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Check vote totals in the August primary election 🇺🇸

Man sues doctor, pharmacist after alleged misdiagnosis, overdose leads to severe skin condition

PARKER, Colo. -  A 22-year old Colorado man spent three weeks in a local burn unit after he was prescribed a drug for a mental health condition he does not have, according to KDVR.

His lawsuit in Douglas County District Court states he acquired Stevens Johnson Syndrome after being over-prescribed Lamictal, also known by the generic name Lamotrigine.

SJS is a condition that causes serious skin rashes, blisters and sores on mucous membranes like one's eyes. It's a known side effect of overdosing on Lamictal, an anti-seizure medication sometimes prescribed off-label to treat bipolar depression.

"It was a 10 out of 10," is how Scott, who asked that only his first name be used, described the burning sensation he felt after developing SJS.

His lawsuit comes three years after the then-19-year-old college sophomore woke up in a hospital bed, blind and voiceless.

Doctors had stitched his eyes shut and placed a breathing tube in his throat after a skin rash covering most of his body left him feeling like he had survived an inferno.

"I had two surgeries on my eyes in order to save them from not going blind," said Scott. "Inside of my mouth, I had burns and cuts, and so I couldn't even eat food."

Scott had gone to Aspen Creek Family Medicine in Parker in January 2016 for his yearly physical and mentioned feeling a little depressed.

When asked by KDVR if he thought he'd ever had bipolar disorder, Scot replied, ""No, no, I have never had mental health issues before this," Scott replied.

His physician, Dr. Michael Paul Elder, gave Scott a questionnaire for bipolar disorder. Answering yes to at least seven of 13  questions is supposed to indicate more follow-up, but even the one-page form says it is "For screening purposes only and not to be used as a diagnostic tool."

Scott only scored a six, but Dr. Elder miscounted, giving him a seven, and immediately prescribed Lamictal.

Lamictal is prescribed with what's known as a black box warning in its labeling instructions that mention "serious skin disorders leading to death" and "the incidence of skin disorders was increased when this drug was administered at doses higher than recommended."

Scott said he was not told about the black box warning when he was prescribed the drug.

"There was so many things wrong in this case that it's frightening," said Scott's attorney, Hollynd Hoskins of the Leventhal and Puga law firm.

In her lawsuit, Hoskins alleged her client was prescribed twice the recommended dosage on the first day, and by the second week, his dosage had been increased to four times the recommended amount.

"Not only was the diagnosis false - he did not have bipolar - not only did he diagnosis it with a screening tool, he prescribed Lamictal, a serious drug, at four times the recommended dose." said Hoskins.

Scott came back to Aspen Creek Family Medicine for a follow-up eight days after starting Lamictal.  He mentioned  having shaky hands, but the family nurse who treated him, Diedre Marchetti, didn't consider it a red flag.

"It's potentially a side effect of Lamictal. It's also a non-uncommon symptom of anxiety," Marchetti told Hoskins in her deposition.

Scott's lawsuit also names a Walgreen's pharmacist named Anisa Bartells for not mentioning the black box warning that comes with a prescription of Lamictal.

Dr. Elder admitted in his deposition that he never discussed the black box warning with Scott and he expressed no concerns about overdosing  his patient.

When asked during his deposition why he would overdose his patient given the obvious risk, Dr. Elder responded, "Well, the severity of his depression. I felt like his depression was more on the severe side, and that was a concern for me to treat him and to escalate his dosage regimen in order to bring his depression under better control quickly."

Hoskins said there is no evidence Scott actually had bipolar depression.

"This doctor was not qualified to make that diagnosis," said Hoskins. "He used a vague, 10-minute questionnaire and that led to a false diagnosis. He used the wrong dosage and that led to a very life-threatening, serious rash in Scott."

"I had rashes and bubbles on the bottom of my feet. I had to walk on top of the rashes and bubbles. You could feel them pop and burst, and just the pain -- it was like standing on needles," Scott said.  The 22-year old can now finally walk without pain. In May, he graduated from the University of Colorado Boulder.

However, Scott will have vision issues the rest of his life and has been told he may develop Glaucoma.

"Hard to believe that all the little checkpoints where someone could have caught what was going wrong... that they didn't," Scott said.

At the time of the depositions, Dr. Elder still hadn't reported Scott's adverse reaction to the FDA even though it's required under law.

The lawsuit against Dr. Elder, Marchetti and Bartells is set to go to trial in October. Attorneys for all three defendants declined to comment.


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How to Clean Grout with a Steam Cleaner

How to Clean Grout with a Steam Cleaner

Ceramic tiles and grout tend to get dirty very quickly and are one of the most challenging cleaning tasks. The build up of dirt, grease and grime in the grout are very unpleasant to look at because of the drastic color change that alter radically the apperance of your floors and walls. The way most people accomplish this hard task is with small brushes and lots of harsh cleaning chemicals. Some of these harsh chemicals will discolor the grout or will erode sections of it. Sealing the grout will only work if it is currently perfectly clean, unless you want it to look dirty permanently. We don’t have to explain to you why this task traditionally makes a mess and takes a lot of time to accomplish. Here we will show you how to clean grout 80% faster and obtain exceptional results by using a powerful commercial steam cleaner from Dupray. A good quality dry vapor steam cleaner is definitely the most efficient, mess-free, and environmentally friendly way to quickly restore any grout to its original color. The high heat, low moisture and gentle pressure from the steam actually forces the dirt out of the grout and brings it to the surface where it is easily wiped away or extracted. When using a steam vacuum cleaner such as the Dupray Carmen Super Inox or the Steam Box Vac the extraction feature is built in. Steam cleaning grout also means no need be on your knees scrubbing the floor. Using the 2 extensions tubes, the operator can work in a standing position on floors or even ceilings. You can also use the grout cleaning lance directly on your steam hose to work on walls with more efficiency.

1. First you will need your steam cleaner, the steam hose, the 2 extension tubes, the lance (the steam nozzle) and a detail nylon or brass brush, depending on the strength of your grout (always test first).
2. Connect these parts together and place the detail brush on the steam lance.
3. Select steam pressure at low or medium setting.
4. Place the lance directly over the grout and pass at a steady pace in a forward direction, not sideways.
5. Finally, all you have to do is wipe the excess moisture and dirt that was released from the grout with either a towel or a mop.

Not only you will completely restore the grout, but your steam cleaner can also clean the whole floor or wall at the same time. No need to wear a mask, gloves or spend money on harmful cleaning chemicals. With the right machine, you will save a lot of time, money and back aches. Steam cleaners are particularly good for certain areas that are difficult to reach, such as the grout at the base of toilets or in showers, where moisture can cause stains. Another is grout around pet beds or litter boxes. Entrance ways and side doors also tend to need extra grout cleaning. The grout around kitchen equipment, where the mop has pushed a collection of dirty, greasy water over the years is another awesome spot to clean with your high-quality Dupray steam cleaner. Remember, there are some rare exceptions where steam cleaners are not the solution. First, if the grout is sealed, steam won’t get the dirt out from under the seal. Second, very old, broken grout, where you can see holes and cracks shouldn’t be steam cleaned. Grout erosion is usually the result of a chemical reaction from the acidic cleaning agent that used previously. In those cases the grout should be replaced.

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François Gilbert, captivated by Catalonian wines, created from indigenous grape varieties

The six wineries best rated by the Gilbert & Gaillard competition. With Francois Gilbert (center), the general director of Incavi, Salvador Puig, accompanied by the president of the Catalan Wine Association (AVC), Valentí Roqueta, and the manager of the Cava Institute, Mar Torres.

Gilbert & Gaillard presents the key award-winning wines in the country for the 2017 competition

The results of the Gilbert & Gaillard International Wine Competition for Catalonian wines and cavas (sparkling white wines) were published last week in Barcelona.  In total, 249 wines from 104 different wineries were given awards, of which six wineries with the most points this year received special mention. These were Abadal, Acústic Celler, Gramona, Perelada; Recaredo and Torres. However, the winery receiving the award for the ‘Revelation of the Year’ was Celler de Capçanes.

François Gilbert, founder of the wine magazine Gilbert & Gaillard gave his overall assessment of the results. “Catalonia has surprised us with its authentic taste of the land, its investment in native strains and the fact that each wine- producing region has been able to stamp its identity in what makes its wines unique.” He went on to say, “We have been able to taste several vintages throughout the competition and we are happy because we were able to see the development of wine in relation to the land in which it was born.”

In general terms, he explained, “I was pleasantly surprised with the quality of wines from Priorat and the great diversity of those from Montsant; the homogeneity of the wines from Empordà, Terra Alta and Pla de Bages, and the different styles of the Penedès wines, which now work with the sub-regions to give greater identity to each type of production.”

Bodega Revelación 2017: Celler de Capçanes.

He also made mention of the Cava (Spanish sparkling wine),which was ‘another beautiful surprise’, and continued by saying, “The French tend to think that cavas are inferior to champagne, but we are wrong. This year I have discovered great, very interesting cavas here.”

With regard to the grape varieties, and reinforcing the comments about native strains made by the taster, he added that he found the wines produced from varieties like Trepat, Sumoll, Picapoll and Garrnacha Peluda (Hairy Grenache) interesting. “Perhaps not as well-known internationally, but these varieties express the authenticity, we have been talking about, of their region.”

Gilbert & Gaillard organises these awards once a year with INCAVI (the Catalonian Institute of Vines and Wines) and evaluates wines that are presented for blind wine tasting. Tastings occur worldwide where up to 12000 wines from every wine-producing region on the planet are evaluated, and around 700 wines come from Catalonia.  Among the major developments of the competition introduced this year, in 2017, is the implementation of a new service which will serve to bring award-winning wine to the international market. Thanks to e-commerce, from June 2017, medal-winning products will be posted up on the Gilbert & Gaillard webpage and marketed through the online shop.

The awards are divided into three different categories: Gold 90+ points, in which 79 wines and sparkling wines from 57 wineries obtained medals; Gold, awarded to 145 wines and sparkling wines from 92 wineries; and finally Silver, awarded to 25 wines and sparkling wines from 21 wineries.

Eva Vicens :


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There are two images about Us army trucks in the game Us Army Trucks Differences. Your task is to find the differences between them in two minutes. If the time runs out, you have to restart the game. The limited mistakes is five. Have fun! Use mouse to play this game.

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I wanted to create something I would want to be a part of.

A place for REAL PEOPLE.

  • No Muscle Heads
  • No Divas
  • No Judgement
  • No Drama

A place I could be a "REAL PERSON", too.

You see, I used to try to hide my imperfections because I felt I needed to portray this perfect picture of fitness and nutrition.  People naturally assume eating healthfully and exercising just comes naturally to me.

The reality is, I’m just like you. I realized that I could have more impact on your life if I were 100% transparent and shared my own struggles.

I want you to see me fail sometimes.

That said, here's who we are not for...

We are NOT a good fit for you if:

  • You view fitness as an expense.
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  • You are not serious about getting serious results.
  • You are into the hardcore gym thing - that's not us.
  • You like to make jokes at other’s expense.

We are a good fit if you have the D.E.S.I.R.E. to change and...

  • Regain lost and build new strength that will make your everyday tasks in your life easier.

  • Lose the flab and unsightly weight while building muscle and quality, healthy weight that actually increases your metabolism

  • Regain your energy and build stamina to conquer your day, no more sluggish afternoons.

  • Look younger and live longer, being lean and fit not only makes you look younger but has been proven to help you live longer.

  • Ward off "lifestyle diseases" like obesity, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and sarcopenia (age related muscle loss).

  • Sensible nutrition that can be done anywhere, stabilize blood sugar and mood swings.

  • Feel 10 years younger and regain your fitness and wellness.

And if you:

  • View you fitness as an investment.

  • Understand lasting results require lifestyle & habit changes that can take time.

  • Are looking for a fun, supportive community

Well then, we are probably a GREAT FIT for you!

Our Driving Principles and Culture make the difference - Live these on a daily basis and you'll be happier, healthier and the results will happen even faster!

  1. Develop a supportive community - we’re a family, bad apples don’t last.

  2. Empower others daily - we want to show you what you're capable of, whether you think you can or not.

  3. Strive to be 1% better every day - like compound interest, small changes add up over time.

  4. Inspire by example - We walk the walk.  I've been there and I know how it feels.

  5. Relationships are everything - spend your time with those that lift you up, you’ll be happier ;)

  6. Eliminate excuses - focus on “How can I" instead of "I can't"

I’m sure you’re reading this and thinking, “This doesn’t sound like a ‘gym’ it sounds like a support group”.

That’s because it’s not a gym in the typical sense.

We are a family.

My mission is to start a movement that empowers YOU and fuels your D.E.S.I.R.E. to look better, feel better and live longer.

Are you ready?

Click the button below to learn about our proven process that eliminates all the thinking from reaching your fitness goals and secure your complementry One-on-One Success Session.


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Read Their Stories:

Joaquin's Story

“Just one reading, and I’ve already stopped losing money!”

It has helped me to clarify previous concepts, avoiding simple mistakes, and gaining confidence. Thus, my account is in serious “trend reversal”, going from losing to winning trades. The pace, the step by step approach, and the language makes it easily understandable for those of us whose English is our second language. I can’t wait to go over it again, making it my primary system and keep on making those positive pips!

Joaquin – Florida, USA

Mali's Story

“The best price I have ever seen for this caliber of Elliott Wave training…”

I have been trading for over 15 years and studying Elliott Wave extensively for the last 3. I must say I have never seen this quality of training on this subject for such a low price. Courses of this caliber that only offer half of what you have are made available at much higher price tags!! Thanks for making this easy on me.

Mali B. – Ontario, Canada

Henry's Story

“Many Ah-Hah moments when this complex information made sense”

Jody was very good at listening to each student’s questions and problems and took an appropriate amount of time to be sure everyone was on track. It became clear, as the course progressed, that she has an extensive trading background. She shared her knowledge with us, bringing Elliott Wave analysis to life, using technical tools and techniques that helped us verify our own Elliott Wave counts, and then use them in real trading setups.

Henry S. – U.K.

“From The Brim of Giving Up… to Success”

Dear FX Trader’s Edge Team,

I started trading forex in 2005 and I must admit that I got to a point I was going to throw in the towel. For many years, I was struggling. I met a few good people in the trading community and many bad ones…

You have given me 3 key pillars to success:

(1) ANALYSIS – I am able to incorporate Wavy Tunnel, Elliott Wave Counts and Harmonic Patterns into my analysis and link them all together. This is gun powder!!

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(3) EXECUTION – Confidence: I enter the market with confidence based on one of the 6 entry criteria and multi-timeframe agreement.

This is your destination. You are literally at the front door of success forever. All you need now is to turn that knob, walk in and your life will never be the same, just like mine did. We can all have all we need in life to be successful. The decision to make it work remains ours. Making it work involves time, practice, discipline, determination and patience.

Over and out,

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What members are saying

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“You and your team are so excellent, expert and knowledgeable. You are Gurus in trading and teaching your students! I started rebuilding/ regaining my lost confidence and faith in trading.”

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“I have taken so many courses and read so many books. When I started with this series of modules I knew right away something was different here. By the time I got to Module 3 my trading results had done a complete 180, my profits have doubled in just a few short weeks. I’m absolutely amazed at what I’m learning!”

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“I wanted to say thank you for your work with the Wavy Tunnel. The system is a simple way of using multiple time frames to identify trade setups. It is a very straightforward approach to Elliott Wave without having to try and figure out wave counts which can be very confusing in my opinion. I have been in the markets for 20yrs as an institutional trader and use Elliott Wave on a daily basis. The Wavy Tunnel gives trade setups and targets. It also allows me a quick glance at other market to see where they are versus the ES.”

Michael R. – USA


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Discussion in 'war-machines-blitz-force-free-3d-tank-games' started by Admin - Nov 10th, 2017 10:39 pm.

  1. Remove memory boosters/Cleaner Third-party apps: Instead, use system default clearing ram options or try restart device to clear Ram completely. If you still need a memory cleaner use Android Assistant. Do not use anything that auto clean memory.

  2. Try Reinstalling War Machines Tank Shooter Game Game: First, remove it from the device then restart and then reinstall the game. This will refresh the game files.

  3. Block Unimportant Notifications: Notifications arrival may slow down the War Machines Tank Shooter Game and create screen blockage and also consumes CPU and memory, Block unnecessary notifications to boost device performance.

  4. Updates: keep your device updated always install latest game version and keep your system software update you can do system update by going to setting -> about and then check for updates and further install it to boost device performance.

  5. Remove or disable unwanted software from android to free up memory to increase War Machines Tank Shooter Game performance.

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GAO says government lacks a plan for PKI

GAO says government lacks a plan for PKI

By Preeti Vasishtha

GCN Staff

FEB. 28—The Office of Management and Budget should establish governmentwide standards to guide federal agencies in implementing public-key infrastructures, the General Accounting Office said.

In a report, Advances and Remaining Challenges to Adoption of Public Key Infrastructure Technology, released yesterday, GAO said agencies have lacked standards for developing and managing PKIs. The report said interoperability among agency PKIs is essential to implementing the technology.

Although the Federal PKI Steering Committee has acknowledged the need for a governmentwide framework, it has not provided top-down policy guidance, the report said.

Among the challenges agencies face is the high cost both of building a PKI and enabling software applications to use it. Also, it is not yet known how well the technology will interoperate as its use grows, the GAO report said.

GAO asked OMB to work with federal organizations such as the CIO Council, the PKI steering committee and the National Institute of Standards and Technology on constructing a framework.

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People on the Move

People on the Move

Quotes from the Industry Advisory Council's Executive Leadership Conference in Hershey, Pa.

'We're beyond outsourcing maintenance and janitorial services. Now we're outsourcing mission-critical applications. The days of saying 'the contractor failed' are over.'

'Chip Mather, principal of Acquisition Solutions Inc. of Chantilly, Va.

'What I would say after hearing this is, 'My head hurts.' '

'Air Force deputy CIO John Gilligan, after listening to a technical discussion on firewalls and intrusion detection

'The effect of Sept. 11 hasn't been to change the scope of our program, but some of the driving forces behind it. The effect was to scare people quite a bit. ' Hopefully the pocketbooks [for security] will open up.'

'John Reece, IRS CIO

'A-76 is just a process for torturing both the public and private sectors. Everybody wastes
two years and a lot of money, then you start all over again.'

'Stephen Goldsmith, former mayor of Indianapolis, now a consultant with ACS Inc. of Dallas [Page 11]

Virginia L. McCormick

Mayi Canales

Virginia L. McCormick, business development manager at OAO Corp. of Greenbelt, Md., and a 46-year General Services Administration employee, received the [IMGCAP(1)]first Janice K. Mendenhall Spirit of Leadership award from the Industry Advisory Council during its Executive Leadership Conference last week in Hershey, Pa.

The award commemorates Mendenhall, assistant regional administrator of GSA's Federal Technology Service in Atlanta, and the first woman to join the Senior Executive Service. She died last summer.

'For the rest of my life I will do everything in my power to honor the memory of my dear friend Janice,' McCormick said upon receiving the award.

[IMGCAP(2)]The Agriculture Department's acting CIO Ira Hobbs received IAC's government contributor of the year award, and Mayi Canales, deputy CIO of the Treasury Department, received IAC's government communicator of the year award.

Securities and Exchange Commissioner Laura S. Unger announced her plans to leave the agency this fall. Unger, who emphasized the impact of technology in her years with the SEC, was sworn in as a commissioner in 1997 and was acting chairman from February to August this year.

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Beta tablets a bitter pill

The Fujitsu Stylistic ST4000 works in several positions'standing up, propped on its folder or held in the crook of an arm for writing.

Tablet PCs could revolutionize computing and become the leading format within five years, as Microsoft Corp. chairman Bill Gates has predicted. Or they could vanish like their predecessors, notably 1993's Apple Newton MessagePad.

The GCN Lab tried out two beta tablet versions before their Nov. 7 launch: the Stylistic ST4000 from Fujitsu PC Corp., a pure slate model with no keyboard or mouse; and the Hewlett-Packard Compaq TC1000, a cross between a tablet and a notebook PC. Both use a stylus as the primary means of navigating menus and programs.

The lab has not yet tested convertible designs with screens that rotate 180 degrees and fold down over the keyboard like a writing pad.

The notebooklike TC1000 probably will be more popular than pure slate models'at least until users decide to abandon their mice.

It weighs 3 pounds without a docking station. If I mislaid the radio-frequency pen, I could do nothing with the unit'unlike most handheld PCs, it has no touch screen.

Nevertheless, the inch-thick TC1000 is a full-powered Microsoft Windows XP system with a 1-GHz Transmeta Crusoe TM5800 processor, supported by 256M of 133-MHz synchronous dynamic RAM.

Battery life was impressive though shorter than advertised. Our test TC1000 quit after about three hours, 30 minutes of use. The integrated IEEE 802.11b wireless connection helped drain the battery quickly, but the tablet kept running longer than many notebooks the lab has tested.

The most impressive component is the nVidia GeForce2 Go 100 graphics controller with 16M of dedicated memory. More than acceptable for business applications, it can also handle most simulations and game applications.

Besides the two ports on the tablet, the HP's fairly extensive docking station has a DVD drive and four Universal Serial Bus ports.

HP did a good job of ruggedizing the system by including a magnesium-alloy shell, polycarbonate polymer for extra strength in some areas and a shock-resistant screen protected by a bezel mounting. Even so, the unit was more fragile than a typical notebook, especially during transport.

Because the lab received a preproduction beta unit, we exercised more care than usual. The lab team could not get a benchmark score because the DVD drive malfunctioned before we finished loading our test software. Other errors included booting problems that company engineers promised to fix before production.

Few peripherals

The Stylistic ST4000 was a pure slate without keyboard or mouse, though it had USB ports to attach such items. The LCD fits into a binder for writing notes that can be stored in graphical format or translated to text.

The Windows XP handwriting-recognition engine leaves a lot up to individual writing style and penmanship. Some volunteer users who tested the application for the lab averaged close to 90 percent accuracy in recognition. My own scribbling was less than 10 percent accurate. For most testers, the system's accuracy hovered around 70 percent.

Such low recognition rates alone could handicap the fledgling tablet PC market.

The ST4000 weighs 3.2 pounds, a bit more than the HP unit. The processor is a bit slower'830 MHz supported by 256M of SDRAM. Fujitsu designed a special heat-dissipating fabric cover for the back of the unit.

Lacking a keyboard out of the box, the Fujitsu has several navigation buttons along the base. You can, if you're quite familiar with Windows, manipulate the tablet in case you lose the pen.

The Fujitsu, like the HP, broke before the lab completed its tests. The tablet stuck in a boot cycle, and after I removed the batteries to force a reboot, the screen no longer worked.

Had both products performed without defects, as the lab team was assured production units will, the $1,699 TC1000 probably would have scored a B grade. It was powerful for the money, and its only big flaw seemed to be the XP handwriting recognition app.

The ST4000 would also score well but not quite as high: B minus. For $2,100 and $2,700 depending on hardware options, it cost more and had less-impressive specifications. Plus, a keyboard is probably a necessity for most buyers.

If PC tablets are to be more than a passing fancy, manufacturers have a long way to go to provide the tools now common in the most basic notebook PCs.

About the Author

John Breeden II is a freelance technology writer for GCN.

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Senate votes to restrict shipping federal work overseas

Federal agencies might no longer be able to hire contractors that ship work overseas if a Senate amendment passed last night becomes law.

Sen. Christopher Dodd (D-Conn.) attached a provision to S 1637, the Jumpstart Our Business Strength Act of 2004, that would prohibit federal agencies, federally funded state government procurements and vendors who win competitive-sourcing awards from moving or performing work overseas.

The Senate passed the amendment 70 to 26. There is no companion bill in the House of Representatives, however.

Dodd called the provision 'a step in the right direction' to stop exporting U.S. jobs and taxpayer money.

The amendment would not affect national security needs or work not being performed in the United States. The Office of Management and Budget, however, must grant any such waivers and explain them to Congress each quarter. The General Accounting Office also must submit to lawmakers an annual report on the number of waivers and why OMB granted them.

Dodd introduced similar legislation last month, but it stalled in the Governmental Affairs Committee.

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Peripherals: HP system writes a new chapter in forms automation

HP Forms Automation System

Company: Hewlett-Packard Co., Palo Alto, Calif.,

Nutshell: Uses a digital pen and customized forms to capture handwritten information that can be uploaded to a host computer.

Price: $250 for each HP Digital Pen 200; typical cost for technology implementation is $245 per seat for 1,000 seats or pens.

Why it won: Represents a further step in forms automation, using a lightweight digital pen that works like a pen on paper but records the information digitally.

Each HP Digital Pen 200 contains a small camera that recognizes the dot pattern of a form, records all of its movements and links the movements with the lines of a form.

Henrik G. de Gyor

How many government forms can fit on the tip of a pen?

Quite a few, if it's a digital pen that can read the forms and record the pen's movements.

Hewlett-Packard Co. takes this approach with its HP Forms Automation System. Instead of having field workers collect information on personal digital assistants or on notebook or tablet PCs, why not just have them write the information on paper and let the pen collect the data in the digital form?

For about 90 cents per form, plus the cost of the equipment itself, agencies can avoid retyping data collected on paper forms or deploying expensive notebook computers to capture data electronically.

'It is a nice way of melding the digital world with the world of paper,' said Carolyn Casey, marketing manager for Hewlett-Packard.

Microprocessor pens that digitally capture their own movements have been available for several years, offered by companies such as Logitech Inc. of Fremont, Calif. The HP system is different in that the pens synchronize the fields of a specialized form with the data that is captured, Casey said.

This is how the system works: The forms, which must be printed on selected HP Laserjet and color inkjet printers, have special dot patterns that can be recognized by the pen. The pen acts like a normal pen when used on regular paper. Each pen contains a small camera, and when it recognizes the dot pattern of a form, it records all of its movements, linking those movements with particular lines of a form.

Once the pen is docked on a USB-based port, it uploads the data to a host computer. The information is encrypted before it is transferred. Each pen can hold the templates of up to 100 forms and has a display showing the battery life and remaining memory.

The pen has sufficient memory to hold a day's worth of completed forms, Casey said. Agencies use the system with transaction packs, software that allows 50,000 instances of a form to be captured. The instances of a form being entered into the system are tracked by a service controller placed on an organization's intranet.

The company estimates that the system can save money in several ways. Each HP Digital Pen 200 costs $250'far less than a $500 personal digital assistant or a $1,500 notebook PC. If paper forms are still used, the savings will be in eliminating the cost of manually re-entering data from a paper form into a database, which Casey estimates can cost an agency a dollar or more per form.

An enterprise deployment could cost about $100,000, Casey said.

HP introduced the Forms Automation System last October, and according to Casey several agencies are taking a close look at the technology.

With federal, state and local governments processing almost 14 billion forms a year by HP's estimate, Casey said she is confident that the system will be of interest.

About the Author

Joab Jackson is the senior technology editor for Government Computer News.

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Posts Tagged ‘@katiedoyle’

homosexuality in comics

07 · 07 · 09

By @katiedoyle

If you geek girls aren’t familiar with Topless Robot (@ToplessRobot), I highly recommend it.  I check the website every day for geek news and a side of bitter hatred or childlike glee depending on the subject. Last week, Topless Robot posted an article about a homosexual relationship sprouting in a mainstream comic.  The result was an intelligent conversation about the gay characters in said comic. Read the rest of this entry ?

Transformers Movie Review

06 · 26 · 09

by @katiedoyletransformers-movie

People people PEOPLE!

Have you seen this movie? You haven’t?
Well let me tell ya, you’re in for a treat.

You know the kind you get from the dentist after he drills into your teeth? The ones that are worth, like, a penny. The ones that you get bored with after two seconds and then want to smash under a car but they DON’T BREAK BECAUSE THEY ARE FAR TOO RESILIENT! That is what the experience of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen was like. It’s all shiny and new but once you get into it…awful. Just awful. I’ve seen a lot of bad movies and bad television and bad everything, but I’ve always felt like I grew from the experience. The only thing growing from this experience is Michael Bay’s bank account and many a geeks fury. I want my three hours back. Read the rest of this entry ?

05 · 01 · 09

I’m Katie and…

I’ve literally killed every PC I’ve ever had from using it too much which is why I’ll never use one again.

I watched the entire series of Buffy on DVD in two weeks and almost failed Spanish because of it.

The only copy of Thriller I own is on vinyl.

I save everything I’ve ever written.

I have shelves and shelves of DVDs that are in order of my favorite to least favorite.

I’m happier being a geek than I ever was being “normal.”


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ART hound

Geneva Anderson digs into art

Love old roses? This Sunday’s 32nd Celebration of Old Roses in El Cerrito will have hundreds and it’s free

Tuscany Superb, pre-1837, known in ancient times as “Old Velvet,” is well-named. Its flowers are deep crimson to maroon when they first open, taking on the appearance of crushed velvet, and take on black and purple tones as they age. Photo: Geneva Anderson

May belongs to old roses.  Whether they climb on a fence, or explode on their own with sprays of colorful and fragrant blooms, or flavor gourmet ice cream, they are a source of pure delight.  I’ll be in rose rhapsody this Sunday at El Cerrito’s 32nd annual Celebration of Old Roses.  This is a yearly trek to the I make along with a number of other old rose devotees from all over California where we can see, smell and talk old roses with other addicts.  The annual spring event is sponsored by the Heritage Roses Group and takes place at the El Cerrito Community Center from 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

Old roses, or antique roses, are varieties that date from 1860 or earlier.  Their attractiveness grows from their wonderful rich and varied fragrances and graceful growth habits which make them ideal for the garden and disease resistance.  The celebration in El Cerrito works a lot like an old-fashioned country fair.  The focal point is a 100-foot plus display of freshly picked old roses in old-fashioned mason jars, all in glorious states of bloom and organized by class—gallicas, centifolias, damasks, mosses, hybrid chinas, bourbons, portlands, chinas, teas, eglantines, floribundas and others.   There is ample opportunity to explore the nuances of each variety—fragrance, color, size, petal count, foliage and growth habit.  There are  educational rose books, light refreshments, and a proliferation of rosy knick-knacks—greeting cards, essential oils, jewelry, scarves, painted china, rose-flavored jam and honey.  And, of course, there are old rose vendors from all over (Vintage Gardens from Sonoma County) who will be selling rare old roses, most of which are own root roses.

Monsieur Tillier, a glorious tea rose that repeats several times and has a remarkable color—salmon and peachy shades of pink blended with deeper pinks that change over the course of its bloom. The result is an ever-changing spectrum of lush color. Photo: Geneva Anderson

I was seriously hooked on roses about 20 years ago, when I was working as a journalist in Bulgaria and wrote about rose attar and the world famous annual rose harvest festival in Kazanlik.  After encountering acres and acres of richly fragrant damask roses, I too wanted a piece of the action. From there, it’s been a joyous ride, that first required me to put down some roots of my own.  Now, settled in the country Sonoma County and growing about 100 old roses on two properties with differing microclimates, I am living out my rose dream…but there are NEVER enough roses.

When our local Sebastopol rose gurus, Gregg Lowery and Phillip Robinson, went exclusively mail order with their revered antique rose nursery Vintage Gardens, we lost one of the best hands-on rose education experiences to be had in Northern, CA.  With their very livelihood in jeopardy, they won’t be having their annual open garden this year which, for years, has showcased their fabulous collection of some 3,600 rare and old roses (all labeled).  Old rose events like the one in El Cerrito have to sustain those of us who are hungry to see rare roses and to road test the extensive knowledge we’ve gleaned from late-night reading and dog-earring of our rose books.

My bible is the Vintage Gardens Complete Catalogue of Antique and Extraordinary Roses. This must-have catalogue gives an utterly riveting blow by blow accounting of the properties of nearly 3000 old and very rare roses, the largest list of roses offered by any nursery in the world today. Consulting rosarians like Gregg Lowery will in be El Cerrito on Sunday, answering questions and identifying old roses.  His enthusiasm for old roses is legendary and if you have a chance, do stop by and let him know how much his efforts in bringing us rare roses are appreciated.

Have a rose that you can’t identify?   Just put a complete cutting (full bloom, bud and some foliage) in a jar and bring it to the event and the experts will try to identify your rose.

Another fabulous aspect of El Cerrito’s celebration is the chance to try and buy some very high quality rose products. Last year, I purchased some delightful “Rose Embrace” rose eau de toilette from Healdsburg perfumers Jan and Michael Tolmasoff who run the Russian River Rose Company. The Tolmasoffs are the real-deal–they grow hundreds of damask roses and harvest their own petals to make their own unique rose scents. They also offer hands-on perfume rose harvest tours at their Healdsburg rose ranch where they have over 650 varieties of roses.  I also bought some Green Rose Chakra Flower Essence by Luna Fina, laced with vodka, that promised to help align my chakras and am definitely getting more of those.

Summer Damask is an abundantly fragrant ancient rose from which rose attar is obtained. It blooms but once a year in massive pure pink sprays with very spiky thorns, loaded with blooms and with very soft, green gray leaves. Photo: Geneva Anderson

Rose shows require extensive planning, organization and support.  The Heritage Roses Group, formed in 1975, is a fellowship of those who care about old garden roses, species roses, old or unusual roses – particularly those roses introduced into commerce prior to the year 1867.  The group’s purposes are to preserve, enjoy, and share knowledge about the old roses.

Details: El Cerrito’s 32nd annual Celebration of Old Roses, Sunday May 20, 2012, El Cerrito Community Center, 7007 Moeser Lane, El Cerrito. 11 am to 3:30 p.m. There is no admission charge.  For information, call Kristina Osborn at The Heritage Roses Group (510) 527-3815, or visit

May 17, 2012 Posted by | Gardening | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment


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Nightfall at Pennhurst Asylum

This past summer, my husband and I won two tickets for a public ghost tour of Pennhurst State School and Hospital from the Pennhurst Paranormal Association. Timothy Smith runs Pennhurst Paranormal Association and maintains Pennhurst, conducting ghost tours and teaching visitors about the asylum’s tragic history. Tim and the staff of Pennhurst Paranormal Association are experienced, professional paranormal investigators. Everyone was kind and patient in answering both my questions and those of other tour members. The tour was focused on finding evidence of hauntings through the use of ghost hunting equipment, which they also showed us how to use. Pennhurst Paranormal Association hosts both public and private ghost tours of Pennhurst State School and Hospital.

The drive through the picturesque historical town soon ended, bringing George and me to a stop on a dark, country road next to a water tower. Thankfully, Tim sent one of his team to come and find us because we might have never found the place in time for the tour. Pennhurst Asylum was designed to be an isolated location, which undoubtedly helped in keeping the truth behind it a secret for many years. We had to drive down a winding path through the woods just to make it onto the campus, and it was already after dark.

I felt a shift in the atmosphere from the second I saw the dimly lit structures of the buildings looming above. I was thankful that there was a large touring group that night. After having done some preliminary research online, I was anxious about going. Before now, everything that I had done with ghosts had been low-key or happenstance. This was my first time being with a professional group of paranormal investigators that had ghost hunting equipment. We toured two buildings that night, Mayflower Hall and Devon Hall.

In the first building, we went into a kind of common hall where patients used to congregate. Paint was peeling off the walls and water pooled on the floor in some areas from recent rain. Members of the Pennhurst Paranormal Association told us background history about Pennhurst. The place was known for “womb to tomb care.” Many of the occupants spent their whole lives in Pennhurst, whether they needed to be there or not. Family members were encouraged to drop their children and relatives off and told not to look back as return visits might only upset the patient and disrupt the treatment.

Images of people being abandoned by their families, helpless to stop any ill treatment that might befall them filled me with unspeakable horror. I asked why these spirits were still here. Why hadn’t they moved on after so many years? Pennhurst was officially closed down in 1987. This prompted a discussion about hauntings and whether the spirits see the place as we do now.

Without proper funding, Pennhurst was understaffed, poorly managed, and incredibly overcrowded. This allowed for the medical staff to abuse their patients and for patients to accidentally harm themselves or each other. Severe punishments even included surgically removing the patient’s teeth so that they could not bite in defense. This was done without anesthetics. The mentally disabled were not seen as equals and it was easy for the staff to disregard them.

One story that was told to me was about a telephone lineman who was working on repairing the phone system when a patient came up to him and started swaying. After a few minutes, the patient began banging his head into the doorframe. The lineman hailed a nurse who was passing by for help, but she said that she didn’t have time to take care of the patient because she was so overwhelmed with work already. Meanwhile, the patient that she refused to help had blood pouring from the self-inflicted gash on his head.

We had been in the common room for a few minutes when I felt someone take my hand. Thinking it was my husband, I turned around to see that he was standing a few feet away from me. There was no one standing either next to or behind me. I jumped, pulling my hand back. When I brought this up to the tour guides, they said that people often reported being touched or having someone grab their hand in that room. They said that teenage boys used to be here in this section and that was their way of showing affection. We also got some cold spots in that room.

Next, they brought us to Emily’s room. Emily is the spirit of a sweet, thirteen-year-old girl who has the mental capabilities of a five-year-old. There were various dolls and stuffed animals on her bed. We communicated with her via an EMF (Electromagnetic Field) reader which spiked every time she got excited or came near us. She seemed to prefer females and enjoyed when the female tour guides and I took turns singing nursery rhymes to her.

While I was standing in that room, I suddenly saw a small, green orb. I followed it into the darkness down the hallway into another room, but it disappeared. I came back to Emily’s room. At that point, we said goodbye to Emily and went back outside to join other group members who were planning on visiting Devon Hall. Devon Hall is known for having great EVPs (Electronic Voice Phenomena). Tim, the association’s leader, took us there.

At one point, I remarked that I kept hearing what I thought to be footsteps following behind us. Tim said that while that was possible, it was more likely that I was hearing the steady dripping of water down the wall. He was accustomed to hearing these noises, so he could debunk them. He even showed me where the water was coming from so that I could see for myself. While we had sufficient light to see by, this was mostly provided by flashlights that we carried along with us during the tour.

First, we went upstairs to inspect some bathrooms in Devon Hall where they had gotten great EVPs in the past. I sometimes get mental flashes of spirits when I enter rooms. It kind of reminds me of taking a picture because I only see the ghost for a second or two before they vanish. When we entered the bathroom, I saw an image of a little boy sitting in the bathtub. I grabbed George as he went to lean against it.

“Don’t sit there!” I hissed. He had no idea what I had seen until I told him later. I didn’t want him to upset the spirit.

Tim showed us how EVPs were made. He had a recorder that would only record when someone was speaking. He would ask a question, wait twenty seconds, and then ask the next question. Later, when he would play the recording back to the group, the ghostly voices would show up in between Tim’s questions. Since the recorder only records when someone is speaking, in theory, there should have been no gap between Tim’s questions during the playback.

The bathroom was a horrible place. Tim asked if the ghosts were repentant of what they had done during their lives, but they seemed to be proud of how they molested and raped young boys. They staked out claims on stalls and threatened to harm Tim if he entered them. Clutching my St. Michael pendant for protection, I envisioned a circle of white light around our group. Thankfully, I had managed to convince George to carry a protective talisman as well. The creepiest thing about this whole situation was that while I didn’t hear anything while I was standing there, Tim’s EVP recordings showed that there was someone in the bathroom with us. This someone was getting angrier at what they took as an intrusion of their territory.

We trudged down to the basement. At this point, I was looking at the cracked plaster and broken sinks and thinking to myself that I should have brought a face mask since I am super sensitive to dust. We entered another bathroom. Apparently, they are a great source for EVPs. We had a brief discussion about whether this was because the water is a good source of energy for spirits. Then we started another EVP session.

Tim made contact with another spirit who obliged us by reading the writing that was on people’s shirts to show that he was there. Then Tim asked if he would go and see if he could get Dr. Fear for us. That was actually the man’s name, although it would have been an appropriate nickname for him as well since he instilled fear in his patients. His soul apparently came here after his passing. I wondered how this was an appropriate punishment for his evil deeds since he seemed to be able to lord over the suffering souls that were still trapped here.

Moments after Tim called for Dr. Fear, I got a flash image of a spectacled man in a lab coat walking over to our group. In my vision, he came over and placed his hands on both a young woman’s and my husband’s shoulder as if he was peering over a group of medical interns. Just then George and the young woman complained of feeling a cold spot right where I had seen Dr. Fear appear.

Tim began asking Dr. Fear questions. Dr. Fear stated that while he remembered who Tim was, he didn’t really care about his presence one way or the other. One of the female tour guides asked if he was a real doctor. The ghost half chuckled into the EVP recorder. Of course, he was a real doctor. The way that he said it made it seem as if he thought she had asked a stupid question. She had been trying to insult him, but he had dismissed it.

One of the things we had discussed were the missing bodies of patients. Patients had died or gone missing and their bodies had never been accounted for. It was thought that they might have been buried somewhere on the campus in unmarked graves. Tim asked Dr. Fear what happened to the bodies.

“I burnt them,” crackled over the recorder, followed by low, eerie laughter.

I felt cold all over after that. Tim offered to keep taking us around the buildings. The next stop would have been back to the Mayflower building. There was the ghost of a nurse on one of the upper floors who was reported to administer ghostly shots to people. George and I decided to leave. We still had a three-hour drive back home and I felt emotionally and spiritually sapped after that encounter in the basement.

I was exhausted for days following this visit, even with my spiritual cleansings. Tim later told me that was one of their strongest EVP sessions. While I don’t consider myself a Medium per say, I do feel like spirits tend to manifest strongly when I’m around. This was easily the most terrifying ghostly encounter that I have ever had. There is nothing like being in a silent, near pitch dark room and having someone who you cannot see answer you.

Emily’s Room – Mayflower Hall

If you have a real ghost story that you would like to share with The Ghost Post, send an email with your contact information to Tara Theresa Hill at to set up an interview.

I’m always in the mood for a good ghost story!

Follow Tara Theresa Hill on Facebook and on Twitter at @TaraTheresaHill for more updates and paranormal phenomena!

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