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Monday, January 30

Honey I shrunk the 'kid'!

There was something special about this weekend. Apparently it was just like any other, but somewhere something has changed. I have changed.

I have known this feeling before, as if you are an actor changing characters. I have known this feeling when my sister got married and left behind an unexplainable void that I unknowingly tried to fill up. When I first stayed over for more than a week with my in-laws-to-be, feeling the love that an entire family can shower upon you just because their son happens to love you; and you respond instinctively.

Today looking into the mirror I once again knew I had changed. To what extent I cannot say. But why? Yes. Because this Saturday I cut my hair. And cut it real short. It’s been seven years since they were so small. Over the years I had cared and seen them grow as a mother would her children and feel happy that all was fine. I had cried when they showed even a trace of being unhealthy (the reason why I cut them now). I had beamed when my mom-in-law praised them and looked at me with such loving eyes, it saddens me to tell her I cut them. I had been proud when everyone complimented them and loved them, just like when your kids are loved and praised by your neighbors. But they are all gone. The waist length deep black beautiful lustrous hair (ignore my immodesty, in this regard I am all indulgent) that refreshed me with its smell when I was feeling low, taught me that darkness can be beautiful, made me realize that ‘split-ends’ can mean growth ………… all that is gone now. All that remains is the sweet and sour memories of it.

And yet I am happy. Happy because this new ‘look’ is making me feel new. I suddenly seem to be more confidant than before. I am looking and feeling younger by a more than a couple of years and suddenly I have these teenage feelings dwelling up in me again. This haircut means that I have done some things which I never thought I would. I never dreamt I would cut my hair this short, and cut it without consulting my parents who adored my mane, without asking my mom-in-law who had explicitly been against me cutting them, my fiancé who knows everything I do as soon as I have even thought about it. It is the first time I did something on a total whim, the first time I ‘informed’ my parents about a decision and not ‘ask’ them, first time that I kept a secret from my fiancé! It was the first time I realized how much emotional strength (it was a tough 20 minutes for me as I sat through the haircut, closing shut my eyes tight as if hoping that I would open them and my long hair would still be smiling at me) I derive from my sister’s presence (she was the one who readily supported and accompanied me inspite of the the fact that she cannot see my hair being cut so short).

A simple thing like a haircut and a vista of memories, a new understanding about myself and those around me. Another reason to fall in love with myself once again!

Friday, January 27

Just an hour and a half

Its been quite some time since this last happened. Today reliving those moments I suddenly felt as if something long forgotten had come back to me. It was only a matter of one and a half hours beyond normal time, but it brought back so many memories, that the discomfort it caused escaped attention. It was totally unplanned, as such things usually are. But it was also unavoidable, as sometimes these things are.

Staying back after office hours, working that extra hour, can be so invigorating. I never knew it before today. Invigorating not in the physical aspect of it, but the mental. Stepping out of office set in motion a series of memories, some pleasing, other not exactly so.

My last job involved late hours and reaching home at 11pm was 'usual'. Driving home with the cold breeze playing through your hair on the almost empty streets, was something I really loved about my old job. The tension, physical and mental both, of the entire day was lost before I reached home, all fresh and ready for anything you said. There were days when there would be some colleague driving along and the non-office chat lead to many a wonderful friendships. Even in office, as the world around you gradually prepared to go to sleep, you were busy and excited for that was your peak time (I worked in a newspaper and newpapers start bustling with activity only after 6pm). The evening tea and snack, the gossiping and giggling, the teasing and laughing........ even as you keyed in your stories for the day......... it was all so wonderful. And as the hours passed by we all looked forward to going home and the excitement of it (I sometimes wondered if we were schoolkids!) led to work gaining greater momentum and so also the chattering. It was as if your brain had changed gears and was roaring at full speed. And if it was someone's birthday......... cakes and samosas and pav bhaji........ those were some of the immemorable days of my life.

I remember going out for my first dinner date with 'him', when I was so caught up in office that he had started wondering if I would ever make it. It was fun! I was dying to leave and 'boss' would not let me go. And so I played a little trick. I was carrying a different dress to be worn for the date (now this in itself was so unlike me that I had almost forgotten I was carrying it. And the look on 'his' face when he saw me in a different dress was simply a kodak moment!) So I quickly changed into it, adjusted my hair, packed some of my stuff and with the most innocent look on my face asked boss if there was anything more for me to do that day. Well, he got the hint and finally at 10pm I left office for my historical date. (Now that is a different story and will tell it some other time.)

But today as I left office I couldn't help feel that happiness all over again. Actually I am not fond of working late hours. I like to do my work on time and leave on time. But today was different. The work was suddenly alloted and with not much experience in that particular thing, it proved to be though task in the pre-lunch session. My best friend and I work together and sit next to each other, which meant that between us we had a 100 questions to ask of our boss. After a lot of to and fro of mails and files, we finally settled down into the thing and though I still have a lot of questions, they can wait till Monday. Today I have other things to look into, especially my Pensieve!

Monday, January 23

Woh kon thi?!

A typical college setting. A girl clad in green salwar-khameez with matching earrings and bangles, hair tied in a plait and a 'damsel in distress' look on her face and scarf walks in through the gate. A boy in blue jeans and yellow T-Shirt, sports shoes and the 'just-out-of-the-bed' look standing in a group of similar looking guys and talking on this latest mobile, laughing. The guy and the girl bump and she is flustered and he excited. Repeat scene for the next couple of shots. Love blossoms. Guy and girl meet everyday at restaurants, riverside, movies, coffee shops..... go around hand in hand, for long drives on the bike with girl hanging like a sack to his back.

One year later.............

Soft dimmed lights in a room decorated with marigold flowers. Girl in ‘ghungat’ sitting on the bed. Guy enters all excited for the upcoming ‘event’. He sits down next to her. She lowers her head in shame (sharam/lajja/laaj?). He takes her hand and kisses it. Goosebumps. Sweet nothings and lots of coaxing later girl agrees to 'mooh-dikhai'. Guy lifts the ghungat and (freeze frame on guy's face).......

Guy: Who are you? (Repeate thrice for that startled effect.)
Girl: Why? Its me of course. (Girl looking lost and damsel-in-distress as usual.)
Guy: No that cannot be! It can't be you!
Girl: What's wrong with you? Are you drunk? Its me, your love, your darling, your sweetheart!
Guy: No. You are an imposter mimicking her voice, taking advantage of the dim lights. I am putting on the big ones. (Switches on the two tubelights and the room is brightly lit.) I have been duped. (Sob! Sob!). You are not my sweetheart. You cannot be. She had these wonderful black eyes (looks into her eyes)....... you are wearing black lenses to fool me! Oh God! My love, she had these wonderful black eyes that I have been in love with for the last one year. She was my 'sharmilie', never once did she go around without her scarf covering her head and her face. Such sanskar! And you........ you are sitting here smiling at me without anything to cover your face with............. you are not my love! (cries)
Girl: But I......
Guy: Shut up! Oh God! Why are you punishing me? We had such wonderful times at the coffeeshop, sitting hand in hand, legs brushing one another....... we had only one coffee everytime (flashback to coffeeshop, the two sitting in the said position. Girl wearing her scarf and looking around with scared eyes of a deer once in a while.) I was so much in love with her as we walked along the riverside (flashback. Camera from behind. Walking, Guy's hand around her waist, close enough to not let an ant pass through between them.) And from the riverside to the bridge on bike, to that dark corner on the bridge, crowded yet so secluded! (Flashback. Guy parks bike and they sit behind it. Girl wearing scarf.) I remember the trembling of her hands, her scared eyes, her husky scarfed voice........... (Flashback. Guy holding hand, girl looking around. Guy holding her close and moving his hands closer to strategic places. Girl looking around scared and searching.)
Girl: And that trip to Sinhagad. It was so romantic!! Sigh!
Guy: What? How do you know? You must have read her diary! You cheat, you *****!!!! What have you done with her? (Sob. Sob.) It was such a wonderful day. We rode on my bike, she was holding on to me tightly. Then we went behind that little temple and............. Ohhhhhhhhhhh the warmth of her body, her softness ..............

Next morning. Guy still dazed. Girl all in tears. Enter ‘sasuma’.

Sasuma: Aren’t you people supposed to go over to her place? Come on leave now. (Calls out to ‘bahurani.’ Girl enters in a green sari, managalsutra, matching bangles, hair tied in a plait and tying her scarf.)
Guy: (Looks up) What you? Oh where have you been? I missed you so much. You know there was some other girl trying to fool me into believing it was you. She even knew our little secrets! (Girl lowers her head. Blushes inside her scarf covering her face!)

Ok now don’t think I have lost my mind to be writing that story. I was just wondering how it would be for those innumerable couples who love to court and roam around hand in hand. But at the same time they lack the guts to be brave enough and face the world and not hide their face behind some stupid scarf tied as “protection from the pollution.” If you look around you will come across numerous such couples where the girl covers her face and at the same time they are coochi-cooing in full public view. You must have seen ‘these’ couples during your treks as you stop for snacks at the ‘restaurant and permit room’ at the foothills. Darting you scared and ‘thank-god-I-don’t-now-you’ looks.

What infuriates me and what I really fail to understand is that if ‘these’ people are so scared of being found out and spotted, why go and attract public attention by being ‘physical’ with your lover in public? These same people, especially girls will carry the ‘holier-than-thou’ look and at the same time cover their faces and let their lover touch them ‘so far’ sitting on a bridge, a park and go to dicey hotel rooms with them and step out with their faces covered! If you are a Marathi speaking person you will understand my feelings when I say “chyala jaraka himmat nahi tar prema tari kashala karat hindatat!”

I have no problems with people falling in love. I am human enough to understand that when in love you feel a need to get ‘close’ to your lover. My problem is if you are not prepared to face the consequences of being in love, of being spotted with him/her, why go around attracting public attention? What will attract more attention a couple where the girl sits wearing a scarf or a couple sitting chatting in a carefree manner? And whoever said you cannot be identified with a scarf around your face? Any person who knows you for sometime will identify you even with a scarf. I really fail to understand the entire funda behind such behavior. It is extremely irritating and foolish to say the least. Really “jarka himmat nahi tar prema tari kashala karat hindatat!”

Wednesday, January 18

Five point, someone?

I had heard a lot about this book and like many others who read the reviews, wanted to read 'Five point someone' as soon as possible. However it did not happen till yesterday.

It so happened that my brother was reading something with a newspaper covering (or so it looked like) and knowing that he would never cover his books thus, I had to find out what book it was. That is how I landed up with this book. (Now its up to you to decide if a book with a coverpage that looks like its been wraped in newspaper invites you to read it.)

'Five point someone' is a story about three guys in college (IIT, Delhi), the 'fun' they have during their fours years together (Hmmm.....) and how they almost 'screw' up their degrees in the process. It begins with how a guy (near death) is being rushed to a hospital and then flashback (Hmm..... I know this?!) The author, Chetan Bhagat, takes you through the four years of the three guys, Alok, Ryan and Hari (supposedly the author himself) starting off with a ragging episode. Ryan saves the other two from some impossibly obnoxious thing during the ragging and their friendship is sealed. Ryan is this rich, smart and handsome guy who apparently has 'everything going for him', while Alok is this poor, intelligent, fat and (almost) ugly guy who has 'all the problems in the world'. And Hari is somehwere in between, an ok-to-do, intelligent and ok-to-look-at guy, who is narrating the story and so we hardly have any insights into his background. In the first semester itself they score a five point something score in their exams and that is how they come to be known for the rest of their stay, 'five point somethings', the underdogs. Ryan is irritated with the 'system' because it does not allow one any freedom to innovate things, but rather produces human machines. He proposes that the three friends have all the fun they can have as 'these are the days to do it' and so between movies, food, chess, porn and vodka they 'screw' up their studies. They never rise above their five point something. In the meanwhile Hari falls for the daughter of the Head of Department (a very strict guy who does not allow his daughter to talk with guys or receive their calls) and to impress him he wants to score an 'A' for his course. And the easiest way to do it is steal the paper! (Ryan's idea) So Hari goes to the professor's house to meet the daughter and with no one at home they end up having sex and he also manages to get the keys and go out (in the father/professor's shirt) and duplicate them and come back and bump into the father and meet the daughter clad in a bedsheet at the doorstep............ and in general have a blast! With keys in place they sneak into the office at night and get caught and are expelled for a term. Due to the expulsion and tensions at home, Alok jumps from the roof and breaks himself at a hundred places. Having 'screwed up' their degrees and chances at a decent job, they come to their senses and work hard on a project........................ You get the drift.

Now. The book is not as great as the reviews I had read claimed it to be. The story is good and it could happen to anyone. As such it is realistic. The characters are however very stereotypical. Ryan for example is goodlooking and smart and rich and hates the system and wants to have fun - it seems too much out of a bollywood film and stereotyped. The whole book has been written in a very 'yuppie' language to give it that college fun feel. But, as Hari says at a point in the book, "It kills the effect"; the yuppieness of the language does not flow naturally but seems to have been brought in after a some real effort. The yuppieeness is not as natural as the film Dil Chahta Hai, which seems to have inspired this book (Hmm..... now I know). Comparing notes with a friend we were unanimous that it seems to try to do a 'Dil Chahta Hai'.

I will not say dont read it. Go ahead and read it. Its a quick read with only around 250 pages and definitely not 'crap'(a word which has been used too many times in the book.) Read it to see that IITians are not all bookworms and studious, they have their share of fun and 'college life'. Read it to realise how its important to know where to draw the line. Read it and let me know!

Monday, January 16

Signing Off

I have been writing quite a few letters lately. After all those scores of letters I sat down to write one to my friend today. Dear Aparna,…………………… with reference to………………….. considering the circumstances……………….I would be glad to ………….. Regards!?” I suddenly realized how mechanically I was writing all that stuff. It seemed more a collage of all the letters I had been writing, than a new year wish for an old friend. God forbid had I sent it to her………. For one it was supposed to be a new year greeting letter (“today is 15 Jan you idiot! ***********) And I had signed it off with regards. She can take nothing but ‘Luv’ from me. ‘Regards’ is blasphemy! (“Regards! who the hell do u think were you writing to?”)

That got me thinking. How many of us actually think twice before signing off a letter. Generally for official/ formal ones we blindly sign off as ‘Yours sincerely/faithfully’ or ‘Regards’. With more informal ones it is either ‘Luv’ or ‘Yours truly’. And how many of us care to read how a person has signed off? Hardly. We know who has written us the letter and we assume that it would be either of those above. And so it is blindly ignored. And yet there are guidelines on how to write letters and how to sign them off; what should it be for the President and for the CEO and for the Queen. Yet that fussy teacher scolds you for writing ‘Yours truly’ and not ‘Yours sincerely’. Yet my friend would have let hell loose had I written ‘Regards’. Yet your boyfriend/girlfriend would be ‘hurt’ if you don’t sign off with a ‘love you’. And yet you cannot expect that if you sign off innovatively that would be noticed!

I have a journo friend who’s into a long distance relationship. So their main form of communication is emails. Once she happened to attend five lectures on IPR (Intellectual Property Rights) in 2 days flat and was so saturated with it, she signed off a letter saying “Yours IPR (Incurable Prem Rogi).” Another time she wrote “Love you. Mrs U”. I am sure that must be adding so much romance to their communications over miles. And then there was this HR person I communicated with at one time who signed of as “Cheers”. Another friend who wrote “God bless you!”. And there must be innumerable others out their who write innovate stuff to sign off their letters. Something that is probably forgotten after that one instance. Something that they consider a stroke of brilliance. Something they have put a lot of thought/love/time into. Something that was never noticed!!

Sunday, January 8

A world without Sharon

With Ariel Sharon struggling for life after a recent hemorrhage, the world is busy speculating Israel after him, the possible leaders who could take his place – if any could at all- and what Sharon’s exit from politics at such a crucial time of Mid-Eastern peace could mean for world. While many are praying and hoping he recovers enough to return to active politics, the PLO and other anti-Israel factions are hoping he ‘dies’. What has sparked such deliberation and concern is that Sharon has been one of the few charismatic and ‘capable’ leaders who in recent times pulled out largely of the Gaza strip, signaling a big step towards peace in the Mid-East.

Looking at it from an Indian perspective is also very important especially after his visit to India in 2003. Speaking during his visit Sharon said, “We regard India to be one of the most important countries in the world; we share our belief in democracy and I hope that my visit here will contribute in strengthening our relations with India and developing them...We believe we can do many things together in many fields...”

Though India and Israel gained independence almost simultaneously (Aug. 1947 and May 1948), diplomatic relations between them started taking shape only after 1992, when the then PM Narsimha Rao initiated dialogue between the two countries. India and Israel are seen to be ‘natural allies’ what with both being functional democracies hounded by large scale terrorism from across their borders and Islamic insurgency and both being home to large domestic Muslim populations. Both countries have made significant progress in combating insurgency and mutual cooperation in anti-insurgency tactics and defense preparedness as a whole is a very important factor of this friendship. Since 1992 various treaties have been signed and deals finalized in not just arms trade but also other areas like intelligence, information technology, agriculture, environment, pharmaceuticals, human rights etc. In an in depth analysis of the Indo-Israeli relations Harsh Pant elaborates how it is a mutually beneficial relationship and India should follow the course it is treading now.

Now with Sharon’s exist almost decided, who his heir would be is of importance to India too. Tough none of the probable leaders display anti-India stances and understand the importance of Indo-Israeli cooperation, a totally anti-palestian leader would not be exactly easy to handle. India had been one of the first countries to recognize the PLO and it was a deterrent in furthering ties with Israel in the early years. If the new leader is to rake up the issue, it could damage the relations severely. Also India has one of the largest Muslim populations in the world and an anti-Arab stance on part of India would not go down well. Considering the geo-strategic importance of the alliance – the region between Israel and India is seen as one whole region of influence with two functional democracies ‘restricting’ the politically volatile countries and their influence between them and could in future even aid democratic setups in the region – it would be loss to India, who is trying to emerge as a global player, if ties sour over any issue.

Though India does not have as much to worry over the matter as the Mid-East and probably the US, it does need to keep track and take the right steps at the right time. Change in the leadership of a country of strategic importance to another nation, is an important point in that nation’s foreign affairs and it is best not overlooked.

Tuesday, January 3

Black Friday

I am dumbstruck and its taken me long time to actually get down to writing this post. I just put down 'Black Friday' by S Hussain Zaidi, an amazing account of the 1993 serial bomb blasts the rocked not just Bombay but the entire world.

S Hussaun Zaidi has been a crime reporter and this probably gives this account of the barbaric act a feel of credibility. Hussain takes us through not only the entire conspiracy as it appeared to the public eye but actually behind-the-scenes, into the dealing of those involved.

The book starts off by giving a brief background into the communal riots in Bombay prior to the blasts and establishing a causative relation between the two. He then recounts in impressive detail how Dawood Ibrahim along with Tiger Memon, though in love with Mumbai, actually masterminded the entire bombings to avenge the riots that killed hundreds of muslims and inflicted torture on the women folk of their community. The process of smuggling in the explosives especially RDX and AK-56, the recruitment of ‘volunteers’ to do to the job and their training in Pakistan, scanning of Mumbai for strategic sites for blasts such that they would inflict maximum damage, the D-Day preparation and the last minute preponement of plans as a member of the team gets arrested are very well researched and send a chill down your spine. You realize that those bombers were no dumb men who struck at a whim, but rather carried out a carefully and minutely organized plan to commit cold-blooded murder.

The author should be credited for his writing skills that nowhere smell of any bias and all through the book one can see a very objective and fact-stating tone being maintained. Nowhere does he use judgmental words for either the conspirators or the investigators (like I am doing right now and cannot help it! It was such a gruesome act, my blood still boils at the memory of those times.) Inspite of the seemingly flat tone of the book it is very gripping and spread across a mere approx 300 pages, you can read it in a sitting. It is successful in creating an atmosphere such that you feel yourself actually traveling along with the actors from Mumbai to Dubai to Pakistan to Mumbai etc. The book makes a interesting read as it has first person accounts by some of the conspirators like Badshah Khan and a reconstruction of the interactions between Dawood and Tiger Memon and theirs’ with other conspirators.

The account of the investigations is also lucid and makes one appreciate the amount of work the police put in during such dire situations. With the 13 blasts occurring between 1.30 pm and 3.40 pm, one can but only imagine the running around and tension that must have prevailed within the law enforcing agencies. Destruction of such proportions and carrying the potential of communal riots breaking out, the police personnel, the fire brigade and bomb detection squad were kept on their toes for the next God-knows-how-many days. The author does complete justice to the efforts of these men instead of going on a police-bashing spree as the media is usually prone to.

The plot of the book is too highly published for me to go into the details of it. I will very strongly recommend reading this book not just to understand and ponder the blasts, but also to appreciate the use of language which does complete justice to a real-life account of events objectively, without creating any bias.

Black Friday

The True Story of the Bombay Bomb Blasts

S. Hussain Zaidi

Penguin Books

Price – Rs 325,


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Sunday, 23 November 2008

Continuing car problems and cat's prayer

We phoned friends to see if anyone knew of a mechanic who made home visits to fix cars, and several of them tried to help, but we found ourselves waiting all day.

I found this charming 'Cat's Prayer'

The next day Mas and I managed to drive to Stanmore, and reached it as the car began to boil again. We had a quick lunch and bought some shopping as snow was forecast for the next day; it was certainly cold enough. Later Mas managed to get the car to the nearest garage and the mechanic said it could be one of several faults and to bring it in on Tuesday. In the meantime Mas tried to find out what the problem was with the help of Satish, and this carried on through the next day with Mas doing bouts of leaf clearing from the garden (the expected snow did not arrive, but it was fearfully cold).

On Sunday we awoke to a thin covering of snow, which surprised the cat more than somewhat.
Toby phoned and chatted for a while, and later Pete phoned too, but we were interrupted at one point by the cat stepping on my phone and cutting Pete off! In the evening we watched some funny Frasiers.

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Off-label prescribing vs. RCT

by on July 29, 2013 at 6:25 am in Law, Medicine, Science | Permalink

Incidentally, another thing that’s fascinating to me is that, there’s a very funny saying when it comes to the ethical review of science, or an anecdote, which is that if a doctor wakes up in the morning and decides that, for the next 100 patients with cancer that he or she sees that have this condition, he’s going to treat them all with this new drug because he thinks that drug works, he can do that. He doesn’t need to get anyone’s permission. He can use any drug “off-label” he wants when, in his judgment, it is helpful to the patient. He’ll talk to the patient. He needs to get the patient’s consent. He can’t administer the drug without the patient knowing. But, he can say to the patient, “I recommend that you do this,” and he can make this recommendation to every one of the next 100 patients he sees.

If, on the other hand, the doctor is more humble, and more judicious, and says “you know, I’m not sure that this drug works, I’m going to only give it to half of the next 100 patients I see,” then he needs to get IRB approval, because that’s research. So even though he’s giving it to fewer patients, now there’s more review.

That is from Nicholas A. Christakis, via Jim Olds.  The discussion is mostly about Big Data.

1 Big boy July 29, 2013 at 6:56 am

So, there is more review when the doctor is less sure . .

2 Oreg July 29, 2013 at 7:04 am

There is more review if the doctor applies scientific rigor instead of just his gut feeling.

3 Andrew' July 29, 2013 at 7:30 am

4 Curt F. July 29, 2013 at 7:50 am

How about, there is more review if the doctor says he is going to apply scientific rigor, because it may seem easy for one doctor to adequately design a statistically valid trial, down to details such as proper blocking, double blinding, determining the relationship between sample sizes and power, and defining end points, but most doctors aren’t good at those things and so the trials they made up would not actually be scientifically rigorous, despite what they may think and despite what they tell their patients.

5 Rahul July 29, 2013 at 8:09 am

Not at all. The post confuses an experiment versus an essentially established protocol, just not formally authorized.

Off-label use is emphatically not “doctor wakes up in the morning and decides”. Off-label use is usually an application enjoying broad consensus among the medical fraternity (and possibly strong pharmacological grounding too ), just that no body has deemed that specific application to be worth the cost and effort of a formal FDA review.

6 Andrew' July 29, 2013 at 9:00 am

That’s right. If we want to bring doctors into what passes for science we could pay them. Since we do sort of pay them we have to make sure they aren’t experimenting on people without their consent.

It’s actually the reverse. An experiment is usually between something they are sure will work and something they are sure won’t. We could also try paying the patients being used in the experiment. We sort of do by limiting and then granting their access to clinical trials and experimental drugs.

We could also compensate people for participating in what passes for science by making it easier, but that wouldn’t raise the status of the people that pass for scientists.

7 Jim D. July 29, 2013 at 10:40 am

No, it is not between something we “are sure will work” and something we “are sure will not work”.

It is between something we “believe might work” and something we “are sure will not work.”

This is why proper experimental protocols and statistical analysis have the null hypothesis.

8 Andrew' July 29, 2013 at 11:46 am

Fair enough. A lot of prescription is part of the mis-diagnosis to diagnosis process because if you knew exactly what the patient had and that they’d respond exactly by-the-book to the well-established highly documented treatment then medicine would be as easy as some people assume it is.

9 Roger Sweeny July 29, 2013 at 2:18 pm

Often the null hypothesis isn’t “the drug doesn’t work.” It is, “the drug doesn’t work any better than the conventional pill.” Then you are comparing “what we aren’t sure will work” and “what we are sure will work … but not as well as we’d like.”

10 Jim D. July 29, 2013 at 10:36 am

There is more review when the doctor is attempting to find an answer to an uncertainty than when he or she has a well-informed and educated belief about the best course of action.

11 prior_approval July 29, 2013 at 7:02 am

Or the doctor gives it to the next x number of patients, then compares the results using the records of the same x number of previous patients to compare outcomes.

And the difference between doing it like this compared to the other described way is that latter one sounds seemingly outrageous, while the former sounds boringly prosaic.

12 Oreg July 29, 2013 at 7:03 am

There is more review if the doctor applies scientific rigor instead of just his gut feeling.

13 Andrew' July 29, 2013 at 7:30 am

14 Rahul July 29, 2013 at 7:18 am

Isn’t the doctors personal liability exposure higher for off-label use, than if he goes the IRB route? That’s the downside of quick-n-dirty.

15 Andrew' July 29, 2013 at 7:51 am

The IRB is not to review the doctor, folks.

16 Jan July 29, 2013 at 8:17 am

1. Off-label prescribing does not require informed consent. And the doctor does not usually bother discussing it before prescribing.

2. There is a big difference between a doctor using a drug off-label because he is convinced there is a benefit to it and a systematic investigation where the sponsor and the participating physicians really do not know what the effect will be.

17 Andrew' July 29, 2013 at 8:19 am

Thank Christ, Jan.

Even if a doctor doesn’t know it works there is a difference between doing his best for the individual versus running an experiment.

18 Jan July 29, 2013 at 9:02 am

Yup, and that is why one is regulated research and one is just treatment.

I would personally love to make doctors better adhere to actual evidence, but gut feelings and anecdote are the true drivers of innovation, right?

19 Andrew' July 29, 2013 at 9:34 am

Okay, that’s the Jan I know ;O

One is the doctor doing his fiduciary duty to his patient. The other is doing a service for the public.

20 Thor July 29, 2013 at 11:23 am

Just wondering, what does “fiduciary” add to the sentence? It’s stii pretty morally binding as duty.

21 Andrew' July 29, 2013 at 11:40 am

I didn’t know a better word.

A doctor trying to get his name on a publication will give people syphilis. We don’t want that. That’s my only point.

22 William July 29, 2013 at 9:38 am

Insurance companies tell doctors what to prescribe by limiting reimbursement, so doctors really aren’t as free to off-label prescribe as one would think.

23 Rahul July 29, 2013 at 9:43 am

….at least for the lucky few rich patients that don’t have to dance to the tunes of the insurer.

24 William July 29, 2013 at 9:47 am

And if the doctor does off-label prescribe or prescribe a more expensive option, the decision must be justified to the insurance company with boatloads of paper work and hassle. It’s enough to keep most doctors on the straight and narrow, for better or for worse. Physicians controlled treatment 50 years ago, but those days are long past.

25 Andrew' July 29, 2013 at 10:16 am

And? It would be fine for a doctor to say “I think this is the best treatment, but you can’t afford it.” Let’s think clearly about the delineations between financing, patient-doctor relationship, expertise, science, standard-of-care vs diagnostic trial-and-error, etc. rather than using how we have in the past blurred these lines as excuses to further blur them.

26 Jan July 29, 2013 at 10:24 am

It depends. About 1/5 of prescriptions are for off-label uses. Most of the insurance control is via formularies, steering utilization to generics or a single preferred branded within a therapeutic class. Insurers are most concerned with whether the drug is expensive, not always whether it is for an approved use. You see the most stringent prior authorization requirements with specialty drugs, stuff than can cost tens of thousands of dollars per year.

27 Pshrnk July 29, 2013 at 11:14 am

Private insurers are happy to cover cheaper off-label prescriptions. Unfortunately some medicaid programs etc. will instruct docs to prescribe more expensive meds rather than cover a cheaper one off-label. Off-label uses fairly often have stronger scientific support than many FDA approved uses.

28 Jan July 29, 2013 at 12:27 pm

If insurers are consistently denying payment for off label uses and there is more evidence for the off label uses than on (not sure I believe this), then I think drug makers would return to FDA to add an indication to the label. It would give them the ability to legally market it for that indication.

29 Pshrnk July 29, 2013 at 1:37 pm

You have a drug that is off patent and now made by 3 competitors. Are you going to spend 150 million dollars to get FDA approval for a new indication that might increase sales by 100,000 prescriptions per year? Oh and the generics are probably sold at Walmart, Target etc for four dollars.

Private insurere do not consistently deny payment for cheap drugs prescribed off label! They will however often use a drug being off-label as a reason to deny payment for an expensive drug even when there is copious data to support its effectiveness and safety. For instance Savella….FDA approved for treating pain….not FDA approved for depression…but effective and approved for depression in many nations.

30 Jan July 29, 2013 at 2:07 pm

That makes sense about the lack of market exclusivity for off-patent drugs. So if insurers (I read “medicaid programs etc.” as insurers generally, but let’s just say it is Medicaid only) are denying prescriptions for off-label uses of off-patent drugs, then you would hope they have a very good efficacy reason to do so, as it would not cost them much to cover those products. I have not heard of this and don’t know for what specific drugs it is a problem, but it would be good to know why this happens in Medicaid and not private insurance.

On your statement re private insurers, I’d have to go back to my original point. If there is copious data supporting the efficacy of an expensive drug for off-label uses, you have to wonder why the company hasn’t gone back to the FDA to expand the labeling indication. In this case I do see insurers using off-label as an excuse to not cover, but if the drug is on-patent and expensive why isn’t the company leaving money on the table?

31 Pshrnk July 29, 2013 at 4:25 pm

If you have four years left on patent, and expect it to take three years to get a new FDA approved indication you probably will not bother even for a costly drug. Now if you have ten years left on patent you very well might. It depends on the number of potential new customers for the new FDA indication and the time left on patent.

I thas to be a complicated calcualtion also factoring in how many, if any other drugs may already have an indication for the new use you want the FDA to aprove your drug for and how widely is the drug already being used off-label.

32 Chris D July 29, 2013 at 10:40 am

I’m looking forward to reading the article, but my initial response:

The review is because in an RCT the patient doesn’t actually know which treatment she’s getting.

Conflating an RCT with a doctor’s private practice is a straw man.

33 Marie July 29, 2013 at 11:13 am

I can’t understand off label use.
For Type 1 diabetes, there is a device that measures glucose levels continuously, if less accurately than a blood test (which you do in addition to using the device). It is approved only for groups of older kids and adults, but since Type 1 is harder to manage in young kids it is widely used off label in that population. I don’t even understand why a prescription is needed for this device, since you don’t need a prescription to buy other measuring devices like thermometers and blood pressure cuffs.

Conversely, there’s a line of research for Type 1 that uses the TB vaccine, a very old pharmaceutical used worldwide today. There’s some indication that the TB vaccine can mitigate the immune system attack. The research is out of Harvard, but it is $10 million dollars and 10 years in and there’s still no say one way or the other, nothing anywhere near production, just barely out of human trials and now they say they need 10/10 more.

I don’t understand why there aren’t some doctors out there just giving some of their Type 1 adult patients, on request, a TB vaccine.

Is this why? Because it would look like research? Is the down side that the prescribing doctor would get strung up, or is it that the research would then be compromised by folks playing around with the vaccine out in the field? Or is it that if one patient has a reaction to the TB vaccine, that doctor is not covered by malpractice because he shouldn’t have had it in the first place?

34 Pshrnk July 29, 2013 at 11:19 am

You need a prescription for the glucose monitor and some other items basically because manufacturers have often worked hard to make it need a prescription. If a prescription is needed insurance will more likely cover the cost. If insurance covers the cost the price goes way up. Can I profit more by selling fewere at much higher cost, or by selling more at much lower cost?

35 Andrew' July 29, 2013 at 11:19 am

There is a single hurdle for everything no matter how cheap or how well-tolerated, for marketing it to a medical use. That’s all.

36 Nicholas Marsh July 29, 2013 at 2:04 pm

Just to agree with Andrew…

Off label use often concerns giving a drug which has been fully tested on one group of people to another group. For example, as mentioned above, giving a drug which has only been tested on adults to a child. Even if there haven’t been a round of RCTs on children, the doctor has a pretty good idea of the drug’s effects and side effects. Similarly, doctors may give a drug tested for condition Y to a patient with very similar condition X. Again, the doctor knows what the likley effects of the drug are.

Off label is necessary and widespread because, as mentioned, its too expensive to fully test every drug for every possible condition and type of person. Moreover, for obvious reasons its very hard to do any research at all on some types of people – eg children and pregnant women.

That’s very different from research, in which the patient may receive a placebo instead of an actual drug (and doesn’t know), and the effects of the drug in question may well not be fully understood (if they were why would anyone go to the huge expense of conducting research).

Finally, if a doctor simply divided 100 patients into two groups and gave one group drug A and another drug B that really wouldn’t cut it as good research. There are good reasons why drug trials employ all that bothersome randomisation and double blinding.

37 Ricardo July 30, 2013 at 11:21 am

In theory, a doctor should make a good faith effort to inform patients about the risks and benefits of a given treatment and how solid the evidence is. If your doctor wants you to be part of an RCT, that involves deliberately keeping information from you: you won’t know whether you are receiving a drug that may help you or else receiving a placebo. IRB exists to ensure there is a legitimate gap in the literature to be filled by doing an RCT and that the research is worth the potential risk to some patients.

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text:
Friday, April 29, 2011

 I loved London when we visited a few years ago...
After watching all the festivities this morning, I'd love to go back...

New beads today?
Not this week...I got a little backed up with orders this week.

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

The birds and the bees

(my bees above)

I've had a couple people ask me lately, "how are your bees are doing?"
One word...GREAT!
They are bursting out of their hives! Literally! One of my hives swarmed last week
(some of the bees packed up and left)
This is not a good thing...
I was actually thinking about dividing that hive the day before they flew the coop, because it was so full. But, decided to add supers (honey boxes) instead.

 (not my swarm above, but this is what it looked like)

The good news is I was able to catch the swarm and I started a new hive with them. I wish I got pictures, but I had my hands full. It being the first time I've caught a swarm of bees, I was a little nervous about the whole thing (to say the least) But it was really exciting and a little scary too. I wasn't worried about getting stung, I had my bee suit on...but from what I was reading, once you have a hold of the branch and you cut it. They say the bees will be heaver than you think they will be. I just DID NOT want to drop them.
Everything went smoothly and they are enjoying their new home (hive) with extra elbow room.
It's all so exciting!
The lavender bee box in the video above is the one that swarmed. There are still soooo many bees in that box, it's crazy!

Friday, April 22, 2011

Good Friday {and the winner}

Bunny Ears
Molly wishing you a Happy Easter

I was surprised that everyone got so many of yesterday's game guesses correct! REALLY!
Especially #7, which I just thew in at the last minute for fun, not thinking anyone would get!
Thanks everyone for playing along and the birthday wishes...

The answers to yesterday's game.

1. What breed of dog am I?

2. Am I a boy or a girl?

3. What color am I?
Blue, Gray or Blue with dobie markings (I would have taken them all)

4. How old am I today?
8 years

5. What is my official job title?
Shipping & receiving (see right sidebar->)

6. Whenever I go to Starbucks, mom always gets me this, _____.
Whip Cream (just a little)

7. In 2006, my mug (face) appeared in print in, ______.
Corina's Crazy Critters 2006 Calendar (April 9th-15th)

There were TWO people who got all the answers right! Congrats to them!
So I put their names in the (dog) bowl and had Kurt (hubby) pick one.
And the one he picked (the winner) is...
Send me your mailing address so I can get your necklace in the mail to you...

And because Norma got them ALL RIGHT also...I'll be sending her a fun little prize too!
So send me your mailing address Norma...

Have a Happy Easter everyone!
I'm looking forward to the Cadbury Mini Eggs (LOVE those!!!)

Thursday, April 21, 2011

It's my PaRtY

and I'll bark if I want to...bark if I want to..

In honor of you know who's (Molly) birthday today...
I want to play (a party) game!
And yes, there is a prize for the person with the most correct answers.
1- Leave your guesses below in the comment area of this post.
(please only one comment per person)
2- IN CASE OF A TIE, I'll place the names in the doggie bowl and draw the winner.

3- Please make sure I have a way to contact you or make sure you come back Friday to see if you are the winner.

4- The winner will be announced right here on Friday April 22nd.

So let's get this party started!
The game is called...
How well do you know me? (not me, but Molly)

1. What breed of dog am I?
2. Am I a boy or a girl?
3. What color am I?
4. How old am I today?
5. What is my official job title?
6. Whenever I go to Starbucks, mom always gets me this, _____.
7. In 2006, my mug (face) appeared in print in, ______.

Here is the prize you are playing for,
A Puppy Love Necklace

Giveaway Prize

In honor of this weeks festivities, this weeks goodies are all about the dogs!

Game is now closed.
 I'll announce the winner very soon!

Monday, April 18, 2011

bound to happen

Half Dome

Half Dome

It was bound to happen...
This year Yosemite decided to make it mandatory to have a permit (7 days a week) to hike Halfdome.
Last year (when we hiked it) you only had to have a permit if you hiked it on Friday, Saturday or Sunday (the busiest days)
So when my sister said she really wanted to hike Halfdome this year with us, we've been trying to get permits, but no luck. Permits are only $1.50 each with a limit of 4. But getting your hands on them is difficult, they sell out FAST! There is a note on Yosemite's website that says-
NOTE: This hiking permit is transferable, but cannot b e resold or auctioned.
Resale of this permit is a violation of Title 36, Code of Federal Regulations, section 1.6. You are allowed to give this permit to anyone else, but each permit can only be used once.
But we are starting to find permits being auctioned on ebay and on Craigslist for more than $100 per permit.
I wish Yosemite would go back to the way it was last year...

On a brighter note, something fun is happening here (right here) this Thursday (April 21st)
So mark your calendar and wear your party hat, it's going to be fun!

Friday, April 15, 2011

Tide Pools

Lampwork Tide Pool Pendant

Lampwork Tide Pool Pendant

I've been working on Tide Pool Pendants...
I love the teeny tiny abalone shell and the mini starfish in these pendants above. If you'd like to see all the pendants, click here.

Remember free shipping on my website & my Etsy store ends tonight, so have fun!

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Bead Table Wednesday

website 4900 (650 x 433)

website 4888 (650 x 433)

website 4897 (650 x 433)

website 4896 (650 x 433)

I have mentioned it before, silver prices are at an all time high, it's CRAZY!
Yesterday I noticed the little clay pot on my work table that holds my scrap sterling silver.

Silver now at almost $40.00 a troy ounce, I decided it was time to turn in my scraps...
I was surprised that this little clay pot held almost $200 worth of scraps.

What's on your bead table?

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Free Shipping

I want to help ease the pain...
So now through April 15th, there is FREE SHIPPING on my website.

Plus, you can get FREE SHIPPING in my Etsy store by using the coupon code FREESHIPPING (one word) when checking out.

Monday, April 11, 2011

Winner Winner Chicken Dinner

And the winner of Friday's giveaway is number 9...who was Kristin Geber!
Congrats Kristin!!!
(send me your mailing address Kristin)

Didn't win this time? No worries I have another fun giveaway coming very very soon and it's a good one!

Align Center

Friday, April 8, 2011

Happ-Bee Friday {giveaway}

Bee-Happy Lampwork Beads

Bunny Hop Lampwork Necklace

Happ-Bee Friday!

I've been in a Spring fever kind of mood this week (inspiration for this weeks beads of course)
If you'd like to check out this weeks goodies, I have some new things here and here too.

Plus, a little giveaway...
Baby Easter Egg Fairy {giveaway}

If you'd like a chance to win a little baby Easter Egg Fairy of your own .
Just leave a comment on this post below. I'll give you over the weekend to do so and I'll pick a winner early Monday morning using
It's that easy peasy...Good luck!
Drawing closed...I'll post the winner in the morning, Good Luck!

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

I've been working on lots of orders this week...but I wanted to pop in and share funny!

Monday, April 4, 2011

Friday, April 1, 2011

No Foolin'

Lampwork Dog Ring

Lampwork Dog Ring

No foolin'
How cute is this ring...
Perfect for the dog lover.

Weekend plans?
a little working (D.O.T.M. orders)
a little playing (in the's 80 degrees right now!)
deliver paper work to the accountant (nothing like waiting until the last minute)

What are your weekend plans?


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Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Harbor Seals' Whiskers as Good at Detecting Fish as Echolocating Dolphins, Researchers Find

When a hungry harbor seal sets off in pursuit of a fish diner, the animal has a secret weapon in its tracking arsenal: its whiskers. Detecting hydrodynamic trails in water with their sensitive whiskers, seals easily track passing fish even in the most turbid conditions. Wolf Hanke from the University of Rostock, Germany, explains that blindfolded seals can track passing mini-submarines for a distance of 40m before the wake peters out. However, the hydrodynamic trails left by subs are different from those produced by fish fins, so how long could a seal track a trail generated by a moving fin before the turbulence became too faint to follow?

Hanke and his colleagues published their discovery that the seals can pick up fin trails as long as 35 seconds after the fin passed by in The Journal of Experimental Biology.

PhD student Sven Wieskotten, together with Hanke, Guido Dehnhardt, Björn Mauck and Lars Miersch, decided to find out how 6-year-old Henry, a harbor seal living at the Marine Science Centre, Germany, would respond to aging hydrodynamic trails. Isolating a section of calm water in a subsurface enclosure, Wieskotten and Hanke covered Henry's eyes with a blindfold and trained him to poke his head into the Perspex box a few seconds after they had swept a small rubber fin through the still water. Then they trained Henry to indicate which direction he thought the fin had moved by rewarding him with a tasty fish snack whenever he was correct.

After two months of training, Henry was ready to tell the team which direction he thought the fin was moving. Guided only by his whiskers, the team allowed Henry to swim into the enclosure 5s after the fin swept through the water and was delighted when Henry successfully identified which direction the fin had moved with over 90% accuracy. Gradually increasing the length of the delay, Wieskotten and his colleagues were amazed that even after a 35-second delay Henry was able to tell them which direction the fin had passed with 70% accuracy. However, after a 40-second delay, Henry lost the trail.

Curious to find out more about the fin's decaying trail, the team added microscopic spheres to the water and filmed them as they swirled through a plane of laser light. Analysing the particles' movements, they found spinning vortices producing jets of water that were very similar to those found in genuine fish wakes. Also, the wake became more dispersed as it decayed, covering a width of 20 cm 5 seconds after the fin swept past and expanding to 50 cm 30 seconds later. And when the team filmed the wake's interaction with Henry's whiskers, they could see Henry twitch his head in the direction that the fin had moved within 0.5 second of the plume touching his whiskers. The wake only had to brush over the seal's whiskers for him to know which direction the fin had passed.

The team suspects that harbor seals sense the structure of the wake's vortices and jets to determine which direction a fin moved and is amazed that the animals can still detect a fin's motion over half a minute later. "A fish can cover tens and hundreds of meters in that time, so vibrissae [whiskers] compare well with the performance of whales and dolphins by echolocation," says Hanke.

Wieskotten, S., Dehnhardt, G., Mauck, B., Miersch, L. and Hanke, W. Hydrodynamic determination of the moving direction of an artificial fin by a harbour seal (Phoca vitulina). Journal of Experimental Biology, 2010; 213: 2194-2200

No comments:


text:
Saturday, July 25, 2009

Beautiful Hats from Barbara

These gorgeous caps were made and donated to Marine Corps Kids by Barbara from New Hampshire.

The yarns are lovely - very soft, warm and pretty.

These hats are beautifully made.

I'm sure that they will be cherished by the new moms that receive them.

Thank you, Barbara!

1 comment:

kathy said...

What beautiful hats and so much love.


text:
Representing Alexandria, Arlington, and Fairfax

Newsletter - January 7, 2017

Read other newsletters

Mark's Radio/TV Website

 On the website,
via email,
on Facebook,
or on Twitter.

301 King St
Alexandria, VA 22314
201 N. 9th St
Richmond, VA 23219

January 10: Last Event Before Session!

You are Invited to a Special Event to Support
Delegate Mark Levine and Virginia Democrats...

'Twas the Night Before Richmond

What do you want me to do in Richmond? Want to know my plans?

On Tuesday, the Tenth of January -- the night before session -- from 7 to 9 pm, you are invited to attend a fundraiser in the beautiful Belle View neighborhood just south of Old Town. I will literally drive to Richmond that evening after the event.
Please come "see me off to Richmond" at the home of
Dr. Kate Tulenko, 6400 15th Street in Alexandria.

I will be running for re-election in 2017 and could use your help. Plus we can use the funds raised to help elect Democrats throughout the Commonwealth.

This is your last chance to hear what's on tap for the 2017 session and what I will be working on. I'm eager to hear from you about your priorities.
Sponsorship Levels:
Progressive Champion-$500
Please contact us if you would like to attend but can't afford these levels.

 'Twas the Night Before Richmond

'Twas the night before Richmond,
And all through the House [of Delegates]
Democrats were stirring,
Determined to oust
The terrible orange monster
Devastating the land.
Since he'd lost by 3 million votes,
They strived to understand
How an archaic system
Had chosen this guy,
So ignorant, so crass,
So determined to lie.
They knew only one way
To take on this fiend:
Gather in Virginia,
Prep for 2017.
The new year would be
America's first
Opportunity to show
How we felt 'bout the worst
President ever elected
And State Republicans too.
We had to defend Virginia.
We had much work to do:
Elect Northam and Herring
And Blue Delegates galore.
We needed our champions
To run up the score.
We'd meet at Dr. Kate Tulenko's
On a cold Tuesday night.
January 10 at 7 pm,
We'd start making it right.
At 6400 15th Street,
We'd hear Mark Levine,
The Delegate who represents us,
Our voice in '17.
We'd check out Mark's strategies
He'd hear from us too.
We must all work together
To turn Virginia Blue
We'll gather large numbers
And develop insight
On the best ways to save us
From the alt-right.
So please mark your calendar.
Please join in the fight
To make Virginia fair for everyone
To bring us all a good night.

Session starts on January 11th!

Starting this Wednesday through February 25th, I'll be down in Richmond fighting for our progressive values every day. If you're making the trip down to Richmond any day during session, make sure to stop by my office, I'd love to hear from you.
Things move fast during session, so I'll have a lot more to report next week and every week through the end of February. You can expect this newsletter to arrive every Sunday morning to update you on the latest happenings in the General Assembly and what it means for you.

Alexandria Dem. Committee Meeting

Join me at ADC's first meeting of the year at the Minnie Howard School (3801 W. Braddock Rd, Alexandria, VA 22302) on Monday, January 9th at 7:30pm. It's a great way to get more politically engaged, and you can hear me speak briefly about the upcoming session. Come by and say hi on one of my last nights here in Northern Virginia.

Sunday, Jan. 22nd at 1:00 pm

at Los Tios

Please join us for Mark's Monthly Meetup at 1:00 pm, Sunday, January 22nd, at Los Tios Mexican Grill in Del Ray, located at 2615 Mount Vernon Avenue, Alexandria.
Like all Mark's Monthly Meetups, there is no donation required. It's just a place to sit and talk and, for most of us, eat. I always want to know what's on the mind of my constituents and supporters.

We had a record turnout (almost 50 people)
for the December Monthly Meetup!
Please join us again in January.

Mid-Session Town Hall with Sen. Adam Ebbin

Sen. Adam Ebbin and I will be at the Mr. Vernon Community School (2601 Commonwealth Ave, Alexandria, VA 22305) on Saturday January 28th at 10 am. We'll be filling you in on everything happening down in Richmond, and taking your questions on the issues that matter to you. Please come by and make your voice heard.

Thank you for reading this far!
Now please help.

If you support the work I'm doing and that other Democrats in the General Assembly are doing, we could use your help. I prepare these email newsletters myself, but we need funds to get the word out to others who aren't on this list and to help bring more Democrats into the House of Delegates, especially in this Election Year of 2017.
I've given so much money to the House Democratic Caucus that I've exhausted my funds. I also need money so that I can give out snow alerts and pay for the program that sends you this very email.
Oh yeah, and I am running for re-election in 2017. So please help if you can.
Can you chip in $50, $100, or $500 so that we can fill the campaign coffers and turn more seats blue? Please donate whatever you can by clicking the big blue button below.

If you donate at least $25 and make a request at, I will send you a free pocket United States Constitution, just like the one I always keep with me.

It is my honor and privilege to serve you.

Delegate Mark Levine

Serving Alexandria, Arlington, and Fairfax
     in Virginia's 45th District

P.S. Please donate whatever you can by clicking here. Please help me support fellow Democrats to increase our numbers in the General Assembly.


text:
CHARLTON – It’s just not enough.

After six years and four expansions and moves, Tree House Brewing Company just can’t keep up with demand.

When Tree House opened its 129 Sturbridge Road brewery in Charlton in July, they finally thought they were going to meet demand, co-owner Dean Rohan said.

They were mistaken.

“We’re still running out (of beer),” said Rohan. “We were getting 5,000 people a week (in Monson). Now we’re getting 15,000. It’s crazy.”

Rowan, brewer Nate Lanier and Damien Goudreau opened Tree House in a small Brimfield barn in 2011. After a neighborhood dispute and growing beyond their capability, they moved to the new location on a farm in Monson, where their IPAs such as Julius, Alter Ego, Green and Bright, attracted thousands of people to the brewery each weekend for growler fills.

They expanded on the farm in Monson, building and opening a much larger brewing facility on the same grounds and added canning. That did nothing but increase the demand, forcing them to open the new Charlton brewery.

The new brewery is one of the largest in Massachusetts, and one of the nicest. The taproom is large and spacious and features a fully functional bar with taps for both pints and growler fills. The brewery is 55,000 square feet, and in only two months, they are already brewing about double the amount of beer they were brewing in Monson, Rohan said.

Currently, Tree House is on pace to brew 28,000 to 30,000 barrels of beer this year (a barrel equals 31 gallons), but with the equipment they own, they could increase to almost 80,000 barrels.

“The plan is to brew as much beer as we can brew and keep the quality the same,” said Rohan. “The guys are all training on the new system and learning the new system.”

Currently, Tree House sells cans of beer on Wednesdays through Fridays. Each week and each day will have different beers and different limits. On Saturdays (and after the rush during the week), Tree House will begin pouring beers in the taproom (a maximum of two per person).

The goal, Rohan said, is to be able to brew enough beer that there aren’t hundreds, even thousands of people, waiting in line every day when they open because they fear the beer will sell out. He said they hope to have a steady stream of beer available so they can have pints throughout the day, can sales all day and then use the outdoor pavilion area where people can hang out, drink beer and listen to live music.

Also, Tree House is working to reopen the Monson facility after it does some renovations inside and outside. That will allow them to brew more of their ever popular IPAs and stouts, as well as to add some experimental beers such as sours, Rohan said. He said they also hope to restart growler fills “fairly soon.”

“It all comes down to the beer,” said Rohan. “I really believe we brew some of the best beers in the world. That’s why it remains so popular.”

Norman Miller is a Daily News staff writer. Email him at or call 508-626-3823. Check out the Beer Nut blog at Follow him on Twitter and Instagram @RealBeerNut and on Facebook at


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Thursday, January 6, 2011

London, England

We left the base on a Monday night and drove on a tour bus about 2 hours to the ferry in Hoek van Holland, about 20 km from Rotterdam.  Border patrol checked our passports and we walked onto the ferry.  As we were pulling up we thought there was a cruise ship in the port, but that was our ferry!  It was huge, and about 2 months old.  It had a movie theater, duty free shop, casino, arcade, and 2 restuarants.  We had a cabin to sleep in overnight while we crossed the water, it had bunk bed, a couch, tv, and a bathroom with a sink, toilet and a shower.  It was a lot nicer than we were expecting.  We got up in the morning for breakfast when we pulled into port in England, Harmisch, if I remember correctly.  Our breakfast was included in the trip so that was nice.  When we got off we had a 2 hour bus ride to London, driving on the other side of the road :)  We picked up our tour guide next to The Tower of London, and he guided us around for about 3 hours.  We saw all of the major sites, plus some side streets and learned a lot about the city.  We definitely want to go back in the summer when the weather is nicer and there's no fog.

In our room

On the way to London

St. Paul's Cathedral

Tower of London

Brice fell asleep walking around the Christmas market

Tower Bridge

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Move-In Ready Tri-Level Home!

16836 SE 251st St, Covington 98042

**OPEN HOUSE on SUNDAY, June 4th from 1-4pm**

WADAGONOLO-Pending Photo

Gorgeous, move-in ready tri-level home in the Emerald Downs neighborhood in Covington! It’s hard to improve on perfection, but this well-cared for 4 bed, 2.25 bath tri-level comes close. The main floor has an open concept living room & dining room. Updated kitchen opens to the breakfast nook & overlooks the fully-fenced backyard through the oversized sliding glass door. Plenty of space for entertaining on the stamped concrete patio outside. Upstairs you’ll find the master bedroom & ensuite, two secondary bedrooms and a full bathroom. Downstairs you’ll find a large bedroom (or bonus room!) and a half bathroom/laundry room. Located in a highly desired neighborhood, within walking distance to middle & high schools, just minutes to Costco, Covington shopping & amenities, and Hwy 18. 1 Year Home Warranty Included. Click HERE for more details. Contact me today to schedule a tour.

001_Front of Home009_Hallway Entrance to Kitchen004_Living Room006_Living Room005_Living Room and Entry007_Dining Room008_Dining Room010_Kitchen011_View from Kitchen of Back Yard012_Kitchen and Breakfast Nook013_Breakfast Nook014_Kitchen018_Upstairs Bedroom #2

019_Upstairs Bathroom #2015_Upstairs Bedroom016_Upstairs Master Bedroom017_Master Bathroom020_Downstairs Rec Room021_Downstairs Rec Room022_Laundry023_Back of Home025_Back Yard


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Testimonial: Marti is the ultimate negotiator!

Thanks to the Knobloch Family for this five-star review on Zillow. Team Marti helped sell their single-family Auburn home for approximately $525,000.

Testimonial: Team Marti is amazing!“Marti is the ultimate negotiator. She works hard to get your house sold and is the utmost professional when dealing with the difficult emotions of both seller and buyer.

She makes things happen. She knows areas thoroughly and has been active in real estate for a long time. We so appreciated her calmness and let’s get this done attitude!! Thanks Marti for everything.”

~ Knobloch Family on Zillow (9/17/15)

About Marti Reeder

I am a full-time, full-service REALTOR® for John L. Scott, Kent-Covington, Washington. Serving primarily the South Puget Sound, my goal is to provide my clients with first class service and to make the home buying or home selling process as simple as possible.

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895 CR 11 Prattsville, NY 12468

Greene County

  • MLS Number 116134
  • Style 1 1/2 Stories, Contemporary
  • Year Built 2009
  • Acreage 3.8
  • Municipality Prattsville
  • School District Gilboa
  • Parking Attached
  • Water Well
  • Sewer Septic Tank

Property Description For 895 CR 11 Prattsville, NY 12468

Contemporary home in excellent condition situated on 3.8 acres of usable flat land with partial mountain views in summer and full mountain views in the other three seasons. Beautiful in ground heated pool 10 x 20 with endless pool motor for swimming laps. Pool is covered with Aqua Shield that slides open. Windham ski mountain is 15 minutes, Hunter & Plattekill Ski areas 20 to 25 minutes. Premier mountain biking and golf courses are located in Windham. House is located in the township of Historic Prattville.
Listing presented by

Listing courtesy of Coldwell Banker Village Green - Windham, Sheila Word

Information Unavailable

Loan Type 5 Yr ARM 7 Yr ARM 15 Yr Fixed 30 Yr Fixed
Interest Rate 2.746% 2.961% 3.182% 4.221%
Monthly Mortgage Amount $1,387 $1,426 $2,378 $1,667
Monthly Mortgage Insurance $0 $0 $0 $0
Monthly Estimated Total $1,387 $1,426 $2,378 $1,667
Thoroughbred Mortgage

Information believed accurate but not warranted. The data relating to real estate for sale or lease on this web site comes in part from the Internet Data Xchange. Real estate listings held by brokerage firms other than Houlihan Lawrence are marked with the Internet Data Xchange logo or thumbnail logo and detailed information about them includes the name of the listing broker. Source: Columbia Greene Northern Dutchess MLS.


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Showing 20 from 148 Items
Showing producers matching cut-flowers.

  • Maryland's Best Producer Icon

    Adkins Farm Market

    410-548-1478 | 31493 Mt. Herman Road, Salisbury, MD, 21801
    Come take a mini vacation in the country this fall at our corn maze and play area. We offer flowers in the spring, fresh fruits and veggies all summer and all of your fall decorating needs and pick your own pumpkins. Painted gourds, jams and honey. We also have educational school sessions,...
  • Maryland's Best Producer Icon

    All American Farm - Produce and Flowers

    410-562-8608 | 5935 Talbot Rd, Lothian, MD, 20711
    On our farm, we have Potted Tomatoes, Cucumbers, Okra Plants, Tomato Plants, Flower Hanging Baskets, Vegetable Hanging Baskets, Herbs and much more! We are open Saturday and Sundays 10-6 pm and some weekdays. Flower and Vegetable plant sales start in April! Pre-started vegetables for containers,...
  • Maryland's Best Producer Icon

    American Market at National Harbor

    301-910-8076 | American Way, National Harbor, MD, 20745
    Farmers / vendors include: - Tysons Farms - Miller Farms - Wilhoit's Roasted Nuts - Gourmet Creations by Joni - G's Pierogies - Allie & Trish Sweets - Bigg Poppas Kettle Korn - Havana Banana Bread - The Sweetest Surrender Sorbet - E T Textiles - Zuresh - Fatima Silver...
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    Back 40 Farm

    410-562-5544 | 3782 Hardesty Road, Harwood, MD, 20776
    Our farm is located at 3782 Hardesty Road in Harwood in southern Anne Arundel County. We grow approximately 50 acres of produce each year. We pick our farm fresh produce daily and then wholesale or retail it at one of our two roadside stands that are located in southern Anne Arundel County. Our...
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    Beavers Everlasting Farm

    410-734-6679 | 3131 Nova Scotia Road, Bel Air, MD, 21015
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    Behnke Nurseries Garden Center (Potomac)

    302-983-9200 | 9545 River Road, Potomac, MD, 20854
    Behnke Nurseries today reflects the same old-fashioned principles set by our founders. We offer the widest practical selection of top quality plants, with knowledgeable staff to assist in plant choices and educate in plant care. Behnke Nurseries now enjoys nationwide recognition as...
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    Bel Air Farmers' Market

    410-638-4540 | 2 S. Bond Street (Mary Risteau Building Parking Lot), Bel Air, MD, 21014-3737
    Farmers/producers include: Andy s Eggs & Andrew s Garden Bees by the Bay Beichlers Beyond Boordy Vineyards Brad s Produce, LLC The Breadery Brogue Hydroponics Brooms Bloom & Woolsey Farm Lamb Brown Croft Farm LLC Calvert s Gift Farm (Certified Organic) Cedar Hill Farm, Inc....
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    Belle Creek Farm

    301-695-3745 | 9703 Bethel Road, Frederick, MD, 21702
    We are located just north of Frederick and sell pastured eggs and pastured poultry in season. We also have rabbit and pork for sale seasonally. We specialize in heritage dry beans and...
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    Blueberry Hill Vegetables

    301-842-1191 | 12739 Cohill Rd, Clear Spring, MD, 21722
    Blueberry Hill Farm is a Certified Organic Grower of fruits, vegetables, cut flowers, and containerized ornamental plants. We enjoy producing the most flavorful and purest food...
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    Brookeville Beer Farm Farmers Market

    301-792-9448 | 20315 Georgia Avenue, Brookeville, MD 20833
    Click Here to See Vendors on interactive map. We accept credit cards, Level Up, SNAP / EBT.  We accept and match WIC and Senior vouchers in the summer...
  • Maryland's Best Producer Icon

    Butler's Orchard

    301-972-3299 | 22222 Davis Mill Road, Germantown, MD, 20876
    Montgomery County's premier Pick Your Own farm. Farm Market: May 6- December 24. Large selection of seasonal fruits and vegetables, preserves, honey, and home-baked goods. It's the holiday season! Come visit Butler's Orchard for our Annual Holiday Open House on Nov 18th and 19th. Get your...
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    Butter Pot Farm

    410-228-3818 | 5314-2 Ross Neck Road, Cambridge, MD, 21613
    Butter Pot Farm's Maryland Department of Agriculture Certified Organic produce is available at: *St. Michaels Fresh Farm Market - Saturdays - 8:00am-Noon, April thru October *Oxford Farmers' Market - Wednesdays - 4-6:30pm, May thru October *Cambridge Main Street Farmer's Market - Thursdays -...
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    C & E Farm, LLC

    301-352-2958 | 11415 Old Pond Drive, Glen Dale, MD, 20769
    Specialize in ethnic produce, including kallalloo, potato greens,...


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Thursday, May 5, 2016

Navajo Tacos

While in Arizona, my family and I discovered Navajo Tacos. We love them! Basically they are taco filling on Navajo Fry Bread. My grandkids love the Fry Bread all by itself, especially with honey. It's a bit labor intensive, but worth the work.
Fry Bread
6 cups of flour
2 TBSP of baking powder
1 TBSP of quick rising yeast
2 TBSP sugar
3 TBSP of softened butter or shortening
1 1/2 cup warm water
1/2 cup of milk
 2 cups of vegatable oil for frying.

Mix all dry ingredients into a large bowl. The bowl I use is a huge stainless steel bowl. Then cut in softened butter or shortening. I use my fingers to incorporate through the flour until the flour looks grainy. Mix your milk with the water and then slowly add to the flour a little at a time. Work into a dough ball, but don't over knead or your bread will turn out tough.Cover with a damp towel and set in a warm place. Let dough rise 1 - 2 hours.
Roll out golf ball size pieces of dough into 1/4 thick discs. If you doing this alone, then you can stack them up on wax paper to separate. I usually make these when my daughter Angela is here to help. She fries and I roll out the dough.
Heat up your vegetable oil on med-high heat in a large skillet. Put a small peice of dough. when it floats to the top, the oil is ready. Have a large cookie sheet lined with paper towels to put your Fry Bread on to drain. Cook your Fry bread unitl brown on both sides, turning once.  This recipe makes 16 - 20 pieces of delicious Fry Bread!(Put your finished fry bread into a warm oven to keep warm until ready to serve.)

Taco Meat
3 lbs of lean ground beef
1 can of chopped hatch green chilies
1 can of Rotel Tomatoes with green chilies
4 TSP of garlic powder
4 TSP of cumin powder
4 TSP of chili powder
4 TSP of beef bouillon powder
1/2 large onion chopped
Brown the ground beef on a medium heat. Add the onion and saute until the onion is soft. Drain grease. Add the remaining ingredients and turn to low heat and cover. Let simmer for at least an hour, checking and stirring. Don't let the meat cook dry. Add a little water to keep it moist. the longer you let it simmer, the more tender the ground beef will be, just saying...

Put it all together now!

I warm up a can of Bushes Pinto Beans. No seasoning, and this is the only brand I recommend.
1 package of shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1 bag of shredded lettuce
2 or 3 chopped tomatoes
1 jar of your favorite salsa
1 can of corn or frozen corn warmed up

Build you Navajo taco to suit yourself. I use a slotted spoon and put some drained meat, drained beans, cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, and salsa on mine. You can put sour cream, avocados, or substitute black beans for the pintos. Recently, I experimented with the salsa after receiving complaints the salsa I was buying wasn't spicy enough. I took a can of the smoked chipotle peppers in moke sauce and used my immersion blender stick to chopped it up really fine. I added that to the salsa. Boy, it's plenty spicy now and has that smoky taste. Family is happy now and loves it.

Hope you like my recipe. You know you can half it up if you don't want to make so much. As is, it fed 10 people with leftovers. Not a lot of leftovers, but enough for some lunches the next day for 4 of us.  Anyway, enjoy!

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Show some love and let me know what you think! I love comments!


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US House Judiciary Committee Schedules Hearing On Microsoft-Yahoo! For Feb. 8

There’s an ultra-slim chance that Microsoft’s $44.6bn proposal for the controlling stake in Yahoo! won’t go over with regulators. But the government nonetheless requires that Redmond go through the motions and sit before the House Judiciary Committee to explain its intentions prior to getting the notary’s approval. (Somehow I don’t think MSFT CEO Steve Ballmer likes the idea of Uncle Sam playing discerning daddy, but come what may, he’ll weather the scrutiny of Washington to ensure that he can unload those buckets of cash sitting idly in the bank.)

According to a report released by The Wall Street Journal and later relayed by MarketWatch, The HJC is scheduled to “convene a hearing on Feb. 8 to examine Microsoft Corp’s proposed takeover of Yahoo! Inc” where regulators will “consider what the impact on competition of a potential tie-up between the two Internet giants would be.”

microhooAs for my own take on the matter of legalities and appropriate business practices, I imagine Microsoft will receive a green light for the move. Microsoft is currently in third place - Yahoo! is in second - as far as Internet gigantism (financially speaking), and it would seem that the HJC would have to be extraordinarily stringent not to give the go-head, particular as Google appears to be moving ever farther ahead of the pack comprising the four largest entities on the Web.


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Crafting Your Social Media Budget: Experts Sound Off

Businesses have limited resources, and while social media tools are free, some tools — and the people who run them — come with a price tag. How is a company to divvy up its resources? Mashable spoke with several businesses, from startups to agencies, that have seen success with social; here, they outline their tips for success.

Overall, the general theme seems to be: Identify your audience and your goals, iterate and test new things, and then amplify what works, perhaps with paid tools. Before you jump in, though, think about your goals.

"Create budgets by mapping objectives to key performance indicators prior to allocating budget by channel, e.g. SEO, SEM, Facebook," says Curtis Hougland, CEO of Attention. "Social media is a behavior, not a channel. Facebook is not a strategy."

Target Your Audience

"Once you've identified your audience, it's time to bring that audience to your brand. Don't think of "fans" as people who already know who you are. Fans are a pool of people who could potentially become customers. For, our ads asked people to like our page if they love their cats, or love their dogs. This was a perfect demographic of potential customers, as we knew people that loved cats and dogs are also likely to be pet owners, and eventually, those people will have to feed their pets."
- Alex Zhardanovsky, co-founder, PetFlow

Allocate Resources From Traditional Advertising

"To do it well, social needs to be integrated into the organization in ways that support the company's primary operations, as well as its marketing initiatives. It's even better if it can be done in ways that enhance a company's product offerings. We've seen a lot of companies with isolated social teams struggle to find the resources necessary to do all of this while, at the same time, the companies' marketing budgets allow for tens — even hundreds — of millions of dollars to spend on traditional advertising. For those kinds of companies, reallocating just 1% of that budget to bolstering social in customer service and marketing can create a best-in-class social program and make a real difference."
- Aaron Shapiro, CEO at Huge

Look at the Numbers

"Analyze the current platforms that are already driving engagement. It is best to build upon an existing platform or community rather then start from scratch. Then, test a number of different campaigns (minimum four at a time) with small budgets. Once a winning campaign is identified, test three variations of that campaign. The more information you have about what drives engagement examples — time of day, language, imagery, etc. — the better you can execute an effective campaign.
- Kellee Khalil,

"While breaking down budgets is not my area of expertise — media folks usually do that — I have seen many crazy approaches to allocating budget over the years, from literally making it up to leading with TV and letting the rest fight for what was left over. At the end of the day, it again comes down to agreeing on a clear strategy and the metrics that guide it, and then using them to determine the right mix. There is a lot of emphasis on ROI, but unless that takes into account the cumulative effect of all the marketing channels, it will not be a good measure. Last-touch attribution kills good ideas that require multiple channels to live."
- Jonathan Lee, Vice President of Global Planning & Strategy at Huge

Paying the Price

"Distribution of media — paid, owned, earned and bartered — should always represent more than double the production cost, at a minimum. Too often, marketers build content without a clear understanding of how to build audience. Great creative, engaging content, must be conceived in the context of how it is consumed and shared through social media. While all marketing should be filtered through its potential for word-of-mouth, spending within social media environments should comprise a minimum of 10% of working media to complement other media."
- Curtis Hougland, CEO, Attention

"Since EdgeRank — the method by which Facebook figures out whether your content is to be shown to your fans — is so important to ensuring that your message reaches your audience, do not buy cheap fans! If someone offers to sell you 5,000 fans for $100, you are likely going to get low-quality fans, which will simply be "Likes" but not actually engage with your content. In fact, it can do more damage than good, since all those non-active fans will lower your EdgeRank, which will prevent your posts from reaching your real fans."
- Alex Zhardanovsky, co-founder, PetFlow

"When crafting our social media budget for, we took a look at where our users and audiences were coming from, and how they were sharing our content. We noticed tons of engagement coming from Facebook (especially through photos) and decided to put a test budget together to learn how we could bolster the community. While I would have liked to test with Twitter, our secondary social traffic referral, their minimums for testing campaigns were far too high ($5,000 for 3 months)."
- Kellee Khalil, founder and CEO,

"Facebook's Sponsored Stories are a great way to make sure that more people interact with and see your content, thereby boosting your EdgeRank, helping your other posts reach more of your own users. Sponsored Stories are significantly cheaper than traditional Facebook Flyers, since they keep the user within Facebook, rather than linking them out to an outside site."
- Alex Zhardanovsky, co-founder, PetFlow

You Don't Need to Shell Out Cold, Hard Cash

"Wow Bao got into social media because we didn't have a budget for advertising. What better way to advertise than to give away one's product? @BaoMouth searches the Internet for ways to reward people, giving away bao, full meals or mobile money."
- Geoff Alexander, managing partner, Wow Bao

"The great thing about social media is that you can do a lot of things for free, and you don't require much 'budget.' As we are a bootstrapped startup, we try and save every penny, and so, have not spent anything on our social media. But what I have had to think about is how to budget my team's time on our social media and do so in a way where there is a return on that investment.

"We have launched a concierge service where anyone can tweet to us or write on our Facebook wall, and someone from our editorial team will write back with restaurant recommendations. So if you can't be bothered with doing a search yourself or are on the fly, we can help you out. This has really resonated strongly with users, and that's the key!

"Also, in a more traditional sense, every month our team sits down and frames up what our editorial calendar is going to look like for our blog and our social media. We then execute around that calendar for the month. We really find a lot of success with our blog (powered by WordPress), our Twitter (using TweetDeck) and our Facebook Pages in getting an engaged audience. Each team member is responsible for different blog posts and content, so it is a shared effort."
- Sonia Kapadia, co-founder and CEO Taste Savant

Creativity and Strategy Lets Your Audience Market For You

“It's important to figure out which social media channels have the most impact for your business to determine where to allocate resources. In the case of Rent the Runway, we have learned that visual channels that foster social proof, like Pinterest and Facebook, are very powerful for us because a friend referring their friend to Rent the Runway is more powerful than the message coming from a stranger. Because of that, we focus on building a sense of community among our followers with smaller investment into advertising. Specifically on Facebook, our members are able to share photos of their Rent the Runway experience and how beautiful they looked — there's no better marketing tool than that! On Pinterest, our members act as curators of what to wear to a party or to a wedding, which helps others members cull down the options.”
- Jenn Hyman, Rent the Runway

Keep It Fresh

"Refresh your campaigns often! What worked in the past won't always work in the future. Over a period of time, campaigns go stale, and you will need to come up with new creative ideas to keep your community engaged."
- Kellee Khalil,

Image courtesy of iStockphoto, franckreporter


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Finally! YouTube Just Launched Its Own iPhone App

YouTube announced Tuesday that its long-awaited iPhone app is now available as a free download in the App Store.

In case that sounds like a news story from 2007, let's clarify: yes, there was a native YouTube app on the very first iPhone, and on every model since. But that app was made by Apple, not by YouTube. It featured an infamously poor selection of YouTube videos.

Until now, any iPhone owner that wanted a full YouTube experience had to go to in their Safari browser. Apple announced it was dumping its hobbled YouTube app earlier this year, clearing the way for the Google-owned video giant to produce its own version.

Less than a month later, that in-house version is ready for prime time — just one day before the expected launch of the iPhone 5 and iOS 6.

The timing is very interesting, and the fact that an exact App store launch time was given — 3:01am ET — suggests that Apple and Google collaborated behind the scenes to have the new YouTube app squared away in time for the launch.

It's also likely to be a cash bonanza for Google, which is finally able to show ads before YouTube videos on an iPhone app.

SEE ALSO: RIP YouTube App, 2007-2012: Why You Won't Be Missed

"The new iPhone app is available worldwide and unlocks tens of thousands of official music videos, as well as bringing lots of new features to improve finding and sharing awesome videos and channels," writes Andrey Doronichev, head of YouTube mobile, in a blog post. "It’s a new app built by YouTube engineers, to give our iPhone users the best mobile experience."

The app also features autocomplete search, much like Google Instant, with an emphasis on popular videos. To get to "Gangnam Style," for example, you're not going to have to type much more than "gan."

YouTube has been putting the emphasis on channels for a while now, and the app is no different. Swipe from the left, and you get a list of channels you're subscribed to.

Naturally, the app also lets you post videos to Twitter and Facebook with a tap — although Google+ gets pride of place, with the first sharing button.

One thing we'd like to see in the iPhone app: the same "watch it mostly offline" functionality that the Android YouTube app gained this summer.

The app will also work on the iPad, although Doronichev says his team is hard at work on a special iOS tablet version with more functionality.

What else would you like to see in YouTube's iPhone app? Let us know in the comments.


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KCRW Annual Masquerade Ball

Los Angeles, CA

A dance party with costume contests and concert performances

From 9 p.m. until 2 a.m.

At Park Plaza Hotel

Los Angeles, CA

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Posted in Masquerade Ball Events.

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Saturday, October 31, 2009

How to Get Free Cows on Farmville?

Of late I came to know of a little cheat/glitch in Farmville Dairy Farms. By using this little fun thing, you can get more and more free cows of different colors inside your dairy farm.

Requirements to perform this Glitch:

  • 10,000 coins to purchase a Dairy Farm (No need of this if you already have a Dairy Farm)
  • At least one cow of any color in your gift box
How to get more Cows than you have?
  • Go to the Farmville Market and buy a Dairy Farm (Not needed if you already have an empty Dairy Farm)
  • Open your Gift Box and instead of placing your cow anywhere on the farm, put it directly inside the Dairy Farm.
  • Now that your cow is placed inside the Dairy Farm, if you open your gift box again, you will find the same cow still residing there.
  • So repeat Step-2 again and on returning to the Gift Box, your cow is still supposed to be waiting for you there.
  • Keep repeating and getting new Free Cows of the same color as inside the Gift Box until you desire or have space for them.
Some friends have even claimed that they have managed to put more than 20 cows inside the same Dairy Farm but it is not confirmed. This glitch is working till this time (October 31' 2009) but I can not promise that it will continue to work.
Happy Farming

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• Mon - Fri - 8:00am - 6:00pm and Sat - 8:00am - 5:00pm
  • 1842 W. 12600 S., RIVERTON, UT 84065
  • (385) 695-6333

Goodyear Tires Riverton, Utah

Goodyear is one of the world’s leading tire companies with operations in most regions of the world and one of the most recognized brand names. Together with its U.S. and international subsidiaries, Goodyear develops, manufactures, markets, and distributes tires for most applications. It also manufactures and markets rubber-related chemicals for various applications.

Goodyear is one of the world’s largest operators of commercial truck service and tire retreading centers.  Goodyear manufactures its products in 47 facilities in 21 countries. It has marketing operations in almost every country around the world.

Consumer Tire Brands

Goodyear produces a wide range of tires for consumers all over the world. Across our brands, we offer all the benefits today’s drivers are looking for, from innovative technology and performance handling to all-weather reliability and affordable quality.

(source: goodyear.com)


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  • 1842 W. 12600 S., RIVERTON, UT 84065
  • (385) 695-6333

Kumho Tires Riverton, Utah

Kumho Tire is a high performance tire company that brings quality and innovative technology to consumers worldwide. With over 50 years of experience, Kumho Tire has transformed its humble beginning in South Korea into becoming the 9th largest tire manufacturer in the world. Kumho Tire USA is dedicated to ensuring the safety and performance of all our products to our customers.
(source: kumhotireusa.com)