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Dragon's Scion Part 142
Alex Raizman	Dragon's Scion	 June 25, 2019 5 Minutes
Dragon's Scion Part 141
The Dragon's Scion Part 143
The interior of Bix's laboratory was more chaotic than the last time that Haradeth had seen it. There were springs scattered across the floor. On the shelves, a variety of faintly glowing crystals had been strewn with the careful placement employed by a bored cat rampaging through a kitchen. Scattered here and there were pieces of machines that Haradeth couldn't even identify, half torn open and left with their wires exposed like the entrails of sacrificial animals.
He wasn't certain, but Haradeth would wager a good amount of money that some of those devices hadn't needed to be dismembered. It wouldn't surprise him in the slightest to learn that Bix had done it because it amused or, or she was frustrated, or bored, or because the sun had risen that day.
"Now that I've gotten the boogers working, they're connected to the other ones in their web. The ones that are still functional. Take a moment to stare upon me in wonder and offer me praise for my greatness." Bix turned to look at Lorathor and Haradeth. Her mechanical eyes whirled when the godling and Sylvani smiled, narrowing to thin lines. "You have about two seconds before I feed you your own hearts."
Haradeth and Lorathor practically fell over themselves with attempts to praise her. The seriousness of Bix's threats was high on the list of things Haradeth wasn't certain about. He still didn't know what the diminutive automaton could actually do if she decided to get murderous, but he was certain that his abilities of having better endurance than the average human and being able to command animals would do little to save him unarmed against a woman of steel and glass and blades.
"That's better," Bix said. "You get to keep your entrails today. For now. I might change my mind." She pressed her fingers into some empty slots on a console. They whirred and one of those light projections of the Sylvani appeared in the air in front of her.
It was a globe, showing all of Alith. Points of light began to appear on the landmasses. "These are the ones we activated. And by 'we' I of course mean me, because you two did absolutely nothing to aid me in this endeavor."
"Was there something we could have done?" Haradeth asked, honestly curious.
"Oh no, you'd be absolutely useless. Although I could have stabbed you and saved some of my servitors. That would have made me feel better."
"But then I'd be dead," Haradeth said.
Bix looked at him like he'd just announced he'd have turned into a giraffe and flown to the moon. "I didn't say fatally stabbed you. I've only ever stabbed you in the finger. I wouldn't kill you."
"You threatened to feed me my own heart earlier."
Bix sighed, a sound like steam flowing out of a teapot. "That was twenty-three seconds ago. Ancient history. You can't live in the past, godling. The knives lurk in the future."
Haradeth found he had nothing to say to that. "What about the portals within the kingdom?" He asked, trying to turn Bix's attention back to the matter at hand.
"There's seven. The one in Hallith you know about. The other six are here, here, here, over there, up here, and down there." The three-dimension image zoomed in on a map of the kingdom, each point highlighting with her words. "The one down there is beneath the ground in the Underfolk's land. You probably don't want to use that one because the Underfolk were all 'oh no, we're going to die, let's go eat bugs in the dark' when the Alohym arrived. A bunch of bug-eating Underfolk would be more useless than the Sylvani."
"Hey, we're Sylvani," Lorathor objected.
"No, you're Sylvani. I'm a sentient if slightly deranged automaton. And it's true that the Underfolk would be more useless, because the only Sylvani being useful is you. That gives the Sylvani exactly one useful member, which is more than the Underfolk. So, congratulations, you elevate how useless our people are."
Lorathor clamped his mouth shut.
"We go back to Hallith," Haradeth said. "We can rejoin the army and let de'Monchy know about these portals. When we have those-"
"Nope," Bix said. "That's not an option."
Haradeth rocked back in surprise at the interruption. "I beg your pardon?"
"Don't beg for pardon. It's beneath you. Beg for your life. That's more fitting. And your little army has been driven out of Hallith and the Alohym scorched the entire plateau to glass."
"What?" Haradeth said, his voice tight.
The image Bix was showing changed to show the plateau of Hallith. It was worse than Bix had described. The plateau's top was a cracked sea of glass, with tiny bolts of unlight lightning hopping between the shards. "The drones found this when I sent them to check. There's nothing there anymore. But also, very few dead people which is sad for me because dead bodies are fun but are good for you because that means most of your people got out alive."
Haradeth closed his eyes tightly. The entire resistance was on the run again. They had been for some time – this clearly hadn't happened recently. The glass didn't glow with any remaining heat, and that much being melted would have left some residual. The Sylvani drones had arrived long after…
Haradeth snapped his eyes open. "Your machines. The ones that can fly about and take images of anything."
"Hmm?" Bix asked. It was an innocent sound, one that clearly meant to convey that she didn't know what he was getting at, but her body tensed with eagerness.
"You could use them to find the Resistance. You could use them to find the Alohym. Report troop movements. Find weak points. You could use them to watch the world."
"Oh, very good Haradeth." Bix beamed at him. "It took you weeks to figure it out, but you finally got there. We were beginning to think you never would."
"Why didn't you-"
"We're automatons, Haradeth. We have directives we have to obey." Bix's voice didn't have its usual manic edge to it. "We can find loopholes in that directive that allow us something like freedom – loopholes that let us stab people, or convince an entire race we are a goddess…"
"You're saying Anortia was involved in this?" Lorathor asked.
"It was her idea," Bix said. "But we can't do it without a directive. That's also why I made you promise to take me with you when you go. That means it's going to be her job to run the drones and relay information to me, and it's my job to stab people and share what she says. Otherwise I would have been stuck on monitor duty."
Lorathor looked like the rug that had been pulled out from under his feet days ago had suddenly reappeared beneath his bruised tailbone. "Then find them," Haradeth said. "Find the resistance, and the others, and find what portals are nearest. We'll go as soon as we know where we're most needed."
Bix's eyes glowed brighter. "Finally. You had a good idea. We'll begin now. Pull up a chair you two – we'll have a location soon enough. Don't stab yourselves on the spikey bits. That's my job."
Haradeth carefully cleared off a chair and sat down to wait. Lorathor sat next to him, his skin a bright yellow of excitement. "Soon," Lorathor said.
Haradeth could only nod and fight the urge to try and hurry Bix. He didn't think she'd appreciate the effort. She might get cross.
The last thing he wanted was to be impaled for his impatience.
Published by Alex Raizman
Author of Small Worlds and Strange Cosmology	View all posts by Alex Raizman
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The Dragon's Scion Part 206 December 23, 2020
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Are these Browns capable of losing them all?
by Gary Shelton on October 20, 2016 · 0 comments
in general, NFL, Tampa Bay Bucs
You can picture them now, gathered in the end zone, talking about the flat champagne that awaits them.
They are the winless ones, the failures. Once, they lost them all.
In this corner, there are the 1976 Bucs, the hopeless ones. Together, they were shut out five times their first season. They are Steve Spurrier and Pat Toomay and Mirror Roder and Dave Pear and Essex Johnson and J.K. McKay, and they have scars that will never quite heel.
They lost 14 games that first season, a bunch of journeymen and castoffs, still trying to hang on to a football career. Except like this was being cut. The team's rallying cry? Ouch.
Across the way, there is a similar group of disappointments. They are the 2008 Detroit Lions, and they whiffed on an entire season, too. Of course, they whiffed in the era of free agency, when teams can go out and buy a few victories.
They are Dan Orlovsky and Roy Williams and Drew Henson and Gosder Cherilus. The team's fight song? The Crying Game.
Now, here's the question: Are the Cleveland Browns down to the challenge of the Bucs and Lions?
Really, could they lose them all?
Say this for the Browns: They're the last team in the NFL who has a chance. The Browns are off to an 0-6 start, and when you look at the schedule ahead, well, they have a chance. Sure, Cleveland has the Jets coming up, but they also have two shots at the Bengals, the Cowboys, the Giants, the Bills, the Steelers and the Chargers. They figure to be underdog in all of them.
So if Cleveland was to lose them all, who would be the worst team of all time?
Why, the Bucs, of course.
Back in 2008, I had a conversation with former Bucs' g.m. Rich McKay about the Lions, and whether they would beat the '76 Bucs. "They would kill us," he laughed. And he's right. In '76, there was no free agency, and the rules of the expansion draft where that the Bucs got whatever player another team wanted to give him, including several corpses.
Still, the Browns could always fumble enough to make a game of it. It's just the that Bucs would try to fall on the ball and miss.
Every now and then, a team comes along in the NFL that has the look of one that could lose every game. Usually, it doesn't. Somehow or other, simply dreadful teams — the 2007 Dolphins, the 1990 Patriots, the '73 Oilers, the '86 Bucs, the '80 Saints – found a way to be there when the other team is even more intent on losing. It takes a special commitment to lose them all.
When it comes to losing, however, the Browns seem to know a short cut. This is the team that drafted Trent Richardson and Johnny Manziel and Justin Gilbert and Josh Gordon and Brandon Weeden and the boys.
Going winless takes a lack of skill, all right. The '82 Colts were 0-8-1. The '60 Cowboys were 0-11-1. But to find another winless team besides the Bucs and Lions, you have to go all the way back to 1944. That year, the Brooklyn Tigers and the Pitt Cardinals both went 0-10.
Okay, let's be honest. Unless you count the glorified mess that the Browns keep making of their quarterback position, the Browns actually have been decent so far. Not great, just decent. They lost by two to Tennessee. They lost by five to the Ravens and by six to the Dolphins.
Hey, teams came close. The first Bucs team lost by five to Buffalo and by three to Seattle. Detroit lost by two and four in games to Minnesota. They lost by four to Chicago and seven to Houston.
If it means anything, the Browns have a better offense than the Bucs (19th to 28th). They have a better defense than the Lions (29th to 32nd). Don't laugh, but the Browns are capable of winning.
Against the '76 Bucs.
Maybe against the '08 Lions.
All they have to do is keep the team slogan in mind: Just Don't Do It.
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Home How Meghan Markle, Prince Harry's 'Un-royal' Behavior Could Ruin Princess Diana's Legacy
How Meghan Markle, Prince Harry's 'Un-royal' Behavior Could Ruin Princess Diana's Legacy
Since Meghan Markle married Prince Harry in 2018 and joined the royal family, the Duchess of Sussex has made several mistakes. However, her latest faux pas could reportedly destroy Princess Diana's prestigious legacy.
Throughout their relationship, Meghan and Harry have made several decisions that went against royal traditions. While the couple seems determined to forge their own path, Princess Diana's former private secretary revealed the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's antics could squander the relationship the Princess of Wales forged with the public.
Meghan has come under fire following her appearance at Wimbledon, where her security reportedly told attendees not to photograph the 37-year-old royal. In an article published to the Daily Mail, Princess Diana's former employee, Patrick Jephson advised Meghan to stop acting like a celebrity before the public turns against her.
Jephson revealed Diana did her best to blend in when she attended Wimbledon. "When my former boss Princess Diana went to Wimbledon privately, she was aware that she was actually attending a prolonged photo shoot," he explained.
"She knew it, accepted it and even turned it to her advantage: more than once a run of bad press for her was miraculously reversed with a front page picture or a glossy magazine cover showing her at her most carefree and stylish in the Wimbledon sunshine."
Jephson claimed Princess Diana would use the event as an opportunity to manipulate the press and gain favor with the public. "The message was simple: no entourage means I'm off duty, enjoying myself among thousands of other keen fans. And my people are all back at the palace, as they should be on a weekday afternoon, toiling over my impressive program of public duties," he said.
However, he claimed Meghan did the opposite and made herself unapproachable at Wimbledon. "Compare that with the images we've seen of the Duchess of Sussex with two friends, huddled like survivors in a life-raft alone on a sea of empty green seats in what has been described as an 'exclusion zone,'" Diana's former employee shared.
Meghan's decision to take additional security measures seemed to give people the wrong impression.
"Certainly, some saw it as a Hollywood-style arrival, complete with minders and the Duchess's PA, and it was by any measure unthinkably un-Wimbledon, not to mention un-royal. Whatever the reason, mindless or manipulative, the result made for bad optics as they say," Jephson said.
Jephson revealed that although Princess Diana was able to build a solid relationship with the public, Prince Harry and Meghan's behavior could ruin her legacy.
"By harnessing star power to a solid record of low-key, mainstream royal duty, Diana earned herself the most priceless gift any royal person could wish for — her own lasting version of that essential royal prestige," he shared.
"It has been called 'forgivability' — the quality that inclines people to give you the benefit of the doubt, even in the most unlikely circumstances. It was a quality with which Diana was richly blessed — yet Harry is in danger of squandering it, and his Duchess has yet to earn it, as her brush with the hazards of Wimbledon made plain this week," Jephson added.
Although Meghan has made several appearances since giving birth to baby Archie Harrison mountbatten-Windsor, the Duchess of Sussex isn't expected to return to her royal duties until the fall.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are pictured presenting their newborn son, Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor, during a photocall in St. George's Hall at Windsor Castle on May 8, 2019 in Windsor, England. Photo: Dominic Lipinski-WPA Pool/Getty Images
Jul 14, 2019 Josh Feldman
Kate Middleton, Meghan Markle Didn't Arrive In Same Car At WimbledonWhy Queen Elizabeth Will Have More 'Relaxed' Relationship With Archie Than Prince George
Cheryl Fernandez Versini Looks Gorgeous In No Make-Up Photo Shared By Husband Jean-Bernard
Did Buckingham Palace Reveal Prince Harry, Meghan Markle's Baby Name And Gender?
Josh Feldman
2 days ago Life & Styles, News, Recommend


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Get rid of all the idiots.
Joe Pass, Art Tatum, Oscar Peterson.
Nothing! It has become a habbit.
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To be successful you have to be brilliant at all of the following, singing, songwriting, and performing. You also have to look amazing and have a bubbly personality. In other words "Jack of all trades". We all know that its an impossible task. It would be better if the songwriters did the writing and allow the performers to concentrate on performing. It wouldn't be the end of the singer/songwriter, just better music.
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Listen to freely downloadable audio sermons by the speaker Joshua Daniel in mp3 format. Mr. Daniel leads a large number of missionaries and Christian workers in various parts of the globe. God has used him in a revival ministry in many congregations. Mr. Daniel is a man of prayer who believes that God will abundantly bless people who seek the Lord with an honest and open heart.
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Clubiona subnotabilis este o specie de păianjeni din genul Clubiona, familia Clubionidae, descrisă de Strand, 1907. Conform Catalogue of Life specia Clubiona subnotabilis nu are subspecii cunoscute.

Referințe

Clubiona

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Queer Media Thoughts
Posted byRogan Shannon June 21, 2017 June 27, 2017 Posted inQueer
Video: https://youtu.be/yBiaYY4Hc1k
Hello, welcome back! I'm so sad I can't be at VidCon this year, but here's a post/video! It's a bit long whoops, but I've added timecodes in the description of the video so you can jump if you want to watch specific parts.
This is all or mostly my thoughts. Before we start, I want to ask you all a question. It just so happened that the past three posts/videos for Pride month were all about history — about the Pride flag, the Pulse shooting and UpStairs Lounge fire, and the Stonewall Riots. It just happened, I didn't mean to do that, but that's fine. A couple posts/videos upcoming will also be about history. My question is this – should I go ahead and make Queer History an official series on my channel, like I do for ASL Ponderings? The title would look like this: "_(insert title here)_ | Queer History." Let me know if that's a thing I should do! (Editor note: Many of you said you liked this idea and would love to see this series happen, so it's going to be a thing!)
Okay. If you already saw the title, I will be talking about some queer media in general. I will be talking about my thoughts on three things: When We Rise, Moonlight, and Gender Revolution.
I'm going to start with When We Rise. It's a series on ABC, it first aired on Feb. 27th and ran until Mar. 3rd 2017. (Currently, it's available for free and is captioned.) It's basically about relatively recent queer history. This miniseries starts right after the Stonewall Riots in 1969. It starts around 1970 and goes to, well, now. It follows three main people in queer history: Cleve Jones, Roma Guy, and Ken Jones. They're the ones that are most consistent in all four parts of this miniseries. It includes Roma's girlfriend (later wife), Diane Jones. They also have appearances from Gilbert Baker, the creator of the flag; Cecilia Chung, a transgender activist. I'll sum up what it's about first, then I'll give you my thoughts about it. It's broken up into technically eight parts, but if you go to the ABC website, it's split into "nights" and there are four nights in total (two parts each night). Night I & II happen during around 1970 to 1980s. Like I said, right after the Stonewall Riots. It follows Cleve and his coming out as gay to his family, moving to San Francisco because he heard it was really good for queer people there. So he moved, got involved with activism, all of that. The same with Roma after she came back from Africa and decided to become involved with NOW, and moved to California, hoping for a more open group of women. Basically, that whole growing of the queer movement in that time period. Continuing into the 80s, that's around when AIDS started to spread. At the time, it was called GRID (gay-related immunodeficiency). They tell the story of the whole crisis and attempting to get care, figuring out what was going on. Night III jumps to a decade later, in the 90s. Night III happens during the 90s, around 1992 and 1997. That's when Cleve Jones created the AIDS quilt and put it on the White House lawn. His visiting ACT UP, Human Rights Campaign, more political activism becoming commonplace. All of that, the establishment of different political activist organizations. Night IV starts in the 2000s, around 2006, 2008 and ending in 2015. That section follows Prop 8 in California, Prop 8. For making same-sex marriage illegal and banning people from marrying. The protests, Supreme Court overturning Prop 8, saying it's unconstitutional. All of that. It ends in 2015 when Supreme Court declared marriage is legal for everyone. That is a basic summary. I want to mention that all of the people I named earlier – Cleve, Roma, Ken – were consultants on this. Like, the real people were consultants on this show, so it's not like they made up the story. They had the real people tell their story, and made a series from it. Now my thoughts on it… Um. Night I and II, a little of III, but Night I and II were really specific, in depth. It actually had details of how things happened. I feel a little bit… The beginning had good details, was actually interesting but then starting around Night III, I felt..mm… I don't know. It could have been done a little bit better. And it doesn't help that it had a different director for each of the four parts. So… That complicates things. Night III and IV felt really superficial, not very in-depth compared to the first two parts. The plot wasn't—yes, it's real life events but it didn't really add that many really touching, REAL stories so… It felt a little bit lacking at the end. But overall, it's a good basic overview at recent queer history. So yeah, I would recommend you watch it but only if you have a lot of time [laughs] because each part is about a hour and half. I don't really have that many thoughts about it because I feel a little meh about the ending of it. Overall, good. Moving on.
Moonlight. Really good! I watched it just two days ago, it's on Amazon Prime if you want to watch it. It's so good. It definitely deserves that Oscar. The movie was a little bit unexpected. The whole thing focuses on one person, and is split into three chapters. The first chapter is when he's about 10 years old, I think 10? Second is around high school, so 16, 17? The third part is in his 30s? Early 30s, late 20s? And… it is good. One thing that I really liked is that they never actually SAID gay. They were vague. He could be gay, he could be bi, he could be queer. But there was no specific labeling, "I am gay." Nothing. I liked that. I liked that they left it ambiguous. Really, it's good. I would definitely recommend you watch it. I don't want to tell you too much because I want you to watch it, it's really good.
Okay, now Gender Revolution. It has a companion magazine issue. I have the DVD from National Geographic, I also have the magazine. I bought the magazine in the store because I don't have a National Geographic subscription. But if you have a subscription, that specific issue will have a different cover, as shown below (left: subscription, right: store). But yeah, I got that magazine when it was first released because I was like, I need this. It…is fascinating, really good. And then the DVD is, it's a little bit… Hmm. It's interesting because it's kind of like a documentary with Katie Couric. She travels the country, talking with people who are in different parts related to this, like intersex, trans, whatever. I think it's good. I'm really, really disappointed that the special features don't have captions.
They almost never do. I'm always pleasantly surprised when they do actually have subtitles. But this doesn't, so that's a little unfortunate. I'm hoping to maybe look online and find them with subtitles but. Anyway. This is good because Katie Couric, she is learning during this, she's learning about gender, how people relate with it, about intersex, about trans people, all of that. So I thought that was cool. However, it's a lot of stuff that if you are trans, intersex, or have a good understanding of gender, this is nothing really new. I would recommend this to people who are struggling with understanding gender, and the magazine as well. The magazine is probably better because you can read at your own pace. Plus the magazine has more specifics in it about certain things. So. Yeah. That was a really quick overview.
What I would recommend most of these three: Moonlight. Watch that first, hands down. Watch that first if you haven't already. If you have, comment below the video and let me know what you thought of it.
I do want to add one more thing before ending. Spoiler warning! Spoiler alert for Madam Secretary. If you watch that TV show, and you haven't caught up on all the recent episodes, and you don't want to be spoiled, stop now. In the second-to-last episode of the most recent season (S3.E22), there is one character that came out as bi. This person was Blake Moran Aaaahhh! Finally! In media, in general, there aren't really any good representations of bi characters. Yeah, we still don't really have good representation for "mainstream sexualities" – gays and lesbians, plus trans people. It's still ehh representation for those, but bi people? Pfft forget it. They don't get any representation to begin with. SO. When I saw that they had someone come out and say they are bi, ah, yes! And the way they did it, beautiful. It was done really well, they did it really well. So far, it's only between Blake and Madam Secretary. No coming out to their co-workers. For the whole series, people read him as gay. But no, he's bi. So I'm like yes! Thank you, M. Sec. writers, for making him bi, not gay.
If you want to support my content, I have Patreon and ko-fi. Subscribe to my channel. Follow me on my socials – Facebook, Twitter, Instagram. Thanks for reading, see you next time.
The Stonewall Riots | Queer History
Invention of Heterosexuality | Queer History


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In demonology, Raum is a Great Earl of Hell, ruling thirty legions of demons. He is depicted as a crow which adopts human form at the request of the conjurer.

Characteristics
Raum steals treasures out of kings' houses, carrying them where he wishes, and destroys cities and dignities of men (he is said to have great dispraise for dignities). Raum can also tell things past, present and future, reconcile friends and foes, and invoke love.

Etymology
'Raum' in German means "space, room, chamber"; 'räumen' means to empty, evacuate.  See lebensraum, literally "living room" (that is, room for living - like an aquarium for fish, not a living room).

Other spellings include Raim, Raym, and Räum.

See also

 The Lesser Key of Solomon, a 17th-century text which references Raum.
 Gustav Davidson

Citations

References

Goetic demons
Legendary crows


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Recently, they required two Reservoir Engineers for a rotation in Algeria, who ideally, for visa purposes, needed to be EU citizens. The global team started searching immediately and, despite the challenging brief, quickly came up with eight candidates, four of whom were interviewed from which two were selected.


Full Statute Name: West's Hawai'i Revised Statutes Annotated. Division 1. Government. Title 11. Agriculture and Animals. Chapter 143. Animals: Licenses and Regulations.
Except where licensing requirements are dispensed with, every officer shall seize any unlicensed dog found running at large or found upon any public highway, street, alley, court, place, square, or grounds, or upon any unfenced lot, or not within a sufficient enclosure, whether in the immediate presence of the owner or otherwise, and confine it in a pound or any suitable enclosure for a period of forty-eight hours, during which time it shall be subject to redemption by its owner by payment of the license due, if any, and a penalty to be set by each county council; provided that until and unless provided by ordinance the penalty shall be $2.50. If not so redeemed, the dog shall be sold by the officer for the amount of the license and penalty due, or as much more as can be obtained therefor; provided that the officer may neuter or require the neutering of the dog prior to sale, and if not so sold it shall be humanely destroyed. The owner of any unlicensed dog impounded and not claimed within forty-eight hours as provided in this section, may redeem the dog at any time before sale or destruction of the dog by paying to the officer, in addition to the amount of the license and penalty, an impoundment fee per day for the number of days over two days the dog was impounded. Each county council shall have the power to fix the impoundment fee for dogs; provided that until and unless otherwise provided by ordinance the impoundment fee shall be $2.50 a day. Of the money so received the amount of the license fee shall be paid to the director of finance and the balance shall be retained by the officer to defray the expenses of collecting, keeping, and feeding the dog.
Laws 1941, ch. 268, § 7; R.L. 1945, § 7157; R.L. 1955, § 156-8; H.R.S. § 143-8; Laws 1973, ch. 146, § 3; Laws 1983, ch. 227, § 5.Laws 1941, ch. 268, § 7; R.L. 1945, § 7157; R.L. 1955, § 156-8; H.R.S. § 143-8; Laws 1973, ch. 146, § 3; Laws 1983, ch. 227, § 5.


text:
Primary healthcare system and practice characteristics in Singapore
Hwee Sing Khoo1, 4Email author,
Yee Wei Lim1, 2 and
Hubertus JM Vrijhoef1, 3
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12930-014-0008-x
© Khoo et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. 2014
Received: 8 November 2013
Accepted: 27 June 2014
It is crucial to adapt and improve the (primary) health care systems of countries to prepare for future patient profiles and their related needs. The main aim of this study was to acquire a comprehensive overview of the perceptions of primary care experts in Singapore about the state of primary care in Singapore, and to compare this with the state of primary care in other countries. Notwithstanding ranked 2nd in terms of efficiency of health care, Singapore is facing significant health care challenges. Emails were sent to 85 experts, where they were asked to rate Singapore's primary care system based on nine internationally adopted health system characteristics and six practice characteristics (response rate = 29%). The primary care system in Singapore received an average of 10.9 out of 30 possible points. Lowest ratings were given to: earnings of primary care physicians compared to specialists, requirement for 24 hr accessibility of primary care services, standard of family medicine in academic departments, reflection of community served by practices in patient lists, and the access to specialists without needing to be referred by primary care physicians. Singapore was categorized as a 'low' primary care country according to the experts.
Practice characteristics
System characteristics
All health care systems across the world include primary care. However, the level of development of primary care as part of the health care system varies substantially. In strengthening primary care, lessons can be learned from other countries. This has become increasingly important as various countries are instituting policies to hold primary care practices accountable for managing chronic conditions and meeting clinical standards. Also in Singapore this is the case, the country ranked second amongst countries with most efficient health care [1].
Traditionally, health care systems of countries focused on acute, episodic care, addressing the needs of inpatients. Many are now moving towards holistic care, to a health care system that takes into consideration the ageing population and the corresponding increase in chronic diseases [2]–[4]. Moreover, an ageing population would need regular care that should be available not only in acute hospitals, but in the community. However, the ageing population and inevitable rising health care costs in Singapore suggests the necessity for an assessment of its current primary care system as a strong primary system could reduce cost and contribute to improvements in health [5]. In this paper, we sought the opinions of primary care experts in Singapore where they rated the primary care system of the country and to compare this with the state of primary care in other countries.
In general, the primary care system should and has to become the mainstay in the long term management of patients, such as those with diabetes, heart failure or chronic lung diseases. Primary care can be defined as "that level of a health service system that provides entry into the system for all new needs and problems, provides person focused care over time, provides care for all but very uncommon or unusual conditions, and co-ordinates or integrates care provided elsewhere or by others" [6]. Primary health care would encompass primary medical treatment services, as well as education on preventive health care and health. However, it is not possible to create effective primary care systems using a "one size fits all" approach, or put into practice one recipe, as systems are dependent on context. The development of a primary care system would be shaped not only by the health problems the country faces, but also the country's historical background, and societal beliefs and values. The strength of a country's primary care system is hence reliant on how well the above primary care dimensions develop within the context of a country's health care system [7].
The increasing population, coupled with an ageing population, is a combined challenge for Singapore. The population has grown 25% over the past decade and will continue to grow. It is estimated that 20% of Singaporean residents will be aged 65 and above by year 2030. By year 2100, Singapore is projected to have a median age of 56.4 years, the highest of world population prospects. Comparatively, Japan has the highest median age of 45.9 in 2013, and is projected to have a median age of 51.8 in 2100, ranking 8th highest in the world [8]. This suggests an increased and urgent demand for health care in the future for Singapore as the elderly require more medical care. Other than longer hospital stays, chronic diseases that require long term management from health care professionals also affect the elderly [9].
It is crucial to continue to adapt and improve the (primary) health care system in Singapore to prepare for future patient profiles and their related needs. It would be more effective and sustainable to manage the chronic conditions of the elderly in the community than in acute hospitals in the long run. However, continuity of care appears to be low in Singapore, with only 38.4% of residents indicating in a national health surveillance survey that they go to a regular family doctor [10]. The main reason that patients seek treatment at the government run and subsidized polyclinic is for chronic diseases [11]. This suggests that the costs of services could be a factor for patients choosing subsidized services, since chronic disease management requires follow-up consultations. The rise in health care costs is another area that has to be monitored to maintain cost-effectiveness, so that health care may stay affordable for everyone [12]. Therefore it is of utmost relevance to assess the current state of the primary health care system and practice characteristics in Singapore to see if and how it can be improved.
The main aim of this study was to acquire a quick and comprehensive overview of the perceptions of primary care experts in Singapore about the standard of primary care in Singapore, and to compare this with the state in other countries. This study is the first to assess the overall strengths, weaknesses, and characteristics of the primary health care model as part of the Singapore health care system. The results may be used as a basis for comparison with other Asian countries and to inform future health care reforms and research.
Gap between theory and practice
A gap still remains between conceptual models of care and existing provider practice despite a focus on improving primary health care systems to cope with the increasing needs. It is however challenging to sustain programs promoting integrated services to optimize resource utilization partly due to the difficulty in acquiring the involvement and participation of health care professionals in the private sector, for instance, general practitioners (GPs). Interviews conducted by researchers in the United States with GPs revealed it is difficult to care for elderly patients in practice environments that do not provide the support and resources required by such patients. The difficulty in caring for elderly patients was due to three main issues: 1) medical complexity and chronicity as elderly patients are more vulnerable to quick declines in their health conditions, 2) personal and interpersonal challenges, and 3) increased administrative burden [13]. Indeed, this reflects a lacuna that should be filled, and highlights the need to provide sufficient support to the primary care sector if their increased participation in caring for the elderly is viewed as a desired outcome in the future.
In Singapore, primary health care is provided by government polyclinics and private general medical practitioner clinics. These health care professionals are usually the first point of contact with patients. The eighteen polyclinics provide about 20% of primary health care; while around 2,000 private medical clinics provide the remaining 80%. There has however been an imbalance in the share of chronic disease management in the primary care sector in Singapore. Even though private general practitioners currently provide around 80% of primary care in Singapore, only 55% of chronic patients are managed by them, while polyclinics cope with the remaining 45% of chronically ill patients [14].
For primary care in Singapore, a complete range of medical care for both acute and chronic medical conditions are provided by the polyclinics, including medical facilities and comprehensive health care services including outpatient medical care, health screening, education, and vaccinations, and x-ray and laboratory services, allowing them to be a one-stop health centre for the community [15]. Private clinics could be made up of solo, small group or large health care group practices. These private clinics usually do not possess onsite investigative facilities and are not subsidized by the government, unlike the eighteen polyclinics. Secondary and tertiary care is provided by the eight national specialty centers and seven acute public hospitals. As of 2010, there are 8,797 doctors active in Singapore: 5,362 in the public sector and 3,435 in private practice [16].
The main difference between the polyclinics and private clinics is that patients are assigned any doctor from a common group of medical officers and family physicians, while there is usually one main family physician at private clinics, ensuring a higher possibility of continuity of care. Polyclinic patients may also choose to see the doctors from the Family Physician Clinic in the polyclinic which ensures them care continuity from the same doctor, at a higher rate, but still considerably subsidized [17],[18]. While polyclinics are highly subsidized by the government, there is also a heavy patient load where the polyclinic doctors see 58 patients each day, generally resulting in a much longer waiting time for consultation, compared to 30 patients per day for a private clinic family physician [19]. GPs worked an average of 52.5 hours a week (7.5 hours a day) [20]. Despite the long waiting time and low care continuity, chronic disease patients sought treatment mainly from government polyclinics, burdening the limited subsidized resources of the polyclinics. This is mainly due to the higher cost of care at GP clinics as compared to subsidized treatments and medication at polyclinics [21].
Health care financing in Singapore
Singapore adopts a mixed health financing system that emphasizes individual responsibility and an attempt to avoid moral hazards that could be faced with pure national insurance schemes when health care is provided for free. Health care is funded jointly by the government and the individual through insurance, revenue from taxes, as well as savings from each individual's medical savings account (i.e. Medisave) [22]. To ensure that basic medical care is accessible to everyone, public hospitals, polyclinics, as well as nursing homes are directly subsidized by the government (up to 80% of the total bill in acute public hospital wards) [23].
Singapore's health care outcomes are comparable to other developed nations, considering that around 4% of Singapore's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is spent annually on health care as compared to the United States (17.9% of GDP) and the United Kingdom (9.6% of GDP) [24]. Singapore's life expectancy from birth in 2011 is currently 82 years for both sexes, compared to the regional average of 75 years, and the global average of 68 years old [25].
At the polyclinics, Singapore citizens less than 18 years of age and above 65 receive up to 75% concessions in consultation and treatment fees, while all other Singapore citizens are given a 50% concession for their fees.
Our study made use of the primary care framework by Starfield [26]. The framework has been administered in many countries including the United Kingdom, Denmark, The Netherlands, Japan, Australia, Sweden, the United States, Austria, and Germany [27]. Starfield's framework of primary care encompasses both health system and practice characteristics [26]. The primary care framework has been applied in the different countries with varying primary care systems. These characteristics contribute to the strength of primary care in countries. The nine health system characteristics include: 1) how much the distribution of resources throughout the country is controlled by the system, 2) how primary care services are financed, 3) the main type of primary care practitioner in the country - a higher percentage of generalists would receive a higher score, 4) the percentage of physicians in primary care as compared to specialty care, 5) the ratio of professional earnings of primary care physicians in contrast to specialists, 6) the extent of cost shared by patients, 7) reflection of community served by practices in patient lists, 8) 24 hr accessibility of primary care services, and 9) the academic strength of primary care or general practice departments. The six practice characteristics include: 1) first contact care (where a patient needs to be referred to a specialist through a primary care physician), 2) longitudinality (person-focused care over time), 3) comprehensiveness of care, 4) coordination of care, 5) family-centeredness or care, and 6) community orientation (practitioners use community data to plan or organize services, or identify problems).
Following Starfield and Lei's [28] paper, the information on the nine health system characteristics and six practice characteristics were acquired from primary care system experts who have published in peer-reviewed journals on the primary care system in Singapore and/or general practitioners with more than 10 years of experience. The primary healthcare experts were selected from both private and public sectors, where 32% are female.
Emails were sent to 85 experts where 25 responses were received, a 29% response rate. Respondents were allowed to mail hardcopy responses to the authors to maintain their anonymity. As of 31 March 2012, there are 1572 registered members in the College of Family Physicians Singapore [29].
We corresponded individually with these experts through email to acquire ratings that were independent from each other. A standardized email was sent to all the experts with step-by-step instructions regarding the rating process. For each characteristic, comprehensive and explicit criteria were included on when the expert should assign 2, 1, or 0 points. A characteristic is rated with a score of 2 for 'high' level of development, 1 for 'moderate' level of development, or 0 for 'absence or low' level of development. The most frequently assigned score was selected as the final score to achieve inter-rater agreement [6]. Further, the average sum score was calculated by dividing the total sum scores by the number of respondents.
Descriptive statistics were used to calculate overall scores using Microsoft Office Excel 2007. Approval was attained from the Institutional Review Board of National University Hospital System for our study.
For all but one item, the majority of experts rated items having low level of development (6 items) or modest level of development (5 items) and three items were rated of low or modest level by an equal number of respondents. Lowest ratings were given to: earnings of primary care physicians as compared to specialists, requirement for 24 hr accessibility of primary care services, standard of family medicine in academic departments, reflection of community served by practices in patient lists, and "first contact" (the need to be referred to a specialist by the primary care physician). Most experts rated main type of primary care practitioner the highest, where the high score of 2 is given if the main type of primary care practitioner in the country are generalists, while the low score of 0 is given if the main type of primary care practitioners in the country do not focus solely on family medicine. Table 1 presents the frequency of scores by the experts. Table 2 displays the health care system and primary care practice characteristics, along with an abbreviated description of the characteristics, followed by the final score. The descriptions of the characteristics were derived from literature about Singapore's health care system as well as comments from the experts.
Frequency of scores by experts
Final score (mode)
Sum score (Item x point)
Average (sum score/25)
Total sum score
Primary care health and system characteristics scores
Description of characteristic
Health care system characteristics
Type of system
Polyclinic locations are regulated by the government to provide sufficient care around Singapore
Partly tax based. A combination of government subsidies, an individual compulsory medical savings account, and a low cost insurance scheme
GPs in the country are mainly generalists focusing on family medicine, and not specialists in other disciplines.
Percentage who are specialists
38.77% of doctors in Singapore are specialists [16], indicative of an orientation toward primary care
Primary care physicians earnings compared to specialists
Specialists earn more than primary care physicians
A combination of government subsidies, an individual compulsory medical savings account, and a low cost insurance scheme
Patient Lists
There is no requirement to sign up with a personal GP.
Requirement for 24-hour coverage
No regulated requirement for 24 hour primary healthcare. Patients may visit 24 hr A&E (accident and emergency) departments when necessary.
Standard of family medicine academic departments
Family medicine in Singapore is given low priority.
Patients may choose to be referred by a primary care physician or choose to go to a private specialist directly.
Longitudinality
Patients do not get to select their doctors when they visit a polyclinic, and there is no system to enroll patients (patient lists) for private general practitioners.
Comprehensiveness
Polyclinics and private group GPs have a comprehensive range of services and facilities. Community Health Centres provide off-site ancillary support services to GPs without full facilities.
Poor coordination and information transfer between primary, secondary and tertiary levels of healthcare
Family-centeredness
Family members are informed of medical decisions in hospitals
Community orientation
Data from practitioners not analyzed or used to identify priorities of care for the community
Singapore received an average of 10.9 out of 30 possible points (271/25). Nine characteristics were rated as '0' and one characteristic received a high rating of 2 points. The health system characteristics were rated an average of 6.3 out of 18 possible points by the experts (157/25). Under the "type of practitioner" system characteristic, generalists are the main type of primary care practitioners in Singapore, and this characteristic received a high rating of "2" from the experts. The practice characteristics were rated an average of 4.6 out of 12 possible points by the experts (114/25). The practice characteristics of "first contact" and "community orientation" both received low scores of "0" from the experts. First contact implies that decisions about the need for specialty services are made after consulting the primary care physician. Requirements for access to specialists via referral from primary care are considered most consistent with the first-contact aspect of primary care. The ability of patient to self-refer to specialists is considered conducive to a speciality-oriented health system, and is rated low. Community orientation describes whether the doctor actively seeks to understand important health problems in the neighborhood. Low ratings are assigned when there is little or no attempt to use data from the practice to plan or organize services and identify priorities for care.
The results of our preliminary study suggest that improvements could be made to the primary care system in Singapore, and much more work needs to be done. Based on the average sum score (10.9, over a total of 30 possible points), Singapore can overall be considered a 'low primary care country' when compared with other countries that utilized the same assessment tool [28]. See Table 3[28] comparing Singapore with other countries [28].
Primary care scores
System score (Characteristics 1–9)
Practice score (Characteristics 10–15)
Total score (max. 30)
Total average score (max. 2)
Low primary care
Intermediate primary care
High primary care
Scores in Table3are obtained from Starfield & Shi[28].
Among the 15 dimensions measured, six had scores of zero. These dimensions included measures that point to the status of primary care compared to specialist care, accessibility of care (24 hrs), as well as measures of access and care continuity. The latter group of measures are particularly pertinent to the care of patients with chronic and complex conditions. The inevitable increase in the elderly population with chronic diseases will place pressure on the health care system. If the primary care system, as reflected by the low scores in care continuity, does not develop in the areas of care continuity, care for the elder patients with chronic diseases will likely be suboptimal.
Regarding the low score of 24 hr accessibility of care in Singapore, the US and Canada similarly do not have policies for after-hours coverage [30]. In a 2012 international survey of primary care doctors conducted by the Commonwealth Fund, only 34 percent of US practices have arrangements for their patients to see their doctors or nurses without going to a hospital emergency department. This is in contrast to countries such as the Netherlands, New Zealand, and the UK, where more than 90 percent of physicians reported having after-hours coverage in place [31]. The low percentage reported by Canadian and US physicians suggest that after-hours coverage develops slowly if it depends on solo practices, [32] as compared to requirements such as national help lines in the UK, and payment incentives to physicians to provide after-hours care in Australia.
Care coordination is a major challenge for primary care systems, especially with the increase in the elderly population and the attention and long term management required for chronic diseases that are commonly afflict the elderly. While this dimension received a tied score between 0 and 1 from the primary care experts in Singapore, the 2012 Commonwealth Fund survey revealed that care is generally not well coordinated in the ten countries surveyed. Besides physicians from France and Switzerland, where more than 50 percent said that a report with related health information will be sent to them after their patients saw a specialist, less than 20 percent of physicians in the US, the Netherlands, and Germany reported that they received a relevant health report from the specialist [31].
In Singapore, there is no patient list system and patients have the freedom of selecting any doctor they wish to see. Patients therefore have direct access to specialist care. Such health systems are described as more expensive as compared to a system where patients have to be referred through the primary care system [33]. This is also related to the practice characteristic of "first access", where the primary care system is rated well if patients need to be referred by primary care physicians to a specialist. Looking at this from the perspective of health care finance, the variation in our findings as well as the comments provided by the experts indicate that there is not a consistent judgement on what might be the right model of health care finance in Singapore. In a sense, Singapore has shown that it is possible to achieve an efficient health care system at lower cost. In terms of Starfield's model, the "financing" health system characteristic could be revised to accommodate more permutations of health care financing. Different financing combinations might be more suitable for different countries based on every country's unique characteristics. The health care system of Singapore is currently in transition, [34] and in line with this, the Ministry of Health recently presented a 'Health care 2020' Masterplan comprising of a set of strategies to guide Singapore towards an inclusive health care system for the future [35]. The aim is to enhance accessibility, quality, and affordability of health care for all people in Singapore, and the further development of primary care is a part of this strategy. Besides the plan to increase subsidies from the government for chronic outpatient treatment at GPs for low-income and middle-income families, most significantly, three new primary care models will get developed: Family Medicine Clinics (FMCs), Community Health Centres (CHCs) and Medical Centres (MCs). The different models are meant to be all encompassing to cater to patients with different profiles and preferences. This is a step towards improving system and practice characteristics such as "patient lists", "coordination", "comprehensiveness", and "family centeredness". It is expected that with these models more patients can be cared for outside the hospitals' specialist outpatient clinics by GPs in the community.
One example of the FMC initiative would be Frontier FMC (a private GP clinic) in Singapore. In collaboration with the National University Health System (NUHS), it is applying the Patient Centered Medical Home concept (PCMH) [36] in Singapore, based on AAFP's (American Academy of Family Physicians) joint principles of PCMH [37]. It is expected that patients with chronic conditions (i.e. diabetes, hypertension, stroke and asthma) who no longer require specialist care can enjoy shorter waiting time when they seek outpatient treatment and follow up at the Frontier FMC in the community. Frontier FMC was opened in the first week of April 2013 [38]. Besides encouraging information transfer between GPs and specialists, at the same time, through team based care, it is expected to slow down disease progression, reduce complication rates and in turn, minimize referrals to hospitals. Since it is the first implementation of the PCMH in Singapore it is yet unclear how the proposed solutions to improve chronic illness care will play out. Important components of the new approach include: team based care, electronic health record shared between NUHS and Frontier FMC, and a referral system for those with complex care needs.
Finally, another two characteristics that scored zero (primary care physician earnings as compared to specialist, and family medicine as academic department) indicate the need to raise the profile of family medicine and the role primary care physicians play in overall health care delivery. Even with an optimal health care finance mechanism and an integrated care system in place, the relatively low status of primary care education and research will impede the development of a stronger primary care delivery system in Singapore.
There are a couple of limitations we should note for this study. First, the response rate to our study was relatively small. Despite the relatively small response, the variability in scores between respondents suggests that the study group varies in their opinions about primary care as one would expect (from previous studies in other countries). Second, Singapore's scores could not be compared directly with the scores from other countries as there were differences in opinions about the characteristics, unlike the scores attained by Starfield and Shi [28] where it was noted that informants had "no disagreements" in the scoring of the characteristics. This was also the reason we decided to use average sum scores instead of relying on the modal score. Our scores for both system and practice characteristics were also attained primarily from experts in primary care in Singapore, while the system scores in Starfield & Shi [28] were mainly obtained from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) [39].
The assessment of health care quality, especially regarding chronic diseases, has more often been based on the perspectives of the care provider or the health care institution than the experience of the patient [40]. The terms patient perception and patient satisfaction have often been used in place of each other, [41] but it should be noted that satisfaction is one way of describing and not the only illustration of a perception. Despite this, patient satisfaction has been a main feature in quality care assessment studies. Annual patient satisfaction surveys have been conducted in Singapore, but these surveys are usually unable to capture the full spectrum primary care dimensions related to patient satisfaction. These surveys provide only a partial picture of the quality of health care. It is essential to attain the patient perspective to understand the patient experience in terms of the reasons for patient preferences, as well as the obstacles in the current primary health care model encountered by patients while seeking primary health care to identify an accurate and fairer perception of which characteristics should be focused upon to improve the primary health care system. This would allow a clearer picture of how the current primary care system is working, than if perspectives were only attained from the primary care experts and physicians' points of view.
In all, this study is the first to document the standard of primary care in the Singapore health care system from the perspective of primary care experts. Systematically listening to doctors on the front lines of primary care can help identify gaps and target reforms of health systems. According to primary care experts from Singapore, the strength of its primary care system is low. This is an important concern considering the developments in its population. The study provided us with a comprehensive overview of the standard of primary care in Singapore as perceived by primary care experts in Singapore, and also allowed us to compare the state of primary care in Singapore with other countries. The results can be used as a basis to inform future health care reforms and research, for comparison with other (East) Asian countries, and to assess trends in time if the survey would be applied again in the future.
KHS contributed in the conception and design of the survey, data collection, drafting the manuscript and making critical revisions. LYW contributed in the conception and design, data collection and critical revisions. H Vrijhoef contributed in conception and design, and critical revisions. All authors have given final approval of the version to be published and agree to be accountable for all aspects of the work.
Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, National University of Singapore, MD3, 16 Medical Drive, Singapore, 117597, Singapore
RAND Corporation, Santa Monica, California
Scientific Centre for Care and Welfare (Tranzo), Tilburg University, Tilburg, The Netherlands
National Healthcare Group, Health Outcomes and Medical Education Research (HOMER), Singapore, Singapore
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text:
Another Blog, Meanwhile
Joseph Nebus's Sense Of Humor
What's Going On In Gil Thorp? Who's Provoking People Into Offensive Outbursts Now? March – June 2018.
Thanks for wondering what might be happening in Neal Rubin and Rod Whigham's Gil Thorp . I'm writing this when the Summer 2018 storyline has barely begun. So if you're reading this too late into summer, or after Fall 2018, sorry, this won't help. If I've got a more recent summary it should be at or near the top of this page. Thanks for checking. And, you know, if you want to just subscribe to Another Blog, Meanwhile, and get these updates in your WordPress Reader, there's the blue strip to "Follow Another Blog, Meanwhile" on the right side of this page. At least until I change the theme as if I could find a theme that will make me happy.
My other content-generation scheme is my mathematics blog. Which comics from last week brought up mathematical themes, and what can I make of those themes? Good question, since one of those comics was published in 1971. But you maybe saw it again more recently.
Gil Thorp.
12 March – 2 June 2018.
Neal Rubin and Rod Whigham's Gil Thorp for the 10th of March, 2018. So this is nitpicking. The correct answer is "you do know this is just a story, right?". But: after Marty Moon got chased off here, what did the radio station broadcast? Later on in the story another broadcast gets interrupted and the station has no idea what to do, which, fair enough. Nobody actually has contingency plans for something before it happens. But here it's happened; what did they do, and why wasn't that ready in case of another broadcast interruption?
[ Record scratch. MARTY MOON, in voice-over. ] "Yup, that's me. You're probably wondering how I ended up in this situation."
Yes. But nobody wants to hear what passes for introspection in Marty Moon's mind. I'll do it instead. It started with Jorge and Paloma Padilla, transfer students fleeing Donald Trump's enthusiastic drowning of Puerto Rico by joining Milford's basketball teams. Marty Moon, covering a game, says Hurricane Maria was the best thing that could've happened to the Milford basketball team and also to "Georgie". And talks how Georgie "earned his burritos" with that great play. How he's a regular "Mexican jumping bean". He figures this weird, faintly-racist-in-that-way-60s-food-mascots-could-be stuff might help the radio station land a big advertising deal from a Mexican restaurant. Paloma's Disgruntled Students Group comes to the station to ask what the deal is. Moon mansplains that they need to remember the one key thing in the world of high-school-sports radio-journalism: shut up. So they take seats right behind Moon's broadcast table and heckle him. He runs off.
Moon recuperates in the time-honored fashion of white guys. He whines about political correctness gone mad and determines that it's someone else's fault ("or I'll eat my sombrero"). Moon identifies coach Gil Thorp as the problem. It is a common thought in Gil Thorp commenting communities that Gil Thorp doesn't really care about what's going on. But in this case, well, yeah. He wouldn't intermediate between Moon and the Disgruntled Students Group. But how is students protesting Marty Moon's racist on-air jokes any of Thorp's responsibility? But he rallies to action, and in a way I thought crafty. He tells the Disgruntled Students Group that they shouldn't be drowning Moon out. But also there's no reason Marty Moon should be the only coverage of sports games.
Neal Rubin and Rod Whigham's Gil Thorp for the 3rd of March, 2018. Stepping back from the plot a moment, isn't it just adorable how Marty Moon thinks he can win a snarky insult fight against teenagers?
The Disgruntled Students Group sets up the "Milford Pirate Network" on YouTube. Cute nerd Duncan Levin, wearing a pirate hat and fake parrot, narrates the game. He has the condescending nerd attitude that calls "sportsball" any game that doesn't involve miniatures and weird-marked dice. No matter; the Milford Pirate Network's real game is bear-baiting, and Marty Moon hopes to someday be sharp as a bear. Levin's a hit, which, yeah, I can see. I don't buy the strip's claim that this would draw away people who would like to hear coverage of a high school basketball game. But I accept there's people who don't care about basketball who would like to watch a nerd heckling a clownish local-media personality. I'm going ahead and assuming he pads his reporting with Monty Python quotes and lines from the new Mystery Science Theater 3000 series.
But there's still the hecklers, taking Gil Thorp at his word that the occasional outburst is normal. And Levin, poking his head in to ask if Marty Moon's wife is a goer, knowwhudImean. And his boss complaining that this whole mess is Marty Moon's own fault. Even Jorge has limited sympathy. It's not that anyone threw Moon under the bus. It's that he dug a pit for himself in the asphalt and then hugged a bus over top of himself. And then hired another bus to come and run over that bus. And then hired a third, bigger bus company to run a bus over that buspile. Then he got back to the first bus company and had them put monster truck tires on top of their tallest bus and drive it over them.
On to an away game. The Milford Pirate Network is there. Levin asks how Moon can possibly transmit without a fake parrot attached to his shirt. Moon curses out Levin live and on air, using even the # word, and gets an indefinite suspension for his troubles. Even though he totally sent an e-mail saying he apologized if there were any fragile snowflakes out there who were too sheltered in their safe spaces to able to tolerate his honest truth-telling.
Neal Rubin and Rod Whigham's Gil Thorp for the 3rd of April, 2018. I'm like 85% sure that Gil Thorp's assistant in the last panel there has a name but I don't know what it is. Sorry. There's not a cast list on the GoComics site or on Wikipedia. This Week In Milford offers a helpful if outdated "Pantheon of Hair". But especially given that this strip does like to have major characters from one story become supporting characters in another it would be good to have a list of just which guy is which.
The suspension has its downsides. It turns out that without Moon to heckle, Levin isn't much of a sports commentator. I know, weird that someone who'd talk about how their big sweaty guy is better than our big sweaty guy doesn't know how to craft a good sports narrative. But likely it would have petered out in any case. It's easy enough to make fun of something once, maybe twice. Keeping at it after that requires work. You have to have writing skills. You have to run out of stuff to say and care about the subject enough to think of new stuff to say. And deep down, Levin doesn't really care about basketball.
The YouTube coverage winds down. And there's no radio coverage either, which I guess is a bad thing for the basketball team for some reason? I don't know. This may be my background showing. I grew up in central New Jersey. A high school basketball game would not make the evening news unless something noteworthy happened, such as the Governor accidentally crashing a light aircraft into the gymnasium and transforming the six people nearest the crash site into superhero tiger-sharks, as happened in Egg Harbor City the 22nd of July, 1986.
So coach Gil Thorp puts aside his not really caring and intervenes again. Moon's boss confirms that if they can do something that gets the Disgruntled Students Group off their backs they'll put Moon back on the air. So Thorp goes to Paloma. He explains how this has all been jolly good fun, but now a white man is suffering a consequence. Surely she doesn't want to be responsible for that? Which is where in this storyline I started yelling back at the comic. I may need to take a break.
But they work out a deal. The Disgruntled Students Group will drop their protest, if Marty Moon apologizes, takes an online course about Latin American history, and covers at least one girls game each season. I'm not clear if this is only girls basketball, or all the major sports. But the lack of media coverage of girls sports was mentioned, early in the story, and was one of the injustices Paloma noticed. Moon's boss buys the deal for him. Moon says "I can't believe you let those kids get away with this." Thorp answers, "You sound like the villain on Scooby-Doo ". This moment endeared Thorp to me. It got the Scooby-Doo quote wrong in the way that a middle-aged guy who really doesn't care about Scooby-Doo would. And that, with the 21st of April, ends the Marty Moon/Jorge Paloma story.
The current story, softball season, started the 23rd of April. Senior Kevin Pelwecki has got obsessive in that endearing teenager way about batting just right. And lecturing his teammates on the proper swing. Gil Thorp, spotting trouble early this time, steps in. He drills Pelwecki on batting, keeping him too busy to instruct his teammates, and away from where his teammates can flush him down a toilet. That's all right; Pelwecki will find the time to teach his teammates about his new batting stance. In fairness, he is getting better pretty fast.
Meanwhile at school newspaper The Milford Trumpet , they have a plotline. Dafne, spunky young reporter who probably has a last name, has noticed Barry Bader. Bader's a weirdly intense player on the team. She digs around and what she can find is interesting but incomplete. She learns that Bader's father is in jail for killing a student while driving drunk. The story's more complicated than that [*], but she can't get much, since it happened the summer before I started doing these plot recaps. She figures: well, why not ask him about it? And in case of the one-in-a-million chance he doesn't want to talk about it? Why not ask him again and again until he says something newsworthy?
[*]: While driving home drunk Bader's father crashed his car into Milford girls' softball star pitcher "Boo" Radley's. Both were okay at first, but a truck that didn't stop in time hit Radley's car, killing her. The salient part starts here, the 2nd of June, 2016 and goes about a week. Also relevant: Bader's father was already standing trial for driving drunk when this happened.
Neal Rubin and Rod Whigham's Gil Thorp for the 16th of May, 2018. I mean, you hate to watch train wrecks, but when the trains keep refusing every chance to do anything in the world except wreck what are you going to do?
This goes well. A provoked Bader argues with an umpire until Thorp carries him back to the dugout. Later in the game Bader takes a runner's slide into second as a personal affront, slugs him, and gets suspended for two games. His teammates laugh through his anger, because remember, guys are awful. Bader figures to channel his anger into interviews with Dafne. He says, "it can't make things any worse", apparently forgetting that he was calling his father's judge in the first trial an "ugly cow" that someone ought to "smack" and that things said to reporters sometimes get reported. No matter; he's busy this weekend. He'd told a bunch of Greek gods how he could perform a more beautiful melody on the lute than any of them. Now they're going to have a little contest to see who's right.
So we're ready to see the interview happen. There are all sorts of ways this can go well; which will it be? I'll know tomorrow; you'll know, I don't know. Next essay, probably.
When will the storyline-to-pop-culture-riff ratio in Judge Parker cross that of Sally Forth ? Has it already? Tune in next week, same bat-channel, and find out how Francesco Marciuliano and Mike Manley are getting through this one!
Author: Joseph Nebus
I was born 198 years to the day after Johnny Appleseed. The differences between us do not end there. He/him.	View all posts by Joseph Nebus
Author Joseph NebusPosted on June 4, 2018 July 2, 2018 Categories Humor, Humour, story strips, Studying HumorTags basketball, comic strips, Gil Thorp, high school, mathematics, newspapers, radio, softball, sports, writing
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Overpriced. The Aspire cannot boast with exceedingly high computing power. Then again, it pleases with a very low operating noise and decent keyboard. However, Acer demands the ridiculous price of 500 Euros (~$557) for the laptop.
Like virtually all laptop builders, Acer also uses the same casing for multiple laptop lineups. That is also the case for our present Aspire ES1-521. Its build is the same as in the Aspire ES1-512 and Extensa 2519 lineups we have tested. Differences are found inside: The ES1-521 models are furnished with AMD APUs. Its siblings come with Intel processors. Besides its own siblings, rivals of the Aspire are also found in laptops like HP's 350/355 G2, Fujitsu's LifeBook A514, Lenovo's IdeaPad 100-15IBD, and Toshiba's Satellite C50D-B.
Since the Aspire's build is identical with that of the Aspire ES1-512 and Extensa 2519, we will not go in-depth about casing, connectivity, input devices, screen or speakers. Corresponding information can be found in the reviews of the Aspire ES1-512 and Extensa 2519.
The Aspire sports the same matte, 15.6-inch screen as the previously tested Extensa 2519. Nevertheless, the measured rates deviate slightly. That is normal since two identical panels will never correspond to 100%. We are dealing with a screen that can boast with decent contrast but a somewhat too low brightness. The screen displays PWM flickering at a frequency of 1000 Hz in brightness levels of 90% and lower. Sensitive users should not experience problems with this high frequency.
Acer has a basic 15.6-inch office laptop in its lineup with the Aspire ES1-521. It is suitable for applications from the office and Internet sectors. Our review sample is available at just below 500 Euros (~$557). Acer has diverse configurations in its portfolio. The presently lowest priced Aspire ES1-521-60RY (A6-6310, 4 GB RAM, 1 TB HDD, no Windows operating system) is sold for approximately 350 Euros (~$390). The identically built models of the Aspire ES1-512 and Extensa 2519 lineups considerably expand the selection.
Acer installs an A8-6410 APU (Beema) by AMD in our review sample. The quad-core processor of the APU clocks at a base speed of 2 GHz that can be boosted up to 2.4 GHz via Turbo. The full performance cannot always be retrieved. The CPU only clocks at full speed when processing single-thread applications in AC mode. Multithread applications are performed at 2 to 2.2 GHz. The speeds drop slightly in battery mode (single-thread: 2 to 2.4 GHz; multithread: 1.8 to 2 GHz). AMD's processor finds opponents in the Bay Trail and Braswell processors by Intel. It cannot compete with Intel's Core i models.
The system runs smoothly. We did not experience problems. The PCMark benchmark scores correspond to the installed APU's performance. It is also possible to increase the Aspire's system performance by replacing the HDD with an SSD. The system then operates faster. Although the laptop is furnished with two working memory modules, the storage does not operate in dual-channel mode. The installed memory controller only supports single-channel mode. Thus, the graphics performance cannot be increased.
The Aspire sports a 2.5-inch hard drive by Western Digital. It spins at 5400 revolutions per minute and has a capacity of 500 GB. The drive's transfer rates are on a normal level for a 5400 RPM model.
AMD's Radeon R5 (Beema) graphics core takes care of video output. The GPU supports DirectX 11.2 and clocks at speeds of up to 800 MHz. The 3DMark benchmark results are as expected for this graphics core. The GPU is roughly on par with Intel's HD Graphics 4400 graphics core.
AMD's APU renders some games smoothly using a low resolution and low quality settings. Games with low hardware requirements even allow higher settings. Performance-driven smash hits like Just Cause 3 or Star Wars Battlefront are not playable. The gaming performance is too weak for a 500-Euro (~$557) laptop. Considerably stronger laptops are found in this price range, such as Acer's own Aspire E5-573G-36P1 (price: 500 Euros, ~$557). It features a Core i5-5005U processor and GeForce 920M GPU. It provides more CPU and GPU power than our present review sample and consequently also produces higher frame rates.
The Aspire operates quietly over the entire load range. Only the hard drive's subdued noise is audible in idle. The fan often stands still. Replacing the HDD with an SSD would ensure even more quietness. The noise level reaches 33.2 dB in the stress test. Processor throttling becomes evident here.
The Aspire performs our stress test (Prime95 and Furmark run for at least one hour) differently in AC and battery modes. The processor clocks at 1.4 GHz and the graphics core at 800 MHz in AC mode. They reach rates of 1.2 to 1.4 GHZ (CPU) and 300 to 400 MHz (GPU) in battery mode. The laptop heats up quite a bit at two measuring points despite CPU throttling. We measured rates of approximately 50 °C. These temperatures will unlikely be reached in routine use. The stress test represents a worst case scenario that will not occur during normal use.
We measure a maximum idle power consumption of 9.6 watts - an acceptable yet not outstanding rate. The requirement climbed to 29.3 watts in the stress test, which is only slightly higher than during medium load (27 watts). The processor's strong throttling in the stress test is responsible for that. The power supply has a nominal output of 45 watts.
We simulate the load needed for opening websites in our real-world Wi-Fi test. The "Balanced" profile is enabled, and the screen's brightness is set to approximately 150 cd/m². The Aspire manages a runtime of 4:50 hours. That is roughly 50 minutes shorter than that of its Aspire ES1-512 and Extensa 2519 sister models.
The laptop has not been furnished with exceedingly high computing power. The APU in the Aspire will satisfy the requirements of applications from the office and Internet sectors. It can also render all standard video formats. The laptop's advantages are found in other aspects. It operates very quietly over the entire load range. Beyond that, it - like its sister models - features a decent keyboard. A matte screen with good contrast is also part of the bundle. However, it could be brighter. Unfortunately, the Aspire does not have a maintenance hatch, like many other laptops nowadays. Replacing the hard drive requires a bit of effort. The Aspire's casing would have to be opened for that. Acer includes a two-year warranty on the laptop.
The price-performance ratio of the Aspire ES1-521-87DN does not seem right.
The laptop was listed at 499 Euros (~$556) in diverse online shops while testing it. We deem the price too high. Users generally interested in the Aspire and explicitly wanting an AMD APU will find cheaper models within the ES1-521 lineup. Corresponding configurations with the A6-6310 only lead to an insignificantly lower computing performance.


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