Quit Being So Difficult

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />Hola y’all! You know what really annoys me? The new trend here in Redneckville of people in Walmart walking along beside their cart holding onto the side of it and pulling it along with them. Way to take up the whole fucking isle assholes. Anyway, that’s not what I’m talking about today. I’m gonna talk about the annoying habit people have of acting as it they’re entitled to a different cuisine every night. Here’s a hypothetical type situation to show you what I mean…<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfiakxdsvEk31hZ4cgRX5Wanmcxp5af5ntIqeHkAQ4npO4mUHZJblr9ccn-LLFwyK0S4Y2QQAzJyant4pQ214x7RQADm992-JjqBY_qjc1sGEDvEDCzOqsaTM-7asz3Qp2e0EQ0E9XXtI/s1600/Hot+Asian+Hooters+Babes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfiakxdsvEk31hZ4cgRX5Wanmcxp5af5ntIqeHkAQ4npO4mUHZJblr9ccn-LLFwyK0S4Y2QQAzJyant4pQ214x7RQADm992-JjqBY_qjc1sGEDvEDCzOqsaTM-7asz3Qp2e0EQ0E9XXtI/s320/Hot+Asian+Hooters+Babes.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><b>Me:</b> Hey! Let’s get some dinner?<br /><b>Friend: </b>Sure, sounds great.<br /><b>Me:</b> What do you want?<br /><b>Friend: </b>Oh anything is cool with me. Just whatever.<br /><b>Me: </b>Okay, how ‘bout Chinese?<br /><b>Friend: </b>Yeah, I don’t really like Chinese.<br /><b>Me: </b>Why didn’t you say so?<br /><b>Friend: </b>I didn’t think you’d suggest Chinese.<br /><b>Me: </b>But, you could have said “Anything but Chinese.”<br /><b>Friend: </b>I just thought I’d roll the dice on that one.<br /><b>Me: </b>Okay, not problem. How ‘bout burgers?<br /><b>Friend: </b>I had a burger last night.<br /><br />Now, this is when things get really dicey. When did we become so damn spoiled that we simply will not have the same thing two days in a row? Are we THAT entitled? Do we have some God-given right to have a variety in our meals and never have to double up? What’s worse is that people who do this have never think twice about having leftovers the next day at home or grabbing a cold slice of pizza from the night before and having it for breakfast. Why pretend to be so pretentious about this shit with your friends?<br /><br />And just because you had Mexican last night doesn’t mean you can’t have Mexican tonight! So you had a quesadilla yesterday? Big deal! Have chimichanga today. What’s so difficult about that? Mexicans have Mexican food almost every single day. They don’t bitch about it.<br /><br />Or maybe you had Eggplant Parmigiana last night. Have the Chicken Marsala tonight! It won’t hurt you. It’ll be delicious. Italians do shit like this all the time. And, like Mexicans, they don’t bitch about it either, which is amazing because Italians pretty much bitch about everything.<br /><br />Hell, A BILLION Chinese have Chinese food two or three times a day, every single day of their lives. They don’t DEMAND something different every night. They don’t ask to mix it up and not have the same thing twice in a row, or twice in a week. Hell, I could have Peking Duck several nights in a row without any complaint whatsoever. Love the crispy skin!<br /><br />Basically people, if someone asks where you want to go for lunch, don’t say “Oh anywhere you want is fine with me” if it isn’t. See, despite my love of Asian women, I’m not a fan of Chinese food. So, if I’m asked if I have a preference, I’ll say “Anything but Chinese is great” because it is. But, if they don’t ask for a preference and they go to a Chinese place, I will be able to find something I can live with and won’t complain. That’s just the considerate kind of guy I am.<br /><br />Of course, there’s another annoying person in this situation too. I’m talking about the guy who says “Hey let’s go to breakfast (or lunch or dinner), I’m paying. Wherever you want to go is good with me dude.” And then you get someplace and he’s like “Damn, this is a pretty expensive place. I was thinking Waffle House instead of Bob Evans.”<br /><br />Don’t be either of these people y’all. Just suck it up, order something yummy and have fun assholes.<br /><br />Jayman<br /><a href="mailto:Jayman3768@gmail.com">Jayman3768@gmail.com</a><br /><a href="http://www.twitter.com/jayman_iws" target="_blank">@Jayman_IWS </a><br /><br /></div>

Quit Being So Difficult

Hola y’all! You know what really annoys me? The new trend here in Redneckville of people in Walmart walking along beside their cart holding ...

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Study: We overestimate how much medicine can do - Washington Post

<base href="data:"><div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; color: black; text-align: left; " class=""><div style="border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-family: georgia; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 22px; padding-left: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.5em; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 15px; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); position: static; z-index: auto; " class="">Between 2003 and 2005, a team of researchers at Harvard asked over 1,000 cancer patients about their expectations for chemotherapy.</div><div style="border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-family: georgia; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 22px; padding-left: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.5em; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 15px; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); " class="">All patients surveyed had received a diagnosis of metastatic lung cancer or colorectal cancer four months earlier. These are some of the most difficult-to-treat conditions. Medical research says that, in these extremely challenging cases, chemotherapy can extend life by weeks or months but it is very unlikely to provide a cure.</div><div style="border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-family: georgia; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 22px; padding-left: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.5em; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 15px; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); position: static; z-index: auto; " class="">That's what the science tells us — but that's not what most late-stage cancer patients believed. The majority who elected to have chemotherapy believed there was a chance it would do something it wouldn't: Namely, provide a cure.</div><div style="border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-family: georgia; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 22px; padding-left: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.5em; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 15px; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); " class="">Sixty-nine percent of lung cancer patients and 81 percent of colorectal cancer patients gave responses "that were not consistent with understanding that chemotherapy was very unlikely to cure their cancer," the researchers <a href="http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa1204410#t=articleDiscussion" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-decoration: underline; " class="">report</a> in this week's New England Journal of Medicine.</div><div style="border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-family: georgia; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 22px; padding-left: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.5em; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 15px; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); position: static; z-index: auto; " class="">"I was really surprised," says lead study author Jane Weeks, a professor at Harvard Medical School. "Prior studies have suggested maybe a third of patients don't understand. Those studies are done in the optimal setting though, and this was the first to look at a big population. I thought the numbers were disturbingly high." </div><div style="border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-family: georgia; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 22px; padding-left: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.5em; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 15px; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); " class="">The most surprising finding in this study, though, might come from when the researchers looked at what the patients' thought of their doctors. The survey asked about how good their oncologists were at communicating about treatment.</div><div style="border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-family: georgia; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 22px; padding-left: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.5em; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 15px; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); " class="">Patients who rated their doctors as the very best communicators, the most open and honest, were the most likely to have the unrealistic, inaccurate expectations.</div><div style="border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-family: georgia; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 22px; padding-left: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.5em; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 15px; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); " class="">"This suggests that patients perceive physicians as better communicators when they convey a more optimistic view of chemotherapy," the authors conclude. "Similarly, the finding that patients, especially those with colorectal cancer, who were treated in integrated networks were somewhat more likely to understand that chemotherapy is not curative suggests that providers may be able to improve patients' understanding if they feel it is part of their professional role."</div><div style="border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-family: georgia; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 22px; padding-left: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.5em; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 15px; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); " class="">In a weird way, the health-care law may encourage doctors to make a rosier prognosis than the medical evidence warrants. Beginning this month, <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10000872396390443890304578010264156073132.html" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-decoration: underline; " class="">the health-care law tethers some hospital payments to patients' rankings of their hospital experience</a>. The whole idea is to improve the patient's hospital stay. If patients are happier, the thinking goes, they're probably getting higher quality care. </div><div style="border-top-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; font-family: georgia; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; outline-width: 0px; outline-style: initial; outline-color: initial; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 22px; padding-left: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 1.5em; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 15px; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); position: static; z-index: auto; " class="">"This is a cautionary tale," Weeks says. "I think everybody agrees that satisfaction alone is an incomplete measure of quality. It doesn't give you the whole story. I think this is an example of that."</div></div><a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/ezra-klein/wp/2012/10/25/study-we-overestimate-how-much-medicine-can-do/?print=1" class="">http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/ezra-klein/wp/2012/10/25/study-we-overestimate-how-much-medicine-can-do/?print=1</a><div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; color: black; text-align: left; " class=""><br class="webkit-block-placeholder"></div>

Study: We overestimate how much medicine can do - Washington Post

Between 2003 and 2005, a team of researchers at Harvard asked over 1,000 cancer patients about their expectations for chemotherapy. All pati...

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Senior Internal Auditor (SOX/Operational auditing , Internal/General Audit Exp) (#108641)

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><!-- Converted from text/rtf format --> <br /><div dir="LTR"><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"><b></b></span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">Position</span></b></span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"></span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">:</span></span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"></span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"> <span style="font-family: Arial;">Senior Internal Auditor</span></span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"></span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"><br /> </span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"><b></b></span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">Location</span></b></span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"></span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">: Milpitas, CA</span></span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"></span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"><br /> </span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"><b></b></span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">Duration</span></b></span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"></span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">: Full time</span></span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"></span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"><br /> <br /> </span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"><b></b></span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">Job Description</span></b></span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"><b></b></span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">:</span></b></span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"></span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"><br /> </span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"><b></b></span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">Responsibilities:</span></b></span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"></span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"><br /> </span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"></span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">1) Maintaining all organizational and professional ethical standards. Works independently under general supervision with considerable latitude for initiative and independent judgment.</span></span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"></span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"><br /> </span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"></span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">2) Supports the development of the annual risk assessment and provides input to the development of the Annual Audit Plan.</span></span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"></span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"><br /> </span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"></span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">3) Conducting and documenting audits of key internal controls (SOX 404) and key operational processes</span></span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"></span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: Arial;">.<br /> </span></span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">4) Performing audit procedures, including</span></span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">:          <br />          + Designing audit program<br />          + Conducting interviews, reviewing documents, and preparing working papers<br />          + Reviewing and analyzing evidence and documenting processes and procedures<br />          + Identifying, developing, and documenting audit issues and recommendations</span></span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: Arial;">.<br /> </span></span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"></span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">5) Communicating or assist in communicating the results of audit projects via written reports and/or oral presentations to management.</span></span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"></span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"><br /> </span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"></span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">6) Working with divisional and functional management to develop and implement practical solutions to address audit findings.</span></span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"></span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"><br /> </span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"></span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">7) Pursuing professional development opportunities, including external and internal training and professional association memberships, and shares information gained with co-workers.</span></span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"></span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"><br /> <br /> </span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"><b></b></span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">Preferred Qualifications:</span></b></span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"><b></b></span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"><b><br /> </b></span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"></span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">1) Candidate must have BS/BA degree in Accounting or Finance; certification as a CIA /CISA /CPA is highly preferred.</span></span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"></span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"><br /> </span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"></span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">2) Candidate must have a minimum of 2-4 years audit experience. Experience with the Big 4 audit firms or in similar internal audit roles in large organizations highly preferred.</span></span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"></span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"><br /> </span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"></span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">3) Considerable knowledge of and skill in applying internal auditing and accounting principles and practices.</span></span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"></span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"><br /> </span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"></span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">4) Considerable skill in planning and project management, and in maintaining composure under pressure while meeting multiple deadlines.</span></span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"></span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"><br /> </span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"></span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">5) Considerable skill in effective verbal and written communications, including interviewing skills and presenting findings and recommendations.</span></span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"></span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"><br /> </span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"></span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">6) Skill in negotiating issues and resolving problems.</span></span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"></span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"><br /> </span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"></span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">7) Candidate must be a self-starter and be objective and work independently.</span></span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"><b></b></span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"><b><br /> <br /> </b></span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"><b></b></span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">Minimum Qualifications:</span></b></span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"></span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"><br /> </span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"></span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Bachelor's Level Degree with at least 5 years of experience.</span></span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"></span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"><br /> </span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"></span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">OR</span></span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"></span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"><br /> </span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"></span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Master's Level Degree with at least 4 years of experience.</span></span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"></span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"><br /> <br /> </span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Kindly send your resumes to</span></span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"> </span><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="mailto:sivaram.bose@kla-tencor.com"><span lang="en-us"><u><span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial;">sivaram.bose@kla-tencor.com</span></u></span></a></span></div></div>

Senior Internal Auditor (SOX/Operational auditing , Internal/General Audit Exp) (#108641)

Position : Senior Internal Auditor Location : Milpitas, CA Duration : Full time Job Description : Responsibilities: 1) Main...

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Internal Auditor (SOX 404, Internal/General Audit, Planning, CPA) (#108696)

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><!-- Converted from text/rtf format --> <br /><div dir="LTR"><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"><b></b></span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">Position</span></b></span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"></span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">: Internal Auditor<br /> </span></span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"><b></b></span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">Location</span></b></span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"></span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">: Milpitas, CA<br /> </span></span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"><b></b></span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">Duration</span></b></span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"></span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">: Full time</span></span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"></span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"><br /> <br /> </span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"><b></b></span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">Job Description</span></b></span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"></span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">:</span></span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"></span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"><br /> </span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"><b></b></span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">Responsibilities:</span></b></span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"></span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"><br /> </span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"></span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">1) Maintaining all organizational and professional ethical standards. Works independently under general supervision with latitude for initiative and independent judgment.</span></span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"></span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"><br /> </span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"></span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">2) Supports the development of the annual risk assessment and provides input to the development of the Annual Audit Plan.</span></span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"></span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"><br /> </span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"></span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">3) Conducts and documents audits of key internal controls (SOX 404) and key operational processes</span></span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"></span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"><br /> </span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">4) Performs operational audit procedures, including:</span></span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><br />          + Designing audit program<br />          + Conducting interviews, reviewing documents, and preparing working papers<br />          + Reviewing and analyzing evidence and documenting processes and procedures<br />          + Identifying, developing, and documenting audit issues and recommendations</span></span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: Arial;">.<br /> </span></span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"></span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">5) Communicates or assists in communicating the results of audit projects via written reports and/or oral presentations to management.</span></span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"></span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"><br /> </span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"></span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">6) Works with divisional and functional management to develop and implement practical solutions to address audit findings.</span></span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"></span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"><br /> </span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"></span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">7) Pursues professional development opportunities, including external and internal training and professional association memberships, and shares information gained with co-workers.</span></span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"></span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"><br /> <br /> </span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"><b></b></span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">Preferred Qualifications:</span></b></span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"></span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"><br /> </span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"></span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">1) Candidate must have BS/BA degree in Accounting or Finance; certification as a CIA /CISA /CPA is highly preferred.</span></span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"></span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"><br /> </span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"></span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">2) Candidate must have a minimum of 1-3 years audit experience. Experience with the Big 4 audit firms or in similar internal audit roles in large organizations highly preferred.</span></span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"></span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"><br /> </span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"></span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">3) Knowledge of and skill in applying internal auditing and accounting principles and practices.</span></span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"></span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"><br /> </span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"></span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">4) Strong skills in planning and project management, and in maintaining composure under pressure while meeting multiple deadlines.</span></span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"></span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"><br /> </span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"></span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">5) Effective verbal and written communications, including interviewing skills and presenting findings and recommendations.</span></span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"></span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"><br /> </span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"></span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">6) Skill in negotiating issues and resolving problems.</span></span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"></span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"><br /> </span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"></span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">7) Candidate must be a self-starter, be objective and work independently.</span></span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"><b></b></span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"><b><br /> <br /> </b></span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"><b></b></span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial;">Minimum Qualifications:</span></b></span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"></span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"><br /> </span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"></span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Bachelor's Level Degree with at least 2-3 years of experience, or equivalent.</span></span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"></span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"><br /> </span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"></span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">OR</span></span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"></span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"><br /> </span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"></span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Master's Level Degree with at least 1-3 years of experience, or equivalent.</span></span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"></span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"><br /> <br /> </span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Kindly send your resumes to</span></span><span lang="en-us" style="font-size: small;"> </span><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="mailto:sivaram.bose@kla-tencor.com"><span lang="en-us"><u><span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial;">sivaram.bose@kla-tencor.com</span></u></span></a></span></div></div>

Internal Auditor (SOX 404, Internal/General Audit, Planning, CPA) (#108696)

Position : Internal Auditor Location : Milpitas, CA Duration : Full time Job Description : Responsibilities: 1) Maintaining ...

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Substitute Children’s Librarian - Russell Library, Middletown

<strong>Substitute Children’s Librarian -</strong> <span style="color: #48286d;"><strong>Russell Library, Middletown</strong></span>. Join an exciting and energized Children’s Services Team. Russell Library needs qualified substitutes for our busy Children’s Department. You will be actively involved in reader’s advisory and reference and occasionally assist with programming. Applicants must have a Master’s Degree in Library Science and a genuine desire to work with children of all ages. Strong reference and reader’s advisory skills and comfort with a variety of computer software programs are required, as is knowledge of children’s literature and child development in terms of age-appropriate activities and behaviors. Hourly pay rate: $25.39. Applications are available at: <a _fcksavedurl="http://russelllibrary.org/about_us/employment.html" href="http://russelllibrary.org/about_us/employment.html" target="_blank">http://russelllibrary.org/about_us/employment.html</a>. Submit applications by email (or in hard copy) by <span style="color: red;">November 23, 2012</span> to: Arthur S. Meyers, Director, Russell Library, <a _fcksavedurl="mailto:ameyers@russell.lioninc.org" href="mailto:ameyers@russell.lioninc.org">ameyers@russell.lioninc.org</a>,123 Broad Street, Middletown, CT 06457. You may include your email address to expedite communication.

Substitute Children’s Librarian - Russell Library, Middletown

Substitute Children’s Librarian - Russell Library, Middletown . Join an exciting and energized Children’s Services Team. Russell Library ...

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sick

Sorry I've been MIA y'all. (I swear this wasn't part of my 'teasing' plan). This flu is no joke!! I'm going on day two and still no better. I'll be back as soon as the room stops spinning.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5wsGeIBzUfvpkzxiW8yMNBjG3kVmcJj0PPcy79YzDVGL9V2RKpjiAJj23YPOnKk9fnNANuMsCZruvT-oh4npqYCpPnPlVpQdZUbku973nmsMBsV-fUFgkwdMKdbR2gNRQhd_kutMDj4dz/s1600/likes.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5wsGeIBzUfvpkzxiW8yMNBjG3kVmcJj0PPcy79YzDVGL9V2RKpjiAJj23YPOnKk9fnNANuMsCZruvT-oh4npqYCpPnPlVpQdZUbku973nmsMBsV-fUFgkwdMKdbR2gNRQhd_kutMDj4dz/s400/likes.jpeg" width="246" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">via <a href="https://www.tumblr.com/">Tumblr</a></td></tr></tbody></table><br />

sick

Sorry I've been MIA y'all. (I swear this wasn't part of my 'teasing' plan). This flu is no joke!! I'm going on day t...

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The Nurse as Family Doctor - NYTimes.com

The Family Health Clinic of Carroll County, in Delphi, Ind., and its smaller sibling about 40 minutes away in Monon provide full-service health care for about 10,000 people a year, most of them farmers or employees of the local pork production plant. About half the patients are Hispanic but there are also many German Baptist Brethren. Most of the patients are uninsured, and pay according to their income — the vast majority paying the $20 minimum charge for an appointment. About 30 percent are on Medicaid. The clinics, which are part of Purdue University's School of Nursing, offer family care, pediatrics, mental health and pregnancy care. Many patients come in for chronic problems: obesity, diabetes, hypertension, depression, alcoholism.<br /><br><br /><br>What these clinics don't offer are doctors. They are two of around 250 health clinics across America run completely by nurse practitioners: nurses with a master's degree that includes two or three years of advanced training in diagnosing and treating disease. By 2015, nurse practitioners will be required to have a doctorate of nursing practice, which means two or three more years of study. Nurse practitioners do everything primary care doctors do, including prescribing, although some states require that a physician provide review. Like doctors, of course, nurse practitioners refer patients to specialists or a hospital when needed.<br /><br><br /><br>America has a serious shortage of primary care physicians, and the deficit is growing. The population is aging — and getting sicker, with chronic disease ever more prevalent. Obamacare will bring 32 million uninsured people into the health system — and these newbies will need a lot of medical care. According to the American Association of Medical Colleges, the United States will be short some 45,000 primary care physicians by 2020.<br /><br><br /><br>The primary care physicians who do exist are badly distributed — 90 percent of internal medicine physicians, for example, work in urban areas. Some doctors go to work in rural areas or the poor parts of major cities, treating people who have Medicaid or no insurance. But they are few.<br /><br><br /><br>In part it's the money. Primary care doctors make less than specialists anywhere, but they take an even larger financial hit to treat the poor. Particularly in the countryside — even with programs that offer partial loan forgiveness, it's very hard to pay off medical school debt treating Medicaid patients, much less those with no insurance at all.<br /><br><br /><br>And the job of a primary care doctor today is largely managing chronic disease — coordinating the patient's care with specialists, convincing him to exercise or eat better. Poor patients can be a frustrating struggle. Compared with wealthier patients, they tend to have more serious diseases and fewer resources for getting better. They are less educated, take worse care of themselves and have lower levels of compliance with doctors' orders. Very few people start medical school hoping to do this kind of work. Those who do it may burn out quickly.<br /><br><br /><br>It might seem that offering the rural poor a clinic staffed only by nurses is to give them second-class primary care. It is not. The alternative for residents of Carroll County was not first-class primary care, but none. Before the clinic opened in 1996, the area had some family physicians, but very few accepted Medicaid or uninsured patients. When people got sick, they went to the emergency room. Or they waited it out — and then often landed in the emergency room anyway, now much sicker.<br /><br><br /><br>Just as important, while nurses take a different approach to patient care than doctors, it has proven just as effective. It might be particularly useful for treating chronic diseases, where so much depends on the patients' behavioral choices.<br /><br><br /><br>Doctors are trained to focus on a disease — what is it? How do we make it go away?<br /><br><br /><br>Nurses are trained to think more holistically. The medical profession is trying to get doctors to ask about their patients' lives, listen more, coach more and lecture less — being "patient-centered" is the term — in order to better understand what ails them.<br /><br><br /><br>"I've been out of nursing school since 1972 and I still remember that when faculty members finished talking about the scientific parts of the disease they would talk about the psycho-social part," said Donna Torrisi, the executive director of the Family Practice and Counseling Network, which has three clinics in Philadelphia. "It's not about the disease, it's about the person who has the disease. While in the hospital you'll often hear doctors refer to a patient as 'the cardiac down the hall.'"<br /><br><br /><br>Younger doctors are no doubt better at this than their older peers. But the system conspires against them. The 15-minute appointment standard in fee-for-service medicine — which pays doctors according to how many patients they see and treatments they provide — makes it unlikely that doctors will spend time discussing a patient's life in any detail. Physician reimbursement places a zero value on talking to the patient. But nurse practitioners are salaried, giving them the luxury of time. At the Family Health clinics, appointments last half an hour — an hour for a new diabetic or pregnant patient.<br /><br><br /><br>Jennifer Coddington, a pediatric nurse practitioner who is a co-clinical director of Family Health Clinics, said that she spends a lot of time teaching patients and their families about their diseases and how to manage it. "We want to know socially and economically what's going on in their life — their educational level, how are they making it financially," she said. "You can't teach patients if you're not at their educational level. And if a patient can't afford something, what's the point of trying to prescribe it? He's going to be non-compliant."<br /><br><br /><br>A physician might suggest that a patient lose weight and hand him a diet plan — or refer him to a nutritionist. At the Family Health clinics, nutrition counselors — graduate students at Purdue — will sit down with patients to talk about the specific consequence of their diet, and suggest good foods and how to cook them, Coddington said. "When you don't have enough money to buy fruits and vegetables, so you go to the dollar menu at McDonald's — we help those people put planners together for the week."<br /><br><br /><br>Data has shown that nurse practitioners provide good health care. A reviewof 118 published studies over 18 years comparing health outcomes and patient satisfaction at doctor-led and nurse practioner-led clinics found the two groups to be equivalent on most outcomes. The nurses did better at controlling blood glucose and lipid levels, and on many aspects of birthing. There were no measures on which the nurses did worse.<br /><br><br /><br>Nurse-led clinics can save money — but not always in the obvious way. Many are cheaper than comparable physician-led clinics. Suzan Overholser, the business manager of the Family Health clinics, said that their cost per patient was $453 per year — lower than the Indiana average for similarly federally qualified clinics (all the others physician-led) of $549. But nurse-led clinics aren't always cheaper. Coddington examinedpublished studies of clinic costs and found that in some cases, nurse-managed clinics had slightly higher per-patient costs than traditional clinics.<br /><br><br /><br>Although nurses are paid less than doctors (Medicare reimburses them at 85 percent of what it pays doctors,) nurse-led clinics are often very small, and so don't have the variety of practitioners necessary to keep a clinic running at full capacity. They also serve the most difficult and expensive patients.<br /><br><br /><br>The biggest financial benefit, however, likely comes from offering patients an alternative to the emergency room. Coddington's review cites studies showing large savings in paramedic, police, emergency room and hospital use. A traditional clinic in an underserved area would do that, too, of course — it's just that nurses tend to go where doctors won't.<br /><br><br /><br>There are about 150,000 nurse practitioners in America today. The vast majority practice in traditional settings — only about a thousand are in nurse-managed clinics. One reason these clinics are rare is that they may equal traditional clinics in health care, but not in business success.<br /><br><br /><br>Nurse-managed clinics have to overcome regulatory and financial obstacles that traditional clinics don't face. Powerful physicians' groups such as the American Academy of Family Physicians opposeallowing nurses to practice independently. "Granting independent practice to nurse practitioners would be creating two classes of care: one run by a physician-led team and one run by less-qualified health professionals,"says a paper from the A.A.F.P., citing the fact that doctors get more years of education and training. "Americans should not be forced into this two-tier scenario. Everyone deserves to be under the care of a doctor."<br /><br><br /><br>Only 16 states and Washington, D.C., allow nurses complete independence. In other states, some of the restrictions are bizarre — in Indiana, for example, nurse practitioners may do everything doctors do, with two exceptions: they can't prescribe physical therapy or do physicals for high school sports.<br /><br><br /><br>Jim Layman, the executive director of the Family Health clinics, said he thought that nurse practitioners cared for the majority of Medicaid patients in Indiana. But if you look through Medicaid records, you'll find only doctors — nurses are not allowed to be the primary caregiver of record. So the Family Health clinics, like others, employ a physician off-site from 4 to 6 hours a week who uses electronic health records to examine a sample of cases and consult when necessary. Medicaid is billed in his name.<br /><br><br /><br>It is not easy for nurse-run clinics to win status as a Federally Qualified Community Health clinic, which would allow them to get federal grants. This is largely because most come out of universities, and most universities don't want to cede control to the community — a requirement for this status. Purdue decided it would, and the Family Health clinics qualified in 2009. Before that, they received some money from the state, and raised the rest from local March of Dimes, United Way and Chamber of Commerce donations, plus fund-raising dinners and auctions. This was enough to support just one full-time provider at each clinic. Getting F.Q.C.H. status allowed them to hire more staff and move the Carroll County clinic into a modern new building — and probably saved them from collapse. "It would have been very difficult for us had we not gotten F.Q.C.H. status," said Coddington. The Affordable Care Act — Obamacare — did authorize $50 million for five years for nurse-managed clinics. So far 10 clinics have gotten a total of $15 million.<br /><br><br /><br>In some ways, the nurse practitioner-managed clinic is a throwback to the small-town family practice, when your doctor asked about the schoolyard bully and your dad's unemployment. Among the many changes needed in how America values and reimburses health care, it's important to encourage and support these clinics. They may be old-fashioned, but that doesn't mean they should be financed with bake sales.<br /><br><br /><br><a href="http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/10/24/the-family-doctor-minus-the-m-d/">http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/10/24/the-family-doctor-minus-the-m-d/</a>?

The Nurse as Family Doctor - NYTimes.com

The Family Health Clinic of Carroll County, in Delphi, Ind., and its smaller sibling about 40 minutes away in Monon provide full-service hea...

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Daily Education and Technology News for Schools 10/25/2012

<ul class="diigo-linkroll"> <li> <p class="diigo-link"> <a href="http://www.ted.com/talks/matt_mills_image_recognition_that_triggers_augmented_reality.html">Matt Mills: Image recognition that triggers augmented reality | Video on TED.com</a> </p> <p class="diigo-description">My students and I have been playing with Aurasma today on our ipads and iphones. You have to have a unique image (digital or distinct images are best) and you can attach animations or videos to them. So, a book's page can have a video attached or a painting could have a description attached. It is very cool. This TED video explains the concept.</p> <p class="diigo-tags"> <span>tags:</span> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/computer_science">computer_science</a> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/augmentedreality">augmentedreality</a> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/news">news</a> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/augmented">augmented</a> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/arts_entertainment">arts_entertainment</a> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/education">education</a> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/invention">invention</a> <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/tumblr">tumblr</a></p> <ul class="diigo-comments"> </ul> </li> </ul><p class="diigo-ps">Posted from <a href='http://www.diigo.com'>Diigo</a>. The rest of my favorite links are <a href='http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher'>here</a>.</p>

Daily Education and Technology News for Schools 10/25/2012

Matt Mills: Image recognition that triggers augmented reality | Video on TED.com My students and I h...

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Dr. Rawalpindi Speaks...You Listen

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCWL_5T_btQeldduk0WYT3tOCrMW4sSlQKelN0QSgl5iYprlH7fmGG1jCAQrbl9NwCV1SIL5jxOAqkBeraUm_hFJgiaEtY61LoG04HieEuhkD99kuq_c03hyphenhyphengk9kBhWaGjQX_PXBU0CSo/s1600/Indian+Doctor+Physician.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCWL_5T_btQeldduk0WYT3tOCrMW4sSlQKelN0QSgl5iYprlH7fmGG1jCAQrbl9NwCV1SIL5jxOAqkBeraUm_hFJgiaEtY61LoG04HieEuhkD99kuq_c03hyphenhyphengk9kBhWaGjQX_PXBU0CSo/s400/Indian+Doctor+Physician.jpg" width="400" /></a>Hallo.  Dr. Rajiv Rawalpindi here wishing you all a morning of goodness, satisfaction, and Egg McMuffins.<br /><br />I am the official physician for the IWS Radio team.<br /><br />I am proffered for your acceptance from New Delhi via the University of Bombay, the Ohio State University of the Medical Arts, and an ill-gotten F-1 Student Visa from my Mexican doctor friend, Paco.<br /><br />Say what you will, but trust me now, and regret me later…I know my medicinal arts.<br /><br />I have treated the Matt-Man for gonorrhea.  I have treated Jayman for shingles.  I have treated many of you, their reading and listening audience, for bad taste.<br /><br />My scope of practionocity is extremely limited and unvisible.  I am the Uber-Doctor, and?<br /><br />The only thing that I have, that is more huger than my ego is the amount of malpractice insurance that I carry, because if I mishappenly perform a spinal tap on your vagina, I want you to cognizate that you would be duly compentrated for the pain and great cardio woefulness that I may or may not have persisted on you.<br /><br />And your vagina.<br /><br />I am currently praticinating and serving umbrage at the Ohio State Medical Center, and am having the glorious ability to treat one friend of IWS, Schmoop.<br /><br />After parlaying my knowing eye upon her for a day or so, I know one thing to be true.<br /><br />The Bitch is Yellow.<br /><br />And here is where my medicinal expertise carry forth.<br /><br />Is she Chinese yellow?  Is she Korean yellow, or….and I have a hunchback, is she Laotian yellow!?<br /><br />Bringo!!  Yes her is!!<br /><br />Uh-huh…I uttered that!!  Bitch is suffering from Laotian Disease.<br /><br />She been resting here most gingerly for one half less than two days, so on this 24 hour period I shall run some exams in order to confirminate my diagnostics.<br /><br />Laotian Disease is not what you Americans call, “attractive.”<br /><br />Sure, when one contracts it, and is merely bespeckled in a yellow hue, it is manageable, however…<br /><br />If left un-deblemished, the patient will begin to quote Mao, develop a taste for fetid water, and go see my colleague Paco for a passport so he or she can go to Vientiane in utmost hope of securing job sewing American flags and sweat socks at twenty-two cents a day.<br /><br />I know that October is Breast Cancer Awareness 30 Day Period, but I think it is time that we regale some time to Laotian Disease.<br /><br />Schmoop has it.  I’m on it, and in the finality…Something good will come of it…Probably.<br /><br /><i>With the Utmost Sincerity and Wishing you a Great Harvest and Three Cows,</i><br /><br /><i>Dr. Rajiv Rawalpindi</i><br /><br />And in other news….Yesterday on IWS Radio, Jay and Matt discussed the medical field as our buddy Schmoop lies in Columbus, Ohio sick and suffering.<br /><br />If you missed it, you can catch it all right here…<br /><br /><object classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.adobe.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=9,0,0,0" height="105" id="143577" name="143577" width="210"><param name="movie" value="http://www.blogtalkradio.com/btrplayer.swf?file=http://www.blogtalkradio.com%2Fplaylist.aspx%3Fshow_id%3D3927027&autostart=false&bufferlength=5&volume=80&corner=rounded&callback=http://www.blogtalkradio.com/flashplayercallback.aspx" /><param name="quality" value="high" /><param name="wmode" value="transparent" /><param name="menu" value="false" /><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always" /><embed src="http://www.blogtalkradio.com/btrplayer.swf" flashvars="file=http://www.blogtalkradio.com%2Fplaylist.aspx%3Fshow_id%3D3927027&autostart=false&shuffle=false&callback=http://www.blogtalkradio.com/FlashPlayerCallback.aspx&width=210&height=105&volume=80&corner=rounded" width="210" height="105" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" quality="high" wmode="transparent" menu="false" name="143577" id="143577" allowScriptAccess="always"></embed></object> <br /><div style="font-size: 10px; text-align: center; width: 220px;">Listen to <a href="http://www.blogtalkradio.com/">internet radio</a> with <a href="http://www.blogtalkradio.com/im-with-stupid">Im With Stupid</a> on Blog Talk Radio</div>Cheers,<br />Matt-Man<br /><i><a href="mailto:mattmaniws@ymail.com">mattmaniws@ymail.com</a></i></div>

Dr. Rawalpindi Speaks...You Listen

Hallo.  Dr. Rajiv Rawalpindi here wishing you all a morning of goodness, satisfaction, and Egg McMuffins. I am the official physician for th...

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Today's archidose #629

I couldn't decide on one building for today's archidose, so I chose three, each represented with three photos.<br /><br />Garden Terrace Hotel and Resort in Miyazaki, Japan, by <a href="http://kkaa.co.jp/">Kengo Kuma and Associates</a> (2012), photographed by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/kenlee2010/">Ken Lee</a>:<br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/kenlee2010/8116262060/" title="ガーデンテラス宮崎ホテル＆リゾート, Garden Terrace Miyazaki Hotels & Resorts, Japan by Ken Lee 2010, on Flickr"><img alt="ガーデンテラス宮崎ホテル＆リゾート, Garden Terrace Miyazaki Hotels & Resorts, Japan" height="457" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8185/8116262060_bb9ee93115_z.jpg" width="640" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/kenlee2010/8116261378/" title="ガーデンテラス宮崎ホテル＆リゾート, Garden Terrace Miyazaki Hotels & Resorts, Japan by Ken Lee 2010, on Flickr"><img alt="ガーデンテラス宮崎ホテル＆リゾート, Garden Terrace Miyazaki Hotels & Resorts, Japan" height="480" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8048/8116261378_ea9c247a13_z.jpg" width="640" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/kenlee2010/8112740658/" title="ガーデンテラス宮崎ホテル＆リゾート, Garden Terrace Miyazaki Hotels & Resorts, Japan by Ken Lee 2010, on Flickr"><img alt="ガーデンテラス宮崎ホテル＆リゾート, Garden Terrace Miyazaki Hotels & Resorts, Japan" height="480" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8055/8112740658_71f1e35dfb_z.jpg" width="640" /></a><br /><br /><span class="st">Hermès</span> Rive Gauche in Paris, France, by <a href="http://www.renadumas.com/">Rena Dumas Architecture Interieure</a> with <a href="http://www.bollinger-grohmann.at/">Bollinger + Grohmann Ingenieure</a> (2010), photographed by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/trevorpatt/">trevor.patt</a>:<br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/trevorpatt/8100154057/" title="IMAG9619-20 by trevor.patt, on Flickr"><img alt="IMAG9619-20" height="593" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8475/8100154057_79077e3408_z.jpg" width="640" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/trevorpatt/8100156971/" title="IMAG9608 by trevor.patt, on Flickr"><img alt="IMAG9608" height="383" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8185/8100156971_30767e3f71_z.jpg" width="640" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/trevorpatt/8100162352/" title="IMAG9617 by trevor.patt, on Flickr"><img alt="IMAG9617" height="383" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8191/8100162352_72c993ddb6_z.jpg" width="640" /></a><br /><br />Bastionder in 's-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands, by <a href="http://www.roosmalengessel.nl/">Van Roosmalen Van Gessel Architecten</a> with landscape design by Martien van Osch (2009), photographed by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/klaasfotocollectie/">Klaas Vermaas</a>:<br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/klaasfotocollectie/8100356571/" title="den bosch bezoekerscentrum bastionder 02 2009 v roosmalen m_v gessel m (bastion oranje) by Klaas5, on Flickr"><img alt="den bosch bezoekerscentrum bastionder 02 2009 v roosmalen m_v gessel m (bastion oranje)" height="427" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8324/8100356571_c4fc847295_z.jpg" width="640" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/klaasfotocollectie/8100353773/" title="den bosch bezoekerscentrum bastionder 05 2009 v roosmalen m_v gessel m (bastion oranje) by Klaas5, on Flickr"><img alt="den bosch bezoekerscentrum bastionder 05 2009 v roosmalen m_v gessel m (bastion oranje)" height="427" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8467/8100353773_2b89778bb4_z.jpg" width="640" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/klaasfotocollectie/8100357006/" title="den bosch bezoekerscentrum bastionder 11 2009 v roosmalen m_v gessel m (bastion oranje) by Klaas5, on Flickr"><img alt="den bosch bezoekerscentrum bastionder 11 2009 v roosmalen m_v gessel m (bastion oranje)" height="800" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8187/8100357006_c6cf60455d_c.jpg" width="534" /></a><br /><br />To contribute your Flickr images for consideration, just:<br /><blockquote>:: Join and add photos to the <a href="http://www.flickr.com/groups/archi-dose/">archidose pool</a>, and/or<br />:: Tag your photos <span style="font-style: italic;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tags/archidose/">archidose</a></span></blockquote>

Today's archidose #629

I couldn't decide on one building for today's archidose, so I chose three, each represented with three photos. Garden Terrace Hotel ...

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A Town’s Passion, a Retired Doctor’s Concern - NYTimes.com

<base href="data:"><div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; color: black; text-align: left; "><nyt_text style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; "><div id="articleBody"><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.2em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; line-height: 24px; ">DOVER, N.H. — The agenda for the Oct. 1 school board meeting did not call for anything particularly exciting. But during a segment called "Matters of Interest," Paul Butler, a retired doctor and relative newcomer to the board, floated an idea: end the football program at Dover High School.</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.2em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; line-height: 24px; ">Speaking in his soothing, deliberative tone, Butler said, "I'm beginning to believe, from what I've read of the literature, that as governors of the school district, we have a moral imperative to at least begin the process of ending this game in Dover."</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.2em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; line-height: 24px; ">Butler is a retired surgeon, with no specialty in neurology. But he had followed the growing evidence of the peril football poses to the brains of the people who play it. Butler had no beef with football, for he had played it in high school and in college.</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.2em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; line-height: 24px; ">He was, he said, just trying to frame the question of the future of football in the most practical of terms, drawing upon the implications of the class-action lawsuit filed in June against the N.F.L. on behalf of more than 2,000 former players alleging that the league did not adequately warn them of the evidence about the dangers of repeated head trauma and concussions.</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.2em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; line-height: 24px; ">Butler warned his fellow board members that if city officials did not end football at Dover High, "the lawyers will do it for us" someday.</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.2em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; line-height: 24px; ">The next morning, Butler said, he attended a weekly 7:30 a.m. medical conference at Wentworth-Douglas Hospital, where he was a general surgeon until retiring in June 2011. By the time he and his wife had made the drive down to Arlington, Mass., to baby-sit grandchildren, he was being sought for television interviews. His comments to the board, it turned out, had been reported in the local newspaper, Foster's Daily Democrat.</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.2em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; line-height: 24px; ">By day's end, Dover's school board chairman was forced to issue a statement denying the city had any plans to end football at Dover High. Even so, Peter Wotton, the school's athletic director, had a news truck parked outside his house.</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.2em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; line-height: 24px; ">"Our brain is really who we are," Butler said in an interview last week. "In this society, in this time, if your brain has been altered, you have been fundamentally altered."</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.2em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; line-height: 24px; "><strong>Small Town, Big Interest</strong></p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.2em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; line-height: 24px; ">Without exactly meaning to, Butler had inserted Dover — about 70 miles north of Boston, a community of roughly 30,000, and a place with a history dating practically to the Mayflower —into the middle of a 21st century culture war.</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.2em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; line-height: 24px; ">Foster's Daily Democrat came out firmly opposed to the notion of ending football. "Here in New Hampshire — as in 38 other states — a law has been passed to mandate precautions be taken any time there is an indication of a head injury in any sport," an editorial in the newspaper read.</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.2em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; line-height: 24px; ">The football program at Dover — the team is known as the Green Wave — is big in the community. But so too are soccer, lacrosse and ice hockey — all sports in which players are vulnerable to concussions and other head injuries. Wotton said that 8 of the 68 students who played varsity, junior varsity or freshman football last season sustained concussions. But there were also five concussions in girls' basketball, nine in boys' lacrosse and four in cheerleading, he said.</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.2em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; line-height: 24px; ">"I appreciate his concern," Wotton, sitting in his office last week, said of Butler. "This might end up being a good thing in the end. It's just a semipainful way to get there."</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.2em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; line-height: 24px; ">Butler is not the first school board member in the country to risk proposing what for many seems heretical. Last June, a member of the Council Rock School Board near Philadelphia said that it was "no longer appropriate for public institutions to fund gladiators." Rush Limbaugh used the comments as further proof that, as he had said on an earlier broadcast, football's future was under attack from liberal "pantywaists who want to try to take the risk out of everything in life."</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.2em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; line-height: 24px; ">Butler's celebrity, if a bit baffling to him, has not seemed to wound him. He has heard from a producer at HBO's "Real Sports" and a woman who identified herself as part of the N.F.L.'s Health and Safety Improvement program. A caller from Brian Williams's office at NBC seemed mostly to want to know if Butler had grandchildren. And a company sent him a product called the Guardian Cap, a piece of padding fastened by Velcro over a helmet to mitigate the force of head-on collisions.</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.2em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; line-height: 24px; ">More locally, any heat Butler has taken seems to stem more than anything from the notion that he had somehow spoken out of turn about a cherished culture in a tight-knit town. Local officials praise his standing in the community while making it clear they stop far short of siding with him about the need to end football.</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.2em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; line-height: 24px; "><strong>Familiarity With Football</strong></p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.2em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; line-height: 24px; ">Butler does not fit a stereotype. At his home on the Piscataway River last week, he was wearing a pair of Crocs with the logo of the New England Patriots. He is 6 feet tall, reed thin and broad-shouldered. When he spreads his long fingers, one can see why he was an effective tight end. He gave up rowing the Piscataway, but at 68 is the oldest guy on the ice in a weekly 6 a.m. hockey game.</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.2em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; line-height: 24px; ">He is at once not of the youth football world in Dover but knowledgeable about the sport, having played it at his high school in Wakefield, Mass., and at Amherst College, where he also played hockey. He speaks wistfully of the character-shaping experience and recalls begging his father to let him play. He thinks football probably gave him a leg up when he applied to Amherst.</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.2em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; line-height: 24px; ">"The thought of hurting my brain did not occur to me at all," he said.</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.2em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; line-height: 24px; ">Now he figures he sustained numerous subclinical concussions.</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.2em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; line-height: 24px; ">"I don't remember ever getting knocked out," he said, "but I do remember getting up slowly because I was dizzy or couldn't quite see correctly."</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.2em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; line-height: 24px; ">Over several long chats, Butler emerged as a thoughtful man with an idiosyncratic streak who, restless in retirement, volunteered for a two-year term on the school board as a gesture aimed at giving back.</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.2em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; line-height: 24px; ">"I'd just retired and I was trying to get my bearings," he said. Now he jokes that no one will be sorry to see his two-year term end.</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.2em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; line-height: 24px; ">"She can see I'm one of these old Yankee cheap guys," Butler said of the schools superintendent, Jean Briggs Badger.</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.2em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; line-height: 24px; ">As much as he sees ending prep football as a moral issue, Butler was also chagrined, he said, that money was spent on reconditioning Dover High's football helmets when the district was haggling over the current budget, in which 10 teaching positions were eliminated. (Briggs Badger said any money spent on helmets could not have carried over into the current fiscal budget, anyway).</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.2em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; line-height: 24px; ">New Hampshire has no sales or income tax, and Dover has a tax cap that puts a ceiling on how much property tax revenue the city can raise. Butler supported ending school bus service to cut expenses.</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.2em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; line-height: 24px; ">"Walk, ride a bicycle, run, jog," he said when asked how children would get to school. "I stood up in front of a crowd of very angry parents and said, 'I think kids should walk to school.' "</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.2em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; line-height: 24px; "><strong>Sensitivity to Lawsuits</strong></p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.2em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; line-height: 24px; ">It was around that time that Butler first quietly broached the subject of abandoning football. He e-mailed Wotton and Briggs Badger. More recently, he wrote to the city attorney to ask about the school district's vulnerability to future lawsuits related to brain injuries on the football field. By then, he had been reading up on the science of brain trauma, and the brain-cell-killing protein called tau found in the autopsied brains of retired players in which chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or C.T.E., was diagnosed.</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.2em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; line-height: 24px; ">Butler is perhaps more sensitive than most to a nightmarish hypothetical of a day when a former high school player or his parent sues the district. One of the reasons Butler said he moved his family to Dover in 1977 was because, as a young surgeon opening his first private practice, he could afford the medical malpractice insurance premiums, which in New Hampshire, he said, were considerably lower than in Vermont, where he had done his medical residency.</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.2em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; line-height: 24px; ">In Butler's book group, they're reading Kafka's "The Trial." In a different sort of book group, Butler would have every school official read "Play Hard, Die Young: Football Dementia, Depression and Death," by Dr. Bennet Omalu, a neuropathologist known for diagnosing C.T.E. after studying the brains of Mike Webster, the Hall of Fame center of the 1970s who died of a heart attack at 50, and Andre Waters, a star defensive back who suffered from depression and committed suicide.</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.2em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; line-height: 24px; ">Having brought the issue into the spotlight, Butler now concedes he does not have the votes on the school board to win a recommendation to end football at Dover High. But he said he might put the matter to a vote in December anyway.</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.2em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; line-height: 24px; ">Told that Wotton, the athletic director, said that contact in practice was limited to 10 to 15 minutes twice a week, Butler said, "To me, limiting contact in practice is equivalent to what the cigarette industry did when they said, 'Well, we put filters on our cigarettes, and so they're safe.' I think it's an improvement, but I don't see how you can take away the danger that I'm concerned about without radically altering the game."</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.2em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; line-height: 24px; "><strong>A Mother's Perspective</strong></p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.2em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; line-height: 24px; ">Christine O'Hara's son Eric, a junior at Dover High, is listed at 5-9 and 220 pounds. He plays middle linebacker and running back.</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.2em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; line-height: 24px; ">"I think that his concern is very valid," O'Hara, a nurse for Liberty Mutual Insurance, said of Butler. And yet she says she would not want to see football taken away from her son. Eric, she noted, was taught proper tackling technique by his father at an early age and besides, there are far worse things a teenager can get himself into.</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.2em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; line-height: 24px; ">O'Hara said Eric had had two concussions playing high school football. After the first one, she noticed that he was behaving differently on the sideline, but not in a way that would have been obvious to someone who was not his mother. "He always paces," she said, but this time, she noticed that Eric kept putting on and taking off his helmet. That was enough for her to tell the coach to pull him from the game.</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.2em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; line-height: 24px; ">"In reality, most of the symptom-watching comes from the parent," she said.</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.2em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; line-height: 24px; ">Butler's children attended prep schools in the area, and he has never attended a Dover High football game. At the same time, it is not difficult to find people in the stands who are related or have gone to him for a cancer operation, appendectomy or hernia operation.</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.2em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; line-height: 24px; ">On a windblown Friday night in October, when the temperature dipped into the 30s and there was a run on hot chocolate at the concession stands, the 1-5 Green Wave took on 5-1 Bedford, a bigger, deeper team.</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.2em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; line-height: 24px; ">The game was close throughout. Sandy Patria sat bundled against the cold. She was at the game to support her grandson, who performs in the marching band. Butler did her mastectomy operation 20 years ago, she said. As she spoke about him, her eyes watered, although the cold weather might have contributed.</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.2em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; line-height: 24px; ">"He's just trying to make it safer," she said of Dover football.</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.2em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; line-height: 24px; ">Then she let out a groan. Tailback Kyle Seawards had just caught a pass and turned upfield, his shoulders and helmet lowered as a defender from Bedford came in to hit him. It was the sort of battering-ram hit Butler talks about, but it was also just a football play. On the sideline, Dover's trainer gave Seawards what looked like a Breathalyzer test. He did not return to the game. At halftime, children from youth league teams were introduced, each running the length of the field as their name was announced.</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.2em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; line-height: 24px; ">Several days later, Wotton, citing nationally established privacy rules that prevent him from speaking publicly about player injuries, would not comment on whether Seawards had a concussion. But Royce Stegman, whose son Derek is the Green Wave's starting quarterback, figured Seawards would be held out of the next game.</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.2em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; line-height: 24px; ">Stegman is a burly man of 48. In Stegman's days of high school ball, the game was "three and a half yards and a cloud of dust." Nowadays, Derek accesses game film on his iPhone using an app called Hudl, studying strategies and formations. Dover runs a spread offense, with more receivers involved, and the game is faster. Rather than go with the Riddell helmet issued by the team, Stegman paid $400 to get Derek the Xenith, whose Web site boasts of its "adaptive air-cell shock absorbers." O'Hara, too, has bought helmets for her son Eric.</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.2em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; line-height: 24px; ">The focus of some recent research has been on the question of whether children, teenagers or younger, are more vulnerable to injury because their brains are not fully developed.</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.2em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; line-height: 24px; ">"Big heads on little necks," Butler called it.</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.2em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; line-height: 24px; ">Researchers now use helmets equipped with sensors to measure the force of the trauma absorbed by the brain on otherwise ordinary plays. A study by the Pediatric Brain Trauma Lab at Massachusetts General Hospital, published in the October issue of the Journal of Neurosurgery, found that 486,000 combined head impacts had been recorded over a five-year period among players from the football teams at Brown, Dartmouth and Virginia Tech, as well as two men's and two women's hockey teams.</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.2em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; line-height: 24px; "><strong>A Focus on Awareness</strong></p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.2em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; line-height: 24px; ">Dover is one of six high schools in the area that take their cue on sports-related concussions from the Seacoast Center for Athletes in Somersworth, led by Dr. Fred Brennan, the team doctor at the University of New Hampshire and a sports medicine specialist. Brennan's focus is awareness and making sure athletes have cleared various ascending levels of physical activity before being allowed to rejoin a team.</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.2em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; line-height: 24px; ">"We stay on the tip of the spear of what's happening in concussions," he said. He was sitting in the athletic trainer's office at Oyster River High in neighboring Durham, where he had addressed a teachers staff meeting. When Brennan asked the teachers how many had a student who had sustained a concussion, most hands went up. Brennan stressed the need for concussed student athletes to receive "cognitive rest," including a reduction in homework until they no longer had symptoms.</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.2em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; line-height: 24px; ">Oyster River does not have football; its enrollment will not support it. At Dover High, they have been playing football for more than 100 years. Now realignment is coming; the Green Wave next season are moving into a division with Philips Exeter Academy, one of the local football powerhouses.</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.2em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; line-height: 24px; ">Before the game against Bedford, Wotton, checking his BlackBerry for the score of his daughter's volleyball game, ticked off all the other reasons the Green Wave were 1-5. Some youngsters had taken part-time jobs; others did not want to give up several weeks in August to practice. The team's prospective 6-foot-6 starting quarterback transferred to Hampton Prep to play basketball.</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.2em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; line-height: 24px; ">Wotton still looks like the tree of a defenseman he was on the U.N.H. hockey team. During home games he stands under the scoreboard behind his team's end zone.</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.2em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; line-height: 24px; ">"I think the thing that bothers me is, we didn't talk," he said, referring to what he regarded as Butler's ad hoc attack on his football program.</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.2em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; line-height: 24px; ">Late in the game, with the score tied, the Green Wave drove down the field, only to fumble on a play in which it was unclear if the ball had crossed the goal line before Bedford's defense recovered it in the end zone. The referees ruled in favor of the visitors, and Bedford then marched down the field for the winning touchdown.</p><p itemprop="articleBody" style="color: black; font-size: 1.2em; margin: 0px 0px 1em; line-height: 24px; ">The losing had continued at Dover — at least for the moment. But football looked safe from extinction — at least for the moment.</p><nyt_correction_bottom><div class="articleCorrection" style="margin-bottom: 2.8em; "></div></nyt_correction_bottom><nyt_update_bottom></nyt_update_bottom></div></nyt_text><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); display: inline !important; float: none; "></span></div><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/24/sports/football/a-towns-passion-for-football-a-retired-doctors-concern.html?&pagewanted=print">http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/24/sports/football/a-towns-passion-for-football-a-retired-doctors-concern.html?&pagewanted=print</a><div style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; color: black; text-align: left; "><br class="webkit-block-placeholder"></div>

A Town’s Passion, a Retired Doctor’s Concern - NYTimes.com

DOVER, N.H. — The agenda for the Oct. 1 school board meeting did not call for anything particularly exciting. But during a segment called &q...

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PSYOPS

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><h1 class="s1mainStoryHeadline" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: red;">Benghazi killers among terrorists poised to strike US targets, Israel and Egypt</span></span></h1><span class="articleDescription">via DEBKA<em>file</em></span> <span class="articleDescription red italic">Special Report</span><br /><span class="articleDescription red italic"> </span> <br /><div class="articleBodyWrapper"><span style="font-size: large;"><span class="articleBody">The counterterrorism forces of Israel, the US, Egypt and Jordan have gone on elevated terror alert ahead of the three-day Muslim festival of Eid al Adha starting Thursday night, Oct. 25, <span class="debka">debka</span><span class="file">file</span> reports.<br />They are acting on word received in the last ten days of preparations by Salafi and al Qaeda cells in Egyptian Sinai to unleash coordinated terrorist attacks on US and Egyptian targets in Sinai and across the border in Israel. The jihadis are bent on revenge for Israel’s targeted killing on Oct. 13 of Hisham Saidni and Abdullah al-Ashqar, two senior commanders of their Sinai-Gaza network, the Majlis Shura Al-Mujahideen<br /> Israel’s IDF Sagi-512 Brigade and Shin Bet units are on guard around the Gaza Strip and Egyptian border; Egypt’s military, Interior Ministry and security forces are on high alert in Sinai; and the Multinational Force of mostly US units are on the ready at both its Sinai bases -  Al-Gora near El Arish in the north and Sharm el-Sheikh in the south.<br /><br /> The US special forces unit posted last month on Jordan’s Syrian border was hurriedly transferred to the Red Sea port of Aqaba with a fleet of helicopters, in case the MFO comes under attack.<br /> The Majlis Shura Al-Mujahideen is a roof organization of some 6,000 Egyptian, local Bedouin, Palestinian, Jordanian, Saudi, Yemeni and Libyan terrorists who subscribe to Al Qaeda’s jihadist philosophy. From their strongholds in central and southern Sinai, they have carried out most of the most recent spate of attacks on Israel and on Egyptian military targets in the peninsula.<br /><br /> After their combined assault of July 18 on Egyptian and Israeli military targets, in the course of which they massacred 18 Egyptian troops, Cairo announced the launch of a major offensive to root the terrorists out of their Sinai lairs. But four months on, the jihadis remain in control of large tracts of the rugged Sinai desert. And last week, they received a large increment from Libya. The Libyan reinforcements were discovered on their arrival in Sinai Oct. 15 with a large quantity of weapons including missiles, ready for the forthcoming Eid offensive.<br /><br /> Among them were some of the perpetrators of the murderous attack in Benghazi on Sept. 11which killed four Americans at the US consulate.<br /> On the day they arrived, Al Qaeda’s Shumoukh Al-Islam website ran a eulogy for Hisham Saidni with a warning: “The blood of the Muslim heroes is not cheap, nor is it shed in vain. The Jews will pay dearly for every drop they spill and Israel should expect a devastating response.”<br /><br /> At the beginning of the week, intelligence watchers picked up the sudden disappearance of thousands of jihadis from their Sinai posts as though the earth had swallowed them up. It is suspected they have regrouped in locations closer to their targets ready to move.<br /> This incoming intelligence prompted the US Statement Department’s travel advisory of Tuesday, Oct. 23, for US citizens visiting Sinai and Israel’s Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz’s warning that coordinated terrorist attacks may be in store from Sinai and its northern borders with Lebanon and Syria.<br /> </span></span> </div>

PSYOPS

Benghazi killers among terrorists poised to strike US targets, Israel and Egypt via DEBKA file Special Report   The counterterroris...

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Take a hard look at your list today #productivity

I have too much I "have to do."<br /><br /><br /><center><a href='https://picasaweb.google.com/115916382183421477315/BloggerPictures?authkey=Gv1sRgCNPCp6bK0YDF6gE#5802825401821609538'><img border="0" height="187" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglKX_CFGDHbBs-mIyxen857eVz-ZSncd2OGI4erx7rTn3sFr2ZuG6GJY3GCu7iU1Crbv4JrdknAYnI1AJzxsn_5xo3dEWxBTo1yRvOcBwdoWgSZmab9jvdtZMiangURslmXwnJL79mpc7w/s288/4.jpg" style="margin:5px" width="281"></a></center><br />Really, you have to do all of that? Those 50-100 things on your list, someone is MAKING you do all those things? At the end of your day, if you haven't done all that, a big buzzard of big lists is going to swoop down and whisk you to the nest where people who don't finish their list go at the end of the day?<br /><br />I'm asking and reasking myself about all these things I "have" to do. Overburdened, overwhelmed, and overworked, I'm not the only teacher, parent, or professional in this plight.<br /><br /><b>Begin with 3 wins</b><br />I've begun making an active list of 3 things each day that I want to be my major accomplishments of the day. I write those three things before the day even starts:<br /><br /><br />Things like:<br />- "I will be successfully caught up on all grading, and provide feedback to students so they can improve."<br />- "I will be an excellent National Honor Society advisor today by making sure I've sent out acceptance letters and communicated all details about the poinsettia fundraiser.'<br />- "My family will know I love them today as I cook an excellent meal, get the house organized, and show each person that I love them."<br />- "I plan and have an incredibly fun trip traveling to San Francisco today."<br />- "I will be engaging and exciting speaker for the people at CUE today and will work to be a blessing to each of them as they go back to their schools on Monday."<br />- "I will seek to inspire and encourage teachers who are having a hard time today in ways that will help and inspire them to help and inspire each student in their classroom."<br /><br />Things like that...<br /><br />But when I have these 3 things written out -- my takeaways from the day, it gives me a lens through which to view my list so that I can focus and accomplish the most important things. At the end of my day, I should have something to show for the day besides a bunch of check marks. I should have accomplishments.<br /><br /><b>Questions about that all important list</b><br />We might "have" to do everything on our list but have we thought about WHY we HAVE to do those things? <br />Do they fit in with the big picture of what we want to accomplish in our lives? <br />Do we have weekly and monthly and yearly goals and are we constantly moving towards them? <br />Do our goals also include inhabiting healthy bodies that are rested and well exercised? <br />Do we impose limits on certain areas of our life that will consume all of the goodness out of every other area of our lives?<br /><br />These are hard questions but I am looking clearly into your eyes and telling you (and myself) the hard cold facts of life:<br /><br />YOU CAN CHOOSE.<br /><br />You have choices. Hamsters don't HAVE to run on hamster wheels and you don't have to be slave to some list. My biggest issue with the "getting things done" model is that it is intended to capture EVERYTHING that needs to be done. Everything we think needs to be done, doesn't have to be done. <br /><br />Everything can't be done. The inability to say no is a form of greed - one that wants everyone to be happy and love you. Check and see if you're breathing. Ok, if you made it to this sentence, you're breathing. To everyone out there breathing SOMEONE DOESN'T LIKE THE FACT YOU'RE BREATHING. Get over it. You're not going to please everyone and you can't do everything. <br /><br />There needs to be a system for some things to fall off our list because they just aren't important. Spend your life doing something important and that is not trying to please everyone because that is impossible. Good ideas don't always make a good use of YOUR time. <br /><br />YOU HAVE CHOICES.<br /><br />At the top of Bloom's Taxonomy is Evaluating and creating. I find it interesting that as teachers we are trying to help our students analyze, evaluate, and create and yet we often rarely step back to analyze and evaluate our own systems of work. Should we be analyzing WHAT we are doing and evaluating how we are doing what we are doing so that we are able to create things unique and original in this world.<br /><br />YOU CAN'T DO EVERYTHING.<br /><br />You are a finite resource. There's only one of you and YOU have to choose. It is your job to select the plow to which you will put your hand. There are things we do not choose: cancer, illness in the family, the fact that our child has an LD -- these are things that happen. But we can always choose our attitude and we can always choose our response. <br /><br />MAKE A CHOICE TODAY.<br /><br />So, if, like me, you are facing this day not really sure if you're up to the task. Make choices. <br /><br />For my Christian friends, there is an <a target="_blank" href="http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?v=QAHfi4jgc3g&desktop_uri=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DQAHfi4jgc3g">amazing song</a> that I dedicate to you that says, "I will lift my eyes to the Maker of the mountains I can't climb."<br /><br />So, take this day and make choices. This is your day. Unless you are living in a prison today, no one can tell you how you must think about this day and every single detail of what you do. Everyone, even those living in a prison today, can choose their own attitude. <br /><br />THIS IS YOUR DAY. MAKE IT COUNT.<br /><br />You are special. <br /><br /><br /><center><a href='https://picasaweb.google.com/115916382183421477315/BloggerPictures?authkey=Gv1sRgCNPCp6bK0YDF6gE#5802825426611071330'><img border="0" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXXedHxwT2A8o9N3i-FVxWrO39jjc7vs9t0vEZzSeyCrMDVO-1N1_uvoF5SUHOP1D9hovAf4qjjqPGgbjejRwUoZMvPy9dFY46lmyAYo3MhITLVKYo7IfJocCW-SAb1Q6nFGzk2Dias4Zh/s288/5.jpg" style="margin:5px" width="281"></a></center><br />- Written on my iPad using Blog Press by Vicki Davis, author, Flattening Classrooms, Engaging Minds<br />

Take a hard look at your list today #productivity

I have too much I "have to do." Really, you have to do all of that? Those 50-100 things on your list, someone is MAKING you do all...

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Sweet treat!

<span style="font-size: large;">Who doesn't love a good cupcake?!</span><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: large;">My family certainly do. </span><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: large;">My mother and sister own a cupcake business called <a href="https://www.facebook.com/LydiaBCupcakes">"Lydia B Cupcakes"</a>.  Due to this fact, there are always cupcakes in my parents house when I call.  It's cupcake heaven.  </span><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: large;">I love nothing more a coffee cupcake with a nice cup of coffee.</span><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: large;">Lydia B Cupcakes are freshly made with no added preservatives.  Cupcakes can be supplied for weddings, hen parties, christenings or any other occasion.  If you are having a celebration in Ireland and wish to order cupcakes, please use the contact details on the Lydia B Cupcakes <a href="https://www.facebook.com/LydiaBCupcakes">Facebook</a> page to contact Lydia about flavours and colours.  Cupcakes stands are also available for hire.  </span><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: large;">Become a fan on Facebook in order to get updates about special offers and also see lots of lovely pictures of gorgeous cupcakes!</span><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: large;">Here is a picture of a recent Cupcake display for a wedding.</span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCrJbZ8bIebqQp82E8pd5lMYA9z4031PD0Q2BnRvJfPrtQhCAR6eevAkMHyFfuXYR2pqD2SPxKEatD2D4ime7p0ip7gyuxifvTUYIh3R2HoZPvoUdyQY6lYLNOJKbUyRVQ2E-yvdcC-S0B/s1600/Cupcake.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCrJbZ8bIebqQp82E8pd5lMYA9z4031PD0Q2BnRvJfPrtQhCAR6eevAkMHyFfuXYR2pqD2SPxKEatD2D4ime7p0ip7gyuxifvTUYIh3R2HoZPvoUdyQY6lYLNOJKbUyRVQ2E-yvdcC-S0B/s320/Cupcake.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: large;">Lydia B Cupcakes has lots of cupcake stands for hire including this fun record one!!</span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOCJrXMIkAYZW9s4Hgk5TMh071TRD8AjjYgXrgB5Pi2KfUkN_YMO_yPtvI3VT8BiAmYGSRkpy-f1d-yyk5JCpx1eSa_6409VWKXUjB5Y7J6cz5Q6AjvAVboN1Xk_I6LbWSCHUKGxbOHTFA/s1600/Record.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOCJrXMIkAYZW9s4Hgk5TMh071TRD8AjjYgXrgB5Pi2KfUkN_YMO_yPtvI3VT8BiAmYGSRkpy-f1d-yyk5JCpx1eSa_6409VWKXUjB5Y7J6cz5Q6AjvAVboN1Xk_I6LbWSCHUKGxbOHTFA/s320/Record.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>

Sweet treat!

Who doesn't love a good cupcake?! My family certainly do.  My mother and sister own a cupcake business called "Lydia B Cupcakes&quo...

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Let's Get This Thing Started!

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Accent 5"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 5"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 6"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 6"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 6"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 6"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 6"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 6"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 6"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 6"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 6"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 6"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 6"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 6"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 6"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 6"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="19" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Emphasis"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="21" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Emphasis"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="31" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Reference"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="32" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Reference"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="33" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Book Title"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="37" Name="Bibliography"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" QFormat="true" Name="TOC Heading"/> </w:LatentStyles></xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]><style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0in; mso-para-margin-right:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} </style><![endif]--> <br /><div class="MsoNormal">On Thursday, the prospect of playing the National League champion felt completely manageable. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">On Friday, it got cloudy. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">On Sunday, it got scary.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">And on Monday, it got scarier.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">Now I don’t know what to think anymore. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">On one hand, the Tigers have dominant pitching and the Triple Crown winner.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">On the other hand, the Giants are riding the most giant wave of momentum there can be, with their aces and shortstop taking them off the cusp of elimination…again…and into the World Series with just a day’s rest. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">The Tigers will be forced to go against the trend - in the three times where one LCS champion has swept and the other one won in seven, the one that went the distance won the World Series. Including 2006.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">I want to believe that the writers and analysts will pick the Giants to win on the basis of which they can’t be eliminated. They’re like the John McClane of baseball right now. The problem is, the media <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">isn’t.</i> They are declaring that while the Giants are scary, the Tigers look like the team that will win. But they always mention that the Giants are a threatening team right now and could pull an “upset.” </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">So try to help me with this…when the media declares that the Tigers are the favorites, yet say that the Giants are going to win, doesn’t that mean the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Giants</i> are the favorites? They pick the Giants without actually picking them, and it’s to prove that when the Giants do win, the media can pull out the “I knew it all along” card.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">I know that baseball is built on momentum, but let’s remember the regular season here: the Giants finished with a 94-68 record and won the NL West, a division that also had the upstart Arizona Diamondbacks and the well-paid Los Angeles Dodgers. The Tigers went 88-74 and came into the playoffs with the lowest wins of any<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i>division-winning team in the postseason. Why do people have to favor us?</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">I want to fly under the radar. It is entirely possible – it’s happened to opponents of championship favorites all the time. I keep hoping to hear more pro-Giant talk, but I don’t! </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">If the Tigers are going to win this series, they are going to have to win in five or less. I have very little hope that the Tigers could go to San Francisco for Games 6 and 7 and pull off a win.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">So here’s to you, Justin Verlander. As the starter in Game 1, he has the ability to squash the Giant momentum. At this time, this game is the biggest of his career. He’s thrown for a Game 1 World Series before, and didn’t look that great. He’s thrown for a do-or-die series clincher, and he threw a complete game gem. He’s thrown against one of the biggest payrolls in baseball, and while he didn’t look bad, he was a little shaky, especially in the end.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">Verlander needs to do just enough to stop the offensive luck of the Giants, while the defense behind him has to stay sharp, unlike how the Cardinals closed out the NLCS. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">We could look at the other starters in upcoming games, but I’ll just dissect one game at a time. Tomorrow is huge – it will show us if the Tigers took the layoff well, or if the Giants are tired, or if the Tigers already wrapped up the season, or if the Giants will just keep rolling. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">I think I will feel much better after just one game. I can stop listening to the speculation and finally have some inkling of what’s going to happen in this series. </div>

Let's Get This Thing Started!

On Thursday, the prospect of playing the National League champion felt completely manageable.  On Friday, it got cloudy.  On Sunday, it got...

Read more »