The Royal Parks and Pembroke Lodge Garden team are celebrating this weekend's historic Olympic Road Cycling Races passing through Richmond Park with a flowery tribute.
To download pictures of the cycling-themed flowerbed click on the dropbox link here.
"The London 2012 Cycling Road Races are delivering an electrifying start to the Games, and we wanted to do something special to mark the occasion. We've been so proud to welcome cyclists and spectators from across the world and to have the chance to show-off this glorious green landscape, right in the heart of London."
The Men's Road Cycling Races passed through four parks yesterday - starting and finishing on The Mall in St James's Park, travelling through Constitution Hill in Green Park, and looping out to Richmond Park and Bushy Park. The Women's Race, which starts at 12 pm today, will follow the same route.
The Royal Parks will host, 11 Olympic and Paralympic events across six parks throughout the London 2012 Games.
For further information about The Royal Parks, please contact the London 2012 Communications Team on 0300 061 2082 or 0300 061 2148 or 2012 press@royalparks.org.uk.
The Royal Parks, which manages eight Royal Parks including Hyde Park, will play a central role in helping to deliver a successful London 2012 Games. In addition to hosting BT London Live Hyde Park, the largest Live Site in London, 11 Olympic and Paralympic events will take place across six Royal Parks. These events include the Triathlon and Marathon Swimming competitions in Hyde Park, the Equestrian and Modern Pentathlon events in Greenwich Park and within St James's Park, the Beach Volleyball competition on Horse Guards Parade and the Road Race events on The Mall.


The BHP Chair initiative gives Chinese university students the opportunity to learn about Australia, and is currently in its sixth year.
Professor Kee has been the Director of the University's Asia Institute since October 2010.
Prior to this he spent over 10 years in Asia, initially as the Director of the Chinese Heritage Centre in Singapore and then as Professor of the Graduate School of Asia Pacific Studies and Director of the Ritsumeikan Centre for Asia Pacific Studies at the Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University in Japan.
Earlier in his career, he was closely associated with policy research on Australian multiculturalism and population change at the former Australian Institute of Multicultural Affairs and Bureau of Immigration and Population Research.
Professor Kee said he is honoured to succeed Professor Greg McCarthy and Professor David Walker as the third BHP Chair and thanked BHP, Peking University and the Foundation for Australian Studies in China for allowing him to carry forward the important education mission.
"Education has been the cornerstone of Australia's ties with Asia. The Colombo Plan enabled Australians to get to know young Asians from principally Southeast Asia from the 1950s," Professor Kee said.
University of Melbourne Provost Mark Considine said Professor Kee will bring great experience and leadership to the role.
"Congratulations to Professor Kee on this well-deserved appointment," Professor Considine said.
Professor Kee's appointment will start in Beijing in early 2019.


text:
import { Meteor } from 'meteor/meteor';
import { FlowRouter } from 'meteor/kadira:flow-router';

import { RoomManager, MessageAction } from '../../ui-utils';
import { messageArgs } from '../../ui-utils/client/lib/messageArgs';
import { handleError } from '../../utils';
import { ChatSubscription } from '../../models';

Meteor.startup(() => {
	MessageAction.addButton({
		id: 'mark-message-as-unread',
		icon: 'flag',
		label: 'Mark_unread',
		context: ['message', 'message-mobile'],
		action() {
			const { msg: message } = messageArgs(this);
			return Meteor.call('unreadMessages', message, function(error) {
				if (error) {
					return handleError(error);
				}
				const subscription = ChatSubscription.findOne({
					rid: message.rid,
				});
				if (subscription == null) {
					return;
				}
				RoomManager.close(subscription.t + subscription.name);
				return FlowRouter.go('home');
			});
		},
		condition({ msg, u }) {
			return msg.u._id !== u._id;
		},
		order: 10,
		group: 'menu',
	});
});

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


I want to delete an AWS CloudFormation stack but I don't want to remove all its resources. What can I do to keep some of the resources in the stack?
To retain certain resources when deleting a stack, you can use DeletionPolicy attributes in your CloudFormation template (JSON or YAML). For more detailed information, see DeletionPolicy Attribute.
Retain: You retain the resource in the event of a stack deletion.
Snapshot: You get a snapshot of the resource before it's deleted. This option is available only for resources that support snapshots.
Delete: You delete the resource along with the stack. This is the default outcome if you don't set a DeletionPolicy.
To keep or copy resources when you delete a stack, you can specify either the Retain or Snapshot policy options.
This resolution demonstrates how you can use the Retain policy to prevent the removal of security groups during the deletion of a CloudFormation stack. The procedure modifies this JSON-formatted snippet, but you can also use the YAML format to specify DeletionPolicy attributes.
In the CloudFormation template, enter Retain as the DeletionPolicy for the resources you want to keep when the stack is deleted. In the following example template, the Retain policy is specified for security groups.
For Choose a template, select Upload a template to Amazon S3 and choose the CloudFormation template you modified to include deletion policies.
For Stack name, enter the name for your CloudFormation stack, then choose Next.
For Options, leave all values as default and choose Next. Optionally, you can customize the Tags, Permissions, and Advanced options for your stack.
In the Review page, choose Create.
To test the DeletionPolicy attribute, delete the CloudFormation stack and confirm whether the resources with the Retain policy are still available after the stack deletion is complete.
For the example template in this resolution, you can verify the success of the Retain policy by following these steps after you've deleted the CloudFormation stack.
Confirm that the security groups with the Retain policy are still available.
How do I protect resources in a CloudFormation stack from accidental deletion or updates?


The next table lists the frequency of each type of play by down and position.
At first glance, it appears QB sneaks are underused and RB dives are overused. It's also notable that the QB sneak is used significantly more often on 4th down than on 3rd down. I suspect this is from the selection bias--4th down attempts are more common on shorter "1 yard" to-go distances because teams would tend to kick more on the longer to-go situations. 3rd down doesn't suffer the same biases, except perhaps that teams might choose to pass on "longer yards" and run on inches to go. Consequently, we can't draw any definitive conclusions about the relative effectiveness of the tactics.
Data from 2-yd to-go distances can help clarify the issue. The one thing we know about 2-yds to go is that it's always longer than 1-yd to go. I realize how simplistic that sounds, but it's an important point. Note below that QB sneaks on 2-yds to go are just as successful as RB dives on 1-yd to go!
Actually, 2-yd QB sneaks are far more successful than 1-yd RB dives on 3rd down and slightly less successful than 1-yd RB dives on 4th down. Taken overall, this suggests that the QB sneak is an underused tactic as far out as 2 yds to go. It also explains why running on short yardage is more successful than passing--it's the QB sneaks that make the difference.
Note that there is still bias in the data. Teams with strong lines or quick, strong QBs will tend to trust the sneak, and they're also the teams that would be most successful doing so. But the bias runs both ways. Teams with powerful RBs would call their number more often and be more successful doing it. I think we can infer from this data that, whatever coaches believe about the general potential for success of the two tactics, they underestimate the QB sneak and rely too much on the RB dive.
My thanks to commenter Frank for the insight.
Great article again, thanks Brian and Frank (for the insight). One of my favorite things about your articles, Brian, is that you use SIMPLE logical steps to build interesting conclusions (I can definitely take this one to the bar with me). I also like it that you do your best to eliminate arbitrary factors from your stats. Seems like that's why you haven't released your LI stat yet. I'm happy with that, wait until it's up to par with the rest of the site.
One other point to draw out is that the FB plays are somewhere in the middle between sneaks and RB dives. Success might just be a simple function of the time it take to get the ball over the line of scrimmage.
mmmm, I think this was discussed earlier, that not all QB runs are created equal which may also do some explaining in why runs are more successful than passes. How many of the 2 yard QB runs are dives right up the middle, and how many are draws, run-pass options, or scrambles? Run-pass option plays and scrambles are the sticky wicket, because if they succeed they count as a successful run, but if the run is not there the QB may throw an incomplete pass or take a sack, either one of which would count as an unsuccessful pass. These types of plays would tend to inflate the QB run's success rate, particularly on 4th and 2.
Oh and I totally missed the part where it said QB scrambles on pass plays are removed. Me, fail.Still wonder what percentage and what success a QB draw has in getting 2 yards as opposed to just plunging into the line.
Interesting post, Brian. Good way to analyze the issue given the limited data available.
I thought I'd throw in some thoughts. I'm not sure if your conclusion is necessarily supported by the data. Assuming that QB sneaks are more successful, on average, than RB dives, does not necessarily imply that teams should run fewer QB sneaks and more RB dives.
QB sneaks are a little like onside kicks; they're very successful when they're unexpected but much less successful when expected.
To know whether or not a HB dive or QB sneak is the right play, we need to know the marginal likelihood of success on the next attempt, not the average on all attempts. This all assumes -- which may be faulty -- that if defenses know the exact playcall, a HB dive is a better call than a QB sneak. But if that assumption holds true, that would mean there is an optimal mix between percentage of times to run a QB sneak and HB dive. Once you run the QB sneak too frequently, it becomes counterproductive.
I appreciate you're taking the data available to the public to see what if anything the data suggests.
As far as information that could be used to make a decision or to judge a decision, it seems to me we lack the necessary data.
I would want to know WP or success rates for QB sneaks against that specific formation (not to mention other fronts, like even fronts). The difference in success of a QB sneak against NO's sort of Gap 8 defense vs a 5-4, 6-2, etc formation could be huge.
The top-level data incorporates every formation and play call of course, but I have to question whether it applies to the specific defense NO put on the field for yesterday's play. I guess if you assume every defense uses the exact same formation in those exact circumstances...but NO really sold out on the A-gap run first and any kind of power run second.
Interestingly to me at least, it appears to me the same reasons a QB sneak might have failed are the same reasons the play they actually called did fail.
The play appeared to be a long trap to inside of the left TE, not a dive between the tackles.
This call failed in large part because NO tried first to take away plays through the A gaps; in executing that tactic, NO's DL penetrated so deeply the pulling OG could not get to his assignment; NO's safety shot the play gap and made the tackle in the backfield.
Just my two cents. What am I missing?
Good point chase about defensive expectations. A theme that I see developing at this site (run vs. pass, onside kicks, etc.) is that you can't be predictable. While using a QB sneak may decrease the chances of the following one working, you increase the chances of a HB of FB run (or any kind of pass) working the next time. As you eluded to earlier, its about picking the one that the defense isn't expecting. As we saw with the Wildcat craze and onside kicks, they're successful when the Defense isn't expecting them. There may be some intrinsic advantage to one play vs. another (i.e. player skills, risk) but the defensive expectation can nullify it. IMO, the number of situations where an NFL caliber defense knows what's coming and can't stop it are becoming few and far between.
This might be a tangent into another topic, but it put it out here anyway. Previous articles mentioned that NFL coaches minimax based on SR rather than raw EPA. I believe coaches do this to stay out of predictable situations. A successful play does more than just earn EPA for a team. It forces the defense to react and compensate to keep the offense from exploiting that type of play. This compensation (8 in the box, nickle defense) opens up other holes for the offense to exploit. It also keeps all of your options available. There are a lot more plays in the playbook of 1-3 yards than there are for 10+. While most coaches focus on staying out of obvious passing situations, they may also want to be aware of obvious running/QB sneak situations. Keeping the defense guessing seems to be a key to success.
Despite attempts to stay in manageable down and distances, teams will inevitable get behind. This usually manifests itself in 3rd and longs. It is at this point where being able to pass the ball, even when the defense is expecting it becomes incredibly valuable. It allows teams to make up for mistakes or poor plays in a way that the running game cannot. This could help explain why passing is so strongly tied to success. If the defense can't punish you when you're in a predictable situation, they're in big trouble. I would argue that this is even more important than being able to run the ball on an expecting defense to run the clock out, because obvious passing situations occur throughout the game whether ahead or behind.
So to sum this up, to be predictable is a death sentence. To overcome predictable is what champions are made of.
One reason why QB sneaks may be underused (relative to RB/FB runs) is that it puts your most valuable player at greater risk. The increased succcess rate may not be worth the risk.
Good point above about the QB draws. They appear the same as sneaks in the play by play. Scrambles are different.
I wonder if there really is much of a game theory component to this. I think the QB sneak may be the 'dominant strategy.' Tell me one situation when defenses are *not expecting* a sneak on 4th and inches or even 4th and a full yd. And how would the defense's strategy change anyway?
Maybe it's a good place to go play action for a big pass?!
Also, not that the ATL-NO play sparked the interest in the topic, but I'm not necessarily claiming this analysis proves ATL should have called for the sneak in this particular situation, just that the sneak is probably underused in general.
I would say that defenses almost always seek to take away the two A gaps first, but that doesn't mean they're going to sell out their entire defense for the A gaps.
In other words, how many choose to defend, what, an 8-foot by 8-foot square to the exclusion of the rest of the field? That's conceding a lot of space.
Most will hedge against something outside or especially in the secondary. They'll have a short yardage defense *and* a goal line defense. And yet Williams it appears to me totally sold out for a run between the TEs.
You wrote of removing plays inside the 10 due to field compression, but Williams' call essentially bet ATL would play as though on a compressed field.
My my, it's like he used a different set of data to make his call!
I wondered while waking up if there may be selection bias wherein bigger, "sneak"-ier QBS are more likely to go for it. Then I woke up completely and remember you made the point about better RBs having the same effect. But in the CFL, going for it on 3rd* & 1 is very common. The thinking is, the risk is low because the defense lines up a yard behind the line of scrimmage. Very frequently, they'll bring in a backup QB to take the dive.
I wonder if it would be beneficial to have a backup QB specifically for short yardage situations, or even a short yardage "wildcat" formation in which a fullback lines up under center. I'm not sure anyone could stop Brandon Jacobs from diving forward 8 inches to pick up a 1st down, even if the defense lines up the way the Saints did in yesterday's game. A big backup/3rd string QB type would, instead, allow for the possibility of an unexpected passing play.
* Because there are only 3 downs in the CFL.
I'm with you, Brian. I think the QB sneak may be the dominant strategy. But I'm not sure, because it certainly isn't used as frequently as one might suspect. It may have to do with QB injury worries. I believe that is where Schaub hurt his foot yesterday.
This is pretty interesting, but I was hoping to find some data backing up Smith's decision to go for it in that situation, regardless of which play is called. It is due to analyses I've read on this site in the past that I've become a vocal of going for it on fourth and inches; but in this specific case I'm hearing a lot of talk that this was the wrong situation, in overtime from his own side of the field against a team with a good kicker. Is there enough data out there to say definitively that it was the right (or at least a reasonable) call?
Suggestive: The Patriots seem to run a lot of QB sneaks on 3rd and 4th and very short.
Maybe I never paid close attention to it, but do all gamebooks really make note of quarterback sneaks versus scrambles? I would have imagined in some cases that stuff would be left out, making it difficult to really weed out that data.
Some gamebooks are more detailed than others, such as the ones by Buffalo and Dallas.
Do you have turnover data for those snaps? The thing about a QB Sneak, especially the 1-inch version of it, is you end the play with the ball more exposed. Sure RBs reach out as well but the typical "sneak" play is designed to build a crease for the QB to extend the ball forward, away from his body, where it is more exposed to being knocked away. The dive play generally ends with a RB pad-first into a LB -- perhaps not as much of a fumble risk?
How any team in the NFL can't successfully gain 1 yard is still completely beyond me. Intuitively, for me anyways, QB sneak seems to be the better option and this article just solidifies that belief for me. It's a pretty simple concept...6'+ (>2 yards) tall QB falls forward with his enormously tall & heavy linemen. Even if the defense is anticipating it how could they possibly stop that consistently? It's physically impossible and inevitable the QB will gain at least a yard, simple. Although injuries and fumbles are definitely important factors to consider.
Eliminate the strategy and bank on simple physics.
One has to remember though that if a DT is directly over the center than the QB sneak is usually not a good play call. Its success really depends on the defenses alignment.
In Canadian football, it is common to substitute in the second-string quarterback for the sneak attempt.


This striking short film defines—simply and concisely—one of the world's most misunderstood subjects: human rights. The informative and dramatic presentation shows the history of human rights from its origins in ancient times to the present-day Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Here are all thirty of the human rights, the basic rights and freedoms to which all human beings are entitled, including the right to life and liberty, freedom of thought and expression, and equality before the law.


The beautiful scarf is a large square (34x34) with a white background. The swirling design is done gold and brown with black accents.
The perfectly coordinating earrings hang 1.25" from the finding loop and consist of large gold pearl rounds and medium brown pearl rounds surrounded by white pearl and black seeds.


That's the stone-cold one-liner that street-smart crimefighter Luke Cage (Mike Colter) drops on a scummy New York crime boss in the newly unveiled teaser for the Luke Cage solo Netflix series, which will start streaming on September 30th. But those words might as well have been a rallying call for fans of Marvel's small-screen output who were attending San Diego Comic-Con.
Next up was the preview for a new solo series starring martial arts master Danny Rand, a.k.a. the immortal Iron Fist. The teaser touches briefly on Rand's unlikely origins — he's taken in by kung fu monks after surviving a plane crash — before rejoining him, barefoot on the streets on New York and punching through walls. Finn Jones has stepped in to portray the frequent partner of Cage, the pair having worked together as the "Heroes for Hire" in the original comic books. Iron Fist is expected to be released sometime in 2017.
The third teaser shown at the Comic-Con panel advertised their televised Avengers equivalent — the crossover series The Defenders, which will pair all four of Netflix's grittier superheroes in one show. The impressionistic clip shown at the panel harkens back to the group's comic-book origins with its impressionistic visuals of ripping paper, which reveal little glimpses of the members' symbols to the strains of Nirvana's 'Come As You Are.' The Defenders is also slated to come out sometime next year.


Afghan Express Auto Feminised Seeds - 420 Cannabis Seeds U.K.
Positronics Seeds Afghan Express has origins rooted in the middle east giving this plant big size and strength, amazing for an autoflowering. This plant has a typical afghan plant structure: strong and with many long branches, fat leafs of a dark green colour. The buds are of a big size and completely covered with resin, will amaze any grower.
You can make an automatic monster out of this plant. It smells like afghan hash with touches of moss and coffee and gives you very pleasurable and relaxing effect.


text:
Creedence Clearwater Revival - Green River - LP
150-gram pressing by Quality Record Presssings!
Forty-five years after a pivotal year in the too-short career of Creedence Clearwater Revival, Fantasy Records is celebrating the genius that is Creedence with a series of commemorative reissues.
The newly reissued vinyl edition of the third album by one of the world's all-time greatest rock bands, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Green River remains a top-selling album in the CCR catalog. The album contains the ubiquitous international chart-topping hit, "Bad Moon Rising" which reached No. 2 in the Billboard top 200 in the US and No. 1 in the U.K. upon its release in 1969 and continues to be a mainstay on classic rock radio.
A "must-have" for any serious classic rock fan, Green River represents both a true high point in songwriting creativity and the point at which the band's classic sound fully bloomed into the CCR that fans recognize and love today.
3.Tombstone Shadow
4. Wrote A Song For Everyone
7. Cross-Tie Walker
8. Sinister Purpose
9. The Night Time Is The Right Time

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
London restaurants best for... Groups
34 - 36 Exmouth Market, London EC1R 4QE
Back in 1997 when Moro first opened, Exmouth Market was still a scruffy Clerkenwell street and this restaurant with its implausibly good looking bar staff and open kitchen was the second most exciting thing to happen to the area food-wise since The Eagle threw open its doors. Run by the marvellously-monikered Sam and Sam Clark, it's still turning out great food in a room that's packed every day of the week.
Dishoom King's Cross
5 Stable Street, London N1C 4AB
Dishoom is perennially popular in London, with its take on Bombay cafe culture responsible for long waits and queues at all their restaurants. This King's Cross restaurant is busy in the evening and for weekend brunch, but you can easily book for lunch. it's cavernous interior also makes it one of the largest in the group. But once settled down inside, you'll see why people keep coming back for its excellent Indian small plates.
42 Albemarle Street, London W1S 4JH
The Sethi family's concept of taking a colonial gymkhana club theme and serving modern Indian food combined with British ingredients, with a focus on the tandoor oven and sigri charcoal grill was an instant hit. Always packed with A-listers and foodies alike. [Currently closed due to fire damage]
Ham Yard Hotel
One Ham Yard, London W1D 7DT
This is the latest boutique hotel from Firmdale (also behind the Soho Hotel and Charlotte Street hotel) with a new restaurant and bar attached - as well as an extensive outdoor courtyard.
20 Kensington Church Street, London W8 4EP
By day, this restaurant will look for the world to be a basic hot dog kiosk serving up one classic Yankee dog (served with yellow mustard, red ketchup and spring onions). At night a hidden door to the restaurant downstairs is opened, where they'll be serving up an extended hot dog list and also the 'bones' part of the menu (Boston ribeye steak and more) plus what looks to be a great cocktail list.
STK London
ME by Melia Hotel, 336-337 The Strand, WC2R 1HA
This new hotel designed by (Norman) Foster + Partners takes over the old BBC Marconi building. As well as a rooftop bar offering great views of London, it's the first non-US outpost of New York steakhouse STK, which has taken over the ground floor restaurant. STK aims to be a more "female friendly" steakhouse, with an emphasis on lighter meals.
MASH London
77 Brewer Street, London W1F 9ZN
Taking over the old site of Titanic is this Modern American SteakHouse which hails from Denmark. The original is in Copenhagen and should offer an American steakhouse with "a twist of Danish informal eating and drinking". The menu offers the usual wide range of steaks while veal sweetbreads, foie gras terrine and salmon ceviche standing out among the starters.
Hawksmoor Air Street
5a Air Street, London, W1J 0AD
One of the biggest Hawksmoors of the standout steak group, this one has great views over Regent Street and also places a special focus on seafood dishes created by fish maestro Mitch Tonks. It's a big old room too, seating up to 235.
16B New Street, London EC2M 4TR
Part of the Old Bengal Warehouse on New Street, near Liverpool Street Station, this is the seafood restaurant, serving responsibly sourced fish.
Brasserie Zedel
20 Sherwood Street, London W1F 7ED
Set in a revamped space just off Piccadilly (where the old Regent Palace Hotel used to be), this is a Parisian café/brasserie with an Art Deco interior as well as cocktail and jazz bars. It's an all-day restaurant with a focus on value for money, so expect something a bit more mid-range than the Delaunay, also from Corbin & King.
Hix at the Tramshed
32 Rivington Street, London EC2A 3LX
Mark Hix is back in force in East London with this huge new restaurant featuring a menu based around chicken and steak. Look out for the enormous Damien Hirst "cock and bull" as you enter.
Odette's
130 Regent's Park Road, London NW1 8XL
Burger & Lobster
29 Clarges Street, Mayfair, London W1J 7EF
The folks behind Goodman are on a mission to offer Londoners the kind of Lobster experience you get on the east coast of America. They hope to offer the cheapest lobster in the UK, thanks to their tank which can take a tonne of lobster at a time.
Cay Tre Soho
42-43 Dean Street, London W1D 4PZ
Cay Tre in Shoreditch/ Hoxton is felt by many, including Mark Hix, to be the very best Vietnamese restaurant in town. Also owners of the successful Viet Grill, they've been expanding lately - first with the recent Keu, and now with a flagship restaurant right in the centre of Soho. Expect a restaurant with a bright look, to challenge the vogue that contemporary Asian restaurants must be dark and moody, and more of a small-plates approach than the original Cay Tre offered.
Shaka Zulu
Stables Market, Camden, London NW1 8AH
Yauatcha Soho
15 Broadwick Street, W1F 0DL
People may complain about the sharp table-turning at this subterranean Chinese restaurant - Alan Yau's follow-up to Hakkkasan, but you'll never hear a bad word about the dim sum. If it's something sweet you're after, head for the street-level patisserie and tea shop.
145 Knightbridge, London, SW1X 7PA
3 Varnisher's Yard, The Regent Quarter, King's Cross (off Pentonville Road), London N1 9FD


text:
History Department Alum Awarded American Historical Association Prize
The American Historical Association awarded the Herbert Baxter Adams prize for best work in modern European history to our alumna, Anna Krylova, for her Soviet Women in Combat: A History of Violence on the Eastern Front.
Landlocked
Nathan Connolly is setting out to show that a complex black "property rights movement" was under way in America's Southern states during the early- to-mid-20th century.
Pier Larson Awarded American Historical Association Prize
The AHA awarded Pier Larson the Wesley-Logan Prize for the best book in African diaspora history for 2010.
On January 3, 2009, Hopkins' Gabrielle Spiegel will ascend the steps to the stage at the Hilton New York hotel… and take her place in history.


The fact of the matter is, metrics are a must-have in marketing.
Not only do they increase your competitive intelligence and make the unpredictable world of marketing, predictable, but they also inform and drive your campaign decisions and help to track your success. What more could you ask for?
Well, actually, that's a good question! Just like how there's no rose without a thorn, metrics can sometimes leave a little to be desired. That's why we've decided to share some of the key issues that we've experienced with measurement metrics.
Ever heard of vanity metrics? Although thoughts of excessive pride and admiration spring to mind, they have a pretty similar meaning in the context of marketing.
Despite making great headlines, they're effectively 'feel-good' measures that explain the surface level state-of-play. Think Facebook likes, Twitter followers and page views.
Although they're incredibly easy to understand, it's all too easy to be blindsided by vanity metrics. As well as being easily manipulated, they don't correlate with your bottom-line goals, and they don't really tell us about what is actually going on in the business. For instance, a billion Twitter followers if fab, but so what?
With this in mind, it's important to focus on the correct metrics, in order to identify real success.
If metrics are not interpreted correctly, they can certainly pull the wool over your eyes. For instance, if you're examining your web traffic using Google Analytics, and you notice that your overall traffic has decreased, you might automatically jump to the conclusion that something on the site isn't working effectively.
However, if you're experiencing a lower bounce rate, as well as higher average session durations and a higher number of pages viewed per session, it indicates that the quality of each visitor has improved – the people who are visiting the page are genuinely interested in the content.
Spend time interpreting your data – the correct data!
If you're using different platforms as part of your marketing strategy, you may find that their metrics don't exactly match. For example, follower growth throughout a month might show differently on a platform such as Sendible than it does on Hootsuite, which again might be different from Twitter's own analytics.
As you can imagine, it's easy to lose yourself in a maze of metrics. This issue stems from the fact that each platform will measure metrics in different ways – some will automatically remove spam accounts, some count unfollowers, some don't. This makes reporting a bit of a nightmare from time to time and requires a little bit of diligence to sift through to get the most accurate, representative data.
Take the time to develop a strong understanding of the different platforms you use. Make sure you're aware of how they measure metrics, and take this into account when considering your data.
You're probably sick to death of hearing initialisms and acronyms, but this one's important when it comes to measuring metrics.
Different platforms allow different levels of data access to third party services. A good example of this is Instagram, which until very recently, had it's API locked down so securely that we could barely report on any analytical data that was deeper than followers or posts. This is particularly frustrating when it comes to reporting on social media metrics across different networks, as we can't always report on the same features, or to the same level.
Twitter is also another culprit. This popular social media platform has been known to implement API changes that have rendered both services and companies alike, obsolete in one fell swoop. This means that sometimes, we don't have access to the suite of information that might have otherwise been critical to our measurement.
Check to see if there's a developer's roadmap for each of your chosen platforms (i.e. what's in store for future development). We'd also suggest that your objective doesn't solely rely on this type of data alone; in essence, make sure you have a back-up plan!
When faced with a pick-and-mix selection of metrics, it can be hard to know which ones to choose. From delivery rates to demographics, conversions to click-throughs, and traffic to search trends, being inundated with figures can be quite overwhelming.
But don't panic! Simply take the time to learn what each metric means, then you should be able to work out which ones are going to effectively measure the success of your campaign.
At the end of the day, metrics are just numbers that tell you about a current situation. If you have no idea what they mean or what to do with them, they're not useful. In essence, metrics are like a kettle that clicks or whistles to let you know when the water is boiled. It's helpful, but it's doesn't tell you how to make the perfect cuppa! (I think we all know a few people who could benefit from this!).
Learning what each metric means is half the battle – then all that's left to do is learn how to interpret them effectively!
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Joseph W. Hornfeck
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Obituaries | The Tube City Almanac | August 12, 2019
Joseph W. Hornfeck, 66, of Port Vue, died Aug. 12, 2019. He is the son of the late John and Dorothy Hornfeck. He is survived by his beloved wife, Mary Ann (Zavalydriga) Hornfeck; daughter Jomi (Chris) Richards; sister Louise Rarick; brothers John (Vickie) Hornfeck, Bobby (Tammy) Hornfeck, Raymond Hornfeck, David Hornfeck and Jimmy Hornfeck; also 2 grandchildren and many nieces, nephews, great nieces and great nephews. Joe was retired from Tube City, Inc. and was a member of Port Vue United Methodist Church. Friends received Wojciechowski Funeral Home, Glassport Thurs. from 5 to 7. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the family.
Originally published August 12, 2019.
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"Harry Durick" || "Diane M. Tauber"
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Facing defeat, Senate Republicans delay health care vote
By Susan Cornwell and Richard CowanJune 27, 2017
Democratic Senators look on during a press conference about the ongoing efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act outside the U.S. Capitol Building in Washington, D.C., U.S., June 27, 2017. REUTERS/Aaron P. Bernstein
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Facing a potentially disastrous defeat by members of his own party, U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell decided on Tuesday to delay a vote on healthcare legislation in order to get more support from Republican senators.
President Donald Trump summoned all 52 Republican senators to the White House on Tuesday afternoon to discuss how to proceed.
McConnell had been pushing for a vote ahead of the July 4 recess that starts at the end of the week. The legislation would advance a repeal of major elements of Obamacare and replace it with a new federal healthcare program.
The delay showed McConnell and Trump have failed so far to attract enough votes amid a solid block of Democratic opposition and attacks from both moderate and conservative Republican senators.
McConnell, who has a razor-thin majority in the Senate, told reporters that Republican leaders were still working to get the 50 votes to pass the bill, adding that the White House was anxious to help write legislation that could pass the Senate.
While the House of Representatives narrowly passed a measure last month to replace Obamacare, the Senate version stalled on Tuesday as a small but potentially crippling group of senators held out.
Moderate senators worried that millions of people would lose their insurance. Conservatives said the bill does not do enough to erase Democratic former President Barack Obama's signature domestic legislation.
U.S. stock prices fell on Tuesday after the decision to postpone the vote. U.S. stocks have rallied this year on hopes for tax reform, deregulation and changes to the health sector. Markets are beginning to doubt whether the Trump administration can fulfill its promises.
By early afternoon the benchmark S&P 500 index was down 0.5 percent and the Dow Jones industrial average was off 0.2 percent.
"The market likes certainty and now there's uncertainty. What is this going to look like when this gets out of the next iteration?," said Peter Costa, president of trading firm Empire Executions Inc.
The bill's prospects were not helped by an analysis by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office on Monday saying the measure would cause 22 million Americans to lose medical insurance over the next decade even as it reduced the federal deficit by $321 billion over the next decade.
The report prompted Senator Susan Collins, a key moderate vote, to say she could not support moving forward on the bill as it stands.
At least four conservative Republican senators said they were still opposed after the CBO analysis.
Passing the measure would hand Trump a legislative win as he seeks to shift attention after weeks of questions over Russia's role in last year's U.S. presidential election.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell speaks to the media about delaying a vote on Republican plans to repeal and replace Obamacare on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., June 27, 2017. REUTERS/Aaron P. Bernstein
McConnell has promised since 2010 that Republicans, who view Obamacare as a costly government intrusion, would destroy the law "root and branch" if they controlled Congress and the White House. Their electoral victories in 2014 and 2016 were directly tied to that promise, they say.
Republicans worry that failure to deliver will tell voters that they are unable to govern effectively in the run-up to next year's congressional elections.
If the Senate passes a bill, it will either have to be approved by the House, which passed its own version last month, or the two chambers would reconcile their differences in a conference committee. Otherwise, the House could pass a new version and bounce it back to the Senate.
Democrats remained united in opposition, blasting the Senate bill as a tax break for the wealthy.


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In the contemporary world, it is extremely important to be among the best and use the latest achievements in order to remain competitive and able to development. This statement is true for practically all spheres of life but it is particularly important for the economy. Nowadays, any company that intends to survive in the market should be effective enough and be one step further its main opponents. At this respect there are two dimensions, which may play a key role in the competitive struggle in the market. Quite a remarkable thing is the fact that the more developed the country is the stricter are rules of competitiveness. That is why the problem of the leadership is vital for many companies working in western countries.
Among such companies we may name Morrison, which includes a net of supermarkets and now is one of the biggest companies working in this niche of the market of the UK. More exactly the company obtains the fourth place that, certainly, indicates at the Morrison is a very perspective and successful company. But it was not always so and nobody can say that it will be like this in the future. The recent Morrison's takeover of Safeway Plc is one of the biggest successes of the company but at the same time it turned to be a big problem for its consequences are not as good as it was expected. Anyway, successful or not but the case of Morrison is worthy to study and analyze, particularly in the context of advance finance and strategic management.
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Obviously, the history of the company and the current situation are very interesting for specialists because it permits to understand the causes of Morrison's successes and at the same time to analyze its mistakes and foresee possible consequences. The latter would certainly permit to better realize the processes, which nowadays take place in the market. This understanding will naturally be extremely important for strategic planning and management of any company.
It is obvious that only due to well worked out strategy and finance management the company such as Morrison is can achieve significant results and fulfill the tasks it aims at. First of all, it is necessary to say a few words about the history of the company and the main principles of its strategic and finance management in order to understand the current situation. It is noteworthy that the company was not an unknown player in the market among supermarket companies but at the same time it was not a prominent or leading company in the UK. Its competitors had quite strong positions and naturally did not intend to give in the struggle for new niches in the national market in the scale of the whole United Kingdom. This fact is particularly important if one takes into consideration what prospects Morrison's takeover of Safeway Plc. Actually, Safeway Plc was a big chance for Morrison because it provided for the company the possibility to become a nation wide structure. Since it is not a secret that Morrison was quite powerful but still regional company. On the eve of the takeover Morrison's stores were mainly concentrated in the North of England, and across Yorkshire and the Midlands. Turning to the numbers and statistic data it had to be pointed out that it had 119 stores in January 2003 and an average size of its stores was about 3,300 sq. m. Some specialists (Applebaum) underlined the fact that Morrison was "unusual among the larger UK grocery retailers in that some of its operations, involving the buying and selling the fruit and vegetables, the manufacture and supply of some fresh food products and the processing and supply of some fresh meat product, are vertically integrated" (Applebaum 2004:143). That is probably one of the most important characteristics of the company strategy and management, which significantly helped Morrison to make a great progress in its development and made the company very competitive in comparison to other alike and even provided for the company better and more effective management.
The latter resulted in the sums of the company's profits and turnover. For instance, if again return to the statistic data, it becomes obvious that the results of such policy are quite impressive. Only the sum of Morrison's turnover in the five years to January 2003 increased by 87 per cent, in other words from ?2,3 billion to ?4,3 billion, while operating profit increased by 76 per cent, from ?149 million to ?269 million, over the period. Naturally, such data may be regarded as evidence of properly worked out strategic and finance management, particularly its vertical integration.
At the same time, it would be a mistake to think that Morrison was the only company, which could takeover Safeway Plc. By the way the latter, in its turn, was in quite a pitiful situation before the deal and it is even possible to say that it was stagnating and in general the company was in a profound crisis. In order to prove it some statistic data may be taken into consideration. For instance, regardless a 23 per cent increase in turnover from ?7,0 billion to ?8,6 billion in the five years to March 2003, its operating profit decreased by 15 per cent from ?410 million to ?347 million over the period. Logically, other more successful and more powerful company, which used new, more progressive methods of management, including not only Morrison but some others, intended to takeover a stagnating company. Among those companies that take part in the competitive struggle for the takeover of Safeway Plc may be named such giants as Sainsburry's, Tesco, and Asda. Each of the company named were national ones, they occupied the first three places among all the companies working in this niche of the market, and moreover, they covered the whole national market of the UK. Consequently the acquisition of Safeway Plc by one of these companies but not Morrison was vital for the latter. In other words, the takeover of Safeway Plc either by Sainsburry's, or Tesco, or Asda meant that Morrison would be a sort of outcast in the national level and it would remain a regional company and could hardly achieve the level of national one. On the other hand, the Morrison's takeover of Safeway Plc would have provided a significant step ahead for the development of the company because, being quite strong and competitive in its region, namely North, Yorkshire and the Midlands, Morrison could spread its net of stores to the region where Safeway Plc worked. Actually this region was particularly strong in the Southern and South Eastern part of England and Scotland.
Thus, the Morrison's takeover of Safeway Plc was a strategic point in its plans in order to become more competitive and to start its expansion on new markets throughout the whole country.
Fortunately, for the company due to a wise and thoroughly worked out planning and naturally due to successful and skillful finance management Morrison succeeded in the takeover of Safeway Plc by suggesting better conditions and persuading Safeway Plc's shareholders to agree such an operation. But at the same time Morrison was practically the most probable winner of the competition for Safeway Plc because, taking into consideration the positions of Sainsburry, Tesco, and Asda the takeover by any of this companies could reduce competition. As a result all three companies were in fact blocked from the bidding for the group. So the general, and obviously the only possible strategy of Morrison was evident. The company should prevent the possibility of the takeover of Safeway Plc by its main opponents and for this it had to be presented in the proper light, the task the company had fulfilled successfully and that was accompanied by favorable financial conditions of the deal, namely the sum of the takeover is ?3 billion.
Thus, briefly speaking, it is possible to conclude that Morrison successfully took over Safeway Plc and had got the fourth place in the UK in its niche of the market, not in the last turn due to its successful strategic and finance management. Its the most characteristic features are offering a wide range of goods including both branded and own labeled products. The company had declared its aim to provide its customers with the "very best value for money where ever they live" (Daft 2004:309). Naturally, the prices were balanced and remained the same in any large store regardless the area it was situated in. furthermore, the company managed practically all aspects of its commercial operation in house, including fresh fruit and vegetables, fresh food, meat processing and transport. The company also possesses a number of filial companies which provide the effectiveness of the work of the whole company, including Fresh Boy, a fresh food factory producing pizza, pies, cooked meats, etc. and packing cheese, bacon, and other products. Furthermore, the company possesses a meat processing facility where beef, pork and lamb are prepared and supplied directly to the company's stores by the company's owned transport.
Now it is necessary to analyze the consequences of the Morrison's takeover of Safeway Plc for the company in the context of its strategic and finance management. Regardless the fact that the takeover permitted Morrison to occupy the fourth place among the largest grocer retailers companies of the UK, its results turned out to be quite arguable. They are not so optimistic as they were supposed to be. However, such a deal like the Morrison's takeover of Safeway Plc should be analyzed in two dimensions, namely nearest future perspective and a long terms perspective. Nowadays, the current situation, which is considered to be not very optimistic for Morrison, reveals perspectives of the company in the nearest future while in a longer term the current problems may be solved and depending on the strategy and finance management can provide the development of the company and possible leadership in the market.
So, what are the current results of the Morrison's takeover of Safeway Plc, which naturally reflects finance and strategic management? First of all, it is necessary to say that to understand the current situation it is necessary to take into consideration statistic data of certain period from the past, for instance last few years and compare it. A very important fact is that Morrison has lost quite a substantial number of shoppers in comparison with the pre-takeover period. During a year the company has lost about 500,000 traditional shoppers, former customers of Safeway Plc, particularly in Southeast England. Basically, these shoppers are those who "preferred the higher-priced gourmet products that the Bradford, England-based retailer is discontinuing" (Daft 2004:194). It means that if not refusing from then reducing significantly such kinds of products that used to be habitual for Safeway Plc customers the company is losing its shoppers, which naturally still have to buy the products they like somewhere, and consequently they choose there competitors among other largest companies such as Sainsburry's, Tesco, and Asda. Obviously this tendency seems to be quite dangerous and should be assessed as negative but before criticizing the management of the Morrison it is necessary to understand the causes of such a situation and the motives of the company policy. It is particularly important if to take into account the size of the company after the takeover and possible consequences of such losses of clients. It is known that before the takeover Morrison had only 5 per cent of its stores in Southeast England while newly acquired Safeway Plc had 27 per cent of its outlets in this region, and 20 per cent in the North.
Probably, one of the main causes of the decrease of the quantity of shoppers, particularly in Southeastern England, was the Morrison's price-cutting advertising campaign. However, it is necessary to take into consideration that its aim was to impose its branding on outlets that had served wealthy customers of Southeast England, where basically Safeway stores were situated. It is a noteworthy fact that in this region people normally "earn on average 80 pounds more than those in Yorkshire and the Humber region, where Morrison is based" (Daft 2004:217). So, it is obvious that in this region people can pay more than in traditional regions where Morrison gets used to work. For instance, average gross earnings in Surrey, where Oxted is, are about ?530 per person, meanwhile in West Yorkshire, where Bradford is, these earnings are about ?435. In such circumstances the famous strategic proclamation of the company to balance the prices of all products regardless the region seems to be a bit arguable and in all probability should be overviewed. Anyway, one of the main problems Morrison faces is the problem of retaining quality-sensitive customers in a price-sensitive shop and probably the price-cutting was initially supposed to get new shoppers through the store quickly.
Another important result of the Morrison's takeover of Safeway Plc is the fact that shares of the company had slumped 29 per cent recently since Morrison bought Safeway Plc. And it would be a mistake to explain this fact by some common trends of the market. On the contrary, for the same period of time shares of one of the main competitors of Morrison, Tesco had risen 3.8 per cent respectively. Furthermore, during the year the shares of the company, despite all optimistic forecast "had fallen 22 per cent, wiping 1.31 billion pounds of the company's value" (Applebaum 2004:179). Naturally, such a shift may be explained by the takeover itself because the company needs to make some transformation during certain period of time. It is caused by differences in the policy and finance and strategic management within two companies, which have been united into one. Thus, financial situation deteriorated but, in all probability, the company needs more time for transformation and further development.
Returning to the problem of the decrease of customers it is necessary to say that the number of customers visiting the company's stores at the beginning dropped to ?9 million and even in spite of the fact that later it has increased to ?10 million it still has not achieved the level of ?10,5 million customers Morrison had visiting its stores a year ago. At the same time competitors of the company did not remain inert. On the contrary, only Tesco has picked up 138 million of the Safeway business in the past year. As for other competitors working in the market the tendency is alike. For instance, Asda has gained ?91,9 million and Sainsburry ?54,4 million while the total sum is over ?450 million. Consequently, if Morrison continues to lose customers, particularly that of Safeway Plc then it will be hard to compete with other companies and probably the company may remain on the fourth place for quite a long time. However, recent trend to increase the number of customers is quite optimistic for Morrison.
However, customers are not the only who suffered from the takeover and consequently from the following strategic and finance management change. The workers suffered too. It is not a secret that one may find at the entrance of the Oxted store posters "posters advertising as many as eight job vacancies, including the delicatessen supervisor and two bakery packers"( Kessler 2004: 304). Furthermore, Morrison pays its cashiers 5,94 pounds an hour, while its competitors such as Tesco pays its cashiers 6,67 pound an hour. So, it seems that finance and strategic management of Morrison is oriented on the expansion of newly acquired markets through the price-cutting that, however, is made partially because of lower earnings of workers and its positive effect has not been achieved yet in its full measure.
It is also important to say that Morrison is not alone in its price-cutting policy. Furthermore, it has to cut prices in Safeway even earlier than it was anticipated because their competitors have already started to do it. For instance, Tesco and Asda had to undertake price-cutting in order "to protect their own market share after Morrison had joined national grocer business" (Paton 2004:197). It is obvious that initially it would be better for Morrison to have spent a few months reorganizing and making price cuts gradually. It means that mainly competitors forced the company to launch this price-cutting campaign, which in fact did not bring very positive results as managers of the company might have expected.
Finally, when analyzing the results of the Morrison's takeover of Safeway in the context of strategic and finance management of the company, it would be very useful to find principle differences in approaches of these two companies which obviously led to purchase of Safeway by Morrison. Certainly it is possible to say that the consumption culture is different in the regions both company worked but still it does not obligatory mean that Safeway, being situated in a wealthier region, had to be in such a position that the Morrison's takeover seemed to be a logical way out of the crisis. Particularly, if the Morrison's customers, which earned less, is taken into account. But there is one more factor that is much more important in the current situation. What is meant here is the policy of demanding upfront payments from the suppliers practiced by Safeway Plc. Such a policy has been rejected by Morrison and as a result the new strategy shaves "130 million pounds from Safeway's first-half income, including change in accounting methods, the company estimates" (Paton 2004:263). Actually, the upfront demand of payment from the suppliers led to Safeway's higher purchasing costs compared to those of Morrison. The latter traditionally negotiated supplier rebates and the company is now implementing this strategy for the whole of the group buying now 32,6 per cent lower than Safeway Plc did. Thus, Morrison suggested more effective way of management than Safeway used to. Consequently, the more progressive methods substitute ineffective and, thus, useless ones.
Thus, taking into account all above mentioned, it is possible to conclude that Morrison uses quite effective and progressive methods of finance and strategic management. The Morrison's takeover of Safeway Plc is an evidence of the effectiveness of the work of the company. It is extremely important to be among the leaders in the current conditions when the market is strictly divided and misbalance or ineffectiveness could lead to the catastrophe and bankruptcy. As a result finance and strategic management are nowadays at the first place. However, one may oppose and say that Morrison's methods are not effective enough if to take into consideration the recent results of the takeover. They are really not very impressing but it is necessary to keep in mind that the company needs some time for reorganization and structural change in all stores throughout the country. Naturally, it is impossible to profit from the takeover and do not lose anything because the company that used to be in a profound crisis as Safeway did needs time for recovery. Furthermore, no one should expect a miracle because its impossible to reorganize such a complicated structure as Safeway was. At the same time in terms of a long perspective the future of Morrison does not seem to be so pessimistic as some one may think now. The current problems of the loss of clients, shares slide, and others may be solved with time and then it would be possible to speak about real perspectives of the company. On the other hand there is no guarantees that the methods Morrison currently uses will remain more or at least as effective as methods used by its bigger and stronger competitors such as Tesco, Asda, or Sainsburry. Thus, there is a long way to the leadership but Morrison has already got a basis for the further development and the value of the company is now higher, regardless all the problems, than it was before the takeover.
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text:
The new, single-dose vaccine is being shipped out to millions of Americans, the company's CEO said on Monday. Photo: Reuters
Johnson & Johnson's vaccine could be in arms within two days
Posted: Monday 03.01.2021 1:48 pm Revised: Wednesday 03.03.2021 1:48 pm Hassan Abbas Health, U.S.A
Eligible Americans can expect a shot of the new single-dose Johnson & Johnson (J&J) COVID-19 vaccine in their arms in the next day or two, the company's CEO said on Monday.
"We think literally within the next 24 to 48 hours Americans should start receiving shots in arms," Alex Gorsky, chairman and CEO of J&J, told NBC. "They're literally rolling out with the trucks as we speak."
Gorsky added that the company is shipping 4 million doses and is looking to deliver 100 million doses by June and up to a billion by the end of the year. The head of President Biden's COVID response team, Jeff Zients, said on Monday that the vaccine will be limited for the next few weeks following the initial distribution of 4 million doses and that he expects Johnson & Johnson to deliver 16 million doses by the end of March.
Gorsky is confident in the J&J vaccine's ability to combat emerging variants of the virus, based on its clinical trial in countries, including South Africa and Brazil, where some troublesome variants have emerged.
J&J's vaccine is administered in a single dose and requires normal refrigeration temperatures, making it far easier to deliver compared to the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines, which need deep freezing.
In trial situations, the vaccine has proven to be 66 percent effective at preventing moderate to severe COVID-19 in adults, and a 100 percent at preventing death and hospitalization. The efficacy rate among the U.S. population was higher at 72 percent.
The vaccine won emergency use authorization by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Saturday, after a review and recommendation from the agency's outside expert panel on Friday, becoming the third vaccine in the U.S. to receive approval.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), more than 75 million doses of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines have been administered as of Sunday.
Single-dose COVID-19 vaccine
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Environment: Occurs within interstitial, friable altered material in lava fissures and breccias. Mica group (1M polytype): C2/m; structure determined.
Locality: Southwest flank of the Etnean Volcanic Complex, Biancavilla, Catania, Mt. Etna, Sicily, Italy. Link to MinDat.org Location Data.
Name Origin: Named as the fluorine analog of phlogopite.
Comments: Books of fluorphlogopite from a magnesian skarn showing the basal cleaveage of the micas..
Location: Arebilovskoe phlogopite deposit, Aldan, Aldan Shield, Saha Republic (Sakha Republic; Yakutia), Eastern-Siberian Region, Russia. Scale: Specimen size is 3.5x2.5x0.8 cm.
note: Specific Gravity of Fluorophlogopite =2.84 gm/cc.
U=PEFluorophlogopite x relectron= 7.02 barns/cc.


"The only thing wrong with this wine" laughed Warwick MD Mike Ratcliffe "is we misspelled the name." But then I can never remember whether its Ratcliff or Ratcliffe. The wine in question was La Femme Bleu, a 1984 vintage 100% Cabernet made by mom Norma whose 25 years making wine at Warwick we were celebrating last Thursday at The Vineyard Hotel in Clairemont. The Vineyard is some way down the road to becoming the wine destination of choice for urban Cape Town. In fact so keen is GM Roy Davies, he expressed an earnest desire to host the Mother City launch of our People's Guide, out in September. With Lady Anne Barnard's 18th century vineyard at the bottom of the garden, this is an offer that is hard to refuse.
Norma has always been in the vanguard of wine fashion and the spelling mistake, like printing errors on stamps, makes her wine and its label all the more collectable. Of course if they'd called it La Femme en Bleu, the bleu wouldn't have needed a trailing "e" as Picasso noted when he painted La Femme en Bleu au Beret a century ago. His great rival Matisse did a Femme Bleue although there's much more than an "e" difference between the two paintings.
Norma's first vintage was actually a decade earlier. "In 1974 we copied Rustenberg and made a Cinsault/Cabernet blend. The wine was stunning but we decided to go the Bordeaux route and the 1984 Femme Bleu was aged in 100% new French oak at the exorbitant price of R184 a barrel." When I asked my neighbour Adi Badenhorst, former winemaker at Rustenberg, what I should re-plant on Lemoenfontein, (my Paardeberg conflict of interest - not!), quick as a flash he answered "Cinsault" - but then the Paardeberg is no Simonsberg. Heck I've even been asked to again judge the potjie cook-off between the two bergs alongside my personal hero Annatjie Melck in July.
Cathy Moerdijk, Janna Rijpma & Norma Ratcliffe at the VINITES tasting in Amsterdam!!
Dankie vir die wynproe gister.
Hier is 'n wye hoek foto wat ek gister geneem het.
Ever since Mike Ratcliffe talked me into buying a membership of the Warwick Wine Club two years ago, I seem to have a lot of this farm's stuff lying around. I'm not going to stake a claim to being a Warwick boffin, but I can spot the Estate's wine in most line-ups, just as I can tell my dog's bark from 320 others running around De Waal Park.
Of course, being somewhat intrigued by the wines from Simonsberg, Stellenbosch's Pauillac, delving into my Warwich stash is always going to be more than just opening another bottle of something.
The Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot do not give as much heady fruit intensity as Kanonkop, Warwick's one neighbour. Nor to these varieties portray the likeable leanness of Le Bonheur just up the road.
For me the Warwick reds show wine's ability to bear a seductive power. Tannins are evened out, but the presence is weighty and potent, without any hint of after-burn or over-extraction. Of course, a reason for this is the dominance of Cabernet Franc in the Trilogy Bordeaux blend. Having perfected Cabernet Franc, the farm is able to bring out the best in this variety, namely grace and poise enveloped by an assertive juiciness. For Cabernet Franc can be greener than a Kommetjie whale-hugger.
I was thus not going to let the opportunity pass me by of attending a tasting to celebrate Warwick's 25 years in the winemaking business, held last week in the Vineyard Hotel. I wanted to see where everything came from. The bash behind the stash.
Norma Ratcliffe, Mike's mother who placed Warwick on the wine map – amongst other noticeable achievements – led the assembled group of hacks and friends through a tasty line-up.
Norma tells it all, her way. She is, after all, our Grand Dame.
Okay, so first up was a 1984 Warwick Femme Bleu (sic), the first commercial wine made by Norma on Warwick. A Cabernet Sauvignon, this 25 year old model was in perfect condition. The colour was garnet. The nose honey-comb. Lean fruit on the palate, a hint of cedar. No oxidation or stuffiness.
The 1986 Trilogy was similarly brilliant, although the addition of Merlot and Cabernet Franc to the Cabernet Sauvignon allowed for a tad more complexity and depth. Once again, it was crystal clear on the palate and the good acid ensured it was still as tight as an Eric Clapton guitar string.
A lot of the anti-Pinotage gang rip into anybody willing to state that a Pinot Noir character can become evident in Pinotage. Well, Norma put up a 1997 Warwick Three Cape Ladies (Pinotage blend) which almost knocked one over with the whiff or pure Burgundian forest floor, wet haystack and Algerian vineyard worker arm-pit. This was more Pinot Noir here than in a lot of Pinot Noirs themselves.
Of course, the wine was huge in the mouth, making an assertive Pinot Noir entrance and ending with ripe cherries and hints of Fortis syrup.
Heading onto the 1995 Cabernet Franc and the 2001 Cape Winemakers Guild Femme Bleu (sic), it was enormously satisfying to begin recognizing the stylistic traits of my current, newer Warwick wines. Looking at my 2006 Trilogy and Cabernet Franc, it appears the wines are actually fuller and more voluptuous in their youth. After a couple of years, the fruit and tannins separate giving the wines a different structure all together, whilst maintaining pureness and depth.
The evening ended with dinner, and I enjoyed more of the Chardonnay – albeit a younger model that, unlike the 1998, hadn't been stirred with Norma's golf club – and Warwick's wonderfully supple Pinotage.
This was definitely the wine event of the past year for me, for you can haul out the best wines in the house, but the event don't mean a thing if it ain't got that swing.
Keep swinging, Norma, because you've got it.
Warwick scores highly in DECANTER Magazine - in Hungary!


Club Penguin merchandise is sold in a few locations at Walt Disney World, especially in the World of Disney store in Downtown Disney. However, there isn't much else in the parks these days. A few years ago, you could meet some Cub Penguin characters but I haven't seen them the past couple of years.
I'm sorry I don't have a better answer for you, but I hope you have an amazing vacation. Going to Walt Disney World and then on a Disney Cruise sounds awesome! Enjoy!


text:
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BLA "sparrow" A/D Converter - anyone have/use one?
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puffpastry
pushin' record
Location: Uptown/St. Ben's
Contact puffpastry
Post by puffpastry » Mon Jul 07, 2008 10:19 am
OK 15 dB means the 003 has a minimum of 5.6 times higher rails than the 002. Unlikely, but possible I guess.
I'm not sure where you're getting 5.6 times. Decibels are logarithmic. You can't simply multiply by a given number to get the answer. Since you're such an expert, Ned, here's a test of your knowledge:
6 volts= ? dBV
12 volts = ? dBV
That means their claim is that their modded 003 has 27 dB more headroom than an unmodded 002. That means their analog section power supply is over 22 times higher voltage than that of an 002. That means that if the 002 is, say, running from +/- 12 volts (which I think is correct), then their supply is.....drum roll.....
+/- 250 volts!!!!!
Again, not sure where you're getting that number. The difference in dB can't be accounted for by simply multiplying the power supply by 250. It's the amount of difference between supply rails and the resulting output swing capability converted into a decibel figure based on a 1 volt reference.
nclayton
steve albini likes it
Post by nclayton » Mon Jul 07, 2008 10:58 am
puffpastry wrote: I'm not sure where you're getting 5.6 times. Decibels are logarithmic. You can't simply multiply by a given number to get the answer. Since you're such an expert, Ned, here's a test of your knowledge:
Hi. The number 5.6 comes BLA's 15dB claim and from the definition of a general scaleless decibel.
dB = 20 * log(ratio)
ratio = 10 ^ (dB / 20)
If dB is 15, that gives you a ratio of 5.6.
Since an opamp can usually put out a voltage pretty darn close to the voltage of the rails, the headroom of a stage like this is almost always totally determined by the voltage of the rails.
If you're talking about a voltage decibel then getting 15dB of extra headroom is predicated on getting about 15dB of extra power supply voltage. You can't get a higher voltage out than the supply rails. (unless you're using a step-up output transformer, which I don't think is part of the BLA mod)
So if the 002 has 12 volt rails and can put out a signal within about a volt or so of the rails, in order for an 003 to put out a 15 dB bigger signal (5.6 times bigger) the rails need to at least about 67 volts. Or else you have to use a step up output transformer. (By the way, that's plus and minus 67 volts, so really over 130 volts total, and that only includes the first 15dBs, not the second 12 delivered by the mod. It's that final 12 that puts the total voltage over 500).
It's pretty simple.
I assume everyone on earth knows that 6dB is a doubling of voltage, and so it should be easier to see that 12dB is a quadrupling of voltage.
Also I assume it's well known that 20dB is a decade, so 20dB means 10 times more voltage. Since the BLA modded 003 has a claimed 27 dB more headroom than the 002, than means (if you're talking about scaleless voltage dB's) that since 27 is more than 20 + 6 that it should be clear we're talking about more than a 20 times ratio. You can't get that much extra voltage output unless you have supply rails with that much voltage to begin with.
Of course this all changes if you're talking about power dB's like dBm's, but if you do that you really need to talk about the impedances involved, and BLA doesn't do that. Also, even then, I'm still skeptical that they could get the improvements they're talking about unless they're referencing to an unusually low impedance, or in other words, some dB scale they invented themselves.
I'm not going to do your quiz, but thanks for giving me the chance to improve my cred.
re-cappin' neve
Location: West of Boston
Contact Dakota
Post by Dakota » Mon Jul 07, 2008 11:03 am
I would be interested to see a detailed review of the sparrow, particularly compared against a benchmark adc or something in that zone. Anyone have links?
The 15dB increase in headroom comes from Digi's own documentation. Since the output swing capability of the stock 003 is 6 volts greater than the stock 002, the increase is 15dB. 6 volts dB with a 1v reference is roughly 15dB. I'm sure you can do the math.
If we increase output swing capability by 14 volts, the amount of difference goes up. 14 volts using a 1v reference is roughly 20dB (actually, it's almost 23dB).
We don't ADD it all together. It's the voltage swing difference (6 volts or 14 volts) converted to a dB figure using a 1 volt reference. I think you're starting from a different premise than we are.
Let me clarify:
Assume that a stock 002 can swing within a volt of each rail. That gives us about 21-22 volts of output swing capability. If we increase that swing capability to 28 volts, that's a 6 volt difference in capability. 6 volts using a 1 volt reference is 15 dB. Even Digidesign uses this figure when comparing headroom capability of the 003 vs the 002.
Now assume that we increase that swing by 13-14 volts. That difference in swing capability is what we're quoting. Use a 1 volt reference, and you get just over 20dB.
According to your logic, since the stock 003 added 15dB and the 003 mod only adds 12 dB, that means the modded 003 actually puts out 3dB LESS than the unmodded version!!! In case you don't see where my numbers come from, 12 is 3dB less than 15, and they're BOTH referenced to 1 volt, right? OF COURSE NOT. Obviously we're starting from different premises, but mine is correct. Of COURSE the dB's add. That's the whole point.
The claim is that the stock 002 can put out some number of dB's (unspeficied but unimportant), and the 003 can put out 15 more dB's than that (which is 5.6 times more no matter what the reference is) and then the claim is that the modded 003 can put out an additional 12 more than that. So whatever the stock 002 can put out (definitely more than 1v=0dBv) no matter how you look at it, no matter what the 002 could put out, they are claiming their modded 003 can put out 27dB MORE. The reference point is totally irrelevant, but I think it's actually about 18 dBv for what it's worth (the level the 002 outputs clip at if I'm not mistaken).
That would mean (if we're talking about voltage dB's into an arbitrary load) that the BLA modded 003 can put out 45 dBv (27 + 18). That would convert to 177 volts rms regardless of the rails or any other details of the circuitry. Plug it into your web-based dB calculator. Do you think the BLS modded 003 can put out 177 volts rms? Do you think anyone would want it to?
Anyway, I'm sorry about the thread, and I THINK I'm done griping about this crap. Plus I'm embarassed to stick my head out on this, but false and/or retarded claims irritate me and should not stand.
puffpastry wrote:
Who am I talking to here? Do you represent Black Lion? You keep saying We.
If one device can put out 17dBv and another can put out 20dBv, you can't say that's an improvement of 15dBv. That's an improvement of 3dBv.
If the numbers you gave me there are correct, then the 002 puts out 17dBv
The 003 puts out 20dBv (3dB more than 12, NOT 15dB more.).
The modded 003 puts out 22dBv.
That's a 2dB improvement over the unmodded version. That's totally respectable! But it's not 12dB. And it's definitely not 27dB over the 002.
I still think if they don't quite know how to add dB's, I'm probably not going to trust them to mod equipment.
Last edited by nclayton on Mon Jul 07, 2008 12:09 pm, edited 1 time in total.
jaguarsg
Post by jaguarsg » Mon Jul 07, 2008 12:07 pm
nclayton wrote: Who am I talking to here? Do you represent Black Lion? You keep saying We.
check the link in his signature.
Post by puffpastry » Mon Jul 07, 2008 12:38 pm
According to your logic, since the stock 003 added 15dB and the 003 mod only adds 12 dB, that means the modded 003 actually puts out 3dB LESS than the unmodded version!!!
No. Once again, you're misunderstanding us. The Tweak 003 adds another 15dbV to the headroom of the existing stock 003 design (I see that the website says 12; that's a typo, our mistake. It should say 15dB). Again, that's dBV referenced to 1 volt based upon the differences in output swing potential. We're not scaling the dB upon the existing headroom, we're quoting the difference.
You are basing your reference on 5.6 times the existing headroom, whereas we are basing our reference on the difference between the two.
That would mean (if we're talking about voltage dB's into an arbitrary load) that the BLA modded 003 can put out 45 dBv (27 + 1Cool. That would convert to 177 volts rms regardless of the rails or any other details of the circuitry. Plug it into your web-based dB calculator. Do you think the BLS modded 003 can put out 177 volts rms? Do you think anyone would want it to?
Except we're claiming about 30dBV total when the modification is finished. That's about 34 volts of potential swing. But the difference in dB's we're quoting between stock and modified is the 6 volt difference in swing potential (15dB).
It's neither false or retarded. We're simply basing our numbers on something entirely different than what you're basing your numbers on, and although you may disagree with how we do it, there is certainly precedent in the pro audio community for doing it the way we're doing it.
I realize that there are LOTS of people in pro audio that completely hate us, and hate what we're doing. Believe me, I deal with comments like this every single week. We have people that are insistent that we are liars, hucksters, scientologists, and God knows what else. It gets exhausting defending what we're doing, and most of the time the argument goes nowhere.
I've been running this company for three years as a full time venture now. In that time, we've grown enormously--I've gone from working by myself in my apartment to having eight employees and a 4500 square foot facility, all with little to no promotional budget. Do you think we could have grown that much if we weren't at least doing something right? Give me some credit--I'm not Einstein, but I'm not an idiot either. I may have typo's on my site sometimes, and we may not be the slickest company in the world, but I do know at least a little about what I'm doing.
Sorry if I forgot to sign earlier.
Black Lion Audio
trodden
on a wing and a prayer
Location: C-attle
Contact trodden
Post by trodden » Mon Jul 07, 2008 1:02 pm
nclayton wrote:
Wow Ned, you're a real joy to hang out with today... bad case of the Mondays?
https://witchmetal.bandcamp.com/album/t ... tive-cycle
http://www.facebook.com/brandon.fitzsimons
Post by Dakota » Mon Jul 07, 2008 1:55 pm
What I do know: Matt has been great to communicate with in regards to mods being done. I also know that my stock 002 originally sounded "about what you'd expect for mid-prosumer audio but no better", and after the tweak head it sounds like "whoa, an 002 sounding like actually usable pro audio??? WTF?"
Whatever the math is, the improvement is in no way subtle. Width and depth and clarity and transient snap and small details and general "musicality" are dramatically better. The prosumer digital "grey hash" in the mids and highs is gone.
I'd still like to hear people's word on the sparrow.
Post by nclayton » Mon Jul 07, 2008 2:16 pm
Hi. I admit, at first I didn't understand what you were saying, but now I do see where you're getting your numbers from and how your method works....but it is wrong. You're taking how much scalar voltage you add, converting it directly to a dBv, and saying that's how much headroom you add in dB's. Unfortunately that just isn't right. I don't usually think of myself as a jerk, although I am a jerk sometimes, but honestly I just want EVERYONE to have the right info, and am more than willing to help. Right now your site is giving the wrong info! If you get it right, maybe the pro-audio people you referred to would take you more seriously. I'm glad to help! If you send me the actual voltage improvements your mods make (compared to original) I'll happily convert them to the correct dB improvements and you can make your site accurate. I won't even charge you! I JUST WANT RATIONALITY TO BE TAKEN SERIOUSLY SO EVERYONE CAN HAVE THE RIGHT INFO!
According to your method, if you had a really assy converter that could only put out, say .000001 volts, and you multiplied that by a MILLION times to make it put out 1.000001 volts, when you did the math you'd find you added ZERO DECIBELS since you only added 1 volt, and 1 volt referenced to 1 volt is 0dBv. Thank god you never did a mod like that -- what a waste of time! In fact, you could add 1 volt to any voltage you wanted and according to your method it would ALWAYS add exactly 0 decibels no matter how many times you did it. Or what if you accidentally did a mod that only added .5 volts to something? Calculate THAT in reference to 1 volt. That totally sucks because by adding .5 volts you accidentally DECREASED the headroom by 6dB! It doesn't make sense. The ONLY way to calculate increases in dB is the simplest possible way...you subtract one dB value from another. It's the ONLY way! It's why the db scale was invented in the first place!
If there's precedent for your method in the pro-audio world (which I've never seen that I can remember) it's only because someone else made the same mistake. I'm sorry to have been confrontational, but at this point, I just want you to see how it works so you can correct your info. Your method might not have been retarded....if I'd known you were on here I'm sure I'd have been a bit more restrained than to have said that kind of shit....but it is wrong. I'm sorry, but it's not my fault it's wrong.
Post by jaguarsg » Mon Jul 07, 2008 2:33 pm
i'm no EE, not at all, but this thread reminds me of when two music theory guys get together and argue over a jazz chord.
they're both arguing from different perspectives but it's essentially the same chord.
Post by jv » Mon Jul 07, 2008 2:41 pm
Ned is right (I am an EE). I've heard lots of good things about Black Lion, so I'm sure they're doing a lot of things right, but this way of of spec-ing is just plain wrong.
Post by puffpastry » Mon Jul 07, 2008 2:41 pm
Hi. I admit, at first I didn't understand what you were saying, but now I do see where you're getting your numbers from and how your method works....but it is wrong.
Well, as I said before, we aren't the only pro audio company that uses this method, there are several others, and Digidesign is an excellent example. When they released the Mbox 2, they cited a 6dBV increase in headroom over the Mbox 1. Their basis for this? A 2 volt increase in output swing capability. The same goes for the 003--they cited a 15dB increase in headroom over the 002. The basis? A 6 volt increase in output swing capability.
You may disagree with the methodology we're using to calculate these figures, but we're certainly not alone and won't be changing it any time soon.
Well then, somebody should call out Digidesign, because that's just plain wrong. Probably somebody in marketing made that crap up.
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I am working on FRDM tower boards to establish CAN bus communication. I was successful in my approach to send and receive data between two FRDM tower boards using CAN bus. However, I am not able to understand few parts.
1. What is a mailbox? Is this the CAN ID for the device or this specifies the memory location?
is used. Why does there have to be a masking?
Now I am trying a receive data from a different board into my tower board using CAN bus. But the other board does not have flexCAN, it works like a simple CAN. My other board is sending its CAN ID, Node ID and data altogether where I need to mask it in tower board side to get individual ID.
I am not able to get a clear idea of how FlexCAN works.I checked but could not find any documentation which would explain me the basics of flexcan. It would be great if someone could point me in the right direction in above questions and documentation as well.
1.- Please check the section 52.4, there explain the structure of the mailbox.
2.- Please check the section 52.3.5, this is the register write in this function.
3.- FlexCAN works the same as CAN, only include some extra functionality.
As a suggestion, first I will try the loopback example and after that try connecting with the other board.
FlexCan has a global Mask function (SetRxMbGlobalMask) but I wanted to use filter function as well. I could not see a default function like that? Can you tell me whether I have to write up a particular function to filter out the IDs or any workaround is possible in existing functions?
The id which I am looking to filter out is 0x760. I am not bothered about the rest of the IDs from the other device.
I was wrong , the chapter is the 48, I will put the chapters corrected bellow.
1.- Please check the section 48.4, there there explain the structure of the mailbox.
2.- Please check the section 48.3.5, this is the register write in this function.
Also, for your second question check the section.
I think the RTR bit should help you to do what you want.
Thank you for your inputs. I was able to get a partial code get working.
Now I am facing issue in the TxIdentifier [mailbox] . The frame holds id and data in flexcan. The destination CAN ID to which I had to send the data is 1002F801(Hex value).
So I mapped 1002F801(Hex value) to my frame.id parameter(like frame.id = 0x1002F801 ) in flexcan code , its not sending the frame like how i expect.
I used an external SLCAN adapter to visualize it . I could see the CAN ID as 178 and 05 C9 is my value which i am sending.
1.frame.id = 0x1002F801 is good enough to map the destination frame id? Or any work around is needed over here? Not sure how.
2. With respect to Tx, does TxIdentifier can be different from frame id? Because in the example code I could see frame.id being derived from TxIdentifer(29 bit identifier mask) [I also have a 29 bit identifier in my case in both sides].
Whereas, I know the destination id [1002F801] to which I need to send the data. Any simple approach is possible?
Please ignore the above post. I got it figured. It was an issue with base and extended frame formats.


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