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Part of every financial plan should include planning ahead for our clients long-term care (LTC) needs, especially at the earliest possible time when your clients have the greatest number of options available to them.
Some of our clients have experience dealing with the significant financial, physical and emotional impact of a caregiving situation; others have not had this experience and may believe either the government or their kids will take care of them.
So as we complete a needs analysis with our clients, what are some of the issues we may want to review?
Age and health: The earlier your clients address long-term care the more options they will have available to them and the more affordable those options could be. Many professionals believe that 40 to 55 is the best age range to begin. Why? First, the younger they are the less expensive the premiums for a long-term care policy would be, and second, the younger your clients are when they apply the better chance they are to get a preferred rate.
Addressing financial risk: Long-term care could present a significant risk to your clients' financial status at a time when they can't replace the assets they would use for long-term care or the income those assets could produce for them. By including long-term projections in your clients' financial planning you help address the potential impact on their assets and income in later years. In other words, by comparing the cost of care today and what these cost might be at the time they may need them the most, 20 to 30 years out, your clients can make a more informed planning decision. What's the likelihood of needing long-term care? According to a 2005 study by Milliman USA, out of 1,000 65-year-old policyholders:
- 449 will get LTC services
- 106 will get LTC for > 2 years
- 59 will get LTC for > 3 years
- 34 will get LTC for > 4 years
- 20 will get LTC for > 5 years
Putting wishes and concerns in writing: While most people focus on the financial risk associated with needing care it is also critical for your clients to consider talking to their children and family about the things that matter most to them when it comes to needing care. Such as:
- A) Where do they want to be when care is needed, at home as long as possible, assisted living, custodial care, or when the time comes, skilled nursing care.
- B) Who will provide the care: spouse (depending on their age at the time and physical/emotional ability); children (impact on their spouse, working or not, children at home, physical/emotional ability); or an outside person. Would they feel comfortable having that outside person care for them?
Budget issues: Regardless of your client's age there are a variety of financial priorities to focus on. Long-term care doesn't have to be a have-it-or-not decision. You can help them design the level of coverage they are most comfortable with and that will meet the changing needs they are willing to address. Whether they pay a monthly premium, annual premium or reposition funds from a CD or other non-active asset that they don't need to live on into a SPIA (single premium immediate annuity) and using that income to pay the premium on their policy, preserving their assets and giving them choices can be accomplished.
There are many plans on the market, so pick a carrier that specializes in the market, one who has a long claims history, that is experienced at pricing in this market and one that has been around for some time. Plan flexibility and features abound in the industry, making coverage available for most clients regardless of budget.
Rather than ignoring the risk, help your clients choose and put some level of protection in place. Having a pool of money in place helps protect their assets and the income from those assets against the risk of needing to fund long-term care at a time when they can little afford the expenditure.
Living longer increases the likelihood our clients will need some form of care as they age, the questions I ask my clients are:
- "As you get older do you think you get more healthy or less healthy?"
- "What matters most to you, having a say in how care is provided or what care is provided?"
- "If how care is provided is important, in other words, you want the financial freedom to choose care in your home, in assisted living or some other less constrictive form of care, without having to spend down the assets you have at the time you need care, would it make sense to put a plan in place now?"
Helping our clients deal with risk that they are most concerned about, now and in the future, is what being a professional advisor is all about.
For more from Lloyd Lofton, see:


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Back in January and February, I reviewed 30 minor league prospects, and made some predictions. With the season over at the Minor League level and nearly over at the Major League level, I figured now was a great time to look back at how I did.
Carlos Santana (CLE)
I predicted back in January that Santana would spend the majority of the season in AAA, and would post the following line: .285/.400/.520 – 25 doubles, 25 homeruns, 95 rbi (AAA). How did his numbers end up looking? .316/.447/.597 – 13 doubles, 13 home runs, 51 RBI (AAA), and .260/.401/.467 – 13 doubles, 6 home runs, 22 rbi at the Majors. And that was only in approximately 100 games total as he suffered that season-ending knee injury blocking the plate. I think that had he stayed in AAA all year, he would have clearly blown through these numbers, and could very well have reached some of these numbers in the Majors as well.
Mike Stanton (FLA)
I thought that Stanton would spend the full season down at AA, believing that the Marlins would not rush to move Stanton too fast and start his arbitration clock too soon. I forgot that the Marlins only sort of concern themselves with the arbitration clock. They were looking for some power, and called him up straight from AA. My prediction for him back in January: .265/.355/.500, 27 hr, 90 rbi (AA). His actual AA numbers: .313/.442/.729, 21 hr, 52 rbi in just 53 games. And also .241/.317/.500, 20 hr, 51 rbi in the Majors. I think that the strikeouts remain a huge concern for Stanton, but the power is most definitely legitimate.
Shelby Miller (STL)
Miller was a very difficult prospect for me to review at the time, simply because he had hardly any innings pitched as a professional. I predicted back then that he would post the following line in the minors: 5-3, 3.50 ERA, 70 IP, 75 K, 35 BB. I didn't predict a level, and find it a bit odd that I didn't. His actual line at Single-A: 7-5, 3.62 ERA, 104.1 IP, 140 K, 33 BB. Clearly, both John Sickels and Baseball America knew what they were seeing with him.
Michael Pineda (SEA)
Pineda really profiled to me as a potential candidate for growth, and to me seems to be one of my best calls. I thought he would post the following: 8-5, 2.70 era, 150 k/35 bb, between High-A and AA. Much too conservative, as the Mariners started him at AA and he earned a midseason move to AAA. His AA line: 8-1, 2.22 ERA, 78 k/17 bb in 77 IP. His AAA line: 3-3, 4.76 ERA, 76 k/17 bb in 62.1 IP. I think he's going to start next season in the Mariners' rotation.
Buster Posey (SFG)
I thought that Posey would start the season in the Majors, and it appears that the Giants may end up regret not doing so. My prediction: .280/.370/.500 – 20 homeruns, 75 rbi. His actual numbers: .321/.369/.516, 15 homeruns, 62 rbi in 98 games. So another prediction where I was too conservative. In my opinion, Posey's one of only two candidates for the NL Rookie of the Year award.
Jesus Montero (NYY)
I figured that Montero would start the season in AA, and eventually make his way to AAA during the season. The line to go with that: .330/.385/.530, 25 homers, 90 rbi. What actually happened was that the Yankees sent him to AAA, and while he got off to a slow start, ended up finishing his season pretty strong: .289/.353/.517, 21 homers, 75 rbi. I think that he's likely to be with the big club next season providing he can get regular playing time at catcher.
Derek Norris (WAS)
Norris missed a lot of time this season due to a wrist injury, and clearly this prediction wasn't going to happen as a result: .280/.410/.500, 22 homeruns, 80 RBI. The wrist injury appears to have sapped him some, as he hit .235/.419/.419 with 12 homeruns and 49 RBI. I think that next season he will start the season at AA, and it is very telling that the Nationals have already converted top pick Bryce Harper to the outfield.
Eric Hosmer (KC)
I wrote back in January that it was too early to give up on Hosmer, and that the Lasik procedure he had during the offseason could help him. Whether or not it did, my prediction ended up a bit underwhelming: .275/.380/.480, 15 homeruns, 70 rbi (A/High-A/AA) He actually hit well over .354/.429/.545 with 7 homeruns and 51 rbi at High-A, and then continued the excellent hitting at AA with a .313/.365/.615 line and 13 homeruns and 35 rbi. He seems likely to start 2011 in AAA, and could see a call up during the season at some point.
Jordan Lyles (HOU)
After reviewing Lyles during the offseason, I really, really liked what I saw out of him. My prediction: 9 – 6, 3.40 ERA, 150 IP, 165 K, 40 BB (Split between High-A and AA). He did end up splitting time between AA and AAA this season, posting a 7-12 record with a 3.57 ERA, 158.2 IP, 137 K, 46 BB. Clearly a more impressive performance than I had originally envisioned. I think he will spend a majority of 2011 at AAA, as the Astros are really unlikely to compete significantly next year.
Trevor Reckling (LAA)
I really thought Reckling would do better than he did, but I did mention that the control issues concerned me. My prediction initially: 11 – 8, 3.35 era, 170 innings pitched, 155 strikeouts, 55 walks. His actual numbers: 7-13, 6.42 era, 148 2/3 innings pitched, 108 strikeouts, 85 walks. He started the season at AAA, and was actually demoted to AA to finish the season. This was a completely lost season for Reckling, and until he can prove he won't walk so many batters, he'll probably remain at AA.


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Artifice and Indeterminacy gathers the strongest and most representative writings of the past two decades and shows more clearly than ever before the depth and breadth of contemporary American poetics. Collectively, these essays break with conventional interpretive frameworks and traditional generic boundaries of poetry to give fresh voice to the poetics of our time.
Section 1: Form/Syntax/Speech
Charles Bernstein
Bob Perelman
Barrett Watten
Michael Davidson
Marjorie Perloff
Section 2: Pattern/Experience/Song
David Antin
Leslie Scalapino
Lyn Hejinian
John Taggart
Section 3: Institutions and Ideology
James Sherry
Ron Silliman
Steve McCaffery
Hank Lazer
Nathaniel Mackey
Maria Damon
Section 4: Poetics and Gender
Rae Armantrout
Rachel Blau DuPlessis
Susan Howe


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The 148cm Sophie Storage dressing bench in Charcoal is loved for the inclusion of a discreet boutique storage solution. It works beautifully to add elegance and practicality to either the end of your Queen or King size bed or commonly positioned in a hallway or grand entrance. Designed with the added easy open lift top, to store a lap rug, magazines or precious pieces – this dressing bench will highlight good taste and cater to your storage needs.
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We use this bench in our entryway for removing shoes and storing school bags. Practical and beautiful all in one. Love it.
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The end of the Baratheon rivalry drives Catelyn to flee and Littlefinger to act. At King's Landing, Tyrion's source alerts him to Joffrey's flawed defense plan and a mysterious secret weapon. Theon sails to the Stony Shore to prove he's worthy to be called Ironborn. In Harrenhal, Arya receives a promise from Jaqen H'ghar, one of three prisoners she saved from the Gold Cloaks. The Night's Watch arrive at the Fist of the First Men, an ancient fortress where they hope to stem the advance of the wildling army.
This is quite a packed episode since it reconnects with almost every established location and significant character to date. It also includes some quite major developments; as you will recall, last week's episode ended on quite the cliffhanger and this week you don't have to wait long for the payoff. This is a time to remember that when you play the Game of Thrones, you win or you die. Of course, that never seems to stop new players from entering the game and setting their sights on being the king—or queen—of Westeros.
In King's Landing, Tyrion finds out that for some reason his efforts at a more reasonable rule are going unnoticed by the populace of the city. They are none too pleased with their current conditions and he makes an excellent target for their anger. Still, he wants to do what he can to keep the city safe and to improve their chances in the war he ends up making a visit to the Pyromancers. Their leader, Hallyne, explains the properties of the so-called substance with much enthusiasm, though Tyrion seems rightfully wary.
On the Iron Islands, Theon is introduced to his new ship and his new crew, and while he likes the look of the former he finds the latter less to his tastes. But one of the men is at least inclined to both speak and listen to him and together they hatch a new plan which Theon hopes will improve his prospects.
Rescued from the frightening captivity that she was kept in last we saw her, Arya now serves Lord Tywin as his cupbearer at Harrenhal, a position which allows her to see and hear a great many things. She also ends up having a very interesting conversation about mortality with Lord Tywin…
Beyond the Wall, the Night's Watch reach the Fist of the First Men and get a fabulous look at their snowy surroundings while they wait to see where all the wildlings are. We also get to meet a famous old ranger who delivers word about what they need to do next.
Finally, Daenerys is treated to Qartheen hospitality and introduced to a certain blue-lipped warlock while a mysterious woman in a mask watches her and speaks a dire warning to Ser Jorah.


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Hey All,
I'm having an issue in php. I have a zip file that is uploaded to the server. I need to unzip the file and then play with it's contents.
If I manually ssh onto the server via www-data (the same user account as apache runs in), I can type
# unzip -u base.zip -d /full/dest/path
And all of the zip files contents are decompressed. BUT if I have my php code run
exec('unzip -u base.zip -d /full/dest/path');
some of the files from the zip file are unzipped but others are outright missing from the destination directory. The code continues to process after the exec() statement and there are no errors in the apache log files.
ANY HELP would greatly be appreciated.


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Representatives of Britain's Vestey Group, whose large Venezuelan cattle ranch is targeted in a government land reform drive, Wednesday rejected charges that it left land idle and illegally held public property.
CARACAS, Venezuela Representatives of Britain's Vestey Group, whose large Venezuelan cattle ranch is targeted in a government land reform drive, Wednesday rejected charges that it left land idle and illegally held public property.
In its first response to government plans to inspect its El Charcote farm as part of a program to redistribute land to the poor, a Vestey subsidiary said it owned the property and complained its ranch had been overrun by squatters.
Venezuelan authorities plan to send troops and police Saturday to carry out a survey of the 32,000-acre El Charcote farm as part of left-wing President Hugo Chavez's campaign for agrarian reform.
Agroflora, the Vestey subsidiary that operates El Charcote in central Cojedes state, said it would welcome the measure to prove it owned the land and to show that pro-Chavez squatters had taken over parts of its property.
"We will accept this intervention process, providing it is legal, in order to show the land is not idle and to show El Charcote farm has been illegally invaded," the company said in a statement printed in a national newspaper.
"El Charcote farm is private property in accordance with Venezuelan law," it added.
Vestey, a privately owned British company, has extensive cattle ranching operations in Latin America.
Chavez's rural reform project has stirred fears of possible expropriation of private estates in the world's No. 5 oil exporter, which had been rocked by conflict over the populist leader's rule until he won an August referendum.
Under the 2001 land reform law, the government can take over plots judged unproductive or idle and redistribute them. The law says landowners must be compensated, but farmers fear the reforms are threatening property rights and investment.
El Charcote was one of several private estates named in recent government decrees calling for state intervention in idle land. Authorities say the farm is using at least 8,650 acres of state land and is not in proper production.
Agroflora, one of the country's largest beef producers, says 80 percent of its land is taken by squatters. It said on Wednesday it had property titles dating back to 1830 that had already been accepted as legal by Venezuelan authorities.
The British government has urged Venezuela to resolve the invasion disputes at the farm.
Elected in 1998, Chavez has vowed to use the nation's oil wealth to finance social programs to reverse years of inequality. He says millions of acres of land are idle. But critics say his policies are slowly edging Venezuela toward a Cuba-style communist state.
Source: Reuters


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Art Deco 230 x 160cm Rug - Cream/Purple/Multi
A quality made rug for $!
6mm height pile | Great for a number of rooms!
Durable and hardwearing | Set to roll out fast!
Please note: this item will be posted individually. It can not be posted to a PO Box, so please ensure your address details, complete with contact number, are updated in your account. And postage is on us!
You really can't go past a quality-made rug and this one could be just what you're after! These rugs are great and sport designs that are sure to style up a wide variety of living spaces!
- Quality rug
- Size: 230 x 160cm
- Colour: Black/greyCream/purple
- Perfect for styling up a wide variety of rooms in your home
- Machine made
- 6mm high pile
- Hardwearing
- Easy to maintain
- Materials: Polypropylene
- Country of origin: n/a
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The Professional Tools for geriatric evaluation and management in primary care, previously hosted on the Merck Institute of Aging and Health Web site, are now at www.gericareonline.net
This new site is currently under development. If you are unable to access it immediately, please try back within a few days.
Message dated: April 1, 2006


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|Creased T-shirt Styles for Women - Shopzilla Clothing Guide Women's Clothing Women's Shirts & Blouses Women's T-shirts Women's T-shirt Styles
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The Glory of the Restoration
Christ Jesus our Lord is God's agent of renewal, the one through whom the Spirit is poured out and whose work on the cross redeems creation. But we cannot benefit from this work, nor can we see Jesus as the ...Read More
The Little Apocalypse
The final judgment in today's chapter was predicted to come after the exile of Israel and Judah. We live on the other side of this exile, though the New Testament does not foresee it coming to its full and final ...Read More
Egypt and Assyria Serve the Lord
Today's passage also speaks of an altar to God in the midst of Egypt (Isa. 19:19). Matthew Henry sees this as pointing to the worship of God in spirit and truth in all places as Jesus describes in John 4:21–24: ...Read More
A Blessedness No One has Imagined
Scholars have long debated whether the original Hebrew of today's passage is better translated "virgin" or "young woman." This is a worthy debate, but if we are not careful, we could miss this key point: just as the son born ...Read More
When Good and Evil are Confused
John Calvin comments on today's passage: "If a woe is here pronounced even on private individuals, when they say of evil that it is good, and of good that it is evil, how much more on those who have been ...Read More
The LORD's Glorious Branch
When we come to the New Testament, we find that the unexpected—from our perspective—has happened. The latter days of judgment and blessing have been extended for many years, with the Lord's blessing being emphasized through the preaching of the gospel ...Read More
The Latter Days
Today's passage is ultimately fulfilled in Christ, the temple of God who is exalted over all the nations (Mark 14:58; John 2:13–22). How much of this Isaiah clearly understood is hard to say, but he knew for sure that his ...Read More
The Vision of Isaiah
God often causes His people to prosper materially, so we may enjoy the fruit of our godly labors. However, material abundance can be dangerous because, if we are not careful, we can forget the Source of all blessings and trust ...Read More
Israel, the Son of God
New Testament fulfillment language does not always mean a prophet directly saw an aspect of Jesus' ministry. When the Apostles say Christ fulfilled a prophecy, they sometimes mean that He is the true realization of a particular old covenant theme ...Read More
Reaping the Whirlwind
Scripture teaches in several places that God will give people the desires of their hearts. For the Christian, this is a blessing, for as we delight ourselves in the Lord, our desires will more and more line up with God's ...Read More


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These reports show market demand data for residential new home building products, average per-home purchase data, market size, and a five-year forecast for the new residential construction industry. The Soffit and Fascia report contains a summary of purchase volume in units for a variety of soffit and fascia materials in each of the 50 states. Market shares are also reported separately for Single Family Detached homes for each of 32 geographic areas of the United States and Multifamily dwellings for each of the nine Census Divisions. Product categories reported include:
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We've got remodeling data too! Each year, Home Innovation Labs surveys 60,000 U.S. and Canadian households to document their home maintenance, repair, and remodeling purchases. With 30 categories of remodeling reports one is sure to fit your needs.
Call to speak with one of our market research experts about a custom report.
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Erik Parker has described his work as "fragmented samples of our culture." A Texas native, Parker is known for his figurative paintings of disembodied, twisted heads that ooze vivid color and recede into themselves as much as they explode outwardly into the space around them.
Filtering Byexhibition X X
Born in 1943 at Fort Worth's Harris Hospital, Vernon Fisher is one of Texas's most internationally recognized artists. He has lived and worked in Fort Worth since 1977. Fisher received a BA in English literature from Hardin-Simmons University in 1967 and an MFA from the University of Illinois in 1969. Influenced by artists such as Edward Ruscha and John Baldessari, Fisher constructs visual narratives, combining images and language in a wide range of media.
American-born artist Ben Jones' work investigates new methods of pictorial storytelling in the digital age. An interdisciplinary artist working in video, sculpture, painting, light painting and drawing, his artworks and installations evoke environments and themes both familiar and bizarre.
Gabriel Acevedo Velarde is a multicultural, multimedia artist who creates narratives in which autobiography, history and fiction are intertwined. The artist was born in Lima, Peru; received his BFA in Puebla, Mexico; attended film school in Mexico City; and currently lives in Berlin, Germany. Having these different cultural viewpoints has informed his perspective on how individuality is created in a global society. His experimental videos and installations explore the notion of identity and its evolution through the use of social parables.
Andy Warhol: The Last Decade features nearly 50 works by Warhol and examines how he simultaneously worked with the screened image and pursued a reinvention of painting in his late work. Created amidst the bustle of Warhol's Pop celebrity, the works included illustrate the artist's vitality, energy, and renewed spirit of experimentation. During those final years, Warhol produced more works, in a greater number of series, than at any other time.
The work of Norwegian-born Gardar Eide Einarsson often explores the complex relationship between individuals and institutions, and the painful limits of transgressing society-imposed boundaries.
The artist also has an interest in commonly used graphics and signs and how we collectively read and relate to them. Logo, 2008, for example, is an eerie black-and-white representation of the HSBC bank's logo, conveying a dark and apt take on the banking industry.
Susan Rothenberg and Michael Auping, the Chief Curator at the Modern, have identified a select group of paintings—from the early horse paintings of the mid-1970s, to her most recent body of work, which explores a number of central motifs that have occurred throughout her 35-year career.
William Kentridge: Five Themes, a comprehensive survey of the contemporary South African artist's work, features more than 75 works in a range of media—including animated films, drawings, prints, theater models, sculptures, and books. The exhibition is co-organized by SFMOMA and the Norton Museum of Art in West Palm Beach, Florida, and curated by Mark Rosenthal, adjunct curator of contemporary art at the Norton Museum of Art, in close collaboration with the artist.
Painter and native Texan Rosson Crow's upcoming FOCUS exhibition features her large-scale, vivid depictions of nostalgia-laden interiors that blend aspects of history with theatricality. Interior spaces are the foundation upon which Crow constructs her hotly colored, dripping tableaus. Often including Modernist architectural triumphs, and/or places with mythic backstories, Crow's subjects range from Los Angeles's Koenig House to Fort Worth's White Elephant Saloon.
As a young painter in the mid-1980s, Texas-based artist Jeff Elrod focused on creating ironic works that addressed American postwar abstraction. "I was conflicted," the artist explains, "I was trying to find a clever way to approach painting because I felt like it wasn't acceptable to earnestly make abstract work, even though I was earnest about it. I was searching for a relevant form of present-day American abstraction—for a while I collaborated with another artist, and then I made paintings that were components of larger installations.


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I expected to find a few unpleasant ends as I started to dig into causes of death, but have been surprised by the volume and variety, especially the number of people who managed to get themselves "squished". A body in a garden and death by burning nightie also add to the macabre tales.
As with all working class families back in the late 1800's and early 1900's there is also a high level of TB or similar illnesses and a high infant mortality rate. Several of the baby deaths caused considerable confusion in the research as the names were reused a couple of years later for younger siblings. Careful research is needed to ensure the right number of offspring
Some of the causes of death shown on certificates are well known, others are a little more obscure and I have had to look up the medical definitions. I have to admit that we had a laugh about the one which stated cause of death as "dropped down dead". I am wondering whether the doctor was too baffled to say more or just too lazy to find out what really happened.
We also have our share of war deaths which I intend to cover at a later date.
I plan to start the gruesome ends narrative with some of those who did not die of natural causes. From a combination of death certificates, inquest information and newspaper articles I have gleaned some more detailed information which I plan to share about these untimely deaths:
- Ann Roden Turner – died of burns in her teens
- Raymond Barker – crushed by pit tubs in his teens
- Robert Crackett – run over by steam traction engine, age 8
- William Adam – drowned in his teens while playing and ignoring the tide
- Andrew Oliver – crushed by a stone from the roof while stilling working in the mines at age 71
- John Henderson (1811 – 1874) – drowned in a river on his way home from the pub
- John Henderson (1860-1898) – drowned in Amble harbour and washed out to sea
So watch this space for more information about how they met their demise……


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In a weeks time European Football Weekends will join 75,000 fans in the Olympiastadion to watch Hertha take on Union in the Berlin derby. David Tunnicliffe, an Englishman living in Germany, gives us the heads up on the history, or lack of it, between these two great teams.....
As Die Welt put it in September last year in the run up to the first ever competitive meeting between Union Berlin and Hertha Berlin, this is a "derby with no history". To wrap it up in a sentence, it's all to do with where the two clubs are from: Union Berlin are based in the district of Köpenick which was formerly a part of East Berlin, capital city of the German Democratic Republic whilst Hertha originate from Charlottenburg in the north-west of the city and were a part of West Berlin and therefore West Germany.
When you think of city derbies you immediately think of pure hatred, passion, constant oneupmanship, but in Berlin everything was different. During the times of a divided Germany, East Germans were, of course, not permitted to travel to the West unless under special circumstances. The same did not apply the other way round, however, and it was often the case that Hertha BSC fans would make the journey over to Köpenick to watch Union Berlin matches or they would travel to away games elsewhere in the GDR together. Union fans would also accompany their Hertha counterparts if Hertha played a European match somewhere where the dear old SED ruling party actually them allowed to travel (in other words, anywhere east of the Iron Curtain). When Germany was reunited in 1990, the teams even played a friendly in the Olympiastadion which attracted over 50,000 spectators. The fans stood together, drank together and sung together. Further friendlies followed through the 90s, followed by regular matches for Union against Hertha's amateur team throughout the 2000s as the former meandered their way through the 3rd, 4th and even 5th tiers trying to avoid going bust. Perhaps Union Berlin's most famous and memorable match at the Olympiastadion did not even involve Hertha: On 26th May 2001, they contested the final of the DFB-Pokal as a third tier team against Schalke 04, losing 2-0.
As the respective country's leagues developed in the late 50s and 60s, the Bundesliga in the West and the Oberliga in the East, rivalries obviously developed at the same time. Ask 99% of Union Berlin fans who they believe their arch-rivals are and they'll say BFC Dynamo, or Dynamo Berlin as they are more commonly known. This rivalry developed from the fact that Erich Mielke, the then Minister for State Security (or Head of the Stasi) happened to be a BFC fan and 'helped' them along the way to 10 GDR Oberliga titles in row between 1979-1988, which was a record. BFC are now in the 5th tier and this season are enjoying a couple of 'derbies' against Union's reserve team. As for Hertha's rivals, being 200km from the rest of the country was certainly not conducive to the development of any territorial rivalries during the GDR/FRG times. There is a strong dislike of Schalke 04 dating back to the 70s, although no-one really knows why. Some say it's because Hertha were forcibly relegated from the Bundesliga in 1964/65 for cash payments and illegal bonuses whereas Schalke were allowed to remain in the division after committing the same crime in 1971. They do have a fan friendship (something which is kind of difficult for an English football fan to understand, I must admit) with Karlsruher SC resulting in games between the two being some kind of mass singalong love-in.
In more recent times, the Union and Hertha had not really considered the thought of playing seeing as Hertha had been Bundesliga stalwarts since the mid-90s with a succession of top-ten finishes whilst Union flirted between the 2. Bundesliga, the third-tier and the fourth tier during the same period. Even when Hertha had financial troubles (something they have still not shaken off) in the early 90s and went down, Union were nowhere to be seen and as Union took home the inaugural 3. Liga title in 2008/09, that was the season Hertha were battling for the title and only missed out on Champions League qualification on the final day of the season. For Hertha, the following season was a nightmare. They quickly sank to the bottom of the Bundesliga and stayed there for the rest of the season. Once Union secured their 2. Bundesliga status with a 3:0 victory over Arminia Bielefeld with a couple of games to spare, the fans could really start looking forward to "the derby with no history".
In June the fixtures were released and the matchday was set for the first 'true' Berlin derby in 60 years and the first competitive fixture between the two in a national league. The game would take place on the weekend of 18th /19th September and Union advertised season tickets with the slogan "The only way to guarantee a ticket for the derby". In fact, I know of Hertha BSC fans who bought season tickets at Union Berlin just to be sure of a ticket for this match. It was surely going to be a sell-out and the Union board knew this. There were rumours of the game being switched to the Olympiastadion, something which would have netted Union an estimated additional € 1m in gate receipts. Fans were understandably not happy. The first reason was purely that they would be sacrificing home advantage for the sake of business and the second was that it was the fans themselves who had voluntarily devoted over 16,000 working hours during the 2008/2009 season to completely redevelop the aging Alte Försterei stadium in order to make it fit for a second division side. Sure enough, during a pre-season friendly, it was announced that the game would take place in Köpenick.
The build up to the match was intense to say the least. It was almost as if the first three games of the season didn't count – this was the big one. Indeed Union probably wished the first three indeed hadn't counted, as they lost 2 and drew 1. Hertha had won all 3 and were joint top but, despite the form coming into the match, a cracking match finished honours even. The Ultras of both groups of fans both put on impressive displays, with the Hertha fans unveiling a banner echoing the words of Ernst Reuter, mayor of Berlin at the time of the Soviet blockade after the Second World War, roughly translated as "People of the world, look at this city". Union fans played on the reputation of there being a rather large "prawn sandwich brigade" in the Olympiastadion on match days with an impressive choreography showing a man trying to make a decision about which S-Bahn train to get on as two of them arrived at a station, one towards Köpernick and one towards Charlottenburg . The banner read "Football culture shall take its course. What train do you get on?". On the Hertha train, the fans were portrayed as corporate 'customers' (e.g. with vuvuzuelas) whereas the fans on the Union train were portrayed as true football supporters.
Since the first meeting between the two, Union have improved slightly. They won their first away game for more than a year away at probably-already-relegated Arminia Bielefeld (a result which cost former Tottenham 'legend' Christian Ziege his job at Bielefeld) and picked up points at home against teams like Aachen and Karlsruhe. They lie 12th in the 18-team 2. Bundesliga and are only 5 points above the relegation playoff place. Hertha, on the other hand, have remained at the top of the league, despite four defeats in five in November and early December. Promotion this season is key for them. They were almost denied a licence to play in the 2. Bundesliga at the start of the season due to their financial situation. The city senate decided to defer the payment of stadium rent for a season, something which has also heated up the atmosphere between them and Union, with the latter believing that the taxpayer has granted Hertha an unfair advantage. With this being the derby with no history, you can't help but think it's being created right now.
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When it comes to buying a new or used car, the top most concern is the payment. The most common options are paying cash, leasing, or gettinga loan to finance parts of the purchasingamountof the vehicle. It depends majorly on the credit score and credit history of the buyer that what option he can opt suitably. Another option is to visit a "buy here pay here" (BHPH) dealership.
A BHPH dealership is a reasonable alternative when you are unable to get a loan because you have aninsufficient credit or zero credit at all. You can easily be lent money by a BHPH provider to buy a vehicle without involving traditional channels of payments.
If your credit is not good, considering a BHPH dealership will be advantageous to you to easily own a car or vehicle in a less time. But make sure you are updated with a few things before you actually go and make a deal with a BHPH dealer.
Ask these questions to BHPH dealership before finalizing a deal
You may avoid delays in the process of buying the vehicle if you know in advance what docs are necessary as a part of the deal. Bringing right documents during very first visit makes the processeasier both for the dealer and buyer. Though the list of essential docs may vary depending on the specific dealer and customer's unique credit situation, yet we surveyed the BHPH dealers to receive suggestions on some common and important papers one should be up to date with while visiting a BHPH dealership.
You may get the flexibility of a variety of payment options available with BHPH dealerships. While you can make monthly installments to a traditional lender, you can also make payment weekly or biweekly to a BHPH provider. Ask what payment methods they allow to send payments like many providers want buyers to bring cash to them and several others facilitate to do it via online or phone banking. And, if you currently have a bank checking account, credit card or saving account, some dealers will make it an automatic withdrawal requisite. Also, there are dealers who are good to go with payments via money orders. So, always make sure what payment options a dealer has and choose the best fit for you.
It is vital to think about the location where you live as the dealerships prefer those buyers who are located near them. It helps them to maintain financial agreement. It is facilitating for buyers as well as they can conveniently visit the dealership for making cash payments. Hence, it would be simple and easy to choose a dealership located near your house.
Bad or poor credit is never a reason that a dealership should give for not providing you with a quality vehicle. Instead, most BHPH dealerships are extremely concerned to offer a reliable vehicle in order to receive regular payments from the customers. A dealership should be happily ready when asked to explain the standards of inspectionor processesrelated to reconditioningthat are used to prepare vehicle for purchase.Learn if they offer services for maintenance & repairs on site or they have tied up with partner provider for that.
Even if you don't intend to delay a payment on a car loan, it may happen sometimes under a tight budget. Learn if the late-payment scenario is really critical with your BHPH dealership or if it is flexible with a grace period. Although it is less likely that a delayed payment will trouble you much but it is always good to know any potential risks beforehand. Imagine the late-payment policy of the dealer provoking him to take away the car without any questions asked!
You should also ask if the dealership regularly reports both negative and positive credit information with credit-reporting agencies. If so, you can have a chance to make or rebuild a positive credit history if you think you will be making good payments.


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Union Pacific Corporation Invites You to Join Its Second Quarter Earnings Release Broadcast
Omaha, Neb., June 26, 2008 In conjunction with Union Pacific Corporation's (NYSE: UNP) Second Quarter 2008 Earnings Release, you are invited to listen to its presentation that will be broadcast live over the Internet or via teleconference on Thursday, July 24, 2008, at 8:45 a.m. Eastern Time.
|Union Pacific Corporation's Second Quarter 2008 Earnings Release
|Thursday, July 24, 2008 at 8:45 a.m. ET
|www.up.com (under Investors)
|Live over the Internet – Simply log on to the Web at the address above
Dial-in telephone access:
|Jennifer Hamann, Assistant Vice President - Investor Relations at 402/544-4227.
If you are unable to participate during the live teleconference, the call will be archived on Union Pacific's Web site at http://www.up.com. To access the replay, click on Investors. An MP3 downloadable audio file also will be available at the same location.
Union Pacific Corporation owns one of America's leading transportation companies. Its principal operating company, Union Pacific Railroad, links 23 states in the western two-thirds of the country and serves the fastest-growing U.S. population centers. Union Pacific's diversified business mix includes Agricultural Products, Automotive, Chemicals, Energy, Industrial Products and Intermodal. The railroad offers competitive long-haul routes from all major West Coast and Gulf Coast ports to eastern gateways. Union Pacific connects with Canada's rail systems and is the only railroad serving all six major gateways to Mexico, making it North America's premier rail franchise.
(Minimum requirements to listen to broadcast: Windows Media Player software, which is downloadable free from http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/default.mspx, and at least a 28.8 Kbps connection to the Internet.)
Additional information is available on Union Pacific's Web site: www.up.com.
The contact for investors is Jennifer Hamann at (402) 544-4227.
The statements and information contained in the news releases provided by Union Pacific speak only as of the date issued. Such information by its nature may become outdated, and investors should not assume that the statements and information contained in Union Pacific's news releases remain current after the date issued. Union Pacific makes no commitment, and disclaims any duty, to update any of this information.


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|Book Title
|: The Daniel Plan Cookbook
|: Rick Warren
|: Zondervan
|Release Date
|: 2014-02-18
|: 304
|: 9780310344278
|Available Language
|: English, Spanish, And French
Easy, Delicious recipes to help you ENJOY HEALTHY EATING FOR LIFE Based on The Daniel Plan book, The Daniel Plan Cookbook: 40 Days to a Healthier Life is a beautiful four-color cookbook filled with more than 100 delicious, Daniel Plan-approved recipes that offer an abundance of options to bring healthy cooking into your kitchen. No boring drinks or bland entrées here. Get ready to enjoy appetizing, inviting, clean, simple meals to share in community with your friends and family. Healthy cooking can be easy and delicious, and The Daniel Plan Cookbook is the mouth-watering companion to The Daniel Plan book and The Daniel Plan Journal to help transform your health in the most head-turning way imaginably—from the inside out.


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Wahine news & pictures
By Cindy Luis
Thanks to Stanley Ching for his notes and picture link. For those who couldn't make it to the team's banquet this year, some videos are up on the booster club website (http://www.orgsites.com/hi/wahinevbbc/_pgg4.php3), hopefully with more to come, as well as photos. Jennifer Carey, whose assistant coaching position was in question when head coach Bond Shymansky was let go by Georgia Tech following the season: has landed a position as director of operations with the University of California Believe Cal is on the schedule for the Wahine this fall (CL)


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Astrophotography Forum. Photos Only Here. Please attach / post your astrophotography pictures and images here. Discussions for imaging, ccd, dslr, and mounts go elsewhere.
Sticky Threads
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Use this control to limit the display of threads to those newer than the specified time frame.
Allows you to choose the data by which the thread list will be sorted.
Order threads in...
Note: when sorting by date, 'descending order' will show the newest results first.
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Specifies the inline heuristic search depth, such that, no function will be inlined if it is at a depth (in the call graph) greater than n.
#pragma inline_depth( [n] )
This pragma controls the inlining of functions marked inline and __inline or inlined automatically under the /Ob2 option.
n can be a value between 0 and 255, where 255 means unlimited depth in the call graph, and zero inhibits inline expansion. When n is not specified, the default (254) is used.
The inline_depth pragma controls the number of times a series of function calls can be expanded. For example, if the inline depth is four, and if A calls B and B then calls C, all three calls will be expanded inline. However, if the closest inline expansion is two, only A and B are expanded, and C remains as a function call.
To use this pragma, you must set the /Ob compiler option to 1 or 2. The depth set using this pragma takes effect at the first function call after the pragma.
The inline depth can be decreased during expansion but not increased. If the inline depth is six and during expansion the preprocessor encounters an inline_depth pragma with a value of eight, the depth remains six.
The inline_depth pragma has no effect on functions marked with __forceinline.
Recursive functions can be substituted inline to a maximum depth of 16 calls.
See Also
Pragma Directives and the __Pragma Keyword


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Savant. Rockstar. Gifted genius. Many of the ways we talk about creative work only capture the brilliance of a single individual. But creativity also thrives on diversity, tension, sharing, and collaboration. Two (or more) creative people can leverage these benefits if they play well together. Cooper's pair-design practice matured over more than a decade, and continues to evolve as we grow, form new pairs, and learn from each other every day. While no magic formula exists, all of our most successful partnerships to date share remarkably similar characteristics…
We play by the same rules
There's many different ways people could work together, but when everyone's playing the same game (and has a shared understanding of the ground rules), things flow more easily. The freedom to make up the rules as you go, according to your own whim creates chaotic, unstable, unpredictable systems. It's hard to get work done when the basics are continually questioned.
David Bornstein a journalist who studies social innovation, recently described play in the New York times: "Play requires the acquisition of a complex set of skills. It's not just about exercising or letting off steam. It's about making agreements with others as equals, stepping into an imagined structure, and accepting that structure even when things don't go your way."
At Cooper we've got a loose set of agreements which give structural support for playing and producing together. We're all consultants, doing user-centered design, following an archetypal process (adapted to a given project's constraints), and we maintain specific roles for working together. These serve as the agreed upon structure or rules of the game.
How it's played is left to the players. We value lots of autonomy within big boundaries. Every team settles on their own ways of working together for day-to-day project work. It's as informal as a sketch of a calendar and a quick conversation around expectations. We make explicit what we need to get out of our time together, and what we'll get done in our time apart. Everyone shows up on time, and ready to work. A quick goal-setting chat gives focus and clarity to design meetings. Starting on the same page gives permission to time-box discussions, and park unresolved questions. In meetings we're present, actively contributing, and moving the project forward. Shared agreement about the game we're playing removes stress around participation and supports a more trusting relationship.
We make the most of differences
We deeply value differences. The articulation of our interaction design roles (synthesiser or generator) came from noticing and formalizing specific differences in design approach and skills. A solo designer usually is forced to perform this work alone, serially alternating between generating design and stepping back to synthesize it. With a pair we do it concurrently: when the generator is focused on articulating the details of the concept, the synthesiser is going the other direction, stepping back to see how the idea fits into the big picture. Each pushes the idea differently and we end up with more effective collaboration resulting in better, more thought-out design. By focusing on different skills we support and balance our partner, instead of competing at the same tasks. Our partnerships promote a diversity of thinking, perspective, and knowledge.
The division of work and responsibilities is fair and equal. It supports differences without generating unnecessary conflict. This doesn't mean we're conflict avoidant. Part of the value in difference comes from the natural tensions inherent in the differing points of view. Diversity encourages questions and healthy debate. We occasionally face substantial and sometimes uncomfortable disagreements. This pressure and heat acts as a crucible, helping separate the essential from the trivial, the promising from the dead-ends. Complementary roles and responsibilities encourages and gives permission to challenge while structuring the tensions for the most productive results.
Having a specific role and responsibilities frees your creativity. You don't hold back as much. You devote yourself completely to your "specialization". You depend on your partner to bring balance. This pairing of "opposites" generates more fruitful disagreements and enables deeper synthesis of ideas. When hiring people we pay particular attention to their strengths and natural tendencies looking for how they match to our roles. No individual fits perfectly into the box, but we find certain tendencies (such as thinking visually or with words) to be strong predictors of affinity for a given role.
We do our homework
We set ourselves up for success by understanding the domain, problem and users before we jump to solutions. There's little benefit in putting two uninformed designers on a project; you can't get more when you multiply by zero. The more preparation we have, the more confidence we'll bring to solving the problem. Creative partners without sufficient knowledge foundation must rely on their opinions and theory. This increases the challenge of working with someone else and may create unfruitful conflict between partners.
Without adequate preparation teams struggle at keeping momentum, we don't achieve real flow. Research arms our teams with more objective information, increasing out skill and ability to work in complex systems. We reach flow with our partner when we have the right information to meet the challenge. We try to ensure both partners have a working understanding of domain and the problems we're working to solve. If one team member has more experience in a domain, we make the effort to get their partner up to speed. Everyone needs enough grounding in the domain and familiarity with the users and business needs to confidently, smoothly work toward solutions.
We use the right tools for the job
If our pairs were to use opinions and desires to drive design there'd be lots of opportunity for unresolvable conflict. We take a lot of the personal opinion out the equation by using the right tools at the right time.
- Research instead of speculation
- Personas instead of personal preference
- Scenarios instead of "what if…?" (edge cases)
- Sketches instead of pixels (for early concepts)
- Pixels instead of sketches (for refined design)
- Patterns instead of isolated solutions
We limit distractions
Too many distractions and the core project suffers. There's a significant overhead in changing gears from one project to another. Designers can perform good work on more than one project at a time, but when you've got a pair of designers both juggling different priorities it adds to the stress and limits the benefits.
We structure projects for one team, one project. It's more enjoyable, and we get much more out of our partnerships. Quality and productivity rise, stress and conflict fall. With no other distractions, you can give deep commitment and focus. You dive in with everything you have – success is yours to lose.
Guiding principles
We don't design alone
In many creative endeavors collaboration takes the form of designing alone at your desk and then reviewing your thinking with someone else. This approach makes your partner an editor rather than collaborator. For us, collaboration means solving the big design questions with our partner. Co-ownership of design is critical. Both designers must understand and contribute to design rationale. Throughout the project we alternate between collaborative design meetings and "alone time".
Earlier in projects we spend the majority of time together. As a project advances we increase alone time for working through the the pixel and pattern details. Working through the details inevitably brings up new issues or questions that were not considered before. When this happens we jump back into a design meeting and figure it out together. We don't make unilateral substantive changes in direction without grabbing our partner.
We externalize our thinking
Many designers learn that if you work it all out in your head, you can anticipate and mentally address the more obvious shortcomings to your idea. The more thought-out, the more coherent and credible, the less revisions and reformulation. This works well for solo practice, but it breaks when you try it as a pair. Doing all the work in your head shuts your partner out. They can't add on, poke at, or improve upon something that's kept in your head.
Co-creation needs externalized material. Sharing the fuzzy, early, raw concept gives your partner material to work with, to respond to and evolve. Externalizing ideas allows for closer collaboration, earlier input, and deeper thought partnership. This is true when generating and proposing ideas, and equally important for synthesising and evolving concepts. Both partners must work at sharing early unfiltered thinking. It takes time to get comfortable working this way. It means trusting your partner. Trust is earned by creating a safe space for sharing and growing ideas. This was of working really leverages the power of two. Two perspectives, two minds, two creative processes, working with good seed ideas results in quicker, better, deeper insights.
We presume value, even when it's not obvious
First expressions of ideas rarely achieve elegance, clarity or completeness. A negative reaction to a poorly expressed idea usually feels justified, but it rarely helps your partner make their idea better. Just because the first expression stumbles, doesn't mean there isn't a good idea somewhere in there. Your trusted thought partner's contribution is valuable, even if its expression is poor. Unearthing the core idea or objection always leads to better insight.
This only works when partners make safe space for sharing still-forming ideas. Each partner works hard to understand the intent, not simply the expression. Once it's been proposed you can respond, refine, improve or ask for additional clarity. Working this way helps remove self-censorship and premature editing; allowing better flow, more sharing and deeper trust. We still eliminate lots of ideas, but not without some amount of early consideration.
We build, instead of blocking
Shooting down ideas or feedback quickly kills momentum and goodwill in a partnership. In design meetings you keep momentum by working with, and trying to improve upon, the contributions of your partner. You push the proposed idea further by adding to it, improving it by clarifying nuances, building upon it as a hypothesis. Sure there are times when what your partner says seems a bit crazy, when the direction may seem like a waste of time. But simply shooting them down rarely moves the design forward, and frequently it completely stalls the creative flow.
Building also means seeking and receiving input. When your idea stinks, someone needs to point it out. You can't evolve the idea when you dismiss or ignore feedback. Shutting your partner down prevents them from collaborating to improve the work. When responding to proposed solutions negativity doesn't move the idea forward. You improve it by adding, augmenting or adjusting a concept so that it's better meeting project or user goals. This keeps the ball rolling, and we feel like we're on the same team.
Sometimes we can't come to an agreement (see Timeboxing disagreements below). We accept that currently there's no mutually satisfying solution. We'll make a deliberate choice in direction, remain tentative in our commitment to it, and move on to the next problem. Often working on the rest of the system adds clarity. We may find more agreement once we see how the rest of the problems resolve.
We seek progress, not perfection
As a design consultancy we work with lean schedules and high expectations. We strive to deliver the best possible work in the time allotted. We aim for killer ideas, but these rarely pop out on the first try. We get there through rapid iteration. You can waste lots of time banging your heads together trying to come up with perfect designs, but no amount of effort work everything out. When your client or your users see they'll have feedback. This will mean revisiting decisions, even if you thought they were "perfect" or "done". We sketch out the big areas first, making sure the whole system works. Then we meet with clients, we show it to users. Things change and we roll with it. We make it better by incorporating feedback and working deeper into the details and nuances in progressive iterations.
We cover vast amounts of territory in short amounts of time by working on the big picture first. We count on following with later refinements to figure out the details. This approach also brings coherence and consistency to our designs. The churn pursuing a perfect solution kills more than momentum; if we spin for too long it drains the design process of enthusiasm, joy, and inspiration. When we get stuck we park it and make a plan to revisit it later.
We leave our egos at the door
Differences could lead to unproductive acrimonious disagreement; at their worst breaking teams apart, stalling progress or draining enthusiasm. How do we make disagreements productive instead of damaging? We work at setting aside our desire to be right and focus instead on trying to understanding what's making our partner uncomfortable. When your trusted, committed, invested partner can't agree with what you're suggesting it's lacking something critical. We look at our partner's questions as earnest testing of the idea rather than hostile personal attacks.
This doesn't mean it's all rainbows and unicorns. Sometimes it's uncomfortable giving or getting feedback. Even when your partner means well, it's hard to hear your idea's not working. Disagreeing with your partner's strongly held idea takes courage. We work at putting our egos aside because we know that figuring out what's not working it will almost certainly make the design better. We're not striving for consensus, however we recognize that if your partner's not convinced, it's in the interest of a better design to unpack the objection. Often addressing the concern leads to innovative new solutions, beyond what either partner initially brought to the problem.
We limit direct competition
While polarity can be productive, prolonged direct competition with your design partner isn't. It's easy to fall into dynamics where the debate moves away from designing the right solution to choosing between competing ideas. This frame is lousy. Design bake-offs don't often lead to better solutions, and they unnecessarily create winners and losers. We find that sticking to specific roles (synthesiser or generator) helps decrease competition. It's less important that role assignments are rigid and eternal, but really critical that in a given creative meeting, we both aren't trying to play the same role.
Early on we take a divergent approach where we get as many different approaches on the table as we can. Everyone generates. Then we evaluate the results, looking for what's strong and what's weak about every idea. After this we let the generator lead the charge. In any given meeting roles may temporarily switch for a time and then revert back. The goal isn't strict adherence, but to limit direct and unproductive competition.
We refer to this as "no dueling whiteboards" or "one pen, one idea". While your partner uses the "pen" to propose a design, you focus on understanding and responding. While your partner evaluates your "idea" give them a chance to understand and improve it; stay with the idea, until they are ready to move on too. When synthing, trust that your partner's doing their best to come up with great concepts and solutions. When the idea shows promise focus on improving the proposed solution. When it's not working, show where and help work toward something that does. When generating, trust your partner to look out out for bad ideas. They keep you honest and track the big picture. You rely on one another. It's a balancing game, working to keep equality. You don't want to give in or give up, and you don't want to steam-roll or win. Winning only happens when both partners bring their best game, keep up their end the deal, and rely on one another for balance.
We time box disagreements
Different points of view can lead to extremely fruitful insights. They may also lead to divergent ideas or conflicting solutions. We value the diversity of perspectives, but find diminishing returns when disagreement can't be quickly resolved.
There's times when two smart people can't figure out a way to agree. We place place limits with a loosely applied 15 minute rule. If we come to a stalemate we grab a neutral third party. We explain who and what goals we are trying to serve and what ideas are on the table. We aren't looking for a referee, but rather a less biased perspective, someone who can help us step back and see the context for the disagreement. We want insight which helps us let go and bring a fresh approach which subsumes the initial conflict.
We seek and give feedback
Festering issues never serve a creative partnership. We strive to set a culture where everyone feels empowered to speak up when something's not working. In a perfect world, misunderstandings, resentments, assumptions and hurt feelings would never enter design relationships, but sometimes rear their ugly heads. If something doesn't feel right it's important that partners find a way to work it out. We believe in improving working relationships through constructive feedback and regular check-ins. It's hard work and can be uncomfortable at first, but with experience trust builds and communication improves. You may never develop a long lasting friendship (though many friendships do occur) but with practice you can build amazing working partnership.
Putting it all together
Developing trust takes time
All newly formed teams must work at joining forces. Your partner brings a new style, idiosyncratic quirks and habits. Integrating each partner's perspectives, experience, skills and methods takes time and effort. Early on meetings may feel strained, communication a bit awkward or clumsy. You can't help stepping on your partner's feet while figuring out how to dance together. This upfront effort is worth it because you can reach amazing levels of trust. Once you get over this initial learning period the relationship gets easier.
Trust comes through seeing that your partner plays by the same rules, from sharing ideas which are improved upon, through experiencing value in a difference of opinion, by responding to the idea not the person, in showing up on time ready to work, in meeting expectations and honoring agreements.
We work in challenging ambiguous creative space. Developing a foundation of trust provides structural strength for productive work in chaotic systems . It allows for deep thought partnership, understanding, respect and trust in the other's commitment. In great partnerships the overhead of meta-relationship management falls away. You look forward to designing together, you appreciate that someone's always got your back. You become close, you take on the challenges together, you look for ways to leverage your partner's contributions. It's usually fun, it's sometimes challenging, but once your relationship matures you rarely want to go back to solo design work.
Related posts
- Take the Design Collaboration and Communication class
- Design Loneliness
- More, better, faster; UX design for start-ups
- Playing well with others: How to create effective design teams
- Explaining pair design (metaphorically)


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1968 Kaiser M-715 - 28 Days To Failure
Or How I Built The Evil Truck
If you read Cappa's "Impulse Deuce" story elsewhere in this issue (page 48), you probably got most of your Cappa/Hazel long-distance, nonessential vehicular purchase fix, so I won't go too heavily into why or how I drove 2,200 miles to buy a derelict '68 M-715.
As usual, I didn't need another Jeep, I didn't have room for another Jeep, and I didn't know what I was gonna do with another Jeep. I only knew the $800 asking price was under a grand, the rig had paperwork, and it was a Jeep. That alone was enough to activate the portion of my brain that overrides all reason. Before you could say "stupid idea" I had borrowed an '05 Power Wagon from the DaimlerChrysler press fleet, hooked up my trailer, snatched Cappa from his plastic above-ground swimmin' hole, and was speeding 1,100 miles to Boise, Idaho.
Other than forgetting to bring a map and getting slightly lost somewhere in northern Nevada, the trip was pretty uneventful. We throttled back to Southern California to Cappa's dirt farm where we unloaded the five-quarter and parted ways. Whether through pity or just to give the neighborhood rats a nice place to sleep, Cappa graciously stored my new hulk for a full year at his house, during which time I only laid eyes on it two or three times. I repaid his kind generosity with barbs about his hair gel and awkwardness with the opposite sex.
Then, almost a year to the day later as we parked Cappa's new deuce purchase next my M-715, I came up with the brilliant plan of dragging my crapbox home and getting it ready to drive from Southern California to Ouray, Colorado, in a month. What followed was the ultimate thrash fest with Murphy's Law rearing its ugly head at every corner. In the end, the truck didn't work and I was so physically and mentally washed out I came dangerously close to quitting my job to become a monk somewhere in the Himalayas. So read on to learn more about a vehicle I've since dubbed The Evil Truck.
The Evil Truck Highlights
So I paid $800 for a solid but incomplete '68 M-715 with inoperable brakes, no engine or T-case, and in need of a ton of work. Here are some highlights.
Previous owner shenanigans:
* Swapped-in Chevy 400 small-block and NP200 T-case yanked and discarded
* Rear shackle position flipped
* Scary lengthened front shackles installed
* Hood hinges missing
* Construction-steel front bumper and tow bar
* Mismatched tires
* 24-volt wiring pulled apart
Mail-order parts not available at local NAPA Auto Parts:
* Brake shoes PN 9333585-2530 (Memphis Equipment)
* Inner tubes PN 11430d and flaps PN84265 (International Tire & Tube)
* Front shackles (Saturn Surplus)
* Parts to get engine running (Summit Racing)
* 13/38-16 Super Swamper tires (Interco)
* Radiator (Radiators.com)
* Flywheel (Centerforce)
Timeline of a Meltdown
Week 1: Scramble to gather T-case, crossmembers, mail-order parts, clean out crap.
Week 2: Pick up junk engine donated by Hot Rod Magazine, reseal engine, assemble clutch, finish other story projects and articles for deadlines.
Week 3: Summer weather hits records with sustained temps of 115-degrees Fahrenheit and high humidity for entire week. Hit junkyard for miscellaneous parts. Install engine. Thrash on brakes.
Week 4: Have tires mounted as soon as inner tubes arrive. Make dozens of trips to parts store 15 miles away for correct radiator hoses, starter that works, and hundreds of other odds and ends. Fix incoherent wiring job. Waste three days trying to have stock radiator fixed. Get hassled for hours and hours at California DMV.
Night before departure: Rebuild carb twice. Replumb fuel system again. Swap leaking master cylinder. Take first test drive night before departure to discover engine would never make it.


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DJ Teflon wrote:Evil DIMwit wrote:there are enough extant maps with this limit that it wouldn't be unusual if a new one came out. I suppose this rule is up to interpretation. Any foundry sages care to opine?
Just wondering what an 'extant map' is?
Those that have been published already. Referring to Feudal War, Age of Realms, et al. I'm not sure how many there are -- are there any that were made after the 7 and 8-player options were added?


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In the prime of his PGA Tour career, Fred Couples would saunter to the 10th tee at Riviera Country Club and just know that he was going to make birdie.
"I used to tell my caddie (Joe LaCava), being a little cocky, that when we teed off just put a 3 on the card, because I birdied it so many times," Couples said.
And now?
"It is a brutal hole," Couples lamented.
The 10th at Riviera is one of the most famous par-4 holes in the world. There are few this early in a round that are more televised. The front edge of the green is only 290 yards from tee on a tour in which many of the players regularly drive the ball at least 300 yards.
Yet on Thursday in the opening round of the Northern Trust Open, the little beauty, playing at 305 yards, delivered as many body blows as it took. There were 29 birdies and one eagle (by Luke Donald) against 27 bogeys, three double bogeys and two 7s.
Solo leader Matt Kuchar, who fired a bogey-free, 7-under-par 64, was one of only two players to drive the green, and he two-putted from 58 feet for birdie. It was a key hole for many of the golfers near the top of the leaderboard, with nine of the top 17 scoring birdie and none suffering worse than par at 10.
"I think it's a fantastic hole," Kuchar said.
Brian Gay would probably not agree. The recent champion of the Humana Classic laid up to 58 yards away on Thursday. He left his approach in the front bunker and splashed out, only to watch his ball trickle into the back bunker.
No doubt wary of going long again, Gay chunked his first bunker shot, leaving it in the sand, and finally got on the green in five strokes before two-putting for 7.
There isn't anything much more maddening on tour than needing six shots from 58 yards.
The 10th is a puzzle not easily solved. Several years ago the green complex was changed to lower the edges around it. The areas around the green were given a crew cut to create quick runoffs. So to hold the green now is almost impossible, and anything left around it requires a delicate chip shot.
So why not lay up? Because the green is angled and about the width of your dining room table.
"Laying up is no bargain," Kuchar said. "You get a wedge in your hand and generally you feel pretty good that at least you're going to make par. On 10, that's not the case. The wedge shot is just so difficult because you just don't have room to work the angle."
Statistics say it's not a smart play to lay up. Seventy percent of the competitors drove for the 10th green last year, combining to score 29-under at 10. The 30 percent who laid up totaled 24-over.
Is the 10th too tricked up now? Did they ruin a fun hole?
"It's not as fun because it's more of a struggle," Couples said.
As much as Couples loves Riviera – and the 53-year-old is in the mix again after an opening 68 – he cautioned, "They might have to re-evaluate that green here in the near future. It's really slopey, and the front fo the green goes up and back, and the balls are rolling over. It's all fun and hunky-dory when you try to drive the greens, but when you're playing 35 feet left of the flag because there's nowhere to go, it kind of defeats the purpose."
Torrey Pines High alum Pat Perez shot 68 to get into an 11-way tie for seventh. Phil Mickelson hit only 3 of 14 fairways in shooting 1-under 70 to be tied for 48th.


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Global Retail Growth Strategies Survey 2016 - MENAP
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Welcome to the fundraising site for Ratio Christi at University of Texas Austin! Are you interested in helping us raise funds? From this site, you can donate a one time gift or a monthly support amount, or help us out by starting or joining a funding team which can raise money in support of Ratio Christi's work at UTexas!
This money will go towards helping our chapter with the cost of weekly meeting, promotion of our chapter and our campus wide events. Each year we do at least one event in which we bring a major Christian Thinker to campus to do a lecture, discussion or debate. These types of events are a great opportunity to reach the whole campus with the scientific, philosophical and historical reasons why Christianity is true. Thanks for your support.
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INDUSTRY NINE.Mountain.RH.103
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We help you to consult and hire the best Supreme Court & High Court Alternative Dispute Resolution(adr) lawyers in Bihar. Use filters to narrow your search and find the best advocate in Bihar, whether its a family dispute or divorce lawyer, property lawyer, employment or labor court lawyer, criminal lawyer, recovery or cheque bounce lawyer, taxation or corporate lawyer, or a lawyer expert in any other field of law.
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Soft contact lenses are generally comfortable from the beginning of use. Contact lens discomfort can occur but is usually easily remedied.
Contact lens discomfort can occur for a variety of reasons. In order for contact lenses to work the way they're supposed to, it's important to care for them properly, following the maintenance and replacement schedule. These guidelines help to keep your eyes healthy and comfortable in contact lenses. If they're not followed, problems with vision, comfort and other safety issues can occur.
You should be aware that the following problems may occur:
If you notice any of the above symptoms remove your lenses immediately. Contact your healthcare practitioner, optometrist or pharmacist for further advice.
If the discomfort or problem stops, then look closely at the lens. If the lens is damaged in any way, do not put the lens back on your eye. Place the lens in the storage case and contact your eye care professional. If the lens has dirt, an eyelash, or other foreign body on it, or the problem stops and the lens appears undamaged, you should thoroughly clean, rinse, and disinfect the lenses; then reinsert them. After reinsertion, if the problem continues, you should immediately remove the lenses and consult your eye care professional.
When any of the above problems occur, a serious condition such as infection, corneal ulcer, neovascularisation, or iritis may be present. You should keep the lens off your eye and seek immediate professional identification of the problem and prompt treatment to avoid serious eye damage.
Be sure to follow the manufacturer's recommendations, cleaning your lenses with each use, and replacing them on the schedule your eye care professional recommended for you. This is the best way to ensure your lenses stay comfortable and your eyes stay healthy.
Your eye's size and shape are unique to you, and your contact lenses should be too. Your eye care professional performs a variety of measurements to make sure the fit of your contact lens is well-fitting, but sometimes, it may be a little off as eyes can change shape slightly over time.
Symptoms - Feeling a foreign object in the eye, slight pain or irritation, redness, fluctuations in vision.
Treatment - Tell your eye care professional – they will re-examine your eyes and lens selection to give you a better fit. This is important, as improperly fitted lenses may cause surface abrasions to the cornea.
People with dry eyes may not produce enough tears to keep eyes moist and lubricated. This creates discomfort when they wear contact lenses. Dry eyes may be inherent (associated with a number of medical conditions), or acquired (linked with risk factors such as smoking, computer use, caffeine, certain medications, and more).
Symptoms - Tired eyes, dry eyes, and discomfort.
Treatments - Your eye care professional may recommend a lubricating/rewetting solution for your use. Moisturise your soft contact lenses to soothe your eyes and minimise lens dryness and discomfort while wearing them with a lubricating and rewetting drop. It's important to find drops that are compatible with your contact lenses.
Your eyes may become irritated when there are large amounts of environmental allergens such as pollen, dust or dander. These allergens can stick to the surface of your eye or lenses, causing irritation for the wearer.
Symptoms - Redness, irritation, dryness.
Treatments - Frequent cleaning is crucial to remove any buildup that may occur on lenses. If problems persist, switching to a daily disposable modality can provide a fresh pair of lenses every day. If it's seasonal allergies that are affecting your eyes, be sure to take advice from an eye care professional as there are a number of eye drops available that treat/relieve the symptoms but not all can be used with contact lenses-some drops you will have to wait a specific time before putting your contact lenses in.
Irritation in your eyes may not come from your contact lenses at all. If your eyes become red, swollen, or if you experience discharge, you should remove your contact lenses straight away and contact an eye care professional immediately. Your symptoms may be a result of infection, or underlying disease and should be diagnosed and treated as soon as possible. You should not wear contact lenses if you have an eye infection or while using certain topical eye medications.
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Earlier this week, we wondered if Apple (AAPL) was planning to open its own e-book store -- an "iTunes for e-books" -- for its forthcoming tablet device and the iPhone and iPod touch. The answer is no, according to a source connected to the e-book business.
Based on our conversation with this person, it seems that any Kindle-killing the Apple tablet does will have to come from third-party e-book sellers, like Amazon (AMZN), Barnes & Noble (BKS), etc.
If true, this makes sense. Why?
- The e-book market is still rather small, and even if Apple's tablet is a huge hit, it'll be hard to make enough revenue selling e-books to make the huge project -- setting up and running an e-book store -- worthwhile.
- Apple's iTunes music, video, and apps stores are designed as break-even businesses to help sell more Apple hardware, like iPhones, iPods, and Macs.
- There's already a ton of e-book vendors in the App Store that could provide a good-enough e-book shopping and reading experience to fulfill the "help sell more Apple hardware" mission. Better ones are showing up all the time.
- E-book stores that use Apple's iTunes e-commerce platform -- or are standalone e-book apps -- generate a very nice 30% revenue cut for Apple. The company probably wouldn't get enough additional revenue selling e-books on its own to be worthwhile.
We also heard that Apple may have initially planned to enter the e-book business a few years ago, but based on how archaic and screwed up the book publishing industry is -- worse than the music industry, our source says -- Steve Jobs supposedly scrapped those plans. (Based only on one source, we'd treat this as scuttlebutt for now. But if you have more information, let us know -- email@example.com.)
Our curiosity came from the last sentence of a Financial Times article about new iTunes music features: "Book publishers have been in talks with Apple and are optimistic about their services being offered with the new computer, which could provide an alternative to Amazon's Kindle."
It's clearer now that means that Apple will help publishers and e-book vendors sell their wares on the new devices -- and not that Apple is planning to enter the e-book sales industry itself.
Want to learn more about the mobile industry? Check out our featured articles:
- Mobile Trends for 2020
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You can choose to believe it or not as you prefer, but it seems that Iran is claiming that they will begin unwinding some of their nuclear weapons program on January 20th. This from CNN.
Save the date: Iran has pledged to start eliminating some of its uranium stockpile on January 20, the White House said Sunday.
That gives an official start date for the six-month interim deal with Iran, which was first announced in November.
"As of that day, for the first time in almost a decade, Iran's nuclear program will not be able to advance, and parts of it will be rolled back, while we start negotiating a comprehensive agreement to address the international community's concerns about Iran's program," U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said in a statement Sunday.
As part of the agreement, Iran has agreed to start eliminating its stockpile of higher levels of enriched uranium, to dismantle some infrastructure that makes higher-level uranium enrichment possible, and not to start up additional centrifuges.
In exchange, some sanctions against Iran will be eased as part of "modest relief," the White House said.
That "modest relief" is apparently in the form of $4.2B in frozen assets to be released in a series of payments stretching over six months. Is this worth believing on any level? Dr. James Joyner apparently suggests caution, but doesn't see it as entirely without hope.
Now, it should go without saying, Iran's pledging to do something and their doing it are not the same thing. Indeed, even Kerry, the architect of the deal, is highly wary and rightly so.
Caveats notwithstanding, however, this has to be viewed as a major diplomatic coup for Kerry and the Obama administration. Few of us thought Iran would voluntarily roll back its program. In my own case, it wasn't a function of simply distrusting a ruthless regime that has from its outset viewed the United States as evil. Rather, it's very much in the interest of both the Iranian state and the mullahs to acquire nuclear weapons to bolster their security and prestige and there didn't appear to be anything the United States or the international community could offer by way of a carrot that would be more valuable. Sanctions relief, while obviously of great value to the people of Iran, certainly didn't seem to be that highly prized by the regime.
This entire story puts the US in a rather odd position on the world stage. As Erika reported yesterday, Congress appears to be moving closer and closer to ignoring these negotiations entirely and introducing new sanctions on Iran, even as Kerry and Obama are dangling a carrot in front of Iran to gain concessions. If we are to assume that Iran's entire motivation to even give the appearance of backing down on their nuclear ambitions is to get some of the sanctions removed, such an action would undoubtedly put the brakes on whatever dismantling they claim to be starting.
Is this a serious offer by Iran or just a chess move to put a halt to Congress moving against them? Taking Iran at their word is dubious at best, but it does highlight the fractured nature of the current US administration. Traditionally, the executive branch would take the lead on these sorts of maneuvers, but they'd have gotten some back room, tacit agreement from the legislative branch before doing it. This just seems to advertise to the world that Barack Obama is not in control of his own foreign policy.


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The last time I visited Boston was in the spring of 2003 during a family vacation to New England.
We were there about three days, visiting all the historical sites, including the Old North Church, Faneull Hall and the Paul Revere House.
We sang "Sweet Caroline" at Fenway Park and ate Boston baked beans at a crowded Cheers restaurant.
I remember being disappointed in the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum. Because Kennedy served only three years, the museum didn't feature many highlights of his presidency, beyond his family, his campaigns and the Peace Corps.
But all things considered, it was a fun trip, with good weather and people in a good frame of mind. The city seemed in a festive mood, probably not unlike the Patriots Day celebration Monday afternoon.
I also visited Boston on other occasions, when I worked for a book publisher based just outside the city. Every trip delivered good memories, even when I was stuck one night after a sales conference in the Copley Plaza Hotel, while a foot of snow was falling outside. About a half-dozen of us slept on the floor in someone's room that night.
So the bomb blasts at the Boston Marathon on Monday seem a little more tragic because for me, in Boston I have a sense of place. It's become one of my favorite cities and one that I love to visit. The happiness there now seems to be shattered.
What's even more tragic is that people living in cities in the Middle East face this brand of terrorism virtually every day. I can't imagine the fear that must reside in those places.
I've never been to Oklahoma City, so I can't relate to the type of place that it is or to the physical setting that once was the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Office Building. On April 19, 1995, 168 people died in the explosion there and hundreds more were injured. Before Sept. 11, 2001, it was the largest terrorist attack on American soil.
Before Sept. 11, 2001, I had been to New York City a few times, but had never been close to the World Trade Center. It was always just those two large towers off in the distance.
Within a few months after nearly 3,000 people died in the 9/11 attacks in New York City, Washington, D.C., and in western Pennsylvania, I visited Ground Zero in lower Manhattan.
What struck me was the massive cleanup that was going on there and the outpouring of emotion from across the world. The security fences that surrounded the site were covered with specially made quilts, posters and other messages, as well as tokens of grief for those who died.
But still I didn't feel a sense of place, not like I do with Boston.
When senseless tragedies and death like this happen, it tugs at all of us. Even my dentist was talking about it Tuesday, saying that in a split second, the marathon victims' lives have been changed forever.
It's sad to think about them and even sadder when you feel at least some kind of connection to the city directly affected to it all. The Boston Marathon will forever be remembered now for this terrible act of terrorism.
And for all of us, that's a shame.
If you know of someone who would be interesting to feature in a column, call Jim Rothgeb at (951) 676-4315, ext. 2621, or email email@example.com.