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Google: "We're Not Doing a Good Job with Structured Data"
During a talk at the New England Database Day conference at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Google's Alon Halevy admitted that the search giant has "not been doing a good job" presenting the structured data found on the web to its users. By "structured data," Halevy was referring to the databases of the "deep web" – those internet resources that sit behind forms and site-specific search boxes, unable to be indexed through passive means.
Google's Deep Web Search
Halevy, who heads the "Deep Web" search initiative at Google, described the "Shallow Web" as containing about 5 million web pages while the "Deep Web" is estimated to be 500 times the size. This hidden web is currently being indexed in part by Google's automated systems that submit queries to various databases, retrieving the content found for indexing. In addition to that aspect of the Deep Web – dubbed "vertical searching" – Halevy also referenced two other types of Deep Web Search: semantic search and product search.
Google wants to also be able to retrieve the data found in structured tables on the web, said Halevy, citing a table on a page listing the U.S. presidents as an example. There are 14 billion such tables on the web, and, after filtering, about 154 million of them are interesting enough to be worth indexing.
Can Google Dig into the Deep Web?
The question that remains is whether or not Google's current search engine technology is going to be adept at doing all the different types of Deep Web indexing or if they will need to come up with something new. As of now, Google uses the Big Table database and MapReduce framework for everything search related, notes Alex Esterkin, Chief Architect at Infobright, Inc., a company delivering open source data warehousing solutions. During the talk, Halevy listed a number of analytical database application challenges that Google is currently dealing with: schema auto-complete, synonym discovery, creating entity lists, association between instances and aspects, and data level synonyms discovery. These challenges are addressed by Infobright's technology, said Esterkin, but "Google will have to solve these problems the hard way."
Also mentioned during the speech was how Google plans to organize "aspects" of search queries. The company wants to be able to separate exploratory queries (e.g., "Vietnam travel") from ones where a user is in search of a particular fact ("Vietnam population"). The former query should deliver information about visa requirements, weather and tour packages, etc. In a way, this is like what the search service offered by Kosmix is doing. But Google wants to go further, said Halevy. "Kosmix will give you an 'aspect,' but it's attached to an information source. In our case, all the aspects might be just Web search results, but we'd organize them differently."
Yahoo Working on Similar Structured Data Retrieval
The challenges facing Google today are also being addressed by their nearest competitor in search, Yahoo. In December, Yahoo announced that they were taking their SearchMonkey technology in-house to automate the extraction of structured information from large classes of web sites. The results of that in-house extraction technique will allow Yahoo to augment their Yahoo Search results with key information returned alongside the URLs.
In this aspect of web search, it's clear that no single company has yet to dominate. However, even if a non-Google company surges ahead, it may not be enough to get people to switch engines. Today, "Google" has become synonymous with web search, just like "Kleenex" is a tissue, "Band-Aid" is an adhesive bandage, and "Xerox" is a way to make photocopies. Once that psychological mark has been made into our collective psyches and the habit formed, people tend to stick with what they know, regardless of who does it better. That's something that's a bit troublesome – if better search technology for indexing the Deep Web comes into existence outside of Google, the world may not end up using it until such point Google either duplicates or acquires the invention.
Still, it's far too soon to write Google off yet. They clearly have a lead when it comes to search and that came from hard work, incredibly smart people, and innovative technical achievements. No doubt they can figure out this Deep Web thing, too. (We hope).


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Speed up
Put in 107 per cent
Glitz, glamour and gears – all this and more are yours in the official video game of the 2015 FIA FORMULA ONE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP. Get to the heart of the action with a stunning new game engine that recreates the blisteringly fast and highly responsive racing cars of FORMULA ONE.
Strap into the cockpit of constructors such as McLaren-Honda, Ferrari and Mercedes, and rub shoulders with pole position front runners including Lewis Hamilton, Fernando Alonso and Sebastien Vettel. Want to join them on the podium? Then hone your skills in the new Online Practice Session, and then challenge your friends and racing rivals from across the world in Online Multiplayer.
Immerse yourself in the thrills of the FIA FORMULA ONE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP with all-new broadcast style presentation that captures the unique race day atmosphere. And you can ratchet up the realism with a PlayStation Camera or compatible headset, using the built-in microphone to interact with your race engineer for info, updates on the weather, front wing changes and more.
With free digital updates via PlayStation Network you'll always stay up to speed with the latest goings on in the sport during the real life F1 season – so put your foot down and get ahead of the pack on PS4.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
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Gene Smith has not received any gifts yet
Gene, You are most welcome to African Free thinkers and you are free to initiate any discussion in our effort to ensure a free secular society of the African People who are massively victims of Dogmas and Indoctrinations of Authoritarian past religious beliefs.
Thanks for joining.
Bwambale Robert


text:
Next: ax_lua, Previous: ax_libtoolize_cflags, Up: The Macros
Test for the existence of llvm, and make sure that it can be linked with the llvm-libs argument that is passed on to llvm-config i.e.:
llvm --libs <llvm-libs>
llvm-config will also include any libraries that are depended upon.
Download the latest version of ax_llvm.m4 or browse the macro's revision history.
Copyright © 2008 Andy Kitchen email@example.com
Copying and distribution of this file, with or without modification, are permitted in any medium without royalty provided the copyright notice and this notice are preserved. This file is offered as-is, without any warranty.


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601 Trenton St. West Monroe,
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Enter your vehicle's mpg rating and the current gas price and calculate your monthly and annual cost based on how much you drive.
Car Town is a used car dealer in Monroe and West Monroe, LA with three locations to help serve you best. Call 318-998-4477 for used car sales. We carry a great selection of used cars for sale, as well as trucks, vans, SUVs and crossover vehicles in the Monroe-W.Monroe area. Call today or apply online now for auto financing. We have 3 preowned car lots. Car Town 1, Car Town 2, and Car Town West Monroe. They are all located at the foot or close to the Louisville Bridge in the Monroe-West Monroe city. We are an easy drive if your coming from Winnsboro, Ruston, Rayville, Shreveport, Jackson, Vicksburg, Bastrop, El Dorado, Crossett or any other city around the ArkLaMiss area.
This page has been visited 20,461,120 times since August 17th, 2009
Car Town Monroe has been visited 51,775,233 times.


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Mozilla Open Badges: the launch approaches
Good news, everyone! Mozilla is preparing to launch Open Badges 1.0 at the DML Conference in Chicago next week. We've been operating in public beta since April of 2012. During the intervening time our team has spoken at numerous conferences, written a badge validation paper, and grown to include additional brilliant team members who are sprinting to bring it to the first finish line. Because a system is an evolutionary process, we don't really consider this the finish per se, but instead think of this as a time to herald the initial public launch of 1.0.
This is a moment worth celebrating. Mozilla is launching not just a product but an entire ecosystem. Not only will Open Badges enter the world as a product, we will also begin to see the ecosystem populate more fully. There will be at least thirty new organizations beginning to issue Open Badges and Mozilla is proud to be one of them. Not only are we working on web literacy badges but we're thrilled to announce Mozilla WebDev badges. These soon-to-be-earnable badges were designed by a member of the Mozilla community. Seeing the community begin to actively participate in the creation of these badges is deeply rewarding. And here it's worth pausing for a moment to distinguish the important differences between digital badges and Open Badges.
Digital badges vs. Open badges
Digital badges are electronic versions of badges; they can have some metadata associated with them but most do not. An open badge is a specific type of digital badge. The open it refers to is partly technical (it works thanks to open source software), partly ideological (it's based on an ethos of openness). By issuing open badges rather than simply digital badges, organizations are aligning to a standard that they have helped to create.
What the open in open badges means
Open badges are embedded with content. They make use of a standard set of metadata that allows them to act in ways that not every digital badge can. One of their hallmarks is badge interoperability. In practice, this means that when someone wants to know more about an open badge, they merely have to click on it. It's worth noting that an open badge does not indicate that it is a Mozilla-specific badge but that it hews to a community-defined and agreed-upon set of metadata standards. An open badge will always communicate:
- the issuer: the organization, institution or individual issued the badge,
- the earner: the person who earned the badge,
- the criteria: information about what was required to earn the badge,
- the evidence (optional): it may also include earner-specific associated evidence and
- the expiration date (optional): they can be set to expire at a given date.
- It may also include the standard(s) with which the badge aligns, e.g., common core, Mozilla web literacy standard*
* Issuers interested in good badge design and badge system design, though, make use of the opportunity presented by this new ecosystem by setting their own standards. It's more than likely your standards/criteria are superior to other existing standards. Suggestion: Define your own and let other organizations meet them.
Web literacy badges
Speaking of defining your own standards, that's just what we're in the process of doing: developing a Mozilla Web Literacy Standard. Read that as the "royal we" because it's Mozilla plus a variety of folks interested in co-creating it with us. We're also in the midst of defining a web literacy badge system framework. It will be flexible enough to include Mozilla issued badges but also recognize and accommodate non-Mozilla badges. While affiliating with the new #weblitstd will be entirely optional, if you choose to do so you can then choose to implement any of the following representational manifestations:
- earn Mozilla web literacy badges
- issue your organization's own web literacy badges
- work with us to develop equivalency correspondences between badge systems.
We're still fairly early on in the process of one and three. (Check out our in-progress roadmap.) The third point above presents some extremely exciting opportunities for the development of a strong and robust badge universe. That universe will include webmaker badges but will expand with the Web Literacy framework to include badges that are earnable through other tools, not just Mozilla webmaker. I will more fully address the conceptual framework in upcoming badge pathways posts that will appear on this blog over the next few weeks.
Flickr image courtesy of NASA APPEL
Congratulations to the Open Badges team on this impressive accomplishment and good luck to the Web Literacy standard and badges team. It's an exciting time to be working on badges. Much more soon.


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Your pregnancy and baby guide
Travelling in pregnancy
Open all pages about Your pregnancy and baby guide
Main navigation
Getting pregnant
- Secrets to success
- Am I pregnant?
- Problems
I'm pregnant
- Early days
- Week by week
- Twins
- Preparing for the birth
- Work out your due date
- Tests scans and checks
- Your pregnancy (antenatal) care
- Vaccinations
- Your health and wellbeing
- Existing health problems
- Common pregnancy ailments
- Pregnancy-induced conditions
Labour and birth
- The start of labour
- The birth
- Emotions and worries
- Premature babies
Your newborn
- How to breastfeed
- Breastfeeding problems
- Lifestyle and breastfeeding
- Bottle feeding
- Newborn screening tests
- Newborn essentials
- New parents
- New mums
- Twins and multiples
Babies and toddlers
- Weaning and solid foods
- Teething
- Baby health and care
- Spotting signs of serious illness
- Reflux in babies
- How to take a baby's temperature
- Reducing the risk of SIDS
- Treating a high temperature
- Sleep problems in children
- Coughs, colds and ear infections
- Diarrhoea and vomiting
- Infectious illnesses
- Children's medicines
- Looking after a sick child
- Serious conditions and special needs
- Constipation in young children
- Your baby's height and weight
- Baby health and development reviews
- Leg and foot problems in children
- Learning, play and behaviour
- Twins
- Safety and accidents
- Parenting
With the proper precautions, and armed with information on when to travel, vaccinations and travel insurance, most women can travel safely well into their pregnancy.
Wherever you go, find out what healthcare facilities are at your destination in case you need urgent medical attention. It's a good idea to take your maternity medical records (sometimes called handheld notes) with you so you can give doctors the relevant information if necessary.
Find out more about getting healthcare abroad.
Make sure your travel insurance covers you for any eventuality, such as pregnancy-related medical care during labour, premature birth and the cost of changing the date of your return trip if you go into labour.
When to travel in pregnancy
Some women prefer not to travel in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy because of nausea and vomiting and feeling very tired during these early stages. The risk of miscarriage is also higher in the first 3 months, whether you're travelling or not.
Travelling in the final months of pregnancy can be tiring and uncomfortable. So, many women find the best time to travel or take a holiday is in mid-pregnancy, between 4 and 6 months.
"Travel during pregnancy is a concern for many women," says Sarah Reynolds, a consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist at the Bedford Hospital NHS Trust. "But if your pregnancy has no complications then there's no reason why you can't travel safely, as long as you take the right precautions."
Here are some general tips to ensure you and your baby stay healthy during your travels.
Flying in pregnancy
Flying isn't harmful to you or your baby, but discuss any health issues or pregnancy complications with your midwife or doctor before you fly.
The chance of going into labour is naturally higher after 37 weeks (around 32 weeks if you're carrying twins), and some airlines won't let you fly towards the end of your pregnancy. Check with the airline for their policy on this.
After week 28 of pregnancy, the airline may ask for a letter from your doctor or midwife confirming your due date, and that you aren't at risk of complications.
Long-distance travel (longer than 4 hours) carries a small risk of blood clots (deep vein thrombosis (DVT)). If you fly, drink plenty of water and move about regularly – every 30 minutes or so. You can buy a pair of graduated compression or support stockings from the pharmacy, which will help reduce leg swelling.
Read Is it safe to fly while pregnant?
Travel vaccinations when you're pregnant
Most vaccines that use live bacteria or viruses aren't recommended during pregnancy because of concerns that they could harm the baby in the womb.
However, some live vaccines may be considered during pregnancy if the risk of infection outweighs the risk of live vaccination.
Non-live (inactivated) vaccines are safe to use in pregnancy.
"If you must travel to areas requiring inoculation, you should get your jabs," says Dr Reynolds. "The risk of catching an infectious disease far outweighs the risk from vaccination."
Ask your GP or midwife for advice about specific travel vaccinations.
Some anti-malaria tablets aren't safe to take in pregnancy so ask your GP for advice.
Can I take anti-malaria medication when I'm pregnant?
Can I have travel vaccinations when I'm pregnant?
Car travel in pregnancy
It's best to avoid long car journeys if you're pregnant. However, if it can't be avoided, make sure you stop regularly and get out of the car to stretch and move around.
You can also do some exercises in the car (when you're not driving), such as flexing and rotating your feet and wiggling your toes. This will keep the blood flowing through your legs and reduce any stiffness and discomfort. Wearing compression stockings while on long car journeys (more than 4 hours) can also increase the blood flow in your legs and help prevent blood clots.
Fatigue and dizziness are common during pregnancy so it's important on car journeys to drink regularly and eat natural, energy-giving foods, such as fruit and nuts.
Keep the air circulating in the car and wear your seatbelt with the cross strap between your breasts and the lap strap across your pelvis under your bump, not across your bump.
Road accidents are among the most common causes of injury in pregnant women. If you have to make a long trip, don't travel on your own. You could also share the driving with your companion.
Sailing in pregnancy
Ferry companies have their own restrictions and may refuse to carry heavily pregnant women (often beyond 32 weeks). Check the ferry company's policy before you book.
For longer boat trips, such as cruises, find out if there are onboard facilities to deal with pregnancy and medical services at the docking ports.
Food and drink abroad in pregnancy
Take care to avoid food- and water-borne conditions, such as stomach upsets and travellers' diarrhoea. Some medicines for treating stomach upsets and travellers' diarrhoea aren't suitable during pregnancy.
Always check if tap water is safe to drink. If in doubt, drink bottled water. If you get ill, keep hydrated and continue eating for the health of your baby, even if you're not hungry.
Find out about a healthy diet in pregnancy, and foods to avoid in pregnancy.
Page last reviewed: 04/10/2019
Next review due: 04/10/2022


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With Removable Goggles©
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The Above Picture is Connie's Spot© Christmas Crochet Pattern Collection All the patterns are Available at my Shops on ETSY or Raverly
Welcome to the Multiple Award Winning Connie's Spot© & Connie Hughes Designs© Crocheting, Crafting and Creating Blog!! Now in our 7th Year We Want to Thank All Our Customers/Friends Who Have Helped Us Grow to Over 90,000 Pattern Sales/Downloads, and Over 920,000 Page Views from all over the World!!!
If you are new to Connie's Spot© make sure to take the time to follow Connie's Spot© to get her latest Patterns available at her shops on Etsy and Ravelry. Check out Connie's Spot© Blog Archive of 300+Posts!! That includes Free Crochet Patterns from Connie Hughes Designs© Free Recipes, Crafting & Decorating Tips, Travel & Poetry!
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Tuesday, March 10, 2015
Free Minion Inspired Doll+Pillow Patterns©
With Removable Goggles©
Connie's Spot© & Connie Hughes Designs© "Customer Testimonials"
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- Owl Backpack, Owl Doll and Owl Purse Patterns + Crocodile Stitch Picture Tutorial 5-Stars! I really love them, thanks!
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- Ms Knight Helmet Hats 5-Stars! Connie made a beautiful bright pink with black accents (Ms Knight Hat) as per my request. It fits my daughter perfectly and it was delivered quickly. We love it! Thank you Connie
- Haunted House, Christmas Gingerbread House, & Gwinna's Doll House Patterns© Three Great Patterns in One!! 5-Stars! So cute and fun :)
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- Yellow Siren & French Maid Hat Patterns© 5-Stars! Wonderful patterns. Easily understandable patterns!!


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Our latest look at the upcoming Brink gets a touch of class, detailing the four playable classes in Splash Damage's long-in-the-making team-based first-person shooter. How does a soldier differ from a medic? What makes an operative more appealing than an engineer?
Watch Brink's latest character-focused trailer for the answer to those questions, plus a peek at some of the levels seen in our most recent hands-on preview of the Bethesda Softworks game. There's plenty of character customization and gun porn for you to ogle if character classes don't quite do it for you.
Brink comes to the PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 on May 17.


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It is often said that in Israeli-Palestinian peacemaking, the two-state solution is the only game in town. And yet, despite the official commitment of the Israelis, the Palestinians, and nearly the entire international community, a two-state solution has failed to bear fruit.
There are today roughly three times more Israeli settlers in the West Bank than when Bill Clinton took office. The Palestinian leadership has probably not been this divided and weak since before Yasir Arafat took control of the PLO in 1969. Extremists have risen to power in both Israeli and Palestinian elections.
If the two-state solution is not dead, it is at best in a coma. Since what we've been trying hasn't worked, it should be good news that some people are looking for alternative paths to peace. But last week, in his column at Open Zion, Hussein Ibish tried to hold them back.
Many different kinds of alternatives have been offered, from all ends of the political spectrum. There are Israeli nationalist dreams of annexing the West Bank and proclaiming Jewish rule over the entire country. Hamas has similar dreams, except they want to make the country an Islamic state.
But there are also proposals to build a single democratic state where Israelis and Palestinians would be equal. This is known as the one-state solution.
Ibish lumps all these ideas together and dismisses them as "maximalist." That is an entirely unfair way of describing those who advocate a state founded on the principle of one person, one vote.
In quickly dismissing the one state idea, Ibish makes the same mistake that American policymakers often make. He limits the playing field of peacemaking to what he thinks would be "plausibly acceptable" to the parties today.
A state based on equality between Jews and Palestinians is "a total nonstarter" for most Israelis, and so it "simply won't happen." The end. Don't bother with new ideas. The alternatives won't work, so let's return to what we've been doing, which also hasn't worked.
Ibish is correct that the vast majority of Israeli Jews fear the one-state idea. But like most advocates of the two-state solution, Ibish ignores the majority of the Palestinian population: the refugees who were displaced in 1948. Their homes and their property are inside Israel, and establishing a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip never promised to do much for them.
If it is not reasonable to propose something that ignores the desires of the majority of Israelis, then why is it presumed to be reasonable to ignore the majority of Palestinians? The advocates of a two-state solution have never been able to overcome this basic inequality.
Let me be clear: the one-state solution might not work either. It forces a painful concession from both Israeli and Palestinian national aspirations. There would be no Jewish State. And there would be no Arab State, either. Instead, there would he a shared homeland, and a government that treats all individuals as equal citizens.
There are other challenges. While the one-state model more easily allows for the Palestinian refugees' right of return, it does not explain how that return would work in practice. Some of the land belonging to refugees is now the site of heavily populated Israeli cities. Israelis who live in these places have legitimate reasons to protect their interests, and negotiators would have to find a way to balance these conflicting rights.
But ultimately there are no short cuts to a just peace. The sad truth is that neither the one-state solution nor the two-state solution has any objective track record of success. The two-state solution has been the centerpiece of peacemaking efforts, on and off, since the Peel Commission in 1937, and its only clear result has been continued cycles of violence.
We have a long and tragic record in this conflict showing that what has been politically acceptable for one side has never been politically acceptable to the other. Anyone committed to a just and lasting Israeli-Palestinian peace must look for ways to change what seems possible.
Among all the alternatives to the two-state solution, the one state idea has a very substantial advantage: It is difficult for anyone committed to the values of liberal democracy to object to it as a matter of principle. Moreover, as hopes for a Palestinian state wither, we are in fact left with one country under Israeli rule—and the only question is whether that country will be a state of apartheid or democracy.
As an idea built on the principle of human equality, the one state solution has the capacity to challenge both sides, to change minds, and to inspire people in a way that splitting the country in two never could.


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On the corner of
Hastings & Boundary
Vancouver BC
November 14, 2020
11:00 am
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☆ 2-for-1 Appys
☆ Beer - $5.50 Pints
(Canadian, Coors Light, Rickards Red
Steamworks Pale Ale, Steamworks Pilsner
OK Springs 1516 Lager, OK Springs Pale Ale)
$4.50 Coors Lt Sleeves
$5.50 Coors Lt Pints
$15 Coors Lt Pitchers
$5.50 Rum & Coke
$7.00 DBL Rum & Coke
$5.50 Jack Daniels (regular, honey, fire)
2 for 1 Appys All Day!
Mix and match two of our tasty appetizers and only pay for one!
$4.50 Red Truck Sleeves
$5.50 Red Truck Pints
$15 Red Truck Pitchers
$5.50 Cucumber Splash
$7.00 DBL Cucumber Splash
$5.50 Tequila Shooters
$8 Oscar's Beef Burger w/Fries
Our Oscar's Beef Burger served with our homemade fries.
$4.50 Granville Isl Sleeves
$5.50 Granville Isl Pints
$15 Granville Isl Pitchers
$5.50 Screw Up
$7.00 DBL Screw Up
$5.50 Jameson (pickleback add .50)
$0.49 Wings (ALL DAY)
You'll love our wings baked with our secret spices and then flash fried with your choice of sauce!
$4.50 Steamworks Pale Ale Sleeves
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$5.50 Bar Highballs
$7.00 DBL Bar Highballs
$5.50 King Kong
$11 Steak Sandwich (ALL DAY)
A 5oz sirloin steak served to your liking topped with fried onions and mushrooms and served with our homemade fries.
$4.50 OK Springs 1516 Sleeves
$5.50 OK Springs 1516 Pints
$15 OK Springs 1516 Pitchers
$5.50 Long Island Iced Tea
$7.00 DBL Long Island Iced Tea
$5.50 Burt Reynolds Shooters
$4.50 Rickard's Red Sleeves
$5.50 Rickard's Red Pints
$15 Rickard's Red Pitchers
$5.50 Hey All's (peach or reg)
$7.00 DBL Hey All's (peach or reg)
$5.50 Jagermeister (jagerbomb add $1)
Saturday Breakfast ALL DAY!
$14 Steak and Prawns (ALL DAY)
An 8oz New York Steak served with pan seared prawns and a fully loaded baked potato.
$4.50 Canadian Sleeves
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$15 Canadian Pitchers
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$5.50 Porn Star
Sunday Breakfast ALL DAY!
Sunday $8 Fish & Chips!
$18 Prime Rib Dinner (3pm 'till run out)
Prime Rib Dinner with all the trimmin's only $18
Food Specials Require a Beverage Purchase
Prices Subject To Change Without Notice
Oscar's Pub Vancouver
3684 E. Hastings Street
Vancouver, BC V5K 2A9
Monday – Thursday: 11am – 12am
Friday – Saturday: 11am – 1am
Sunday: 11am – 12am
Oscar's Pub offers great fundraising opportunities for your sports team or charitable organization.
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text:
At the end of every year in this space, I put forward some predictions for what I think will happen over the next year.
I looked back this week to grade myself and see whether I was on the mark with my forecasts or way off on what would happen in 2009. By far and away, it was not a good year as far as my predictions go. Here's a run down of my embarrassing performance.
On The Money
— I suggested "bureaucratic delays and other practical obstacles" would lead to not one slot machine being used at any of the state's select sites in 2009. It was not a huge leap to make this prediction, considering it's only been 13 months since voters approved slots in a referendum. Nonetheless, it did turn out accurate. What will be perhaps even more interesting is seeing whether a slot machine is pulled in the state even in 2010. That's not exactly a certainty, although Ocean Downs appears to be the most likely site to see the one-arm bandits.
— It took a little longer than anticipated, but Berlin, as expected here, voted to annex the Tyson poultry plant property.
— "No formal action will take place on a proposed wind farm off Ocean City's coast," I figured this time last year. That was true, although a group of environmental folks teamed with local business leaders last week called for an expedited look at the proposal.
— As I expected, 2009 closed with no further action taken on a downtown parking garage. In fact, I do not recall one public discussion on the topic this year. I personally do not think there will ever be a parking garage in the downtown area.
— I was right when I suggested the federal government would lend billions of dollars to auto companies rather than force them to make tough decisions like other businesses across the country.
— I predicted by the end of 2009 that a minor rebound would be felt in the real estate market. This is an interesting one and conclusions can vary, but overall indications show there's been some minor improvement.
Off The Mark
— It was incorrectly forecast here that the Ocean City Council would approve in a 4-3 vote an upgrade to the Roland E. Powell Convention Center. That vote turned out to be 5-2.
— Ocean City officials did not increase the Inlet parking rates in 2009 as I predicted they would. It's worth noting they are planning to implement hikes next year, and some on the council say it was a mistake to not have increased the user fees this year.
— I wrote here, "Ocean City, Berlin and Worcester County will keep the same property tax rate as last year, while Maryland will increase the levy." In fact, Ocean City actually lowered its property tax rate, while the rest held steady.
— Although it was briefly broached, the General Assembly did not, as I predicted, raise the liquor tax to address a budget shortfall. It's worth noting here that it's already being discussed for 2010, but a major lobbying effort is already being organized.
— I was incredibly naïve when I suggested that unleaded gasoline gallon prices would remain below "$2 all year." That was a big miss.
— I blame this prediction on wishful thinking. Berlin electric rates did not drop significantly this year. To be fair, there were some savings but I would not call them noteworthy.
— Ground was never broken on the new Route 50 surface road as I anticipated.
— Berlin did not move to begin televising council meetings in 2009 as I thought might happen.
— Contrary to what I am anticipated, Vice President Joe Biden was never accused of insubordination by administration officials.
— The State Highway Administration did not side with rehabilitation for the Route 50 Bridge as I predicted. The agency has a clear preference in mind to build a new span, but I am skeptical that it will ever happen.
— I was wrong again when I predicted that Ocean City would reduce the days the Winterfest of Lights was open this year. However, in my defense, they did reduce the scope of the citywide campaign, keeping the Inlet mostly dark this year.
— Another prediction that went awry was the state proposing to increase the fare crossing the Chesapeake Bay Bridge from $2.50 to $3. I suggested a bill would pass the Senate but fail in the House. That was never proposed publicly, and there's no sign that will be discussed in 2010.
— Rather than ban handheld cell phones in vehicles, as I predicted, the state prohibited text messaging while driving.
— The deadline was made, and I didn't think it would happen. The town's newly redesigned website was up and running prior to the Memorial Day weekend, rather than troubled by tech issues as I surmised.
— This one was another black eye for me. The Colts did not defeat the Panthers in the Super Bowl in February. In fact, the Steelers pulled off a stunning victory over the Cardinals.
Hanging In The Balance
— I predicted the county would have to shell out more than $1 million in damages regarding a lawsuit between the school board and a building contractor for the Ocean City Elementary School project. The county did not have to come up with the money yet because the case is still going through legal obstacles.
Stay tuned next week for 2010 predictions.


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The latest Dunhill collection by Kim Jones is everything I wanted and expected it to be. Jones' vision for SS10 is English to the core, classic whilst taking you back to the roots of it's founder, who was known for his love for exploration and travels, but at the same time it all feels very modern. On the surface it was a traditional collection which aimed to bring Dunhill home to a new market. However, as the looks moved from simple tailored day wear in to a more casual weekend and on to a capsule traveller collection through to evening wear, it was cleat that Jones had picked out key inspirations from the past and repackaged them for the new era of luxury.
Alfred Dunhill joined his father's saddlery business in 1887, ambitious and inventive, he brought new ideas and following his father's retirement in 1893 he planned to change the focus of the business to cater exclusively for the pioneering motorist. Kim Jones has certainly channeled the history of the brand and undoubtedly understands the heritage. I get the impression he has spent hours upon hours researching the back catalogues of Dunhill and books like Dunhill by Design, finding inspiration and updating these ideas for the 21st century The heritage of Dunhill is so broad and so darn British, from its beginnings with the birth of the car to creating luxury accessories for motorcycling, aviation and the oh-so-fashionable smokers in the Roaring Twenties.
Over the last week or so the team at Dunhill raised my excitement levels so that they broke the scale through the best use of twitter by a fashion house. Intermittently throughout the last few days dunhill_inParis have twitpic'd an array of sneak preview images which have left me breathless and sweaty palmed. Hand tie dyed pocket squares, carbon fibre printed leather bags, piles of luxurious Mongolian cashmere sweaters, shagreen leather first used by Dunhill in the 30s, sunglasses made of hand polished flint found in the South Downs, polished flint boxes with leather straps handmade at the Alfred Dunhill leather workshop in Walthamstow, bags inspired by early air travel in the 1920s. Other features include a silver tie pin in the shape of a golf club, luxury pens encased in the same veneers as Roll Royce interiors, archive print shirts and the AD embossed logo from 1923 added to bags and brogues. Below are a few of my favourite preview images...
My favourite accessory all season. Polished flint boxes which have a wonderful natural pattern. The flint comes from the South Downs and after being polished is dressed up in handmade leather straps which were made in Alfred Dunhill's workshop in Walthamstow, East London.
This is the collection I hoped Jones would make after first reading his Wallpaper interview in December last year. The below question and answer left the greatest impression on me and having seen the latest offering, it is particularly pertinent.
How difficult is it to balance the rich heritage of the brand with bringing it into the 21st century?
If you really look at the Dunhill heritage you will see that there is nothing 'old' about it, in fact it is wonderfully modern. Alfred Dunhill himself was obsessed with innovation and new technology, which means that there are pieces in the archive that are just as relevant today as anything I design.
For a brand with such strong roots, any steering by Jones has been to emphasise them – those being the characteristics of classicism and understatement but his challenge was to present these with a wholly modern personality too which he has surely done with this collection.


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No. You must have a separate kitchen from the existing residence, designed to the specification of the Environmental Health Division.
Yes, orders for 10 lbs or more can be placed with the staff and are filled based upon availability.
Yes. If persons wish to state their names they can do so.
Persons attaining the age of 18 are required to have their own Entry permit. If there is a physical ailment or other mobile incapacity, one will need to make a request to the Chief Immigration Officer in writing, to continue to reside in the territory.
No...They will have access to a phone to ring you.


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Warning Signs of Stroke Brochure
Published by: American Heart Association/American Stroke Association
Product Code: 50-1705
This easy-read brochure provides basic information about stroke warning signs and what do if any of them occur. Written at a lower reading level (4th grade) to better address underserved populations, the brochure also introduces F.A.S.T. (Face drooping, Arm weakness, Speech difficulty, Time to call 911) as an easy way to identify symptoms and take fast action.
Spanish: 50-1712
Want to know more about how to prevent a stroke?
Visit our information request page and select the "Stroke Prevention" packet to receive this brochure along with other helpful information.
For Healthcare Professionals
If you are interested in placing an order for multiple copies of brochures, receiving print samples or viewing online e-samples, visit our distributor, Krames. Registration is required to request samples and order online. Bulk Orders


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HWBOT Country Cup 2009
This competition consists of seven benchmarks spread over seven weeks. In other words, chances are big that you will not have the time to submit a world record breaking result, which makes it interesting to see who will come up with the best result within a very limited time-frame. The results are grouped per country and countries are ranked based on the average score of the top-3 submissions. So, in order to win, you will have to motivate your fellow overclockers to submit good results. Per stage, countries are awarded points and the country that gathered most points at the end of seven stages wins the competition.
This is an official, annual HWBOT competition. You will not be able to defend your country until 2010, so do your best effort!
- HWBOT Country Cup 2009 is closed since 24 December 2009.
- This competition is between countries.
This competition is closed. You can no longer join.
Stage 1 - SuperPi - 1M
Stage 2 - PiFast
Stage 3 - SuperPi - 32M
Stage 4 - 3DMark Vantage - Performance
Stage 5 - wPrime - 32m
Stage 6 - SuperPi - 32M
Stage 7 - 3DMark2001 SE
This competition was open to everyone.
Discussions (49)
- Discuss the competition at the HWBOT forum (77 comments)
- Final results of HWBot Country Cup 2009 (occlub.ru)
- [NEWS] Results of fifth round of HWBot Country Cup (occlub.ru)
- [NEWS] Results of third round of HWBot Country Cup (occlub.ru)
- [NEWS] Results of second round of HWBot Country Cup (occlub.ru)
- Team.XS HWBOT Country Cup Stage 2 (xtremesystems.org)
2x Dragon F1 Extreme Edition - HWBOT edition
The ultimate CPU container kit for temperature control and stable load handling on todays hottest running quad core processors. Kit comes complete with copper F1 unit, aluminum backplate, and all necessary mounting hadware including compression springs, shoulder spacers, thumbnuts, threaded mounting rods, and rubber shock insulator pad. Kit also incudes 1ft 1/2 sheet foam and 1ft of 2 5/8 id round tube insulation for the unit.
Link: http://www.kingpincooling.com/Dragon-F1-Extreme-Edition/
2x Tek 5.0 Slim - HWBOT edition
Tuned for huge cooling performance in a small slim container. Under heavy load, these slim units can handle even the hottest running graphics cards quite well creating very stable temps. Multiple units can fit just about any graphics hardware configuration including single spaced SLI and Xfire, triple SLI and Xfire ,and Quad SLI and Xfire. Kit includes one gpu unit, 4 brackets, all required mounting hardware, and armaflex tape insulation.
2x NB-1 - HWBOT edition
Designed as a compact and efficient cooling solution for hot running chipsets. The NB-1 chipset unit provides temperature control and stability with LN2. Mounting system is designed to fit most motherboards on every platform including 790i, P45, X38, X48, and X58. Kit includes one NB-1 unit, one universal mounting bracket, all required mounting hardware, and foam insulation.
HWBOT General Rules and Guidelines
Here at HWBOT we try our best to deliver a fair and enjoyable playing field for all those who participate in the rankings and competition. To be able to provide this kind of service we have tried to design some submission and general rules to help remove any doubts about whether something is allowed or not. Based on continued experience these rules will be updated, expanded and completed as time goes by. Please check back for any updates.


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According to May's Glamour, you're "irresistible" to your guy when you blow him while watching TV — just don't swallow, or you might lose that flat belly.
Actually, Glamour isn't explicit about the bloating properties of semen. It does, however, warn against inappropriate breathing. Yes, breathing incorrectly can result in your abdomen "filling up like a balloon" (we thought that was the point), creating a "distended" look. Glamour offers some supposedly slimming breathing tips, but really, why bother with respiration at all? Dispensing with this unnecessary practice will make TV blowjobs easier too!


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Statement of ED's Inspector General Regarding Gatekeeping in the Student Financial Assistance Programs Skip to main contentAbout UsContact UsFAQs Language Assistance Englishespañol中文: 繁體版Việt-ngữ한국어TagalogРусский U.S. Department of Education Search for: Toggle navigation U.S. Department of Education Student Loans Grants Laws Data About ED OFFICES Home Reports & Resources Programs/Initiatives News Office Contacts Congressional Testimony Statement of Thomas R. Bloom Inspector General U.S. Department of Education Before the Subcommittee on Human Resources and Intergovernmental Relations Committee on Government Reform and Oversight United States House of Representatives Regarding Gatekeeping in the Student Financial Assistance Programs June 6, 1996 Mr. Chairman and Members of the Subcommittee: We welcome this opportunity to discuss the gatekeeping process for schools that participate in the federal student financial assistance (SFA) programs under Title IV of the Higher Education Act (HEA). The issue of gatekeeping -- that is, the process for screening institutions to participate in the SFA programs -- has been one of great concern to the Office of Inspector General (OIG) for many years. We firmly believe that it is vital to the efficiency of the SFA programs to have strong front-end controls like effective gatekeeping, rather than to rely on back-end, institutional monitoring and enforcement mechanisms. In the Department's testimony today, these two efforts are described as a single process. While they both perform important functions, the gatekeeping process exists to prevent marginal schools from ever participating or continuing to participate in the SFA programs. The OIG has focused its work on non-degree-granting, vocational trade schools, because they have posed the greatest risk to the SFA programs in terms of fraud, waste and abuse. Therefore, my remarks will be directed to gatekeeping for those schools. Furthermore, based upon OIG's years of experience auditing and investigating the SFA programs, we believe that Congress should adopt a separate statutory and regulatory scheme for such schools, because they pose different challenges from the traditional academic schools for the administration of SFA programs. Indeed, the HEA already recognizes a distinction between degree-granting, higher education institutions and non-degree granting, vocational trade schools; only the latter are required to prepare students for "gainful employment in a recognized occupation." I will urge in this testimony that reform of the gatekeeping process for the SFA programs be guided by this principle: WHAT YOU MEASURE, YOU GET. It is vitally important that we measure the right things in order to ensure that increasingly scarce taxpayer money is financing only quality training. Unfortunately, the way the SFA programs currently are designed, there are virtually no enforceable, quantitative measures that assure the quality of vocational trade schools that may participate in the programs. The result is that students and taxpayers are not always getting their money's worth for the $8.8 billion spent annually on postsecondary vocational training. Because the traditional gatekeeping mechanisms for the SFA programs have not assured the quality of the participating vocational trade schools, I will be advocating in this testimony that, with respect to the non-degree-granting, vocational trade school sector, Congress legislate consistent, measurable, objective standards which schools would have to meet in order to be eligible to participate in the SFA programs. HISTORY OF PROMISED IMPROVEMENTS IN THE GATEKEEPING PROCESS There has been a great deal of congressional testimony on the subject of gatekeeping, particularly leading up to the 1992 HEA Amendments. In 1990, then-Secretary of Education Lauro Cavazos told the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigation, Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs: "We believe that focusing more on performance, strengthening standards for State Licensure, and improving the accreditation, eligibility and certification process will greatly improve quality amongst our postsecondary institutions. This has been and will continue to be a major emphasis of the Department's activity." In October 1993, Assistant Secretary for the Office of Postsecondary Education, Dr. David Longanecker, promised the same Senate Subcommittee major improvement in the gatekeeping process by using authorities in the 1992 HEA Amendments to beef up the accreditation and certification processes, particularly with regard to the problem school sector -- nonbaccalaureate vocational institutions. In July 1995, Assistant Secretary Longanecker again testified before the same Senate Subcommittee and promised a "new approach for oversight reform," a centerpiece of which was a targeting by the Department of resources in the gatekeeping area and elsewhere on "for-profit institutions providing short-term training." Have the promised improvements materialized? In general, I can report that there has been improvement in those areas where Congress has legislated clear, bright-line standards or requirements for the Department to implement without much discretion, for example, the requirement for audited financial statements from participating schools. However, where the law has deferred to outside entities, such as accrediting agencies, to set and enforce standards, much more improvement is needed. ACCREDITING AGENCIES -- RELUCTANT TO SET AND ENFORCE MEANINGFUL PERFORMANCE STANDARDS Accrediting agencies are one-third of the tripartite gatekeeping process, along with the Department and the states. The accreditation process is conducted by private accrediting agencies, which under the HEA are to be determined by the Secretary to be "reliable authorit[ies] as to the quality of education or training offered" by institutions that participate in the SFA programs. Thus, under the current statutory scheme, accreditation is supposed to ensure the quality of training so that students and taxpayers get their money's worth from the training purchased. History of Concern Regarding Accreditation Process In testimony before congressional committees going back to 1990, OIG has repeatedly expressed its concern that the accreditation process does not reliably ensure institutional educational quality for vocational trade schools. The Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, which had held extensive hearings on weaknesses in the SFA programs, issued its report on Abuses in Federal Student Aid Programs in May 1991. The report recommended that accrediting agencies be eliminated as a part of the gatekeeping process unless, under the leadership of the Department, the agencies dramatically improved their ability to screen out substandard schools. The report further recommended that the Department "should be required to develop minimum uniform quality assurance standards, with which all recognized accrediting bodies that accredit proprietary schools must comply. The Department should be responsible not only for formulating those standards, but also for developing and carrying out a meaningful review and verification process designed to enforce compliance with those standards. If the Secretary determines that an accrediting body does not or cannot meet these requirements, recognition should be terminated." 1992 HEA Amendments In the 1992 HEA Amendments, Congress sought to address the need for specific accreditation and institutional performance standards. Section 496 directed the Department to establish standards for recognizing accrediting agencies as reliable authorities as to the quality of education or training offered. The 1992 HEA Amendments also required the accrediting agencies to have institutional review standards in twelve areas. While many of these areas were previously included in the law, the required standards for student outcomes were a new addition. In fact, the law stated that "such standards shall require that" accrediting agencies assess institutional "success with respect to student achievement in relation to its mission, including, as appropriate, consideration of course completion, State licensing examination, and job placement rates." We believe that by requiring the Department to "set standards" for evaluating accrediting agencies in specified areas, Congress was directing the Department to put meat on the bare-bones statutory language in order to ensure that the agencies had meaningful, quantifiable and enforceable standards for their member schools. Department Action Since the 1992 HEA Amendments It appeared that the Department was on the same track when Assistant Secretary Longanecker told the Senate Subcommittee on Investigations in 1993, in reference to the proposed regulations: "The Department will soon publish proposed regulations for recognizing accrediting agencies . . . which will make it clear that the accrediting agencies are accountable for the schools they accredit . . . [A]ccrediting agencies will be required to have meaningful standards for assessing an institution's fiscal and administrative capabilities, recruiting and admissions practices, measures of program length and student achievement, and program completion, job placement, and default rates. . . . These regulations would also require accrediting agencies to take followup action when a school fails to meet those standards." In our opinion, the Department's final accrediting agency regulations did not fulfill this promise. The final regulations simply restated the statutory language of the 1992 HEA Amendments without giving the accrediting agencies additional direction for setting meaningful standards or requiring that those standards be enforced against member schools that do not meet them. The stated rationale was that the Department must regulate "closely to the law" to avoid "regulation-driven management." In addition to the Department's efforts to minimize regulation, the accrediting agencies expressed an unwillingness to develop and enforce meaningful, objective standards because of their belief that it would inappropriately make them federal regulators. This demonstrates why we believe Congress must legislate measurable and mandatory performance standards and not rely on the Department or the accrediting agencies to do so. We believe that the Department's regulations are not what the 1992 HEA Amendments contemplated; nor will they enable the Department to attain clear, measurable and binding performance standards to help meet the requirements of the Government Performance and Results Act of 1993 (GPRA). The GPRA mandates federal program accountability by requiring federal agencies to establish performance goals that are objective, quantifiable and measurable by fiscal year 1999. The Department currently must rely on accrediting agencies to establish and enforce such performance goals. However, without assessing the institutional performance data collected by the agencies from member schools, the Department's ability to comply with the GPRA may be significantly jeopardized. Post-1992 HEA Amendments OIG Audit Work To assess whether the accrediting agencies were in fact developing performance standards for student achievement, as contemplated by the law and the Department's regulations, the OIG in 1994 conducted on-site reviews of five agencies that accredit institutions providing vocational training programs which receive SFA funds. Our May 1995 audit report concluded that the five accrediting agencies generally were not using performance measures to assess and improve the quality of education offered by member schools. Since our report, on-going, follow-up work reflects that some accrediting agencies have adopted or are now developing performance standards. However, the accrediting agencies expressed their reluctance to do so and said that they want and need more direction in the law itself as to what the appropriate standards for schools should be for purposes of participation in the SFA programs. The accrediting agencies we reviewed treated the standards only as "goals" that the schools should try to meet rather than as enforceable standards that serve as a basis for withdrawing accreditation of substandard schools. For example, the National Accrediting Commission of Cosmetology Arts and Sciences (NACCAS) offered what it called "outcome guidelines" as fulfillment of the requirement for performance standards during the re-recognition process. To its credit, the Department staff criticized NACCAS for not having enforceable standards and directed NACCAS to call its guidelines "standards" and enforce them. While this is encouraging, the Department's regulations give accrediting agencies considerable leeway in enforcing their standards. Without enforceable standards, schools that fall short of their own accrediting agency standards -- even in such basic areas as graduation and job placement -- may continue to be accredited and continue to participate in the SFA programs. Since what you measure you get, without measurement and enforcement of even these basic standards for student achievement, we cannot assure that vocational trade schools in the SFA program will consistently graduate and place the bulk of their students in jobs for which they were trained. For example, our 1993 Management Improvement Report entitled "Title IV Funding for Vocational Training Should Consider Labor Market Needs and Performance Standards" reported that in one instance, a cosmetology school in Louisiana received over $2.8 million in SFA program funds for the 673 students enrolled over a period of approximately 3.5 years. Of the 673 students, only 19 students actually received state cosmetology licenses, at a cost to the taxpayers of almost $148,000 per license. While we do not mean to suggest that this is the norm, our investigations and other studies have revealed similar or even more egregious examples. I submit that had there been performance standards for vocational trade schools that included licensing exam pass rates and job placement, this shocking waste of federal funds may not have occurred. In our 1995 audit report on accrediting agency performance standards, we recommended that the Department evaluate accrediting agency standards and procedures for measuring the quality of member schools and the success of their programs, particularly with respect to job placement. We also recommended that the Department require the agencies to verify the accuracy of performance outcomes reported by schools and hold schools accountable for unsuccessful training programs. We recommended further that the Department develop a process to collect and compile reported performance data from accrediting agencies. The data could not only be used to monitor the success of accrediting agencies on an ongoing basis, but it is essential in order for the Department to assess program success in accordance with the GPRA. The Department's program office did not completely agree with our audit report, and we have elevated the matter within the Department to the Office of the Chief Financial Officer for resolution. The fundamental disagreement concerns the requirements of the 1992 HEA Amendments regarding performance standards for student achievement. We believe the performance standard for student achievement must be numerical and absolute to be both meaningful and enforceable. We also believe that accrediting agencies must enforce their standards so that substandard schools do not remain accredited. The Department has taken the position, on the other hand, that the performance standards do not have to be absolute or numerical; that the standards could be goals that schools should work to, but may never achieve; and that agencies could develop subjective standards to be applied on a case-by-case basis to assess schools that do not meet the standards within specified time frames. The Department also did not agree with our recommendation that it develop a process to collect and compile performance data from accrediting agencies. The Department expressed concern that it did not have the resources to develop and operate a system to collect and compile the performance data. We continue to believe that it is not enough to simply require accrediting agencies to measure performance. The Department needs to know how well its Title IV funded vocational training programs are doing so that it can better manage the programs and demonstrate compliance with the GPRA. Legislative Standards Needed There has been a statutory requirement for accreditation standards for student achievement since July 1992, and a regulatory requirement effective since July 1994. Yet, we are only now beginning to see a handful of accrediting agencies establish performance standards, and accrediting agencies are not using their standards to terminate the accreditation of poor quality schools. In light of this reluctance on the part of accrediting agencies to engage in objective, quantitative evaluation of student achievement at their member schools, and the Department's reluctance to require that the performance standards be absolute, we recommend that Congress incorporate performance standards directly into the law, at a minimum for non-degree-granting, vocational trade schools. Since what you measure you get, these legislative standards should measure what Congress believes students and taxpayers should get from vocational training being financed with federal dollars. As previously stated, a vocational trade school is allowed to participate in the SFA programs only if it "provides an eligible program of training to prepare students for gainful employment in a recognized occupation." Therefore, I submit that the most important performance standard should be the number of students who obtain jobs in the field for which they were trained. If students who are trained at a particular vocational school are getting jobs, then Congress and the taxpayers can be relatively certain that the quality of the training is good. Congress has mandated job placement performance standards before. The 1992 HEA Amendments required that programs of less than 600 clock hours have a verified completion rate of at least 70 percent and a verified placement rate of at least 70 percent. Even this is a modest standard, requiring that only one of every two students enrolled get a job. We believe that Congress should seriously consider a similar provision as a gatekeeping mechanism for all non-degree-granting vocational programs that receive SFA funds. It is important to recognize that not all measurable statutory requirements are meaningful in assuring institutional quality. For example, the current HEA measures course length, but this does not ensure quality training. In fact, our past reviews disclosed that, in some instances, courses were stretched in order to meet the statutory course length requirement for participation in the SFA programs. Furthermore, course length requirements may actually increase the cost of training unnecessarily. Past experience has shown us that legislative mandates of bright-line, quantitative standards are the most effective means of bringing about real, systemic reform, rather than relying on the administrative process. Because there is tremendous pressure for deregulation in administering federal programs, the Department has been, and may well be in the future, reluctant to promulgate regulations that go beyond what the authorizing statute minimally mandates, as was the case with the current accrediting agency regulations. Bright-line statutory standards are important because, with fewer resources to administer these complex financial programs, the Department cannot do so efficiently and effectively when there are exceptions and mitigating factors that must be considered on a case-by-case basis. For example, the student loan default rate significantly declined between 1990 and 1993 after Congress promulgated default reduction provisions that required the Department to terminate the Federal Family Educational Loan Program eligibility of institutions having cohort default rates over specific numerical thresholds. CERTIFICATION/ELIGIBILITY -- LEGISLATIVE REFORMS LEAD TO IMPROVEMENT An example of the successful use of clear, bright-line legislative mandates occurred in another area of the gatekeeping processes. In the HEA Amendments of 1992, Congress set forth specific criteria for the Department to use in its financial and administrative certification of institutions participating in SFA programs. As a result, we have noted significant improvements in the Department's certification process. History of IG Concern Regarding Certification Process Our office issued two audit reports in 1989 and 1991 which addressed the Department's financial and administrative certification processes. At that time, we reported that the Department's certification procedures did not prevent deficient institutions from participating in SFA programs and did not protect student and government interests in the event of school closure. Moreover, nominal surety arrangements were used for the purpose of providing a mechanism for allowing almost any school to be certified to participate in the Title IV programs. In addition, the Department's administrative certification process placed too much reliance on the integrity of institutions in the preparation of certification applications, because the Department did not validate the information. We further found that institutions were routinely certified and recertified despite indicators of administrative capability problems such as high withdrawal and default rates. 1992 HEA Amendments In the HEA Amendments of 1992, Congress added significant financial responsibility requirements for participating schools. Most importantly, all schools were required to have an annual independent financial statement audit submitted to the Department. Schools also were required to meet more stringent financial criteria for them to be considered financially responsible by the Department. The Amendments further added a 50-percent surety requirement for any institution that failed to meet the new financial responsibility criteria. Post-1992 HEA Amendments OIG Audit Work To determine the impact of the 1992 HEA Amendments on the Department's certification process, we conducted a follow-up review last year to evaluate the deficiencies we had reported in our previous audit reports. We concluded that the Department had implemented many of the requirements contained in the 1992 Amendments, and improvements were evident in the recertification process. In particular, the Department's implementation of the annual financial statement audit requirement significantly improved the certification screening process. However, we have been unable to verify the Department's stated increase in certification rejections because the Department cannot provide our office with the specific names of the institutions that have been rejected. Our 1995 review also revealed that there were certain key areas where corrective action had not been completed. The 1992 HEA Amendments contained an additional requirement that the Department recertify all schools participating in SFA programs by July 1997 and then repeat the recertification every four years thereafter. Due to the large number of recertifications required and the limited number of staff available to conduct the reviews, it is our opinion that the Department will not be able to finish the recertification of participating institutions within the statutorily mandated time frame. If the recertification process is not completed as required, it could result in ineligible institutions receiving SFA funds. To complete the recertification process in a manner that will minimize the risk to the Department, we recommended that the recertification of institutions be prioritized by first reviewing institutions that present the highest risk and then restructuring the process to streamline the recertification of the remaining institutions. The Department generally agreed with this recommendation. Our follow-up review further revealed that the Department continues to have problems in maintaining and tracking its files on institutions. We recommended that the Department reevaluate its staff resources to determine how best to accomplish the file custodian's responsibilities. We further recommended that the Department consider the feasibility of scanning all institutional documents into an electronic database. OIG is currently conducting another review of the Department's recertification process. For the high-risk institutions, we are questioning some of the Department's individual recertification decisions because of deficiencies in the financial responsibility and/or administrative capability of the institutions. The matter is the subject of internal debate with the Department at the current time. Overall, we believe that the Department is making progress in its certification process, primarily because Congress provided the Department with specific requirements in the 1992 HEA Amendments. One area we intend to address in the near term is the Department's application of the new provisional certification process authorized by the 1992 HEA Amendments. Provisional certification permits a marginal school to remain eligible to participate in SFA programs under certain restrictions. We will be examining the Department's handling of schools on provisional certification upon the expiration of their provisional certification period. Institutional Eligibility Determinations We also have some concerns about the Department's ability to implement new school eligibility requirements that appeared in the 1992 HEA Amendments. In the past, a school generally met the Department's eligibility criteria if it was licensed and accredited. The 1992 HEA Amendments added additional eligibility criteria such as the 85/15 rule (for recertification) and the 50-percent restriction on the number of students admitted on the basis of ability-to-benefit rather than high school credentials. We strongly support these clear absolute standards, and we believe that the Department must assure its current eligibility review staff establish procedures to ensure that schools are adequately evaluated under the new eligibility requirements. THE STATES -- LICENSURE STILL GENERALLY INEFFECTIVE AS A NATIONAL GATEKEEPING MECHANISM State licensure is a third part of the triad of gatekeeping mechanisms provided for by the HEA. It has been generally recognized for some time that state licensure does not assure a consistent level of quality for institutions participating in the SFA programs, because of the wide variation among the states as to their licensure procedures. In the 1992 HEA Amendments, Congress contemplated a greater role for states by providing for new State Postsecondary Review Entities -- SPREs -- which would have been responsible for establishing acceptable measures for student achievement for schools participating in the SFA programs and for monitoring problem schools in their states. However, funding for the SPREs was eliminated in 1995, and therefore the state role in gatekeeping remains ineffective. One reason the SPREs were not funded is because of opposition from the higher education community as a whole. We believe that Congress should reexamine the SPRE concept as a gatekeeping and monitoring mechanism for non-degree-granting vocational trade schools only. We also believe there are other ways that states could have a role in the gatekeeping process. The OIG examined workforce development initiatives underway in six state offices responsible for overseeing state-supported vocational training. We found some states had made significant progress in developing strategies for coordinating and measuring the effectiveness of their job training programs. A key component of the strategies is the targeting of training for high-demand jobs and the use of performance measures. Although these agencies were not part of the state role in the program triad, we think these are exactly the strategies that were envisioned in the GPRA. In August 1995, we recommended in a report to the Department that it study the feasibility of conducting a pilot project in one or more of those states with advanced workforce development programs. The Department did not disagree, but took the position that it was premature to implement pilot projects. DEPARTMENT'S CURRENT GATEKEEPING INITIATIVE In congressional testimony in July 1995 regarding fraud and abuse in the federal student aid programs, Assistant Secretary Longanecker testified as to the ongoing improvements in the gatekeeping and oversight of schools, and unveiled a new approach to ensure the integrity of these programs. The new approach is to differentiate between schools based on the level of risk they pose to the integrity of the programs. Departmental resources would then be redirected from the monitoring of the low-risk schools to an intensified focus on the high-risk schools, which he defined generally as for-profit non-degree granting institutions. Following the testimony, the Department convened a meeting of its senior officers in an effort to decide what needed to be done to accomplish this effort. We were encouraged by the open discussion of the problems and looked forward to continuing to assist the Department in this much needed and long overdue effort. Subsequent to the initial meeting, the Department established a steering committee on oversight and monitoring to continue this effort. Although we are aware of Departmental efforts such as the IPOS Challenge, to improve its processes for dealing with the high-risk schools, we are concerned that the Department's plans to provide regulatory relief for the low-risk schools have become the top priority of the steering committee, rather than the increased oversight of high-risk schools. We believe implementation of the current proposal for deregulation will require the reallocation of limited resources. We are concerned that this reallocation will divert resources from dealing with the high-risk schools. While we are not opposed to deregulation for the low-risk schools, we believe the Department's top priority should be addressing the high-risk problem schools, those that have called into question the integrity of the student aid programs. This concludes my remarks. I will be happy to answer any questions you may have. Top Back to Congressional Testimony Printable view Share this page Last Modified: 02/22/2005 How Do I Find... Student loans, forgiveness College accreditation No Child Left Behind FERPA FAFSA 1098-E Tax Form 2015 Budget Proposal More > Information About... Transforming Teaching Family and Community Engagement Early Learning K-12 Reforms More > Connect Facebook Twitter YouTube Email RSS Google+ More > MISUSED FOIA OIG Fraud Hotline Our mission is to promote student achievement and preparation for global competitiveness by fostering educational excellence and ensuring equal access. 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before the Subcommittee on Human Resources and Intergovernmental Relations regarding Gatekeeping in the Student Financial Assistance Programs on June 6, 1996 PDF
Published by the Department of Education, Office of Inspector General on 1996-06-06.
Below is a raw (and likely hideous) rendition of the original report.


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Eovaldi, Mathis getting closer to return
NEW YORK -- Nathan Eovaldi's back is getting better, and so is Jeff Mathis' right thumb.
Still, there isn't a definitive return date for either player.
Eovaldi was scratched from his start on Thursday, at home against the Braves, due to a tight back. Best case scenario is the hard-throwing right-hander will pitch during the series at Philadelphia next week.
Right now, it doesn't appear that would be on Monday. Sam Dyson is likely to get the nod that day.
"He is feeling better," Marlins manager Mike Redmond said of Eovaldi. "That's good. Hopefully, we get him back out playing catch soon. We'll see. I don't have a date as far as when he will be able to pitch."
Dyson threw three innings of relief against the Braves on Thursday, and he is ready to go on Monday. But a final decision hasn't yet been made.
Mathis, meanwhile, is also improving. The veteran catcher bruised his thumb while blocking a pitch on Monday.
A second X-ray also came back negative, and the swelling is subsiding. Mathis may start swinging the bat in the cages on Saturday. The earliest he could be ready is Sunday, but that may be optimistic.
"Each day he seems to be getting better and better," Redmond said.


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Using a large skillet, heat the olive oil over moderate heat until hot, and sauté the mushrooms. Continue cooking and stirring until they are golden brown, for approximately two or three minutes.
Reduce the heat slightly and add garlic. Stir continuously until the garlic is lightly browned, then stir in the parsley and season with salt and pepper. Remove from heat and set aside.
In a heavy saucepan heat just 1 tablespoon of the olive oil over medium-high heat until the oil is hot but not smoking. Sauté the couscous, stirring to coat with the olive oil. Continue cooking for about 1 minute. Stir in one cup of simmering stock and the turmeric. Bring to a boil, then remove from the heat and cover. Allow the mixture to stand for about five minutes. Uncover and fluff the couscous with a fork. Cover and keep warm.
In a large bowl, mix the quinoa with enough cold water to cover it by several inches. Stir the quinoa to rinse and drain in through a fine sieve. Rinse the quinoa again under running cold water, and drain well.
Use a large, heavy pot to heat the remaining tablespoon of olive oil over medium high heat. Sauté the scallions until they are wilted but not browned. Stir in the quinoa and continue to cook, stirring constantly, until hot. This should take one to two minutes. Add 1 cup of simmering stock, stirring constantly, until absorbed - about 5 minutes. Add another cup of simmering stock, stirring, until the liquid is almost completely absorbed, about 10 minutes.
Add the mushrooms, the couscous, the remaining one cup of simmering stock, and the peas. Cook, stirring constantly, until nearly all of the liquid is absorbed. The risotto should be moist and creamy. If it's too dry, add a small amount of boiling water.
Season with salt and pepper. Serve immediately and garnish with parsley leaves and grated Parmesan.
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text:
|1,325 free recipes at www.edenfoods.com
Serves 10 | Prep Time 10 minutes | Cook Time 45 minutes
1/2 cup Eden Quinoa, rinsed, drained
1/2 cup Eden Red Quinoa, rinsed, drained
2 cups Eden Oat Flakes
or any Eden flakes or combination of flakes
1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
1/4 cup ground flax seed meal
1 Tbsp Eden Cinnamon
3 Tbsp Eden Tamari Roasted Almonds, coarsely chopped
3 Tbsp Eden Roasted & Salted Pistachios, whole or coarsely chopped
1 Tbsp Eden Safflower Oil
3 Tbsp Eden Roasted & Salted Pumpkin Seeds
1/4 cup organic honey
1/4 cup organic pure maple syrup
1/4 cup Eden Dried Cranberries
or Eden Wild Dried Blueberries
1/4 cup Thompson Organic Seedless Raisinsp
Preheat oven to 300°. Combine two quinoa varieties. Heat a medium heavy skillet and dry roast the quinoa, stirring frequently, until rinse water evaporates.
Place the quinoa, oats, coconut, flax meal, chopped nuts and seeds, and cinnamon in a medium mixing bowl and mix thoroughly. Combine the honey, maple syrup and oil, and pour over the quinoa mixture. Mix to evenly coat the dry ingredients. Spread the mixture on a parchment paper lined large cookie sheet. Bake for about 45 to 50 minutes, mixing every 10 minutes to evenly roast and prevent burning.
Remove from the oven and add the dried cranberries and raisins to the granola mix. The granola is now ready to eat. To store, let cool to room temperature before placing in a tightly sealed glass jar or container in your cupboard or pantry.
Granola is a delicious breakfast cereal with Edensoy or an any time healthy snack. Sprinkle it over any Eden Apples Sauce, smoothies or whatever you desire.
Yields: about 5 cups; 1/2 cup per person