A surgical device is disclosed including a housing having an activation switch. The activation switch is adapted to couple to an electrosurgical energy source and includes a knob. The knob is slideable with respect to the housing and travels within a guide channel defined within the housing. The activation switch is selectively moveable in a first direction within the guide channel. Moving the activation switch in the first direction sets a desired electrosurgical energy level. The activation switch is also moveable is a second direction. Moving the activation switch is the second direction activates the electrosurgical energy source.
The present disclosure relates to an electrosurgical forceps and, more particularly, the present disclosure relates to a switch on an electrosurgical forceps that can both adjust electrosurgical energy levels and activate electrosurgical energy.
During different types of surgery, doctors and surgeons utilize different types of surgical devices. Many of these surgical devices perform several different functions. Each function may be performed by engaging a certain control feature, including a switch, button, trigger, slide or the like, located on the surgical device. Thus, it is not uncommon for a surgical device to include several different control features thereon.
The present disclosure relates to a surgical device for use with various surgical procedures. The surgical device (e.g., open-style forceps, in-line-style forceps, or electrosurgical pencil) includes a housing with an activation switch. The activation switch is adapted to connect to an electrosurgical energy source and includes a knob. The knob is slideable within a guide channel within the housing and the knob may be biased in an inactivated position. The activation switch is selectively moveable in a first direction within the guide channel to set a desired level of electrosurgical energy. The activation switch is also selectively moveable in a second direction to activate the electrosurgical energy source and may be designed and configured to set the intensity level of electrosurgical energy before the activation of electrosurgical energy.
The activation switch may be configured to electromechanically cooperate with a sliding potentiometer and/or a voltage divider network to adjust or control the intensity or energy levels of the surgical device.
The guide channel may be dimensioned to include a plurality of discreet positions. In such an embodiment, the knob is slideable within the guide channel between the plurality of discreet positions. In an embodiment, tactile feedback is provided to a user when the knob is slid between the plurality of discreet positions.
The present disclosure also relates to a method and an electrosurgical system that utilize the disclosed surgical device. The surgical device comprises a housing and a combined energy level button, herein referred to as an activation switch. The activation switch is disposed at least partially on the housing and comprises a knob and a guide channel. The knob is slidingly supported in the guide channel. Depressing the knob activates electrosurgical energy and sliding the knob along the guide channel sets the intensity of electrosurgical energy.
In another embodiment according to the present disclosure, the knob may be biased towards a first depressible position where it does not activate electrosurgical energy. Depressing the knob into a second depressible position activates electrosurgical energy and releasing the knob will cause the knob to return to its first depressible position, thus deactivating electrosurgical energy.
The present disclosure also relates to an electrosurgical system for performing electrosurgery on a patient and includes an electrosurgical generator which provides electrosurgical energy to a surgical device. The surgical device includes an active electrode that supplies electrosurgical energy to a patient and an electrosurgical return electrode that returns the electrosurgical energy to the electrosurgical generator. The surgical device includes an activation switch that has a slideable and depressible knob.
For a better understanding of the present disclosure and to show how it may be carried into effect, reference is now made by way of example to the accompanying drawings.
FIG. 8 is a perspective view of an in-line-style forceps having an activation switch.
Embodiments of the presently disclosed activation switch and method of using the same are described below with reference to the accompanying figures wherein like reference numerals identify similar or identical elements. In the following description, well-known functions or constructions are not described in detail to avoid obscuring the disclosure in unnecessary detail. As used herein and as is traditional, the term "distal" refers to that portion that is farthest from the user while the term "proximal" refers to that portion that is closest to the user.
In general, the various figures illustrate an activation switch 100 disposed on a variety of different surgical devices. Specifically, FIGS. 1-4 illustrate the activation switch 100 on an endoscopic forceps 200; FIG. 6 illustrates the activation switch 100 on an open-style forceps 200 a; FIG. 7 illustrates the activation switch 100 on an electrosurgical pencil 200 b; and FIG. 8 illustrates the activation switch 100 on an in-line-style forceps 200 c. Other suitable types of surgical devices, which are not shown, may include the activation switch 100 envisioned herein. The activation switch 100 may be configured to activate a monopolar energy mode, a bipolar energy mode or a combination thereof. As can be appreciated, one or more activation switches 100 can be disposed on a surgical device 200 (for instance, on the housing 210 and/or on the handle assembly 230) for activating a different type of energy, e.g., three activation switches 100, 100 a and 100 b are illustrated in FIG. 4.
Initially referring to FIGS. 1-4 and 6-8, illustrations of an endoscopic surgical device including the activation switch 100 are shown and are generally referred to by reference numeral 200. Surgical device 200 may include a housing 210, a shaft 220 defining axis "A-A," activation switch 100, an end effector assembly 240, a handle assembly 230, a rotation assembly 250 and a trigger assembly 260.
As best illustrated in FIG. 4, the activation switch 100 is disposed at least partially on the housing 210 and includes a knob 110 and a guide channel 120. Knob 110 of the activation switch 100 is slidingly supported in the guide channel 120 and is operable to both activate electrosurgical energy and to set the intensity of energy levels of electrosurgical energy in surgical devices 200. For example, sliding the knob 110 along the guide channel 120 sets the intensity of the desired electrosurgical energy and depressing or otherwise moving the knob 110 relative to or along the housing activates the electrosurgical energy. In an exemplary embodiment as illustrated in FIGS. 1-4, the knob 110 is biased towards a first inactive position. Depressing knob 110 into a second depressible position (i.e., inwardly relative to the housing) activates electrosurgical energy. Releasing knob 110 will cause knob 110 to return to about the first inactive position. Indicia 125 may be included on the surgical device 200 that corresponds to an intensity level of electrosurgical energy when the knob 110 is activated.
With reference to FIGS. 5A and 5B, details of one embodiment of the operation of the activation switch 100 are described with reference to FIGS. 5A and 5B. Knob 110 includes a protrusion 130 that depends from a bottom surface thereof. The protrusion 130 is configured to selectively contact a voltage divider network 140 (hereinafter referred to as "VDN") upon movement of knob 110 relative to the housing 210 (see arrow "B"). The VDN 140 includes a plurality of traces 150 disposed atop a base or substrate 160. When the knob 110 is selectively positioned in the guide channel 120 (along arrow "C"), the knob 110 is depressed to activate the electrosurgical energy. More particularly, and as best shown in FIG. 5B, depression of knob 110 engages one of the plurality of traces 150 (in this case trace 150 b) to activate the instrument with a particular electrosurgical intensity. For example, when trace 150 b is engaged and contacts a portion of the substrate 160 (illustrated in FIG. 5B), electrosurgical energy is activated. Further, the intensity of electrosurgical energy depends on where within the guide channel 120 the knob 110 is positioned, which corresponds to one of the plurality of traces 150. The VDN 140 may be electrically connected to a source of electrosurgical energy and it may control the intensity of electrosurgical energy.
The activation switch 100 may function as a slide potentiometer, sliding over and along VDN 140. In an exemplary embodiment shown in FIG. 4, a momentary switch is coupled to the sliding potentiometer. The activation switch 100 has a first position wherein the knob 110 is at a proximal-most position (closest to smallest indicia 125 a) corresponding to a relative low intensity setting, a second position wherein the knob 110 is at a distal-most position (closest to largest indicia 125 b) corresponding to a relative high intensity setting, and a plurality of intermediate positions wherein the knob 110 is positioned between the distal-most position and the proximal-most position corresponding to various intermediate intensity settings. As can be appreciated, the intensity settings from the proximal end to the distal end may be reversed.
With continued reference to FIG. 4, the knob 110 and/or the guide channel 120 may be provided with a series of cooperating discreet or detented positions 122 defining a series of positions to allow easy selection of the output intensity from the low intensity setting to the high intensity setting. These positions 122 are illustrated in FIG. 4 on the guide channel 120, but it is also envisioned that the knob 110 includes positions 122. In an exemplary embodiment, the positions 122 enable the knob 110 to snap into position with the guide channel 120 at positions where the knob 110 aligns with traces 150.
The series of cooperating discreet or detented positions 122 may provide a surgeon with a degree of tactile feedback. Accordingly, in use, as the knob 110 slides distally and proximally, tactile feedback may be provided to the user to inform him of when the knob 110 has been set to the desired intensity setting. A visual level of tactile feedback may be incorporated into activation switch 100. As such, the knob 110 may move a colored component (not explicitly shown) under housing 210 that would be visible through openings (not explicitly shown) in housing 210. Each opening may correspond to a particular energy level or trace 150. It is also envisioned for the positions 122 (or another feature of endoscopic forceps 200) or the generator to provide audible feedback.
The activation switch 100 may be operable to adjust the power parameters (e.g., voltage, power and/or current intensity) and/or the power verses impedance curve shape to affect the perceived output intensity. For example, and with particular respect to the electrosurgical pencil shown in FIG. 7, the greater the knob 110 is displaced in a distal direction, the greater the level of power parameters transmitted to the end effector assembly 240. It is envisioned for the current intensities to be in the range of about 60 mA to about 240 mA when using an end effector assembly 240 and having a typical tissue impedance of about 2K ohms. An intensity level of 60 mA provides light and/or minimal cutting/dissecting/hemostatic effects, while an intensity level of 240 mA would provide aggressive cutting/dissecting/hemostatic effects. Accordingly, the range of current intensity may be from about 100 mA to about 200 mA at 2K ohms.
The intensity settings may be preset and selected from a look-up table based on a choice of electrosurgical instruments/attachments, desired surgical effect, surgical specialty and/or surgeon preference. The selection may be made automatically or selected manually by the user.
In operation, and depending on the particular electrosurgical function desired, the surgeon moves the knob 110 to a desired level and depresses the knob 110, which depresses one of the corresponding traces 150 a-150 c (see FIGS. 5A and 5B) into contact with the pad 160, thereby transmitting a respective characteristic signal or voltage level to an electrosurgical generator. For example, the surgeon can depress trace 150 a to perform a cutting and/or dissecting function, trace 150 b to perform a blending function, or trace 150 c to perform a hemostatic function. In turn, a generator transmits an appropriate waveform output to the end effector assembly 240.
To vary the intensity of the power parameters of the surgical device 200, the surgeon moves the knob 110. As mentioned above, in one embodiment, the intensity may be varied from about 60 mA for a light effect to about 240 mA for a more aggressive effect. When the knob 110 of the activation switch 100 is positioned at the proximal-most end of the guide channel 120, the VDN 140 is set to a null and/or open position, corresponding to an intensity level of zero.
An RF line (not explicitly shown) for transmitting RF energy to an electrode may be provided and may be directly electrically connected to an electrode receptacle. In such an embodiment, since RF line is directly connected to electrode receptacle, RF line bypasses VDN 140 and thus isolates VDN 140. Such an arrangement may reduce the risk of the VDN 140 becoming overheated. Further details of an RF line that bypasses a VDN are disclosed in commonly-owned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/337,990, and is herein incorporated by reference.
With specific reference to FIG. 4, an enlarged view of the activation switch 100 is shown depicted on the endoscopic forceps 200. As shown in FIG. 4, the activation switch 100 may be located on at least one of a variety of suitable positions on the endoscopic forceps 200. In the embodiment of FIG. 4, activation switch 100 is illustrated in three different locations: housing 210, fixed handle 232 and movable handle 234.
Additional elements of the surgical device 200 are discussed with reference to the endoscopic forceps 200 of FIGS. 1-4. As can be appreciated, the surgical devices illustrated in the remaining figures may also be used with the activation switch 100 and are a part of this disclosure. Details of the open-style forceps 200 a illustrated in FIG. 6 are disclosed in commonly-owned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/962,116, which is herein incorporated by reference. Details of the electrosurgical pencil 200 b illustrated in FIG. 7 are disclosed in commonly-owned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/718,113, which is herein incorporated by reference. Details of the in-line-style forceps 200 d are discussed in commonly-owned U.S. Patent Application Ser. No. 60/722,177, which is herein incorporated by reference.
As mentioned above and as shown in FIG. 4, the surgical device 200 may include housing 210, shaft 220, activation switch 100, end effector assembly 240, handle assembly 230, rotation assembly 250 and trigger 260. Handle assembly 230 of the endoscopic forceps 200 includes a fixed handle 232 and a movable handle 234. The fixed handle 232 is integrally associated with the housing 210 and the movable handle 234 is movable relative to the fixed handle 232. The movable handle 234 may be coupled to the housing 210 and to the fixed handle 232. Additionally, the handle assembly 230 may include a pair of upper flanges that cooperate with the handle assembly 230 to actuate the drive assembly. More particularly, the upper flange may also include a force-actuating flange or drive flange, which abuts the drive assembly such that pivotal movement of the moveable handle 234 forces the actuating flange against the drive assembly which, in turn, closes the jaw members 242 and 244.
Rotation assembly 250 may be integrally associated with the housing 210 and may be rotatable approximately 180 degrees in either direction about the axis "A-A." The rotation assembly 250 may be located at one of a plurality of locations on the housing 210. An example of two such locations are illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 4.
A proximal end 222 of the shaft 220 is in mechanical cooperation with the housing 210. The end effector assembly 240 is attached at a distal end 224 of the shaft 220 and includes a pair of opposing jaw members 242 and 244. The movable handle 234 of the handle assembly 230 is ultimately connected to a drive assembly (discussed in commonly-owned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/460,926) which, together, mechanically cooperate to impart movement of the jaw members 242 and 244 from an open position wherein the jaw members 242 and 244 are disposed in spaced relation relative to one another (FIGS. 1 and 3), to a clamping or closed position (FIG. 2) wherein the jaw members 242 and 244 cooperate to be able to grasp tissue therebetween. Further details of the handle assembly 230, the rotation assembly 250, the drive assembly and the end effector assembly 240 are discussed in commonly-owned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/460,926, which is herein incorporated by reference.
When the jaw members 242 and 244 are fully compressed about tissue, the endoscopic forceps 200 is ready for selective application of electrosurgical energy and subsequent separation of the tissue. More particularly, as energy is being selectively transferred to the end effector assembly 240, across the jaw members 242 and 244 and through the tissue, a tissue seal forms isolating two tissue halves. At this point, the user may cut the tissue seal via the trigger assembly 260.
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the endoscopic forceps 200 may also include an electrosurgical cable 270 that connects the endoscopic forceps 200 to a source of electrosurgical energy, e.g., a generator (not explicitly shown). Generators such as those sold by Valleylab—a division of Tyco Healthcare LP, located in Boulder Colo. may be used as a source of electrosurgical energy, e.g., FORCE EZ™ Electrosurgical Generator, FORCE FX™ Electrosurgical Generator, FORCE 1C™, FORCE 2™ Generator, SurgiStat™ II.
Designed for the minimally invasive environment.
Internal components of the endoscopic forceps 200 are described in commonly-owned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/460,926, which is herein incorporated by reference. For example, the electrosurgical cable 270 may be internally divided into cable leads which each transmit electrosurgical energy through their respective feed paths through the endoscopic forceps 200 to the end effector assembly 240. The housing 210, the rotation assembly 250, the activation switch 100, the handle assembly 230, the trigger assembly 260 and their respective inter-cooperating component parts along with the shaft 220 and the end effector assembly 240 may all be assembled during the manufacturing process to form a partially and/or fully disposable endoscopic forceps 200. For example, the shaft 220 and/or the end effector assembly 240 may be disposable and, therefore, selectively/releasably engagable with the housing 210 and the rotation assembly 250 to form a partially disposable endoscopic forceps 200 and/or the entire endoscopic forceps 200 may be disposable after use.
The method of the present disclosure includes using the surgical device 200 to administer electrosurgical energy to a patient. The method includes the steps of providing a surgical device 200 including an activation switch 100, as described above, sliding the knob 110 within the guide channel 120 to set the intensity of electrosurgical energy, and depressing the knob 110 to activate electrosurgical energy.
The present disclosure also includes an electrosurgical system for performing electrosurgery on a patient. The electrosurgical system includes an electrosurgical generator that provides electrosurgical energy, an active electrode that supplies energy to a patient, an electrosurgical return electrode that returns electrosurgical energy to the electrosurgical generator, and the surgical device 200 having an activation switch 100, as described above.
While several embodiments of the disclosure are shown in the drawings, it is not intended that the disclosure be limited thereto, as it is intended that the disclosure be as broad in scope as the art will allow and that the specification be read likewise. Therefore, the above description should not be construed as limiting, but merely as exemplifications of various embodiments. Those skilled in the art will envision other modifications within the scope and spirit of the claims appended hereto.
the activation switch being selectively moveable in a first direction within the guide channel to set a desired electrosurgical energy level and the activation switch being selectively moveable in a second direction to activate the electrosurgical energy source.
2. The surgical device according to claim 1, wherein the activation switch is operable to set the intensity level of electrosurgical energy before electrosurgical energy is activated.
3. The surgical device according to claim 1, wherein the knob is biased in an inactivated position.
4. The surgical device according to claim 1, wherein the activation switch electromechanically cooperates with a sliding potentiometer to adjust energy levels.
5. The surgical device according to claim 1, wherein the guide channel comprises a plurality of discreet positions, the knob being slideable between the plurality of discreet positions.
6. The surgical device according to claim 5, wherein tactile feedback is provided to a user when the knob is slid between the plurality of discreet positions on the guide channel.
7. The surgical device according to claim 1, wherein the activation switch electromechanically cooperates with a voltage divider network to adjust energy levels.
8. The surgical device according to claim 1, wherein the device is an open-style forceps.
9. The surgical device according to claim 1, wherein the device is an electrosurgical pencil.
10. The surgical device according to claim 1, wherein the device in an in-line-style forceps.
depressing the knob to activate electrosurgical energy.
12. The method according to claim 11, wherein the activation switch is operable to set the intensity level of electrosurgical energy before electrosurgical energy is activated.
13. The method according to claim 11, wherein the activation switch electromechanically cooperates with a sliding potentiometer to adjust energy levels.
14. The method according to claim 11, wherein the guide channel comprises a plurality of discreet positions, the knob being slideable between the plurality of discreet positions.
15. The method according to claim 11, wherein the activation switch electromechanically cooperates with a voltage divider network to adjust energy levels.
17. The electrosurgical system according to claim 16, wherein the activation switch is operable to set the intensity level of electrosurgical energy before electrosurgical energy is activated.
18. The electrosurgical system according to claim 16, wherein the activation switch electromechanically cooperates with a sliding potentiometer to adjust energy levels.
19. The electrosurgical system according to claim 16, wherein the guide channel comprises a plurality of discreet positions, the knob being slideable between the plurality of discreet positions.
20. The electrosurgical system according to claim 16, wherein the activation switch electromechanically cooperates with a voltage divider network to adjust energy levels.
ES07009025T ES2354631T3 (en) 2006-05-05 2007-05-04 Button combined energy level.
US1090689A (en) * 1913-04-28 1914-03-17 Edwin W Grove Lath.


text:
Žerjavka je naselje u slovenskoj Općini Šenčuru. Žerjavka se nalazi u pokrajini Gorenjskoj i statističkoj regiji Središnja Slovenija.

Stanovništvo
Prema popisu stanovništva iz 2002. godine naselje je imalo 38 stanovnika.

Izvor

Naselja u Općini Šenčur

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text:
Puerto Rico and the American Dream
Tag Archives: Llears Garay
"The Familia" A Latino mob story
November 1, 2009 CorrientesAngel Caban, Bartolo Raffriele, Don Paladino, Don Pedro, Eddie Rivera, Emilio Rosa, head, Hilda Garay, Juan Shamsul Alam, Llears Garay, New York City, Noel Torres, Santo Alam, The Familia, the New York International Film/Video Festival, USDSanto Suave
"The Familia" at the New York International Film/Video Festival
Thursday's closing…July 26 at 8pm $12
Cinema East
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The Familia a Latin Mob short
Directed by Juan Shamsul Alam and Emilio Rosa
Written by Emilio Rosa and Juan Shamsul Alam
Synopsis: Don Pedro moves up in ranks in the Latino mob,
One obstacle in his way the head of the Italian mob
Don Paladino and his family…
Starring Emilio Rosa, Santo Alam, Sal Serrazia, Angelino Rodriguez,Noel Torres,
Angel Caban, Bartolo Raffriele, Eddie Rivera, Aniba Llears and Hilda Garay
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text:
Hopkins Happenings/ Press Releases / Cleveland Hopkins International Airport Passenger Numbers Continue Upward Trend
Cleveland Hopkins International Airport Passenger Numbers Continue Upward Trend
Cleveland Hopkins International Airport (CLE) saw a 9.9% increase in the first quarter of 2018 compared to the first quarter of 2017. Passenger numbers at the airport continue to increase year-over-year.
"The growth in passengers flying to and from Cleveland Hopkins International Airport is a testament to the airport's focus on growing air service and the quality of the traveling public's experience," said Mayor Frank G. Jackson. "It is also evidence of our region's increasing reputation as a key destination for regional, national and international travel."
In the first quarter of 2018 CLE welcomed more than 2.1 million guests. This was an increase over the 1.9 million guests during the same period in 2017. Of the 2.1 million passengers, 97 percent were origin and destination passengers, meaning they started or ended their trip in Northeast Ohio.
"After months of substantial increases in passenger numbers, it is clear that our airline partners still see the potential for additional investment in Cleveland," said Airport Director Robert Kennedy. "We will continue to work hard to earn the honor to serve the residents of Northeast Ohio and beyond."
CLE expects guest activity to continue to grow with the new transatlantic service from WOW air and Icelandair which starts in May 2018. In addition, Frontier and Delta air lines have already announced new service offerings to and from CLE.
About the City of Cleveland
The City of Cleveland is committed to improving the quality of life for its residents by strengthening neighborhoods, delivering superior services, embracing diversity and making Cleveland a desirable, safe city in which to live, work, play, and do business. For more information on the City of Cleveland, visit online at www.city.cleveland.oh.us, Twitter at @cityofcleveland or Facebook at www.facebook.com/cityofcleveland.


Ever since Evelyn Westby was cursed, she hasn't been able to speak to anyone outside her family. That hasn't stopped men from seeking her favor, especially the handsome and eligible Lord Alexander Newgate. But when her sister elopes and her betrothal is then canceled, Evie will do anything to win back her fiancé, even travel to war-torn France to find the gypsy who cursed her.
Alfred Coombes takes his fate into his own hands when he quits his employment to follow the call of adventure. On the road, he meets Lady Evelyn Westby and sees she needs a protector. Sacrificing his own journey, he becomes her guardian. Treacherous weather and a sinister smuggler throw them together, and he must decide whether to continue his journey or take a chance on a new adventure with a captivating beauty.


In an honest and humorous blog for xoJane.com, blogger Sarah Fazeli credits her housekeeper for helping bring her marriage back to its carefree honeymoon stage. Fazeli was never one to enjoy cleaning and considered household tasks to be time-consuming. However, when she was first married, she strived to take on domestic duties to make her husband happy.
Fazeli realized that she was simply missing the cleaning gene. She'd try to make her bed and fold the laundry, but would come home from work to see her husband redoing these chores because he didn't like the sloppy way she performed household tasks. Fazeli wrote that she felt unappreciated and her husband felt like their house was a mess. That all changed when the couple decided to hire a professional housekeeper named Ana.
Ana helped remedy the couple's marriage by giving them more time to enjoy each other's company, rather than fight about mundane chores. In fact, Fazeli states that she initially credited Ana with saving her marriage and improving her quality of life.
"My husband and I didn't fight over dishes, laundry, or the state of the bed linens," Fazeli wrote in the blog. "He was happy because the place looked fantastic, I was happy that it looked perfect and I not only didn't have to do it, nor did I have to get an earful every time my cleaning efforts/ability was deemed it was less than stellar."
Although years later, the couple ended up splitting due to irreconcilable differences that extended far past the chores, their relationship with their housekeeper remains intact. Ana now visits Fazeli's house on Monday and her ex-husband's house on Thursday to make both spaces clean and tidy.
If you're like Fazeli and desire more free time, contact Colonial Domestic Agency to find the perfect housekeeper!


On all VVX phones, you can configure the default phone screen that displays when the phone goes off-hook or is in an active call.
When the phone goes off-hook, you can configure the phone to display either the dialer view or the Lines screen by default.
Use the parameters in the following table to set the default screen that displays when the phone is off-hook.
In an active call, you can configure the phone to display the active call screen or the Lines screen.
Use the parameters in the following table to set the default screen that displays when the phone is in call.


text:
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James Ellroy - Perfidia
"When a Japanese family is found brutally murdered, three men and one woman are summoned."
NO MAJOR SPOILERS
Since I was first given American Tabloid one Christmas many years ago, I've bought each new Ellroy book as it's thudded onto the shelves – leaving a blood stain as it does – and devoured his back catalogue.
That is to say, this won't be an entirely unbiased review: I love James Ellroy and the way that he writes. Only more delighting to me than the appearance of a new book was the news that it's the first part of a new quartet that promises to tie together the now enormous semi-fictional universe the LA writer has assembled over two previous series.
Perfidia is a song about, well, perfidy, or treachery and betrayal. Remember "perfidious Albion"? Well, this is perfidious California.
And almost everyone is untrustworthy, dishonest, psychopathic really.
Ellroy's nearly-700 page latest opens on December 6, 1941. A Japanese family, the Watanabes, have been killed (or perhaps killed themselves) in their small Highland Park Home. There are ceremonial swords, a cryptic note on the wall, Axis-powers cash and blood everywhere. Already it's more than just another case for the LA cops who tackle it.
The following day, Pearl Harbour is bombed and the case gets an historic importance as the Japanese round-ups commence and a jittery state peels its eyes for fifth columnists. Japanese (and closeted homosexual) forensic genius Hideo Ashida is going to have a hard time.
Ellroy readers will know many of the characters here. Kay Lake, Ruth Cressmeyer and her idiot son, Huey, Ward Littell, and chiefly Dudley Smith, the Irish cop and all-round murderous psycho.
They will recognise the style too. Short, sharp, machine-gun sentences; vividly described violence; very raw language packed with racial epithets, four-letter words and homophobia, misogyny and every other prejudice you can think of.
If you don't think you'll like that then stand well back. And don't believe the book jacket, if you've not read Ellroy before take a look inside and read a few lines. If you think the style is going to drive you mad then put it down, or head for his earlier, less stylistically radical crime novels.
Here's a fairly typical line: "He hit a small compartment. He saw a might-be Jap or might-be chink torching currency and tracts. Parker was this close to him. The money and paper flared into black ash."
It's also worth mentioning that the plot is enormously complex, there are a great many characters and Perfidia is very long.
Ellroy has spoken of his take on history as "bad men doing bad things". Here they are very bad indeed. It's hard to think of a character who might be described as sympathetic. All authority is corrupt, almost everyone is racist (particularly those in authority), most are violent, everyone is double-dealing… it's intense and exhausting, there is little light and a lot of shade.
This hasn't been my favourite Ellroy… yet. It didn't grab me from the off as most of his novels have, coming into its own in its second half, I think. It travels at 300mph in many directions, sometimes losing focus. Ellroy characters spend most of their time in extreme situations or states of mind, but here it seems to sometimes stretch credibility that they don't simply break down. Too few characters seem to have their own voices – almost everyone speaks as James Ellroy writes.
I still very much enjoyed it though. I'll read it again, certainly before the next volume – which I'm already eagerly awaiting – comes out.
Colin Ricketts
Added 30th April 2015
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Quiz! Keywords – D – Dream
BBC One Announces Magical New Commission – Fantastic Beasts: A Natural History
Word of the Day – Marsupium
Christopher Tolkien, Son of J.R.R. Tolkien, Has Passed Away
The NYPL List Most Checked-out Books of all Time
© 2020 For Reading Addicts.


text:
Q: Encrypting region in emacs I have been trying to write a small function to encrypt contents of file in emacs. Here are the steps I followed :

*

*Select all (C-x h)

*M-x epa-encrypt-region RET

*C-c C-c
After these steps, emacs will prompt for the password and the file will be encrypted. This is the function I wrote :
(defun encrypt ()
  "encrypt file"
  (interactive)
  (command-execute (kbd "C-x h M-x epa-encrypt-region RET C-c C-c"))
  )

(global-set-key (kbd "C-c C-e") 'encrypt)

But there seems to be something wrong with it. Please help me fix this.

A: Use the function epa-encrypt-file instead of writing it.

A: I'd love to know where you found the suggestion to use command-execute and kbd in that way. It seems like a generally valid thing to do, but it's clearly not the most sensible option here (and rarely ever would be). I think this is literally the first time I've seen it.
In short, don't try to fake the process of calling a function interactively if there's no need to do that.
(epa-encrypt-region (point-min) (point-max) nil nil nil)

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


CFO & Head-North America Region, Weight Watchers International, Inc.
Presently, Nicholas P. Hotchkin occupies the position of CFO & Head-North America Region at Weight Watchers International, Inc. Mr. Hotchkin is also on the board of WW GBR Ltd. and WeightWatchers.co.uk Ltd.
In the past he held the position of Senior Vice President-US Retail Finance at Staples, Inc., Finance Director-Packard Electric Systems at Delphi Corp. and Director-Worldwide Pension Funding & Analysis at General Motors Corp.
Nicholas P. Hotchkin received an MBA from Harvard Business School and an undergraduate degree from Harvard College.


text:
Quirks & Quarks
Rising carbon dioxide levels are turning rice and fish into junk food
As C02 in the atmosphere increases, the nutritional value of major foods like rice and fish decreases
CBC Radio · Posted: Jun 09, 2018 12:00 PM ET | Last Updated: June 8, 2018
Rice crops in countries like Myanmar will decrease in nutritional value as CO2 concentrations increase. (Thet Aung/AFP/Getty Images)
Listen14:13
More carbon dioxide means less goodness from the crops we grow on land and the fish we harvest from the oceans.
Increased CO2 in the atmosphere reduces the nutritional value of rice, the world's most plentiful and valuable crop, as well as wheat and many wild plants. But CO2 also has a negative impact on the nutrition we take from the oceans, and that starts at the base of the food web with the harm it does to the microscopic phytoplankton.
We looked across a variety of kinds of rice — and these are the most popular kinds of rice that are eaten in Asia … and for the first time we report that essential B vitamins also decline under higher concentrations of carbon dioxide. - Kristie Ebi , University of Washington
Here in Canada, we think of rice primarily for the many ways it can be prepared as part of so many different types of cuisine. But in developing countries, like Bangladesh, Indonesia and Cambodia, rice is a staple. Millions of people in those countries get at least 50 per cent of their daily energy and protein directly from rice.
Effects on land
But a new study by Kristie Ebi, a professor in the Department of Global Health at the University of Washington in Seattle, and her colleagues in China and Japan, have found that we are putting rice at risk: increased carbon dioxide in the atmosphere will reduce the nutritional value of rice.
An experiment rice paddy was subjected to concentrations of CO2 expected later this century: 580 parts per million compared to the current 410 parts per million.
Family eating rice in Bangladesh (Getty Images)
"We looked across a variety of kinds of rice — and these are the most popular kinds of rice that are eaten in Asia — and we confirmed what's found in other studies: that protein, iron and zinc decline," says Dr. Ebi. "And for the first time we report that essential B vitamins also decline under higher concentrations of carbon dioxide."
Paper in Science Advances
It has been proposed that an increase of carbon dioxide is actually good for crops because it makes them grow faster, larger and in greater abundance. Plants do need CO2, but too much carbon dioxide is turning crops like rice into junk food. Exposure to more CO2 means crops don't absorb the same amount of micronutrients from the soil, they produce more starches and sugars, less protein and Vitamin B. The reduction in one of the B vitamins has Dr. Ebi especially concerned.
Levels of CO2 projected for later this century were added to this experimental rice field in China. (Submitted by Kristie Ebi)
"One of the more important B vitamins we looked at is folic acid, folate. It's critically important for pregnant women to take folate acid; to make sure that they have sufficient intake of folate because without that, developing fetuses can have birth defects, and we saw up to a 30 percent decline."
When you look at countries, for example like Bangladesh, on average about three of every four calories comes from rice. - Kristie Ebi, University of Washington
That 30 per cent decline was measured in other B vitamins including B1, B2 and B5 as well as B9 or folate, across 18 different species of rice, including many from China. This decline in the nutritional value of rice is an even bigger issue for the many impoverished countries. They rely very heavily on rice. Finding the same nutrition from other foods is not easy.
"One can get protein and iron, zinc and B vitamins from other sources besides rice," says Dr. Ebi. "So ensuring that people have a diverse diet that's rich in these nutrients could counterbalance the decline in rice. But that's been a difficult issue to try and resolve.
"When you look at countries, for example like Bangladesh, on average about three of every four calories comes from rice. People say, 'Well, people can just eat different foods.' As China has developed, there's been a shift from the number of people eating rice to people eating more milk and meat products. But other countries aren't doing the same. Even as many countries become wealthier, they are sticking with rice based diets."
A woman and child eating rice in Bangladesh, one of the many impoverished countries that will feel the impact of CO2-driven nutritional loss. (Getty Images)
Although rice is the most significant crop impacted by rising CO2 levels, wheat, as well as wild plants will also decrease in nutritional value. The protein we derive from beef products, for example, may also diminish because livestock often eat wheat and rice.
Effect in oceans
The negative impact of rising CO2 levels on the nutritional value of food is a story that is not only unfolding on land, it is also taking place in oceans around the world. CO2 is warming the water and making it more acidic, and that's not good for phytoplankton — the microscopic plants found in the the upper sunlit layer of most oceans and bodies of freshwater on Earth. Phytoplankton is the base of the ocean's food web — and similar to rice, we rely on the nutrition it provides, specifically fatty acids.
Phytoplankton is the foundation of the ocean food chain. (NOAA)
Jenna MacKinnon is a Master's student in the Environmental Science program at the Memorial University of Newfoundland in St. John's. She is currently researching the relationship between CO2 and phytoplankton.
It's just kind of scary to think that the food that we eat, like fish, is not going to be as healthy as we once thought it was or that we continue to think that it should be. - Jenna MacKinnon, University of Newfoundland
"Well my research looks specifically at lipids and essential fatty acids," MacKinnon says. "Essential fatty acids you probably heard of are omega-threes and omega-sixes. Basically our bodies either cannot produce them, at all, or our bodies cannot produce them in high enough quantities that we can actually use. So we rely on things like fish, flax seeds, and a bunch of other foods to get these essential nutrients."
The health benefits of omega 3 and 6 are varied. They are anti-inflammatories and antioxidants; they are important for brain development, fetal development, immune system function, blood pressure regulation, mental health, and have also been used in the treatment of cancer.
Phytoplankton in various concentrations are tested for the effects of both an increase in ocean temperature and acidity due to rising CO2 levels. (Jenna MacKinnon)
Climate models predict oceans will warm by 2 C and become more acidic by 0.5 of a pH by the end of the century. This will have a huge impact on phytoplankton, which have been living constant temperature at pH for hundreds of years. In fact, MacKinnon has already seen a change in the fatty acids of phytoplankton samples she has studied in the Arctic. She feels the issue has already worked its way up the food chain to fish on our plates.
"I think some of them are already showing lower levels of nutritional value, especially depending on where you get your food because the ocean temperature and pH is changing at different rates depending on where you are in the world," MacKinnon said.
She says she's "very concerned especially because … of all the health benefits that phytoplankton provide us with. It's just kind of scary to think that the food that we eat, like fish, is not going to be as healthy as we once thought it was or that we continue to think that it should be."
Cancer researcher uses medical nanotech to deliver nutrients to hungry crops
100 Million Years of Food
BC forests capturing carbon again
Hurricanes are slowing down and settling in to do more damage
Scientists say restrictions on neonic pesticides aren't enough to save bees - we need a ban
AI researchers develop a way to trick facial recognition systems
Crocodile Bach - what classical music does to a reptile's brain
Where was the Higgs boson particle 'hiding' before it was discovered?
FULL EPISODE: June 9, 2018 - Rising CO2 levels make food less nutritious, neonics and bees, tricking facial recognition


text:
Drosophila pallidipennis är en tvåvingeart som beskrevs av Theodosius Dobzhansky och Crodowaldo Pavan 1943.

Taxonomi och släktskap
D. pallidipennis ingår i släktet Drosophila, undersläktet Drosophila och som ensam medlem i artgruppen Drosophila pallidipennis.

Utbredning
Artens utbredningsområde täcker ett område från Mexiko till Peru och Brasilien.

Källor

Daggflugor
p
Insekter i neotropiska regionen


CHICAGO – Investigators on Friday studied the crash scene where a Southwest Airlines jet trying to land amid heavy snow plowed off a Midway International Airport runway and into a street, killing a 6-year-old boy in a car.
Ten other people, most of them on the ground, were injured in the Thursday evening accident, the first fatal crash in Southwest's 35-year history, authorities said. The airport reopened Friday after being closed overnight.
Flight data and cockpit voice recorders were removed from the plane and sent to Washington for analysis, National Transportation Safety Board member Ellen Engleman Conners said, adding that the investigation would take at least a year.
Southwest Chief Executive Gary Kelly said the plane had undergone a routine maintenance check Wednesday in Phoenix. "There were no indications that the aircraft was experiencing any kind of maintenance problems," Kelly said.
The flight from Baltimore was the first of the day for the pilot, a 10-year Southwest veteran, and the co-pilot, Kelly said Friday.
Flight 1248 from Baltimore with more than 100 people aboard touched down around 7:15 p.m. Thursday. Though the airport had about 7 inches of snow, aviation officials said conditions at the time were acceptable.
The plane went off the end of the runway and slammed through a fence before striking the two vehicles, pinning one beneath it. The boy who died, one of five people in the pinned car, was identified as Joshua Woods of Leroy, Ind.
Southwest officials have been in contact with Joshua's family, airline spokesman Ed Stewart said.
The Boeing 737, nose resting on the ground, and the vehicles remained in the street Friday morning as NTSB investigators began work on scene.
The airport, surrounded by homes and businesses, has shorter runways than most major airports because it was originally built to handle smaller, propeller planes. Larger planes land at O'Hare International.
In a briefing, Conners stressed that a variety of factors need to be looked at before any cause is determined.
"Often, the first guess is not correct," Conners said. "So, we're not going to guess. We're going to focus on facts and science and data." Among other things, routine toxicology tests on the pilots were planned, she said.
Five crew and 98 passengers were aboard the plane, authorities said. Most were evacuated through the plane's inflatable slides in blowing snow, while others used stairs at the rear of the plane, Fire Department spokesman Larry Langford said.
Mahdi Abdelqader, a tow truck driver who saw the crash and raced to the scene, said Friday the people in the car were screaming for help.
"I didn't know what to do. I wanted to help them, but at the same time I was scared because I thought at any moment the plane could go up in flames," said Abdelqader.
Passenger Mike Abate, 35, of suburban Milwaukee, said that from within the plane, he could see that a man was carrying an injured child, and other people were taken away in an ambulance.
"We were safe on the plane," Abate said. "The toughest part was to realize that someone was under the belly of the plane."
Two people remained hospitalized at midmorning Friday, including one of the people in the car with Joshua. That person's condition was withheld at the request of family, Advocate Christ Medical Center said. A second person, in the other car that was hit, was in good condition at Holy Cross Hospital. Two passengers on the plane and six other people in the two cars were treated and released.
In February, a corporate jet skidded off a runway while taking off at Teterboro, N.J., crossing a highway and slamming into a warehouse. No one was killed, but a passenger in a car that was struck was critically injured.
A measure signed recently by President Bush will require hundreds of airports to improve the safety margin at the end of runways by 2015.
The Midway accident happened 33 years to the day after a crash of a plane approaching the airport killed 45 people, two of them on the ground. Eighteen other passengers survived. Among the dead were Dorothy Hunt, the wife of Watergate figure E. Howard Hunt; CBS newswoman Michele Clark; and Rep. George W. Collins, whose widow, Cardiss, succeeded him in office and served more than 20 years.


text:
AmCham China Legacy: Commitment to People of China
AmCham China Legacy
AmCham China Legacy: Commitment to…
AmCham China LegacyIssuesNews
In 2016, AmCham China celebrates its 35 year anniversary since re-establishing itself in the PRC in 1981. To commemorate this milestone, the chamber put together a package of stories that share AmCham China's lasting impact on US-China relations, the business environment in China, the US-China business community and the people of China.
AmCham China traces its history all the way back to 1919, when it was "AmCham Peking," and the chamber's commitment to lifting up the people of China goes back just as far. Media reports from 1920 reveal that AmCham Peking's President Harold Faxon was at the fore of American famine relief assistance when 20 million Chinese were at risk of starvation due to crop failures. And throughout the chamber's 35 years since reforming in 1981 as AmCham China, the chamber has sustained this commitment.
The chamber has brought together significant donations from after disasters such as the Sichuan earthquake, and it's also facilitated collaboration among companies on charitable activities, advocated to the government on behalf of NGO interests and, more recently, become home to though leadership on how companies can most effectively impact Chinese society.
Building up capacity
When AmCham Peking reemerged in 1981 as AmCham China, one of the founding members, Peter Lighte, says "giving back" wasn't in the vocabulary during that era.
"In the early '80s you couldn't give anything back," Lighte says. "If you bought goods for Chinese friends (at the friendship stores), they could get in trouble."
Slowly, charity efforts started to spring up in the chamber from the '80s onward, but became crystalized and focused in the mid-1990s with the founding of the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Committee. At that time, CSR was a new concept and hadn't been formalized. The norm at the time was for American companies to write generous checks. The committee sought to change that.
A group of members responsible for CSR within their companies assembled, including Andy Andreasen, Jim Gradoville, Bill Valentino, Kelly Lau, Christian Murck and Pia MacRae. These folks then built up information on CSR best practices to share with other member companies. An early project of the group was compiling a database of local NGO projects that needed support, and sharing it with the broader membership. In this way, an NGO in a remote province needing help with accounting could connect with a major accounting firm looking to do pro bono work. The members of the committee created and maintained the database themselves on a purely volunteer basis.
Building up capacity for CSR requires government support, so AmCham China members put together a hardbound book highlighting the works of companies to better the lives of Chinese citizens. It was distributed to government agencies that received the White Paper, and was a well-received effort to show the government the good that foreign companies produce in China, according to Andreasen.
As the committee increased the membership's ability to match up with CSR work, it also selected the recipients of funding from the American Ball, AmCham China's signature charity fundraiser. In the beginning, the committee gave smaller grants to five or six projects because they were inexperienced NGOs who might not know how to handle larger grants.
Eventually, CSR became more mainstream among AmCham China member companies and Chinese NGOs gained more experience, leading the chamber to allow for larger, more strategic grants to up to three charities fitting a certain theme, such as sustainable farming or children's health. Today, the chamber and the committee leave the selection of grantees to the American Ball's top sponsors. In recent years the sponsors' charities have included worthy organizations such as the Yao Ming Foundation and Teach for China. This helps event sponsors to seamlessly support a single organization or cause of their choosing in all that they do – a hallmark of the latest approach to giving back.
In his years of helping decide deserving recipients of the American Ball donations, Andreasen says the choices were unanimous and he found it fulfilling to see the chamber and member companies push forward projects in China.
The committee's move away from funneling funds also represented a larger shift taking place in how companies approached charitable activities. The group held a strategy session in 2009, and rebranded as the Business Sustainability Committee. Rather than act as a dispenser of donations, the members now organize thought leadership events, such as "Philanthropy with a Lasting Impact" and "Creating Shared Value" – a concept defined in the Harvard Business Review in 2011 as "creating economic value in a way that also creates value for society by addressing its needs and challenges." At these events, members share the great work that their companies do that provides lasting, impactful, measurable results within the organization's larger goals. For example, Goldman Sachs invests in women entrepreneurs, zinc-producing company Teck focuses on the health impacts of zinc deficiencies in humans and Visa supports financial literacy. This isn't a one-off check writing or one-time staff volunteering day – these companies want to create lasting impact.
"There's a lot of political will and wealth in China," says Wenchi Yu, Asia-Pacific Head for Corporate Engagement at Goldman Sachs. "You now see more thinking and strategy through social investment."
But besides long-term support, member companies have also shown their generosity in the wake of disasters across China.
As current AmCham China Chairman James Zimmerman says, giving back is "in our DNA." He was on the ground in Sichuan in 2008 to see this DNA in action. During that year's annual DC Outreach in May, an 8.0 magnitude earthquake struck near Chengdu, killing nearly 70,000 people and leaving 5 million homeless. When the leaders of AmCham China met the morning after the earthquake, they resolved to pledge RMB 1 million of AmCham China's reserve funds for earthquake rescue and relief. "We said to one another, that this was the right thing to do – without question," writes Zimmerman in a 2016 column for Business Now.
Within a month, AmCham China put together a delegation of 38 member companies to visit the devastated city of Deyang, with the permission and support of the Sichuan government. "Entire buildings were reduced to rubble entombing all inside," Zimmerman writes. "The silence was eerie."
James Zimmerman and Matthew Estes on the scene in Sichuan in 2008
On top of the RMB 1 million AmCham China donated, the chamber also raised an additional RMB 1.7 million for reconstruction at the 2008 American Ball. The combined donations of all member companies surpassed $87 million dollars, both in cash and in-kind donations.
AmCham China also led initiatives to build many schools, including three primary schools in regions of Heilongjiang province impacted by flooding in 1998. Done in partnership with UNESCO, the project united financial support from 50 member companies and individuals in the name of educating disadvantaged Chinese.
After the man-made explosion that rocked Tianjin's TEDA area in 2015, member companies and their employees gave masks to emergency workers and free rooms to the displaced. United Technologies Corporation, the parent company of TEDA-based Otis, donated RMB 2 million to the impacted fire fighters and their families and to safety education programs to prevent similar losses in disaster situations.
Moving the conversation forward
Over the years, how companies define the way they give back to the community has evolved from "corporate citizenship" to "corporate social responsibility" (CSR) to "corporate shared value" and "business sustainability." But in the beginning, no matter the terminology used, many members say it was all foreign to China.
"There's no real cultural tradition of Chinese businesses supporting social or charitable projects," says Andreasen. But more than cultural mores, Andreasen finds legal hurdles to be the hardest obstacle for companies looking to give back to Chinese society.
"The regulatory landscape is the biggest challenge," says Andreasen. "There are a number of organizations that were starting to flourish that are now unsure because of the negative pressure of taking money from foreign organizations. Of course the cultural difference was always there, but things were going beyond that."
AmCham China advocates on behalf of member companies for less restricted regulations for NGOs in China. The CSR Committee is now the Business Sustainability Committee and it has a chapter in the annual White Paper, which is then distributed to key government agencies across China. A perennial priority in the chapter: creating a friendlier environment for NGOs.
"(The Foundation Law of 2004) looked like for a moment there was something, a breakthrough, but there were problems with it, too," says Andreasen. "There was a high bar for setting up a foreign foundation in china, a capital requirement (minimum 8 million RMB) and there had to be a supervisory unit at the central government level to oversee the organization."
This year, a Draft Foreign NGO Management Law alarmed many NGOs operating in China because of the high level of government oversight described in it. AmCham China once again stepped in as a way to present comments to the government without pinpointing any one member company.
For this law, which goes into effect Jan. 1, 2017, AmCham China's government affairs team surveyed 136 NGOs inside China and those outside who do projects in China. The survey revealed many uncertainties about how the law would play out. Using these insights, a small group of members and concerned organizations held meetings and partnered with a team of pro bono attorneys. The group submitted detailed comments to the National People's Congress and also helped submit a letter, along with many other business associations, highlighting the negative impact of the proposed law on business and the economy.
"AmCham China has been a really important actor in helping the community to think about the law and form an opinion and make comments on it," says Elizabeth Knup, the Ford Foundation's China Representative and a critical member of the CSR Committee, serving as Co-chair for many years.
Members and US government representatives come together to share updates on the Foreign NGO Management Law in May 2016.
The greatest impact of all
When the US was considering whether to accept China into the WTO on a permanent basis in the 1990s, many pointed to China's track record of human rights violations. But AmCham China members worked on behalf of accepting China on the basis that increased trade would improve life for all in China.
"We made the argument that trade and investment, which are by their nature mutually beneficial, can serve as a solid foundation for the relationship, and that greater prosperity for China will itself be something that will advance and improve the lives of the Chinese people, and in one way or another improve human rights," says John Holden (AmCham China Chairman in 1997). "And those arguments won the day."
Categories: AmCham China Legacy, Issues, NewsBy AmCham China October 17, 2016
Author: AmCham China
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text:
Author Interview "Eric Luper"
Can you give us a brief description on your latest book?
I'm currently working on two separate children's series for Scholastic. The first is called KEY HUNTERS, which is a story about two kids who discover a secret, magical library underneath their school. In this library, any book they open whisks them away into the world of that book. The kids are trying to save their missing librarian who has disappeared into one of the books. The other series is called THE CHOCOLATE LAB, which is about a family that owns a chocolate shop and their dog who goes crazy every time he smells chocolate. Problems arise when another chocolate shop opens in town and the kids have to figure out a way to save the family business...with Cocoa the dog tripping them up every step of the way! I also write Mad Libs and books for Cartoon Network.
What inspired your to write it?
I've been writing children's literature for almost 20 years now. I started writing Young Adult and have progressively written for younger and younger audiences. It's taken almost that long to discover my voice. Now that I'm more comfortable with the material I'm working on, things are blossoming.
Did you always want to be a writer?
I only discovered I wanted to be a writer when I got to college. It took several creative writing courses with some very good professors at Rutgers University to convince me of that.
How did you get started writing for Cartoon Network?
Originally, they reached out to me. One of the editors was familiar with some of my other books and felt I'd be a good fit. My first book with CN was for a show called The Amazing World of Gumball. Since then, I've written books for The Regular Show, Teen Titans Go, Ben 10, and a few others.
What were some of your favorite books to read as a child? What do you read for pleasure now?
I enjoyed Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl and The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster. I also loved Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein and lots of comic books!
Do you believe children --- and teens --- should have more of a choice in what they read for school assignments (such as summer reading and book reports)?
I feel that kids should be given a lot more autonomy than they currently get, but I also think challenging kids to read things they might not otherwise pick up is a good way to broaden horizons. Literature is a great way for us to understand each other socially and culturally.
In what ways can parents help their children get excited about reading books?
Bring kids to the bookstore or library. Let them pick out what they want to read (as many as they'd like!). and don't roll your eyes when they pick something you perceive as too easy or ridiculous. I'd bet Captain Underpants has created more avid readers in the past 20 years than Huckleberry Finn.
You're both a writer and a chiropractor, correct? What advice would you give to young people who are interested in pursuing multiple careers but believe it's impossible to do so?
I launched a new business, wrote my first two novels, got married, had two kids, and owned a house all in the same timespan (1999 to 2004). It's very hard to make a living as a writer, so if you want to be successful you'll either have to marry rich or find the time. It's all about sacrifice and how badly you want it. I gave up things like television (or at least scaled it back) in order to make space for my writing. Also, pace yourself. It's not a race to finish line. Even an hour a day is enough to get a book written.
Will you be participating in any future book signings or book events? Please tell our readers where and when they will be.
These days, I travel a lot for my writing. I enjoy doing school and library visits most. Over the past few months, I've visited schools in California, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, New Jersey, and Florida. I'd love to hit all 50 states!
Eric Luper's more than 25 titles include the Key Hunters series and The Chocolate Lab series, Jeremy Bender vs. the Cupcake Cadets, and Seth Baumgartner's Love Manifesto. He has also been doing super-cute books with Cartoon Network for numerous televised shows including The Amazing World of Gumball, The Regular Show, Teen Titans Go and Ben 10. In addition, he writes Mad Libs books for Star Wars, Star Trek, Scooby-Doo and Pokémon. One of his books was recently optioned for motion picture. Eric lives near Albany, but he spends many of his weekends in nearby Lake George. Learn more about him at www.ericluper.com.
Eric's books can be purchased at any local independent bookseller, at B&N, or online at Amazon.com.


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Staff jumping for joy as Stanton's Leaping Hare named best restaurant in East Anglia
Matt Reason
Published: 9:00 AM August 8, 2015
The Leaping Hare at Wyken Vinyard has been named as the Good Food Guides Readers East of England Restaurant of the Year for the second time in three years. L-R: Francis Guildea, Carys Jones, Jess Forbes, Matt Wakeham and chef Simon Woodrow are pictured. - Credit: Archant
A Suffolk restaurant has won the Good Food Guide's best in East Anglia award.
The Leaping Hare, in Stanton, is the regional winner of the Good Food Guide's Restaurant of the Year Awards 2015.
The Hare's manager, Francis Guildea, said winning was a "huge boost" to the staff, as they are nominated for the award by their own customers.
Mr Guildea said: "In many ways this award means a lot more to us and the staff here than others we have picked up.
"It is our own customers who are choosing to write in and nominate us after eating here – that makes it particularly special.
"It is a huge boost and a real motivator for the staff because their work is being recognised and praised by real customers."
He said earning the prize was not just down to the food. "We have a close-knit team here who work very well together," he said.
"The turnover of staff is very low compared to other restaurants, meaning customers get to know our faces, creating a home-from-home feel."
The establishment, which last won the award in 2013, was up against some of the region's best-known restaurants.
Mr Guildea explained why he thinks The Hare stood out from the rest. "We make a real effort to ensure as much of our food as possible is locally sourced," he said.
"I know most places these days claim to be, but often that means a local supplier, not locally produced. A lot is grown on the estate [Wyken] and we seek out producers as local as we can, but never at the expense of quality."
The Good Food Guide, published by Waitrose, asked for customers to nominate their favourite local eatery in March.
Elizabeth Carter, Good Food Guide editor, said: "This award is a celebration of small, independent restaurants that specialise in amazing-quality food. [The Leaping Hare] is a lovely experience and a real charmer to boot. This is thanks to an impressively timbered 400-year-old barn conversion, and ever-courteous staff, not to mention the prospect of some delicious food often made with home or locally sourced produce."
Carla Carlisle, of Wyken Estate, said when they created the restaurant 24 years ago, many doubted it would work, adding: "It makes the journey feel worthwhile. It is a terrific gift from our loyal customers – it just feels great."


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By Local Labs News Service | Jul 1, 2019
The University of Texas at Austin, University of North Texas and Texas Christian University top the list of highest grossing women's college swimming and diving programs in Texas in 2016, according to a Higher Education Tribune analysis of the latest federal data from the U.S. Department of Education Office of Postsecondary Education.
Texas Women's Swimming & Diving Programs by Revenue
Athletes (#)
Revenue Per Athlete
NCAA Division I-FBS
University of The Incarnate Word
NCAA Division I-FCS
NCAA Division III with football
Wayland Baptist University
NAIA Division I
Austin College
Sign-up Next time we write about any of these organizations, we'll email you a link to the story. You may edit your settings or unsubscribe at any time.
Austin College • Texas Christian University • The University of Texas at Austin • Trinity University • University of North Texas • University of The Incarnate Word • Wayland Baptist University
Schools in the U.S. with the most wrestlers
By Local Labs News Service | Jul 15, 2019
Texas ranks 29th highest for state tax collections per capita
By Texas Business Daily reports | Jul 12, 2019
San Benito ranks the poorest of Texas towns, study finds
COPPELL CHAMBER OF COMMERCE: Women in Business Committee meeting to be Held July 18
COPPERAS COVE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE: Copperas Cove Farmers Market to be Held July 18
Analysis: Which college swimming & diving program grossed the most in the U.S.


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The Standard Of Joint Employment Proposed By The NIRB
Does New NLRB Advice Memorandum Indicate That The Tide Has Turned For Joint Employer Liability In Franchising?
By Kevin A. Adams on July 23, 2015
The Associate General Counsel for the National Labor Relations Board ("NLRB") recently issued an Advice Memorandum finding that a franchisor was not liable as a "joint employer" for the alleged unfair labor practices of one if its franchisees.
While the memo does not set legal precedent, it does represent a deviation by the NLRB to its recent aggressive treatment of franchisor-franchisee relationships as reflected in the landmark McDonald's, USA, LLC case and in the amicus brief submitted by the NLRB's General Counsel in the Browning-Ferris Industries of California Inc. case.1
Applying the NLRB's current standard of joint employment and the standard of joint employment proposed by the NLRB's General Counsel in Browning-Ferris Industries, the Associate General Counsel concluded that franchisor Freshii Development, LLC ("Freshii") was not a joint employer with its Chicago franchisee. This is welcome news for those in the franchise industry.
Below, we discuss the Associate General Counsel's decision, including the relevant facts and application of those facts to the two different standards of joint employment currently before the NLRB. In conclusion, we identify several "best practices" that franchisors should employ in light of this new Advice Memorandum.
Relevant Factual Background
Freshii is the franchisor of a fast-casual restaurant chain operating in more than a dozen countries. In the summer of 2014, Nutritionality, Inc. ("Nutritionality") – a Freshii franchisee in Chicago, Illinois – allegedly terminated two employees for attempting to unionize the workforce. These terminations were brought to the attention of the Chicago Regional Office ("Region 13") of the NLRB.2 Region 13 found that Nutritionality's conduct constituted unfair labor practices regarding terminations and discipline but requested advice from the NLRB's Office of the General Counsel as to whether Nutritionality is a joint employer with Freshii and/or Freshii's local development agent. 3
On April 28, 2015, the NLRB's Associate General Counsel issued the Advice Memorandum at issue – finding that Freshii and Nutritionality did not qualify as joint employers under the existing NLRB standard or the stricter standard proposed by the NLRB's General Counsel in Browning-Ferris Industries.4
The Current Joint Employer Standard
Under the NLRB's current standard, two separate entities are deemed joint employers of a single workforce if they "share or codetermine those matters governing the essential terms and conditions of employment."5 To reach this status, the putative joint employers must meaningfully affect matters relating to the employment relationship "such as hiring, firing, discipline, supervision, and direction."6 Other facts may also be considered, including an employer's involvement in decisions relating to wages and compensation, the number of job vacancies to be filled, work hours, the assignment of work and equipment, employment tenure, and the collective bargaining process.7
Applying the current standard to the facts in this case, the Associate General Counsel found that "the evidence does not establish that Freshii meaningfully affects any matters pertaining to the employment relationship between Nutritionality and its employees."
Focusing on the duties and obligations imposed upon Freshii by the franchise agreement and operations manual, the Associate General Counsel found that Freshii played "no role" in Nutritionality's decisions regarding hiring, firing, disciplining or supervising employees.
Although the Freshii operations manual contains "System Standards" – defined as "mandatory and suggested specifications, standards, operating procedures and rules that Freshii periodically prescribes for operating a Freshii Restaurant" – the evidence showed that Freshii did not actively enforce any of its "non-food-related requirements."8
Further, the franchise agreement specifies that Freshii "neither dictates nor controls labor or employment matters for franchisees and their employees…." Any guidance provided by Freshii on these matters does not have to be followed by the franchisees. For example, the operations manual includes a sample hiring advertisement and sample interview questions to ask potential hires. It also explains how to calculate "labor cost percentage" based on the actual labor used and how to project labor calculations to schedule staff in advance. None of these employee hiring or management tools are mandatory and the franchisee is free to choose alternatives.
Freshii also provides franchisees with a sample employee handbook that contains personnel policies, but again, does not require franchisees to use the handbook and policies. The Associate General Counsel found that although Nutritionality used the handbook provided by Freshii, other franchisees, including the stores owned by the nearby development agent, used a different handbook that contained different employment policies.
The Associate General Counsel also found that Freshii was only nominally involved in employee hiring decisions. For instance, while applicants were able to submit their resumes through Freshii's website for employment openings in the franchised businesses, there is no evidence that Freshii screened the resumes or did anything other than forward them on to the individual franchises.
Lastly, the Associate General Counsel found no evidence that anyone other than Nutritionality is responsible for determining wages, raises, or benefits of its employees. Freshii's requirements regarding food preparation, recipes, menu, uniforms, décor, store hours, and initial employee training were not evidence of control over Nutritionality's labor relations but rather established Freshii's legitimate interest in protecting the quality of its product and brand.
For these reasons, the Associate General Counsel found that Freshii's dealings with Nutritionality and/or its employees did not constitute a joint employment relationship under the current NLRB standard.
The General Counsel's Proposed Joint Employer Standard
In an amicus brief submitted by the NLRB's General Counsel in the Browning-Ferris Industries, the General Counsel urged the NLRB to return to its traditional joint employer standard.9 Applying this proposed standard, the Associate General Counsel also found that Freshii was not a joint employer with Nutritionality.
Under the proposed standard, a joint employer is found to exist where, under the totality of the circumstances, the putative joint employer wields sufficient influence over the working conditions of the other entity's employees such that meaningful bargaining over conditions of employment could not occur in the absence of the putative employer. The General Counsel's proposed standard makes no distinction between direct, indirect and potential control over working conditions and results in a joint employer finding where "industrial realities" make an entity essential for meaningful bargaining.
Applying this proposed standard, the Associate General Counsel again found that Freshii did not significantly influence the working conditions of Nutritionality's employees (i.e., "it has no involvement in hiring, firing, discipline, supervision, or setting wages"). Because Freshii does not directly or indirectly control or otherwise restrict the employees' core terms and conditions of employment, meaningful collective bargaining between Nutritionality and any potential collective-bargaining representative of the employees could occur in Freshii's absence.
Thus, even under the proposed joint employer standard, the Associate General Counsel concluded that Freshii is not a joint employer with Nutritionality.
What Do We Learn From Freshii?
The conclusions reached in the Advice Memorandum are clearly a positive development for the franchise industry. The NLRB's recent expansive view of joint employer liability has been viewed by many to seriously threaten the future of the franchise business model. If nothing else, Freshii represents a line in the sand on how far the NLRB is willing to push joint employer liability.
Whether the Associate General Counsel's opinions will carry the day is yet to be seen. As mentioned above, the Advice Memorandum does not have the effect of creating law; leaving the ultimate ruling of the NLRB still open for debate. For now, however, franchisors can (and should) make necessary changes to their franchise systems in light of the opinions in Freshii.
For instance, franchisors should institute formal policies announcing their unwillingness to become involved in any unionizing activities of the franchisees' employees.
Franchisors would also be wise to focus their training, inspections and advice on business operations and brand standards – not employment matters. While guidance on human resource matters can still be made available via an employee handbook or other means, it must be abundantly clear that each franchisee has the option to adopt the franchisor's personnel policies and handbook or to employ their own.
Further, franchisors should never get involved in any issues or questions involving the hiring, firing, disciplining, supervising, or compensating of franchisees' employees. Engaging in any of these topics will quickly set the groundwork for joint employer liability.
And, of course, a franchisor serious about minimizing the risk of potential joint employer liability would be wise to seek the assistance of a seasoned franchise attorney.
This case report was prepared by Kevin A. Adams (kadams@mulcahyllp.com), of the Irvine law firm of Mulcahy LLP. Mulcahy LLP is a boutique litigation firm that provides legal services to franchisors, manufacturers and other companies in the areas of antitrust, trademark, copyright, trade secret, unfair competition, franchise, and distribution laws.
Disclaimer: While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of this article, it is not intended to provide legal advice as individual situations will differ and should be discussed with an experienced franchise lawyer. For specific technical or legal advice on the information provided and related topics, please contact the author.
[1] Amicus Brief of the General Counsel at p. 14, Browning-Ferris Industries of California d/b/a BFI Newby Island Recyclery, Case 32-RC-109684 (June 26, 2014)("But notwithstanding the creation of an intermediary, franchisors typically dictate the terms of franchise agreements and 'can exert significant control over the day-to-day operations of their Franchisees.').
[2] The National Labor Relations Board is an independent federal agency – appointed by the President, with Senate consent – that acts as a quasi-judicial body in deciding cases involving the rights of private sector employees.
[3] Region 13 also asked the Office of the General Counsel to provide advice on whether Freshii's Chicago development agent was a joint employer with Nutritionality. In footnote 3 of the Advice Memorandum, the Associate General Counsel summarily found that because the development agent's activities fell strictly within its agreement with Freshii, the development agent was not a joint employer with Nutritionality. In light of this finding, the analysis provided in the Advice Memorandum only addressed the joint employment issue with respect to Freshii and Nutritionality.
[4] It was the Browning-Ferris Industries standard that was later applied in the McDonald's case.
[5] CNN America, Inc., 361 NLRB No. 47, slip op. at 3 (Sept. 15, 2014).
[6] Id. (internal citation omitted).
[7] CNN, 361 NLRB No. 47, slip op. at 3 n.7 & 7.
[8] For example, after Freshii updated its logo and tagline, it did not require any franchises to update their materials. Also, while not necessarily sound policy for a franchise system, the development agent admitted that "he has not known Freshii to ever force franchisees to do anything."
[9] See Amicus Brief of the General Counsel at 2, 16-17, Browning-Ferris Industries of California d/b/a BFI Newby Island Recyclery, Case 32-RC-109684 (June 26, 2014).
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Home › World
Nigerian Army Frees 71, Mostly Women & Children, From Boko Haram
Written By D.L. Chandler
The ongoing clash between Nigeria's armed forces and the Islamist militants Boko Haram has been largely a one-sided affair with the terrorist group seemingly taking the upper hand. Earlier Thursday, the Nigerian Army announced a victory of sorts after reportedly freeing 59 women and children that were held by the heavily armed insurgents.
Nigerian publication The Sun reported from the city of Maiduguri, the largest in Borno State. The state has been a staging ground for some of Boko Haram's most vicious attacks and the group has repelled much of the Nigerian military's offensive maneuvers. Their most recent raid, however, yielded favorable results if reports hold true.
From The Sun:
The military has rescued another 59 hostages from Boko Haram hide-outs in Borno State during raids in what appeared like a renewed vigour to end insurgency in the northeast.
Authorities said troops raided two camps at Kashinbiri and Wallmeri, two remote communities in Konduga Local Government in the central part of the state. The area is also few kilometres to SambiSa, a major Boko Haram camp.
A Deputy Director, Army Public Relations and spokesman, 7 Division, Nigerian Army, Colonel Tukur Gusau, said the hostages include 25 children, 29 women and five elderly men.
"Troops of 151 Task Force Battalion conducted operations on Kashinbiri and Wallmeri Boko Haram terrorists camps on Wednesday. During the raids, quite a number of the terrorists were killed, a Landrover and a tipper were recovered. The troops also rescued 59 civilians that were held captive by the terrorist, they are 25 children, 29 women and five elderly men. The camps have been cleared by the troops," he said at a news briefing in Maiduguri yesterday.
The rescue of the 59 individuals brings the army's tally this week to 71. It was reported by the Associated Press that 12 women and girls were freed after forces stormed the city of Kilakisa, which sits 55 miles southwest of Maiduguri.
The Nigerian military said it freed hundreds back in March and seized many of the cities held by Boko Haram in the northeastern part of the country. The rebels have increased their number of attacks back at the military, yet with little in the way of considerable gain according to recent reports.
SOURCE: The Sun, AP| PHOTO CREDIT: PIUS UTOMI EKPEI/AFP/Getty Images
President Obama Praises Nigerian Leader For Tackling Boko Haram
Africa	, boko haram	, Missing Nigerian schoolgirls	, Nigeria
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