text:
Cosmic Trigger II meme
From Rasa, based on a quote I spotted. Thanks, Rasa!
on February 28, 2019 No comments:
Labels: Cosmic Trigger 2, Rasa
Ted Hand on 'The Earth Will Shake'
Cover art for Tarcher first edition of The Earth Will Shake, courtesy John Merritt. The cover artist is Terry Lamb.
I think if I had to pick a favorite in the "Historical Illuminatus" books I might have to choose The Widow's Son, although I also really like The Earth Will Shake. I discovered via Twitter that RAW fan and Philip K. Dick expert Ted Hand says The Earth Will Shake is his favorite RAW novel. The Twitter discussion began when Ted sent out a Tweet promoting the new The Earth Will Shake discussion group:
Ted Hand: Online reading group from my favorite Robert Anton Wilson novel. Thanks @jacksontom
http://www.rawillumination.net/2019/02/the-earth-will-shake-reading-group-week.html
Tom Jackson: Any chance you can give me a few words on why it's your favorite?
Ted Hand: I think it's his best realized novel in the classic sense, a bildungsroman that creates a believable character and development process but brilliantly and economically uses this to present a theory of freemasonic initiation. More readable than Eco, more real than Dan Brown.
Tom Jackson: Thanks, Ted.
Ted Hand: Always! I think it's significant that he was able to pull off such a successful "straight" novel, his other trilogies being so experimental and Widow's Son getting back into that territory.
Tom Jackson: "Masks of the Illuminati" also plays it relatively straight, and I like that one, too.
Ted Hand: Good point, Masks is pretty close to straight, just some stream of consciousness, and also a very successful modernist novel that presents a theory of magic without neglecting the business of unraveling a ripping yarn.
on February 27, 2019 1 comment:
Labels: Ted Hand, The Earth Will Shake, The Earth Will Shake Reading Group
All new editions of Cosmic Trigger II out now
Excerpt from Rasa's announcement:
The RAW Trust's Hilaritas Press has released a new edition of Robert Anton Wilson's Cosmic Trigger II: Down to Earth. We've once again run the text through several proof readers (we found some old typos) and totally reformatted the book's interior. Many thanks to Gary Acord and Chas Faris for their excellent help in editing and proofing! Scott McPherson, from amoeba, has created another great cover, and this Hilaritas Press edition of Cosmic Trigger II contains a new Foreword and a new Afterword!
Bob's second book in his autobiographical trilogy is a bit of a departure from volume one in a number of respects. Bob probably said it best in the subtitle, Down to Earth. While The Final Secret of the Illuminati, volume one, had Chapel Perilous as a metaphor, Cosmic Trigger II: Down to Earth uses the Bridge as a similar device. RAW blogger Tom Jackson makes that observation in the new Foreword we asked him to write. We were hoping readers might have a nice short "bridge" to read after volume one and before embarking on volume two. Tom wrote a wonderful short essay.
As Cosmic Trigger II features quite a bit about Bob's home life with Arlen and the kids, Tom had the idea to ask Bob's daughter Christina if she might write an Afterword for this edition. I loved that idea, passed on the request, and Christina did not disappoint!
Also, orders are still being taken for the spiral ring pendant.
Labels: Cosmic Trigger 2
The Earth Will Shake reading group, week one
Welcome to week one of The Earth Will Shake online reading group. As several loyal readers suggested taking a slow pace, I thought at first we might read 20 to 25 pages at a time, and see how that goes. Please begin the book and read until page 20, to the sentence that ends, "we have to comprehend why, when a priest calls for God to enter the church, Death can come in answer."
I am using the Hilaritas Press printed edition, although I assume if I give the passage and page number, most readers will be able to follow along using other editions or the Hilaritas ebook. Perhaps surprisingly, there have been six editions so far: The 1982 Tarcher, the 1984 Bluejay, the 1988 Lynn, the 1991 ROC Penguin, the 2003 New Falcon and the 2018 Hilaritas, which features the seven new Bobby Campbell illustrations.
I was struck reading the first 20 pages on how RAW is at the top of his game; I felt like he must have put a lot of effort and inspiration into the opening pages and had many vivid passages:
Because Sicily itself and every last Sicilian could be wiped off the face of the earth, extinguished, erased, and every Sicilian would agree to it, stubborn as a mule, if it were necessary to go that far just to make sure nobody anywhere ever lost respect for the Sicilians. Uncle Pietro said that a master swindler could cheat an Armenian rug merchant once in a million times, and a demon from hell might frighten a Spaniard once in a million million times, but not even God Himself with the Twelve Apostles to help him could stop a fully resolved Siciliano without first killing him and then methodically killing his brothers, and then his cousins and uncles, and next his second cousins and great-uncles, and of course his women cousins, and any toddling infant old enough to throw a rock, and so on forever, but until God himself killed the last Sicilian great-great-grandfather still able to totter weakly on his crutches and hawk to spit, they would keep coming against Him, ineluctable as He Himself, because that was the way Sicily had survived the Greeks and the Sullas and Belisarius and the Normans and the Hohenstaufens and everybody and everything thrown against them and Southern Italy in general since time itself began.
I also noticed how saturated the book is with music; the composers mentioned in the first few pages include Domenico Scarlatti, Antonio Vivaldi, Niccolò Jommelli, Giovanni Battista Pergolesi (misspelled as Pergolese in the text) and Georg Philipp Telemann. And of course we haven't gotten to Mozart yet. Scarlatti especially is discussed, and RAW also talks about his love of Scarlatti in the just-released Hilaritas Press edition of Cosmic Trigger II. I plan to listen to Scarlatti this week.
It was the music, always the music. Because if he pursued a vision of the heroic, an eidolon of human perfectibility that was to seem insane to some and eventually farcical even to himself, it had been the music that had maddened and inflamed him -- the music that was produced by human beings, by men who were not in all cases admirable or noble people at all, produced many times by men who were as petulant and prancing as a French contessa's spoiled poodles, but still, in the music, there was that voice, that insistent cadence of something that was not human, something toward which humans only aspire and to which they only approximate, as any circle drawn with chalk approximates to a true Platonic circle, as every soul aspires toward God ....
on February 25, 2019 13 comments:
Labels: Bobby Campbell, The Earth Will Shake, The Earth Will Shake Reading Group
Watch 'The Magic Flute'
I have written several blog entries that mention Mozart's The Magic Flute, as it was an opera heavily influenced by Freemasonry.
The OperaVision website is a European project which makes operas produced in Europe available for free viewing on the Internet. For a few more weeks, a production of The Magic Flute is available from Garsington Opera at Wormsley. I suggest taking a look at the overture at the beginning (about six minutes) to check out the opera's look. Mozart is a character in the "Historical Illuminatus" novels, so this is topical for the blog. Other Mozart operas are available, too.
Labels: Mozart, The Magic Flute
New Cosmic Trigger 2 released
The ebook of Cosmic Trigger II: Down to Earth has been released by Hilaritas Press, and the paper edition will follow within a couple of days, so details are now available. We get to finally see the lovely cover by @amoebadesign.
I wrote the foreword (well, I've mentioned I really like the book) and Christina Pearson, RAW's eldest daughter, wrote the afterword. I want to take a little bit of credit for the latter. I have noticed that Christina's pieces are a highlight of the Hilaritas Press announcements, and it seemed to me that for such an autobiographical book, her writing would be a good fit. So I suggested that she write something, and she agreed!
Here is a bit from Christina's afterword I have received permission to reprint:
Bob and Arlen's parenting approach developed out of refusing to raise us as they had been raised. They just weren't sure exactly what that actually meant in terms of day to day life! They certainly loved us, but as true intellectuals, they reveled more in debating linguistic origins, playing Scrabble, sitting around talking about how to save the world, etc., than worrying about what time us kids got to bed. I do have a hunch they would have been much happier together not having children; we were loved, but often not clearly understood in terms of what our developmental needs might be, thus we were mostly treated as semi-equals (little grown-ups) instead of the children we were.
Anyway, what I love about Cosmic Trigger II is that it is very tidal, with Bob's insights about his own life and development ebbing and flowing over the backdrop of the times my parents lived in Ireland, and their move back to the US. It is certainly biographical, with strong opinions and political musings worked in, but its most powerful message for me was validating what a gentle being at heart RAW really was. He wanted to create; to write, to share, to dream, to play. Like the vast majority born at this time, he spent a fair amount of his younger life doing things to make money that did not necessarily "feed his soul." At the age of forty, he left secure employment (at Playboy) and took the risk of depending on his writing abilities to feed his family. It was rough at first, and he never made much money, but he was happily self-employed until his death in 2011.
on February 23, 2019 2 comments:
Online exhibit on the UMMO letters
Cutaway image of an UMMO "flying saucer"
We are the Mutants, an interesting website last mentioned on this blog for its exploration of intelligent dolphins and Illuminatus!, has an online exhibit up on the UMMO letters, an episode in UFO lore that was mentioned by Robert Anton Wilson.
Michael Grasso (who also wrote the dolphin pieces) explains, "The UMMO letters were a series of thousands of pages of typewritten correspondence sent over nearly two decades, ostensibly written by the natives of an alien planet, explaining their reasons for visiting Earth, the scientific principles behind their technology, and their own cultural and political beliefs. The letters, written in Spanish (and eventually French), were initially sent to those involved in the contactee movement in Spain. The Ummites' symbol, a sigil roughly resembling the Cyrillic character Zhe or the early astronomical symbol for Uranus, was stamped at the bottom of many of the letters."
Although a guy named Jordán Peña confessed to writing the UMMO letters, Grasso writes, "Even these confessions of Peña's have been cloaked in mystery and equivocation in the years since the 1990s, given the fact that the UMMO documents occasionally reference actual science known to very few at the time, including the aforementioned Sakharov theories as well as UMMO documents that seem to predict the discovery of dark matter and quantum computing well before they emerged in the mainstream."
Thank you to Jesse Walker for pointing me to this.
Hilaritas Press news update!
There hasn't been any announcements lately from Hilaritas Press, the publishing house of the Robert Anton Wilson Trust, but the new edition of Cosmic Trigger II: Down to Earth will be out very soon, and in fact there are five books in the "sooner rather than later" pipeline, according to Rasa, who gave me an update on Hilaritas.
Eight books have been published so far: Cosmic Trigger, Prometheus Rising, Quantum Psychology, Email to the Universe, Coincidance: A Head Test, and the three "Historical Illuminatus" books: The Earth Will Shake, The Widow's Son and Nature's God.
The next five are Cosmic Trigger II; Cosmic Trigger III: My Life After Death; Sex, Drugs and Magic: A Journey Beyond Limits; The New Inquisition, and Ishtar Rising. Here's what I know:
• No guarantees, but Cosmic Trigger II should be out on the next one or two weeks. Rasa is waiting on the final proof, which should arrive Friday. An announcement with details about the new edition will be released when the print edition comes out. The second "Trigger" is a personal favorite of mine; look for more news soon.
• Cosmic Trigger III will follow very shortly; Gary Acord is revising the index to reflect the fact that pages numbers will be different in the Hilaritas Press edition from the earlier New Falcon book.
"As soon as he finishes, the book will be ready to publish," Rasa reports. "Scott McPherson's covers for II and III match wonderfully with the cover he did for Cosmic Trigger I. I can't wait to see all three books next to each other!"
Rasa believes that with its prologue and epilogue by Wilson, Cosmic Trigger III likely does not need any new material from others, as many of the other volumes have had. But that's not written in stone yet.
• While an approximate timetable isn't available, from all signs, work is pretty far advanced on Sex Drugs and Magick, The New Inquisition and Ishtar Rising.
"I was working late into the night last night on fixing up the graphics in The New Inquisition and Ishtar Rising," Rasa told me Wednesday.
Gregory Arnott assisted with volunteer editing for Ishtar Rising. He informed me on Dec. 20 that he was finished and had sent his work in to Rasa.
"They are coming along nicely, but they are probably a couple months, at least, away from publication. Again, you never know. Cosmic Trigger III got together a lot sooner than I expected," Rasa comments.
Labels: Cosmic Trigger 2, Hilaritas Press, Rasa
Reminder: Earth Will Shake reading group starts Monday
The online reading group for The Earth Will Shake will start Monday. As with other reading groups, there will be a weekly posting, and everyone is invited to chip in with comments.
I had initially proposed 40 pages a week, but I've gotten some requests for a slower pace. How about 30 pages a week?
My Hilaritas Press copy arrived in the mail a couple of days ago, and it's a handsome book, with a fine cover by Scott McPherson and seven excellent interior illustrations by Bobby Campbell. It will be the official text, but if you can't afford to buy a new book right, you are welcome to hunt up a library copy or a used book and still join us. (You can read the Hilaritas Press announcement for the "Historical Illuminatus!" editions.)
Labels: Bobby Campbell, Hilaritas Press, Historical Illuminatus, The Earth Will Shake, The Earth Will Shake Reading Group
Brenton Clutterbuck on a tangled web of Discordianism
Brenton Clutterbuck (Twitter account image)
In "Standing in the Shade of Love," a guest post at Historia Discordia, Brenton Clutterbuck writes about the (apparent) various sock puppets and alternative identities of Reverend Loveshade. Among Brenton's claims: Loveshade "Runs a massive sock-puppet army which essentially have full control over the SubGenius and Discordian wikis" and also "Actively constructs historical figures out of whole cloth and develops elaborate schemes to try to have them accepted as historical fact."
I have no independent information on any of this, but in his intro, Adam Gorightly writes, "The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author, although the command staff here at Historia Discordia has no reason to doubt the central thesis presented herein, based–as it is–on evidentiary documentation referenced by Mr. Clutterbuck, not to mention his own personal journey down the sock-puppet filled Rev. Loveshade rabbit hole." See also Adam's earlier posting.
Labels: Adam Gorightly, Brenton Clutterbuck
John Sinclair "Kick Out the Jams" t-shirt.
As marijuana becomes legal, The Weedman feels sidelined. (Hat tip, Charles Faris on Twitter.)
The push to legalize magic mushrooms.
Is Maria Butina really a Russian spy?
New book says scientists should take research on magic seriously. Note the "eye in the triangle" book cover.
RAW on winner and loser scripts
"The Science of Blessing and Cursing," another Robert Anton Wilson article uncovered by Martin Wagner, discusses the placebo effect, winner and loser scripts, miracle cures and other examples of how the mind can affect the body.
"It appears that a Loser Script guarantees a shorter life as well as a more miserable life.
The article includes a bibliography, listing books by Wilson, Timothy Leary and others. The entry for Prometheus Rising says, "A popular introduction to brain circuitry in general and the Neurosomatic Circuit in particular, with exercises designed to teach the reader how to cancel Loser Scripts and develop Winner Scripts."
Labels: Martin Wagner
Leary LSD ranch for sale
Haven't read it yet, but there's actually a book, by Nick Schou, that tells the story of the Brotherhood of Eternal Love.
On Valentine's Day, Jesse Walker (a reliably interesting Twitter presence) spots news about the Brotherhood of Eternal Love: The ranch where the group associated with Timothy Leary manufactured LSD is now for sale. For a little under $1.5 million, you can own a piece of recent American history, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Labels: Jesse Walker, Timothy Leary
'Escape consultant' Adrian Reynolds interviewed
Adrian chats with Sunita.
Adrian Reynolds -- writer, RAW fan, escape consultant -- talks with Sunita Passi as part of her "Truly Inspirational People" podcast series. About 25 minutes long. Topics covered include taking other people's reality tunnels seriously, retrocausation, the benefit of walking in natural areas and concepts of RAW. "At some point I ended up at a Druid festival, like you do." You can find Adrian on the Web.
Labels: Adrian Reynolds
Good stuff at 'Butterfly Language'
Butterfly Language has written about the 23 Enigma. I followed her link to a story about the Oumuamua mystery, and of course it had 23 comments, as you can see.
I haven't blogged about Butterfly Language lately, but Val continues to do fine work over there.
Here's a post, "I Know That Much," that discusses relationships and cats. I don't want to try to summarize it; just read it.
Val also has posted a review of Robert Anton Wilson's Email to the Universe and she's had to institute comment moderation recently.
Labels: Butterfly Language
New Discordian document available for download
Photo of Roldo ("borrowed" from Historia Discordia).
At Historia Discordia, Adam Gorightly reports that a pdf document is now available for download of a new edition of Goetia Discordia: Kerry Thornley's Illustrated Book of the Demons of the Region of Thud, written by Kerry Thornley and illustrated by Roldo. Roldo published the new edition and has given Adam permission to post a pdf of it. Details here.
Labels: Adam Gorightly, Historia Discordia, Kerry Thornley, Roldo
Reminder: 'The Earth Will Shake' reading group
The online reading group for Robert Anton Wilson's novel The Earth Will Shake begins Feb. 25. I will do weekly posts on the book, and everyone is invited to chip in using the comments section. I already had a copy of the book, but I've just ordered my Hilaritas Press edition, which I'll use as the official text.
Meanwhile, I've been slowly going through Beyond Chaos and Beyond, and I ran across this bit which illustrates how the new Wilson book can shed light on Wilson's other work. Wilson writes he is "always amazed" nobody notices how much he's been influenced by Faulkner, and adds, "I'd suggest that anyone who doesn't realize the extent that Faulkner has influenced me should read his short story, 'Barn Burning.' Then read the opening of The Earth Will Shake, and you'll see how much I learned from Faulkner. Not his obvious style, but the Faulknerian techniques of subjective impressionism -- how things impinge on the mind of the observer."
A quote from the new book
I have been slowly reading the new Robert Anton Wilson book, Beyond Chaos and Beyond. (I can't concentrate on it because I am too busy reading possible nominees for the Prometheus Award. But there's nothing wrong with reading it slowly.)
It has a lot of really interesting material; I just finished a long piece that was a tribute to Dr. Timothy Leary, written shortly after Leary's death.
An earlier piece, "GAIA: The Trajectories of Her Evolution," has this passage, which D. Scott Apel has given me permission to quote:
Circa 70 AD a nut cult, based on garbled legends about the Rabbi Yeshua ben Josef (now called Iesus Xrist in Greek) swept across the Roman Empire. It was founded on the idea that the world was coming to an end in that very generation. ("And there shall be Signs in the Sun and Moon, and in the stars ... This generation shall not pass until all be fulfilled." Luke 21:25, 34.) The Roman politicians tried to abolish this nut cult, then gave up and took it in, doing to it what politicians do to everything they get their hands on. It became the partner of the Empire and gave up all Doomsday raving to build itself great treasures on Earth. It was now called the Catholic Church.
The same piece has a nice passage about how the death of Socrates was "the first dramatized Zen koan: Why would a man so skeptical be willing to die for an abstract principal like Freedom of Speech?"
Alchemy book RAW endorsed
The Alchemy of Opposites by Rudy Scarfallato has an introduction by Robert Anton Wilson and a flattering blurb from Wilson on the back. The blurb reads, "Very, very rarely do I receive a book that arouses my enthusiasm so much as The Alchemy of Opposites. It brings some of the most advanced concepts of Oriental and occidental mysticism into a framework so down-to-earth that even the allegedly esoteric 'unity beyond all opposites' seems so damned obvious that you wonder how anyone could have overlooked it."
Nick Helseg-Larsen spotted the book and sent me a link. Anyone looked at it?
Robert Anton Wilson and Robert Heinlein
Robert Heinlein in 1944 at the Philadelphia Naval Yard, with L. Sprague de Camp, center, and Isaac Asimov, right. (Public domain photo).
In an earlier post, I mentioned reading Astounding by Alec Nevala-Lee and noticing a couple of parallels between Robert Anton Wilson and Robert Anson Heinlein.
I've finished the book (you should all read it) and I noticed a couple of other things.
Both of them lived in Santa Cruz, California, late in their lives, although if I understand the chronologies correctly, Heinlein had left by the time Wilson arrived.
(Did they ever meet? Did they ever live in Santa Cruz at the same time? Were their houses close to each other in space, if not in time?)
After their deaths, both were cremated and their ashes were put into the Pacific Ocean.
Heinlein died in Carmel, Calif., on May 8, 1988. Nevala-Lee: "As he had wished, his ashes were scattered in the Pacific with full naval honors." (The location is not given.) When Heinlein's wife Virginia died, her ashes were scattered in the Pacific, too.
Wikipedia on Wilson: "After his cremation on January 18 (also his 75th birthday), his family held a memorial service on February 18 and then scattered most of his ashes at the same spot as his wife's—off the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk in Santa Cruz, California."
Assuming that Heinlein's ashes were scattered near where he last lived, wouldn't the ashes of both writers have been placed in Monterey Bay?
Adam Gorightly sets the record straight
Adam Gorightly, right, with Frank Stranges at a California UFO convention in 2007. Mr. Stranges is the author of Stranger at the Pentagon, "the story of Venusian Captain 'Valiant Thor'." This is apparently a real book, and Valiant Thor penned the epilogue! Don't miss the five star reviews on Amazon. For context and more UFO weirdness, please go here.
In his latest Historia Discordia blog post, "Imaginary Sources Creating Imaginary History," Adam Gorightly writes, "I've taken seriously the task of chronicling, as accurately as possible, the early days of the Discordian Society and its influence on the 1960s counterculture and onward. So when imaginary sources create imaginary history, it certainly leads us down a slippery slope."
Other folks apparently are not as scrupulous, as you'll see if you read Adam's post.
Labels: Adam Gorightly
No more Columbus Day
Original plat for Sandusky, Ohio, showing the streets I drive on four days a week. Note the masonic compass and square design.
This is rather interesting: The city where I work, Sandusky, Ohio, has dropped Columbus Day as a holiday and is making Election Day a holiday instead. You can read the story from The Hill, and the article from the newspaper I work at, the Sandusky Register, although the piece is by my colleague Andy Ouriel and not by me.
As I've mentioned before, Sandusky is a city designed by a Freemason.
William Burroughs (Creative Commons photo)
Podcast on Terence McKenna. This is the second "Haunting the Margins" podcast; the first was the one on Robert Anton Wilson I wrote about.
Links for Joyceans.
Jesse Walker on William Burroughs' The Revised Boy Scout Manual.
Are mushrooms the safest drug you can take?
Oz Fritz goes to see a play.
Peter Thiel publication has both junk science and real science. Link thanks to Charles Faris.
New Heinlein novel announced.
Here is the official press release from Phoenix Pick.
Labels: Robert Heinlein
Help the Swedish translator
I recently wrote about the upcoming translation into Swedish of Illuminatus! and recently got the following note from the translator, Pelle Lindhe, about a passage he's unsure about:
Page 91, Third trip "They are the Knights of Christianity United in Faith" (funny because of KCUF, and easily translated into similar vulgarity in swedish) But then there's a joke I don't get: "Mauls of Lhuv-Kerapht United for the Truth" is there a similar acronym here that I miss?
Beats me...anyone have a suggestion?
Labels: Illuminatus
Nick Harkaway's 'Gnomon' [UPDATED]
Nick Harkaway (Creative Commons photo by Tom Coates)
A crime has been committed in a big city, and an investigator is assigned to the case. At first it looks like a straightforward crime case, albeit one with political overtones, but soon the investigator is drawn into a weird, complex word and into the heart of a conspiracy.
I'm talking about Nick Harkaway's science fiction/mystery novel Gnomon, a rather ambitious and long literary work that many of you might well enjoy. Michael Dirda did a good job of describing the book in his review for the Washington Post. The first paragraph of Dirda's review reads,
"Imagine, if you will, a Pynchonesque mega-novel that periodically calls to mind the films "Inception" and "The Matrix," Raymond Chandler's quest romances about detective Philip Marlowe, John le Carré's intricately recursive "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy," the dizzying science fiction of Philip K. Dick, William Gibson and Neal Stephenson, Iain Pears's hypertextual "Arcadia" and Haruki Murakami's alternate world "IQ84" and even this week's Washington Post story about China's push for 'total surveillance.' "
I might have written about Harkaway's book, anyway, on the grounds that it's an ambitious SF novel that would interest sombunall of the blog's audience. But as I got farther in the book, I began to wonder if there were references to Illuminatus! and Robert Anton Wilson in it.
(1) One of the book's main characters (on page 415 of the American hardcover) talks about "walking through walls" to get out of prison and mentions Timothy Leary and Wilhelm Reich (the latter not by name, but the reference is pretty clear). (Forgot to mention in an earlier version of this post that the words "chapel perilous" appear on the next page.
(2) There are discussions of Freemason conspiracies in the text, and Roberto Calvi is mentioned by name.
(3) There is an obsession with the number five, conforming to the "Law of Fives."
(4) The book is haunted by a female Green goddess -- not Eris as in Illuminatus!, but Artemis/Diana, the goddess of the hunt. (One of the main characters is named "Diana Hunter" and I finally noticed the reference after getting several hundreds pages into the text).
(5) The book plays with the nature of "reality" and the characters struggle to know what is "really" going on.
(6) The book describes a society arguably ruled by a secret conspiracy.
(7) One character in the book is torn apart by a mysterious invisible shark, "as if by the talons of an enormous beast," as Illuminatus! put it.
I am not even remotely suggesting that Gnomon is derived from Illuminatus! or indebted to it, only that a plausible case could be made for literary references, of the sort that might be found in any ambitious novel. What I have cited may well just be synchronicity but I think a RAW fan reading the book will smile.
In any event, Gnomon is the sort of ambitious novel I enjoy.
UPDATE: I Tweeted this post out, and Nick Harkaway replied, "I loved Illuminatus! and yes, there are *some* nods."
He then read this post and wrote, "Fascinated - the first of these is consciously chosen, not from Illuminatus! necessarily, but from an interest in Leary and Reich which was sparked by it. The others are more nebulous to me…. the law of fives? Was that deliberate? I'm not sure."
"So I wrote a book in which, among other things, a mental template contained in a narrative might be a contagion… and I might myself have been influenced by a narrative expressing the mind of another author…
Awesome. :)"
Latest John Higgs news
Dunno who this bloke is, but I'm pleased to picture a John Higgs fan.
"There's a lot of interesting stuff around for fans of Bill Drummond, Jimmy Cauty and the Justified Ancients of Mu Mu at the moment," John Higgs reports in his latest newsletter.
Also, if you follow the link: Ontological Marie Kondo, and update on the new book and a disclaimer that he does not encourage the cult of personality evinced by the new t-shirt, pictured above. Newsletter signup here.
Labels: John Higgs
New article by (probably) RAW
Martin Wagner has Tweeted out an article from the 1969 Chicago Seed which is by "Mad Mordecai," most probably Robert Anton Wilson. It does sound like RAW.
Reminder: Earth Will Shake reading group starts Mo...
Brenton Clutterbuck on a tangled web of Discordian...


How do breweries account for labor & overhead in the production process? We're here to help breweries run better with a combination of best practices and OrchestratedBEER brewery management software.
Tracking quantity of grains and hops that go into each batch isn't the hard part; it's the less tangible items like the amount of electricity you use or the amount of labor that went into creating the batch. After all, the beer didn't just make itself.
The detail at which you track all of the labor is always based on the amount of detail you can get in the actuals because you are estimating the amount of labor that is going into a batch.
For example, you can only estimate cellar vs. packaging if you can track the actual labor being used in those two departments. If you can't differentiate the two you can't split the overhead because you're going to always reconcile your actual labor expense against what you estimated in overhead. If you know the difference in your actual labor of brew house versus packaging, then you can split your overhead in that fashion. If you don't know the difference then you should have just one single line item called "labor".
How is overhead tracked in OBeer?
Overhead line items are located on the bill of materials, which get consumed during production. Overhead line items are always set to a standard cost. In the screenshot below you'll notice we applied 3 hours of labor on a 50 barrel batch of Pale Ale, with a cost of $25/hr.
So, when we produce a batch of our Pale Ale, it's costing us an estimated $75 in labor. You can have as many overhead line items as you want. The example above only breaks out the labor costs but you could have additional line items for utilities or other consumables you don't usually track on a per unit basis.
The production order consumes overhead as a direct cost. When you receive your product into stock, it's going to back flush the overhead and associate an additional $75 in costs with those batches of beer. The cost of the overhead is from the "Standard Cost" and is set on the master data. At the end of the pay period, you can contribute your actual direct labor to the overhead items offset account (i.e. Direct Production Wages Payable) and the balance in the account is your variance. Consider accounting for your labor variances on an interval (annually, quarterly or monthly).


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Ten employers from across the country were recognized on the 2012 Best Places to Work for Recent Grads list, which recognizes organizations from across the country that demonstrate excellence in recruiting, hiring and retaining young professionals.
An outstanding company culture, competitive compensation and benefits package, as well as the opportunity for career growth and diversity at Hormel Foods were key factors in the company achieving this recognition. With its extremely high employee retention rate, Hormel Foods demonstrates its ability to attract and keep top talent. The company was also featured on this list in 2010.
"We are honored to report that 54 percent of current employees had five or more years of service last year, well above the industry standard," said Larry C. Lyons, director of human resources at Hormel Foods. "We value the long tenure of our employees and it is not uncommon for employees to spend their entire career at the company.
Experience Inc. invited employers from across the country to participate in the 2012 Best Places to Work for Recent Grads survey to identify and recognize the best employers for recent college graduates. For information on Experience's Best Places to Work for Recent Grads, please visit http://www.experience.com/entry-level-jobs/2012-best-places-to-work/.
Awards & Recognition 5.9.2012
Hormel Foods on Fortune 500 list Hormel lands on Fortune magazine's annual ranking of America's 500 largest corporations.
Awards & Recognition 4.24.2012
Hormel Foods named to Maplecroft Climate Innovation Indexes Hormel Foods moved up two spots to No. 124 on the Maplecroft Climate Innovation Indexes (CII) Benchmark.
About Hormel Foods
Hormel Foods Corporation, based in Austin, Minn., is a multinational manufacturer and marketer of consumer-branded food and meat products, many of which are among the best known and trusted in the food industry. The company leverages its extensive expertise, innovation and high competencies in pork and turkey processing and marketing to bring branded, value-added products to the global marketplace. The company is a member of the Standard & Poor's 500 Index, Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes, Maplecroft Climate Innovation Indexes, and was named one of "The 100 Best Corporate Citizens" by Corporate Responsibility Magazine for the fourth year in a row in 2012. The company enjoys a strong reputation among consumers, retail grocers, foodservice and industrial customers for products highly regarded for quality, taste, nutrition, convenience and value. For more information, visit https://www.hormelfoods.com.
Filters Global Cuisine Healthy Living/Wellness Meals Meat & Proteins Sauces/Toppings Side Dishes Snacks
California Collections Notice
*Do Not Sell My Info*
© 2020 Hormel Foods Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Breitling released the brand new Navitimer 1 B01 chronograph watches to commemorate the significant aviation companies in 1970s. Based on the 43 mm Breitling Navitimer fake watches, the special edition has been designed with wider hour markers and baton-shaped hands.
The steel case copy Breitling watch Pan Am edition perfectly presents the style in 1970s with the distinctive 30-minute counter adorned with red elements. It adopts the color-matching of blue, red and white. Inspired by the biggest aviation company – Pan American World Airways in 1970s, this timepiece is special.
The other knockoff watch with brown leather strap is created to pay tribute to another American Airlines. Both the two watches have been equipped with the self-manufactured Calibre B01 and the symbols of the American Airlines have been engraved on the back of the case.


An animated version of Cinderella plays behind a series of tweeted phrases whose random sequence entices false connections and narratives.
The animation runs backwards in direct reference to a twitter user who described herself as being the epitome of allerednic syndrome (i.e. Cinderella spelt backwards,) thus feeding into my fascination with the proliferation of selectively edited personal information, manipulated identities and exaggerated experience.


These Adidas Sonic Attack Women's court shoes are the perfect choice for taking on the opposition. Expertly designed to provide outstanding traction, breathability and support, delivering your performance to the next level.
Featuring an Adiwear outsole, enhancing traction and cushioning to give you the edge you need!


The Griffin Ranch is one of the most strategically positioned escapes in Florida, positioned west of the national forest and north of silver springs. Our ranch provides a destination that is essential to experiencing Florida. An area that is a favorite among many enthusiasts for its scenic trails. It is a chosen destination for those who enjoy canoeing and Kayaking. The Ocklawaha River and the Juniper springs run are the two most scenic canoeing and kayaking destinations in the US. You could also enjoy our other activates like hiking in the forest, biking along a scenic highway, scuba diving in the local springs such as Devils Den or Blue Grotto Springs, Horseback riding along the 100 mile trail or just exploring many of the wildlife areas around the ranch. A new 4-wheeler park opened minutes east of the ranch on 316 offering the off-road beauty of the area. You may also choose to take a day trip to a local spring for a cool dip or maybe a trip to the historical town of St. Augustine and the local beaches located within an hour drive.
We are located on the edge of the Ocala National Forest, ½ miles east of the intersection of Highway 315 and 316, Northeast of Ocala, Florida in thelittle historic town of Fort McCoy. Heading east from that intersection at the first curvein the road we are on the right . Select from any of the mapping options on the left for maps to The Griffin Ranch. Hope to see you soon we always leave the lights on.


First Degree on International Relations from ITESM, México. Master on Environment, Development and Policy from the University of Sussex, United Kingdom. She participated on the Post-Graduate Course on Building Resilience to Climate Change at the United Nations University in Japan. Has worked for International Organizations and for the Mexican Government. Has also worked for the Gulf of Mexico Large Marine Ecosystem Project (GoM-LME) administrated by United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) with funds from the Global Environment Facility (GEF). Through her past positions, Carolina has developed experience in the implementation of the large marine ecosystem methodology, in environmental education, sustainable development and stakeholders involvement strategies to strengthen regional/local coastal development.


text:
Q: jsPlumb source connector does not move when source container is dragged

    var conn = "";
    var instance = "";

    $(function(){
        create_line("b");

        $('#b').click(function(){
            create_line("b");
        });

        $('#c').click(function(){
            create_line("c");
        });
    });

    function create_line(el){
        jsPlumb.ready(function() {

            if(conn!=""){
                jsPlumb.detach(conn);
            }

            instance = jsPlumb.getInstance({
                Anchors : [ "Center", "Center" ],
                DragOptions : { cursor: 'pointer', zIndex:2000 },
                EndpointStyles : [{ fillStyle:"red", outlineColor:"white", outlineWidth:10 }, { fillStyle:"red", outlineColor:"white", outlineWidth:10 }],
                Endpoints : [ ["Dot", { radius:5 } ], [ "Dot", { radius:5 } ] ],
                PaintStyle : {
                    strokeStyle:"red",
                    lineWidth:3
                }
            });

            var a = jsPlumb.getSelector("#a");

            instance.draggable(a);

            conn = instance.connect({
                source:a,
                target:el,
                connector:[ "Straight" ]
            });

        });
    }

http://jsfiddle.net/wwc7G/5/
when windows load the line connector between #a and #b move, but when i click on #c the line connector between #a and #c does not move.
Please help and sorry for my english.

A: Removing parent from the makeSource call worked for me.
http://jsfiddle.net/wwc7G/27/
jsPlumb.ready(function() {

  jsPlumb.Defaults.Container=$("#container");
  jsPlumb.Defaults.PaintStyle = { strokeStyle:"#F09E30", lineWidth:2, dashstyle: '3 3', };
  jsPlumb.Defaults.EndpointStyle = { radius:7, fillStyle:"#F09E30" };
  jsPlumb.importDefaults({Connector : [ "Bezier", { curviness:50 } ]});

  var i = 1;

  $('#addproject').click(function(e) {
    var newAgent = $('
').attr('id', 'project' + i).addClass('project');
    newAgent.text('Project ' + i);

    $('#container').append(newAgent);

    jsPlumb.draggable(newAgent, {
      containment: 'parent'
    });

    i++;
  });

  $("#container").on('click','.project',function(e) {
    var newState = $('
').attr('id', 'state' + i).addClass('task');

    var title = $('
').addClass('title').text('Task ' + i);
    var connect = $('
').addClass('connect').text('click here to drag a bond');

    newState.css({
      'top': e.pageY,
      'left': e.pageX
    });

    newState.append(title);
    newState.append(connect);

    $(this).append(newState);

    jsPlumb.makeTarget(newState, {
      anchor: 'Continuous'
    });

    jsPlumb.makeSource(connect, {
      anchor: 'Continuous'
    });

    newState.dblclick(function(e) {
      jsPlumb.detachAllConnections($(this));
      $(this).remove();
      e.stopPropagation();
    });

    i++;
  });
});

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Community Organizing, Inequality
Two Years Since "Occupy Wall Street"
Rick Cohen
Almost two years ago, a couple of months after the Occupy Wall Street movement started, a Slovenian philosopher and cultural critic, Slavoj Žižek, addressed the occupants of Zuccotti Park. "Don't fall in love with yourselves. We have a nice time here. But remember, carnivals come cheap," he said. "What matters is the day after, when we will have to return to normal lives. Will there be any changes then?…There are truly difficult questions that confront us. We know what we do not want. But what do we want?"
Presciently, Žižek, unknown to most audiences, summarized the potential and the problem of the Occupy Wall Street movement. In September of 2011, a protest started in lower Manhattan asserting that that 99 percent was taking it on the chin from the nation's top 1 percent. Without much, or sometimes anything, in the way of specifics regarding what the protesters were demanding, the assortment of protesters took over Zuccotti Park in Lower Manhattan as "Occupy Wall Street," and within mere political moments was replicated by similar encampments in cities all over the nation and throughout the world. Although right-wing critics imagined that the Occupy protesters were being pulled and pushed by offstage puppeteers named Soros and Obama, nothing of the sort really happened. It was spontaneous and chaotic—ruled by uproarious democratic assemblies, with Occupy tents and drum circles coexisting with suburban commuters on their way to downtown office jobs, only to fade away eventually under the pressure of municipal authorities tiring of months'-long encampments in public spaces and the gradual anomie of the Occupiers themselves.
This month, there were commemorations of Occupy in New York City and in a variety of other cities around the nation. New York City's was a little desultory; not a big turnout, but like the large numbers of protesters who showed up two years ago, the meaning of Occupy isn't in the numbers. After two years, there is something to be said about what Occupy accomplished and where the movement, if it still exists, might go—and what activists might learn from the process.
"It changed the whole debate": Interviewed at the commemoration, journalist Chris Hedges, describing Occupy as a "seminal moment in modern American history," put his finger on an important accomplishment of the protests. Two years afterward, the excesses of the top 1 percent are an issue of concern throughout U.S. society and the world. Occupy didn't invent the "1 percent vs. 99 percent" issue; it was brought into public debate in a major way several months before Zuccotti Park by Nobel Prize–winning economist Joseph Stiglitz, but the Occupy movement translated the concept into an on-the-ground framework for societal grievances. As a result, politicians, such as New York's governor Andrew Cuomo, who had been prepared to lighten up on taxes for the top 1 percent, backtracked in part because Occupy helped provide a lens for organizing and protest.
"We're still here, still fighting, still strong," pronounced one Sumumba Sobukwe at the two-year commemoration, but it may be less a matter of protesters keeping up the "fight" than the message they articulated still possessing resonance with politicians, who may think twice on some occasions when they would otherwise, like Governor Cuomo, have simply given benefits to an income class that didn't need them.
It fell short of making progress: In New York and elsewhere, there was resistance from the encamped protesters against turning the framework into a more concrete set of policy demands aimed at Wall Street or, more broadly, at corporate America. If they could have translated their energies into a coherent agenda, the Occupiers might have been able to rally non-Occupy support for actions that might have articulated, symbolically and concretely, what ought to be done to rein in Wall Street. For example, it was a perfect time for organizing around a financial transactions tax—the so-called "Robin Hood tax"—that a broad range of experts, including Jeffrey Sachs, Bill Gates, Sen. Tom Harkin, retired Vanguard CEO John Bogle, Paul Volcker, Paul Krugman, and Stiglitz supported, but then–Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner, speaking on behalf of the Obama administration, inexplicably opposed in the U.S. and internationally. It might have been able to put some energy behind bringing some of the Wall Street crooks responsible for the 2007-2008 collapse of the economy to justice, something that the Obama administration through Attorney General Eric Holder has resisted. It might have taken advantage of Harvard University law professor Lawrence Lessig's offer to OWS to galvanize around campaign finance reform aimed at reducing or eliminating the power of the 1 percent to dominate the 99 percent. None of that happened, because there was an odd commitment of the Occupiers to not galvanize around an agenda.
It was a little taken with form over substance: Or, in Žižek's thinking, the Occupiers fell in love with themselves, the romance of being protesters taking on the state. But a movement thinks outward, not inward. In speaking about the 99 percent, many Occupiers failed to see how out of touch they were with people who comprised the 99 percent. Whether it was Zuccotti Park in New York City or McPherson Square in Washington, D.C., the prolonged encampments deprived not Wall Street executives, but everyday working people of public spaces. The incessant drumming hardly penetrated the enclosures of the 1 percent, but discomfited the working people who were neighbors of the encampments. It's not clear whether Hedges is right that the New York City police were dropping off people released from Rikers Island at Zuccotti Park to further mess up things, but he is right that a lot of the energy of the activists on site was spent on dealing with problems of people using drugs and committing crimes, including sexual abuse, rather than organizing. Assembling and protesting is a right to be protected, but occupying and depriving ordinary Americans in the 99 percent of clean and safe access to public spaces is a bad tactic.
Little Occupy outgrowths with positive impacts: Too many of the Occupy denizens who camped out until finally cleared out were romantics who envisioned themselves as modern-day Peter Kropotkins and Emma Goldmans. They weren't much like them, but there were people in the Occupy movement who did want to do accomplish something positive and constructive. People motivated by their experience in the Occupy movement have turned out in local areas to be effective local organizers against housing foreclosures, for alternative banking, and, embarrassingly to some mainstream nonprofits, organizing around disaster relief, particularly concerning the response to the residents of Far Rockaway in Queens in the wake of Superstorm Sandy.
The Occupy Wall Street dynamics were such that every decision required near-consensus and anyone, regardless of their connection to the Occupiers, could be legitimized as speakers and decision makers. The OWS "assemblies" were virtually designed not to work. But the experiences of some who came together under the banner of Occupy Wall Street had them come away with a perception of the possibilities of organized action.
The challenges remain. As noted in Investment News, the divide between the top 1 percent and the rest of us is the greatest it has been since 1927—the top 1 percent taking in 19.3 percent of household income in 2012, compared to 18.7 percent in 1927. Occupy might have mucked up that analysis somewhat by suggesting that the income disparities among the remaining 99 percent weren't all that consequential, when they truly are huge. As President Obama's suggested tax reforms have implied, it's not just the 1 percent, but a larger swath of the top of the economic pyramid that should be paying more into the national fisc to help those at the bottom. The nation's actual poverty rate hasn't budged in years, still capturing 15 percent of the population; real unemployment remains extraordinarily high in light of the shrinking labor force and the increasing dominance of low-wage, part-time jobs; and somehow the minimum wage remains stuck at a level below anyone's concept of a living wage. Those aren't just issues around the top 1 percent, but concerns for the population left behind by much of America.
Moreover, any set of pictures of Occupiers will also show that it was a largely white movement that bypassed issues of race, despite the attempts of some of the protesters to link their activities to the traditions of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X. Despite strained efforts to present an image to the contrary, the movement never truly connected with the black population of the U.S., which suffers from poverty and unemployment at much higher rates than whites.
While there was a revolutionary, anarchist "carnival" feeling to some of the Occupy protests, Occupy Wall Street did galvanize the vocabulary of social and economic inequality in the U.S. During the 2012 presidential campaign, even President Obama referenced Occupy by name and addressed the concerns that the protesters were raising, even while he took campaign contributions from Wall Street and failed to take action against Wall Street crooks. Occupy did lead to local efforts such as Occupy Our Homes that have provided another voice in some communities against bank foreclosures. And maybe there is something that can be recovered from the Occupy movement. As CNN noted, a group has formed to organize support for the Financial Transactions Tax. The "Robin Hood Tax" group meets regularly—in Zuccotti Park.
Rick joined NPQ in 2006, after almost eight years as the executive director of the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy (NCRP). Before that he played various roles as a community worker and advisor to others doing community work. He also worked in government. Cohen pursued investigative and analytical articles, advocated for increased philanthropic giving and access for disenfranchised constituencies, and promoted increased philanthropic and nonprofit accountability.
Chicago Churches Erase Medical Debt for Their Communities
The Accountability Collision Course: An Interview with Tom Kochan
By Nonprofit Quarterly
RIP Medical Debt: Churches Shine a Light on America's Mounting Medical Debt
British Alarmed They're Approaching US Levels of Inequality
Nonprofits: The DNA of Democracy
By Cynthia M. Gibson
The Exciting Embrace of Risk and Leadership: Thoughts for Today's Activists
By Margaret J. Wheatley
A Veterans Day Call for Cleaning Out Scamming Faux Veterans...
By Rick Cohen
A City in Remission: Can the "Grand Bargain" Revive...
The State of Local Anti-Panhandling Ordinances


text:
In The Press: Authority Magazine "5 Things You Need To Lead A Successful Fashion Brand" Reading What We're Reading About: Kelly Slater's New House 2 minutes Next What We're Watching: The 2022 Dog Surfing World Championship
By Clay Phillips Aug 1, 2022 0 comments
What We're Reading About: Kelly Slater's New House
The legend is at it again, this time he's moving off the surf ranch and into a North Shore Mansion. Rumor has it that Slater purchased this Oahu beachfront shack for $7.8 million. Cruise the link below to see the full story and Have A Day!
Kelly Slater Just Bought This Hawaii Home for $7.8 Million | Architectural Digest
Kelly Slater recently purchased a beachfront home on the north shore of Oahu for $7.8 million, according to Trulia. The pro surfer beat out ten other offers on the home. Slater is familiar with the area: It's the same place where his family would vacation when he was a child. The seven-bedroom, seven-and-a-half-bathroom compound is infused with Asian and Hawiian design elements, made especially apparent by the serene boardwalk over an outdoor pond with a Buddha statue sitting in the midst of tropical plant life. The 8,009-square-foot main residence is situated along 101 feet of private beach, with two additional guesthouses on the property that all open up to the pool, wide lawn, and private gardens. Views of the grounds and beyond can be enjoyed from multiple balconies and covered patios.
The high-ceilinged living room opens directly into the courtyard, giving a natural flow between indoors and outdoors. Carved wood elements enhance the grand staircase surrounding the living room and dress up the walls of the dining room. The kitchen has natural wood cabinetry with a long, curved island offering additional counter space. Multicolored hardwood flooring adds dimension to the master bedroom, which has a seating nook and private balcony offering views of the ocean. Throughout the home, finished wood and dark beams decorate the ceilings in many of the rooms, giving the space a cohesive feel.
What We're Watching: The 2022 Dog Surfing World Championship
In The Press: Authority Magazine "5 Things You Need To Lead A Successful Fashion Brand"


Here To Find Best Quality Phenolic Lockers From Brikley!
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Phenolic Lockers are commonly called for in ventures including amphibian focuses and diversion focuses – areas where tough utilize and elevated amounts of dampness are expected. Hollman makes this a stride further, presenting Phenolic Lockers that are as alluring as they are solid.
The individuals who have fused phenolic items in their tasks comprehend the advantages of phenolic, however for the individuals who haven't, here is the thing that each planner, creator, and building proprietor should know.
The lifecycle of strong phenolic items far surpasses that of comparative building materials. Solid core phenolic lockers boards commonly have a lifecycle of over 20 years. The overwhelming obligation surfaces of phenolic result in practically zero support. The smooth, glue free surface does not require extraordinary consideration or brutal chemicals while cleaning, bringing about less upkeep time.
A 15-year strength ponder directed by Spec-Rite Designs bolsters the more extended lifecycle guarantee. The investigation examined the establishments of thousands of undertakings throughout 15 years, which included in excess of 1 million manufactured phenolic parts. So choose high quality HPL Lockers is a right thing. Aftereffects of the investigation discovered not exactly a .0004 percent disappointment rate, demonstrating that strong phenolic boards will never twist or delaminate on the grounds that they are water, effect, scratch, and spray painting safe.
The American Society for Testing and Material (ASTM) led a progression of tests that contrasted phenolic with metal, plastic, cover, hardwoods, and stainless steel. Strong phenolic outperformed about each contending material in the ASTM tests, which tried effect, scratch, spray painting protection, and smoke and fire spread. You know HPL Lockers Sales are very huge every year.
Phenolic Resin Lockers For Sale. Affordable HPL Lockers Outlet. Brikley Locker is high quality.


Manama, Feb. 14 (BNA): Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA)'s Undersecretary for International Affairs Shaikh Abdullah bin Ahmed Al Khalifa has chaired the preparatory meeting of the Ioint Working Group between the Kingdom of Bahrain and the United Kingdom to discuss the issues that will be presented during the next Ministerial Meeting of the Joint Working Group.
The 11th ministerial meeting will be held in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Bahrain on February 20, 2019, under the chairmanship of Foreign Affairs Minister Shaikh Khalid bin Ahmed bin Mohammed Al Khalifa, and from the British side Minister of State for the Middle East at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Alistair Burt.
The preparatory meeting discussed the issues of mutual interest, which are to be discussed, particularly: bilateral issues and means of enhancing them between the two countries, especially in the economic, investment and reform fields, and enhancing relations in the education, science, innovation and scientific research sectors, in addition to energy and transportation, environment and water treatment. The meeting also reviewed regional issues and regional developments, as well as cooperation in combating extremism and terrorism.
Dr. Shaikh Abdullah stressed the importance of strengthening the strong relations of friendship and the close historic alliance between the Kingdom of Bahrain and the United Kingdom. He expressed his appreciation and satisfaction for the mutual desire to open new horizons for bilateral cooperation, thus enhancing the growing partnership between the two countries. Noting the responsible and active role of the United Kingdom in the stability of the Arabian Gulf region, as well as positive cooperation in fighting terrorism in all its forms and manifestations.
MoFA Undersecretary for International Affairs highlighted the promising economic and investment opportunities between the two Kingdoms, adding that the Bahrain Economic Vision 2030 has translated its objectives to divers sources of income and attract specific investments under the infrastructure and organizational technology and financial services based on Bahrain's advanced position as a regional hub for logistics and entrepreneurship.
Dr. Shaikh Abdullah said that the comprehensive reforms and achievements of the Kingdom of Bahrain in various fields came as a result of the reform approach of His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, and representing a regional model for reform, sustainable development, and human rights in a broad sense.
The meeting of the Joint Working Group between the two friendly countries is held twice a year according to an agreement signed in November 2012. It discusses developments and means of strengthening bilateral cooperation in various fields.


Adriana was born into an operatic family - her father Guido, an immigrant from Italy, taught music in New York City, her mother Maria (from Naples) sang at the Royal Opera, and a sister Louise was a noted opera singer and voice teacher. She was 18 when Walt Disney personally chose her for the voice of Snow White in his first full-length animated feature Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937). He was looking for a fresh and natural voice, and asked her father if any of his students might be suitable, but on hearing Adriana's voice realized his search was over. It was the days of studio contracts and indenture, and Walt wanted to keep the mystery of the Snow White voice, so except for a bit part in The Wizard of Oz (1939) she was in no other film - when Jack Benny wished to have her appear on his radio show, Walt refused - he owned the voice and it could be used nowhere else. Adriana tried opera singing, and invested in real estate and stock market, while living a full life (four husbands, thrice widowed), always active in the publicity surrounding the many re-releases of Snow White.


Description: A Wiseman Engineering & Land is a business categorized under surveying services, which is part of the larger category surveying services. A Wiseman Engineering & Land is located at the address 6184 Rineyville Road in Rineyville, Kentucky 40162-9770. The Owner is John Wiseman who can be contacted at (270)763-0013.
Location & access map for "A Wiseman Engineering & Land"


The arrival of the Balmain x H&M line at the retailer's Manhattan locations has left an impressive void on the racks where the collaborative designs once hung.
Earlier this year, Balmain creative director Olivier Rousteing announced that the brand would team up with H&M to release a cheap-chic collection of the designer fashions that models and celebrities have long enjoyed (think Kardashians) at stratospheric prices.
After months of waiting, fashion-crazed New Yorkers finally got their hands on some of the luxurious threads on Thursday. They flooded H&M stores, and told shopping battle stories on social media with the #HMBalmaination hashtag. Pieces of the collection quickly found their way to eBay, selling for hundreds of dollars over their market prices.
We've reviewed the trending tags and biddable merchandise to demonstrate just how much of a fashion frenzy the line has caused.
Successful shoppers toted around their fashionable finds in sleek black and gold bags, like the one pictured below.
Even the bags were high fashion!
Fashionistas flooded H&M's website before the sale of the exclusive line began, causing it to crash.
When the site did come back online, however, retail therapy seemed futile.
These leather sandals by Balmain are retailing on the Web at $585. They were originally $200.
A little further out of a reasonable price range, this embellished top is selling for close to $5,000.
The priciest tag we found was on this black and gold number, which is selling for a whopping $15,000. It was originally priced at $600.


text:
Q: Cannot change default python version in Windows 10 I would like to modify the default version of Python that is used, system wide.
I thought that the way to do this was to change the ordering of my path variables. It does
not make a difference though:
Starting with my path, I have python 3 at the top, along with scripts as second (to allow
for pip, virtualenv etc to be on the path).
Using command prompt, and typing python, I get what is expected:

Python 3.6.2 (v3.6.2:5fd33b5, Jul ..... etc

However, when I change the order of my path variables, moving python 2 to the top:

I still get python 3 when I type python.
I can confirm that the ordering of my path has not changed, using the following cmd:

echo %path%

with this as the results:

Note,
i.) I am not looking for tips for different python versions, using Docker, pipenv, virtualenv, conda, etc. I am trying to make sure I have control over which version of python is used, system-wide/ and or I am confused as to why the modification of the ordering of path variables does not change the ordering of the path variables.
ii.) Cmds: python3 and python2 do work. This question came out of a problem with python but it is about the path ordering not being modifiable.
iii.) I have restarted the computer each time, and it makes no difference.
 Thank-you


text:
For other ship classes of the same name see Nasty-type patrol boat

The German Nasty class, also known as the Hugin class, were a set of two fast patrol boats built for the post-war German Navy to a Norwegian design and purchased in the 1960s for evaluation purposes.
In 1964 they were transferred to Turkey.

Service history
Following the end of World War II and during German re-armament in the Cold War era, the German Navy (Bundesmarine) had built a number of fast attack craft classes, mostly developments of the war-time Schnellboot design.
However, in the 1960s the German Navy was interested in the possibilities of a different hull shape, for use in narrow coastal waters. To this end they ordered two vessels from the Norwegian company Båtservice Verft, of Mandal, which had already designed a hard-chined planing hull for its prototype fast patrol boat, the Nasty.
The two boats were built in 1960, and commissioned under the names Hugin and Munin, after the ravens of Norse mythology. They were designated the Nasty-Klasse and SchnellbootTyp 152.

The two vessels remained in service for four years, but the design/experiment was not a success, and the Bundesmarine disposed of the boats by transferring them to the Turkish Navy in 1964.

List of vessels

Notes

References
 Gardiner, Robert; Chumbley, Stephen Conway's All The World's Fighting Ships 1947–1995 (1995) Naval Institute Press, Annapolis

Torpedo boats of the German Navy
Napier Deltic
Ships built in Mandal, Norway
Patrol boat classes

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
Researchers show stealing an AI is rediculously easy
By Matthew Griffin Security and Privacy 13th October 2020
AI is the electricity that powers the world's digital fabric, and stealing another companies AI is easier than you might think.
Love the Exponential Future? Join our XPotential Community, enjoy exclusive content, future proof yourself with XPotential University, connect, watch a keynote, or browse my blog.
In the field of computer science known as machine learning, engineers often refer to the Artificial Intelligences (AI) they create as "Black box" systems – once a machine learning engine has been trained from a collection of example data to perform anything from facial recognition to malware detection, it can take in queries such as "Whose face is that?" "Is this app safe?" and so on, and spit out answers without anyone, not even its creators, fully understanding the mechanics of the decision making inside that box.
UK and Singapore set 2021 deadline to launch world's first quantum communications cubesat
But researchers are increasingly proving that even when the inner workings of those machine learning engines are inscrutable, they aren't exactly secret, which is why, for example, IBM recently showed off a new technique that lets you watermark your AI to protect it from being stolen or being sabotaged.
In fact, they've found that the guts of those black boxes can be reverse-engineered and even fully reproduced – stolen, as one group of researchers puts it – with the very same methods used to create them.
In a paper titled "Stealing Machine Learning Models via Prediction APIs," a team of computer scientists at Cornell Tech, the Swiss institute EPFL in Lausanne, and the University of North Carolina detail how they were able to reverse engineer machine learning-trained AIs based only on sending them queries and analysing the responses. By training their own AI with the target AI's output, they found they could produce software that was able to predict with near-100 percent accuracy the responses of the AI they'd cloned, sometimes after a few thousand or even just hundreds of queries.
MIT's new secure, low power chip helps create the "Internet of Secure Things"
"You're taking this black box and through this very narrow interface, you can reconstruct its internals, reverse engineering the box," says Ari Juels, a Cornell Tech professor who worked on the project. "In some cases, you can actually do a perfect re-construction."
The trick, they point out, could be used against services offered by companies like Amazon, Google, Microsoft, and BigML that allow users to upload data into machine learning engines and publish or share the resulting model online, in some cases with a pay-by-the-query business model. The researchers' method, which they call an extraction attack, could duplicate AI engines meant to be proprietary, or in some cases even recreate the sensitive private data an AI has been trained with.
"Once you've recovered the model for yourself, you don't have to pay for it, and you can also get serious privacy breaches," says Florian Tramer, the EPFL researcher who worked on the AI-stealing project before taking a position at Stanford.
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In other cases, the technique might allow hackers to reverse engineer and then defeat machine learning based cyber security systems, as I've discussed before, meant to filter spam and malware, Tramer adds.
"After a few hours' work…you'd end up with an extracted model you could then evade if it were used on a production system."
The researchers' technique works by essentially using machine learning itself to reverse engineer machine learning software. To take a simple example, a machine learning trained spam filter might put out a simple spam or not-spam judgment of a given email, along with a "confidence value" that reveals how likely it is to be correct in its decision.
That answer can be interpreted as a point on either side of a boundary that represents the AI's decision threshold, and the confidence value shows its distance from that boundary. Repeatedly trying test emails against that filter reveals the precise line that defines that boundary. The technique can be scaled up to far more complex, multidimensional models that give precise answers rather than mere yes-or-no responses – the trick even works when the target machine learning engine doesn't provide those confidence values, the researchers say, but requires tens or hundreds of times more queries.
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The researchers tested their attack against two services – Amazon's machine learning platform and the online machine learning service BigML. They tried reverse engineering AI models built on those platforms from a series of common data sets. On Amazon's platform, for instance, they tried "stealing" an algorithm that predicts a person's salary based on demographic factors like their employment, marital status, and credit score, and another that tries to recognize one-through-ten numbers based on images of handwritten digits. In the demographics case they found that they could reproduce the model without any discernible difference after 1,485 queries and just 650 queries in the digit-recognition case.
On the BigML service, they tried their extraction technique on one algorithm that predicts German citizens' credit scores based on their demographics and on another that predicts how people like their steak cooked – rare, medium, or well done – based on their answers to other lifestyle questions. Replicating the credit score engine took just 1,150 queries, and copying the steak preference predictor took just over 4,000.
Not every machine learning algorithm is so easily reconstructed though, says Nicholas Papernot, a researcher at Penn State University who worked on another machine learning reverse engineering project earlier this year. The examples in the latest AI-stealing paper reconstruct relatively simple machine learning engines. More complex ones might take far more computation to attack, he says, especially if machine learning interfaces learn to hide their confidence values.
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"If machine learning platforms decide to use larger models or hide the confidence values, then it becomes much harder for the attacker," Papernot says. "But this paper is interesting because they show that the current models of machine learning services are shallow enough that they can be extracted."
In a statement, BigML's vice president of predictive applications Atakan Cetinsoy downplayed the research, writing that "it does not expose or represent any security or privacy threat to BigML's platform at all." He argued that while BigML does allow users to share black-box AI engines on a pay-per-query basis, none of the service's users are currently charging for their shared AI engines. He also echoed Papernot's point that many of the machine learning models hosted on BigML would be too complex to reverse engineer, and pointed out that any theft of the service's models would also be illegal.
Amazon meanwhile apparently declined to comment on the researchers' work, but when the researchers contacted the companies, they say Amazon responded that the risk of their AI-stealing attacks was reduced by the fact that Amazon doesn't make its machine learning engines public, instead only allowing users to share access among collaborators. In other words, the company warned, take care who you share your AI with.
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Aside from merely stealing AI, the researchers warn that their attack also makes it easier to reconstruct the often-sensitive data it's trained on. They point to another paper that showed it's possible to reverse engineer a facial recognition AI that responds to images with guesses of the person's name.
That method would send the target AI repeated test pictures, tweaking the images until they homed in on the pictures that machine learning engine was trained on and reproduced the actual face images without the researchers' computer having ever actually seen them. By first performing their AI-stealing attack before running the face-reconstruction technique, they showed they could actually reassemble the face images far faster on their own stolen copy of the AI running on a computer they controlled, reconstructing 40 distinct faces in just 10 hours, compared to 16 hours when they performed the facial reconstruction on the original AI engine.
The notion of reverse engineering machine learning engines, in fact, has been advancing in the AI research community for months. In February another group of researchers showed they could reproduce a machine learning system with about 80 percent accuracy compared with the near-100 percent success of the Cornell and EPLF researchers. Even then, they found that by testing inputs on their reconstructed model, they could often learn how to trick the original. When they applied that technique to AI engines designed to recognize numbers or street signs, for instance, they found they could cause the engine to make incorrect judgments in between 84 percent and 96 percent of cases.
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The latest research into reconstructing machine learning engines could make that deception even easier. And if that machine learning is applied to security- or safety-critical tasks like self-driving cars or filtering malware, the ability to steal and analyse them could have troubling implications. Black box or not, it may be wise to consider keeping your AI out of sight.
AmazonArtificial IntelligenceBigMLCornell UniversityEPFLGoogleMachine LearningMicrosoftPennsylvania State UniversityReverse EngineeringUniversity of North CarolinaUSA
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text:
We Bring the Joy Back to Industrial 3D With instant3Dhub we create totally new possibilities for our customers to exploit the real value of their 3D data for various application scenarios.
Threedy GmbH
Building on 25 years of research at Fraunhofer IGD, Threedy's visual computing pioneers are leading the development of our platform technology instant3Dhub in Darmstadt, Germany.
We understand the complexity and the challenges arising, when bringing industrial 3D data to modern software infrastructures and mixed reality environments. We know there is no one size fits all solution.
Our goal is to ease the utilization of industrial 3D data for everyone. Our customers are relying on our technology to gain the most value out of their 3D data.
For this reason we build a highly flexible visual computing service platform, powered by state of the art algorithms and best in class research, capable to adapt to the various application scenarios. instant3Dhub facilitates the flexibility to easily access and interact with industrial 3D data on any device instantly and build applications fulfilling different needs. There is no easier way to go from proof of concept to production with a consistent technological basis.
In modern IT and software landscapes, industrial 3D data and applications are often considered foreign bodies requiring special treatment.
This results from the enormous interdependency and complexity of data size, algorithms and device capabilities.
Our goal is to simplify the usage of industrial 3D data, to leverage its true value and make it accessible to everyone and everywhere.
We create totally new possibilities for our customers to exploit the real value of their 3D data.
By connecting 3D data sources and applications in a fully automated way, we make it accessible to everyone and anywhere.
Our end-to-end solution enables complex and scalable visual computing tasks for almost any application scenario, platform and device.
Threedy 's team was formed in the course of almost ten years while bringing instant3Dhub to live at Fraunhofer IGD in Darmstadt.
The long path to transfrom research results into a product has forged our strong team in a special way.
We are constantly challenging ourselves over and over to achieve the best possible result.
Threedy's management relies on a growing team of more than a dozen engineers with expert knowledge in various areas.
We believe partnerships to be most critical to succeed in our highly connected world.
We are proud to work with experts from various fields to build the technology of the future.
Bernt Klein
Bernt C. Klein is the Founder and CEO at Extigon LLC. who cooperates with early stage innovators whose core business DNA is revolutionizing industries through digitalization. Mr. Klein has nearly three decades of international IOT experience across several industry sectors such as Energy, IT, Healthcare, Telco and Automotive. He has held several senior executive positions at Siemens, Bosch, and Deutsche Telekom in Mexico, Germany, Denmark and the USA and served on the Board of Directors of Bosch Siemens Household Appliances (BSH) in the USA and Siemens Kameda Information Technology in Japan.
Elisabeth Schrey
Elisabeth Schrey is an investment manager at btov Industrial Technologies Fund. She joined btov in January 2020 and previously gained experience in venture capital for 2 years at S-UBG AG. After studying Industrial Engineering at RWTH Aachen she spent several years in research and consulting, analyzing product innovation and implementing a PLM system at a startup.
Gregor Haidl
Gregor studied mechanical engineering at the TU Munich and is a Manage & More graduate of UnternehmerTUM. After several stays in China, among others at BMW Brilliance Automotive, and one year of start-up experience, he is now investment manager in the Industrial Tech Team of High-Tech Gründerfonds. With his focus on product-market fit and industrial software solutions, he is looking forward to working with the Threedy team.
Holger Heinen
Holger studied geodesy at the University of Bonn. Already during his studies he founded his first company, which offered a software that managed all data with local reference of industrial plants in a database. After the technology was sold he joined the High-Tech Gründerfonds and was responsible for 25 early-stage investments in technology companies. Since 2017 he is a member / chairman of the advisory board of currently eight VC-backed companies. In addition, he is a member of the investment committee of a Dutch/Turkish VC and a venture partner of a German family office.
Marc Melviez
Mr. Melviez founded or co-founded several companies, amongst which Pillar, the first distributed PC/Mac-based financial planning software for corporations and Frango, an innovative financial consolidation software. In 2003, he joined the Leuven-based Luciad, a small startup that had developed 3D visualization software for the aerospatial industry and was entering the scaleup phase. Mr. Melviez later became the CEO of Luciad and after merging Luciad into Hexagon, he became Chief Strategic Officer of Hexagon's Geospatial Division. He is a member of the W.IN.G investment committee, a Venture Partner at SPDG, a Belgian Family Office and holds Director's mandates in Biotech companies.
Markus Weitzel
Markus joined Fraunhofer Venture in 2013 as an investment manager. In 2006 he co-founded baimos technologies GmbH (currently BlueID GmbH), developing a mobile key technology for smartphones. His responsibilities as managing director included finance, controlling, marketing and sales. He studied technology- & management-oriented business administration (TUM-BWL) at the TU Munich and was one of the first Manage&More graduates of UnternehmerTUM.
Matthias Unbescheiden
Matthias Unbescheiden studied computer science, obtained an Executive MBA for technology managers from the Rheinisch-Westfälische Technische Hochschule Aachen (RWTH) and holds a doctorate at the Technical University in Darmstadt. He had been a research assistant at the Fraunhofer Institute for Computer Graphics Research IGD in Darmstadt since 1995, headed the virtual reality group of the visualization and virtual reality department from 1998 to 2000 and has subsequently been responsible for strategy and coordination of IGD activities. He became deputy director of the Fraunhofer Institute for Computer Graphics Research IGD in 2005 and has been since.
Robert Gallenberger
Robert Gallenberger is one of the partners responsible for the btov Industrial Technologies Fund at btov Partners. He holds board positions at the portfolio companies Dyemansion, Cybus, Headmade Materials and Threedy. Prior to btov he spent 6 years in Venture and Growth Capital at Belgium investment firm Gimv where he was responsible for several investments across Europe. Before that he worked for the Boston Consulting Group in London, gathered first VC experience at DFJ Esprit and 3i and started his career at the BMW Group in Munich.
btov
btov (#brainstoventures) has been backing outstanding European Startups in non-obvious Digital and Industrial Technologies since 2000. Their unfair advantage is the unique combination of dedicated Fund-Investment Teams and Europe ́s strongest network of Entrepreneurial Private Investors.
HTGF
The seed investor High-Tech Gründerfonds (HTGF) finances technology start-ups with growth potential. With a volume of approximately 900 million euros distributed over three funds and an international partner network, the HTGF has supported almost 600 start-ups from the digital tech, industrial tech, life sciences and chemical sectors since 2005.
Fraunhofer Venture
Fraunhofer Venture is the central department for spin-offs and investment management of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft and offers founders, start-ups, Fraunhofer Institutes, industry, and investors access to the cutting-edge technologies of the 74 Fraunhofer Institutes, the Fraunhofer infrastructure and Fraunhofer know-how with over 7,000 patent families. The range of services includes complete support and consulting from the idea to the founding of a company, active participation management of Fraunhofer participations, support with finding investors up to a possible sale of the company and is flanked by the AHEAD company builder as well as other offerings.


Kevin G. Armstrong is an author, speaker, business advisor, disruptor and authority in implementing simple, proven management solutions – but simple doesn't mean easy.
In his diverse and accomplished career, he has taught at the high school and college levels, owned and sold small businesses, been an investment firm top seller, and worked in management as a VP at the corporate level, overseeing agencies throughout North America. Kevin has decades of experience helping business owners—from "mom and pops" to Fortune 500s—get more out of their business. Kevin currently leads a group of advisors at the Interdependent Training Group (ITG) which advises business leaders on creating clear vision and implementing strategies to hold their management teams accountable for delivering on their vision.
For the past 20+ years of his career, Kevin has studied the important differences between the roles of 'leader' and 'manager' in business. His speaking engagements expand on this concept in an interactive, thought-provoking manner which disrupts current thinking and leaves audiences with a new understanding of how leaders can be leveraged through exceptional management to achieve business and personal success.
Being a TAB Contract Facilitator is an extension of what Paul has had passion for throughout his career: helping people realize their personal full potential, and helping their businesses do the same. What he brings to the table is unique: An entrepreneurial, business owner, sales, construction, and engineering viewpoint on what it takes to get your business to the next level.
Paul's recent experience includes being one of the original founders of SHARC Energy Systems – which went public in 2016, and is currently traded on the Canadian Securities Exchange. He provided his sales and technical expertise to the operation in its early beginnings, and is helping the firm achieve its future aspirations.
Prior to that, Paul started HVAC Systems and Solutions Ltd. in 1999 in the basement of his house and grew it to $15M in sales and 23 employees before selling it in 2015. He also had a 13 year Sales Engineering career with The Trane Company in Halifax, Sudbury and Vancouver before starting his own HVAC rep firm in Vancouver.
Paul is a 14 year veteran of TAB where it was clear that those core issues that typically arise in small businesses are remarkably the same, whether it's a trucking company, a consulting business, a bowling alley business, or a HVAC Custom Equipment Supplier.
Some of Paul's greatest skills are helping implement sales strategies, implementing key business processes, as well as being certified in many of TTI's core assessments, including DISC, Driving Forces, EQ and Trimetrix HD, and has achieved Competent Toastmasters designation.
John Dymond's education and professional credentials are backed by over twenty years of successful operations management experience. In addition to facilitating for TAB, John operates a consulting company which he created to provide assistance to manufacturing companies interested in improvement through Strategic Planning, Operations Productivity and Development of High Performance Teams. John offers seminars/workshops in these areas. He teaches Fundamentals of Operations Management as a continuing education course for BCIT and taught CPIM courses for 10 years.
John worked for Wexxar Packaging Machinery, Alpha Technologies and Windsor Machine Company in progressive roles including President, Director of Manufacturing, Production Control Manager and Materials Manager.
He received his MBA from Queen's University.
John is a member of APICS, the association for operations management, and is certified at the CPIM and CIRM levels. John is also a member of the Canadian Association of Management Consultants (CAMC).
Mark is the 'retired' President of a private business, comprised of 13 shareholders, which was sold to a US public company. Syscon Justice Systems is a company which designed, manufactured, sold, delivered and supported Offender Management Software to an international market place.
Syscon is focused only on the corrections portion of the larger public safety market. Corrections agencies are a well connected group who do not compete with each other. Therefore, references are everything. News of any failure spreads quickly across the market place and bankruptcy was news that stopped potential customers in their tracks. There was no revenue. In addition, a software company has few tangible assets. As a result a software developer, especially one emerging from of a failed enterprise, has no credit. There were no lenders.
In the early years Syscon truly struggled. There was no credit available, only the cash earned month by month. On many, many paydays people were asked what they really needed, not wanted. However, over time the business grew through incremental success. 15 years later, when Syscon was sold, it was the best and largest in the business. There were about 130 employees, over 30 million in annual revenue, generating over 3 million in average annual profits. Syscon now has many US and a few international customers with offices in Sydney Australia, Sacramento California, Richmond British Columbia and London England.
Before Syscon, Mark worked for two other computer firms namely, NCR and the Digital Equipment Corporation. His education includes: a Southern Alberta Institute of Technology Diploma in Architecture, a BA from UBC and a post graduate degree from UBC in Commerce. Mark has worked in both commercial construction and mining and has earned a blasting ticket.
Like many small business owners, Mark is not one to sit still. As a past member of a TAB board he recognizes the value a 'team of peers' can bring to any business owner. In particular he is looking forward to the challenge of helping others in business realize there personal vision of success.
After the completion of a career as a professional hockey player, Steve Clippingdale spent 10 years in Sales & Marketing and Management positions in the printing business before managing his own technology based business, Luminous Technologies, which he acquired in 1988. Steve was able to successfully manage Luminous through a number of technological advancements during the 12 years there, culminating in the sale of the company to Aston Group. Steve was consistently one of the top sales producers for Aston in North America, despite handling one of the lowest populated territories. During his time with Luminous and Aston, Steve gained a keen interest and great insights into the management of 'change' for both individuals and organizations, understanding the potential. With this background, also including extensive education and training, Steve has worked with Canela Michelle to develop several successful workshops for facilitating breakthrough performance for individuals and organizations.
Norris Martin has over 40 years of senior management and business consulting experience. He has extensive experience in transportation management and utility regulation as well as business in general. He has been responsible for the design and operation of marketing, sales, operating and policy matters with large and small corporations as well as starting his own successful distributorship and his current private consulting practice. Norris served for 10 years as a Commissioner with the British Columbia Utilities Commission, regulating the public and private utilities within the province. He received his B. Com. and MBA from the University of British Columbia with a major in transportation and Utilities.
Sam Wind, Chartered Insurance Professional (C.I.P.), is a seasoned business professional with over 23 years in the insurance industry growing his local operations with annual commissions in the millions. Sam joined a TAB board in 2003 and credits his TAB board and facilitator for helping him to systematize procedures with his employees and processes, and working with him closely when he went through the process of selling his business to a major B.C. credit union in 2006. He would help the credit union get established in insurance for a year and then join TAB in 2007 as a valued facilitator. In addition to enjoying his new found free time with his family and working with TAB, Sam serves on two non-profit society boards as a director in his community, and is involved with the local chamber of commerce.


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