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The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB or the Board) has ordered an administrative law judge to approve a settlement previously reached between McDonald's, its franchisees, and workers. It appears the NLRB has restored the old rule that a joint employer relationship only exists if two or more employers both had the power to: hire or fire an employee; supervise and control an employee's work schedules or conditions of employment; determine an employee's rate and method of payment; and maintain an employee's employment records. By ordering approval of the settlement, the NLRB effectively agreed with McDonald's that it is not a joint employer and therefore should not be held liable for its franchisees' labor practices––a major win for McDonald's, as well as companies throughout the nation who use the franchising model (and their franchisees).
Background:The relationship between a franchisor and franchisee is an ongoing, contractual business relationship governed by a franchise agreement. A franchise agreement allows for a corporation (franchisor) to sell the rights to an individual or other entity to open a single store with the franchisor's brand name at a much lower cost. This model, bringing with it the opportunity for almost anyone to become a business owner, raises the perplexing legal question of joint employer status. If two businesses are found to be joint employers, they will also be found jointly liable for any violations of the law. But, how to determine joint employer status?
Although varying tests have been used historically, generally speaking, prior to 2015, a joint employer relationship existed if two or more employers both had the power to: hire or fire an employee; supervise and control an employee's work schedules or conditions of employment; determine an employee's rate and method of payment; and maintain an employee's employment records.
However, under theBrowning-Ferris Industries(BFI) standard, which was handed down by the Board in 2015, when it was controlled by appointees of President Obama, two or more employers would be considered joint employers if they shared or codetermined matters governing the essential terms and conditions of employment. The inquiry focused on whether the alleged joint employer had the potential to control aspects of the workplace, either directly or indirectly, regardless of whether the employer ever exercised that authority.BFI's modification of the standard made it more likely that a franchisor would be deemed a joint employer and therefore equally liable for alleged violations.
Although later vacated on other grounds, the NLRB made its first attempt to restore things to the pre Obama-era standard in 2017 when it handed down theHy-Branddecision, overrulingBFI. The NLRB, with last week's McDonald's decision, has now successfully returned joint employer status to the pre-BFIstandard.
The Decision: This lawsuit dates back to 2015, when the Service Employees International Union brought charges in connection with 61 complaints of unfair labor practices at 31 McDonald's franchise restaurants. The complaints accused the franchisees of illegally retaliating against employees of the chain for advocating for a $15 an hour minimum wage, as part of the national "Fight For $15" labor movement.
The workers also named McDonald's Corporation, the franchisor, as a joint employer, even though the corporation, based in Illinois, did not directly employ them. Under this theory, the workers sought to hold McDonalds itself liable for the franchisees' alleged violations. Throughout the litigation, however, McDonald's steadfastly maintained that it was not a joint employer. In fact, the parties' settlement agreement, reached on the eve of trial after three years of litigation, included a provision that McDonald's is not a joint employer. An administrative law judge rejected the settlement.
The NRLB panel overruled rejection of the proposed settlement, and instructed the judge to approve the settlement––therefore, accepting the parties' adoption of McDonald's assertion that it indeed is not a joint employer.
What it Means:Over 90 percent of McDonald's restaurants are franchises––that is, small businesses owned by individuals and entities other than McDonald's Corporation. Undoubtedly, it is a major victory for McDonald's Corporation to be immunized against liability for alleged violations in 90 percent of the stores. Yet this decision is much more far-reaching.
Indeed, the list of businesses that operate on the franchise model is almost endless. People buy franchises because they want to be business owners and make their own decisions, within reasonable parameters such as products offered and other restrictions necessary for branding. While it may be nice to have the backing of a large corporation when money is at stake, if a franchise owner becomes liable for everything regarding employees, it is likely that it would seize control of everything else, as well. And if the corporation has control of everything, there is no point in franchising.
Thus, this decision, declaring that McDonald's is not a joint employer, is not only pro-big business, but pro-small business owners, allowing franchisee owners independence in how they run their franchised stores, and, therefore, allowing this franchise model to continue.
Employers' Bottom Line:In the eyes of employers, the NLRB's decision is certainly considered a step in the right direction with regard to joint employment. Unfortunately, what is seen as a step in the right direction by employers, is seen as a step in the wrong direction by labor advocates. Indeed, it is highly likely that the NLRB decision directing approval of the settlement will be appealed. Having said that, the joint employer standard reflected in last week's McDonald's decision may be gaining currency everywhere. To wit: just this week, the usually employee-friendly 9th Circuit denied a petition for panel rehearing of its October 1, 2019, 2-1 decision that McDonald's did not exert enough control over employees at its Bay Area franchisees to be legally considered a joint employer.


After my visit to Sk:n Clinic last month, which you can read all about here if you've missed the post, I was super excited to receive some of the skincare products from their own brand as they were specially selected for my skin type & my skin concerns. After a month of trailing the products I tell you about the benefits of long term use, but I can share with you how I have been getting on with the products so far and my thoughts on them. Just be aware that these products are for my normal to combination yet dehydrated skin, which could work completely different on your skin, so the best thing to do if you are thinking about purchasing new skincare products is to have a consultation with a clinic nearby and let them point you in the right direction.
First up my absolute favourite product from the bunch, the Facial Exfoliating Cleanser for normal skin* which is a completely new product for me to try out. I am definitely used to the grainy type of exfoliators which I thought were the only way to exfoliate properly and get rid of the dead skin cells, but boy have I been proved wrong. I just love how the glycol acid in this leaves my skin feeling super soft, brighter and much more refreshed. I have used this as an evening cleanser for a couple of days but I have to say I much prefer using it my own way as a mask, which I do by applying on dry skin and letting it do its work for 10-15minutes after which I massage with warm water and then rinse off. Be aware that the first few uses will give off a stinging effect (something which is specified on the box) but it wasn't anything I couldn't handle and now after using it regularly I have found that has pretty much stopped. The product has now become a staple in my routine as I use it twice a week and I have definitely been converted from my grainy exfoliating days.
Next up is the Vitamin Rich Cleanser for dry or sensitive skin*, which I have been using daily in the mornings as it removes any overnight build up from the skin and it leaves my face looking fresh. I love that it's designed for sensitive skin which I have found that I actually have in my consultation, meaning that it doesn't leave me with red blotches like most cleansers seem to do. I honestly thought having red blotches on my cheeks just meant that I was cleansing well and they would usually disappear after half an hour or so. This has once again proved me wrong as I am left with cleansed face minus the redness which I definitely have been enjoying. Once again I don't use this the way it is instructed by placing it on a cotton pad and rubbing it on the face as I just find it impractical. I much prefer to just use my fingers to massage it into the skin and then rinsing off with warm water.
Now onto the next two products which are from the Anti-Ageing range and they are the ones I am still not 100% sure about. Let me start off with the first one which is an Age-Delaying Cream for younger skin*, which is a great concept since ageing is something I have put in the back of my mind but if there is a way to prevent it from happening for as long as possible then I'm all in. I love the packaging of this and the lightweight formula, which is good for day time use as it doesn't leave me looking like a shiny disco ball. Now onto the bad part for me which is the scent, I just can't seem to get over this strong scent that I can't even put into words. Now this is obviously a personal preference since I am quite fussy with scents in general and it's the only thing that puts me off using it everyday. Other then that the formula is perfect and I have had no breakouts from using it or anything like that. I obviously can't comment on the anti-ageing properties since I haven't been using it long term and due to the scent I'm not sure if it is a product I can personally repurchase and use long term.
The one product I struggled with the most out of the bunch is this Anti Ageing Cream with SPF30* which obviously has the same scent as the one above but it is also a cream that takes a while to sink in which I just don't have time for in the morning if I am rushing to put my makeup on straight after. I do love that is has such a high SPF content because during last summer I seriously neglected that factor and felt quite guilty about it. I also like that although it does take a good while to sink in, it somehow doesn't feel greasy at all. I will be saving this for the summer time when my skin needs the extra protection as I tend to go barefaced a lot of the time so I won't mind having to wait for the moisturiser to sink into the skin. But for this time of year I just haven't found a space for it in my routine. I will bring this back up in the summer when I will give it a good testing out and let you know how I get on.


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Q: Show prename and lastname as select option in CakePHP I want to show a form with CakePHP where users can select an employee. Cake shows the inputfield as "select" which is good. Unfortunately the select input field only shows the id of the employee rather than the prename and lastname.
Model:
Reminder:
worker_id (reference to Worker model)

Worker:
id
prename
lastname

Here is the PHP part:
echo $this->Form->create('Reminder',
    array('action' => 'add',
        'inputDefaults' => array(
            'label' => false,
            'div' => false
        )
    )
);

echo $this->Form->input('worker_id', array('empty' => 'Choose an employee'));
echo $this->Form->button('Save', array('type' => 'submit', 'class' => 'btn btn-green'));

I did not find a way to show the prename and lastname of class Worker but keep the id as option value in the select field.
How can this be done?

A: You have need to create $your_listing as below

$your_listing = array('2'=>'John Fleming','3'=>'Justin Bond');

and used this array in your form helper as below

echo $this->Form->input('worker_id', array('empty' => 'Choose an employee','options'=>$your_listing));

So in above example, select box become

<select name="worker_id">
  <option id="">Choose an employee</option>
  <option id="2">John Fleming</option>
  <option id="3">Justin Bond</option>
  </select>

A: You can use an array to specify the options of the select input.
$options =  array(
    'Value 1' => 'Label 1',
    'Value 2' => 'Label 2'
)
echo $this->Form->input('worker_id', $options,  array('empty' => 'Choose an employee'));

In you case your labels should be Worker.id => Worker.prename + Worker.lastname

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Best wishes for 2016! I hope it will bring you lots of good and happiness. A new year, a new month and so it's time for a new wallpaper. I'm hoping for some snow to start the year with. So I thought of drawing it and than maybe we'll have a snowy January.
Best wishes for 2016! I hope it will bring you lots of good and happiness. A new year, a new month and so it's time for a new wallpaper.
I'm hoping for some snow to start the year with. So I thought of drawing it and than maybe we'll have a snowy January.


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The Paradox of Sinophobia and Economic Ties in Vietnam
The Vietnamese government looks to balance the contrast between Vietnam's need for trade with China, and its national identity.
September 1, 2018 September 2, 2018 by Benjamin
American Power and Ignorance: a View from Abroad
Hansen's deeply personal account of her years in Turkey relays a historical critique of American power, the relationship between our racial history and foreign policy, and American exceptionalism.
January 9, 2018 March 22, 2018 by Benjamin
Patriotism and Internationalism in the U.S. and Argentina
If we can understand how Argentina, a country born of an international character similar to the U.S., fosters an international-leaning patriotism, maybe we can learn a bit about our own national identity as well and why patriotism doesn't have to be us against the world.
May 19, 2017 March 28, 2018 by Benjamin
Executive Disarray: Trinity v. Trump's Immigration Order
Trinity University students and faculty are grappling with an environment of uncertainty after President Trump's executive order on Immigration. This week, The Contemporary investigated law's implications for students, took the pulse of legal debates, and evaluated the law's impact on the campus climate.
February 4, 2017 March 28, 2018 by Benjamin
The Dalai Lama's visit to Europe is more important than his Trump impression
The Dalai Lama should be commended for his mockery of Trump, but he and his hosts should also be recognized for their bravery in taking on the great red bully in addition to the great orange one.
October 13, 2016 March 31, 2018 by Benjamin
Why The War on Terror Began on 9/14
The 2001 Authorization for the Use of Military Force is expansive, outdated and has dangerously normalized endless war.
September 14, 2016 March 3, 2018 by Benjamin
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Email: wellsfordcatholicparish@outlook.com
Dinner Album 2018
Sunday Readings
The Men & Women From Dalmatia.
Safeguarding Volunteer Training
Police Vetting
Confronting Abuse
Safeguarding Parish Resources
Wellsford of today bears no resemblance to the town of the nineteenth and early twentieth century. The first organised European settlement of the district was by the Albertlanders, a strongly non-conformist body, a number of whom settled in the area extending from Port Albert to Matakohe. In the Wellsford district, their selections were based round the banks of the Whakapirau Stream and they planned a town in that area.
The Jennings home at Tomarata.
The Purchase Line is another story covered in Harry Mabbett's book, From Tidal Creek to Gun Ridge. The Whakapirau settlers referred to the district south of the Line as "the gum ridge". Naturally there was no Catholic influence in Old Wellsford.This is north and west of the present town, and divided from it by the Oruawharo Purchase Line.
Eastwards however, it was different. Here, in an area extending from the Tara to Te Arai, were a number of Catholic families; in fact, Erica Cowan in her book When you and I were young, Maggie, refers to a "Catholic Coterie". Her own forebears, the Jennings, were significant members of the coterie. Other Catholic families were the Rices, the Shannons, and the Logues, and they all seem to have settled in the area in the 1860s or 70s. These four families lived quite close together in the district now known as Tomarata but which was then included in the larger area called Te Arai. A Catholic family named Henry lived at the Tara. The following details of the four Te Arai families comes from Erica Cowan's Book.
Baptisms were performed in the homes by priests visiting from Whangarei, Puhoi or Auckland. A Jennings child, Thomas, was baptised on 7th November 1863 by Father Walter McDonald. His godparents were Ann and Stephen Rice.
Margaret, daughter of Ann and Stephen Rice, had been baptised at Mangawhai in a few days after her birth on 20th January 1861 by Father M.D. O'Hara. Further Rice children were baptised, Daniel by Father Walter McDonald on 9th January 1865, and Stephen, born 12 May 1865, was baptised by Father Pompallier. (This was probably the Bishop's nephew, Antoine).
Marnie And Cyril Nightingale 1965
Visiting priests stayed with one of the four families, and it is to be supposed that a house Mass was said with all the families present. The
priests were mostly Irish but in 1872 an Italian priest, Father J. Gregory, visited Te Arai. Father E.R. Simmons' book In Cruce Salus, which is a history of the Auckland Diocese, tells us that at this time the district of Puhoi was being "looked after" by Father Hugo d'Akermann and included the North Shore, the Wade and Mahurangi. By 1879 the first resident priest, Father J. L. Adelaar, was appointed to Puhoi and the area covered referred to as extending from the North Shore to Mahurangi.
By the late 1880s Puhoi included Whangarei, Kawakawa, Russell and Whangaroa. Father William Mahoney made trips between Warkworth and Puhoi, the Wade and Puhoi and from Te Arai to Puhoi, as well as numerous walks from Whangarei, Kamo, Herekino, Marsden Pointand Waipu.
By 1897 the Parish of Whangarei included all the east coast from Mangawhai to Kawakawa. During these years a number of people are known to have travelled to Auckland, by boat of course, to be married in St Patrick's Cathedral, Wyndham Street, and the eldest Jennings daughter, Lizzie, went to Auckland for a year of secondary education at St Mary's College.
There was sometimes a long interval between baptisms, presumably because priestly visits were delayed, and the fifth Jennings child was not baptised until he was over two. For the next child the delay was even longer – six years. That time, in February 1880, Father McDonald baptised five-year-old William Jenning and his sister, three-year-old Louisa. Margaret Ann was baptised at Te Arai on 25th April 1884 by Father P.A. Luck, a Benedictine.
Travel was difficult in the 1930's
Bishop J.E. Luck confirmed 11 candidates at Te Arai Undenominational Church in 1888. There were two Shannons, five Logues and four Jennings, ranging in age from 16 to 19. In the 1890s a Puhoi priest officiated at the Brunton-Logue marraige at Te Arai. In this case, Te Arai possibly refers to the Jennings home, which shared the name with the district.
Death, mixed marraiges and movement to other places saw the influence of this Catholic enclave diminishing and about the time of World War One they had been overtaken by settlers from Dalmatia.
Kate Shannon, who married a widower named Les Simpson, died in 1957, her sister, Nellie Shannon died in 1968, and Vern Rice, the last Catholic member of that family residing in the district, died in 1971. There seem to be no more Catholic members of those four families still living in or around Wellsford.
We have been able to follow a little of the faith history of these four families because a descendant to the trouble to research and write their story. Scattered throughout Rodney and otamatea there must have been other families, living similarly isolated and difficult lives, and making similar heroic efforts to keep alive their Catholic faith. All of them, the ones whose names we know and those whose names died with them, are the ancestors of our Parish.
THE COLONIAL MADONNA
by Sr. Mary Lawrence (Julia Lynch) 1896 – 1975
given to the parish by Ron and Mary Cameron
Rev Fr Bill Fletcher
wrfletcher1@gmail.com
St Mary's Wellsford 6 Matheson Road
Griffin Road Maungaturoto
8A Fagan Pl Mangawhai Heads


text:
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Published Article Archives
Cyprium Partners Closes Its Fourth Fund at $460 Million, Continuing Its Long-Time Focus on Non-Control Investments.
January 7, 2015 | Press Releases
Cleveland, Ohio: Cyprium Partners, a private equity firm focused on making non-control investments, announced the closing of its fourth fund, Cyprium Investors IV, raising $460 million. The fund continues the firm's long-time strategy of making sponsorless non-control investments of equity and/or subordinated debt. The firm focuses on middle-market companies with $10 million or more of EBITDA headquartered in the U.S. or Canada. Investors in Cyprium's fund include domestic and foreign pension funds, insurance companies, family offices and entrepreneurs who the firm has backed in previous investments.
Founded in 1998 as Key Principal Partners (KPP), the principals and investment professionals formed Cyprium Partners in June 2011. Over the group's history, it has deployed $1.18 billion of capital and made 66 non-control investments. Since its initial close, Cyprium IV has invested $100 million in three platform companies: CV Holdings, Hobbico and Ice River Springs.
"Cyprium is proud to announce the closing of Cyprium Investors IV," said John Sinnenberg, Chairman of Cyprium Partners. "The successful fund raise reflects a continued endorsement by private capital investors of our differentiated, sponsorless non-control model and the continuity of our focus and team over the last sixteen years. Dodd-Frank restrictions required us to replace over 75% of our previous investor base. We feel the $460 million fundraising effort is truly a milestone for Cyprium and we greatly appreciate the commitment from our existing and new investors and the support of our placement agent, Capstone Partners, in helping the firm accomplish its fund raising objective. We look forward to putting this capital to work in leading middle market companies whose owners are searching for a minority partner to work in collaboration with them as they seek to take their business to the next level."
ABOUT CYPRIUM PARTNERS
Cyprium Partners is a private equity firm focused on non-control (minority ownership) investments. Cyprium utilizes a combination of subordinated debt, preferred stock, and/or common stock to enable privately-held businesses, entrepreneurs, and management teams to achieve their financial and strategic objectives. With offices in Cleveland, New York, and Chicago, the firm invests $10 million to $60 million per transaction in U.S. and Canadian companies with $8 million or more of EBITDA. Learn more about Cyprium Partners at: www.cyprium.com.
Karen Heise
©2019 Cyprium Investment Partners LLC. All Rights Reserved.


NC IA Update! Google is your friend!
Did a 'hard restart' and all is well. I held both the start button and the home button for 10 seconds, then an icon showed on the screen to plug into the charger. An hour later and it was on!!!
Grandma asked granddaughter if Grandpa yelled at her. She replied "No, but he sure seemed mad".


2016 Land Rover Discovery Sport HSE 4X4 NAVIGATION, LEATHER, FIXED PANORAMIC MOON ROOF, STILL COVERED UNDER THE ORIGINAL NEW CAR FACTORY WARRANTY This Land Rover includes: DRIVER ASSIST PLUS PACKAGE Lane Departure Warning Navigation System SANTORINI BLACK METALLIC 18 BLACK DESIGN PACKAGE (032GW) Aluminum Wheels INCONTROL APPS WHEEL LOCK PACK Wheel Locks *Note - For third party subscriptions or services, please contact the dealer for more information.* Drive home in your new pre-owned vehicle with the knowledge you're fully backed by the CARFAX Buyback Guarantee. The Land Rover Discovery Sport is the benchmark all other SUVs strive to meet. With exceptional power, towing and handling, this SUV can handle anything thrown at it. The Land Rover Discovery Sport HSE 4X4* NAVIGATION, LEATHER, FIXED PANO MOONROOF, STILL COVERED UNDER THE ORIGINAL NEW CAR FACTORY WARRANTY's pristine good looks were combined with the Land Rover high standard of excellence in order to make this a unique find. Handle any terrain with ease thanks to this grippy 4WD. Whether you're on a slick pavement or exploring the back country, you'll be able to do it with confidence. A Land Rover with as few miles as this one is a rare find. This Discovery Sport HSE 4X4* NAVIGATION, LEATHER, FIXED PANO MOONROOF, STILL COVERED UNDER THE ORIGINAL NEW CAR FACTORY WARRANTY was gently driven and it shows. Intricately stitched leather and ergonomic design seats are among the details in which test drivers say that Land Rover Discovery Sport is in a league of its own You'll quickly realize how much you will need a navigation system once you are stopping for directions or looking up addresses on your phone instead of looking at the road. This Land Rover Discovery Sport HSE 4X4* NAVIGATION, LEATHER, FIXED PANO MOONROOF, STILL COVERED UNDER THE ORIGINAL NEW CAR FACTORY WARRANTY features a navigation system that will free you of these unnecessary headaches. More information about the 2016 Land Rover Discovery Sport: The Land Rover Discovery Sport is the newest addition to a crowded compact premium SUV segment. What sets it apart, however, is its DNA. It is an exceedingly capable off-road performer with many of the attributes found in more rugged offerings. Coupled with the luxury appointments and attention to detail also rooted in the Land Rover brand, the Discovery Sport stands above offerings from BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Audi and Volvo. Interesting features of this model are off-road capability, room for seven passengers, Refined interior, and technology features At Folsom Lake Toyota, you can be sure that your experience is our #1 priority. We will always do business in a manner that represents our core values of integrity, transparency, professionalism and teamwork. You can also reach us at 916-355-1544 or by visiting us online at www.folsomlaketoyota.com. We look forward to seeing you soon! Please call us for more information.


Funny how a little thing like a few decades can dynamically change style and expectations. Last generation's tweet was likened to an adorable yellow bird constantly trying to escape and outsmart a speech-impaired house cat. Now, of course, it has grown from two characters to up to 240 if you've managed to be famous enough. And, there are plenty of other examples. Geeks and jocks are now often the same person!
Before it is too late, hop back to the past and show your kiddo how fun the '80s were with this Boy's 1980s Jock Costume. This exclusive look features polyester, polyester, and just a bit more of it! But, the colors are going to make it seem like you're getting something rarer. The tiger stripe green and black pants fit with elastic waist and will practically glow as your kiddo struts his stuff and shows off the bright and contrasting colors of the jacket. Naturally, no 80s look could be complete without the featured terry cloth sweatband!
Let your kid have a great thrill with this trendy look from over thirty years back. This stylish 1980s Jock Costume will give a splash of color and confident style that will have all the neighborhood either grinning with nostalgia or wide-eyed with curiosity. Either way, we're talking about an epic time!


Home Video Swaziland: Gold Mine of Marijuana.
Swaziland: Gold Mine of Marijuana.
Swaziland is a landlocked country sandwiched between South Africa and Mozambique. Despite Swaziland's small size, it boasts more hectares of land dedicated to growing Cannabis than all of India. It is also home to Swazi Gold, the legendary sativa strain.
Hamilton Morris travels to Swaziland hoping to chemically analyze the cannabinoids present in some of the local strains. Instead, he finds a country steeped in political corruption and economic turmoil. Cannabis is viewed by many growers, users, and politicians as a drug that will cause insanity, but it may be Swaziland's only hope for economic stability.
Next articleSwaziland: Gold Mine of Marijuana. Part 2.


The phrase "we should go fishing sometime", grows in the same tree as, "I think I'm going to start working out", or "I'd love to take your mysteriously single niece out on a date". A hint of actual intention may be hiding in the branches, but it rarely materializes into any kind of fruit and no one seems too bothered by it.
I have shared this all too familiar exchange with dozens of guys a guy I see almost weekly. Last week at a dinner party things escalated when days and times were mentioned. This raises the chances of actually fishing together by 50% at least. At this point, the intention wasn't hiding in the trees anymore, it was making its way into plain sight on the end of a limb.
T-minus 48 hours before the discussed outing. My soul coffin phone vibrates.
Now, the idea of fishing together has fallen out of the tree and is running around in circles on fire.
I hesitate because invitations like this commonly rescind, falling apart for one of a hundred reasons. Call me old fashioned but I just hate getting dressed for prom with no dance to attend. I love exploring new water. I enjoy meeting others that share interest and expertise in the sport. But the truth is, I find myself hesitant to throttle up in excitement when I know most people (and I am most people) have many competing objectives and commitments. And we should.
In addition to anticipating the letdown, since leaving Nevada and my home water of the Truckee River, it's a hell of a lot harder to get out and wet a line: the ask is bigger, the risks are greater, and the previous competency is irrelevant.
I pull into the Bellevue Park'n'Ride at 5:03am and begin to transfer my weapons of war into Tim's Rubicon Jeep. As his tailgate swings open, I see the folded vinyl material creased on itself across the back, clearly the inflatable raft he mentioned on the phone. After a quick fuel stop, we arrive at the lake and back the Jeep down a shoddy unkempt boat ramp, one that terminated in a dozen massive limbless logs, blown from all edges of the lake to the ramp. It looked like Tom Hanks foiled attempts at escape in Cast Away. Thanks to physics, these behemoth trunks sulked away like sorry torpedoes with a stern shove of the hand. With a new temporary lane clear for our berth, we set out to my friend's trusted coordinates.
In our conversations leading up to the trip, he hadn't mentioned that our tactic would essentially be sight-fishing toward the bank, watching for bruisers cruising along the shore. Interestingly, the water we were targeting (the closest 20 feet to the bank) would in any other year be shoreline, not cover for trout. The occasional fire-pit would pass under our boat, easily deciphered in the gin-clear water.
I had two goals from the onset: catch my first brook trout and not get skunked. That seemed a low bar given the reputation of the lake. A short while after making our first stop, Tim roped in a black-mouthed brookie. Technically, my goal involved me getting a brook trout, but hey, I'm a selfless guy so, yay for you.
Tim got hefty bows to smash his streamer not once, but five times…he just couldn't get the set quite right. After repeated grabs from the same fish, he hooked up and fought it calm and collected. This picture below isn't camera/arm trickery…it's a 25″ rainbow. This brute was one of dozens we saw doing laps and hunting the shallows. Again, I'm trying to crack the goose egg, but I'm happy for you and the biggest trout of your life. Next round at the bar is on me.
Of the 6.5 hours on the lake, we had a total of about 20 minutes that wasn't actively pouring on us. The temps were low enough to make being wet more than a nuisance. I was striking out and painfully short of both of my goals. And before anyone lectures me on the merits of "just getting out there", know that anyone who doesn't think fishing is more thrilling while actually catching fish is either a liar, an awful angler, or too old to care. I am any of these things on a given day, but not today. The day was not shaping up to what I had hoped.
Then it happened; the reason my grand-kids will likely hear about this day.
Tim was fishing starboard side, while I was "trolling" a streamer on sink-tip on the port side while we followed the edge of the lake, the electric outboard gently pushing us along the bank. Tim commented on some structure against the bank we were approaching. I glanced over, setting my rod down to steady myself in the boat as I turned my torso. At this exact moment, my streamer grabbed something on the lake's bottom. Something solid and unmoving. A tree stump, an old Volkswagen, a civil war era cannon…no one can be sure.
My $1000 rod shot over the edge of the inflatable boat and landed flat on the surface of the water.
An endless stream of commands poured out but Tim hadn't seen what had happened and tried to understand what I was up in arms about. Within seconds, the weight of the 30 yards of sink tip took over and the whole thing was sinking.
My door of opportunity was closing, and in ten agonizing and impossibly long seconds, I would hear the deadbolt latch in place. The rod was gone forever. We finally got the boat turned around and returned to the gravesite. Watching the horizontal line on the fish-finder creep downward was simultaneously fascinating and infuriating.
I tried not to sulk, but thinking about not sulking probably looks a lot like sulking. I felt the weight of not wanting to be a wet blanket in an already soaked fishing expedition, but I'm betting my face told the whole story. I tried to keep fishing with a back-up rod, listless and moping. I somehow ended up hooking one fish, an identical twin to Tim's beast from earlier.
The stout planter numbed the sting of loss for a moment, but the awareness that I had lost a rod that I don't have the financial margins to replace was like a swift kick to the crotch.
I kept muttering these words, but they weren't landing. Not yet anyway. We cruised back to the ramp, and began to disassemble the boat. Something about the air hissing out of the compartmentalized bladders captured the moment perfectly.
Part two of this story found here.
This entry was posted in catch and release, fly fishing, pacific northwest, rainbow trout and tagged brook trout, central, dropped, lake, lost, pnw, rainbow trout, rod, wa. Bookmark the permalink.


What's the hottest time of day?
World Cup's Hottest Soccer Players | Time – The U.S. team has been knocked out of the World Cup, but that doesn't mean Americans will stop watching the tournament. If the dozens of hottest soccer players lists on sites like BuzzFeed.
When to Expect the "Warmest Day of the Year" | National. – During the summer months, many areas in the United States approach their highest temperatures for the year. To give you a better idea of the warmest time of year for your area, NCEI has created these "Warmest Day of the Year" maps for the contiguous united states, Alaska, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico.
The Hottest Day on Earth, 100 Years Ago – HISTORY – Ownership of Europe's hottest day is under debate, with most scientists rejecting catenanuova, Italy's 1999 claim of 119.3 degrees in favor of the 118.4-degree day residents of Athens, Greece.
Where is the hottest place on earth? – Extreme Science – There are many places on earth that are plenty hot – record-breaking hot. In fact, there's a good chance on the day the record-breaking air temperature of 136° F/57.8°C was recorded by a meteorological station in El Azizia in 1922, there were other places hundreds of miles away that were even hotter.
10 Out of 10 (2PM song) – Wikipedia – It was released as CD single, titled Hottest Time of the Day, which was released on 2008 September 4. MK News spoke highly of their performance of the song for their comeback on The music trend television show.
Which is the best place to live in Arlington TX? Best Places To Live In Arlington, TX – areavibes.com – Here are some of the best places to live in Arlington, based on the Livability Score. You can sort the list of best places to live in Arlington by population size, home/rental prices, and other metrics that might be important to you like crime, cost of living or education.
What's Really Wrong With the Green New Deal – Maybe one day a more broad-minded. on a global scale over a much shorter time period. Simply reversing how we got here isn't the only, or even the best, alternative. epa economist Alan.
What is the hottest time of day? 3 P.M., or noon? | Old. – Answer: The hottest time of the day is around 3 p.m. Heat continues building up after noon, when the sun is highest in the sky, as long as more heat is arriving at the earth than leaving. By 3 p.m. or so, the sun is low enough in the sky for outgoing heat to be greater than incoming.
When Is the Best Time to Take Your Blood Pressure? – Learn about the best time to check your blood pressure, whether at home or when visiting your doctor, as there are a few factors at play.. Due to the fact that the actual time of day isn't as important as making sure you take the readings at that time, choose a time slot that is unlikely to.


text:
Q: Considering alternatives to traditional on-prem fileserver I am considering alternative solutions for managing a smallish fileserver. Currently I look after (amongst other things) several small MS-Windows fileservers - in total around 4Tb of data supporting around 200 clients. To date, these have not not been well cared for, and I was looking to consolidate these into a single server with better capacity management and backup capability, but as we already have Office365 subscription with bundled storage, I am left wondering if there might be a better way of doing this.
Currrently the clients are almost exclusively MS-Windows boxes, but I also have similar sized NFS storage for Unix/Linux - consolidating these would be an added bonus.
My experience of MS-OneDrive is somewhat limited - all I have seen is an absence of hierarchical folders, and access control devolved to the end-user. The thought of letting my users choose their own access policy and dump hundreds of thousands of files into a single folder fills me with horror.
Is this the only way to use MS-onedrive? Can I set quotas? Directory hierarchies with ACLs? Is there any documentation for running a managed OneDrive installation, or is it just a marketing trap for ever escalating storage costs?

A: OneDrive is personal storage for Office 365 users. It isn't shared between OneDrive users. So UserA doesn't natively have access to OneDrive data for UserB.
If you're referring to "company" shared data then you might look into using Sharepoint Online.
For individual users data, OneDrive is a perfectly acceptable solution.


text:
Vijith Shetty (born 1981) is an Indian football player. He is currently playing for Air India FC in the I-League in as a midfielder.

External links
 goal.com

Indian footballers
1981 births
Living people
I-League players
Air India FC players
Association football midfielders

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


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Empathy in Health Care
By Barbara Ficarra, RN, BSN, MPA
TED speaker Rebecca Saxe inspired this post.
"The great gift of human beings is that we have the power of empathy." These are heartfelt words by award-winning actress Meryl Streep.
Do we all have the power of empathy? Are we hardwired to know what other people want? Is it easy to think about other people's thoughts?
Rebecca Saxe's enlightening TEDTalk "How To Read Each Other's Minds" asks: "Why is it so hard to know what somebody else wants or believes?" "Why is it so hard to change what somebody else wants or believes?" And "How is it so easy to know other minds?"
Saxe concludes her fascinating presentation by saying that people come well equipped to think about other people's thoughts, and "we have a special brain system that lets us think about what other people are thinking. The system takes a long time to develop slowly throughout the course of childhood and into early adolescence. And even in adulthood differences in this brain region can explain differences among adults in how we think about and judge other people."
Does this mean we're all equipped to feel empathy?
Empathy is without a doubt a connection; but in health care, it's much more. — Barbara Ficarra
Ad agencies are masters at engaging the audience and using empathy to elicit a response, to prompt consumers to take action, hoping they'll buy what's being sold. Attorneys are brilliant at selecting empathetic jurors or preparing the witness to connect with the jury.
Empathy is without a doubt a connection; but in health care, it's much more. It's not only a clinical and emotional connection; it's truly about letting people know that they matter and that clinicians care about their patient's well-being.
The emotional connection allows clinicians to be mindful of what patients are experiencing and to help understand their lives. Everyone has a story: the new mom in the hospital who is being treated for cancer is unable to hold and to be with her newborn, the son and dad who gave and received a kidney missed attending the college graduation, the grandpa who missed his granddaughter's wedding because he was undergoing heart surgery. There are lives behind the patients. Lives interrupted and lives on hold. Understanding the how and why and what patients are feeling will allow for the doctor/patient and nurse/patient relationship to flourish, making better outcomes possible.
Underneath the diagnosis lies a patient with a life on hold on the outside. Patients' lives stand still and they are bound by hospital walls, machines and devices. Every patient deserves empathetic doctors and nurses.
It's important for clinicians to understand that patients are more than their "diagnosis." Recognizing patients outside life exists, even just for a moment, is invaluable to them. All too often patients and their caregivers and family members are called "difficult" if they ask too many questions. Most of the time patients, caregivers, loved ones aren't difficult, they are just afraid and want to know that they are being heard. They want a connection.
With empathy doctors and nurses can connect, engage and empower patients. Empathy allows us to understand what patients are experiencing. By acknowledging their emotional state and listening attentively, we can engage our patients and empower them to be proactive and in charge of their health care.
Empathy will foster trust, a partnership forms and the healing process begins.
So if we're all well equipped to think about other people's thoughts as Saxe concluded, doctors and nurses can think about their patients lives on hold and empathetically help them get back to their loved ones and back to their lives.
Barbara recently participated in TEDMED and was part of the medical communication team.
Ideas are not set in stone. When exposed to thoughtful people, they morph and adapt into their most potent form. TEDWeekends will highlight some of today's most intriguing ideas and allow them to develop in real time through your voice!
Barbara was invited to write this piece for The Huffington Post. The original Huffington Post piece, Equipped for Empathy may be found here. To read an op-ed from the TED speaker, Rebecca Saxe who inspired this post, you may find here, and you may watch the TEDTalk below.
Are we all equipped for empathy? Do you feel there is empathy in health care? Please share your thoughts in the comment section below. As always, thank you for your very valuable time and insights.
Posted in: Adults, Doctors, Health 2.0/Health IT, Hospital Care, Insurance, Nurses, Patient Engagement, Quality Health Care
Tags: Barbara Ficarra, Doctors, Empathetic, Empathy, Empathy In Health Care, Equipped for Empathy, Health Communication, Health News, Huffingtonpost, Human Connection, Medical Communication, Nurses, Patient Care, Patient Engagement, Patient Experience, Quality Patient Care, Rebecca Saxe, TED, TED Weekends, TEDMED, TEDTalk |
2 Responses to "Empathy in Health Care"
Erica Moss says:
"Underneath the diagnosis lies a patient with a life on hold on the outside." What a powerful statement, Barbara. Thank you for writing this!
Dr Jose Artero says:
The sympathy towards the patient is an option but the physician's empathy toward the patient is an obligation.
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Barbara Ficarra, Award-Winning Journalist, Writer, Speaker
Barbara Ficarra, RN, BSN, MPA, is an award-winning broadcast journalist, health educator, HEALTH DESIGNER™, health/lifestyle expert, international speaker, writer, consultant, and on-air expert. Barbara is a featured writer on Huffingtonpost. She is founder of BarbaraFicarra.com, a lifestyle destination site. She is a registered nurse active on the front lines of health care, and she is an administrative supervisor at a level 2 trauma center and covers multiple medical and surgical units, critical care, oncology, cardiology and step-down units, the psychiatric in-patient unit, the women's and children's units, and the emergency department. Her clinical experience ranges from oncology to general medicine and surgery. Barbara is a leading voice in health and she focuses on consumer and patient engagement and empowerment, health care social media, healthy living, and health care technology-telemedicine, telehealth, mHealth, and gamification. Barbara offers practical advice for consumers by focusing on health and wellness. Her trademark is simple and useful information from a trustworthy source to help people to take charge of their health. Read more about Barbara.
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I laughed and told her it's called a manual for a reason and she is not the only woman who has this complaint. My common response is that it is not in his DNA to pull out a manual and went on to explain how men and women are generally wired differently around this issue. I gave her an example of the time period when wooly mammoths were hunted. When hunting the mammoth, there was no manual and the men just had to figure it out. Today, men still want to "figure" it out. It's their DNA.
Meanwhile, while the men were out hunting, the women, children, and elderly stayed behind in the village cooking, weaving baskets, gathering food, protecting the children and the village, washing, etc. In other words, they were multitasking. Women continue doing what women have done since the beginning of time, multitasking.
Developing the skill of multitasking, a woman in the village can be aware of many issues going on around her. In fact, if a child is wandering too close to a spring river flowing high and fast, it is in the woman's DNA to be aware of this and prevent the child from falling into the river, most likely. On the other hand, men can compartmentalize well and focus on the task at hand, missing the child wandering too close, yet, when the child falls in and there is a yell and a splash, the man pulls the child out and becomes the hero.
How does this relate to the workplace? Another common complaint I hear from my women clients who are in upper management is that they often see early on an unwanted issue developing and when they present the ensuing crisis to their team, they are often told everything is fine. However, when the crisis they predicted occurs, a peer, usually a man, finds a solution, fixing the issue and is the so-called hero and is often awarded a higher bonus.
Moving toward an outward mindset, we remove the inner competition and create a culture that values input from opposing perspectives. Those who can see a crisis coming before others need to understand how they see this and develop a way to articulate it and share it with their team. In this way, you are developing others with your skill.
A culture that values the outward mindset is aware of the balance between the yin/yang. Holding this yin/yang awareness allows an organization to evaluate risks from a sensible and secure perspective moving calculated risks into opportunities.
Rather than viewing teams members by their gender, it is suggested to identify who brings in the yin energy and who brings in the yang. Developing teams in this manner instills the needed balance many organizations are lacking.
The real estate industry has figured this out. Top real estate producers are yin/yang teams, the female/male teams. There must be something in our DNA to choose a team where the yin/yang is present when purchasing or selling what is for some our biggest asset.
As in the lament about the husband not pulling out the manual, we can see that both the yin/yang were needed to complete the task. Perhaps her husband my have eventually "figured" it out, and maybe not. When she brought in her contribution, the task was completed, allowing time to move on to the next task. Next time you are confounded on figuring something out at home or work, embody the outward mindset and bring in the balancing energy as the synergy of both are better than just one. Organizations who adopt this strategy will improve employee engagement and retention. Let this be your new guiding principle. And, as in the real estate industry, your organization will improve customer and vendor relations.
I hope this article provoked some thoughts. Please share, and remember, Success Starts With You.


text:
Fire press release
Fire In North Central
Incident #: 2013025783
Date of Incident: 06/15/2013
Issuing Officer: Bruce Moline/Battalion Chief
Early Saturday morning at 12:45 A.M., the Spokane Fire Department responded to a report of a structure fire in the 300 block of W. Nora. Engine 3 from their neighborhood station location of Indiana and Ash was first to arrive and found a storage shed well involved in fire. A quick stretch of preconnected hose was completed as well as a water supply from the nearest hydrant, this allowed the fire crews to knock down the fire in less than 10 minutes. Heavy fire and smoke damage was found throughout the interior of the shed. Additional fire crews were used to protect any exposures that surrounded the shed. This included a nearby dwelling and business. As a result of this action, the fire did not extend beyond the shed. Some overhead power lines also received some heat damage. The cause is under investigation by the Spokane Fire Department Special Investigation Unit. Crews remained on scene throughout the night assisting the investigation effort.
Under investigation by the Spokane Fire Department Special Investigation Unit.
Heavy fire damage to the shed structure and contents within.
# Firefighters Responding: 18
Dollar Loss: $ 20,000
Other Agencies Responding:
Avista Electrical and Gas divisions
End Of Release
For more information on this release please call (509) 625-7002
Multiple garages catch fire.
Issuing Officer: Battalion Chief Steve Sabo
At 9:50 AM, Tuesday, June 11th, the Spokane Fire Department responded to a reported detached garage fire at 312 S. Ray Street, on Spokane's lower south hill. Enroute, crews reported a large smoke column visible. The first crews on scene reported a 20' X 20' wood framed, detached garage fully involved in fire, with three adjacent detached garages beginning to catch fire from radiant heat exposure. Additionally, an exposed, 60' fir tree and a power pole were on fire, with the tree scattering hot embers on a weeded lot, starting the weeds and brush on fire. Electrical wires from the power pole burned through and dropped to the ground causing an additional hazard to the firefighters. Multiple fire crews extended hose leads to extinguish the numerous fires. In all, 5 engines, 1 ladder truck, 1 rescue truck and 2 battalion chiefs worked at this incident, and had the majority of fire extinguished within 10 minutes of arriving on scene. Crews remained on scene for an additional 1-2 hours overhauling the burned structures and completing extinguishment. There were no injuries reported to civilians or firefighters. Electrical power to the entire block was disrupted until Avista crews were able to gain access to the damaged power pole and complete repairs. This fire was near the eastbound Thor/Freya exit off I-90, which caused significant traffic congestion both on 3rd Avenue as well as eastbound I-90. SPD and WDOT assisted in rerouting and managing traffic until fire crews could clear 3rd Avenue.
The cause of the fire is currently under investigation by an investigator with the Spokane Fire Department's Special Investigation Unit.
No vehicles were damaged in the fire, however, the main fire building and its contents were completely destroyed. The exposed garages sustained primarily exterior structural damage, with minor smoke/water damage to contents. Total dollar loss is estimated at $30,000.
Spokane Police Department, WDOT, Avista
North Battalion Basement Fire
Incident #: 2013025045#
Issuing Officer: Battalion Chief Bill Donahoe
On June 11,2013 at 11:04 6 Companies of Spokane Firefighters, 1 Senior ladder, 1 Pumper Ladder, 3 Engines and 1 Heavy Rescue under the direction of Battalion Chiefs Donahoe and Moline were dispatched to a working basement fire at 827 West Spofford. E-3 from the West Central neighborhood was the first company on scene and reported a basement fire in a 2 story home. A quick interior attack of the fire in the basement was performed while other companies searched the 3 floors of the home for occupants, ventilated the structure and checked for extension of the fire. The fire was declared knocked down within 20 minutes. All 5 occupants and 3 dogs were accounted for and are being assisted by the Red Cross and neighbors at this time.
The fire is under investigation by the Fire Department's Special Investigation Unit.
There is extensive fire and smoke damage to the basement along with smoke damage to the 1st and 2nd floor. The Electrical and natural gas has been shut off by Avista until electrical repairs can be made along with structural repair.
Dollar Loss: $ 10,000.00
Avista and Red Cross


With this game the blog enters 1993. This is the year that SFC RPG production really ramped up, although not quite as heavy as 1994-5.
Elfaria has actually been reviewed by two other bloggers, Boxed Pixels (which is still active), and Random Encounters (which is not). Both of them hated the game. I can understand why, although I'm actually enjoying it so far. It's possible I like it more than I should because of all the crap I've played, but it seems to have had a pretty decent reputation in Japan and got a sequel in 1995. The biggest roadblocks for most players are going to be the battle system (which is almost completely automatic) and the lack of experience and gold. It reminds me a bit of Ogre Battle although it's been so long since I've played that I don't have a clear memory of how much control you had over the battles.
The characters have a distinctive style, done by the artist Susumu Matsushita. He is known for an American comic-influenced style, which reminds me somehow of the Foglio's work even though it doesn't look exactly like it. In any case it's not the usual anime art.
The game begins with a cinematic opening and then the introductory story.
Elfaria has been almost completely taken over by Searal in the last 15 years, with only the small town of Roma left over, where our hero Pyne is from. He has been researching the long-ago magic wars and thinks the legends from that age can help him overcome Searal's forces. Suddenly a woman named Ell appears before him and tells him the time to set off on his journey is here. She disappears, and Pyne takes three companions and sets off. Eventually we will end up with 4 parties of 4 characters each.
The story so far is not especially detailed -- there's not much else to say beyond that opening story. I've completed chapter 1 and there was a bit of development with the mysterious Zora on the enemy side, but not much. After the initial scene you then start the game.
The basic gameplay involves recapturing towns from the evil forces. The game is divided into chapters, with each chapter being a different continent of the world. You start with just Pyne's party, and move him to the next town where there's a boss.
Once you reach a town, you can enter it and then walk around an area with random encounters and chests until you find the boss and defeat it, which then frees the town.
The "Rod X"/"Mail X"/"Sword X" items just increase the relevant stat and do nothing else. Other items increase multiple stats or add special abilities. You can also find recipes to combine several items into one, although you sometimes have to go to a specific person to forge it. The meld system is a lot of fun -- it's not flexible in the sense that you can turn a mage into an effective fighter, but it gives you a little more freedom than just equipping a new armor or staff.
The sticking point for a lot of players is going to be the auto-battle system.
Each party has 4 members. The two front members are fighters who attack. The other two are magic users. One has an elemental damage spell and a debuff, the other has a heal spell and a buff. Your only control in the battle is choosing between the buff, debuff, and damage spell (or nothing), and running by pressing down. Everything else is done automatically. The buffs and debuffs do not take MP but the mage can't use them if they have 0 MP remaining. The battles always involve 3 monsters (except for the final boss of the area) and you have to beat the front monster before that fighter can go back to fight the back person.
If you die in a battle, you just get sent back to a previous town. You can also choose "outside" at any point in a town/dungeon and you'll be returned to the world map with full HP/MP. This was a good choice by the designers because it makes exploring ahead less risky, although I guess it means a game over is impossible? The only disadvantage I've seen of taking a long time is that sometimes a boss will come out of a town to try to retake the towns you've already captured. If you're there it's not too bad because you'll be at full HP/MP, but if you died a lot and got knocked back to the starting town you might not be able to get up there quickly enough.
I remember the controversy over FF12's AI system, but these kind of things have never bothered me that much. This is an abstraction of the usual RPG system of this era, which gives the illusion of more choice than you normally have. Yeah it's frustrating when the healer doesn't get the heal spell off in time, but that happens in other RPGs too.
After freeing several towns, you get the second party.
Pyne's party is ice/water-based, the second party is fire-based. Each party is strong against certain monsters and weak against others, so depending on what monsters are in a particular town (and the boss) you might want to use one party over the other.
In addition to the towns, there are "natural areas" which are optional but have useful chests and maybe some drops from the monsters. This chapter has a cave and a forest.
Now with the second party I can use them against some of the "tenma" monsters that Pyne's party isn't as good against. Often in the towns with multiple bosses, you can make several runs into the town -- sometimes you have to flip a switch to open a gate, or you can beat one boss and retreat.
Eventually we have to send Aldis' party in to retrieve the Proof of Fire and replace it with the Blue Gem that Ell gave us at the beginning. This will stop the enemies from spawning in this area and now it's just a matter of beating the final boss of the region.
In Kana Castle we meet the sleep-loving king. I used Aldis as my main frontperson in this place because a lot of the enemies are "tenma" type.
The soldiers tell us there are some hidden rooms in the caves and castle (fortunately they're easy to find). Going through the cave lets us open a switch to go in the main castle, then we have to do another runaround to open the switch into the final room. Now it's time to exit one more time and take on the boss,Yonapis.
He was fairly easy. It's just him alone, and Aldis' party matches up favorably with him. After the fight, Kanarn is freed from the evil powers. We get a quick cutscene with Searal (on the throne), Zora the mysterious wizard, and Dalukan, a knight of Elfaria who defected to Searal's side.
Time for chapter 2, where we'll get the third party. I feel like I shouldn't be enjoying the game as much as I am.
Hanjuku Heroes: Aa, let the word be half-baked!
It needs to have individual, named characters that you can develop, not just generic troops.
I played this game for a bit and it definitely qualifies for the first criteria, but I'm not sure about the second. There is no experience points, and I can't tell how (or if) the characters can develop. The Japanese list of RPGs I've used does not have this game on it even though it's usually pretty expansive.
I debated whether to play this -- there's not much recognition of it in English and it seems to be a fondly remembered game in Japan. In the end I decided to skip it for now because I feel like I need the instruction manual to do it justice. Maybe I'll come back to it at some point.
It needs to have some element of exploration, not just stages.
I think this game fits criteria 3 but I'm not sure about 1 and 2. In any case it was released in English so I'll skip it regardless.
Next up then is Elfaria, a game that tries to buck the usual RPG trends (no XP or money!). I'll have the first post on Saturday.
This game took me less than 5 hours to beat so I'm just going to make a review post to cover the whole thing. This is another SD Gundam game; you can read about the Knight Gundam franchise in the post I made for the first game. This is what's known as a "chara game", a disparaging term for a game that is only interesting for people who are familiar with the franchise. I agree with that assessment; it's not very good.
Story/Characters: The story is that you are a descendant of King Gundam and you have to free the British Kingdom from the rule of the Zabolonia Kingdom. That's pretty much the story. You progress through the game, and there's not that much in the way of interesting twists. You go back in time, and there is a little bit of interest there, but not much.
The main problem is that it's hard to care about the story because the characters barely exist. As is common with these chara games, they try to cram as many of the source characters as they can into the game, meaning that they barely get any development at all. It's hard to tell the difference between the characters, and the link between this and the original Gundam is tenuous.
World: Generic fantasy. There's very little attempt to build any kind of world, explain what these Gundams are and why they exist in a fantasy world, or distinguish between different towns and castles.
Game Flow: Despite the game being so short, there are some really annoying parts. There are hidden staircases you have to find by searching specific points on the map, and you're given no clues whatsoever to the find them. There's a forest where you can't see the paths, and it took me 25 minutes to get through that. However, since you can run from every random battle and the treasure chests are not all that useful, you can progress quickly. Especially if you use the cheats (see next entry).
The final boss is easy -- he uses an attack that takes 4 turns to charge but you just wail on him for 3 turns then defend on the 4th.
System: The battle system is standard attack-defend-magic RPG. You can have up to 13 people in your party, but do you really think it's fun to mash A 13 times in a battle?
They tried to do something innovative by removing experience. Instead, you move up levels by recruiting new people into your party. I don't really like the way that works -- money isn't that useful so it means that there's really no purpose to fighting the random battles. Even if you did the game would be 10 hours at most.
The other unique aspect of the system is the "order made" weapon system. You can create weapons by paying money to add points in various categories. But this doesn't really matter because then you get to name the weapon, and there are bonuses for having certain characters in the name. Seems like a neat idea but the bonuses are ridiculous. If you have the kanji 盾 (shield) anywhere in the name the weapon gives +100 defense, which is higher than the best armor in the game. 最強の剣 (strongest sword) does indeed make the strongest sword in the game. There are other bonuses, and they all stack. So in the first town, for 1 gold, you can make a weapon that is better than anything else in the game for both attack and defense, and you can add poison, stat bonuses, etc. I usually don't exploit things like this but since this game is bad already I had fun doing it.
Side Quests/Optional Content: There is a bit here -- some optional characters (you can get up to level 99, I only hit 75). In the time travel part there are some things you can do in the past that you can then revisit in the present and future.
Interface: This is OK. You can see the stats of weapons and armor before buying them. There's a unified use button.
Graphics/Sound: The enemies look pretty good -- there's a lot of detail in the mechs and since they already had existing Gundam models to work off of there's not a lot of palette swapping. The music is average.
Next up is Hanjuku Heroes, which I don't think qualifies as a strategy RPG but I may make a post on it anyway.
Story/Characters: The story is a legendary take on the invasions of Japan by Kublai Khan in the 13th century, but also involves Benkei and Yoshitsune. I'm not sure that Benkei and Yoshitsune's roles in the story really justifies the title, but I guess Benkei's name sells more copies? Overall the story is interesting and the pre-modern Japan setting is unusual for even Japanese games. The characters are relatively cookie cutter, as you would expect of a game from this era.
World: You start in Japan and then move to China later. The world map is based on the real world and the towns are roughly in their real places. There's an attempt to evoke the pre-modern feel with very few Western loan words and monsters based on Japanese and Chinese mythology or folklore.
Game Flow: Overall this is fine. The biggest problems I had were figuring out where to go next -- often the game isn't very clear about this. When you just have to move on to the next town that's not so bad, but sometimes you have to backtrack, and I wasn't always sure after looking at the walkthrough how I was supposed to know what to do.
The boss of the first part is a grinding wall, which then makes the next part really easy.
System: It's a basic RPG with a Japanese-themed skin. My biggest complaint here is that in the second half of the game, just using buff spells and regular attacks is much better than the damage spells, and Tokoyo's sword techniques become nearly useless. In many cases for me they did less damage than regular attacks.
Side Quests/Optional Content: There's a hidden town in China with a weapon store but that's about it.
Interface: Not as smooth as it could have been. I don't know why you have to first pick "examine" in the stores to see the power of the weapon/armor, and then buy it and have no idea how it compares to your current gear. Dragon Quest V did it right -- can't all the other games copy off of that?
We're also back to not having a unified "action" button so you have to choose "search" from a menu. At least there's no inventory limit.
Graphics/Sound: Both have an Asian feel. The music is Japanese-sounding in the first part of the game and then changes to a more Chinese sound when you go to China. The monsters are detailed and interesting, and being able to see your characters slash their swords on the bottom is a little more interesting than just text.
Overall an average game from this era; nothing particularly special.
The second part of this game takes place in China. According to the instruction manual the designers went to China for background research -- or did they just want a free vacation? All the music changes to more Chinese-sounding music, your weapons all get taken, and your money gets replaced with Chinese money. There's no explanation for how your characters can speak Chinese.
Our goal is to find Kunlun, the mythical mountain. Supposedly Yoshitsune is waiting there for us. I found the sequence somewhat disconnected -- one of the flaws of this game is that it's not always clear what you're supposed to be doing next, either from a story or gameplay standpoint. This is especially a problem when you have to backtrack, because the backtracking is often based on something you heard 3 hours of gameplay ago that has no direct connection to where you are in the game now. I had to use a walkthrough quite a bit in this section just to learn where to go next; maybe if I had taken detailed notes on what everyone said I could have figured it out.
Since Kunlun is said to be at the source of the Yellow River, our first task is to find out how to go upstream. We start off in Lin'an, and our hope is that the Wokou pirates will help us out with a ship -- they are Japanese, after all. After paying some money for the ship, Fudou goes aloneto an island, but the Spirit General Bukoku attacks and defeats her, and she wakes up in a village. A boy Byakuren joins our party; he wants to get to Kunlun to beg the gods to stop the war. He's like Benkei in that he just pops up to attack during combat. He's pretty useless.
Fudou quickly reunites with the party, but Tokoyo has been captured by Bukoku. We also hear that Kublai Khan is being used by the Spirit Generals in order to bring back the Demon Castle. After some fetch quests, the Wokou let us borrow Hou, a sea monster that can ride up the Yellow River.
Hou. I don't know what the source of this monster is.
This is where I feel like the progression starts taking too many detours. We have to awaken ghosts of dead soldiers to pass through an underground lava river, fight a flame dog boss, and then finally get to the castle where Bukoku is holding Tokoyo. Maybe if you're more familiar with the Chinese mythology this all comes from it makes more sense.
This is a tough fight. One other big flaw in this game is the lack of good revive options. When enemies have group attack spells, it can be very difficult to resurrect a character and then heal them before they die again. Since enemies often randomly get multiple attacks and criticals, it's easy to get screwed over by luck. I think the fact that I had to grind levels so much for Jugon (the boss of part 1) made it a bit easier, though.
At the top of the castle is Bukoku.
He's much easier than Jugon. For the most part my boss strategy from this point on was the same -- use strength buffs and heals, and forget about damage spells or Tokoyo's sword techniques (which often do less than a regular attack). Depending on the boss, Stopspell can be useful as well as the defense buff or the "reflect magic" buff.
With Tokoyo back in the party we continued up to the capital city, although there's nothing to do there at the moment. Instead we head to the Great Wall, where they've managed to decipher some old stones. One is yet undeciphered but somehow Meisa can read it -- it's in Kunlun language. Unfortunately Bukoku shows up again (they can't die as long as the Demon Castle is around), and has one of his minions fight us.
Now we know where to go in order to get to Kunlun, but we still need a flute to open the way. So we continue up the Yellow River, and meet Chizam, the head of a Mongol troop. He seems suspicious of Kublai Khan's actions. Finally we reach the end of the Yellow River (or at least what we can access) and have to go through a cave, where Bukoku once again challenges us...but by now he's easy.
A detour brings us to Rakaku, one of Jugon's servants from part 1, but he's now become a priest. He challenges Fudou.
He uses a lot of debuffs and heals which is annoying -- I had to try a few times and use a lot of the Shiki items to beat him. But he gives us a seal which will prove useful at the end of the game. Afterwards there's a cave that has a map showing us exactly where to use the flute in order to gain access to Kunlun...which would be nice if we had the flute.
Continuing on, we meet the next one of the Spirit Generals, Jako. She(?) sends us back 1000 years to the Jama Taikoku, where Himiko tried to use the Mirror but ended up calling forth an evil power that would be around until someone went to Kunlun. Not sure why Jako wants us to know about this, but of course we manage to get back to the present. Jako meanwhile has killed Chizam and many of the mongol forces. Apparently they are indeed using Kublai Khan, and once Khan calls forth the Demon Castle they will kill him.
Back in the present we reach the final stage of the journey. Jako once again tries to kill us but Hou sacrifices his life to open the way.
With that, the last obstacle is gone and we recover the flute. With that we can go to the lake and open the path to Kunlun.
Kunlun is a magical place of happiness where the animals talk. It turns out that Meisa is actually the sister of the leader. We learn that Yoshitsune is no longer there -- he and Genghis Khan were allied at first but were turned against each other by the Demon Castle and apparently killed each other (although later we learn that they defeated the Shikai Emperor so I don't know exactly what happened here). Kosa, the leader, gives you the ring necessary to open the way to the Demon Castle and defeat the Shikai Emperor again.
Back on Earth, we go to the Capital, where the door is. Unfortunately Jako reappears and takes the ring. Byakuren is able to recover it, but Jako kills him.
And then we can use the item Rakaku gave us earlier to go back to the Jama Taikoku and the final dungeon. Here we have to face all four of the Generals again, although fortunately there is a heal and save to go back to. Then it's the final boss, the Shikai Emperor, who inhabits the body of Kublai Khan to fight us.
The ending is pretty short. With the Shikai Emperor dead, Kublai Khan also dies, and we escape the Demon Castle. Benkei has to sacrifice himself to let us go, but he promises he won't die.
Kunlun goes away for another 1000 years, and Meisa makes the decision to come to Earth rather than staying in Kunlun. She lives in a village we visited earlier where someone mistook her for his lost daughter. The others go back to Japan and resume their lives, and never meet again. Fudou loses the "Suna lineage" powers and returns to her village to be a normal woman again.
Overall not a bad game, although not great either. Certainly just being average puts it ahead of most of the games I've played so far.
I've finished the first part of the game. At the end of the last post I was heading to the mountains to find the Kasumi clan for help. They want us to prove our worth by recovering the bone of the sea dragon, and we get the item to open that dungeon. That's not very hard, and fortunately we can now use the bone to cross to Kyushu, where we'll supposedly find Jugon's base and the Spirit Ring.
Now in Kyushu, we meet a one-eyed girl named Shinobu, but she doesn't want our help. Instead we follow a guy named Enjo to Sakura Island, where he's supposed to lead us to more of the five Spirit Rings we're seeking. Instead he betrays us and lets us get captured by some sort of demon plant.
Fortunately, Shinobu arrives to save us.
Now we learn that Shinobu is in fact Princess Shino, who blinded herself for some reason (to increase her power or something, but that seems like a bad choice). Unfortunately her father and a close childhood friend have gone over to serving Jugon. We head to the Demon Castle to recover the Purple Ring, and that's where the friend (Magobe) and her father are.
You have to fight both of them one-on-one with Shinobu but it's not very hard. Afterwards we recover the Purple Ring, and the castle on Sakura Island is reclaimed for Shinobu and her clan.
Next we head off to Hokkaido. While we were in Kyushu, the Kasumi clan was attacked and destroyed, but their remnants are in Hokkaido. There we learn about the Orange Ring, which we can recover in the East Cave. The cave has no boss and someone in the cave simply gives it to us, but then we have to fight a fearsome boss on the way out (who actually isn't very hard).
Now that we have the rings, it's back to Shikoku where we started to revive Benkei.
As you can see, Benkei is not a full party member. Instead you collect weapons for him, and he randomly appears in battle and uses them. Sometimes they attack everyone, sometimes just one person, and I think it's completely random whether he arrives or not. Seems like not much benefit for all the work it took. Anyway, the Kyubu monster from above returns in a more powerful form, and he's actually a pretty tough boss.
With Benkei's help he's defeated, and now finally we can head to the Kamui Ruins in Hokkaido to face Jugon. Benkei destroys the barrier in the dungeon. Jugon is waiting for us at the bottom.
He takes us into some sort of spirit world and then we fight him. This is a really tough boss fight. I had to level up to 30 to be able to beat him, and buy 99 shikis. Fudo does about 500 damage with the 10 shiki move, so that's 4500 from her, and he has about 7800 HP. She can do a bit more damage with the remaining 9 shikis, but the rest of the damage has to come from random Benkei, and then buffed up attacks from Tokoyo and Mikage. The Earth Medicine helps a lot since it restores all HP to all characters. There is some luck involved as in a lot of battles, though, since all the characters randomly do multiple attacks -- I haven't been able to figure out when or why this happens. But the monsters can do it too, so someone can go from full HP to 0 in one round.
Jugon informs you that the Mirror has already been sent to China, so it's too late to do anything. We then learn that Meisa has recovered her memory -- she is from Kunlun, and was sent by Yoshitsune from China to bring Benkei and the other heroes back. So our next destination is China. There's also a cutscene where someone (I think Kublai Khan?) is telling the remaining three generals (minus Jugon) to beware of Benkei's arrival.
With the destruction of the Tower of Light, Japan has lost the means for calling the divine storms. Kublai Khan, knowing this, prepares to invade Japan for a second time, preparing 140,000 troops and 4400 ships, much more of a force than last time. Hojo Tokimune prepares all of Japan's strength in North Kyushu to counter this. At the same time, Fudo and the others take Meisa and travel to China. Their destination is Kunlun, a legendary place of mystical illusions. But Kublai Khan's otherworldly servants are waiting to stop Fudo.
Hopefully I can finish the game this week, but we'll see.


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You are here: Home / Blog / Frontpage Article / Facebook Live: The New Tool Leaders are Using to Grow Their Businesses
Facebook Live: The New Tool Leaders are Using to Grow Their Businesses
August 1, 2016 /in Frontpage Article, Images, News, Uncategorized /by Mandy Howle
(image courtesy: Facebook Live)
From Inc Magazine:
"The social giant is making the case that business leaders can benefit from engaging customers in a personal way, in real time.
Watch your back, LinkedIn and Twitter…here's how using Facebook Live can change the game for your small business.
Facebook has been actively recruiting business leaders since last year to use the social network as a means to connect with their customers, employees and shareholders. The company "activated" 20 business influencers in the final six months of 2015, and through the first six months of 2016, Facebook has ramped up its efforts, signing up 80 business leaders, the social media giant told Inc.
"Facebook in many ways is the new town hall for business leaders," said John Cantarella, the social network's head of global influencer partnerships. "It really allows business leaders to engage in an authentic way with their key audiences, whether its employees, customers or even shareholders."
This initiative is part of Facebook's greater effort to promote Facebook Live, which is the company's most notable new feature in the past year and a half. Facebook has been paying numerous news outlets and celebrities to use live streaming feature as a way to inspire everyday Facebook users to do the same."
Read the full article by clicking on the link below:
Inc Magazine Article: Facebook Live and Small Businesses
https://www.flochamber.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/facebook-live-header2-644x250.png 250 644 Mandy Howle /wp-content/uploads/2015/11/Web-redesign-300x121.png Mandy Howle2016-08-01 09:34:172016-08-01 09:34:17Facebook Live: The New Tool Leaders are Using to Grow Their Businesses
City Officials Work to Reopen Delta/ Florence Regional Airport Conversation Downtown Florence Apartments to Welcome Residents in Next Two Months


Lead-out man Greg Henderson takes the field sprint and overall Tour of California lead after a wild finish.
New Zealand's Greg Henderson took the overall lead from British teammate Ben Swift in the Tour of California cycling race on Tuesday by capturing a windy and crash-filled second stage.
Team Sky's Henderson, who began the day 10 seconds behind stage two winner Swift, sprinted to the front in the final 500 meters and captured the 196.2-kilometer stage in 5hrs, 14mins, 29secs.
With 10 seconds of bonus time for winning the stage, Henderson seized the overall lead based upon tie-breakers with Swift second and Slovakian Peter Sagan of Liquigas-Cannondale third, four seconds adrift.
Henderson and Swift are teammates of reigning Tour of California champion Michael Rogers, an Australian who was unable to defend his crown after a virus kept him from properly training for the race.
"We came to the Tour of California with a super strong team," Henderson said. "Unfortunately Michael Rogers is sick, so we had to change things up a bit. We have two great sprinters with me and Ben Swift, so it's either me leading him out or him leading me out."
Henderson won a Paris-Nice stage earlier this year and is a former stage winner of the Tour of Spain.
Argentina's Juan Jose Haedo, a rider for Saxo-Bank, was second in the stage with Norwegian rider and reigning world champion Thor Hushovd of Garmin-Cervelo third, both in the same time as Henderson.
Crashes in the final kilometers caused minor injuries to Tour de France veteran Jens Voigt of Germany and the Leopard-Trek team, countryman Andreas Schillinger of NetApp and American Will Dugan of Team Type One.


The unexplained whys and wherefores and the too facile assumptions of the film evaporate under the light and joyous performance of Geoffrey Rush.
Without Geoffrey Rush's amazing performance as classical pianist David Helfgott, "Shine" might have been an ordinary movie. With it, we are all too happy to brush aside the questions that would otherwise diminish the movie. His performance simply obliterates the problems.
The complexities of David's father, Peter (Armin Mueller-Stahl), manifest themselves as rigid Prussian cruelty. Peter's parents, and those of his wife, were killed in the Holocaust, and he guards his own family fiercely, controlling every aspect of their lives.
He escorts his young son, David (played at various ages by Alex Rafalowicz, Noah Taylor, and Geoffrey Rush), to piano competitions as if the boy were a puppy, his father's exhibit. After David loses the competition while trying to play a piano that is rolling away from him, Peter's scorn and disappointment etch themselves on the boy's heart.
When David earns a chance to go to America to study, his father vetoes the trip with the desperation of a man who believes that, if he cannot hold his family within his house, he cannot protect them. "I'm not going to let anyone destroy this family," is his response to anything that might dilute his control.
David's talent wins him an inevitable second chance in the form of a scholarship to the Royal College of Music in London. When the offer arrives, his father beats him senseless and screams threats that will haunt the boy forever. But David goes to London.
The balance of the movie details the price exacted by the monstrous father: David's emotional collapse, confinement in a psychiatric hospital, and permanent speech patterns of interrupted phrases and repetition. In sad reflection of his father's scorn, the young man mutters about his own flaws and failures as if replaying in his brain a tape his father might have implanted there.
After years of silence, David slowly rediscovers joy, and the sight of it is moving indeed. His fractured sentences take on the aspect of reassurance. If he has to play with his father's taunts running in his head, at least he will play.
This movie carries a tremendous punch precisely because it is true, and, by all reports, accurate. In his real life, pianist David Helfgott is once again playing concerts, including one penciled in to coincide with the Academy Awards in Los Angeles. We are repeatedly reminded of his talent as he plays much of the soundtrack for this movie.
The unexplained whys and wherefores and the too facile assumptions of the film evaporate under the light and joyous performance of Geoffrey Rush. He plays David as a wounded boy grown tall, a damaged soul never out of earshot of his demons. He manages to create a man endearing in his gentleness as he tentatively approaches new friends and begins to play after his long silence. It is an absorbing sight, a triumph for Geoffrey Rush, the actor, portraying the triumph of David Helfgott, the musician.