It's such a terrible mess in there right now, but you know what? Right now, all I see is that gorgeous huge opening between the kitchen and the breakfast room. And it's one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen, because let me tell you, it was hard earned.
THIS IS NOT A TUTORIAL!!!
I'm not kidding, okay? Do not, under any circumstances, read through this post and think that you are adequately prepared to remove a load bearing wall in your house. Each house is different, and the type of header, temporary bracing, etc., you'll need will be determined by your specific roof construction type, where the wall is located, and how much load the specific wall is carrying (in other words, not all load bearing walls are created equally). Got it? Even if you want to take this on as a DIY project (and I do recommend that part if you're an experienced DIYer, because you'll save a bundle of cash and it's not that hard), you will still want to consult with a licensed professional who can tell you what kind of bracing you'll need before the wall is removed, how large your header needs to be, whether or not your area requires a building permit for this type of thing, and so on.
The first thing I needed to do was get that one stubborn electrical wire pushed back up into the attic. I accomplished that quite easily with a dowel rod (my brother's brilliant suggestion!) and a hammer. Once the wires were in the attic, I was ready to tackle the framing.
I started by removing the remaining top 10 inches or so of paneling from the breakfast room side of the wall.
These needed to go because they were nailed with big huge nails into the framing that would be removed. So as long as those paneling boards remained nailed into the framing, it was virtually impossible to remove the framing.
Now this step wasn't as easy as it sounds. The ceiling in the breakfast room is lower than a standard ceiling (it's probably about 4 or 5 inches shorter), and since this room was added later, the ceiling covers the top of the paneling boards. Meaning that they couldn't just be easily pried off of the wall. Nope, I had to use my Dremel Multi Max and cut all of the boards along the top of the ceiling on the breakfast room side of the wall, and I had to remove them along the entire 11-foot span.
Oh my gosh, that was the most frustrating part of this whole project!!! It took probably two hours total just to do that part, and the whole time I was holding that tool above my head with it going full power. That wood was some of the hardest wood I've ever tried to cut, especially when I would hit a knot.
Let's just say that that part of the process also included a few tears, some not-so-ladylike yelling at the wall, and one full-on temper tantrum with items being hurled across the room.
But once I got them removed, it was pretty much smooth sailing…except that my arms were so tired and shaky that I wasn't even sure I could continue. But I forced myself to press on.
For the record, most people would be able to use a reciprocating saw on a project like this, which would be much faster. But because of my uneven ceilings, I couldn't use that type of tool. I needed something with a much smaller, more controllable blade.
With the framing free, I left it in place and started building my header.
Headers are constructed using 2-inch lumber (either 2 x 8, 2 x 10, or 2 x 12, depending on the size you need) or something called LVL (laminated veneer lumber). LVL's are much more expensive, and my understanding is that they're much stronger, so they're used in applications where the beam will be carrying a very heavy load.
Fortunately, I could just use regular lumber for mine. So a header built with regular lumber consists of 2 pieces of 2-inch lumber cut to the width of the header size you need, with a 1/2-inch spacer in between. The spacer is something like plywood, so it's like making a plywood sandwich. Bottom layer is the 2-inch lumber, on top of that place construction adhesive the length of the board (I used quite a bit of construction adhesive!), then on top of that place the spacer (e.g., 1/2-inch plywood), then more construction adhesive, and then the second piece of 2-inch lumber.
With everything stacked and glued, it all has to be nailed together. And because I don't have a nail gun that shoots framing nails, I had to do it the old fashioned way. 🙂 And the kicker is that it has to be nailed from both sides. So I drove in about 20 nails on one side, flipped it over, and drove in another 20 or so nails.
The last thing I had to do was measure and cut my jack studs. These are the studs (2 x 4's) that actually hold up and support the header beam.
When he got to the house, he did have to wait for me to finish cutting a couple of nails with the Dremel Multi Max, and then we were ready to go. We brought the huge beam inside, pushed the old framing out of the way, lifted one end of the header onto the jack stud that I had already installed, lifted the other end of the header, and put the second jack stud in place under the other end of the header.
Let me just say for the record that this is absolutely not a one-person job. There's no way in heck I could have done this without my brother's help. And for a second there, I was honestly wondering if just the two of us were going to be able to handle it just because my arms were already so tired and shaky. But we managed, and it actually went very smoothly. It was definitely hard work because that beam was so long and heavy, but the process itself was quite simple.
1. King studs — These are the original studs of the house, and they go all the way from the floor to the framing at the ceiling.
2. Jack studs — These are new studs that go from the floor to just under the header beam. They get nailed to the king studs and actually provide the support for holding up the header beam.
3. Header beam — Depending on the size and strength needed, the header beam is either made of two pieces of 2-inch lumber with a 1/2-inch spacer in between, or it's made from two LVL's. The header beam rests right on top of the jack studs.
But that's it! I'm so stinkin' excited about how this looks now. I can hardly wait to get in there today and clean out all of the construction debris and start getting into the final planning of my kitchen. Now that I can see this wall opened up, I feel like most of the details are falling into place in my mind. So exciting!!!
AWESOME! You are so brave and determined! This kitchen and breakfast area is going to be amazing…love the light streaming in and how you make such great use of smaller spaces. That header is impressive!
Your motto should probably be: "Mama's got a Dremel and she's going to use it".
soooo awesome! i can't wait to see it all done! what a difference it all makes!
Is there anything you can't do? Seriously, this is just crazy. I think we'll understand if you take a few days to rest and recuperate!
Impressed with your power and determination. Good job. If I were you, I would place another Jack Stud on each end of the new header beam. If you look closely that beam is sitting on about one inch of those 2x4s as we know 2x4s are only about 1 1/2 inch thick -not a full 2 inches. And houses shift through the years. Also is that house on a slab? If not you need to add additional support to whatever support is beneath the floor – yes, in that dreaded cral space. All that weight is now sitting on 1 1/2 inches of floor on either side of the beam. What is under those 1 1/2 inches? Think about it. Good luck! Can't wait to see the progress.
So glad you are adding another 2×4 on each side. I was worried when I saw the photo, should have known you had it under control. 🙂 You are very fearless and to be admired!
All I can say is you're a BEAST!!!! You do not let anything stand in your way!! Great job!!
I thought you got rid of that double door closet by your office? Also, if you ever make a business out of your home, you could use your office and that second front door as the consultation area. (If you do decide to keep both front doors). It would be cute to have "The Linauer's" sign on your home, and "Kristi's office" or whatever your imaginary out-of-home business would be called sign on your office's door.
Haha, sorry that this comment has nothing to do with this post, just something I thought of when I saw your updated floor plan.
This no way implies that what you do isn't considered as a business, I just meant by "out-of-home business" would be one that people came to your home office for a consultation for some service.
Excellent work! You're really zooming along!
The removed hunk of framing…I see a trellis for your flower gardens lying there!
You are amazing! I can't wait to see what is next!
Woohooo!! Way to go! It may not seem like it on your side, but this is going by in leaps and bounds!
You can hide that header alltogether if you want! Also you might add another stud next to number 2 for added support. When you took the wall out did you support the top sill at all? If not you were blessed that it did not come down on you! We always use 4 x 4's to support before taking out the load bearing wall! Maybe the wall was not actually load bearing? Just wondering and not trying to criticise!
and, CONGRATULATIONS on a job WELL DONE!
YOU ARE WONDERFUL!!! This is so great to follow! Keep up the good work!!!
applause applause– THE CROWD CHEERS~!
Yay!!!!! Rockets flying!…..trumpets blaring!…..DIY'ers cheering!……way to go Kristi!!!!!
That is going to be so awesome with all the light! Wow! What a job. You are an amazing lady. Thanks for sharing your life with us and with such honesty. You are a real inspiration. Please don't forget to take care of yourself. Hugs.
Glory! That is some kind of BRAVADO ! I love it all but that LIGHT streaming in has got to be motivating!! Especially for those "green" cabinets to come ! My mom wants to take a wall out so MAYBE – you have given me COURAGE!
May God continue to bless you !!
That looks so awesome! It is going to make such a difference to the feel of the house with that wall opened up. Well done.
Just when I think your talents couldn't get any more awesome, you go and do something like THIS! You are a DIY dynamo, and my decorating hero. Is there anything you can't do or won't try? I can't wait for the next installment in your kitchen adventure series. I always love your final reveal, but making the DIY journey with you is pretty spectacular, too, and I learn so much from you along the way. You go, girl!
I am so impressed every time I read your blog, which is daily. Yours is one of the first ones I look at, and I applaud your hard work and determination. While our tastes aren't identical, I always end up loving whatever you do. Great job on the header! That must have been such hard work! Can't wait to see your kitchen changes. Kudos to you!
and here I am loafing along about making a few curtains. I guess I had better kick my old self into gear and get with the program.
Let there be light, looks great!!
You are amazing! I can totally relate to the "hissy fit" meltdown that you had. Can't wait to see how this space looks when you are finished.
can't wait to see what is next!
Wowie! You should "beam" with pride!!
I am worried you are going to work yourself sick! This is so much fun to watch, though. Thank you for sharing it with us.
Strike up the band and start the parade! You are one amazing, amazing woman. I have been following for a while now and all I can say is "thank you " for proving women can work construction just as well as most men. I have attempted many re~no's in my years but this one I would never have attempted. You are for lack of a better word amazing!
Wonderful! Wow you are a power house, determined and funny! I laughed out loud… "and one full-on temper tantrum with items being hurled across the room" then a great big smiley face! It's crazy exhausting doing all of your own work, but very, very satisfying! Excellent job!
Kristie, You absolutely amaze me at all you can accomplish. I look forward each day to your post and am using many of your ideas in the home we are about to purchase.
You impress me every day. The room looks so open now. Love all the space. Great job.
Oh! My! Word!!! You never cease to amaze me.
Wow! You go girl! It looks amazing! I love how much lighter it is, can't wait to see it all done. This winter we added another window in my kitchen. It totally transformed the kitchen. For me a kitchen can never have too much light. So enjoy your updates.
You are amazing! What more can I say? I wish I was as brave as you are!
One of the things I can bet real money on is the fact that I'm never going to do this myself. I must say, however, that you are awesome, and your brother must be a wonder and a half. I keep looking at the triple window inn your new breakfast room–transformational. Now, schedule a massage, pour yourself a glass of wine and relax for at least 20 minutes.
It is SO exciting to see that wall gone!!!! What a difference! That kitchen never did make sense. This will go so far to making it work.
Shazam!!! That looks great! Even on a gloomy day you can see how much extra light the kitchen will benefit from this opening. I can't wait to see what you are going to do next. Every day I can't wait to check your blog for the next adventure in remodeling. You are truly amazing and should have your own tv show!
Looks great! Congratulations on this huge job, I cannot wait to see more!
Just be honest…..Does your hubby truly realize he is married to Wonder Woman!? I'm recuperating on the sofa after just READING what you did! But i am so proud of what you are doing for the image of WOMAN! The next truth telling would be a photo of you while you're doing these super-feats. Rock on, Kristi!
No kidding! I think I need a beer and a nap … in that order … after just reading about all the work Krisit's done!
Congratulations on winning the war! Fantastic job! While I got one decorative tin sign hung in my kitchen (no joke, that was my proud accomplishment yesterday), you take down a wall and continue to make your house the home of your dreams. Thank you for inspiring me to try more.
I love comments like Sonny's and Len's, while other comments are irksome… People telling you what to do when- if they read your full post- they'd know you have everything under control. Keep on keepin' on! And yes, do take a break and pamper your self. You deserve it.
One more thing: even if thus is NOT a tutorial, I learned so many things from this post, as from almost all your posts. The amount of general knowledge you are able to impart- on ANY subject- is such a gift to the rest of us. Thank you.
Wow, Lady, what kind of vitamins are you on? You are like the little engine that could! You are able to do more work in one day that most crews that I've hired can do in a week. Congratulations, you are doing an amazing job on this house.
Every time I think you've left me in complete awe, you go and do something like this! You are braver and more fearless and determined than 10 men! In fact, I think you do the amount of work that 10 men could do, all on your own.
The room expansion is impressive. I'm glad to see that you said you went to Home Depot and bought cabinets. That'll save you a ton of time vs. building them yourself, and they looked like nice pieces.
My question: are you going to also install some cabinetry or perhaps a wall of shelving, that would complement the kitchen? I'm not sure if the breakfast room is going to act at times as a more formal dining space, and am wondering if maybe some base cabinets and shelving might be nice to store china and other more formal kitchen items in, and would tie in with the kitchen cabinetry itself.
Anyhow, SUPER IMPRESSED with what you've done so far. I cannot wait to see the end result, I think this is going to be one of the more impressive renovations in your home. That kitchen was NOT pretty to start with, and I think once it's had "the Kristi touch," it's going to be very lovely.
What Trish said is so true. No hired crew would have gotten this much done in one day. You are so amazing. I was thinking a year and a small fortune to redo the kitchen. My shoulders are hurting from reading your post. I so agree with someone who said you deserve a massage. Maybe your family members will surprise you with one.
This is my kind of reality show! I love the play by play, not just the awful before and the amazing after.
Congratulations on your victory! So very excited to see all the light. Now it is easier to picture different half walls with counter and there is certainly enough light now that the green cabinets won't be too room darkening. Really an awesome undertaking and a great job, Kristi!
Hi Kristi… another Kristi here. I've been following your blog for a while now without commenting, but this post compelled me to finally do so. Wow, you are such an inspiration to me. I can't believe you did this basically alone. I love to create to decorate my home as you do, but on a smaller scale — you have encouraged me to branch out and try bigger and better things (OK no load bearing wall removal for me just yet, but I'm now trying things that are 'big' for me thanks to you). Keep up the great, inspirational work!
Stupefying ideas! Well done, Kristi! You are amazing and inspiring. I am very much Impressed with your command and determination.
Excellent work! This kitchen and breakfast area is going to be amazing. Keep it up!
YOU ARE AMAZING… !!!!! I just want to come over there and help you clean that up.!! I was in construction for three years and it was easier then some of my other jobs….!! I'm so excited for you. Can't wait to see all the progress you've made. (I haven't been on the computer for some time so I am doing some follow up time.) Great job lady…!!!
Excellent work. We did the same thing in our kitchen. It was a DIY project as well. However, we had a friend who is a licensed contractor take a look at it so great recommendation. I cant wait to see the finished project.
Great job, and your sources of research have been a time saving blessing. May I ask for your costs analysis and budget? We are ready to embark ourselves into same adventure and would really help to know real life costs to compare with our estimates. Thanks!


The cloud's ability to deliver on-demand processing power and applications via the internet is one of the most important technologies in the 21st century. Leading cloud platforms like Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud, and AWS have helped many companies optimize their IT operations and grow their businesses, but despite its widespread popularity, some small-business owners are still unsure about the cloud.
It's easy to see why Office 365 is everyone's favorite cloud platform. It's loaded with dozens of cutting-edge cloud apps, and offers multiple benefits like predictable pricing, continuous updates, and remote access to apps.
But deciding whether you need it is just the first step.


Description: Ariados was never that good of a Pokemon. One of those Pokemon with an absolutely awesome design, but horrible stats bar 90 Attack. Luckily Ariados has gotten a few new toys this generation (most notably Sticky Web), allowing him some extra niches. This combined with the buff to Poison typing and a decent offensive movepool give Ariados a place in the metagame.
Set Explanation: While the lack of dedicated leads since Generation Four has been pretty apparent, it's still nice to have one every once and a while. Sticky Web is basically a Stealth Rock that cuts down the opponent's speed instead of damage. Toxic Spikes are always nice to have for inflicting status to punish the opponent for switching. Poison Jab is dedicated STAB with a chance to poison the opponent. The last move is based on preference. Megahorn is a powerful STAB move that will do solid damage to anything that doesn't resist it, X-Scissor is also an option if you don't want to risk the low accuracy. Shadow Sneak and Sucker Punch are two forms of priority that could be used otherwise. Insomnia will be a nasty surprise to Pokemon that think they can put Ariados to sleep.
Set Explanation: This is a really hard set to use. However if you manage to set it up then Ariados will punch holes in your opponent's team. The obvious first move is to use Agility to bypass Ariados's horrible speed. You could run a Jolly nature if you still find yourself getting out-sped. Megahorn and Poison Jab are your two designated STAB attacks. You could run X-Scissor instead to bypass the lower accuracy but with the last move in this moveslot that most likely won't be the case. Ariados gets access to Hone Claws, which would allow it to boost both accuracy and attack. Fell Stinger is a new move introduced in Generation 6 that boosts up Ariados's attack by two stages if it kills an opponent with the attack. Unfortunately however it only has 30 Base Power. Ariados gets STAB on it, but that doesn't help much. Its abilities are a toss up. Run Swarm if you're running the Hone Claws / Megahorn variety, and run Sniper if you're running the X-Scissor / Fell Stinger variety.
Set Explanation: A somewhat gimmicky moveset that relies on luck, but if you pull it off it can be absolutely evil. Swagger raises the opponent's attack by two stages and confuses them. You can then use Foul Play to severely maim them. Disable is another niche move that Ariados gets that can be very useful in dealing with Choice locked attackers. You could opt for Toxic instead for a reliable way to poison the opponent, but that's just nowhere near as fun. Substitute is there for when you feel as though the opponent will switch.
Set Explanation: A standard Choice Band set. STAB Megahorn will dent anything that doesn't resist it, and once again X-Scissor is available for better accuracy. Poison Jab is your usual Poison STAB. Night Slash is a nice add-on that will maim Ghost types who think they're getting a free switch in. Shadow Sneak is there for priority, but you could opt for Pursuit instead and get a predicted switch out KO. As for the abilities, run Insomnia if you're scared of something using Spore or Hypnosis. Run Sniper if you want critical hits (especially Night Slash) to skewer your opponent.
Other Options: Ariados has a decent special movepool with options such as Giga Drain, Sludge Bomb, Psychic and Signal Beam, but sadly his Special Attack is too low to abuse them properly. For any physical sets, Ariados has access to both Bounce and Dig. Both are two turn attacks and with how slow Ariados is, it won't find many opportunities to use them. It also has access to Baton Pass, but there are far better Pokemon to be using Agilpass or Honepass with.


23rd January 2019 – Ms. Rungtiwa Senawong, Director – Government Relations and Ms. Usawadee Sangpum, Director Passenger and Ground Support Services together with BFS representatives, gave a warm welcome to flight crew of Guangxi Beibu Gulf Airlines (GX) on the occasion of handling the inaugural flight at Suvarnabhumi Airport. Guangxi Beibu Gulf Airlines has chosen BFS as business partner in providing ground handling services in passenger, ramp and cargo. BFS presented Certificate of Appreciation and welcome flower basket to Ms. Ajcharaphan Adam, Station Manager Bangkok.


But the weight on me did not let me even try.
But I had to be content with a pebble downtrodden.
But what i got was, like time flowing sand.
But i got nightmares of her going away from me.
But my throat always choked out.
But what I always got is a chill, death bound.
But my pain trimmed my wings.
But my eyes dry up even before they appear.
But the noise around me kills it before I had.
But something bigger overshadows that limit.
Never get to do what I want in my life.
As I describe the real beauty in the lines below.
But her charm indeed makes the clock stop for a while.
But in front of her face, it looks like a big cheese ball.
But her glow makes it look like a fading lantern hanging on a wall.
But her smile makes all these look merely like nature's toys.
But against her voice, every other sound seems to be a senseless noice.
But the purity of her heart stands above all.
May be He has some yet undiscovered paradise which might someday parallel her yet unmatched beauty.


Announcement: We are hiring a new writer for InsideAI. As Talla has started to grow, I don't have time to put this together quite as often and am looking for help. If you like compiling AI news, and writing a bit of commentary from time to time, please email me and I will pass on your interest to the Inside.com team.
The most interesting thing thing I read this week was a Businessweek article on how The World's Dominant Crypto Mining Company Wants To Own AI. Bitmain has become a chip powerhouse via ASICs for mining. As hardware starts to matter more and more for AI (See the open AI blog post in the industry links section), Bitmain finds itself very well positioned to compete. If 40 percent of revenue really comes from AI chips in a few years, the company will definitely be a player, and that could shake up the traditional chip oligopoly as the market for AI chips goes into its growth phase.
How does your company stack up vs the industry? The State of Video Conferencing 2018 report showcases the different video conferencing options and their ideal setups, so you can assess whether your communication technology needs to change.
How does your company compare? Check out the report to find out.
Do we have to choose between AI and privacy? Medium.
This is a good look at the effective and ineffective ways of protecting privacy when gathering data.
How The Enlightenment ends. The Atlantic.
The last technological advance to alter the course of human history was the invention of the printing press in the 15th century, which ultimately spawned The Age of Reason or The Enlightenment. The advancement of AI stands to effect change at the same level. Are we prepared?
Nicholas Carr claims that natural language processing isn't about making computers smarter but instead about dumbing them down enough so that they can work with us.
Employers are monitoring computers, toilet breaks – even emotions. Is your boss watching you? The Guardian.
This man Is the godfather the AI community wants to forget. Bloomberg.
Machine Learning Is Stuck on Asking Why. Atlantic.
AI and Compute. Open AI blog.
Why is the human brain so efficient? Nautilus.
Baidu's Top AI Exec Is Stepping Down. Techcrunch.
Crossbar pushes resistive RAM into embedded AI. IEEE Spectrum.
AI Is Harder Than You Think. NY Times.
The 'father of A.I.' urges humans not to fear the technology. CNBC.
How Artificial Intelligence Is making chatbots better for businesses. Forbes.
The road to artificial intelligence is paved with calculus. William & Mary.
The world's dominant crypto-mining company wants to own AI. Bloomberg.
Artificial intelligence will both disrupt and benefit the workplace, Stanford scholar says. Stanford News.
Evolutionary RL for Container Loading. Link.
Generalized Structural Causal Models. Link.
1. Describe Gamalon. What's the pitch?
We are creating a new AI-fueled super-power: imagine if one person could have a one-on-one personal conversation, like they might have texting with a friend, but with thousands or even millions of other people simultaneously. Our vision of the future is not about people chatting with bots. It is about people communicating with other people, massively augmented and leveraged by AI.
In the enterprise, there is a burning need for this, because thousands or millions of customers, communicate to companies digitally across a broad array of channels. They send in natural language and raw text of all kinds including surveys, trouble tickets, receipts, forms, chats, call transcripts, speech to text-based appliances, receipts, inquiries, and more.
Before if companies wanted to process incoming natural language and raw text and get it into a structured database or spreadsheet, they needed to contract large teams to do slow, inaccurate, expensive data entry. Then it took a long time to get back to customers as well. It's bureaucracy plain and simple.
We transform months to milliseconds with much higher accuracy than manual processing, which is such a big change that it is qualitative not just quantitative. It means that a company can know instantly what every natural language input from a customer is saying, and flow that right into their systems in real-time, reply immediately, and better serve customers, even when customers start saying new, unanticipated things. As this becomes a hub for structuring and merging multiple raw text streams, bureaucracy becomes a fluent friendly conversation with customers. It's a new super-power.
2. What are the benefits of probabilistic programming over DNNs?
In 1969, the book "Perceptrons" decimated the field of 1-layer neural networks (called perceptrons) by proving that they cannot learn an XOR function. It was not until 1986, that Rumelhart, Hinton and Williams showed experimentally that having multiple hidden layers in a neural network trained using back-propagation could overcome this kind of problem.
Today, there are lots of new examples of things that even very deep neural networks cannot learn. Here's one: DNNs cannot find clouds on an exoplanet 1000 light years away without training data. My friend at MIT did exactly that using a (Bayesian) model of the physics. There are lots of structured signals hiding in noise where a neural network has no hope of finding it. Actually most signals are like this. Someone talking to you is like that. To parse these signals you need to be able to specify models with more precision and complexity than static arrangements of neurons and synapses.
A very good way to think about machine learning is as a communications system. A hidden system transmits (noisy) data to us. We need to guess the state and configuration of the system that sent us the data. At the relatively easy extreme are things like WiFi and cell phones where the transmitter was designed by the IEEE and the urban wireless channel was exhaustively modeled by armies of PhD's armed with antenna trucks. We have relatively little to do in order to infer the state and structure of the transmitter, but still there is a lot of machine learning technology there, and this is what wireless receivers spend their days computing.
The other end of the extreme is to act as if we know absolutely nothing about the transmitter system, and use a universal function approximator to infer the structure of the transmitter from supervised data. That's what DNNs do.
But golly there's a heck of a lot of room in between. When models are programs, then you can easily design a receiver to model anything that we do know about the transmitter; And even for the receiver model to reconfigure itself on the fly to model changes in the configuration of the transmitter system. This is especially important when the transmitter is a person talking. People sure are interesting - our minds were not designed by the IEEE, and cannot be modeled as simple state machines. We need more complex models if we want machines to understand what people are thinking when they talk to machines. Using Turing complete programs as our modeling language gives us the most precise and powerful way to say what we mean in a model. And since lots of people already know how to program, it also provides us a with a great existing "install base" of engineers.
There are a lot of benefits of variables carrying uncertainty. For starters, the system can ask clarifying questions when it doesn't understand what someone is saying or what someone is teaching it. It knows what it didn't understand! Gamalon has a demo showing this for ordering a pizza that we think is pretty neat-o: https://gamalon.vids.io/videos/4c9adeb61611e0c6c4/ben-vigoda-mp4. The immediate impact is that a system can approach 100% accuracy by asking for clarification as it learns and predicts. More generally, uncertainty is also the foundation for curiosity. When a system reads something that it doesn't understand, it needs to be able to pinpoint precisely what it does not understand in order to be able to autonomously pursue learning about it further.
When people arrive in a new job, a new conversation, etc. they get context specific information from the other people when they join. This helps them configure their model for that situation. What ideas am I going to need for this conversation? How would an AI do the same thing? You could program a new model for every new situation, but that's only really good for developers. Users want to configure a model for a given situation without needing to program.
In regular software, UI/UX was invented to solve this problem. User interfaces enable non-programmers to configure and interact with a programmed system. Gamalon has created the very first UI/UX for AI that lets users directly interact with "hidden layers", the ideas inside an AI model. I think that ten years from now, we will look back at this first product from Gamalon with its easy to use UI/UX, and it will have been the template for how a great number of subsequent AI based software products work.
3. Are there any customer use case examples of Gamalon you can share?
In the Global 2000, people in roles in Digital Transformation, Product, Marketing and IT/Data Science are deluged by natural language and raw text from their customers. It comes in as surveys, chat transcripts and trouble tickets among others. One of our clients, a leading global automotive manufacturer, receives millions of customer messages per year. To manually process just a hundred thousand of them using an outsourcing firm took them months to get through a small sample of the total surveys and cost them way too much money. They had people file each message into one of about a hundred high-level categories and, even then, the accuracy was too low at 65%. That accuracy rate is pretty typical by the way. They were always stuck with the same high-level categories as changing them was too costly in time and money, so they couldn't learn anything new from the data. Even if there were new customer messages that didn't fit into any of the categories, it didn't matter - that message was going into one of the existing categories. Anything new was getting washed away.
Now that they've implemented Gamalon, months has gone to milliseconds and 65% accuracy became over 95% accuracy, all for a fraction of the cost of doing it manually. Plus, they've gotten the ability to drill into the data to explore and discover new trends. All this means they can react and respond faster to improve customer retention and, ultimately, revenue.
4. AI is easy to market because it's a hot item. Selling AI is a bit more challenging. What have you learned about selling AI to enterprises?
We haven't found it to be all that challenging for Gamalon selling in the enterprise, actually. I think that is because we did a ton of initial work at Gamalon, like any SaaS company must do in the early stages, to identify product-market fit - to make sure that we solve a specific burning need in the Global 2000.
The fact is, folks in most enterprises are just getting started with AI. Only about 4% of enterprises have adopted AI so far. But they know it is important. I just think that enterprises don't really want complex data science IT consulting projects. What they really want are SaaS solutions fueled by AI. They want to instantly see remarkable ROI with 1-click software that is easy to use but does something that was radically impossible before.
At Gamalon, our focus every day is on making our solution ever easier and faster to get to ROI, and I think this is starting to really pay off.
5. What AI-related problem do you wish someone would solve that isn't something Gamalon is working on?
Video-conferencing and remote whiteboarding that just works. Uses AI to get all the participants quickly and seamlessly connected, stays connected, takes notes, captures hand-drawn figures and re-draws them beautifully, and sends everything to everyone in a nice summary afterwards.
A system that listens to your weekly sales war room, emails, and customer visits and auto-populates your CRM with all of the relevant information.
An IDE that pair codes with you.
There's a million of them. At Gamalon we had 93 ideas when we started. We narrowed them down by interviewing customers to find their burning need, and a problem where we felt passionate about applying our technology.
6. What needs to happen for probabilistic programming to go mainstream?
It's not mainstream. But some of the best minds in machine learning in the world are working in this new direction of axioms A and B. (I don't know of others besides Gamalon working on C & D.) For me that is actually a more interesting moment than when it is ultimately mainstream.
The hotbeds in industry are currently Google DeepMind, Uber AI Labs, and humbly, Gamalon Gamalon is the first to have produced a commercial product using this technology. I don't think anyone else will have done that for at least another couple of years.
Some of the early leaders in academia who are my heros include Noah Goodman at Stanford, Josh Tenenbaum at MIT, David Blei and Andrew Gelman at Columbia, Stuart Russell at Berkeley, Zoubin Ghahramani at Uber/Cambridge University, Ryan Adams at Princeton, … I surely cannot list them all. Oh and by the way, Yann Lecun had a blog post in January where he said "Deep Learning est mort. Vive Differentiable Programming." So he is onto axiom A now, he just needs B, C, and D.
As I said, it's not about probabilistic programming. It's about these (at least) four new axioms for AI. How long will it take for most systems to incorporate all of these axioms? This could take a long time. These are complex concepts so the speed of uptake from person to person is slow. AI is essentially the same kind of field as theoretical physics; There is a lot to learn and understand. I have been working very hard for my entire life to improve my understanding of machine learning, and there is always so much more to learn.
The expertise could therefore end up being very unevenly distributed. Some teams may have walking and talking AI disrupting an industry while other teams are still developing preliminary expertise. I don't mean to be bleak. I hope that by articulating this possibility, we encourage more teams to open their minds to the amount there is to learn, and apply themselves to ramping their organizations in this area. Teams that want to fundamentally innovate in machine learning will require expertise across signal process communications and information theory, probabilistic models, statistics, numerical methods, a wide range of solver methods, statistical physics, convex optimization, as well as specific machine learning verticals such as speech, natural language, vision, and control theory, compilers, high performance computing and cloud architectures, data pipelines. Deep learning is just one part of a larger mix.
7. Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg have an ongoing debate about whether killer AI is going to take over the world or not. Do you have an opinion on the Musk/Zuck debate?
Imagine if you could go into your teenager's brain and delete all their ideas and thoughts about dating? Of course we would never do this to people! But that seems like the kind of capability we need for our AI-based products in order for them to be safe and controllable. Gamalon's product is already like that: a business analyst can use our UI/UX to design and edit the ideas that our system learns. This took a ton of work to get the system to be like this, but we made the investment not only because it's the right path forward for AI, but because it is what our enterprise customers want.
Because of what we have been able to do in our product, from my current vantage point, I believe that AI can be made to be pretty safe, but we have to work at it, just like we need to work hard on designs for cars, rocket ships, and social networks in order for them to be safe.
Elon Musk is an expert in electromechanical systems, and as far as I can tell he is working hard to make his cars and rockets safe. Marc Zuckerberg is an expert programmer and an expert in social networks, and I deeply hope that he is working hard to make his social network safe for democracy, although we would all like to see more evidence and positive progress - AI could help a lot by reading massive numbers of natural language posts to look for fake news for example.
I welcome Elon's contribution to funding openAI, I think that was a nice thing to do for science. But does making something open necessarily make it safe? Are openly available nuclear weapons designs a good thing for nuclear safety?
In my opinion, the way to make AI safe is to make the models understandable and editable, so that we can audit and control what the system is learning. We should also focus on the real issues, not the science fiction ones. Weaponized AI for cyber attacks is worth worrying about a lot more than the singularity. Relatively rapid job displacements due to AI is worth attention.
We can choose to address these real issues. At Gamalon we have focused our product direction on augmenting human capabilities, giving people new super powers, rather than displacing people in the workforce. For example, we think that the future of customer support is workers with high quality jobs, who have time to understand the product and the customer, providing a highly empathetic and on-brand experience. We can use AI to help them support a lot more people at once, so that they can also be highly cost competitive.
And there's a whole lot more potential if we are creative. Take Gamalon's product for example - not just enterprises, we are all deluged by tons of messages every day. Our time is our most valuable commodity, and every new message divides our attention span into smaller and smaller chunks, effectively making us dumber than we are.
By condensing millions of messages down to their core ideas, removing duplicate ideas, and organizing the ideas into an "Idea Tree" where you can drill down on just the things that are important to you, Gamalon's technology could help people communicate. Local governments might be able to coordinate better with their constituents around issues like opiate addiction or foster care. It might give people back some of their attention span to focus on important issues that are undermining our democracy - things like gerrymandering. Or imagine AI powered grass roots organizing. If everyone had their own personal AI that could help you find and collate meaningful ideas no matter where or how they are posted, everyone wouldn't have to go to one place like Facebook and rely on their centralized recommendation system. This could help us get back the web we wanted, level the playing field, and diminish the importance of big money campaign spending on ads.
Right now in AI I feel that we should be focusing our efforts on addressing the real issues, with real expertise, and finding creative ways to have a positive impact using this fast improving technology.
Thanks for reading. Please send me email for stuff you would like to see in the newsletter.


Using multi-colored backgrounds in a website or graphic design is a popular trend these days. And, with the help of the rainbow backgrounds in this collection, you'll be able to give a beautiful and an attractive multicolor look to your designs while also keeping a professional edge.
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Looking to get creative this weekend?
From a make-your-own essential oils workshop to a fashion show touting local designers and models, there are plenty of opportunities to get your creative juices flowing this weekend.
Drop by Zen Den Studio to learn how to make your own natural remedies. You'll hear how different essential oils impact the body and how to incorporate them into your everyday life to enhance your health and wellness.
When: Saturday, June 10, 3-4 p.m.
Celebrate local fashion at The Beauty of Fresno Fashion Show. Hosted by Ineffable Modeling Company, the all ages event will feature opportunities to view fresh looks, meet the designers and models, and enjoy fine foods and beverages.
When: Saturday, June 10, 6-9 p.m.
Where: The Downtown Club, 2120 Kern St.
Paint, sip and make new friends at the latest edition of the Corks and Palette Mixer. To help kick-off the summer season, this Saturday's subject is the ever-popular pineapple.
When: Saturday, June 10, 7-9 p.m.
Where: Corks and Palette Mixer, 1526 N Palm Ave.


Janet's installation Red was an exhibition standout. Using an antique porcelain tub, dirt and red origami flowers, she transformed the old barn on the ranch into an introspective and beautiful space.
This entry was posted in Oakwilde, Sculpture. Bookmark the permalink.
it was an awesome event! great work & company!!


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life. I needed this at this time.
Definitely needed this!!! Preordered the book on Amazon.com, but didn't see any instructions on how to obtain the gifts. Any thoughts on how to do that? Can't wait to start reading!!!
This is so true, and a great discussion to have in ministry with youth as well as with my oncology patients. I will say I have found much more joy in my life by choosing to focus on the positive. Coming from a pessimistic family that was difficult. With Gods help, he and the Holy Spirit have guided me and developed those fruits. My life has become much more exciting and full of joy no matter what the circumstance, I will choose Joy!!!!
This is good. Oh so good. Thanks for sharing, Lysa.
There is a broken link that won't open the page "And if you're not quite sure if Uninvited is for you, take the assessment by clicking here.
Thank you Lysa for this timely book. I am going through some tough struggles including letting my oldest son go. One of the hardest things a mother can go through…I think. I look forward to this study to help me through some deep hurts and deep rejections.
Lisa, i just finish reading your book Im I messing up my kids? This book and you have been a blessing to my life and everyday i ask God to bless you and your family, Im now getting ready for my next book; Becoming more than a bible study girl. Looking forward for more. I'm from Puerto Rico, when will you be coming over? ?
May God keep blessing you, so you can continue this tough but precious gift that God has given you.
After last night's webcast from She Speaks, I have been thinking a lot about rejection in my life. From so many sources. And it continues today, doesn't it? I was so ministered to by Lysa's presentation. I love the story with Abigail and Nabal (pronounced Na- Val!) and David's response bc of her! My preorder is on the way.
PS: I think God is calling me to move to Charlotte to be near ya'll!
Every time I read the title of your new book, a deep sorrow wells up in my soul and my eyes fill with tears. Even now, I find it hard to believe I can be helped, but I cling to a small hope that through the words God has given you, I will be set free! Thank you for sharing your heart!
I have been in therapy for years over the rejection of my parents (I am an adopted person,) and my birth mother. Just when I thought I had a good handle on it and felt I had truly forgiven, BAM! another blow to add to the rejection and feelings of inadequacy. I am hopeful and prayerful that your book will assist me and my therapist on my path to healing and forgiveness.
I'm looking forward to meeting you in Nov. 2017 at the conference our church is hosting with you.
God's fingerprints are showing once again. I received this post 13 days ago and only read it this morning, the day before the 2 year anniversary of my dad's unexpected and completely shocking suicide that triggered a deluge of chaos in my family's lives. Your words could be my words from my heart as I struggle with focusing on the thorns or the beauty. There is so much beauty that I cannot deny it. Thank you for sharing your heart and touching those hurting ones in the way God designed you.
Thank you Lysa for sharing life. Wiping away the tears.
What a beautiful message. I was rejected by my biological father and then my abusive husband. I lived with my ex husband for 23 years before I realized that I didn't have to live feeling "Less Than, Left Out, and Lonely" Thank you!


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Home » Politics » INEC deregistering of parties reprehensible, affront on judiciary, IPAC says
Latest • Politics • Top Stories
INEC deregistering of parties reprehensible, affront on judiciary, IPAC says
By Ripples Nigeria
The Inter-Party Advisory Council of Nigeria (IPAC) has frowned at the Independent National Electoral Commission's (INEC's) decision to deregister 74 political parties.
IPAC said INEC's decision was without due process and adherence to the provisions of the law and, therefore, called on the electoral body to reverse its decision.
The Mahmood Yakubu led INEC announced the deregistering of the parties on Thursday.
But in a statement in Abuja on Friday by its National Legal Adviser, Chukwudi Ezeobika, IPAC said it was in the know of a court process instituted against INEC at the Federal High Court by 33 political parties, who are its member.
It said the parties in the suit number FHC/ABJ/CS/444/2019, prayed amongst other things, court order restraining INEC from de-registering concerned political parties pending the determination of the suit.
Ezeobika added that the court on January 23, 2020, after hearing the motion for an interlocutory injunction, adjourned for ruling on February 17, 2020.
"It is however reprehensible on the part of INEC to take such decision which is an affront on the judiciary, an abuse of the court process and a conscious disregard for the rule of law.
"By the action purportedly taken by INEC, the council is of a firm view that INEC as an institution no longer has regards or respect for the rule of law in Nigeria and has lost the confidence of political parties in the political affairs of the nation.
"The council hereby calls on INEC to immediately reverse the purported decision in order not to infringe on the rights of political parties as guaranteed under the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended).
READ ALSO: KOWA Party says INEC acted like a political assassin by deregistering it
"By the provisions of Sections 221 – 229, no provision is inferior or superior to the other. Section 229 defines a political party to include an association whose activities shall include canvassing for votes in support of a candidate for election into a local government council," Ezeobika said.
According to him, the electoral body should be responsible enough to wait until elections are held in all 774 LGAs and 8,809 electoral wards in Nigeria, before supposing that a party has not won any elective position.
Ripples Nigeria
We are an online newspaper, very passionate about Nigerian politics, business and their leaders. We dig deeper, without borders and without fears.
www.ripplesnigeria.com
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Big Ten Preview Part VI: Key Questions For Northwestern & Purdue
Posted by Tommy Lemoine on November 8th, 2017
With the season just a few days away, Rush the Court's Big Ten preview will tip off its coverage by posing season-defining key questions for each team. Today we address Wisconsin and Michigan.
#4 Northwestern – Can the Wildcats' offense take another step forward?
Chris Collins hopes to improve on last season's historic campaign. (Getty Images)
Here's what we know about Northwestern heading into 2017-18: it's experienced, well-coached and should be darn stingy on defense. What we don't know is whether the Wildcats, fresh off their first NCAA Tournament appearance in program history, can improve enough offensively to become the top-tier Big Ten contender everyone expects them to be. But there is reason to expect an upswing in production. Already one of the least turnover-prone units in the country (16% TO rate), Northwestern welcomes back the Big Ten's most experienced — and productive — starting backcourt in Bryant McIntosh (14.8 PPG, 5.2 APG) and Scottie Lindsey (14.1 PPG), a pair of preseason all-conference honorees. While neither is a great outside shooter, both players are very effective from inside the arc and at the free throw line (87% FT and 84% FT, respectively). What's more, 6'8″ forward Aaron Falzon returns this season after missing most of 2016-17 to knee surgery. His three-point shooting ability (35.5% 3FG) alongside Vic Law (12.3 PPG) — the team's best returning perimeter shooter, defender and overall athlete — should give head coach Chris Collins plenty of depth and versatility at the wing position. Throw in one of the league's top offensive rebounders in Dererk Pardon (12.1% OReb rate) and you're suddenly looking at a roster that can stretch the floor, limits miscues, maximizes its opportunities to score, and makes the most of its trips to the free throw line. In other words, you're looking at all the makings of an efficient offense. After scoring less than a point per possession in eight of their 12 losses a year ago, the Wildcats need to realize that potential this year if they're to truly compete for a league title.
| big ten, feature, microsites | Tagged: big ten, Bryan McIntosh, caleb swanigan, Carsen Edwards, chris collins, Dakota Mathias, isaac haas, matt painter, northwestern, PJ Thompson, purdue, Scottie Lindsey, vic law, vince edwards
Where 2017-18 Happens: Reason #28 We Love College Basketball
Posted by rtmsf on October 14th, 2017
As RTC heads into its 11th season covering college hoops, it's time to begin releasing our annual compendium of YouTube clips that we like to call Thirty Reasons We Love College Basketball. These 30 snippets from last season's action are completely guaranteed to make you wish the games were starting tonight rather than 30 days from now. Over the next month you'll get one reason per day until we reach the new season on Friday, November 10. You can find all of this year's released posts here.
#28 – Where Biggie Smalls Happens.
We also encourage you to re-visit the entire archive of this feature from the 2008-09, 2009-10, 2010-11, 2011-12, 2012-13, 2013-14, 2014-15, 2015-16 and 2016-17 preseasons.
| 2017-18 Season Preview, 30 reasons | Tagged: 30 reasons, caleb swanigan, purdue
Four Big Ten Offseason Storylines to Follow
Posted by Brendan Brody on April 27th, 2017
Now that the 2016-17 college basketball season has been put to bed, it's time for hoopheads to peer into the future and prepare for the 2017-18 season. There is a fair amount of intrigue attached to how the Big Ten will look next season, so here's a quick look at the biggest stories to consider within the league over the next several months.
The draft decision of Miles Bridges set the bar for the 2017-18 Big Ten championship. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
The Return of Miles Bridges: Michigan State's uber-talented forward decided to stay in school for his sophomore season, making the Spartans the clear favorite to win the Big Ten and enter next season ranked among the nation's top five. Plenty of solid pieces were already slated to return to East Lansing next season — sophomores Nick Ward, Cassius Winston, and Joshua Langford — but having the future lottery pick back means Tom Izzo is smiling this offseason.
| big ten, feature, microsites | Tagged: Anton Gill, archie miller, Brandon McCoy, Brian Bowen, caleb swanigan, Cassius Winston, DJ Wilson, Ed Morrow Jr, indiana, isaac copeland, isaac haas, james blackmon jr, james palmer, Jeriah Horne, joshua langford, Michael Jacobson, michigan, michigan state, Miles Bridges, Mohammed Bamba, Moritz Wagner, nebraska, Nick Ward, purdue, robert johnson, Shawn Eichorst, Thomas Bryant, tim miles, Vincent Edwards
2016-17 Rush the Court All-America Teams
Posted by Walker Carey on March 30th, 2017
Compiling preseason All-America teams is a difficult task because nobody knows what will come during the upcoming season. There will always be several players who fall short of expectations and there will always be several relatively unknown types who will unexpectedly emerge to stardom. When our outfit of seven RTC pollsters selected their preseason All-America teams in November; nobody could have guessed that only five of the 15 players chosen would live up to their hype; Villanova's Josh Hart, Oregon's Dillon Brooks, Iowa State's Monte' Morris, Washington's Markelle Fultz, and Kansas' Josh Jackson. Hart was the only player projected to be a first-teamer who ended up there. The 10 other players who did not make our postseason team are Duke's Grayson Allen and Jayson Tatum, California's Ivan Rabb, Maryland's Melo Trimble, Wisconsin's Nigel Hayes, Indiana's Thomas Bryant, NC State's Dennis Smith, Xavier's Edmond Sumner and Trevon Bluiett, and Kentucky's Bam Adebayo. All turned in varying degrees of productive seasons but were surpassed in achievements by the names that moved ahead of them on our list. Here are the 2016-17 RTC All-America Teams.
First Team All-America
Frank Mason, Senior, Kansas (consensus) (20.9 PPG, 5.2 APG, 49% FG, 47.1% 3FG). After being little more than a complementary contributor during his first three seasons in Lawrence, Mason wrapped up his collegiate career this season in spectacular fashion. What the point guard lack lacks in stature (he is listed at just 5'11"), he made up for it in big time performances. Kansas earned its 13th consecutive Big 12 regular season title and advanced to the Elite Eight this season, and neither of those would have been possible without Mason elevating his game to a superstar level. One of the coolest things about college basketball is when a relatively unheralded recruit develops into one of the country's most accomplished players – and Mason certainly personified that in his senior season. Kansas fields a great team every year, but it is certain the Jayhawks will miss Mason's services when they hit the hardwood again next fall.
Josh Hart, Senior, Villanova (consensus) (18.7 PPG, 6.4 RPG, 51% FG, 40.4% 3FG). Hart starred on last season's National Championship team, but he took his game to another level during his senior season. The Big East Player of the Year joined Villanova legend Kerry Kittles as the only players in program history to amass 1,800 points, 700 rebounds, 250 assists, and 150 steals. Villanova's season ended with a surprising Second Round loss to Wisconsin in the NCAA Tournament, but that defeat should not cloud anyone's perception of Hart's season, as he was phenomenal from the opening tip of the first game to the final buzzer of the last one.
Lonzo Ball, Freshman, UCLA (consensus) (14.6 PPG, 7.6 APG, 6.0 RPG, 55.1% FG). Last year at this time, UCLA was coming off a very disappointing 15-17 season that suggested the 2016-17 campaign would be a make-or-break year for Steve Alford in Westwood. Luckily for the Bruins' head coach, the arrival of Ball as the gem of a star-studded recruiting class aided significantly in morphing UCLA from a losing team to a Sweet Sixteen squad. A dynamic point guard known for his incredible court vision and ability to make his teammates better, Ball also helped had a knack for making key plays in big games – most notably in a December win at Kentucky and in a February home win over Oregon. Unfortunately for Bruins fans, they will not get to experience more of those star performances, as Ball quickly made his intention to enter the NBA Draft known following UCLA's Sweet Sixteen loss to Kentucky.
Justin Jackson, Junior, North Carolina (18.2 PPG, 4.7 RPG, 2.8 APG). Following North Carolina's heartbreaking defeat to Villanova in last year's title game, Jackson chose to test the NBA Draft waters before ultimately returning to Chapel Hill for his junior season. At the time, Jackson stated, "The best choice for my basketball future is to return to school and play for the Tar Heels next season." His statement turned out to be prophetic, as he became North Carolina's go-to guy on his way to leading the team in scoring and earning the ACC Player of the Year award. The Tar Heels are a balanced unit with talent littering the roster, but Jackson's emergence to stardom is the most important reason why Roy Williams' team has another chance to play for the title this weekend in Phoenix.
Caleb Swanigan, Sophomore, Purdue (18.5 PPG, 12.5 RPG, 52.7% FG, 44.7% 3FG). The sophomore big man was a double-double machine for the regular season Big Ten champion — finishing a stellar year with 28 double-doubles and having four games where he grabbed 20 or more rebounds. A big reason for Swanigan's increased productivity in his sophomore campaign was improved conditioning, as his minutes per game rose from 25.7 to 32.5. He also added a reliable three-point shot to his arsenal, improving his percentage in that are of the game to a robust 44.7 percent. As a result, the Boilermakers advanced to their first Sweet Sixteen since 2010, and that charge was led by a monster season from the All-American.
| awards, feature, postseason awards | Tagged: bonzie colson, caleb swanigan, derrick walton jr, Dillon Brooks, Ethan Happ, feature, frank mason, Jawun Evans, jock landale, John Collins, johnathan motley, josh hart, Josh Jackson, justin jackson, lauri markkanen, Lonzo Ball, Luke Kennard, malik monk, Markelle Fultz, monte morris, Nigel Williams-Goss, Sindarius Thornwell
Rushed Reactions: #1 Kansas 98, #4 Purdue 66
Posted by Brian Goodman on March 23rd, 2017
RTC will be providing coverage of the NCAA Tournament from start to finish. Brian Goodman (@BSGoodman) is in Kansas City this weekend.
Kansas Celebrates a Dominant Sweet Sixteen Victory (KC Star)
Three Key Takeaways.
Explosiveness makes the Jayhawks lethal. Two backbreaking runs did the Boilermakers in tonight. The first was a 21-7 stretch over six minutes to end the first half, and the other was a 21-6 napalming midway through the second half. With shooters and athleticism up and down the roster keying its lethal transition game, Kansas has kicked its offense into a gear that no other team in college basketball can match.
Caleb Swanigan gets his, but Purdue's other scorers fail to come through. Without a classic rim protector, Kansas has allowed opposing big men to play well this season utilizing a bend-don't-break defensive style focused on containing secondary weapons. Though Purdue opened tonight's game with a barrage of three-pointers, it wasn't built to last. Caleb Swanigan finished with 18 points and seven rebounds, but his teammates buried just 30 percent of their long-range attempts, including an ice-cold 2-of-11 showing in the second half as the game turned into a blowout.
Devonte' Graham's hot shooting gives Kansas extra pop. Following a solid sophomore season, there was a reasonable expectation in Lawrence was that Graham would make a big leap forward during his junior year. Graham had a good regular season, but he's been a completely different player in Kansas' three NCAA Tournament games, averaging 20.0 points per game and shooting an eye-popping 59 percent from distance, including a 5-of-9 showing against the Boilermakers.
Player Of The Game. Frank Mason III. The Jayhawks didn't need Mason to make any clutch plays tonight but that didn't stop him from being the best scorer on the floor. The clear-cut favorite for National Player of the Year scored 26 points on 9-of-11 shooting and poured in seven assists and seven rebounds against one of the tallest frontcourts in college basketball.
| 2017 ncaa tournament, rushed reactions | Tagged: caleb swanigan, Devonte Graham, frank mason, kansas, lagerald vick, purdue
NCAA Regional Reset: Midwest Region
Posted by Tommy Lemoine on March 20th, 2017
Rush the Court is providing comprehensive coverage of the NCAA Tournament from start to finish over the next three weeks.
New Favorite: #1 Kansas (30-4). Despite receiving a 30-minute test from #9 Michigan State on Sunday, Kansas remains the favorite to win the Midwest Region. The Jayhawks smashed #16 UC Davis 100-62 before dominating the last 10 minutes against the Spartans in the Round of 32 — a hard-fought victory that should prepare them well for an even stronger Big Ten opponent, #4 Purdue, on Thursday. If you buy into advanced metrics, this appears to be a fairly even matchup: Kansas ranks seventh in KenPom, while the Boilermakers rank 13th. Unfortunately for Matt Painter's group, the game will be played in Kansas City, where a sea of Jayhawk faithful is sure to outnumber Purdue fans several fold. Assuming Kansas prevails, it will be a similar story against #3 Oregon or #7 Michigan. Beating Kansas is one thing, but beating Kansas in a semi-road game is something entirely different.
Kansas Rolls Into KC as the Clear Midwest Region Favorite (USA Today Images)
Horse of Darkness: #7 Michigan (26-11). The Wolverines have not lost since that epic defeat at Northwestern on March 1, a nearly three-week stretch which has included a near-plane crash, a Big Ten Tournament championship, and a pair of gutsy NCAA Tournament victories over Oklahoma State and Louisville. Michigan now boasts the third-most efficient offense in college basketball, thanks in large part to blistering performances like the one Moritz Wagner (26 points on 11-of-14 FT) put on against the Cardinals on Sunday. If John Beilein's group can get past shorthanded Oregon on Thursday, there's no reason to think it can't win this region. Heck, the Wolverines have already beaten Purdue twice since February 25, and the last time they played Kansas in the Big Dance, this happened. Look out.
Biggest Surprise (First Weekend): #11 Rhode Island (25-10). Rhode Island entered the NCAA Tournament on an eight-game winning streak, so its victory over #6 Creighton in the Round of 64 was not that surprising. The fashion in which it whipped the Bluejays, though — winning by 14 points and trailing for exactly zero seconds in game time — was quite unexpected. So too was the Rams' effort against #3 Oregon on Sunday night, a game in which they led by double-figures in the second half before falling victim to a cold-blooded Tyler Dorsey three-pointer in the closing seconds. For a program that had not gone dancing since 1999, Rhode Island was certainly ready for prime time.
| 2017 ncaa tournament, feature, regional resets | Tagged: atlantic 10, big 10, big 12, bill self, caleb swanigan, chris boucher, derrick walton, Dillon Brooks, frank mason, isaac haas, john beilein, Josh Jackson, kansas, matt painter, michigan, midwest region, Mortiz Wagner, ncaa tournament, oregon, purdue, rhode island, Tyler Dorsey
Rushed Reactions: #4 Purdue 80, #5 Iowa State 76
Posted by Brendan Brody on March 19th, 2017
Purdue advanced to the Sweet Sixteen for the first time since 2012 by beating Iowa State in one of the best games of the NCAA Tournament so far.
Biggie Swanigan Dominated the Inside For Purdue (USA Today Images)
Purdue was large and in charge, and this carried the day. It was fairly well-known by anybody who watches the sport that Purdue was going to have an advantage in the post this evening, and it did so by scoring 40 points against the undersized Cyclones in the paint. Caleb Swanigan, Vincent Edwards and Isaac Haas were the team's top three players in scoring, combining for 55 of the team's 80 points on 56.1 percent shooting for the game.
Tournament Vincent is the best Vincent. Edwards has yet to have a poor effort in thefour NCAA Tournament appearances over his career — the junior forward now boasts averages of 20.0 PPG, 9.0 RPG, and 3.8 APG on 54.2 percent shooting from the floor. He led the Boilermakers in scoring again tonight, doing most of his damage at the rim. Were it not for Swanigan's heroics at the end of the game, Edwards would have easily been deserving as the best player on the floor.
This was a brutal way for the career of Iowa State's seniors to end. Even as a neutral party on press row, watching the careers of four seniors end with such a tough loss was difficult to watch. The foursome of Monte' Morris, Matt Thomas, Nazareth Mitrou-Long and Deonte Burton will go down as one of the best senior classes in Iowa State history, and they deserve to be commended for the way they fought back to put the heat on Purdue in the second half.
Star of the Game. Edwards was extremely good in this game, but it's hard not to give Purdue's Caleb Swanigan the nod here. It wasn't his best or most efficient offensive game, but he still scored 20 points, grabbed 12 rebounds, and offered a team-leading seven assists. He's been a solid passer all season long for the Boilermakers, but he really did a nice job feeding Edwards and Haas from either the high post or down on the blocks.
| 2017 ncaa tournament, feature, rushed reactions | Tagged: caleb swanigan, Dakota Mathias, deonte burton, iowa state, isaac haas, matt painter, Matt Thomas, monte morris, Nazareth Mitrou-Long, purdue, steve prohm, Vincent Edwards
Rushed Reactions: #4 Purdue 80, #13 Vermont 70
Purdue did not play its best game of the season this evening, but the Boilermakers did enough things right to hold off a pesky Vermont team that was still within five points in the last five minutes. Turnovers and shaky defense are still a concern for Matt Painter's team going forward, though.
BIggie Swanigan Notched His 27th Double-Double of the Season (USA Today Images)
Purdue still has a dangerous offense. The final numbers made things look much nicer for Purdue's offense than it actually played tonight — at times, the Boilermakers really struggled to get anything going. All in all, though, Purdue finished the game scoring well over 1.10 points per possession, solid shooting percentage numbers, and only two turnovers after halftime. The first half was somewhat uglier, so there's plenty for Matt Painter to focus on cleaning up with his team before Saturday.
Purdue still has issues to fix. This isn't the time of year for Painter to deal with things like inadequately closing out on three-point shooters or improperly feeding the post. It is possible that the Boilermakers slightly overlooked the Catamounts, but that too is problematic because this team simply isn't good enough to hit an on and off switch like that.
Vermont could have grabbed the upset but lost the game in the paint. If a couple of three-pointers hadn't rolled in-and-out, this game was there for the Catamounts' taking, having received tremendous performances from Anthony Lamb and Trae Bell-Haynes. Tonight wasn't a very good defensive performance from Purdue, but a +11 rebounding edge and a +14 advantage in the paint ensured the victory.
Star of the Game. Purdue's Vincent Edwards experienced a similar scoring stretch similar to Reggie Upshaw for Middle Tennessee earlier today. Edwards scored the first eight Purdue points in the second half, while adding five rebounds, three assists, a steal and two blocks. The junior didn't need to carry the whole offense tonight, but his early second half scoring punch perhaps prevented a fatal lull.
| 2017 ncaa tournament, rushed reactions | Tagged: Anthony Lamb, caleb swanigan, Carsen Edwards, isaac haas, matt painter, purdue, vermont, Vincent Edwards
Four Big Ten Storylines to Follow in the Final Week of Regular Season
Posted by Brendan Brody on February 28th, 2017
There are now 14 games left in a Big Ten regular season that has been marked by numerous highs and lows throughout. The major takeaway at this point of the season is that almost nothing in terms of the conference standings has yet been settled. That means that every game over the next six days has considerably more meaning than in other conferences where much is already determined. Here are four other Big Ten storylines worth monitoring during the final week of the regular season.
Scottie Lindsey needs to find his scoring touch in the final week for Northwestern to be as though its safely in the NCAA Tournament (USA Today).
Can Northwestern Earn One More Win? The Wildcats appeared to be a near-lock for the NCAA Tournament after knocking off Wisconsin on February 12, but they've since lost three of four and are really struggling to put points on the board. Northwestern closes out the Big Ten season with two home games this week against Michigan and Purdue, where a victory in either contest would likely be enough to certify things. Two more losses, however, would result in a 9-9 record in conference play, creating a teetering mountain of pressure on Chris Collins' team to win a game or two in the Big Ten Tournament. Read the rest of this entry »
| big ten, feature, microsites | Tagged: caleb swanigan, chris collins, Ethan Happ, illinois, indiana, maryland, michigan, michigan state, minnesota, northwestern, ohio state, purdue, wisconsin
Big Ten Weekend in Review
In the third to last weekend of Big Ten conference play, the stars of the league took over. Wisconsin remained at the top of the standings after beating Maryland behind 20-point efforts from Ethan Happ and Nigel Hayes. Purdue likewise kept pace at the top of the standings behind Caleb Swanigan's 23rd double-double of the season in a domination of Michigan State. What follows are the highs and lows from a six-game weekend Big Ten schedule.
Caleb Swanigan did nothing to damage his chances at picking up some postseason hardware, as he led Purdue to another Big Ten win. (Boiledsports.com).
Player of the Weekend: Caleb Swanigan did to Michigan State what he always does, scoring 24 points and grabbing 15 rebounds in leading his team to a dominant win. The big man's passing ability really stood out this weekend, as he led Purdue with five assists against only one turnover. Much of the Boilermakers' offensive damage came from Swanigan either scoring himself or running the high-low game with Isaac Haas on the interior. The sophomore also made 9-of-10 foul shots, elevating his mark on the season to a robust 78.4 percent. Complete efforts like these are the reason that the burly forward is garnering serious consideration for the National Player of the Year award.
Super Sub of the Weekend: One of the biggest what-ifs this season is how Nebraska might look if Ed Morrow, Jr. had not missed seven games with an injury? The Cornhuskers went 1-6 with Morrow out of the lineup, clearly missing the sophomore forward's energy and work on the boards (even though the injury also allowed freshman Jordy Tshimanga to take some important strides). Despite only playing 15 minutes with foul trouble on Saturday against Ohio State, Morrow scored 10 points, grabbed six rebounds and posted a 141.0 offensive rating for the game. This keyed Nebraska's first road win since a New Year's Day victory at Maryland.
| big ten, microsites | Tagged: caleb swanigan, Ed Morrow Jr, Ethan Happ, Glynn Watson Jr., illinois, iowa, isaac haas, jaquan lyle, Malcolm Hill, maryland, Melo Trimble, michigan state, Miles Bridges, nebraska, Nigel Hayes, ohio state, purdue, tai webster, wisconsin