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Tag: Berlin
Photographer Jason Langer's perception of Germany and its capital, Berlin, is a complicated one, and his current exhibition at the Zack Gallery, Berlin: A Jewish Ode to the Metropolis, reflects those complexities. Organized in partnership with the Cherie Smith JCC Jewish Book Festival, the exhibit is Langer's first show in Canada.
"Boys" (photo by Jason Langer)
Langer's newly published book, Berlin, includes 135 black and white photographs. A selection of these images forms the exhibit at the Zack, which has an emotional sophistication of its own, even though the show is being promoted as a prologue for the book festival. Both the show and the book catalogue the artist's several trips to Berlin and his explorations of the city. They also provide visually compelling commentary on Langer's contradictory and evolving feelings for Germany.
A Nazi uniform in the Sachsenhausen concentration camp museum in Berlin. (photo by Jason Langer)
As in life, the then-and-now overlap and, occasionally, the juxtaposition of the past and the present are jarring in Langer's imagery. On the one hand, Germany is the country where the Holocaust originated, the country that erased its Jewish population almost entirely and spearheaded the destruction of the Jews of Europe. On the other hand, it is a modern country of laughing kids, hardworking people and beautiful architecture, a country that acknowledges its past actions and tries to make amends to the Jews. It is a country inspiring fear, hatred, respect and admiration in varying measures.
Langer writes in an essay about his relationship with Germany and its progression from total negativity to growing understanding. When he was 6 years old, his family moved from his native United States to Israel, where he spent his formative years, until age 11, on a kibbutz.
"Every year, each children's house would visit the Holocaust memorial, located on the kibbutz property, during Yom Kippur…. We were asked to walk silently and led into a courtyard with one building and three short walls," writes Langer. "I remember the walls were made of large, rectangular stones, grey in colour and a bit rough and oddly shaped. We learned about how the Jews had suffered, first as slaves in Egypt and then in the Holocaust by the Germans."
Later, as an adult, he "vaguely remembered having heard fearful stories of German people from my mother and grandmother, though my mother also made jokes about Germans, putting on a comic fake accent. She died in 2003 and I inherited her books, among other things, including a kind of illustrated encyclopedia titled The Wonderful Story of the Jews, written by Jacob Gewirtz. It was published [in 1970], not long before our move to Israel. The text refers to the Germans' 'unspeakable crimes' against the Jews, as well as the 'unending ravages of war, persecution and tyranny' they had faced. Some of the illustrations are quite scary, showing buildings on fire and Jewish people menaced by gun-wielding Nazis. The book presents Israel as a place of refuge, the kibbutzim as almost unique."
After being exposed to such ideas during childhood, Langer's predominant feeling towards Germany was aversion. But then, in 2008, when he was already an established photographer, one of his friends suggested he photograph Berlin.
"He thought the city would be a good match for my sensibilities but I met his suggestion with trepidation and fear," Langer recalled. "I harboured many preconceived ideas about Germans and Germany. I imagined Berlin as a vast, cold, unfriendly, gritty place, but, at the same time, it seemed exciting and sexy somehow.
"I decided to see Berlin for myself, keen to challenge my existing ideas and also uncover reminders of the Jewish people who had lived there, until they fled or were hunted down and killed by the Nazis."
Photographer Jason Langer's exhibit at the Zack Gallery runs to Feb. 16. (photo from Jason Langer)
In the next five years, Langer visited Berlin frequently. "From 2009 to 2013," he said, "I made five trips for two weeks at a time. I stayed in a flat with about six people. When they were going on vacation, they would let me know, and I would fly over and occupy their rooms. They would also give me advice on where to go."
During those visits, he took multiple photographs and strived to form a new narrative regarding his feelings and associations regarding Germany and its people.
"This work is an attempt to remember, confront and unwind my attitudes about Germans, Germany, Berlin and my Jewish inheritance; these images are part discovery, part remembrance and part fantasy," he explained. "They're my attempt to stand where Jewish people were rounded up and deported, to remember but also reassess. They're an effort to confront my internal attitudes and prejudices, to look into people's eyes and find a continuation of kindness, to be open to the happiness of contemporary life in Berlin."
Some photographs in the gallery are full of anguish and terrible beauty, like the Holocaust Memorial, consisting of 2711 concrete slabs (stelae) of different heights, or an ornate door of the Stiftung Neue Synagogue, built in 1865, the only synagogue in Berlin to survive the war, though its interior was burnt.
The horror of the war is also reflected in the image of an old, dilapidated shed, the "goat house," where one Jewish family, a mother and a daughter, hid for several years to survive the Nazis' attempt to exterminate Jews. No water, no heat, no electricity, just the women's indomitable spirits and relentless wish to live.
Every photo has a story to tell. Many a story of heroism and tragedy. But there are other pictures, too, reflecting modern Berlin, the city of now. Laughing boys, a tired-looking woman, an anti-fascist demonstration, various streets and buildings.
Langer writes: "It was a strange mix of death and life.… There was a sense of youth, freedom and joy I felt in Berlin.… Whenever I wandered, I took it as a gift of prolonged, uninterrupted time for reflection."
The artist's wanderings and reflections led to the creation of the photobook Berlin.
"This book is not a document," said Langer. "It is a dream within a dream within another dream. Berlin is immense, there was no way I could cast a wide enough net to what it's like. Instead, I have painted a picture of then and now, pain and pleasure, some people who died long ago and those who are living and young, all from my own perspective."
Berlin: A Jewish Ode to the Metropolis opened on Jan. 6 and will continue at the Zack Gallery until Feb. 16. For more information, visit jasonlanger.com.
Olga Livshin is a Vancouver freelance writer. She can be reached at [email protected].
Posted on January 27, 2023 January 26, 2023 Author Olga LivshinCategories Books, Visual ArtsTags Berlin, Cherie Smith JCC Jewish Book Festival, Holocaust, Jason Langer, photography, social commentary, Zack Gallery
Last Cabaret almost sold out
Joanna Garfinkel is part of the creative team behind the world première production of Berlin: The Last Cabaret, part of the PuSh festival. (photo from the artist)
The world première of Berlin: The Last Cabaret, presented at Performance Works Jan. 23-26 by City Opera Vancouver in association with Sound the Alarm: Music/Theatre, is almost sold out. Part of the PuSh International Performing Arts Festival, the only tickets that remain will be sold at the door, though writer and Jewish community member Joanna Garfinkel told the Independent, "I hope we are able to add more presentation opportunities, as well, since this is truly becoming an exciting and rich production."
Set in Nazi Germany in 1934, a group of artists must decide whether or not to perform their new political show – which, reads the press release for Berlin, "challenges state media, calls out the Nazi classification of gay individuals as 'degenerates' and includes parodic inflection that women are being marginalized" under the new regime – or save themselves.
The opera takes place "two weeks after 'the Night of Long Knives,'" said Garfinkel, "when the future had been cast, but many were not yet seeing it, including my own family. One thing that interested me a great deal is how people are forced to make compromises under oppression, and even make excuses for what's happening around them."
The "Night of the Long Knives" was the June 30, 1934, purge by Hitler of more than 85 members of the Sturmabteilung, the Nazi party's initial paramilitary wing.
Rather than being a satire itself, Garfinkel explained that Berlin: The Last Cabaret "is more an unearthing of the under-heard Jewish and queer artists who flourished in the Weimar era and were crushed by the Holocaust. The humour we employ is their urgent satire, which feels fresh and relevant with all that is going in the world right now.
"My own family escaped from Berlin to Winnipeg (eventually), so I am both bound to respect and honour the history, and also privy to the dark humour we employ about it."
City Opera Vancouver approached Garfinkel last spring, she said. They had "heard about me from my dramaturgical work with Playwrights Theatre Centre and the historically based Japanese Problem for my own company, Universal Limited. I was excited by the opportunity to work with an opera company, which would be new to me, but on something quite close to my heart, history and interest."
The relevance of the opera was one of the reasons she joined its creative team. In regard to choosing projects in general, she said, "Right now, it feels like art must be speaking to the world and on behalf of marginalized voices. Theatre is too much work, and the world too messed up, to work on projects that don't resonate on an activist level. I am lucky right now to get to choose to work on things that are so resonant."
Garfinkel, who is billed as librettist for the production, clarified that categorization.
"I contributed story, structure and additional dialogue for this piece," she said, "but it's important to note that the songs themselves are historical, written by composers Eisler, Spoliansky, Hollaender and Weil, so I am not, technically, the librettist. However, building a story and play around preexisting songs presents its own challenges. It was of central importance to me that the Jewish/queer and other marginalized artists of the time were centred in our story.
"We were working with excellent (but unavailable!) collaborators in our composers and, together with director Alan Corbishley, music director and historian Roger Parton and choreographer Tara Cheyenne Friedenberg, tried to honour their work and build a vital story around it."
Cheyenne Friedenberg is also a member of the Jewish community.
Berlin: The Last Cabaret stars actors with a background in music and spoken theatre, rather than traditional opera singers, and each performer, according to the press release, "was involved in the creation of their on-stage characters and storylines." The production features a live four-person band.
For more information on PuSh, visit pushfestival.ca.
Format ImagePosted on January 17, 2020 January 15, 2020 Author Cynthia RamsayCategories Performing ArtsTags Berlin, free speech, Hitler, Holocaust, Joanna Garfinkel, LGBTQ+, Nazis, PuSh International Performing Arts Festival, satire, theatre


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Pfizer CEO Recounts Family's Miraculous Story of Survival in Wartime Greece
by Yoni Wilkenfeld
Pfizer CEO Dr. Albert Bourla and journalist Robert Krulwich at a Museum of Jewish Heritage event. Photo: screenshot
Dr. Albert Bourla, who as Pfizer CEO helped deliver the first COVID-19 vaccine approved in the United States, gave an emotional account Thursday of how his parents narrowly survived the horrors of the Holocaust in their native Greece.
Speaking to longtime science reporter Robert Krulwich, Bourla described a series of seemingly miraculous events that saw his parents Mois and Sara live through World War II and raise the future pharmaceutical executive in the Greek city of Thessaloniki, during a Zoom interview held by the Museum of Jewish Heritage in New York.
"It's fantastic luck, because there were thousands of people that died eventually," said Bourla. "In a city of 50,000, only 2,000 survived; so that, if you make the math, is 96% extermination."
Thessaloniki was once a majority-Jewish city, Bourla said, with many Jews — including his own ancestors — having come to the city as refugees of the Spanish Inquisition in 1492. That thriving community was destroyed by the Nazi occupation of Greece, tearing the Bourla clan apart along with many others.
One morning in March 1943, as occupation forces began deporting Jews from the city's ghetto to be killed, Bourla's father Mois and uncle Into managed to hide. The brothers watched as the rest of their family was marched to a camp near the train station, later to be sent to Auschwitz-Birkenau. For two years, they survived under fake identification papers with Christian names, provided by Athens police chief Angelos Evert, who has been named a "Righteous Among the Nations" by Yad Vashem.
Bourla's mother Sara managed to hide for a time with her older sister, who had married a Christian. But "she was free bird," said Bourla, and was eventually caught and sent to a prison — one that was known, every day at noon, to send a truckload of prisoners to their deaths.
A family bribe to the local Nazi official Max Merten was meant to protect Sara from the daily slaughter, but she was one day spotted on the truck. Her brother-in-law called Merten personally to demand he uphold the deal. "He told him, 'as Greek officers, when we don't keep our word we commit suicide. You Germans, what are you doing?'" Bourla related. "You gave me your word that Sara would not be executed."
Just as Bourla's mother was being lined up for execution, she and another woman were spared by Merten's men. "As the truck was leaving the place, they heard the sound of the machine guns," Bourla said. "It was beyond real. Everybody else was dying and they were sitting there just three minutes ago."
Born in 1961, Bourla studied veterinary medicine at Thessaloniki's Aristotle University, and in 1993 joined Pfizer's Animal Health Division. In 2019 he became CEO of the pharmaceutical company, which last year developed a leading vaccine against COVID-19 with the German company BioNTech. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has, in part, credited his government's working directly with Bourla for its world-leading campaign to inoculate its population.
Bourla spoke Thursday of studying at university atop grounds that were once home to a Jewish cemetery. "Stone from over 300,000 graves was used as building material for a city that was heavily rebuilt after the war," Bourla said. "I learned to live with it."
Unlike others of their generation, Bourla said, his parents were keen to tell him their stories from the war.
"They never spoke to me about revenge," he said. "The way that their stories always ended was a celebration of life: 'Look at us, we're alive. We were almost dead and we're alive. Life is wonderful.'"
Watch the full interview with Albert Bourla:

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Order of the Trapezoid
All works within the Order share these four essential elements:
The Black Flame is the central source of the Order. Every Knight or Dame of the Trapezoid is an Initiate of the Left Hand Path. That is, every Knight of Dame is engaged in self-directed self-deification through liberating antinomianism. The Black Flame is the dark source and inspiration of the individual's own psyche as a unique self-evolving deity; a kindred spirit of the Prince of Darkness.
The Grail Quest is the central activity of the Order. Each Knight must find his or her own path of Becoming, and swear to its realization via the Oath of the Order. The Grail is the ultimate truth of one's ultimate endeavor; it is a truth which is ever sought but never found. Yet there are ways to partake of that which cannot be fully grasped—the keys can be found in the act of Seeking itself.
The Trapezoid is the central Mystery of the Order. Rûna—the essence of Mysteries—is represented by its ultimate example. The trapezoid functions as a link between objective and subjective realities, just as it beckons its Initiates to explore worlds where the arrow of time no longer points in a single direction. The trapezoid is a two-dimensional representation of a three-dimensional shadow of facets of existence known and explored by only a few. It is a prism and a gate; most importantly, it is a Mystery.
Walhalla is the vital state of Becoming within the Order. Walhalla—the Hall of the Fallen where great heroes live in a highly dynamic state beyond death—describes a qualitatively distinct state of self-transformation that transcends the notion of change through time.
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Das Gutshaus Dahlewitz (offizielle Bezeichnung in der Landesdenkmalliste Gutsanlage, mit Gutshaus, Brennerei, Wasserturm und Gutspark) ist ein denkmalgeschütztes Herrenhaus in Dahlewitz, einem Ortsteil der Gemeinde Blankenfelde-Mahlow im Landkreis Teltow-Fläming im Land Brandenburg.

Lage
Von Nordwesten führt die Dahlewitzer Dorfstraße in südöstlicher Richtung durch den Ort. Der Gutshof liegt im historischen Zentrum des Dorfes und dort östlich dieser Straßenverbindung.

Geschichte

Das Gutshaus entstand vermutlich aus der Zeit um 1800. Es ist allerdings denkbar, dass das Bauwerk auf einem Vorgängerbau errichtet wurde: In der Dorfkirche Dahlewitz ist ein Stein mit einer Inschrift zu einem Gutshaus verbaut, der auf das Jahr 1689 hinweist. Damit könnte der Baubeginn, die Fertigstellung oder ein anderer wichtiger Bauabschnitt gemeint sein. Der Stein zeigt weiterhin das Wappen derer von Otterstedt, denen das Gut von 1522 bis 1785 gehörte. Die Bauausführung zeigt allerdings, dass das Gebäude nicht aus dem 17. Jahrhundert stammt. Allerdings steht das Gutshaus auf einem historisch älteren Kellergewölbe, das im 21. Jahrhundert noch vorhanden ist. Um 1724 gehörte es dem Landrat des Kreises Teltow Hans Jürgen von Otterstedt, verheiratet mit Maria Rosina von Hacke. Das Gut ging im Jahr 1785 an Carl Magnus von Zülow auf Clemzig. Auf sein Geheiß hin entstanden eine Brauerei, eine Stärkefabrik sowie eine Ziegelei. Seiner geschickten Leitung war es zu verdanken, dass das Gut erheblich an Wert gewann. Seine Erben hingegen konnten einen Konkurs nicht verhindern. 1810 wurde das Gut sogar als Hauptgewinn in einer Güterlotterie angeboten und kam in bürgerlichen Besitz. Nach einigen Wechseln ist aus dem Jahr 1830 ein Jurist Samson und aus dem Jahr 1850 der Berliner Großkaufmann Alois Gilka als Eigentümer bekannt. Er verkaufte es 1856 an den Amtmann Engelhart, über den es in den Jahren 1865 bis 1870 an einen Herrn von Unruh gelangte. Für 1879 weist das erstmals amtlich publizierte General-Adressbuch der Rittergutsbesitzer der Provinz Brandenburg Familie Friedländer als Besitzer der 736 ha aus, zum Betrieb gehörte eine Brennerei.

1896 erwarb schließlich der Architekt Wilhelm Böckmann das Gut. Er ließ die Innenräume noch im selben Jahr umbauen und im Außenbereich durch einen oktogonalen, turmartigen Pavillon erweitern. An die beiden Seiten des ursprünglichen Gebäudes kam je ein niedriger ausgeführter Wohnflügel. Die einfachen Putzfassaden wurden zu Gunsten einer aufwendigeren Fassadengliederung mit Lisenen ersetzt. 1897 kam ein Wasserturm mit einem Fassungsvermögen von rund 20.000 Litern hinzu. Damit konnte Böckmann den Park sowie die landwirtschaftlichen Nutzflächen bewässern. Der weithin sichtbare Turm wurde zu einem späteren Zeitpunkt in das Wappen der Gemeinde aufgenommen. Im gleichen Jahr entstand auch eine elektrisch betriebene Gutsbahn, die einen Anschluss an die Bahnstrecke Berlin–Dresden hatte. In der Zeit zwischen 1886 und 1900 entstand eine Brennerei, daneben ein Speicher, eine Stellmacherei sowie ein Schweizerhaus. Böckmann ließ die Gebäude so anordnen, dass sie einen Vierseithof bildeten.

Im Zweiten Weltkrieg wurden die parallel zum Gutshaus liegenden Querbauten im Jahr 1943 durch Bomben zerstört. Ebenso traf es das Schweizerhaus und das Wohnhaus des Gärtners. Die Ruinen wurden später abgerissen. In der Zeit der SMAD diente das Gebäude dem sowjetischen Verwalter, später als Maschinen-Ausleihstaton, die zu einer Maschinen-Traktoren-Station umgewandelt wurde. In den Stallungen entstanden Werkstätten und Garagen, während im Gutshaus die Traktoristen untergebracht wurden. Die 634 Hektar landwirtschaftlichen Nutzflächen wurden enteignet und 518 Hektar neu verteilt.

Nach der Wende kam das Gebäude in Privatbesitz. Der neue Eigentümer rekonstruierte 1994 die Turmhaube des Wasserturms; weitere Arbeiten konnten mangels finanzieller Mittel nicht ausgeführt werden. 2001 kam es zu einem Brand im Gutshaus, bei dem das Gebäude stark beschädigt wurde. Es steht seit dieser Zeit als Ruine im Dorf und verfällt. 2019 wurden Pläne eines Investors bekannt, der das Gutshaus sowie die Nebengebäude restaurieren will, um darin Wohnraum zu schaffen.

Baubeschreibung
Das Haupthaus besteht aus einem siebenachsigen, zweigeschossigen Gebäude, dessen Fassade mit Lisenen gegliedert ist. Es trägt ein Walmdach. Daran schließen sich nach Norden und Süden zwei niedrigere, eingeschossige Anbauten an. Der Wasserturm ragt aus einem eingeschossigen Gebäude mit einem Satteldach hervor. Er ist achteckig; seine Ecken aus rötlichen Mauersteinen errichtet. Darüber erhebt sich eine Haube, die mit einer Turmkugel abschließt. Die Funktionsgebäude wie die Brennerei sind in schlichter Architektur.

Gutspark

Vermutlich um 1869 entstand um das Gut ein Park, dessen Bewässerung nach 1897 durch den Wasserturm erfolgte. Ursprünglich war geplant, im östlichen Bereich ein neues Gutshaus zu errichten. Dadurch wäre die Zufahrt in Richtung Groß Kienitz erfolgt; die Pläne wurden jedoch nicht realisiert. Nach der Bodenreform entstanden im westlichen Bereich Gehöfte für Neubauern sowie zwei kleinere Gärtnereien. Der Park wurde 1949 an die Öffentlichkeit übergeben. Allerdings wurde er wohl nicht hinreichend gepflegt und kam bereits 1956 in die Zuständigkeit der Forstverwaltung. 1988 gründete sich ein Verein, der sich für die Instandsetzung des Parks einsetzte. Mit Mitteln aus Ausgleichsmaßnahmen für den Bau des Flughafens Berlin Brandenburg konnte eine 2009/2010 eine Sanierung erfolgen. Im 21. Jahrhundert sind im nördlichen Bereich noch die Überreste einer Allee bestehend aus Linden erhalten. Hinzu kommen einige Eichen und eine Rotbuche. Der Park wurde am 29. Juli 2011 wieder der Öffentlichkeit übergeben.

Literatur
 Georg Dehio (Bearb. Gerhard Vinken u. a.): Handbuch der deutschen Kunstdenkmäler – Brandenburg Deutscher Kunstverlag, München/Berlin 2012, ISBN 978-3-422-03123-4.
 Lieselott Enders: Historisches Ortslexikon für Brandenburg: Teltow (= Historisches Ortslexikon für Brandenburg. Band 4). Verlag Hermann Böhlaus Nachfolger, Weimar 1976.
 Hiltrud und Carsten Preuß: Die Guts- und Herrenhäuser im Landkreis Teltow-Fläming, Lukas Verlag für Kunst- und Geistesgeschichte, 1. Auflage, 29. November 2011, ISBN 978-3-86732-100-6, S. 244

Weblinks

Einzelnachweise

Erbaut in den 1800er Jahren
Baudenkmal in Blankenfelde-Mahlow
Barockbauwerk in Brandenburg
Ruine in Brandenburg
Bauwerk in Blankenfelde-Mahlow

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Wine has become a big part of Asheville North Carolina! Whether you are focusing on local wines, smaller family owned vineyards, or wines from around the world; Asheville has something just for you. Did you know that North Carolina has hundreds of wineries? Many of those grapes make their way here.
There are some amazing wine spots all around town. Usually we start a restaurant that features an incredible wine list, and then head to a few key places after. We have a few stops in mind, but we are most interested in creating a custom tour for you and your party, with an overall grand experience.
It's pretty simple to book a wine tour in Asheville. Contact us with your dates and some information about what you are interested in. Our team will come up with a plan, and send it over to you. From there, you book the dates and we will be ready to deliver a wonderful Asheville wine experience.


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2022 Final Medicare Payment Rule Released
2022 Final Medicare Payment Rule Released; Minor Improvements but Still Disappointing
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released its 2022 final payment rule for ASCs and hospital outpatient departments (HOPD) on November 2, 2021.
Of note, CMS finalized its proposal to reverse policy changes from the previous administration that added a significant number of codes to the ASC Covered Procedures List (ASC-CPL) and began the process of eliminating the inpatient-only (IPO) list, with a few modifications. CMS also continued to use the hospital market basket to update ASC payments for calendar year (CY) 2022. This policy is currently slated to run through CY 2023 as the agency assesses its impact on volume migration.
"This final rule contains some modest improvements since the proposed rule, but we are disappointed that the agency finalized a decision to reduce beneficiary access to ASCs for a number of important procedures that were added just a year ago, despite CMS having little to no clinical data to use as a basis for removing them from our payable list. To that end, however, we were particularly pleased to see that our longstanding recommendation for a transparent process to add procedures to our payable list is included," said ASCA Chief Executive Officer Bill Prentice. "We hope that we can work with the Biden administration in 2022 to make significant, constructive changes to the program so that more Medicare beneficiaries can get care in the ASC setting for the many additional procedures that can be safely performed in ASCs. Doing so will generate savings for both patients and the program."
Download the final rule PDF.
Some other initial observations about the 1,394-page rule follow. ASCA will be providing additional analysis soon, including a rate calculator that allows users to determine what ASCs will be paid locally in 2022.
2.0% Average Rate Update
CMS finalized an effective update of 2.0 percent—a combination of a 2.7 percent inflation update based on the hospital market basket and a productivity reduction mandated by the Affordable Care Act of 0.7 percentage points. This is a decrease of 0.3 percent from the proposed rule. Please note that this is an average, and that updates may vary significantly by code and specialty.
The information below provides a comparison between the 2022 ASC and HOPD reimbursement updates:
HOPD
Inflation update factor 2.7% 2.7%
Productivity reduction mandated by the ACA 0.7 percentage points 0.7 percentage points
Effective update 2.0% 2.0%
Conversion factor $49.916 $84.177
CMS Finalizes Positive Device-Intensive Procedure Policy for ASCs
CMS has finalized a policy change to calculate the device offset percentage to use ASC rates and not HOPD rates as was previous practice. This means that any procedure for which the device cost is 30 percent of the overall ASC procedure rate will receive device-intensive status. ASCA has long requested this change.
Additionally, if a device receives HOPD device-intensive status, the device will also be device-intensive in the ASC setting. For CY 2022 and subsequent years, if a procedure is assigned device-intensive status for HOPDs but has a device offset percentage below the device-intensive threshold under the standard ASC rate-setting methodology, the procedure will be assigned device-intensive status under the ASC payment system with a default device offset percentage of 31 percent.
Removal of Codes from the ASC Covered Procedures List
For 2022, CMS is removing 255 of the 258 codes that it had added to the ASC Covered Procedures List (ASC-CPL) in 2021. The three codes that will remain on the ASC-CPL are:
0499T (Cysto f/urtl strix/stenosis)
54650 (Orchiopexy (fowler-stephens))
60512 (Autotransplant parathyroid)
CMS is also reversing recent changes to 42 CFR §416.166 by bringing back the general exclusion criteria in place during 2020 and previous years.
CMS also finalized its proposal to establish a new procedure nomination process for CY 2022. Using this process, external stakeholders, such as professional specialty societies, would nominate procedures for addition to the ASC-CPL. CMS will review and finalize procedures through annual rulemaking, beginning with the CY 2023 rule.
Reinstatement of the Inpatient-Only List
CMS is finalizing its proposal to halt the elimination of the inpatient-only (IPO) list over a three-year period, as finalized in 2021 rulemaking, and to add almost 300 codes back to the IPO list for 2022. ASCA provided research and data on the safety of several of these codes to be performed on an outpatient basis and was notably successful with keeping CPT codes 22630 (Lumbar spine fusion); 23472 (Reconstruct shoulder joint) and 27702 (Reconstruct ankle joint) from reverting back to the IPO list.
Changes to the ASC Quality Reporting Program
Regarding the ASC Quality Reporting (ASCQR) Program, CMS is finalizing the following:
Adopt ASC-20: COVID-19 Vaccination Coverage Among HCP measure beginning with 2022 data collection.
Require and resume data collection for ASC-1, ASC-2, ASC-3 and ASC-4 beginning with CY 2023 data collection for CY 2025 payment determination and subsequent years for web-based submissions. These measures will now apply to all ASC patients, not just Medicare beneficiaries.
Require that ASC-11: Cataracts: Improvement in Patient's Visual Function within 90 Days Following Cataract Surgery be mandatory beginning with the CY 2025 reporting period/CY 2027 payment determination and for subsequent years. The dates in the proposed rule were CY 2023/CY 2025, respectively. ASCA will continue to oppose the inclusion of this measure.
Require the Outpatient and Ambulatory Surgery Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (OAS CAHPS) Survey-based measures (ASC-15a-e), with voluntary reporting in the CY 2024 reporting period and mandatory reporting beginning with the CY 2025 reporting period/CY 2027 payment determination and for subsequent years. The dates in the proposed rule were CY 2023/CY 2025, respectively.
With regard to the ASCQR Program, Prentice added, "We support the return of four key measures of patient care that had been suspended due to high performance but remain concerned about the addition of other measures that are either inappropriate for our setting or which have merit but require reporting that is needlessly complicated and burdensome."
ASCA will continue to analyze the rule in detail and will soon provide more information to help ASC operators understand the impact of the final rule on their centers.


Third grade students at Lake Arthur Elementary School enjoyed a silly string war as a reward for working hard on their end of the semester exams.
Students who met the requirements needed to earn the reward were treated to an afternoon of silly sting fun. The students were allowed to have a silly string war with others who earned the reward. This moment of free time allowed the students to relax and reap the benefits of hard work in a fun way.
There were students in both sections of Breaux's ELA class who earned the reward. Those students include, Emily Maples, Vylet Touchette, Jenna Broussard, Morgan Broussard, Brandon Gloston, Jacob Kershaw, Brock Onellion, Wyatt Monceaux, Nadelyn Hibbits, Alayna Schexnider, Alayna Landry, Nevaeh Miller, Kynli Newson, Landon Lebleu, Emery Leger, Armanie McDaniel, Caylee Conner, Braylon David, Gabriel Turner, Brayden Thibodeaux, Alliahnna Harrington, Aiden Conner, Peyton Abshire, Austin Abshire, Elizabeth Hodges, Brylee Gaspard, Chloe Conner, Alivia Hornsby, and Gabriella Falls.


Why do you think some organizations struggle with becoming a social business or a social brand?
Simple as this. Relationships. They are critical to external organizationl success both at the lowest levels and the highest levels. Just as internal relationships are important in maneuvering through the maze of most Fortune 500's and getting things done, in the digital world, especially in social media, your networks and the relationships that you have within and without, can make or break any social-digital intiative that you have going.
Whether its with coworkers, colleagues or customers-relationships, the creation of and the fostering of them will actually determine your organizational, departmental and personal success in social and digital.
At it's core- it goes back to silos. You need to recognize them and maybe… embrace them. Silos don't work but they still do exist. Why do they exist? Traditional business structures. Command and control. Politics. The way things have always been. Silos are the reason why sometimes social takes awhile to permeate large organizations. Picture salmon swimming upstream. It takes a while for them to get there because they are going against the current. In social, we're all salmon. We're headed in the right direction, it's just tough sledding right now. Social is a struggle.
So why do organizations struggle with rolling out social? Unless it's a top down edict from the C-suite, whoever the internal champions of social are, they will find that beyond having a compelling case, a strategy, a plan and tactics, what really will determine them going forward will be one of 2 things: 1) Their internal allies and their internal relationships with other departmental heads or 2) A catastrophic, game changing, reputation damaging event that happens via social.
Org.'s struggle because the advocates of social find that swimming with the current is much easier than trying to get internal buy-in, getting someone to change course, change direction, and think differently and do it differently just based on a notion or based on the mere fact that everyone may be doing it.
Social is still new. Hard to even say that anymore but it's true, it's still new. It requires you to step out of a comfort zone. It requires you to go beyond the insulation of heads down work. It demands that you look up. Social is busting down the notion that just doing good work can be sufficient and can be the determinant of success. But creating a sea change in an organization and becoming a social business is going to require a marriage of the old school and the new school. It's hard and it requires the forging of relationships.
That doesn't mean that NOT becoming a social business is the death knell, it just means that eventually if you don't adapt-you will be the fish swimming downstream when all the others are going in the opposite direction. Have you ever tried getting someone to take the road less traveled?


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Posted September 22, 2017 by Diane & filed under My Books.
Getting a blurb is a big deal for a debut author. It's an early validation of your book and your talents, and it's one of the high points in the months before the publication date. When a debut author received blurbs from established authors she admires (or adores, or worships), the resulting emotions are immense. I've been holding off on announcing my blurbs, which made me beam all day. These have now appeared in my advanced reading copies (the ARC, which is an uncorrected version of the book shared with reviewers and readers before the publication date). My wonderful editor suggested I add them to my website, so they are now on the Books page, but I wanted to share them here, too. Thank you Kristin Cashore and Karen Cushman for reading my debut novel and sharing such kind words about it.
Posted August 26, 2017 by Diane & filed under Book Recommendations.
A genius inventor, loyal robots, and a deadly search for the most fantastic creation of all draws two children into tragedy and flight tragedy in this fast-paced Victorian steampunk adventure. Lily Hartman lives in a world of mechs—thinking, feeling humanoid (or animal) machines—with the mechanical fox Malkin, a wise-cracking pet, as her most trusted companion. Malkin witnessed the disappearance of her inventor father in an airship crash, and soon thereafter, Lily finds herself in the middle of a search for her father's secret masterpiece: the perpetual motion machine. With murderous thugs and a greedy housekeeper willing to destroy anyone or anything for this machine, Lily flees, inadvertently drawing Robert, a clockmaker's son, into her desperate bid to survive. Not all is what it seems (very little is what it seems, in fact), and soon Lily finds herself in mortal danger for an invention she carries much closer than anyone but her father ever knew. Courage, loss, sacrifice, and resilience are key themes of this swift-paced tale, topped with a nail-biting climax in Big Ben's clock tower. Enjoy each mech's distinct personality, hold your breath through the action of the story, and bask in the peace found by the characters at the end. A worthy read.
In the first chapter of this powerful novel of magic and loss, Sister Witch's twin sons, Ned and Tam, are parted when Tam dies in their attempt to sail. Sister Witch, a crucial but under-appreciated member of her village, secures Ned's life through magic—a dangerous resource that seems to have a complex life and personality of its own. It's an act that leaves Ned with a stammer and his brother's voice lingering in his head. Sister Witch's magic is dangerous, but contains unmistakable power. A stranger to the town sees it, and wants it for himself. This is the Bandit King, who has had a taste of magic and knows what it can do. He tries to steal it when Sister Witch is gone, and Ned takes the magic onto himself. This is no gentle, obedient, fairytale magic: it's painful in every sense. This magic sears into Ned's flesh, skittering a web of words over him. Now it's not just Tam's voice in his mind, but the magic's multiple voices: taunting, teasing, and commanding Ned, even as he begs it to desist. Pursued by the Bandit King, Ned ends up deep in the woods and outside the Bandit King's own home—and in the longbow sights of the Bandit King's daughter Àine. A resourceful girl haunted by her mother's death and fearful of what her father will become if he gains the magic he so deeply desires, Àine knows she must keep Ned and his magic away from the Bandit King. Ned and Àine escape the bandits sent by her father within a forest of changing paths to a collection of ancient stones where the magic is more powerful than ever, and to a final choice of self or sacrifice. Read this if you like your fairy tales dark, your characters conflicted, your plots tense, and your prose rich and precise. A powerful story.
It's WWII, and Londoners Kat Bateson and her siblings Robbie and Amelie travel to a boarding school in a creepy Scottish castle to flee from the Blitz. You'd expect to find ghosts at Rookskill Castle with its maze of rooms and hallways that seem to disappear, but there's more: grinding and screeches sound from a secret room, and sounds of a radio. This seems clear evidence of a German spy. But something much darker is at foot: a being that seeks all children in the castle and will take their lives and souls for a purpose unknown. The children at the school disappear one by one. Kat's quick thinking protects her, but so does a secret she carries: her great-aunt's chatelaine, a silver ring of charms on chains—a pen, scissors, and a thimble—that may be the way to defeat the powerful creature that seeks her life. The Lad and I loved the fast pace, haunting atmosphere, and splendid writing of this book—but also the narrative sections from the villain's perspective, which help the reader understand, if not wholly side with, the tormented Leonore.
These fun, thoughtful middle grade novels from the not-so-distant past would be fabulous gifts to ring in the new school year for any student.
Posted August 24, 2017 by Diane & filed under My Books.
Part of the home library I began as a young teenager. I was more careful with some of these bindings than others!
When I was 14 years old, I began writing seriously. I loved to read and write and knew that I wanted to be a novelist. My parents took that dream seriously. While I was always free to read anything I wanted, they suggested that I also read the classics. I don't think they planned for me to learn Great Themes of Life and Literature—that wasn't quite how they thought—but they'd read somewhere that to know how to write, you needed to read the important books of the past. To encourage me, they offered to buy me any classic I wanted from our local bookstore and start my own serious home library.
This was my first taste of Tolstoy and my favorite novel.
I knew two things: that I had clear tastes in literature (I had always loved Susan B. Cooper's The Dark is Rising series and was getting into Anne McCaffrey's Dragonriders of Pern), and that we didn't have a lot of money. So I was careful with what books I picked, looking for engaging descriptions and a price as close to $5.99 as possible.
Penguin Classics paperbacks helped me start my personal library (hence the theme of the first picture of this post). And my local bookstore carried a generous selection of them. To foster my loyalty to those slick black-and-beige volumes, many included a list of "Other Books You Might Enjoy" in the back, sharing "new" classics that, indeed, I did enjoy.
Read the classics. Read texts that span cultures, countries, and histories. That's a good place for a writer to start.
I never could decide if Conrad was a feminist or not, but I loved the mystery at the heart of this novel.
I'm glad my parents gave me that advice and encouraged me to build the foundation of my own home library in this way. And not for any lofty reason, but simply this: I loved classics. I thrived on those complex sentences with layers of meaning; those characters who suffered to the bottom of their souls (and questioned if they had souls in the first place, if love could be pure, if they had any chance standing up against the grinding wheel of Fate); and those incredible stories (talk about conflict and stakes). I knew these authors well before my high school began teaching them, and had my favorites: Thomas Hardy, Joseph Conrad, Leo Tolstoy, Fyodor Dostoevsky, and Emile Zola (notice a trend of drama, gloom, angst, and bleakness?— that was candy for adolescent me).
I didn't understand everything I read, but I read (including the forewords and afterwords), kept special notebooks for my quotes and reactions, and reread voraciously.
It certainly did affect my writing. I wrote fiction throughout my teenage years, trying out Big Themes and archetypal characters. I experimented with grim stories, staggering drama, and—yes—overblown prose.
I loved books like this. Insanity! Desire! Hatred! Despair! Repeat.
In my post-teen years, I broadened my definition of "classic" to reach farther across the world and into non-European pasts, but I'm grateful to those great European novels I began with: They built the foundation of my writing. In my 20s, you could read it not just in my fiction but in my letters to family, my email messages, and occasionally my verbal conversations. No doubt it crops up in what I'm writing today.
After I signed my contract for The Mad Wolf's Daughter, I happened to notice the line of penguin-adorned foam green spines on one of my bookshelves. I began to muse about my reliance on Penguin Classics in my formative home library, and how apt it is that my beloved debut novel is with Kathy Dawson Books, which is part of the glorious world of Penguin.
Thank you Penguin, and especially Sir Allen Lane, who founded Penguin Books and began those distinctive paperbacks in a bid to get good books out to the masses.
Posted August 20, 2017 by Diane & filed under Book Recommendations.
An orphaned serf disguised as a boy rides with a fierce warlord and his men. The Romans left Britain a generation ago, but the island still faces rapid changes. Legends are rich and stories make history. So learns the girl as she watches the rise of one of the greatest stories of all: that of Arthur.
Here Lies Arthur by Philip Reeve is not medieval, but it's a precursor to the world I write about (and it's a book that always inspires me). In this magnificent novel, we see who the real Arthur (not a king in this retelling) might have been—a sixth century brutal warlord who pillages holdings and towns to forcefully take his kingdom. It's also a profound narrative about the power of stories. Told by Gwyna, a young girl we meet as she flees the fire and blood of Arthur's attack on her lord's holding. The wily bard Myrddin discovers her "cold as a ghost, wet as a drowned dog…trying to hug some warmth back into my juddering, shuddering limbs," and rescues her. He asks her to play a role in the legend he's building around his master Arthur, and after that successful outing with a sword in a pond, Gwyna becomes Myrddin's servant—and, with the appropriate clothes and a haircut, a boy named Gwyn. With Gwyna/Gywn, we see Arthur from the ground: his bullying, invasions, battles, and manipulation. It's all to secure his place in the present, and in history; in this world, the stories that are told of you are more important than any of your actual deeds.
The landscape of this novel is bleak but beautiful in subtle ways, and always feels real; Reeve's historical research is stellar. Expect gentle humor as well as grim survival in this powerful retelling of a legend.
Here Lies Arthur won the Carnegie Medal in 2008.
Posted August 13, 2017 by Diane & filed under On Scotland.
Medieval castles dominate Scotland's landscape, and they're practical structures for their times. Most start off as giant stone boxes with incredibly thick walls (sometimes square, sometimes rounded, depending on when they were built), copious trimmings to help with defense (say it with me: "crenelated battlements!"), and all sorts of openings with murderous purposes. Many also have gatehouses (which can stand up to battering rams and also provided defenders with a platform from which they could dump truly awful things on the people below), towers (for prisons or pleasure), and, of course, curtain walls to hold everything in. From the outside, even a ruined castle can look pretty fierce.
I'm a bit obsessed with the entrances to these forbidding buildings. While I certainly photograph the whole exterior, I also take pictures of gatehouses, doorways, or whatever the entry is; I like to imagine what my characters would feel when they're just about to walk in. Here's a wee tour of a few of my Scottish favorites and their most impressive features.
We'll start with Caerlaverock Castle. This Dumfries beauty, first built in 1270 by the order of Sir John de Maccuswell (the family known as the Maxwells), boasts a formidable gatehouse with its right tower from the 13th century and its left tower and actual entry from the 15th. The door itself is a nice example of a two-centered arch, a type of doorway that was very popular in castles in the early- to mid-medieval period. As you approach Caerlaverock, the front of the castle seems to bellow its power through its mighty presence. And it had to: this castle was on a prime spot in the border between Scotland and England.
In 1300 during the Wars of Independence, the English king Edward I brought an army of over 3,000 men to siege Caerlaverock. Despite the significant defense of its entry and moat, the castle, with a garrison of only 60 men, surrendered in two days.
Edinburgh's Craigmillar Castle didn't need to worry about sieges too much, though it has a massive curtain wall. For show? Because any self-respecting castle would have one? Just in case? First built by Sir Simon Preston (or his son, also named Simon) in the 14th century, this was a well-fortified home. And it stayed in the family for a long time. Sir Simon Preston IV was a keen supporter of Mary Queen of Scots, and Craigmillar served as a peaceful refuge for her during a particularly troubled time in her life (though it was also the place where the Queen's advisors developed a plan to end her unpopular marriage to Lord Darnley by murdering him). Okay, so there's the gossip. Let's just focus on its beautiful entryway, a semi-circular arch, built in the late 15th century.
Past the timber doors, you see a cedar tree, one of two that dominates the inner courtyard. Defense was important, but comfort was, too, and this doorway shows that clearly.
A vast collection of shells now marks the entrance, just out of sight of this picture on the left. I wondered if that's always been the case, and, if so, if their crunch provided a sort of doorbell or warning.
Because defense was so important at Blackness Castle, a yett would have been part of the entry. An iron gate of woven strips, a yett would have been very difficult for an invader to take down. It also gave defenders enough room between the iron weave to fire back.
Note the design: two horizontal strips are melded onto the vertical strips, a pattern that repeats throughout the yett.
Dirleton Castle, a grand East Lothian residence, has a dramatic façade. A fixed bridge now stands where the drawbridge once was, and the gatehouse has many layers you must walk past before you reach the courtyard. Dirleton was built in the 13th century for Sir John de Vaux as a fortified residence more than a fortress, and that fine: there was peace between Scotland and England, and he had nothing to worry about. But it was a good thing he'd built Dirleton as a castle; peace ended when the English king Edward I decided to invade Scotland and, in 1298, sent Bishop Bek of Durham (yes, bishops led armies back then) to capture Dirleton. Bek succeeded, though the Scots won it back at some point around 1306—and gave it a powerful gatehouse. You have to imagine its barriers these days, but they were formidable: a combination of portcullis, wooden doors, and yetts.
This was one of the strategic castles that the Scottish warrior king Robert the Bruce destroyed rather than risk its falling into English hands again.
One defense that you wouldn't see upon entering Dirleton is this small chamber above the gatehouse passage. Here lurks a murder hole, called that because such openings were extremely useful for defenders to use in pouring dangerous substances (or throwing rocks) on invaders.
Think for a moment of what a rush of burning hot sand could do to a knight: it would trickle into his armor's chinks, through his chain mail, past his padded tunic, and against his skin…).
A castle's exterior is the first glance that you get of these behemoths of defense, but the door itself tells much of a castle's intent: if it was meant to rebuff, or welcome, or perhaps just intimidate. A castle's entry shows what a castle is all about. And, thanks to Scottish preservation organizations, we're able to go through so many of them in Scotland today.
Posted August 8, 2017 by Diane & filed under Book Recommendations.
On with the next medieval book! In this engaging, fascinating volume, Laura Amy Schlitz creates a snapshot of a medieval life through its children with help from Robert Byrd's detailed illustrations.
A blacksmith's daughter muses sadly over her distance from a young nobleman who comes to have his horse's shoe repaired. Hostility arises between a Christian girl and a Jewish boy when they meet at a river, until they begin skipping stones together and realize that they are far more alike than different. An impoverished villein's daughter (a villein is a medieval serf) watches her widowed mother humbly outsmart the lord that has come to take their much-needed cow, a price they must pay upon her father's death. The glassblower's two daughters soliloquize about a likely marriage between one of them and their father's apprentice, but with very different perspectives.
In this collection of monologues (and two dialogues), the young characters are vivid and lifelike, and the history is accurate and interesting. The children's stories, as well as details of their lives—of farming, blacksmithing, poverty, and more—make this short poetic volume a rich one.
Posted August 1, 2017 by Diane & filed under On Scotland.
If you follow me on Twitter, you may have noticed my love for—oh, let's just be honest—enormous obsession with Scotland's castles.
Edinburgh Castle and its curtain wall looming (as all good castles should) over its city upon Castle Rock.
These are the stone behemoths that dominate Scotland's landscape (particularly in the Borders), looming above cities, countrysides, and seas. Kings, earls, and lords—Scottish and English alike—built these fortresses from the 11th to 16th centuries to defend, intimidate, and rule the country. And though most of Scotland's castles are in various stages of ruin, or have been rebuilt well beyond their original master masons' plans, they're impressive.
One of the most impressive is one of the most famous: Edinburgh Castle. Established as a fortified residence in the Bronze Age and built up into a powerful castle in the early 12th century, Edinburgh Castle stands as a centerpiece in Scotland's capital and the country's history.
The gatehouse at Edinburgh Castle is one of the most iconic (and photographed) parts of this beauty.
Edinburgh Castle's lurid past includes a history of successful sieges, despite its strong defensive structure (and don't forget, in later years, the cannons), but also a few wonderfully dramatic retrievals. My favorite of retaking harks back to 1314, when a brave Scot named William Francis led the Earl of Moray and 30 men up the cliffs of Castle Rock (at left) to overpower the forces of English King Edward II. Edward's dad, Edward I, also known as the Hammer of the Scots, had successfully invaded the castle before, and so it was his rule that was crumbling as the Earl of Moray's small war-band took the castle back.
James II received one of the most powerful weapons of the late medieval ages—Mons Meg, cannon of cannons—as a wedding present. Let's just say I'm a wee bit jealous.
During the English Civil Wars, Edinburgh Castle lost its status as a residence for royals and was turned into barracks for Oliver Cromwell's garrison, then, later, for the Jacobites', and, in the 18th century, a prison as well. But a hundred years after that, Sir Walter Scott, with his hugely popular writings and ongoing promotion of Scottish history, inspired new interest in the castle. That new interest eventually translated to renovations, including ones in a "medieval" style that may not be accurate but have done much to define how people imagine the medieval world today.
The Lang Stairs by Argyle Tower show the two styles clearly: a 19th century tower on the right (designed as the top of Portcullis Gate by Edinburgh architect Hippolyte Blanc), and part of the old structure to the left. The only original building from the castle's early days is St. Margaret's Chapel, a modest structure built in 1130 that now overlooks Mons Meg.
This castle today is a popular tourist site, but also a major part of the city. You can see it from the Royal Botanic Gardens miles away, as well as over the rooftops from the terrace level of the National Museum of Scotland, and from many other spots in the Old Town. I admit: I am absolutely in love with this castle. During my last visit to Edinburgh, I visited three times (my Historic Scotland Environment membership made that easy). Edinburgh Castle and I are now old chums.
A 20th century statue of Robert the Bruce, Scotland's great warrior king (from 1306 to 1329), greets visitors from one side of a late 19th century gatehouse. As I was leaving from my final visit to the castle, I wished him goodbye—to the confusion of the tourists around me who didn't quite know to whom I was speaking.
Many thanks to Edinburgh Castle and Historical Environment Scotland, which oversees and protects this and other important historical sites. Thanks also to the friendly staff at Edinburgh Castle and for the informative panels and excellent guidebook they put together, which broadened my knowledge and perspective of this, my favorite castle.


CES 2019. That, an AI motion sensor and Air Quality Sensor.
So what are the alternatives? Wink? Amazon?
Presence - Life360 connects but presence is not displayed after connection.
Audible Alerts - this was never a Samsung solution, their speakers are very hard to find, expensive and still do not work consistently. Big-Talker was the solution for me, like life360 it displays in the new app but doesn't do anything.
For me, as johnconstantelo said, there's so much time involved in just understanding the difference, I'll spend my time for now looking to see if I can accomplish what I want in another system, that won't be yanked out from under me.
If you're looking for something that won't be yanked out from under you, I personally wouldn't have wink on my candidates list.
As far as audible alerts, Echo has pretty much solved this now, and it works well with smartthings as long as you don't need it to be local. The only thing is you do need a virtual device which is both a switch and a contact sensor, and to be honest I'm just not sure if that works with the new app or not. If it does, you're all set for that feature. And in any case my guess would be that Amazon will add the ability to trigger an Amazon routine (not a SmartThings routine) from a switch in the next few months, which then simplifies everything again.
The only thing is you do you need a virtual device which is both a switch and a contact sensor, and to be honest I'm just not sure if that works with the new app or not.
I'm using this exact feature with the new app without any problems.
Has anyone from ST ever given a reason why when you try to create a custom automation in the new app that you can't use the device as a condition and then control the device?
If Switch 1 is off, Switch 2 is on, and Door is open, then turn Switch 2 off.
Unless I'm missing something you don't need to use SW2 as a condition. If SW1 is off and Door is open then turn off SW2. If SW2 is on, it will turn it off. If SW2 is off, nothing will happen.
Why does the playstore not show that as the latest version? Are you a beta tester at all? Maybe Samsung One UI updates it?
This update was showing in the Android Play store for me, so I'm now running 1.7.27-25 as well. Don't see how that could be limited distribution?


β-Methylphenethylamine (β-Me-PEA) is a stimulant drug of the phenethylamine chemical class that is related to amphetamine (which is α-methylphenethylamine). It is found in many Acacia species, notably Acacia berlandieri (guajillo). β-Me-PEA is psychoactive in humans as the β-methyl group slows metabolism by the enzyme monoamine oxidase (MAO).


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OnlineFinancialSports BettingIndustry
20Shots secures £400,000 investment to help fund Fantasy5 expansion
Betting technology supplier 20Shots has raised an additional £400,000 ($483,262) in capital.
By Gambling Insider
The UK-based company behind free-to-play fantasy football game Fantasy5 has completed a second round of funding, highlighting an investment from Animal Capital.
The US venture capital fund is backed by several social media stars, including Josh Richards, Griffin Johnson and Noah Beck, who target opportunities that may appeal to Gen Z.
Marshall Sandman, Managing Partner of Animal Capital, commented on 20Shots, saying: "Their B2B relationships are uniquely positioned to make this an exciting asset and their ability to resonate and be sticky with a younger audience are all reasons why we were excited to be on the journey."
The fund invested an undisclosed sum in 20Shots for the new football season, which will see the platform roll out a range of products to expand Fantasy5.
Fantasy5's core Premier League product offers cash prizes to people who successfully predict how well players will perform.
However, 20Shots is now looking to complement this product with further games covering the Champions and Europa Leagues, as well as other top European competitions. Prizes for the additional leagues will remain at £10,000.
"As demand grows in the ultra-competitive free-to-play space, we're investing in our ability to quickly and seamlessly roll out products and games on a white label basis for a number of different partners across multiple divisions and competitions," said Jacob Kalms, Co-Founder and CEO of 20Shots.
The company also touched on the UK Government's gambling review, which it said would likely see traditional marketing practices come under scrutiny.
Kalms added: "Operators should also be considering how free-to-play and softer marketing funnels like those offered by games like Fantasy5 will help them navigate any changes thrust upon them by the upcoming gambling review."