By Noon on August 26 we were fuelled (duty free at $4/gallon was wonderful) and on our way from Darwin to Indonesia. The distance of approx 700 miles can be nicely broken up with a stop at Ashmore Reef...but only in light winds. That was not a problem for our passage because winds were so light that we ended up motoring the entire way (one engine at a time at low revs). The lack of wind made for smooth seas and a wonderfully dull passage. Casseroles made ahead for dinner were tasty but seemed overkill on the preparation front...oh well, we never know what we'll get. Chicken Divan was compliments of Grandma Winston's recipe box...not a morsel remained for leftovers...marvelous. Scalloped Sausage and Potatoes was an inaugural attempt. The ingredients sounded pretty wacky but it was creamy and delicious...and would be good for breakfast, too. Chicken Divan: Layered in a casserole dish; 2.5 cups broccoli cooked until just tender, 2 chicken breasts (cooked, skinned and chopped into bite size pieces), sauce (one can cream of chicken soup, 1/2 cup mayonnaise, 1 teaspoon lemon juice and 1 heaping teaspoon curry powder) spread onto chicken layer, 1/2 cup parmesan cheese and breadcrumbs (2 Tablespoons melted butter and 1/4 cup breadcrumbs) sprinkled evenly. Bake uncovered at 350 degrees F for 30 minutes. Scalloped Sausage and Potatoes casserole (from James Villas' Crazy for Casseroles): 1 stick butter (melted; 1 cup soft bread crumbs; 8 medium red potatoes (boiled until tender, drained and thinly sliced); 3/4 lb smoked sausage like kielbasa (thinly sliced); 8 large hard-boiled eggs (thinly sliced); salt and black pepper to taste; 1 cup sour cream; medium-hot paprika. Spoon 3 teaspoons butter into 2-qt casserole and sprinkle with 3 teaspoons bread crumbs; arrange layer of sliced potatoes evenly over crumbs; then layer sausage and eggs; season with salt and pepper; spoon 4 teaspoons bread crumbs and 4 teaspoons butter over eggs; continue layering with remaining ingredients ending with crumbs and butter; spread sour cream evenly over the top; sprinkle with paprika; bake at 350 degrees F till golden brown (approx 1 hour).
We had an adorable hitch-hiker for the night on Aug 28. Chris had just gone to bed when a small bird (no bigger than a lime) flew through the cockpit and into the salon...attempting to perch on just about everything as he banged into windows. He seemed a bit loopy and likely pretty tired...we were very far from land at this point. Finally, he collapsed and tucked into a corner of the cockpit beside the helm...not moving again until the sun came up. Lil' bird was nice company during night watches with his head tucked beneath his wing. Every now and then there was a bit of excitement when the wind thought about making an appearance and sails were unfurled but inevitably the sails could not be kept full...so sails were again rolled in and the engine was back on.
Four nights of watch schedules later we arrived at Ashmore Reef (Aug 30)...roughly 450 miles from Darwin and roughly 300 miles from Indonesia. Ashmore is a palm studded island oasis in a desert sea. We picked up a mooring ball and waited for the Aussie Coast Guard to arrive. Over they came in a black zodiac with jet boat type engines...very flash. The Coast Guard is stationed here (on a boat) 365 days per year...Australia takes her borders quite seriously. They reminded us that Ashmore is a Nature Reserve (no shell collecting) and gave us a few tips for good snorkel spots. (Chris - I asked about diving spots - perhaps outside the pass? The answer, "It's great diving there - but just to let you know, we have seen some really big tiger sharks in the pass .. " Hmm.... no diving for Chris!!) The Coasties were gone and we scrambled ashore stretching our legs and looking for shells (only iron clad willpower kept Erin from anything other than photographing them). Spectacular...the shades of blue from the sky and water were endless. There is a fresh water pump ashore but the Coasties said it was contaminated by cholera at some point...it is supposed to be "fine" now but they do not drink from it...thank heavens for Barefeet's water maker. There was supposed to be loads of turtles, birds and sea snakes...but we thought the populations were a bit light...maybe they were all on the backside of the island...where we were not allowed to go (aren't we spoiled?!).
Dinner that first night at Ashmore was steak, potatoes and Greek salad with fresh margaritas...aaahhhh. The winds are forecast to remain light for awhile but we are not in a big hurry. The next couple of days were slow and easy. We straightened up Barefeet after the passage and explored the clear water aquarium of the Reef...snorkeling, dinghying and kayaking. But the calendar does keep progressing. One more night then we need to move on regardless of wind...but we do not have enough diesel to last until Bali (the next gas station that we know of)...hhhhmmmm. Luckily, the wind did arrive (Sept 2)...just enough for the spinnaker but it was a great two-day run to Indonesia (no engine)...just a couple of sail changes of the spinnaker as the wind shifted sides...no dramas. We are now in the Indian Ocean.
We arrived at the Lehok Ginggo anchorage off of Rinca Island Sept 4 and who did we see but s/v Gitano (Chris and Linda)?! The last time we saw them was Cairns...awesome. They took us ashore and gave us the lowdown on spotting Komodo Dragons (large monitor lizards), monkeys, deer, bintang (buffalo). Holy cow...monkeys scurried from the rocks and into the trees as we dinghied ashore! Amazing! It was great to have such a warm welcome from critters and old friends. The catching up kept on throughout the day and into a night of grilling on Barefeet.
Confident with our Komodo Dragon 101 course from Chris and Linda we headed ashore on our own the morning of Sept 5. The land is covered with dirt walking trails that were created by the dragons as they lumber around in their chain mail-type skin. The trails make for good footing but were made by short critters...which means sticks and branches are constantly batted away from the waist up and there is a lot of bending to duck under low branches. We have learned that the dragons have some curious characteristics...for one, their poop is white...okay, not a big deal. The reason, however, is the interesting bit...it is because they eat every bit of the animal that they kill...bones and all...hence the white. Maybe Jimmy Hoffa met his end via a Komodo Dragon?! And how does the dragon kill? Well, they wait at a watering hole, bite their prey (such as buffalo or deer) and walk away. Seems their mouth and saliva has so much bacteria that an infection rapidly occurs and in literally 2-3 days the prey is dead....and the dragon simply follows the smell to its ready meal. The dragon is a pretty vicious hunter with most things on the menu, including its own young. The baby komodos hatch from eggs and immediately scurry up trees where they feed on birds and eggs until they are large enough to defend themselves against adult dragons. Only then do they climb down the tree.
We continued taking walks at different times during the day to spot critters. In the evening we modified the traditional sundowners on deck with a bit of National Geographic. We went ashore with two other boats (s/v Street Legal and s/v Dream Weaver) and sat on a bank above a watering hole to see who would came down at dusk. Wow - that was one giant bintang...beautiful black beast with horns resembling the moustache of a Barbershop Quartet singer. Of course the fact that we had cocktails and were chatting might have scared some critters off...but we did see a Komodo Dragon imperiously walk down to the watering hole, take a few sips and saunter off. We headed off the next day for Montjo Bay on the Northwest corner of Komodo Island (24 miles away). Arriving in the late afternoon we were immediately greeted by souvenir sellers. They had carved wooden masks and dragons plus strings of pearls. We decided on a dragon with a bit of attitude and threw in sodas, too. Everyone seemed happy and we settled into sundowners followed by hamburger and jalapeno pizza...a real sentimental favorite on Barefeet.
The water clarity here is amazing with gorgeous coral gardens...in 20-30 feet with loads of soft corals such as flower soft coral that sways in the light current. We even spotted a pair of giant wrasse...beautiful. The hillsides are less golden than Rinca but equally stunning with a tint of green blanketing steep, orange rock faces. A family of deer periodically come to the seashore and seem to drink...can they drink salt water?! And we think we hear the bellow of a bintang within the trees...wish he'd come out so we could have a look at him. We took a walk ashore and were amazed to have startled not just five deer but nearly 40...including a stag with a stunning rack of antlers. They ran further inland in the blink of an eye.
In order to make some miles we did an overnight hop almost the length of Sambawa Island. We stayed 4-5 miles offshore in the hopes of avoiding the plethora of unlit fishing boats and fish traps. All good and we anchored off Medang Island at 1:30pm Sept 10. Medang is a small sand island fringed with palm trees and mangroves. There was no village visible from the anchorage but Anton came over in a wooden outrigger and asked if we wanted to see the village with him. Off we went and there was quite a village...nearly 10,000 people nestled inland. It is very neat and clean but definitely a poor place. Seaweed farming is the primary industry. The homes are mostly wooden and built on stilts with ladders for a front walk. We sat and chatted with Anton's uncle (a teacher in the local school...average class sizes were 40 students) after climbing the ladder...chickens ran and cackled below the floor boards. The town has a single generator (about the size of a VW bug) that only runs at night...we think refrigerators are out of the question. We traded three magazines for coconuts which made for great sundowners aboard Barefeet.
Sept 12 was an early departure for a 42 mile run. Usually, this would be a very reasonable day hop; however, the currents are crazy around here and boat speed often plateaued at 4 knots. Happily, we arrived with good afternoon light to navigate the coral entrance to the anchorage at Gili Lawang. This was a tight fit for six boats but the calm conditions made it seem easy. We had sundowners with s/v Seventh Heaven...munching pizza and getting acquainted...then all of a sudden...thousands, hundreds of thousands of bats exited the mangroves and began a night of hunting. It was amazing! There must have been 20 minutes of solid bats overhead. Quite a nice floor show. Sept 13 was a repeat of the day before with all boats up and off by 6am. Smooth seas and light air prevailed. Arrival at Gili Air was a fun change. Dirt roads with only pony carts for transportation...and loads of Indonesian style cabanas lining the beach. Simply make yourself comfortable in a covered and raised platform filled with pillows and tables...drinks and food provided as desired and cool off with a snorkel in the coral gardens. Quite relaxed and casual to be sure.
Just arrived in Gili and we spotted Tove and Finn of s/v Xanadu in a beach cabana (Sept 14). They filled us in about the place and introduced us to Mustafa...elementary school teacher and organizer of all things....from barbeque and bonfire on the beach to diesel delivery. In the afternoon we snorkeled the coral gardens and fed the fish with bread. No kidding, they ate right out of your hand...dozens at a time. The water was bathtub warm and visibility was okay. A quick trip back to Barefeet for showers and we returned for an evening barbeque and bonfire on the beach. There were guitars, maracas and singing as a bonfire blazed at the waters edge. Gili Air is quite a place.
An early morning fish feeding frenzy under the boat attracted a couple of local fishermen...tying right to Barefeet for the best spot. But we could not dawdle and left them to their trade...we had work of our own to do...fill up Barefeet's diesel tanks (Sept 15). At 420 litres this was a lot of jerry cans. We borrowed cans from s/v Xanadu, used our own and borrowed cans from the gas folks. This ended up being a tie for our worst fill-up ever...tied with the cement wall rope drop in the Marquesas. At 8am we delivered empty jerry cans to the beach and picked up full cans at 11am...in 25 knot winds and crashing surf. Chris held the dinghy afloat in the surf (after Erin was swamped by a wave that sent her and the dinghy spinning) and Erin schlepped the cans down the sand. Thank heavens Chris of s/v Gitano lent a hand with the bigger cans. The cans then had to be lifted out of the pitching dinghy onto Barefeet...aaaggghhh. It was a bit of chaotic disaster. All the while we tried to keep salt water from getting into the cans...especially the one with a "cap" of saran wrap held on with twine...yikes! Transferring the diesel and it looked like clean fuel...too bad we cannot say the same about the gas folks jerry cans. At one point the filter was completely plugged with dirt resembling coffee grounds...Chris removed it by the fist full. The load was emptied into the tanks and we were all cleaned up by 4pm...second load arriving the next morning. We were beat and rested in a beach cabana after the second load was collected and emptied the next day (Sept 16). So pooped, we did not even have the energy to snorkel...just sat in the shade of the cabana and read with a Bintang beer.
Lombok is just across the strait from the Gilis and we arranged a one-day tour with Mustafa (Sept 17). We left Barefeet anchored at Gili Air and took the "publix" across...8,000 Rp per person. No, not really a crazy price just lots of zeros...actually just over $1. Starting with a drive along the coast we were amazed by the hundreds of spider boats out fishing. They are usually a one-man operation and out from 6am - 5pm. They use long lines studded with numerous hooks and are moved along by a single, colorful sail. It is a lovely sight but a tough way to make a living. Many fishermen wear ski masks for sun protection which did unsettle us at first...until we learned the practical nature of the mask. We visited a pottery showroom where egg shells are used to create designs on brick red plates, bowls and vases. A real highlight was the weaving village. Everyone must weave...if you do not, you must move out. Women learn the intricate traditional art of "songket" at the age of 10. From 10 years until 16 years they weave their own songket sarong and one for mother and mother-in-law. If they are not able to complete the task they must leave the village. Men work on larger looms and make "ikat." Ikat places the design in the cotton via dye rather than thread (like songkat). Erin had a lesson in songkat but was not asked to stay-on at the village. We both bought some lovely items...a songket shawl for Erin and an ikat shirt for Chris (Dharma Setya hand woven and handicrafts www.dharmasetya.com).
Lunch was atop a mountain with a breathtaking view of the ocean and coastline...fresh salad and noodles with flaky potato somosas and a slice of yogurt banana cake for dessert. Reinvigorated we drove around to see more of the island. It is a collection of jam packed towns with scooters and cars and pony carts scattered between rice, corn and soybean fields. It is a real combination of the traditional and the modern. Rice is still harvested by hand but helmets are worn when riding scooters (up to 5 on one scooter at a time). A quick stop along the road in the forest and out scampered monkeys. They were amazing! As we held out a peanut they gently reached out and accepted it from us. It was clear when the alpha male showed up...an elegant, powerful gate with an easy manner with us...but distance from all the other monkeys. On the way back to the publix we stopped and met Mustafa's wife and 5 daughters. Beautiful girls with lovely big eyes. The return trip on the publix was halted when the outboard suddenly stopped! Eeeeek...quick action by the driver and the engine was tilted up, plastic bag removed and engine was going again. It was a full day and we hibernated on Barefeet for the evening.
The wind has really picked up and made for a night of bouncing usually reserved for an ocean passage...aaaggghhh. The anchor haul was a bit of drama...75 feet of depth, 280 feet of anchor line (50 feet nylon rope and 230 feet anchor chain) with 25 knots of wind and current as the "rope to chain windlass" chewed its way through the rope and bent the chain gripper...leaving metal shavings below the gypsy. Erin worked to keep the boat in a position such that the anchor line was slack as Chris and a good Samaritan neighbor pulled up the rope by hand and then used the spinnaker halyard to pull up the first bit of chain. Yikes, Erin had visions of the mast being pulled down...fingers getting tangled...all sorts of mêlée. The anchor was finally aboard and off we went to anchor at Pamenang just across the strait. It was a peaceful night's sleep before we were off early to Bali (Sept 19).


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My machine servo amplifier A06B-6079-H204 A and shows alarm 2 in status in morning when machine starts after 3 hrs. off due to shift change. In day time it not shows any alarm. Is this is drive control PCB related alarm and control card need to repair.
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Hyundai i40 to go upmarket | What Car?
The new Hyundai i40 will spearhead a campaign by the car maker to win customers on the strength of its designs rather than merely because its cars are inexpensive.
The i40 estate will go on sale at the beginning of September, and ushers in a rebranding of Hyundai as it pushes upmarket.
'The exterior and interior designs of the i40 have had some very good reviews in our customer clinics,' said Allan Rushforth, chief operating officer and senior vice president of Hyundai Motor Europe. 'The reaction to the car has been extremely positive.
The i40 saloon will be unveiled at the Barcelona motor show in May before going on sale in November.
Although final specifications have yet to be confirmed, all i40s will be sold with plenty of standard equipment. Upmarket options will include heated rear seats, reclining rear seats and a lane departure-warning system.
Hyundai will also push fleet sales with the i40, and is looking to split sales 50-50 with the private market.
Rushforth said that sales to hire car companies would be limited, however, to protect resale values. 'We'll put some out there so potential customers can experience the cars, but it will be a small number,' he said.
Hyundai also expects its five-year, unlimited-mileage warranty to help boost fleet sales.


text:
ANCDPAdm2020-08-25T14:48:17+00:00
This was the second ANC election campaign. Nelson Mandela was leaving and Thabo Mbeki was stepping up.
Although the ANC were fairly confident of victory in the hearts of the people, there was doubt as to whether they'd actually appear at the polls in the aftermath of a successful revolution. This highly emotional imagery was meant to remind people of everything the freedom fighters had been through to win their right to vote.
For the campaign, we did so many press ads it felt as if we were running our own newspaper. But there were many other elements too. It was a well-intergrated campaign.
Posters and Radio were used as well as the unique Spaza Broadcasts: A selection of popular songs put on CD, and given out to rural shop keepers. The ANC radio ads were placed in between the songs, as they would be on a normal radio broadcast. These were then played at the shop and all customers would hear them.
In order to reach the most rural of people, we even printed our message on matchboxes and given out at rural shops. This meant our message reached even the oldest people in our target market- an important group as the campaign addressed legacy.
My line was used again in the latest election campaign in April 2014

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Whose got the biggest fish? Fancy a bit of a fishing competition? ABC arranges a host of inshore and offshore fishing competitions. View our events calendar to find out when you can take part in our next event.


We've reached the time of year where those rare collector cars break free of their private collections and head for auction. January is just around the corner, with the famous Scottsdale sales complimented by Mecum's own blockbuster event at Kissimmee one week prior.
One car which hasn't graced an auction block since 1995 is back in circulation, Ford's one-off Mercury Cosworth Capri show car. Built by Ford but given its unique all-steel body by hot-rod fabricator Ron Fournier; this is as hot as road-legal Capris come.
After a more user-friendly Capri? Try our classifieds!
That it's unique makes the car special on its own merit, but even the most hardened of Ford fans will be reaching for a drool bucket when face-to-face. The first key ingredient is the engine, one which blue oval fans will be familiar with.
A 1.6-litre Cosworth BDA has been plonked into the engine bay, cranking out 186bhp. That might not sound like a whole lot of grunt but heed the fact it was all packed into a four cylinder racing engine, very similar to those seen in the Formula Atlantic championship. Add in twin Weber carburettors and a dual exhaust system and this unique Capri jets from 0-60mph in only six seconds.
Fournier might have developed a steel body that makes the Mercury Cosworth Capri look like a road car but in reality, it's a wolf in sheep's clothing. It's a race car through and through, with Koni shocks, louvres and brake ducts which serve a genuine purpose rather than simply being for show, and Stewart Warner instrumentation bolted into an extremely spartan dashboard.
There are some creature comforts in the Mercury Cosworth edition Capri – the Recaro bucket-style seats are leather and heated plus there's a radio and centre console storage, creating an illusion that this could have been used in much the same way as a regular Ford Capri. But kicking back in heated seats is not what this car was made for.
Some finishing touches make clear this Capri stands apart from the rest – a set of imposing gold three-piece BBS centre alloys are shod with the very same Firestone HPR tyres the car was originally supplied with.
The seats look well-worn but the mechanicals aren't, with only 468 miles on the clock. It's changed hands only once in its lifetime, being sold by Barrett-Jackson in 1995.
This time around Mecum has yet to price up the Mercury Cosworth Capri but don't expect a cheap sell – it might be wearing Mercury branding but this is a Ford through-and-through. The steering wheel even says so.
1983 Ford Capri 302 v8 from Real Steel mustang 5 speed up rated prop from Reco prop aluminium radiator rear disc brake conversion up rated suspension polly bushes .Have owned the car for 20 years used in summer time never in the rain.


A great online game to train your memory. In this memory game, you have to reposition the balls on the abacus by sorting them in the correct order. It's a difficult game because there are 9 ball colors in the abacus game "colors". Come and train your memory!


text:
Congress to form groups of 'vicharaks' to connect with people before Assembly polls
New Delhi: In a bid to connect with people on the ground ahead of the crucial assembly elections, the Congress plans to deploy vicharaks, an army of ground workers similar to the pracharaks of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh.
Vicharaks will be young Congress activists, primarily members of the party's frontal organisation, the Seva Dal. Their role will be to visit each constituency and talk to people about problems like price rise, unemployment and farmer distress.
Talking to ANI, Lalji Desai, chief organiser of the All India Congress Seva Dal, said that Uttar Pradesh will be the major focus of the Vicharakas and workers from all the neighbouring states will come and be there.
"On every seat, a Vicharak will play a major role. In total, 41 workers will be assigned to each Vidhan Sabha seat. Looking at the strength of the local Seva Dal, we decided to work on 100 seats," said Desai.
The Chief Organiser of All India Congress Seva Dal said the party plans to create a ground culture, where the party workers will be staying in the villages with the people during campaigning.
"After assembly elections in five states, our focus will be Gujarat elections," he added.
Desai said the initially, Vicharaks will focus on Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat assembly elections.
"These 'vicharaks' will focus on targeted constituencies that will be carefully selected following discussion with party in-charges and top leadership. Our focus will be majorly on nation building, organisation building, and election campaigning," he said.
The Congress leader said the country needs vicharaks (thinkers) at a time when "democracy is being killed."
"New workers have joined with vibrant energy. The number of women has also increased for volunteering. Women and youngsters are coming with a lot of energy, and we are training them to send them to the states where elections are approaching," he added.
Assembly elections in five states–Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Goa and Manipur– are scheduled to take place in April-May 2022. (ANI)
By Archana Prasad


The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine the relationship between involvement types and risk factors that may have contributed to the degree completion for a group of nontraditional community college students. Alexander Astin's (1975, 1993) student involvement theory has been used for over forty-years to examine student persistence rates of traditional students attending four-year institutions. This research study expanded the work of Astin (1993) to include nontraditional students who graduated from a public community college in the Southeast. The participants in this study consisted of 124 graduates from a public community college located in the Southeast. The data obtained in this study were analyzed using ANOVA tests, t-tests, and randomized block design in order to examine the relationship between the risk factors and involvement levels of the community college graduates. The results of this study revealed that the majority of graduates in this population were considered to be moderately nontraditional (79%) since they exhibited at least two or three risk factors. The leading risk factors associated with this sample of students were part-time enrollment at 73.20%, being financially independent at 64.95%, and delayed enrollment in college at 42.39%. The statistical analyzes employed in this study revealed that nontraditional students who completed their degrees indicated they had significantly higher levels of academic involvement and interaction with peers than with other types of involvement. In addition, females in this study were found to exhibit significantly higher levels of academic involvement than males. The results of this study support findings from national studies that indicate the dramatic shift in student populations nationwide especially at two-year institutions (NCES, 2008). Since the majority of today's college students exhibit at least one risk factor, researchers need to re-conceptualize their understanding of what it means to be a traditional student in today's college setting. Researchers must also re-examine retention theories that were based largely on homogeneous student populations. If not, graduation rates will continue to remain unchanged.


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Colloidal gels are ubiquitous in daily life, such as paint. A colloidal gel can support its own weight for a finite delay time in gravity. This delay time sets the shelf life of many products. Hence, understanding the gravitational stability of colloidal gels could promote their industrial application. This work presents results on the mesoscopic scale (~ 102 μm) aiming to bridge macroscopic observations with the microscopic perspective in previous studies. In a model system of colloids + polymers, typical kinds of gel collapse were studied using fluorescence microscopy. Two collapse mechanisms are found for low and high colloidal volume fractions (φc), respectively. At low φc, denser debris falls through and breaks the gel structure. At high φc, solvent droplets rise to the top of a gel allowing the solvent to be expelled from the gel quickly. For gels with intermediate φc, these two mechanisms cooperate. Large-scale hydrodynamic remixing and recirculation are observed before the onset of gel collapse, emphasizing that hydrodynamics is crucial. The imaging results also suggest that the menisci of the samples play an important role of the gel collapse. By eliminating most of the curved meniscus, the collapse of gel can be postponed. Previous hypothesis for gel collapse is based on the competition between the yield stress of gel and gravitational stress. Our results on large and small particle gels show similar collapse behaviours both on macro- and meso-scopic scales. Considering that the yield stress varies sensitively with the size of the particle, this similarity suggests different mechanisms should be developed for the collapse of small and large particle gels.


Last weekend I attended the second Anime NYC convention held at the Jacob K. Javitz center.
Anime NYC: is New York City's anime convention! A showcase of the best of Japanese pop culture in the biggest city in America, Anime NYC brings anime fans and publishers together for three days of unique exhibits, exclusive screenings, extensive panels, and appearances by some of the biggest creators in Japan. Join us for a celebration of Japanese animation, manga, and cosplay in the heart of NYC!
Anime NYC is a creation of LeftField Media, a boutique event company made up of dedicated fans and experienced convention organizers.
This convention was great for artists and fans alike. It featured a range of panelists, exhibitors, and had a fantastic size Artist Alley. There were so many awesome cosplayers in attendance. I had some fun photographing some attendees and got to chat with some talented creators.
photos from Anime NYC 2018!
Check out some beautiful original art from CreeesArt !!
Got to chat with the super talented artist, Mike Toney about his personal designs, inspiration from the African diaspora, and creating his own characters.
For cute and fun art, jewelry & merch check out these lovely brands!!
Gallery also up on GothamGeekGirl.com!


Being located in Asia, its very frustrating to experience failures to access my emails. Since the conversion in system everything has been rather difficult. Right now I cannot access my account "@lbresources.com" from BOTH my computer and mobile tel. This defeats the purpose of hosting with Homestead. Can someone fix this IMMEDIATELY (contact me on "lbsaw1@gmail.com" or tel 852-97883169) so I can be able to resume my business. If Homestead do not resolve this, its certain I will discontinue with Homestead.
How do you check your email? Are you receiving any error? We are an inbound call center, but you can post here and we can assist you if you are not able to call or chat online.


text:
The political right's dangerous support for economic quackery
You may remember Niall Ferguson's disastrous attempt to claim that George Osborne's imagined success proved Keynesians and Keynes were wrong. That kind of nonsense makes it into a serious paper like the Financial Times because it is written by a famous history professor, or maybe on other occasions by a senior policy maker. But for those who only read this serious press, it is in fact one example of many. There is a little cottage industry out there of so called journalists and think tanks who peddle economic quackery to support right wing policies.
Take, for example, this recent piece by James Bartholomew in the Spectator. Deficit spending by the government never works, he claims. Presumably the opposite also holds, which is that fiscal consolidation (aka austerity) never hurt anyone. Mainstream economics has it all wrong. One of the skills writers like this have is to make very little evidence seem like a lot. Mr. Bartholomew has two bits of evidence.
Papers by Alesina et al. He is quite right they briefly gained a lot of influence in Europe in particular, among policy makers who wanted to cut deficits and liked to argue this would not reduce output. What Bartholomew does not tell you is that following this policy of cutting deficits, we had a second Eurozone recession. Nor does he tell you that subsequent analysis by the IMF and others explained why these authors got the results they did, because of countervailing influences that did not apply in the Eurozone in the years following 2010. Nor does he mention the huge number of past and recent studies that confirm fiscal policy does what Keynesians say it does. The only other authority he quotes is Tim Congdon.
Lots of historical examples where fiscal action did not, supposedly, have the expected impact. The thing is, anyone can write this kind of stuff about anything in macroeconomics, because in the economy there are lots of things going on. I'm sure I could come up with an equally impressive list to show you that monetary policy has no effect. Just look at 2009 and 2010: interest rates on the floor and the economy still crashed. That is why economists do econometric studies, the overwhelming (like 95%) majority of which show fiscal policy drives the economy in the expected direction.
To his credit Bartholomew does admit that logically Keynesian policies should work. But there is an awful lot he does not tell you. He does not tell you that the reason it should work is that additional private sector demand does increase output (except perhaps in booms), and that this, rather than fiscal stimulus, was the key insight that Keynes had. It is the insight that every central bank uses to guide monetary policy, using Keynesian models. Models that all say that without countervailing factors fiscal stimulus increases output and fiscal consolidation reduces it. There is no way that his article is a measured piece of journalism. It is designed to discredit the economics that is taught to every student the world over.
There is plenty of this on the left too: people who want to tell you mainstream economics is all wrong. Yet until very recently at least, the influence of this group on politicians on the mainstream left had been minimal, and this group has a far smaller public presence than their equivalent on the right. On the right they are ubiquitous.
Policy makers on the right might tell you that of course they are not influenced by this group, but instead consult serious economic analysis that you can find in mainstream universities. But how can we tell if they are telling the truth. When campaigning senior politicians on the right seem quite happy to talk about the government maxing out its credit card, the classic first year undergraduate 'schoolboy' error of treating the government like a household. In the UK, while the fiscal strategy of the Labour government was written up in Treasury documents that referenced the academic literature, there is nothing equivalent from the current government. Even the most technical of Osborne's speeches just seemed horribly out of date in terms of its macroeconomics.
This is dangerous for two reasons. The first is that it can lead to major macroeconomic policy errors: in the UK think money supply targets, entering the ERM at an overvalued rate, and 2010 fiscal consolidation, in the Eurozone think of the Stability and Growth Pact and the 2011-13 recession. The second is that it encourages a lazy anti-science attitude, all too evident in climate change denial. If the political right in the UK and Europe want to see where this could lead, look across the Atlantic. With the left in disarray and flirting with non-mainstream economics, the right has an excellent opportunity (when a new Chancellor takes over in the UK, for example) to re-engage with mainstream economics, and cast off the quackery of the Ferguson and Bartholomew ilk.
Labels: Alesina, anti-Keynesian, James Bartholomew, Niall Ferguson, Tim Congdon
Magnus 19 January 2016 at 02:31
You are far too kind to these clowns.
The Spectator should not be treated as a serious newspaper.
Beyond economic quackery we get in Bartholomew's piece what I can only presume to be latent homophobia:
"Of course, John Maynard Keynes said lots of things about economics in between his many and varied sexual encounters."
If you read the post carefully (Bartholomew is neither famous or a policy maker) you will see how I place the Spectator.
Once again we see a lot of dangerous typecasting. Right through it.
But I will just pick up on one. Niall Ferguson may be famous, but his use of counterfactuals and a tendency towards sweeping generalisation makes him very controversial within his own profession. He is famous as a public intellectual, much less authoritative as an academic.
theambler 21 January 2016 at 01:57
Everyone should be very wary of Niall Ferguson. Google 'niall ferguson inflation' and you can find articles showing up a certain lack of rigour or ability to admit error. This would be embarrassing for a random blogger, but should never happen to a Harvard professor.
paul 19 January 2016 at 03:00
I have also noticed that much of this so called evidence is hidden from the public by pay walls & academic super injunctions,ie it is so weak they fear placing it were a school boy would show them up,obviously to protect there reputation for as long as possible.
The Alesina papers, particularly the latest one, are state of the art pieces of econometric work. But isolating the impact of fiscal policy is very tricky, so once and a while a paper is bound to come up with outlier results.
As I remember it, the trouble with the famous [infamous?] Alesina paper, the one that was widely cited as a justification for austerity is 2010ff., was not the econometric techniques. It was rather not taking the trouble to look at the individual episodes thrown-up by his measure as being fiscal tightening, and seeing whether their contexts made sense as the bases for a general proposition that cutting government spending would be expansionary. Even before the IMF study, other economists had discussed some of the episodes and pointed out that the circumstances in which they were introduced meant that they were inappropriate to serve as examples of expansionary austerity as a general rule.
Conservatives will, as a general thing, attempt to pass moral scolding off as objective economic analysis. We therefore hear iddntical arguments in regard to fiscal policy as to the poor; "they make bad decisions/ don't live within their means/ god is angry with them", etc. Their biases in terms of proper and improper personal behaviors are simply and superficially applied to government.
Big Bill 19 January 2016 at 04:35
On that subject, it's a shame Labour are listing among their official advisors one Stiglitz, another eNobeled economist who clearly doesn't understand money creation :-(
You are using a very strange method of judging economists.
AllanW 19 January 2016 at 04:37
SW-L;
"There is a little cottage industry out there of so called journalists and think tanks who peddle economic quackery to support right wing policies."
I'm afraid this is not quite correct. It should read;
"There is a little cottage industry out there of so called journalists and think tanks who peddle economic quackery to support [right wing] the policies paid for."
There. Fixed it. It's the major reason the mainstream media journalists, politicians and many academic writers are held in such low esteem; their conscience is priced so low.
1) If government spending, paid for by debt, increases demand (which in a very obvious way it does) is that an argument for deferring the public spend on projects that wash their economic face until a downturn, or an argument for spending money on things that lack an economic rationale during downturns?
2) If everything on which borrowed money is spent is ex hypothesi "output" does that mean that if Greek civil servants look out of the window, financed by borrowed German money, this "output" should be reckoned as (at least) the input cost? Do we know that Japan's concrete-lined rivers and non-functioning concrete tetrapods must be delivering utility, precisely because they are so expensive?
3) If government spending during downturns reliably bails out all private enterprise, and in particular the building industry, do we know that having them bake that assumption into their spending and investment decisions isn't a great negative?
4) If government spending during downturns creates structures, organisations and labour arrangements which can be remarkably resistant to reform, are we sure that the problems this causes during (and for) an upturn aren't greater than any possible benefit?
5) Given that debt has to be repaid with interest are we certain that debt-fuelled deficit spending doesn't needlessly distort economic development during upturns, and serve to prevent the financing and development of genuinely productive enterprises?
Just curious. I'm on the political right, so these are the considerations that follow from my lack of understanding.
Craig Ross
If you think all public spending is naturally bad (in the way you describe) then of course you want to reduce it. Just not in a recession. Of course all public spending is not bad, as Cameron is finding out (flood defences, language lessons ....)
I see. So if we agreed that some particular piece of spending was bad then you'd argue that it should take place during a downturn, although you wouldn't countenance it during an upturn?
You say that "...the fiscal strategy of the Labour government was written up in Treasury documents that referenced the academic literature, there is nothing equivalent from the current government." Given that economics can arguably be summed up in one word - incentives - which group of economists advised Brown that giving a single parent with three kids £3,000 a month in welfare payments for £500 of activity (16 hours a week) wouldn't produce perverse incentives for them, and harmful attitudes in their children?
- 19 January 2016 at 06:01
Who are the non-mainstream economists the left are now flirting with?
Yes, could you be more specific on this please.
What evidence is there that Conservative politics works in this way since the 1880s?
And as for Ferguson, my advice is that his exhibitionism is best ignored. He has been going around like the bear with a sore head since Alan Bennett (History Boys introduction pages xxiii-xxv (2004)) cut-and-shut him with Alastair Campbell into the character of 'Irwin', leaving Ferguson knowing that he will probably always have Bennett's very successful play and film attached to his reputation.
I address you first point in my post.
William 19 January 2016 at 09:59
How can Labour make a strong economic case while fighting a hostile press while Corbyn proposes giving back the Falklands, back channel negotiations with ISIS, and ballistic missile submarines with no trident missiles? His foreign policy is so far to the left and incompetent he has no chance of helping people suffering from austerity. People simply do not take him seriously.
I do not particularly want to defend Corbyn, but please do not fall for gotcha journalism. What he does is give honest answers to questions that are deliberately crafted to make headlines. If you would prefer politicians to lie to you ("we never negotiate with terrorists"), you tend to get what you want.
Maybe it is time to fight fire with fire. The next time some politician talks about "the national credit card" the response should be something like: "Look, the private sector is having a massive blowout sale, with low prices and low, low interest rates. We aren't saving the taxpayer any money by waiting for the sale to end to buy the things we need to buy." An argument like that might have more impact than going on about the IS-LM model, or some such thing.
In Bartholomew's defence, his opening paragraph is utterly hilarious, as is his chortling reference to Keynes's sexuality. Ferguson, too, if I recall, has not been above a bit of homophobia in his commentary on Keynes.
Tim Wilkinson 19 January 2016 at 21:24
"There is _plenty_ of this on the left too: people who want to tell you mainstream economics is all wrong."
"With the left in disarray and flirting with non-mainstream economics"
I think these need some explanation, rather than just being dropped in as asides. It is very unclear that they are true on a natural reading of their intended meaning.
Well said, some common sense and non partisanship displayed in your comment.
Random 20 January 2016 at 11:02
The left are daring to engage with others. How dare they!
If you want to see the alternative take a look:
http://www.3spoken.co.uk/2015/11/job-guarantee-jobs-for-people.html
http://www.3spoken.co.uk/2013/05/making-banks-work.html
http://www.3spoken.co.uk/2015/12/the-helicopters-already-exist-if-you.html
SWL just abuses his position to justify the 'creditor view' of the world - that the economy should be ruled by a committee of elders at the central bank, and that you need to maintain 5% unemployment permanently to control inflation.
No amount of dressing things up and softly spoken words changes that. SWL pretends to be pluralist to neutralise debate.
StuartP 20 January 2016 at 07:37
Are you blogging from Davos this week?
SpinningHugo 21 January 2016 at 01:46
"When campaigning senior politicians on the right seem quite happy to talk about the government maxing out its credit card, the classic first year undergraduate 'schoolboy' error of treating the government like a household."
Well, again the answer is that what 'works' in electoral terms is not the same thing as appears in the General Theory. What you need to say to win elections in a democracy doesn't have a very close relation to what makes sense in economic terms.
Even you, in the quiet solitude of your room, might admit that there is a huge gap between the harsh language of austerity Osborne employs, and the degree of fiscal tightening there has in fact been.
Very galling if you happen to be a Professor of Economics, but there we are.
Why anyone at all would take any interest in what someone like james Batholomew (or on the left someone like Zoe Williams) has to say about economics is beyond me. The usual problem of journos in need of copy writing about areas they know nothing about. Annoying whenever you happen to know about the field into which they have drifted.
Oh, and I would also have thought that within (or nearly within) the academic discipline of economics, there are far, far more radicals of the left who want to tear the building down. There are plenty of rightwing economists but they are observably still playing the game. Where are the Steve Keen's of the right, claiming that the entire discipline is rotten to the core?
Indeed, it is McDonnell who has launched a series on the 'New Economics'. which plays into his lifelong commitment to the idea that orthodox economics is bankrupt and needs to be abandoned.
You can't imagine Osborne (or any Tory) claiming we need to abandon economic orthodoxy (however wrong they may be about what that orthodoxy actually requires).
MSJ 24 January 2016 at 07:57
This post is so important. "Journalism" had already become too low paid in junior staff to attract minds. (David Gregory leading Meet the Press. Is he even a B student?) And so then post 1999 the Internet takes Journalism to the age of "click bait". Seriously? Google is evil and garbage peddling. They care about what? Clicks. Its ALL SHIT. And just adds to the nonsense and the fear. I mean people!!! We did Nazis and Communists BEFORE the Internet. When George Orwell and Hemmingway wrote for newspapers!!! Cmon. This is dangerous.


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text:
Construction worker dies in Bloomfield Township
PUBLISHED: December 9, 2022 at 4:12 p.m. | UPDATED: December 10, 2022 at 12:08 p.m.
A 22-year-old construction worker died in Bloomfield Township Wednesday, Dec. 7, when the boom lift he was standing on tipped over and he fell and hit his head on trees, according to the Michigan Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
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text:
Boston's Built Environment
Boylston Place (née Scape Student Housing) | 1252-1268 Boylston Street | Fenway
Thread starter Equilibria
Equilibria
https://www.bostonglobe.com/business/2018/11/01/here-what-british-dorm-builder-planning-for-boston/oEEKOgKdM8Emg1jufBpvYN/story.html
It would seem they've retained Gensler to design this.
JumboBuc
Re: Scape Student Housing | 1260-1270 Boylston Street | Fenway
Equilibria said:
Also, it appears that these would be the tallest buildings on Boylston past the Pierce - slightly taller than the Vermillion and the Harlo.
This project is clearly shorter than the Viridian next door (per the render).
Hopefully Machine and Jyuba can find new homes nearby. Also, never change, Baseball Tavern.
JumboBuc said:
Also, never change, Baseball Tavern.
You're right. I confused the Veridian with the new buildings.
Also, never change, Sunoco Station.
Lrfox
I know it's not the sexiest building in the world, but I like the facade (they don't make them like this anymore) and it would be nice if they could restore/retain it.
Totally. I love those little old tax payer buildings. Brookline has tons of them.
odurandina
It's missing the top 15 stories. it just has the lower 15 stories left on. What gives? Vancouver-height planning is needed here.
Highrise planning supports land conservation, jobs & progress. i believe Boston can begin to copy the Manhattan/Orange/Weschester Co model; w/ less trees being cut down a few miles from the core.
Yes friends; Bulls in Manhattan and Bears in Port Jervis i always say.....
https://www.bostonglobe.com/news/science/2018/11/01/you-better-enjoy-wilderness-now-almost-gone-study-says/WvO0n6It9QVOYfKwgRCl8I/story.html
LOI:
http://www.bostonplans.org/documents/projects/development-project-filings/1252-1268-boylston-street-letter-of-intent
Note that the address is actually 1252-1268 Boylston.
stefal
odurandina said:
An additional 15 stories on this with the Fens a stone's throw away on one side and a line of buildings that would be 15 stories shorter than this on the other, while backing a 5 story brick masonry apartment building, across the street from a low-rise section of storefronts and restaurants, and across the intersection from another set of 6 story apartment buildings....
See: Context
While I don't agree an additional 15 stories works here, we do need to break that stretch's roof-lines up a little. Perhaps by taking a little bit of massing from the middle section and maybe the furthest east section of the building and adding it to the section closer to the Veridian. This massing would create a "valley" of sorts, or steps, depending on which massing you go with, within the development and bring the scale down from the high-rise section of Boylston down to the low-rises of Park Dr. and the Fens across Park Dr. As you approach from Bolyston from the East, it would allow one's eyes to follow up the buildings to a resolution at the top that follows down that stretch of Boylston, rather than a large 30 story tower standing in the midst of what, at street level/eye-level, appears to be a sea of 5-7 story buildings and trees.
Suffolk 83
As long as baseball tavern survives it's all good here
re-posted w/ edits for all proper aB lashings.
stefalarchitect said:
While I don't agree an additional 15 stories works here, we do need to break that stretch's roof-lines up a little. Perhaps by taking a little bit of massing from the middle section and maybe the furthest east section of the building and adding it to the section closer to the Veridian. This massing would create a "valley" of sorts, or steps, depending on which massing you go with, within the development and bring the scale down from the high-rise section of Boylston down to the low-rises of Park Dr. and the Fens across Park Dr. ...
What if we leave Park Drive out of the discussion, and consider height for this block, and higher usage (despite the added risk of delays) solely on its merits.
Argue for 1000~1500 grad students who will get to their classroom offices and libraries using all available means.
Put another way; if the proposal was, say 29 stories like Stu Vi, i'm certain many of us would be saying, "Some bold planning here! Great to see more serious height being proposed along this section of Boylston Street. Nicely done."
Keep the club scene alive; start with a couple of floors of bars. But don't back away from a not-even-seismic shift. Just continue a natural progression not unlike what the City is doing now everywhere. The BPDA can say "what the heck." Surprise people (more) every now and then.
Consider what's happening in any case; The Huntington, Parcels 7, 12, 13 & 15... Kenmore Square and Fenway Ctr.... now add 36~38 stories at 45 Worthington St, with the other older squat towers in Mission Hill... Present day Longwood up the street. ...in that context, going tall is just progressing in the natural order toward an urban neighborhood possessing a variety of height.
30 stories here isn't off par with Copley Tower which began planning almost a decade ago. .....400~500 beds isn't transformative. It's not risk-taking, imaginative, or breakout project in any measurable way.
With the horizontal progression into Roxbury and JP happening, aren't we forced to consider more vertical planning here?
We got into a rut for 3 decades. While Boston sauntered along in its malaise, the population grew by like 110M people. Now, we're living the aftermath of a City that under-built for 30 years. Residents have to adjust to the Fenway acquiring a bit more 'big city' feel. There's nowhere else for planners to go but consider even more height.
If the usual suspects want to rail at City planners over 30 stories of student housing, fine. The BPDA can jump in a foxhole with the developer! No one's suggesting older residents relocate to the housing project going up in Readville. But it's an option; No need for these stodgy patrons to go to New Bedford, or a bedroom community off Rt 24.
Build a City. Accept modest collateral damage.
shmessy
T-R-A-N-S-P-O-R-T-A-T-I-O-N.
You and your Lego sets are missing the point.
Without the Blue-Red Connection and the NSRL (along with much more, eventually outlawing non-automated vehicles and replacing with a system of podcars within the city limits - thereby eliminating parking spaces and garages - freeing up much MORE space for 150 story towers). You and your pancake stacking of checkers is laughably shortsighted.
People have got to populate those tall buildings. If they can't get there, those buildings won't get constructed in the future. THINK.
Play chess, O. Get the transportation down and then build 2,000 foot towers to your heart's content. Currently, you are aiming too low because you are playing checkers.
shmessy said:
Play chess, O. Get the transportation down and then build 2,000 foot towers to your hearts content. Currently, you are aiming too low because you are playing checkers.
How did this rifleman post sneak through my block filter?
Justin7 said:
If you actually comprehended the post, you would realize it is very ambitious. We need to raise taxes/revenue to pay for the infrastructure! Rifleman strikes me as being completely opposed to that type of thinking (please correct me if I'm wrong).
Boston/Cambridge is on the precipice of an unprecedented urban revolution, given its biotech/university situation. History will look back and judge whether it missed its opportunity or grasped it.
We can be a General still fighting World War I and build 40 story buildings in the Fens without accompanying arteries or we can be a futuristic General build the necessary infrastructure expanding all limits.
Boston/Cambridge has the best people/universities/minds - - the only thing holding it back is infrastructure - - that is the only reason why Amazon will choose a different HQ2 city.
To the point of this thread, for right now, Scape's building height works fine. Change the game board and you can play with larger pieces. .....and PLEASE keep those bottom two stories of that building facade intact in the new building!!!!!
cadetcarl
lol at the idea that fully autonomous cars are anywhere close, or a reasonable solution for cities.
I'm all for transportation improvements if they're mass transit. I'd put decent money if I had any on the autonomy play being a huge waste of time and never being fully realized. But even if they do, cars are still cars. Electric cars are still cars. Cars without drivers are still cars. If they're not parked they're taking up space somewhere.
cadetcarl said:
Stacked in depots around Route 128. What's so hard to comprehend?
The earth isn't flat, Carl. It's going to happen and the only question is when. Probably not in suburbs or rural areas, but most definitely in urban cores - - and it will be a huge boon for cities - saving travel times, eliminating traffic jams, freeing sides of streets from parked cars and eliminating parking garages thus opening up more room for towers, etc.
If your "reasonable solution" for cities is more drivers (2% of whom are idiots causing jams for the other 98%) and garages, then party on.......But here's a little secret: Money Makes the World Go 'Round.
The technology will continue to improve and the economics will dictate the motivation.
I'm not a luddite, I just do not accept the premises that (a) the technology will continue to improve [to the point of outmoding human drivers] and (b) that this is a solution especially for cities.
Even if I accepted (a), it would be in the exact opposite of the places you propose: put them on freight vehicles on long predictable stretches of rural highway and not in cities, where failure to identify pedestrians and cyclists could result in death. But I don't.
And as for (b), we've already seen credible reports that ridesharing is already adding to and not mitigating congestion. Autonomy would put more cars on the road, not fewer. Maybe the routing would be more efficient, maybe you get to look at your phone the whole time, but I reject this any sort of solution for cities. Qui bono?
There's nothing I'm not understanding; I just do not agree with you.
^ This.
Autonomous vehicles will work best and be of greatest benefit where density is lowest, not where it is highest.
The primary factor limiting the efficiency of rural vehicular travel is the requirement to have a living breathing driver. The primary factor limiting the efficiency of urban vehicular travel is the space that all those moving vehicles take up.
Autonomous vehicle technology will likely in the next decade or so be sophisticated enough to eliminate the driver requirement for rural travel. This will lead to great efficiency gains on those routes. But autonomous tech does absolutely nothing to address the spacial requirements of the vehicles themselves. If anything, removing the driver from the equation would make spacial concerns even more significant. And these spacial concerns are the limiting factor in urban transportation.
Things like subways aren't efficient in cities because they allow hundreds of people to be driven by one driver; they're efficient because they allow hundred of people to all fit into a small space. Autonomous vehicles would move in the other direction, pushing urban travelers to take up more space, not less space.
The very LAST place where it will be adopted is rural areas.
#1 - The Importance of Reading an Audience - folks in rural areas aren't going to give up the freedom to move where and when and how fast they want to (along with alot of other physical and spiritual freedoms, etc. My Car, My Gun, My God). Urban dwellers are the only ones who will accept this.
#2 - the major benefit is conserving space - - that's a big deal in cities, not a big deal in rural areas.
#3 - freeing up real estate on a road outside of Holyoke is not going to make possible a 50 story tower. Doing so in Boston will.
Two universal truths that have been proven constantly over the past several hundred years: Money makes the world go round and technology sharpens over time. Fossil fuels will be replaced by renewables and autonomous vehicles will replace human-driven in cities - the only variable is the human/political one - as to "how soon".
Autonomous vehicle technology will likely in the next decade or so be sophisticated enough to eliminate the driver requirement for rural travel. This will lead to great efficiency gains on those routes. But autonomous tech does absolutely nothing to address the spacial requirements of the vehicles themselves. If anything, removing the driver from the equation would make spacial concerns even more significant. And these spacial concerns are the limiting factor in urban transportation.......
Ahem. If you think rural residents will give up their own driving without a very bloody armed insurrection, then you've never lived in a rural area.
Autonomous vehicles are a non-starter in rural areas.
The only population willing to adapt to it are urban dwellers - - and they will flock to it to save on garaging costs, maintenance costs, the "joy" of driving city streets, or being at the mercy of a taxi/uber/lyft driver they've never met, etc. They will order up their pods via their smartphones and have monthly subscriptions tied to miles used and trips - they will pay and track their usage through their phone apps. It's going to happen. The only obstacle is political/corporate at this point.
To your second point, I was not talking about eliminating subways/busses/mass transit at all. You are right on, in that they are the most efficient space savers. Autonomous pods are not to replace THAT. It is only to replace the individual drivered car/truck that has to be PARKED and that experiences far more accidents per million miles comparatively ALREADY in the technological infancy of the autonomous technology.
***My sincere apologies for digressing off of the Scape building thread topic. I love the idea of Scape and hope they build many many more forward thinking dorms around Boston and other cities - - it is another idea that will revolutionize urban life in the next decades. We live in an exciting time.
Your argument is stereotypes about Gods and Guns? Okay...
The vehicles of private citizens will be the last to be automated. First will be long distance and fleet vehicles (think long haul trucking, which is an enormous industry where labor is extremely tight). This isn't about John Doe living in the heartland giving up his truck, it's about Doe Conglomerates Incorporated automating their fleet of trucks that has to criss-cross the heartland in order to get their goods to market where the people live (i.e., the cities).
And just as it's harder and less pleasant for a person to drive in the city than in the country, it'll also be harder for a machine to drive in the city. Current technology is very close to being able to drive a truck on Interstates across the country; it's very far from being able to navigate hectic city streets.
But yeah... I can't wait for the PNF on this Scape project.


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Some or I can say most of us? Well, all of us love to sleep especially during winters, where waking up early in the morning becomes the most tedious task for sleep lovers. We often snooze alarms and later realize that we're late for work or any important meeting. For such situations and for sleep lovers who don't like to wake up on time when the alarm rings, here is a list of best alarm clock apps, that shall wake you you by solving puzzles.
All of these alarm clock apps are handpicked puzzle alarm clock that comes with variety of dismiss methods, in which you may solve puzzle, calculate math sums, arranging right sequence of colors and more to wake up with wide open eyes, and lies no point of sleep ahead.
Timely Alarm Clock is one the best among the puzzle alarm clock apps which comes with clean and soothing interface. This alarm clock app lets you set alarms and at the same time lets you set you recurring, if any. The app comes with many in-built alarm tones, so that you can choose the desired alarm tone.
This alarm clock app comes with an option of Challenges where it offers options like: Shake It, Math Puzzle, Random Pattern and Match It. You can set these challenges while setting the alarm and at the same it set random option to appear to dismiss alarm. You can also customize certain features where you can adjust alarm volume, snooze duration, shrinking snooze duration and much more so as to personalize the app according to your requirements.
Grab Timely Alarm Clock from here.
Puzzle Alarm Clock is another app that comes second in the list of puzzle alarm clock apps. This alarm clock app comes with variety of dismiss alarm option and at the same time does not provide an option to Snooze the alarm.
This alarm clock comes with random puzzles like: Captcha, Math equations, Patterns, and more. This alarm app is also capable of sending SMS to emergency contacts, in case, the SMS receipt can call you to wake you up from the sleep. Another additional feature of this app is that, it lets you launch any app as soon as you disable the alarm.
Click here to see detailed review of the app.
Grab Puzzle Alarm Clock from here.
Alarm Puzzle is another alarm clock app that comes with three fun alarm dismiss modes: Feather Sleep, Shepherd and The Rock. Each puzzle is unique and is to set while setting the alarm for specific time. You can also add labels ans set recurring, if required. This app comes with snooze option but at the same time lets you just once that too for 5 minutes only. Bad news for snoozers.
You can wake up by either drawing patterns, shooting jumping sheep and listening to rock music. Indeed fun app among the list of alarm clock apps.
Grab Alarm Puzzle for Android from here.
Alarm Puzzle Clock offers not only alarm clock but also comes with a timer and stopwatch. You just need to set the time for which you want the alarm to ring. While setting the alarm, you can custom set the snooze time, snooze reapeat time, volume, alarm ring, etc. according to your needs. In addition you can also custom set the dismiss mode where it offers you total of 5 along with normal mode. You can write Captcha, Shake, solve math puzzle, fix image puzzle, and more to make your alarm dismiss more fun.
Grab Alarm Puzzle Clock from here.
Developed By: Phonato Studios Pvt. Ltd.
Alarmr comes with soothing interface where it offers variety of options, like sleep timer, flash light, etc. This app comes with variety of themes so that you can custom set the appearance of the clock as well. You can set alarm along with alarm dismiss modes and snooze duration as per your convenience.
In addition to all, you can set you weather location, news feeds links, and create that days schedule so that you stay updated each time when the alarm rings.
Grab Alarmr : Wake up alarm clock from here.
I am sure with these alarm clock apps, sleep lovers are going to have tough time with their sleep. These apps are apt for waking up those who hate annoying alarm bells and are habitual to snooze each time.
So all the mommies and wives try out these puzzle alarm clock apps to wake your sleeping freaks.


Cameron Champ watches a tee shot during the final round of the Sanderson Farms Championship. Champ won for his first PGA Tour victory.
While one World Golf Championships event concluded in the wee hours of the morning on Sunday — congrats, Xander Schauffele! — another finished on Sunday afternoon in Jackson, Miss. Here's what you missed at the Sanderson Farms Championship. Who won: Cameron Champ (21 under) Why it matters: The 23-year-old Texas A&M product is a Tour rookie and regarded as one of the promising young talents in the game. He had only one professional win to his name (the Web.com's 2018 Utah Championship) before his victory on Sunday, which came in just his ninth start on the PGA Tour. How it happened: Champ held a four-shot lead heading into the final round, but Corey Conners bit into it quickly. Conners played the front in three under, while Champ played it in one over. All of a sudden they were tied for the lead heading to the back side. Conners made birdies on 13 and 15, but Champ did one better, making four straight birdies from 13 to 16. Champ added a final birdie on 18 to beat Conners by four. Both players shot four-under 68s on Sunday. How it almost didn't happen: Champ broke his driver less than 30 minutes before his tee time. Luckily he had a backup handy, and while he wasn't as effective off the tee as he was in the first three rounds, he still got the job done. https://twitter.com/jlmountainman/status/1056589245354295296 Best shot(s) when it mattered: Champ pulled away with four straight birdies on the back nine from Nos. 13 to 16. On 16 he drained a 38-footer for birdie, and on 17 he missed the green with his approach, had a mediocre chip and then faced a 15-footer for par. No matter, he nailed it, which allowed him to take a comfortable two-stroke lead to the 72nd tee. https://twitter.com/PGATOUR/status/1056651078945595392 Honorable mention for best shot when it mattered: Champ, after a wayward drive on 18, did this. https://twitter.com/PGATOUR/status/1056658312857477120 Best closing round: Carlos Ortiz shot an eight-under 64 to vault into a tie for third. He had an eagle, bogey and seven birdies. Best quote: "This last year has been amazing. I was in school at this time last year." — Cameron Champ Up next: The PGA Tour heads to Vegas next week for the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open.


There's that upside energy I mentioned in the last post. The market rebounded to the 2120 area with a big 1% move up. There were no sellers left. That's a big hit to the bears who had all that they needed for a full blown correction. Supply and demand is the rule, and the supply dissipated and the sell off ended. The tells were in the big bearish attitude which pointed to the market having a lot of pessimism which means less long exposure and less sellers going forward into Wednesday. Once you get a big sell off like that and a rebound that surpasses many of short stops, you get a short fuelled V-rally. Again, this is especially pronounced when there just isn't many pressured longs selling, the law of supply and demand. That's just right now though, things change quickly, it doesn't mean we won't revisit the lows in the upcoming days. On Tuesday, the TRIN was over 2 and usually that means the lows will be retested in the short term.
New note: I just read Urban Carmels report and he's got a whole report about the TRIN and Tuesday/Wednesdays action. He's basically saying that we can expect the lows to be revisited. In 2012/2013, there were 10 instances like Tuesday with strong bounces, all led to more selling. In the last 3 years, 20 instances were TRIN spiked over 2 and 90% revised the lows. Caution is warranted for longs perhaps.
Look at that chart, what a difficult market to trade. BIG gaps everywhere and lots of V-shaped recoveries. These past 5 months have shown a true battle of bull/bear, a market with relatively equal buying/selling pressures.
The RUT MIC stayed the same at about 4.5%. I removed about 7 1100/1120 put credit spreads for between 25c and 42c as the market rose I did this to release some margin and also to basically start taking off some of the trade. The delta is at about -20 which is a pretty big change from Tuesday when I was getting ready to adjust on the downside! I will adjust at about 1262. My hope is that we get till next week before that happens (soak up some good time decay without any adjustments). The theta on the trade is about $53 per unit. I think the best case scenario is about 6.5% for this trade.
The SPX MIC is sitting at 5%. I haven't done anything to it in a week. The delta is at $0. Time decay at $100 per unit per day. I think best case for this trade is about 7.5-8%.
The market cracked that important 2120 area and proceeded down quickly (as expected if it broke that area) and it even briefly went through the next support at 2100 only to close at about 2104. So we're now about 1.5% off of all-time highs but the attitude and sentiment are very bearish (much too bearish when we're just 1.5% away from ATH) which usually lends itself to a bounce as it typically means many people are under-exposed to the market (already sold or unexposed = less sellers going forward). AAII Bullish sentiment is at 5 year lows, Stocktwits stream is quite low etc etc which usually means that the worst of the selling is likely over. We'll probably extend a bit lower through 2100 but I'd expect up momentum soon.
I added a 1270 calendar to our RUT trade on Thursday as a slight delta adjustment for any upside risk. Other than that, there's been no adjustments since Thursday. The MIC trade is sitting at about 4.5% which is fantastic given yesterdays waterfall decline and increased volatility. I gather without that increased volatility the trade is sitting at 5-5.5%.
The SPX trade is sitting at 4.2% and hasn't been touched since Thursday. It's sitting at about 7-10 points away from a downside adjustment and I'll monitor that closely. If we can get a slight bounce and end the week anywhere between 2095-2140, we'd be sitting very nicely with the trades.
The Protector Alpha is down about 0.7% yesterday (as expected) with a decline like that. A new thread appeared on the main forum/community that I am a part of, and it is a discussion talking about new methods for the protector. I am quite excited by the developments and will start putting some thought into it.
We're consolidating between 2120 (support) and 2130 (resistance). We had hit 2135 during the fed release but retreated back into the range. This is a tight range that we've been holding for 6 days. I'm not really sure which way the odds favour. Time will tell. My guess is that we'll have a shallow pullback then an up move towards 2150-2160. Mostly this surmising where the market goes is just for novelty. I don't really use it all that much practically, but I do enjoy it.
The positions are sitting nicely with the RUT MIC now sitting at ~3.5% and the SPX MIC sitting at ~3.7%. That's a nice gain from the day before. It appears we started to see some accelerated time decay yesterday ahead of the long weekend.
Yesterday, I spent some time testing out a 9 day no touch condor and had some decent results. I'm going to do 3 years worth of backtesting but so far It had a 2.9% weekly return (after commissions). A 78% chance of making some money and it was closed with a loss of 20% or more and a gain of 11% or more (after commissions).
The protector alpha is doing well. A bit ahead of SPY which is nice. If we had used the regular ETFs instead of the equities we use now, we'd be behind by a good amount.
Ash and I leave tomorrow for a 3 day (sans kids) Paris trip. I'll post a trip report on this blog.
I've used this little fall @ the open to adjust some of my call spreads.
Not a whole lot to report. Both MICs are now sitting at around 2.7%. I made some adjustments yesterday when it hit the bottom of the ranges. Sold 1 more put spread for each and closed about 2-3 calls spreads. Got the deltas a bit more reasonable for any potential push up. I've updated the sidebar with results.
The market consolidated today and it consolidated above the 2120 resistance that was tested so many times this year. This type of consolidation tells us that most stock holders are holding off for higher prices (not much selling) and sidelined money aren't chasing just yet (not much buying). So basically, if it holds above this area we should see the sidelined cash and shorts succumb which equals more buyers in a market where there is not much selling (supply/demand) = up we go. All bets are off if we have a sustained move below 2120 though.
Haven't updated the travel part of the website in a while but as you'll see below, you can expect a lot more updates in the coming 3 months.
Ash and I are going on a solo (sans kids) trip to Paris on the 23rd for 3 days. We will get back on the 26th and finish packing, and leave for the 30th on an epic 3 month road trip across Europe.
We'll be driving in our electric Tesla and be utilizing the superchargers (free gas!) along the way. We'll go from Malta by Ferry to Sicily and onwards through Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Austria, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Norway and finally France and the UK. We depart the UK in late August to arrive back to Cayman Islands so the kids can start school.
We'll be staying in B&Bs, airbnbs and hotels along the way.
From Malta, we'll board the Virtu Ferries and arrive in Pozzallo, Sicily. It'll be a 3 hour drive to Palermo where we will board the GNV ferries to Genoa.
From Genoa we'll travel to Arona and stay at a B&B for 4 days. We'll then make our way to Innsbruck, Austria for another 4 days.
Black square are places we'll likely stay and red dots are the super chargers.
As per my previous post, the market seems to be punching right through to 2150. There's little overhead resistance as anyone afraid of these price heights sold weeks ago. Sentiment is still bearish but price is price, so it's best to follow that.
Urban Carmel believes all gains will eventually be sold within the next couple of weeks. Cobra believes the same. These are the only two technicians I really follow (mostly out of interest and not practicalities).
A new high followed by a pull back erasing all the gains since last week.
On any pullback I will get my delta's closer to 0 or slightly positive to protect myself from a big push up towards 2150/2160.
If there is no pullback and we go straight there, I'll manage my deltas as I have been – by taking off call spreads.
The June RUT MIC is up 2.3% so far (it was up about 3%) but the huge move up yesterday put pressure on the call side. Our delta is still ~27 which I'll reduce more today. Yesterday, I took off 6 of 35 call spread units. For some reason or other, I hate taking off call spreads and that's gotten me in trouble before. So now I make sure to be pretty diligent in adjusting. I think I could have been a bit more diligent yesterday by taking off another 3 units to halve my delta.
The SPX MIC is about 2% as well. Not really pressured for adjustments yet though. I made no adjustments yesterday. Wasn't pressuring our adjustment points.
The alpha portion of the protector is up about 5.8% and the hedge is down about 2% putting is at about 3.8% for the year (just a bit above SPY but we're fully insured/hedged). Gotta love that.
There it is. All time highs as SPX breaks 2120. At this point, it is likely we continue upwards. If it was going to sell it would have done so on negative headlines last week (same headlines really for the past few months). There's a ton of scary news out there and all the would-be sellers have sold. We've been hanging around this area for 4 months. We've tested 2120 umpteen times and resistance can only hold so long. You get locked in this cycle when sidelined cash is reluctant to buy near resistance and with sellers locking in profits as it approaches the same resistance. What will happen is both these groups (the ones with cash and the ones who sold), will finally succumb and buy (once it is clearly past resistance). So once it clearly breaks, I think we'll have a pretty big up move towards 2150.
What am I doing with my trades? Again, not a whole lot. I only use my opinions to sway a little bit re adjsutments without breaking my rules. My deltas are pretty far negative right now so I'll probably just balance them a bit more in the next few days rather than waiting for a delta of -30 I'll probably start adjusting sooner at -20.
As for the protector alpha, I am eagerly awaiting 2150 so I can roll up my long insurance. It's doing well, up about 4-5% for the year (I levarage 6.5x so 35% or so).
1) the downward strength was strong and selling some call spreads on the bounce even out our deltas a bit.
2) I was hoping to enter the equivalent put spreads on the second leg down at a better price.
The latter didn't really happen. So I had to sell them a little higher. An ode to the pains of trying to market time. You'll notice I only do that with super small units 🙂 Sometimes it works out and sometimes it doesn't. Of course, it was really minor and I'd only do if it actually benefited the trade as a whole (which it did re #1).
Right now, during my off time, I am backtesting 9 day iron condors (without much success yet) and the Friday butterflies (so far promising). I wish I had more time 🙂 There is so much back testing to do.
"There is three reasons why the market is likely to pull back.
3) The last down leg exceeded the 100% measured move which usually means another leg is likely.
We did have a big bounce but it was so big I actually couldn't adjust in favour of any perceived pull back, in fact it was so large, that I had to adjust a bit on the other end! Yesterday we started to see the pullback and today the futures are down almost 20 points from yesterdays close. There it is I guess.
Will a large gap down affect any of the current June trades? No, not really. The RUT trade will actually end up exactly at delta neutral and the SPX trade will end up at about delta -10 to -15 from +10-+15. The volatility will increase making everything expensive and anyone trading these types of strategies have to expect their broker balances to dip. Not to panic, it's mostly superficial. It's increased volatility which piles into the options you sold, making them more expensive to buy back. As well, during panicky days the mids get large and you'll tend to see wild swings in your net liquid. I've seen my balance swing by 50k from open o close with no movement in the underlying. It's all re volatility and inaccurate mids. As long as you adjust at the appropriate delta, all of this volatility will seep out as time goes on and you'll end up fine.
Oh, the March trade did 5.7%, didn't have the best luck closing what was left yesterday.
As for the protector alpha, I lowered overall exposure just a bit more yesterday. Good timing apparently.


text:
© Photo | ebm-papst, KD Busch
Giving gas
ebm-papst is taking over a product group from heating unit manufacturer Dungs and expanding its position as a system supplier
By acquiring a small but important component, ebm-papst can now offer its gas blowers as complete systems. The component is a safety valve for regulating the gas supply. In this process, it directs the gas from the distribution system into the heating unit. The acquisition of the gas safety valve product group from Karl Dungs GmbH & Co. KG at the start of Fiscal 2011 completes an entire series of strategic acquisitions in the heating engineering sector. The acquired line of business includes not only existing product groups, but also technical expertise from Dungs, providing a foundation on which developers can build for future parts.
For ebm-papst, this is an important step towards growing into the role of a system supplier in the heating and condensing boiler sector. "This acquisition is a response to the needs of our customers," explains Enno Vrolijk, the Product Line Manager responsible for heating systems at ebm-papst. "Market trends are clearly heading in the direction of solutions from a single source." This strategic repositioning offers a number of benefits to customers.
The most important of these is obvious: A complete system can be put into operation immediately after it is delivered, with all necessary components built right in. This also means less administrative effort. The customer now has only one supplier for a device, who is familiar with each individual part. This is particularly practical for later maintenance or upgrades to the machine. The benefits are also noticeable in the efficiency calculation: If the components of a complete system are optimally matched to each other, they make better use of fuel, thus increasing efficiency. "A welcome side effect of this is that the complete system generates lower noise and pollutant emissions," adds Vrolijk.
"The more compact design also improves the power density and electrical input capacity." Ultimately, all of these factors result in significant cost savings. A complete system means higher performance, but also places higher demands on the developer. Vrolijk was conscious of this responsibility. "We proceeded with the greatest caution during the acquisition, making sure the products were a perfect fit for us."
The critical factor for deciding in favour of Dungs valves was their high degree of reliability and their versatility for various applications. They are particularly suited for applications of small appliances in the private household. Thus the components fit seamlessly into the ebm-papst concept and were able to be combined quickly with the existing gas blowers. Production of the complete systems is already scheduled to start in April of this year.
Find more information in Gas from a single source
System solutions for condensing boiler technology
Complete heating systems including gas blowers, venturis and gas valves from a single source


This church is the oldest dated building in Launceston and harks back to 1825 when Governor Arthur laid the foundation stone of the original convict-built section of the complex. The addition to the church, by Alexander North, today merges with the original building. London's Big Ben's bell makers, Whitechapel, are also responsible for the bell in the church's clock tower.
Highlights: Original convict church merging with early 20th century design, Whitechapel bell.
Building specs: Type: Church. Built: progressively from 1824 - early 1900s. Architect: original unkown, Alexander North.


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that works well for websites with heavier traffic loads, content and frequent purchases & content downloading.
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Discussion in 'Scenic, Architecture, and Travel' started by antithetic, Nov 30, 2010.
Over the long weekend a few friends packed up the car and headed out on road trip out to Monument Valley near the Utah and Arizona border. Here are some pictures from such an amazing area.
Not too far from Page, Arizona; off Highway 89 there is a small sign to the Horseshoe Bend Overlook.
And one that's definitely not to be missed is Antelope Canyon. Light was definitely scarce so a tripod is pretty much mandatory.
Good to see the results of your trip, I particularly like the sculpted rock in the canyon, presumably the result of water flowing at some time in the past.
Such a coincidence - someone else I know was just out there and now I get to see the beauty again! That Horseshoe Bend overlook shot is wonderful to see. What a country!
Absolutely love the pouring sands picture. I have to get out there. Thank you for these antithetic!
Really cool shots...nothing like that in the Pacific Northwest!
Many thanks for all the kind words!
It's a fascinating area and the shots are great, but there just has to be alternative ways to shoot Antelope Canyon and even Horseshoe Bend, to avoid the sameness. It's like Ayres Rock down here (not a place I'll go to again); place your camera on this spot at sunrise or sunset and take your photo (it's apparently that bad now because of access restrictions).
I'd like to do something like put a camera on a long pole and see what sort of shots can be taken of Antelope Canyon from above ground level. I'd try the same thing at Horseshoe Bend, but in reverse (also considering the time of day).
The thought of the getting the same shot as others occurred to me as well. Guess that's just the nature of frequently photographed locales. I definitely plan on exploring more unique viewpoints when I get an opportunity to revisit.
However, I just crawled as close to the edge as possible and hoped for the best.
Crawl is what I'd have to do!
What that guy should have done is crawl to the edge and then lower the camera below the ridge line. I reckon something like a 20' pole could produce some interesting results.
Nice work! I missed Horseshoe Bend on my trip through there two summers ago. Next time you are in the area, head north from Monument Valley to Valley of the Gods. It's less visited and it's BLM land. The buttes (is that the right word?) are smaller but really dramatic and you can get up close and choose your vantage point. As the BLM guy I met at the visitor's center at Vermillion Cliffs said "It's your land, dude, just enjoy it!"
Behind The Camera. But home is in Montreal.
As I see more work by talented photographers, I am sometimes suprised by the ones I end up liking best; your original set of landscapes and "rock shapes" are wonderful.
Antelope Canyon is high on my list of places to get to some day. Every time I see photos from there I want to drive out there. Alas it is a wee bit too far. But one day.
Any other shots of the "sandfall"?
Just for grins, I grew up in the southwest and here are a couple of shots I took with my little Canon half frame at the age of about 12. The first one is of Canyon De Chelly, one of the most beautiful places I've ever seen - sort of like a subtler version of the Grand Canyon (which CANNOT be photographed in a way that even begins to do it justice, so I wouldn't even try, ever again). The second one is a far more representative view of what you see miles and miles and miles of in between the various beautiful spots in the southwest. Aside from the obvious technical limitations, I just saw these again for the first time in many many years and going through stuff you did as a kid is really kind of fun.
Ray -- I love that second one. You had a good eye at 12!