CCK's insurance litigation team gave some tips for effective communication with your doctors when pursuing long-term disability benefits on this week's Facebook Live! Looking for more info? Check out our Long-Term Disability Resource Center.
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Scott: Hi. Good afternoon I'm Scott Kilpatrick with Chisholm Chisholm & Kilpatrick. And we're here to talk about the handling of long-term disability claims. These could be insured claims or claims for long-term disability benefits through your employer's benefit plan. And with me today is Mason Waring to my far left, your right, he is a Partner in the firm. And Leah Small to my immediate left, and she is a litigation associate in our long-term disability insurance area. Good afternoon, guys.
Scott: Ready for a few questions?
Scott: All right. The topic for today that you've chosen is the important but sometimes awkward topic of how to communicate with your primary care physician or your treating expert in connection with your long-term disability claim. Can you share with us some initial observations and thoughts about that?
Mason: Sure. It's important that you have a frank and open discussion with your doctors about your health conditions and how they impact your ability to function. Primarily, it's important for your own health. It's important that they assess your condition if they don't know what's going on. It's also really important because if you file your disability claim, it's often primary evidence that the insurance company considers.
Scott: Okay. You're talking about this in the context of an initial claim. Is that right?
Scott: All right. How often do you find that the physician with whom the client is communicating is actually the physician who has recommended that they go out of work and – why is that a factor?
Mason: It's actually- it's pretty common. The doctors are on the front line of things often and they're seeing what the person is going through, suffering with the conditions. And it's pretty common to see clients uncomfortable having the conversation about the disability claim with their clients. A lot of times they feel guilty that they can't work, they feel like they're letting their co-workers down and their clients down. And so it's an uncomfortable subject for clients to broach with their doctors. But it's really important. And so, when you're going to your doctor appointments and having those discussions, you want to not exaggerate your symptoms but you don't want to downplay them either. And we commonly see clients say, "Well, I don't want to complain." So I go the doctor and I say, "I'm fine." Well, fine doesn't mean you're not suffering symptoms. That's just your new baseline, but that doesn't mean you're not disabled. And so it's important to be specific when talking to your doctors so that they can document what's going on with you.
Scott: Okay. Leah, what do you hear from clients on that issue of documenting in the medical records what's going on with them?
Leah: We hear a lot that a lot of our clients will say, "Well, I've told my doctor that or I told my doctor experiencing those things." But the doctors don't always have that noted in the medical records or if they're reporting similar symptoms as they did their last visit, the doctor might just note, same, no change, which when it comes to a disability claim, often isn't enough to support a disability claim. So we often recommend our clients, they ask their doctors to specifically note what they're experiencing, their symptoms and how it's impacting their daily life in the medical records so that that documentation will be there, if necessary.
Mason: And just to add to that, doctors are busy and they're busy treating patients, right? And so, their goal in documenting information and medical records is for treatment. And so, for their purposes, they may not need to document every little thing every single visit because they can refer back to the prior notes. And particularly with the advent of electronic medical records where the – a visit record will auto-populate with some previous information. It's more efficient as you're going through your day just maybe update a material change, but not to document everything that's happening every single visit.
Scott: As one of the frankly better established long-term disability practices in New England, do you find that you're actually having doctors as clients occasionally?
Mason: Yeah. Yes, we – many of our clients are doctors. We see a lot of specialists that have demanding aspects to their job and they could have a particular condition which would prevent them from doing that specialty. Those claims can be challenging because one question that comes up frequently is whether or not the policy protects the doctor from disability from doing their specialty. So if someone is a surgeon or an anesthesiologist, is the question whether you can work in that specialty or as a doctor in general?
Scott: Okay. How does your – Leah, I'll direct this question to you. How does your representation of doctors and getting to know them not only as professionals but also as clients inform the advice that you give non-doctor clients in dealing with their doctors on disability claims? Does that help you with their get it – master their perspective or understand where the doctors are coming from?
Leah: I would say it does because you hear from them the first-hand experience. I mean we hear a lot – I've dealt with this with my patients, didn't think it would happened to me. But we can get their first-hand knowledge about treating patients and what goes into a documentation and stuff like that. So we can use their experience to direct and tell our clients how they should be talking with their doctors, what's important to discuss with their doctors, and just how best to document their disability.
Scott: So you recommend to the client to schedule an appointment with the doctor?
Mason: That's right. And it's a great tip for everyone watching this that if you need your doctor to fill out a claim form or just sit down and have a conversation about what you're going through in your disability, schedule an appointment. You're obviously suffering symptoms and not well. So it's a good idea from that perspective. But also your doctor will be able to focus on you, will be able to perform an updated examination if needed, and can fill out whatever paperwork they need right in front of you.
Scott: And that appointment can be done in the context of an exam as well. It just gives the doctor a heads-up. Is that right?
Mason: Right. And when speaking with doctors, they prefer that because they'd like to be able to assess you in person again to make sure that they're reporting things accurately to the insurance company.
Scott: Okay. Occasionally, do you find that doctors are just uncooperative? And it's not because they don't care or they don't believe what's happening or they're not supportive, it's just they just can't make the time with all of their professional obligations. Is there something that you recommend the clients can do to encourage the doctor to make the time to sit down for 30 minutes and fill out the report or to include the details in the record that are necessary to support the claim?
Leah: Well, I think what he just talked about, making an appointment with your doctor helps set aside that time, carves out that time in the doctor's day to specifically do the updated exam. And we often tell our clients, bring the forms with you so you can go over them while you are there with a doctor and make sure he does it doing that time. So it helps from that aspect. Another thing we've advised our clients is, if necessary you can offer to compensate your doctor for their time doing a report filling out forms, if necessary, as well.
Scott: You wouldn't be in any way suggesting that the client pay the doctor for an opinion. It's just pay the doctor, compensate the doctor for the time that they're setting aside, because they may be having to do this after hours or before hours. Correct?
Scott: Okay. Mason, you mentioned something earlier about – and I think you mentioned it in the context of representing a physician who may be – a particular specialist and whether the claim was supported for being disabled as a doctor in general or being disabled from their particular specialty. That applies to other professions as well. Is that right?
Scott: And are there actually different definitions of disability that appear in disability insurance policies?
Mason: Yes, some policies have what are called an own occupation definition of disability and the – that protects you from a disability that would prevent you from doing the work that you were doing before you went out. And so the question under those policies is whether or not you're just prevented from doing that, the prior work you did before. Other policies have what's called an any occupation definition of disability. And the inquiry often is whether you can do any job reliably or consistently. Most policies, particularly the ones that are provided by employers, they'll pay or they provide own occupation benefits for a period of time, usually 24 months. And then after that definition changes to any occupation.
Scott: Okay. By way of example, would an own occupation disability be something like a violin player who has a little bit of neuropathy and so they can't hit those perfect notes and so they can't make a living playing a violin? But they can do basically anything else so they would be disabled from their own occupation but not disabled under an any occupation definition? Is that what you're saying?
Mason: That's right. And if it is a pure own occupation policy and it may allow for them to work in another job so they get the replacement income from not being able to play violin and they could go on to do something differently. Some policies have offsets. So, if you were to do another job, it would reduce the payment you would get. But you'd have to look at the policy for those provisions.
Scott: And one of the things that we sometimes hear is that an insurance carrier will deny a claim under the any occupation definition because they've come up with something like parking lot attendant for $8 an hour. You can do that job. Can't you? Denied. Is there a gainfulness component that applies in many of these any occupation definitions?
Mason: Yeah. Many times there are. You have to look at the policy carefully for that. And when there is, even if – if it's an any occupation definition of disability with a gainful component, if you could do other work but you can't earn a certain percentage of your pre-disability earnings, you're still disabled.
Scott: And so in that context, gainful means you need to be able to make a living similar to what you made before.
Mason: Yeah, and most frequently you see you have to be able to make 60 or 80% of that- of those pre-disability earnings. But it can vary depending on the policy terms.
Mason: And just going back to the definition of disability piece, it's important that you let your doctor know what the applicable definition of disability is. And I can think of two reasons offhand, one, it'll allow them to assess your functionality. So the question, disabled from what? And so, depending on what your job is, the doctor will want to look and assess for different – your ability to do different activities. The other is, if you are disabled only from your own occupation, you want your doctor to know that that's sufficient to render you disabled under that policy because if your doctor is thinking about the social – for example, if you have an own occupation policy and your doctor's thinking about the Social Security definition of disability, he may think, well, Mason, you could go be – you can't be a major league baseball player, living my dream, but you could teach. You could teach. Can't swing a bat but you could teach. So I'm not going to support a disability claim. But if the doctor is aware that you have an own occupation definition – a definition of disability and he can correlate the two and be supportive.
Scott: Okay. Great. Thank you. And Leah, do you have anything to add to that?
Leah: I think he covered it pretty well. That's one thing we always tell our clients, and when we're working with doctors for clients is the one first thing is make sure they understand what the pertinent questions actually are because, like you said, if a doctor is thinking of, you're completely disabled from any and all occupations, then they might be less likely or less willing to support your claim. So you want to make sure they fully understand that. And that can help when a doctor might be uncooperative too, is making sure that they have that understanding.
Scott: Okay. Let's talk a little bit about clients who have multiple doctors. They have a primary care physician, and let's say they have a couple of specialists. Let's say they have a specialist treating them for a particular illness. It could be MS, it could be anything. But then they also have a related specialist. Maybe they have an orthopedic or rheumatologist or a neurologist who is complementing their treatment. Do you ever find that sometimes it's a challenge to get all of the doctors to be communicating about the person – they're obviously communicating as they need to treat the person. Do you find sometimes it's a challenge to coordinate all of those opinions in support of a client's disability claim? And if so, what do you do about that?
Mason: Yeah. It's really the circumstances vary from case to case. Sometimes a person's primary care doctor serves as the quarterback. And so, they really have their eye on everything happening with respect to the person's health. They're referring to various specialists. They're overseeing management of medications and coordinating the care. Under those circumstances, the primary care physician is often a good place to start. But other times, the primary care physician has more of a backseat role with respect to that claim and they'll refer the person to a specialist and then that specialist is really in charge. And so, our recommendation is when you approach your doctors, go to the doctor who's primarily responsible for overseeing your care for your disabling condition. That's the best place to start. And then you can approach – you can approach them from there. And this is a very, I think, practical reason for that is, if you go to a doctor who is not kind of running the show, they're going to want to know what the other doctor thinks and they're going to say, "Well, I've sent you to this neurologist for assessment. So I really have to defer to that person for that." And so start at the top, the person that's running things for you and then work out from there.
Scott: Okay. Let's loop back to something that you said with your introductory remarks and that's talking about not overstating or understating your symptoms and your condition. Unfortunately, we live in a world of ultimate connectivity. We're all being surveilled in one way or another.
Mason: You mean like Facebook Live?
Scott: Like Facebook Live, exactly. I mean you can't go to a bank without being videotaped. You can't buy a gallon of milk without being videotaped and insurance companies, lately, have been much more aggressive in covertly following and videotaping claimants. Talk to us a little bit about how that plays into your earlier comments about not overstating or understating the claim. And if you can give us a couple of specific examples of what people tend to do that is wrong and could damage their claims.
Scott: And so, you're saying that the surveillance that the insurance company can do if the client is specific and clear with their doctor and in describing their symptoms and in describing their claim to the carrier, the surveillance can actually verify and confirm the claim.
Scott: So Leah, what's the takeaway from this?
Leah: I mean we always tell our clients, number one, that surveillance is always a possibility. We always tell them you have to do what's best for your health and you need to live your life. But if you're going to do things like go to Florida for the winter, make sure your doctor is on board, explain what you're going to do to make accommodations to get yourself down there and just keep your doctor in the loop every step of the way so they're not caught off guard down the road.
Scott: And to report accurately.
Scott: The truth will set you free.
Scott: We say that to clients all the time.
Scott: Okay. Thank you. We have a question from Stephen, what should I do if my doctor won't complete my disability forms?
Scott: How often does that happen?
Mason: I'd say less than 10% of the time. And it's really hard – that's really hard for clients because they say, "Look, I feel like the doctor is not supporting, and they've told me I'm disabled. I think I should stop. But their physician is, "I don't I don't fill out disability forms," and they feel kind of abandoned because of it.
Scott: So Leah suggested making an appointment with the doctor before. Is that one of the techniques they can use to help?
Mason: Absolutely. That'll overcome the "I'm too busy" problem because you'll have a piece of their day.
Scott: And by the same token offering to compensate the doctor off hours to just sit down and fill out the form. I think we found that that can be very effective and often the doctor won't take them off up on the offer. But it makes the point to the doctor. This is important and it's important to the claimant.
Scott: Okay. Well, thank you very much.
Scott: This has been delightful, our first Facebook Live with the LTD team.
Mason: Thank you all for tuning in.
Scott: Thank you for tuning in.


My lover (aka pinterest) showed me a pin of a scarf tucked under a collared shirt so I decided to try it out and really liked it. Also, I cannot seem to get enough of mustard + wine.
And that last picture? That's my someone-just-drove-by-and-honked-and-now-I-feel-super-awkward face. Cute, yes?
I DID THIS THE OTHER DAY! Slash, I just bought THIS EXACT SAME SCARF, except the Spanish equivalent, and I wear it wrapped around my face like 50 times because it's like wearing a sweater on your neck and it's amazing. I am in love with marigold and chunky knit. Also, haircut? Also also, I can't stop pinning.
OOOH I'm definitely a big fan of the mustard scarf and colored tights! Rock it girl.
You are SUCH A cute dresser.


text:
Q: How do I have a program check for errors and then keep looping My code reads a file where the file name is typed by the user. If the user types a filename that doesn't exist then it catches the exception and prints file not found. What I've tried to do is get the code to loop if the file name is invalid. However, what happens is that the code keeps on printing out file not found and it won't stop. So what's wrong with my code?
public static Scanner readFile(String filename){
    File input = new File(filename);
    Scanner sc = null;
    do {
        try {
            sc = new Scanner(input);
        }
        catch(FileNotFoundException e) {
            System.out.println("Filename not valid");
        }
    } while (!new File(filename).exists());
    return sc;
}

None of the answers helped me so maybe I'll try posting the entire code and see if that helps.
import java.io.*;
import java.util.*;

public class Report{
    public static void main(String[] args){
        Scanner scanner = new Scanner(System.in);
        String filename = scanner.next();
        Scanner input = readFile(filename);
        CO2Data[] aDataArray  = null;
        aDataArray = readData(filename);
        String highestvalue = highest(aDataArray);
        String lowestvalue = lowest(aDataArray);
        String highest_road = highest_per_person(aDataArray);
        String lowest_road = lowest_per_person(aDataArray);
        try{
        PrintStream output = new PrintStream(new File("Report.txt"));
        output.println("The country with the lowest CO2 emissions is " + lowestvalue);
        output.println("The country with the highest CO2 emissions is " + highestvalue);
        output.println();
        output.println("The country with the lowest per person road emissions is " + lowest_road);
        output.println("The country with the highest per person road emissions is " + highest_road);
        }
        catch(FileNotFoundException e){
            System.out.println("Error printing to file");
            System.exit(-1);
            }
        }

    public static Scanner readFile(String filename){
    Scanner stdin = new Scanner(System.in);
    File input;
    do {
       input = new File(filename);
        try {
            stdin = new Scanner(input);
        }
        catch(FileNotFoundException e) {
            System.out.println("Filename not valid. Please try again:");
            filename = stdin.nextLine();
        }
    } while (!input.exists());
    return stdin;
}

    public static CO2Data[] readData(String filename){
    File input = new File(filename);
        Scanner sc = null;
        try{
            sc = new Scanner(input);
        }
        catch(FileNotFoundException e){
            System.out.println("Filename not valid");
            System.exit(-1);
        }
    String info = sc.nextLine();
    int total = sc.nextInt();
    CO2Data[] arr = new CO2Data[total];
    for(int i=0; i<10;i++){
        arr[i] = new CO2Data();
        }
    for(int i=0; i<10;i++){
        arr[i].setCountry(sc.next());
        arr[i].setTotalCO2(sc.nextDouble());
        arr[i].setRoadCO2(sc.nextDouble());
        arr[i].setCO2PerPerson(sc.nextDouble());
        arr[i].setCarsPerPerson(sc.nextInt());
        }
    return arr;
    }

    public static String highest (CO2Data []  arr2){
    Scanner sc = new Scanner(System.in);
    CO2Data highestindex = arr2[0];
    for (int i = 0; i<arr2.length; i++){
        if (arr2[i].getTotalCO2() > highestindex.getTotalCO2()){
            highestindex = arr2[i];
            }
        }
    return highestindex.getCountry();
    }

    public static String lowest (CO2Data [] arr3){
        Scanner sc = new Scanner(System.in);
        CO2Data lowestindex = arr3[0];
            for (int i = 0; i<arr3.length; i++){
                if (arr3[i].getTotalCO2() < lowestindex.getTotalCO2()){
                    lowestindex = arr3[i];
                    }
                }
        return lowestindex.getCountry();
        }

            public static String highest_per_person (CO2Data []  arr2){
    Scanner sc = new Scanner(System.in);
    CO2Data highestindex = arr2[0];
    for (int i = 0; i<arr2.length; i++){
        if (arr2[i].getRoadCO2() > highestindex.getRoadCO2()){
            highestindex = arr2[i];
            }
        }
    return highestindex.getCountry();
    }

    public static String lowest_per_person (CO2Data [] arr3){
        Scanner sc = new Scanner(System.in);
        CO2Data lowestindex = arr3[0];
            for (int i = 0; i<arr3.length; i++){
                if (arr3[i].getRoadCO2() < lowestindex.getRoadCO2()){
                    lowestindex = arr3[i];
                    }
                }
        return lowestindex.getCountry();
        }
    }

A: When the filename is invalid, you should get a new filename from the user, instead of just re-checking the same filename over and over again. E.g.:
Scanner stdin = new Scanner(System.in);
File input = new File(filename);
Scanner sc = null;
do {
    try {
        sc = new Scanner(input);
    }
    catch(FileNotFoundException e) {
        System.out.println("Filename not valid. Please try again:");
        filename = stdin.readLine();
    }
} while (!new File(filename).exists());

A: The readFile(String filename) receives a filename parameter, but if such file doesn't exist, what can the method do? It surely cannot invent a correct filename by itself.
So the problem is outside of this method. You need to make sure that this method is called with a valid filename.
public Scanner getScanner() {
    Scanner stdin = new Scanner(System.in);
    while (true) {
        String path = null;
        try {
            System.out.println("Please enter path to input file: ");
            path = stdin.nextLine();
            return getScanner(path);
        } catch (FileNotFoundException e) {
            System.err.println("No such file: " + path);
        }
    }
}

private Scanner getScanner(String path) throws FileNotFoundException {
    return new Scanner(new File(path));
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


1. The complainant had sought the copies of the entire correspondence made between the Sahara India and the SEBI since the year 2000. He had also wanted the copies of the orders, notifications, circulars issued by the SEBI regarding Sahara India since the same year. Besides, he had also asked for the details of the refunds made/rejected since the date of the Supreme Court order, that is, 31 August 2012, the details of the investors including the communications sent by the SEBI to the investors. The CPIO had offered part of the information against payment of photocopying charges and had refused to disclose much of the remaining information on the ground that it was exempt under the provisions of section 8(1) (d), section 8(1)(e), section 8(1)(h) Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act, there shall be no obligation to give any citizen, information which would impede the process of investigation or apprehension or prosecution of offenders; and section 8(1)(j) Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act, there shall be no obligation to give any citizen, information which relates to personal information the disclosure of which has no relationship to any public activity or interest, or which would cause unwarranted invasion of the privacy of the individual unless the Central Public Information Officer or the State Public Information Officer or the appellate authority, as the case may be, is satisfied that the larger public interest justifies the disclosure of such information: Provided that the information which cannot be denied to the Parliament or a State Legislature shall not be denied to any person. of the Right to Information (RTI) Act. Instead of appealing against this order before the Appellate Authority, the complainant has chosen to approach the CIC directly.
2. During the hearing, the complainant argued that the CPIO had taken more time than the stipulated period to provide him whatever information and, therefore, he should not have charged him any fees. He also protested that the CPIO had not provided him the complete information. Besides, he argued that since the Supreme Court of India had already decided the case, the CPIO should have provided all the information he had asked for. On the other hand, the respondent submitted that the matter was not fully decided yet and it was pending before not only the Supreme Court of India but before other statutory bodies for adjudication and the disclosure of the information sought by the Appellant at this stage would prejudicially affect those cases, specially, the interests of the investors. Besides, he also argued that the total volume of information sought was staggering keeping in mind the fact that the investor details provided by the Sahara India ran into several truckloads of records. He was against the disclosure of any such information.
3. The Respondent also pointed out that the complainant had indeed filed an appeal before the Appellate Authority which he had disposed of by upholding the order of the CPIO, a fact the complainant had not mentioned in his complaint.
4. The only point on which we are in agreement with the complainant relates to the payment of photocopying charges. Since the complainant had deposited the photocopying charges on the advice of the CPIO, the information should have been provided to him immediately thereafter. Unfortunately, in this case, the CPIO took nearly 2 weeks to provide the information, thereby, exceeding the time period stipulated under the law. Therefore, it would be proper for the CPIO to refund the photocopying charges, Rs. 276, collected from the complainant. The CPIO does not need to do anything more than this. On the question of disclosure of the remaining information, the CPIO is absolutely right that the details of the investors and the correspondence made with them would fall within the exemption provision contained in section 8(1) (d) of the RTI Act as this information is in the nature of commercial confidence of the investors. Similarly, the correspondence made between the SEBI and the Sahara India cannot be disclosed in the public domain in the light of the fact that various litigations are still pending involving the interests of millions of investors. Unless these matters are finally decided and disposed off, it would not be prudent to disclose the information in the public domain lest it would be used to prejudicially affect the pending cases and the ability of the SEBI in prosecuting the errant entities. Such information is covered under the exemption provision contained in section 8(1) (h) of the RTI Act as very rightly held by the CPIO. Thus, the CPIO cannot be held responsible for not providing such information or punished for that.


Asking for a raise is a prickly topic. It's a game of power dynamics — who has the upper hand? However, if you walk into your boss's office asking for a raise when you know you don't deserve one, you're going to sound a lot like the people in this Fast Company video titled "What You Really Sound Like When You Ask For A Raise."
Trending News: Are Your Boss' Jokes Destroying Office Morale?


text:
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Alyssa Palomino-Cardoza has a seven-game hitting streak for what has become a potent Arizona offense. UA hosts Oregon on Friday.
Arizona's starter Gina Snyder (24) deals against Florida State's in the fourth inning of their game at Hillenbrand Stadium, Saturday, March 9, 2019, Tucson, Ariz.
Reyna Carranco is on a season-long seven-game hitting streak. Alyssa Palomino-Cardoza has doubled in the last five games and gotten a hit in the last seven games. Jessie Harper has hit seven home runs in the last 10 games to take the Pac-12 lead.
Just like that, it seems the Arizona offense has found its groove. And just in time for Pac-12 play.
The Wildcats will open the conference portion of their schedule Friday at 6 p.m. with the first of three games against Oregon at Hillenbrand Stadium.
Junior Malia Martinez said she's excited to finally start playing in what is one of the toughest conferences in the nation.
Arizona is coming off a series loss to then-No. 1 Florida State. Players said taking one of three games from the Seminoles was actually a confidence-booster.
The UA beat FSU 11-3 in five innings Saturday, marking the first time since April 5, 2014 that a No. 1-ranked team was run-ruled.
"It's a really good feeling," Martinez said. "It's kind of a little bit of a reinsurance of what we're capable of, but it's also a reminder that we need to work harder to be at a level where we should be able to do that without it being a big deal, I guess.
Oregon is entering the weekend carrying a six-game losing streak, and having been bumped out of the NFCA Top 25. Arizona came in at No. 12 for the third straight week.
UA coach Mike Candrea said Wednesday that he was still working on a pitching rotation for the weekend.
Freshmen Marissa Schuld and Vanessa Foreman were expected to throw three-inning intrasquad scrimmages so they could get a chance to see hitters on a regular basis.
Gina Snyder, who pitched for the UA in Saturday's win over FSU, said she's not sure how big of a role she'll have this weekend. The redshirt sophomore from Sahuaro High School said she's ready to help.
While there's still room for improvement, Candrea said he likes where the Wildcats' pitchers are at the moment. And he especially liked how they battled against Florida State.
"The one thing that I did like, what I saw, was Saturday (Snyder) could have easily folded after the first hitter and gave up a bomb, but she kind of settled in and stayed present," Candrea said. "And gave us a chance to win.
While the offense has improved on situational hitting, and no longer score the majority of their runs off home runs like they did at the start of the season, Candrea would like to see more consistency from the bottom of the lineup.
When Jenna Kean and Hannah Martinez get on base, they tend to score. But neither one of them managed a hit in the Florida State series finale.
"I think that's something we're going to continue to work on — trying to get some balance throughout our lineup — because I think to be a great team you have to have balance," Candrea said. "And I feel better now than I did two weeks ago and I think that's the only thing I can do right now, is see the progress.
Hendrickson and teammate Dani Spencer will be honored Friday, when the GymCats host No. 4 LSU at 7 p.m.


Monday, March 19, 2001 8:00 P.M.
The Regular School Board Meeting of the Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted ISD #2687 was called to order at 8:00 p.m. on March 19, 2001. After the Pledge of Allegiance, roll was taken with members present: James Fowler, Randy Heuer, Kirk Jensen, Richard Lammers, Eugene Lorentz, Charles Weber, Leo Weber, Ken Zimmerman. James Raymond was absent. Also present were Superintendent Riley Hoheisel, Principals Mike Day, Julie Millerbernd and Dean Wessman, and Board Secretary Vivian Mahlstedt.
Hoheisel said that two items needed to be added to the Agenda: Item 8A, quarterly contract renewal for ESL teacher; and 8B, lane change. Heuer moved to approve the agenda of the March 19, 2001 regular meeting with additions; C. Weber seconded the motion; passed unanimously.
Hoheisel pointed out wording to be added to Item 3 of the minutes of the February 19, 2001 Regular School Board meeting: Consensus was also reached to accept the Central Minnesota Initiative Foundation Grant for the Ag program. Lammers moved to approve the minutes of the February 19, 2001 Regular School Board meeting with the added wording; Zimmermann seconded; passed unanimously.
C. Weber moved to approve the March bills; Heuer seconded; passed unanimously.
Zimmermann moved to approve the March Treasurer's report; Heuer seconded; passed unanimously.
 Recommended handbook changes for next year; he asked for Board approval at the April meeting.
 Wrestling recognition for Pat Salonek (state champion) and Joey Graczyk (6th at state). The boys and coaches were honored at a basketball game and pepfest which he said was well deserved for their outstanding season.
 Boys and girls basketball teams finished their seasons; boys teams did particularly well.
 Student registration for next year is beginning; classes include grad standards.
 Day attended a principal's conference earlier this month and felt it was very worthwhile. He thanked the Board for the opportunity to attend.
 NHS trip to Hawaii will be 3/21-25.
 Band and Choir trip to New York will be 4/3-8.
 Students Matt Carlson (7th) and Eric Young (8th) received first place trophies and ribbons for their grades in the math contest sponsored by the Minnesota Mathematics League.
 He recognized the Letter Club for their concession work at recent tournaments; 35 members helped in the stand during the year. Money raised will purchase a digital scale for wrestling and uniform pants for football.
 The HLWW boys basketball team received a thank you from the Holdingford boys basketball coaches for their good sportsmanship.
 Day thanked Bob Williams for research he completed on curriculum. Day will review the information and to apply to evaluating HLWW curriculum.
 No students went out for Speech this year.
 6th grade ski trip to Powder Ridge was 2/28.
 Diane Gasch, puppeteer from Cokato, performed for students last week.
 5th grade has completed Reading and Writing comprehensive assessments; Math will take place in April.
 He thanked Ms. Kalvig for hosting about 120 students from 6 schools for the young musicians program at Howard Lake.
 Project Northland, a program designed to prevent adolescent alcohol use, has been in place for 6 weeks in 6th grade classrooms. Graduation is 3/20, followed by a dance for students. The same group of kids will continue in the program in future years so the effectiveness of the program can be monitored.
 To celebrate March as "Music in our Schools" month, the elementary musical took place in the auditorium, with excellent attendance; and a lyceum was held for students on 3/19 showcasing various musical instruments.
 On 3/2, as part of Read Across America, students and staff read as many Dr. Seuss books as possible during the day.
 Kindergarten registration has been held. At Howard Lake, 35-40 parents attended, and about 22 attended at Winsted. Thirty-three students are registered for Howard Lake and 18 for Winsted, which is more than registered for 2000-01 at this time. She anticipates having both morning and afternoon kindergarten in both schools.
 Nancy Main and Millerbernd will attend a Title 1 workshop on 3/20.
 Third graders also completed the Minnesota Comprehensive Assessment reading test.
Communications included a letter from the Minnesota Secretary of State asking school districts not to schedule special elections from 6/4-6/18-2001 due to their implementation of a new voter registration system; a Notice of Desire to Negotiate from Bradford Robinson, Chief Negotiator for the Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted Education Association; and notices from the Service Employees International Union designating Konrad Stroh as the union representative for Bus Drivers and Custodians.
Chair Lorentz opened the floor to requests from the Public. HLWW Student council members David Peterson and Mike Kelley presented a newly developed Student Council constitution, which clearly states their purpose, objectives, membership, etc. They asked the Board to approve it, and left a copy for Board review.
They also proposed installing tv,s in school to show announcements, bulletin items, upcoming events, etc. The Student Council would fund them. Hoheisel suggested that the administration discuss the idea with the students and come back to the next meeting with a recommendation. Lorentz and the students agreed.
(Item 1) Hoheisel reported on continued roof leaks. He said he talked with another roofing consulting company about repairs and they will complete an in-depth assessment and recommendations for all 3 buildings for $4900. The architect concurs it would be a wise investment. Zimmerman moved that the District go ahead with a full review and then complete repairs as needed, even if funds have to be borrowed; seconded by C. Weber; passed unanimously.
(Item 2) Heuer reported that the Facilities Site Committee will be ready to present information to the full board in a couple weeks. He moved to call a special board meeting for 4/10/01, 8:00 p.m., with the agenda being a site recommendation for a high school. Lammers seconded. Hoheisel noted that the meeting would have to be at Humphrey Elementary due to the music contest being held in the High School; motion amended for meeting location by both Heuer and Lammers; passed unanimously.
(Item 3) Hoheisel said they continue to work on the Ag partnership and should be ready for the legislative hearing soon. Zimmerman suggested including business people from the community at the hearing, which is planned to include students, FFA alumni, board members, principals, and the Ag instructor.
(Item 4) Hoheisel reviewed the proposed 2001-02 capital outlay budget. Fowler said there are major projects that need to be taken care of, including roofing, heating, and tuckpointing, and that it would be reasonable to finance the work. Hoheisel said that the Buildings and Grounds committee will bring recommendations to the board.
(Item 5) Hoheisel said the proposed 2001-02 Calendar needs to be revised for staff development days when they are determined; the MEEP committee will review and make a recommendation. No other comments at this time; the calendar will be reviewed again at the April board meeting.
(Item 6) Lammers moved to adopt the Resolution for Federal Programs; L. Weber seconded; passed by a voice vote of 8 in favor and none opposed (one absent).
(Item 7) Lammers moved to approve the additional name (Josh Klenken, 8th grade baseball) for spring coaching staff; Heuer seconded; passed unanimously.
(Item 8) Heuer moved to accept the letter of resignation from custodian Ray Ristow; C. Weber seconded; passed unanimously. Hoheisel thanked Ray for his nearly 19 years of service to the School District. He also recommended that the school now hire a person to provide 3 to 4 hours daily in supervising facilities management and maintenance, plus 4 hours of cleaning duties. Assuming a person hired in the middle of the matrix, the combined job could be done for about the same as the current arrangement, which funds 1/3 maintenance engineer salary (shared with DC Schools). The school is advertising to fill the position.
(Item 8a) C. Weber moved to approve the next quarterly contract with English as a Second Language Instructor, Fran Roux; Heuer seconded; passed unanimously.
(Item 8b) Hoheisel stated that the requested lane change to BA+60 for Tom Hoeg meets the requirements of the master agreement, and he recommended approving it. Heuer moved to approve the lane change; C.Weber seconded; passed unanimously.
The Board recognizes HLWW State Wrestling Champion at 119 pounds, Pat Salonek; and sixth place finisher at 189 pounds, Joey Graczyk; and the HLWW Wrestling team and coaches Jeff Granrud and George Montgomery. We congratulate you on your outstanding year, and thank you for representing your school so well.
The Board recognizes the HLWW Boys Basketball Teams and Coaching Staff on winning their third consecutive Central Minnesota Conference title. Both the varsity and B-squads finished the season with 20 wins. Congratulations to both teams, and the varsity and B-squad coaches, Merrill Skinner and Chad Gagnon.
The Board recognizes the HLWW Knowledge Bowl Advisor, Rita Grimm, the team and HLWW staff who helped host Knowledge Bowl at HLWW on March 1. About 100 students from nine schools participated in this successful event.
The Board recognizes Dale Decker and the many HLWW staff who helped organize and host the various play-off games and meets at HLWW in the past weeks. Players, coaches, and fans had enjoyable experiences here because of your efforts.
 Tuesday, 4/10, 8:00 p.m. at Humphrey Elementary will be a Special Board Meeting.
 Extended use of the Media Center will continue for at least one more month as use has been quite high.
 The Employee Recognition dinner will be Tuesday, 4/17 at the Blue Note in Winsted.
 The MSBA Day at the Capitol was 3/5; Lammers, Lorentz and L. Weber attended with Hoheisel. They felt it was a good opportunity to communicate the school's recommendation that the governor approve more education funding.
 Fuel bills are skyrocketing, costing 4 times more than a year ago.
 The drama funding proposal has been changed by the volunteer group, and they're now working with Shirley Olson on a possible grant for $8000.
 Two pieces of food service equipment at Winsted, a Hobart 20 quart mixer and a Hobart meat slicer, haven't been used for a long time and aren't expected to be needed. He asked for a Board motion to call for bids on the equipment. Zimmerman moved to put the two items up for bids; Lammers seconded; passed unanimously.
 One Laker Pride goal is to publish two brochures this spring, highlighting achievements of the district. The first will be on the Ag program and is expected to be done soon. The second will be on Fine Arts but may not be completed this year.
Lorentz reported that the Site Task Force committee will compile information they,ve received, and will meet on Monday, 3/26 at 7:00 p.m. They will then determine if another meeting is needed.
Lorentz also reported on negotiations with the Paraprofessionals. He said they've had two meetings and have scheduled the next for 4/5.
Fowler, Laker Pride, said that the 21st century grant will provide funding for expansion of the School Age Care (SAC) program. They are looking at early morning care (6:00 a.m.), starting this fall, probably at Howard Lake.
He also said that Cindy Decker has been given authority to update the school web site.
Fowler said he had attended the Schools for Equity in Education meeting on 3/2.
With no other business, L. Weber moved to adjourn; Heuer seconded; passed unanimously and adjourned at 9:25 p.m.


The City of Madison is replacing existing playground at Elmside Circle Park!
Construction operations began in August, 2018, with final completion anticipated by October 31, 2018. The City of Madison Parks Division held two playground meetings to discuss playground improvements at Elmside Circle Park.


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Every Synchronized Support is carefully comprised of layers and layers of all-natural fill materials. Joma wool, natural Talalay Latex and organic cotton provide a cloud-like body for a precise level of comfort and support.


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make the best out of it ( liquidt1000) wrote in ohnotheydidnt,
make the best out of it
liquidt1000
Ariana Grande latest interview in Sydney!
Everyone wants a piece of Ariana Grande right now.
The 21-year-old is one of the hottest acts on the planet - she has a No. 1 album worldwide (My Everything) and was the "most streamed artist in the world" last week, according to Spotify. She's as hot as Beyonce on social media at a time when Beyonce is red hot (Grande opened the MTV awards and Beyonce memorably closed them).
It's little surprise, then, that Grande has a healthy ego. She certainly lived up to the starlet stereotype when she met the media in Sydney ahead of her performance on the Australian version of the X Factor.Midway through a photo shoot with a media outlet, Grande decides she doesn't like the photos and wants to change outfits and do the shoot again.She then demands the photos taken so far be destroyed and when the photographer refuses, she cancels the remaining photo shoots - including Fairfax Media's.
When Grande finally sits down for our filmed interview - more than an hour late - she seems agitated and obsessed with how she looks, especially her hair. She's concerned that the top of her head not be in shot so she looks taller.
As a courtesy I tell her what I'll be asking - it usually helps put an interviewee at ease. I'd read she was a horror movie fan - she apparently used to paint her face in skull make-up - and that I'll ask about that but she ticks me off: "Everybody asks me about horror movies".
I try again, telling her she "brought the sunshine" to Sydney. Grande: "I love the rain. I'm sorry I missed it."
UNABLE TO EMBED VIDEO, WATCH AT SOURCE
She begins, with the camera running: "I'm Ariande Grande. I'm from Boca Raton, Florida, I love animals. I don't know. I sing music..."
I ask her to describe what makes her different from other artists.
"Well, that's a big question. That's a very hard one, I feel like you need to listen to my music and just get to know me ... you can't just put me on the spot like that!"
I ask how she looks after herself, especially given the death over the weekend of G.R.L.'s Simone Battle (she hadn't yet heard the news).
"Creating a healthy brain space for yourself, maintaining a happy life and protecting yourself from the bullshit that's our there is a fulltime job. For someone to ask 'how do you stay so positive?' I'm like 'Girl! Work!' You have to work it, it's such a hard thing. My real job is like taking care of myself, and like... FIXING myself"
Reality TV is a path Grande has avoided. Is she pleased she didn't go there?
"No. There are so many people out there who are insanely talented and deserve to be noticed and whatever. Coming from a girl whose brother is on a reality television show right now ... those shows are sometime great for finding that talent. I know so many people who are so talented, if I had a record company I'd just hand them deals."
Is Grande bothered that she gets called "babyface", or that in her recent Twitter Q&A a follower asked whether she gets given crayons when she goes to McDonald's?
"I don't go to McDonald's. I don't really focus too much on [my age], if I did I would be like giving in to my ego and not productive.
"Also I'm in this because I like making music not because I wanna be a supermodel," she says, before quickly adding "If I look young that will help me out when I'm 40 and I look 30."
Does she miss that pre-stardom Ariana? Maybe wish she could go back sometimes?
"No. Not at all. I'm the same. I'm like honestly the same."
Grande, who describes herself as a feminist, is by no means the most sexualised of today's female pop stars, but her very young appearance makes the overt sexuality in some of her video clips discomfitting.
Like when she begins to strip in zero gravity in her latest video clip, Break Free. Or maybe when she fires missiles out of her "boob cannons" to kill the bad guy.
"Women should be able to express themselves however they want," she says. "I think that's feminism, taking pride in your body, taking pride in your work and doing whatever you want."
Tags: ariana grande


That's how I feel. I'm Jose, a local with relatives all over the Bay Area. Raised in Hayward, I attended California State Hayward and San Francisco State University where I obtained a Paralegal Certificate. I was employed as paralegal for 32 years in the San Francisco City Attorney's Office and retired in August of 2013. Soon thereafter, with the encouragement of family and friends who know my surprising knack for meeting people, I obtained my Real Estate license and then joined Daniel Winkler and his team.
I'm married to my partner of 20 years, Todd Masteller, and together we reside with our two dogs in the Allendale neighborhood of Oakland. Passionate about community, I currently serve as vice-chair of the Allendale Park Community Council, where my values of giving back and connection find concrete expression. And not to brag, but both Todd and myself have been recognized for our public service and are past recipients of the Oakland Hero Award.
Professionally I'm all about helping my clients make good financial decisions. Whether they selling or buying a home I'm committed to providing the highest level of service, and I do it in English or Spanish. Porque, no? Es muy importante ser disponsible a todos.


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Best of Month
old-school heavy metal
The Cult Of Destiny to release self-titled debut album on November 27th 2020
Submitted by newseditor on Mon, 10/26/2020 - 15:13
Norway Old School Heavy Metallers, The Cult Of Destiny featuring members of The Carburetors and Chrome Division, have announced the release of their self-titled debut album on November 27th, 2020, via The Cult Of Destiny Records.
A YouTube video teaser can be viewed below.
The album was recorded by Arslan Qureshi and Jørgen Henriksen at Laidback Studios. Mixed and mastered by Robert Hauge at Badabing Studio.
Read more about The Cult Of Destiny to release self-titled debut album on November 27th 2020
Toledo Steel to release new studio album "Heading for the Fire" on February 12th 2021
Submitted by newseditor on Fri, 10/16/2020 - 19:15
Toledo Steel have announced they will release their highly anticipated second album "Heading for the Fire" on February 12th, 2021, via Dissonance Productions.
Toledo Steel comment:
Read more about Toledo Steel to release new studio album "Heading for the Fire" on February 12th 2021
Trip to release debut full-length album "Split" on November 6th 2020
Submitted by newseditor on Thu, 10/08/2020 - 12:25
Chicago rockers Trip 6 announce their new album "Split", releasing on November 6th, 2020, via Dark Star Records.
Kevin Munster from Trip 6 said: "This album is a in your face, hard hitting tribute to all the artists we grew up listening to".
Read more about Trip to release debut full-length album "Split" on November 6th 2020
Ross The Boss - Born of Fire
Submitted by rockavlon on Sat, 03/14/2020 - 17:49
Ross Friedman, former Manowar guitarist, has released some decent albums in the past few years, in a style pretty close, but not aping classic Μanowar.
Read more about Ross The Boss - Born of Fire
Ross The Boss to release new studio album "Born of Fire" on March 6th 2020
One can't talk about genre defining acts in the metal scene without mentioning one man: Ross "The Boss" Friedman has written music history as a founding member of Manowar and The Dictators. His influence in heavy metal and also punk is noticeable to this day.
Manowar's first six masterpieces, which saw him significantly involved in between 1982 and 1988 are immortal classics today, and that the band wasn't able to deliver the same quality again after his departure speaks for the New York based guitarist and songwriter.
Read more about Ross The Boss to release new studio album "Born of Fire" on March 6th 2020
Bloody Times release lyric video for "Alliance" feat. Ross The Boss
German heavy metal band, Bloody Times, have released a new lyric video for "Alliance", featuring Ross The Boss (ex-Manowar) on guitars.
The track is taken of the album "On A Mission", which was released in January 2019, and features Ross The Boss (ex-Manowar), John Greely (ex-Iced Earth) and Raphael Saini (ex-Iced Earth).
Check out the lyric video for "Alliance" below.
Read more about Bloody Times release lyric video for "Alliance" feat. Ross The Boss
Enforcer announces new studio album "Zenith" - due out in April 2019
Submitted by newseditor on Tue, 01/29/2019 - 23:58
It's been silent for a while now in the camp of Swedish metallers Enforcer - too silent! But now the quartet are pleased to announce their return, with their highly anticipated fifth studio album entitled "Zenith".
Read more about Enforcer announces new studio album "Zenith" - due out in April 2019
Bloody Times release lyric video for "Day of Collapse"
German heavy metal band, Bloody Times, have released a new lyric video for "Day of Collapse", in memory of the fallen men and women of the September 11th attacks.
The song is taken of their new album "On A Mission", which was released January 11, 2019, and features Ross The Boss (ex-Manowar), John Greely (ex-Iced Earth) and Raphael Saini (ex-Iced Earth).
The video can be viewed below.
Read more about Bloody Times release lyric video for "Day of Collapse"
Bloody Times release lyric video for "Fort Sumter"
Submitted by newseditor on Sat, 12/29/2018 - 19:43
German heavy metal band, Bloody Times, have released a new lyric video for "Fort Sumter", the song is taken of their new album "On a Mission", due out on January 11th, 2019, which also features Ross The Boss (ex-Manowar), John Greely (ex-Iced Earth) and Raphael Saini (ex-Iced Earth).
Check out the lyric video for "Fort Sumter" below.
Read more about Bloody Times release lyric video for "Fort Sumter"
Bloody Times to release new studio album "On a Mission" on January 11th 2019
German heavy metal band, Bloody Times, have announced the release of their new album "On a Mission" on January 11th, 2019, which also features Ross The Boss (ex-Manowar), John Greely (ex-Iced Earth) and Raphael Saini (eX-Iced Earth).
The album was mixed and mastered by OGrego (Winter's Dawn, Necrorgasm, Emerald). Album artwork by Stan-W Decker (Ross The Boss, Primal Fear, Masterplan).
1. Alliance
2. Fort Sumter
3. Die in a hole
4. Curse of Genevieve (reworked)
5. Future Secret
6. Operation Focus
Read more about Bloody Times to release new studio album "On a Mission" on January 11th 2019
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What is Barbershop? | Barbershop History | Chapter History
Recollections of a Founding Member
Maurie Allen
It was back in the fall of 1966 that about a dozen of us got together to explore the formation of our chapter. One member of our group was Dean Fischer, whose father Cecil had served as president of the Pioneer District of the barbershop society during the Fischer's residence in Grand Rapids. During his father's years of service to the district, Dean had become acquainted with two icons of northern Michigan barbershopping, Bob Tracy and Loton Wilson from the Boyne City Chapter. Since we needed a sponsoring chapter to pursue being chartered we reached out to Bob and Loton and within a few weeks the inaugural meeting was set.
The site of the meeting was the historic Park Place Hotel and our sponsors came armed with a portable phonograph and an armload of Decca barbershop records. Their enthusiasm and encouragement captivated an eager audience, and after a few days of aggressive recruiting our numbers swelled from 12 to 21, one more than needed to receive a temporary license to operate. Not long after, we were granted our official charter with 31 names on the dotted line and commenced planning for our first annual June Night of Harmony, held at Lars Hockstad Auditorium in 1967, and with a 3rd place international medalist quartet, The Sundowners, as our headliner.
Just as we were aggressive about establishing the annual June Night of Harmony, we also consistently attended Spring and Fall Conventions and contests, to hone our skills and gauge our progress. In fact we hosted our first district convention in 1971.
For the first several years our rehearsal space was the VFW Hall on the corner of Front and Oak. The second floor was a cavernous open space with hardwood floors, 18 foot ceilings and masonry walls which combined to enhance the ringing of barbershop chords to a very flattering level. In the basement of the VFW was a bar, which was very convenient for breaks, not so convenient for resuming practice. We have always considered breaks one of the critical components of a successful chapter meeting, but during this period of our history we were forced to add a Sergeant at Arms to our officer list whose sole responsibility was to clear the bar of tenors so that we could begin the second half.
Over the years membership has ebbed and flowed, at one time approaching 80 members and with the various interests of a group that size a lot of outside social activities developed including lots of camping, a golf tournament or two, and summer picnics, including quartet contests. One of our members, dearly
departed Ernie Richmond, fished all year and stockpiled enough perch for an annual fish fry.
From that historic first meeting in 1966, to our historic 50th Anniversary of the June Night of Harmony, literally hundreds of men have raised their voices in song to assure our mission of "Enriching Our Communities With Great Harmony And Good Works" is an unending mission. In 2017 our annual June Night of Harmony has morphed into a fall "Harvest of Harmony" which we present at Traverse City Central High School.
It's Great To Be A Barbershopper! In case you're wondering. It's never too late!
Stop by any Tueday Night, 7pm at the Presbyterian Church on Airport Access Rd. "You'll Be As Welcome As The Flowers In May"


Tauranga City Council has made a proposal for the first step towards eliminating poker machines in the city, as it is to review the policy which sets out the number and location of gambling venues which could be set up in Tauranga. The policy also sets out the number of pokies which can operate in the city.
Public consultations on the so-called Gambling Venues Policy 2019 are set to open on October 15th, with the entire community being given the chance to share their opinion at the City Council's website by November 16th.
In an attempt to reduce gambling addiction among local citizens, Tauranga City Council has proposed some changes to the policy, including a "sinking lid" approach, under which no new gambling facilities would be licensed and no more poker machines would be allowed to operate on the territory of the city. The Council has shared its belief that such a policy would make the number of venues and pokies decline over time, in case that some venues stop operating or decide to remove some of their machines. According to the City Council, the new sinking lid policy would end up helping it tackle problem gambling and gambling-related harm, especially in more disadvantaged areas.
Mr. Molloy further shared that the possible negative effects of gambling on the social and economic well-being of the local community could be really bad, despite the fact that some of the gambling-generated proceeds are being returned to the community as funding provided to the racing industry, sports clubs and community organisations.
Community and Culture Committee Chair Mr. Molloy has explained that the new sinking lid policy is supposed to make access to gambling more difficult but it would still allow people who want to take part in such activities to do so.
Currently, the number of poker machines allowed to operate in Tauranga amounts to one machine per 220 residents. This basically means that any increase in the population could lead to an increase in the number of places to gamble. Under the newly-proposed sinking lid approach, growth areas would not be given the chance to have gambling facilities unless an already existing venue gets relocated there.
The new approach would restrict the location where gambling venues are allowed to operate to certain industrial and commercial zones. The relocation, however, would be possible in case the commercial and industrial areas are situated at no less than 100 metres from residential zones which are considered more disadvantaged than others.
As explained above, the new sinking lid policy would allow venues to relocate with their poker machines to another place in case that they are forced to do so by reasons which they are unable to control.


There are literally billions, or perhaps even trillions, of websites spread across the World Wide Web these days. As such, it becomes utterly important to figure out how yours is going to get found among all those swarms of websites. Of course, the first thing that matters is certainly the contents you have available on your page.


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More nastiness from director Nicolas Winding Refn. It's painful to watch Ryan Gosling sleepwalk through this horrible mess. High camp: pure crap. No no no.
Brilliant German silent film by a master at the top of his game: F.W. Murnau.
Ricky Gervais's BBC4 TV mini-series brought to us via Netflix. It's good, mainly because of Kerry Godliman. Kinda funny, ends well: yes!
Michael Haneke's (Caché) highly acclaimed bleak portrait of an aging couple; it's French, and the performances are good, but is it a pleasure to watch? No.
Taika Waititi's sweet coming of age dramedy, set in 1984, about a motherless impoverished New Zealand child coping with the return of his absentee / recently paroled father. Beautiful, loved it, but not subtitled and the accents are charming, but dense: put your headphones on for this one!
http://boythefilm.com/
Bromantic Norwegian comedy about an autistic man and his simple-minded sex-obsessed roommate: yes!
Yes yes yes: I love everything about it!
http://www.magpictures.com/aroyalaffair/
Huge hit in France, (probably soon to be remade by Hollywood) starring the incredibly charismatic Omar Sy. Awkward social situation, but funny, and touching: yes.
http://weinsteinco.com/sites/the-intouchables/#
THE CHILD (L'ENFANT)
Jérémie Renier and Déborah François are two young messed-up parents in this gritty Dardenne Bros. Palm d'Or film: when's the last time you watched a movie without music? Yes, yes, yes.
http://www.sonyclassics.com/thechild/
FREE MEN (LES HOMMES LIBRES)
Tahar Rahim portrays a fictitious Algerian black marketeer turned resistance fighter in Nazi occupied Paris. Loosely based on the life of Paris Mosque rector Si Kaddour Benghabrit (Michael Lonas,) and Algerian/Moroccan/Jewish singer Salim Halali. Yes.


Gary List, co-chair of the Edible Applications Technology (EAT) 3 Session, provides a summary of the nine presentations by leaders in the field that focused on innovative technologies for trans fat reduction in shortening and oils. Gary also contributed two chapters in the recent AOCS Press title, Trans Fats Replacement Solutions. In one chapter, List offers specific information on trans fats replacement solutions for frying and baking applications, as well as solutions for shortenings, margarines, and spreads. In his second chapter, List provides an overview of replacement solutions in North America. Both chapters have an extensive list of references.
Over the past decade the industry made substantial progress in providing trans-fat replacements for the food industry in order to meet nutrition labeling requirements mandated by the Food and Drug Administration. (FDA). Among these are the reemergence of the trait modified oil industry which now furnish about 20% of domestic oil needs. This has occurred through the efforts of government industrial, and academic scientists over about a 25 year time frame.
The time honored oil processing methods have been modified to provide trans-fat replacements for the baking and food service sectors. Examples include enzymatic interesterfication, modified hydrogenation, fractionation, and blending. By 2005 most foods had been reformulated to meet FDA requirements and by 2012 a substantial number were reduced to 0.2 gms TFA/serving including food groups previously high in trans fats.
However in late 2013 the FDA announced plans to remove partially hydrogenated oils from the generally regarded as safe (GRAS) list. This leaves the future of catalytic hydrogenation as a fat modification tool in serious jeopardy despite a pronounced reduction in use.
Thus it seemed appropriate to review the progress made in trans-fat reduction in shortening and oils. Perhaps the biggest challenge in reducing trans-fats occurred in the baking industry. Roger Daniels described his research as "Form Follows Function". Since baking shortenings perform many functions trans-fat replacements must perform as well as the product they are replacing. Studies conducted on trans free palm based and interesterified shortenings confirmed that excellent performance in cookies, cakes and pie crusts were achieved.
Susan Knowlton described the performance of trait modified soybean oils in food applications. Trait modified soy oils have evolved from low linolenic to mid and high oleic lines. Through traditional plant breeding these oils are characterized by reduced polyunsaturates and increased monounsaturated fatty acids. As such trait modified oils are much more stable than the parent commodity oil. Trait modified oils serve well in deep fat frying operations. Other applications for trait modified soy oils include spray oils, pan and griddle frying as well as in snack foods.
Dietary fats continue to be of great interest because of potential adverse health and nutritional effects. Ed Hunter reviewed recent studies on the role of stearic acid in blood lipids. A careful review showed that stearic acid is neutral in elevating LDL levels. This observation shows that the use of interesterified and full hydrogenated fats pose little risk in elevating LDL levels.
Modified hydrogenation represents a possible low-trans option for food use. Neil Higgins showed that the use of chemically modified nickel catalysts coupled with increased pressure and lower temperature resulted in a drastic reduction in trans-fat suitable for baking shortenings.
Although plant breeding has been useful in bringing trait modified oils to commercialization the use of biotechnology in combination with plant breeding has proven to be another option. Jerry Heise described applications of biotechnology for several soybean lines. A low saturate high oleic oil is a no trans/low saturate (6%) product that performs well in deep fat frying and other food service applications. Omega -3 oils are of great interest because they are precursors to EPA and DHA needed for prostaglandin synthesis. Commodity soy contains about 7-8% omega 3 acids. Through biotechnology an enriched omega -3 oil was developed and in the final stages of commercialization.
Palm /palm kernel oils offer numerous possibilities for trans-fat replacements. Gerry McNeill described the latest in alternatives to hydrogenation through use of tropical oils. Through fractionation, interesterification, hydrogenation and blending tropical fats have proven to be versatile and functional in baking applications.
Sunflower oil is an old crop that has undergone considerable improvement. Monoj Gupta traced the history and food uses of sunflower oil that culminated with NUSUN through the efforts of USDA Scientists and Archer Daniel Midland. NUSUN is a mid-oleic oil and is highly suitable in frying and snack foods. Other sunflower oils include the high linoleic and high oleic varieties. Supply and the higher costs have been factors in expansion of the sunflower oil industry.
The food service industry is a major user of fats and oils. David Booher described the performance of trait modified canola oil in food service applications. Canola oils commercially available include low linolenic, high and mid oleic lines. The latter perform well in food service for frying, as spray oils and for pan /griddle use.
Although chemical interesterification is an old fat modification technology, the use of enzymes has only been commercialized in the past 10 years. Tom Tiffany reviewed the applications of the enzyme technology for production of baking fats along with performance data for cookies, cakes, and pies. These products were compared against hydrogenated shortenings and found to compare well.
Have a summary of a session you attended or chaired? Send AOCS an email to tips@aocs.org and we will post it!


It's velvety and smooth and rich and with less than a quarter of the cream and less butter than classic Alfredo sauce. So not only does it taste amazing, but you won't even miss the cream or butter!
If you're a fan of savory pumpkin recipes, you are going to LOVE this Pumpkin Alfredo!
I am a huge fan of Alfredo, but I usually avoid it since it's definitely an indulgence. The classic sauce calls for 2 cups of cream and a whole stick of butter (yikes!). This Pumpkin Alfredo uses only two-thirds of a cup of half and half (half milk, half cream) and 6 tablespoons of butter. The addition of the pumpkin give a velvety smooth texture of the cream, without the fat and calories. Since pumpkin has such a neutral taste it's the perfect substitution, which is why I'm always on the hunt for new pumpkin recipes!
This dish makes about 4 servings and its perfect for company or just when you need an easy weeknight meal this fall.
For all pasta recipes, go HERE, for all dinner recipes go HERE and for the Recipe Index go HERE.
Hi 🙂 I'm just wondering what the ingredient 'half and half' is? Two kinds of cheese?
It's a dairy product that you can find with the heavy cream. Half & Half refers to a product that is half milk and half cream.
Creamy pumpkin alfredo is delicious! I used pumpkin pie Purée instead of regular pumpkin purée it gave it a sweet note! My family loved it!
Creamy pumpkin Alfredo is delicious! I used pumpkin pie purée instead of regular pumpkin purée it gave it a sweet note to it! The family loved it!
Great idea Elyse,Thanks for sharing your feedback.
Great alternative, thanks for sharing. I used my own home processed pumpkin!
Thanks for sharing! Do you think it would pair well with any other veggies if I were to put some in? Any thoughts on which ones?
I think something on the sweeter side, like carrots, would work well.
I am addicted to this stuff! I have made it so many times I have the recipe memorized! Only changes I make are to use milk instead of pasta water to thin it to desired consistency, and add in some white pepper, and a bit more nutmeg than it calls for (personal preference). I don't bother mixing the pasta in the sauce, just divide into bowls regularly. Love serving it with some grilled chicken!
Thanks for your feedback, Kate! Love that you are loving this recipe!
This was a little "pumpkin-y" for our taste the first night, but by the time I had the leftovers for lunch the next day the flavors had blended and the pumpkin was less overpowering. The recipe seems to need a bit more flavor – maybe a few more cloves of garlic and some sage.
I couldn't find anything that specifically said "pumpkin purée"… is it okay to just a can of "pure pumpkin"?
Looks delicious I am trying it this week ! How much pumpkin does it need? What size can ? I might even try to make it with homemade pumpkin puree just wondering how much is needed. Thank you so much can't wait to try it!
The recipe calls for 1 cup of canned pumpkin. The smallest cans are usually 15 ounces so you would use some and then you could freeze the rest for use in another recipe.
I made with Penne, increased the sauce by about 30% & finished in a baking dish w/ parm grated on top to make a crust (used more than 1/2 cup as to cover). Didn't need long in oven and stayed creamy. Perfect for a fall/Thanksgiving buffet!
This was amazing! I made it exactly as directed. My husband grumbled when I told him what I was making but he loved it and went back for seconds.
It's a half milk/half cream combination. You can find it in the dairy section with the milk and creamers.
Some winter veggies, like broccoli or Brussels sprouts would be great. Or add chicken and make it a complete meal just with the pasta!
I never have cream or half & half on hand; would using 2/3 cup milk ruin the creaminess?
The cheese you're adding will help with that. I have personally used just milk for regular alfredo so I think you'll be fine. You could always add a couple tablespoons of cream cheese if you happen to have that on hand.
I would like to make this but i can't find pumpkin puree anywhere, would a good pumpkin soup be ok to use?
No you'd want to use the canned pumpkin. It's usually available in the baking aisle with the pie making products. You just want to make sure it's not pie filling.
Can i use a good pumpkin soup to make this recipe as i can't find pumpkin puree anywhere?
We lived this recipe! I increased the pumkin and Parmesan to make it a little heartier! Very tasty!
How much cheese? Should it read 1/2 C?
I would like to make this for a pot luck at work, but there is no stove there. So could I make the sauce for the pumpkin alfredo and keep it in a a crock pot on warm? And reheat cooked noodles in microwave. I like to bring healthy and yummy if I can and this looks and sounds so good.
Hi Edythe, You could try it, but Alfredo sauce is cream based and really doesn't reheat well. You could try making it and bringing extra cream to add as you reheat it…but it still might curdle.
To Edythe about bringing it in the crock pot, I think mixing everything but the cream and adding that at work would be OK. Maybe heat it a little in the microwave or a little before serving. You can add some milk/water at work too. What do you think Kristin?
I'm very cautious about pasta in the crockpot. I think it could work as a reheated dish and adding the cream and cheese later, but then it might not melt properly.
I was wondering because it didnt specify if the pumpkins is puree cooked or purée raw?
It's the canned puree. You can find it in the baking aisle.


text:
Franciaország
Saint-Honoré, település Isère megyében
Saint-Honoré, település Seine-Maritime megyében

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
Q: InputProcessor NullPointerException I'm working on game, using LibGDX and have some problems with Input Processor. Wnen I launch my game and press Right button it crashes with NullPointerException
@Override
public boolean keyDown(int keycode) {
    if (keycode == Input.Keys.RIGHT && player.b2body.getLinearVelocity().x <=0.5) {
        player.b2body.applyLinearImpulse(new Vector2(0.1f, 0), player.b2body.getWorldCenter(),true);
        return true;
    }
    return false;
}

public  void update (float dt) {

        world.step(1/10f,6,2);
        player.update(dt);
       // handleInput(dt);

        MyInputProcessor inputProcessor = new MyInputProcessor();
        Gdx.input.setInputProcessor(inputProcessor);
        if(player.b2body.getPosition().x>=SonicZP.V_WIDTH/2/SonicZP.PPM)
        gamecam.position.x = player.b2body.getPosition().x;

        if(player.b2body.getPosition().y>=SonicZP.V_HEIGHT/2/SonicZP.PPM)
            gamecam.position.y = player.b2body.getPosition().y;
        gamecam.update();

            renderer.setView(gamecam);
    }

A: MyInputProcessor inputProcessor = new MyInputProcessor();
Gdx.input.setInputProcessor(inputProcessor);

Should be placed in your show()-method in your Game class that extends Screen.

A: It looks like your class extends Screen and implements InputProcessor.
You should remove
MyInputProcessor inputProcessor = new MyInputProcessor();
Gdx.input.setInputProcessor(inputProcessor);

from you render(). Btw, this should NEVER be in render().
Instead in your show() set:
Gdx.input.setInputProcessor(this);

since the class you are in implements InputProcessor and IS your InputProcessor.


Recently, I had the opportunity to spend some time in conversation with the author of SitzImLeben.com, Brandon Wason. Brandon will begin is PhD work at Emory this fall and is highly intersted in Christian origins and New Testament studies. Take a few minutes and drop-in on our conversation; I'm sure you will enjoy it, just as I did. When you're done, be sure to visit Brandon's blog.
Michael: Brandon, thanks for agreeing to chat with me for a few minutes, I anticipate that this will be quite fun. I was wondering if, to begin, you could set the context for the rest of the conversation by sharing some of your personal background?
Brandon: Thank you, Michael. I appreciate the experience! Well, I'm originally from California and have spent most of my time there. I was not into academics very much during high school, mostly just skateboarding and basketball, but after graduating high school I started becoming more involved in church and started reading more books on the bible and related subjects in order to teach small groups, etc. Actually studying books on the bible really intrigued me and I started reading more technical books and decided that I should go to college and major in bible or theology. I ended up majoring in classics after reading F. F. Bruce's autobiography and that is sort of the very short version of how I became interested in academics.
Michael: For those who haven't read Bruce's autobiography or may not know exactly who he is, could you say a little bit about it and why you think it influenced you in the way that it did?
Brandon: F. F. Bruce (1910-1990) was a leading evangelical, biblical scholar. Since I participated in an evangelical church, his writings were well known to me. He's written a ton of commentaries on the New Testament and various books about the nature of the NT writings, its history and its theology. But what made him so popular, I think, is that he was very accessible to people just getting their feet wet in this field of study, like me. I rated his opinion very highly and so when he talked about his experience as a "classics" scholar, that made me consider majoring in it for myself. Of course, I had to make up for the lack of studying Judaism and theology when I came to seminary. Still, his book was very formative for me, in fact, you can read my thoughts about it here: 5 Influential Books.
Michael: I find it quite intriguing that it was someone's autobiography that pointed you in the direction of what sort of school to attend in your pursuit of biblical academics. It seems clear to me (and others perhaps) that academic texts are still a major influence in your life. To see this, one needs look no further than your blog actually, which brims with information on books. So, can you say a little bit about your blog and why you started it?
Brandon: I had originally started a blog back in the summer 2005 called Novum Testamentum Blog. It was just me at the beginning, but some time later I opened it up to other authors. I enjoyed the blog immensely and it opened up many avenues of discussion and fostered many friendships. But as things became more and more busy as at seminary, it became increasingly difficult to maintain and eventually, it suffered a slow death. Nevertheless, I continued to follow many biblioblogs and continued to do the biblioblogs.com website with Jim West and John Hobbins. It had always been my intention to get back to blogging and so, I finally did this summer and already, I've found it very worthwhile. Since reading academic books is such a large part of my life now, it naturally becomes a focus of the site. Still, I hope that it remains only one aspect of the blog because if it were just about books, well I imagine that it will become quite boring.
Michael: The name of your new site is Sitz im Leben, is there a story behind that title?
Brandon: Broadly speaking, the German phrase Sitz im Leben refers to original context of a situation. It's a term that is widely used in biblical studies and it loosely describes what my blog is about: getting back to the first-century origins of Christianity. To be sure, it's not that my posts focus heavily on form criticism—they do not, though I do talk about those things here and there—but really I was just surprised that the domain name sitzimleben.com was still available.
Michael: Speaking of life settings and origins, so far, you have shared a few things about the origins of the faith & academic spheres of your life. What are your ultimate academic endeavors and where do you hope all this study leads?
Brandon: Originally I became interested in this field because I thought it would be wonderful to teach the bible, but I soon also became very interested in the research side of things as well. Because, ideally, I'd like to teach in a seminary environment in the future (although, I wouldn't mind teaching at a secular institution either), I decided to attend Candler School of Theology at Emory University. I am very grateful that I will be able to stay at Emory and finish my doctoral studies here as well. Without a doubt, I think that it is a great school for the academic side of New Testament studies, but also one that has a mind toward the church. So, when I will be finished in about five years, the plan is to be able to teach this material at a school that is a healthy environment for both teaching and research. As far as specifics, that's just too hard to know at this point.
Michael: Following up on your comments, let me ask: What advice would you give to budding scholars or those who have a desire to teach in biblical higher education some day?
Michael: A moment ago, you mentioned "specifics" about your future as a teacher being a little uncertain. Would it be appropriate to ask if you have any specific "research topics" that you are considering doing dissertation work on or is that a subject that is still being mulled over?
Brandon: I recently wrote my MTS thesis on the Eucharist in the Didache and I continue to be very fascinated by that document. I may or may not do more work on the Didache during my graduate career but I do plan to write more on it in the future. One of my main areas of interest has been Luke-Acts and Emory is one of the best places to study this. I've already taken a few courses on Luke-Acts during my master's degree but I plan on doing more work in this area. I have a few ideas on the table for dissertation topics but I haven't decided on anything concrete yet, or who my advisors will be. I think they give a little bit of time to figure those things out while in the program. So we'll see.
Michael: Your fascination with the Didache piques my own interest. Can you say a little more for my readers about what the Didache is and why you have such an interest in it?
Brandon: Thanks for asking. Actually, I'm going to be starting a short blog series on the Didache. Basically, the Didache (or, the Teaching of the Twelve Apostles) was an early Christian church handbook. It probably dates to around 100 C.E. or earlier and reflects some segments of the early church that we do not find in the New Testament. Nevertheless, it has a very "biblical" feel to it. The first major section is an adaptation of a Jewish "Two Ways" tractate (also included at the end of the Epistle of Barnabas), which describes the way of life and the way of death. The Didache further talks about early Christian rituals such as fasting, prayer, baptism, church leadership and the Eucharist. Given all of this, one can easily see how this document is important.
Michael: Moving from the Didache to biblical scholarship in general, what would you say are the two most important discussions happening among biblical scholars today?
Brandon: Michael, that's a good question but a difficult one to answer. First, I would say that the role of the "theological" interpretation of scripture within the academy is fairly important since it seems that the academy and the church's use of scripture have two separate, although, equally important agendas. This isn't a discussion that I've been involved in much myself but I am curious how this discussion will pan out and what ultimate role the "theological" approach will play in our field. Second, I would probably say that rhetorical criticism is an important discussion currently taking place. It seems like a lot of people are taking a stab at it but there aren't many set rules for doing rhetorical criticism, so, it often ends up looking a little like the Wild West. I think those participating in the Rhetoric of Religious Antiquity group at SBL are making some good progress but, again, the field is still very open-ended.
Michael: I know you said you weren't up to snuff on all the conversations taking place regarding the theological interpretation of scripture, but do you think you have any significant contributions to make to the dialogues surrounding rhetorical criticism? If so, would you mind sharing one or two?
Brandon: Like I said, there are a number of different ways of looking at a text through rhetorical criticism. Betz and Kennedy have paved much of the way but personally, I find the use of judicial, epideictic and deliberative species of rhetoric more applicable to the Greek citystate than the early Christian situation. Paul, after all, was probably not a trained rhetorician. I took a directed studies course on rhetorical criticism with Vernon Robbins and I like his approach of utilizing earlier Jewish discourse to inform the discussion of the six different types of Christian rhetorical dialects: prophetic, priestly, miracle, apocalyptic, pre-creation, and wisdom. So, I generally try to think in terms of those categories. Of course, that leaves the question open of how to utilize other forms of Greco-Roman rhetoric such as the progymnasmata, which I think are important, but still, I think we need to do more work in the field to know exactly how they relate to NT discourse.
Michael: Thanks for those insights; I think you make some great points there, points we could surely talk about for a while! However, we'll start to bring this to a close now. Let me just inquire about one more thing, it's a question that I ask everyone I interview: If you could own just one book (along with the Bible), what would it be and why?
Brandon: Another good, but difficult question, Michael. Recently it was asked on my blog which "one book" I would choose on the Historical Jesus and my answer was Schweitzer's Quest of the Historical Jesus but that certainly wouldn't be my answer here. Instead, I might choose an edition of the Apostolic Fathers because that, in addition to the Bible, has been influential on my thinking about the early Church and is often a good source of devotion. Otherwise I might choose BDAG so I can read my Greek new testament better. But I can't imagine being in such a situation and I certainly hope it never arises.
Michael: Great answer! Brandon, thanks again for taking the time to interview. I enjoyed the conversation immensely and hope that those reading got to know you a little better, just as I did!
Brandon: Thanks Michael, it's been fun chatting and I always enjoy the conversations we have. All the best!
Again, if you get the chance, head over to Brandon's site and check out some of his work. You can go there directly by clicking the following link: SitzImLeben.com.