text:
Q: Python Plotly Dash TypeError: String indices must be integers I am newbee to python Dash. I need help regarding how to use Dash Core     Components clickData to update the graph.
I have made a map and upon clicking its marker, it should display the graph
of particular Network operator. However, whenever I click the graph, it
displays that string indices must be integers for line
    app=dash.Dash()

    def data_sort():
            Stats1='C:/Users/muzamal.pervez/Desktop/Python Scripts/Second Project/IBRoamers.csv'
            LOC1='C:/Users/muzamal.pervez/Desktop/Python Scripts/Second Project/mcc-mnc-table.csv'

            DF1=pd.read_csv(Stats1)
            Table=pd.read_csv(LOC1,encoding = "ISO-8859-1")

            DF2=DF1.groupby(['Start Time', 'MCC', 'MNC']).sum()
            DF2=DF2.reset_index()
            DF2.insert(loc=1, column='NE Name', value='NWD')
            DF=pd.concat([DF1,DF2])
            #DF['Start Time']=pd.to_datetime(DF['Start Time'])
            DF=DF.sort_values(by=['Start Time','MCC', 'MNC'], ascending=False)
            DF=DF.reset_index(drop=True)

            DF['2G_Attach_SR(%)']=(DF['Gb mode attach accept times per PLMN (times)']/DF['Gb mode attach request times per PLMN (times)'])*100
            DF['3G_Attach_SR(%)']=(DF['Iu mode attach accept times per PLMN (times)']/DF['Iu mode attach request times per PLMN (times)'])*100
            DF['LTE_Combined_Attach_SR(%)']=(DF['S1 Mode Combined Attach Success Times for EPS and non-EPS Services per PLMN (times)']/DF['S1 Mode Combined Attach Request Times per PLMN (times)'])*100
            DF['2G_PDP_SR(%)']=((DF['Gb mode MS init PDP context act request times per PLMN (times)']-DF['Gb mode MS init PDP context act fail times per PLMN (times)'])/DF['Gb mode MS init PDP context act request times per PLMN (times)'])*100
            DF['3G_PDP_SR(%)']=(DF['Iu mode MS init PDP context act success times per PLMN (times)']/DF['Iu mode MS init PDP context act request times per PLMN (times)'])*100
            DF['LTE_PDN_Connect_SR(%)']=(DF['S1 Mode PDN Connect Success Times per PLMN (times)']/DF['S1 Mode PDN Connect Request Times per PLMN (times)'])*100
            DF['2G_Att_Fail(times)']=DF['Gb mode attach request times per PLMN (times)']-DF['Gb mode attach accept times per PLMN (times)']
            DF['2G_PDP_Fail(times)']=DF['Gb mode MS init PDP context act fail times per PLMN (times)']
            DF['3G_Att_Fail(times)']=DF['Iu mode attach request times per PLMN (times)']-DF['Iu mode attach accept times per PLMN (times)']
            DF['3G_PDP_Fail(times)']=DF['Iu mode MS init PDP context act request times per PLMN (times)']-DF['Iu mode MS init PDP context act success times per PLMN (times)']
            DF['LTE_Att_Fail(times)']=DF['S1 Mode Combined Attach Request Times per PLMN (times)']-DF['S1 Mode Combined Attach Success Times for EPS and non-EPS Services per PLMN (times)']
            DF['LTE_PDP_Fail(times)']=DF['S1 Mode PDN Connect Request Times per PLMN (times)']-DF['S1 Mode PDN Connect Success Times per PLMN (times)']
            DF['Total_Att_Fail(times)']=DF['2G_Att_Fail(times)']+DF['3G_Att_Fail(times)']+DF['LTE_Att_Fail(times)']
            DF['Total_PDP_Fail(times)']=DF['2G_PDP_Fail(times)']+DF['3G_PDP_Fail(times)']+DF['LTE_PDP_Fail(times)']
            DF['Attached Users(2G,3G,LTE)']=DF['Iu mode attached Average user number per PLMN (number)']+DF['Gb mode attached Average user number per PLMN (number)']+DF['Gb mode attached Average user number per PLMN (number)']
            DF['MCCMNC']=(DF['MCC'].str[-3:]) + (DF['MNC'].str[-2:])
            Table['MCCMNC']=Table['MCCMNC'].astype(str)
            DF=DF.merge(Table, on='MCCMNC')
            DF['Start Time']=pd.to_datetime(DF['Start Time'])
            Latest=DF['Start Time'].max()
            DF.to_csv('DF.csv', index=False)
            DF3=DF[DF['Start Time']==Latest]
            DF3=DF3[DF3['NE Name']=='NWD']
            DF3=DF3.drop(DF3[DF3['Attached Users(2G,3G,LTE)']<50].index)
            DF3=DF3.drop(DF3[DF3['MCCMNC']=='41001'].index)
            DF3=DF3.drop(DF3[DF3['MCCMNC']=='41007'].index)
            DF3=DF3.reset_index(drop=True)
            DF3['Text']=DF3['MCCMNC'].astype(str)+' '+DF3['Country']+ ":"+DF3['Network']+ "Total IB roamers: "+DF3['Attached Users(2G,3G,LTE)'].astype(str)
            DF3.to_csv('DF3.csv', index=False)
            scale = 15

            data = dict(
                    type = 'scattergeo',
                    autosize=False,
                    width=2000,
                    height=2000,
                    locationmode = 'world',
                    lon = DF3['Long1'],
                    lat = DF3['Lat1'],
                    text = DF3['Text'],
                    customdata=DF3['MCCMNC'].astype(int),
                    marker = dict(
                        size = DF3['Attached Users(2G,3G,LTE)']/scale,
                         color = np.where(((DF3['3G_Attach_SR(%)'] < 70)|(DF3['2G_Attach_SR(%)'] < 70)|(DF3['3G_PDP_SR(%)'] < 70)|(DF3['2G_PDP_SR(%)'] < 70))&((DF3['2G_Att_Fail(times)']>500)|(DF3['2G_PDP_Fail(times)']>500)|(DF3['3G_Att_Fail(times)']>500)|(DF3['3G_PDP_Fail(times)']>500)), 'red', 'green'),
                        line=dict(color='#7FFF00'),
                        sizemode = 'area'
                    )
                ),
            layout = dict(
                    title = 'Jazz IB Roamers from around the Globe',
                    showlegend = False,
                    geo = dict(
                        resolution=50,
                        scope='world',
                        projection=dict( type='world' ),
                        showcoastlines=True,
                        coastlinecolor="#F4A460",
                        coastlinewidth=0.2,
                        showland = True,
                        showframe=False,
                        showocean=True,
                        showcountries=True,
                        showcountrycodes=True,
                        showcontinents=True,
                        showrivers=True,
                        rivercolor="#F4A460",
                        riverwidth=0.2,
                        showlakes=True,
                        lakecolor="#F4A460",
                        lakewidth=0.2,
                        landcolor = '#262626',
                        oceancolor='#000033',
                        showsubunit=True,
                        subunitwidth=0.2,
                        countrywidth=0.5,
                        subunitcolor="#F4A460",
                        countrycolor="#F4A460"
                    ),
                )

            fig = dict( data=data, layout=layout )
            return fig

        app.layout  = html.Div([
            dcc.Graph(id='Map1', figure=data_sort()),
              html.Div([
                dcc.Dropdown(
                id='my_dropdown',
                options=[
                    {'label': 'NWD', 'value': 'NWD'},
                    {'label': 'ISB', 'value': 'USN-ISB'},
                    {'label': 'KHI', 'value': 'USN-KHI'},
                    {'label': 'LHR', 'value': 'USN-LHR'}
                ],
                value='NWD')]),
            dcc.Interval(id='graph-update',interval=300000),
            dcc.Graph(id='graph1', animate=True,clickData={'points': [{'customdata': '42403'}]})
        ])

        @app.callback(
            dash.dependencies.Output('graph1','figure'),
            [dash.dependencies.Input('my_dropdown', 'value'),
            dash.dependencies.Input('Map1', 'clickData')],
            events=[dash.dependencies.Event('graph-update', 'interval')]
            )
        def Graph1(clickData, USN):
            data_sort()
            address2 = 'C:/Users/muzamal.pervez/Desktop/Python Scripts/DF.csv'
            DF6=pd.read_csv(address2)
            DF6=DF6.loc[DF6['NE Name'] == USN]
            mccmnc = clickData['points']['customdata']
            DF6=DF6.loc[DF6['MCCMNC'] == mccmnc]
            return {
                'data': [{
                        'x': DF6['Start Time'],
                        'y': DF6['2G_Attach_SR(%)'],
                        'name':'{} ::2G Roaming Attach SR'.format(USN),
                            'line' : {
                                'color':'#00CD00'
                            }

                    },
                    {
                    'x': DF6['Start Time'],
                    'y': DF6['3G_Attach_SR(%)'],
                        'name':'{} ::3G Roaming Attach SR'.format(USN),
                         'line' : {
                                'color':'#4876FF'
                            }

                    }
                    ],
                    'layout' : go.Layout(
                      title='Live Throughput Trend(Mbps)',
                      titlefont=dict(
                      size=36,
                      color='#212121'
                       ),
                      xaxis=dict(
                      title='Start Time',
                      titlefont=dict(
                      family='Courier New, monospace',
                      size=24,
                      color='#030303'
                    )
                ),
                    yaxis=dict(
                    title='Throughput(Mbps)',
                    titlefont=dict(
                    family='Courier New, monospace',
                    size=24,
                    color='#030303'
                )
            )
                    )
            }

        if __name__ == '__main__':
            app.run_server(debug=False)

My Map turns out to work fine but I do not know how to use clickdata to update my graph. My Complete code shows the error message that string indices must be integers. Maybe I am missing something wrong?

A: @app.callback(
        dash.dependencies.Output('graph1','figure'),
        [dash.dependencies.Input('my_dropdown', 'value'),
        dash.dependencies.Input('Map1', 'clickData')],
        events=[dash.dependencies.Event('graph-update', 'interval')]
        )
    def Graph1(clickData, USN)

Here your clickData is the input number 2 so you should use something like that:
@app.callback(
        dash.dependencies.Output('graph1','figure'),
        [dash.dependencies.Input('my_dropdown', 'value'),
        dash.dependencies.Input('Map1', 'clickData')],
        events=[dash.dependencies.Event('graph-update', 'interval')]
        )
    def Graph1(USN, clickData)


The DBMS_CONNECTION_POOL package provides an interface to manage Database Resident Connection Pool.
Oracle Database Concepts for more information on "Database Resident Connection Pooling"
This procedure alters a specific configuration parameter as a standalone unit and does not affect other parameters.
Pool to be configured. Currently only the default pool name is supported.
This procedure configures the pool with advanced options.
TTL (Time to live) for an idle session in the pool. This parameter helps to shrink the pool when it is not used to its maximum capacity. If a connection remains in the pool idle for this time, it is killed.
Maximum time of inactivity by the client after getting a session from the pool. If the client does not issue a database call after grabbing a server from the pool, the client will be forced to relinquish control of the pooled server and will get an ORA-xxxxx error. The freed up server may or may not be returned to the pool.
All of the parameters should be set based on statistical request patterns.
minsize should be set keeping in mind that it puts a lower bound on server resource consumption. This is to prevent the timeout from dragging the pool too low, because of a brief period of inactivity.
maxsize should be set keeping in mind that it puts an upper bound on concurrency and response-times and also server resource consumption.
In doubt, do not set the increment and inactivity_timeout. The pool will have reasonable defaults.
max_use_session and max_lifetime_session allow for software rejuvenation or defensive approaches to potential bugs, leaks, accumulations, and like problems, by getting brand new sessions once in a while.
The connection pool reserves 5% of the pooled servers for authentication, and at least one pooled server is always reserved for authentication. When setting the maxsize parameter, ensure that there are enough pooled servers for both authentication and connections.
This procedure starts the pool for operations. It is only after this call that the pool could be used by connection classes for creating sessions.
Pool to be started. Currently only the default pool name is supported.
If the instance is restarted (shutdown followed by startup), the pool is automatically started.
This procedure stops the pool and makes it unavailable for the registered connection classes.
Pool to be stopped. Currently only the default pool name is supported.
This stops the pool and takes it offline. This does not destroy the persistent data (such as, the pool name and configuration parameters) associated with the pool.
This procedure restores the pool to default settings.
Pool to be restored. Currently only the default pool name is supported.


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text:
Edward Prince of Wale's visit to Japan, 1922.
1920s • Historic Events • Imperial Household
Tagged with: Edward Prince of Wales, Emperor Showa, Golf, Imperial household, Taisho era
Crown Prince Hirohito (left) and Edward Prince of Wales, commemorative postcard, April 1922.
Crown Prince Hirohito's Tour of Europe, 1921.
Emperor Pu Yi ("The Last Emperor"), State Visit to Tokyo, 1935.
"[Crown Prince Hirohito] was especially eager to entertain the Prince of Wales, who visited Japan in 1922, for Edward had treated him kindly during his own tour of Europe [in 1921].
"One one occasion during Edward's visit, the Regent suggested a game of golf. Wearing a cap and plus-fours, [Hirohito] managed to hit the ball only after several futile attempts. To prevent his host from losing face, the future King Edward VIII records in his memoirs, 'By design I developed a disastrous hook.' Edward adds, the next day 'He was as deft as I was clumsy' when the Regent introduced him to the traditional court pastime of catching ducks with long-handled nets.
"The golf vignette, though in itself trivial, is emblematic of the way the Regent wanted to imitate the freer lifestyle of his English guest. But he had already been given notice that this would be difficult. In December 1921, the Regent gave an informal party for friends from the Peers' School. They played records from London and Paris and drank much whisky, a gift from the Duke of Atholl which the Crown Prince had brought back to Japan.
"Afterwards, [Hirohito] was sharply reprimanded by Prince Saionji [genro and former prime minister] for this rowdy lapse of decorum. He was beginning to learn the constraints of court convention which had imprisoned Taisho and would increasingly restrict him as well."
– Emperor Hirohito and Showa Japan: A Political Biography, by Stephen Large, 2013
Accompanied by Crown Prince Hirohito, Edward Prince of Wales receives a grand welcome to Japan in 1922, arriving by train at Tokyo Station after disembarking at the port of Yokohama, and seen here in a royal procession from the train station to the Imperial Palace a short distance away.
Crown Prince Hirohito (right) with Edward Prince of Wales, at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo, 1922.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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text:
Bible > Mark > Chapter 6 > Verse 31
Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, "Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest."
Then Jesus said, "Let's go off by ourselves to a quiet place and rest awhile." He said this because there were so many people coming and going that Jesus and his apostles didn't even have time to eat.
And he said to them, "Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while." For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat.
And He said to them, "Come with Me privately to a solitary place, and let us rest for a while." For many people were coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat.
And He said to them, "You yourselves come apart to a solitary place, and rest a little." For those coming and those going were many, and not even did they have opportunity to eat.
And he said unto them, Come ye yourselves apart into a desert place, and rest a while: for there were many coming and going, and they had no leisure so much as to eat.
And He said to them, "Come aside by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while." For there were many coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat.
And He said to them, "Come away by yourselves to a secluded place and rest a little while." (For there were many people coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat.)
And He said to them, "Come away by yourselves to a secluded place and rest a while." (For there were many people coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat.)
And He said to them, "Come away by yourselves to a lonely place and rest a while." (For there were many people coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat.)
And He said to them, "Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while." (For there were many people coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat.)
He said to them, "Come away by yourselves to a secluded place and rest a little while"—for there were many [people who were continually] coming and going, and they could not even find time to eat.
He said to them, "Come away by yourselves to a remote place and rest for a while." For many people were coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat.
And he saith unto them, Come ye yourselves apart into a desert place, and rest a while. For there were many coming and going, and they had no leisure so much as to eat.
And he said to them, "Come, we shall go to the country alone and rest yourselves a little." For there were many going and coming and there was not a place for them even to eat.
But so many people were coming and going that Jesus and the apostles did not even have a chance to eat. Then Jesus said, "Let's go to a place where we can be alone and get some rest."
And he said to them: Come apart into a desert place, and rest a little. For there were many coming and going: and they had not so much as time to eat.
So he said to them, "Let's go to a place where we can be alone to rest for a while." Many people were coming and going, and Jesus and the apostles didn't even have a chance to eat.
There were so many people coming and going that Jesus and his disciples didn't even have time to eat. So he said to them, "Let us go off by ourselves to some place where we will be alone and you can rest a while."
He told them, "Come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest for a while," because so many people were coming and going that they didn't even have time to eat.
and He said to them, "Come yourselves apart to a desolate place, and rest a little," for those coming and those going were many, and not even to eat had they opportunity,
He said to them, "Come away by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while." People were coming and going in great numbers, and they had no opportunity even to eat.
He said to them, "Come with me privately to an isolated place and rest a while" (for many were coming and going, and there was no time to eat).
He said to them, "Come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest a while." For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat.
And he said to them, "Come away by yourselves to an isolated place, and rest awhile." For there were many coming and going, and they had no leisure so much as to eat.
And he said to them, Come ye yourselves apart into a desert place, and rest a while: for there were many coming and going, and they had no leisure so much as to eat.
Then He said to them, "Come away, all of you, to a quiet place, and rest awhile." For there were many coming and going, so that they had no time even for meals.
He said to them, "Come away into a deserted place, and rest awhile." For there were many coming and going, and they had no leisure so much as to eat.
and he said to them, 'Come ye yourselves apart to a desert place, and rest a little,' for those coming and those going were many, and not even to eat had they opportunity,
The Feeding of the Five Thousand
30Meanwhile, the apostles gathered around Jesus and brought Him news of all they had done and taught. 31And He said to them, "Come with Me privately to a solitary place, and let us rest for a while." For many people were coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat. 32So they went away in a boat by themselves to a solitary place.…
When Jesus heard about John, He withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place. But the crowds found out about it and followed Him on foot from the towns.
Then Jesus went home, and once again a crowd gathered, so that He and His disciples could not even eat.
And he said to them, Come you yourselves apart into a desert place, and rest a while: for there were many coming and going, and they had no leisure so much as to eat.
But he went out, and began to publish it much, and to blaze abroad the matter, insomuch that Jesus could no more openly enter into the city, but was without in desert places: and they came to him from every quarter.
Mark 3:7,20
But Jesus withdrew himself with his disciples to the sea: and a great multitude from Galilee followed him, and from Judaea, …
When Jesus heard of it, he departed thence by ship into a desert place apart: and when the people had heard thereof, they followed him on foot out of the cities.
Apart Awhile Desert Deserted Eat Food Going Great Leisure Meals Quiet Rest Secluded Time Yourselves
1. Jesus is a prophet without honor in his own country.
7. He gives the twelve power over unclean spirits.
14. Various opinions of Jesus.
16. John the Baptist is imprisoned, beheaded, and buried.
30. The apostles return from preaching.
34. The miracle of five loaves and two fishes.
45. Jesus walks on the sea;
53. and heals all who touch him.
(31-44) And he said unto them.--See Notes on Matthew 14:13-21. Peculiar to St. Mark are (1) the tender consideration of the invitation to "rest awhile," and (2) the description of the throng of people as "coming and going."
Verse 31. - Our Lord cared for his disciples. They required rest after the labour and excitement of their ministry; and it was impossible to find the needful refreshment and repose where they were so thronged by the multitude.
καὶ (kai)
Strong's 2532: And, even, also, namely.
λέγει (legei)
Strong's 3004: (a) I say, speak; I mean, mention, tell, (b) I call, name, especially in the pass., (c) I tell, command.
to them,
αὐτοῖς (autois)
Personal / Possessive Pronoun - Dative Masculine 3rd Person Plural
Strong's 846: He, she, it, they, them, same. From the particle au; the reflexive pronoun self, used of the third person, and of the other persons.
Δεῦτε (Deute)
Verb - Imperative - 2nd Person Plural
Strong's 1205: Come hither, come, hither, an exclamatory word. From deuro and an imperative form of eimi; come hither!
with Me
κατ' (kat')
Strong's 2596: A primary particle; down, in varied relations (genitive, dative or accusative) with which it is joined).
privately
αὐτοὶ (autoi)
Personal / Possessive Pronoun - Nominative Masculine 3rd Person Plural
εἰς (eis)
Strong's 1519: A primary preposition; to or into, of place, time, or purpose; also in adverbial phrases.
[a] solitary
ἔρημον (erēmon)
Adjective - Accusative Masculine Singular
Strong's 2048: Lonesome, i.e. waste.
τόπον (topon)
Noun - Accusative Masculine Singular
Strong's 5117: Apparently a primary word; a spot, i.e. Location; figuratively, condition, opportunity; specially, a scabbard.
let us rest
ἀναπαύσασθε (anapausasthe)
Verb - Aorist Imperative Middle - 2nd Person Plural
Strong's 373: From ana and pauo; to repose (be exempt), remain); by implication, to refresh.
ὀλίγον (oligon)
Adjective - Accusative Neuter Singular
Strong's 3641: Puny; especially neuter somewhat.
γὰρ (gar)
Strong's 1063: For. A primary particle; properly, assigning a reason.
many [people]
πολλοί (polloi)
Adjective - Nominative Masculine Plural
Strong's 4183: Much, many; often.
ἦσαν (ēsan)
Verb - Imperfect Indicative Active - 3rd Person Plural
ἐρχόμενοι (erchomenoi)
Verb - Present Participle Middle or Passive - Nominative Masculine Plural
Strong's 2064: To come, go.
going,
ὑπάγοντες (hypagontes)
Verb - Present Participle Active - Nominative Masculine Plural
Strong's 5217: To go away, depart, begone, die. From hupo and ago; to lead under, i.e. Withdraw or retire, literally or figuratively.
they did not even have time
εὐκαίρουν (eukairoun)
Strong's 2119: From eukairos; to have good time, i.e. Opportunity or leisure.
to eat.
φαγεῖν (phagein)
Verb - Aorist Infinitive Active
Strong's 5315: A primary verb; to eat.
Mark 6:31 NIV
Mark 6:31 NLT
Mark 6:31 ESV
Mark 6:31 NASB
Mark 6:31 KJV
Mark 6:31 BibleApps.com
Mark 6:31 Biblia Paralela
Mark 6:31 Chinese Bible
Mark 6:31 French Bible
Mark 6:31 Catholic Bible
NT Gospels: Mark 6:31 He said to them You come apart (Mar Mk Mr)


In no particular order within the cluster . . .
Please note that these clusters contain only schools located within the United States. This should not be construed as an assertion that all schools located outside of the United States are "inferior" schools. However, it is difficult to obtain information that is directly comparable on some international programs. I welcome constructive comments on this issue.
Originally posted by Hjort on 17 Jan 2005, 23:43.
Last edited by Hjort on 27 Jan 2005, 20:43, edited 2 times in total.
Twixt, another data point for Wharton from Business Week.
I am curious how a median can be 716. A median of 715 seems possible if there is an even number of cases, but 716 sounds strange to me.
120% Agree with you Hjort.
Even I remember thinking that 716 seems odd for a median but I did not dig deeper, after seeing both your posts I went to Wharton's page and checked and they state Average is 716. Maybe BW made an error?
I agree that 716 is probably close to the median. Considering that the SEM of the test is roughly 30 points, knowing that the median about 710-720 is useful information.
Standard Error of Measurement- an estimate of the distribution of scores that an individual would be likely to get if she took the test an infinite number of times without any learning effects.
Another good resource for comparing business schools is the "CEO Production" thread that discusses the education biographies of executives at many major corporations.
I have recently added more CEO information for each of the ultra elite schools.
The GMAT range for elite schools is normaly 670-750. Are there any exceptions to it? I have read somewhere that atleast 2,200 people scored above 750 last year. Where do those guy end up?
I have another question, one of my friend has 710 GMAT, 3.5 years full time strong work experience and a great story for interviewers (this guy comes from a minority group in Pakistan and struggled his way up). But his final GPA is only 2.5 because he was busy doing some part time work and could'nt concentrate on his studies. Also he has a fabulous academic career besides his final year poor GPA. And he is also relying on some funding or scholarship money for his MBA as he can't afford to pay his tution. What are his chances?
I agree that a significant percentage of the top scorers are probably Phd candidates. At least of the high scorers are probably "professionals" who are taking the test to help develop GMAT training materials and are not bona fide MBA applicants. Some of the top MBA scorers are probably more interested in money than prestige so they are willing to take a scholarship at a school with less prestige. Some of the top scorers could have exceptionally strong GMAT scores but little else so they probably go to lower cluster schools as well.
Another great resource for information on business schools is the Ambassador forum.
you can conjure up a list all you want of top business schools but unless the student puts in the effort to make the most out of his/her experience at school, then these rankings don't mean anything. At the end of the day, it's all about the perosn. The brightest and the most active student at ASU Carey WILL have a brighter future than somebody at HBS who spends two years thinking that they will be secure because they got accepted. I work with plenty of MBAs who went to Wharton, Stanford, HBS, and they are just incapable in the workplace. On the flipside, I also work with tier 2 mba grads who excel so much more.
I urge people not do think of these lists as, "if I don't get into these top schools, then I'm worthless" that's not the case. You can make any school capable depending on how much effort you put in.
We are in agreement that the qualities that a given student brings with her when she enters school and over the course of her academic career are a key factor in the return (in a broad sense) she receives from her investment.
However, I also believe that schools can be viewed in a crude sense as massive input-output functions. Given a particular level of input (in terms of personal qualities such as intelligence, ambition, drive, charisma) an ultra elite school tends to provide a higher level of output than that same input invested in a school that ranks much lower in terms of reputation. Note that this is intended as a positive assertion with regard to the effect of reputation on outcome, not a normative one.
I just noticed on the main homepage of gmatclub.com that Tuck and Columbia were switched. Tuck is now an Ultra Elite and Columbia is an Elite.


text:
EYST Wales volunteers learn community research methods from WISERD researchers
WISERD
In July, eight young volunteers engaged in participatory action research training de-livered via a collaboration between Ethnic Minorities and Youth Support Team Wales (EYST Wales) and WISERD.
EYST Wales, an award-winning charity, was set up in 2005 by a group of ethnic minority young people in Swansea, with the aim of providing a targeted, culturally sensitive and holistic support service for black and minority ethnic (BME) young people. Since then, EYST Wales has expanded its mission and vision to also meet the needs of BME families and individuals of all ages including refugees and asy-lum-seekers living in Wales.
The group of budding community researchers had previously participated in a WISERD and EYST Wales scoping project with Sioned Pearce and Esther Muddiman, exploring young women's experiences and thoughts on the Brexit referendum, and life after Brexit. After taking part in this initial focus group, the young women voiced an interest in further developing links with WISERD, and learning research methods in order to explore issues important to them.
The training was commissioned by WISERD and the training was undertaken by Martin O'Neil (formerly of WISERD) and Alain Thomas a freelancer as expert practitioners in participatory methods. On day one Martin and Alain introduced the group to some classic participatory engagement methods. Collectively a research topic was agreed homelessness in Swansea, they then used mind mapping to explore the topic.
Day Two involved exploring potential research methods and devising a strategy for how to put them into practice, in order to better understand city centre homelessness in Swansea. This included deciding who to speak with, where to find them, and what problems or ethical questions may surface. The group decided to narrow the focus of this potential community research project to the experiences of people seeking asylum and those within the asylum process who have been made homeless in Swansea. They also practised participatory data analysis.
Training provider Alain, said: "The group were brilliant, keen to learn and to put the learning into practice, passionate about what they believed in, full of energy and fully engaged. I know Martin will agree it was an absolute pleasure to work with them – it energised me too!"
Evaluations of the experience were resoundingly positive. One participant, Rudina Koka, noted that people research every day, even if this is just using Google's search engine, and appreciated the chance to learn how to investigate a question systematically and with rigour. Rudina said: "Thank you for helping us to research better and also to help us improve our ideas." The only criticism from the group of young volunteers was that they felt there was a need for more than two days in order to fully explore the concepts introduced and design a viable research project to take forward.
Rocio Cifuentes, Director of EYST Wales, said: "We appreciate this opportunity for EYST volunteers to learn community research methods from two excellent trainers and would welcome further opportunities to collaborate with WISERD for volunteers to develop research skills and use them to work towards resilient communities."
Tagiau Y Gymdeithas Sifil | Young People and Brexit


text:
Q: How to compare a cell value with a string and count the frequency in hbase? I am very new to hbase.
I have a two column family named as"name", "story type" and the values are like {Rajib,Clarke}, {photo,status,gif} respectively
I want to scan the rows of 'story type' when 'name' column has value "Rajib" and count the frequency of finding 'gif' with respect to "Rajib"
I have tried like below but this is not working. How can I  do that??
Thanks in advance..
    String columnfamily1="story type";
   int countgif=0;
    for (Result res: scanner)
    {

    if(Bytes.toString(res.getValue(Bytes.toBytes(columnfamily),null))=="Clarke"){
 if(Bytes.toString(res.getValue(Bytes.toBytes(columnfamily1),null))=="gif"){
                countgif=countgif+1;
                }
            }
        }
  system.out.printf("%d",countgif);

A: Can you put some sample data so it will be clear about your requirement.
As I understood from your question you need to filter those rows which has name as 'clarke' and story-type as 'gif'.
This can be implemented using Scan class with additional filters as

SingleColumnValueFilter filter_by_name = new SingleColumnValueFilter(
                   Bytes.toBytes("name" ),
                   Bytes.toBytes("name"),
                   CompareOp.EQUAL,
                   Bytes.toBytes("clarke"));
SingleColumnValueFilter filter_by_story = new SingleColumnValueFilter(
                   Bytes.toBytes("story_type" ),
                   Bytes.toBytes("type"),
                   CompareOp.EQUAL,
                   Bytes.toBytes("gif"));

FilterList filterList = new FilterList(FilterList.Operator.MUST_PASS_ALL);
filterList.addFilter(filter_by_name);
filterList.addFilter(filter_by_story);

Scan scan = new Scan();
scan.setFilter(filterList);

ResultScanner scanner = table.getScanner(scan);
Result result = scanner.next;

// now use iteration to print the complete value.. if you are interested only in count then just iterate and increment count
int gifCount =0;
while(result != null)
{
  gifCount ++;
result =scanner.next;
}
println(gifCount);

Hope this resolves your problem.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


The 3rd OST for Korean drama Bachelor's Vegetable Store from Channel A is released on February 1st, 2012.
The Bachelor's Vegetable Store OST part 3 has the song title of Living Like A Fool (바보같이 살았죠). The song title is also translated as Lived Like a Fool.
Living Like a Fool is sang by Min (민) of miss A (미쓰에이).
Listen to Living Like A Fool (바보같이 살았죠) at YouTube, or watch the official MV for Living Like A Fool (바보같이 살았죠) at YouTube.
Why do I keep shedding tears?
Why am I still the original me?


text:
Bertie Carvel Leads BAGHDAD CENTRAL
Baghdad Central is Channel 4's brand new thriller based around the Iraq War of 2003, starring our brilliant BERTIE CARVEL as the series lead.
The exciting six-part series is adapted from the 2014 novel of the same by American author and scholar of the Middle East, Elliott Colla. It begins on Monday 3 February at 10pm on Channel 4.
Baghdad Central tells the story of an Iraqi ex-policeman, Muhsin al-Khafaji, who is desperately trying to keep his daughter safe – having already lost his job, his house and his wife. He then finds himself attempting to track down his missing estranged daughter, a search which leads to the discovery that something very sinister is at play.
A case of mistaken identity soon sees Khafaji become the victim of arrest and torture at the hands of the US military, but then he comes across a British ex-police officer, Frank Temple (played by Bertie) who recruits him as a police officer in the Green Zone.
Check out the trailer below and don't miss the explosive premiere on Monday night.


Join the Boston Bluegrass Union and celebrate the legacy of the late Joe Val with three big days of indoor bluegrass at the Sheraton Framingham Hotel. There's a great lineup of national and regional talent, expanded workshops, Kid's Academy, music vendors, and round-the-clock jamming. Our 2006 event won the coveted "Event of the Year" award from the International Bluegrass Music Association.


Take a bow Gary from Skelmanthorpe!
The black and white moggy is the winner of the Examiner Cutest Cat in Huddersfield competition.
Yesterday was International Cat Day and we ran a contest to find the cutest feline in town.
We received hundreds of entries from owners of all sorts of kitties from long-haired pedigrees and fluffy kittens to ginger tomcats and laid-back tabbies.
And you voted in your thousands. The full results of the poll can be seen here .
But the cat you thought deserved the title of Cutest Cat in Huddersfield — and a free professional photo shoot — was black and white 'tuxedo' mog Gary.
Gary's owner Charlotte Hakier said: "He's definitely the cutest cat in Huddersfield !
"He's a very big, short-haired tuxedo cat with a wonderful temperament and he lives inside, in our house in Skelmanthorpe, so he's always the cleanest he can be."


Posted on 05. Jul, 2012 by admin.
Posted on 11. Jul, 2009 by admin.
This camp is a great way to prepare for the 2009-2010 chess year. Subjects will include openings, middlegames, and winning tricks. 4 Groups, ranging from Beginner to 1600. The fastest way to get back into chess after the summer!
Posted on 01. Jun, 2009 by admin.


text:
module AisTools
  class Instructions::ExecuteFunction < Instruction
    declare 0x5853590D, "execute_function",
      :function => :pointer,
      :args     => :ptrlist

    attr_accessor :function
    attr_accessor :args

    def read(&reader)
      attributes = reader.call
      @function = attributes & 0xFFFF
      arguments = attributes >> 16
      @args = Array.new(arguments) { |index| reader.call }
    end

    def write(&writer)
      attributes = (@args.length << 16) |
                   @function

      writer.call attributes
      writer.call @args, true
    end
  end
end

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Winning investment strategies from the frontlines of the blogosphere – with Tadas Viskanta
Zack Miller | April 23, 2012
Tadas Viskanta has been at the forefront of the next generation of financial content for years. His Abnormal Returns blog is the place investors -- ravenous for the day's most impactful news and analysis -- start every trading day. Tadas is out with a new book that really is a culmination of 9 years of work, scouring the Internet for the best and most interesting trading strategies and technologies. Tadas joins us for to talk about his work on this week's episode of Tradestreaming Radio.
About Tadas Viskanta
Tadas is the founder and editor of the Abnormal Returns blog and the author of a new book, Abnormal Returns.
Announcer: You're listening to Tradestreaming Radio with your host, Zack Miller. Expand your mind. Become a better investor with tools, tips and technology from the smartest investors on the planet. Zack: Welcome to Tradestreaming Radio. I'm your host, Zack Miller, and this is a place where smart investors come to learn directly from experts. I help bubble up the tools, tips and technologies to help you make better, smarter investment decisions. Today's guest on the program certainly helps do that. I've got Tadas Viskanta on with us. He is the author of the Abnormal Returns blog and has a new book out, a highly acclaimed book called, "Abnormal Returns: Winning Strategies from the Frontlines of the Investment Blogosphere." It's highly acclaimed because I said so. It's a great book. It's a great read, and Tadas agreed to come on the program to discuss the genesis of the book and what the book's all about. Welcome, Tadas. Tadas: Zack, thanks for having me. Zack: Tadas is clearly a humble guy so I'm sure he's cringing with my accolades, but just to give you some background, for those of you who are maybe, not familiar with the Abnormal Returns blog, this is the granddaddy of all financial blogs, in my mind. Tadas was curating the best content from around the web before curation even turned into a term. How long have you been at this? Tadas: About six and a half years. It'll be seven years in October. Zack: It was like the Internet wasn't even around then. Can you talk to us a little bit about the format of the blog? It's my first stop of the day. That email hits my inbox, and that's where I get my information during the day. Tadas: Thank you. It's interesting, because when I first started the blog, I thought I was going to be a real free wheeling blogger, really out there. Zack: Really opinionated? Tadas: Yeah. That's what I thought, and it quickly evolved into its current format. I think the last anniversary I had for the blog [inaudible 02:00] I had the first a few months, and I quickly... It was very interesting because somebody had asked me how many links I have done. It's now in the thousands and I went back to look and see when the first one was and it [inaudible 02:13], in part because I found quite quickly that, a couple of cases, 1) if I had an opinion, somebody was already out there with that. They were just faster and essentially said the same thing. So, why wouldn't I just link to that instead of having me to post, as it were? It just seemed that that sort of format, the Linkfest, and like you said, curating the best of the financial blogosphere just seemed to be a natural transition for me. My initial goals of the blog changed quite quickly. Zack: What I appreciate most about that daily Linkfest and it's evolved beyond the daily, right? You're hitting seven links, 7:00 a.m. and you have even an afternoon Linkfest as well now? Tadas: I'm not doing an afternoon Linkfest, but I suppose that's always on the table. Zack: What I appreciate most, and I'd like you to talk a little bit about this, it is a dispassionate view. You have an entire chapter devoted in your book to smarter media consumption. For too long, whether it's been online or through newsletters or faxes, we've consumed very sensationalistic investment information. I wouldn't even call it investment information, more trading type of information and you've just taken a very different approach. Can you talk about that? Tadas: One of the things I talk about in the book, I think most of what you see in the financial media is entertainment. It's really not actionable information. It's really not straightforward analysis. Zack: Jim Kramer has really made this popular, right? He's an entertainer, by all definitions. Tadas: Certainly. It's interesting because I had a post last week talking about the legacy of the street. In that post I talk about Kramer and I like to think of Kramer as, he's really the original investment blogger. He was blogging when he was still trading at his hedge fund, and he really helped evolve and create the medium as we see it today. I haven't watched "Mad Money" in years and years and years so I can't even really tell you what goes on on that show anymore. But the original Kramer, to me, was really an exemplar of what we really see today. In terms of the financial media, I think the one thing that I do try and do in the Linkfest is take one step back and really look at... It's less about the news flow, which people can get. News is a commodity these days. If retail sales were announced and any number of sites, both professional and amateur, have got that information up and have analyzed it. It's really less about the news, and it's more about the analysis. It's about commentary. It's about trying to look at things just a little bit, [inaudible 05:21] them a little bit and see what happens. It's interesting. It's actually, it's read as much the next day as it is the day that it's put out. In my mind, the things that I put in the Linkfest have [inaudible 05:35] a couple of days of relevance or else for the people who are reading it, it really gets stale. In my mind, that knocks out a lot of news and information that really has a short half life. Zack: It's so true because I noticed in the times that you've linked to my blog, to Tradestreaming, I probably get an equal amount of traffic the day you link it and then the day after. So, that's really different than a world where you have this reverse chronological, just continuous flow where something gets published and gets pushed down very, very quickly and disappears into the ether. Tadas: I think that's right and I think when the comments that I do get on the blog are people who like having a quick... I don't know if it's quick anymore, one daily look at what's happened. Some of the comments when people say, "I was on vacation this week and I was able to go through the Linkfest quickly and get up to speed on what happened during the week." Zack: Amazing. There was one quote that I highlighted. I wanted to mention here because it's germane to what we're talking about. In your book you write, "The market is generating and rejecting hypotheses on a continuing basis. My job as a blogger is to try and sort through the noise and extract some semblance of a signal from the flow of news. This curation process parallels my motivations for writing this book." There's an ethos behind what you're doing as well. You're trying to teach people in terms of investing to separate that noise, like you said, it's not the news flow anymore. It's about the analysis, to get them focused on the right things. How does your book lead into that? Tadas: It's also somewhere in the introduction that I talk about these are the ideas that I hit in the book, and essentially it's about a dozen chapters and in each chapter there's four, five or six sections all of which constitute in a certain sense, standalone ideas that I've come to. I talk in that introduction about, "These are things that I think I think," and "These are ideas that have bubbled up over time and have stuck with me." Since they've stuck with me, I thought that they were worthy of some further exploration, research and putting them into a book format. These are ideas that I think aren't evanescent and aren't going to be, hopefully, disproven in the next few months. Zack: If I get this straight, this wasn't really your first book proposal, right? This was not the first book you intended to write? Tadas: No. A number of years ago I'd written a book proposal about the hedge fund industry and it was, to me in my mind, it was a Hedge Funds 101 book, talking about the history of hedge funds, the structure of the industry, a look at different kinds of hedge funds and how sophisticated investors could use hedge funds and hedge fund like ideas in their portfolios. I pitched that proposal to a number of publishers. I even had an agent at that time, and it fell quite flat. I've always had an interest in writing a book, and it so happened that, given the blog, I've had opportunities to talk to publishers about book ideas. This was one that came to me quite quickly and came together pretty quickly. I was able to go from a proposal to a finished book on a relatively expedited basis. Zack: I wanted to ask you about that because I found when I wrote "Tradestream Your Way to Profits" that it mimicked my blog in a lot of what I was trying to accomplish on the blog and some of the big ideas there so closely that it was relatively easy to write. Did you find that? Was this just a natural outgrowth of what you were doing everyday, day in, day out? Tadas: It's funny. I thought that I had a pretty detailed proposal and which the book is a pretty close approximation to what that proposal was. I thought I would start at Chapter 1. Write Chapter 1, Chapter 2 and just sequentially write the book. I found that, while I was blogging, I would blog during the morning and early afternoon and I would write the book in the afternoon. I would find that ideas that I've come across in the morning would, Chapter 7, writing about part of Chapter 7 earlier in the day, so I wrote that part of Chapter 7 as opposed to writing it out of sequence. I ended up hopping around from piece to piece as I came across stuff as I was blogging. In that sense, it was very much influenced by the blog. Zack: Last night we were speaking before this interview and one of the things I mentioned to him was that as much as I feel I know Tadas, and Tadas does a great job of connecting to the industry as well, I don't really know Tadas that well. He's everywhere yet I sense a really strong sense of humility there that keeps his personality out and the information is very objective. He's not out there swinging for the fences or even using that type of language. How much does that mimic you in real life? Tadas: It mimics me to a great degree and I forget if it was, I think it's Howard Lindzon who was talking about Twitter and Stock Twits. Zack: Sort of a similar personality to yours. Tadas: Yeah, exactly. Talking about how, if you really look at somebody's Twitter stream or Stock Twits stream, you really do get a sense for who they are. It's really hard to fake it on that sort of medium, and I think, in that regard, you can make the same claim about blogs as well. I think eventually, to that degree, your personality does come through to a certain extent. To that degree, it does mimic my personality and it's not for nothing that when I started the blog the tagline on it, "A wide ranging forecast free blog," has kind of stuck. I haven't changed that moniker and I think it's what I set out to do and it's stuck, in that sense. Even back then, seven years ago I recognized that there was a lot in the blogosphere, people putting out these fearless forecasts which really did investors a disservice by putting that stuff out. That's a topic I hit in the book as well, talking about the folly of forecasting as it were. Zack: I want to hit on a tangential to that, a little bit, and you had a great quote in the book. On your chapter on risk, and risk is something I've been trying to explore a little bit on Tradestreaming, as well. You have these mega bloggers, particularly investment bloggers, who are focused on either a specific industry, or a specific product, and they bank everything on that product, or everything on that industry. You said, "Indeed. Some analysts make their living by focusing on a particular risk to the exclusion of all others." I just think that it really captures what's going on online. You have these people and newsletters, they're trying to sell you something and it can't be that gold is the right instrument for all markets. Nothing fits that way. Nothing works that way in life. Your approach has always been a very diversified approach. You're looking at all asset classes and all different strategies at the same time. Are you the antidote to what's going on? Tadas: I don't know about that. I think that, in that regard, I think to a certain extent those are business decisions and to what degree that reflects people's true beliefs or to the degree to which it reflects a business decision, it's hard for me to say. I think what great investors do is they have a really dispassionate approach to the markets. They don't bring their political beliefs to the market, they don't bring other sorts of... Zack: But it's very hard to sell newsletters that way. Agreed? Tadas: I agree. Zack: That's the business decision you're talking about. Tadas: That's a business decision, but from an investment perspective, I think investors who come with a clean slate to the markets and are able to look at things dispassionately have a leg up on investors who are trying to play out whatever sort of belief, trying to bring out some sort of predetermined belief to the markets. I think, in that regard, my approach has always been to, like I said, start with a clean slate. Everyday I look at the news and look at the blogosphere; I'm starting with a clean slate. The things that bubble up and things that I find are interesting are the ones that I really am attracted to. Zack: How wedded are you to specific strategies? I think in the "Abnormal Returns" book you do a good job of surveying the research landscape. You quote a lot of different studies, and some of that are counterintuitive as well. Are you always open to be convinced or have your priors changed? Tadas: I hope so. I hope that everybody does. I think that's the job of an investor whether you're looking at it in an individual stock about which you've done some sort of analysis and you have some sort of hypothesis about, or whether you're looking at big macro sorts of decisions or whether you're looking at the academic research and what that provides in terms of some basis for a portfolio strategy. I think that's the fun stuff. There aren't a lot of things that work forever in the markets and some of which happen to be cyclical, some of which are secular so I think that's the fun part of it. Zack: I know this is something you've written a lot about on Abnormal Returns, the noise in the market. There are tons of research papers coming out. A lot of some of which are contradictory. I find even myself that I can be convinced relatively easily, a flip flop, between different ideas and stuff like that. That noise is somewhat dangerous for your average investor, right? You run the risk of just being swept up by it and change of strategy too frequently. Tadas: Noise is an inherent part of markets. Without noise, you don't get trading and you don't get markets. The idea that you can eliminate noise isn't really realistic. Your approach to that really affects your investment strategy. If you're a short-term trader, essentially you're trading the noise. There isn't a whole lot that happens on a daily basis that really changes the world. In a certain sense, you're trading reactions to, and interpretations of noise, for lack of a better term. And if you can think [inaudible 17:49] by and large dominated [inaudible 17:56] pretty much in the way of... Zack: Tadas, I'm sorry to stop you. You're breaking up a little bit. Can you say what you said before over? Tadas: Sure. I'll just take a step back. When you take a look at, let's say, from the Forex Markets, those are largely dominated by technical analysis. Those really aren't the kind of things you see in those markets, and there really aren't people taking long-term positions in the currency markets. [inaudible 18:24] and that's a very different approach than what most people can take. One of the things I talk about in the book is that for most investors, part of my thinking in writing the book was trying to talk about things for the [inaudible 18:46] of the people who aren't really A) interested in the markets, or B) people who are just trying to put together a savings plan and investing plan for their long-term goals and needs as opposed to short-term traders. There's something for both in the book, but I think those are two very different approaches to the market and for those long-term sorts of investors trying to eliminate the noise and not get caught up in the swings in the market and how those affect your decisions is, I think, an important aspect of things. Zack: I know we both share an affinity for some of the new tools coming online, investment tools, whether they're platforms or information services. Do you think that, let me put it this way, who are these services aimed for, and how are they helping people to navigate the vicissitudes that you talk about in your book? Are they actually positive? Are we moving towards an environment where your average investor is going to have at his disposal healthy tools that are going to help him make money longer term? Tadas: I think so. [inaudible 20:13] on the topic a little bit in the book and as time has gone on, as a few months have passed, I think more and more has happened in the space, and you've done a great job on the podcast talking with a lot of the founders of some of these companies. I think we're still in, to use a baseball analogy now that it's spring, we're really in the first inning of this trend. Whether it be providing investors with tools to better manage their own portfolios or whether it be the kind of firms that are managing money essentially algorithmically for investors. I think we're just scratching the surface of this sort of trend, and I think the more that you can, for most investors and not for the most active investors, not for the most accomplished ones, but I think for the vast majority of investors, if you can use those sorts of tools to invest in a more systematic and strategic fashion, you're going to be better off for it. I think a lot of investors get disappointed over time as they make ad hoc decisions. "Oh,. I'm going to buy Apple and sell IBM because I'm hearing good things about Apple." These sorts of ad hoc decisions, all of the research shows that individual investors, the stocks that they sell outperform the stocks that they end up buying. By and large, that sort of activity in an unstructured fashion hasn't been profitable for most individual investors and the degree to which these tools can be integrated, implemented and used by individual investors, that's probably for the better. Zack: I guess, what I'm asking, and you mentioned this in the book and it's a good segue, if someone sells IBM to buy Apple and they make a mistake or vice versa, I don't think necessarily your average investor realizes that it's the ad hoc-ness of his decision that's hurting him. It's almost like we need to address the entire educational framework of investing to really get back to basics. Are these tools just a patch maybe, on that, or do we really need to address changing the way people are learning about how to invest? Tadas: All of the above. I think that the state of financial literacy is, and I think I write it in the book, is abysmal. A lot of people make the most, we're not even talking about investing decisions, we're talking about the most basic decisions in personal finance. People are oftentimes confused about those, and investing is oftentimes more complicated and over and above those sorts of decisions. I think the degree to which greater, financial literacy would be fantastic as a goal, but I think that these tools can, the degree to which they incorporate, for lack of a better term, best practices for people then I think that that's a helpful transition. Like you said, a lot of these tools that you see coming up, I think they're interesting and I think, like I said, they're beta versions, and I think the hope is that they'll evolve into more structured, more sophisticated tools. To that degree, the more the better. Zack: In the book, you do a good job delineating. We're seeing innovation on the tools side, but we're also seeing innovation on the product side with ETFs. You have an entire chapter devoted to ETFs. Can you talk about what's going on there briefly? Tadas: ETFs are a really interesting topic, and I think that it's changing the way that people invest. It's funny because I spend a whole chapter in the book on it but if anything, if you go back and read the stuff on the blog with the ETFs, I'm probably more critical than anything else because I think that we've seen some distinct waves in the growth of the ETF business and I think the first wave was all good. You were making available tools for investors that they didn't have before, and it provided low cost index, and made those available to individual investors and to advisors as well. I think one of the big outcomes of the rise of ETFs has been making it easier for financial advisors and registered RIAs [SP] to build complete portfolios at a low cost. If you think about the old wirehouse model that was buying individual stocks for people and all that came with that, and I think that as the new model for the business has come about, it's come about in part because of the rise of ETFs. To that degree that that's happened, I think that's been [inaudible 25:59] but I think over time the idea of ETFs has been bastardized to a degree, and it's gone from this broad based low cost index exposure, has really become much more of a... I view it as the ETF companies just throwing stuff up against a wall and see if it sticks. If it's able to garner enough assets over a couple of years, they'll keep it around. If not, they'll close it down. To that degree, over the past couple of weeks we've seen the saga of TVIX and how that has really taken some investors by surprise. Zack: Can you tell us a little about what's happened, for those who don't know? Tadas: I don't know if I'm the best person to talk about that, but TVIX, it's an example of an exchange traded note, so we're not even talking about an exchange traded fund, at this point, we're talking about an exchange traded note that's based on, that's a leveraged version on volatility VIX futures. It's already getting complicated, as you can see. Zack: You can't explain it to a child, then you know it's complicated. Tadas: That was trading at a significant premium to its net asset value and when it eventually went from that high premium down to approaching its net asset value, people were shocked that this thing crashed, and a lot of people in the blogosphere had been warning about this for a long time. The Bill Lubys, the Vix and More and Kid Dynamite have been talking about these situations for a long time and doing a far better job than I ever could. It's sad that if somebody really was taken by surprise, that they didn't know what they were getting into than that's a failure on everyone's part. Zack: It's interesting. I mentioned in my book even that iShares, which is Barclays, which eventually was sold to Black Rock, was a number two player in the ETF space and got catapulted up to number one really because they did a great job of educating the market, both in the individuals and even more with advisors. I remember, even as a hedge fund, getting outbound called from their product educational people just to help me understand their products and help me with portfolios and stuff like that better. In some ways, bastardize is a great word. They were putting a lot of wolves in sheep's clothing out there. What would have been a very nuanced expensive mutual fund is now getting clothed as an ETF. Investors don't really know, they assume all ETFs are good because they've been taught to think they're lower cost and they're better for me. Tadas: That's exactly right. The degree to which the idea of ETF has been, like we said, transformed into something very different and that opens, like I said, some of these things are, and nobody's talking about it I think to some degree I think there's certainly an educational component, and I think a lot of people are talking about the need for individuals to have some sort of, for lack of a better term, accreditation to trade some of these leveraged vehicles to have some sort of education requirement, have some sort of experience requirement, which you might see for other sorts of products. I think it would probably solve some of the problem, but you certainly don't want to cut off the innovation because for every fund that's eventually going to end up on the ETF death watch, there's another fund that's really interesting and it's opening up another asset class and providing people tools. You don't want to cut off the innovation in the field, but you also want to make it such that people are properly educated about the stuff that's out there. Zack: That's an awesome point. I want to end with one more question. You write in your book about John Authers who authored the book, 'The Fearful Rise of Markets," and about this thing called the diversification paradox. It's that the investors increasingly bet on the benefits and non-correlated assets making it more likely that the benefits would prove illusory, meaning that they would become more correlated, I assume, in the future. Let's take that now and apply that to financial content, which I think you've done as good a job, if not better, than anybody out there just staying on top of. Is the same thing happening in content? Meaning, we're also seeing this, I really call it a bull market in financial content, fantastic resources out there. Is the fact that making all this available to people going to somehow lose its ultimate value? Tadas: I don't think so. I think that to that degree, if it's good, if it's valuable content, then all to the better. Whether there's a business model for all of this, that's a whole other question. I think one of the trends that you've seen in the blogosphere over time is that, to a degree, it's become professionalized. The mainstream media has picked up on the idea of blogs and, frankly, the blogs from the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, the FT are great resources. Zack: Pretty darn good. Tadas: To be able to blog in that fashion, you have to have people who are earning a living doing that. That's a rarity in the amateur blogosphere, as it were. The business model is more challenging. The idea of having more content is great. I think that one of the things that I'm always heartened by when I see a new blog come on the scene and stick, oftentimes it's a case of somebody who is coming out of the industry or has some sort of specialized knowledge in finance and investments and you see them really explicate really what's going on in a certain area where there's either a lack of knowledge or a lot of propaganda. I think it's always nice to see somebody who's like, "This is what's happening. That sensational headline you saw over there, that's pure BS, and this is really what's happening behind the scenes." Oftentimes, it requires somebody like that. Sometimes, you can't get that through the mainstream media. To get that kind of stuff in real time is really valuable, and some of that has transferred over to Twitter and Stock Twits and that sort of medium, but for more complex things you're going to need more than 140 characters and I think, to that degree, blogs are still the preferred medium for explaining relatively what can be complex ideas in finance and investments. Zack: Tadas Viskanta, author of "Abnormal Returns: Winning Strategies From the Frontlines of the Investment Blogosphere," a new book. Thank you so much for being on Tradestreaming. Tadas: Zack, thank you. Appreciate it.
Abnormal Returns (Tadas' blog)
Abnormal Returns (the book)
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