Ceuta and Melilla are fragments of Europe on north Africa's
Mediterranean coast. They came under Spanish control about 500
years ago. Madrid says they are integral parts of Spain. On three
sides they are surrounded by Morocco. For both, the currency used
is the Euro.
Ceuta is an
18.5-square-kilometre (7.1 sq mi) Spanish autonomous city
located on the north coast of Africa, separated by 14 kilometers
from Cadiz province on the Spanish mainland by the Strait of
Gibraltar and sharing a 6.4 kilometer land border in the Kingdom
of Morocco. It lies along the boundary between the Mediterranean
Sea and the Atlantic Ocean and is one of nine populated Spanish
territories in Africa and, along with Melilla, one of two
populated territories on mainland Africa. It was part of Cádiz
province until 14 March 1995 when the city's Statute of Autonomy
was passed.
Melilla is a Spanish autonomous city
located on the north coast of Africa, sharing a border with
Morocco with an area of 12.3 square kilometres (4.7 sq mi).
Melilla is one of two permanently inhabited Spanish cities in
mainland Africa. It was part of Málaga province until 14 March
1995 when the city's Statute of Autonomy was passed.
Melilla, like Ceuta,
was a free port before Spain joined the European Union. As of
2011, it had a population of 78,476 made up of ethnic Spaniards,
ethnic Riffian Berbers, and a small number of Sephardic Jews and
Sindhi Hindus. Both Spanish and Riffian-Berber are the two most
widely spoken languages, with Spanish as the only official
language.
This year, migrants
were attempting to reach Ceuta to get to the rest of Europe.
Only two were successful, but both were injured scaling the
six-metre (20 ft) surrounding fence and needed hospital
treatment. The attempt comes after more than 400 migrants
succeeded in breaching Ceuta's fence in December. Hundreds of
sub-Saharan African migrants living illegally in Morocco try to
enter Ceuta and Melilla each year in hope of getting to Europe.
Jun 16, 2017
Gift Card Tips
If you have a gift card with a balance of less than ten dollars,
most states have laws that stores and restaurants are legally
required to give you the balance in cash if you ask for it. Some
states have a $5 or other lower limit.
Most gift cards cannot contain an expiration date or a service fee. Tip - fold your receipt around the card to remember the balance.
Most gift cards cannot contain an expiration date or a service fee. Tip - fold your receipt around the card to remember the balance.
Political Correctness
I have always lacked my fair share of
political correctness, mainly because it defies logic and common
sense. Here are a few passages I have come across that describe
it rather well.
The 2007 winning entry from an annual contest at Texas A&M University calling for the most appropriate definition of a contemporary term 'Political Correctness'. The winner wrote: "Political Correctness is a doctrine, fostered by a delusional, illogical minority, and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a turd by the clean end."
“No one should ever underestimate the stupidity induced in bureaucrats by the procedures they are enjoined to follow.”
"The perverse incentives that bureaucrats are often given nowadays are also worth a mention. On the false grounds that it is better to measure something than to measure nothing, the work of a bureaucracy (and therefore bureaucrats) is judged by some target or other plucked from the ether of political vacuity by their bosses."
The 2007 winning entry from an annual contest at Texas A&M University calling for the most appropriate definition of a contemporary term 'Political Correctness'. The winner wrote: "Political Correctness is a doctrine, fostered by a delusional, illogical minority, and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a turd by the clean end."
“No one should ever underestimate the stupidity induced in bureaucrats by the procedures they are enjoined to follow.”
"The perverse incentives that bureaucrats are often given nowadays are also worth a mention. On the false grounds that it is better to measure something than to measure nothing, the work of a bureaucracy (and therefore bureaucrats) is judged by some target or other plucked from the ether of political vacuity by their bosses."
Medical Paperwork
A PricewaterhouseCoopers study for the American Hospital
Association chronicled more than 40 layers of paperwork
associated with caring for a typical Medicare patient who
arrives at an emergency room with a broken hip and receives
treatment until recuperation. Some of the findings:
- Roughly 60 minutes of paperwork were performed for every hour of emergency department care, 36 minutes of paperwork for every hour of surgery and acute inpatient care, 30 minutes of paperwork for every hour of skilled nursing care, and 48 minutes of paperwork for every hour of home healthcare.
- “Each time a physician orders a test or a procedure, the physician documents the order in the patient’s record, and the government requires additional documentation to prove the necessity for the test or procedure.”
- “Many forms … must be completed daily by clinical staff to submit to the government to justify the care provided to skilled nursing facility patients.”
- Medicare and Medicaid “rules and instructions” are more than 130,000 pages (three times larger than the IRS code and its associated regulations), and “medical records must be reviewed by at least four people to ensure compliance” with Medicare program requirements.
- “A Medicare patient arriving at the emergency department is required to review and sign eight different forms, just for Medicare.”
- “Each time a patient is discharged, even if only from the acute unit of the hospital to an on-site skilled nursing unit, multiple care providers must write a discharge plan for the patient. This documentation, as long as 30 pages, applies to all patients, regardless of the complexity of care received within the hospital or required post-hospital setting.”
- In addition to regulation by state agencies, local agencies, private accrediting organizations, and insurers, hospitals are regulated by more 30 federal agencies.
First Martini
Like many drink recipes, Martini origins are
fuzzy. The precise origins of the martini remain obscure, with a
number of people and locations vying for the honor of being home
to the cocktail. The town of Martinez, California put up a
plaque to proclaim itself the birthplace of the Martini.
According to the plaque, situated at 911 Alhambra Avenue, the
very first Martini was mixed on that spot.
The plaque records the story: “On this site in 1874, Julio Richelieu, bartender, served up the first Martini when a miner came into his saloon with a fistful of nuggets and asked for something special. He was served a 'Martinez Special'. After three or four drinks, however, the ‘Z’ would get in the way. The drink consisted of 2/3 gin, 1/3 vermouth, a dash of orange bitters, poured over crushed ice and served with an olive.”
Another theory suggests it evolved from a cocktail called the Martinez served sometime in the early 1860s at the Occidental Hotel in San Francisco, which people frequented before taking an evening ferry to the nearby town of Martinez.
Others assert that the drink was named after “Martini & Rossi” vermouth, which was first created in the mid-1800s. Apparently in the interest of brevity, the drink became known as the 'Martini'.
The plaque records the story: “On this site in 1874, Julio Richelieu, bartender, served up the first Martini when a miner came into his saloon with a fistful of nuggets and asked for something special. He was served a 'Martinez Special'. After three or four drinks, however, the ‘Z’ would get in the way. The drink consisted of 2/3 gin, 1/3 vermouth, a dash of orange bitters, poured over crushed ice and served with an olive.”
Another theory suggests it evolved from a cocktail called the Martinez served sometime in the early 1860s at the Occidental Hotel in San Francisco, which people frequented before taking an evening ferry to the nearby town of Martinez.
Others assert that the drink was named after “Martini & Rossi” vermouth, which was first created in the mid-1800s. Apparently in the interest of brevity, the drink became known as the 'Martini'.
Jun 9, 2017
Happy Friday
“The saddest aspect of life right now is that science gathers
knowledge faster than society gathers wisdom.” ~Isaac Asimov
There is wisdom in celebrating every Happy Friday!
There is wisdom in celebrating every Happy Friday!
Wordology, Cornicione
The outer edge of pizza is called the cornicione, pronounced -
"cor-nee-cho-nay", which means cornice or molding. The crust is
the name for the base that the toppings are added to.
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