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Lessons Learned in the 10 Years since 9/11Wednesday, August 31st, 2011
Part 3 in our continuing series
Since August is U.S. Army Anti-Terrorism Awareness Month, and with the 10-year anniversary of 9/11 just around the corner, we are devoting five weeks to discuss the 10 lessons the world has learned from that fateful day and recommend emergency precautions that you should take now to give you and your family, friends, employees and colleagues the best chance of surviving another terrorist attack. In our third installment this week, here are two more lessons we've learned:
- Security-related incidents will likely impact transportation and travel.
The 9/11 attacks affected public transit, commuter rail, commercial vehicles and ferries, and resulted in the need for significant road repairs. What's more, the way people travel has shifted since the now infamous act of terrorism on our country. According to the U.S. Travel Association:
- Business travel was hit particularly hard by 9/11. Between 2011 and 2010, total volume declined, as businessmen and women exercised the option of replacing short business trips with conference calls.
- The good news is that American leisure travel, on the other hand, has been resilient. Despite long lines and other symptoms of policies implemented by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), the leisure segment has seen a 17% increase in travel since 2001.
- International leisure travel to the U.S. basically lost an entire decade following the attacks. While global long-haul travel increased by 40%. During the same period, overseas travel to the United States rose by less than 2%.
While the travel industry reels, emergency management professionals strategize about ways to ensure safety for anyone traveling to or within the United States. Carefully monitoring and protecting travelers has become a critical part of safeguarding our nation. If you've flown since 2001, you've undoubtedly experienced the effects of heightened security at our nation's airports. Among the changes:
- Restricted Items—box cutters and other sharp objects as well as large quantities of liquids and gels are no longer allowed on airplanes.
- Heightened security on aircraft—cockpit doors are bulletproof to prevent unauthorized access. Pilots also have the option to carry a gun. And more air marshals have been placed on flights. Curtains that used to divide first class and coach cabins have been removed.
- Improved security screening—many passengers are patted down, everyone has to remove jackets, shoes and belts before passing through security checkpoints. Even casual comments made in passing (relative to terrorism or hijacking) are taken seriously.
- Tighter Identification checks—all passengers must carry valid IDs.
Since restrictions could be placed on domestic and international travel in the event of another attack, systems have been put in place to alert citizens if it becomes necessary to ask residents to evacuate and/or avoid certain roads or areas for safety.
- Law enforcement involvement is necessary at local, state and federal levels due to the criminal nature of any and all terrorist attacks. Most counter-terrorism strategies involve an increase in standard police and local authorities. But did you know that you can play a part to aid officials in their efforts to protect the public?
- Keep your eyes open and report suspicious activities to local agencies. The best way to do this is to become familiar with your surroundings so you will notice anything out of the ordinary.
- The Army's iWATCH Program encourages people to identify and report suspicious behavior that may be associated with terrorist activities.
- The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) encourages people to help authorities by suggesting: If you see something, say something. If you notice suspicious activity, report it to your local police department. If you are experiencing an emergency, call 911.
- Since attacks can come in the 3-D world or cyber space, the United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team offers a US-Cert Incident Reporting System. Learn to identify potential threats to your cyber security along with your physical safety.
When a disaster strikes, prior planning and clear decisive action can help save lives. For the latest emergency management training for facility/building managers, contact Allied Universal, Inc. Our new Version 2.0 e-based training system offers the best emergency training system with automated and integrated features. Visit rjwestmore.com for more information and remember to BE SAFE.


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We, Chackochan and Salimma would like to invite you and your family to visit our humble home called Nelpura which is located at Allapuzha district in Kerala. Nelpura means granary where paddy is stored and grains for the next season are preserved.
The Nelpura Heritage Homestay is a renovated structure adjoining the ancestral house of Mr. Chacko and family. The building showcases the fine features of traditional Kerala architecture and woodcarving. Dates back around 150 years, the Homestay rooms made mostly with seasoned timber, still retain their original grandeur.
What makes Nelpura Heritage Homestay special and unique is the serene dignity it gains from the proximity of a happy home. It is an ideal long-stay retreat for writers and artists. It also makes for unforgettable holidaying in communion with a rustic world.
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Last year ended with a strong quarter as U.S. equity markets recovered from a tough third quarter. This resulted in a volatile, yet flat 12-month performance. As a blend of multiple asset classes, target funds experienced the mixed performance of global markets and ended the year slightly down on average, note experts at Morningstar and Ibbotson Associates in a recent report.
Some 385 target funds from 46 fund families or groups gained 6.8% during the quarter, but they ended the year down an average 1.6 %. In terms of asset flows, quarterly movement bounced back after several consecutive weak quarters of flows, according to Morningstar/Ibbotson. For the quarter, target maturity funds saw more than $9.7 billion of inflows.
Target-fund returns experienced a welcome bounce-back during the fourth quarter, say report authors Tom Idzorek, global chief investment officer, Morningstar Investment Management, and Jeremy Stempien, senior consultant, Ibbotson Associates, noting that they lost an average 11.8% in the third quarter.
"As is typical, the average target maturity fund return is approximately midway between the S&P 500 (11.8%) and the return of the BarCap U.S. Aggregate Bond Index (1.1%)," they explain.
"Somewhat atypically, the average target maturity fund return bested the average return of the Morningstar Lifetime Moderate Index by 0.4%, which is impressive given the consistently strong performance of the index discussed in last quarter's report," the authors note.
The Morningstar Lifetime Allocation Index, based on Ibbotson's Lifetime Asset Allocation methodology, turned in positive returns last quarter (3-9%). For the full year 2011, the best performers were funds closest to retirement, research shows, and there was an extremely wide range of performance (between minus 4.5 and 5.7%). "During the last three years, the overall returns of the indexes have been outstanding with some returns exceeding 14%," the report explains.
Asset Classes
In the fourth quarter of 2011, many groups were able to reverse the third quarter's poor returns, including funds in most higher-risk assets, and all asset classes posted positive returns over the period; domestic equities showed the strongest gains.
The top performers were small-cap equities and U.S. REITs, which rose more than 15%. Large-cap U.S. equities also had double-digit gains, while non-U.S. equities struggled on a relative basis but posted positive returns.
Diversified commodities (as represented by the DJ UBS Commodity Index) were slightly positive for the quarter. The S&P GSCI Index, another popular commodity index with a much heavier energy weighting, gained nearly 9%.
"Within fixed income, high-yield bonds were the largest beneficiary of the fourth quarter's 'risk-on' environment," the report shares. The group's 6.5% gain was the largest since the third quarter of 2010 and the largest among the fixed-income asset classes reviewed. TIPS returned more than 2% for the fourth quarter in a row, thus easily topping U.S. aggregate bonds, short-term bonds, and cash (which posted gains of 1.1% or less).
Year in Review
Last year was marked by "a string of debt crises, natural disasters and political uncertainties that all led to higher volatility," note Idzorek and Stempien. Though U.S. equity markets were generally flat to negative, higher risk and non-U.S. asset classes suffered greater losses.
U.S. large-cap stocks posted positive returns, while small-caps (growth and value) ended the year with losses of 2.9% and 5.5%, respectively. Non-U.S. developed equity fell 11.7%, and commodities (minus 13.3%) were dragged down by emerging-market equities, which lost 18.2%.
But fixed income had a different story and gained on the widespread pessimism of investors for equities and other risky assets. Plus, U.S. government bonds performed well despite a downgrade of the United States' credit in the third quarter. "This is reflected in the 13.6% return of TIPS and the 7.8% gain in U.S. aggregate bonds," the report states. But low interest rates kept a lid on the return of short-term bonds, which ended the year up 1.6%.
In terms of target funds, those with the largest foreign exposures during the past year were negatively affected. Funds with significant allocations to TIPS, though, were better performers, though some funds with high TIPS exposure also had high exposure to commodities, the Morningstar/Ibbotson experts point out.
Flow Facts
Target maturity fund flows had a major improvement in the last quarter of 2011 after declines of 35% and 41% in the second and third quarters. In the fourth quarter, fund inflows grew 53% to just under $10 billion.
The Morningstar categories with the biggest increase in Q4 were the 2011-2015 and 2016-2020 groups, both with a flow increase of more than 200%. Fidelity, Vanguard and T. Rowe Price accounted for close to 72 of the total inflows in the final three months of 2011. Fidelity bounced back with inflows of nearly $2.2 billion.
PIMCO's target fund series averaged roughly $7 million in positive flows for the previous four quarters. It then saw its flows jump nearly 20 fold to $134 million during the fourth quarter, according to Morningstar/Ibbotson.
Target funds experienced a 10% decline in total assets from the second to third quarter and then rebounded in the fourth quarter with a 9.5% improvement. According to the recent report, Fidelity, Vanguard and T. Rowe Price are still managing greater than 75% of these assets. PIMCO moved from $87 million at the end of the third quarter to more than $223 million.


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'Flowers in the Attic' will be a TV movie. Yikes.
Maybe there's still time to stop this crazy thing: A "Flowers in the Attic" TV movie is a very bad idea.
In case you're not familiar with the trashy 1979 novel, let me give you a thumbnail sketch; it's been burned into my brain since adolescence. In V.C. Andrews' "Flowers in the Attic," recently widowed Corrine abandons her four very blond, alliteratively named children to their cruel grandmother Olivia. Olivia soon locks Catherine, Christopher, Cory and Carrie away in the attic, where they get blonder and paler, eat doughnuts they shouldn't and all but waste away. One of the children is murdered by a caretaker.
Oh, and the eldest brother and sister develop an incestuous relationship that includes a rape.
The book was controversial when it was published, being banned in some places -- and passed around avidly among schoolchildren in others. It was even a movie before -- in 1987, it was made into a film starring Victoria Tennant as Corrine and Louise Fletcher as Olivia.
That, apparently, is not enough for Lifetime, which has decided to produce another on-screen version. The Wrap reports that Heather Graham has signed on to play mom Corrine, and Ellen Burstyn will play evil grandmother Olivia.
Sure, Burstyn has an Oscar (so did Fletcher) -- it can't redeem the material.
When reading about adolescents locked in an attic, it's hard not to think of Anne Frank's famous memoir, in which she openly wrote about her crushes and attractions. That's one of the most disturbing things about "Flowers in the Attic" -- it's not just a tawdry, fetishistic book, but one that contains echoes of a huge tragedy. Why the compulsion to put it back in front of viewers again? Why can't it just die a quiet paperback death? Who knows? Maybe after the success of "Game of Thrones," producers see a new enthusiasm for incest stories (blech).
See the new trailer for 'The Hunger Games: Catching Fire'
Which "Arrested Development" actor is a secret bookstore owner?
Man Booker longlist announced; includes Colum McCann, Jhumpa Lahiri
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Thanksgiving Turkey Donations Plummet: How You Can Help
Bad economy and higher prices gobble up Thanksgiving turkey donations.
Nov. 19, 2010 -- No law says that you have to have turkey on Thanksgiving, but just try to imagine the holiday without it.
The Jackson family from Denver doesn't have to imagine.
"Last year, we had pork chops because that's the only thing we had," Tina Jackson said.
The family of five has struggled ever since Tina Jackson's husband, Ken Jackson, was laid off from his shipping and receiving job a few months ago. This year, they asked their church for help.
The Jacksons' church and other community organizations that typically have been a refuge for families down on their luck during the holidays are struggling too.
With less than a week before Thanksgiving, today the Association of Gospel Rescue Missions surveyed 25 of its members in some of the country's biggest cities.
The association found that more than half of those missions -- including ones in Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston, Dallas, Phoenix, Detroit and Seattle -- have seen a "major drop" in turkey donations this year.
The missions "will not be able to provide food boxes the way they have done in the past unless there is a sudden increase in turkey donations in the next couple of days," association president John Ashmen told ABC News.
There is turkey trouble. Charities and food banks nationwide also report donations have plummeted.
List of Places Taking Turkey and Food Donations
Empty Freezers
On a busy downtown street in Denver, Scott Croft and a team of volunteers from the Denver Rescue Mission have been eagerly standing by, waiting for the seasonal stream of drivers who usually pull over this time of year to unload thousands of donated frozen turkeys.
"We've gotten kind of a slow start," said Croft, pacing the side of the road wearing a bright yellow safety vest.
This year, they've done a lot of waiting.
"We started our turkey drive on Nov. 1," said Greta Walker from the Denver Rescue Mission. "Our goal was to get at least 6,000 turkeys. We realized on Nov. 10 that we had zero turkeys in our freezer."
The struggle in Denver is playing out in towns across the country.
In Bridgeport, Conn., charities have met only half of their goal and are still 1,000 turkeys short.
Down south in Atlanta, big corporate donors haven't come back. Donations are down 38 percent.
Out West in Cabazon, Calif., charities have launched a backup plan. They're giving out 10-pound chickens.
Down the road in Compton, Calif., the Salvation Army has 500 requests for turkeys, but all that sits in its ice cold freezer is one lone turkey.
"People just keep applying, and because we don't have the food that we can supply we have to turn them down," said Capt. Ezekiel Guevara of Compton's Salvation Army.
Patricia Torres, a single mom of two, was one of them.
"We take it day by day, you know...I just keep going out looking for a job and you know... my kids they ask me for so much stuff ...I tell them,'ok, later,'" Torres said.
Higher Turkey Prices
Charities blame their empty freezers on the poor economy and higher turkey prices.
"Retail prices will be up, on average, about 20 percent this year," said Thomas Elam of Indiana-based FarmEcon, an agricultural industry consulting firm.
Elam blamed rising costs on a reduction in turkey supply and production this year, along with a steep jump in the price of corn and soybeans farmers feed growing birds. Now, higher prices at the supermarket may be causing fewer people to buy an extra turkey to donate.
"You're not going to see the kind of deep, deep discounts and widespread discounts that we had last year," Elam told ABC News.
ABC News called the CEO of Butterball, Keith Shoemaker, to see if they could help. The company gives away thousands of turkeys every year, but now inventory is way down.
"I just don't have a lot of turkeys sitting anywhere in a bag to give someone at this point," Shoemaker said.
Shoemaker says the company has given away roughly twice the amount of turkey this year as usual, and he says requests for more donations are up.
"You really hate to say no," said Shoemaker. "So we usually don't say no. We may not give them everything they want, but we always want to try to help someone."
So far, Butterball has donated more than 50,000 pounds of turkey this holiday season and about 250,000 pounds throughout the rest of the year.
"It's terrible to see fellow Americans in a desperate situation wanting something to eat. That's not how this country is supposed to work," Shoemaker said.
Closing The Turkey Gap
With no turkey sales in sight, single mom Sylvia McClain realizes she's one of the lucky ones to get a turkey donated to her this year. She's willing to share with a family that didn't.
"It'd be like a sad Thanksgiving," McClain said. "Everybody desires a turkey, and if you don't get one here, you pray to go somewhere else to sign up for a turkey."
Back in Denver, the effort to get the word out helped the city not only to close the so-called turkey gap, but exceed it. The Denver Rescue mission now has collected nearly 11,000 turkeys.
For the Jackson family, that meant church pastor Larry Herron could make a happy delivery.
"Happy Thanksgiving!" the pastor said as he walked through the door.
"It's going to be a blessed Thanksgiving for us," Ken Jackson said. "You can look around the house and see the smiles on their faces. So, it's just wonderful."
Wonderful indeed, and a lot better than pork chops.
How You Can Help
Bridgeport Rescue Mission: To donate turkeys to the Bridgeport Rescue Mission in Connecticut, click here. You can also call them at 203-333-4087. They still need 500 turkeys for the Thanksgiving holiday.
Compton : To donate turkeys to the Compton Salvation Army, click here. You can also call them 310-639-0362 (press 0 for the operator). They still need 150 turkeys for the Thanksgiving holiday.
Hosea Feed the Hungry and Homeless: To donate to any Thanksgiving goods to the Hosea Feed the Hungry and Homeless organization in Atlanta, click here. You can also call them at 404-755-3353. They are especially in need of turkeys for the upcoming holiday.
Denver Rescue Mission: To donate to the Denver Rescue Mission, click here. The mission divides its donations and gives them to smaller charities throughout Denver.
Feeding America: It has a food bank locator that allows you to enter your zip code and find the nearest food bank to drop off food. You also can donate to Feeding America online and request that your donation be used towards Thanksgiving.
Salvation Army: Throughout the nation, various branches of the Salvation Army are in need of turkeys. Click here to find the Salvation Army closest to you.
Volunteers of America: Local chapters of the organization have organized turkey drives and are hosting Thanksgiving meals for those in need. Find your local chapter by clicking here or donate money that can go to Thanksgiving meals.


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Weekend Update, 8.29.09–The "Skank" Issue
As of this week, pretty much anyone can tell you–"Skank" blogging just doesn't pay. Unless your $15 million privacy lawsuit against Google ends up going your way, that is. Rosemary Port, the person who used Blogger to anonymously insult former model Liskula Cohen, was unmasked last week after months of speculation, and promptly sued Google (GOOG) for turning over her information. Hilarity ensued, complete with dueling morning TV appearances. More details on MediaMemo, though Peter doesn't usually follow that kind of stuff. Looks like Amazon's Kindle has a couple of new competitors. Sony's (SNE) "Reader Daily Edition" and Barnes & Noble's (BKS) and Irex's as-yet-unnamed Kindle-like device will join the as-yet-unnamed Kindle-like device from Barnes & Noble and Plastic Logic on the playing field. Apple (AAPL) approved at least one app this week–the one for Spotify, which is rumored to be "the best streaming music service in the world." But as MediaMemo points out, it's worthless without any deals with big music companies.
The Open Book Alliance formally launched the manifesto this past week with which it's challenging Google's settlement with authors and publishers. The organization now has a Web site and quite an array of allies–which include, of course, Microsoft (MSFT), Yahoo (YHOO) and Amazon (AMZN). And as if Google doesn't have enough on its plate, turns out that all along, Microsoft has been holding regular "Screw Google" meetings, the bastards. Uh, I thought that's what people pay good money to learn in Business School. On a happier note, Howard Stern fans everywhere were happy to learn that Sirius XM (SIRI) has debuted a device that can turn an iPhone or iPod touch into a full-fledged satellite radio.
Over in Personal Technology, Walt reviewed Snow Leopard and found it to be an improvement on its predecessor, but with a lot of the upgrades under the hood invisible to most users. Not the typical object of desire we're trained to expect out of Apple. In Mossberg's Mailbox, Walt answers reader email about choosing a vendor to buy a computer online and setting parental controls in Firefox. In The Mossberg Solution, Katie Boehret explores the trials and tribulations of BlackBerry and iPhone users switching one for the other.
More next week.


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In the first part of our post, we discussed what it takes to be a good partner. In today's post, well cover the proper level of compensation for a for a job well done, as we'll as how to get on the right career track.
In the end, the real problem was not that young planners wanted a path to partnership, but that they felt like they had to find a path to partnership to be well compensated for the value they bring to the table as an employee.
I find this is a remarkably common problem in financial planning firms, especially smaller ones. In the past, most firms have had two groups of employees: administrative staff, that get paid administrative salaries, and partners who can earn a much higher income. Accordingly, when a new planner enters the firm, the path to a higher earning potential is clear— if you ever want to earn $100,000, $150,000, $200,000, or more, you "have to" become a partner.
Ultimately, though, I believe this represents a dysfunctional compensation structure for firms. The model that is emerging from many larger firms is that a full range of compensation is available for the jobs people do in the business, from the administrative staff to the planners who work with clients to the CEO of the firm.
Compensation may be some blend of salary, bonuses, and other incentives or variable compensation depending on the role, but compensation is set at a competitive level for the job that is performed, regardless of ownership. Employees who have responsibility for a million dollars of client revenue might be paid $100,000, $150,000, $200,000, or more, depending on the nature of the business—not as a partner, but simply as an employee for valuable services rendered! At that point, those who do have a partnership/ownership stake have additional financial and personal responsibilities for the business and expectations from their partners, and are additionally compensated in the form of profits from the business and an increase in the value of their ownership stake for the additional work they do.
The Real Career Track Goal
Accordingly, this suggests that the real key for many firms is not crafting a career track to ownership for their younger planners, but instead crafting a career track to earning a significant income commensurate with the value the planner brings to the table regardless of ownership.
After all, it's difficult to even determine who really has the drive and motivation for the risks and responsibilities of ownership and who simply feels undervalued for the services they provide in the business, until there's a path for both options! As long as the only track to a higher income is partnership, there's just no way to tell who's actually going to be a good partner.
And in point of fact, my experience in working with NexGen and our New Planner Recruiting business, and talking to hundreds of young planners over the years, is that in truth most people actually do not really want the risks and responsibilities of business ownership. In reality, that's not different from how it's always been; the distinction is that in the past, financial planners who weren't inclined toward entrepreneurship often didn't survive in the business at all. In today's world, though, there are an increasing number of financial planning job opportunities that do not require an entrepreneurial drive or taking on the risks and responsibilities of business ownership, yet provide substantial value to the business and are well deserving of a substantial employee income.
But the bottom line is that at the end of the day, notwithstanding all the clamoring from so many young planners about partnership, I don't really think most of them actually want to be partners, nor am I convinced that many of them are inclined towards ownership anyway. Most simply want an opportunity to be well compensated, as a professional, for a job well done, and have driven towards partnership because it often appears to be the only track available. In other words, most young planners want partnership not because they want to build businesses, but because the firm's employee and compensation structure implies it's the only path to higher earnings!
Thus, if firms can do a better job of articulating a career track that leads to a healthy income outside of partnership, it appears that many young planners will happily eschew ownership and follow that path. And for the few who really want something more and have the drive to push towards it—THOSE are the ones who I'd actually like to have as one of my partners!
So what do you think? Is partnership and ownership really all it's cut out to be? Should partnership really be the standard for a career track? Or is the real issue simply that most people want to be well compensated for a job well done, and that partnership is for the few who really want to own and build a business?


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Fai una domanda
OBH Gruppen A/S Denmark provides consulting services in engineering. Founded 40 years ago, OBH employs over 300 employees in 11 offices.
The modern headquarters of the group in Odense was expanded in 2009 and because the advice on environmentally friendly solutions is one of the main fields of the group, it was natural that this new building should be equipped with the latest and best technology in terms of energy saving and environmental protection .
OBH already knew alternative cooling techniques and decided to install a sustainable climate solution. The Munters DesiCool ™ system met these requirements perfectly! Since OBH also anxious to use solar energy in this example suitable for floor heating in the new expansion, a cooperation of Munters and Arcon Solvarme A / S (Denmark's largest manufacturer of solar collectors) offered the solution.
Munters' DesiCool ™ system, which controls both temperature and humidity in a single device, operates without coolants and compressors and can be operated as a district heating with waste heat or in the case of OBH 100% by energy from solar collectors.
On the roof of the building OBH 150 m² solar collectors were installed. The highly effective collectors ensure that the water for the operation of DesiCool ™ system is sufficiently heated. The DesiCool ™ system provides an air flow rate of up to 18.000m³ / h. On cool, sunny days of March, the collectors can easily heat the water to the required temperature of 55 ° C. On cold, cloudy winter days the temperature of the collector reaches about 35 ° C - enough to power the underfloor heating. The heated water is transported from the roof to the basement, where it is installed DesiCool ™ system. During the summer DesiCool ™ offers a pleasant and humidity controlled cooling of offices with a capacity of 130-140 kW. During the winter, the system operates as a system for recovering heat and heats the building at extremely low operating costs thanks to its simple but ingenious technique and the energy supply by solar cells.
OBH plans to thoroughly monitor the energy consumption of this new air treatment solution and compare it with the conventional AC solution, which is installed in the original part of the building. Despite the investment in solar panels, etc., the company expects the amortization of the entire system within 5 years.
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Established in 1979, the Kaweah Delta Hospital Foundation addresses the
health needs of our community by supporting Kaweah Delta Health Care District.
The funds raised by the Foundation help provide equipment, new facilities,
and much more to ensure Tulare County has access to superior quality health
services and top of the line facilities. Find how you can get connected
with the Foundation!
Kaweah Delta Health Care District has locations that stretch across Tulare
County, providing comprehensive and accessible health services to patients
throughout the community. From physical therapy specialists to hospice
to our sleep disorders center to our health clinics, you can come to any
of our locations nearest you for the quality care and treatment you need.
Ready to learn more? Visit our locations page today.
Kaweah Delta was founded in 1963 as a district hospital. Now we are the
largest hospital in Tulare County and a certified level III Trauma Center.
We work with more than 4,400 medical professionals. Our eight-campus healthcare
district contains over 581 beds. As the only local hospital in Visalia,
we offer comprehensive
health services including cardiac surgery, general surgery,
cancer treatment,
mental health services,
orthopedic surgery, a renowned NICU and
pediatric center, and more.
Learn more about Kaweah Delta
Kaweah Delta is located at 400 W. Mineral King Avenue in Visalia, California.
We serve all of Tulare County and the surrounding areas. Call 559-624-2000
for more information.
With locations across Tulare County, Kaweah Delta Health Care District
is ready to serve your health needs. We are dedicated members of our community
and remain passionate about improving health care quality and accessibility
for our region. We have received outstanding recognition over the years
for our comprehensive health services. Partner with us for your health
today! Get in touch now for more information.
- Internal Medicine Residency, SUNY Downstate Medical Center
Brooklyn, NY
2001 - 2003
Medical Education
- Medical, University College of Medical Sciences
Delhi , India
1992 - 1998
- Internal Medicine Internship, SUNY Downstate Medical Center
Brooklyn, NY
2000 - 2001
- Gastroenterology Fellowship, SUNY Downstate Medical Center
Brooklyn, NY
2003 - 2006
- Advanced Endoscopy Fellowship, University of Minnesota
Minneapolis, MN
2006 - 2007
American Board of Internal Medicine - 10/16/2006


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So, now that HowToGeek is part of the league of justice, we often see the website discussed, often with some reference to the HowToGeek logo:
The terrible, terrible logo.
It's terribly composed, busy, jarring to look at. It's going for "hand-drawnsville" but ends up somewhere in the vicinity of "puketown."
It even reminds me of the atrocious comic series that used to play on the Daily WTF.
Maybe could we have a logo contest for them? Or just have Joel take a chunk of that filthy FogBugz lucre and loan them a graphic designer?


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Continuing with the theme of how I employ tax planning in my advisory practice (part of AdvisorOne's Special Report, 22 Days of Tax Planning Advice for 2012), in this post we'll examine the tax issues to remember when a client buys a home.
As we all know, housing prices have experienced a severe decline over the past four years. Even so, according to the Case-Shiller index, they are still above the 2000 level. In some portions of the country, mainly the areas which experienced the greatest run-up, prices have fallen more sharply. All this presents a great opportunity for those with the courage and financial resources to step up to the purchase window. In this post, we'll examine some of the tax consequences of becoming an owner of rental real estate.
A person's tax basis is essentially the net cost of an investment asset. In real estate, it includes the amount you pay for it in cash, in debt obligation, in other property or in services. In addition, if you paid sales tax on the property, it may be added to your basis if you did not deduct state and local general sales taxes as an itemized deduction on Schedule A (Form 1040).
A few other additions to basis include: freight charges to obtain the property and installation and testing charges. Also, if the previous owner owed real estate taxes, and you paid them and were not reimbursed, these taxes are added to your basis. However, if this is the case you cannot receive a deduction on the taxes you paid. Other fees that are added to basis include: abstract fees, charges for installing utility services, legal fees, recording fees, surveys, transfer taxes, title insurance and any amounts the seller owes that you agree to pay, such as back taxes or interest, recording or mortgage fees, charges for improvements or repairs, and sales commissions.
The following are settlement fees and closing costs you cannot include in your basis in the property. They include: fire insurance premiums, rent or other charges relating to occupancy of the property before closing, charges connected with getting or refinancing a loan such as: points (discount points, loan origination fees), mortgage insurance premiums, loan assumption fees, cost of a credit report, and fees for an appraisal required by a lender.
Basis is important for a number of reasons, most notably that when you dispose of the property, you will subtract the adjusted basis from the net sales proceeds to determine the amount subject to taxation.
Tax Benefits
During the year you will collect rent and incur out-of-pocket expenses related to the property. For instance, assume you collect $2,000 each month and have $1,000 in expenses. At this point your net rental income would be $1,000. However, after subtracting deprecation, assuming it was $900 per month, your tax exposure would be $100 each month, or $1,200 per year. You should also be aware that the basis of the property is reduced by the amount of depreciation taken. There are other factors that will raise or lower your basis, but time does not permit us to go too deeply into this. I suggest you contact a CPA for more information.
You may decide on an outright sale or you may consider a 1031 exchange. The 1031 exchange applies to investment properties and provides for the delay of the capital gains tax if done properly. Perhaps we will delve into this strategy in a future post.
Thanks for reading and have a great week!
See AdvisorOne's Special Report, 22 Days of Tax Planning Advice for 2012, throughout the month of March.


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Research has shown that new moms are more successful with breastfeeding when fathers are supportive. A 2000 study revealed that milk supply and a father's attitude were the two main factors affecting a mother's decision around whether to breastfeed.
A provocative new ad campaign aims to inspire men to support the nursing women in the their lives. Project Breastfeeding features a series of images of shirtless dads proudly holding babies in ways breastfeeding mothers would. The words "If I could, I Would," run over the photographs.
Professional photographer Hector Cruz got the idea to start the project after his wife, Nicole, gave birth and struggled with getting their baby to latch properly that led to extreme soreness. Cruz felt lost and didn't know how to help her so he hired a lactation consultant to step in. Nicole was forced to use nipple guards that allow breasts to heal and recover from a bad latch.
Cruz put together the photo series to spark a conversation about the role men should play in breastfeeding.
"There is nothing out there for men [about breast-feeding]," Cruz told Today Moms. "I wanted to change that."
"I think that men posing with their child in a similar way as women breast-feeding … shows the support that men have for their wives," he added.
Cruz started the project with the goal of raising enough money to fund a billboard in his hometown of Clarksville, Tenn., but now it's grown into something bigger as dads across the country are contacting him and asking to be photographed. Cruz's future plans are to start a nonprofit to educate dads about breastfeeding.
Dads: Do you find the Project Breastfeeding photos inspiring? How were you able to support your partner in breastfeeding?
Here's a look at more breastfeeding stories in the news.


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Nickname (name change): Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson Snodgrass
Occupation: Novelist
Birth date: November 30, 1835
Birth place: Florida, Mo.
Death date: April 21, 1910
Death place: Redding, Conn.
Burial location: Woodlawn Cemetery, Elmira, N.Y.
Spouse: Olivia Langdon
Children: Langdon Clemens, Susy Clemens, Clara Clemens, Jean Clemens
Did you know?
- Haley's Comet was visible in the sky on the night that Mark Twain was both born and passed away.
- Mark Twain published more than 30 books throughout his career.
- Hannibal, Mo. served as the inspiration for the fictional town of St. Petersberg in "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn."
- As a teenager, Twain worked as an apprentice printer.
- As a riverboat pilot, Twain earned from $150 to $250 a month.
- During the Civil War, Twain formed a Confederate militia known as the "Marion Rangers." The militia disbanded after approximately two weeks.
- Twain left Missouri after his militia disbanded and moved to Nevada. There he worked as a miner.
- "Roughing It" describes Twain's journey out West with his brother Orion.
- From 1901 until his death in 1910, Twain was vice president of the American Anti-Imperialist League.
- "Huckleberry Finn" was ranked as the fifth most frequently challenged book in the United States by the American Library Association.
- Prior to adopting Mark Twain as his pen name, Clemens wrote under the pen name Thomas Jefferson Snodgrass for a number of humorous pieces that he contributed to the Keokuk Post.


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Harper unhappy being postseason spectator
Nationals star eager to rebound from disappointing, injury-hampered season
ST. LOUIS -- An hour after watching his team be eliminated from the Wild Card race, Nationals outfielder Bryce Harper was sitting by his locker at Busch Stadium in full uniform, stunned that he is not going to the postseason this year.
After helping the Nationals to their first-ever NL East title last year, Harper, 20, thought going to the postseason would be a regular occurrence.
"I want to be in the playoffs every year. That's why you play this game. You work so hard in the offseason, you work so hard in Spring Training to get to this point," Harper said. "Not being able to get to the playoffs, it definitely hurts a little bit. I think everybody is going to remember this taste in their mouths and not want it back in their mouths again."
The Nationals were the early favorites to win a second straight NL East title this year, but injuries to Harper, for example, played a role in why the Nationals struggled this season. He missed more than a month after banging his left knee into the right-field wall at Dodger Stadium on May 12.
Harper even had issues with his left hip that forced him to miss a few games. He doesn't know how he hurt the hip, but he started feeling pain in late July when the team was playing the Tigers in Detroit. For proof of Harper's impact, know that whenever he was in the lineup, the Nationals were 63-53. They went 21-22 without him.
"I'm not going to sit here and say I'm a game changer, but I know when I'm healthy and I know I'm feeling good, I can help my team win every single night," Harper said. "Taking those 30 games off absolutely killed me. But it was more trying to get my leg, my whole body better.
"It hurts not to get the 40 home runs, not being able to hit .300 and do the things I want to do. Hopefully, one day, I can do that. Hopefully, that starts next year."
Although, Harper missed a lot of games this year, manager Davey Johnson believes Harper made improvements on the field, especially on the defensive end.
"I think he has had a better year than last year," Johnson said. "His outfield play has gotten better, he is making better throws, better reads."
When he is healthy, don't even think about taking Harper out of the game or giving him a day off. He admits that he is not in the best of moods when that happens. Even when he is not right, his father, Ron, taught him to play through the pain.
"I don't want to do anything else. This is all I got. … This is what I want to do the rest of my life," Harper said. "I really have nothing else. I have family, I have baseball, and I have the man upstairs. That's all I really need. That's what I'm going to do.
"I'm going to try to do the best I can. To be the best, you have to play every single day, try to be in the lineup every single day, work as hard as you can every day. When Davey wants to take me out, I don't want to come out of the game because I might not be able to play the next day. That's how it is. I could walk across the street and be hit by a car. God forbid. That could happen. I love to play this game."
The season is coming to an end Sunday. Will Harper need surgery to repair any damage to his knee or hip? As of now, the answer is no. On a scale of one to 10, Harper said his knee is a nine.
"I'm going to see where I'm at. I'm going to take a month off and see how I feel," Harper said. "Of course, I'm going to work out and see where I'm at, see where I feel. … Nothing hurts. Right now, I don't think I need surgery. It's more maintaining. Everybody hurts at the end of the season. Of course, hitting that wall wasn't fun in L.A. I think this is all the aftermath from that. We'll see where I'm at after a month goes by."


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SWAT teams swarmed a Chicago-area school Monday evening after some hip-hop music and an accidental phone call led a woman to believe her husband was being held hostage, officials said.
Toting automatic weapons and clad in riot gear, SWAT team members stormed the Winnetka, Ill., school where the woman's husband works and searched it for nearly three hours — all because of a so-called "butt-dial."
"You know how when you sit on your phone when it's in your back pocket and it calls the last number that was dialed? His wife was the last number he'd dialed," Winnetka Police Chief Joseph De Lopez told the Chicago Tribune.
"He was listening to music and he had, I don't know, hip-hop … or music like that, where there were lyrics that were gangster-like," said Mark Friedman, the school district's superintendent. "So there were lyrics on the radio as he was driving home, and she listened to it and became concerned."
The wife, who was not identified, told 911 that when she received the call, she could not get her husband to respond, reported Pioneer Local, leading her to believe he was being held hostage by a gunman in his office.
The sweep at the Carleton Washburne School ended when the man was found safe at home by police, the Tribune reported. The man, who is an administrative employee at the school, declined to comment on the situation.
Click here for more weird news
"He's embarrassed," Superintendent Friedman told the Tribune. "Who wouldn't be? He's taking it hard that it created such a response."
The 500 students who attend the middle school had left for the day by the time the 30 officers, some in bulletproof vests and helmets with face shields, arrived.
Most popular
Winnetka police had no estimate of how much was spent on resources during the false alarm. After both the employee and his wife were interviewed by investigators, it was deemed that there was no intent to deceive police. No charges will be filed.
© 2013 msnbc.com Reprints


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Hard News: The war over a mystery
154 Responses
First ←Older Page 1 2 3 4 5 … 7 Newer→ Last
Hebe, in reply to
Same; bit like a Japanese tourist sees a sheep; I see a merino ram.
Sofie Bribiesca, in reply to
tourist sees a sheep; I see a merino ram.
I have never met a boatie that won't get agreement on types of boats. Sloop/ Ketch/ single mast /brass portholes.......
Craig Ranapia, in reply to
We could find out by asking Russell.
Yes - he's rather clear on the difference between being charged with an offense and convicted of same and all that wet liberal pussy "presumption of innocence" foofy tosh. I'm no so sure about a disturbing number of other people who should know a lot better.
The problem with the media appointing itself judge, jury and executioner is that there's no appeals and bugger all accountability when they just get it wrong. (Unless of course, you can afford the services of Sue, Grabbitt and Runne.)
Sofie Bribiesca, in reply to
Yes – he's rather clear on the difference
Point being.I'd trust his experience. The man is actually an expert on Media.
Islander, in reply to
Hebe & Sof' – yep.
When the environment is familiar, so are the creatures therein.*
And even if drunken, you dont make the mistake of calling a glass eel, a whitebait**
*Boats are created-tures as far as I am concerned (I dont know a sailor/waterperson who doesnt feel a liveliness about them.)
And the difference between Watson's boat and a distinctive ketch is every bit as much obvious as the distinction between a young elver and all kinds of whitebait
**(and believe, after 41 years at that game, I can tell my g.maculatus from my g. argenteus. Anyone ever wants to know what species are present in the West Coast catch is welcome to use my wonderful (sigh! One of my gifts to humanity!)
acronym – BMFAP. For a small fee(to the SFTB or Women's Refuges thanks) – or youall just go buy the late, much-lamented Rob McDowall's "The Whitebait Book" – I will translate that…
O, DoC offices have a perfectly lovely little pamphlet that will give you all that info for free…using Rob's drawings. I do miss him e-
Hmm. One thing that's not noted in Hunter's book, but is noted in the Royal Commission report is that Hutton's original order was for rifles to be collected from friends, family and associates and from neighbors within a five-mile radius of the Crewe farm.
Thomas's rifle was the only one collected outside those criteria -- he lived eight miles away -- apparently because "the Police were aware of his past association with Jeanette Crewe." Even though he'd been fond of her years before, shortly after they both left school, and was now happily and securely married, with no known association with the Crewes.
The RC rightly held that that such cherry-picking was prejudicial to Thomas. How many similar (i.e.: "can't be ruled out") rifles might have been collected if all the rifles in an eight-mile radius had been collected?
HORansome, in reply to
The problem here is that whilst we all have anecdotal evidence that seems to indicate that "Professionals of group X never get these things wrong," the actual studies of such professionals (usually undertaken by cognitive psychologists) show that professionals are only slightly better than the laity in these kinds of issues; once you start polling the population of experts at large the error rates go up significantly.
I've always thought the eye-witness testimony was a bit of a red-herring in this case; the scrupulously cleaned boat that belonged to Watson, plus the DNA evidence is evidence which is independent of the eye-witness testimony (i.e. it is a different argument for the guilt of Scott Watson) and that evidence is much more reliable.
Keith Hunter of course wrote Trial By Trickery about the Scott Watson case. Hunter has no doubts that Watson is innocent. I don't believe his book was ever "legalled". In fact, I understand one or more publishers refused to publish the book because it was potentially defamatory. Certianly, Hunter doesn't pull his punches. Interestingly, none of those involved with the investigation and prosecution of Watson have sued Hunter.
Ross Francis, in reply to
Why was the eyewitness testimony a red herring? Various people on the night in question saw a man acting inappropriately towards women. It couldn't have been Watson because the description of the man bore no resemblance to Watson.The man was apparently dropped off on the same boat that Smart and Hope spent the night.
It's curious that a clean boat should be cause for suspicion.
HORansome, in reply to
Saying that as Hunter was never sued over his book is also a bit of a red-herring; NASA doesn't sue over documentaries that claim the Moon Landings were faked, but from that we can't say there's a case for a Moon Landing hoax. It just means that NASA (and, by extension in this example, the prosecution) either don't feel the need to rehash something that has been to trial or consider the claims to be warrantless and thus not worthy of their time.
With respect to the eye-witness testimony, it's a red herring insofar as if it is meant to discredit the case against Watson, it is the wrong kind of counter-argument to look at as it fails at the job of showing that Watson can't have been involved; the quality (or lack thereof) of the eye-witness testimony doesn't in anyway reflect upon the quality (or lack thereof) of the DNA evidence, for example.
In re the cleanliness of the boat, what was suspicious about it was the nature in which certain surfaces had been cleaned. The DNA evidence supports the thesis that the boat had been cleaned (albeit not perfectly) to get rid of the evidence Smart and Hope were there.
I'm not saying it is a sure thing that Watson did it; I'm just not convinced by the counter-arguments and I do think the burden of proof is on those who would argue that, in this case, the Crown got it wrong (I stress in this case).
Russell Brown, in reply to
With respect to the eye-witness testimony, it's a red herring insofar as if it is meant to discredit the case against Watson, it is the wrong kind of counter-argument to look at as it fails at the job of showing that Watson can't have been involved; the quality (or lack thereof) of the eye-witness testimony doesn't in anyway reflect upon the quality (or lack thereof) of the DNA evidence, for example.
True. On the other hand, Hunter's notes for Murder on the Blade say: "The key witnesses make it clear they believe they were tricked into identifying Watson as the killer. They are unanimous that Watson is innocent."
The second sentence is irrelevant -- what witnesses think about a man they didn't see should have no bearing. But if the first sentence indicates the police case was improperly assembled, then that could reflect on the nature of the prosecution.
Keith Hunter discusses the Watson case here. During the first interview, he even confesses that some of his commentary is or may be defamatory and seems genuinely surprised that no action has been taken against him.
Ross Francis, in reply to
It's unclear what you know or don't know about the Watson case. If you have read Hunter's book about the case, you might be less inclined to put so much store in the DNA evidence. I'm not sure what you're getting at when you refer to "the nature in which certain surfaces had been cleaned."
HORansome, in reply to
Ah, the old "If you knew what I knew, you'd whistle a different tune." 9/11 Truthers pull that one on me all the time.
HORansome, in reply to
Oh, I agree, if the police tricked people into identifying Watson that certainly would be a problem for the police case but a problem for the police case isn't necessarily a problem with the overall evidence. It might well be the case that Watson was fitted up but that there was sufficient evidence to convict anyway.
As I said, I'm not saying I'm convinced that case for Watson being the killer is ironclad. I'm just not convinced by the counter-argument which claims he was innocent.
Ross Francis, in reply to
So far you've dredged up moon landing hoaxers and 9/11 Truthers, so you're doing well. As for your claim that Watson may have been fitted up but that there was possibly sufficient evidence to convict anyway, that would be up to a jury to decide, certainly not up to me, you, or the Court of Appeal. But here's what lawyer Steven Price has said of Hunter's book on the case:
Hunter asserts that those involved in securing Watson's conviction were party to a horrendous miscarriage of justice. He says the police were deceptive and tunnel-visioned, the media helped spread damaging misinformation, and the prosecutors misled the jury. They're serious allegations. But Hunter explains his grounds for them. His case is persuasive. The onus now, I think, is on the police and prosecution to answer it. What has Hunter got wrong? What other evidence has he missed out that should convince us that Watson is guilty? Is there a good response to his allegations of police and prosecution misconduct?
I phoned the police and asked those questions. I was told that Rob Pope, who was in charge of the Watson investigation and is now Deputy Police Commissioner, hadn't read the book, and didn't want to relitigate the case, which after all had been through an appeals process.
Not good enough, I say. Hunter has raised serious questions here, and they go to the heart of public confidence in the administration of justice. The fact that an innocent man may be in jail is just the beginning of what should trouble us about this case.
Russell Brown, in reply to
But here's what lawyer Steven Price has said of Hunter's book on the case:
Keith Hunter actually said on the Media7 recording tonight that he believed the Watson case embodied a greater miscarriage of justice than that suffered by Thomas.
Islander, in reply to
If he'd added Ellis, I would so totally agree-
those cases stick out like gangrenous thumbs trying to hitchhike justice according to our law-
(way way back: also Minnie Dean...)
Er, HORansome, the burden of proof is always on the Crown. You might say it is a bit of a thread in English law. So it doesn't matter if you aren't convinced he's innocent. That's not the goal here.
Islander, in reply to
While I respect HOR Ransome's especial expertise, he's being a bit of an arsehole here. The "professionals of Group x" spiel was silly. Whitebaiters know glass -eels: water-boaters know a ketch from a sloop. Damning individual expertise with totally unsupported comment sets you right back, HOR Ransome, with some of your targets.
Simon Grigg, in reply to
If he'd added Ellis, I would so totally agree-
those cases stick out like gangrenous thumbs trying to hitchhike justice according to our law-
I'd add Philip Sturm, another case that glared false conviction - essentially railroaded into a cell and bankruptcy because the police didn't like him. Guilty of being an pretty unpleasant person living a sleezy lifestyle - little else.
Islander, in reply to
<q>I'd add Philip Sturm, another case that glared false conviction – essentially railroaded into a cell and bankruptcy because the police didn't like him. Guilty of being an pretty unpleasant person living a sleezy lifestyle – little else.
Worrying…I wonder how many others? Who dont have a positive media profile of any kind,
and possibly insufficient representation in court-
Ross Francis, in reply to
I'd add Philip Sturm, another case that glared false conviction
I must confess I don't know much about this case other than what's been reported. On that basis, I wasn't aware that wrongful conviction was likely. Sturm at least had the luxury - for want of a better word - of a second trial, something denied to the likes of Ellis and Watson (among others).
Ross Francis, in reply to
Keith Hunter actually said on the Media7 recording tonight that he believed the Watson case embodied a greater miscarriage of justice than that suffered by Thomas.
Russell, is that interview available online and when will it be screened on TV7?
I tend to agree with Hunter, though I was fairly young at the time of the Thomas case and didn't know the details very well. My impression of the Watson case, like that of Ellis, is that the justice system stubbornly refuses to accept the possibility of a miscarriage of justice. Maryanne Garry, pyschology lecturer and one of the founders of the Innocence Project here, made a comment some years back arguing that in the US it was widely understood and recognised that wrongful convictions happened, but that wasn't the case here (maybe by the wider public but not by those with the power to correct miscarriages). Hunter has made a similar point, saying that we have some growing up to do. It's quite disappointing because several years ago retired judge Sir Thomas Thorp published research on miscarriages and found the system to be far from infallible. He has been strongly critical of the Justice Ministry which has obstructed attempts to establish a Criminal Cases Review Commission, an independent body that exists in the UK to examine possible miscarriages.
HORansome, in reply to
Well, the golden thread of justice is that a person is innocent until proven guilty. What counts as being proven guilty is decided by the courts. So, whilst I agree that the burden of proof is on the Crown pre-trial, the burden of proof changes post trial to those who would disagree with the trial verdict (which is why we have a rigorous appeal system which requires you to go through substantive hoops).
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This directory includes experts in a wide range of fields related to captive amphibian programs. It is intended to benefit anyone who is involved with conservation programs for captive amphibians.
Please note: If you are not directly involved with captive conservation programs for amphibians, we ask that you consider searching for any information you need on our web site, or using an internet search engine rather than contacting the people below. Due to their existing workloads, these people are unable to answer emails that are not from people involved with captive amphibian programs. Please consider using these other resources to find the help you need: Amphibian Husbandry, Chytrid Fungus, AArk Documents, Amphibians on the Web.
Dr. Olivier Bongard
I am DVM and director of Zoo de Guyane, a zoo located in French Guiana (French department in South America continent).
French Guiana


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|System: PS3, X360, Wii, DS
|Review Rating Legend
|Dev: Krome Studios
|1.0 - 1.9 = Avoid
|4.0 - 4.4 = Great
|Pub: Warner Brothers Entertainment
|2.0 - 2.4 = Poor
|4.5 - 4.9 = Must Buy
|Release: Sept. 14, 2010
|2.5 - 2.9 = Average
|5.0 = The Best
|Players: 1
|3.0 - 3.4 = Fair
|ESRB Rating: Everyone 10+
|3.5 - 3.9 = Good
by Amanda L. Kondolojy
Although the movie based on the Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole book series features plenty of gorgeous visuals (complete with slow-motion owl fights) a common complaint of the movie has been the lack of an interesting plot. If you are looking for an experience to supplement the movie's lack of intricate story, you may be tempted to pick up the game based on the movie. However, like the movie, the game never really lives up to its potential.
As you might expect, the main gameplay mechanic involves flying around as one of the titular owls of Ga'Hoole. A rival owl faction, known as The Pure Ones, has been attacking your owl clan, and you'll play as Shard, who is a small guardian-in-training. Shard is a character exclusive to the game, and his story is not one that is presented in the film. However, it seems not much time was taken with this story, as it never develops into anything truly supplemental to the movie experience. Sure, you get a decent back-story to this auxiliary character, but elements of the movie are not shown in any new light due to the perception of this new character, which is a real missed opportunity. If the game would have taken a bit more license with Shard's character and revealed a few extra tidbits of information about the movie's bigger plot points through him, this game could have been really interesting, but unfortunately it falls into the "play the movie" trap that so many licensed games find themselves in.
Still, despite the lackluster story, if you are looking for some high-flying owl action, this game has it in spades. Unfortunately, the action gets old fast. When you first start up the flying tutorial, the rush you get from flying as an owl in a vast fantasy land in undeniable, and I'll be the first to admit that I found the initial experience really cool. You learn to glide, dive, and use your wings to gain or regulate your speed. My first perception of the game was that of a kid-friendly flight simulator, which is actually quite a cool idea. Also introduced early is the combat mechanic, which requires precision button presses and the use of environmental elements for success. Both of these mechanics had solid premises, and I was excited to see how they might develop over the course of the game.
Unfortunately, there was no development. The beginning of the game feels exactly like the end, and once you play through the games 3-4 hour story mode, it's hard not to feel a little slighted. Sure, as you play you can collect in-game currency and unlock new armor and equipment for your owl, but because the AI ramps up at a steady pace, each level feels like it is about the same in terms of difficulty after you make the upgrades that unlock with each successive level. Another issue is that each level is formatted almost exactly the same as well. You start off flying, an enemy is introduced that you have to battle with a few short button presses, and occasionally there is a collection element introduced as well. While I wouldn't expect too much variety in a game that revolves around warrior owls, I would have liked to have seen a little something to break up the monotony (a mini-game or two, perhaps?) As it is, the similar structure and non-development of the mechanics make this game a terrible bore, and I can't imagine even the youngest of kids interested in this title not feeling a little jaded by the overwhelming sameness that permeates each and every level. While I understand simplicity is a good thing in a game intended for the younger sect, this game takes this concept to an unfortunate extreme.


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"Then in the salt on the little white table... I traced in the grains of their families' tears what each man and woman who serves America is to me, a ... Hero." - America's White Table by Margot Theis Raven, illustrated by Mike Benny
Staff Sgt. Amy Krueger, a Wisconsin soldier, had an American flag tattooed to her back with the following words, "All gave some. Some gave all. Sacrifice." She was one of 13 people killed in the shooting at Fort Hood last week. Veterans Day is a day to honor all those servicemen and women who give so much in order to protect our freedom. They indeed sacrifice much and deserve our deepest appreciation and respect.
America's White Table is a powerful and moving picture book to share with children and help them understand the sacrifice involved in serving our nation. The book introduces a military tradition of setting a white table [also called POW/MIA Missing Man Table or remembrance table] as a way to remember and symbolize service members, especially those held captive or missing in action. Author Margot Theis Raven describes this touching and poignant ceremony by telling a story from the viewpoint of a little girl named Katie. While Katie helps set a little white table on Veterans Day, her mother explains the importance and meaning behind the tradition and also tells them about their Uncle John's act of heroism as a POW in Vietnam. In the end, Katie, in her own special way, pays tribute to and honors her uncle and all those soldiers who have sacrificed so much for her freedom.
"We use a small table, girls," she explained first, "to show one soldier's lonely battle against many. We cover it with a white cloth to honor a soldier's pure heart when he answers his country's call to duty.
We place a lemon slice and grains of salt on a plate to show a captive soldier's bitter fate and the tears of families waiting for loved ones to return," she continued.
We push an empty chair to the table for the missing soldiers who are not here..."
According to the author's note in the back of the book, the tradition of setting a white table originated during the time of the Vietnam War by a group of airman called the Red River Valley Pilots Association. The symbols on the table may vary depending on the ceremony.
Benny's softly hued illustrations convey the variety emotions brought on by this solemn tribute. The words of "My County 'Tis of Thee" grace the background of the pages, bringing even more meaning to the text. The story and images brought tears to my eyes, and my family will certainly make reading this story an annual tradition. America's White Table is perfect to share at home, especially during Memorial Day and Veterans Day. Many schools have also used Raven's book in their Veteran's Day commemorations, with students setting their own white tables. The story could also be incorporated in teacher's lesson plans and used to supplement units about the Vietnam War and prisoners of war.
America's White Table by Margot Theis Raven, illustrated by Mike Benny. Sleeping Bear Press (April 2005); 32 pages; ISBN 9781585362165
Book Source: Review copy provided for free by publisher (View my full disclosure statement for more information about my reviews.)
Watch this wonderful SchoolTube video from French Town Elementary School about setting a white table on Veterans Day:
Win your own copy! Sleeping Bear Press/Gale Cengage Learning has kindly offered to give away (3) copies of America's White Table to Brimful Curiosities readers.
To enter, leave a comment relevant to this post.
• For contact purposes, if you are a non-blogger or your email is not accessible in your blog profile, please leave a valid email address within the comment section.Four ways to gain extra entries (Maximum total entries is 5 - leave a separate comment for each entry):
• Contest is open to US and Canada
• Contest ends on Monday, November 23rd, 2009 at 11:59 PM CST.
• Winner will be chosen at random
1st extra entry: Tell me about a memory related to a veteran or Veterans Day.
2nd extra entry: Follow Me! or subscribe by email or RSS reader
3rd extra entry: Blog about this contest then post your link in the comment section.
4th extra entry: Follow me on twitter (iambrimful) and tweet about the contest.


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Spicy Peanut Soup with Chicken
Veronica Chambers Jason Clampet Bon Appétit December 2007
reviews (58)
88%Go to reviews
make it again
An intriguing, rich, and spicy soup with West African roots.
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- Yield
- Makes 4 main-course servings
- Total Time
- 35 minutes
- 1 pound skinless boneless chicken breast halves, cut into 3/4- to- 1-inch cubes
- 1 tablespoon hot sauce
- 4 cups low-salt chicken broth
- 1/3 cup creamy peanut butter (do not use natural or old-fashioned)
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 5 tablespoons butter
- 1 1/2 cups chopped onion
- 2 medium zucchini, trimmed, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
- 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
- 1 cup drained canned diced tomatoes in juice
- Combine chicken cubes and hot sauce in medium bowl and toss to coat well. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and toss again. Whisk chicken broth, peanut butter, and tomato paste in another medium bowl to blend.
- Melt butter in large pot over medium-high heat. Add chopped onion and zucchini; sauté until tender, about 8 minutes. Add chicken and sauté until no longer pink on outside, about 3 minutes. Sprinkle with flour and cook 1 minute, stirring occasionally.
- Add broth mixture and tomatoes to pot. Simmer until chicken is cooked through and flavors blend, about 5 minutes. Season soup to taste with salt and pepper. Serve.


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I've just learned the evolution of some quantum system for about a week, and our homework sometimes something like this. I don't quite have any idea of solving this kind of problem.
Can you help giving me some fundamental enlightment on these problems, say one like this:
" Assume the spin number of a particle is 1, if the measure of the x component of spin is +1 at first, then the y component is measured -1. What is the probability that the x component is measured to be +1 again? "
Thank you very much!


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Interesting facts about Amsterdam
Explore Amsterdam, the cultural heart and capital city of the Netherlands. The city of old European charm is worth exploring any time of year, with the famous canals offering scenic boat trips in the summer and outdoor ice rinks set up during the cold winters. Fly to Amsterdam with Cathay Pacific for high-end on-board comfort and services, no matter which class you fly.
Experience Amsterdam
The historic heart of Amsterdam appears much as it did hundreds of years ago, with tall, well-restored architecture lining the many waterways. Around 400 bridges connect the city's numerous islands. Enjoy great shopping in the narrow medieval streets of the Jordaan, and then relax in any of the cosy coffee shops. Ascend the tower of Oude Kerk for lovely views, and visit Amsterdam's world-class museums, like the Anne Frank House, Rembrandt Museum, Rijksmuseum, and the Van Gogh Museum. For something a bit different, explore the Venustempel Sex Museum or the Heineken Experience.
Getting Around Amsterdam
Make like the locals and rent a bicycle to move around the city with ease. Alternatively, the city is well-connected by tram, metro, bus, and boat. Start enjoying the good life – book your flight to Amsterdam with Cathay Pacific today.


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Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Haleigh Cummings Ground Search Halted
The massive, 5-mile area ground search by hundreds of volunteers, including Tim Miller of Texas EqquSearch, has been suspended and the volunteers have pulled out.
"It's frustrating," Chief Deputy Rick Ryan of the Putnam County Sheriff's Department said. Police encouraged the family to remain hopeful little Haleigh will be found alive.
On Monday, the family pleaded for search teams to stay and continue to search for their missing daughter.
"I encourage anyone who wants to help me to look for my daughter to come back and help me look," said Cummings.
Authorities stress they haven't given up searching for Haleigh. They have received more than 500 tips to follow-up on and that is why the command center has been moved from a trailer in Satsuma to the county offices in Palatka. The move gives investigators greater access to computers, phone lines, and resources.
Many of the leads have been have been investigated, but so far, authorities have come up empty handed.
Haleigh's mother, father, his girlfriend, and extended family members have been re-interviewed.
Authorities are now focusing on reviewing and confirming witness statements as well as establishing a timeline around Haleigh's disappearance.
3 comments:
- katfish said...
OMG, this is heartbreaking to read this:
On Monday, the family pleaded for search teams to stay and continue to search for their missing daughter.
"I encourage anyone who wants to help me to look for my daughter to come back and help me look," said Cummings.
I imagine that when they could physically see people looking for Haleigh it gave them some measure of comfort. Perhaps they can organize some "civilian" searches.
- February 17, 2009 at 10:31 AM
- Anonymous said...
44 molesters in a 5 mile radius. No problems here. Seems the courts are doing their job. How absolutely horrifying. Maybe they can get together and rent a hall, have meetings. They might as well, they're probably on the same web site. Having been molested my entire childhood, and seeing the rise of abuse, I'm afraid I'm not optimistic, my souls to damaged to see to much good happenening.
- February 17, 2009 at 12:25 PM
- Anonymous said...
Duh! The girlfriend did something to her. They all slept in the same bed!
- February 17, 2009 at 1:20 PM


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We're going to let commenter JayP71 handle this one:
I was driving through my neighborhood last night and noted my landmark for a turn onto the street that crosses mine. This landmark is a early '90s Caddy. The vinyl roof is long gone. The creative owner has replaced it with black sandpaper-like friction tape. He was apparently so proud of how this came out that he carried the theme down to the trunk. In addition this car as the 'Gold' kit, performed with house paint and coarse brushes. Rusty too wide and undersized tires finish out the look of this fine machine. Which brings up the thought: What is the worst pimp out job you've seen inflicted on a helpless automobile?
Living where we've lived (all over the Eastside of Los Angeles) we've seen so many horrid pimp-misfires that nothing specific is coming to mind. However, we did know a guy who was serious about getting hydraulics for his 1984 Dodge Colt. You? And the above is the best pimp job, in case you were curious.
[Jalopnik's Question of the Day is straight macking. And all about the Benjamins. Have a question you need answered? Email suggestions to email@example.com with the subject line "QOTD"]


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Oher titles I considering for this post:
Hollywood Power Players under 5 ft 8
Rich dudes in lifts
Anyway, is it possible that these are the first side-by-side photos of Tom Cruise and Johnny Depp? And during the one month window when they happen to both be exactly 50?
Jerry Bruckheimer brought them together. It would have to be. Jerry Bruckheimer's made the difference – a very lucrative difference – in both their careers. And now that you're looking at them, for the first time perhaps, standing next to each other, is there much of a difference between Tom Cruise and Johnny Depp?
By the way, re: the "mystery blonde" that Tom had his arm around yesterday when he arrived at the event – as mentioned in that article, the paps were probably too lazy to figure out who she was before sending out the shots because she looked like a publicist-type to me. And indeed she is. I heard from her yesterday – Heidi Lopata, also known as Heidi Slan. She was with PMK for years. You'll recall, Tom was repped at the height of his career by Pat Kingsley and he broke up with Kingsley around the time that he started up with Katie Holmes, putting his sister in charge of his publicity which… well… didn't go so well. Lopata is now with 42West. 42West's Amanda Lundberg is the one who released this curiously worded statement on behalf of Tom last year when Katie shocked the world and filed for divorce:
"Kate has filed for divorce and Tom is deeply saddened and is concentrating on his three children. Please allow them their privacy to work this out."
Not sure if Lopata is taking over from Lundberg – who's a partner at 42West – but it'll be interesting to watch how they continue to evolve his publicity strategy from here, now a year after the terrible press he received after the divorce.


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Everything works fine before i did one of the following :
Now, I have not been able to make the WiFi works once again.
Code: Select all
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get upgrade
sudo rpi-update
When the rpi is booting, i got the message : Failed to start Configure Bluetooth Modems connected by UART. When I see this error, WiFi is not working anymore. Also, when I run raspi-config, and the network options for wifi, I get the message "No wireless interface found". Usually, it happens when I've complete a fresh install on a externall HDD (not happening on sd card) and these lines had fix the problem :
But they don't solve the problem I have right now.
Code: Select all
sudo apt-get install raspberrypi-sys-mods
sudo apt-get install --reinstall pi-bluetooth
sudo reboot
Please, help me!


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2 search results
Food Processing
Food Processing focuses on the food processing industry with special emphasis on the handling, processing, and marketing of food products. To prepare for careers in food products and processing systems, students must attain academic skills and knowledge, acquire technical knowledge and skills...
- Grade Range: 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, Postsecondary
Scope and Sequence: Food Processing
CTE TEKS - Implemented 2017-2018, adopted in 2015Food Processing course scope and sequence within the Agriculture, Food, and Natural Resources Career Cluster® summarizes the content to be taught, and one possible order for teaching the units of instruction. A brief description of...
- Resource ID: 19279
- Grade Range: 10, 11, 12


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SUNNYVALE, CA. and YOKNEAM, ISRAEL – December 10, 2012 – Mellanox® Technologies, Ltd. (NASDAQ: MLNX; TASE: MLNX), a leading supplier of high-performance, end-to-end interconnect solutions for data center servers and storage systems, today announced the promotion of Roni Ashuri to senior vice president of engineering and Marc Sultzbaugh to senior vice president of worldwide sales. Roni Ashuri will lead all of Mellanox's software development in addition to his existing adapter and switch IC development responsibilities. Mr. Ashuri and Mr. Sultzbaugh will continue to report to Eyal Waldman, Mellanox's president, chairman and CEO.
"I am very pleased to promote Roni Ashuri to senior vice president of engineering. As a co-founder of Mellanox, Roni has been invaluable to Mellanox's long history of silicon IC engineering success, and we look forward to his continued leadership and outstanding execution with our wide breadth of software initiatives," said Eyal Waldman, chairman, president and CEO of Mellanox Technologies. "Since becoming vice president of worldwide sales in 2007, Marc Sultzbaugh has been instrumental to Mellanox's rapid customer and revenue growth. I am very pleased to promote Marc as senior vice president of worldwide sales and look forward to his continued leadership to grow Mellanox's business and sales with our customers around the world. I wish both new senior vice presidents success in their new extended roles."
Roni Ashuri is a co-founder of Mellanox and has served as Mellanox's senior vice president of engineering since December 2012. Previously, Mr. Ashuri was Mellanox's vice president of engineering from June 1999 to December 2012. From March 1998 to May 1999, Mr. Ashuri served as product line director of system controllers at Galileo Technology, Ltd. From May 1987 to February 1998, Mr. Ashuri worked at Intel Corporation, where he was a senior staff member in the Pentium processors department and a cache controller group staff member. Mr. Ashuri holds a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from the Technion — Israel Institute of Technology.
Marc Sultzbaugh has served as Mellanox's senior vice president of worldwide sales since December 2012. Previously, Mr. Sultzbaugh served as Mellanox's vice president of worldwide sales from April 2007 to December 2012. Mr. Sultzbaugh joined Mellanox Technologies in 2001 as director of high performance computing and director of central area sales, and was later promoted to senior director of sales in October 2005. Prior to Mellanox, he held various executive sales and marketing positions with Brooktree Semiconductor. From 1985 to 1989, Sultzbaugh was an engineer at AT&T Microelectronics. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from The University of Missouri-Rolla, and a Master's of Business Administration from The University of California, Irvine.
Supporting Resources:
About Mellanox
Mellanox Technologies is a leading supplier of end-to-end InfiniBand and Ethernet interconnect solutions and services for servers and storage. Mellanox interconnect solutions increase data center efficiency by providing the highest throughput and lowest latency, delivering data faster to applications and unlocking system performance capability. Mellanox offers a choice of fast interconnect products: adapters, switches, software and silicon that accelerate application runtime and maximize business results for a wide range of markets including high performance computing, enterprise data centers, Web 2.0, cloud, storage and financial services. More information is available at www.mellanox.com.
Mellanox, BridgeX, ConnectX, CORE-Direct, InfiniBridge, InfiniHost, InfiniScale, PhyX, SwitchX, Virtual Protocol Interconnect and Voltaire are registered trademarks of Mellanox Technologies, Ltd. Connect-IB, FabricIT, MetroX, MLNX-OS, ScalableHPC, Unbreakable-Link, UFM and Unified Fabric Manager are trademarks of Mellanox Technologies, Ltd. All other trademarks are property of their respective owners.


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P-III autopsy
For teaching a course I needed to take a closer look at a CPU. I asked around and got my hands on an old P-III Coppermine that was about to get thrown out. I'll start with a disclaimer: I know virtually nothing about CPUs, so if I claim something to be true, it probably isn't.
The first challenge is to get the actual silicon processor chip off of the plastic bonding board. In the picture below, the blue thing you see is the back side of the processor chip. When the processor is finished, it is turned upside down and bonded to the green circuit board. This allows the metal pads on the silicon chip and the pads on the circuit board to join, creating a connection (this is one of those claims...). I believe that the CPU at that stage is heated up in order to melt the joints and thereby solder them together.
Click images for full-size. Especially the scanning electron microscope images below could be interesting to view in all its splendor.
I figured I should be able to remove the chip by heating it. I first tried using a heat gun, but that just made some bad smelling fumes. I instead turned to brute force and used a power-saw to cut out the part containing the actual chip. Using pliers I managed to get a few pieces off of the board (cracking the chip in the process, but I was planning to do that anyway) and got the rest off by using a scalpel.
Below you can see the result. On the bottom side of the piece that came off you can see all the connector pads that were previously connected to the pins on the backside of the circuit board.
Now the interesting part begins. I looked at the piece above in an optical microscope. The picture below shows an enhanced version of the little dots in the above picture.
Furthermore, by changing the focus of the microscope, we can see multiple layers within each hole
In a CPU there are multiple layers of sandwiched metal leads going down to the transistors at the bottom (at the surface of the silicon wafer). I believe what we're seeing is simply those different layers.
Since optical microscopy doesn't show very much detail, I decided to load the chip into a scanning electron microscope (SEM).
What I did was to cleave the chip into smaller pieces. This way I can peek from the side of the chip and get some cross-sectional images. Below is a series of images that shows a zoom-in on the surface of the Si chip. For some reason I had a lot of trouble getting a good focus. I'm not sure what kind of Si is used for these CPUs, but if it's a non-conducting silicon, the electron beam in the SEM can charge the material making it difficult to focus. Another possibility is that all the plastic encapsulation material caused charging effects.
I believe that in order to see the actual transistors at the bottom (at the surface of the silicon wafer) I will need to remove all the layers. I'll let you know if I figure out a good way of doing this.


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- High quality sweater jacket Dellorto Motorsport
- Logo in the front & back area
- Stickers in the arm area
- High quality sweater jacket Dellorto Motorsport
- Logo in the front & back area
- Stickers in the arm area
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Identity Politics in Jena, Louisiana
JENA, La. -- Main Street buzz has turned from racial politics to presidential politics in the year since the "Jena Six" legal battles and civil rights protests.
Residents gathered outside the La Salle Parish courthouse in Jena, La., on Sept. 11 to reflect on community values and how the presidential election might play here, a parish of about 14,000 residents, heavily invested in oil, timber and conservative values.
A year ago Saturday about 20,000 civil rights demonstrators protested a perception of legal injustice and racial prejudice at the same courthouse. But on Sept. 11, as townspeople, the school band, elected officials and the National Guard came together, the focus was patriotism and politics, said Sammy Franklin, long-time editor and publisher of the Jena Times.
"These people here are very patriotic," Franklin said, noting that many are veterans.
"You have a war veteran, a former POW, here, and then you have a candidate here that will not salute the flag, not wear a flag pin," said Franklin, referring to presidential candidates Sens. John McCain and Barack Obama. "I've heard some diehard Democrats, that would never (not) vote for a Democrat before say, 'No, I can't do that this time.' … Because of just that one thing."
Franklin predicted La Salle Parish would go Republican on Nov. 4, and recent history backs him up. La Salle gave President Bush more than 80% of its vote in 2004 — and 75% in 2000.
Identity influences politics
Cleveland Riser Jr., a retired educator who invested 29 years in the local school system, said he sees identity as a pressure point this year. The parish is 85.6% white and 12% black.
"Can they overcome the fact that when they see him they are going to see a darker face?" asked Riser, a black man with Native American and white heritage.
Riser, who supports Obama, said he believes race will factor into voters' decisions but that it was not the most important issue to him.
Age made more of a difference. Riser, a veteran, admires McCain's military service but thinks a 72-year-old candidate lacks the energy for the job. Instead, he was inspired by the vivacity and enthusiasm of Obama, 47.
"When he stepped in with his ability to generate concern and know-how, people bought into it," Riser said. "He has the attention and ear, as well as the pulse, of many Americans who … want to be involved, who want to be a part of the truly American way."
But Catherine Roberts, a Republican party organizer since the mid-1960s, doesn't believe age should be a factor.
"Seventy-year-old people aren't necessarily stupid," she said laughingly while standing in her floral shop. "Most of them still have a good mind."
She supports McCain — and has promised to help make 4,000 Election Day phone calls on his behalf — but said his running mate Gov. Sarah Palin has really shaken up the race.
"I think that as far as this presidential election, Gov. Palin has done the Republican Party a lot of good. She has put some excitement into the whole thing," she said, surmising that her gender could draw women to the ticket.
"A lot of the women will be interested in Palin because they are wanting a woman to get there," she said.
Gerald Mitchell, who serves food at the Brisket House, said Palin shifted his views on female politicians.
"I always said I didn't think it was a woman's place to be in the White House; I thought that was a man's place and a man's job, up until her," he said.
The Rev. Jimmy Young, pastor of L&A Baptist Church, said he thinks gender and race will be a factor in La Salle Parish but cited a recent interfaith revival as one gathering that may have opened others' minds. Young said the nine-week event, begun in February, was the largest revival he had seen or heard of in Jena.
"When we were under the tent, I mentioned the fact that we are not but one race of people," he said. "As long as we know that we are humans, brothers and sisters, under the blood of Jesus Christ, it makes no difference."
Young, a Jena native who spent the last four decades in Detroit, sees the election this way: Whatever side wins, history will be made because a black man will be president or a woman will be vice president.
The historical significance of this election also struck undecided voter Evelyn Talley, who owns and operates the Jena Java coffeehouse.
"I was so happy about Obama because it proved exactly what I said was correct," she said. "People have moved beyond the bigotry and hatred of my day and age."
Life experience matters
Palin's views on gun rights and abortion got his attention at first, Mitchell said, but it was her life story that compelled him to support her.
"(If) you can take five children, raise a family and do all that she's done and still maintain your sense, you're doing all right," he said.
Ben Rabel, who operates JJ's Fish House on the edge of town, agreed, pointing out that Americans can relate to Palin.
"She comes from an imperfect family," he said. "She lives to the same standards as we live, and people want someone we can relate to, not somebody up on a pedestal but somebody down-home."
Talley, who volunteers with the Federation of Republican Women but has not made up her mind, also will look at the candidates' accomplishments as she decides. She sees McCain's experience as an advantage and worries about Obama's relatively short political career.
"The most meaningful thing is the war and how we get out of that, and the economy," she said. "And I don't want the government spending money they don't have."
She called McCain "an honorable, honorable man" and believes he will make the right decisions about the war in Iraq. Still, she's just not sure about his vice presidential pick.
"McCain threw me a ringer with Sarah from Alaska," she said. "A 44-year-old woman, if he dies, is president of the United States? That, I don't know."


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Although all Satellite-Based Augmentation Systems (SBAS) are regional systems, it is important to ensure that they are compatible and that SBAS providers cooperate with each other and coordinate their actions.
Compatibility will make each system more effective and ensure that all the systems can be integrated into a seamless worldwide navigation system.
SBAS cooperation is currently coordinated through the Interoperability Working Groups EGNOS/MSAS and EGNOS/WAAS. Interoperability tests are regularly organised.
At present, SBAS are being, or have been, developed to cover the following areas:
The European Tripartite Group, composed of ESA, the European Union and Eurocontrol, has developed EGNOS, the European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service. EGNOS covers the European Civil Aviation Conference (ECAC) region.
United States
The United States Federal Aviation Administration leads the development of the Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS). This covers the United States and Canada.
The Japanese Civil Aviation Bureau is implementing the MTSAT Satellite-Based Augmentation System (MSAS), which will cover the Flight Instrument Rules region of Japan.
The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) along with the Airport Authority of India (AAI) has worked on a joint programme to implement GAGAN, a Satellite Based Augmentation System using GPS/GLONASS over Indian airspace.