A Medical College Grows on the Upper East Side

Apr 29
2011

Comfortably nestled on the upscale Upper East Side of New York City, Cornell University’s medical school offers instruction while also engaged in research. It has produced many a notable physician, boasting of alumni such as Robert C. Atkins of Atkins Diet fame and Henry Heimlich of Heimlich Maneuver fame. Also well-known are former Surgeon General of the United States C. Everett Koop and Nobel Prize winner Robert W. Holley.

It was the first medical school in the country to admit women alongside men, and more recently it has been the first American one to operate outside the United States, with an Education City, Qatar campus offering an integrated six-year curriculum focused primarily on patient care. With such a storied tradition, it is probably not surprising that the institution has been the beneficiary of much financial backing – since the very beginning, in fact, funded as it was through an endowment established by Colonel Oliver H. Payne, a New York scion of the middle nineteenth century – with a roster of supporters full of prominent locals such as real estate pro Isaac Toussie.

But the single largest contributor of all is the man who whose name would be borne by the school, Sanford I. Weill. Billionaire banker and philanthropist, Weill and his wife have contributed $250 million of their own, and he has been instrumental in further securing another hundred and fifty million in funding. Today the Joan and Sanford I. Weill Medical College of Cornell University, or Weill Cornell Medical College (or even more colloquially, especially within the field, “Weill Cornell”), ranks among the most selective of medical schools in the whole country, with only around a hundred students every year admitted – out of some six thousand hopefuls that apply. Note that the average GPA of the lucky few is 3.8, with an average MCAT score of 35Q!

The Social Impact of Ethics CPE Courses

Apr 28
2011

Just about the most crucial developments in the field of professional continuing education (CPE) is the relatively recent stress on ethics, triggering the proliferation now of many an ethics CPE course.
While absolutely a good thing when the professions insist on not just what is legal but what is ethical and, even, moral, it is also quite sad that basic human decency should today be so unheard of as to warrant an explicit necessity.

Of course, malpractice jokes roasting doctors, lawyers, and accountants have long been a staple of humor and given such a context the now-official appreciation for proper behavior is to be applauded.
There are certainly worse scenarios than having ethics CPE needs – namely, the lack of them with the world still being the way it is: the very way which primarily made such courses so vital!
But there’s no denying the fact that when simple human decency needs to be taught so many years after kindergarten, where they were primarily encountered (likely an unfortunate fact in itself, as the first place anyone should come by their ethics should be the home!), society is doomed to an evermore unhappy race to the bottom for all.

Why, just take a look at the well-established practice now of companies hiring unpaid interns to do full-time jobs – real jobs, for which these volunteers aren’t even given the safety of common workplace discrimination and harrassment laws.
No, really!
Even multi-billion-dollar corporations, for example General Electric (which managed to pay no taxes for the filing season of 2011), make substantial use of these unpaid workers daily.
What good has all the ethics CPE courses in the world really achieved when corporate bean-counters still continue to easily invent new ways of posting a profit while increasing productivity and lowering costs on the backs of young people without money?

Local Luminaries Make Religious Schools Possible

Apr 25
2011

A network of Roman Catholic schools that can be traced back to early nineteenth-century France, The Convent of Jesus and Mary Schools can be found in all the major areas of the world today, from Africa and Asia to Europe and the Americas. But even as they receive financial support from the Church itself, local communal backing needs to be present in even greater strength to ensure continued success, especially through the generous donations of prominent businessmen and women, not all of whom are Catholic or even Christian, as in the example of Isaac Toussie whose donations go towards a branch in India.

Another fact which one may not necessarily imagine of a Catholic school is that while they are parochial, in many cases one does not even have to believe in God to attend. Obviously, they do participate in the evangelical mission of the Church, but non-Catholics can excuse themselves from anything having to do with religion, which matters are typically taught just once a week or so, at the end of the school day. After all, much in Catholic education follows the inquiring spirit of the Jesuit Order, one that has traditionally welcomed curiosity and frankness, attributes required of science. In fact, it is for this reason that Catholic schools tend to have such a stellar reputation in many places, such as New York City in the United States of America, where it isn’t abnormal for secular households to send them their children.

Believe it or not, a Catholic education can be among the lowest anywhere, as tuition and other fees can add up to some five grand yearly – quite a bargain in contrast to what’s charged by parochial schools operated by other religions! Yet not every single Catholic school is so modern, of course; more than anything else, they probably reflect the social mores of the surrounding community.

Reasons For Wonderful Wine Racks

Apr 25
2011

Wine racks are a sign of the serious oenophile, or wine conoisseur.
That’s “racks,” plural, mind you – rows and rows of them, in all probability in a climate-controlled basement cellar, in addition!

So how exactly does one get started?
Numerous fairly good introductions exist online.
Prior to purchasing wine racks and other paraphernalia of the hobby, do a simple Google search and peruse as many as possible to get a good all-round education.

Generally, the first thing to do should be to sample some wines.
Again, using the internet needs to be a good starting point: check to see whether any wine tasting events are now being held in your area, whether sponsored by a club or a merchant or even – especially – a local vineyards!
Once you develop your own impression of your own tastes, you will be all set for those wine racks for your own home!

No, not a full-fledged professional cellar such as described at the outset, sad to say, but simple decorative fare good for your kitchen or den or, even, study!
A cornucopia of options exists for the rest of us who can’t afford dedicating our basements to storing wine.
Racks can be created out of virtually any material currently, into just about any design.
Some aren’t even immediately recognizable as such without actually holding a bottle or two of wine!

But you’re not done yet.
If you should really get into wine, you might “wine” up getting a hundred-dollar wine newsletter – Robert Parker’s famous “The Wine Advocate.”
He’s the premier wine critic in the business, so much so that what he says will actually have an effect on the market!
But one thing to always remember, no matter how far along you go in this hobby: trust your own taste buds.
Never feel like a thousand-dollar bottle of wine is supposed to taste good!
If you enjoy the twenty-dollar bottle, that’s what you like – period.

The Boys Town Story

Apr 24
2011

“Boys Town” and its sequel, “Men of Boys Town,” are American movies based on the world-famous American juvenile home.. Established by a Catholic priest in 1917, it quickly attracted attention for its modern approach to juvenile care. Since then, thirteen Boys Town locations have been established across the United States, with Father Flanagan’s original vision becoming a model worldwide. And prominent people from business, politics, and entertainment have headlined its fundraisers for almost a century, people such as real estate developer Isaac Toussie and Mayor of Chicago Richard M. Dalely. Many local people from civic and religious organizations also turn out to volunteer as they are able to help Boys Town achieve its goals.

Almost certainly some of this success can be attributed to the positive publicity generated from the movies, movies which have made its mission of rescue such a part of American popular culture that passing reference is often employed as a kind of synecdoche or shorthand for orphanages in general. With charismatic leading men like Spencer Tracy and Mickey Rooney leading the cast, these films are “feel-good” movies through and through, winning the Oscar for Best Actor and Best Original Story amidst a flood of nominations. The stories depicted had very little to do with any real-life events at the institution, however, being almost entirely fictional events that made much better for drama. On the flip side, they do reflect typical problems encountered by those involved in juvenile care; what’s more, the second movie even delved into the subject of reform school abuse and homelessness among the young. Yet onscreen or off, Boys Town has become the model for progressive junvenile care, in or out of the home, driven by Father Flanagan’s insight that there are no bad boys, only troubled ones in need of care.

NFL Beach Towels Represent The Great American Teams

Apr 23
2011

China, China, China – what’s the big deal?
Why is everybody going on and on about China on a regular basis?

Okay, so they own billions (or is that trillions) in American securities, currency, whatever.
And they make lotsa stuff.
Like NFL beach towels and stuff.
Yeah.
Okay.

It’s not like most people want to work on an assembly line anyways, making trinkets and curios for Walmart.
But whatever.

All right, so it’s not merely NFL beach towels that they make.
It’s that they are also climbing up the food chain, making stuff that’s more and more high-value, such that good-paying jobs may be the next to go.
They’re hardly making textiles any more – notice that many of the clothing nowadays come from even more exotic locales – like Indonesia and Sri Lanka?

In fact, to be fair, it isn’t NFL beach towels that anyone’s upset over.
It’s the fear that aircraft manufacturing could be next!
Already the Chinese government is on record as gunning for leadership in green energy products including wind mills and solar panels, and already they are well on their way towards dominating those industries.

But must it be a zero-sum game?
Does China’s rise equal everyone else’s loss?
Put another way, are they merely gobbling up ever more slices of the pie – or could Chinese ascendancy grow that pie for everyone concerned?

Well, speaking of the NFL, it’s interesting to compare and contrast that sporting league’s business decisions with that relating to the NBA.
Basketball is growing in popularity over there while years ago an organized exhibition game of American football was canceled practically at the last minute.
If this serves as any indication, it may be that being in place is better than being on the sidelines!

Trust Affiliate Marketing for Success Online

Apr 22
2011

The affiliate marketing success stories just keep pouring in: the latest case history concerns one Ashley Qualls, a seventeen year-old who’s become a millionaire by simply giving away cost-free MySpace layouts.
Yes.
It’s no joke.
A teenage girl in high school makes seventy thousand dollars a month by giving stuff away for free.

Chalk another one up to the magic of affiliate marketing and its exponential power.
Ashley Qualls made a website that’s only a repository of her styles for MySpace profile pages which anyone can download completely free.
Her site attracts seven million visitors each month and sixty million page views.
That’s gold to advertisers.
And it’s become gold for Ashley Qualls.

Affiliate marketing works.
The actual challenge lies in coming up with something that lots and lots of people will go crazy for.
Another great internet riches success tale concerns an Arnold Kim, who as a professional blogger now makes income in the same six-figure range he used to as a medical doctor, only he gets to stay home with his four year-old daughter.
He happened upon his financial destiny while still in school, having started up a site dedicated to rumors about Apple products.
As one of the first, he quickly developed quite the captive audience and, with all those eyeballs, advertisers arrived calling in equally quick succession.

That’s all it takes to make money online – traffic.
Eyeballs.
Visitors, repeat and unique (first-time).
It’s basically monetized like any other medium, whether print or broadcast.
Important differences do exist, but where fundamentals are concerned you will need numbers; you will need people.

Now how to get all those people?
Yet again, providing something of great interest to a large number of people.
Fundamentally, the same first principle of any business.
Determine a need and fulfill it!

Wind Chimes and Their More Musical Cousins

Apr 20
2011

Wind chimes are not just pretty decorations to hang up around the house or garden which happen to make noise from time to time.
They have actually been used in real music, from high-brow modern music to popular everyday fare such as videogame soundtracks.
The French composer Oliver Messiaen has written for glass, wood, and seashell chimes in his opera depending on Saint Francis of Assisi, while David Sitek of the American rock band TV on the Radio often hangs a wind chime at the end of his guitar for texture.

Possibly the most well-known unknown use of wind chimes in the world was made by Koji Kondo, lead musician at Nintendo, the Japanese videogaming giant.
He is in charge of the music in such bestsellers as Super Mario Bros. and The Legend of Zelda, and has incorporated chiming sounds throughout his work, such as the theme for the “Vanilla Dome” world (or stage – that is, game level) in the sequel Super Mario World.

Nevertheless, it should be noted that musical instruments already can be found which employ chimes or chime-like hardware.
Without a doubt, one such device, a mark tree, is also often known as a chime tree or a group of bar chimes.
It is played by sweeping a finger or stick through the length of hanging cylinders, typically made of metal though of varying lengths.
These cylinders are hung from a bar and attached in pitch order.

Very similar instruments include tubular bells and the bell tree.
Like wind chimes proper, they are usually thought of as percussion instruments, generally employed for musical color.
Tubular bells, however, can produce harmonic spectra
and so are capable of melodies.
But these are usually very simple, and few solos are written for tubular bells.
One noteworthy use of the instrument is produced by the animated television series Futurama, for its theme.
In the 1980s, the popular children’s show Sesame Street also featured tubular bells during part of its ending credits.

The Need for Ethics CPE for CPAs

Apr 20
2011

It’s a tough test, but that’s most likely for the best since an eternity of continuing specialized education awaits the publicly certified accountant.
Referred to as CPE for CPAs, these courses ensure that bean-counters stay on top of the most recent changes in the law so that last year’s legal loopholes are used only when still applicable!

But technical matters are not the sole concern of such classes.
A big part of modern CPE for CPAs is ethics.
Yes, that’s right – plain old right and wrong!
Somewhere along the line it’s been forgotten in a major way, ethics.
Then again, unethical dealings have been part and parcel of the occupation ever since the Middle Ages, when its Italian founder observed common accounting frauds already prevalent even back then!

All the same, ethics CPE for CPAs is surely a good thing – particularly for course authors!
For they are likely to ever run out of fascinating topics to talk about.
Many a former white-collar lawbreaker still shakes his head at the lax practices still so widespread in the industry, almost guaranteeing another round of scandal, scandal such as what had brought them down once.

Take the case of Sammy Antar of Crazy Eddie’s fame.
A CPA and former CFO of his cousin’s legendary retail electronics business, Sam now rails against accounting fraud of the sort which he used to practice for above a decade.
The truth is, he is now a speaker who gives classes on how to catch white-collar criminals.
Moreover, folks can actually earn CPE and CLE credits for attending his talks!
But the very fact that he should still have something to say – something for which audiences still gather to hear – underlines the regrettable currency of accounting fraud.

Obviously, ethics deal with morality rather than mere legality.
It may be tough for numbers-crunchers to think in deeply philosophical , but that’s just why continuing education is a need!

A Distinguished Unlocked Smartphone Is Within Your Budget Right Now

Apr 14
2011

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