Curse at Twilight: Thief of Souls Collectors Edition

After being summoned to a mysterious manor, you must unravel the story of an ancient evil and discover your destiny before it’s too late in Curse at Twilight: Thief of Souls! Unlock memories from the past and solve intricate puzzles to break the webs of a curse. Explore a magical world beyond your imagination that has been waiting for you to save it. Experience Curse at Twilight: Thief of Souls, a stunning Hidden Object Puzzle Adventure game!

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Curse at Twilight - Thief of Souls Collectors Edition

After being summoned to a mysterious manor, you must unravel the story of an ancient evil and discover your destiny before it’s too late in Curse at Twilight: Thief of Souls! Unlock memories from the past and solve intricate puzzles to break the webs of a curse. Explore a magical world beyond your imagination that has been waiting for you to save it. Experience Curse at Twilight: Thief of Souls, a stunning Hidden Object Puzzle Adventure game!

Game Size 123  MB

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Little Folk of Faery

Help enchanted creatures restore the harmony and balance of their magical land in Little Folk of Faery.A young woman returns to her grandparent's village after inheriting their small curiosity shop. Expecting the store to be a little topsy-turvy, she is even more amazed when looking at the tree that grows at the back of the room. Almost immediately, a small cloud of golden dust captures her eyes, and soon she realizes a much more magical encounter. A tiny fairy asks for her help in restoring their land, and so she takes the responsibility that had come undone after the woman's grandmother unwillingly let them to their fate.
Embark on a fascinating journey to help these fairy inhabitants. Repair the ruins, organize banquets to attract lost villagers, plant food sources and bring the small realm back to life. With your help, they can thrive once again and will repay you with returning the splendor of the curiosity shop. But can you figure out what is behind the mysterious mist and wistful spirits that roam the surroundings? 

Game Size 113  MB

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Tiny Token Empires

Tiny Token Empires™ is an amazing mix of puzzles, Match-3, and turn-based strategy! The player plays one of the five major ancient empires: Rome, Greece, Egypt, Persia, or Carthage. By developing cities and armies, and annexing new territories, the player gradually expands his power over the world! But Tiny Token Empires™ is also a "casual" strategy game that doesn't take itself too seriously. It contains a crazy comical universe: goofball gods, super cute mythological monsters, clown legionnaires, and much more.

Game Size 118  MB

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Solitaire Kingdom Quest

Solitaire Kingdom Quest expands on the hit Solitaire Kingdom Supreme game, and adds 60 levels that feature new power-ups and new challenges! You are chosen by the King to join the Solitaire Heroes and head out on a special quest. But wait--an evil knight who isn't happy about your success has enlisted gremlins to help defeat you! These mischievous creatures add special challenges to each level. Can you make it past the gremlins, beat the evil knight, and defeat each dragon boss to save Solitaire Kingdom? We dare you to find out!

Game Size 72  MB

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Shadow Wolf Mysteries - Bane of the Family Collectors Edition

Return to the De la Fer estate to help the count unravel the curse that has been passed down through his family in Shadow Wolf Mysteries: Bane of the Family! Tackle this challenging Hidden Object Puzzle Adventure game and track down an all new werewolf that is wreaking havoc on the town. Can you break the curse and save the family? Take on Shadow Wolf Mysteries: Bane of the Family and find out today!

Thanks To JDIA!

Game Size 654  MB

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Virtual Families

Guide your own little family through generation after generation of endless fun in Virtual Families, the latest real-time adventure from the creators of Virtual Villagers. Start with your choice of thousands of different characters and help her start a career, meet a mate, and build a bustling home. Make sure every member of your family is performing their best and feeling great and they'll reward you with fantastic fun. The only limit to the possibilities is your imagination! Featuring amazing upgrades to collect, secret puzzles to solve, and addictive gameplay, you'll want to check in on your virtual family again and again. Because your little family continues to learn and grow, even when you're not playing, you'll find new surprises every time you visit. Meet your new little friends in the free trial version, or play the full version and guide your virtual family on the adventure of their lives. Play Virtual Families today and discover the possibilities of fun.

Game Size 56  MB

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Health, Risk and History

Interesting post by Frank Jacobs at Big Think titled "The Underwritten States of America." Mr Jacobs blogs about, of all things, maps. This one (and its companion at the link), identifies medical insurance underwriting "zones" in use in 19th century America. I must admit that, after almost thirty years in "the biz," I'd never heard of such a thing. It does make sense, though, especially given the state of health care "back in the day:"

[Click on map to embiggen]

For a complete explanation, as well as an updated map (in color!), go read the whole thing. It's pretty interesting.

UPDATE/CORRECTION: As Mike points out in the comments section, it's more likely that this is a life insurance rating tool. Still worthwhile, of course.

Shattered Minds: Masquerade Standard Edition

Stop the villainous Visage from ruining Mardi Gras in Shattered Minds: Masquerade, an incredible Hidden Object Puzzle Adventure game! Visage has unleashed a fog that has wiped away the faces of everyone in town. As Visage wreaks havoc on New Orleans, the Boudreaux family, who were thought to be long dead when their mansion burned down, has returned to take revenge on the town. Learn the dark secret of Visage and the Boudreaux family and stop them once and for all.

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Shadow Wolf Mysteries 2 Bane of the Family CE

Return to the De la Fer estate to help the count unravel the curse that has been passed down through his family in Shadow Wolf Mysteries: Bane of the Family! Tackle this challenging Hidden Object Puzzle Adventure game and track down an all new werewolf that is wreaking havoc on the town. Can you break the curse and save the family? Take on Shadow Wolf Mysteries: Bane of the Family and find out today!

Thanks Jdia

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It's the Spending, Stupid

One of the primary benefits touted by proponents of MassCare was that forcing people to buy health insurance would drive down the cost of health care. On its face, this was clearly illogical, but enough folks bought into the idea that it became "common knowledge." Still, it was certainly the right of Bay Staters to test the hypothesis, which they have been doing now for some years.

The good news is that this gives the rest of us a way to gauge the relative success of that experiment:

"[A]mbulatory healthcare spending per capita was declining relative to the national average when Governor Romney first took office, but has steadily increased every year since then"

Okay, that's one data point "mittigating" against the thesis. Perhaps there are others which support it.

Or maybe not:

"Governor Romney inherited rising relative expenditures on health facilities, which fell slightly in his second year, but then continued to rise"

Darn.

Still, that's just Massachusetts; perhaps the other 57 states also experienced these trends. Add in the massive expenses associated with Medicaid and other Federally mandated programs, and surely the differential evaporates.

Stay with me here:

"As of 2009, Utah had the 13th least regulated health system in the country whereas Massachusetts had the second most regulated health system and Texas was in between, having the 29th most regulated system."

Now, each of those states has very different demographics, but they are still bound by the realities of budgets and requirements. Neither Utah nor Texas force their citizens to buy insurance, so based on the original hypothesis it would be reasonable to assume that these states would see dramatic increases in the cost of health care.

And yet the actual figures don't bear this out. The empirical evidence fails to demonstrate that forcing people to buy insurance reduces the cost of health care. So what now?

[Hat Tip: Ace of Spades]

MassCare© = RomneyCare© = ObamneyCare©

Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you ObamneyCare©'s biggest fan:

Cavalcade of Risk #147: Riskiest Startups edition

Jacob Irwin hosts this week's outstanding collection of risk-related posts, with interesting factoids about risk and starting one's own business thrown in for (very) good measure.

Happy New Year!

Feeforall

Ah, ObamneyCare©, the gift that keeps on giving:

"Starting in 2012, the government will charge a new fee to your health insurance plan for research to find out which drugs, medical procedures, tests and treatments work best."

Back in the day, tax increases were voted on, if not by the taxpayers, then at least our duly elected representatives. But the law we had to pass to find what new taxes are in it does away with all that silliness.

The new tax starts out at a modest $1, quickly followed by a 100% increase; future increases are pegged to the rate of inflation. If it makes you feel any better, the tax starts next month, and the IRS may well issue guidelines regarding it sometime next year.

Or not.

Regardless, you'll be paying that tax as part of your increased premiums.

What's that?

You want to know what this tax pays for?

Fair enough:

"The goal ... is to answer such basic questions as whether that new prescription drug advertised on TV really works better than an old generic costing much less."

Silly me, thinking that was the job, already funded by our existing tax-structure, of the FDA. By the way, this is another case of health insurance being conflated with health care: only those with private insurance are being taxed to pay for this new agency, while all health care consumers "benefit" from it.

Feel better now?

More Medi$cams?

While we've spent a lot of time talking about the so-called "Doc Fix," it appears that perhaps we need to "Fix Doc," as well:

"California-based Prime Healthcare Services buys financially troubled hospitals and turns them around ... She says Reddy told doctors how to diagnose patients he had never seen."

Ooops.

Now, one may argue that this is simply a game between how Medicare reimburses depending on how a procedure is coded, but:

"He encouraged the physicians to stop documenting syncope, which is fainting or dizzy spell, and instead use the term autonomic nerve dysfunction, which reimburses at a higher rate."

But here's where the story takes an odd twist:

"The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is looking into the billing practices of ... Prime Healthcare Services, following reports that it allegedly overbilled Medicare for rare and serious conditions at high rates"

I find this odd because one would think that this falls under the purview of HHS Secretary Shecantbeserious, not J Edgar Hoover. It's true that the FBI has been involved with the Maxim Healthcare case, but that's in addition to HHS and related agencies.

In fairness, we haven't heard Prime's side of the story, nor do we know just how wide-spread the (alleged) practice is. One wonders whether this is the tip of an iceberg, or common business practice. As we saw in the LabCorp case, what HHS calls "fraud" may really be nothing more than breaking arbitrarily-set rules.

[Hat Tip: FoIB Holly R]

Monument Builder: Eiffel Tower

Travel through time and witness a historic construction in Monument Builders: Eiffel Tower, an amazing Time Management game! Travel through the streets of 19th century Paris and visit the incredible construction site of the famous Eiffel Tower. Improve the surrounding neighborhoods for the world expo, provide parts to the construction site, develop the local economy, and improve the roads so it’s easier to transport materials in Monument Builders: Eiffel Tower!

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Brink of Consciousness: Dorian Gray Syndrome Collectors (Updated)

Help Sam Wilde rescue his love Anna in Brink of Consciousness: Dorian Gray Syndrome, an incredible Hidden Object Puzzle Adventure game! Sam’s every move is being tracked so he has to be extra careful. Putting his journalistic talents to the test, Sam must find the maniac who has kidnapped Anna, and stop him before it’s too late. Explore gorgeous locations and solve tricky puzzles in Brink of Consciousness: Dorian Gray Syndrome!

UploadedNet  FileFactory  RapidGator

Stone Age Cafe

Manage your own cafe in the Stone Age era to save your tribe from hunger and earn some tribal cash in Stone Age Café! The tribe’s shaman has foretold Chuchii’s destiny: she’s going to become the tribe’s cook! What she doesn’t know is that a great cook can not only save the day, but change a whole tribe’s fate! Run the Stone Age Café and save Chuchii’s entire tribe in this incredible Time Management game!

Game Size 100  MB

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