text:
You can always see the mountains in Cusco. (Margaret Brown)
You can always see the mountains in Cusco.
Travel Journal: My Trip to Peru!
Erica Luo, Staff Writer
Today was our first full day in Peru! Surprisingly, I woke up on time even though I only got about 4 hours of sleep. At breakfast, there were these small round things that tasted really good. They looked like hash browns, but I'm not sure what they were made out of. Maybe potato? The outside was crispy and the center was almost liquidy, so I think there might have been cheese inside.
The first thing that I noticed when we got on the bus in Cusco was that all the colors here seem more vibrant. The mountains and the sky are specific shades of green and blue that I've only seen in postcards. It's as if we got dumped into a picture from a travel brochure. Maybe that has to do with the thinner altitude? Or maybe the fact that it's been so dreary back home, so everything looks brighter.
Erica Luo
Scenery in Cusco on the way to the hotel.
I got to try coca candy, which is actually pretty good. It reminds me of green tea. I also tried a coca leaf in the airport. Apparently you're not supposed to chew on it, and you're definitely not supposed to swallow it (ask Caroline). I wish someone told me that I only had to suck on it before I started chewing because I still have bits of coca leaf stuck in my teeth.
A rainbow outside the hotel!
After taking a nap and eating lunch, we had the chance to visit the market across the street from the hotel. The market is held inside a warehouse-like building that's about the size of a normal grocery store. There are some vendors outside along the street but the majority are inside. The stalls are pretty small, but there's so much to look at in each one. The items inside are just as colorful as the scenery outside. Some of the stalls have stacks and stacks of textiles and others are full of silver jewelry. I like the silver rings with stones in rainbow order.
I really want to try some of the food they're selling in there, but I don't want to get sick. I bartered for the first time ever—it's a little awkward, but I got some pretty good deals. Crossing the street here is an adventure because the drivers only see the lights as suggestions.
It currently feels like someone is trying to drive a nail into my forehead every time I take a step, so hopefully that'll go away by tomorrow. I'm not sure if it's from lack of sleep or the altitude, or maybe a combination of both.
Dog count: 6
Incan architecture on display at the Sacsuayhuaman ruins.
Today after touring some ruins, our group was blessed in a traditional ceremony. The man who conducted it told us a bit about Peruvian religion and compared Catholicism to Incan beliefs.
The blessing bundle.
He said that typically, Catholicism is very somber and serious, but the Incans saw religion as a celebration. As he explained this, he placed a handful of confetti and sprinkles in the bundle he was preparing for us. I thought that was very wholesome and pure.
Plaza de Armas
After lunch, we visited two churches–La Basílica Catedral and el Convento de Santo Domingo –the second of which is built on top of Qorikancha and the Temple of the Sun. Our tour guide, Ana María, showed us some paintings inside La Basílica by indigenous artists. Even though the local people were forced to paint European and Catholic depictions, she showed us how the artists were able to hide symbols inside the artwork. For example, in the painting of the Last Supper, traditional foods like cuy (guinea pig) and corn are at the table and Judas is depicted as Francisco Pizarro. In another painting, the Virgin Mary's body is triangular, like a mountain, and there are pumas, snakes, and condors in the background.
The second church had some of the remains of the old temple, so we got to see the locks and joints carved into the stones. Apparently these allowed the buildings to shift during earthquakes so they didn't fall over. I wonder if people still use those techniques when they build structures today.
The courtyard of Qorikancha.
There are so many dogs here, including puppies. I'm a little disappointed because we haven't seen any cats yet.
Dog count: 121 (includes dogs from previous days)
We went on a two hour bus ride in order to get to the rafting site today. The scenery here is beautiful, and I love seeing the mountains around us. I also really enjoy seeing the wildflowers growing on the side of the road. It's a little weird seeing flowers that are normally sold at Home Depot just growing out of the ground.
Urubamba River
While we were rafting, our guide Jose pointed out the Sky Lodges hanging on the side of the mountain. I think he said something about being able to zip line down instead of hiking, but I think it would be cooler if there was a water slide that ended in the river. There were a lot of kids playing along the banks of the river, and we waved to all of them. All of the kids are really cute here.
My group got to swim in the river at the end of the trip, and the water was surprisingly refreshing. I got some in my mouth, but I think I'll be okay. I spoke to Caroline Dent about her thoughts on the rafting trip:
"I would've liked to flip but I was way too focused to be scared. I liked that it was exercise and you needed to rely on your own body to survive. The water was really refreshing, [It] felt a lot purer than in the States. I was a little disappointed in myself [because] I was pretty out of breath, but I'll chalk that one up to the sorroche (altitude sickness). I drank a little too much of the water, which I would not recommend."
After rafting, we had lunch at the prettiest restaurant I've ever been to. It was right on the river, and there was a great view of the mountains surrounding us. There was a beautiful garden, and two alpacas just eating grass and chilling. I ate about 10 of these small donut-like desserts and laid down in the grass, so I'm feeling pretty good.
The garden at the restaurant.
On the way to the weaving cooperative, we noticed that many buildings have mysterious symbols painted on the sides. Connor and Broderick think that they belong to political parties. We've seen a lot that belong to a party that we've decided to call "Shovel Man."
Shovel Man advertisements.
Cat count: 4 (finally saw some cats!)
Dog count: 388
Oropeza
Ada bought us some chuta today while we were driving to the market in Pisac. Chuta is a type of bread, and its name means "to pull" because you're not supposed to cut it into pieces. We got it in a town called Oropeza, which is supposedly the bread capital. They host a bread festival every year in October, which I plan on attending, one way or another.
Today features our very first food review, courtesy of Caroline Dent: "So let's first start with the size of this [chuta]. This bread was an absolute unit—when I say I like a thick piece of bread that is what I mean. It was bigger than my head! Second, I want to draw attention to the glaze: it was a sweet glaze so it's a sweet bread. I couldn't tell you what exactly the spices were, [there was] cinnamon I'm told, which is a delicacy. It was absolutely delightful! Now you tear off a hunk of this bread— don't even get me started on the animalistic, pure, elated joy of tearing off a hunk of this sweet bread with your hands like a beast. Then you take a big huge whiff: it smells like heaven. Then you take a bite of that bad boy and it's just the right amount."
Ana María told us that Quechua is a phonetic language; so many words are based on the noises the objects make. For example, the word for baby is "wawa" and the word for guinea pig is "cuy" because they squeak. It was a little unfortunate to learn that after we just tried some cuy, but oh well. After that, she explained that guinea pig meat is very rich, so doctors prescribe cuy soup to cancer patients help them replenish proteins that they lost while fighting cancer.
Ada told us she was going to teach us how to salsa dance because we were playing Marc Anthony on the bus. I'm expecting her be to true to her offer.
Vendors at the Pisac market.
After lunch, we hiked up Ollantaytambo and the granaries directly across from it. On the way to the trail to the granaries, dog #734 started following us. We've been saying "no toca la roca" because we're not supposed to touch the ruins. However, the dog was running all over the rocks, so we named him Toca. He followed us all the way to the top, and all the way down. He kept up really well for such a small dog. It made wonder if the animals in Peru have more efficient lungs than the ones back home.
The granaries
Cat count: 8
Breakfast was very entertaining this morning. Grace ate a cube of butter because she thought it was cheese. I think the orange juice is better here; it's not as sour. I'm normally not a huge fan of orange juice, but I drank a lot this morning. There was a new type of round bread at the buffet, so I had Caroline give another review:
The bread at breakfast.
"[This is a] hockey puck piece of bread, which is a satisfying shape, but you don't want hockey puck texture. This one, however, is nice and light and fluffy. It's very easy to split in half like an English muffin… The texture is phenomenal; it smells great— it's somewhere in between a white bread and a wheat bread, and when you add salted butter it's just delightful. Out of 7, it's a 5. It could be exceptional, [and] it's not exceptional, but for breakfast bread in Peru, [it's] very successful."
Today was our first day at the school for the service part of the trip, and the kids there are adorable. I helped pack school supplies and toys in backpacks we collected back in the U.S. We also helped paint and sand the walls of the school, so now I have paint dust in my nostrils and lungs. However, the kids were super excited to receive their bags and play with us, so that makes up for it. Caroline had to show one little girl how to use floss because she thought it was candy.
One group of students with their new backpacks.
Back at the hotel, Grace and I had to blast the space heater in order to dry her clothes, so hopefully we don't burn the hotel room down! We've noticed that none of the hotel rooms we've stayed in have tissues, and that all the toilet paper is scented.
Dog count: 1000 (!!!)
Cat count: 19
Ernesto is going double the speed limit. We passed a speed limit that says 40 km/h, but the speedometer at the front of our bus just went up to 80. Normally I'd be worried, but our bus driver Ernesto is a god, so it's okay. Our bus is always way ahead of the other bus because he drives so fast, and he also passes people, even though the roads here only have one lane in each direction. He also whips up and down the mountains. Switchbacks have nothing on Ernesto.
Some scenery from our daily bus rides.
I also have to give him a shoutout for helping out at the school without being asked. He helped paint yesterday, and today he helped us laminate the textbooks for the kids. He's a great guy.
We had a little more time to play with the kids today, which was nice. A group of three girls followed me around while I was painting, and I also sat with them at lunch. Today we tried a pork dish at lunch, which means it's time for another food review with Caroline!
"So let's discuss lunch on day five of the Peru trip. Let's start with the banana. I don't know if it's a banana [because] this [one] is smaller. I hate bananas. I have a personal vendetta against bananas, okay? They're terrible and I hate them, but this is a cooked banana that they threw in a broiler or oven or something, I don't know. It was absolutely delicious! It was a little [odd because] it's black on the outside and yellow on the inside. I was like 'I don't know if I want to put that anywhere near my mouth' but oh my Lord, you peel that exterior away and you get lots of deliciousness in the middle. Don't even get me started on the pork, okay? They just gave us straight hunks of pork! You could just chow that baby down and the skin was crispy, extremely crispy. I didn't have utensils so I was eating everything with my fingers, but it really enhanced the dining experience— the primal pleasure of eating without a fork is unmatched, I strongly recommend it"
Unfortunately I spent too long eating so I didn't have any time to play with my girls before we had to leave. I wish we got to spend more time with them. We also had to leave our guide Ana María before we got on the train to Aguas Calientes.
Dog count: 1332
Whip count: 48 (The whip count is a tally of the number of times Ernesto passes someone or makes a difficult turn on a switchback.)
Aguas Calientes+Machu Picchu
On the streets of Aguas Calientes.
It's Machu Picchu day! The hotel we're staying at is right next to the train station, so I did not sleep well.
There were two sauces that were similar to caramel offered today at breakfast. One was normal caramel colored, and I think the other one had chocolate mixed in or something. Both of them were delicious.
The bus drive to Machu Picchu was surprisingly uneventful. I was expecting a narrow road in the middle of a mysterious jungle, but it was just a normal one. The most "exciting" part of the ride was when we had to squeeze by another bus that was heading down the mountain.
We made it to Machu Picchu!
I'm not really sure what I was expecting when we actually got to Machu Picchu. It looked exactly like the pictures, which is good? It was obviously impressive, but I was expecting it to be a little more impressive, if that makes sense. It's always an odd feeling when you get to finally visit somewhere that you've heard about so many times. It's hard for me to imagine people actually living there. I only saw one llama, which was a little disappointing.
Looking up from the bottom of Machu Picchu.
Towards the end, our tour guide Darcy showed us a carved piece of stone sticking out of the ground. It turned out to be the top half of the Inca cross; the bottom portion is formed when the sun hits the rock and creates a shadow on the ground. Darcy said this was meant to represent the idea of duality: one half exists on the earth, and the other in the underworld. The Incas think of everything. It's wild how someone was able to figure out where to place the stone and carve it so it aligns perfectly with the sun. I wonder how long it took them to do it?
While we were visiting, Alan Garcia, one of the former presidents, shot himself because he didn't want to be arrested for corruption. Surprisingly, no one at the site seemed very upset, but maybe that's because most of the people were tourists. I felt a little weird because Garcia's death probably holds a lot of historic significance, but it happened while I was waiting for the bus at Machu Picchu. It was a very odd combination of events.
We had extra time after lunch, so Ada brought us to a waterfall and we got the chance to swim in it. The water was FREEZING and I think I hurt my ankle trying to navigate over the slippery rocks, but it was still worth it.
The waterfall within the cloud forest.
It was nice to have the chance to cool off after hiking through the cloud forest for half an hour. Although the Incan ruins were amazing, I still think the most impressive part of Peru is its natural beauty. It's so cool that you can travel down from the mountains and go straight into subtropical forests. I wish we could've spent more time at the waterfall, but we had to head back.
Someone had set up models of Incan terraces along the side of the trail—some of them had plants in them, and others were being used as fountains. Seeing those made me really happy for some reason. They were just satisfying to look at. Whoever made them had even made the effort to make each little pebble fit perfectly.
Dog count disclaimer: we've definitely seen more than 1348 dogs, but we're a little tired of counting now.
Aguas Calientes+Sacred Valley
Today we got to sleep in and we had extra time to eat breakfast (yeehaw). We got a little creative with the breakfast options. I mixed the orange juice with mango juice, and Sophia and Margaret put the chocolate caramel stuff in their coffee. We would recommend both options.
We passed an archaeological team working on the way back from Aguas Calientes. I'm surprised we haven't seen more.
A view of the snow-capped Andes on the train ride back.
On the bus ride back to Cusco, we stopped at a chicha bar to try some chicha, which is a type of corn beer. (Disclaimer: The alcohol content is very low.) We tried two kinds: the original and one mixed with strawberries. Here are Caroline's thoughts:
"Let's talk about chicha. Absolutely remarkable. We're going to start with my thoughts on the kitchen. [It] had Ekeko in it, [and] he's basically the God of luck and joy so that's how you know it's gonna be a good day.
Let's get into the appearance of the chicha. So we got a pink one and a yellow one…That pink one was a smoothie and smells a bit like yogurt… Anyway, she poured it into this little thing, we learn all about it and it's pretty phenomenal. Then you hit that sip [and] you think you know what it's gonna be like. I've had kombucha and I've [smelled] beer— I don't quite know if it's gonna be a hybrid of the two.
It was absolutely phenomenal, okay? It was a little sour and it was a little bubbly. There was a nice foam on top that was reminiscent of a steamed milk in your latte, but it was in your beer.
Let's talk about the pink one. The pink one was a seasonal delicacy. Apparently it only lasts for about a day and a half because the strawberry doesn't ferment very well, but oh my… that strawberry chicha— MMMMMMM. MMMMMMM. Highly recommend strawberry chicha."
Sophia attempts to get the coin in the frog's mouth.
There was a little frog game set up outside the chicha bar, and we had the chance to try it out. It's kind of like cornhole: there's a small table-y structure with holes carved into the top and backboard, with a frog in the middle.
The goal of the game is to toss a coin into the frog's mouth, but you can also try to get it in the holes. Each hole has an assigned point value, and whoever earns the most amount of points at the end of the game wins. I've played cornhole before, but for some reason, this game was way more engaging. There's just something about that frog…
Whip count: 66
Last day
We're back at the first hotel across the street from the original market. I honestly think I've spent more time at the market than at the hotel. Oops.
Cusco from the top of the Pachacutec Monument.
After we went on a little tour of the Pachacuteq Monument, we had the opportunity to visit the San Pedro market. So far, we've only visited craft markets, but this one is where the locals shop.
In the outside area, people have their wares spread out on the ground, so we had to dodge those while attempting to stay in a group. The main marketplace was for food, and boy was there a lot of it. There were stacks and stacks of bread, a whole aisle for juice stands, a seafood section, a cheese store, dried fruit, basically any food you could want. The ladies at the juice stands were careful to mention that the juice didn't contain any ice or water, which I will keep in mind for when I inevitably return to try all the food I didn't get to try this time.
Caroline and I bought a giant piece of bread that resembled chuta for 5 soles. That'll be a good airport snack. I also bought 3 merengues for 1 sol (!), and Caroline bought some special Easter pastries with sprinkles. After we left the market, we got to stop by a churro shop that was selling churros with the caramel sauce inside (!!). I was then informed that the caramel is called manjar. As we were eating, I caught up with Caroline to hear her final thoughts:
"All right, so it's our last day in Peru, [which is a] very sad time. We hit a real market today, and I'm not talking about this tourist thing where they charge you 60 and actually expect 40. I'm talking about a real market with real food and real people. Oh man, was there some good food, fam. We're talking giant bread, Easter pastries, little meringues, and pop tart-looking crispy things. Amazing.
We're going to talk about this bread we got for five soles. Pretty good deal. It's not a sweet bread, but it's a very sweet flour, so the bread actually tastes like you're eating a lovely wheat cloud. We also had the privilege of trying special Easter pastries, which were absolutely amazing, and little meringues. [They had a] very dainty good chew. You hit that chew… and it's just enough crunch that you feel God's love. The bread will last you a good like 12 hours because the loaves are so massive. Definitely not supposed to be eaten by one person, but you know what? Things here are different than they are in the U.S., and I think that's what we've learned from these food reviews. You're not gonna get the same things here that you get in the U.S."
After lunch, we had one last opportunity to shop at the original craft market, where I spent way too long trying to pick a necklace. I asked the owner of the store, "El pendiente es plata?" But she kept saying, "No, es Pachamama." I thought I was saying silver correctly, but maybe not. She also said the same thing when I asked about a turquoise pendant.
Unfortunately, we had to bid farewell to Ernesto at the airport before our flight to Lima. I will never meet anyone who shares Ernesto's ability to pass people and whip through switchbacks.
When we got to Lima, we went to go see a water show at a park, and then we had dinner at 9:30 which was a very odd experience. Lima feels completely different from Cusco; it was almost like we were in a different country. The weather was much warmer and most of the buildings were more modern. The air feels thicker—I'd like to think it's because we're at a lower elevation but it's probably just the humidity. I wish we could've stayed in Lima for a couple days and explored the city because it seems like a pretty cool place.
The fountains in Lima lit up by colorful lights.
Final thoughts: I'm sad that we have to leave, but I'm glad that I won't have to hoard bottled water anymore. I'm going to miss being able to see the mountains, seeing random dogs in t-shirts on the side of the road, and the colors everywhere. Like I mentioned before on day one, I think it's really fascinating that so much of the Incan culture and religion is tied to animals and natural phenomena. It feels like anyone can participate in it, no matter their religious background. I'm definitely planning on coming back to Peru at some point so I can eat more bread and try more food. Maybe I'll even give the Inca Trail a shot!
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Cedar Township is a township in Greene County, Iowa, USA.

History
Cedar Township was established in 1867.

References

Townships in Greene County, Iowa
Townships in Iowa
1867 establishments in Iowa
Populated places established in 1867

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Eurohold Bulgaria reported consolidated Q1 revenues in the amount of 90 million leva (46 mln euros), the company told Profit.bg. This is a hike of 127% against 2007 Q1 when revenues stood at 39.5 mln leva (20.1 mln euros).
The transfer of shares in Euroins Romania (Asitrans) to Euroins Insurance Group (EIG) has been excluded from the figures.
The net consolidated profit of the group (minus the 34.8 mln leva from the transaction mentioned above) stands at 6.9 mln leva (3.5 mln euros), compared with 2.24 mln leva (1.14 mln euros).
The EIG companies saw revenues from insurance premiums go up 30%, from 30.6 mln leva (15.6 mln euros) in 2007 to 39.6 mln leva (20.2 mlm euros) in Q1 this year. All companies in the group reported a growth rate in this type of revenues, which outpaced the growth of general insurance companies in the countries in which they operate.
The general insurance market in Romania, for example, rose by 6% in this first quarter, while Euroins Romania's growth rate is 22%. For the first time the consolidated report of EIG includes the results of Makoshped, whose premium income amounts to 2 mln leva and net profit is at 127,000 leva. At a general meeting held May 30, shareholders decided to rename the company to Euroins Osiguruvanie. Last week EIG's health insurance company St Nikola was renamed to Health Insurance.
EIG's units report a loss of 0.76 mln leva for the period, which is mainly due to the loss posted by Euroins Romania (0.83 mln leva). The Romanian company's result is, however, better than last year, when it announced a loss of a little over 2 mln leva.
The claims paid in Romania are almost twice the amount of those paid in Bulgaria, most of them are on Motorcasco insurance. Euroins Romania is working on a program aiming at reducing the claims share by 8 points this year.
2007 was a hard year for the Romanian insurance market. Companies suffered a net loss of 70 mln euros due to bad results in the area of auto insurance.
Eurohold Bulgaria sees improved results in other divisions this year as well. The profit of the auto insurance unit stands at 1.23 mln leva, versus 0.30 mln leva last year. The hike is attributed to the improved operating margin, which went up from 3.5% to 5.3%.
Revenues here are up 16% to 26.2 mln leva (13.3 mln euros). Four new sales centers will be opened by the end of the year – 2 in Sofia and one in Veliko Tarnovo and Stara Zagora. The new centers are expected to boost auto sales by 30%.
The companies in the production unit saw a net profit of 1.05 mln leva.
The holding explained the one week delay of the consolidated report with the delay in the results of the Romanian insurance company, which had to undergo a complete change of its information system – as of May this year, Euroins Romania works with the same software as Bulgarian insurance companies.


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Iran coach Reza Vakili Farjad: We are very happy to have this match against Brazil. We have prepared well with our mentality coming into this game. We like playing against strong teams because we can have the chance to improve our level. During the rest day, we trained hard, both in fitness and ball training. I think this has really paid off with our performance today.
Brazil is a very strong team with a lot of talent for the future. We needed to use our tactics in this match, and all the players performed well with this game plan in mind.
Iran captain Amirhossein Esfandiar: I want to play long enough and good enough to make it to the seniors' team. Sometimes, I cannot wait to be in that level. But I have to work harder and train more.
Brazil coach Leonardo Carvalho: It was very difficult to play against Iran particularly that our reception was not as good as we want it to be. We played at the start in a very good level, with good reception, strong attacks, strong serves. But in the end of the first set, we could not post well on reception on the float serves. They had very strong serves with the right spin or float. They deserve to win as they really played better than we did. I am very impressed with Iran's players. They are much stronger and they can play at such a high level. Congratulations to Iran.
Brazil captain Joao Franck: In this level of competition, we can make a lot of errors. But what we can do is learn from these mistakes and avoid doing them in the future.


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Is Grammarly Free For Students? | MHP
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Is Grammarly The Same As Turnitin | MHP
Grammarly Achievments | MHP
Find Is Grammarly Free For Students | MHP
Looking for Is Grammarly Free For Students?…
Grammarly is a platform that is being used by a small company called Intersect. It is a kind of software that uses Natural Language Processing technologies (NLP) to help improve grammar and spelling skills. It is one of numerous NLP-based systems that have been developed over the last few years. You can get a complimentary demonstration at their website.
Grammarly provides you with an English grammar and spelling checker, writing style checker, writing sample, and a grammar and spelling checker. With these 4 tools, you can easily and rapidly resolve prospective concerns in your English writing and improve your grammar and spelling. The reason this writing app has such an important function for a lot of writers is because it enables you to quickly resolve problems in your writing and guarantees that your sentences are devoid of grammar and spelling mistakes.
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Overall, the Grammarly desktop app is really beneficial for enhancing your grammar and spelling skills when you write on the internet or when writing basic documents or emails. If you want to be effective at writing in any other language, then you need to invest in a language discovering software that uses you a wider range of language options. Is Grammarly Free For Students
English Grammar Contents Primary Students | MHP
How To Plag Check On Grammarly | MHP

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
First Nation regains land settled by their ancestors
Search the Chatham This Week
Ellwood Shreve
More from Ellwood Shreve
Members of the Little Bears Singers, Scott Snake (left), his brother Andrew Snake (middle) and Dilan Jacobs-Snake, performed during a ceremony on May 10 to have the Fairfield Museum grounds turned back over to the former Delaware First Nation community, now known as Eelunaapeewi Lahkeewiit. Ellwood Shreve/Postmedia Network
Two historic events occurred more than two centuries ago when the War of 1812 made its way to a section of land along the Thames River near here – the death of Chief Tecumseh and The Battle of the Thames.
Members of the Eleunaapeewi Lahkeewiit First Nation, formerly Delaware Nation, along with Moravian missionaries, who they lived together with for generations, were forced to flee when American forces invaded in the fall of 1813 and burned Fairfield village to the ground.
Moraviantown was subsequently built farther to the south, but the First Nation community has regained ownership of the land settled by their ancestors, making it one of the region's oldest settlements.
An agreement was signed on May 10, nearly 227 years to the day Fairfield was established on May 8, 1792, to have the United Church of Canada return the land to the Eleunaapeewi Lahkeewiit First Nation.
Operated for the past 74 years as a historic park and museum by the United Church, former Chief John Peters first raised the issue in 1960 to have the land returned.
Current Chief Denise Stonefish said this effort was continued by other chiefs and councils. She credited her predecessor, former Chief Greg Peters, for continuing to push the issue and bring it to the forefront.
She said the 10-plus acres of land, which is divided by Longwoods Road, has their ancestral cemetery and remnants of the community once located there.
"So, we've always asserted this was our home, our land and we wanted it back."
Peter said he is elated the day has finally arrived.
But he added, "It's hard to put into words, because it's been a long struggle and it's very important to the community."
Stonefish said part of this process also has to do with reconciliation through the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC).
"The TRC calls to actions for renewing treaty relationships based on mutual recognition, respect and shared responsibilities for maintaining these relationships now and into the future," she said.
"It calls upon religious denominations to respect Indigenous peoples' right to self-determination and spiritual matters, such as traditions, customs and ceremonies, and to repudiate concepts used to jointly justify sovereignty over Ingenious lands and peoples," she added.
Nora Sanders, the general secretary of the General Council of The United Church of Canada, said the United Church has made some "wonderful statements" over the years regarding reconciliation along with some apologies regarding residential schools and the church's general colonial approach.
She cited the fact the church has endorsed the calls to action from the TRC along with repudiating the Doctrine of Discovery and endorsed the United Nations recommendation on the rights of Indigenous people.
"Those are all great words, but today we're actually putting action along with those words, and that feels very, very good," Sanders said.
She believes the steps taken Friday honours the United Church people who had a vision of preserving and honouring the history of this area.
"And we're also respecting and honouring the Delaware First Nation history and the way it needs to be told as we take a further step in reconciliation," Sanders said. "It feels like the end of a long process, but also the beginning of something we can continue to do together and support a new vision of reconciliation in our country and in this community."
Peters credits the United Church for going beyond all the nice words they have said about reconciliation, noting, "This is true reconciliation."
The former chief also wanted to recognize the McGeachy family, who donated the property to the United Church, adding if that didn't happen the property would have been gone.
Toronto MP John MacNicol was contacted in the 1930s by Bothwell resident Stan Gamble, who was involved in archaeology, about the Fairfield site.
MacNicol, a student of early Canadian history, purchased the site for an archaeological dig to be conducted.
He later sold the property to William McGeachy, who gave it to the United Church.
Looking to the future, Stonefish said they envision an interpretative centre that tracks their journey from their origins in the New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania areas.
"Our people built this community and we want to be able to ensure that legacy continues and is part of our history to be shared with our future generations," she said.
Peters said this story can't be told without including the relationship with Moravian missionaries along with the Methodist Church and United Church.
Stonefish said the reason the First Nation now goes by Eleunaapeewi Lahkeewiit is they wanted to establish the name of who they are in their language.
"Because, for years we were always referred to as Moravian Indians, and we weren't, we were Delaware Indians as named by Lord Delaware. We wanted to be able to put our language to who we are as a people," she said.
Lengthy waiting list for library's three Park Pass Packs	 Chatham man shows rarity for first time at RM Coffee &...
© 2019 Chatham This Week. All rights reserved.


A habit that I want to begin this month is drinking 64oz of water or more daily. Water is so important to our bodies to function and have so many benefits other than keeping us alive and I'm really crappy getting enough of it. I've been trying to drink enough water and marking my cups I've had on a whiteboard in my bedroom.
I've read that it takes 21 days to make a habit, so I put this little sheet blow on what I filled out for my goal of drinking water. I've used it in the past ad highly recommend it if any of you want to make a habit or 2 as well!
What is your habit you want to start this month?
That's a great habit! I also love that habit planner, might have to create a version of this for myself!
Drinking More Water For Me. Love That Planner.


'Anyone but him. You just spit all over your temple, you can't take back things like this'.
emptying it out and refilling a new hope is a journey well begun..cauterize cancerous wounds before they spread to the universe of your soul, , good poem as usual.


text:
Joyful Magpies
Meet Nora, One of Canada's Most Creative ASMRtists
Although you may have never heard of ASMR before, it's possible you have experienced it at some point in your life. ASMR stands for autonomous sensory meridian response, and it's often explained as a tingling sensation caused by specific sounds and visuals. Some common ASMR triggers include page-turning, soft speaking, and tapping. One important thing to know about ASMR is triggers are not universal, meaning what may trigger ASMR for you may not do the same for someone else.
In recent years, ASMR has become an internet phenomenon. Search 'ASMR' on YouTube, and you'll find a lot of people, known as ASMRtists, creating ASMR videos. And it's not just individual creators producing ASMR content, but also major businesses like IKEA and W Magazine. Since 2016, W Magazine has been inviting celebrities like Alessia Cara and Salma Hayek to experiment with ASMR on their YouTube channel. Yes, ASMR has come a long way from the small corner of YouTube it once occupied.
Even if you don't experience ASMR, watching ASMR videos on YouTube is still really interesting. ASMRtists regularly find new creative ways to create ASMR videos. One such way is the integration of ASMR with storytelling.
Which is something that Seafoam Kitten's ASMR does very well.
"I was a viewer myself for years," says Nora, the Nova Scotian ASMRtist behind Seafoam Kitten's ASMR. "I would watch it every night before bed and sometimes just during the day to chill out."
"I've always been someone who is super shy and I was embarrassed by my own voice too, but by 2016 I had grown a lot more confident and I realized those ASMR people are just like me. I could totally try doing it too!"
The positive feedback Nora received on her first video made her feel "really excited" and motivated to continue making videos. Since uploading her first video in 2016, Nora's YouTube channel has garnered almost 100 thousand subscribers and nearly 20 million total views.
"I'm so happy my viewership has grown, and people actually like my content," Nora says. "It feels so good to know that I'm helping people. It gives me something to look forward to every day, and I've made so many amazing friends through this. I love it!"
For people unfamiliar with ASMR, Nora explains it as "a lovely feeling that induces relaxation."
"ASMR videos can make you really sleepy, and it also helps to reduce stress, anxiety, insomnia, or just get a nice tingly feeling!"
Nora's character roleplay videos are popular with viewers. In these videos, Nora plays different characters — which have so far included an alien, a dragon, a vampire, and even the viewer's phone — in a variety of situations. "A big inspiration for my characters is just character tropes in anime."
"So basically take a monster/animal/object, turn it into a girl and hurray you have a weird and interesting (and sometimes funny) character," Nora says. "I'm also really inspired by internet culture, memes, and the horror/mystery genre."
To help bring her characters to life, Nora spends time "[messing] around with makeup and props."
"I just do what I think will suit the character," Nora says. "The great thing about YouTube is that you don't have to buy or make a full costume because it's mostly just your shoulders and face that are shown!"
Among the things Nora has learned since she began creating ASMR videos has been managing her taxes as a full-time, self-employed ASMRtist. "It's more complicated than when you work for a company."
"Also since I do character roleplays and stuff, I learned SO much about video editing and filming/audio equipment, it's always so fun to try new things," says Nora.
And while the work that goes on behind the scenes can be "time consuming," Nora says none of that matters when "it's something you love to do."
"I guess one thing about making ASMR videos," Nora says, "is that it's a very personal and intimate experience, so it's really common to get viewers who become a little too involved."
"I've…learned that there are a LOT of troubled people out there, and they choose to express themselves in different ways. Some just watch and let it make them feel better, some message me about all their troubles like a diary, some become too emotionally attached and say gross creepy things, some express anger and resentment."
"Most are good people though, so if you can give them some patience and kindness it will likely be worth it in the end," Nora says. "I learned patience, understanding and keeping a cool head is one of the most important things in the world, to me at least."
When Nora is not creating ASMR videos, she can be found making digital art for fun and taking her dog to the park.
Seafoam Kitten's ASMR | YouTube
Posted in: Articles, Digital Media | Tagged: ASMR, Canadian Digital Media
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text:
#ifndef _SCIC_SDS_PORT_H_
#define _SCIC_SDS_PORT_H_

#ifdef __cplusplus
extern "C" {
#endif // __cplusplus

/**
 * @file
 *
 * @brief This file contains the structures, constants and prototypes for the
 * SCIC_SDS_PORT_T object.
 */

#include <dev/isci/scil/sci_controller_constants.h>
#include <dev/isci/scil/intel_sas.h>
#include <dev/isci/scil/sci_base_port.h>
#include <dev/isci/scil/sci_base_phy.h>
#include <dev/isci/scil/scu_registers.h>

#define SCIC_SDS_DUMMY_PORT   0xFF

/**
 * @enum SCIC_SDS_PORT_READY_SUBSTATES
 *
 * This enumeration depicts all of the states for the core port ready substate
 * machine.
 */
enum SCIC_SDS_PORT_READY_SUBSTATES
{
   /**
    * The substate where the port is started and ready but has no active phys.
    */
   SCIC_SDS_PORT_READY_SUBSTATE_WAITING,

   /**
    * The substate where the port is started and ready and there is at least one
    * phy operational.
    */
   SCIC_SDS_PORT_READY_SUBSTATE_OPERATIONAL,

   /**
    * The substate where the port is started and there was an add/remove phy
    * event.  This state is only used in Automatic Port Configuration Mode (APC)
    */
   SCIC_SDS_PORT_READY_SUBSTATE_CONFIGURING,

   SCIC_SDS_PORT_READY_MAX_SUBSTATES
};

struct SCIC_SDS_CONTROLLER;
struct SCIC_SDS_PHY;
struct SCIC_SDS_REMOTE_DEVICE;
struct SCIC_SDS_REQUEST;

/**
 * @struct SCIC_SDS_PORT
 *
 * The core port object provides the abstraction for an SCU port.
 */
typedef struct SCIC_SDS_PORT
{
   /**
    * This field is the oommon base port object.
    */
   SCI_BASE_PORT_T parent;

   /**
    * This field is the port index that is reported to the SCI USER.  This allows
    * the actual hardware physical port to change without the SCI USER getting a
    * different answer for the get port index.
    */
   U8 logical_port_index;

   /**
    * This field is the port index used to program the SCU hardware.
    */
   U8 physical_port_index;

   /**
    * This field contains the active phy mask for the port.  This mask is used in
    * conjunction with the phy state to determine which phy to select for some
    * port operations.
    */
   U8 active_phy_mask;

   /**
    * This field contains the phy mask for the port that are already part of the port.
   */
   U8 enabled_phy_mask;

   U16 reserved_rni;
   U16 reserved_tci;

   /**
    * This field contains the count of the io requests started on this port
    * object.  It is used to control controller shutdown.
    */
   U32 started_request_count;

   /**
    * This field contains the number of devices assigned to this port.  It is
    * used to control port start requests.
    */
   U32 assigned_device_count;

   /**
    * This field contains the reason for the port not going ready.  It is
    * assigned in the state handlers and used in the state transition.
    */
   U32 not_ready_reason;

   /**
    * This field is the table of phys assigned to the port.
    */
   struct SCIC_SDS_PHY *phy_table[SCI_MAX_PHYS];

   /**
    * This field is a pointer back to the controller that owns this port object.
    */
   struct SCIC_SDS_CONTROLLER *owning_controller;

   /**
    * This field contains the port start/stop timer handle.
    */
   void *timer_handle;

   /**
    * This field points to the current set of state handlers for this port
    * object.  These state handlers are assigned at each enter state of the state
    * machine.
    */
   struct SCIC_SDS_PORT_STATE_HANDLER *state_handlers;

   /**
    * This field is the ready substate machine for the port.
    */
   SCI_BASE_STATE_MACHINE_T ready_substate_machine;

   #ifdef SCI_LOGGING
   /**
    * This field is the ready substate machine logger.  It logs each state
    * transition request in the ready substate machine.
    */
   SCI_BASE_STATE_MACHINE_LOGGER_T ready_substate_machine_logger;
   #endif

   /// Memory mapped hardware register space

   /**
    * This field is the pointer to the port task scheduler registers for the SCU
    * hardware.
    */
   SCU_PORT_TASK_SCHEDULER_REGISTERS_T *port_task_scheduler_registers;

   /**
    * This field is identical for all port objects and points to the port task
    * scheduler group PE configuration registers.  It is used to assign PEs to a
    * port.
    */
   SCU_PORT_PE_CONFIGURATION_REGISTER_T *port_pe_configuration_register;

   /**
    * This field is the VIIT register space for ths port object.
    */
   SCU_VIIT_ENTRY_T *viit_registers;

} SCIC_SDS_PORT_T;

typedef SCI_STATUS (*SCIC_SDS_PORT_EVENT_HANDLER_T)(struct SCIC_SDS_PORT *, U32);

typedef SCI_STATUS (*SCIC_SDS_PORT_FRAME_HANDLER_T)(struct SCIC_SDS_PORT *, U32);

typedef void (*SCIC_SDS_PORT_LINK_HANDLER_T)(struct SCIC_SDS_PORT *, struct SCIC_SDS_PHY *);

typedef SCI_STATUS (*SCIC_SDS_PORT_IO_REQUEST_HANDLER_T)(
                           struct SCIC_SDS_PORT *,
                           struct SCIC_SDS_REMOTE_DEVICE *,
                           struct SCIC_SDS_REQUEST *);

typedef struct SCIC_SDS_PORT_STATE_HANDLER
{
   SCI_BASE_PORT_STATE_HANDLER_T parent;

   SCIC_SDS_PORT_FRAME_HANDLER_T frame_handler;
   SCIC_SDS_PORT_EVENT_HANDLER_T event_handler;

   SCIC_SDS_PORT_LINK_HANDLER_T link_up_handler;
   SCIC_SDS_PORT_LINK_HANDLER_T link_down_handler;

   SCIC_SDS_PORT_IO_REQUEST_HANDLER_T start_io_handler;
   SCIC_SDS_PORT_IO_REQUEST_HANDLER_T complete_io_handler;

} SCIC_SDS_PORT_STATE_HANDLER_T;

extern SCI_BASE_STATE_T scic_sds_port_state_table[];
extern SCI_BASE_STATE_T scic_sds_port_ready_substate_table[];

extern SCIC_SDS_PORT_STATE_HANDLER_T scic_sds_port_state_handler_table[];
extern SCIC_SDS_PORT_STATE_HANDLER_T scic_sds_port_ready_substate_handler_table[];

/**
 * Helper macro to get the owning controller of this port
 */
#define scic_sds_port_get_controller(this_port) \
   ((this_port)->owning_controller)

/**
 * Helper macro to get the base state machine for this port
 */
#define scic_sds_port_get_base_state_machine(this_port) \
   (&(this_port)->parent.state_machine)

/**
 * This macro will change the state handlers to those of the specified state
 * id
 */
#define scic_sds_port_set_base_state_handlers(this_port, state_id) \
   scic_sds_port_set_state_handlers( \
      (this_port), &scic_sds_port_state_handler_table[(state_id)])

/**
 * Helper macro to get the ready substate machine for this port
 */
#define scic_sds_port_get_ready_substate_machine(this_port) \
   (&(this_port)->ready_substate_machine)

/**
 * Helper macro to set the port object state handlers
 */
#define scic_sds_port_set_state_handlers(this_port, handlers) \
   ((this_port)->state_handlers = (handlers))

/**
 * This macro returns the physical port index for this port object
 */
#define scic_sds_port_get_index(this_port) \
   ((this_port)->physical_port_index)

/**
 * Helper macro to increment the started request count
 */
#define scic_sds_port_increment_request_count(this_port) \
   ((this_port)->started_request_count++)

#ifdef SCIC_DEBUG_ENABLED
/**
 * @brief This method decrements the started io request count.  The method
 *        will not decrment the started io request count below 0 and will
 *        log a debug message if this is attempted.
 *
 * @param[in] this_port
 */
void scic_sds_port_decrement_request_count(
   SCIC_SDS_PORT_T *this_port
);
#else
/**
 * Helper macro to decrement the started io request count.  The macro will
 * not decrement the started io request count below 0.
 */
#define scic_sds_port_decrement_request_count(this_port) \
   ( \
      (this_port)->started_request_count = ( \
                  ((this_port)->started_request_count == 0) ? \
                                  (this_port)->started_request_count : \
                                  ((this_port)->started_request_count - 1) \
                                              ) \
    )
#endif

/**
 * Helper macro to write the phys port assignment
 */
#define scic_sds_port_write_phy_assignment(port, phy) \
   SCU_PCSPExCR_WRITE( \
      (port), \
      (phy)->phy_index, \
      (port)->physical_port_index \
   )

/**
 * Helper macro to read the phys port assignment
 */
#define scic_sds_port_read_phy_assignment(port, phy) \
   SCU_PCSPExCR_READ( \
      (port), \
      (phy)->phy_index \
   )

#define scic_sds_port_active_phy(port, phy) \
   (((port)->active_phy_mask & (1 << (phy)->phy_index)) != 0)

// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------

U32 scic_sds_port_get_object_size(void);

U32 scic_sds_port_get_min_timer_count(void);

U32 scic_sds_port_get_max_timer_count(void);

// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------

#ifdef SCI_LOGGING
void scic_sds_port_initialize_state_logging(
   SCIC_SDS_PORT_T *this_port
);
#else
#define scic_sds_port_initialize_state_logging(x)
#endif

// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------

void scic_sds_port_construct(
   SCIC_SDS_PORT_T            *this_port,
   U8                          port_index,
   struct SCIC_SDS_CONTROLLER *owning_controller
);

SCI_STATUS scic_sds_port_initialize(
   SCIC_SDS_PORT_T *this_port,
   void *port_task_scheduler_registers,
   void *port_configuration_regsiter,
   void *viit_registers
);

// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------

SCI_STATUS scic_sds_port_add_phy(
   struct SCIC_SDS_PORT * this_port,
   struct SCIC_SDS_PHY  * the_phy
);

SCI_STATUS scic_sds_port_remove_phy(
   struct SCIC_SDS_PORT * this_port,
   struct SCIC_SDS_PHY  * the_phy
);

void scic_sds_port_setup_transports(
   SCIC_SDS_PORT_T * this_port,
   U32               device_id
);

void scic_sds_port_activate_phy(
   SCIC_SDS_PORT_T     *this_port,
   struct SCIC_SDS_PHY *phy,
   BOOL                 do_notify_user,
   BOOL                 do_resume_phy
);

void scic_sds_port_deactivate_phy(
   SCIC_SDS_PORT_T     *this_port,
   struct SCIC_SDS_PHY *phy,
   BOOL                 do_notify_user
);

struct SCIC_SDS_PHY * scic_sds_port_get_a_connected_phy(
   SCIC_SDS_PORT_T * this_port
);

void scic_sds_port_invalid_link_up(
   SCIC_SDS_PORT_T *this_port,
   struct SCIC_SDS_PHY *phy
);

void scic_sds_port_general_link_up_handler(
   SCIC_SDS_PORT_T     *this_port,
   struct SCIC_SDS_PHY *the_phy,
   BOOL                 do_notify_user,
   BOOL                 do_resume_phy
);

BOOL scic_sds_port_link_detected(
   SCIC_SDS_PORT_T *this_port,
   struct SCIC_SDS_PHY *phy
);

void scic_sds_port_link_up(
   SCIC_SDS_PORT_T *this_port,
   struct SCIC_SDS_PHY *phy
);

void scic_sds_port_link_down(
   SCIC_SDS_PORT_T *this_port,
   struct SCIC_SDS_PHY *phy
);

// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------

void scic_sds_port_timeout_handler(
   void *port
);

// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------

SCI_STATUS scic_sds_port_start_io(
   SCIC_SDS_PORT_T               *this_port,
   struct SCIC_SDS_REMOTE_DEVICE *the_device,
   struct SCIC_SDS_REQUEST       *the_io_request
);

SCI_STATUS scic_sds_port_complete_io(
   SCIC_SDS_PORT_T               *this_port,
   struct SCIC_SDS_REMOTE_DEVICE *the_device,
   struct SCIC_SDS_REQUEST       *the_io_request
);

// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------

void scic_sds_port_update_viit_entry(
   SCIC_SDS_PORT_T *this_port
);

// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------

SCI_STATUS scic_sds_port_default_start_handler(
   SCI_BASE_PORT_T *port
);

SCI_STATUS scic_sds_port_default_stop_handler(
   SCI_BASE_PORT_T *port
);

SCI_STATUS scic_sds_port_default_destruct_handler(
   SCI_BASE_PORT_T *port
);

SCI_STATUS scic_sds_port_default_reset_handler(
   SCI_BASE_PORT_T * port,
   U32               timeout
);

SCI_STATUS scic_sds_port_default_add_phy_handler(
   SCI_BASE_PORT_T *port,
   SCI_BASE_PHY_T  *phy
);

SCI_STATUS scic_sds_port_default_remove_phy_handler(
   SCI_BASE_PORT_T *port,
   SCI_BASE_PHY_T  *phy
);

SCI_STATUS scic_sds_port_default_frame_handler(
   struct SCIC_SDS_PORT * port,
   U32                    frame_index
);

SCI_STATUS scic_sds_port_default_event_handler(
   struct SCIC_SDS_PORT * port,
   U32                    event_code
);

void scic_sds_port_default_link_up_handler(
   struct SCIC_SDS_PORT *this_port,
   struct SCIC_SDS_PHY  *phy
);

void scic_sds_port_default_link_down_handler(
   struct SCIC_SDS_PORT *this_port,
   struct SCIC_SDS_PHY  *phy
);

SCI_STATUS scic_sds_port_default_start_io_handler(
   struct SCIC_SDS_PORT          *port,
   struct SCIC_SDS_REMOTE_DEVICE *device,
   struct SCIC_SDS_REQUEST       *io_request
);

SCI_STATUS scic_sds_port_default_complete_io_handler(
   struct SCIC_SDS_PORT          *port,
   struct SCIC_SDS_REMOTE_DEVICE *device,
   struct SCIC_SDS_REQUEST       *io_request
);

SCI_SAS_LINK_RATE scic_sds_port_get_max_allowed_speed(
   SCIC_SDS_PORT_T * this_port
);

void scic_sds_port_broadcast_change_received(
   struct SCIC_SDS_PORT * this_port,
   struct SCIC_SDS_PHY * this_phy
);

BOOL scic_sds_port_is_valid_phy_assignment(
   SCIC_SDS_PORT_T *this_port,
   U32              phy_index
);

BOOL scic_sds_port_is_phy_mask_valid(
   SCIC_SDS_PORT_T * this_port,
   U32               phy_mask
);

U32 scic_sds_port_get_phys(
   SCIC_SDS_PORT_T * this_port
);

void scic_sds_port_get_sas_address(
   SCIC_SDS_PORT_T   * this_port,
   SCI_SAS_ADDRESS_T * sas_address
);

void scic_sds_port_get_attached_sas_address(
   SCIC_SDS_PORT_T   * this_port,
   SCI_SAS_ADDRESS_T * sas_address
);

void scic_sds_port_get_attached_protocols(
   SCIC_SDS_PORT_T                            * this_port,
   SCI_SAS_IDENTIFY_ADDRESS_FRAME_PROTOCOLS_T * protocols
);

SCI_STATUS scic_sds_port_set_phy(
   struct SCIC_SDS_PORT *port,
   struct SCIC_SDS_PHY  *phy
);

SCI_STATUS scic_sds_port_clear_phy(
   struct SCIC_SDS_PORT *port,
   struct SCIC_SDS_PHY  *phy
);

void scic_sds_port_suspend_port_task_scheduler(
   SCIC_SDS_PORT_T *this_port
);

void scic_sds_port_resume_port_task_scheduler(
   SCIC_SDS_PORT_T *this_port
);

void scic_sds_port_release_resource(
   struct SCIC_SDS_CONTROLLER * controller,
   struct SCIC_SDS_PORT       * port
);

#ifdef __cplusplus
}
#endif // __cplusplus

#endif // _SCIC_SDS_PORT_H_

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Home » World Class Innovation and Efficiency, Billed by the Hour (010)
World Class Innovation and Efficiency, Billed by the Hour (010)
By Bill Henderson on June 18, 2017
Posted in Diffusion Theory, NewLaw
Below are two beliefs I carried with me for many years.
In all human endeavors, incentives exert a powerful effect on behavior
Within the legal industry, the billable hour is the primary impediment to innovation and efficiency
Belief 1 still stands. But belief 2, which I viewed as a corollary of 1, recently fell like an oak tree. This shift in worldview happened during my research for Efficiency Engines, a story on rise of legal managed services. During visits to several managed service facilities, I witnessed quantum leaps in legal productivity for relatively sophisticated legal work. And in each case, the work was priced and sold by the hour.
The biggest value of visiting an innovator is the possibility of learning something that disconfirms one's own belief system. A character in a John le Carre novel once quipped, "A desk is a dangerous place from which to view the world." That's good advice for those seeking to understand today's legal industry.
A better theory
After the fall of belief 2, I needed a theory on innovation and efficiency that incorporated my new learning. Here is what I came up with:
The billable hour can be harnessed as a powerful tool for innovation and efficiency. This can be accomplished by: (a) selling work with a clearly stated budget, (b) paying your workforce by the hour, and mostly crucially (c) managing quality and the risk of cost overruns through world-class project management and process improvement. A service provider who reaches scale and establishes a brand based on both quality and price can lock-in a profitable business with a long-term competitive advantage.
In a nutshell, this is the business logic of the legal managed service model. The private equity/venture capital crowd have found it sufficiently compelling to fund it with hundreds of millions of dollars.
This post (010) situates the managed service model within a more fundamental theory of professional service firms. It also explains how the managed service model is successfully pulling on the levers of diffusion theory, particularly compatibility, to accelerate its growth. Cf. Post 008 (adoption more likely if innovation is compatible with existing practices and norms). Post 010 then offers a few thoughts on the adoption of managed service methods, which is something separate from the managed service business model. Regardless of who wins and who loses, the methodology pioneered by managed service providers represents an innovation that is diffusing throughout the legal industry.
Balancing three goals inside two markets
The fundamentals of the professional service business model are explained in David Maister's Managing the Professional Service Firm (1993) (chapter 1). As shown in the diagram below, firms operate in two markets: clients and talent. For the owners of the firm, profitability is certainly the ultimate goal. Yet, this outcome is entirely derivative of (a) providing outstanding service to clients (market 1), and (b) offering high-quality career opportunities to a talented workforce (market 2). Thus, under Maister's theory, the professional services firm is always balancing three goals in the context of two markets.
Although this model looks simple, it's easy to get wrong. Firms that fail to understand their own cost structure are at risk of substituting revenues for profits. As recently observed by Bruce MacEwen, this is why so many firms overpay for lateral partners. See Opinion: It's time to re-think the price war on talent. Likewise, in the client marketplace, the growth of national and international businesses has reduced the importance of client relationships based on geography and increased the importance of best-in-class talent in specialized areas. On some level, law firms know this because they have jettisoned the "general service" descriptions that were so common 20 years ago. However, there remains considerable internal resistance to closing down out-of-scope practice areas and offices. Cf. Henderson, "How to Take Market Share," American Lawyer (Oct. 2015) (discussing ruthless focus needed to become market leader based on quality).
Perhaps its obvious that the client marketplace has become differentiated. Yet, differentiation is also occurring in the legal talent market — a point I did not fully grasp until the belief 2 oak tree fell. Beyond preferences based on practice area, some lawyers are drawn to BigLaw for reasons of money and prestige. But other lawyers — with the same level of intellect and pedigree — are looking for a different type of work environment.
In the course of writing Efficiency Engines, I asked Jane Allen, Founder and Board Member of Counsel on Call, how the company selected its talent. Jane described a behavioral interview process that focused on a profile very different than a BigLaw rainmaker:
Loves the technical aspects of law
Wants to be part of a team
Does not need to be in charge
Is comfortable learning new technology
Places a high value on work-life balance
In a large law firm, a lawyer who fits the above profile would likely be diverted to an "off-track" position. Yet, in a managed service firm, these same lawyers are the core building blocks of the business.
Using the billable hour to balance the legal talent market
The managed service model is tapping into the large segment of the legal talent market that wants work conditions very different from BigLaw. At the top of the list is work-life balance. In addition to a professional wage, a collegial work environment, and freedom from business development pressures, lawyers in the managed service sector can refuse work outside the bounds of a 40-hour workweek (or, in some cases, pre-negotiated shorter weeks). Further, if the managed service firm needs additional hours, the lawyers are paid for their time. These constraints force managed service providers to build remarkably tight systems for project management and process improvement.
In large law firms, the incentives run in the opposite direction. Once the firm locks in its labor costs in the form of high guaranteed salaries to associates, it benefits financially from hours that are billed during nights and weekends. Work that is unplanned, unpredictable and urgent is often the most profitable. It is any wonder that firms would be reluctant to invest in technology and systems that would make client work more transparent and thus more manageable? Some legal work will always be unplanned, unpredictable and urgent. But not all legal work. Clients are slowly figuring this out.
In all three of the managed service facilities I visited (Counsel on Call, United Lex, and Axiom Law), I encountered the same thing: lawyers who enjoyed working in a team-based environment where efficiency and innovation were valued. Indeed, being part of a continuous improvement process appeared to be a key component of their job satisfaction. They enjoyed the challenge of exceeding their clients' expectations. In turn, their employers benefited through higher volume that included a built-in profit margin. Note the careful balancing of Maister's three goals.
Leveraging cultural compatibility
One of the reasons that the legal managed service market is growing at 15-20% per year is that most managed service providers have packaged their offerings in a way that is culturally compatible for legal department clients. As noted in Legal Evolution's foundational posts, particularly Post 008, compatibility is an important driver of innovation diffusion. When an innovation is highly compatible with a social system's existing practices and norms, adopters can obtain the benefits while staying within their comfort zone.
In the managed service model, there are two major touchstones of compatibility. First, the work is still being done or supervised by lawyers with large firm experience and strong academic qualifications — lawyers just like the in-house buyer. Second, and perhaps most crucially, the work is sold in billable hour units, which is the only system of measurement that all lawyers understand. Pricing by the hour invites a direct cost and quality comparison with law firm associates, which casts the managed service provider in a very favorable light.
It near impossible to overemphasize the importance of cultural compatibility. I have witnessed other highly innovative legal services providers who have refused to share the amount of lawyer effort needed to produce their outstanding work product. Instead, they hold to a pricing model based on terabytes of data or overall scope of work. Most in-house lawyers lack the time and interest to get into the weeds of a cost and quality comparison. An easier sell is pedigreed lawyers working by the hour in a process-driven environment. Cf. Post 008 (discussing crucial importance of relying on the buyer's rather than the innovator's perspective).
NewLaw is not as new as we think
Managed service companies like Counsel on Call, Axiom, UnitedLex, Pangea3, and Elevate are often put into the NewLaw bucket. I don't dispute the categorization, except to point out that it's our awareness of alternative models that is new, not the companies themselves. Axiom and Counsel on Call both launched in 2000. Pangea3 was founded in 2004 and sold to Thomson Reuters in 2010. UnitedLex opened in 2006. Although Elevate is a relative newcomer (opening in 2011), its CEO, Liam Brown, founded another NewLaw company, Integreon, in 2001. Further, he began in the NewLaw space nearly 20 years ago, starting Conscium in 1998, which pioneered virtual deal rooms for lawyers and investment bankers.
Why does "new" takes so long in law? Like the Galapagos Islands at the time of Charles Darwin's landing, the legal sector operates in peculiar and isolated ecosystem that bears only a distant resemblance to the economic mainland. Under the ethics rules, lawyers can't co-venture with professionals from other disciplines. If you can't co-venture, opportunities to share knowledge, know-how, and perspective are inadequate for the challenges being faced. As noted in Post 008, this dramatically slows the diffusion of innovations within the legal social system.
Yet, let's not confuse slow change with no change. Very few lawyers appreciate the amount of outside investor money that has arrayed itself to profit from the inefficiencies of law firms. These capitalists are waiting longer than usual for their desired return (7-10 years are the usual outer limits for PE and VC investors).
However, they are also learning more about the legal industry and normalizing their involvement in the legal supply chain.
I first interviewed Mark Harris, founder and then CEO of Axiom Law, back in 2013. At the time, I had the mindset that Harris was running a legal start-up. But by then, Harris was 13 years in. Axiom was less a start-up than an ultramarathon. (In late 2016, Harris became Axiom's Executive Chairman, handing over the CEO reigns to Elena Donio, formerly President of Concur, a $1 billion business software company.)
During that 2013 interview, Harris laid out the long game analysis — the same analysis he was then using to sell services to Fortune 500 general counsel.
On a whiteboard, Harris drew a set of diagrams that segmented legal work into three groups: extraordinary events, experienced demand, and efficiency demand. In the past, corporate clients viewed virtually all legal work as risky and complex. Thus, they outsourced virtually everything to law firms. Over time, as in-house lawyers took over the role of buying legal services, they began unbundling legal work and insourcing some of it to themselves. This fueled the rapid growth of corporate legal departments. See Post 003 (showing the 20-year grow trajectory of in-house legal departments). In its early stages, this was pure labor arbitrage. Yet, as in-house lawyers develop more sophisticated sourcing strategies, Harris explained, the extraordinary events and experienced demand segments will shrink while the efficiency demand grows. See diagrams below.
A huge part of moving work from the top of the pyramid to the bottom is introducing systems and process that can partially supplant the clients' deeply held faith in elite brands and credentials. This challenge is truly an ultramarathon, and only a handful of managed service providers are running it. If Harris and his investors are correct, and they play the long game correctly, they will be among a relatively small number of competitors who divide up a large portion of the green triangle above.
How does this end?
One scenario is that extraordinary events work consolidates with a small number of firms that attract brain surgery-type talent. Think the Wall Street elite plus Latham, Kirkland, Gibson Dunn and a few others. A tranche of complex and strategic work remains in-house. See Post 003 (reporting that more than 105,000 lawyers work in-house). And a large portion of the remaining pyramid goes to large managed service providers who specialize in high-volume process work. These companies could go public or be owned by the BigFour accounting firms. Think Accenture. (See Efficiency Engines for how this is possible under the existing ethics rules.)
Yet, there are alternative scenarios that are likely to co-exist with the ambitions of the managed service sector. For example, it is likely that some US and UK law firms will emerge as global "general contractor" firms. They will earn a premium for their supply chain expertise, from captive LPOs to AI-enabled automation to high-stakes court room practice. Think Allen & Overy, Herbert Smith Freehills, Baker McKenzie, Hogan Lovells, and a few others.
In the labor & employment space, Littler Mendelson and Ogletree Deakins have already incorporated many managed service methods into their businesses. They tend to get ignored by the legal press because their profits per partner are lower than the rest of BigLaw. Yet, managed service methods are the equivalent of a moat around the franchise. Would you rather have $2 million this year, or $500,000 per year for 20? This isn't a lottery hypothetical. It's a strategy choice made by lawyers with large L&E practices.
Likewise, many elite US law firms have relatively large alternative staffing operations that are deployed in massive M&A deals and Big Game litigation. To protect their brands, these firms seldom publicly tout these capabilities. Yet, within the confines of a client pitch, the existence of these capabilities helps protect work at the top of the pyramid. In this context, bundling is likely more valuable to the client than fine gradients of cost and quality. Although currently run primarily as support units for high-end work (at least for now), many of these operations are quite profitable based on their own P&Ls. Thus, in some segments of the market, the rich are only getting richer.
How does this end? Obviously, the work methods of managed service providers are innovations that are diffusing throughout the legal industry. Large scale disruption of the legal industry by managed service companies seems less likely that successful co-existence with law firms who adopt similar work methods. The buyers, after all, are mostly lawyers working in legal departments. That said, a lot of law firms are far behind on the methods front. It's a difficult slough for law firm leaders because the required investments don't produce higher profits this year or next. Instead, the payoff is long-term relevance and survival, a topic many senior partners put in the same category as global warming.
At some point, legal education will begin to grasp the import of managed service methods in helping law grads obtain high quality employment. But that is a topic for another day.
What's next? See Fast versus Slow Innovations (011)
Tags: Axiom, counsel on call, Legal Evolution, managed services
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The editor of Legal Evolution is Bill Henderson, Professor of Law at Indiana University Maurer School of Law where he holds the Stephen F. Burns Chair on the Legal Profession.
Bill is a prolific author and lecturer on the legal market. His industry accolades include ABA Journal Legal Rebel (2009), National Law Journal 100 most influential lawyers in America (2013), and National Jurist most influential person in legal education (2014 and 2015). Bill is also a Fellow of the College of Law Practice Management, and co-founder for the Institute for the Future of Law Practice.
Bill's academic work can be found on SSRN. For additional information, please see Bill's personal webpage.
Jae Um is the Director of Pricing Strategy at Baker McKenzie worldwide. She is also the Founder of Six Parsecs, a cutting-edge market insight company focused on the legal industry, and a regular contributor to The American Lawyer.
Evan Parker, Ph.D., is the Founder of Parker Analytics LLC, a data-driven consultancy focused on talent, diversity, and strategy. Parker Analytics is also the official analytics partner to the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity.
Dan Rodriguez is the Harold Washington Professor at Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law, where he also served as dean from 2012 to 2018. He is chair of the ABA Center for Innovation, past president of the Association of American Law Schools (AALS), and Council Member of the American Law Institute (ALI).
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With membership to Kitty-Cam increasing, I wanted to provide a place for casual chat and an easy way for me to get feedback about the site. Please make the most of it!
Nice site, love the kitty cam. What a bunch of sweet fur babies. I will be around. Purrs to all.
I just joined tonight....:) My kids love checking in on your cats to see what they are up to. I also put a bird feeder in front of the windows for the girls to watch. I didn't have much luck with regular bird food but once I put in a bird food that has special seeds in it for finches ALL the birds came ! Now the girls " talk " to the birds and the kids think it is hilarious.
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Q: Detect Smartcard removal in J2ME (JSR257)? I'm using the J2ME contactless API (JSR257 - javax.microedition.contactless.*) to read smartcards on a Nokia phone. The following code works just fine and the targetDetected method is called as expected when I put a card on the phone:
DiscoveryManager dm = DiscoveryManager.getInstance();
dm.addTargetListener(this, TargetType.ISO14443_CARD);

public void targetDetected(TargetProperties[] tps) {
   logger.log("found card!");
}

However, I'm wondering if there is any way to get a callback when the card is removed? Or is the only way to check if the card has been removed to try and open or read from a connection and catch the appropriate exceptions?

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


We started making pepper biscuits and wine biscuits several years ago when my dad's uncle (my great-uncle Pat) brought some back with him from a trip up North.
Up North is another way of saying Rhode Island.
This particular type of pepper biscuit is shaped in a long roll similar to one of those soft garlicky bread sticks you get in Italian restaurants.
But pepper biscuits are not like bread sticks at all. When you bite into one of them you'll hear a loud crunch just before its peppery flavor explodes in your mouth.
What more could you want, eh?
Combine yeast, water, and sugar. Set aside to foam and bubble.
Put flour, fennel seeds, salt, black pepper and white pepper in a large bowl and mix well. When yeast has foamed, mix with olive oil and pour into flour mixture. Mix and turn until dough is formed. If dough is too sticky, add a little flour. If dough is too dry, add a little water. Cover dough and set in a draft free place for about 30 minutes.
When dough is ready, roll into 3 inch long biscuits. Brush with beaten egg, and bake for 30 minutes in a preheated 350°F oven or until biscuits are brown.
We moved to the south from RI, and stocking up on these, wine biscuits, and coffee syrup are always mandatory when we return to visit family. If I can successfully execute this and the wine biscuit recipes to my husband's satisfaction (meeting his wine/pepper biscuit standard), he will be one "wicked happy camp-ah". Thank you so much for posting this. Now if I could only find a passable recipe for Devil Dog filling (*sigh-gonna miss those)….
I moved from Rhode Island to Florida as well and can't seem to find where to buy Italian Pepepr Biscuits, Wine Biscuits and Egg Biscuits. I am not interested in making them so I would absolutely love to be able to buy them here. I live in Ft Lauderdale area and tried Doris' Market but they don;t seem to have them. Please help.
You can find some of these Italian treats in local Italian Specialty stores. There are a few in the Ft. Lauderdale-Miami area, but not too many north of that area.
Here are a couple of links where you can buy some great authentic Pepper Biscuits!!
Mazzaro's in St Pete is as close to Rhode Island as you can get…….Its a real treat to go to this Deli & people from any where on the west coast goes there for their New England fix.
I'm going to make it a point to go there. I'm always in search of an authentic Rhode Island Italian deli. Thanks for the info.


Easter time is family time. Enjoy this special time with your loved ones with these lovely Easter inspired cookie treats. Check out these photos for great Easter cookies ideas! Click here to get the recipe!


ENGLEWOOD, CO–(Marketwire – Jan 23, 2013) – Vitelity, a leading provider of SIP trunk and telephony solutions and Sangoma® Technologies Corporation (TSX VENTURE: STC), a leading provider of hardware and software components that enable or enhance IP Communications Systems for both voice and data, announced today that they have completed interoperability testing and the certification of Sangoma's Vega series of gateways with Vitelity SIP trunk service.
Vitelity and Sangoma have partnered to simplify the configuration of Sangoma's Vega Voice over IP (VoIP) gateway products when they are deployed on Vitelity SIP Trunking endpoints. Working together, Vitelity and Sangoma have developed a simple configuration tool (https://vitelity.com/vegaplus) to enable integrators to start using the Vitelity/Vega solution quickly and easily.
Sangoma is a leading provider of hardware and software components that enable or enhance IP Communications Systems for both telecom and datacom applications. Enterprises, SMBs and Carriers in over 150 countries rely on Sangoma's technology as part of their mission-critical infrastructures.
Sangoma, through its worldwide network of Distribution Partners, delivers high-quality, superiorly engineered products, some of which carry the industry's first lifetime warranty.
The product line includes data and telecom boards for media and signal processing, as well as gateway appliances and software.


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How Will California's AB 5 Affect My Business?
On behalf of Law Office of Williams & Associates, P.C. | Nov 12, 2019 | New Laws
Following the California Supreme Court decision in Dynamex Operations v. Superior Court, 4 Cal. 5th 903 (2018), which identified the "ABC Test" for worker classification for the purposes of California's wage and hour determinations under the IWC Wage Orders, and now with the passage and signing into law of Assembly Bill 5 (Gonzales) (2019 Cal ALS 296, 2018 Cal AB 5, 2019 Cal Stats. ch. 296.), which extended the Dynamex ABC Test to apply in workers' compensation insurance and EDD payroll tax determinations of status, we have been inundated with questions and issues arising out of these significant changes to California worker classification law. I have also noticed that California businesses and some experienced California practitioners are misinformed, or simply mistaken, about some elements of AB 5 and its potential effects on California businesses, independent contractors, and employees.
The Dynamex ABC Test states that, for purposes of wage and hour determinations under the IWC Wage Orders, a worker is properly considered an independent contractor only if the hiring entity establishes that:
(A) the worker is free from the control and direction of the hirer in connection with the performance of the work, both under the contract for the performance of such work and in fact;
(B) the worker performs work that is outside the usual course of the hiring entity's business; and
(C) the worker is customarily engaged in an independently established trade, occupation, or business of the same nature as the work performed for the hiring entity.
Prong B is the hardest to overcome if the contractor is performing work that is the same as that of the hiring entry, for example, where the principal is in the business of performing janitorial services and the contractors are janitors.
AB 5 makes the Dynamex ABC Test applicable to California Employment Development Department (EDD) payroll tax determinations and California workers' compensation insurance determinations, as well as the pre-existing Dynamex application to wage and hour determinations under the California IWC Wage Orders.
Our comments on some common questions about the interrelation between Dynamex and AB 5, and potential effects on businesses, independent contractors, and employees, are below:
a. Is AB 5 to be applied retroactively?
Nowhere in AB 5 does it state that the ABC Test, itself, is to be applied retroactively. California statutes are generally to be interpreted prospectively, not retrospectively. A statute may be applied retroactively only if it contains express language of retroactivity or if other sources provide a clear and unavoidable implication that the legislature intended retroactive application. See McClung v. Emp't Dev. Dep't, 34 Cal. 4th 467, 468 (2004).
AB 5 is effective January 1, 2020 for purposes of EDD payroll taxes and workers' compensation insurance; the application of the ABC Test is not retroactive in this regard.
However, AB 5 does state that specific exceptions to the ABC Test are to be applied retroactively: "Insofar as the application of [enumerated exceptions] of this section would relieve an employer from liability, those subdivisions shall apply retroactively to existing claims and actions to the maximum extent permitted by law." Cal Lab Code § 2750.3(i).
AB 5's ABC Test is only retroactive in terms of applicability to wage and hour issues: "The addition of subdivision (a) [the ABC Test] to this section of the Labor Code by this act does not constitute a change in, but is declaratory of, existing law with regard to wage orders of the Industrial Welfare Commission and violations of the Labor Code relating to wage orders." Cal Lab Code § 2750.3.
The bill is silent regarding any designation as declaratory legislation in regard to both workers' compensation insurance and EDD payroll taxes.
b. What happens to Independent Contractors following AB 5?
AB 5 does not prohibit the use of independent contractor services. It significantly restricts such use, but there are certainly still opportunities for legitimate use of independent contractors in California.
First, there are situations in which an independent contractor relationship overcomes the ABC Test, for example, when a law firm engages a plumber or a janitorial service. Neither Dynamex nor AB 5 would prohibit these types of engagements.
However, businesses engaging independent contractors to provide services that are integral to the principal business, such as contract software technicians providing services to a software development company or contract drivers working for a transportation provider, may be in need of a new approach to these relationships. Contact one of our attorneys today to discuss your specific facts.
c. How are workers in exempt professions going to be classified following AB 5?
For exempt professions, generally the current standard under S. G. Borello & Sons, Inc. v. Dep't of Indus. Relations, 48 Cal. 3d 341 (1989) will continue to apply. The main feature of Borello is whether the principal retains the right to direct and control the manner, means, and details of the work provided. There are also ten secondary factors considered, as well, by courts and state agencies. See Cal Lab Code § 2750.3(b)-(d) for specific professions exempt from the provisions of AB 5.
Note that, while AB 5 excludes contracts for "professional services," it also adds restrictions to this exemption. Professional services include services provided in the following areas:
human resources administrator
still photographer or photojournalist
freelance writer, editor, or newspaper cartoonist (as long as they do not provide content submissions to the same media/news provider more than 35 times per year)
licensed esthetician
licensed electrologist
licensed manicurist
licensed barber
licensed cosmetologist
See Cal Lab Code § 2750.3(c) for details. Significantly, the contractor must maintain their own business location; however, this may include a home office. The contractor must have a business license in addition to any professional licenses or permits. Finally, the contractor must hold themselves out to other potential customers and provide services through a sole proprietorship or other business entity.
d. What if my Independent Contractors run their own businesses?
There is a "bona fide business-to-business" exception in AB 5. See Cal Lab Code § 2750.3(e) for a list of specific requirements to meet this exemption.
While even a sole proprietorship can qualify as a business-to-business contractor under AB 5, there are plenty of hurdles to overcome. For instance, any business-to-business contractor must provide "services directly to the contracting business rather than to customers of the contracting business." This appears to prohibit the principal from engaging a contractor to work on a client matter. Additionally, consider the requirement that the contractor "actually contracts with other businesses to provide the same or similar services and maintains a clientele without restrictions from the hiring entity."
e. Are there any exceptions for the use of Independent Contractors in the construction industry within AB 5?
AB 5 does exclude relationships "between a contractor and an individual performing work pursuant to a subcontract in the construction industry." See Cal Lab Code § 2750.3(f) for details, or contact one of our attorneys to discuss your specific business model.
f. Are there any exceptions for the use of Independent Contractors in the referral agency industry within AB 5?
AB 5 grants an exception for relationships between a "referral agency and a service provider." See Cal Lab Code § 2750.3(g) for details. However, "referral agencies" are restricted to the businesses that connect clients with "service providers that provide graphic design, photography, tutoring, event planning, minor home repair, moving, home cleaning, errands, furniture assembly, animal services, dog walking, dog grooming, web design, picture hanging, pool cleaning, or yard cleanup."
As in the business-to-business exception, the referral agency exception requires the service provider to deliver services under its own name, as opposed to the referral agency's name; and it requires the service provider to actually maintain a separate clientele. This completely prohibits the service provider from providing services to a sole principal, which may prove problematic.
Contact one of our attorneys today to discuss your options.
g. Can courts override AB 5's ABC Test?
AB 5 does contain a provision whereby, if a court of law or rules that the ABC Test "cannot be applied to a particular context … then the determination of … status … shall be governed by" Borello. Cal Lab Code § 2750.3(a)(3).
Hopefully, this will be used by competent courts which determine that this overly complicated statute cannot be applied in a particular situation, and thus revert back to the Borello standard. However, AB 5 specifies that it is only a "court of law" that can make such a ruling. Most actions under AB 5, as was the case with Borello, are heard and determined in administrative proceedings and not courts of law.
In addition, there is currently litigation seeking a decision on whether federal regulations in the trucking industry preempt application of Prong B of the ABC Test. If it is determined that federal regulation does preempt Prong B, assumedly it is Section 2750.3(a)(3) will be used to exempt trucking companies from AB 5.
h. How can I seek an exemption from AB 5?
Prior to its passage, our office was instrumental in engaging a registered lobbying firm located in Sacramento and successfully attaining an exception in AB 5 for one of our clients. We are currently forming a lobbying coalition through that same lobbying firm for a group of clients in a specific industry. I am convinced that at least the next legislative session will include a race for exceptions to AB 5. At some point, it is likely that the California legislature will shut the door on exceptions. Convinced that AB 5 will do significant damage to bona fide independent contractor relationships, we will do everything we can to seek such reasonable exceptions for our clients.
Contact our office today to discuss your worker classification issues and whether AB 5 will have an impact on your business.
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'It's the most wonderful time of the year' and ᴋᴏᴏʀᴇʟᴏᴏ®'s Disco holds a special place in our heart! Inspired by the urban scene and the sparkly vibes of the 1970s, Disco Gold comes in off-white woven leather adorned with a hot pink star on its glowing flap front.
This design features a detachable and adjustable bronze-tone chain strap and a sparkly gold strap bordered by little off-white pompoms, backed with off-white woven leather.
Hold your Disco bag and sprinkle some stardust of jollity and pizzazz wherever you go this season!


My parents successfully made it to Panama today to begin their long-anticipated missionary work. Follow their blog here. If all goes as planned, I won't see them again until July 2015.
As one of 11 children, out of necessity we have learned to be independent. Emails have always been a great source of strength for us all (and with good internet connection that should not change in Panama). But I will still feel the sting of their absence, maybe more so than other siblings since I live relatively close. However it brings me a lot of comfort to know how excited they are to be there. They've been hoping, praying, dreaming about this day for many, many years. I hope it is everything they've wished for and more. After so many years of focusing on their own chicks, they finally get to fly the coop and give their all to a different cause.
You've taught us chicks by example for all of our lives, so know that this example is not wasted on us. We will someday follow in your footsteps.
How exciting! My husband served there! He loved the senior couples they had--as I'm sure the missionaries now will love your parents!
That picture of Dad saluting is so typical Dad!