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For insurance companies, the day of digital reckoning
- Horatio Gray
- 3 years ago
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1 For insurance companies, the day of digital reckoning Customers want to use the channel most convenient to the moment, and they want channels to connect seamlessly. Are insurance companies up to the challenge? By Henrik Naujoks, Bodo von Huelsen, Gunther Schwarz and Stephen Phillips
2 Bain & Company partner Henrik Naujoks, principal Bodo von Huelsen, partner Gunther Schwarz and partner Stephen Phillips are members of the firm s Global Financial Services practice. They are based, respectively, in Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Düsseldorf and London. Copyright 2013 Bain & Company, Inc. All rights reserved.
3 Insurance companies across the world are rolling out a broad array of digital initiatives. These range from in-vehicle telematics that price driver risk better, to brand building on social media websites, to mobile applications that help agents create scenarios for prospective customers. Even in this conservative industry, a few forward-thinking players are experimenting with different business models for niche markets. And most executives recognize that they re on the threshold of a once-in-a-generation opportunity to both reduce costs and foster new streams of profitable revenue growth. It would be premature, however, to sing a hymn of praise to the industry s digital conversion just yet. In most cases, insurers are pursuing a string of unconnected initiatives layered onto a legacy information technology (IT) system and a traditional mindset. Few of the insurance social media websites have attracted significant user attention or motivated consumers to buy. Meanwhile, upstarts have gained a foothold among technologically savvy customers seeking alternative, lower-cost models for simple products. And Web giants such as Google are testing the waters. The digital disruption that has transformed sector after sector, from publishing to travel, has come to insurance. Many insurance executives view the digital challenge as purely an IT topic, a social media play or a onetime conversion that could be resolved in relatively short order. It is none of these, but rather an ongoing challenge that involves all areas of the business and requires a significant shift in both capabilities and mindset often leading to a fundamentally different business model for an insurer. Success in the digital arena requires a comprehensive approach that engages customers seamlessly across all channels both online and off-line and on their own terms. Why is mastery of the digital space so pressing for insurers now? Mainly because the balance of power has been shifting to customers as a result of the rapid adoption of smart mobile devices, the ubiquity of broadband and the proliferation of social media and aggregator websites (see Figure 1). Consumers and businesses insurance needs remain largely Digital technologies offer a once-in-ageneration opportunity to both reduce costs and foster new streams of profitable revenue growth. the same as a decade or two ago, but their behaviors have changed radically: Customers now routinely use the Internet to inform, compare, buy and interact with providers. Customers expectations, in short, now bridge online and physical worlds. Customers want to be able to use the channel convenient to the moment, whether that s a website, call center or a video chat with a broker (see Figure 2). They expect insurance companies to anticipate their needs and involve them in devising tailored solutions. And they don t hesitate to use social media to let others know how they were treated. Their advocacy cannot be dismissed: For one insurer in Hong Kong, for example, three-quarters of all new insurance purchases come via customer referral. Besides suiting customer priorities, digital technologies offer potential efficiency gains at a time when many insurance lines have come under severe cost 1
4 Figure 1: Ever more digital Broadband Storage Millions of high-speed - Internet access points worldwide Millions of servers shipped worldwide 5,000 Other fixed and satellite 4, ,000 Cable 1.5 Private servers 3,000 2,000 1,475 2,521 Mobile broadband Public Public servers 0.5 1, Broadband 2015E E Data mining Mobility Available zetabytes of data worldwide 10 Millions of smartphones sold worldwide 1,250 1, , Other Apple E E Sources: Broadband: Ovum; storage and data mining: IDC; mobility: Gartner Group 2
5 pressure. To some extent, the drive for efficiency continues a decades-long automation of paper-based activities. But some technologies like the cloud and big data are enabling new approaches in sales, underwriting and back-office operations; and still other technologies, such as mobile apps, enable personalized offerings and self-service capabilities that customers crave. Addressing the digital challenge is a matter of survival, as insurance companies that act too late or stumble through the transition will lose customers and remain saddled with a relatively high cost base. Gartner estimates that by the end of 2015, personal lines property and casualty (P&C) insurers that do not offer online and mobile transactions will lose one-quarter of their current market share. 1 A few first movers and even more fast followers, by contrast, will potentially gain stronger brands, customer relationships and cost positions. The winners will be able to tap new pools of revenue and raise profitability through more cross-selling, faster processes and lower-cost service. Seizing the digital opportunity will require a deft touch and a concerted, ongoing effort in four strategic areas (see Figure 3): embracing an omnichannel approach; redesigning core operations and underwriting; upgrading the IT platform and organization; and fortifying the franchise. Let s look at each in turn. Embrace an omnichannel world Omnichannel does not mean digital layered on top of, or to the side of, other channels. Rather, the key is to integrate disparate channels into a seamless experience (see sidebar, What a health insurance policy process could look like in 2015, page 7). Bain introduced the omnichannel concept for the retail industry, where many traditional retailers have been decimated by the likes of Amazon. 2 Success in retailing, indeed survival, hinges on designing digital and physical arenas that complement each other instead of substituting. Integrating channels. In insurance, plenty of companies offer products through brokers, tied agents, banks and the Internet. Often, though, their pricing and service levels vary in each channel. Some insurers also have started to offer bits of information and advice through digital channels. Several auto insurers have mobile apps In an omnichannel approach, customer information is made available to any employee who touches the customer for any product, and on any database. that allow customers to add a vehicle and get a quote, update a claim, pay bills and access an accident guide. US insurer Progressive offers an advice program via Twitter, and its website uses attractive offers and prepopulated application forms to stimulate cross-selling. Only a handful of insurers, however, have begun to tie together their channels in a coherent, compelling fashion. One leader is a personal lines insurer that serves affinity customers worldwide and was a pioneer in digitizing claims to go paperless. For the past several years, this company, which we will call AffinityCo, has made a dedicated effort to capture customer information and make it available to anyone who touches the customer for any product, including call-center representatives, actuaries, claims adjusters and marketing staff creating a 360-degree view of the customer. If a call-center rep hears a baby crying in the background, he or she 3
6 Figure 2: Insurance customers want to use many channels Share of respondents who say customers will use a channel more in the future Information Advice Purchase Back office/ customer service Claims Channel Direct in person 22% 22% 24% 25% 23% Call center/phone 12% 16% 12% 13% 21% Classic Internet (insurer website, to agent) 25% 22% 32% 39% 35% Aggregators 14% 12% 9% 5% 3% New Internet Online communities 8% 7% 4% 4% 3% Online chat 5% 6% 4% 3% 4% 29% 30% 22% 19% 19% Mobile applications 10% 8% 8% 8% 8% Video/Skype 6% 9% 6% 4% 4% Responses to question: Please estimate how customers will inform themselves/seek advice/purchase/demand service/make a claim in future. Source: Bain consumer survey in Germany, spring 2012; n=2,491 4
7 Figure 3: Four steps to a digital-ready business model Embrace an omnichannel world Understand customers priorities and behaviors Create a consistent, seamless experience across all channels Make customer data and product information, advice, purchase available in all channels Ensure that agents and brokers get the right tools (such as mobility) and training Upgrade their sales capabilities Redesign core operations and underwriting Digitize claims management, suppliers Enable self-service - Achieve a step-change in underwriting through advanced customer analytics Refine the pricing model through technologies such as telematics Upgrade the IT platform and organization Get the basics under control Install service-oriented architecture and middleware Select the highest-priority digital investments Examine how technology is organized, particularly interactions between the IT function and business unit Fortify the franchise Stay close to technology trends Monitor new entrants and new digital initiatives by incumbents Scrutinize each link of the value chain for opportunities to defend high-value customers Source: Bain & Company will inquire about the baby and enter the information into the customer s digital file, while also mentioning the possibility of upgrading a life insurance policy. AffinityCo has introduced a variety of digital innovations, such as claims submissions through a mobile device or computer and tablet apps that allow adjusters in the field to update claims real time. Among its most startling innovations of late involves brick-and-mortar outlets. Based on customer feedback asking for inperson investment management, AffinityCo has been opening walk-in centers that focus on salesoriented advice. A key goal is to cross-sell, as the company has learned that customers with more than two products have a higher propensity to remain loyal. At the same time, AffinityCo aims to achieve those sales by putting the customer first and solving his or her problems, rather than pursuing a sale at any cost. Partly as a result of its nascent omnichannel approach, grounded in a deep understanding of customers priorities, AffinityCo is one of the fastest-growing P&C insurers in the world. And the company s genuine empathy and support for customers have helped it earn customer loyalty scores that routinely rank at the top of the financial services sector. Equipping staff. Developing an omnichannel approach will involve equipping tied agents and brokers with useful digital tools. One rapidly growing class of tools, called e-trade platforms, replaces the paper-based, labor-intensive system where a broker calls multiple underwriters for their quote on a policy, and then writes up each quotes separately; or where a broker has to navigate multiple IT systems of different insurers through different interfaces. Using e-trade, a broker offers the sales opportunity and insurers bid on it digitally, as in 5
8 an auction, and the broker can use one interface for all the participating insurers. Another promising class of tools, collaborative networks, digitizes the essential activity of discussing insurance deals, which goes back to Lloyd s Coffee House in London during the late 1600s. Collaborative software for wholesale brokers allows them to search for industry news or sales materials, link to carriers at the point of a new or renewal opportunity and broaden their network communication in a fraction of the time required in person or over the phone. products in several country markets. The company wants to challenge the notion that an agent needs five or six face-to-face meetings in order to close a sale. It has been equipping agents with app-loaded tablets to collect customer information and communicate with E-trade platforms are replacing paperbased systems so that brokers can get bids from insurers digitally and use just one interface for all the insurers. Going mobile. Mobility is the other digital feature that underpins an omnichannel approach, either for customer self-service or for upgraded sales and advice support for agents. On the first front, NTUC Income in Singapore offers a travel insurance app that enables customers to buy travel insurance all over the world, access an accident guide in case of accident, monitor flights and so on. On the latter front, life insurers, including Generali France and John Hancock have launched mobile apps on which agents can view customers investment portfolio details, fund performance and payment history. Other insurers are using mobile apps that generate animations and videos visualizing common risks of everyday life, with the goal of engaging customers in a more persuasive fashion. Omnichannel strategies will inevitably encounter resistance from certain departments or employee groups, so insurance companies should anticipate and counter this tendency with appropriate tactics and incentives. Consider what one pan-asian insurer has been doing with its tied agents for whole life and similar savings underwriters while in the field, thereby sharply reducing the turnaround time for issuing a policy. But senior management doesn t give away tablets to just any lackluster agent. To promote mobile uptake and usage, the company is targeting younger agents selecting opinion leaders who can sway other agents and linking use of the tablet to an incentive plan in which agents who hit their targets get reimbursed for the cost of the tablet. That appeals to agents competitive nature and reinforces the special value of the tablets. Redesign core operations and underwriting As insurers take advantage of the efficiencies afforded by digital technologies, it s important to determine how the efficiency will improve or degrade the customer s overall experience with the company. Done right, digital channels can provide greater convenience to customers. But customers also expect their carrier will look out for their interests, whether through fair pricing or problem resolution. As insurers deploy digital technologies, they should manage these expectations. 6
9 For insurance companies, the day of digital reckoning What a health insurance policy process could look like in 2015 Awareness Insurer has strong presence, with same brand presentation, in all venues including social media. Prospect gathers information on any product from company website and mobile site, and also relies on review websites and blogs. Prospect sets up own account through any channel to get personalized coverage recommendation. Advice Prospect consults with agent at branch or via tablet. Agent has access to prospect s online account information. Agent relies on software to illustrate scenarios, and dials in relevant experts via video call. Purchase Prospect compares offer to others via aggregator s mobile app, decides to choose insurer. Signs contract electronically via agent s tablet, using LCD signature technology. Contract transmitted online to insurer s back office with automatic screening and final approval. Insurer stores contract data online, makes it accessible through any channel. Service Mobile app includes customer s medical history and data, offers tailored services, exercise and diet trackers, suggestions for health improvement, podcasts on health topics. At-risk patients use sensor with wireless transmission to monitor body functions and notify medical provider of a problem or emergency. Round-the-clock contact available through phone, chat, , social media. Claims and billing Claims made directly on the mobile service app (through QR code scanning) or online or by phone. Bills sent online simultaneously to the customer for payment and to the insurer for settlement. 7
10 Enabling self-service. Insurers can make life more convenient for customers by enabling self-service in claims management. DKV in Germany offers a bar code scanning app that allows customers to instantly file and monitor the status of their medical bills issued by private healthcare clearinghouses. Further efficiencies will come from digitizing suppliers such as medical clinics and auto repair shops, with the customer s information entered once and disseminated to all the relevant players. Advancing analytics. In underwriting, insurers can use advanced customer analytics to lift performance and create competitive advantage. Almost all P&C insurers Data-mining software can track online mentions of a product and then be used to analyze their volumes, locations or tones. today have at least rudimentary analytical capabilities, but high-performing firms take a more expansive and ambitious approach. 3 A major US commercial insurance carrier, for instance, was dissatisfied with its approach to supermarket general liability risk, which masked the presence of good risks within broad segments such as innercity supermarkets. So the carrier used analytical software to mine geographic data block by block and discovered a sub-segment of grocery stores that had a more attractive risk profile. This group of stores made more than one-third of its sales from fresh produce such as arugula and did not use drop-down security gates. Each store was located within two blocks of a health club and 24-hour parking garage. By targeting such stores with more favorable pricing and eliminating cross-subsidies, the carrier realized a four percentage point improvement in its combined ratio. Analytics can improve the profitability of a carrier s customer mix through an active strategy to avoid adverse selection by targeting high-profit potential customers with attractive pricing, and by repricing the existing book, driving the worst risks to competitors. Some carriers have begun to use in-vehicle telematics to vary premiums by driving behavior. A small digital device plugs into a car s diagnostic port and communicates to the insurer actions such as sharp cornering and harsh acceleration. Telematics gather information about how and how much an individual drives, in order to accurately target discounts at careful drivers and charge more spirited drivers an appropriate higher premium. Mining big data. Carriers can also take advantage of new digital data mining tools and new data sources such as postings on social networks and blogs (with some limits because of local privacy laws). Software is proliferating that can track mentions of a company or product, find relevant conversations and then be used to analyze volumes, locations or tones. While insurers have been slow to adopt these tools, some banks are mining such data to help predict customer churn and identify high-value customers. 4 Upgrade the IT platform and organization The integrated, omnichannel approach will need a new technical and organizational spine so that insurers can deliver a seamless service experience to customers within a couple of years. Most large insurers 8
11 operate with legacy IT architecture ill-suited to sharing or presenting data the same way on all channels. Gartner estimates that more than two-thirds of global life and P&C insurers still rely on legacy systems (some dating to the 1970s or 80s) to a significant degree to manage their core processes. 5 Recent experiences around the world suggest several principles that can guide efforts to upgrade the IT platform. Getting the basics under control. First and foremost, make sure that the core system is stable and secure, doing what was promised and that the IT team is delivering projects on time and under budget. Customers are now accustomed to 99.9% levels of availability as they shop or transact online, yet some insurance companies are running at 98.5%, which can translate to interfaces with corporate clients being down for 45 minutes a day. CIOs and IT executives will have little credibility in the C-suite on strategic matters unless they deliver on the basics. Deploying SOA and middleware. With the basics settled, most insurers should lay a foundation for their new system by installing service-oriented architecture (SOA) and middleware to extend an existing system, rather than replacing the core system all at once, which entails a once-in-generation investment and massive disruption. SOA defines how entities such as programs interact so one entity can perform work on behalf of the other. Middleware is software that lies between the operating system and applications, making it easier for software developers to overcome the rigidity of a legacy system. Further, data can be extracted from transaction systems and made available to anyone in the company. Focusing on priorities. As part of a technology upgrade, IT and business teams should work together to select the highest-priority digital investments. The key questions are What do we want to do, and how do we do it? whether that is to produce quotes or increase crossselling. Unless an insurer systematically looks across product lines, geographies and customer segments to pare down the wish list, it will not be prepared for negotiations with third-party providers and may be seduced by the latest shiny new offering. Organizing effectively. Re-examining the organization of technology, including the relationship between the IT function and the business units, is another useful step. Many senior executive teams are frustrated by how long it takes to integrate new functionality into a Business units want IT staff to be more agile by using preconfigured solutions, delivering in stages and building good enough solutions at half the cost. legacy system, and by the excessive weight given to net present value calculations. Business units want IT staff to be more agile and flexible by, say, working with preconfigured solutions, delivering functionality in stages and demonstrating the features of good enough solutions at half the cost. Thinking outside-in. Finally, an essential ingredient for the digital transition is to instill a culture that puts customer priorities front and center. This will mark a departure for many old-line insurers that have made decisions on matters like service levels from a strictly internal perspective, without checking first how the decisions will affect the customer. 9
12 Digital channels blended with the right amount of staff advice can renew customers trust. An example of this shift in the stock brokerage industry is highly analogous to whole life insurance, because both industries share an emphasis on advice, high broker churn, a heavy sales push of complex and expensive products and the strong desire among customers for greater selfservice and self-education. Insurance barriers to entry are crumbling in the face of faster, lower-cost digital models such as aggregators and crowdsourcing. Samsung Securities of Korea went against the grain of conventional brokerage in its country, using digital channels to expand among younger, higher-income customers, who were wary of traditional brokers. With Samsung s digital offering, called POP, customers self-select via a website decision tree into various segments, and then receive a set of advice options, each priced differently. They can still work with a personal adviser through phone, online chat or , and the efficiency of the system allows advisers to manage up to 1,000 clients at a time. After two years, POP is already profitable. Fortify the franchise Insurers have long counted on regulation as a barrier to entry, but that and other barriers are crumbling. New models have emerged to threaten conventional insurers by offering greater speed, convenience and lower cost. Aggregators such as BeatThatQuote in the UK, acquired by Google in 2011, compare product prices according to specific search criteria in vehicle insurance and standard small business risks. Other innovators use a crowdsourcing model, such as Friendsurance, enabling customers to gather in networks to provide one another with a first line of coverage. Digital innovations today can ramp up and expand very quickly; consider that it took Google almost six years from 1997 to reach 50 million active users, but about 1.5 years for the ipad from 2010 and 0.3 years for Google+ since Insurers don t want to be caught waiting too long in the face of incursions by innovators. Some of the most successful and fastest-growing insurers are small regional carriers that have been largely ignored by large multiline insurers. Tracking technology trends. Insurers thus should put a system in place to monitor technology trends, especially among younger consumers, and track relevant innovations by small entrepreneurs or large players outside the industry. They should also scan for emerging substitutes from disruptive technologies. (For instance, what are the insurance implications of driverless cars that may be ready for sale within a few years?) Defending high-value customers. Some incumbents are taking proactive measures in niche markets, as Assurant Solutions has done by launching Protect Your Bubble for gadget insurance. Most insurance companies, though, will benefit more from being fast followers of innovative models with the emphasis on fast. They should also be scrutinizing each link of their value chain to erect defenses that reinforce their higher-profit-margin businesses and their grip on valuable customers, through measures such as introducing personal advice online. 10
13 Staging the digital transition Integrating the digital and physical worlds is not a straightforward process. And doing it all at once would be enormously expensive and complex, so most insurers should proceed in phases. To form a clear-eyed view on where and how to start, insurers can undertake a detailed initial assessment that answers several key questions: Taking stock through an assessment will help senior executives understand the point of departure, their overall ambition and what it will take to deliver results. All disciplines should be involved, not just IT, and all potential initiatives should be screened from the perspective of their impact on the customer s experience. In this conservative industry, companies that are willing to move quickly and take calculated risks stand to gain a competitive advantage over more sluggish rivals. Where is the current business model under greatest pressure? Which digital trends are most urgent for protection, which for seizing opportunities and which can bear watching? What is the scale of the implied effort? Which areas do target customers most value, and therefore deserve investment? 1 Revolutionary Road by Derry N. Finkeldey of Gartner, Who s Who of Financial Services Asia, August 5, 2012, 2 See The future of shopping by Bain partner Darrell Rigby, Harvard Business Review, December 2011, 3 See the Bain Brief The P&C customer rediscovered through analytics, September 2012, 4 See the Bain Brief Navigating the big data challenge, November 2012, 5 Revolutionary Road by Derry N. Finkeldey of Gartner, Who s Who of Financial Services Asia, August 5, 2012, 11
14 Key contacts for insurance in Bain & Company s Global Financial Services practice: Americas: Europe: Asia-Pacific: Steven Kauderer in New York Henrik Naujoks in Düsseldorf Bodo von Huelsen in Frankfurt Gunther Schwarz in Düsseldorf Stephen Phillips in London Harshveer Singh in Singapore 12
15 Shared Ambition, True Results Bain & Company is the management consulting firm that the world s business leaders come to when they want results. Bain advises clients on strategy, operations, technology, organization, private equity and mergers and acquisitions. We develop practical, customized insights that clients act on and transfer skills that make change stick. Founded in 1973, Bain has 48 offices in 31 countries, and our deep expertise and client roster cross every industry and economic sector. Our clients have outperformed the stock market 4 to 1. What sets us apart We believe a consulting firm should be more than an adviser. So we put ourselves in our clients shoes, selling outcomes, not projects. We align our incentives with our clients by linking our fees to their results and collaborate to unlock the full potential of their business. Our Results Delivery process builds our clients capabilities, and our True North values mean we do the right thing for our clients, people and communities always.
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text:
Hmm where to run.....
I`ve recently started getting into Parkrun which for those that don't know are 5k events that are completely FREE and a bucket load of fun. I have been really enjoying them and the atmosphere is just great!
With my new found love in the forefront of my mind I decided it would be a good idea to try and end my birthday run by running Parkrun. One small hiccup is that it starts at 9am meaning that at my pace I would need to leave at 2am! Oh well, in for a penny....
I had a good think about a route and worked out that an "out and back" would be best for a few reasons.....
- If I was really struggling at any point I could just bin it and head home
- Due to the time I was leaving, water might be hard to come by
- If I was struggling for time to get to Parkrun I could cut it short, make the start line and then make up the rest of the distance after
I set my alarm for 1am (eew!) and tried to get some sleep, finally managing it at around 10pm. *note to self, 3 hours of sleep is maybe not enough* I got up and pottered around the house a bit trying to wake up. The house was freezing, the bed was warm, it was a tough decision.
My trusty Ultimate Direction AK vest packed with 2x 500ml soft flasks of water, 4x fun size snickers, 3x strange pineapple biscuity, cakey somethings that I picked up in a Oriental supermarket that taste flippin amazing, spare hat, gloves and socks.
Right that's the bag packed, time to gear up!
Feet - Injini trail socks with Luna Mono sandals
Legs - Skins quad compression shorts, cheap double layer dryfit shorts and Montane Terra pants
Body - Hind thermal base layer, Centurion NDW50 finishers t-shirt (gentle reminder that I can do this) Montane Atomic jacket
Head - Cheap wool beanie, Petzl Tikka 2 headtorch
Neck - Cheap buff style neck wear
Hands - Cold Killers gloves
Wrist - Garmin Forrunner 110
Now fully geared up I need to get outside before I catch fire!!
Opening the door at 1:55am in December is an experience that makes you want to head back to bed, it did however cure the feeling that I was too hot!
As I waited for my Garmin to scan the entire universe looking for a GPS signal I tried to clear my head and not get overwhelmed by what I was doing.
Don`t think, run.
March 2047....the GPS signal was finally found....
Just kidding!
Eventually my watch was ready to go, it was now just before 2am perfectly on schedule.
I set off at a nice comfy pace with the idea of trying to get 5 miles an hour done for the first 15 miles so that it would give me a little buffer of time as I slowed a bit later.
Coming into the 5k point I was feeling a lot of pressure around my belly and was starting to feel a little sick. I wasn't sure if it was the early morning or maybe I simply had to many layers on. Around a mile later I found a nice convenient bench to sit on and take the Terra pants off. It was freezing out here but given the option of slightly cold legs or feeling sick I will let you do the maths.
I stuffed them into my bag and got moving again. I instantly felt so much better and within the next mile felt just as warm as I did with them on.
5 miles in, just under an hour done it was time to spin around to finish of the first leg. Brilliant!
The journey back home went exactly like I hoped, nothing really to report. I cruised along feeling very comfy and quite surprised at how good I was feeling considering my lack of long training lately. I took a quick look at my watch and was just under 2 hours as I reached my house and the 10 mile point. I had a quick check on my water and I still had loads as I had only been sipping. Time for a pineapple cake thingy and the start of leg 2!! It went down a treat as I bopped my way back the way I came.
The temperature now was really starting to drop and the puddle that I ran past just over 2 hours ago was now starting to freeze around the edge. The birds were starting to sing as I approached the 15 mile point and I was bang on target at a little under 3 hours. The tranquility was briefly disturbed by the noise of the M25 below me as I ran across the bridge. Ah, back to the quiet streets and the tweets.
It was a beautiful distraction and I tuned into their morning chatter for a while.
I came over the top of the hill and could see the turn around point that would end leg 2. Along downhill was wonderful and well needed. The unfortunate part was turning around at the bottom and running back up it!!
16.5 miles done, it was a little over 5am and I was starting to do the maths to keep me going. If I can just hang on to 4.5 miles an hour for a bit I should just about do this in time.
Autopilot went on for a little while as I made my way back over the hills, trying not to get caught up in the fact that I had done this bit already.
I tried to just keep smiling that this was the last time I would have to run back home. I tried to eat a fun size snickers, it was like a rock and just snapped the moment I tried to bite it! Man it must be pretty cold out here, glad I`m not walking too much. Why do they call the small one "fun" size?! It makes no sense to me, surly more chocolate = more fun?!
Any who.....
Just over 20 miles in and I started to have doubts about making it in time. I had slowed down a little, nothing major but I figured if I slowed anymore I would literally arrive at the start line as they shouted "GO!". This coupled with the fact that I was worried that if I saw my house again I might want to stay in it, I decided that instead of turning around at 23 miles I would spin around at around 22 and make it up at the other end.
21.7 miles ticked over and for some reason (probably hungry) my mind just gave up. I couldn't run that way anymore. Without getting too hung up on it I spun around and started leg 3. About a mile later I was all smiles again as I realised this was it, this was the final leg!
I nibbled away on another pineapple thing and kept moving. It was getting lighter but so much colder and I begged the sun to show its little face. The half frozen puddles that I had already passed twice were now solid. The grass was crunchy, it was defiantly a winters morning.
Back over the M25 again and below me was a very different looking scene from earlier. It was now back to its normal packed self with folks hurtling around.
7:30am and I smiled as I said "bye, bye Marathon!" This was the first time I had properly run through the night and it felt so good to be coming out the other side of it. It also made me laugh a little at the thought of finishing a marathon before most people have had breakfast, myself included!
That reminds me, eat.
The hills now were a bit more of a challenge but I had to keep the pace up. Down below me was the petrol station that marked the turn around on leg 2. Brilliant not much more to go!!
I made my way down the hill and past the petrol station then it was time to tackle the hardest of the hills. Don`t ask me why the hell I thought it was a good idea to do this one at the end! It wasn't.
Walking up the hill I looked at my watch and with my foggy head, figured that I had actually made up some time somewhere but couldn't really work out where. Oh well, keep moving!
Finally at the top of the hill it was all down hill on the other side as I made my way to the entrance of the park for Parkrun.
Jogging through the park, feeling pretty tired now it suddenly dawned on me why I was half and hour early and missing some miles. When I spun around earlier I had only taken into account the journey in ONE direction!!!!! GAAAAHH!! I now needed to make up around 3 miles BEFORE Parkrun!!
I`m not going to lie, this was a pretty dark time. I was tired and thought I was nearly done. I ran up and down the path. Then round part of the lake. Back down the path, anything to make up some extra distance without getting to far away from the start line.
8:30am and I could see my Mum and my Sister drive into the car park at the end of the path. I started making my way towards them so happy but hurting. I had hit my wall.
30 miles for me is a pretty dark time and it tends to last a couple of miles. I gave them both hugs and explained that I was "going down the rabbit hole" and needed to keep moving. I jogged off to try and shake off the fuzz.
I made my way back up the path at 31 miles to see my sister holding a sign that read "Happy Birthday Mark! #35for35" and had our running group name "Monkey Tag Running" down one side. She had the sign in one hand and a stuffed monkey in the other! It started to make me smile and as I did my Mum jumped out of the bush next to her in a monkey onsie!!! HA HA HA HA I LOVE you guys so much!!
We headed back to the start line with about 10 minutes to go and 31.75 on my watch.
As we stood around people were wishing me as asking what the #35for35 meant. I explained my journey this morning to looks of disbelief and confused faces.
My Mum, sister and I lined up at the back as the Parkrun announcer did his bit. He then also said we have a birthday today and everyone sang happy birthday to me!! I LOVE Parkrun!! :D
We hurtled off down the path like bats out of hell.......wait....wait.....no, that was everyone else!
We sprinted off the line like tortoises wearing scuba gear in a lake of porridge. As everyone else stormed off down the path I couldn't have cared less. The darkness had lifted from my brain and I was exactly where I wanted to be, running along side my family having a chat. We started to sing "king of the swingers" as we got to the first corner and were just trying to have as much fun as we could.
We had just made it to the lake when the guys in first and second where starting their 2nd lap!! It must have looked so funny at that point as they caught up with 2 monkeys and a sign bearer!! HA HA HA!
Everyone passing us was wishing me happy birthday or cheering and it really pushed me along.
We walked and ran, walked and ran, anything to keep moving really.
A lap later however and I was starting to wobble a little. That sneaky little wall was still trying to get a grip on me. Lap 2 saw it crumble as the beautiful ball of fire warmed my face. 1 more to go.
As we started our final lap the lake was now pretty empty so we made the most of it by running side by side when we could. My sister every now and then getting hit in the face with her homemade sign! My Mum encouraging me along really helped as we made our way to the turn and onto the home straight.
What a journey. It was nearly done, I could see the finish.
|Amazing bling for my #35for35
As we got a little closer we could here people shouting and cheering us in. Just before the sticks we got into formation and did a conga line across the finish to the sound of people singing "Happy Birthday" what....a....finish eh?! We are not finished.
My Mum asks how much I have left to do.......DOH! Forgot about that bit!!! My watch read 34.75 miles and I really wasn't that bothered by this point about 250 meters but she pointed out that later I might be.
I scanned my code and headed off down the path.....again.
Finally, mercifully, my watch ticked over to 35 miles right next to the cafe. High fives all round we headed inside for some much needed coffee and cake.
As we got inside people were congratulating me and wishing me happy birthday. The support was just amazing. We sat down and I sipped my coffee then my Mum presented me with my new tag!
|#35for35 bling added to the collection
|#35for35 bling added to the collection
It was an incredible experience finishing it like that and would like to thank each and every one of you for your support along the way. Its been a crazy year!
Big thanks, hugs and bananas to all my cheeky chimps at Monkey Tag Running for your friendship and smiles. My sister and my Mum, wow you guys just blow me away with your support!! Thank you so much for being a part of this!!
Hmm I wonder what I should do next year? ;)
Till next time folks!


text:
Left-back Danny Rose is likely to make his return from a toe injury for Tottenham.
Defender Younes Kaboul is doubtful, but midfielder Étienne Capoue remains sidelined with an ankle injury.
Spurs will give winger Aaron Lennon a fitness test while striker Emmanuel Adebayor is out through illness.
Meanwhile, Chelsea will wait to determine whether midfielder Ramires is fit to face Spurs.
The Brazilian suffered a hip injury in Tuesday night's Capital One Cup win at Swindon and was taken off at half-time, but Jose Mourinho hopes to include him in a much-changed line-up at White Hart Lane.
Ramires had replaced Marco van Ginkel, who is out for six months after undergoing knee surgery to repair a torn anterior cruciate ligament.
The pre-match handshake between managers could be interesting following Andre Villas-Boas' admission than he is no longer friends with his former boss Jose Mourinho.
Spurs have started marginally better than Chelsea and have developed a habit of keeping clean sheets; they have gone 445 minutes since the opposition last scored at White Hart Lane.
But given the visitors' good record in this fixture it is hard to see beyond a high-tempo draw.
Stat of the game: No team in Europe's top five leagues has conceded fewer goals than Spurs (1) this season.
Tottenham (Possible, 4-2-3-1):Lloris; Walker, Dawson, Vertonghen, Rose; Dembélé, Paulinho; Townsend, Eriksen, Sigurdsson, Soldado.
Out: Capoue (ankle), Adebayor (illness).
Tests: Kaboul (abductor), Lennon (foot).
Chelsea (Possible, 4-4-1-1): Cech; Ivanovic. Cahill, Terry, Cole; Schürrle, Ramires, Lampard, Hazard; Oscar; Eto'o.
Out: Kalas (leg), Van Ginkel (knee).
Test: Ramires (hip).
Referee: Mike Dean. Matches: 3. R0 Y14.


text:
Han Fei by Dr. John Knoblock
Han Fei
John Knoblock
This is one of a series of pages discussing Classical Chinese philosophy during the period from before Confucius (ca 650 B.C.) to the early Han dynasty (ca 200 B.C.). This page provides an intellectual biography of the 3rd century "Legalist" philosopher Han Fei and excerpts from two of his most important works.
Han Fei was a prince of the royal family of Han. He and Li Si studied with the philosopher Xun Kuang. Li Si, who later became chancellor of Qin under the First Emperor, felt that he was not the equal of Han Fei. But Han stuttered and could not present his ideas in court, which was a serious impediment. He overcame this by developing one of the most brilliant styles in ancient China. Han Fei saw the gradual, but constant, decline of the state of Han and tried on several occasions to persuade the king to follow different policies, but the king proved incapable of following his advice. He witnessed with increasing despair how rulers of his day were beguiled by Ru and Mohist philosophers who prattled endlessly about moral virtues and by roving bands of knights-errant who performed acts of daring in contravention of the laws. Both caused the increasing disorder of society and distracted rulers from the real tasks of governing. "When the state is at peace, rulers support scholars and knights-errant, but when troubles arise they employ men of arms. Thus they support people they do not need and do not support those they do need." Ultimately, Han Fei's works made their way to Qin where the future First Emperor saw them and wanted to meet the man who wrote them. Li Si identified the writings as those of his classmate Han Fei, and Han Fei did come to Qin in 234. But even though the First Emperor was pleased with Han Fei's advice, he did not fully trust him. Yao Jia, who had been censured by Han Fei for his conduct, and it is said Li Si as well, played on the suspicion that, being a member of the royal family of Han, Han Fei could never be entirely loyal to the interests of Qin, noting "that it is the nature of human feelings that he will always work for the interests of his native Han and not for those of Qin." The First Emperor accepted Yao's conclusion and had Han Fei imprisoned for a crime. Han Fei tried to defend himself, but he could not get an audience. So Li Si sent him some poison so that he could commit suicide. The First Emperor later regretted his condemnation of Han Fei and was going to pardon him, but Han was already dead. When he died in 233, Han Fei was still a young man, but he had already established a reputation because of his brilliant writings. Some 55 of his books survive collected together in the Hanfeizi by Li Xiang about 25BC. Among the most famous of them are "Five Vermin" which castigates the rulers of the day for pandering to useless people like Mohist and Ru scholars and knights-errant who disrupt the court and weaken the country and "Eminence in Learning" which discusses the eight schools into which the Ru philosophers had divided in his day and the three schools of the Mohists. Book 50: Eminence in Learning ¶50.1a
In the present age those eminent for their learning are the Ru and Mohist.1 The Ru pay their highest honor to Confucius, whereas the Mohists pay theirs to Mo Di.2 Since the death of Confucius the Ru schools of Zizhang,3 Zisi,4 the Yan family,5 Mencius,6 Qidiao,7 Zhongliang,8 [Gong]sun [Nizi],9 and Yuezheng10 have developed. Since the death of Mo Di, the Xiangli,11 Xiangfu,12 and Dengling13 schools have developed. Thus, since the death of Confucius, the Ru have split into eight schools, and since the death of Mo Di, the Mohist have divided into three factions.14 What they accept and reject of the heritage is different and even contradictory, and yet each claims to represent the true teachings of Confucius or Mo Di. Since Confucius and Mo Di cannot be brought back to life, who will determine which of the present versions of their doctrines is right? Further, Confucius and Mo Di both claim to follow the Dao of Yao and Shun, but what they accept and reject is different and each claims to be following the real Yao and Shun. But since we cannot bring Yao and Shun back to life, who will determine which of their doctrines is authentic? 1The LSCQ, "Dangran," 2/4.7: "Though both [Confucius and Mo Di] died long ago, their followers are still growing in number and their disciples have flourished so abundantly that they fill the whole world.…The heirs of the learning of Confucius and Mo Di who have attained eminence and glory in the eyes of the world number into a multitude. The number is so great as to be uncountable, for everything which influenced them attained the proper standard." 2According to the Shiji (74.2350), Mo Di was "probably a grand officer of Song skilled at defensive warfare and the economical use of resources. Some say that he lived at the same time as Confucius, others after him." Sun Yirang dates him to 468-376, Qian Mu to 479-381, and Fang Shouchu to 490-403. Sun Yirang, Mozi jiangu, "Postface," 629ff., examines the theories of his origins. Chen Qiyou (p. 1081, n.2) offers evidence that Mo Di's family came from Song. 3Xunzi, "Fei shier zi," ¶6.13, calls the followers of Zizhang "base Ru." He also mentions separately, but also as "base Ru," the followers of Zixia and Ziyou. 4The Shiji (74.2343) says that Mencius was taught by a disciple of Zisi, generally identified as the grandson of Confucius. Xunzi, "Fei shier zi," ¶6.7, associates Mencius with Zisi. Confucius' grandson, Zisi, is credited with a work in 32 bamboo bundles in the Hanshu, "Bibliography," and is said to have been a contemporary of Duke Mu of Lu. There was, however, another Zisi, the disciple of Confucius Yan Xian (b. 525 B.C.). He is mentioned in the Analects (14.1) and is said to have been a recluse (Zhuangzi, "Rangwang," 9.13b; Shiji, 67.2208). 5There were eight disciples of Confucius with the surname Yan: Yan Wuyu, Yan Hui, Yan Xin, Yan Gao, Yan Zu, Yan Kuai, Yan Zhipu, and Yan He. The most famous of these is Yan Hui (Ziyuan), his favorite disciple, but as he predeceased the Master, it is unlikely that he could be the founder of this school, so the identify of the founder(s) of this school cannot be established. The Shengxianqun fulu says that this school transmitted the Odes and specialized in remonstrance by ridicule. 6The natural interpretation of this passage is that it refers to the school of Mencius. But it seems odd that separate schools are listed for Zisi and Mencius if their relations were as close as implied in the Xunzi and the Shiji. 7The Qidiao school derives from the disciple Qidiao Qi. The Hanshu "Bibliography" records a book of 12 bamboo bundles written by the followers of Qidiao Qi. His school is widely mentioned in the literature. 8The Zhongliang School is of uncertain origin. Liang Qichao identifies it with a Chen Liang, a native of Chu, mentioned in the Mencius (4B.4) who came north to study the learning of the Central States, is cited as an example of a barbarian who converted to Chinese ways. Chen Xiang and Xin who studied under him are excoriated from giving up civilization to follow the "barbarian" doctrine of Xu Xing who preached the Dao of Shennong. Chen Qiyou rightly doubts this theory. There is a Master Zhongliang who is a contemporary with King Xiang of Qi, and thus to be dated to after Mencius. This Master Zhongliang is cited in Han commentaries to the classics. 9Gu Guangqi takes this school to be that of Xun Kuang. This interpretation is also followed by Liang Qichao. More plausibly, Ikeda argues that the text is defective and that the original reading was gongsun. Chen Qiyou concurs, noting that the Shengxianqun fulu says that the school of Gongsun specialized in the Changes. 10There were two persons with the surname Yuezheng who could be identified as the founder of this school. One was Yuezheng Zichun, a disciple of Zeng Shen; the other was Yuezheng Ke, a disciple of Mencius. Chen plausibly suggests that it is the disciple of Zeng Shen who should be taken as the founder of this school. 11The Yuanhe xingcuan quotes a passage of the Hanfeizi (missing in the present text), saying that Master Xiangli was an ancient worthy who wrote a book comprising seven bamboo bundles. The Zhuangzi, "Tianxia," ¶33.2d, identifies him as Xiangli Qin and associates his disciples with the followers of Wu Huo. 12Of the Xiangfu school, nothing whatever is known. 13The school of Dengling was of southern origin and included Ku Hou and Ji Chi as well as Master Dengling, according to the Zhuangzi, "Tianxia," ¶33.2d. 14It is generally believed that these three schools are represented in the three sets of chapters on each of ten theses of classical Mohism. Liang Qichao notes that in addition to these three schools, there was also the school of Song Xing and Yin Wen which has many points in common with the Mohists. ¶50.1b
Now over 700 years have passed since Zhou succeeded the Yin and more than 2000 since the Xia dynasty succeeded the Yu dynasty of Shun.1 We are incapable of determining which are the real teachings of Confucius and Mo Di, so how, today, will those who desire to judge even the truth about the Dao of Yao and Shun–now more than 3000 years ago-do so? Obviously it is impossible to ascertain anything! Those who claim to know something with certainty but lack any corroborating evidence are fools; and those who rely on what we cannot know with certainty to make further claims are knaves. Thus, it is clear that those who rely on the former kings for their claims and profess certain knowledge about Yao and Shun are knaves if they are not utter fools. The learning of fools and knaves, and conduct that is unprincipled and contradictory, will not be accepted by the enlightened ruler. 1These figures are definitely wrong, so various scholars have proposed emending the figures to make them "historically" accurate, but there is little reason to believe that Han Fei intended to be precise. Book 49: The Five Vermin ¶49.5b
Today Ru and Mohists alike praise the early kings for their universal love of the world, saying that they looked after their people the way parents do a beloved child. What do they use to prove that this is so? They say: "Whenever the Director of Crime applied the punishments, the lord would cancel his musical performances because of that and when he heard the announcement of an execution he would shed tears over it." This is what they praise about the early kings. If you require that the relation between ruler and minister be like father and son and make it the condition necessary to produce order in government, the implication is that there is no such thing as unruly fathers or sons. By inborn nature, nothing surpasses the love of parents for their children. But even though all parents have expressed their love their children, this love has never resulted in all their children being well-behaved. And even if parents were to love the unruly child even more, would that prevent it from being unruly? The love of the early kings for their children could not surpass the love of parents' for their children, so if parents love does not inevitably result in their children not being unruly, how can the love of kings make their people orderly? Moreover, if when the laws are applied to punish people the lord weeps about it–this may exemplify humaneness but it is not a way to create orderly government. Shedding tears and not wanting to punish may be humaneness but, however that may be, that the punishments cannot but be applied is a matter of law. If the early kings let their laws triumph and did not heed their tears, it is obvious that practicing humaneness cannot be used to create an orderly government. ¶49.6
Besides, by nature people submit to authority, but only a few are capable of cherishing moral principles. Confucius was the world's sage. He cultivated his conduct, clarified his Dao, traveled across the lands within the seas, but in all those places only 70 men rejoiced in his humaneness, admired his moral code, and were willing to become his disciples. To be sure, to prize humaneness belongs to the very few and to be capable of his moral code is a difficult thing. Thus, in the vastness of the world there were only 70 men who became his disciples and there was only one man who became humane and moral. Duke Ai of Lu was an inferior ruler, but when he faced south as lord of his country, not a single man within the borders of his state would dare refuse to be his servant. So since people by nature submit to authority, when a person holds a position of authority it is easy to cause others to submit. Thus it was that Confucius contrary to expectations remained a servant and Duke Ai, in contrast, remained lord. It was not a matter of Confucius cherishing the Duke's morality but of his submitting to his authority. Thus if it was based on morality Confucius would never have submitted to Duke Ai, but because he wielded authority Duke Ai made Confucius his servant. Today scholars advise rulers that they should strive to conduct themselves with humaneness and morality so that it will be possible for them to become universal kings. They do not advise that they wield their authority which is certain to triumph. This is to make it necessary for rulers to reach the level of a Confucius and that all his subjects should act like Confucius' disciples. Such a policy is certain to fail. ¶49.9a
Ru scholars use their literary skills to destroy law and knights-errant use their military skills to violate prohibitions, yet rulers universally treat them with special courtesies so there is general disorder. Those who deviate from the law should be regarded as criminals but instead all these learned teachers are chosen for office for their literary accomplishments. Those who violate the prohibitions should be punished but instead every knight-errant is given a living for using their swords to further private interest. Thus, what law condemns the lord chooses and what officials punish their superior patronizes. Law and the ruler's personal inclinations, superior and subordinate are in contradiction. Where nothing is fixed, even ten Yellow Emperors would be incapable of governing. Thus those who practice humaneness and morality should not be those who are praised, for to praise their conduct is to harm military readiness. Men of literary accomplishment should not be given office, for giving them office brings confusion to the laws. ¶49.10b
To reward those who cut off enemy heads and yet esteem acts of compassion and kindness; to provide emoluments and noble titles to those who capture cities and yet put you trust in persuasions which advocate universal love; to strengthen armor and sharpen weapons in order to be prepared to meet any kind of trouble and yet admire the ornamented robes and belts of the civil gentry; to try to enrich the country through agriculture and ward off the enemy with trained soldiers and yet prize scholars for their literary accomplishments; to disdain people who treat the ruler with reverence and respect the law and instead patronize knights-errant who travel from court to court wielding their swords on behalf of private interests-those who recommend such conduct make it impossible for the state to be either well governed or strong. When the state is tranquil, it can nurture Ru scholars and knights-errant, but when difficulties arise, it must use armed knights. But in the present case, those who would benefit the state are not employed and those who are employed provide no benefit. This is precisely why those charged with particular responsibilities are negligent in carrying them out and the number of traveling scholars increases by the day. This is what causes the disorder of our age.
Accordingly, in the country of an enlightened ruler there is no literature written in books and on bamboo strips, for they use the laws for instruction. There is no discussion of the early kings, for they employ officials as their teachers. There is no wielding of swords in acts of private vengeance, for beheading enemy soldiers are the only acts of valor. In this way as they speak everyone is sure to stay within the framework established by the laws, when they act everyone is certain to aim at real accomplishments, and when they perform acts of valor, they are always in the service of the army. On account of this, when there is no threat the country is rich and when there is a threat the army is powerful. These are called "royal resources." Accumulate the royal resources and wait for the enemy to present an opening. To surpass the Five Emperors and rival the Three Kings you must uses this model. ¶49.18
For these reasons, the milieu of disintegrating states includes: 1) scholars who cites the Dao of early kings in order to pretend to be humane and moral and who adorn their manners and dress and polish their arguments and persuasions in order to cast doubt on laws of the present times in order to make the ruler be of two minds about them; 2) rhetoricians who manufacture treacherous schemes and avail themselves of the power of foreign governments in order to realize their private interests at the expense of benefitting the altars of soil and grain; 3) swordsmen who gather bands of followers which they discipline and drill in order to make their reputation more eminent but violate the prohibitions of the Five Bureaus; 4) those wanting to escape military service who gather about the gates of influential men, offering them bribes, to use their influence at court to keep them from toiling like beasts of burden in battle; and 5) merchants and craftsmen who disguise and repair broken and shoddy goods, who collect wasteful luxury goods, accumulate stores awaiting the best time to sell them, and cheat farmers out of their profits. These five are a country's vermin. If a ruler does not wipe them out and instead supports resolute and determined knights, it should then come as no surprise that everywhere within the four seas states break apart and perish and ruling houses are decimated and annihilated.


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|Speedy Application Development
RAD model has the certain number of steps or we may say a particular life cycle that has to be completed before implmentation of it. They are:
- Business Modeling: The information flow among business functions is defined by answering questions like what information drives the business process, what information is generated, who generates it, where does the information go, who process it and so on.
- Data Modeling: The information collected from business modeling is refined into a set of data objects (entities) that are needed to support the business. The attributes (character of each entity) are identified and the relation between these data objects (entities) is defined.
- Process Modeling:The data object defined in the data modeling phase are transformed to achieve the information flow necessary to implement a business function. Processing descriptions are created for adding, modifying, deleting or retrieving a data object.
- Application Generation: Automated tools are used to facilitate construction of the software; even they use the 4th GL techniques.
- Testing and Turn over: Many of the programming components have already been tested since RAD emphasis reuse. This reduces overall testing time. But new components must be tested and all interfaces must be fully exercised.
Traditional Development
Essential Aspects of RAD
Rapid Application Development has four essential aspects: methodology, people, management, and tools. If any one of these ingredients is inadequate, development will not be high speed. Development lifecycles, which weave these ingredients together as effectively as possible, are of the utmost importance.
What are the advantages and disadvantages of RAD?
RAD reduces the development time and reusability of components help to speed up development. All functions are modularized so it is easy to work with.
For large projects RAD require highly skilled engineers in the team. Both end customer and developer should be committed to complete the system in a much abbreviated time frame. If commitment is lacking RAD will fail. RAD is based on Object Oriented approach and if it is difficult to modularize the project the RAD may not work well.
The RAD methodology uses both computerized tools and human efforts to achieve the goals of high end speed and quality. The above has been primarily concerned with the goals of Rapid Application Development and the role of organizations and the people within those organizations in the achievement of those goals. The success of any Rapid Application Development project is primarily dependent, however upon the tools used.


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During the recently vanished go-go era, it was relatively easy to hire an eccentric fusion chef from Bangkok, say, or Lyon; hang a chandelier (or a disco ball) from the ceiling of a warehouse downtown; and call your restaurant cutting-edge. But in these stripped-down, monochromatic times, it's more difficult to separate yourself from the pack. Which may explain why the proprietors of Vandaag are marketing their interesting new East Village restaurant in all sorts of eclectic, slightly confounding ways. The name means today in Dutch, but the food isn't Dutch exactly (We call it Northern Europeaninfluenced,' a waiter told me). Vandaag is also a gin bar (cocktails made with old-fashioned Dutch genever gin are a house specialty) and a boutique farm-to-table restaurant (ingredients come from the bounty of the Hudson region, according to its website), and if you want first-class baked goods (gingerbread, macarons, fresh rye bread), the restaurant has those, too.
Vandaag's inventive executive chef, Phillip Kirschen-Clark, is an acolyte of Wylie Dufresne (he also worked briefly for Paul Liebrandt at Corton), and he has a penchant for madcap, slightly obsessive locavore experimentation. Pickles are brined on the premises and adjusted according to the season (our $5 pot contained okra and pickled cherries), the excellent bread basket is made from scratch (Kirschen-Clark forages for the flour in local markets) and served with butter and a pat of mashed red lentils, and the salty-sweet Pine Island oysters are doused in white-wine vinegar and genever, in accordance, our friendly waiter intoned, with a recipe from 1840s Manhattan. The dense, strangely addictive house burger is wrapped in smoky bacon and made with a combination of beef and artisanal pork, and my Dutch-fusion version of Caesar salad was garnished with a crumbling of sausages and pistachio and spritzed with a subtle herring vinaigrette.
Inevitably, some of these experiments work better than others. I think I've reached my pickle limit, muttered the lady to my left, as she tasted a bowl of cool cucumber soup garnished, Northern European style, with a few too many tiny crispy eels, as well as ribbons of overpickled cantaloupe. The littleneck clams I sampled were fresh enough but swamped in an awkward broth flavored with aquavit and too much vanilla, and the flavor of my properly fatty artisanal pork chop was slightly lost under a thick glaze made with mead wine and Mission figs. The salty, well-charred lamb steak was more successful (it's a blade steak, plated with an inventive purée made with cauliflower and goat's milk), as were the seafood dishes, like striped bass (filleted, with a spoonful of sweet fennel jam on the side), and piles of crispy fried sea bream garnished with grapefruit and more fennel, which Kirschen-Clark serves as an open-face smørrebrød sandwich, at lunch, on a slice of toasted rye.
The room at Vandaag is bright and airy, in a clean, modish, Euro-style sort of way, and my favorite time to visit is at lunch, when the big casement windows are thrown open to the street and the menu includes other smørrebrød sandwiches, topped with ribbons of lamb or slabs of Benton's bacon sweetened with fresh peaches. For diligent boozehounds, lunch is also a good time to begin working your woozy way through the bar list, which includes frothy witbier cocktails (ask for the Radler), twelve mostly Belgian and Dutch beers on tap, and a series of deadly cocktails made with different varieties of aquavit, and more genever. If you're still standing, I recommend the baked goods for dessert (especially the gingerbread folded with apricots), and the supremely filling, aptly named Dutch calorie bomb called smoutballen, which is a giant, baseball-size fritter filled with clouds of freshly made hazelnut chocolate mousse.
Takashi, which has been open now for several months on a quiet stretch of Hudson Street, in the West Village, is another eccentric little establishment with its own quirky, slightly off-kilter agenda. The proprietor, Takashi Inoue, grew up in Osaka, eating the decorous Japanese version of Korean barbecue called yakiniku. At this yakiniku establishment, the focus is on beef in particular (The West Village's New Meat Mecca is the restaurant's motto), and more precisely the exotic innards of the beast. You can enjoy three varieties of cow stomach grilled at your table (Please cook until charred, the menu advises), tender slices of beef heart, flash-boiled Achilles tendon, and a $22 tasting adventure called the Tongue Experience, which includes three cuts, ranging from the very tender tip to the more chewy, sinewy part in the back of the mouth, according to our waiter.
I never did try the Tongue Experience, although I enjoyed my encounters with the stomachs (especially the third one, darkly charred and drowned in miso sauce) and a tasty raw-beef creation called niku-uni, made with sashimi-like wafers of raw chuck wrapped with shiso leaves and spoonfuls of uni. The grilled short ribs at Takashi (dusted with salt and sesame oil) are worth a special trip, and so are the milky strips of rib eye, both of which are impeccably sourced (like all the innards) from boutique farms like Creekstone, in Kansas, and Lindsey Farms, in Oregon.
The handful of non-meat dishes available at this polished little restaurant (peppery edamame, seasonal Korean namul pickles) are boutique-quality, too. So are the sakes (should you need to fortify yourself before the Tongue Experience), and the single, satisfying house dessert, which is a bowl of soothing, soft-serve ice cream infused with Madagascar vanilla and flecked on its top with gold leaf.


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Golf Tournament
Norman P. Hetrick Annual Golf Tournament
Sportsman's Golf Course
This year the club is again designating the funds to be used as scholarships to the Harrisburg Area Community College (HAAC) for three students who would not have had the ability to pay for college. One student from each of three area High Schools, Central Dauphin, Central Dauphin East and Dauphin County Technical School, will be selected to receive a two-year scholarship to HACC. This scholarship will enable each student to earn an Associates Degree in the area of their choice from HACC.
Friday, May 12, 2017
Sportsman's Golf Course
Registration 10:30am
Lunch 11:00am
Shotgun Start 12:00pm
Dinner after Tournament
Deadline to Register is April 15, 2017
Foursome: $360
Single: $90
Sponsorship Levels
Tournament Sponsor – $3000. (Includes Foursome)
Cart Sponsor – $1500. (Includes Foursome)
Eagle Sponsor – $1000. (Includes Foursome)
Birdie Sponsor – $500. (Includes Foursome)
Tee Sponsor – $100.
Online Registration – CLICK HERE
Application to be a Sponsor – CLICK HERE
Mail in Registration Form for Golfers – CLICK HERE
For Directions – CLICK HERE
For information about the Tournament and our Scholarship Program for High School students, email Randy Sibert at email@example.com
Scott McManamon is the tournament Registrar.
You can contact Scott at firstname.lastname@example.com