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Thinking Outside the Cubicle:
Business Skills in a Wider World
Nicholas Johnson
Alpha Kappa Psi Business Fraternity
I am honored by your invitation to share some thoughts with you this evening.
Especially is this so given that you future business leaders normally want to hear from those who have already achieved their fame and fortune in the cause of ever-increasing corporate profits. That has not been my career path. I've never attended a business college. I have never run a for-profit business.
Oh, I did spend some time in one of our nation's best corporate law firms. I suppose I was then working on matters designed to further increase corporate profits. Clients included our nation's largest steel and cement companies, and a couple of airlines. But the tasks involved the application of legal rather than management skills.
As a young boy growing up in Iowa City I had a paper route, and I helped put myself through college by selling door-to-door. And along the way I found myself elected national president of something called Hi-Y, the high school branch of the national YMCA, which automatically put me on the board of directors of the Y -- my first board membership, and first role as a troublemaker. My insistence that the other board members -- most of whom were four to five times my age -- had an obligation to come up with some goals for Hi-Y ultimately led to their commissioning a $100,000 study.
Aside from those minimal experiences, my professional life has not involved what we normally think of as "business" or "commercial." Indeed, I sometimes explain that the reason my Web site is a "dot-org" is that I have never done anything that was a "com."
And yet, thinking about this evening, I came to realize that much of what I have done with my life has involved many of the techniques you learn, and the skills you are developing, in the University of Iowa's College of Business. In sharing some of those experiences with you I hope to persuade you to "think outside the cubicle" that awaits you in some high-rise office building.
After a U.S. Supreme Court clerkship with Justice Hugo L. Black, I began a law teaching career at the age of 25 as a professor in the law school at the University of California, Berkeley. During the past 45 years of teaching law I can tell you that not every one of my former students has ended up in a law firm. Many have, and have done so with great success. But there are also law grads who end up as trust officers in banks, agents in the FBI, elected public officials, government employees, law professors -- and, yes, businessmen and women.
There is an equivalent range of professional opportunities awaiting business graduates. The for-profit corporate sector is attractive to you, of course; but there are many other options. Some may be suggested to you by my stories this evening. Some are alternatives to the for-profit life; others are things you can do at the same time you're pursuing your business career.
Called to the White House
While practicing with that Washington corporate law firm I got a call one day in early 1964 to come visit President Lyndon Johnson's assistant Bill Moyers. President Kennedy had been assassinated the previous November, and the new team was only beginning to be formed. I was not then very politically sophisticated. I had never met President Johnson, knew no one on the White House staff, including Bill Moyers, no senators or members of congress, no Party leaders or wealthy campaign contributors. I'd never even been in the White House, except for a brief, public visitors' tour.
Even the process of being cleared by the Secret Service and just entering the West Wing that afternoon was exiting enough. But as the afternoon wore on, and Bill Moyers never appeared, the excitement began to fade just a tad. Suddenly a man appeared who was not Bill Moyers, and who told me I should follow him. We walked along some hallways, he opened a door, indicated a chair and told me to sit there. I did.
I would later come to know this man as Jack Valenti. He had formerly worked in a Houston public relations firm, and when he left the White House became president of the Motion Picture Association of America -- the Hollywood studios' trade association -- and perhaps the single most effective lobbyist in Washington. During his time in the White House some Washington insiders would joke about his all-purpose role at President Johnson's side: "Jack, get me a Fresca. And say, while you're up, why don't you write me a draft of my State of the Union message."
Their relationship was reflected in another story, at least reported as true. Someone calling the White House for Jack Valenti suddenly realized he was talking to the President. Flustered, the caller tried to blurt out an apology. "That's OK," the President said, "Jack's busy this afternoon, so I'm taking his calls."
As I looked around the room to which Jack Valenti had taken me, it began to dawn on me that I'd seen that room in photos and movies. I was about to have an experience similar to that of Jack Valenti's caller. Apparently Bill Moyers was busy that afternoon, so the President was taking his callers. I was having a private conversation with the president of the United States in the oval office.
The (President) Johnson Treatment
At that stage of my career, although I had majored in political science, and was focusing on administrative law as a law professor in Berkeley, I had never heard of the agency the President wanted to talk about: the Maritime Administration. The more he told me the less interested I was in working there. I explained that I had taken leave from the University of California to get more practical administrative law experience at Covington & Burling, that I had not yet finished my tour there, and that, when I did, I intended to return to California. Apparently my reluctance set me apart from others on the President's short list. Only later would I come to realize what the President then knew: Anyone who wanted to be Maritime Administrator was clearly unqualified. After a few minutes of what was known around Washington as "the Johnson treatment," I did the only thing anyone receiving "the treatment" could do: I accepted.
The President was solicitous, and sophisticated about the symbolism useful in launching the salt water career of his new, 29-year-old Maritime Administrator. He arranged for the swearing in to be performed in the Cabinet Room outside his office, with my family present. He had me sit in on a cabinet meeting. Both were unheard of for such a relatively lowly presidential appointment; the Maritime Administrator was then located in the Department of Commerce and reported to under-secretaries at that. As I later discovered, the President had made a point of telling a number of Washington's leading elected and appointed officials about me. And he must have talked to the members of the Senate Commerce Committee who held the hearings on my appointment -- as well as giving me the seasoned advice to pay a call on each of them before the hearing, which of course I then did.
At the hearing some senator asked what shipping experience I had had. I responded that I had once operated a canoe on the Iowa River, but not very successfully. Apparently that was enough experience to satisfy them, because the hearing was not painful, was relatively short, and my memory is there were no votes against my confirmation from either side of the aisle.
"Read these books and do what they say"
By the time I was 29 I had already found it necessary to learn some basics about broadcasting, the oil and gas industries, and the steel, cement and airline industries I mentioned earlier -- along with a number of law courses my colleagues had assigned their young law professor at Berkeley, and the numerous fact settings of the hundreds of cases that had come before the U.S. Court of Appeals and U.S. Supreme Court when clerking for Judge John R. Brown and then Justice Hugo L. Black.
So I was either self-confident, or stupid, enough to think that I could quickly learn enough about the shipping and ship building industries as well. I gave myself a concentrated two weeks of reading day and night until I felt I knew at least enough to ask intelligent questions.
But I needed to know a little more than something about shipping and ship building.
The President had handed me an agency with thousands of employees world-wide, thousands of merchant ships from World War II that needed maintenance, billions of dollars in shipping and ship building subsidies, a four-year college academy for merchant marine officers, the chairmanship of a classified, international NATO organization, a nuclear-powered merchant ship that was supposed to immediately set sail on a world tour as a part of our "atoms for peace" program, and -- with the equivalent of three-star admiral rank, my own flag, and the additional title of "Director, War Shipping Authority" -- a working relationship with the Secretary of Defense, and Navy, Chief of Naval Operations, and Military Sea Transportation Service in providing the sea lift to Viet Nam.
In short, I needed to know something about management and administration. My experience in that department was even less than my ability at paddling a canoe. As I put it, "I've never administered anything more than a single secretary, and not that very well." The only advice I could get out of the Secretary of Commerce, Luther Hodges, as to what presidential appointees need to know was that I should make a point of going to the rest room every chance I got -- a little more colorfully expressed. As it turned out, that was good advice, but it was scarcely enough to manage what the President had put on my plate.
So I finally, at long last, turned to your field of study. I wrote some friends at the Harvard Business School: "Help. What do I do now?" Back by return mail came a box of books with a handwritten note on top: "Read these books and do what they say." I read them, and I did what they said -- along with a few ideas of my own.
The Monthly Marad Review
No more ship yards flying Marad employees to ship launchings, with diamond necklaces for their wives. No more liquor truck deliveries to the agency at holiday time. No more lunches at ship operators' expense. I'd meet with anyone from the industry, but only in my office.
I tried to meet every employee in the agency, including some for whom I was the first Administrator they'd met in 20 or 30 years there. Instead of meeting with the office chiefs in my conference room we held our meetings in an auditorium, with as many employees as we could fit in there. There was a comparative evaluation of employees at each GS grade. No more automatic promotions. Some were fired -- that's right, civil service employees can be removed. Some stayed where they were. Positions were created so others could be advanced. Everyone, including the office chiefs, was kept alert and involved by rotation into new positions and responsibilities.
No more every office chief signing off on every agency action. We identified the agency's programs and projects and selected one person to be responsible.
Most significant, this led to the creation of what we called the "Monthly Marad Review." You can still find the government report describing it on my Web site at "The Marad Management Information Reporting System," http://www.uiowa.edu/~cyberlaw/marad/.
These were the charts, projecting progress on nearly 100 programs, that we displayed and discussed at those meetings in the auditorium with all the employees.
There are many more stories I could tell, but you get the idea.
From FCC to NCCB
From the Maritime Administration the President transferred me to the Federal Communications Commission as one of the-then seven commissioners. This also required a bit of quick study, learning enough to ask intelligent questions about a range of telecommunications industries including what was then the AT&T absolute telephone monopoly, the Western Union Telegraph Company, Intelsat and its communications satellites, under-ocean cables, business radio, citizens band and amateur radio, and of course commercial radio and television -- which was then pretty much limited to ABC, CBS and NBC.
But while I needed to know enough not to do those industries any harm, the primary responsibility for running the FCC was shared among the Executive Director, the Chairman, and the six other commissioners.
Following the FCC experience, with the exception of a few months spent campaigning for congress from Iowa's old Third District, the exercise of my management skills was limited to running a citizens' public interest group primarily focused on reducing violence in network programming. I was chair of something called the National Citizens for Broadcasting, or NCCB.
Many public interest activists make the mistake of thinking all they need to run an organization is a clear head and a pure heart. But as those of you here know, that's not enough. A non-profit organization needs individuals with virtually all of the same skills found in a for-profit: some system of reporting against goals, management of human resources, accounting, public relations, purchasing and sales, and so forth.
There were over 2000 studies documenting the relationship between violence on television and violence in our society. That was the easy part. The hard part was how to get the networks to produce less violent programming. A little systems analysis produced the answer -- and the first time in history, before or since, that there has actually been a reduction in TV violence. We simply monitored the programming, identified the companies most closely associated with violent programming, and then I presented them the awards for being among "America's 10 bloodiest corporations" -- following which their sales declined. That did it.
It wasn't exactly door-to-door sales, but the principle was similar. Find a need -- or create a need -- and fill it. Don't expect your customer to have a real enthusiasm for satisfying your needs. My study of broadcasting revealed that it's not about selling programs to the audience. It's about selling the audience's eyeballs to advertisers -- at a "cost per thousand." That being the case, there wasn't much point in asking broadcasters to reduce violence in programming. Violence attracted eyeballs. "Follow the money." And the money trail led to the advertisers. Reduce the advertisers' sales and you have their attention. Tell them to reduce the violence in the programs in which they advertise or their sales will decline further and they're ready to take action. And when the broadcaster's boss, the advertiser, says he wants less violence in the programs the broadcaster salutes smartly and says, "Yes, sir." To borrow the President's phrase, "Mission Accomplished." But in our case it really was.
Back Home, and Rain Forests
Back in the 1920s and 1930s there was a columnist and speaker named Will Rogers. You may know him only for the beach that bears his name north of Santa Monica, and his ranch on up the hill from there. He once described his political party affiliation: "I belong to no organized political party. I am a Democrat."
So the Democratic Party remains to this day. And so it was in the 1980s when I served on the Johnson County Democrats Executive Committee. Frankly, I didn't even try very hard to bring any basic management skills to that assignment. But there is certainly room for them with the national Democratic Party these days -- if you could ever get anyone to listen.
Any political party that relinquishes the U.S. Senate, and House, the White House, most of the judiciary and state houses to its opponents, and continues to take brickbats from them for anything that goes wrong in government, could use a few management skills. Any political party that doesn't have a mission statement, a set of goals in the form of a platform, a business plan for funding it -- a political party that doesn't even have a cynical plan for winning elections without any of that -- is clearly in need of assistance from someone with your skills.
Another bit of non-profit service for the local community involved what the City then called its Broadband and Telecommunications Commission. It was nowhere nearly as disorganized as the local Party, but I was never able to get my colleagues to look beyond the myopic focus of "cable television" to the broad horizon that I saw for Iowa City during the telecommunications revolution of the 1980s and 1990s.
The proposed indoor rain forest for Coralville is yet another example of where and how you can use business techniques outside of the conventional for-profit sector. As a part of my general Web site, http://www.nicholasjohnson.org, I maintain a separate Web site regarding the rain forest project, http://www.nicholasjohnson.org/politics/IaChild. It is now probably about one hundred pages of text, with links to the full text of many hundreds of comments by others. I mention the Web site in part because it may be of interest to you, but also because in this case the Web site is all there is to my involvement in this project; the Web site and an occasional published op ed column in one of the Iowa newspapers.
I am not on the staff of the rain forest project. I belong to no organization that either supports, or opposes, the project. In fact, while most people who know of my interest assume I am opposed, I contend that I'm not. What I am opposed to is public money being put into a project that is not well thought through -- from a business perspective.
There is no end to the possible benefits that might flow from a project that in some way involves a covered rain forest. But this proposal has been around for nine years. It started off as a $300 million project; then $225 million; and now $180 million. Notwithstanding Senator Charles Grassley's delivery of $50 million in federal taxpayers money to the promoters, and the skilled professionals this has enabled them to take on board, they have not raised an additional dime during the two years since then.
The deal breaker, what I have called "the elephant in the rain forest," is that they have remained $90 million short on a $180 million project -- a rather significant shortfall. Worse, there is no there there. They have no focus. As one blogger commented, "it's a floor wax, it's a desert topping, it's whatever they want it to be." It has been promoted over time as a scientific research center, a K-5 school, a tourist attraction, a teacher training facility, an IMAX theater, and a display center for environmentally friendly technology. Obviously, as the old saying has it, "If you don't know where you're going the odds are pretty good you'll never get there." Without a specific focus, and some detailed plans, it's impossible to even attempt to create a business plan that might project necessary cash flow, costs, and reserves. Needless to say, you go about funding a scientific research facility differently from the way you fund a tourist attraction. All I know is that, as a tourist attraction, it would have to have an attendance made up of every man, woman and child in Iowa -- from new-born babe to terminally ill nursing home resident -- paying the rain forest admission fee every two years for the entirety of their lives.
Why did I get involved in this? That's what my family and friends would like to know. Mostly because when I ask questions I like to get answers. When I have the sensation I'm being stonewalled I get a little stubborn. That's what happened here.
But what we're talking about, in this instance, is what Ralph Nader calls the role of the "public citizen." He may be able to persuade you that you have a civic obligation to pick a project like this and track it on behalf of your community. I won't make that argument. I'm just here to tell you it's one whale of a lot of fun, and an opportunity to use your business skills in a way that costs you nothing and may benefit your community enormously.
Full Circle and "Ends Policies"
After the local Democratic Party and the Broadband and Telecommunications Commissiono, my third effort at a non-paying job in community service was a little more successful.
Iowa City's beloved public librarian, Lolly Eggers, had served as the treasurer of my school board campaign. She recommended I read some of the books by John Carver that have to do with re-thinking the role of boards -- boards for Fortune 500 corporations, boards for non-profits and NGOs, and school boards. By your standards it's pretty basic stuff; sort of a no-brainer. But as is so often the case with no-brainers, they are only obvious to most folks after the idea is explained to them. Fortunately, we had enough open-minded, progressive school board members who were willing to work hard that this time a proposed reform of mine actually fell into place. Rather than micro-managing our school superintendent's job -- or, at the other extreme, rubber-stamping his every proposal, with little thought or discussion -- we began setting the long term goals for the district. I kept asking my colleagues, "How would we know if we'd ever been successful?" And together we worked out the measures for those things we considered our top priorities.
As it happens, my stories this evening are about to come full circle.
One of my school board colleagues, Don Jackson, was an Iowa City Proctor & Gamble executive. We hit it off, got to discussing management information systems one day, and Don invited me to see the P&G management information system room -- something about the size of your high school gymnasium, with walls covered with charts.
Why "full circle"? Because those P&G charts, it turned out, were in many respects almost identical to those I had created 35 years earlier as Maritime Administrator after following some business school professors' advice to "read these books and do what they say."
The universality of business school insights and skills was brought home to me once again, back in my old home town.
And that's the message I want to bring to you with these stories this evening. What you are learning in business school can be used to further enrich corporate executives and shareholders, for sure. It can help you to help them enjoy not just a profit but an ever-increasing profit, quarter after quarter. You can live well financially. Moreover, many of those for-profit efforts also provide a genuine service to the communities in which they are located, and beyond.
But what you have learned, and the skills you have honed, can also help you to help others far beyond the conventional for-profit world.
Establishing and reporting against goals with management information systems, ferreting out cost and revenue centers, improving efficiency of operations, are all things just as necessary for non-governmental organizations and other non-profits, religious institutions, governmental agencies, and other civic undertakings.
These won't -- usually -- bring you great wealth. But they can bring you great satisfaction; what Iowa's Sandy Boyd described earlier this week as "the importance of psychological income." [For the quote and a review of University of Iowa non-profit courses, programs and opportunities, see generally, Nicole Riehl, "Love Over Money; Young Adults' Involvement in Non-Profit Work Rises," The Gazette, November 7, 2005.]
As someone else has said, "happiness consists of using one's powers and skills in the pursuit of excellence." Our College of Business is providing you great powers and skills. You can use them to increase your financial income; but you can also use them to increase your "psychological income," your happiness.
But don't think you need leave your College of Business behind when you engage in volunteer activities of various kinds. They are needed there more than ever.


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News | Distribution | Technology | Online
Startup Pitch: Criton gives hotels the platform to develop apps for guests
By Martin Cowen | March 29, 2018
Edinburgh-based Criton is tapping into the guest experience market by helping accommodation providers build their own branded app.
It takes, as its starting point, the desire to replace the hard copy, teacup-stained, poorly-designed and not-that-useful-anyhow "guest directory" which is as anachronistic in today's hospitality world as the in-room telephone or trouser press.
Providers use a Wordpress-like platform built by Criton to design, test and publish their apps.
Guests can use the app on-property to source whatever information the property owner or GM has inputted into the app. It allows the guest to contact room service and reception where appropriate.
But the app is also available through the app stores. Once a guest has booked, he or she can download the app which opens up to the property the world of pre-arrival communications, from revenue-driving upsells to service-oriented welcome messages. It also has post-stay functionalities which can be used to help drive repeat business.
Its target market is the full spectrum of accommodations. In its own words, Criton "helps hotels, serviced apartment operators, Airbnb hosts and holiday home owners to digitise their guest information, enhance their guests' experience and increase their revenue."
Here's a 60-second elevator pitch from its founder, Julie Grieve.
And here's the Q&A:
What problem does your business solve?
Criton allows hotels and property owners to convert the guest information book into a fully customisable, white labelled app for their guests to download onto their phones. With their own branded app, property owners can replace the old guest directory, which is expensive to produce and print and difficult to update.
The app is very easy-to-update and the updates are published instantly. With their own branded app, hotels can provide useful information, anticipate guests' needs pre-arrival, send push notifications, upsell their services and receive guest feedback on valuable aspects of their experience.
Guests can make requests, order room service, discover the best places to visit, make mobile bookings and much more.
Names of founders, their management roles, and number of full-time paid staff?
Julie Grieve - founder and CEO. Criton currently employs 19 with staff levels expected to rise to 24 by the end of May.
Funding arrangements?
Criton received a £5 million investment in November 2017.
Revenue model?
Subscription revenues from users.
Why do you think the pain point you're solving is painful enough that customers are willing to pay for your solution?
Criton aim is to offer easy-to-use, affordable technology and give independent hotels and property owners the same digital capabilities as the big travel players. Hotels can access Criton from £24 and vacation rentals from £8.99. We believe that building an app with Criton is cheaper than producing and printing as many information directories as the rooms that a property has.
External validation?
A Scottish Enterprise innovation grant supported the initial development of Criton.
Criton received a £5 million investment boost in November 2017 to expand the company across the UK and overseas.
Criton is a partner member of the following organisations: Association of Serviced Apartment Providers, HOSPA, Association of Scotland's Self-Caterers, Business Centre Association, Scottish Tourism Alliance and the Marketing Hotel Association.
In 2018 Criton signed sponsorship deals with the Scottish Hotel Awards, Hotel & Spa Tech Live, Association of Serviced Apartment Providers, HOSPA, Association of Scotland's Self-Caterers, the Scottish Tourism Alliance and International Hospitality Media – which includes sponsoring the Serviced Apartment Awards, Serviced Apartment Summit Americas, Boutique and Lifestyle Hotel Summit, Serviced Apartment Summit Europe and the Serviced Apartment Summit MEA.
Julie Grieve, founder and CEO, is an expert of the hospitality industry and has a strong network of connections within the sector.
Tnooz view:
The fact that Criton picked up £5 million in funding last November means that the due diligence has been done on our part. The anonymous investor must have seen something in Criton to pique his, her or its interest and let's face it, anyone with £5 million to invest in hotel tech must have had a lot of options so well done Criton for getting this particular nod.
Giving accommodations the chance to develop their own branded app makes sense, and the ability to tailor the content so that it reflects the general profile of guests can help create the impression of personalisation. In the live-like-a-local world, helping guests to find the nearest Thai restaurant or discover what's on locally is expected by many travellers.
The half-empty version is that most of the information a hotel inputs into its app could be available elsewhere, so there is a need for Criton's clients to be made to think about exclusive content.
Another headwind is getting guests to download the app in the first place. As IdeaWorks pointed out last week in its paper on airline apps, the content is pretty meaningless if no-one downloads the app.
These dynamics are not unique to Criton.
Another bigger picture headwind, which could also be a tailwind, is the scale of the hospitality tech industry. Expedia Group and Booking Holdings - increasingly looking at offering B2B services for the hotels (and homes) they distribute - are not the only ten-ton gorillas in Criton's room.
Having said that, hospitality tech is quite a big room, so maybe Criton can find a quiet corner and grow on its own terms, or maybe it could start to make friends with the gorillas.
More on Technology
Offsetting carbon emissions is soaring in air travel - but is it effective?
Hotel revenue management tool Beonprice lands €2.5M for product development, European expansion

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A Massachusetts TikToker Is Going Viral Trying to Find a Date
Chantel Published: August 1, 2022
Social Media is a great way to connect with other people. However, one platform has been taking over when it comes to finding a date for a wedding and you will be surprised to find out that it is not a dating site.
There have been a few people in Massachusetts that have made videos on TikTok trying to find their plus one to a wedding. So, if you want to attend a wedding (or need a plus one) I would say start scrolling on TikTok because that is where to find a date.
Last month, I came across a TikTok where the profile only had one video. That video was a series of photos of the same individual and it said he was looking for a date for a Boston wedding in July.
This however is not the only account to be searching for a plus one for a wedding in the city.
Another TikToker took to the social media platform in hopes to find a date for an evening. Steve, otherwise known as Zamboniman55, posted a TikTok with both photos and videos of him as well as information about an upcoming wedding that he is going to be a part of.
I don't know about you, but I am sold on the "french fry bar." It seems as though TikTok may be another form of "The Bachelor" and Steve was feeling the love.
Steve had many responses to be his plus one, and he even made a follow-up video to talk about the overwhelming amount of responses that he received.
The fact that Steve had so many responses is amazing, however, it is crazy that he had to create an application/questionnaire to find the right person. I do love that it seems like Steve may have a chance to find love and not just someone wanting to go to a wedding for a french fry bar.
Steve has taken the time to get to know some of the applicants but it seems as though his followers may have found the perfect girl for him to take with him. Her name is Emily and she is from Rhode Island, her name is blowing up his comments. Emily created a TikTok to get the attention of Steve and who knows, she may be the one.
It seems that if you are looking for a relationship or a plus one for a wedding, it is time to ditch dating apps and switch to TikTok. Videos are going viral and you may have a better chance of finding the right person for you as others share your video(s).
13 Scenic Wedding Venues That Truly Capture Maine's Character
These Non-Traditional Weddings From Maine Brides and Grooms Will Either Inspire or Horrify You
Source: A Massachusetts TikToker Is Going Viral Trying to Find a Date
Filed Under: Boston, plus one, tik tok, tiktok, viral, wedding, wedding, wedding date
National Study: Worst State to Drive in Results Will Shock You
WATCH: New Hampshire Woman Serves Humor While Clearing Out Snow
Boston Makes the List With Beijing, Dubai, and London for Most Expensive Cities to Live in 2022
How Do You Feel About Kim Kardashian Giving This Two-Hour Speech at Harvard?
See Breathtaking Views from High Above the City in This Ultimate Boston Experience
Have You Been to This Spot in New England That Made a List of Overrated Vacation Destinations?
The Happiest City to Live in New England is in Maine
What's Kim Kardashian Doing in Boston?
WATCH: New Englander Receives Hilarious Singing Birthday Telegram in Viral Video


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The scallop shell is a symbol of the pilgrim, anyone who seeks to deepen his or her relationship with God. In ancient times the shell set apart the traveler whose destination was a holy place. It marked the person to others as one whose life could be characterized by purposeful journeying.
This ministry is offered on a sliding scale and scholarships are available.
If you are interested in Spiritual Direction, contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., 610-525-0766. Day and evening hours are offered and all conversations are confidential.
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Significant resources have created strong 'test and treat' programs globally. What about those who test HIV negative? How can we strengthen linkage of HIV-negative individuals to prevention programs in ways that work for them? In our recently completed Test-And-Prevent Analysis, the OPTIONS…
Community care: Optimizing community services for an improved continuum of HIV care in South Africa
Community health workers, community-based care, and community outreach have long been recognized as essential to extending the reach of facility-based health care systems. In South Africa there is limited information about what services are available, where they are available, eligibility…
Protecting healthcare in times of economic crisis
Rural communities comprise about 40% of the country's population of 57.8 million but, historically, these areas are the last to be considered when it comes to health provision by national, provincial and local authorities. The Protecting Healthcare in Times of Economic Crisis Report…
SheConquers Workshop Videos
SheConquers, the South African national campaign that aims to improve the lives of adolescent girls and young women and their male peers in South Africa, held a 2-day workshop that accommodated 27 young people representing all 9 provinces from South Africa.
The objective of the meeting…
Drivers of the Hyperepidemics of HIV in South Africa: Pt. 1, Social and Economic Risk Factors
Professor Quarraisha Abdool Karim is one of the world's leading AIDS researchers and has made pioneering contributions to understanding the HIV epidemic in young people, especially among young women. She joined us for a two-part series to explain her latest research into epidemic hot spots in…
Does men's involvement improve the health outcomes of their partners and children?
Men's involvement in the health of their partners and children can play an important role in improving health outcomes. Many interventions in reproductive, maternal, and child health adopt strategies that seek to increase men's positive, equitable, and supportive involvement. This study used…
Podcast: Drivers of the Hyperepidemics of HIV in South Africa: Pt. 2, Biological Risk Factors
Integrating Violence Against Children Prevention and Response Interventions Within PEPFAR HIV Pediatric Testing, Care and Treatment
This report presents the preliminary findings from an ongoing project undertaken by 4Children that seeks to identify key opportunities to incorporate violence prevention and response interventions within priority PEPFAR Program Areas at clinical and community levels. The initial focus is on HIV…
Legacy Evaluation of the Partnership for HIV-Free Survival: Kenya, Lesotho, Mozambique, South Africa, Tanzania, and Uganda
The Partnership for HIV-Free Survival (PHFS) was designed to use basic quality improvement practices to reduce mother-to-child transmission of HIV and increase child survival through improvements in (1) antiretroviral therapy uptake and retention among HIV-positive pregnant women and mothers, (2…
Routine Monitoring of PEPFAR Orphans and Vulnerable Children Programs
As part of its Monitoring, Evaluation, and Reporting (MER) guidance, the United States President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) released Version 2.3 in September 2018, which includes revised indicators for orphans and vulnerable children (OVC) programs. These indicators are intended…
Video: Finding the hard-to-reach with PLACE
MEASURE Evaluation's PLACE method builds local capacity to find HIV-positive people who are not on treatment, who may not know their HIV status, and who therefore are at risk of infecting others. The HIV/AIDS epidemic is often concentrated among "key populations"—men who have sex…
HIV, the Law and Human Rights in the African Human Rights System: Key Challenges and Opportunities for Rights-Based Responses — Report on the Study of the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights
Despite many achievements, stigma, discrimination, gender inequality, violence and other human rights violations continue to make people vulnerable to the epidemic and hinder access to HIV services. AIDS activists and civil society organisations that were critical to successes to date are…
Bibliography on Syndemics of HIV, STIs, TB, Hepatitis, Mental Health and Psychosocial Issues and Substance Abuse Among Key Populations
Introduction: Many studies have shown that key populations, including men who have sex with men, female sex workers, persons who inject drugs and transgender men and women face stigma, violence and discrimination as well as suffer from high rates of mental health/psychosocial…
Knowledge is power — Know your status, know your viral load
For people who may have been exposed to HIV, knowledge is critical to making informed decisions about their future. An HIV test is a serious event with potentially serious outcomes. But no matter the result, the test provides vital information. A negative result is an opportunity to take…
HIV self-screening programme: Transport Hub Sexual Health and HIV Survey, Awareness and Distribution Project
With men remaining largely under-tested, the Unitaid-funded HIV Self-Testing Africa (STAR) Initiative has launched a campaign targeting men at transportation hubs, such as taxi ranks and bus stops, in order to raise awareness about…
Progress in voluntary medical male circumcision for HIV prevention supported by the US President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief through 2017: longitudinal and recent cross-sectional programme data
Objective: This article provides an overview and interpretation of the performance of the US President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief's (PEPFAR's) male circumcision programme which has supported the majority of voluntary medical male circumcisions (VMMCs) performed for HIV…
Malawi's pursuit of HIV epidemic control
USAID and PEPFAR's approach to pursuing HIV epidemic control is transforming lives and supporting the development of healthy, self-reliant Malawian people. This video demonstrates how partners are collaborating to bring HIV services to hard-to-reach populations, such as fishermen. …
2017 IPM Annual Report: Women & HIV Prevention: Expanding the Options, Empowering Women
The International Partnership for Microbicides (IPM) 2017 annual report takes a look at promising woman-centered technologies that could expand women's prevention options and help empower them to protect their sexual and reproductive health on their own terms. Available in …
Post-ACT Initiative AIDS 2018 satellite recording
The Accelerating Children's HIV/AIDS Treatment (ACT) Initiative was a public-private partnership that expanded pediatric HIV services in nine sub-Saharan African countries from 2014-2016, providing treatment to more than 560,000 children living with HIV. The ACT Initiative was implemented by…
Botswana's Gender-Based Violence Referral System Project: Operations Research End Line Report
This operations research study evaluated a pilot mobile phone-based referral system for survivors of gender-based violence (GBV) in Botswana. Through a quasi-experimental design, researchers sought to improve understanding of the process and results of that country's Gender-Based Violence…
Characterizing Male Sexual Partners of Adolescent Girls and Young Women in Mozambique: Quantitative Results from Beira, Quelimane, and Xai-Xai Districts
Globally, adolescent girls and young women (AGYW), ages 15–24 years, are disproportionately affected by HIV/AIDS. In 2016, approximately 400,000 of this group were newly HIV-positive. Despite the epidemiological and human rights imperative to support AGYW in remaining AIDS-free, programming to…
Characterizing Male Sexual Partners of Adolescent Girls and Young Women in Mozambique: Findings from Focus Group Discussions in Xai-Xai, Beira, and Quelimane Districts
While a considerable amount of information is available on the factors that contribute to HIV risk for adolescent girls and young women (AGYW) in Mozambique, little is known about the characteristics of boys and men with whom AGYW engage in sexual activity and how AGYW form sexual partnerships.…
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Media - Articles
Lights, Camera, Action! Vancouver is Hollywood North
March 30, 2017 by Sonu Purhar
The third-largest film production centre in North America, Vancouver has long held the moniker, "Hollywood North" because of the blockbuster movies and TV shows that have come here to film. Recent credits include Fifty Shades Darker, The BFG, Lemony Snicket's Series of Unfortunate Events, Star Trek, X-Files, Deadpool, George Clooney's Tomorrowland, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, Godzilla, The Twilight Saga and X-Men. In addition to feature films, hundreds of TV shows have been filed in Vancouver including Arrow, The Flash, Supernatural, Once Upon a Time, Bates Motel, The 100 and DC's Legends of Tomorrow. Michael J. Fox, Ryan Reynolds, Joshua Jackson, and Stranger Things breakout star, 13-year-old Finn Wolfhard all grew up in Vancouver as did writing partners and actors Evan Goldberg and Seth Rogen, who wrote the film Superbad about their experiences as teens in Vancouver. Meanwhile, animation and digital film production thrives here, too. Post-production for Life of Pi, District 9 and Cloud Atlas all happened in Vancouver. And British Columbia fires up its right brain with a decent roll call of film companies such as Vancouver-founded Lionsgate Films. Vancouver earns a good living as an impersonator that easily steals the faces of dozens of communities ranging from Seattle to Mumbai. Some popular filming locations in Vancouver include:
Hotel Europe The triangular "flatiron" style Hotel Europe in Gastown, which is one of Vancouver's most distinctive structures.
Orpheum Theatre Built as a vaudeville house in 1927 for $1.25 million, the Orpheum was then Canada's largest theatre. Currently home to the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, the Orpheum's interior has been used for dozens of productions including Psych, Fringe, The X-Files, Fantastic Four 2 and Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn.
Riverview Hospital: Riverview opened in 1913 as a mental health hospital; a century later, the complex has proved a blessing for filmmakers seeking multiple locations. Among the productions filmed here are Elysium, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, Fringe, The Killing, Falling Skies, Psych and Supernatural. Excluding studios, Riverview Hospital's grounds are the most filmed-at site in all of Canada.
Simon Fraser University Architect Arthur Erickson's SFU's Burnaby Mountain campus was designed in the early 1960s with inspiration drawn from the Acropolis in Athens and Italian hill towns. SFU has stood in as CIA and FBI headquarters, an advanced race's planet, as well as various corporate headquarters and schools in productions such as The Day the Earth Stood Still, Personal Effects, Two For The Money, Battlestar Galactica, Stargate SG-1, Millennium and The X-Files.
Terminal City Iron Works Sprawling over an entire city block just off Hastings Street, Terminal City is a turn-of-the century iron foundry that provides 100,000 square feet of multi-use warehouse space for productions including Fringe, Smallville, Catwoman, Underworld, Dark Angel and X-Men.
University of B.C. and the Chan Centre The futuristic architecture of the Chan Centre for the Performing Arts has attracted dozens of productions, since opening in 1997 including Josie And The Pussycats, Catwoman, Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer and Tomorrowland.
The Marine Building The Art Deco tower at Burrard and Hastings streets is widely regarded as one of the finest buildings in Vancouver. Built in 1930, its lavish art deco lobby has features in productions such as Smallville, Fantastic Four, Blade: Trinity and Timecop.
Britannia Mine Museum A short drive from downtown Vancouver along the Sea to Sky Highway, the Britannia Mine Museum has become a magnet for film and television producers thanks to its 210 km of dark tunnels and a 20-storey mountainside mill. Productions ranging from Scooby Doo Two and The X-Files to Once Upon A Time, Continuum, Fantastic Four, Smallville and Dark Angel have mined the museum's rich visual reserves.
Posted In: Latest Story Ideas
Tags: hollywood north, vancouver, deadpool, star trek, fifty shades of grey, film industry
Author: Sonu Purhar
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Q: R error: cannot coerce type 'closure' to vector of type 'integer' I'm getting an error in my R program that says:
Error in as.integer(iter.max) :
cannot coerce type 'closure' to vector of type 'integer'
Here is my code
chori <- numeric(20)
for (k in 1:20) {
  kf <- kmeans(whs2018annexBdatscl,k,nstart=20)
  chori[k] <- (kf$betweenss/(k-1))/(kf$tot.withinss/(nrow(whs2018annexBdatscl)-k))
}
plot(2:20,chori[-1],type = "b", lwd= 2, pch= 19, xlab="K", ylab ="CH index", ylim=range(chori[-1])*c(1/2,1))
for ( i in 1:10 ) {
  chrnd = numeric()
  chsmpl = numeric()
  for ( k in 2:20 ) {
    krnd = kmeans(whs2018annexBdatscl,2,function(x)runif(length(x),min(x),max(x),k,nstart=20))
    chrnd[k] = (krnd$betweenss/(k-1)) / (krnd$tot.withinss/(nrow(whs2018annexBdatscl)-k))
    ksmpl = kmeans(apply(whs2018annexBdatscl,2,sample),k,nstart=20)
    chsmpl[k] = (ksmpl$betweenss/(k-1)) / (ksmpl$tot.withinss/(nrow(whs2018annexBdatscl)-k))
  }
  points(2:20,chrnd[-1],type="l",col="red")
  points(2:20,chsmpl[-1],type="l",col="blue")
}

The task is to plot CH Index.
Please what am I missing?

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


We are now accepting reservations for parties of eight or more only. Bring your family, friends, and loved ones for an authentic Italian dining experience!
We are very excited to be introduced into the New Braunfels community this Tuesday, May 3. We are unfortunately not allowing reservations within the first month of operations in order to guarantee proper service.


You're invited to join us for a Fence-Raising! The fence will be constructed over the first two weekends in October. We will begin on Saturday, October 6th after meditation around 11 o'clock AM at the Manjushri Dharma Center backyard, 724 Forest Avenue in Pacific Grove. We will continue the following day, Sunday, October 7th and the next weekend Saturday, October 13th and Sunday, October 14th. The project is led by Doug Gallant, an experienced fence-raiser.
All the construction will be done by volunteers. If you would like to be a volunteer fence-raiser, jobs include: carrying materials, setting posts, nailing, providing musical accompaniment, documenting, and making a great picnic for all participants. Please send your contact information to the Facility Manager, Diana Slattery, faithfulscribe@gmail.com. We are on our way. Turning an undeveloped lot into a space for more Dharma teaching, meditation, and you name it. We're claiming the space!
DONATIONS FOR MATERIALS, BUY A BOARD!
We want to put our donors' names on the fence! There are 91 boards in this fence. Each Board costs $5.00. There are 12 posts needed. Each post is $11.00. If you would like to buy a board or a post (or 2 or 5 or 10), just click the donate button below. Then email our Facility Manager, Diana Slattery at faithfulscribe@gmail.com and tell her how many posts and or boards you would like to purchase and the name you would like on each board. If you would like to donate with cash or a check, please write how many posts and or boards you would like to purchase and the name you would like on each board, then put the donation in an envelope and use the donation box at the Manjushri Dharma Center. What a wonderful thing it would be to have many small donations all adding up to one sacred fence!


Need Some Help Moving I need.my furniture moved from Statesboro ga to stone mountain. Call me if interested.
Help Take Down Canopy and Load Mini van this sunday: 4;45-6;45pm/peidmont park art show basically easy work.
Need Movers for 1123-1124 Need motivated movers. Please contact me ONLY if you are in the ACWORTH, GA area.
Looking for someone to adding sheetrock to an unfinished wall and sheetrocking a closet.
Looking for a pest control to exterminate bedbugs from a 1 bed and 1 bath house.
New gutters. About 75 linear feet; small house.
Rehanging wooden gate. Gate scrapes along concrete and must be lifted in order to push open.
Spanishmover Must be familiar with blanket wrapping furniture, loading a truck and lifting heavy furniture.
Painting of laundry room. Need wallpaper removed. Will be painting walls gray.
Looking for someone to remove trees and bushes .
I'll like to have the exterior of the home painted. The home is roughly 1600 sq feet.
Replacement of a board on 8 by 8 deck.
Electrician Needed TO Install Ceiling FAN Electrician needed to install ceiling fan. Regular 8 foot ceiling.
Interior painting of 3200 sq ft house.
Drywal installation. Approximately 5,500 sf.
We have a two story home. There are two bathrooms on the second floor. Both have pipe issues as they leak.
remodel whole bathroom including remove tub and build stand shower.
Need Toilet Flag Lowered Need toilet flange replaced and lowered. I am renovating bathroom and flange 2"
Looking for someone to move a complete dining room set with 8 chairs and a buffet and hutch.
Looking for someone to unpack a moving truck.
Handicap person needs his lawn taken care of. Have all the equipment needed to do the job.
Garage door repair - the door will not shut all the way. Thank you.
I need someone to mow, edge, weedeat my lawn, and trim shrubs when needed, every week. I live in Griffin GA.
Hardwood Floor Installer Need hardwood floors installed before Thanksgiving! Hurry!
Carpet Removal Need help with carpet removal - about 2 -3 hours Sunday a.m.
Looking for someone to move dorms rooms worth of items.
Need someone to help load a uhaul... It's 2 bedroom worth of furniture if that. Needed ASAP ..
Looking for someone to move a 10x14 portable aluminum building.
Looking for someone to install a one piece carpet (12' x 6').
Painting Trim and Doors Looking for worker who know how to paint doors and trim .
Painting bedroom and full bathroom.


Last week, we discussed how brands can use organic content to boost consumer awareness. This week, we examine how brands can amplify their content marketing strategy to reach people in the next stage of the consumer buying journey – consideration.
Think about your last major purchase. What prompted it? How did you discover which products were available to buy? Where did you go to research those options? Why did you decide to buy one product over the others?
If you're like most consumers, you probably conducted most of that research online, likely on your phone. Thanks to smartphones, consumers have 24/7 access to a growing number of digital media platforms. This access to information has effectuated change throughout the buying journey, especially in the consideration stage when consumers are able to conduct more in-depth research than ever before.
As a marketer trying to convince shoppers to buy your products, it's important to understand what types of information they need in this stage. Then, you have to be able to deliver.
In the consideration stage, shoppers are conducting specific research about an upcoming purchase and narrowing down their list of options. They're asking specific questions and expect to find customized answers. This research often includes conducting online searches, watching videos on YouTube and reading in-depth content pieces on both brand and publisher platforms.
The brands that do the best job at delivering the information consumers need are the ones whose products will soar to the top of consumers' lists. The brands that don't provide that info will most likely end up on the chopping block.
There's a variety of ways your brand can leverage organic content to deliver this information. We'll take an in-depth look at three of the organic content pieces below to give you an idea of how to create the right messaging for shoppers in the consideration stage.
Providing shoppers with the information they need about your products to make a purchase decision.
Acting as an information hub for all of the content pieces you create about a specific product.
Improving your search engine rankings for searches related to a specific product.
To get the full value out of the pages, you need to make sure each one of your brand's product pages is optimized for both shoppers and search engines.
Provide all the information a consumer could need including product specifications, descriptions of key features and pricing/buying details.
Add images and videos to help shoppers visualize your products and see them in action.
Optimize the page's layout to make the copy easy to read and scan on mobile devices.
Increase the speed of your product pages to keep shoppers from abandoning your site and moving on to the next brand.
Identify the terms and phrases shoppers use to search for your products and optimize each page's technical SEO elements based on those keywords.
Optimize title tags to help search engines understand the main topic of your product pages and grab shoppers attention when the page appears in search results.
Write impactful meta descriptions with strong calls-to-action to inspire shoppers to visit your page when they see the description in search results.
Add structured data like Schema Markup to help search engines understand essential information about your products.
Include alt tags on your product pictures to help search engines understand the images.
When done right, product videos are becoming an increasingly effective resource for shoppers in the consideration stage.
Videos aren't just an effective visual to help site visitors understand your products, they also help you spread your message across a variety of digital channels. After creating videos of your products in action, you can upload them to YouTube and promote them across social media channels.
A particularly powerful tool for B2B marketers, long-form content like infographics, case studies e-books and white papers provide shoppers with in-depth information about your products and showcase how they've helped others.
But there's a catch, long-form pieces usually take more time to create than other organic content. To make sure your efforts don't go to waste, here are a few ways to aggressively promote and leverage each piece of long-form content you create.
Promote your long-form content pieces on all applicable social media sites. Depending on the topic and format of the piece, it's important to think beyond the traditional B2B lineup of LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook to sites like Pinterest, Instagram, SlideShare, etc.
The organic reach of brand posts on social media has been declining for some time. To combat this drop, try promoting certain content pieces multiple times to reach your followers. For one of our B2B clients, repromoting long-form content like white papers, as well as blogs, led to a significant increase in engagement.
For each repurposed piece you create, make sure to include links and/or contact forms for users to download the full long-form content pieces.
Interested in amplifying your brand's organic content to reach shoppers in the consideration stage? Contact Mindstream Media today to learn how our Content Marketing and Creative Services can crush the owned media game for your brand.


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The Future of Medicine Is Here: A Collaboration of Technology and Heart
Hyla Cass, MD
Worldwide Medicine Update in Four Intense Days
Five hundred of the world's best medical minds just met for four days in San Diego to collaborate on solutions to what Singularity University, the organization responsible for putting on the event, calls Global Grand Challenges. Rather than a focus on case studies and peer-reviewed journals, Exponential Medicine has been focused on emerging exponential technologies— technologies that are advancing at an exponential rate—and their implications across the full healthcare spectrum.
As I sat through one mind-bending presentation after another, I learned about advances in gene therapy, ingestible nanobots, robotic limbs that move through brain signals, and as with driverless cars, the advent of robotic surgery allows more complex yet safer procedures, and with improved outcomes. We learned about the use of a 3-D printer to make surgical instruments at a fraction the usual cost—particularly useful in hard-to reach areas of the world. And there were printers that could produce organs and other body components!
Ray Kurzweil, a founder of Singularity University, spoke about the future of our brains—like being able to download information directly from the cloud (a dream of many, for sure)! Caveat: although no one seemed concerned about this, I believe that we'll need to do more thorough research on the effects on our physiology of the constant EMF exposure of both external monitors and implants, and how to protect ourselves from any negative effects.
There were presentations about regulatory issues, ethics, the future of medical education (hint: nothing like it is now), and resurgence of research on the use of psychedelics for psychotherapy by Dr. Anthony Bossis of NYU whose work was well described in the New Yorker article, "The Trip Treatment." http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2015/02/09/triptreatment in fact a documentary on that topic for which I was interviewed was just released.
Tikkun Olam: Healing the World
Arnon Zamir, one of the presenting Faculty members, is the CEO of TOM or Tikkun Olam Makers, where tikkun olam is a strong Jewish tradition of positive social action. A program of the Reut Institute, meaning "vision" in Hebrew, a Tel Aviv-based think tank, it recently received a generous grant as part of its Google Impact Challenge focused on making the world more accessible for people with disabilities.
TOM brings together strategic thinkers, engineers, designers and project managers to solve unmet social challenges in disadvantaged communities. Zamir and his team were on-site in the Innovation Lab, collaborating in a real-time "makeathon." Their task was to create a series of custom devices that will help Stacy, a local San Diego mother and honored guest of TOM, to solve an array of problems that all of her three young boys experience as a result of a serious genetic disorder that leaves them non-verbal and impaired in many other ways as well.
The solutions include an effective lock to keep the kids out of the dangers (think knives) lurking in their kitchen, a "fingersteadier" so they can more accurately utilize their ipads which they use for communication, since they lack speech; a device to track and predict their seizures, and a few more. Not only did the makeathon bring in top experts from around the world, but also utilized a number of individuals in the awesome brain-bank attending the conference, for on-the-spot problem solving. You can imagine the difference this has made in Stacy's life and the lives of her kids. Moreover, all the tools produced are open source: the patterns are put on-line for anyone else to use, multiplying their benefits many-fold.
I sat down with Arnon and was amazed at the dozens of stories just like Stacy's: people with unique disabilities, presenting unusual challenges that, regardless of socioeconomic standing, are overcome by a spirit of collaborative innovation.
"It has always been important to me that my work be engaging and challenging. TOM addresses problems on the margins, the exceptions to the rule, the most complicated situations," Zamir said. "Alongside exponentially growing technologies, our ability to address neglected problems has also improved tremendously. It's been a pleasure to receive such great support from Singularity University at Exponential Medicine."
Functional Medicine Meets High Tech
While much of the subject matter focuses on the latest and greatest technologies, some presenters start with much more traditional subjects—but with major science added in. Dr. Mark Hyman, Medical Director at Cleveland Clinic's Center for Functional Medicine, a collaboration between Cleveland Clinic and the Institute for Functional Medicine (IFM) focused his keynote on the oldest drug known to humankind: our food.
The premise of functional medicine is that diseases themselves do not exist. Rather they reflect a disturbance in the functional dynamic network, a continuum, and cross all body systems. All disease is disordered function—and the physician's job is to uncover the imbalances and restore proper function. It is the kind of medicine I have practiced for years. It certainly works well, and follows the Hippocratic oath of "first do no harm."
Dr. Hyman shared the story of Isabel. When he first met with her, the 10-year-old had been suffering for years from a wide array of symptoms associated with mixed connective tissue disease, plus the side effects of an array of strong medications, such as prednisone, and methotrexate. Her diet? Sugar, sushi, tuna, and dairy, all contributed to her problem: her lab tests revealed gluten and dairy sensitivity; a specialized urine test revealed high levels of mercury (think sushi), and so on. When he reduced the gut inflammation by removing these triggers, prescribed anti-fungal and other nutritional support, and allowed her body to approach balance, she was much better in two months, with clear skin for the first time. One year later, she was normal including her labs. He showed a moving video of her describing how ill she had been, and how now she was able to play like other kids, ride her horse, and just plain feel great.
"Food often works better drugs than drugs," Dr. Hyman said. "Food is more than calories—it's code that tells our bodies how to respond." This is not news to those of us who practice functional medicine, but he certainly had a powerful impact on the largely conventional medical audience, including a packed break-out session.
The social environment also has a significant effect on our health. Understanding the impact of social support systems on day-to-day health, Dr. Hyman recognized that popular evangelical pastor and author, Rick Warren's church had a problem. "You're a fat pastor, and you've got a fat church!" Hyman expertly diagnosed. Together, using the church as a social support system for behavior and diet modification, the congregation lost a collective 250,000 pounds in the first year, and went on to become a powerful movement, reflected in and further by their best-selling book along with Dr. Daniel Amen, The Daniel Plan, that emerged from it.
Daniel Kraft
Exponential Medicine's bold and fearless march into the future is led by Dr. Daniel Kraft, the chair of the event and the medical track at Singularity University. Daniel's biography is one of a serious high-achiever: Harvard and Stanford-trained pediatrician, oncologist, fighter jet pilot (seriously), and innovation activist, among others.
After four years in its current format, Dr. Kraft told me he has no plans to expand the conference, despite it consistently selling out. He believes it's important to maintain the balance of diverse professionals, covering multiple fields of research and practice in a small setting to allow the participants to really connect.
"My original vision for the conference was to convene the best minds from the fields of medicine and technology who could truly "inspire and drive change," said Kraft. "We have reached critical mass without losing the benefit of a tight knit community and I couldn't be more grateful to all of the thoughtful leaders and attendees who have helped to make this visions a reality."
The beauty of the four-day experience is its ability to bring together some of the world's leading experts across a number of fields in a collaborative and inspiring environment. The recurring themes throughout the four-day experience focused on convergence—different industries or disciplines colliding to create unexpected results—and democratization. Speaker after speaker reinforced the need to break down the siloes that manifest themselves in the medical field, to make information available to allow the advances in fields like artificial intelligence and machine learning to identify patterns that humans simply cannot.
I see real progress here in creating enhanced collaboration among medical specialties, and between medicine and technology. I look forward to seeing the expanded use of Artificial Intelligence to gather and analyze data from the field of functional medicine, providing the research to highlight the most effective approaches to diagnosis and treatment. With Dr. Hyman at the helm of the Cleveland Clinic's Center for Functional Medicine, this is already in place and I look forward to having widening use of these methods to not only cut medical costs but to further our main goal—the health of our patients.
Hyla Cass M.D. graduated from the University of Toronto School of Medicine, interned at Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center, and completed a psychiatric residency at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center/UCLA School of Medicine. She was an Assistant Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at UCLA School of Medicine until 2005, and is in private clinical practice in Pacific Palisades, CA.
Website: www.cassmd.com
Previous Article From Politics, Medicine, and War to Integrity, Healing, and Peace Part II


"This edition is intended for circulation only in India and the British Colonies."
438 pages ; 20 cm.
The bolted door.--His father's son.--The daunt Diana.--The debt.--Full circle.--The legend.--The eyes.--The blond beast.--Afterward.--The letters.
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text:
Colorado Times Recorder
Here's What Colorado Voters Can Expect at Polls in November
Cory Gardner Boasts He & Vice President Got COVID-19 Tests for Meatpacking Plant. But Workers Never Got Tested
Anti-Social Distancing Rally in Arvada Cancelled Without Explanation
Dems Work to Keep Preventive Health Care Free in Colorado Even If Obamacare Is Killed
On International Women's Day, Colorado considers a bill to make diapers more affordable
Madeleine Schmidt
On International Women's Day, Colorado legislators are moving forward with a bill that would exempt diapers from the state's 2.9% sales tax in an effort to make the necessary item more affordable for women and families.
Families with children shell out a whopping $50-$60 monthly on diapers per child, a significant financial burden for low-income families. For a family of four living at the poverty level, that expense represents about ten percent of its annual budget.
HB1195 would cover the cost of a child's diapers for one day each month, which equates to $30 in savings annually per child.
"One day a month is sometimes that day you're waiting for your paycheck to come through," says Melissa Rivera, mother and Executive Director of The Nappie Project, which helps ensure families have an adequate supply of diapers.
Rivera says the bill would provide some relief for families living below the poverty line so that they are less likely to have to reuse disposable diapers or skimp on changing them regularly, which can pose health risks to children.
Rivera adds that the six diaper banks in the state don't provide enough assistance, and unlike other necessities, diapers are not eligible purchases under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) or the Women, Infant and Children's Program (WIC).
The bill was a key focus of today's Women and Families Wednesdays at the Capitol, a weekly event in which advocacy groups discuss upcoming legislation with citizens and instruct them on how to lobby their representatives.
The bill passed the House Finance Committee this morning with a 7-5 vote.
Colorado Women's Lobby vice chair Ashley Wheeland says lobbying for legislation that focuses on the needs of women is especially pertinent on International Women's Day.
The group also lobbied in support of a bill that would allow women on private health plans to fill prescriptions for a year's supply of birth control in one visit to their pharmacy.
Supporters say HB1186 will make women's lives easier by ensuring they don't have to deal with the logistical challenges posed by having to pick up their prescriptions each month, which especially affects women with unpredictable work schedules. This could prevent lapses in contraceptive coverage that make birth control less effective.
The hearing for that bill is scheduled for tomorrow.
colegfamilieswomen
Madeleine is a journalist covering Colorado politics and policy with a focus on reproductive health, rights, and justice. In 2016, she graduated from Colorado College, where she studied Comparative Literature and Journalism. In Colorado Springs, she worked in the newsroom at KRCC, southern Colorado's NPR affiliate, before moving to Denver to pursue a career in journalism and advocacy. In addition to the Colorado Times Recorder and KRCC, her work has appeared in Rewire.News, Jezebel, BigMedia.org, The Colorado Springs Independent, and ColoradoPols.com. Reach her by email at [email protected]
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Delta County Republicans Briefed on "What Really Happened" in DC, Including Alleged Antifa Involvement
GOP Leader Says Public Option May Sink Medical "Miracles" Like Hers But Advocates Say It Will Reduce Costs Not…
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Egypt's Luxor receives first flight from London after coronavirus hiatus
Ahram Online , Tuesday 2 Nov 2021
Egypt's Luxor International Airport received on Monday night its first flight from Heathrow Airport, London, after a hiatus that lasted for almost two years due to the coronavirus pandemic.
In a statement on Tuesday, CEO of EgyptAir Airlines Amr Abul-Enein said the Luxor-London flight service, usually operated during the Winter season, will have one weekly flight carrying 140 passengers.
Sisi orders using Luxor's Rams Road reopening ceremony to promote Egypt's soft power
EgyptAir operates domestic flight from Sharm El-Sheikh to Luxor after hiatus
Egypt's Luxor airport prepares to receive visitors during winter season
The step comes in correspondence with the inauguration of Egypt's activities at the World Travel Market 2021 London (WTM) on Monday, which were attended by Civil Aviation Minister Mohamed Manar and Tourism Minister Khaled El-Enani.
During the inauguration, Manar said his ministry seeks to boost aviation flow to Egypt from the UK, especially at the Egyptian airports in coastal cities.
He also hailed the strategic relations between Egypt and Britain in various fields, saying the two countries have been among the first to be linked with an air transport agreement.
As Egypt gears up for the winter tourism season, EgyptAir resumed flights between Luxor, a city that is known for ancient antiquities, and the Red Sea resort city of Sharm El-Sheikh in October after a six-year hiatus.
The move is part of the state's efforts to allow local and foreign tourists to have an integrated experience of leisure and cultural tourism through linking coastal and heritage cities.
Luxor also prepares for a planned reopening ceremony of the Rams Road after its restoration. No official date has been set for the reopening to date, but officials expect it to be held later this month.
Officials affirm that the reopening ceremony will be as magnificent as the Golden Pharaohs' Parade that captured international attention in April.
Egypt resumed international flights in June last year after a three-month-suspension due to the pandemic, opening its major tourist attractions amid strict coronavirus measures.
The country announced earlier this year that it had vaccinated all workers in the tourism sector in its Red Sea resorts, with vaccination efforts for tourism workers in Luxor and Aswan ongoing.
Also In Tourism
Eco-friendly electric buses introduced at archaeological sites on Luxor's west bank
Travellers to Dubai from Egypt, several countries required to take PCR test upon arrival: Emirates Airlines
In Photos: Visitors flock to Egypt's Luxor to witness annual Karnak Temple solar alignment
EgyptAir to resume direct flights to Canada after ban lifted
EgyptAir to resume flights with Johannesburg as of 16 December
EgyptAir asks travellers to US to submit coronavirus tests taken within one day before departure
Saudi Arabia allows vaccinated Egyptians arriving via direct flights to perform Umrah starting Wednesday
Egypt wins best promotional tourism campaign on social media platforms in Russia


This post contains numerous spoilers and explanations of a current episode of The Crown. You may want to watch the episode before reading this article.
The German word, vergangenheit, has many uses  in the German language. Its simplest meaning is "the past." In some contexts, this can be a "time that has elapsed," a "forgotten past," a "past with which some have not yet come to terms," or a "past that needs to be forgiven." This is the word the producers and writers chose for Season 2, Episode 6 of the Netflix series, The Crown.
The episode opens with the uncovering of secret Nazi documents which reveal the plans and thought processes of the senior Nazi leadership and their collusion with European leaders prior to and during World War II. Most of the documents are translated and published, while the Marburg papers are labelled confidential and stored away in secret so that the embarrassing contents might never be revealed.
Although most will see the story as a depiction of what to do with a former King (Edward VIII) who wants to rehabilitate his image, the interesting part of this British drama is the question of "forgiveness." If one notices how many times the word is used in this script, they will get the sense that the discussions between the Head of the Church of England (Queen Elizabeth II) and the unofficial Head of Evangelical Christianity in America (Reverend Billy Graham) are much more than peripheral to the overall development of the episode.
Certainly, we cannot get away from the fact that Her Majesty is wrestling with how to, and whether or not to, forgive her uncle, the former King Edward VIII (and subsequently the Duke of Windsor), for associating and conspiring with Nazi Germany in a failed attempt to recover the throne for himself and his wife who wished to be Queen. In this version of historical-fiction, the Duke of Windsor is seen as one who wanted the throne but could not have it because of the divorced woman he chose to marry. Yet, the question of forgiveness is bigger than one act of pardon or denunciation. Forgiveness here, in the context of this well-written and well-directed program, is about forgiveness in all its forms.
It is about God forgiving individuals.
It is about forgiving Kings.
It is about forgiving oneself.
The drama is played out with commentary provided by the private words spoken between The Reverend Billy Graham and Her Majesty, The Queen. Graham preaches a question and then answers it for the small audience in Windsor Chapel.
The Queen praises Billy Graham, the evangelist, and says, "You speak with such clarity and certainty.… It is lovely to disappear and become just a simple Christian." By that, she means that it felt good to be in chapel and not feel that she had to be the Head of the Church.
It is at this point that the key conversation between Billy Graham and The Queen occurs.
It is refreshing to see a historical-fiction from the UK tell a redeeming story of the power of forgiveness. The writers have truly challenged us to wrestle with the question of forgiveness for war-mongers, Nazis, attention-grasping former Kings, fair-minded Queens, and a good many other sinners. (Perhaps we might even wrestle with the contemporary issue of forgiveness for men who sexually assault or harass women.) In his time as an evangelist, Billy Graham made it clear that the Bible teaches that "all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23). Vergangenheit, the episode, asks us significant questions about how far the forgiveness of God could extend and leaves us wondering how we might "forgive others as God has forgiven us" (Matthew 6:14, 15 and Matthew 18:21-35). Oh Lord, "forgive us our sins, as we have forgiven those who sin against us." (Matthew 6:12, New Living Translation).
A well-written song will always work on my emotions. Miranda Lambert's song "Tin Man" is one of those. It is a great concept and a simple structure with no real chorus except the ooohs. She speaks of being broken-hearted and wishing she didn't even have a heart. Then, the final verse expresses her desire to put on armour and never have to deal with love again. A fitting song for a woman who has just experienced a very public divorce.
To most of us, the idea of working for a mere two weeks and having two weeks off from work sounds appealing. But, as the song-writers say, "Nobody warned me, nobody told me I'd leave there so broken, come back so lonely." The reality of leaving a wife and family behind to find employment in another place is a necessity for many in Canada and particularly for those who live in economically depressed areas such as Newfoundland and the Maritimes (YYG is the Charlottetown airport code). The song goes on to speak of the losses felt from being away for two weeks. Marriages and relationships with children suffer in this situation, and depression and reliance on alcohol or drugs may also contribute to the loss of money, friends, and a future. The song is one person's haunting account of a life lived in fragments - two weeks at a time.
The East Pointers is an up-and-coming band from whom we can expect to hear a lot more. The majority of their music is East-Coast Traditional Celtic fare that appeals to those with twitchy feet, who can't wait to get up and dance. Their ballads are filled with a sense of mournfulness that will tug at the heart-strings of all. Watch for one of their shows at a venue near you.
Jim Carrey the Philosopher Part 2.


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Gant homers, pitches Cardinals to 6-4 win over Nationals
Associated Press Published: August 15, 2018
John Gant homered for his first major league hit and pitched one-run ball into the sixth inning, helping the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Washington Nationals 6-4 on Tuesday night for their season-high seventh consecutive victory.
Kolten Wong had three hits and three RBIs as St. Louis (65-55) pulled within four games of the NL Central-leading Chicago Cubs and moved within one game of the Philadelphia Phillies for the second NL wild card. The Cardinals also improved to 18-9 since Mike Shildt was named interim manager on July 13, the most wins for a manager through his first 27 games in franchise history.
The Nationals (60-60) have dropped six of eight to fall eight games behind Atlanta in the NL East.
Gant (5-4) permitted four hits and struck out six in 5 1/3 innings. He has given up just two earned runs over 11 1/3 innings in his last two starts, both wins.
Filed Under: st louis cardinals, washington nationals
Categories: Articles, Sports


Smile, you are on Holidays !
Pointe aux Canonniers, located in the north coast of Mauritius is a quiet and exclusive residential area with only private houses. This idyllic place with its turquoise lagoon extends until the point of Le Canonnier Hotel, further onto Club MED and all way long to the public beach of Mont Choisy. Against a fee you will be able to enjoy a day at Club MED and enjoy lunch in one of their restaurants.
The thatched-roof villa Seestern 2 is nestled in a tropical garden and hidden from sight, ensuring your privacy. As soon you step across the threshold you will feel home and welcomed.
The ground floor with its tastefully furnished living room opens brightly towards the terrace and gives sight of the blue Indian Ocean. The covered terrace invites you to relax body and soul in the middle of a magnificent scenery.
The first floor is dedicated to the 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms : One bedroom with seaside balcony, including the beautiful sound of the sea, one bedroom also with sea view and the third bedroom with garden view and balcony.
The white sandy beach in front of your house is sheltered by black lava stones and offers to rest and watch the fishers doing their daily tasks. Don't let anything stand in your way and jump into the marvelous Indian Ocean or take a stroll along the delightful coast of Pointe aux Canonniers.
You will find restaurants and bars in Pointe aux Canonniers. Within 1 or 2 minutes by car you will find a deli, a bakery and little local food shops. You can also drive to Grand-Bay (about 10 minutes' drive by car) where you will find a variety of restaurants, bars and shops.
If you are looking for a quiet and relaxed vacation at a secluded beach, this shall be your first choice.


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Cancer Currents Blog
Whole Brain Radiation for Some Patients with Brain Metastases Worsens Cognitive Decline
June 2, 2015 , by NCI Staff
A patient scheduled for stereotactic radiosurgery to the brain undergoes CT scanning before treatment to help doctors visualize the tumor.
In some patients with cancer that has spread to the brain, adding radiation to the whole brain following tumor-focused radiosurgery causes more severe cognitive decline and does not improve survival compared with radiosurgery alone, according to findings from a phase III clinical trial.
The results, several experts in neuro-oncology said, should have an impact on clinical practice.
Results of the NCI-funded clinical trial were presented during the plenary session at the American Society of Clinical Oncology annual meeting.
The trial enrolled 213 patients with limited brain metastases, defined as between 1 and 3 metastases that were smaller than 3 cm in diameter. Patients were randomly assigned to receive radiosurgery alone or radiosurgery followed by whole brain radiation (WBRT). All patients underwent cognitive testing before treatment and 3 months after treatment.
At the 3-month cognitive testing, 92 percent of the patients who received the combination of radiosurgery and WBRT experienced cognitive decline, compared with 64 percent of those who received radiosurgery alone, reported a senior author on the study, Jan Buckner, M.D., professor of oncology at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN. Specifically, patients who received both therapies had worse cognitive testing scores on immediate recall (30 percent versus 8 percent), delayed recall/memory (51 percent versus 20 percent), and verbal communication (19 percent versus 2 percent).
Patients who received both therapies also had substantially worse quality of life measures, Dr. Buckner explained during a press briefing.
At 6 and 12 months after treatment, control of tumor growth in the brain was better in patients who received radiosurgery and WBRT (88.3 percent and 84.9 percent) than in those who received radiosurgery alone (66.1 percent and 50.5 percent). However, tumor control did not translate into improved survival.
Approximately 400,000 cancer patients in the U.S. develop brain metastases each year, Dr. Buckner said, a substantial proportion of whom will have limited brain metastases. Multiple limited brain metastases are commonly seen in some cancers, such as lung cancer, melanoma, and breast cancer, he continued. "So it's not a small subset" of patients, he said.
Based on data from previous studies that suggested WBRT after radiosurgery did not improve survival, use of the combination of radiosurgery and WBRT "has been diminishing in frequency over time," Dr. Buckner explained.
Nevertheless, the decision about radiation treatments for brain metastases can be very complicated, explained Brian Michael Alexander, M.D., M.P.H., of the Center for Neuro-Oncology at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute. Multiple factors have to be considered, he noted, including the risk posed by patients' primary systemic cancers, which are more often the cause of their death than their brain metastases. "It's why this is something I take a lot of time talking with my patients about," he said.
Although other studies have looked at the impact of radiosurgey and WBRT on survival, this is the first with such robust data on cognitive decline and quality of life, Dr. Alexander stressed. "This study really shows the impact that using both therapies is having on patients."
Based on these findings, Dr. Buckner said, the expectation is that radiosurgery should be used as initial treatment of patients with a limited number of brain metastases, with WBRT typically reserved for recurrence of metastases or for patients with a larger number of metastases.
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If you would like to reproduce some or all of this content, see Reuse of NCI Information for guidance about copyright and permissions. In the case of permitted digital reproduction, please credit the National Cancer Institute as the source and link to the original NCI product using the original product's title; e.g., "Whole Brain Radiation for Some Patients with Brain Metastases Worsens Cognitive Decline was originally published by the National Cancer Institute."
Are COVID-19 Vaccines Safe for People Receiving Immunotherapy?
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November 2, 2022, by Sarah Schmelling
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October 6, 2022, by Edward Winstead
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Q: Conditional References in HAPI FHIR HL7 FHIR Release 3 (STU) introduced the concept of Conditional References in transaction bundles:

When constructing the bundle, the client may not know the logical id
  of a resource, but it may know identifying information - e.g. an
  identifier. This situation arises commonly when building transactions
  from v2 messages. The client could resolve that identifier to a
  logical id using a search, but that would mean that the resolution to
  a logical id does not occur within the same transaction as the commit
  (as well as significantly complicating the client). Because of this,
  in a transaction (and only in a transaction), references to resources
  may be replaced by a search URI that describes how to find the correct
  reference:

<Bundle xmlns="http://hl7.org/fhir">
    <id value="20160113160203" />
    <type value="transaction" />
    <entry>
        <fullUrl value="urn:uuid:c72aa430-2ddc-456e-7a09-dea8264671d8" />
        <resource>
            <Observation>
                <subject>
                    <reference value="Patient?identifier=12345" />
                </subject>
                <!-- rest of resource omitted -->
            </Observation>
        </resource>
        <request>
            <method value="POST" />
        </request>
    </entry>
</Bundle>

The search URI is relative to the server's [base] path, and always
  starts with a resource type: [type]:?parameters.... Only filtering
  parameters are allowed; none of the parameters that control the return
  of resources are relevant.
When processing transactions, servers SHALL:

*

*check all references for search URIs

*For search URIs, use the search to locate matching resources

*if there are no matches, or multiple matches, the transaction fails, and an error is returned to the user

*if there is a single match, the server replaces the search URI with a reference to the matching resource

... quoted from 2.21.0.17.2 Transaction Processing Rules
I found this concept of conditional references very useful and I would like to use it in my HAPI FHIR client/server app. It seems that it is not supported. Such transaction bundle si refused by server with following error messages:
Client:

HTTP 400 Bad Request: Invalid resource reference found at path[Observation.subject] - Does not contain resource type - Patient?identifier=12345

Exception in thread "main" ca.uhn.fhir.rest.server.exceptions.InvalidRequestException: HTTP 400 Bad Request: Invalid resource reference found at path[Observation.subject] - Does not contain resource type - Patient?identifier=12345
    at sun.reflect.NativeConstructorAccessorImpl.newInstance0(Native Method)
    at sun.reflect.NativeConstructorAccessorImpl.newInstance(NativeConstructorAccessorImpl.java:62)
    at sun.reflect.DelegatingConstructorAccessorImpl.newInstance(DelegatingConstructorAccessorImpl.java:45)
    at java.lang.reflect.Constructor.newInstance(Constructor.java:423)
    at ca.uhn.fhir.rest.server.exceptions.BaseServerResponseException.newInstance(BaseServerResponseException.java:307)
    at ca.uhn.fhir.rest.client.BaseClient.invokeClient(BaseClient.java:290)
    at ca.uhn.fhir.rest.client.GenericClient$BaseClientExecutable.invoke(GenericClient.java:637)
    at ca.uhn.fhir.rest.client.GenericClient$TransactionExecutable.execute(GenericClient.java:2209)

Server log:

WARN  c.u.f.r.s.i.ExceptionHandlingInterceptor [ExceptionHandlingInterceptor.java:135] Failure during REST processing: ca.uhn.fhir.rest.server.exceptions.InvalidRequestException: Invalid resource reference found at path[Observation.subject] - Does not contain resource type - Patient?identifier=12345

So my question is:
Is it possible to use conditional references with HAPI FHIR JPA server?
Or if it is not possible, is there work around? Can I use same conditional operation which would resolve the reference or fail if the reference target doesn't exist?

A: Finally I discovered that it is possible even with HAPI FHIR vesion 2.2 simply by adding following option to the server DaoConfig:
ca.uhn.fhir.jpa.dao.DaoConfig.setAllowInlineMatchUrlReferences(true)

Should references containing match URLs be resolved and replaced in
  create and update operations. For example, if this property is set to
  true and a resource is created containing a reference to
  Patient?identifier=12345, this is reference match URL will be
  resolved and replaced according to the usual match URL rules.
Default is false for now, as this is an experimental feature.

See the source code here: github.com/jamesagnew/hapi-fhir