ther is very tiny amount of bone loss? Please tell if it is ok to leave the gap if braces is impossible. I am 39 years old./
Need a Tooth Pulled and Can't Afford Implant, Would Braces Help Fill the Gap?
Doctor Answers 1
Closing lost tooth space with braces.
It is definitely possible to close the missing tooth space with braces. It is especially good that you still have the third molar behind it because that probably can be moved forward also. You need the whole situation evaluated by an ADA recognized orthodontic specialist. If there are other tooth alignment issues they can be taken care of during the orthodontic treatment also. Since the space is large it may be necessary to use some "temporary anchorage devices" also called "mini implants" for a short time to "anchor" the front teeth so they don't get pulled back while the back teeth are being pulled forward to close the space. I have been an orthodontist for over 35 years and it has only been during the last 5 to 7 years that we have been able to do this. It is a great improvement . The small "mini implants" will be taken out after the space has been closed.
These answers are for educational purposes and should not be relied upon as a substitute for medical advice you may receive from your physician. If you have a medical emergency, please call 911. These answers do not constitute or initiate a patient/doctor relationship.


text:
[Date Index]
[Thread Index]
[Author Index]
Re: Hole/Disk function
Let Mathematica do more of the work: Use Boole, e.g.:
holeyDisk[{x_,y_},holeSize_] :=Boole[x^2+y^2<=holeSize^2]
I made holeSize an additional parameter to holeyDisk rather than leave
it global. It's often safer and clearer to make all parameters
explicit like that.
If you prefer, you could use the form holeyDisk[x,y,holeSize], with
three arguments, instead of the two I used, where the first is a list of
the coordinates.
You could, if you wished, make holeSize optional by specifying some
default value, e.g.:
holeyDisk[{x_, y_}, holeSize_: 1] := Boole[x^2 + y^2 <= holeSize^2]
Note my use of x^2+y^2,=holeSize^2 so as to avoid taking the square
root. Probably of very little consequence in practice, but my intuition
is that calculating squares is more efficient than calculating square
roots. (I just tested doing tht with 100,000 random reals between 0 and
1, and there a difference on the order of 0.02 seconds.)
Mathieu G wrote:
> Hello,
> Is there a better way to define a Disk/Hole function than that?:
> DHole[x_, y_] := If[Sqrt[x^2 + y^2] <= HoleSize, 1, 0];
> I would like to use it for a convolution using the definition as shown
> in http://oldsite.vislab.usyd.edu.au/CP3/Four5/mod2-01.gif
> Best regards,
Murray Eisenberg murray at math.umass.edu
Mathematics & Statistics Dept.
Lederle Graduate Research Tower phone 413 549-1020 (H)
University of Massachusetts 413 545-2859 (W)
710 North Pleasant Street fax 413 545-1801
Amherst, MA 01003-9305


text:
Proteus is a game about exploration and immersion in a dream-like island world where the soundtrack to your play is created by your surroundings. The primary means of interaction is simply your presence in the world and how you observe it.
Each unique, procedurally generated island is home to shy creatures, tranquil valleys and enchanted ruins.
• A melodic, meditative space to explore, with many subtle secrets to discover.
• Dynamic soundtrack by award-winning composer David Kanaga follows the mood of the world.
• A distinctive 2D-but-3D graphical style with wild shifting palettes that sits somewhere between 8-bit videogames and modernist painting.
• Save system encodes world data into postcards, allowing islands to be saved and revisited.
Purchasing this content entitles you to both the PS3 system and PS Vita system versions!
1 player
HDTV screen resolution: 720p
Network Features
Software subject to license (us.playstation.com/softwarelicense). Online activity subject to Terms of Services and User Agreement (www.playstationnetwork.com/terms-of-service). One time license fee entitles play on up to 2 PlayStation® 3 systems activated by this account.
Proteus ™ and © Ed Key and David Kanaga. Licensed by Curve Digital.


text: YouTube [ Guy Uses Unusual Body Part to Hold a Roman Candle [VIDEO] By Jeremy Taylor November 9, 2011 | GuySpeed.com Firework pranks never seem like a good idea. Even when they go according to plan. Read More Category: Audio / Videos / Photos Tags: body, roman candle Send to a friend! Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Pin it! Reddit This! Share on Tumblr!


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09593094, Wheel
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This is a wheel for Cadillac cars. This wheel fits 18 General Motors car models which have been manufactured for US market. This part is genuine General Motors part with GM OEM part number 09593094.
This wheel has manufacturer's warranty and 100% fits for General Motors cars. Wheel is made of top quality materials, it passed not only all manufacturer's tests but also General Motors quality control and, has to endure rough road conditions over a long time.
In spite of higher price of genuine parts buying GM genuine wheel will be a smart decision, because you will be absolutely sure that GM genuine wheel will serve you longer and will provide maximum safety and performance.
16x7 (silver) (16x7) (code rrh)
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- Wheel 09593095
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Consultancy and support
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United brings more than sixty years experience to tackle some of the trickiest issues of our time:
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I'm late, I'm late, for a vastly essential mean solar day. No instance to say "hello", "goodbye", I'm late, I'm late, I'm late!
Have you of all time textile resembling the White Rabbit in Alice in Wonderland? Rushing from one thing to the subsequent next to no circumstance to sleep or relax? If so, maybe what you entail is a few juncture guidance.


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As author and publisher of the Cruising Guide to New Caledonia I get to meet most of the superyachts that come to New Caledonia. Like most of the photographers on 360Cities.net I am a techno freak trying to push the leading edge of photography into the future. So I am truly impressed by the astonishing examples of nautical engineering that surrounds me when I step aboard one of these big vessels at the Port Sud Marina Not only are superyachts renditions of beauty, they must be fully functional sea faring vessels in any kind of seas anywhere in the world. Part of their allure is their outward appearing immunity to entropy. They rarely get old or worn out. This illusion is due to the diligent efforts of their crews and the temperament of their owners.
The crew aboard a superyacht live a strange life - stretched between absolute luxury in the Planet's most beautiful seas and constant hard work keeping entropy at bay - washing and polishing whenever the vessel can tie to a wharf, restocking supplies, fixing every blemish as soon as it appears, wiping every trace of oil from the engine room, arranging the dining table and every meal to be a work of art suitable for the magic surroundings every night, restocking, supplying, fixing, trimming, plotting routes, navigating with zero error, organising diving and surfing activities in truly remote locations and above it all - always - being trusted, patient, pleasant, and friendly to the owner(s) and guests. They are happy and nice about being nit-picking fanatics. I am as impressed by the span of their balance as much as I am by the resulting glory of the castles of the sea they sail every day. Of course the crew undergoes rigorous training programs for certification aboard superyachts and they must pass before hard-eyed examiners to get their tickets. But the REAL test of their abilities is maintaining their precarious social niche during the day to day joy-rides where all must be kept running smoothly and perfectly despite any frustrations. They can survive most of the vicissitudes the sea and ship throw at them but should they fail even once to maintain the honour and respect due the guests, owners and the ship, they are history at the next landfall.
努美阿是南太平洋岛国新喀里多尼亚的首府和度假旅游中心。虽然这是一座"法国"城市,但其91000名居民却有着非常复杂的文化背景,法国、美拉尼西亚、波利尼西亚、印尼、越南等文化在这里交相辉映。新喀里多尼亚 60% 以上的人口居住在努美阿。 努美阿是一个位于大地岛西南端的半岛,其中央商业区(市中心)毗邻南太平洋最好的天然港口。半岛的泻湖一侧有两处风景如画、覆盖着白色沙滩的海湾,分别为安斯巴塔海湾和柠檬湾。这一对"双子海湾"是新喀里多尼亚的国际旅游之都,在凯城酒店的陆地一侧是林立的酒店、餐馆和酒吧。法国人于1854年最先来此定居。努美阿至今仍在政治上与法国保持着紧密的联系。这里有非常好的学校和公共设施——公园、娱乐场所、晨练小径、学校和医疗设施等。今天这里已成为南太平洋发展最快的城市。努美阿有23家一星至五星级酒店和超过100家餐馆。 新喀里多尼亚酒店网上参观 新喀里多尼亚酒店网上参观


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Coral Ring
Organic coral looks like cotton.
A great summer necklace! Vermeil Seahorse, Angelskin Coral, Keishi Pearl. To see more fabulous items go to: http://www.classicdesigns.etsy.com
Worry not, no crustacean was harmed in the making of these earrings. Washed ashore, cleaned and varnished - what other gift could be considered unique in comparison?


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| Compliance Policy Guide Sec. 110.310 Prior Notice of Imported Food Under the Public Health Security and Bioterrorism Preparedness and Response Act of 2002
|FDA Comment Number :
|Submitter :
|Ms. Carol McGlennon
|Date & Time:
|04/13/2005 06:04:32
|Organization :
|Tracon Consultants Ltd.
|Category :
|Food Industry
|Issue Areas/Comments
| This refers to the revisions in the Compliance Policy Guide (Federal Register Notice March 4, 2005, Vol. 70, No. 42) with respect to shipments through the United States from and to the same country. The FDA's revised Compliance Policy Guide falls short of resolving our problem which involves in-transit shipments from Canada to Canada through the U.S. The FDA criteria that must be met in order to take advantage of the new exemption are too restrictive with respect to frequency of shipments and distance travelled through the U.S. Also, the requirement of practicality leads to uncertainty. I will elaborate below.
When all other criteria are met, those regarding frequency of shipments and distance travelled through the U.S. have no bearing on the risks associated with imports of food products which seem to be the FDA's primary concern. Meeting all of the other criteria, in combination with Customs requirements, is sufficient for monitoring and risk assessment. A regular shipper, using the same ports of entry and exit, with sealed containers, etc., can adequately demonstrate reliability. Frequency of shipments and distance travelled are not factors necessary to determine reliability.
Due to the geography, a significant amount of money would be saved for us by using a route through the U.S. making this the only practical alternative for us. Does this satisfy the requirement for practicality? Any other alternative for us is burdensome and impractical.
We request an amendment to the new FDA compliance policy that would allow for shipments of greater frequency and greater distance as the current criteria are unnecessary to meet the FDA's objectives and due to the burden the prior notice requirements impose on Canadian vendors and shipping resources.
Our previous submission on this issue is attached.


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Have Jeep Questions? Ask a Jeep Repair Expert for Answers
Is this a Grand Cherokee with the 4.7L V8?
Ok, first of all the AW4 transmission is absolutely bullet proof as long as it has had regular fluid changes and was not abused. I had an AW4 in my Cherokee and racked up 247,500 miles on it before I sold it. No problems at all with that trans. Now the 4.7L V8 is a very good engine, and is probably good for at least 160,000 miles before needing any major repairs as long as it was never overheated, and had regular maintenance performed.
Hope this helps, and let me know if you need more assistance with this,
The AW4 transmission is the "transmission" only. The different transfer cases available determine which 4 WD system you have. If you can send me the Jeep's VIN# XXXXX mileage I will look it up for you,
Ok, here is your vehicle information. You do not have the AW4 in this vehicle. It is the 45RFE trans which isw also a good trans (not as hardy as the AW4 however) afgain though if it was maintained well, then you should expect at least 160,00 miles out of it.
The transfer case in this vehicle is the Quadra Trac II on demandXXXXXsystem. This is a reliable system.


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Originally the heart shaped luckenbooth was given, in the 16th century, at weddings and engagements as a token of love. From the 18th century onwards they were worn to protect against evil spirits. The name comes from the locking booths or small shops, a feature of Edinburghs Royal Mile.
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Ten years ago, some industry observers wondered if Eli Lilly (NYSE:LLY) could survive as an independent company when it lost patent protection on Prozac. At the time, they pointed to the fact that the anti-depressant accounted for more than one-third of company sales.
But the Indianapolis-based pharma giant survived that blow and avoided being driven into the arms of a waiting suitor. The question today is: Can Lilly do it again?
That's because in less than two weeks — Oct. 23, to be exact — the company will wave goodbye to the U.S. patent on the best-selling drug in its 135-year history, Zyprexa. Beginning that day, competitors can start cranking out cheaper generic versions of the powerful antipsychotic drug that millions of patients have taken to control hallucinations, delusions, confused thought and manic-depression.
For the past 15 years, Zyprexa has generated billions of dollars in sales and profits for Lilly. In 2010 alone, the company booked more than $5 billion in Zyprexa sales — more than 20% of its total revenue.
Losing exclusivity on Zyprexa is bad enough. But it's hardly the only unpleasant news facing Lilly. In the next several years, the company also will lose patent protection on its other blockbusters, including the antidepressant Cymbalta, the erectile-dysfunction drug Cialis and diabetes drugs Humalog and Byetta.
Despite these punches to Lilly's gut, many industry observers think the company can get up off the canvas and not only live to fight another day, but be a force in the industry. Investors who back the Big Pharma underdog might be rewarded down the line if they're willing to ride out what appears to be a few lean years.


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Socceroos 'here to make history'
Mark Bresciano says the Socceroos have one last chance to survive to the next group as the team prepares for their clash against the Netherlands.PT2M35S http://www.theage.com.au/action/externalEmbeddedPlayer?id=d-3a9zh 620 349 June 17, 2014
Visions of a World Cup punctuated by protests and violence in Brazil are fading as the highest scoring tournament in a half century wins over fans in the first four days of matches.
The first 11 games of the 2014 World Cup included five come-from-behind wins, upsets of defending champion Spain and No. 7-ranked Uruguay and no ties. The 37-goal spectacle took the edge off of public outrage over white elephant stadiums burdening public coffers and failed urban infrastructure projects, concerns that fueled Brazil's biggest demonstrations in two decades last June.
Goal festival continues ... Thomas Mueller of Germany shoots and scores his team's fourth goal and completes his hat trick past Rui Patricio of Portugal. Photo: Getty Images
While protestors have continued to denounce the event's $US11 billion ($11.71 billion) cost, unrest was eclipsed by celebrations in Sao Paulo's Vila Madelena neighbourhood after the national team came back to beat Croatia 3-1. Argentines flooded into Rio de Janeiro's Copacabana beach to watch Lionel Messi play at the Maracana stadium. The momentum even prompted a rebuttal by President Dilma Rousseff three days after she was jeered by Brazil fans at the opener, warning World Cup naysayers not to confuse politics with soccer.
North of 30 Goals
"Four days before the World Cup, there was an enormous concern over protests in the streets, but the atmosphere is changing," said Marcos Troyjo, an adjunct professor at Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs, in a telephone interview from Rio de Janeiro. "We're north of 30 goals scored and there have been a number of surprises. The matches are good, the stadiums look great on TV, and the level of discontent voiced on the streets at least in the past two days has been toned down. The World Cup is landing."
Wave of support ... Brazil national football team T-shirts are displayed while on sale on a road on the way to the Castelao stadium in Fortaleza. Photo: Reuters
There have been 3.4 goals per match since the World Cup began on June 12. If the ratio is sustained throughout the month-long tournament, it'd be the highest average since the 1958 event in Sweden.
Highlights include a diving header by Netherlands forward Robin van Persie to help defeat Spain, which beat the Dutch in the 2010 final in South Africa, and Costa Rica's three goals to upset higher-ranked Uruguay.
Teachers demanding better salaries were among 150 protesters that marched on Mane Garrincha stadium in Brasilia yesterday, chanting songs against Rousseff's handling of the World Cup. They were outnumbered by police monitoring the march.
People wait on a small line at Galeao International Airport in Rio de Janeiro. Despite some predictions of travel chaos in the country during the tournament, flights appear to be operating smoothly out of Rio de Janeiro today. Photo: Getty Images
'FIFA go home'
A few hundred protesters marching on Rio's Maracana stadium with signs reading "FIFA Go Home" were met by military police officers, who responded to protestors throwing molotov cocktails by deploying pepper spray, tear gas, and rubber bullets, the state security secretariat's press office said in an email statement.
The Associated Press reported it has a video allegedly showing a Brazilian police officer firing what appears to be a live pistol round at protestors near the stadium. The secretariat's press office told Bloomberg News it's been alerted to the video and will investigate the officer if confirmed.
In the beach-front city of Fortaleza, taxi driver Josivan Freitas, 46, waited for customers at the seafront near a group of Mexico fans. The city hosted the Costa Rica-Uruguay game and will hold Brazil's match against Mexico on June 17.
"There has been some mindless violence with the protests," he said. "But now it's time to enjoy soccer."
Chanting in the airports
While work on Brazil's airports remained unfinished as the World Cup started, that hasn't yet caused problems for fans crisscrossing the country to attend games in 12 cities from Manaus, the capital of northern state of Amazonas, to Porte Alegre, in Brazil's South. Yesterday, a group of Chilean fans chanted for their team as they waited at a luggage carousel in Rio's Galeao airport. Nearby Argentines responded with songs of their own.
"There's a predominant climate of fraternisation," Rousseff told reporters in Brasilia late yesterday.
Rousseff said the mood shift reminded her of when she watched the 1970 World Cup while imprisoned by Brazil's military dictatorship. The advance of Brazil's national team in that event began winning over fellow inmates who had refused to support the squad because they expected victory would only strengthen the military regime, she said.
"Brazil's team represents our nationality," she said in an emailed statement yesterday. "It is above governments, political parties and interests of any groups."