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WASHINGTON, DC - Two stalwart members of the Texas family of medicine were honored at the AMA House of Delegates meeting.
Dr. Mattox was recognized for his service in Houston’s medical response to several natural disasters, including Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005 and Tropical Storm Allison in 2001. As part of the Katrina Joint Unified Command, Dr. Mattox helped form an “evacuation city” to house, treat, cloth, and feed 27,000 evacuees from New Orleans in only 18 hours.
WASHINGTON, DC - Congratulations to a pair of medical students who won election as new Region 3 representatives to the American Medical Association Medical Student Section today. Raghuveer Puttagunta from the Baylor College of Medicine is a new Region 3 delegate, and Ben Karfunkle from the University of Texas-Houston Medical School is an alternate delegate.
Texas Medical Association Council on Health Care Quality chair Frank Villamaria, MD, and member Lisa Ehrlich, MD, answer questions from TMA communications vice president Steve Levine, about the new "Choosing Wisely" initiative. They explain why Choosing Wisely is good medicine and a wise course for physicians and their patients.
The Affordable Care Act requires most people to carry health insurance beginning in 2014. While some states received federal financing to set up a state-run health insurance marketplace, Texas chose to participate in the federal marketplace, which offers dozens of health plans and sliding-scale tax credits to help poor individuals and families in Texas purchase coverage. Since the marketplace launched on Oct. 1, technical glitches have plagued the federal website and made it difficult for consumers to create accounts and compare health plans.
The Texas Medical Association, Texas Hospital Association and Texas Academy of Family Physicians said many physicians and hospitals have also been unable to determinewhich health plans offered in the marketplace include them in their provider networks.
Many insurance companies participating in the marketplace have created health plans with provider networks based on existing contracts with physicians and hospitals, and did not contact those providers to sign new contracts or ask if they were willing to participate in the new health plans, according to the associations. As a result, many providers do not know which of the health plans offered in the marketplace will pay them for services.
Spangler explained that many physicians sign contracts that allow insurance companies to include the physician in the provider network for any of their health plans. Often, the insurer is not required to notify the physician which of the health plan networks include the physician.
Physicians may not be able to offer alternatives that would be less costly for the patient, if they are unfamiliar with the patient's health plan network, said Spangler. Furthermore, health plans from the marketplace could present financial obstacles for physicians, because those health plans are required to have a 90-day grace period for policyholders that do not pay their monthly premiums on time. While other health plans would cut off coverage if a patient did not pay their bill on time, the health plans offered in the marketplace would still indicate the patient was covered during that grace period, and retroactively revoke payments to the physician for treatment provided during that time. In those situations, the doctor would be forced to seek payment from the patient for services already provided.
Lance Lunsford, a spokesman for the Texas Hospital Association, said the association has also received inquiries, mostly from small and rural hospitals, on why some hospitals haven’t been contacted to participate in the health plans offered in the federal marketplace and how those hospitals can determine whether they’re already participating through their existing contracts with insurers. The hospitals have the same concerns as doctors, said Lunsford, adding that the hospitals want to be included in the plans.
Texas Oncology, one of the largest cancer treatment groups in the state, has chosen not to participate in any health plans offered in the marketplace because “there are many unknowns related to how the Health Insurance Market Place will cover cancer treatment,” according to a statement by the organization. “These details will impact our ability to provide patients with the latest and most effective treatments, so it is imperative that we are fully informed before a decision is made,” the organization further stated, while also indicating that it would re-evaluate its decision not to participate once more information was available.
Not all of the health plans in the marketplace are based on existing contracts between providers and insurers. For example, some insurance companies participating in the federal marketplace have signed new contracts with specific providers to create HMOs with "skinny networks." Those plans have fewer participating providers but lower monthly premium costs.
All of the health plans in the marketplace are required to maintain provider networks that have sufficient numbers and types of providers to ensure all health services are available in a reasonable time period, according to federal officials at the Health and Human Services Department.
The uncertainty of the provider networks also creates a hardship for consumers, many of whom consider whether their current doctor is covered before purchasing a health plan. On average, Texans have 54 health plans in the marketplace to choose from, all of which have varying monthly premiums, deductibles and provider networks.
Before a consumer can view specific information on the provider networks of health plans offered in the federal marketplace, consumers must create an account on healthcare.gov and apply for coverage. The website does not have a tool to search for specific providers to determine which health plans they’re participating in. Federal officials said that consumers could click a link associated with each health plan to review the provider network, but the Tribune was unable to access that feature because of glitches on the federal website that made it difficult to create an account.
This article originally appeared in The Texas Tribune at http://www.texastribune.org/2013/10/18/uncertainty-federal-marketplace-creates-hardships/.
Six Republican senators voiced "significant concerns" with the government's implementation of the HITECH Act and meaningful use program in a letter to U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius. The letter says their concerns include "the lack of data to support the Administration's assertions that this taxpayer investment is being appropriately spent and actually achieving the goal of interoperable health IT."
Read more about "REBOOT: Re-examining the Strategies Needed to Successfully Adopt Health IT," which the senators sent to Secretary Sebelius.
“Like a rundown house in need of repair, you’ve got to pick up a hammer and start somewhere. Increasing Medicaid payment rates to Medicare parity is the nail that needs to be hit first.” That was the take-home line of a letter TMA President Michael Speer, MD, sent to the five state senators and five representatives who are hammering out the details of the 2014-15 state budget.
“Over the past several months, there has been considerable attention paid to Texas’ ‘broken’ Medicaid system, with particular interest in the plummeting physician Medicaid participation rate and the impact that exodus is having on patients’ ability to obtain timely, medically necessary care,” Dr. Speer wrote. He pointed out that “grossly inadequate payment” is the single largest reason our members gave to TMA’s Physicians Medicaid Congress for not participating in the program.
"Payments to doctors, other providers at center of debate over Medicaid expansion," Fort Worth Star-Telegram, April 27, 2013.
"Medicaid called 'broken.' Legislators cite declining physician participation," San Antonio Express-News, April 28, 2013.
"Texas Medicaid debate pits rival visions of health care law," Dallas Morning News, April 28, 2013.
Technical issues have delayed plans by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to begin denying claims for services ordered or referred by a physician who is not enrolled in Medicare. The denials were scheduled for May 1. CMS did not elaborate on the technical issues, or set a new deadline.
Once CMS solves its technical issues, physicians who receive claim denials will need to contact the ordering or referring physician to verify that he or she has enrolled in Medicare to prevent future denials. See TMA's free tool to check your Medicare ordering and referring status.
VIDEO: What’s the Main Difference Between ICD-9 and ICD-10?
There’s been much buzz about the new ICD-10 medical coding system — and you’ll be hearing a lot more about it between now and the Oct. 1, 2014, implementation date.
So what are the real differences between it and ICD-9? In an interview with TMA’s Associate Vice President for Practice Management Services Peggy Pringle, Denny Flint, president of Complete Practice Resources, explains that structurally the two codes sets are not all that different. ICD-9 codes have three to five numeric digits, while ICD-10 has three to seven alphanumeric digits. The switch last year to HIPAA 5010 transaction standards for electronic claims paved the way for practices and payers to be able to accommodate the extra digits.
See how TMA can help you prepare for the transition. You better begin now.
Reprinted with permission from Texas Family Doc - "Don’t Get Mad, Get Even: Political Advocacy"
Last December, after months of “planning to,” I finally got around to calling to my state senator to set up a meeting before the legislature convened.
When I met with the legislative aide several weeks later, we had a productive conversation. She had worked on health affairs for another state senator before. I pitched our bill to restore funding to family medicine graduate medical education and the physician loan repayment program to help place doctors in underserved areas. We had been instructed to ask our senators to support the bill and cosponsor it if possible. I thought, ‘What the heck, nothing to lose by asking.’ I was told that the Senator was interested in health care issues and she would get back to me with the senator’s answer. I also forwarded a map of the senate district with all the medically underserved areas and primary care physician to population ratios labeled.
A few weeks later, she emailed me to say that the Senator had decided to support the bill. Ok, I thought, she’ll vote for it when it is heard in committee. A few days later I saw that she was listed as a cosponsor! With 2 of the committee members listed as cosponsors, our chances of getting the bill out of committee looked much better.
Politics can be frustrating, but persistence pays off. And you have nothing to lose by asking.
The Texas Medical Association today asked the House Committee on Public Health to send House Bill 3183 back to the bus barn.
The bill would allow a chiropractor to conduct the required mental and physical examination of a school bus driver, but such examination is beyond the scope of practice of chiropractic in Texas.
The Texas Legislature must protect Texas schoolchildren by ensuring that the men and women behind the wheel of their bus have the mental and physical ability to drive them safely. The heart, lungs, vision, reflexes, hearing, and mental health should all be evaluated for a prospective school bus driver. Chiropractors have neither the statutory scope of practice nor the training to analyze, examine, or evaluate such important components of one’s health.
Mental health is not part of the “biomechanical condition of the spine and musculoskeletal system.” Thus it is not something that can be analyzed, examined, or evaluated by a chiropractor.
Likewise, many components of a physical examination exceed the biomechanical condition of the spine and musculoskeletal system. For example, cardiac, neurological, and pulmonary health are all important components to determine whether one is healthy enough to transport our youngest and most vulnerable citizens. The heart, lungs, and central nervous system are not part of the “biomechanical condition of the spine and musculoskeletal system.” Thus they cannot be analyzed, examined, or evaluated by a chiropractor.
Vote "No" on HB 3183.
Do you understand the difference between the antikickback statute and the Stark law? The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has begun ratcheting up enforcement in regard to billing and financial relationships.
Here’s a quick comparison between these two laws that aim to prevent fraud and abuse.
The Texas Medical Association is proud to host a live simulcast, April 17, of the TEDMED lectures direct from the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, DC.
What’s TEDMED? It’s an annual meeting of the minds where multi-disciplinary innovators discuss hot topics and new developments in health and medicine. Past TEDMED speakers include Temple Grandin, President Bill Clinton, and TMA’s 2013 General Session speaker, Abraham Verghese, MD, to name a few. This year’s speaker line-up includes 50+ global leaders from medicine, science, research, technology, academia, business, government, and the arts. Don’t miss out!
Though much of the focus of the event is on stage, it is important to remember that TEDMED is a fast-paced, all-encompassing and immersive event that provides stimulation and exciting discourse from start to finish…onstage and off.
Come prepared to think; come prepared to interact -- but most of all, come prepared to have fun! You're sure to find TEDMED an unforgettable experience.
ATTENDANCE IS FREE FOR TMA MEMBERS! Register now.
FREE parking is available in the TMA Building.
Beverages and light refreshments will be available courtesy of the Texas Medical Association.
Event is limited to 100 guests. Register now. You may register for 2 tickets per session.
Mobile access to all four days and all speakers!
Go beyond passively watching. Use the TEDMEDConnect mobile app to connect “live” to the TEDMED stage and participate in live polls and activities, ask and answer questions, and share comments with the speakers. Be part of the conversation about the future of health and medicine!
Allow all of our 1,200+ Kennedy Center Delegates and tens of thousands of TEDMEDLive participants to connect "live" to the speakers on the TEDMED stage and ask them questions or transmit comments.
Contain the up-to-the-minute TEDMED schedule, including a handy "What's On Now" feature.
Provide users the ability to view photos from TEDMED and upload photos from TEDMEDLive viewing locations.
Allow users to participate in live polls and games.
Give users the opportunity to request a follow-up "Science-Kit" from speakers.
Allow users to download the conference program.
Connect users to Facebook and Twitter.
When prompted by the app, input the TEXAS MEDICAL ASSOCIATION location ID and your personal email address so each user can identified and communicate with the Kennedy Center stage or speakers.
You can read about TEDMED 2013 here.
If you have any questions about the event, please contact TMA's Knowledge Center at (800) 880-7955.
PQRS is switching from the carrot to the stick.
Learn how TMA can help you keep from getting hit.
TMA, partnering with the TMA Foundation, is among 21 state and specialty medical societies and regional health collaboratives that won grants from the ABIM Foundation to advance the Choosing Wisely campaign. Support for the grant program comes from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
Learn more about Choosing Wisely.
Starting May 1, Medicare will deny claims for services ordered or referred by a physician who is not enrolled in Medicare. Physicians who receive claim denials will need to contact the ordering or referring physician to verify that he or she has enrolled in Medicare to prevent future denials.
Use TMA's exclusive free tool to check your Medicare ordering and referring status.
TMA's "Calendar of Doom" is now "Deadlines for Doctors: Do This Now."
It is still loaded with the key dates you need to know to stay abreast of all the upcoming state and federal regulations and key health policy issues that impact you and your practice. It is still filled with the outstanding TMA information resources, tools, and educational programs you need stay in compliance. It is still a great way for you to plan ahead for those insurance company demands and health information technology carrots and sticks.
Check out the new "Deadlines for Doctors."
TMA has learned that if you were in residency or fellowship training between Jan. 1, 1995, and March 31, 2005, you may qualify for a refund of Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA) taxes collected on your stipend during that time.
Find out how you can get your money back.
Medicare payments to physicians will drop 2 percent on April 1 because of the federal budget sequester. TMA's Payment Advocacy Department analyzed the impact of the fee reduction and compiled a list of answers to questions you may have.
The Senate Health and Human Services Committee is taking up two bills on end of life today.
One measure is an agreed-to bill supported by TMA, the Texas Hospital Association, the Texas Catholic Conference, and the Texas Alliance for Life. Senate Bill 303 by Sen. Bob Deuell, MD (R-Greenville), amends the Texas Advance Directives Act (TADA) to allow patients to make their care preferences known before they need care and to protect patients from discomfort, pain, and suffering due to excessive medical intervention in the dying process. This bill would maintain protection against forcing physicians to violate their religious beliefs, moral conscience, and professional ethics. Rep. Susan King (R-Abilene) is carrying the bill in the Texas House (House Bill 1444).
The other bill, Senate Bill 675 by Sen. Kelly Hancock (R-North Richland Hills), significantly changes TADA and interferes in the physician’s ability to exercise his or her medical judgment. It could subject terminally ill patients to unneeded pain and suffering, and expose physicians and caregivers to a very vague new cause of legal action. TMA opposes this bill.
"I have come to realize that this is an issue that requires the wisdome of Solomon and the patience of Job," Senator Deuell said at the outset of the hearing. "Lacking that, we must simply do our best to do right by patients and their families."
Houston emergency medicine physician Arlo Weltge, MD, is at the Texas Capitol today to testify for SB 303 and against SB 675 on behalf of TMA.
Thanks to the advancements of medicine and science, Texans are living longer. However, these blessings bring the challenges of care and treatment decisions in life’s final stages. Advance directives allow patients to make their end-of-life treatment decisions known in the event they become incapable of communication or incompetent. Without advance directives, some of life’s most difficult decisions are being thrust upon unprepared adult children, parents, or other loved ones.
At each step, human beings are involved in both deciding on and providing treatment. We must respect the value of life and the moral conscience of those involved.
Texas physicians abide by the principle, “First, do no harm.” For this reason, TMA supports the Texas Advance Directives Act (TADA). Its aim is to allow patients to make their care preferences known before they need care, and to protect patients from discomfort, pain, and suffering due to excessive medical intervention in the dying process. The time may come when all that can be done for a patient is to alleviate pain and suffering, and preserve the patient’s dignity. For physicians, this is about medical ethics and providing medically appropriate care.
Then-Gov. George W. Bush signed TADA into law in 1997. It had unanimous support from physicians, nurses, hospitals, nursing homes, hospice care facilities, and pro-life organizations. The law provides a balanced approach to addressing one of life’s most difficult decisions.
TADA allows a patient to issue an out-of-hospital do-not-resuscitate (DNR) order, a medical power of attorney, or a directive for physicians and family members regarding the person’s wishes to administer or withhold life-sustaining treatment in the event the person is in a terminal or irreversible condition and unable to make his or her wishes known. Additionally, when an attending physician morally disagrees with a health care or treatment decision made by or on behalf of a patient, the act provides for a process whereby an ethics or medical committee reviews the physician’s refusal. The patient is given life-sustaining treatment during the process. If the ethics committee decides that discontinuing lifesaving treatment is in the best interest of the patient, and the family disagrees with that decision, the hospital must continue treatment for 10 days to allow the family some time to find a different facility for the dying patient.
Legislation has been introduced in the past two legislative sessions that would instead require indefinite treatment.
TMA has opposed the proposed legislation because it would prolong unnecessary — and often painful — care. It would require physicians, nurses, and other health care professionals to provide medically inappropriate care, even if that care violates medical ethics or the standard of care. It also sets a dangerous precedent for the legislature to mandate the provision of physician services and treatments that may be medically inappropriate, outside the standard of care, or unethical.
Incentives paid under the Medicare electronic health record incentive program are taxable, the Internal Revenue Service ruled in February.
Find out why and what you need to know to stay out of IRS hot water.
The top problem uncovered by the Medicare Recovery Audit Contractor (RAC) for Texas’ Region C involves showing medical necessity for cardiovascular procedures, according the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
That doesn't mean they're not medically necessary -- just that the documentation wasn't right.
Learn how to protect your practice and patients by preventing fraud through identity theft at a two-hour seminar in Dallas April 17. TMA, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, the U.S. Department of Justice, and the Senior Medicare Patrol are sponsoring the seminar.
The Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) restored the Medicare Part B deductible payment on Jan. 25 for patients eligible for both Medicare and Medicaid, also known as "dual eligibles."
Learn how it works -- and what about all of January's claims?
Time is running out to decide if you will participate in Medicare this year. Feb.15 is the deadline to make a decision. TMA will help you decide with a new webinar discussing your three options.
Read on to learn about your three options and how to exercise them.
Q. I need to provide an insurance company a deidentified sampling of medical records from my practice for initial credentialing. What, precisely, defines a “deidentified” record?
A. Physicians may need to use deidentified records for various purposes, such as research, demographic and public health studies, or operational purposes like credentialing. Deidentified health information as defined by HIPAA is not protected health information (PHI) and thus is not covered by the HIPAA Privacy Rule.
Read the list and more tips.
The new year brings new and revised CPT codes. TMA’s Payment Advocacy staff highlighted the changes most likely to affect the most practices in 2013.
Eighty-two evaluation and management (E&M) codes were revised to include “other qualified health care professionals.” This phrase also was added to several non-E&M services in various sections of the guidelines.
Find out what that means and check out the other CPT coding changes we've flagged.
Although ICD-10 implementation doesn't kick in until Oct. 1, 2014, you can take steps now to help minimize your stress level in the months leading up to it. Time is on your side, but you must begin preparations to transition your practice soon.
In a recent video interview, TMA Practice Management Consultant Heather Bettridge sat down with Steve Arter, the chief executive officer of Complete Practice Resources (CPR), and CPR President Denny Flint to get their take on the necessary steps physicians should be taking now.
While his proposal for a new law to ban the sale of assault weapons is grabbing the early headlines, a number of pieces of President Obama's plan to reduce gun violence involve physicians and the health care system.
Already drawing controversy, for example, is the president's announcement that he will "clarify that the Affordable Care Act does not prohibit doctors asking their patients about guns in their homes."
In an article entitled "Obama: Doctors Should Ask About Guns in Homes," the conservative NewsMax publication says that provision "sounds like George Orwell’s 1984." From the other side, The Atlantic reported that "the order actually just preserves a legal expectation for doctors to report on their patients that has existed for 37 years."
The Secretary of Health and Human Services (Secretary), through the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other scientific agencies within the Department of Health and Human Services, shall conduct or sponsor research into the causes of gun violence and the ways to prevent it. The Secretary shall begin by identifying the most pressing research questions with the greatest potential public health impact, and by assessing existing public health interventions being implemented across the Nation to prevent gun violence.
"And while year after year, those who oppose even modest gun safety measures have threatened to defund scientific or medical research into the causes of gun violence," the president said at his news conference, "I will direct the Centers for Disease Control to go ahead and study the best ways to reduce it -- and Congress should fund research into the effects that violent video games have on young minds. We don't benefit from ignorance. We don't benefit from not knowing the science of this epidemic of violence."
The first item, according to the White House press briefing, is aimed at training teachers, school counselors, social workers, and others who routinely work with students and young adults. We'll be curious to see more details on the second item.


text: Kinart, Chad Michael, "Prevalence of migraines in NCAA Division I men and women's basketball players" (2000). Student Work. 757.

industry_corpus2: Sports


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NEIL CAVUTO, HOST: Ready, set, hike.
Welcome, everybody. I’m Neil Cavuto.
And forget the Super Bowl this weekend, the president going long, really long, today, offering a budget that is super big, really big. We are talking record super budget bowl big, nearly $4 trillion in spending for one year, next year, likely a $1.6 trillion deficit this year, but all supposedly getting better in future years, thanks to combined deficit cuts totaling more than a trillion bucks over 10 years.
Here’s the problem, a lot more taxing than cutting to get to those better numbers.
To former CBO Director Douglas Holtz-Eakin on what the heck is going on here.
Douglas, it is staggering that a lot of these savings over the years, the future years, are borne by the super rich, who are going to be paying a super tax bill. That’s 90 percent of how you get there. What do you make of that?
DOUGLAS HOLTZ-EAKIN, FORMER CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE DIRECTOR: Well, it’s a big-tax budget. You can see it in two places.
The first is that, if you look at the year 2020, 10 years out, we’re raising, in this budget, 19.6 percent of national income in taxes for the federal government. The historic norm is 18.2 percent. So, that is an extra 300-odd billion dollars every year that’s built into this budget. And if you look at the tables included in the budget themselves and just start adding up, tax increases, tax increases, subtract the tax cuts they want to advertise, you’ve got $1.1 to $1.2 trillion in new taxes over the 10 years that this budget covers.
CAVUTO: Now, they always counter by saying, look, we’re just focusing on the $250,000-and-over crowd. Obviously, when you tax them, the numbers are big. So, Douglas’s math kind of skews that point.
But, to your point, just raising the income tax rates on the top two levels, that’s going to get $678 billion, the Treasury hopes, over the next 10 years. Taking away a lot of their benefits to charitable deductions, mortgage deductions, or eliminating or cutting them down is another close to $300 billion, bank fees, another $90 billion.
There you go. Those are your savings.
HOLTZ-EAKIN: This is not a recipe for faster economic growth, which I think everyone agrees we need. It is not a recipe for even solving our budget problems.
So, you have to ask the question, why do this if, even after you do it, you’re running a trillion-dollar deficit 10 years from now and you’re impairing economic performance every year in between?
CAVUTO: Not that I would have been happy with the tax hikes on any group of people, rich, in between, anyone, but I might have been more OK with it, Douglas, if there was serious effort to cut spending. And this relative chump change, from $220 billion to $250 billion over 10 years, about $25 billion per year in multi-trillion dollar budgets each year, doesn’t seem like it’s very serious.
HOLTZ-EAKIN: I don’t think this is a serious effort to come to grips with the spending problem in the federal budget at all.
They’re touting the freeze and saying, if we get this freeze for 10 years, it would add up to $250 billion. There’s no guarantee you will get that. It’s done each year. And they want to point to the health care bills and say, oh, we will save $150 billion from those. I think that’s been widely discredited.
And, again, if you just go to their tables and add up the cuts in — quote — mandatory spending, the things that stick, it is under $50 billion. I calculated $28 billion in real spending reductions. That’s not enough to make a dent in our problem.
CAVUTO: But you know what? The title seems more realistic this year. Last year, it was a new era of responsibility. This year, it’s just budget. So, that’s not too bad, is it?
HOLTZ-EAKIN: Well, I think this is indicative of what I think is the problem. The words are what get the attention, but the substance is not there.
CAVUTO: All right, Douglas, very good seeing you again. Thank you very much.
CAVUTO: A man who used to run the Congressional Budget Office, so he knows a thing or two about numbers crunched, fictionally or not.

industry_corpus2: Finance & Economics


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We offer immersive, small-group photography tours to hidden locations in Vietnam, Myanmar, Bangladesh, Iran, Sri Lanka and India. We have one simple goal: to teach you how to take better people pictures.
It's easy, really - we leave the tourist crowds far behind and head where the best images are just waiting to be taken. Where real life continues just like it always has, and there are endless opportunities to learn.
If you remember being bored at school, it's probably because your teachers didn't inspire you. Pics of Asia is very different. We're passionate about teaching. We bend over backwards to find new angles, and we love what we do.
We're living our dream: travelling and photographing people, and helping you do the same. Travel with Pics of Asia and you'll get dedicated, personal skills tuition. We make time for regular photo review sessions, and we'll tell you where you're going wrong - or right.
Get wet, get muddy, get cramp waiting for that perfect shot for so long - and get amazing pictures that will show you how far you've come. Whether you're a beginner, intermediate or advanced photographer, you'll return home with better images and unbeatable travel tales.
All our tours and workshops are designed to make the most of opportunities to teach you how to be a better photographer. You'll meet inspiring people local photographers and get to improve your skills in the field - literally - by taking pictures of real people living real lives.
Are you a Pics of Asia member? Are you part of our VIP clients' list?
With Pics of Asia, the learning begins before you arrive thanks to our online resources: check out our relevant articles and tutorials looking at camera settings, composition techniques and tips and tricks for portrait photography in Asia.
Étienne is great to be with, not only we visit amazing places, meet the best people but it's also with a lot of fun and very precise advice in order to progress. Pics of Asia is bringing you off the beaten tracks to be able to express yourself freely. There is always a surprise around the corner!

industry_corpus2: Travel & Geography


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LET'S DESIGN YOUR NEXT ROOM ADDITION FROM START TO FINISH.
Room addition can start by making your kitchen larger, or adding another bathroom to add a full size bedroom or even a guest house (a full house) .
When you’re adding square footage to your house you basically adding value Architectural plans/ Blue prints are mandatory in order to build an addition.
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If you’re not sure about the look of the finish product, and you’re not exactly the visionary type of person, we offer 3D design that will illustrate the finish products.
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Contact LMX Builders at 888 767-7679 today and get expert help with your next home room addition & remodeling project.

industry_corpus2: Real Estate & Construction


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NEW YORK (Reuters) - Crude futures steadied on Friday after climbing to four-year highs earlier this week, and both Brent and U.S. crude marked weekly gains ahead of U.S. sanctions on Iranian oil exports.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude CLc1 futures rose 1 cent to settle at $74.34 a barrel.
Global benchmark Brent crude LCOc1 futures for December delivery fell 42 cents to settle at $84.16 a barrel. On Wednesday, Brent hit its highest price since late 2014, at $86.74.
“They’re taking a pause after yesterday’s sell-off,” said Andrew Lipow, president of Lipow Oil Associates.
WTI’s weekly gain was about 1.3 percent; Brent’s was around 1.4 percent.
Price gains this week were limited by Saudi Arabia and Russia’s saying they would raise output to at least partly make up for expected disruptions from Iran, OPEC’s No. 3 producer, due to the U.S. sanctions that take effect on Nov. 4.
Oil prices are up 15-20 since mid-August, at their highest levels since late 2014.
Washington wants governments and companies around the world to stop buying Iranian oil to pressure Tehran into renegotiating a nuclear deal.
Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman insisted the kingdom is fulfilling promises to make up for lost Iranian crude supplies, Bloomberg reported. Saudi Arabia is now pumping about 10.7 million barrels per day (bpd) and can add a further 1.3 million “if the market needs that,” he said.
India will buy 9 million barrels of Iranian oil in November, two industry sources said, indicating that the world’s third-biggest oil importer will keep purchasing crude from the Islamic republic.
Many analysts said they expected Iranian exports to drop by around 1 million barrels per day.
S&P Global Platts sees prices strengthening “a little” toward the end of the year, said Chris Midgely, the company’s global director of analytics, at the S&P Global Platts Analytics annual summit.
Fundamentals indicate a price in the high $70s for Brent, but the reality is seen above that, he said. Prices are then likely to weaken in the first two quarters of 2019 before strengthening about $4 to $5 a barrel in the second half of the year as the market anticipates a shipping fuel regulation that takes effect in 2020.
U.S. drillers cut two oil rigs in the week to Oct. 5, General Electric Co’s (GE.N) Baker Hughes energy services firm said RIG-OL-USA-BHI. Rising costs and pipeline bottlenecks in the nation’s largest oil field have hindered new drilling since June.
Hedge funds cut their combined futures and options position in New York and London by 13,459 contracts to 333,109 in the week to Oct. 2, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) said.

industry_corpus2: Petrochemicals


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Have you ever considered how all the different parts of a business payment solution come together to enable merchants to accept credit cards from customers? To the untrained eye, a payment solution may look like a simple set of hardware components: a cash drawer, a place to swipe a credit card, and perhaps a barcode scanner and receipt printer. And that isn’t necessarily untrue, but the ins and outs of a payment solution are a lot more intricate than you might think and have real-world implications for your business. A payment system consists of a complex array of technologies and digital processes that all come together to work in concert, at mind boggling speeds, across vast distances, to facilitate the instantaneous movement of funds and goods that make up modern commerce.
As consumers ourselves, most of us understand how payments work from the cardholder’s perspective. But if you’ve never operated a business, or are looking to expand your business infrastructure beyond the most basic cash drawer, it’s helpful to have a better understanding of the components at play.
So, let’s dive into the back end and do a little exploring to reveal the mysteries behind the main players that come together to create a solution for businesses to accept payments.
The term “payment hardware” refers to the aspects of a payment system that you can touch, like the computer, the screen, the magnetic card swiper, and receipt printer. Other examples of hardware components include a cash drawer, a PIN pad, scanner, and tableside terminal, customer display screens, and even mobile dongles that enable payments on a mobile device.
Some of these hardware components have software programs built in, like a terminal capable of reading and sending payment information for authorization across an electronic payment network. But they generally need to be connected to some sort of software program in order to function.
Any payment solution you use for your business, is going to require some collection of hardware devices, which are procured through hardware providers, but generally not directly by merchants. It’s unusual for small business owners to purchase hardware directly from hardware manufacturers. They are usually purchased as part of a larger package from payment processors and or payment application developers and dealers. Read on to learn more about these players.
Software developers create programs that businesses need in order to operate efficiently. They are the technology-minded folks who think about business management from the merchant perspective and create solutions to make operating a business easier and more profitable. The software solutions they develop are often created with specific industries in mind. For example, a restaurant needs a program created specifically to catalog menu items and prices, put select items on customer tickets, send orders to the kitchen and bar, and create customer tickets for payment. Whereas a hotel needs a system capable of creating reservations, managing room vacancies, adjusting prices depending on the day, time, and availability in real time, and other hotel related functions. Each industry has unique needs, and software developers create programs to serve them.
Other software programs are built for specific tasks that most businesses perform, like employee management software that automates scheduling, tracks time attendance, and performs payroll functions, or inventory management programs capable of monitoring inventory based on sales and even submitting orders to vendors when low thresholds are met.
And software programs are needed to enable payment terminals to scan and submit card data to the payment network for authorization after a card swipe. And yet another program or add on function encrypts the data so it can’t be intercepted by cyberthieves.
In short, software programs make the hardware components function. To make an anatomy analogy, you can think of software as the brain of any hardware device, and the device itself as the body containing the brain.
These are the folks who combine hardware components like computers, touch screens, and PIN pads with payment processing capabilities and the business management software applications we just discussed. They turn individual technologies into a cohesive system, often referred to as a point of sale (POS) system. It’s common for these developers to develop their own software as well. In fact, the terms could be redundant if you consider the fact that a payment application itself is simply a set of codes.
The main reason why it’s unlikely for merchants to purchase hardware directly from the manufacturer is because on their own, the individual parts won’t automatically work together. If you buy a terminal from one manufacturer, then buy a computer from another, and download a software program, there is no way to ensure that all these elements will communicate and function together. One way to get that cohesion is to purchase a POS system from a payment application developer, also called a POS provider.
Payment application developers tend to serve specific industries and offer a variety of solutions running the full spectrum of sophistication from the most basic, to the most advanced for that particular industry. Though not a hard and fast rule, a merchant looking for a payment system for their mom and pop corner store, would probably not go to the same payment application developer as an operator of a multi-lane, multi-location grocery store.
Many payment application developers sell their systems through a dealer sales channel. These folks are called value added resellers (VARs) or simply, dealers. Dealers don’t create the payment applications, they sell and service them. Their value is largely in the ongoing service they provide to merchants in the form of installation, troubleshooting, repair, upgrades, and resolving technical difficulties. This can be an essential service to merchants who may not have IT expertise, and can’t afford to have a technical problem that disables the flow of business and the ability to accept payments.
Plus, many merchants view their dealers as business technology consultants who can help them assess their current operations and help them become more efficient and profitable by recommending and implementing particular technologies.
Payment processors are merchant services providers who make it possible to accept electronic payments. They are responsible for moving cardholder data through the payment network for authorization, much like a telephone network provider makes it possible to make phone calls. Processors can also provide the cohesion necessary to make hardware devices and software programs work together to process payments. Merchants who do not require full-featured POS systems can get the basic elements they need like a payment terminal directly from the processor.
Payment processors work with hardware manufacturers and payment application developers to enable their payment platform to work inside the hardware terminal and or larger payment solution. In order for a terminal to have connectivity to a payment processor, it has to have an encryption key for that particular processor. Likewise, in order for a POS system to be compatible with the payment processing services, the developer has to have an integration with the processor. Some POS systems have integrations with a variety of payment processors so that the merchant can choose the payment processing service that they want to work with. Others have proprietary relationships with processors and in order to use that particular system, you would have to work with a specific processor.
Sometimes, if a POS provider or terminal hardware manufacturer doesn’t have a payment processing integration or encryption key, they create connectivity for merchants via a payment gateway integration. A payment gateway is like an adapter so that a POS system not integrated with a particular payment processor can still connect to that payment platform.
Gateways can be great for merchants who want to use a particular payment solution and a particular payment processor that aren’t automatically compatible. But gateways can also present an unnecessary middle man and added fees for accessing a platform when processing integrations are available.
If you’re in the market for a payment solution, first think about whether you need industry or function-specific business management features. If you’re just getting started, have a simple business model, or a generic retail operation, you may not need additional merchant services beyond the ability to securely accept credit card payments. In that case, select a trusted payment processor that meets your needs and use the payment solution they recommend to you.
If you need a more customized or comprehensive business management solution, it’s to your advantage to either get a payment processor that works with the POS providers you like or get a POS provider who works with payment processors you like.
Because payment solutions and their technology dependencies are so complex, the best case scenario is one in which all the relationships described above have a long successful history of working together, supporting merchants like yourself.
Vantiv has a well-established history of providing hardware-based payment solutions directly to merchants who don’t require industry-specific business management solutions, and also supporting thousands of POS developers with highly specialized and respected integrated solutions. We have the right payment solutions for every type of business, and the technology capabilities and expertise needed to support them and help business thrive. Contact us for more guidance on finding a solution that is right for you.
Wine I know. Business credit card processing? Definitely not my thing.
Learn how merchant services can help your business.

industry_corpus2: Computing & Telecommunications


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Welcome to my informational pages for pogo.com's Roulette game. As with my other pogo.com pages, I will be concentrating on the odds of this game, and how to maximize the number of tokens you earn in the least amount of time.
Feel free to skip directly down to my roulette stats information if you want to.
Please note that when I talk about odds, win rate per hour or per day, etc., I'm talking about ON AVERAGE. In reality, you could have one really good hour where you win a good percentage of the time followed by another hour where you don't get a match at all! Also, when I use the phrases "coming up" or "hitting", what I am referring to is the "ball" on the roulette wheel landing in a space that matches a number or group of numbers on which you have placed a bet.
And, as a final introductory note, all the odds/math expressed in this article are assuming that pogo's roulette table is a fair table (that each number will come up an equal number of times in the long run). I have every confidence that the games at pogo are truly random. See below for more information on the true-ness of pogo's roulette wheel.
A roulette wheel contains 37 numbers, 1 through 36 (half of these numbers are "red" and half are "black") and 0 (green). Gamblers can place bets on any 1 number, several numbers, or any of numerous groupings of numbers such as red or black, odd or even, groups of 2, 3, 4, 12, etc. numbers. When the wheel is spun, if the ball lands on a number in one of the areas you have placed a bet, you will receive appropriate winnings based on the odds of that number or group of numbers coming up.
The casino makes money off of roulette in the long run, because the pay tables account for only 36 numbers, and don't include the "0". In the long run, for every $37 dollars bet at the roulette table, the casino will pocket $1 (this is how casinos make money, by offering odds that are slightly in their favor).
But, as usual, pogo.com wants its patrons to win tokens, and as such the pogo roulette wheel is skewed slightly in favor of the player. The way that pogo does this in roulette is they include 5 extra spaces on the roulette wheel. These spaces are known as "big shot" spaces and they are colored blue. When the ball lands on one of these spaces, players' winnings are multiplied by a random "big shot multiplier", like times 2, 3, 4, 5, or 10 or even more than 10 times if several big shot spaces are matched consecutively. Note that consecutive Big Shots are additive and not multiplicative (hence a 2x big shot followed by a 3x big shot makes a total of a 5x big shot, not a 6x big shot).
The important thing to understand here is this: the big shot winnings multiplier applies ONLY to your winnings on a spin (the amount that is returned to you MINUS your original bet). Therefore, for the most part, betting on anything other than single numbers is a losing strategy in the long run. For example, always betting on "red" is a losing strategy in the long run on any roulette table, and on pogo.com you will not win any of the big shot bonuses just by betting on "red". However, the existence of the big shot spaces does mean that in the long run, the game has a positive expectation (you will win tokens over time) if you make bets where the amount returned to you exceeds your original bet.
Disregarding the big shot bonuses, the payouts for each number (or grouping) are the same as in a casino: a single number has a payoff of 35 to 1. However, pogo's big shot bonus multipliers apply only to what you WIN on a particular spin, rather than what is returned to you. This is important. For example, if you bet your entire 100-token maximum bet on a single number and you hit that number, 3600 tokens are returned to you, but your actual winnings on that hand are only 3500 tokens (the 3600 that was returned to you, minus the 100 you originally bet). So, if you were betting 100 tokens on a single number and a 2x bigshot came up just before your number, your winnings on that spin would be 7000 tokens. Similarly, if you hit a 2x bonus, then hit a number on which you have only bet 10 tokens (and you have bet the other 90 tokens on various other numbers), you'll win 520 tokens (that is: you receive 360 tokens back, but only 260 of those tokens are considered "winnings", and therefore the bonus multiplier of 2x in this instance gives you total winnings of 520 tokens).
The reason this is important is because if you want to maximize your winnings in this game, you will want the big shot bonuses to apply to the maximum amount of tokens. So, for example, if you were betting a single number and the "moon shot" bonus of 10x came up just before your number, you would win 10 times your winnings, or 35,000 tokens. But if you instead were betting 50 tokens on two different numbers and that same 10x moon shot came up, you would win (((36 times 50) minus 100) times the 10x bonus multiplier) or 17,000 tokens. If you do this twice (you'll hit one of two numbers about twice as often as a single number), you'd win 34,000 tokens instead of the 35,000 you'd win hitting a moonshot with a single number.
However, there is a human factor at work here as well. I believe that it is human nature that we like to see a match on a number we have bet after a big shot bonus occurs. Since there are 5 big shot spaces on the wheel (out of a total of 42 spaces), one of these will hit approximately once out of every 8 spins. And if you are betting only a single number, which itself has only a 1 in 37 chance of coming up, you'll therefore combine your winning number with a big shot approximately only once every 300 spins (approximately once every 5 hours of playing time). And, the big shot that you've waited for for 5 hours might only be a 2x bonus, not 10x or more. Most of us are not patient enough to wait that long for that small of a chance at hitting such a bonus.
It's very important to keep in mind here that without the big shot bonuses, this would be a negative expectation game, just like it is in the casinos (that is, you'd lose tokens in the long run). You can play on average approximately 65 spins of the wheel per hour on pogo. If there were no bonus spaces (that is, if the wheel was the same as it is in a casino), and we were betting the maximum 100 tokens, we could expect to LOSE on average about 176 tokens per hour, or about 4200 tokens per day. So the only hope for us to gain an advantage and win tokens at this game is to wait for the bonus numbers to hit and hope that we have some tokens bet on the number that follows a bonus.
So if it's human nature that we like to match a number we have picked after a big shot bonus occurs, then what can we do to guarantee that we hit a lot of big shots? One way to ensure that you will always have the post-big-shot number chosen is simply to bet a single token or two tokens on all 37 numbers, right? (Note that it is not possible to bet three tokens on every number since we are restricted to a maximum bet of 100 tokens on each turn.) Unfortunately, we need to remember that big shot bonuses apply only to our winnings and not to the number of tokens returned. So if we bet 1 token on every number, we'll be betting 37 tokens. We are guaranteed to get 36 tokens returned to us on every spin of the wheel, but since the big shot bonus multiplier is applied only to our winnings (return minus original bet), we do not gain any tokens with big shot bonuses in this situation. In fact, betting 1 token on every number guarantees that we will lose exactly 1 token on every spin of the wheel. Luckily, pogo does the "right" thing when a big shot occurs--they do not penalize us more than the 1 token we lost!
What if I lose all my tokens?
There is another factor worth mentioning here which is the possibility that you will go bust (lose all your tokens). The chance that you will go bust before you win enough tokens to keep you afloat depends on the total number of tokens you start with (you share your roulette bankroll with other pogo games--more tokens means less chance of going bust) and how you bet (betting more numbers with lower token bets on each is less of a risk for busting than betting all 100 tokens on a single number which may not come up for a long time). However, on the pogo.com site, if you lose all your tokens, pogo will automatically give you 50 more tokens to start out again. The bust factor is therefore somewhat insignificant here.
There is one more related factor that could influence how you bet. Odds are odds, and they do dictate that in the long run, if you do choose to bet a single number, you will hit that number once every 37 games on average. However, it is actually possible that if you bet a single number, you could go for quite some time--maybe even an entire day--without ever seeing that number come up at all, let alone seeing it come up after a big shot bonus. You are more likely to have a long streak of no matches if you bet on a single number than if you bet multiple numbers. If this concerns you, you should definitely consider betting lesser tokens amounts on multiple numbers.
So, to try to maximize the chance that we will take advantage of a big shot bonus multiplier, while also maximizing the number of tokens applied to such a bonus, we might want to spread out our bets on several numbers rather than betting our entire 100-token maximum bet on a single number. Regardless whether you bet a single number all the time or whether you bet multiple numbers, you do always want to bet the full 100 tokens (since this is a positive expectation game!).
But how do we figure out what is the "right" number of numbers for us each as individuals to bet? This is where the human factor comes in. If you are the kind of person who is patient and likes taking risks in hopes of hitting a big single bonus payoff, you will probably want to bet all of your 100-token bet on a single number. If you prefer to win bonus tokens more frequently but with lower payoffs, you should spread your bet among several numbers. If you're interested in just seeing your total token count go up slowly but steadily, I might suggest that you make 5-token bets across 20 numbers. In doing so, you'll hit your numbers frequently and you'll take advantage of many bonus multipliers, but the overall payoff will be low.
Interpreting the table: originally I had included win amounts for various big shot bonuses (2x, 3x, etc.) but the table got pretty wide so I have excluded these--but calculating them is straightforward. Also note that I've included only 6 possible betting strategies. Note that these are not exhaustive--there are many more ways that you can spread your 100-token maximum bet across various roulette numbers, but I think the table above represents the most common bets.
The data in the table assumes the following: we assume an average of about 65 spins of the wheel per hour (in reality, this number is somewhere between about 60 and 70 or so. The reason it varies is because it takes longer to play a game in which one or more Big Shots come up than it does a game where no Big Shot comes up). Betting the max at 65 games per hour represents risking 6500 tokens each hour, (or 156,000 tokens per day!). The frequency of a big shot occurring is 5 out of 42 spins (5 big shot spaces on the wheel out of 42 spaces total), or 11.9%. I assume an average big shot win is a 4x. (some data I've obtained recently leads me to believe that 4x is a reasonable number to use as an average big shot multiplier. The last 2 columns above are based on this 4x average big shot win. And finally, I assume in the tables above that if we were playing in a casino with no big shots in sight, we'd lose on average about 176 tokens per hour or around 4200 per day. (Again, this is ON AVERAGE, according to the odds of the game).
Column 4 represents your hit percentage--that is, the percent of the time that you will hit one of the numbers you have covered.
Column 5 represents the average number of times per day that your bet will coincide with a Big Shot multiplier. So if you like seeing lots of Big Shot multipliers (with only fairly small wins), you should play 20 numbers of 5 tokens each, and on average you will hit a number with a Big Shot about once every 15 minutes or so.
Column 6 represents the average number of tokens you can expect to win per hour, assuming the average Big Shot multiplier is a 4x.
Column 7 represents the average number of tokens you can expect to win per day, assuming the average Big Shot multiplier is a 4x.
The graph above is a simple representation of column 6 of the table above. (If you're still awake at this point and you're paying attention, you'll note that I have interpolated some of the data to get a smoother curve--however, interpolating the data required the addition of some nonsensical real-life data, such as betting 15 tokens each on 6 and two-thirds numbers, which is impossible in real life of course).
The X axis represents the number of tokens bet per number covered (multiply by 5) and the Y axis represents the average number of tokens won per hour, assuming of course a 4x big shot is hit. We end up with a logarithmic graph, one that clearly shows that the fewer numbers you bet the greater your overall winnings.
But another way to think about the graph is from a "human factors" standpoint. We see that as the number of covered numbers decreases, we do indeed have a higher hourly win rate. However, the win rate only increases logarithmically. So while betting all of our 100 tokens on a single number gives us an hourly win rate almost two and a half times better than if we bet 20 numbers with 5 tokens each, the hourly win rate is only about 15% better than if we were to bet 5 numbers with 20 tokens each. And since we'll see 5 times as many "big shot" wins by betting 5 numbers instead of 1, you might be more inclined as an individual to do so.
Closing notes--how fair is pogo's roulette table?
(Note: for more information on the random-ness of all the games at pogo, you can check out my fairness web page.
Many gamblers, and many roulette players in particular, often base their betting or choice of numbers on instinct. That is, they may feel that certain numbers or groups of numbers (like red or black) are "hot" and are therefore more likely to "hit".
However, as I discuss in other areas of my pogo pages, I have every reason to believe that all of pogo's games are truly random, and are not "fixed" in any way. In other words, as this relates to roulette, I have every reason to believe that whenever the pogo roulette wheel is spun, the results of the spin will be truly random--each of the 42 spaces will come up once on average every 42 spins.
I noted several occurrences of a particular number hitting twice in a row. Now, it is definitely the case that odds predict the same number WILL hit twice in a row on occasion. According to completely random odds, this should happen sometimes, but in my admittedly small sample of 250 data points, it happened a total of 12 times, about 50% more often than I think that should have happened.
I also noted that big shots came up more often than I thought they should--about 18 percent of the time instead of the expected 12 percent of the time. It's possible (but unlikely in my opinion) that pogo purposefully rigs their roulette wheel so that big shots come up more often than they should.
Also during this time period, I noted that once three big shots in a row came up, and once four in a row came up. In a sample size of 250, I'd expect 3 in a row to come up once, but I'd expect 4 in a row to only come up about once every 500 or so spins; just lucky I guess.
Take this information with a grain of salt. My sample size was ridiculously small, and from personal observation, pogo seems to make all their games perfectly random.

industry_corpus2: Gaming


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Licensed in Washington and Oregon, Ryan offers extensive experience in residential and commercial real estate plus land entitlements and new construction/resale marketing. He has solid relationships with many land developers and builders, which brings his clients unique investment opportunities and valuable connections.
An avid snowboarder and fly fisherman, Ryan began his sales career in the outdoor sports industry, working as an independent sales representative for several manufacturers. He next switched his focus to real estate and worked for Schneider Homes, Windermere, John L. Scott and the Buccola Group at the Hasson Company. Knowing his future was in real estate he, along with his brother Tim, acquired Bend Oregon’s Key Properties brokerage in September of 2015.
Past and current clients appreciate Ryan’s communications skills and his talent for identifying opportunities that are “spot on” to client needs.


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“As a newly Registered Attorney, May 2014 was my first opportunity to attend the IPTA (The Institute of Patent and Trade Mark Attorneys of Australia) Annual Conference. After making the long and somewhat time-consuming journey from Perth to Cairns, I was rewarded with two days of business sessions which were interesting, informative and really worthwhile.
The attendees heard from a variety of industry professionals, ranging from Australian Barristers to overseas Attorneys and IP Australia employees to members of the Professional Standards Board. The topics covered included multi-jurisdictional patent litigation, code of conduct compliance, New Zealand practice, and Designs and Patent protection and challenges in Asia.
One of the standout presentations, in my opinion, was one entitled Trade Mark Remedies. As expected, it was on the remedies available to a Trade Mark owner in the case of infringement of their Registered Trade Mark. The presenter summarised findings in numerous Trade Mark infringement cases to inform us on how the courts award injunctions, damages, an account of profits etc. as well as giving examples of where infringement was either present or absent, the results of which were often surprising. Placing parallel stripes on a sneaker does not automatically constitute infringement of Adidas’ Registered Trade Mark!
Another topic, presented by a Barrister who specialises in IP, consisted of a roundup of recent case law. A handful of interesting cases were discussed but the most memorable involved the applicant of a self-filed patent application. The applicant was not able to gain acceptance of his application so took the matter to court but was unsuccessful.
My personal take-home message from that matter was that while some applicants may think the cost of using a Patent Attorney is prohibitive, their knowledge and experience, and especially their drafting ability, is well worth the cost. If you want your patent to be granted, you have a far better chance for success when you engage a Patent Attorney.

industry_corpus2: Law & Justice


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This past weekend I attended a Shamanic weekend workshop. It was a powerful and life changing experience. We journeyed, we sang, we dance, we opened our hearts to perfect strangers, and we healed. I am still processing the whole experience and plan to write or do a vlog about it soon.
We were asked to bring snacks to share with everyone. It was recommended to bring something gluten free, nut free, dairy free, and vegans due to the dietary needs within the group. A few months ago I saw on a website, a recipe for brownies made with black beans, but I didn’t write it down. So I thought I would wing it and hope for the best! So here is what you need to make these spirit nourishing morsels….
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and grease an 9.5×13.5 inch non-stick square baking pan.
Combine everything in the food processor except chocolate chips. Process until very smooth. Stir in chocolate chips 3/4 of the bag, then the last 1/4 of the bag sprinkle over the top of the batter.
Pour batter into prepared baking pan and top with more chocolate chips.
Remove from oven and let cool in the pan.
They are best when stored in the fridge.
They came out AMAZING!!!! So fudgy and dense. Not only are they out of this world delicious, but they are healthy for you too. These brownies a packed full of protein, fiber, magnesium, and iron.
This entry was posted in Healthy Eating, Healthy Environment, Healthy You, Recipe and tagged Brownies, cacao, dairy free, gluten-free, happiness, health, healthy living, maple syrup, nut free, recipe, shamanism, spirit, spiritual health, vegan, weekend workshops on November 17, 2015 by Jen.
Wellness Wednesday Tip: Coffee without dairy or processed sugar.
This entry was posted in Healthy Eating, Healthy You, Recipe and tagged coconut milk, coffee, maple syrup, non-dairy, sugar free on July 29, 2015 by Jen.
Toady was Maple Syrup Sunday here in Maine. So farms with sugar shacks open their doors to the public to share the process of maple syrup makings. I was so excited to go! It seems like every year I forget about it. This year Elliot, Samantha and I went, but it was so cold!! Elliot was super excited when he first got there.
We didn’t get to see the process of syrup making, because Elliot had a bit of a melt down as we waited in line. Poor little guy was tired and cold, so we left before we got to see the maple syrup making. We did get to see some animals…..
And have some yummy maple syrup cotton candy…….
So in honor of Maple Syrup Sunday, I made some maple syrup granola bars. Full of super food!
4-5 dates pitted and soaked in 1/2 cup of boiling water.
Start by soaking the dates in boiling water for about 10 minutes. Then blend until completely smooth, and add in the maple syrup. In another bowl mixed all your dry ingredients and then add your maple syrup mix.
Next spread the mixture on a dehydrator sheet if using a dehydrator, or a cookie sheet if using the oven. I dehydrated my bars for about 5 hours.
If you are using your oven, set it on the lowest setting and check the bars periodically. You want them to be hard. Cut into sizes of your preference and enjoy.
This entry was posted in Healthy Eating, Healthy Family, Recipe and tagged family, happiness, health, healthy living, maple syrup, maple syrup sunday, recipe on March 23, 2015 by Jen.

industry_corpus2: Health & Medicine


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would come out. I knew what I wanted to say, and my mouth would move, but I just couldn’t form the words. When I finally spoke, my siblings would either finish my sentences or tell me to be quiet. Having a stutter was frustrating and isolating.
teased. It wasn’t until middle school that I realized I had to do something.
I remember the day I had to do morning announcements over the loudspeaker—I could barely say my name, much less read the announcements. I was petrified to say anything more—the whole school would know I was different.
From that day on I was determined to figure out how to get it under control. And, eventually, with a lot of patience, I learned techniques that helped curb my stuttering.
I always wanted to help kids who stuttered, because of how it affected my life.
My grandson, Lil Herbert, stutters. Wanting to spare him and other children from some of the difficulties I experienced during my childhood, I’ve made it my mission to help those with speech impediments and let them know that they are not alone. It can be conquered, and you can find your voice. Growing up with a stutter was hard and I always wondered, why it happened to me.
Now I have the reason—Every 1 Voice Matters—your voices matter to me.


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A first look at this newly available guide for use with your favourite flavour of Space Marines. Designed to use and keep with your 5th Edition Rulebook, there is much here to help get you up and running in a sometimes unfamiliar environment.
Those dedicated souls over at the Bolter & Chainsword forum have put together a very neat guide to using your Space Marine armies in 5th Edition. Written largely by the forum Admins and Moderators it has a well focussed, professionally produced and well researched feel to it.
It's a pretty extensive document: A4 portrait size with 76 pages, it has been produced in pdf format for downloading.
The guide is divided into roughly three distinct sections (or chapters I suppose), some of which are further sub-divided. The first covers some of the more interesting new rules in depth such as setting up games, ramming, running, true line of sight, new blast template mechanics and much more. These items are thoughtfully put together and include tactical demonstrations where appropriate to bring the text to life.
The bulk of the guide features detailed articles revealing how the new edition impacts upon the various named SM Codexes, the generic SM Codex, the Inquisition, on the forces of Chaos Space Marines and even Daemons (a nice touch to include these denizens of the Warp), and I suspect that it is these items that will be most eagerly read and studied.
The last section is a gamers perspective on the new system, taking a more personal slant than that of the previous content, but which in itself offers some very nice tactical tricks, examples and gameplay explantions. Although more an opinion-piece and some might not agree with all of it — it's from the heart and the sentiment is pretty much spot on that basically, yes it's different and some bits you might not like but let's have fun with it.
2. Is it worth a read?
In a word, yes. Inevitably there is some duplicating of explanations from within each of the Chapter-specific areas, that but that doesn't hurt as it offers different perspectives which are always good. Overall it's been very well written, with a few minor errors — but considering it was put out before 5th Edition was officially launched these can be forgiven — nevertheless it gives a good insight to the effects of 5th Edition on Space Marines. Indeed there is a lot of meat on the bones here, and far exceeds the skim-summaries that Games Workshop themselves have (so far) released for general consumption. Personally I would have liked to have seen more explanatory diagrams or set up shots using models to enhance some tactical or rules point, but let's not be churlish, as it stands it's very good indeed.
3. Is it pro or anti 5th edition?
Mostly pro. But where rules differ to the detriment of previous SM gameplay in 4th this has been rightly pointed out, especially with things like powerfists and assault cannons for instance. Similarly, where improvements have been made, these are picked out too. Let's face it the very fact this guide exists to help those who use it is an indicator of the general direction the editorial team takes. There is no harsh critcism anywhere, just useful and mostly impartial though heartfelt comment.
Fans of the game should look forward to some great experiences through this chapter of Warhammer 40K gaming.
It's worth pointing out that the B&C have been very careful not to infringe GWs IP by revealing too much of the news rules — great credit goes to the writers and editors who had to produce assessments while keeping this is mind.
Finally, as is said in the Introduction, this is a "living document", and as such it will no doubt be expanded and updated as experience with the new rules throws new things into the 40K light.
Download and learn — and feast your eyes on some very tasty artwork.


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Community members and visitors in Cullulleraine will be treated to world class music, thanks to the Andrews Labor Government’s Small Regional Presenters program.
Member for Northern Victoria Mark Gepp announced that the Labor Government will provide $8000 to present this year’s Cullulleraine Music Festival in April.
As well as performances from local and visiting musicians, the festival provides a unique opportunity for the community to get involved and learn a new skill, with workshops on everything from singing to African drumming, song writing and charcoal sketching.
Elsewhere across the state, the program’s eighth round will see singer-songwriter Kutcha Edwards performing in Bruthen and Myrrhee, Geelong performers The Space Company taking the stage in Balmoral and Yea, and acclaimed musical theatre production The Sapphires stopping in at Quambatook Memorial Hall.

industry_corpus2: Film & Entertainment


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Other than his music and business background, Daniel spent a cumulative 5+ years as a bartender. He’s been obsessively studying whiskey for 20 years. He started the wine sommelier program and stopped when he realized he didn’t love wine as much as everyone else in the program did. It’s still an amazing program, and he learned from it his love of their deductive tasting methodology and understanding of sensory involvement. He is a founding member and current board member of the Texas Whisky Association and an owner of a Texas distillery called the Crowded Barrel Whiskey Co.
Kate Van Name spent several years in the professional education, certification, and testing industry and was the head of one of the world’s foremost certification companies. She has over 12 years of management and consulting experience in curriculum process and test development as well as credentialing in over 300 industry professions such as Healthcare, IT, Engineering, and Finance. Kate helped us format our classes, exams, and records in a way that was designed to meet the requirements of a world recognized certification. Kate also ran consulting for vineyards and wineries in MD for several years. Her industry involvement included being in the Maryland Vineyard Association, Maryland Wine Association, and the VP of the Marylanders for Better Beer and Wine Laws lobbying group.
Steve Rae has decades of experience in business development, marketing, radio, and communications. He was invited to become a member of our faculty because of his love of whisky and his ability to communicate that category specific knowledge and business acumen to the students. He’s also an amazing teacher of public speaking and event planning.
Philip and Susan Prichard are of the “Prichard’s Tennessee Whiskey” family and help teach the courses focused entirely on bourbon. They have spent years distilling and decades representing whiskey brands in the industry. Susan is a Stave and Thief Certified Bourbon Steward. They’ve also managed numerous restaurants and country clubs.
Chrissy Martin has been an influential and knowledgeable blogger, podcaster, and bourbon expert for years. She has a decade plus of experience in guided tastings, whisky reviews, whisky recipes, and industry training. Chrissy Martin is a Stave and Thief Executive Bourbon Steward.
Deb Niemeyer has 20 years experience in information technology and business start-ups but her true passion is whiskey. Deb has traveled the world exploring, tasting and discussing whiskey. Deb completed distillery training in the US and blending classes in Scotland, and is the Head Distiller for Crowded Barrel Whiskey Company. Deb and her business partner own Whiskey Chick, a company providing guided whiskey tastings for private and corporate events. Deb and her husband also own a craft beer bar and a brewery where Deb gained her brewing knowledge.
Anthony Dina is currently a manager at Dell, but his heart’s focus and years of training are in the culinary world working with some of the world’s top chefs. He teaches the science of food, whisky pairing, and the history of taste through the millennia.
Chris Maddock is an award-winning and world-renowned ad writer. He focuses on teaching marketing and ad writing to our students during our sessions. Ask his opinion of a particular whisky, and he’ll likely say he needs to investigate further.

industry_corpus2: Others


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Every Wednesday from 6 - 8 p.m.
We'd love for you to join us for our next Open House so you can experience a full walk through of The Ashley Castle and find out if we're the right venue for you.
Why Book The Ashley Castle as Your Wedding Venue?
"This is very valuable post. Thanks for sharing."
The Ashley Castle is Chandler, Arizona's premiere wedding and event venue, offering an array of services from basic venue rental to all-inclusive planning, catering, flowers and decorations.
We respect and are committed to protecting your privacy. We may collect personally identifiable information when you visit our site. We also automatically receive and record information on our server logs from your browser including your IP address, cookie information and the page(s) you visited. We will never sell your personally identifiable information to anyone.
Your payment and personal information is always safe. Our Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) software is the industry standard and among the best software available today for secure commerce transactions. It encrypts all of your personal information, including credit card number, name, and address, so that it cannot be read over the internet.
All payments are final and non-refundable.

industry_corpus2: Hospitality & Catering


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Late Babylonian Texts in the Nies Babylonian Collection, by Paul-Alain Beaulieu, preface by William W. Hallo, edited by Ulla Kasten. Catalogue of the Babylonian Collections at Yale, vol. 1. Bethesda, MD, CDL Press, 1994.
Old Babylonian Archival Texts in the Nies Babylonian Collection, by Gary Beckman, preface by William W. Hallo, edited by Ulla Kasten. Catalogue of the Babylonian Collections at Yale, vol. 2. Bethesda, MD, CDL Press, 1995.
Neo-Sumerian Archival Texts in the Nies Babylonian Collection, by Marcel Sigrist, edited by Ulla Kasten. Catalogue of the Babylonian Collections at Yale, vol. 3. Bethesda, MD, CDL Press, 2001.
Old Babylonian Archival Texts in the Yale Babylonian Collection, by Gary Beckman, edited by Ulla Kasten. Catalogue of the Babylonian Collections at Yale, vol. 4. Bethesda, MD, CDL Press, 2000.
Hellenistic Seal Impressions in the Yale Babylonian Collection: Ring-bullae and Other Clay Sealings, by Ronald Wallenfels. Catalogue of the Babylonian Collections at Yale, vol. 5. Bethesda, MD, CDL Press, 2016.

industry_corpus2: Literature & Emotions


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If you’re trying to find a dependable, professional and friendly roof and roof repair business in Balwyn North 3104, then you’ve come to the right place. Our team will more than happy to visit your home or business and evaluate your options – No obligation! If you’re trying to find a company to repoint a tiled roofing system, then we can help. We can also assist with colorbond roofing replacement, roof painting and roofing system remediation.
Our Balwyn North roofing experts are trained to repair and restore a reliable roof that will safeguard your investment. We have worked extensively on roofing system repairs in residential and business locations. It is a wise option to leave the entire roofing repair requirements to a knowledgeable and expert hand like us. We take pride in all our roofing projects as we take time to understand our consumers’ needs and requirements. We ensure that you will get an expert finish with attention to detail.
Do you have a leaking roofing? Do you have broken, shifted, or cracked tiles? Do you have broken or fallen apart mortar? Do not wait up until it’s far too late. Call us to get it fixed right away.
A dripping roof or a moved tile may seem to be a small issue to you, but if ignored it can result in other more severe internal issues. The minor issue can wind up ending up being a major one and might require a pricey repair work. The moment you discover that your roofing requires some maintenance and repair, you must call a qualified roofing tiler or licensed plumbing to attend to the matter.
As roofing system repairs experts, we can deal with almost all types of issues regardless of how small or big it is. Our highly skilled experts can locate the leakages accurately and fix them. They can recommend you the best possible alternative to manage your concern and will send you an upfront quote. In case you decide to proceed with us, we will start our work right away with no hold-up.
Employing a professional roof restoration specialist can be a cost effective alternative to changing your whole roofing. Most of the times your roof can be restored to as good as brand-new condition with the best materials and workmanship.
The roof remediation process usually involves an extensive clean to remove any built up moss and dirt, fixing of damaged sheets or tiles, then repainting of the entire roofing system to restore it to it’s former splendor. Roofing remediation can extend the life of your present roofing, avoid more expensive repair works as well as add value to your house thanks to its better street appeal. We can bring your old roofing system back to life with our expert roofing remediation service. Restoring your roofing system will not only enhance the street appeal of your house, it will increase it’s value and can improve energy performance.
In some cases it’s not always possible or rewarding restoring or repairing your roofing due to its age or major flaws. We specialise in roofing system repairs to damaged or leaking roofings due to wear and tear or roofing systems that have actually been improperly set up.
Re-roofing services in Balwyn North will provide your old, worn out roofing system a fresh look and long lasting wear. We will remove and deal with your existing roof covering, battens and sarking. If your roofing system is asbestos we can organize a fully-licensed and recognized company to eliminate and deal with this dangerous material. We work closely with these companies to offer you with a seamless roofing system replacement from ‘start’ to ‘finish’.
Your roofing system is among your most important assets. However as your home ages, your roofing begins to age and it will require maintenance. However, the majority of people disregard their roofing systems till it is so deteriorated that it requires to be changed. We understand that proper repair works and maintenance can save money in the long run. That’s why we offer thorough roof upkeep and service plans to fit your needs and spending plan.
· Reliability – We plan and carry out all our roof jobs in a prompt manner and guarantee that everything is done within the agreed time frame.
· Certified – The team we have is consisted of full-time workers who are insured and accredited.
Our philosophy is simple: treat our clients as we would like to be dealt with. In line with this, all of our employee show integrity and honesty – when we begin work on your roof, we treat your home as though it were our own. We treat your home with the respect that it is worthy of, thus our dedication to providing high quality service at a reasonable and reasonable cost.
As the most trusted service for roof repair work, roof replacement & roofing system repair in Balwyn North, it ought to come as no surprise to hear that of our employees are experienced, professional, friendly and responsible. We speak straight with our personnel, and strive to employ just the most respectable roofing contractors.
Give us a call today or contact us through the query form on our site. We are constantly readily available by phone so you will be able to get all your roofing system repair concerns addressed on the spot. If it is after hours please fill out our query form and we will attempt and return to you as soon as possible. Remember no matter what the kind of task you have, no matter how huge or little, do not hesitate to get in contact with us – we will offer you the most competitive quote we potentially can. If your job is outside the bayside residential areas, that is no problem, we work all over town and more than happy to come and quote you for any type of roofing repair task.


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What the f is happening?
A comic written for anyone who has ever lost their way and wondered what the hell is going on.
160gsm recycled paper, 28 pages. First edition of 45 copies.


text: I am a Nutritionist, Registered Dietitian, food educator, and an advocate for your health and wellbeing. I impart a vast array of knowledge, spanning from a BASc. in Nutrition and Food from Ryerson University, a Masters in Public Health specializing in Community Nutrition at the University of Toronto, and experience in holistic, alternative, and integrative healthcare. I have an invaluable understanding of health from my own health condition, where I experienced how nourishing your body can help you to feel your best self. My passion for a satisfied palate and a thriving body is what ignites my creativity and sensibility to provide outstanding nutritional care for my clients.


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I got an identical computer at home for what I just got at work. This one is going to be very different. The first thing I did was head over to Best Buy to pick up a new SATA hard drive. Even though I handed the girl the gift certificate (200 USD from my mom for graduating!), she forgot, so I had to go through the checkout process twice; apparently when they void an order, it stays on your credit card for twenty-four hours. If I didn't happen to pay it down a little, it would have meant I was coming back today. Fortunately, I could handle it.
I picked up a 500 GB SATA drive. Yeah, its about twice the size of the original drive, but I've always come to the conclusion you should buy as much as you can comfortably afford. With the gift certificate and a 35 USD pack of Light-Scribe DVD+R (which Fluffy can't use apparently), it only came out to 118 USD. Pretty good deal.
I left Windows XP on the 250 GB and set up the 500 GB as Linux. Sadly, I didn't have any CDR's in the house, so I ended up using a blank DVD+R (not the Light-Scribe ones) to get Debian bootstrapped over to the new partition. Then, I spent a couple hours getting things installed. I finished up just as I was rebuilding part of the bed (we switched sides because of my shoulder).
It will be strange not to worry about drive space for a while. I've been surviving on 60 GB for everything on my laptop for about a year now. Now, I have 750 GB on a single machine that is faster, has more ram, and a better graphics card.


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Muffins are the perfect on the go snack, breakfast treat or simply yummy cake to enjoy with a cup of tea. We have taken one of the nations favourite bakes - the cherry bakewell and turned it into a delicious muffin.
Preheat your oven to 190°c (170°c Fan, Gas Mark 5) and line a 12 hole muffin tin with tulip muffin cases.
Place the ground almonds, golden caster sugar, flour and baking powder in a mixing bowl and stir until they are evenly incorporated.
In a seperate bowl beat together the eggs, milk and vanilla extract then gradually pour this into the bowl with the dry ingredients. Beat the mixture together by hand using a whisk or wooden spoon until all of the ingredients have just blended together before adding the oil.
Grate the marzipan into the mixture then wash, dry and chop the cherries into quarters before folding into the mix.
Carefully fill each muffin case 2/3 full with mixture and then place on a middle shelf in the oven to bake for 20-25 minutes until golden and baked throughout.
To decorate, mix together the icing sugar with a few drops of water to make a thick icing then gently flick your spoon forward and backwards over your muffin to create a drizzle effect. Sprinkle each muffin with a handful of flaked almonds and top with half a glace cherry.


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A component is a standalone entity that is meaningful in its own right. While components (or bloks) can be nested in each other, semantically they remain equal. Each component is a small piece of your data structure which can be filled with content or nested by your content editor. One component can consist of as many field types as required.
There are two approaches you can follow when creating new components. Most of the time, a mix of both is what your customers will demand. The first approach is to produce more static components, while the second approach entails more flexible, dynamic components.
This first approach should be used if you want your content creators to follow strict guidelines, or if you have some bigger components which can be reused and filled with content without thinking about the layout. For example, a large, full-screen hero image with some text in the centre of it.
What are the benefits of this approach? Your content creator doesn’t need to think about, “how can I create a section with a background image and a vertical and centered headline”, because there’s already a pre-built component for it. You can see this approach in action in our quick start.
Let’s say we want to create a simple layout with one grid, two columns and some text in each column. This component should be used if you know that your content creators have an eye for design and spacings. Why? Because they will be able to create a completely different website to the one your front-end designer initially made.
What are the benefits of this approach? If developers decide that a two column layout isn’t best, they can simply add a third column to the grid and (if your code covers that) your column would use 1/3 instead of 1/2 of the grid width. You can see this approach in action also with our quick start.


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This ticket is based on a discussion in Brussels.
The issue we talked about is that it can sometimes be difficult to import our per-graph CSV files into applications like LibreOffice Calc or services like CKAN and make charts out of them.
We briefly discussed in Brussels to change our formats accordingly, to please LibreOffice Calc et al. However, after giving this some more thoughts, I'm opposed to this idea.
What can we do? I don't want to make the data harder to process for anyone, and sometimes LibreOffice Calc or CKAN can be great tools to get a first impression on a data set. We can also not expect everyone to use R or SPSS or MATLAB. But maybe we can solve this with better documentation rather than changing the way we're doing things.
So, how about we document the reasons for choosing tidy data formats on the Statistics page and linking to a few tutorials for processing our data with common charting tools? Ideally, we would add links rather than write a lot of text on our own, though.
There are other tools (like openrefine) to do pivot table.


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The OLD MONTEREY FOUNDATION, a California non-profit, public benefit corporation, qualified as such under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, was formed on February 14, 2011, with the specific mission and purpose of promoting, supporting and enhancing the artistic, cultural and historic environment of historic Downtown Monterey, California.
In 2010, Old Monterey Business Association (OMBA) President James Bryant, Vice-President Todd Stornetta and Past President Jerry Anderson came together with OMBA Executive Director Rick Johnson to establish a 501(c)3 non-profit organization ‘to encourage and support the history and culture of historic Downtown Monterey.’ The vision of these founders was that the Foundation could do many things that the Old Monterey Business Association could not do, lacking a 501 (c)(3) status.
With assistance from attorney Anthony Davi and the financial support of OMBA, Old Monterey Foundation was established with the filing of Articles of Incorporation with the California Secretary of State on February 14, 2011. The initial Board of Directors, appointed by the founders, were Anthony G. Davi, President; Mary Hill, Vice-Pesident; Todd Stornetta, CFO and Secretary; Nancy Selfridge, Julie Work Beck, Uwe Grobecker, and Anthony G. Davi, Sr.
Assessing the Downtown’s unique strengths with a view to enhancing the area’s appeal to visitors and residents alike, the Board identified the charming historic adobes, sprinkled throughout the Downtown area and for which Monterey is widely known, as the primary target for enhancement during the formative year of the Foundation. Surprised and delighted to discover that the City of Monterey, as well as California State Parks and the Monterey History & Art Association, possessed an extensive collection of masterpieces of early California art, largely hidden away in storage for decades, the Board determined to marry the two treasures for promotion. Putting the historic adobes together with the ‘out of sight, out of mind’ art seemed a natural, and ‘Art in the Adobes Festival’ was born!
The theme chosen for ‘ Art in the Adobes ‘ inaugural year (3 day event in September 2011) was “Treasures from Old Monterey.” Subsequent years focused on “Rediscovery: Monterey Peninsula Artists at Home & Abroad” (2012) and “Artists and Architecture” (2013). The hidden artwork would be displayed in the historic Adobes, which were opened for public visitation to the public, killing two birds with one stone. Among venues chosen to display the Art were historic Casa Gutierrez, Casa Serrano, Colton Hall, Cooper-Molera Adobe, Few Memorial Hall, Larkin House, Monterey Museum of Art, the Museum of Monterey and Robert Louis Stevenson House.
Artists featured included Charles Rollo Peters, William Keith, E. Charlton Fortune, Abel Warshawsky, Mary DeNeale Morgan, Ferdinand Burgdorff, Gottardo Piazzoni, Arthur Frank Mathews, Francis John McComas, Mary Evelyn McCormick, Armin Hansen, Henrietta Shore and more, many more.
Expert lectures were presented throughout each weekend and a Plein Air competition and folk dance demonstrations were added for the second and third years. Attendance doubled from 600 persons in 2011 to over 1200 who enjoyed the 2013 Festival weekend.
By the conclusion of the three-year Art in the Adobes Festival Old Monterey Foundation was firmly established as an organization which could be depended upon to initiate programs (as well as collaborate in support of other’s efforts) to promote and enhance historic Monterey, and its culture and art.
Since 2013, Old Monterey Foundation has continued its promotion of local history and art with the 2014 Jules Tavernier Lecture Series and the 2015 Marcia Devoe Lecture Series, and the Art in the Gardens Plein Aire event. Special projects adopted in 2015 include the Christmas Angels Event in conjunction with the Monterey Colton Hall and Cultural Arts Commission. And 2014 marks the beginning of a five year commitment by Old Monterey Foundation in partnership with the City of Monterey to develop the Lower Presidio Historic Park.


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Outstanding customer service from Turner representative!
Turner has done the best job with our lawn compared to all other service providers we've used in the past.
Turner always is great about communicating with us. They let us know ahead of time when technicians are coming out.
Good company with good employees..
I was explained exactly what to expect from the service.
Inspector was friendly and very thorough. Service was excellent.