A 36-year-old man presented with 10 days of fevers, productive cough, and dyspnea. He was otherwise healthy and had no known history of lung disease. He had a smoking history of less than 10 pack-years and quit eight years before presentation. He lived in the Mississippi River basin but did not spend time in rural or densely wooded areas. He had no recent travel history.
Figure 1. CT scan of chest with dense consolidation of the right lower and middle lobes.
On physical examination, the patient was in mild respiratory distress and afebrile, with a heart rate of 95 beats/min, a respiratory rate of 34 breaths/min, and normal blood pressure. He required bilevel positive-airway pressure (BiPAP) with 40% fraction of inspired oxygen (FiO2) to maintain normal oxygen saturation. Pulmonary exam was notable for decreased breath sounds with egophony on the right side. He had no rash or lesions. Initial labs were most remarkable for leukocytosis with bandemia. Influenza A and B tests were negative. A CT scan of the chest showed bilateral interstitial infiltrates, dense consolidation of the right lower and middle lobes, and an area concerning for intraparenchymal abscess in the right lower lobe (Figure 1).
Figure 2. Sputum fungal smear demonstrating broad-based budding yeast, characteristic of Blastomyces dermatitidis.
The patient was admitted, and broad-spectrum antibiotics were initiated. His condition worsened, becoming febrile and ultimately requiring intubation. Sputum culture and smear demonstrated broad-based budding yeast (Figure 2), suggestive of Blastomyces dermatitidis. Blastomycosis urine antigen testing was positive. The patient was started on amphotericin B but continued to decline, developing acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and multisystem organ failure. He died one week after admission.
This patient had acute pulmonary blastomycosis and ARDS. Blastomyces dermatitidis is a fungus endemic to southeastern and south-central states that border the Mississippi and Ohio River basins and to the midwestern states that border the Great Lakes. Blastomycosis is contracted by inhalation of the fungal spores. Little data exist on the incidence of blastomycosis infection; in 2010, the state-specific age-adjusted hospitalization rate ranged from 0.05 to 2.9 per 100,000 person-years in the United States. However, this number is not thought representative of all cases, as most infections are do not require medical evaluation or hospitalization. The most frequent clinical presentation of blastomycosis is pulmonary infection. Less common manifestations include skin lesions, osteomyelitis, genitourinary infection, and central nervous system disease, including meningitis and intracranial abscess. Extra-pulmonary symptoms are typically manifest only when pneumonia is also present.
In one multicenter, retrospective study, a mortality rate of 12% was suggested for acute blastomycosis infection. Although blastomycosis is more severe in immunocompromised patients, it can also occur in the immunocompetent. Acute pneumonia due to blastomycosis mimics acute bacterial pneumonia and is characterized by fever, chills, and productive cough with or without hemoptysis. Sputum production is often copious and highly purulent. In rare instances, blastomycosis-induced pneumonia causes ARDS, and these cases have estimated in-hospital mortality rates as high as 50% to 89%. Unlike pulmonary histoplasmosis, blastomycosis pneumonia always requires treatment. According to the 2008 Infectious Diseases Society of America guidelines, itraconazole is first-line treatment for immunocompetent patients with mild to moderate pulmonary blastomycosis. Severe blastomycosis infection is defined as severe pulmonary disease, disseminated extrapulmonary disease, central nervous system involvement, infection in immunosuppressed or pregnant patients. Severe disease is treated with liposomal amphotericin B.
Blastomycosis infections may occur in immunocompetent hosts, most commonly manifest as a pulmonary infection.
Pulmonary blastomycosis is rarely associated with ARDS, which, when it occurs, carries a high risk of in-hospital mortality.
A 71-year-old man presented with three weeks of watery, nonbloody diarrhea. He reported having at least four episodes daily, each after oral intake, and not associated with abdominal pain or cramping. The diarrhea ceased if he stopped eating and drinking. The patient reported no sick contacts, changes in diet, recent travel or antibiotic use. His medical history included a diagnosis of gastroesophageal reflux disease; he had previously been treated with a proton-pump inhibitor (PPI) but was switched to ranitidine. Colonoscopy and esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD), both within the past three years, were unremarkable.
On presentation, the patient's vital signs were normal. He was a well-appearing elderly man with normal cardiac and pulmonary exams. His abdomen exhibited diffuse tenderness to deep palpation. Chemistry panel was notable for an elevated creatinine level at 2.23 mg/dL (reference range, 0.67 to 1.17 mg/dL), a potassium level of 3.2 mmol/L (reference range, 3.5 to 4.7 mmol/L), and a magnesium level of 1.6 mg/dL (reference range, 1.7 to 2.4 mg/dL). Stool studies were negative, including testing for Clostridium difficile. Electrolytes normalized with repletion and volume-related renal injury resolved with intravenous fluids. After the patient's diarrhea did not subside with two days of loperamide, a colonoscopy with biopsies revealed colonic mucosa with increased chronic inflammation of the lamina propria and focal cryptitis. The patient's ranitidine was stopped, budesonide was started, and the patient's symptoms resolved over the following few days.
The diagnosis in this case is lymphocytic colitis, presumably medication-induced and related to ranitidine use. Lymphocytic colitis, along with collagenous colitis, is a subtype of microscopic colitis, a chronic inflammatory disease of the colon. Microscopic colitis is more common in women and typically presents with profuse, watery, and nonbloody diarrhea. Diagnosis is made via biopsy, which in lymphocytic colitis shows lymphocytic infiltration of the lamina propria as opposed to the thick band of subepithelial collagen noted in collagenous colitis. The exact etiology of microscopic colitis is not known, although studies suggest that genetics, medications, and smoking may contribute. Many of the medications associated with microscopic colitis are common, including aspirin, NSAIDs, PPIs, sertraline, and ranitidine. Other histamine-receptor blockers have not been similarly implicated. Initial treatment is risk-factor modification and loperamide, with oral budesonide used as second-line therapy. Microscopic colitis usually resolves with (and sometimes without) treatment, but relapse is seen in at least 25% of patients.
Lymphocytic colitis and collagenous colitis are the two subtypes of microscopic colitis, which causes chronic diarrhea.
Common medications are associated with microscopic colitis, including aspirin, NSAIDs, PPIs, sertraline, and ranitidine.
A 28-year-old woman presented with two months of intermittent emesis, photophobia, frontal headaches, and malaise. She had no significant medical history. She exercised regularly, consumed minimal alcohol, occasionally smoked cigarettes, and reported no use of illegal drugs. Relevant family history included hypertension in her mother. Review of systems was positive for intermittent palpitations and diaphoresis and negative for weight or appetite changes, diarrhea, chest pain, dizziness, menstrual changes, or muscle weakness.
On presentation, her vital signs were significant for a blood pressure of 216/148 mm Hg; all other signs were normal. The patient's physical exam was unremarkable, with normal female hair distribution, no lymphadenopathy, no thyroid abnormalities, and no evidence of dorsocervical fat pad. Her skin was without rash, hyperpigmentation, or striae. Testing of cranial nerves, muscular strength, and sensation were all normal. Basic metabolic panel was notable for a very low potassium level of 2.0 mmol/L (reference range, 3.5 to 5.1 mmol/L) but was otherwise normal. Further testing revealed normal levels of thyroid-stimulating hormone, cortisol, and dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) and a negative urine drug screen. An overnight dexamethasone suppression test was normal. The patient had a significantly elevated serum aldosterone-to-renin ratio of 99 (reference range, <25). An abdominal MRI showed a 2.4 × 1.2-cm lipid-rich right adrenal adenoma. The patient underwent a curative adrenalectomy. She was started on amlodipine, her blood pressure normalized, and her symptoms resolved.
The diagnosis in this patient is primary aldosteronism (PA) from an aldosterone-producing adrenal adenoma. PA exposes patients to higher risk of cardiovascular complications compared to age-matched patients with essential hypertension. Previously, PA was believed to occur in fewer than 1% of patients with hypertension. However, the true prevalence of PA is likely underestimated because hypokalemia does not always occur, and thus the condition frequently remains undetected. Prospective studies using updated screening methods suggest PA is more common than previously thought, with some studies suggesting that more than 10% of all patients with hypertension may have this treatable condition. Aldosterone-producing adrenal adenomas and bilateral adrenal hyperplasia are the most common causes of PA. According to the 2016 Endocrine Society Clinical Practice Guidelines, aldosterone-renin ratio testing is recommended in patients with the following: blood pressures over 140/90 mm Hg and hypokalemia, resistant hypertension, hypertension and an adrenal "incidentaloma," hypertension and sleep apnea, or hypertension and a family history of early-onset hypertension. Such testing is not recommended in older patients with mild hypertension or normokalemia or those in whom treatment would not be considered.
Plasma aldosterone-to-renin ratio is the best laboratory test to identify primary aldosteronism. If plasma renin levels are below detection and plasma aldosterone levels are greater than 20 ng/dL, the diagnostic evaluation can proceed directly to CT, which is often superior to MRI due to superior spatial resolution. In all other cases, confirmatory testing is recommended via percutaneous adrenal venous sampling, which distinguishes between unilateral and bilateral causes of hyperaldosteronism. If imaging or venous sampling confirms a unilateral cause, treatment is unilateral adrenalectomy; bilateral adrenal hyperplasia is treated with mineralocorticoid receptor antagonist therapy. Most patients who undergo surgery are cured or have substantially reduced needs for antihypertensive medications.
PA, a treatable form of secondary hypertension, is more common than previously thought and is most reliably detected via plasma aldosterone-to-renin ratio.
If imaging or venous sampling confirms a unilateral cause of PA, treatment is unilateral adrenalectomy; bilateral adrenal hyperplasia is treated with mineralocorticoid receptor antagonist therapy.
Figure 3. EKG with incomplete right bundle-branch block pattern and "coved-type" ST elevation in leads V1 and V2 (arrows).
A 60-year-old man presented with several days of diarrhea, fevers, and syncope. His medical history was significant for recurrent syncopal episodes since his teenage years, all of which occurred during times of self-resolving illness. Review of systems was negative for chest pain or other cardiac symptoms. His vital signs were normal except for a temperature of 39 °C. An electrocardiogram (EKG) (Figure 3) showed "coved-type" ST elevation in leads V1 and V2. Initial troponin level was 0.05 ng/mL (reference range, 0.00 to 0.03 ng/mL). Once the patient's fever resolved, a repeat EKG showed resolution of the ST elevations. Telemetry was normal for the remainder of his hospitalization, and transthoracic echocardiogram was within normal limits. Stool culture eventually grew Campylobacter jejuni. Given the patient's history of recurrent syncope and transient EKG changes, a procainamide challenge was performed. The patient underwent implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) placement and was referred for genetic counseling.
This patient was diagnosed with Brugada syndrome after presenting with recurrent syncope while febrile (in this case, due to a Campylobacter infection) and transient characteristic EKG changes. Brugada syndrome is an autosomal-dominant genetic disorder with variable expression, characterized by EKG findings of pseudo-right bundle-branch block and one of two types of ST elevation in leads V1 and V2: Type 1 pattern shows "coved-type" ST elevation, as in this case, while the elevations seen in type 2 pattern are described as "saddle-back." The EKG changes in Brugada syndrome can be transient and provoked by fever, medications, cocaine, and alcohol.
Brugada syndrome is rare, with prevalence rates less than 0.5% in the United States, but is associated with sudden cardiac death from ventricular tachyarrhythmias. Patients with transient EKG changes consistent with a Brugada pattern should be evaluated further for the clinical symptoms of Brugada syndrome and electrophysiology consultation should be considered. A drug challenge with a sodium-channel blocker such as procainamide can help to risk stratify patients with Brugada pattern in presence of equivocal symptoms at centers with the necessary expertise to do so. There is no current consensus regarding prognostic capability of invasive electrophysiological testing in asymptomatic patients. ICD implantation is indicated in patients with confirmed Brugada syndrome, with select antiarrhythmics (amiodarone, quinidine) used as second-line treatment. This patient's recurrent syncope while febrile was presumed to be cardiac in nature, and he was thus a candidate for ICD implantation.
Brugada syndrome is a genetic disorder diagnosed when characteristic EKG changes are present along with symptoms such as syncope or cardiac arrest.
The characteristic EKG changes of Brugada syndrome can be transient and provoked by infection, medications, illicit drugs, or alcohol.
The authors are affiliated with the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health in Madison, Wisc.
A 49-year-old health professional with a history of hypertension presented with subjective fever, chills, weakness, and general malaise that evolved over a four-day period. She reported drinking well water and bathing with river water as a consequence of losing potable water service in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria. At evaluation, the patient was febrile (38.7 °C), tachycardic (heart rate, 133 beats/min), tachypneic (28 breaths/min), and hypotensive (90/60 mm Hg). On examination, she was alert and oriented, with dry oral mucosa, icteric sclerae, and bilateral basilar rales. The remainder of the examination was unremarkable. Laboratory analyses are outlined in the Table. A chest radiograph revealed bilateral infiltrates.
Admission chest X-ray showing bilateral pulmonary infiltrates.
Treatment with ceftriaxone, azithromycin, steroids, and fluids was immediately initiated. The patient's condition deteriorated further over the next 24 hours, with progressive desaturation and declining PaO2/FiO2 ratio. She was intubated, and tracheal aspirate demonstrated bright red blood. At this time, the patient's Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) score was 9, yielding a predicted a mortality rate of 40% to 50%. Plasmapheresis was started and continued for the following four days. With this therapy, her oxygen requirement improved and thrombocytopenia resolved. Serum Leptospira immunoglobulin M was positive. The patient was extubated on day 5 once her oxygenation requirement decreased. She eventually made a full recovery and was seen for a follow-up visit in the outpatient clinic.
This patient's diagnosis is acute leptospirosis with severe pulmonary hemorrhage syndrome. Leptospira interrogans is a gram-negative, aerobic spirochete excreted in the urine of infected rats, cattle, pigs, and dogs. This zoonosis commonly occurs in the tropics and is acquired via mucous membranes or damaged skin. The spirochetes make their way to the liver for reproduction. The effects of Hurricanes Irma and Maria on Puerto Rico have caused an increase in leptospirosis. To date, the Department of Health has yet to report the total number of patients affected by leptospirosis in post-hurricane Puerto Rico. Patients commonly present with fevers, headache, myalgias, nausea, and vomiting. Common laboratory abnormalities include leukocytosis, thrombocytopenia, altered renal function with hypokalemia, elevations in creatine kinase, aminotransferases, and bilirubins, as well as proteinuria, hematuria, and pyuria. While the diagnosis is commonly made via serologic assessment of Leptospira-specific immunoglobulins, polymerase chain reaction testing of urine or blood is also used.
Potentially fatal multi-organ dysfunction occurs in 5% to 10% of patients with acute leptospiral infection, which is also known as Weil's disease. Pulmonary involvement, as manifested by alveolar hemorrhage and called severe pulmonary hemorrhage syndrome, can occur rapidly and carries a fatality rate greater than 50%. Leptospira damage pulmonary capillaries via a toxin-mediated small-vessel vasculitis that leads to intra-alveolar and interstitial hemorrhage. Treatment consists of doxycycline or azithromycin for mild cases and ceftriaxone or cefotaxime for severe cases. Corticosteroids are used in severe cases with pulmonary involvement; however, this treatment is based on a very small number of studies. While there is a paucity of large studies supporting its use, the addition of plasmapheresis in severe cases with pulmonary hemorrhage has yielded positive results.
Leptospira interrogans is a common tropical spirochete that can cause a range of disease severity, including a severe form known as Weil's disease and severe pulmonary hemorrhage syndrome.
Though the fatality rate is high when leptospirosis is complicated by acute pulmonary hemorrhage syndrome, plasmapheresis can be considered in addition to antibiotics and corticosteroids on the basis of local practice and available facilities.
The authors are affiliated with the internal medicine department of the Hospital Universitario Dr. Ramón Ruiz Arnau and the Universidad Central del Caribe in Bayamón, Puerto Rico.


Hi there my name is Shannon! I am 35 years old and have been a massage therapist for 13 years. I love my job very much and take it very seriously. My goal is to help you and your needs. I am here to take away that every day stressors and place the positive back into the body! I have been married to my wonderful husband for 13 years and we have 2 handsome boys ages 10 and 13. I lived in Lakeville, IN my entire life up until 2 years ago, where we decided to move to the north end of South Bend. We are loving every minute of it. We have 3 dogs, Ruby who is a Beagle mix, Jacoby who is an Aussie, and little Lzzy Lou who is also an Aussie. We also have 2 cats. I am a very busy girl. I also work with National Rock bands. I have worked with Shinedown, Avenged Sevenfold, Breaking Benjamin, Pop Evil, Sick Puppies, Adelitas Way, and many more.
Perfect amount of pressure. Allows the client to determine how much (if any) talking will take place during the massage. Checks in to make sure client's needs are being met. Outstanding massages!
Good massage therapist. Spoke freely, but was quiet appropriately. Asked me if the background music suited me. That was a nice touch. I look forward to further sessions.
Enjoyed my whole experience. Body feels amazing the next day.
Shannon is very knowledgeable in her profession. She made me feel relaxed and comfortable.I have a shoulder condition that I informed her about, I booked 3 more sessions and I believe after 3 years of constant pain I'm going to feel a lot of relief in that shoulder.
Shannon was very thorough and made sure to ask from the very beginning if I had any issues, preferences, or areas to focus on in my massage. She was terrific to work with and I walked away feeling more relaxed than ever. Looking forward to my next appointment!
Thanks for a great massage!


Sometimes I just like to play/create with trash. Free materials takes the pressure off and gives my imagination space to run wild.
All of the materials used in this project were found in the studio.
Do you recognize some of my trashy bits? Ha!
The colorful rectangle is from the pretzel box side tabs and makes a fun belt buckle.
Z is my studio mascot now. Makes me smile every time I see it! And it encourages me to save "trash" things and continue making stuff.
I love making stuff, don't you?
A special shout out to my friend Craig who is always passing "junk" along to me from Agawam's Java Stop!
I love the roller skates and the hair. Great job, looks like it was fun to make.


When it comes to dining room furniture sets most of us overlook the truth that dining area chairs are as critical as the tables to make the room appealing. Along with this, acquiring the furnishings on-line saves you from the headaches you would have to encounter if you check out a bodily market place. Obtaining the referred to as for formal dining space sets on the internet permits you shop from the convenience of your residence, workplace, or virtually anywhere you have accessibility to the web. With the rise in the require of formal dining space sets, every considerable producer in the furnishings domain name is providing a big variety of sets to suit various demands, budgets and preferences.
Today, with internet reaching mobile devices, acquiring every little thing imaginable is achievable from virtually any sort of element of the recognized planet, as effectively as exceptional top quality dining space furniture is no exemption. When acquiring a brand-new dining area chair covers the very initial point to believe about is whether or not you will surely pick a substitute of the already existing colour or a totally brand-new colour. A vital element in embellishing for dining area chair covers is to make certain it restores the appeal as properly as appeal of previous residence furniture.
When you wish to produce dining space chair covers you could select item in a broad assortment of styles, colours as properly as structures. If you are believing of sprucing up your dining space then the initial point you could do is the dining room chair cover substitute. You could likewise receive customized created dining spaces chair covers that will entirely match your dining chairs. Dining area chair cover is a required element of dining table embellishment as effectively as offer brand-new life to your aged furniture.
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If you are believing of sprucing up your dining space then the initial point you could do is the dining area chair cover substitute. Be it wood dining furnishings sets or steel dining room evaluated, I found that the design adhered to was straightforward originality. The solution made use of to make a dining table might differ from glass, timber, and also steel, to plastic.
Taking into consideration that the dish time is 1 gorgeous minute when the entire household members obtains with every single other, I ready to adjust the somber dining area at residence to a welcoming a single with modern dining area sets. Modern day dining space sets normally come with glass top tables as nicely as imaginative chairs that make any sort of area look right away enticing and also intense. There are so lots of various kinds of modern day dining area sets that are readily obtainable in the market place. Common crystal dining room chandeliers can be quite stylish, but tough to hold tidy.
Be it wood dining room furniture sets or steel dining room evaluated, I found that the design and style complied with was straightforward originality. Thinking about that the dish time is a single gorgeous minute when the entire household obtains with every other, I intended to transform the solemn dining area at house to a welcoming one with contemporary dining room sets.


Eddie has been contributing articles over the course of 2017, and they have received a great response. Targeting the new shooter, Senior covers reasons why you should put the rifle down and try out Practical Pistol. If you want a challenge, fun and to test your skills, pistol is the way to go.
Senior's series of articles will run for several months, talking all about the exciting sport of Practical Shooting, covering pistols, rifles, shotguns and the associated gear.
As always, our thanks to Pete Moore, editor of Shooting Sports magazine for including this piece and letting Senior share his passion for the sport with newcomers and old timers alike.
Be sure to grab your copy – out now, and why not subscribe to the magazine so as not to miss any of the future articles.


The Pinhead Jigging Mino is a sleek slab spoon designed to get back down to the school fast. Has the perfect injured minnow profile that dances in place when jigged. Panfish & Gamefish are attracted to the noisy and flashy flapper. The head down look attracts upward feeding fish.


On this page you'll find the answer to WordWhizzle Search daily puzzle of July 16, 2018.
Done with WordWhizzle Search Daily July 16, 2018 and need help with the rest? Visit our WordWhizzle Search Answers page to get help with the other 1000 levels.


Oh, it's all very pretty when you live in a country that doesn't come to a standstill at the sight of a snowflake, but this is completely ridiculous!!!!! But I'm not going to start on that now because I'll just get all het up and flustered – again!!
I can't believe I've got a 16-year-old son! My God, where does time go? And that is SUCH an old-person sort of a thing to say that I'm truly embarrassed. It's surely on a par with 'We made very good time on the trip back from X'. Dear, oh dear. Next it'll be Complan and Rich Tea biccies. Maybe I'm not looking forward to this year as much as I thought I was.
Nah! That's a lie. Honestly, I have great hopes for this year and I plan to enjoy every minute – just as soon as this migraine goes away and I get my neck injury sorted out. What a wonderful way to start, eh? I wouldn't mind so much but I have no idea what the hell I did to my neck – only that it's causing me agony and a lot of sleepless nights (and you know it must be bad when I can't get to sleep!). The migraine may or may not be linked, but I can deal with the migraine and I'm just kicking myself because it could have been avoided if I'd just made myself a few decent juices. I haven't had a single migraine since I discovered the miracle of juicing – but then something called Christmas got in the way.
"Sorry? A what? A Santa run? No. Sorry. Don't know anything about it." At which point I simply left him and carried on walking, chuckling away to myself. About a hundred yards further on, I turned back and sneaked a peak. He was still looking at me, poor chap. Marvellous.


Dianne: Daniel, Daniel…I'm delighted to talk with you about this masterpiece! I love everything written by Miss Fanny! My favorite co-writer with her is Mr. W.H. Doane, but Mr. Lowery has written what I believe is the most beautiful melody to ANY of her songs. I think most people would say "Blessed Assurance" is their favorite Fanny Crosby song, and it, too, is a masterpiece…but this one here is my favorite.
Daniel: What elements of the lyric and melody make "All the Way my Savior Leads Me" your favorite hymn?
Dianne: I LOVE what "All the Way My Savior Leads Me" says, lyrically. Miss Fanny, even in her blindness, always expresses her total trust in God to protect her and provide for her. It's SO prominent in her songs, as well as her firm belief in Eternal Security. I was saved when I was in my early 30s, but it was much later when I learned the secret of how to have the abundant life we are promised…it's turning loose of that last shred of control in your own life and completely ceding your will over to God's, minute by minute, present and future. MEANING it, and LIVING by it…not just saying it. I don't know when in Miss Fanny's life she learned this, but I KNOW she did. She couldn't write about it so eloquently if she had not. She is such a MASTER ("mistress" just won't work here!) lyricist and poet that ALL her songs are wonderfully crafted throughout. I can imagine her sending the completed lyric to this song to Mr. Lowery, and as soon as he started reading, the beautiful melody just start coming to him. I like to think they didn't have to change a single syllable to make it "fit"! And OH, the melody!! When I just sit at my piano and play this song…no singing…the beauty of the melody moves me to tears. It's just perfection to me. I not only love the grand old hymns of the 19th century, I grieve to think that so many of them are being dropped from hymnals and that someday there not be young people who know "All the Way My Savior Leads Me". Roger Darlin' Bennett and I talked about this wonderful hymn often. Like so many things we had in common…it was his favorite, too.
Daniel: As discussed in yesterday's post, there have been very, very few recorded versions in Southern Gospel—so whether SG or otherwise, do you have any favorite recorded versions?
Dianne: I don't believe I have a recorded version of "All the Way My Savior Leads Me." I know who sings it the best to my ear…my brother (my very dear brother, James Branscum, pastor of Mercer Baptist Church in Powderly, Kentucky). I love to hear him sing it, and I love to accompany him on the piano. I believe if Miss Fanny could hear him, he'd be her favorite, too. Maybe a LITTLE bias there!
Daniel: Is there anyone you would love to see offer a new rendition of the song?
Dianne: With Tim Parton to arrange an a capella version right there in the group, I think Legacy Five could do this beautifully. I don't think only the majestic hymns like "Wonderful Grace of Jesus" lend themselves well to a capella…"All the Way My Savior Leads me" would be lovely done this way. Wayne Haun could also do a great arrangement for Ernie and Signature Sound. I'll jump track here and say the Isaacs would be amazing on this song, with the acoustic instruments and soft fiddle. My MY!!!! Honestly, any group with a tight blend and wonderful harmony could do this beautiful song with a great arrangement – not overdone…but simply done, to showcase the song itself and not the production.
Thanks for letting me talk about this beautiful collaboration of Miss Fanny Crosby and Mr. Robert Lowery. Those folks paved the way for people like me, and I will be eternally (literally!) grateful.
Daniel: Thank you! And thank you especially for taking the time to do this while it was fresh on the readers' minds!


text:
Democrats Introduce Legislation to Extend Trade Adjustment Assistance and Renew Vital Expansion to the Program
U.S. Reps. Sander Levin (D-MI) and Adam Smith (D-WA) and U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) have introduced legislation to extend through 2020 the Trade Adjustment Assistance program – which expires at the end of 2015 – and renew a vital 2009-2010 expansion of the program to provide assistance for thousands of service industry workers affected by trade, as well as for workers losing their jobs due to trade with countries with which the United States does not have a free trade agreement, such as China. The bill would also extend the TAA for Firms program, which helps businesses adversely affected by trade regain their competitiveness. A fact sheet on The Trade Adjustment Assistance Act of 2015 is available here.
Trade Adjustment Assistance provides necessary assistance for workers who have lost their job due to trade. The Department of Labor estimates that since 1975 more than two million workers have relied on the TAA program to receive benefits to make ends meet and the training necessary to find new employment. Congress included a short-term TAA extension in the omnibus bill last year, but the statutory authority for the program expires entirely at the end of this fiscal year.
"The extension of the basic TAA program at the end of the year while welcome did not address several key improvements that are vital to assisting an expanded group of trade impacted workers," Reps. Levin and Smith, and Sen. Brown said. "For example, service workers and workers who lose their jobs due to trade with non-FTA, non-preference program countries like China are not currently eligible for TAA. Our bill restores benefits to these workers while also providing much needed technical assistance so firms can remain competitive. Our commitment to displaced workers and the value of the TAA program stands on its own merits and should not be held up by other trade debates."
Permalink: https://adamsmith.house.gov/2015/2/democrats-introduce-legislation-to-extend-trade-adjustment-assistance-0

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


You are here: Home / Uncategorized / With as Little as $500, These Entrepreneurs Created Multimillion-Dollar Businesses. Learn Their Secrets.
Successfully launching two tech businesses with almost no startup money made it easy for Mike Michalowicz to attract venture capital for his next enterprise, an angel investing company called Obsidian Launch. But in a clear case of "be careful what you wish for," Michalowicz took the money, then saw his new startup flop, victimized by what he says in hindsight was poor decision-making brought on by a lack of urgency.
The takeaway is that lack of cash won't keep a good business idea–at least one that's executed well–from succeeding. And it's not just Michalowicz who has proved it. Take a cue from our cross section of successful businesses whose founders used their resourcefulness and hard work to create multimillion-dollar enterprises. It's time to start thinking big.
Door to Door is poised to grow to more than $40 million this year.
Even as he was disassembling cardboard boxes in a garage that served as the warehouse for his just-launched organic produce home-delivery venture, David Gersenson's gut told him Door to Door Organics was destined for big things.
"I was breaking down the numbers as I was breaking down the boxes, and I knew this thing was going to take off," he recalls of that moment in 1997 when he foresaw the future of his company. Started for about $700 in Upper Bucks County, Pa., the business was based on an idea he hatched in his early 20s after eating organic produce on a trip to India.
While Gersenson's vision proved prophetic, he could hardly have predicted the outcome of the strategic decisions he made along the way to turn Door to Door Organics into the bustling multistate company it is today. The online grocer of natural and organic products employs more than 200 people in five metro markets around the country, posted $26 million in revenue in 2013 and is projected to grow to more than $40 million this year.
• Operated on the cheap, even after years of profits and growth.
• Evaluated operations regularly to find more efficiencies and reduce costs.
• Realized when it was time to hand over the reins to someone who knew how to grow and run a bigger business.
Once in Colorado, Gersenson forged supply relationships directly with local farmers and regional trucking and distribution companies to bring groceries to his customers. Then, drawing from the capital reserves his cost-conscious ways had helped build, Gersenson assembled an in-house delivery fleet so he'd no longer need to rely on UPS. He says these moves significantly improved quality, strengthened the supply chain and cut costs.
Peach New Media's client-services team on break from an off-site meeting.
Reinvention is a panic move for some ventures. For Peach New Media, it's part of the normal course of business. The software reseller Dave Will launched in 2001 out of his basement for $2,600 emerged from its subterranean beginnings–and multiple strategic pivots–as a solidly entrenched SaaS provider in the learning content management space.
The company packages its own webcasting and learning software platform (the Freestone Learning Management System) with related tools and services to help clients (such as state bar associations and CPA societies) deliver educational material to their constituents. Last year the Atlanta-based company's revenue grew to several million, with some 250 clients and a work force of 36.
Will acknowledges that he didn't plot the tortuous path Peach New Media took to prosperity. But he also says the company wouldn't be thriving today without his willingness to pivot from one business model to another when opportunity knocked. Over a dozen years, the venture has recorded double-digit growth each year, including a 32 percent jump in 2013.
• Limited debt and resisted outside investors.
• Pivoted only when opportunities presented themselves.
• Created a strong product with recurring revenue streams built into it.
Will says it was an unexpected layoff from a systems-integration consulting job in 2001 that left him at a crossroads: "Work for The Man again or do something myself." He chose the latter, spending $2,600 for a pool of licenses to sell web-conferencing tools to consumer-goods retailers. With a few hundred dollars more, he set up a makeshift basement office.
Soon it dawned on him that the template for his company's web-based learning portals had a market outside the realm of consumer packaged goods. It was time for a second pivot, this one from a service-centric to a product-centric model. "We realized we were creating something that people wanted to buy–our learning content management software. So we shifted to an SaaS model that allows us to sell services on top of our software and build a new and recurring revenue stream with our existing customers," he says.
All pivoting aside, Will maintains a resolve to grow his business methodically. Restraint, he claims, has served him well. He's resisted accepting venture capital so he can retain control of the company. He didn't even hire an administrative assistant until he'd been in business for more than a year; it took him three years to move out of the basement and into an actual office, and four years to hire his first salesperson.
The Kingston Group's renovated office building in Nashville.
But it wasn't long before some of the highly leveraged, now-idled contractors and developers with whom Scott and Edwards competed slid into bankruptcy. Meanwhile, The Kingston Group's grounded, risk-averse approach to growth helped it add clients and build revenue, even as economic and local market conditions continued to deteriorate.
• Reinvested in the business with new employees, equipment and office space.
• Focused heavily on networking and word-of-mouth to build initial customer base.
Launched for about $500 to cover licensing fees, the company spent its first two years operating out of a spare bedroom in Edwards' home with little more than the tools, equipment and computers he and Scott already owned. Legal documents were drawn up inexpensively, using online tools whenever possible. The company's marketing campaign initially consisted of little more than a Facebook page, periodic e-mail blasts and a commitment by the two founders to work their personal networks relentlessly. "Having a good network, and using it, is vital to getting a business off the ground," Scott says.


With equities failing to hold the minor opening gains, and breaking lower in the early morning, the VIX spiked (intra high 14.23), but settled -4.8% @ 12.49. Near term outlook is for continued broad equity upside, which should keep the VIX pinned within the 14/10 zone.
Even with the Dow -120pts or so in the morning, the VIX could only spike into the low 14s... briefly.
VIX looks set to remain subdued into mid May. The big 20 threshold looks out of range until at least mid June.
... interesting day... not least with the closing hour insane drama in TWTR.
As for the broader market, minor opening gains.. but a swift washout in the morning.. before what was a rather typical (and expected) latter day recovery.
Special closing update on TWTR... due.. with charts!
So.. the re-listing price was $40.00... with an initial bounce to the $44s.. settling in the $42s.
There will be high risk of an upside reversal tomorrow.
What am I doing? I'm pretty glad to be a mere onlooker to this momo stock madness. I did like TWTR at $51/50 (having bailed from a long position @ $51.95 last week) and I certainly like it more in the low $40s. For now.. I ain't getting involved.
As for earnings.. EPS of 7 cents... was fine... rev' was light.. and the Q2 outlook was somewhat depressed. Overall though.. I still consider TWTR infinately better than FB.
Most US equity indexes look set for minor net daily gains, with the sp'500 to settle within the 2112/18 zone. USD remains weak, -0.7% in the DXY 96.10s. Metals are holding gains, Gold +$11. Oil is battling to stay positive, +0.3% in the $57s... ahead of the latest API/EIA inventory reports.
*Oil has been stuck for the better part of two weeks. If the next set of inventory reports come in no higher than 3/4 million barrels.. the likelihood is for a break to the upside.. into the low $60s.
I remain long Oil - via USO, seeking an exit in the 20.50/21.50 zone.
A pretty mixed day... but overall.. it sure looks like we'll close a little higher. Daily candles are offering a spike-floor in most cases.. which bodes bullish.. ahead of the GDP/FOMC tomorrow.
Indeed.. tomorrow should prove to be pretty interesting.
notable weakness: AAPL, -1.4%... on what is pretty large vol'. On any basis though.. renewed upside in May looks due.
3.13pm.. TWTR is seeing some crazy price action ahead of earnings.
*I have no position in TWTR (having bailed last week @ $51.95). I was considering going long for earnings.. but on this occasion.. I will refrain.
I'm not in the mood for any extra stress!
The rumour.. rev' miss.. EPS 7 cents vs 4.... but market is not happy with it!
3.20pm.. There will be absolute hell if the TWTR reports turn out to be fake! Stock has been whacked around 4%.. losing the key $50 threshold.
If the 'real results' at 4pm come in different... crazy.
*...and partly.. thats why I usually avoid momo stocks.... the hysteria!
3.29pm... woah... TWTR... suspended... ahead of a news release. -5.8%.. and holding.
3.35pm... Pretty entertaining drama with TWTR... now its a case.. do they bring forward their earnings before the close?
US equity indexes are holding moderate gains, with the sp'500 having seen a full 1% swing from the earlier low of 2094 to 2114. New highs look due for all indexes in the days ahead. The weaker USD is especially helping commodities, with Gold +$12, and Oil +0.8%.
Another day where the equity bears are teased in the morning, only to see a latter day rally.
How many times have we been through this since 2009? 600/700 times?
Market will be prone to a minor down wave into the close, but still... the earlier low of sp'2094 is a pretty good spike-floor. I don't expect it to be broken under, whether on weak GDP data... nor the FOMC announcement of tomorrow afternoon.
*the opening black-fail candle is a good example of why I particularly keep an eye out for them.
Meanwhile... off world.. the Russians appear to have lost a Progress (unmanned) supply ship. From what I gather.. they are probably not going to be able to dock even if they do regain control, due to lack of fuel.
After some completely unjustified early morning weakness, Apple (AAPL) has turned positive, a daily close in the $133/36 zone now looks probable. Metals are holding gains, Gold +$10, with Silver +1.4%. Oil is battling to hold moderate gains of 0.5%.
*metals are approaching rather important resistance levels. If the upside continues, the bearish H/S formation will be negated, and instead, offer upside across May.. and probably into June.
Little to add... as King O' continues to drone on about Baltimore.. and other issues.
notable weakness: Discovery (DISCA) -1.2% @ $31.80s... remaining stuck... and vulnerable to losing the $30 threshold.
Equity indexes have already started to turn positive, with spike-floor candles for most indexes, having swung from sp'2094 to 2113. The weaker USD is going to continue to help equities across May.. if not also June. Metals are holding gains, Gold +$11. Oil is battling to stay positive, +0.3%.
*R2K is a bit of a mixed picture.. having broken the rising trend from October.. but the daily candle is now a pretty bullish spike-floor.
Overall... the morning down wave (part of the blame is currently the Gulf ship story) appears nothing less than just a tease to the bears.
New highs look due.. esp' in tech... which still looks set to take out the 5132 bubble high. From there.. things become clearer.
Whilst equities have seen some moderate morning declines, there has been notable weakness in the USD, -0.6% in the DXY 96.20s. The break of trend should now be apparent to everyone, and it has important implications for both equities and commodities into the early summer.
*there was a spurious story of the Iranians seizing a US ship.. but that seems to be completely false. Oil has cooled a little from a brief spike high in the upper $57s. The big $60 threshold remains due... with the API/EIA reports due late today/early tomorrow.
A rather stark bearish engulfing candle on the daily chart. It will be difficult to see that flip to a bullish one.. by the close of today.
Maybe AAPL should have posted a net loss like AMZN, or just a 50% miss like NFLX? This remains a TWISTED and sick market where things can be deeply mis-priced.. both to the up.. and downside.
11.27am... Rather significant spike-floor candles on the two market leaders.. Trans/R2K.. both are suggestive this wave from sp'2125 to 2094 was just another minor washout.
A net daily gain now looks probable. If AAPL can turn positive.. that'll really solidfy the turn.
So, opening chop... and as usual, it remains a case of no sig' downside power. This market is still broadly climbing.
Ironically, the fact the mainstream don't even get it, makes things even more bullish. The same situation is the case in the perception for China.. and most of the EU markets.
Whilst AMZN is the most mis-priced stock on the upside... one of the most under-valued (relative to main market) is AAPL.
Despite excellent results, the stock have lost early gains, and is now on the slide... on heavy volume.
First support is the $128/27s.. where the 50dma is lurking.
10.02am... Consumer confidence.. 95 vs 103 previous.... pretty disappointing.
.. but hey... bad news is now good news... right? After all, all that matters to the market is for no rate hikes this summer.
10.07am... A rather huge bearish engulfing candle for AAPL, after breaking a new historic high of $135.75 at the open.
I realise some of the bears will be getting excited about such an opening reversal... but really... would you seriously want to short such a company? To me.. it is nothing less than the height of crazy.
10.12am... R2K has broken the rising trend that stretches back to October. -0.6%.. and looking vulnerable right now.
Well, now its a case of 'floor at 11am... and see what the bulls can do into the early afternoon'.
10.33am.. Buyers starting to appear... back above sp'2100, VIX already starting to cool... losing the 14s.
Good morning. Futures are a touch lower, sp -1pt, we're set to open at 2107. The USD remains notably weak, -0.3% @ DXY 96.45. Metals are u/c. Oil is moderately higher, +0.5%.
A new historic high in the sp'500 looks unlikely today, but still.... even a week or two of moderate weakness won't be enough to break primary support... now at the giant 2K threshold.
*TWTR have earnings at the close of today, I'll have eyes on that, although am not currently involved in it.
notable early strength: AAPL +1.2% @ $134, post earnings.
As expected, the USD is continuing to cool, settling the day -0.2% @ DXY 96.89. There is a clear break of the broad upward trend from last May... first downside target are the 93/92s. After a retrace into the summer, the USD looks set to resume higher.. to the 120s.
*the giant monthly cycle is offering the first net monthly decline since May 2014.
USD is cooling... and a retrace into the summer is now well underway. That has broadly bullish implications for equities and most commodities.
Tuesday will see the FOMC meeting begin, along with Case Shiller, Consumer con', and Richmond Fed'.
US equities closed somewhat weak, sp -8pts @ 2108 (new historic high 2125). The two leaders - Trans/R2K, settled lower by -0.8% and -1.2% respectively. Outlook is for continued broad upside into May.. if not across the summer... helped by a retracing USD.
The broader upward trend is unquestionably still continuing.


text:
In the wake of Jack Abramoff's guilty plea Tuesday to conspiracy, tax evasion and fraud charges, a spokesman for House Speaker Dennis Hastert says the Illinois Congressman will return $69,000 in funds contributed by Abramoff. But instead of returning it to the indicted lobbyist, Hastert will donate the money to an as-yet-named charity, it was reported Tuesday on MSNBC's Hardball with Chris Matthews.
Now that it's abundantly clear that Abramoff is set to likely rat out his cohorts, many in Washington, like Hastert, have begun the cleansing process and have either returned donations or plan to. These include Sen. Conrad Burns (Mont) and Rep. Bob Ney (OH). Many, like Ney, are claiming to have had no knowledge of Abramoff's illegal activities and say they were merely "duped." Lord knows we all know how naive those poor old politicians can be.
The investigation into Abramoff's corruption is believed to involve as many as 20 members of Congress and aides, as well as possibly several administration officials. Remarkably, approximately 220 lawmakers received at least $1.7 million in political contributions from Abramoff, his associates and nine tribal clients between 2001 and 2004, according to a review of Federal Election Commission and Internal Revenue Service records. Of those, 201 are still in Congress.
"When this is all over, this will be bigger than any (government scandal) in the last 50 years, both in the amount of people involved and the breadth to it," Stan Brand, a former U.S. House counsel who specializes in representing public officials accused of wrongdoing, told Bloomberg.com. "It will include high-ranking members of Congress and executive branch officials."
Maezeppa said...
It will be interesting to see which "charity" receives the money. I am suspicious that many of these Moon Foundation "faith based" charities kick back to the pols.
I've wondered often... in the wake of the McCain finance reform bill, how many of these faux-charities have shown up. These people who seem to act like they have the credentials to be on the nightly news championing their 'view points'.
Anyone have an idea if there is a watchlist out there?
Tap said...
I used to live in Illinois and I can tell you people there don't think too much of Dennis Hastert. The proof will be in '06. He's a former high school wrestling coach with a very limited intellect. I have never read any thing nice being said about him from anyone. He's gotta go!
I don't know how anyone can look at the Republican Party and not associate them with tyranny and corruption.
Something's rotten...and not in the state of Denmark.
I think this bribe money ought to be conftituted.Its just as ilegal as dope money.I dont see how this can help them as the crime has already been done


text:
Cancelled: Triple X (Queensland Theatre & Sydney Theatre Company)
PLEASE NOTE: All remaining performances of TRIPLE X have been cancelled under the government guidelines and updated advice about the COVID-19 pandemic. If you were a ticketholder, Queensland Theatre's Box Office team will be working as quickly as possible to get in contact with you, in order of date of performance, so please be patient and allow us time to contact you.
To keep up to date with Queensland Theatre, please visit their website.
A friendly reminder that this pandemic is beyond the control of any organisation or individual, and that cancellations and postponements are being made with everyone's health and best interests in mind. Please be patient, and be kind to one another in these difficult times.
14 March – 4 April
Bille Brown Theatre, West End
Billed as the first trans love story on the Australian mainstage, Triple X is written by (and stars) acclaimed New York-based Australian performer/playwright/screenwriter/comedienne, Glace Chase, and examines the relationship between straight 'Wall Street banker bro', Scotty (Akos Armont), and Dexie (Chase), a trans performer with whom he starts an affair just a few months out from his wedding to his 'perfect' fiancée.
Writer and star Glace Chase says: "Whilst the concept of 'trans' has finally hit the mainstream over the last few years, the next big story to be told is "trans in love". I think very few people have any concept of what a romantic relationship looks like between a trans person and those interested in them. It's a unique story and it's mainly from the point of view of the straight guy who is romantically interested in a trans woman. We've never seen something (empathetically) explore what he and they go through. I think the general public still struggles to fully understand the trans experience, but I think they want to. Hopefully this will help."
Triple X also stars Queensland Theatre multi-award winners Christen O'Leary (Antigone, Twelfth Night), as Scotty's mum, Deb, and Meyne Wyatt (City of Gold) as his best mate, Jase. Making her Queensland Theatre debut is Contessa Treffone (STC's Lord of the Flies and The Harp in the South) in the role of Scotty's sister, Claire.
As well as an unconventional love story, Triple X also contains strong language and explicit sex scenes. Chase, who is a two-time winner of the prestigious Griffin Award, knows this may be confronting for some audience members, but believes it to be a truthful representation of the characters' lives.
"In my world people speak and act like this. I understand that it might be shocking for some, but you can't unlink explicit sexuality from the romantic reality of many trans people's lives. We so often exist in the shadows. I wanted to be brutally honest and make people experience what it's like from the inside," she explains.
Triple X Director, Paige Rattray said: "Glace is one of the most entertaining but also profound writers I've worked with. It can be an unusual combination; often comedy can overtake tragedy or vice versa. Glace rides this wave expertly in Triple X. I think only someone with her particular lived experience would be able to navigate that trickiness within this particular narrative. The toxic masculinity, examination of societal 'norms', gender politics and love; it's all woven together expertly. Working with her on this play has definitely changed the way I think about the world and I feel very lucky."
Scotty has it all: a multimillion-dollar loft in downtown Manhattan, a high-flying Wall Street job, and he's about to marry the perfect fiancée, who also happens to be loaded. But when he meets trans performance artist Dexie, he discovers he wants something more. A friend? A confidante? A lover?
When the secret of their affair gets out, it's sure to shock not only his dude-bro Jase, his highly-strung mother Deb, and his lesbian activist sister Claire, but also a theatre audience strapped in for the ride of their lives. From the wickedly funny pen of Australian-born, New York-based Glace Chase, this play is an hilarious, honest and emotionally affecting look at entitlement, hypocrisy, and the realities of love.
This production contains adult themes, frequent strong language, explicit sexual references and sex scenes.
Auslan Interpreted Mon 23 Mar, 6:30pm
Audio Described Sat 4 Apr, 2pm
For ticketing and further information, visit the Queensland Theatre website.
brisbane theatre, queensland theatre, Uncategorized, what's on
bille brown theatre, christen o'leary, contessa treffone, glace chase, love story, meyne wyatt, paige rattray, trans love story, triple x, what's on, what's on brisbane, what's on brisbane theatre
Cancelled: American Song (Red Stitch Actors Theatre)
What's On: Liam Pieper launches 'Sweetness and Light' at Avid Reader


Geologists are letting the air out of a nagging mystery about the development of animal life on Earth.
Scientists have long speculated as to why animal species didn't flourish sooner, once sufficient oxygen covered Earth's surface. Animals began to prosper at the end of the Proterozoic period, about 800 million years ago — but what about the billion-year stretch before that, when most researchers think there also was plenty of oxygen?
Well, it seems the air wasn't so great then, after all.
In a study published Oct. 30 in Science, Yale researcher Noah Planavsky and his colleagues found that oxygen levels during the "boring billion" period were only 0.1% of what they are today. In other words, Earth's atmosphere couldn't have supported a diversity of creatures, no matter what genetic advancements were poised to occur.
The scientists found their evidence by analyzing chromium (Cr) isotopes in ancient sediments from China, Australia, Canada, and the United States. Chromium is found in Earth's continental crust, and chromium oxidation is directly linked to the presence of free oxygen in the atmosphere.
Specifically, the team studied samples deposited in shallow, iron-rich ocean areas, near the shore. They compared their data with other samples taken from younger locales known to have higher levels of oxygen.
Oxygen's role in controlling the first appearance of animals has long vexed scientists. "We were missing the right approach until now," Planavsky said. "Chromium gave us the proxy." Previous estimates put the oxygen level at 40% of today's conditions during pre-animal times, leaving open the possibility that oxygen was already plentiful enough to support animal life.
In the new study, the researchers acknowledged that oxygen levels were "highly dynamic" in the early atmosphere, with the potential for occasional spikes. However, they said, "It seems clear that there is a first-order difference in the nature of Earth surface Cr cycling" before and after the rise of animals.
"There's a lot of interest right now in a broader discussion surrounding the role that environmental stability played in the evolution of complex life, and we think our results are a significant contribution to that," Reinhard said.
Funding sources for the research included the NASA Exobiology Program and the National Science Foundation's Earth-Life Transitions program, awarded to Planavsky, Reinhard, and Lyons.
The other members of the research team included Xiangli Wang, a postdoctoral fellow at Yale; Thomas Johnson, of the University of Illinois; Danielle Thomson, of Carleton University; Peter McGoldrick, of the University of Tasmania; and Woodward Fischer, of the California Institute of Technology.
Note: The above story is based on materials provided by Yale University. The original article was written by Jim Shelton.


text:
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Correlate performance metrics with business outcomes.
Provide a flawless user experience, everytime.
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Isolate performance issues across third party networks and SaaS.
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Computacenter optimizes global client services and operations with AppDynamics
80x increase in issue identification per month improves client services
Accelerated root cause discovery prevents customer service issues
Improved visibility across complex, hybrid environments accelerates delivery of new revenue opportunities
Computacenter is a FTSE 250 company trusted by enterprises around the world to deliver modern, reliable, and secure data services that underpin their critical IT processes. AppDynamics has given Computacenter a complete view of its customers' data across their increasingly complex hybrid cloud environments, positioning it to resolve issues more proactively and improve its service quality across the board.
"AppDynamics treats us — and all of its customers — as a valued partner and a top priority."
Christian Siedler
Automation Architecture and Design Lead, Computacenter
Overcome visibility gaps across its customers' systems and applications to ensure they run at peak levels every second of the day.
Achieved a complete real-time view across every customers' technology infrastructure to proactively address services issues while keeping their data safe and compliant.
Delivers 24/7 service and performance monitoring thanks to full stack observability, which in turn frees up more resources to drive growth by focusing on customer success and happiness.
"We used to see only one major issue per month, on average, now AppDynamics helps us identify more potential issues and discover the root causes of these issues, enabling an even higher-quality 24/7 service for our customers."
At the heart of Computacenter's client integrations is the Microsoft Internet Information Services (IIS) server. Computacenter uses AppDynamics across the IIS server, databases, and the company's custom-configured Docker containers managed by a Kubernetes cluster to observe and react in real-time to traffic fluctuations in its containerized environment.
Paving the way to modernity
For nearly four decades, Germany-based Computacenter has provided organizations in the public sector, financial services, and other highly-regulated industries with cloud solutions and consulting that help companies integrate and adopt new technology. Over the years, the company has cultivated a reputation for helping customers better manage their data, improve efficiency, and become more agile and responsive to a rapidly changing business environment.
But gaining the trust and confidence of enterprise executives embarking on IT modernization requires demonstrating for them how stable, secure, and reliable new technologies can be.
"Customers work with us because we can help them transform their manual processes into automated ones and streamline many of their most critical operations like online ordering, shipping, and help desk support," says Automation Architecture and Design Lead, Christian Siedler. "But in the back of their minds, they still worry about something going offline and creating more problems. We needed complete, end-to-end visibility across all their systems and applications to make sure they were all running at peak efficiency every minute of every day."
Secure access to essential tools
As a global leader in IT services, Computacenter experts implement and manage all kinds of software and hardware designed to support and optimize their clients' business operations. Unexpectedly, Siedler says most client discussions aren't even about technology itself.
"Most of our clients are more concerned about the stringent legal guidelines and restrictions they have to follow because of the amount and types of data they have in their environment," Siedler says. "They understand that they can do more by moving key systems and processes to the cloud, but they worry that the data governance and security protocols and regulations they face make adopting new technologies too risky and makes them apprehensive of adopting business-enabling technology in the first place."
Computacenter helps to alleviate security and legal concerns by setting up customer infrastructure using its own local data center as the central point of integration, giving customers a secure and compliant way to connect to third-party applications and cloud services. But taking on that level of responsibility means that Computacenter needed complete, real-time observability across all of its customers' various technology deployments to deliver on its contractual promises to keep customer data safe while maximizing availability and performance.
"A lot of our customers have strict requirements regarding security and data protection, which require us to use our own data center as the central integration point to keep compliant with data residency and sovereignty regulations," Siedler says. "Having a central global connection to our customers and third-party cloud services makes it a little easier to see and manage such an extensive IT footprint and improve their customer experiences while complying with data governance requirements."
In the past, Computacenter teams frequently used monitoring tools supplied by original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to keep an eye on performance levels of individual services or connections. But as customer deployments became increasingly more complex — adding public and private clouds and new as-a-service solutions to their existing on-premise legacy systems — those disparate tools created visibility gaps that made it difficult to get a real read on the health and performance of every system, database, cloud, or web service in a customer's environment.
"Without end-to-end visibility across our customers' environments, it wasn't as easy to respond to system or service interruptions as we would have liked because the exact source and cause were obscured," Seidler explains. "We'd spend hours investigating and troubleshooting an issue, which meant only the most pressing issues were addressed, rather than the root cause. There was no way to prioritize alerts or to be more proactive and try to prevent issues from happening."
"It was a really positive surprise to see all relevant components in AppDynamics, where we could easily drill down from IIS into a database and visualize all the different dependencies between a specific web service call on IIS and the corresponding actions running against the database in an interactive diagram. It was a completely new way of understanding each client's environment that gave us an edge in preventing new issues from popping up or quickly intervening to address service interruptions to remain compliant with our customer service level agreements (SLAs) and data governance requirements."
A new perspective
Eager for a simpler and more efficient way of keeping client operations running smoothly, the Computacenter team implemented AppDynamics. As a long-time Cisco partner and reseller, Siedler and his team were intimately familiar with AppDynamics' reputation as a leading observability platform but were still surprised to see just how big of a difference the solution could make in his team's daily roles.
"One of the first things we realized was how AppDynamics dashboards give us a configurable, real-time look at how and where our services are consumed," he says. "We can see every touchpoint with customer systems and pinpoint issues as soon as they pop up — or even before. The ability to monitor error rates and start pinpointing where issues might occur is a whole new perspective that helps us ensure that we have enough resources to optimize our services performance and keep our customers happy."
In particular, Siedler says that the heart of Computacenter's client integrations is the Microsoft Internet Information Services (IIS) server. Computacenter uses AppDynamics across the IIS server, databases, and the company's custom-configured Docker containers managed by a Kubernetes cluster to observe and react in real-time to traffic fluctuations in its containerized environment.
Soon after the Delivery Automation team started using AppDynamics, they ran into the perfect scenario to test the effectiveness of their new observation capabilities. After integrating a new customer, Siedler's team started the initial synchronization. However, the team saw a much higher volume of data than expected, nearly triggering a denial of service response that could have taken the customer's service offline. With AppDynamics, the team recognized the unusual peak right away, giving the team time to react and allocate more resources.
"It was a really positive surprise to see all relevant components in AppDynamics, where we could easily drill down from IIS into a database and visualize all the different dependencies between a specific web service call on IIS and the corresponding actions running against the database in an interactive diagram," Siedler says. "It was a completely new way of understanding each client's environment that gave us an edge in preventing new issues from popping up or quickly intervening to address service interruptions to remain compliant with our customer service level agreements (SLAs) and data governance requirements."
Building meaningful partnership with AppDynamics
Since deploying AppDynamics, Siedler says the team has noticed a dramatic uptick in alerts — receiving up to 80 alerts per day. While this might make the average person cringe, Siedler sees the increase as a good sign.
"AppDynamics has helped us discover recurring issues so we can act quickly and more precisely despite a growing workload," he says. "We used to see only one major issue per month, on average, now AppDynamics helps us identify more potential issues and discover the root causes of these issues, enabling an even higher-quality 24/7 service for our customers."
"AppDynamics helps with strategic planning that will allow us to extend our use of the solution to other areas of the business and confidently bring more of our services into the cloud."
Sielder says his team can look at and measure everything from database speeds and other metrics to update backend code for greater performance and continuously tweak code or connections to prevent issues from reappearing in the future.
Improving performance and solving issues proactively with a best-in-class full-stack observability means he can decrease the number of people and resources dedicated to manually troubleshooting and investigating issues. Over time, his team can spend more time working on higher value issues and improving service quality — especially with the AppDynamics service and support teams providing continuous advice. Also the information we get in AppDynamics are also important for continuous development and feature releases.
"AppDynamics treats us — and all of its customers — as a valued partner and a top priority," Siedler adds.
About Computacenter
Computacenter is a leading independent technology partner, trusted by large corporate and public sector organisations. They help their customers source, transform and manage IT infrastructure to deliver digital transformation that enables users and their business. Computacenter's Delivery Automation supports customers with Automation as a Service, outsourcing IT infrastructure so customers can gain the benefits of automation without extensive upkeep. Computacenter is a public company quoted on the London FTSE 250 (CCC.L) and employs over 17,000 people worldwide.
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Stix-N-Stones is a brand new cabin in Kaniatobe Trails, close to all the fun of Hochatown! With 4 King bedrooms and a loft room, you are sure to enjoy this wonderful cabin! Very special care was taken to decorate the interior of this cabin beautifully! This cabin features a floor to ceiling stone fireplace with large flat screen TV and comfortable leather sofas in the large family room, perfect for spending time and making memories! The kitchen area is open with stainless steel appliances, granite countertops, a large island, and is fully stocked for preparing your favorite dishes! Serve your friends and family at the large dining table and enjoy the conversation. Stix-N-Stones has 4 King bedrooms, a loft room with 2 Full sized beds and a Futon for even more sleeping capacity! The main King master suite has a spacious, glass walk-in shower! For entertainment, this cabin features a pool table for a little friendly competition! And with Direct TV Programming, you are sure not to miss your favorite shows. Out on the patio, melt away your stresses in the hot tub while enjoying the scenery! Sit around the firepit and tell ghost stories while roasting marshmallows in the great outdoors. Recently added a brand new Pirate Ship Playground fort for the kiddos to enjoy! Stix-N-Stones offers FREE WIFI. BBCL is not responsible for the speed or reliability of the internet signal from the service provider. Maximum Occupancy: 16 (adults, children & infants) Exceeding maximum occupancy results in additional charges or cancellation (regardless of age) Overcrowding the cabin is not allowed Pet friendly for small pets (25 lbs or less, 2 Pet Maximum). $50 Pet Fee per pet. Larger dog breeds must be approved by office. NO SMOKING INSIDE We know you have many options when searching for Beavers Bend cabins and we Thank You for choosing Broken Bow Cabin Lodging!


Air Tracker have been disrupting the IoT space well before it became commonplace. AirTracker delivers localised real-time air-quality readings and will gather air quality data in order to support initiatives to reduce air pollution and its risk to human health. AirTracker provides all the key measurements needed to get a comprehensive local air quality analysis all from a single, compact and easily-deployed unit.


The Comfort Design Vibrance Recliner is handmade in America. The Vibrance Recliner has a modified wingback design. The back rest provides both upper and lower back support. A hidden extension to the footrest reveals itself once fully reclined and provides welcomed additional ankle, heel and foot support. The rounded classic style arms have a recessed arm front offers a traditional design and without nail trim updates that design. Welted leather seams add to the classic design. Select your wood feet finish color to blend or contrast with the selected leather color. There are 100 leather colors to select from, all are top-grain, aniline dyed leathers which cover the entire piece of furniture. A slight push on the arms activates the recliner.
The Comfort Design Vibrance Recliner CL765 is handmade, custom with your order selections by leather artisans with Comfort Design. Comfort Design specializes in reclining leather furniture. Comfort Design is a premium quality leather furniture manufacturer located in Asheboro, NC. Limited Lifetime warranty (see details above) includes frame construction, seat and back spring construction and manual reclining mechanism (5 years on power mechanism). Your furniture order ships directly from the Comfort Design factory to your home.
The Comfort Design Vibrance Recliner CL765 is handmade to your order specifications, therefore changes, cancellations and returns are not available once production is scheduled.


The Quad | T.C.U. vs. Boise: Is It Fair?
T.C.U. vs. Boise: Is It Fair?
Perhaps the biggest issue of this bowl season will revolve around whether Boise State and T.C.U. got a raw deal by having to match up against each other in the Fiesta Bowl.
Both T.C.U. Coach Gary Patterson and Boise State Coach Chris Petersen ducked questions about not being able to slay giants, insisting that they were playing a top-notch team.
Patterson noted that non-B.C.S. teams had won three of the four bowl games they had played.
What exactly can they prove by playing? We'll find out on Jan. 4. But the sad part is, Patterson is already worried about next year.
Which College Sports Winning Streak Wins?


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America's Last Best Places
NEW - Why not extend your trip to America's West by stopping off in either Chicago or Washington DC for a few days? Ask for more details.
Remote, intriguing, serene, appealing. Unspoiled, unbridled and unfettered. You'll find the places you'll be visiting on this trip all fit this description and more. Get ready to get off the beaten track and explore the real American West. Starting in Denver, you'll be traveling through the best parts of Wyoming, Colorado, Montana and South Dakota. This is likely the most unspoiled part of America. Even though Yellowstone National Park is the oldest National Park in the US, it is still one of the most thrilling. Next door, the majestic Grand Teton Mountains preside over a pristine landscape. Make sure to take a wildlife expedition into the back country, where automobiles and masses of travelers are not allowed. In addition to Mount Rushmore National Memorial, the Rapid City area is home to Badlands National Park, Jewel Cave National Park, Wind Cave National Park, the Black Hills National Forest, Mammoth Hot Springs, Deadwood and more.
Leave yourself time to explore each of the towns you'll be visiting, for they are as much a part of the story as the mountains and monuments. The culture you'll find out here lends itself to a timeless way of life and fits seamlessly into the landscape. Enjoy your whole journey. Not many travelers have had the opportunity to explore America's Last Best Places.
This is an example Yellowstone fly-drive itinerary - please call (01892) 779900 or email us with your plans and we will be happy to help!
Grand Tetons
The Black Hills
Mount Rushmore & Crazy Horse Memorial
Buffalo & Cheyenne
Little Bighorn National Monument
Denver 'The Mile High' City
When the first flakes of gold were found in Cherry Creek, Denver sprouted up as a mining camp filled with gunslingers, gamblers, gold miners, saloons, cattlemen and a sheriff. Goodness, how things have changed. Today's Mile High City is the center of a very sophisticated state, one of the most educated, prosperous and ecologically minded places in the world. Downtown, the 16th Street Mall connects the Capitol Building with LoDo (Lower Downtown) the cultural district that a century ago was home to Bat Masterson, Calamity Jane and other frontier icons. The Colorado State History Museum, the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, the Denver Visitor Center, and the Molly Brown House, home of the "unsinkable" local heroine, are all nearby. Try one of the interesting restaurants in LoDo for dinner.
A walking tour of downtown introduces you to distinctive architecture that was, almost from the beginning, built for permanence. Good clay for bricks was plentiful, local wood was soft. As a result, much of the massive masonry architecture constructed around the turn of the century is still in use. The Santa Fe Arts District has Denver's largest collection of art galleries.
Cherry Creek has the best shopping and dining. Quaint Old South Pearl Street has a Farmer's Market every Sunday. The Highlands neighborhood was recently featured in National Geographic Traveler and Travel + Leisure Magazine as a great place to visit.
Born of the railroad, Cheyenne is a young town, founded on Independence Day in 1867. By 1869 Cheyenne was home to a variety of residents, including railroad gangs, soldiers and Indian frontier supply officers. Cheyenne grew fast with eastern culture directly available via the railroad. By 1875, the population of 5,000 enjoyed a social life on a par with many cities of a similar size in the East. The Historic Plains Hotel is the perfect home base from which to explore the entire historic district, anchored on one end by the gold-domed Wyoming capitol building and on the other by the restored Union Pacific Depot.
You can take the Cheyenne Street Railway Trolley for a 90-minute overview tour and get off at the Cheyenne Frontier Days Old West Museum, the Nelson Museum of the West, Wyoming State Museum, Historic Governors' Mansion, Wyoming Capitol or the Cheyenne Botanic Gardens. Just re-board any trolly when you are ready. Try the Terry Bison Ranch for a horseback ride or a train ride into the middle of the herd that calls the ranch home. The University of Wyoming Archeological Dig Site has produced extensive Native American artifacts. In the evening, catch a live theatre performance right out of the old West.
This morning, as you head for South Dakota, prepare to be introduced to some of the most unusual scenery in America. Sandstone desert and twisted rocks jutting out of the ground are coupled with the dense Black Hills National Forest, which does indeed, look nearly black from a distance. The hot springs dotting the area were the result of water pressure being caught underground when the earth changed position. At Mammoth Hot Springs, the remains of mammoths are still being discovered in the "sink-hole" that turned into a steeply sided pond.
When you're in the region, plan to leave plenty of time to explore Badlands National Park, a 244,000 acre treasure trove of Oligocene fossils dating back 37 million years juxtaposed with buttes, spires and pinnacles. Two visitor centers offer interpretive exhibits on the cultural and ecological heritage of the Park. The Badlands Loop National Scenic Byway, which passes through the Park has 14 designated overlooks on the 31.5 miles that let you enjoy the dramatic landforms sprouting out of the mixed grassy prairie.
Nearby, Wind Cave National Park was named for the constant movement of air within. It is filled with delicate boxwork, an unusual cave formation composed of thin calcite fins resembling honeycombs.
Above ground, the fragile mixed-grass prairie is home to diverse wildlife. Jewel Cave National Monument is 135 miles long, making it the second longest cave in the world. Air currents indicate there are still vast areas left to discover. Back in Rapid City you can visit the Journey Museum, which illustrates the 2.5 million year geologic history of the region. It was voted the best museum in the Black Hills.
The 71,000 acres of Custer State Park are truly one of the last wild places in America. Nearly 1,500 bison, commonly called buffalo, roam the prairies and hills which they share with swift pronghorn, shy elk, sure-footed mountain goats and curious burros. You can enjoy and up-close and personal encounter with these permanent residents along the 18-mile Wildlife Loop Road that winds around the southern edge of the park.
Be sure to allow time for the other scenic drive that takes you past slender granite formations called "Needles" that dominate the skyline. These unique rock outcroppings are an excellent place for rock climbers to push themselves to the limit. With its winding roads and small granite tunnels, Needles Highway (SD Highway 87 between Sylvan Lake and Legion Lake) is not only stunning, but fun to drive.
Mount Rushmore National Memorial is connected to the other Black Hills attractions by another scenic road, the Peter Norbeck National Scenic Byway, named after the South Dakota Governor who began the movement to preserve the natural treasures of the state. On the Byway, the Crazy Horse Memorial is the largest sculptural project in the world. The best time to visit Mount Rushmore is in the evening when the monument is illuminated. During the 45-minute Evening Program in the park's outdoor amphitheater, you'll enjoy a ranger talk, the film "Freedom: America's Lasting Legacy" about the presidents carved into the mountain, and the lighting of the sculpture.
On the way between the Badlands and Buffalo, Devil's Tower, also known as "Bear's Lodge" to Native Americans, was considered sacred by more than 20 tribes. It was a place of prayer, introspection and renewal long before Theodore Roosevelt proclaimed it the country's first national monument in 1906.
Upon reaching Buffalo, you'll feel transported to the Old West – if you didn't already! Your accommodations at the Occidental hotel give you a perfect vantage point from which to explore the whole historic town. Buffalo is nestled in the foothills of the Bighorn Mountains, a sister range to the Rockies and surrounded by the Bighorn National Forest, rich with lush greenscapes and glacier-carved valleys. For the best view of the Forest, the Bighorn Mountains, and Cloud Peak Wilderness, drive the Cloud Peak Skyway National Scenic Byway. The Skyway is the only way to view Cloud Peak, the highest peak in the Bighorn Mountains.
From Buffalo, it's a short drive to Fort Kearney, site of the famous Wagon Box Fight and "Hole in the Wall," the hideout of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.
When you reach Billings, head for the Western Heritage Center, which features over 17,000 objects, photographs, American Indian beadwork and artifacts, western art, including the James Kenneth Ralston Collection, architectural drawings, furniture, clothing, textiles, weapons and oral histories. Outside Billings, Pompey's Pillar is one of the most famous sandstone buttes in America. It bears the only remaining physical evidence from the Lewis and Clark Expedition. Captain William Clark carved his name here on July 25, 1806, during his return to the United States through the beautiful Yellowstone Valley. Just southeast of Billings, Pictograph Cave State Park was home to generations of prehistoric hunters 4,500 years ago. Rock paintings left behind by these ancient peoples are more than 2,000 years old. A short paved trail allows you to view the images that are visible in Pictograph Cave.
Near Billings, the Little Bighorn National Monument tells one of the most interesting stories in American history. Legends call it "Custer's Last Stand," placing emphasis on the US Army defeat at the hands of Chief Sitting Bull. The lesser known story is the reason the Lakota and Cheyenne warriors were motivated to fight fiercely enough to slay all of Custer's troops. As the nation made its way from east to west, settlers and army troops encroached on more and more traditional Native American lands. Native Americans at Little Bighorn were fighting for more than territory; they were fighting to preserve their nomadic way of life. Ironically, even though they defeated the US Army, the battle still marked the end of the tribal lifestyle. As more archaeological research has been completed, the location of artifacts continues to support a completely different story from the legends that have traditionally surrounded the Custer story. The Memorial on Last Stand Hill was joined in 2003 by a Memorial to the Native Americans who fought here as well, which promotes "peace through unity".
As large as Rhode Island, Yellowstone National Park features an incredible array of natural phenomenon. The Park contains over 10,000 hydrothermal features, including 300 geysers that account for approximately one-half of the world's total. The geography of Yellowstone is made up of eight distinct areas. At Mammoth Hot Springs, the bubbling, boiling springs appear to be covered with white chalk. Norris Geyser Basin is the hottest, oldest and most dynamic of Yellowstone's thermal areas. A temperature of 459F was recorded just a little over 1,000 feet below the surface.
In the Madison Natural Area, thermal action bubbles up in many colors. Trails take you through colorful hot springs and Artist Paint Pots just south of Norris Junction. The Old Faithful Area is actually made up of four different geyser basins where 60% of the world's geysers share a very small space. The Grant Village Area and the Lake Area are both adjacent to Yellowstone Lake, the largest lake at a high elevation in North America. The deepest portion in the West Thumb area has the same terrain of geysers and hot springs at the bottom. The Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone River is roughly 20 miles long and varies between 800 and 1,200 feet deep. The falls along the river range from 300 feet to Tower Falls, which drops 132-foot. Tower Creek is framed by eroded volcanic pinnacles that were documented by the earliest explorers in the region. Should you wish to learn more about the cultural heritage of the Yellowstone area, there are numerous museums nearby. From the Buffalo Bill Historical Center to the International Fly Fishing Museum, these excellent centers will round out your visit and put your experiences into perspective.
In order to get the most from your visit, we recommend you spend one night in the Mammoth Hot Springs and 2 nights in the Southern half of the Park near Old Faithful or The Lake.
The John D. Rockefeller, Jr. Memorial Parkway connects Yellowstone to Grand Teton National Park. As you drive along Teton Park Road at the base of the mountain, it becomes immediately obvious why this is a National Park. Plant your gaze on the 40-mile long mountain range, rising nearly 14,000 feet straight out of the plain. Even around Jenny Lake, one of the most pristine lakes in North America, they loom overhead. All three Scenic Drives in the Park are a must do: The Teton Park Road, Jenny Lake Scenic Drive, and Signal Mountain Summit Road, from which you'll have panoramic views of the Teton Range, Jackson Lake and the Jackson Hole valley. We highly recommend taking a Wildlife Expedition, whether an all-day adventure, a daybreak trip or an evening tour. Any of these will take you into the back country of Grand Teton National Park, which is otherwise inaccessible to auto traffic.
The scenery remains stunning for much of your drive today, as you travel through the Bridger-Teton National Forest to Pinedale. In Pinedale, stop at The Museum of the Mountain Man, which presents an overview of the Western fur trade's historical significance through the lens of the romantic era of the Mountain Man. Exhibits include a 10-foot-tall Trapper statue, Native American clothing and tools, Jim Bridger's Rifle, and a Shoshone sheepskin bow.
From Rock Springs, you can enjoy some serious outdoor recreation in the 201,000 scenic acres in southern Montana that make up the Flaming Gorge Recreation Area, featuring the 91-mile long Flaming Gorge Reservoir. Flanked by nearly 375 miles of dramatic shoreline of varying elevations in a kaleidoscope of colors, the reservoir is well known for fantastic trout fishing.
Perched atop a cliff, the Red Canyon Vista and Visitor Center has huge windows and outdoor fenced platforms for viewing the Gorge and surrounding desert landscape. A scenic loop road off Interstate 80 connects WY 530, US 191 and Utah 44. Be sure to visit Firehole Canyon, just south of Rock Springs, for the spectacular sight of chimneys and pinnacles reflecting in the river.
Talk about Western heritage – what a perfect ending to your expedition through the American West. Like so many towns in southern Wyoming, Laramie began as an "end of the tracks" railroad town. As the railroad progressed westward to the Golden Spike, towns sprung up for workers extending the tracks. By the time the first train arrived in 1868, carrying the Ivinson family, who came to build the town, a fair number of cabins, tents, and houses had already been constructed. You can tour the 1892 Victorian Queen-Anne style family mansion, which is considered to be one of the finest historic homes in the region. Among the 14 museums and historic sites in Laramie is the The Wyoming House for Historical Women, dedicated to Louisa Swain, an elderly Quaker woman who became the first woman in the world to cast a ballot, giving women the right to vote with full civil equality to men. Also of interest is the Wyoming Territorial Prison, constructed in 1872, which held none other than Butch Cassidy himself. Visit the Prison Museum for an insider's view of the 190-acre facility, the restored Warden's House, and exhibits in the Horse Barn Exhibit Hall. If you want to get out of town, head to the top of Vedauwoo; the fantastic rock formations and views from this 8,000 foot "rocky oasis" are stunning.
As you depart Laramie and head back home from Denver, rest assured that you have seen and savoured some of the Last Best Places in America.
14 nights hotel accommodation and room tax
Fully insured compact car hire (Larger vehicles available at a small supplement)
A detailed and comprehensive travel pack with driving instructions and maps
Hot Air Ballooning in Jackson
Bar T5 Cookout & Wild West SHow
River trips in Jackson
Evening lighting ceremony of Mt Rushmore
Wolf Watching Trips
Daily Departures 18 May to 30 September.


Here at Us Weekly we live for awards shows — including the 2018 Grammy Awards.That's why our On-Air Correspondent Christina Garibaldi made sure to get all the info from stars such as Jenny McCarthy and Lana Del Rey and more about their red carpet looks for the 60th Annual broadcast of the show hosted by James Corden at Madison Square Garden in NYC on Sunday, January 28.
Garibaldi gets the details on what the stars wore (including Cardi B.'s showstopping Bartier Cardi look), talked killer headwear with Lana Del Rey and even got the scoop from Jenny McCarthy about the most uncomfortable part of her outfit — she has it all covered. Not to mention comedian and nominee shared his luckiest piece of clothing and it was LOL-worthy.
Watch and learn, then after you check out the full red carpet fashion interview, find out everything you missed from the Grammys 2018!