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Home » Scripting popular with ED and customer service
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Scripting popular with ED and customer service
Nurses help ED collections and customer service grow
Early discharge with home follow-up is popular service for new mothers
Use 'customer service' approach with external case managers
Scripting popular with ED and customer service | Single Article
Nurses help ED collections and customer service grow | Single Article
Use 'customer service' approach with external case managers | Single Article
Could it be said better?
Are you as aware as you could be of how your access employees speak to the customers? Hospitals are increasingly taking note of not only what is said, but the dramatic impact it can have on patients' perception of the care they receive, as well as on the organization's bottom line. With that in mind, the practice of "scripting" suggested remarks — whether to fine-tune a registrar's cash collection technique or to gather information in the emergency department (ED) more quickly and efficiently — appears to grow.
While much of the attention is on helping employees gain the confidence and assertiveness they need to ask patients for point-of-service payment, there are many occasions where a well-turned phrase can diffuse a volatile situation or streamline operations, suggests Beth Fries, education and training specialist for the patient access department at The Ohio State University (OSU) Medical Center in Columbus.
Even the most well-meaning registrar — faced with a patient who is complaining about wait time — might be prone to say something like, "Don't feel bad — yesterday, somebody had to wait six hours."
And despite the usual focus on accuracy, when a patient proclaims that he's been waiting two hours, it's probably not the best idea for the registrar to respond, "Oh, no, it was only one hour."
At OSU Medical Center, scripting was added to the training repertoire about1½ years ago, says Fries, at the behest of access managers. Their complaint, she says, was that while employees were well schooled in processes and filling in fields, "nobody talks about how to actually talk to patients."
When the time allocated for training was expanded, Fries adds, she put scripting, role playing and dealing with real patients on the schedule. "As part of our training with all new registrars, there are at least two sessions of role playing," she explains. "The trainers are always the patient, and the trainee is in front of the group, asking the questions, so [the class] can review at the end [and ask], Could we have said it better?'
While the new registrars access most of their training materials on-line, Fries notes, a copy of the suggested scripts is given to the employees to take with them. (See excerpt from script.) In some cases, she says, the emphasis is on what one doesn't say. "When they give out the notice of privacy practices, we teach them to say, Here's your notice of privacy practices. Would you sign here that you received it?'"
The registrars are told not to get into a long discussion about the notice unless they're asked, Fries adds. If they are asked, she says, they are to respond, "It's how medical records are used here at OSU."
Fries says she learned long ago — and shares her experience with the new hires — not to begin a conversation with ED patients with, "How are you?" If you do, she points out, "you hear more than you want." Instead, Fries notes, the ED registrar would do better to begin with, "Hello, I'm Mary. I need to get some information from you. Have you ever been a patient at OSU?"
During her own time in the ED, she adds, "all of that was out of my mouth before the person made it to the chair." Insurance cards should be requested immediately, as well, Fries points out. "Sometimes, it takes forever for them to get it out."
In some exchanges with patients, it's particularly important to think about what you're actually saying, she explains. "When you ask, May we release your religious information?' be sure to add, . . . to a member of your faith' or to our pastoral care department?'"
Overhearing registrars ask the Medicare Secondary Payer (MSP) questions, Fries says, she notices a tendency some have to put an unnatural separation in the flow of conversation. "I tell them, Don't even give an introduction [to the MPS topic]. You already know [from previous questions] if the person is employed, so [go directly to], "Is your wife working?"
Word the questions "so it won't sound like you're reading them," Fries advises registrars. One thing she always emphasizes, Fries says, is the importance of asking patients before the registration is completed whether Medicare — or whatever — is their only insurance. Experience has taught her, she notes, that patients often don't mention such pertinent facts as that they also are covered under a spouse's insurance, or that there might be two insurance plans for outpatient care and only one for inpatient care.
At Swedish Covenant Hospital in Chicago, employees throughout the facility are encouraged to use "key phrases at key times" as part of the organization's service recovery process, says Gillian Cappiello, CHAM, senior director for access services and chief privacy officer. "There are key components to a greeting," she adds. "You always say Good morning' or Good afternoon' and How may I help you?'" Closing phrases, Cappiello notes, include "Thank you" and "Is there anything else I can do for you?"
"If someone has a concern, you always start out by saying, I'm sorry you had a problem with that," she adds. "There are certain phrases that evoke the kind of interaction you want to have."
Such scripting helps reduce instances of employees not knowing what to say in a given situation, Cappiello explains. Having a key phrase ready also "allows a little time to think about what you want to say next."
"The purpose is not to tell people exactly what they should be saying, but the idea is that the message should be consistent," she says. "There is always intended to be flexibility, and always circumstances that will [call for] unique responses, too."
Carolinas HealthCare System in Charlotte, NC, is among a growing number of providers that prepares scripts for staff involved in upfront collections, says Katie Davis, CAM, assistant vice president of patient registration. Employees making pre-service calls are given the following script, she notes, to help avoid the potential awkwardness that comes with asking patients for payment:
"I have verified your insurance benefits and the estimated cost of the procedure, and your coinsurance/ deductible for this visit will be $____. I can take care of that for you today so you don't have to be concerned about handling it the day of your procedure. We accept cash, checks, MasterCard, and Visa."
If the patient does not pay in advance, Davis notes, the hospital sets the expectation for payment on the date of service by having the employee use this script:
"You may pay your copay/deductible on the date of service. The registrar at (name of the area) will be happy to assist you with your payment on (specific date of service). We accept cash, checks, MasterCard, and Visa."
However, Davis points out, "At no time do we push the patient for payment or in any manner indicate that payment has to be received before services are rendered."
In teaching registrars at OSU Medical Center about asking for money, Fries notes, she always tells them to wait for several moments for the patient to answer. "The inclination is to fill in that silence by adding something like, ". . . or we can bill you.'"
(Editor's note: Beth Fries can be reached at fries-1@medctr.osu.edu. Gillian Cappiello can be reached at GCappiel@schosp.org. Katie Davis can be reached at Katie.Davis@carolinashealthcare.org.)
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Opposition denies government claims that it was behind bomb attacks in northern city that left dozens of people dead.
Syria's opposition has denied claims by the government that it was behind bomb attacks in the northern city of Aleppo that left dozens of people dead.
"A group from the Free Syrian Army attacked a branch of the military security and a security unit in Aleppo with only RPGs and light weapons," he said.
Syrian state television quoted the health ministry as saying that 28 people were killed and more than 200 others wounded, including soldiers and civilians.
"The number of casualties from the two car bombs in Aleppo has risen to 28 dead and 235 wounded," the ministry said.
The broadcaster blamed the attack on "armed terrorist gangs".
He said the security buildings were heavily guarded by security forces and that it would be "impossible" to carry out Friday's blasts.
The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 30 people were killed in the explosions in the neighbourhoods of Sakhur and Marjeh and the Dawar el-Basel roundabout.
Three deadly bombings aimed at security targets occurred in the capital, Damascus, in December and January. The government blamed al-Qaeda, while the opposition accused the authorities of carrying out the attacks.
Friday's bombings were the first significant violence in Aleppo, a city of about two million people that is home to a prosperous business community which has stayed largely loyal to the government.
Security forces opened fire on the protesters in several Aleppo neighbourhoods after Friday prayers, killing at least six people, according to the Local Co-ordination Committees.
At least 14 people were killed on Saturday, most of them in Homs, activists with the Syrian Revolution General Commission told Al Jazeera.
They said many others were critically injured in Baba Amr beighbourhood of Homs.
Demonstrations were held in cities across Syria on what activists called, "Russia is killing our children" Friday, in response to Russia and China vetoing a UN Security Council resolution last week.
Moscow said Syria's opposition "bears full responsibility" for the ongoing violence, while accusing the West of pushing regime opponents into armed conflict.
Arab and Western governments have so far resisted mounting calls for military aid to the outgunned and outnumbered rebels in Syria.
In central Syria, tanks stormed the Inshaat district in Homs overnight as troops launched a house-to-house sweep to crush opposition members, Rami Abdul-Rahman, director of the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said.
Inshaat is next to Baba Amro district, which has been subjected to a withering assault by regime forces since last Saturday that has killed more than 450 people, activists say.
In addition to the victims of the attacks in Aleppo, the Observatory said another 44 people were killed across Syria on Friday - 28 civilians, nine soldiers and seven deserters.
"Demonstrations broke out in various parts of the country, but they were small in numbers because of the heavy deployment of army and security forces as well as the cold weather," Abdel Rahman said.
Robert Ford, the US ambassador to Syria, has posted declassified photographs on his Facebook site that Washington said shows soldiers attacking a civilian area of Homs.
State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said the "declassified US national imagery" shows the destruction of Homs.
Al Jazeera's Sue Turton reports from Tripoli where supporters and opponents of Assad are trading gunfire.
Nuland said Ford, who left Damascus when the US embassy was closed for security reasons on Monday, would continue to use Facebook to "talk to the Syrian people on a regular basis, along with his Twitter feed".
The photographs also apparently show sophisticated military hardware, including tanks, mortars and artillery targeting civilian areas.
In the latest example of how the crisis in Syria is affecting neighbouring Lebanon, where at least one person was reported dead on Saturday.
Clashes resumed for the second day after at least five people were reportedly wounded in gunfire and grenade blasts in the Lebanese city of Tripoli, where Sunni Muslim and Alawite communities are divided over the Syrian issue.
Armed men have deployed heavily in two rival neighbourhoods, one group supporting, and the other opposed to, Assad's leadership in Syria.
"There is a heavy armed presence and shooting in the Sunni Muslim neighbourhood of Bab al-Tebbaneh and the Alawite neighbourhood of Jabal Mohsen," a security official said.


Four of those five players were named in the starting XI for the first T20I in Cape Town; Ngidi was missing with a side strain which, Mike Haysman on commentary, said wasn't too series. A press release from CSA on Sunday said all five players were "rested" from the second and third T20Is. David Miller, the only other player in the squad who plays in the IPL, will play the entire series which ends on Sunday. His team, Kings XI Punjab, play their first match on Monday.


Home News Jaggubhai Is Dominating Chiranjeevi?
Sye Raa Narasimha Reddy, the upcoming Magnum Opus of Tollywood is come up with an interesting update as Veera Reddy look revealed today. Veera Reddy is a very crucial character in Sye Raa, close sources to the film revealed. But they don't reveal much more details about this character.
Jagapathi Babu, the hero turned villain is looking ferocious as Veera Reddy and the look went viral within minutes of its release. Sye Raa Narasimha Reddy team poured greetings for Jagapathi Babu with this look's release. Directed by ace director Surender Reddy, Sye Raa Narasimha Reddy shooting is progressing at fast-paced as planned. Even though there are some rumours about the film are circulating in media, the Sye Raa team is going cool with its progress.
All we know that Sye Raa Narasimha Reddy is the biopic of first freedom fighter from Telugu land, Uyyalawada Narasimha Reddy and Chiranjeevi is portraying main lead. While Bollywood Mega Star Amitabh Bachan is portraying 'Guru' role to Tollywood Megastar, Sudeep, Vijay Sethupathi, Nayanthara Tamannah and other popular actors playing important roles.
What interesting more is, Jaggubhai's look as Veera Reddy in Sye Raa Narasimha Reddy is dominating all remaining characters, which already released including Mega Star Chiranjeevi.


text:
"""
mc2swf.py
  Swf MovieClip Dumper

--

MIT License

Copyright (C) 2011 by Takahiro Kamatani

Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy
of this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"), to deal
in the Software without restriction, including without limitation the rights
to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell
copies of the Software, and to permit persons to whom the Software is
furnished to do so, subject to the following conditions:

The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in
all copies or substantial portions of the Software.

THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR
IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY,
FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE
AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER
LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM,
OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN
THE SOFTWARE.
"""
import sys
import os
from tomato.swf_processor import Swf
from tomato.swf_checker import SwfDepthChecker

def mc2swf(in_swf_filename, out_dir, limit_depth):
    print "parsing %s ..." % in_swf_filename
    in_swf = Swf(open(in_swf_filename).read())
    mc_base_bin = open('sample/mc/blank.swf').read()

    for mc_name in in_swf.get_movie_clip_name():
        # generating MovieClip
        mc_base = Swf(mc_base_bin)
        ret = mc_base.replace_movie_clip("replace_movie_clip", in_swf.get_movie_clip(mc_name))
        ret.place_object2.set_name(mc_name)
        mc_file_str = os.path.join(out_dir, mc_name) + ".swf"
        print "writing %s ..." % mc_file_str
        mc_base.write(open(mc_file_str, 'w'))

        # checking MC's depth
        SwfDepthChecker(mc_base, limit_depth)

if __name__ == '__main__':
    if len(sys.argv) < 3:
        print "usage: python swf_mc_dumper.py [input.swf] [output directory] [limit_depth]"
    else:
        if len(sys.argv) == 4:
            limit_depth = int(sys.argv[3])
        else:
            limit_depth = 3

        mc2swf(sys.argv[1], sys.argv[2], limit_depth)

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


A boat trip out to a massive castle, a secret (very good) cafe, and a great walk back home. There are masses of dark passages to explore, strange crevices and well signed shell storage bunkers to explore. We love playing hide and seek there. The views from the top are spectacular. Take champagne and a picnic (or pre-order if from the team at the cafe) to help along the feel of a wonderful days celebration.
Whatever the weather, come and blow your cobwebs away for this spectacular day out for all the family.
The walk takes you out to Hurst Castle, run by English Heritage. It sits at the very end of Hurst Spit, a geographical oddity, 1.5 miles long, that stretches south, into the Solent toward the Isle of Wight. The Spit divides the choppy Solent waters and creates a calm lagoon which is an excellent site for paddle boarding trips, kayaking and quiet sailing.
Here is Keyhaven harbour. The boat trip starts from just along the sea wall.
The boat trips are run by Hurst Marine and cost £6.50 for adults, £3.50 for kids return, or 30% off for one way trips. You don't need to book, the ferry runs every 20 mins. The boat has a cover over it for bad or windy weather and the journey is nearly always flat calm because you're travelling up the eastern side in the lagoon next to the spit and not the rough side of the Spit to the west.
Check here for more information on seasonal dates and times.
Hurst Castle was the perfect location to defend the western approach to the Solent. The castle was built by Henry VIII as a part of the coastal fortresses defence system. It was finally completed in 1544.
In 1648 Charles I was imprisoned here, before being taken to London to his trial and execution.
The castle was modernised during the Napoleonic wars and again in the 1870's when the enormous armoured wings were constructed. Two of the huge 38-ton guns installed in the 1870's can be viewed in their massive casemates. They are quite a thing to see, especially since they were rotated by men pushing!
During World War II, Hurst was manned with coastal gun batteries and searchlights much of it still in place.
The above picture shows the start of the walk home on the Spit.
The above picture shows the view back to the most western wing of the castle.
In summer on your walk home you can easily forage for edible samphire, a delicious succulent that grows in carpets on the tidal marshes. Learn more about samphire and cooking it here.
The above pic shows the Hurst beach toward Milford in the winter. The below pic shows it in summer.
Fine sand is revealed at mid-low tide.
Walk further around toward the (very good) Raft Rocks cafe in Milford on Sea and you'll walk along the Milford beaches, pics below.


The year 1973 not only saw the church of Victoria play host to the Eucharistic Congress, but was also the year of the opening of the new seminary in Bayview Avenue, Clayton. This new seminary was constructed in line with the Second Vatican Council directives, where the students would live in smaller groups and have the opportunity to study at the secular universities. This would enable them to obtain degrees in other fields. The Clayton location was chosen because of its proximity to Monash University.
The new college was designed in such a way that the students would live in units or blocks of twenty-five students and one or two staff members. On the new site there were six blocks known as A, B, C, D, E and F. The centerpiece of the Clayton seminary was the chapel where Mass, the liturgy of the hours, and other liturgical prayer focused the whole life of the seminarians. The extensive library, from both Werribee and Glen Waverley, enriched the academic life at Clayton, whilst common rooms and the expansive dining room served the social life of the community and provided opportunities for the seminary to offer hospitality to the wider Catholic community.
The Sisters of St Joseph of Cluny, lived in their own convent and well loved garden. Squash, tennis and basketball courts provided ample opportunity for physical exercise. The Catholic Theological College was situated with the seminary and contained within its new building. There was also a lecture theatre, tutorial rooms, common rooms for staff and students, as well as offices. Catholic Theological College became the academic 'hub' for Corpus Christi College, along with the Oblates of Mary Immaculate (who provided the first Master - Rev. Dr. Austin Cooper), the Salesians of Don Bosco, and the Missionary Society of St. Paul. Later, the Conventual Francisan Friars were received into the theological college community.
The number of students for the new site would be about 135, with the new twenty-five first year students added on to this. The College had been given permission to use the grounds behind the college as a sports oval, which was ideal, because the college had its own football team. They also entered teams in the local basketball and squash competitions.
Some of the Werribee students moved in, in early March and they helped set up the rooms and living areas before the remaining students arrived.
The day of the opening saw a number of dignitaries from all over Australia and some from overseas. Cardinal Wright from United States of America, opened the seminary as part of the Eucharistic Congress. Cardinal Knox addressed the assembled people and spoke about the new seminary and also the Congress.
Corpus Christi College Clayton counts among its alumni: Archbishop of Brisbane, Mark Coleridge and Archbishop of Canberra-Goulburn Christopher Prowse. Other alumni include the late Bishop of Sandhurst, Joseph Grech and Auxiliary Bishop of Melbourne Peter Elliott.
Archbishop of Perth, Timothy Costelloe SDB, also attended Catholic Theological College at the Clayton campus.


The flying eagle half dollar from the regular obverse die with Liberty incused on the shield. This obverse die is Judd's so-called straight date variety.
This is the only pattern made from this obverse die which is believed to be an original. The reverse die is in its earliest known state with die cracks only through "F Dollar * America". At least one was restruck by W.E. Dubois for Matthew Stickney as there is a letter dated July 12, 1843 in the Peabody Essex Museum regarding this transaction shown below courtesy of David Stone.
It is unclear if both pieces were J79a or if only one was and the other was a J73/P77. Dubois notes that he had to pay an extra $3 to have them struck. One was in the 1907 Stickney sale and was purchased by Virgil Brand and entered into his journal as #38995. If Brand owned only one, then this example is the same as the one in Dr Judd's collection, as noted in Abe Kosoff's "Illustrated History of United States Coin". As this coin does not have any central die cracks, the die was still in its original state in 1843.
About a dozen are known with the former Garrett coin being an especially beautiful example. The illustrated example, from the Smithsonian, is a mint error in which the reverse is double struck with about a 20 degree rotation between strikes as shown in the image below courtesy of Rick Kay. The original image is most noticeable below the eagle's tail feathers as it touches the "R" in "Dollar".
This design was also made using the obverse with Liberty raised on the shield, the so-called 'curved date' J79/P89.
Although listed in Judd, no lightweight (192 grain) restrikes have been confirmed.


Thousand Year Films is creating the film "Father of Nations"
Join our VIP Behind the Scenes Community and get insider access to the making of our film, Father of Nations. Here you will get first or exclusive access to photos, videos and music created for the film, as well as insights from the Cast & Crew, Director and Producers. You'll also get a copy of the BluRay and a download of the Soundtrack Vol 1. You can even get Your Name in the credits! - All based on the reward YOU choose!
Welcome! We are excited to have you along for the journey!
After suffering a global, catastrophic event; humanity is on the verge of extinction. The monuments of man lay in ruin; the fume choking out all life. Children rarely survive, infant mortality rate at an all time high, and those who remain try to make sense of everything that has come before and what is yet to come.
Haven, the last functioning colony of survivors, has become the hope for those who wander the wasteland; with many believing that it is the final chance for humanity to rebuild. Others believe that the world has become unsustainable of life and it is only a matter of time before the last chapter of humanity is written.
It is within this austere post-apocalyptic world, that Father of Nations ponders some of life's most timeless and challenging questions about life, hope and death. This film, almost like a prayer of deep humility, is not afraid to ask questions of God; ones born out of the extreme and desperate reality of the characters but also with the innocent wonder of a child.
Thank you, we are overwhelmed by the support for this film. All of the contributions have made such a difference in enabling us to continue to move through production to bring this film to the big screen. It is our goal to create a film that is powerful; both rich in beauty and unwavering in it's honesty. We hope that all those who experience the film, whether as a part of it's production or as a viewer, will have their lives touched in a profound way. Perhaps finding themselves challenged to deeply consider in what or who they put their trust and hope, and to reconnect with the wonder and excitement of life that is so easily lost in our world today.
+ Music download of New Music Singles & The Soundtrack Hymns for the End Vol 1.
Music download of New Music Singles & The Soundtrack Hymns for the End Vol 1.
Music download of New Music Singles & The Soundtrack Hymn for the End Vol 1.
Due to the nature of the project, it requires us to be far away from home base.
To ensure our cast & crew are well nourished.
Hair, make-up & wardrobe. Set decorating and construction.
To enhance the production quality and create the film we have envisioned.


On June 11 the Oceania Football Confederation Congress will decide on an acting President to lead the Confederation until January 2019.
The OFC Congress will take place in Moscow, Russia ahead of the FIFA Congress which is being held at the Expocentre on Wednesday, June 13.
The process will be monitored by FIFA in accordance with the FIFA Statutes and the FIFA Governance Regulations.


Brightness is paramount when using outward facing screens in window locations.
High brightness displays use commercial grade Ultra High Brightness panels (1500 cd/m2) more than 3 times brighter than a standard domestic screen to allow easy readability in direct sunlight. Our high-brightness monitors also feature an ultra-wide viewing angle to allow easy readability in window displays with unbeatable image quality, stability and colour accuracy.
These monitors come with a built in HD android media player, allowing you to update them using a USB memory stick. Load your pictures and videos onto a USB memory stick then insert it into the display, which will copy the files into it's internal flash memory. Once you remove the memory stick, the screen will then start playing the pictures and videos in a continuous loop.
The monitor can also be provided with optional network connectivity that allows remote-adminsitration of content via a wired internet, wireless internet connection or mobile 3G/4G connection (network subscription required).
Fitted with a commercial grade panel, with a lifespan of 50,000 hours and using high quality components ensures that the high brightness monitor displays can be in constant use 24/7 in temperatures up to 110 degrees C.
The internal air-conditioning system allows the screen to be in constant use in an outward facing window. Internal fans keep their panels and other internal components at the optimum working temperature. Ensuring a long and reliable life for your screen.
High brightness displays feature integrated slimline speakers for applications that involve an audio element. Finally, the eco-friendly power timer allows you to assign daily or weekly on and off times for your screen. The ability to power on and off automatically means that the screen is only in use when it needs to be. Improving your environmental efficiency.


text:
L'Arche-Manchester
What is L'Arche
L'Arche in Manchester
History and spirituality
Thérèse Vanier
The Hive community café
Our impact: Amanda's story
Join us as an assistant
Life in Manchester
Residential vacancies
Embracing difference
Bella's story
We are always welcoming of people who wish to join L'Arche Manchester as either volunteers or friends. We want to see our societies transformed by people with and without learning disabilities modelling a different way of being in the world, in relationship with one another.
There are lots of ways that you can get involved, including:
Providing support on a regular basis (e.g. driving, cooking, helping to organise community events, accompanying somebody to church/their place of worship, assisting in - or leading - one of our daytime activities);
Providing one-off support with a specific task e.g. helping to build raised beds;
Becoming a friend to a person with a learning disability (this usually starts by joining us for a shared meal, coming along to one of our pilgrimages, or attending a community gathering);
Volunteering in The Hive, our community café;
Becoming an advocate for a core member (supporting them to represent themselves in meetings with the Community, Social Services etc).
View our current volunteering vacancies to see how you can specifically support us. Alternatively contact Jonny Wilson, Day Activities and Volunteer Coordinator, for an informal chat.
Author: Joe Revell
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Our New Speaking Group
A Year in L'Arche Manchester
Advent Appeal
If you would like to support us then financially here then you can do so. All support, whether it's a one off donation or a regular monthly amount, enables us to continue and grow what we do. Thank you so much for your support.
Request for help
We are re-thinking how we support people, to reduce the risk of infection from COVID-19. Would you like to get involved? We'd love to hear from you. We have lots of different opportunities. Read on and get in touch with us!
Spend a year as an assistant at L'Arche Manchester and we will give you an experience of difference that will change your life.
At L'Arche Manchester we celebrate people with learning disabilities and build circles of support around them. We go beyond basic needs to attend to people's emotional and spiritual lives.
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Our houses in South Manchester provide accommodation to people with learning disabilities and live-in assistants.
A community space to eat, meet, and make friends.
L'Arche Manchester offers day activities three days a week (Monday-Wednesday) for people with learning disabilities.
What makes L'Arche different is the attention we pay to building relationships and creating a sense of belonging within our Communities.
Bella was a volunteer in the Hive community Kitchen with L'Arche Manchester. She came to L'Arche from her home country of Indonesia with the Vincentians. Here she learnt about patience, vulnerability and the preciousness of people with and without learning disabilities.
We are always welcoming of people who wish to join L'Arche Manchester as either volunteers or friends.
L'Arche UK has signed up to the The Driving Up Quality Code See our latest inspection reports from Care Quality Commission
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L'Arche is a company limited by guarantee, registered in England and Wales, No. 1055041.
L'Arche is registered as a charity in England and Wales, No. 264166, and in Scotland, No. SC038493.
Registered Office: 10 Briggate, Silsden, Keighley, West Yorkshire BD20 9JT

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Are you dreaming of a summer terrace, yard construction project or a new pier? K-Rauta offers an extensive selection of timber for various types of construction projects. An increasing share of K-Rauta's timber selection is responsibly produced and comes from sustainably managed forests.


text:
There are 5 basic categories of land ownership in Indonesia
Hak Milik (HM) - Land Ownership This is the equivalent of a freehold land title. The right of ownership, which can be sold, transferred, bequeathed and mortgaged to another individual. Hak Milik titles can only be owned by 100% Indonesian companies or Indonesian citizens.
Hak Guna Bangunan (HGB) - Right to BuildKapal Oasis is held under this title by PT Private Sanctuary Indonesia Limited.
HGB titles give the lease holders the right to construct and own buildings on a plot of land. The right is transferable and may be encumbered. HGB is the form of `freehold title' that may be owned by Indonesian citizens and legal entities established under the Indonesian Law and domiciled in Indonesia, including foreign-owned companies and joint-venture companies. HGB titles may be transferred back into HM titles.
HGB titles are the most common title that foreign companies use to hold real estate in Indonesia. Banks and financial institutions may accept HGB land titles for mortgage and securitization purposes because it can be bought, sold and bequeathed and it is covered by the same planning and land use provisions as would apply with HM titles.
HGB titles are granted by the National Land Agency for an initial period of up to 30 years and is extendable for subsequent 20-year and 30-year period. Upon the expiration of such extensions, a new HGB title maybe granted on the same land with the same terms.
Hak Sewa Bangunan (HSB) - Right to Lease This land title provides the right to the land owner to lease a property to either a foreigner or Indonesian national. The lease agreement must be provided and witnessed by a Legal Notary under local law. The length of the lease can vary but will normally be up to 25 years with extension options.
Hak Pakai (HP) – Right to Use This land title provides the right to use for a specified period of time, with extension options, similar to HGB. This type of land title is available to Indonesians, foreigners permanently domiciled in Indonesia, or a foreign company with a representative office in Indonesia.
Hak Guna Usaha (HGU) – Right of Managing This land title provides the right to manage state-owned property for agriculture or husbandry for up to 35 years with extension options.


text:
Pozzo puede referirse a:
 Pozzo d'Adda
 Barcellona Pozzo di Gotto

Apellido
 Andrea Pozzo (1642, Trento – 1709, Viena), jesuita lego y el artista italiano prolífico, que trabaja como decorador, arquitecto, diseñador, pintor, profesor y teórico, y siendo una de las principales figuras del arte barroco católico.
 Ariel Pozzo (1963-), músico y compositor argentino.
 Cassiano dal Pozzo (1588-1657), erudito y mecenas italiano.
 Gilmar Dal Pozzo, "Gilmar" (º  1969, Quilombo), un futbolista brasileño.
 Guido Pozzo (1951-), un prelado católico y teólogo italiano.
 Maria Vitória dal Pozzo della Cisterna (1847, Paris – 1876, Sanremo), un noble franco italiana y belga, la Reina de España (1870–1873) y la Duquesa de Aosta (1863–1876).
 Mattia Pozzo (1989-), un ciclista italiano.
 Modesta Pozzo (1555-1592), escritor veneciano.
 Paolo dal Pozzo Toscanelli (1397, Florença – 1482, Florença), matemático, astrónomo y geógrafo italiano.
 Tania Pozzo (1980-), científica e investigadora boliviana.
 Vittorio Pozzo (1886, Turim – 1968, Ponderano), un entrenador de fútbol italiano.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
Colorado Turns Into Second State With Legalized Magic Mushrooms
In 2020, Oregon voters approved a ballot measure that puts the state on a path to a regulatory and licensing framework that, starting in 2023, will allow patients to take psilocybin under supervision.
Food and Drug Administration named psilocybin a "breakthrough therapy" in treatment for extreme depression, a designation the company applies to medicine that in early trials demonstrate substantial improvement over current therapies.
While more than 60 payments have been introduced around the nation, the bulk, together with the Hawaii bill, are stalled in committee or have didn't get a vote.
In Washington, legislators opted to study the substance after struggling to loosen restrictions.
And in California, lawmakers transformed a invoice to decriminalize use into one that may analyze coverage.
In Washington, legislators opted tostudy the substanceafter struggling to loosen restrictions.
Chemical constructions of basic serotonergic psychedelic compounds (a–h) and the neurotransmitter serotonin .
If you've a substance abuse drawback that has contributed to your legal exercise you might be eligible for an alternative sentencing program referred to as Drug Treatment Court.
If you are eligible for the program, you have to plead responsible to the felony expenses and agree to abide by the conditions of the Drug Treatment Court program.
If you efficiently full this system, the choose will take this into consideration in resolving your legal case.
Wooden Chips, Moisture, Mushrooms
Zeifman R.J., Wagner A.C. Exploring the case for research on incorporating psychedelics inside interventions for borderline personality dysfunction.
With an estimated 20% of Jamaicans suffering from anxiousness and depression now exacerbated by COVID-19, psilocybin-assisted therapy may be a viable resolution .
After oral administration, most psilocybin, psilocin and glucoronidated metabolites are excreted by way of the kidneys, usually after about three hours .
After about 24 h, virtually all psilocybin and psilocin are excreted from the physique .
Factors that have an result on therapeutic/clinical outcome of psilocybin administration.
Chemical structures of recently found tryptamine derivates that will contribute/enhance the results of psilocybin and psilocybin-assisted remedy.
Magic Mushrooms Are Now Legal In Colorado
"These are mushrooms that will get you excessive and make you journey," Hermida stated.
The invoice, which passed within the Oklahoma House and is headed to the state Senate for consideration, would permit adults residing with a handful of conditions to participate in state-run medical trials using psilocybin.
The buildings of the principle components of Psilocybe, psilocybin and psilocin, present marked similarity with serotonin.
Currently there isn't Buy golden teacher mushroom for willpower of psilocybin and psilocin in body fluids.
Therefore, chromatographic strategies should be employed for their analysis especially during a forensic investigation.
In addition, an adult lady cooked and served Amanita pantherina to herself and children , thinking they were secure mushrooms.
Psilocybin mushrooms are additionally brazenly offered on Gili Air, Indonesia, an island proper subsequent to Bali, but this selection may not be advised as the results of being caught with unlawful substances in Indonesia are severe.
In Portugal, all substances have been decriminalized for private use and possession since 2001.
Roseman L., Leech R., Feilding A., Nutt D.J., Carhart-Harris R.L. The results of psilocybin and MDMA on between-network resting state practical connectivity in healthy volunteers.
Psilocybin has a shorter half-life and length of motion when given intravenously .
On the same tangent, psilocin has roughly two-thirds of unaltered (3–10%) psilocybin and glucoronidated metabolites are excreted through the kidneys after roughly three h .
Because the oral bioavailability of psilocin is fifty two.7% (after 10–20 mg psilocybin ingestion) , in consequence, it's typically administered orally, but may be administered intravenously, with comparable efficacy.
Over 100 species of mushrooms of the genus Psilocybe produce psilocybin .
Of all psychedelic drugs, psilocybin is reported to have the most favorable safety profile .
Use of mushrooms at state-regulated "healing centers" beneath the supervision of skilled facilitators.
It additionally legalizes private private use, rising, and sharing of psilocybin and psilocin, as well as three extra psychedelic compounds — mescaline, ibogaine, and dimethyltryptamine — by adults over the age of 21.
Psychedelic-assisted therapies could provide new and significant alternatives to present points within the standard therapy of psychiatric issues.
However, there are limitations that should be overcome before it might possibly turn into a longtime part of psychiatric treatment.
These limitations include the highly sensationalized international history and lingering negative stigmatization of psychedelic medicine, particularly within the United States, challenges with federal laws, U.S.
A result of this IP problem is the unwillingness of some buyers to invest in the psilocybin trade.
However, with the COVID-19 pandemic and the following collapse of investable hashish alternatives, other buyers have discovered this to be the prime time to invest in psychedelics.
Psychedelic mushrooms, magic mushrooms, caps and 'shrooms are the street names for psilocybin mushrooms.
Colorado Becomes Second State With Legalized Magic Mushrooms
Top 10 Websites To Look For ONLINE GAMBLING SITE


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Q: how to evaluate the index of a loop in vhdl Say I have a loop:
for j in 0 to 9 loop
  if  j <= natutalValue then
    -- do stuff;
  end if ;
end loop;

When I write the code this way the compiler isn't happy about it.
My question: Can I evaluate NATURAL ?

A: Your code isn't a Minimal, Complete, and Verifiable example, missing the declaration for NatutalValue.
Filling in the blanks:
entity evaluate is
end entity;

architecture foo of evaluate is
    constant natutalValue:  integer := 4;
begin
    process
    begin
        for j in 0 to 9 loop
            if j <= natutalValue then
                report "j = " &integer'image(j) &" do stuff";
            end if;
        end loop;
        wait;
    end process;
end architecture;

Macbook: ghdl -a evaluate.vhdl
  Macbook: ghdl -e evaluate
  Macbook: ghdl -r evaluate
  evaluate.vhdl:11:17:@0ms:(report note): j = 0 do stuff
  evaluate.vhdl:11:17:@0ms:(report note): j = 1 do stuff
  evaluate.vhdl:11:17:@0ms:(report note): j = 2 do stuff
  evaluate.vhdl:11:17:@0ms:(report note): j = 3 do stuff
  evaluate.vhdl:11:17:@0ms:(report note): j = 4 do stuff

And it works. Which says the problem is in something you didn't show us.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Jesse Read
Data Science and Mining team (DaSciM)
LIX Laboratory, École Polytechnique.
I am a professor in the DaSciM team of the Data Analytics and Machine Learning pole of the Computer Science Laboratory (LIX) at École Polytechnique, Institut Polytechnique de Paris. I work in the areas of Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, and Data Science and Mining.
2019 — present. Professor (HDR 2017) at LIX, École Polytechnique, France.
2016 — 2019. Assistant Professor at LIX, Ecole Polytechnique, France.
2016 — 2016. Post-doc in INFRES, Télécom ParisTech, France.
2013 — 2016. Post-doc at Aalto University, Finland.
2010 — 2013. Post-doc (and in 2013, lecturer) in the Dept. TSC at the Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, Spain.
2010. PhD from the University of Waikato, New Zealand.
2006. Bachelor of Computing and Mathematical Sciences (BCMS Hons.) from the University of Waikato, New Zealand.
My name is pronounced /ˈd͡ʒɛsi ɹiːd/ (I also happily accept /ˈd͡ʒɛs/)
Email: <firstname>.<lastname>@polytechnique.edu
Office Phone: +33 (0)1 69 35 69 92
Office: 1073
LIX, Bâtiment Alan Turing
Institut Polytechnique de Paris
1 rue Honoré d'Estienne d'Orves
News / Highlights
September 2022 I am giving an invited talk at the MLLCTOC Workshop of ECML-PKDD 2022 in Grenoble.
April 2021 I gave one of the talks to open the Artificial Intelligence Institute of Waikato University, of which I am an associate member.
February 2021 I am one of the Program Chairs for ECML-PKDD 2021
September 2020 Kayo Yin is a winner of the Global Undergraduate Awards in Computer Science, in consideration of her Bachelor Thesis for which I was her advisor
September 2019 Our paper on Classifier Chains for Multi-label Classification wins the Test of Time Award at ECML-PKDD 2019
September 2019 We (with Abdul Barakat and Olaf Mercler) gave a talk on Biomedical engineering and its applications: an academic perspective" at AI for Health, Palais de Tokyo, Paris
September 2019 I have been tenured as Professor at Ecole Polytechnique
09 April 2019 I gave an expert talk at Huawei (Network AI Workshop) about Learning in Multi-dimensional Data Streams
08 March 2019 I gave a seminar talk at Imperial College London about Unified Streaming/Batch Learning and Explainable Multi-output Prediction
Feb 2019 I am SPC for IJCAI'19
November 2018 I gave a talk on Time Series at the meeting Intelligence Artificielle et Médecine Personnalisée in Lyon.
October 2018 Our paper on our Scikit-Multiflow framework for learning from multi-output streaming data was accepted in JMLR-mloss
Software + Data


To celebrate the Equinox and first day of Summer yesterday, I have a poll!
Vote for your favorite Summer bird by the evening of Friday, June 28th, and I will post the results on Saturday, June 29th. Thank you!
This entry was posted in A Poll for the Seasons, Alberta Birds, Birding, Blogging, Canada Birds, General Birding, Holidays, Summer and tagged American White Pelican, Barn Swallow, Killdeer, Summer. Bookmark the permalink.
I live on the Alabama coast and we have tons of birds who just pass through on migration. One who stops to spend the summer with us is the purple martin. Love hearing them and watching them. We have killdeer year round, white pelicans spend the winter with us.


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China-US Connection: Linking the Frontier of the International Spine
On July 10, 2020, the "Sino-US Spine Surgery Video Conference" concluded successfully in the conference room on the sixth floor of the outpatient clinic of Zhengzhou Orthopaedics Hospital. The invited guest Prof. Jeffrey C. Wang, President of North American Spine Association and Co-Director of USC Spine Surgery Center, brought a wonderful lecture to the meeting. Four young doctors from the Spine Clinical Department of Zhengzhou Orthopaedics Hospital actively participated in the meeting and shared their typical cases.
On behalf of Zhengzhou Orthopaedics Hospital, Executive Vice President Aiguo Wang expressed his warmest welcome and sincere greetings to Prof. Wang for his participation in the meeting. He described the current development and achievements of the Spine Surgery Department of Zhengzhou Orthopaedics Hospital and introduced Prof. Wei Mei, the leader of the Spine Surgery Department of Zhengzhou Orthopaedics Hospital.
Aiguo Wang, Executive Vice President of Zhengzhou Orthopedic Hospital, delivered a welcome speech
Wei Mei, Vice President of Zhengzhou Orthopedic Hospital and Medical Director of Zhengzhou Spine and Spinal Cord Disease Hospital hosted the video conference
At the same time, Prof. Wang expressed his gratitude to Zhengzhou Orthopedic Hospital for the kind invitation and introduced the overall situation and development direction of the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, University of Southern California. He hoped that we would increase mutual understanding through continuous exchanges and make progress together.
Prof. Wang started a wonderful lecture on "Surgical Considerations for Cervical Deformity". He gave detailed explanations on the incidences, preoperative planning, surgical treatment strategies, and postoperative complications prevention of cervical vertebra deformity, which was confirmed by several typical cases.
How Prof. Wang Assess the Deformity
Prof. Wang described how to assess the cervical sagittal balance. The most important of these are the two vertical axes C2 SVA and C7 SVA. The distance between the C2 and C7 vertical axes is normally maintained within 1.5 cm, however, as the local cervical sequence deteriorates, the distance will be >4 cm. Proper consideration of the distance between two axes is required to maintain the normal state of the cervical sagittal sequence.
Another point is the issue of lordosis. For the lumbar spine, two-thirds of the lordosis is located at L4-S1. Most of the lordosis of the cervical spine is at C1-2, and although most of the surgical site is at C4-7, lordosis is not often seen at C4-7, so you can take full advantage of this to create a reasonable amount of more lordosis.
Most of the lumbar spine will be measured based on pelvic parameters, while the cervical spine has similar parameters, with the T1 Slope being the one to keep a close eye on. If the T1 Slope is relatively large, the muscles need more tension to keep the head balanced and more forward projection to keep the head in the normal cervical sequence. However, if the T1 Slope is too large, it is important to consider whether the problem is elsewhere than the cervical spine, such as whether it is a problem related to thoracic vertebrae.
Pre-Operative - Reducing Complications
In this section, Prof. Wang introduces the ERAS (Early Recovery After Surgery), which refers to a series of measures to optimize perioperative management with Evidence-based medicine evidence to reduce physiological and psychological traumatic stress in patients and to achieve rapid recovery.
By implementing the concept of ERAS, the number of patients taking painkillers after the operation has decreased.
Intra-Operative – Reducing Complications
Intraoperative infections can occur at any time, and to better minimize infections and complications, Prof. Wang emphasized the importance of keeping implants free of contact. Although all instruments and implants are sterilized before surgery, sterilization does not guarantee 100% sterility, so the suggested changes are as follows:
1. Handling implants with only fresh gloves
2. Keeping implants covered until the immediate time of use
3. Reducing operating room traffic
4. Avoiding touching the implants
Surgical Decision-Making
There are a variety of osteotomies, but before choosing one of these techniques, you must figure out the main parts of the deformity. The professor cited a few cases of an incorrect judgment of the deformity and pointed out that when judging the deformity, the conclusion cannot be made solely based on the situation shown by the image. The main parameters must be combined to analyze whether the patient has undergone other operations in the previous period and then make the final judgment.
The professor shared his surgical skills through classic cases and surgical videos
Afterward, four young doctors in the spine clinical department of Zhengzhou Orthopedics Hospital also shared difficult cases. They presented a series of complete cases based on patient performance, diagnosis and treatment in English, and consulted Prof. Wang for discussion on difficult issues such as clinical diagnosis of the disease, selection of treatment options, and treatment of complications. Prof. Wang gave detailed answers one by one, and highly praised the diagnosis and treatment level of difficult and complicated spine cases in Zhengzhou Orthopedics Hospital.
Dr. Zhe Shao and Dr. Zhenhui Zhang, doctors from the Department of Orthopaedic Spine I, gave a case report on ankylosing spondylitis "jaw-to-chest deformity".
Dr. Zhe Shao and Dr. Zhenhui Zhang, doctors from the Department of Orthopaedic Spine I
The professor thanked the two doctors for sharing and said that the postoperative results were excellent. The two sides had a heated discussion on how to choose the osteotomy site and osteotomy angle, and how to avoid vascular nerve injury in surgery. The professor agreed with the osteotomy site chosen by the team and was very satisfied with the results of the surgery. As for the reduction of vascular nerve damage during surgery, it was suggested to reduce the damage to the spinal cord, slow down the speed of surgery, and do the surgery carefully enough to avoid damaging the important parts.
Dr. Yunlong Jiao and Dr. Baotian Li of Orthopedic Spine II gave a case report on spinal infection. This was followed by a discussion of the indications for debridement and antibiotic withdrawal.
Dr. Yunlong Jiao and Dr. Baotian Li of Orthopedic Spine II
For preventing surgical site infections, Prof. Wang also shared their hospital's experience. Daily preoperative bathing and spinal wiping with chlorhexidine for a week before surgery can also reduce the risk of infection.
A case report on scoliosis was given by Dr. Depeng Kou of Spine III.
Dr. Depeng Kou of Orthopedic Spine III.
Dr. Xiaoguang Zhou and Dr. Yaojun Dai of the Minimally Invasive Spine Department gave a case report on ankylosing spondylitis deformity.
Dr. Xiaoguang Zhou and Dr. Yaojun Dai of the Minimally Invasive Spine Department
Prof. Wang stated that this was a very fascinating case and thought they did the right thing and he agreed that it was safer to do it on the lumbar spine than on the thoracic spine. The post-operative pictures show that the surgery was successful and the patient is recovering well.
Vice President of Operations Wei Mei concluded the video conference with his remarks. He once again thanked Prof. Wang for taking the time to share the advanced treatment concept and experience of cervical deformity with us and looked forward to Prof. Wang coming to the hospital for on-site communication and guidance, as well as expecting our young spine surgeons to be sent to the United States for study and communication in the future.
To achieve the rapid development of the hospital, Zhengzhou Orthopaedics Hospital attaches great importance to the international exchange and cooperation, continuously expanding external exchanges, actively organizing high-level academic conferences, inviting foreign experts to give lectures and guidance. Prof. Wang, as the President of the North American Spine Association and Co-Director of the Spine Surgery Center of the University of Southern California, has a great theoretical and technical level and international influence. This video conference exchange demonstrated the good academic atmosphere of the spine in Zhengzhou Orthopaedics Hospital, and also provided a platform for young doctors to express themselves, which pointed out the direction for future development.
Pervious : Sino-German connection: multidimensional exchanges of two international conferences in Luohu, Shenzhen
Next : Sino-German Video Conference on Difficult Cases of Foot And Ankle Surgery


text:
Howard University, Hit by Ransomware Attack, Cancels Classes
September 7, 2021 educational resourcesLeave a Comment on Howard University, Hit by Ransomware Attack, Cancels Classes
Howard University, one of the largest historically Black colleges in the country, said it would cancel classes for a second day this week as it continues to investigate a ransomware attack that shut down its network before the long holiday weekend. The attack is a reminder that education institutions, which have gone increasingly digital during the pandemic, still have cybersecurity issues to contend with even as they navigate the beginning of the school year and in-person reopenings.
The university closed its D.C. campus Tuesday to everyone but essential employees and announced that classes would be canceled for online and hybrid undergraduate students on Wednesday. In-person undergraduate, graduate, professional and clinical courses were scheduled to proceed.
"We are currently working with leading external forensic experts and law enforcement to fully investigate the incident and the impact," administrators said in a statement. "To date, there has been no evidence of personal information being accessed or exfiltrated; however, our investigation remains ongoing, and we continue to work toward clarifying the facts surrounding what happened and what information has been accessed."
The ransomware attack was detected on Friday and triggered the university's cyber response plan. Officials are asking students to "please consider that remediation, after an incident of this kind, is a long haul—not an overnight solution."
Experts have cautioned the education community to prepare for cyber threats, both at universities and K-12 schools, as the semester ramps up. Earlier this year, the University of California and Stanford University's School of Medicine were among those swept up in a nationwide ransomware attack that targeted a third-party vendor contracted by the schools.
"Experiencing a ransomware outbreak that has spread across your network is probably the worst-case scenario for an education organization today," Doug Levin, director of the K12 Security Information Exchange, says. "It's the type of incident that keeps most IT up at night most of all because its impacts are so severe on the organization's operations."
The timing of the attack—coinciding with a busy back-to-school season—may not be coincidence. Criminals often increase ransomware attacks in the third quarter to maximize the chances of a payout, says another expert.
"When students are back in classes or about to go back, schools are under pressure to resolve incidents quickly—and that may mean they're more likely to pay," Brett Callow, a threat analyst at security firm Emsisoft, tells The Daily Beast.
Levin says after an organization shuts down its network due to a ransomware attack, investigators must begin the process of identifying the type of malware that's been activated and where the system's vulnerabilities lie. In cases where file backups are good quality, it can still take days to restore the system.
In a cyberattack like the one Howard University is facing, an IT team can spend weeks getting things back to normal. Ransomware victims that are caught without a plan can experience devastating consequences if they don't have a response plan, Levin says.
A pair of researchers recently estimated that 3,880 schools and universities have experienced ransomware attacks since 2018, costing billions in downtime and ransom payments.
"It's certainly recommended that all education organizations develop response plans like they would have for a physical incident, like a school shooter or a weather event," Levin says. "Everyone knows their roles and responsibilities, and you're working through that playbook."
Levin adds that while some ransomware gangs may have decided against targeting places like hospitals or schools during the pandemic, criminals will go after anyone they think might be vulnerable. If they have success attacking a school or college, he adds, they are likely to do it again.
"Many of the folks who don't follow this so closely seem to believe that school districts and universities are not targets for cyberattacks, and that's simply not that case anymore," he says. "It's really beholden not just on IT teams but on school districts and university leaders to look at these risks in a holistic way and put into place plans to mitigate these risks."
source: Read More, EdSurge Articles
Could Coursera Become as Prestigious as Harvard? This Expert Thinks So.
Navajo Prep prioritizes internet access for all students


In October 2009 and March 2010, Transition Yr students accompanied by teachers travelled to 'The Big Apple' to enjoy the sights in this magnificent city that doesn't sleep.
Here are some of the Images they captured of the occasion.
Waiting to visit "Lady Liberty"


text:
FOX NASCAR at Texas Motor Speedway Quotes & Programming Schedule
Can Johnson win again?
NASCAR returns to action under the lights in primetime at Texas Motor Speedway this weekend after its first off week of the season. FOX Sports offers 18.5 hours of live coverage of the NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES and NASCAR XFINITY SERIES from Texas, culminating with the NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES race live on FOX on Saturday, April 11 (7:30 PM ET), with pre-race coverage beginning at 7:00 PM ET.
Mike Joy leads the FOX NASCAR booth from the mile-and-a-half track with analysis from NASCAR Hall of Famer Darrell Waltrip and former crew chief Larry McReynolds. The trio is joined on pit road by Jamie Little, Chris Neville and Matt Yocum. Chris Myers hosts the network's coverage alongside analyst Michael Waltrip. Myers also hosts FOX NASCAR SUNDAY from the famed Hollywood Hotel alongside Darrell and Michael Waltrip.
Pro Mazda, USF2000 on Deck as Mazda Road to Indy Heads to Louisiana
Drivers from two of the three steps that comprise the Mazda Road to Indy, a scholarship laden development ladder which leads from the grassroots of the sport to the Verizon IndyCar Series and the Indianapolis 500, will be on stage this weekend at the inaugural Grand Prix of Louisiana. Both the Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires and the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda, which kicked off their 2015 campaigns two weeks ago on the streets of St. Petersburg, Fla., will continue with two more races this weekend, April 10-12, at the 2.74-mile NOLA Motorsports Park road course situated just across the Mississippi River from downtown New Orleans.
IndyCar Chronicles Episode 01: James Hinchcliffe
NBCSN will air the first of five episodes this season of INDYCAR Chronicles on Friday at 5:30 p.m. ET, featuring Schmidt Peterson Motorsports driver James Hinchcliffe. Here is a preview.
Expanded leadership group for IMS Hall of Fame Museum
Famous Indy Speedway Museum
The Indianapolis Motor Speedway Foundation, Inc., d/b/a Hall of Fame Museum, is pleased to announce three new directors in an expansion of its Board of Directors and a new executive director on its leadership team.
"On the verge of the 100th Running of the Indianapolis 500 and the 60th Anniversary of the Hall of Fame Museum, which take place in 2016, the Museum is now poised to take on a comprehensive strategic planning process and review of its operations," Museum Board President Anton H. George said. "The Museum, which my grandparents founded in 1956, has evolved over the years to possess one of the top collections of racing and passenger vehicles in the world. We are expanding the range of expertise available to the Board of Directors of the Foundation to embrace the opportunities that such an important collection provide."
Preview: Indy Grand Prix of Louisiana
Luca Filippi testing at NOLA
This weekend the Verizon IndyCar Series travels 700 miles northwest from the familiar city streets of St. Petersburg, Florida to the broad coastal plains of southern Louisiana for the inaugural Indy Grand Prix of Louisiana.
The excitement that was ignited two weekends ago at the season-opening Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petesburg will be brought back this weekend, as the series takes to the flat 2.74 mile, 13-turn road course at NOLA Motorsports Park in a race that will feature the highest straightaway speeds of any road configuration this season.
NBCSN to Kick Off 2015 Verizon IndyCar Series Coverage This Weekend
NBCSN kicks off its 2015 Verizon INDYCAR Series coverage this weekend in New Orleans with the inaugural Grand Prix of Louisiana on Sunday at 2:30 p.m. ET, highlighting more than 30 hours of motorsports coverage on NBCSN this week.
NBCSN and NBC Sports Live Extra will provide comprehensive coverage of the Formula One Chinese Grand Prix this week, culminating in live race coverage Sunday morning at 1:30 a.m. ET. In addition to live INDYCAR and F1, NBCSN will provide nearly 15 hours of Mecum Auctions coverage from Houston this week, beginning Thursday at 4:30 p.m. ET.
Toyota: NASCAR Notes & Quotes
Denny Hamlin scored his first win of 2015 two weeks ago at Martinsville
TOYOTA TIDBITS
MARTINSVILLE FLASHBACK: Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) and Toyota driver Denny Hamlin enjoyed the fresh success with a victory at Virginia's Martinsville Speedway two weeks ago. It was Hamlin's fifth NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) triumph at the half-mile race track and his first of the 2015 season. His JGR teammates Matt Kenseth (fourth) and David Ragan (fifth) also earned top-five finishes in the race.
TEXAS TWO-STEP: Toyota has had more success at Texas Motor Speedway than any other track on the NASCAR circuit with a total of 23 NASCAR victories across all three national touring series. Three NSCS wins were earned by Hamlin, who picked up a pair of Texas trophies in 2010, and Kyle Busch finished first in April 2013. All seven of the Camry NASCAR XFINITY Series (NXS) victories at Texas were claimed by Busch (2008-10, 2013 and 2014). Tundra drivers have taken 13 checkered flags at Texas, including both events in 2014 with Matt Crafton (June) and Busch (Oct.). Camry drivers will look for two more events this week to increase the stat to 25 Texas trophies.
Revenues Up For ISC Thanks To Ticket-Sales
Increased attendance for the 57th annual Daytona 500 and other Speedweeks events gave Int'l Speedway Corp.'s Q1 revenues in FY '15 "a strong boost," according to Clayton Park of the Daytona Beach NEWS-JOURNAL. The 1.6% "increase in ticket sales for the three-month fiscal period that ended Feb. 28 was just ISC's second in the past six years and the first" in a Q1 since the recent recession began.
ISC generated $136.6M in total revenue in Q1, "mostly from Speedweeks events in Daytona Beach," up from to $131.8M in revenues during the same quarter a year ago. The company also produced a Q1 net income of $15M, or "32 cents per share of its common stock," down from $19.9M, or "43 cents per share, for the same period last year, largely because of costs related to its ongoing" $400M Daytona Rising renovation. Excluding those one-time costs, as well as a tax benefit, ISC's net income in the latest quarter "actually rose year-over-year" by $1.4M.
Meanwhile, the increase in ticket sales for the Daytona 500 "not only included more tickets sold," but also a 2.3% higher average price. ISC CFO Dan Houser said, "We exceeded our expectations." Daytona Beach NEWS-JOURNAL
Changes to the Sprint All-Star Race
Jamie McMurray en route to victory in the 2014 NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race
NASCAR announced Wednesday that the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race (May 16, 7:30 p.m. ET, FOX Sports 1, MRN Radio and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) will be run with four segments for 25 laps. A driver's average finish in the first four segments will determine the order on to pit road for a mandatory pit stop before a 10-lap shootout crowns the $1 million winner of the annual classic at Charlotte Motor Speedway. The 110-lap distance will be 20 laps more than the 90 scheduled circuits last season.
The race, which will be run with 2015 rules, breaks down as follows:
Segments 1, 2 and 3/25 laps each: All laps will be counted. ... Optional pit stop during break, teams that pit will not retain their position on track.
Segment 4/25 laps: All laps will be counted. ... Running order at the completion of the fourth segment will be repositioned based on the average finish of the first four segments. ... Running order ties will be broken by the finish of the fourth segment. ... Pit road will be open for a mandatory four-tire pit stop. ... Order of cars returning to the track will determine starting order of the fifth and final segment.
Segment 5/10 laps: Only green flag laps will be counted.
2015 IndyCar Entrant Standings
Below, are the 2015 Verizon IndyCar Series entrant standings ahead of this weekend's Indy Grand Prix of Louisiana:
Pos. # Entrant Points
1 2 Team Penske 51
3 10 Chip Ganassi Racing Teams 35
4 22 Team Penske 33
6 11 KVSH Racing 28
7 28 Andretti Autosport 26
8 41 A.J. Foyt Racing 25
9 20 CFH Racing 22
10 27 Andretti Autosport 20
11 15 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing 19
12 67 CFH Racing 18
13 14 A.J. Foyt Racing 17
15 9 Chip Ganassi Racing Teams 15
16 5 Schmidt Peterson Motorsports 14
17 98 BHA with Curb-Agajanian 13
20 4 KV Racing Technology 10
21 83 Chip Ganassi Racing Teams 9
22 7 Schmidt Peterson Motorsports 8
23 19 Dale Coyne Racing 7
JR Promotions Signs On With Jonathan Byrd's Racing for Clauson
KVSH/Jonathan Byrd's Racing is proud to welcome another sponsor to the Indy 500 entry of Bryan Clauson, as JR Promotions LLC has signed on as the official outdoor advertising partner of Jonathan Byrd's Racing.
JR Promotions Outdoor Advertising (www.jrbillboards.com) is an independent family owned and operated outdoor advertising company with over 900 billboard faces in Indiana. JR Promotions is headquartered in Columbus, Indiana.
Tesla announces the All-Wheel Drive Model S 70D
Tesla Model S 70D
Today, Tesla introduced the Model S 70D, an all-wheel drive electric car with a 0-60 time of 5.2 seconds and a 250 mile range at 65 mph.
Even at a starting price of $75k, the Model S 70D offers a broad and compelling set of features. Moreover, when one factors in the cost advantages over an internal combustion engine vehicle, including fuel savings and incentives, the actual cost of owning Model S 70D comes to about $55k over five years (the average length of new car ownership).
Manager wants calm for Mick Schumacher's debut
(GMM) Michael Schumacher's manager on Wednesday urged for calm as the German legend's 16-year-old son started his own climb towards formula one.
We reported earlier that 100 journalists and other media professionals had flocked to the Oschersleben circuit, where Mick Schumacher on Wednesday started official pre-season testing for his first year in single seaters.
But Sabine Kehm, the Schumachers' manager, announced that Mick will not be speaking to the press as he gets down to work in the German Formula 4 series.
Ecclestone won't let Wolff 'kill' F1
Bernie knows best what's good for F1, and it's not a boring Mercedes 1-2 parade at the front
(GMM) Bernie Ecclestone has joined Max Mosley in fearing for the very survival of formula one.
Former FIA president Mosley, a famously close ally of Ecclestone's until the end of his reign in 2009, warned this week that the current state of the sport could see it "collapse".
Now, F1 supremo Ecclestone has told Sport Bild: "I will not watch formula one destroy itself because some people made a mistake."
The 84-year-old, who wants F1 to revert to its V8-powered days, sees the new turbo V6 engine regulations as arguably the biggest problem.
Furious 7 - Official Trailer
Continuing the global exploits in the unstoppable franchise built on speed, Vin Diesel, Paul Walker and Dwayne Johnson lead the returning cast of Fast & Furious 7. James Wan directs this chapter of the hugely successful series that also welcomes back favorites Michelle Rodriguez, Jordana Brewster, Tyrese Gibson, Chris "Ludacris" Bridges, Elsa Pataky and Lucas Black. They are joined by international action stars new to the franchise including Jason Statham, Djimon Hounsou, Tony Jaa, Ronda Rousey and Kurt Russell. Neal H. Moritz, Vin Diesel and Michael Fottrell return to produce the film written by Chris Morgan.
Is it the car or the driver?
It's the driver and the car combination that makes a winner. However, there are always going to be some wankers in racing that can't drive a nail.
It's often said that a bad carpenter blames his tools, but isn't it also often said that a carpenter is only as good as his tools?
In any sport, this usually is the case. A good football player needs the right shoes just as a good baseball player needs the right bat or the tennis player needs the right racket.
But when it comes to motor sports, specifically the Verizon IndyCar Series, the common question remains on who is responsible for performance.
Is it the driver, or is it the car?
Teams will get quicker access to video of pit road violations
Teams to get video showing infractions quickly
Beginning with this weekend's race at Texas, all Sprint Cup teams will be provided adequate bandwidth to allow videos detailing pit road infractions to be sent directly to the appropriate pit box. In late May, when the series moves to Charlotte Motor Speedway, similar connectivity will also be provided in each garage bay. Video showing an infraction is currently sent to the team in question - typically to their haulers where they have adequate bandwidth to handle video - almost as soon as it is received and processed by officials in the PRO trailer.
Some teams have the capability and bandwidth to forward it along to their pit box, where the crew chief and any others may view it as well. Now, when a team commits and infraction, video evidence will be delivered to the crew chief on the pit box almost as soon as it occurs. NASCAR.com
Knock'er Loose to debut on the #40
CRC Industries, Inc., the worldwide leader in the production of specialty chemicals for the maintenance and repair professional, serving industrial, electrical, aviation, automotive & marine markets, will debut a new industrial-themed paint scheme on the #40 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series car of Hillman Racing with driver Landon Cassill this weekend at Texas Motor Speedway.
Cassill will pilot the #40 CRC KNOCK'ER LOOSE Chevy SS - the first of two races for CRC Industrial this season - in Saturday night's Duck Commander 500. CRC Knock'er Loose Penetrating Solvent is specially formulated to dissolve rust, gum, grease and corrosion to allow quick removal of nuts, bolt, pins, screws, bushings, hinges and lugs. In addition to this weekend's race in Texas, CRC Knock'er Loose returns as the primary sponsor of Cassill and the #40 Hillman Racing Chevy at Chicagoland Speedway on September 20. Hillman Racing
Mosley warns F1 of inevitable collapse
Honda 'still 100hp down' on rivals - report
Mosley warns F1 facing 'collapse'
100 journalists to cover Mick Schumacher test
Ferrari sets sights on more 2015 wins
Mercedes takes new front wing to China - report
Australian GP boss survives cancer
Force India planning 'B' car for mid-season
Vettel mechanic Handkammer leaves F1
ZZ Top to Perform at Coca Cola 600
Pete McCole/AR1.com
Charlotte Motor Speedway announced today that Hall Of Fame rockers ZZ Top will perform a pre-race concert prior to the running of the 56th annual Coca Cola 600 on May 24. The concert will be free for all Coca Cola 600 ticket holders.
Band members Billy Gibbons and Dusty Hill joined NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Danica Patrick, along with Charlotte Motor Speedway President and General Manager Marcus Smith for the announcement.
Our music has long been synonymous with great NASCAR action and we're looking forward to continuing that tradition with the May 24th appearance at Charlotte Motor Speedway," the band said in a statement. "Fast cars, rockin' music and the greatest fans in the world is a winning combination as far as we're concerned."
IndyCar allows Honda to strengthen its Aero Kit
Honda to strengthen their front wings.
After experiencing issues with Aero Kits creating debris in the season-opening Verizon IndyCar Series race on March 29, Honda has been granted permission by INDYCAR to strengthen and reinforce parts of its kit, Steve Eriksen, Chief Operating Officer and Vice President of HPD, told FOXSports.com.
"We've talked to INDYCAR about it and have made a proposal to update a few of the key parts with some additional strengthening as a temporary countermeasure and as a permanent countermeasure to deliver replacement parts with an even higher resistance to car-to-car contact," Eriksen said. "This would be immediate and INDYCAR has approved that.
Indy GP of Louisiana pit assignments
Per INDYCAR rules pit assignments for all races excluding the Indianapolis 500 are determined by an entrant's qualifying position at the previous round. Thus, for this weekend's Indy Grand Prix of Louisiana pit assignments are as follows:
# Entry Expected driver
1 1 Verizon Team Penske Will Power
2 22 Team Penske Simon Pagenaud
3 3 Team Penske Helio Castroneves
4 2 Team Penske Juan Pablo Montoya
5 14 A.J. Foyt Enterprises Takuma Sato
6 11 KVSH Racing Sebastien Bourdais
7 10 Chip Ganassi Racing Teams Tony Kanaan
8 28 Andretti Autosport Ryan Hunter-Reay
9 9 Chip Ganassi Racing Teams Scott Dixon
10 67 CFH Racing Josef Newgarden
11 25 Andretti Autosport Simona de Silvestro
12 27 Andretti Autosport Marco Andretti
12A 83 Chip Ganassi Racing Teams Charlie Kimball
14 26 Andretti Autosport Carlos Munoz
15 15 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing Graham Rahal
16 5 Schmidt Peterson Motorsports James Hinchcliffe
-- -- Timing and Scoring --
17 4 KV Racing Technology Stefano Coletti
18 8 Chip Ganassi Racing Teams Sage Karam
19 20 CFH Racing Luca Filippi
-- -- Opening --
20 7 Schmidt Peterson Motorsports James Jakes
21 41 A.J. Foyt Enterprises Jack Hawksworth
22 98 BHA with Curb-Agajanian Gabby Chaves
23 19 Dale Coyne Racing Francesco Dracone
24 18 Dale Coyne Racing Carlos Huertas
Indy Grand Prix of Louisiana entry list
# Driver Hometown Car Name Aero kit/Engine Entrant
1 Will Power Toowoomba, Australia Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet Verizon Team Penske
2 Juan Pablo Montoya Bogota, Colombia Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet Team Penske
3 Helio Castroneves Sao Paulo, Brazil Hitachi Team Penske Chevrolet Team Penske
4 Stefano Coletti (R) Monaco, Monaco Variable Bore Rams – KVRT Chevrolet KV Racing Technology
5 James Hinchcliffe Toronto, Canada Arrow / Lucas Oil Schmidt Peterson Honda Schmidt Peterson Motorsports
7 James Jakes Leeds, England Schmidt Peterson Motorsports Honda Schmidt Peterson Motorsports
8 Sage Karam (R) Nazareth, PA Comfort Revolution/Big Machine Records Chevrolet Chip Ganassi Racing Teams
9 Scott Dixon Auckland, New Zealand Brita Chevrolet Chip Ganassi Racing Teams
10 Tony Kanaan Salvador, Brazil NTT Data Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet Chip Ganassi Racing Teams
11 Sebastien Bourdais Le Mans, France Team Mistic E-Cigs KVSH Racing Chevrolet KVSH Racing
14 Takuma Sato Tokyo, Japan ABC Supply AJ Foyt Racing Honda AJ Foyt Enterprises
15 Graham Rahal New Albany, OH D-A Lubricant Company Honda Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing
18 Carlos Huertas Bogota, Colombia Dale Coyne Racing Honda Dale Coyne Racing
19 Francesco Dracone (R) Turin, Italy Dale Coyne Racing Honda Dale Coyne Racing
20 Luca Filippi Savigliano, Italy Fuzzy's Vodka CFH Racing Chevrolet CFH Racing
22 Simon Pagenaud Montmorillon, France Penske Truck Rental Chevrolet Team Penske
25 Simona de Silvestro Thun, Switzerland Andretti Autosport Honda Andretti Autosport
26 Carlos Munoz Bogota, Colombia AndrettiTV Cinsay Honda Andretti Autosport
27 Marco Andretti Nazareth, PA Merchant First/Snapple Honda Andretti Autosport
28 Ryan Hunter-Reay Fort Lauderdale, FL. DHL Honda Andretti Autosport
41 Jack Hawksworth Bradford, England ABC Supply AJ Foyt Racing Honda AJ Foyt Enterprises
67 Josef Newgarden Hendersonville, TN Hartman Oil CFH Racing Chevrolet CFH Racing
83 Charlie Kimball Camarillo, CA Novo Nordisk Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet Chip Ganassi Racing Teams
98 Gabby Chaves (R) Bogota, Colombia Bowers & Wilkins/Curb Honda BHA with Curb-Agajanian
ISC Reports Q1 Rise In Sales, Besting Analyst Expectations
ISC today reported a 3.6% rise in sales in Q1, "buoyed by higher attendance at its key Daytona 500 event and increased food revenue."
The results "beat Wall Street expectations," and the company "affirmed its full-year guidance" WSJ.com.
Total revenue for the period ending Feb. 28 was $136.6M, up from $131.8M in the year-ago period. Operating income was $21.6M, compared to $22.3M in Q1 '14. Net income was $15.0M, down from $19.9M a year ago. ISC
Chip Ganassi Racing Teams Confirms Sage Karam for NOLA
Chip Ganassi Racing Teams (CGRT) announced today that development driver Sage Karam will join the team's Verizon IndyCar Series lineup in the No. 8 Chevrolet for the second race of the series at the Indy Grand Prix of Louisiana at NOLA Motorsports Park this weekend.
Karam's No. 8 Chevrolet will bear the COMFORT REVOLUTION/Big Machine Records livery to start his second Verizon IndyCar Series event for the team.
GP of Louisiana Fast Facts
Track: 2.74-mile, 13-turn road course (clockwise)
Race distance: 75 laps / 205.5 miles
Entry List: Indy Grand Prix of Louisiana (PDF)
Push-to-pass parameters: 10 activations for 20 seconds each
Firestone tire allotment: Eight sets primary, three sets alternate
Twitter: @GPofNOLA, @IndyCar, #GPofNOLA, #IndyCar
Daytona (not Indy) 500 ranks among top 'can't miss' sporting events in survey
Indy 500 no longer a top must-see event for sports fans. This must have been Tony George's 'vision' for IndyCar racing after he split the sport and essentially killed it.
In a survey of U.S. adults of the "can't miss" sporting events during the year, the Daytona 500 ranks seventh.
The Super Bowl ranked No. 1 with 73.9 percent of U.S. adults surveyed listing the NFL's title game.
After the Super Bowl, the top five included the Summer Olympics (62.5 percent), the Winter Olympics (62.1 percent), the World Series (57.8 percent) and the college football championship game (54.7 percent).
Louisiana Based Oil Field Rental Tool Company Variable Bore Rams, Inc. to be Primary Sponsor of Stefano Coletti at NOLA
Coletti livery for NOLA
KV Racing Technology announced today that local Louisiana based oil field rental tool company, Variable Bore Rams, Inc. (VBR) will be the primary sponsor of the No. 4 Variable Bore Rams – KV Racing Technology Chevrolet/Dallara/Firestone car driven by Stefano Coletti at the Indy Grand Prix of Louisiana, April 10-12, in Avondale, Louisiana.
"I have known Chip for a long time and I know his passion for cars, racing and Louisiana," said KVRT team co-owner Kevin Kalkhoven. "This was a unique opportunity for both companies and I want to thank everyone at Variable Bore Rams for partnering with the team for the Indy Grand Prix of Louisiana. KVRT looks forward to producing a good result for VBR and for KVRT in New Orleans."
Preferred Freezer Joins With CFH Racing To Enter Hildebrand In The Indy 500
JR Hildebrand
CFH Racing announced today that Preferred Freezer Services will be partnering with the team to field a third entry in both Verizon IndyCar Series events at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for JR Hildebrand. Hildebrand will drive the No. 6 Preferred Freezer Services CFH Racing Chevrolet for the Angie's List Grand Prix of Indianapolis on May 9 and the 99th Running of the Indianapolis 500 on May 24.
Preferred Freezer Services offers the most modern, state-of-the-art, full service temperature-controlled warehouses in the United States. The company partnered with what was previously Ed Carpenter Racing to field a car for Hildebrand in the 2014 Indianapolis 500. With corporate headquarters in New Jersey, the company operates in 35 facilities in nine regions nationwide and has an international presence with cold storage warehouses in China and Vietnam.
On-track schedule for Indy GP of Louisiana
Series and Session Begin End
Cooper Tires U.S. F2000 Powered by Mazda Practice 1 8:20 a.m. 8:50 a.m.
Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires Practice 1 8:55 a.m. 9:25 a.m.
Cooper Tires Prototype Lites powered by Mazda Practice 9:40 a.m. 10:10 a.m.
Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA Practice 1 10:25 a.m. 11:05 a.m.
Mazda MX-5 Cup Presented by B.F Goodrich Tires Practice 1 11:20 a.m. 12:00 p.m.
Verizon IndyCar Series Practice 1 12:15 p.m. 1:45 p.m.
Cooper Tires U.S. F2000 Powered by Mazda Practice 2 2:00 p.m. 2:30 p.m.
Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires Practice 2 2:45 p.m. 3:15 p.m.
Mazda MX-5 Cup Presented by B.F Goodrich Tires Qualifying 3:30 p.m. 4:00 p.m.
Verizon IndyCar Series Practice 2 4:15 p.m. 5:35 p.m.
Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA Practice 2 5:50 p.m. 6:30 p.m
De Silvestro to race at NOLA
Simona de Silvestro will run this weekend's Indy Grand Prix of Louisiana for Andretti Autosport
INDIANAPOLIS (April 7, 2015) – Following last week's announcement that Simona de Silvestro would become Andretti Autosport's fifth entry for the 99th Running of the Indianapolis 500, the team confirmed today the Swiss racer will be back with the four-time IndyCar champions for the second round of Verizon IndyCar Series competition this weekend in New Orleans. The 26-year-old will once again pilot the No. 25 Andretti Autosport Honda for the inaugural event to be held at NOLA Motorsports Park in Avondale, LA.
"It's great to get another shot in the car and improve on everything we learned in St. Petersburg," de Silvestro commented. "I'm really looking forward to being able to work with everyone again and hopefully have a better race! I'm really thankful for all that Michael (Andretti) and everyone at Andretti Autosport have been doing to make all of this happen."
Toyota's defense of WEC title set to begin
Toyota TS040 - the car the Japanese hope will defeat the Germans again in 2015
TOYOTA Racing begins the defense of its World Endurance Championship titles in positive mood following a successful testing program to prepare for this weekend's Six Hours of Silverstone.
Last season began with a TOYOTA one-two at Silverstone, setting the tone for an impressive year which brought five wins from eight races and established the TS040 HYBRID as the best performing car in the new era of energy-efficient regulations.
Best Year for Lotus Cars' Sales Since FY 2008/09
Today, Lotus is pleased to announce a 55% rise in its global sports car sales at the conclusion of the 2014/15 financial year.
For the full year, the company has increased its sales volume to an excellent 2015 units, contrasted with 1,296 units in the year 2013/14. This is the best result achieved by Lotus since FY 2008/09.
Key global markets showing the renaissance experienced by Lotus are in China (+186%), France (+177%) and Germany (+130%), while Japan (+103%) remains the company's largest export market. Sales in the UK have more than doubled to 346 units (+102%). The USA market, which sells the Evora range as a road car and the Elise and Exige ranges for track use only, has increased by 24%.
What the Spaniards do not realize is that Alonso had no option to stay at Ferrari. They signed Vettel and asked Alonso to leave.
Ferrari pushing on for Mercedes title battle
Officials defend Alonso amid latest rumors
Carmen Jorda backs all-female F1 proposal
Spaniards defend Alonso after McLaren switch
Merhi admits he could lose Manor seat
Toro Rosso happy with Renault progress
Formula One teams must talk on money deal, says ex-FIA chief Mosley
Formula E - Racing's imitation game
Formula E provides a souped-up golf car soundtrack that is so relentlessly out of place at a race track that it is almost unfathomable
Last September I wrote a column about Formula E, or Formula Ennui as I referred to it. In that column I described Formula E as "a manufactured racing series for people who don't like racing." And after watching the latest Formula E event unfold in Long Beach over the weekend, my assessment hasn't changed. Formula E is described by the FIA as a "... fully-electric single-seater championship designed to appeal to a new generation of motorsport fans, while accelerating the interest in electric vehicles and promoting sustainability."
I see it much differently, however. Under siege from the burgeoning - and belligerent - green movement in Europe, Formula E is instead a cynical ploy by the FIA designed to goad governments, corporations and TV networks into participation because it is presented as being a benign facsimile of the real thing pointing to a sustainable future. It is also way to promote and project electric racing cars while extracting more money from guilt-ridden manufacturers and unsuspecting cities that think this benign form of racing will somehow be okay.


In "The Tragedy of the Commons," Garrett Hardin implicitly moved from bounded commons — a pasture or a tribe's territory — to the case of boundless commons — the ocean, the environment and planet Earth. He insisted on the necessity for imposing limits on using these assets, blurring the distinction between communal property and open entry regimes. The success of his paper is due in nice measure to his neglect of financial, scientific, authorized and anthropological literature. His foremost lifelong focus was on limiting inhabitants progress. He may have prevented the conceptual confusion he created by turning to well-known political economists reminiscent of John Locke and Adam Smith or, for that matter, jurists, reminiscent of Blackstone. As a substitute, he merely envisioned indigenous lands as an unbounded wilderness positioned on the disposal of frontiersmen. Although he finally acknowledged the existence of managed commons, he had little curiosity in group guidelines pertaining to useful resource exploitation. For him, these have been merely ethical norms which inevitably grew to become ineffective after a group reached a sure degree of inhabitants. He additionally took economists to process for failing to incorporate of their evaluation the true environmental and social prices of public choices. Nonetheless, the well-known instance of the indigenous individuals of Northeastern Quebec illustrates a shortcoming of his evaluation: group members didn't act in whole isolation from one another. Quite the opposite, communal norms may forestall an overexploitation of assets or enable for the adoption of corrective measures.


A broad consortium of day schools and Jewish federations across New Jersey led by Teach NJS-Orthodox Union, applauds the New Jersey Legislature and Gov. Chris Christie for passing and signing into law the fiscal year 2017 state budget Thursday night. The new budget will allocate vital funds to our state's non-public schools to bolster the safety and security of our students.
Non-public schools may receive $50 per student in aid to be used to increase security — double the amount previously allocated. It represents a milestone for our non-public schools and will be crucial to providing for the safety of our children.
Teach NJS-OU, a project of the Orthodox Union Advocacy Center, advocates for additional funding for non-public schools along with our partners at the Catholic Conference.
Teach NJS-OU would like to thank Assembly Budget Chairman Gary Schaer for spearheading the additional budget funding and Assembly Speaker Vincent Prieto for agreeing to support a substantial increase in non-public school funding. We would also like to thank Senate President Stephen Sweeney, Senate Majority Leader Loretta Weinberg, Senate Budget Chairman Paul Sarlo and Senator James Beach for their work in shepherding the non-public school increases through the Senate.
We are also grateful to Governor Chris Christie for recognizing that non-public school students deserve to be safe in school by including an increase of funding in the final budget.
"This was truly a group effort in both houses of the legislature as well as with the governor and we would like to thank all of the Garden State's elected officials for helping support a safe learning environment for our students," said Maury Litwack, Director of State Political Affairs for the Orthodox Union Advocacy Center.
The legislature and the governor also agreed to increase funding to non-public schools to pay for school nurses and basic technology needs.
The new funding will go into effect beginning with the 2016-2017 school year.