Thanks! Yeah, I tend to agree its a good site even if it has seen better days. At this point the problem is keeping people interested in maintaining it. I've been involved for a long time and am one of the advocates for keeping it going in some form - I'll pass along your message to the powers that be (I'm a powers that be lite - webmaster and former chair of the board). Seems like these "links list" sites are starting to drop unless they're commercial and can afford to pay people to maintain them. We've had 10+ years as an all volunteer effort, and very democratic too (we've resisted partnering with commercial or large professional associations to maintain independence). In the last 2-3 years things have really started to decline, though.
The current Board Chair is wanting to figure out a way to save things, I'll mention what you had to say (a number of other users agree - its the people behind the site who are running out of steam). It might also convert to something different (like, say, a Google custom search or set of del.icio.us bookmarks or something).
I would not change the site into another form. Change can only upset the search engine applecart. If you think to go in a different direction, add the new angle to the old. If over time the new succeeds, you could delete the old.
help with Google. This should create more traffic.
(view source of your page to see what a search engine sees).
page that pull the first 28 words from the page itself.
and give you more traffic.
This emphasises the uniqueness of each page in the title.


text:
How dare Cardinal Turkson speak the truth! February 25, 2013
Posted by Tantumblogo in asshatery, Basics, episcopate, error, foolishness, General Catholic, secularism, self-serving, sexual depravity, Society.
What kind of a world do we live in, where some – obviously – religious bigot can speak the plain, unvarnished truth? Doesn't he know there is no truth if it isn't on the approved list of the evolved, constantly evolving sexular pagan agenda Mk. MMMDCCLXXXIX?
Cardinal Turkson made some comments regarding homosexuality and priest sex abuse and rapidly went from the liberal darling (due to his skin color, and yet conservatives are racist) to the latest subject of the 2 minutes hate (I know this is the Daily Mail, but these comments have been reported/verified elsewhere):
The African cardinal widely tipped to be the first black pope in modern history faced a firestorm of criticism last night after he laid the blame for clerical sex abuse crises at the feet of gay priests.
Cardinal Peter Turkson, who comes from Ghana, told an American journalist that similar sex scandals would never convulse churches in Africa because the culture was inimical to homosexuality.
'African traditional systems kind of protect or have protected its population against this tendency,' he told Christiane Amanpour of CCN.
'Because in several communities, in several cultures in Africa homosexuality or for that matter any affair between two sexes of the same kind, are not countenanced in our society,' he continued.
'So that cultural taboo, that tradition has been there,' said Cardinal Turkson, 64. 'It has served to keep it out.'
Now, some are questioning whether Turkson's comments are really correct, or if sex abuse of children is just less reported in Africa. But that's not the main point – the main point is the reaction the homosexual lobby and their sexular pagan allies:
Ruth Hunt, Stonewall director of public affairs, [a homosexual lobby group] was among those to swiftly condemn his remarks.
'Cardinal Turkson's comments show a surprisingly callous disregard for the human rights of millions of people worldwide,' she told the Times.
They then quote something from SNAP, spouting the usual Church-hating nonsensical diatribes they've devolved down into. The final quote comes from a National Health System psychiatrist:
But one NHS psychiatrist who has researched the field of clerical sex abuse agreed with the cardinal that homosexual abuse of adolescent males rather than paedophile attacks on children characterised the problem.
'I would say he is correct,' said the doctor, who asked not to be named in fear of reprisals – including the loss of his job.
'Where the research has been done – for example in the United States and Australia – in the region of 80 per cent of the victims of sex abuse by priests are adolescent males rather than children.'
So, two incredibly revealing statements here: one, a member of the homosexual lobby denouncing Cardinal Turkson for stating what the available data has revealed to be exactly the truth – the "Church sex abuse crisis" is really a crisis of gay male priests abusing pubescent boys – twinks, which are very popular in the gay community. What is being shown here is that anything that doesn't play to the gay lobby's narrative of a suffering victim class of people "just like you and me" will be viciously attacked – perhaps especially if true. The homosexual lobby can't have this valid data become common knowledge, it would be terribly destructive of their narrative, which is why they put so much pressure on the USCCB to water down the correlation between gay priests and the abuse crisis. That there were likely many active homosexuals in the USCCB to fight their battle from the inside, I have little doubt.
Secondly – my God, look at the terror the radical sodomite lobby has put into the minds of people, even medical or scientific professionals. This psychiatrist, merely quoting widely available data, is afraid to use his name for fear of reprisals (some of which have been violent, especially in Britain, where the law abiding are at the mercy of the criminals). But I thought the Christofascists were the ones who hated science and wanted to keep people scared and ignorant? Please. If the world thinks it's seen tyranny, wait until this crowd gets in charge. If current trends continue, there will come a time in the not so distant future that daring to state what the Church has always believed will land a person in jail. Oh, wait, that's already happened.
Brave new world, indeed.
Some good news for a change! February 25, 2013
Posted by Tantumblogo in Admin, awesomeness, Domestic Church, family, fun, General Catholic, religious, sanctity, Tradition.
Seems like a lot of bad news to start off this historic week. Here are some more positive news items:
Father Emil Kapaun of Kansas will be awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor. I wrote about Fr. Kapaun here, but he was an Army chaplain in WWII and Korea and was captured by the communists in 1950. He was tortured to death in 1951. There is some work on his cause for canonization.
The Benedictines of Clear Creek now have a sister-house! No, really, a group of nuns has now been granted status by the good Bishop Slattery of Tulsa as a Public Association of the Faithful, tending towards recognition as a religious institute of diocesan right! Yay! Another reason for me to get up there! Their website is www.clearcreeksisters.org. It does my heart so much good to see another traditional religious order standing up! DEO GRATIAS!
My kids are cute. The twins worked so hard helping me clean the house on Saturday, AND they kept a very positive/fun attitude. They were great:
The one on the right doesn't really wear glasses, those are some old broken sunglasses of my wife's that have no lenses in them. She likes to wear them for some reason. She's also a bird brain:
Some pics which I pray are of our next Holy Father, from Clear Creek:
Latin Mass tonight at St. Mark! February 25, 2013
Posted by Tantumblogo in Admin, Basics, Dallas Diocese, General Catholic, Latin Mass, North Deanery, priests.
Novus Ordo Latin Mass tonight at St. Mark in Plano. Fr. Hopka as always will offer the Holy Sacrifice. I thank him for this offering for the past…….almost 2 years! Wow, time flies. 7pm! God bless you!
Ever feel like this?
Voris on the homoheresy February 25, 2013
Posted by Tantumblogo in Basics, Dallas Diocese, disaster, episcopate, error, General Catholic, horror, sadness, scandals, secularism, sexual depravity, sickness, Society, true leadership.
Boy do I agree with the concluding sentiment of this video, that we desperately need a Pope of heroic virtue, a true Saint for the next Holy Father. I look around the Church and don't see many Saints – in fact, de Mattei relates in his book that even the Vatican is concerned at the dirth of Saints in the 20th century, especially since around 1940 or so. Lord give us a great Pope who will steer the Barque of Peter between the twin pillars of the Blessed Sacrament and Our Lady's Immaculate Heart and keep it safe! Please let him expunge all the heresies assaulting the Church from within!
I am gratified to learn that some prelates – even if they are from a faraway land – recognize the crisis. I pray they are doing all they can to combat it.
I blogged on Fr. Oko's long document here.
Pope Benedict to require cardinlatial oath of allegiance? February 25, 2013
Posted by Tantumblogo in awesomeness, Basics, episcopate, General Catholic, Latin Mass, Liturgy, Papa, Society.
Oaths of allegiance by the Cardinal-electors to the Pope they had just elected were once required. I'm not entirely certain when the practice went away, but there is a report in the Phoenix diocesan newspaper that Pope Benedict has changed or is changing the rules regarding such things to reinstate the practice:
Pope Benedict XVI has ordered several changes to the Masses and liturgies that will mark the inauguration of the next pope's pontificate.
Rites and gestures that are not strictly sacramental will take place either before a Mass or in a ceremony not involving Mass, Msgr. Guido Marini, master of papal liturgical ceremonies, told the Vatican newspaper Feb. 22.
One of the most visual changes, he said, would be the restoration of the public "act of obedience" in which each cardinal present at the pope's inaugural Mass comes forward and offers his allegiance.
When Pope Benedict celebrated his inaugural Mass in 2005, 12 people were chosen to represent all Catholics: three cardinals, a bishop, a diocesan priest, a transitional deacon, a male religious, a female religious, a married couple and a young man and a young woman recently confirmed. [I much prefer the cardinals making this act of obedience, rather than some trite, oh-so-inclusive "representation of the people"]
Msgr. Marini said Pope Benedict personally approved the changes Feb. 18; they include offering a wider choice of traditional Mass prayers in polyphony and chant, rather than the new musical repertoire composed for the 2005 book. [This could be a most positive development. Don't hold your breath at seeing a Papal TLM after the conclave, though!]
Pope Benedict has been busy in his last few days, no?
h/t culturewarnotes
No wonder the Church's evangelical efforts are in such a state……. February 25, 2013
Posted by Tantumblogo in Basics, disaster, Ecumenism, episcopate, error, foolishness, General Catholic, horror, sadness, scandals, secularism, self-serving, sickness.
……and why did I bother to convert again? As I continue to accelerate through Robert de Mattei's The Second Vatican Council: an unwritten story, because it's just really very good, I found an incredible, disheartening quote. The quote was of Augustin Cardinal Bea, the hugely influential Secretary for the newly created Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity who was one of the most effective agents of change at Vatican II. In fact, as de Mattei documents, Cardinal Bea, while still Msgr. Bea, had changed the very staid and orthodox Pontifical Biblical Institute – dedicated to studying Sacred Scripture – into a hotbed of radical interpretations of Scripture and especially the use of the historical-critical method and textualism, both of which have been prime tools used by modernists to undermine traditional understandings of Scripture and even the faith of millions.
As head of this secretariat of promoting Christian unity, Cardinal Bea had engaged in numerous efforts to involve other Christian sects, some of which were engaged in without direction or approval from Pope John XXIII. Bea was a dedicated and enthusiastic ecumenist, who placed surface-level agreements and muddy doctrinal formulations of "unity" ahead of more traditional Catholic positions regarding those claiming the Christian name outside the unity of the Church. He was especially eager to have the involvement of the Orthodox at the Council, for some reason, and set up a deal with an Orthodox metropolitan/KGB agent that would provide for Orthodox participation in the Council as observers if the Church promised not to condemn communism as an evil (this was negotiated most principly by Cardinal Tisserant, but Bea had his own role and met with figures from Orthodoxy along these lines). This was most incredible, as Cardinal Bea had not been given any mandate to make such a deal, and, even more, the #1 concern for the Council as reported by the bishops of the world when they were polled by the Holy See on subjects to address at the Council, was the condemnation of communism and atheistic materialism! But through Bea's enormous influence and the sympathy John XXIII and especially Paul VI had towards his brand of ecumenism, Bea was able to squash all efforts to condemn communism at the Council, as well as influencing almost every theological statement that was made at the Council, on the grounds of how it would affect the precious, precious ecumenical effort.
With that background in hand, on August 4, 1961, 10 years and 21 days prior to my birth, Bea gave an interview for France Catholique, stating the following (de Mattei, p. 146):
The protestants who are not responsible for the divisions in the Church can aspire to salvation on an equal footing with Catholics. In some way these people are also united to the Church.
Let me unpack that a bit. Bea is stating that those born into protestantism, like me, who did not make a conscious decision to leave the Church but were "accidentally" born into a heretical sect, were not only free of guilt for the divisions which so weaken Christianity, but were pretty much the same as Catholics. In fact, they have ALL the tools they need in their sects to be saved, at least as well as Catholics!
Wha!?!? Zuuhhh? Really? Did he really say that? Either de Mattei is just totally making this up, which I doubt, as there have been almost no criticisms of the accuracy of what de Mattei has written in this book, or you've just read a statement that makes clear why Catholic evangelical efforts over the past 5 decades have been an utter train wreck, with many Church officials seemingly unable to articulate reasons to join the Faith and certainly unable to criticize even slightly the errors of the "separated brethren."
Reading the above breaks my heart. When I read that last night, I had to stop for a second and catch my breath. Then I started to think: "how many things are wrong with this statement?" Or, what do they reveal about how Cardinal Bea viewed the Faith?
Can such a view be reconciled with what Catholics believe regarding Original Sin? Does such a view betray a whiff of 'universal salvation?" Can it be reconciled with what Catholics believe regarding the need for Sacramental Confession, which NO protestant sect believes in or practices? Can it be reconciled with an understanding of the perfect contrition required of those who commit mortal sin and yet do not have recourse to Sacramental Confession? Does it relate a Catholic understanding of the Blessed Sacrament and especially John Chapter 6, wherein Jesus repeatedly states that if you do not eat His Flesh and drink His Blood you do not have life within you? Does it relate even a vague conception of Extra Ecclesiam Nulla Salus? Does it radically minimize the Church to just one body among many equals? Does it betray a sense that the Church as now constituted is not "the true church," which will come into being at some later date, if ever?
Liberal lions – Lienart and Bea
Those are just a few of the more obvious concerns one can derive from that incredibly troubling statement. The context of the interview was how wonderful the protestant Taize community was.
A further note on Cardinal Bea: he was made a Cardinal at age 80 by Pope John XXIII. Prior to that elevation, he had been an ailing man, cursed with a stooping walk, who many thought was within a short time of dying. This appointment to the red hat, and especially his leadership of the secretariat for Christian unity, seem to have surprisingly energized the octogenerian, who became a whirlwind of effort, flying around Europe and the Near East, engaging in meeting after meeting, all the while engaging in combat with more traditional elements in the Vatican and most often, winning, putting an "ecumenical" and decidedly progressive spin on even the period prior to the Council. At the Council, he was most certainly one of the most dynamic, influential leaders of the progressive, or radical if you prefer, faction. Many secular reporters covering the Council adored him, and he received flowery coverage in the press, always expressing amazement at his intense energy at such an advanced age. Even his stoop went away for a while!
After all the changes that could be made, were, he died very shortly after the Council. Very interesting how he was so singularly rejuvenated.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Steven Kaplan's blog
The Importance of Being Ernesto
categories: reviews | anthropophagia | brasil | ernesto neto | installation art | park avenue armory | public art
Ernesto Neto
Anthropodino
Seventh Regiment Armory
Park Avenue and 66th Street, New York
In Brasil, to call someone or something "ginga" (pronounced ZHEEN-ga)
is to offer a high compliment. Ginga connotes an intuitive, mystical quality of movement and attitude that Brasilians like to think is uniquely theirs, permeating the way they walk, talk and dance, part of everything they do. It is a synthesis of mind and body, a state of corporeal grace informed by intelligence, creativity and rhythm. Most frequently applied to the "beautiful game" evinced by the star players of Brasilian fútbol, ginga is also evident in the Escolas de Samba, and in the other athletes, musicians, actors and artists who are the pride of Brasil.
When Ronaldo fakes out a defender with his splendid footwork and executes a somersault kick into the net, this is ginga. When Caetano Veloso sings and plays guitar on "O leãozinho", this is ginga. And now, Ernesto Neto, a true Carioca, an artist who lives, works and takes inspiration from his hometown of Rio de Janeiro, has successfully exported ginga to New York for his month long playground and sculptural installation in the huge Drill Hall of the Seventh Regiment Armory on Park Avenue.
» read more | 1 comment
Le Petit Versailles: An Homage, a New Season, a New Exhibition
categories: east village | garden | grass roots initiatives | installation | New York | public art | sculpture
Le Petit Versailles
346 East Houston Street, NY
(between Avenues B & C, additional entrance at 247 East Second Street)
Aurelio del Muro, 7th Avenue, through May 31, 2009
Aurelio del Muro, Twins, 2009
A sure sign that Spring has arrived in the East Village is the opening of the regular season of outdoor events at Le Petit Versailles, which generally runs from early May through October. A community garden and public art space, LPV is the brainchild of a pair of artists, filmmakers, performers, gay/queer/trans activists, green guerrillas and co-conspirators, Peter Cramer and Jack Waters, who are also amalgamated as Allied Productions, Inc., a non profit arts organization established in 1981.
East Second Street gate
» read more | login to post comments | 1 attachment
Adel Abdessemed's "Usine": Inhumane?
categories: reviews | adel abdessemed | brutality | david zwirner | exploitation art | theater of cruelty | transgression | violence
Adel Abdessemed, RIO
David Zwirner Gallery, NY
April 3 - May 9, 2009
Adel Abdessemed, the 38-year-old Algerian born, French educated artist who now lives in New York, has been a curatorial darling for the past several years. He was included in Rob Storr's 2007 Venice Biennale, and given solo exhibitions at the San Francisco Art Institute, the Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo in Turin, the List Visual Arts Center at MIT, and at P.S. 1 in Queens. His current gallery show in New York, spread over all three of David Zwirner's expansive Chelsea galleries, reveals a shape shifting, confrontational artist who works in all media and all scales.
There is a room filling installation of several airplane cockpits and tailfins twisted together like a huge pretzel. There are small drawings of proposed projects. There is a steel oil drum that has been morphed into a music box which plays a bit of Wagner when it rotates around a motorized axle.
» read more | 2 comments
Thing Toon 2009, number five, courtesy The New Yorker
» 1 comment
Reflections on "Younger Than Jesus"
categories: reviews | ageism | careerism | generational | jesus | New Museum | triennial
The Generational: Younger Than Jesus
235 Bowery, New York
Younger Than Jesus is the first edition of The Generational, the New Museum's new signature triennial. It includes work of fifty artists from twenty-five countries. The artists cannot be older than 33; none were born prior to 1976. The show is curated by Lauren Cornell, Massimiliano Gioni and Laura Hoptman.
The texts below are based on a number of comments I posted on the blog of a local magazine. Dates and times of their original postings are included, as are images found online.
Here's a show that begs to be loved. Anything less would be like kicking a puppy at its first sniff of art stardom. So I knew Jerry Saltz's carefully constructed persona - zeitgeist-er, confidante, ear to the ground, eye on the sparrow - would necessitate a thumbs-up review of this show and on the inauguration of the Nu Mu's ambitious triennial project. Even if he has to hedge his bets with phrases like "flawed but tantalizing" and "despite its clinical spaces and a couple of misfires". Even if he includes a polemical, cautionary first paragraph that states the problem - "received ideas about appropriation, conceptualism, and institutional critique...a cool school, admired by jargon-wielding academics who write barely readable rhetoric" - and then pretends the Nu Mu is the solution to this problem rather than one of its prime exemplars.
» read more | login to post comments
Thing Toon 2009, number four, courtesy The New Yorker
Thing Toon 2009, number three, courtesy The New Yorker
Three Years in Prison for Iraqi Journalist Who Threw His Shoes at George W. Bush
categories: throw a shoe at little bushie: a compendium of online games
March 12, 2009. Muntadar al-Zeidi, the Iraqi journalist who tossed his shoes at President George W. Bush during a Baghdad press conference on December 14, 2008, was sentenced to three years in prison yesterday.
Dozens of shoe throwing games and video edits were placed online in the days following this incident. Perhaps the most famous, Sock and Awe, appears above for your gaming pleasure. Thus far, nearly 100 million virtual shoes have successfully hit little Bushie in the face. He grimaces and turns a shade of purple when the shoe strikes; there is a yellow explosion graphic and a sharp, meaty slapping sound. All very cathartic and addictive. My high score is 15.
So take a moment to celebrate and try your luck. Although he no longer occupies the White House, this game allows you to connect with the ex-president in a resounding and satisfying manner.
On Kippenberger at MoMA: fragments, notes, preservation of posts
categories: kippenberger | MoMA | notes
Martin Kippenberger, The Problem Perspective
February 24 - May 11, 2009
In the MoMA lobby during the reception for the Martin Kippenberger show, there was a moment of unplanned performance art, bad behavior that some found a testimony to his enduring legacy.
People fed up at the long coat-check line began piling their coats on the floor, and, two hours into an open bar, a few began diving under, creating a writhing lobby octopus. Security guards broke it up, one noting to the applauding crowd, "This is not part of the Kippenberger exhibition. This is about people drinking too much."
But if I might say, the entire Kippenberger oeuvre is fundamentally about one person drinking too much, and everything that follows from that. As Holland Cotter noted in his review of the show:
As an artist he was a performer, an entertainer, a provoker, as he was in life. At punk bars and biennials he was the juiced-up guy who made scintillating speeches, picked stupid fights and periodically dropped his pants. He was the same person in his art.
Fair Game: On Armory Week, NYC 2009
categories: reviews | armory feels your pain | pulse sucks | volta vies
The Armory Show 2009, Piers 92 & 94, March 4 - 8, 2009
Pulse New York, Pier 40, March 5 - 8, 2009
Volta NY, 7 West 34th Street, March 5 - 8, 2009
Bradley McCallum/Jacqueline Tarry, Detroit Boys, Michigan, July 1967, 2007
Although swimming in space on its West SoHo pier, Pulse basically sucks. There are exceptions to any rule, and Ms. Diaz is right to cite McCallum/Tarry. I would add Jim Lee's wall sculpture/paintings at Freight & Volume, Vadis Turner's femme/folk wedding fantasia at Lyons Wier Ortt, Eckart Hahn's cross fixations at Pablo's Birthday, and various work at Conner Contemporary, Magnan Projects, Daneyal Mahmood, Bravin Lee and P.P.O.W. Was also glad to see Constance Collins-Margulies given space for her non-profit Lotus Endowment Fund, a portfolio of photographs by women artists to benefit a Miami women's shelter.
But Pulse was a general morass of post-student fiddlings, jejune installations and mindless decoration, not ready for prime time. Ironically, the Parsons MFA booth came off better than many of its surrounding "professional" counterparts. Or was I influenced by the spirited advocacy of Parson's new Fine Art chair Coco Fusco? — we escaped the fair together by taxicab.
« first‹ previous…222324252627282930…next ›last »


New Release & Thank You!
First off, can I just say WOW! I am blown away by all the responses I got on my reader poll and I can't say thank you enough! I am so touched that so many of you took the time to vote and comment/email me your thoughts on KU, it was really informative to hear directly from you guys!
Switching gears a little bit, I'm pleased to announce the release of The Kingdom of Pacchia Book 4! This story picks up where THE HONORABLE BETA left off, returning us to King Aubrey and Lord Riven's ongoing relationship and political woes.
The King's timely marriage to Lord Riven is only the first piece of scandalizing and worrisome news to break as winter stretches onward, a cold foreboding landscape of snow and strife. First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes a baby and the imminent threat of civil war–at least so it seems for King Aubrey Allora.
Dive into the latest story from The Kingdom of Pacchia: The Line of Allora. This book features alpha/beta/omega dynamics, omega biology, and minor mpreg.
The Line of Allora is available on Amazon and Kindle Unlimited–and is on SALE this week at a special 99cent launch week price!
Lachlan Graham #1 The Suicide Case Now On Amazon for $0.99!
I'm so excited to announce the launch of my new series of short mysteries: LACHLAN GRAHAM OCCULT INVESTIGATIONS #1! This series is set in the same universe as the BLOOD & BONE Series and will feature several cameos and cross-overs from those novels.
Inspired by Arthur Conan Doyle's original Sherlock Holmes shorts, the Lachlan novels are short self-contained mysteries. If you enjoyed the Blood & Bone series, I think you will enjoy these as well. Featuring magic, werewolves, everyday humans, misunderstandings, murder and a good dose of UST all set against iconic Seattle.
Buckle-up for my new series; I hope you enjoy it!
#1 The Suicide Case Available on Amazon!
A former Seattle Police Officer, Lachlan has spent the time since he left the police force quietly trying to piece his life together after being abandoned by his partner: Detective Vector Clanahan.
Now, his carefully constructed solitude is about be invaded on all fronts.
Maybe a little paranormal action is just what the doctor would have ordered.
Book 3 Mailing List Giveaway Winner!
I'm super psyched to announce SCOTT the winner of my first giveaway. Thanks everyone who signed up, both new and old followers, I can't thank you guys enough for reading the B&B books and being so supportive this past year while I took my first baby steps into publishing.
The long awaited finale of the Blood & Bone Trilogy is FINALLY HERE!!!!! I know many of you have been waiting for this since February and I'm so thrilled to finally share it with you. It has been a hell of a crazy ride writing Ethan and Pat's journey from antagonistic co-workers to soulmates. This series has been at time exhilarating, frustrating, and amazing to write and it was sort of earth-shattering to see it come to a close. I've been writing about Ethan and Pat since 2012 and now, 2 years later their journey has come to a close (you know, for now at least ;)))).
The Symbiotic Law is available to buy on Amazon right now and will be available (along with Book 2 The Convergence Theory) cross-platform after January 13th in case you want to read it on a device other than Kindle.
I'll be opening my blog up to reader questions and snippet prompts in the coming weeks so stay tuned for those.


text:
The McGuire Rig was used to extract soldiers from the jungles of Vietnam. It would be suspended from a helicopter and used to extract soldiers from areas without a suitable pick-up zone. It was simple, inexpensive, and effective. Although less comfortable than the STABO (Short Tactical Air Borne Operations) harness, it did not require the soldiers to carry any special equipment. It was designed by Sergeant Major Charles T. McGuire, a member of Project DELTA, a Special Forces reconnaissance project.

The McGuire Rig was fashioned from a  wide,  long A7A nylon cargo tie-down strap with a quick-fit buckle on one end. This was typically cut down to an  length and a  web loop (wrist strap) attached near the top end.  This was used to form a sling loop and attached to an over  length of 5/8-inch nylon rope. Three ropes with McGuire Rigs attached could be dropped from a UH-1 "Huey" helicopter, all on the same side. A deployment pack containing a sandbag carried each rope to the ground.  The soldiers attached their rucksacks with a snap link, stepped into the loop, adjusted it, inserted their left hand in the wrist loop, and on signal the helicopter lifted off. The three men would lock arms to prevent oscillation and prevent falls if a rope were shot through; a wounded or unconscious man could fall from the harness unless secured. The system did not allow the extracted soldiers to be hoisted into the helicopter.  They were flown out of the danger area and then set down in a clearing in order to board the helicopter. On long flights the harness proved to be extremely uncomfortable.

From the pilot's standpoint, performing an extraction using a McGuire Rig required intense concentration. Once the soldiers were in the rig, the pilot would attempt to gain altitude by rising straight up, but with the nearest ground reference over 100 feet away, it was difficult to discern when the chopper was moving. There was the distinct possibility, therefore, that the soldier(s) would be dragged through tree limbs during the extraction.

CPT John W. "Jack" Green, III, flying a UH-1B for the 145th Airlift Platoon in support of Project Delta, was the first pilot to utilize the McGuire Rig in an emergency extraction. In mid-1966, 145th was blended into the 281st AHC, which then assumed the mission of supporting Project Delta. Due to intense training with the MACV Recondo School and on-the-job training with Project Delta, the 281st AHC became highly proficient in usage of the McGuire Rig.

See also
 Sky hook/Fulton surface-to-air recovery system
 Military Assistance Command, Vietnam – Studies and Observations Group

References

Military equipment of the Vietnam War
Military equipment introduced in the 1960s

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


QUARTZ CRYSTAL women's bikini bottom from the Banana Moon Couture summer 2018 collection.
Be stylish all summer long in this swimsuit with sequin detail.
The stitching detail on the front of this swimsuit adds a touch of elegance which is highlighted by the plunging back.


text:
The Audio Society of Minnesota Conducts Cable Comparison Tests
Stereophile Staff | May 10, 2012
Between listening sessions, cabled were switched.
Each monthly issue of Stereophile includes an updated calendar of all the different hi-fi events taking place across the United States. We also maintain this calendar on our Facebook Events page. One of the events that really caught our eye was the Blind Cable Comparison Tests performed by the Audio Society of Minnesota, which took place on Tuesday, April 17th. Here is the report as submitted by members of the Audio Society of Minnesota. The Society reported record crowds for this event. Hopefully, this spirit of questioning, discovery, and fun will spread to other audio events across the country
The Tests
The questions have vexed audiophiles for decades: Do speaker cables make a difference? Are expensive cables better than cheap cables? The Audio Society of Minnesota tackled these questions with a little experiment involving over 50 members and guests as our test group. As much as was possible under the circumstances, the experiment was set up as a blind test of four sets of cables (A, B, C, & D) ranging from cheap to expensive and tested in pair sets in the order shown below.
Test 1: A & B
Test 2: C & D
Test 3: B & D
Test 4: C & A
Test 5: B & C
Test 6: D & A
Test 7: A & C
Test 7 is a repeat of test 4 except that the order of cables was reversed.
Cable "A" was a 7ft pair of common 16ga zipcord terminated with hardware store copper spades. Approximate cost: less than $3.
Cable "B" was 6ft pair hollow tube design wrapped with an exotic copper winding and terminated with copper spades. Retail price in the $8000 range.
Cable "C" was a 15ft heavy gauge, complex twisted pair in rubber plenum terminated with gold plated copper spades. Price $1,200.
Cable "D" was a 6ft prototype silver cable in a Teflon jacket, 18ga twisted. Bare wire ends coated with solder. Price to be determined, but well over $1,000.
Blind tests were performed. The audience did not know how many cables were involved in testing. Cables were kept hidden behind the speakers and amplifiers. Preamp and amplifier levels were not adjusted during the tests or between tests. Seven separate listening tests pitted one unknown cable pair against a second unknown cable pair. The same 1 minute 50 second listening track consisting of various music selections was used in every test.
To assure proper connection between the amp and speakers, the listening began with a phase test, an "out of phase" male voice followed by an "in phase" voice. These short few seconds were taken from a Stereophile Test CD. The 5 second phase test was immediately followed by the opening 38 seconds of the "Firebird Suite" from the Reference Recordings Sampler with the Minnesota Orchestra with a short fade out. This was followed by 34 seconds of the beginning of Mark Knopfler's "Shangri-La" from the same titled album, again with a short fade out. This was followed immediately by 33 seconds of Tracy Kent's rendition of "You're the Top". This mix of music features demanding peaks from the Firebird, a well recorded male vocal and background, and a well recorded female vocal with Jazz trio and piano solo. Track mix was performed using Pro Tools and burned to disc in various formats. After private disc listening comparisons, the decision was made that the DVD-A 24/96 format was most faithful to the original track selections and was used for the tests.
For each of the seven comparison tests, the music track was played using the first pair of speaker cables, a pause for cable switching (20 to 35 seconds), followed by the same track using the second pair, followed by cable switching, followed by a music track using the first pair a second time, more cable switching, then the second pair a second time.
After two repetitions of cable switching, test #1 concluded and the audience was asked to mark sheets with votes indicating the listener's preferred cable. They were asked to rate the cables on bass, midrange, treble, and overall preference. An option was also given to indicate a "no preference" vote in each of the categories. The audience was informed that cable "winners" would only be based on the "overall" preference votes. The remaining six tests were conducted in the same fashion. There was a 10min stretch break following Test 4.
Of the approximately 55 people in attendance, 40 submitted voting sheets. In addition to voting on listening tests, the audience was asked to answer a short questionnaire on the same sheet. After test Seven was complete, voting sheets were collected and the audience was then shown the four different sets of cables involved in all of the tests. While votes were being tallied, capacitance measurements and frequency response measurements were conducted on each of the cables under test.
The room used for this event is in the ASM's usual meeting venue, the Pavek Museum of Broadcasting. It is approximately 20ft wide, 38ft deep, and 10ft high, rectangular in shape with an open L-shaped area at the rear on the left channel side. It features a tight woven commercial carpet floor, an acoustic panel ceiling, and hard plaster walls. Windows along the right channel wall are covered in aluminum blinds. Speakers were positioned 8ft apart at their center and 5ft from the back wall with ribbon tweeters on the outside, toed in to converge about 12ft into the room. An equipment rack was centered between speakers. Two "cable changers" were placed behind the speakers and equipment. The first row of listeners was approximately 7ft from speakers.
The Audio Society of Minnesota/Pavek Museum house system consists of a modified/upgraded Oppo BDP-83 multi format player with analog stereo output into an ARC SP-17 preamplifier feeding two ARC M-300 mono power amplifiers.
As guided by "Murphy's Law", one of the two M-300 MkII amps blew a fuse early during test #3. Rather than attempting to determine the cause of the failure, it was decided to switch to a back-up amplifier, an ARC D-115MkII. This created a 15 minute downtime period followed by several quick attempts to adjust levels and balance to match that of prior tests. The second half of test #3 and all remaining tests were done using this second amplifier.
There were several comments to the effect that the sonics of the second amplifier, which was slightly preferred. Hopefully this did not significantly influence the results of test #3 and remaining tests.
Interconnects were Anti-Cables while the speakers were Magnepan 3.6. Connections on both speakers and amps are stock screw down block terminals. Because of this, we preferred to use cables of spade terminations for easiest installation and changing without the use of any adaptors on terminations. Cables were kept hidden from view at all times.
So what did we find? Do cables make a difference and are expensive cables better than cheap ones? Looking at the proportion of votes for the cable pairs does indicate that some cables were preferred over others.
(At this point, all 4 cables have been tested against one another – each being involved in three tests.)
Test #7: A & C:
C: 49%
A: 41%
No Preference: 11%
As noted earlier, test #7 is a repeat of test #4, except order of cables is reversed. It is interesting to note that even though cable order was reversed, results came out nearly the same.
Here's another way of looking at the results:
Cable C: 3 wins, 0 losses
Cable D: 2 wins, 1 loss
Cable B: 1 win, 2 losses
Cable A: 0 wins, 3 losses
The win loss records represent a clear ranking in that no cable defeated a cable ranked higher than itself.
Of all Votes that noted a cable preference (all first 6 tests combined) results are:
This shows that listener votes of "preferred cable" align more with Mids and Highs preference than with Bass response preference.
Questionnaire Results:
55% of voting audience uses bulk wire (not branded) on their home systems. Of those that use branded cables, 72% cost $500 or less per set in retail dollars. Therefore, 13% of audience use "expensive cables", 33% use branded cables $500 or less.
Before this test 69% of our test subjects thought that speaker cables could make a significant difference. After this test, 86% believe that speaker cables can make significant differences.
Since no statistical tests of significance have been applied to the results it is not possible to demonstrate that one set of cables was found to be superior to any others in an objective sense. Subjectively, however, it was shown that cable C received more preference votes than the others with cable D, the prototype silver/Teflon, running in second place. Cable B fell more or less in the middle of the rankings. Cable A, the zipcord, was not preferred on any of the three comparison tests in which it was included, suggesting that, yes, these cheap and commonly used cables do not sound as good as cables designed for the audiophile market.
Based on the results of this informal but honest attempt to address the questions posed earlier, it does appear that in this case at least, there was a preference for the expensive cables and a definite non-preference for the cheap zipcord. So cables do make a difference.
Next stop…interconnects!
Points of Interest regarding Voting:
- As a group, those who use bulk wire as cabling liked the bulk wire (A) the least.
- As a group, those who owned expensive (not bulk) cabling favored the cheap bulk wire (A) over the most expensive cable (B).
- As a group, those who owned brand named cabling (not bulk) were less likely to cast a "non-preferred" vote.
- As a group, those who sat in a more ideal room location were more likely to vote alike. For this grouping in test #3, cable (B) received zero preferred votes. For this same grouping in test #4, cable (A) received zero votes.
- Cables listened to as #2 and #4 in order of each test, received slightly more preferred votes. Yet, the most popular cable (C) was first/third in order in two of three tests.
All listener comments (in regards to cables) that were written onto the voting sheets:
- One listener wrote that their favorite two cables were #2 from test #2, and #2 from test #3. This was cable D in each case.
- One listener wrote that their favorite cable was #2 from test #7, and second choice was #1 from test #2. This was cable C in each case.
- One listener wrote that the worst cable was #1 (A) from test #7, where the least popular cable was compared to the most popular cable.
- One listener wrote asking if cable #1 from test #6 (D) was the same as cable #2 from test #7 (C), the two most popular cables. No other listeners made guesses or comments regarding which cables were their most or least favorite.
Does this imply that those who cared to comment, had golden ears?
Points of Interest Regarding the Questionnaire:
- Seven listeners initially indicated that speaker cables do not make a significant difference, then changed their decision after the test.
- One listener initially indicated that speaker cables do make a significant difference, then changed that decision after the test.
- The term "significant difference" was left open for interpretation.
This graph shows the transfer function magnitude (frequency response) of each cable. Order of the cables from top to bottom is B, C, A, then D.
The measurements represent the transfer function of the cables only. The reference probe was attached to the amplifier output and the measure probe was attached at the speaker input. The cables were measured with an MLS signal using Speaker Workshop with a Roland UA-1EX sound interface at a 48kHz sample rate. A signal length was chosen to give ~1.5Hz resolution. Some of the measurements had artifacts at 60 or 120Hz, these were removed for this graph, and the measurements were 1/6 octave smoothed.
The Impedance of the Magnepan 3.6R was measured and found to be largely resistive with a value ~4.6-4.7 ohms except for a large peak of about 85 ohms centered at approximately 560Hz.
Don Meger was the principal writer of the articles and test procedures. Gene Lyle assisted with the editing and final drafts of the articles. Ron Ennenga did the frequency response measurements and graphs on the cables. Frank Van Alstine provides the capacitance measurements.
New amp?
Submitted by fufanuer on May 10, 2012 - 10:29am
"There were several comments to the effect that the sonics of the second amplifier, which was slightly preferred. Hopefully this did not significantly influence the results of test #3 and remaining tests." - How can this be a scientifical experiement or worth discussing when they change a variable (a new amp half way through)? They should have thrown out the first tests and started all over.
Submitted by popluhv on May 10, 2012 - 10:43am
I'm glad people are doing this sort of stuff, independently.
PS, which is which of the graph above?
Wish they had a 'middle' cable
Submitted by Bixby on May 10, 2012 - 12:47pm
Wish they had tested something between the zipcord and the rest of them, which are all in the exotic price range to me. Seems like the most interesting thing that could come out of something like this is not, does the $8000 cable score better than the $3 cable, but where does the $100 cable (or even $300 or...) score? It's about finding that maximum return before the law of diminishing returns.
amp switch
Submitted by drkmods on May 10, 2012 - 1:56pm
Yes, sonics may have changed due to a different amplifier employed, but voting was consistent across all tests. There is no indication that any particular cable was favored or disfavored more or less because a different amp was employed half way through testing.
True scientific testing would of course require more rigorous and tedious protocol. Getting 50 people in one room to sit still through almost 2 hours of repeated listening is an accomplishment in itself.
I find the listener comments most interesting. A few listeners showed that they had truely golden ears, or extreme luck.
Submitted by dalethorn on May 10, 2012 - 3:36pm
Doing my own statistical analysis, I see that in test #1, 44 percent either preferred the $3 cable or didn't have a preference for the $8k cable. That's only 7 points out of a hundred below a majority. Compared to cable C and D, each over $1000, 58 percent and 59 percent preferred the $3 cable or had no preference for C or D. That's an even greater majority than the 44 percent minority.
The $3 cable beat(!) the $8k cable in bass, lost 3 to 4 in mids (3/4 is pretty close in audio/hi-fi), tied(!) in treble, and lost 10 to 11 overall. 10 to 11? Three dollars to 8 thousand dollars?
Now assuming a large percentage of the guys who come out to these meetings and events just aren't good judges of sound quality, it makes me wonder about the judgements of some of the most vocal members of current hi-fi forums. Maybe some of these guys just came for the coffee and desserts? I dunno.
Four important missing tests:
Submitted by EVOnix on May 10, 2012 - 4:43pm
each cable should have been tested against itself.
Without that data, there's no way to assess how much was due to random chance. Forgive me if I'm not using the right terms, I'm not a statistician, but if the data for same cable tests showed the same percentage spreads as the actual X vs Y tests, then the whole thing is statistically invalid. If they showed no spread, iow 50:50 for all same cable tests, then we can assume the panel correctly heard the "no difference" test, which would lend credence to an X vs Y test in which one cable was much preferred.
And they should have started the test over with the second amp.
Good point about testing each
Submitted by dalethorn on May 11, 2012 - 8:15am
Good point about testing each cable against itself.
Statistical analysis essential...
Submitted by Archimago on May 10, 2012 - 7:52pm
Excellent work dalethorn.
Statistical analysis is essential for something like this.
Wrong pricing?
Submitted by Larry Ho on May 10, 2012 - 8:00pm
Hi, by the statement of following....
"Here's another way of looking at the results:
The win loss records represent a clear ranking in that no cable defeated a cable ranked higher than itself."
I guess the cable B should be $800, not $8000?
wrong pricing
Submitted by drkmods on May 11, 2012 - 11:28am
Cable B was in fact at $8000 retail. In the article, "ranking" refers to # of wins, not a ranking by price.
Keep in mind that this was not a test to prove or disprove anything. It was what we at the club thought would be an interesting and hopefully enlightening experience. We attempted to perform listening tests within reason that would satisfy a basic curiosity: Are there sonic differences between speaker cables?"
I think that our results show that there are perceived differences, and yes, maybe perception becomes reality. There is no testing procedure that I am aware of that could possibly determine a superior cable, but only which cable is preferred within a particular set of circumstances.
We used 16 gauge zipcord as one of the cables since there are numerous mentions in literature (from an engineering perspective) regarding 16 gauge speaker cable as being all that is needed to faithfully carry a signal within reasonable length. The other cables were supplied by a local firm. We weren't concerned with what was supplied, as long as they were "branded" cables of significant price over that of bulk wire and that they could be connected without use of adaptors.
Interesting and debatable points can be made regarding the scientific quality of the test procedures and the statistical validity of the results, but that does not deter from the implication of our findings that speaker cables can make perceived sonic differences. I refer back to the comments submitted on the voting sheets. The few that wrote comments were exceptionally clued in to identifying sound quality of specific cables across numerous tests. Those comments certainly imply that more was taking place than random chance.
Feel free to use the link provided for the Audio Society of Minnesota Website. There is more detail provided there regarding voting preferences and breakdowns by subgroupings.
We are tentatively planning a similar testing event for interconnects next season. Some of the comments made here will help us with our event planning.
I would be very interested to read results of similar tests done within the rigorous requirements demanded by some of the readers. I'd also be happy to participate and supply the coffee and desserts.
Submitted by HiRezNut on May 17, 2012 - 12:26pm
I'd be happy to assist with analyzing this data or that from your upcoming interconnects test, if you like, as this is what I do for a living. E.g., here's one relatively simple way to possibly improve the power to detect differences with data like that I believe you already collected.
1. Reduce the data for Tests 1-7 for each listener to form a single listener-specific score for each cable, and apply standard statistical inference to the reduced data. E.g. to test whether cable A was differentially preferred, let Ai denote the number of tests in which Listener i stated a preference for cable A, where i runs from 1 to n (the total number of listeners). Let NAi denote the number of tests involving cable A for which Listener i stated a preference for another cable over cable A. Let DAi = Ai - NAi (i.e. wins - losses) be Listener i's score for cable A. If Listener i always preferred cable A, and if he recorded data for all 7 tests, then DAi = 4; if he stated "No Preference" for all of the tests (for which he recorded data), DAi = 0; if he always preferred cable B, C, or D to cable A, then DAi = -4.
2. Compute the sample mean and standard deviation (SD) of DAi over the n subjects. Also compute the standard error (SE) of the mean: SE = SD/sqrt(n) is a measure of uncertainty or precision of the estimated mean.
3. To formally test whether Cable A was differentially preferred (while combining all available data from Tests 1-7 into a single statistical test), let tA = mean(DAi)/SE(DAi) represent the t-statistic with n-1 degrees of freedom (df). If n = 41, then If |tA| > 2.0211, then 2-sided p<0.05, and conclude that cable A was differentially preferred (in one direction or the other), while if tA < -1.6839, then 1-sided p<0.05 and conclude that cable A was considered inferior overall (but the direction of any 1-sided test must be dictated by the cost or a priori expectation of the cables and not by the data). If p>0.05, then it is not generally appropriate to conclude that there is no difference between the cables, as the study might have been underpowered (too few listeners, e.g.) to detect a modest effect size; instead, the appropriate conclusion would be that there is insufficient evidence of a difference.
4. A 95% confidence interval (CI) for the mean can be constructed as follows, if desired: mean +/- 2.0211*SE. Alternatively, or in addition, the SE of the mean (or sometimes just the SD) is often reported; e.g. mean (SE) = 0.5 (0.2).
5. Similar methods could be applied for cables B, C, and D. One novel ad hoc way to test for trend using all of the data to generate a single p-value would be to compute subject-specific sample correlations ri between (DAi, DBi, DCi, and DDi) and the costs (3, 8000, 1200, 1000), the cost ranks (1, 4, 3, 2), or the approximate cost ranks (1, 4, 2.5, 2.5). Then if tr = mean(ri)/SE(ri) > 1.6839, then 1-sided p<0.05, and conclude that cost is positively correlated with performance.
Scienceification
Submitted by Jimmy41 on April 22, 2014 - 7:10am
I for one appreciate your comments! I work with statistics (power plant controls optimization using neural networks etc...) enough to respect the way they defeat intuition so easiliy... though as a B student I would have appreciated the results of your analysis design... :-) since I am looking for audio Shangri-La - and don't know what to think about cables.
Faulty Test Conditions
Submitted by QSYSOPR on December 28, 2012 - 8:16pm
If you plan to test the interconnects the same way you did with the cables it will lack any scientific care - period.
All results based on the test conditions described are irrelevant since they are all within the statistical uncertainty only.
The "win-loss-summary" is more than doubtful.
If this was really a blind test, then it was a single blind test. No scientist would rely on study like this. Double blind - or even better tripple blind studies have to be made to get substantial relevance.
If you are interested in how auditory memory grows with the number of hearing the same material look here:
Allowing cables to settle in
Submitted by JasonVSerinus on May 11, 2012 - 10:23am
I am always amused by tests, supposedly conducted under rigorous conditions, that purport to "prove" what many of us hear regardless of the "proof." It is as though statistical analysis could possibly replace one's visceral and emotional reactions to music.
Be that as it may, one point about cables. Depending upon their geometry and insulation, they need time to settle in after being moved. As Keith Johnson once explained to me, in the case of Teflon, when you move it around, microscopic fissures appear that need a day or so to smooth over and no longer affect the sound. (Apologies to Keith if I've used incorrect terminology here; I believe I've conveyed the essence of his message.)
Hence, in your next test, it would be ideal to lay all the cables out a day beforehand, as close as possible to the sources where they will be used, so they can be in optimal condition, and to take care to connect and remove them with minimum bending and twisting, so that they are moved minimally as you switch them. This is extremely difficult in the case of interconnects, I realize. But it will certainly make for greater accuracy in your listening tests.
As to how well the brain can respond to all these rapid shifts and repeats of the same musical selection, which to my way way of understanding and listening reduces music to a set of ordered aural indicators, that too we shall leave to discussions that have gone on since the first person blindly declared, with the same absolute assurance that asserts that evolution does not exist, that blind and double blind and totally blind testing are the only way to see what is really happening on the audio front. But, then again, I don't have any opinions of my own on the subject. At least none that can be verified by double blind testing.
@darkmods
Submitted by EVOnix on May 12, 2012 - 11:48am
Sorry, but without same cable tests the results are completely meaningless.
Any scientific test will have a control, that's why drug tests always contain a placebo, to provide a baseline knowledge when it is known there is nothing under test. If the same cable tests indicated that people consistently preferred one cable to another, then something is wrong with the test, or there exists a standard deviation of error such that any results within that error are invalid.
That people commented on perceived differences between cables is proof of nothing.
Jaak
Submitted by jackgreen on May 12, 2012 - 10:20pm
There is also one simple way to interpret this data from the standpoint of cheapest cable.
1. In test 6, 27% said that A was better cable and 32 told that A is as good as D. This means that 59% of listeners said that A was equal or better than D
2. in test 4 29% said that A was better cable than C and additional 29% told that A is as good as C. This means that 58% of listeners said that A was equal or better than C.
My point is that if zipcord is better or equal in 60% cases, there is huge price difference is not adjusted.
Swapping the amp wasnt the best ideaa, but lets not forget that cables competed agains each other. And cable has to sound with each amp. So, this factor is not important for me.
identity of the cable manufacturer
Submitted by music guy on May 15, 2012 - 11:28am
Just wondering why they didn't list the name and model of the cables used. The description of Cable B suggests it's made by Nordost but the others are too generic in description to tell.
Submitted by rboehl on May 15, 2012 - 12:06pm
I agree that the cables should have tested against themselves.
I have have given some of these tests over the years as well as been a participant. They can be very humbling. As far as moving the cables goes ,if you can hear that then more power to you. The Amp was changed part way thru and that will change some results because the cables can interact differently with different amplifier outputs. The cable I would have also used was a larger gauge Zipcord, i.e. 10 gauge, since all the other cables seems to be of a larger gauge. I think that over the years as my ears lose the high frequencies that I could readily hear in my youth I might not be able to discern much difference anymore between the cables.
I dare say that the ages of various participates needs to be taken into account because of that.
A statistician's perspective
Submitted by HiRezNut on May 16, 2012 - 10:46am
First of all, I think the Audio Society of Minnesota (ASM) ought to be heartily congratulated on taking the time and effort to collect this interesting blinded data comparing speaker cables. Thanks, guys! I was mainly disappointed that insufficient thought went into how the data might be analyzed, but I suppose that's because that's a big part of my job as Associate Professor of Biostatistics and Computational Biology at The University of Rochester Medical Center. Some of the criticisms here largely miss the mark, in my opinion, as I would never have planned to spend these folks' time comparing cable A to A, B to B, C to C, and D to D --although this would have provided information on rater reliability. I mostly like ASM's choice to perform all 6 possible pairwise head-to-head comparisons, and they even threw in a replicate of the A vs. C comparo, which provides some additional information on the potential order effect. Reading ASM's pdf summary, I noted that several raters actually left after the 1st 3 head-to-heads as it was, so asking for many more tests (including swapping the order of the other 5 pairwise comparisons and/or comparing each cable to itself) might be prohibitive. Anyway, the bad news for me (as I have convinced myself that cables, interconnects anyway, matter) is that this data provides insufficient evidence to conclude any differences. I can provide more details if anyone cares (including those below), but the only head-to-head comparison that might be considered statistically significant is Test #3, where $1K cable D appeared to trounce $8K cable B by 4:1 (2-sided nominal p = 0.0014, and p = 0.01 even with Bonferroni adjustment for 7 comparisons, if anyone is familiar with p-values, where p<0.05 is typically considered "significant"). HOWEVER, this was the test during which the amp was switched! Thus, cable D's dominance in Test #3 can probably be attributed to the listener's clearly stated preference for the 2nd amp. It was a somewhat serious and unfortunate oversight not to restart Test #3 with the new amp, if that's indeed what happened. The fact that the amp was different for the remainder of the tests (4-7) has essentially no bearing on each of those individual tests, though it might complicate attempts to combine information from Tests 1-2 with that of Tests 4-7. Speaking of combining information over all tests, I had hoped this might bolster the power to show cheap cable A to be inferior, but it was not enough. Using Fisher's method to combine independent p-values still resulted in p > 0.1, and adjusting for the positive dependence between the tests would only further increase the p-value. Alternatively, aggregating the data to 0 wins and 3-4 losses (depending on whether you want to count Test #7) would at best provide 1-sided p = 0.0625-0.1250 and 2-sided p = 0.125-0.250; i.e. there is at least a 1 in 8 chance of observing 0 wins and 4 losses, or 4 wins and 0 losses, even if all cables were identical --1 in 16 chance for 0 wins and 4 losses, a priori assuming A should be worst, which is at least borderline significant. Finally, excluding problematic Test #3 and combining the 6 other 1-sided exact p-values via Fisher (assuming the pricier cable should outperform the cheaper cable in each test) yields a lower bound on the overall p > 0.15 (still not significant), implying that there is greater than a 1 in 7 chance of observing data like this (or more extreme) even if all 4 cables were identical. Bottom line: no significant differences.
Stats Hell
Thanks for your analysis, and I believe you are right. My take away from the discussion is that the variance in the "implications of inference" is... a bit high for comfort. Though I would love to see more testing. Plus the amp thing does seem like a big deal...
I'd be interested to know if the human element could be removed as a first step, to be replaced by an open set of metrics that could be used to detect repeatable difference in the delivery of energy and information. If something like a mechanized dog-bat's ear cannot detect meaningful change - it's noticeably harder to propose that human beings can hear "improvment". If such an array of measurment can at least establish there are physical differences at the system output that can be detected (not parameters of construstion that differ), then the second question has a hypothetical leg to stand on at least. I' don't know maybe this has been done somewhere? I guess the results of the dog-bat ear would have to be ovelayed with the expected performance of the mean and max human ear.
A parameter that is always ignored in these tests
Submitted by Scorpio69er on January 4, 2013 - 12:23am
Since we are talking about differences in what people think they hear when it comes to expensive vs. cheap cables, it seems to me that we must first have an accurate understanding of the actual hearing abilities of each human subject. All subjects would need to have their hearing checked and these results would need to be taken into account. There is no point in making sure the electronics, etc., under test are properly calibrated and that all possible areas of variation are minimized, then ignore the wide variation in hearing ability that inevitably exists in the audience. Who knows, we may find that those with perfect hearing prefer cheap lamp zip cord.
If anyone can ever demonstrate scientifically that audible differences actually exist between cheap cables and ridiculously priced ones (and that such audible differences also produce a demonstrably higher quality sound), I'll think about forking over some extra dough. But the fact is no one has ever done this. Indeed, going back to tests I read about many years ago conducted by A.J. van den Hul*, where he tricked his audiophile audience into thinking he was using an esoteric speaker cable when in fact it was lamp zip cord -- drawing nods of approval from his punked audience who heard all kinds of wonderfulness -- every test of this type I have ever read about shows there is no audible difference.
*It should be noted that A.J. van den Hul subsequently moved into the esoteric cable business. These guys know their way to the bank.
I agree Scorpio
Submitted by Ariel Bitran on January 4, 2013 - 7:52am
if you were following the comments on JA's Heyser lecture (also on this website), i think one of the biggest problems that audiophiles/scientists will run into when trying to do cable comparison tests (and any sort of listening comparison test) is sample selection and variability within the (most likely) convenience sample.
if listeners are not trained, their answers should be considered something closer to random guessing... is this something that would infer that there is a difference or a lack of one?
a trained ear will perform better at these tests, which brings up the question, does it matter? if a trained ear is required, maybe the difference is more inside our minds than we think?
@ Ariel
Submitted by Scorpio69er on January 4, 2013 - 5:56pm
Thanks for taking the time to read my blurb.
re: "a trained ear will perform better at these tests"
That has never been scientifically established. It would be interesting to put Stereophile's reviewers to the test, assuming such a test was constructed to take into account all of the possible variations outlined by everyone here.
Insofar as "maybe the difference is more inside our minds than we think", until someone actually proves otherwise, this has to be accepted as the fact of the matter. Audiophiles want to believe in magic, and those who profit from selling us the latest mega-expensive piece of wire take full advantage. Looking at how various esoteric pieces of wire are advertised and marketed is an education in the art of selling. As George Carlin famously said, "If you can nail together two things that have never been nailed together before, some dumb schmuck will buy it from you".
I am often amused when I look at the glossy ads for various esoteric pieces of wire that tout all sorts of magical musical benefits from the product, as if the electrons moving through them know the difference. This is especially true now that we have moved to digital transmission of musical information, as if the ones and zeroes give a hoot about how they reach their target. Digital is either on or off. If the information is not transmitted for some reason, there is simply silence.
P.S. This piece is interesting, although the tests are not as rigorous as would be needed to be scientifically conclusive:
http://www.nousaine.com/pdfs/Wired%20Wisdom.pdf
Cannot agree more ...
Submitted by QSYSOPR on January 5, 2013 - 1:13am
Every time I read about "trained ears" i wonder.
If only trained ears can hear the differences, why all the hype in selling ridiculous costly cables to to average customer?
Question: do I have to have trained eyes to see the difference between a standard HDMI 1.4 cable and an esoteric one?
I'm worried about all the pseudo-scientific phrases used in selling expensive cables. Thats for instance when a cable manufacturer speaks about "routed air strings" and separate "quantum tunneled" Mini Power Couplers - I don't know whether I should laugh or cry.
If it is a question of taste then I will not worry about people throwing their money on the streets, otherwise ....
Submitted by Ariel Bitran on January 5, 2013 - 10:31am
the point that is to be made is that anyone can train their eye/ear (barring actual physical limitations/extreme hearing loss/eye sight problems).
My new esoteric cable line
Submitted by Scorpio69er on January 5, 2013 - 3:45am
Using only the highest grade ore mined from our private copper, gold and silver mine in Chile's Atacama Desert, then refining that ore in a proprietary process handed down through four generations and sheathing nature's purest metals in theta-rejecting baby llama skin, we have fashioned the ultimate in speaker cables and interconnects: The Scorpio Line.
Death Stalker: At only $2000/meter, this special 1000:1 blend of our purest copper and silver will yield the highest possible SPL when listening to heavy metal music, while maintaining a warm yet neutral character with your favorite bagpipe piece. The sonic equivalent of Angus Young in a kilt.
Black Spitting Thicktail: This 1111:11:1 blend of our purest copper, silver and gold has been hailed by reviewers as "a revelation". At $10000/meter, it will transport you to another sonic realm. Whether listening to powerful symphonic music or the soothing strains of Slim Whitman, your hair will turn white as you encounter the mystical. As they say, "you can't take it with you", so why worry about the cost?
Asian Forest: Specially designed to reproduce the whole range of natural sounds from an ant fight to an exploding supernova with equal realism, this 1313:13:3 blend of our purest copper, silver and gold throws a soundstage as big as all creation. At $50000/meter, like Yahweh himself, you can have the whole world in your hands. Just remember to put it back when you're finished.
That was very clever
you should buy ad space in Stereophile for it.
Thanks again for taking the time to read my blurb. I wonder how many orders I would get? I could generate "buzz" by circulating around the next trade show with a few friends and having us make comments in the crowd at every manufacturer's venue like, "Gee, this would sound so much better if they would have used some of that Black Spitting Thicktail™ for the interconnects and Asian Forest™ for the speaker cable!" Audiophiles would be intrigued and begin asking, "Where can I get some?" The rest will be history.
Actually, Stereophile should pay me for writing this stuff.
Poor coice for the budget cable
Submitted by dwpatterson on May 21, 2018 - 11:21am
Considering how little the 16 gauge wire set lost by, a more honest and competitive choice should have been 12 or 10 AWG speaker wire. Still inexpensive but have a higher performance lower resistance.
Michael Fremer enlivens impressive Audio-Ultra demos
New Hampshire's AV Therapy Hosts a Listening Event This Weekend
A Spooktacular Event in Houston
The Graham Audio LS8/1 Loudspeakers Debut in the US
High End Munich Canceled for 2021
The FTC Proposes Eliminating Its "Amplifier Rule"
Tim de Paravicini, RIP
the mbl X-treme Roadshow Moves to Texas
The Passing of Brian Russell
A Real, Live, In-Person Hi-Fi Event in Pennsylvania, with Actual Humans!
Florida Audio Expo is 2021's First Audio-Show Casualty
Capital Audiofest Cancels Its 2020 Show, Announces Dates for 2021
RMAF Nixes 2020
No Show for T.H.E. Show
AXPONA: Moving On from Here
AXPONA Canceled; No Refunds for Exhibitors - UPDATED


text:
Macron to send more troops to Sahel, within new counterterrorism plan
France plans to send additional troops to the Sahel and appealed for more international support for counterterrorism efforts, following a summit in the French city of Pau attended by leaders of the G5 Sahel nations on Monday.
President Emmanuel Macron said 220 soldiers will reinforce the 4,500 Operation Barkhane troops and their partners fighting alongside Burkina Faso, Mali, Mauritania, Niger and Chad. There also will be more cross-border cooperation beyond the existing 50-kilometer ranges established by the joint forces.
The decision, and the Pau summit itself, come amid increasing criticism and protests over France's presence in Sahel nations, at the same time that extremist attacks have escalated in Niger, Burkina Faso and Mali.
Some 90 soldiers were killed in Niger last week, where President Mahamadou Issoufou said after a comparable December attack that the terrorists had become "real professionals in the art of war." The latest deaths led to the dismissal of the Nigerien defense minister on Monday.
"The Heads of State of the G5 Sahel expressed the wish for the continuation of France's military engagement in the Sahel," said the parties in a joint statement issued by France. "They expressed their gratitude for the crucial support provided by the United States and expressed the wish for its continuity."
The participants also said they'll step up efforts to support a peaceful resolution in Libya as talks between Khalifa Haftar, the head of the Libyan National Army, and the Government of National Accord's Fayez Al-Sarraj failed to reach a ceasefire agreement in Moscow on Monday. The Sahel partners said they back the international Berlin conference to bring stability to the region.
France defends its involvement
Macron was careful to note that France is not in the Sahel to protect its own interests, but rather in the broader fight against terrorism that includes the G5 nations, the U.S. troops, and the new P3S launch in partnership with Germany, as well as United Nations peacekeepers, the African Union and the Economic Community of West African States.
His remarks come after a rift with G5 leaders because of hostility toward French troops fighting in the Sahel, and in a France weary of the commitment without seeing results. Macron's concerns were echoed by French defense minister Florence Parly, who backed the president late last year in his quest for "clarity" from the African leaders about France's involvement.
Parly welcomed the outcomes of Monday's summit and confirmed a new "Coalition for the Sahel" under joint Barkhane-G5 authority will be created to "allow for more communication, intelligence sharing and coordination.
"We will be more efficient and more agile," she said.
So did President Roch Marc Kaboré of Burkina Faso. "The establishment of the G5 Sahel-France Joint Staff as part of the international coalition for the Sahel will allow our armies to grow in strength and reap convincing results in the fight against terrorism," said Kaboré.
France established its presence in the Sahel when Mali requested help seven years ago this week. Soldiers worked alongside Malian and other African troops to try to repel the terrorists, with the United Nations Security Council supporting the need for member nations to assist Mali.
As the threat from Islamic State and al-Qaeda-linked armed groups continued to grow, Operation Barkhane was launched in August 2014 and expanded France's footprint across the Sahel. Beginning this year, "Task Force Takuba" is added to the response, bringing together special forces from European nations including Estonia.
"There is no lightning operation," Parly warned when Task Force Takuba was announced in November. "No decisive punch action to stop the destructive madness of their ideology. It is only patience, determination and consistency that will allow us to win this long-term battle."
From the Sahel, there is no exit
Yet when the G5 Sahel force was launched in Bamako in July 2017, many viewed it as the first step in an exit strategy for France. Macron began with a €8 million commitment from France, €50 million from the EU and €10 million each from the African partners, but he found other nations, notably a U.S. now led by President Donald Trump, resistant to the Sahel commitment.
Macron and Malian President Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta pressed on, and raised €414 million in international funding at a Brussels donor conference in February 2018, but the expense has always remained a thorny question.
Alongside the military expenditures are development initiatives, as well as the latest P3S plan announced at the G7 summit hosted by France at Biarritz in August. The P3S is meant to strengthen policing, the judicial system, and related internal and administrative functions in Sahel nations known for their notoriously weak governance – a context in which the extremists thrive, largely on trafficking and other criminal activities.
While the Pau summit seemed to smooth the diplomatic friction among heads of state, it remains to be seen how citizens in G5 nations will respond to a further entrenched France. The same might be said of French citizens supporting the protracted engagement while domestic finances continue to cause eruptions at home.
It also remains to be seen how the new coalition operates, with the next summit planned for June in Mauritania.
Image: Government of Burkina Faso source


We're changing the world of pet food for good, and using cutting-edge science and technology to do it.
Here's a little bit about who we are and how we achieve tailor-made nutrition for dogs on a practical level. We'll show you why a tails.com diet is the perfect choice, from early puppyhood through to the senior years, and how we cater to changing nutritional needs over time according to each dog's profile.
Sean studied Animal Science as an undergraduate learning about anatomy, physiology, husbandry and nutritional management of a range of domestic animals, followed by his Veterinary Medicine degree (MVB) at University College Dublin. Having spent six years in private practice at various first opinion and referral small animal clinics, he has a great understanding of dog owners and the concerns they face when trying to choose the best diet for their pets.
Amy has been a qualified veterinary nurse for over ten years, spending most of this time in various roles within the charity sector and in specialist veterinary centres. She has industry-leading expertise in animal nutrition and dog owner education.
Amy is our customer experience nutritional team leader, and is a vital source of knowledge and training for the whole team.
Samantha has over sixteen years experience in animal nutrition. From a Master's degree in animal nutrition, a PhD in nutritional sciences and an extensive professional career formulating and developing diets within the pet food industry, Samantha is extremely knowledgeable on the dietary needs of individual dogs.
Having previously formulated food for the royal dogs, Samantha now spends her time developing tails.com nutritional blends. Samantha is pictured with her rescue pug, Giselle.


text:
Wind and Solar Could Power 99.9% of Grid by 2030
by Walter Wang December 17, 2012 1 comment
According to a recent joint University of Delaware and Delaware Technical Community College study, a well-designed combination of wind energy, solar energy, and storage in batteries and fuel cells would be a cost effective way of meeting electricity demands.
One of the main critiques of solar and wind energy is that these are intermittent sources of energy, generating electricity only when the wind is blowing or the sun is shining, respectively. This would thus create potential problems for utilities and grid operators who must keep the supply and demand for electricity in balance to meet the demands of the population.
However, a combined wind and solar plant may be the answer to this problem. Combining the the two resources in a single plant allows for a more efficient use of transmission lines and a more cost-effective way of generating electricity.
The authors of the study developed a computer model to consider all of the combinations – 28 billion to be exact – of renewable energy sources and storage mechanisms. The combinations were simultaneously tested over four years of historical hourly weather data and electricity demands from 13 states, which represents one-fifth of the country's total electric grid.
Due to the fact that wind speeds and sun exposure vary with weather, location, and season, there had to be ways to improve reliability of these systems. Reliability in the model was achieved by expanding the geographic area of renewable generation, using diverse sources, employing storage systems, and burning fossil fuels as a backup – usually for the last few percent of the electricity needs when neither renewable or stored energy was available.
The study, published in the Journal of Power Sources, used estimates of solar, wind, and general technology costs in 2030, leaving out government subsidies – since they are unsure – to project the cost of renewables in 2030. The projected costs are about half of the current wind and solar costs, while maintenance costs would stay the same.
The authors then compared this cost to the costs of fossil fuel use, which includes both the estimated fuel cost and the known negative externalities, including human health hazards caused by air pollution, and found that the combined solar and wind plants would be more cost effective than using fossil fuels.
This project isn't the first to realize that a combination of wind power, solar power, and storage could be a cost-effective solution to meeting high energy demands. For example, California also made this realization earlier this year.
Thanks to the combined legislation, policies, and citizen motivation, California became the top solar state in the country and San Diego solar panel installation has outreached any other city within the state. However, they still had to deal with the problem of solar power not being able to generate electricity all of the time. So in November 2012, California created its first wind and solar plant in the Tehachapi-Mojave region of Southern California.
The wind in California blows strongest at night while the sun is strongest during the day. The power generated in this project will supply San Diego solar initiatives with renewable energy to use in residential areas and businesses.
The Tehachapi-Mojave is just one example to support the findings of the joint UD and DTCC study. By 2030, when fossil fuels are expected to increase in price and decrease in amount stored in the world, renewable sources will need to come into play in order to meet energy demands. It is important to design and implement the projects so that when the country needs the power, it will be readily available.
Article by Jeana Brookes.
fuel cellsgridRenewable Energysolar energytransmission linesWind
Walter Wang
Walter's contributions to CleanTechies over the past 4 years have been instrumental in growing the publications social media channels via his ongoing editorial and data driven strategies. He is the founder and managing director of Sunflower Tax, a renewable energy tax and finance consultancy based in San Diego, California. Active in the San Diego clean technology community, participating in events sponsored by CleanTech San Diego, EcoTopics, and Cleantech Open San Diego, Walter has also been a presenter at numerous California Center for Sustainability (CCSE) programs. He currently serves as an adjunct professor at the University of San Diego School of Law where he teaches a course on energy taxation and policy.
Car-Mounted Sensor Able to Pinpoint Sources of Natural Gas Leaks
Falsely Over 40? Hyundai and Kia Collide with Consumer Class Actions Alleging Greenwash
Rinkesh December 23, 2012 - 3:59 am
I doubt if this could be achieved in next 18 years since both of them can't produce power 24×7. But, this would be something interesting to watch out for.


Synthetic imagery for the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite-R (GOES-R) Advance Baseline Imager (ABI) of three numerically-simulated events have been produced and delivered to the GOES-R Algorithm Working Group (AWG). This data will serve as proxy data for use in fire detection algorithm testing and development. Included in this dataset are synthetic images at 3.9, 10.35, and 11.2 �m. The three fire events are an idealized event over eastern Kansas that occurred on 8 May 2003, a Central American case from 4 April 2004, and the October 2007 fires over southern California.
Our efforts have concentrated on producing synthetic imagery with fire hotspots. That is, fire characteristics have been added into an observational operator: Either idealized fire characteristics or satellite retrieved fire characteristics. As a result, ABI synthetic imagery, with a 400 m footprint, has been generated at 3.9, 10.35, and 11.2 �m. One consequence of the 400 m footprint size is the ability to build sub-pixel fire signatures for GOES-R ABI. This was done by building ABI pixels of appropriate size using a point spread function. This work is part of the GOES-R risk reduction activities for the GOES-R satellite. This satellite is planned to be launched in 2015.
Methodologies of the numerical simulations and conversion of simulated output into synthetic GOES-R ABI imagery, containing fire hotspots, will be discussed.


I was part of the forensic system for seven years. My first 10 months were spent in jail followed by a year on the Forensic Treatment Unit and another on the Forensic Rehabilitation Unit. The remainder of my rehabilitation took place in the community.
I'm no expert when it comes to rehabilitation and I don't know the first thing about design but I know how accommodations make me feel. When I had no window and only a toilet for furniture, when the fluorescent was always and my company never I was convinced that not a soul in the world cared about me. When I see this building I am convinced that the individuals who will pass through here will be cared for on many levels. I hope these surroundings remind them that they are not abandoned or forgotten. When I see this building I know my community cares about mental illness. When I see this building I know society has compassion.
We are celebrating a new building and change. I am celebrating the dignity we are able to afford the staff and clients who will occupy this facility. Those who suffer from mental illness deserve no less. It has been my painful pleasure to come to know both clients and staff across the way. I have become friends with both. I am pleased that the staff will have surroundings befitting the fine care and expertise they measure. The responsibility we entrust them with deserves our respect.
This building fights stigma. When we can all come together and create such a space it allows us to all understand. We can have no doubt that these illnesses deserve our very best. The line I often saw between mental health and physical health treatment disappears on this site.
I have been a mental health consumer for 34 years and have experienced several institutions. Often my will was not to be there. One that sticks out in my mind I only spent a couple of days at but I can still remember the graffiti on the seclusion room walls, the tired old furniture, even the paint would send any person for the exit. For some of the occupants here, at times there really isn't an exit. If they can look around themselves and see everything I see in this building I suspect they will be better able to embrace their rehabilitation.
Southwest Centre for Forensic Mental Health Care will further the welfare of those unfortunate enough to find themselves here. These premises are a remedy to preventable hardship. This hospital is more therapeutic than the old one for one simple reason. Patients will have their own rooms. To live in a dormitory every noise is common and privacy is extinct. Even the mentally ill need a space to call their own; even the mentally ill need privacy; even the mentally ill need solitude.
No one wants to find themselves in this building. It is only the staff who choose to be here. Mental illness is not a choice and these facilities should be about rehabilitation.
I am pleased for my neighbours and community. I am pleased for the many people I know who suffer from mental illness and for those who don't. To be here is usually something that happens to someone else. There is no inoculation to exclusion from this building. Thankfully there is treatment so we can all take a path towards the exit.
We are All fortunate to have had this opportunity to consciously and deliberately plan for advancements in rehabilitation and to honour society's shifting perception of mental illness.
Thanks for the kind words. I hope all is well with you and your family. Hopefully I will see you sometime this summer. Thanks for visiting my blog.
Wow, Brett, that was great!!
Thanks very much Walter. The building and people were my inspiration.


My final year project at Bournemouth University will be doing a research paper on Micro transactions both from a Commercial and Psychological view.
Whether it is buying a brand new skin for an in-game cosmetic or a life in-game so the player can carry on playing, Micro-transactions play an important role in making sure a company receives financial income from a game that they have released. This research proposal will detail what is a Micro-transaction and how they are used in the gaming industry, looking at the psychological thinking of customers/players when they are going to engage with real life money in an online virtual world.
Micro transactions were originally used on the Apple and Google play stores to allow players to buy lives to be able to complete a level or to buy extra power ups that would give the player the upper hand in the game. Micro transactions have rapidly expanded onto the AAA Games market and has only recently been deployed into Indie Games that allows developers to release games for free and then make revenue of the game by selling additional content. This is what the industry call a "Freemium / Pay-to-win game" where players are paying for in-game items that either give the characters the advantage over other players which cannot be unlocked or gained by grinding the game or by free means. The Micro transaction business model is built on giving consumers a free game which they can play for hundreds of hours to unlock and try to beat their counter-parts or they can spend real life money to gain an advantage in a virtual world.
Micro transactions are provided via a custom online store that is designed in a way to market the "best featured" items in the game that gives the player the best advantage over other players and these items are normally on sale so the developer generates a lot of revenue on that item, However the custom store will also display the in-game items that won't give the player a great advantage over other players but will contribute to the game one way or another. Items bought through micro transactions will either be delivered to the account virtually in-game or an email will be sent containing a code to redeem in-game which will then unlock that item. Some companies such as Valve have an online distribution platform called "Steam" which takes 30% of any purchase made on their distribution platform, that's every sale from an AAA Game, Indie Game, Marketplace Sale or direct Micro transactions sold in-games, not only is it just Valve who take a 30% commission from any sale, Google who own the "Google Store" and Apple who own the "App Store" also take a 30% commission from any sale made on their distribution platforms.
The nature of this research project will be looking at 3 different case studies that will cover mobile games, AAA games and online distribution stores that give players access to games instantly. Furthermore, it will also be looking at the "Value for Money" for the consumer and the "Consumption of Goods" because in reality, is it actually improving the players experience or is it restraining the player to buy products to beat their friends at a game.


Exchange rate: US$1.00 equals 3.75 riyals.
First law: 1969 (social insurance), implemented in 1973.
Voluntary coverage for persons who are self-employed, are working abroad, or no longer satisfy the conditions for compulsory coverage.
Exclusions: Agricultural workers, fishermen, household workers, family labor, and foreign workers. Subject to certain conditions, excluded workers may receive coverage.
Special system for civil servants and military personnel. Under certain conditions, former contributors under the civil and military scheme may request to have contribution periods credited toward the public social insurance scheme.
The minimum monthly earnings for contribution calculation purposes are 1,500 riyals.
The maximum monthly earnings for contribution calculation purposes are 45,000 riyals.
Self-employed person: 18% of declared income.
The minimum monthly earnings for contribution calculation purposes are 1,200 riyals.
Disability pension: Assessed with an incapacity to work before age 60. Must have at least 12 consecutive months of contributions or 18 nonconsecutive months of contributions (twice this amount for voluntarily insured persons who joined the scheme at age 50 or older). The disability must begin while the insured is in covered employment.
If no longer in covered employment when the disability begins, the pension is paid with at least 120 months of paid or credited contributions (credited contributions must not exceed 60 months).
Survivor pension: The deceased was in covered employment at the time of death and had 3 consecutive months of contributions or 6 nonconsecutive months of contributions (12 consecutive months or 18 nonconsecutive months for voluntarily insured persons who first joined the scheme when aged 50 or older); or was a pensioner.
Eligible survivors include the widow(er); a dependent son younger than age 21 (age 26 if a full-time student); a dependent, unmarried daughter; and brothers, sisters, parents, grandparents, and grandchildren in certain circumstances.
The minimum monthly earnings for benefit calculation purposes are 1,500 riyals (1,200 riyals for self-employed persons).
The maximum monthly earnings for benefit calculation purposes are 45,000 riyals.
Disability pension: If the insured was in covered employment when the disability began, the pension is equal to 2.5% of the insured's average monthly earnings during the last 2 years for each year of contributions, up to 100%.
The pension for a female survivor ceases on marriage, but may be reinstated if she is subsequently divorced or widowed.
Marriage grant: Upon marriage, the survivor pension for a widow or an eligible daughter, sister, or granddaughter ceases, and a grant is paid equal to 18 times her monthly survivor pension.
Ministry of Labor (http://www.mol.gov.sa) provides general supervision.
The General Organization for Social Insurance (http://www.gosi.gov.sa) administers the law and program through district offices.
The minimum monthly earnings for contribution calculation purposes are 400 riyals.
Average monthly earnings are based on the 3-month period immediately before the disability began.
If assessed as totally disabled, non-Saudi insured persons receive a lump sum equal to 84 months' permanent disability pension, up to 330,000 riyals.
Constant-attendance supplement: 50% of the disability pension is paid (up to 3,500 riyals) if the insured requires the help of others to complete daily tasks. The need for constant attendance is assessed by a General Organization for Social Insurance medical board.
Partial disability: If assessed with a disability of less than 50%, Saudi insured persons receive a lump sum calculated based on a percentage of the full pension according to the assessed degree of disability and age. For an assessed degree of disability of less than 50% that began when the insured was aged 40 or younger, the lump sum is equal to 60 months' pension multiplied by the assessed degree of disability; if the disability began when the insured was older than age 40, the lump sum is reduced by 1 month of pension for each year older than age 40.
If assessed with a disability between 50% and 99%, Saudi insured persons receive a pension equal to the permanent disability pension amount (see above) multiplied by the assessed degree of disability.
The minimum combined survivor pension is 345 riyals.
Marriage grant: Upon marriage, the survivor pension for a widow or an eligible daughter, sister, or granddaughter ceases and a grant is paid equal to 18 times her monthly survivor pension.


This is a modification of other recipes. I replaced the white sugar for Yellow Dog Sweet Shake (natural cane sugar) and use low fat or milk substitutes but make it however you wish. so an easy two part recipe. Make the bake one day and then cook it the next morning.
1 teaspoon cinnamon - did you know cinnamon can help lower blood sugar?
Spray canola oil in a 9 x 13 glass baking dish . Cut up French toast into large chunks and place evenly in the baking dish. In a large bowl, mix eggs, milk, maple syrup, Yellow Dog Sweet Shake, cinnamon and vanilla. Pour over the French toast and then dot the casserole with Philly cream cheese chunks. Cover with foil and refrigerate overnight.
The next morning preheat oven to 350. Uncover the casserole and shake on some more Yellow Dog Sweet Shake and place in the oven and bake for 20 to 30 minutes. Serve with warm Geauga County maple syrup! Yum.