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Earplug Adventures: The Veil of Shytar (part 13)
November 23, 2022 Tooty Nolan Leave a comment
Part 12 was a tad brief, so I'm making up for that deficiency by including more than average in Part 13. Enjoy…
So, without further ado, they hit the 'Go' button…
And all of the Punting-Modesty employees who could be bothered to attend the unveiling of the Prowler watched agog as their handiwork screeched past the viewing area with a tail of dark smoke erupting from its exhaust pipe…
Within a couple of seconds the Prowler's velocity had taken it clean away from the citadel…
Those with excellent vision noted that the slight fueling problem at lift-off had cleared itself, and now a white haze followed the ship wherever it went. And it went straight out over the mountains, the ridged hills of the mountain pea farming region…
…and above the crowded streets and towers of Ciudad de Droxford…
"Cripes, Bubbles," A doubtful Barclay said to his favourite pilot, "do you really think Sir Loftus Pupe meant us to go this far? I had the distinct feeling that we were to take it up, fly it around a bit, and land again."
The same thought had occurred to Bubbles. "Yes." She replied. She then explained her solitary syllable: "When we take the ship back, they'll hand it over to professional test pilots. We're window dressing."
Bubbles paused for a moment to make a course correction that would carry the Prowler over a popular holiday resort located in a fiord in which her mother, Millicent Gloor, lived with her boyfriend, Wagontrain McCallister…
Although the Prowler flew far too high for its occupants to discern individuals amongst the throng of earplugs who rushed from the ski and winter sports lodge, Bubbles was certain that Millicent was waving like a looney, and that the gruff, burly, moustachioed Wagontrain graced them with a careless glance.
From there Bubbles allowed the ship to climb gently to an altitude that gave Barclay a pleasant view of the cloud tops…
"This is nice." He remarked cheerfully. "It's like sitting on a really high balcony. Gosh, this ship is so stable you'd think we were looking out of a window from a tower block in La Ciudad de Droxford – except much higher, of course. Or maybe on a foggy day. Well a foggy day at street level, but clear on the upper floors, that is. Shall I shut up now?"
"Please." Bubbles replied gently.
"I think I'm getting over-excited." Barclay said by way of excuse.
"Probably." Bubbles agreed. "Now brace yourself: I'm about to give this bird some juice."
Barclay was about to say: "But that doesn't make sense. It's not even mixing metaphors." When this happened…
…and instead he yelled: "Gurrrrgh!"
For the young male earplug the war upon gravity seemed to last an eon: but only seconds had passed before the Prowler (not only escaped Earth's atmosphere, but) put a vast distance between itself and its planet of origin…
"You okay?" Bubbles inquired.
"I think so." Barclay answered slowly. "I think I might have left my bowels back there a bit. Um, can you give me a more precise warning next time? I got a bit confused. I'm still a bit confused. I feel like a quarterback who's been levelled by the entire defensive line. Are we coasting? I don't hear anything. Or have I gone deaf? It could be concussion."
Bubbles cut Barclay off by saying:
"Would you care to test the atomic cannons?"
"Oh," Barclay replied, "I don't mind if I do."
A split second later interstellar hydrogen atoms and star dust exploded energetically beneath the assault of the Prowler's principal armament…
"Right, they appear to work correctly." Bubbles responded to the vast firework show. "Shall we stretch our legs for a moment in the lounge? The windows give such a lovely view of the universe."
So they did…
Barclay stood back a little, whilst Bubbles stared in wonderment at the view of eternity. He watched her face, bathed as it was by starlight, and smiled. He'd never really considered his good fortune to have found a job working with Bubbles Gloor. Now he did, and he counted his blessings.
Ah-ha, a pair of like-minded mavericks, eh? Let loose with an advanced space ship, hmmm? Who knows what good they might do?
P.S Did you like the 'fiord' shot? It's actually a fallen tree, the bark of which had captured rain water to form a small pool. I take pictures of many things: I never know what I might do with them.
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Value Investing - Philosophy
The Psychology of Human Misjudgment by Charlie Munger
February 26, 2017 valuestockgeek	1 Comment
This is a great speech given by Charlie Munger. Throughout the speech, Charlie runs through the common causes of human beings to misjudge.
I think it's important for everyone to understand these concepts, but it's particularly important for investors. The goal of an investor ought to be to take advantage of human misjudgment. With markets, you're dealing with the collective judgment of human beings. To make any money, you have to be able to make good decisions and understand why other people are making comparatively bad decisions.
Whenever you find yourself coming to a conclusion about something, I think it's a good idea to think about this speech and think about whether or not you are succumbing to these common misjudgments.
The common causes that Charlie summarizes in the speech are listed below:
Under-recognition of the power of what psychologists call 'reinforcement' and economists call 'incentives.' Always think in terms of whether or not someone is gaining from a course of action and whether that lines up with your own goals. "Is my realtor just trying to maximize his commission, or is this house actually a decent value?" Never underestimate the power of incentives.
Psychological denial. The inability of people to accept truths that are too painful to accept.
Incentive-cause bias, or when the interests of two parties aren't aligned.
Bias from consistency and commitment tendency. This is sticking to your guns over "core beliefs" and refusing to change in the face of evidence to the contrary.
Bias from Pavlovian association, or misconstruing past correlation as a reliable basis for decision-making.
Bias from reciprocation tendency, including the tendency of one on a roll to act as other persons expect.
Lollapalooza: bias from over-influence by social proof. Social proof is your desire to agree with other people for the sake of agreeing. The ultimate examples I can think of are both the real estate bubble and the dot-com bubble of the late '90s. The prices made no sense, but everyone else was doing it.
"To a man with a hammer every problem looks like a nail". Economists are cited as an example of loving the efficient market hypothesis because the math was beautiful and that was what they were trained to use even though it was largely useless for the problem that they were tackling.
Bias from contrast-caused distortions of sensation, perception and cognition. In other words, limiting yourself to your own experiences when making decisions instead of looking at the bigger picture.
Over influence by authority. Valuing someone's opinion more just because they're an authority figure. Also known as the expert fallacy. You're more likely to listen to someone in a suit than someone in a t-shirt and jeans.
Bias from deprival super-reaction syndrome, including bias caused by present or threatened scarcity, including threatened removal of something almost possessed, but never possessed. I.e., the reaction of a dog when you try to remove its food or the reaction of the American public when Coca-Cola tried to change the flavor.
Bias from envy or jealousy. "It's not greed that drives the world, but envy." – Warren Buffett
Bias caused by chemical dependency, such as drugs or alcohol.
Bias from a gambling compulsion.
Liking and disliking distortion. This is the tendency to agree with the opinions of someone just because you like them personally. Conversely, there is the same tendency to disagree with the opinions of someone you dislike just because you dislike them. In other words, not analyzing the actual merits of an opinion, but basing your thoughts on your attitude towards the person. You see this a lot in politics. When a President does something that the opposing party dislikes, think of the different reactions that would be caused in the same people if someone from their own party proposed the same course of action.
Bias from the non-mathematical nature of the human brain. Letting yourself be fooled by statistical tricks.
Bias from the over influence of extra vivid evidence. Not looking closely at something because the answer seems obvious. Look closer because the truth isn't always obvious.
Mental confusion caused by information not arrayed in the mind and theory structures, creating sound generalizations. In other words, you need models to understand the world. Your mind isn't just randomly collecting scattered facts. They have to exist in some kind of structure to be useful.
Other normal limitations of sensation, memory, cognition and knowledge.
Stress-induced mental changes, small and large, temporary and permanent.
Mental illnesses and declines, temporary and permanent, including the tendency to lose ability through disuse.
Development and organizational confusion from say-something syndrome. In other words, it's the idea that you feel you have to do or say something for the sake of doing it, not because it will actually achieve anything. Anybody who ever sat in a meeting in corporate America knows this truth. 90% of the people who say something in these meetings have nothing useful to say.
Combinations of these tendencies. Examples cited include Tupperware parties, Alcoholics anonymous and open outcry auctions. All combine several of the psychological biases that Charlie previously described to obtain a result.
Before making a decision, take a step back and think about whether or not any of these biases are at work. The more we can avoid these biases, the better decisions we can make.
Ed Thorp: The Man Who Beat Las Vegas and Wall Street
February 19, 2017 valuestockgeek
I just finished Ed Thorp's new book, A Man for All Markets, and give it a strong recommendation. Ed Thorp is a genius who mastered card counting, built the first wearable computer to beat roulette and created the first market neutral hedge fund. The book takes the reader on a fascinating adventure through Thorp's Depression-era childhood, his academic career in mathematics, his successful assault on Las Vegas and his wildly successful career in the financial markets.
One of the things that struck me about Edward Thorp was his enduring lifelong love of learning, which fueled much of his success. Edward Thorp didn't have a one-dimensional interest in mathematics. He was constantly fascinated by new ideas which likely led him to study unconventional subjects such as gambling. In his childhood he experimented with radio, attempted to win mathematics competitions, conducted funny experiments (such as attempting to create a hot air balloon and playing a prank on a local swimming pool with red dye that turned the entire pool blood-red). These funny pranks and interests show a deeply inquisitive mind willing to learn new things. While few of us are anywhere near the intellect of Ed Thorp, that's an important lesson to take away. Remaining curious and developing a lifelong love of learning is a positive attribute that we should all strive to achieve.
The Original Black Scholes
I never knew that Thorp developed the original black scholes model, but he developed this and used it to make money for himself in the 1960s. He wrote about it in a 1967 book about it along with other arbitrage strategies, Beat the Market . Thorp was looking for a way to successfully invest his money that he accrued through his gambling activities and best-selling book Beat the Dealer. He tried stock picking and wasn't pleased with it, looking instead for something more precise and scientific. He ended up employing his own brand of convertible arbitrage and his own version of the Black Scholes model, before Fisher Black and Myron Scholes wrote their 1973 paper about it. In 1997, Myron was awarded the Nobel prize for an insight that Thorp discovered first. While Fisher Black and Myron Scholes appeared to have engaged in outright theft of Thorp's ideas, he is surprisingly cool and level-headed about it. I suppose the lesson of this is that it doesn't pay to hold grudges and needlessly create enemies. In fact, Thorp maintained a good relationship with them and was pleased that they were able to prove his idea. In any case, Thorp put the ideas to work in the world's first market neutral hedge fund, Princeton Newport Partners.
A Unique Perspective
Something I thoroughly enjoyed about the book was reading Ed Thorp's outlook on financial and political issues. What was fascinating to me was how non-ideological Thorp's approach is. It's hard to pin him down as a conservative or liberal. He does not subscribe to any kind of orthodoxy. Thorp's approach is pragmatic and relies primarily on logic.
For instance, when discussing welfare, Thorp isn't opposed to welfare as would be standard conservative orthodoxy but he also doesn't subscribe to the standard liberal worldview. Thorp's attitude is that welfare and unemployment benefits are necessary, but believes that these individuals should be put to work as occurred during the Great Depression's Works Progress Administration.
Thorp is certainly no friend of Wall Street and takes a critical eye towards the actions of investment banks. A standard liberal response would be to load up Wall Street with as many regulations as possible. A standard conservative response would be that laws created by Washington, DC (such as the community reinvestment act) forced the banks to take unnecessary risks and that they therefore are not directly responsible for the outcome of the crisis. Thorp acknowledges the bad behavior of banks and believes in sensible regulation, but thinks that we would do much better off by enabling shareholders to better combat bad behavior by the management of public companies rather than pursuing excessive regulation.
Thorp also has a very unique perspective on the 1980s junk bond boom. While acknowledging that Michael Milken was responsible for illegally enabling insider trading, he believes that Milken was not a target solely for his illegal acts. Milken's illegal activity was magnified and pursued by the authorities because Milken financed an assault against the established corporate order. The established corporate order was far more entrenched politically and pleaded with politicians to shut him down. Thorp also has an unfavorable attitude towards Rudy Giuliani, whom he believes pursued these scandals less out of a sense of justice and more for political gain.
He's also quite critical of the hedge fund industry, arguing accurately that hedge funds rarely deliver returns that justify their high expense ratios. This is quite ironic because Thorp launched one of the first modern hedge funds.
A Wild Trade
One of my favorite stories in the book involves an amazing trade that Thorp came across in 2000 at the height of the internet bubble. It is a story that could come straight out of Joel Greenblatt's You Can Be a Stock Market Genius. It also gives insight into the level of financial insanity that fueled the internet bubble.
Back in March 2000, 3COM owned Palm Pilot. 3COM spun off 6% of its interest in Palm in an IPO. Due to the mania that was consuming market participants at the time, every technology or internet oriented IPO would immediately be bid up to an insane valuation on the first day of trading. Palm was no exception, but the level it was bid up to was truly absurd. After the first day of trading, the market valued the Palm IPO at $53.4 billion but valued the parent company (that owned the other 94% of Palm) at only $28 billion! In other words, the 6% share of Palm was valued more than the other 94% owned by 3COM plus all of 3COM's other business interests. Thorp shorted Palm and went long in 3COM, in an incredible trade that would never have been possible if markets were efficient.
Thorp is a strong advocate for buying index funds, but he also offers a couple interesting ideas for investors to make above average returns.
The first fascinating idea is taking advantage of Savings & Loans that issue new equity. Thorp will open up a deposit account in a savings & loan that he suspects will eventually take a new equity offering public. Because depositors get a share of any new equity issue, Thorp then applies for a position in the new equity offer which typically sells for nearly double of the original price that Thorp paid for it. If he feels the savings & loan is well-managed, Thorp will hold onto the position for much longer periods of time. Thorp opens up multiple deposits in S&L's throughout the country and then patiently waits for an equity offer. This was immensely profitable in the run up to the S&L crisis when S&L's were hungry for new capital. The game has slowed down in recent years, but it sounds like those opportunities can still be identified.
The second idea is buying closed end funds at a discount and shorting closed end funds at a premium. This was an idea I was previously familiar with (Graham was an advocate of the strategy, at least the long portion of it). Closed end funds are publicly traded investment vehicles that can only be redeemed through trading activity. There are fixed number of shares and market participants determine the price. However, like a standard mutual fund, you can easily assign a net asset value to the shares. Unlike a mutual fund, you can't redeem your investment at NAV, you have to sell it to someone in the open market at whatever they're willing to pay.
In other words, there is no guesswork involved in determining the value of a closed end fund, but the shares trade openly and the price relative to the NAV frequently changes. Shares of closed end funds frequently trade at a significant discount or premium to their NAV. Efficient market types will say that these price discrepancies occur because the market is speculating on the riskiness or promise of the assets that the closed end fund owns. However, during the financial crisis, Thorp was able to acquire closed end funds that owned nothing but treasuries (an essentially risk free asset) at a substantial discount. Barron's maintains a nice list of closed end fund NAVs and premium/discount that investors can take advantage of.
A particularly fascinating passage in the book is one in which Thorp uncovers the Madoff scandal all the way back in 1990. While auditing investments for another firm, Thorp investigated Madoff because the firm had investments with Madoff. Thorp at first suspected that Madoff's slow and steady returns every month (Madoff "earned" 1-2% every single month and never lost) might be fraudulent. Thorp confirmed this suspicion when, after checking with the exchanges, he confirmed that none of Madoff's alleged trades actually happened. Thorp could have alerted the authorities back then, but he suspects they wouldn't have done anything about it, so it wasn't worth getting into the weeds. He's right, of course. Harry Markopolos came to a similar conclusion and tried to alert the authorities about it and no one would listen (in fact, the SEC investigated and cleared Madoff of wrongdoing), and Harry spent years worrying that Madoff would try to take him out in some way. It sounds like Thorp made the prudent choice without making a big splash: advise his client to get out and lay low about the finding.
Edward Thorp is a living, breathing refutation of the efficient market hypothesis. He's an iconoclast who refused to accept the conventional wisdom about markets or casinos. He had a lifelong love of learning which he allowed to pursue a fun (and profitable) adventure. His journey is a fascinating one that I thoroughly enjoyed. I recommend the book to anyone interested in a great story about a unique genius.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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CELEBRITIES BABIES
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Mariah Carey Barely Costumes
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Kristen Stewart's Boyfriend Squashes Robert Pattinson Romance Rumors
S eeing Kristen Stewart and her visiting boyfriend, Michael Angarano, walking hand in hand near the New Moon set in Vancouver might be a l...
Business Man ' WARREN BUFFETT ' Biography
W arren Edward Buffett (born August 30, 1930) is an American investor, businessman, and philanthropist. He is one of the world's most s...
Katrina Kaif Hot Belly dance
Bollywood beauty Katrina Kaif shaking her booty at the music launch of 'Zindagi Na Milege Dobara' along with other co-stars Hrith...
Unseen pics of Dhoni and Sakshi Photos
Dhoni and Sakshi post marriage Photos Dhoni and Sakshi Reallife Photos The beautiful bride Dhoni and Sakshi in Kolkata. Taking the...
Justin Bieber Profile, Music Videos, Real life Photos-
Justin Bieber Bieber in September 2009 at the Nintendo World Store Background information Birth name Justin Drew Bieber Born March ...
World's Tallest Man
WORLD's TALLEST MAN An undated handout photo shows the world's tallest man Bao Xishun (2nd R) of China posing with unidentified me...
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A ishwarya rai and Rajnikanth on the sets of Enthiran (Robot) Everyone's looking forward to Rajnikanth 's new film, Enthira...
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B0LLYWOOD MOVIE REVIEWS
B0LLYWOOD MOVIES
B0LLYWOOD NEWS
BOLLYWOOD ACTORS BIRTHDAYS
BOLLYWOOD ACTORS GALLERY
BOLLYWOOD ACTORS INTERVIEWS
BOLLYWOOD ACTORS PROFILES
BOLLYWOOD ACTORS REALLIFE PHOTOS
BOLLYWOOD ACTORS REALLIFE VIDEOS
BOLLYWOOD ACTRESSES BIRTHDAYS
BOLLYWOOD ACTRESSES EVENTS
BOLLYWOOD ACTRESSES GALLERIES
BOLLYWOOD ACTRESSES GOSSIP
BOLLYWOOD ACTRESSES INTERVIEWS
BOLLYWOOD ACTRESSES PROFILES
BOLLYWOOD ACTRESSES REAL LIFE PHOTOS
BOLLYWOOD ACTRESSES REALLIFE PHOTOS
BOLLYWOOD ACTRESSES REALLIFE VIDEOS
BOLLYWOOD ACTRESSES VIDEOS
BOLLYWOOD CELEBRITIES GALLERIES
BOLLYWOOD CELEBRITIES INTERVIEWS
BOLLYWOOD CELEBRITIES PROFILES
BOLLYWOOD GALLERIES
BOLLYWOOD INTERVIEWS
CELEBRITIES BIOGRAPHIES
CELEBRITIES EVENTS
CELEBRITIES GALLERIES
CELEBRITIES GOSSIP
CELEBRITIES INTERVIEWS
CELEBRITIES REALLIFE PHOTOS
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DIRECTOR KRISHNA VAMSI PASUPULETI
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CURRENTLY READERS ONLINE
Jodha Akbar Expectations.....
Jodha Akbar is up for release very shortly and expectations have reached sky high. The hit pair of Dhoom2 – Hrithik Roshan and Aishwara Rai – are back together with the acclaimed director of Lagaan, Ashutosh Gowarikar and genius music director A R Rahman. To top it all, the story is based on the mogul king Akbar and his wife Jodha.
Hrithik Roshan – Aishwarya Rai Pairing
Some say they are going to rock as they did in Dhoom2, but we think otherwise! We found no chemistry between them in Dhoom2, but we must say they looked absolutely stunning as a pair. In Jodha Akbar they need more than 'looking good' to make an impact.
No doubt Aishwarya Rai is a great actress, and most importantly the prettiest of all bollywood actresses, but she goes over the top most of the time. For example the way she says 'sunheri' in Dhoom2. For heaven's sake she should stop all that stupid acts. In Jodha Akbar we hope she does what she did in Guru – a controlled performance.
Aishwarya Rai has many things to cheer about in Jodha Akbar. One of them is that she looks the part. Jodha Akbar is going to be very crucial for Aishwarya Rai's future in bollywood.
By now everyone must have understood that Hrithik Roshan is a director's actor. He is not someone who can carry the movie entirely on his shoulders. We saw movies like Mujhse Dosti Karoge, Mein Prem Ki Diwani Hoon and Yaadein, where he was reduced to a joker because of director's inability. He always fared good in his father's movies because his father knows exactly what to do with him.
In Jodha Akbar, Hrithik Roshan needs to elevate his acting capabilities few notches higher to make people take him seriously as an actor. Surprisingly, Hrithik Roshan looks good with moustache in the mogul costume.
Ashutosh Gowarikar
Everyone started to recognize Ashutosh after he directed Lagaan. Very few know that he is in bollywood from a very long time. He has acted in movies like Kabhi Haan Kabhi Na with Shahrukh Khan and directed a disaster called Pehla Nasha. His last movie Swades met with failure even though it had country's biggest star, Shahrukh Khan. This time he has chosen a bigger canvas. Can he pull another Lagaan?
Period movies don't work in bollywood as they do in Hollywood. We have seen some mega disasters in form of Shahrukh's Ashoka and Aamir's Mangal Pandey. Hope Jodha Akbar does not suffer the same fate.
'I'm pregnant' says delighted Nicole Kidman
Nicole Kidman at the Oscars
Nicole Kidman and her husband of 18 months are expecting their first baby, the Daily Mail can reveal.
The Oscar-winning actress and Keith Urban, the country and western singer she calls the "love of my life", broke the news to their families over the Christmas holiday.
The 40-year-old Australian star had already spoken of "winding down" her film-making activities as much as possible next year.The baby, whose expected arrival date has not yet been revealed, will be the actress's first natural child.
She adopted Isabella, 14, and twelve-year-old Conor during her first marriage to Tom Cruise.
Miss Kidman was stunned when he filed for divorce in 2001.
Shortly after they split, she revealed that she had suffered an ectopic pregnanacy and a miscarriage during the marriage.
Nicole with husband Keith Urban, the pair are reportedly expecting their first baby together
Miss Kidman spent her Christmas holiday in Syndey, after finshing work on Baz Lurhmann's epic romantic adventure film "Australia" on December 21.
She is due to film The Reader with Ralph Fiennes and British director Stephen Daldry in Berlin next month, but has no more cinema work planned after that.
"I just want to spend as much time as possible with my husband," she told the Daily Mail.
Earlier this month the actress also dismissed the idea of returning to the stage next year.
"It wouldn't fit in with the logistics and dynamics of my family", she said - a remark given extra meaning by the news of her pregnancy.
Her most recently-released film is the extravagant fantasy The Golden Compass.
Although the film was attacked by some critics, the actress's performance as the glamorous villain Mrs Coulter won wide praise.
Miss Kidman married Urban in Sydney in June 2006.
The early months of the marriage were described as difficult as the actress helped her new husband deal with a drink problem.
Urban spent several months in a rehabilitation clinic in the U.S.
Nicole Kidman's most recent film is the extravagant fantasy film The Golden Compass,although the film was attacked by some critics, the actress's performance as the glamorous villain Mrs Coulter won wide praise.
At the film's Australian premiere in Sydney on December 14, Nicole was mocked in some quarters for wearing a silver trouser suit ensemble with a jacket. That suit was most likely carefully chosen to conceal rather than reveal.
Also when the Daily mail visited the set of Australia in Sydney earlier in December the actress was shooting scenes in a long ball gown ,so again, much could be kept out of view.
Nicole with her adopted son Connor and daughter Isabella
In between takes on set Nicole took to a bed in one of the studio's dressing room's complaining that she felt 'constantly tired'.
source:dailymail.co
Lindsay Lohan's Got A New Boy Friend
Not only was Lindsay Lohan honored at the Capri Film Festival but it looks like she also snagged a new man while in Italy. The new man who is rumored to be a bartender cozied up to Linds Lo on a romantic date. The two sipped champagne and flirted heavily all night long.
source:allieiswired.com
Paris Is Gonna Be Pissed!!!!
She must be devastated!
Paris Hilton's grandfather, Barron Hilton, announced Wednesday that he's giving away almost all his fortune to charity!
The hotel tycoon is donating 97% of his 2.3 billion worth to the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, named after the initial Hilton that founded the global hotel chain in 1919 with a small hotel in Cisco, Texas.
That means that Barron's kids and grandkids are gonna be left with just $69 million to split amongst them. AND they have to pay taxes on that!
Pennies!
Dang. We kinda feel sorry for Paris. Don't U?
But, then again, the people of the world are over $2 billion richer now!
Hopefully the Conrad N. Hilton foundation will distribute the money wisely.
source:perezhilton.com
Benazir Bhutto Killed By Bomb Blast
The Pakistani opposition leader Benazir Bhutto has been killed in a bomb attack. This has been confirmed by Pakistan's Ministry of the Interior. The ex-prime minister is believed to have been the victim of a suicide bombing.
The attack took place during an election rally being held by Mrs Bhutto's party in the city of Rawalpindi. Initial reports state that between ten and fifteen other people have also been killed. It is not known who was behind the bombing.
BENAZIR BHUTTO IN HER TEENAGE YEARS
Mrs Bhutto was the target of an earlier bomb attack in October, when an explosion in the city of Karachi killed 140 people celebrating her return from exile.
Earlier today, in the capital Islamabad, four people were shot dead during an election rally for another opposition leader, Nawaz Sharif. Mr Sharif's supporters were getting ready to begin a protest march when unknown attackers opened fire on them.
Both Mrs Bhutto and Mr Sharif are known for their fierce opposition to President Pervez Musharraf, who brought the parliamentary elections forward - to January 8 - after he had been chosen as president.
"Rakhi Sawant is a poor loser"!
Love her, loathe her but don't ignore her. That's all Rakhi Sawant asks from you! This drama queen of Indian TV has successfully managed to stay in news, rather controversy yet again.
After her infamous ouster from Nach Baliye at the hands of Sanjeeda and Aamir, Rakhi Sawant and beau Abhishek walked out of the show's grand finale without paying heed to even Salman Khan's request to come back!
If ample tears, prayer chanting and panting on screen were not enough, Rakhi and Abhishek even went to the extent of filing a complaint in a local police station against the show and channel, accusing them to be cheating the audiences, due to their alleged fake voting pattern.
We spoke to Keertan Adyanthaya, Executive Vice President & General Manager, Star Plus to know the truth and the man was certainly not amused by Rakhi's accusations.
"This is just a publicity stunt. This jodi is using the media for their own nefarious purposes. They are making allegations against Star Plus without any basis or a shred of evidence. It's a ploy for them to remain in the news. They have still not contacted the channel or the producers directly with any issues they have, but are using the media. These are all just hollow allegations.
They are nothing but poor losers, I feel sorry for them that they have to resort to such public pleading to remain the news. It's a case of "grapes are sour". As far as we are concerned, the show ended on Saturday night, but it looks like the show and its associated glitz & glamour are hard to leave behind for some people."
But what about the police case filed by Rakhi? "As far as the Police case goes, firstly, it is not a case against Star Plus but against some unknown parties who have allegedly voted using some software. The case is based on a newspaper report and not on any rock solid evidence. If the Police do decide to investigate, we will co-operate fully with them if they approach us. But I don't think the Police will be misled into investigating such frivolous cases".
Adyanthaya concludes sasying, "We expect an unconditional public apology from Mr Awasthi & Ms Sawant."
Wonder what happens next to this case...
source:timesofindia
Om Malik in Forbes' Web Celeb 25 list
Blogging might be a leisure activity for many famous personalities but it has brought fame to people like India-born Om Malik who has been named as one of the global web celebrities by American magazine Forbes .
Ranked at the 12th position for technology blogging on the list of "Web Celeb 25", he shares the limelight not just with fellow bloggers but also with video hosts and gadget gurus.
A chemistry graduate from St. Stephen's College in India's capital New Delhi, Malik is the brain behind the website http://gigaom.com/ and has also served as a technology journalist for various publications.
"Om Malik has a long history as a tech journalist, writing for outlets including Business 2.0, Red Herring and The Wall Street Journal (he was also one of the founding staffers of Forbes.com ). But true web celebrity status didn't come for the Indian-born writer until 2001, when he started his own technology blog, GigaOm ," Forbes noted.
On the other hand, twenty nine-year-old Perez Hilton alias Mario Lavandeira, who runs the website http://perezhilton.com/ , is at the top of the heap.
"Hollywood stars fear the wrath of Perez Hilton, a controversial gossip blogger with a poison pen... His blog is hugely popular, despite recent missteps, including erroneously reporting the death of Fidel Castro," the magazine said.
Pointing out that Malik frequently appears in the media on television as a technology expert, Forbes added that his popular website has received funding from sources including San Francisco-based venture firm True Ventures.
Meanwhile, according to 41-year-old Malik's website, he has also been a venture capitalist for a brief period.
"... few months in the VC (venture capitalism) business made me realise how much I missed the world of writing and reportage, and I went to work for Red Herring where (at least I thought) I could apply my extensive knowledge and insight into the world of venture capitalism and cutting-edge technologies," Malik's website said.
Interestingly, one of the web celebrities is Dan Lyons -- none other than the editor of Forbes itself. However, he is ranked at the 17th position in the name 'Fake Steve Jobs' ( http://fakesteve.blogspot.com/ ).
Dan Lyons started a pseudonymous blog, posing as the alter ego of Apple CEO Steve Jobs. "For a year, the satirical site attracted fans, growing in popularity - and the tech and media worlds boiled over trying to figure out who was behind it."
"In August 2007, The New York Times ousted Lyons as the author; in October, he released a book, Options: The Secret Life of Steve Jobs , a parody, under the pseudonym Fake Steve Jobs , " the report said about its own editor.
Other names on the Forbes list include Michael Arrington (2nd rank), Mark Frauenfelder (3rd), Seth Godin (4th), Cory Doctorow (5th), Matt Drudge (6th), Gina Trapani (7th), Mark Zuckerberg (8th), Harry Knowles (9th), Robert Scoble (10th), Frank Warren (11th), Will Leitch (13th), Jeff Jarvis (14th), Kevin Rose (15th), Kathy Sierra (16th), Markos Moulitsas (18th), Xeni Jardin (19th), Ryan Block (20th), Glenn Reynolds (21st), Pete Cashmore (22nd), Steve Rubel (23rd), Heather Armstrong (24th) and Darren Rowse (25th).
The magazine collected data on 200 Internet personalities and ranked their popularity. "The final list of 25 names shows how the Web has levelled the playing field -- so that now, even the unlikeliest character can become a star," Forbes said in an accompanying report.
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Pantaloons Femina Miss India South 2008 winners
AND THE WINNER IS: Pantaloons Femina Miss India South 2008 winner Parvathy Omanakuttam (C) with first runner-up Shreya Dhanwantary (R) and second runner-up Kavya Barli during the finals at the HICC in Hyderabad on Wednesday
Femina South beauty queens ready to take India by storm
Hyderabad: Parvathy Omanakuttam walked tall among the bevy of beauties that gathered in the city on Wednesday night as she was crowned the Pantaloons Femina Miss India South 2008 (PFMIS 2008). Though she was the clear winner, she was closely followed by Shreya Dhanwanthary (first runner up) and Kavya Barli (second runner up), ending months of suspense. All the winners get direct entry into PFMI 2008 Finals to be held in Mumbai.
The grand finale of the prestigious beauty contest unfolded amidst fanfare and an array of dazzling celebrity guests. The winners were announced at a glittering, star-studded ceremony held at the Hyderabad International Convention Centre. The task of choosing the winners from the 16 lovely finalists was handled with aplomb by a panel of judges comprising Ramya Krishna, Deepika Govind, Mani Shankar, Nethra Raghuraman, Ravi Teja, Pinky Reddy and Sanjay Gupta.
The first ever PFMIS pageant began with the contestants walking the ramp in spectacular creations from Pantaloons. The collection was a mix of fusion and Western wear. And keeping up the southern spirit, its essence remained rich, bright and colourful. If the invitees were mesmerised by the contestants and their clothes, the foot-tapping performances by Malavika, Nitu Chandra, Minakshi Sarkar, Devisri Prasad, Gauri Munjal, Sindhu Menon and Samiksha kept them entertained for hours.
Round II saw the contestants in
Rana Gill's collection 'Skin', with signature prints in cherry, chocolate, black, olive and other shades. The silk and jersey collection flattered the contestants without distracting from their innate grace even as the low necks and jewelled detailing gave them grandeur. At the end of this round, Priyanka Shah — Pantaloons Femina Miss India Finalist 2007 who earlier won the Miss Tourism Title this year — walked the ramp to a huge round of applause.
The timeless designs from Puneet Nanda for Satya Paul were the cynosure of all eyes during the finale. Blending the appeal of the classic colours of black, white and red with strong, contemporary graphic patterns, the collection paid tribute to the Indian woman. The beautiful saris were accessorized to great effect with exquisite jewellery from Gitanjali Mayagold. Nanda received thunderous applause when he came on stage to take a bow.
The event was choreographed by Hemant Trevedi who is the official choreographer and contestant director for PFMIS 2008, with Radhika Rao as the official assistant choreographer. Krishna Reddy choreographed the final show hosted by Sindhura Gadde and Aseem Sharma.
Earlier, the contestants went through vigorous in-house training sessions at the Novotel Hotel, Hyderabad. The daunting task of preparing the 16 women to achieve their aspirations was accomplished by experts: Hemant Trevedi (official contestant director and choreographer), Deanne Pandey (official fitness expert), Dr Jamuna Pai (official skin expert), Sabira Merchant (official diction expert) Leila Sharma (official make-up expert), Niti Desai (official diet & nutrition expert) and Radhika Rao (assistant choreographer).
source:thetimesofindia
PARIS HILTON AT BEACH PHOTOS
Paris Hilton at beach in Maui Dec.25
Britney Spears Spends Christmas with the Paparazzi - VIDEO
First Britney Spears curses the paparazzi, then she takes one of them back to her hotel [because she refuses to live at home].
Did she actually sleep with him?? Good grief!
World's Tallest Man Biography - Wedding Photos
Bao Xishun was born in Inner Mongolia (China). (born 1951) Bao was formerly recognized by Guinness World Records as the world's tallest living man, until August 7, 2007.
Measured at 2.361 metres (7 ft 8.95 in) tall at the Chifeng City Hospital, Bao Xishun has no growth disorder like gigantism[citation needed] — Bao suffers from rheumatism, although this has been attributed to his childhood habit of sleeping outdoors, rather than a height-linked disorder.
Bao Xishun claims to have been of normal height until he was 16 when he experienced a growth spurt for unknown reasons and reached his present height seven years later. Bao served in the People's Liberation Army for three years, and played for the army basketball team until his rheumatism began to appear, leading to his discharge from the army. Following this, he returned to Inner Mongolia to live with his mother.
Following his mother's death when he was 40, however, he became withdrawn until he was offered a job as a greeter at a restaurant. He quickly gained attention from the local media, who applied to Guinness World Records on his behalf. He was measured, and found to be 2 mm taller than the previous record holder, Radhouane Charbib. On August 8, 2007, Guinness book's spokeswoman Amarilis Espinoza stated that in the upcoming 2008 edition of the record book, Mr Stadnyk (who was found to be 2.57 metres in 2006) will replace Bao as tallest living man.
In December 2006, Bao Xishun was asked by veterinarians to assist them in removing shards of plastic from the stomachs of two dolphins. The dolphins had accidentally swallowed the shards, which had settled in their stomachs and caused a loss of appetite and depression. Veterinarians had failed to remove them, so Bao Xishun used his 1.06 metre-long arms to reach into the dolphins' stomachs, to remove the plastic manually. The manager of the aquarium, the Royal Jidi Ocean World, confirmed, "When we failed to get the objects out we sought the help of Bao Xishun from Inner Mongolia and he did it successfully yesterday. The two dolphins are expected to make a full recovery." (A similar operation was performed by American basketball player Clifford Ray, who was asked to use his long arms to save a California dolphin in 1978.)
Bao Xishun married saleswoman Xia Shujian on 24 March 2007. At the time they got married, Beijing News said that "Bao's 28-year-old bride is half his age and hailed from his hometown of Chifeng, even though marriage advertisements were sent around the world." The authentic Mongolian ceremony took place on July 12, 2007 at Genghis Khan holiday resort on the grasslands near Ordos city (sponsored by at least 15 companies). Bao was draped in a shimmering blue silk coat, and guests ate lamb and cheese.


In 2017, the United Arab Emirates and Kazakhstan celebrated 25 years of friendship and diplomacy. The UAE is Kazakhstan's largest Arab trade partner, with close to $643 million in bilateral trade recorded in 2017. Over the last decade, the UAE has made substantial investments, exceeding $2 billion in a wide array of economic sectors in Kazakhstan, financing projects in strategic areas, such as oil and gas and food security.
Announced by Chinese President Xi Jinping at Nazarbayev University in Astana in 2013, the re-birth of the Silk Road as the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has spurred nations into hyper-connectivity mandates across trade, investment, energy and infrastructure. BRI includes the most ambitious infrastructure project the world has ever known – and the most expensive. Its expected cost is just under one trillion dollars and when complete, the Belt and Road will connect 65% of the world's population and 30% of its GDP.
The UAE and Kazakhstan are both acutely aware that, with a supply chain composed of land and sea routes running from China to Scandinavia and the Middle East, an innovative, flexible and global legal network to support commercial rule of law is crucial. BRI should not only create opportunity, but it should also enable progressive justice in terms of security, protection and certainty that people and businesses need to trade and innovate securely.
In recent weeks, DIFC Courts and a delegation from the Supreme Court of Kazakhstan met in Dubai to discuss their role as Courts of the Future, the Fourth Industrial Revolution, China's Belt and Road initiative and the need for the world's courts to collaborate to provide greater access to justice.
Whilst such collaboration between institutions might be viewed as exclusively underpinning the commercial rule of law and trade, the trickle-down effect cannot be overlooked. Measures being taken by both the UAE and Kazakhstan to improve the effectiveness of justice feed into larger national plans for creating more sustainable and diversified economies. For the UAE, it is Vision 2021, and for Kazakhstan, it is Plan of the Nation – 100 Concrete Steps.
The myriad of technological advancements that define the fundamental re-shaping of businesses in the 21st century make it essential for high-level connectivity and innovation. Expectations from the private sector increasingly require the bold engagement of public service and of regulatory agencies. The DRA's ambition, through continued outreach to global judicial systems, is to contribute in creating a level-playing field between BRI participants, by re-engineering the way commercial justice is designed and delivered.
As goods and services travel across the world along the BRI, they will seamlessly cross borders, so we need a seamless judicial platform that can do the same. The answer is to make sure that when the dispute comes into the "real world," the court system can understand that virtual supply chain and deliver a decision that can be executed around the world. The creation of a court that focuses on connectivity and the enforceability of its judgments will ensure the success of the BRI by facilitating the quick resolution of disputes in a neutral forum.
The future of courts will be one of supporting supply chains operating virtually, with dispute resolution encoded into the blockchain, with virtual currency and with the most likely dispute being one of coding. Those supply chains will develop and advance to the point that smart contracts will replace traditional contracts, and we'll see them become ubiquitous even for small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) operating on a public blockchain. Soon we'll see not only the contract encoded into the supply chain, but also the applicable laws and regulations. At that point, it will be the blockchain itself which resolves most contractual disputes.


After a string of scandals and failures involving the agency's key duty of protecting the president and first family, President Barack Obama was urged to appoint an outsider to head the Secret Service.
A hard-nosed stranger to the Secret Service's good-old-boy and -girl network was needed to clean up the agency, Obama was told by some advisers. He ignored that advice, naming veteran Secret Service official Joseph Clancy as director.
In doing that, the president displayed faith in the Secret Service's professionalism. He also demonstrated loyalty to the men and women of the agency.
Too bad some of them did not reciprocate.
Last week two senior agents, including Mark Connolly, who holds the No. 2 post on Obama's personal security detail, returned to the White House one night after drinking with other agents at a bar.
Their car hit a security barrier at the executive mansion.
The two agents reportedly interfered with the handling of a bomb threat. Security officers at the scene wanted to arrest Connolly and the other agent, but were told not to do so.
Clearly – by definition, in fact – Clancy has failed to impress upon all Secret Service agents that certain types of misbehavior and incompetence are unacceptable.
Connolly and the other agent should be discharged. Clancy should be demoted and replaced with the outsider Obama aides recommended. Protecting the president of the United States, his family and other top government officials is simply too important for the attitude displayed by some in the Secret Service to be tolerated.


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Posted1/2/2012 5:30 AM
Cronin eyes more changes for DuPage in 2012
Dan Cronin
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Several split votes by an uncharacteristically divided DuPage County Board did more than ensure the county's youth home soon will close.
It also gave DuPage's top elected official confidence he and the board members can address other potentially controversial topics in 2012.
Shrinking local government, partnering with municipalities on police patrols and finding another use for the county fairgrounds are some of the issues county board Chairman Dan Cronin hopes to tackle during his second year in office. Meanwhile, he said, the decision to close the youth home and transfer detainees to Kane County was a defining moment.
"It was an opportunity to put words into action," Cronin said. "It was tough for the board. They hadn't had a vote like that in some time, where they really had opposing sides and the viewpoints were expressed in a rather animated fashion."
Still, the Elmhurst Republican said he and a board majority managed to come together "to accomplish good government."
"The (youth home) is a good example of how difficult it is to turn back the clock once you have an established unit of government," Cronin said. "The interests become so entrenched, that it's very, very difficult to undo.
"That was the first step," he added. "It's not going to be any easier in the future."
Cronin is going to need the board's support if an analysis of fire protection districts, sanitary districts, mosquito abatement districts and other local governmental entities finds opportunities for consolidation.
By the end of January, DuPage is expected to get a report from a public accounting and consulting firm doing a comprehensive review of the two dozen independent boards and commissions Cronin appoints.
The county paid Crowe Horwath LLP $85,000 to do the assessment after financial scandals involving the DuPage Housing Authority and the DuPage Water Commission.
Cronin replaced the housing authority board after a series of federal audits showed the agency misspent or failed to account for more than $10 million. The water commission was revamped after it accidentally spent $69 million in reserves through poor accounting practices and lackadaisical financial oversight.
As part of the review of the other entities, the consultants are going through budgets, ethics policies, personnel policies, bylaws and other materials.
Once the assessment is done, officials will consider ways to improve efficiency, streamline operations, share services and increase transparency to the public. Cronin said there also might be ways to consolidate agencies.
The fact the boards and commissions being examined are independent taxing entities doesn't seem to discourage Cronin.
"I think independence takes a back seat to being accountable," Cronin said. "Independence is what got us into trouble with the water commission. Independence is what got us into trouble with the housing authority. I have a duty and a responsibility to the taxpayers."
Cronin said he plans to work with agencies to have them willingly make changes. If efforts to get mutual agreements fail, the former state senator says he's willing to seek changes to Illinois law.
Possible consolidation opportunities could involve merging mosquito abatement districts and sanitary districts with other governmental entities. But Cronin said the key for any consolidation proposal is to save taxpayers money.
When it comes to making county government more efficient, Cronin says it might be time for the DuPage County Fair to find a new home. He said the 40-acre county fairgrounds in Wheaton could be "more productively used" if the fair was relocated.
"I want the fair to continue," Cronin stressed. "It's a virtuous enterprise. I just think we ought to think long and hard about a different approach."
Cronin isn't the first one to propose moving the fair. In 2000, the county was in serious talks about relocating the annual event to the Danada Forest Preserve in southern Wheaton, but neighbors thwarted that proposal. Then in 2007, former board Chairman Robert Schillerstrom suggested moving the fairgrounds to a 108-acre parcel near DuPage Airport in West Chicago.
Moving the fair isn't the only idea Cronin might resurrect.
He said officials will need to find a long-term solution to the financial challenges facing the DuPage County Convalescent Center.
"We have to explore all the different options," Cronin said, adding that privatizing the Wheaton facility is one of those options.
Another way the county could save money is by partnering with municipalities. Cronin said one example that could be studied is asking police departments to help patrol unincorporated neighborhoods near their towns.
"It doesn't make sense to me that you would have a deputy sheriff in Wheaton drive out to Elmhurst to patrol a mile and a half of road in unincorporated York Township," Cronin said, "when you could have an Elmhurst policeman driving through that area."
Report: DuPage should aid fire district mergers
Cronin vows 'swift action' on election commission report


Web design class at Digital Hollywood.
New site is open for AMF48, which is AMF3 encode/decode library for Java. You can download source and binary from 'Download' menu. Source distribution has 'usage' folder, which has test classes to show typical usage.


Carlos Fraenkel grew up between Germany and Brazil, studied in Berlin and Jerusalem, and teaches philosophy and religion at McGill University and Oxford University. He's written on philosophers such as Plato, al-Fârâbî, Maimonides, and Spinoza, and on conducting philosophical debates in places of conflict—for example with Palestinian students, lapsed Hasidic Jews, and members of an Iroquois nation. His publications include Teaching Plato in Palestine: Philosophy in a Divided World and pieces for, among others, the London Review of Books, the TLS, The Nation, and The New York Times. He's now at work on a family memoir.


The Wild Blueberry Pistachio bar is a delicious and healthy blend of nuts, seeds and antioxidant rich blueberries. The bars are non-GMO, gluten free, kosher, and just plain awesome. For every bar you buy, we give life-saving food to a child in need.
Refined sugars are probably the most hazardous ingredients in modern food. They're extremely dense in calories and highly addictive—and this can make us fat. For most Americans today, one out of every four calories consumed is refined sugar. Excessive consumption of refined sugar increases the risk for many forms of cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes type 2, general inflammation, and premature aging.In 50 Shortcuts to a Sugar-Free Life, Fredrik Paulún Sweden's number one nutritionist and author of 50 Ways to Boost Your Metabolism, explain why refined sugars are so dangerous to your health and how to avoid excess intake and addiction. He offers lifestyle tips and easy tricks for reducing consumption of sugar and making healthy choices. Paulún also shows how to enjoy a taste of sweetness from natural sources, for delicious food that provides only positive effects for the brain and body.Paulún draws on the latest research to provide expert, scientifically-proven shortcuts to a better lifestyle. Whether you follow one sugar-cutting strategy or all fifty, the results on your health and waistline are guaranteed.
The Pistachio Body Butter quickly melts into the skin and hydrates from within. The nutty, lightly sweet scent is what makes this whipped, indulgent cream The Boyfriend Body Butter. Your skin will smell delicious and feel smooth. The light green color of the Pistachio Body Butter is naturally derived from nourishing blue-green algae, which increases the skin's metabolism, restoring its vitality and maintaining a healthy glow. Pistaché Skincare At Pistaché Skincare, we infuse our products with vitamin and mineral rich pistachio oil to formulate powerful natural formulas. Pistachio oil is a rich source of lutein and vitamin E, both of which have been shown to have anti-aging properties and to provide essential antioxidant protection for the skin. Our founder, a fourth generation pistachio grower, created Pistaché Skincare to harness the power of this unique ingredient. We do not use harsh chemicals that strip skin of its natural defenses. Instead, we prefer powerful ingredients that enrich and plump skin. Our products are made in California using natural and organic ingredients, and pistachio oil from Central California.
Germination Pre-soak the seed for 16 hours in alkalized water, or, for 3 - 4 days in warm water (use a thermos). Two months cold stratification may speed up germination. Plant 3/4" deep at 80°F. Keep damp (cover pot with plastic sheet) and provide bright light. The germination is variable and can be slow. Scarification / Stratification This will break their dormancy. It creates a cold and moist environment for the seeds. Mixed in seeds with slightly moistened vermiculite or peat, only damp in a ziplock bag. Close zip bag shut and store it in the salad crisper compartment of your refrigerator. If any seeds begin to sprout during the cold stratification, simply remove the seed and plant.
Was always frustrated to need a second bowl for nut shells? Kitchen Winners double dishes will solve all the problems for you! Bowl for Pistachios, Peanuts, Cherries, Olives and other nuts and fruits. Watch movies eating your favorite snack without worrying about shells, seeds and pits.
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Rossini's Furniture is a family owned Home Furniture store located in Calgary, AB. We offer the best in home Home Furniture at discount prices.
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Serving Canada for over 28 years, we offer a huge selection of all weather wicker, rattan and patio furniture.
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On a 25-mile stretch of M28 in the Upper Peninsula lie four ghost towns. These four towns Creighton, Pines, Star, and Walsh - can be found between Seney and Shingleton.
Beginning in Seney and heading west, you will first come to what was once known as the village of Walsh. The town's origins go back to 1884, when the Delta Lumber Company set up camp and began started operations. The village was named after the guy who managed the logging operations, J.B. Walsh.
Thanks to the success of the lumber business, Walsh soon had a busy little town. It had a boarding house, depot, houses, general store, and sawmills. A post office was added in 1927. Walsh supplied tons of lumber for furniture, and another sawmill sprang up, along with a full lumberman camp: bunkhouse, commissary, cook camp, and office. In 1929, it all collapsed thanks to the nation's economy hit. Nothing is left of Walsh, except the other three ghost town communities nearby.
Next up is Creighton. It's another junction with nothing left. In 1881, the railroad had a section house and a station with water tanks in 1887. The area was named after the Creighton brothers who worked at the Chicago Lumber Company in Manistique. The population of Creighton was made up only of lumbermen who worked along the railroad. However, there was a general store and schoolhouse, and an establishment called 'The Pines'. It was a bar & grill, gas station and general store. It opened in the 1920's and closed for good in the 1970's. The old store still stands. The area is now known as the community of "Pines" which you can find on the map and is the third ghost town on this route.
Fourth and last is the community of Star. All that's left there are old, abandoned tourist cabins, collapsing and deteriorating more & more as the years go by.
Take the 25-mile jaunt down M-28 between Seney & Shingleton and see these four ghost communities for yourself. In the meantime, take a look at the photos below: they just may whet your appetite to take that little roadtrip!


Rustic cross is made from the sacred wood of the chonta palm tree or Chonta Duro. Shamans have been known to use the sharp long spikes found on chonta tree trunks as "darts" to take out evil spirits which cause illness. The staffs carried by some Shamans are also made of chonta wood. This cross makes a great piece for your altar or sacred space. Use as part of your despacho offerendo. Choice of available sizes. Handmade in Peru.
Chonta Wood. It's hard to believe that a scrawny palm with long aggressive thorns covering its entire trunk could have such a wide variety of uses. Since ancient times, the chonta palm has been important to the livelihood of indigenous peoples in the Amazon region. Artisans today use chonta to develop exclusive pieces of art and design. Indigenous peoples of the Amazon have been using practically every part of the chonta duro for centuries. The delicious fruit resembles the taste of chestnuts and its nutritional value is equivalent to that of an egg. Locals use it make cooking oil and flour. The wood is used to make arrows, lances, (cerbatanas) and for building walls and floors of their houses. The young palms are sometimes used for making roofs and their characteristic leaves produce the delicious palmtito or 'palm hearts', which are found in gourmet cuisine around the world. The shaman uses the sharp long spikes found in the chonta tree trunks as 'darts' to take out evil spirits which cause illnesses. The all-time favorite for Pastaza natives is chicha made from chonta, a fermented beverage made during the Uwi Ceremony. Chonta isn't just important to the Amazon peoples; it's also used by African-Ecuadorian cultures to make the marimba, a musical instrument that resonates with rhythmic sounds in the beaches of Atacames and Sua. The Colorado Indians of Pichincha also make marimbas from chonta wood for their traditional music. Source: Article by Carolina Matheus for Folklore Olga Fisch.


The coach does his best to get his team going in the right direction.
Performance street artist Elaine Davidson in London.
Royal Knights on cell phones.
Thames and London Night Reflections.
Showman in the plaza at the Covent Garden.
Vultures resting in a snow covered tree.
Harsh Times For The American Farmer.
Road Rage. An American Tapestry.
A head-shot of much beloved Boston Red Sox slugger, Kevin Youkilis.
The Anusweski's, an American Farm Family.
The youngest member of the Tiashoke Farm out in the fields with dad.
A farmer's hands cup a seed of life.
Dave Mathews at full throttle.
Judges at the NY State Fair ponder the quality of string beans.
A frisky black stallion out for a romp in the snow.
Rock and Roll legend David Crosby in performance.
Geese marching in unison in a cut cornfield, upstate NY.
A father with his daughters on Communion Day.
Two Royal Knights on cell phones.
Julia Dancing at Fairy Falls.
Fireworks display in Congress Park, Saratoga Springs Ny.
A lone green native plant covered in morning frost.
A vivid rainbow appears over fertile farm land in Bacon Hill NY.


text:
Q: Weakening the gluing axiom for sheaves The gluing axiom states that given an open cover $\{U_i\}$ of some open set $U$, if I have a section $s_i$ on each $U_i$ such that the restrictions agree on intersections, then there exists a unique section of $U$ such that its restriction to each $U_i$ is $s_i$.
Does dropping "unique" from the gluing axiom lead to anything mathematically interesting?
I think a trivial example of this sort of sheaf is a topological space $X$ where $F(U)$ for any proper subset of $X$ is the trivial group, while $F(X)$ is any nontrivial group. Then if I take an open cover of $s$, I can glue all of those trivial sections into any element of $F(X)$.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


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It is hard to believe, but the last week of our junior programme for this year is already over!
We started the very last week of the programme with a visit of the Botanic Garden of Heidelberg. There, the kids learned a lot of interesting things about a variety of plants, they could take a close look at little fish and plants in the pond and make a keepsake out of petals.
On Tuesday, we went to the Museum of the Electoral Palatinate on the Hauptstraße. Here we travelled through time: from the Stone Age to the Roman Age to the modern era.
Afterwards, the kids made some hand fans and learned some movements in the language of hand fans, for example "We stay friends" and "Kiss me!".
On Wednesday, we went to the Heidelberg zoo. Not only could the children watch tigers and seals, but also they could stroke goats and feed fish.
On Thursday, the juniors were able to learn about the world of science and technics at the interactive exhibition Explo Heidelberg.
Just before the weekend, we went to the indoor playground Jumpinn. The children always have a lot of fun jumping around and letting steam off.
Finally on Saturday, we went to the lawn by the river for a last picnic and some ball games.
And this is how quick our junior programme 2015 is over! We'd like to sincerely thank all of the children and adolescents that have made the past eight weeks so much fun and we are looking forward to welcoming some familiar faces again next year – and of course many new ones, too!
Tschüss, bye bye, ciao, salut, Чао, пока, 再见, ばいばい , see you next year!


Love the stadium which is nestled into downtown Charlotte. Lots of added fun in easy walking distance by being in an urban environment. Stadium is very nicely done with great views of Charlotte skyline behind it. My only knock is that crowd is pretty tame for minor league game and doesn't always feel like a minor league game.
Going to a Knights baseball game is a really nice event to go to with friends and family. Since they moved to uptown its definitely made us go frequently within the season. My fiance and I love going to the games. If you get to go on Fridays they do fireworks which is awesome. The stadium is very easy to get to, a lot of food and drink options and of course a gift shop for souvenirs. Ticket prices arent expensive either so you wont break the bank here like your average sporting event. Definitely a go to if youve never been.
Clean wholesome family entertainment. I love how it is set below ground. It was stunning to see the skyline come alive as the night progressed.
First visit to a night game. The view of Charlotte skyline is breathtaking. Food at Club level was very good and employees very courteous.
A knights game is a great evening out in Charlotte. The weather is usually great and the prices are reasonable because it isn't MLB.