text:
GIL BASHE ON MEDIKA
Using Artificial Intelligence to Deliver on the "Do No Harm" Pledge
Gidi Stein, MD, PhD, co-founder and CEO, MedAware; Photo Provided by MedAware
Dr. Gidi Stein is co-founder and CEO of MedAware, which uses machine-learning algorithms — artificial intelligence — to reduce medication-related risks and promote patient safety. A practicing physician, researcher, and long-time entrepreneur, Dr. Stein graduated from Tel Aviv University Medical School and specialized in internal medicine. He also earned his PhD in Computational Biology from Tel Aviv University, dedicating his research to optimize the treatment of breast cancer.
Health information plays a vital role in guiding care priorities, diagnoses, reimbursement, research and drug development. However, information anxiety — an overabundance of information — is also causing healthcare professionals to tune out to the constant background buzz. Information can lead to provider burnout and suddenly become a nuisance.
In this Medika Life exclusive, we speak with Dr. Stein about his efforts to harness the power of AI and clinical data to identify patient-specific medication risks throughout the patient journey.
Physician Desire to Heal Can Be Augmented by Tech
Gil Bashe: As a physician, scientist, and innovator, you've dedicated your career to using your knowledge of healthcare, technology, and data to help solve the challenges healthcare professionals are facing today. As more medications come to market, one of those challenges is surrounding the safety of medication prescribing and monitoring, specifically for drug-drug interactions. Can you tell us a little about the current landscape of medication prescribing and how physicians and patients are impacted?
Dr. Gidi Stein: The impact is of a totally different magnitude than when I started to practice medicine. There was an adage then that every physician had to know 50 medications really well. There were only a few hundred medications available, and patients received perhaps two to three medications regularly, so the probability of drug-drug interaction was relatively low. But today, when hundreds of new drugs enter the market annually, there is no way that any physician can know even 10–15% of them, and definitely not all the possible interactions and contraindications.
Bashe: Can you tell us more about how current systems used for drug-drug interactions are designed and managed?
Stein: Currently, the state-of-the-art systems used in most medical institutions are clinical databases that are manually curated and updated by clinicians and pharmacists tapping the latest clinical evidence and guidelines. These systems contain hundreds of thousands of potential drug-drug interactions and other rules such as dosages. Most databases generate alerts in the electronic medical record (EMR) when medications that shouldn't be taken together are prescribed to a patient. In concept, this approach should be sufficient to eliminate most drug-drug interaction errors. In reality, it doesn't happen.
Bashe: With all these databases and knowing the essential mandate to protect patient health, how do medication errors still occur? How can artificial intelligence improve the provider and patient experience?
Stein: Many good people have put in the time and effort to create state-of-the-art clinical knowledge bases, but these data do not necessarily translate into real-world clinical value. In reality, these systems generate a very high alert volume. Most of these alerts are seen by clinicians as false alarms, which drives "alert fatigue," and often results in clinicians ignoring the alerts altogether. Ultimately, this puts patient safety at risk and actually reduces clinicians' confidence in the alerts that were designed to help them.
Unfortunately, there is a discrepancy between the knowledge stored in clinical databases and the limited clinical value these systems provide. One of the main reasons for this is that while knowledgebase rules are accurate, they aren't necessarily relevant for a specific patient in a specific clinical situation at a specific time. Personalizing rules for each patient by using AI establishes alerts for specific, relevant clinical situations. This can reduce the overall alert burden and increase clinical accuracy — thus improving clinician compliance and, most importantly, patient safety.
Bashe: Recognizing these gaps and opportunities, you founded MedAware to create a physician- and patient-sensitive, intelligent system that could leverage thousands of data points to provide both a panoramic view of prescribed medications and potential errors and personalize outputs for specific patient needs. How does this technology all come together and how has it been received by the healthcare community?
Stein: We recently showed the results of one of our implementations to leaders of a leading hospital. The chief medical officer stood up and said "We've been slaves to the EMR for years — we've been entering data relentlessly and now, for the first time, our data works for us."
This is the magic of speaking to people's needs rather them having them adapt to what's available. We use data hidden within the EMR to understand how physicians practice and how they treat patients in varied clinical scenarios. By combining that intel with the knowledge from the drug interaction databases, we are able to personalize alerts to reflect the clinical needs of that specific person, and ensure the alert is medically relevant for the individual patient.
Bashe: Does this system provide direction to the physician on what steps should be taken after receiving an alert?
Stein: Artificial intelligence (AI) is geared to support physicians. It's not a replacement. It would be presumptuous for AI or a computerized system to suggest something to a physician and the medical team. What we can do is identify potential adverse drug events very early on and perhaps prevent them. We're not simply assessing the medication at the moment of prescribing — we're also monitoring the patient, post-dispensing, looking at any changes in their clinical status or datasets that this patient may present. If we identify that this patient suddenly has another side effect, it is possible to capture this early on, and associate it with the potentially offending medication.
The system notifies the care team that there may be a suspected interaction, and that the clinician and patient should consider taking a lab test to confirm. We're not telling clinicians what they should do; we're just providing a safety net of continuous monitoring to ensure that patients remain safe. This is another one of the unique features and main benefits of this system.
Bashe: You are synthesizing vast amounts of data behind the scenes. How does it work? How does it relate to the institution's own IT network?
Stein: On the technical level, we have our own server that resides either onsite at a health system or in the cloud, and it communicates directly in real-time with the institution's EMR system. In order for the algorithms to work, we take the data from the EMRs and process so that system compares patient records across different geographies and technologies. We then apply AI on top of that, which is agnostic to the specific location or the technology being used onsite. At that point, we are able to get a clear picture of the patient's clinical situation, understand the mechanisms by which clinicians make mistakes, and create models that would specifically address these situations. We can compare practices and behaviors among institutions, and this creates great value that is immediately translated into benefit to users and their patients.
Bashe: As the adage goes: "Data in-data out." There is information and application of these databases. How does this look on the physician side? How will they know there is a possible medication risk or drug-drug interaction for one of their patients?
Stein: It's split into two scenarios. The first is having an alert generated at the moment of prescribing. That's a very straightforward, synchronous warning. The second scenario is an asynchronous alert generated after the patient has been receiving the medication. That could be when a new lab test or vital sign ties together information and recognizes that one of the medications the patient is taking is a danger.
Different institutions have different workflows — operational cultures — to ensure the clinician receives the alert in a timely manner. The way the alert information is shared aligns to the infrastructure of the hospital. The insights MedAware generates become part of the set workflow for the clinician and care team.
Bashe: It sounds like artificial intelligence can have a big impact on identifying drug-drug interactions or contraindications at any point in the physician's workflow and patient journey. With impressive data from implementations already in place, what's the next big development you're working on?
Stein: The next level is expanding beyond indications, looking at issues that may have slipped through the diagnostic and primary care cracks.
Bashe: This is interesting. So, you're looking to expand upon current AI-driven medication insights to identify other areas of risk that physicians may not yet be aware of?
Stein: Yes. For many years, physicians tried to be both memorizers and philosophers. That doesn't work anymore. We have to let the computerized system be the memory and the physicians be the philosophers. At the end of the day, the value of the clinician is measured in that intimate encounter with the patient in the office, during that dialogue, in that physical checkup — really comprehending the problem and translating the patient's words into a clinical understanding. What we are trying to provide are critical accessories that free clinicians to devote more time to really take care of their patients.
How Tech Supports the Hippocratic Oath
Bashe: Providers too often see the burden of managing health information falling on their shoulders. They ultimately shoulder the responsibility for patient wellbeing. EMR input, keeping track of the growing list of condition codes and navigating the challenges of interoperability become obstacles to their care mission. Machine learning, combined with the operational culture of an institution, the personal-care needs of each patient and the passion of the healer to do their best work, can bring about a long-needed change. Machine learning and physician expertise combined can do even better in fulfilling the Hippocratic pledge to "Do no harm."
This Article was last updated on: October 13, 2021
Dr Gidi Stein
Hippocratic Oath
Interpreting Medical Data
MedAware
Policy and Opinion
Editors ChoicePatient ZoneHealth News and ViewsHealthcareHealthcare Policy and OpinionInnovationsFor DoctorsIndustry NewsTrending Issues
Gil Bashehttps://gil-bashe.medium.com/
Health advocate connecting the dots to transform biopharma, digital health and healthcare innovation | Managing Partner, Global Health Finn Partners | MM&M Top 50 Health Influencer | Top 10 Innovation Catalyst. Gil is Medika Life editor-in-chief and an author for the platform's EcoHealth and Health Opinion and Policy sections. Gil also hosts the HealthcareNOW Radio show Healthunabashed, writes for Health Tech World, and is a member of the BeingWell team on Medium.
Editor in Chief, Medika Life
Meet the Medika.Life new editor-in-chief, working closely with founding editors Robert Turner and Jeff Livingston, MD.
Not your usual health-industry executive, Gil Bashe has had a unique career shaped by more than three decades in healthcare policy, pharma, life science, digital health and venture capital and informed his determination to 'give back.'
A champion for health innovation that sustains people's lives and improves their care, Gil honed his perspectives on both battlefield and boardroom. He started in health as a combat medic in an elite military unit. He went on to serve as a clergyman tending to the ill; as a health products industry lobbyist; as CEO of one of the world's largest integrated health marketing companies; as a principal in private equity; as a Medika Life author and Health Tech World correspondent; and as Chair, Global Health at FINN Partners, a community of purpose dedicated to making a difference.
In the forefront of change, Gil is ranked as a Top 10 Digital Health Influencer; Medical Marketing & Media Top 10 Innovation Catalyst; Medika Life named him a "Top 50 Global Healthcare Influencer," and PM360 presented him with its "Trailblazer Lifetime Achievement Award." He is a board member for digital health companies and serves as advisor to the CNS Summit, Galien Foundation, Let's Win for Pancreatic Cancer, Marfan Foundation and other health-centered organizations.
CONNECT WITH GIL
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Howitzer, 18th century. USS Constitution Museum Collection.
This is a 3-inch bore "brass" gun. Guns of this size went by a number of different names but most often were referred to as either "swivel howitzers" or "cohorns." By most accounts, howitzers of this type were made for the U.S. Navy by Paul Revere or by Daniel King, who worked out of Pennsylvania. King gave all of his guns a maker's mark. This gun does not match the pattern of any King guns, nor does it have any of his marks, but it also lacks any markings that would confirm it as a Revere make. The only marking to be found on this howitzer is "U.S." stamped into the end of one of the trunnions (the part of the gun where the mount attached). However, it is similar in design to the other probable Revere weapons, such as a ship's cannon, which also has no maker's mark but bears an American eagle. There are also historical documents that state Revere's howitzers had a 3-inch bore like this one, while King's had a 2¾ -inch bore.
Regardless of the maker, this howitzer shows signs of an eventful service life. The gun still has lacquer in many of the recesses, evidence that it was once heavily japanned. (Japanning was the process of coating an item, particularly weapons, in a heavy black lacquer, thus protecting the item from the elements). The howitzer was found without the original mount or tiller. They probably were broken, reused, or melted down for the iron from which they were made.
A notable feature of this howitzer, though an easily overlooked one, is that it has been spiked. Spiking was a last resort when it was clear a gun was going to fall into enemy hands. It involved driving a metal object into the touch-hole thus rendering the gun useless. In the case of this howitzer, it was done with a nail. Exactly why this gun was spiked is unclear, though it may have been in danger of capture or disabled so that it could be put on display at some point.
There are many firsthand accounts of guns like this being used "for the ship's tops" on both the USS Constitution and on other frigates. From this high perch they would be fired down on the opposing crew. Reports suggest that some American captains would also have them mounted on the front of the ship's boats to defend landing parties. While howitzers could fire grenades, this was extremely dangerous as the gun could easily explode. Howitzers of this size would more often be used like a big shotgun, firing canister or grape shot. From the fighting tops a howitzer firing canister shot could hit a large swath of the enemy deck. The effectiveness of howitzers kept them in use until just before the Civil War. Around this time it was decreed that the use of any firearms in the tops was too dangerous to be worthwhile.


The Boeing Company (BA) today announced that its 787 Dreamliner will participate for the first time in flying displays at the Farnborough International Airshow, which runs July 9-15 outside London. Boeing also will present its Enduring Awareness Pavilion, a comprehensive display of advanced command, control, communication, computer, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (C4ISR) capabilities.
"We are showcasing a full range of innovative new products, systems and services from our commercial, defense, space and security businesses," said Tom Downey, senior vice president, Boeing Communications. "We're looking forward to the opportunities the show provides to meet with customers, partners and other stakeholders".
A Boeing 787 Dreamliner in Qatar Airways livery will be on static display July 9-11. Boeing plans to fly the fuel-efficient airplane in the daily show displays. The airplane will be open by invitation only. In addition, Korean Air will display its newest Boeing 737-900ER July 9-12. Boeing will feature the new 737 MAX with a program update, and a full-scale model of the 737 MAX Advanced Technology winglet will be on view in the Boeing static display area.
The Enduring Awareness Pavilion is an interactive exhibit focused on C4ISR across every operational domain – air, land, sea, space and cyberspace. It will showcase more than 20 technologies – including the P-8A Poseidon, Space-Based Space Surveillance system, Airborne Early Warning and Control, eXMeritus HardwareWall, unmanned airborne systems from ScanEagle to Phantom Eye, and other capabilities. The Pavilion, at location OE/5 and adjacent to the Boeing Chalet, will be open during normal air show hours for all visitors.
During the show's daily flying display, Boeing will demonstrate the capabilities of its advanced, multi-role F/A-18E/F Super Hornet fighter. Also on the flying program are the innovative Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey tiltrotor and the tactical and strategic C-17 Globemaster III airlifter. The company and its customers will display several other systems, including the F-15E Eagle fighter and the AH-64D Apache Longbow attack helicopter. Visitors will be able to see these aircraft until Sunday, July 15.
Together with the Royal Aeronautical Society, Boeing is presenting airplanes built by students at the Yateley School (Hampshire) and the Marling school (Gloucestershire). They are the first two complete planes among the six being built by schools participating in the "Schools Build a Plane Challenge" – an initiative providing young people in UK secondary schools with the opportunity to build an operational light aircraft from a kit.
Boeing will hold a series of media briefings during the show, as listed below. Media attending the show should check the briefing schedule daily at the Boeing- sponsored Farnborough International Airshow Media Centre and the Boeing media chalet, located in chalet row B 1-6, for updates.
dr Krzysztof Kuska , analityk bezpieczeństwa, specjalista w dziedzinie lotnictwa wojskowego, historyk. Współpracował m.in. z magazynami: "Jane's Defence Weekly", "Defence and Security Alert", "Airforces Monthly", "Combat Aircraft", "Lotnictwo Aviation International" , "Lotnictwo", "Polska Zbrojna". W wolnych chwilach poczatkujący podcaster https://chrisondefense.com/. Więcej na krzysztofkuska.com.


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Bertie County 7 – 9 foot giants:
Considerable excitement prevailed at Raleigh, N. C., on the 25th, over the reported discovery in Bertie County, near the coast, in the State, of the remains of a number of gigantic men in a mound. The skeletons were discovered in a sitting posture and their heights ranged from seven to nine feet. The State Geologist had gone to investigate.
Researched by Chris L Lesley
This is the majority of the cases that range between 7 and nine feet tall.
7 footers, in great numbers debunk the myth that people are larger today than in the past. This is not the case. In fact today 1 out of 2 million 3 hundred thousand people are 7 foot. There are only 20 people 7 foot 3 or taller in the NBA. Currently there is only one playing in the 2014-2015 year.
8 footers, are extremely rare in modern times yet there is evidence of an abundance in the fossil record in the past. On our planet of 7 billion people there are only 3 individuals who are over 8 foot. three! There are entire races of people that were this tall in the past.
9 footers, every authority on world records and height will tell you 9 footers do not exist. I suggest you visit my youtube page or just look up:
100 ancients Bigger than Robert Wadlow or
Another 100 ancients Bigger than Robert Wadlow
There are over 1000 examples on these two videos.
~Chris L Lesley
Fort Wayne Sentinal March 20, 1897
There has been some additions i would like to include: Although there isnt much new information here are other sources that carried this story.
You can find this same article in: the "Benton Weekly Record"; The "Wheeling Daily Intelligencer"; and the "Vermont Phoenix" however these articles are repeats.
This is a very curious area as there numerous mysteries that abound here. For one we all know the Roanoke story. Roanake island is just off the shoreline of Bertie county.
John White's map drawn during the 1585-1586 military voyage of discovery. The military men spent quite a bit of time exploring the region, meeting the natives, learning about the region and potential locations for a permanent colony. John White, when he was able to return in 1590, he found the colony removed and the message "CRO" and "Croatoan" carved on both a tree and fort post for him. If they relocated to the Chowan River location, why would they have carved Croatoan and CRO at the fort?
In this map you can see a fort which is still undiscovered or was it a plan that never followed through? On these maps you can see red dots which may represent villages, or mound locations but this is just speculation.
# February 20, 2014, 1:12 pm

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


PAW Patrol Live! Race to the Rescue Characters | Who Will Be There?
Meet the PAWsome PAW Patrol Live! Race to the Rescue characters!
Want to learn more about Chase, Ryder and the rest of the team? Read on for some fun facts about the PAW Patrol pups!
Marshall is the team's brave firedog – an excitable, all-action, six-year-old Dalmatian pup. He's always ready to roll, but sometimes he gets too excited and can be a little clumsy.
Ryder is a 10-year-old boy who runs the Lookout and serves as the leader of the other PAW Patrol Live! characters. Ryder adopted each of the puppies and trained them to be a part of PAW Patrol. When he receives a distress call, he summons the pups by sounding the PAW Patrol Alarm from his PupPad.
This German Shepherd police pup is a natural leader. Athletic, smart, and 'by the book' organized, seven-year old Chase can herd traffic down the right detour, block off dangerous roads, and solve any mystery.
He can help sniff out anything, but he happens to be allergic to both cats and feathers.
A playful walrus that lives out in the bay. He is a good friend to Cap'n Turbot and the PAW Patrol. He also enjoys getting treats from Ryder and Cap'n Turbot.
The best snowboarder in Adventure Bay, Jake lives on a snowy mountain and runs a skiing and snowboarding resort. He lives with Everest, and they love to play in the snow together.
A hard-working farmer who grows prize-winning fruits and vegetables. She is married to Farmer Al, and together, they grow crops and care for animals like Bettina the cow and Garbie the goat.
Mayor Humdinger is the not-so-nice mayor of the neighboring town of Foggy Bottom. He's highly competitive and usually pretty cranky. He has a group of six kittens, the Kit-tastrophe Crew, who help him in all his sneaky schemes, but their hijinks always end in a rescue from the PAW Patrol.
Adventure Bay's marine biologist and fisherman. He has a boat called The Flounder and loves using it to find marine wildlife. He also loves fishy-flavored foods like squid jerky and fish cookies.
Chickaletta is Mayor Goodway's chicken. She lives in the Mayor's handbag, but she also likes to visit her friends at Farmer Yumi's Farm, or hang out with the pups at the Lookout.
Mayor Goodway is the mayor of Adventure Bay, following in the footsteps of her Great-Great-Great-Great Grandfather, Grover Goodway, Adventure Bay's first mayor. She strives to keep Adventure Bay clean, safe and kind, but to do that, she needs the pups to lend a paw.
The most recent pup to join the PAW Patrol, Everest is a fearless and feisty eight-year-old Husky pup and the team's amazing forest ranger. She's completely at home in the wild and is a big help to Jake up on his mountain.
Everest comes down to join the team for any rescue in the snow or the woods.
Rocky is a six-year-old Mixed Breed recycling pup. He is a creative canine, has a thousand ideas, and someone else's trash is often his treasure.
Rocky can usually find just the right thing to solve a problem. Rocky can get a little scruffy; he's not a fan of baths and doesn't like getting wet at all.
Zuma is a playful, water-loving Labrador pup, and the team's water rescue dog. At five years old, he's a happy, energetic beach puppy who loves to laugh and surf.
At seven years old, Skye is a cute, smart Cockapoo puppy. She is a fearless daredevil who will try anything with grace and a smile. She's smart, loyal, and quick with a quip, sometimes gently teasing the bigger dogs who can't seem to keep up!
She loves to get paw-dicures and look good. When there's no mission for the PAW Patrol, she can be found snowboarding or playing her favorite videogame, Pup Pup Boogie.
Rubble is a construction Bulldog – a tough, gruff five-year-old pup with a heart of gold. Not only is he strong and eager to help, he's funny and unexpectedly sweet!
He loves to skateboard, snowboard, and get covered in mud, but he also loves warm baths at Katie's Pet Parlor.


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Labour law10.10.2017
Rasmus Linding
The Danish Government's legislative programme 2017/18
True to tradition, the Danish Government announced its legislative programme for the new parliamentary year on the first Tuesday of October. The programme includes, among other initiatives, the long awaited amendment of the Holiday Act and the new Data Protection Act.
The Danish Government's legislative programme is a list of the bills which the Government expects to introduce in the new parliamentary year. This year's programme includes new measures in the field of labour and employment law, primarily a thorough amendment of the Holiday Act and two entirely new measures – the much awaited Data Protection Bill and the Trade Secrets Bill. To this should be added a number of amendments to the Working Environment Act, the Unemployment Insurance Act, the Sickness Benefits Act and various other acts.
Below follows a quick overview of some of the measures within the field of labour and employment law. As always, Norrbom Vinding will be following the measures closely and report on any developments in our news service.
Bill to amend the Holiday Act
The Bill is intended to provide a simpler and more modern Holiday Act which is in compliance with Denmark's international obligations. With effect from 2020, a simultaneous accrual and holiday year will be introduced so that employees will accrue holiday in the period 1 September to 31 August of the following year and the holiday accrued must then be taken in the period from 1 September to 31 December of the following year. The purpose of the 16-month holiday year is to provide flexibility so that it will still be possible under the new regime to save accrued holiday for the autumn or for Christmas.
Data Protection Bill
The Bill is intended as a general instrument to replace the current Data Processing Act, which dates back to 2000. Supplementing the provisions of the General Data Protection Regulation, which will enter into force on 25 May 2018, the Bill maintains and introduces supplementary national provisions on data processing within the scope allowed by the GDPR for national discretion.
Trade Secrets Bill
The Bill is intended to implement the Trade Secrets Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council from 2016. The new Act will define the meaning of trade secrets and specify the conduct that will be considered sanctionable and the sanctions that will be available in case of breach.
Bill to amend the Working Environment Act
The legislative programme includes a number of initiatives that will require the Working Environment Act to be amended. For one thing, the Danish Government is planning to amend the provisions on working environment certificates. The certification scheme is managed by the Danish Working Environment Authority and the purpose of the Bill is to strengthen the Authority's controls and powers in that connection.
Bill to amend the Sickness Benefits Act
The purpose of the Bill is to amend the provisions governing employers' access to public sickness benefits records and files, more specifically to prevent or restrict access to non-relevant information.
Bill to amend the Unemployment Insurance Act
In continuation of the new daily benefits scheme for employees, the Danish Government is planning to continue the principles of the system to ensure greater harmonisation of the rules that apply to employees and self-employed persons.
The above is only a brief summary of the initiatives – click here to see the full legislative programme for 2017/18 (in Danish).
NewsLabour law24.08.2021
One misstep
Employees' protection against dismissal during illness arising from an injury suffered at the workplace is not conditional on the employer knowing at the time of dismissal that it was the employee's injury that led to the illness.
New Act to ease the concept of "industrial accident" has been passed
A new Act to amend the concept of industrial accidents to also cover "temporary" injuries has now been passed by the Danish Parliament.
Judgment in the case concerning Kærkommen's bankruptcy
Norrbom Vinding successfully conducts a landmark case concerning municipalities' repatriation of home care services.
NewsPublic sector labour and employment law, Labour law14.12.2018
Christmas office party
The employer was justified in summarily dismissing a middle manager who had displayed sexually offensive behaviour to a colleague in another department at the Christmas office party.


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The biggest viral publisher you've never heard of
May 29, 2014 | By Ricardo Bilton
What happens when you take an hyper-viral publishing model and apply it to a specific topic? Major traffic growth, for one.
Independent Journal Review, an ideological cross between Drudge Report and Upworthy, has rapidly become one of the biggest viral sites on the Web today. In the last year, the site has seen its traffic increase from 1.5 million uniques to a high of 12.9 million in January, according to comScore. Quantcast pegs it as the 45th-most trafficked site in the U.S., eclipsing even FoxNews and The New York Times.
IJReview has managed this, seemingly, by doing its best Upworthy impression. Its articles, which are rarely more than a few hundred words, combine scandalous, curiosity-inducing headlines ("This Guy Stops Black Americans On The Street To Hear Their Thoughts On 'White Privilege') with a focus on conservative interests ("What a Firearms Ace Can Do with Just About Every Kind of Gun Imaginable is Pretty Sick").
It's a formula derived from the tradition of old-school conservative email chains, which combine a taste for the conspiratorial with a general distrust for mainstream media. The site's most popular post — "When Cars Started Sinking Into The Street, People Gathered To Watch. But The Last 15…Wow!" — was viewed nearly 9 million times and generated 487,000 shares.
"We pulled this off by putting the right information in front of the right people," said Bert "Bubba" Atkinson, Independent Journal Review's editor-in-chief. "We think politics can be very entertaining, and it clearly has viral potential, but it's traditionally been projected from an inside-the-beltway viewpoint that doesn't necessarily lend itself to social sharing."
IJReview's success over the past year came just as Facebook moved to clamp down on viral sites' reach on the social network. After months of consistent growth, traffic to Upworthy and Elite Daily, for example, dropped 51 percent and 47 percent, respectively, from November to January. IJReview's traffic, too, has taken a 50 percent dive from its highs in January, and for good reason: 69 percent of IJReview's desktop traffic last month came from Facebook, where it has 69,000 likes. (The site also runs the "I Am Conservative" Facebook page, which has more than 5 million likes so far.)
Despite its traffic fluctuations, IJReview has been profitable since it was founded, largely thanks to its lean 10-person team. While the site runs traditional pre-roll and display ads, it is also focused on building "valuable audience segments with information on social sharers that can be targeted from a brand and advocacy perspective on certain issues," Atkinson said.
Ultimately, this political take on the Upworthy model puts IJReview in a better place with marketers than most viral sites, which chase virality but lack focus."I think they are able to appeal to many advertisers especially strategic marketers that are interested in content that surrounds issues, cause, influence and digital advocacy" said Erik Requidan, director of sales at Intermarkets, which consults with publishers to market their ad inventory to buyers. "Marketers don't just care about any content that blows up. They also want to reach relevant audiences where engagement is happening."
Ricardo Bilton
https://staging.digiday.com/?p=76960
Beyond Ads
Media Briefing: Publishers' Q3 earnings reports show promise, but not without sacrifice
Publishers' third quarter earning reports are in.


There may be many reasons why some people talk a lot but rarely listen. Apparently, they enjoy the sound of their own voice. The hidden reason can be that that's how they (were taught to) see communication. Talk. Talk. Wait for your turn to talk. Talk.
Active listening is probably the most needed skill in today's age of alternative facts. We'll never wind up understanding each other if we don't listen.
In the microcosm of the classroom, this skill helps to build authentic communication and create a learning rich environment. In an ideal world, it is enough to ask learners to 'talk to your partner and discuss …' and listening will follow. In the real world, try and get your kids to listen to what their peers have to say. They will hear but will they listen?
Essentially, active listening starts with one's genuine interest and curiosity in other people and their ideas.
Here's a game that helps build a skill of active listening by getting learners to think of what others might say. It can be used as an individual activity (e.g. a get-to-know-you activity, a warmer, etc.) or complement a drill turning it into a genuinely communicative exercise.
The game is best played in small groups of 4-5 players in each. One of the players reads out the card with the question. Each player uses their "Yes" or "No" answer cards to give their personal "Yes" or "No" response to the question and puts the answer card face down on the desk. Ask players to guess and write down how many players they think would answer "Yes" (or "No") to the question. See how everyone answered. Players score 1 penny for accurate predictions about what the other players thought about the question (i.e. how many they thought would answer "Yes"). The first player who scores 5 pennies wins the game.
Level-up. You can make the game a bit more challenging by asking learners to guess the answers of each player. Each correct answer awards 1 penny. The first player who scores 10 pennies wins the game.
* If you use this game as a drill exercise, get learners to ask each player the question before they reveal their answers. When the player reveals the card, the player gives a full answer to the question.
A set of blank cards or a set of question cards.
You can either use cards made by your learners. Hand out blank cards to your learners and ask them to write down a couple of yes-no questions they'd like to ask the other players.
Or prepare your own set of questions in advance. These funny Facebook questions below might work really well for a get-to-know-you activity.
Kissed any one of your Facebook friends?
Eaten something you thought you never would?
Drank something you knew you shouldn't?
Eaten something you didn't know what it was?
Run until you couldn't run another step?
Found £5 or more in public?
Hit the bulls eye with a bow and arrow?
Walked barefoot in a stream?
Lost your cool in public?
Received a massage of more than one hour?
Meditated for more than 15 minutes?
Played football at a major stadium?
For Yes/No answer cards, either give two blank cards to each player to fill them in with Yes or No, respectively, or use any colour or UNO cards (e.g. green for "Yes", red for "No").
Check these activities to teach your learners how to show interest while listening FAKE IT TILL YOU MAKE IT.


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Education High School Diploma or GED Skills Pet Care Retail Sales Customer Service Benefits Employee Discount A. Purpose: The primary focus of a Pet Depot Sales associate is to provide..
We are currently seeking a full time associate veterinarian for a fully equipped progressive 5 doctor practice located in Mayfield, Kentucky. We are a mixed animal practice that sees approximately..
Benefits Retirement Plan Health Insurance Paid Time Off You: A leader with skills and heart who is ready for a great opportunity. Us: The veterinary practice that can give it..
Education Bachelor's Degree Skills Time Management Veterinary Experience Laboratory Experience Laboratory Procedures Clinical Laboratory General Manager- Veterinary Are you a superstar in laboratory operations searching for somewhere to really shine?..
Skills Veterinary Technician Experience Anatomy Knowledge Benefits Dental Insurance Paid Time Off Health Insurance ZNLabs is a new and innovative veterinary diagnostic laboratory looking to hire 2 veterinary grossing technicians..
Skills Veterinary Experience Venipuncture Experience Veterinary Assistant Benefits Performance Bonuses Employee Discount Paid Time Off If you have a reputation for being cheerful, hard working and teachable, and want to..
Education High School Diploma or GED Skills Veterinary Technician Certification Medication Administration We are looking for outgoing people for two fast paced Veterinary hospitals. The main hospital is located in..
Full time Veterinarian Town and Country Animal Clinic in Danville, KY, USA Full time Veterinarian for quality small animal practice in the heart of Kentucky Bluegrass. Seeking licensed Veterinarian to..
Tri-County Animal Clinic is seeking an additional veterinarian to join our practice. We are a busy practice with a great staff in beautiful Eastern Kentucky. Our practice is well equipped..
Do you want to practice equine medicine and have a normal fulfilling life outside of practice? Come be a part of an innovative new equine practice. We are looking for..
Skills Veterinary Experience Front Desk We are a small animal practice looking for a full time Client Services Representative. We are looking for a mature and dependable individual that will..
Salary: depends on full / part time Type: Part Time - Any experience level considered Occupation: Veterinarian Species: Equine Veterinary Specialty: None Preferred Education: Doctorate Do you want to practice..
Richmond Veterinary Clinic in Richmond, KY is looking for an associate veterinarian to join our growing team. We are a busy, full-service hospital that provides quality veterinary care for dogs,..
Skills Veterinary Technician Certification Physical Examinations Animal Husbandry CPR Certification Benefits Flexible Schedule Job Number: 150003FJ Job: Vet Technician Job Category: Hospital Paraprofessional Staff Schedule: Regular Full-time regular Primary Location:..


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Apple's #iPhone 5: The good, the bad, the ugly
Apple's iPhone 5: Mixed industry reactions but consumers love it
Opinion: iPad, iPhone 5, iTunes, Authentec and Apple's mobile payments plan
Your iPhone 5 is already your 'iWallet' while Samsung warns NFC isn't working...
Quickflix seeks to keep Netflix out of Australia
By Adam Bender
Quickflix upgraded its online payment system in three months to prevent hacking threats and solidify its position as a leading digital video subscription service in Australia and New Zealand, the company's chief innovation officer, Tim Parsons, said today at the CeBIT Future of Payments conference in Sydney.
Quickflix is a subscription service that ships DVDs and Blu-ray movies, and streams digital video in Australia. It also recently launched a streaming service in New Zealand. In 2011, Quickflix began adding streaming video support for smart TVs, Sony PlayStation 3, the iPad and other consumer electronics devices, and it has plans to soon support the Microsoft Xbox 360.
"We're trying to move as fast as we can because we're scared of these other big competitors and we're scared of people like [the US company] Netflix … who might be coming to Australia," Parsons said. "We want to make sure that when they turn up they realise we're in all the key devices in the premium positions—contractually agreed with those device manufacturers—and have all the different pieces in place like PCI compliance … so they say, 'That's not really worth it.'"
Quickflix hopes to follow the example of Trade Me in New Zealand, which successfully warded off a challenge from eBay, Parsons said. He said everyone thought eBay would "crush them", but "eBay took one look at the local Trade Me business and [said], 'Too hard, we're out of here".
In upgrading its payment system, Quickflix hoped to ward off threats to its business, including technical, operations and hacking threats, he said. "We recognised that we weren't really super comfortable" about preventing an event like the one Sony faced when it lost tens of millions of credit cards. "That's a brand that's pretty bulletproof, but if Quickflix lost two credit cards we'd probably be gone."
Quickflix partnered with IP Payments to develop payment gateways for various devices and the Web, Parsons said.
Maintaining a consistent look and feel to payment gateways across the Quickflix website and device apps was critical to making customer comfortable, he said. For device apps, the challenge is doing that on "someone else's infrastructure," he said.
Also, the migration process had to be "completely invisible" to the customer, Parsons said. The company has 100,000 paying customers, "and we just didn't want any of those folks" to receive a "weird message" telling them that they had to upgrade their account, he said.
Complicating matters further, the company had to migrate multiple credit cards per user and support multiple currencies.
"We pulled it off" in three months," Parsons said. Quickflix started talking about the upgrade in November 2011, decided to do it in March 2012 and rolled it out by June. The company has run 600,000 transactions since turning on the new system and migrated 180,000 cards "without any downtime," he said.
The company's upcoming move to Xbox 360 presents new payment challenges, Parsons said. "Xbox 360 won't have on-device payment, but it has all sorts of opportunities like that in it, and of course customers who sign up through the Web for an Xbox 360 account need to be able to transact using that PIN system for [transactional video on demand] and other products." That will run on off-site IP payments and credit card storage infrastructure, he said.
Quickflix has convinced 30 per cent of its DVD-through-post subscribers in Australia to switch or additionally subscribe to streaming services, Parsons said. "What will push people over is catalogue depth." Quickflix has 55,000 titles in its DVD catalogue but only a subset are available through streaming. "There's a lot of legal relationships" to cut through in Hollywood and studios are "good business people," he said. "You've got to be careful, because they'll take your money. So you need to make sure your business model will scale, so if you're paying more money for the content—as in millions of dollars—you need to make sure you'll get it back at the other end."
Another problem is each major studio has "lots of little ones underneath it that are actually doing the delivery of the files," Parsons said. "In some cases we get tapes. In one instance we were told, 'Rip the Blu-Ray.'" It's an industry that's "still in transition," he said. "They're being very careful to protect their existing revenue base … and at the same time they realise they have to come up with something very credible."
Follow Adam Bender on Twitter: @WatchAdam
Follow Computerworld Australia on Twitter: @ComputerworldAU, or take part in the Computerworld conversation on LinkedIn: Computerworld Australia


Mary Wild is the creator of the popular PROJECTIONS lecture series (psychoanalysis for film interpretation), which has been running regularly at Freud Museum London since 2012. She teaches in the Humanities department at City Lit and is featured in the Shoreditch House cinema events programme. She has produced similar events at ICA, BFI, NYU and Central Saint Martins. Her interests include cinematic representations of identity, the unconscious, hysteria, neoliberal economics, mental illness and love.


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South India Hotels & Restaurants Association has donated Rs.1,00,000.00 (Rupees one lakh only) as "Padmasree P.Ananda Rau Memorial Endowment". This amount has been put in fixed deposit. From the interest earned on this deposit the amount is awarded as prize amount to meritorious students of Degree (I, II and III Year), PGD in AOM/PGD-DHFS/DFP/DB&C/Craft FP/Craft F&BS.


Say what you will about winter. It's cold. It's dark. Nothing good happens. I agree. Winter kind of blows after the pizazz of the holiday season fades away. But it gives one time to work on hobbies. One of mine happens to be cooking. I'd like to be an amazing cook one day. Now I'm only so-so. I would be nowhere without All Recipes, but I'm trying to improve. I'm also trying to curve Seasonal Affective Disorder by getting back into knitting and writing. All I'm saying is expect more cooking and knitting talk for the rest of winter.
This is a chicken stir fry recipe which turned out amazing. It was just enough spicy. I added the sauteed onions and peppers to the recipe to make it more of a meal. I also served it over rice.
That is one of my AllRecipes favorites! I loved it too. Great minds think alike.


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Analysis of Microsoft's® 4th Quarter FY 2018 Earnings Report from a Licensing Perspective
Microsoft® reports earnings in three operating segments: Productivity and Business Processes, Intelligent Cloud, and More Personal Computing.
This segmentation is said to align reporting with CEO Satya Nadella's vision for the company.
This document is structured in the following manner:
Summary of the Financial results for FY2018, Q4
Revenue and Operating Income for FY2018, Q4
Contributions by Business Segment
Microsoft's Volume Licensing Revenue Summary for FY2018, Q4
Predictions for the future and products that have recently been released or will be launched during coming months
Summary of the Financial Results
Microsoft beat revenue and profit expectations once again during their fourth fiscal quarter, driven by an 89% increase in Azure revenue. This propelled the stock to an all-time high of $108.
Analysts were looking for top-line revenue of 29.21 billion, which the software giant exceeded, reporting $30.09 billion for the quarter (non-GAAP). This represents a 17.5% year-over-year increase. Adjusted EPS was $1.13, which beat expectations of $1.08.
Revenue for the year was $110.4 billion, which is a 14% year-over-year increase. Earnings for the year were $3.88 per share.
Revenue in Productivity and Business was up 13% to $9.7 billion, largely due to a 38% increase in commercial Office 365 revenue. Microsoft reports there are now 31.4 million Office 365 Consumer subscribers.
LinkedIn revenue increased by $397 million, to $1.46 billion.
Intelligent Cloud revenue was $9.6 billion, up 23%. Azure revenue was up 89% over last year, representing continued strength and growth in the cloud.
The More Personal Computing segment reported $10.8 billion. This number was up 17% from the same period last year.
The company reported commercial unearned revenue of $29 billion, up 23%, driven by strong cloud billings. Commercial unearned revenue is primarily sales from volume licensing agreements which have been booked but not yet recorded.
Microsoft returned $5.3 billion to shareholders during the quarter in the form of dividends and share repurchases.
Revenue and Operating Income (FY18 4th Quarter)
(In millions, except per share amounts)(Unaudited)
June 30, Twelve Months Ended
Product $17,159 $16,057 $64,497 $63,811
Service and other 12,926 9,548 45,863 32,760
Total revenue 30,085 25,605 110,360 96,571
Cost of revenue:
Product 3,517 3,141 15,420 15,175
Service and other 6,225 5,315 22,933 19,086
Total cost of revenue 9,742 8,456 38,353 34,261
Gross margin 20,343 17,149 72,007 62,310
Research and development 3,933 3,514 14,726 13,037
Sales and marketing 4,760 4,292 17,469 15,461
Restructuring 0 306 0 306
Operating income 10,379 7,682 35,058 29,025
Other income, net 301 276 1,416 876
Income before income taxes 10,680 7,958 36,474 29,901
Provision for (benefit from) income taxes 1,807 (111) 19,903 4,412
Net income $8,873 $8,069 $16,571 $25,489
Earnings per share:
Basic $1.15 $1.05 $2.15 $3.29
Diluted $1.14 $1.03 $2.13 $3.25
Basic 7,683 7,715 7,700 7,746
Diluted 7,775 7,806 7,794 7,832
Cash dividends declared per common share $0.42 $0.39 $1.68 $1.56
Unless otherwise noted, the numbers presented herein do not consider constant currency (CC) calculations which are used to provide a non-GAAP framework for assessing business performance while excluding foreign currency rate fluctuations.
SEGMENT REVENUE AND OPERATING INCOME
(In millions)(Unaudited)
Productivity and Business Processes $9,668 $8,548 $35,865 $29,870
Intelligent Cloud 9,606 7,822 32,219 27,407
More Personal Computing 10,811 9,235 42,276 39,294
Total $30,085 $25,605 $110,360 $96,571
Operating Income (Loss)
Intelligent Cloud 3,901 2,911 11,524 9,127
More Personal Computing 3,012 2,186 10,610 8,815
Corporate and Other 0 (306) 0 (306)
Total $10,379 $7,682 $35,058 $29,025
Productivity and Business
Revenue in Productivity and Business grew 13% to $9.7 billion as key products such as cloud services, Office 365™, and Dynamics™ all grew respectably. Revenue from Office commercial was up 10%, driven by continued growth in Office 365 subscriptions. LinkedIn revenue was up 37% to $1.46 billion.
Dynamics revenue was up 11%, thanks largely to increases in Dynamics 365 revenue.
On the consumer side, Microsoft reports that Office 365 now has approximately 31.4 million subscribers, with Office and cloud revenue increasing by an impressive 8%.
LinkedIn revenue grew 37% to $1.46 billion.
Intelligent Cloud
Revenue in the Intelligent Cloud segment rose 23% to $9.6 billion, led by Azure™, where revenue was up respectably yet again, at 89%.
Enterprise Services revenue increased 8%.
More Personal Computing
Revenue in the More Personal Computing segment was up 17% to $10.8 billion.
Windows OEM revenue increased by 7% year over year, driven by an 14% growth of OEM Pro, reflecting a strengthening commercial PC market.
Windows commercial products and cloud services increased 23%, largely due to an increase in multi-year agreements that have higher in-quarter revenue recognition.
Surface revenue increased by 25%.
Volume Licensing Revenue Summary (Q4, FY18)
The reporting segments make it difficult to isolate Volume Licensing revenue, although Microsoft did report that "Commercial bookings" were up 18% year-over-year, driven largely by customer commitment to commercial cloud.
The company reports unearned revenue from Volume Licensing programs. Unearned revenue represents customer billings for multi-year licensing arrangements paid either at inception of the agreement or annually at the beginning of each billing coverage period, often referred to as "Contracted not billed". Also included in unearned revenue are payments for post-delivery support and consulting services to be performed in the future. Microsoft currently reports $29 billion in commercial unearned revenue, which is up 23% year-over-year.
We consider the risks facing Microsoft when we analyze the Financial Year. For more information on identified risks, refer to the "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Conditions and Results of Operations" and "Risk Factors" sections of Microsoft SEC filings. These can be obtained at http://www.Microsoft.com/investor/.
For the sake of this document, we would like to highlight significant risks for Microsoft. Understanding these risks may provide you with leverage when negotiating your agreement.
Facial Recognition and AI
One of the many challenges faced by Microsoft and other cutting-edge tech companies is that as technology advances, the results often exceed that which may be appropriate for existing laws or even that which is considered socially acceptable. During our Q3 FY18 Earnings Analysis, we considered the legal implications of a potential US Supreme Court ruling which could require US based companies to disclose user data which is stored on servers located outside the US. It's an example of a relatively new technology which probably didn't exist or certainly wasn't widely used when the current laws were written.
Today, Microsoft and others, are facing another challenge which could also have major legal implications. The improving reliability of facial recognition has made it a critical factor for many public and private sector organizations and individuals. We can use it for seemingly mundane tasks such as unlocking a smartphone, which doesn't seem to have a lot of privacy concerns since the user is aware that they are using the technology. The possibilities for facial recognition seems almost endless, however, particularly when enhanced by artificial intelligence (AI). Consider the potential benefit to being about to scan a crowded airport or robbery scene, for example, to locate suspected criminals, or evaluating a crowd after a terror attack. Many (most?) would agree that the end justifies the means, particularly in extreme cases, but there are many applications for facial recognition that are not extreme but will very likely employ the technology.
As is typically the case, privacy and other laws vary by country, but in the US and many other regions, an individual's right to privacy is demanded by individuals and highly protected by laws. Microsoft is heavily invested in AI, facial recognition, the IoT and other technologies that can combine to leverage these new market opportunities, but protecting personal privacy is a primary tenet of Microsoft's core values.
Facial recognition is not going away. It will continue to evolve as software reliability and scanning devices improve, but it will not be without challenges or setbacks. One of the core challenges will be that of scanning and capturing an individual's presence without their consent.
We expect Microsoft to proceed cautiously, and possibly lobby for some degree of legislation or protection, but just as with offshore servers, it's unclear how much enforcement US lawmakers may be able to mandate outside of the US.
FY19 Predictions and Roadmap Information
We would be remiss if we failed to acknowledge the pending update of the most widely used productivity software suite available. Office 2019 is expected sometime during the coming months, as Microsoft has simply advised us that it will be released during the "second half of 2018". Office 2019 is the perpetual license counterpart to Office 365, which is a subscription product. While there are some subtle differences between the two, the primary differences are the way we buy them and the way they are updated. As previously noted, Office 2019 has a perpetual license; meaning that the user buys it now and has the right to use it indefinitely. By contrast, O365 is a subscription, for which the user has a pay-as-you-go model, with the option to pay monthly or annually. O365 use rights end when the user stops paying, whereas the license to use Office 2019 never ends.
The second major difference between the two is that O365 continuously receives feature updates in addition to maintenance and security updates. Office 2019 customers receive maintenance and security updates, but no new features or functionality.
Microsoft Phone Rumor
There is a rumor on the street which, presumably originated at Windows Latest, stating that Microsoft is working on a Microsoft-branded Android based smartphone. Even the article suggests that the source may be mistaken, and we're going to jump on that bandwagon.
There has long been speculation about some sort of "phone" functionality as part of their Surface line, and it's quite possible that's where the latest rumor started. The latest member of the Surface family of products, the Surface Go, will be available on August 2. While not included in the first release, The GO promises to offer LTE functionality, hopefully later this year. It has been more than a year since Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said "I'm sure we'll make more phones, but they will not look like phones that are there today." That quote lead to a great deal of speculation, and we haven't seen anything new to date.
There has also been speculation about "Andromeda", which is the code name for a Surface device that is intended to further merge PC and smartphone functionality.
It's conceivable that the Surface GO could have some for of telephony app, or that Andromeda may materialize at some point, but we question the likelihood of a dedicated Microsoft-branded smartphone.
Frankly, we question the wisdom of Microsoft producing a smartphone or phone-like device. Their original business model was one in which Microsoft wrote the software and licensed it to hardware manufacturers (OEMs) so they could produce the (expensive) devices. The smartphone market is already saturated. Microsoft would have to offer something truly revolutionary to compete.
Dynamics™ 365 update – October, 2018
Exchange Server 2019 Preview – Q3, 2018
Exchange Server 2019 – Q4, 2018
Office 2019 – Q4, 2018
SharePoint Server 2019 – Q4, 2018
Skype for Business Server 2019 – 2nd Half 2018
Teams – Continuous updates
Windows 10 "Redstone 4" – Released
Windows 10 "Redstone 5" – Fall, 2018
Release schedules are subject to change
As Microsoft continues to fill the revenue void left by traditional perpetual license and software sales, they have increased their software licensing audit activity. Microsoft typically demands some sort of audit on most of their Volume Licensing customers at least once every three years. It's a good business for Microsoft as the cost of the audit is typically paid by the customer (unless the customer proves that they are almost 100% compliant). By exercising their audit rights, Microsoft forces organizations to verify their compliance and purchase any additional licenses necessary to become fully compliant. It's typically much more cost effective to confirm compliance before being audited.


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Welcome to my website !
An extensive virtual collection of interesting stuff...
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You are here: Home New York City NYC Blog
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Complete daily report
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My personal collection of articles about the Big Apple!
One belongs to New York instantly, one belongs to it as much in five minutes as in five years. Tom Wolfe
Empire Fulton Ferry State Park
The old boardwalk, Dec 1999One of the most beautiful spots in the World !
The openings of the Brooklyn and the Manhattan Bridges, plus the rise of trucking and railway transportation, originally spelled doom for the bustling waterfront that made Brooklyn an international shipping hub in the 19th century. But by the '60s, much of the shipping activity had stopped and the park was opened in 1978 at the foot of the Brooklyn Bridge.
Today, nine acres of grass have replaced the gravel and dirt that covered the site a century ago. An expansive wooden boardwalk, built in 2002, now stands where piers once were, although two hulking warehouses serve as reminders of the site's industrial heritage. Several tall trees and the Brooklyn Bridge provide shade for the sun-weary. On clear days, the park offers picturesque vistas of Lower Manhattan across the East River.
Read more: Empire Fulton Ferry State Park
The Twin Towers
Aerial view, March 2001The World Trade Center
Height: 1,368 and 1,362 feet (417 and 415 meters)
Owners: Port Authority of New York and New Jersey
Architect: Minoru Yamasaki, Emery Roth and Sons consulting
Engineer: John Skilling and Leslie Robertson of Worthington, Skilling, Helle and Jackson
Ground Breaking: August 5, 1966
Opened: 1970-73; April 4, 1973 ribbon cutting
Destroyed: September 11, 2001
The World Trade Center was more than its signature twin towers: it was a complex of seven buildings on 16-acres, constructed and operated by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ).
The towers, One and Two World Trade Center, rose at the heart of the complex, each climbing more than 100 feet higher than the silver mast of the Empire State Building.
Read more: The Twin Towers
The Freedom Tower
One World Trade CenterOne World Trade Center , abbreviated as 1 WTC and commonly known by its previous name Freedom Tower, is the lead building of the new World Trade Center complex in Lower Manhattan, New York City.
The 104-story supertall skyscraper is being constructed in the northwest corner of the 16-acre World Trade Center site, occupying the location where the original 8-story 6 World Trade Center once stood. The building is bounded to the west by West Street, to the north by Vesey Street, to the south by Fulton Street, and to the east by Washington Street.
Construction on below-ground utility relocations, footings, and foundations for the building began on April 27, 2006.
The tower's steel structure topped-out on August 30, 2012, and work is currently underway on its spire. At the time of its completion (check out the rendering) in 2013, One World Trade Center will be the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere and the third-tallest building in the world by pinnacle height, with its spire reaching a symbolic 1,776 feet (541.3 m) in reference to the year of American independence. It has been the tallest building in New York City since April 30, 2012.
Read more: The Freedom Tower
The Brooklyn Bridge Park
The Brooklyn Bridge Park is now a reality!
The beginnings have already become a treasured urban oasis. Offering spectacular views of downtown Manhattan and the New York Harbor, Pier 1, Pier 6, the Brooklyn Bridge Park "Main Street lot," and Empire-Fulton Ferry section of the park have attracted thousands of visitors. These park sections are the setting for our programs and events, as well as picnics, ball play, daydreaming and much more.
Over 20 years of community advocacy to transform the piers below the Brooklyn Heights Promenade into a vibrant waterfront park are paying off. Construction of Phase 1 began in winter 2008. Pier 1 opened to the public March 2010 and Pier 6 opened June 2010. 66% of the park is slated to be complete by 2013.
Read more: The Brooklyn Bridge Park
Copyright © 2013 by Bazzy. All Rights Reserved.


A Video Doorbell 2 to protect your entrance, and a Floodlight Cam for your blindspots.
A Video Doorbell 2 and two Floodlight Cams for superior outdoor surveillance.
A Video Doorbell 2 and three Floodlight Cams for a Ring of Security.


So, you've hired some new team members, but how do you give them the warmest possible welcome? For many smart companies, the answer is to shower them with branded swag on day one! And it's not a bad strategy—surprising new hires with welcome kits is a great way to instill company pride from the get-go and to encourage a positive work environment. As long as you make it creative, personal, useful and (perhaps most important) welcoming, you can be sure your brand-new co-worker will be glad he or she took the leap to join your organization. Here are some awesome onboarding kit ideas to make new hires feel right at home.
No matter how many logo hoodies, pens and sunglasses you throw into a given kit, nothing says "we're glad you're here" quite like a personalized note. Before the first day, pass around a welcome sign or card to the entire team to sign, with personalized notes, signatures and tips for brand-new hires. If you already know a little something about the newbie—maybe she's an athlete, a music lover or a foodie—try to tailor a goodie bag to suit her personality.
At the end of the day, employees are representatives of your brand. And if they believe in it, they will share it with everyone they love, acting as natural (and free) promoters. Thus, keeping employees proud and happy is key to solidifying a good Glassdoor review and reputation within the industry or community. Allow new hires to show their company pride with an onboarding kit that includes promotional apparel, like custom hoodies and tees.
What do the welcome kits of the most forward-thinking companies have in common? Uber, Randstad, Facebook, IBM and eBay all give new employees the same single piece of branded swag: a branded notebook. The truth is that logo items simply get more use when they're useful, so you can trust that they'll stay in the game for years to come. Consider adding custom mouse pads, pens, planners and sticky notes to your onboarding kit for a practical appeal.
You'll be the onboarding hero if you add something sweet to your welcome kits! The idea is to pair valuable, branded items like apparel with affordable yet crowd-pleasing extras, such as candy, beverages and snacks. If your new set of hires has relocated for the position, make sure to give your onboarding kit a local flair with regional sweets and treats that welcome employees to the area and your company.
If you have the ability to give every single employee your best-selling product or service, do so. This is more than just a perk for new hires; it's also a way for them to get acquainted with the things they'll be working with or using every day and to provide real, usable advice to potential customers, family and friends. Of course, if your service is an intangible—such as software or an app—be sure to offer all new hires the premium or top-tier version for personal and work use for free.
Again, your employees serve not only as the scaffolding of your business, but also as promoters and believers of what you do. In this spirit, it helps if you encourage your new hires to spread the word about your business with their closest family, friends and colleagues, and they'll be much more likely to do this if they can hand out stickers, pens or buttons. Be sure that you don't put pressure on this (especially if promotion isn't their job), but simply mention that sharing is caring!
If you love the idea of creating a super neat, self-contained welcome kit for new employees, consider tying it all up in a pretty little package that serves dual purposes, like a custom promotional bag. These carry-alls serve as personalized gift bags and swag in their own right, so they're pretty much guaranteed to check all your branding and welcoming boxes! Opt for something you know will get use, like a custom tote bag, drawstring bag or backpack.
Don't choose onboarding kit items at random. Piece together swag and gifts that celebrate the essence and vibe of your company. Say, for example, your company is a fitness tracking app. Your employees will surely be interested in staying fit, so consider welcoming them with company water bottles. If your company is all about the high-tech, then a custom wireless speaker is a great option. All about the cool factor? Obviously, it's got to be custom sunglasses!
Not everything in your welcome kit needs to be branded. Mixing in useful, iconic and industry-specific extras will give your swag kits a big-picture feel, helping to honor the history or importance of your work. For example, a limited-edition version of a significant book—Gray's Anatomy for medical pros, The Elements of Style for writers, etc.—will always delight passionate employees!
The devil's in the details, as they say! Some of the most memorable and unique onboarding kits we've seen perfectly honor a brand's spirit with special unboxing experiences, beautiful packaging and messaging and colors that honor a company's branding and culture. Tie it all together by creating a new hire welcome basket that newbies will want to share on social media!
When designing your employee onboarding kits, make sure that they're three things simultaneously: personal, inspiring and creative. The goal is to make your new hires feel like they're part of the team—and part of something overall positive and inclusive—and to encourage them to build loyalty and pride so that they work hard and stay with your company well into the future!
Lee Becknell serves as the Digital Marketing Manager for Pinnacle Promotions. She oversees digital marketing from the Atlanta, GA headquarters. Lee has been with Pinnacle for over six years.
A vital component in being a successful business is effective communication. While that may seem like a simple concept, poor communication strategies seem to be a common theme in all businesses, no matter their size. Improper communication practices can create problems and pitfalls for teams working to accomplish their goals, and can even impact your business' bottom line. So, where do managers and business owners start? By implementing tools and improving internal communication frequency to create a more unified business.
Implementing the use of an instant messaging platform can provide every employee direct access to one another. Tools like Google Hangouts Chat can connect employees no matter where they are. Whether in the office or working remotely, questions can be asked and answered instantly. These messaging platforms allow for constant communication among peers. Each employee has the ability to manage and monitor multiple discussions at one time. Additionally, teams can utilize this chat ability to set up a virtual room with the team in its entirety. This type of communication channel promotes more frequent knowledge transfers, the desire to collaborate, and serves as a knowledge bank of archived conversations; allowing employees the ability to refer back to previous conversations and eliminate redundancy in workflow.
Providing employees with the opportunity to have face to face conversations is another avenue for enhanced communication. This is especially relevant for any small business that employs remote workers. Utilizing telecommunications applications like Skype can bridge the gap between employees in the office and off location. Messages can sometimes become lost in translation through text, so having the capability to video chat can further ensure that teams remain on the same page. Not only does it allow those working remotely a seat at the conference room table, but it also facilitates the ability to read facial expressions, be aware of body language, and form real connections with their peers on the receiving end.
Another option for consideration is Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) phone service in exchange for a traditional landline. This means that instead of dealing with traditionally hardwired phones, you're able to make phone calls over the internet. There are three different VoIP service options in use today: ATA, IP phones, and computer-to-computer. Each VoIP method converts analog audio signals and turns them into digital data that is transmitted over the internet. VoIP phone services can both save your company money and effort by streamlining all communication efforts to one service.
To further set your employees up for success, consider utilizing Unified Communications as a Service (UCaaS) to support all of your diverse communications systems. 8×8 offers cloud based unified communications that combine instant messaging, video conferencing, and VoIP services into one suite; further streamlining your business efficiency by uniting all of your current communication tools.
The continuous development of strong communication skills will further strengthen all aspects of your business. While these tools impact things like timeliness, and the ability to share information instantly; you are also facilitating more opportunities for collaboration. The more that employees are able to work together, the stronger their work relationship becomes resulting in more productivity.
Steven Maxon, is a communication advocate dedicated to helping businesses make integrated communications decisions.
Taking care of the wellbeing of your employees shows more than just your corporate culture, it's also a signal that your company cares for its own future and prosperity. More and more companies include different wellness programs in order to enhance the health status of their workforce. These programs rely on various tools and activities that track and maintain the health status of the working people. Let's take a more detailed look at all the benefits that wellness apps bring to companies.
First and foremost, wellness apps facilitate the implementation of your wellness program. Conducting these types of programs is never easy, especially within companies that include a large number of workers or remote employees. Automation, provided by mobile and desktop apps, makes the implementation of the program much easier and brings in a few extra features that would otherwise be difficult to carry out.
Absenteeism is a large issue for any company in the world. The productivity drops every time you have a person on sick leave, no matter how capable your team might be when it comes to covering for the absent co-worker. The best way to reduce the number of workers that turn in sick, is for a company todo whatever it takes to improve the well-being of its employees. Using wellness program apps within your company allows your employees to keep track of their health status, which further increases their chances of preventing any future health issues.
According to research, productivity depends, in a large measure, on the physical and mental status of your workforce. Wellness apps provide food recommendations, fitness instructions, track vital signs, all of which can reduce the chance of sickness. Workers that maintain their physical health status, feel better and more eager for work, which is essential for company productivity. Furthermore, as we already stated, even if the rest of your team is able to cover for their colleague, heavier workload and the need to perform faster leaves room for mistakes, which have to be fixed so more time gets wasted.
Without comprehensive feedback, it's difficult to improve a wellness program that your company implements. Apps, allow you to conduct surveys and get all sorts of analytics that could show which parts of your wellness program need improvement. It's important for the success of your program to know which aspects don't show desired results, which ones take too much time, and where you need to put in an extra effort to make the program work seamlessly.
There's an old saying "we are what we eat". Rather than suggesting that I'm a bowl of pasta, this piece of wisdom means that our mental and physical state depends on the food we place on our tables. Wellness apps allow you to create healthy dining menus and suggestions for various types of food. For instance, you can have your employees check in to see what gluten-free options they have, which vegan courses are available, or simply learn how to make a new tasty dish.
This way, your employees avoid the risk of heart diseases, cancer, digestive problems, and other health issues that both you and your workers want to avoid.
A company is doing well as long as the people that contribute to its success are doing well. Therefore, business owners should invest in the wellbeing of their workforce if they wish to maintain a high level of productivity. Moreover, the companies that show care for their employees build a positive image, which is important for business expansion and recruitment of talents. Wellness apps automate and simplify the implementation of your corporate wellness program, making it more efficient and reliable.
Becky Holton is a journalist and a blogger at ProEssayWriting. She is interested in education technologies and is always ready to support informative speaking. Follow her on Twitter.
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Today's employees are looking for more than just a salary—they want benefits. Millennials and those from Generation X, especially, are more financially invested in their future than previous generations and are committed to saving for their future.
A company that wants to both recruit top candidates and keep their valuable employees loyal should consider offering a 401k plan to their staff members. Although this is not a terribly big investment for small businesses, it can go a long way in showing that they care about their team members and their future.
401k is an employer-sponsored retirement plan, the most popular of its kind in the United States. Employees are able to defer a portion of their salaries to this retirement plan, which is used to invest in mutual funds primarily, as well as stocks and bonds.
This is a defined-contribution plan where the amount of funds the employees invest and the performance of the funds they invest in determine the balance of the account.
Although they are not obligated to do so, some employers choose to contribute to the employee's plan, often matching the contributions up to a specific percentage.
This plan does come with certain legal limitations, such as an investment cap of $19,000 for individuals and $56,000 for joint contributions for employers and employees for 2019. Individuals who are 50 years of age or older can contribute an additional $6,000 individually and $62,000 as joint contributions.
Another limitation is the ability to withdraw funds from this plan, which is only allowed upon the age of 59 ½, when the employee changes jobs, retires, becomes disabled or passes away. Some plans allow for withdrawal of funds during a certain hardship as well. If the funds are withdrawn prior to the allowable time, the funds will be counted and taxed as ordinary income and will be charged a penalty.
The plan calls for required minimum distributions (RMDs), which are mandatory withdrawals once the account holder reaches 70 ½ years of age.
The 401k is qualified by the IRS, so the funds transferred are eligible for tax benefits. The advantages of the 401k for the employees include a tax break on the contributions deferred to the account as well as a reduction in taxable income.
Let's say an employee earns $10,000 per month, and contributes 5% of that amount to the 401k plan. That monthly $500 will be transferred to the retirement account tax free, and the employee's taxable annual income will be reduced from $120,000 to $114,000.
The 401k also offers tax breaks for employers for the contributions they add to their staff's retirement plans.
In additional to the financial savings, offering an employer-sponsored retirement plan will help companies attract and retain top talent. In the current climate, where 55 million Americans do not have a retirement savings plan, and the number is larger in employees of small companies, this benefit would be a big advantage for staff members.
If you are interested in offering this benefit to your employees but need financial assistance in doing so, contact IOU Financial. We work with small business to help them finance their goals. We offer easy and fast loans of up to $300,000.
When a valuable employee has moved on from your organization, or there is a need for additional manpower to handle growing responsibilities, management may want to fill that position as soon as possible. However, it is imperative to give this process the time it deserves in order to hire a candidate that would fit all the criteria needed to make a valuable addition to the team.
It's frustrating when a new hire doesn't work out, and this can negatively affect the team's productivity and company culture. If your department doesn't seem to be able to hold onto new hires for a reasonable time, it's time to consider if you may be interviewing wrong. Learning better strategies to this process will help you choose the right candidate from the get go.
As people, we tend to gravitate towards people we like, typically those that are similar to us. You may bond with a person because they are from your hometown, or like the same sports team. While it's important to like your colleagues, you must strive to use objective criteria instead of subjective criteria during the interview.
It may be advantageous to utilize a job screening assessment when recruiting new employees. This is a test that evaluates a potential candidate's knowledge and skills in a specific area. Whether you choose a computer test or a paper test, the answers will give you a comprehensive view of the person's expertise in the area, and a preview of how valuable they could be to the team.
That being said, it's also not a good idea to hire someone when you have no gut feeling that they will work out. If a person seems rude, arrogant or simply disinterested, don't hire them just because they aced their job assessment.
Most employees don't meet their new colleague until their first day on the job, which is too late for them to provide their input. Instead of single handedly selecting a new employee, utilize the peer-to-peer interviewing technique, which allows existing employees to interview potential candidates on a one-on-one-basis.
This provides several benefits to both the interviewer and the interviewee; your staff members can evaluate their potential new coworker and ask questions to see how they would fit into the team. The interviewee can use the opportunity to ask questions about the working hours, management style, and typical day on the job which they may not have been comfortable asking leadership.
Improving your interview process with simple adjustments can help you make a better decision about bringing on the right candidate. Remember to discuss the criteria most important to the team, and focus on assessing whether the individual meets those criteria.
Grace Ma is a Managing Director at Ex-Consultants Agency (ECA). ECA is a specialized executive search firm that focuses on placing former management consultants into project-based and full-time roles. Before joining ECA, Grace worked as an Engagement Manager at Strategy& (formerly Booz & Company) and VP of Strategy at JPMorgan Chase & Co.
https://ioufinancial.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/interview-header.jpg 280 765 IOU Financial https://ioufinancial.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/IOUFinancial_HeaderLogo-300.png IOU Financial2018-09-11 06:22:072018-08-15 10:41:11Are You Interviewing Wrong?
Many people aspire to be the boss so that they can control their own schedule and take off as much time as they want. However, the stark reality is that many owners don't take vacations at all, year after year.
According to a recent survey, half of small business owners take an average of three days off per year, while 70% work on holidays, including Thanksgiving. The main excuse for lack of time off is that business owners don't feel like their companies can survive or thrive without their presence and input.
However, not taking any time off leads to extreme stress, feeling burnt out, loss in productivity and a creativity block. In fact, lack of vacations can lead to depression, cognitive decline and even heart disease!
It's probably not the best idea to take a two-week cruise where you will be fully inaccessible if you haven't taken more than a day off in recent years. Instead, start small and train your staff and yourself to run the business without you little by little.
Start by giving yourself half-day Fridays when work permits, and leave after lunch to see how your staff does without you. If all goes well, take an entire day off, followed by a mini-vacation for just a few days.
Assess how your employees are able to handle responsibilities on their own, and how much they need to contact you to make decisions before taking a week off or more.
They say that when the cat's away, the mice will play. This especially applies to the workplace, where employees feel they can give themselves luxuries they would never dream of when their boss is at the office.
This is why it's vital to designate a leader in your absence who will be responsible for overseeing the workplace. Choosing a proven and trusted colleague will help you rest easier, and will let your employees know that work will resume as usual.
Although you may force yourself to get on a plane and jet to a new destination, you may not be as relaxed as you would expect when you return. That is because the majority of business owners can't abstain from constantly checking in with their staff while on vacation.
It's hard to lay on the beach or take an excursion when you're constantly checking emails or are on the phone. Plus, the more you make yourself available, the more your staff members will feel like they can reach out, even for non-vital matters.
Make it clear to your staff that you will only check in once every 24 hours, and that they can only defer to the leader if an emergency occurs and you need to be contacted sooner.
This will allow you to take true time off, while empowering your employees to make decisions without your input.
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It's been found that "64% of meetings last more than an hour, with 39% of all meetings exceeding 90 minutes. With the length of these meetings, it's no wonder that most of us cringe when we get a meeting request.
The duration of meetings don't match with scientific evidence about our ability to concentrate before getting bored or distracted, which is anywhere between 10 and 18 minutes (fun fact, this is why Ted Talks are 18 minutes or less).
Many modern managers are limiting meetings at 15 minutes, which increases productivity as employees are more alert and able to follow along.
Some teams are so used to holding weekly meetings that they forget that it is not a necessity. To make the meeting more productive, require that the organizer create an agenda, which is distributed a few days prior to the meeting. No agenda = no meeting!
This is imperative so that everyone understands the relevancy of the meeting, and only the required employees attend instead of everyone in the department. This also lets the attendees prepare instead of being surprised during the meeting.
There are a lot of moving parts in an office, and it's easy to get sidetracked. However, to optimize the meeting in the time you have, stick only to the items on the agenda.
This will structure the meeting and sidestep any unnecessary conversations, which will simply waste time. Designate a person who will be responsible for monitoring chatter, and cut off those that go off topic.
A meeting doesn't have to be confined to a conference room with chairs. To make the meeting more efficient, require that the attendees stand up. This has several benefits—the first being that we sit too long during the day, which leads to physical and health-related issues.
The second benefit is that after a while, we get tired of standing, and we try our best to end the meeting so we can get back to our comfortable chairs.
The third advantage, and perhaps the biggest one, is that standing allows us to be more creative, energetic and collaborative than sitting.
It's important to discuss topics during the meeting, but don't dismiss your employees without creating a game plan on what happens next. Otherwise, you'll just meet next time without any progress having been made.
In addition to creating goals, distribute a follow up email after every meeting to summarize what was discuss and outline objectives with due dates so everyone is on the same page.
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People focus on notable differences, excluding those that are less conspicuous, when making predictions about happiness or convenience. For example, when people were asked how much happier they believe Californians are compared to Midwesterners, Californians and Midwesterners both said Californians must be considerably happier, when, in fact, there was no difference between the actual happiness rating of Californians and Midwesterners. The bias lies in that most people asked focused on and overweighed the sunny weather and ostensibly easy-going lifestyle of California and devalued and underrated other aspects of life and determinants of happiness, such as low crime rates and safety from natural disasters like earthquakes (both of which large parts of California lack).