In our preaching through the Bible these many, many years, we have come to the Revelation. In our preaching through the Revelation, we have come to chapters 15 and 16. The message this morning is an exposition of chapters 15 and 16: The Seven Last Plagues, for in them is filled up the wrath of God. Fast and furious is this ultimate denouement and consummation of time and history. There will be a sermon delivered on the scarlet woman, [Revelation] chapter 17; a sermon delivered on the fall of Babylon, [Revelation] chapter 18; then [Revelation] chapter 19 is the coming of Christ; [Revelation] chapter 20 is the millennium; [Revelation] chapters 21 and 22 I pray will bring us to some of the most happy and celestial and heavenly of all the series of messages this preacher has ever prepared and our people have ever heard, as we preach about heaven, and the New Jerusalem, and the glory that is yet to come. Then is finished, after more than eighteen years, our preaching through the Word of God.
Before the blessing of this earth [2 Peter 3:13], there is a purging, and sin, and death, and unrighteousness, and blasphemy, and rejection are swept from it [Matthew 13:41]. And in the place of what we now see—the briers, and the thorns, and the brambles, and the hate, and the greed, and the war, and the bloodshed [Matthew 24:6]—God shall establish a kingdom of holiness and of righteousness [2 Peter 3:13]. And in that incomparable celestial and forever dominion of Christ the Almighty, we shall be fellow citizens and fellow heirs [Romans 8:17; Philippians 3:20].
The fifteenth chapter and the sixteenth chapter go together [Revelation 15:1-16:21]. They are a part of the same vision—15 and 16—describing the seven last plagues, in what is called in the last part of the eighth chapter of the Revelation, "the last woe," the third of the three. This section of 15 and 16 is also the judgment of the last trumpet; the seventh trumpet that is sounded in the last of chapter 11 [Revelation 11:15]. In chapter 11, a temple of God was opened in heaven [Revelation 11:19], and that temple is seen now in chapters 15 [Revelation 15:5], and 16 [Revelation 16:1]. In that eleventh chapter, the elders announce that the great day of the judgment of Almighty has come "and the nations are angry, and the time is come that they which destroy the world should be destroyed" [Revelation 11:18]. And that delineation is found in 15 and 16 [Revelation 15:1-16:21]. In the last of the eleventh, the sounding of the seventh trumpet, the kingdom of this world is become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ" [Revelation 11:15]. And that ultimate and final preparation is found in this vision of the seven last plagues [Revelation 15:1-16:21].
"And I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvelous, seven angels having the seven last plagues; for in them is filled up with the wrath of God" [Revelation 15:1]. There are three of these signs. In chapter 12, "There appeared a great sign in heaven, a woman clothed with the sun" [Revelation 12:1]. In the third verse, "And there appeared another great sign in heaven; and behold, a red dragon" [Revelation 12:3]; then this third one, "And I saw another sign in heaven; great and marvelous, the seven angels having the seven last plagues" [Revelation 15:1]. And the emphasis is upon that "last" plague—echontas plegas hepta tas eschatas—your word "eschatology," the doctrine of "last things" comes from that—"having plagues, seven, the last; for in them is filled up the wrath of God" [Revelation 15:1].
Lord God Almighty; just and true are Thy ways, Thou King of saints.
What an incomparable vision! In the fourth chapter of the Revelation, when God is taking His saints up into heaven, John saw before the great throne of the Almighty a crystal sea, a sea of glass, calm and beautiful. Those elders that are there by the side of that quiet and beautiful and crystal sea are we, God's sainted children of this day and of our age [Revelation 4:6-11]. But when he sees this sea there before the throne of God, and by its shores standing the saints, he says this sea is a sea of glass "mingled with fire" [Revelation 15:2]. That is, these saints have come out of that great trial and tribulation. "And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb" [Revelation 15:2-3].
That is why I had you read the song of Moses in Exodus 15; on the further shore of that sea, delivered from the enemies that oppressed them, the children of Israel sang the song of Moses [Exodus 15:1-18]. And on that ultimate and final shore beyond the fiery sea, there shall gather in immortality, in glory, in heavenly salvation God's tribulation saints [Revelation 15:2-3]. And they are singing the song of infinite and glorious redemption—the song of Moses and the song of the Lamb—the song of the Lamb who brought us a victory over sin, and over death, and over the grave. They sing the song of Moses and the Lamb. You know, it is an unusual thing here, the first recorded song in the Word of God is this fifteenth chapter of Exodus—the one we just sang, the one we just read—the song of Moses [Exodus 15:1-18].
And the last recorded song in the Bible is the fifteenth [chapter] of Revelation, the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb. "And to these were given the harps of God" [Revelation 15:2]. There are three groups in heaven to whom God places in their hands, to whom God gives the harps of heaven. In the fifth chapter of the Book of the Revelation—to these who were raptured and taken up to glory—they have harps from God [Revelation 5:8]. In the fourteenth chapter of the Revelation, the one hundred forty-four thousand gathered to the Lamb on Mount Zion possessed the harps of God [Revelation 14:2]; and this third company, standing on the shores of the fiery sea, having the harps of God and singing the song of Moses and of the Lamb, a song of triumph and heavenly deliverance [Revelation 15:2-3].
Then he sees the vision of the opening of the temple in heaven, "I beheld, and the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven was opened" [Revelation 15:5]. John saw into the very innermost shrine of deity itself, into the very heart of the sanctuary, into the center of the Holy of Holies. And what he sees coming out of the very heart of the temple of God is not the great Mediator, the High Priest, not ministering servants of mediation and grace and mercy; but what he sees is this unusual and remarkable and astonishing vision of seven angels—priest angels—dressed like priests. And they are the seven angels of the seven last plagues [Revelation 15:1, 6].
"And one of the four cherubim gave unto these seven angels seven golden," you have it translated here, "vials" [Revelation 15:7], as though it were bottles. Well, the Greek word is phiale, but the Greek word spelled "vial" in the English language did not mean a "bottle"; but the Greek word phiale, "vial," the Greek word refers to "shallow pans." We call them "censers" in which the coals were placed from off of the altar. And on top of the coals, the incense was placed to burn unto God. These seven angels, by one of those cherubim—remember back there in the sixth chapter of Revelation they are the instruments of judgment—one of them said to the first horseman, "Come," and the white horse, and then the next one, "Come," and the red horse, then the black horse, then the pale horse [Revelation 6:2-8]. It is one of these cherubim that speaks and says to these seven angels, "Take these seven censers." And when they did so, and the seven angels received those seven censers, "The temple was filled with smoke from the glory and power of God; and no man was able to enter into the temple, until the seven plagues of the seven angels were fulfilled" [Revelation 15:7-8].
That is, the great and final interdiction of God has come. As God has set a boundary for the restless sea—thus far can the tides arise and no further, thus far can those waves beat and no more [Proverbs 8:29]—so God has set a boundary to the evil of the nations of the earth. And when that time comes, known to God, all mediation ceases. All intercession ceases. The great and final unpardonable sin has been committed [Mark 3:22-30], and no man can enter that temple [Revelation 15:8]. It is shut and has become a temple of indignation and of wrath and of judgment until the seven plagues have been poured out into the earth [Revelation 15:8].
Then chapter sixteen is a description of those seven visitations. "And I heard a great voice out of the temple saying to those seven angels, Go your ways, and pour out the censers of the wrath of God upon the earth" [Revelation 16:1]. [Do] you remember the sermon in the eighth chapter of the Book of the Revelation? Before the sounding of those seven trumpets, there was an angel that came out of that same temple. And he took coals of fire from off of the altar and placed them in the censer. And he flung it up to God. And the smoke of the incense of that censer, the Bible said, the Revelation 8 says, is the prayers of the saints ascending up to God. Then the angel turned and flung that censer down into the earth [Revelation 8:3-5]. And the fire and the fury and the judgment of God burns in the earth [Revelation 8:7-13]. [Do] you remember the sermon on that? That is the same thing here [Revelation 16:1-21]—the holiness and the fragrance of the prayers and the intercession of God ascends up from His people [Revelation 15:2-4], but to a people who will not turn and who will not repent and who will not believe the Lord Jesus, everyone of those censers, every fragment of its smoke, every prayer of its intercession, every, every facet of its holiness becomes one of damnation and judgment!
It is the judgment of God upon those who tread underfoot the grace of the Son of God, who despise the blood of the covenant wherewith He was sanctified [Hebrews 10:29], who say "no" to the wooing of the Holy Spirit and the calling of the Almighty. All of those things turn into condemnation and judgments. That's one of the laws of God that is fearful to look upon. When God does a gracious thing for us, He sends His Son for us and Christ dies for us [John 3:16; Romans 5:8], and He raises up a God-called preacher to preach to us, and that preacher opens the Book of God and pleads for men to come in repentance and in faith to Jesus, and a wicked and a rejecting and a blaspheming unbeliever says, "No, I will not turn, I will not believe, I will not accept," then ever gracious deed God has done turns into a fury and a judgment upon that Christ-rejecter. That is this, that's this. These are holy instrument censers that are used in the holy service of God in the temple [Exodus 30:1-9; 1 Kings 7:50]. And now, spurned and blasphemed and rejected, the grace of God becomes fire, and indignation, and judgment, and fury. So they take these censers, each one of the seven angels, and they are poured out into the earth [Revelation 16:1-21]. Now, heretofore, when the seals were broken, there was deliberation [Revelation 6:1-8:5], and when the trumpets were blown, there was deliberation [Revelation 8:6-11:19]. But as this thing moved toward its final climax, it moves furiously and fast, and immediately these things come to pass. For example, you have it translated here in the authorized King James Version: "And the third angel," "And the fourth angel" [Revelation 16:4, 8]—no, not so in this Greek. Only these ordinals are used—just one right after another: ho protos, the first; ho deuteros, the second; ho tritos, the third; ho tetartos, the fourth; ho pemptos, the fifth; ho hektos, the sixth; ho hebdomos, the seventh [Revelation 16:2-17]. Just like that. When the thing finally comes, it comes in a fury and in a storm—one right after another.
Now, in the brief moment that remains, I will show you, if you are interested in the Word of God, how a thirty minute period will pass just like you snap your finger. I don't know anything more rich than for us to look at what God says. In the moment that remains, I want to speak of just one of those. "And the sixth poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates; and the waters thereof were dried up, and the way of the kings of the East were prepared. And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs"—creatures of filth, and dirt, and slime, and of the night—"I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and the beast, and the false prophet. They are the spirits of evil ones [devils], working [miracles] . . . going forth unto the kings of the earth and the whole world, to gather them to the battle of the great day of God Almighty. . . And he gathered them together to a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon" [Revelation 16:12-16]. One of the things, if I put it together, you will notice it. One of the things you will find in the Word of God, that wherever the thing starts, and whatever the section may be discussing it, it always ends in that great final battle of the Lord God Almighty called the battle of Armageddon. Back there, this thing went on and went on and continued and it continued, and in the fourteenth chapter of the Revelation, it ended in that great battle of the day of the Lord [Revelation 14:14-20]. And here in the fifteenth and the sixteenth chapters [Revelation 16:13-16], it does the same thing again. It ends in the great battle of the day of the Lord; and in the next section, 17, 18, and 19, the nineteenth chapter ends in that same great battle of the day of the Lord [Revelation 19:19-21]. God's Book says that time, and history, and government, and preparation inevitably moves toward a great and final and indescribable conflict in this earth.
Now the strange thing about it, as you read the Bible, is that all of these armies and all of these leaders are gathered in Palestine. They are all there—how could you get the armies of the earth there? For example, the sixth seal says one of those armies numbered two hundred million men [Revelation 9:16]. It is a fantastic, astronomical number! There in the battle of Armageddon are the armies of the earth, and the leaders of the earth, and the chiefs of staff of the earth. How is it they are all there? Well, no strategy on the part and no wisdom on the part of government and armies and people would ever do a thing like that. That is the reason he explains—he stops at the "I saw three unclean spirits come out of the mouth of the dragon, out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet . . . and they went forth unto the kings of the whole earth . . . to gather them to the battle of the great day of God Almighty" [Revelation 16:13-14, 16]. You have an illustration of that same thing in the story of Ahab in 1 Kings the twenty-second chapter. God said, "Ahab is going up—that vile and vicious servant of evil, Ahab—is going up to Ramoth-Gilead and die there, be slain there." Well, how is he going? And the Spirit said, "I will put a lying testimony in the mouth of his prophets. . . . And they will persuade him to go up" [1 Kings 22:22, 23]. So Ahab was persuaded to go up to Ramoth-Gilead by the spirits of evil and of lying. [Do] you remember the story? A man drew back his arrow at a venture, without aiming it, and the thing sped and entered in a joint in his harness. And his blood flowed out in his chariot, and they carried him to Samaria, dead [1 Kings 22:34-38]. That is what is going to happen, God says, in this last great battle. The spirit of evil, out of the dragon, out of that trinity of evil, is going to persuade these armies and these leaders to gather in Palestine, and there that great battle is going to be fought [Revelation 16:13-16].
There is a strategy here that is unusual. And I asked about it one time. I was changed on a plane. The one I was preparing to go on from Los Angeles to Detroit—I was changed to another one. And I ran out there and just came up the ramp in time to go through the door before the thing took off. I looked around hastily, panting, wasn't any seat except one up there toward the front. So I dashed up there and plopped down and fastened the safety belt. When I got my breath and the thing had taken off, I looked around. Over here was a full colonel. Over there was a brigadier general. Over here was another one. And a couple of them right there in front of me—just all around. And I looked over here with a fellow about whom I was seated, and he had five stars on each shoulder—five of them. I looked around there in that fellow's face. It was General Omar Bradley. No wonder he is seated over there by himself! Nobody would be sitting there either but just this preacher. I never had a more blessed—more blessed visit with a man in my life. We fought the Korean War all the way through from top to bottom, back and forth, on sheets of paper. We ran the chief of staff. We talked about his family. Remember one time I mentioned this I think one time when I came back. I asked him if he had a family. Yes, he had a boy. And his boy had some little children. And his boy was a test pilot flying jets. And his boy had been killed not long before. And he was rearing the little grandchildren, filled up as he told me about it, looked a long time out there in the window, then looked back at me, and he said, "You know, I am kind of an old man to start over again with those little children." He has got a heart in him.
And that is what this is talking about. How come these vast armies are in Palestine? How come these great leaders of the world are in Palestine, where this awful thing can happen, blood two hundred miles long [Revelation 14:20], flowing, a river of destruction? "I saw three unclean spirits, and they went forth unto the kings of the whole world to gather them together to the battle of the great day of God Almighty" [Revelation 16:13, 14]. For you see—and right here is a little sentence, and you wonder, well, why is that there? Right in the middle of that, for they are the spirits of evil going forth to persuade. "Behold, I come as a thief" [Revelation 16:15]. Why is that there? Why, it is very simple. If a man will not hear the voice of God, he lays his heart open and his life open to listen to the voice of destruction and evil and judgment and damnation! When the kings of the earth and the people of the earth and the armies of the earth won't listen to God, then, of course, they lay themselves and their people open to listening to the persuasive voice of the spirits of darkness and evil [Revelation 16:13-14]. And that is why the little verse: "Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that is ready" [Revelation 16:15]. Oh, listen to the voice of God! Listen to the voice of God!
And then this chapter closes—and I hate to close. Then the chapter closes: "And men blasphemed for the plague was great" [Revelation 16:21]. Wouldn't you think they would turn? O God, the galling government! O God, the oppression! O God, the darkness! O God, the judgment! Save us! Isn't it remarkable? They just blasphemed God the more [Revelation 16:21]. Isn't that what you see in the world today? Oppressed and in chains and in slavery, turn to God? Call on the Lord? No. No. No sign of revival. No sign of appeal. No sign of repentance. No sign of turning. It is the spirit of depravity in the world. Oh, that the Lord will bless our people with an open heart toward God! Remember us, mercy upon us, Lord, and upon Thy people. Save us, Lord, now in this day of opportunity, golden and precious, and in the world that is yet to come. And that's why the preaching of the gospel, and that's why these services, and why this invitation for you and for our people. God be good to us and merciful to us and save us. And in that great salvation numbered among those who stand by the sea, singing the song of Moses and the Lamb, would you come and be one with us?
Would you? Giving your heart to the Lord; putting your life in the fellowship of the church, while we sing the song, while we make this appeal, would you come? Would you make it now? Is there a family to come, you? Is there one somebody to come, you? A couple to come, or just you, while we sing the song, while we make the appeal, come today. "Here I am, preacher, I give you my hand, I give my heart to God." Or, "We are coming into the fellowship of the church. This is my wife, these are our children." As the Spirit of Jesus shall open the door and shall lead in the way, make it this morning, while we stand and while we sing.


text:
import os
import sys
import numpy as np
import json
import argparse

import bayesflare as bf

"""
Create a data file potentially with flare, sinusoid, change point and impulse signals
added. The data is generated based on information provided by a JSON configuration
file. Such a file should look like:

{
  "datafile": "data.txt", // the file to output the data to
  "starttime": 0,         // the data start time
  "timestep": 60,         // the time step in the data file
  "duration": 100,        // the number of time steps
  "backgroundoffset": 0., // the background offset value
  "noise": 1.,            // the "Gaussian" noise standard deviation
  "flares": [{"amplitude": 1.,     // flare amplitude
              "time": 212.23,      // flare peak time (in time units from start time)
              "risetime": 63.4,    // flare rise time (in time units)
              "decaytime": 102.3}, // flare decay time (in time units)
             {"amplitude": 1.5,
              "time": 315.53,
              "risetime": 40.4,
              "decaytime": 122.3}],
  "sinusoids": [{"amplitude": 3.4,  // sinusoid amplitude
                 "phase": 0.2,      // sinusoid phase (in rads)
                 "period": 0.04}]   // sinusoid period (in time units)
}

"""

parser = argparse.ArgumentParser()
parser.add_argument("injectfile", help="The injection data JSON file")

# parse input options
opts = parser.parse_args()

# open JSON file
try:
  fp = open(opts.injectfile, "r")
  inj = json.load(fp)
  fp.close()
except:
  print("Error... could not load JSON file.")
  sys.exit(1)

if "datafile" not in inj:
  print("Error... no 'datafile' specified in JSON file")
  sys.exit(1)
else:
  datafile = inj['datafile']

# get times for data file
if 'starttime' not in inj or 'timestep' not in inj or 'duration' not in inj:
  print("Error... some time values not specified in JSON file")
  sys.exit(1)
else:
  starttime = inj['starttime']
  timestep = inj['timestep']
  duration = int(inj['duration'])

datatimes = np.arange(starttime, starttime+duration*timestep, timestep)

if 'backgroundoffset' not in inj:
  backgroundoffset = 0.
else:
  backgroundoffset = inj['backgroundoffset']
data = np.ones(duration)*backgroundoffset

if 'noise' not in inj:
  print("Error... no noise level set in JSON file")
  sys.exit(1)
else:
  noise = inj['noise']

data += noise*np.random.randn(duration)

# set sinusoids
if 'sinusoids' in inj:
  sinusoids = inj['sinusoids']

  if not isinstance(sinusoids, list):
    print("Error... 'sinusoids' must be a list")
    sys.exit(1)

  nsins = len(sinusoids)
  for i in range(nsins):
    thissin = sinusoids[i]['amplitude']*np.sin((2.*np.pi*datatimes/sinusoids[i]['period']) + sinusoids[i]['phase'])
    data += thissin

# set flares
if 'flares' in inj:
  flares = inj['flares']

  if not isinstance(flares, list):
    print("Error... 'flares' must be a list")
    sys.exit(1)

  nflares = len(flares)
  for i in range(nflares):
    Mf = bf.Flare(datatimes, amp=1.)

    # create flare
    pdict = {'t0': flares[i]['time'], 'amp': flares[i]['amplitude'], 'taugauss': flares[i]['risetime'], 'tauexp': flares[i]['decaytime']}
    data += Mf.model(pdict)

# set change points and impulses later

# output data
try:
  np.savetxt(datafile, np.vstack((datatimes.T, data.T)).T)
except:
  print("Error... could not output data file")
  sys.exit(1)

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Thinkstock/Stockbyte/Thinkstock
News>Industry
Fiduciary Rule Fight Brews While Bad Financial Advisors Multiply
With the fiduciary rule in doubt, seeking professional advice about money remains a dangerous proposition.
Ben Steverman | Jun 07, 2017
(Bloomberg) --Your new financial advisor has a well-decorated office, a firm handshake, and a bright smile. After an hourlong meeting, you leave with what you think is a state-of-the-art investment portfolio. You feel financially secure, taken care of.
It's also possible you've made a huge mistake. The White House under President Barack Obama estimated that Americans lose $17 billion a year to conflicts of interest among financial advisors. Wall Street lobbying groups dispute that math—and they're right to do so. The actual dollar amount is probably much higher.
A wave of research over the past few years has documented serious problems with how Americans get financial advice. Susan Shaffer, a 70-year-old retiree in Narberth, Pennsylvania, learned this the hard way as she hired and fired multiple advisors over two decades. One chose inappropriate investments, including small-cap stocks. Another put her into funds with huge, back-loaded fees. The third promised to charge just $500 a year, then stuck her with thousands of dollars in commission costs.
Each time, Shaffer did her own research. She took classes, pored over dense account statements, and generally did the work she was paying her advisor for. "You have to keep watching everything. You're very vulnerable," said Shaffer, who retired three years ago after a career in the pharmaceutical industry. "Nobody really had my interests at heart."
Consumers like her say that's the real problem: Many financial advisors just don't care what's best for you. But with an industry awash in misconduct, the bigger issue may be that they aren't required to care.
You'd be forgiven for assuming your relationship with a financial advisor carries the same sort of solemnity as, say, attorney and client or doctor and patient. An attorney is bound to zealously represent you; a doctor pledges to do no harm. So why aren't financial advisors subject to the same duty? Well, the economics of the industry—fees, commissions, quotas—can end up standing in the way.
The Fiduciary Rule, finalized under Obama and originally set to take effect earlier this year, seeks to cure this disconnect. All advisors were to be required to put clients first when handling retirement accounts, where the bulk of everyday Americans' savings reside. But then Donald Trump won the election, and on his 15th day in office, the Republican president ordered the Department of Labor to reconsider the rule. His advisors echoed Wall Street arguments that tying the hands of advisors would limit investor choices, raise the cost of financial advice, and trigger a wave of litigation.
This Friday, the rule will take partial effect. Its future, though, remains deep in doubt. Many Republicans in Congress oppose it, and Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta has suggested that at the very least it be revised. Then last week, Trump's newly appointed chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, Wall Street lawyer Jay Clayton, announced his agency would also seek comment on the topic, a process that could further threaten the rule's survival.
While Washington wrestles with the fate of the Fiduciary Rule, the financial advice landscape remains supremely dangerous. Three professors recently analyzed a decade of disciplinary data on 1.2 million financial advisors. What they found is decidedly unpleasant:
At the average firm, 8 percent of advisors have a record of serious misconduct.
Nearly half of those 8 percent held on to their jobs after being caught. About half of the rest got jobs at other financial firms. In other words, a year after serious misconduct, about three-quarters of advisors found to have wronged clients are still working.
It gets worse: Some 38 percent of those misbehaving advisors later go on to hurt even more clients.
You might think bigger firms would be more diligent, but you'd be wrong. At some large firms, more than 15 percent of advisors have records of serious misconduct. The highest was Oppenheimer & Co., where 20 percent had such black marks. Oppenheimer responded to the study, first published a year ago, by saying it replaced managers and made changes to hiring, technology, and compliance procedures.
Predators typically seek out the weak, and financial advisos are no different: The study shows that those with misconduct records are concentrated in counties with fewer college graduates and more retirees.
"There's an ever-present incentive to betray your client's interest."
The unique nature of the investing business makes it easier to exploit client ignorance. Investing is complicated, with sometimes-intentionally impenetrable jargon, and customers must trust their advisors in the same way they trust their doctors: If an expert makes a recommendation, you tend to follow it, whether that means getting heart surgery or a variable annuity.
"Some firms 'specialize' in misconduct and attract unsophisticated customers," the researchers write.
More astute investors aren't entirely at the mercy of advisors. Certain products are so expensive and so typically underperform that their mere presence in your portfolio can suggest you're getting bad advice. Variable annuities, high-fee mutual funds, and non-traded real estate investment trusts, or REITs, are good examples. Non-traded REITs charge, on average, upfront fees of 13.2 percent, while delivering returns about half those of traded REITs, which are also much easier to buy and sell.
Another example is the "reverse-convertible," a complicated product in which a bond payment is linked to the performance of a stock. Banks will create two or more versions of the same reverse-convertible. The only difference is one offers a higher payout—yet investors usually end up choosing the inferior product. University of Minnesota's Mark Egan calculated that customers bought over 10 times more of a reverse-convertible with a 9 percent yield than an otherwise identical convertible with an 11.25 percent yield.
Why? Because that's what their advisors told them to do. The more lucrative version paid advisors a commission of 2.15 percent, while the inferior one paid 3.09 percent. In other words, advisors could boost their pay by half if they steered clients to an obviously worse investment.
Commissions like these are the traditional way advisors hide costs from investors: Instead of clients paying them directly, companies pay advisors commissions to push their clients toward particular products.
"There's an ever-present incentive to betray your client's interest," said Benjamin Edwards, a law professor at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. These conflicts don't just cost investors more money. They also skew the U.S. economy by pouring capital into less productive investments merely because they offer a better "kickback" to advisors, he said.
A perfect illustration of this phenomenon occurred just before the financial collapse of 2008. Researchers conducting a study sent "mystery shoppers" into 284 Boston-area financial advisors. When clients walked in with the kind of low-cost, diversified portfolio independent experts recommend, only 2.4 percent of advisors approved of it and some 85 percent recommended making a change. Financial advisers were eight times more supportive if clients had a less-than-ideal strategy of chasing returns—one that was more likely to generate commissions.
Clients very rarely know what's going on, or what it's costing them.
Despite all this, the pretend clients didn't smell a rat. In fact, they were smitten: Some 70 percent of them said they'd use the advisor to invest their own money.
There's little reason to think things have changed. Finra, the private watchdog that oversees non-fiduciary advisors, barred or suspended 1,244 individual brokers last year, up from 843 in 2012. Clients still rarely know what's going on, or what it's costing them, industry experts said. Christine Lazaro, director of the free Securities Arbitration Clinic at St. John's University in New York, said people who came to her just assume "the broker was doing what was appropriate."
"They are always very surprised," she said, especially by what advice was costing them. "The broker leads them to believe they're not paying any fees at all." According to a Cerulli Associates survey last year, a majority of investors in their 60s and 70s either aren't sure what their fees are or believe incorrectly that they pay nothing for advice.
But paying they are. Offering financial advice is enormously profitable, with U.S. investment firms achieving operating profit margins as high as 39 percent, according to the CFA Institute. And once advisors collect enough client assets, they can get huge bonuses for switching firms (and bringing their customers with them). Until recently, the going rate was a bonus of more than three times the annual fees and commissions the advisor brings in the door; an advisor with $200 million under management could expect a bonus of $6.6 million. (The threat of the Fiduciary Rule, however, caused bonus offers to plunge.)
Meanwhile, the total cost of bad advice to consumers—in higher fees and lower performance—is probably much higher than the $17 billion estimated by Obama's Council of Economic Advisors. The CEA figured investors are losing an extra 1 percent annually on $1.7 trillion in individual retirement accounts controlled by conflicted advisors. But IRAs represent just an eighth of the $56 trillion in financial wealth Americans control, according to Boston Consulting Group.
Various academic studies show conflicts of interest costing investors dearly. One found that funds sold by brokers did 0.77 percentage points per year worse than funds bought directly by investors—even if you ignore some big broker fees. Another study compared investors advised by brokers with investors put in a target-date mutual fund. Those who got advice underperformed by 3 percentage points per year.
It's hard to blame consumers for falling into these traps. The rules governing financial advisors could hardly be more confusing. While some are already fiduciaries, required to put their clients' interests first, most advisers must merely recommend products that are "suitable" to client needs, a term open to wide and profitable interpretation. Making the whole thing more baffling, another group of advisors are "dually registered," meaning they can act as a fiduciary or a non-fiduciary, depending on the situation.
Wealthy people, often pushed to buy faddish products with high fees and mediocre returns, aren't immune either. Hedge funds perform poorly on average, while charging typical fees of 2 percent per year plus 20 percent of any gains. Then there are those structured products, such as the aforementioned reverse-convertibles. If advisors were required to put clients in the best reverse-convertibles—as a Fiduciary Rule could eventually demand—Egan calculates that investors' risk-adjusted returns would rise by over 2 percentage points per year.
Wall Street argues that strict regulations on financial advice will make it less affordable for middle-class investors. The Fiduciary Rule "will adversely affect the ability of millions of Americans to save for retirement, increase the costs of retirement accounts while limiting access to advice and products," the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association wrote in a letter to the Labor Department. But if advice as it currently exists is riddled with conflicts and hidden costs, supporters of the rule ask, does it even deserve to be called advice?
"Lots of people are being sold products," said Jon Stein, founder and CEO of online investment company Betterment LLC. "The 'advice' is almost nonexistent."
In TV ads, firms tout their employees as trusted advisors, so close to their clients that they get invited to weddings. In arbitration hearings, the same firms argue they merely have an obligation to sell "suitable" products to these purported pals. A Fiduciary Rule would radically change this business—just the threat of the rule altered industry business models.
But the deeply entrenched culture of financial advisory firms also needs an overhaul.
The Fiduciary Rule will permit advisors to continue getting commissions (unlike Australia, the U.K., and other countries that have banned them). But it requires they charge reasonable fees, clearly disclose them along with other conflicts of interest, and show clients the best products available.
"Everyone knows we overcharge for what we do. It's obvious."
If fees were more transparent, it would be easier to shop around, and more obvious whether your broker's advice is worth what it costs. Also, with a duty to put client interests first, advisors could get sued for recommending the most egregious investments. That puts pressure on insurance companies and mutual fund companies to come up with better products that appeal to advisors on their own merits, creating a virtuous circle. "Product issuers are going to be forced to compete on product quality," Egan said.
But those hopes smacked into a wall on Nov. 8. "The Fiduciary Rule as written may not align with President Trump's deregulatory goals," Acosta, Trump's labor secretary, wrote in an Op-Ed. "This administration presumes that Americans can be trusted to decide for themselves what is best for them."
Advocates for investors are worried that the Trump administration is getting ready to gut the Fiduciary Rule. Now that the SEC is weighing in, a big concern is that both agencies will team up to create a new, weaker rule that allows brokers to call themselves fiduciaries with "no meaningful protections to investors," said Barbara Roper, director of investor protection at the Consumer Federation of America. "That would arguably be worse for investors than the status quo."
Though while Wall Street lobbyists fight the Fiduciary Rule, some individual advisors say they embrace it. "The image of the investment professional who always prospers—whether the client sinks or swims—has got to change," said Paul Smith, chief executive of the CFA Institute, which represents 142,000 investment professionals worldwide, including an estimated 13,000 client-facing financial advisors in the U.S. and Canada.
"A lot of the industry has used the rule to put its house in order," Smith said. That includes charging less. "Everyone knows we overcharge for what we do. It's obvious."
Even a majority of investment industry executives around the world concede customers are "often sold inappropriate products," a recent CFA Institute survey found.
New, cheaper options have been driving reform as well. Technology makes it possible to provide advice to more people more efficiently. Betterment and Wealthfront Inc. are two of a number of startups called robo-advisors, offering advice and investment portfolios over the internet. Established firms such as Charles Schwab Corp. and Vanguard Group have launched competing products.
Shaffer, the Pennsylvania retiree, ended up moving her money to Betterment, where her portfolio costs her 0.25 percent of assets per year. She's not the only one turning to cheaper robo-advice. Betterment, founded in 2008, manages $9 billion in assets, up from $6.5 billion at the beginning of this year.
To be sure, the Fiduciary Rule is no silver bullet. One regulation doesn't automatically make advisors more ethical—the latest version of the previously mentioned misconduct study found no significant difference in misbehavior between fiduciary advisors and traditional advisors. CFA Institute's Smith wants the SEC to regulate who can call themselves a financial adviser. Finra has stepped up enforcement with a new unit closely watching "high-risk" advisers, and is advertising to draw more traffic to BrokerCheck, a database that allows people to look up advisers' disciplinary records.
But if the Fiduciary Rule is weakened or killed, much of the pressure for better financial advice may dissipate. Well-educated investors can usually find ways to get high-quality advice, but the more vulnerable will continue to lose out. And all advisors—even the most trustworthy ones—will remain under suspicion of being salespeople, not professionals.
Without at least the Fiduciary Rule, the phrase "trust your broker" could continue to be a punchline.
To contact the author of this story: Ben Steverman in New York at [email protected] To contact the editor responsible for this story: David Rovella at [email protected]
TAGS: Retirement Planning Regulation & Compliance

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Using the browsing history you can now look to see if there are any adult sites or dating services, such as eHarmony listed. If you find those.
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The ability to provide a system for automatically describing images to the users, especially the blind is a matter which can improve their lives significantly, if made possible to a user a friendly way. We present, a way of achieving the task of producing natural language descriptions of images through the use of recent deep architectures in neural networks, specifically based on recurrent and convolution architectures. A generative model for this is created and the accuracy for the MSCOCO Captioning dataset is presented along with a software architecture of how this can be extended as a standalone application for the blind.


Shaun Derry admits his Cambridge United team will need luck to be on their side if they are to get anything against Lincoln City.
The two teams meet at the Abbey Stadium on Friday, February 9 (7.45pm) in contrasting spells of form.
Danny Cowley's side are still riding the wave of having reached Wembley for the first time in the club's history after Tuesday's penalty win over Chelsea u21.
The U's, meanwhile, are yet to win this calendar year and enter the game on the back of a 2-0 defeat away at Yeovil.
The two sides cancelled each other out in a goalless draw earlier in the season at Sincil Bank – but Derry is relying on the home fans giving his team a boost if they are to stand a chance of getting a positive result against Cowley's men.
"We've got a mighty game on Friday night," he told Cambridge News.
Just like at Sincil Bank, Cambridge have struggled for goals – and Derry thinks they will need a bit of luck if they are to breach the City defence.
In the pre-match build-up, Danny Cowley - who has dismissed speculation linking him with the Barnsley job - described the decision by the EFL to play the game on Friday as "appalling."
The Imps manager revealed that a request to move the game 24 hours later was rejected - a decision he feels is "unfair".
City are in the midst of a run of five games in 15 days - with Cheltenham next up on Tuesday, February 13 after the trip to the Abbey Stadium.


Only a few particular aptitude criteria are really measurable. And again, of these there are only a few which are biographically stable. These hold true for the subject's entire working life.
Jobfidence® focuses on these criteria. It's worth your while knowing about them.
The candidate's mastery of common numerical and verbal skills is measured. These are the results of a much longer process of education than simply the person's school-life. They are vital in any field where adaptability, knowledge acquisition, and/or communication play a role: leadership tasks, administration, sales, development and planning for example.
The analytic reasoning abilities and the combinativity come under this heading. These are especially important in positions which involve processing complex, multi-dimensional facts. It is possible to predict, with reasonable certainty, efficiency in planning tasks, development of new strategies and abstract problem-solving.
The readiness to overcome personal habits and prejudices in decision-making processes is measured. Are tried and trusted methods and solutions chosen first or does the person search until s/he finds new methods and as-yet-untried possibilities? Clinging to the familiar or being open to change can have both positive and negative effects. It all depends, therefore, on knowing the exact requirements of the target position.
The readiness to perform is determined by various individual motives, some of which have already been shaped in early childhood. Does the person focus on concrete results which may be achieved on a short-term basis or rather on satisfactory work processes? Both motivation patterns can lead to success – depending on the circumstances of course.
The ability to perform and the conflict-solving ability in socially stressful contact and leadership-defined situations is measured. Stress caused by psychological pressure dampens the performance curve of sensitive persons noticeably. On the other hand, it is exactly this sensitivity which is essential in tasks where social perception is particularly important. There are, however, people who are practically impervious to psychological pressure. The measurement reveals the individual tendencies which may, or may not, be desirable depending on the job specifications.
Planning and subsequent actions are determined by goals. Clear differences are observed in individual reactions to unexpected obstacles: some people start to question whether further efforts are worthwhile when faced with even minor difficulties. As a result, goals are relatively easily abandoned. Other people continue doggedly to pursue their goals even when circumstances have altered considerably. Again, depending on the job requirements, either tendency can be an advantage or a hidden risk.
Successful recruitment and efficient personnel development.
A scientfic instrument proven in practice.


Srinagar, Oct 21 (KNS): Congress party plans to officials stake claim for the post of mayor Srinagar Municipal Corporation and the constitution of the corporation after emerging as single largest party in the recently announced municipal election results.
A party spokesman in his statement told Kashmir News Service (KNS) that being the single largest party in the recently declared results of the Srinagar municipal corporation the Congress will officially stake its claim for the post of mayor and constitution of new council for the corporation. He said that Congress party candidates have won sixteen wards and most of the independents have approached the party with the offer of support for mayor SMC and the constitution of the council for the corporation.
The spokesman claimed that most of the independents declared elected from different wards of Srinagar city have approached the party for a broad based alliance to keep BJP out.


Why does it take much longer to rebuild than tear apart?
I had hoped to have Numbum finished yesterday, but family commitments reduced my working time and I hit a couple of snags along the way.
Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning were taken up with removing the old crank, fitting the new with new bearings, and buttoning everything back up. This went reasonably well apart from the fact that I couldn't turn the engine over when I'd finished fitting the crank. It was locked solid. It took some time but I found that I'd fitted the centre main bearing cap on the wrong way. Once changed, all was well.
It was slow going but I eventually had the engine ready to go in by Sunday lunchtime, when family duties called and the install had to wait till today.
This morning the engine went in with a little cursing and a lot of pulling and pushing. Once in and secured by the top bell housing bolts, I filled and fitted the oil filter and filled the sump. I decided to check that I had oil pressure before I started it, so I fitted the starter, removed the plugs, and spun it over. Nothing, not a flicker on the needle.
I phoned a friend and he told me how to prime the system, which I did, but it made no difference. I tried a few times but still no luck. Getting desperate by this time and with visions of the engine coming back out, I called my friend again and he voulteered to come round and talk sternly to the engine.
A good talking to didn't do any good at all, and eventually we tried a different method of priming the pump and after about half an hour we got pressure. What a relief!!
As I didn't want to fit too much back on the car in case the engine had to come out again, we ran it briefly to check the pressure before fitting the dynamo and radiator. The pressure was fine, so the radiator and generator went on.
I finally closed the garage door, some eight hours after I'd opened it, with water hoses and exhaust still to fit, the bottom bell housing bolts to go in, the clutch to adjust, and the bonnet to go on and it's done. It will be great to be back on the road, if only slower than my normal pace as I have to run it in.


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Jörg Buttgereit (ur. 20 grudnia 1963 w Berlinie) – niemiecki reżyser i krytyk filmowy, głównie znany z nakręcenia kontrowersyjnego obrazu pt. Nekromantik, oraz jego kontynuacji Nekromantik 2.

Filmografia
Reżyser
 Schramm, 1993
 Nekromantik 2, 1991
 Król Śmierci (Der Todesking), 1989
 Corpse Fucking Art, 1987
 Nekromantik, 1987
 Jesus - Der Film, 1986
 Hot Love, 1985
 Horror Heaven, 1984
 Blutige Exzesse im Führerbunker, 1984
 Gollob, Der, 1983
 Mein Papi, 1982
 Captain Berlin, 1982
 Ogar der Häßliche, 1981
 Manne - the Muvi, 1981
 Der Explodierende Turnschuh, 1980

Niemieccy reżyserzy filmowi
Niemieccy krytycy filmowi
Urodzeni w 1963
Ludzie urodzeni w Berlinie

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
Rudolf Moralt (Munique, 26 de fevereiro de 1902 - Viena, 16 de dezembro de 1958) foi um maestro alemão, particularmente associado com as obras de Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart e repertório alemão.

Moralt nasceu em Munique e estudou com Walter Courvoisier e August Schmid-Lindner e foi contratado como répétiteur na Ópera Estatal de Munique sob Bruno Walter e Hans Knappertsbusch de 1919 até 1923. Foi maestro da casa de ópera de Kaiserlautern entre 1923 até 1928 e diretor musical da casa de ópera de Brno entre 1932 até 1934. Também trabalhou em Braunschweig e Graz e depois foi apontado como maestro principal da Ópera Estatal de Viena, onde ficou desde 1940 até 1958. Também apareceu frequentemente no Festival de Salzburgo e em muitas outras cidades europeias e da América do Sul.

Rudolf Moralt morreu em Viena aos 56 anos.

 Grove Music Online, Gerhard Brunner, Maio de 2008.

Maestros da Alemanha
Naturais de Munique


Sorry, the page you are looking for has either been moved to another location, or, has been deleted.
If you need further assistance, please call 1-866-NYSERDA.
NYSERDA offers objective information and analysis, innovative programs, technical expertise, and support to help New Yorkers increase energy efficiency, save money, use renewable energy, and reduce reliance on fossil fuels. A public benefit corporation, NYSERDA has been advancing energy solutions and working to protect the environment since 1975.


When participating in any action sport it is always advisable to wear some kind of protection and they don't come much better than the REKD Elite safety helmet.
The REKD Elite safety helmet has been specifically designed with all extreme sports in mind, offering a high level of comfort and protection.
This safety helmet is very comfortable and features unique air vents for optimum airflow to keep the wearer cool and comfortable.
REKD's safety helmets have undergone extensive research an the inner and outer shells have been sculpted to create in our view one of the best-fitting helmets on the market, without sacrificing strength or performance.


We pay close attention to the voices of the research community we serve, including those who have responded to an online petition that is putting forward some serious negative judgments about Elsevier. Being criticized by even one researcher, let alone all the signatories of the petition, is difficult for a company whose reason for being is to serve the research community. The essence of our work is to create and sustain journals that make it possible for researchers to have their work efficiently reviewed, enhanced, validated, recognized, discovered and made highly accessible, in perpetuity, to readers in virtually every country of the world.
It's work that is both complex and investment-intensive, performed by Elsevier employees working for a vast global community of more than 7,000 journal editors, 70,000 editorial board members, 300,000 reviewers and 600,000 authors. We are proud of the way we have been able to work in partnership with the research community to make real and sustainable contributions to science.
In reviewing the petition and the commentary, we're also troubled by the distortions and misstatements of fact that have been advanced — distortions that need correction.
Elsevier has actively and progressively promoted a wide range of access options, which are important since no one model will ever be the only solution for every type of journal. We publish eight open access journals, including the flagship premium-quality journal Cell Reports. We offer authors the option to sponsor open access to their article in more than 1,100 titles. We have one of the industry's most liberal author posting policies for manuscripts and preprints. We have worked cooperatively and successfully with other funding bodies to provide open access. We have provided a range of free and low-cost access options through programs like Research4Life, PatientINFORM, the DeepDyve article rental service, and various document delivery programs with low-cost library-to-library options.
Elsevier supports the principle that the public should have access to the output of publicly funded research, and we are committed to the broadest possible dissemination of published research. We are happy to work with any sustainable business model for publishing. However, we are against unwarranted and potentially harmful government laws that could undermine the sustainability of the peer-review publishing system. It is our sincere wish to de-escalate from the constant cycle of legislation and lobbying that has marked the scholarly communication landscape for many years, and accelerate collaborative work in partnership with other stakeholders.


text:
Windows XP Source Code Leak Could Lead to Disaster
Source code for Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 has leaked publicly for the first time. The gate for cybercriminals is wide open.
Why the Windows XP Source Code Leak is Critical
A security insider has announced that the entire code for Microsoft operating systems MS DOS 6.0, Windows 2000, Windows CE 3, Windows CE 4, Windows CE 5, Windows Embedded 7, Windows Embedded CE, Windows NT 3.5, Windows NT 4, Windows XP and Server 2003 have been leaked on the dark web. So far, Microsoft has failed to dismiss that this is the real source code.
Every operating systems designed since MS-DOS has been based, even in part, on the previous operating system.
If a hacker were to review the old code, they could find ways to exploit any supported Windows version. This includes Windows 10, which could lead to weaponized exploits. These are the worst types of attacks as it requires the vendor to release a patch in the form of a zero-day vulnerability.
What to Do About the Source Code Leak
It is highly recommended by both Tuearis Cyber and other security advisories, such as US Homeland Securityand the UK National Cyber Security Centre, to ensure all software is up to date, including operating systems. Any obsolete software that is no longer supported by the vendor should be upgraded or uninstalled.
Tuearis Cyber utilizes and manages leading and sophisticated vulnerability scanners from top vendors which can detect obsolete software that needs to be upgraded within your environment. Don't wait to find out what vulnerabilities are in your environment after they've been exploited! Contact Tuearis today and REST SECURED.


text:
Seven Wonders of Portugal
The Seven Wonders of Portugal (Portuguese: Sete Maravilhas de Portugal) is a list of cultural wonders located in Portugal. The creation of the list was supported by the Ministry of Culture and organized by the companies Y&R Brands S.A. and Realizar S.A.
This article is about Portugal's Wonders. For other Seven Wonders, see Wonders of the World (disambiguation).
Initially 793 national monuments of Portugal were listed by Instituto Português do Património Arquitectónico (IPPAR) as candidates, however in the first round of selections a board of experts reduced the number to 77. The contenders were further reduced to 21 finalist in four different categories by Conselho de Notáveis at the University of Évora.
The six-month-long public elections started on 7 December 2006 to select the top seven wonders. Votes could be cast via internet, telephone and SMS. Results of the vote were announced on 7 July 2007 at the Estádio da Luz in Lisbon,[1] as were the results of the global New Seven Wonders of the World contest.
1 Castle of Guimarães, 10th century Guimarães, Braga
41.4479°N 8.2906°W / 41.4479; -8.2906
2 Castle of Óbidos, 1195 Óbidos, Leiria
39°21.819′N 9°09.428′W
3 Batalha Monastery, 1385 Batalha, Leiria
39.659167°N 8.826111°W / 39.659167; -8.826111
4 Alcobaça Monastery, 1153 Alcobaça, Leiria
39.548333°N 8.98°W / 39.548333; -8.98
5 Jerónimos Monastery, 1502 Santa Maria de Belém, Lisbon
38.6975°N 9.206667°W / 38.6975; -9.206667
6 Pena Palace, 1854 Sintra, Lisbon
7 Belém Tower, 1521 Santa Maria de Belém, Lisbon
Other finalists
Castle of Almourol
Castelo de Marvão
Convent of the Order of Christ
Mafra National Palace
Fortaleza de Sagres
Fortificações de Monsaraz
Igreja de São Francisco (Porto)
Clérigos Church
Ducal Palace of Vila Viçosa
University of Coimbra
Palácio de Mateus
Queluz National Palace
Ruínas de Conímbriga
Templo Romano de Évora
http://portugalwelcome.com/7-maravilhas-de-portugal-post/
"7 Maravilhas Naturais de Portugal". SAPO - Portugal Online! (in Portuguese). Archived from the original on March 11, 2008. Retrieved 2009-12-22.
The New7Wonders of Nature
moo.pt - Geo-referenced Wonders
Portuguese architecture
Manueline
Pombaline
Neo-Manueline
Neo-Mudéjar
Summer architecture
Soft Portuguese style
Reservoirs and dams
Tallest buildings and structures
IGESPAR
Portuguese Colonial architecture
Seven Wonders of Portuguese Origin in the World
Portuguese Renaissance


Compare Campbellsville, stateshort} Medigap insurance companies within minutes. Quote comparison is the best way to locate affordable Medicare Supplmental insurance in Campbellsville. To begin enter your Zip Code and press "Compare Your Options". Our website will search for the best Medigap insurance carriers and providers in Taylor county. Finding the best coverage and low cost premium that fit your needs and budget can literally take you 20 minutes or less.
If you do want to get quotes for Medigap policies, you can either contact local insurance providers in Campbellsville, Kentucky, or you can use the Internet to help you find them. Submitting your information to these insurance providers will allow them to calculate how much you are going to pay. They will have different policy levels that you can choose from just like any ordinary health insurance policy. The amount that you pay is usually reflective of how much coverage you will have. In many cases, it's better to go with the most expensive plan so that you eliminate the possibility of being blindsided by very expensive medical bills.
Although we had just stated that you should pay the most money for Medigap insurance, this is only reflective of contacting one particular health insurance provider. Your goal is to get multiple quotes from different companies and look at all of the rates collectively. You will see that there are policies that are virtually identical, but they could be several hundred dollars a month less then other policies that are the same. In this case, you will want to choose the Campbellsville, Kentucky Medigap policy that is the lowest price which will come from one particular insurance provider.
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If you need to have more wellness insurance policy, do not just take out a second coverage. Alternatively, insert a "rider" to your present coverage. This is usually much less costly. Only in some situations, is it far more price effective to get out a next coverage. If the individual is in excellent health, you might want to store all around.
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Not really surprising, but NBC has shown the show's producers, Jeph Loeb and Jesse Alexander, the door. NBC is apparently unhappy with the show's waning ratings and budget overruns this year.
So, is it too late so save Heroes?
I'm not sure if it's too late to save it yet, but I've certainly given up on it. I stopped watching after the second-last episode where Peter loses his powers because he got a hug from dear old Dad.
Here's my issues: 1) Hiro's character had regressed back to Season 1 standings, then completely went off character for no real reason other than it fit the writer's whims. 2) Peter and Sylar are so powerful that the writers seem to consistently find ways to strip them of their powers "temporarily" in order to make other story events work. 3) Season 3 has regressed to having the same plotline(s) as the previous 2 seasons. 4) Remember "Save the cheerleader, save the world"? Oh yeah, that doesn't matter anymore. 5) The writer's listened to the criticisms of last season (it was slow and plodding), and ramped up the action and story to the point where it's getting to be too much.
I just find myself not caring about the show anymore. Is it fixable? Certainly. Is it fixable by this staff of writers? I have my doubts.
Their first season was great but it looks like the writers only had one season in mind and basically just rehashed the same theme over and over again.
There's so much they could do with the premise yet they keep falling back to lame time travel anomalies to explain everything. I gave up after the first episode this season.


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Cannabidiol (CBD) is a chemical found in hemp or marijuana plants that does not make users high. Despite CBD only being approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to treat rare forms of childhood epilepsy, CBD has been widely marketed as a cure-all under the auspices of wellness. These claims have coincided with an explosion in CBD's popularity raising the troubling question: Are patients using CBD to treat medical conditions that could otherwise be improved or cured by established treatments with verifiable efficacy?
A new study lead by the Qualcomm Institute's Center for Data Driven Health at the University of California San Diego, published in JAMA Network Open, reviewed CBD user testimonials to discover why they take CBD, finding the vast majority used CBD to treat diagnosable medical conditions, including for psychiatric, orthopedic, and sleep conditions while fewer took CBD for wellness.
Mining Public Testimonials to Understand Why Patients Use CBD
"The reasons consumers take CBD had not been previously studied because experts lacked access data where large groups of users discussed in detail why they take CBD," said Dr. Eric Leas, Co-Founder of the Center for Data Driven Health, Assistant Professor in the Herbert Wertheim School of Public Health and Longevity Science at UC San Diego, and lead author.
To fill this gap the team turned to Reddit, a social media website with 330 million active users. Reddit is organized into communities focused on specific topics, many of which deal exclusively with health. The team monitored all r/CBD posts, where users can find anything and everything CBD related, from its inception in January 2014 through February 2019.
A random sample of posts was drawn and analyzed by the team who labeled them according to if the poster testified to using CBD to treat a diagnosable medical condition or using CBD for non-specific wellness benefits. "On r/CBD users tell us in their own words why they take CBD," added Dr. John W. Ayers, also with the Center for Data Driven Health and Vice Chief of Innovation in the Division of Infectious Disease and Global Public Health who co-authored the study. "
Most CBD Users Take CBD to Treat Medical Conditions
90 percent of testimonials on r/CBD cited using CBD to treat diagnosable medical conditions. For example, many testimonials recounted experiences such as, "after using CBD for 2 months, my autism symptoms have improved. My family has noticed great improvements and I have finally been able to attend important social events."
Through a process of labeling the posts, the team grouped this subset of testimonials into 11 categories corresponding to medical subspecialties. Psychiatric conditions (e.g., "autism" or "depression") were the most frequently cited sub-category, mentioned in 64 percent of testimonials, followed by orthopedic (26 percent), sleep (15 percent), and neurological (7 percent) conditions. There were also testimonials that claimed CBD treated addiction, cardiological, dermatological, gastroenterological, ophthalmological, oral health, and sexual health conditions, ranging from 1 to 4 percent of all posts [as detailed in the accompanying study materials].
"The public appears to believe CBD is medicine," added Dr. Davey Smith, Chief of Infectious Diseases and Global Public Health and study coauthor. "Who would have predicted that the public might ever think CBD is a cardiology medication?"
By contrast, just 30 percent of testimonies cited using CBD for wellness benefits, the vast majority citing mental wellness, e.g., "quieting my mind", and about 1 percent citing any physical wellness benefit, e.g., "exercise performance."
"CBD retailers attempt to evade FDA regulation by framing their product as a wellness aid, rather than a therapeutic," said Dr. Alicia Nobles, with the Center for Data Driven Health and Assistant Professor in the Division of Infectious Disease and Global Public Health. "But when users explain why they take CBD in absence of any prompts they will commonly cite they are using it for medicinal purposes like to treat acne."
The Need for Enhanced Regulation of the CBD Marketplace
"At this time there are no known medical uses for over-the-counter CBD," said Dr. Leas. "CBD is this generation's snake oil as millions believing to have discovered a new medical breakthrough are actually taking a product without evidence of a benefit."
"The obvious harm is that some patients might forgo seeing a physician or taking medications with known, tested and approved therapeutic benefits in favor of CBD and thereby become sicker or succumb to their illness," added Mr. Rory Todd, study co-author and research associate in the Center for Data Driven Health.
While many think that using CBD poses few risks to consumers trying CBD out, the team notes that taking CBD can harm patients in other ways that warrant cautious use. "There are several documented cases of CBD products leading to mass poisons, because unlike FDA-approved medications there are no uniform safety standards governing the manufacture or distribution of CBD," said Mr. Erik Hendrickson, study co-author and research associate with the Center for Data Driven Health. "CBD can also interact with patients' prescribed medications, including resulting in rare but dangerous side effects such as liver damage and male reproductive toxicity," added Dr. Smith who is also a practicing physician.
The lack of regulation governing the CBD marketplace may drive misperceptions of CBD the team notes. "The public isn't spontaneously coming to the conclusion that CBD is medicine. Instead, this is a natural response to the largely unchecked marketing claims of CBD retailers," added Dr. Ayers. "A lack of regulation puts the onus on physicians who must raise concerns about CBD with patients one-on-one instead of focussing on evidence-based treatments. For instance, since the COVID-19 outbreak claims that CBD prevents or treats COVID-19 are now commonplace."
"Now is the time to act," concluded Dr. Leas. "Government regulators must step up to the plate and give CBD the same level of scrutiny as other proven medications. Moreover, anyone considering taking CBD should instead consult a physician to identify a proven medication."
Reference: "Self-reported Cannabidiol (CBD) Use for Conditions With Proven Therapies" by Eric C. Leas, PhD, MPH; Erik M. Hendrickson, MPH, MA; Alicia L. Nobles, PhD, MS; Rory Todd, BA; Davey M. Smith, MD, MAS; Mark Dredze, PhD and John W. Ayers, PhD, MA, October 2020, JAMA Network Open.
DOI: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2020.20977


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From humble beginnings to fame: Remembering Nomhle Nkonyeni
11 July 2019 - 11:16 By Unathi Nkanjeni
Nomhle Nkonyeni at her home in New Brighton, Eastern Cape.
Image: Fredlin Adriaan
Late veteran actress Nomhle Nkonyeni was well-known for her talent and for grabbing audiences' attention with her characters in TV series such as Scandal on e.tv and DStv's Igazi, among many others.
She died early on Wednesday morning in hospital, after being admitted on Friday. TshisaLIVE reported that Nkhonyeni died at the age of 77.
Here are three memories of Nkonyeni:
Started career at 19
Nkonyeni was born in Port Elizabeth in April 1942 and started her acting career in theatre at the age of 19.
Known for her roles in popular television productions such as Tsha Tsha, Gaz'lam, Scandal and Igazi, as well as the 2004 feature film, Red Dust, Nkonyeni was in the process of establishing an art academy in the Eastern Cape.
Veteran actress Nomhle Nkonyeni dies at 77
South African actress Nomhle Nkonyeni has died.
First black woman to act in theatre in apartheid era
Her roles in plays such as Die Swerfjare van Poppie Nongena saw her become the first black woman to set foot on stage during apartheid-era SA.
Speaking about that historic moment in her TED talk in 2016, Nkonyeni said: "I was the first black person to perform on that stage and when that door opened, I never shut it."
In 2016, she received the lifetime achievement award from the SA Film and Television Awards (Saftas).
Accepting her award, Nkonyeni said: "It's my dream to leave a legacy behind. I don't want God to ask me when I get up there what I've done with the talent He's given me."
Tributes pour in for veteran actress Nomhle Nkonyeni who died at 77
Nomhle was loved by many South Africans
WATCH | Yvonne Chaka Chaka, Mary Twala and Nomhle Nkonyeni honoured
Veteran performers Yvonne Chaka Chaka, Mary Mhlongo Twala and Nomhle Nkonyeni were all honoured with the National Order of Ikhamanga on Thursday.
'Why are Pondos in 'Igazi' wearing Xhosa regalia?'
If South Africa's latest star-studded drama series looks and sounds familiar, that's because it probably is. Mzansi Magic's new Xhosa show, Igazi, ...
WATCH | Samkelo Ndlovu: I'm single, we're co-parenting pretty well TshisaLIVE
SA music icon Johnny Clegg has died TshisaLIVE
SNAPS | Inside Lorna's birthday celebration… sans 'bestie' Bonang TshisaLIVE
Cassper & AKA embrace each other's music, Mzansi can't believe it! TshisaLIVE
IN MEMES | 'Talentless' Ntando & his yellow snake stole the show on 'Idols SA' TshisaLIVE


Satyameva Jayate Dialogue: Satyamev Jayate (2018) is an Indian action thriller Bollywood film featuring John Abraham on lead role along with Manoj Bajpayee, Amruta Khanvilkar, Aisha Sharma on supporting character. Dilbar song of the film is loved by so many people from the day of its internet release.
Satyameva Jayate movie is full of action and dialogue like the other movie of John Abraham like Shootout at Wadala, Force, Welcome back, Race 2. Below is the list of some famous dialogue lyrics of Satyamev Jayate movie in writing.
Sach Mein Achhe Din Aa Gaye…..
Hum Khaakee Vardi Wale Usse Khakh Mein Milayenge..


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Native American Language Preservation and Maintenance-Esther Martinez Immersion
The Administration for Children and Families, Administration for Native Americans announces the availability of Fiscal Year 2018 funds for the Native American Language Preservation and Maintenance - Esther Martinez Immersion (EMI) program.
EMI provides funding for community-based projects that
ensure continuing vitality of Native languages through immersion-based instruction.
Programs funded under the EMI funding opportunity announcement must meet the requirements for either a Native American Language Nest, or a Native American Survival School.
As defined by Esther Martinez Native American Languages Preservation Act (42 U.S.C.
2991b-3(b)(7).
109-394), Language Nests are "site-based educational programs that provide child care and instruction in a Native American language for at least 10 children under the age of seven for an average of at least 500 hours per child," and Native American Survival Schools are "site based educational programs for school-aged students that provide at least 500 hours per year per student of Native American language instruction to at least 15 students".
Promote the Survival and Continuing Vitality of Native American Languages
Office: Administration for Children and Families - ANA
Estimated Funding: $2,000,000
Native American Tribal Governments
Native American Tribal Organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments)
Nonprofits having a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS
Nonprofits that do not have a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS
Others - see "Additional Information on Eligibility" for clarification
Uncharted Play Uses Playtime to Impact Lives Around the World
Pre-March Rally with Black Youth Vote
Olivia Newton-John Commits to Philanthropy
An Essay on Ranking Charities
The Conservatoire Reweighs Social Business Model
Lessons Learned from a Russian Social Enterprise
Showcasing Innovations in Human Services
How Charitable and Commercial Purposes Can Partner to Create Common Goals
Federal Mandates for Testing Helps Kentucky Find Success in Online Exchange
https://ami.grantsolutions.gov/HHS-2018-ACF-ANA-NB-1343
Non-profit organizations representing American Indians, Alaska Natives, Native Hawaiians, and other Native American Pacific Islanders, including American Samoa, Guam, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands are eligible applicants under this announcement.
Faith-based and community organizations that meet the eligibility requirements are eligible to receive awards under this funding opportunity announcement.
Applications from individuals (including sole proprietorships) and foreign entities are not eligible and will be disqualified from competitive review and from funding under this announcement.
ACF Applications Help Desk
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Stunning Evening view of London City wall mural from Wallsauce. This high quality Evening view of London City wallpaper is custom made to your dimensions. Easy to order and install plus free UK delivery.


Manish Bhuptani is President and co-founder of Cleritec Systems. Prior to Cleritec he was Director of Market Development at Sun Microsystems where he grew Sun's market presence in emerging and established markets. He has also worked as a management consultant at A.T. Kearney where he advised Fortune 500 companies on business strategy, and as a software engineer at IBM. He holds an MBA from the University of California, Berkeley, an MS in Computer Engineering from Purdue University, and a BE in Electrical Engineering from The Cooper Union.


The "Kazan Science" Editorial Board takes into consideration only original articles in Russian that have never been published before.
Articles offered for the publication in the journal are to be reviewed. The Editorial Board makes a decision on the article publication based on a review prepared by a specialist in the current scientific area, who has a degree. The Editorial Board has a right to reject an article or return it for improvement.
Attribution and scope of copyright over the published materials are determined by the current legislation of the Russian Federation. Any articles or extracts of them are allowed to be distributed via electronic networks, but only with the link to the original source. It is forbidden for outside organizations and persons to publish the journal materials in print and electronic media without the permission of the Editorial Board.
scanned review by the specialist in this field of science, signed and sealed, including reviewer's degree indication.
The main results of the study.
The presence or absence of plagiarism in an article.
It is also an email address for the correspondence with the editors.
Phone number: +7 (843) 290-60-15.
Articles that do not meet the formalization requirements are not accepted and are returned to the authors for improvement without proper consideration.


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Tag: Williams
Friendship: The Least Jealous of Loves
Dr Snyder February 2, 2019 February 2, 2019
In a letter to lifelong friend Arthur Greeves, C. S. Lewis expressed his deep appreciation for the blessing of true friendship. How highly did he value it? "Friendship is the greatest of worldly goods," Lewis declared. "Certainly to me it is the chief happiness of life." He continued with advice to young men who were contemplating where to live: "I think I shd. say, 'sacrifice almost everything to live where you can be near your friends.' I know I am… Read more »
The Christian Spirit friendship, Greeves, heaven, Lewis, love, selfishness, Tolkien, Williams
The Media & Our Perceptions
A short commentary today on how the media picks out what's important to cover and how it may actually shape the perceptions of its audience. Take, for instance, this picture the Associated Press put out the other day: Oh, said the AP, that was totally accidental. Right. Meanwhile, if you depend on the mainstream news for your information, whether in print, on TV, or the Internet, you might be excused for thinking the whole flap over Hillary Clinton's e-mails is… Read more »
Media, Politics & Government AP, Clinton, Cruz, Media, MSNBC, Williams
The Comedy News Network
One more Brian Williams post, and then I'm done with it. For now. I think. If I were a news anchor, watched and trusted by millions of Americans, and I totally made up stories about myself and the news I'm covering, do you think I should lose my job permanently? Yes, me too. However, NBC decided on a six-month suspension without pay. Really? How many Americans are foolish enough to watch someone again with that kind of track record? Or… Read more »
Media, Politics & Government lying, Mathews, Media, NBC, Obama, Sharpton, Stewart, Williams
The Williams-Clinton Connection
Everyone (except, of course, most of the mainstream media) is still talking about the outrageous stories Brian Williams has told about his time in Iraq. There are other accounts circulating now as well, particularly about some of his claims of what he saw and experienced when he was on the scene for Hurricane Katrina. It appears that stretching the truth (the polite term for lying) may be a habit for this former (?) newsman. Yet, because we suffer as a… Read more »
Media, Politics & Government Clinton, lying, Williams
The Williams Lie
My opinion of the reliability of most broadcast news is already pretty low. Then along comes the Brian Williams story. Williams, the NBC news anchor for its evening broadcast, has been caught in a lie of significant magnitude. Back in 2003, reporting from Iraq, Williams began telling the tale of how a chopper he was riding in was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade and how he was very fortunate to still be alive after that harrowing experience. This week, he… Read more »
Media Iraq, Media, NBC, Williams
The Wave Election
Dr Snyder November 6, 2014 November 6, 2014
It was somewhat amusing, if not astounding, as I watched Fox News coverage of the election results Tuesday evening, to hear liberal commentator Juan Williams do his best to say this was not a "wave" election. Williams kept saying this was an "anti-incumbent" election—that voters were so upset they were taking it out on those already in office. The only thing off-base in his analysis, of course, was that all the incumbents being tossed had a "D" after their names…. Read more »
Politics & Government Adams, elections, governors, Obama, Senate, Williams
Puritan Controversy #2: Anne Hutchinson
Last week, I looked at the Roger Williams episode in early Puritan history and came to the conclusion that the Puritan establishment had good reasons to worry about his influence, given their desire not to have their charter taken away. Today, let's move on to the second major controversy to arise in Massachusetts in the 1630s. It had to do with a movement that historians call "antinomianism." That's just a fancy name for people who believe there is no law…. Read more »
The Historical Muse antinomianism, Calvinism, Hutchinson, Massachusetts, Puritans, Williams


A fount of inexhaustible creativity, Handel more than any of his contemporaries embodies the spirit of his century. This native of Halle in Saxony, the son of a surgeon, ranged over the whole of Europe during the course of his life, bringing about a synthesis of musical cultures and styles unparalleled in the history of music. He was a prolific composer who left an indelible mark on his contemporaries' memory, and over the centuries became synonymous with the musical genres on which he brought his genius to bear. By the time he published his eight Great Suites he had already travelled a good deal and learned from every country in which he had stayed; as a result he was able to write a suite in which an adagio of Italian inspiration suggests the colours of dawn over the Thames, or in which a courante of French character is constructed with the solidity of a German cathedral.
Whatever he wrote, though, Handel sang and made the harpsichord sing: whether in the moving airs and ornamented adagios in the style of Corelli, in the French-style dances, in the severe German fugues, or in the Purcellian "lessons" in which he conjures an ineffably English vividness.


We are a family run transportation service changing the way things are done.
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Cab My Ride was founded in Southampton, UK and we're proud to build and invent all our technology here too; with our own in-house developers and alongside the University of Southampton! Our algorithm is based on powerful predictive technology that evaluates the most efficient way of distributing rides based on the location of riders and drivers.


We briefly explore whether we can trust what we read in the Bible about Jesus. More on how exactly the Bible works and came to exist will follow in later weeks.
Question: Have you ever read some of the Christian Bible before? Did you trust it? Why or why not? What would you trust?


About Molded Fiber Glass Tray Co.
Molded Fiber Glass Tray, MFG Tray, is a leading manufacturer of high-strength, glass-reinforced composite containers, trays, boxes, flats and totes for material handling in the metalworking, plastics and electronics assembly industries, as well as in food service, confectionery, medical/laboratories and pharmaceutical processing. The company continually develops customized solutions for specific material-handling challenges and applications.
Competitors of Molded Fiber Glass Tray Co.
Products by Molded Fiber Glass Tray Co.


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Reducing long line
Six Sigma – iSixSigma › Forums › Old Forums › Finance › Reducing long line
This topic has 1 reply, 2 voices, and was last updated 14 years, 8 months ago by Dillon.
@Zal Include @Zal in your post and this person will
be notified via email.
I work in a hotel where we have long lines sometimes at check in at the Front desk? Does anyone completed a similar project?
@Doug Include @Doug in your post and this person will
Here is a story from the WSJ that you might find relevant:
Coffee on the Double
As It Adds to Menu, StarbucksSeeks to Speed Up Service; 'This Is a Game of Seconds'
By STEVEN GRAY Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNALApril 12, 2005; Page B1
Steaming cup in hand, Kristin Kipper raced out of a Starbucks in downtown Chicago one recent morning and scowled. "I missed my bus," she complained. "I only ordered a hot chocolate, so I don't know what's up with that."
Ms. Kipper, 22 years old, had just stood for about two minutes in a line of about 10 people. She is one of millions of Americans who wait each morning to shell out, on average, between $3.50 and $4 for one of Starbucks Corp.'s premium beverages. But how long is too long to wait for a vanilla latte?
The question is a key one for the world's largest chain of coffee shops. In a survey last year by market-research firm Mintel International Group Ltd., 64% of Americans said they pick a restaurant based on how much time they have. And as Starbucks broadens its menu with hot breakfast sandwiches, which could take even longer to prepare than a time-consuming Double Chocolate Chip Frappuccino Blended Creme, the Seattle-based chain is loath to lose any of its 33 million world-wide weekly customers to Dunkin' Donuts or other rivals who are also trying to beat the clock.
"This is a game of seconds," says Silvia Peterson, Starbucks's director of store operations engineering, adding that she and her team of 10 engineers are constantly asking themselves: "How can we shave time off this?"
A few years ago, engineers noticed that "baristas" — the Starbucks employees who prepare drinks — had to dig into ice bins twice to scoop up enough ice for a Venti-size cold beverage, Starbucks's biggest. "The old Venti scoop didn't give you enough ice," Ms. Peterson says. Engineers experimented with ceramic coffee mugs, which then led them to develop one-piece plastic "volumetric ice scoops." But the handles kept breaking, so engineers had stronger ones made. The new scoops helped cut 14 seconds off the average preparation time for blended beverages of about one minute.
Efforts like these have helped Starbucks outlets increase their average yearly volume by nearly $200,000, to roughly $940,000, since 1999, executives say.
Among other time-conscious players in the hotly competitive $476 billion U.S. restaurant business, sandwich chain Cosi Inc. of Deerfield, Ill., has installed large menu boards on the walls of its restaurants so customers won't have to take time at the head of the line deciding what to order. Wendy's International Inc. of Dublin, Ohio, is touting its new double-sided grill that cuts the cooking time of a four-ounce hamburger patty to 85 seconds from more than five minutes. Caribou Coffee Co., a 310-unit chain based in Minneapolis, has stopped requiring signatures for credit-card purchases under $10.
At Starbucks, it takes about three minutes on average from the time a customer gets in line until the order is delivered. That is down about 30 seconds from when the company started measuring five years ago. (Waiting times in busy urban outlets at peak hours can be considerably longer than the average.) Times for drink preparation range widely, from less than 20 seconds for a Tall black coffee to about 90 seconds for the Venti Double Chocolate Chip Frappuccino Blended Crème.
Starbucks was forced to focus harder on speed of delivery as its growth exploded in the 1990s. In 2000, the company recruited Ms. Peterson, an engineer by training who had spent years at Burger King and Denny's Corp., to start an industrial-engineering team that would break down the beverage-preparation process in hopes of correcting inefficiencies.
One step was to stop requiring signatures with credit-card purchases under $25, encompassing a larger group than Caribou Coffee's $10 cutoff. Processing credit cards had become the longest part of the transaction at the cash register, taking on average 30 seconds, Ms. Peterson says. Eliminating signatures sliced the time to 22 seconds.
In 2003, the company created a new role for restaurant employees called a "floater." The floater is like a quarterback, directing behind-the-scenes traffic, running to the storage room for syrup or coffee beans, and serving as back-up cashier or barista. One recent morning in a Chicago Starbucks, the floater moved up and down the line of waiting customers, took orders, marked them on the sides of cups and passed the cups to the baristas, who could then start making drinks before customers reached the register.
Floaters added costs, but Starbucks executives say they are worth it because restaurants can serve more customers more quickly. Since their creation, floaters have shaved 20 seconds from the overall service time, largely by getting the drink-preparation process started sooner. It also has a psychological benefit, says Jim Alling, president of Starbucks's U.S. division. "The customer doesn't feel like he's waiting in line. It's like a ballet, a well-choreographed play," he says.
Since 2000, Starbucks has been slowly installing special espresso machines in all of its 9,000 world-wide restaurants. With the push of a button, these machines grind coffee beans for espresso and then brew the beverage, allowing baristas to focus on steaming milk for latte drinks that are heavily in demand. The machines produce a more consistent amount and flavor of espresso, and have cut 24 seconds off the average time it takes to "pull an espresso shot," bringing it to about 36 seconds. "If there's ever a silver bullet in our world, that's it," Ms. Peterson says.
Despite the need for speed, Starbucks executives, who prefer to have their locations called "stores," are sensitive to being lumped in with fast-food outlets. "You don't want customers to feel they're in an Indy-500 pit stop," Mr. Alling says. "It's a real trade-off — to move quickly, and not be rushed." The sharper focus on speed doesn't seem to have hurt the chain's order-accuracy rate, which has remained consistent at about 99.4%, the company says.
This spring, Starbucks is continuing its gradual nationwide rollout of hot breakfast sandwiches, including a sausage, egg and cheese combination on an English muffin, and another with eggs Florentine on an English muffin. The sandwiches offer an opportunity for increased revenue but take about 90 seconds to heat.
How to sell lots of hot sandwiches without slowing service "is probably the biggest question or issue with rolling out a warm item, in addition to product quality and consistency," says Andrew Barish, restaurant-industry analyst for Banc of America Securities LLC in San Francisco.
Executives insist the 90 seconds needed to heat sandwiches won't increase the targeted three-minute average service time. But they are fuzzy on the details of how they will achieve this.
Starbucks tested warming the sandwiches in various types of microwave ovens, which were fast but didn't meet expectations for taste and quality. Convection ovens produced better quality but were too slow. Now Starbucks plans to use a hybrid convection-and-microwave oven that it says will satisfy both concerns.
Starbucks also is considering assigning a floater to deal only with the sandwiches on busy mornings. Executives say they hope to learn more as the sandwiches are introduced in different markets.
The forum 'Finance' is closed to new topics and replies.


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