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I have confessed in the past that my Southern Ohio and Kentucky roots helped me develop an appreciation for country music. Now and again I venture over to the country channels to sample some of the latest offerings. Recently I heard a song that made me laugh and made me think. The title of the tune is "Like My Dog" and singer Billy Currington is lamenting that he wishes his significant other would "love" him like his dog.
He never tells me that he's sick of this house
He never says, "Why don't you get off that couch?"
He don't cost me nothin' when he wants to go out
I want you to love me like my dog
I want you to love me like my dog does, baby
When I come home, want you to just go crazy
Not sure that philosophy will resonate with the stunning Mrs.Burchett. Regular readers of my ramblings know how much I love my dog friend Hannah.
While I never really wished that my dear wife would love me like my dog I have learned a thing or two about life and even faith from my canine companion.
A fun article in Parade Magazine by "Dog Whisperer" Cesar Millan got me to thinking about how much I have learned in my Christian journey from Miss Hannah. Sanctification is not a word that Hannah would understand. Sadly, it is not a word that a lot of Christians understand either. It simply means the process of maturing in our faith and becoming ever so slowly more like Jesus. And just like everything else in this journey we cannot do that through dogged self-effort (sorry). I will give you Cesar's thoughts on life lessons that we can learn from dogs in italics. I will add my little spiritual postscript to each of his comments.
Live in the moment.
Cesar – People often wonder how I get such quick results with the dogs I rehabilitate. The answer is simple: Dogs live in the moment. They don't regret the past or worry about the future.
That is so key. When we live in regret of the past or fear of the future we forfeit the potential joy of today. The Psalmist encouraged that very idea.
This is the day the Lord has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it. (Psalm 118:24, NLT)
Nurture a balanced life.
Cesar – I tell my clients to follow this simple rule with their dogs: Offer exercise, discipline, and affection every day. Do the same for yourself. We humans are happier if our routines include physical activity, a sense of structure, and the opportunity to give and receive love on a daily basis.
Hmmm. I tell my clients (my tens of readers) almost every day to live a balanced life as well. Love God every day and allow Him to love you back. Based on my first book perhaps I could be the "Bad Christian Whisperer"? Can I do a TV Show where I rehabilitate anxious and poorly behaving Christians? Can I take a muzzle if I do? Just asking.
Trust your instincts.
Cesar – Animals don't care about words. They recognize that what's really going on in any interaction is beneath the surface. Many of us have lost touch with this all-important instinctual part of our natures. By paying attention to nonverbal cues such as body language and energy, we can learn more about our friends, our loved ones, and ourselves.
Unbelievers don't care about words either. For followers of Jesus the old saying that "actions speak louder than words" is often tragically true. On this point I would suggest we can only trust the Spirit of God to live in a way that communicates with both word and deed. When you trust the Holy Spirit you are free to trust your instincts.
But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things! (Galatians 5, NLT)
Be direct and consistent in your communication.
Cesar – Many of my clients only intermittently enforce rules, leaving their pets confused about what is and isn't acceptable behavior. Great relationships, no matter the species, begin with clear and consistent communication.
God has been teaching me a lot in this area. I am trying to always communicate with both grace and truth. I love that Jesus is described by the Apostle John as being full of grace and truth. I suspect grace comes first because we have a far harder time communicating with grace. I am usually willing to be "honest" and tell you where you are wrong. Doing that with grace and truth requires me to love you and be vulnerable. It is much easier just to whack you with the rolled up newspaper of judgment.
Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone. (Colossians 4, NIV)
Learn to listen.
Cesar – Make the time to lend an ear to those you love or those who want to transform their lives. But don't try to fix their problems, and don't take their problems personally, either. A great leader is also a great follower and knows that everybody counts.
Right on Cesar. Learn to listen. Be willing to walk alongside those in need. Don't interrupt to give out prescription verses in lieu of walking with your brother and sister through the trials. Living the real Christian life with others is messy but incredibly rewarding.
Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters: You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry. (James 1, NLT)
Don't hold grudges.
Cesar – There's a remarkable lack of conflict in dog packs. That's because members resolve the situation when disagreements arise, then move on. Imagine what our world would be like if we dealt with our conflicts before they escalated out of control. Holding onto negative feelings tends to make them multiply and prevent us from moving forward.
This may be the biggest difference between dog packs and church congregation packs. There is too often a remarkable amount of conflict in our body of believers. And the reason is that members too often don't resolve the situation. We get angry and hurt and move on without resolving the conflict. Unresolved sin is buried alive and it comes back at surprising moments. A follower of Jesus who does not forgive has forgotten how much he or she has been forgiven. So shake off your differences and resolve them.
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. (Hebrews 12, NIV)
Live with purpose.
Cesar – When dogs are bored, they develop issues ranging from anxiety to aggression. But when given a job and a way to contribute to the pack's well-being, they turn around almost immediately.
Followers of Jesus are no different. We are called to a purpose. Anything that does not contribute the "pack's" well-being should be prayerfully reevaluated.
Is there any encouragement from belonging to Christ? Any comfort from his love? Any fellowship together in the Spirit? Are your hearts tender and compassionate? 2 Then make me truly happy by agreeing wholeheartedly with each other, loving one another, and working together with one mind and purpose. (Philippians 2, NLT)
Celebrate every day.
Cesar – For a dog, every morning is Christmas morning. Every walk is the best walk, every meal is the best meal, every game is the best game. We can learn so much by observing the way our pets rejoice in life's simplest moments. Take time every day to celebrate the many gifts that are hidden in the ordinary events of your own life.
Hannah is illustrating this point even now. As I write this she is rolling on her back with a chew toy and loving life.
If I can take a moment to count how blessed I am today I can celebrate as well. There is joy even in the mundane events of life. Ask the Spirit of God to reveal that to you today. There is sacred in the routine. Ask the Spirit of God to show you that each day. As for me, I am going to take my spiritual mentor for a walk.


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industrial hygiene monitoring Events
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Related terms for "industrial hygiene monitoring ": hygiene monitoring events , industrial hygiene events
Building on IH fundamentals, this intermediate three-day course is designed to provide additional training and knowledge in the aspects of industrial hygiene chemical monitoring through group exercises and discussion. Attendees work in groups of four and build on their knowledge gained in the Fundamentals of Industrial Hygiene course. Each group is assigned to a department of a fictitious ...
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Some drivers feel it's a strategic move, others say it doesn't belong in the sport.
MARTINSVILLE, Va. — Tony Stewart says never. Joey Logano says late in the race. Jimmie Johnson says to protect a victory in the final laps, except, perhaps, if Stewart is behind him because of the potential consequences.
Theories on blocking and when it is acceptable vary widely in the NASCAR garage.
The topic has become a hot one since the last race two weeks ago in California, where an infuriated Stewart confronted Logano's crew and accused the young driver of blocking him late in the race.
"I don't like blocking. I never have, I never will," Stewart said at Martinsville Speedway. "It's our jobs as drivers to go out there and try to pass people. That is what racing is about. We didn't have blocking 10 years ago. I don't know where all of a sudden it became a common deal or some people think it's alright to do now and think it's common practice. I don't believe it should be common practice."
Others disagree, especially when trying to hang on for a victory.
"Those are decisions we all make on the track and when you are in the sport long enough, you realize what those decisions could lead to and, honestly, who you throw a block on," Johnson said.
"They could come back and haunt you, so as we are trying to win a race, win for our team, win for our sponsors, there are these other elements that you may not consciously think of, but there is this quick snapshot that flashes through your mind when you throw a block," he continued, adding that if you see Stewart approaching in your rear view mirror, "you probably expect something is going to happen."
Blocking can be keeping a car in front of you by continually positioning your car in front of theirs, or taking away their preferred line around the track by adopting it for yourself, even if it's not your preferred line. The thinking is if a driver is gaining on you, taking away his line can slow that.
At Martinsville, where the Sprint Cup Series will race 500 laps today, cars typically swing wide heading into the turns at each end of the track, then hug the inside curb. A blocking maneuver by a leader might cut down that wide swing, forcing a challenger to drive higher up in the turn away from the curb.
It helps to know a fellow competitor's views, and tendencies, he said.
"He has made that known over the years, so there are guys that you probably don't want to do that to," Johnson said of Stewart.
Logano feels like he was taking those measures at Fontana, but wound up getting tangled up with Denny Hamlin, sending Hamlin into the wall.
Presented with the same circumstances in today's race, Logano would take into account where in the 500 laps they are.
"Late in the race, I would probably do the same thing if it's the right move at the time, but like I said, early in the race I wouldn't," Logano said.


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An editorial paragraph in the November 12 National Review caught my attention. It concisely relates a story that dates to early October:
Last month Megan Ryan was elected homecoming queen by her classmates at Bishop Hartley High School in Columbus, Ohio. Ryan has Down Syndrome, a condition associated with cognitive disability and an enlarged capacity for expressing affection. As high-school seniors, her peers belong to a cohort especially susceptible to narcissism, which by declaring their esteem for her they renounced. Adolescents of all ages typically strive to be cool,, or hot, but not warm. We lament the dumbing down of our culture and the closing of the American mind. It's a terrible thing to waste, we say. Well, so is the soul, as they must call it at the Catholic high school where Ryan was honored. Their affirmation of that truth deserves affirmation.
The Columbus Dispatch has more here.


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Dialogue: Liam Hemsworth on 'The Hunger Games,' Fan Expectation, His Role in the Sequels and More
It's an odd thing when everybody knows an actor and they've only done a handful of roles. But Liam Hemsworth has the benefit of being cast in what promises to be not just one of the biggest movies of 2012, but one of the most highly-anticipated film series in recent memory: The Hunger Games. Playing Gale Hawthorne, best friend and confidante to Katniss Everdeen, the series' heroine, Hemsworth has earned an automatic affection from fans strictly on the basis of his hunky description in the books themselves, and the actor manages to bring him to life in ways that should both satisfy and surprise viewers who think they're intimately familiar with every aspect of his character.
Movies sat down with Hemsworth at the recent Los Angeles press day for The Hunger Games, where the young actor offered specific details about challenges he faced in bringing this iconic character to life. In addition to talking about trying literally to taste the sort of hunger that his character suffers from in the film, he offered some kind words about his co-star, Jennifer Lawrence, and his director, Gary Ross, and revealed how he acclimated himself to an entirely different set of circumstances as the newcomer to another project leaden with fan expectation, The Expendables 2.
Movies.com: You have to provide a grounding influence in a world that's often very fantastical. What if anything did you think about to include to create a juxtaposition between District 12 and the capital?
Liam Hemsworth: The world that District 12 is living in is very realistic – it's not futuristic in any way. They're living in depression and they're living in basically 1900s technology. They're hunting for food, a lot of them, and trying to get what little money they can from different jobs, but it's a pretty grim place to live in. I remember when we shot the Reaping scenes, we had three or four hundred extras on set, and all of these young kids and young adults, and the thought I think was in every mind – if this was real, and we really all were standing here waiting for someone's name to get called out that might be your brother or your sister or your best friend, as an actor it was already all there. It was so strong and powerful, the idea and the theme, that it was easy as an actor to convey that.
Movies.com: How tough is it to balance the expectations of the fans with just making a good movie, even if some of your performance isn't faithful to maybe the description or their interpretation of the character?
Hemsworth: There was a big physical change; I had to dye my hair, and lose a lot of weight – I was eating a lot less, and for about a month before shooting, I was training a lot, five or six days a week, and trying to strip down as much as I can for the film. I really wanted to get a good sense of feeling hungry in the film, and this character is living in a depression and hunting for food every day and providing for a whole family. So I wanted to get a sense of what that hunger felt like.
Movies.com: Do you just obey the script, or how much do you think about what's in the books versus that script?
Hemsworth: This script and the book were very, very similar. The script is very true to the book. You get to see a little more of what happens with other characters that you don't see in the book. I didn't switch between the two; I read the books and put down the books and kept to the script. But like I said, it didn't matter – I was forgetting which is which. But I'd like to just keep one thing in my mind, though.
Movies.com: Given where your character goes in the second and third books, can you just be present in your scenes in The Hunger Games, or do you sort of have to telegraph where he goes?
Hemsworth: I read all of the books before shooting, and then I'd just stick one thing in my head – I'd just keep the script in my head, the first thing we were shooting at that point. And I don't try to think too far ahead at that point; obviously, there are things that you may need to take into account, but for me, the first book and the first movie are very similar, so they kind of became the same thing anyway. But I'd just focus on the script and turn up on set every day and be as present and honest as I can be.
Movies.com: He's been described as sort of an angry guy. Because he has to be appealing through three films or books, how careful do you have to be about digging into that without alienating audiences?
Hemsworth: He's essentially a really good guy, and you see moments in the first one where you see the connection Gale and Katniss have; they've grown up together and they're obviously very close and they're allowing each other to survive every day. But yeah, you see moments when he's talking about the games, he just doesn't believe in it and he doesn't want to be a part of it, and he's trying to find a way around it and get out of it and away from it so you see those moments of kind of fire inside him, how passionate he is about not siding with that evil.
Movies.com: How did Gary Ross shepherd you through this experience? He hadn't really dealt with this kind of fantasy world before; do you feel like it was as much a learning experience for him as for you?
Hemsworth: No, he's such an amazingly talented guy, and he has such a clear vision of things. But he also makes sure he tries it a bunch of different ways, to find out what works best, and he's always very open to our ideas so as an actor you feel very open to try new things. And he's great – you'd turn up to set and he was always very energetic and alive and he kept you energetic and alive, and that's what it needs to be; you can have the tendency to be working all day and lose some of that energy, but he keeps you very high-spirited. And he's pulled it off in this film – he's made such a powerful, real film; it's not unbelievable, I think.
Movies.com: One of the strengths of the movie is that so much of it is very internal and unspoken. It that a typical acting challenge, or does that change what you have to do to bring the character to life?
Hemsworth: Yeah, I think I'm always a big fan of "less is more," but the writing in this was so good that it was just there. Gary was always guiding us in the right direction, and as an actor, you obviously have your own vision in your head, and you have to come to a happy medium with the director and what their vision is. I mean, this was great, because I had a great director, and Jennifer was an amazing actress to work opposite who makes it so much easier for me, because all I do is just work off of her. She's that good and that present that I don't have to do much. And then also the writing is just that good – the story is so good – that it all came together. It just, it had it all there.
Movies.com: Does that chemistry allow you to create an instant familiarity with these other people in the world? Especially since you're supposed to have grown up with, say, Jennifer's character.
Hemsworth: As I said, she is such an amazing actress that it just makes it a lot easier for me. But also, she's a great person and fun to be around, so I liked turning up to work and working with her; you learn a lot from an actor like that. But the world that this character is living in, I haven't grown up in a place like this, so you really have to put yourself into that place. But the sets were that good that when you come on to the set, you feel like you're there, and all you have to do is be present with that actor and everything surrounding you looks like how it should look.
Movies.com: Although this was obviously a great opportunity, did you have any trepidations about taking on a series of films that would eat up a big chunk of your life for several years?
Hemsworth: The questions was there, I think, as was do I want to be part of such a huge franchise that could possibly go on for a number of years. And at the end of the day, I really had to rely on my gut, and I always look at scripts that I'm interested in and I'm passionate about and that have good strong characters that an audience is going to care about. And this had all of that, so it was kind of a no-brainer, regardless of how big or small it was; I legitimately thought the scripts and ideas were good, and the characters were strong.
Movies.com: What sort of thought process are you going through to make decisions about what to do next? Are you being offered a lot of different sorts of projects?
Hemsworth: I'm not sticking to one particular genre or idea. I just read a lot of scripts and find out what my first gut feeling is about it, and then who are the characters in there – and do I care about these characters? Is there an interesting theme behind it? Who's the director? There's a lot of factors that come into choosing a film for me, but I'm looking to do things that are different and haven't been done before. And I'm looking to work with directors that are trying to create something unique that hasn't been done before, because so many films are coming out these days that aren't performing well because audiences are getting bored with the same old thing. I want to work with directors that are trying to shoot it differently and just do something unique, and bring something new to the screen.
Movies.com: Okay then -- what's bigger pressure, coming into something like this with huge fan expectations, or being added to a list of names in The Expendables 2 that's full of action icons, and then, "and Liam Hemsworth?"
Hemsworth: It was pretty daunting coming on to a set with all of those guys for Expendables 2. I grew up watching all of those guys, and I remember my first day was extremely daunting just because I'd met Stallone a bunch of times, but I hadn't really met anyone else. And I come onto set and I have this huge scene and it's kind of all on my character, and it was very cool to just see how accommodating these guys were, and how professional they were. There was never any drama on set – they were just the coolest bunch of guys. And it became a pretty easy thing to turn up to work and hang out with all of them.
Movies.com, the ultimate source for everything movies, is your destination for new movie trailers, reviews, photos, times, tickets + more! Stay in the know with the latest movie news and cast interviews at Movies.com.
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Degree and Certificate Requirements
Waiver of Degree Requirements
A matriculated student must follow an approved curriculum as described in the College Catalog at the time of matriculation. Any requests for deviations from the sequence of an approved curriculum must be submitted in writing to the V.P. for Academic Affairs. Such requests are considered by the Petitions Committee of the Faculty Senate, and its recommendation is submitted to the V.P. for Academic Affairs for final action. The decision in response to each request is communicated in writing to the student by the V.P. for Academic Affairs.
Candidates for a Degree or Certificate
In addition to general requirements, candidates for a Degree or Certificate must complete and submit an "Application for Degree/Certificate" during their last semester. Forms and deadline dates may be obtained from the Student Records Office.
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Candidates for a degree or certificate from Jefferson Community College must fulfill the following requirements.
Degree Requirements
A degree candidate must fulfill these general requirements:
- Complete successfully a minimum of 60 credit hours of course work. Physical Education activity classes are not considered as part of this 60 hours.
- Complete successfully all course requirements as listed under the degree program for which the candidate is matriculated.
- Complete a minimum of 30 semester hours of credit at Jefferson Community College. (SOCAD: 15 academic credit hours)
- Attain a minimum cumulative grade point average of 2.00 upon completion of the program.
- Satisfactorily meet all College financial obligations.
- Receive recommendation for graduation by the faculty of Jefferson Community College.
Certificate Requirements
A certificate candidate must fulfill these general requirements:
- Complete successfully all course requirements as listed under the certificate program for which the candidate is matriculated.
- Complete a minimum of 15 semester hours of credit at Jefferson Community College.
- Attain a minimum cumulative grade point average of 2.00 upon completion of the program.
- Satisfactorily meet all College financial obligations.
- Receive recommendation for graduation by the faculty at Jefferson Community College.
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Any student who has completed the requirements of one degree or certificate program may only matriculate in a new program with the following:
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The V.P. for Academic Affairs must also give written consent when the student wishes to matriculate for two curricula concurrently.
The signed matriculation form must be placed on file in the Student Records Office prior to registration for an additional program.
Requirements for attainment of an additional degree or certificate are as follows:
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- All specific course and curriculum requirements must be fulfilled for each additional program.
- A 2.0 cumulative average must be attained.
- In the event a student has interrupted enrollment for one or more semesters and wishes to return to full-time study in an additional degree program, an application must be made through the Admissions Office in addition to all of the above.
Request forms for additional and/or concurrent matriculation are available in the Student Records Office.
For information about secondary degrees or certificates which are excluded, see the Guidelines for Matriculation in Additional/Concurrent Degree or Certificate Programs.


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Bad Breath is one of Women's Main Turn Offs
Posted: October 14, 2009
When it comes to dating, everyone has their preferences. Preferences can always vary (i.e. hair color, height, eye color, fitness level), but there are a few dislikes that tend to be the same throughout most women: being overly cocky/insecure, dominating the conversation, trying way to hard, looking like a slob, and last but not least, bad breath/body odor. Bad breath (also known as halitosis) can be downright nasty! Smell is an important sense, and bad smells can be the ultimate turn-off for women. Sometimes a guy can taste his own breath, and if it's stale, he should definitely take some precautions if he is going on a date. Try some alcohol-free mouthwash, sugar-free breath mints, etc. This turn off can usually be fixed very easily. If you do have chronic bad breath, it is worthwhile to check it out with your dentist and figure out what is wrong with you! Not only is it depressing to have health issues, but it is depressing to scare off your dates, as well. If there is a doubt in your mind that you have bad breath, ask a female friend before you scare off your potential girlfriends. Bad breath can be a dealbreaker!


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Arch Linux Stable
Arch Linux Stable Branch/Snapshot
In reference to the discussion in this forum thread, the proposition has been put forth, initially by nagoola, to provide a stable branch or snapshot of the Arch Linux distribution.
To provide a stable branch for Arch Linux. This project shall serve to compliment and benefit Arch, the rolling release, and the community by conforming to The Arch Way and the K.I.S.S principle. It absolutely shall not and must not fork nor divide Arch, its community, nor code. Its existence must serve to unite, benefit and strengthen Arch, or it shall cease to be useful and therefore cease to exist.
Why a stable branch? A general consensus has been formed, of the opinion that such a project will be advantageous in several ways:
1. For the stability of workstations/production machines: Arch is of the highest quality, and the rolling release model is very strong. However, it is the hope of this project's members that a stable branch may bring the added benefit of less breakage- "when you need it to just work."
2. Desktops/Personal machines: The convenience of upgrading with less breakage appeals to those who want less time fixing package breakage and more time using Arch for other, more productive tasks.
3. To widen the Arch Linux horizon by appealing to users who would benefit from Arch in a production environment, as well as offer more choice for existing users, the Arch spectrum will be broadened, quality enhanced, and reputation heightened.
In the context of the Arch Linux Stable Branch, 'stable' will mean: The ability to provide a smooth transition between upgrades with an absolute minimal measure of breakage, ideally, none, while still remaining compatible with the current rolling system.
1. Project Leader - for delegating tasks and project direction.
2. Packagers - for choosing and handling packages to add to the snapshot repo.
3. Testers - for testing the stability of packages, logistics, and assistance.
4. Communication between all involved.
5. Repository - which will require a server.
6. (Possibly) Scripting - submit a prototype script below, which can tweak the client (user) pacman.conf to ignorepkg= unstablepkg
Project Volunteers
The project volunteers must be dedicated and able to perform their responsibilities effectively and expeditiously. They must be capable of their assigned tasks, personable, and must keep each other informed of progress and issues as they arise.
Currently, the project has recruited these members:
nagoola - Project Management tasks / Communication. Also programming or package maintenance.
ibendiben - Coming soon, yet to decide
Misfit138 - Wrote this page-I am above average with English. Below average at GNU/Linux.
(Please add/remove your name as appropriate and state briefly what you are qualified to offer the project.)
Several different methods of achieving the project goal have been proposed-
They include:
1. Loosely basing the stable branch on Slackware packaging- expand to clarify, discuss.
2. An rsync of core and extra every xx days, using the mirror as the package source. Longer periods of time (3-6 months) will bring unwanted issues. Once per month may be practical? Discuss.
3. Instead of making one stable image, keep every major earlier version of packages, allowing the user choose which version of a package he should install.
4. Loosely basing the stable branch on the Frugalware methodology. (Expand to clarify.)
5. No stable "release" per se, but rather, stable packages.
6. Incorporating scripts to tweak ignorepkg= in pacman.conf on client (user) machines, until issues (upstream, configuration and otherwise) can be resolved, or instructions on fixage is secured. Submit a script here by pasting it below.
As it is early in the project, all are invited to discuss.
IRC- irc.freenode.net #archlinux-stable
- Prototype Scripts
The project must start somewhere.
A small, manageable stable snapshot of the core repo may be the best way to begin work; adding as future manpower allows until a complete stable system is achieved.
For tidiness, please use the Discussion tab for now. Please feel free to add to or otherwise modify this project page and join the discussion at irc.freenode.net #archlinux-stable.


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The three New Jersey children with Nazi-themed middle names have been placed in the custody of the state, police said.
Holland Township Police Sgt. John Harris workers from the state Division of Youth and Family Services removed 3-year-old Adolf Hitler Campbell and his younger sisters, JoyceLynn Aryan Nation Campbell and Honszlynn Hinler Jeannie Campbell.
Harris, who as there to keep order on Tuesday, says DYFS did not tell police the reason the children were removed. DYFS spokeswoman Kate Bernyk says the child-welfare agency does not comment on specific cases.
The children and their parents, Heath and Deborah Campbell, received attention last month when a northwestern supermarket bakery refused to put Adolf Hitler Campbell's name on a birthday cake.
From AP via the Easton-Express Times of Easton, Pa.
Read more breaking news in our From The Source blog.


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In this month's Restoration section, we will show you how to restore a quarter panel. Depending on the car that you own, you might get lucky and find an outlet that carries replacement sheet metal, but in some cases of rare automobiles you will most likely be forced to work with what you have. This might sound like a big task, but most body men will tell you that it's all about patience. Besides patience, manufacturers like Classic Industries have invested thousands into sheet metal replacement and actual parts for these classic vehicles.
When you take a car down to the metal, it will tell you everything you need to know about the car's condition, and this certainly was the case for our Fearless '68 Project car. When we found the car, we knew it was solid but we knew it was going to need some work. After getting our body shell back from Millennium Sandblasting, we saw for ourselves that this car wasn't that bad. The only major surprise was the bondo job in the rear quarter panel. With the paint gone, we at least knew what we were getting into. We had two choices; we could repair the panel or we could replace it altogether. In our case, we decided to repair it.
Now, let us show you how Luis and the Coronel worked their magic on this '68 Impala Super Sport.


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Expedia-verified reviews
Don't miss out on a lower price on this hotel
Get an overview of this hotelSuburban Rome hotel in Cinecitta with free parking
Popular property highlights
Located in Cinecitta, this hotel is 1.5 mi (2.3 km) from University of Rome Tor Vergata and 2 mi (3.3 km) from Jubilee Church. Colosseum and Trevi Fountain are also within 12 miles (20 km). W. Tobagi Station is 7 minutes by foot and Torre Maura Station is 11 minutes.
Hotel features
This hotel features a bar/lounge, a coffee shop/café and a meeting room. Free WiFi in public areas and free self parking are also provided. Additionally, concierge services, a 24-hour front desk and a computer station are on-site.
Room amenities
All 69 rooms offer comforts such as pillowtop beds and premium bedding, plus complimentary wireless Internet access and LCD TVs with digital channels. Room service (during limited hours), rainfall showerheads and hairdryers are among the other amenities available to guests.
Languages Spoken
- English
Hotel Jonico
Hotel Amenities
Hotel Amenities
The hotel offers a coffee shop/café. A bar/lounge is on site where guests can unwind with a drink. A computer station is located on-site and wireless Internet access is complimentary. For a surcharge, a shuttle from the airport to the hotel (available 24 hours) is offered to guests. This business-friendly hotel also offers tour or ticket assistance, multilingual staff and a garden. Complimentary self parking is available on-site.
- Bar/lounge
- Luggage storage
- Airport transport - pickup (surcharge)
- Newspapers in lobby (surcharge)
- Lift
- Breakfast available (surcharge)
- Concierge services
- 24-hour front desk
- Tours/ticket assistance
- Built in 1990
- Total number of rooms - 69
- Coffee shop or café
- Television in common areas
- One meeting room
- Free self parking
- Number of floors - 4
- Free WiFi
- Computer station
- Garden
- Multilingual staff
Available in all rooms: Free WiFi
Available in some public areas: Free WiFi
Languages Spoken
- English
- French
- Italian
- Spanish
Free self parking
Room Amenities
- Premium bedding
- Air conditioning
- Phone
- Daily housekeeping
- Private bathroom
- Free toiletries
- Hair dryer
- Bidet
- Shower only
- Rainfall showerhead
- Iron/ironing board (on request)
- Desk
- In-room safe
- Blackout drapes/curtains
- Number of bedrooms -
- Number of bathrooms -
- Digital TV service
- Free WiFi
- Room service (limited hours)
- Pillowtop mattress
- Free cribs/infant beds
- Separate bedroom
Where to Eat
Continental breakfasts are available for a surcharge and are served each morning between 7:30 AM and 10 AM.
On-site venue – This lobby lounge only serves light fare.Open 24 hours. Open daily.
Room service (during limited hours) is available.
If you have requests for specific accessibility needs, please note them at check-out when you book your room.
- Accessible bathroom
- In-room accessibility
Hotel Policies
Check-in time starts at noon
Check-in time ends at 5:30 AM
Special check-in instructions:
Check-out time is 10:30 AM
Payment types
Children and extra beds
- Children are welcome.
- Rollaway/extra beds are not available.
- Free cribs (infant beds)!
- Pets are allowed for an extra charge of EUR 10.00 per pet, per night.
- Dogs and cats only
- 1 per room
You need to know
Extra-person charges may apply and vary depending on property policy.
- The name on the credit card used at check-in to pay for incidentals must be the primary name on the guest room reservation.
- A tax is imposed by the city: EUR 4.00 per person, per night, up to 10 nights. This tax does not apply to children under 10 years of age.
Optional extras
- Fee for continental breakfast: EUR 5.00 per person (approximately)
- Airport shuttle fee: EUR 40.00 per vehicle
- Pet fee: EUR 10.00 per pet, per night
Hotel Name
- Hotel Jonico Rome
- Hotel Jonico
- Jonico Rome
- Jonico
- Jonico Hotel Rome
We should mention
All guests, including children, must be present at check-in and show their government-issued photo ID card or passport. Cash transactions at this property cannot exceed EUR 2999.99 due to national regulations. For further details, please contact the property using the information in the booking confirmation. This property offers transfers from the airport (surcharges may apply). Guests must contact the property with arrival details 24 hours prior to arrival, using the contact information on the booking confirmation.


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À travers le monde francophone
© 2014 hardcover | 9 x 10 ⅞ inches | online vText available | loose-leaf
13 units | 2 semesters | 532 pages
Promenades, 2nd Edition
Vista Higher Learning offers several different package options. Prior to making your purchase, check with your instructor or review your course syllabus to ensure that you are purchasing the correct materials for your program.
Didn't find what you're looking for?
Try searching by your School or by the ISBN. The ISBN for your materials is available from your instructor or on your course syllabus.


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This activity is designed to introduce students to planetary geologic features and processes. First, students will use NASA satellite images to identify geologic surface features on the "Blue Marble" (Earth), and will explore the connection between... (View More) those features and the geologic processes that created them. Using that information, students will then compare and discuss similar features on images from other planets. Included are the following materials: teacher's guide (with reference and resource information), student's guide (with activity sheets), and multiple cards of planetary images. Note that the range of targeted grade levels is quite broad; however, explicit adaptations for younger students are highlighted throughout the teacher's guide. (View Less)
Materials Cost: $1 - $5 per group of students
In this data activity, students create maps of the snow cover of each continent, and determine the average global snow cover. Step-by-step instructions for use of the MY NASA DATA Live Access Server (LAS) guide students through selecting a data set,... (View More) importing the data into a spreadsheet, creating graphs, and analyzing data plots. The lesson provides detailed procedures, related links and sample graphs, follow-up questions, extensions, and teacher notes. Designed for student use, MY NASA DATA LAS samples micro datasets from large scientific data archives, and provides structured investigations engaging students in exploration of real data to answer real world questions. (View Less)
Materials Cost: Free
Students observe cloud type and coverage and weather conditions over a five-day period and correlate these observations. Students make and test predictions using these observations. This is a learning activity associated with the Atmosphere chapter... (View More) of the GLOBE Teacher Guide, and is supported by field protocols for study of the atmosphere. (View Less)
Materials Cost: 1 cent - $1 per group of students
Students will time the flow of water through soils with different properties and measure the amount of water held in these soils. They will also experiment with the filtering ability of soils by testing the pH of the water before and after it passes... (View More) through the soil and observing changes to the clarity of the water and to the characteristics of the soil. Students build an experimental apparatus using a two-liter beverage bottle, observe the movement of water through the simulated soil column, and replicate the same experiment using different soil types. This is a learning activity associated with the GLOBE soil investigations and is supported by the Soils chapter of the GLOBE Teacher's Guide. GLOBE (Global Learning and Observation to Benefit the Environment) is a worldwide, hands-on, K-12 school-based science education program. (View Less)
Materials Cost: $1 - $5 per group of students
In this hands-on activity, students create a model soil profile in a two-liter beverage bottle, time the movement of water through different soils and observe the amount of water held in these soils. They observe the filtering ability of soils by... (View More) noting the clarity of the water before and after it passes through the soil. The activity is supported by a student data sheet. This is a learning activity associated with the GLOBE soil investigations and is supported by the Soils chapter of the GLOBE Teacher's Guide. GLOBE (Global Learning and Observation to Benefit the Environment) is a worldwide, hands-on, K-12 school-based science education program. (View Less)
Materials Cost: 1 cent - $1 per group of students
The effects of volcanoes on both the environment and people are the focus of this investigation. Students are introduced to the term "buffer" and are tasked with creating a possible buffer zone around Mount St. Helens. Students begin by assigning 32... (View More) pre-written statements related to volcanoes into categories of cause, effect and human responses. The chart, along with true-color and false-color LandSat images from 1980 and 1999, are used to study the eruption of Mount St. Helens to determine that possible buffer zone. The URL opens to the investigation directory, with links to teacher and student materials, lesson extensions, resources, teaching tips, and assessment strategies. As the first investigation in this module entitled, "Volcanoes- Local Hazard, Global Issue," the teacher's guide will begin with a two-page module overview and list of all standards addressed. This is Investigation 1 of three found in the Grades 5-8 Module 1 of Mission Geography. The Mission Geography curriculum integrates data and images from NASA missions with the National Geography Standards. Each of the three investigations in Module 1, while related, can be done independently. (View Less)
Materials Cost: 1 cent - $1 per group of students
Learners will build a biosphere that is a balanced, self-enclosed living system able to run efficiently over a long period of time. This activity is in Unit 3 of the Exploring the Moon teachers guide, which is designed for use especially, but not... (View More) exclusively, with the Lunar Sample Disk program. (View Less)
Materials Cost: $1 - $5 per group of students


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TOWN OF NEWBURGH — Parents and children in the Newburgh School District, who have been waiting for months to find out which elementary school could wind up on the chopping block, will have to wait a bit longer.
TOWN OF NEWBURGH — Parents and children in the Newburgh School District, who have been waiting for months to find out which elementary school could wind up on the chopping block, will have to wait a bit longer.
More than 300 parents, children and other community residents attended the Thursday night school board meeting at the Meadow Hill School, expecting to hear a decision. But at the 11th hour, Newburgh Superintendent Ralph Pizzo suggested that the board put off its vote for a several more days. "We have another school that hasn't had a chance to make its case," Pizzo said.
While the board agreed to once again delay its vote on the school closing, some members of the audience let out a collective groan of frustration. "They should have come prepared to reach a decision, because three months is a long enough time to wait," said Bob Calotta of New Windsor.
"They shouldn't be holding people in suspense," Horizons parent John Eliadis said.
The mid-Hudson's largest school district with an enrollment of more than 11,000 students, was faced with a massive budget gap of $8.6 million before the start of the meeting.
As a result of the session, the board managed to slash $5.3 million from next year's budget, which included the elimination of about 20 jobs, said school board President Dawn Fucheck. The jobs being cut include 14.4 high school teachers and the technology director, whose annual salary is $195,452. "There's still a gap of $3,221,538, that's what we still have to find," said Fucheck.
To bridge the remaining gap, the board will decide next week whether it will need to close one of three schools: Balmville, Horizons or Vails Gate.
Balmville parents were given a chance to address the board about why their school should be spared, while about 100 students and parents stood behind them and held up posters which read "Save Balmville." Parents from Horizons and Vails Gate also spoke on behalf of their schools.
According to Assistant Superintendent of Business Mike Pacella, the district would save as much as $5.2 million by closing Vails Gate and a minimum of $4.4 million by closing Balmville. He also explained that the Newburgh Preparatory Charter School, which is scheduled to open in August, will not require as much district funding since it will not be meeting its projected enrollment of 105 students.
The school board will hold its next session 6 p.m. Monday at Newburgh Free Academy. Parents will be given an hour to comment on the new $244.8 million spending plan.


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MH-53E missing pilot remains recovered
US Navy, January 14, 2014 - NORFOLK, Va by U.S. Fleet Forces Command - Navy divers searching the wreckage of the MH-53E "Sea Dragon" recovered the remains of missing pilot, Lt. Sean Christopher Snyder, earlier today.
Divers from Mobile Diving and Salvage Unit (MDSU) 2, operating aboard USNS Grasp (T-ARS-51), located the aircraft's cockpit late Monday using a remotely operated vehicle and confirmed the presence of remains in the wreckage.
Salvage operations were suspended late Monday evening due to deteriorating weather conditions. USNS Grasp resumed recovery efforts early Tuesday morning.
Snyder, 39, assigned to Helicopter Mine Countermeasures Squadron (HM) 14, went missing when his MH-53E "Sea Dragon" crashed off the coast of Virginia Beach while conducting routine mine countermeasure training.
Five crew members were on board the MH-53E when it crashed Jan. 8, approximately 18 miles off the coast of Virginia Beach.
Four of the crew members were rescued and taken to Sentara Norfolk General Hospital for treatment. Two crew members died at the hospital from their injuries. The two other rescued crewm embers have been released from the hospital.
A memorial service for the three crew members killed in the crash is being planned for Friday at Naval Station Norfolk.
The cause of the crash is being investigated.
The Snyder family has released the following statement:
Divers have recovered the remains of Lt. Sean Snyder. The family is truly thankful to the men and women of the United States Navy. Sean was a man of honor and a true hero, not only to his country, but also to his wife, children, family, and friends. Our strength and trust remain in Christ.
Sikorsky MH-53E Sea Dragon 163070 ( US Navy )
This article is listed in :
HM-14 Helicopter Mine Countermeasures Squadron FOURTEEN US Navy


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Small scale solar energy can reduce pressure on our public lands
Solar thermal system in Colorado
Dave Parsons NREL
Last week TWS signed onto comments with our environmental partners in support of reconsidering rules around integrating distributed generation onto the grid. Specifically, we asked the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to reconsider the rules for small scale distributed generation interconnection procedures applicable specifically to plants under 2 MW.
Solar developers have argued that the existing low threshold for plant size, and the conservative limit on the amount of distributed generation that can help to meet electricity load, have created barriers for distributed generation such as rooftop solar to quickly interconnect to the grid.
Lower impact solutions to our energy needs should be given every advantage—solutions such as incentives to reduce peak load on the grid, energy conservation retrofits, smart grid planning and distributed generation (DG). From a wild lands perspective, less is always more—in other words the fewer new energy facilities and transmission lines that need to be built, the lower the impacts. Building small distributed plants within towns and cities is one of a host of energy solutions that can help take pressure off of our wild places.
Contrary to popular belief, distributed generation is not just happening in California. In fact, states like New Jersey have laws in place to aggressively pursue rooftop solar and the increasing potential for rooftop solar around the country is large. According to the solar industry's request to the Commission "…solar PV has evolved from a niche technology to a rapidly growing industry that is becoming a significant component of the U.S. electricity system."
DG solar also meets land conservation goals because it can be placed on existing commercial and housing stock and its peak production tracks closely with when people use energy the most—on hot sunny days. This relieves pressure to build additional capacity in remote places that may only be needed a few hours out of the year. Aside from its contributions to meeting peak demand, distributed solar does not generate greenhouse gas emissions during operation. And better yet, distributed generation can more easily be fit onto idle brownfields sites, otherwise left to await cleanup and reuse. In short, it is a win-win-win (win!) for wild places.
If we look broadly at the set of solutions available, it is easy to make the connection between market rules for wholesale power and protecting treasured landscapes. Reducing impacts on the natural world, while finding climate friendly sources of electricity, will likely be one of the biggest challenges to realizing a clean energy economy that puts a premium on protecting human health and the environment.
As lands advocates, we've supported lower impact solutions to our electricity problems and we've taken opportunities to support a progressive FERC—one that think about the future. FERC's efforts to ensure that market rules are fair for distributed generation and energy efficiency will aid investment in these resources. These are some of the best solutions available today. Leveling the playing field for renewable energy, even at the smallest scale, as well as proper planning to ensure that renewable energy development treads lightly on the land are two very important pieces of the pie. But local solutions to reduce demand and generate power where it is actually consumed, these can have outsized impact on taking pressure off our wildest places.


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About This Artwork
The Millinery Shop, 1879/86
Oil on canvas
39 3/8 x 43 9/16 in. (100 x 110.7 cm)
Mr. and Mrs. Lewis Larned Coburn Memorial Collection, 1933.428
This canvas is Edgar Degas's most ambitious statement on the theme of the millinery shop. Although the young woman is presumably a hatmaker examining her handiwork—with her lips pursed, perhaps around a pin—it has also been suggested that she could be a client about to try on a hat, since she wears an expensive fur-trimmed dress and kid gloves. X-ray examination revealed that this figure originally represented a customer, but in his rethinking of the subject, Degas withheld the information necessary to determine her identity.
— Permanent collection label
Exhibition, Publication and Ownership Histories
Exhibition History
The Art Institute of Chicago, Mrs. L.L. Coburn Collection: Modern Paintings and Water Colors, April 6, 1932-October 9, 1932, cat. 9 (ill.).
The Art Institute of Chicago, A Century of Progress Exhibition of Paintings and Sculpture, June 1-November 1, 1933, cat. 286, pl. 53.
Northampton, Mass., Smith College Museum of Art, Edgar Degas, November 28-Deceber 18, 1933, cat. 8 (ill.).
The Art Institute of Chicago, A Century of Progress Exhibition of Paintings and Sculpture, June 1-November 1, 1934, cat. 202.
Toledo, Ohio, Museum of Art, French Impressionists and Post-Impressionists, November 1934, cat. 1.
Springfield, Mass., Museum of Art, French Painting, Cézanne to the Present, December 1935-January 1936, cat. 1.
Philadelphia Museum of Art, Degas, November-December 1936, cat. 40 (ill.).
Worcester, Mass., Worcester Art Museum, The Art of The Third Republic, February-March 1941, cat. 4 (ill. on cover).
Cleveland Museum of Art, The Works of Edgar Degas, February 5-March 9, 1947, cat. 38 (ill.).
Philadelphia Museum of Art, Diamond Jubilee Exhibition: Masterpieces of Painting, November 4, 1950-February 11, 1951, cat. 74 (ill.).
Boston Museum of Fine Arts, Edgar Degas: The Reluctant Impressionist, June 21-September 1, 1974, cat. 20 (ill.).
Richmond, Va., The Virginia Museum, Degas, May 23-July 9, 1978, cat. 14 (ill.).
Albi, Musée Toulouse-Lautrec, Trésors impressionistes du Musée de Chicago, June 27-August 31, 1980, cat. 8 (ill.).
The Art Institute of Chicago, Degas in The Art Institute of Chicago, July 19-September 23, 1984, cat. 63 (ill.).
Paris, Galeries nationales du Grand Palais, Degas, February 9-May 16, 1988, cat. 235 (ill.), traveled to Ottawa, National Gallery of Canada, June 16-August 28, 1988 and New York, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, September 27, 1988-January 8, 1989.
London, National Gallery, Degas: Beyond Impressionism, May 22-August 26, 1995, cat. 4 (ill.)., traveled to The Art Institute of Chicago, September 28, 1996-January 5, 1997.
Kansas City, The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, loan exhibition, April 1995, no cat.
London, The National Gallery and The Art Institute of Chicago, Degas: Beyond Impressionism, 1996-1997, cat. 4.
New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Private Collection of Edgar Degas, October 1, 1997-January 11, 1998, no cat. no (fig. 96).
Atlanta, High Museum of Art, Degas and America: The Early Collectors, cat. 54 (ill.), traveled to The Minneapolis Institute of Arts, June 16-September 9, 2001, shown in Minneapolis only.
Washington, DC, The Phillips Collection, Impressionist and Post-Impressionist Still-Life Painting, September 22, 2001-January 13, 2002, no cat. no (pl. 60), traveled to Boston, Museum of Fine Arts, February 17-June 9, 2002.
Fort Worth, Tex., Kimbell Museum of Art, The Impressionists: Master Paintings from the Art Institute of Chicago, June 29–November 2, 2008, cat. 41 (ill.).
St. Louis, Missouri, Saint Louis Art Museum, Degas, Impressionism, and the Paris Millinery Trade from February 12 - May 7, 2017 and then to the Legion of Honor, San Francisco, California from June 24 - September 25, 2017.
Publication History
Daniel Catton Rich, "Bequest of Mrs. L. L. Coburn," The Art Institute of Chicago Bulletin 26, 5 (1932), p. 69 (ill.).
The Fine Arts 19 (June 1932), p. 23 (ill.).
Eleanor Jewett, "Noted Private Art Collection on Exhibition: Antiquarians Sponsor Institute Show," Chicago Tribune (April 6, 1932).
Smith College Museum of Art Bulletin 15 (June 1934), p. 15 (ill.).
Agnes Mongan, "Degas As Seen in American Collections," Burlington Magazine 72 (1938), pp. 297 (ill.), 302.
George Slocombe, "Artist as Misanthrope," Coronet 3, 6 (April 1938), p. 22 (ill.).
R. Shoolman and C. E. Slatkin, The Enjoyment of Art in America (Philadelphia, 1942), pl. 543.
An Illustrated Guide to the Collections of The Art Institute of Chicago (Chicago, 1945), pp. 36 (ill.), 37.
Hans Huth, "Impressionism Comes to America," Gazette des Beaux-Arts ser. 6, vol. 29 (1946), pp. 234, fig. 8.
Paul Andre Lemoisne, Degas et son oeuvre vol. 3 (Paris, 1946), cat. 832 (ill.).
F. Fels, L'Art Vivant de 1900 a Nos Jours (Geneva, 1950), p. 98 (ill.).
Daniel Catton Rich, "Midwest Art Capital," Town and Country (March 1951), p. 75 (ill.).
The Art Institute of Chicago, A Brief Guide to the Collections (Chicago, 1956), pp. 34 (ill.), 35.
Pierre Cabanne, Degas (Paris, 1958), p. 111 (ill.).
The Art Institute of Chicago, Paintings in the Art Institute of Chicago: Catalogue of the Picture Collection (Chicago, 1961), pp. 121, 336 (ill.).
Frederick A. Sweet, "Great Chicago Collectors," Apollo 84 (September 1966), p. 203, fig. 33.
William Gaunt, Impressionism: A Visual History (New York, 1970), pp. 244, 245, pl. 95.
John Maxon, The Art Institute of Chicago (New York, 1970), pp. 89 (ill.), 90, 280.
Franco Russoli and Fiorella Minervino, L'opera completa di Degas (Milan, 1970), no. 635 (ill.).
Caron LeBrun Danikian, "Degas Story Told in MFA Exhibition," The Christian Science Monitor (July 2, 1974), p. 4C, ill.
Hilton Kramer, "Edgar Degas, the Reluctant Modernist, at a New Exhibition in Lonodn," The New York Times (July 7, 1974), p. 19 (ill.).
The Art Institute of Chicago, 100 Masterpieces (Chicago, 1978), no. 63 (ill.).
Diane Kelder, The Great Book of French Impressionism (New York, 1980), p. 312 (ill.).
Manet, 1832-1883 exh. cat. (Paris, Galeries nationales du Grand Palais/New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1983), under cat. 213, fig. a.
Richard Brettell, French Impressionists (Chicago, 1987), p. 63 (ill.).
Eunice Lipton, Looking Into Degas Uneasy Images of Women and Modern Life (Berkeley, 1987), pp. 153-4 (ill.).
Horst Keller, Edgar Degas (Munich, 1988), pp. 81, 90 (ill.).
Anne Roquebert, Degas (Paris, 1988), p. 176, no 42 (ill.).
James N. Wood and Katharine C. Lee, Master Paintings in The Art Institute of Chicago (Chicago, 1988), p. 60 (ill.).
Edward Lucie-Smith, Impressionist Women (London, 1989), pp. 98, 100, 101, pl. 88.
Howard Hodgkin, "A Great Artist's Advice: Do Not Miss This Degas," The Independent (May 22, 1996), p. 10.
Christopher Riopelle, "Edgar Degas: Illustrious and Unknown," in Art in the Making: Degas, exh. cat. (London, National Gallery, 2004), pp. 15, 16 (ill.).
The Age of Impressionism at the Art Institute of Chicago (New Haven and London, 2008), cat. 41, pp. 92-93 (ill.).
Simon Kelly and Esther Bell, Degas, Impressionism, and the Paris Millinery Trade, exh. cat. (Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco/ Legion of Honor/ Delmonico Books/ Prestel, 2017), book cover, pp. 104-105, cat. 1 (ill).
Ownership History
Sold by the artist to Paul Durand-Ruel, Paris on February 22, 1913 for 50,000 francs [see Durand-Ruel stock no. 10253; this and the following information according to Paris 1988]; sent to Durand-Ruel Gallery in New York, 1917; sold to Mrs. Lewis Larned (Annie Swan) Coburn (died 1932), Chicago on January 19, 1932 for $36,000 or $35,000 [see Durand-Ruel stock no. 4114; the date 1932 given in the Durand-Ruel stockbook contradicts a loan receipt, dated January 23, 1930, for a "Millinery Shop, 1882" from Mrs. L.L. Coburn to the Art Institute of Chicago, copy in curatorial file]; bequeathed to the Art Institute of Chicago, 1933.


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Dear Friends-
A recently revised Position Statement from the American College of Nurse Midwives (ACNM) seeks to limit recognition of midwifery providers to those who have received their training through government accredited programs. The North American Registry of Midwives (NARM) oversees the credentialing of midwives who have received their training through time honored and evidenced based systems that emphasize clinical competency over all other criteria (Certified Professional Midwives-CPMs)
NARM has posted an online petition in an effort to organize our voices and convince the ACNM to reconsider its position on apprentice trained midwives. This letter seeks to unite US Midwifery under the common goal of providing women with access to the provider and setting of their choice for birth.
There are many great opportunities mounting to move midwifery forward on both the state and national level. We must stand together as a community of midwives if we are going to have a real voice for change in maternity care. Whether you are a CPM, CNM, a midwifery consumer, advocate, or none of the above, please go to : http://www.thepetit
The NARM Board of Directors


text: Clad your new iPhone in lustrous elegance with Moshi's iGlaze Armour for iPhone 5S and iPhone 5. Combining a diamond-cut aluminum backplate and a resilient polycarbonate frame, iGlaze Armour protects your iPhone from scratches and shocks while giving it a unique metallic finish. While inside the case, all of iPhone's buttons and cameras are easily accessible and unobstructed. Keep your iPhone flawless and sophisticated with Moshi's iGlaze Armour hardshell case.


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Good Medicine or a Bitter Pill? Implications of health care reform for businesses in America
The full implications of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, and other legislative and regulatory initiatives affecting health care, will unfold over the next decade and beyond. But the journey to a new health care system has begun, with enormous implications for American businesses.
America seemed to collectively exhale on March 30, 2010 when President Obama signed final revisions to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) into law. Whether hopeful, angry, excited or fearful about the act's potential effects on the nation's health care system, many citizens seemed grateful for a breather after 14 months of arduous congressional debate and emotional public dialog.
Other issues and events may have since replaced health care reform in daily headlines. But the impact of, and debate about, this landmark legislation continues to reverberate in the media and boardrooms, workplaces, kitchen tables and government corridors.
The full implications of the PPACA, and other legislative and regulatory initiatives affecting health care, will unfold over the next decade and beyond. But the journey to a new health care system has begun, with enormous implications for businesses in America. In fact, reform affects the majority of American businesses because of their role in funding and providing health care for employees and employees' families.
For one group of businesses, reform presents a double challenge. Health sciences companies – health insurers, health care providers, and life science companies – will need to adapt to both the changes affecting them as employers and the transformation of the health care delivery system in which they play key roles.
While many of the most dramatic changes will occur in 2014, important milestones this year will demand the urgent attention of business leaders. This article explores our view of the current and future path of health care reform and examines the resulting effects, both certain and possible, across the business spectrum – from employers who may now bear an even greater burden of responsibility for providing health benefits to employees, to the health industry stakeholders that are front-line providers of care. And it offers considerations for business executives in their efforts to address their organizations' transition to the new health care order.
Health care reform – Not a one-act play
Generally speaking, health care reform has three goals: expanding health coverage to the uninsured, improving health care quality and access, and stemming the growth in health care costs.
With the passage of the PPACA, the first goal should be attained in 2014, with approximately 32 million uninsured Americans becoming covered.1 The other two goals are more aspirational, to be influenced by many factors. At this stage, whether health care reform will contain or lower costs is conjecture, dependent on successful demonstration projects and pilot programs in the bill, and efficient management of services for an aging population and the newly insured.
The PPACA is the centerpiece of health care reform today, but it is not the only element:
- Provisions in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009 provided additional funding for Medicaid, expansion of health benefits for the unemployed, and development of health care information technology.2
- New clinical coding standards described in the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems 10th Revision (ICD-10) are scheduled for U.S. implementation in 2013.3
- The Obama Administration's proposed federal government budget for fiscal year 2011 contains reform-related provisions, including changes in Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement and funding for comparative effectiveness research, public health programs, targeted programs for states to reign in health costs, programs for health centers to expand primary and preventative care, and programs for expanding access to care in medically underserved areas.
- Efforts are also underway at the state level, such as expanding insurance coverage through public and private insurance programs, health savings accounts, premium support, and support for development of electronic data exchanges.4
As federal and state governments begin implementation of health care reforms, businesses need to start addressing an array of new issues and requirements – and the sooner the better.
Federal rulemaking will clarify a number of provisions in the PPACA. The words "The secretary shall" preface over 1,000 provisions, which the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), led by Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, must address. Many different federal agencies will issue PPACA-related rules, including HHS, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the National Institutes of Health, and the Centers for Disease Control.
Another uncertainty is how states will fulfill their roles in implementing health care reform. Much of the heavy lifting falls to the states, including establishment of health insurance exchanges intended to provide a resource "where individuals and small businesses can compare and purchase health insurance online at competitive prices."5 While HHS will provide funding, guidance and information systems to help states comply with reform mandates, the states are likely to respond in different ways.
As federal and state governments begin implementation of health care reforms, businesses need to start addressing an array of new issues and requirements – and the sooner the better. Mandated changes in employee insurance coverage go into effect in fall 2010.6
Implications for employers: New coverage and reporting requirements
A recurring debate during the health care reform deliberations centered on whether the United States would or should adopt a government-operated, national "style" of health care system similar to Canada, Europe and many other countries to replace employer-sponsored insurance. With passage of the PPACA, the United States is arguably moving in the opposite direction. If anything, the act solidifies the role of employers in providing health benefits to their employees.
Employers seem generally amenable to this, provided there is a competitive playing field for companies throughout their business sector and that all are held to the same requirements. Major concerns remain among employers – will enough younger, healthier individuals enter the insurance market to offset retiree Medicare costs? Will the government impose additional restrictions and costs of compliance on employer-sponsored plans? And long term, how will Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA)-exempt plans be impacted?
The "new normal" for employer-sponsored insurance benefits is likely to include:
- Substantial consolidation in the hospital and health insurance industries as stronger players absorb weaker players, with a resulting strengthening of their bargaining position for prices for their services.
- Substantial cost increases by hospitals and other providers as underlying medical costs increase from an aging population, new technologies are introduced, and demand for services increase, all resulting in greater price pressure on insurers and employers.
- Substantial pressures from employees and dependents for expensive technologies and treatments that might work for some but not all.
More than 20 areas in the PPACA are likely to impact employers, taking effect in coming years (see "Health Care Reform – Employer Timeline" next page.) Some of these provisions with more immediate deadlines have come into sharp focus. All employers, especially larger companies, should analyze these provisions as they begin to redefine their employee health benefit strategies in light of the new law.
Health care reform – Employer timeline
Effective for plan years beginning six months after enactment (1/1/2011 for calendar year plans)
- Prohibit lifetime limits on the dollar value of coverage. Grandfathering does not apply.
- Coverage must be available to dependent children (married or unmarried; student or not) to age 26. Grandfathering does not apply.
- Prohibit pre-existing condition limitations for children. Grandfathering does not apply.
- Annual limits on the dollar value of coverage must be reasonable (as defined by regulation to come). Grandfathering does not apply.
- Subject to regulations, require most employers to automatically enroll new full-time employees into a health plan option. Employees may choose to opt out.
- For non-grandfathered plans, preventive health services must be provided without cost sharing ('A' or 'B' rated by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force).7
Effective 2011
- Over-the-counter medications not reimbursable through a Health Reimbursement.
- Account (HRA) or Health Flexible Spending Account (FSA); prescribed medicines, drugs and insulin still qualify.
- Non-health HSA distributions taxed at 20 percent.
- Employers required to disclose on Form W-2 the value of health benefits.
Effective 2012
- Employers must distribute a uniform summary of benefits and coverage explanation prior to enrollment or reenrollment.
Effective 2013
- Medicare Part A tax increased to 2.35 percent for earnings over $200,000 (individual return) and $250,000 (joint return).
- Employer tax deduction for Medicare Part D retiree drug subsidy eliminated.
- Health care FSA contribution limited to $2,500 annually (indexed).
- Employers required to notify employees of the establishment of health insurance exchanges in 2014.
Effective 2014
- Individual mandate applies (may increase enrollment in employer plans).
- Exchanges open.
- Annual limits on the dollar value of coverage prohibited.
- Waiting periods cannot exceed 90 days.
- Pre-existing condition limitations for adults prohibited.
- "Essential benefit provisions" (determined annually by the Secretary of HHS) apply to new plans; regulations will determine when plan changes are significant enough to trigger "new" plan provisions.
- Employer mandate and potential penalties begin.
- Employers may offer rewards to employees who participate in wellness programs, limited to 30 percent of the cost of coverage.
- Employers required to furnish an information return to employees and to the government identifying coverage periods, the portion of premium paid by employer and other information.
Effective 2018
- 40 percent tax on high-value plans (over $10,000 for individuals and $27,500 for families).
Key considerations include:
How and to what extent "grandfather" provisions of the PPACA apply
During the health care debate, President Obama repeatedly assured Americans that if they like their health care coverage they won't have to change it. The PPACA does in fact include a grandfather clause for employer plans in existence as of the date of the act's enactment.
With the exception of some insurance reforms—such as barring coverage denials for pre-existing conditions and shortening allowable waiting periods before extending coverage—employer plans in existence on the date of enactment will not have to be changed to comply with other parts of the PPACA. Regulatory guidance on how much an existing plan can change and not lose grandfather status is expected later in 2010. This will be a critical issue for businesses as they weigh the effects and costs of other provisions, because loss of grandfather status could force employers to broaden their benefits plans and potentially incur higher health insurance premiums, both of which might result in higher overall health benefits costs.
Health plan changes resulting from insurance reforms and creation of the "essential health benefit package"
If a company has a health plan that loses grandfather status, or it is creating a plan for the first time, it will likely be required to establish an "Essential Health Benefit Package." Effective in 2014, this is a groundbreaking provision, as the federal government has never previously mandated that a set of services be included in employer plans.
Which services will be required in an Essential Health Benefit Package is yet to be determined, and a comprehensive set of services will be established annually by the HHS secretary. However, if the experience in individual states is a guide, additional services not covered historically by employers, such as acupuncture and homeopathy, could potentially be included in the package.
Workforce planning implications of new eligibility and coverage provisions
The PPACA establishes minimum standards for insurance eligibility and coverage for the first time. Effective when regulations are issued, new full-time employees working at least an average of 30 hours per week during a month must be enrolled automatically in an employer-sponsored health plan. Employees can opt out and instead obtain coverage from their state's insurance exchange. In addition, while the PPACA does not explicitly require that an employer offer its full-time employees acceptable health insurance, employers with at least 50 full-time equivalents will generally face penalties, beginning in 2014, if one or more of their full-time employees obtains a premium credit through an exchange.8 While not a mandate, these provisions may have a similar effect.
Employers that don't provide coverage, provide coverage that is too expensive, or have employees who opt out of coverage and buy through the exchanges face financial penalties.
The PPACA standards will significantly affect industries that employ part-time, temporary, seasonal and float-pool workers extensively. In addition to the 30-hour provision, employers will only be allowed to impose a maximum 90-day waiting period before full-time employees become eligible for benefits. This maximum is significantly less than the competitive norm in certain industry sectors. Also, employers that previously offered coverage only to employees will now need to offer coverage to employees' dependents.
These changes could dramatically affect industries such as retail, hospitality and health care. Many retailers, for example, require that employees work 35 to 40 hours per week before being considered full time and eligible, as well as going through a waiting period of 180 days or longer before receiving health coverage. Such employers should consider assessing their workforce profile in light of the new eligibility and coverage realities of the act.
Compliance and reporting requirements
The PPACA imposes an "individual mandate" requiring everyone in America to have health care coverage obtained in one of three ways: from an employer, from a governmental plan like Medicare and Medicaid, or purchased from one of the state insurance exchanges to be established in 2014. Employers that don't provide coverage, provide coverage that is too expensive, or have employees who opt out of coverage and buy through the exchanges face financial penalties.
Under the act, children can remain on their parents' employer health insurance plan until age 26. Also, health plans cannot deny coverage to children under the age of 20 because of a pre-existing condition.
Implications for health sciences companies: Assessing the impact on the front lines
As purveyors of health-related services and products, health plans, health care providers and life sciences companies will experience health care reform differently:
Health plan impacts
This sector is probably affected most dramatically and must grapple with major issues immediately. Approximately a dozen provisions in the PPACA require action by insurance companies within six months after passage of the act. Changes to be made effective for plan years beginning September 23, 2010 include removing lifetime limits from insurance policies, expanding coverage to dependents up to age 26, and covering preventive benefits without cost sharing.
Another noteworthy change for health plans involves administrative standardization, which will require insurers to work with hospitals toward simplifying basic transactions. Together with medical benefit expense floors and new reporting, standardization compels significant investments in automation of core administration activities.
Insurers will need to act fastest, with only limited help from near-term, clarifying regulations. They need to understand the act's effects – not only the list of immediate to-dos but also its broader, longer-term implications. How will the provisions impact their book of business, both in terms of membership and finances? Who will their customers really be in the future? What are the opportunities and risks going forward?
Health care provider impacts
While insurers face hard and fast change, health care providers are afforded a more gradual immersion. Changes will happen more on a year-over-year basis, with a number of trial-and-error provisions playing out.
Among immediate priorities facing providers is dealing with significant near-term impacts related to Medicare, including Medicare rate adjustments and establishment of pilot projects to test new payment methodologies. In addition, linkage of Medicare hospital payments to outcomes will elevate the importance of capturing sound data that substantiates treatment quality.
Expanding coverage rolls may contribute to hospital volumes and revenues. However, cuts in Medicare payment levels, reduced government funding of indigent care, and increased commercial plan price pressure will lower per-patient revenues, driving smaller and underperforming providers to consider finding partners. Delivery system reforms, such as bundled payments in which hospitals and the attending physicians receive a set dollar amount from the government for the array of services provided a patient before, during and after hospitalization, will require stronger and more diverse relationships between hospitals and physicians.
Provider organizations should assess whether they have optimal relationships with other providers and are creatively managing the health of the populations they serve. Considerations include types of care to offer, where and when to provide it, and effectiveness of IT strategies and preparedness for ICD-10. In addition, nearly $300 million in new funding for enforcement and program integrity activities provided by the PPACA and the ARRA will compel organizations to assess their ability to prevent, detect and correct potential compliance issues (see the sidebar "Addressing fraud, waste and abuse" below).
Life sciences company impacts
Health care reform's impact on life sciences companies has received less public attention to date than on insurers and providers. However, changes for pharmaceutical companies and medical device makers are significant.
Life sciences companies will see both positive and negative margin impacts. Drug usage should increase with the increased number of insured Americans, increased Medicaid drug rebates, and closing of Medicare Part D's "donut hole" in prescription drug coverage for seniors. However, a new excise tax will lower margins on some medical devices, and growing use of generic drugs will continue challenging pharmaceutical companies to generate return on capital investments.
The expanded use of comparative effectiveness studies may significantly change how life sciences companies conduct research and development and help guide investment decisions. Life sciences companies will also need to decide which markets are most promising. For example, should they focus on a changing U.S. market or shift attention to other countries?
Suggestions for health care-related companies
Health plans, providers and life sciences companies should consider a three-pronged response to health care reform:
- Develop rapid responses to the most time-sensitive statutory and business implications. Though major elements of the bill are effective in 2014, no health care organization can afford to delay preparedness.
- Understand the act's longer-term strategic implications. Pay special attention to how the alignment of cost reductions with improved outcomes and safety could require innovative models of collaboration between payers, providers and life sciences organizations.
- Begin a deliberate process to assess and diagnose organizational strengths and weaknesses resulting from real and potential long-term reform.
We believe taking a structured, disciplined approach to reform requirements, necessary responses and likely organizational impacts can help companies address these three priorities more effectively.
Reporting requirements in the PPACA require changes in benefit administration systems. Employers will be required to submit a filing to the Internal Revenue Service certifying whether full-time employees have coverage, whether they have single or family coverage, how much it costs, and the design of the health care plan. Employers also must calculate on a standardized basis the value of health care benefits they provide to individual employees. They will be required to communicate the value of those benefits through a line item on each employee's W-2.
Steps employers can take now
As noted, most provisions of the PPACA don't go into effect until 2014. However, with insurance reforms effective for plan years starting in September 2010 and an urgent need to inform employees of upcoming changes, employers should take steps now to comply.
They should proceed cautiously, though, especially considering the grandfather provisions. A misstep could mean losing grandfather status and becoming subject to additional requirements. For example, employers that completely revise their employee health care offerings in 2011 or later will lose protections that grandfather status may bring. And, pending regulatory guidance, material modifications to a plan's value or cost to employees may also trigger unintended consequences. Hopefully, material modification guidance will be forthcoming during 2010.
Employers should consider a three-phase approach in addressing health care reform: First, consider adjusting plan designs to meet the immediate requirements of the act, while maintaining grandfather status. The goal is to make needed design and contribution changes without unintended consequences created by loss of grandfather status.
Second, analyze what plan changes will be needed for 2014 when health exchanges and individual coverage mandates go into effect. It will be critical by then to understand what actions employees are likely to take in terms of staying in or opting out of employer-provided coverage. Think of how employees will react to the individual mandate – will they be more or less likely to opt for employer coverage? Also compare coverage costs through an exchange to employer plan costs.
Finally, take a strategic view of health care reform that seeks to balance the PPACA's requirements, health care costs and the business's commitment to providing employee coverage. This strategic analysis needs to be performed in the context of a potentially changed competitive landscape. First, to what degree does health care reform modify how employers within an industry or sector deal with their rewards responsibilities. Second, will health care reform require rethinking workforce composition within selected sectors?
Addressing fraud, waste and abuse
Fraud, waste and abuse are staggering problems in the health care industry, accounting for perhaps hundreds of billions of dollars in losses annually.9 According to the Internal Revenue Service, estimates of the amount of fraud range from three to 10 percent of national health care expenditures.10
Government efforts to address the situation are intensifying. An additional $350 million, 10-year investment in fraud surveillance was added in the final revisions to the PPACA.11
The ARRA includes funding to strengthen antifraud oversight and investigations through several avenues. Concurrent with passage of the ARRA, the Fraud Enforcement and Recovery Act of 2009 (FERA) was enacted, extending federal fraud laws that previously only addressed government procurement and expanding the scope of the False Claims Act (FCA), which imposes liability on businesses for making false statements or claims for government reimbursement.12
Provisions in the PPACA addressing fraud, waste and abuse include increased penalties for submitting false claims, enhanced provider screening and oversight, Medicare and Medicaid requirements to establish compliance programs, and use of tax data to identify fraudulent providers.
One area of enforcement focus could be the fraud potential resulting from the addition of 32 million people to insurance rolls. Law enforcement officials are also expected to pay close attention to hot fraud markets, such as Florida,13 as well as the nature and evolution of physician-hospital relationships as concepts such as bundled payments gain traction.
Businesses should consider taking several steps in an effort to reduce their exposure and liability related to fraud, waste and abuse, including:
- Take a close look at new fraud-prevention measures included in the PPACA, ARRA and FERA. Understand specific areas the government is targeting, why such areas are being targeted, and new requirements the provisions mandate.
- Anticipate compliance requirements relating to employee health benefits and potential government enforcement actions.
- Establish effective compliance programs and internal controls, beginning with a strong tone of compliance at the top that is actualized through resource commitment.
- Conduct a thorough risk assessment to map exposure in the context of applicable laws and regulations and identify gaps that might expose the company to enforcement activities.
- Expand the scope of existing fraud prevention programs and controls to include new health care-related risks. Assess and refine program components, including comprehensive personnel training; communication protocols; channels for employees to safely report violations, such as whistleblower hotlines; periodic reviews and audits; and penalties for noncompliance.
- Consider additional investment in technology to analyze transactions and detect anomalies.
A prompt and appropriate response is needed when a problem or violation is detected. Effective preparation includes identifying investigative and response resources before a crisis and creating and documenting fraud and abuse protocols.
A time for decisive and informed leadership
Health care reform has monumental implications for businesses in America. Changes will occur over time, and specifics of many of those changes are largely unknown today.
The many uncertainties surrounding health care reform should motivate boards of directors and senior executives to engage as never before in understanding the health care landscape and taking decisive action to shape their companies' strategies going forward. Simply put, corporate leaders can no longer place total responsibility for health care on their human resources departments. Instead, they should address it as diligently as any other aspect of the business, applying similar levels of rigor to planning, risk management, compliance and measurement associated with their organization's health benefits.
Also, a heightened commitment doesn't end at the gates of the corporate campus. Businesses now have a bigger ownership stake in health care than ever. We believe they can help shape the future of health care reform by:
- Developing effective practices in benefits design and sharing them with other employers.
- Working collaboratively with other businesses in their community to shape the local health care delivery system, holding providers and each other accountable for health care quality, safety and cost containment.
- Taking an active part in shaping national and state health care policy through involvement with trade associations.
Finally, health care reform is likely to be a catalyst for innovations in health care services and delivery. What has historically been an insular and rigid system is now even riper for innovation. New players and new service delivery models are expected to emerge to help employers overcome traditional barriers to cost control, efficiency and improving workforce health and quality of life.
By acting both methodically and quickly to comply with near-term reform requirements, while simultaneously laying the groundwork for future decisions, executives can better prepare their organizations for the continuing evolution of the nation's new health care order.


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(Actually, I'm lying. I didn't ask him about snails.)
I first made a note to remember Istvan's name when I encountered his essay "Science Fiction and Empire", which I thought was fascinating and even, dare I say it, scintillating. When I read Adam Roberts's review of his book The Seven Beauties of Science Fiction, I knew I needed to read it. So I did. And then I had questions. Thus, an interview was born...
Here's some of what Istvan has to say about his book:
I wanted to do a lot of things writing The Seven Beauties, and they kept changing—which probably shows up in the zig-zag way the book is written. My first and overriding goal was to write something useful and stimulating for students and younger scholars of SF. That meant producing a sort of textbook from hell—the opposite of a normal class text. I mainly wanted to generate problems and suggestions that folks interested in studying SF could develop, critique, or just run away with. Early on, my model was the mathematician Paul Erdös, who is known not so much for the originality of his solutions as for the questions he posed. He made a career of formulating intriguing problems that would attract younger mathematicians to solve. So Seven Beauties is supposed to be a sort of compendium of interesting problems. In some cases I stated things more assertively that even I believed them to be, since some folks don't get inspired unless they feel provoked.For more about Istvan, see his own webpage.
But I also wanted to place SF in a larger historical and cultural context, and specifically an artistic one. I'm trained in comparative literature, and I'm committed to literature as a tradition. There has been a lot of impressive scholarship on SF from cultural-studies perspectives. The main way that students and scholars look at the genre now is in terms of popular culture, gender/race/sexual identity/class critique, postcolonialism, vestiges of New Left Marxism, and the postmodernist notion that SF and contemporary social mythologies are converging. I can't add much to that rich and diverse work, and fortunately I don't have to. What I wanted to do was to treat the science-fictional imagination as if it were not just a symptom of some other, more basic social process, but something that audiences consider valuable on its own terms. To find out what those terms are I reversed the normal way of looking at SF, sort of like a Magic Eye picture, so that science-fictionality would be my context, and the historical-contextual forces would be constructed by it. That's actually a rather Old School approach, which is why I wrote in my intro that the book could be read as steampunk criticism. My premise is that SF has been a powerful imaginative force influencing the social imagination of the past long century.