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MiFID II research rules concern bond managers
Some see dire consequences ahead, fear liquidity crunch
Sophie Baker
Robert Tjalondo
Jack Inglis is predicting some trouble down the road with fixed-income research because of the new European regulations.
Money managers and other industry representatives are divided on the impact the incoming Markets in Financial Instruments Directive II will have on bond research and liquidity.
The rules, known as MiFID II, come into play Jan. 3 and, among other things, will require all financial firms doing business in the European Union to disclose research costs as a distinct line item, unbundling them from execution payments. Another part of the rules will enhance pre- and post-trade reporting requirements.
While much has been said of the impact of MiFID II on the equities market, some executives working at money management firms and industry associations feel less has been covered regarding the impact on fixed-income markets — but that there could be far-reaching consequences in terms of the level of research available and, potentially, liquidity.
Speaking at Pensions & Investments' WorldPensionSummit in The Hague, Netherlands, last month, Jack Inglis, CEO at the Alternative Investment Managers Association, London, voiced his concerns over MiFID II. "The impact on the market is there's going to be less research. I think we're most likely to see the impact in fixed-income research," he said, citing surveys showing about a 66% reduction in the production of fixed-income research going forward. "So all this means there's less rigorous original thought in the marketplace for the investment process, and I would suggest that may be a problem."
Sources at other organizations and money managers agreed there might be far-reaching effects on certain areas of fixed-income research.
"Where asset managers will need research in fixed income might be in areas that could  see a shortfall after this change because of unbundling and broker-dealers not providing" research, said Patrik Karlsson, director, market practice and regulatory policy at the International Capital Market Association and secretary of its Asset Management and Investors' Council in London. "If you are running an actively managed fund, you will want to provide alpha and want to pay for the inputs to your fund that create alpha. Where that is more valuable (may be) high yield, (collateralized loan obligations, residential mortgage-backed securities), covered bonds, emerging markets — not necessarily your vanilla corporate bonds from large issuers."
There might be unintended consequences for new issues, off-the-run names and research of smaller companies, where coverage of the market is likely to decrease said Mark Wade, London-based head of industrials and utilities research at Allianz Global Investors.
"That means that the views circulating are more restricted, it means that when something bad happens or somebody goes to sell a block of bonds, the ability for somebody to go out and explain that to the market, and for that risk to be distributed freely and without impact on market pricing, is compromised. The less research we have out there circulating, the more vulnerable the market is to spurious comments, speculation and research. That is something that, on the wrong day … has an impact on liquidity and market pricing," said Mr. Wade.
BlueBay Asset Management's Spencer Woodward, director of investment operations in London, said the firm expects a "mixed reaction to research availability. Most of the banks we have spoken to will continue to provide research, but we may see a longer-term decline depending on how the economics work out."
But there are nuances in the research-related impact.
"Within the fixed-income space there is a lot of macroeconomic research," Mr. Karlsson said, noting that guidance from the European Securities and Markets Authority says some macroeconomic research can still be free as a minor, non-monetary benefit — the term for something that isn't research as an inducement.
This type of research cannot be specific to an investment strategy, "but if it is just market color about interest rates, etc., it can be free."
There is also the potential for enhanced in-house analysis and independent providers of research to step into the void left by banks.
Gary Kirk, London-based partner and portfolio manager on TwentyFour Asset Management LLP's Strategic Income Fund, said the impact of MiFID II on fixed-income research availability will not be as bad as first anticipated.
"The overall charge from the key research suppliers has gradually reduced from the initial levels indicated when the MiFID II rules were announced. End-users will obviously have to select the research from those houses they believe produce the best quality, and hence the volumes received and used will generally reduce; but the overall level of quality information available to investment professionals is not expected to be diluted," said Mr. Kirk.
The incoming rules have led money managers to make a number of moves. Some have increased their in-house research capabilities, bringing analysts on board to help deepen and broaden their own work. Others have conducted analysis of the research they source externally from banks and broker-dealers, which has helped them to make decisions on their future use of this research. And in terms of compliance with the rules, many have publicly announced their intention to foot the bill for the external research they use, rather than passing on the cost to their clients.
Developments in U.S.
There have also been developments in the U.S. related to MiFID II. The Securities and Exchange Commission last month issued guidance stating U.S. money managers will be allowed to unbundle research and execution costs and not violate their fiduciary duty.
"One of the more vexed issues is the treatment and definition of investment research," said Julian Allen-Ellis, London-based director at the Association for Financial Markets in Europe. "We've achieved a significant win on the provision of research from third countries into Europe, which was a big problem."
"Firms should note that similar issues may persist with regard to other third-country jurisdictions, with respect of being able to accept unbundled commissions and payments for research. AFME is monitoring those issues and plans to addresses them to the EU Commission at an appropriate time," added Mr. Allen-Ellis.
He said the way the research market is shaping up is interesting, with discussions ongoing about models, price points and engagement. "The market will find its own level but that's not going to be a painless process."
From an industry point of view, the biggest losers are likely to be the smaller money managers that do not have in-house research, said sources. "They will have higher costs and potentially a narrower range of research available to them," said Chris Perryman, head of trading, emerging markets fixed income at PineBridge Investments in London. "Typically (managers) will slim down the lists of research they buy and consume from banks."
And Mr. Perryman said there will be a big difference in the attitudes and reactions in the first year, where managers "are looking to satisfy the MiFID II rules, and further down the line, say year three, where everyone will be more comfortable in quantifying and qualifying their use and buying of research. ... For fixed income, we are starting from a point where it's always cost zero, and therefore now introducing a cost means it is harder to calculate."
Mr. Karlsson agreed there might be an impact on smaller money managers using the profit and loss to pay for research, "as larger firms will have bigger capacity to absorb costs initially."
Nearly all managers not ready for MiFID best-execution standards — survey
Another MiFID II impact: Best execution of derivatives
Commentary: A look at transaction reporting obligations of MiFID II
Gaps remain in preparation for MiFID II, money managers acknowledge
ICMA: Most money managers plan to unbundle research costs globally as a result …
La Francaise appoints head of fixed income
MiFID II outlook uncertain for bond market liquidity
MiFID swaps deal reached for U.S. platforms to avert rupture
Commentary: Seeking attractive, through-the-cycle returns in high-yield multicr…
DoubleLine to make its own brand of mortgage-backed securities
Morgan Stanley, Credit Suisse plan MiFID II venues for bonds
Institutions close European mortgage gap
Louisiana Firefighters name 3 finalists in emerging markets debt search
Alberta Teachers, AlpInvest Partners invest in Eagle Tree Partners
Siguler Guff closes fourth small buyout fund at nearly $1.6 billion


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'What Postcode are You?' London's Poshest Postcodes…
April 24, 2015 nottinghillyummymummyAmal Aladdin, Billionaire's Row, charles saatchi, Chelsea, Chelsea Girl, Chelsea Square, claudia schiffer, Elle McPherson, Guide to London real estate, Hoopla, Hugh Grant, Kate Middleton, Kensington, Kensington Palace Gardens, Knightsbridge, London's most expensive postcodes, made in chelsea, NHYM, Notting Hill, notting hill yummy mummy, One Knightsbridge, Phillimore Gardens, Queen Rania of Jordan, Roman Abramovic, Sloaney Poneys, South Kensington, stella mccartney, Super Rich, SW1x, SW3, SW7, Tamara Ecclestone, The Boltons, W11, W8, zoopla 4 Comments
I used to be what you could call a 'Chelsea Girl' about 10 years ago, with my SW3 postcode, Saturday lunches at the Chelsea Farmer's Market and drinks at Eclipse on Walton Street. Then, I moved up 'North of the Park' where I swapped King's Road for Westbourne Grove, Eclipse for the Westbourne Pub, and Saturday lunches at CFM for Daylesford lunches and went from 'Chelsea Girl' to 'NHYM'. As a Chelsea girl I remember thinking that Notting Hill was a) not as pretty b) a bit grungy/scary c) a little 'too cool for school,' but I followed my other half and 10 years later, all the remnants of 'Chelsea Girl' are well behind me and with two kids in tow, I have fully embraced the Notting Hill 'cool.'
I recently wrote a short piece about London's most expensive postcodes and the bankers who want to live there. http://news.efinancialcareers.com/uk-en/205575/6-london-postcodes-that-show-youve-made-it-in-banking-and-the-bankers-who-live-there/. It got me thinking about London postcodes and how we identify with them. So what does your postcode say about you?
Zoopla's Rich List of the most expensive postcodes: http://www.zoopla.co.uk/property/richlist/uk/england/
Highest value areas
Area Zed-Index
1 W8 (Kensington) £2,707,386
2 SW7 (Knightsbridge) £2,493,204
3 SW3 (Chelsea) £2,324,889
4 SW10 (West Brompton) £1,857,677
5 W11 (Notting Hill)
Here is my guide to London's Most Expensive & Poshest Postcodes:
1. SW1X: Knightsbridge
Your neighbours: Sheiks & Oligarchs
Your Style Icon: Queen Rania of Jordan
Knightsbridge is Blingland. It is home to One Knightsbridge, one of the world's priciest residences where Sultans, Sheiks and Oligarchs love to mingle with their own kind. For them, the postcode and address are clearly more important than cost per sqm. Their motto is 'the more expensive, the better.' Of course with Harvey Nics and Harrods at their doorstep, shopping is a vital past time for the SW1X residents. They love labels, flashy cars, yachts and PJs. Competition is rife amongst the SuperRich, and Knightsbridge is the perfect place for them to show off their latest bling.
2. W8: Kensington
Your neighbours: Kate Middleton & Tamara Ecclestone
Your Style Icon: Kate Middleton
With Kensington Palace and Kensington Palace Gardens, W8 has won the trophy for the most expensive postcode in the UK. It is easy to see why the SuperRich drop £75 Million for a house on Billionaires Row, aka Kensington Palace Gardens, with Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens as their backyard. Then just a few streets away, Phillimore Gardens houses will keep you drooling, which is the best place for Halloween Trick or Treating, with a competition for the best, excessively decorated house on the street. Kensington divides the Chelsea set and the Notting Hill set who are constantly competing for 'best postcode.' Ideally located with Holland Park to the West, Hyde Park to the East, South Kensington to the South and Notting Hill to the North, no wonder it is considered the Billionaires Postcode.
3. SW3: Chelsea
Your neighbours: Charles Saatchi, Roman Abramovic, and Hugh Grant
Your Style Icon: Amal Alamuddin (Amal Alamuddin may appear straight out of Chelsea, but she is in fact a Notting Hill Girl).
Chelsea used to be for Sloaney Poneys and the Posh British set, but times have changed. Even the 'Made in Chelsea' cast can't afford to live in Chelsea anymore. Hugh Grant remains one of the last Chelsea Toffs that can be seen toffing around in Chelsea at Brinkley's on Hollywood Road, right around the corner from his house (unless he moved since my last sighting). Nowadays, it is rich American Private Equity and Hedge Fund kings who sweep up many of the Chelsea Square mansions. The Chelsea set tend to be immaculately dressed and coiffed with head to toe Chanel or Ralph Lauren, thanks to the Chanel store on Brompton Cross or Ralph Lauren on Fulham Road. They do tend to think that 'it's Chelsea or nothing'. Chelsea is beautiful, immaculate and manicured, home to the Boltons, some of the most expensive London real estate. But let's be real, Chelsea is like that really, really good looking guy, who knows it.
4. SW7: South Kensington
Your Neighbours: Italian and French Aristocrats
Your Style Icon: Marion Cotillard, Clemence Poesy
South Kensington used to be 'the' place for all the Italian and French to decamp to from Paris, Rome or Milan, helping to make London France's 6th biggest city with 400,000 French inhabitants. The French of course love it so much that it has the French consulate and the Lycée Francais within 2 blocks of each other. There is even a French street, Bute Street, with a French bookshop and delis filled with Lycée boys and girls. For the French who want a piece of France in London, South Kensington is the ideal place. Their Mediterranean neighbours, the Italians, equally love South Kensington, paying homage to it with the 2001 film with the same name, South Kensington. The Italian aristocrats can't get enough of South Kensington, and you may just find yourself on one of their 42 m sailing yachts off the coast of Capri if you're lucky enough.
5. W11: Notting Hill
Your Neighbours: Stella McCartney, Richard Curtis, Writers, Musicians and Fashionistas
Your Style Icon: Stella McCartney and Kate Moss
It used to be that Notting Hill was the edgy, cool, hip Postcode, but with the 1999 Notting Hill movie and the Bankers and Funders entering the neighbourhood, Notting Hill has gentrified and become the home of the NHYMs and those artists that have 'made it'. Some of the Modelistas, such as Elle McPherson and Claudia Schiffer have left, but the newer and younger ones like Arizona Muse have moved in, and Stella still remains. It is also popular with many musicians like Blur and Coldplay musicians and Adele reportedly bought her first house here in NH. Notting Hillers like to think themselves as cooler and hipper than their Chelsea counterparts, but the reality is that they both drive their Black Range Rovers, carry a Bottega Veneta handbag and shop at Net-a-Porter but with a rock chick look like Kate Moss. W11 though still prides itself of its multi-coloured homes and magnificent Private Gardens like Ladbroke Square that most can only dream of.
So what your thoughts on your Postcode?!
NHYM
http://www.nottinghillyummymummy.com
@NHyummymummy
Review: Private Member's Club, The Arts Club
October 2, 2014 nottinghillyummymummy5 Hertford Street, Charles Dickens, Club Nouveau, Gwyneth Paltrow, Kyubi, La Petite Maison, Lionel Ritchie, made in chelsea, naomi campbell, prince harry, princess beatrice, Princess Eugenie, Ronnie Woods, the arts club, trout pout, victoria beckham, Will.i.am 1 Comment
Quote of the Day: 'Hello! Is it me you're looking for?'
(Photo courtesy of NHYM Copyright 2014)
The Arts Club
London W1S 4NP
http://www.theartsclub.co.uk
Food: 4.25 stars
Design: 4.5 stars
Ambience: 4 stars
Service: 4 stars
Value for Money: 3.5/4 stars
Overall: 4.25 stars
(Ground floor restaurant. Photo courtesy of the internet)
Lately, I have been going to the Arts Club on a weekly or biweekly basis, after not going for almost a year. But then all of a sudden, everyone seems to want to go; guests from out of town, girls dinners or those wanting to try Kyubi, the – relatively – new delicious Japanese on the roof, which is now one of my firm favourites. Perhaps it's a backlash to the Chiltern Firehouse craze and just wanting the simplicity of an easy reservation made on Friday morning for Friday night, and a predictably good meal (which is not always the case at Chiltern). The great thing about the Arts Club is that you never know what kind of night you're going to have or who you're going to sit next to, which creates a never-ending curiosity. Last week, I had Lionel Ritchie sitting next to me. I had to stop myself from singing 'Hello! Is it me you're looking for?' and telling him all the great memories I've had with his songs as a young, hot-blooded teenager. With celebrities, you always feel a familiarity and intimacy that they of course sense as 'obsessive crazy fan.' Luckily, I stopped myself just in time. In any case, at the Arts Club, you never know if you'll have a night of octogenarian, zimmer-frame grannies & grandpas, arms dealers from somewhere far East or South, Russian billionaires, Mark Francis Vandelli of Made In Chelsea (actually, he is there nightly, usually at the ground floor bar), Naomi Campbell or some kind of HRH Beatrice/Eugenie/Philip/Harry.
The Arts Club is housed in a beautiful building on Dover Street (home to Mahiki, Mayfair Club and the new Victoria Beckham store). It was co-founded by Charles Dickens in 1863 and has had a myriad of artists and patrons guests and members over the years such as Turgenev, Rodin and Degas. It is currently over 4 different floors: the basement Club Nouveau Nightclub has heard impromptu guests like Gwenyth Paltrow and Ronnie Woods performing and is now advertising private concerts with performers like Will.i.am and Lauryn Hill. The ground floor restaurant, the Brasserie, is a glamorous, art deco room with a clientele mix of everything from Joan Collins, Roman Abramovic to Pamela Anderson look-alikes. There is a lot of trout here, no, not on the menu, just in the form of trout pouts. The outdoor seating area is a garden of delight, for balmy summer evenings.
(Outdoor garden. Photo courtesy of the internet)
The bar on the first floor is a rounded bar leading to another dining area, with a similar but shorter menu from the ground floor restaurant. It tends to have a slightly younger crowd, full of girls dinners, hedge fund managers, and women wearing more porn-than-prude clothing. My inner granny self wants to cover them with a pashmina and tell them to go home to a nice cup of tea. Finally, the rooftop is home to Kyubi, a Japanese with offerings similar to Nobu/Zuma. The best part of this restaurant is the roof-terrace area, which takes you to a rooftop Riad in Morocco. Except with sashimi instead of tagine.
(Roof terrace at Kyubi. Photo courtesy of the Internet)
The menu at the Arts Club, created by one of the chefs from 'La Petite Maison,' offers some great staple dishes with great flavours. If you like La Petite Maison, you will most likely like the food here. The menu is extensive with about 12 starters, an entire section for shellfish (oysters and lobster), two types of tartares, and another 16 main dishes. This is a place you can come to over and over again without ever getting too bored too quickly of the menu, which is a plus for a member's clubs. The food beats the Electric and 5 Hertford Street hands down purely on food. Some of my favourites are the escargots, yellowtail ceviche, and green bean starters, the steak tartare, the Club salad, and the herb crusted veal chop (delicious, the only place I actually allow myself to indulge in a poor-little-veal-meal). There are better-than-other dishes, so it's just a matter of finding the ones that you fancy. It is piggy-bank-breaking expensive, so save those pennies.
(Toro. Photo courtesy of the Internet)
The food at Kyubi is also delicious, featuring mini taco-type starter bites which are divine, the tuna avocado one is definitely one to order. The new stream sashimi, with different kinds of salmon and tuna sashimi with yuzu and citrus flavours are all mouth-watering (really, my mouth is salivating as I write this). The lobster tempura is worth it just for the visual sculpture of fried-noodle coral. You just have to see it. The plain sashimi is not their best asset, so i wouldn't boast too much about it. The vegetable skewers of asparagus and mushrooms are similar to the ones at Zuma, I could eat them as a vegetarian meal with a little rice on the side.
The Ambience
Ah, the ambience. Like I previously mentioned, it is a revolving door of multi-cultural nationalities and personalities. Arabs mingle with Jews, Russians compete with Americans for how loud they can be, the Chinese and Nepalese (or wherever they were from) are either dressed in jeans and T-shirts or Chanel, the Nigerians like the gospel Sunday brunch. Every Super Rich nationality in London is represented here. It is what you could call a global, moneyed club, that only requires connections and a plush bank account for entry. Let's say it how it is. This club is mostly for Art Patron members these days rather than for artists. The club was renovated in 2011 when its membership and bank account was dwindling to attract a glitzier, glamorous, wealthy crowd to inject 'modern money' into the club. With Gwenyth and her friends promoting the club in 2011, it was guaranteed to attract attention. Still, the club offers lectures in how to collect art, private views to the Royal Academy or the Frieze, and talks about fine wine and fashion (I recently missed a talk by Diane Von Furstenburg). There are even events for children, like Easter Parties, circus and painting events.
(Club Nouveau. Photo courtesy of the Internet)
Apart from some wonderful events – that I always mean to go to but never go to – the people-watching is just conversation-stopping. Victoria Beckham just recently celebrated one of her 40th birthday dinners there with Gordon Ramsay et. al. Beyonce and Jay Z came as well last time they were in London. And then there are moments when you see the clientele and wonder 'just where in the world are they from?' There are women who are wearing not much more than Miley Cyrus on a good day. There are men who look like they are making some dodgy business dealings involving governments, commodities, arms and pipelines. It is a spectacle of cosmopolitan London, for those wanting to keep their dealings behind closed doors.
The Arts Club is an artfully decorated member's club oozing glamour and coolness, in each of its restaurants, bars, and nightclub. The United Nations clientele provides endless entertainment, intriguing, beguiling and sometimes plain bizarre (Lady Gaga has been a guest). But the food is grown up and sophisticated modern European and modern Japanese at Kyubi. The best nights are during the week, in my opinion, with less B&T crowds. Soon, a 16 room boutique hotel will be opening to cater to the international overseas clientele who have memberships but don't actually live in London. For a swanky and glitzy night out, the Arts Club rarely fails to deliver, so bring your out-of-town friends or parents for a night of people-watching and gawping, all for the cost of a small island in the Pacific.
(Lady Gaga outside the Arts Club. Photo courtesy of the Internet)

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Hurricane Dorian Delivered Over a Dozen Cocaine Bricks to Florida's Shores
Shortly after the storm wrecked the Bahamas, it brought a million dollars worth of white, powdery gifts to Floridians.
As state agencies and insurance companies tally the damages caused by Hurricane Dorian, Florida's cops are hauling in an unexpected score: Bricks of cocaine randomly washing up on the Sunshine State's shores, all thanks to the hurricane.
The first call to police came at 8AM last Wednesday from a beach near Melbourne. A passerby noticed a suspicious package chilling on the sand. The cops later confirmed it was a kilogram of pure cocaine.
Likewise in Cocoa Beach, police were tipped off to a duffel bag that washed ashore. The bag was filled with 15 kilogram-bricks of cocaine. According to NBC News, a kilo of cocaine can fetch $20,000 to $30,000 in the Orlando area.
Bricks of cocaine washing up on shores seems to be a trend as of late. In May, nearly 40 kilos of cocaine ended up on Alabama's beachfront properties.
The storm, which has already caused at least $7 billion in damages, was downgraded from a Category 5 to a mere Category 1 during its rampage across the Bahamas and up the US East Coast last week. At least 20 people have been reported dead due to the storm.
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Randy Robinson
Based in Denver, Randy studied cannabinoid science while getting a degree in molecular biology at the University of Colorado. When not writing about cannabis, science, politics, or LGBT issues, they can be found exploring nature somewhere in the Rocky Mountains. Catch Randy on Twitter and Instagram @randieseljay


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Issue Highlights:
LAGUNA HILLS, Calif. (BRAIN) — The latest issue of BRAIN features a look at a growing trend in the bike media world: podcasts. Retailers, suppliers, media organizations and industry gadflies all are launching the downloadable audio shows, and many are seeing growth in recent years, Doug McClellan reports.
The new issue, arriving in mail boxes this week, also takes a look at the high-end of the mountain bike market. While much of the industry struggled last year, parts of the mountain bike market grew. Suppliers like Santa Cruz, Yeti, Pivot, Niner, Ibis, Intense and others report that sales are strong for bikes that often start at around $3,000 retail. They say customers recognize the technology that goes into these pricy bikes and are willing to pay for upgraded brand name components including suspension forks, dropper posts, carbon wheels and top-end drivetrains.
The new issue also remembers Steve Tilford, the outspoken former pro who never really retired from racing. Tilford, 57, died in April in a highway accident in Utah, while returning from a training camp in California. He was known across the cycling world for his love of the sport and willingness to speak out about doping and other issues.
The new issue also examines Pon Holdings' offer to buy Accell Group, which would be one of the biggest mergers in the history of the bike industry.
These highlights are in addition to regular BRAIN departments like State of Retail, Global Briefs, Mad Dog Unleashed, Tech Briefs and Through the Grapevine that are only published in the magazine.
BRAIN is published 18 times a year. Mail and electronic subscriptions are available at bicycleretailer.com/subscribe.


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Ancient Homo Naledi Skulls Reveal a Small But Unexpectedly Human-Like Brain
The details of its brain are "extraordinary'.
By Sarah Sloat
Filed Under Biology & Evolution
In recent years, scientists have shaken off the myth that the size of the human brain rocketed us to the top of the food chain. While the human brain is three times larger than that of chimpanzees and bonobos, it's increasingly understood that it's the brain's morphology and molecular activity — not size — that dictates intelligence. A study on the ancient hominin Homo naledi, released Monday in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, presents evidence supporting this theory, showing that it's the design of the Homo brain that set humans and our prehistoric relatives apart as a genus.
The new study, which used H. naledi remains between 236,000 and 335,000 years old, suggests that while the hominins had small brains and primitive bodies compared to that of other Homo species (like humans, the Neanderthals, and the "hobbit" H. floresiensis), their cranial anatomy was actually quite similar. That similarity lives on in human brains today and suggests that this brain organization was likely present in the common ancestor we share with the H. naledi.
"The fact that Homo naledi's brain had characteristics consistent with modern human brains despite its small size reconfirms that brain organization is likely more important than brain size — and that the two, brain size and morphology, are not necessarily linked," study co-author and Des Moines University associated professor Heaver Garvin, Ph.D. tells Inverse. "This is all despite the fact that H. naledi also exhibits some anatomical features consistent with climbing and a brain size about one-third of ours."
Left, the skull of an archaic human, right, the skull of a Homo naledi.
Garvin and her colleagues, led by Columbia University anthropologist Ralph Holloway, Ph.D. compared H. naledi's brain morphology to that of other hominids — a group that includes all modern and extinct great apes — by creating models from four H. naledi cranial fragments. These "endocasts" are digital impressions of the interior of the skull, which allowed the scientists to study the brain's cranial surface features.
The details they were able to extract, says Gavin, were "extraordinary." Like that of modern humans, the H. naledi brain contained a frontal operculum but no fronto-orbial sulcus, a feature found in the brains of apes and Australopithecus, an early human species that lived between 3.86 and 2.95 million years ago that includes the infamous Lucy. Like H. naledi, humans and other Homo species also lack a fronto-orbial sulcus. The endocasts also showed that H. naledi had asymmetry in its occipital lobe and lunate sulcus morphology resembling that of humans.
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Curvature map of a Homo naledi cranial endocast.
That the brain of H. naledi differs from that of Australopithecus is key. Discovered in 2013 within the Rising Star Cave system outside Johannesburg, South Africa, H. naledi is characterized as a curious mix of the Homo and Australopithecus genera. This analysis confirms that H. naledi was more similar to the early ancestors of modern humans, which were living in continental Africa at the same time. There's not enough evidence to show whether they actually interacted with humans, but Gavin says "it's always possible."
Though their brains were more like ours than scientists first expected, it's also difficult to determine whether their behavior was similar, too.
"There is a lot that we need to figure out even in regards to even our own brain and behaviors, so I think it's a little early to make any concrete connections between H. naledi's brain morphology and specific behavioral characteristics," says Gavin. "That being said, the fact that H. naledi endocasts share features with other Homo species, features that are different from the Australopithecines, suggests that H. naledi likely exhibited more Homo-like behaviors."
These behaviors are connected to the brain features highlighted in this paper. Their ubiquity in Homo brains, Gavin and her team write in the paper, "suggests a behavioral niche with serialized communication, planning, and complex action sequences that underlie tool production as well as an increased display of prosocial emotions." The team hypothesizes that the increase in size of the hominin brain reflects an evolutionary adaptation to the structures demonstrated across Homo specimens. Our brains are a link to hominin cousins like the H. naledi, and in turn, to the first of our genus. Whether or not that initial Homo individual also had a small brain is another question that we can't answer without more data from our family tree.
Media via John Hawks, PNAS, John Hawks/University of Wisconsin-Madison
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Fiscal 2009 Budget Deficit Could Hit $1 Trillion
U.S. Manufacturing Plunges
NYU Prof: Revoke Nobel Prize for Stock Options Modelling
'Hidden Homeless'
From Volume 7, Issue 43 of EIR Online, Published Oct. 21, 2008
U.S. Economic/Financial News
Oct. 18 (EIRNS)—While not as big as the derivatives bubble in absolute terms, the growth of the Federal budget deficit also points in the direction of national bankruptcy if the underlying crisis is not addressed. According to a front-page story in the Oct. 18 Washington Post, the FY 2009 Federal deficit could hit $1 trillion, when the effects of the economic crisis are added to the cost of the efforts to bail out the bubble. Since February, when President Bush signed the economic stimulus package into law, the government has pledged $1.5 trillion for the various bailouts. The Treasury Department has borrowed $500 billion and, since the end of August, the national debt has jumped from $9.6 trillion to $10.3 trillion.
The Bush Administration has routinely run deficits in the range of $200 to $400 billion, since 2001, but managed to get it down to $162 billion in 2007. Then it jumped to $455 billion in 2008, already one of the largest deficits in history. The '09 deficit is currently projected at $550 billion, but when the effects of further economic collapse are added (estimated by some at about $100 billion), plus the cost of the bailout efforts, plus whatever kind of "stimulus" package the next Congress and Administration agree on, the deficit could easily reach $1 trillion.
Oct. 16 (EIRNS)—Although manufacturing in the U.S. has actually been plunging for decades, a report issued today by the Federal Reserve reflects the acceleration of that process. According to the report, industrial production fell in September by the largest amount in almost 34 years. The 2.8% decrease in production at factories, mines, and utilities followed a revised 1% decrease in August, the Federal Reserve said on Oct. 16. For the third quarter, output fell at an annual rate of 6%, the biggest decline since 1991. The September decline in output was the biggest since December 1974.
In a separate report issued by the Philadelphia Federal Reserve on Oct. 16, it was reported that manufacturing in the Philadelphia region shrank in October at the fastest pace in almost two decades. The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia general economic index plunged to minus 37.5 in October, the lowest reading since October 1990, from 3.8 in September. The index averaged 5.1 last year. The Philadelphia Fed's index of new orders slumped to minus 30.5, the lowest level since August 1980, and the shipments index decreased to minus 18.8 from 2.6. The employment index was minus 18 after being little changed in September.
On Oct. 15, the New York Fed reported its Empire index of manufacturing sank in October to the lowest level since records began in 2001.
Oct. 13 (EIRNS)—The 1997 Nobel Prize for Economics, which was awarded to the creators of a model for pricing stock options which led into the current derivatives debacle, should be revoked, says New York University Prof. Naseem Taleb.
The 1997 award went to Robert Merton and Myron Scholes, the "brains" behind the Long-Term Capital Management bubble and collapse of 1998. Taleb told National Public Radio that the Merton-Scholes option-pricing formula, also known as the "Black-Scholes" formula, which was supposed to remove the risk from financial markets, "is compatible with all these nonsensical economic theories that should be discredited."
Professor Taleb probably knows whereof he speaks: He himself runs a hedge fund.
Oct. 18 (EIRNS)—The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) does not recognize hundreds of thousands of the victims of mortgage foreclosures as "homeless," the National Policy and Advocacy Council on Homelessness (NPACH) told Inter Press Service this week. The HUD definition of homelessness "does not include children and families who have lost their homes but are temporarily staying in motels or with other people because other shelter is not available or appropriate," the NPACH reported in a recent document. Despite the homeless disaster, the U.S. government has not counted the numbers since 2005, National Coalition for the Homeless (NCFTH) head Michael Stoops told IPS. Even back then, he said, the government admitted that "44% of the nation's homeless are unsheltered."
Tent cities have sprung up in or near Reno, Los Angeles, Chattanooga, Columbus, St. Petersburg, Seattle, and Portland, Stoops told IPS. They began to grow four years ago, and now 60% of local and state homeless coalitions report steady growth of homelessness since the foreclosures became critical in 2007. Disasters such as hurricanes have added to homelessness.
Jeremy Rosen, head of NPACH, said that some 600,000 children and youth are among the "hidden homeless," members of families who lost homes due to foreclosures or family crisis, but not recognized by HUD since they move around in temporary shelters. "They become the 'hidden homeless', moving around from place to place—sleeping in cars, on couches, sometimes in shelters, sometimes with friends and sometimes with family. Unfortunately, our country chooses to deny this reality and doesn't define many of these people as homeless," Rosen told IPS. "More than 60% of the homeless students identified by public schools are ineligible for HUD Homeless Assistance," the NPACH's report states.
Stoops reported that a "month ago, over 900,000 homes were foreclosed and some of the people concerned will wind up homeless." Laid-off Wall St. bankers could soon be joining their ranks, he noted.


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Q: Java Comparator.comparing not comparing? Following this question about sorting a list by another list, I tried to do the same thing - but from some reason it doesn't work for me. What am I missing?
    List<Double> nums = Arrays.asList(5.0, 0.9, 10.4);
    List<Double> order = Arrays.asList(3.0, 1.0, 2.0);
    nums.sort(Comparator.comparing(order::indexOf));
    System.out.println(nums);

    OUTPUT: [5.0, 0.9, 10.4]

It should be [0.9, 10.4, 5.0] (according to order). What am I not doing right?
EDIT: As most of you noticed, I got answer to the question I linked to all wrong. Here's what I actually want to do.

A: You can make a list of pairs :
[3.0, 5.0]
[1.0, 0.9]
[2.0, 10.4]

Then sort this list of pairs by the first value of each array :
[1.0, 0.9]
[2.0, 10.4]
[3.0, 5.0]

Here is the code :
List<Double> nums = Arrays.asList(5.0, 0.9, 10.4);
List<Double> order = Arrays.asList(3.0, 1.0, 2.0);

List<Double[]> pairs = new ArrayList<>();
for (int i = 0; i < nums.size(); i++) {
    pairs.add(new Double[] {order.get(i), nums.get(i)});
}

pairs.sort(Comparator.comparing(pair -> pair[0]));

for (Double[] pair : pairs) {
    System.out.print(pair[1] + " ");
}

Output :
0.9 10.4 5.0

A: Update
List<Double> nums = Arrays.asList(5.0, 0.9, 10.4);
List<Double> order = Arrays.asList(3.0, 1.0, 2.0);
Map<Double,Double> numToOrder = new HashMap<>();
for (int i = 0; i < nums.size(); ++i) {
    numToOrder.put(nums.get(i), order.get(i));
}
nums.sort(Comparator.comparing(num -> numToOrder.get(num)));
System.out.println(nums);

Original (wrong) answer
(nums is modified in place, and the lambda returning key returns wrong results)
List<Double> nums = Arrays.asList(5.0, 0.9, 10.4);
List<Double> order = Arrays.asList(3.0, 1.0, 2.0);
nums.sort(Comparator.comparing(num -> order.get(nums.indexOf(num))));
System.out.println(nums);

A: You are sorting the numbers by their position in the order list, but none of the numbers occur in the order list. In this case, indexOf will return -1 for everything, meaning everything is equal to everything else. In such a case, the resulting sort order is unspecified - though you may realistically assume that it would not change.

A: The Comparator you are supplying calls indexOf for every num passed.
The returned values are -1 on all calls, so the order is preserverd as-is.
You need to sort natural.
Sorting by another list of Double should be possible, but unnecessarily complicated, it would be simpler to provide a custom Object which sorts as desired.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


When the Middlesbrough survey and plan, directed by Max Lock, was published in 1946, it was hailed as a great achievement and a major innovation in town planning. Many Middlesbrough residents had been involved its production, along with a large team of experts and researchers from various academic disciplines. 22,000 people saw the accompanying exhibition and it received coverage in the national press. The plan was accepted by the local council as a model for future development and it is still referred to in many books on urban planning and regeneration. According to his obituary in the Journal of the Royal Institute of British Architects, this work became "a model for future development plans." However the plan was never implemented. Some of its ideas (clearance of the worst housing and the development of civic, retail and cultural centres) have gradually appeared in the subsequent 60 years, but large scale development and the overall vision of the plan have largely been ignored.
Max Lock was born in 1909. He attended the Architectural Association school in London, graduating in 1931. He was elected to Watford Council in 1935 and fought for better housing design and subsidised rents for pensioners, those with large families and those on low wages. He served on the executive committee of the Housing Centre Trust and was also a member of the Modern Architecture Research group. In 1939 Lock worked on a slum clearance project in London, before moving to Hull to develop his ideas on Civic Diagnosis, which were heavily influenced by the social evolutionist and town planner, Patrick Geddes. Social and physical surveys were the basis of the Hull Regional Diagnosis. It used maps, photographs and other visual aids, to make the content of the study accessible to the ordinary citizens of Hull. People were the focus of the survey and it illustrated various social issues, such as: housing conditions, shopping locations, leisure facilities, juvenile delinquency, and infant mortality.
In December 1943, Lock was appointed to oversee the production of the survey and plan for the reconstruction of Middlesbrough. The town's rapid growth between 1840 and 1870 had produced a concentration of poor quality, terrace housing, which was situated amongst heavy industry and railways. Lock believed that it was not bomb damage, but this appalling housing and a lack of supporting infrastructure, that needed to be redeveloped. He believed that the ills of society, the blight and decay he found in the inner cities, could be remedied by urban design, with town planners working in partnership with social and economic experts to achieve clear and practical social objectives. Lock believed there was a need for "fearless diagnosis of the ills of environment" and that planners should "look at what the people who will inhabit the urban environment want, instead of just looking at the buildings". He called for "an army of civic surgeons who can find out what is wrong and prescribe a cure in terms of the ascertained needs of the inhabitants themselves of a city or region." His intention, he explained, was to work in a new way, planning with the inhabitants rather than for them, thus transforming what had previously been a largely technical discipline into 'a democratic process'.
Geddes's method followed a scientific observational model of survey, diagnosis and plan. This required a detailed survey of past, present and future uses of buildings and an acknowledgement of their historical significance and cultural meaning. He saw exhibitions of survey work as a means of promoting interest in civic sociology and as a means of informing local people and encouraging their participation in civic action.
Geddes had founded the Sociological Society in 1904. He was interested in town planning as a means of "civic betterment" and was influenced by Le Play and his survey method. Frédéric le Play spent a quarter of a century travelling throughout Europe, collecting data on the social condition of working class people and basing his work on the key themes of place, work and family, or folk. This work was published in 1855 as Les Ouvriers européens and the following year he founded the Société internationale des etudes pratiques d'économie sociale to promote his studies and survey method. Le Play's work influenced the way subsequent social surveys were carried out, as will be shown, but it must be noted that he also had a political influence. Le Play thought that the task of social science was to maintain a social order and resolve the conflicts inherent in capitalist society. His political ideas resembled feudalism, in that they involved people accepting their place in society. It is for this that he became popular with fascist leaders such as Salazar and Mussolini.
Le Play inspired other people to produce similar studies. For example, Henry Mayhew produced his London Labour and the London Poor in 1861. Mayhew and his researchers spent two years interviewing "the humbler classes of society", providing detailed descriptions of their work and living conditions. Although in his preface, Mayhew talks of the curiosity and novelty value of his work, he does state that his aim is to "cause those who are in 'high places' to bestir themselves to improve the condition of a class of people whose misery, ignorance, and vice, amidst all the immense wealth and great knowledge of 'the first city in the world', is, to say the very least, a national disgrace.
However, the roots of social surveys go back further than Le Play. In the article "The Revolution in Town Planning", Lock refers to the reform work undertaken by Edwin Chadwick for his 1842 report, "Survey into the Sanitary Condition of the Labouring Classes in Great Britain". Chadwick had developed his survey method working on the 1834 Poor Law Amendment Act. For the sanitary report, Chadwick contacted over two thousand poor law guardians, medical officers, clergymen and local notables from all over Great Britain and asked them detailed questions on the conditions the poor lived in. Chadwick collated this information into a report, which included the comments of those interviewed, as well as tables, graphs, statistics, maps and drawings of sewers and privies.
Chadwick was only one of many people throughout the Victorian period who investigated the work and living conditions of the poor. Charles Booth also investigated the poor of London, carrying out many surveys over a thirty-year period, from 1885 onwards. His most famous achievement was the London poverty map, which showed the social condition of every street in London in 1889. This involved compiling a vast amount of survey data and assigning to each street one of eight categories to signify its social status. The results were plotted on Ordnance Survey maps for public display and publication.
Booth's research findings had an influence on the political arguments of the day and can be seen as the starting point where methodical surveys began to influence new social policy. Therefore, his work can be seen as a forerunner to the civic diagnosis, the removal of social ills through planning, which Lock advocated. In analysing urban blight, Lock's use of the American "block data method" – the street by street analysis of various symptoms of decay, plotted on large scale on maps – is very similar to the poverty map of Charles Booth. This forms the basis of Lock's "scientific method", that by overlaying maps of plotted social problems, it will show the areas most in need of redevelopment.
Farquharson's definition of the Regional Survey aimed to bring scientific rigour to the exercise by stating that it "must be based on factual observations, methodically made; and these must be systematically arranged by the aid of verifiable hypotheses." He described the process as beginning with a field investigation into the geography of a region and progressing to the sociological perspective, a transition from science to art. Similarly, Lock describes the method of civic diagnosis as the "investigation of those factors which are visible and measurable, in order to understand the less measurable social and economic maladjustments that lie beneath the surface." The criticism of the survey method was that its accumulation of a mass of information sometimes caused confusion and a lack of direction as to which problems needed addressing.
The Middlesbrough plan was produced towards the end of the Second World War. Virtually since the war had begun, people had looked to its end as an opportunity to rebuild a better Britain and clear away the unplanned slums that were a product of the "jungle-like competition" of the nineteenth century. Lock used recent legislation to justify the need for an investigation into social issues, rather than simply concentrating on the reconstruction of buildings. He claimed that the Town and Country Planning Act was the first planning measure aimed at removing the causes of blight in urban areas, because it gave the Corporation the responsibility to "secure the best use of land in the public interest." Lock claims that because the plan is based on "a comprehensive survey or diagnosis of the town's ills", this will provide the scientific evidence to support the council's claims for funding to carry out the redevelopment of the town.
In the plan, Lock comments that, "Too long have we treated urban problems as if they were merely skin deep, forgetting that the aesthetic superstructure of fine building can only grow upon sound economic and social foundations" and the regeneration of towns "requires a penetrating diagnosis of all aspects of town life". He talks about the "formulation of the Masterplan – in fact, a plan or policy for every aspect of town life." Lock's starting point was the conviction that planning had to involve extensive dialogue with ordinary people. The citizens of a place, he insisted, were "the planner's clients" and "must be consulted in the same way as the clients of an architect are consulted". In order to achieve this, he believed, planners needed to break with the "cosmetic"' and develop the "diagnostic".
After moving to Middlesbrough in the spring of 1944, Lock rented a two-storied suburban house, and began recruiting helpers. After a few weeks he had assembled a group which included the geographer A. E. Smailes, the sociologist Ruth Glass, four planners, and 18 assistants (some part-time). Lock then turned to collecting raw material. The team scoured printed sources and also did much fieldwork. Lock himself, together with the other planners, surveyed the town's housing, open spaces, transport and public utilities; Smailes examined the economy; while Glass completed an ambitious investigation of neighbourhood structure, health and education services, and the retail sector. Much of this work involved recording fairly predictable information. But the team was also able to tap into more subjective dimensions, because, the government's Wartime Social Survey was persuaded to organise a complementary exercise in opinion research, distributing detailed questionnaires to a randomly selected group, drawn from every twenty-third household, of 1,387 housewives and 1,209 other adults.
Lock and his team transferred much of the raw data onto transparent maps, and learnt much from overlaying them in combination. By the late summer of 1945, the plan was finished and in the hands of the council. Three months later, it was formally accepted "in principle" and became official policy. The final version, complete with numerous maps and tables, was published in 1947, alongside a book edited by Glass that summarised much of the fieldwork.
The Middlesbrough survey and plan shares many of its ideas with the other reconstruction plans – the focus on social issues and the idea of the city as a human community, rather than a collection of buildings. The sociological aspects of Lock's survey were part of a long tradition: the method of interviewing residents directly and incorporating widespread consultation, the visual presentation of the information and the aim of creating an environment in which individuals can achieve their potential, were all ideas which had been utilised previously in other plans and surveys.
Some of the recommendations Lock's civic diagnosis produced for Middlesbrough seem like common sense – the regeneration of poor housing and the creation of suburban neighbourhoods, the development of separate residential, business and industrial areas, and the provision of amenities. All this has happened in Middlesbrough since the end of the Second World War. However, the imposition of a large scale plan on an existing town, is too redolent of the worst types of social engineering and scientific experimentation, despite the planners' aims to remove social problems. Regardless of the financial cost, people have too much emotional investment in the place they live, for such a scheme to ever run smoothly. The places where this type of large scale development have been successful, are where new towns are being developed in open spaces (such as Lock's subsequent work in Iraq), or the ruling elite can override public opinion and force through their policies (such as Geddes's work in India).
Lock had always believed that it was part of the planner's job to cultivate enthusiasm and debate, and as a result, he took a great deal of care in Middlesbrough to ensure that communication with ordinary people remained a priority. His team opened an office in the town centre; addressed many meetings with residents and community groups; gave interviews to the press and radio; produced "penny pamphlets" on their main ideas, together with a popular version of the final plan; built models for display in local venues; and collaborated with the council on a major exhibition. Not all of these initiatives were equally successful. But it appears that Lock did at least partly achieve his goal. Most visitors to Middlesbrough directly before and after this time tended to view it as generally introverted, without a vibrant civic culture. Priestley labelled it a "dismal town", whose chief passions were beer and football. Others concurred. Yet during 1944 and 1945, there was without doubt a pronounced upsurge in public engagement. Some 22,000 people, perhaps one sixth of the population, visited the exhibition; an array of inhabitants, from industrialists to schoolchildren, took part in discussions about planning issues; and the plan itself was, for some months, a major topic of local conversation. Outsiders registered the change, with one informed observer, for example, reporting that the plan had "aroused a storm of protest and interest". Given that some other planning schemes of this period provoked only marginal and fleeting comment from the population at large, this, in itself, was certainly a significant achievement.
Lock's recommendations took into account popular feelings. The Wartime Social Survey had analysed local peoples' feelings about housing and planning, and discovered a deep yearning for the suburban lifestyle. 90 per cent of "housewives", 92 per cent of "working men" and 93 per cent of "working women" wanted gardens. When questioned about where they would like to live, "a large section of the [local] population" named Middlesbrough's existing suburbs, because of "their open development, more modern housing and more healthy surroundings". Lock balanced this desire for extensive development with the need to preserve both the countryside and what he saw as one of the town's great assets, the vista of the Cleveland Hills to the south. Six new estates would be built on the fringes of the town, "pointing southward towards the sun and view", but each would be closely demarcated, separated out by "green wedges" that flowed right into the city centre. As Lock explained, what he sought to create resembled the imprint of a spread out hand, with the estates as the fingers, and the wedges as the spaces in-between.
Lock's planning in Middlesbrough was innovative and significant, especially his approach to incorporating popular opinion. However, this episode made far less of an impact on developments in Middlesbrough and on planning over the next thirty years than might have been expected. The plan drew together many methods and ideas of sociological and regional survey work, but the mechanism to implement the redevelopment outlined in the plan did not exist then and it does not exist today. In order to implement the plan, Lock calls for "a change of administrative method which can break down the rigid departmentalism where it occurs in local and regional government." He criticises "the departmentalism of local government administration which hinders the pooling of information, and the failure to make one official or department responsible for collating the vast mass of information relating to public environment in the same way as the medical officer of health collects and publishes statistics relating to public health." The idea of a local planning agency which will be "a dynamic initiator and reconciler of conflicting interests in all their detail and complexity – financial, legal, and personal" has never been realised. The various departments of local government – housing, social, transport, planning – still operate separately, with separate management structures and budgets and separate aims. This, along with the fact that local residents and interest groups are naturally opposed to being ordered out of their homes by faceless bureaucrats, means that compromise is the only solution.
In the Author's Note, Lock talks about how survey and diagnosis must be a continuous process and that there is a need for "continuous teamwork between specialists, officials and civic leaders." The council then, or local strategic partnership as it is now, is meant to be the organisation that brings together "industrial, trade, cultural, and citizen groups" to contribute towards redevelopment and "create the impetus that will translate proper plans to reality." However, the length of the process, the short lifespan of local governments, constantly changing agendas, national directives and local issues, mean that Lock's idea of continuous survey and diagnosis becomes fragmented. This is why the overall vision of the survey and plan was never implemented in the way that its architect intended.
Bales, Kevin, "Popular Reactions to Sociological Research: The Case of Charles Booth", Sociology, Vol. 33, No. 1, February 1999, pp. 153-168.
Eden, W.E., "The Art of Building Cities", The Town Planning Review, Vol. XIX, Spring, 1946, No. 2, pp. 91-98.
Joshi, Priti, "Edwin Chadwick's Self-fashioning: Professionalism, Masculinity, and the Victorian Poor", Victorian Literature and Culture, Cambridge University Press (2004).
Lock, Max, "Rebuilding the Cities: Diagnosis as a Foundation for Planning", The Times, 16th September 1943.
Lock, Max, The County Borough of Middlesbrough survey and plan, Middlesbrough Corporation, 1946.
Lock, Max, (Director), Hull Regional Survey, reprinted for the Housing Centre from The Architects' Journal, July 29, 1943.
Lock, Max, "The Revolution in Town Planning", pp. 95-102, in Osborn, F.J. (Ed), Planning and Reconstruction 1944-45, Todd Publishing Co. Ltd., London and New York, Third Edition, 1945.
Mayhew, Henry, London Labour and the London Poor, Griffin, Bohn and Co., London, 1861.
Motouch, N & Tiratsoo, N, Max Lock, Middlesbrough, and a forgotten tradition in British post-war planning, University of Luton.
Mumford, Lewis, The Culture of Cities, Secker & Warburg, London, 1938.
Osborn, F.J. (Ed), Planning and Reconstruction 1944-45, Todd Publishing Co. Ltd., London and New York, Third Edition, 1945.
Picture Post, Hulton's National Weekly, A Plan For Britain, January 4, 1941, Vol. 10, No. 1.
"Professor Geddes on Civics", The Times, 20th July 1904.
Royal Institute of British Architects Journal, July 1988, Vo. 95, No. 7.


I love parties. If it was up to me I would have a party every month even if I do not have an occasion. Even though I would not be having a party this Thursday I would definitely be wearing something green and drinking green beer. Do you have anything planned? Are you going to have a party?
The talented Sandra Downie has created a fantastic table setting if you were to have people over on St. Patrick's day. Beer tasting and yummy food is all a party needs. This party set up looks so elegant yet it seems so easy to recreate. Sandra has also provided free printable on her website! Enjoy!
Have an awesome party where ever you are !


Just a quick share! Fun for the kids, insightful for the teacher.
The school year is almost over. This has been a difficult one for me. Some of my third graders required constant supervision, it was difficult even to take a restroom break. However, I hope they will take along with them some good memories of third grade and a feeling of being loved.
Next year will bring many changes. I will have a teaching partner. My students will have a "switch class". I will have someone to brainstorm with about difficult students. I will know they will only be in my classroom for half the day.
This will be my last year teaching math and science. After 36 years of teaching these subjects I am sure I will miss them. I am looking forward to being able to focus my planning on language arts and social studies. As always, many ideas are swarming through my head. We will teach by genre next year. This excites me with possiblities!
Here is a freebie for collecting some memories. You could also use it with my End of Year Memory Collector Scavenger Hunt or on its own.
I found this free product available from a brand new seller on TpT. Students fill in a newsletter-like form for a student in next year's class. Maybe you'd also like to check her out! Her store is called Some Kind of Teacher.


text:
The 20 Best States for Your Retirement
People approaching or just starting retirement may have plenty of life experience under their belts, but many are enjoying at least one brand-new feeling: a sense of freedom.
By Stacy Rapacon
People approaching or just starting retirement may have plenty of life experience under their belts, but many are enjoying at least one brand-new feeling: a sense of freedom. Starting at age 60, the majority of people shift from saying where they live is determined by their responsibilities, including family and work obligations, to saying they're free to live wherever they want, according to a survey by Merrill Lynch and Age Wave, a research firm focused on the aging population. And many retirees exercise that freedom to relocate, with 64% having moved or anticipating moving in retirement.
But how do you choose where to retire? Many factors come into play, from proximity to family to climate preferences—but we'll leave those personal preferences to you. What we can help you with is the financial angle: We ranked all 50 states for retirement (opens in new tab) based on quantitative factors, figuring that the best states for retirees will offer low living costs and light tax burdens, as well as quality health care options. We also sought out states that are healthy—both economically (with well-balanced state budgets) and physically (with a fit and active senior population). Finally, we favored states with relatively prosperous residents age 65 and over. Take a look at our list of the best states for retirement.
The 20 Worst States for Your Retirement
See "How We Ranked Every State for Retirement" at the end of the rankings for details on our data sources and methodology.
Population: 6.1 million
Share of population 65+: 15.4% (U.S.: 14.5%)
Cost of living: 10% below U.S. average
Average income for 65+ households: $43,540 (U.S.: $53,799)
Average health care costs for a retired couple: Below average at $408,746 (U.S.: $423,523)
Tax rating for retirees: Mixed (opens in new tab)
The Show Me State has little to tell in the way of retirement advantages. The low living costs go hand in hand with relatively low household incomes. And the tax situation is moderate: If your adjusted gross income is less than $85,000 for single filers ($100,000 for couples filing jointly), your Social Security benefits are not taxed and you can deduct a portion of your public retirement benefits. But distributions from individual retirement accounts, 401(k)s and other employer retirement plans are taxable at ordinary income tax levels, which hits the top rate of 6% on more than just $9,000 of taxable income.
And one notable downside: Missouri ranks low at 42nd in the nation for senior health with a high percentage of low-care nursing home residents and a high prevalence of smoking, according to the United Health Foundation.
Population: 11.6 million
Share of population 65+: 15.5%
Average income for 65+ households: $42,667
Average health care costs for a retired couple: Below average at $417,912
Tax rating for retirees: Mixed
Ohio's status as a destination for retirees matches its geographic location: in the middle. Its living costs are well below average, but so is its average household income. Even the tax situation is just fine: Social Security benefits are not taxed, and retirees living in the Buckeye State can claim a tax credit of up to $200 on other retirement income.
Cost of living: 17% above U.S. average
Retirees in the Centennial State may just reach 100 years themselves. Colorado ranks fourth in the United Health Foundation's senior health rankings, with particularly high marks in clinical care and positive behaviors. Among its health-related strengths, the state has low rates of obesity and physical inactivity in seniors. It also has a low poverty rate among the 65+ population at 7.4%, compared with 9.3% for the nation as a whole.
Best States to Retire 2018: All 50 States Ranked for Retirement
Cost of living: Same as U.S. average
Average health care costs for a retired couple: Above average at $430,916
Tax rating for retirees: Most Tax Friendly (opens in new tab)
The Equality State knows how to keep an even budget. It ranks fifth in the nation for its fiscal health, holding more than enough cash to cover its obligations (thanks to plenty of revenues from oil and mineral rights), according to the Mercatus Center. That bodes well for its ability to maintain its generous tax benefits for retirees and all its residents. There's no state income tax at all, and the state sales tax is a modest 4.5%.
50 Great Places for Early Retirement in the U.S.
(Image credit: Thinkstock)
Cost of living: 21% above the U.S. average
Average health care costs for a retired couple: About average at $420,480
Tax rating for retirees: Tax Friendly (opens in new tab)
The Evergreen State can be a great place to stay refreshed throughout retirement. Washington boasts more than 3,000 miles of coastline and two major mountain ranges: the Cascades and the Olympic Mountains. So active retirees have plenty of opportunities to boat, swim, climb, hike and more. No wonder the state ranks second in the nation (after California) for physically active seniors, according to the United Health Foundation's senior health rankings report.
The First State offers retirees first-rate tax advantages. It does not tax Social Security benefits and exempts $12,500 of investment and qualified pension income for taxpayers age 60 and older. Above that, income tax rates are modest, ranging from 2.2% to 6.6%. Plus, there's no sales tax at all. Health care costs are also friendly to retiree budgets with a 65-year-old couple's expected to pay 2.2% less than the U.S. average. Living costs, otherwise, are relatively high—particularly considering the below-average household incomes for seniors.
Cost of living: 3% below U.S. average
The Keystone State locks in an affordable standard of living for retirees. Health care costs for a 65-year-old retired couple come in 2.9% below the national average. And the tax situation, among the 10 friendliest in the U.S. for retirees, can boost your bottom line even more: Most retirement income, including Social Security benefits, is not taxed. Unfortunately, Pennsylvania's own budget is not so sturdy. With not enough cash to cover short- or long-term obligations, its fiscal health ranks a low 45th among all 50 states, according to rankings from the Mercatus Center at the George Mason University.
7 Ways to Retire Without a Mortgage
Tax rating for retirees: Not Tax Friendly (opens in new tab)
Low living costs are the big advantage for retirees in the Hawkeye State. Health care costs are especially affordable, at 5.6% below the U.S. average, based on what a 65-year-old retired couple can expect to pay for the rest of their lives. That should help the below-average household income for seniors stretch further. But the tax situation may be burdensome: While Social Security benefits are untaxed, some retirement income may get hit by the high top rate of 8.98%. On the plus side, people age 55 or older can exclude up to $6,000 if single ($12,000 for joint filers) of taxable retirement income.
Cost of living: 7% below the U.S. average
If the mild weather and southern charm of the Palmetto State aren't enough of a retirement draw, surely the affordability can tempt you. On top of below-average living costs, the tax situation goes easy on a fixed income, too. South Carolina doesn't tax Social Security benefits and offers generous exemptions on other types of retirement income. It also does not levy an inheritance or estate tax. Property taxes tend to be very low.
New Tax Law: 8 Smart Tax Strategies for Retirees
Put your potato jokes away, people. Idaho has some serious advantages to offer your retirement. The state's affordability, for one thing, makes it easy to stretch your retirement savings. And while the tax picture for retirees is mixed—there's a statewide sales tax of 6% and a state income tax that can go as high as 7.4%—Social Security benefits are not subject to state taxes. Idaho also is one of the states that doesn't have an inheritance or estate tax (opens in new tab).
Cost of living: 4% above the U.S. average
Tax rating for retirees: Least Tax Friendly (opens in new tab)
The Beehive State is a sweet spot for active retirees. Utah ranks second in the U.S. for the overall health of its 65-plus population, according to the United Health Foundation, and offers plenty of outdoor recreation options that are sure to keep you buzzing through retirement. There are five national parks, seven national monuments, five national forests and 43 state parks to host all your hiking, climbing, boating and skiing desires.
Maybe the activity can distract you from the state's unfriendly tax laws—Utah is one of the few states that taxes Social Security benefits (opens in new tab), for example. Still, the tax man isn't keeping Utah's seniors down: Even with income levels for older adults just about average for the U.S., the state has the third-lowest poverty rate in the country for people 65 and older.
Average health care costs for a retired couple: $424,052
The Granite State's current tax situation gives retirees a solid advantage. Ranking among the 10 Most Tax-Friendly States for Retirees (opens in new tab), it doesn't tax Social Security benefits or other retirement income or levy any sales tax. That savings helps balance out the above-average living costs and below-average household incomes. Another plus: New Hampshire ranks fifth in the U.S. for senior health, according to the United Health Foundation.
8. Florida
Cost of living: 1% above U.S. average
If you're looking to party with your peers through retirement, head to the Sunshine State. Nearly 3.8 million seniors call Florida home, giving its population the highest share of residents age 65 and older in the country. Indeed, it's famous for its retiree-haven status, what with its warm weather, beautiful beaches and seven-season-long "Golden Girls (opens in new tab)" endorsement. But the main attraction for retirees to the Sunshine State must surely be the tax situation. Florida has no state income tax, estate tax or inheritance tax, and it doesn't tax Social Security or other retirement income, either. Plus, those benefits are pretty secure: Florida scores top marks for fiscal soundness, according to a recent report from the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, in large part due to its abundance of cash versus short-term liabilities.
Virginia is for retirees. Overall living costs are above average, but high household incomes among seniors—11.3% higher than the national average of $53,799, to be exact—should be able to cover the spread. Plus, health care costs, a particularly worrying budget item for retirees, actually tend to be relatively affordable, with a retired couple in the state expected to pay 3.4% less than the average couple in the U.S. Plus, the Old Dominion doesn't tax Social Security benefits and allows residents 65 and older to deduct income up to $12,000 per person, depending on their income levels.
6. Alabama
Cost of living: 13% below the U.S. average
Retirees are sure to love the Heart of Dixie. You can get many of Florida's retirement attractions—warm weather, nice beaches and plenty of golf—all at a lower price. The low living costs extend to health care, for which retirees can expect to spend 4.4% less than the average retired American couple. Taxes are easy on the budget, too, with income tax rates ranging from just 2% to 5%, and Social Security benefits being exempt.
5. Tennessee
The Volunteer State is a good choice for budget-conscious retirees. According to data from the Council for Community and Economic Research, every major metro area offers below-average living costs in almost every category of expenses, including health care—among the biggest financial concerns for aging Americans. Plus, Tennessee does not levy state income taxes (opens in new tab), so your retirement income can stretch even further. And being economically healthy, Tennessee should have no issues maintaining its tax-friendliness; it ranks eighth of all states for fiscal soundness, according to a recent report from the Mercatus Center.
4. North Dakota
Cross the border from South Dakota, our top state for retirement, and you'll find many of the same benefits: North Dakota offers retirees affordable living costs and overall low taxes. Unfortunately, retirement income, including Social Security benefits, gets no tax break in the Peace Garden State. But income taxes are so low—ranging from 1.1% to 2.9%—that it's still considered tax friendly. Plus, the state ranks second-highest for fiscal soundness, indicating that the economic health is stable enough to sustain a friendly tax environment.
3. Georgia
Warm weather and low living costs make Georgia just peachy for a happy retirement destination. Health care expenses are particularly affordable for retirees, with the sixth lowest average costs for a retired couple in the country. Plus, Georgia's favorable tax situation makes it one of the 10 Best States for Taxes on Retirees.
2. Hawaii
As you'd expect on an island paradise, living ain't cheap. In fact, Hawaii sports the highest living costs in the country. And yet, the landscape turns out to be idyllic for retirees' finances. For one thing, the seniors who have settled there can afford it. The average household income for people age 65 and older are the highest in the U.S. at 33.8% above the national level. Plus, health care costs are surprisingly affordable at 11.4% below the national average. Credit that to the Aloha State's highly efficient health care system—ranked tops by Bloomberg—and its healthy population, snagging the third highest spot in the United Health Foundation's Senior Health Report rankings, which are based on people's behaviors, such as physical activity, as well as community support and clinical care available.
The Mount Rushmore State might not be the first place that comes to mind when you dream of where to retire, but it's first place on our list. Affordability is the main factor pushing it to the top spot. In addition to low living expenses, including for health care, South Dakota is one the 10 Best States for Taxes on Retirees (opens in new tab). And you can be confident it'll stay that way. The state ranks third in the country for fiscal soundness, according to a recent report from George Mason University's Mercatus Center, which indicates high confidence that it can keep up with short-term expenses and long-term financial obligations.
How We Ranked Every State for Retirement
To rank all 50 states for retirement (opens in new tab), we weighed a number of factors:
Taxes on retirees, based on Kiplinger's Retiree Tax Map, which divides states into five categories: Most Tax Friendly, Tax Friendly, Mixed, Not Tax Friendly and Least Tax Friendly.
Cost-of-living for each state, with data provided by Sperling's Best Places, includes overall costs—across all age groups—for housing, food and groceries, transportation, utilities, health care and miscellaneous expenses.
Average health care costs in retirement are from HealthView Services and include Medicare, supplemental insurance, dental insurance and out-of-pocket costs for a 65-year-old couple who are both retired and are expected to live to 87 (husband) and 89 (wife).
Rankings of each state's economic health are provided by the Mercatus Center at George Mason University and are based on various factors including state governments' revenue sources, debts, budgets and abilities to fund pensions, health-care benefits and other services.
Rankings of the health of each state's population of residents 65 and over are from the United Health Foundation and are based on 34 factors ranging from residents' bad habits (smoking and excessive drinking) to the quality of hospital and nursing home care available in the state.
Household incomes and poverty rates are from the U.S. Census Bureau.
Population data, including the percentage of the population that is age 65 and older, is also provided by the Census Bureau. They are highlighted in these rankings for the benefit of readers, but were not factors in our methodology for ranking the states.
The 26 Cheapest States for Retirement
Lists galleryarticle
Stacy Rapacon
Online Editor, Kiplinger.com
Rapacon joined Kiplinger in October 2007 as a reporter with Kiplinger's Personal Finance magazine and became an online editor for Kiplinger.com in June 2010. She previously served as editor of the "Starting Out" column, focusing on personal finance advice for people in their twenties and thirties.
Before joining Kiplinger, Rapacon worked as a senior research associate at b2b publishing house Judy Diamond Associates. She holds a B.A. degree in English from the George Washington University.
Child Tax Credit Changes and FAQs for Your 2022 Tax Return
Tax Breaks The bigger and better child tax credit that applied for 2021 is gone, replaced by a new set of rules for taking the credit on 2022 returns.
By Joy Taylor • Published 17 January 23
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places to live Rents jumped nationwide over the past year, but these big U.S. cities remain comparatively affordable for apartment dwellers.
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The 11 Most Expensive Cities in the U.S.
real estate From metro areas on both coasts to the middle of the Pacific Ocean, these are the priciest cities in the U.S. to call home.


text:
Pro File: True Blue Mac Users
By Anton Linecker
At first glance, Blue Man Group--the bald, blue-faced trio formed in 1987 by longtime friends Chris Wink, Phil Stanton, and Matt Goldman--doesn't seem to have much of an association with the Mac. After all, Blue Man received possibly its widest exposure from appearing in a series of TV ads on behalf of Intel's Pentium processor--not exactly the most obvious way of casting your lot with the PowerPC crowd. But go behind the scenes at any one of the group's performances in New York, Chicago, Boston, or Las Vegas, and you'll find Macs helping to run the show. Associate Artistic Director Caryl Glaab, Associate Video Director Kevin Frech and Communications Director Manny Igregous recently explained to Macworld that while a typical Blue Man performance may involve spewing Twinkie creme filling at slicker-clad audience members or using Cap'n Crunch cereal to make music, the show can get pretty high-tech offstage.
Q: With shows running in four cities, how many performers do you have?
Glaab: Thirty-three. And there is a woman Blue Man who's part of the Boston cast.
Q: How would you describe the Blue Man experience?
Glaab: It's a... visually based, music-driven, tribal ritualistic show, based on the Blue Man character who's ultimate goal is to create a unique experience with the audience.
Igregous: It's one of the hardest questions for us to answer. Even the original Blue Men--Phil, Matt, and Chris--get stumped. We just say, "Well, you'll just have to see it." A long, long time ago, Chris Wink said in a television interview that one of the things they were looking to do was to create the kind of excitement that the circus did when it came into town in the last century. They want to provide entertainment beyond what you expect. That's what Blue Man's like, though it's hard to explain it to somebody who's never seen the show. You end up saying, "They do this, and then this." The person looks at you and says, "OK..." But when you actually see the show, it all comes together.
Q: What goes on behind the scenes to make a Blue Man show run?
Glaab: We have two G3 computers running the Dataton control software, which controls three video mixers, five digital data recorders, phase meters, and seven projectors. It's a pretty huge system, but the Dataton software takes a show that should take three people to operate and makes it so one person can run the show fairly easily. That's what the nexus of the backstage control would be.
Frech: There's a combination of live video and recorded playback. There are two cameras that we use--Sony GX30 cameras. Everything in the [Las Vegas] show runs at broadcast quality because it's such a large venue. There is some playback like the plumbing video. There's also a phase meter that responds to the audio signal that's fed into it live. We project that signal as well on 10-foot circular screens.
Glaab: That phase meter projection uses a program that was customized for us by Metric Halo Labs. They have sound-editing software for studio use, and basically they customized that program for our purposes. It's actually a Lissajous meter used to see if your audio is properly in phase.
Q: So you're running your entire Las Vegas show on Power Mac G3s. Are they souped up in any way?
Glaab: They are basically off-the-rack G3s. We have five in all in the show--two to operate the Dataton software and three to run the phase meters.
Q: What kept you from upgrading to the G4? Would the color clash?
Glaab: Funny you mention that. For our own research and development here in New York, we just purchased G4s for the next phase.
Q: What other software do you use?
Frech: There's some code writing that happens for some of the Sony mixers. Sometimes it's all about getting the devices to talk to each other.
Glaab: We do use Avids a lot for our post-production work. We are working on material for the shows and material for the second album and we also produce all our own B-roll and commercials and media material.
Q: A lot of people recognize the Blue Men because of those Pentium commercials. Yet Macs power your show. Do you find that ironic?
Glaab: No. We use all kinds of machines, depending on what we want to do.
Q: The Blue Men use some pretty inventive instruments in their show. What's your favorite?
Frech: My favorite's the backpack Tubulums. I like the fact that they're mobile, they produce a really unique sound, and I love that they can launch rockets.
Glaab: There are some great string instruments that we didn't invent, but we changed the way they're performed. Like a Hungarian Cymbalum in the Las Vegas show. It's played by the band. It's a big stringed instrument that they hit with drumsticks, which produces a pretty amazing sound. I also like the fixed Tubulums. They're basically large cardboard tubes that you hit a reed at the end with a drumstick, and it gives off a very deep, vibrational sound. Very resonant.
Q: You have a lot of high-end gear, but you also have a lot of low-tech stuff in the show. What in your mind is the most low-tech part of the show?
Glaab: The thing about how we approach things at Blue Man is that it is decidedly low-tech/high-tech because the things we want to have happen . . . well, there aren't necessarily things existing to do that. So we always end up combining technologies. An example of that is the phase meters we talked about before. They're actually run on G3s, but then the processed sound is fed through an Electric Mistress, which is an old guitar effects pedal. It creates more distortion so the projected visual is better. That's typical Blue Man--combine a G3 with an old guitar effects pedal.
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The Institute for Hospitality and Tourism Research is looking for a research assistant to help with a project running from mid-January to the end of March 2019.
The job will involve general logistical help in setting up interview times with participants, transcribing qualitative interviews, and preliminary coding and analysis.
The successful candidate must have taken HTR 741 (or equivalent), be interested in research, be detail oriented and organized, and comfortable working alone with guidance and direction.
The pay is $18 an hour, for a maximum of 80 hours over a 10 week period.
A sample of your writing (e.g. a school paper).


Any Sector. One simple solution.
We provide unified Business Management and decision support solutions for any type of organisation.
Examples from some of the types of organisations using InPhase.
Over 100 successful implementations to date.
Specialists in making the health sector more efficient.
Specialists in commissioning and back office efficiency.
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The Implementation of Inphase within our department has revolutionised our approach to performance management, supporting us to provide a robust evidence based service through attractive, easy to use , interactive reporting solutions.
NHS Stockport holds over 300 contracts with healthcare providers, so keeping track of data can be complicated and time-consuming. InPhase allows us to give staff easy access to the most up-to-date information.
We also use the system for organisational risk management and to track performance on the internal projects we are running to make improvements. InPhase is the tool that allows us to correlate work from across different teams within the organisation and see the bigger picture.
For me, this is the difference between the ability to provide information and intelligence in our Board reporting.
We love it, it's incredibly easy to use, and saves us a ton of time. From answering FOI requests, councillors questions, visually showing how staff are contributing to our Corporate Plan, our portal ticks all boxes - being transparent online 24/7.
If you're printing monthly or quarterly reports, you're wasting time and money if you don't have a Citizens Portal.
Any company considering the implementation of two or more performance management tools (which will be any major enterprise) would be shooting itself in the foot if it did not pay serious attention to InPhase in the process.
The application, which is totally integrated with MS Office is easy to understand and intuitive. No IT skills are prerequisite to set up a model and therefore organisations can actively alter their performance measurement tool according to the continuous changes in the business world.
Following the tender process and site visits, it has become clear that InPhase is more than just a 'measures database'. The ability to map objectives, services and plans means that InPhase is a very sophisticated performance management tool.
We have found PORTAL easy to use and make changes especially now that the admin area has been refined.
Within 6 weeks, the system held the Council's full corporate performance framework, key users were trained, data was entered, and reports were designed and produced.
I found the system both easily accessible and, more importantly for me, straight forward to use. Of particular benefit was the ability to look at performance and comments in respect of the previous quarters to ensure consistency as well as the ability to have access to reports summarising overall performance of a specific area.
I would not hesitate to recommend InPhase as both the product and the people have exceeded my high expectations. Our organisation has embraced the new performance and project management system quickly and it has become the central vehicle for monitoring all of our strategic programmes and related projects. Keep up the good work InPhase!


text:
Allium barthianum — вид рослин з родини амарилісових (Amaryllidaceae); поширений у Єгипті й Лівії.

Опис
Стебла ≈ 15 см завдовжки, сегменти оцвітини завдовжки до 5 мм; листя шириною 0.5–1 мм.

Поширення
Поширений у Єгипті й Лівії.

Населяє сухі кам'янисті та гравійні місця на невеликій висоті.

Примітки

barthianum
Флора Єгипту
Флора Лівії
Рослини, описані 1893

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Thanks XP. How much borax do your waders have on them from standing downstream of reiter?
Thanks XP. How much borax do you waders have on them from standing downstream of reiter?
The borax is on the egg.
I think Bhudda hacked my account.


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Is there a way I can try your products before I buy them?
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Which of your products are TSA friendly?
What is your referral policy?
What does Money Back Guarantee mean?
How do I update my app on Android?
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Online ordering for boxing day deals - In store pickup?
Just wondering if anyone on here has ordered from futureshop/best buy boxing day deals and if they have in store pickup available for orders. I'd like to order some of the 39.99 video games from best buy on christmas eve and pick them up from best buy on boxing day, but not in the morning, lol.
Anyone know if they still do in store pickup during the boxing day rush?
No, Best Buy and Future Shop do not do in-store pickup orders for Boxing Day sales. However, I believe you can do them on the 27th. Of course, if you wait until the 27th, the stores might be sold out.
I'm pretty sure it last a week. Or maybe not..
As I recall, ISPU was cancelled a few weeks ago until Jan 5th at both FS/BB. It will certainly not be available for BD specials, and has not been for several years now as it is usually cancelled about a week before BD.
Aren't the store inventory icons all ed out during the sale week?
No Instore Pickup during Boxing Day Event @ BB & FS (there are exceptions) - this is their policy. Also, since earlier this year, both companies do not allow "ISPU" for "1 Day Sales" or "Online Special Promos". One reason is because both retails no longer provides Free Shipping (and only recently harmonized Online vs. In-Store pricing).
If I order on Dec. 24, will I receive by Jan. 3rd?
This being the case, if i pick up a copy of Call of Duty at $60 today, can I price match it during the boxing week sale? It's not a door crasher nor is it limited quantity or anything of the sort.
> This being the case, if i pick up a copy of Call of Duty at $60 today, can I price match it during the boxing week sale? It's not a door crasher nor is it limited quantity or anything of the sort.
If you can't, you can always buy it again at the lower price and return it with the higher price receipt when the craziness is over (but still within the refund period ... 30 days?).