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Our Local Radio Brands Dominate the Midland-Odessa, TX Market
Advertise your business on the radio and online
At Townsquare Midland-Odessa, we reach 113,100 radio listeners across 5 stations, as well as 68,448 unique visitors to our station websites and 70,144 social followers. We own some of the most popular radio stations in the area, but we use a combination of radio advertising and digital marketing to help local businesses grow.
Attract Customers With Our Comprehensive Digital Marketing Services
Build your brand, impress potential customers and make sure people in Midland-Odessa, TX who need your products and services can find you.
A strong online presence is an important part of every marketing strategy. When your customers hear about you and search for the products and services you offer, it is crucial that they find your website, and that site needs to be effective and look great on computers, tablets and phones. Townsquare Midland-Odessa can help build you a personalized digital marketing package that includes a website and everything you need to attract your ideal customers as they traverse the web.
The best part? No long-term contracts and only one point of contact-no online support queues or automated helplines here.
At Townsquare Midland-Odessa, we can help you develop a personalized digital marketing package that includes a website with SEO friendly web design and everything else you need to reach your ideal customers in the Midland-Odessa, TX area as they traverse the web. This includes digital ads and other strategic methods of online advertising.
The best part? No long-term contracts and only one point of contact - no online support queues or automated helplines here.
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It's time to start getting found online. We'll use the best practices to get you ranking on Google.
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Show your ads to your potential customers on both Facebook and Instagram to boost your business.
Programmatic Advertising
Identify your ideal audience and get your messaging in front of them before they know they need you.
Search Engine Marketing (PPC)
Start showing up in the paid ad sections of search results for keywords related to your industry.


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Steve Hill's Solo Recording series of albums are pretty much all recorded live, so what could an actual album recorded live in front of a Canadian audience offer us that we couldn't get on the studio ones? Audience participation? How many classic live albums were filled with false applause? And hasn't the live album been denigrated to little more than official bootleg rather than a climactic greatest hits package? Either way, someone forget to mention it to this Canuck.
There's a rawer power at work as amps go up to 11, the excitement and thrill of the chase playing live affects Hill's overall performance and while there are a number of tracks featured here that can be heard on his last studio album the live setting allows solo to scorch and wail a little more rather than fit to a proscribed length.
Opening with the Bad Company meets Foghat blue collar rock of 'Rhythm All Over' it comes out the speakers loud with a proud slide guitar solo in tow, and as statement of intent works well. With 'Go On' musically it sounds like something off Paul Rogers' Muddy Waters Blues album; it's mid-paced with crunchy turnaround riffs at work and again some rather lively slide work.
We get bluesier still with the old Chicago grooves of 'The Collector', a song about guitars and woman. Then power chords strike up for 'Damned ' punctuating this boogie rocker to which we advice you to turn up the volume and bang your head against but not to the point where you miss out appreciating the various guitar nuances. There's picked electric guitar, slightly higher vocals and harmonica on 'Tough Luck' that comes over all dark suited and waiting to be some TV cops and robbers theme, a veritable murder ballad in all but name.
There's more boogie with 'Never Is Such A long Time' that's both creepy and creeps up on you when some sensual guitar licks take an extended musical walk and crowd appears to enjoy it. There's a long guitar intro for the rocking John Lee Hooker styled 'Hate To See You Go' , with much foot tapping adding to Hill's man band approach with some quality guitar soloing also thrown in for good measure. By comparison, 'Emily' might return us to a Bad Co feel, but in ballad mode. 'Nothing New' features a haunting long noted harmonica intro, with Hill affecting a slow, deeper croon amid growling and one reflects how bloody dark some of this stuff is lyrically.
The album is packed with songs that have stories; songs of bad luck, hard times and love. You feel that the singer's personally been there and that it wouldn't be out of place for you yourself to being those same songs, but hell, you'd do it again. 'Out of Phase' sums that up with lines like "Times have changed but I don't" – It's brighter upbeat guitar tones over what's effectively a country ballad played on electric creating a nice dichotomy.
Harmmer-ons and pull-off riffs lead us into 'Still Got It Bad' a crime noire mystery/secret agent vibe Rory Gallgher had a penchant for writing, about a woman who's vanished on his return home. Whereas 'The Ballad of Johnny Wabo' warns you to get out of there in its narrative. It's slow crawling blues shifting into a heavy bass drum beating loud boogie that veers off into some inventive slide solo turns that cook up into a frenzy. That's followed well by the strong voiced bolshy slow rock of 'Dangerous' that pitches into a stomping cover of 'Voodoo Child (Slight Return)' with attention paid to vocal delivery, with a long guitar opus at the end that throws in a dash of 'Whole Lotta Love' for good measure.
Then, with a "Merci beaucoup" the show is over save for applause. If there's a trick missed here it's the lack of audience banter and with Steve Hill being a one man band you'd kind of expect that, as it adds an amiable quality and makes you feel you were there. Certainly he chatted and told stories when I saw him live, maybe those conversations were cropped to fit the extended solos. Regardless, while it's heavy on tracks from his last album it's strong on listenability.

subset: commoncrawl


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The MBTA's vaunted three-year-old electronic fare system keeps revealing its quirks. Last month I purchased an express bus pass from a vending machine and got a surprise. The machine does not sell a monthly pass into the contactless stored value card, but it will print flexible plastic passes that are electronically encoded and printed on their face with the fare or zone. So I tapped on the computer screen and paid with my credit card and I received a printed monthly express bus pass through the right-handed slot on the machine. And then I told the machine that I wanted a receipt and out of the left slot what popped out?
A second express bus pass, with an identical monthly fare! Two passes for the price of one!
I was confused so I asked the station attendant what the second pass was all about. He said that I must have paid twice, and that the pass was indeed a second monthly ticket to the bus. He recommended that I write the machine number and return the pass to the monthly pass office at a different station, when the office reopened. He figured that I must have paid for the extra pass.
But surprise! Later I confirmed that the second pass was indeed a live monthly ticket and not a receipt — it is accepted by card readers on the express bus — and best of all, my credit card only was charged once — meaning I only paid for one of the two passes! I've heard that I'm not the only person who has experienced this "surprise;" I wonder how often the MBTA has done this unannounced two-for-one deal.
I previously had heard of stored value Charlie Cards that erroneously had some special unlimited access for unlimited time, and I've had intermittent problems in the past with the fare system. For example, once when the clock struck midnight on the last day of the month my monthly pass for the previous month no longer worked and my monthly pass for the subsequent month was not yet recognized. Stranded at midnight with two monthly passes but no train fare! Imagine.
But a whole free pass — very unexpected. This potentially is an $89 mistake by the T. Mistakes like that add up quickly. The T spent thousands chasing two MIT hackers who had devised some theoretical exploit to ride the T more than they were entitled. And then the T turns around and it prints extra monthly passes for free.
Is there a contractor somewhere that owes the T some money back? I wonder how much money the T has lost through this particular quirk.


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Many people accept that humility is a virtue, one that contributes to an individual's success or legacy. Treating others respectfully and as equals is a courteous thing to do, as is recognizing everyone's individual value and innate strengths. This is what I teach my children and the value that I integrate into how I run my business as well as my life.
This extends far beyond an altruistic ideal, though. Humility is not simply being self-depreciating or passive. In fact, it's less about our relationship with other people and more reflective of the relationship we have with ourselves. Humility is about being fully aware of your humanity and your interdependence with others. It allows us to be self-aware and recognize where we may have gaps in our knowledge or in our control. This is a proven value that can have concrete and positive ramifications in our everyday life, specifically in our investments. Trust me, it's not that big of a leap.
- Humility is understanding that I do not know everything. This means that I can make mistakes. It also reinforces that there are others who may have more knowledge or a different perspective that may provide value to the decisions I make. Whether you're talking about a doctor, a lawyer, a tax accountant or in my case, a financial planner, there are folks who have the knowledge and passion to help you.
- Humility is understanding that I do not control everything. This means that things will happen that I have no power over, that I could not predict, and that may cause a few bumps in the road. In those moments, it's good to refrain from acting impulsively or emotionally. Preparation and flexibility are also key. It's best to plan for emergencies, fluctuations in the market, and other surprising events to understand what to expect, stay focused on the bigger picture and be prepared for not necessarily doing things "as usual".
Once we accept these points, we can recognize where we may need assistance and be open to advice from expert counsel. When we do that, we do it for our own personal benefit, arming ourselves with the resources for monetary and overall success. Michael McGrath sums it up nicely in his article, "Humility in Investing: Why It's Important",
"Overconfidence tells you that it must be the other thing that was wrong—I see it all the time in my work. But humility allows you to say, "I'm not perfect, was there something that I might have been able to do better?"1
The Advisors at Trilogy Financial are here to be your resource on the road to doing things better. Our accomplishments are measured by your success and ability to achieve your financial freedom.


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Blog Archives
Hey Dear KMA Readers, welcome to a short (two-day) series I'll call The Weekend Of Reading (for lack of a wittier or more creative title). It's Saturday, and, against my current brevity attempts, today's missive is a fairly long excursion. I know for sure it's worthwhile, though, so grab a coffee and get comfortable. Enjoy!
Like many of us, I have several items on my Grail List (see link at top of page for the Master Grail List). That's the whole point of the list. We put the things we dearly want and have never found in the wild onto that list, and then we can all access this list and help each other out wherever we are in the world! This system has already yielded great results, with people finding things for others in their own local shoppes that have never appeared in other places. Community!
One item on my list has always been the main attraction. It has always been the only item on anybody's Grail List in red text, to highlight its glory, priority, and importance to me.
Copies of this item exist, sure, and given unlimited funds I would already have had a M/M copy ages ago. But typically, lesser-rated copies list at $100-$200 (CAD), and some appear for more yet. Quality and ratings vary widely within that range, too. I'd have a hard time paying that for an LP set, no matter what it was. And that's prices without shipping added on yet!
Part of the problem is that this album was only ever released on LP in the UK and Europe, so here in Canada it's an import. The price goes up. It's also a 2LP gatefold set. The price goes up again. It's also from 1993, a time when LPs were being shoved aside in favour of 1537's least favourite format, the shiny silver discs, so that means there were (comparitively) fewer copies out there. The price goes up again.
I've had this LP set on my Discogs Want List for a looong time. It may have even been my first-ever item added to my list. And not a week goes by that I don't get a new notification from them saying 'hey! we have a newly-added copy! It's only £95!' Well, that's a lot more to me, with currency conversion considered, so how about no.
And then. AND THEN. Finally, after all these years, I recently clicked on one of these notification emails (as I always do) expecting it to be another wildly expensive copy, and it wasn't. It was reasonable. And rated VG+/VG+. I didn't even think about it and, recognizing my chance, I hit Order.
The seller was super-fast, receiving the order and processing the payment that same day. They shipped the next day. That kind of turnaround is crazy. It came from the UK, so it took a while for the boys in the canoes to get it here, but arrive it did.
Can I tell you how happy I was? I even messaged the seller to thank them, and they were happy it made me happy. Wa-hooo!
Now, you wonder why this album. What's the big deal?
Waaaaay back in the autumn of 1998, my lovely wife and I started dating. On our second date, she visited me in my town, and we made dinner together in my little apartment. We shared a bottle of chianti my Nana had brought back from Italy. And this was the album that I threw into the player that evening. That was the CD copy I still have today! On reflection, I don't recall any real calculation to choosing that particular album, I must've just reflexively figured it would go well. It did. And it became 'our' album. We're sentimental fools.
So, finding this on LP has always been a goal of mine, just for the beauty of hearing it on the Rega, and for having the 2LP gatefold gloriousness in our house.
Even better, this year was our 20th Valentines Day together, now married 15 years, with two beautiful children, and loving life. We've come a long way and covered a lot of kilometers (in three provinces) from that date at my place, but then again, we've been friends for 40 years, so we just call it a lifetime of awesome, all is as it should be. And this set made an excellent gift for both of us on this 20th Valentines!
And now, if you've gotten this far, you must be wondering what the hell album it was, that I was so careful not to tell you about all through this big long text, eh? Well here ya go:
Yessir, it was Van Morrison's 'Too Long In Exile.'
If you've read this far, you're a true KMA Reader, and for that I thank you. Happy weekend, everyone, and as it is also Family Day weekend here in Canada, Happy Family Day as well!
Van Morrison – The Best Of Van Morrison
Van Morrison occupies a unique place in music. He seems to be loved by most, and even those who dislike his music (that I've met, anyway) can acknowledge his reach and appeal.
This disc, which covers 25 years of his career, is filled to the brim with songs you know top to bottom. When an artist has so many records, like he does, for most people I'd bet that a hits set like this would be everything they'd want. All the big songs are here – Brown Eyed Girl, Bright Side Of The Road, Have I Told You Lately, Moondance, Domino, Wild Night … and on and on. I don't like to pick favourites here, but I always wait for And It Stoned Me to come on.
But there are also a pile of songs (which are deservedly included) that casual listeners might not know straight away, like Full Force Gale, Cleaning Windows, and Dweller On The Threshold. You need to hear them all. Also included are three songs from his time with Them, and one collaboration with Cliff Richard. Cool!
There's one sequencing glitch, though. I'd have put Baby Please Don't Go before Moondance. That would flow better than having it as Gloria, Moondance, Baby Please Don't Go, and Have I Told You Lately. It's a little jarring.
Of course, there's an excellent Volume 2 as well, and even a 2CD Volume 3, but to get you started on Van Morrison, you'll be able to spend a long time with this disc before wanting to branch out.
Van Morrison – Keep It Simple
Dear KMA Readers, I have been away for most of this week, in Toronto and visiting family, so that explains the (surely regrettable?) lack of content from me. But now I am once again firmly ensconced before my most beauteous Macbook Pro (oh, how I've missed her). Better still, I have a pile of new treasures to hear and review, and I'm a-rarin' to go. So then, Go!
First up is this disc that my lovely wife bought for our edification. It's safe to say that any Van Morrison album is a good album, to our eager ears, and this one is certainly worthy of his boggling, multi-decade discography. The man makes records that sound so easy, so sublime, that listeners everywhere have just got to sit up and take notice. His is a template handed down from the g-ds of Music.
Van Morrison is like that great friend that you've known forever, the one who knows you better than anyone else. Through his music he just nods and smiles knowingly, and then lets you know it's all gonna be alright.
So here we have Keep It Simple. This he does, folks, indeed. All of the old tricks are here, in a stripped-down way. The pacing is superb, the 12 bar blues run rampant, and he mixes in some shuffles and sweet, sweet slow dancers to make the ladies sigh. OK, so I sighed too. Think what you will. This is a record of great amalgamation, too. Think of it as a collection of blues, jazz, country, soul, gospel, and any other style the man has brilliantly interpreted and utilized over the years.
True, it could be argued that Van Morrison kinda sounds the same on every record. It's his voice. It's so distinctive (and, by now, completely familiar) that you might just say "yeah, well, it's him again." And you'd be right. But it's that very uniqueness that is his calling card, his seal of quality that lets the happy listener know that they are in for yet another top-notch, beautifully rendered record.
My lovely wife pointed out that one of the greatest strengths of this record is that, quite like Leonard Cohen's Dear Heather, here is a snapshot of a musician who's been at it for a lifetime and now, in their older years, they're looking back. Reminiscing, with maybe some regret but not too much, just taking stock of what has been and what can now be. It's bittersweet, it's honest, and it's entirely gorgeous.
If you're a fan, you already know what you're getting. If not, it's time you joined the rest of the world and welcomed this man's beautiful music into your life.
Track Listing:
01 How Can A Poor Boy
02 School Of Hard Knocks
03 That's Entrainment
04 Don't Go To Night Clubs Anymore
05 Lover Come Back
06 Keep It Simple
07 End Of The Land
08 Song Of Home
09 No Thing
10 Soul
11 Behind The Ritual


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220 MW facility marks completion of New Mexico's largest clean power investment
San Francisco, CA, September 4, 2019 – New Mexico's newest wind power facility is now up and running. Pattern Energy Group 2 LP ("Pattern Development") today announced it has completed construction and begun operations at its 220 megawatt (MW) Grady Wind facility located in Curry County, New Mexico. This is the third and final phase of a 544 MW suite of wind projects, which now represent the largest investment in clean power in the history of New Mexico.
"The successful completion of Grady Wind represents an important step in New Mexico's evolution as a major renewable energy producer," said Mike Garland, CEO of Pattern Development. "As the leading wind developer and operator in New Mexico, we are proud to be helping position New Mexico as a wind energy leader. We also plan to ramp up construction in early 2020 on more than 800 MW of new wind facilities in central New Mexico, creating hundreds of new construction jobs and generating billions of dollars in economic impact. As wind and solar energy development grow throughout the state, New Mexicans will reap the economic benefits."
The construction phase of Grady Wind created hundreds of jobs for New Mexicans and it is now delivering additional economic benefits including land lease payments to local landowners and tax revenue for the host communities of eastern New Mexico. The facility employs approximately 20 full-time personnel for ongoing maintenance and operations.
Grady Wind is utilizing a total of 84 Siemens Gamesa 2.625 MW wind turbines with 120-meter rotors. During each year of operations, the 220 MW facility will generate energy equal to the needs of nearly 90,000 homes. Grady Wind has a 25-year Power Purchase Agreement for 100% of the energy produced, and it will deliver wind power across the Western Interconnect transmission line that was also developed and successfully placed into service in 2017 by Pattern Development.
Pattern Development's affiliate Pattern Energy Group Inc. (Nasdaq & TSX: PEGI) ("Pattern Energy") is operating the Grady Wind facility, along with the neighboring 324 MW Broadview Wind facilities. Pattern Energy has previously added Grady Wind to its list of identified Right of First Offer (iROFO) projects.
About Pattern Development
Pattern Development is a leader in developing renewable energy and transmission assets. With a long history in wind energy, Pattern Development has developed, financed and placed into operation more than 4,000 MW of wind and solar power projects. A strong commitment to promoting environmental stewardship drives the company's dedication in working closely with communities to create renewable energy projects. Pattern Development has offices in San Francisco, San Diego, Houston, New York, Toronto, Mexico City, and Tokyo. For more information, visit www.patterndev.com.
# # #
Matt Dallas
Pattern Development
Copyright © 2020 Pattern Energy Group LP. All rights reserved.


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Monopolies are a bad thing. They are great for the companies who have them and terrible for pretty much everyone else. In some cases they can be convenient for consumers, such as with Netflix, but ultimately they hurt consumers in a number of ways in the long run. Competition is a good thing. Capitalism only truly works correctly when multiple companies are able to compete fairly and consumers are given real choices about where and how to purchase the things they want and need. So today I want to discuss this recent controversy between Steam and the newly founded Epic Games Store (EGS).
Steam has an interesting history. Originally launched in 2003, a game development studio called Valve Corporation wanted a platform that made it possible for developers to easily distribute games to PC gamers. The key tenants of this platform were two fold. The first was to make PC game and update/additional content distribution easier for developers, specifically smaller ones that lacked publishing assistance. This was important for Valve because they themselves were producing games that were great but hard to get out to the public. You may remember projects from them like Portal 1 & 2, Half-Life 1 & 2, Team Fortress 1 & 2, and Counter Strike: Global Offensive. It's important to note that many of their projects were developed in collaboration with other studios or actually created by studios they acquired over the years. The point though is that their reason for creating Steam started out as very personal in that they needed a platform to distribute their own projects, similar to why Ubisoft created UPLAY several years after the creation of Steam. The second key tenant of Steam was to make it easier for consumers to purchase, download, and ultimately play games. Before Steam, most people still were purchasing physical copies of PC games as well as expansions and additional content for them. Some other platforms that ultimately didn't take off were created either by individual studios for their own games or by independent corporations trying to essentially do what Steam does today, but really Steam established the modern PC gaming ecosystem.
In the almost 16 years since Steam was established, many changes have taken place, both with Valve and with the platform itself. For example, Valve really doesn't make games anymore. The last project released that was made by their core development team was Dota 2, released in 2013. Really now they're just a publisher buying smaller studios like Campo Santo and acting as a main distributor for projects created by the developers under their umbrella of ownership. Steam is the bulk of their business and revenue now. Steam itself has changed a lot over the years. Many things have been added such as forums, a return policy, a user review system, and of course an ever expanding library of games. Most people today would say that it's the most successful PC games distribution platform in the world with a majority of developers distributing on the platform and more PC based users than any other currently extant platform. But not all the changes have been good . . . for the consumers and developers that use their platform.
Over time, Steam has gone out of its way to keep people from having access to user data. Whether or not this is a good thing is debatable. Steam currently takes 30% of profits from sales of software, meaning developers make at most 70% of the sale price, not factoring in additional costs such as publishers. Steam once had some of the best sales in the PC games market but over time the quality of their sales has dropped. Often you can find better prices for the same products from third party sellers even if the codes being sold are to be used on Steam. Humble Store, Fanatical, and Green Man Gaming are just a few examples of such third party sellers. Steam's DRM policies have become exceedingly more troublesome over the years, sometimes even lowering the performance of games. As with all companies in gaming, Steam has slowly turned to the dark side, or the EA side as I prefer to call it, over time. That is not to say that Steam is a bad platform. That's completely subjective to each individual user. But to say Steam is the best possible platform for both developers and consumers, outside of volume of games available, would be a ridiculous statement. Personally I think GOG is a much better platform for consumers. The only real complaint I have about it is of course the limited selection of games. I much prefer UPLAY to Steam. The prices are often better and the rewards system for Ubisoft is built right into the system. But of course this only works for games published by Ubisoft, which is very limiting in the grand scheme of PC gaming.
People often argue that Steam has a monopoly in the PC games market. This is inaccurate. Monopolies are technically illegal in the US. We have anti-trust laws and have since at least 1890 with the Sherman Act. Now of course the US government basically never polices monopolies anymore, but technically they could if they wanted to. This would not apply to Steam. In reality, what Steam has is a natural monopoly which is not the same and is not illegal. Steam has very little competition because it's simply too big to fail at this point. Making a true competitor is difficult. It requires lots of start-up capital. It requires providing a service that's just as convenient as Steam with at least as many extracurricular resources. It requires motivation to get developers to put in the extra effort to work with a new platform knowing full well that the user base won't be as large as Steam's. Truth be told, the only way a real competitor will be able to establish itself in 2019 would be to play dirty, which is exactly what's happening with EGS.
Let me reiterate that I think competition for Steam is a good thing. I'm glad I have choices about where to buy my games. I have no problem using multiple launchers. I use Steam, GOG, UPLAY, Origin when I'm feeling dirty, and a few weird indie ones. I buy from whatever store front has the best prices and least DRM. I buy from Fanatical, Green Man Gaming, Steam Store, UPLAY Store, Humble Store, CD Keys, Kinguin, and others. I genuinely don't care. The only reason I don't use G2A is because it seems shady like I can't really trust the keys. But I say more power to anyone who is comfortable using that store to purchase their games. I am a consumer. My only responsibility is to other consumers and fighting to make sure that we all get the lowest possible prices and best possible performance for our games while keeping our privacy and payment information secure. That's it. I don't owe any fealty or loyalty to any brand, platform, or company. Shills be damned. So whenever I hear about Steam getting some real competition, I consider it a good thing. That's why even though I can't stand Epic Games and the fact that they've made Fortnite Battle Royale seem like legitimate gaming, I was fully in support of them opening their own store. And I'm happy with a number of things about their store. The free game every two weeks being the best example of that. And they get some solid games for free on that store. Axiom Verge is free this week. That's what's up. And even though personally I'm not in it for the developers, I do want to see developers make as large a share of the profits from sales they can. So the fact that Epic Games is only taking 12% with no tiers and paying the 5% engine royalty is a good thing in my opinion. Because even if Epic Games doesn't become as successful as Steam, it will force Steam to change things about how it runs for both developers and consumers in order to stay competitive. That's the beauty and purpose of competition. It's not to topple things you already use. It's to force those things to be better or ultimately be replaced by things that are better. But EGS isn't playing completely fair.
What exactly constitutes a monopoly when it comes to digital game sales? In the dictionary, a monopoly is defined as "the exclusive possession or control of the supply of or trade in a commodity or service." But that's an extremely vague definition in today's world. And the Supreme Court keeps it that way because our capitalist system doesn't actually want to stop monopolies. Legally speaking, when it comes to digital game sales a monopoly would most likely be defined as one company being the only place where you can buy digital PC games. That means that if say Steam and Epic Games were to buy out every other PC game seller/distributor including UPLAY Store, or Ubisoft as a whole for the purposes of argument, then the government would step in if the two companies were to consider merging. But that's the far extreme, lazy definition of what actually constitutes a monopoly. I would define a monopoly in the case of PC games as any store front that has exclusive rights to sell a game that isn't directly responsible for the creation and publishing of that game. For me, it comes down to each individual game. So let's flesh it out.
Epic Games created Fortnite. So if Fortnite was only available on the EGS it would not be considered a monopoly because it's just them selling their own product. But if a company that doesn't have its own direct distribution method makes a game and it's only available for purchase on Steam with no other third party sellers, launchers, or other ways to legally purchase the game on PC, then that is a monopoly. Today we call this a platform exclusive but usually it only applies to console platforms and almost always means a game was published by the console platform's company. Spider-Man on PS4 is recent example of this. It was not developed by SONY. It was developed by Insomniac Games. But it's only available on PS4. That's a monopoly. But we don't formally count it as a monopoly because Sony published the game. But what if instead Anthem was a PS4 exclusive? That would be considered a monopoly because it's not developed or published by SONY. It would simply be one company holding all the sale and distribution power of a game that they had no stake in the development and publishing of because BioWare, the developer, is owned by EA, the publisher. But even in that case it wouldn't necessarily be a monopoly because you could still purchase the game from other distributors. You might say SONY had a platform monopoly but you would still be able to purchase the game from Wal-Mart, Amazon, Newegg, or any other games seller. To really consider it a monopoly, Anthem would have to be a PS4 exclusive that could only be purchased in digital form directly from the PSN Store. That's how specific things would have to get for it to be defined as an actual monopoly. And that's what makes playing dirty so easy in the current PC games distribution frame work.
EGS has started signing store exclusive deals with developers/publishers in exchange for that 88% profit share. Recently it was announced that this would be happening with Metro Exodus. The game was already available for preorder on Steam and has been for some time. Then suddenly, last week, it was announced that the game would no longer be available on Steam and that the PC version would only be available for purchase on the Epic Games Store, at a price of $49.99. This is a monopoly. Now we can't call it a full monopoly because you can already preorder the game from third party sellers like CD Keys to be activated on EGS. Legally speaking, that means it's not really a monopoly. Also, it's not a PC exclusive. So again, legally speaking it's not a monopoly. But it is dirty that Epic Games did that. Especially after it was originally available for preorder on Steam. But at the end of the day what really matters is that this is not the real definition of competition. Real competition means consumers have the choice to buy and play wherever they want. Exclusive titles, whether it be by platform, console, or launcher, are not competitive. This is not capitalism working as it should. They're unofficial monopolies that stifle competition and ultimately lead to companies being able to manipulate players into making otherwise bad purchasing decisions due to lack of options.
A truly competitive market would have no exclusive titles and force every seller, distributor, and launcher to actively work to be the best possible service as a way to motivate people to buy from them. That's true capitalism. I don't want to see a scenario where I have to buy a game from EGS. I don't want to see a scenario where I have to play a game on EGS even if I'm willing to pay more to play it somewhere else. In practical terms I will buy it from EGS if the price is better, but that should be my choice. I being forced to use their platform is problematic. And such practices will only make things worse for consumers and developers in the long run. We'll slowly lose our freedom of platform as Steam, Epic Games, and others start forcing developers into exclusive distribution agreements. Player bases will become fragmented as people end up committing to different platforms because of such and such benefit or loyalty program. PC Gaming will essentially become console gaming without the actual exclusive titles that were developed in house to justify the exclusivity of a particular game/brand. I foresee bad outcomes if EGS is allowed to continue these tactics. I want to see real open competition. The people should be able to decide where to buy their games. Not be forced to change platforms or use multiple because developers are chasing large profit shares and platforms won't play nice with each other. I want to see Epic Games Store continue to grow and thrive. But I don't want to see it done in this way.


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(based on 11 ratings in 2019)
"The hours are very long as there is so much work for juniors/trainees. The firm is flexible and my old department gave me occasional days off and sent me home early if I had put in a particularly long slog, but my current department just doesn't have that luxury and everyone is working exceptionally hard. Thankfully, it's great work!"First year trainee, London
"It's largely very flexible, but this can be department specific."Second year trainee, London
"Bakers is pretty flexible. Deadlines have to be met, but if staying at work late isn't strictly necessary then there's no requirement to do so."First year trainee, London
"You obviously have to work hard as it's a City law firm and hours vary a lot between departments but there is no working late for the sake of it. If you have to get away for something, people are normally good about it and consistently super-late hours aren't common."Second year trainee, London
"My current seats have included heavily fluctuating hours depending on what stage of the deal I am working on. That said, there is no face-time culture at the firm and trainees are trusted to do the work that's needed without being constantly scrutinized or forced to work long hours when it isn't necessarily needed."First year trainee, London
"My hours are generally from 9.00 am until 9.00 pm. Agile working is accommodated for, so you are able to work from home in the evenings when it is not necessary to stay in the office, which helps."First year trainee, London
"I am in one of the best departments for hours so my experience is not representative of the whole firm. I come in at 9.30 am and leave on average at 6.30 pm. There are days when I leave at 6.00 pm or even 5.30 pm and there are days when I stay till about 8.00 pm or have to log back in when I get home. For a corporate law job, that's pretty great. The flexibility really depends on the deal at hand. Some things just have to be finished that day and others can be pushed. Where things can be pushed, the people I've worked with have all been pretty happy to extend deadlines and so on."First year trainee, London
"My hours have been very flexible, with holiday being an easy thing to book."First year trainee, London
"There are days when it can be very busy, but this is not all of the time and there is no expectation that you will be working long hours. Lots of the senior people work very flexibly so the firm is very understanding."First year trainee, London
"Hours vary massively among trainees. It's easy to leave shortly after 6.00 pm every day in some departments while others will have regular late nights. If you have something you really need to go to then it will usually be fine to go. We also have laptops so we can finish things at home if needed."First year trainee, London
"Hours can be consistently long if you're within a transaction but they do vary from week to week and department to department. No one gets out at 5.00 pm but, compared to the experiences of trainees at other City firms, the hours are fairly reasonable given the work involved. The only thing to expect is not to be able to make many long-term commitments on weekday evenings. Trainees are encouraged to go home if they are in control of their workload and not to wait around for appearances' sake."First year trainee, London
"I can only think of two instances when I have had to take on more than I was comfortable with during my 15 months at the firm."Second year trainee, London
"Agile working is not available to trainees unfortunately."Second year trainee, London
"You don't apply for a training contract in a top global law firm if you want to work 9.00 am to 5.00 pm."Second year trainee, London
"The firm is flexible to a point and we have the ability to work from home on occasion. The firm gives you autonomy and trusts you to get your billables and work done within deadlines without being overly prescriptive about fixed hours. There are occasions where long days are required but there is no strict face-time culture requiring you to be in late if there is no urgent work to be completed."First year trainee, London
"When compared to others in the legal profession, my hours have been great. I am also given a surprising amount of flexibility with how I allocate my time and plan my schedule."First year trainee, London
"Trainees cannot work from home, save for special circumstances (train strikes, appointments etc). However, all trainees have laptops so often work from home in the evenings if required."Second year trainee, London
"I've sat in a transactional seat so far, which means that the hours go up and down depending on the individual matters that you're working on, but in general I have found that Baker & McKenzie have been pretty good about any personal commitments that I had during busy periods."First year trainee, London
"There isn't a 'face-time' culture here, so if your work is completed by 6:00pm then you are encouraged to go home."Second year trainee, London
"The hours are varying, and I tend to be at work until 7:00-8:00pm, but these working hours are what I expected."Second year trainee, London
"Working hours do vary from department to department, for instance one of my seats was excellent for hours, another pretty good and another was not good for me. However, people are often very grateful for hard work, so the extra hours that I have worked have been appreciated."Second year trainee, London
"Working hours are generally 9:30am-7:00/7:30pm, and I have worked late hours at times, people do respect the need for a work/life balance and will try not to keep you unnecessarily."First year trainee, London
"I have found that the working hours are fairly flexible; obviously it is an international city firm so hours will not be perfect, but people are generally understanding of plans and the fact that we have lives outside of the office."Second year trainee, London
"I have been happy with my experience of working hours at Baker & McKenzie, and they are generally from 9:15am-7:00/7:30pm."First year trainee, London
"I have been busy at work throughout my time at the firm, but I see that partners and associates always go out of their way to thank you, and arrange time off in lieu or events to make up for it."Second year trainee, London
"It really depends on the department but the firm is generally flexible. However, late nights are a regularity in a couple of departments."Second year trainee, London
"Hours have varied tremendously but by and large I am able to leave the office around 7:00pm."Second year trainee, Brussels
"The hours in my current seat are really good, I leave most days between 6 and 7:00pm."First year trainee, London
"I'm doing a corporate seat at the moment so the hours can be long when deadlines are approaching, but it's nothing unexpected. The hours are considerably more regular in most other departments."First year trainee, London
"In most departments there is no 'face-time' - but as with any firm, when the pressure is on you have to work late nights and weekends. Some departments have tougher hours than others."Second year trainee, London
"Although long hours are often necessary, there is no culture of 'face-time' at Bakers. If you do not have work to be doing, you leave. Additionally, the firm places great importance on time off and tries to encourage trainees to use all of their annual leave."Second year trainee, London
"My work hours in corporate have been rather up and down, with some 2:00am finishes and some days leaving at 6:00pm. There is no culture of 'face-time' so when it is quiet, you can leave at around 6:00pm without comment."First year trainee, London
"The firm is very reasonable when it comes to personal commitments and balancing interests outside the office with work. This varies across departments, however many are flexible when work permits."Second year trainee, London
"As a trainee, it is possible to work from home if the circumstances require this. There is no 'face-time' culture."Second year trainee, London
Our 'Insider Reviews' are the comments and views of recent graduate recruits, giving you a view of what it may be like to work for an organisation. Copyright of all TARGETjobs Insider Reviews material lies solely with GTI Media.


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Things have changed at Evergreen State College, a bucolic, left-leaning school in Olympia, Washington with a student body of about 4,000. In 2017, the school was rocked by a controversy over racism on campus that brought protests from the left, threats of violence from the right, and made the school a national focal point for bad-faith gripes from conservatives about "free speech." The situation was fraught enough that Evergreen State campus police successfully used the tension as a pretext to arm themselves with semi-automatic rifles, which they'd made multiple failed attempts at obtaining since 2007.
There was no announcement of the policy change; the greater Evergreen population only learned about the purchase of the new weaponry from the school's student newspaper, the Cooper Point Journal, in October 2018, a year after they were first purchased. CPJ reporter Forest Hunt told The Outline that he only found out about the AR-15s when another student observed the weapons in a campus police car.
"I don't know if having more weapons on campus will make anything safer for anybody," an Evergreen student named Cameron told the CPJ. "I think it will escalate the situation."
But the school is standing by in its decision to arm its law-enforcement officers. "Across the U.S., mass shootings and threats of violence on college campuses have sadly become more common in recent years," Allison Anderson, the school's public relations manager, told The Outline in an email. "Evergreen's law enforcement officers have the same standard-issue police equipment, including rifles, that their counterparts at the University of Washington and other campus police have at public universities throughout the state. The goal is to keep everyone safe."
Evergreen's new rifle policy is only the latest instance of police on college campuses arming themselves with lethal semi-automatic rifles, a worrying trend that has picked up momentum over the past decade.
In December 2015, The Boston Globe reported that Northeastern University campus officers were arming themselves with AR-15s for rapid deployment in the event of an emergency. Campus Police Chief Michael A. Davis told the Globe that their reason for doing so was simple, if you "watch CNN for five minutes." In the same article it was revealed that officers at nearby Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Boston University, Tufts University, and University of Massachusetts Boston also carry semi-automatic rifles.
In a 2016 interview, Indiana University — Purdue University Fort Wayne campus Chief of Police, Julie Yunker, cited a shooting at nearby Northern Illinois University as the reason her officers needed nine AR-15s so as not to be caught unawares. "We won't run out of ammunition," Yunker told Fort Wayne's Journal Gazette.
These increases in on-campus weaponry were not isolated incidents, as this 2016 Associated Press report shows. Per the AP:
Florida State bought 26 semi-automatic Bushmaster rifles from private sellers between 2012 and 2014, along with 10 other rifles acquired through the military surplus program. The University of Illinois bought 47 AR-15 rifles in that span. Purdue University received 25 rifles from the surplus program in 2007 and separately bought 17 more, records show.
The University of Wisconsin in Madison spent $11,000 on AR-15s in 2010, plus $6,000 on other rifles over the next four years.
Evergreen spent a similar amount in November 2017, when its president, George Bridges, quietly approved the purchase of seven Colt LE6920 AR-15 rifles, sights, and bullets from police weapon and equipment supplier GT Distributors at a cost of $10,897.76.
The state of Washington has been pushing to arm campus police for at least 12 years. In the aftermath of the Virginia Tech massacre in 2007, Washington state lawmakers proposed a number of recommendations to colleges and universities, including arming campus police with semi-automatic rifles.
The motivation for arming police officers — whether on campus or elsewhere — with AR-15s is summed up well by blogger Mike Callahan in a March 2018 op-ed on the police officer news site Police One. "Our first responders should not be sent into kill zones with handguns when their adversaries are armed with devastating high-velocity weapons," wrote Callahan, concluding, "Political correctness and refusal to recognize reality must be set aside. Nothing less is acceptable."
When campus police went to Evergreen with a proposal to get the weapons in December 2008 — citing the above directive from the state legislature that Washington colleges and universities arm their security services in case of an active shooting situation — the college created a review board to look into the possibility of purchasing the guns.
After seven months of research, the board rejected the police proposal in early 2009, citing the school's values. "It comes down to what [Evergreen] stands for," board chair Tim Markus said in contemporaneous comments about the decision. A similar attempt in 2013 by police to carry arms at Evergreen also failed.
Everything changed in 2017, when emails between (now-former) Evergreen biology professor Bret Weinstein and Rashida Love, the school's director of First Peoples Advising Services, were made public by the CPJ. In the emails, Weinstein objected to the school's annual "Day of Absence/Day of Presence" event, which has been a fixture on the campus since the '70s, and consists of students of color making themselves "absent" from campus to show what the school would be like without them. Weinstein's comments led a number of students to confront the professor outside of his classroom in late May, and the professor was portrayed as a victim in two opinion pieces in The New York Times.
The attention from two articles in the nation's paper of record was followed by a mini-documentary from VICE (above) and an appearance by Weinstein on Tucker Carlson's show on Fox News, which rocketed Weinstein and the Evergreen situation into the American media stratosphere. That attention translated into threats. That June; a man later identified as Robert W. Kerekes, Jr. of New Jersey, phoned the school and declared, "I am on my way to Evergreen [State] now with a .44 Magnum," and was going to "execute as many people on that campus as I can get ahold of." Though the threat turned out to be a hoax, the campus was shut down for two days for public safety purposes, and the school moved its graduation ceremony to Tacoma's Cheney Stadium some 30 miles away, where attendees had to cross through metal detectors to enter the venue. Changing the venue cost around $100,000, according to The Olympian newspaper.
Patriot Prayer, a right-wing extremist group that operates in the Portland, Oregon, and Seattle, Washington area (Olympia is two hours north of the former and an hour south of the latter) had already planned a rally for June 4 in nearby Portland. Once the controversy over Weinstein went national, Patriot Prayer announced it would focus at least some of the energy from its "free speech" event at Evergreen. Patriot Prayer held a demonstration at the college nearly two weeks later, clashing with anti-fascist counter-protesters.
The state legislature, citing the Weinstein unrest, renewed their drive to arm Evergreen's police. By then, the school was the last remaining public college or university in Washington at which police were not armed with high-powered rifles. After a Republican-led discussion regarding the alleged quashing of dissenting voices on campus by the left, lawmakers began raised concerns over potential active shooters on campus and recommended to Bridges that he arm his police force.
During the roughly 90-minute hearing, Bridges and the then-campus police chief, Stacy Brown, answered a number of questions from lawmakers about the the tense situation on campus.
One point of agreement between the lawmakers and Brown was that campus police ought to be armed with rifles. Brown informed the committee that the reason the college was the only state university in Washington without AR-15s or similar rifles was "philosophical" and a decision made by the administration. "We should have rifles, in my opinion," Brown told the committee.
Six months later, campus police got their guns.
Some on campus say that the weapons are just another part of a greater problem. In an interview conducted last summer, the Evergreen Political Economy professor and activist Peter Bohmer told The Outline that the new guns couldn't be seen in a vacuum. "There's definitely a history of a critical view towards the police" on campus, Bohmer said. Police treatment of young black men in the greater Olympia community has been a focal point of unrest at the school. A 2008 concert by the political hip-hop group dead prez ended with rioters destroying a police car in impromptu protest in response to police detaining a black man during a scuffle. In May of 2015, an Olympia police officer shot two young black men near a local SafeWay, leading to more protests when it became apparent that the officer would not be charged. Without the historical context for the mood at the school when the Weinstein situation exploded — particularly as a result of the police shooting in 2015 — Bohmer told The Outline, it's impossible to understand why things happened in the way they did.
Even in light of these tensions, the campus community believes that the situation does not rise to the point of police needing to arm themselves with semi-automatic weapons. This January, an Evergreen student named Nicolas Jefferys told the Cooper Point Journal that adding high-powered weapons to the already uneasy relationship between campus police and the study body could lead to catastrophe down the line. "I worry about other people who look like me being murdered by campus police because the AR-15s," said Jeffreys.


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Recent Herald articles about the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) raise significant concerns about the agency's operation. Unfortunately, they paint an incomplete picture.
Six years ago, DJJ embarked on an effort to strategically transform the way it serves at-risk and delinquent youth. This has been a daunting task filled with challenges, but led by a committed group of policymakers and practitioners, the agency has demonstrated great successes along the way.
In the past, and like most states, Florida relied heavily on services that emphasized deterrence, surveillance and control. Research shows that these types of programs do a poor job of reducing delinquency, and can actually increase the likelihood that youth will re-offend.
DJJ recognized that the core principle upon which its system needed to be rebuilt was that kids are moldable and that their behavior can be corrected if they receive services that address their needs. That did not mean that kids wouldn't be held accountable for their actions, but that DJJ would utilize a more-balanced approach focused on providing services that would keep youth on track, reduce recidivism, and increase public safety.


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I Would Highly Recommend Dr. Stagnone
Published on February 11, 2015 by Gregory Stagnone
I would highly recommend Dr. Staganone to anyone who is looking for a great a doctor. He is extremely professional and made me feel so comfortable. The office staff is so nice and make you feel very welcomed. I will never use another doctor in Dallas!


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A mix of Indian and Italian cuisine at this family-run restaurant. The menu offers options from India's most traditional and well known fare to fish and seafood Italian-style dishes. There's also a choice of homemade pasta and risotto tasty preparations. Warm ambiance, typical objects and a Bengal tiger welcome a mixed crowd of neighbors, Foreign Office people, and art and antique dealers. Wine list is an international affair at international prices. Bengal Market just across the street. Payment method: American Express; Diners; Cash; Mastercard; Debit cards; Visa Hours: Monday to Friday, mediodía y noche. Sábado noche.
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The Impella® heart pump has been proven safe and effective to reduce adverse events during high-risk percutaneous coronary interventions, including unstable blood pressure and poor circulation.
- Dangas GD, Kini AS, Sharma SK, et al. Am J Cardiol. 2014;113(2):222-228. 2. Becher, T, Eder, F, Baumann, S, et al. Medicine.
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It's various therapies—including painkillers, muscle relaxants, exercise, physical therapy, heat and spinal manipulation—have only a 'modest' effect, a major review has concluded.
Of these, analgesic drugs and spinal manipulation therapy (SMT) offered the best chance of some pain relief, say researchers from the West Los Angeles Veterans Affairs Medical Centre, although more than half of those who have manipulation say they suffer pain, muscle stiffness or headache afterwards.
The researchers took another look at 26 clinical trials, around half of which found that SMT had a 'moderate' effect on pain or general mobility. All the 3,092 participants in the trials had acute low back pain that they'd suffered from for less than six weeks.
The effectiveness of SMT was around the same as painkillers.


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So before I get started I'll come clean and say I dislike Explore. I dislike it a lot. Please read this blog post with that in mind, hopefully by the end you'll understand why. Also feel free to disagree with me, but if you do then add a comment explaining why you think I'm wrong or with your reasons for liking Explore(in its current format). If you think I've made a mistake in the theory, or would like to add something to it then please get in touch!
What is Explore?
It's the most Interesting photos on Flickr. There isn't a lot more definition to it, that I can find from Flickr staff, there is a definition of Interesting. What it contains is the 500 most Interesting pictures "found" in the last 24 hours. There seems to be a shift within this, so things can drop into and out of Explore within the 24 hour window. There is also a seven day window, after which things stay lodged in Explore. I use the word "found" rather than "uploaded" because it appears that pictures can make their way in days after they have been added. We'll come to some maths in a bit and it's worth bearing that little factoid in mind for the adding up section. The Flickr description of Interesting also mentions it being "Beautiful, amazing, moving, striking – explore and discover some of Flickr's Finest."
What does being in Explore mean?
Well, normally what it means is a big boost to the number of views and comments that your images will receive, for the period that you are "in Explore". I defy anyone to say it's not a massive boost to the ego as well. If you are looking to make money from your photography then it is also a large chunk of free exposure for your work, companies that sell images seem to trawl Explore looking for artists to approach for a license to sell their images.
Having seen some of the images that makes their way into the top 500 the only one thing I can be certain of, apart from the above, is that it doesn't mean you are a good photographer or that you take good pictures. Saying "My picture must be good, it got into Explore" is therefore a delusion of fairly epic proportions. Unless you agree that all the poor pictures are equally as good as yours as well of course.
Some VERY quick maths
There are roughly 7 million image uploads to flickr per day, this means that Explore is 0.007% of those shots, if you take into account the fact that images can get a ride days after their upload then that percentage shrinks even more.
The mystery of the Donkey Ride
I've seen pages and pages of things written about how Explore picks it's candidates. One thing is pretty certain from the evidence of I have seen; There is not an individual combination of views\comments\favourites\galleries that will trigger the ride. There doesn't seem to be a combination of groups, tags, sets, or geo-locations that will do it. It's also obvious that there cannot be any element of human intervention in picking the 500, it must all be done by automated systems, unless Flickr have a couple of thousand staff hidden away in a bunker looking at images all day everyday. What a depressing job!
An automated system must have rules and criteria, if Explore was a product of an random number generator then people would quickly notice that images with no comments were making their way in,given the size of Flickr and the maths I mentioned above the rules have to be fairly simple. A system that had too many criteria or was too complex would be expensive to implement, lets not forget that Flickr was an independent company before they were consumed by the Yahoo! leviathan, and would also be difficult to maintain and adapt.
A theory
My current theory is that there is a "sum total" of Interestingness across an individuals stream, there is a lower and upper limit for this total if you are outside of these limits then you will not get into Explore regardless of the quality of the images you produce. There must also be a global "Explore Score", this is the Interestingness rating that an image must achieve to be eligible for a ride on the Donkey. It's widely known that every image has an Interestingness score, there is a Greasemonkey script that can show you this as a ranking against all the others in your stream. Adding up all your Interestingness scores would give you the sum total for your stream.
To summarise, there are (at least) two factors at play that judge whether an image is Explored:
- Whether your stream is above or below the Interesting "Sum Total"
- Whether the image meets the global "Explore Score"
There also appears to be a window that the sum total counts for, so images older than X months no longer factor into the calculation, this would account for why there seems to be patches of time where you can suddenly get a shot Explored, then go back to not having anything. To back this bit of the theory up; my first image to be Explored had it's Donkey Ride on September 30th 2010, I then had random rides through October and November and then a period between December and January where I had a shot in everyday, on the 23rd January this stopped and I didn't get anything until March 30th. This was exactly six months after my first Explore, of course co-incidence and random chance could be at play here, but I've never been a believer in co-incidence, especially where automated computer systems are concerned. A shifting time window would make sense, it reduces the overhead on the systems that calculate the Interestingness score and also offers the chance to "get back in" to Explore as older images drop off of the end. This would account for the feelings that the "algorithm must have changed" or that certain individuals are banned from getting into Explore.
Disclaimer: This theory is the result of conversations with other Flickr denizens and my own observations of the process, I could be 100% wrong. I don't have any insider knowledge of Flickr or how Explore actually operates. If you bet the ranch on the above and lose, don't come crying to me, also if you are silly enough to bet on it – send me some cash via paypall!
Why Explore is bad(Danger, here be dragons!)
If, and I admit it's a BIG if, my theory is correct then Explore is very bad. Actually even if my theory is wrong then I stand by the first two reasons for Explore being bad. It's bad for new photographers just starting out "Why can't I get my shot into Explore?" with a low sum total, I know when I was first starting out that I found the whole thing deeply demotivating. It's bad for genuinely good photographers for much the same reason but with the added downside of not getting the easy access to the exposure they need to advertise their work. It's also REALLY bad for 365'ers, the sum total of Interestingness is going to be much higher on their streams, making Explore a vanishingly small likelihood.
I also feel that Explore pushes people into a niche, they find a shot type(landscapes, macro's, portraits, whatever) that gets them onto the ride and they stick with it producing the same old shots over and over again. This is fine if you are happy with doing that, I'd find it exceptionally dull both for me and the people viewing my shots. I've removed people from my contact list for being boring!
There is also a risk that the exposure and ego boost from Explore makes people think they are more skilled at photography than they actually are, the old "My picture must be good, it got into Explore" comment above is a prime example of that. I'd be the last to stand in the way of someone who wants to grow and develop their photography skills, but it's important that people remember that learning a skill takes time and that your haven't reached the end of the path as soon as you get your first Explore, or even your fiftieth come to that.
Testing the theory
An interesting(should that be "Interesting") way of testing the theory would be to create an entirely new Flickr account, only use it for your best shots and restrict the number of images in your stream to say twenty, deleting old ones as you upload new. As long as your contacts are aware that you have this account and comment in the same way and you add it to the same groups my guess would that you could bingo Explore pretty much every time.
So I'll leave you to draw your own conclusions, but I hope I have outlined why I feel Explore is a flawed concept. I'm not going to offer any ways of changing or improving it, there is enough in that for a whole new blog post. If you are looking to get yourself into making money from Flickr(something that goes against the Terms of Use, if you read it closely), I think it's best to keep your options open, Explore is the best way of getting the exposure you need, but it's far to fickle and restrictive to be useful as a marketing tool. I can recommend RedBubble as a damn good site for sharing and selling your work, the standard is MUCH higher than the Flickr average, I know this isn't saying much.
I think it's also important to remember why we as photographers take pictures – for the love, the joy, the beauty that we see through the lens and capture for eternity. It's good to remind ourselves of this every now and then – especially when look at Explore and splutter "What the f**k, how the hell did THAT get explored?!" at the screen.


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After nearly a year of discussion and professional advice on selecting a new name and brand identity, the Womens Economic Club decided in January on The Exchange, a Professional Womens Forum. But the WEC was a day late. A private business in Southeast Michigan registered the name before the club was able to register it. Now the WEC is back at the drawing board with Troy-based McCann-Erickson Detroit, working to come up with a name representing values of opportunity, strength and achievement that the group embodies. We have a proud 43-year history, said club President and CEO Terry Barclay. Now that our membership has grown by 80 percent in the past two years (to 1,900) and with the changed program mix we now offer, to include more than luncheon speakers, we felt it was the right time to take a disciplined look at a brand change, she said. The Womens Leadership Forum, a research and education arm of the club, is also included in the rebranding, Barclay said.
Back to the drawing board for Womens Econ Club
From Feb. 14 issue of Crain's Detroit Business


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Built for the 2012 London Olympics, Zaha Hadid's London Aquatic Centre has an undulating roof that dips down like a wave
From the sharp diagonal lies of Zaha Hadid's first commission to the swooping curves of futuristic stadiums and museums, this selection of her most outstanding works capture the Queen of Curves' radical style
Why are we still enthralled by yesterday's radicals? Because today's visions of the future are so dull, writes Jay Merrick
A little inspiration from our archives – some of our favourite interviews with female architects and designers over the years
January's edition of the Parisian exhibition showed French designers in fine form, says Peter Smisek
The first Zaha Hadid project to be completed since her death is, like much of her best work, both alien and part of the landscape, write Stefano Boeri and Mario Coppola
In our latest issue – out now – John Jervis argues that postmodernism has left London with a pretty turgid legacy, while Hugh Pearman looks back at the greatest hits (and misses) of the inimitable Zaha Hadid
Edwin Heathcote remembers the 'eye-wateringly original' work of the celebrated architect, who died on 31 March
Mainland China's first international design fair wrapped up its second edition last month, with more than 300 brands showing their products
Architects may not employ the migrant workers building their grand designs in the Gulf states, but their names lend credibility to those that do. With appalling conditions still rife in the region, human-rights groups are demanding that practices stand up to their paymasters
The architect has made clever use of an awkward site at a university to create the Jockey Club Innovation Tower, an undulating glass structure full of fluid, interconnected spaces. John Jervis went to have a look
Designers of mega-projects in Abu Dhabi should use their influence to push for better conditions for migrant workers, Human Rights Watch says to Icon as it reveals continuing exploitation on luxury Saadiyat Island development
Our March issue, available from 1 February, asks what architects could do to alleviate the suffering of refugees in Syria and migrant workers in the Gulf states, as well as examining the role of design in the building of protest camps


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Spruce Essential Oil - Hemlock
A clear to pale yellow liquid with sweet, forest-like balsamic aroma that blends well with ylang ylang, benzoin, lavender, rosemary, cedarwood and clary sage. Frequently used in aromatherapy, body care products, hair care, and cold process and melt and pour soap making.
Latin: Tsuga canadensis
Origin: Canada
Extraction: Steam Distilled
Note: Base
Uses: It is said to to be beneficial for coughs, colds and flu, as well as for muscular aches and pains.
Caution: Essential Oils are concentrated essences from plants, and should always be diluted before application to the skin to avoid irritation. We do not promote or encourage the use of Essential Oils internally but more for their aromatic and topical benefits. Ensure that you are aware of the contraindications of the oils that you are using and consult with your doctor or a certified aromatherapist if you have health concerns or questions.


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by Dana Resop, MD
After reviewing some ultrasound images, I recently noted that we have few archived images of procedures, although we use ultrasound in procedures often. Likely we get distracted by the procedure and forget to record screen images, but the images required vary by the procedure and this may be part of the issue.
If you have an ultrasound machine in your department, most likely this is at least partly due to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) recommendation to use dynamic ultrasound guidance for central lines. You have devoted time and money to learn to use the ultrasound and stay proficient at it. It also costs money to keep that machine working, supply sterile probe covers and gel, as well as to support the infrastructure to get the images into the patient medical record. To reimburse you for this additional knowledge, materials and practice, there is an additional reimbursement for use of ultrasound for procedural guidance in central lines (and codes for peripheral lines, procedures, etc.)
The current CPT description for Code (76937) applies to central venous access with ultrasound guidance. The description follows.
"Ultrasound guidance for vascular access requiring ultrasound evaluation of potential access sites, documentation of selected vessel patency, concurrent real-time ultrasound visualization of vascular needle entry, with permanent recording and reporting."
"Ultrasound guidance for vascular access requiring ultrasound evaluation of potential access sites, documentation of selected vessel patency, concurrent real-time ultrasound visualization of vascular needle entry, with permanent recording and reporting."
Dynamic guidance recommended for vascular procedures is different from static ultrasound guidance required for paracentesis, thoracentesis or other stable, larger targets. To document static ultrasound guidance, such as for a paracentesis, ultrasound to identify the location appropriate for procedure, archive an image for the record, mark the site, then put the probe down, prep the patient and do the procedure.
In contrast, due to the dynamic nature of venous access, ultrasound is used throughout the needle placement. In a perfect world (CPT), we capture an image of the needle entering the vessel. However, attempting this may result in one of the following: broken sterile field, dropped probe, guidewire knocked off the bed, or losing the vein. Even the ACEP Ultrasound Section experts admit obtaining this image is unlikely in most ED patient settings.1
To safely document dynamic guidance during the central line procedure, use ultrasound to identify the vein, confirm patency (squish it) and then guide needle insertion. Now feed the wire into the vessel and remove the needle from the vein. Now there is nothing sharp in the patient or in the provider's hands. Record two images of the inserted wire in the vessel: one in short-axis and one in long-axis (See figures). This is intra-procedure documentation of dynamic guidance. It also proves that the blood vessel that will shortly be dilated with a 7-French introducer (in the hypotensive patient on blood thinners) is NOT the carotid. Two wins! Remember to save the images to the patient's chart per your department's practice.
For further information about use of ultrasound, including guidelines about documenting and billing, please refer to Ultrasound the ACEP website. Experts in the ACEP Ultrasound interest group have put together multiple guidelines Multiple specialties refer to these guidelines in their own literature. I'm not a billing expert, please discuss your institution's practice with your specialists!
1: Ref: Ultrasound FAQs (2017, Feb. 13). ACEP.org. https://www.acep.org/Physician-Resources/Practice-Resources/Administration/Financial-Issues-/-Reimbursement/Ultrasound-FAQs
Dr. Dana Resop is an EM Clinical Assistant Professor at the Univ. of WI Madison and a Board Member of WACEP. She obtained her MD at University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, and her EM Residency and Ultrasound Fellowship training at the University of Massachusetts. She now focuses on residency education and point of care bedside ultrasound.
Wisconsin Chapter, American College of Emergency Physicians563 Carter Court, Suite BKimberly, WI 54136920-750-7725 | firstname.lastname@example.com
© Wisconsin Chapter, ACEP. All rights reserved.


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It's one of many intractable financial boondoggles of the U.S. health care system: Lots and lots of sufferers get tons and plenty of assessments and procedures that they don't want. A quick overview of present medicines used to deal with migraines as well as varied alternative therapies and preventatives. Nationwide Department of Health, South Africa. National Policy for Health Act, 1990 (Act No. 116 of 1990). Free main health care companies. Authorities Gazette No. 17507:1514. 1996. Fascinating thought digitalthinker and not one which occurred to me I've to say.
BMC Medication is the flagship medical journal of the BMC sequence. An open entry, open peer-reviewed common medical journal, BMC Medicine publishes excellent and influential analysis in all areas of scientific observe, translational drugs, medical and health advances, public health, international health, coverage, and general matters of interest to the biomedical and sociomedical professional communities. We also publish stimulating debates and evaluations in addition to unique forum articles and concise tutorials.
Great writing very factual and indepth. I'm on a mission to purchase ionizers to poor families. Please donate and share my link. Thank you. PH drops are a wonderful technique to prepare alkaline water when one is on the transfer. By adding these drops one is adding highly concentrated minerals drops to make the water alkaline. There are a selection of manufacturers out there with comparable results – a excessive PH water.
Sometimes, a homeopath will do a two-hour session that documents all levels of the individual's expertise of his/her situation. This means on the very least recording the identify of the disease, then the signs, then how the person feels and experiences those signs associated to the disorder. In addition, many uncommon questions will likely be asked about the person's common state of health and regular situation when effectively, medical history, plus different particulars them.
The Washington Publish The use of routine mammograms over the past 30 years has achieved little to lower the demise fee from breast most cancers however has sharply increased the variety of girls (over 1 million) who are wrongly diagnosed with the disease and pay in financial, emotional and long run side-results, corresponding to lymphedema after surgical procedure, radiation remedy, hormonal remedy and chemotherapy.


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The Sabre Cri Master is one of our new to range products developed with extensive research and development, in response to market demand for compact injector test equipment. The Sabre Cri Master was born and has immediately become a star. This is why we wanted to celebrate the 100th Sabre and take you through its journey at Hartridge!
Journey of the 100th Sabre | Photo Gallery
Build stage
Ian Tompkins, primary build technician for the 100th Sabre with his handy work
Our team of technicians all work in the Sabre CRi Master construction team.
Going into quality control
The 100th Sabre with its younger sibling
Every single machine at Hartridge goes through strict quality control
Tomos Button-Copeland will look after the 100th Sabre throughout its test process
Journey of the 100th Sabre | successfully through the test bay
The Sabre CRi Master has been through the same rigorous 2 day testing that all Hartridge equipment goes through
Tomos is satisfied it has passed with flying colours.
Journey of the 100th Sabre | The Hartridge team say goodbye
Journey of the 100th Sabre | Video
Watch this time lapse behind-the-scenes video of the Hartridge team gathering to celebrate the 100th Sabre CRi Master produced-complete with mexican waves and #sabreselfies!
Hartridge Celebrate the 100th Sabre Cri Master from Marketing Department on Vimeo.


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Monthly Archives: July 2019
Bankruptcy and Divorce: Which Comes First?
Money and relationships seem to be connected. Financial issues can lead to divorce. A divorce can cause financial issues. Because of this, it is not uncommon for a person to consider both divorce and bankruptcy at the same time. But how exactly does this work? Can both processes be completed at the same time?… Read More »
Chapter 7 vs. Chapter 13 Bankruptcy
It's not hard to get into serious debt. It is much easier to spend money than it is to make it and save it. Bad spending habits, medical emergencies, unemployment and rising prices can all lead to financial issues. Some people get stuck in a cycle where they have to keep using their credit… Read More »
How Bankruptcy Can Save Your Home From Foreclosure
Jobs are not as secure as they used to be. Companies are shutting down and laying off employees. Businesses are trying to automate certain tasks through technology, reducing the need for humans. The cost of living is constantly increasing, and even those with jobs are finding it harder and harder to make ends meet…. Read More »


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Visit Anguilla
Anguilla is located in the Leeward Islands in the northern Caribbean.
Anguilla is a stunning location, with 33 of the best beaches in the Caribbean, and some of the best hotels in the world.
For more information please visit the Anguilla Tourist Board or see our FAQ's here.
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Aderma s.r.l. and GL Locatelli s.r.l. are members of the AdermaLocatelli Group and work, produce and design in compliance with European standards and regulations.
Both companies are EN9001 certified. GL Locatelli s.r.l. is EN1090 and Factory Production Control certified. These company certifications are flanked by product certifications issued by the manufacturer or by ITC-CNR, in the case of the ETA certificate for anchorage channels. The company has two laboratories for testing steel materials and ventilated façades. The AdermaLocatelli Group participates in Italian and European research projects in collaboration with prestigious Italian universities.