text:
Get DVD Talk Feeds
The twelve Basil Rathbone-Nigel Bruce Sherlock Holmes movies made at Universal were first released to DVD by MPI in three volumes with an SRP of $69.98 each. The following year MPI released the two earlier Rathbone-Bruce Holmes films (made at Fox) for $19.98 apiece; meaning the combined retail price of all 14 films back in 2004 was a wallet-busting $249.90. This new Blu-ray set, with all 14 films in high-definition, plus a few new extra features retails for about half that, $129.98, though most on-line dealers are selling it for $80 or less. That's an incredible deal if you don't already own the DVDs.
For the rest of us, it really boils down to a combination of personal taste, affection for the series, the limitations of the surviving film elements, and the size monitor you'll be watching these films on. On smaller monitors the difference will be almost imperceptible, but on big screen TVs there's a noticeable bump in quality that improves the sharpness and more detail is visible. Tweeds and other costuming particularly stand out, while shadows have inkier blacks, boosting the atmosphere considerably. However, this is inconsistent due to the lack of pristine elements and even at its best The Complete Sherlock Holmes only rarely approaches the extreme clarity of better-preserved titles like Warner Home Video's gorgeous Casablanca, made about the same time.
On the other hand, if you're as fond of these movies as I am, and if that little extra bit of added high-def clarity is worth the cost....
The Rathbone-Bruce Sherlock Holmes films began in 1939 at 20th Century-Fox, with The Hound of the Baskervilles. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's immortal characters had been adapted for the movies at least as early as Sherlock Holmes Baffled in 1900, but the film and Rathbone's performance in particular struck a chord with audiences. A follow-up, The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, loosely based on William Gillette's 1899 play, was filmed later that same year, but Fox didn't pursue the series any further.
The reasons for this are not definitively known. Fox had a cash cow in various mystery series, including Charlie Chan, Mr. Moto, and Michael Shayne, and you'd think a Sherlock Holmes film series would've been right up their blood-spattered alley. Some have pointed to Hound's poor critical reception in Great Britain, but that seems a dubious reason so long as the films made money. I suspect Fox was more concerned about the higher cost of a Holmes series relative to their other mystery films, all B-pictures. Period films, with their unique costumes, props, and sets, generally cost more to make than stories with contemporary settings, and Rathbone was a bigger and costlier star than, say, Sidney Toler as Charlie Chan. And Nigel Bruce undoubtedly would've been a whole lot more expensive than the various Asian actors playing Chan's sons.
In any case, the series ended almost before it got started, but The New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, a radio series starring Rathbone and Bruce, was an enormous hit. I suspect much of its success had to do with timing: the series debuted on October 2, 1939 - a month and a day after the start of World War II in Europe and almost exactly a year before The Blitz, when the very survival of Great Britain was anything but assured and America rallied, however indirectly, to her aid. The radio series, which like the Fox films retained its Victorian setting - albeit with prologues featuring an elderly Dr. Watson now retired to California bungalow! - ended in 1946, the same year as the Universal film series.
The success of the radio series prompted Universal to license screen rights plus use of 21 of Arthur Conan Doyle original stories (barely touched) in early 1942, for a period of seven years and at a cost of $300,000. (Joining Rathbone and Bruce from the Fox films, through radio and the Universal series was Mary Gordon, charming as Holmes's long-suffering housekeeper Mrs. Hudson.) Unlike Fox, Universal made the radical decision to set their Holmes series in present-day London rather than late-Victorian England, in which his adventures are typically set.
In fact the impact of this decision is slight. After all, Conan Doyle's* final Holmes story was published just 15 years earlier, in 1927. Horse-drawn Hansom cabs were still in use in London as late as 1947, though by 1942 automobiles greatly outnumbered such antiquated means of transportation. Still, Britain hadn't changed all that much since the turn of the century and anyway much of the series would be shot on Universal's timeless backlot streets.
A more eyebrow-raising departure was that, in Universal's first four entries anyway - Sherlock Holmes and the Voice of Terror (1942), Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Weapon, Sherlock Holmes in Washington, and Sherlock Holmes Faces Death (all 1943) - Sherlock Holmes would match wits with various Nazi agents, though this too was standard operating procedure in Hollywood circa 1942. If Tarzan, the Three Stooges, and Donald Duck were battling Nazis alongside John Wayne, Errol Flynn, and Humphrey Bogart, why not Sherlock Holmes?
Aficionados generally prefer the Holmes films that immediately followed: Sherlock Holmes Faces Death (1943), The Spider Woman, The Scarlet Claw, and The Pearl of Death (all 1944). These movies for the most part dropped the wartime intrigue in favor of period-flavored thrills often intermingled with horror genre elements. But I'd argue the first two Universal entries, Voice of Terror and Secret Weapon, more than compensate with their extremely impressive noirish cinematography and lighting. That said, Sherlock Holmes in Washington takes too many liberties, somewhat ironically when you think of it: the two Fox films show virtually no signs of having been influenced by the company's Charlie Chan films, yet Sherlock Holmes in Washington suggests Universal may have briefly toyed with the idea of a globetrotting Holmes like Chan (i.e., Charlie Chan in London, ...in Paris, ...in Egypt, etc.). Most of the films from this period conclude with a little epilogue of Rathbone extolling the virtues of England, its King or Prime Minister in a stirring little preamble to a more direct pitch to the movie-going audience to buy war bonds, "on sale in this theater." These war bond ads at the tail have been restored.
The biggest complaint Holmes purists generally have with the series is Nigel Bruce's buffoonish Dr. Watson, who in the original stories was a highly capable and trusted companion to Holmes. (My vote for the best Watson goes to David Burke, who played him on the first series only of the Jeremy Brett TV series.) In the Rathbone-Holmes movies (and solidified in the Fox films and on radio, long before the series went to Universal), Bruce provides the comedy relief, rather like Charlie Chan's overly-enthusiastic amateur detective sons. If Rathbone's Holmes was always two steps ahead of the movie audience, you could be sure Bruce's Watson was at least four steps behind them. He frequently fouled things up for Holmes and only rarely comes to his rescue, while Rathbone's Holmes in most of the films treats Watson in a very condescending manner, at times as if talking to a child. (Though as reader Sergei Hasenecz points out, Holmes always defers to Watson regarding medical matters.)
Yet 1940s audiences loved Bruce's characterization, and just as Rathbone came to be regarded as a gold standard for Holmes until Jeremy Brett's game-changing portrayals in the first few series he did for Britain's Granada Television, Bruce was the Watson several generations knew first and best.** Oddly, few complain about Dennis Hoey's unrefined, bumbling Inspector Lestrade, who appears in about half the Universal films. Hoey's a delight even if he's physically almost the opposite of the literary character, who's lean and ferret-like (Hoey is tall, coarse, and fleshy), and more Agatha Christie's Inspector Japp than the Conan Doyle Lestrade. And none of that matters in the slightest. (Nor does the fact that his named is pronounced "La-Strodd" in this series but "La-Strayed" in most other adaptations.)
As was often the case with film series cranked out at a rate of three or more features per year, the same casts and crews were utilized again and again. Roy William Neill directed all of the later ones, and he's generally credited with steering it back toward a late-Victorian/early-Edwardian atmosphere. On the other hand, it's also true that by the time Neill took over the reins audiences had grown weary of the incessant wartime propaganda, and in response the studios weren't lacquering it on as thickly in 1944 and '45 as they had in '42 and '43.
The movies certainly benefited from their British-dominated casts, who surely must have bonded making these movies together while worrying about friends and family back home in England. Among the more familiar faces, some British, some not: Paul Cavanaugh, Ian Wolfe, Gerald Hamer, Frederick Worlock, Holmes Herbert, Harry Cording, Gavin Muir, and Cyril Delevanti, among others. The incredibly beautiful British actress (though Chile-born) Evelyn Ankers appears in two of the films.
Ankers was equally known for her horror movie appearances, and as the war was winding down, the series inched closer toward full-blown horror itself. This was most obvious in films like The Scarlet Claw and The Pearl of Death, the latter featuring cult actor and acromegaly victim Rondo Hatton as "The Creeper," a "monster" Universal rather tastelessly attempted to build into a franchise over several films. George Zucco, Lionel Atwill, and Henry Daniell, also known for their fright films, each took a stab at Holmes's arch-nemesis, Professor Moriarty.
The last titles - The House of Fear, The Woman in Green, Pursuit to Algiers (all 1945), Terror by Night, and Dressed to Kill (both 1946) - show the series in slow but steady creative and budgetary decline, though I consider Terror by Night to be one of the all-time best in spite (or perhaps partly because) of its claustrophobic train-car setting. (It also does something extremely rare for a Hollywood mystery series entry of the 1930s or '40s. It plays fair with its audience. Watch Rathbone make a clever switch with a prop right in front of the camera lens that almost nobody in the audience ever notices.)
Rathbone, feeling horribly typecast, walk away from Sherlock Holmes in 1946 and the series ended, though given Neill's untimely death and a change of management and policies at Universal that same year, it's doubtful the series would have lasted more than a few additional entries anyway.
Video & Audio
The Basil Rathbone-Nigel Bruce Sherlock Holmes movies are controlled neither by Fox nor Universal. As was common for the period, after several years rights apparently reverted to the Conan Doyle estate, which subsequently re-licensed the films to others. (Two other notable examples of this are Universal's Flash Gordon serials and Columbia's Blondie film series, both of which eventually reverted back to King Features Syndicate.) In the process, four of the Universal films (Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Weapon, The Woman in Green, Terror by Night, and Dressed to Kill) lapsed into public domain and have been sold by innumerable bottom-feeder labels. In recent years, the films have been in the hands of King World Productions, which since MPI's DVD releases has been absorbed by CBS Television.
The original film elements for Hound of the Baskervilles and The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes may have been stored apart from the Universal titles, possibly even in Fox's vaults. Hound especially is in superb condition, with Adventures just a notch below that.
The Universal movies were in much worse shape, and survive as well as they do thanks entirely to the Herculean efforts of the UCLA Films and Television Archive and private donations, prominently including Playboy publisher Hugh Hefner. An introduction by Robert Gitt on disc one summarizes the many obstacles they faced. In the cases of Voice of Terror, Washington, Pearl of Death, and Woman in Green, for instance, the original camera negative survived and the subsequent video transfers are excellent. Other films were more challenging. The original camera negative for The Scarlet Claw is believed lost, and there wasn't even a good master positive from which to work, while Pursuit to Algiers' surviving film elements were besieged with vinegar syndrome (a chemical degradation) and transferred in the nick of time.
At some point, either when they were theatrically reissued or perhaps when first syndicated to television, all references to Universal during the opening and closing titles were crudely amputated from the original film elements, so UCLA worked hard to reinstate the original credits, though in the case of Dressed to Kill they were forced to utilize a really battered 16mm source and a few seconds at the end of the film remains missing.
It also appears that even within the films themselves what survives varies. The entire first reel of The House of Fear looks very weak, like a blah standard-def DVD, then about 9 1/2 minutes in suddenly pops into crystal clarity. This happens on several films.
In the final analysis, the worst looking entries (which also tend to have weaker audio) look very good at least some of the time while the best ones are real eye-openers, especially for fans so familiar with the series, and though flawed, seeing the original opening and end titles, even drawn from inferior film sources, is a real treat. The mono audio (English only) is acceptable throughout and optional English subtitles are available.
Amazingly, all 14 movies are contained in a single standard Blu-ray case on five discs, taking up the same amount of shelf space as the Hound of the Baskervilles DVD did all by itself. Since many of the films run 60-70 minutes, there aren't any real compression issues; the combined running time is 16 hours, 14 minutes. The discs are region "A" encoded.
Extra Features
Sadly not included with the set are the late Richard Valley's helpful liner notes which accompanied the DVD versions. Those rigorously yet affectionately compared the particulars of Conan Doyle's characters and stories to their movie counterparts. They're sorely missed.
However, all of the other extra features from the DVDs appear to have been retained, including six commentaries (some of which feature Valley) and there's one including (now 96-year-old) actress Patricia Morison (on Dressed to Kill) that for some reason was left off the original DVD release. In standard definition are some incredibly dog-eared trailers that only make these restorations look all the more impressive, and some archival film footage of Conan Doyle himself.
Parting Thoughts
If you've never seen the Basil Rathbone-Nigel Bruce Sherlock Holmes films before, unhesitatingly I urge you to rush out and buy this Blu-ray set. It's a real bargain for what you get and a DVD Talk Collector Series title. But to upgrade or not to upgrade is really a matter of personal taste. If that little but measurable-to-the-naked-eye high-def boost is worth buying these movies all over again because, well, they're just so wonderful, by all means do so. But you'll also be forgiven if you decide to stick with your perfectly fine restored DVDs.
* Conan Doyle is the widely accepted but by no means definitive reading of the author's surname. Apparently simply "Doyle" is also correct.
** I first discovered the Rathbone-Bruce series in a somewhat unconventional way, seeing most of them for the first time via Super-8 sound prints in the 1970s, part of a massive collection of 16mm and Super-8 titles one could check out just like a book from the Henry Ford Centennial Library in Dearborn, Michigan. Gone are the days.
Stuart Galbraith IV's audio commentary for AnimEigo's Tora-san, a DVD boxed set, is on sale now.


text:
* Text fwd from Agneta Norberg on Feb. 14, 2011
Southern Studies
U.S. defense contractors with the most at stake in Egypt
Egypt -- where a popular uprising that began last week seeks the end to President Hosni Mubarak's 30-year rule -- is the second-largest recipient of U.S. foreign aid after Israel.
The Egyptian government receives about $2 billion a year from the United States, with most of that assistance going to its military. Last year the U.S. sent about $1.3 billion to Egypt's military compared to about $250 million in economic aid, and the Obama administration requested similar amounts for the 2011 fiscal year, as Britain's Telegraph reports.
The U.S. has long made the case that its unconditional funding for Egypt strengthens relations between the countries and provides benefits for the U.S. such as expedited processing for U.S. Navy warships sailing through the Suez Canal.
Indeed, one of the diplomatic cables released by WikiLeaks noted that "President Mubarak and military leaders view our military assistance program as the cornerstone of our mil-mil relationship and consider the USD 1.3 billion annual FMS as 'untouchable compensation' for making and maintaining peace with Israel."
Last week White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said the Obama administration would be reviewing its assistance to the Egyptian government based on events over the coming days.
Obviously any change in U.S. aid policy would have important ramifications for Egypt. But it could also have implications for the U.S. companies that contract with the Defense Department to provide good and services to the Egyptian military -- and for their workforces and communities.
Facing South reviewed the Department of Defense contract database over the past two years to see what deals are already in place, and discovered many contracts with connections to the South. The following are the 10 biggest contracts involving aid to Egypt in that period.
1. Lockheed Martin -- Fort Worth, Texas and Orlando, Fla. Last March, the aerospace giant won a $213 million Air Force contract to provide Egypt with 20 F-16 fighter jets (pictured above). The following month, its Lockheed Martin Missiles subsidiary in Orlando, Fla. got a $46 million Army contract to provide night vision sensor systems for Apache helicopters.
2. DRS C3 and Aviation -- Horsham, Pa. In December 2010, this subsidiary of the Italian company Finmeccanica received a $46.1 million Army contract to provide vehicles, hardware and services for Egypt's border surveillance program. That same month DRS landed another $19.6 million Army contract to provide surveillance hardware and services for the Egyptian government.
3. L-3 Communication Ocean Systems -- Sylmar, Calif. and Garland, Texas. The company's Sylmar operations completed a $24.7 million deal with the Navy last August to provide a sonar system for the Egyptian Navy. And in April 2009, L-3's EOS Division in Garland, Texas got a $6.6 million Army contract to provide Egypt with military imaging equipment.
4. Deloitte Consulting -- Arlington, Va. The professional services firm won a $28.1 million Navy contract in December 2009 to provide planning and other support for Egyptian aircraft programs.
5. Boeing -- Mesa, Ariz. and St. Louis. Last May, the aerospace firm landed a $22.5 million Army contract to provide Egypt with 10 Apache helicopters. The month before that, the company's St. Louis operations won a $5.8 million Navy contract to provide logistics support for other governments, with $262,530 of that designated for assistance to Egypt.
6. Raytheon -- Tucson, Ariz. and Andover, Mass. The weapons and electronics firm received a $26 million Navy contract in June 2009 to provide 178 Stinger missiles to both Egypt and Turkey. This past December, it finalized a $5.6 million Army contract to provide Hawk missile system technical assistance to the Egyptian government.
7. AgustaWestland -- Reston, Va. In November 2009, the Navy made definite a previously awarded $17.3 million contract for the company -- a subsidiary of Italy's Finmeccanica -- to provide helicopter maintenance for the Egyptian government.
8. US Motor Works -- Cerritos, Calif. and Grand Prairie, Texas. The company got a $14.5 million Army contract in June 2009 to provide engines, components and spare parts for vehicles acquired for the Egyptian Armament Authority, with most of that work to be done in Texas.
9. Goodrich Corp. --- Chelmsford, Mass. In October 2010, Goodrich landed a $10.8 million Air Force deal to procure and deploy reconnaissance systems for use on the F-16 fighter jets purchased by the Egyptian Air Force.
10. Columbia Group -- Washington, D.C. In June 2009, the defense contractor completed a $10.6 million contract with the Navy to provide remotely operated vehicle systems as well as technical support and training to the Egyptian Navy, with most of the work to be performed out of the company's Panama City, Fla. operations.
Many other companies with recent deals related to Egypt have operations in the South as well. They include Michelin Aircraft Tire of Greenville, S.C.; Wyle Laboratories, Camber Corp. and Summa Technology, all of Huntsville, Ala.; WRSystems Ltd. of Fairfax, Va.; TASC of Chantilly, Va.; and Clayton International of Peachtree City, Ga.
For a full listing of Defense Department contracts awarded over the past two years for work related to Egypt, click here.(Photo of F-16 fighter jet by Master Sgt. Andy Dunaway for the U.S. Defense Department via Wikimedia Commons.)
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Text Fwd: US Defence Contractors and Egypt
Posted by NO Base Stories of Korea at 3:24 PM
Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Sloppy commute leads to crashes
Drivers navigate snowy roads
A sloppy evening commute resulted in multiple crashes on Thursday in Waukesha County.
The Waukesha County Sheriff's Department recorded 23 property damage only crashes and 57 vehicles in the ditch from 1:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. In Milwaukee, there were 53 calls for motorists needing service, which includes spinouts and calls for assistance.
Less than five minutes into a snowy ride-along with Waukesha County Sgt. Scott Knipper on Thursday and he found a driver whose car slid off eastbound Interstate 94 and hit a sign.
"It's busy," Knipper told WISN. "A lot of cars in the ditch. A lot of accidents."
Knipper didn't issue a citation because no one else was involved in the crash. He called for a tow truck, and the driver said he was glad for the help.
"A lot of people have never been in an accident or been in a crash, might end up in the ditch," said Knipper. "They may not know how to contact a tow truck or anything like that."
As the sun went down, WISN moved into the squad car of State Trooper Steve Lindemann, who was patrolling I-94 west of the city in Waukesha County.
"People are starting to realize that it's slick out here," he said.
Lindemann said he expected there to be more cars in the ditch, but plow drivers had covered the interstate with salt.
"With the amount of snow that's coming down now, people I think, are pretty much heeding all the information that's been put out by the media as far as slowing down, taking time, allowing distance." he said. "Overall, people are driving really well for the conditions that are out here."
"The lady officer pulled up, and I actually thank God she showed up, because if she'd never showed up, I never would have a tow truck on the way," said driver Desmond Waheed, whose car broke down on Highway 18.


text:
Who says innovation is dead? The Canon PowerShot N is one of the most unique compact cameras we've seen in ages. It's not a spec powerhouse, but it is interesting - the N is built around a tilting touch-screen, comes with built-in Wi-Fi and is as small as your palm.
The PowerShot N has a 8x optical zoom lens (35mm equivalent of 28-224mm) and a 12MP sensor. There's no standard shutter release button, instead there's a shutter ring around the lens, which you can half-press to focus and press fully to shoot. Because the screen automatically orients itself whichever way you tilt the camera, it means you can take a photo from any position. If that seems too new-agey to you, you can also tap to shoot using the screen. There's a second ring around the lens, which controls the optical zoom.
The N is small and light, weighing only 195g. There are few controls; a Power button by one side, and a Auto/Creative Shot, Wi-Fi and Play button on the other. In Creative Shot mode, the camera will select from 25 filters and generate five alternatives of the original with different crops and effects. The N is really built as a smartphone companion, you can connect it to social media sites like YouTube and Facebook through Wi-Fi, or share images to your smartphone using Canon's CameraWindow app (available for iOS and Android).
Even though it's just a basic point and shoot, we like it. It feels good in the hands, is very portable and with its ability to connect to our smart-devices, feels like a modern kind of casual camera for the modern-day user. The Canon PowerShot N will be available by the end of April for S$399, which does feel a tad steep to us, but we'll reserve our final judgement for the review.
Canon bills the EOS 100D "the world's smallest and lightest DLSR camera" and that very much seems to be the case. The 100D is small, while it's thicker than the mirrorless Olympus OM-D E-M5 camera, it's only slightly taller than the E-M5 with its flash attached. The camera is surprisingly light, the body only weighs 370g, roughly the same as the E-M5 which weighs 373g.
Internally, the 100D is pretty much the mirrorless EOS M in a DSLR shell with twice the battery life and an optical viewfinder. It shares the EOS M's 18MP resolution with an APS-C sensor, Digic 5 processor, 3" touchscreen and 1080/30p video capability, with a newly developed Hybrid CMOS AF II AF system that combines phase and contrast-detection AF. The camera can shoot up to four frames per second, has 9 AF points and a maximum ISO speed of ISO 12,800, which can be expanded to ISO 25,600. The new 18-55mm IS STM EF-S kit lens has a quiet Movie Servo AF motor, so movies can be recorded without the sound of the lens auto-focusing.
The 100D will be available by the end of April. The local retail price has yet to be announced, but the EOS 100D's retail price in the US is US$799.99 (with the new 18-55mm kit lens).
Set the gold standard with the innovative foldable form factor
Meet the laptop that can handle your biggest demands.
The MOMENTUM True Wireless 2: for the most discerning listener
The perfect companion for PMEBs and travellers
Shopping ideas to make your home an oasis of comfort
Performance, style, and mobility – you can get all of that with the new LG gram


text:
The world-renowned annual Mavericks Surf Contest near Half Moon Bay will not be held Tuesday as previously speculated.
A swell forming on the Pacific Ocean was expected to bring potential contest-worthy waves this week, but officials determined the conditions wouldn't be ideal Tuesday, contest co-director Katherine Clark said.
"There's too much weather coming in; the wrong wind and rain," she said.
The 24 surfers from around the world chosen to compete in this year's contest were expected to vote today on whether to hold the event
Tuesday, but the vote has been called off.
"We're all just standing by," Clark said. "That's the way it rolls."
It's the first time the date for the contest will be decided by the whole group instead of one contest director, she said.
Last year the contest window opened Jan. 1 and closed March 31, but the contest was never held because the ideal conditions didn't
materialize. This year, the contest window opened two months earlier, on Nov. 1.
Bay City News contributed to this report.


text:
This organization's ideas were discussed at some length by an anonymous poster at Mark Shea's Catholic and Enjoying It (link takes you to the post, the discussion of CESJ is pretty far down in the comments). The Center's web site is here. Perhaps some of you have heard of it but it was new to me. I haven't delved very far into their ideas but they seem to have some good ones, and possibly also some bad ones. They're not Catholic (as an organization) but seem to have absorbed some Catholic ideas about social justice and property. Widespread property ownership seems to be their main cause, and I'm certainly on board with that. But there's some stuff about the sovereignty of the individual that smells kind of bad, although as noted I didn't read closely or extensively.
Anyway, seems worth a closer look.
—Maclin Horton


text:
LISBON - An assistant prosecutor has been chosen to become the county's new economic development director.
LISBON - An assistant prosecutor has been chosen to become the county's new economic development director.
Tad Herold was hired Wednesday by Columbiana County commissioners to take the director job, left vacant since 2002 after it was eliminated when the position was no longer able to pay for itself with money from state and federal grants being obtained.
"I think we've got a person who is very qualified - a law degree and an MBA in business," said Commissioner Jim Hoppel.
A native of Columbiana, Herold, 40, earned a bachelor's degree in city planning and geography from Youngstown State University, before earning his law degree from the Moritz College of Law at Ohio State University. While at Ohio State, he also earned a master's degree in business administration.
In addition to a private law practice in Columbiana, Herold has worked as an assistant county prosecutor in the civil division since 2008 and as New Waterford's village solicitor, a position he resigned from following his appointment.
"I'm excited," Herold said. "I think my skill set meshes well with the job."
When commissioners announced last week their plans to restructure development operations by reinstating the director position, they said it was to help the county take advantage of the economic development opportunities expected to result from the oil and gas boom underway in the region.
"I think it's an exciting time to think about moving forward in the county. We certainly have some hurdles to overcome, but we also have more opportunities than we've ever had," Herold said.
Rather than formally seek applicants to fill the position, commissioners approached several people they believed were qualified to determine their interest in the job. Commission Chairman Mike Halleck said it was while working with Herold in preparing a job description that Herold told them he might be interested.
Halleck said they have worked closely with Herold over the years on many issues, including economic development deals, so they are very familiar with his abilities. "We think we have found the best person," he said.
Herold's salary will be $60,000, about what he is making as an assistant prosecutor, although all of the details have yet to be worked out, Halleck said. The money to pay his salary will come from the county's share of casino tax revenue until Herold can begin generating enough grant money to cover his wages.
"We look at it as an investment," Halleck said. "We're willing to fund this in the short term for the next couple of years" until the anticipated grant money starts coming in.
Commissioners decided to act now because Pam Dray, the only full-time office worker left in the development department, plans to retire Sept. 30. They wanted the director position filled immediately so the person could begin working with Dray before she leaves. The department is staffed by another retired employee who works part-time, and commissioners indicated Dray may do the same.
Meanwhile, commissioners are demolishing the former Department of Job and Family Services building and constructing a new office building in its place to house the development department and, possibly, the county port authority, which is also in the business of economic development.
"It is my hope the development department and port authority will work hand in hand in bringing in new businesses," said Commissioner Tim Weigle.
Commissioners also want to have the new director assist villages and townships that lack the manpower in applying for grants.
Herold and his wife, the former Melissa Birmingham of Leetonia, live in Youngstown but also own a home in Columbiana. He said their plan is to move back to the county at some point.


text:
City of Keller, TXHome Menu
City Calendar
The City Calendar offers information on upcoming meetings, regular programs and special events organized by the City of Keller. To see additional events going on in Keller hosted by nonprofit and other community organizations, please visit the
Keller Folk Music Society
Grab an instrument and share a song!
- Date: 06/18/2016 1:15 PM
- Location: Library Meeting Room
640 Johnson Road
Keller, Texas 76248
The Keller Folk Music Society invites professional and non-professional musicians and their families to experience the synergy of sharing songs, stories, and talents with other local musicians. The group normally meets at 1 p.m. on the third Saturday of each month in the Library's Meeting Room.
This event is free and no registration is required. For information, visit the Keller Folk Music Society's website at www.meetup.com/kellerfolkmusicsociety.


text:
|Payment Type:
|Min. Order:
|1 Piece/Pieces
Model No.: GL-11123(S)
Place Of Origin: Zhejiang, China (Mainland)
Material: Stainless Steel
Surface Treatment: Polished
Brand Name: GL
Type: Locks
Rod Dia: 16mm
Model Number: GL-11123(s)
Weight: 2.15kgs
Packaging: Normal Packing
Productivity: 1000000pcs
Brand: GL
Transportation: Ocean
Place of Origin: Zhejiang, China (Mainland)
Supply Ability: 100000
Certificate: ISO
1. Product introduction
GL-11123(s) Door Locking Gear with high quality and low price for van truck Body parts,GL Auto Parts CO.,Ltd. Our company supply truck parts ,include the door hinges, door locks SUS, handle latches, lashing rings, folding steps,buckles and so on. Choose us is the best choice. And this recessed door lock have some hardwares,like recessed black handle,lock bracket and others.
2. Product details
2.1. Mode:GL-11123(s)
2.2. Material: Stainless Steel
2.3. Surface Treatment: Polished
2.4. Weight:2.15kgs
2.5. Rod Dia:16mm
2.6. Suit for different door sizes which the door height lower than 2.1 meters
2.7. Application: Refrigerated Truck Body, Freezing Storage, Truck Body, Container etc.
3. Product picture
4. Company strength
Jiaxing Ganland Auto Parts CO.,Ltd is a professional manufacturer specializes in designing and producing different types of machinery parts for trucks and other commercial Vehicles.GL products are exported to over 60 countries and regions,and have gained a good reputation through quality.
5. Our special service
5.1. Competitive price.
5.2. Short production time.
5.3. Package according to clients' special requirment.
5.4. Fully satisfactory after-sales service.
5.5. Heavy inquires witness our quality.
5.6. We can develop the new items as customer' special requirment.
5.7. We can accept small orders.
6. Other products
We Also have many other parts, like truck & trailer door lock system, door hinge system, door seal, door retainer, buckle, roller, e-track, winch, euphroe, buffer, folding step, lashing ring and other locks, hooks, latches, wrenches, aluminuim sections and Container Corner Fittings etc.
Any further questions pls kindly send a letter to my e-mail: sales(AT)gl-truck.com or sales1(AT)gl-truck.com
Welcome inquiry!
Product Categories : 304 Stainless Steel Truck Door Lock
Subscribe To Our Newsletter:
Get Updates, Discounts, Special
Offers and Big Prizes!


text:
Raiders end with a win
The Raiders ended with a win last Thursday at Bridgeport to finish the 2012-13 season with a 7-13 record.
The Raiders had been eliminated from postseason play Tuesday with a loss to Oroville.
This was the first losing season since 2005-06 and the first time a Raider team failed to make it to districts since the 1998-99 season.
At the Senior Night game against Oroville, Eldon Wilson was honored for all his services before the game as part of the Senior Night activities.
Wearing throwback jerseys and warm ups, the Raiders jumped to an early 16-5 lead started by Jacob Palmer's steal and layin in the first quarter. The Hornets went on a 18-0 run to take the lead 23-16 in the second quarter. The Raiders answered with an 8-0 run of their own to retake the lead 24-23. From there, both sides would score short runs, going back and forth for a halftime score of Oroville 35, LR 32.
In the third quarter, a Palmer basket on an errant pass from the Hornet guards gave the Raiders a three-point lead. Raiders' rebounding and better defensive play allowed LR to build a seven-point lead going into the fourth quarter 48-41.
Oroville fought back in the fourth. With only a minute left in the game, the Hornets held a one-point advantage, 60-59. Oroville ran down the clock, shooting and missing. The Raiders fouled to save some time and get the ball back, but the Hornets made the free throws.
The Raiders got the ball back with only 14 seconds left, and Justus DeWinkler drove the ball, trying to make the basket, but missed. The final score was Oroville 64- LR 59.
DeWinkler put together a double-double scoring 17 points and 14 assists in the loss. Chance Garvin scored 13 points and Palmer scored 10.
With nothing to lose, the Raiders travelled to Bridgeport to take on the second-seeded Mustangs without Drew Saxon.
The Raiders started slow until Palmer hit a three pointer that flipped a Raider intensity switch. The score at the end of the first quarter was Bridgeport 15, LR 12. In the second quarter, the Mustangs exploded on offense and the Raiders began to commit silly fouls and miss shots at the free throw line. Bridgeport pulled ahead by halftime, 33-24.
LR came back to tie the game in the third quarter, finally retaking the lead 39-38. The game in the fourth was tit for tat with both sides scoring a lot of points down the stretch. Bridgeport's coach made two great outbursts against the referees and was close to receiving a technical.
With 49 seconds left, the Raiders had a four-point lead when the Bridgeport coach began to call timeouts. Both sides traded fouls and went to the free throw line several times to close out the game.
The moral victory closed out the Raiders' rollercoaster season with a 62-54 win.
Kendall Piccolo scored a season high of 17 points, matched by Chance Garvin. DeWinkler had 13 on the night.
vs Oroville
Nault 3, Rosenbaum 0, Garvin 13, Picard 3, DeWinkler 17, Piccolo 4, Nicolson 9, Palmer 9, Saxon 0
vs Bridgeport
Black 0, Nault 3, Rosenbaum 0, Garvin 17, Picard 6, DeWinker 13, Piccolo 17, Nicholson 0, Palmer 3


text:
Check the official site! There is a good-good news!
When I was see it, I was run out from world!
Tha good news
Latest news of new music, albums, remixes and YELLO projects
1 post • Page 1 of 1
Tha good news
I... I'm in love
1 post • Page 1 of 1


text:
The state has fixed a confounding problem that was leading local history buffs to a Japanese-language Web site featuring advice on dog food.
The CT Freedom Trail has a new Web site at www.ctfreedomtrail.ct.gov, which will be made immediately available to users on Tuesday.
The problem was caused when the subscription period expired and someone purchased the domain name, the Waterbury Republican-American reports.
U.S. & World
Instead of learning about more than 100 sites around the state that honor the struggle African slaves faced in the years leading up to their emancipation and beyond, uses who went to what was once the state's site find a page in Japanese that shows a golden retriever following a woman. It's about how to choose a good dog food, according to Google's language translator.
The page explains the basics of dog food, types, what to serve dogs of different ages and more, nothing like what the Connecticut Freedom Trail recognizes -- Underground Railroad safe houses, graves, sites associated with the Amistad slave ship and John Brown's birthplace in Torrington.
The new site provides the culturally rich information just in time in time for a celebration being held this month.
In Windsor, there will be a Freedom Run on Sept. 19 and theatrical enactments on Sept. 20.
In New Haven, there will be a lecture on William Lansom on Sept. 19. In East Haddam, there will be a Venture Smith Day on Sept. 26.
In Hartford on Sept. 26, there will be a "Traces of the Trade: A Story of the Deep North," a documentary about a New England family and the Triangle Trade.


text:
Happy Halloween to everyone!! We are busy having Halloween parties, making pumpkin cupcakes and eating lots and lots of candy!!
I still managed to sneak in a little learning fun at our little Halloween get together today! I found the haunted house printable at Sarah Jane Studios. I just cut out her template and traced it onto black construction paper. Then I cut out and numbered some yellow windows and some numbered ghosts.
I covered both the house and the ghosts with contact paper so I could use tape on the back of the ghosts.
Both my kiddos have loved playing with the little ghosts and the house. Drew loves taking off the ghosts and putting them back one. Anna loves matching the numbers up!!
Hope everyone is having a fabulous Halloween!!


text:
Watch Today full episode Los Bastardos March 22 2019 in HD Video Online. Keep watching more Pinoy Tv Series. Watch all latest episodes of Los Bastardos serial here from this page. Stay tuned to watch all latest Pinoy TV Shows online. Pinoy all Tv shows updated here on this page. Los Bastardos March 22 2019 Full Episode of Pinoy Tambayan at Lambingan. Watch Online Show HD lambinganTV. alik March 22 2019 Wow Pinoy
Los Bastardos March 22 2019 Full Episode
March 22, 2019 No Comments


text:
dzehala avait besoin d'un nouveau design de page web et a lancé un concours sur 99designs.
Un gagnant a été sélectionné de 93 designs proposés par 25 designers freelance.
Need professional looking real estate website template
$400 USD for the best design. Please not that this is a design only contest. We have someone already lined up to do the programming.
The winner will be selected within 7 days of the original posting. We reserve the right to end (or extend) the contest early if a winner is found.
Guaranteed Winner:
We guarantee that we will pick one winner for this contest and they will receive the full prize amount.
Payment Method:
PayPal, check or money order (open to other payment methods as well).
Background Information:
We provide real estate seller leads nationally to real estate investors and realtors.
Web Site Details:
1.Please use the screenshots (see 1st 3 posts) that I have attached to get a feel for what we are looking for.
2.The design should be setup for a page centered website.
3.Designs should be limited to 600 pixels wide and near 800 in height.
4.Feel free to play with the color combinations as were not sure what color scheme we want yet.
5.The screenshots are only for you to get a feel of what we want, please make your design original.
6.We will need design templates for two sections of the website; the home page and a lead database page. Both pages should match.
7.We will need these layout designs in layered PSD format.
8.The Home page should integrate the following:
a.The name: 30 Leads in 30 Days somewhere in the header. This will not be the focal point of the header. This will be our tagline as well as website name, so incorporate this as needed.
b.Navigation bar with links for: Home, Services, FAQs, and Contact Us. This navigation bar can be at top or on the left side depending on which fits best into your design.
c.There will be a testimonials column on the right side of the page. This will be very similar to the attached sample.
d.There will need to be an opt-in box with fields for: First Name, Last Name, and Email. There will also need to be a submit button and the text: We will never trade, rent, or sell your information
e.There will need to be a login box somewhere on the page for members. This box will stay on every page of the site with log in and log out options. Keep this in mind since it will need to be incorporated into both page designs.
f.The rest of the home page will be taken up by a sales letter. See http://www.quickstartmarketingsystems.com for filler. Feel free to use the text from this page. Please make the headline bold and eye catching so that we can see how it will look on the page when completed. Please note: this is an example from one of our other websites, so the wording is not important here, only the layout and fonts.
g.Do not worry about a footer.
9.The Lead Database page should integrate the following:
a.The same name from the Home page: 30 Leads in 30 Days will also be needed on this page.
b.There will be two rows of tabs within the main page layout. We would like these tabs to be close together. (Look at the attached LeadPurchase.jpg image for sample. Notice that in the example image, there are 3 rows, we do not need the top row for this design.)
c.On the top row of tabs, please use links: Your Leads, Buy Leads, Manage Areas, and Your Profile.
d.On the bottom row of tabs, please use links: Current Leads, 1-6 Months, 6-12 Months, and Your Cart.
e.For the middle of this page, please use the attached LeadData.jpg image to fill the space so that we can see what it will look like. Please change colors from this file or modify as needed to match website scheme.
We will do our best to post feedback in this thread at least once per day, but reserve the right to post every other day if we get busy.
We also reserve the right to end this contest early even if we havent given everyone feedback on their design.
Please submit only original work. No copying from others! All property rights, intellectual property, copyrights, and trademarks of the design are transferred to 1800PAYCASH LLC upon payment.
Contact Information:


text:
Let's say that you are going merrily about your business, mowing your lawn or what-not, and you suddenly experience severe, crushing chest pain. Alarmed, you come in to the ER, quite appropriately. The handsome and compassionate ER doctor performs a detailed history and examines you. He reads an ECG, does an x-ray and some blood tests, and consults with a specialist. Ultimately you are admitted to the hospital and since we're playing hypotheticals, let's just say you make a full recovery.
It's most likely that your ER visit will be coded as:
768.5 Unspecified Chest Pain (ICD-9 Diagnosis Code)
99285 Emergency Department Evaluation/Management, Level 5 (CPT Code)
The current 'value' of the 99285 code is 4.74 RVUs (Relative Value Units).
The doctor who took care of you likely uses a fee schedule in which charges are set by multiplying the RVUs of a service by some monetary conversion factor. The conversion factors range between $90-$150/RVU. Let's use $100, for convenience. So your bill will be:
4.74 RVU x $100/RVU = $474
Now there are many things about the billing system which defy any reasonable concept of fairness. But this is a fee which actually strikes me as fair and reasonable. It's a high-stakes game, and if the handsome ER doctor sends you home in error, you may well die. Of every 20 patients presenting to the ER with chest pain, maybe one is the real deal. Picking out the one is not easy and is very risky. So I will defend a $500 fee as just compensation for a difficult and important service.
But that's not what the handsome ER doctor will get paid. The doctor's fees are honored more in the breach than the observance. The doctor will get paid depending on the payor class of the patient:
Bill Gates (cash customer): $474
Commercial insurance: variable from $220-400
Medicare: $161
Medicaid: $90
Typical "cash customer" (aka uninsured) $25
Now a typical ER will see about 15-20% of its patients as uninsured, another 20% Medicaid, and maybe 20-25% Medicare patients. So that's 60% of the patients who are in the lowest reimbursement categories (more if you count Tricare, the military insurance program, Worker's comp, etc). The weighted reimbursement for these patients -- two-thirds of all comers -- is probably about $90. Figure the doctor will pay 10% to a billing company, 10% to the malpractice carrier, and 5% in administrative overhead, leaving take-home pay of about $70 for evaluation of chest pain in the ER.
I pay more than that to have a plumber unclog my toilet.
But, clever and astute reader that you are, you notice that I exclude the other 30% of patients, who are insured. How much insurance companies will reimburse is strongly influenced by state regulations and how good the practice manager is at negotiating contracts. When I go in to negotiate with the insurers in our state, I am very up front with them: we need a high level of reimbursement from their patients to offset the poorly- and un-reimbursed care provided to the government- and un-funded patients in the ED. They don't like hearing that, but they do know the reality. Cost-shifting is the reality of the day, as health care financing in this country slowly implodes. While the insurance companies aren't exactly going to give away the farm, they can be induced to agree to higher rates to offset the uncompensated care.
Why should you care?
Because if you, like me, are employed and pay premiums for health care, you have probably noticed those premiums spiking. Our group's premiums have increased by 10-15% per year for the last seven years, and our experience has been typical of or better than the national average. How long can you keep paying 15% increases? How long is your employer willing to? How long till your employer drops the company-funded health plan and you get to join the 20% of my patients without insurance?
Yet some people think that a universal health plan would be a bad thing. Some people think it would be too expensive. Some people think that the 'market' will come up with a solution. Of course, these are by and large the same folks who thought invading Iraq would be a great idea.
18 July 2007
The Shell Game
Let's say that you are going merrily about your business, mowing your lawn or what-not, and you suddenly experience severe, crushing chest pain. Alarmed, you come in to the ER, quite appropriately. The handsome and compassionate ER doctor performs a detailed history and examines you. He reads an ECG, does an x-ray and some blood tests, and consults with a specialist. Ultimately you are admitted to the hospital and since we're playing hypotheticals, let's just say you make a full recovery.
Posted by shadowfax at 10:27 AM
17 comments:
- Anonymous7/18/2007 12:19 PM
For what it's worth, here's my misinformed take on the situation:ReplyDelete
The muddled middle is the hard part. Imagine a system where people are either insured or pay their bills--no more offsetting fees, no more spiking premiums. In this system, if you don't pay, you don't get care. Call it the libertarian ideal. It would contain costs and work very well except for those who die because they can't afford the (albeit lower) costs. Since we have decided that we can't let people die for lack of access to care, we have started charging the insured more to cover the costs. This raises costs and premiums, resulting in more people falling into the uninsured category and ultimately destabilizing the system. We are in the muddled middle. The other extreme, socialized medicine, would be stable, but we are unlikely to get there because we are such a huge heterogenous population, with many people reluctant to knowingly finance healthcare for others through much higher taxes. So I suspect we will be stuck in the muddled middle for some time. We may experiment with single payor, but to make it work, you'd have to essentially outlaw private insurance, and that's unlikely in this country. And if private insurance continues in some form--i.e. a two-tiered model--you would essentially continue to privatize profits and socialize risks.
As an aside, how much do you think the government would reimburse you for that chest pain case under a single payor system? (History would suggest not much).
And house whisperer states the most common misperception about "universal" health care. It doesn't have to be single payer -- Germany's isn't -- and it doesn't have to be a government program -- again, Germany's isn't.ReplyDelete
Their system isn't perfect, but it appears to be less broken than ours. If we keep screwing around, we'll end up with socialized medicine and I don't think anyone really wants that.
Why have health insurance premiums gone up recently? Is it from carrying malpractice insurance (we know it is not from paying judgments, but it could be from carrying the insurance)? Is it from the stock market dropping (seems unlikely because the stock market has been very hot recently, no?)? Is someone getting rich from the system? Is it for medical research?ReplyDelete
I should probably go see Sicko; I bet it tells me.
Well, that's the $64,000 (more like $640 million) question, isn't it, Jimii? I think a lot of things go into it - malpractice premiums and defensive medicine, oversupply of specialists, increasing availability of technology and exotic pharmaceuticals, insurance administrative costs, lengthening lifespans, socioeconomic problems, you name it. There isn't going to be one solution.ReplyDelete
My question has always been: why don't we drop the pretense that "health insurance" is any kind of insurance? It's more like joining a health club, really, and produces weird incentives for providers and users. Why not get rid of insurance for everything except the catastrophic, and go fee-for-service? Imagine life without insurance companies and all their tatty little rules about who can go where and get what service.
- Anonymous7/18/2007 2:59 PM
Judy, I'm sorry my post confused you. I said we are unlikely to go to socialized medicine, but we may experiment with single payor. I didn't confuse the two. I happen to think they would both be a small improvement over the current system. I also think they are both unlikely--but that single payor is less unlikely.ReplyDelete
- Anonymous7/18/2007 3:07 PM
Isles, your proposal takes us closer to the libertarian ideal. I might have worked in the past, but we are beyond that point now, with most people believing "someone else" should be paying for little medical expenses as well as the catastrophes. At some point, we will probably achieve universal care with all the advantages and disadvantages therein.ReplyDelete
HW - I would almost think, albeit without any kind of data to point to, that the insurance co-pays most people are now having to fork over come close to what they'd have to pay in a fee-for-service system, so maybe we've gone around the bend of being used to having someone else pay and ended up right back at self-pay.ReplyDelete
That's an interesting point isles. I believe #1 Dinosaur or Angry Doc had a post about that recently concerning prescription drugs and how sometimes they are cheaper to pay cash than the co-pay.ReplyDelete
I recently had an experience concerning this too. I had a physical at the beginning of the year and paid my insurance co-pay of $30. In July I needed to get another physical for school and insurance only covers one per year. I went back, figuring I'd just suck it up and pay out of pocket. The out of pocket cost of the physical? $25. WTF? I saved money paying out of pocket, my insurance actually made 5 dollars off me the last time.
Point is, primary care is pretty inexpensive. I think it would be a shame to waste time and taxes socializing it. I have realized lately that there's little point in getting insurance for primary care. Now I just get cheaper insurance that covers catastrophic incidents. It has worked well for me, especially being younger and generally healthy. If everyone could take such an active and educated role in their own healthcare it might become a bit of a non-issue.
Do we need to bifucate things into ordinary and catestrophic care? Pay your own ordinary care but only take advantage of some sort of cost sharing (private or public) for catestrophic care.ReplyDelete
Question: How valuable is it to provide insentives for people to get preventative medicine? Valuable in the sense of reducing the overall cost of healthcare.
- Anonymous7/19/2007 1:09 PM
Dear Dr. Shadowfax,ReplyDelete
I am confused. You just explained, lucidly and cogently, that idiots like yours truly subsidise the Medicare and Medicaid patients, not to mention the uninsured, so that you can earn enough money in a shift to have a plumber unclog your commode at home.
And then you go on to say, why, Medicaid is so wonderful, let's have more of this?
I am so confused -- it's as if you were channeling Paul Krugman, who is arguably as far from rationality as one can get (which, in a soft science like economics is pretty far to start with). Surely you know the old joke:
"Ben, you are making a loss on every single item you sell. How will you survive?" -- "Well, I'll just have to make it up with volume."
And that is what all those universal-healthcare proposals come down to: Not enough of anything left and right. If only the proponents of these fraudulent schemes were honest enough to say upfront that cancer patients can forget about the newer drugs (hey, methotrexate was good enough for my grandpa), my knee injury from running doesn't need fixing -- I can always start fly fishing for a hobby, and so on. (And that last bit of advice will require a six-month wait for an appointment, cf. Canada.)
Just a little honesty, please? You are running a group of ER physicians. The work you do is the very definition of a limited resource that has been stretched beyond what is sustainable. How can you advocate making things worse?
Thank you,
great post. Could not agree more with the last 2 paragraphs.ReplyDelete
A personal experience:ReplyDelete
Went to the ER with back pain -- couldn't sleep for two days.
ER doc took about a 5 minute history, did about a 5 minute or less exam. Ordered one test, a urinalysis, which was negative. He wrote a Rx for some pain meds, I was on my way.
His bill for that was $250. Frankly I would be embarrassed to bill that much for that little work. $250 in this case also matched my deductible, so I paid the bill in cash, in full -- I generally don't play the professional courtesy card.
I think there is something wrong with justifying billing by arguing that others don't pay or don't pay much. That is the part of medicine that I see needs fixing.
- Anonymous7/19/2007 2:37 PM
Being in the same field and playing the same shell game, I am all to familiar with how the game is played. It is grossly unfair for the middle-class, employed, insured family paying $400-600 monthly for insurance. Fuggetabout those with pre-existing chronic illnesses (DM, HTN, Asthma) that need more constant care, as the premiums may exceed $700+ monthly for that same family. There is no impetus for people to continue to pay these rates when they could buy a nice Mercedes for the same costs, and then go to the ER for healthcare. EMTALA guarantees they will be seen, regardless of ability to pay.ReplyDelete
Surely, on the surface, having a universal, single-payor health insurance would seem the panacaea for this problem, right? Low-cost, government-offered insurance for the same family, and it's affordable. All you have to do is sign up for it.
Now let's look at the real truths behind the panacaea. The statistics are that approximately 8 million of our un-insured do qualify for government-cheese insurance. They simply don't sign up for it, for whatever reason. There are yet another group of individuals that don't qualify for insurance, don't qualify for social security numbers either! Again, we are there for them 24/7/365 and given that there is no provision to disband the Trial Lawyers Association, I don't see defensive medicine going away any time too soon. So now, we are left with a system that will only re-imburse you for your hard work at 18% (your calculation)for EVERYONE, and yet, somehow, you haven't really eliminated the self-pay/no-pay groups. EMTALA still crowds your ER, and you will still order that head CT "just in case".
This shell game is gettin' more and more fun everyday!
- Anonymous7/20/2007 10:20 AM
Greg P, your doctor didn't just treat your back pain. His history and physical ruled out abdominal aortic aneurysm, epidural abscess, risk stratified you with regard to metastatic prostate cancer; the urinalysis combined with judgment about your history ruled out kidney stones and urinary infections. His brief neurologic exam ensured that your distal spinal fibers were entact, ensured that you will continue to be able to poop and walk without difficulty. And, to top it off, he was willing to face the possibility of millions of dollars of malpractice payouts if he was wrong. Finally, he spent an additional 20 minutes reviewing past records, calling the lab, and dictating your history and physical. I understand you felt your encounter was brief, but a lot more goes into an ED visit than you can see. Considerable skill is required to separate those with muskuloskeletal back pain from those with potentially disabling or life-threatening conditions. If you didn't feel your condition was potentially disabling, then you might consider waiting to talk to your doctor about it in the morning. If you did consider your condition potentially disabling, then $250 seems like a small price to pay for reassurance. I always obtain a complete review of systems for back pain, because it is such a high-risk complaint (i.e. there are so many potentially devastating causes of back pain).ReplyDelete
Thanks for that perspective - I couldn't agree more. Additionally, the doctor apparently prescribed narcotics, which carries an attendant amount of risk.
786.5 is what you meant.ReplyDelete
768.5 is "severe brith asphyxia", which would probably have gotten denied, seeing as how he's a male.
Ok, so when I sliced the end of my thumb through the nail, went to the ER, had them clean and bandage it, and received a bill for $180 because I was uninsured, where does that fall in? Because it was really really really clear that if I didn't pay the $180, they'd send it to collections, even though I was unemployed (after a layoff) and uninsured.ReplyDelete
Something never sounds right about all this.


text:
The Protocol Layer
The protocol layer defines a set of rules for exchanging packets. These rules coordinate the exchange of messages across multiple links, among multiple agents, on multiple devices. In contrast, the physical, link, and routing layers exclusively address communication on a single link, between two directly connected devices. The architecture of the Intel QuickPath Interconnect prescribes thirteen different agent types; a given type of agent handles specific messages sent over an Intel QPI topology. For the purposes of the following discussion, we will concentrate on home agents and caching agents. Examples of other agent types include configuration, interrupt, and legacy IO agents. An Intel QPI message uniquely identifies its target agent by the combination of the agent type and node ID. When a link endpoint contains multiple agents, messages are directed based on their type: only a specific agent type can sink, that is remove from the link buffer and consume, a given message type.
The protocol layer is designed to coordinate access from multiple agents to a shared memory. To make sense of multiple entities writing to a shared memory, a set of rules, called coherency, are defined. Coherency is a distributed responsibility; all agents accessing the system-wide coherent memory space must participate to maintain correct operation. The primary purpose of the protocol layer is to delineate the message flows that will maintain coherence, promote performance, and accomplish all of the desired behaviors. In the following sub-sections we will first discuss coherent flows, which comprise the bulk of the traffic. We will then turn to the complex topic of integrating non-coherent flows, and explain why they are needed.
Coherent Flows
A caching agent is logic closely associated with the caching structure of a device. It initiates transactions to coherent memory and responds to them in concert with the other functions of the device and its caching structure. A caching agent can also retain copies of memory values in a local cache, and provide these copies to other agents. The protocol assumes a write-back coherency model, in which caching agents need not immediately write changes to the main memory, but may temporarily keep cached changes out-of-sync with main memory.
A home agent acts as the interface to a given set of memory addresses. It services coherent transaction requests, handshaking with the various caching agents to manage conflicts, provide data, and clarify ownership. A home agent comprises additional logic affiliated with an integrated memory controller. A requestor labels its transactions with an agent-unique requester transaction identification number (RTID). A transaction is globally uniquely identified by its global unique transaction ID (UTID), which concatenates the home node ID, the requestor node ID, and the RTID.
The protocol uses a MESI coherence scheme (see Gregory F. Pfister's "In Search of Clusters", Prentice Hall PTR, 1998), in which a caching agent maintains the status of every memory line as:
- Modified: it has the only copy in the system, which may differ from that in main memory,
- Exclusive: it has the only copy in the system, but it is the same as memory,
- Shared: there may be multiple copies in the system, which are all the same as one another and memory, or
- Invalid: it has no copy.
The protocol extends this strategy with an additional forward state (F), yielding the MESIF protocol. This forward state allows for low-latency data return of shared data via direct cache-to-cache transfer. To eliminate ambiguity, while there can be many sharers, only one caching agent is designated the forwarder. Table 3 details the properties of each of the five states. The final column refers to the states to which the caching agent may transition the line without further coordination with the line's home agent. For example, the line cannot transition out of the modified state without arranging a write-back. Similarly, the line cannot transition out of invalid without initiating snoops to verify the line's state in other caching agents.
When a request for data is sent, caching agents receive snoop requests inquiring about their state. The single forwarder provides the data immediately and informs the home agent. Since the home agent may not know that a forwarder exists, it simultaneously starts bringing the data from memory as soon as it receives the initial request. When the home agent receives the forward notification from the forwarder, it sends a completion to the requestor which lets the requestor de-allocate all resources associated with the transaction.
The protocol supports two different snooping strategies, source snooping and home snooping. In source snooping, the requestor sends snoops directly to all caching agents in the system, as well as to the home agent. The snooped agents then send their responses to the home agent; one of them may also deliver the data directly to the requestor as provisioned above. Next the home agent resolves any conflicts, returns the data if necessary, and completes the request. This two-hop protocol (not counting the completion) has the lowest latency at the cost of a large snoop bandwidth and is therefore best suited to systems with few agents.
In contrast, for home snooping the requestor only sends its request to the home agent. The home agent typically maintains a directory telling it which other agents may have a copy. It then targets its snoops to only those agents. Note that the directory may allow false positives -- while it must always include agents that have the data, it may also include agents that do not. The rest of the flow mirrors the source snooping case. The advantage of home snooping is the reduced snoop bandwidth due to the targeted snoops; the disadvantage is the three-hop latency (not counting the completion). If some nodes have longer latencies than others, however, home snoop may further have a latency advantage by eliminating snoops to that node when unnecessary. Thus home snoop is commonly used in systems with many agents, or in systems with dramatically different latencies among the agents.
Non-Coherent Flows
Beyond coherent flows, legacy issues further required the Intel QuickPath Interconnect to support a variety of non-coherent flows. These flows may have no direct relationship to coherency (some are derivative of products before caches), or may deliberately violate the normal coherency rules. In many cases legacy behavior has to do with the non-coherent spaces of the system address map.
In previous generation systems the "actual" characteristics of an address were fundamentally unknown so every address was "snooped" on the FSB. In a link-based topology each requesting agent must know the system address map, including message class, "home" node ID, and whether or not to snoop.
Many of the legacy-driven messages added to the Intel QPI protocol occur as a consequence of platform integration of the corresponding legacy features. These messages emulate behaviors previously triggered by physical pins from the platform into the socket. Intel QPI characterizes a particular set of these physical legacy pins as virtual legacy wire (VLW) transactions. These include the INTR, A20M, and SMI legacy signals.
The first feature originally implemented with pins that we will discuss is interrupts. Processors starting with the Intel 8080 included an Intel 8259 programmable interrupt controller directly connected to the bus as a central place to receive all interrupts and distribute them to individual processors. When the 8259 received an interrupt, it drove the side-band INTR (interrupt request) signal directly to the affected processor. The interrupted processor responded with an INTA (interrupt acknowledge) on the bus. The 8259 latched the interrupt, keeping any newly arriving interrupts pending, and calculated the interrupt number of the highest priority pending interrupt. The interrupted processor then read this vector on the bus, jumped to the corresponding code, and executed the interrupt service routine. Once complete, it sent the 8259 an EOI (end of interrupt) on the bus, freeing the 8259 to process the next interrupt, if any.
The Pentium processor introduced a different method of handling interrupts, called the Advanced Programmable Interrupt Controller (IOAPIC). However, the new IOAPIC requires software enabling, and it defaults to 8259 mode (sometimes referred to as legacy interrupt mode). To this day, some boot loaders rely on 8259 semantics, which means the new Intel QuickPath Interconnect must support this legacy interrupt mode. Intel QPI messaging emulates the INTR pin with a new VLW transaction flow, and the architecture defines handling of the remaining message types.
The general interrupt legacy mode flow is as follows:
- The IO subsystem issues an interrupt. This transaction is mapped to an Interrupt VLW message and directed over Intel QPI to a processor core. The processor uncore issues a Cmp (complete) message acknowledging its reception of the VLW message.
- The processor core issues an Interrupt Acknowledge transaction (effectively a read of the register indicating the desired vector). The IO subsystem completes this transaction with a noncoherent read response containing the interrupt vector.
- The processor core executes the appropriate code and issues an End of Interrupt Transaction on Intel QPI, which the IO subsystem then completes.
The goal is not to provide the highest performing implementation of the legacy interrupt mode, but to guarantee behavior logically equivalent to previous generation systems with acceptable performance.
Address Map
Interrupt compatibility looks simple next to the variety of issues associated with the layout of memory. In this arena, legacy began with the Intel 8086 when it extended its 16-bit address space to 20 bits via segmentation to support a 1 MB physical memory. With segmentation, an address was defined with a 16-bit segment and a 16-bit offset combined as (segment * 16) + offset to produce a physical address. As a side-effect of this definition, effective addresses beyond the 1 MB mark resulted in a wrap-around to the beginning of memory. For example, addressing FFFF1000 would resolve to physical address 0x00FF0.
The initial PC built on the Intel 8088 established a convention when it partitioned this inherited 1 MB address space into conventional memory below the 640 kB line and accessible to regular programs, and the upper memory area (UMA), between 640 kB and 1 MB, which was reserved for ROM, peripheral RAM, and memory-mapped IO (MMIO, in which reads and writes to particular memory addresses actually affect locations local to an IO device instead). Specifically, graphics was memory mapped to the ASEG from addresses 0xA0000 to 0xBFFFF, utility ROM occurred from 0xC0000 to 0xDFFFF, and the boot ROM lived in 0xE0000 to 0xFFFFF.
The 8086's interrupt descriptor table (IDT), which holds interrupt vectors, was statically positioned at the beginning of the address space between addresses 0x00000 and 0x003FF. With the new UMA in the 8088, programmers began to exploit the wrapping property of 8086 segmented addressing as a work-around to access the IDT directly from upper memory with fewer instructions.
In 1982, the Intel 80286 was released, which extended the logical address space (the apparent address space from the application program perspective) from 1 MB to 1 GB. A fundamental conflict now emerged: how to allow addressing of the new high memory area (HMA) while still supporting the wrap behavior from the 8088? By default, addresses would access the new memory region. But a single logic gate was also added that, when asserted, would disconnect the 21st address bit from the chipset. Masking this so-called A20 line resulted in the legacy wrap behavior (referred to as A20M). Intel QPI includes this as A20M in its VLW messaging treatment.
Yet another pin arrived with the 80386SL microprocessor, introduced in 1985. Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM's) purchase processors from Intel and use them as components in the computers delivered directly to consumers. The OEMs wished to differentiate their platforms by offering distinct features such as multiple sleep states for extending battery life and the ability to turn on fans. The solution chosen to allow for such differentiation was a special system management interrupt (SMI) that could bypass the operating system. SMI required a different implementation from existing interrupts: an additional pin from the chipset or motherboard to the socket. Thus the Intel QPI VLW messaging also includes provisions for the SMI signal.
A seemingly similar pin, #LOCK, relates to the overarching concept of atomicity, and thus merits unique treatment outside of VLW in the architecture of the Intel QuickPath Interconnect.
Consider a system without caches, like the 8086. It introduced the XCHG instruction which can exchange values between a register and a memory address. Doing so requires first a read of memory, and then a write to it. To make this an atomic mechanism -- where the entire operation occurs indivisibly – the protocol must prevent any other memory access from taking place in between. The FSB introduced the #LOCK signal to accomplish this. When a processor drove the #LOCK signal, all other bus agents stopped generating new transactions and completed their outstanding ones. The lock requester then performed its read and write, and finally released the lock.
With the introduction of caches, and in the common case of a semaphore (atomically accessed variable) within a single cache line, a processor no longer needed to grab the bus lock: it could read the cached data and postpone any subsequent snoops to that address until after the processor finished the write. Of course uncacheable transactions still required bus locks. They were also needed for another situation: split locks. Since the first systems lacked caches, programmers had no reason to align semaphores to the 64 B cache line size. This means that the address specified in a swap might actually spill over from the end of one cache line, A, to the beginning of another, B. Suppose two processors both want to XCHNG this line, but the first one already has A cached and the second already has B cached. If they both defer snoops until they get the other line, the system will deadlock. To prevent this, they instead compete to acquire the bus lock, which serializes the two transactions. Thus bus locks are used to guarantee forward progress for split locks as well.
Intel QPI removes the physical #LOCK pin but must still support locking functionality. It designates a single Quiesce Master for the entire system. When a processor wants to request a lock, it asks the Quiesce Master. The Quiesce Master then broadcasts the message StopReq1, telling all other agents to stop sending transactions, and waits to receive acknowledgements from all agents. If there are multiple IO agents, it must additionally issue a StopReq2 message to avoid a possible deadlock case. Since Direct Memory Access (DMA) permits IO agents to directly modify memory, the locking protocol must accommodate them in addition to processors. After the Quiesce Master receives the second round of acknowledgements, it informs the original requestor that the system is locked. The requestor performs its read and write, telling the Quiesce Master when done. Finally the Quiesce Master performs another two synchronizations, StartReq1 and StartReq2, permitting agents to begin issuing messages again. Figure 4 depicts an example of this flow.
This sledgehammer approach of draining all transactions from the system has severe performance implications, which only worsen as the system grows. Thus current software manuals recommend avoiding split locks. Nevertheless, Intel QPI must continue to support locks because software vendors often only remove legacy when updating code for other reasons. For example, an older boot loader that is not re-written from generation to generation will likely contain split locks.
On the other hand, sometimes legacy makes itself useful. Suppose a customer wants to dynamically update a system by hot swapping memory or adding a node. System software must update the Intel QPI fabric routing tables to take advantage of the changes. It can use this existing locking mechanism to perform a system quiesce, which stops all transactions in the system for the duration of the update.
Coherent and Non-Coherent Interactions
So far we have described coherent and non-coherent flows independently. Nevertheless, their overlap provides a point of particular interest in the architecture of the Intel QuickPath Interconnect.
The coherent flows described initially assumed normal memory addresses that can be cached on both reads and writes. In fact, the Intel 64 and IA-32 Architectures Software Developer's Manual specifies a variety of memory types with various caching behaviors. Ranges of memory addresses are defined with common caching characteristics. Uncacheable addresses cannot be cached by either reads or writes, while write-protected addresses can be cached by reads but not writes. Earlier we mentioned that Intel QPI typically assumes a write-back cache hierarchy, and we saw how permitting caching agents to keep copies of data different from that in main memory increased the protocol's workload. A fourth memory access type, write-combining, adds further complexity. This mechanism buffers groups of writes to a cache line and delivers them to the memory bus as a single lump. While faster than performing the writes singly, it has implications for memory ordering, the global sequence in which cores perceive their memory accesses to occur relative to one another.
Much as the accretion of several generations' quirks resulted in the Intel QPI A20M VLW message, many sources added over the years have also accumulated to control the typing of memory addresses. One example is Memory Type Range Registers (MTRRs), a software-defined, fixed set of typed ranges. A second is the System Address Decoder (SAD), which also resolves the actual destination of reads and writes, but from a hardware perspective. The Page Attribute Table (PAT) extended this to page-level granularity, while the Programmable Address Map (PAM) allows dynamic changes. To maintain legacy behavior, Intel QPI must support all of them, which can lead to some surprising interactions between the flows.
Consider as an example the PAM. It was introduced to speed boot-loading (BIOS shadowing), for component debug purposes. The idea was to allow fast transfer of data from FLASH to memory, and vice-versa. To do so, the PAM defined four memory configurations (shown in Table 4) with respect to behavior on reads and writes. The first corresponds to memory as we know it: both reads and writes target memory. The second superficially seems similar to MMIO: both reads and writes target IO. The key difference from MMIO is that instead of addressing data stored in the IO device, for PAM the data is logically located in coherent memory. The third and fourth PAM configurations are even more peculiar: in the third, reads target memory while writes target IO, and in the fourth reads target IO while writes target memory. Note that these all pertain to individual addresses, so PAM allows reads from and writes to the same address to have different sources and destinations. Furthermore, the PAM is an overlay for the SAD. Each agent has an individual SAD, including the IO. Unlike the core, however, the IO does not implement a PAM and instead is configured to always target reads and writes to coherent memory.
To understand the ramifications of this on Intel QPI, we must further detail the role of IO. In an Intel platform PCI Express (PCIe)v and Direct Media Interface (DMI) provide a common interface to the IO subsystem. Although both are defined as unordered and non-coherent, they do guarantee producer-consumer behavior, which simply means that reads see the effects of previous writes. To enforce this, reads are non-posted, which means they must complete before any writes do. In contrast, writes are posted, meaning they need not complete immediately. Reads push writes, forcing write completion.
The combination of these PCIe behaviors with the PAM definition results in the following possible deadlock scenario, when the PAM targets reads to IO:
- An IO agent begins a posted write to address x, which therefore targets memory. Unlike the MMIO case, in which the IO device performs the write locally, here the transaction goes to the caches. Since memory is coherent, the IO agent must issue snoops to ensure it maintains coherency on x.
- Before its snoop from the IO write arrives, a core reads address x, which initiates a read from IO.
- Due to the producer-consumer requirement, the IO agent must complete its write to x before it can service the read request to x. The write waits pending its snoop responses.
- Since the core has already issued its request for x, it defers its response to the IO's snoop and waits for its read to complete.
- The system has deadlocked.
The Intel QPI protocol avoids this by applying the following change. If the core is waiting for an outstanding read transaction from IO space and receives a snoop from IO space to the same address, it performs the snoop as though it had not yet issued its read request. For example, consider the case where the PAM was set to act like normal memory. Suppose the core read data m from that address, and modified it. Now the PAM has changed and the core is attempting to use the same address to read from IO. Intel QPI defines that the IO write's snoop will cause the core to write back m to its original memory location and then send the response write back invalid to the IO. This indicates that it wrote back the data and invalidated its own copy of the line. The IO completes its write and then services the core's read request. This demonstrates characteristics unique to the PAM, whereby an address may appear to exist in both memory and IO at once, and to be both coherent and non-coherent at the same time, from the perspective of different agents. In the example scenario, the core considered its read non-coherent, while the IO considered its write coherent. The reason why software would perform such an action is not straightforward, but since the situation can arise, the architecture of the Intel QuickPath Interconnect has a duty to provide a resolution.
In addition to this type of potentially accidental memory typing confusion, Intel QPI also allows explicit non-coherent software requests to known coherent memory. In this situation, the protocol transfers the responsibility for correctness to the software.
Protocol Dependencies
A few words about protocol dependencies conclude the discussion of the protocol layer. With so many message types traversing the topology, the architecture of the Intel QuickPath Interconnect defines rules to guarantee the eventual completion of every transaction. These rules characterize a transaction flow as a sequence of messages, and delimit constraints on the behavior of each message as part of the flow. Two types of dependencies exist. Flow control dependencies simply state that an agent cannot sink a message until it acquires the credits to pass it on. The definition of how messages may proceed through the enumerated message classes precludes loops. Handshake or message dependencies govern how an agent replies to a message. These rules do not affect the forward progress of in-flight messages; they pertain only to initiating new responses. Some agents must sink messages without depending on anything else; they do so via internal buffering and the credit scheme. Other agents merely delay responding until they have collected the credits they need to handle the request.


text:
With just one day of freedom from her court-ordered stint at Betty Ford, Lindsay Lohan found time to fire off a tweet for her fans.
"RT @TomCruise: RT @KimmieC88: @TomCruise Every passing minute is another chance to turn it all around. Sofia~Vanilla Sky. LOVE this quote!" came over the mercurial star's twitter feed around midnight on Thanksgiving night.
Lohan has been holed up at the famed rehab clinic in Rancho Mirage, Calif., since October, punishment for failing a drug test that was part of her probation as a result of a 2007 DUI conviction. But for one day, Lohan was allowed to roam free with family and friends, according to TMZ.
U.S. & World
This brief respite from Betty Ford comes just days after she lost the role of Linda Lovelace in the forthcoming biopic, "Inferno," based on the notorious porn star's autobiography. Producers have given the role to Malin Akerman.
Lohan hopes to be allowed to leave rehab until in early January.


text:
The Most Awarded SUV Ever
Force Of Nature
The Next Level Of Performance
Pretend No More
Modern Adventure
Born to Be Wild
Coming Soon
Drive into the Spotlight.
Less Talk, More Power
Delivering standards in power and efficiency, the 3.2L Pentastar® V6 Engine provides an impressive 200kW of power and 315Nm of torque when paired with our nine-speed automatic transmission.
Roll Out
What good is speed without a little style? 18-inch gloss black aluminum wheels entice you to take the Cherokee Night Eagle out for more than just a spin.
Off the Rails
Seamlessly switch from on-road to off-road adventure thanks to handy gloss black roof rails. When properly equipped with available Jeep® Performance Parts accessories, you can strap on luggage, bicycles, kayaks or anything else you need to make the most of your journey.
Subtle in its boldness, the exterior badging on the Cherokee Night Eagle is gloss black, adding understated yet polished style.
Stay Connected
The next generation of Uconnect® technology is here. The 8.4-inch Uconnect features Apple CarPlay® support, Android Auto™* and Bluetooth® capabilities.
The leather-wrapped steering wheel is accented with piano black finishes and features audio controls so you can conveniently change your soundtrack to suit your mood.
Overseas models may be shown. Not all features shown may be available in Australia and/or are available at an additional cost. For the full details, please contact Osborne Park Jeep.
The best way to experience the Grand Cherokee Night Eagle is with a test drive.
We're here to help you with your car financing needs.
Get the very latest brochure on the Grand Cherokee Night Eagle.
Want to know more from the team at Osborne Park Jeep? Get in touch with us!
474 Scarborough Beach Road
Osborne Park WA 6017
Phone: 08 9442 7555
© Osborne Park Jeep 2020
LMCT9261 Aut 6 Pty Ltd


text:
Like, legit - it's coming down so much you can hear it out there. It's such a beautiful sound. Gorgeous!
While I really can't stand the winter, big dumpings of snow just make me feel like a kid again. It reminds me of the big snow days in Owen Sound, where I grew up, where the snow was clearly 100 feet deep. And, it's true, we jumped off of our 2nd story deck, into the snow below. And Did sliced her head open (funnyyyy). We also walked barefoot in the snow to school, in our father's pajamas, uphill both ways. Legit.
I've met my match, though, people. TheGuy? He loves it more than I do.
Although he typically takes half an hour of constant prodding to wake up, today, 40 minutes earlier than his usual wake up time, he blinked at me and said "did it snow?" I was all "yeah!!!!!! It snowed a LOT!"
He leaped out of bed like a child on Christmas morning, threw on some clothes, ran downstairs, and headed directly outside, gleefully shoveling off the car, remarking on how "the snow is up to the bottom of the cars!", and "the snow is at least 20 centimetres! Don't you think it's 20 centimetres?" He was in heaven.
Then, when we finally hit the road, we pulled onto the road and he exclaimed happily:
"Ooooooooh, it pays to have standard, baby! I'm in CHARGE! I'm a God! I'm the God of the Road."
Happy snow day!


text:
It is with much sadness that I confirm that the current season of World Club Cricket will be the last. When I took over control again I always had a plan to put in for three seasons and then re-asses where the game was going, based on feedback from all the managers that I recieved a few months ago I was positive about the direction however it has become obvious that the game will not evolve into anything more than it is now.
I have had a great time not just over the last year and a half; but since 2002 when I first became involved. WCC set the standard for what was expected of an online simulation on Cricketweb and I'm proud of the enjoyment that so many people have gotten from it. It has been a lot of hard work running it by myself in recent times, as has been mentioned by other guys to have run it in the past it's almost like having a second full-time job, I have to thank Luffy for the times he's helped out and a few of the other guys such as Stephen and Kyle who have also been good for the odd suggestion or two.
There are a number of major factors as to why I am calling the end to it now, first and foremost I'm getting married next year and I'm also likely to be getting a promotion at work so I'll be working longer and harder hours. While I feel i could commit to another season I think there has been a bit of a lull lately and it seems the right time. Also the growth of games like From the Pavilion and Batrick has meant that a game like WCC has become redunant, you only have to look at sims like ICC or Cricket Coach and you can see why WCC has struggled to attract new members. With those sorts of games there are instant results and constant interaction, something that WCC has always strived for but never been able to deliver.
Thanks to all the managers who have put in over the past three seasons, I hope you have enjoyed the game and will stick around for the final few weeks of the season, most teams still have something to play for and a final WCC trohpy would be a good ending.


text:
FACD brauchte ein neues Logo Design und hat einen Wettbewerb auf 99designs gestartet.
Aus 160 Designs von 49 Designern wurde eine Gewinner gewählt.
Florida Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry
Mission statement: The Florida Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry is dedicated to advancing the Science and Art of cosmetic dentistry for its members and their patients in the state of Florida.
Vision Statement: Specifically, the FACD was founded to support the following fundamental goals for member dentists and their patients:
•Dissemination of information on the latest techniques in cosmetic dentistry.
•Provide educational opportunities for member dentists and their support team to advance the standard of patient care in Florida.
•Encourage and promote high standards of ethical conduct and patient care.
•Promote public awareness of advances in the dynamic field of cosmetic dentistry.
This is a very high tech group of cosmetic dentists that are passionate about the cosmetic dentistry industry. They are edgy and sophisticated. They are young, fresh and always looking for the wow factor in the industry. They are always looking to take the academy to the next level.
FACD is looking to target other cosmetic dentists that are not members of the organization that they want to become members of the academy. They are also looking to show awareness to the consumer as to who the Florida Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry is and why the dentist that they use should be part of the academy and why they as the consumer should ask their dentist if they are not part of the academy; why they are not. It is not an age factor. We are looking to target both non-members of the academy, the consumer and also students that are getting ready to graduate from dental school or that have already recently graduated.
A cool, edgy and techinical symbol! So, this group is pretty open to letting the designers be creative. Keep in mind that this is an edgy group and they are very high tech. Where most people are sending e-newletters this group is doing video newsletters and have been for sometime. One thing that they DO NOT want is teeth in the logo. That is not the look that they are going for nor will it appeal to their market. These members of the academy are the best cosmetic dentists in the world and they do not conside themselves typical dentists. They are the cream of the crop and they have knowledge and talent that few have in the world. This academy is not just about making another pretty smile; this group takes it to the level of making that pretty smile look completely natural. Make it edgy and make this logo have the pop factor, something that makes you look at it and go WOW, and something that people will remember. No matter where they see it people will know and say "oh, that is the Florida Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry"; that is the academy to be part of. FACD represents the hottest in educational opportunites; which is offered at their Annual Scientific Session.
Old Log attached - its boring!
Need the logos in the following format: JPG, EPS and PDF. Absolutely NO clip art please. No old fonts, nothing cartoonish.
Last requirement: Make this logo, edgy, hot, explosive, high tech and high energy.
Finden Sie heraus, wie ein Designwettbewerb funktioniert, oder lernen Sie mehr über unsere Logo-Design-Angebote.


text:
Reconfiguring Korea
Busy market street, Pusan, c. 1953. Photo by Roger Marshutz. PM 2003.17.3132.
Roger Marshutz's Photographs of Pusan,
February 15, 2006–September 2006
As the Korean war (1950–1953) drew to a close and South Korea began to rebuild, American GI Roger Marshutz was stationed in Pusan to photograph U.S. reconstruction efforts. In his spare time, Marshutz also wandered the streets, documenting the daily life of Korean civilians.
Reconfiguring Korea offers both an official and unofficial look at U.S.–South Korean relations, as well as a portrait of a country in the midst of enormous political, economic, and cultural transformation.
Curated by Chong Bum Kim and Ilisa Barbash.