text:
Remember that bumper sticker from the mid 1970s, when agricultural economics became so disastrous that there were farmers crashing tractors into the local bank in protest? It said: "Don't cuss the farmer with your mouth full."
For those who believe in free markets, it may be time to roll out a new one along the lines of: "Don't talk competition with your hand out."
"Outlawing packer ownership of livestock would make sure the forces of the marketplace would work for the benefit of the farmer just as much as it does for the slaughterhouse. You could even say that packer ownership of livestock frustrates and compromises the marketplace so the farmer doesn't get a fair price," Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) said recently.
Here we go again. Grassley is pushing what he terms a competitiveness agenda for agriculture in the upcoming farm bill. As part of that, he wants legislation to prohibit packer ownership of cattle ahead of slaughter. Never mind that numerous studies have consistently agreed that concentration and vertical integration in the beef business -- and the marketing agreements spawned by them -- have actually allowed prices to remain higher over time than they would have with less concentration.
Never mind such agreements offer producers more opportunities to retrieve more dollars from the product of their labor. Never mind that the system Grassley decries enabled calf prices to climb to historic highs.
The most recent study was completed in February. The $4.5-million "GIPSA Livestock and Meat Marketing Study" was conducted by RTI International at the behest of the industry, including the National Cattlemen's Beef Association (NCBA). "During debate of the 2002 farm bill, concerns from producers about packer concentration led NCBA members to ask Congress to study the livestock and meat marketing complex," explains John Queen, NCBA president. "In 2003, Congress authorized $4.5 million to conduct an independent study of the livestock- and meat-marketing complex and provide... a definitive answer on this issue."
In sum, the study's cattle portion concludes that if alternative marketing agreements (AMAs) -- basically anything besides spot market cash transactions, including packer-owned fed cattle and forward contracting -- were reduced or eliminated, feeder-cattle producers, feedlots and packers would all make less money, while the consumer would pay more for a product of less quality.
"The cost savings and quality improvements associated with the use of AMAs outweigh the effect of potential oligopsony market power," the report says. "In model simulations, even if the complete elimination of AMAs would eliminate market power that might currently exist, the net effect would be reductions in prices, quantities, and producer and consumer surplus in almost all sectors of the industry because of additional processing costs and reductions in beef quality. Collectively, this suggests that reducing the use of AMAs would result in economic losses for beef consumers and for the beef industry." Read the report at www.gipsa.usda.gov.
What the study doesn't mention, though the logic is implicit in a market where producers would be remanded to "the good old days" of average marketing, is that there would be no incentive to do better. According to Cattle-Fax, high-return producers made $120-150/cow more than low-return producers from 1980 to 2000; they made $65/cow more than average-return producers.
I'll bet those folks on the top end are anxious to have their opportunity for economic success limited by folks who talk competition while demanding that someone help them compete. Folks on the bottom end would be just as sad because there would be no hope for anything better.
By definition, competition means one guy is going to try to beat another; that there will be winners and losers. Limit or do away with it, and everyone will lose, as this basic freedom becomes a commodity. Maintain it, and everyone has the right to try to win.
Of course, Grassley also wrote President Bush the same month to say he'd: "...oppose any proposals that would negatively impact the growth of renewable fuels, including the tax incentive or lifting the tariff on imported ethanol."
The tax incentive is 51¢/gal.; the tariff is 54¢/gal. The net devaluation of the cattle industry due to artificially high corn prices supported by these subsidies is only now coming into sight.
Apparently competition is only desirable to folks like Grassley when you can make up the rules as you go. At least folks of that ilk are consistent in their illogic, no matter how myopic. -- Wes Ishmael


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Title: When the Butterflies Come
Series: Rosemary's Butterflies #2
Author: Rosemary Ness Bitner
Genre: Crime Thriller Romance
Release Date: March 3, 2017
Cover: Carrie at Cheeky Covers
Cover: Carrie at Cheeky Covers
I'm reclusive by choice. I live near the edge of a wilderness area and my best friends are the forest animals. I love watching them go about their lives. I like to disappear into the wild for several days or a week at a time to get my best ideas and do my thinking. I have one house pet, a big tabby cat named Bud.
My interests are varied. I'm fascinated by peoples' varied personalities and forever curious about how different people came to behave the way they do and think the way they do. I like to write about things where I believe I can tell a story that sheds a fresh perspective on a possibly misplaced common perception, or when I can perceive something about the future that, for reasons I do not fully understand myself, I can develop a story around and use that story to project what will happen. I try to feel what my characters feel in my stories. In fact, sometimes I cry when I write about sad things, and sometimes I cry happy cries when I write about things that relieve a character from stresses or something bad. I also feel a terrible sadness for my bad boy and bad girl characters because they can't help themselves from being bad. When my characters fall in love, I try to put into their minds the same feelings I think I would have if I were them.
It's hard to explain what inspires me to write. It's more because I enjoy doing it than anything else. I get to thinking about someone I knew or read about or heard about and then a story takes form. Some mornings when I wake up there are thoughts about one or more of my characters swirling through my mind and I hurry to write those thoughts down because they are the very best outlets to express the story. Somehow they bubble up from the sub-conscious. Likely the mind is more miraculous than any of us realize. Writing is a way for me to give to others by releasing my feelings. I'm always hopeful that my work will help someone gain a perspective they didn't have before or someone will better understand a person they couldn't understand before.
In the evenings I like to write my first drafts in pencil by an oil lamp. There's something special about thought processes that take place when I'm alone with my lamp, my pencil, the wonderful silence and Bud. He loves to walk on my draft paper or lie down and stretch himself out on it. That's his goofy way of telling me he needs my attention. Then I hold him close to me like he's a little baby and give him gentle hug rubs until he purrs. That's how I know he's happy and feeling healthy. He has a great purr. He goes "purr, purr, purr, purr purr." The rubs help him slip into another world, cat dream world I guess. My place gets a little untidy when I'm immersed in writing but it's always clean, except for when Bud leaves a fur ball someplace. He can't help himself when he does that. He's a cat!

subset: commoncrawl


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|Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Lu Kang's Regular Press Conference on April 20, 2017
Q: It is reported that this February, the National Archive of Japan submitted 19 photocopies of "comfort women" archives to the Japanese Cabinet Secretariat illustrating the involvement of Japanese military in the drafting of "comfort women" during the WWII. But senior officials from the Cabinet Secretariat denied that, saying that "on the whole, no accounts have been found directly showing forcible drafting". What is your comment?
A: We have noted relevant reports. The enforced recruitment of "comfort women" is a grave crime committed by the Japanese militarism. There is iron-clad evidence and no room for denial. The Japanese government to this day still refused to acknowledge such evidence, which once again exposed its erroneous attitude towards history.
I must stress again that the history baggage will not be relieved until the history is looked at squarely and reflected upon profoundly. We once again urge the Japanese side to take history as a mirror, take the concerns of relevant countries and the international community seriously, and properly deal with the relevant issue in a responsible way.
Q: Acting Secretary of Foreign Affairs of the Philippines Enrique Manalo said in an interview that we have been stressing a comprehensive implementation of the DOC since 2002, and formulating the COC is in the same vein with implementing the DOC. At present, ASEAN and China are stepping up negotiations on a framework of the COC, which is an important step towards formulating the COC. Everyone is working in the right direction and a consensus on a COC framework is expected to be reached within the year. Do you agree with his remarks?
A: It is true that at present, China and ten ASEAN countries are taking positive steps towards comprehensively and effectively implementing the DOC. And under this framework, efforts are being made to advance the consultations on the COC and maritime practical cooperation. Since the start of this year, with all parties upholding a pragmatic and constructive attitude, two rounds of consultations have been held on a draft framework of the COC, and relevant work is moving forward smoothly. China is fully confident that consultations on a draft framework of the COC will be completed within the first half of this year. Going forward, China will continue working with ASEAN countries including the Philippines to further promote the comprehensive and effective implementation of the DOC and endeavor to reach the COC by consensus at an early date.
Q: US President Donald Trump said in an interview that how much the DPRK's leader desires peace would be a deciding factor in easing tensions between it and the US. The US wants peace and hopes Kim Jong Un also wants peace. Trump said that it would be "the end determination". What is China's comment?
A: We have noted that this statement by President Trump has already be extensively covered by many news media since yesterday. To peacefully achieve denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and maintain peace and stability on the Peninsula through dialogue and consultation is the only viable way out of the Peninsula nuclear issue. It also represents the consistent stance of the Chinese government. Just like what I said here yesterday, in our contacts with major parties to the Peninsula nuclear issue, they all expressed that the last thing they want is conflict and war. What the majority of the international community hope to see is also peace. We hope that all relevant parties can forge consensus and make concrete efforts under this principle and in this direction.
Q: The China-Australia High-level Security Dialogue will be held tomorrow in Canberra. Who will represent China to the Dialogue?
A: China and Australia are cooperating with each other on law enforcement and security, and some arrangements have been institutionalized. As for your question, we will release relevant information in due course.
Q: Reports say that US President Donald Trump is asking the Commerce Department to carry out a probe into whether imports of foreign-made steel are hurting US national security. What is your comment?
A: We responded to this question before if my memory serves me right. First, we need to check the authenticity of the reports. And if they are true, we still need to evaluate the coverage and target of such probe before making any judgment. If you raise this question because of concerns over trade issues between China and the US, I can say something in principle. We keep saying that the economic and trade relations between China and the US are in nature for mutual benefit and win-win results, and the two sides have tided over some frictions in the relevant sectors over the years because of the consultations we have had with each other on the basis of mutual respect, equality and mutual benefit.
Q: It is reported that Russia has blocked a proposed UN Security Council press statement that would have condemned the DPRK's latest missile launch test. What is your comment?
Q: It is reported that China and Iran have reached agreement on the first commercial contract for the renovation of the Arak heavy water reactor which will be finalized in Vienna on April 23. Can you confirm it?
A: Your information is correct. Chinese and Iranian companies initialed their first commercial contract on the renovation of the Arak heavy-water reactor in Beijing the other day, thanks to the efforts made by the two sides, which will be signed formally in Vienna on April 23.
As you may already know, the renovation of the Arak heavy-water reactor is the core of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) on the Iranian nuclear issue. The working group, established by the P5+1 on the Iranian nuclear issue and co-chaired by China and the US, is in charge of cooperating with Iran to implement renovation projects. Since the JCPOA went into force, renovation projects have been put on a right track of steady development, thanks to the relentless efforts of all parties. The signing of the agreement will create favorable conditions for the start-up of renovation work in real sense. China will continue working with relevant parties for follow-up matters in accordance with the JCPOA and the consensus reached by all.
I also want to say that China always firmly supports the JCPOA. With the 7th meeting of the Joint Commission of the JCPOA to be held in Vienna on April 25 by the P5+1 and Iran, the successful signing of the agreement between China and Iran will create positive impetus for the meeting. We hope that all parties can be steadfast in their political resolves, properly deal with disputes, jointly safeguard and implement the JCPOA, and contribute to preserving the international nuclear non-proliferation regime and peace and stability in the Middle East.


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If I have one complaint about winter it's the snow. The stuff that turns the streets of Central PA into a nightmare for drivers and ruins your new pants and shoe.
[Note, "snow" is not to be confused with my sister's adorable cockapoo, "Snowball."]
And it looks like we're already into snow season – oh joy.
But if there's one thing I do love about snow – it's that it makes for some cute pictures.
There's nothing better than taking pictures in front of a snowy field all bundled up or more beautiful than seeing a barn and farm covered under a layer of white.
I'll definitely be posting my favorite snow scenes from around the Valley here – and please send me your snow photos – I'll post them here so we can compare vantage points.
So bundle up and break out the smartphone – winter has arrived in Pennsylvania!


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How are you all? 😀
You guys really seem to enjoy when I post pictures of Ninja, our extremely fluffy and rather stuck-up cat. 😛 I decided to do a post specifically focusing on him. In case any of you wondered how we got Ninja, he literally appeared out of nowhere one morning, lay down on our front porch, and hasn't left since. XD
I think Ninja was pleased with the idea of this post because he posed for all of these pictu-
I was not POSING! I just happened to be laying in certain adorable positions when you were sticking that annoying camera in my face. I think I'll take this post from here since you're obviously not doing a very good job. Let us begi-
HEY! This is my blog, Ninja, and I'll thank you to let me do the writi-
To be honest, if you're reading this post, then you must not have very good taste because this is a simply awful blog. Sadly, this is the only place I can put pictures of myself for you all to enjoy them. As I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted, we will be looking at some pictures of me today. Let's start with a photo that displays my voluminous fluff in all its glory.
Aren't I gorgeous? Amazing? Jaw-dropping? I look so handsome, lying there in the sunlight, with my fluff reflecting the rays of the sun……*ahem* I mean, didn't Clara do an awful job on this extremely ugly picture? I'm in it, though, so I guess that's it's only redeeming quality.
*annoyed cough* I will take it from here, thanks, Ninja. XD
Ninja is a rather arrogant cat, but he's also extremely adorable and fluffy. He really was posing for the camera, whether he wants to admit it or not. He has quite the personality.
Ninja loves to be held and petted. If I sit down within his line of vision, he'll immediately run to me and climb into my lap. He falls asleep in my lap quite often, and then I have to very carefully lift him onto the ground before I can get up. XD
Ninja has a toy that's filled with catnip and he loves it. It's so hilarious to watch him play with it. 😛
I was trying to take a picture of Ember on the porch, but Ninja saw me and ran over to photobomb the picture. He really loves being the center of attention. 😛
When I took this picture, he was laying on my feet. He does that a lot. If I stop walking, he'll run up and flop down directly on both feet so that I can't move. *sigh*
After wandering around with me for a while, Ninja settled against the wall of the carport, which gave me a nice white backdrop for rest of these pictures. 🙂
Ninja has such beautiful eyes!
Cute kitty paw.
Thus we come to the end of Ninja's post. I hope you all enjoyed observing his extreme fluffiness. 😀 Well of COURSE they did! Are you questioning my greatness? My beauty? My handsomeness? My-
Please comment below and reassure Ninja that you do indeed enjoy his fluffiness, or I'll never hear the end of it. XD
Have a great week, my friends!


text: You have special needs -- especially when deployed -- but you also have some special benefits. By Kimberly Lankford, Contributing Editor August 20, 2009 I am in the Army. Do I have special insurance needs?Members of the military and their families do have some special needs -- especially when they are deployed -- but they also have some special benefits. Here's what military families need to know about their insurance: RELATED LINKS Military Family Money Guide How Much Life Insurance Do You Need? Avoiding Scams That Target the Military Life insurance. Military personnel have access to one of the best deals in life insurance: Servicemembers' Group Life Insurance costs just 6.5 cents per $1,000 of coverage per month, or $312 per year for the maximum $400,000, regardless of your age or health. You can also get $100,000 in coverage for your spouse. Members of the military should sign up for this policy before buying any other life insurance. For more information, go to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs SGLI site. Sponsored Content But $400,000 may not be enough to cover all of your family's needs if you die, and the good deal on premiums ends when you leave the military. The life insurance calculator at Kiplinger.com can help you figure out whether you need to buy more insurance. Advertisement Be aware that members of the military can't just buy any life-insurance policy. Some policies have specific war exclusions or charge high rates if you plan to travel to a foreign country, making the coverage worthless or very expensive if you're about to be deployed. SGLI covers all of those special needs for members of the military, and it's important to make sure any additional insurance you're considering provides full coverage for service members, too. Be up front about your job with the agent or insurer when you're shopping for coverage and submitting the application, and check the policy for any war-related exclusions. It's also important to review your insurance options at least six months before you leave the military. You can convert your SGLI policy into a Veterans' Group Life Insurance (VGLI) policy if you submit your application within one year and 120 days after discharge from the military. During the first 120 days after separation, you can qualify for VGLI without a medical exam; after that, an exam is required. If you're healthy, you may find a much better deal on your own. But VGLI may be your best bet if you have a medical condition that would cause private insurers to raise your rates or reject your application. Regardless of your age, be wary of salespeople trying to sell you high-fee life insurance -- especially if you haven't maxed out your SGLI. State and federal regulators have cracked down on agents and companies that target service members with expensive insurance they don't need. See Avoiding Scams That Target the Military for more information. Auto insurance. Service members generally have the same car-insurance needs as people who aren't in the military. But you need to take some extra steps before deployment. Advertisement Tell your insurer that you're being deployed and let the company know if other family members may be driving your car while you're gone. You may get a discount if the car isn't used for commuting. If you're putting your car in storage, your state may not allow you to drop auto-insurance coverage unless you hand in your license plates. But you can cut your premiums in half -- or more -- by lowering your liability coverage to the state minimum and dropping collision coverage, says June Walbert, a certified financial planner with USAA. Call your insurance company or ask your state insurance department about the specific rules for your state. Go to Kiplinger's Insurance page to find contact information for your state regulator. However, maintain your comprehensive coverage. It will pay out if your car is damaged or stolen while in storage. You can lower the rate by raising your deductible. Homeowners insurance. If your family remains in your home or apartment while you are deployed, then you don't need to change your homeowners or renters insurance. But if you rent out the house while you're gone, contact your insurer and ask about your options. If your furnishings are going with you, then you may be able to switch to a less-expensive policy that covers only the structure, and let your tenant get renters insurance to cover his or her possessions. Your mortgage lender may have specific coverage demands, though, so check with the lender before making any changes. Advertisement Also let your insurer know if you're putting possessions in storage while you're gone. You may be able to buy an inexpensive renters-insurance policy to cover the items if they are damaged or stolen while you are away. For more information about personal-finance issues for military families, see our Military Family Money Guide. Got a question? Ask Kim at firstname.lastname@example.com.


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Blizzards blocked roads, stranded villages, disrupted power supplies and shut down an airport in the Balkans on Tuesday, the fourth straight day of tough winter weather in the region of southeastern Europe.
In one of the worst hit areas, snowdrifts and avalanches blocked roads in hilly northern Montenegro, where about a meter (3 feet) of snow fell overnight, officials said.
Across the border in southwestern Serbia, heavy snowfall blocked roads to more than a dozen villages, with some left without electricity and schools being closed for rest of the week, officials said.
"We have got heavy machinery out and we are doing all we can," said local emergency official Samir Bakic. "The wind is making the effort more difficult."
At least nine deaths across the region have been blamed on the snow and deep freeze, with temperatures as low as -15 Celsius (5 degrees Fahrenheit).
Elsewhere in Serbia, officials said the snow was falling so fast that road crews were unable to even clear the central squares of some cities. In Belgrade, fresh snow left suburban areas stranded and caused traffic chaos in the city, where snow had begun to fall on Saturday.
The milder climates of Montenegro's capital, Podgorica, and the nation's Adriatic coast usually escape tough winter weather, but snow is blanketing Podgorica, too, closing its airport and cutting off electricity to the city and several coastal towns.
In Bosnia, some areas were left without electricity and with snow-covered roads.
Serbia's top emergency official apologized on Tuesday for failing to clear roads over the weekend, when hundreds of people were stranded in buses and cars. Predrag Maric said that "even emergency vehicles were blocked on the roads and that the only solution was military vehicles."
Meteorologists predicted the cold snap will last until the end of the week.
In Croatia, doctors issued warnings to the elderly and sick to stay indoors as local hospitals reported dozens of cases of broken limbs from falls on the ice and snow.
Jovana Gec contributed to this report from Serbia, and Aida Cerkez from Bosnia.


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Canon PG510 ink cartridges from UK Ink Supplies
Using Canon PG510 remanufactured ink cartridges from Jet Tec: Remove the transport clip and replace the empty cartridge in the printer with the remanufactured one.
Q. Why does my PG510/CL511 remanufactured cartridge show a low ink warning, or empty?A. The remanufactured cartridge is a used cartridge that has been emptied, cleaned, refilled and tested professionally. The previous use of this cartridge will have written empty to the cartridges memory. After using the cartridge for a while the status monitor will need to be disabled to allow the full use of this cartridge.
Resetting the status monitor is carried out when a low ink warning message comes up during a print job. Ignore any warnings about print quality, and if prompted to do so, press and hold the printers stop/reset button for 5 seconds to disable the status monitor.
The above image is an example of the Stop / Reset button on Canon printers. The above screen may appear after printing only a few pages. The cartridge can be simply reset to activate the remainder of the ink in the cartridges. During the reset process the printer status monitor is deactivated. The end user will determine the end of the cartridge life by monitoring the print quality. As seen in the image above, the following text will appear: The following ink has run out .. Replace the ink cartridge and close the cover. If printing is in progress and you want to continue printing, press the printers Stop / Reset button for at least 5 seconds with the cartridges installed. The printing can continue under the ink out condition. The function for detecting the remaining ink level will be disabled. Replace the empty ink cartridge immediately after printing. The resulting print quality is not satisfactory, if printing is continued under the ink out condition. As the cartridge has been refilled, the print quality will not deteriorate. If you have not seen the above message appear, send a job to the printer. The status monitor will transfer from showing an ink out screen (red cross in a box) to the above message dialogue box.
Once the cartridge has been reset, the status monitor will no longer show the ink level as seen on the left hand side of the above image. Note: the Canon MX300 printer may show error code163 following installation. To continue printing press the Stop / Reset button.
Q. I am having difficulty installing the remanufactured Canon cartridges in my printerA. The fitment of the Canon PG510 cartridges, OEM and remanufactured is poor. We have no influence on the installation design of these cartridges.
Place the cartridge in the position as indicated above. Lift the cartridge until it clicks into position. You will feel resistance to the fitment.
You can buy Jet Tec ink cartridges for Canon printers here:
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UK Ink Supplies is an Official Jet Tec reseller.


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1. It's always important to remember that the first film of any trilogy—particularly one that has to not only introduce a bunch of new characters but take time to remind us of all the people/dwarves/elves/wizards we'd forgotten in the nine years since we last saw them—is always going to be the slowest, most laborious to sit through. Even the first Lord of the Rings film, The Fellowship of the Ring, takes forever to get out of the damned shire; by the end of that film's first hour, you're desperate to see a troll, an orc, something, anything. So the fact that The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey is so, so slow—the fact that it spends 15 minutes stretching out a scene that could easily be wrapped up in one line of dialogue—should be expected, and maybe even forgiven. After all, it's tough to argue that Peter Jackson didn't ultimately pay everything off the last time. But then again: I'm not writing about a whole trilogy yet. I'm writing about just one film, and whether or not you should spend $10 or so to see it. So I must be honest and say that while I'm intrigued by the possibilities of this series ... long swaths of this thing are a freaking chore to sit through.
2. The plot of An Unexpected Journey is so spare and easy that I wonder if I can essentially summarize nearly three hours of running time in one sentence. Lemme try. Sixty years before the LOTR films, a young Bilbo Baggins is drafted by Wizard Gandalf to help a group of nomadic dwarves recapture their home from a dragon. Hey, that was pretty good, especially considering the movie never actually makes it to the dragon. (If I'd dropped the dependent clause establishing the timeframe, I could have gotten that done in about 20 words.) Along the way they run into some orcs—a shit-ton of orcs, now that you mention it—a couple of trolls and some other characters from the last film, most of whom I didn't remember, other than Christopher Lee, Cate Blanchett, and Billy Crystal and his blasted precious. It's about three hours of that.
3. I counted four battle scenes, maybe five if you include a pre-credits flashback sequence. These are shot with Jackson's usually busy-bodyness—he has a way of filling the frame with tons of different little fights without making it look hyperactive the way George Lucas does—but without the grand, almost lunatic intensity of some of the best sequences in LOTR. (There's a 20-minute stretch at the end of Return of the King that's so over-the-top batshit that it feels plucked from a madman's most vivid fever dream.) Much of it feels oddly rote, even. The film's big, bravura finale is impressive in a technical sense, but it also isn't much more than "dwarves running and swinging axes." It's a lot of noise and a lot of movement, but it doesn't do more than run in place. Much of the film has that same treadmill vibe. An hour in, we're still in the shire. Nobody cares about the shire. Move it along, would you?
4. One of the more discussed aspects of An Unexpected Journey is Jackson's decision to shoot the film at 48 frames per second (rather than the usual) 24. The idea is that it makes the image clearer and therefore makes the experience more immersive, and the sped-up frame rate certainly does do that. Unfortunately, the image is so "real"—you feel like you're right there with Bilbo and the gang—that all it ends up doing, paradoxically, is emphasize what's artificial. The New Yorker's Anthony Lane wrote that, "HD has the unfortunate effect of turning every film into what appears to be a documentary about a film set, not just warts-and-all but carefully supplying extra warts where a wart has no right to be," and he's exactly right: Who in the world wants to see a Middle-earth that's "realistic"? The frame rate is impressive (and I'm sure my hesitance to embrace will read Luddite in 10 years), but by attempting to bring the audience closer to the experience, it instead keeps it at a pronounced distance. The experience made me want to see how something really real—a skyscraper, say, or a sporting event—would look at 48 fps. It didn't make me want to see any more orcs that way.
5. There's still plenty to like in An Unexpected Journey, particularly Martin Freeman's performance as Bilbo; he's befuddled and nervous, but he has more backbone than Elijah Wood ever did. (I believe him with a sword in a way I never did Frodo.) And even if I was more confused than anything else by all the jargon—"let us charge the ranks of the goblins of Mount Gram in the Battle of the Green Fields!"—the first three films generated enough good will that it's an undeniable pleasure to see the old gang again. But those films felt invigorated by a director living out his dream project, driven to do the movie right by Tolkien. Here, so far, it sorta feels like Peter Jackson is just killing time. There are worse ways to kill time, sure; it's just that there is, alas, so much time to kill.
Grade: C+.
Grierson & Leitch is a regular column about the movies. Follow us on Twitter, @griersonleitch.


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The Adobe Photoshop 9.0.2 update fixes a number of problems discovered after Photoshop CS2 (9.0) was released. The Photoshop 9.0.2 update includes all the fixes contained in the earlier Photoshop 9.0.1 update. Therefore, it is not necessary to apply the 9.0.1 update prior to running the 9.0.2 update on Photoshop CS2.
The most significant fixes in the 9.0.2 release include the following:
- Menus now respond correctly after a single click.
- Undo/Redo work properly when multiple documents are open.
- Photoshop no longer produces a program error when encountering unsupported file types through the Acrobat Touchup workflow.
- Supported files that incorrectly produced an "unsupported color space" message now open as expected.
- TIFF files with layer data greater than 2GB now open correctly.
The most significant fixes in the 9.0.1 release (also included in the 9.0.2 update) include the following:
- Photoshop no longer hangs for several seconds when using painting tools with quick strokes.
- A runtime error that could appear when mousing over a high-res doc with the Brush Tool has been fixed.
- Documents containing a large number of text layers now open more quickly.
- Problems related to palettes (slow redraw, palettes go white, possible crash) have been addressed.
- TIFF files from certain scanners can now be opened correctly.
- After editing an image in Photoshop CS2 via Acrobat Touchup, the image no longer gets repositioned.
- XMP metadata from AI and PDF files is now retained in Photoshop.
- Slow performance when toggling layer visibility has been fixed.
- Info palette numbers now display and update when moving a curve point in Curves via the cursor keys.
- Problems opening certain TIFF and PSB files greater than 2GB have been resolved.
- The Merge to HDR command now functions properly when using high-ASCII characters in the user login.
|File Name
|File Size
|Proceed to Download
- Adobe Photoshop CS2 English, French, German, Japanese, Spanish, Swedish, Brazilian Portuguese, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Norwegian, Italian, Korean, Chinese Simplified, or Chinese Traditional (Note: This update is not compatible with other language versions of Photoshop CS2. Updates for other language versions are available separately.)
- Microsoft Windows 2000 with Service Pack 4, or Windows XP with Service Pack 1 or 2
After downloading a ".exe" file in Windows, double-click on the ".exe" file to access the file's contents.
Need help with downloading? See our Downloading Help documents.
To install the Photoshop 9.0.2 update:
1. Disable all virus protection software.
2. Ensure that the folder on your hard drive containing Photoshop is named "Adobe Photoshop CS2."
3. Double-click the "Adobe Photoshop Updater" application. If the updater reports that it cannot find the application to update, uninstall Photoshop CS2, reinstall the application (using the default folder name "Adobe Photoshop CS2"), and then run the updater.
4. Follow the onscreen instructions.
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Browsing Ph.D. theses by Author "Ciesielska, Malgorzata"
Now showing items 1-1 of 1
A study of the Open Source – business settingCiesielska, Malgorzata (Frederiksberg, 2010)[More information][Less information]
Abstract: This research project examines how the conflicting institutional logics are dealt with in a hybrid organisational form. The empirical setting of the study is an Open Source – business collaboration in software development projects. The idea of making a case study of the Open Source – business collaboration is interesting from both theoretical and business perspectives. Since companies realised that the world's most talented people are distributed throughout various organisations, rather than members of a single team or corporation, the open innovation model could be neither underestimated nor ignored by the business. However, that solution brings new challenges, especially for business-oriented organisations. The challenges come from the significant differences between new open models and the classic closed-innovation model, which grew on the concept of the institution of the intellectual property rights. Open Source, on the contrary, is intrinsically an anti-corporational, pro-knowledge-sharing and creativity motivated movement. As a result, in the era of open collaboration in knowledge-integrating platforms the everyday problems are constituted of dealing with mixture of institutional backgrounds, business models and professional identities...... URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10398/8200
Files in this item: 1Malgorzata_Ciesielska.pdf (5.849Mb)
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HAVELOCK � Raiden Clark, a pre-schooler at Trinity Presbyterian Day Care in Havelock, remembers how soft the clay was when he made his bowl.
HAVELOCK � Raiden Clark, a pre-schooler at Trinity Presbyterian Day Care in Havelock, remembers how soft the clay was when he made his bowl.
�You push it in and roll it in your hand and push it in and put it on the table,� Raiden said.
Raiden was among about 20 students from the pre-school who joined a handful of eighth-grade students from Annunciation Catholic School in a "Bowls for Blessings" fundraiser in which they made bowls to support a parishioner.
�If anyone has children, they know that they love to put their hands into anything gooey and soft and to be able to mold it into to little things,� said Eva Glennon, art teacher at Annunciation Catholic School. �We worked with the round ball method of making balls, so that was very easy for the children.�
Sarah Allen, director at the pre-school, said the effort raised money for Karen McCloskey, a teacher at Annunciation who lost her husband earlier this year to cancer.
Led by the eighth-graders from Annunciation, the pre-schoolers made bowls to be sold for $10 each. The bowls were glazed and fired in a kiln. The older students brought the bowls back to the Trinity students last week and sat down for a soup dinner with their younger friends.
�The whole concept was to let everybody make a bowl, make a donation for the bowl and then that money is going to support some parishioners who have exorbitant medical bills and recently lost loved ones to cancer. That�s how the collaboration started and it�s been wonderful,� said the Rev. Shirley Rogers, pastor at Trinity Presbyterian Church. �The little kids really respond to the older kids, and, of course, the older kids love it. It�s a field trip for them. They�ve never done anything like this before, so we�re very excited about the collaboration process and we�re hoping to do more in the future.�
Lily Sweet was on of the eighth-graders who helped.
�It was actually really fun being here with them and meeting good Christian children from around the town,� she said. �It was a lot of fun. I love working with little kids.
�The bowls weren�t so easy, but once we all figured it out, it went really well. I�m going to be really glad to have them as a memory.�
Eighth-grader Jahnava Patel also enjoyed the experience.
�It was really nice seeing them and really interacting with them,� Patel said. �I think she glazed them really nicely. They came out really beautiful. It would be amazing to do again.�
Glennon said the project would not have succeeded without the help of potter Robin Griswold-Ott, who volunteered her help.
�The first day, we came with the pottery lady Ms. Robin, who donated a bunch of her time, and Trinity had all of it ready for us to sit down with the kids. It was very encouraging,� Glennon said. �The big girls enjoyed getting out of school, of course, but also working with the little kids. They�re pretty familiar with it from being at Annunciation and working with little kids and it was rewarding for all of us. Ms. Robin had all that set up for us before hand, and they mashed them into the bowls.�


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NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks ended nearly flat on Wednesday, giving up most of the day's gains after Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke reiterated that monetary policy won't be enough to offset damage from the "fiscal cliff."
His comments followed the Federal Reserve's announcement of a new stimulus plan, which briefly pushed the S&P 500 to a seven-week high.
The plan, the latest attempt to boost the country's struggling economy, will replace a more modest program set to expire with a fresh round of Treasury purchases that will increase its balance sheet. The program is known as "quantitative easing" or QE.
In comments after the announcement, Bernanke said he hopes that markets won't have to tank to get a fiscal cliff deal.
"Initially the addition of QE was certainly favorable. I think, though, in the press conference, what came out is that there still seems to be a level of uncertainty with regard to the exit strategy (and) the efficacy of the current policy," said Bucky Hellwig, senior vice president at BB&T Wealth Management in Birmingham, Alabama.
Bernanke "reiterated the fact that monetary policy has its hands tied as far as addressing the seriousness of going over the fiscal cliff," Hellwig added.
The S&P financial sector index .GSPF, which had been up more than 1 percent after the Fed's announcement, ended up just 0.5 percent.
Wal-Mart Stores Inc's stock (WMT.N) was the biggest drag on the Dow, falling 2.8 percent to $68.94 following the Indian government's announcement of an inquiry into the company's lobbying practices.
The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI slipped 2.99 points, or 0.02 percent, to 13,245.45 at the close. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index .SPX inched up just 0.64 of a point, or 0.04 percent, to 1,428.48. But the Nasdaq Composite Index .IXIC shed 8.49 points, or 0.28 percent, to end at 3,013.81.
Though the S&P 500 ended up just slightly, it was the sixth day of gains for the index - its longest winning streak since August.
The central bank committed to monthly purchases of $45 billion in Treasuries on top of the $40 billion per month in mortgage-backed bonds it started buying in September. It also said it will keep its near-zero interest-rate program in place until the U.S. unemployment rate falls to 6.5 percent from its current 7.7 percent.
"The actions by the Fed were more aggressive than investors anticipated," said Michael Sheldon, chief market strategist at RDM Financial in Westport, Connecticut.
"The asset-purchasing program is probably larger and more comprehensive than some might have thought."
Negotiations over plans to avoid the fiscal cliff intensified in Washington, but U.S. House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner said on Wednesday that "serious differences" remain with President Barack Obama in their talks. If no agreement is reached, steep tax hikes and budget cuts will fall into place early next year.
Shares of Aetna AET.N, the third-largest U.S. health insurer, gained 3.2 percent to $45.91, a day after the company gave a higher forecast for profit and revenue growth in 2013.
Volume was roughly 6.58 billion shares traded on the New York Stock Exchange, the Nasdaq and the NYSE MKT, compared with the year-to-date average daily closing volume of 6.52 billion.
Decliners slightly outnumbered advancers on the NYSE by about 16 to 15, and on the Nasdaq, by about 3 to 2.
Reporting by Caroline Valetkevitch; Additional reporting by Leah Schnurr Editing by Jan Paschal


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W80G | LED | Full HD | High Dynamic Range (HDR) | Smart TV (Android TV)
W800G Series
108 cm (43")|123 cm (49'')
W80G | LED | Full HD | High Dynamic Range (HDR) | Smart TV (Android TV)
Top features
Take your entertainment to another level
See your entertainment come to life in Full HD with High Dynamic Range, X-Reality™ PRO upscaling and the convenience of voice control on Android TV™.
Remote specification varies by territory and TV model.
Rediscover every detail in Full HD
X-Reality™ PRO picture processing upscales every pixel for exceptional Full HD clarity. As frames are analysed, each scene is matched with our special image database to refine images and reduce noise. See how the architecture in the building is enhanced with extra detail.
Brilliant highlights, beautiful textures
High Dynamic Range
With High Dynamic Range (HDR), detail lost in the darkest and brightest areas of a picture are preserved, giving a much more dynamic look. See the textures in the shining metal wing of the airplane and the reflections of sunlight on the fuselage.
Enjoy HDR gaming
Sony's HDR televisions make excellent partners for PlayStation®4 and PlayStation®4 Pro consoles. Immerse yourself in a responsive, fun-filled gaming experience with intensely vibrant colours.
Get started with just one button
Sony TVs have a dedicated Netflix button, so you can start streaming with just one click.
Made to listen
Your listening is as lifelike as your viewing. ClearAudio+ fine tunes TV sound for an immersive, emotionally enriching experience that seems to surround you. Hear music and dialogue with greater clarity and separation, whatever you're watching.
Just talk, a fun way to explore new worlds
Find all the entertainment you can dream of, as fast as you can talk. With advanced voice control, this Android smart TV lets you enjoy movies and shows from apps or broadcast in an instant.
Cables concealed, neat and tidy
Keep cables neatly hidden in the stand and held in place with the supplied cable holder.
Designed with the environment in mind
Sony is committed not only to offering products, services and content that deliver exciting experiences but also to working towards our goal of a zero environmental footprint throughout our business activities.Read more
Dynamic Backlight Control, or pixel-level lighting control, help improve energy efficiency by adjusting display brightness as picture content changes
Power Saving Mode helps save energy by adjusting the display brightness
Display Off Mode helps save energy by turning the picture display off without needing to put the TV into full stand-by mode, so audio can still be enjoyed


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Florida Academy
Develop your style as you master basic, contemporary and advanced techniques in cosmetology. Florida Academy's Redken Premiere School cosmetology program teaches you to...
Boca Beauty Academy
Our classes begin monthly for newly enrolled students here at the Boca Beauty Academy. We maintain flexible hours to accommodate those students who may be currently employed. Furthermore, students can elect to enroll as either full time or part time students.
Please fill in the below fields and list one or several schools you found on this site for more information.
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The below listing contains all the Online Cosmetology schools in each geograhic region, and sorted alphabetically per state. Click on a city/state below to view those schools in that state.
Read about Online Cosmetology below this table or click here >>
Northeast/ New England
Visit our career research center to learn more about the various technician specialties. Get helpful job hunting tips to help you with your resume, your interviewing and your actual job search in our job listing section.
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Cities covered: Akron, Albuquerque, Anaheim, Anchorage, Arlington, Arlington , Atlanta, Aurora, Austin, Bakersfield, Baltimore, Baton Rouge, Birmingham, Boise, Boston, Buffalo, Chandler, Charlotte, Chesapeake, Chicago, Chula Vista, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Colorado Springs, Columbus, Corpus Christi, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Durham, El Paso, Fort Wayne, Fort Worth, Fresno, Garland, Glendale, Greensboro, Henderson, Hialeah, Honolulu, Houston, Huntington, Indianapolis, Jacksonville, Jersey City, Kansas City, Laredo, Las Vegas, Lexington-Fayette, Lincoln, Long Beach, Los Angeles, Lubbock, Madison, Memphis, Mesa, Miami, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, Modesto, Montgomery, Nashville-Davidson, New Orleans, Newark, Norfolk, North Hempstead, Oakland, Oklahoma City, Omaha, Orlando, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Pittsburgh, Plano, Portland, Raleigh, Reno, Riverside, Rochester, Sacramento, San Antonio, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Francisco, San Jose, Santa Ana, Scottsdale, Seattle, St. Louis, St. Paul, St. Petersburg, Stockton ,Tampa, Toledo, Tucson, Tulsa, Virginia Beach, Washington DC, Wichita, New York City (NYC)


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Check out the latest RPG news | Podcasts | Twitch Streams
Anyways, how good are these games?
Fucken A! Loved the early press when the game first came out in Japanland.I agree about the old box art hahaCan't wait to play. And sorry, Ive been outta the loop, but I thought they released another Legend of Heroes (a more recent title)
Serious question: Where's my Brandish remake Xseed?
I'm listening to some of the songs right now. This is one of the dungeon songs. It's soooo good.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5E8gYx326wA&feature=related
Quote from: beach1 on December 06, 2010, 06:02:26 PMI'm listening to some of the songs right now. This is one of the dungeon songs. It's soooo good.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5E8gYx326wA&feature=relatedFalcom has an unnaturally rich ability for soundtracks. Nearly everyone here seems to love the Ys tracks, but I personally find one of their hidden gems, the ZWEI!! series to be just as outstanding.Here's an example (other OST finds are sadly rare to come by with this small release).http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WnTfqoPLqDEAt the beginning, then another lovely track shortly after 6 minutes in, and another 8 minutes in.


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Spikester necesitaba un nuevo diseño de logotipo y lanzó un concurso de diseño en 99designs.
Un ganador ha sido elegido entre 367 diseños de 67 diseñadores freelance.
Wisepreneur is an interactive online community where inventors, innovators, and experts share information to help entrepreneurs start and grow businesses. We try to take a thoughtful approach to suggest practical steps for business success. Wisepreneur is sort of a bridge from good ideas to the commercialization of those ideas. Our focus is on creativity, innovation, and entrepreneurship, and also on having fun. In our view, using creativity and innovation to start a new business is a cool thing to do. You may find more information at: http://wisepreneur.com.
Our audience includes start-up entrepreneurs, small business owners, and consultants to entrepreneurs and small business owners. They are people who have enough information to write a business plan and who need to how to manage the innovation process.
New entrepreneurs visit to find ways to create a sustainable competitive advantage, and experienced business professionals come to find new ideas. Wisepreneur attracts people who are active, smart, and ready to get to work on a new product, service, or business concept.
We are very open to ideas for the logo design. The new logo should represent the three principles of the site: creativity, innovation, and entrepreneurship. We also want the design to express the "Entrepreneurial Spirit" that Wisepreneur supports.
The design might be based on the word "wise" because it is prominent in our name. This might work as long as the design has a fresh look. We want the logo to look unique and memorable.
We like the colors of grey, dark red, and black. It is OK to use other colors as long as they tie in to the overall website design. There are already some design elements on the website. We prefer the design be consistent with those elements, but we will change or modify those to match a particularly sharp-looking logo. More than likely we will want the logo on other items such as stationary and business cards so the logo should be created with that in mind.
I have uploaded a copy of the favicon we currently use in case anyone wants to incorporate something similar in their design.
Descubre cómo funciona un concurso de diseño u obtén más información sobre nuestros servicios de diseño de logo.


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CHICAGO — In light of recent trading activity of the company's stock and various rumors as to it s financial strength, Bally Total Fitness elected to comment on its business outlook for the remainder of 2002.
"We decided to have this press conference in order to address some of the concerns surrounding the company's projected earnings for the remainder of 2002," said chairman and CEO, Lee Hillman during a conference call. "We are often the subject of wild rumors that have been proven time and time again to be untrue. We usually don't comment but felt this time we needed to. In spite of the difficult retail climate we, as a company, are performing well."
The company believes after-tax fully diluted earnings per share before non-recurring items, will range from $.35 to $2.45 for each of the third and fourth quarters of 2002. Additionally, the third quarter will be impacted by a non-recurring after-tax charge of $.15 per fully diluted share resulting from the settlement of litigation arising in the early 1990s.
The company also believes it has sufficient cash and available credit resources to meet its operating and committed obligations.
Part of that cash has come in the form of a third sale of a random cross-section of the company's membership receivables portfolio at net book value to a major financial institution.
The sale resulted in $24 million of initial cash proceeds which, combined with future profit participation, is expected to result in total yields similar to the two membership receivables sales reported in 2001.
"This sale is a continuation of our strategy to monetize our membership contract receivables," said Hillman "This move confirms the continuing strength and value of Bally's membership receivables which, even in a challenging economic climate, continue to demonstrate very stable credit performance."
"In 2003, we plan to reduce capital spending to nearly half the levels spent on average over the last three years, while still completing 12 to 14 new clubs already in development. We expect to stay at these lower capital-spending levels until economic indicators improve and incremental projects can be funded with free cash flow. Our expectation of free cash flows in 2003, coupled with lower capital expenditures and over $50 million of current bank line availability, provide a more conservative path suitable for current economic conditions," concluded Hillman.


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Sergius Paulus and Pisidian Antioch
Last week, my wife and kids participated in Vacation Bible School at our church. This has had two ongoing effects on our family. First, they brought back a cold which has inexorably worked its way through every member of the family! Second, since the VBS curriculum took several lessons from the life of Paul, they have come back with a lot of questions about Paul's conversion, his missionary journeys, and his imprisonment. We have therefore been spending time in family devotions surveying the chapters in Acts which deal with Paul's life and ministry.
The other day we were reading through Acts 13, which relates the events of Paul's first missionary journey. After the conversion of Sergius Paulus, the Roman proconsul at Paphos, Paul and Barnabas suddenly leave the island of Cyprus and head to Pisidian Antioch in what is now southwest Turkey. To show them this sudden change of location, as well as to explain the difference between this Antioch and the one at the beginning of the chapter, I naturally turned to the Accordance Bible Atlas.
Now, I have an icon for the Atlas in my workspace Toolbar, so I simply opened a map by choosing a map background from the pop-up menu associated with that icon. (I like the Light Browns background.) Once the map was open, I chose Paul's First Journey from the Route Layer pop-up menu.
Now I could show them how Paul and Barnabas started from Syrian Antioch, sailed to Cyprus (where Barnabas was from), crossed the island until they reached Paphos, then sailed to Attalia, passed through Perga, and arrived at Antioch of Pisidia. I then asked my family why Paul and Barnabas would decide to go there.
I have to admit that I asked the question before I was entirely sure the point I wanted to make was correct. You see, I vaguely remembered from somewhere that there is a connection between Sergius Paulus, the proconsul converted at Paphos, and the city of Pisidian Antioch. So while my family was pondering the question, I double-clicked the name Antioch on the map to look it up in my Bible Lands PhotoGuide.
Sure enough, a quick skim of that article reminded me that an inscription with the name Sergius Paulus had been found at Pisidian Antioch. This suggests that Sergius Paulus may have urged Paul and Barnabas to take their message to Pisidian Antioch because he had some personal connection there.
While explaining this to my family, it occurred to me that it would be clearer if I could actually show them the inscription. Unfortunately, the PhotoGuide does not include a photograph of the inscription itself. So I decided to search the rest of my library for any pictures of the Sergius Paulus inscription. I clicked the magnifying glass inside the Search All field of the Workspace toolbar and chose Image from the pop-up menu. Then I entered the word "Sergius" and hit return. Instantly I found several pictures of the Sergius Paulus inscription—in the Zondervan Encyclopedia of the Bible, the Biblical Archaeology Review archive, the Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary on the New Testament, and Gundry's Survey of the New Testament.
Now that I had brought this interesting archaeological discovery to their attention, I needed to answer that all-important question: so what? I explained that for me, the so what is that Paul and Barnabas began their missionary work by going places where they had a natural connection: to Barnabas' native land of Cyprus, then to Pisidian Antioch because of its connection to Sergius Paulus. They didn't just go haphazardly from town to town, but chose their destinations strategically, going through whichever doors were most open to them.
Our family Bible study started out as an attempt to clarify the details about Paul's life, but thanks to Accordance, I was able to (re)discover an interesting detail that led to a meaningful application.


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I recently replaced my desktop with a new HP desktop. I installed my scanner software (not new). I am now getting a message to register my scanner software at every startup. I find no way to disable this popup from the window that comes up, I cannot register through OMNI because it is likely no longer supported. Is there anything I can do from my desktop, short of uninstalling software, to eliminate this popup on startup?
I recommend downloading and running Reimage. It's a computer repair tool that has been proven to identify and fix many Windows problems with a high level of success.
I've used it in the past to identify and fix everything from blue screens (BSOD's), ActiveX errors, corrupt files and processes, dll/exe/sys errors, recover lost memory, Windows update problems, defragging, malware removal etc.
You can download it direct from this link http://downloadreimage.com/download.php. (This link will automatically start a download of Reimage that you can save to your computer.)
Hi Folks,
i am using omnipage 16 version for OCR purpose,i want to run the .exe in my application but the condition is it should run in the background meaning (NO GUI)..if i give parameters to it should take and processes it and giveback the output..the whole thing should be done in the background because the client shouldnot know about this Omnipage.
this is my urgent requirement.
I am not sure omnipage was intended for this purpose. I.e. the developers of omnipage want people to know that they are using their programme.
I finally got my printer to work with windows 7 but it won't print shipping labels with stamps.com, ebay & paypal. They all say they are unable to communicate with the printer. I get a message to enable bi-directional communication with the printer and I can't figure out how to do that. I would appreciate some help. Thanks.
You've marked this thread solved.
If this was intentional and is correct, could you please post the solution that you found so that others can benefit.
If not, I suggest that you click "Mark Unsolved" at the top of this thread. That makes other helpers more likely to step in with suggestions. Hopefully you'd be in a position shortly thereafter to click "Mark Solved" for real.
what type of ethernet controller is inside an OmniBook 6000 does anyone know and if so where can i get the driver ?
any help would be much appreciated thanks
Try here:
I have a all in one HP OMNI 200 pc. The computer came with windows 7 but was upgraded to windows 10 about 6 months ago. Was trying to do a recovery/reset and it froze up with the following message:RecoveryYour PC /device needs to be repaired. The operating system couldn't be loaded because the kernal is missing or contains errors.File:/windows/system32/ntoskrnl.exeerror code 0xc0000221Read other answers
Not sure if this is the correct catogory to post my question in, but here goes. I have a HP Omni 100, about 6 yrs old. About a month ago, I went to the restore function & my computer crashed. Now, all I keep getting on my screen, after the initial start up is select keyboard function, or something of that nature. I hope I have not lost everything I have in that computer, since I have pics I cannot replace. Two or three months ago, it started to act funny. The page I was on would turn into a smaller square in the middle of the screen, and that square would be full of multi colored lines.(Like snow on a tv screen) Now I cannot get it to do anything but show the keyboard page????? Please advise as to what I could or should do. THANK YOU Roger
Hi,My pc monitor suddenly just stop working. But there isnt any port available to connect to another monitor. All my work is this pc and i need to extract them, is there anyways to do it? Also is it advisable to get it repair?Read other answers
Omni 100 all in one pc will not boot/power up.When I push the power button, I can hear the fan engage and spin but nothing comes up on the screen. The first time I tried to turn the computer on this morning,the little blue light on the lower right corner DID light up but nothng else happened. After watching/waiting for 10 minutes, i held my finger on the power button to turn the machine off, waited a few minutes, hit the button again. The second time, the fan started going but the blue light did NOT come on this time. I waited 5 minutes and nothing happened. This time, I just pulled the plugg out of the wall and waited 10 minutes, plugged it back in, hit the button, same thing,,,fan engaged, no blue light,,,fan just spinning/whirring but nothing comes up on the screen. I have another one of these computers and i switched power supplies and the power supply is fine.Read other answers
I have some issues when I OCR with this software, specifically with PDFs, I get black outed boxes on the images, Any ideas? I can post examples if needed,
Can I add an SSD drive to an Omni 27 (1200ev) or do I have to replace the original drive? Ideally I'd like to retain the 2TB hard drive and have at least the OS on the SSD. Kind Regards, Brad
Brad, Here are the specs for your HP Omni 27-1200ev Desktop Computer and its IPISB-NK (Lavaca3-SB) motherboard. Based on the specs, this model only supports two SATA drives. One SATA data cable for the hard drive and one SATA data cable for the optical drive. Please send KUDOsRead other 8 answers
I just recently started having this problem, I would go away from the comp leaving it on sleep for about an hour come back and it would not let me open any programs, security options and even after several restore's and virus checks it still is giving me the problem, sometime it fixed itself but this time it has not. Any solution to do it other than a full wipe, The programs work in safe mode but other than that no other mode works
You can try a System Restore. If you aren't familiar with that process, you need to indicate which version of Windows you are using (XP, Vista, Windows 7) so we can direct you.
I have an All in one desktop Omni 27 1001ed. Now I want to use my external HD 3TB but it only reconize 2TB. Can someone explain what to do to get the other 1TB also. I have already changed the disk to GPT and formatted it again. Still no result.Read other answers
I'd like to upgrade the RAM in my all in one and I'm finding conflicting answers on whether this can be done. I currently have 8GB (2x 4GB DDR3 1333 SODIMM- 10600)I've got Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit as my OS.Most of the specs for my computer list 8GB as the maximum amount of RAM possible, but another source on the HP website advises that it depends on the OS, and that with Windows 7 premium 64 bit, 16GB is the max.I don't want to purchase memory that won't work. Can someone confirm which is the correct maximum amount of RAM for this model? Thank you!Read other answers
Hi, I have bought ALL IN ONE HP OMNI 120 PC from Singapore. Currently i am in india and am facing issue with the PC that it is not booting. When i checked with Local HP support they said, the motherboard needs to be replaced. However, the motherboard is not available anywhere and am stuck with the PC as i didnt find the replacement motherboard. Please let me know where i can get the motherboard for this PC and the cost of it ? Also, provide the warranty details of the motherboard. Also, i would like to know,whether it is advisable to replace the motherboard or buy a new PC?
Hi,Can you please provide the exact model of your Omni 120 PC for further help. Let me know,DavidRead other 1 answers
Hello world!The problem is I have the HP Omni 27-1002er and have no idea how to add a second monitor to it.Where can I find video out port?Thank you!
Hi, It does not have out port for an external monitor: http://support.hp.com/in-en/product/hp-omni-27-1000-desktop-pc-series/5186974/document/c03262527/ If you wish, please use USB to HDMI or USB to DVI adapter such as: http://www.officeworks.com.au/shop/officeworks/p/comsol-usb-to-dvi-hdmi-vga-adaptor-cou2dhvad Regards.Read other 1 answers
I have had problems with the touch screen on my HP Omni 10 not working for some time, sometimes it works and sometimes not. Recently it has taken about 15 mins for anything to appear on the screen when I boot up. Now nothing appears on the screen when I boot up. I know the power is on as it buzzes when you touch the MS logo at the bottom of the tabletRead other answers
Hi guys,
Please anyone has info on the linksys omni-directional antenna HGA9N? To what devices can it be connected? Its outdoor range/bitrate? Is it reliable? Can it support large number of users/traffic? If anyone has configured or installed one before please i would welcome his comments on the product. Info on other types of omni-directional antennas would be really helpful.
Any antenna will have the full bandwidth of the wireless connection, it's only purpose is to more efficiently use the power available, as well as provide more signal strength for incoming signals. It can be connected to any router or wireless card that has a reverse SMA connector, which is the standard for removable antennas. A hi-gain antenna should be very reliable, since there are no active components. As long as you don't abuse the cable, it'll probably work forever.
When I insert the CD-R, the PC does not seem to recognize it.I cannot determine if this PC is even capable of burning to a CD-R.
Hi, There are many HP Omni 200 machines, what is your ? The following link shows one of them https://support.hp.com/us-en/product/hp-omni-200-5300-desktop-pc-series/5035328/document/c02671736 It should be able to burn CDR and CDRW. Please use CyberLink software which came with the machine to burn. Regards,Read other 1 answers
Hi Folks,
i am using omnipage 16 version for OCR purpose,i want to run the .exe in my application but the condition is it should run in the background meaning (NO GUI)..if i give parameters to it should take and processes it and giveback the output..the whole thing should be done in the background because the client shouldnot know about this Omnipage.
this is my urgent requirement.
This is a duplicate post!
Posted in the notebook section as this all in one uses mainly notebook parts. I am looking for the part number / availability of the option video card upgrade. I will also the proper hp heatsink. Other than knowing this a MXM type, I have been unable to find part numbers. Wish I had the option at time of purchase, but FRY's did not stock the unit with upgrades. ThanksRead other answers
I currently own an All-In-One HP Omni 27 PC. For about 6 months now, the monitor has gone dark. The light at the top turns on and the fans will run, but the monitor will not come on or show the HP loading screen. I have tried the BIOS fix, but once completed, my computer does not reset like the instructions say it should. Has anyone else had this problem or know of a solution?Thanks,NoahRead other answers
I added a micro sd card to increase the stoarge capacity of my omni 10. I thought the card that was previously installed was a "space filler", I was not aware that it contained the recovery system. Somehow out of nowhere, bitlocker was installed on my notebook, and my device begain vibrating and indicating that it had crashed. So I rebooted it, and was unable to continue wihtout inputting the bitlocker password which I don't have. There was very little by way of outside software on the device, so I decided to recover the unit, only to find out that I had discarded the micro sd recovery disk. I do have all the original paperwork, and found my product number serial number and so forth. I downloaded a windows 8.1 from HP website, but it wouldn't install, because the version I downloaded didn't match the id on the motherboard. I have now ordered a new recovery disk from ebay for $5, and will attempt to recover the system, I don't know what will be left of the tablet, but I can live with it whatever it is. I had already installed Office 2016 on the device so I could have my current version of outlook on all my devices, and can reinstall it. My only question is what is on the motherboard, and how can I know it. All I know is it is windows 8.1 I' think, and I don't know what version it is or even if there are multiple versions. I can't find an answer on the website, and can't locate a contact for custome... Read more
It is Windows 8.1 Standard (Home) 32 bit. HP does not make Windows 8.1 available for download so you likely got a retail version from Microsoft. But what is odd is that Windows 8.1 Home does not have bitlocker...only Pro version so that is a mystery. From here I cannot really understand what you are asking. The exact model number of the laptop or Product Number would help tremendously. If the recovery disk you got for $5 is for the correct model series it should work but will provide a bare factory reinstall.Read other 1 answers
Posted in the notebook section as this all in one uses mainly notebook parts. I am looking for the part number / availability of the option video card upgrade. I will also the proper hp heatsink. Other than knowing this a MXM type, I have been unable to find part numbers. Wish I had the option at time of purchase, but FRY's did not stock the unit with upgrades. ThanksRead other answers
Got and hp 120 omni all in one that came in a pallet of mixed ALL IN ONE DESKTOPS this one in particular has a POWER ON PASSWORD i figured out how to bypass some of these passwords by getting an error code. the problem is that this one does not give me an error code but a (*) character any help sugestions? i already tried removing the jumpers and putting them back in place with no success. ANY HELP WILL BE REALLY APPRECIATED
View Solution.
Hello, For you to be able to remove the Power On password, you need to remove the rear cover, then remove the metal cover that protects the motherboard and remove the jumper located close to the memory modules. Then try to power on the system and see if that resolved your problem. Thanks,Read other 10 answers
I was in the middle of playing a game (agar.io) when my pc started flashing colors. First, a [red,green,blue,and white] screen, then alternating black and white. Then a combination of half black and half white, until it settles to an all black screen. After going all black, if I press a key on my keyboard it repeats everything. It does not allow me to go into safe or do anything at all. I can faintly see my homepage in the background. Even when I unplugged it and turned it on again, it's the same.Read other answers
This is to inform you that i have purchased HP Omni 10 last year and unable to use it for a single day with satisfaction. Touch and motherboard has been changed during warranty period but still the issue comes with new touch. This product is like a garbage for me and i will not recomend this product to anybody. I want complete replacement of my product or return my money. Otherwise i will esclate this to the consumer court. Thanks Gurpreet SinghRead other answers
hey all. I was wondering if anyone could suggest to me a freeware wireframe and navigation design app.
similiar to omni graffle for the Mac and Microsoft visio for the PC.
I don't need anything that's fancy as long as it makes my job easy and cuts to the chase in my layout and planning for a couple of websites that I will be doing.
You could use Open Office Draw or DIA.
I was reading these posts on the Hp all in one. The same thing has happen to mine. Just get a Blank screen. Did this end up being the Mother Board??? Mine is only 3 years old. Any information on how to preceed would be wonderful Thanks
Hi @esleman,Thanks for becoming a member of the HP Support Forums. I understand you are having an issue with blank screen. I will be glad to help you.Please post the full product number and operating system in use on your computer. See the following, if you need help with that information.How Do I Find My Model Number or Product Number?Is the Windows Version on My Computer 32-bit or 64-bit?Please get back to me with above information, so I can help you better.Read other 1 answers
Hi all!I have an all in one Hp Omni 27-1001es and i have a really big problem!!! Yesterday i was working on pc and needed to leave it for some minute.When i got back the screen was blank and the pc looked freezed; i tried to reboot and nothing changed!!!!At start up the power button led works, the fan starts to work and the led of hard drive too but the screen continues without signal of life. Unplugged everything, opened the case to clean from dust, checked the Ram and nothing appears to be burned or disconnected. Thanx for any helpLeo
View Solution.
Hello Leo3680,
I understand your computer powers on but doesn?t show a display on the monitor, is that correct? I will be happy to help you.
If you haven?t tried already start with a hard reset.
1. Remove all cables from the computer including the power cord
2. Press and hold the power button for 30 seconds
3. Once done only insert the mouse, keyboard, and power cable
4. Try and turn the computer on to see what happens.
Please respond back at your earliest convenience.
I am not sure if I should ask here or in the laptop section since it is classified as a desktop, but the innards are more along the lines of laptop components. I have an Omni 100-5155 and looking for any upgrade options I may have (I do realize those options are extremely limited). I've already maxed the RAM to 8Gb, but am looking for CPU, hard drive and wireless possibilities. So my questions -What is the max capacity hard drive the motherboard will accept? I am hoping to also replace the optical drive with a hard drive caddy. Are SSD's and/or SSD/HDD hybrids supported? Can the PCI Express x1 802.11 b/g/n card be replaced by this? (to match my router's ability)Intel 3160 Dual Band Wireless AC + Bluetooth Mini PCIe card Supports 2.4 and 5.8Ghz B/G/N/AC BandsOr would I be better off getting a wireless USB dongle (if that would even work)? Any CPU suggestions or same form factor motherboard upgrade replacement possibility? I know my USB 3, better graphics and Gb WLAN dreams will have to wait until I've finished saving for a moderate gaming rig build, but I thought since I'm likely to be upgrading to Win 10 soon I should try to get the most I can out of this system... which will be eventually handed down to the nephews, hopefully within the year. Any and all helpful suggestions will be appreciated. Thanks. For easier reference -Omni 100-5155 specsMotherboard specsRead other answers
Please I really need your help. I don't know what happened with my desktop HP Omni 100Pc. I can turn it on but when it is about using it it completely crash and freezes.
It has windows 7 home basic 64 bits sp1 . It is an old computer but it was working great.
I'm unable to restore it to previous point because all my restore points where deleting. I was scanning my computer yesterday with norton antivirus and my hp turned off by itself.
If want to check my documents or even open a photograph, my computer crashes.
I used to use auslogic software but as it expired I opted to delete it.
Sometimes when I wanted to download something and the norton block I would turned off the antivirus for a while and turn it off. I rarely use my computer because mostly I do everything on my mobile device but since I started studying I really need and now it is not working. Please help me I don't know what to do and I don't have money to fix it or buy a new one
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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Tthe HP Omni 120-1134 can have a max of 8GB of DDR3-10600 (PC3-1333) RAM and comes with 4GB.Does it originally come with [email protected] cards or [email protected] card?
DeskJet 3755 ePrint
hey guys i have had a hp omni 100 all in one pc and it was working fine its 6GB RAM IS only thing ive customized on it since i bought it. and it randomly stopped loading or doing anything past the POST screen it will literally do nothing I have tried reinstalling the ram multiple times I tried using the CMOS jumper but it hasn't done anything please help
Have you tried swapping the CMOS battery in case it needs replacing?
I need to add more memory to my Omni. It can hold up to 8GB. It currently has 4. The installed momory is an 4.0GB Samsung PC3-10600 DDR3 1333MHz SO-DIMM 200 Pin SO-DIMMI can only find this in a 204 pin.I tried going through Crucial and bought the memory they recomended but when I install it, it crashes the system. Remove it and all is well. I really want to get aother Samsung memory so I have EXACTLY what is already in it but can only find a 204 Pin. this image is what is currently in my computer. Any help will be appreciated.Read other answers
I have a HP Omni 27. The computer is out of warranty. I had to have the hard drive replaced about 5 or 6 months ago. This morning my computer was working fine. Now I got home from work and my computer is at a black screen. I have done the reset that was mentioned by unhooking everything and holding the power button for 30 seconds. Still black screen. Please HELP!
Hi @tanya21001, May the Forums be with you! It is a great place to find the help you need, from other users, HP experts and other support personnel. I understand that your Omni 27 is no longer starting properly. I am happy to help with this. Please post the full product number and operating system on your Omni 27. See the following, if you need help with that information. How Do I Find My Model Number or Product Number? Is the Windows Version on My Computer 32-bit or 64-bit? For now I will assume you are using either Windows 8.x or 10 so give this a try: HP Desktop PCs - Computer Does Not Start (Windows 10,8). Please let me know whether that works for you, and if it does resolve your issue, please mark this post as a solution. Kudos would also be appreciated.Read other 1 answers
I got a HP Omni 27-1210xt into my shop last week and it had a bad hard drive, so i replaced the drive with the exact model and blew out the dust while i had it apart and after i put it all back together the video never displays, it did once but the unit shut off like 10 seconds after it came up, the other times you can hear the fans and the system running but just never shows a video, I have removed the memory and turned it on and it beeps so i would only say it rules out the motherboard or processor, so I'm looking for it to be video. Now I have located the processor but I do not see where the video is on this unit, doesn't appear to tbe onboard, maybe under some of the other covers? I'm about to strip it down some more. Any trouble shooting tips or ideas guys?
Still no comments or tips, anyone able to assist with this problem?ThanksRead other 1 answers
Hello Friends....!!! Just want to share the feedback , experience of TAB OMNI10 from HP. It is third class product with major issues in touch and Motherbaord, infact i approach them to provide me extended warranty then there team denied for the same as they know there product is very poor in performance. So Pls dont go with this product .Read other answers
I can hear the it load the windows screen in the background but theres nothing I can do I can not find a way to make it work. In desperate need any help would be grateful.Read other answers
Hello, I was trying to install Android Marshmellow on HP Omni 10. It was my fault actually that I deleted the partition. Therefore, no OS is there on the disk. The question comes to my brain - How can I fresh install windows 8.1 x32 using usb. I need to inform well wishers that I don't have any recovery media or backup drive etc. Is it possible or I need to go to the Service Centre? I hope, I will be guided by some very intelligent people. Thank you in advanceRead other answers
Ive ordered HP Omni 1109 il with the following configuration
HP OMNI All In One Desktop
Model No : 1109 il.
Configuration : Intel Core i3-2120, 4 GB DDR 3 Ram, 500 GB Hard Drive, DVD RW, Integrated Graphics,20" LED Screen, DOS (I didnt want to spend on the OS as i have a DVD).
However i have Windows 7 home premium (not licensed) 32-bit disc from a friend.
Im an amateur so kindly help me with the information.
I have 3 questions :
1) Will there be any driver conflict since ill have to install the license using a crack.
2) Whats the logic behind installing OEM license information on Windows 7 retail versions using windows 7 loader.isnt there a crack available to just install a license key to convert it into a fully licensed retail version.
3) My friend suggested me to install the windows 7 64 bit to take advantage of the full 4 GB of ram.
I need help from you guys. My PC's coming tomorrrow.
Why would you ask us to assist you with criminal activity?
Buy an Upgrade version to Clean Install with a Upgrade Windows 7 Version
I have Omni 200-5310 and NVIDIA GeForce G210 VGA adapter. When upgrading faced with the problem of replacing the video card on the NVIDIA Quadro K1100M according to the standard which should be suitable, is there any solutions? When enabled, NVIDIA Quadro K1100M screen is not responding, and the device emits 2 short and 1 long signal. Tried to find a new BIOS, but to no avail. Can tell me how to fix it or a suitable alternative graphics card performance, as all the other modules have improved. Intel Core i5-760 2.8GHz, Samsung 840 EVO SSD, 6 gb ddr3.Thank you.
View Solution.
Hi there @victor282, May the Forums be with you! It is a great place to find the help you need, from other users, HP experts, and other support personnel. I understand that you are looking for some help related to a graphics card upgrade. I am happy to help with this. When I searched your model, I found it is incomplete. That model has many regional versions; can you please post the 2 letter postscript to the model number, so I can be sure I am looking at the right one? Sometimes, that can make a difference as to what is installed in the unit, although a common variation is going to be the wireless adapter, due to differeneces in the laws for wireless communications in different countries. Please let me know when you can.Read other 5 answers
I have an HP Omni 10 running MS Windows 8.1. I can log onto my system using a PIN, but I can't remember the original password, so I am unable to change the PIN or change the password. How can I set up a new password?
If you are using a PIN then it is coupled to your Microsoft email account. Log into your PC and then go to settings --> Accounts. Click on the Manage my Microsoft account link. Your Microsoft account will be identified and your will be able to change your password.Read other 1 answers
Hello, I need the bios update for my hp omni 120-1101es.i didn't found it anywhere and it's urgent. thanks in advance.Read other answers
I am considering removing the 1tb Hitachi hard drive inside my Hp Omni allinone computer and replacing it with a solid state drive, but there's a few things I'm uncertain about. First off, I don't know if the Hitachi hard drive inside my system is the standard 3.5 size. Here are the models in my price range that I am considering... Mushkin MKNSSDRE1TB Reactor 1TB 6Gb SATA III 2.5inch SSDSanDisk Ultra II 960GB SATA III 2.5-Inch 7mm Height Solid State Drive (SSD) with Read Up To 550MB/s-...Samsung 850 EVO 1TB 2.5-Inch SATA III Internal SSD (MZ-75E1T0B/AM)Crucial MX300 1TB SATA 2.5 Inch Internal Solid State Drive - CT1050MX300SSD1 So, they all appear to be similiar, which brings me to my next question. I'm thinking the hard drive in my all in one may be mounted inside there differently than what is standard, then if so, are there mounting brackets that will fasten down, hold the new drive in place properly, and still enough space for the back panel to snap down? Then my last concern before I purchase anything is the resulting performance of installing the ssd. Since I still have the AMD E-450 processor that runs at a measly 1.6 Ghz. From my understanding, because the way these allinones are built, there isn't any options for processor/motherboard, or at least none I know of that would be considered an upgrade. So, with the same processor/motherboard in there, would there be enough performance improvement to justify the time, cost and ... Read moreRead other answers


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For this follow-up to their mega-hit Ice Age, directors Carlos Saldanha and Chris Wedge team with the screenwriting duo behind Parenthood and City Slickers, Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel. Robots stars Ewan McGregor as the voice of Rodney Copperbottom, an idealistic robot who wants to convince his electronic brethren to come together and work toward making the world a better place. As the story unfolds, Rodney faces opposition from an evil corporation headed by Big Weld (Mel Brooks) and finds some unlikely allies in the form of a ragtag group of misfit robots called the Rusties and voiced by the likes of Drew Carey and Amanda Bynes. Stanley Tucci and Dianne Wiest provide the voices of Rodney's parents, and Halle Berry portrays his love interest, Cappy.
91 min
上映时间(美国) 三月 11, 2005


text:
Would You Like a free Mug with Your Coffee?: Drug Company Gifts for Doctors
By Guest Blogger Christopher Stookey
During my medical residency in the 1990s, the hospital where I worked put on, like most hospitals, a monthly "drug luncheon." A drug luncheon is something akin to a fair where drug companies operate booths pitching their various wares, in this case, drugs. The drug companies, themselves, pay for the event. I remember how my fellow residents would get excited on drug luncheon day. There would be free food, flashy slide-show presentations, and free gifts. All the doctors, residents, and medical students at the hospital were invited to attend.
We would walk into the large conference room where the luncheon was held, and we would immediately be assaulted by the smell of simmering casseroles and by blue-suited drug salesmen, the so-called "drug reps." We would pile our plates with free food, then the drug reps would invite us to visit their booths where we were promised a variety of gifts. The gifts would range to include free drug samples, free stethoscopes, and free trips to tropical places. Nearly every drug rep offered you a complimentary pen with the company logo on it. There were also free penlights, free centimeter rulers, free tee-shirts, and free coffee mugs—all with the company logo, of course.
In addition to the free food and gifts, we also earned free "CMEs," continuing medical education units, at these lectures. All doctors must stay up-to-date by attending lectures and taking medical courses, and all must earn a certain number of CME credits every year to keep their licenses current. As it turns out, the pharmaceutical industry funds about half of all CME courses offered in the United States, and CME credit was an important part of the drug luncheon experience during my residency days. Simply by signing our names on an attendance sheet at the luncheon, we earned valuable CME credit.
All we had to do in exchange for the free food, gifts, and CMEs was listen to a four- or five-minute sales pitch by this or that drug rep regarding his company's newest and greatest wonder drug just brought to market. In addition, there were lectures and videos promoting featured drugs.
I always came away from these luncheons feeling a little "unclean." Had we all just been pawns in a big brain-washing scheme, a scheme to get us to prescribe the drugs pitched at the luncheon? My fellow residents all answered this question with a resounding, "No!" They all said their prescribing habits were not in any way influenced by these luncheons. They were just there for the free food and gifts.
But, I wondered: if no one's drug-prescribing habits were influenced by the free food and gifts, then why were the drug companies spending so much money to put these luncheons on in the first place? Was it simply because they liked us? I suspected the truth was the marketing departments at the drug companies had thoroughly researched the answer to the question, and the answer was a resounding, "Yes! Drug luncheons do influence prescribing behavior."
Yet, if the luncheons influenced prescribing, was this ethical? Shouldn't doctors be prescribing medications based what's best for their patients—rather than on a free lunch and a fountain pen?
I'm certainly not the only one who feels uncomfortable about drug-company-sponsored free food and CMEs. Dr. Marcia Angell, a former editor-in-chief of The New England Journal of Medicine, has been outspoken in her criticism of this practice. Dr. Bernard Lo, a leading medical ethicist at the University of California, has called for an end to drug-company-funded CME conferences. In June of this year, the University of Michigan Medical School announced it would no longer accept drug company money for CME coursework (the first medical school to do so).
According to an article appearing in The New York Times (June 23, 2010), drug companies and medical device manufacturers spend around $1 billion a year to sponsor CME events. The drug companies maintain they offer lectures, information, and courses that are free from bias. Dr. Michael Steinman, a professor of medicine at the San Francisco V.A. Medical Center, disagrees. As quoted in the Times article, Steinman believes: "The course providers have a subtle and probably unconscious incentive to put on courses that are favorable to industry because they know where their bread is buttered."
Meanwhile, as I wander around the hospital where I work today, I still see the signs of drug company marketing. There's the doctor who just walked by with a drug company pen in her white coat. There's another doctor drinking coffee from a mug with the name of a popular antidepressant written on it. Another doctor gleefully tells me he'll be going to a medical conference in Hawaii—meals and CME credits paid for by the drug company sponsoring the event.
I tell my colleague to have a good time in Hawaii. Rather than mention my discomfort with drug-industry-sponsored CME, I simply shrug my shoulders and say: "Be sure to wear sunscreen."
About Christopher Stookey
Christopher Stookey, MD, is a practicing emergency physician, and he is passionate about medicine and health care. However, his other great interests are literature and writing, and he has steadily published a number of short stories and essays over the past ten years. His most recent essay, "First in My Class," appears in the book BECOMING A DOCTOR (published by W. W. Norton & Co, March 2010); the essay describes Dr. Stookey's wrenching involvement in a malpractice lawsuit when he was a new resident, fresh out of medical school. TERMINAL CARE, a medical mystery thriller, is his first novel. The book, set in San Francisco, explores the unsavory world of big-business pharmaceuticals as well as the sad and tragic world of the Alzheimer's ward at a medical research hospital. Stookey's other interests include jogging in the greenbelts near his home and surfing (he promises his next novel will feature a surfer as a main character). He lives in Laguna Beach, California with his wife and three dogs.
To find out more about Chris, visit his Amazon's author page at http://www.amazon.com/Christopher-Stookey/e/B003UVLDI4/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_0.
About Terminal Care
Phil Pescoe, the 37-year-old emergency physician at Deaconess Hospital in San Francisco, becomes alarmed by a dramatic increase in the number of deaths on the East Annex (the Alzheimer's Ward). The deaths coincide with the initiation of a new drug study on the annex where a team of neurologists have been administering "NAF"—an experimental and highly promising treatment for Alzheimer's disease—to half of the patients on the ward.
Mysteriously, the hospital pushes forward with the study even though six patients have died since the start of the trial. Pescoe teams up with Clara Wong—a brilliant internist with a troubled past—to investigate the situation. Their inquiries lead them unwittingly into the cutthroat world of big-business pharmaceuticals, where they are threatened to be swept up and lost before they have the opportunity to discover the truth behind an elaborate cover-up.
With the death count mounting, Pescoe and Wong race against time to save the patients on the ward and to stop the drug manufacturer from unleashing a dangerous new drug on the general populace.


text:
In the world of superluxury real estate, location, location, location isn't worth all that much unless it includes views, views, views.
In other words, to command an eye-popping price tag, a property had better have eye-popping scenery.
These are just some of the mind-blowing views revealed in CNBC's "Secret Lives of the Super Rich."
—By Ray Parisi, Director of Special Programming