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Lee Gary is an intimidating man, towering over most -- if not all -- the people he meets. Sitting in the offices of CASES -- a nonprofit group in Lower Manhattan that assists the formerly incarcerated -- Gary, built like the largest of linebackers, spilled over his black rolling chair, obviously uncomfortable.
He fidgeted. He seemed nervous.
But this was not the most compromising situation he has ever been in.
According to his estimate, Gary has been arrested 30 times in the last eight years, spending a total of a year and a half on Rikers Island -- the 400-acre facility yards from LaGuardia Airport that houses many of the city's accused and convicted criminals. Gary, a 49-year-old Bronx resident who is diagnosed with bipolar disorder, spent half of his time in a mental observation unit there. The rest was clocked in at the prison ward of Bellevue Hospital Center.
"It's horrible," Gary said of Rikers, anxiously rubbing the sides of his legs with his large palms. "You get guys hoarding food. You get guys that want to fight."
"The officers are not there to help you," said Gary. "You'll just sit there to rot."
But Gary had company -- lots of it.
The percentage of Rikers inmates with mental illness has reached its highest level in eight years. While the number of people sent to Rikers Island every year continues to fall -- bucking a national trend-- those that remain, like Gary, keep coming -- often.
In what one expert refers to as a "population distillation," the number of people classified as mentally ill on the island has gone from 25 percent in 2004 to 32 percent today, according to the city Department of Correction. If the trend continues, Rikers Island could resemble the shuttered mental institutions of the 1970s instead of the correctional facility there now.
"Mentally ill inmates are less likely to be released. They are perhaps not as well equipped to manipulate the system. Their cases are more complex," said Martin Horn, the former commissioner of the Department of Correction. "All of those things, make them harder. They are the ones most likely to be there."
Advocates and experts acknowledge the city has taken steps to address the challenges this population presents. But following a decade-long court case over the quality of mental health care, they claim inmates with mental illness continue to fall through the cracks. They say more needs to be done to tackle the treatment, the recidivism rate and the overall number of mentally ill on Rikers -- long term.
These are Rikers' regulars and, for now, they don't appear to be going anywhere.
After Midnight
Circa 1999, it could be 2 a.m. Neon signs might penetrate the pitch-black sky in the middle of Queens Plaza -- a former hotbed of liquor stores, strip clubs and homelessness. Imagine the Rikers Island shuttle bus roaring up, opening its doors and inmates pouring out. Those with mental illness would be among them.
They would have subway fare, but many had nowhere to go.
More than a decade ago, the Urban Justice Center filed a lawsuit, commonly referred to as "Brad H," against the city claiming it failed to provide adequate discharge planning for inmates with mental illness. Advocates and experts contend proper planning for inmates outside of the jail's cement walls will successfully halt the revolving door of incarceration for Rikers' regulars.
Under a settlement reached in 2003, any inmate who stays on the island for more than 24 hours and sees a mental health staffer more than twice must receive a "discharge plan" -- a roadmap to services, housing and hopefully a normal life. When released, inmates must have medication for seven days, leave the island during daylight, be referred to a treatment provider and start the application process for supportive housing or reactivating Medicaid benefits. Inmates are also free to deny these services.
In 2003, the court appointed monitors -- who declined to be interviewed for this story -- to oversee the transition for the next five years.
Because of counter suits, that five-year period was extended until the summer of 2009. The center, which claims the city has not met its discharge planning goals, then asked the court to extend the monitoring for another two years.
In August, the city successfully convinced the courts on appeal that the monitoring period had expired and the Urban Justice Center had no grounds to extend it. The center has appealed to the state's highest court, which will soon decide whether to hear the case.
While the case is on appeal, the monitoring continues at Rikers.
"When people with mental illness are released from city jails today, the services they receive vary widely. Some get real discharge planning, and that's an improvement from a decade ago -- but too many still do not," said Jennifer J. Parish, the director of criminal justice advocacy at the Urban Justice Center's Mental Health Project. "The city has not yet lived up to the commitment they made when they settled the case in 2003."
Part of the so-called failures at Rikers is communication. There are four city agencies that have some hand in the delivery of health care -- from start to finish -- in addition to a for-profit, private corporation, PHS Correctional Healthcare.
Some say the correctional system itself is the problem -- a jail is not conducive to treatment and its confines aggravate the mentally ill.
Or maybe it's staffing. The department of health, in particular, critics say, has been plagued by high turnover rates. (The department did not provide Gotham Gazette with turnover figures for this story.)
All of this leaves advocates wondering whether inmates with severe mental illness are leaving the island without the proper preparation, reentering society just as unstable as when they left it and destined to return to Rikers.
Left Behind
Marcelene J., according to an affidavit filed with the state Supreme Court, could not get any treatment after leaving Rikers in October 2008. Marcelene, a 23-year-old homeless woman who is diagnosed with bipolar and schizoaffective disorder, was referred to Interfaith Medical Center in Brooklyn upon her release by a Department of Health and Mental Hygiene discharge planner.
When she got to the hospital, she was told she didn't have an appointment. No one knew who she was or that she was coming.
So she left, according to the court filing.
"I was not able to continue my medication because I did not have any place to get ongoing mental health treatment," Marcelene wrote. "I would like to receive psychiatric medication and therapy because I continue to have mood swings and the voices I hear never seem to go away."
Darryl C, according to the court filing, has been bouncing between hospitals, prison and Rikers almost his whole life. A heroin user diagnosed with depression and generalized anxiety disorder, he first received treatment at Rikers in 1990.
During his recent stint there in late January 2009, following an arrest for petit larceny and possession of stolen property, doctors on Rikers refused to treat Darryl, despite his previous medical history, according to the court filing.
He was removed from mental health status the next month.
"I do not want to use heroin again," Darryl wrote. "I want to get help for my mental illness."
According to the most recent monitoring report released in July, many "pivotal monitoring, programmatic and legal issues remain unresolved" in the delivery of discharge planning services. Inmates are misclassified, the report states. Computer files put them in a less severe category of mental illness, while the inmate's physical medical chart may say otherwise. Inmates were not referred to programs that address more serious mental health problems, the report states, and some are still leaving Rikers at night.
The monitors criticize inmates' refusal of treatment, questioning whether discharge planners make an honest effort to convince this difficult and untrusting population to get help.
In response, a spokesperson for the health department said it has been working to increase the accuracy of its electronic records. According to the department, a patient must be "motivated" to receive proper follow-up care. The agency said it is training staff to help engage inmates to get the assistance they need.
Of the 33 areas the monitors evaluate, the city was found "noncompliant" in 10, according to the latest report, which examines a sample of inmates' records. Of those, the city made the appropriate appointment referral only 57 percent of the time. Just 22 percent of the eligible cases received the appropriate referral for supportive housing, according to the report, and 82 percent were sent to the right place for case management. In five areas, results were inconclusive.
Some of the city's figures dispute the monitor's findings and in many cases show it meeting and surpassing its goals. But the reliability of those figures has been repeatedly questioned by the court appointed monitors.
In the areas the health department did acknowledge it failed to meet the court's requirements, staff did perform the relevant tasks, but not within the required timeline, according to the department.
"While it's in appeal, we are complying with the requirements," said Deputy Commissioner Louise Cohen of the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene in response to questions about the lawsuit. "The city is committed and we are certainly committed as an agency to do discharge planning in the best way that we can for the mentally ill."
Should the state Court of Appeals refuse to hear the latest iteration of the litigation or side in favor of the city, Cohen said the city would likely modify its discharge planning process.
The settlement focuses on time restrictions, such as ensuring an inmate referred to the Rikers mental health staff is seen within 72 hours. Cohen said the department would prefer to focus on results. She declined to give specifics on the proposals the department is considering.
"The city would continue to hold itself accountable for discharge planning for those that are mentally ill," said Cohen. "I think it's a question of what that looks like."
Within Rikers Walls
"Single file, ladies," called Deputy Warden Antonio Cuin down the halls of the Rose M. Singer Center, the women's facility on Rikers Island. Two women in jumpsuits several yards ahead followed the order.
Red and yellow stripes line the floor of the fluorescent-lit corridor. Inmates on either side. Staff in the center.
Asked why the inmates had to walk in a straight line, military-style, Cuin explained: "It's just control. That's what it is."
Later on, Corrections Commissioner Dora Schriro explained further.
"Our primary mandate to focus on is 'Safety Now,'" said Schriro, detailing her new department philosophy. "The statute, at a minimum, expects the Department of Correction to prevent bad things from happening."
Schriro just celebrated a full year on the job. She was previously the head of corrections in Arizona and Missouri and had a brief stint as an advisor on immigration in the Department of Homeland Security.
So, her personal philosophy is still being teased out here on Rikers. Nonetheless, inmates aren't in rehab, although Cuin said they hold daily Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous meetings and regular group therapy sessions at the women's facility. It's a jail.
Balancing safety with required mental health care can be precarious -- especially when two thirds of the violent incidents that occur at Rikers involve someone classified as mentally ill, said Schriro.
Health care comes second.
"It's only after they have symptoms or behaviors that by the Department of Corrections standards are dangerous," said Dwayne Mayes, executive director of the Howie the Harp program, a peer advocacy group for the mentally ill that contracts with the health department at Rikers. "They are subjective to punitive measures as opposed to health measures."
And some results are mixed.
James, whose first and last name are being withheld due to safety and privacy concerns, has battled schizoaffective and bipolar disorders since 2003, said his mother, Elizabeth, whose middle name only is being used.
But James early this year had been taken off of his medication by a therapist in the Bronx, Elizabeth said. On Mother's Day he was riding the bus when he felt threatened by a female passenger. James found a stray piece of glass, slashed her face and ran away.
He ended up in Rikers' mental health facility -- the Anna M. Kross Center -- in a group dormitory setting, said Elizabeth. Nervous and agitated, he refused to shower, and he was punished for it. When another inmate punched him unprovoked, he ended up in the hole (or solitary confinement), said Elizabeth.
"People who don't understand people with mental illness, they don't get it," Elizabeth, who has been communicating with her son and advocates on a daily basis. "We get up and bathe every day. People don't understand that."
On other occasions, Elizabeth said, her son was so overmedicated he was to the point of drooling. As of Friday, Elizabeth was able to get James his own cell back at the mental health facility and on the right medication. But she and advocates wonder what happens to inmates who don't have someone pushing from the outside.
Moving Forward
No one questions that since 1999 the city has made improvements in how they handle the mentally ill on and off of Rikers Island.
For the past year, Schriro, has been ruminating over population statistics and procedure. In August, she unveiled her first major policy shift as the head of the country's second largest jail system (the first is Los Angeles County).
She is going to build a new jail and tear down the dilapidated temporary facilities erected during the crack epidemic of the 1980s (facilities that resemble small white spacecraft instead of jails). Hailed by criminal justice advocates, the commissioner is also centralizing the intake procedure, making sure inmates are classified up front. She plans on consolidating staff and some of the mental observation units, streamlining the process. There are now seven separate units spread out throughout the island.
Starting this month, Schriro launched a pilot program to provide corrections officers with additional training on mental health issues. The commissioner says she is approaching correction and health department staff "as a team who together can create a continuum of custody and care that can be carried out not only in the hours and days that our clinical staff is there."
Advocates have called for additional training for a very long time.
The department of health also has almost completed its electronic patient records system on Rikers (now active in several jails). The new system will make sure there is an ongoing record of those with mental health issues on the island.
Should an inmate come back, officials don't have to start off at square one. They can pick up where they left off, said Schriro.
Advocates commend the effort.
"Commissioner Schriro is making really valiant attempts to do something about this," said Joel Copperman, the chief executive officer and president of CASES. "She recognizes the reality that people are coming back to Rikers Island, so what she wants is to understand it, to develop treatment plans."
These represent steps in the right direction, advocates said. But a more seamless transition to society is still necessary to make sure those without advocates or parents by their side can get help too, they add. That means better communication between the agencies overseeing health care and the service providers on the outside. It means getting the proper diagnosis and classification as soon as one enters the system.
Back at CASES, Derrick Neptune, a 36-year-old diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder who has been to Rikers four times, called his treatment off and on the island "helpful."
After spending five years in the shelter system, Neptune now lives in Flatbush in Brooklyn. He attends barber school. He is taking medication and quit smoking marijuana -- the so-called cause of many of his psychotic episodes.
"You learn a lot from being in jail," said Neptune.
So much that he hopes he won't have to go back.


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Machining high-quality components for the pneumatic and hydraulic industry requires high-performance machining systems. Operations such as drilling, milling, turning, threading and deburring, all on the same part, must be performed flexibly to produce different components at maximum capacity.
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Luxury Resorts in Greece - Luxury Resorts and Spa Hotels in Greece
Luxury resorts and spa hotels, luxury resorts, leading resorts, spa hotels in Greece offer high quality services, comparable to leading luxury resorts and spa hotels worldwide.
Luxury resorts in Greece offer an extraordinary experience – where an appointment becomes an escape and a visit becomes a tradition. Most of them are ideal couple or family getaways located mostly on pristine, white-sand beaches caressed by crystal-clear seas.
Luxury resorts and spa hotels across Greece - Athens, Crete, Rhodes, Halkidiki, Mykonos, Santorini, Cyclades, Ionian Islands, Kefalonia, Zakynthos, North Aegean Islands, Dodecannese Islands, Peloponnese, Crete – boast world-class amenities and high quality of personal service, as well as exceptional facilities, cuisine, spa, activities and excursions. Guests can enjoy the finest Mediterranean and international cuisine, dive into a paradise of sports and activities or indulge in total privacy.Accommodation is varied by always luxurious, with a wide range of different types available to suit each guest, including spectacular sea views, private gyms, spa, landscaped grounds, Olympic-size swimming pools and home cinemas.
Give mind and soul total relaxation and a break from the daily routine with a spa holiday. The unique luxury spa resorts across Greece - Athens, Crete, Rhodes, Halkidiki, Mykonos, Santorini, Cyclades, Ionian Islands, Kefalonia, Zakynthos, North Aegean Islands, Dodecannese Islands, Peloponnese, Crete - feature superb spas that blend effortlessly with Greece's most idyllic beach settings and local charm.
A choice of spas and specialist health resorts that are among the world's best, provide the ultimate in rest and rejuvenation. A true ticket to relaxation, the spa treatments feature various spa packages for superior pampering and encompass a wide variety of indulgent delights designed to help you look and feel your best. The luxury spa resorts in Greece also offer a wide variety of recreational activities such as golf, tennis, horseback riding, skiing, and water sports along with renewing spa experiences.


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The 2013 BMW 320i sedan made its American debut Monday at the Detroit auto show.
Billed as the entry-level 3-series vehicle, the 320i is equipped with a turbocharged inline-four engine much like the one found under the hood of the BMW 328i. The former sedan has substantially lower output, however: The engine in the 320i will produce 180 hp and 200 lb-ft of torque to the 328i's 240 hp and 255 lb-ft of torque.
Two transmissions will be available. Buyers who select an eight-speed automatic will have the option of BMW's xDrive all-wheel drive system, while those who opt for the six-speed manual will be limited to rear-wheel drive only.
The 320i sedan is not exactly speed demon -- BMW claims a 0-to-60 time of 7.1 seconds with either transmission option -- but it is expected to return fuel economy as high as 34 mpg during highway driving when equipped with the six-speed manual transmission.
Pricing for the rear-wheel drive 2013 BMW 320i sedan starts at $33,445, while the base price for the all-wheel drive version is $35,445. Premium, sport, cold weather and lighting packages will add to the sticker, but pricing details for those options have not yet been announced.
The 320i is expected to arrive at dealerships in late spring 2013.
The annual North American International Auto Show, better known as the Detroit auto show, has maintained its place as a barometer for the entire industry. For 2013, NAIAS takes place Jan. 14-27 and will host concept cars, green cars and supercars from all the major automakers, including what's expected to be a highlight this year: the new 2014 Chevrolet Corvette. Check out Autoweek's complete coverage of the Detroit auto show here.


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Madame Tussauds in Hong Kong is commemorating the one-year anniversary of Steve Jobs' death at the age of 56 last Oct. 5 by unveiling a lifelike waxwork figure of the Apple co-founder.
IN PICTURES: Steve Jobs at Apple
TRIBUTES: They poured in for Steve Jobs last October
The actual-size sculpture took three months to create and cost nearly $200,000 to build. It features Jobs in his signature black turtleneck, Levi's 501 jeans, New Balance sneakers and rimless glasses.
Jobs, who died last Oct. 5, will no doubt be the subject of many tributes this week, as he was in the immediate aftermath of his death.
Museum general manager Mak Yuen-han said (through a rough Google translation): "Jobs invention rewrote the contemporary scientific and technological outlook. He inspired and affected the lives of millions of people ... we are very pleased ... to pay tribute to a great man who changed the world."
At the Hong Kong museum, Jobs shares attention with the likes of entertainers Michael Jackson and Lady Gaga. The Jobs figure will travel to Thailand and China as well, though there are no plans as of yet for it to head to the United States, where Madame Tussauds museums are located in Hollywood, Las Vegas, New York City and Washington, D.C.


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Don't Be Afraid to Experiment With Flavors
"With one exception I've never brewed the same recipe twice," says James Schirmer, an institutional research analyst at the University of La Verne. "I've brewed beers with various spices, chocolate, fruit, and anything that I think may lend itself well to a beer."
Schirmer says one of his most successful batches was a wheat beer brewed with hibiscus flowers. "I got the idea from my mother-in-law, who mentioned one of her favorite drinks is made with hibiscus flowers," he says. After trying it, Schirmer says he immediately knew the hibiscus flavor would meld well with a nice, light, easy-drinking summer beer. "And so I brewed an American wheat-style beer and added some dried hibiscus flowers in the boil," he says.
That beer went on to win the 2012 Samuel Adams Longshot competition. It's available now (under the name James Schirmer's Beerflower Wheat) in the Samuel Adams Longshot Variety six-pack, along with the two other winners of the competition.
More From Popular Mechanics
Keep Your Hands Away
"I showed my rookie stripes during my very first brew when I stuck my hand in the wort to retrieve the thermometer," says home-brewer Ron Perez, a CAD manager for an engineering firm in Northern Colorado.
What he did is a huge no-no because it can contaminate the brew before even getting it to the fermentation process. "When I started home brewing, I was also pretty lax about keeping all the measuring equipment sanitized and did not use an acid sanitizer to clean the fermenter," Perez says. "As a result, my first batch was a little fruity—a characteristic of contamination."
Keep a Brew Log
"I am a believer in recording data throughout the brewing process," says Scott Klym, who works as an institutional equity trader and has been home-brewing for more than two years. Why? Because if something goes wrong, a log gives him a better chance of identifying the problem and correcting it.
Klym uses a software program called Beersmith to develop recipes and record his brew day data. "I print out a brew sheet and record water volumes, temperatures at various stages, original and final gravity readings," he explains. Then he compares those to the expected values. "If there are large deviations, I can track down what caused the problem," Klym says. "For example, if my temp was too high during the mash, it would alter the original gravity and body of the beer."
Update Your Equipment
"The basic kits and ingredients available today are much better than in the past, but they have limits," says Brent Shelton, an online shopping expert and media relations specialist for FatWallet.com. For really passionate brewers, the goal is to keep improving the process and the results, so upgrading to better equipment and ingredients is a logical step toward custom brewing and possibly competing with other brewers, he says.
First, Shelton says, simply upgrading your boiling kettle will make a big difference in the mash and cook. This is especially true if you buy a glass kettle, which is superior to plastic when fermenting. He also recommends investing in a counterflow system for cooling your batch, which improves the time and accuracy of this process.
"I started out with a five-gallon pale kit from Midwest Supplies, but I've since graduated to more custom equipment, including a grain crusher, an extra burner (saves about an hour per batch), refracometer, better cleaning supplies, tubing and connectors, and an auto siphon — a must!" Shelton says.
So heed the advice of the experts. Whether you've been brewing for a while or just getting started, there's always room for improvisation, experimentation, and improvement.


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Cambro offers a wide range of products to make your operations safer, more efficient, and more profitable. Cambro products include storage, shelving, insulated transport products, and meal delivery solutions. Guided by the commitment of its founders to innovation, quality, and value, Cambro Manufacturing is still the leader in serving the foodservice industry. When William and Argyle Campbell first opened the doors at Cambro Manufacturing in 1951 their goal was to make a hospital meal tray of the highest quality possible. Named the Camtray®, it demonstrated that they were as committed to excellence in the food service industry as they were to the quality of their own products. As 2011 marked the company's 60th year of leadership in quality, innovation and customer service, today Cambro serves the world with the industry's most complete selection of products for widely diverse segments of the food service business
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Read DRM EPUB books on your Kindle Fire
"…except for the Kindle Fire."
See, that's the problem about having named the Fire a Kindle. It's very different from what I've had to retronym* RSKs (Reflective Screen Kindles).
One of the standard Kindle comments on the forums is that you can't read EPUB books with DRM (Digital Rights Management) on a Kindle.
Well, now we'll have to add that "…except for the Kindle Fire."
Let me explain that a little bit more.
EPUB is an e-book format made by Adobe. DRM is a way to control the use of a digital file. On RSKs, there isn't the necessary software to "unlock" an EPUB file with DRM. RSKs also couldn't read EPUBs without DRM…unless you converted them to a Kindle friendly format. One way to do that is with the free software
Calibre is a great program, and used by lots of people.
Perfectly reasonably, though, Calibre does not strip DRM from files…that could be illegal, and they don't want to do anything which is illegal (and which, by the way, could get them shut down).
You couldn't install software to legally read an EPUB with DRM on your RSK, so you couldn't read those without first (probably) illegally stripping that DRM.
So, here's why I can now legally read DRM EPUB books on my Kindle Fire.
The Kindle Fire does have the Pico text-to-speech (TTS), but it's not very sophisticated. From my RSKs, I've gotten really used to listening to TTS in my car.
Point one:
If Amazon had included a more sophisticated TTS (like Vocalizer, the software they licensed for the Kindle Keyboard and Kindle Touch), I would have been satisfied with my Kindle Fire in the car and wouldn't have been looking for something else to which to listen.
Point 2:
Amazon hasn't approved the Zinio magazine reading app in the Amazon Appstore for my Kindle Fire. I got a magazine subscription as a gift that needed Zinio. That's what broke down my resistance to putting a third party app on my Kindle Fire. I really like how Amazon set that up: they vet and approve Kindle Fire apps in their Appstore, but allow us to install apps from outside sources if we take responsibility for them:
Settings Gear – More – Device – Allow Installation of Applications From Unknown Sources (ON)
If the Zinio app had been approved for my Kindle Fire in the appstore, I might never have installed an app from outside Amazon. I trusted Zinio (a large established company) and they told me their app would work on my Fire. It has, and I've been very happy with my subscription.
So, those two things combine in the next step.
I decided to install the Overdrive.com app on my Kindle Fire…so I could borrow MP3 format audiobooks from my public library directly from my Fire. I don't like audiobooks as well as I like text-to-speech (I know…weirdo) 😉 , but I like them better than talk radio.
I switched the setting on my Kindle Fire to allow the installation of an outside device, and went to
on my KF.
I tapped on Get Overdrive Media Console.
I tapped on Android on my right, which then let me tap on "download OverDrive Media Console for Android from OverDrive."
As usual, my Kindle Fire gave me the notification in my top left corner of the screen that it was downloading something.
When it was finished, I tapped on that and told it to install.
When that was done, I opened it.
Remember, I was doing this to get audiobooks from my public library…because I wasn't satisfied with the Pico TTS on my Fire.
When it opened up, it told me I could also install the ability to read EPUB.
I knew that DRM EPUB books could be used with OverDrive, but I hadn't realized it had the ability to decode them.
I did have to get an ID from Adobe. That was easy…no credit card or anything, just identifying myself. It did seem a bit odd that they seemed to think I was doing it for commercial purposes (I was supposed to identify my job title and industry).
Once I had that, I downloaded an EPUB from my public library through the app…it works just fine.
I also got an audiobook, since that was sort of the point. 🙂 I won't have any trouble getting through them both in 14 days, I think. My library gives me that (and seven days) as an option…yours may not, that's up to the library.
This was good to discover, even though I don't know how much I'll use the EPUB part. I like to be able to read on my RSKs, and that's not an option when I do this.
However, I've seen a couple of people (including one of my readers, Lisa Brown) noticing lately that there were e-books from Random House in their public library in EPUB format and not in Kindle format. I think they may also be true of Penguin. In the RH case, it's recently published books, by the way…I don't know if that's policy, or if they just need to be converted.
The app has some nice features:
- An audiobook snooze timer
- The ability to return the audiobook when you are done (my library limits the number of items I can have out at one time…your probably does as well)
- Description of the book
- Lookup dictionary (long press the word…hold your finger on it for a bout a second)…although it only works when you are online
- The ability to set the screen timeout up to twenty minutes
- Tap to see book progress…including chapter percentage
A few of those would be nice with the Kindle app on the Fire. 🙂
Well, there you go. 🙂 If you decide to do it, I think you'll find it easy and it will give you options. Amazon warns you about it…it's up to you. I do turn off the "applications from unknown sources" choice afterwards.
It's just interesting to me: if Amazon had TTS on the Fire or if they had approved Zinio for the Fire, I probably would never have done this.
If you try it and have feedback about your experience with it, please feel free to comment on this post.
* A "retronym" is a change to an existing term that happens in response to a later development, to differentiate the old situation from the new one. We didn't have to call it an "analog watch" before we had digital watches, for example…it was just a watch. 🙂
By the way, I took the screenshot from my computer, not my Kindle Fire. The KF doesn't, as far as I know, do a screenshot without altering it to enable it. I did check to see that it matched, though.
This post by Bufo Calvin originally appeared in the I Love My Kindle blog.


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Time to geek out!
It's the time of year when many of us high-altitude cyclists wind down the season. There are plenty of fall-color rides in the area, but it may just be time to put feet up and rest the legs before facing the often mind-numbing prospect of an indoor winter training regimen. For all of this, however, there are options.
Wednesday's snow reminds us that if we want the challenge of Trail Ridge Road this season, time is running out. The painfully fulfilling ride up the Old Fall River Road will already require lobster gloves and as much layering as you can stand.
Riding buddies of mine took the breath-taking ride from Estes Park to Nederland last weekend. The 40-plus-mile ride is amazing in its beauty this time of year. Riders pass grove after grove of golden-leafed aspens, and now snow capped peaks as a background. This is no poser's ride. Take it seriously. It is a series of climbs from start to finish. One may very well see some pro talent roll by, as it is a favorite ride for the elite athletes of the area.
The ride offers diversions and exit strategies, as well. A rider could turn around at Allenspark or before the long climb out of Peaceful Valley. One could roll on down the 25-mile descent from Allenspark to Lyons. Ward and its quirky little general store sits atop Lefthand Canyon. It's a great option to either trim or add mileage.
If you feel particularly fit and self-punishing, the ride off of Hwy. 72 to Gold Hill will satisfy you. Gold Hill has several steep climbs leading to the old mining town, the best-known of which is Sunshine Canyon.
The canyon hosts a race every year, the Sunshine Canyon Hill Climb which starts just off of Mapleton Avenue and 4th street in Boulder and climbs about 3,000 feet in nine miles. The average grade is 6.4 percent and maxes out at 11.86. It's a leg-breaking test for any climber. The payoff is worth the suffering.
Gold Hill is home to, not only one of the few one-room, well really two-room, school houses still in operation, but also a general store that offers arguably the best home-made cookies in the area. The town is not just a great place to train and refuel, though. The gold is in the trees these days.
Fires encroached on the tiny town in recent years, so they could use some tourist revenue. Ride out to see their aspen, which have to be close to peak. Check out the 100-year-old structures and enjoy some home-made goodies.
Nederland, also an historic mining town, has plenty to offer riders, as well. The home of Eldora Ski Area, and supplier to the old Caribou town and mine, is a refuge for those who feel the bustle of Boulder is too much, still wanting the laid-back attitude. It sits just a bit higher than Estes Park at 8,234 and can have the same unpredictable weather and strong winds. All things to consider before heading out.
The town offers plenty of places to grab a cup of coffee, grab a few PowerBars, or sit down and enjoy a meal. This also brings up another possibility for tired riders.
Find a restaurant your non-riding significant other or supportive friend might like. Bribe them with a free meal with the idea of picking you and your bike up in Ned and driving home. It cuts the mileage in half, but also the time and necessary recovery time, if that is a concern. Also a good option if snow suddenly appears from over the Indian Peaks. Give it a try. You will not be disappointed.
The World Road Championships were decided last weekend. The women's winner was not a surprise. The men's winner was a bit of a relief.
Belgian Philip Gilbert won the men's race in an uphill sprint. Many expected Spain to have a champion this year with names like Alberto Contador, Alejandro Valverde and former world champ Oscar Freire on the roster. They seemed to have a moment of hesitation as they headed for the final climb just as Gilbert attacked. Andrew Talanski was the highest placing American at 43rd place, 1:54 off of the winning time. Defending champ Mark Cavendish finished in the broom waggon, as did TdF champ Brad Wiggins.
Women's Olympic road champ Marianne Vos of the Netherlands took the gold on their side. Amber Neben slotted in fourth, 33 seconds back, as the best-placed US rider.
Only one Pro men's race remains, the classic Giro di Lombardia. The nickname is Tour of Falling Leaves, but it is anything but dead. It is raced in October, so this is a good time to leave everyone hanging.
Have fun, be safe. I'm going riding.


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It's a hell of a story if you love animals – Toronto's Humane Society closed indefinitely after a raid last Thursday found scary conditions, including a dead cat mummified in the ceiling. Since the raid by the Ontario Society for the Protection of Animals, a puppy, two cats, a dog and a raccoon have had to be euthanized, so terrible was the condition they were found in, reports the Toronto Star:
"I have seen things that have made me cry and haunted my dreams in that building," said Marcie Laking, a former animal-care worker who has spoken out numerous times against the society.
Laking started working at the society as a volunteer in 2001, and became a staff member in 2005. By 2006, what she had seen in the building had taken its toll.
"I remember taking dead animals when my shifts would start, and dead kittens," said Laking. "These animals are dying painful deaths – from ailments that are not being treated, are not being treated properly or can't be treated – and they are dying in their cages."
The body of the mummified cat was put on display Friday during a guided media tour of the facility. Strooband led groups of journalists and television crews through the area of the building used to house about 1,000 cats.


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Free online lectures: Explore a world of ideas
Emerson College is the only comprehensive college or university in the country dedicated exclusively to teaching communication and the visual, media and performing arts in a liberal arts context. Founded in 1880 as a school of oratory, Emerson has evolved into a multi-faceted college that is nationally and internationally recognized for excellence in its fields of specialization, which are communication, communication sciences and disorders, journalism, the performing arts, visual and media arts and writing, literature and publishing. The graduate programs in writing, literature and publishing and in communication sciences and disorders are consistently rated by U.S. News and other organizations as among the best in the country. Emerson College's campus comprises a cluster of downtown buildings and residence halls that overlook historic Boston Common.break
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Honoring Boston's Arts Leaders
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Capitol Perspective: Cultural Tourism
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Capital Perspective: Health Technology
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Marked by Memories: Remembering Robert Lowell
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Big Media's Threat to Democracy: What We Can Do About It
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Propaganda and War: Iraq and Beyond
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Inventing and Marketing


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Clouds and poetry online and off
My current bedside table book is The Cloudspotter's Guide by Gavin Pretor-Pinney.
I love the whole book: the text that ranges from technical explanations to poetic outbursts, the woodcut-style illustrations that start each section and the summary pages – so useful for a quick revision when a mass of white fluff floats above, defying me to name and classify its parts.
Visiting the Cloud Appreciation Society website, I found enthusiasm for all things cloud, fascinating information and, of course, a mass of spectacular photos.
And there are cloud-poetry pages. Most are in English but there is also a page for Italian Cloud Poetry. I wonder if Italians have a particular affinity for clouds.
On the English pages I admired Ernesto Vargas Rueda's poem about possibilities which ends
a dream
could be
ready to condense.
Sue Shaw in If Clouds were Blue has some interesting speculations and a lot of humour.
These are a couple I picked out from the more recently posted. There pages of others to browse through.


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Monument honoring George Jones unveiled at Nashville cemetery
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – A large monument honoring the late country singer George Jones has been unveiled at his Nashville gravesite and his widow has announced a college scholarship in his name.
Fans of the singer who died in April at the age of 81 crowded about the cemetery site on Monday to see the memorial unveiled with his wife and other relatives present.
The monument features a large arch with his best known song title, "He Stopped Loving Her Today," inscribed in the stone under his name.
It also features images of Jones and his widow, Nancy Jones, a guitar and his nickname, "The Possum." Two benches are placed on either side of his grave for visiting fans.
"All of his fans are really hardcore country music fans," his widow said. "I think they deserve to come out and see something just a little different. They can sit on the bench and see their idol."
Nancy Jones told reporters that the singer began the design for the monument years ago, but it wasn't complete when he died. She also said that she would be starting a scholarship at Middle Tennessee State University.
Follow Kristin Hall on Twitter at twitter.com/kmhall


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Don't fall for this scam targeting Netflix users
Users have been receiving fake emails asking for account information
Users have been receiving fake emails asking for account information
Users have been receiving fake emails asking for account information
If you got an email to fix your billing information on Netflix recently, don't take the bait. More than 110 million Netflix subscribers were targeted by an email scam posing as a request from Netflix to update their information, Deadline reports.
According to a blog post from the security company MailGuard, scammers are sending out scarily convincing emails that appear to be from Netflix. The email claims that the target's Netflix account was suspended because of problems with billing information. The scammers prompt the reader to click a button to "restart" their membership.
If you click that link, you're taken to what appears to be the Netflix login page, but it has a different URL. The page has fields for you to enter your login, personal information, and even credit card information. It's enough information for a criminal to steal your identity and get access to your bank account. If you enter all that information, you get sent a "reactivation" screen with a green check mark. But if you've done that, you've fallen for their scheme.
In a statement to Mashable, Netflix said:
"We take the security of our members' accounts seriously and Netflix employs numerous proactive measures to detect fraudulent activity to keep the Netflix service and our members' accounts secure. Unfortunately, scams are common on the internet and target popular brands such as Netflix and other companies with large customer bases to lure users into giving out personal information.
Members who want to learn more about how to keep their personal information safe against malicious online activity can go to netflix.com/security or contact Customer Service directly."
MailGuard urges people to always hover your mouse button over a link within an email before you click on it. If the URL that pops up doesn't seem like the site you want to go to, don't click. And if you're ever taken to a site that has a different URL than the one you want, steer clear.


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Quincy nanny charged in death of 1-year-old Cambridge girl
A Quincy nanny was arrested Monday on a charge of assault and battery on a 1-year-old Cambridge girl who later died, the Middlesex County District Attorney's Office said.
Aisling McCarthy Brady, 34, of Quincy, was arrested and charged with what authorities called a violent assault on the young child that took place in Cambridge last week.
Cambridge police were called to a home on Ash Street on Jan. 14 for an unresponsive child, the district attorney's office said.
"The child was transported to Children's Hospital in Boston where she was found to be suffering from subdural and retinal hemorrhaging, and cerebral swelling," according to a statement. "She was also observed to have multiple healing bone fractures."
"This is an extremely troubling case, where we allege the defendant violently assaulted a 1-year-old child, causing a devastating head injury and broken bones," District Attorney Gerard Leone said in a press release.
On Jan. 16, the child was pronounced brain dead and subsequently died. Brady is scheduled to be arraigned in Cambridge District Court on Tuesday.
The charges against Brady may be increased after an autopsy on the young girl, whose name was not immediately released, is completed.
Read more: http://www.wcvb.com/news/local/metro/Nanny-charged-in-death-of-1-year-old-Cambridge-girl/-/11971628/18219172/-/12e3059/-/index.html#ixzz2IfDrjBno


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Career opportunities
Would you feel comfortable as a member of an international team? Are you looking for a varied range of tasks? Do you share our enthusiasm for technology?
STEMMER IMAGING is one of Europe's leading machine vision technology providers for science and industry with headquarters in Puchheim near Munich and subsidiaries in many European countries. A variety of well-known companies, universities and research institutions all over the world use our components and system solutions on a daily basis.
STEMMER IMAGING can provide you with an interesting and varied career in a healthy, growing company and offers above average benefits.
Might we want YOU?
To give us a first impression, please send us your application by e-mail or by post, including your CV, telling us a bit about you. We look forward to hearing from you!


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Relay for Life of Rochester readies for another season of success
ROCHESTER — With a new year under way, the Relay for Life of Rochester is gearing up for another successful season.
The Relay for Life initiative began in May 1985, when Dr. Gordy Klatt, a Tacoma, Washington, colorectal surgeon, walked and ran for 24 hours around a track and raised $27,000 for the American Cancer Society. The next year, 340 supporters joined the overnight event and it has since grown. The Relay For Life campaign has grown into a worldwide phenomenon, according to the national website, with more than $4 billion raised to "fight cancer."
The local relay's kick off event is scheduled for Feb. 7 with the actual event scheduled for June 22 at Spaulding High School. According to the national Relay for Life website, 40 teams with 156 participants in Rochester have raised $10,848.70.
Tara Dickey, community executive for income development with the American Cancer Society, said the Rochester Relay for Lifers are some of the most enthused participants in the area. They are the 20th highest fundraiser in the 'Top 25' listing for New England, out of some 400 relays and last year, Rochester was the highest grossing team in New Hampshire.
"It is one of the largest events in town," Dickey added.
She noted the event is open to anyone interested, of any age, though she described the event as a "homecoming" for those who have bonded through many years of participation.
"We have babies in their carriages and we have ages all the way up to people in their wheelchairs really," she said. "I have some kids that are graduating high school that have been doing relay their entire lives. It's like a homecoming every year. Everyone gets together and you can see how much everyone has grown up."
Dickey added she is hopeful this year will be one of the best years ever for fundraising.
"We want to blow last year's totals out of the water," she said. "We want to have more people. What's even more important is having people there … The more people we can spread the word to, the more fun the event is going to be."
The Relay for Life of Rochester will launch its 2013 season with an "Event Kick Off" on Thursday, Feb. 7, at 6:30 p.m. in the Frisbie Memorial Hospital Conference Center. For more information, visit www.relayforlife.org/rochesternh.


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POTTSTOWN – One of the borough's most famous eateries, Funky LiL' Kitchen, is for sale but remains open, says owner Michael Falcone.
'To say that we are closing the restaurant makes it sound like we have a date set, which isn't the case,' said Falcone, chef and owner of Funky LiL' Kitchen. 'We are going to stay open until we can open the food truck.'
The restaurant has been a staple on King Street for almost nine years. But now, Falcone and his fiancee, Tonda Woodling, have decided to open a food truck that offers more flexibility.
'With the brick and mortar, we are open Wednesday through Saturday, so I have to be here Wednesday through Saturday. But with the truck, I have the flexibility to put on Twitter or Facebook that we are going to be here, we are going to be there,' Falcone said.
The HEART Food Truck may have a different name, but the philosophy behind the cooking will stay the same.
Right now, Funky LiL' Kitchen has a five- or six-item menu that changes biweekly depending on what fresh produce and meats are available locally. Supporting local businesses is important to Falcone, and he intends to keep buying locally for the truck.
'It's what we do. It's what we believe in. I think, as always, the seasons are going to dictate what is on the truck,' Falcone said.
But food trucks, like traditional restaurants, make their reputations by keeping popular items on the menu and Falcone recognizes that need. He plans to keep some main items on the menu seasonally, while changing up the side items.
He gave the example of the shorts ribs that are on the menu for most of the winter. The side dishes he prepares with those may change depending on what is growing but the short ribs are almost always available.
'There aren't going to be tomatoes in January, unless we preserve them. There isn't going to be corn in December and we aren't going to have parsnips in July,' Falcone said. 'What our local farmers have is what we are going to use.'
Even though Falcone is a supporter of buying his ingredients locally, some patrons have not been happy with the small menu selection or when dishes run out. Falcone says that it is just something people have to understand when eating at a small restaurant.
'I only buy what I need; I'm not buying in bulk. It is like buying for your house because we are so small. I think you should educate yourself on where you are going to eat first, and if you're not sure call and ask what the menu selections are,' Falcone said.
The menu size will also be small on the truck and Falcone is not the only food truck owner cooking with local ingredients but he says his cooking style will set HEART apart from the rest.
Falcone and his fiancee say they want to keep the truck a fun and relaxed atmosphere similar to the restaurant. He isn't sure about the day-to-day details but he knows that managing time while still providing consistent quality food will be an adjustment.
'We will need to be ready for mass volume and quickness. At the restaurant, we allow an hour-and-a-half for two people to eat. On the truck it's three, four or five minutes,' he said.
Despite some schools of thought that food trucks are a fad on the downswing, Falcone disagrees. He said that once patrons get accustomed to exceptional food from the trucks, they aren't going to go back because it's a trend.
'It's just another dining option. Instead of sitting down, you can get a good meal on the go,' Falcone said.
Falcone has more ideas for HEART than the normal food truck. He hopes to buy a plot of land to create an outdoor dining experience where the truck can come a few times a week but he says it is too early to start looking for availabilities.
Right now, he is focusing on raising money for the truck. He plans on using social media to promote the fundraising campaign. Falcone and Woodling launched their 'indiegogo' site Monday night and by Tuesday afternoon, $360 had been raised.
For $1,000, a donor can have their name on the HEART food truck and Falcone thinks that is a good investment for local business big and small.
'I think that is a big commitment from us and a thank you to the people who believed in us,' he said.
Falcone does plan on having a final night celebration, but he doesn't have all of the details finalized. And even after the restaurant is closed, Falcone will focus on keeping the connections he has made over the past nine years.
'We've had a lot of customers, who have been with us seven or eight years, who have become really great friends. And I think when you open a restaurant, you never think about that,' he said. 'You never really think long term about how the customers are going to affect you and the friends you're going to make. We are really going to try and hold on to that.'


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Welcome to the Andy Card website!
Latest News:
Read the latest story about Andy's Caring Covers on the Gaston Gazette. Click Here
News14 in Charlotte aired the story on Saturday 3/8/14. Reporter Carolina Vandegriff did the story and for those that do not know Caroline. She came to Charlotte a little over a year ago to work for News14. While reporting during a storm a vehicle ran off the road and hit Caroline. Carolina spent the next 7 months recuperating from the injuries sustained from the accident. Caroline did a fantastic job bringing this story to the TWC viewers knowing first hand how something like the blanket can bring comfort to the patient. In our case Andy's blanket is cherished greatly as this was the last thing that touched him and has his smell on it. See the Video below!


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Another TV appearance is here, but for some reason the blog refuses to link directly to the video.
Anyway, a company has now made part of this vision a reality, by making a GPS-tracking shoe with a GSM modem inside. Not quite a shoe phone, but it will help to track wandering people who might otherwise have to live in supported care.


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I Need Some Space (The Final Frontier) OR Twin Wars: Episode 1 – Taunt of the Tauntaun
Wife: We need a bigger diaper bag.
Me: Or possibly a pack mule.
Rainy Day Activity!
What is this pack mule carrying? If you can name all of the products in a comment for this post, you will automatically be entered in a chance to win at life, compliments of Twinfamy.com!
Fine-Ass Print
Relax, O Loyal Animal Activist Reader–this is not an actual photograph. It was Photoshopped without Photoshop using Microsoft PowerPoint. Furthermore, neither I nor Twinfamy.com advocate the actual use of a pack mule for infant supply transport, primarily because parents already deal with their fair share of feces (sometimes even as an oblivious beautifying facial mask) and the addition of such an animal to one's entourage would undoubtedly provide even more of an opportunity for sh!t to happen.
We also understand your particular offense to the placement of the Baby Bjorn on the fictional, hypothetical mule's snout. However, it is not Twinfamy's fault that the Baby Bjorn is coincidentally bridle-shaped and thus looks especially hilarious in this electronic, not-at-all-intended-for-real-life anatomical location.
The Royal We finally agree that despite the stereotypical "stubbornness" perpetuated by Fox News, the mule is a majestic creature who has just as much of a right to wear hemp and make others feel guilty for thinking steak is delicious as anyone. In fact, in the event that a mule actually is stubborn, it is probably for a viable reason, such as the lack of career options aside from doing oppressive humans' heavy lifting, or the simple fact that their boys cannot swim due to the chromosonal ramifications of having horse fathers and donkey mothers, not to mention the pressures of having multiracial parents in general.
If you're still upset, fear not. I have prepared an alternate version. Please forget the above ever happened, and see below.
Alternate Ending
A 500-Disc DVD Special Edition Bonus Feature
Ready? Here we go! Making the jump to LIGHT SPEED…
Twin Wars: Episode 1 – The Taunt of the Tauntaun
Wife: We need a bigger diaper bag.
Me: Or possibly a pack tauntaun.
Jedi Training Exercise
What is this pack tauntaun carrying? If you can name all of the products in a comment for this post, you will automatically be entered in a chance to win one Jedi training lesson with Yoda, the Jedi Master himself, compliments of Twinfamy.com! Offer does not include travel, and is only valid if you can locate Master Yoda on Dagobah yourself.
You may also like:
If not, please don't turn to the Dark Side. Balance has finally been brought to The Force, and you'd just selfishly ruin it for everyone.


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Support Meetings
NISIG support meetings are held in Dublin, Cork, Limerick and Portlaoise, to offer support and information on your journey.
All members and non members welcome – please see the calendar of events below
It is very important that you contact NISIG if you wish to attend any meeting as venue and dates are subject to change.
Email: [email protected]
A contribution of €5 from members and €15 from non-members to help cover the costs is very much appreciated.
- This event has passed.
Cork Support Meeting 06-Nov-2020
November 6, 2020 @ 8:00 pm
General support meeting held in Cork, SMA Community Centre, Wilton @ 20:00 to 22:00 – all welcome. Please contact NISIG for more details.


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School changes lunch policy after taking away student's cheesy breadsticks on his birthday
An Ohio school district has changed its lunch policies after a 9-year-old boy told local media that cafeteria staff swapped his chosen lunch on his birthday because he owed money on his account.
Diane Bailey said the ordeal started when her grandson Jefferson Sharpnack came home from Green Primary School on Aug. 30 with a note saying he owed $9 for his lunch account, WEWS-TV in Cleveland reported.
Bailey said Jefferson and his two brothers were supposed to be enrolled in the free and reduced lunch program, and the administration told her she could write a check to cover the debt until the paperwork was processed.
She believed her grandson was in good standing with the school, but on Tuesday, Jefferson came home and announced something had happened in the lunchroom that had made it his worst birthday ever.
"When I was going to check out, the lunch lady didn't say anything, took away my cheesy breadsticks and sauce, put them over there, and took out bread on cheese from the fridge and put it on my tray," Jefferson told the station.
Lunch money:School district sics debt collectors on parents for unpaid lunch fees
"He gets off the bus and he says, 'Grandma! Worst birthday ever!'" Bailey told WJW-TV in Cleveland.
"He was bullied. He was bullied by the school officials. He had his lunch removed from his tray at the age of 9."
On Monday, Green Local Schools district superintendent Jeff Miller announced that all students enrolled in pre-kindergarten through 12th grade would be served the standard lunch for the day "regardless of their account balance."
"We are sensitive to the financial hardship families incur and challenges presented due to the cost of school breakfast and lunches," Miller said in a statement. "Our staff, in coordination with Family Support Specialists, will continue to work with families to ensure they have access to all available resources to assist with purchasing school meals."
Bailey said that although Jefferson's 9th birthday started off poorly, it ended with dinner at his favorite spot and cupcakes, WJW-TV reported.
Free lunch under fire:500,000 kids could lose free school lunch under Trump administration proposal
The Green, Ohio, school district is not the first to be criticized for its policies regarding school lunch debt.
In May, a Rhode Island school district changed its policy after facing backlash for a plan to serve students who owe lunch money sun butter and jelly sandwiches instead of a hot meal.
Following widespread criticism – and multiple rejected offers for charitable donations – a Pennsylvania school district apologized in July for threatening to send children to foster care over unpaid lunch debts.
Follow N'dea Yancey-Bragg on Twitter: @NdeaYanceyBragg


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For the first time ever, Ars is sending people to cover PDC. Peter Bright and I will be there, attending sessions and conducting interviews. There's bound to be trauma, as well, since we're going to be sharing a room. Don't expect updates on that, but we would like to know what other things our readers want to hear about.
Have a look at the sessions list and leave a comment with what you'd like to see covered. You can expect a good bit of Windows 7 coverage. I suspect we'll be paying decent attention to the "cloud" stuff, and I'm personally pretty interested in anything related to the DLR. There's obviously quite a bit more there, we're just not sure which bits are interesting and which aren't.
There's also the slim chance that we'll get to ask questions of Ray Ozzie (chief software architect), Bob Muglia (server and tools business VP), and Amitabh Srivastava (cloud infrastructure services VP). Assuming we're awesome, what should we ask?
Last, but certainly not least, we need recommendations on food in LA. Peter claims he's going to eat 100% of his meals at In-n-Out. I'm not entirely opposed to doing that, but might want to eat somewhere else at least twice. Maybe we can find bacon wrapped hotdogs somewhere.


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Necessity Breeds Opportunity: Constraints, Innovation and Competitive Advantage has been saved
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From immense, untapped markets, to roads that would make a grown logistics director cry, emerging markets are a study in dichotomy. But the constraints that can frustrate can also frame innovation and lead to competitive advantage.
When Tata Motors released the world's cheapest car, the US$2500 Nano, they surprised skeptics who doubted that such an innovation could come out of India, a country known more for its feeble infrastructure than for its manufacturing-friendly environment. Power shortages, poorly maintained roads, difficulties in managing suppliers, and a host of other constraints contribute to a common belief among multinational companies (MNCs) that setting up shop in emerging markets such as India is risky business.
Typically, companies respond to these constraints in one of two ways. The first is to postpone engaging with these emerging markets until they look more like their developed counterparts. This "wait-and-see" strategy comes with an obvious drawback: competitors might establish themselves in these markets and create barriers for new entrants. Moreover, there is no guarantee that these economies will evolve to look the same way as the now-developed economies, so the wait-and-see strategy may be self-defeating in the long run. The second option is to ascertain how other companies have succeeded in these markets and learn from their best practices. Call it Darwinian, but companies can gain competitive advantage by exploiting the very constraints that others find daunting.
The quest for competitive advantage drives companies to increase both efficiency and responsiveness to customers, but there is a trade-off between the two. Improving responsiveness to customers entails higher inventory, distributed warehousing, and multiple transportation channels that raise costs and compromise efficiency. Companies find this balance harder to achieve in emerging markets because of constraints in the external environment like infrastructural bottlenecks and talent shortages.
This doesn't mean a balance between efficiency and responsiveness is unattainable. Toyota, among other things, is a classic example of thriving amidst external constraints through its ability to overcome both high fuel prices and paucity of space in its home market. Instead of building large and fast cars, Toyota improved efficiency through the world-class Toyota Production System and designed products that recognized customers' needs by developing small, inexpensive, fuel-efficient cars. The automaker was ultimately rewarded with success in the North American market during the oil crisis of the mid-1970s.1
Tata's success, which is supported by a growing body of work, suggests that companies operating in emerging markets can capitalize on institutional voids in these economies.2 Toyota, by extension, demonstrates how these innovative strategies can be extended globally in the long run. In this article, we look at ways companies can drive innovation to address external constraints and sidestep trade-offs between efficiency and responsiveness.
When companies fail in the Indian market, they often blame their difficulties on either external constraints like power shortages, high costs of transportation, and talent shortages that affect their operations, or on issues stemming from poor access to products and services that affect their customers. Figure 1 shows how a set of constraints can compromise shareholder value. Mapping constraints to shareholder value can help companies analyze past performance and understand why they fail to achieve business objectives.
Given these constraints, companies believe they can achieve process efficiency only at the expense of customer responsiveness, and vice versa, so they design their improvements accordingly. For example, enhanced service offerings might come at a higher price to their customers. Thus, MNCs that try to replicate their global practices in emerging markets find their efficiency limited by external constraints, so they're left to serve only premium customers.
However, in an emerging market like India, companies targeting only premium customers lose the opportunity to serve a larger customer segment that wants more for their money. In the first decade of its presence in India, Samsung Consumer Electronics, the Korean electronics giant, consciously developed a premium positioning with products that emphasized design, aesthetics and cutting-edge technology at prices that were commensurately higher. But focusing on the premium segment only brings in so much revenue, especially in a market like India with its enormous mass market. Samsung Consumer Electronics' new strategy in India, therefore, is to boost volume growth by gaining greater mass appeal through product innovation. "We are providing superior technology and differentiated products even for the mass market. We are aiming at market leadership not only in the premium category of products but also mass categories like flat televisions," said Ravinder Zutshi, Samsung India deputy managing director.3
While companies assume there is necessarily a trade-off between efficiency and responsiveness in a constrained environment, research shows that only those organizations operating near the performance frontier (the optimal performance a company can achieve) should expect trade-offs (see figure 2). The companies that operate away from the frontier have the potential to improve both efficiency and responsiveness; the companies that operate at or close to optimal performance levels can strive to shift their frontier through innovation and gain sustainable competitive advantage.4 For example, let us assume that a company is currently at point A, as shown in figure 2. While moving away from the frontier, it may manage to improve only cost efficiency at the expense of customer responsiveness or vice versa. But by developing innovative processes, products and services, companies can improve both cost efficiency and customer responsiveness and position themselves on a new frontier at point B.
Companies can identify the right approach for innovation by analyzing their constraints, as shown in figure 1, and then identifying unique innovation opportunities to improve both efficiency and responsiveness. Have internal efficiency improvement initiatives failed to build competitive advantage or grow revenues? Are there customers who want products and services not being supplied by competitors? If the answer to such questions is "yes," then it is probably time to start paying more attention to external constraints.
Companies essentially have four options when trying to innovate and build a competitive edge, based on whether external constraints affect the company or its customers, and whether the firm can gain an edge over competitors by improving products or processes (see figure 3). Each of these options offers the possibility to move to a new frontier on the efficiency-responsiveness map. If firms manage to cover multiple options in this matrix, they may develop a business model that will be difficult for competitors to replicate.
Typically, process innovations are seen as an exercise to improve efficiency. However, many Indian companies have achieved both efficiency and responsiveness while reducing their dependence on scarce resources such as power supply and transport. Ambuja Cements, for example, simultaneously reduced transportation costs and improved responsiveness to customers.
For a cement company, the opportunity to gain competitive advantage through differentiated products is, at best, extremely limited, so manufacturers must focus on developing the transportation and logistics process to improve efficiency. Transportation costs account for a significant proportion of any cement manufacturer's operating expenses. Cement plants are usually located close to limestone mines, but out-bound transportation costs substantially increase when markets are located far away from the raw material sources. Ambuja Cements viewed these constraints with an eye to reducing transportation costs to improve efficiency while still being near its customers. The solution was found in "split plants": the initial stages of processing are completed at plants located close to the mines, which trims the weight of the material to be transported. The lightweight material is then sent to grinding and packing plants that are located closer to the market, significantly reducing transportation costs and improving responsiveness to customers.
Almost 90 percent of the cement in India travels in bags by rail or road. Ambuja Cements became the first company in India to introduce bulk cement movement by sea.
Almost 90 percent of the cement in India travels in bags by rail or road. Ambuja Cements realized that the only way to speed up transportation was through a completely different approach. It became the first company in India to introduce bulk cement movement by sea. Seaborne cement transportation helped Ambuja Cements avoid bottlenecks in road transportation and thus improve efficiency. This innovation also gave it access to many previously untapped coastal markets and made Ambuja India's largest exporter of cement for the last five years.5
Talent shortages or operational complexities can hinder the creation of new products and services and compromise competitive advantage. To overcome these constraints, companies can collaborate with stakeholders to create innovations that reduce costs and improve customer responsiveness.
Many offshore units of MNCs or domestic companies operating in India find it difficult to attract and retain talent. The concern is that the education system does not produce enough graduates with the right skills (both technical skills as well as soft skills like language). This issue especially worries the software industry, which has seen years of double-digit growth. According to B. Ramalingan Raju, chairman of Satyam Computer Services Ltd., most of the three million graduates in India every year "are uncut diamonds that have to go through polishing factories, as the trade requires only polished stones."6
It is not surprising, therefore, that Satyam, the fourth-largest IT outsourcing company in India, has decided to train and groom talent in-house to make up for the shortage of engineering graduates with the right skills. Satyam has collaborated with three educational institutions to launch SEED (Satyam Entry-level Engineering Development), which will train 600–800 engineers per year. It has collaborated with the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore; Indian Institute of Technology, Chennai; Central Institute of Tool Design; and others to help impart training and design curricula for aerospace and mechanical design.7 By grooming the young educated workforce, the company can avoid the high costs of recruiting experienced professionals and thereby improve efficiency. Satyam can move up the value chain by providing high-end engineering services to its customers with specially trained professionals.
However, companies cannot hope to operate alone; they have to collaborate with suppliers for certain critical aspects of their operation. This is particularly true of the automobile industry, another high-growth sector in India. For collaboration to result in timely and quality delivery, suppliers must have certain capabilities. To create these capabilities, automobile companies work closely with their suppliers to develop products and processes. As shown by Mahindra and Mahindra, close collaboration with suppliers involving joint problem solving and risk sharing reduces the cost of product development and accelerates the process of bringing products to the market. Supplier involvement in value engineering activities during the design stage helps in reducing costs even before the manufacturing process begins.8 Such collaboration also results in improved designs and facilitates design for manufacturing considerations.9
Mahindra and Mahindra developed Scorpio, India's largest-selling SUV, which won three Car of the Year awards in 2003.10 Integrated Design and Manufacturing, the innovative production process used for designing and producing Scorpio, was based on a cross-functional team that included suppliers.11 Suppliers catered to every aspect of product development, from design and engineering of systems, through testing and validation, to vendor development and marketing. Suppliers were involved even in assembly plant improvements and in deciding sourcing and engineering locations. (These are the activities that an automotive manufacturer does not usually delegate to suppliers.) Supplier involvement at every stage, including assembly plant improvements, ensured that the US$120 million project moved from concept to reality and reduced the investment to just one-fifth of what a major automobile manufacturer would have spent on a similar-sized project.
When customers face constraints such as inadequate road connectivity or power shortages, or cannot find products at the quality and price points they want, companies can capitalize by creating new products and services. Most companies struggle to develop such innovative products in a cost-effective manner because they try to adapt existing technology or business practices for local markets. Companies that innovate and succeed in breaking the efficiency-responsiveness trade-off can open up hitherto unexplored markets.
...Tata's Nano powered with MDI's compressed-air engine can potentially bring about sweeping changes in the automobile industry...
Manoj Upadhyay, founder of the US$500 million Acme Tele Power considers India "a land of problems and therefore a land of business opportunities."12Telecom service providers in India need to install sensitive electronic telecom equipment every 10–20 kilometers, but they were constrained by inadequate and fluctuating power outside the metropolitan areas. In 2003, Acme, a five-man engineering consultancy firm, developed a power interface unit (PIU) that worked on an electronic chip, unlike traditional voltage stabilizers that ran on motors. Acme's innovative product helped improve power correction, which resulted in power savings of 20 percent. Airtel instantly adopted the technology. Currently Acme's PIUs are installed at about 50,000 base stations of various telecom companies. Acme uses a service-driven business model — charging for power used and the costs of running the sites instead of products. Thus, by recognizing the power constraint faced by customers as an opportunity, Acme was able to come out with a simple, innovative product that met customer needs at a lower cost.
Some MNCs have also started converting the unique needs of Indian customers into innovative products and technology. Honeywell Technology Solutions Lab is working on innovative products such as a device to control electricity losses and a cost-effective sensor that can help farmers select the right crop for a soil type by measuring the water content in the soil.13 Such products, while conceived for India and emerging markets, can also create new opportunities in the developed world.
When customers face constraints in accessing goods and services, there could be opportunities to create new service delivery models. Hindustan UniLever, for example, markets its products through rural women and local people who travel door to door on bicycle.
One of the most innovative approaches, devised by the Indian Tobacco Company (ITC), uses the same channel to source raw material from farmers and market goods at a low cost. Historically, in the Indian agricultural market, middlemen gave credit to farmers, sold them raw material like seeds and fertilizer, and bought their output to be sold in the market. This made up for the lack of marketing infrastructure in the rural areas. However, these middlemen extracted large surpluses for themselves, pushing up costs of procurement.
ITC developed a new sourcing channel by unbundling two aspects of the supply chain — information (price discovery) and transaction (weighing and delivery). It set up Information and Communication Technology kiosks to give farmers information related to optimal crop price, grading standards, and the lowest cost of raw material. This has helped farmers break out of the clutches of the middlemen and improve their return on investment. Simultaneously, ITC set up warehousing hubs managed by the erstwhile middlemen, which reduced transaction costs, screened products for quality, and created efficient logistics with clear traceability. The gains in terms of improved efficiency were enormous: the transaction cost of procuring soybeans fell by more than half,14 and the overall savings were over a million U.S. dollars.15
The kiosks also improved ITC's responsiveness to its customers. First, it enhanced the quality of inputs and therefore ensured better quality for its end products. Moreover, ITC was able to customize its products to local tastes. Greater visibility into the supply chain lets it clearly trace the source of the grain. For example, the Aashirvaad brand of whole wheat flour that is sold in the Delhi markets has a different wheat combination from the one sold in the south.16
The benefits have proved even broader. The procurement channel, called e-Choupal, has opened up new opportunities for ITC. For example, it is now in a position to use e-Choupal as a retail channel for underserved rural markets. Motorola, for example, is selling mobile phones in rural India through e-Choupals.17 As the incomes of farmers rise, ITC is in a unique position to exploit this opportunity based on the relationship it has developed with the farmers.
Many companies fail to identify opportunities to improve both efficiency and responsiveness because the existing metrics to track business and operational performance do not simultaneously capture how the company is performing on efficiency and responsiveness; some of the existing metrics capture responsiveness while others capture efficiency.
Companies monitor responsiveness at an operational level by using metrics like order-to-delivery time, or at a business level in terms of revenue growth. Similarly, companies use metrics like logistics cost or cost of goods sold as measures of efficiency. But with these separate metrics, companies cannot determine how a particular product, service or a new service delivery model improves both efficiency and responsiveness. There is a need, therefore, to develop company tailored metrics that capture both efficiency and responsiveness.
Figure 4 offers an illustrative list of metrics that can act as indicators to identify and sustain the advantages generated by using a constraint-driven strategy. Efforts to improve energy efficiency, for example, can simultaneously reduce costs and improve yield, quality and productivity. UltraTech Cement's Tadipatri plant has been able to significantly reduce thermal and electrical energy consumption over the years. Equipment breakdowns in process plants decrease production and increase energy consumption when restarting the equipment. Thus, at UltraTech Cements, energy efficiency became a part of its Total Productive Maintenance initiative because improved equipment uptime results in less stoppage, better productivity, and less energy consumption.18
More broadly, when targeting a new customer segment, companies may want to compare the addition of revenues against the incremental cost of serving this new segment, as well as the potential losses if this customer segment is ignored. The idea boils down to the age-old maxim: what gets measured gets done. Without suitable metrics to measure performance, companies are likely to struggle in converting constraints into competitive advantage.
Process or product innovations developed in response to constraints in local markets may have the potential for application in global markets. While the innovations might have been triggered by local constraints, companies stand to gain in the long run if a solution has the potential to change global practices. It now seems likely that companies operating in emerging markets will reshape the global industry in unexpected ways, just as Japanese companies did in the 1970s.
Consider, for example, Tata Motors in India. As this issue of Deloitte Review goes to press, the company is planning an innovative distribution model for Tata Nano. Thousands of distribution centers across India will double as assembly units. These distributors will assemble kits of car parts on-site.19 This model reduces transportation costs when moving its product from the manufacturing site to distributors and increases customization to meet the unique needs of customers in rural and semi-urban India. This distribution model, once in place, can create entry barriers for other automobile companies because it will be difficult to replicate this volume and market penetration.
However, the story does not end here. Company Chairman Ratan Tata increasingly wants to focus on cars that are cheaper to buy and to maintain. Tata Motors is collaborating with France-based Motor Development International (MDI) to develop an air-powered car.20 The air-powered MiniCat or CitiCat car is designed to run for approximately 125 miles between fueling and will have a maximum speed of around 68 miles per hour. According to MDI, a full charge of air, including the electricity used to compress it, would cost less than US$3. For greater range, the vehicles could use a "dual energy" system that combines compressed air and a combustible fuel like gasoline. When running under 31 mph in urban areas, the engine runs only on air. At faster speeds, the engine switches to fuel mode.21 The light bodies of Compressed Air Technology (CAT) cars are made of glued-together fiberglass and injected foam, and they have passed crash tests. To simplify manufacturing, the aluminum chassis will also be glued together rather than welded. Apart from manufacturing cars based on compressed air technology, Tata is also looking at the feasibility of applying the technology to power generation, as the French company has specified that compressed air technology can be applied to emergency generators.22 To date, the larger automobile manufacturers have not attempted to adapt an air engine to their vehicles.23
The compressed air model demonstrates how Tata Motors is converting external constraints into competitive advantages: its low-cost cars will serve a previously untouched customer segment that couldn't afford cars, thus improving responsiveness. Its innovative assembly/distribution units and the simplified manufacturing method reduce costs and streamline processes, thus improving efficiency. In a world of skyrocketing fuel prices, increasing environmental concerns, and little competition from global players, Tata's Nano powered with MDI's compressed air engine can potentially bring about sweeping changes in the automobile industry, not just in emerging markets like India but in global markets. Other companies should consider its unique strategy as a model for turning constraints into competitive advantage.
Infrastructural bottlenecks and other constraints in emerging markets like India need not stop companies from entering these markets. On the contrary, they present opportunities to experiment with product and process innovations that could help companies benefit from the growth story now unfolding in these markets as well as prepare for an uncertain future. Arguably, had the big U.S. automobile companies decided to design products and processes for the Japanese market in the 1960s and 1970s, they would have had options to compete with the Japanese car makers later. Yet they failed to fully recognize the Japanese threat adequately, and the share of the top three Japanese automakers in the U.S. market went up from under four percent in the early 1960s to nearly 15 percent in 197924and nearly 40 percent in 2008.25 Innovating to convert constraints into competitive advantage in the now emerging markets can help global companies prepare for future challenges.


text: Told in colorful, comedic and musical interludes – with all the pop sensibilities you have come to expect from a PJ Hogan film, MENTAL tells the quirky, comedic and often inspiring story of the Moochmore family. The Moochmore girls are certain they suffer from some kind of undiagnosed neurotic mental issue – because after all, if they're not crazy then they're just unpopular. Unable to cope with her peculiar daughters and Barry (LaPaglia), her unsupportive, philandering politician husband, Shirley (Gibney) lives in the fantastical world of the Family Von Trapp and the songs of The Sound of Music. When her delusions become too much to bear, Barry commits Shirley to a mental hospital and finds himself alone with five teenage girls he barely knows. Desperate, he impulsively picks up an eccentric hitchhiker named Shaz (Collette), who becomes the girls' nanny and transforms their lives with her unconventional beliefs. Shaz is charismatic, hot tempered, inspiring, and completely nuts. However, she proves to be exactly what the Moochmore family needs. If not for a shark hunter (Schreiber) who throws a twist in to their plans, there may just be a happy ending.


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PCMag's Sascha Segan has created a slideshow comparison of iPad apps and Android tablet apps. The more enthusiastic you are about the potential of Android tablets, the more distressing the show is: with one or two exceptions, the Android examples are just plain dismal. Mostly, they're Android phone apps –some of which aren't that hot in the first place — which have merely been stretched for a tablet-size screen, leaving a vast wasteland of white space.
In February of 2011, I attended the event at which Google unveiled Honeycomb, the first truly tablet-friendly edition of Android. I came away assuming that the company's efforts would jump-start the market for Android tablet software. Even if the iPad retained a very comfy lead in app quantity and quality, I thought, Android would achieve clear momentum as a tablet platform. Just like it did with smartphones.
I don't claim to understand for sure why the Android tablet app situation remains so depressing. But I do have some theories. Nine of them, actually:
1. Google doesn't understand that apps are important. In its heart, it's a believer in a web-centric universe, not an app-centric one. (That's the instinct that led the company to invent Chromebooks.) If you think of apps as an inconvenience or a stopgap, you're less likely to take them seriously — which is a dangerous scenario if you spearhead an important app platform.
2. Google thinks stretchy apps are a pro, not a con. I remember back to when Samsung's first Galaxy Tab was new. Google employee Tim Bray — a smart guy — said that the app situation was "amazingly good," based in part on the ability of phone apps to expand themselves to tablet size. By now, I hope, it's clear that tablets want apps that were written to work well on tablets. Especially big-screen tablets such as most of the major Android contenders. The fact that there's no standard resolution for Android tablets doesn't help: There's no way to design a single pixel-perfect interface, as you can do with an iPad program.
3. Google isn't good at getting developers excited about Android tablets. There's certainly plenty of evidence that software companies are interested in partnering with Google in general. (Its upcoming I|O developer conference just sold out — in 20 minutes.) But maybe Google simply hasn't made a convincing case to enough programmers that it's worth their while to take Android tablets seriously. (By contrast, Microsoft, which knows as much about courting developers as any company on the planet, has spurred the creation of 70,000 Windows Phone apps to date — pretty impressive for a platform that hasn't caught on with consumers yet. And many Windows Phone apps are nicely done.)
4. Developers are smart. Why bother to invest your energy in a tablet platform that's off to a sluggish start when you can concentrate on the thriving iPad market?
5. Developers are dumb. Some of the apps which Segan shows look so crummy on Android tablets that they can't be good for the reputations of the companies who released them. And they certainly aren't good for the reputation of Android tablets.
6. It's just a chicken-and-the-egg scenario. Consumers will flock to a platform if they know it has great apps. Developers will flock to it if they see vast numbers of potential customers. Android tablets, with neither the apps nor the large customer base, are stuck in limbo.
7. Google has a plan — it's just not talking about it yet. Back in December, Google Chairman Eric Schmidt said that the developers who emphasize Apple's iOS over Android would reverse their stance within six months. Schmidt's notorious for making apparently ill-advised predictions, but he knows more about Google's plans for Android tablets than I do. Perhaps he's being rationally exuberant.
8. The relative health of the Android smartphone app market is a fluke. Android is a hit on smartphones in part because wireless carriers are smitten with it. They've worked hard to put handsets in the hands of hundreds of millions of consumers, creating a large customer base for developers. The tablet market doesn't work that way: nothing will happen without a lot more heavy lifting on Google's part.
9. A little bit of all of the above. That's the most likely explanation, isn't it?
If you're rooting for Android tablet apps to provide serious competition to the iPad, it's too early to give up hope. It's easy to forget that Android smartphones weren't insta-hits, either: for about a year after the platform debuted in 2008, it wasn't entirely clear whether it would go anywhere. Then it did. Rapidly.
Still, when I attend Google I|O in June, I'm going to be looking for evidence that Google is acknowledging that the paucity of good Android tablet apps is a problem, and that it has a solution in mind.
If it doesn't? Then I'll panic — or at least divert my attention to Windows 8.
MORE: My colleague Jared Newman rounded up a dozen cool Android widgets.


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What I focus on in life is what I get. And if I concentrate on how bad I am or how wrong I am or how inadequate I am, if I concentrate on what I can't do and how there's not enough time in which to do it, isn't that what I get every time? And when I think about how powerful I am, and when I think about what I have left to contribute, and when I think about the difference I can make on this planet, then that's what I get. You see, I recognize that it's not what happens to you; it's what you do about it.
– W. O. Mitchell, Canadian Author and Teacher
Consider this: What are you focusing on today?


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You may have noticed that there has not been an original post on Renegade South lately. The reason is that, for the past two weeks, I have been absorbed by the task of getting Southern Communities at War ready for the copyeditor at University of North Carolina Press. I hope to have that portion of its preparation for production finished by June 1. Immediately following that, I will turn to completing forms and questionnaires for the UNC marketing department.
I'm excited for the book to finally be at this stage–as many of you know, I have been working on it for several years. Most of the posts on this site relate to its essays, at least peripherally. But the book especially demands my attention between now and at least June 15, and so the blog will have to take second place for now.
Even while working on Southern Communities at War, however, I check Renegade South at least once a day. I always find time to respond to comments! And I welcome, as ever, suggestions for future blogs and contributions of material or photos that you would like me to consider posting.
Thanks! Now it's back to editing . . . .
NOTE, November 24, 2009: Southern Communities at War has been renamed The Long Shadow of the Civil War: Southern Dissent and Its Legacies. It is scheduled for release on Feb. 18, 2010.
Categories: Announcements, The Long Shadow of the Civil War