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Cross Plastic Surgery Selected As One Of The Winners For Philly Style Magazine. Best Of Beauty Style for Plastic Surgery and Skin Care
I Love My Job: Dr. Kevin Cross Says You'd Be Surprised How Busy Philly's Plastic Surgery Scene Is
Named one of the country's most sought after beauty gurus, the local 43-year-old plastic surgeon opens up about the thousands of facelifts and nose jobs he's performed in the region. You know that belief that you should be satisfied with what you have? Plastic surgeon Kevin Cross finds it downright silly. If paint in your home started to chip, would …
Town & Country Magazine Selected Dr. Cross as One of America's The Most Sought After Beauty Gurus
Dr. Kevin Cross was featured as one of the "40 most sought after beauty gurus across the country" Dr. Kevin Cross The Philadelphia answer to Manhattan plastic surgeons. The secrets behind Cross's face and neck lifts include fat grafts and repositioning fallen glands for smoother results. "I love when a patient asks me what I would recommend if she were …
What Are the New Cosmetic Procedures to Try Right Now?
We caught up with some of the most talented cosmetic specialists in the area to find out what procedures are a must-try this season. 1. MiraDry "As we move into the warmer weather, perspiration and underarm odor are common concerns among men and women alike. I'm very excited to offer a first-to-market technology called MiraDry, which eliminates underarm odor and …
Health: High-Tech Hair Treatment
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — Hair loss is a problem for millions of people and now there's a new kind of transplant that uses cutting edge technology. It's the new high tech way to do hair transplants with a robot. It's called Artas, a 3-D microscopic camera feeds images into a computer that analyzes and maps. Hairs on the back of the …
Best of Philly – Philadelphia Magazine 2016
2016 BEST Cellulite Treatment Cellfina at Cross Medical Group A needle-like device cuts dimple-causing bands below the skin. Hello, miniskirt. View the original article at:: https://www.phillymag.com/best-of-philly/cellfina-at-cross-medical-group/
Philly Skin Experts Share the One Beauty Treatment to Get Now
We caught up with the area's top skincare gurus to learn about the beauty treatments they recommend this spring. Cross Medical Group: Triangle Treatment of Youth; Dermaplaning & Perfect 10 Peel "The Triangle Treatment of Youth: Voluma, Volbella, and Vollure. Voluma is used to restore the foundation of the face due to the loss of collagen; Vollure is to contour …
5 Ways to Say Goodbye to Thinning Brows for Good
Sparse, thin eyebrows are an instant ager. But, full, well-groomed eyebrows can frame your face and make you look years younger. Getting brows that look perfect can be difficult if yours are sparse due to overplucking, an underlying medical issue or the aging process. "Our hairs (even those in our eyebrows) are programmed to go through cycles throughout our lifetime," …
The Most Sought After Beauty Gurus Across the Country
Dr. Kevin Cross The Philadelphia answer to Manhattan plastic surgeons. The secrets behind Cross's face and neck lifts include fat grafts and repositioning fallen glands for smoother results. "I love when a patient asks me what I would recommend if she were my family member," he says. "An honest conversation should end with a plan that reflects the answer." View …
New Year, New Health & Beauty Secrets!
Each month we're here to give our fabulous followers the latest news and insider tips from deme's team of experts. 2016 has arrived, and it's brought along new health and beauty secrets to help you recover from the holiday rush. We've got you covered from clinical skin care to functional medicine and everything in between. Read on to find out …


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Do you all see what is going on here….it's tulip season…finally! And can you believe your eyes? I am knitting again - socks, my favourite thing to knit. I take that as a sign that all is right with the world in my camp.
I am on a big financial independence (FI) kick this year. I have been reading Mr. Money Mustache and now am inspired to retire (in my sort of way) as soon as possible. Last time I did a detailed post on finances I had some haters in my comments…well, since I no longer have comments I can just write what I feel. After all, this is my blog so I can write what I want to (is there a song with that title?).
Let me just begin by saying that I think we spend way too much money here in North America and that propensity to consume keeps us in jobs, situations and is the cause of obligations that make us feel unhappy and very stressed. Now…. I like my job, but there is something seriously kickass knowing you only work because you really really want to - not because you have to. That is the place I want to be. Hence this path. What got me here? Well, it was those images on the news from the United States during "Black Friday" with people fighting over televisions at Walmart - why is it always Walmart? And how many televisions do we really need? And then the same newscast had a story on how people are working into their 70s because they can't retire….what gives?
This first half of January I started by cutting out a lot of unnecessary and socking some pennies into my investment accounts. Then I bought a few shares of index stocks. One of my challenges to myself is to see how little I can spend in a pay period (outside of bills) and how much I can grow that money in my index stocks over the next twelve months. I want money working for me instead of me working for my money! Ha! Love the way that sounds.
p.s. I won't go crazy frugalistic, FI is a journey and for me sustainability of a change is all about balance - I allow myself $5.00 a week for something completely frivolous - this week it's the tulips :)

subset: commoncrawl


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A Reconciliation
I flew back to Damma, where I had left Nrararn. He flew up to meet me, grinning. "You are alone, Jyothky. You didn't bring Csirnis back?"
"No, he didn't want to leave Ze Cheya. I think you know why," I hissed at him. "He told me quite an interesting story."
"He wasn't going to…"
"Csirnis is excellent at many things, but not at deception. He didn't much try," I said.
I glared at him more. "What makes you think you're at all competent to marry me?"
Nrararn knows his list, as any drake presumably must. "I'm a good sorcerer, I'm not bad as a fighter. I've got dozens of diamonds and thousands of books in my hoard. And six Hoven computers, and I invented a twisty little lightning spell to power them, and learned repair spells to keep them fixed."
"Compared to Csirnis, who is an adequate sorcerer and the most beautiful fighter on Hove. And has plenty in his hoard, too, even though he's been collecting a lot less time than you have."
"Csirnis doesn't want to marry you though," said Nrararn quietly.
I hissed, "Did he say so to you? Tell me the whole thing! And take your veriception blocks off!"
He broke his spells, and said, "He would generally like to get married. He's a bit disappointed that he's unlikely to have any children, unless Arilash decides to raise a fertile egg alone or something. But he asked if either of us actually wanted to marry you, since you were the only choice anyways. I did. I do. More than I ever wanted to marry Arilash, anyways, and more than someone in the abstract."
I looked at him suspiciously. "Are you falling in love? A duodecade or so too early?"
He curled his tail. "Well, no, not really." Which had the far-overripe-fruit character of quibbling over definitions and details. "Not very much. Just what's decent for a close couple in a mating flight." Which he thought was true. I don't much know what he meant by it.
I glared at him. "I think the occasion calls for a Caramelle."
"A Caramelle it is," he agreed.
He was wearing the Small Wall, untilted, and some fancy air protections, and had a crowd of sylphs and airy spirits helping him. I flew close to him, with the Melismatic Tempest for speed, and blasted his left forewing with fire (blocked), his right forewing with cold (which hit), and his left forewing with fire again (also hit) in quick succession. He pounced on me in the air, biting and clawing distractingly, and ripping my left hindwing. I couldn't touch him with anything but cold breath. Then he slammed into me, and we each smashed healing spells into the other. I'm pretty sure he realized he'd be better off losing this fight, so he kind of flailed around and looked fighty but ineffectual while I burned a great patch of scales off his tail, and won.
"What sort of apology would you like?" he asked, after we finished healing each other.
"One that doesn't make me look like the largest idiot on Hove," I said.
"Tultamaan is ahead of you there," he said, so I breathed lighting next to him, very loudly.
"He's got lots of competition," I sneered. "But if you're going to want to marry me, and there aren't any other drakes around, let's act married and see how it works."
He grinned happily at me. I imagine he was expecting more doom than that.
"First, let's pick where we want for our territory. Not Damma. And somewhere that we can get Osoth and Arilash to live near."
Nrararn cocked his head. "Arilash is an ally too?"
"I'm working on that. Actually you should work on that too, in a while. You deserve a better lover than me, at least occasionally."
He looked rather too pleased at that, so I bit him. Just the wingtip, though. One should be nice to one's husband.
And I'm a little boggled that I'm going to have a husband. Though that's rather the point of a mating flight, and the common fate of just about every dragoness.


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On the 7th day of our Christmas special we have a delicious Fruited Tea Ring cake. It's perfect for those who find the classic fruit cake a little too heavy...but still has all that fruity flavour!
Fruited Tea Ring
- 2 1/4 cup plain flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- Grated peel 1 lemon
- 1 cup chopped mixed candied fruits
- 1/2 cup currants
- 1/2 cup golden raisins
- 1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts
- 1 cup butter
- 226 grams of cream cheese, softened
- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 4 eggs
- Confectioners sugar
Stir together flour and baking powder; set aside. Combine lemon peel, candied fruits, currants, raisins and pecans; set aside. In a large bowl of an electric mixer, cream the butter, cream cheese and sugar until fluffy. Add eggs two at a time, beating thoroughly after each addition. At low speed add flour mixture gradually and mix until blended. Fold in fruits and pecans. Turn into greased 12 cup fluted tube pan (non-stick). Bake in a preheated oven 180 degrees for 1 hour, or until pick inserted in centre comes out clean.
Cool pan on rack for 10mins, then invert cake on rack and cool thoroughly. Sprinkle some Christmas snow with confectioners sugar on the top!
Don't forget to watch all your favourite recipes on Cocina de Mama's YouTube page.


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MasterCard's PayPass to offer mobile payment services
NEW ORLEANS, CTIA BOOTH # 6135 – May 7, 2012 /PRNewswire/ — MasterCard (NYSE:MA) today announced PayPass Wallet Services, a new global offering for banks, merchants and partners that will make it faster and easier for their customers to make purchases in stores or online by allowing them to securely pay with a simple click of the mouse, touch of the tablet screen or tap of the smartphone.
PayPass Wallet Services delivers three distinct components — PayPass Acceptance Network (PayPass Online and PayPass Contactless), PayPass Wallet and PayPass API. These services enable a consistent shopping experience no matter where and how consumers shop, as well as a suite of digital wallet services, and developer tools to make it easier to connect other wallets into the PayPass Online acceptance network.
American Airlines and Barnes & Noble will be among the first merchant partners to incorporate the PayPass Online checkout button on their websites, and American will integrate PayPass Wallet into its mobile application.
"Consumers are looking to pay for goods when, how and where they choose. Merchants want flexibility to easily accept digital payments so they can convert more browsers to buyers both online and in store," said Ed McLaughlin, chief emerging payments officer, MasterCard. "We realize that when it comes to payments, no single wallet will rule them all. PayPass Wallet Services simplifies the shopping experience while providing flexibility and choice to merchants, banks and consumers."
PayPass Wallet Services includes:
- PayPass Acceptance Network (PayPass Online and PayPass Contactless) – Provides a globally consistent way to help merchants accept electronic payments across multiple channels whether the purchase is made in a store at the point of sale with Near Field Communication (NFC) technology or online using a computer, tablet or smartphone. PayPass Online also provides consumers with a simple check-out process by eliminating the need to enter detailed shipping and card information with every purchase.
- PayPass Wallet – A full suite of digital wallet solutions enabling banks, merchants and partners to white label their own wallets. It makes online shopping safe and easy by allowing consumers to store payment and shipping information in one, convenient and secure place. The wallet is open, which means that consumers can use American Express, Discover, Visa and other branded credit, debit and prepaid cards.
- PayPass API – Allows partners to connect their own digital wallets into the PayPass Acceptance Network, leveraging MasterCard's check-out, fraud detection and authentication services and enabling their customers to make purchases wherever PayPass is accepted – online and in store.
MasterCard will make PayPass Wallet Services available to partners in the third quarter of 2012, initially in the U.S., Canada, U.K. and Australia and, subsequently, will include other countries. PayPass Wallet Services will be expanded to the point of sale over time to create an end-to-end shopping experience for consumers providing additional value-added services such as: at-a-glance account information before making a purchase; spending controls and alerts received in real time; and delivery of targeted offers, coupons and enhanced loyalty programs.
"At American Airlines, we're passionate about giving our customers more flexibility and functionality on their mobile devices," said Richard Elieson, managing director, Interactive Marketing at American Airlines. "By integrating PayPass into our mobile app, payment transactions become fast and easy and provide the security you would expect from a brand like MasterCard."
"Consumers are at a pivotal point now where smartphone adoption has exploded and well over 50 percent of Americans now own one," said Marc Parrish, vice president of retention and loyalty marketing for Barnes & Noble.com. "The technology that will allow customers to make mobile payments at the point of sale has already begun to make a difference, and Barnes & Noble is proud to be leading retail in this technology shift."
Leading merchant, financial institutions and technology partners that are working with MasterCard to support the launch of PayPass Wallet Services include:
- Financial institutions: Banesto, Bank of Montreal, Commonwealth Bank, Citibank, EURO6000, Fifth Third Bank, Grupo Banco Popular, Grupo BBVA, ICBA, Intesa Sanpaolo, Metro Bank, National Bank of Canada, PSCU, RBS Citizens Financial Group, SEB Kort AB Sweden, Sovereign Bank, Swedbank Sweden and Westpac.
- Merchants: American Airlines, Barnes & Noble, Jagex, JB Hi-Fi, MLB Advanced Media (MLB.com), Newegg, Runningshoes.com, TigerDirect.com and Wine Enthusiast Companies.
- Technology partners: Apriva, Bango, Beanstream, CardinalCommerce, C-SAM, Digital River, Intel, Kony Solutions, Inc., Local Offer Network, mFoundry, Moneris Solutions, Ogone Payment Services, Sage Pay, SIA and Vantiv.


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This is what happens when depression signs and symptoms take hold:
- Something happens in your life that pushes you off balance… and you quite naturally and healthily begin to worry about it, looking for a solution that will calm you and bring you back to equilibrium.
- But this does not happen and as the problem persists, it becomes harder and harder to deal with. And you are aware of those rigid thinking habits that arise whenever you are under pressure and maybe also the emotion of past bad memories – and as these impose themselves, it is even more difficult to get your life back on track.
- Then your sleeping begins to deteriorate and in particular you are increasingly tired and exhausted in the morning when you wake up. You may also be dimly aware that you are dreaming much more.
- Your problems become harder and harder to deal with and seem to be multiplying and as motivation and energy disappear, you worry more and more, introspecting and blaming yourself.
What is happening is you are locking into a depression trance, focusing internally and negatively, losing hope and as good deep wave sleep becomes pushed out by excessive dreaming, you may finally be finding that physical aches and pains add to your sense of hopelessness and stuckness – another of the signs of depression.
This used to be called a state of nervous exhaustion and you can see why. If very severe, this can even transmute into psychotic experiences.
The simple explanation of depression signs and symptoms
Depression is the mental and physical exhaustion caused by the body's need to dream more than it is capable of, in order to deal with a situation that appears increasingly impossible.
And why is there the need to engage in high energy dreaming? It is the attempt to clear the excessive levels of arousal, worrying and exhaustion which caused the problems in the first place.
And so we have a self feeding vicious circle where signs and symptoms of depression multiply.
You can read many lists of depression signs and symptoms, and indeed for many lists this is all they offer as they have no coherent explanation. Such as:
- Feeling miserable and sad, being exhausted, finding the smallest tasks impossible
- Losing any sense of enjoyment
- Feeling a failure, guilty and a burden and that life is not worth living or passing you by
- Avoiding people, losing self confidence
- Being tense and irritable all the time
- Having difficulty sleeping, dreaming all night long
- Enduring physical aches and pains which appear to have no physical cause
It is easy to see how these symptoms fit into the explanation above.
Common misconceptions about depression signs and symptoms
Depression symptoms are caused by a chemical imbalance
Low serotonin is the result not the cause of depression – and this is why anti-depressants are rarely the answer. Anti-depressants treat symptoms and not underlying causes and seem to work by suppressing REM (or dream) sleep.
Depression symptoms are hereditary
The fact that family members may all suffer from depression is better explained by their common environments than their common genes. That it is learned – in terms of thinking styles and coping mechanisms.
Depression symptoms reflect a disease
It is not a biological disorder – there is no chemical test available or possible or yet devised that can mark a depression
How else but through environmental factors can the tenfold increase in depression symptoms amongst those born after 1945 be explained? Surely, it is that society has changed – family breakdown, greater materialism and focus on self, a reduced sense of obligation and duty, new technologies changing leisure and work at rapid rates, an increasing dependence on the state – how is that for starters as the environmental factors that create worry and dis-empowerment – all of which make it more difficult to get our essential human needs met.
There are many different types of depression – such as post-partum, teenage, grief etc
No, when you really investigate all depressions and symptoms of depression, they all have the same underlying causes. You might as well have a special "I have been jilted by my girlfriend" depression.
Depression counselling is the core of what I do. This is because we know what a depression is – a REM sleep disorder caused by excessive worrying. You won't find many doctors telling you this. Yet it is so.
You will be surprised how quickly you will be feeling better – I would expect within a week or so.


text: Now you can see images in CrossConnect. Also new is a server called Xiphos that has lots of books with images. Mainly bible maps which are nice to have when studying the bible. In the download screen of CrossConnect select the Xiphos server and then set the document type to "Books" and select for example "eBibleTeacher" or "Kretzmann Popular Commentary" which are 2 favorite books of maps.


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Thursday, September 24, 2009
Beverly Masek Catches a Break at Her Sentencing
Much to your blogger's surprise, Beverly Masek only got six months in prison for taking bribes while a state legislator.
Criminal sentencing guidelines called for the former five-term Alaska State Representative to get sent away for 18-24 months, but U.S. District Judge Ralph Beistline sliced a year off that standard minimum sentence at the end of a hearing that sometimes sounded like a locker room pep talk.
Along with the defendant's acceptance of responsibility and "community support," Judge Beistline cited the six years that had passed between Masek's acceptance of bribes and her sentencing for that crime as a reason to go relatively easy on the ex-lawmaker.
The Delay Between Crime and Punishment Troubles the Judge
Given that this is 2009, the court characterized Masek's crimes in 2003 as "distant conduct." He said that he was troubled by the delay, comparing the situation to his own father's reluctance to punish him at the end of the day for misbehavior that the young Ralph Beistline committed first thing in the morning.
The lighter sentence imposed on Masek this morning can only be taken as a dig at the Department of Justice for the pace of its "POLAR PEN" probe into Alaska public corruption. That investigation started no later than April of 2004, and thus next month will be at least five and a half years old.
Given what Judge Beistline said and did at the sentencing regarding the gap between crime and punishment, it's worth taking a brief look at how fast the feds could have moved against Masek versus how fast they did move. The Justice Department presumably could not have charged Masek until after long-time VECO CEO Bill Allen told the FBI he had bribed her, and Allen would not revealed that until after the feds started debriefing him after they flipped him on August 31, 2006.
It's not clear when Allen gave up his bribery of Masek—he of course had a lot of crimes to confess—but it seems likely that it would have been in the first nine months after the oil-services and construction magnate started to talk to the feds. This very generous estimate factors in Bill Allen's concern about getting immunity for his son Mark, whom media accounts have suggested was the person who delivered for his father the first of the cash bribes Masek took. Bill Allen's plea agreement is dated May 2, 2007, and it specifically provides for immunity for Mark Allen.
After getting from Bill Allen the story of his bribes to Masek, she was easy to catch: The very opposite of a criminal mastermind, the Republican lawmaker from Willow immediately deposited one of her cash bribes into her bank account.
Based on the above analysis, it seems likely that the Department of Justice could have confronted Beverly Masek no later than June of 2007 and charged her no later than two months later. Instead, the feds did not contact her until May of 2008 and did not charge her until March of 2009, when they had a plea agreement with her in hand. (This sentencing has clarified that Masek made an agreement with the feds that she would waive her rights under the statute of limitations to claim that the government had not charged her on a timely basis, thus eliminating any legal argument that prosecution was barred on those grounds.)
All this suggests that if the feds had pushed as hard as possible on the Masek case, it could have shaved something like a year—or maybe up to two years—off the delay between offense and sentencing.
What the Witnesses and the Lawyers Said
Arguing for a treatment-focused sentence, defense attorney Rich Curtner called four providers of mental health services to testify at the hearing. Dr. Aron Wolf talked about his diagnosis of Masek as having the illnesses of Major Depression and Alcohol Dependence as well as a personality type of Passive-Dependent. (Dr. Wolf has been a psychiatrist in Alaska since 1967, but it's a safe bet that he has no business card with the line "Shrinking the Great Land for More than Four Decades." Watching the defense witnesses today also reminded me that just like those working in downtown D.C. generally have sharper haircuts than your average Alaskan, it's also likely that your average person in the counseling business spends less on hair care than the median trial attorney.)
Like the other three defense witnesses, Dr. Wolf also stressed the availability of alcohol treatment on the Last Frontier, including programs that would show "cultural sensitivity" to Alaska Natives such as Masek.
Lead prosecutor Kendall Day had little to say, conducting a brief cross-examination of Dr. Wolf and giving a short argument for a prison sentence of 18-24 months.
A young man in a gray suit, the D.C.-based Day said that while Masek had an alcohol problem, so do many criminal defendants who have to go prison every day. He emphasized that Masek knew what she was doing when she took the two bribes, which totaled at least $4,000.
The brevity of the prosecutor's presentation might have stemmed in part from his knowledge that the writer of the court-ordered pre-sentence report had recommended a sentence of 21 months, hitting the midpoint of the range of 18 to 24 months set out in the federal criminal sentencing guidelines for this offense.
The white-bearded Curtner took his time, by contrast, to promote his position that his client should get no jail time and a sentence focused on alcohol rehabilitation and therapy. He argued that the mitigating circumstances surrounding Masek's offense, her need for treatment, her acceptance of responsibility, and the no-prison sentence Judge Beistline gave to ex-State Sen. John Cowdery (R.-Anchorage) for the same crime of bribery-related conspiracy combined to point to probation.
"It's a long history to get here," Curtner said of his client, who turns 46 next week. To explain how the crimes occurred, Alaska's chief Federal Public Defender cited the culture of corruption that had grown around the legislature in recent years as well as his client's weak personality and problems with depression and alcohol. Curtner argued that Masek's obviously stupid action in taking one of her cash bribes immediately to the bank showed a lack of sophistication that made her less culpable.
The Defendant's Allocution and the Judge's Dialogue with Her
Masek dabbed repeatedly at her eyes with tissue during her lawyer's sentencing argument, and she was openly crying when the time came to give her own statement to the court. After some false starts, she said that the prosecution had left her hurt, embarrassed, and humiliated. Speaking to a courtroom that included a number of people who looked like casual Bush Alaskans from her home Alaska Native village of Anvik, Masek said that "I know I've let a lot of people down."
The four-time finisher of the famed Iditarod Sled Dog Race compared her situation to an accident on the trail: "I feel like I've been operating on a broken sled runner." Faced with that problem of damaged equipment while racing, "I fixed it and moved on."
When Masek finished, Judge Beistline took over. I've been to many hundreds of sentencings in my legal career, and this may have been the most unusual.
In delivering his comments, the judge was alternately stern, condemning, encouraging, and inspirational.
Noting that the defendant had been elected and taken the oath of office five times, he said "You violated that oath….You broke the law."
Taking much of the prosecution's view of the case, Judge Beistline told Masek that she had taken "illegal money" on two occasions and had sought out even more. Dismissing any "It's just the booze" argument as an excuse, the judge said that the legislator was sober at the moment she solicited the bribes.
Although he didn't directly attack her "broken sled runner" analogy, it was clear that the judge saw what happened as more like Masek choosing to beat her dogs rather than just another unfortunate accident on the trail.
The judge also said that the defense's suggestions that Masek's disadvantaged upbringing or the criminality of some fellow lawmakers should lighten her sentence did not cut any ice with him. Drawing on his background in his hometown of Fairbanks, Alaska, Judge Beistline said that he grew up with many people who started out in humble circumstances and went on to do great things in life.
The court took pains to distinguish ex-Sen. Cowdery's case from Masek's, opining that the facts that Cowdery didn't get any cash for himself and engaged in less obviously illegal conduct than Masek justified the light sentence the judge imposed on Cowdery.
Noting that mental health professionals described her as having "minimal functionality" during at least some substantial periods of her 10-year legislative career, the judge suggested that it was scary that someone so weak and so out of control was in a position of public trust and power.
"You're hardly a role model, at least in the last decade," Judge Beistline observed. Despite the iconic status with some Alaskans—particularly young people and Natives—that the Iditarod racer and lawmaker may have enjoyed at one point, the judge said that in recent years Masek had been more of an example of how not to act.
After the tough talk, though, the judge announced that he was going to pass up the sentence of 18 to 24 months he was fully justified in imposing under the law in favor of sending Masek to prison for six months. This post has already discussed the factor of delayed justice that the court seemed to rely on most in giving Masek a sentence that the judge said showed "considerable compassion."
Setting aside the logic of the reduction, what was most interesting was the judge's demeanor. Some judges hand down sentences as if they were senior distinguished professors forced to announce the grades for some unusually dim and lazy students; others go into full god-like mode. Judge Beistline sentenced Masek like he was a veteran high school basketball coach in a small town kicking a young player off the team for multiple infractions of the rules. It's not the end of world, kid: Keep your nose clean and work hard, and you can get back on the squad next year.
The judge asked the former legislator if she could comply with the sentence, and she said she could. He asked her if she would comply, and she said that she would.
"We want you to finish this process employable and mentally, physically, and emotionally healthy," Judge Beistline told Masek. "You do what you're supposed to do when you're supposed to do it, and I guarantee that your life will get better."
The Meaning of the Sentence
This sentence is significantly lighter than I thought it would be. (Recall that your humble blogger speculated that the judge would give Masek "well over a year" in prison—this just shows the wisdom of the old saying that predictions are risky, particularly when they're about the future.)
No matter how good her lawyer feels tonight—and Rich Curtner should feel good—this sentence does not exactly give Masek a walk in the park. The former 10-year legislator has got to go to prison for six months, and that prison will be far from her family and friends in Alaska. Prison is still prison, even if it's a minimum-security facility like the one Masek will be in. And she will be on supervised release for three years after her release, which also will not be fun. While on probation, she could be ordered to go to residential alcohol treatment for up to six months as long as the program was culturally sensitive. Even when not in a residential program, she could be drug-tested up to 12 times a month while on probation. The judge made a special point to tell her that as a felon she can't own firearms, and he also told her that she should not plan to drink any more alcohol the rest of her life.
While on probation, the defendant could also try to recapture that role model status she has lost. Judge Beistline told Masek that "You could be a mouthpiece for your community and your culture." He specifically suggested that she could speak to audiences about the evils of alcohol and—in a comment that led to grumbling outside the courtroom about a double standard for female defendants—the possibilities that in certain circumstances a woman can be taken advantage of.
Some observers think that a sentence of six months in prison is pretty light for a state legislator who takes two cash bribes. Others wonder if she benefitted at the sentencing from being a Native woman. Under all the circumstances, what do you think?
Posted by Cliff Groh at 8:54 PM
Labels: Beverly Masek, Bill Allen, John Cowdery
3 comments:
- Henry "Throwdown" PohTel said...
A six month sentence for taking bribes while holding legislative office. Six months, really? Why'd they bother?
I was in court when a homeless person that had attempted to steal a steak from the Carr's supermarket on Northern Lights received a sentence of similar length.
- September 24, 2009 at 11:30 PM
- Henry "Throwdown" PohTel said...
Cliff, Thank you for your blog.
- September 24, 2009 at 11:36 PM
- Lazarhat said...
The answer to your last question is yes. That and the crying. Once again personal responsibility for our own actions takes a shot to the solar-plexus.
- September 26, 2009 at 4:56 PM
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All Gold Rings
Natural Citrine is a stone of manifestation & abundance.
Its positive energy awakens creativity and imagination, and encourages an abundance of success, joy, wealth and positivity.
A single solid sterling silver ring with hand-set tri-bezel.
We can create 'in-between' ring sizes for you but please note this requires a ring revisiting our workshop to be upsized by one of our jewellers and may take up to a week. If you would like a ring resized to a size we don't currently list, please order the size below the size you require (i.e. if you would like a Q 1/2 or an R - please order a size Q) and write in the comments of your order the size that you require. Please note we cannot size down as it will compromise the setting of our gemstones.


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Traveling always brings about discovery and for many of us one of the reasons we become expats is to discover something new. We discover new cultures; new foods; new ways of dressing; new friendships; and new fun things to do. The whole expatriate experience is about discovering – and while there are tons of things to discover around us, I want to focus on discoveries that we make within us.
Moving to another place creates change in our lives and, as that change challenges us, we get to discover how we are around that change. We get to discover and learn things about ourselves we may have never known. And with it we may even discover new callings in life – a new career, a new line of education, a new business opportunity.
So the D in the A to Z of Successful Expatriation™ isn't only about discovering the world outside of ourselves – but it's also about discovering and exploring our internal world. Seeing for the first time qualities we've had all along, but never paid attention to is also a discovery. Kind of like the discovery of things you've forgotten you had… those of you, who move frequently and take most of your household with you, will relate as you remember the giddy feeling of unpacking and seeing things you've forgotten about because they spent a few months in transit.
What have been your discoveries – external and internal? And what other D's are out there?
For all the letters in the A to Z of Successful Expatriation™ click here.
Copyright © 2010 by Global Coach Center.
If you'd like to reprint this, please do so but make sure you credit us (with a live link)!


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Advertisingy u no do it?
Advertising (learn more)Advertise virtually anything here, with CPM banner ads, CPM email ads and CPC contextual links. You can target relevant areas of the site and show ads based on geographical location of the user if you wish.
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It is not Russia who has a politcy of besieging America with military bases and infiltration of subv
Discussion in 'Politics & Religion' started by ST12, Jun 5, 2014.


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DAYTON, Ohio -- Analysis from Wednesday night's First Four matchup between Vermont (16) and Lamar (16).
Overview: This wasn't BYU-Iona or Mississippi Valley State-Western Kentucky for that matter. Those Tuesday games were classics. Vermont's 71-59 win over Lamar lacked drama.
The Catamounts led most of the game. They shot 46 percent from the field in the first half and took a 30-21 lead into halftime. Pat Knight's squad recorded 9 field goals in the first half.
The coach's late-February rant seemed to motivate the squad. The Cardinals won six consecutive games, including the Southland tournament title. But that momentum ended in Dayton.
Vermont expanded its lead in the second half. Overall, it was 25-for-50 from the field and 17-for-24 from the charity stripe.
Turning point: The Catamounts launched a 13-0 run during a six-minute stretch in the first half after they were down 12-9.
Key player: Four McGlynn, who has the best name in the NCAA tournament, led the Catamounts with 18 points.
Key stats: Vermont had five turnovers. Lamar was 20-for-60 from the field.
Miscellaneous: Vermont really controlled the game and played within its offensive sets. The Catamounts are a solid team.
What's next: Vermont will face North Carolina in the second round in the NCAA tournament.


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Hospitality at Qatar Goodwood Festival
Enjoy the finest offerings at 'Glorious Goodwood' from one of our restaurants or private boxes.
Dates for 2020: 28 July - 1 August
Hospitality Restaurants
Secret Garden
A fabulous garden restaurant bedecked with wild English flowers.
Final Furlong
To really get up close to all the action, the Final Furlong is the perfect choice.
The Long View
Perched in the Richmond Enclosure at the end of the home straight, enjoy uninterrupted head-on balcony view of the races.
Charlton Hunt
Watch the horses drive towards the finish line from the balcony, or wander around the entire Richmond Enclosure at your leisure.
Private Boxes
March Boxes
Our finest private box option at the Racecourse, suitable for groups of 12.
Sussex Boxes
The Sussex Boxes are perfect if you are seeking the ultimate raceday experience.
Contact Hospitality
01243 755054
Lines are open from 9.00am - 5.30pm Monday to Friday
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All you need from hot food to hot tips
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Enclosure guide
Getting Here
Useful information on how to arrive by car or rail
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Answers to commonly asked questions
Frequently asked Questions


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FORT WORTH (CBSDFW.COM) – Police in Fort Worth launched an investigation on Thursday after a man who was hit by officers with a Taser later died. The Tarrant County Medical Examiner on Friday identified the victim as 34-year-old Jermaine Darden of Fort Worth.
Police and family said that it began Thursday afternoon as officers were executing a narcotics search warrant in the 3200 block of Thannisch Avenue in southeast Fort Worth. Police said that officers were met with resistance from a man inside the house.
After being hit with the Taser, the man began having medical issues and was taken to the hospital, a spokesperson said. He later died.
Family members are asking for a complete investigation into the death. The man's cause of death was not available early Friday morning.
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- Severe Weather Pictures: May 15, 2013
- PHOTOS: Your Pet Pictures
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- PHOTOS: Pope Francis I


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Chicago Veterans for Peace escalates its campaign to rid the public schools of militarism... 'Say NO! to the military model of conflict resolution' in our public schools...
Those of us who have covered the meetings of the Chicago Board of Education have been reporting regularly that members of Veterans for Peace have been speaking out -- politely but forcefully -- against the promotion by the Chicago Board of Education of the "military model of conflict resolution." According to a new announcement from Veterans for Peace, the organization will now be pushing its analysis through public work.
The vets' message against the militarization of CPS will be on billboards across Chicago.According to a Veterans for Peace press release of February 19, 2016:
"Thanks to many of you, Chicago will see veterans 'speaking' out against the military model of conflict resolution by violence that is pervasive in Chicago Public Schools. The messages (attached) are designed to promote dialogue about the epidemic of militarization in our schools (10,000 Chicago youth are receiving some form of military training) and dispel the myth that militarization is about "leadership" and "patriotism". The web site www.NoMilitary.org is dedicated to this initiative. There is powerful video there. Check it out!
"The messages will appear on a network of 38 electronic billboards within neighborhoods across Chicago. Each board rotates messages - 10 seconds/each message - with six messages every minute. The VFP message will be in this rotation on between 5 and 10 boards/week. We have enough funding to carry us into May. If you want to know the schedule and locations of the billboard messages, please contact me. I'll send a spreadsheet.
"Please spread the word via social media. The billboards are the visualization. You are the engine that will generate change.
ARNY STIEBER, Coordinator ChicagoVFP.org Join us!, https://www.facebook.com/ChicagoVFP, http://EducationNotMilitarization.org
Twitter @DeMilitarizeCPS
"Peace at Home, Peace Abroad"
By: Margaret Wilson
Military Model
I do not believe that students should be learning the military model to resolve conflict. There are much better examples for resolving conflicts without violence or believing that we have all of the answers. These schools should have closed a long time ago.


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Psychiatry and Behavioral Health
Department overview
Sitting at the intersection of a number of fields, we bring scientists, clinicians, patients, families, and the public together to improve the well-being and mental health of people throughout the mid-Atlantic region. Our treatment team is comprised of psychiatrists, psychologists, nurse practitioners, social workers, therapists, and psychiatry and psychology trainees.
Department stats
- Services provided through Penn State Health and the Pennsylvania Psychiatric Institute include services for adults, adolescents and children who suffer from a variety of mental and behavioral health issues.
- Specialized treatment programs for mood, eating, sleep, autism spectrum, attention deficit hyperactivity, conduct, adolescents, addiction and substance use and psychotic disorders
- Specialized treatment settings include inpatient, outpatient, and partial (day) hospital programs
- Specialized treatment modalities including neuromodulation services.
- Supports diversity, equity and inclusion in our research and clinical practices.
Erika F.H. Saunders, MD
Psychiatry is a dynamic, exciting field, which is changing rapidly today. At Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, we provide innovative care for patients, educate the healthcare providers and academicians of the future, and produce and disseminate new knowledge in our research programs.
The explosion of knowledge about the brain and behavior that has characterized the past century is leading to understanding the connections that will lead to improved care: links between the genome, the cell, cellular networks, and clinical symptoms. Sitting at the intersection of a number of fields, psychiatry brings scientists, clinicians, patients, families and the public together to improve the well-being and mental health of people.
Penn State Psychiatry and Behavioral Health provides a full range of clinical services in Hershey through the Hershey Medical Center and the University Physician Group; and in Harrisburg, through the Pennsylvania Psychiatric Institute (PPI), a joint venture between the Milton S. Hershey Medical Center and Pinnacle Health.
Penn State Psychiatry and Behavioral Health embodies our field and its future. As we pursue our missions to expand and transmit knowledge, we strive to improve lives. We welcome your interest in Penn State Psychiatry and Behavioral Health.
Erika F.H. Saunders, MD
Chair, Psychiatry and Behavioral Health
Training program connects scholars for research collaboration
Andrea Hobkirk, assistant professor of psychiatry and public health sciences, and Steven Hicks, assistant professor of pediatrics, are studying the problem of relapse after addiction treatment, in collaborative research that could lead to an inexpensive and non-invasive method to measure brain responses to addiction treatment. Read the full story in Penn State News
A new community initiative aids in patient care
Dr. Elisabeth Kunkel, Professor of Psychiatry and Chief Medical Officer of Pennsylvania Psychiatric Institute has spearheaded a community initiative to simultaneously combat the stigma surrounding mental health issues in the community and enhance the treatment atmosphere of the adolescent inpatient wing. Her initiative involves a dynamic collaboration with the Pennsylvania Foundation for the Arts and the Lower Dauphin School District. Read more about this community initiative.
Dr. Kawasaki's efforts on fighting opioid stigma
As the head of an opioid treatment clinic located in the Pennsylvania Psychiatric Institute, Dr. Sarah Kawasaki is spearheading efforts to introduce medication assistant treatment (MAT) in the community. This evidence-based treatment uses FDA approved medications to treat opioid use disorders and is the forefront of our nationwide approaches to stem the opioid epidemic. Read more about the clinic and Dr. Kawasaki's efforts.
Psychiatry faculty part of cross-campus research efforts to tackle the opioid crisis
Scott C. Bunce, PhD and Sarah S. Kawasaki, MD are part of two cross-campus research collaborations that have received seed grants from Penn State's collaborative research initiative between the Social Science Research Institute (SSRI) and Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI). The seed grants initiative was instituted to identify novel, translational research that focus on finding solutions to the current opioid crisis.
Dr. Bunce, Associate Professor, Department of Psychiatry, is a collaborator in a College of Health and Human Development project entitled "Neural mediators and moderators of mindful yoga practice in opiate-dependent individuals". This project aims to understand the underlying mechanisms of patient response to mindfulness based interventions (MBIs). The study will provide preliminary data identifying regions of the brain that are involved in mindfulness practices in opioid use disorder (OUD). In doing so, the project will constitute a critical first step in a line of enquiry designed to promote the refinement of OUD treatment approaches.
Dr. Kawasaki, Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Director of Addiction Services at Pennsylvania Psychiatric Institute, is a collaborator on a Center for Childhood Obesity Research project titled, "Perinatal Opioid Use and Maternal Nutrition and Health Status". The overall goal of this proposal is to use existing, publicly available data from the National Children's Study (NCS) and the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) to describe the nutritional status of women of childbearing age who are exposed to illicit or prescription opioids. Findings from this study will help to evaluate the role of nutrition in minimizing the effects of prenatal opioid exposure on maternal and infant health outcomes.
Learn more about the seed grant awardees and research they conduct.
Kawasaki speaks about the toll of the opioid epidemic
"Opioid addiction, I dare say, is the polio of our time." Sarah Kawasaki, MD, Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Director of Addiction Services at Pennsylvania Psychiatric Institute, was a panelist at the 2018 Healthcare Symposium hosted by the Central Penn Business Journal. A major topic at the symposium was the cause and effect of the current opioid crisis, and Dr. Kawasaki highlighted the devastating effects of the epidemic. With the number of people diagnosed with opioid use disorder rising, panelists discussed limiting opioid prescriptions and listed alternative methods to treating pain.
View details of Dr. Kawasaki's speech and the meeting – Central Penn Business Journal
Dalke appointed LGBTQ Affairs Commissioner
Katharine Dalke, MD, MBE, Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at Penn State College of Medicine and attending psychiatrist at Pennsylvania Psychiatric Institute, was appointed as a commissioner of the Pennsylvania Commission on LGBTQ Affairs. This is the first ever commission on LGBTQ Affairs established by Governor Tom Wolfe and was created to ensure that members of the LGBTQ community will not be discriminated against based on gender identity and sexual orientation.
Learn more about the LGBTQ Affairs Commission – Governor Tom Wolf
Suicide rates on the rise
The suicide rate has risen in nearly every state over the past 20 years, with half the states, including Pennsylvania, seeing increases of 30 percent or more. That means about 123 people per day are dying of suicide in the United States, notes Dr. Ahmad Hameed, a psychiatrist at Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center who has studied suicide.
Week of suicides commands attention; data shows it's more than coincidence – PENNLIVE.com
Media Interviews
Get the latest information from the CDC about COVID-19
- COVID-19: Avoiding Stress While Staying Home (VIDEO)
- Helping Children Understand COVID-19 (VIDEO)
- How Can Parents Help Teens Socialize During Social Distancing? (VIDEO)
WPSU Penn State
- Take Note: Penn State Prof. Erika Saunders On Mental Health Effects Of The COVID-19 Pandemic (AUDIO)


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She, the beautiful bride-to-be, is anxious that everything be just right as per her plans for the big day, and I assure her that since she is the bride, her word is the law. I am pianist and vocalist for this upcoming Island wedding, and this petite brunette, who plans to be married in a church in western P.E.I., has met with me twice already prior to the wedding rehearsal, as well as initiated numerous electronic exchanges to go over the fine details. As this is an Island wedding, it has its own high standards to live up to, if one takes into account the numerous testimonials, private and public, that give reason for any young couple to choose the Island as their wedding destination.
If you google "P.E.I. weddings," it should not come as a surprise that the Island has carved out a market for even the most discriminating of brides. Those wishing to live up to their own romantic ideals or any number of other sentimental clichés will not have to search far to find what they are looking for, as the Island has diverse vacation packages to suit any bride's fancy. As I have had many opportunities to attend Island weddings, as well as experience my own personal version of the Island wedding a few years back, I can vouch for the fact that weddings planned and carried out here are truly as special as they are touted to be.
For one thing, the Island has some of the most beautiful beaches in the world, perfect for any kind of family get-together, not excluding a wedding. Of course, P.E.I. is not the only place on the globe where one can mix together sand, water and sky to make a perfect concoction worthy of romance. But, there is something about getting married on an island like ours that makes the sandy dunes and red shores more notable and thus, more romantic. It is as if the bride and her groom were together on a secluded fantasy island with miles of sand and red clay separating them from the rest of the world. Although we Islanders know that only after a short drive, you will find yourself in the heart of our capitol city, visitors need not dismantle the illusion of seclusion. That is the beauty of our island -- romance, charm and intrigue are always in the air.
Another reason the Island is perfect for tying the knot is our emphasis on tourism. We Islanders cater to our visitors, and what better way to do so than to offer romance packages for couples wishing for a romantic wedding location, to be followed by a laid-back, entertaining vacation on P.E.I. Couples come from all over the world, and they are not disappointed: The province has the whole deal, including great food, fantastic theater, outstanding golf courses as well as some of the prettiest scenery known to man.
Of course, I am not biased, just well-informed. And it helps to be a local who knows from first-hand experience that the Island is the place to be for a romantic wedding befitting a fairytale.
So, to give you a personal account of my own Island wedding, I would be remiss to not include the fact that my husband proposed to me on the beautiful shores of Cavendish beach, minutes away from the house of a certain Anne Shirley. Maybe you've heard of her? He carried the ring in his pocket for the afternoon, setting it aside while we swam in the crystal clear waters of the north shore, all the while nervously scanning the beach for pickpockets, while I, oblivious to this tension going on in his mind, was just enjoying the beauty of a perfect summer day. Carefree as a bar clam before a clam bake.
After drying off in the sun, we walked hand-in-hand over the rocks until we came to a series of caverns. One was deep enough for two to sit comfortably, so we stopped to catch our breath. I looked out at the blue of the water, and I could sense there was something on his mind. He was extremely nervous, and I eventually caught on to what was coming next. I watched him get down on one knee and hold out a promise in the form of a sparkling diamond ring. The waves crashed the shoreline while gulls soared overhead.
He proposed, I said yes. The rest, as they say, is history. We were married two years later on another perfect summer day in a church sanctuary in the city of Charlottetown, and held our reception outside underneath beautiful white tents draped with filmy gauze and flowers. The honeymoon commenced with our first night spent at Dalvay-By-The-Sea, notable for recently hosting the Canadian royal visit by their Royal Highnesses, Prince William and the Duchess of Cambridge. Capped off by an evening meal in the spacious dining room, our first night of marriage was a prelude to a honeymoon fit for the storybooks. A perfect Island wedding and a romantic honeymoon; just what the tourism movers and shakers would want the rest of world to come to experience.
Although a wedding can be preformed just about anywhere, it is magical on the Island. It is a wonderful way to start life together as a married couple with a few days in paradise before settling in to the regular rhythm and flow of everyday life. And it might just be what the doctor ordered for those returning to P.E.I. after years as a couple, wishing to put a spark back into their marriage.
And you can bet your bottom dollar that the tourism sector has designed a niche for year-round romantic weekend getaways for two, as well. After all, weddings are only the beginning. There is a lifetime of opportunity for couples seeking a getaway to whom we Islanders hope to cater our charm, and spin a web of intrigue to draw in those seeking the romance of our fair isle.


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(Reuters) – Jaromir Jagr moved into a tie for second place on the NHL's all-time points list on Tuesday, the Czech winger grabbing three assists for the Florida Panthers in a 4-3 shootout victory over the Buffalo Sabres.
The 44-year-old Jagr reached reach the towering number of 1,887 points with an assist for Nick Bjugstad that tied the game at 3-3 late in the third period, drawing him level with Hall of Famer Mark Messier.
"It's great stuff, no question about it. It's a bonus for my job," Jagr, who won two Stanley Cup titles with the Pittsburgh Penguins, told reporters.
The BB&T Center crowd in Florida then cheered Jagr during a video tribute to the winger before the teams went to overtime. Jagr, whose career began in 1990, reached the landmark in 1,662 career games and will have a chance to move into sole possession of second on the list when Florida hosts the Boston Bruins on Thursday.
Wayne Gretzky is the NHL's all-time top scorer with 2,857 points.
(Writing by Jahmal Corner in Los Angeles; Editing by John O'Brien)


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Boys Junior Varsity Wrestling, Boys Varsity Wrestling · Wrestling Preseason Workouts
Wrestling will be having pre-season technique workouts and conditioning from 3:20 to 4:30ish after school every day. Meet in the wrestling room!
Wrestling will be having pre-season technique workouts and conditioning from 3:20 to 4:30ish after school every day. Meet in the wrestling room!
All wrestlers who are not participating in a Fall sport should attend the after school pre-season weight training and wrestling technique sessions on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays from 3:15 to 4:45 pm. August 21, 23, 27, 28, 30 September 4, 5, 17, 18, 20, 24, 25, 27 October 1, 2, 4, 8, 9, 11, 15,
4 Arvada West Wrestlers traveled to Iowa City, Iowa to attend the all-positions technique camp at the University of Iowa the week of June 24th through the 26th. Seniors Cole Brown, Kaden Brunk, Bode Marvel and Mitchell Romero were given a personal tour of Carver Hawkeye Arena by the University of Iowa Wrestling Head Coach,
Arvada West wrestlers are encouraged to sign up for the Iowa All Positions Technique Camp that will be held in Iowa City June 24th through June 26th. Coach Hafke and Coach Martin will take any wrestlers that sign up by van, departing early June 23rd and returning to the school late June 27th. Wrestlers check
The following dates will be the workout sessions through the end of the school year. Workouts will be from 3:10 to 4:30 in the Arvada West Weight Room. April 30th May 1st May 3rd May 7th May 8th May 10th May 14th May 15th May 17th May 21st May 22nd May 24th May 28th May
Come support AWest wrestling Saturday November 11th at In The Zone Bar & Grill at our 2nd Annual "Texas Hold 'em Night"
Arvada West's Cody Fatzinger embracing final shot at elusive state wrestling title BRIAN MILLERFEBRUARY 17, 2017, 9:44 PM FEATUREDWRESTLING0 0 (Dan Mohrmann/CHSAANow.com) DENVER – Standing on the podium at the state wrestling tournament is nothing new to Arvada West's Cody Fatzinger. In each of the previous three seasons, the Wildcats standout has earned a medal,
Wildcat Wrestling team placed 9 in the Region 4 tournament! These 9 wrestlers compete this week 2/16-2/18 at the Pepsi Center at the 2017 State Championship tournament. Good Luck CATS!
The AWest wrestling team opened their season Wednesday night vs. #5 Monarch High School, by winning 37-33. They take to the mat this weekend at the Battle of the Beasts dual tournament at Pine Creek High School. Go Luck CATS!
Informational Wrestling meeting for the 2016-2017 season for all new wrestlers or students interested in wrestling and their parents. Thursday November 3rd @ 6:30pm in the Arvada West Cafeteria. Head Coach, Ron Granieri, will answer all questions you may have. If you are unable to attend, Coach Granieri is in the wrestling room every Tuesday


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© 2013-2016 Hotel WiFi Test Inc.


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Procurement Policy Drafting 101—Appendix A
Best Practices for Negotiating and Drafting Contracts
Hallmarks of Well-Formulated Contracts
- In writing
- Legible – 12 pt. font, 1" margins, no caps unless emphasis required
- Logically formatted – outline form with subject headings; operative terms first, boilerplate provisions last
- Understandable – concisely written in plain English
- Complete – contains all material terms (ideally) within one written document
- Tailored to the transaction – inapplicable provisions excluded
- Anticipates and appropriately allocates risk – incorporates appropriate safeguards and contingency provisions
Contract Elements
- All relevant Parties, including third-party beneficiaries and indispensable parties, are named in and bound by the contract, i.e. they must sign the contract.
- A Detailed Description of the Product Purchased or Work to be performed is included. The more detail, the better!
- For products: any special specifications, quality, or satisfaction requirements are included.
- For services: all duties to be performed, deliverables to be produced, restrictions on or instructions governing the manner of performance, etc., are included.
- States the Delivery Date or Schedule of Performance/Deliverables, including milestones, deadlines, and final due date.
- Establishes the Contract Term (g., the signing date to product delivery date/service completion date), with plenty of leeway at the end
- States the Price, including total cost and type of billing system used (e.g. fixed-rate, hourly, time and materials, etc.)
- Addresses the Mode and Manner of Payment, including accepted forms of payment (e.g. invoice, credit card, line of credit, up-front, graduated, etc.), time of payment, and reasonable penalties for late payment.
- Provides for Termination in event of a default and for convenience, including who may terminate the contract, under what circumstances, and how a party gives notification about a termination.
- Includes appropriate Remedies upon Breach, if necessary (not always necessary!). Unique to each contract, but should be reasonable, non-arbitrary, and tailored to the potential harm or loss.
- Provides for how the contract may be Amended. Any amendment should be in writing to be effective.
- Proposed Signatories have authority to bind the seller/contractor and your organization, respectively.
Helpful Provisions to Include, Depending on the Circumstances
- Time is of the Essence
- Cost Not to Exceed
- Governing Law and Venue
- Integration
- Severability
- Assignment and Delegation
- Force Majeure
- Confidentiality
- Intellectual Property
- Indemnification (when done properly)
- Insurance Requirement
- No Setoff
- Product Warranties and Disclaimers
- Successors and Assigns
- Joint and Several Liability
- Electronic Signatures
- Disclaimers
- Right of First Refusal
- Representations and Warranties
Harmful Provisions to Avoid, if Possible
- Limitations on Liability, including limitations on the causes of action, damages, remedies, statutes of limitations, etc., available to your organization. To neutralize, consider striking altogether, making it mutual, increasing the amount of the liability caps to induce performance, making limitations more reasonable/closely related to actual likely harm.
- Representations and Warranties. Scrutinize to ensure your organization is not unreasonably assuming the risk of a dangerous or defective product or service, or agreeing to an inadequate remedy.
- Binding Arbitration. Inappropriate for most consumer transactions because arbitration fees will likely exceed the dispute's value. To neutralize, require seller to pay arbitration initiation costs since it's their chosen forum, require at least one arbitrator of your organization's choosing, make it non-binding, apply rules of evidence and civil procedure to the proceedings, require venue in your home state, or require exhaustion of good-faith negotiations first).
- Indemnification clauses masquerading as limitations on liability.
- Liquidated Damages To neutralize, impose a generous "grace period" or opportunity to cure period, decrease the amount of damages due, graduate the damages due over time, make damages more reasonable/closely related to actual likely harm.
- Governing Law/Forum To neutralize, suggest Deleware as governing law, federal court as forum, or insert a "plaintiff's choice" provision, i.e. in event of a breach, non-breaching party chooses which law and/or forum will apply.
- Attorney's Fees provisions altering the "American Rule". To neutralize, only agree to "reasonable fees" (customarily 25% or less) as opposed to a specific percentage unless the suggested % is lower, reduce the fee percentage, narrowly define "fees" to exclude expert and other pricey litigation costs, or agree to pay "reasonable fees" or a percentage of fees only if lose the litigation.
- Waivers of Statutory Rights, such as debt collection safeguards, notice provisions, etc. To neutralize, consider striking altogether or negotiating a limited waiver.
- Acceleration Clause. To neutralize, strike altogether or ensure that your organization has notice of default and generous time to cure before it would apply.
Cannons of Contract Construction: How Courts Interpret Disputed Contracts
Knowing and understanding basic "cannons of contract construction," or rules, that courts regularly use to interpret disputed contract terms can improve contract negotiations and prevent disputes before they arise.
- Courts give disputed contract terms their plain and ordinary meaning, interpreting them as ordinary, average, or reasonable persons would understand them.
- If contract terms are clear and unambiguous, there is no need for further interpretation and the court will enforce the contract as written. By doing so, the court gives effect to the parties' intentions and avoids inserting its own preferences into the agreement.
- If contract terms are ambiguous, however, the court will consider "extrinsic evidence," or evidence derived from outside the four corners of the contract (e.g. emails, conversations, preliminary bids, previous transactions and course of conduct between the parties, industry practice or customs, etc.), to determine the parties' intent and expectations.
- When extrinsic evidence is unavailable or unhelpful, ambiguous contract terms are construed against the party who drafted the contract, especially with respect to provisions that attempt to limit liability. Thus, ambiguous terms will be interpreted in a way that is most favorable to the non-drafting party or invalidated altogether.
Top Ten Contract Drafting & Editing Tips
- Consider "what if" scenarios to flesh-out potential unforeseen problems
- Value clarity and simplicity to a fault – contracting is NOT creative writing!
- Use plain English – no legal jargon, Latin, or acronyms ("and/or", "herein", "heretofor", "said contract", "party of the first part", "witnesseth", "en arguendo", "supra/infra", "NIMBY", etc.)
- Eliminate passive voice ("Seller will send invoices" not "invoices will be sent by Seller")
- Use affirmative language over prohibitive language ("Contractor will do X" vs. "Contractor will not do Y", thereby implying X)
- Use short sentences (25 words max.)
- Use short words ("after" vs. "subsequently"); no SAT words/creative variation!
- Eliminate double negatives ("it's possible" vs. "it is not impossible")
- Understand basic cannons of contract construction ("will"/ "shall"/ "must" = mandatory vs. "may" / "should" = permissive; drafting errors construed against drafter; specific words control general ones).
- Avoid using abbreviations to denote parties or terms (Consultant's Rate Schedule = "Rate Schedule" not "CRS"), unless the abbreviation is synonymous with a party or term (Environmental Protection Agency = EPA; Legal Services Corporation = LSC)


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Prof. Dr Jörn Oliver Sass
Professor for Bioanalytics and Biochemistry
Teaching Activities
• Methods of Bioanalysis & Laboratory Diagnostics
• Pathobiochemistry & Metabolic Diseases
• Inborn Errors of Metabolism
Pathobiochemical mechanisms and laboratory diagnostics of inborn errors of metabolism, with special focus on aminoacylases (Aminoacylase 1 deficiency, Canavan disease), on amino acid N-acyltransferases und the metabolism of branched-chain and selected other amino acids (including disorders of ketone body formation and utilization). Development and implementation of bioanalytical methods for laboratory diagnostics. Our research is supported by the state of North Rhine-Westpalia (FH "Zeit für Forschung", FH Struktur "FunForGen") and by several foundations (Heinz und Heide Dürr-Stiftung, Gottfried und Julia Bangerter-Rhyner-Stiftung, Hans Hermann Voss-Stiftung, Fondation Claude et Giuliana).
J.O. Sass is associated with Metabolicum Ruhr http://metabolicum-ruhr.de/ and with the European Registry and Network for Intoxication Type Disorders (E-IMD) http://www.e-imd.org.
Additional functions
Substitute member of the Faculty Council
Curriculum vitae
Professional History
1991: Diplom-Biochemiker (M.Sc. equivalent; Free University Berlin)
1991-1995: Research Associate (Free University Berlin)
1991-1993: Postgraduate diploma course in Environmental Protection at the Humboldt-University Berlin
1996: Promotion to Dr. rer. nat. (Ph.D. equivalent; Free University Berlin)
1996-2001: University Assistant at University of Innsbruck (University Hospital of Child and Adolescent Medicine), Austria
2002-2006: Head of the Laboratory of Metabolism of the Center of Child and Adolescent Medicine (ZKJ) of the University Hospital Freiburg; trainer according to the German Vocational Training Act
2005: Habilitation (postdoctoral degree with lecturing qualification) in Clinical Biochemistry (Albert-Ludwigs-University Freiburg)
2006-2012: Head of the Laboratory of Clinical Biochemistry and Metabolism, Administrative Head of the Laboratories of Hematology and Hemostaseology (ZKJ, University Hospital Freiburg)
Since 2009: Apl. Professor (supernumerary professor) of the Albert-Ludwigs-University Freiburg
Since 2010: Communicating Editor/Advisory Board Member of the Journal of Inherited Metabolic Disease
2012-2014: Principal Chemist, University Children's Hospital Zürich; lecturer at the University of Zürich
Since 2015: Professor of Biology, in particular of Bioanalytics and Biochemistry (Bonn-Rhein-Sieg University of Applied Sciences)
Sep 2017-Aug 2020: Research Professor


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COVID-19: Actividades para el hogar Lavado de manos
Acerca del Héroe de Alimentos | Centro de Recursos
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❁ Whole apples can be stored at room temperature for a few days. They can be stored in the refrigerator in a crisper drawer or open bag for up to 6 weeks.
❁ Apples that are starting to shrivel can be used in cooking.
❁ Refrigerate fresh corn in the husk when possible. Although corn is best when eaten soon after picking, newer varieties keep their flavor and texture for up to a week or longer.
■ Leave grapes on the stem but remove any grapes that are shriveled, brown, or moldy.
■ Bananas are usually stored at room temperature. They continue to ripen after harvest. The warmer the temperature, the faster they ripen.
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Archive for July, 2019
76th Annual Flower Show 17th August St Catherine's Church Centre 2:00pm
July 7th, 2019
The Society's Annual Show will be held 17th August at St Catherine's Church Centre, Outwood Road, Heald Green.
All current members and recent exhibitors will receive their own copy of the Schedule. For your copy email Mike at
Posted in Uncategorized | Comments (0)


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First off, I'd like to say that THIS IS FAIL. FAILFAILFAILFAILFAILFAIL. The designs are too simple and there are too few of them.
I did this for DeidaraNarutoClan's Challenge: Thinking Outside the Box. Or something like that.
This chick is not me, okay? She is my Tokyo Mew Mew OC, Tomato. I drew her because she is constantly inspiring to me. She's a lot like me, and I didn't even mean for her to be that way.
Tomato is doing what I mostly do outside of the Internet world - think. Think of words, think of patterns, think of floral patterns, etc. She's also wearing one of my shirts and my pairs of jeans. fff.
Comment, hug, fave, press the back button, do whatever you wanna do~


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The purchase of commercial walls has many advantages, however, it is important to choose the right investment.
Commercial Walls
Financing commercial walls with business credit can be an interesting operation for companies that want to invest. Indeed, companies can acquire commercial walls to enlarge their real estate stock but they can also become owners of the walls of the business they operate. The rent they paid may, under certain conditions, be the same amount as the monthly payments of credit and thus allow the entrepreneur to build a heritage without too much extra weight in its budget.
How to choose your commercial walls?
Different criteria must be taken into account:
- The location of the commercial premises
- The type of business
- The layout of the premises
- His price
The price of commercial walls is not calculated in the same way as for conventional real estate. The surface of the property is not taken into account but the estimated yield of the premises according to the rent perceived. Commercial walls are therefore not subject to the same fluctuations as real estate.
It is important to distinguish between buying occupied and free walls. For the occupied walls there is the presence of a real estate lease. When the walls are free, it is a tenant default.
The benefits of buying commercial walls
Becoming a commercial property owner also means getting rid of certain charges from a classic property owner. Indeed, the property tax is often reimbursed by the tenant and the co-ownership works (with the exception of the main works) borne by the tenant. In addition, all work in the commercial space must be financed by the tenant since it is he who operates the business.
It is important to ensure before the purchase of the commercial walls that the co-ownership by-law authorizes the activity exploited by the business and to study well the commercial lease.
Without obligation, submit your request for information to obtain a professional credit


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NEW YORK, N.Y. – The race for the best original song Oscar is a slim one with two songs up for the honour, a first for the Academy Awards.
Sergio Mendes' "Real In Rio" from the animated adventure "Rio" will compete with Bret McKenzie's "Man or Muppet" from "The Muppets," despite having songs from a bevy of all-star musicians like Elton John, Mary J. Blige, will.i.am and Pink in contention for nomination.
Charles Bernstein, the former chairman of the Academy Awards' music branch, says he "personally was surprised" that only two songs are up for the honour.
In the past, the number of nominees for best original song has ranged from three to 14. Only up to five songs are eligible for nomination.
"I personally felt that there may have been more than two that I personally would have championed," he said in an interview after the Oscars nominations were announced Tuesday. "But it is a majority vote situation."
Blige, who co-wrote a song for the Deep South drama "The Help," said in a tweet Tuesday that she was sad, and felt like the Academy "is being mean" for only nominating two songs for the award.
This year, 39 songs were eligible for nomination for best original song, including tracks from Brad Paisley, Robbie Williams, The National, Zooey Deschanel, Zac Brown, Chris Cornell and others.
Members of the music branch can rank songs using 10, 9.5, 9, 8.5, 8, 7.5, 7, 6.5 or 6, and a song must have at least an average score of 8.25 to be nominated. If only one song gets that score, it and the song receiving the next highest score will be the two nominees.
Since two songs were nominated, it could mean that voters were unimpressed with this year's contenders.
"Each person is voting on a subjective impression … so you'd have to go into the head of each individual voter to kind of know what it was that made them feel that any given song was or wasn't award-worthy," Bernstein said.
Bernstein also stressed that the songs "have to be written for the picture, and the judgment of its quality has a great deal to do with how it functions in the movie as well as how well written it is."
Bernstein, who did vote in the category, wouldn't say how many people voted this year, but did say that the rules for each Academy Award are carefully observed each year. He says the music branch will most likely take a closer look at the requirements for best original song after this year's results.
"It's very likely because there were two this year that the rules committee will probably take another look at it next year and make sure it wants to continue the same rules," he said.
Madonna's "Masterpiece," which won the Golden Globe for best original song and is from her directorial effort "W.E.," was not eligible for an Academy Award because "the song does not occur either in the body of the film, or as the first song at the end of the film," Bernstein said.
Mendes, who shares his nomination with Siedah Garrett and Carlinhos Brown, says "Rio" director Carlos Saldanha delivered the good news to him.
"I don't know much about the voting process really. I'm not an expert in that, but I'm so happy about me being nominated," Mendes said Tuesday afternoon. "I don't really know the criteria, but I can only think about celebrating."
Winners of the 84th annual Academy Awards will be announced Feb. 26 in a ceremony that will air live on ABC from the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood.
Mesfin Fekadu covers entertainment for The Associated Press. Follow him on Twitter at http://twitter.com/musicmesfin


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OptiClear Glass // Anti-Reflective // 6mm Custom Size
- Regular price
- $0.00
- Sale price
- $0.00
OptiClear Glass // Anti-Reflective // 10mm Custom Size
- Regular price
- $0.00
- Sale price
- $0.00
What is the difference?
OptiClear Anti-Reflective Glass is used in Major Theaters around the world, because it helps more light from the projector go through the port window glass and presents a beautiful clear picture on the screen. Regular Green Glass, High in Iron, will capture, and will let through 92% of the light, and OptiClear Glass lets 99% of the light through, giving the viewers a beautiful picture to view.
We recommend using the same glass as Major Theaters do.
Anti-Reflective OptiClear Glass.
Home Theatres have grown tremendously in recent years. Most people have become aficionados of electronic gear to get the best bang for the buck. But, one area to boost quality is the optical glass in front of the projector system. Opticlear port window glass is the highest rated performance camera lens quality glass used by the major motion picture studios, cinema chains, and projection manufacturers to achieve the best picture quality at the screen.
Now, you can integrate this exact same optics in your own home theatre for best picture quality.
We would recommend...
1. Refraining from using silicone to mount glass, due to oily contamination on optical coatings. It's like a camera lens, so you want to keep it clean.
2. Mount your port window using double-sided foam 3m mounting tape.
3. Carpenters may frame the port window with wooden stops along the edge to hold glass in place.
4. Optimal Sound Insulation takes 2 pieces of glass. Place (1) 6mm and (1) 10mm together in the port window frame.
5. Tilting your glass at a 7-10 degree angle to prevent ghosting.


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Let's show them some retail love.
Picture this: It's a Sunday and you're at the mall with the whole family. Lunch is done and you're itching to check the stores you like. While you're busy scouring for the latest deals , Dad goes missing. You suddenly look like a lost kid until the saleslady points you to the miserable man sitting on the store couch. Yup, that's your Dad. His patience is being tested right now with all the retail action going on. You can't help but appreciate the sacrifice. In the spirit of Father's Day, maybe you can do some shopping for him.
Stylish Staples
Does your Dad like wearing the same thing over and over again? When the clothing gets all worn out, making a fashion purchase sounds like a reasonable decision. Dad might contest to the idea of buying new clothes especially if he's gotten so comfy with his current ones. Ease his worries away and convince him that Uniqlo Pique Short Sleeve Polo Shirt is a good investment. Its dry fabric material feels breezy, breaking a sweat won't be a hassle. For shoes, the Sledgers Leander Boat Shoes will be his favorite casual pair to wear in your next family day. Should Dad feel hesitant about getting his eyes checked, tell him wearing Diesel Reading Glasses is and will always be in fashion.
On the Road Survival Kit
If your Dad always comes to the rescue when you need somebody to drop you off or pick you up, then these selections are for him. Imagine the EDSA traffic he has to go through just to get to your destination. Or that time he has to wait for you in the car because you're still working overtime. Give him a Miniso Neck Pillow for the ultimate comfort on the road. While driving, he can jam along to some old school hits from The Beatles Live at The Hollywood Bowl album.
Is Dad getting off for some fresh air? Don't let him misplace the keys and parking ticket again. A Zara Soft Brown Leather Wallet and Key Ring should keep him organized.
Anti-Dad Bod Starter Pack
Dad is not getting any younger. He wants to step up his fitness game. Support your Dad's workout motivation by gifting him with some athletic finds. Buy him that NBA Store Gray Shirt he's secretly been eyeing on. Think about his safety too. Is Dad into outdoor biking? Make sure he wears a Spyder Cycling Helmet. There's Stanley Water Bottle so Dad can also stay hydrated throughout the course.


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A visit is considered a swipe of your loyalty card and a Loyalty Member must purchase an item from one of these categories: Nibbles, Salads, Fried Chicken, Southern Plates, Signature Dishes or Sandwiches.
After 20 transactions in a calendar month your name will be engraved on a plaque at The COOP!!
As a Loyalty Member you receive a free treat the month of your Birthday!
Loyalty Members will receive an email on the 1st of the month and are able to redeem it at any time during your birth month. Treats include mini Pie, Pie Shot or Moon Pie.
Loyalty Members must activate their card online in order to start accruing any visits. The card must be swiped at the register to activate it in The Coop system. Rewards are good for 1 year after the day you receive them. Any and all adjustments or questions should be directed to email@example.com


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Dr. FRANCISCO JAVIER IRUZUBIETA-BARRAGÁN is currently working as a Professor, University of La Rioja (Spain); Researcher at Nursing and Healthcare Research Unit (Investén-isciii), Madrid (Spain) and Health Care Research Coordinator, Center for Biomedical Research of La Rioja (CIBIR) (Spain). His Education includes PhD by the University of Alicante, Diploma in nursing by the University of Zaragoza, Licentiate Degree in Humanities and Master in Health Promotion in the Community by the National Distance Education University (Spain). His extensive training also includes: Train the Trainer Comprehensive Systematic Review Training of The Joanna Briggs Institute by the University of Adelaide (Australia), and University Diploma in Public Health by the National School of Public Health of Institute of Health Carlos III (Spain).Most of his professional activity has been developed as lecturer and coordinator of the Area of Community Nursing in the University School of Nursing of the University of La Rioja, Spain. He is a member of the Nursing and Healthcare Research Unit of Institute of Health Carlos III (Madrid, Spain) from 2007 and, in January 2014, he became the Head of the Research and Innovation Area of this unit. Since January 2018 he is responsible for the research on Variability of Care at the Biomedical Research Centre of La Rioja-CIBIR (Logrono-Spain). He is a member of the Network of Research in Health Services in Chronic Diseases, (REDISSEC), of the CIBER NETWORK, from January 2014 to the present, and head of a transversal research group in this network —Group of Nursing Research in Health Services in Chronic Diseases (GREISSEC)—. He is also a researcher in the Social Sciences Area of the Riojanos Studies Institute (Logrono-Spain). He has been Chief Editor of the journal of the Spanish Society of Oncology Nursing. He is currently a member of the Scientific Committee of Worldviews on Evidence-Based Nursing, JBI Database of Systematic Reviews and Implementation Reports (Australia) and Millenium - Journal of Education, Technologies, and Health (Portugal) and Spanish journals NURE Research, ROL Nursing and RQR Community Nursing. And, he is currently the Principal Investigator of the funded project Map of Clinical Variability of the Records of SNS Care Management Programs on the Assessment and Management of Pain, Falls, Urinary Incontinence, and Pressure Ulcers. (Spain). He is also a collaborating researcher of the funded project Supervision and tutoring in Higher Education: Dynamics of Success. (Portugal)
Research Interest
His Research Interests include Evidence-Based Healthcare and Variability of care management (pressure ulcer, pain, falls and urinary incontinence) and research interest in the area of care management of pressure ulcer


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This is a partial list of research highlights for the Navy Center for Applied Research in Artificial Intelligence. Click on a highlight title to see more details about the research.
3D Audio-Cued Operator Performance Modeling
This project, known as the "Auditory Principles" project, is basic research seeking to identify and model attentional principles for integrated uses of virtual audio information in Navy watchstanding operations. Navy watchstanding operations increasingly involve environments in which operators must attend to more than one critical task display at a time. In response, the Navy is pursuing a model-based understanding of human performance in multitask settings.
Adaptive Testing of Autonomous Systems
The objective of this project is to develop technologies for advanced test and evaluation of the control software for intelligent autonomous systems. Machine learning techniques in the form of evolutionary algorithms and reinforcement learning are applied to learn the minimal number of faults that cause minimal or failed behavior of an autonomous system which is under the control of autonomy software -- the autonomy software is the system under test. The method uses high fidelity simulations of the vehicle and the environment, and tests are performed in that simulation.
Chat Attention Management for Enhanced Situational Awareness
This applied research project focuses on novel techniques and learning algorithms for (1) classifying chat messages, 2) summarizing chat room situations, and (3) 3D audio and visual cueing techniques for intelligently cueing watchstanders in a Navy Combat Information Center (CIC).
Cognitive Robotics and Human Robot Interaction
More capable and intelligent robots and autonomous systems will require more human-like cognitive abilities. The hypothesis is that systems that use human-like representations, strategies, and knowledge will enable better collaboration between these autonomous systems and the people who use them. An autonomous system must be able to perceive its environment, explain its decisions, and predict a person's needs,which should lead to more trust in the autonomous system. In this line of research, computational cognitive models, such as ACT-R, are used to build process models of human cognitive skills, and those models are then used as as reasoning mechanisms on the autonomous systems.
Cognitively Inspired Decision Making for Visualization
The major objective of this project is to investigate the potential advantages of using a cognitively-based approach to autonomous decision making at multiple levels in a command structure. The intent of this approach is to facilitate the presentation of autonomous reasoning to human decision makers in ways that allow them to rely on and/or revise decisions that have been made at lower levels. This research will promote rapid situational understanding of the battle space and facilitate the decision maker's ability to intervene and override the system as needed.
Damage Control for the 21st Century
The DC-21 project is developing advanced technologies for shipboard damage control. The project includes the development of advanced autonomous systems to assist in damage control and discovery and control of incipient fires. Our focus is specifically on the human-robot interaction technology that will allow a Navy firefighter to interact peer-to-peer, shoulder-to-shoulder with a humanoid robotic firefighter.
Goal Reasoning
Autonomous agents should be able to identify what goals they should pursue at any time during their execution by reasoning about possible objectives, their observations, and their environment model. Our investigations on goal reasoning concerns the design, implementation, and evaluation of agents with this capability (e.g., for controlling an unmanned vehicle).
Human Mimetic Active Sonar Classification
Exploratory development in this research involves the development of algorithms, based on human perception of sound, for improved and automated active sonar classification. Single-ping algorithms transform sonar sounds into aural features for a new classifier that classify sounds.The project uses archived data sets and human subject research results to develop human-mimetic transforms to generate set-theoretic features to describe sounds. The project seeks to develop classifiers based on these types of features.
Machine Classification of Spoken Language
Machine Classification of Spoken Language is basic research involving the classification and identification of the speech patterns of native and non-native speakers of English using phonetic and phonological analyses. The initial phase of this research involved the hand-coding of phonetic and phonological rules to determine speakers' native accents from passages spoken in English. The research progresses into the Automatic Dialect Identification project that provides machine-driven phonological analyses with confidence levels to identify the native language/dialect of both native and non-native speakers of English. Machine learning techniques will be used to train the phonological analysis engine in order to automate the procedure.
Mobile Autonomous Navy Teams for Information Surveillance and Search
The focus of this effort is to adapt techniques inspired by nature to information gathering in complex Navy environments. This requires search techniques that are efficient when possible and robust when necessary, a level of adaptability that is common in nature and thus suggests a biologically-inspired approach. We refine the assumptions the algorithms make about the mission environment and platforms they direct in order to take a systems engineering approach to advancing the state of the art of robotic information gathering.
Naturally Occurring Change Points in Navy Radio Communications
The project addresses the problem of monitoring multiple radio communication channels. By acceleration and serialization of radio traffic from concurrently active channels. Using these techniques, Navy watch standers have an increased comprehension of the communication channels, and miss less communications. Building on related work being conducted at NRL, a series of experiments are designed to determine to what extent the skill of attending to and understanding accelerated speech can be trained, and whether or not individual differences in memory and executive factors contribute to task performance in complex auditory domains.
Predicting and Preventing Errors
Even when people know how to do a task very well, errors still occur: People forget to check their blind spot when driving or they leave their original on the glass after making a copy. Our goal is three-fold: to understand why people make errors, to build models that take that understanding and predict when someone is going to make an error, and then to prevent that error before it happens.
Robotic Touch Sensing, Manipulation, and Fault Detection
The objective of the Robotic Touch Sensing project is to develop an artificial sensate skin for robots to extend the perceptual capabilities of robotic manipulators to include touch. Under this effort we are developing tactile sensor arrays using piezoresistive sensing elements and have demonstrated a method for determining the location and magnitude of a contact (or contacts) for a multi-touch artificial skin by analyzing the responses from the sensors embedded within the skin.
Swarm Control using Physicomimetics
Swarm intelligence is characterized by the emergence of collective capabilities from simple autonomous agents resulting from local interactions between the agents and their environment. Natural examples of swarm intelligence (e.g., colonies of ants) have led to the development of a number of distributed approaches to controlling agents. The method of swarm control we will use in this project is called physicomimetics. This method is based on an artificial physics representation in which agents behave as point-mass particles and respond to artificial forces generated by local interactions with nearby particles. We have developed a generalized form of physicomimetics that supports heterogeneous agents through multiple particle types and multiple force laws.
Trinocular Structured Light System
TSLS is a project motivated by the need to provide real time protection of moving convoys from attack by ambush with small arms. Our approach is to develop a 3D machine vision system which can detect the weapons by shape. Rocket propelled grenades (RPGs) and similar weapons are a great threat to our forces, in part because of their low cost and easy availability to our asymmetrical adversaries.
Unifying Inference through Attention
This research program has as its goal the development of a cognitive system that acquires strategies for controlling inference. Much like humans can learn to solve mathematical equations, prove logical theorems, analyze filmic metaphor, and construct legal arguments, a broadly intelligent system must be able to develop new forms of reasoning about the world. We claim that the manipulation of attention, directing it toward specific thoughts and perceptions, provides a way to carry out different kinds of reasoning. Moreover, learning attention strategies involves attending to trains of thought that make sense of the world.


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Shorter David Brooks, "Introspective or narcissistic?" New York Times, August 8, 2014:
Your self-worth and identity are at stake in every judgment you make about yourself. Therefore you shouldn't make any judgments about yourself, or if you must, do it in the third person, so you can tell yourself it isn't about you. I often use a pseudonym for this purpose, like "C.S. Lewis" or "George Marshall".I think we can now conjecture
- that the topic of the book Brooks didn't write last fall was the dangereux voisinage of self-knowledge to narcissism in what he regards as an increasingly self-regarding culture, and
- sometime during its non-composition the now former Mrs. Brooks shouted, "Ha, you want to write a book about self-knowledge? You have the self-knowledge of a fire hydrant!"
|Chuck Close at work in 2004-05.
Think of one of those Chuck Close self-portraits. The face takes up the entire image. You can see every pore. Some people try to introspect like that. But others see themselves in broader landscapes, in the context of longer narratives about forgiveness, or redemption or setback and ascent.If by "pore" you mean "tiny rectangular abstract image which resolves itself, seen at an adequate distance, into part of a human face". Otherwise, no, from the first photographs of 1967-68 to his most recent work, not a pore to be seen [That's a bit of an exaggeration, see tgchicago in comments—Y.]. Close's work is entirely about distance and context. It's as if Brooks saw one from 40 or 50 feet away and recoiled in disgust and anxiety, refusing to get any nearer.
Why the subject of self-examination fills him with such fascination and dread is a matter he might want to investigate himself, perhaps with the assistance of a therapist, if he weren't so deeply opposed to it.
Driftglass is in magical form.
Cross-posted at The Rectification of Names.