issue guidance on issuing L-1B visas to make adjudications more predictable.
If you want to hear Stuart Anderson from NFAP, me and immigration lawyer Margaret Stock, click here. I mainly discussed the first idea regarding counting families together rather than separately for pulling green card numbers. This idea would shave years off the waiting time for green cards for a huge number of people. My research showed that this is a defensible reading of the statute, is consistent with the legislative intent and makes sense from a policy standpoint.
It makes sense from a policy standpoint, but the bigger question is – does it make sense from a political standpoint? It seems that the WH will or will not issue EOs or time the EOs in such a way that the President and his party has a political gain in it.
It is unfortunate when politics prevail over everything – even sensible policymaking.


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Home/World News/Middle East/Syria/Israelis Concerned about Syrian Army Progress in Qusayr
Israelis Concerned about Syrian Army Progress in Qusayr
The Zionist entity seems in rush to directly intervene in Syria and strike the Iranian nuclear facilities, recent statement of Zionist military and intelligence officials showed.
The new achievements of the Syrian army reflected concerns among Zionist officials and accelerated the pace of incitement against Syria, Iran and the Lebanese Resistance of Hezbollah.
The conference of the Institute for National Security Studies (INNS) in Tel Aviv on Monday has turned to be an occasion for sending letters that reflected the deep Zionist concerns about developments in Syria after the latest achievements carried out by the Syrian regular army against the militant groups.
Head of research department in military intelligence, General Itai Brun, expressed fears of the international community silence towards what's going on in Syria, stressing that Syrian regular army used the chemical weapons several times.
Zionist analysts believed that the purpose behind those statements is to push the United States towards a military adventure against the regime in Syria.
"This is a fundamental intelligence debate; however, it holds political sense in the same time," Odad Granot, Arab affairs analyst at the Zionist channel said.
"This is because if it appears that Bashar al-Assad has used chemical weapons, the US will be ought to intervene, which will represent a Zionist attempt to push Washington towards military intervention in Syria," he elaborated.
The Zionist concerns were also expressed during the INSS conference, when chief of Staff, Beni Gantz, talked about the great threat coming from Syria and Iran, criticizing the Russian position supporting Assad in Damascus.
On the other hand, former intelligence chief in the Zionist entity, Amos Yadlin, warned that Iran has surpassed the red line in its nuclear program.
"Iran and Hezbollah are experts in trying to maintain this axis and the Assad regime. What wondering most is the great Russian support for Assad regime," Gantz said.
"We should know that there is no problem for Iranians to retransform the nuclear fuel of the research facility within one week into nuclear materials to build the bomb. For this they have surpassed the red line put for them," Yadlin stated.
For his part, former chief of foreign and security committee, Tsahy Hangbi, noted that the countdown has started for Israel to offer the military option as the only option against Iran.
Syria was hit by a violent unrest starting from March 2011, with the main Western and Arab countries offering military and finance support for the armed opposition groups.
Iranian forces are legally in Syria: Syrian ambassador
IMAM KHOMEINI AND USTAD BEDIUZZAMAN SAID NURSI
Imam Khomeini demise anniv. commemorated in other countries
Whys making Islamic Revolution of Late Imam Rohullah Al- Mousawi Khomeini so Important

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


My dear beloved bike Gunther met an untimely demise when he and I "won the door prize" (got doored) and he was sent careening off into the Great Bicycle Beyond.
I wanted to solve the everyday problem of having a good place to put my bicycle in a messy garage. I used recycled materials and a bit of random electrical and utility items to make something aesthetically pleasing and functional.
It requires a certain amount of "Macgyvering" to reconfigure the pieces but if you have a scraps from a old bike, some utility parts and a few simple tools, you can certainly make this project!
I chose a $2 plaque from Michaels for my project. My friend who made his in parallel chose the more expensive wood mount. I applied stain with paper towels. I happen to spill when applying to the paper towel so be careful. If you haven't stained before consider wearing something you don't care about and if you don't like getting your hands dirty wear gloves. Stain in a well ventilated area as the fumes may pose a health risk. I stained after I had laser engraved but after consulting a friend the order is not critical. I went with a darker stain to be a bit more somber but you can get stain at a place like home depot and choose whatever suits your taste. I do regret doing the engraving below the bicycle "horns" and not above. I used adobe illustrator and a public domain font and public domain image of a bicycle for my commemorative etching.
I chose to mount above my etching. In hindsight this may have been a mistake. I kept spacing from the edges of the plaque and had two screws at the bottom vs. the 1 screw configuration because I thought it would be more secure. I used the 3/4 wood screws with the power drill. I used these screw on the back as well.. I chose to use screws over nails because this is a weight bearing project. Keeping everything aligned and tight really helps later keeping things secure and level on the wall.
*IMPORTANT* The hangings must be aligned level, otherwise the bike will not sit level when racked on the handlebars. I know this seems obvious but doing this right the first time saves alot of annoyance. I used PerfectHang. I have never used them before but so far so good. Home depot didn't have anything cheaper that worked.
I unscrewed my expander bolt from stem and then unthreaded the locking connector and passed the expander bolt up through the locking connector before threading the locking connector back in. I then tightened the expander bolt back onto the stem. It sounds alot more complicated than it is. Depending on the fit of your stem/expander bolt in relation to your mount and locking connector this step may be difficult. Getting everything fitting snugly and aligned straight. I did some trial and error here. My friends stem fit perfectly and locked down easily so your mileage may vary.
Gunther's bars were pretty beat up. I decided to cover them with his popped inner tube. I cut the tube slipped it on and left an inch + of excess innertube as a fudge factor on both ends. The inner tube not only hides the beat up and kinda gross drop bars it also prevents scratching the hanging bicycle frame by putting something between the metal on metal. My friend went with the more traditional look of two pieces of tube and electrical tape. I think my way is cleaner.
To get bars onto stem thread the end of bar through stem end and rotate bars. This can be done with the tire on it just takes finagling. Keep at the twisting motion with the bars. To make things easier half put on the inner tube thread bars through stem half way. pull inner tube through stem connector then grip. Bunch up tube at the tube covered side of the stem connector and feed/pull while twisting. It is all easier than it sounds.
Once everything is on and tightened cap your bar ends. I used my original bar ends which happened to work. It was very snug. You might consider using a rubber mallet to make things easier if it is very tight. My friend went with wine corks. Instead of stuffing down the excess into the bars he wrapped the bar ends with electrical tape. This choice is more aesthetic than functional.
Great Work! I've been trying to do this for a while now but I am having trouble with finding a Pressure Connector and Floor Mount that matches up with my stem. I have a 22.2 diameter used quill stem but it's either too big for a 3/4" or just a hair too small for the 1". Could you elaborate on what diameter your stem is?
Just saw this. I am a bit confused by your question. Do you have pictures? Your expander bolt doesn't work?
This is a good idea. I made something similar, so I could hang my bike in the closet by the handlebars. Yours is much nicer looking than what I made.


Science Buddies Staff. "Help! What File Format Should I Use to Save My Favorite Photo?" Science Buddies, 3 Dec. 2018, https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science-fair-projects/project-ideas/CompSci_p020/computer-science/file-formats-for-photos. Accessed 26 Apr. 2019.


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NFF Sanctioned By FIFA For Use Of Ineligible Player In World Cup Qualifier
December 13, 2017 admin FIFA, latest news, Press Releases
Following the recent meeting of the Disciplinary Committee, FIFA can today confirm the latest sanctions imposed for incidents that occurred during the preliminary competition for the FIFA World Cup™ as well as in international friendlies.
The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has been sanctioned for fielding an ineligible player in the match between Algeria and Nigeria on 10 November 2017. The match is declared to be forfeited and awarded 3-0 in favour of Algeria, with the NFF also receiving a fine of CHF 6,000. The sanction relates to the player Abdullahi Shehu failing to serve the automatic one-match suspension imposed on him as a result of receiving a caution in two separate matches of the same competition. This sanction bears no impact on the final result of the preliminary competition for the FIFA World Cup since Nigeria had already qualified (and Algeria eliminated) before the match took place.
The FIFA Disciplinary Committee has also sanctioned the Timor-Leste FA (FFTL) with a fine of CHF 70,000 and the forfeit of seven matches in the preliminary competition for the 2018 FIFA World Cup™ for fielding a total of nine ineligible players based on nationality. The decision of the FIFA Disciplinary Committee is related to a previous sanction imposed by the AFC.
In addition, the Colombian player Edwin Cardona has been sanctioned for making a discriminatory gesture at an opponent during the friendly match played between the representative teams of Korea Republic and Colombia on 10 November 2017. Cardona has received a five-match suspension on the basis of art. 58 par. 1a) of the FIFA Disciplinary Code, with the suspension to be served during the upcoming friendly matches of the Colombian representative team, as well as a stadium ban for those five matches and a fine of CHF 20,000.
Further details of the other decisions passed by the Disciplinary Committee are available in the disciplinary overview document for the 2018 FIFA World Cup™ preliminary competition, published on FIFA.com.
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Google Fi may sound like some weird sort of initiation ritual ("Whoa, what happened to Rick? I heard he got Googlefied!") — but if you can get past its silly-sounding name, the recently rebranded wireless service can both save you money and step up your smartphone security situation.
Make no mistake about it: Google Fi — known as Project Fi up until last week — is a pretty unusual proposition. And it absolutely won't make sense for everyone. If you fall into a certain style of smartphone usage, though, it can eliminate a lot of the downsides that typically come with a traditional wireless plan.
So how does Fi actually work, and could it be right for you? Let's tackle it question by burning question and figure that out together.
Google Fi is technically what's known as an MVNO, or mobile virtual network operator. That's a fancy name for an entity that provides wireless service — y'know, the thing that allows you to make and receive calls and use mobile data from that shiny rectangle in your pocket — without actually owning the network infrastructure behind it.
In other words, it's kinda like a high-tech landlord. It doesn't have its own network like AT&T or Verizon; instead, it has an arrangement with those very sorts of carriers that allows it to tap into their networks and repackage access to those pipes under its own brand and arrangement.
In the U.S., Fi uses a combination of T-Mobile, Sprint, and U.S. Cellular. That's one of its distinguishing features, in fact: When you use Google Fi with a phone that's designed for the service, it's able to seamlessly switch you between those networks based on which one has the strongest service at any given moment.
Automatically and silently; on a day-to-day basis, you'll never even think about it or be aware that it's happening. Your phone just shows that you're connected to Google Fi. But behind the scenes, the device continuously seeks out the best possible network for your location and switches you around as needed.
That's an important question — and unfortunately, there's no simple nor universal answer, as it ultimately all depends on where you are and how Fi's networks perform in your area.
Or, heck, you can simply ask around — or mull over your own past experiences. Think of it this way: If you know you can get solid service with, say, T-Mobile in your area, then Google Fi should be fine for you; the addition of Sprint and U.S. Cellular as possibilities will only flesh out that coverage further and fill in any gaps. As long as at least one of Fi's networks is a viable option wherever you are, you're good to go.
What about the Wi-Fi part of the process? Doesn't Fi also connect to public Wi-Fi networks sometimes?
Well, I'll be. Go get yourself a cookie, you brilliant little koala. You're on the ball today!
Here's how it works: Anytime you're in range of a publicly available Wi-Fi network that Google has determined to be "high-quality and reliable" (a phrase you should probably not borrow for your next dating app profile), your Fi phone will switch over to that instead of your regular mobile network. You'll see it happen in retail establishments with open Wi-Fi networks or anywhere else that has its Wi-Fi available without the need for any sort of sign-in.
Fi automatically encrypts your data anytime it's connected to a network in that manner, using a special Google-provided virtual private network (VPN) — which means that no one else on the network could snoop on your connection and see what you're doing (in the way you often hear described as a risk of using public Wi-Fi networks).
But just like with the service's mobile network switching, you don't really think about any of that stuff in day-to-day use. With the Wi-Fi, you do see a special icon in your status bar showing that you're connected to Wi-Fi with the Google-provided encryption enabled, but other than that, things just work — and you don't put much thought into what network or type of network your phone has attached itself to at any given moment.
It's actually a pretty powerful perk, too, especially for anyone serious about Android security — which, ahem, we all should be. But if you ever transmit sensitive company data, always-on encryption is not only smart; it's practically a necessity. And unless your company provides its own custom VPN service, you end up having to rely on a third-party service for said protection — something that's costly, complicated, and difficult to evaluate and remain fully confident in over time.
With Fi's new built-in encryption option, that challenge is no more: Your VPN is provided directly by Google and bundled into your basic wireless service. All you do is flip a little toggle in the Fi app on your phone to turn it on, and you can then rest easy knowing all your data will always be encrypted, no matter where you are or what sort of network you're using.
Again, there's no simple universal answer, as everyone's needs and habits are different — and the competition from other carriers is constantly evolving. There are, however, some good general guidelines that can help you figure out if Fi might make financial (get it — fi-nancial?!) sense for you.
Most broadly, I'd say this: Fi tends to be best for people who use a relatively small amount of mobile data. If you burn through gigs upon gigs of mobile data each month, you'd probably do better with a different sort of setup.
Now, specifically, here's how it works: Fi charges you 20 bucks a month for your basic service, which gives you unlimited calling and texting. On top of that, you pay $10 for every gigabyte of mobile data you use each month — or whatever percentage of that number ends up being relevant, all the way down to the third decimal. So for instance, if you used 2.202GB of mobile data in a month, you'd pay $22.02.
There are a couple of noteworthy asterisks here. First, remember that automatic Wi-Fi connection part of Fi's service? Keep it mind that that actively works to help you use less mobile data all throughout the day. In assessing your typical monthly mobile data use, think about whether you tend to be in or near places with public Wi-Fi that might help reduce your regular usage, as you currently know it.
Second, Fi will charge you only up to the 6GB mark, with an individual account. If you manage to go over 6GB of mobile data in any given month, you'll pay only $60 — $10 per gig times six — for that month's usage. You can go all the way up to 15GB without paying another dime; once you hit that 15GB mark (something Google says less than 1% of individual Fi users ever do), you'll have the choice to get slower than usual mobile data speeds at no extra cost or to start paying $10 per gig again for regular mobile data speeds from that point forward.
So, yeah: If you're routinely using 25GB of mobile data each month, you'd probably come out ahead with another carrier's "unlimited" option. But if you can keep your monthly usage in the lower to mid-single-digit gigabyte count, on average, you could end up saving quite a bit of dough with Fi's arrangement.
It does! Fi rolled out a group plan option a couple years ago, and it's really a no-brainer if you have family members or even co-workers who are using the service and might want to combine.
The Fi group plan has the same core setup as the regular plan, but each additional person on the plan has a $15 base fee instead of $20. Then you still pay that same per-gigabyte rate for however much data is used, collectively. And your "max payment" amount bumps up to 10GB, so any usage past that point doesn't cost you any additional money (up to that same 15GB mark, at which point any individual within the plan has the same option to either get slowed down speeds or to start paying the per-gigabyte rate again).
The Fi app even has an option to set it up so that members of your plan get "billed" for their portion of the total each month and can pay you back with a couple of taps using Google Pay. As the primary account-holder, you also have the ability to pause any member's service or data at any point in a billing cycle, should the need or inspiration (bwah hah hah) ever strike.
Amazingly, no; this is another one of the service's most valuable features, particularly if you travel internationally with any regularity (you lucky son of a dolphin, you).
So here it is: Fi charges you the same standard per-gigabyte rate all over the world — in 170 countries. You get free texting in all those places, too. You do end up paying for cellular voice calls, but even those rates aren't generally that bad, relatively speaking.
Yes, indeedly. And there's no extra charge for doing so; you just pay that same standard flat per-gigabyte rate for any data you use, regardless of or how you're sharing it or what device is actually tapping into it.
You pay ahead just one month at a time — so in December, for example, you'll prepay for January's usage based on your own estimate of how much mobile data you'll need. But you still end up paying only for the amount you actually use; anything above that mark comes back as a credit on your next bill. Similarly, if you go over your estimated data usage, you get charged for the precise extra amount the following month.
Google Fi lets you claim up to nine data-only SIMs for your account and use them in any devices you want. You can order the SIMs free from the Fi app or website, and all you pay is the same per-gigabyte rate you'd pay for mobile data use from your main phone. That means any extra devices essentially become extensions of your main Fi phone — which is another powerful perk that opens up plenty of interesting possibilities.
Yup — whether it's a cell number or even a landline number. Nothin' to it.
What if I'm using Google Voice now?
The short answer is yes, you can absolutely port in a Google Voice number to Project Fi — and you'll still get most (but not all) of the significant Voice features, albeit in slightly different Fi forms (fo, fum). You can also always transfer your number back out later, if you decide to stop using Fi and want to go back to Google Voice down the road.
The long is answer is — well, it's complicated. Like, really complicated. I put together a detailed FAQ dedicated entirely to this very subject a while back, though, and it probably has the answer to any question you've got.
Well, Gilby, lemme tell ya: Google Fi doesn't have any physical retail stores (yet), but it does have 24/7 phone, chat, and email support — which has generally been quite good in my experience and far less likely to make me want to gouge my eyes out than any other carrier support system I've had the displeasure of using.
Let me explain: Fi has a small number of phones that are explicitly designed for its service — including Google's own Pixel devices, as you'd expect, and a handful of other specially adapted handsets. Those phones give you the full Fi experience, with the multi-network switching, the automatic public Wi-Fi connecting, and the always-on VPN protection option.
You can, however, also use Fi with most other reasonably recent Android phones or even iPhones. As long as a device is unlocked and compatible with GSM networks (like T-Mobile, Sprint, and U.S. Cellular), in fact, it'll almost certainly work on Fi — at least, from a technical perspective. That's always been true, despite the fact that Google just now started promoting it and officially supporting such widespread compatibility.
But take note: With a phone that isn't designed explicitly to be used with Google Fi, you won't get that aforementioned full Fi experience. That means no multi-network switching — instead, your device will connect only to T-Mobile, in the U.S. — plus no automatic public Wi-Fi connecting and no always-on VPN protection.
What you will get is the pay-only-for-what-you-use, hidden-fee-free billing setup along with the standard-rate international data cost. But you're essentially getting that with regular T-Mobile service here in the States, which takes a bit of the shine off of Fi's appeal.
Also, with new accounts, Google Fi is currently limiting you to a certain subset of approved devices. (You can search the full list here.) Even if an older phone is technically compatible with Fi — and would work with it, if you were to slap an active SIM card inside — Google won't activate an account unless you have one of those whitelisted phones.
No — for instance, you could buy a Pixel phone from Google, from Best Buy, or wherever, and it'd still work fine and give you the full Fi experience as soon as you slide that SIM card inside. The same applies for most other Fi-designed phones, too, though if you're thinking of getting anything other than a device's unlocked model, you may want to check the Fi compatibility site just to make sure it shows up as having full "designed for Fi" support.
Fi does sell all such devices directly through its website, with options for financing, trade-ins, and device protection plans. It also tends to run a fair amount of deals — including dropped prices and bundled-in Fi credits with new device purchases (both of which are present on several of its phones as of this writing). So it's certainly worth shopping around a bit but also seeing how Fi's own offerings compare to what you find elsewhere.
Okay, I think I've got this. Very important query before we wrap up, though: Does Fi ever make you crave pie or rye?
I won't dignify with a reply.


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Just curious about this situation..
By ninjakid944
October 30, 2003 in Dating Advice
ninjakid944
What's up, guys? There's this girl in my class twice a week. Not the one I've been posting about b4. This is a different girl. I've known her since last semester after workin with her in a group with 2 other people in a class back then. We're not like friends or anything, but we're cool with each other. We talk here and there in school and sometimes, walk out of class 2gether to our cars. Everyone changes seats each class, so sometimes she'll sit next to me since we don't know anyone else in class. I had a feelin she had a boyfriend already, but since I wasn't sure, I said what the hell.. so I asked her out after class a few weeks ago. Sure enough, she told me she did, so I was like, my bad. She said that's ok, then we said bye b4 goin home. It was a little awkward and part of me wishes I hadn't asked her out b/c I don't want her to feel weird being around me and not wanna talk to me anymore. But I can't live life with regrets, so I told myself, I'll just have to deal with it. It was worth a try I guess. The next class we had, she was sittin in the row in front of me. When class ended, I was still packin up and as she walked by after finishing talkin to someone, she said hey, what's up. I was caught off-guard, but then I said what's up back to her. Then she walked out. Then I said to myself, that's cool that she doesn't feel uncomfortable around me like I thought she would. Then, the next class, I'm sittin all the way in the back where I never sat b4 in this class and she sits next to me. I was like, whoa. Since then, every class we're in 2gether, she always sits next to me no matter where I'm sitting and times when I think she left already after class ends, she's waitin for me to finish packin up my books so we can walk out 2gether. She never did that b4. I thought she'd wanna have nothin to do with me after askin her out. I guess I was wrong. Do you think that she feels flattered that I asked her out and looks at me differently now that she knows I like her or am I gettin ahead of myself and she's just being friendly like she usually is? Cause I would think most girls would want to keep at a distance after that. I'm just curious about what ya'll think...
Blue_Soul
Yeah, she probably does feel a little flattered that you asked her out and you're in a good position because she's trying to show you she's cool with it. Keep that courage up and continue to ask girls out. That's something I had a hard time with in school and I'm REALLY paying for it now. Bottom line, you've got a friend. Don't try to avoid her 'cause you feel embarrased. Keep her as a friend and keep looking for someone. You never know what may happen further down the road.
My boyfriend wants his friend, should we break up?
By evenworse, January 19
Art professor told me to reconsider studying art at university
spinstermanquee
My boyfriend has been jacking off to pretty much everything but me, should I feel weird about it? 1 2
By SwatTeamLeader, September 23, 2022
infidelity?
boltnrun


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Making A Difference – Volunteering
It's The Time Of The Year To Look Forward
BARNBOW MUNITIONS FACTORY HERO RECEIVES RECOGNITION
Jorvik Viking Festival 2020
Road Safety Tips For Dog Owners
Maggie's Centre, A Warm And Welcoming Place
Council News & Updates
LEEDS DESIGNER HITS THE HIGH STREET WITH CATWALK FASHION
By yorkshire reporter on	 06/04/2016 0 Comments
Leeds fashion designer and online retailer Victoria Reddington is celebrating the opening of her first store just weeks after showcasing her clothing range at New York Fashion Week.Fashion Pony, which supports and showcases up-and-coming clothing designers from the city has opened its doors at The Broadway Bradford, Yorkshire's newest shopping centre. The store, which is a pop-up venture open until April 30th, fulfils fashion designer Victoria's long held ambition to celebrate the emerging talent to be found on her doorstep.
"It provides a platform for young designers, independent labels and fashion students to show their creations and sell their limited edition, hand-crafted fashion ranges," said Victoria who created fashion label ISAAC AVA together with her business partner Dawn Hunter. The label was the only British fashion brand invited to showcase on the catwalk during New York City Fashion Week.
"I know how tough it is to get noticed in the fashion industry and I want to share my experience to help other talented designers take their first steps to success. Fashion Pony is committed to helping emerging designers and our pop-up shop puts the spotlight exclusively on up and coming designers. There is so much talent in the city and we're delighted to be using The Broadway to showcase their creativity and skills."
Shoppers visiting Fashion Pony at The Broadway Bradford are the first to see and buy the ISAAC AVA brand following its showcase in New York as The Broadway Bradford is currently the only place it can be purchased.
The inspiration behind the name ISAAC AVA is Victoria and Dawn's children. Isaac being Victoria's son's name, and AVA being Dawn's daughter's name.
The Fashion Pony store is located opposite Boots and will be open until 30th April.
Leeds' Retailers, Bars And Businesses Win Awards For Tackling And Preventing Crime
Leeds Studios To Open For Business
Free Digital Skills Courses For Leeds Mums Return
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Website Development: Lex;


Change or die. That powerful reminder is driving our new series of ebooks on the future of the workplace. Whether you're a humble startup in a garage or a Fortune 500 company with a stranglehold on market share, failure to anticipate trends and adapt new technology will, at best, keep you from achieving your full potential. Most likely, it will cause even more serious repercussions.
We separated our first ebook in the series into three editions.
In upcoming ebooks, we'll be considering how changes in work process will impact specific roles and departments, from CMOs, CIOs and CEOs to specialists, creatives and remote or freelance teams. We'll also be dishing out lots of advice on working smarter, improving productivity and boosting collaboration.


On the 20th February, Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Danny Alexander, paid a visit to Bristol & Bath Science Park. Stirling's R&D Manager, Dr. Simon Hancock was invited to attend the MPs visit based on Stirling's growing green technology credentials. A variety of other businesses from the region were also in attendance including: Hieta, Cubik Innovation, National Composites Centre (HMV Catapult Centre), DNV GL Garrad Hassan, JustOne Database, Altair Product Design, Bristol Blue Green, Clean Energy Prospector, Your Group, North Bristol Suscom, Low Carbon South West and Bristol 2015.


Rugby player Tima Tagaloa invited Christ into his life and found the purpose he was looking for.
As a youngster, sports has always been a big part of my life. I enjoyed playing sports because I saw it as a way to express myself. But my main motivation for why I enjoyed playing sports was because of the popularity that came with it and being accepted.
In high school I played all sports, but it was in rugby that I excelled. It was there that I gained popularity, particularly with the girls. I soon realized that I began to build a reputation around the school and that made me feel good to know that I was well known.
After leaving high school, I wanted to pursue my goals in rugby. I remember at one of the club rugby games I was playing in, there was a news reporter who was watching the game. The next day I saw my name in the newspaper. On the back of the newspaper, in the sports section, there was a big photo of my face and in big headlines it said: "A STAR IS BORN". The newspaper article talked about my rugby prowess and the impact I had made in club rugby after coming straight out of high school. The newspaper article said that I was going to be an All Black. It also went on to compare my playing style to that of the famous All Black, Bryan Williams. After that, wherever I went, people would stop me and ask for my autograph or shake my hand and talk, people would whisper my name as I walked by or they would stop in their tracks to look at me. I had suddenly become real popular.
But with the popularity there came a lot of expectations. Because of what the public were reading in the newspaper, they had an expectation that I should play like an All Black—that every time I touched that ball inside my 22-yard line, I should run through all fifteen of the players, score the try and kick the goal! I soon realized that if I wasn't living up to what the public expected from me I was labeled a "loser".
Being labeled a "loser" really affected my performance because I am a person who likes to please people. I would always be dwelling on what other people thought of me. This pressure became too much for me. One day when I was attending a party, I found myself alone in a room, pitch dark, thinking about my life. Although everything on the outside seemed okay, I was really hurting on the inside. I may have felt that I was a popular guy, but on the inside I was really lonely, there was an emptiness in my life. I was so down that I even thought about committing suicide—I thought that was the only way to please everyone. At the party, I got up from where I was sitting and went to a medicine cabinet to try and find a sharp object to go ahead and slit my wrists. Fortunately, I couldn't go through with it.
Suicide was always in the back of my mind. And while I was at a mall, I noticed a group of Christian musicians singing and playing songs and handing out little flyers inviting people to come down to the local scout hall for a cup of tea and some biscuits. I couldn't refuse this offer because 1.) I was hungry and 2.) the food was for free. I went down and had maybe two or three cups of tea and about four or five packets of biscuits! As I was finishing eating my last biscuit, this young man approached me and we started talking. I can still remember clearly, what he said to me.
He said, "Timo, if you were to die tonight, from a scale of 0 to 100%, how sure are you that you would spend eternity with God?. The second question he asked was: "Timo, if you were to stand before God and God asked you, "Why should I let you into my heaven"—what would you say?
I couldn't answer him because I thought I was already a Christian. I was brought up in the church. He told me that I needed to know Christ personally. I didn't know what that meant, so he explained to me how I could know Christ in a personal way, through a small booklet, called "Knowing God Personally". As he was going through this, I realized, that this was what was missing in my life. So that night, I asked Christ to take control of the throne of my life.
When I asked Christ into my life, it wasn't like I was hit by a spiritual lightning bolt or there was some angelic choir singing, but I began to slowly see changes in my life. I now have a purpose for living, I have direction in my life and the most important change that I have seen is that I want to please God, to appease Him and not others. Finally, I have a verse in the Bible that helps me stay focused and motivated.
Colossians 3:23,24 says: "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving".


On Wednesday, September 16, 2015, at 12:05 p.m., police received a call for a theft of a vehicle in the area of Bond Street and Shuter Street .
A man has been taken into custody.
There were no injuries and the investigation is continuing.


Central Connecticut State University is a regional, comprehensive public university in New Britain, Connecticut. CCSU consists of four schools: the Ammon College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences; the School of Business; the School of Education and Professional Studies; and the School of Engineering, Science, and Technology. The university is attended by over 12,000 students, 9,871 of whom are undergraduates. It is part of the Connecticut State University System. More than half of students live off campus and 90 percent are in-state students. Notable alumni include actors Richard Grieco and Kenny Johnson.
Library access: The Elihu Burritt Library is open to the public. Visitors may use materials within the library. Free library cards are available for Connecticut residents ages 18 and older.
This description includes material adapted from the Wikipedia article "Central Connecticut State University", which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0. It has been edited for brevity and to conform with the style of this website. The edited description is distributed under the terms of the same Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0 license.


text:
Real options valuation, also often termed real options analysis, (ROV or ROA) applies option valuation techniques to capital budgeting decisions. A real option itself, is the right—but not the obligation—to undertake certain business initiatives, such as deferring, abandoning, expanding, staging, or contracting a capital investment project. For example, real options valuation could examine the opportunity to invest in the expansion of a firm's factory and the alternative option to sell the factory.

Real options are generally distinguished from conventional financial options in that they are not typically traded as securities, and do not usually involve decisions on an underlying asset that is traded as a financial security. A further distinction is that option holders here, i.e. management, can directly influence the value of the option's underlying project; whereas this is not a consideration as regards the underlying security of a financial option. Moreover, management cannot measure uncertainty in terms of volatility, and must instead rely on their perceptions of uncertainty. Unlike financial options, management also have to create or discover real options, and such creation and discovery process comprises an entrepreneurial or business task. Real options are most valuable when uncertainty is high; management has significant flexibility to change the course of the project in a favorable direction and is willing to exercise the options.

Real options analysis, as a discipline, extends from its application in corporate finance, to decision making under uncertainty in general, adapting the techniques developed for financial options to "real-life" decisions. For example, R&D managers can use Real Options Valuation to help them deal with various uncertainties in making decisions about the allocation of resources among R&D projects. Non business examples might be evaluating the cost of cryptocurrency mining machines, or the decision to join the work force, or rather, to forgo several years of income to attend graduate school.  It, thus, forces decision makers to be explicit about the assumptions underlying their projections, and for this reason ROV is increasingly employed as a tool in business strategy formulation. This extension of real options to real-world projects often requires customized decision support systems, because otherwise the complex compound real options will become too intractable to handle.

Types of real options

The flexibility available to management – i.e. the actual "real options" – generically, will relate to project size, project timing, and the operation of the project once established. In all cases, any (non-recoverable) upfront expenditure related to this flexibility is the option premium.  Real options are also commonly applied to stock valuation - see  - as well as to various other "Applications" referenced below.

Options relating to project size
Where the project's scope is uncertain, flexibility as to the size of the relevant facilities is valuable, and constitutes optionality.

Option to expand: Here the project is built with capacity in excess of the expected level of output so that it can produce at higher rate if needed. Management then has the option (but not the obligation) to expand – i.e. exercise the option – should conditions turn out to be favourable. A project with the option to expand will cost more to establish, the excess being the option premium, but is worth more than the same without the possibility of expansion. This is equivalent to a call option.
Option to contract : The project is engineered such that output can be contracted in future should conditions turn out to be unfavourable. Forgoing these future expenditures constitutes option exercise. This is the equivalent to a put option, and again, the excess upfront expenditure is the option premium.
Option to expand or contract: Here the project is designed such that its operation can be dynamically turned on and off. Management may shut down part or all of the operation when conditions are unfavorable (a put option), and may restart operations when conditions improve (a call option).  A flexible manufacturing system (FMS) is a good example of this type of option. This option is also known as a Switching option.

Options relating to project life and timing
Where there is uncertainty as to when, and how, business or other conditions will eventuate, flexibility as to the timing of the relevant project(s) is valuable, and constitutes optionality. Growth options are perhaps the most generic in this category – these entail the option to exercise only those projects that appear to be profitable at the time of initiation.

Initiation or deferment options: Here management has flexibility as to when to start a project. For example, in natural resource exploration a firm can delay mining a deposit until market conditions are favorable. This constitutes an American styled call option.
Delay option with a product patent: A firm with a patent right on a product has a right to develop and market the product exclusively until the expiration of the patent. The firm will market and develop the product only if the present value of the expected cash flows from the product sales exceeds the cost of development. If this does not occur, the firm can shelve the patent and not incur any further costs.
Option to abandon: Management may have the option to cease a project during its life, and, possibly, to realise its salvage value. Here, when the present value of the remaining cash flows falls below the liquidation value, the asset may be sold, and this act is effectively the exercising of a put option. This option is also known as a Termination option. Abandonment options are American styled.
Sequencing options: This option is related to the initiation option above, although entails flexibility as to the timing of more than one inter-related projects: the analysis here is as to whether it is advantageous to implement these sequentially or in parallel.  Here, observing the outcomes relating to the first project, the firm can resolve some of the uncertainty relating to the venture overall. Once resolved, management has the option to proceed or not with the development of the other projects. If taken in parallel, management would have already spent the resources and the value of the option not to spend them is lost. The sequencing of projects is an important issue in corporate strategy. Related here is also the notion of  Intraproject vs. Interproject options.
Option to prototype: New energy generation and storage systems are continuously being developed due to climate change, resource scarcity, and environmental laws. Some systems are incremental innovations of existing systems while others are radical innovations. Radical innovation systems are risky investments due to their relevant technical and economic uncertainties. Prototyping can hedge these risks by spending a fraction of the cost of a full-scale system and in return receiving economic and technical information regarding the system. In economic terms, prototyping is an option to hedge risk coming at a cost that needs to be properly assessed.

Options relating to project operation
Management may have flexibility relating to the product produced and /or the process used in manufacture.  As in the preceding cases, this flexibility increases the value of the project, corresponding in turn, to the "premium" paid for the real option.
Output mix options: The option to produce different outputs from the same facility is known as an output mix option or product flexibility. These options are particularly valuable in industries where demand is volatile or where quantities demanded in total for a particular good are typically low, and management would wish to change to a different product quickly if required.
Input mix options: An input mix option – process flexibility – allows management to use different inputs to produce the same output as appropriate.  For example, a farmer will value the option to switch between various feed sources, preferring to use the cheapest acceptable alternative.  An electric utility, for example, may have the option to switch between various fuel sources to produce electricity, and therefore a flexible plant, although more expensive may actually be more valuable.
Operating scale options: Management may have the option to change the output rate per unit of time or to change the total length of production run time, for example in response to market conditions. These options are also known as Intensity options.

Valuation
Given the above, it is clear that there is an analogy between real options and financial options, and we would therefore expect options-based modelling and analysis to be applied here. At the same time, it is nevertheless important to understand why the more standard valuation techniques may not be applicable for ROV.

Applicability of standard techniques
ROV is often contrasted with more standard techniques of capital budgeting, such as discounted cash flow (DCF) analysis / net present value (NPV).
Under this "standard" NPV approach, future expected cash flows are present valued under the  empirical probability measure at a discount rate that reflects the embedded risk in the project; see CAPM, APT, WACC.
Here, only the expected cash flows  are considered, and the "flexibility" to alter corporate strategy in view of actual market realizations is "ignored"; see below as well as .
The NPV framework (implicitly) assumes that management is "passive" with regard to their Capital Investment once committed.
Some analysts account for this uncertainty by
(i) adjusting the discount rate, e.g. by increasing the cost of capital,
or (ii) adjusting the cash flows, e.g. using certainty equivalents,
or (iii) applying (subjective) "haircuts" to the forecast numbers,
or (iv) via probability-weighting these as in rNPV.

Even when employed, however, these latter methods do not normally properly account for changes in risk over the project's lifecycle and hence fail to appropriately adapt the risk adjustment.

By contrast, ROV assumes that management is "active" and can "continuously" respond to market changes. Real options consider "all" scenarios (or "states") and indicate the best corporate action in each of these contingent events. Because management adapts to each negative outcome by decreasing its exposure and to positive scenarios by scaling up, the firm benefits from uncertainty in the underlying market, achieving a lower variability of profits than under the commitment/NPV stance. The contingent nature of future profits in real option models is captured by employing the techniques developed for financial options in the literature on contingent claims analysis. Here the approach, known as risk-neutral valuation, consists in adjusting the probability distribution for risk consideration, while discounting at the risk-free rate.  This technique is also known as the "martingale" approach, and uses a risk-neutral measure. For technical considerations here, see below.

Given these different treatments, the real options value of a project is typically higher than the NPV – and the difference will be most marked in projects with major flexibility, contingency, and volatility. As for financial options higher volatility of the underlying leads to higher value. (An application of Real Options Valuation in the Philippine banking industry exhibited that increased levels of income volatility may adversely affect option values on the loan portfolio, when the presence of information asymmetry is considered. In this case, increased volatility may limit the value of an option.) Part of the criticism (and subsequently slow adoption) of Real Options Valuation in practice and academe stems from the generally higher values for underlying assets these functions generate. However, studies have shown that these models are reliable estimators of underlying asset value, when input values are properly identified.

Options based valuation
Although there is much similarity between the modelling of real options and financial options, ROV is distinguished from the latter, in that it takes into account uncertainty about the future evolution of the parameters that determine the value of the project, coupled with management's ability to respond to the evolution of these parameters. It is the combined effect of these that makes ROV technically more challenging than its alternatives.

When valuing the real option, the analyst must therefore consider the inputs to the valuation, the valuation method employed, and whether any technical limitations may apply. Conceptually, valuing a real option looks at the premium between inflows and outlays for a particular project. Inputs to the value of a real option (time, discount rates, volatility, cash inflows and outflows) are each affected by the terms of business, and external environmental factors that a project exists in. Terms of business as information regarding ownership, data collection costs, and patents, are formed in relation to political, environmental, socio-cultural, technological, environmental and legal factors that affect an industry. Just as terms of business are affected by external environmental factors, these same circumstances affect the volatility of returns, as well as the discount rate (as firm or project specific risk). Furthermore, the external environmental influences that affect an industry affect projections on expected inflows and outlays.

Valuation inputs
Given the similarity in valuation approach, the inputs required for modelling the real option correspond, generically, to those required for a financial option valuation. The specific application, though, is as follows:

 The option's underlying is the project in question – it is modelled in terms of:
 Spot price: the starting or current value of the project is required: this is usually based on management's "best guess" as to the gross value of the project's cash flows and resultant NPV;
 Volatility: a measure for uncertainty as to the change in value over time is required:
 the volatility in project value is generally used, usually derived via monte carlo simulation; sometimes the volatility of the first period's cash flows are preferred; see further under Corporate finance for a discussion relating to the estimation of NPV and project volatility.
 some analysts substitute a listed security as a proxy, using either its price volatility (historical volatility), or, if options exist on this security, their implied volatility.
Dividends generated by the underlying asset: As part of a project, the dividend equates to any income which could be derived from the real assets and paid to the owner. These reduce the appreciation of the asset.
 Option characteristics:
 Strike price: this corresponds to any (non-recoverable) investment outlays, typically the prospective costs of the project. In general, management would proceed (i.e. the option would be in the money) given that the present value of expected cash flows exceeds this amount;
 Option term: the time during which management may decide to act, or not act, corresponds to the life of the option. As above, examples include the time to expiry of a patent, or of the mineral rights for a new mine. See Option time value. Note though that given the flexibility related to timing as described, caution must be applied here.
 Option style and option exercise. Management's ability to respond to changes in value is modeled at each decision point as a series of options, as above these may comprise, i.a.:
 the option to contract the project (an American styled put option);
 the option to abandon the project (also an American put);
 the option to expand or extend the project (both American styled call options);
 switching options or composite options  which may also apply to the project.

Valuation methods
The valuation methods usually employed, likewise, are adapted from techniques developed for valuing financial options. Note though that, in general, while most "real" problems allow for American style exercise at any point (many points) in the project's life and are impacted by multiple underlying variables, the standard methods are limited either with regard to dimensionality, to early exercise, or to both.  In selecting a model, therefore, analysts must make a trade off between these considerations; see . The model must also be flexible enough to allow for the relevant decision rule to be coded appropriately at each decision point.

 Closed form, Black–Scholes-like solutions are sometimes employed. These are applicable only for European styled options or perpetual American options. Note that this application of Black–Scholes assumes constant — i.e. deterministic — costs: in cases where the project's costs, like its revenue, are also assumed stochastic, then Margrabe's formula can (should) be applied instead, here valuing the option to "exchange" expenses for revenue.  (Relatedly, where the project is exposed to two (or more) uncertainties — e.g. for natural resources, price and quantity — some analysts attempt to use an overall volatility; this, though, is more correctly treated as a rainbow option, typically valued using simulation as below.)
 The most commonly employed methods are binomial lattices. These are more widely used given that most real options are American styled. Additionally, and particularly, lattice-based models allow for flexibility as to exercise, where the relevant, and differing, rules may be encoded at each node. Note that lattices cannot readily handle high-dimensional problems; treating the project's costs as stochastic would add (at least) one dimension to the lattice, increasing the number of ending-nodes by the square (the exponent here, corresponding to the number of sources of uncertainty).
 Specialised Monte Carlo Methods have also been developed and are increasingly, and especially,  applied to high-dimensional problems. Note that for American styled real options, this application is somewhat more complex; although recent research combines a least squares approach with simulation, allowing for the valuation of real options which are both multidimensional and American styled; see .
 When the Real Option can be modelled using a partial differential equation, then Finite difference methods for option pricing are sometimes applied. Although many of the early ROV articles discussed this method, its use is relatively uncommon today—particularly amongst practitioners—due to the required mathematical sophistication; these too cannot readily be used for high-dimensional problems.

Various other methods, aimed mainly at practitioners, have been developed for real option valuation. These typically use cash-flow scenarios for the projection of the future pay-off distribution, and are not based on restricting assumptions similar to those that underlie the closed form (or even numeric) solutions discussed. The most recent additions include the Datar–Mathews method, fuzzy pay-off method, the simulation with optimised exercise thresholds method.

Limitations
The relevance of Real options, even as a thought framework, may be limited due to market, organizational and / or technical considerations. When the framework is employed, therefore, the analyst must first ensure that ROV is relevant to the project in question. These considerations are as follows.

Market characteristics
As discussed above, the market and environment underlying the project must be one where "change is most evident", and the "source, trends and evolution" in product demand and supply, create the "flexibility, contingency, and volatility"
which result in optionality. Without this, the NPV framework would be more relevant.

Organizational considerations
Real options are "particularly important for businesses with a few key characteristics", and may be less relevant otherwise.  In overview, it is important to consider the following in determining that the RO framework is applicable:
Corporate strategy has to be adaptive to contingent events. Some corporations face organizational rigidities and are unable to react to market changes; in this case, the NPV approach is appropriate.
 Practically, the business must be positioned such that it has appropriate information flow, and opportunities to act. This will often be a market leader and / or a firm enjoying economies of scale and scope.
 Management must understand options, be able to identify and create them, and appropriately exercise them. This contrasts with business leaders focused on maintaining the status quo and / or near-term accounting earnings.
 The financial position of the business must be such that it has the ability to fund the project as, and when,  required (i.e. issue shares, absorb further debt and / or use internally generated cash flow); see Financial statement analysis. Management must, correspondingly, have appropriate access to this capital.
 Management must be in the position to exercise, in so far as some real options are proprietary (owned or exercisable by a single individual or a company) while others are shared (can (only) be exercised by many parties).

Technical considerations
Limitations as to the use of these models arise due to the contrast between Real Options and financial options, for which these were originally developed.
The main difference is that the underlying is often not tradable – e.g. the factory owner cannot easily sell the factory upon which he has the option. Additionally, the real option itself may also not be tradeable – e.g. the factory owner cannot sell the right to extend his factory to another party, only he can make this decision (some real options, however, can be sold, e.g., ownership of a vacant lot of land is a real option to develop that land in the future). Even where a market exists – for the underlying or for the option – in most cases there is limited (or no) market liquidity.  Finally, even if the firm can actively adapt to market changes, it remains to determine the right paradigm to discount future claims

The difficulties, are then:

 As above, data issues arise as far as estimating key model inputs. Here, since the value or price of the underlying cannot be (directly) observed, there will always be some (much) uncertainty as to its value (i.e. spot price) and volatility (further complicated by uncertainty as to management's actions in the future).
 It is often difficult to capture the rules relating to exercise, and consequent actions by management. Further, a project may have a portfolio of embedded real options, some of which may be mutually exclusive.
 Theoretical difficulties, which are more serious, may also arise.
Option pricing models are built on rational pricing logic. Here, essentially: (a) it is presupposed that one can create a "hedged portfolio" comprising one option and "delta" shares of the underlying. (b) Arbitrage arguments then allow for the option's price to be estimated today; see . (c) When hedging of this sort is possible, since delta hedging and risk neutral pricing are mathematically identical, then risk neutral valuation may be applied, as is the case with most option pricing models. (d) Under ROV however, the option and (usually) its underlying are clearly not traded, and forming a hedging portfolio would be difficult, if not impossible.
Standard option models: (a) Assume that the risk characteristics of the underlying do not change over the life of the option, usually expressed via a constant volatility assumption. (b) Hence a standard, risk free rate may be applied as the discount rate at each decision point, allowing for risk neutral valuation. Under ROV, however: (a) managements' actions actually change the risk characteristics of the project in question, and hence (b) the Required rate of return could differ depending on what state was realised, and a premium over risk free would be required, invalidating (technically) the risk neutrality assumption.

These issues are addressed via several interrelated assumptions:

 As discussed above, the data issues are usually addressed using a simulation of the project, or a listed proxy. Various new methods – see for example those described above – also address these issues.
 Also as above, specific exercise rules can often be accommodated by coding these in a bespoke binomial tree; see:.
 The theoretical issues:
To use standard option pricing models here, despite the difficulties relating to rational pricing, practitioners adopt the "fiction" that the real option and the underlying project are both traded: the so called, Marketed Asset Disclaimer (MAD) approach. Although this is a strong assumption, it is pointed out that a similar fiction in fact underpins standard NPV / DCF valuation (and using simulation as above). See: and.
To address the fact that changing characteristics invalidate the use of a constant discount rate, some analysts use the "replicating portfolio approach", as opposed to Risk neutral valuation, and modify their models correspondingly. Under this approach, (a) we "replicate" the cash flows on the option by holding a risk free bond and the underlying in the correct proportions. Then, (b) since the cash flows of the option and the portfolio will always be identical, by arbitrage arguments their values may (must) be equated today, and (c) no discounting is required. (For an alternative, modifying Black-Scholes, see: .)

History
Whereas business managers have been making capital investment decisions for centuries, the term "real option" is relatively new, and was coined by Professor Stewart Myers of the MIT Sloan School of Management in 1977. In 1930, Irving Fisher wrote explicitly of the "options" available to a business owner (The Theory of Interest, II.VIII). The description of such opportunities as "real options", however, followed on the development of analytical techniques for financial options, such as Black–Scholes in 1973. As such, the term "real option" is closely tied to these option methods.

Real options are today an active field of academic research. Professor Lenos Trigeorgis has been a leading name for many years, publishing several influential books and academic articles. Other pioneering academics in the field include Professors Michael Brennan, Eduardo Schwartz, Graham Davis, Gonzalo Cortazar, Han Smit, Avinash Dixit and Robert Pindyck (the latter two, authoring the pioneering text in the discipline).  An academic conference on real options is organized yearly (Annual International Conference on Real Options).

Amongst others, the concept was "popularized" by Michael J. Mauboussin, then chief U.S. investment strategist for Credit Suisse First Boston. He uses real options to explain the gap between how the stock market prices some businesses and the "intrinsic value" for those businesses. Trigeorgis also has broadened exposure to real options through layman articles in publications such as The Wall Street Journal. This popularization is such that ROV is now a standard offering in postgraduate finance degrees, and often, even in MBA curricula at many Business Schools.

Recently, real options have been employed in business strategy, both for valuation purposes and as a conceptual framework. The idea of treating strategic investments as options was popularized by Timothy Luehrman in two HBR articles: "In financial terms, a business strategy is much more like a series of options, than a series of static cash flows". Investment opportunities are plotted in an "option space" with dimensions "volatility" & value-to-cost ("NPVq").

Luehrman also co-authored with William Teichner a Harvard Business School case study, Arundel Partners: The Sequel Project, in 1992, which may have been the first business school case study to teach ROV. Reflecting the "mainstreaming" of ROV, Professor Robert C. Merton discussed the essential points of Arundel in his Nobel Prize Lecture in 1997.  Arundel involves a group of investors that is considering acquiring the sequel rights to a portfolio of yet-to-be released feature films. In particular, the investors must determine the value of the sequel rights before any of the first films are produced. Here, the investors face two main choices. They can produce an original movie and sequel at the same time or they can wait to decide on a sequel after the original film is released. The second approach, he states, provides the option not to make a sequel in the event the original movie is not successful. This real option has economic worth and can be valued monetarily using an option-pricing model. See Option (filmmaking).

See also
 Option contract
 Opportunity cost
 Monte Carlo methods in finance
 Contingent claim valuation
 Fuzzy pay-off method for real option valuation
 Datar–Mathews method for real option valuation

Contingent value rights

References

Further reading
Standard texts:

Applications:

Grenadier, Steven R. & Weiss, Allen M., 1997. "Investment in technological innovations: An option pricing approach," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 44(3), pages 397–416, June.

The Impact of Real Options in Agency Problems G. Siller-Pagaza, G. Otalora, E. Cobas-Flores (2006).

External links

Theory

 Intro to Real Option Valuation as a Modelling Problem, Mikael Collan
 The Promise and Peril of Real Options, Prof. Aswath Damodaran, Stern School of Business
 Real Options Tutorial, Prof. Marco Dias, PUC-Rio
 Valuing Real Options: Frequently Made Errors, Prof. Pablo Fernandez, IESE Business School, University of Navarra
 Identifying real options, Prof. Campbell R. Harvey. Duke University, Fuqua School of Business
 An introduction to real options (Investment Analysts Society of Southern Africa), Prof E. Gilbert, University of Cape Town
 Decision Making Under Uncertainty—Real Options to the Rescue?, Prof. Luke Miller & Chan Park, Auburn University
 Real Options Whitepapers and Case-studies, Dr. Jonathan Mun
 Real Options – Introduction, Portfolion Group
 How Do You Assess The Value of A Company's "Real Options"?, Prof. Alfred Rappaport Columbia University and Michael Mauboussin
Some Important Issues Involving Real Options: An Overview, Gordon Sick and Andrea Gamba (2005).
Real Power of Real Options, Leslie and Michaels (1997), Keith Leslie and Max Michaels McKinsey Quarterly, 1997 (3) pages 4–22. Cited by Robert Merton in his Nobel Prize Acceptance Speech in 1997. McKinsey classic - Reprinted in McKinsey Anthology 2000 - On Strategy. Cited in McKinsey Anthology 2011 - Have You Tested Your Strategy Lately.

Journals
 Journal of Real Options
 Journal of Real Options and Strategy

Calculation resources
ROV Spreadsheet Models, Prof. Aswath Damodaran, Stern School of Business
Real Options Calculator, Prof. Steven T. Hackman, Georgia Institute of Technology

Corporate finance
Options (finance)
Capital budgeting

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


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Hi, friends! I hope everyone had a very happy and healthy Christmas.
I spent Christmas Eve with family in Fairfax, and then on Christmas morning, after we did our family gift exchange, we packed up and headed to Durham, North Carolina for a couple of days to spend time with my Mom's family. We had a lot of fun playing Cards Against Humanity, watching Family Feud, and people-watching at the local bluegrass watering hole. We had a drama-free Christmas, which is exactly how we like them!
I'm now back in Arlington and don't have to go back to work until next Wednesday (!), so I am planning to make the most of my staycation. I've got a few organizational projects around the apartment I want to tackle and I want to meal-prep my favorite breakfast egg nests, zucchini turkey burgers, and Italian meatloaf so I have some easy weeknight dinners to reach for once work starts back up. I am also planning on teeing up some blog posts for January, catching up with friends, and finishing a couple of books that have been on my nightstand.
In case you're also in the area and looking for a fun activity to do with friends and/or family, I wanted to recommend the Creating Camelot Newseum exhibit my friends and I went to several weeks ago.
In DC until January 7—then it moves to Hyannis, Massachusetts—I was mesmerized by this rare collection of photos of the Kennedy family. Shot by Jacques Lowe, these photos show a look at the young Kennedy family before and during the campaign, and continue into the early days of JFK's time in the White House. Many of these photos have never been seen by the public before, so it is truly a unique opportunity. There's also a short film about the Kennedys that accompanies the exhibit.
Unlike most museums in DC, there is an entrance fee to the Newseum, but this exhibit was worth every penny. We also enjoyed exploring the other galleries in the six-story museum, and you could easily make a long afternoon—or even day!—of your trip.
If you have a chance to check it out—or have any other Kennedy-centric winter break recommendations, let me know!
This sounds like an amazing exhibit! The fascination with the Kennedy fam is so real!


text:
Results: Brady Epidemic Poll
Philip D. Cave link
Unfortunately the small number of responses make the "answer" unhelpful.
There are too many variables unaccounted for-- such as "why do you think this?"
Rather, we are back where we started--about half think there is and half think there isn't a problem.
The U.S. Attorney Manual sec. 9-5.000 sets out the DoJ policy on disclosure of "exculpatory and impeachment information."
[https://www.justice.gov/archives/usam/archives/usam-9-5000-issues-related-trials-and-other-court-proceedings]
Take a look. The USAM covers most of the "Brady-plus" cases, but doesn't address the more recent "Brady-plus" case of Smith v. Cain, 132 S. Ct. 627, 181 L.Ed. 2d 571 (2012).
And here is the USAG current policy memo.
[https://www.justice.gov/archives/jm/criminal-resource-manual-165-guidance-prosecutors-regarding-criminal-discovery]
I am not convinced that all prosecutors deliberately fail to provide required discovery. I'm willing to accept in many cases that it's a problem of knowledge and training when prosecutors fail to provide required discovery.
Brenner M. Fissell
Excellent points Phil.
Let's take a teaching moment.
A discovery request should include something like this.
"j. Any known evidence tending to diminish credibility of witnesses, both Government and Defense, including, but not limited to, prior convictions under Mil. R. Evid. 609 and evidence of other character traits, conduct, or bias under Mil. R. Evid. 608. United States v. Agurs, 427 U.S. 97 (1976); Giglio v. United States, 405 U.S. 150 (1972); United States v. Jenkins, 18 M.J. 583 (A.C.M.R. 1984); United States v. Green, 37 M.J. 88 (C.M.A. 1993); United States v. Webster, 1 M.J. 216 (C.M.A. 1975). The government is specifically requested to make a local and national records check for arrests, prosecutions, and convictions in any state, local, or federal court. Further, any adverse action in connection with a security clearance application, review, or decision, should be disclosed. This includes also a review of any law enforcement accreditation files.
k. Records of pending or completed adverse administrative actions against any prosecution witness, including but not limited to: discharge action prior to expiration of a term of service for any reason, relief for cause actions, letters of reprimand or admonition, and negative counselings related to a negligence or disciplinary matter. United States v. Green, 37 M.J. 88 (C.M.A. 1993).
l. Records or disclosure of any ongoing or completed investigations into allegations of misconduct by a government witness. United States v. Stone, 40 M.J. 420 (C.M.A. 1994).
m. Any and all adverse or negative information contained in the personnel files of any federal or state law enforcement agent who may have worked on this case in any manner. This includes, but is not limited to: Any "on-the-job" or field training records, training test score results, evidence of credentials having ever been suspended or revoked. The defense does not agree that United States v. Henthorn sets the appropriate standard of production on this issue. In fact some years ago I had a case where the NCIS gave a Henthorn disclosure to the prosecutor which turned out to be substantially and materially false.
n. Any psychiatric, psychological, or other mental health related reports or statements concerning any government witness. References (b), (q), U.S. v. Brakefield, 43 C.M.R. 828 (A.C.M.R. 1971), and U.S. v. Mougenel, 6 M.J. 589 (A.F.C.M.R. 1978); United States v. Cano, 61 M.J. 74 (C.A.A.F. 2005).
Compare to the USAM and USAG policy and you'll see where I and my colleagues are coming from.
So who cares--an anecdote if I may.
"In fact some years ago I had a case where the NCIS gave a Henthorn disclosure to the prosecutor which turned out to be substantially and materially false." Some years ago, before video-recorded interrogations an important factual dispute arose in trial about what the client said in his interrogation.
In response to my standard discovery request the TC gave me a standard NCIS letter along the lines of "we have no exculpatory information" about NCIS agent x.
So, that trial counsel walked into trial with bad information. A few days before trial we had discovered something. We made a decision not to ping the trial counsel for more information and spring it on the witness and trial counsel during cross-examination (don't worry, no IAC there, reasoned tactical decision). Here's a quick summary.
Q: Special Agent x, on x you lied to a federal judge when testifying in the case of United States v. X, didn't you?
Q: Special Agent x, can you explain why the federal judge's written published decision said that you lied to him?
A: I didn't lie.
Q: You did testify in that case?
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iSd6-EvBgN4&list=PLB6D8AE17BA9FE107&index=4&t=0s]
It got better or worse after that depending on which side you were on.
So the real issue here started with the MCIO and their crimped interpretation of Brady-plus and a TC who didn't do good enough preparation.
The USAM says,
"Many situations of this type can be avoided by ensuring that prosecutors and agency employee witnesses have candid conversations and that prosecutors submit formal Giglio requests sufficiently in advance of any proceedings."


Here are the links to past papers on the SQA site. If you need an older paper, please come and ask.
Not relevant to past papers but I just thought this cleared up some of the ignorance we had about the LHC.
Once a beam of protons reaches the right energy level, the PS Booster injects it into another accelerator called the Super Proton Synchotron (SPS). The beams continue to pick up speed. By now, beams have divided into bunches. Each bunch contains 1.1 x 1011 protons, and there are 2,808 bunches per beam [source 1="CERN" language=":"][/source]. The SPS injects beams into the LHC, with one beam traveling clockwise and the other going counterclockwise.
Inside the LHC, the beams continue to accelerate. This takes about 20 minutes. At top speed, the beams make 11,245 trips around the LHC every second. The two beams converge at one of the six detector sites positioned along the LHC. At that position, there will be 600 million collisions per second [source 1="CERN" language=":"][/source].
I would be really glad if I can get 2002 AH physics question paper. I couldn't find it anywhere. Million thanks.
you can get that paper here.
I was wondering if it would be possible to get the solutions to 2001 AH physics paper.
I have tried my best to find them, but i can't find it.
Thank you so much if you can.


text:
Maps of Wyre Forest
Worcestershire III.13 (includes: Alveley; Romsley; Upper Arley) - 25 Inch Map
Staffordshire LXX.13 (includes: Alveley; Romsley; Upper Arley) - 25 Inch Map
Staffordshire LXX.SW - OS Six-Inch Map
Shropshire LXXIV.3 (includes: Alveley; Romsley; Upper Arley) - 25 Inch Map
Shropshire LXVII.15 (includes: Alveley; Romsley; Upper Arley) - 25 Inch Map
Shropshire LXXIV.NE - OS Six-Inch Map
Shropshire LXVII.SE - OS Six-Inch Map
Shropshire LXXIV.2 (includes: Alveley; Highley; Upper Arley) - 25 Inch Map
SO78 - OS 1:25,000 Provisional Series Map
1 : 31680 This plan covers North Worcestershire and parts of Shropshire and Staffordshire. The draughtsman used different shades of green wash to distinguish woods, meadows, commons and parks. The Severn Valley extends down the left-hand side of the map, with the royal hunting forest of Wyre depicted at middle-left. To the right of the sheet is the Stour Valley, with the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal following the river valley. Rising above the two valleys is the ancient settlement of Kinver Edge, with its outcrops of red weathering sandstone formed in the Triassic age. Stevens, Henry
Dudley (Outline) - OS One-Inch Revised New Series
Dudley (Hills) - OS One-Inch Revised New Series
1 : 31680 This plan covers East Shropshire and part of Staffordshire, with the River Severn Valley depicted down the left side of the sheet. Here, in its middle course, the river becomes deeper and wider, forming a floodplain in which crops such as wheat and barley are grown. Down the right side of the plan is a section of the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal, built by the canal engineer, James Brindley as part of his 'Grand Cross', a farsighted scheme to link the ports of Hull, Liverpool and Bristol by connecting the rivers Mersey, Trent and Severn. The canal opened in May 1772. Ironbridge on the Severn at the top left of the plan is said to be the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution. This tiny town gave the world its first iron bridge in 1779. Dawson, Robert
Actual Survey of the County of Salop
Actual survey of the county of Salop, 4
1 Blatt : 71 x 53 cm John Rocque
Ordnance Survey of England. Sheet 168, Birmingham
1 : 63360 Ordnance survey. GB Southampton : Ordnance Survey Office
Kidderminster - OS One-Inch Map
An accurate map of the county of Worcester
1 Karte : Kupferdruck ; 51 x 68 cm Bowen; Tinney; Bowles; Sayer; Bowles; Bowles sold by I. Tinney at the Golden Lion and R. Sayer at the Golden Buck in Fleet street T. Bowles in St. Pauls Church Yard and I. Bowles and son at the Black Horse in Cornhill
An improved map of the county of Stafford
1 Karte : Kupferdruck ; 67 x 51 cm Bowen; Hinton sold by I. Hinton at the Kings Arms in St. Pauls Church Yard
Shropshire, Sheet 17 - Bartholomew's "Half Inch to the Mile Maps" of England & Wales
1 : 126720 Topographic maps Bartholomew, John George John Bartholomew & Co
View this map


text:
DCEmu Discussion Forums
E3 lives on as Game Pro Expo
Thread: E3 lives on as Game Pro Expo
November 2nd, 2006, 00:01 #1
Won Hung Lo
Earlier this year, a collective sigh issued forth from the hundreds of thousands of gamers lamenting the general miniaturization of the Electronic Entertainment Expo. The event's owners, the Electronic Software Association, bowing to pressure from members who saw diminishing returns from the multimillion dollar expenditure the show required of them, evolved the show into a more manageable and less-costly event.
In July, the ESA downsized E3 and renamed it the E3 Media and Business Summit. The near free-for-all that attracted 60,000 attendees would now be invitation-only and would no longer fill the cavernous halls of the Los Angeles Convention Center.
Many in the game industry called it the end of an era, albeit a bloated era.
Well, the bloat is back--and it is likely a good thing for gamers.
According to a memo circulated to a short list of LA Convention and Visitors Bureau members this week, International Data Group, publishers of dozens of tech magazines and producers of hundreds of trade shows around the world (including Macworld), will produce a new games show to be held in Los Angeles in mid-October, 2007.
"IDG has been secured to run the new Game Pro Expo show, what we knew as E3," the memo reads in part.
According to Michael Krouse, vice president of convention sales for the LA Convention and Visitors Bureau, IDG is estimating that the event will draw 30,000 attendees, and that long term, those numbers could grow. "I am absolutely convinced this show will be as big as [the old] E3," Krouse told GameSpot News.
The new show will be endorsed by the ESA--"a very important element to the partnership," says the memo, which goes on to say Game Pro Expo will take place at E3's former digs, the Los Angeles Convention Center, on October 18, 19, and 20, 2007.
The Game Pro Expo will have trade show, consumer, and game competition components and is being presented to Convention and Visitors Bureau members as a show that could rival the old E3 in size, scope, and impact on the Los Angeles economy: "Use E3 as a guide [when prepping for Game Pro Expo]," the memo advises.
Referring to the game competition, Krouse said that Staples Center owners, AEG, are likely to partner with IDG, and, "in concept," the live tournaments would take place at the Staples Center.
This news follows on the heels of another trade giant, the Consumer Electronics Association, which announced last month it would not produce a game-oriented trade show in Los Angeles in 2007.
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expo, game, lives, pro
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