Protect Your Eyes Against Macular Degeneration

Until recently, there was no way to prevent age-related macular degeneration (ARMD) or halt the disease's gradual—but nevertheless persistent — deterioration of the eye's light-sensitive retina.
Good news: The most current research confirms that a healthful diet and prudent lifestyle choices can reduce your risk of developing ARMD. What's more, new treatments are highly effective at minimizing vision loss in the early stages of the disorder.

WHO'S AT RISK?...
ARMD affects one in three Americans over age 65. In its mildest form, the condition results in blurred vision and difficulty reading. But it can quickly progress to a more advanced form that causes blindness.
The disorder affects the macula, the region of the retina that's responsible for "central vision." This enables us to read, recognize faces, drive and perform other activities that require sharp vision.
Most cases of macular degeneration begin with the formation of drusen — tiny yellow deposits that grow just behind the macula.
Known as "dry" ARMD, this condition can persist for years, usually causing only minor vision problems.
Unfortunately, one in 10 of those who are diagnosed with dry ARMD go on to develop "wet" ARMD. This form occurs when blood vessels under the retina leak fluid and form scar tissue, damaging or distorting the smooth surface of the retina. Wet ARMD can rob a person of central vision.

RISK-REDUCTION STRATEGIES...
Researchers have now identified several factors that contribute to macular degeneration. To curb your risk for this disorder...
Give up smoking. Studies show that smoking is the most significant risk factor for ARMD.
Minimize your exposure to sunlight. Wear sunglasses with amber-colored lenses that block blue-violet light and 100% of UVA and UVB rays. They can be purchased at any good eyeglass store.
Follow a heart-healthy regimen. The same factors that increase heart disease risk — especially high blood pressure and high cholesterol intake — heighten your risk for ARMD.
To protect your heart and eyes: Cut back on saturated fat...get regular exercise...and have your blood pressure checked at least once a year.
Eat plenty of leafy green vegetables. Spinach, collard greens and kale contain the carotenoids lutein and zeaxanthin, which are believed to help fight ARMD. Eat at least five one-cup servings of these vegetables each week.

EARLY DETECTION...
For anyone over age 55, the best defense against ARMD is an annual eye exam by an ophthalmologist. If a parent or sibling has ARMD, have annual eye exams beginning at age 40.
See an ophthalmologist immediately if printed text appears blurry...straight edges of doorways or windows appear wavy...or if a dark —or blank— spot obstructs the center of your vision.
During the eye exam, your doctor will use a handheld lighted instrument (ophthalmoscope) to check for drusen. Fluid under the retina can be a sign of wet ARMD, which requires treatment and evaluation from an ophthalmologist who specializes in disorders of the retina.*
Your doctor should also test your eyesight using an Amsler grid, a chart with lines that resemble graph paper. If lines appear wavy when you focus on a dot in the center of the grid, you may have wet ARMD.
*To find a retinal specialist in your area, contact the American Academy of Ophthalmology at 415-561-8500, www.aao.org.

TREATMENTS...
A number of treatments are now available to reduce the blood vessel damage associated with wet ARMD...
Laser therapy is an effective way to stop the progression of ARMD. During this 30-minute outpatient procedure, a high-powered laser seals off the leaky blood vessel.
Laser therapy is recommended if the blood vessel is clearly visible and located to the side of the retina. This allows the ophthalmologist to control any vision loss that can result from tissue damage caused by the laser therapy.
Photodynamic therapy (PDT), a promising new form of laser therapy that uses a photo-sensitive dye, is available at many teaching hospitals. It causes less tissue damage than traditional laser therapy. For this reason, PDT is the preferred treatment. However, it must be repeated every few months.
For a list of medical centers that perform PDT, go to the Novartis Ophthalmics website at www.visudyne.com/aboutv/centers.html
Clinical trials are also being held to determine the effectiveness of other new treatments.
Submacular surgery removes the blood vessel through a hole in the side of the retina. This procedure is being tested on patients whose damaged blood vessel is located in the center of the retina, which diminishes the success of laser surgery.
Transpupillary thermo-therapy uses a low-temperature laser, which limits damage to the retina and surrounding tissue.
Radiation therapy uses a beam of electromagnetic energy to destroy leaky blood vessels in much the same way that radiation is used to treat cancer. However, results from current trials have not shown a large benefit from radiation therapy.
Antiangiogenesis drugs block the proteins that are critical to the formation of blood vessels that lead to ARMD.
For more information on clinical trials, contact the National Eye Institute, 301-496-5248, www.nei.nih.gov

source: Robert D'Amato, MD, PhD, associate professor of ophthalmology at Harvard Medical School, and an attending physician at the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, both in Boston. He is coauthor of Macular Degeneration—The Latest Scientific Discoveries and Treatments for Preserving Your Sight. Walker & Co.

Stroke Self Defense

Even if you think you're not at risk, buy a blood pressure monitor, sold at pharmacies, and take your own readings weekly. Learn to check your pulse for irregularities to discuss with your doctor. If you are at higher-than-average stroke risk, check with your doctor before taking any cold or flu medicines.

Remember: Do not smoke... avoid excessive alcohol intake ... monitor your cholesterol... keep weight down... exercise... get eight hours of sleep each night... beware of factors that raise your risk, such as diabetes or family history.

Further information can be obtained from the National Stroke Association, 800-787-6537 ... www.stroke.org.

source: Richard L. Hughes, MD, is chief of neurology at Denver Health Medical Center, 777 Bannock St., Denver 80204.

Which is important: the coffee or the cup?

A professor agrees to host a ten year reunion for his graduate students during his retirement. The former students see it as an excellent opportunity to catch up on each other and celebrate days gone by.

On the appointed day, everyone shows up and the professor has arranged for a light brunch ending with coffee. There are cups arranged on the table, some of which are elaborate and expensive while other are cheap and disposable.

At the end of the brunch the professor announces that he will be able to accurately predict which of his gather students will go on to great fame and achievement and which of the remaining students will toil for the rest of their lives in mundane, irrelevant jobs. With enormous curiosity the students demand to know which group each of them fall into.

The professor then says, “Look at the cup you are holding. If it one of the expensive cups, then the likelihood of your professional success is very minute.” “Minute?!,” says one student. “I’m a director of research at a prestigious university and I suspect that I’m earning five times the amount you were paid when you were teaching.” The professor listened as others announced their outrage and disappointment that he would predict their failure rather than applaud their accomplishments.

The professor replies that the choice of cup spoke volumes to how each of them viewed their lives. For those who felt that the trappings of success where more important; the large office, the fancy title, they chose an expensive and elaborate cup to hold their coffee. For those students who understand that the journey is more important that the destination or that the purpose of research and intellect is the adventure of discovery, found the cup irrelevant and the taste of coffee of supreme importance.

Which will you chose? An elaborate cup adds nothing to the taste and quality of the coffee. The type of car you drive or size television you own does nothing to how you contribute to the betterment of your community and sense of self. It is the “coffee” of your life which should have value and importance.

Time Bombs — Hidden Salt, Sugar and Fat in Everyday Foods

Even "good" eaters compromise their health with poor dietary habits—and they often don't even realize it. The most dangerous culprits: salt, sugar and fat. Make the appropriate changes to avoid these "hidden" ingredients to reduce your risk of disease.

HIDDEN SALT...
Table salt and high-sodium ingredients flavor and preserve everything—from pudding and cake mix...to salad dressing and frozen entrees...to canned food and condiments.
About 20% of the population is sodium-sensitive, suffering from increased blood pressure or fluid retention due to excess sodium. Excess sodium also causes bones to release calcium and therefore contributes to the development of osteoporosis.
The average American consumes 3,000 milligrams (mg) to 5,000 mg of sodium per day. Aim for no more than 2,000 mg per day. People with congestive heart failure, gout, hypertension and kidney problems should avoid foods with added salt.
Sodium is added in various forms, including monosodium glutamate (MSG)...sodium bicarbonate...sodium chloride (table salt)...and sodium nitrate.
One cup of soup can easily contain 800 mg to 1,000 mg of sodium. A few handfuls of chips can have up to 400 mg. Read labels to compare the sodium content of similar products.

OTHER STRATEGIES...
Buy foods in their natural states. Avoid processed foods. They are likely to have added sodium.
Do not add salt while cooking. If you must add salt, use it sparingly on the surface when you're ready to eat — don't mix it in.
Use lemon juice, lime juice, vinegar and extra herbs and spices to flavor foods. All add punch without extra sodium.

HIDDEN SUGAR...
Refined and even natural sugars are added to everything— from baby food and breakfast cereal...to pasta sauce and processed foods. On food labels, sugar is listed in many ways — as sucrose, fructose, high-fructose corn syrup, fruit juice concentrate, honey, maple syrup, molasses and others. An ingredient ending in -ose is usually a form of sugar.
If you are overweight, eating excess sugar can slow weight loss or even cause weight gain. Dried fruit, fruit juice and foods flavored with added sugar are concentrated in calories. All sugar — whether refined or natural — can contribute to elevated blood triglyceride levels, a risk factor for heart disease.

SUGAR AVOIDANCE STRATEGIES...
Eat fresh fruit Limit processed fruit products, such as fruit juices and canned and dried fruits. I advise patients to eat no more than three servings of fruit a day...or one serving per day for maximum weight loss.
View fruit as dessert Fruit is a good source of vitamins, minerals and health-supporting phytochemicals as well as fiber. Make fresh fruit the sweet ending to a meal. Skip fattening desserts, which are devoid of nutritional benefits.
Add sugar to the surface. As with salt, a little sugar on the surface of food adds flavor without many extra calories. A bowl of cooked oatmeal topped with a teaspoon of brown sugar is satisfying and contains less sugar than many presweetened packaged varieties.

HIDDEN FAT...
Fat is added to processed foods to enhance flavor and texture and blend ingredients. Everyone needs to monitor fat intake. In addition to obesity, consuming dietary fat promotes cancer, coronary artery disease and diabetes. Both animal and plant fats are a concern.
I advise no added fat. Those who need to lose weight should also avoid high-fat plant foods, such as avocados, nuts, olives, seeds and soy products.
Food manufacturers list fat on labels in different ways...
• Mono- and diglycerides. These fats are added to bread andother baked goods to soften them.
Hydrogenated fat (trans fatty acids). Commonly used in margarine and processed foods, it raises blood cholesterol levels even more than butter and cream.
• "Fat-free" Foods that contain less than one-half gram of fat per serving can be labeled "fat-free." The trouble is that many standard "servings" are small by consumers' standards. If you eat several servings of a so-called fat-free food, you may be eating a fair amount of total fat.
• Choice of fats. Foods are often labeled with possible fat sources. A product "may contain soybean and/or cottonseed oil." Manufacturers can then use whichever fat is most cost-effective.

FAT SELF-DEFENSE STRATEGIES...
• Eat fresh foods. Baked potatoes, steamed vegetables and cooked rice do not have any extra fat unless you put it there.
Choose wisely. Eat less meat and fewer dairy products and more whole grains and fresh fruits and vegetables.
• Cook and bake from scratch to control the amount of fat used. examples: Use nonstick cookware...substitute mashed bananas, unsweetened applesauce or prune paste for fat.

source: John McDougall, MD, director of The McDougall Program, a 12-day live-in plan to teach proper nutrition at St. Helena Hospital and Center for Health, Napa Valley, California. He is author of numerous books, including The McDougall Program for Women: What Every Woman Needs to Know to Be Healthy for Life. Plume.

Protect Yourself From Bone Loss

People taking corticosteroids, such as prednisone, for more than three months should have a bone-density scan every six to 12 months...take calcium supplements and 400 IU to 800 IU of vitamin D daily. Ask your doctor what is best. Monitoring and preventing bone loss are easier than the years of therapy needed to rebuild bone that steroids may weaken.

source: Barbara Lukert, MD, Director, Osteoporosis Clinic, University of Kansas Hospital, Kansas City, Kansas.

Heart Attack Self-Defense

You've cut back on dietary fat and cholesterol. You've started exercising and lost weight. If you ever smoked, you've stopped. Perhaps you've even taken to drinking green tea.
What else can you do to reduce your risk of heart disease?
Quite a lot, actually. These nine suggestions come from Dr. Dennis Sprecher, a heart attack specialist at the world-renowned Cleveland Clinic...

• Consume more apples, onions and green beans...and more purple grape juice. These foods are rich in the heart-protective antioxidants called flavonoids.
Flavonoids benefit the heart by inhibiting oxidation of cholesterol—a chemical process that promotes artery blockages.
Flavonoids also help dilate the arteries that supply oxygen-rich blood to the heart.
CAUTION: Unsweetened grape juice—at 154 calories per eight ounces—is too calorie-dense to be consumed every day.
Like purple grape juice, red wine contains flavonoids. But given the risks associated with alcohol, men should have no more than two five-ounce glasses a day...women no more than one five-ounce glass a day.

• Boost your intake of omega-3 fatty acids. Fish oil is a good source of omega-3 fatty acids, which are believed to account for the lower incidence of heart-related deaths among people who eat at least some fish.
Omega-3s boost levels of HDL (good) cholesterol and reduce blood pressure by relaxing arteries...stabilizing heartbeats...and inhibiting formation of artery-clogging blood clots. Try to eat fish high in omega-3s, such as salmon and trout, twice a week.
CAUTION: Fish oil is a highly concentrated source of fat calories. Consuming too much of it raises LDL (bad) cholesterol levels.
If you don't like fish, ground flaxseed—sold in health-food stores—is an alternative source of omega-3s. Add it to cereal.
Another little-known source of omega-3s is arugula lettuce.

• Eat more beans and other low-fat foods—and less meat. One cup of black beans provides as much protein as two ounces of lean ground beef. But the beans contain only 1 g of total fat, compared with 12 g for the meat.
Also, beans contain no saturated fat or cholesterol. The meat contains 4 g of saturated fat and a whopping 43 mg of cholesterol.

• Eat more soy- and oat-based foods. Both protect the heart by encouraging excretion of cholesterol circulating in the bloodstream.
Use soymilk instead of cow's milk on high-fiber bran or oat cereal. Low-fat soy cheese and tofu — found in the dairy section of many supermarkets — are other good sources of soy. Or have oatmeal or oat bread instead of sugary cereals.

• Cut way back on salt. It's well known that sodium — found in table salt and many processed foods—can damage the heart by raising blood pressure. Yet the average American still consumes 6,000 mg a day—far more than the recommended 2,400 mg.
To lower your salt intake, follow the diet developed as part of a landmark study known as Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH). More information: http://dash.bwh.harvard.edu .
The DASH diet consists primarily of fruits, vegetables, whole-grains and low-fat dairy products. People who followed the DASH diet experienced a 15% reduction of atherosclerosis (stiff, clogged arteries), a cause of heart attack.
The DASH diet also reduces blood pressure about as much as medications do.

• Eat six small meals a day. Small, frequent meals make it less likely that the body will turn the calories you consume into fat.
If you plan to eat at a restaurant, have an apple or another low-fat snack beforehand. This takes the edge off your hunger so you are less likely to load up on calorie-laden breads or appetizers.

• Work out more frequently. In addition to burning excess calories, physical activity boosts levels of HDL cholesterol. Although most experts recommend exercising 30 minutes three times a week, new research confirms that daily activity yields the greatest benefits.
Jog, walk, run, dance or do some other moderately vigorous exercise for at least 30 minutes a day. If you cannot manage a 30-minute workout, do three 10-minute sessions.

• Curb psychological stress. In response to a stressful situation — be it a traffic jam or a difficult boss—your body produces two key hormones. Epinephrine increases heart rate. Cortisol raises blood pressure.
If your body constantly generates these hormones, you overwork your heart—and that increases your risk for heart attack. When we are under stress, our breathing becomes rapid and shallow. That deprives the heart of oxygen.
To reverse this oxygen-robbing tendency, inhale deeply through your nose for a count of 10 when you feel stress. Then exhale for a count of 10. Repeat twice more.

• Ask your doctor about heart-protecting medication. A daily aspirin helps reduce the blood's tendency to clot. That makes heart attack less likely.
CAUTION: Do not take aspirin to protect your heart without talking to your doctor first. In some people, regular use can cause internal bleeding.
If your total cholesterol is 200 or higher and/or you have a strong family history of heart disease, you should probably take pravastatin (Pravachol) or another prescription "statin" drug.

source: Dennis Sprecher, MD, director of preventive cardiology and rehabilitation at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation. He is a contributing author of The Cleveland Clinic Heart Book. Hyperion.

How To Escape Common Health Insurance Traps

Health insurance does not cover every medical cost. The average American pays $1,200 out of pocket each year. Here are seven of the most common traps that prevent consumers from getting the most from their health insurance...

TRAP: Failing to appeal a denial for coverage. If your health insurer denies a claim for service, don't assume the battle is lost. Submit an immediate appeal in writing.
Get the name of the insurance company's medical director and send your appeal—by certified mail—directly to him/her. Save copies of all written correspondence. For phone calls, keep a diary. Record the date, the contact name and a conversation summary. In your letter, stick to the specifics of your appeal. If possible, quote from your member contract section of your insurance plan information booklet to back up your appeal.
If your appeal is denied, don't give up. Most states guarantee an external appeal in which a third party objectively reviews your case. Contact your state insurance department for more information.

TRAP: Failing to inquire about "UCR" limits or fee schedules on out-of-network health services. "UCR" stands for "usual, customary and reasonable" medical charges. These are defined as an average cost for a given medical service in your region.
A fee schedule typically assigns a reimbursement value to every service a physician provides. Most health plans use UCR limits or a fee schedule. Unlike HMOs, which restrict your choice of doctors, preferred-provider organizations (PPOs) and point-of-service plans allow users to consult out-of-network physicians. However, the user must pay a percentage of the cost.
BEWARE: The percentage paid by the health plan applies only to the UCR rate or fee schedule for that service.
EXAMPLE: Let's say your plan covers 80% of the cost for a visit to an out-of-network specialist. Let's also say the specialist charges $200, but your health plan has determined that the service should cost $100. The insurer will reimburse 80% of $100—only $80. You must pay the remaining $120 yourself. Before consulting a doctor from outside of your network, find out your insurance company's UCR limit or fee schedule for the service or procedure. If there is a significant difference between the doctor's fee and the reimbursement rate, explain your situation to your doctor. He may be willing to negotiate a lower rate.

TRAP: Failing to keep track of your requests for referrals. Because referrals to specialists are costly for managed-care companies, some may process them slowly. To prevent a long delay, monitor your requests closely.
Do not see a specialist until the referral has been approved. Once your doctor has agreed to the referral, make sure both your doctor and your plan follow through. If you don't hear back within one week, call your doctor's office manager to follow up.

TRAP: Failing to find out which prescription drugs are covered by your plan. Health plans typically have a list of approved medications. If your doctor prescribes a drug that isn't on this "formulary," you may wind up paying for it. Call your insurer's customer service department to make sure a drug prescribed for you is on your plan's formulary before you order it.
If the drug is not covered, talk to your doctor about substituting another drug. If your doctor still prefers the drug, request that he call and ask the insurer to make an exception.

TRAP: Failing to ensure that your treatment is "medically necessary." Most insurers cover only procedures and services they deem "medically necessary."
EXAMPLE: Rhinoplasty—nose reconstruction—for cosmetic reasons typically is not covered. But the procedure may be covered if it is medically necessary to correct a breathing problem.
If you consult a doctor for any health condition, be sure he indicates on your chart the necessity for the medical service or procedure. If your plan denies reimbursement, ask your doctor to write a letter explaining the medical necessity.

TRAP: Failing to use preventive and wellness services covered by your health plan. Many insurance companies offer preventive and wellness services at no cost. These may include flu shots...weight-loss and smoking-cessation programs...cancer screenings...and case management for diabetes, high blood pressure and other chronic health conditions. Read your member handbook carefully and see an employee benefits person at your company.

TRAP: Failing to take advantage of your COBRA options. Few people realize that they can maintain the health insurance they receive through an employer if they lose their job or become self-employed. This right is guaranteed for 18 months under a federal law known as the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA). If you leave an employer that paid for your health insurance, ask the company's human resources department about COBRA coverage. You must pay the entire premium yourself, but the breadth of coverage and corporate rate almost always beat what you can purchase as an individual.

Source: Paul Lerner and Julie Lerner, brother-and-sister coauthors of Lerner's Consumer Guide to Health Care: How to Get the Best Health Care for Less. Lerner Communications. Paul is an AIDS activist. Julie is a five-year survivor of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. For more on health insurance, visit www.Iernerhealth.com.

Silverlight Makes History

News Brief. When POTUS spoke about change, I wouldn't have guessed this.
Looks like Adobe Flash is about as fashionable as George W. Bush to the incoming Obama administration. Microsoft announced—and quite proudly, I must say—that Tuesday's historic presidential inauguration would be streamed using Silverlight.
How's that for an event driving Silverlight downloads? It sure as hell beats Microsoft's streaming deal for the Olympics. C`mon, who won't be watching the inauguration?
I've been having mover's remorse for weeks. What a time to be living in Washington, and I gave up the capital city for San Diego sun 15 months ago. (I shouldn't complain. It's 22 degrees Celsius as I write.)
The event will be available from the Presidential Inauguration Committee Website. Silverlight isn't the only thing Microsoft over there at PIC. A link to download inauguration planning party kits leads to an Outlook Web Access log-in page. Whoops.

Posted by Joe Wilcox on January 21, 2009 3:06 PM
http://www.microsoft-watch.com/content/web_services_browser/silverlight_makes_history.html

Caravan by Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers

Caravan was the Riverside debut by perhaps the most star-studded lineup of all Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers, with Reggie Workman (bass) and Cedar Walton (piano) alongside Blakey in the rhythm section, and Curtis Fuller (trombone), Wayne Shorter (saxophone) and Freddie Hubbard (trumpet) manning the horn front lines. The album is often acclaimed for this undeniably great band and also for legendary producer Orrin Keepnews' trademark pristine, yet warm production, which is highlighted in the newly remastered Keepnews Collection (released by Riverside).

Even though its energy seeps throughout Caravan like an invisible electric current radiating from Blakey's drum core, we almost never discuss this album in terms of his incredibly powerful, prideful and purposeful performance. Yet Caravan begins with Blakey alone; first rolling and blasting like thunder, then introducing with African accents Walton's centrally organizing piano riff, which then ushers in the rest of this Ellington tune.

You generally wouldn't associate the ballad style with this group of musicians but "In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning" transforms into a feature for Fuller's surprisingly romantic, nuanced trombone. Shorter's "Sweet 'n' Sour" sounds in your ear like that tastes in your mouth, tangy yet still pleasing, led by the composer's succinct saxophone, Caravan is a great hard bop record by one of the best hard bop bands ever. Even better, it puts you in the mood to reflect upon and appreciate how many genuinely great records Keepnews and Riverside put out during the early '60s.

by Chris Slaweki

Concord Voices, August 2009, p.17

Come Together

Here come old flattop
He come grooving up slowly
He got joo-joo eyeball
He one holy roller
He got hair down to his knee
Got to be a joker he just do what he please

He wear no shoeshine
He got toe-jam football
He got monkey finger
He shoot coca-cola
He say "I know you, you know me"
One thing I can tell you is you got to be free
Come together right now over me

He bag production
He got walrus gumboot
He got Ono sideboard
He one spinal cracker
He got feet down below his knee
Hold you in his armchair you can feel his disease
Come together right now over me

He roller-coaster
He got early warning
He got muddy water
He one mojo filter
He say "One and one and one is three"
Got to be good-looking 'cause he's so hard to see
Come together right now over me

There has to be a better way to Search ?!!?

Executive summary - Fios white paper

It is no secret that the majority of the cost of discovery resides in the cost of the review. Often, more than 80% of total electronic discovery costs can land here. It is exactly that metric that leads to the existence of e-discovery providers, such as Fios, who have the experience and capacity to ingest large (as in huge) amounts of raw data, disassemble that data to its lowest common level and then systematically and defensibly separate the chaff from the “potentially responsive.” This white paper addresses the growing acceptance, requirement and benefits of concept search technologies for e-discovery review.

Searching for defensibility...and results

It is no secret that the majority of the cost of discovery resides in the cost of the review. Often, more than 80% of total electronic discovery costs can land here. It is exactly that metric that leads to the existence of e-discovery providers, who have the experience and capacity to ingest large (as in huge) amounts of raw data, disassemble that data to its lowest common level, and then systematically and defensibly separate the chaff from the “potentially responsive.” Full-service providers utilize many techniques and industry standards to accomplish this modern miracle, such as:
The repository of known software, file profiles and file signatures maintained by the National Software Reference Library (NSRL) from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Standard data de-duplication methods (believe it or not, more than 27 standard de-duplication measures exist). File signaturing to identify the thousands of file types that may exist throughout an enterprise (your file names can run, but they cannot hide!).

Complex set theory

Boolean search filters – the most relied upon and yet potentially the most error-prone culling technology. The effectiveness of a search filter depends a lot on the underlying data population as well as the ability to identify keyword filters that will accurately isolate the potentially responsive data. Normally, it is less risky to err on the side of over-inclusiveness if there is a choice to be made. However, that choice leaves more data to be manually reviewed and categorized, with obvious impact on costs.

Furthermore, the effectiveness of any keyword filter is dependent upon the understanding and imagination of the list developer. For instance, if you want to find all items related to, say, “seatbelt failure,” is your strategy expansive enough to have included related references such as “passive restraint system breakdown”? In another example, all patents related to “motorcycles” are requested. Is the author of the keyword list knowledgeable enough to include “open air bi-wheeled frame”? (Yes, there really is a patent for that, and, yes, it really is a motorcycle.) Other barriers to successful searching include failing to think of all of the creative ways people can misspell words and names, as well as the nicknames, acronyms or non-case-sensitive terms that may be used to describe a product or person that might not be known to the search creator.

Of course you may be able to construct a very suitable list of search terms, but if someone does not properly “optimize” the list, the desired results may prove elusive. In most modern search technologies, arcane words and symbols are used to specify things like “wildcard” substitution characters or the proximity of words to each other (e.g., term 1 within 12 words of term 2). A lack of expertise in the “lingo” of search syntax can severely hamper the efficacy of a search. In one real-life example, a company was in the midst of a Department of Justice second request as a result of a pending acquisition and had only 45 days to respond. After collecting two terabytes of data, counsel needed to cull down the data to what was potentially responsive to the request. They began the culling process by searching for the stock symbol of the acquired entity. Imagine their surprise when all but one item in the entire document set came back as potentially relevant because the stock symbol was included in the footers and email signatures of nearly all the documents.

The challenge with search term filtering is that it is an imperfect science. While some filters, such as date ranges, are usually reliable when properly applied, keyword filters can be notoriously inaccurate. Keyword filters are simultaneously over-inclusive and under-inclusive in that they have the potential to capture non-relevant documents as well as leave behind relevant documents. In a study of the efficacy of search and retrieval techniques used in the legal community, presented at the 2006 and 2007 Text REtrieval Conference (TREC) proceedings, researchers found that Boolean searches yielded only 22 to 53 percent of the actual relevant content when used to cull the seven million documents stored in the tobacco litigation Master Settlement Agreement database.
More evidence of the inadequacy of conventional search term filtering was recently provided by The Sedona Conference. Of particular note are the two following practice points:

• “In many settings involving electronically stored information, reliance solely on a manual search process for the purpose of finding responsive documents may be infeasible or unwarranted. In such cases, the use of automated search methods should be viewed as reasonable, valuable, and even necessary.”
  
• “The use of search and information retrieval tools does not guarantee that all responsive documents will be identified in large data collections, due to characteristics of human language. Moreover, differing search methods may produce differing results, subject to a measure of statistical variation inherent in the science of information retrieval.”

Even the courts are taking a much deeper view of how potentially relevant data is discovered. Judge Grimm, writing for the US District Court for the District of Maryland in the Victor Stanley v. Creative Pipe case stated, “[W]hile it is universally acknowledged that keyword searches are useful tools for search and retrieval of ESI, all keyword searches are not created equal; and there is a growing body of literature that highlights the risks associated with conducting an unreliable or inadequate keyword search or relying on such searches for privilege review.”

A similar sentiment was also expressed by Judge Facciola, writing for the US District Court for the District of Columbia in U.S. v. O’Keefe: “Whether search terms or ‘keywords’ will yield the information sought is a complicated question involving the interplay, at least, of the sciences of computer technology, statistics and linguistics. See George L. Paul & Jason R. Baron, Information Inflation: Can the Legal System Adapt?', 13 RICH. J.L. & TECH. 10 (2007) * * * Given this complexity, for lawyers and judges to dare opine that a certain search term or terms would be more likely to produce information than the terms that were used is truly to go where angels fear to tread.”

Thus, the real question in e-discovery searching should be, “Is there a better way”?

Fortunately for the future of e-discovery, the answer is yes. While not fully embraced by the courts today, more sophisticated filtering methods are gaining acceptance as tools for excluding spam and non-relevant data.
Enter concept search engines. The idea behind a concept search engine is to create a process analogous to how people think. Computers are essentially non-thinking, obedient servants. They can only match what they’re given with whatever else they find that is identical. That’s how keyword searching works. The problem is that people don’t deal with the world in terms of keywords. We deal with the world in terms of concepts. A concept is something that can be described with many different sets or combinations of keywords. For example, unwanted emails, unsolicited offers and blind contacts are all part of the notion or concept of “spam.” Spam is also a canned meat product. It is just as important to leave out the edible spam as it is to include unwanted emails in a search for “spam.” In Disability Rights Council v. Washington Metropolitan Transit Authority, Judge Facciola recommended “concept searching.”

There are three different underlying technologies being used to create concept engines that are finding their way into e-discovery. Natural Language Processing is based loosely on artificial intelligence techniques. Bayesian Inference and Latent Semantic Indexing are both purely mathematical. All have their advantages and applications; however, the mathematical approaches are gaining traction as logical and flexible approaches for addressing e-discovery.

Natural Language Processing

The same folks who were the first-adopters of the mouse and who gave us an early form of the graphical user interface, the Palo Alto Research Center (PARC) (which began as a division of Xerox Research in 1970), also developed the first natural language processing (NLP) solutions. The idea behind NLP is that there’s structure to language. In the form of grammar and syntax, that structure can be used to determine what a phrase or sentence is really about. It’s an early form of artificial intelligence.

This is a very neat, elegant solution that’s employed in a number of software applications in use today. It lends itself to multiple languages and even comparison across languages. However, looks can be deceiving. In many ways, NLP is analogous to hydrogen-powered cars. Like NLP, that technology is elegant and appealing, but hydrogen cars won’t be a realistic alternative until an extensive infrastructure is developed to support wide-scale manufacturing, fueling and maintenance.

NLP is very similar. It relies on a wide range of outside information, or “auxiliary structures,” that help differentiate between similar words, variations of words and phrases, slang, technical terms and so on. If you want an NLP system to deconstruct a sentence like, “The bank is on the left,” it doesn’t know if you mean First National Bank in Peoria, Illinois, in La Rive Gauche along the Seine in Paris, or on an airplane that needs to dip its wing to make a left-hand turn. What is “bank”? How is it being used? An NLP technique needs to be told, in essence, how to think about “bank” in this context.

Needing to define the context is a real problem for two reasons. The first is that you don’t always know how a particular term, like “bank,” is being used. The second and far more serious problem is that language changes rapidly and regularly. Think about today’s nomenclature. To “google” something is to look it up on the Internet using a popular search engine; however, as recently as five years ago, if you offered to “google” something you’d raise an eyebrow or worse. This problem is exacerbated in e-discovery, where everything happens in the past. When we are trying to analyze a large collection of documents, those documents may likely have been produced five, 10 or more years ago using the terms and language of the time. Let’s take cell phones and hand-held organizers as an example. What did we have for personal digital assistants (PDAs) or smartphones 10 years ago? Are those the same as Palm Pilots? What’s an Apple Newton? Could it make a phone call? We might be experts in forensics, but we’d rather leave history to the academicians.

The two competing mathematical approaches overcome these NLP limitations, but they also present some of their own challenges.

Bayesian Inference

Bayesian Inference has been around for at least 250 years. “Bayes’ theorem” is credited to Reverend Thomas Bayes in a paper published in 1763 after Bayes’ death by his friend Richard Price. It turns out that Bayes himself might not have invented his “theorem.” There’s compelling evidence that one of Isaac Newton’s close friends, the blind mathematician Nicholas Saunderson, developed it in the early 1700s. The main idea behind the theorem is conditional probability. It’s actually fairly simple: If a given event occurs a number of times under certain conditions in the past, and if you can identify other events and similar conditions, there’s a high probability that these events are related. Bayesian Inference has been used to successfully predict any number of things, from drug test results to poker game outcomes.

It can also be used to identify “concepts.” The idea here is to look at a whole collection of documents and identify how people, places, things and events are described in a similar manner. It actually works quite well. Bayesian Inference will be able to determine that “the bank on the left” and “the First National Bank in Peoria, Illinois” and “the financial institution located left of Sanderson in Peoria” are all phrases about the same place. Bayesian inference is at the heart of some very large and successful enterprise search solutions.

For e-discovery, however, there’s a problem. The more conditions you introduce into Bayes’ theorem, the more “variants” of that formula you produce. Put more simply, it’s like factoring: 2 x 2 = 4, but 2 x 2 x 2 = 8 and 2 x 2 x 2 x 2 = 16. For each additional factor, the increase in the number of potential results is exponential – a result exactly the opposite of our stated objective of reducing the volume of potentially responsive ESI.

Thus, with Bayesian Inference, the more complex the events and conditions, the more “math” the system is going to have to perform to get a result. In the world of e-discovery, it’s rarely as simple as “Mary told Frank about the bank draft.” Very complicated situations can cause software solutions based on Bayesian Inference to go into overdrive. Worse, they may tend to “narrow in” on a given set of results, either because they aren’t able to see all the variations or because the software has been “choked” to yield the desired performance.

Latent Semantic Indexing

Latent Semantic Indexing (LSI) was first developed at Bell Labs, which subsequently abandoned it. The idea behind LSI is to create a kind of “hyperspace” with lots of dimensions and other mathematical “things” that we mere mortals struggle to understand, and then plot every word and document into this “space.” On some dimension or plane somewhere in this space, documents that are similar are going to get plotted close together. The “closeness” or proximity of similar documents to each other can even be measured. Give an LSI system enough documents and relationships start to emerge.

Like Bayesian Inference, LSI is based purely on mathematics. LSI-based applications don’t get “hung up” on specific words or synonyms. Multiple meanings can be attributed to a single term, such as in our “bank” example. They also have the ability to compare concepts across language boundaries. With a mathematical approach, it’s easy to “train” the system to recognize that “Comment allez-vous?” in French means “How are you?” in English simply by having it analyze two documents that are identical in content but in different languages.

Unlike Bayesian inference, LSI doesn’t expand in scope as variations increase. Every word and every document gets a “plot” or value, regardless of how obscure the word or complex the document may be. This is how the “index,” or vector space, that LSI uses is created. When you go to search an LSI index, it functions as if the system has total recall. In reality, it is finding only the “plots” or “vectors” that are most similar to what you’re searching. The Achilles’ heel of LSI has traditionally been hardware. LSI uses computer memory – lots of it. Let’s face it, “total recall” means you have to “remember” lots and lots of mathematical relationships. This was a problem in the Bell Labs days, when the Intel 8086 microprocessor represented the most advanced processing technology. Today, however, memory is available and cheap, and today’s PCs and servers have 64-bit architectures that allow them to access tons of this inexpensive memory.

Concept-based searching using LSI has been applied to the e-discovery process by leading providers as early as 2003. Newer search applications exploit LSI in ways many companies and their legal teams have never considered. By taking full advantage of conceptual search methodologies, recent technologies are able to offer powerful new features, such as the automatic determination of themes within the data, visual mapping of the relevance of one concept to another and support for cross-lingual capabilities.

We accept Boolean searches as the standard for e-discovery. Most people, including lawyers, are very comfortable with keyword searching. Put in a string of keywords and get back documents that contain those keywords. But Boolean searches are only de facto standards, and the courts are growing increasingly frustrated with legal wrangling and maneuvering involving ESI. Grimm, in Victor Stanley, clearly stated that keyword searching is not enough for privilege review.

The amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedures (FRCP), enacted in December 2006, were intended to change that. One outcome of the FRCP amendments is the requirement for opposing counsel to “meet and confer” early in the process and present the courts with their strategy for searching, identifying and preserving ESI relevant to their case. But that requirement has hardly resolved the many difficulties related to limiting the scope and costs of e-discovery. In fact, to the increasing dismay of many in the legal community, the “meet and confer” requirement often results in a situation where the less-prepared party is compelled to agree to keywords, time frames or other search parameters that virtually guarantee either an over-inclusive, overly expansive document set requiring review or a much greater risk that that responsive documents will be missed.

The recent rulings by Judges John M. Facciola and Paul W. Grimm both cite the shortcomings of keyword and Boolean searches and illustrate how an e-discovery process based solely on keyword techniques runs the risk of derailment. These justices, along with dozens of others e-discovery experts, are pressing defendants and plaintiffs alike to augment their “comfortable” keyword search techniques with advanced searching. One might ask if a single watershed case will settle the defensibility of advanced searching, or will dozens of narrower rulings pry the door open and gradually elevate advanced search techniques to the same admissibility as keyword? The details are hard to predict, but the general direction of the courts is clear: Advanced technologies, such as concept searching, supported by sound, defensible process and expert management, will be in increasing demand, especially with judges who are well-versed in ESI.

Are you prepared?

http://www.fiosinc.com/e-discovery-knowledge-center/downloads/FIOS_White_paper_Search_web.pdf

http://www.fiosinc.com/e-discovery-knowledge-center/electronic-discovery-whitepaper-data.aspx?id=383

Make It Positive

Metrics and key performance indicators are important performance management tools, but they're only as good as the behaviors they elicit. Unforeseen and undesirable behavior can and of­ten does result.

Finance and IT managers typically drive performance management, but they tend to focus on reporting and decision support, says Frank Buytendijk, VP and fellow of enterprise performance management at Oracle and author of Performance Leadership. They often forget the need to drive people's behaviors, "yet they're always surprised when people don't respond as expected when they're confronted with a budget, scorecard, or key performance indicator."

Classic examples of undesirable behavior include pushing deals into the next quarter because targets have been met or "use-it-or-lose-it" spending against budget at year's end. How do you promote positive performance behavior? Buytendijk suggests these steps:

Balance performance measurements: "If you only have long-term indicators, nobody has a sense of urgency, and if you only have quarterly targets, people run from little fire to little fire," he says. Develop a mix of long- and short-term indicators, as well as operational and financial ones, so you can see the consequences of day-to-day decisions. Balance quantitative and qualitative measures so high throughput, for example, doesn't come at the cost of quality. Manage with leading metrics and use lagging metrics for externa! reports such as financial statements.

Align corporate and personal objectives: Companies are typically measured based on profit margins, yet sales compensation programs often reward revenue. To drive desired behavior, align personal goals with the real objectives, but be prepared for hard work. Avoid "we've always measured this way" cop-outs or, worse, "it's too hard to come up with a margin-based compensation scheme."

Consider the "network effect": Performance management really pays off when it aligns networks, be it departments within a company or partners in a supply chain. Tie together metrics that measure handoff efficiencies from, say, production to distribution or marketing to sales and support, but you have to assign shared responsibility among managers with executive oversight.

In supply chain scenarios, for example, deep integration of logistical systems can to lead to just-in-time efficiencies, but they can also result in one-sided measures that punish one partner and encourage dysfunctional behavior, such as demanding service-level agreements that might tempt a supplier to slack off on quality control. Ensure that the measures drive mutual benefit. Accurate manufacturer forecasts, for example, will improve supplier efficiencies and lower costs for both partners.

by Doug Henschen, Information Week Nov 24, 2008 p37

Musings about Miles Davis

"The Musings Of Miles" [Rudy Van Gelder Remaster] This was a forerunner of the
Miles Davis Quintet as it was his first session with Red Garland and Philly Joe Jones. Up to then his Prestige dates had been of the "all star" variety. (Oscar Pettiford fills that bill here.) By the fall, John Coltrane and Paul Chambers would come aboard to help form the first of a continuum of great Davis working groups. On "A Night in Tunisia" Philly Joe used special sticks with little cymbals riveted to the shaft. with Red Garland, Oscar Pettiford, Philly Joe Jones.




"Live At The 1963 Monterey Jazz Festival" This previously unreleased live album features Miles Davis on trumpet, George Coleman playing the tenor saxophone, Herbie Hancock on piano, Ron Carter playing bass and Tony Williams on drums. Produced by Jimmy Lyons, this album was recorded live at the Monterey Jazz Festival on September 22, 1963. All proceeds from this recording go to Monterey Jazz Festival-supported jazz education programs.

"Muted Miles" This hand-picked collection puts a softly-focused blue spotlight on the intimate and unmistakable sound of the one and only Miles Davis playing his horn with a Harmon mute. In fact, this is the first-ever compilation to showcase his seminal harmon mute performances on Prestige! Miles's artfully nuanced playing, presented with the sonic signature of his warmly-buzzing, muted trumpet tone is, to this day, often imitated but never duplicated. Featuring many of the all-time greatest names in jazz including John Coltrane, Charles Mingus, and Red Garland, this incredible specially-priced collection is not to be missed.




"Miles Davis Plays For Lovers" One of the most haunting sounds to emerge from the 20th century emanated from Miles Davis’s trumpet. Whether the bell of that horn was open or filled by his trademark Harmon mute, Davis (1926-1991) soloed with surpassing beauty. From 1953 to 1956 he established himself as one of the preeminent balladeers; it was also during this period that he formed his first great quintet, featuring a rapidly-developing tenor saxophonist named John Coltrane. On “’Round Midnight,” “It Never Entered My Mind,” and “My Funny Valentine” (which Coltrane sat out), Davis’s band brought new depth and intimacy to love songs, with the trumpeter’s restrained lyricism offset by Coltrane’s voluble approach. Elsewhere, Davis is joined by such giants as Horace Silver, Charles Mingus (co-composer, with Miles, of the moody blues “Smooch”), and Elvin Jones. Here is a great artist playing for lovers—and offering nary a sentimental note.

"Prestige Profiles Vol. 1" Miles Davis' period with Prestige spanned 1951-1956, which included time spent with John Coltrane, pianist Red Garland, bassist Paul Chambers, and drummer, Philly Joe Jones. Miles' use of the trumpet mute was highlighted during this period. Original versions of Walkin', Airegin, and Doxy are featured on this Prestige Profile #1. The bonus disc with the Miles Davis issue highlights other Prestige trumpeters such as Kenny Dorham, Art Farmer/Donald Byrd, and Chet Baker. Gil Evans' composition, Jambangle. from Gil Evans Plus 10 is a nice treat as well.

Although Miles Davis' 1955-1957 quintet had a relatively short life, it went down in history as one of the finest and most interesting bebop combos of the 1950s. It was a group in which different musical personalities did more than coexist -- they complimented and inspired each other. The quintet's front line had two unlikely allies in Davis and the distinctive John Coltrane, whose aggressive, passionate tenor saxophone was quite a contrast to Davis' subtle, understated, cool-toned trumpet. Davis, who was Chet Baker's primary influence and defined cool jazz with his seminal Birth of the Cool sessions of 1949-1950, was a very economical player -- he didn't believe in notes for the sake of notes, whereas Coltrane's solos tended to be a lot longer. But as different as Davis' and Coltrane's musical personalities were, Miles Davis Quintet never failed to sound cohesive. Davis formed the famous group in 1955, hiring Coltrane as well as a rock-solid rhythm section that consisted of bassist Paul Chambers, drummer Philly Joe Jones (not to be confused with swing drummer Jo Jones), and the lyrical pianist Red Garland. The group's sessions of 1955-1956 resulted in four albums on Prestige (Cookin', Relaxin', Workin', and Steamin') and one on Columbia (Round About Midnight). Although the Miles Davis Quintet officially broke up in early 1957, its members were briefly reunited when, in 1958, they formed a sextet with alto saxophonist Cannonball Adderley and recorded Milestones for Columbia. Davis and Coltrane continued to work together in 1959 (when Davis recorded the influential modal classic Kind of Blue), but in 1960, Coltrane formed his own group and left the trumpeter's employ for good. ~ Alex Henderson, All Music Guide

"Steamin' With the Miles Davis Qunitet" Of Miles Davis's many bands, none was more influential and popular than the quintet with John Coltrane, Red Garland, Paul Chambers, and Philly Joe Jones. Davis's muted ballads and medium-tempo standards endeared him to the public. The horns' searing exposition of classics like "Salt Peanuts" and "Well, You Needn't" captivated musicians. The searching, restless improvisations of Coltrane intrigued listeners who had a taste for adventure. The flawless rhythm section became a model for bands everywhere. Steamin' is a significant portion of the music of this remarkable group.

Steamin' is more than a great set of performances, even more than a great album by a great improvisatory ensemble, led by one of the century's greatest musicians, although history does seem to prove that it is all of these things. The album comes from the first of Miles Daves' two witheringly great quintets, with Red Garland, Paul Chambers and Philly Joe Jones in the rhythm section and John Coltrane up front. And somehow, producer Bob Weinstock and engineer Rudy Van Gelder genuinely captured in Van Gelder's Hackensack studio a miniature universe illustrating why Davis stood at the top of his game in 1956. Steamin' is simply one of the most complete sets of music ever and you can experience it again as part of the Rudy Van Gelder Remasters series. He exercises a popular melody from a musical ("Surrey with the Fringe on Top") as a framework for a round of solos that sparkle with genius; during 'Trane's workout, all connection to the original sounds lost until Davis calls the melody back home. "Salt Peanuts" and "Well, You Needn't" remind that in the previous decade, Davis stood on the front lines in the harmonic, melodic and rhythmic revolution in jazz known as bebop. Coltrane sits two of the balladas out to leave Davis in an acoustic quartet, something Davis almost completely stopped soon hereafter. The soft, reticent melody to "When I Fall in Love" profoundly complements Davis' ballad style. liner notes by Chris Slawecki

"The Legendary Prestige Quintet Sessions" Baseball insiders, as well as those who just love the game, speak reverently of the “five-tool player”: that is, the rare athlete who can hit for average, hit for power, field, throw, and run. In the world of jazz during the mid-1950s, the first great quintet of the trumpeter-bandleader Miles Davis (1926-1991) was a five-tool band, and then some. More than any other ensemble, the Davis five could play burning bebop, churning hard bop, and blithely bouncing show tunes. They breathed new life into long-forgotten standards, and their deep-night ballads, featuring the leader’s insinuating, Harmon-muted melodic statements, could inspire love sonnets for the ages.

Moreover, each supremely gifted member of the group was very much his own man. There was the clipped lyricism of the nattily-attired Davis; the vertiginous flights of the rapidly-developing tenor saxophonist John Coltrane; pianist Red Garland’s bell-like chords and sunny solos; the buoyant lines and eloquent bowing of young bassist Paul Chambers; and drummer Philly Joe Jones’s nonstop drive and slick brush work. Davis and company set the bar almost impossibly high, as these 32 selections, the quintet’s valedictory for Prestige before moving to Columbia, make abundantly clear.

Recorded in three sessions by the legendary engineer Rudy Van Gelder at his Hackensack, New Jersey studio to simulate “typical” nightclub sets, virtually every tune has become a classic. The mercurial trumpeter’s band is cookin’ on “Tune Up,” “Oleo,” and “Salt Peanuts” (with Philly Joe’s solo a model of percussive excitement and musicality); workin’ on “Four,” “Blues by Five,” and “Trane’s Blues”; relaxin’ on “When Lights Are Low,” “Surrey with the Fringe on Top,” and “In Your Own Sweet Way”; and steamin’ on signature ballads such as “It Never Entered My Mind,” “’Round Midnight,” and “My Funny Valentine.”

Newly remastered, and with insightful liner notes by Bob Blumenthal, The Legendary Prestige Quintet Sessions is like a game-winning grand slam home run in the bottom of the ninth—in four consecutive World Series games.

Managing the Social Networking Data Sieve

Four steps to containing the legal risks of social sites

Twitter, Facebook, Linkedln and other social networking sites practically beg you to reveal even more information about yourself. Log on and you're asked: What are you doing? What are you doing right now? What are you working on? Whether they mean to or not, any of your employees active on these sites can give away company secrets as easily as they do personal ones, 150-odd characters at a time. For ClOs trying to get a grip on social networking by employees, Tom Mighell, a lawyer and senior manager at Fios, an electronic-discovery consulting firm, offers some starting points:

1 - ACCEPT AND TRAIN

Many employees will use social networking tools regardless of what you want them to do. Instead of trying to stop them, teach them what to say, or what not to say, about work. For example, employees might be tempted to promote the features of a new product. But should that product become the subject of a product liability claim, those statements could be used as damning evidence, Mighell says. Also, they should be clear about which statements are opinion, which are fact. Talk frankly about the legal risks.

2 - INFLUENCE THE SOCIALIZING

Show how to use social networking tools productively and creatively for work without giving away too much information. For example, solicit expertise but don't get too specific. Wrong: "About to blow major deadline for Project Anaconda. Any SAP Netweaver experts out there? Help!" Right: "Looking for an SAP Netweaver expert."

3 - CONSIDER THE COMPLEXITIES

If information posted on social net­working sites becomes relevant in a lawsuit, you will have to collect it, review it and search it so you can comply with discovery requests. That may mean your social-networking employees may have to give up some privacy—their site passwords, for example. This particular situation hasn't yet come up in court, but it could get messy if the employee refuses to cooperate, Mighell notes.

4 - MONITOR

Designate a couple of people from the tech or legal groups to do sweeps of Facebook, Linkedln and other known hang-outs of your employees, to see who's saying and doing what. Talk to those who aren't following policy, and keep records to prove regular monitoring and enforcement of your rules, he says. You can't defend yourself if you set policy but never enforce it.

by Kim S. Nash, CIO Magazine, November 15, 2008, p.34

about MILES DAVIS

Some musicians are sufficiently inspired and influential to be labeled epoch-making. Miles Davis (1926-91) made new jazz epochs every few years. For nearly five decades he was at the center of the music, charting directions and introducing other legendary figures at a rate that is unmatched by his contemporaries in any art form.

The family poverty that makes for jazz melodrama was absent in Davis's background. He grew up in relative affluence in East St. Louis, Illinois and, after filling in with Billy Eckstine's big band while still in high school, journeyed to New York to enroll at Juilliard. He quickly renewed acquaintances with the bebop pioneers he had met in Eckstine's ranks, and by the end of 1945 had assumed the trumpet chair in Charlie Parker's quintet that he continued to hold for much of the next three years.

Davis's first venture as a bandleader was the innovative nonet he created in collaboration with arranger Gil Evans. This band, building on the writing Evans had done for Claude Thornhill and employing such unusual timbres for jazz as those of the French horn and tuba, provided the more subtle yet still harmonically provocative palette that soon became recognized as the "birth of the cool"; Yet in smaller bands of quartet to sextet size that Davis tended to lead in most of his live and studio work for the next several years, the emphasis was on a more assertive rhythmic edge and extended improvisations that revitalized the blues vernacular. A list of key collaborators in this 1951-54 period would have to include J.J. Johnson, Sonny Rollins, John Lewis, Horace Silver, Thelonious Monk, Milt Jackson, Percy Heath, Kenny Clarke, and Art Blakey, who together were laying the foundation for another stylistic variation, known as hard bop.

After a triumphant performance of "'Round Midnight" in a jam session at the 1955 Newport Jazz Festival, Davis was finally able to sustain a permanent band. The personnel (John Coltrane, Red Garland, Paul Chambers, Philly Joe Jones) are indicative of the diversely matched yet ultimately reinforcing ensembles the trumpeter would assemble again and again, bands that could create distinct group sounds behind each soloist and introduce fresh concepts regarding jazz form. While this unit, with the added participation of Cannonball Adderley and Bill Evans, became the dominant small jazz band of the late Fifties and helped popularize material based upon scales and modes, Davis also reunited with Gil Evans for a series of orchestral recordings that redefined the potential of the jazz soloist in a large band context.

The Sixties found Davis putting together another seminal quintet with Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter, and Tony Williams. This band took modern combo concepts to the edge of freedom, then incorporated electric instruments and layers of chordal and rhythmic support that launched the jazz-rock or fusion phenomenon. Working with larger, highly amplified bands from 1968 forward, and employing such future stars as Chick Corea, Dave Holland, Jack DeJohnette, Joe Zawinul, Keith Jarrett, and John McLaughlin, Davis now concentrated on sound and rhythm more than ever, becoming simultaneously more basic and more abstract in his approach. After a period of retirement in the late Seventies, he returned to studio and live performance with another generation of leaders-to-be (John Scofield, Mike Stern, Kenny Garrett, Bob Berg) and remained jazz's most charismatic figure until his death.

http://www.concordmusicgroup.com/artists/Miles-Davis/

New Tactics for Old Deals

Tips to Help You Get What You Want at the Negotiating Table

Sitting down with a vendor to renegotiate an existing outsourcing contract can be a challenging task. David Patzwald, CIO of Schneider Electric North America, offers the following suggestions for how to make your negotiation sessions a fruitful—not frustrating—experience.

Don't have only IT at the table
Include people from other parts of the business, as close to the top as possible. No matter how much ClOs might wish otherwise, vendors will behave differently when the senior person in the room Is from the business side.

Get blended measures of health
It is important to establish health-of-contract metrics for both financial and emotional satisfaction, and to balance them in the vendor's mind. When one goal becomes more important than the other—racing to meet product delivery milestones leads to cutting the head of production out of the loop—a contract begins to fail.

Include vendor input
The CIO should have the final decision when you're considering whether standing applications or new initiatives should end, but don't make those decisions without first talking to the vendor who services those projects.

- by Diane Frank, CIO, October 15, 2008, p68.

BEETHOVEN: Fidelio - review

    Hebert von Karajan paces Christa Ludwig's Leonore in an exhilarating 1962 performance of Beethoven's Fidelio, recorded live at the Wiener Staatsoper.

    The hyper-controlling Herbert von Karajan probably would not be pleased at the material the Vienna Staatsoper has been releasing from its archives, but who wouldn't trade the glossy sheen of some of the late maestros studio-perfect wares for the blood and guts and mess of a live show? The May 25, 1962 performance of Fidelio that furnished the role debuts of Christa Ludwig (Leonore), Gundula Janowitz (Marzelline) and Walter Berry (Pizarro) never would have satisfied Karajan sonically, with its booming double basses and timpani, its poor vocal balance (especially in the Act I finale) and its occasional slipups (a wrong entrance here, some rushing there), but for the listener there is plenty of dramatic excitement generated as the singers dig into their roles, and the conductor allows Beethoven's score to roar its message of hope and freedom.
    Janowitz and Waldemar Kmentt (Jaquino) don't let the tepid reading of the overture stand in their way but invest the first scene with a sweet urgency Both bring attractive, vibrant sound to roles often cast from the second string, and Janowitzs characteristically pure, dense and full-bodied sound (she went on to become a fine Leonore) brings special heft to Marzelline's lines. The Rocco of Walter Kreppel (even without his "gold" aria) is a warm, affectionate portrayal that grows vocally as the evening progresses.
    From Ludwigs first entrance it's clear she is firmly in control, placing her speaking voice low (she's in disguise as a boy after all) yet aiming for soprano position in a high-lying, dramatic role that would later become one of her signatures. As a child, she had seen her mother perform Leonore with Karajan, and Ludwig had recorded the role for Otto Klemperer in 1961 (still one of the legendary recordings of the century). She often spoke frankly of the treacherous scene and aria "Abscheulicher! Wo eilst du hin?" and of the final exposed high B with its difficult approach. Here, her determination to keep Karajan from dragging is evident, and to his credit, he supports her in a stunning performance; her evident relief brings a soaring vocal freedom to the rest of the evening, and Ludwigs anguished vocal asides in the prison scene are especially moving.
    Walter Berry, Ludwig's husband at the time and also part of the Klemperer recording, makes a poor first impression in the aria "Ha! Welch ein Augenblick!" in which he is nearly inaudible under the crashing orchestra. The stage director (none other than Herbert von Karajan) must have placed him too far upstage for this important moment. Otherwise Berry's dark and bitingly intense sound makes of Pizarro a nasty, terrifying tyrant.
    The program booklet warns that Jon Vickers was somewhat indisposed, and the tenor struggles through Florestans first scene. But the rest of the act catches fire and culminates in Leonores determined shout "Töt erst sein Weib!" (First kill his wife) and the superb duet "O namenlose Freude," in which Vickers and Ludwig seem to be feasting on each other's energy.
    Predictably, the orchestral moments, except for the overture, are superbly shaped, and the inserted Leonore Overture III gets the evenings longest ovation. The booklet includes a few errors of translation and some mislabeled photographs.

by Judith Malafronte, OperaNews, Nov 2008, p60.
Ludwig, Janowitz; Vickers, Kreppel, Berry, Kmentt, Wachter; Chorus and Orchestra of the Wiener Staatsoper, Karajan. Text and translation. Deutsche Grammophon 477-7364

Why I Support Barack Obama for President by Don Jaycox

This is an outstanding statement from an individual who I have a tremendous amount of respect for. His thoughts are well-reasoned and insightful. Because he doesn't have a blog, I've posted his thoughts here to share with you....

"I truly believe this is the most important election of my lifetime, and that is why I strongly endorse Barack Obama for President. I have written this commentary to: (a) Express my strongly held view that the hopes and aspirations of our Nation will be best served by Obama's election, and (b) Persuade any who might still be undecided to vote for him. I write this for people who care what I think, but want to encourage all of you to really research the candidates from many angles. Don't take the easy way out and just digest what you are fed by CNN, NBC or Fox News. Democracy requires an informed and engaged electorate! So here goes...

John McCain
"It may seem odd to begin a declaration for Senator Obama with a statement about John McCain. First, I will say I respect John McCain's service to our country, as I do the other men and women who have served this nation in uniform. However, that service does not mean he will make the best President, or frankly even a good President. While I was a strong supporter of McCain in the 2000 election, I have followed him for the past 8 years with a growing sense of disappointment as I watch the steady erosion of the principles that once defined him: centrist politics, decency, bipartisanship, honesty, integrity, and little pandering to special interests. Unfortunately, his campaign this year has been shameful, and I am truly saddened given my prior admiration for him.

Leadership & Inspiration
"Leadership is my business. I try to practice it all the time, and I try to learn from great leaders. Leaders give you a sense of direction, purpose, inspiration, and confidence about the future. I see very few people who I view as truly gifted leaders, and Barack Obama is one of them. I think the number one thing America lacks today is confidence. Right behind that, hope. Right behind that, inspiration. Obama brings all of these things to America far better than any other candidate. That is why so many young people (and old ones like me) are so strongly behind him (see endorsements below). We need his leadership and inspiration very badly.

Intelligence
"Barack Obama is smart. Smarter than me and most of the people I know. He is a Constitutional scholar in an era when the Constitution and our civil liberties are under attack. He surrounds himself with smart, qualified advisors and then listens to them. No one is perfect, and no one knows everything. Smart, self aware people like Obama are keenly aware of both what they know, and more importantly what they don't know. That's why they try to surround themselves with other smart people to shore up their areas of weakness. In the last two elections, many Americans voted for a man they thought they'd like to share a beer with - a good old boy who can't pronounce nuclear and cuts brush for fun. That didn't work out so well for us. President of the United States may well be the hardest job in the world. I want the smartest person I can find for that job.

Judgment in General & The Iraq War in Specific
"McCain likes to slam Barack for not supporting the surge and for changing his economic / tax policy. He ignores the fact that Obama opposed this disastrous war from the start -- against the tide of American opinion at the time. He thought it would be a grave error, and his judgment proved to be dead on. As for the Surge, I agreed with it's purpose and tactics. The Iraq Study Group, (not McCain) made a compelling argument for the action, but keep in mind that the entire concept was to make the best of a bad situation. Obama disagreed. OK. It is understandable that he would be skeptical given the administration's track record up to that point. Look, we will never know how things would have gone without the Surge, but I do know that concurrent with the Surge was The Sunni Awakening movement, aimed at driving Al Qaeda out of Iraq. Many (including me) credit The Awakening with much of the reduction in violence. How much is anyone's guess. As for Obama changing his economic and tax policy on the fly -- I say BRAVO! Smart people with good judgment adapt to changing conditions. Ideologues do not. I have no time for ideologues - left or right leaning. Adaptability is one of the most important traits in good leaders. They watch, they listen, they learn, they adapt. That's a good thing! The "flip flop" attack used by Republicans is idiotic. A lack of adaptability contributed heavily to the gigantic mess we're in overseas.

Supreme Court
"The next President will appoint at least one and perhaps as many as three Supreme Court Justices. And they will serve for life! The Supreme Court is possibly the most important institution of government because they are the protectors of our Constitution and our civil liberties. When a President leaves office, their budget, tax and foreign policy legacy might endure for 2, 4, maybe 8 years, but their Supreme Court picks last a lifetime. The court must be balanced, and it's not right now. If it's too far left or right it's bad for the country. Bush has pushed the court from a centrist balance, with the likes of Sandra Day O'Connor casting tie-breaking votes (a Reagan appointee, btw) to a court that is now strongly leaning to the right. Ruth Bader Ginsberg is the next most likely to retire, and if McCain replaces her, the court will be unacceptably far to the right for a long time. Obama appointees are much more likely to bring the court back into balance.

The Economy / Taxes
"The Obama tax plan will cost me more money but will help the vast majority of people reading this. That's OK. As Warren Buffett said "I don't need a tax break. Others do." Barack's economic policy makes much more sense to me than McCain's and it is likely to spur economic recovery much more quickly. While I will be personally disadvantaged by it -- as will lots of other high income people -- and that's OK for America. It's not wealth redistribution, it's economic fairness, pure and simple. What a lot of people don't realize is that today's tax brackets are a comparative bargain for wealthy people. After WWI, the top tax rate for the wealthy was 77%. During the Great Depression it rose to 92% and remained there until 1964! It plunged to 38% in 1987 and today it's just 35%. And Capital Gains tax at 15% is a huge gift to wealthy investors. They don't make their money through payroll checks. They make it on investments. A regular person making $50,000 taking a standard deduction will pay 22% to 30% federal tax (depending on how you choose to count payroll tax paid by employers.) An investor making $1,000,000 on investments will pay only 15%. That's insane. Oh, and "Joe the plumber" will absolutely, unequivocally, undeniably pay less tax under Obama. Don't believe me. Read their plans for yourself on each candidate's web site. For a quick non-partisan comparison, see: http://www.taxfoundation.org/candidates08/

"Note: I do not agree with Obama's plan to raise corporate taxes on large corporations because in a global economy it may drive those large companies overseas. However, I believe Obama will reconsider this part of his plan once in office. He has good advisors on that front. However, the myth of Small-business-owner-Joe-the-plumber-getting-hurt is just that -- a myth. A sham.

America's Place in the Global Community
"I was in Europe on 9/11 and I can tell you that the outpouring of support and solidarity from our European allies was astounding. Even countries like Russia supported us. I was overwhelmed. You had headlines in Le Monde of Paris that read "Today, we are all Americans." In the last seven years we have completely squandered that good will and our standing in the world. We went from the assaulted party to the assaulters. A blinded Cyclops lashing out at anything within our reach. Whether or not this feels like a fair view of the US, it is now pervasive around the world. We went from the most admired country in the world to one of the most reviled. Whether we like it or not, we are in a Global Community and we can't "go it alone" -- it won't work. We need to restore the world's faith that we are a fair and just society internally and externally. The faith that in the US - perhaps uniquely in the world - anyone can aspire to be anything. Interestingly, much of the world is amazed and astounded that just seven years after 9/11 America could possibly elect a man like Obama -- a black man with the middle name Hussein, with a white mother from Kansas and a black father from Kenya, raised partly in Indonesia by a single-parent struggling to make ends meet. Yet he can rise to the most powerful office in the world on the strength of his intellect, determination and unwavering sense of hope. It is the uniquely powerful story of America, and it makes everyone around the globe stop and rethink their view of our country. Maybe we've misjudged America. That opens the door to dialog, compromise, and global cooperation. Just what we need to fight global terrorism effectively. Obama will restore our ability to reassert leadership -- not by force of weapons -- but by the force of our ideals.

Readiness to be President
"Let's be honest: No one is qualified to be US president if they haven't already held the job. While the VP job comes close, there is no other job that is remotely close. Not even the Governor of California, (7th largest economy in the world) gains the experience needed to run the US. The job of Senator is vastly different from that of President, and being a Senator for 21 years is not appreciably more valuable than 4 years in my view. In the end you need to trust in intelligence, judgment, integrity and the ability to "learn on the job" as McCain derisively puts it. John F Kennedy entered the White House at age 43 after 6 years in the Senate -- a young upstart with nearly the same Senate experience as Obama. He certainly had no real experience to be President. But he was smart and surrounded himself with other smart people. Still, his first test was the Bay of Pigs and it didn't go well. (A huge mistake he inherited from Eisenhower). But he learned and adapted, and in doing so not only faced down Khrushchev during the Cuban Missile Crisis, but also gave us the vision and commitment to put a man on the moon. An extraordinary achievement.

"I view Obama as having the superior intelligence, demeanor, judgment and temperament to assume the role of President and be successful. Do I think McCain would be a better Commander in Chief of our Military? Maybe. But it worries me that his philosophy on leadership is to: (a) Hang tough - a noble if bullheaded view, (b) Don't talk to our enemies unless they first agree to play by our rules - insane, and (c) Provide Iraq with an indefinite commitment on US troops. Our country cannot tolerate another 4 years in Iraq -- financially, culturally, politically, or socially. I do think that Obama has all the qualities that will make him better at all other aspects of running this country, and he will put in place the right leadership at the Pentagon - as Clinton did with Secretary William Cohen - and will keep our country safe.

"Most laughable to me is the notion that should McCain expire in office, Sarah Palin, the 16-month governor of Alaska, whose total state population is 20% the size of the San Diego metro area and equal in size to the combined suburbs of Chula Vista, Escondido and Oceanside, is somehow qualified with the requisite "executive experience" to occupy the oval office. For me, that huge lapse in judgment by McCain completely sealed the deal. He placed the country's future at stake for a calculated political stunt aimed at placating the right wing of the Republican party and attracting the small group of disaffected Hillary supporters who could be tricked into voting for someone who is at odds with most of what Hillary stands for. Picking Joe Lieberman would have been a masterstroke, but Sarah Palin was a blunder of epic proportions.
Obama is Endorsed by Many Non-Partisan National Leaders
Obviously, the party faithful will always endorse their own candidate. They are a given on both sides. These are more interesting:

Warren Buffett, the Oracle of Omaha, richest man in the world, considered to be the most savvy investor in the world.
Colin Powell, Former Secretary of State under GW Bush, National Security Advisor, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (89–93)
Paul Volker, Chairman of the Federal Reserve under Reagan.
Paul O'Neill, former Secretary of the Treasury under GW Bush
Scott McClellan, former White House Press Secretary under GW Bush
William H. Donaldson, former Chairman of the SEC under GW Bush
Christopher Buckley, conservative writer and satirist, son of William F. Buckley
Robert Reich, former Secretary of Labor under Clinton, former Harvard Economics professor, incredibly smart.
Robert Rubin, former Secretary of the Treasury, former Chairman of Goldman Sachs. Incredibly smart.
Fareed Zakaria writer and columnist on World Affairs. Incredibly smart and insightful. Read his analysis of world events.
Wesley Clark, former General, former NATO Supreme Allied Commander Europe.
71 Nobel Laureates.
70 current and former Foreign Policy experts.
218 Major newspapers & magazines (compared to McCain's 80).

Fallacies Directed Against Obama - from the merely Dubious to the Outright Absurd
(To be addressed in a later commentary)
· Obama is unknown, shady, can't be trusted.
· Guilt by Association - Ayers and Rev Wright.
· That he is a Muslim.
· That he hates America.
· That he strangles kittens for fun. (I'm pretty sure this one was intended as satire, but not the others.)