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Archive for the 'Socrates' Category
INVICTUS We Should BE: Free Will, Determinism, Classical & Quantum Mechanics, Neurohormonal States
Conventional Wisdom sits back and whines: 'With Quantum Mechanics, we lost determinism. Is Free Will in truth just Quantum chaos?'
Advanced Wisdom replies: 'Not so, just the opposite. Absolute determinacy from classical mechanics never existed, because it depended upon infinitely precise initial conditions. These couldn't be. Now, given that small initial discrepancy, after an arbitrarily long time, one will get an arbitrarily large discrepancy. Exit your sacrosanct "classical determinacy", which will always churn out arbitrarily large errors, given enough time.
Conventional Wisdom:'In any case our brains are ruled by Quantum Mechanics, and that's nondeterministic'.
Advanced Wisdom:'The Quantum is not truly "nondeterministic". The Quantum attributes probabilities to outcomes, the so-called "Quanta", but the latter outcomes don't change ever more with time… whereas wilder and wilder outcomes is what happens in Classical Mechanics, as time goes by!
Classical Wisdom sees Classical Mechanics as deterministic, whereas Quantum Mechanics is not. However, Quantum outcomes are determined at the outset (so-called "Quanta"), whereas all and any classical mechanical evolutions diverge indefinitely ever more… SO CM predicts whatever, in the long run, whereas QM is more regimented…
Conventional Wisdom:'Quantum Mechanics more deterministic than Classical Mechanics? The world is upside down with you! Whatever, you confuse me. Forget these abstractions, forget Quantum Mechanics, for the sake of the argument at hand, I don't believe in Free Will. Let me tell you why. View the brain as a machine with programs. Given some circumstances, the brain will make just one computation, with just one solution. Presto, no more Free Will! We are just Turing machines! Nothing you can do, you will always get the same result.'
Advanced Wisdom:'I embrace BRAIN BUILDING, not just body building! I have a little experiment for you. Sit in a chair, think about a given Problem, call it P. Then go run half an hour on a mountain trail, an exercise of the muscles, the heart, and the brain processing thousands of data points per second. See what happens to what you thought P was. By the way, I stupidly miscomputed today the firmness of the snow while running, I should have recognized the tint of that particular patch of snow, crashed forward after by right leg went deep through the treacherous white substance, skidded on my left knee, careened off the snow bank, crash landing in stones on the side, making a small bloody gash in my left hand, it sure impacted my mindset a bit… But I digress… The point is this: try then to think of Problem P, while running for quite a while, brain concentrated on potential trajectories' dangers. You will think of P, but it will turn out in a different context, with different details, different motivations (typically more macroscopic, bigger picture style), in a different mood, in other words, in a different neurohormonal and oxygen set-up. The computational paths offered inside the brain to solve P will be different than those which were apparent while sitting on that chair. Hence if one had a set C of solutions from the chair, one now has a set R, from running: the set of solutions is not C, but C + R!'
In other words, if you want to get out of Plato's Cave, go running! Running, physical activity, or different neurohormonal set-up, will change your mind. Learn to change minds as if it were clothes. It beats just putting someone's else shoes.
CW:'What does that have to do with Free Will?'
AW: 'Classical Free Will is a choice between a number of solutions, hypotheses, emphases, etc. Call that set of choices and outcomes N. Conventional Wisdom assumes that N just is, like the Moon, a well-determined object, like in a category (category is here in the mathematical sense). However, I just demonstrated that N, the set of choices and outcomes presented to Free Will is, itself, a function of neurohormonal states. Changing the neurohormones changes the categories which make up that set N (something Aristotle didn't think of when he invented categories in the non-math sense). Moreover the latter neurohormonal states can be controlled and chosen from, or selected… At will. When Socrates and his golden youth friends and lovers decided to go get drunk and party all night, chewing the fat, they decided to change their neurohormonal states from normal to wacko. That's the whole idea of Dionysus, bringing a fresh re-think, and re-emote of the whole mindset. Nietzsche correctly deduced that was one of the causes of the Greeks' superiority. Similarly, religions prohibiting nuttiness, foolishness, jokes and feasts, as Catholicism and Islamism, fabricate dull minds. So thinking can be controlled with meta controls upon the environments in which the thinking, and the feeling, are conducted, and produced. That's why people read books and go the theater, among other fantasies.'
Conventional Wisdom: 'Are you getting meta on me, once again?'
AW: 'Yes, Free Will is not free of neurohormonal or other mental states, thus we are free to control Free Will by selecting for oneself one's environments… A form of meta control. For example, when the wrongfully revered philosopher Heidegger decided to become a Seminarist, or a Nazi, he made meta choices which impacted his freedom of thought or, of will, looking forward. Same when doctor Asperger decided to help support the Nazis' first extermination program, a context which led him to invent the pseudo-disease named after him (and which was used as a reason to assassinate thousands of German children).'
While in captivity, Nelson Mandela recited that poem by William Henley to fellow prisoners, and they felt empowered. The myth of "Sol Invictus" was imposed by Roman Emperor Aurelian, around 250 CE, it was a first run of the fascist Catholicism Constantine would impose in 325 CE, 75 years later…
CW:'Are you saying that I can act to steer my own Free Will, by controlling my mental context?'
AW:'Yes. And you are deeper than you think: the notion of "steering" was introduced by Schrodinger, in connection with Quantum Entanglement. Steering of mental state and Free Will is closely related. Indeed, changing context is pretty much how Quantum Steering shows up! Hence the Schrodinger cat conundrum…
CW:'Enough, my head is exploding in cats!'
AW:'Take hold of yourself, remember the honor of the human spirit! When talking about Free Will remember that, as in Quantum Mechanics, you can't control the solutions, but you can control the spaces which make them appear!
CW: 'Can we get practical here?
AW: 'It's very practical! I just said there was Free Will, and how to create more of it!"
CW: 'You want to create Free Will by acting on the mental contexts, by making it so that they will offer, or create, more solutions?
AW: 'Exactly! The idea is not exactly new. Forcefully changing neurohormonal states is why Socrates and his ilk got drunk, and Indian Swamis, and countless Shamans around the world experimented with mind altering drugs! Or why we dream, for that matter!'
CW:'Do you do drugs?'
AW:'No need, I just plug-in my brain, it's foolish and creative enough on its own, no need to reduce performance with junk, no alcohol, nicotine, pot, or hallucinogens for me, I hallucinate in a controlled fashion, so to speak. Indeed, I do mind altering activities like mountain running in snow, hence yesterday's amusing crash.'
Conventional Wisdom: Alright, you, you and you. Kudos to you, oh great youyou. What is the point of Free Will anyway? Why should we worry about it?
AW: Because if we don't we don't do anything about it, we just wait for nuclear war, and the rising of oceans by 70 meters, whatever comes first.
CW:'You worry about big stuff. What's in it for small people with small preoccupations?'
AW: 'Very simple. If one doesn't believe in Free Will, one is a slave to destiny. However, human beings aren't made to be slave to destiny. Human beings, as they evolved, over millions of years, could check, every day, that they were actors of change. Profitable change, life saving change. Thus, lack of belief in Free Will is fundamentally inhuman. Lack of belief in Free Will corresponds to not behaving according to the owner's manual. And it has to be discouraged, thought evolution. Therefore, lack of belief in Free Will makes individuals lugubrious, sinister, unhappy, and a danger to their human environment. Let alone the entire biosphere. Amen.
CW: Being happy is a moral duty?
AW: Being happy and willful is a moral duty, in the sense of the morality evolution itself created us with. We were evolutionary made to be Lords, not slaves! Embracing such an attitude, embracing happiness and wilfulness, has practical consequences, such as an unwillingness to confer our decisional powers to representatives whose powers corrupt them absolutely!
CW: What is the overall metaprinciple, to use your semantics, at work here?
AW: The honor of the human spirit is the ultimate principle. What evolution created us into, it did, because it enhanced our mental performances. We are naturally evolved artificial intelligence. It's our mental superiority which drove us, as a species. Insinuating that we are not free to be happy, free to become captains, and even architects, and engineers, of our own souls, is to undermine the human spirit, our core principle, it is to subscribe to the principle of slavery.
Tags:Determinism, Free Will, Neurohormones, Quantum
Posted in Socrates, Systems Of Mind, Systems Of Moods, Systems Of Thought, Will | Leave a Comment »
Is Philosophy Just About Death? Should Religion Be Mostly About Suffering? No! Such Moods Underlay Plutocracy!
Abstract: DEATH AND SUFFERING, THE FUNDAMENTAL PSYCHO DRIVERS inherited from Platonism, Stoicism, Abrahamism (Judeo-Christo-Islamism), Buddhism & Nihilism weaken minds and resolve. This is exactly why they have been imposed on the (clueless) masses.
Philosophy, especially the philosophy obsessed by death and suffering, drives politics. Death and suffering obsessed philosophies, and religions are Pluto friendly, and make it easier for plutocrats to govern us all.
Politics is practical philosophy. Plutocracy made sure that the ruling philosophies, and religions, would serve it well, by rejecting life and threatening the masses with pain and anxiety. The obsession they nourished with death and suffering, both of which have to be avoided at the cost of enjoying life in optimal honor and comfort, are the twin pillars of the sheep mentality they have imposed on most of humanity. Islam is a death cult, right: it's all about Allah, who, in the end, throws nearly everybody "into the fire". However the root of that disease are much deeper, they pervade the Greco-Roman West. The cult of Jesus Christ is basically a cosmetically improved version of Socrates' Death Cult.
And no, Hinduism provides no relief. It is more of the same, from a different angle.
Plato, Or Philosophy As Fake News:
Some philosophers, to this day, claim that philosophy's justification is to prepare for death (the same critters generally boast that philosophy is just "footnotes to Plato", as if they should be proud of their lack of progress; notice in passing that philosophy as footnotes to Plato is an Anglo-Saxon notion, and it partakes to the general Anglo-Saxon plutocratic will to dismiss philosophy as a "worthy object of study", to quote Bertrand Russell) .
The idea of reducing philosophy to a death rehearsal is presented by that old fascist, Plato, as an exposition from Socrates. Plato claims that life is all about making nice with the "Gods". Life with the "Gods" will be better, so we may as well not be too attached to life.
Of course Plato and his savant parrot, Socrates were lying: their ives demonstrate it. They were actually party animals, depraved drinkers indulging in a life of wanton sex, luxury and commerce with all the dictators they could find or fabricate.
Even the judgment and execution of Socrates couldn't stop them. The smartly vicious Aristotle was back with the same trick on steroids later, and when he fled Athens, made the self-aggrandizing statement that he wanted to save Athens from sinning against philosophy again. In truth, Aristotle was busy demolishing Greek democracy, and succeeded.
Montaigne and his castle, as seen by Salvador Dali, 1947. Notice the "Hommage to France" at the bottom, by the Catalan Dali. The infuriating secret of Western Civilization, now world, is that it's anchor has been France. Not sure it will be the case looking forward considering the results of children scholastic tests TIMMS, PIRLS, and PISA.!
The idea that life is nothing, and the "gods" everything, enabled the rule of the 1%:
The idea was recycled first by the Stoics, modest critters crawling by the feet of tyrants, while protesting of their soothing capacity to endure any abuse. The Christians five centuries later, were loud and clear that this world was nothing and making love to Jesus in the after world was all what matters. The Muslim ran away with the idea another half millennium after that. In the Qur'an the Jews are condemned because they "would like to live 1,000 years", and nothing is more noble and richer in rewards to die for "God"..
Was Socrates the first Jihadist? Jihadists, apparently following Socrates, claim that life is nothing, while pleasing and obeying the "God(s)" everything. An Athenian jury thought so that Socrates' advocated preference for death should be honored, and condemned him accordingly, for "perverting the youth" (long story; notice similarity with what should be done to Jihadism). Socrates was given an opportunity to escape, but as genuine Jihadist are won to do, he prefered to die for his Great Beyond, full of nice "Gods".
This "lust for death", the most acute form of nihilism, went so far that it was condemned by Seneca in "Moral Letters to Lucilius":
"The grave and wise man should not beat a hasty retreat from life; he should make a becoming exit. And above all, he should avoid the weakness which has taken possession of so many, – the LUST FOR DEATH. For just as there is an unreflecting tendency of the mind towards other things, so, my dear Lucilius, there is an unreflecting tendency towards death; this often seizes upon the noblest and most spirited men, as well as upon the craven and the abject. The former despise life; the latter find it irksome."
Seneca explains in other parts that the description of Socrates's death was much meditated upon and emulated by many in the Roman elite, including Scipio, of the famous Scipio family, one of Cato's generals, in the war against Pompey. A little example of how Plato inflected history… Christianism is the lust for death writ so large, with the brandishment of the nailed, writhing naked Jesus as its very grotesquely cruel and threatening symbol. It is astounding that Islam succeeded to lust for death even more than Christianism itself.
In some sense even the Aztecs were less lusting for death than the Christians were. The Aztecs tried to capture in war their enemies alive, so they could sacrificed on the top of magnificent pointy pyramids; that made the Aztec religion in a sense less bloody than Christianism, as the Aztecs discovered to their sorrow, too late! The Aztecs were in particular disgusted by the elaborated tortures the Conquistadores inflicted. Roasting Aztec nobility alive all night long was standard treatment, as far as the Spaniards were concerned. It no doubt reflected in their minds what their "Lord" had supposedly gone through, and had redeeming values.
As Nietzsche pointed out, European nobility's operational morality was the opposite of Christianism. Yet, they were entangled: Christianism lust for death and suffering enabled the nobility to inflict maximal death and suffering, in the name of "religion". When the commander of the crusade against the Cathars was told that one couldn't tell who was Christian, and who was a Cathar, he famously replied:"Brulez-les tous, Dieu reconnaitra les siens" (Burn them all, Allah will recognize his own). That was not immediately cathartic. It should have been. This explains why Western Europe got rid of "God". Now He is back in Arabic translation ("Allah"). And should be equally repulsed, lest Europe wants to end up like Syria.
Montaigne thought the obsession with death was poppycock:
Ever since they made a superficial reading of the Old Ones, simplistic "philosophers" have claimed that the aim of philosophy is to prepare for death. This reflects a lack of experience on the part of the beholders. Montaigne corrected this. Once, Montaigne was knocked of his horse by another horseman going at a full gallop. He described the incident in great detail in his "Essays". He nearly died. His conclusion is that death can come unannounced, all of a sudden, and does not have to be painful. The whole experience was so disconcerting and weird, preparing for it would be completely impossible.
At this point he adds [free translation by yours truly, to make Montaigne more understandable]
"Nature herself assists and encourages us: if the death be sudden and violent, we don't have the opportunity to fear; if otherwise, I perceive that as I engage further in my disease, I naturally enter into a certain loathing and disdain of life. I find I have much more difficulty to digest the perspective of dying, when I am well in health, than when languishing of a fever; and by how much I have less to do with the advantages of life, by reason that I begin to lose the use and pleasure of them, by so much I look upon death with less terror. Which makes me hope, that the further I remove from the life, and the nearer I approach to death, I shall the more easily exchange the one for the other."
In case one does not get it, Montaigne hammers away:
"Not only the argument of reason invites us to it — for why should we fear to lose a thing [life], which being lost, cannot be lamented? — but, also, seeing we are threatened by so many sorts of death, is it not infinitely worse eternally to fear them all, than once to undergo one of them? … What a ridiculous thing it is to trouble ourselves about taking the only step that is to deliver us from all trouble! As our birth brought us the birth of all things, so in our death is the death of all things included. And therefore to lament that we shall not be alive a hundred years hence, is the same folly as to be sorry we were not alive a hundred years ago. … Long life, and short, are by death made all one; for there is no long, nor short, to things that are no more."
It is of course not that simple: most painting of old famous men have a young girl, probably a granddaughter praying and crying on the death-bed (consider the deaths of Presidents Jackson and Washington). Desolate persons are always in attendance, crying. When we die, we live our loved ones behind. And if they loved us too, and they probably do, they will be deprived forever of our company. So, contrary to what Montaigne says, the loss of life can, and is, lamented. Simply, not by us. But what would we have been without the others?
Is Buddhism A Pampered Caprice from The Wealthiest, For the Wealthiest??
The next prey we will devour today is the plump, jolly Buddha. Buddha, a pampered Prince (not just a plutocratic multi billionaire), naturally feared suffering more than anything. After all, he was not used to it. Suffering is something his class offered common people in abundance: if lower classes touched upper classes, they would be burned with a red-hot iron, where they touched, etc. From Buddha's young perspective, as a princeling, suffering was not just something to fear, never having experienced it, but it was an humiliation, a descent to join the lower classes' misery.
Make no mistake, suffering can be a horrendous thing, defying comprehension. Actually, it defies comprehension so much that, in its extreme forms, the brain just disconnects it. The brain probably does this with a massive release of endorphins, and other mechanisms not yet understood which block completely the pain pathways.
Let notice in passing an important point here: the ultimate acceptance of pain, and its attendant dismissal is an evolutionary trait. But not an evolutionary trait to insure the survival of the individual (who, in the wild, when submitted to extreme pain can't be far from death). Instead, the negation of pain profits the group, as a heroic defender will be free to concentrate on attacking the enemy, or then, counterintuitively, precisely not to hurt the predator during its dinner. This is a case where evolution acted at the level of groups and even ecosystems. (So much for the silly "selfish gene"! The real world is closer to the biosphere described in the movies "Avatar"!)
The brain is mostly in charge of ensuring survival of the individual, or the group. That's why it evolved. Thus, in an ultimate struggle, this is the only thing the brain does. At least once, falling off a mountain in a rock avalanche in a mile high ice gully, my brain did just two things: finding an unlikely camming position between ice and granite, and mobilizing all the motor neurons, bringing hyper human strength. According to the usual mathematics of sportive performance, say at the Olympic Games, survival was impossible. But the usual parameters didn't apply.
I had more than one close call, although another where survival was impossible. Each time, I have noticed that the brain blanks out all and any non sensory functions (in particular memorization). This happens during solo climbing: the brain shuts down unnecessary brain activity, immediately achieving what the great meditation masters are looking for (hey, it's this, or death!) Once I was up a very pretty red and yellow, extremely exposed "Naked Edge" of Colorado front range rock, quasi-soloing the rope going straight down. I was laybacking, feet walking up close to my walking up hands holding a vertical edge. A gust of wind came, pushed and slowly turned me like a weather wane. I had to convert from laybacking position to lousy jamming. Then the wind blew the other way, and back I went. During this weird sequence, back and forth, fall forbidden, I was just making one with the rock and the wind. I clang to dear life.
Thus those who talk of death as if it were to be feared know little: as Montaigne more or less say, it will not come when our brain is in a normal state.
If one wants to embrace the future, where progress will hopefully shine, one has to dismiss the past. Contemplate for example that youthful, vigorous invigorating, open-minded vision of Palestine: young Palestinians dancing, some dressed like so-called Father Christmas, embracing modernity, life, the world, the future! The right direction for the embattled Middle Earth. (If Jesus is Socrates death cult v 2.0, Islam is Socrates death cult v. 3; and the fact Aristotle's love of monarchy underlays the entire world political system is also something which has to be detected, understood, condemned and discarded.)
Giving an exaggerated mental space to death and suffering, while despising life, discourages rebellion against the established order. People besotted by common sense will think twice before fighting an established order whose symbol of goodness, brandished all around, is a squirming naked guy nailed on a cross.
Egyptian and Indian Plutocracies found another tricky metaphysics to discourage rebellion against the masters: the Eternal Return of the Same. That, too demonstrated the unworthiness of life, and how useless it was to try to change institutions: after all, everything will go back to what it was before.
In truth there is plenty of evidence that the "gods" were all in Socrates' head (as he readily admits, when he talks about the "deamons" in his head; said "daemons" are so convenient an excuse, they are even found in the Qur'an!). There are no god(s), it's all lunacy, but there are evolutions. On every sustainably habitable planet, life no doubt evolved (for indigenous life to survive, though, a long shot). And the universe also obviously evolves (although I am against the Big Bang theory, the evolution of the universe itself is in no doubt).
To be obsessed by death, suffering, and the eternal return of the same are ways to cast a maleficent spell on life, to make life, or, at least, rebellion, not worth living. To claim that this is how to love wisdom, is equating philosophy with the love of what sustains plutocracy. Science, that means what is known with (more or less greater) certainty offered us plenty of proof for evolution. In particular evolution of our genus, the genus Homo, and of our genius, the genius of our culture, and what is now a worldwide civilization.
Rebellion against the established order is intrinsic to civilization: lack of appropriate evolution and revolution is why the Roman Republic collapsed. The Republic found itself hemmed by savage ideologies (some home-made) and tribes, while its industry became unsustainable (from a mix of social and ecological reasons). Rome had to turn back to the more total democracy it had known, and develop further coal combustion for energy production and the use of steam energized machines. Rome could have done it, it didn't. Greatly because it was so inspired by the Socratic death cult (as we know from historiography). Lust for death? Rome itself died. Because the Greco-Roman empire didn't embrace the future to get out of the predicament its very success had brought.
A few men, a few families took all the decisions in Rome, during the Principate and the Dominate. They were the worst, because excess select for the excessive (including Marcus Aurelius, the cruel and demented saint of the Stoics, who always sound so reasonable to the not-so-knowledgeable…)
Being completely penetrated by a death wish is exactly what the elites want their subjects to be driven by: death wish critters are easier to manipulate. If all one can look forward is death, hoping to foster a revolution against said elite is pointless. This is why death-wish superstitious religions are so frequent. A contributor to this site, SDM concurred: 'Well said. Keep them worrying about unknowns such as an "afterlife" to accept the abuses inflicted in life.'
Indeed, yes, and even telling the low lives that, the more they suffer in real life, the greater their rewards in the famed "after life". Thus, suffering is good, and the more suffering, the more of a gift of the elites is made to them, commoners.
In the Roman context, the death wish superstition was so-called Stoicism (not really started under a "Stoa", but by Socrates, as I showed above). As it rejected emotions, thus full logic, Stoicism brought despair, and was a secularized prototype of Christianism (which it gave birth to, in mood space). The rise of Stoicism coincided with that of "Hellenistic" dictatorships (and contaminated the Roman Republic).
Verily, philosophy is not just to prepare death. and avoiding suffering. Philosophy is for life. And not just the life of bacteria, but the life of the mind, and the human spirit which extends it. Better philosophy is how to think better. And better is something we do, because, why not?
Tags:Death, Montaigne, Plato, Socrates
Posted in Abrahamism, Socrates, Systems Of Mind | 9 Comments »
Socrates A Poisonous, Unexamined Fascist?
The Pathos Of Truth Seeked & Violated. Unexamined Fascist, Unexamined Prostitute? Both. Why Was That Covered Up, So Long? For The Same Exact Cause Which Made Socrates Famous!
The death of Socrates keeps haunting philosophy. And that, per se, is a sad, yet very revealing tale. The old common wisdom was that Socrates died, as a martyr to truth (as Hypatia, Boetius, Giordano Bruno, and many others certainly were). You want a hero for philosophy? Celebrate Jean Cavaillès. In the presence of Cavaillès, Sartre nearly wetted his pants. We will see that the mood behind Socrates' actions is significantly different. Socrates was rather on the side of those who killed Cavaillès.
Indeed, a casual look at the basic setup of Socrates' trial contradicts the theme that Socrates was mostly a martyr for truth. Socrates was simply accused to be the mastermind of the young dictators who ruled Athens after her tremendous defeat, and half annihilation at the hands of Sparta, the tool of Persia. Socrates was also mentor, friend and lover (!) of the young Alcibiades who, deprived of a generalship by Athens, then betrayed her for her lethal enemy, fascist, ultra-racist, Persian financed Sparta.
Agreed, philosophy needs heroes, and has plenty. Here is one:
Jean Cavaillès, Anti-Fascist Martyr. Here Is A Hero For Truth & Philosophy. Socrates Was Nearly The Exact Opposite.
[Jean Cavaillès was tortured and assassinated by the Gestapo in 1943-1944. He is buried in the crypt of the Sorbonne.]
Thus Socrates was a sort of Charlie Manson of serial traitors and killers, whose mental actions led, or accompanied, Athens' near-death experience in losing a devastating war, and the resulting dictatorship by Socrates' students. Temples of democracy such as Britain, France, and the USA have gaily executed traitors, or incompetents, for much less than that.
Socrates Used To Look At People As A bull Does. Ugly Inside Out? To Reveal the Truth, Some Will Say Torture Works Even Better
Stanford political science and classics professor, Josiah Ober opines in "The Civic Drama Of Socrates' Trial" that: "Conventional wisdom sees Socrates as a martyr for free speech, but he accepted his death sentence for a different cause… In his influential interpretation The Trial of Socrates (1988), the US journalist-turned-classicist I F Stone saw this trial as an embattled democracy defending itself. In Stone's view, Socrates had helped to justify the junta's savage programme of oligarchic misrule and was a traitor. More commonly, Socrates is seen as a victim of an opportunistic prosecutor and a wilfully ignorant citizenry. In truth, politics is indispensable to understanding the trial of Socrates, but in a slightly more sophisticated way."
I love sophistication, philosophy is all about increased sophistication (so is science). Sophistication, translated, is wisdomization: sticking to reality ever better by ever more subtle, complex logic.
The point was not so much that Socrates justified the savage programme, but that he formed the minds who organized said programme, "corrupting the youth". And he was at it again, even after being amnestied. Professor Ober describes the problem well (although he fails to fathom the enormity of what he describes).
Stanford's Josiah: "For what people today call 'the wisdom of crowds', Socrates had nothing but scorn. Athenian democrats who argued that the many, the group, were collectively more likely to get important matters right than any individual expert earned his antipathy. Whether or not anyone actually was expert in the art of politics, Socrates certainly supposed that there could be such an expert, and that the Athenians were deluded in thinking themselves collectively wise."
The "experts" would have been naturally his rich, best ("aristos") boyfriends. Professor Ober is led to the obvious question, but fail to recognize that he does not answer it:
"How did Socrates both scorn the idea of collective wisdom and yet maintain obedience to Athens' laws, even when he disagreed with how they were interpreted? The rudimentary answer lay in the foundation that Athens (as opposed to, for example, Sparta) provided in its laws and political culture. Athens mandated liberty of public speech and tolerance for a wide range of private behaviour."
Yes, but public incompetence could lead to trial (as happened to Pericles and many strategoi, generals and admirals). Anyway, that is not an answer. I will give a better answer: Socrates himself had no answer to his drastic self-contradictions, so hise self-delusion fatally committed him to self-destruction. Yet political science professor Ober sees the problem:
"By 399 BCE, however, four years after the end of the tyranny, and with Socrates doing the same things in public that had seemingly inspired the junta's leaders, the Athenians regarded his speech very differently. In the eyes of the majority of his fellow citizens, Socrates was no longer an eccentric with potential for contributing to public life. He was now either a malevolent public enemy, or deluded and dangerously unable to recognise that his speech predictably produced seriously bad outcomes. And so the way was left open for Meletus to launch his prosecution."
Right. What professor Ober fails to mention is that only the intervention of mighty Sparta prevented Athens' annihilation after she surrendered, having lost already half of her population (other cities wanted to do to Athens what Athens did to Melos). Try to imagine this: the city-state half annihilated, democracy destroyed by Socrates' students, and then? The strongest mood that Socrates had been instilling was to oppose democracy. And he was again at it, after the amnesty he had profited from. What could motivate such a rage?
Unsurprisingly, Socrates was put on trial for "corrupting the youth and impiety". (The City was to some extent divinized, with Athena as her protecting goddess.)
"With unsettling metaphors and logical demonstrations, he made it clear that he [Socrates] opposed democracy… Xenophon implies that Socrates chose that sort of speech as a method of jury-assisted suicide: he was… tired of life and allowed the Athenians to end it for him."
This is what I believe. And I go further than Xenophon, by explaining the cause of Socrates' depression. Socrates may have been tired of his own contradictions.And may have been ravaged by regret. (Regret, I reckon, is a powerful human instinct.)
The Socrates' worship interpretation is due to Plato. It poses Socrates as martyr to civic duty. But, as it turns out, "civic duty", for Socrates, seems to be mostly blind obedience to "the Laws", while viciously criticizing the Direct Democracy which gave birth to them.
That Socrates respected the laws of Athens while despising the Direct Democracy which had passed them is illogical in the extreme. Yes, I know Socrates said he respected "the Laws", as if they were disembodied gods with a life of their own. But We The People passed said laws, and they lived only because We The People had created them, and We thge People could extinguish them just the same.
The "Laws" were nothing. We The People was everything. Socrates behaved as if he could not understand that.
Insisting that the Laws were everything reveals that the concept of blind obedience was more important to Socrates than arguing about the nature of what one should be obeying to, and why. Blind obedience is also the traditional ultimate value of standard fascism: law and order as supreme.
Blind obedience had been what the junta's rule was all about. What the rule of Socrates' young students and lovers had been all about. That's also what fascism is all about. However, arguing, debating, fighting is how to get to the thorough examination necessary for the "examined life".
The contradiction was, and is, blatant. Socrates' mental system was shorting out. Socrates had been shorting out for half a decade or more: he ambitiously wanted to "examine life", but he could not even examine the minds of his followers, let alone his own, or why he was hanging around them. Why was he hanging around them? They were rich, he was not, but he lived off their backs and crumbs. And the feeling of power they provided with (after Obama got to power I saw some in his entourage becoming drunk with power).
Arguably, Socrates was a martyr to fascism, a Jihadist without god. There is nothing remarkable about that. The very instinct of fascism is to give one's life, just because fanatical combat is the ultimate value, when one gets in the fascist mood. In this case, the fanatical combat was against We The People.
Posing Socrates as a martyr for intellectual freedom is farfetched: fascism, blind obedience, passion for oligarchs are all opposed to the broad mind searching for wisdom requires.
Some will sneer: you accuse Socrates to be a fascist, why not a racist? Well, I will do this too. The golden youth Socrates loved so much and drank with were hereditary so. Socrates believed knowledge was innate (so an ignorant shepherd boy knew all of math: this is the example he rolled out!) If knowledge was innate, one can guess that the "aristos", the best, were also innately superior. That is the essence of racism.
Logically enough, Socrates disliked science: nothing was truly new under the sun (as all knowledge was innate). So much for examining life.
It is more probable that Socrates was indeed, just a stinging insect buzzing around, stinging the idea of Direct Democracy. In exchange, his rich, young, plutocratic boyfriends would fete and feed him. Such was Socrates' life, a rather sad state of affair, something that needed to be examined, indeed, by the head doctor.
Socrates may have been clever enough to feel that he was an ethical wreck. His suicidal submission may have been an attempt to redeem himself, or whatever was left of his honor (which he also tried to regain with his insolence to the jury).
Plato would pursue the fight for fascism ("kingship"). Aristotle, by teaching, mentoring, educating, befriending, advising a number of extremely close, family-like friends, the abominable Alexander, Craterus and Antipater, finally fulfilled Socrates' wet dream: Athenian Direct Democracy was destroyed and replaced by an official plutocracy overlorded by Antipater (supremo dictator, and executor of Aristotle's will, in more ways than one).
This trio of philosophical malefactors became the heroes 22 centuries of dictatorship ("monarchy") needed as a justification. A justification where "civic duty" was defined as blind obedience to the "Laws" (whatever they were, even unjust "Laws"). This amplified Socrates' hatred of Direct Democracy. So the works of the trio were preciously preserved, and elevated to the rank of the admirable.
It is rather a basket of deplorables. We owe them the destruction of Direct Democracy for 23 centuries, and counting.
And what Of Socrates' regret for being so deplorable? (Which I alleged he had to experience.) A dying Socrates lying on a couch, uncovered his face and uttered— "Crito, I owe the sacrifice of a rooster to Asklepios; will you pay that debt and not neglect to do so?" Asklepios cured disease, and provided with rebirth, symbolized by the singing of the rooster calling the new day. This has been traditionally interpreted (by Nietzsche) as meaning that (Socrates'?) death was a cure for (his?) life. Nietzsche accused Socrates to be culprit of the subsequent degeneracy of civilization (and I do agree with that thesis). Certainly, Socrates, a self-described "gadfly" was deprived of gravitas.
Wisdom needs to dance, but cannot be altogether deprived of gravitas, as it is, after all, the gravest thing.. Maybe Socrates felt this confusedly, besides having regrets for his status of thinking insect. Socrates could have easily escaped, and Crito had an evasion ready. By killing himself Socrates behaved like a serious Japanese Lord opening his belly to show his insides were clean, and its intent good. Well, many a scoundrel has committed seppuku, and hemlock is nothing like cutting the belly.
Human beings are endowed with the instinct of regret, because we are the thinking species. It is crucial that we find the truth, and when we have lived a lie, indulged in error, the best of use are haunted by the past, and revisit it to find what the truth really was. Regrets has many stages, like cancer. The most correct philosophical form of regret is to re-established the truth. The cheap way out is to flee from reality, as Socrates did.
How to explain Socrates' insolence to the jury? There again, it was a desperate attempt at reaching the sensation of self-righteousness and trying to impart it to the jury (this is often seen on the Internet, with the glib one-liners and vacuous logic which pass for depth nowadays).
The inexperienced democracy in Athens did not always behave well. Athens behaved terribly with Melos (see link above). But the case of Socrates is different. Ultimately, the train of thoughts and moods promoted by Socrates weakened those who wanted to defend the free republics of Greece against the fascist, exterminationist Macedonian plutocracy. Demosthenes and Athenian Direct Democracy was mortally poisoned by Socrates.
Thus, Socrates execution was not just tit for tat. It was not enough of tit for tat. It was a preventive measure, in defense of Direct Democracy, which failed, because it was too meek.
Democracy does not mean to turn the other cheek, to have the golden beast eat that one too. In ultimate circumstances, democracy has an ultimate weapon too, and that is fascism. This is why the Roman, French and American republics prominently brandish the fasces. Fascism is the ultimate war weapon. But fascism is not the ultimate society. Far from it: political fascism, just a few individuals leading entails intellectual fascism, namely just a few moods and ideas leading. Before one knows it, one is in plutocracy, where not only wealth rules, but so does the cortege of the worst ideas and moods which characterize it.
Socrates often talk the talk, contradicting completely the way he lived (for example he said one should never return an injury, but, as a hoplite, he killed at least four men in combat!)
Socrates spoke so well sometimes, that he can stay a symbol of truth persecuted. But, because it is a lie, replacing him by Hypatia, Boetius, Bruno and, or Cavaillès, and, or, others, is urgent. Indeed, the reality is that Socrates was not just inimical to democracy. The current of thought he floated by was inimical to science, mental progress, and the truth he claimed to be pining for. And even him may have been so overwhelmed by these astounding contradictions, that, in the end, assisted suicide for his pathetic mental writhing was, indeed, the optimal outcome.
Tags:Athens, Direct democracy, fascism, Hero, Jean Cavaillès, Philosophy, plutocracy, Prostitution, Socrates, Trial Socrates, Truth
Posted in Fascism, Fascist Instinct, Intellectual Fascism, Socrates, State, Theory of Plutocracy | 11 Comments »
@fatcat6746 @DefenceU Russia is a puppet state of Putin... 3 days ago


text:
using NMF.Collections.Generic;
using NMF.Collections.ObjectModel;
using NMF.Expressions;
using NMF.Expressions.Linq;
using NMF.Models;
using NMF.Models.Collections;
using NMF.Models.Expressions;
using NMF.Models.Meta;
using NMF.Models.Repository;
using NMF.Serialization;
using NMF.Utilities;
using System;
using System.Collections;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Collections.ObjectModel;
using System.Collections.Specialized;
using System.ComponentModel;
using System.Diagnostics;
using System.Linq;

namespace TTC2017.LiveContest.RefinementsEcore
{

    /// <summary>
    /// The public interface for EEnum
    /// </summary>
    [DefaultImplementationTypeAttribute(typeof(EEnum))]
    [XmlDefaultImplementationTypeAttribute(typeof(EEnum))]
    public interface IEEnum : IModelElement, IEDataType
    {

        /// <summary>
        /// The eLiterals property
        /// </summary>
        IOrderedSetExpression<IEEnumLiteral> ELiterals
        {
            get;
        }
    }
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


The format of play over Kingsbarns is Individual Stableford.
Each participant receives their full handicap allowance, i.e. an 18 handicap golfer will receive one stroke per hole.
There are prizes for 1st, 2nd and 3rd Gents and 1st, 2nd and 3rd Ladies.
There are also prizes for the longest drive and nearest the pin for both Gents and Ladies.
The format of play over The Castle Course is Team Scramble.
1. Each team consists of four players.
2. All players tee off at each hole.
3. The team then selects the best drive and marks the position (within 6 inches and not nearer the hole).
4. The other players then retrieve their balls.
5. The player whose ball has been chosen then plays his next shot first.
6. The remaining players then play within six inches of the tee peg (not nearer the hole). Note! Golf balls shall be placed on the fairway and dropped if the chosen ball in play is in the rough or a hazard.
7. The above method of play is followed until the green is reached.
8. On the green the same method applies. The ball chosen is marked by a putter head length and players putt from the same spot in turn.
9. Each player must mark the ball after putting. Play continues from each chosen position until the ball is holed.
10. The score is the total number of shots from the chosen spots (including the tee shot). Note! If a player putts and misses but then inadvertently knocks the ball into the hole, then that score counts.
11. A minimum of three tee shots per player are to be used.
12. The team handicap is calculated as 15% of the total of all team players handicaps combined. Ladies receive an extra stroke due to the difference in the SSS between the gents and ladies tees.
13. At the end of the round the total for each hole is added together and the strokes received subtracted to give the total net score for the round. The winning team will be the one with the lowest score.
There are prizes for 1st, 2nd and 3rd teams.
The format of play over The Jubilee Course is Four Ball Best Ball or "Team Best Ball".
1. Each team consists of four golfers.
2. Each golfer receives their full handicap allowance. Ladies receive 4 extra strokes due to the difference in the SSS between the gents and ladies tees.
3. Each player on the team plays his or her own golf ball throughout the round, and on each hole the low score – or "best ball" – of the group serves as the team score. For example: On the first hole, Player A gets a 5, B gets a 4, C gets a 6, D gets a 6, so the team score for that hole is 4, because the low score of the group was B's 4.
The format of play over The New Course is Individual Stableford.
There are prizes for the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Gents and 1st, 2nd and 3rd Ladies.
The format of play over The Old Course is Individual Strokeplay.
Each participant receives their full handicap allowance, i.e. an 18 handicap golfer will receive one stroke per hole. The player with the lowest net score will be the Overall Winner.
There are prizes for the Overall Winner, Lowest Gross, Best Stableford, 1st, 2nd and 3rd Gents and 1st, 2nd and 3rd Ladies. There are also prizes for the longest drive and nearest the pin for both Gents and Ladies.
Participant handicaps may be adjusted by the event administrators during the week according to scoring and results. Any decision(s) made is final.
It was a really great week. Thank you again for such a well organised event and for all your efforts to make our week so pleasant and unforgettable. Best and kind regards!


text:
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text:
Good Guide to Pensions reveals ethical funds outperform at biggest providers
Written by Rebecca Jones on 20th Aug 2019
Good With Money has launched a comprehensive guide to the UK pensions market – the Good Guide to Pensions – covering everything you need to know to make sense of your pension savings and make them as Good as you are.
In the guide, we find that ethical funds have strongly outperformed the default option at the country's two biggest independent pension providers over one, three and five years. At both Nest and The People's Pension, which together manage more than £14 billion of pension savings for more than 12 million Britons, ethical funds have performed strongly over both the short and long term.
Nest's ethical fund – which does not invest in tobacco, controversial weapons, fracking, open-cast mining or tar sands firms – has returned over 12 per cent more than the default option over 5 years to 31 March (67.9 per cent compared to 55.5 per cent). At The People's Pension, it's ethical offering returned even more – 72.4 per cent compared to an average of 49.5 per cent across the default range.*
Ethical funds also returned more than equivalent default funds over one and three years, with Shariah options performing particularly strongly. Elsewhere, the Good Guide to Pensions shows strong returns for ethical and sustainable funds offered by providers including Aviva, Scottish Widows, Legal and General and Prudential.
Despite this, however, studies show that 99 per cent of pension savers remain in default options.
The free downloadable Good Guide to Pensions, published in partnership with Nest, the UK's biggest independent workplace pension provider, online personal pension provider PensionBee and forward thinking fund manager Pictet Asset Management, examines top pension providers across the workplace pensions, personal pensions and Self Invested Personal Pensions (SIPP) and Lifetime ISA (LISA) sectors.
Inside the Good Guide to Pensions you will find:
What workplace and private pensions are, in plain English
Simple flowcharts to help savers figure out where their pension money is
18 workplace and private pension providers rated using the Good With Money Good Egg criteria in handy tables
Performance figures for default and ethical funds at over 13 providers
All you need to know about Self Invested Personal Pensions and Lifetime ISAs, with investment ideas from The Good Investment Review
Good with Money editor Rebecca Jones said: 'Thanks to auto-enrolment and other government schemes designed to get us saving for the long-term, a good number of us will now have a pension. In fact, at a value of £32 trillion, the global pensions industry accounts for half of all the managed money in the world! And of that, £2.2 trillion is in UK schemes.
'However, how many of us have stopped to think what our pension is invested in? The sad fact is, a significant majority of pension funds are invested in stocks and funds which have a clear negative impact on the planet. Are you happy that you could unwittingly be continuing to help fund environmental and social breakdown?
'We've produced this guide to help the everyday pension investor – that's any one of us – understand what their pension is doing, and how they can switch to a more environmentally positive impact fund if they would like to. Yes: pensions can be complicated, but switching your pension fund to a Good option could be easier and cheaper than you think.
'We really rate all three of our partners for our guide. Nest has cemented its position as the leading provider of auto-enrolment schemes, and recently took the decision to divest from tobacco stocks altogether – even in its default fund. Additionally its investment process is focused on low carbon aims. PensionBee is a truly innovative provider blazing a trail in helping people make sense of an often tangled web of pensions and giving them a strong-performing ethical option as well. And finally, Swiss asset manager Pictet's thematic investment funds are some of the most forward thinking, innovative vehicles in the sustainable investment universe today.
Auto-enrolment and workplace pensions
The guide covers workplace pensions including auto-enrolment. It compares the mastertrust default funds of the following five providers: Nest, The People's Pension, Aviva, Standard Life, and NowPensions.
Commenting on the guide, Diandra Soobiah, head of responsible investment at Nest said: 'We want people to know how the money they save into their workplace pension is invested and why it matters. Nest is a responsible investor. Our goal is to grow our members' pension pots while helping to build a world they want to live and retire in.
'In June we announced our plan to stop investing in tobacco. We will continue to make decisions like these because the evidence shows investing responsibly makes more and reduces investment risk over the long term. If there's one thing you do today, check your workplace pension and make sure it's being invested responsibly.'
For personal pensions scheme, the Guide compares Aegon, PensionBee, Nutmeg, Standard Life, and Virgin Money. It includes an article from PensionBee.
Jasper Martens, chief marketing officer, said: 'We're thrilled to be sponsoring the Good Guide to Pensions. It's so important to get on top of your pension savings and understand your options so you can plan for a better retirement. We hope this guide will help savers feel empowered to take control of their pensions and choose the best options for their needs.'
DIY pensions
The Guide also explores the self-invested options, from SIPPs to LISAs, comparing funds from: Pictet, Liontrust, Threadneedle, Thesis, among others, as well as rating and reviewing investment platforms AJ Bell YouInvest, Hargreaves Lansdown, Barclays Smart Investor, Charles Stanley Direct and Fidelity Personal Investing. An article from Pictet's Hans Peter Portner, head of thematic equity is entitled, 'Going back to the future.'
Commenting on the guide, the firm said: 'Pictet Asset Management is delighted to be working with the team at Good with Money. Pension planning is essential to building a secure future. As pioneers in thematic investing, at Pictet Asset Management we believe our proven long-term investment approach of targeting companies seeking to solve environmental challenges will help savers to both build a positive financial future and invest positively in the world we inhabit.'
Finally, the Guide also looks defined benefit (DB) and defined contribution (DC) schemes, clearly explaining the difference between the two with a handy flowchart and comparing group pension providers: Aviva, L&G, Royal London, Scottish Widows, and Prudential.
Rebecca Jones concludes: 'The UK pensions space has long been a minefield: a knotty web of bureaucracy and lost schemes that has sent savers running for the hills rather than confront their annual statements. As we all know, though, that has to change. We hope the Good Guide to Pensions will add to the work that is starting to be done in the industry to help savers align their pensions with their principles to provide for a comfortable retirement on – crucially – a habitable planet.'
Download a copy of the Guide for FREE today!
Rebecca Jones
Rebecca Jones is a freelance journalist, specialising in sustainable investing.
The future of sustainable investing
Peter Michaelis
DON'T BANK ON IT: Call for 'Big 5' banks to end fossil fuel funding

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Everything you need to know about graduation!
The Klein College Academic Advising office has complied a checklist to help prepare prospective graduates for graduation.
Prospective graduates are required to complete an in-person hour-long appointment with a Klein College Academic Advisor. To make your appointment call 215-204-5273 or come by in person to the Klein College Academic Advising Office in Annenberg Hall Room 9.
Prospective graduates must complete the online graduation application. This allows prospective graduates to confirm the correct spelling of their name as it will appear on their degree, and the mailing address they want their diploma sent. The Deadline to apply is March 1.
Click the Self-Service Banner link in the left column.
Select Student, Student Records, and Apply to Graduate.
Celebrate the accomplishments of the graduating class, reflect upon the past few years, and convey a message for the future. Prospective graduates who meet the criteria can apply to be the undergraduate student speaker for the Klein College Graduation Ceremony.
Have a minimum GPA of 3.00 and excellent verbal skills.
Have demonstrated leadership with a social and/or educational impact (either within or outside the university community for a minimum of two years.
The student speaker application closes January 25. Late applications will not be accepted.
Apply to be graduation speaker.
Prospective graduates may order their Academic Regalia (cap, gown, tassel, & hood) directly from the university bookstore in-person year round or online at www.temple.edu/bookstore. If you have questions please call 215-204-5578.
Starting Monday, Apr. 22, and concluding on Friday, Apr. 26, graduation packages will be distributed in the Annenberg Atrium. Graduation packages include: a parking pass, comportment letter from Dean Boardman and a gift.
All students participating in the Klein College Graduation Ceremony at the Liacouras Center must arrive in full academic regalia by 4:30 p.m.
The Klein College Winter Graduation Ceremony starts at 5:30 p.m. and is scheduled to end between 7:30 and 8:00 p.m.
Due to the possibility of pedestrian and motor vehicle traffic, avoid the crowd by picking a location away from the Liacouras Center to meet your guests after the ceremony. For example: Founders Garden at the intersection of Polett & Liacouras Walks, Annenberg Hall Atrium or the Howard Gittis Student Center at the corner of 13th & Montgomery Avenue.
Please leave all valuables with one of your trusted guests.
Balloons are a visual distraction that block the view of guests from seeing their loved ones. We respectfully ask that you and your guests do not bring balloons.
US Candids photographs all the prospective graduates as they are recognized on stage. To view and purchase photos, visit uscandids.com/lew-klein-college. If you are unable to view the photos, please call 1-844-922-6343 or email mail@uscandids.com.


Columbia Global Centers | Istanbul serves as a hub for Columbia programs and initiatives relevant to Turkey and the region from Istanbul.
With its headquarters in Istanbul, Columbia Global Centers | Istanbul serves as a hub for Columbia programs and initiatives relevant to Turkey and the region. The Center aims to contribute to the academic and research environment of Turkey across a variety of fields, while also allowing members of the Columbia community to increase their knowledge and explore academic opportunities within Turkey. The Center works in collaboration with local universities, non-governmental organizations and public institutions to design cross-cutting, innovative programs and partnerships with different Schools, Centers and Institutes within Columbia. Ongoing events, lectures and seminars hosted by the Center also act towards building a lively and engaged community of local and international alumni, students and faculty.


At the two-year mark, the present value of the 10,000 to be received in one year is represented as the following: Present value of future payment of 10,000 at end of year two: Note that if today we were at the one-year mark, the above.
Its not that its not useful NOW, but its remains relevant even later.You could find the future value of 15,000, but since we are always living in the present, let's find the present value of 18,000 if interest rates are currently.In essence, all you are doing is rearranging the future value equation above so that you may solve for.Using the numbers above, the present value of an 18,000 payment in four years would be calculated as the following: Present Value From the above calculation we now know our choice is between receiving 15,000 or 15,386.48 today.(Alas this hasn't really happened for a while.Manipulation: 10,000 x (1.045) 1 10,450."Anger is an acid that can do more harm to the vessel in which it is stored than to anything on which it is poured." Reply With", 07:50 PM #13 Re: qotw: Does AMD or Nvidia offer better value for money?Driver support from AMD even though they are slightly getting better still needs a lot more work.To find the present value of the 10,000 you will receive in the future, you need to pretend that the 10,000 is the total future value of an amount that you invested today.Let's take a look.If you choose to receive 15,000 today and invest the entire amount, you may actually end up with an amount of cash in four years that is less than 18,000.
If you dont explicitly quantify the value your customer can expect to receive, gambling online for money business and your competition may be doing this work for your customer, who is going to win the business?
For Option B, you don't have time on your side, and the payment received in three years would be your future value.
While I also had nVidia cards and still have(on my laptop) I have to say for price/performance and Driver stability I will always pick amd.What if the payment in three years is more than the amount you'd receive today?At an interest rate.5, the calculation for the present value of a 10,000 payment expected in two years would be the following: Present value of 10,000 in one year: Of course, because of the rule of exponents, we don't have to calculate the.Business customers are being asked to do more with less.Amd on the bases that their highest end card has a aio treasure island hotel and casino mn and the competition(780ti) charges over a hundred quid more for.Forward-thinking in a GPU?HBM 2 will be interesting coming from both companies.Value addresses the customers question, What can this person or company do for me?
Remember, the 10,000 to be received in three years is really the same as the future value of an investment.
Traut, abstract: People buy for their reasons, not yours.


text:
www.marni.com
The Marni fashion house founded in 1994 by Swiss designer Consuelo Castiglioni, became famous in the Fashion System with its trendy furs and contemporary design for young women.
Soon she starts her pret-a-porter collections for women and in 2006 debuted with the menswear.
Her "Hip and Chic" 70's garments are enhanced by large printed flowers on silk and cotton, geometric distortions and colorful House checks.
The brand prefers pastel shades, pink and blue, bright colors such as yellow and red, and gray and black as usual.
Romantic and feminine garments, such as blouses and floral lace shirts, leather jackets, "wave bag" and shoes with vertiginous plateau.
Marni uses printed or embroidered flowers, studs, tailored cuts, and a romantic twist, appreciated by pop stars and actresses.
© Images copyright: Marni and rightful owners.
Tomorrow LTD, Bacch, Open Space
Boutiques Marni
Typology Man Woman Children Shoes and accessories
Man Woman Children Shoes and accessories
Angelo Minetti
The Best Shops
Angelo Minetti The Best Shops
Minetti is an important clothing boutique for men, located in Via Roma, in the central Casale Monferrato. Since 1936 it has been offering the best formal and trendy collections.
Antonia Milano
It was 1999 when Antonia Giacinti opened the doors of the first Antonia boutique, born as a small accessories store, and rapidly expanded to include women's clothing too. In 2007, Maurizio Purificato, his partner, inaugurated the store dedicated to men's clothing [...]
Base Blu Donna
Base Blu has been operating in the luxury fashion retail for over twenty years. With 1500 square meters of total sales area, the company owns three multi brand stores in old town of Varese: Base Blue Donna, Base Blu Uomo and Blu. Base Blu Donna occupies the most pres [...]
Bellettini Cura di Vetralla
The Bellettini company was founded in 1978 with the opening of the first luxury boutique in Cura di Vetralla on Via Cassia, the only connecting road between Rome and Viterbo. The foresight and resourcefulness led them immediately to represent the best fashion brands. To date, Bellettini boutiques [...]
Bernardelli Donna
Bernardelli Donna The Best Shops
Research and elegance, simplicity, and originality. Words that well describe Bernardelli's philosophy. Historical name in the panorama of Italian multibrand boutiques and an absolute reference point in terms of style and research. Mix and match, cheap and [...]
Bernardelli Uomo
Bernardelli Uomo The Best Shops
Biffi Milano
Biffi Milano The Best Shops
Biffi was born in the 60's and it is located in Corso Genova, Milan. It is an historic clothing, [...]
Bini Silvia Donna
Silvia Bini has always ensured an ongoing family tradition thanks to three generations of sellers. For many years the womenswear, menswear, accessories and formalwear boutiques have been representing a reference point in Versilia, by offering well-known fashion brands as well as a refined and [...]
Boysloft - Apartment 28
Penelope Group opened Boysloft in 1998; the store aims at a young target and it is entirely dedicated to the best streetwear collections, for those who loves music, art and design. This modern showroom, located in Brescia, Via Venti Settembre, proposes a mix of stylish brands such as Golden G [...]
Bruna Rosso
Bruna Rosso The Best Shops
Bruna Rosso group is an important Italian retailer of clothing, shoes and accessories of the best international designers for both men and women. The company was founded in the 40's, selling household linen in the local italian and french market; in few years it became one of the main pla [...]


text:
package de.kit.sensorlibrary.sensor.timesensor;

import android.app.IntentService;
import android.content.Intent;
import android.os.Bundle;
import android.os.Message;
import android.os.Messenger;
import android.os.RemoteException;

/**
 * Created by Robert on 25.03.2015.
 */
public class TimeAlarmDailyIntentService extends IntentService {
    public static final String BUNDLE_IDENTIFIER = "TIME_DAY";
    public static final String MESSENGER_IDENTIFIER = "TIME_DAY_MESSENGER";

    public TimeAlarmDailyIntentService() {
        super(TimeAlarmDailyIntentService.class.getSimpleName());
    }

    @Override
    protected void onHandleIntent(Intent intent) {
        Bundle extras = intent.getExtras();
        Messenger messenger = (Messenger) extras
                .get(MESSENGER_IDENTIFIER);
        Message message = Message.obtain();
        Bundle bundle = new Bundle();
        bundle.putLong(BUNDLE_IDENTIFIER,System.currentTimeMillis());
        message.setData(bundle);
        try {
            messenger.send(message);
        } catch (RemoteException e) {
            e.printStackTrace();
        }
    }
}


text:
University of Maryland student charged with murder in deadly stabbing
Sean Christopher Urbanski is seen in this undated photo (University of Maryland Police)
The FBI is investigating a deadly weekend stabbing at the University of Maryland to determine whether it was a hate crime, law enforcement officials said Sunday.
University of Maryland student Sean Christopher Urbanski, 22, of Severna Park, Md., faces charges of first- and second-degree murder as well as first-degree assault after he allegedly attacked Bowie State University student Richard Collins III.
According to charging documents, Collins was waiting for an Uber with two friends on the College Park campus at around 3 a.m. Saturday when a screaming Urbanski approached the group screaming, "Step left, step left if you know what's best for you."
According to the documents, Collins said "no" and was stabbed in the chest with a folding knife. Urbanski was arrested at the scene after several witnesses identified him. Police said the suspect had been drinking.
University of Maryland Police Chief David Mitchell told a news conference Sunday evening that he had called in the FBI after learning that Urbanski was a member of a Facebook group called "Alt-Reich: Nation," where members leave racially charged posts.
Urbanski is white and Collins was black.
"We are here to evaluate that as an ongoing concern with respect to whether or not this was a hate crime," Gordon Johnson, special agent in charge of the FBI Field Office in Baltimore, told reporters.
Mitchell also told reporters that Collins was a senior at Bowie State and was set to graduate on Tuesday. Collins was recently commissioned as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army.
Dr. Artie Lee Travis, vice president for student affairs at Bowie State, said the school hopes the investigation moves forward as quickly as possible.
"Hate has no place in America," Travis said. "Hate has no place on a college campus, where young minds are coming together to try to change the world," he said.
Brian Douglas, who recently became close to Collins when they took a class together, said the man was looking forward to graduation.
"He was just nice, just a good young man all around. You can't find those too often in today's society," Douglas said.
Ciera Sorrell, who also took a class with Collins, said his killing shocked the Bowie State community.
"Everyone is in disbelief," she said. "He seemed so excited to get to live his life and he doesn't have that chance anymore," she said.
University of Maryland President Wallace Loh led students and their families in a moment of silence during Sunday's graduation ceremony.
"We are still in shock that a young man, so full of promise, should have his life cut short, so suddenly," Loh said. "Our thoughts and prayers are with his family and friends, and with the entire Bowie State University community."
The two universities are approximately 12 miles apart.
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It's nearly impossible to simulate all the ways an application will be used, so deciding which scenarios to include in a performance test plays a critical role in estimating performance in production. In this month's Peak Performance column, Scott Barber shares how he handles this important task.
It is rarely, if ever, possible to simulate all of the possible ways that an application will be used, thus making the selection of scenarios to include in a performance test one of the most important elements of predicting or estimating performance in production. Over the years, I've collected a series of heuristics or triggers that have helped me to do this. For some reason, I've been getting a lot of questions about this topic recently, so I thought I'd share my thought process with you.
There are a few situations wherein using an application's contractual obligations as a heuristic is not useful, such as when performance testing for an internal development effort.
Be that as it may, I've still made it a habit to always explore contractual obligations first.
When there are contracts, the challenge is usually obtaining and interpreting them, as contracts are often viewed as proprietary and are not made easily available. When your access to contracts is impeded, it might be necessary to remind those obstructing your access that you cannot do your best work without being able to review the actual contract because the specific language and context of any statement related to performance is critical to determining which scenarios need to be included during performance testing. For example, if a contract states, "The system shall allow users to update their personal information and present that information in a responsive manner," it implies that the "update personal information" scenario needs to be included during performance testing -- even though "in a responsive manner" is ambiguous and requires clarification.
A note of caution: Marketing documents often contain performance-related statements that may be legally binding in the United States. I recommend treating marketing claims as contractual obligations.
The two most frequently committed mistakes I witness when testers choose usage scenarios for performance simulations are that they consider only the most common scenarios or that they become so focused on exceptions that the most common scenarios are forgotten. Instead of doing either, what you want is to determine a reasonable array of possible scenarios. After collecting a list of what you believe are all of the activities a user can perform, circulate the list to the team along with the question, "What else can a user of any type possibly do with this application that isn't on this list?" I use this list as an input for my other heuristics.
As always, I recommend soliciting commentary from the team members. Ask what they think is missing, what they think is out of place, and why.
In this case, after you have a prioritized or categorized a list of scenarios, it is generally valuable to solicit feedback from executive champions, clients and the sales and/or marketing team.
Architects, developers, administrators and anyone currently using or testing the system will have valuable feedback to help guide this sort of grouping.
Architects, developers and administrators tend to have the most valuable feedback about this grouping.
Finally, I like to rank the list according to the degree of risk or concern expressed by stakeholders. This actually involves no real decision-making on my part; I simply interview internal and external stakeholders and ask what their concerns are related to performance. There is no need to rank or group these concerns other than to annotate which scenarios are associated with the concerns.
At this point, what I usually do is spread my lists out on a table with the "contractual obligation" list under my writing hand and ensure the top several scenarios from each of the other lists are represented. When I find a scenario that seems important to include, I write it down. When I feel I have a reasonable balance between what I think I can accomplish and what I wish I could accomplish, I review my draft with the whole team for feedback.
Like many aspects of software development, the perfect arrangement of important usage scenarios to include in performance simulations is a moving target. The previous heuristics generate a tentative list of scenarios that can be expected to provide a reasonable degree of confidence in the accuracy of the performance test results. As long as that list continues to make sense when evaluated against evolving requirements, features, etc., I advise sticking with it and fleshing it out incrementally as you go. If the list stops making sense, recalibrate until it does. You are likely to iterate through this process many times before the project is completed.


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Why do Guppies keep dying?
I think you are fine with that dosage, which is just under full dose. There is probably less than 25g of water due to displacement by gravel and decorations. And, it is better for the neons. They can be sensitive.
What is good about the furanoids is that they are more readily absorbed into the bloodstream.
Watch now for ammonia and nitrite - daily. Make sure you have something like New and Improved Cycle on hand. I also use Prime in my hospital tanks or Amquel Plus. Both are good at neutralizing small amounts of ammonia and nitrite. However, be advised that you could see false positive ammonia spikes. In my experience, these are off the charts all the while the fish are fine. Read the fine print. One other word of caution is that these products can rapidly deplete oxygen if overused. I didn't measure when putting water back in my goldie tank and overdosed. They were piping for air within minutes and I had to do another water change to dilute it out.
Dropping an extra airline will help them too. Anytime fish are sick is a good time to push more surface movement.
I use prime as well. I have never found it to give false readings. I will monitor the fish carefully. I am just going to go watch them and I will post test results and visual results a little later this evening.
Thanks for all your help Cory_Di.
Come Play Yahtzee With Me!
This same thing happened to me.
They all seemed to die so quickly and it looked exactly like the pic that was posted above. Unfortunately every single fish in the one tank died, causing me to loose all of my male breeding stock of my 1/2 black leopard guppies. This was caused by (bless his heart) Shannen who found some pretty guppies he wanted me to have from the LFS and adding them to one of my tanks...it spread like the plague.
How are your fish doing now? Did the meds you used work?
Ok, so the temp is down to 78 so far. The readings are: Ammo 0 Nitrite .5 Nitrate >10ppm. Water Change is tomorrow and then 3rd dose of medicine. I have lost another 2 fish in 48 hours. At least it isnt 8 in 24. The fish appear overall more perky, less lethargic, and are swimming around more. The affected ones seem the same as before.
I guess now only time will tell. I will keep you all posted of what happens as I near the end of the treatment.
I have dosed Prime to combat the Nitrite, and have added so far approx. 1 tablespoon of salt. I will continue the slow addition of salt solution of the next couple of days.
Should I clean the filters out while treating? Is there a chance this bacteria could infest my filter media? I can easily replace filter media or clean existing media. All that is in there is "Sponge" media and Peat.
No toucha the filter media when you have a mini-cycle going on. IN fact, only do hover vacs to pull out poop sitting on the surface. You don't want to disturb your good bacteria more than you have to.
Ok, so last night I did my clean and add second set of doses. I fished out 4 dead fish, and decided instead of watching them die, to remove and euthanize those fish worst affected. Perhaps it will help to not pass it on to the other fish when they die. I Euthanized 7 fish, 4 females and 3 males. They were all in horrible condition, but all with apparent "different" symptoms. This disease is so horrible! I would never even wish it upon my worst enemy!
SO the tank is at 76, I have added approx. 3 tablespoons of salt now, and am on dose 3 of the Furan. The Hatchets and Neons seem OK with the salt and the meds. They are showing no signs of disease at all.
On a good note: I dont know if its my imagination, but some of the guppies/platies seem to be perking up. I hope its a good sign.
Tank Readings again: PH 6.8 Temp 76F, GH >160ppm, Ammonia 0, Nitrites .1, Nitrates before wc 15ppm, after, around 2.5-3ppm.
I had to clean one peice of filter media in one filter, as it was clogged and not running water through. I rinsed it only in used tank water gently.
You probably did those poor fish a favor if they were badly affected, while sparing others the same fate as they transfer it.
Keep us updated on how the Furan works.
bah...strip the tank...redo it top to bottom and buy some biospira. then you can dump whatever fish you want in at once no headaches.
That is what I am going to do once either all my fish die or they are healthy again. If I can cure them, I am probably going to give them away. I am going to strip down the tank, totally re do it. Turn it into a breeding tank for my angel pair.
I have decided I may only going to keep 2 trios of guppies from now on, or perhaps 3 males and 4 females or something along those lines. No more than my little 10g can handle anyway. Then again, I may do away with them forever. I cant stand seeing the little beauties die. Love guppies far too much. It sure is a strong point that overstocking smaller tanks like a 25g is too easy and too devastating in the state of illness. Everything spreads too easily in a small space. Perhaps others will read of this and know that if you have baby guppies, trade em in! You cant keep em all no matter how much youd like to.
On a happier note, the number of dead daily has seemed to drop to just one now. I finished the full round of doses, and my tank has almost recovered: Ammonia 0 Nitrite .1, Nitrates ~7ppm. The prime has helped and I have gotten the salt now up to approx. 4 tablespoons. One more to go. I cant get temp below 78, cuz thats how warm my landlords keep it in here and we have central air. But so far it seems to be helping. I still have a couple fish that seem iffy. If they get worse they will probably be put down as well. Better than them suffering and me having to fish em out after the fact.
Well, if anything, it is a learning experience, to have good meds on hand, and not overstock. Not let guppy populations skyrocket to extremes either! They are just such a frisky fish. Now I will have the chance to keep my Angel Pair in a tank to themselves. Possibly with some pepper corys, but nothing else but plants and a few snails.
Well, Guppies and platys are still dying. Since completeing the full four doses of Furan 2 I have lost 6 more fish, including one of my favorite hi-fin platy females who was almost 3 inches! I am seriously thinking I will probably lose every single guppy and platy in that tank. I am down to about 9 platys and less than 25 guppies now.
I am going to try another round of the Furan seeings it seemed to help. If that doesnt work, I basically am gonna give up and just let it run its course till all the fish are dead I guess. I have exhausted my budget for fish supplies for the next 6 months on just medicines for this tank! I have definetly had enough of sickly guppies from fish stores! I have lost approx. $250 dollars worth of guppies and platys (some of which were really fancy and I paid upwards of 5.99 each for), and I have spent almost $150 dollars in medication for this tank, and all because of a lovely trio of guppies I bought in the LFS for 12.99! Ever since I got those 3 I have been losing fish. I could have a new tank for that price, or a fabulous breeding pair of turqouise discus I saw in the store for $250 dollars, which would have been a lot of savings!!
I wonder how long it will take for all the affected fish to die? My tank already looks so empty. The hatchets and neons still show no signs of illness.
Tank readings are Ph 6.8, Ammonia 0, Nitrites 0, Nitrates 15ppm (water change due on Saturday though). gh is down to 120ppm for some weird reason. Plants are doing well despite all the meds. When all the fish are gone, and once the neons and hatchets are in quarantine, should I totally break the tank down and sterilize everything? How could I sterilize the gravel, or should I just replace it with ecocomplete for the plants? Should I also sterilize the filters? Should I use bleach? Or should I boil what I can and take some salt water or vinegar water to the rest?
Whatta shame. Poor guppies. Darn fish stores with sick fish!!! Darn me not using a quarantine tank.!!! Darn the whole thing.
Cost of q-tine setup: Priceless.
Have these guppies been flashing at all or scraping against objects? There could be something at the root of the columnaris infection. I do know that once it takes hold it is really hard to break. It needs to be caught early. Maybe there is still hope for some. I do know that Livebearers are highly e to it. In fact, that's how it got the nickname Black Molly Disease.
I'll tell you that the best setup for quarantine with regards to filtration is a cheapy 3-4 dollar, old fashioned box filter. You put some gravel from the main tank in the bottom to weigh it down and for some bacteria, put some filter floss on top of that and plug that baby into a decent air pump and its good to go. Furthermore, you can easily add activated carbon at any time you need to pull one med out for another, then discard it. I buy the carbon by the carton and it lasts forever. Ditto with the floss. And, sterilization is a breeze because I just soak it overnight in a week bleach solution - the plastic.
Gravel can be sterilized if you can't afford the Eco-Complete right now . Baking it is one method. Boiling is another. You could probably bleach it, but if you do, spread it out outside on some newspaper after its done and rinsed many times with an overdose of dechlorinator. Let it air dry for a couple of days to make sure all chlorine gas is gone.
Filters are a challenge as many things that sterilize can damage seals and plastic. Drying will not kill parasites like Costia which can become active again when wet. I have allowed my filter to run with a heavy enough dose of Potassium Permangenate (get a bottle of Jungle Clear Water as it is the active ingredient) in the water to make it a dark magenta. I'd only go an hour or so. It stains so be careful and don't allow it to get on your skin as it is poisonous. It will turn brown and go ineffective in the presence of heavy organics. If you see this, it must be dumped as it is no longer useful at that point. It must remain magenta/purple/pink.
Rinse it many times. Small traces won't kill the fish as Jungle Clear Water is intended to go into the tank in low doses to bind organics and clear the water. I've never used it for that, rather I soak my nets in it for a good hour after moving sick fish.
By all means do a second round of the Furan-2. It says this may be necessary on the package. The nitrofurans are one of the most rapidly absorbed meds from the water to the bloodstream so they are getting some. They are also effective against columnaris. I'm just thinking there may be something else prompting it such as costia, velvet or some other unseen parasite.
Don't mix meds. If you were to try it, use activated carbon overnight, then remove and go for something like Rid Ich Plus or other product containing formalin. Use plenty of extra o2 with airstones while using this as it is a gas and makes them breathe heavy. Don't turn up the heat for the same reason - o2 is a challenge with formalin in the tank already without adding heat. Watch for signs of stress and be prepared to do a water change if you see jerking, erratic swimming and other unusual behaviors. Reducing it a little may make it go away.
I would never dose such products unless I could be home to observe. Formalin is usually gone from the water within 4-6 hours. Malachite will still be there. I recommend formalin as it is the only thing that can help kill off a costia infection other than high doses of salt (1 Tbsp per gallon for a 0.3% solution and 2 Tbsp per gallon for a 0.6% solution dissolved in 1 tsp per gallon every 12 hours or more to slowly raise salinity). Not all fish can handle even the 0.3%.
I should add that your other fish may not be able to handle the formalin or Rid Ich Plus in full strength. I'd go with only a half dose first to see how they handle it. YOu can always try it again with a little more the next time, but you can't take away.
Again, I would only do this if you've seen flashing or other signs of possible parasite infestation.
In quarantine I use this filter and I actually put my BioSpira or New and iMproved Cycle right on the floss to kick start things. I often only dose melafix and pimafix to new incoming fish since netting can spark columnaris within 72 hours of bringing fish home. These antibacterials together would check that. Silly fish store associates often use the same net for removing dead fuzzy fish as they do to net new fish. - Bad Decision.
How true! I sure hope if some newbies read this, it will help them to understand how important the quarantine tank is.
I will dose another round of furan 2, as soon as my order from Big Als comes in. I am currently doing small water changes to try to remove/inhibit too much bad things in the water. For some reason, I find the fish respond better after adding Prime. I dont know why, as there is no ammonia or nitrites present, and my small water changes are keeping the nitrates below 10ppm.
I have still found on average 3-4 fish dead each day. Today for me it was small juveniles that were born only about 2 weeks ago. The new born fry seem unaffected for some reason.
The fish are not itching or flashing at all that I have seen. They just seem fine, then after a bit, seem to be resting on the ground a lot, and then are developing the classic "saddleback sore". The females seem to develop the sore, while the males seem to get funny little lumps in their tails. I wonder if the root of this problem is guppy disease? I suppose over crowding could have sparked it, but now that the population has been decimated, wouldnt the death rate go down? I definetly know it started after the addition of the 4 fish I purchased that one day almost 3 months ago! The fish do not appear to be breathing heavily, and even up till the very end continue to eat. Still the neons and hatchetfish are not affected. My watch on the yoyos and corys from the tank is still going fine. They also appear completely unnaffected.
It is definetly like fighting a losing battle.
From now on, its quarantine for 28 days no matter what!
Saddleback lesions are one of the strong characteristics of columnaris - no doubt about it.
Guppies and other livebearers for whatever reason are simply e to it and columnaris is highly communicable. It's been known to wipe out an entire tank population in days and is so stubborn. Your other fish are apparently warding it off. I still think it comes down to how e a fish is to fighting it. Maybe livebearers just don't have the right immunity or genes in contrast to the other fish. I just know that it is also named Black Molly Disease due to its prevalance among livebearers.
The Prime is a good idea. I too use it whenever a fish is in q-tine with a weak filter or a hospital tank with meds, whether I see ammonia or nitrite or not. I dose 1 drop per gallon either once daily, or if it is risky, every 12 hours. Overdosing will make them pipe for air and if that ever happens, just do a water change and it will stop. Always measure the drops.
I have had the same problem with guppies dying. I have been on a lot of forums reading and one thing i notice is that many of the people who report guppy deaths have neon tetras in their tank. I have 2 neons in my tank, every time I add 3 or 4 guppies they are dead within a few days. My tank has been established for years and I only have problems with guppies.
I have had fish for the last 25 years, I have never had so much bad luck like I have the last year with my guppies, doesn't anyone think that there could be more to this issue, this is so wide spread all the problems and diseases with guppies?
I have spent thousands of rand's on guppies, I am at a point where I just want to give everything away.


Here is the elimination round bracket for the Copa America. Courtesy of the excellent article in Wikipedia.
Group A: Uruguay and Venezuela.
Group B: Brasil and Mexico.
Group C: Argentina and Paraguay.
Third place teams: Colombia and Ecuador.


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Home > Case Studies > Effective Collections - Disposals Project at Elmbridge Museum
Effective Collections - Disposals Project at Elmbridge Museum
Gemma and Clare signing disposals paperwork
Museum Contact: Clara Pereira
The purpose of the Effective Collections project was to provide access to around 3,000 Elmbridge Museum artefacts by offering them for disposal to other museums or locations.
These artefacts had already been identified as either being better suited for outreach projects, such as display, handling and learning sessions; or for disposal, transfer or loan to other more appropriate museums or institutions, due to their insignificance or relevancy to Elmbridge Museum's mission.
By disposal, transfer or loan to other more appropriate museums or institutions, the identified collections could then be actively developed further in terms of relevant access and interpretation, thus enhancing the recipient collections.
The project aimed to seek out suitable potential recipient organisations and to offer items that would be better suited to be located in museums and organisations that could make them more available to the public.
In total 417 items were disposed of across a variety of local and national institutions, or deemed to be for waste disposal or recycled.
What was the impact of the project?
The project lead was able to apply and develop a range of project management, self -organisation, communication and research and cataloguing skills, as well as negotiating and networking with local institutions and the museum team. The Effective Collections Project Officer worked closely with the Collections Manager and gained valuable experience in collections care, as well as gaining knowledge of the collection which has helped her to gain a permanent part time post at Elmbridge Museum.
The project has enabled the museum to sharpen its understanding of the content, management and care of the collection, and made connections with new partners and institutions. The project has provided us with some new collection data re condition and content, which will enable us to better present the rest of the Collection to the public. We also know that many of the items we have now dispersed to other museums will become part of their displayed collections or exhibitions, thus widening the access of these items to new audiences in other locations.
This project has helped us to see how we will be better able to present our collections in new ways, as part of our overall mission to operate as an outreach museum service by focusing on what we have now and making better use of this.
What went well?
We successfully transferred items to Dorking Museum, Milford House, Sewerby Hall, Underpinning Museum, University of Brighton, Kingstone Museum and The British Museum.
The whole team were involved in some way in the project, and new contacts and relationships were built with other museums and organisations which will help us as an 'outreach' virtual museum needing to work with and connect more with community partners. The project has also enabled us to improve our cataloguing in the original ICMDM spreadsheets and in Master spreadsheet.
Items were also advertised on Museum blog website, and the project was regularly blogged about as part of profiling the museum on the internet and social media.
What didn't go so well?
It often took a long time, and required us to work through many different people, to get to the point of a final agreement to make a disposal, which slowed down our capacity to reach the target number of 3000 disposals identified. Often it was the larger institutions that took the longest time to process the documentation and permissions.
The target of 3000 was probably too ambitious, as we did not foresee some of the complex communications and issues around negotiating disposals. Sometimes our lead contact would leave a museum and we would have to start communications again.
Try not to be too ambitious about the volume of objects that you think you can dispose of. It takes a long time to offer and negotiate, and final arrange for the disposal of objects in the museum sector, and requires real energy and capacity to keep the communications going forward.
What are your plans for the future?
We will take the lessons learnt and built this into our Development Plans, and it will become a continuous process under the responsibility of the Collections Officer.
Cost of Project: Active Collections SEWS Development Grant Scheme 2016-17 - £3000
Clare and Sue inspecting purses before disposal