Barbarians of Lemuria (BoL) is a rules-lite swords & sorcery rpg. It has an active community here, where you can find out all sorts of stuff about it. There is an early free version of the rules still available for download here, if you want to get a feel for the rules (bare in mind there have been many changes made in both the rules and the setting). It uses 2d6+attribute+career/combat ability as the basic mechanic. It is now published in print by Cubicle 7 and is available at your local store. My other game Dogs of W*A*R (based on the Mack Bolan/Able Team/Phoenix Force books) uses the BoL system too. There is a BoL western game and a BoL superhero game in the works.
I don't have a post-apoc version of the game, but Barbarians of The Aftermath by Jabberwocky Productions uses the BoL System and requires BoL to play. It will be published shortly by Cubicle 7.
SUPERS! is a simple superhero game, using a dice pool mechanic. There will be a full review at RPGNet shortly - I'll post a link when it's up. Basically, you pick a Power, roll the dice and have to exceed a target number (kinda like Star Wars D6). However, Resistances (kinda like defense/hit points) are broken down into Composure, Reaction, Fortitude and Will. When you take damage (determined by how well you succeed your roll, no separate damage roll needed) you allocate the damage from one of these Resistances. When one of them reaches 0, the effects depend on which one it is (knocked out for Fortitude, traumatised for loss of Will, etc).
(...)I don't really think BoL will stand too many more products or it is in danger of imploding.
Good point. And though I like BoL a lot, I also feel that space opera would require something with a slightly different flavour. I suppose I should have phrased my question a bit differently: did any qualities in particular of the SUPERS! rules make you think of doing a space opera game with them?
Well, I'll certainly follow the developments with interest!
Like EldritchFire if when the time is right you need some playtesters I volunteer.


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Sawaka Romaine
"One of the best things that I've learned during my time at Kekst CNC is that people can be smart and humble at the same time. I've met a lot of different kinds of people in my prior experiences, and I feel like one of the keys to success in your given field is to stay humble, regardless of how much knowledge you have. We have partners here that talk about how excited they are to work with their colleagues in other offices because it provides an opportunity to learn something new. It's a good example to follow for someone in their position to say something like that".
I studied biology in college, and I always had an abiding interest in communications, but I also had a passion for singing. After college, I came to Japan to pursue a music career while working different jobs, including working the 2002 FIFA World Cup in Japan and Korea, which was a good experience after being such a big soccer fan growing up in Mexico. After that, I worked for a pharmaceutical marketing research firm, and then become a freelancer doing interpretation, event planning, event hosting, even a TV show announcer, all sorts of things – all while pursuing my career in music.
At some point, I realized I wanted to gain more skills that I could utilize around the world, wherever I went. When I was thinking about a career change, a friend of mine recommended PR because it leveraged my people skills, as well as my language skills. I've always loved to connect different dots and network with people, and I realized I was doing all this for free. A career in communications would use a lot of the skills I already have, and I would be able to learn new things. I went to go work for a boutique PR firm where I was helping US startups launch in Japan and a broad range of other companies to present them to the world in an easy-to-express way.
Eventually, I had a desire to go to a more global firm and learn new skills, and Kekst CNC was a great place for that because it has offices around the world and would give me an opportunity to broaden my skill set. When I joined, everyone was willing to help and share their knowledge for the purpose of improving the teams overall. Not only from a mentorship perspective, but the whole system of having a PDA to help you and support you to encourage your development is also great. They feel like your success is their success, as well. The whole company culture is geared towards helping each other to better ourselves and work more as an entity.
Having all my colleagues – not only from your own office but around the world – onboard me was also a great experience. There were a lot of meetings with different people around Kekst CNC that correlated to different areas of expertise. All the onboarding sessions differed depending on the person running it, but what was interesting was that not only were you able to learn what Kekst CNC does, but it's also a great opportunity to meet others around the world that you'll work with in the future. At some point when you have a mandate that requires those skill sets, you'll know who to reach out to.
One of the best things that I've learned during my time at Kekst CNC is that people can be smart and humble at the same time. I've met a lot of different kinds of people in my prior experiences, and I feel like one of the keys to success in your given field is to stay humble, regardless of how much knowledge you have. We have partners here that talk about how excited they are to work with their colleagues in other offices because it provides an opportunity to learn something new. It's a good example to follow for someone in their position to say something like that.
Outside of work, I have a few things I like to spend my time on. One of them is my role at the MIT Club of Japan, where this year I was elected to become the first female President of the organization in its 111-year history. I want to encourage female students to study STEM, because in Japan there's a huge gender divide in terms of participation in STEM. In some areas, it's still frowned upon for women to study the sciences, because for example it hurts your prospects for marriage – which, of course, I find very sad. I feel like having a female face in the role of President helps because it shows women in Japan that people can graduate from MIT and can learn the STEM field. I'd like to conduct events to foster an interest in STEM, especially as the demand for those jobs increases and women have more opportunity to participate in these fields.
I'm also a radio personality, where I host a show that I hope encourages people to study abroad. You're kind of like a diplomat for your own country when you study abroad, which makes it important for the growth of a nation. If you're a company and you're thinking about working with different partners around the world, it's easy to just reconnect with your classmates in order to start something. At the same time, we want to showcase the different activities that people who studied abroad are engaged in, and I try my best to feature those who are trying to make a positive social impact: one recent guest was someone who is an entrepreneur pioneering in Femtech, a still very new field in Japan.
And I don't sing full time anymore, but I still like to sing with my mariachi band for occasional events. Having grown up in Mexico, I still have a big passion for the country and its music. We sometimes sing at embassy events or events related to mariachi music itself. We're one of the only mariachi bands in Japan – maybe one of two.
I want people to hear that it's okay to pursue a career change or pursue multiple things if you have the bandwidth. Especially in Japan, it's either frowned upon or people get scared about changing paths once they hit a certain age. I'm sure it happens in other places, and I might be generalizing, but people here tend to want you to do just one thing. For example, I didn't go into the sciences after studying biology, and I would hear, "Oh, that's such a shame." But I don't feel like that's the case, because learning different things gives you a much broader perspective; it actually makes you better in whatever career you decide in the future. I want to encourage people that it's actually possible to change.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Old Soldiers (2005) is a science fiction novel by American writer David Weber, a sequel to the  short story "With Your Shield" published in the anthology Bolo!, edited by the same writer.   It details the future of the two survivors of that battle as they try to keep alive a remnant of humanity, deliberately separated off and sent far away from the war that is consuming both sides completely.

References

External links
 An excerpt of Old Soldiers is available for download or reading online at the Baen Free Library here. The whole novel can be found here.

Baen Books available as e-books
2005 American novels
Novels by David Weber
2005 science fiction novels
American science fiction novels

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Home computers lead a luxurious existence. They might have to work hard, or be forced to undergo constant unnecessary maintenance and when they blue-screen, they're usually subjected to tirades of verbal abuse that would make Gordon Ramsay cry, but that's about as bad as it gets.
Computers for the armed forces, emergency services or people who work outdoors have a much tougher time; they need to be able to survive adverse conditions that would have your average overclocked gaming rig reaching for the white flag.
Like vampires and tragic heroes, computers have many weaknesses. Water getting into the guts of an electronic system is usually enough to take it down faster than the Wicked Witch of the West but without all the wailing. Static electricity doesn't seem too scary when it's doing fun things such as making balloons stick to walls, but in computing terms, it's lethal, as is the shock damage that a system will suffer from if dropped.
Sand, dirt, dust and other small particles aren't immediate threats to computer systems in the same way as shock and water, but they're still a potent menace. The most obvious way in which dirt will hamper a system is by interfering with moving parts or connection points. Fans and optical drive bays can suffer too, as can USB ports and power couplings. Finally, heat, as all overclockers know, can be a killer. Given the number of hazards that can take down a computer, it's clear PCs need to take special precautions to survive in the big wide world - hence the existence of 'rugged' computers.
There are two main types of rugged, or ruggedised, computers. The first and most common type is a computer that has built from the ground up to operate in hostile environments. The second type is a standard computer that has been toughened up. Wearing a flak vest doesn't make a person a soldier, and the same can be said for merely attaching padded or reinforced plates to a laptop casing - ruggedisation is a process that's best implemented at the very start.
The level to which a system has been ruggedised can vary, but in order for buyers to know what they're getting there are various standards at which systems are rated. No one standard covers all aspects of ruggedisation - the ability to withstand shock, and resist dirt, water or other unwanted substances accessing the PC are all governed by different standards.
The most common standard by which a ruggedised computer system is rated for shock resistance and other more general environmental problems is the MIL-STD-810, or the military standard, often abbreviated to Mil-Spec. The standards for this are updated every few years and include tests for diverse conditions such as humidity, exposure to fungi, gunfire vibration, acceleration and even changes in air pressure.
The second standard by which ruggedised computers are assessed is called the International Protection Rating or IP Code. IP Codes are international standards that assess how well a piece of technology is protected against the intrusion of undesirables such as water, dirt and prying fingers.
IP Codes are followed by a two-digit number that details the level to which a system is protected. The first digit describes the type of elements that are able to penetrate the casing - a zero denotes that the system's critical components are effectively exposed to foreign objects, while a top mark of six means that the system is completely impenetrable even to dust and effectively airtight. Most ruggedised systems will rate a five on this scale, which means that although they aren't airtight, they're well protected against dust.
The second digit of an IP Code refers to the system's level of waterproofing. Again, zero means that there's no protection whatsoever, with higher numbers reflecting the system's ability to withstand drips, sprays or splashes of increasing magnitude. The scale goes up to eight, which means that the system can be immersed in water over 1m deep. Very few fully ruggedised systems for general use will rate the highest IP Code. A 54 rating, meaning mostly dust-proof and splash-resistant, is considered effectively weatherproof.
Previously, IP Codes also covered resistance to impact, but this is now assessed by a separate standard known as IK Codes. Set out by European Standard 62262, IK Codes range from IK00 to IK10, with equipment that can withstand higher-energy impacts receiving a higher rating. At IK10, a piece of kit can survive being hit with a 5kg steel object striking its surface with 20 joules of energy.
Toughpad 4K UT-MB5 an impressive beast.
Panasonic has announced that its ToughBook rugged notebook range is to get Qualcomm's multifunction Gobi 3G radio device for international wireless broadband.
PC maker Dell has just launched an ultra-rugged mil-spec laptop, the XFR D630, which is clearly aimed at the same niche market as Panasonic's Toughbook.


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Carjacking suspect captured after high-speed chase
Damani Spears was taken into custody when the chase came to an end in the vicinity of 90th Avenue and Macarthur Boulevard because of serious damage to the stolen 2014 Lexus he was driving, according to CHP Officer Sean Wilkenfeld.
"The front left wheel was completely gone," Wilkenfeld said. "He didn't get very far once the wheel fell off."
Officers spotted the car and attempted to make a traffic stop on westbound state Highway 24 just east of the Caldecott Tunnel around 3:45 a.m., according to Wilkenfeld.
Berkeley man dies after being released from sobering cell raising questions about his care
Red Cross declares 1st ever US blood shortage crisis: How to donate, types needed
Oakland police chief says new plan to combat crime focuses on violent offenders
San Jose orders boosters for city workers
Bay Area teachers push for more remote options; state says that should be last resort


The arrival of the government's long-awaited housing white paper earlier this month has left me hopeful but, if I'm completely honest, slightly lacking in confidence that anything is going to change in the immediate future.
The paper, which had been billed as a government manifesto on how to fix the growing housing crisis faced by Britain, was really more of an assessment of the problems we face. Solutions were rather thin on the ground in practice.
That said, it is definitely progress to see a government engage with our sector to this degree and there were one or two policy proposals that were encouraging.
We carry out regular research among the UK's specialist lenders and have just published our latest Vantage Point Report. In it, we confirmed what has been said anecdotally for the past 12 months or so – specialist lenders are increasingly offering development finance to property professionals.
In fact, over the next 12 months, 60% of lenders believe development finance will see the most significant growth rate in specialist lending – partly due to specialist lenders diversifying.
With so much change in the air, there is a real opportunity for specialist lenders to develop innovative offerings. We are already seeing this and the focus on development is no surprise. While development is a complex area of the specialist market, it can be a natural progression for lenders used to doing heavy or complex refurbishment deals already.
But there remains a real need for more finance options in this sector – the lack of housing in the UK is well-known and funding for smaller developers remains under pressure.
This is why it was encouraging to see the government raise exactly this point in its white paper. Its own analysis suggests that nearly 60% of all new homes are built by just 10 big builders.
They want to change this by encouraging smaller developers who they hope will use modern methods of construction to speed up how quickly homes are built.
The problem is, we know the larger lenders simply don't look at smaller developments. But that doesn't make them unviable. Specialist lenders are already picking up the slack in this area and despite some lenders voicing concern through our research that some less scrupulous lenders will cut underwriting corners, this isn't something we are seeing.
We have seen some sensible readjustments in the single high-value central London asset space and some development finance lenders taking a more cautious approach post-Brexit and through the various buy-to-let changes.
I think we are seeing a subtle but encouraging growth in sustainability of the sector – now we just need to see some action off the back of the government's admission that this sector needs more support.


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The Long Call by Ann Cleeves
Ann Cleeves is one of those authors I'd heard of but never read. I've only been reading suspense for about the last two years, but have fallen fast for this genre, and specifically women writers in this genre like Sue Grafton, Nevada Barr, Jane Harper, Rachel Caine, and more. So, when I saw an e-arc for the first book in Ann Cleeve's latest series, I jumped at the chance to read it (thanks, NetGalley!).
The Long Call is book one in The Two Rivers series. "In North Devon, where two rivers converge into the sea, Detective Matthew Venn stands outside the church as his estranged father's funeral takes place," so begins the book's synopsis. Ok, who wouldn't be hooked by that opening?! Main character Matthew was raised in a strict evangelical community and when he came out as gay, his father and whole community turned their backs on him. That was years ago and Matthew has gone on to become a successful detective with a loving husband, and a beautiful home on the beach, just a stone's throw from the close-knit community that rejected him.
The book opens with Matthew observing his father's funeral from a distance, with all those people who hurt him in attendance while he stands outside the church by himself unnoticed. Just as he turns to leave, he gets a call. A body has been found on the beach, and as the case unfolds it will force him to confront his painful past and the people who abandoned him. It will also cause him to ask: "Is one of them the killer?"
This was a leisurely-paced suspense that I very much enjoyed. Perhaps because I'd never read Cleeves before, I'd gone into the book expecting it to be high action and nail-biting suspense, but it is more a rainy day, hot cup of tea in hand, type of book, and once I realized that, I was able to settle in, relax, and appreciate Cleeves' characters and mastery of mystery.
I found Detective Matthew Venn to be wonderfully likeable and complex. I related to his struggle with a judgmental religious community and his push-pull relationship with it. Though he's tried to completely separate himself from his upbringing, that's easier said than done and it created a heart-aching and wholly believable tension that the character wrestles with, and will undoubtedly continue to wrestle with in subsequent books.
I adored Matthew's relationship with his husband, Jonathan, who as an artist and free spirit, provides a great contrast to Matthew's buttoned-up and serious demeanor.
The plot was interesting and well-executed, the characters were all well-rounded and believable (seriously, it felt like I was reading about people I know and interact with in real life), and the pace while slow, kept my attention.
My one nit-picky issue was with a particular writing tic that I noticed early on and then could not un-notice. I don't know if this is an issue in Cleeves' other books, but she had an annoying habit in this book of having all of the characters say things like, "as I've said," "as I've told you," "as you know," etc. which made the dialogue feel false and repetitive every time it occurred (which was A LOT, like every other page).
My impression was that this was a way for the author to reintroduce important information to the reader, but wow there could have been a better and more subtle way to do that! If it had just been one character doing it, and Cleeves was trying to show that they were an impatient person or uncomfortable in the situation, that would make sense, but it was ALL the characters ALL the time in EVERY conversation and it grated on my nerves so bad throughout the book, and really jolted me out of the story because it happened so often. Plus, it weighed the whole book down and added needlessly to the word count.
That caveat aside, the book was absolutely worth the read and I'll be eagerly anticipating book two in this series. In the meantime, I've already picked up another of Cleeves' books from my local library sale and will be diving into that soon!
This review originally appeared on NetGalley. I received a free Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) in exchange for my honest review of this title.
Alisa Williams is the managing editor of SpectrumMagazine.org. She blogs at alisawilliamswrites.com, tweets at @AWWritesStories, and bookstagrams at @AllyWritesStories.
Photo by Alisa Williams.


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Hilarious dating profile headlines sites
When Should Divorced Dads Introduce The New Girlfriend?
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The Wealthfront Team. For instance, the first few times Melissa went out with John not his real name, for reasons that will become obvious shortly , she felt optimistic. In short, it was a better-than-average first burst of dates. He had a great job and seemed goal-oriented about the rest of his life. Why was this a red flag? It made me question if he would be able to fit into the life I was working so hard on or if he was going to bring me down financially. A recent Finder. The way most of us grow up imagining love — the process of falling into it and then the state of existing within it — leaves us with the idea of love as something that is mostly devoid of logic.
The new site update is up! I love my girlfriend. We've been together for two and a half years. Should we break up? I've been in a long, mostly fulfilling relationship with my girlfriend. We started this relationship in college, and by next week, it'll have been two and a half years.
I met Mark two years into my dating adventures. He thinks he wants a girlfriend, but what he really wants is counselling and validation.
The begged question is extreme: Are you going to be totally apart or never leave each other? It feels like a Bachelor moment. What are couples deciding? We talked to four about how it went down…. Amaiha and Lee Dating for six months Decided not to quarantine together. Now, it was like, what do we do? The kids are 10 years apart, so I just thought it would be a lot. Being apart sucks because you want to keep the momentum going.
Ryan and Anna Dating for three months Decided to quarantine together. I can be lackadaisical and she Cloroxes the shit out of everything. Alison and Michael Dating for a month Decided not to quarantine together.
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From money to politics to moving in together, learn when and how to bring up the touchiest subjects. Whether it's the first date or the 50th, there are going to be some topics both you and your partner feel less-than-psyched to talk about. There's simply not an easy way to bring up touchy subjects, like the fact that you've recently lost a parent, or even some good things, like when you feel ready to move in together.
Think of conversation topics as a circle, suggests Kelly Campbell, Ph.
How long should you date before getting married? Comes First, suggests that one to two years is often a good amount of time to date before getting engaged.
Ever since Brad Pitt split from Angelina Jolie, rumors of his relationship status have abounded. The bachelor poked fun at his new single life over awards season, cracking Tinder jokes and even reuniting with his ex-wife Jennifer Aniston in a sweet moment, although he took to the red carpet solo throughout it. Pitt, who recently won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor, is father to six children from his marriage to Angelina Jolie.
Whether or not any of the rumors are true Pitt has denied most of them – including with a joke at the Golden Globes the actor has already gone out with some of the most eligible women in Hollywood including, of course, his marriage to Jennifer Aniston. In Hollywood was "a difficult part – the guy who gets high, takes his shirt off and doesn't get along with his wife. It was a big stretch. After his win, Aniston greeted him warmly backstage and he was spotted watching her own acceptance speech on a monitor.
By Justin Enriquez For Dailymail. Matthew Perry has split with his talent manager girlfriend Molly Hurwitz after 'secretly dating' for two years. InTouch Weekly reported on Friday that year-old Perry and the year-old ended their relationship as a source said: 'It happened very recently. Out and about: The news comes at an interesting time as year-old Perry was seen looking disheveled and with a serious case of quarantine hair on Wednesday.
The news comes at an interesting time as Perry was seen looking disheveled and with a serious case of quarantine hair on Wednesday. However back in December, The Sun reported that he and Hurwitzh had been 'secretly dating' for months.
The two have been dating for about five months. a year-old software engineer, whose boyfriend had plans to move in Matt, one of Joe's roommates, also went quickly from dating to sheltering in place with his girlfriend.
Photo by: Jikaboom. According to a new study , it takes around six months, or days, for a person to decide if the person they are dating is marriage material. Researchers polled 2, coupled and uncoupled people and found that married and single people have very different ideas of how long it will take them to find the person they wanted to marry.
While singles concluded they would need at least days before making such a big decision, it was the married participants that believed days was sufficient. This is when we begin to decide if those faults and quirks are deal breakers or things we can live with. How long did it take you to realize you were dating "the one"? Pinterest Facebook Twitter Email. By: Amanda Mushro. After this study, maybe love at first sight should be changed to love at days! Find out what questions to ask on your next date.
Empowering Podcasts Every Woman Should Listen To Podcasts are a great way to fill your day with positive messages and inspiring stories. This counselor has answers. Here are 5 inspiring TED Talks with great advice to help you improve your relationship.
The Other Side of Grief is a series about the life-changing power of loss. These powerful first-person stories explore the many reasons and ways we experience grief and navigate a new normal. After 15 years of marriage I lost my wife, Leslie, to cancer. Still, quite apart from missing the woman I loved, I miss having a partner.
Drake's most recent ex-girlfriend is year-old model Bella Harris. Just two days after we revealed Drake was dating Raye, The Sun Online exclusively.
How long does it really take to get over someone? If you listen to Sex and the City 's Charlotte York , "It takes half the total time you went out with someone to get over them. For example, you dated someone for only six months, then you're pretty much home free within three months. But if you were with someone for, say, 10 years, going by Charlotte's theory on love and breakups , that's five long years of wallowing in pain and sorrow, trying to recover and move on. According to a study of 2, Americans by OnePoll, all of us will spend, on average, 18 months of our lives getting over breakups , which, honestly, seems quite low.
Although this average was based on three major breakups, how many people only have three major breakups in their lifetime? Between the ages of 18 and 25, I easily had half a dozen breakups, and considering the shambles they left me in, they were indeed "major. If the breakup is a legal one that involves a divorce or a custody battle for kids, the time it takes to get over someone can be even more difficult and prolonged, because you have to be in touch with your ex, and even sometimes on a regular basis.
When it comes to how much you think you need your ex, things are equally painful, but in a different way. Especially if you put all your hopes and dreams in this one person. If this is the case, the loss can linger, meaning recovery time is long and deep. Especially so if you're dependent upon them financially, emotionally, socially, or in business.
LeslieBeth Wish , Ed.
I was dating this guy for about two years and I wanted to become his girlfriend, but he kept telling me that he wanted to wait until he got a full-time job because he wanted to take care of me, but we were doing boyfriend-girlfriend stuff anyway. I want to be with him, but I just felt like I was forcing him. What do I do?
These two took almost a year apart, and now they're happier than ever. "After dating for four years, my partner proposed to me. We were set to get.
All girls like when a man shows signs of attention through courtship, for example, he gives flowers, invites to a cafe or a restaurant, tells gentle words and gives compliments. However, this may not always last long. When you are already a couple, the warmth in the relationship may reduce with each passing year, you get a habit and a spiritual balance just because of the fact that this person is next to you, this replaces everything else.
Of course, it cannot be applied to all the couples, sometimes warm relationship remains throughout the whole life together and the partners tell each other sweet words without embarrassment not only at the first stages of dating. Although it is sometimes difficult to distinguish infatuation from the true love itself, the test of time can cope with it. Infatuation occurs at the early dating stages when the couple does not know each other well.
As soon as they become closer and learn more about the positive and negative features of each other, and the initial love fervor passes, a partner who has just infatuation will lose interest. If they truly love each other, they will stay together. Another important sign of true love is self-sacrifice and the ability to take care. There are no ideal people and therefore there are no perfect relationships. However, often in order to understand that, you need to have maturity and experience in the relationship.
So, when you start dating, it seems to you that this is the very person with whom you would like to live a long happy life.
Subscriber Account active since. Whether or not you believe in love at first sight, there was probably a moment that you knew you loved, or were starting to fall in love with, your partner. These moments can be silly or heartbreaking, just like the relationships and the people in them. I had to jerk the wheel and everything.
Enter me: So eight months ago I started dating this incredible girl (hot, smart, funny – the whole package) who is two years younger than me.
People tend to place a greater emphasis on anniversaries of married couples, but you and your girlfriend deserve to celebrate the feelings that you have for each other with anniversary gifts too. Your favorite list is empty. Sterling Silver Pendant Necklace This stunning silver necklace is the perfect anniversary gifts for girlfriends. This necklace has two interchangeable chains that your girlfriend can use. One chain is 16 inches long, and the other one is 18 inches long.
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I've ignored plenty of red flags — the huge warning signs that arise early in a relationship and indicate imminent doom. But I have learnt from my mistakes, and will pass my wisdom on. If I can save just one heart from being smashed into a million pieces, then my own sorry history will be worth it. This is a bizarrely common phenomenon. Men tell you they're separated, and that they're ready to date, and then it transpires that they're still living with their wife.
That is not actually separation.
4 months in and I asked her to be my girlfriend; she said yes and I was ecstatic! We had My girlfriend and I have been dating for two years.
Why do people in committed relationships still swipe right on dating apps? A secret dater shares her story. I laugh nervously. In fact, I give as little about myself away as possible. It started two years ago, when I was 26 and went through a really destabilising period in my life. I lost my job as a graphic designer, and found out that my boyfriend – despite being kind and wonderful in so many ways – was cheating on me.
The night he confessed, I remember all the air rushing out of my lungs. In so many ways, we had been perfect for each other. We came from similar backgrounds, we had similar goals and ambitions. Almost as soon as we got together we met at a party, through mutual friends there had been no question – we were in love. We moved in together eight months after meeting. But four years later, here he was, saying he was sorry. He cried and told me over and over again that he was sorry and that he wanted to make it work with me.
And I believed him.
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1. In this study, we expect to decrease the number of referrals and repeat smears by immediately referring those women who are positive for high-risk human papillomavirus (hrHPV) with mildly abnormal smears for colposcopically-directed biopsies. Thus, for the remaining women with BMD who have tested hrHPV negative, repeat smears will not be necessary.
2. Secondly, we expect to be able to narrowly define a risk group of women within the group with normal cytology, that has an increased risk for the development of high-grade lesions based on the presence of hrHPV in the smear.
The hrHPV negative women with normal smears will be at a decreased risk for the development of high-grade lesions, and for them, the interval between screening smears could be increased (from an interval of 5 years, to an interval of 8 - 10 years).
In the VUSABOB, the addition of a high-risk human papillomavirus (hrHPV) test, using the commercially available and FDA approved Hybrid Capture II test, to the regular cervical screening programme in order to improve detection of precursor lesions of cervical cancer is evaluated using a cohort study of women whose smears were consecutively screened at a single laboratory in The Netherlands. Within this cohort study, we nested an unblinded trial of women with mildly abnormal screening smears and repeat and referral recommendations were based on the presence or absence of high-risk human papillomavirus.
Secondly, we nested a randomised trial of women with normal cytology whose hrHPV test results were triple blinded to participants, treating clinicians and study personnel, and advised all women with blinded test results to repeat cervical screening at earlier intervals than current screening guidelines in the Netherlands recommend in order to evaluate screening strategies for women with normal cytology and a positive hrHPV test.
The primary outcome measure of VUSABOB is the occurrence of histologically confirmed cervical intra-epithelial neoplasia grade 3 (CIN3) lesions or (micro-) invasive carcinoma of the cervix found during the follow-up of currently diagnosed abnormalties, i.e., within 2 years. For women whose cytology results either regress to normal (in the unblinded trial of women with mild cytological abnormalities) or who clear an infection with hrHPV without cytological abnormalities (in the blinded trial of women with normal cytology diagnoses), we assume that no precursor lesions of cervical cancer are present. They will not be referred for colposcopically-directed biopsies and therefore will not have a histological endpoint. This policy complies with regular cervical screening in The Netherlands.
As a secondary outcome measure, histologically confirmed cervical intra-epithelial neoplasia grade 2 will also be investigated, since current guidelines recommend ablative treatment for these lesions as well. Other secondary parameters obtained include progression and regression of cytology diagnoses, clearance and acquisition of hrHPV infections and the number of referrals for colposcopically-directed biopsies.


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Belgium: Ambiguity and Disagreement
Belgium: Ambiguity and Disagreement KRIS DESCHOUWER Belgium became a federal country gradually, starting in the nineteen seventies and culminating in the early nineties. The motive for federalism was to manage tensions between the Dutch-speaking north of the country and the French-speaking south. Interestingly, the north and the south still have somewhat different visions of their federal system. This disagreement has made its way into the Constitution. North and south also still disagree on the very definition of language rights and minority groups, a principal reason why these are not clearly defined in the Constitution. Ongoing ambiguity and deep disagreement are basic ingredients of a federal structure that – surprisingly enough – continues to function quite effectively, without major conflicts. Belgium's federal system officially came into being in 1993 following piecemeal reforms meant to accommodate ethno-linguistic differences. As such, the framers of the Belgian Constitution did not find their inspiration in existing models of federal countries. The Belgian federation did not result from the implementation of a blueprint; nor did anyone invent or imagine the new Belgium. Rather, it is the product of a series of subtle compromises between two divergent views of how the old unitary state had to be reformed. Probably the most striking feature of the Belgian federation is its dual nature. Belgium is a federation of language communities and also of territorial regions. This double federation is the result of conflicting views between Dutch speakers and French speakers on the ideal configuration of the country. The first demands for devolution came from the Dutch speakers and were based on the defence of their language. The Dutch speakers wanted autonomy granted to the two major language communities. Brussels — situated north of the linguistic borderline — would have been incorporated into, or at least intimately linked to, the Dutch-speaking, or Flemish, community. Alternately, the Francophones defended granting autonomy to regions, which meant that Brussels, with a population that was 85 percent Francophone, would have become a region in the Belgian federation rather than being part of the Flemish community. A complex double federation provided a way out of this deadlock. Belgium created both the language communities suggested by the Dutch-speakers and the territorial regions preferred by the Francophones. The three regions are Francophone Wallonia, bilingual Brussels, and Dutch-speaking Flanders. The Dutch-speaking community can exercise its powers in the Flemish region and in Brussels, and the French-speaking community can exercise its powers in the Walloon region and in Brussels. This arrangement is certainly much more complicated than that of other federations, which are simply divided into territorially defined sub-states. But it has the major advantage of offering a solution to two diverging, and to a large extent incompatible, views on the very nature of the country. The Belgian federal Constitution thus accepts and defines two visions of the country and allows them to coexist. Yet this coexistence is not without its problems. The city of Brussels is now a region, but one whose Dutch-speaking minority needs to be protected. The Dutch-speakers have a number of reserved seats in the regional parliament and half of the ministers in the executive of the region. The creation of a Flemish region in the north of the country has also left some 60,000 Francophones on the 'wrong side of the border'. The Francophones of Flanders therefore need to be protected. The practical solution for these French speakers has been to create an exception for the communities in which they live called "communes à facilités." The Francophones who live in those communities can use French to communicate with the regional and federal public authorities. However, controversy has emerged over the definition, interpretation, and extent of these French language rights within Flemish territory. Among many Dutch speakers, the limited French language services are seen as a temporary exception to the principle of territoriality, a means of accommodating the linguistic minorities until they learn the language of the region sufficiently to communicate with public authorities. Although the minority rights in these designated zones have been entrenched in the Constitution, Flanders regularly demands their removal because they are an exception to the rule of territorially-based language. The Dutch speakers argue that the relation between the language groups has been settled by the federal organization of the Belgian state. Among Francophones, opinion on the language rights question is decidedly different. They regard the French speakers in Flanders as a minority in need of the same formal protection that the very small Dutch-speaking minority in Brussels has received. They reject the notion that the rights of these French speakers in Flanders should be seen as a transitional measure. On the contrary, they consider them to be fundamental and further argue that these rights should not be limited to only a small number of "communes à facilités." For instance, in certain municipalities with significant Francophone minorities French speakers have no protection at all. This includes the Francophones living in the major Flemish cities of Antwerp and Ghent. Belgium's Francophones refer to international law — particularly the Council of Europe's Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities — in demanding better protection in general for the Francophones in Flanders. They define the French speakers of Flanders as a minority that deserves proper cultural protection, whereas the Dutch speakers argue that linguistic rights should be based on a clear link between territory and the use of language. In short, the Dutch speakers do not agree that explicit linguistic or cultural rights should be given to minority groups living in the Dutch-speaking part of the country. This debate is typical of the public discourse that has been ongoing for decades in Belgium. Until the 1980s these disputes and the ensuing controversy caused the early demise of quite a number of Belgian governments. It is a testament to the current model that it has been able to withstand a high degree of difference of opinion and ambiguity.


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by thegreatwhitesharkeyPosted on December 11, 2018 March 26, 2021
A reading of this post is available via Spotify here
I remember trips with my father to lots of sporting venues. I have very vivid memories of visiting Croke Park, the home of Gaelic games, with its old wooden benches for seats, the dated scoreboard and the fencing that made a poor attempt at preventing pitch invasions.
Keith Duggan of the Irish Times captured the old Croke Park so vividly in a piece back in 2003:
The old Croke Park looked like it was dreamt up by Bram Stoker, all shadows and cobwebs and crepuscular faces peering out from narrow boxes as they pocketed your money. Even on scorching days, children under 12 walked around the place with blue lips. Men whose idea of a pleasurable afternoon was a good bout of bare-knuckle fighting trembled at the thought of visiting the jacks. The old stadium felt like it was set in frost and that was fine because thousands came on the principle that they would be warmed by the game. A great match was like standing in the night cold around a wood-lit barrel.
Even when I re-read this passage now, I am transported back to that space that exists only in my mind and I recall too, my first time at Lansdowne Road to see Ireland take on Wales. A few years later, trips to one of the world's oldest test grounds would be far more commonplace: schools' cup finals, witnessing Richie McCaw's 'Man of the Match' debut or seeing ROG hand-off Malcolm O'Kelly (yes, that is correct) and score as my friend JP, from Tipperary giddy with joy, beamed a few rows in front of me. These moments are etched so firmly in my being, they are almost palpable as I think over them now. Such places can reinforce and reignite the bonds between father and son, team-mate and team-mate, foes on the field but friends off of it, so vividly.
And so it was a privilege to take the team I coach to Twickenham for the Varsity Matches, Oxford vs Cambridge, last week. Having been so many times myself, it only dawned on me as we got off the bus: is this the first time for some of these lads to come to the home of English rugby? We soon discovered it was a very special occasion for five members of the group. I was eager to touch base with them throughout the day, wondering what memories they were forming in those moments as they watched one of the last great bastions of the amateur era, play out in front of them.
The Varsity Match: One of the most historic fixtures in rugby
Not only was it a privilege to watch such a historic fixture in Twickenham, but we are so fortunate to have been allowed to go in the first place. Any school teachers among you reading this will know the red-tape and hassle that organising an excursion can be. Now imagine trying to get such a trip in the penultimate week of term…
We were very fortunate that two main figures were crucial for this day to happen. The first is Dr Anna Stodter, whose Cambridge team we roared for in the Women's game that morning. My last post spoke of how much my coaches and I took from having her lead on one of our sessions. Most of my team had never had a female coach before and yet later that evening, the fact they were searching for clips from the women's game, proves how much they took from her session.
The second, and most integral person who was supportive of the trip was our Headmaster, Mr Gregg Davies, who has appreciated this project and has an innate understanding of what values rugby can bestow. Apparently he used to be a referee back in the day, even mentoring a very young Nigel Owens who officiated the Men's game later that day. These days he just tells me off for how scuffed my shoes look or why I am wearing a tracksuit instead of a suit at work.
Even a rugby-nerd such as myself had reservations about spending the guts of six hours to watch two games. I need not have worried as both games were incredible clashes which kept us entertained throughout. We had made a promise, as an Oxfordshire school, that we would shout for Anna's Cambridge in the first game and for the Oxford men (I couldn't have shouted against you Jagsy (Oxford Blue and now coach of the men's side) in the second game. We choose wisely as both the teams we backed, won their respective contests.
It was fascinating to see the ferocity and intensity of both games. We were are impressed by the physicality of the women's game as the players threw themselves in front of powerful ball carriers with little regard for their own bodies. The stadium would erupt into 'Ooo's and 'Ah's with each and every bone shuddering tackle put in by both teams.
When Amelia Miller of the light blues on the left-wing was announced as Player of the Match, I was a little surprised. She had been incredible in her defence and smashed numerous Oxford players in to touch throughout the afternoon. I just felt that Jennie Shuttleworth at 6 was everywhere around the park. She was at the heart of the brutal physical battle that at one stage, left her with a head clash and bloodied nose early in the first half.
Amelia Miller is interviewed after her stellar defensive performance for Cambridge
While she was impressive, her work-rate was matched by her twin sister Fiona on the other side of the scrum who was vying for the title of most dogged Shuttleworth on the park. There will be Oxford players feeling stiff and sort for days to come as a result of these two who were crucial to Cambridge's success.
Oxford finally cross the Cambridge line to make it 8-5 and with a few minutes left on the clock
It was great to analyse the game with the players on my team at half-time and full time. More than that, it was great for them to see such a good spectacle of rugby in such a historic ground. Arguments broke out over some of the tactical decisions made by both sides and which had been the biggest hit of the match. With the tense and nail-biting finish to the game, it was great to see Cambridge withstand the Oxford fightback and clinch the victory.
With the presentation being made in the stands, we were able to get close to the action to see the tankards presented to all the players and finally the trophy to Cambridge. With the cup-final feel, our lads were gripped by the whole sense of occasion as friends and families of the players hugged and posed for pictures. You could see the envy of many of the lads who began to dream of running out onto the hallowed turf to create their own memories.
The Trophy presentation
The Men's fixture did not disappoint either with a close tussle in the first half being easily taken by Oxford in the end. Again, it was good to reflect and discuss what the players noticed in this game. Some felt Cambridge had done well to stay with Oxford while others thought there was greater quality across the dark blues.
On the bus home, I readied a surprise for each of the team. We were heading back to school to a rugby dinner which would also see the team presented with various awards: colours, most improved player, player of the season and others. It would be another evening of firsts as many had never been to a formal rugby dinner before. It need to be a quick turn-around as people needed to change into uniforms or black-tie.
Before we got off the bus, I realised too that the lads had a surprise for me as they presented me with a gift. I am not going to lie, there was a point where I feared they had got me some England jersey but clearly they know me far better than this as they had all signed an Irish rugby ball which is a fantastic memento for the past two seasons.
What the team did not know was I had been in touch with their parents, asking them to write their sons a letter describing why they enjoyed seeing them play rugby or what they think they have learned from being part of this sport and this team. The idea was a variation on something Stuart Lancaster had done for the England team when he took the head coaching job. He contacted past coaches and family members to get them to record what it meant to see them play for England.
With this being the last time this team would be this team- some will move onto other schools for their final two years and they will play with another year group for the first time – I wanted to mark this and so we presented these letters at the end of the dinner. I hope that both players and their parents got something from the opportunity to express what they mean to one another. Even if they do not manage to hold onto the physical letters for years to come, in the same way I remember those trips with my father and friends, hopefully they too will not forget the feeling they had when writing and reading them.
Posted in Cultures, Masculinity, Rugby, Shiplake, Team, Uncategorized, Women's RugbyTagged Cambridge, Oxford, Varsity
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A Universal Heart with a Wonderful A.I. Mind
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Publicado el 8 de sept. de 2015
The Artificial Intelligence Explosion & the Singularity
The Sharing Economy, an enabler of Abundance
The Rise of Altruism Economy, the 4th Sector
Technological singularity seems plausible and recent advancements in machine learning and AI suggest the 'intelligent explosion' event is within reach in this century.
An arms race of narrow AI entities will happen in the framework of today's traditional economy. Strong intelligence or AGI will eventually emerge followed by an explosion of intelligence.
New globalization processes driven by technology are fuelling the sharing economy, as well as the 4th sector where public, non-profit, social and mission oriented enterprises are converging.
gaheyiju
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Brandon Wirtz , CEO and Founder at Recognant
ML is what powers Speech to Text / Voice Recognition and Computer Translation. Both of these are at the same 80% solution and have stagnated despite having Trillion of data points in the form or speech interactions and translated documents. If you are betting on ML for "singularity" in the next 100 years you are betting that the deceleration of progress is going to happen and that is contrary to the evidence. Strong Intelligence is not eventual. There are a few of them in existence today. The Challenge with Strong intelligence is like a Human Baby vs a puppy. If you judge a human baby at 8 months vs a puppy at 8 months you will quickly conclude that humans are inferior. SI as a take over the world is not something you will manage. If I wanted to take my not ready for singularity AI and have it to trillions of dollars of damage to the world economy I could. I don't know how to profit from that, so I don't. But if I were a terrorist, I would make the economic impact of 9/11 look like a missed earnings at Apple. Slide3: The Hockey stick doesn't work. See the first point from previous slide. ML learns less from each future data point. As far as I know I have the only AI that writes its own code. That is a Unicorn. ML will be a LONG LONG time before it writes code, and the code would be of a type that was not based on ML, since ML is basically unchanged in the past 10 year. Slide 4 See above. Slide 5 Computer Neurons and Computer calculations are not an analog. It takes nearly zero calculations for you to recognize your mom's voice, or in the "Stranger things" the sound of your son's breathing. The computer calculation to do that is huge. You can't calculate the cost of a human analog. If you could you could simply use all of the power of AWS or Google AppEngine and be bound only by economics, not software. Slide 6: Evolution didn't create a path to Natural Intelligence. The virus is the most successful "living" thing on the planet. Intelligence is counter to evolution. Ants, and Emergent systems are the success story of nature. Humans that are working hard to destroy our selves are the anti-thesis to that. Slide 7: Direct Programming is not really hard. It is easy that is why we have done it for so long. Brain emulation is what ML currently is, and doesn't work. Mind Simulation (what I do) Is very different. Simulated Evolution is ML and doesn't work for entirely different reasons, it throws away data to make more efficient systems at a sacrifice to accuracy. The deck goes down hill really fast from here. Slide 18: We are no closer to quantum computing than cold fusion, and other than for a few types of cryptography and traveling salesman problems quantum computing has no application for AI. Slide 24: Atari AI is not doing AI. it is doing outcome pruning. Which is useful but is 20 year old tech that nobody cares about since we proved 15 years ago it doesn't help. (PS Nobody is impressed with baking soda and vinegar volcanoes at science fairs) Slide 25 See 18 points Slide 26 People made good decisions with less data, More data doesn't accelerated AI it slows it down. I appreciate that you used many of the same Randall Munroe images I use, but you missed the point of them in almost every case. This deck does a lot of disservice to the AI community, especially to those looking to make smart investments in the space.
Wentao Huang , Researcher in brain-inspired AI, machine learning, deep learning, computational neuroscience, and information theory at Researcher
Neeraj Kumar Singal , Entrepreneur- Rail/ Defence/Electric Vehicle/Charging Stations|YPO| HBS Alumni| Strategic Angel Investor at Lightyear infratech
Jose C. Gonzalez , CEO at MeaningCloud at MeaningCloud
GridLink.es at GridLink.es
Jorge Marquez , CEO & Founder at EstudNET at EstudNET
1. a Universal Heart with a Wonderful A.I. Mind The A.rtificial I.ntelligence Explosion & the Singularity The Sharing Economy, an enabler of Abundance The Rise of Altruism Economy, the 4th Sector @efernandez
2. Food for thought (conclusions) •  Technological singularity seems plausible and recent advancements in machine learning and AI suggest the 'intelligent explosion' event is within reach in this century. •  An arms race of narrow AI entities will happen in the framework of today's traditional economy. Strong intelligence or AGI will eventually emerge followed by an explosion of intelligence. •  New globalization processes driven by technology are fueling the sharing economy, as well as the 4th sector where public, non-profit, social and mission oriented enterprises are converging. •  The 4th sector is poised to grow and thrive; mission driven enterprises will have more resources enabling them to play a key role shaping the right path for AI evolution. •  'good' and 'bad' AI entities will coexist in the context of traditional and new economy environments (self-interest vs altruistic economies) •  We, humans, as a species, can succeed managing the risks of a super intelligence event as we did in the past overcoming other technology threats. A Universal Heart with a Wonderful Mind.
3. The Intelligence Explosion Let an ultraintelligent machine be defined as a machine that can far surpass all the intellectual activities of any man however clever. Since the design of machines is one of these intellectual activities, an ultraintelligent machine could design even better machines; there would then unquestionably be an intelligence explosion, and the intelligence of man would be left far behind. Thus the first ultraintelligent machine is the last invention that man need ever make. I.J. Good, 1965
4. Criteria: CPS = Calculations per Second per $1000 cost computer Threshold: •  Human brain at 1016 CPS •  Entire human race at 1026 CPS Given historical data: •  In 2023 we reach human brain capacity with a $1000 computer •  In 2049 we reach human race capacity with a $1000 computer Human vs Computer * Ray Kurzweil. The Singularity is near.
5. The Path to A.I. • Why believe there will be AI? • Evolution got here, dumbly? (2nd law of thermodynamics: energy dissipation as a driver of evolution*) • We can get there too. *Jeremy England, new thermodynamic theory explains life evolution http://bigthink.com/ideafeed/mit-physicist-proposes-new-meaning-of-life
6. Different Paths to AI • Direct programming: Really hard. • Brain emulation: Interesting. • Machine Learning: looks promising. • Simulated evolution: self improving systems.
7. Singularity is: A point of time in future when humanity won't be able to keep up with artificial technology developments. Nonbiological intelligence will have access to its own design and will be able to improve itself in an increasingly rapid redesign cycle. Singularity = self improving A.I.
8. Singularity: can't see the forest for the trees •  Q: But how can it be the case that we can reliably predict the overall progression of these technologies if we cannot even predict the outcome of a single project? •  R. Kurzweil: Predicting which company or product will succeed is indeed very difficult, if not impossible. The same difficulty occurs in predicting which technical design or standard will prevail. For example, how will the wireless- communication protocols Wimax, CDMA, and 3G fare over the next several years? However, as I argue extensively in the book, we find remarkably precise and predictable exponential trends when assessing the overall effectiveness (as measured in a variety of ways) of information technologies. And as I mentioned above, information technology will ultimately underlie everything of value. •  Q: But how can that be? •  R. Kurzweil: We see examples in other areas of science of very smooth and reliable outcomes resulting from the interaction of a great many unpredictable events. Consider that predicting the path of a single molecule in a gas is essentially impossible, but predicting the properties of the entire gas—comprised of a great many chaotically interacting molecules—can be done very reliably through the laws of thermodynamics. Analogously, it is not possible to reliably predict the results of a specific project or company, but the overall capabilities of information technology, comprised of many chaotic activities, can nonetheless be dependably anticipated through what I call "the law of accelerating returns."
9. Technology adoption cycle
10. e.g. smartphones It's difficult to estimate penetration of individual players (no one predicted android or iphone) But we can predict with accuracy overall smartphone penetration in market. h/t Asymco.com
11. And everything else h/t Horace Dediu Asymco.com
12. Technology drivers: Moore's law
13. Exponential evolution
& Moore's law: From vaccuum lamps to transistors to molecular electronics (quantum computing – spintronics, the quest for the spin transistor) •  There are limits to the exponential growth inherent in each paradigm. •  Moore's law was not the first paradigm to bring exponential growth to computing (it was 5th). Vaccuum lamps were there before, overtaken by transistors. •  Each time we can see the end of the road for a paradigm, it creates research quest for the pressure to create the next one. That's happening now with Moore's law, even though we are still about fifteen years away from the end of our ability to shrink transistors on a flat integrated circuit (i.e More than Moore MtM technologies) •  We're making dramatic progress in creating the sixth paradigm, which is three-dimensional molecular computing
14. The next tech paradigm:
MtM - More than Moore
15. 6 tech paradigms
16. Quantum computing: timeline2013 •  Coherent superposition of an ensemble of approximately 3 billion qubits for 39 minutes at room temperature. The previous record was 2 seconds.[155] 2014 •  Documents leaked by Edward Snowden confirm the Penetrating Hard Targets project,[156] by which the National Security Agency seeks to develop a quantum computing capability for cryptography purposes.[157][158][159] •  Scientists transfer data by quantum teleportation over a distance of 10 feet (3.048 meters) with zero percent error rate, a vital step towards a quantum internet.[160][161] 2015 •  Optically addressable nuclear spins in a solid with a six-hour coherence time.[162] •  Quantum information encoded by simple electrical pulses.[163] •  Quantum error detection code using a square lattice of four superconducting qubits[164]
17. Evidence of an Explosion of Intelligence Intelligence Explosion: Evidence and Import Luke Muehlhauser, Anna Salamon. Machine Intelligence Research Institute https://intelligence.org/files/IE-EI.pdf The best answer to the question, "Will computers ever be as smart as humans?" is probably "Yes, but only briefly" - Vernor Vinge
18. From data to A.I.
A natural evolution
19. Atari games
no longer for humans G o o g l e ' s Deep Mind AI group Atari reinforcement deep machine learning model is a recent example. The model, based on a convolutional neural network, interprets raw pixels from Atari's Arcade games of the 80ies. The machine learns to play the games and outputs an estimation of future rewards. It beats a human expert on three of the six games tested and outperforms any previous approach.
20. Intelligence Accelerators I 1. More than Moore (MtM) Hardware technology (quantum computing, spintronics) 2. Better & more efficient algorithms. IBM's Deep Blue played chess at the level of world champion Garry Kasparov in 1997 using about 1.5 trillion instructions per second (TIPS), but a program called Deep Junior did it in 2003 using only 0.015 TIPS. Thus, the computational efficiency of the chess algorithms increased by a factor of 100 in only six years (Richards and Shaw 2004).
21. Intelligence Accelerators II 3. Big Data & Analytics (Massive datasets). The greatest leaps forward in speech recognition and translation software have come not from faster hardware or smarter hand-coded algorithms, but from access to massive data sets of human-transcribed and human- translated words (Halevy, Norvig, and Pereira 2009). Datasets are expected to increase greatly in size in the coming decades, and several technologies promise to actually outpace "Kryder's law" (Kryder and Kim 2009), which states that magnetic disk storage density doubles approximately every 18 months (Walter 2005).
22. Intelligence Accelerators III 4. Progress in psychology and neuroscience. Cognitive scientists have uncovered many of the brain's algorithms that contribute to human intelligence (Trappenberg 2009; Ashby and Helie 2011). Methods like neural networks (imported from neuroscience) and reinforcement learning (inspired by behaviorist psychology) have already resulted in significant AI progress, and experts expect this insight-transfer from neuroscience to AI to continue and accelerate (Van der Velde 2010; Schierwagen 2011; Floreano and Mattiussi 2008; de Garis et al. 2010; Krichmar and Wagatsuma 2011). 5. Accelerated crowd sourced science efforts. Finally, new collaborative tools, open source projects and other corporate driven initiatives as Google Scholar are already yielding results such as the Polymath Project, which is rapidly and collaboratively solving open problems in mathematics (Nielsen 2011).
23. Intelligence Accelerators IV 6. Economic incentives As the capacities of "narrow AI" programs approach the capacities of humans in more domains (Koza 2010), there will be increasing demand to replace human workers with cheaper, more reliable machine workers (Hanson 2008, 1998; Kaas et al. 2010; Brynjolfsson and McAfee 2011). First-mover incentives. AI could make a small group more powerful— a case of "bringing a gun to a knife fight." A "winner takes all" scenario. Thus, political and private actors who realize that AI is within reach may devote substantial resources to developing AI, provoking an AI arms race (Gubrud 1997).
24. Heavy development of narrow AI will lead to strong AI, eventually leading also to 'bad' AI or 'misused' AI in the same way other technologies were and are wrongfully used. The 2004 Madrid train bombers, who killed 191 people and wounding 1,800, downloaded their bomb-making instructions from the Internet. After the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing, anonymous UseNet posts criticized the construction of the bomb, and offered suggestions on how to overcome the failure of the bomb to do its maximum intended damage. 'Good' & 'Bad' A.I.
25. The emerging 4th sector of the economy Social & mission driven enterprises and the AI arms race. Agent Smith Clone 1: It is purpose that created us. Agent Smith Clone 2: Purpose that connects us. Agent Smith Clone 3: Purpose that pulls us. Agent Smith Clone 4: That guides us. Agent Smith Clone 5: That drives us. Agent Smith Clone 6: It is purpose that defines us. Agent Smith Clone 7: Purpose that binds us. -  From the movie: The Matrix Revolutions Any entity & system exists for a reason, a purpose, and an objective to meet* * There may be a self-programmed system capable of redefining its own objectives through learning processes
26. The 4th Sector: social economy
27. 'hybrid' enterprises
28. Toms' Shoes: the 'one for one' business model concept blends footwear sales with donation, making the buyer a benefactor for impoverished children each time a pair of shoes is sold. The company has given away more than 20M shoes, became a global brand with global presence and extended its businesses into other categories such as eyewear, bags and coffee. Given its growth and notoriety, Toms is probably the poster child of 'conscious capitalism' of our times.
29. The Sharing Economy: enabler of Abundance •  Sharing economy players create aggressive low end disruptions (lowest price) in each and every industry. •  Untap value from idle resources increasing the offer in market •  Enable access to products & services on demand (Fremium & Subscription) •  Change economy paradigm: from transactional ownership to on demand access •  EaaS: Everything as a Service will eventually lead to abundance and ultimately, foster altruism. •  Abundance & Altruism form the basis of new economy (4th sector)
30. The sharing economy has already created $17 Bn companies, with 60.000 employees and 10 Unicorns (startups with value above $1Bn).
31. Clash of Economies / Clash of (narrow) A.I. (the invisible hand is left behind)
*h/t Graciela GarciaAn Universal Heart* with a Wonderful (A.I.) Mind
32. Food for Thought (conclusions) •  Technological singularity seems plausible and recent advancements in machine learning and AI suggest the 'intelligent explosion' event is within reach in this century. •  An arms race of narrow AI entities will happen in the framework of today's traditional economy. Strong intelligence or AGI will eventually emerge followed by an explosion of intelligence. •  New globalization processes driven by technology are fueling the sharing economy, as well as the 4th sector where public, non-profit, social and mission oriented enterprises are converging. •  The 4th sector is poised to grow and thrive; mission driven enterprises will have more resources enabling them to play a key role shaping the right path for AI evolution. •  'good' and 'bad' AI entities will coexist in the context of traditional and new economy environments (self-interest vs altruistic economies) •  We, humans, as a species, can succeed managing the risks of a super intelligence event as we did in the past overcoming other technology threats. A Universal Heart with a Wonderful Mind.
33. Afterthoughts* •  These are issues determining the future of the human race •  We have entered the exponential technology age, this is a fact making AI a self-fulfilling prophecy. •  Who will benefit from it it's still to be seen. •  It's about fulfilling basic needs of people but, more importantly, providing sense of purpose in life (Maslow's hierarchy of needs re- visited) •  Wealth distribution, equity and contribution to society will be key drivers in a new context. Politicians (& our political systems) are not ready for this. •  There is a need for a philosophical framework around the new technology paradigm, given the impact in humans (and humanity). •  Artificial Intelligence is a major step forward in technology. We need to develop policies and mechanisms to ensure the human race at large benefits from it. (*h/t Antonio Mansilla. )
34. Acknowledgements (in progress): Turing 1950-1951 Good 1959,65,70,82 Von Neumann 1966 Minsky 1984 Solomonoff 1985 Vinge 1993 Kurzweil 2005 Yudkowsky 2008 Nilsson 2009 Chalmers 2010 Hutter 2012 to my father, Eduardo Fernandez who inspired me to write during endless hours together at the hospital (where he still was recovering by the time this was posted) …and for making me who I am @efernandez Ed Fernandez Fundacion Tatiana Perez de Guzman UIMP Universidad Menendez Pelayo Albert Cortina Miquel-Angel Serra Alvaro Matud Graciela Garcia Maite Garcia Martina Fernandez Antonio Mansilla Alberto Buendia Peter J.M. Simons Alvaro Plaza Roberto Fernandez
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Contracting is an inherently risky business. After all, the business involves intense competition in order to get a job. Contractors unsuccessful in winning a bid are often out-of-luck and unable to do anything. Contractors that bid on Requests For Proposal (RFP) can face stiff rivalry from other contractors. Especially for RFPs that involve million-dollar projects, coming up on top for a bid is an accomplishment in itself.
Written by Chad on February 13, 2015 . Posted in Reverse proxy service, What is an sftp server, What is ftp?
File transfer services is one of the most important features of the Internet. Whether it is sending a simple email or sharing a 20 gigabyte file, file transfers are what make the Internet tick. There are a variety of data delivery methods available such as FTP, SFTP, PGP, etc. However, all of these data delivery services have at least one thing in common: they use encryption services in one way or another. Encryption, above all else, is what protects the Internet and its contents from serious harm.


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What can the Internet of Things Market Learn from Telecom?
The Internet of Things is widely perceived as a hot market and has the usual hockey stick projections of massive growth laid out by market researchers such as Gartner and IHS Markit. In this post, I'd like to consider one broad slice of the IoT market, the Industrial Internet of Things (aka IIoT), which applies IoT technology to address business problems. Let's also consider if the IIoT industry could benefit from lessons learned by an adjacent market, Telecom.
Last year, Dialogic, the company I where I worked in Product Management, started looking at the Internet of Things (IoT) as a potential market where some of our telecom expertise could come into play. I wrote about my experience in exploring a product concept for an IoT gateway in a post earlier this year.
The IIoT market has had good success so far by tackling individual problems within vertical markets and spinning up solutions. There have also been attempts to create a de facto standard architecture for IoT, such as the platform architecture specification developed by Intel. One of the challenges for IIoT is the proliferation of different vertical markets. In my last role at Dialogic, I talked with several companies that support monitoring applications in areas as diverse as home health care, security and vehicular emergency services. These companies are prime candidates to use IIoT technologies, but their current implementations often run over the circuit-switched network, make extensive use of proprietary technologies and sometimes use dial-up modem connections. So a common challenge for many of these companies is the need to move forward and evolve solutions that will be well suited to the emerging technological environment of IP-based networks and take advantage of newer software approaches such as virtualization.
So what could these IIoT companies learn from the experience of telecom solution providers? Part of the solution may be to look at the standards-based toolkit that has emerged as Telecom has swapped out it's own network. Both mobile and fixed telecom networks have moved over to IP and solutions are usually built using the Session Initiation Protocol (SIP). Mobile networks are currently a hybrid of IP and circuit-switched technologies, but the data portion of the network that would apply for many IoT solutions has been all IP since 3G networks were implemented and has been greatly enhanced with the fourth generation Long Term Evolution (LTE) networks. SIP has been widely used for voice and other applications, but other technologies such as WebRTC have emerged which provide standards-based approaches to build applications which support both multimedia (such as voice or video) and data. The common element of the next gen IP networks, SIP and WebRTC mentioned above is that they were built using standards approved by international bodies such as the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) and the Third Generation Partnership Program (3GPP).
One of the key challenges for companies building IIoT applications and infrastructure will be to have solutions that can scale from very small to very large implementations and to use approaches which don't need to be revamped to address markets in different countries. The leaders of IIoT have been able to solve customer problems from the bottom up, but the challenges of scale and addressing multiple geographic markets will benefit greatly from the use of standards. These may consist of existing standards, such as those which support mobile connectivity, and building out new standards which are well targeted to solving IoT problems and enable the development of eco-systems that will promote best of breed solutions. In summary, the use of existing and new standards is a way that Industrial Internet of Things providers can leverage lessons learned in the telecom to massively expand the available market for their solutions.
If you or your company are participants in driving change in the Industrial Internet of Things market, feel free to weigh in with comments. If you'd like to explore strategies on how to evolve your application solutions or other IoT products and services to leverage standards and better address the rapidly changing industrial environment, you can reach me on LinkedIn or on our web site.
Filed under Communications Standards, Industrial Internet of Things, Telecom Tagged with Communication Standards, Internet of Things, standards, Telecom
More Business Disruption: Telecom's Move to IP
In the late Nineties, the Telecom business was dominated by big companies who had built their phone network over many years using switching technology. But a massive storm was on the horizon as the same IP technology which helped revolutionize commerce on the world wide web started to be applied to phone-based voice communications. Early attempts at Voice over IP were primarily targeted to the long distance market. International long distance calling was expensive, so a number of startups began to bypass the traditional long distance network with a much lower cost IP network. The quality wasn't great, but the price per call over international routes dropped dramatically and IP infrastructure and solutions gathered momentum.
The early leader in IP protocols for voice was the H.323 protocol developed within the traditional standards group for phone networks, the International Telecommunications Union (ITU). But competitive protocol models were also on the rise. The Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) developed a new IP communications protocol, the Session Identification Protocol (SIP) and both the IETF and ITU worked on a softswitch protocol called Megaco (later standardized by the ITU as H.248).
Around 2001, two important organizations endorsed SIP and the train which would ultimately displace much of the traditional switched phone network was set in motion. Microsoft had been an early user of H.323 and had added it to their instant messaging client support and included multi-point data sharing using T series protocols from the ITU. But Microsoft decided their future communications would be SIP-based and quickly phased out use of H.323. Then, the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), a standards group which had specified the very popular second generation wireless protocol GSM, said that they would be using SIP to build their next generation network and shift both data and voice services over to IP.
But first, the core SIP protocol needed to be finished. IETF participants likely spent millions of manhours and devised an updated version of SIP which got standardized in June, 2002 as RFC 3261, along with 4 other RFCs for related methods and operations. But this was just the beginning. In the time since, the IETF has produced at least 100 SIP-related documents which are either standards track or informational to guide SIP developers.
On the business side, it took quite a while, but the current public phone networks have largely cut over to IP, although there are still elements of the switched network in place. In the world of mobile communications, the fourth generation network specified by 3GPP was the first to use SIP in its core. The related Long Term Evolution (LTE) network has been deployed throughout the world, although the voice portion of the network (Voice over LTE) has lagged behind. The move to LTE and SIP has required a massive investment in new capital equipment and software by mobile service providers and most of that deployment dates from about 2012. On the business side the industry has experienced lots of turmoil during the period between 2001 and 2012. One of the biggest equipment vendors, Nortel, declared Chapter 11 and chunks were sold off to other companies before the company went out of business. Many of the remaining vendors have gone through multiple mergers and acquisitions, greatly reducing both the number of telecom related companies and the number of employees.
The other major SIP endorser from 2001, Microsoft, has shifted its IP voice communications strategy numerous times, but one of it's flagship offerings, Skype for Business, is predominately based on SIP. Microsoft's use of SIP is primarily within enterprises, though they have also been a strong advocate of SIP Trunking, which enables enterprises to connect to the service provider IP phone network. In the meantime, Microsoft has many competitors in the enterprise voice and communications space, but SIP remains a dominant technology. Vestiges of circuit-based phone systems remain, but all of the major players have long since switched their current product and service offers to be IP-based.
IP and SIP are doing well, but voice is now a much smaller portion of the communications business and service providers make much of their money from data services. The era of premise-based equipment is also winding down, as the shift to IP has enabled companies to move both service provider and enterprise applications to the massive conglomeration of servers known as The Cloud. I'll be writing more in future posts about lessons learned from the Telecom move to IP and on how the move to the Cloud is also causing major business disruptions.
If you or your company participated in the Telecom move to IP, feel free to weigh in with comments. If you'd like to explore strategies on how to evolve your application solutions or other products and services to in the face of rapid business and technical change, you can reach me on LinkedIn or on our web site.
Filed under Business Models, Communications Standards, Communications Technology, Enterprise Communications, Telecom Tagged with 3GPP, Business Disruption, Enterprise Communications, IETF, IP, ITU, Microsoft, SIP, Telecom, VoIP


The Secret life of bees is the story of Lily, a teenager on a peach farm in South Carolina whose mother died when she was young and whose father is abusive.
In practice Lily is raised by the black housekeeper, Rosaleen. When Rosaleen gets in a fight with some white men while she is going into town to register to vote, Lily and Rosaleen decide to take off together.
They end up in a unique community that is the perfect place for Lily to look for her mother and learn to love herself.
Southern summer nights come alive in this novel, and you can almost taste the Coke with peanuts floating in it. There is enough suspense to keep the Secret life of bees interesting.
Race issues run through the novel, and conveying the underlying tensions and inequalities that existed in the South in the 1960's.
I recommend the Secret life of Bees. It makes a thoughtful read.
This title is available in Book, DVD, CD and downloadable Ebook formats.
When the Igbo people of eastern Nigeria seceded in 1967 to form the independent nation of Biafra, a bloody, crippling three-year civil war followed. That period in African history is captured with haunting intimacy in this artful page-turner from Nigerian novelist Adichie (Purple Hibiscus). Adichie tells her profoundly gripping story primarily through the eyes and lives of Ugwa, a 13-year-old peasant houseboy who survives conscription into the raggedy Biafran army, and twin sisters Olanna and Kainene, who are from a wealthy and well-connected family. Tumultuous politics power the plot, and several sections are harrowing, particularly passages depicting the savage butchering of Olanna and Kainene's relatives. But this dramatic, intelligent epic has its lush sultry side as well: rebellious Olanna is the mistress of Odenigbo, a university professor brimming with anticolonial zeal: business-minded Kainene takes as her lover fair-haired, blue-eyed Richard, a British expatriate come to Nigeria to write a book about Igbo-Ukwu art - and whose relationship with Kainene nearly ruptures when he spends one drunken night with Olanna. This is a transcendent novel of many descriptive triumphs, most notably its depiction of the impact of war's brutalities on peasants and intellectuals alike. It's a searing history lesson in fictional form, intensely evocative and immensely absorbing.
It was interesting from an historical perspective because if your household was like mine growing up your parents often said "eat your dinner there are people in Biafra that are starving". I always presumed it was because of famine, drought etc. not because of a civil war.
Meet Angel Tungaraza, a Tanzanian woman recently moved to Rwanda with her husband and their five orphaned grandchildren. Angel's specialty is baking the perfect cake for any special occasion, and we meet various characters in her Rwandan community and learn of their challenges, culture, and history. Angel is part counselor, part matchmaker, mentor, and enforcer. Through her, Parkin portrays the strength of so many women whose lives have been marked by war, genocide, AIDS, genital mutation and more, but these serious subjects are interwoven with hilarity, compassion, and humour. Fans of Precious Ramotswe will enjoy this.
Set in the eleventh century, The Physician by Noah Gordon, is the tantalizing story of Rob J. Cole, a penniless orphan who is blessed with a gift which, in those days of superstition, would send a man to the stake. Rob could sense the chill hand of death when it settled on the living. Knowing that he was destined to be a healer, he embarks on an often perilous journey that takes him from disease-ridden London, across bandit-ridden Europe, to Persia where he hopes to study with the famous physician Avicenna. The university will accept Muslims and Jews, but not Christians, so Rob disguises himself as a Jew. His intense desire to learn all he can drives Rob through the fear and danger of discovery, through war, plague and the cruel prejudices of both mullahs and clerics.
I first read The Physician 20 years ago, and have read it three times since then. Noah Gordon has given us a rich adventure, strong characters and settings. When I read this book, I can almost imagine that I am in the crowded streets of London, or the dusty roads of Isfahan.
Winner of the 2010 Giller award, Johanna Skibsrud, a Nova Scotia poet, has created a semi-autobiographical novel, loosely based on the psychological damage incurred by her father in the Vietnam Conflict. We are introduced to the narrator, fleeing troubles of her own, who finds her father in the twilight of his life. The father Napoleon Haskell, has moved from a North Dakota trailer park to a small Ontario town, adjacent to the father of a friend who had been killed in Vietnam. This town itself has been recreated on the banks of a manmade lake. Under the water is the wreckage of what had been the town and the home of his dead comrade's father. We discover that Napoleon, a gruff but tenderhearted and comedic drunk, has never really recovered from an incident that occurred in Vietnam. Flashbacks to the war begin to illustrate why Napoleon had become an agent of his own destruction. It is only at the end of the novel that we discover through the transcripts of a military enquiry, the real cause of his troubles.
This is not an easy novel to read. While it is well written using poetic precision, one often hopes to learn more about some of the other people we are introduced to. We are, however charmed by the relationship between Napoleon and his daughter. In a time when Canadians are welcoming back our damaged soldiers from another war in Asia, it is clear that the author has touched a deep nerve.
This is a touching literary work, a somber story about the emotional ghosts of war and the unreliable nature of memory. If you are looking a quick, satisfying happy ending, you will not find it here. You will find a first novel from which unfolds the story of how this woman really got to know her father.
This title is available in Book and Ebook formats.
Before Stephanie can even step foot off Flight 127 Hawaii to Newark, she's knee deep in trouble. Her dream vacation turned into a nightmare, and she's flying back to New Jersey solo. Worse still, her seatmate never returned to the plane after the L.A. layover. Now he's dead. His killer could be anyone. A ragtag collection of thugs, psychos and the FBI, are all looking for a photograph the dead man was supposed to be carrying. Only one other person has seen the missing photo - Stephanie Plum. Now she's the target.
Over at the bail bonds agency things are going from bad to worse. The bonds bus serving as cousin Vinnie's temporary HQ goes up in smoke. Stephanie's co-worker Lula, falls in love with their largest skip yet. Joyce Barnhardt moves into Stephanie's apartment. And everyone wants to know what happened while Stephanie was on vacation.
Morelli, Trenton's hottest cop, isn't talking about Hawaii. Ranger, man of mystery, isn't talking about Hawaii. And all Stephanie is willing to say about her vacation is ... it's complicated.
If you want like to read a mystery that will make you laugh out loud - this is the book for you.
This title is available in Book, CD, Large Print, Downloadable Ebook and Audiobook formats.
Vienna 1770: Baron Wolfgang von Kempelen unveils a strange and amazing invention, The Mechanical Turk, a sensational and unbeatable chess-playing automaton. But what the habsburg court hails as the greatest innovation of the century is really nothing more than a brilliant illusion. The chess machine is secretly operated from inside by the Italian dwarf Tibor, a God-fearing social outcast whose chess-playing abilities and diminutive size make him the perfect accomplice in this grand hoax.
Von Kempelen tours his remarkable invention all around Europe to amaze and entertain the public, but despite many close calls, no one is able to beat the extraordinary chess machine. The crowds all across Europe adore the Turk, and the success of Baron von Kempelen seems assured. But when a beautiful and seductive countess dies under suspicion, and the machine and his inventor become the targets of espionage, persecution, and aristocratic intrigue. What is the dark secret behind this automaton and what strange powers does it hold? The Chess Machine is a daring and remarkable tale, based on a true story, full of envy, lust, scandal and deception.
An amazing work of historical fiction! I've read it again and again!