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A Facebook Phone?
According to TechCrunch's Michael Arrington's sources, Facebook is creating its own cellphone. As the story goes, they're building the OS, and have tasked a hardware manufacturer to build everything else. Anyone else think this sounds like a Facebook-flavored Peek?
Scared by Google's impending Nexus One (which was announced back in January of this year), Facebook supposedly began planning their phone. Something that would integrate Facebook contacts more deeply than anything Android or any other platforms had done before.
Arrington scribed on a blog post this morning that two Facebook employees, Joe Hewitt and Matthew Papakipos are leading the charge on the OS, using their previous careers as Firefox browser creator and Chrome OS builder (respectively) to launch something Facebook can be proud of. Whether the rest of the world would be proud carrying a Facebook phone is another matter entirely—though I don't have any doubts that this would be a very affordable phone aimed at the young 'uns, if it does amount to something other than speculation. [TechCrunch] | [] |
Take the 2-minute tour ×
Is there any way to run Ninject + NLog under an Azure Website without using the less performant Reflection based Injection?
var options = new NinjectSettings() { UseReflectionBasedInjection = true };
Is the problem stemming from a partial trust issue?
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up vote 1 down vote accepted
If Partial Trust is all you've got, Dynamic compilation is not possible so there simply is no other way. (Obviously if you were using Azure PaaS mode, you could switch to Full Trust but I guess that's not where you are)
Remember the overhead of DI is something that you should measure in the context of your whole solution - e.g. if you're doing 2 database roundtrips per request, that'll dwarf any impact of the reflection.
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Holiday ham
Holiday ham options: A ham steak is one solution to the Easter dinner problem. A compact boneless ham is another. (E. Jason Wambsgans/Chicago Tribune)
Just be prepared to pay a certain price for the convenience of the smaller size. Pamela Johnson, a spokeswoman for the National Pork Board, noted that you might miss the centerpiece appeal and festive aspect of having a big ham preening on the dinner table. Some people also think a boneless ham lacks the texture or taste of its bone-in counterpart.
But if it comes down to small ham or no ham, what do you choose?
For Judith Jones, the legendary cookbook editor and author of "The Pleasures of Cooking for One," the choice is obvious: a small slice of ham. She bakes it in milk, with a healthy dollop of mustard, fresh sage leaves and brown sugar on top.
And if there are leftovers, all the better for her.
"My strategy is to have one little dinner. I cut the ham into a round using a saucer as a guide. Then I have all these trimmings to throw into an omelet or have as a sandwich,'' she says. "I use ham as a seasoning. I like to have it on hand."
So should you, but only as much as you can reasonably use. Toss that leftover ham into a stir-fry or fried rice dish. Let ham give a flavor lift to a souffle, a quiche, soup or salad.
"It's something to play with," Jones said of ham. "Season it with what you like, with whatever you have in the refrigerator."
Ham 101
What is a ham? "The Deluxe Food Lover's Companion" defines it as a "cut of meat from a hog's hind leg, generally from the middle of the shank bone to the aitchbone (hip bone)."
Hams are sold fresh, cured, or cured and smoked, according to a ham and food safety fact sheet prepared by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service. Ready-to-eat hams can be eaten out of the package. Hams that require cooking should be labeled as such; packaging must contain cooking instructions and safe-handling procedures.
How much ham to buy? The USDA suggests 1/4 to 1/3 pound per serving for boneless ham and 1/3 to 1/2 pound per serving for bone-in ham.
When is it done? Fully cooked hams that are ready-to-eat may be served cold or warmed in the oven. The USDA suggests a temperature of 140 degrees. Cook that ham to 165 degrees if it's been repacked outside of the processing plant or if you are reheating leftovers, the USDA adds. Uncooked ham should reach an internal temperature of at least 145 degrees, followed by at least a 3-minute rest time.
Storage. Timing depends on the ham you buy. A fresh uncooked ham may be refrigerated for up to five days or frozen for six months, the USDA reports, while an unopened shelf-stable canned ham may be stored at room temperature for two years. Factor on three to five days of refrigeration for most ham products, especially those wrapped at a store, already opened or left over. Check also for a "use by" date on various branded ham products.
Ham in port and raisin sauce
Prep: 20 minutes
Cook: 12 minutes
Servings: 4
Note: Adapted from "The Great Meat Cookbook" (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, $40).
2 tablespoons butter
1 1/2 pound ham steak, or 1 1/2 pounds leftover ham slices or 4 smoked pork chops
1 cup finely chopped onion
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
2 cups raisins
1 cup canned low-sodium chicken broth
1 cup port
2 to 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1. Melt 1 tablespoon butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the ham steak; cook, 3 minutes per side. Transfer to a platter. (If using sliced ham, cook in batches, 1 minute per side. For smoked pork chops, saute 3 minutes per side.)
2. Add the onion to the skillet; season with a pinch each of salt and pepper. Reduce the heat to medium; cover. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion softens and begins to color, 5 to 7 minutes. Stir in the mustard, then the raisins and broth. Heat to a boil; cook, stirring, until the mustard is dissolved. Stir in the port and 2 tablespoons vinegar or to taste; boil until the sauce is just syrupy. Whisk in remaining 1 tablespoon butter.
3. Reduce the heat to a simmer, add the ham, cover and cook to rewarm the meat thoroughly, 1 minute. Transfer the ham to a serving platter; spoon the sauce and raisins over the ham.
Nutrition information:
Per serving: 538 calories, 13 g fat, 6 g saturated fat, 92 mg cholesterol, 71 g carbohydrates, 37 g protein, 2,279 mg sodium, 4 g fiber.
Ham steak with apples and Brussels sprouts
Prep: 20 minutes
Cook: 8 minutes
Servings: 2
Note: Adapted from Joe Yonan's "Serve Yourself: Nightly Adventures in Cooking for One," the original called for a 4-ounce bone-in pork chop and made as a single serving. This version serves two and can easily be doubled for four. Mirin and rice vinegar may be found in Asian markets and some supermarkets.
1 ham steak, 7 ounces
Freshly ground pepper
1 Granny Smith apple
6 to 8 Brussels sprouts
1/4 teaspoon kosher or sea salt
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 shallots, thinly sliced
1 piece ginger (2 inches long), peeled, finely chopped
2 tablespoons mirin or sherry
2 teaspoons unseasoned rice vinegar
1. Pat dry the ham steak with a paper towel; season generously with freshly ground pepper on both sides. Cut the apple in half, core, and cut into 16 wedges. Thinly slice the wedges crosswise. Remove and discard the tough outer layer of leaves from the Brussels sprouts, cut them in halves, and cut out and discard the tough core. Thinly slice lengthwise.
2. Pour the oil into a large, cold cast-iron skillet; press the ham steak into the cold pan. Turn on the heat to medium. When the ham steak sizzles, after 1 to 2 minutes, scatter the shallot and ginger around it. Stir the shallot and ginger occasionally to keep them from burning, but leave the ham steak undisturbed, cooking until very lightly browned on one side, about 2 minutes.
3. Turn the ham steak over; add the apples and Brussels sprouts to the pan. Season lightly with salt. Stir to combine the apples and sprouts with the shallot and ginger, while leaving the pork undisturbed. Sprinkle the mirin and rice vinegar over the vegetables. Decrease the heat to medium low, cover the pan and cook until the sprouts have wilted, 3 to 4 minutes.
4. Transfer the ham to a serving plate; let it rest for a few minutes. Spoon the apple mixture on top.
Nutrition information:
Per serving: 320 calories, 18 g fat, 3 g saturated fat, 45 mg cholesterol, 19 g carbohydrates, 22 g protein, 1,516 mg sodium, 4 g fiber.
A slice of baked ham
Prep: 10 minutes
Cook: 1 hour
Servings: 3 to 4
Note: Judith Jones includes this family recipe in "The Pleasures of Cooking for One." The preparation "gets rid of the usual watery, oversalted taste that most of our commercial hams have today and gives the meat a wonderful flavor,'' she writes. Jones likes to serve the ham with a puree of root vegetables, like parsnips, and potatoes.
1 slice ham, about 1 pound
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
Milk, up to 1 cup
3 to 4 fresh sage leaves or three dried, or a sprinkling of dried rosemary
2 to 3 tablespoons dark brown sugar
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Put the ham in a shallow baking dish that will just accommodate the slice; smear the mustard on top. Pour milk all around, enough to almost cover the surface. Lay the sage leaves on top; sprinkle the sugar over it. Bake, occasionally opening the oven and spooning some of the curdling milk over the top, 1 hour.
Nutrition information:
Per serving: 184 calories, 5 g fat, 2 g saturated fat, 70 mg cholesterol, 12 g carbohydrates, 24 g protein, 1,136 mg sodium, 0 g fiber.
Ham glazes
Even the teeniest canned ham can pack big flavor if you glaze it with assertive and, often, sweet flavors. Experiment with these recipes. The plum glaze is adapted from a recipe in "The Lee Bros. Charleston Kitchen" (Clarkson Potter, $35) by Matt and Ted Lee. Their original glaze made enough to coat a 15- to 17-pound bone-in ham; proportions are reduced here by three-quarters. The mustard and sugar glaze recipe comes from "The Mustard Book" by Rosamond Man and Robin Weir. If you end up with extra glaze from either recipe, refrigerate to brush on chicken breasts, chicken wings, pork tenderloins or spare ribs later.
Plum glaze: Melt 1 teaspoon unsalted butter in a small saucepan over medium heat until frothy. Add 1/2 shallot, chopped; 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme and a pinch of salt. Cook, stirring, until shallot is soft and fragrant, but not brown, 3 minutes. Add 1/2 cup chicken broth and 2 ounces pitted, quartered prunes. Heat to a boil. Turn off heat; cover. Let stand 10 minutes. Transfer to a food processor; add 2 teaspoons each Dijon mustard and vinegar. Process until smooth. Season to taste with salt. Brush glaze on ham as it bakes.
Mustard brown sugar glaze: Mix 1/4 cup cream with 2 tablespoons each Dijon mustard and brown sugar. Smear over ham; bake. | [] |
LET and TAC Trick
LET and TAC Trick
Lidocaine-epinephrine-tetracaine (LET) and tetracaine-epinephrine (Adrenalin)-cocaine (TAC) can be particularly helpful when you need to suture facial lacerations in children. Their effectiveness can be increased through longer contact times, but I find the most important factor by far is how the topical anesthetic is applied. Instead of applying it with an entire cotton ball, use a smaller piece that is just small enough to fit entirely within the wound. Make sure the piece of cotton is very wet, and then cover it with a piece of nylon tape. Don't use gauze anywhere. The gauze will absorb some of the topical anesthetic and wick it away from the wound. Opsite dressing is another option, but it often sticks to hair, which can make removal painful.
—— D. Brady Pregerson, MD
Beverly Hills, Calif
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Dyscalculia: the social math of multiplicity
Throughout history and across many cultures, there have been various phenomena that fall under the umbrella of multiplicity: the experience of more than one self in one body. Modern psychiatry has pathologized this as Multiple Personality Disorder (now Dissociative Identity Disorder) but many multiples are now coming forward as healthy, functional groups of people who don't seek a psychiatrist to "integrate" them.
This is a collection of short essays, poems, and doodles by our group, trying to explain our experiences and how other people have treated us when they discover our multiplicity. Topics include depersonalization, human rights, gender and sexuality issues, psychiatry, alienation, and struggling to learn how to co-operate as a collective when joined at the hip.
dyscalculia.pdf1.17 MB
Incorrect please try again
Enter the words above: Enter the numbers you hear: | [] |
young & stupid
by crystallicrain
notes: They kissed! I'm not really sure what this is. Didn't know how to end it, so I hope you enjoy it anyway.
At this point, Kurt is ready to settle—not give up, but settle. Because honestly, being friends with the boy really isn't so bad. He is so used to the idea that Blaine only sees him as a friend, as a mentoree, and except for a few crushing, confusing moments, their time spent as just friends really hasn't been that bad—in fact, it's been great.
And honestly, just because he's mad about Blaine doesn't mean that it has to be him. There's a cute boy in his precalculus who is always giving him crooked smiles and making witty remarks during class, and he's pretty sure his French partner has been studying to try to impress him when they work together. He could ask one of them to Breadstix for dinner or the Lima Bean for coffee. If he wanted to.
But when Blaine suggests they sing the duet at Regionals, Kurt decides to question it because, as thrilled as he is to finally have his chance to sing for the Warblers, he has a sinking feeling that, yet again, Blaine's ideas of 'friends' and 'more than' are blending together.
Except when Blaine is covering Kurt's hand with his own, and then closing all the space between them for a kiss—a real kiss, a kiss with a boy, a kiss that he wants—he realises that settling is probably the stupidest idea to have ever crossed his mind.
(Close behind is that it didn't have to be Blaine because, dear, sweet Cheesus, it had—has—to be Blaine.)
Because this, this is what his first kiss should have been like, so sweet yet passionate, a little bit awkward and clumsy, but that just makes it even more perfect. And vaguely, somewhere in the back of his mind (which is reeling once he manages to utter words he can't even remember, but it's making Blaine kiss him again so he doesn't care) Kurt registers that Blaine doesn't taste like dip and burgers at all, but like cherry licorice and minty lip balm and it's way better than anyone could have told him.
The moment Kurt pulls away (which he only does because he's pretty sure he's forgotten how to breathe), Blaine murmurs Kurt's name, and the younger boy's heart flutters a little more because, oh Gaga, he's saying Kurt's name. Kurt didn't even know his name could sound like that. His lips chase back after Blaine's because, well, he's waited too long for this that he can't not be kissing him right now.
For a moment, as Blaine's mouth moves to Kurt's jaw, he wonders if it's too much too fast. But as he tries to reason with himself and rationalize what is happening, Blaine is nipping at his neck and a gasp escapes Kurt's lips, and he's back to thinking nothing but oh dear Gaga yes. He can't even bring himself to care that he'll probably be left with a mark because he can pull his collar a little higher or wear one of his fabulous scarves because this is Blaine doing this to him right now, and he's sure as hell not going to stop him any time soon.
Because, well, that would be up there with his stupidest ideas. | [] |
Jerry: "A lot of teams have worse offensive line than the Cowboys"
Discussion in 'Fan Zone' started by Apollo Creed, Nov 10, 2012.
1. Apollo Creed
Apollo Creed Stackin and Processin, Well
8,454 Messages
231 Likes Received
Jerry told the FAN, 'a lot of clubs wish they had a line playing as well as ours.'
Discuss, cause I don't even know what to say anymore.
2. Idgit
Idgit Ice up, son. Ice up! Staff Member
26,125 Messages
2,385 Likes Received
In terms of pass blocking, that's probably true.
3. Sarge
Sarge Red, White and Brew... Staff Member
20,317 Messages
1,179 Likes Received
You'd have a lot of people disagreeing with you here. Especially serious Romo backers.
4. Apollo Creed
Apollo Creed Stackin and Processin, Well
8,454 Messages
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He makes them look much better than they really are. Romo has great pocket awareness and routinely evades free rushers.
If we had a pure pocket passer in there this group would be putting up David Carr sack numbers.
This group also doesn't see much blitz action because coordinators understand they can get pressure on Romo with just 4 guys, while dropping 7 guys and taking away the vertical passing game.
Means your QB has absolutely no running game, horrible pass protection, and is throwing the ball in incredibly tight windows. Makes your offense completely one dimensional, predictable, and ineffective particularly in the red/green zones where you need your line to convert short yardage and keep drives alive.
5. big dog cowboy
big dog cowboy THE BIG DOG Staff Member
46,412 Messages
1,473 Likes Received
Memo to Jerry: Yes it is.
If Romo weren't a Jedi Knight they would look like crap.
6. Hagman
Hagman Put Niland and Green in the ROH
1,272 Messages
0 Likes Received
Well, then, that settles that. If anyone knows about high quality football talent and performance it's Jerry Jones.
7. 17yearsandcounting
17yearsandcounting Well-Known Member
2,225 Messages
1,439 Likes Received
So is this him blaming Jason or what?
8. Apollo Creed
Apollo Creed Stackin and Processin, Well
8,454 Messages
231 Likes Received
Red could do something like ice his own kicker and Jerry wouldn't blame him. Wait a sec..
9. Sarge
Sarge Red, White and Brew... Staff Member
20,317 Messages
1,179 Likes Received
I agree. The mere fact that they are better at pass blocking than they are at run blocking says nothing. They are next to worthless with regard to run blocking.
I am not the biggest Romo fan, but he has made the OL look MUCH better than they actually are for as long as he's played. Not sure if Romo is the answer, but until and/or unless they address the OL adequately, we will never know.
10. Deep_Freeze
Deep_Freeze Well-Known Member
6,592 Messages
95 Likes Received
I always find the board spin to be interesting on the OL, I mean it has to be horrible if some of the agenda carriers say it is.....right. Nevermind that we are middle of the road in sacks given up or a player of the caliber of Aaron Rodgers has been sacked twice as much but is still producing.
Of course, the issue has to be the OL right, not that Romo has had a bad season and is holding the ball too long cause he doesn't trust his receivers, its all on the OL.....right. I mean, Romo is Houdini, better than any QB in the league at avoiding sacks, even a past league MVP in Rodgers...right.
Somehow, someway, it has to be seen that it isn't just the OL, especially when we are talking about pass protection this year. Sure, the OL could be better (especially in the running game), and anyone should want the best in the league in any position group on the team.
But the OL harping gets old when it ignores all the other problems on this team, and overdrafting or spending too many resources on that area won't just fix this team, we have alot more areas that need addressing also especially on a defense who couldn't cause a turnover if their life depended on it.
11. Risen Star
Risen Star Likes Collector Zone Supporter
18,513 Messages
3,477 Likes Received
Right on, Sarge. An absolutely pathetic run blocking line. Thank God for Romo's pocket presence or we'd be talking about the same type of pass blocking.
It is the worst OL I've seen here since Jimmy arrived.
12. Deep_Freeze
Deep_Freeze Well-Known Member
6,592 Messages
95 Likes Received
Yep, run blocking has been bad......except when Phil Costa was on the field when we ran for all those yards in Baltimore with any RB we plugged in. Costa has to be one of the most polarizing guys on this line, but what happens when he returns and if we can all of a sudden run the ball again.
Can one guy as average as Costa make 'the worst OL since Jimmy' that much better......or is it that your just overstating your opinion time and time again. Last year, we were pretty middle of the road when it came to rushing offense, now we are amongst the worse in the league. Excluding the tackles cause they are the same like the RBs, Livings and Berny are just as good as Holland and Kosier were last year respectively, the main difference is Costa (being hurt) and Cook.
How hard is it to make a leap and think......hey ding ding ding.....there might be something to that.
13. Numbers921
Numbers921 Benched
817 Messages
0 Likes Received
The only reason why the Cowboys ran all over the Ravens is because the Ravens are absolute trash on defense. It wasn't because of Costa. I hate that he got hurt. Not because he's good, but because now that's going to be used as the talking point to not upgrade there. He would've been exposed as the same awful center had he stayed healthy.
14. Joe Rod
Joe Rod When Keeping it Real Goes Wrong
8,123 Messages
323 Likes Received
Was he including college teams in that statement?
15. jnday
jnday Well-Known Member
5,012 Messages
420 Likes Received
Nah, this is Jerry's way of letting the fanbase know that he is not going to draft linemen. Expect more of the same.
16. Deep_Freeze
Deep_Freeze Well-Known Member
6,592 Messages
95 Likes Received
Interesting that you say that, cause similar could be said about Church. Was he just good for a game or two before he got exposed this year, or was he the real deal.
The difference is we will find out if Costa is trash or did he make a difference cause he will play again this year. Personally, I've never been a Costa fan, but when you look at the total picture of our rushing offense, its really just too hard to ignore. Funny thing is Murray could be back by the time Costa is back (if the team hasn't quit by then), so even if Costa makes a difference most will say its cause of Murray.
You still have to look at whats the difference from last year when it wasn't as much of a problem. Common sense should tell you the answer.
17. Wolfpack
Wolfpack Well-Known Member
2,435 Messages
149 Likes Received
Imagine what would happen if you put a Drew Bledsoe type behind this OL. It would be criminal. Romo is running for his life from pressure right up the middle most plays let alone the edge. The current right side of the line is horrible.
If Red were a more flexible offensive genius, he just start calling roll outs every play and make it easier on everyone.
18. Flinger
Flinger Active Member
768 Messages
33 Likes Received
Think about it for just a moment....
That is our GM speaking...
Words matter...
19. burmafrd
burmafrd Well-Known Member
39,948 Messages
637 Likes Received
NGATA sprained his MCL early in the game
So your claim that Costa was the difference is at least suspect
And considering who was running all over the Ravens D why does that make Costa good?
20. TheCount
TheCount Pixel Pusher
20,400 Messages
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Says the guy who built the offensive line.
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This is something we must not forget
• Pin It
"The struggle of man against power is the struggle of memory against forgetting." It's one of Milan Kundera's most famous lines, from his novel "The Book of Laughter and Forgetting." It's one worth keeping in mind as we approach March 20, the 10th anniversary of one of the biggest disasters in the history of the United States. That was the day George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, and a team of others -- along with much of Washington and a very complicit mainstream media -- took the nation to war against Iraq. The devastating consequences of that war will continue for decades, but a full accounting has still yet to happen. And that in itself has consequences. Allowing the toxic mixture of lies, deception and rationalizations that led to that war to go unchallenged makes it more likely that we will make similar tragic mistakes in the future. So I hope we can use this moment to assess what really happened, to look back in order to look forward.
After Iraq, there has been a weird amnesty and amnesia about people's misjudgment on the most consequential decision of our times. . . . Cheney, Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz, Bremer, Rice, McCain, Abrams and others including the pro-war press claque are still offering their judgments unfazed.
Of course, the media played a huge role in allowing -- indeed, enabling -- this catastrophe. What should have been a brake on a process fueled by lies was instead an accelerator.
And the consequences of this disastrous war are still very much with us. In the seemingly endless manufactured crisis over the "fiscal cliff" and the sequester, it's amazing how much airtime and print space have been devoted to the deficit with the word "Iraq" barely getting a mention. Clearly a triumph of forgetting.
"It's really the decision of how to pay for it that has had such a negative effect on the U.S. economy," said Linda Bilmes, lecturer at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government and co-author, along with Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz, of "The Three Trillion Dollar War: The True Cost of the Iraq Conflict." "Because unlike any previous war in U.S. history, this was paid for entirely by debt at the same time that we cut taxes."
According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorites, by 2019, the Iraq War and the Bush tax cuts will account for nearly half of our $17 trillion projected debt. And even less discussed than the ongoing costs of the war are the opportunity costs -- the many things we might have spent that money on instead. In 2010, Bilmes and Stiglitz wrote that not only was their $3 trillion estimate of the war's cost too low, but so was their estimation of the opportunity costs:
"The Iraq war didn't just contribute to the severity of the financial crisis, though; it also kept us from responding to it effectively. Increased indebtedness meant that the government had far less room to maneuver than it otherwise would have had ... The result is that the recession will be longer, output lower, unemployment higher and deficits larger than they would have been absent the war."
In addition to the ongoing debt, there's the issue of the cost of the care for the millions of Iraq war veterans. "We will have a vast overhang in domestic costs for caring for the wounded and covering retirement expenditure of the war fighters," said policy expert Loren Thompson in 2011. "The U.S. will continue to incur major costs for decades to come."
And what of Iraq today? As it turns out, it's one of the closest allies of Iran. Just last week, it was reported that Iraqi Premier Nouri al-Maliki has turned down the U.S. demand for sanctions against Iran for its nuclear program. Iraq also just approved the building of a pipeline for natural gas to flow across Iraq to connect Iran and Syria, which, as the AP put it, is "likely to strengthen Tehran's influence over its neighbors."
In December 2011, as the last combat troops were being brought home from Iraq, President Obama stood at Fort Bragg and declared, "The war in Iraq will soon belong to history." That may be true, but it's vital that our accounting of the failures that led to this tragedy not be relegated to the past. Does President Bush, while painting his pictures in Texas, ever look back and assess the worst decision of his presidency (and that's a pretty high bar)? It seems doubtful, but that doesn't mean the rest of us shouldn't.
No doubt there will someday, rightly, be a monument to those who bravely fought and died in Iraq. But for the 10th anniversary, let's also build online monuments dedicated to those who planned and provoked and fomented the war, so we can join in the struggle of memory against forgetting.
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Ribery, Benzema on trial over prostitution
Staff reports Modified: January 20, 2014 at 10:36 am • Published: January 20, 2014
"We have a truncated trial. On one hand the civil party (Dehar) who was, let's say, at the time the victim, who is no longer the victim and no longer considers herself one and therefore she is out of the trial," Ribery's lawyer, Carlo Alberto Brusa, said Monday. "On the other hand, I remind you that the prosecutor has recommended that the case be dismissed. By consequence, today, we have a trial without accusations."
Ribery is alleged to have had sex with Dehar three times — including at the home of Kamel Ramdani, 39, one of several people who are on trial after a probe into a suspected network of prostitutes operating out of a nightclub called "Zaman Cafe" on Paris' Champs-Elysees first opened in 2010.
"As far as I'm concerned, I will do everything possible so that France and a leading football player will be cleared of everything," Brusa said.
"No one sold their charms at my establishment," Georges Farhat said during Monday's trial, adding that he "never saw" Zahia who he only knew of as "a friend of a barmaid who worked there."
Benzema has denied all the allegations. The 26-year-old Benzema is alleged to have paid €500 ($678) to have sex with Dehar in May 2008 the night he won the French player of the year award playing for his former club Lyon. At the time Dehar was 16.
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Creating Audit Tables, Invoking COM Objects, and More
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Exploring SQL Server Triggers: Part 2
Updating Data in Linked Servers, Information Schema Views, and More
XML Features in SQL Server 2000
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Database Architecture: The Storage Engine
SQL Server 2000
Cathan Cook
Microsoft Consulting Services
July 2001
Summary: This article provides insight into the inner workings of SQL Server architecture. It covers database engine enhancements, providing usage tips and pointers to more information. Understanding depth information about the SQL Server engines can help a Database Administrator (Database System Engineer) take greater advantage of SQL Server when designing, building or enhancing database systems. Although targeted at database professionals, this material may also be useful from an educational or marketing perspective. (21 printed pages)
Storage Engine Enhancements
Interacting with Data
Tables and Indexes
Logging and Recovery
Administrative Improvements
Data Storage Components
This article describes the new storage engine features in Microsoft® SQL Server™ 2000 and offers tips for using them, along with some insight into how the storage engine works. Developing a basic understanding of the inner workings of the storage engine can help you get the most out of SQL Server.
In a world that is focused on highly scalable applications, databases are now designed and implemented on short schedules, and remain in a constant state of evolution as development requirements change and production usage grows. Scalability, availability, and ease-of-use requirements demand a responsive and flexible data storage engine.
Different editions of SQL Server 2000 support a wide variety of systems, ranging in size from a tiny mobile system for a Pocket PC all the way up to a high availability multiple-terabyte transaction processing or decision support system running on clustered Windows® 2000 Datacenter Servers. All of these systems maintain the flexibility, security, and reliability mission-critical business systems demand.
You can deploy SQL Server 2000 applications for projects of varying purposes and sizes, as a result of intelligent, automated storage engine operations. A highly sophisticated architecture improves performance, availability, and scalability.
Reliability and concurrency are enhanced with new algorithms for physical file interaction. These algorithms eliminate the need to run database console commands (DBCCs) as part of regular maintenance. However, DBCC is still available, and the new DBCC CHECK commands can be run without inhibiting online processing.
The storage subsystem, which consists of the physical database files and their layout on disk, supports scaling from very small to very large databases. SQL Server can now support up to 64 GB of physical memory (RAM) and up to 32 processors.
Ease of use
Enhanced administration capabilities help the Database Administrator (DBA) to automate and centralize server management. This also allows easy maintenance of remote servers and applications without the necessity of having a DBA visit every site. Server configuration, managed by a sophisticated algorithm, is dynamically responsive to server usage patterns, freeing the DBA to concentrate on database management and optimization tasks.
Storage Engine Enhancements
The relational database server of SQL Server 2000 has two main parts: the relational engine and the storage engine. The two engines work independently, interacting with each other through native data access components such as OLE DB. The relational engine provides an interface into the storage engine, which is composed of services to interact with the underlying database storage components and features.
The primary responsibilities of the storage engine include:
• Providing features to improve ease of use for managing storage components
• Controlling concurrency, managing transactions, locking, and logging
• Managing the files and physical pages used to store data
• Recovering from system faults
The SQL Server 2000 storage engine offers new features that add conceptual simplicity and physical flexibility, while reducing the need for meticulous capacity planning and performance tuning. SQL Server 2000 reacts to its own environment and dynamically adapts to changes in database usage accurately and quickly. This breakthrough in technology has elevated the focus of database administration to the facilitation of data as a service. SQL Server 2000 DBAs can focus on designing a system that is responsive to data flow and usage, rather than spending time tuning individual parameters.
The changes in SQL Server 2000 are built on architectural enhancements introduced in SQL Server 7.0 to provide a foundation for ongoing improvement and innovation. A key goal for the storage engine team was to reduce the amount of time and effort spent tuning the server on a regular basis. Because most tuning parameter settings can be based on database usage, the engine now dynamically adjusts to situations in the database environment according to an adaptive algorithm. This automated flexibility has been implemented for tuning parameters that required constant adjustment and experimentation in earlier versions. You can still manually adjust tuning features, but SQL Server 2000 does more of the work for you. Only a small percentage of SQL Server customers should require any adjustment to the tuning parameters; this type of adjustment should only be performed with careful testing and under the supervision of fully qualified Database Administrators.
The following table summarizes the key enhancements made to the SQL Server 2000 storage engine. They are described in greater detail later in this article.
FeatureDescription and benefits
Application lock managerIf you need to control concurrent access to application-defined resources, such as forms, new stored procedures now allow you to lock these resources using the SQL Server application lock manager.
Database console commands (DBCCs)The DBCC CHECK commands can now run during online processing, without blocking updates. New enhancements allow verifying consistency of physical pages to detect hardware-induced errors. In SQL Server 2000 Enterprise Edition, DBCC now runs in parallel across multiple processors.
Database optionsAll database options can now be modified using ALTER DATABASE. This ability simplifies administration.
Differential backupsDifferential backups are quicker in SQL Server 2000, due to an enhancement that tracks database changes at the extent level.
Dynamic tuningUsing dynamic adaptive algorithms, the server automatically adjusts previously static configuration settings. Administrative control is still available to manage system-wide resources, but you will not usually need to use it. Manually set parameters adapt dynamically within their constrained boundaries.
In-row textIn tables that include a small, frequently used text column, smaller text values can be stored in the same page with the standard data row, rather than on a page of text values. In tables where this text data is accessed frequently, this feature can eliminate a large amount of disk I/O.
Index builds in parallelIn Enterprise Edition, index builds automatically make use of all processors configured for parallel processing, reducing the time it takes to build an index by as much as a factor of six on an eight-processor server. Index builds also take advantage of available resources in memory and tempdb.
Index read aheadIndex reads have been enhanced to increase performance on index scans.
Index reorganizationImprovements made to DBCC SHOWCONTIG provide more detailed information regarding index fragmentation. A new DBCC command, INDEXDEFRAG, reorganizes index pages online without disrupting database service or incurring any risk to database consistency or recovery.
Descending order key columns on indexesIndividual keys columns in an index can be specified as ascending or descending order.
KILL commandThis command now reports completion progress. If this command is waiting on another process, such as a rollback, you can view how much of the command has been executed. This command has been enhanced to allow you to stop Microsoft Distributed Transaction Coordinator (MS DTC) transactions, which are not associated with a specific session.
Large memory support Windows 2000 technology improves the performance of Enterprise Edition systems that use a large amount of memory. Using the AWE extensions of Windows 2000, SQL Server 2000 can support up to 64 GB of physical memory (RAM).
LockingThe lock manager has been enhanced to detect deadlocks across additional resources such as threads and memory. Concurrency improvements reduce deadlocks. This further enhances scalability in SQL Server 2000.
Logical log marksTransact-SQL commands can create a bookmark in the log to permit restoration of the database to the point in time indicated by the bookmark. This feature also synchronizes restoration of multiple databases used for the same application.
Optimized I/O read-aheadSQL Server 2000 issues multiple serial read-ahead reads at once for each file involved in the scan. The query optimizer uses serial, read-ahead I/O when scanning tables and indexes for improved performance.
Passwords on backupsBackup media and individual backup can be password-protected. This prevents an unauthorized user restoring a backup and gaining access to a database.
Recovery modelsUsing recovery models, you can select the level of logging in the database. This allows greater flexibility of transaction log management. The recovery model can be altered online to complement varying database use throughout the day.
Shared table scansIn Enterprise Edition, multiple scans of a table can now take advantage of other ongoing scans of that table, reducing physical I/O to the disk.
Shrinking the logThe command to shrink the log runs immediately in more situations. When the log cannot be shrunk immediately, SQL Server will provide constructive feedback on what must be done before continuing with or completing the shrink operation.
Snapshot backupsSupport for snapshot backups by third-party vendors has been enhanced. Snapshot backups take advantage of storage technologies to backup or restore an entire database in seconds. These backups can now be combined with a conventional transaction log and differential backups to provide complete protection for OLTP databases. This is especially beneficial for moderate to very large databases in which availability is extremely important.
Space-efficient empty tables and indexesNo disk pages are allocated for empty tables and indexes in SQL Server 2000. SQL Server 7.0 allocated as many as three pages for empty tables and indexes.
Top n sortThis new feature optimizes retrieval of top n values (for example, SELECT TOP 5 * FROM tablename).
XlockSQL Server 2000 provides this new Transact-SQL locking hint. It can be used to explicitly invoke an exclusive transaction-level page or table lock.
SQL Server 2000 has been enriched with features that allow more efficient data interaction and more administrative flexibility. The following sections give more details on these enhancements plus some tips on how to use them.
Interacting with Data
In SQL Server 2000, the storage engine has been enhanced to provide even more scalability and performance when interacting with the data. Understanding these enhancements can help you use SQL Server more effectively.
The exchange of data begins with a query, whether it originates from a user interface or from an automated task. The data request is passed into the relational engine, which interacts with the storage engine to get the data and pass it back to the user. From the perspective of the user, and even the DBA, the functioning of the storage and relational engines are indistinguishable.
Reading Data More Effectively
Data flows between the server and the user through a series of transactions. The application or user initiates the work, and the database passes it to the query processor for completion and then returns the end results. The query processor does the work by accepting, interpreting, and executing SQL statements.
For example, when a user session issues a SELECT statement, the following steps occur:
1. The relational engine compiles and optimizes the statement into an execution plan (which is a series of steps required to get the data). The relational engine then runs the execution plan. The execution steps involve accessing tables and indexes through the storage engine.
2. The relational engine interprets the execution plan, making calls into the storage engine to gather the necessary data.
3. The relational engine combines all the data returned by the storage engine into the final result set and then sends it back to the user.
A couple of improvements have been made to boost performance in this process. In SQL Server 2000, the relational engine relays qualifying query predicates to the storage engine so they can be applied earlier in the process, resulting in more efficient exchange between the storage and relational engine. This can provide a significant performance gain for qualifying queries.
Top n enhanced
Another improvement is in the way the storage engine handles selection of the top n records from a result set. In SQL Server 2000, a new top n engine analyzes the best path of operation for statements like this one:
SELECT top 5 * from orders order by date_ordered desc
For this example, if the whole table must be searched, the engine analyzes the data and tracks only the top n values in the cache. This is a tremendous performance boost for this type of SELECT statement, because only the values in the top n will be sorted, rather than the whole table.
Shared scans
In SQL Server 2000 Enterprise Edition, two or more queries can share ongoing table scans, which can improve performance in very large SQL Server 2000 databases. For example, when a query searches a very large table using an unordered scan, the pages flow through the cache to make room for the data flowing in. If another query were started, a second scan of the same table would incur disk I/O to retrieve those pages again. In an environment where there are frequent table scans, this can cause disk thrashing as both queries search the same data pages.
Figure 1. Shared scans efficiencies
An optimizing process reduces the amount of disk I/O produced by this type of data access pattern. The first unordered scan of a table will read the data from the disk; instead of having to read the disk again, subsequent unordered scans of the same table can build on the information already in memory. See Figure 1. During multiple simultaneous scans of the same table, this synchronization process may boost performance as much as eightfold. This improvement is even more noticeable in large decision support queries, where the total table size is much larger than the size of the cache.
Shared scans are a feature invoked by the storage engine to assist with queries that have no better available execution plan. The intent of this feature is to assist in frequent reads of very large tables. When the query processor determines that the best execution plan includes a table scan, this feature is invoked. However, while it is possible to use query or index tuning to force shared scans, no performance gain is achieved by forcing a table scan where a well-maintained index would do the job as well or better.
In order to maintain transactional consistency while many users are interacting with the data, the storage engine locks resources to manage dependencies on rows, pages, keys, key ranges, indexes, tables, and databases. By locking resources while they are being altered, the engine prevents more than one user from altering the same data at the same time. SQL Server locks are dynamically applied at various levels of granularity, in order to select the least restrictive lock required for the transaction.
In SQL Server 2000, concurrency improvements further reduce deadlocks and avoidable locking of resources. For example, the lock manager has been enhanced to be aware of other resources that might be in contention, such as threads and memory. This new ability can help a Database Administrator identify a wider variety of design or hardware limitations.
A new Transact-SQL interface into the lock manager has been introduced to support customized locking logic within programming code. Locks necessary for business logic can be initiated by invoking sp_getapplock within your Transact-SQL batch, which allows you to specify an application-defined resource to be locked (for example, a lock on an application resource like a form, instead of a lock on a data row), the mode of locking to use, the timeout value, and whether the scope of the lock should be the transaction or the session. After locks have been initiated with the new application lock manager, they participate in the normal lock management of SQL Server, just as if the storage engine had initiated them, so you do not have to worry that your application-initiated lock will remain open if the calling transaction is terminated.
The process by which locks are acquired in SQL Server 2000 takes into account whether or not all the data on the page is committed. For example, if you run a SELECT statement against a table whose data has not changed recently, such as a table in the pubs database, the process does not produce any locks because no active transactions have recently updated the table. The storage engine accomplishes this by comparing the log sequence number on the data page to the current active transactions. In databases where most of the data is older than the oldest active transaction, this can reduce locking significantly, enhancing performance.
While locks protect data during transactions, another process, latching, controls access to physical pages. Latches are very lightweight, short-term synchronization objects protecting actions that do not need to be locked for the life of a transaction. When the engine scans a page, it latches the page, reads the row, gives it back to the relational engine, and then unlatches the page again so another process can reach the same data. Through a process called lazy latching, the storage engine optimizes access to the data pages by releasing latches only when a page is also requested by another ongoing process. If no ongoing process requests the same data page, a single latch remains valid for the entire operation on that page.
For improving concurrency in your system, you should focus on the design of the database system and the code objects that touch it. SQL Server 2000 is designed to support multiple terabytes of data and virtually unlimited linear scalability. The role of the DBA is to manage the database life cycle, a cycle of design and optimization of all database components from code to data storage on disk, to ensure that the design continues to meet the service level agreement.
Tables and Indexes
Enhancements have also been made to the physical data structures, to allow more flexibility of design and maintenance.
As a table or index grows, SQL Server allocates new data pages in sets of eight; these are called extents. A row of data cannot cross pages, so it can hold only 8 KB of data, although associated text, ntext, or image columns can be stored on different pages. Tables that have clustered indexes are physically stored in key order on disk. Heaps are tables that do not have clustered indexes and are not sorted. The records are stored in the order in which they were inserted.
SQL Server 2000 supports indexed views, often called materialized views in other database products. When a clustered index is created on a view, the view ceases to be a derived object and becomes a base object stored in the database with the same structure as a table with a clustered index. An indexed view is useful for storing precalculated values, or the result of a complex join, in cases where the maintenance cost does not outweigh the performance gain. In SQL Server 2000 Enterprise Edition, the query processor automatically uses an indexed view whenever this would optimize a query plan. Indexed views can improve query speed on data that is rarely changed but is frequently part of a complex join or calculation query.
In-Row Text
In-row text allows you to store small text data in the primary page. For example, if you have a table that has a text column, but the text values are frequently small enough to fit on a normal page with the rest of the row, you can set a threshold on the text column. The threshold determines the size below which data is stored on the primary page rather than a separate text page. This results in much faster performance if the majority of the data will fit on the page, and only a small percentage of the data is actually large enough to justify the creation of a text page.
To determine when to use this new feature, balance the storage density or how many rows are stored on each data page versus the I/O improvement. For example, you have a text column for comments. In the table, you observe that 20 percent of the text values are large, but the other 80 percent are less than 100 bytes. This may seem like a logical candidate for the in-row text solution; however, you should only use in-row text if the data in that column is accessed frequently. If your users access this table frequently, but they do not look at the comments column unless they are doing special research, using in-row text might not be the best answer. The storage density is reduced because fewer rows per page are stored; and because the table contains more pages, table scan response times would be increased. Therefore, the best case for implementing in-row text is when you have a frequently accessed text column that also happens to have many values smaller than 8 K that could be stored in the row.
New Data Types
SQL Server 2000 introduces three new data types. bigint is an 8-byte integer type. sql_variant allows the storage of data values of different data types. The third data type, table, is useful for optimizing performance. Table variables make more efficient use of tempdb, and are faster than temporary tables. Like other variables, they are scoped to the batch in which they are declared. With functionality nearly identical to temporary tables, table variables perform faster than temporary tables or cursors and make better use of server resources. As a rule, always consider the best way to utilize the resources available on your servers when you create code to interact with a database.
Access to data is optimized through the use of indexes. Because indexing requirements are based on usage, incorrect indexing is one of the most common causes of slowness in a database. Standard index maintenance should include periodically verifying the current indexing schema and adjusting it to current system usage by dropping or adding indexes as appropriate.
Several new features in SQL Server 2000 make index maintenance more efficient and easier for administration. These enhancements decrease disk I/O, increasing the performance of index scans. This is especially useful where there is a secondary index available for a range scan.
Building indexes
When you build an index, the storage engine samples the rows and calculates the most efficient way to utilize server resources to build the index. Options allow you to control how indexes are built, so you can choose to control how system resources are allocated. You can use these options to balance resources in a process that is important to performance of the system as a whole, in accordance with your knowledge of the particular database system, so the index build will have the lowest possible impact on transaction processing.
Memorysp_configure (advanced)index create memorySpecifies the amount of memory used by any index build.
TempDBcreate indexsort_in_tempdbCauses disk space used for sorting during the index build to be allocated from tempdb. This can result in more I/O bandwidth if tempdb is on separate disks and can result in a more physically contiguous layout of index pages if the database is low on contiguous space.
CPUsp_configure (advanced)max degree of parallelismLimits number of processors (CPU) used in parallel operations (server-wide).
For more information about these options, see SQL Server 2000 Books Online.
Another scalability feature for large systems is the parallel index build, which is available in SQL Server 2000 Enterprise Edition. This process is invoked automatically when you issue a single CREATE INDEX statement. The storage engine calculates the requirements for the data and then creates separate threads, each of which builds a section of the index.
Figure 2. Parallel index optimization
An index build can also make use of a shared table scan, further optimizing the process.
Defragmenting indexes
SQL Server 2000 supports online reorganization of indexes, a tremendous advancement from earlier versions. Online index reorganization has minimal impact on transaction throughput and can be stopped and restarted at any time without loss of work. The reorganization is accomplished in small increments and is fully recoverable.
As information is inserted, deleted, and updated in a table, the clustered and nonclustered index pages can eventually become fragmented, decreasing the efficiency of range queries against that data. Therefore, it can be beneficial to defragment your indexes periodically. You can use DBCC SHOWCONTIG, which has been improved in SQL Server 2000, to analyze and report fragmentation. For more information, see SQL Server 2000 Books Online.
If you determine that an index is fragmented, use DBCC INDEXDEFRAG to reorganize it. It reorders the pages in logical key order, compacting free space and moving rows within the established extents to conform to the fill factor setting. This enhances read performance by densely populating the pages so less of them must be read during a scan of the data. Running DBCC INDEXDEFRAG has far less impact on online performance than rebuilding the index does, provided the index has been regularly maintained and is not completely fragmented.
DBCC INDEXDEFRAG is one of a number of long-running online administrative operations that use small transactions internally. These small transactions maximize concurrency within the server, allow the operation to be stopped without loss of work, and are fully logged to prevent having to redo them in case of a failure.
Logging and Recovery
The transaction log is a stream of records that records changes to the database from the point the database was created until the current point in time. Every logged operation creates a log record. The log records generated by a transaction are written to disk when the transaction commits. In contrast, the data pages modified by the transaction are not immediately written to disk, but are retained in the SQL Server buffer cache and written to disk some time later. Delaying writes of the data to disk maximizes the efficiency of multiple accesses to the data pages and avoids disrupting scans. Forcing the log to disk on commit guarantees that no committed work is lost if the server goes down.
Recovery ensures that a database is transactionally consistent prior to bringing it online. If a database is transactionally consistent, all committed work is present and any uncommitted work has been undone. The log always defines the correct view of the database. Simply put, recovery is the process of making the data consistent with the transaction log at a given point in time.
Recovery is performed automatically when SQL Server starts, when a database is attached, or as the final step in restoring a database from backups. Recovery performed by SQL Server when it starts is called restartstartup recovery. Recovery from backups is normally due to disk failure. This type of recovery is called media recovery.
Restart recovery is automatic and always recovers to the most recent point in time. In the case of recovery from backups, the DBA may choose to recover to an earlier point in time. This is subject to restrictions. For more information, see SQL Server 2000 Books Online.
Startup recovery occurs automatically each time an instance of SQL Server is started and consists of rolling back any transactions that were incomplete when the instance was last shut down. In the case of recovery from backups, the DBA may choose to recover to an earlier point in time. This is subject to restrictions. For more information, see SQL Server 2000 Books Online. In both cases, recovery operates based on this target point in time.
Recovery consists of two phases:
1. Redo all changes until the target point in time is encountered in the transaction log.
2. Undo all work performed by transactions that were active at the point where redo stopped.
SQL Server uses checkpoints to speed restart recovery. A checkpoint forces all modified data pages currently in the buffer cache to disk. This creates a starting point for redo portion of recovery. Because checkpoints can be expensive, SQL Server automatically manages checkpoints to maximize performance while minimizing the time it takes to restart.
In SQL Server 2000, writes that complete successfully must be stored durably on disk. If you use write-caching disk storage, work with your storage vendor to ensure that the cache is fault-tolerant. Fault tolerance means that the cache is immune to power failures or operator actions. If your cache is not fault-tolerant, it should be disabled.
Logical Log Marks
In SQL Server 7.0, it was possible to recover to any specified point in time. In the case of hardware failure, the restore process was fairly straightforward. However, another threat to a database is the possibility that invalid data may be entered or that valid data may be destroyed by a user's action. In this case, you need to determine when the problem transaction began. In SQL Server 7.0, the only way to do this was to restore logs to a copy of the database until the problem recurred; then you could run your restore to the production image up to a point in time just prior to the discovered time of error.
In SQL Server 2000, you can mark transactions in the log. Later, if you need to restore, you can reference the mark that was used at the time of execution, rather than using wall-clock time. To do this, use a named BEGIN TRANSACTION statement and the WITH MARK [description] clause. The marks are stored in msdb. Recovery can include or stop right before a transaction that contains the mark. For example, if you have a process that runs in batch and changes many records, you can use this feature to ensure that if the process is run under the wrong circumstances, you can roll the data back to the point in time that the command was executed.
Mark names do not need to be unique. To indicate which transaction you need, specify a datetime value. The syntax for this is:
You can also use marks in a distributed transaction, known as distributed marks, to support recovery of multiple related databases to a transactionally consistent state. These related databases might reside on the same or different instances of SQL Server. You can set distributed marks across a set of databases periodically (for example, once every five minutes). If the transaction log of one of the databases is damaged, you must recover the set of databases to an earlier point in time. The distributed mark provides this point. Using distributed marks negates the worry of coordinating precise timing of backups for multiple related databases. For more information, see "Recovering to a Named Transaction" in SQL Server 2000 Books Online.
Shrinking the Transaction Log
Log shrink operations were not executed immediately in SQL Server 7.0. They were deferred until the transaction log was next backed up or truncated. This confused many SQL Server 7.0 customers. SQL Server 2000 shrinks the log as much as possible and then indicates if further shrinking will be possible after a log backup. In this case, run the shrink command again after the log backup has completed. For more information, see "Shrinking the Transaction Log" in SQL Server 2000 Books Online.
The size of the log will be based on your current recovery model and your application design. If you find that you need to shrink to log periodically, look beyond the symptom to the cause. You should further investigate what is causing the log to fill up, rather than focus on constant maintenance with the shrink command.
Recovery Models
Recovery models were added to SQL Server 2000 to facilitate data protection planning. They clarify tradeoffs between performance, log space requirements, and protection from media (disk) failure. There are three models: Simple Recovery, Full Recovery, and Bulk-Logged.
The choice of recovery model is based on database usage and availability requirements and helps determine appropriate backup and restore procedures. Recovery models only apply to media recovery, that is, recovery from backups. Restart recovery recovers all committed work. For more information, see "Selecting a Recovery Model" in SQL Server 2000 Books Online.
You can easily transition between recovery models. For example, on a very large database, you can use full or bulk logged, or both. You can use full during the day and bulk_logged at night, during a data load process that consists of bulk insert and rebuilding indexes. You can also switch to bulk logging while you run a data load and switch back to full mode, run a transaction log backup, and be able to restore to that point in time without having to run a full database backup. This feature allows you to do the bulk processing more efficiently; all you need to do is make a transaction log backup afterwards.
To change recovery models, use the following syntax:
For more information, see "Switching Recovery Models" in SQL Server 2000 Books Online.
Simple recovery model
The Simple Recovery model typically requires less log space, but it incurs the greatest potential work loss if data or log files are damaged. Only events needed for basic recovery are logged. Using the Simple Recovery Model, only full database and differential database backups are available. In the event of a failure, all committed work since the last backup must be redone. This model is the simplest to administer, but it is not a good choice for a mission-critical application where loss of committed work cannot be tolerated.
This model is similar to the truncate log on checkpoint option in SQL Server 7.0 and earlier versions.
Full recovery model
In the Full Recovery model, everything is logged. Full Recovery model provides complete protection against work loss from a damaged data file. If the transaction log is damaged, work committed since the most recent log backup is lost and must be redone manually.
Even when you use the Full Recovery model, it is important to use fault-tolerant disks for the transaction log to prevent data loss. The Full Recovery model also allows recovery to any specific point in time.
Bulk-logged recovery model
The Bulk-Logged Recovery model provides the highest performance for bulk operations. These operations also consume less log space than they do under the Full Recovery model. For example, the allocation of a new page is logged, but the data inserted onto the page is not. In SQL Server 2000, bulk operations consist of bulk load (BCP and BULK INSERT, including when they run within a DTS package), SELECT INTO, CREATE INDEX, WRITETEXT, and UPDATETEXT.
Compared with the Full Recovery model, the Bulk-Logged Recovery model minimizes logging for bulk operations. Keep in mind that in the event that recovery becomes necessary, if the log is damaged or if bulk operations have occurred since the most recent log backup, changes made in the database since the last log backup are lost.
This model does not support recovery to a specific point in time, but it will allow recovery to the end of a transaction log backup containing bulk changes. Transaction log backups made using the Bulk-Logged Recovery model contain the extents modified by bulk operations. This feature improves support for log shipping, because you no longer need to worry that a bulk operation will invalidate your backups. SQL Server maintains a bitmap to track the data extents modified, which optimizes the process by which SQL Server identifies changes.
Improved backup functionality
In addition to the introduction of recovery models to simplify data protection in general, SQL Server 2000 has improved manageability: snapshot technology, differential backups, and security have been enhanced.
• The transaction log backup chain is never broken. In SQL Server 7.0, certain operations, such as adding a file to a database, broke the log chain and required a subsequent full database backup.
• Backup operations do not conflict with applications or other administrative actions. For example, backups can occur concurrently with bulk operations such as create index and bulk load.
• Log and file backups can occur concurrently.
Unattended backup operations, regardless of system activity, are also well supported in SQL Server 2000.
SQL Server supports snapshot backup and restore technologies in conjunction with independent hardware and software vendors. Snapshot backups minimize or eliminate the use of server resources to accomplish the backup. This is especially beneficial for moderate to very large databases in which availability is extremely important. The primary benefits of this technology are:
• A backup can be created in a very short time, usually measured in seconds, with little or no impact on the server.
• A disk backup can be used to restore a database just as quickly.
• Another host can create a backup with no impact on the production system.
• A copy of a production database can be created instantly for reporting or testing.
Snapshot backups and restores are accomplished in cooperation with third-party hardware and/or software vendors who use features of SQL Server 2000 designed for this purpose. The backup technology creates an instantaneous copy of the data being backed up, usually by splitting a mirrored set of disks. At restore time, the original is immediately available. The underlying disks are synchronized in the background, resulting in almost instantaneous restores.
Differential database backups can be completed in a time that is proportional to the amount of data changed since the last full backup. The less your data has changed, the quicker the backup. SQL Server 2000 uses a bitmap to track data extents modified since the most recent database or file backup to enable them to be located efficiently. In addition, SQL Server 2000 supports file differential backups.
Backups still accumulate changes made to the database since the most recent full backup, functioning the same way in the event of recovery. They are significantly faster, however, because they only record the small amount of information that has changed, especially for very large databases that contain only a small amount of changed data.
For added security, you can implement password protection for your backup media and backup sets. This helps prevent unauthorized users from adding to your backups or restoring to your database.
Administrative Improvements
Several administrative features of the storage engine have been enhanced in SQL Server 2000.
Database Verification
The DBCCs provide a variety of administrative capabilities, including the CHECK commands for verifying database consistency.
Experience with SQL Server 7.0 and SQL Server 2000 has shown that database inconsistency is caused by hardware problems that may or may not be detected by the database engine or applications during normal operation. This is particularly applicable to data that is accessed infrequently. In response to this need, SQL Server 2000 introduces a checking mode, Physical_Only, which is designed to detect most hardware-caused problems. It is very fast, approximately disk scan speed, and is not resource intensive.
Due to fundamental architectural improvements in the SQL Server storage engine, which started with SQL Server 7.0, it is not necessary to run database verification as part of normal maintenance. However, Microsoft remains committed to database verification tools as an important part of managing mission critical data. Microsoft recommends that you:
• Run the Physical_Only check occasionally, depending on your confidence in underlying hardware, particularly the disk subsystems.
• Run a complete database check at critical times, such as a hardware or software upgrade, or whenever a problem is suspected regardless of cause.
Microsoft does not recommend running a complete check as part of regular maintenance.
SQL Server 2000 also includes important enhancements to database verification:
• By default, checking is fully online. Online checking has low impact on the transaction workload. This impact will vary depending on the system load, hardware configuration, and speed of tempdb. Microsoft has measured this impact at 15 to 20 percent with a medium OLTP workload (50 percent CPU). The TABLOCK option is provided to force the check to take shared table locks, which enables it to run faster but will prevent updates.
• Checking is done in parallel on symmetric multiprocessing (SMP) computers, limited by the maximum degree of parallelism you have set for the instance of SQL Server.
SQL Server 2000 check commands continue to support the repair functionality introduced in SQL Server 7.0. Offline repair can provide an alternative to a restore from backups in some situations.
Database State Control
SQL Server 2000 includes enhancements to the ALTER DATABASE statement that allow more control of database states through Transact-SQL. All database options can now be modified with greater control through the ALTER DATABASE command; sp_dboption and databaseproperty() will no longer be updated in future releases. The Transact-SQL commands sp_helpdb and DatabasePropertyEx() provide information about the state of your database.
The following table lists database state options.
Option typeAvailable settings
User accessSINGLE_USER
SQL Server also sets the following states in reaction to conditions within the database: restoring, recovering, and suspect. The database options can be set by using the SET clause of the ALTER DATABASE statement, the sp_dboption system stored procedure, or, in some cases, SQL Server Enterprise Manager.
When the database state is changed, the session making changes to the database state remains connected, while sessions inconsistent with the new state can be terminated and their transactions rolled back. Session termination options include the following:
• Terminate immediately
• Terminate after a specified time
• Allow the ongoing processes to complete normally
• Check for activity and disregard the state change if active user sessions are found
Here are two examples of the syntax:
alter database accting set read_only with rollback immediate
alter database accting set single_user with rollback after 60 seconds
For more information, see "Setting Database Options" in SQL Server 2000 Books Online.
System Process IDs and Units of Work
One additional administrative enhancement that helps when you need to stop a process is the KILL command. The KILL command has been enhanced with status feedback. So, if you want to learn the status of an outstanding KILL command, run the following:
If you try to stop a system process ID (SPID) that is being stopped by another KILL command, the system returns the same status information.
In SQL Server 2000, MS DTC transactions can exist without an associated connection or SPID. Therefore, a connection can be used for other processes while waiting for a transaction or unit of work to complete. When the MS DTC transaction manager sends a message that it has completed the task, you can either commit or roll back the transaction. This is referred to as a unit of work (UOW), which is the transaction identifier used by MS DTC for the transaction. A UOW does not have a SPID.
For more information, see SQL Server 2000 Books Online.
Dynamic Tuning
In SQL Server 2000, usage-based performance tuning is managed dynamically, without required or recommended manual adjustments. The static parameters have been eliminated, but administrative control has been retained for certain resources (for example, setting an upper limit on the amount of memory SQL Server can use). This method is far more accurate and responsive than a manually calculated system based on averages and estimates. This allows you to concentrate on the design aspects of database management. Traditional database systems require a great deal of manual management and tuning. For example, to tune the system in response to usage, the DBA would be required to monitor the system, recording a vast amount of statistics over time, in order to select a static setting that seems to provide the optimal advantage for the system. Then the DBA would re-evaluate the system to judge what effect the new setting has, and the tuning process would begin again.
SQL Server 2000 introduces a dynamic algorithm into the storage engine, which actively monitors usage of the server and adjusts the settings internally. Dynamic feedback and analysis in SQL Server 2000 keeps the setting within 10 percent of the absolute optimal value (see Figure 3), resulting in a better-tuned and highly adaptive system.
Figure 3. Adaptive algorithm tuning
Data Storage Components
SQL Server 2000 balances processing across all available CPUs in coordination with the Windows 2000 operating system. If you are running a dedicated instance of SQL Server, and no other applications produce a load on the same resources, leave the processor-related settings at their default to make full use of all the processors. SQL Server can take advantage of parallel processing across multiple processors for queries, index builds, DBCCs and other operations. For more information on parallelism, see "Degree of Parallelism" in SQL Server 2000 Books Online.
SQL Server 2000 Standard Edition can support up to four processors and 2 GB of physical memory (RAM). Enterprise Edition can scale upwards to new levels, to support up to 32 processors and 64 GB of physical memory (RAM).
The main source of memory for an instance of SQL Server is called its memory pool. Almost all data structures that use memory in an instance of SQL Server are allocated from the memory pool. Examples of objects allocated from the memory pool include the buffer cache, where recently read data pages are stored, and the procedure cache, which holds recent execution plans.
The assignments within the memory pool are highly dynamic. To optimize performance, SQL Server constantly adjusts the amounts of the memory pool assigned to the various areas. For example, when the number of stored execution plans is lower, the memory pool is adjusted to make optimal use of the resources by making more memory available for the data cache.
SQL Server 2000 is designed to use memory to minimize disk I/O as much as possible. To accomplish this, SQL Server uses the buffer cache to hold recently referenced data, in physical memory (RAM), where it can be reused. One potential way to reduce disk I/O and speed up your database system would be to add to the physical memory (RAM) available to SQL Server.
Normally, memory settings do not require any adjustment. However, they can be controlled in certain situations. For example, memory requires special attention where you are running multiple instances of SQL Server on the same server, especially if you use failover clustering. You also need to monitor memory usage if you are running applications in addition to SQL Server on the same server.
Figure 4: Memory usage with greater than 4GB RAM
SQL Server 2000 takes advantage of new capabilities in Windows 2000 to address physical memory (RAM) beyond 3GB. See Figure 4. SQL Server 2000 Enterprise Edition can use as much memory as Windows 2000 Advanced Server or Windows 2000 Datacenter Server allows.
For more information on large memory support in SQL Server 2000, see "Managing AWE Memory" in SQL Server 2000 Books Online.
Files, Filegroups, and Disks
SQL Server stores data and the log in disk files. In a basic installation, and as a default, data and log files are created in the default location specified in the server configuration. However, to maximize performance and manageability, you can apply a few basic principles:
• Spread data over as many disks, channels, and controllers as possible.
In general, the more disks (spindles) you have (regardless of their individual size) and the faster your access to them (controllers and channels), the faster the storage engine can read and write data. The larger your system usage becomes, the more important it is to separate the data files from log files by storing them on different sets of physical drives. Also, because the use of tempdb has changed, you should now store tempdb on a large set of disks, for example, with the data files or on a set of disks.
• Use filegroups to make your enterprise database more manageable.
Every database begins with one default filegroup. Because SQL Server 2000 can work effectively without additional filegroups, many systems will not need to add user-defined filegroups. However, as a system grows, the use of additional filegroups can provide more manageability, when implemented and maintained by a qualified DBA.
In SQL Server 2000, if you set a particular filegroup within a database to read-only, the data on that filegroup cannot be altered, but catalog information such as permissions can still be managed.
Note In SQL Server 2000, the number of asynchronous I/Os is now managed dynamically inside the database engine, and is not influenced by the number of files or filegroups used, as was the case in SQL Server 7.0.
When implementing or optimizing a database design, the Database Administrator (Database System Engineer) needs to consider the configuration of the database storage components, particularly the layout of physical and logical disks and the arrangement of the database files across disks.
For DBAs, increased flexibility and control over performance provides the freedom to focus their database technology skills and experience on managing the database code, design, and storage components as a unified approach to database system management. The SQL Server 2000 database engine provides general extensibility and flexibility for a wide variety of database implementations.
Suggested Reading
For information about operating a successful database system with professional people and processes, read about the Microsoft Certified Database Administrator program, and Microsoft Operations Framework.
SQL Server 2000 Books Online is included with SQL Server 2000. It is also available online at http://www.microsoft.com/sql/productdoc/
For more information about hardware and SQL Server, see SQL Server 2000 on Large Servers in SQL Server 2000 Books Online.
For more information about SQL Server architecture and the storage engine, see SQL Server 2000 Books Online, as well as Kalen Delaney's Inside Microsoft SQL Server 2000.
For more information on capacity planning techniques, see the Microsoft SQL Server 2000 Administrator's Companion.
Technical information about SQL Server for database administrators is located on the Microsoft SQL Server Web site and in MSDN and Microsoft TechNet.
Technical information about SQL Server for developers is located in the MSDN SQL Server home page.
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Take the 2-minute tour ×
I am learning how to manage databases for my company and while I have pretty good understanding of using a database, I can definately see that it is completely different administering a database.
My possition is we are a small team and we previously had no one manageing the database servers, if something went wrong we would fix it but there was no pro-active maintenance.
I am putting together some documentation of best practices that we should be using, fixes to problems discovered, and methods to prevent issues from occuring. At the moment my managers are reluctant to patch the DB Servers (OS and DB Software), which I believe is insanity but they are senior and "know best".
Our environment is Server 2003, with 5 DB Servers, three MSSQL 2005 and two MSSQL2000. The DB servers are all private and do not face the internet. They are behind our firewall. The fact they are not public is the reasoning behind the managers reluctance to patch the servers.
What I would like to know is:
How people manage patching of the SQL Servers and OS? Is it necessary to patch them? List item When do you apply patches (immeadiately, after a couple days to wait for problems to be encountered and documented, other)? List item White papers, technical documentation, good blogs, etc that you can recommend. Any help would be greatly appreciated as I believe that they should be patched to at the least the most recent SP and perhaps the second recent Cummalative Update, but I dont have any form of best practices to base this on so would be most keen to learn what people do.
If you need further information please dont hesitate in contacting me.
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4 Answers
up vote 2 down vote accepted
My advice: yes, patch them. As we have seen even today, malicious content can and will make it into your internal network. Thoughts contrary to this are just plain naive and irresponsible. Slammer was an eye-opener back in the day and a lot has been done to lock SQL down to prevent this, but new threats arise blah blah blah.
With regards to the db servers, it's pretty much the same as your other servers. Put together an install plan, put together a rollback plan, apply the patches in a test environment, when comfortable apply them in production. They should be assessed for priority along with all other patches.
I agree, not patching is insanity. If your business relies on these systems and they're not patching because of discomfort with administering SQL Server then get someone into SQL admin training.
Edit: To your comment, on your test server you duplicate your production environment as closely as possible. To test your patch process you perform the entire process on the test server. If it fails then there's a decent or better chance that it'll fail in production also. Don't patch production until the patches in a test environment are stable.
On application servers you also want to make sure that your app continues to work as designed after the patches are installed so you will want to not only make sure the system itself survives the patch but that you run through the functionality of your application.
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What sort of testing should I be doing on the test server? – Lima Jul 1 '09 at 14:06
See the edit in my answer. – squillman Jul 1 '09 at 14:33
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Patching databases should be no different than patching anything. Test, then deploy.
Obviously this requires a test system to patch first, but if these databases are as critical as the senior people in your organization believe them to be, I'm sure they have test systems deployed already and ready for testing. ;)
I always find it interesting when people refuse to patch systems because they are "internal only" and therefore secure. I guess you have no computer on your LAN that accesses the Internet and no possibility of ever doing something with a piece of software that will trigger a data corrupting, server crashing bug in the unpatched original release of the software.
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Agreed with the above regarding "yes you must patch, and yes, test the patches first".
I will note however, as you mention that your team is new to DB administration, that I find MSSQL to require patches less frequently than Windows. The way it goes for me, I set windows update to "download only" on our test machine, then some night when we're feeling brave we tell Windows to go ahead and install, reboot, then run our regression tests.
The production machine is set the same way - download only, don't install the patches. So if our tests go well on the test machine we wake up at 5 AM the next day and tell the production machine to install the patches as well, let it reboot, then do some simple tests to ensure that the app is still working. We normally do this no more than once per week, as we don't like to wake up at 5 AM, but of course if the description of the patch sounds unusually dire we'll rush it.
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Yikes. Well you definitely want to patch them as SQL Slammer et al operate BEHIND the firewall so .... Anyway, "back in the day" I would manually patch them from the SP's that come out from time to time after testing on a backup server. Nowadays I just let "Microsoft Update" catch any SQL Server-related patches. Seems to work just fine.
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How Long Do You Have to Go to School for Medical Billing and Coding Salary?
How long you have to go to school for Medical Billing and Coding will depend on what Certification course program you choose, most courses range between 6-9 months. If you want to receive a Degree opposed to a Certificate it can take 3-4 years.
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To determine how long it takes to complete an online course in medical billing and coding you should find out the school or course requirements. Many online courses ...
To become a medical billing and coding specialist that requires an Associates Degree so it would take you two years to obtain. If you go to a vocational school ...
Someone may need to take a class to become a medical biller and coder. This can take about 18 months to complete through a local community college or on line school ... | [] |
Reports | November 30, 2012 14:20
Rapid tie-break on Saturday to decide Women's World Championship
Stefanova levels the score in the 4th game
Just like the match between their male colleagues Vishy Anand and Boris Gelfand, the final of the Women's World Championship in Khanty-Mansiysk between Anna Ushenina and Antoaneta Stefanova will be decided in a rapid tie-break. After four classical games the score is 2-2 with two draws, a win for Ushenina (game 3) and a win for Stefanova (game 4 today).
Stefanova levels the score in the 4th game | Photos courtesy of FIDE
Event Women's World Championship | PGN via TWIC
Dates November 11th-December 2nd, 2012
Location Khanthy-Mansiysk, Russia
System 64-player knockout
Rate of play
increment of 30 seconds per move from move one
The final of the Women's World Championship, between Anna Ushenina of Ukraine and Antoaneta Stefanova of Bulgaria, started on Tuesday, November 27th. Ushenina knocked out Cori Deysi, Anna Muzychuk, Natalija Pogonina, Nadezhda Kosintseva and Ju Wenjun. Stefanova won against Marina Romanko, Zhu Chen, Monika Socko, Marie Sebag and Harika Dronavalli.
The first game was a relatively quiet Bogo-Indian. The position quickly resembled a QGD Exchange, but without dark-squared bishops. White went for a minority attack, but Black's counterplay proved more dangerous. It was only timetrouble that prevented Stefanova from taking the lead in the match.
PGN string
And the final takes off!
The second game was a short draw as the players suddenly called it a day on move 17 – actually the kind of thing we're not used to see in women's tournaments, except perhaps when the Kosintseva sisters play each other. Well, it was quite sharp, even though Ushenina did not go into the wild territory of the Marshall Gambit.
PGN string
Game 2: a quick draw
With -26 degrees outside in Khanty-Mansiysk, the playing hall heated up on Thursday with Ushenina scoring the first full point. While the Ukrainian lady is on her own in Siberia, Stefanova is supported by Nikolay Velchev, coach Vladimir Georgiev and also Silvio Danailov. They saw a very well prepared Ushenina countering Stefanova's Chebanenko.
PGN string
Ushenina takes the lead: 2-1
In the final game Ushenina only needed a draw, but she didn't manage. According to former World Champion Susan Polgar,
Ushenina self destructed by playing safe for draw instead of normal logical chess. Same mistake by Sebag against Stefanova.
PGN string
Stefanova levels the score in the last game
Tomorrow's all-decisive tie-break starts at 10:00 CET. Here are the regulations, taken from FIDE's PDF:
3. 8. 2. 2 If the scores are level after the games in paragraph 3. 8. 2. 1, then, after a new drawing of colours, two (2) ten-minute games shall be played with the addition of 10 seconds after each move.
3. 8. 2. 3 If the scores are level after the games in paragraph 3. 8. 2. 2, then, after a new drawing of colours, two (2) five-minute games shall be played with the addition of 10 seconds after each move.
3. 8. 2. 4 If the score is still level after the games in paragraph, the players shall play one sudden death game. The player who wins the drawing of lots may choose the color. The player with the white pieces shall receive 5 minutes, the player with the black pieces shall receive 4 minutes whereupon, after the 60th move, both players shall receive an increment of 3 seconds from move 61. The winner shall be declared Women’s World Champion. In case of a draw the player with the black pieces shall be declared Women’s World Champion.
Saturday's winner will be crowned World Champion. She will play the Chinese Hou Yifan (who lost her title in Khanty-Mansiysk but won the Women's Grand Prix) in a longer match, which is scheduled to take in place in September 2013.
Peter Doggers's picture
Author: Peter Doggers
Manu's picture
Go Stefanova¡¡¡¡ Its your time to get back the tittle of world champion
RealityCheck's picture
Is Rapid Chess here to stay? With the competition skin tight, so close nowadays we'll most certainly witness more Rapid Tie-Breaks deciding the winner; unless the organisers are willing to require more Clasical games be played.
Is this an huge improvement over "Draw Odds"? We'll have to wait and see what type of Wch's are born out of this format. So far so good.....i
So, three cheers to Kramnik (vs Topalov) and Anand (vs Gelfand) and Stefanova vs Ushenina.
Thomas's picture
Close matches (also longer ones) with the possible or actual need for tiebreaks or draw odds are nothing new - in my chessic lifetime roughly half of all WCh matches were pretty close. Let's go:
1978 Karpov-Korchnoi 16.5-15.5 (or 6-5 wins only)
1985 Kasparov-Karpov 13-11 (Karpov lost the final must-win game)
1986 Kasparov-Karpov 12.5-11.5
1987 Kasparov-Karpov 12-12 (draw odds for Kasparov who won on demand in the 24th game)
1990 Kasparov-Karpov 12.5-11.5
2004 Kramnik-Leko 7-7 (draw odds for Kramnik who won the last game on demand)
2006 Kramnik-Topalov decided in rapid tiebreaks
2010 Anand-Topalov 6.5-5.5 (Topalov self-destructed in the final game to avoid tiebreaks)
2012 Anand-Gelfand decided in rapid tiebreaks
Same story for tournaments: While two WCh tournaments had clear and dominant winners (Topalov and Anand), I guess roughly half of all supertournaments are closely contested or have two or even more players tie for first place.
A draw is a legitimate result, in single games and in matches ... .
RealityCheck's picture
Agree. Tie breaks are nothing new--certainly not Anand-Gelfand / Stefanova-Ushenine specific.
Rapid tie-breaks are better than draw odds.
As regards WCh Tournaments, we could also include Botvinnik's clear first at the 1948 WCh tournament.
choufleur's picture
The last move in the first game is surely wrong, it looses instantly.
RG13's picture
No, no - it is clearly a brilliant sacrifice that forces a draw by perpetual check (using only the Rook!) ; )
RG13's picture
If it comes down to blitz then it seems that they should play a lot more regular blitz games before going to the Armageddon game.
Anonymous's picture
What next? a match or tournament going to located on the far side of the moon? It might as well be, considering all the visibility this match is getting outside the chess fanatic community.
Anonymous's picture
I'm rooting for the blonde.
Anonymous's picture
Really Anna is not blonde, she dyed her hair. See her real pictures on facebook!!!!
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Take the 2-minute tour ×
var DEST_VALUE = 1
How can i check whether the variable holds some value or not. When i do this, it does not work...
share|improve this question
This will work as expected - neither if condition will evaluate to true so the inner code will never be hit. What are you trying to achieve? – Chris Francis Jun 28 '11 at 10:37
if(!DEST_VALUE) is same as if(DEST_VALUE == null), and from the code this will always be false. So it will not produce any result. – Talha Ahmed Khan Jun 28 '11 at 10:40
possible duplicate of How can I test whether a variable has a value in JavaScript? – Felix Kling Jun 28 '11 at 10:42
@Talha Not strictly true - if DEST_VALUE was 0 it would also evaluate to true. – Chris Francis Jun 28 '11 at 10:43
@Talha: "if(!DEST_VALUE) is same as if(DEST_VALUE == null)" No, it doesn't. For instance, !0 is true but 0 == null is false. More to the point, though, if (!DEST_VALUE) has nothing to do with null unless DEST_VALUE happens to be null (in which case, the expression is true). It's about coercing the given value to a boolean, not comparing it to null. – T.J. Crowder Jun 28 '11 at 10:45
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3 Answers
up vote 4 down vote accepted
Of course it doesn't do anything, because in your example DEST_VALUE resolves to true like APPDAYS_AFTER. Value that resolve to false when converted to a boolean in javascript are:
The empty string ''
The number 0
The number NaN (yep, 'Not a Number' is a number, it is a special number)
if you write
txtSiteId.value = fileContents.Settings.SiteID;
you write "if DEST_VALUE is not true do something" (in your case it does nothing). If you want to check if a variables hold a value:
if(DEST_VALUE !== undefined){
//do something
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This will throw an ReferenceError as you may not reference variables that are not declared in JS. See my answer for a solution. – Steffen Müller Jun 28 '11 at 10:43
@Steffen: The question clearly shows the variables being declared. – T.J. Crowder Jun 28 '11 at 10:47
But what about FileNotFound??? thedailywtf.com/Articles/What_Is_Truth_0x3f_.aspx – cwallenpoole Jun 28 '11 at 10:52
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I use such function to check if variable is empty or not:
function empty( mixed_var ) {
return ( typeof(mixed_var) === 'undefined' || mixed_var === "" || mixed_var === 0 || mixed_var === "0" || mixed_var === null || mixed_var === false );
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Why would you do all this? !myVar checks for 'falsy' values, not just explicit false (such as myVar === false), so you don't need a bloated function to do the same as the native language capabilities. – Chris Francis Jun 28 '11 at 10:39
By the way, a string representation of "0" shouldn't evaluate to false, only an empty string... – Chris Francis Jun 28 '11 at 10:40
@Chris: Well, it's his function, he can do that if it matches his definition of "empty". It doesn't match mine, but... :-) – T.J. Crowder Jun 28 '11 at 10:48
Yes - that function was changed several times and you can see the final result. Why !myVar is not used - because all is not so simple. I had some issues when it worked not as I expected too. – Andron Jun 29 '11 at 21:33
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I assume you mean "holds some value" like in "the variable has been created so it exists", right? Otherwise, your approach works perfectly fine.
If you want to check whether a variable exists in javascript, you have to check its parent object for the property - otherwise the script will fail. Each object in javascript belongs to a parent object, even if it seems to be global (then, it belongs to the window object). So, try something like:
if (window.DEST_VALUE)
// do something
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Take the 2-minute tour ×
I am new to Linux/Ubuntu and I just installed 10.10 on my Dell Desktop PC that was running Windows XP. The PC is about 5-6 years old and the sound card it has is a SoundBlaster Live! card. The Sound Preferences recognizes the card as [SB Live! Value] EMU10k1X. It is currently set to Analog Stereo Duplex.
I tried multiple other sound configurations and nothing works. No sound but some clicks come out of the speakers. I ran the system test and during the audio tests the same thing happened, just clicks and pops.
I tried to play some music with Rhythmbox and when it tries to play a track it tries for several seconds and then just closes itself, or sometimes just doesn't play.
I ran a check for drivers, but the only driver it found to install was for my nVidia video card. It did not show any drivers for the sound card.
Does anyone have any idea what I need to do to get the sound to work?
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try: ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=161817 – user115797 Jan 29 '12 at 6:30
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3 Answers
Sound Blaster support in Linux is very poor. Go through these sites and check if your sound card is supported. Many require custom compiled drivers.
Creative Labs Site (Linux support)
Alsa supported cards list
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Make sure that your sound mixer is not set to mute the speakers. Make sure that the relevant devices in /dev have the right permissions -- executable by everyone. Check that dmesg detects the right card. Finally, check which sound device your player thinks it is using.
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It's usually the same old/same old. Pulseaudio is a pain in the butt to get working properly when it goes wrong.
Try following this and see if you then get it working: http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=776739
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Why was I voted down on this? I followed this link myself and got sound working! – Matt H Feb 19 '11 at 3:25
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solicitors/legal recruitment people - what's on your wish list for a tc application from a career changer?
(7 Posts)
KnitFastDieWarm Tue 07-Jan-14 16:38:25
I'm 26, and am in the process of moving from a much-loved but not long-term career as web editor for a finance firm to becoming a solicitor.
I considered law when I graduated but, I will freely admit, I was a rather airy fairy early 20 something and spent the next few years travelling/trying a variety of jobs/working out what I was good at. I fell into publishing, then into copy editing in the financial services field, where to my utter astonishment, I discovered that I found compliance, property law and other things my 20 year old self had deemed boring, to be just my cup of tea. I enjoy combining my attention to detail and methodical mind with the intellectual rigor of legal issues and their application to the business world.
I've done a day's shadowing at a local solicitors (thanks, ex Dbf!) and am currently taking some undergraduate courses with the university of London alongside my full time job. I can now use westlaw, write a case note, and explain the difference between English and Scottish property law (I'm a riot at parties, I tell you...)
anyway, the point of this rather long post it to ask recruitment partners et al; what can I do to make myself stand out amount a sea of keen new graduates? I'm looking at West Country firms in particular.
many thanks in advance for any hints!
KnitFastDieWarm Tue 07-Jan-14 16:40:39
amount = among
iPhone keypad = not conducive to proofreading!
HungryHorace Tue 07-Jan-14 22:31:46
What's your first degree in? If it's not law, are the undergraduate courses you are doing going to give you the equivalent of a qualifying law degree? If not, I assume you'll be doing the GDL followed by the LPC?
Do you know if the firms you're targeting have a preferred law school?
The firms will need to know you're serious and you've thought it through carefully. That you know about the legal climate and what's affecting firms at all levels at present. What do you know about the Jackson reforms, for instance? Commercial awareness is a biggy too.
What can you bring to law? What skills from your previous career are relevant?
I don't really think being able to use Westlaw is a selling point, or knowing the difference between English and Scottish property law, sorry.
If you're applying now in the hope of getting sponsored through law school you'll need to be outstanding on paper and in person.
Apply for vac schemes too. Or at least do more than a day's shadowing.
I'm a career changer currently doing a TC and the climate is TOUGH. You'll need to be exceptional to be successful as there aren't enough TCs about.
AmandaCooper Fri 10-Jan-14 20:16:13
Where are you in the process? Have you completed the graduate diploma? You are around the age I was when I converted to law. My 'in' was to apply to train in something very niche. I then changed track to something more mainstream once I qualified by networking hard. The landscape's changed a lot since I was applying but someone's got to make it so be realistic but don't be totally discouraged. With your tech knowledge particularly with you being web savvy you should be an asset - lots of firms are struggling to get to grips with social media and establish an online presence. You should think about blogging or even just retweeting legal info. Make connections online; get lawyers to follow you. Showcase your marketing skills.
HelloBoys Mon 13-Jan-14 10:15:09
You can get into legal firms but I work in a small South London practice and our workload has dropped a bit in the past year. not as busy as year before etc.
Conveyancing, wills and POA are quite popular right now in our smaller firm. the rest not so much. we have taken on 2 immigration solicitors in past 6 months, one who's Iranian (concentrating on that market) and they get work but it's certainly not a lot and is hard work to get. having said that one guy is 64 and seems to have hardly any work despite advertising. he doesn't seem to have get up and go TBH.
Litigation and dispute resolution is where a graduate friend of mine works for a big firm in Bristol and I think intellectual property I was told by a colleague is big too. You really need to concentrate on bigger cities for work especially in SW England. My grad friend was working for a magic circle firm as an intern and competition is high and she wasn't taken on after she qualified. hence the Bristol job she now has.
Smaller firms are great but it can be very much like wading through mud re progress in 21st century. The firm I work for has a very dated 90's website etc and is on twitter etc but doesn't use it at all.
You could quite easily train to be a paralegal/legal executive and do things that way, in fact a colleague of mine (civil lit) said rules have changes re firms doing that and training.
CheshireSplat Sun 19-Jan-14 00:08:12
Hi Knit.
I started my training contract at age 27 after a first career as a computer programmer. So a similar age. I don't think my precious experience helped me from a specific skill point of view but the maturity did help me get through the assessment centres. I'm not sure I would have done at 21.
I think the most important thing is to get as much work experience under your belt as possible. Apply for as many vac schemes as you can - you may have to take annual leave to be able to do that. Also work on any contacts you may have.
You've said you are interested on West Country firms. I'd stress any links to the particular locality. Forms do not want to go to all the hassle of training someone just for them to disappear soon after their training contract.
Lots of people get training contracts now by having worked as a paralegal so that could be something to consider. Although some firms do seem to use that as a way of getting overqualified people in as paralegals with no real plans to give them training contracts.
Feel free to PM me if you have any more questions if that would help.
SoozleQ Sun 19-Jan-14 00:50:26
I've spent the last 13 years at a large international corporate firm in one of their regional offices. I'm not a partner but I do carry out first stage interviews for training contract positions.
We want people who are genuinely enthusiastic and interested in working both in the relevant areas of law we practice and in our firm itself. We want you to demonstrate you fully understand the skills required to do the job well - attention to detail, commerciality, ability to work in a team.
For a mature applicant changing careers, we would want you convince us that you had really thought through your decisions and that this was genuinely the right career choice for you. You are likely to have more confidence and present yourself better than a 19/20 year old 2nd year law student but equally we need to know you would be willing to do the menial tasks that as a trainee it is more cost efficient to be delegated to you - we've had our fingers burned before by a career changer who had been head of a department previously but just did not get that if someone younger than him asked him to make some minor amends to board minutes that evening he was expected to do it, not walk out at 5.30 on the dot. He was an exception, I hope, but only lasted 11 weeks into his training contract notwithstanding that he had aced the interviews.
Vacation schemes really are the best way to showcase yourself and firms take on a lot of their trainees following a vacation placement - it's how I got my two training contract offers many years ago. Fill your application form with good examples of team working, problem solving, good people skills analytical thinking. Application forms these days are set up with questions to try and draw those examples out of so make sure your answers are detailed yet not verbose, contain no spelling or grammar errors and, most importantly, are relevant.
Do research on the firms you are applying to. One of the questions I always ask is which firms are our competitors in the local market. If an interviewee names firms that work in a different sector or are clearly lower down the rankings, we would not consider that that applicant was sufficiently serious about working for our firm. We also often ask how you would sell our firm to a client at a marketing event and what differentiates us from our competitors.
Competition is tough. I'm not sure I'd get my job now if I was going through the system at this point in time. Good luck and if you want to know anything else, feel free to ask.
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Third Trimester Symptoms
By The Editors Of Parenting Magazine
Frequent urination
Since your uterus puts pressure on your bladder most heavily in the third trimester, this means you'll probably have to go to the bathroom more than you ever did before. What's even more annoying is that you might have sudden, uncontrollable urges to urinate, called urge incontinence (over 40 percent of first-time moms experience it). Try to urinate on a schedule (every hour or two), so that you go before you feel an overwhelming need. After a week or so, gradually extend the time between bathroom visits until you're urinating every three hours (or you reach the goal set by you and your doctor). It's also important to drink eight 8-ounce glasses of water a day to stay properly hydrated and to eat plenty of high-fiber foods to prevent constipation. And avoid caffeine, a diuretic that can make urge incontinence worse.
Nearly half of all moms-to-be will be plagued by heartburn. Thanks to all the hormones circulating through your body during pregnancy, the muscle at the top of your stomach -- the one that usually prevents digestive acids from splashing into the esophagus -- relaxes, allowing those harsh juices to go back up. What's more, by now your uterus has taken up most of your abdominal cavity, pushing your stomach up toward your throat, which makes the burn more noticeable. How can you get relief? Try to:
* Steer clear of classic heartburn triggers, like highly seasoned, spicy, or acidic foods (think chili); greasy, fried, or fatty foods; and caffeine. Other possible culprits include fizzy drinks, citrus, and some dairy foods, such as milk or ice cream.
* Trade in your three square meals for six easier-to-digest mini ones, eat them sitting upright, and avoid lying down right afterward and eating too close to bedtime.
* Ask your doctor first, but it's usually fine to take Tums, Rolaids, Mylanta, Maalox, and Zantac. Swollen feet, legs, and varicose veins Edema, the technical name for swollen feet, ankles, and legs, is caused by fluid retention in the lower half of the body. Varicose veins, those blue lines running up and down your legs, are caused by blood valves that soften, causing the blood to pool and form painful bulges. Though the swelling will subside, some of the varicose veins are there to stay (surgery is one way to remove them, but it's costly). To ease the discomfort of both:
* Put your feet up often, switch standing and sitting positions frequently, and never cross your legs. Lie down whenever possible, preferably on your side.
* Wear support hose, which may help soothe the aches and diminish the appearance of varicose veins. Just avoid wearing anything that cuts off circulation (like knee-high stockings).
* Don't limit fluids to try to minimize puffiness; your body will respond by hanging on to liquids even more.
* Soak in the tub. Studies show that the pressure of even a foot of water reduces discomfort.
The No-Sweat Pregnancy Workout
Help! Foods to Avoid During Pregnancy
Must-Have Baby Gear
baby sleeping in crib
Get Your Baby to Sleep the Whole Night
26 smart solutions to help you both catch some Zzzs | [] |
x Tonight From Washington
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life work for more families. another step we can take is on taxes. there's a lot of talk about taxes in washington right now. for most families, tax preparation is hard and is time-consuming. this time of year especially. think about it. think what they're going through. what tax form are you supposed to fill out? is it more beneficial to file jointly or as a married couple or separately? is a truck or gas mileage deductible? are you forgetting something the irs will give you credit for? and in 1935, the form 1040 was accompanied by a two-page instruction booklet. today, taxpayers have to wade through over 100 total pages of instructions. just filling out a w4 at a knew job is confusing. you really shouldn't need a work sheet to see how many dependents you have. chairman dave camp and his committee are already underway in their efforts to responsibly rewrite the nation's tax laws, as an education policy, health care and all else, tax reform should reflect the priority of working families, and the future they're trying to shape for their kids. if nothing else, we must stop putting spe
and they are wanting my tax money. because i haven't signed up for their insurance program. second, we will not administer medicaid through utah's health exchange. they want to maintain a clear separation between an approach in the private sector and providing opportunities for the private sector as a postal welfare-based system. not that they are not important aspects but we think there should be a clear separation between those two approaches. we want our exchange to remain focused on the core mission of creating competition and choice in the insurance marketplace. those who are in need again we recognize their people out there who have access and the right and it need an medicaid is maybe one of the answers but we believe that should be done separately and not by our exchange. third, you too administer the premium tax credit through our exchange. there is the number a number of reasons why we decided not to do that. one, we pride ourselves on -- in utah in being fiscally prudent. and i wish washington had that same pride which they certainly don't have. we are one of only seven stat
provision of the affordable care act this looks like a massive tax increase in you combine those into a single piece of legislation suddenly looks attractive. is the exact same dynamic and that is why we should encourage a more piecemeal approach and why unfortunate we didn't get more progress. the question is who are the roadblocks to the progress and it would have been good if some of the advocates of high skills recognize that i made a lot of noise about it but their feeling was let's put aside. >> i worry about the guestworker program. you need to deal with future flows. you can just take all the undocumented workers and give them a the legal -- because you don't do anything to remove the magnet from illegal immigration in five or 10 down -- years down the road you are dealing with the same thing. with the afl-cio and some unions and left-leaning groups opposed to expanding the guestworker program i worry that the blanket pathways to citizenship or legal status where the want to call it and leave the guestworker part out of it and we don't solve any problem and gave politics
proposal that would raise revenues by closing loopholes that some corporation uses to avoid taxes by shifting income outside of the united states. i've worked with colleagues and in the senate on suggested solutions. i will continue to do so and your clarion call here this morning, hope it will encourage all of to us work in any way we took avoid sequestration. you've -- yesterday you spoke at georgetown announced a series of steps the department will have to take almost immediately with respect to deployments, maintenance, contracts, other obligations if the congress and the president don't act soon to address the issue. we've received memoranda from other certainly depth officials laying out steps that would have the to be taken if sequestration is not avoided. can you give us a timetable? you already announced some actions that you're taking, which you're putting in place now so that even if we can avoid sequestration, and in the next few days or a week from now or two weeks from now, some things are being taken even before the end of february and before we know whether we can
, he wanted no tax cuts until the debt was paid down. so, mr. mayor, it's not just new york that -- [inaudible] and had a lot of other interesting things. he still wanted to give young people a second chance. he used to say he was a liberal but he was sane. which was another saying of i believe in government you have to look at the impact of this. i don't think i ever debated to discuss agreed with, anybody in this line of work who had a better feel for the impact of what people in government did on the real life of people. he could imagine what life was like. one of his great second chance ideas was that there ought to be a universal scouting program for america. for really young people and i had been out in montana and meeting with people in had 4-h and i said if every kid was in america was in 4-rbgs h we would half the letter. e said we would have far less than half. you should get behind the scouting proposal. we reconnect to the mainstream of life by giving him something positive to be a part of it. he wrote a ton of books. .. instead he asked about how hillary felt in
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Dean: McCain's "New Appreciation For Diplomacy Has No Credibility"
DNC Chairman Howard Dean's response to McCain's speech:
John McCain's empty rhetoric today can't change the fact that he has steadfastly stood with President Bush from day one and is now talking about keeping our troops in Iraq for 100 years. His new appreciation for diplomacy has no credibility after he mimicked President Bush's misleading case for a unilateral war of choice when it mattered most. Why should the American people now trust John McCain to offer anything more than four more years of President Bush's reckless economic policies and failed foreign policy?
Dean has attacked John McCain almost daily while he waits for his party to settle on a nominee. | [] |
Global Warming, Ethanol, DDT and Environmentalism's Dark Side
While well meaning, environmentalists have been tragically wrong.
So during the decades in which DDT was not used, when the world bowed to undoubtedly well-intentioned environmental activists, about 50 million people—overwhelmingly African children—died, mostly unnecessarily.
Ethanol provides another, though far less dramatic, example. For years, biofuels were heralded as the promising alternative to fossil fuels, which would reduce our carbon output, improve the environment, and provide needed energy. Yet it turns out biofuel's environmental impact is much more complicated.
In 2008, Time magazine wrote about ethanol's dubious environmental benefits in a cover story entitled, "The Clean Energy Scam." The article warned that forests, wetlands, and grasslands were being sacrificed in a rush to farm crops that could be turned into gasoline. More recently, the peer-reviewed journal Science reported on a study finding that cap-and-trade accounting systems understate the emissions created by the production of biofuels. The study concluded that cap-and-trade programs could encourage biofuel production that would displace 59% of the world's natural forest cover by 2050.
So the once environmentally favored solution to our energy problems—and still a politically-favored one—is now recognized as a potential environmental catastrophe. It's worth noting that, beyond biofuel's environmental effects, using food for fuel has a significant impact on the worldwide food supply. As more crops and land are dedicated to producing fuel, the costs of food will climb, which could exacerbate problems of poverty and hunger, particularly in already impoverished countries.
Given this experience, the public would be wise to be cautious in whole-heartedly embracing the policy prescriptions of environmentalists. The movie, Not Evil, Just Wrong, makes the connection between the DDT saga and what's going on with climate change today. Prominent environmentalists promise that they are confident that man is causing the Earth to warm, and they don't want to contemplate (at least publicly) alternative theories about how the sun might be responsible for warming, that the warming isn't unprecedented and therefore could be naturally occurring, or to linger on potential problems on their own temperature readings that might make warming seem more extreme than it is. They don't want to consider the costs of policies that they want to oppose in the name of combating global warming, or just how ineffectual those policies might be. Yet the public should consider what a significant decline in worldwide wealth will mean, particularly for those who are already poor. | [] |
Social Media
The Staggering Size of the Internet [INFOGRAPHIC]
The Internet is a big place. How big? Try gigantic. The infographic above, from the folks at Focus, attempts to visually represent some of the mind-boggling numbers that defined the Internet circa 2010 — the result is certainly pretty, but still not very easy to wrap your head around.
How, for example, does one simply imagine the 2 billion videos being watched on YouTube each and every day? How is it possible that 35 hours of video can be uploaded to the site every minute? What do 36 billion photos look like? Ask Facebook; that's how many photos are uploaded to the site each year. (More than seven times as many have been uploaded to Flickr in that site's entire existence, by the way.)
These numbers aren't necessarily easier to comprehend in infographic form (107 trillion e-mails?!), but they're definitely easier to take in. If you're not a visual learner, however, the graphic seems to be mostly based on a post earlier this month from the Royal Pingdom blog, which lists all those stats in plain text.
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What is the limit as $x\to\infty$ of $\cos x$?
Thanks in advance.
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In the immortal words of Lindsay Lohan... – Qiaochu Yuan Jan 19 '11 at 15:21
@Qiaochu: your joke eludes me. Citation please? – Willie Wong Jan 19 '11 at 19:18
@Willie: youtube.com/watch?v=QIMSC-RWvF8 (skip to 7:40 for the problem and 8:10 or so for its solution). – Qiaochu Yuan Jan 19 '11 at 19:22
thank you Qiaochu! Damn that was worth wasting 9 minutes of my life! – Arjang Jan 21 '11 at 8:50
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The limit does not exist. It oscillates between -1 and 1. Just so that you know, the limit supremum or infimum as $x \to \infty$ is given as
$$\lim \sup_{x\to\infty} \cos(x) = 1$$ $$\lim \inf_{x\to\infty} \cos(x) = -1$$
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The limit does not exist because $\cos{(2\pi n)} = 1$ for $n \in \mathbb{Z}$ and $\cos{(\pi + 2 \pi n)} = -1$ for $n \in \mathbb{Z}$.
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There is no limit, $\lim_{x \to \infty} \cos x$, since $\cos$ oscillates between -1 and 1.
A bit more detailed: We say that a function $f(x)$ has a limit as $x \to \infty$ if there exists a real number $a$ (called the limit) such that $|f(x)-a|$ can be made arbitrarily small for all $x$ which are "large enough". "Large enough" and arbitrarily small means that for all $\varepsilon > 0$, we should be able to find a number $N$ such that $|f(x)-a| < \varepsilon$ for all $x > N$.
In the case of $f(x) = \cos x$ we can't do this when $\varepsilon$ is small. Independent of which $a$ we are trying out, we can always find a large enough $x$ such that $|\cos x - a| > \frac{1}{2}$ (for example), and infinitely many of them (since $\cos$ is periodic).
As Roupam Ghosh stated in his answer, the $\limsup$ and $\liminf$ for $\cos x$ as $x \to \infty$ are not equal. This gives that the limit does not exist, since then you can always find sufficiently large $x,y$ such that $|f(x)-f(y)|=\left|\limsup_{x \to \infty}\cos x - \liminf_{n \to \infty} \cos x\right|\geq\varepsilon>0$.
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I believe that the proofs given are not rigorous enough, and are not necessarily easy to understand to someone who is not familiar with the material, so I'll try a more rigorous approach. I'll assume every variable I'm referring to is a real number in R.
Assume that there is a limit k. In that case it must be that for every d there exist N>0 so that if n>N we have that |cos(n)-k|<d.
Since cos(x+n2pi)=cos(x), it is easy to see that for every N we can find a number n0>N for which cos(n0)=0, and another number n1 for which cos(n0)=1. Try to prove that, it's not so hard.
Let d=1/2, whatever k would be, we'll have that either |cos(n0)-k|=|k|>d=1/2 or |cos(n1)-k|=|1-k|>d=1/2.
Therefor no number is the limit of limn→∞cos(n). Since cos(n) is bounded it cannot be that the limit is or -∞.
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Your notation is misleading. What are $n$ and $N$? Are they positive integers? – Aryabhata Jan 19 '11 at 13:14
I don't quite see your point. If $a = \lim_{x \to \infty} \cos{(x)}$ existed then by definition it would be the limit of every sequence of real numbers $x_{n} \to \infty$, so it suffices to exhibit two sequences converging to different limits. – t.b. Jan 19 '11 at 14:26
Good point! I think integer or real doesn't really matter. Tried to clarify this issue. – Elazar Leibovich Jan 19 '11 at 14:48
@Theo, my point is, (1) you have to spell out the reason like you did, and I didn't find that in the answers, (2) sometimes the TA wants the answer in an epsilon-delta form. – Elazar Leibovich Jan 19 '11 at 14:50
@Elazar: We are not being graded by a TA on this site. You can supply a lot of detail if you like, but it is not expected that full details are spelled out in each answer, especially if the question is for homework. – Jonas Meyer Jan 21 '11 at 7:29
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..and I don't mean finding out why it doesn't compile, I mean serious debugging: breakpoints, figuring out value of variables at a given moment during run/compile, stepping, examining a stack (is there one?), etc. All the things that we take for granted when debugging a "real" programming language. Since TeX is "turing-complete", I would like to be able to really see what is going on internally.
I'm guessing that a GUI interface for the debugger would be too much to ask, but if it exists, I'd love to hear about it.
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The trace package will load everything that TeX is doing during a particular piece of the run. The problem with that is that you can get a lot of information very rapidly. Selectively using trace can give a lot of insight into problems. At a lower level, there are various tracing settings that TeX provides (and which the trace package makes use of). It's possible to set just some of these values to get TeX to log certain parts of what it is doing, for example just assignments. Normally, the trace package is enough.
For examining variables, the \wlog macro is the easiest way, although you can simply put\show or \showthe in the right places if it's a single thing you want to know.
One thing I do a lot (especially with infinite loops) is simply insert an undefined control sequence into the code (I use \MARK). This will stop TeX with an error, and I can therefore see where I'm up to. Not elegant, but it works for me.
The way TeX writes to the log can mean that you get an infinite loop without all of the data you want being added to the log. Strategic placement of \@@end (the TeX primitive \end renamed by LaTeX) can be used in these circumstances to force the run to end.
I'm not sure how a graphical debugger would work, but then I only really program in TeX, so I'm used to the approach I've outlined. I've never come across one.
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Your comment probably makes perfect sense to you, as you obviously have lots of programming experience in other languages. However, as a programmer who works with TeX none of what you've said really makes sense! For example, what does 'step into' a macro mean? What 'stack'? How can you graphically 'look' at a variable (I guess you mean \showthe in some way)? Sorry if I'm being dense, but I at least need a more 'beginners' explanation. – Joseph Wright Aug 7 '10 at 20:28
I'm not sue that TeX is really amenable to the approach you want. Remember that it's a macro expansion language, which reads from the input stream, tokenises and then expands/executes/prints material. So macros are expanded with the resulting 'replacement text' left in the input stream. At that stage the original presence of the macro is no longer relevant (or indeed available). Variables in TeX are not private to macros, but do have grouping. However, the only way to see what TeX is doing is to use TeX, and \show/\showthe. So I'm not sure what you want to do can be done. – Joseph Wright Aug 8 '10 at 8:14
The real problem here is that TeX has no stack (apart from limited stack-like scoping for \begingroup...\endgroup), so you can't step into and out of macros. Macros are expanded in-line around tokenisation time, and then fed to TeX's stomach. The lexer can be dynamically reconfigured (catcodes). The fact that packages take advantage of TeX's tail-recursiveness means that 'how-did-I-get-here?' information is routinely scrubbed. This doesn't mean that a debugger is impossible (TeX is vaguely scheme-like here), but it would require starting almost from scratch (ie, not a gdb patch!) – Norman Gray Oct 4 '10 at 11:55
Honestly, while I love TeX so much, the fact that it's a macro language rather than a fully-fledged Turing complete language with a scope, local variables, object-oriented objects, lambdas, etc. is a painful archaism. Programming languages have come a long way since TeX was designed, and it would be nice to one day (20 years from now?) keep the good parts of TeX and ditch the unfortunate limitations. – Neil G Oct 5 '10 at 5:18
@Neil: TeX is Turing complete. A debugger for it should be possible, but it would work as an instrumented version of the TeX program. You would hook into the token recognition code and the macro expansion code (and presumably a few other places like character class redefinition) which would give it a slightly different character than using, say, gdb on C. – dmckee Oct 19 '10 at 16:54
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A graphical debugger would work as for other languages, you would be able to set breakpoints (positional or conditional), step over and into commands (commands being everything in the source including letters of course), view the stack (if such a thing exists in TeX..) examine variables, etc.
IMO it would make sense, and you are not the first to think about it. Unfortunately, it seems that previous projects to bring a such tool to TeX have been discontinued:
• Lutz Birkhahn. Tdb: An X11 TEX Debugger. Proceedings of the Eight European TEX Conference, September 26-30, 1994, Gdansk, Poland, pp 91-95.
A small report can be found here, p27:
Lutz Birkhahn discussed his work on developing debugging tools for TEX and presented Tdb, an extension to TEX that provides an interface to the Tk/Tcl X11 toolkit. This allowed him to set up a graphical user interface to allow one to set breakpoints, have stepwise execution, and to look at macro definitions and the value of variables.
However, it seems that ConTeXt does have a kind of visual debugging commands:
You can check ConTeXt's \showmakeup command from ConTeXt documentation:
We can visualize boxes by using \ruledhbox, \ruledvbox and \ruledvtop instead of \hbox, \vbox and \vtop. With \showmakeup we can visualise everything automatically and we can get some insight on the features of ConTEXt and TEX.
also featured in ConTeXt wiki: http://wiki.contextgarden.net/Visual_Debugging
At every point on the way you should be able to view the output, and this might be the most difficult part: can one view the partial dvi or pdf that is generated?
What about synctex? http://www.river-valley.tv/direct-and-reverse-synchronization-with-synctex/
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Great answer on the current facilities available. – Will Robertson Oct 4 '10 at 1:30
Just a note - something like the Visual_Debugging in Latex, I guess, would be package (or option to geometry) showframe; but I wish I knew if there was something that can frame/box each and every letter as it is typeset... – sdaau Aug 28 '11 at 18:37
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Opinion: Letters to the Editor
Letters for April 12
Opinion,Letters to the Editor
Americans have been played on gun issue
Re: "Boost for background checks: Senators compromise," April 10
For five years, Americans have been told thatPresident Obama was gonna knock on their doors and take away their guns, and during those five years, gun manufacturers have enjoyed record profits.
How does it feel to be played for suckers?
Jack Donner
Thatcher stood up to Soviet missile threat
Re: "R.I.P. Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher," Editorial, April 9
I want to clarify your comment that Margaret Thatcher's "decision to put tactical nuclear weapons in Britain ... in 1982 prompted the Soviets to call her the Iron Lady." As I recall, this was a decision to target ground-launched, mobile intermediate-range missiles with nuclear warheads against Warsaw Pact countries in response to similar missiles that were being supplied by Russia.
The only new event was the fact that these were missiles. For several years, England hosted tactical fighter aircraft that were loaded with nuclear weapons.
I know because I frequently spent time locked up on 15-minute nuclear alert at RAF Woodbridge and RAF Bentwaters air bases in East Anglia while stationed with a U.S. Air Force F-4 Phantom fighter squadron from 1975 to 1978. My fighter wing had nine F-4 aircraft constantly on nuclear alert, with air crews within running distance of their planes. I even spent two Christmas days on nuclear alert because I was a bachelor.
In 1978 the F-4 aircraft in my fighter wing were all transferred to Incirlik Air Base in Turkey and replaced with A-10 Warthog tank busters.
Margaret Thatcher got elected a couple of years after I left England, but I was very interested in her progress. Everyone knew that the English economy and infrastructure was a mess. In 1974, the coal miners struck for six months and production by British industry was only part-time.
We used to joke that "England was 100 years behind the times, but working like hell three days a week to catch up."
Philip Sagstetter
Government should stay out of marriage
Opposition to destroying the definition of traditional marriage is not just based on the Bible, but also adherence to the constitutional limits on government power.
Much has been said about morality during the current debate about "gay marriage." Opponents claim the moral high ground largely for religious reasons, while proponents of redefining marriage to include same-sex couples also claim to be acting morally as they seek to stop a discriminatory practice.
Since morality is subjective, and each person defines it differently based upon their own core beliefs (or lack thereof), where do we go from here? Whose morality trumps whose?
The one constant -- which every elected official takes a sworn oath to uphold and defend -- is the Constitution, whose purpose is to limit the federal government in order to guarantee our most basic rights.
Government's job is not to "preserve" traditions and institutions that have made America great, not even one as fundamentally important as marriage. It is to remove obstacles to individual liberty (with government itself being the largest obstacle of all). This means that government does not get to make judgment calls on what is "fair," or side with one group's definition of morality over another. Government is to stick to those very few duties with which it is tasked -- basically to protect us from force and fraud -- and otherwise stay out of our lives.
These strict limitations on government mean that it has no constitutional authority whatsoever to redefine a fundamental pillar of society such as marriage. But they also mean that it is not to pass laws to further bestow any special treatment upon marriage either.
The Constitution takes all the guesswork out of it. Short of the amendment process, the federal government is simply not allowed to do anything that the Constitution doesn't specifically task it to do.
David Fields
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Randy Houser, "How Country Feels" (Stoney Creek)
There's little coincidence that Randy Houser's new album, "How Country Feels," arrives just as the title track reaches No. 1 on the country radio charts.
The Mississippi singer earned his first chart-topper with the initial single from his most radio-friendly album. Stuffed with country soul-inflected mid-tempo arrangements that highlight Houser's rich voice, there's likely a few more hits among its 15 tracks.
He's sanded away much of the grit that marked his previous work and deploys a more traditional country sound on songs like "The Singer," "Power of a Song" and "Like a Cowboy" that shows off his vocal versatility and a willingness to explore.
Just when it starts to feel like there's a little too much varnish, Houser closes the album with "Route 3 Box 250 D." It's easily his most powerful song, and one we hope gets played on the radio, too.
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Campaigning Under The Fair Elections Now Act
January 25, 2010 - by Eric Naing
As I previously mentioned, there are several options being considered by lawmakers in the wake of the Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision, one of which has taken shape in Congress: the Fair Elections Now Act. This measure, pushed by the non-profit campaign finance reform group Public Campaign, would allow for public financing of House and Senate campaigns.
Split into two bills, the House version (H.R.1826) would deal with House campaigns and the Senate version (S.752) would deal with Senate campaigns.
Letting politicians running for Congress draw upon federal dollars to fund their campaigns, argues Public Campaign, would free those politicians from having to constantly fundraise and might even make them more independent from corporate and union donors.
So what would campaigns look like under the Fair Elections Now Act?
First of all, candidates have to qualify to receive federal dollars. House candidates need to raise $50,000 from at least 1,500 contributors from the state in which the candidate is running. These contributions can be no greater than $100. The amount of money and number of contributors required for Senate candidates depends on the population of the state in which the candidate is running.
Once they qualify, Congressional candidates would have access to a certain amount of federal campaign dollars depending on what office they are running for and in what state. House candidates can receive what amounts to $900,000 total. Senate candidates can receive $1.25 million along with an additional $250,000 for each Congressional District in that candidate’s state. In either case 40% of the money would go toward the primary and 60% would be for the general election.
Candidates would also be able to receive additional matching funds for small donations if they face a wealthy or self-financing opponent. Also available would be vouchers and discounts for advertising costs.
Public Campaign predicts this public financing program will cost around $700 to $850 million per year. The costs in the House would in part be paid for by the sale of broadcast spectrum. The Senate costs would be paid for with a fee on large government contractors.
The fate of the Fair Elections Now Act in Congress is unknown, the two bills have only been introduced in their respective chambers, but the idea is garnering significant support. The House bill is currently co-sponsored by 126 representatives, including three Republicans. Surprisingly, dozens of executives from many major corporations recently came out in support of the measure as well.
Though not a direct reaction to the Citizens United decision, this measure could radically reshape the way money and politics interact on a national level.
spender 01/25/2010 7:10pm
If we create this system, why should anyone be allowed to opt out of it and finance themselves? Is there some sort of nobility in buying your own seat in Congress that having it bought for you somehow lacks? I say limit all private contributions to $100 or less, make all candidates take the public funds, and ban self-financing entirely.
lhauri 07/17/2012 2:36am
in reply to a1marineonr Jan 27, 2010 6:04am
2012 is an year with elections and I am sure that we will see changes. mallorca property
a1marineonr 01/27/2010 6:04am
in reply to spender Jan 25, 2010 7:10pm
Do you realize that is against the Republican view,they want us to be represented by the average “JOE”, that already has more money than the average American. You can bet there won’t be bipartisan support, think they can change? Naah.
| [] |
Danielle Lloyd
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1. Danielle Lloyd
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Danielle Lloyd is an English glamour model. The former Miss England 2004 and Miss Great Britain 2006, she first rose to prominence when she was stripped of her Miss Great Britain 2006 title after posing for nude pictures featured in the December 2006 edition of Playboy magazine and her alleged affair with one of the pageant's judges, her then-boyfriend, footballer Teddy Sheringham. Her title was reinstated in 2010.… Read More
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The name Lloyd is a variation of the Welsh word llwyd or clwyd, which means "grey" or "brown". The double-l represents the voiceless alveolar lateral fricative of Welsh, and was sometimes also represented as fl, yielding the related name Floyd. People named Lloyd: * A.L. Lloyd (Albert Lancaster Lloyd) (1908-1982), English ethnomusicologist * Alex Lloyd (born 1974), Australian singer-songwriter. * Alex Lloyd (racing driver) (born 1984), IndyCar race driver * Andrew Lloyd Webber, Baron Lloyd-Webber (born 1948), English composer of musical theatre * Anthony Lloyd (born 1984), English footballer * Benjamin Lloyd, American Civil War Medal of Honor recipient * Bill Lloyd (soccer), American soccer coach * Bobby Lloyd, Welsh international rugby union player * Carli Lloyd (born 1982), American soccer player * Charles W Lloyd, Educationalist and The Master of Dulwich College from 1967 to 1975 * Christopher Lloyd (born 1938), American character actor * Clive Lloyd (born 1944), West Indian cricketer * Colin Lloyd, English darts player * Danielle Lloyd (born 1983), British glamour model * David Lloyd (disambiguation) * David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd George of Dwyfor (1863-1945), British politician & Prime Minister * Edward Lloyd (died 1713) coffeehouse owner (see also below for Lloyd's) * Major General Edward Lloyd (Colonial Governor), governor of Maryland Colony 1709-1714 * Edward Lloyd (delegate) (1744-1796), Maryland delegate to the Continental Congress * Edward Lloyd (Governor of Maryland) (1779–1834), governor of Maryland in the United States 1809-1811 * Edward Lhuyd (1660–1709), Welsh naturalist, botanist, linguist, geographer and antiquary * Frank Lloyd (1886-1960), English/American film director and producer * Frank Lloyd (born 1952), British horn player and teacher * Frank Lloyd III, Australian actor * Frank Lloyd Wright (1867-1959), American architect * Gareth David-Lloyd (born 1981), Welsh actor * Genevieve Lloyd, Australian philosopher and feminist * Geoff Lloyd, (born 1973), British radio DJ * George Lloyd (composer) (1913-1998), British late-Romantic composer * George Ambrose Lloyd, 1st Baron Lloyd (1879-1941), British High Commissioner of Egypt * George Exton Lloyd (1861-1940), Anglican minister and theologian, Bishop of Saskatchewan * Gordon W. Lloyd (1832–1905), English/American architect * Harold Lloyd (1893–1971), American actor and filmmaker known for his silent film comedies * Jake Lloyd (born 1989), American actor * James Lloyd, (disambiguation) * Jim Lloyd (born 1954), Australian politician * John Lloyd, (disambiguation) * Julian Lloyd Webber (born 1951), composer, cellist & brother of Andrew Lloyd Webber * Larry Lloyd (born 1948), English footballer * Llewellyn Lloyd (1877-1958), Welsh international rugby union player * Lulu Hull Lloyd, namesake of Caltech's Lloyd House * Matthew Lloyd, Australian rules footballer and Coleman Medallist * Nicholas Lloyd (born 1942), British journalist * Percy Lloyd (1871-1959), Wales national rugby player * Richard Lloyd (guitarist) (born 1951), American founding member of punk band Television * Richard Lloyd (racing driver) (born 1945), British driver and multiple racing team founder * Richard Hey Lloyd, British organist and composer * Robert Lloyd (poet) (1733-1764), English poet and satirist * Robert Lloyd (singer) (born 1940), English bass, opera singer * Sabrina Lloyd (born 1970), American actor * Sam Lloyd, actor and nephew of Christopher Lloyd * Sampson Lloyd, co-creator of Lloyds Bank, the first bank in Birmingham, England * Samuel Loyd (1841-1911), American puzzle author and recreational mathematician * Selwyn Lloyd, Baron Selwyn-Lloyd (1904-1978) British politician and general * Seth Lloyd (born 1960), Professor of Mechanical Engineering at MIT * Seton Lloyd (1902-1996), British archaeologist * Sian Lloyd, British TV presenter * Terry Lloyd (1952-2003), British television journalist killed in crossfire in Iraq * Vivian Loyd, tank designer, with Sir John Carden, spelt with one "L"
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Textbook of the Future: The hardware | ZDNet
Textbook of the Future: The hardware
Summary: If we acknowledge that iPad is not the appropriate hardware solution for teaching students in the 21st century, then what is?
In my last article, Textbook of the Future: The challenges, I wrote at length about the hard financial realities of having to deploy expensive tablet devices like the iPad to tens of millions of K-12 students.
I also discussed the flaws in Apple's iBooks Textbooks publishing model and how it is unlikely that a non-reusable book system will resonate with public school systems, and whether or not with the iPad and iBooks Textbooks we are actually solving a problem with electronic textbooks in the first place.
Also Read:
My ZDNet colleague Chris Dawson and I have talked a great deal amongst ourselves about revolutionizing the American educational system by using enabling technology. Inexpensive and equal access to learning materials would be a significant step towards improving the educational futures of our children, but it is only part of a much larger group of problems facing our educational system.
Neither of us are going to pretend to have all the answers or even try to present solutions to a large chunk of them. Not all of the problems facing education are even related to technology. Many of them are social and economic ones.
Still, ZDNet is a technology site, and since we're technology writers, we have to at least try to utilize the tools and methods we have at our disposal.
As an educator Dawson has chosen to attack the problem from a ecosystem-related perspective which encompasses the required support infrastructure as well as demolishing the traditional textbook publisher model with the potential for far less expensive Open Source / Educator-created textbooks and other media.
All of this is going to be important if we are going to reduce costs and also provide value to schools and to students.
As a technologist I intend to attack it from a systems approach.
So the iPad and iBooks Textbooks are too expensive and also too proprietary. That much is a given. What do you replace it with?
Whatever you end up giving to students either has to be durable or it has to be so cheap that it has to be considered practically disposable, from the standpoint of a school system which would have to finance it entirely on its own or from the standpoint of a parent that has to equip their children with a device as part of a yearly school supplies budget.
The reality is that any device that is going to end up in the hands of students for the purposes of serving as the primary knowledge transfer platform is probably going to have to be an amalgam of all of these things.
Relatively inexpensive, but also relatively durable.
The argument has been made that schools may not have to buy devices at all, but instead will rely on a BYOD strategy since kids will already have devices that their parents will buy them anyway. I think that's a very naive way of looking at things.
For starters, there are many families which live below or at the poverty line and cannot afford to buy things such as iPads and Android Tablets and the like for their children.
Even middle class families would struggle to do this for more than two children at a time, and given the current durability of consumer electronics, it is unlikely that these types of devices could survive constant transport back and forth to school.
There's also the issue of current non-standardized charging methods since the kids wouldn't necessarily remember to charge their devices at night, and you cannot expect to equip each desk with an AC plug. You'd need some sort of standardized charging station in the classroom to juice up a few tablets at a time, which could be swapped out for a freshly charged device if needed.
And there's also the issue of how one would restrict the use of BYOD devices to only the educational material during a classroom setting, and that inequality in the classroom with certain children having better devices than others is going to create problems in and of themselves.
There will be fights among the students, and there will be vast theft if consumerization of the classroom is brought into the picture.
You certainly can't have that.
So BYOD is probably not doable. What you want is a standardized piece of hardware that is durable, is fairly inexpensive, is easily managed from the educator's perspective for controlling what is learned in and out of the classroom, and has zero value from a theft perspective. The device needs to be brick-able by the management software if stolen.
What we're really talking about is something that more resembles a vertical market-type of device than something that exists today in the consumer space like an iPad or a full-size Android tablet.
If we are looking to educate K-12 with electronic textbooks and other multimedia learning materials (Web, videos, audio, apps) we want something that gets the job done but is not necessarily at the state of the art of what exists in in the consumer space.
It has to be a device that can be produced in very large volumes (in the tens of millions) using an extremely stable supply chain, has a low bill of materials and has a workable life span of three or more years before reconditioning or disposal.
The device has to be semi-hardened (water resistant and shock absorbant) and probably have a basic design that would not need to be altered for at least a ten year period before a major re-design.
The core of such a device would have to be a very low cost SoC (System on a Chip) similar to the 700Mhz Broadcom BCM2835 on the Rasbperry Pi which currently costs about $25.
At Q 10M volumes the price of this could be reduced to effectively half or perhaps even less, maybe even $5, particularly if the reference platform form the SoC/mainboard of this device stays consistent for 10 years.
Such a device would definitely be powerful enough to render rich media textbooks, present HTML5-based web curriculum, display videos and play audio and run educational apps. It wouldn't be good enough to run state of the art high-res 3D tablet games, but that's not what we want this device to do.
A single-core CPU clocking at 700Mhz-1Ghz with 512MB-1GB of RAM with an integrated GPU similar to the BCM2835 will be more than ample enough to do the job.
The mainboard should contain a low-power Wi-Fi chip as well as an internal-only USB interface so that the device can be easily re-imaged by the school but the OS and contents cannot be tampered with by students.
Primary storage should be confined to MicroSD only, and it is likely only about 2GB-4GB of storage will be needed to store an entire year's worth of curriculum, plus the managed OS itself.
We expect that the local storage is really going to be acting as a content cache and the predominance of the material is going to reside in the Cloud, either in a caching virtual appliance in the school system shared infrastructure or perhaps even at the cloud provider itself, such as Amazon, Microsoft, Google, or even a large services player like IBM.
The remaining major electronic components should include the display, the speaker (monaural) and the battery, which will eat up the majority of the device's cost.
Chris and I both believe that it makes sense that there should be two models of the Educational Pad. One, for grades K-7, and the other for grades 8-12.
[Next: Textbook of the Future: Beyond the electronics]»
While the major electronics/mainboard should probably be identical in order to standardize and facilitate mass production of such an ambitious project, there should be two screen sizes because younger children will need a smaller device than older children.
The younger kids would be better off with a 7" screen, and the older kids would do better with a 10 or 12" screen.
We believe that by the time such an Educational Pad project is ready for rollout that 720p-capable or better low-power color displays using Pixel Qi or Mirasol touchscreen technology will allow for a $100 7" device and a $150 10" device at Q 10M volumes, provided the supply chain could be long-term stabilized for a project of this magnitude.
In addition to the electronics itself a bit of a attention needs to be paid to the casing. We think that it needs to be constructed of a strong polycarbonate resin with a rubberized covering (think OtterBox Defender) and that all the electronics need to be treated with a water-resistent coating such as Liquipel.
We also believe that it needs to be constructed in a sandwich matter using an O-Ring seal to protect the electronics and to prevent the introduction of moisture, grime, oils and other materials using a simple two-piece casing.
Ideally, the device should not have any visible receptacles, vents or ports whatsoever to avoid tampering and should only be able to be opened by the school system or whatever company is designated to perform servicing on their behalf.
We believe that the only button on the device should be the the power button, and it should also be protected by a rubberized cover. Audio playback should occur using some type of sound vibration transmission method directly through the casing. This is to prevent any sort of dust or dirt from entering the device.
Ideally, we'd like kids to be able to drop this thing in a sandbox or in a dirty puddle, or spill a soft drink on it and have it still work after just wiping and drying it off.
We also think that charging should be accomplished by some type of standardized magnetic quick-disconnect connector (not unlike the MagSafe connector that Apple has apparently recently patented) so that in the event that it is pulled out of the device quickly, it will not break the charging electronics on the device or damage the charging cord/adaptor itself.
While for the purposes of this article I wanted to focus on the hardware itself, as Chris is going to write at length about the software infrastructure and the ecosystem, we should pay some attention to the operating system on the Educational Pad.
There are a number of operating systems that could be used on this device, including Apple's own iOS that powers the iPad. iOS is an excellent operating system, but I don't think the standard consumer iOS as it exists on the iPad would fit the bill.
Apple would have to work with the organization designing this Educational Pad to effectively create a new OS image that can be managed and provisioned for an educational setting and opened up for the needs of creating content and providing curriculum on the device.
Other than the basic user interface, it wouldn't much resemble what exists on the iPad. So while I am not discounting that Apple could produce a device like this under contract, and that iOS could be modified to suit the task for a focused educational experience, Apple would have to give up a level of control that they enjoy in the consumer space they probably wouldn't be comfortable with.
The fact that this device would have to be school serviceable to a certain extent is probably a non-starter for a company like Apple, a more flexible and less walled-garden ecosystem provided at the back end notwithstanding.
So what could you use? Well, I think something like Android is a good idea, but the entire platform from kernel to libraries to user interface layer and all the applications that comprise the base OS would probably have to be Open Source.
And while Android is an excellent platform, we've learned from experience that Google can take its sweet time when it comes to releasing source code. We don't want the educational future of our children to be dependent on the whims or the future of one software company.
So whatever we use to build the OS for this device is probably going to have to be forked from the originating tablet OS and have its own development path specifically for the purposes of running the content produced from this new educational software ecosystem.
OSes like Tizen (formerly MeeGo) which are being developed by the Linux Foundation might be a better choice than a forked Android. And while Android and its device OEMs are dealing with IP issues coming Oracle, Microsoft and Apple, it might not even make the shortlist at all.
Perhaps even something based on Open webOS forked and maintained specifically for producing this series of devices might even be better.
What do you believe should comprise the hardware platform for the textbook of the future? Talk Back and Let me know.
Topic: Hardware
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• RE: Textbook of the Future: The hardware
I agree with what you said. Low cost, hardened, stable, non-proprietary.
"Chris is going to write at length about the software infrastructure and the ecosystem"
Where is Chris at? Would like to read his companion piece.
• RE: Textbook of the Future: The hardware
@sismoc I'll put up the link to his as soon as he is done with it.
• You're forgetting one unavoidable fact
@sismoc <br>the iPad commands an impressive 70-80% of its market.<br>So a lot of people already have it.<br>The alternatives suck in many ways compared to what the iPad has to offer so maybe, just maybe, it's not cheap crap people want this time.
• RE: Textbook of the Future: The hardware
Relatively speaking (compared with computers), almost no one has an ipad.
• Closer to 95% of its market
Based on usage, iPad commands more than 95% of the market.
It is a sick market. We all lose.
• Why didn't more people say this when MS was king on the hill?
with their half-baked, malware infested, second rate platform?
• Bzzt! Wrong!
Apple sold more iPads than HP sold PCs in Q1 2012.
• iPad vs Computers by all makers?
@Mikael_z According to the article You sourced, iPad did out sell HP, Lenovo, and Dell... individually. Combined, the computer makers outsold iPads close to 3 to 1 in that quarter, probably by far more than that when you add in the computer makers not in the top 3.
• RE: Textbook of the Future: The hardware
@sismoc don't reinvent the wheel. There is nothing wrong with the iPad. I don't own a single device that runs osX, nor do I plan to. But, I am a fan of the convenience the iPad offers.
as for the article comment "It wouldn???t be good enough to run state of the art high-res 3D tablet games, but that???s not what we want this device to do.", I completely disagree. Kids are immersed in technology these days. With a tablet that was adopted through out the school system, the advancements in educational games would explode.
Think about any racing/flying/tunnel/frogger type game where the next correct path is to solve a math problem or select the correct spelling of a word - a high tech version of flash cards; or an Angry Birds where you had to calculate the angle and force, not just pull back and launch.
as for "how it is unlikely that a non-reusable book system will resonate with public school systems" - if the iPad belongs to the class, the next group of students gets the iPad from last year - the way they pass books on to future classes. The cost of each physical book far exceeds that of the eBook version.
• RE: Textbook of the Future: The hardware
There are more convient devices with a much more convient cost. After all we are talking about public schools. We have children studying still in trailers! Schools need much more than expensive iPads.
• Sounds like an Aakash...
... India's cheap ($60 retail, $35 for students) 7" tablet. It won't win races but as a textbook consumption platform it sure looks like it would fit the bill. I'm willing to bet that in volume purchases it would be even cheaper.
• Sounds like a book
Problem with education is not access to technology or money. Privatise the sector and reintroduce fundamentals, competition and discipline.<br><br>Tablets will be yet another excuse for poorly performing schools.<br><br>How many of these failed educational technology experiments are required before the message is received? Or are we still deluded into thinking the next trial will be different?
Richard Flude
• RE: Textbook of the Future: The hardware
@Richard Flude
Right on, Right on, Right on!!!
• As a group, Charter Schools don't have any better success ...
@Richard Flude ... than public schools. Academic success is tied to socio-economics, not the quality of the school. Schools which serve upper-middle -class families always do well, schools which are predominately Title I schools fair poorly on standardized test. It is not ideal but it certainly is the rule.
M Wagner
• RE: Textbook of the Future: The hardware
@Richard Flude privatize education so that your favorite cola/chocolate bar/computer/etc producer has unfettered access to the next generations. Are you nuts!!!
• RE: Textbook of the Future: The hardware
@Richard Flude I believe that this conversation is about technology lowering the cost to schools of text books. I can't think of many education models that don't require access to something like a text book.
I certainly agree that this technology won't fix what is wrong with our education system, but saving the schools money is certainly not a bad thing.
• RE: Textbook of the Future: The hardware
mwagner@... "Schools which serve upper-middle -class families always do well" should be written "Schools which serve INVOLVED families always do well"
Throwing money at schools won't fix the parental involvement. That said, iPads are cheap. Even at $400, it's only $10/month for 10 months/yr for 4 years. I'd gladly pay that so that my kids don't have to lug the school books around (have you seen the size and number of wheelie back packs). So for 2 happy meals a month...
• RE: Textbook of the Future: The hardware
@Richard Flude
No! If what the private schools are doing is soooo great, then why do we have to give private schools all the exceptions. Private and public schools are administered by the states. Yet, they purposely set them up to operate differently, and with different rules. Most private schools are not accredited and have no standardized testing requirements. If you ask politicians why public schools are not allowed to operate the same as pritate schools, you'll get some dumb @ss answer that the public schools just are'nt capable. Go figure!!
• RE: Textbook of the Future: The hardware
Good idea. If there would be only one OS that would be universally accepted then it would work for kids as they go thru school. For that fact one would expect it to be upgradable (software wise) with out having to install expense for new units or new memory. That is assuming they take care of their unit. Even at $35 a pop it could be affordable for families with more than one kid in school as they could do installments for the first year and then keep the unit for other grades!
• Interactive
So does this also mean we drop interactive textbooks from the equation?
The aforementioned hardware would not support these... | [] |
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19 MAR
Tokko was under £5. That was the only reason I bought the series really, as the reviews weren't particularly praising and I had never even heard of it before. If you can get it that cheap (at the very least under £10), then it's definately worth it.
The series follows Ranmaru Shindo, a cop with a dark, mysterious past. You see, 5 years ago, his parents were killed in the Machida massace - an unexplained slaughtering of dozens of people in a block of flats. These days, working for the Tokki police force, Ranmaru and his friend Ichiro are given embarrassing tasks such as cleaning the toilets by their hot headed, no nonsense boss, Kaoru Kunikida. But his life is about to change when he meets the leaders of Tokko, a shady group of cops who almost exclusively carry swords instead of guns, kill phantoms and devils that threaten Japan, and who Kunikida deeply distrusts. Suddenly, Shindo is torn between two worlds: one which seems safe and normal, another which could answer the question of his parents' death, but is filled with evil and suffering.
Tokko is a strange mix of slice of life, police prodecural and fantasy horror. And it (kind of) works. The episodes based in the office are often quite funny, relying on Ranmaru and Ichiro's big mouths to get themselves in trouble with Kunikida, who seems to appear from thin air at the most unfortunate of moments. They also trade banter, Ichiro often bringing up Ranmaru's tease of a sister, herself adding to some of the funnier moments. Not only did I enjoy the comedy of the show, but the realism of the earlier episodes was also interesting. Sure, phantoms and devils aren't very realistic, but viewing the situation from the side of the police was a nice touch I think. Bagging and tagging mashed up body parts is definately not in the job description, I'm sure. The proposed 'horror' side of things, never really makes an appearance, but it does get quite gory once the fighting begins.
The animation is... old school? I definately felt like I was watching an old show. It was colorful, which I liked, and there were some very nice pieces of art, but the frame rate is noticeably poor at times, making the unfortunate characters look ridiculous when it dips. The best sequence of the whole show is actually between two humans with guns (revealing who would ruin the twist), and whilst it may be short, it left me wondering why they didn't try recreate the same thing with the other scenes.
Music-wise, Tokko had an interesting opening theme - it had a brilliantly catchy chorus, but an awfully unflattering verse. The closing song was quite pretty, but it felt out of place with the tone of the show. There were some nice atmospheric and environment sounds, some I don't think even bigger shows would think to include. When the Tokko gang are in their modern wooden-floored hideout, the sound designers created a brilliantly realistic reverb to the environment.
The characters were a strong point for me. Each one is visually memorable, and all have their own personalities which also help to define them further. Ranmaru can be serious and stubborn, but shows a friendly side (his attempted interactions with Takeru are particularly funny), Ichiro is annoying but cares for Ranmaru, the Tokko gang enjoy snooping around being mysterious, and Kunikida enjoys hating their guts.
Oh and that ending. Never mind the abruptness of the final fight, I was furious at the police department's final decision. How does something like that even happen? Just after we've seen Kunikida prove his worth and his alliance, he is faced with the biggest pile of BS you could imagine. I won't spoil it but I almost jumped out my window in rage. Almost.
Tokko was damn good for the price, although I doubt I'll be recommending it to anyone soon. The ending may have damn near melted my brain, but it was fun while it lasted.
6/10 - Good
(take a point or two off for oldschool art, some bad dubbing and the ending, if you want)
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Mass Immigration, scare mongering??
(317 Posts)
Flickstix Thu 24-Jan-13 10:09:24
MummytoKatie Mon 28-Jan-13 20:14:35
thanksamill is the "Roman" in Romania connected to the Romans? If so - it would make perfect sense that Romanian and Italian are similar languages.
Hesterton Mon 28-Jan-13 20:21:35
Roma is Sanskrit (ancient Indian language) for male member of a band of low caste musicians. Its roots have no connection to the similar sounding 'Romania'.
MummytoKatie Mon 28-Jan-13 22:36:58
sulks in disappointment
mathanxiety Tue 29-Jan-13 03:51:19
Flatpack, I was trying to clarify the issue of who is taking houses, etc., from Britons, and since so many people have bandied around the term 'mass immigration' and since Romanians have been singled out as members of that nebulous 'mass', with mutterings about immigrants claiming houses, etc., I am glad you were able to point out that Romanians are not the baddies here. If they are out of the running for Public Offender Number One then who is left in?
Are we confusing Romanians and Roma here to some extent Flatpack? The Roma live all over Europe and in the British Isles. British Roma have lived on the island for centuries.
mathanxiety Tue 29-Jan-13 03:52:52
x post a bit
Hesterton Tue 29-Jan-13 06:08:23
MummytoKatie , you're right about 'Romania' coming from the Latin for Roman! It's just that the etymology of Roma has nothing to do with the etymology of Romania.
flatpackhamster Tue 29-Jan-13 11:05:47
Somebody may be getting mixed up between Romanians and Roma, but it isn't me.
Flatpack If GothAnne husband is anything like mine she does have personal experience of immigration. I have a dh who used to be part self employed and got plenty of experience of tax returns from it!
I've got personal experience of a baby but that doesn't make me more qualified to talk on the subject of national childcare standards than anyone else.
No, GothAnne was just trying to rub her Guardianista credentials in my face, to show how tolerant and diverse she was.
GothAnneGeddes Tue 29-Jan-13 11:12:50
Flat pack - you claim that anyone not concerned about mass immigration wasn't impacted by it, I told you otherwise and you start immediately sneering about "Guardianista credentials".
I do not see giving some details from my experience with immigration as rubbing anything in your face.
Also, you very clearly did seem to be getting Roma and Romanian people mixed up, hence several posters correcting you.
Trazzletoes Tue 29-Jan-13 11:22:31
flatpack perhaps you should read back your own posts where you quite clearly confuse Roma and Romanians...
Oblomov Tue 29-Jan-13 11:38:45
Mrs DV said "There will be no mass immigration."
But wasn't it on the news the other day that the Foreign secretary(?) or someone, admitted that the actual changes that are about to come into force, the figures had been significantly underestmated.
So the gov has finally admitted that the numbers are about to rise significantly. How is that not mass imigration?
Harriet35 Tue 29-Jan-13 12:01:32
Why would anyone that is negatively affected by mass immigration be in favour of it?
Oblomov Tue 29-Jan-13 13:00:45
Or how can anyone possibly benefit from mass immigration?
I don't have a problem with immigration. Of course its healty, good for us, society, business everything.
BUT, when we are at breaking point, and it now becomes 'apparent' that it is virtually mass, i.e that there is an agreememnt that is going to come into affect that will mean many many more immigrants will be arriving, when we are already at breaking point, then surely this has to be questioned.
What are the benefits of mass imm? I can't see one. I see the benefits of immigration, but not mass immigration.
Name me one plus point. How is this good for any uk citizen?
dreamingofsun Tue 29-Jan-13 13:12:01
oblom - under that last wave of immigration i understand it benefited people who employed cleaners/plumbers/builders etc as the hourly pay rates reduced. care homes were able to get enough employees without increasing wages. Basically if you are a private individual who employs or uses the services of people or a business you have been able to get staff more cheaply as the immigrants are usually more desperate for work; are used to working at lower pay rates; and possibly don't have the higher costs that UK workers do (eg mortgage or children in UK).
god help the people who they displaced who had maybe spent years training for their professions.
dreamingofsun Tue 29-Jan-13 13:13:18
oblov - i also wonder if its that great for the countries they leave, especially if its the youngest, most educated, hardest working that go
thanksamillion Tue 29-Jan-13 13:59:10
Absolutely dreamingofsun. The country I live in has been decimated by young people leaving. There are many many children here growing up without one or even both parents because they're working abroad.
But because we're not in the EU many of them are working illegally and this compounds the problems. They go for longer (often years and years) because it's not so easy to travel back and forth, they pay huge amounts to dodgy 'agents' who get them papers and promise work and then are hugely in debt so aren't able to return even if they wanted to.
Having restrictions on who can come and work in the UK doesn't solve this problem.
mathanxiety Tue 29-Jan-13 19:09:36
Ireland was a net exporter of people for about one hundred years. Millions of Irish people left, all young. Millions of women in particular left the west, and communities were devastated. The effects of this were still to be seen in small communities in the west and northwest as late as the 2000s, with a much higher level than normal of schizophrenia, particularly among elderly bachelors living alone or with their bachelor brothers in run down cottages without running water or indoor toilets (women tend to be faster to adopt domestic improvements and to nag men to get improvements done).
At the same time, families were able to use a relative in Oz or the US as a base to send others abroad temporarily or in lieu of enduring poverty and lack of opportunity to go further via education at home, and this was particularly useful when times were rough in Ireland and for families for whom third level education was not going to be a possibility. Emigration from some parts of the west was often seen as a temporary measure, with families coming and going from Boston or New York to towns and farms in the poorest counties. I knew many schoolfriends who were entitled to American citizenship by virtue of a grandparent born in Philadelphia and able to prove it. They knew if they got a degree or some training they could hop on a plane and settle in the US whenever they wanted, with little or no red tape. Irish people could serve in the US military and enjoy VA educational benefits, healthcare and pensions.
And of course money flowed back home that benefitted the local economy greatly. Farmers stayed on farms because they could afford stock or seed or machinery. Shopkeepers stayed in business when money from a rellie tided them over when locals had to ask for credit beyond the normal limits. Bank loans were paid back. The experience of life in the US served as an impetus towards modernisation even in the most backward of places. People liked the nice bathrooms they had in Boston. They liked the flower gardens and the decent public libraries. When they returned they wanted the same in Mayo.
It was and is very much a plus for Irish people to have links to the US and it must be said, for the US to have had a constant stream of immigrants from Ireland to build railroads, canals, cities, sewer systems -- just as they did in Britain too. Ditto for the chance the EU offers to all its members, and the benefits flow both ways. Don't forget in these days of (misguided imo) belt tightening that British citizens can go all over the EU and that educational opportunities in particular are available on the same basis as they are to locals.
The downside for Ireland was that as long as the pressure valve existed, political pressure to improve the economy was relieved. What made a difference for Ireland was membership of the EEC (which meant many elements of Irish life had to be raised to first world standards) and the economic growth thanks to massive expansion of educational opportunities, a change of course on the part of the Department of Finance to favour encouragement of growth, and the sudden availability of markets for Irish products (EEC/EU) that happened from the 60s on. Ireland eventually became a net importer of immigrants and probably will again.
Romania, etc. (if we are again talking about mass immigration of Romanians) may follow the same patters as Irish emigration did -- people will go where they are already established and will come and go, will send money home that will eventually grow Romania as well as the places they settle.
mathanxiety Tue 29-Jan-13 19:52:12
Actually, to be boringly technical here, when I say 'Ireland' was a net exporter of people for a hundred years (very rough figure incidentally), I wasn't quite accurate. Until 1922 Ireland was part of the UK so it was actually the UK from which millions of people from the Irish region emigrated.
Millions of Scots also left the UK over the centuries come to think of it.
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In the mid 2000s in the US, due to issues of drug enforcement, pseudoephedrine containing medications were brought behind the pharmacy counter and in most cases require ID, and phenylephrine was substituted in most over-the-counter products.
Pseudoephedrine increases the amount of endogenous norepinephrine, whereas phenylephrine works on α1-adrenergic receptors directly.
There are numerous cases where experts have spoken out about the effectiveness of phenylephrine, so it likely is a less effective substitute for pseudoephedrine in its main role as a decongestant.
What I'm curious about is whether there are clinical indications for which the phenylephrine is actually preferred (so situations where the α1-agonist nature without the increase of endogenous NE is sought after)?
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I suppose phenylephrine might be indicated in cases where there is an interest in maintaining levels of neurepinephrine, such as when antidepressants or other medications are being administered. – MattDMo Dec 1 '12 at 13:39
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up vote 4 down vote accepted
Yes, in all clinical situations where you need pure vasoconstriction without heart rate acceleration (mostly valid for iv administration route).
The classical example would be in the operative setting. If the patient is in a hypotensive state due to hypnotic drugs, opiates, etc. and has atherosclerosis, you will prefer a drug that will reverse the hypotension without an increase in heart rate, i.e phenylephrine. The reason is that an increase in heart rate will shorten the duration of diastole, which will therefore shorten the time interval where the coronary arteries are perfused. Moreover, an increase in heart rate also means an increase in heart oxygen consumption. The end result will be an imbalance between oxygen input and requirement, i.e ischemia and potential heart infarction.
Conversely, if you have a patient with aortic valve insufficiency (regurgitation), you will prefer ephedrine (or any drug with beta 1 activity), because you will be aiming at shortening the available time for regurgitation to occur.
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That's perfect, I hadn't thought about that. – jonsca Sep 4 at 17:43
Would phenylephrine be called "non-inotropic" or something of that nature, or is that an abuse of terminology? – jonsca Sep 4 at 17:45
@jonsca it is true that (to my knownledge) phenylephrine has no inotropic effect, and can be called as such. But since it is the only pure alpha agonist commonly used for blood pressure control, it isn't really defined as part of a "non-inotropic" class in usual medical jargon. – Raoul Sep 4 at 17:48
Okay, thanks again! – jonsca Sep 4 at 17:57
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Letter: Mia Love has a wise approach to keep our money local
Saratoga Springs Mayor and Congressional candidate Mia Love smiles after giving her press conference Monday, Oct. 1, 2012, about the cost of having Congressman Jim Matheson in office.
Scott G Winterton, Scott G Winterton, Deseret News
Enlarge photo»
Some pro-Matheson ads claim that Mia Love is against police officers and against body armor for them. No, she is against having the federal government pay for these things.
When the federal government pays, then our taxes rise and we go even deeper into debt. Love knows that if we keep more of our money locally, and pay for things as states and communities, then we get more bang for our buck and have a lot more control.
Jim Matheson, on the other hand, is a big-spending, big-government politician whose approach only perpetuates a monstrous, out-of-control federal government. Love's wise approach would reverse this destructive trend.
Gerald Larsen
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Edition: U.S. / Global
OBSERVER; Frothing It Up With Gusto
By Russell Baker
Published: April 29, 1989
Here is a letter from Or. It is irritating. Not the letter. The letter is pleasant. What is irritating is its coming from Or.
You know where Or is? In exactly the same place that used to house Ore. The mail authorities have evicted Ore. and moved in Or.
Or has replaced good old Ore., or (that's conjunctive or, not postal Or) Oregon, to get long-winded. So why get melancholy about it? Certainly not because I love Ore. and am saddened to see it pushed around by the mail bullies. Ore. is nothing more to me than Hecuba, or He, as she's probably known now.
What's irritating is the pointless change. After you have spent 20, 30, 40, 50, maybe 80 or 100 years getting used to Beaverton being in Ore., it is insufferable to have efficiency-crazed mail people say, ''Tough turkey about Beaverton, folks, but you'd better get used to its being in Or.''
It was hard enough having to learn Africa all over again after colonial Europeans went home, but there was good reason for that. People being entitled to names of their choice, we had to learn all these new names that replaced the old: Zaire, Zambia, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Mali, and so on.
Kenya was an exasperating case because while the name never changed, you had to keep relearning its pronunciation. Growing up in America, you pronounced it ''KEN-ya'' until our great British allies explained that the correct pronunciation was ''KEEN-ya,'' whereupon ''KEEN-ya'' became independent and announced that the right pronunciation was ''KEN-ya.''
One knuckled to these incessant educational adjustments out of patriotic desire to be a good anti-colonialist. But no reason beyond the usual malarkey about comforting computers justifies squandering more brain time in relearning abbreviations of the states.
''Come now,'' I hear you say. ''Even a journalist can deduce in a flash that Beaverton, Or, is in Oregon. Why froth at the mouth because Or replaces Ore., since Ore. is really no more explicit than Or?''
Why froth at the mouth? For one thing, because it's time all Americans frothed at the mouth more readily, even when the offenses against them are petty.
Gigantic and inhuman bureaucracies - which is what successful modern governments must be - cannot help treating the governed with contempt. By frothing at them and issuing enraged animal noises, the governed may at least keep them sufficiently uneasy to prevent their contempt from becoming brutality.
For another thing, while one person seeing ''Or'' may automatically think ''Oregon,'' and proceed unruffled about his business, another may be so irritated by it that he will lose that cool indifference to the horrors of modern life so necessary for making it all the way to the grave without attracting attention, and start frothing at the mouth.
And what about Al? Suppose you get a letter from, say, Unomee, Al? If you've done your homework and got A-plus in mail, you know the letter comes from Alabama, not Alaska.
''If it were Alaska,'' you say, smartest kid in the class, waving your hand to score big with teacher, ''it would be Unomee, Ak.''
Yes, friends, that's what our mail authorities have done to Alaska: Ak. Gone is historic, stately, magnolia-sniffing, moss-draped old Ala. Arrived is snappy wise guy Al, a sure-fire Yankee. How many great Confederate generals did Lee address as ''Al''?
Another question: You get a letter from Doughray, Mi, and you want to answer. Are you going to talk to a Minnesotan, a Michigander, a Mississippian or a Missourian?
Sure it matters because you have to make a little friendly small talk and write, ''Still snowing up there?'' or ''How about those Wolverines winning the basketball!'' or ''I'd sure like to pick some of those cotton bolls one of these days.''
Once you could tell easily because the return address said Minn., or Mich., or Miss., or Mo. Now, your only clue is Mi, which my postmaster swears means Michigan. Minnesota has turned into Mn and Mississippi into Ms, which is also the name of a magazine with a feminist slant.
There is a lot of sadness here, too. Good old Boston, Mass., is now Boston, Ma, which sounds like the gag line from an antique baseball joke. (''What do you call a team that just blew the World Series, Pa?'' ''Boston, Ma.'') Cal. or Calif. is now Ca, which is what crows say, and Texas, poor old Tex., is now Tx, which looks like the name of one of those modernized companies that exist only to be merged, acquired, milked and junked. You Txans gonna take that without frothing? | [] |
Did Chuck Hagel Cave?
Did Barack Obama's defense pick, Chuck Hagel, cave to the right-leaning pro-Israel lobby in his views on Iran and Israel? Maybe a little, but not as much as right-wing distortions of his record would have you believe.
In his meeting with Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) this week, Defense Secretary-designate Hagel assuaged the hawkish pro-Israel Democrat's "genuine concerns over certain aspects of his record on Israel and Iran," yielding a crucial endorsement. BuzzFeed's Ben Smith was quick to declare that the "pro-Israel lobby won the Chuck Hagel fight," despite, curiously, the absence of any centrist groups opposing Hagel's nomination and even support for him on the pro-Israel left. Smith noted some reversals for Hagel: "Schumer cites 'several key assurances'" in his statement about the meet, Smith wrote. "I count about 12 points, most of them related to Israel and Iran, on which Hagel has reversed past positions or his perceived stances, points that now come across in Schumer's voice, but which he will have to presumably reiterate in his own words in televised hearings." Smith's piece got further consideration at the New Republic, where Alec MacGillis compared Hagel's reversals, such as they were, with pressure put on by the pro-Israel far right, most notably the Bill Kristol-led Emergency Committee for Israel (ECI), observing that the group "manages to shape the debate even in defeat."
Both cases are overstated, but there is certainly some truth to what they wrote. On the former score, Smith's dozen reversals include "perceived stances." That is to say, he lends credit to right-leaning groups for making Hagel restate his positions which these groups have distorted beyond recognition. For example, Hagel has said repeatedly over the past few years that all options should remain on the table in dealing with Iran. But ECI cherry-picked one quote from 2006 when Hagel declared that attacking Iran was "not a viable, feasible, responsible option." At the height of the Iraq insurgency and with a standing army in Afghanistan, who among us—other than the "bomber boys," Bill Kristol, Charles Krauthammer and Dick Cheney—thought attacking Iran was a viable option? The same applies to Hagel's past opposition to some—but not all—unilateral sanctions against Iran. A letter by Hagel to Sen. Barabara Boxer (D-CA) laid things out even more clearly than Schumer's statement (on many of these subjects). In it, Hagel stated that he "completely support(s Obama's) policy on Iran"—including unilateral sanctions. This reflects a shift from his Senate record (pre-2008), but not a shift from an interview this May, where he said of Iran: "I think Obama is handling this exactly the right way."
Smith and McGillis, however, are right that one of the virtues of Chuck Hagel held up by progressives was his skepticism about the efficacy of military strikes against Iran. "On Iran, Senator Hagel rejected a strategy of containment and expressed the need to keep all options on the table in confronting that country," Schumer said in his statement (apparently unawares of the hilarious contradiction arising from the conflation of "all options" and a military military attack). "Senator Hagel made a crystal-clear promise that he would do 'whatever it takes' to stop Tehran from obtaining nuclear weapons." That's a shame, because "whatever it takes" is a clear nod to a military attack, which cannot "stopIran's nuclear progress, only delay it. This was the sort of forthright discussion Hagel, in an op-ed last year with an array of ex-brass and elder statesman, said the nation should have before attacking; he seems not to think the confirmation process, at least, is the right time to have it. Does that mean, once ensconced at the Pentagon, he'll not privately counsel Obama with these observations in mind? I doubt it. But, since Hagel understands that his role will be to follow the president's lead, that may well leave the national discourse on the matter lacking, perhaps just up to the brink of an actual strike. Hagel and Obama would both be well-served to bear in mind that this isn't how democracies are supposed to operate.
Hagel's stances on Lebanon and Hezbollah are also instructive. Schumer's statement about his meeting with Hagel said: "On Hezbollah, Senator Hagel stressed that—notwithstanding any letters he refused to sign in the past—he has always considered the group to be a terrorist organization." Hagel's letter to Boxer was even more clear: "I have always believed that Hezbollah is a terrorist organization and often stated so in my 2008 book and in many public remarks," Hagel wrote, pointing to specific speeches to the Senate in 2006 and at University of Nebraska in 2007. Is distorting an accurate look at someone's positions and thereby forcing them to reiterate their stance "shaping the debate"? Another example was Hagel's calls for George W. Bush to press for a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah during their brief 2006 war. ECi's director (in name onlyNoah Pollak held this up recently as a prime example of of Hagel seeking "to pressure Israel." But in his letter to Boxer, Hagel was firm. Noting that he'd supported Israel's right to self-defense in a speech, Hagel added: "I also spoke about the importance of another American friend, the Government of Lebanon," making a distinction with Hezbollah. That doesn't sound like ECI's pressure worked even to frame the debate: Hagel remained exactly in line with his 2006 remarks.
"Schumer has to play a game," a Democratic Hill aide told me the other day, explaining why the New York Senator was withholding his endorsement. Likewise, so does Hagel. There's no doubt that Schumer's in line with the pro-Israel lobby writ large—the New Yorker's Connie Bruck noted that Schumer is "not known for his independence from the lobby"—but that doesn't quite mean he's in the thrall of Kristol and ECI. After all, many pro-Israel advocates go to great lengths to say they don't want war with Iran, even as they want to keep options on the table for dealing with it. This stance is only marginally different from Chuck Hagel's old positions, and fully consistent with his newly stated ones. ECI, on the other hand, wants war, like, yesterday. | [] |
Clinton still faults bankruptcy legislation
Associated Press
Published Tuesday, September 26, 2000
The bipartisan measure's proponents, backed by millions in campaign money from banks and credit card companies, have only a few weeks left to push it through Congress this year. Months ago, the House and Senate passed differing versions of the legislation intended to make it harder for people to sweep away debts in bankruptcy courts.
Clinton, who supports the principle of bankruptcy overhaul, threatened twice in June to veto the legislation as written. Changes made since then by lawmakers meeting privately still don't overcome ''the president's continued concern with the imbalance ... between the interests of creditors and debtors,'' Gene Sperling, Clinton's national economic adviser, said in a letter sent to congressional leaders Friday.
Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, a major sponsor of the legislation, called Sperling's letter ''outdated.'' He said lawmakers decided to drop two provisions opposed by the White House.
When Clinton sees the proposal, ''with all the concessions we've made and the level of support we have'' among Democratic lawmakers, ''I think he'll see that it's fair and balanced,'' Grassley said.
As a sweetener, Senate Republican leaders are floating the idea of attaching legislation to the bill that would renew money for the 1994 Violence Against Women Act. That law has channeled federal money to women's shelters and into domestic violence programs.
The twinned legislative proposals would themselves be appended to one of the 11 appropriations bills that Congress must enact to keep the government in operation, under a last-ditch GOP plan circulated Monday.
''It's not a sweetener, it's extortion,'' Joan Entmacher, vice president of the liberal National Women's Law Center, said in a telephone interview.
Women's groups fiercely support renewal of the act, but many of the same groups oppose the bankruptcy legislation because they contend it disproportionately harms women and children. They maintain that as written, the legislation's bars against using bankruptcy to erase certain credit card debts would force single mothers and children to compete with big banks in collecting child support payments owed by bankrupt fathers.
Banks, savings and loans, credit card companies and other consumer finance businesses spent $6 million on donations to political candidates and party-building activities between Jan. 1 and June 30, according to the group Common Cause. | [] |
Amazon is down almost fifty dollars per share today, as this is being written. 3M is down, and you need sticky supplies to operate business and mail packages. Is it time to #occupychristmas by cutting our spending and debt?
Carlos Slim, the richest man in the world, has said there is too much money flowing to Wall Street and not enough money flowing to main street. Boycotting Christmas by cutting back on spending is an effective way to protest this fraud, but is not the only way to do this. Here are some ideas:
1. Instead of buying something made elsewhere in the world, take your family out for a good meal, or a play, or a staycation, or buy something that originates in the United States. We now see pet stores that have only USA made pet food. The goal of this is not to punish the free trade, but to punish financial bailouts that did nothing for main street and punish poor quality.
2. Look for quality and if made in the USA, buy it. You can just buy fewer but more well made items.
3. Don't buy on credit at all and you will not be stressed about what is really a PR campaign to make other people rich at your miserable, suffering expense.
4. Wait to the very last minute to buy. Don't let the inventory go low. Let it build and build. Retailers will unload stuff if they have to, at bargain prices.
We have a major problem in the United States. Our commodity costs are too high and are going higher. People who believe inflation is the answer want your costs to go up. The government must get money into the hands of main street. I thought of the idea of the Government Gift Card, but you never know what may work. Buy American with any stimulus you get. Buy less, but buy quality.
It was reported awhile back that 45 percent of Americans would have trouble paying for Christmas gifts this year. In fact, Walmart and Kmart are back into the layaway game. That game was no longer played when easy money gave everyone a credit card. But it's back. And those 45 percent should not take the risk of going into debt to make this holiday happen.
If wages do not reflect costs in our society, there are only a few solutions for mainstreet. One is to live multigenerationally. Spare costs in basic necessities and it can free up money for discretionary items. Of course people should still consider buying American so the product lasts longer. Another is to just drive less and use fewer resources. Another is to go to the store less frequently.
With many two bit politicians wanting everyone to pay tax, we know that the churn of speculation is real and is a tax in itself, as commodities are artificially priced high. Stop the speculation and many who don't pay tax could pay it. This is pretty simple really.
America can squeeze retailers and squeeze the government policy of pushing jobs offshore, by simply boycotting stuff made from those jobs. It is really a no brainer. Yes, I think #occupychristmas is a concept that Americans can use to channel anger at our institutions.
We can control the large financial institutions by shunning their products. We can control the large retail institutions by not buying so much from them. We can even create jobs by demanding made in the USA. It happened in dog food.
Americans will not accept lower wages without the price of goods and shelter reflecting those wages. But Wall Street and its patsy government want their cake and eat it too. They want you to work for less money, while paying more for your house and gas. It is time to fight back mainstreet. #occupychristmas seems to me to be the best way to continue the battle.
This article originally appeared at Strategic Default Books. Copyright 2014. | [] |
Mobile man denies raping woman, claims two had casual sex for weeks before allegation
Michael Andrews.jpg View full size Michael Andrews ... denies raping woman.
MOBILE, Alabama – A man on trial for rape testified this afternoon that he did not force sex on his accuser and disputed her claims that the two had no prior relationship.
Michael Andrews, 34, of Mobile, testified that they had sex several times but that it always was consensual. Asked directly by defense attorney David Zimmerman if he believed he raped the woman, Andrews answered forcefully, “I know I didn’t rape her.”
The trial will conclude this afternoon with closing arguments by the attorneys, and then the jury will deliberate on charges of first-degree rape and first-degree sexual abuse.
Andrews testified that he met the woman shortly after he moved into Southern Oaks Apartments on Feb. 2, 2011. He said his friend, Deantonio Harris had helped him move and that the two of them were sitting on the steps outside the apartment when the woman and one of her friends walked by.
He said Harris whistled at the woman, who walked over and started talking.
Andrews testified that he later started seeing the woman at parties and became friends. Eventually, he testified, that friendship led to sex. He testified that he had sex with her once in his apartment and another three or four times at her apartment, which was around the corner from his.
He said he spent a week in early May staying at the alleged victim’s apartment every night but then did not see her for another week. He testified that she came over to his apartment to find out where he had been and why he did not text or call her.
Andrews testified that the woman wanted an exclusive relationship but that he did not.
On May 14 of that year, Andrews told jurors, he followed the woman back to her apartment. He said he sat on a barstool while she played with a laptop computer on her couch after she had changed from tight shorts into looser sleeping shorts.
He testified that they talked for a while and that she acted like she was mad at him. But he told jurors that he made a sexual move, pulling off her shorts. He testified that she did not help remove the clothes but did not resist him, either.
Andrews testified that he then took off his own clothes and started having sex for about a minute when she commented that she did not want to be just a sex friend. He said they had sex for another five minutes or so before she made another comment and pulled away. At that point, he testified, he got up, let her go and then dressed and went home.
Zimmerman asked Andrews if the woman resisted or told him to stop at any time. “Not at all,” he answered each time.
During his cross-examination, Mobile County Assistant District Attorney Keith Blackwood confronted the defendant with a statement he made to police investigators. At that time, Andrews omitted some details, such as the fact that he was on the barstool and that the victim was using a laptop.
Earlier today, Harris backed his friend’s account of meeting the alleged victim and her friend on Feb. 2. He also testified that he had been in the same apartment with the woman and Andrews – contradicting testimony that she had never been with him except for at parties.
Harris also testified that he received three or four text messages from the woman after the alleged rape looking for Andrews. He testified that he knew the texts were from the woman because it was from the same phone number that she had given him on the day they met.
Andrews told jurors that he did not have a cell phone at the time and would sometimes borrow his friend’s.
The woman testified Tuesday that she never had the phone number cited by the defense and never sent a text message from that number.
Blackwood, during cross-examination of Harris, showed the witness phone records indicating that only one text message was sent from the phone to Harris after May 14; five others came before that date.
Blackwood also asked Harris if he could retrieve the text messages and read them to the jury. The witness answered that he had given the phone to Andrews and his lawyer almost two years ago and does not remember the pass code to access the messages.
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OpenLDAP and PostgreSQL
From: Gilles DAROLD <gilles(at)darold(dot)net>
Subject: OpenLDAP and PostgreSQL
Date: 2001-07-27 18:53:16
Message-ID: (view raw or flat)
Lists: pgsql-generalpgsql-odbc
Hi all,
I've passed the entire week to try to run Openldap over PostgreSQL and have
maby troubles. All the documentation and mail I had found seem not really
working, at least
for me. Seeing my time lost to have this working a documentation seems
necessary for this
more and more openLDAP asked feature. I've in plan to write a working HOWTO for
this or
contribute to one in work and I would like to compare my experience with
Here is what I've done:
- Write the first lines of a HOWTO for installation and configuration.
- Able to give some working samples.
- Write a portable patch to cast the objectClass statement in OpenLDAP. The
patch proposed is not portable and need a new slapd.conf option. I will submit
it to the
OpenLDAP team next week.
I still have some trouble with entry creation that finish to make me crazy.
I always received the same id (134551209) when inserting multiple entries, so
integrity failed. For example, to load this LDIFF data:
cn: User Test_Add_Entry
sn: User Test_Add_Entry
objectClass: person
I have 'create_proc' set to "SELECT set_person_name(?,?)" and the function is:
CREATE FUNCTION create_person(int4)
INSERT INTO persons (id, name) VALUES ($1, '' '');
SELECT 1;
Given argument is 134551209 (???)
DEBUG: query: SELECT create_person(134551209)
I use SELECT 1; as final query of the function because whatever I want to
(like a current sequence number) is not return or at least I don't know how to
it back to the next following query.
Here 'add_proc' is set to "SELECT set_person_name(?,?)" and the function is:
CREATE FUNCTION set_person_name(int4, varchar)
UPDATE persons SET name=text($2) WHERE $1=id;
SELECT 1;
Given arg1 is 134551209 and arg2 'User Test_Add_Entry'
DEBUG: query: SELECT set_person_name(134551209,'User Test_Add_Entry')
And then the ldap_entry is inserted like that:
DEBUG: query: INSERT INTO ldap_entries (id,dn,oc_map_id,parent,keyval)
VALUES (currval('ldap_entries_id_seq'),'cn= User Test_Add_Entry,o=sql,c=RU',
Ok, this works but when I insert more dn I always get the same id 134551209 so
all next queries fail.
What does it means ? I have trace a little what openldap is doing and it seams
(possibly wrong, my knowledge with C++ and ODBC is not enougth) that the
ODBC function SQLBindParamater never update the rgbValue that is used to
set a new identifier. Am I wrong ? Is anybody have ever seen that ?
I'm using PostgreSQL 7.1.2, libiodbc-3.0.5 compiled with libpsqlodbc provided
in 7.1.2 and openldap-2.0.11.
The only workaround I've found is using sequences to first create the entry
and then modify the entry to set the attributes. That works pretty well but
permit direct LDIFF export/import.
Thanks for your help,
In response to
pgsql-odbc by date
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Common Sense
What If We Treated Guns Like Cars?
Easy access to guns isn’t the only cause of horrors like the Navy Yard shooting. But it must be addressed as part of the solution. David Frum on what we can learn from auto safety.
In the single year 1965, some 47,000 Americans died in car accidents, as many as died in combat in the entire Vietnam War.
The carnage on the roads inspired Americans to act. Over the next three decades, Americans did three main things to improve auto safety:
1) They improved auto design, by requiring seat belts and other safety technology.
2) They improved road design, with clearer signs and wider highway medians.
3) They cracked down on unsafe driver behavior, especially drunk driving.
It all worked! Auto fatalities have declined and declined and declined. The year 2011 set another safety record: 1.1 auto deaths per 100 million vehicle miles driven. Americans can hope for even greater improvements in the years ahead as cars gain artificial intelligence.
Suppose somebody had argued back in 1965 that the "real" cause of car accidents was drinking. Suppose they had argued that it was useless to improve roads and a violation of automakers' rights to require seat belts—that the one and only thing to do was to crack down on drunk driving. They wouldn't have been wrong about drunk driving. But had they been listened to, much less progress would have been achieved.
Improved gun safety no more requires a gun ban than improved auto safety demanded the outlawing of cars.
Yet this is exactly how the debate over gun safety unfolds. After a mass casualty shooting, gun rights advocates direct our attention to the gaps in the American mental health system. They're right, too! But it is also true that the easy availability of guns enables mentally troubled people to do much more damage than they might in another country where guns are harder to come by. Shouldn't we pay attention to both problems?
Yes, we have to tread lightly with gun regulation: the right to bear arms is constitutionally protected. But the mentally ill have rights too, including the right not to be locked up on the warning of a relative or teacher or co-worker. The Second Amendment does not trump the Fifth Amendment.
But if the easy availability of guns is not the sole cause of horrors like the Washington Navy Yard massacre, the easy availability of guns is the proximate cause of thousands of other less spectacular tragedies every year: the accidents, the unintended shootings, the ordinary arguments that escalate into gun battles.
Gun rights advocates insist that the U.S. faces a choice between the status quo and the repeal of the Second Amendment and mass confiscation of firearms. That is false. Improved gun safety no more requires a gun ban than improved auto safety demanded the outlawing of cars. Gun design could be regulated to enhance safety. Those who wish to own guns could be required to take safety courses and pass a test. Individuals who are found to store their weapons unsafely could forfeit for a time their ownership rights. Persons convicted of drug offenses or drunk driving could be deprived of gun rights in their sentence, as felons now are deprived of the right to vote in many states. The classes of weapons associated with mass casualty shooting could be more strictly controlled. It's not all or nothing, not all one way or all the other way: moderate steps could achieve substantial results. The goal is not to reduce the level of gun violence to zero, any more than it is to stop all auto fatalities. The goal is to enhance safety while upholding legitimate rights. It's been done before. It can be done again. | [] |
Michael Wetzel, 47, 229 E. Abbott St., Lansford, faces charges of two counts of driving under the influence, careless driving, and (failing to) drive on right side of roadway stemming from an incident which took place at 2:45 a.m. on Aug. 8 on W. Patterson Street. Charges were filed by Det. Sgt Jack Soberick.
Soberick was on duty that day and, at about 2:43 a.m., saw a small pickup truck being driven in an erratic manner while traveling east on Patterson Street. The vehicle was first seen in the 400 block of West Patterson Street, and appeared to be straddling the double yellow center line. By the time he was able to turn around to follow the vehicle, it was now in the unit block of East Patterson Street, and Soberick could see the truck swerving back and forth into the oncoming lane.
While closing the distance in order to stop the truck, Soberick saw the truck enter and remain completely in the oncoming lane, with the passenger side of the truck on the double yellow line and the oncoming lane basically block due to the driver's actions. This occurred while the truck was traveling the 100 and 200 blocks of east Patterson. At the next intersection, Patterson and Chestnut, the truck stopped for a signal, then turned right. He stopped it at the intersection of Chestnut and East Bertsch streets.
As he approached the driver's side of the truck, he could smell a strong odor of alcohol coming from the passenger compartment. he spoke with the white male driver, who showed him a drivers license identifying him as Wetzel. While speaking with Wetzel, Soberick smelled a strong odor of alcohol coming from Wetzel. Wetzel's speech was slurred and he spoke with a thick tongue.
Soberick asked Wetzel to get out of the truck and step to the curb for field sobriety tests. While walking behind Soberick, Wetzel stumbled and fell on the officer, nearly causing him to fall. Lansford officer Robert Shubeck administered the sobriety tests, with Soberick observing.
He saw that Wetzel was swaying noticeably, nearly falling several times. Wetzel failed all the tests and arrested. His blood alcohol level was 0.28 percent. The threshold for drunken driving is 0.08 percent. | [] |
Take the 2-minute tour ×
I'm able to get the information I want if the XML file is stored locally on my machine, but reading it when stored on the phone isn't working very well.
I've tried XMLPullParser but it extracts binary information about the id names etc and I'd like the actual name.
final String ANDROID_ID = "android:id";
try {
File fXmlFile = new File("res/layout/page1.xml");
DocumentBuilderFactory dbFactory = DocumentBuilderFactory
DocumentBuilder dBuilder = dbFactory.newDocumentBuilder();
Document doc = dBuilder.parse(fXmlFile);
NodeList nList = doc.getElementsByTagName("Button");
Node nNode = nList.item(temp);
if (nNode.getNodeType() == Node.ELEMENT_NODE) {
Element eElement = (Element) nNode;
if (eElement.hasAttribute(ANDROID_ID))
System.out.println("ID: "
+ eElement.getAttribute(ANDROID_ID));
catch (Exception e) {
share|improve this question
2 Answers 2
in the XmlPullParser documentation there is a getAttributeCount() and getAttributeByName(int index) that might be useful. You must use it in START_TAG
share|improve this answer
I tried to use the methods you proposed. The id value however comes out as a number when I was hoping it would come out as something similar to '@+id/page1'. I edited my first post with my new code and output. – Neeta Nov 20 '11 at 17:28
It's probably because it's a "binary" XML file, meaning it's been precompiled for efficiency. I think you want to read the plain XML instead. – dmon Nov 20 '11 at 17:37
It will be more complicated since you will have to instantiate your own XmlPullParser, but you can probably get the raw xml InputStream using res.openRawResource(R.layout.the_id). – dmon Nov 20 '11 at 17:41
@dmon I wrote another method earlier which used DOM to read the XML file but it wasn't able to get the XML resource (although it could if it was stored locally on my machine). I think it could be to do with not referencing the resource properly or the code? I have edited the code above with this other DOM method. – Neeta Nov 20 '11 at 17:49
I've never done this so it was just a hunch. Instead of referencing the file like that, try using the res.openRawResource() method that I suggested and pass that InputStream it into the DocumentBuilder. – dmon Nov 20 '11 at 17:53
Over XML parsing this link describes well. Here you can find other parsers too with xmlPullParser.
share|improve this answer
Your Answer
| [] |
Reviews and Blog Posts: Surfing
Welcome to paradise, now go to hell : a true story of violence, corruption, and the soul of surfing
by Chas. Smith
Reviewer Rating:
This book was a total let down, and not for lack of potential. The evolution of modern surfing, from its golden days in the ‘50s and ‘60s to the money driven reality it is today, is an intriguing and relevant story. But when everything is said and done, Welcome to...
The wave : in pursuit of the rogues, freaks and giants of the ocean
by Susan Casey
Reviewer Rating:
As far as nature goes, it's safe to say that the ocean acts as a kind of ambassador to the unknown, and Susan Casey’s The Wave, unfettered, dives right in.
In search of Captain Zero : a surfer's road trip beyond the end of the road
by A. C. (Allan C.) Weisbecker
Reviewer Rating:
Remember that feeling of ditching school in the late spring, just before summer, when the weather was primo and your youthful responsibilities faded away like a bad tattoo under the sun? This is a memoir of a dude that may have skipped a few too many days, his responsibilities no...
Syndicate content | [] |
Take the 2-minute tour ×
I can't get achievements in this game, also the Steam In-game function doesn't work. May this problem related to the fact that the game is in Flash? Anyone has the same problem?
share|improve this question
Is this in Windows or OSX? Because currently the game's achievements will not work in OSX (and support is not planned at this time). – Crag Jan 4 '12 at 17:22
Do you mean that you can't get achievements at all, or that they simply don't pop up, as per agent86's answer? – Aubergine Jan 4 '12 at 18:03
This in Windows. The achievements simply don't pop-up, so in my profile I have 0 achievements, when actually I have the most of them. Sorry for not being specificy in the question above. – unil Jan 5 '12 at 10:52
Thanks for the answer, Crag. Guess it just sucks to be a mac user, buying games that are partially supported and they don't even think it's worth it to tell you. – octern Oct 21 '12 at 17:30
3 Answers 3
up vote 10 down vote accepted
In Windows, the FlashAchievements.exe that ships with the game is broken for many people. I've contacted Edmund with information about a fix, not sure when that's going out but he says he's working on it after this update goes out, in the meantime the fix on this page works:
You want the 1.5 version, the second link to a zip on that page. This is for windows, on the Mac there's nothing at present.
share|improve this answer
Weird, I've never had a problem with the achievements (on Windows). – lunboks Jan 4 '12 at 18:02
I was having the same problem, and the file on that link fixed it for me. – Fluttershy Jan 4 '12 at 18:38
lunboks, just edited the answer to say broken for many people instead of just broken. – InsidiousForce Jan 4 '12 at 19:58
The fix worked well, thanks! Is there a fix for the in-game issue? (I checked: the option "in-game" is activated in the proprieties of the game). – unil Jan 5 '12 at 15:38
you can't being up the overlay because it's a flash game. I don't think there's any way around that. – InsidiousForce Jan 5 '12 at 15:57
If you're paranoid like me and don't want to download things from the internet that you're not sure where they come from something that works for me is this:
I unlock some stuff and finish my run (steam has not registered any achievements). Shut the game off. Go into Isaac folder in the steam tree and remove FlashAchievements.exe. Go into Steam, verify integrity of files, Steam notices FlashAchievements.exe is missing and downloads it. Start the game up and get the achievements.
The annoying this is that this has to be done each time the game is started up, i.e. this works the time the game is started right after verifying and getting FlashAchievements.
That said; well done on fixing the issue InsidiousForce.
share|improve this answer
When I was trying to get the Krampus achievement, I noticed this as well. The achievement popped fine in Steam, but the overlay wasn't really working properly. I wanted to take some screenshots for my answer, but I wasn't able to do that either.
Some people were able to fix this by upgrading to the latest flash client, however.
share|improve this answer
Your Answer
| [] |
Peepin' The Stars: The 2007 Bentley Continental GTC
Yeah baby, the Bentley Continental GTC's been Convertible-ized for 2007. This fan fav of Ukrainian mafia now comes built to allow what remains of their hair to blow in the wind, while they snort a line of blow off of the chest of the hungarian hooker in the passenger seat. This incarnation again boasts the 6.0 liter W12 that'll more than likely rip the plugs out of their fake-baked scalps with its blistering-fast top speed of 195 mph. Ah, the joys of narco-terrorism.
MTM's Tuner Bentley Continental [internal] | [] |
Father: Beheading plot suspect a dedicated teacher
MICHAEL BIESECKER Associated Press Published:
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) -- Nevine Aly Elshiekh is a dog lover who teaches children with developmental disabilities. She is college-educated, well-respected by her neighbors and has no criminal record, not even a speeding ticket.
Family members and friends find it impossible to reconcile that woman with the zealot federal prosecutors say paid a hit man to behead three government informants from a recent terrorism trial.
Elshiekh, 46, was arrested two weeks ago when FBI agents raided the tidy West Raleigh ranch house she shares with her elderly parents. Her father, an Egyptian who moved his family to the U.S. more than 40 years ago, told The Associated Press the charges don't add up.
"We don't believe it," said Aly Elshiekh, 80, a retired professor at North Carolina State University. "She loves special-ed kids and has dedicated her life to helping kids with disabilities."
Also arrested was Shkumbin Sherifi, 21. Prosecutors said they paid $5,000 for the first hit to an FBI informant posing as a fictional hit man's assistant, who later showed the pair a faked photo showing the intended victim's severed head.
Sherifi is the younger brother of Hysen Sherifi, 27, who was sentenced last month to 45 years in prison for conspiring to attack the U.S. Marine base at Quantico and targets overseas.
Elshiekh, a family friend of one of the defendants, frequently made the two-hour trip to New Bern to attend the monthlong trial, which began shortly after the 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks. She scribbled careful notes during the testimony that led to Hysen Sherifi and two others being convicted of terrorism-related offenses. Three others pleaded guilty.
The case hinged largely on surveillance tapes made by confidential informants paid by the FBI.
Elshiekh was born in the United States, while Shkumbin Sherifi is a naturalized citizen. Like many from Raleigh's growing Muslim community, they insisted during trial that the defendants were innocent. There was no evidence presented that any of the accused men had agreed to participate in a specific plot.
Prosecutors say Hysen Sherifi exchanged letters with Elshiekh during trial and called her from jail. He also mailed her bracelets he made behind bars, according to the FBI.
Court records show Elshiekh divorced in 2010. Hysen Sherifi is married to a woman who lives in his native Kosovo.
The Sherifi family fled their homeland in 1999 during a brutal war between Serbs and ethnic Albanians. Shkumbin Sherifi lives at home with his parents and has taken classes at a nearby community college, though records show he was not enrolled at the time of his arrest.
State court records show his only prior brush with the law was in 2006, when he pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge for resisting a public officer.
He has said his brother was framed by federal agents.
"Muslims after the Sept. 11 attacks were targeted," Shkumbin Sherifi said in a video uploaded to YouTube the day of his arrest. "For Muslims, it's guilty until proven innocent."
Relatives have declined repeated interview requests. However, an older sister, Hylja Sherifi, testified at a Jan. 27 court hearing that Shkumbin is a primary caregiver to their father, who has end-stage lung cancer.
He also records rap songs in English and Albanian under the stage name Beme. His lyrics recount the sectarian violence in his homeland, which was eventually halted by an American-led bombing campaign against the Serbian military. Tens of thousands of Albanian Kosovars, including the Sherifis, ended up as refugees in the United States, Germany and other western nations.
"Bombs dropping 4 in the morning, tanks blowing, windows shaking, my momma's fainting," Shkumbin Sherifi raps to a heavy beat. "I was a kid. Hey, what could I do? ... Guerrilla warfare, yeah, we fight back. But NATO don't like that. We fight for each other. Y'all tried to murder my sisters and brothers. ... We're gonna to get revenge, before Judgment Day."
Prosecutors said Hysen Sherifi masterminded the plot to kill the witnesses from his jail cell. Authorities said that within days of his October conviction, he had asked another inmate if he knew anyone willing to kill people for money.
According to the FBI, Sherifi said he wanted three confidential informants from his trial beheaded. He also wanted a fourth man killed who he said had defrauded his family out of more than $30,000.
That inmate, cooperating with the FBI, gave Sherifi the phone number of an informant who would pretend to represent an assassin for hire, said to known by the street name Treetop.
After a Dec. 21 jailhouse visit with Hysen Sherifi, prosecutors said Elshiekh set up a meeting with the fictional hit man's assistant, an informant known as Miss D.
Prosecutors said Elshiekh met Miss D shortly after the jailhouse visit, providing names, addresses and other information about the targets.
On Jan. 2, Elshiekh again met with Miss D, according to the FBI. This time, the informant provided a photo of the first intended victim said to have been secretly taken by Treetop to ensure "the right man is killed." Elshiekh replied that she would find out, according to the FBI, which recorded the conversation.
Elshiekh took the photo to a jailhouse meeting with Hysen Sherifi before meeting Miss D a third time. According to the FBI, Elshiekh then gave the informant a tin box containing a set of dominoes and an envelope containing $750 cash.
According to the FBI, she also gave Miss D a note reading: "Pic confirmed. His brother is coming Sunday with the rest."
On Jan. 8, FBI agents tracked Shkumbin Sherifi to a meeting with the informant in a grocery store parking lot. He is accused of paying the remaining $4,250 toward the first killing while his mother waited nearby in a Honda minivan.
The cash came from the sale of gold jewelry and other items Elshiekh gave to Shkumbin Sherifi to pawn, according to the FBI.
On Jan. 22, prosecutors said Sherifi met with Miss D again, this time receiving fake photos that showed the blood-covered witness in a shallow grave and what appeared to be the man's severed head. An FBI agent testified Shkumbin Sherifi then met with his brother and was arrested as he left the jail, with the photos in his possession.
Sherifi's lawyer, James Payne, declined comment. At a court hearing last week, he suggested his client believed he was hiring a lawyer when he paid the FBI informant. Prosecutors countered that after Sherifi received the photos showing a mutilated corpse, he went to see his jailed brother instead of contacting police.
An FBI agent testified that after Elshiekh was arrested later that day, she waived her right to a lawyer and confessed she knew Hysen Sherifi was trying to have the witnesses killed.
Elshiekh's family has hired Charles Swift, a Seattle lawyer best known for defending Salim Ahmed Hamdan, a Guantanamo Bay detainee who once served as Osama bin Laden's driver.
He said the government's evidence, if true, shows Elshiekh was nothing more than a courier for Hysen Sherifi.
"She was the victim of an evil, manipulative man," Swift said.
For the past nine years, Elshiekh has worked at Sterling Montessori Academy, a state-supported charter school in Morrisville. School officials declined repeated requests for comment and said only that Elshiekh has been placed on leave.
The organization's tax returns, which are public records, list Elshiekh's title as director of exceptional children and indicate she is among the school's highest-paid employees.
She has also served as a teacher at a religious school that is part of the Islamic Association of Raleigh, the city's largest mosque.
Imran Aukhil, a spokesman for the mosque, did not respond to requests for comment. Members of the congregation were among about 30 people who attended court hearings in Wilmington to show support.
Farris Barakat, a 21-year-old college student, said Elshiekh was his second-grade teacher at the mosque's school.
"Sister Nevine is an amazing person," Barakat said. "Nothing bad has ever come out of her."
On the quiet Raleigh street where Elshiekh lives with her parents, neighbors expressed disbelief she could be involved in anything nefarious.
Alan Harris, who lives across the road from the Elshiekhs, said he frequently saw Nevine walking her chocolate lab. Also a dog owner, Harris said they often spoke.
He said she wore western clothes and never discussed religion.
"She's a kind, caring person, always polite," Harris said. "From what I know of her, she is of good character. I hope she turns out to be an innocent party in all this."
In court Friday, Elshiekh wore a traditional scarf for Muslim women that covered her hair and neck. The shackles on her ankles clanked under a long, black dress.
Her father, a U.S. citizen since 1974, said he trusts the U.S. justice system.
"She will be treated fairly," Aly Elshiekh said. "If she did wrong, she will be judged."
Follow Michael Biesecker at twitter.com/mbieseck
Want to leave your comments?
Sign in or Register to comment. | [] |
What Car Has Made The Biggest Improvement Over Time?
Cars and the companies that make them are constantly evolving. What car has made the biggest leap forward from being a piece of junk when it came out to being a real peach?
Evolution is interesting to chart in animals, because the change is so slow that it's nearly imperceptible as it's happening. Automakers don't always have that luxury. Sure, a car will evolve during its product cycle with light improvements, but every decade or so there's a massive, time shifting event that suddenly makes the last generation totally obsolete.
But what car has made the biggest improvement since it was first introduced? Corvette? Sonata? Accord? | [] |
Return to Transcripts main page
Iceland in Financial Crisis; Buffett Rebuffs Kraft Offer
Aired January 5, 2010 - 14:00:00 ET
RICHARD QUEST, HOST, QUEST MEANS BUSINESS: Iceland freezes payouts for IceSave, bank feeling the heat from the EU.
Kraft sweetened its offer for Cadbury's and suffers a rebuke from its biggest shareholder and that is Warren Buffett.
And the battle of the smart phones. Now, Google going head to head with Apple's IPhone.
I'm Richard Quest, tonight, I mean business.
Good evening.
Tonight, Iceland in crisis. As the president has defied parliament, responding to popular protests, President Grimsson vetoed a bill to repay more than $5 billion to Britain and the Netherlands. Money those countries paid out to investors when their Iceland banks went belly up. Iceland has been forced to take the money when it didn't have the funds to compensate depositors in its shattered banks.
Tonight, we are going to examine what this will mean for Iceland's economic future, its political future, and of course, whether it will threaten vital economic aid to Iceland from the European Union and its membership.
Iceland's troubles began when it was hit head-on by the global financial crisis. Come and join me over here as we talk of the painful year of adjustment.
Iceland's banks had taken massive risks with much of their investment from borrowed money, borrowed on the international money markets, which of course the credit markets shut down spectacularly in 2008. When that hurricane came, it brought Iceland's banks crashing down. The government was forced to take control of the major banks, Glitnir, Landsbanki and Kaupthing. Hundreds of millions of dollars belonging to savers, particularly overseas, in the UK and the Netherlands, was frozen.
In November, Iceland got a $10 billion loan from the IMF and European and Nordic neighbors. It was even rumored that Russia was going to come to the rescue, $10 billion. But Iceland, in July, applied to join the European Union. That is a process that won't be helped by the latest altercation over the $5.5 billion that Britain and the Netherlands had to shell out to compensate investors in IceSave's banks. Now the British and the Dutch governments have an obligation to pick up the bill. The Icelandic parliament had agreed to pay the money back to Britain and the Netherlands, and now it is the president who is refusing to sign that into law.
That is the time line of the crisis. Jim Boulden, who joins me now, was in Iceland at the time of the crisis, and joins me to talk about it.
Jim, President Grimsson's decision not to sign the bill; is it a constitutional or an economic or any crisis?
JIM BOULDEN, CNN INT'L. CORRESPONDENT: I don't know that it is a economic crisis yet. It is a very popular move on his part. The Icelandic people-it is like, it has been estimated that it would cost each one of them $20,000 equivalent, per person, if this vote had gone through, if this bill had been signed into law. That is why you see these incredible -
QUEST: So why did they sign it? Why did they sign it? I mean, why are they bailing them out? Why are -is the Icelandic government bailing out the British and the Dutch, if the know it is an unpopular measure with their own people?
BOULDEN: That is why it was a very close vote in the parliament. That is why it took so many changes and permutations and it happened just before the new year. And it was by no means a popular vote. It was -some of the major parties were for it, but obviously the president seems to think that this is a better way to go. That now allowing the Icelandic people to vote in this referendum.
QUEST: So President Grimsson isn't saying no to a bailout. He is basically saying no, until the people have individually approved this.
BOULDEN: It is interesting as to why he, specifically, has decided to take this step, which is a very rare step within the constitution of Iceland. Because as you say, the government decided this was the best of the bad deals that have been coming through. But we have to remember in the end the Dutch government, very unhappy. The British government, very unhappy by this. They thought that this deal had finally been settled. And remember it is their money that they have actually given to their own citizens. This money didn't even go through Iceland. This was Britain loaning money, kind of loaning money, to Iceland to pay back the British savers in IceSave.
QUEST: Is this likely to have a implication to Britain - Iceland's application to join the European Union?
BOULDEN: Well, that is a long-term project. It is not going to happen until 2012, at least. So it may, in the short-run, let's see where the vote goes. Let's see what the reaction is to people. But you know they still need to get more money from IMF, they haven't gotten that yet either.
QUEST: Stay with me, join in our discussion. Because the petition against repaying the money was signed by a quarter of Iceland's voters. It was organized by a protest group, called InDefense". It called the bill and crushing economic burden.
On the line now, from Iceland, via broadband, one of the founders of the group, economist Magnus Skulason.
Mr. Skulason, President Grimsson's decision not to sign the bill, clearly, what are you hoping happens next?
MAGNUS SKULASON, ECONOMIST, JOINT FOUNDER, INDEFENCE: Well, thanks, Jim, I must correct you on one thing. Actually, the Icelandic parliament passed the bill in the end of August, with some safeguards, to safeguard the Icelandic economy, so Iceland would pay part of the GDP growth to the British and the Dutch, but that agreement -well, we haven't had a formal answer from the British and the Dutch regarding that. But they demanded more. So they demanded that unreasonable IceSave agreement.
So, actually, the parliament spent like three months last summer, just over trying to find us reasonable solution to this, out of a staggering 5.55 percent interest. But on the deal that would be more in accordance, to actually promise, to (AUDIO GAP) European Union, from November 2008, and so, on the restoration of the Icelandic economy.
QUEST: But is your fundamental opposition, Magnus, that any money is paid to the British and Dutch investors, or is it just the amount of money?
SKULASON: Absolutely not. Of course, we want to fulfill our legal obligation, according to the European Union depository guarantee scheme, and that is natural. And we have said we would do so. The Icelandic government has stated so, clearly, all the way since October, last year, when the crisis started.
But we have to understand that we had a total systematic breakdown on our banking system. The British government used the anti-terrorism legislation to freeze the assets, probably because they were intended (ph) because of Lehman Brothers, at that time.
BOULDEN: Magnus, this is Jim Boulden. You had another ratings downgrade. This time from Fitch ratings this afternoon, because of this decision by the president. SO, you currency is still controlled, it is still very weak. You have a difficult problem trying to explain this to rest of the world, why Iceland is not taking the steps that many people thought would actually help the economy to recover in 2010.
SKULASON: Well, as Jim said, this is like $20,000 per head, and that is a staggering amount. And the Fitch rating, actually, I'm wondering if they have the correct information. If they knew that actually the parliament, the Icelandic government, already passed the IceSave deal, in August, with some safeguards. And that should actually more positive, that Iceland is very responsible and trying to pay out the money, instead of having a riskier contract that is now, has now been beat up by the president.
QUEST: Magnus, this is Richard Quest again. I'm just wondering, is President Grimsson, in taking this action. He is clearly in accordance with what the popular wishes are, but bearing in mind the elected government has passed this bill, is this a constitutional issue, at the same time?
SKULASON: Well, the president has said that he is -that actually, that this is his right, according to the constitution, because he is elected in an election, directly from the public.
QUEST: Right.
SKULASON: And he has done so today. And so, A, what could happen, there could be a referendum in two-month's time, but maybe that is too long. The government of Iceland could actually withdraw the current bill and go back to the Dutch and the British and say, well, let's take the August bill that was actually passed by the government, and by the parliament, and actually as well, by the president. Or, thirdly, we could build up a new negotiations .
QUEST: Magnus.
SKULASON: . with a more reasonable solution.
QUEST: Thank you very much, Magnus Skulason, joining us from Reykjavik.
SKULASON: Thank you very much for having me on your program.
QUEST: And Jim Boulden, of course, with me here in London. You'll keep watching this?
QUEST: Let me update you. Europe's main markets paused for a breath, they followed the rally on the previous day. Bring up the numbers. London's FTSE, the only winner on Tuesday.
I want to keep with the banking sector, RBS, was up more than 10 percent. And Barclays and Lloyd's also did well. Well, RBS is up sharply because of the potential for investors in the bank. Pharmaceutical (ph) stocks going up as well. Sanofi Aventis fell 1.3.
And the CAC 40 flat. Frankfurt's Fresenius Medical Care was the biggest loser.
To New York, which is open and doing business at the moment. The New York market is currently trading and it is down 48 -well, just half a percentage point.
You are up to date with the markets, the news headlines now. Fionnuala Sweeney is at the CNN News Desk.
QUEST: We are looking at a real dog-eat-dog business in just a moment. It is Formula One, the lengths that people will go to get the right results. Now, you'll remember, of course, when Renault ordered its own driver to cast one of the most powerful men in F1, got his marching orders, but could he be back. We'll be live in Paris, in a moment.
QUEST: The former Renault boss, Flavio Briatore, is free to return to Formula One. At least according to a court decision in France, which overturned that life-time ban imposed on him by the sport's governing body.
The FIA kicked him out in September. It ruled that Briatore and another manager ordered their own driver to deliberately crash his car. The idea being to help a teammate win the Singapore Gran Prix. Both men are seeking substantial damages against the FIA.
OK, let's put some perspective. Our Senior International Correspondent Jim Bittermann joins me from Paris, where we may be having one or two problems with the line.
But, Jim, we'll battle on anyway.
Hang on, have they just simply said, that lifetime ban was against the rules, or have they kicked the whole thing out and he's back in the game?
JIM BITTERMANN, CNN SR. INT'L. CORRESPONDENT: Well, they said the lifetime ban is off. So, that he can once again rejoin Formula One racing. He has been banned not only just from managing a Formula One team, he was banned from even attending a Formula One race. He is now free to do so.
It really remains a question, though, exactly whether he will be an active participant, whether there will be any teams that will really want to pick up Briatore after all the scandals surrounding his activities in Formula One racing. And you know, whether or not that they Formula One people will appeal this. The lawyer suggested, after the court hearing today, basically suggested that there would be an appeal. But there has been no announcement, no communique from the racing federation up until this point. Not one expected tonight, but perhaps tomorrow we'll hear what they're plans are in terms of further pursuit of this case, Richard.
QUEST: Jim, the one thing I can't quite follow, is the court saying that the -that he didn't do it, therefore the decision was wrong, or are they saying that the sentence was improper because of the length and term of the sentence?
BITTERMANN: No, I think it is something in between those two. In fact, what they are saying is the procedure is wrong. Basically, they said that he was not given a fair hearing, that there were anonymous witnesses, that his lawyer was not allowed to cross-examine. That just the whole procedure was not fair. One of the interesting aspects about this, Richard, is that the basically this is the French court getting involved in what is essentially a private association that is basically taking care of its own disciplinary matters.
And it really raises a question about future disciplinary matters by the federation, or by, in fact, any other sporting association, whether they get involved disciplining their members, are they going to get overruled by some court, getting involved in the situation? We just don't know, Richard.
QUEST: And we do know that we seem to have lost Jim Bittermann, in Paris, for the moment.
When we come back, in a moment, Kraft's courtship of Cadbury's has taken an interesting turn. U.S. food giant is freeing up cash to try to make its bid a bit easier to swallow. Cadbury isn't biting. And there is a new wrinkle, the shareholder, Warren Buffett, in a moment.
QUEST: The U.S. food giant Kraft making a new push for dominance in the chocolate business. Kraft, of course, makes Oreo cookies and has improved its offer for Cadbury's in the details. Cadbury's says, and I quote, "The offer is still miserly, Kraft has missed the point."
Kraft's biggest shareholder, Warren Buffett has fired a shot. Saying he voted not to allow Kraft to issue several billion dollars worth of new shares, because that could damage shareholder value.
Now, this is a complicated transaction. The thing to bear in mind is what Kraft is doing, it has kept the total amount the same, $16 billion, is the bid. But it is now dividing it up slightly differently. It is now putting more of a cash element to it. And, crucially, it says it is going to sell its pizza business to Nestle, and use the cash to pay for the transaction.
You get the idea. Maggie Lake.
All right, Maggie, have I just about given the gist of that transaction.
QUEST: Because, at the end of the day, Warren Buffett chiming in, and then saying he doesn't like it. Does he say he doesn't like the deal at all, or just the deal's structure?
MAGGIE LAKE, CNN FINANCIAL CORRESPONDENT: I think a little of both, Richard. But he has got issue with the structure right now. In particular, and this is a big deal. He is coming out publicly today. The vote isn't until February 1, but he obviously feels very strongly about this.
And he thinks that it fundamentally undervalues Kraft. Because Kraft is going to have to issue all these new shares, where the stock is trading, roughly around $27 a share. Buffett bought into Kraft at around $33 a share. And there are a lot of people who think that share price should be higher. So he does not like the fact they'd have to issue all this share.
But that is not the only beef he has of it. He also says that this plan, which is -remember he is not voting on the deal itself - he's voting on Kraft's plan to issue shares. He also doesn't like it because he says, and this is a quote, "that the share issuance proposal, if enacted, will give Kraft a blank check allowing it to change its offer to Cadbury in any it wishes." The concern? That Kraft is going to buckle to Cadbury's complaints and up that price.
And although Cadbury would like it to do that, its investors in the U.S. are against the idea of it over paying for Cadbury's, which they think it would be. So Warren Buffett doesn't like either of those things. You know, Berkshire Hathaway owns about a 9.4 percent stake in Kraft. It is not huge, but as you know, Warren Buffett is extremely influential. And the fact that he is coming out now, and saying that he doesn't like anything about this, may sway other Kraft shareholders, who may be sitting on the fence or thinking about this, when they go to put in their vote on February 1.
So, they don't like it on your side, and it appears, they don't like it over here, either.
QUEST: Let's talk about - I mean, that bizarre, potential white knight deal, Hershey and the Italian chocolate maker, it - they made it indicative. They put up a flag saying they might be up for doing something. And we haven't heard anything since.
LAKE: We haven't heard anything since. And that is a problem for Cadbury, who keeps kind of holding that out there. You know, people do believe that Hershey's board is seriously taking a look at this, but Richard, I know from being over here, you probably know a little bit about this. Hershey is a complicated case, for its own reasons.
Unlike Kraft, where the issue is whether the shareholders will OK it, at Hershey's the company is controlled by a charitable trust, whose mission is to fund a school for orphans and underprivileged children. You are talking about a very different rationale then a lot of the business deals that are done, which really the focus is all about profit. Traditionally, when they have done deals it has been complicated. They tried to do something with Wrigley a few years back, and at the last minute pulled out. It was messy. All sorts of people weighed in. So, Hershey is complicated.
You know, Cadbury would like to see it, because culturally they have more in common. Could they do some sort of defensive alliance? Maybe. But so far everything is speculation. There is no bid from Hershey on the table.
QUEST: This is turning into a real melted chocolate mess, isn't it? I mean, it is the sort of deal that we saw maybe sometimes in the `80s and maybe the `90s, where everybody just finally says, enough.
LAKE: Well, that is the thing. You wonder why are they continuing when nobody seems to like it. It is hostile for Cadbury. Their own shareholders don't like it. The thing is that Kraft has been underperforming its peers and its CEO really is under, Irene Rosenfeld, really under pressure to say how they are going to grow that company. What are they going to do, when specifically she really wants to diversify internationally? Because this was -management was pinning a lot of hopes on this, and they seemed to be willing to push it against the wishes of most everybody. But you wonder with this kind of opposition if they are going to be able to get it done, Richard.
QUEST: Maggie, good to have you with us tonight. Many thanks, Maggie Lake. Another day in New York.
Smart phone users of the world, whether you are IPhone, Android, Palm, Free, or now, there is a new one, Google. Google has just unveiled a contender. Does it pose a threat to the IPhone, nonetheless?
QUEST: Hello, I'm Richard Quest. QUEST MEANS BUSINESS, this is CNN.
The New York market is open and doing business and you need to know how it is looking and trading at the moment. A lot worse, UNINTELLIGIBLE) But I'll tell you the New York market was down around about 40 odd points, now own around 51.32, half a percentage point, 10,532. And very strong day, previously, on the upside. So perhaps we shouldn't be too distressed if things are looking a little bit off. Maybe a bit of profit taking in these very early days. Remember, though, that while we were talking yesterday with Susan Lisovicz, and the first five days, trading days, tend to set the trend for the year. Well, I'll be you on that by the end of the week.
If you are looking elsewhere in the Americas, it is already proving to be a tough year for consumers in Mexico where they are dealing with higher prices on everything from gasoline to tortillas. Our Senior Latin American Affairs Editor Rafael Romo has more on the conditions.
RAFAEL ROMO, CNN SR. LATIN AMERICAN AFFAIRS EDITOR (voice over): Tortillas have long been a staple at Mexican dining tables, but prices have just gone up on the familiar thin round of unleavened corn meal
Teresa Jimenez (ph) says it is going to hurt her family and others.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): Tortilla prices should remain the same, we already have to limit the amount of tortillas we eat, and we don't have extra money to afford the new prices. We don't have jobs.
ROMO: The increase in tortilla prices is just one result of the higher taxes put in place January 1st by the Calderon government. The sales tax on most products went up by 1 percent to 16 percent as well as income taxes on workers with a fixed salary.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): I'm angry because our president is not helping people in need. He raises salaries for bureaucrats and we the people are only getting a three peso raise.
ROMO: The higher taxes are pushing up the cost of gasoline, which creates a domino effect.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Wages don't go up as fast as prices. Ideally they would keep up with inflation, but they never do.
ROMO: Mexicans are also seeing price hikes in other basic food products such as eggs. Electricity and propane gas are also more expensive now.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): The rise in basic food products and fuels is higher than ever. It's really ridiculous.
ROMO: Mexicans have a name for the kind of inflation that seems to hit the country at the beginning of each year. They call it the January slope.
(on camera): The minimum wage in Mexico is less than $5 per day and about 40 percent of the population lives in poverty. Mexico's central bank expects consumer prices to increase by more than 5 percent before the end of the year.
Rafael Romo, CNN, Atlanta.
QUEST: So, the New York market was open or is open and I showed you what it was trading at -- some down 50 points.
We need to understand why.
And for that, Susan Lisovicz is at the New York -- no, you're -- you're not -- you're -- you're in New York -- good afternoon to you, Susan, moving around, keeping me on me toes.
And, look, I'm not going to be too concerned by 50 off on day two of the trading year, because you'll be the first person to tell me, Richard, it's too early to be getting yourself excited.
SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right. And, you know, I mean, you could call it a new year's hangover. I mean we saw a pretty terrific rally on the first trading day of 2010, Richard. It did come on light volume, though, so that's something we're going to talk about more and more in the future, because that really points to, I think, some skittishness about the reality of this recovery.
So it's not surprising we see a little bit of a pull back. We do have some news, of course, with it, some mixed economic news. Factory orders doing well and that sort of ricochets off of what we heard on Monday with manufacturing. Pending home sales not so good. Well, you know, there could be the big surge to get into that tax -- that first time homebuyers tax credit.
We're watching autos. You know, we know 2009 was a tough year, but one thing we have seen now, because we have a -- a good, solid array of big automakers reporting their last month numbers -- and they're terrific. So we're seeing Ford shares, for instance, touching a four year high after it reported a 50 percent jump in U.S. sales from November to December. And that's something that we've seen, as well, with the others -- Chrysler, 36 percent month over month; GM, 38 percent; Nissan did very well, double digits, as well as -- as Honda. And so that could be a welcome sign for a big ticket item going into this year, where the bar, frankly, is going to be much higher.
QUEST: Airlines have caused much interesting consternation.
If -- I mean there -- there are two distinct views on this latest security crisis following last week's failure -- or Christmas Eve's failed attempt. One says that the airlines will suffer. The other says it -- that they're managing to weather the storm.
What does the market say?
LISOVICZ: Well, the market says they'll weather the storm. I mean it would be an entirely different story, let's face it, if a suspected terrorist was able to detonate, you know, at a very critical time. It didn't and security did act -- passengers, everybody did what they needed to do and a crisis was averted.
But we've had crises where we have seen real consequences, whether it's SARS, whether it's 9/11, whether it's the Great Recession. What we're seeing today, what the market is telling us, it has nice hopes for the airline industry. Continental's shares are up nearly 13 percent right now.
Why is that?
Well, Continental, one of the biggest U.S. airlines, reported better than expected December revenue. And let's face it, you know, people are choosing not to fly when they're out of work.
Not only that, Continental's brand new CEO says he's going to forego his $737,000 salary in bonuses until the airline turns a profit for a full year, OK. Continental lost about half a billion dollars in the first few quarters of 2009...
QUEST: All right...
LISOVICZ: -- so -- and -- and we're still seeing problems, because I'll just mention very quickly, regional carrier Mesa Air filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. It will continue to operate, but it shows the -- the fragility that industry has to, one, the economy; and, two, oil prices.
QUEST: Susan Lisovicz and New York.
Many thanks, indeed.
And talking of Continental. You can hear Jeff Smisek, who is the chief executive of Continental. He's on this month's CNN Business Traveler.
Now, in just a moment, it's a world of sky high salaries, multi- billion dollar transfers, eye-watering takeovers -- football's finances are coming back to haunt it.
How is that going to affect it?
QUEST: Welcome back.
Football clubs may be forced to change tactics, and I don't mean the way they play on the field. Of course, on this program, we look at the way the business is run. Years -- huge salaries, the players' owners, who pay for takeovers with enormous loans and money out of their back pocket. Now it's all coming back to haunt the teams. And now the authorities are saying it's time to do something about it.
Let's put some perspective and show you exactly what we're talking about.
Let's start over here, for example. Let's talk about Manchester United. Now, we believe that a debt restructuring is imminent. It's reportedly going to consider a $1.1 billion bond issue. The Glazer family, which owns it, of course, is thought to be asking JP Morgan and Deutsche Bank and maybe a few others to help out in getting this debt issuance on the market. The debt of $1.1 billion, of course, is a great weight down on the club. But one has to question how it got there in the first place and the mechanisms for getting rid of it.
Now, look at this one -- Portsmouth. Transfers have been banned by the Premier League until the debt has been cleared. And we're only talking, in Portsmouth's case, of $64 million. You may wonder why Portsmouth for 64 is in such trouble. Of course, Manu is 1.1.
But it's all to do with the size of the club, the size of the revenues, the size of the owners' deep pockets. Portsmouth has failed to pay players' wages on time over the last three months. If you put it into the European perspective, Byron Munich announced on Tuesday its cut wages to stay out of the red. Valencia has borrowed money for construction of a new stadium and are $750 million in debt.
Belgium's Excelsior has filed for bankruptcy and is out of the league. This is a sorry story, indeed. You may be wanting to know and worried about.
Well, one transaction in 2009 brought the finances of football into sharp focus. Manchester United got $130 million -- one, two, three, four, five, six, seven knots for Cristiano Ronaldo when the player moved to Real Madrid. Not a bad bit of business, you'll have to agree, except it's only slightly more than the company's annual debt repayment.
So now you start to see why they did the deal. But it still left MANU's debt in a shocking state.
We need to talk more about this.
Pedro is here.
QUEST: Yes. I'm grateful for that.
And, look, the -- why is it so serious?
I mean these companies -- these football clubs are cash cows, particularly MANU. I mean they're one of the world's best known brands.
PINTO: I think that the point is here, Richard, is why are we talking about it now?
And this Manchester United story with the fact that they're considering issuing bonds for nearly $1 billion is why we need to take a long, hard look at this problem. And with Manchester United, you think that they're one of the richest clubs in the world, the Premier League sells their television rights to the world for more money than any other league.
So why do they have this problem?
Well, the issue with -- with English teams and what we saw with Portsmouth, as well, is that a lot of times we've had owners who bring in these incredibly large debts to the club and that is why the Premier League has recently tightened their -- their rules for -- for -- for people to come in and buy -- and buy clubs. And they've implemented fit and prepare persons tests to make sure that they're not doing this in the future. So the Premier League is trying to change this.
QUEST: Is the problem that they're being badly run or is the problem that the clubs are being milked or that the owners are being greedy?
Because at the end of the day, you know, it's still a phenomenally popular sport. The punters are paying to go and see it. And they're buying all those scarves and sweaters and things.
PINTO: We are. And with a club like Manchester United, they're saying look, our -- our operating profit is still more than our yearly debt payment, so we shouldn't be that worried about it.
But they should be worried about it, mainly, Richard, because UEFA is implementing rules in implementing rules in the next three years, 2012, they want to ban every club from the Champions League that has a huge debt like Manchester United. The clubs have to be self-sufficient.
So this is why Manchester United may be looking at it now to try to change what (INAUDIBLE)...
QUEST: They are not helped by the Abramoviches of this world, are they, who come along?
Daddy Roman pops along with the checks...
PINTO: Sugar Daddy.
QUEST: Sugar Daddy Roman.
PINTO: Well, you know...
QUEST: I mean he gets -- just in case you're not familiar, he converted a lot of the debt in Chelsea to basically equity...
PINTO: Equity, that's right.
QUEST: ...and even the CEO of Chelsea now says the club is effectively debt-free.
PINTO: Now what is the difference here?
Roman Abramovich is worth something like $11 billion. The owners at Manchester City, $25 billion. So they can say hey, don't worry about paying me back.
The problem with the Glazers, Malcolm Glazer and the rest of the owners of Manchester United, they don't have that money in their pockets. They have that money in loans with the -- with the banks.
QUEST: Right.
PINTO: So they can't -- they have to worry about it. That's the big difference.
QUEST: (INAUDIBLE) for poor Portsmouth.
PINTO: Well, it is troubling because for the third straight month, like you said, the players are getting paid on time.
QUEST: Yes, actually, it's not funny. It's not funny.
PINTO: And -- and it is an issue. They've had three different owners in the last year. So no one that picks up that club knows exactly what to do with it.
QUEST: If I gave you a billion -- finally, briefly, if I gave you a billion, would you buy a football club?
PINTO: Yes, I would, but I'm football nut, so maybe that's why.
QUEST: All right.
Many thanks.
PINTO: Thanks for the bell.
QUEST: OK. There is a new contender in the Smartphone market whose entry has been eagerly awaited. The Web giant Google is getting stuck in and it's setting up a new kind of rivalry with the iPhone maker, Apple. It's called Nexus One. It's just been launched in California -- the palm- sized phone -- palm as in size of the palm, not in size of the name -- boasts a fix mega pixel camera and the capacity to transcribe fiction. You speak into the phone and your words appear on the screen.
Oh, I'm in trouble now.
The headsets will be made to Google's design by HTC.
MARIO QUEIROZ, GOOGLE: I do want to say that the Nexus One was designed in very close partnership with HTC. HTC is a company that has taken risks and has bet on the android platform from the very, very beginning.
QUEST: OK. Errol Barnett is with us from CNN Center to talk about this -- now, look, Errol, our viewers, as you know, they're -- they're very savvy about all these sort of things. They use iPhones, Palm Pres. They've got all the gadgets.
So what is this one offering that will get people excited?
ERROL BARNETT, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, what they're saying, Richard, is that this is the first Google phone to use Google software, completely designed by the company, only available through a Google Web store. So if you think about the success of Apple from iTunes to the computers that they offer and then their phones, they want you to come inside the family in a similar way.
How good is that phone?
Well, just moments ago their Web -- the Web only press conference ended and they had members of the HTC, the Vietnamese-Taiwanese company that helped develop the phone, to explain how easy it is to use.
Basically, it's like mixing an iPhone and a BlackBerry, the two most popular Smartphones in the U.S. and elsewhere in the world, as well. A five mega pix camera, which is -- which is what you just mentioned.
What does that mean?
It means that you take a picture and five million dots make up what you're taking a picture of -- a multi-color track ball down here. Another big thing here, Richard, is they want this phone to be as much as yours as possible. They want you to be able to customize this phone. For example, wallpapers and backgrounds you can create, do as -- as what's called open source technology. You can develop your own software and aps to go onto this phone.
QUEST: All right, I -- all right, now hang on, Errol. Hang on.
BARNETT: I hear you.
QUEST: At the end of day, though -- at the end of, this is really going to come down to who browbeats the consumer with enough marketing value. Now, we know iPhone has done it.
QUEST: Apple has great strength. They were first in the market. But we know that Google has a huge war chest that it can throw at this in the competition, in the battle.
BARNETT: Absolutely. And the way they shared information about this device wasn't by telling everybody, releasing commercials and sending devices out to the press. They wanted those tech insiders to really give feedback. Those are the first people to get this device and to show what it can do.
And now that many people use Google Maps, Gmail and all of their other services, they say now, come home, use it all in one device that we've created and it will be, they say, more efficient than their competitors. Viewers -- customers will decide.
QUEST: OK. I know you're -- I know you don't take sides in any of these things, but in a word, do you like the look of it?
BARNETT: Yes, I do. It's cool. Like I would -- I would not be ashamed to take this out.
QUEST: Well, there we are, then. There we are.
QUEST: Fine.
Thank you very much. Errol Barnett is clearly on the other side of 40 to myself.
The weather forecast now.
Guillermo is at the CNN World Weather Center.
It -- Guillermo, you've got some answers.
It's still cold out there.
GUILLERMO ARDUINO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, it is. It's going to get colder and, also, we're going to get snow. I'm talking about like 40 centimeters in many parts of England. That includes France, too, as this low pressure center, it's really cold in here. So the air doesn't have time to warm up. We're talking about officially 10 centimeters, but locally may see like up to 40 centimeters.
We're starting in the West, in Devon and in Sari and then it's moving all the way to Cambria.
Now, London will not see -- because there's already evidence of some snowflakes down there, but we'll not see snow until tomorrow.
Can you imagine the nightmare tomorrow, because in many places, there are going to be 40 centimeters of snow. And that means transportation issues.
So let's see the accumulations. Look at the table here -- up 10, 15 centimeters in some parts. I must say that Scotland is not going to get a lot of snow, but it's going to be bitterly cold, because the winds are going to be impressive over there, as well.
Southampton, on the coast, even eight centimeters, probably. And as we get into Wednesday, London is going to get its fair share of snow, as well.
So, forecast -- Amsterdam and Dublin, the same problem. Northern Ireland is going to see some snow, as well, and also cold conditions. The Midlands will see snow. But I think that to the south is the problem, and Wales, too. Then we have partly cloudy skies the next days, Thursday and Friday. But it's going to be extremely cold.
Now, Britain is not the only spot that is getting the snow. Look at Poland, the Czech Republic, the Baltics here, Scandinavia. And when we get to temperatures over there, it's really bad, as well.
Now, into tomorrow, we have a low pressure center here in Spain that is going to bring bad weather by the end of it. And then the snow is coming into the Alpine Region and the Balkan Peninsula.
But the weather is OK here, concerning airport activities. Maybe Milano with more snow; Copenhagen and Vienna also with snow.
Temps, one in London. The winds, you know, minus two in Glasgow, the wind really bad. Minus 10 in Stockholm for tomorrow, 19 in Athens.
And in Asia, we have also bad weather in Seoul. In Japan, we're going to see a lot of snow again and winds even in Hong Kong. Look at some other cities -- Northern India extremely cold, as well. But Japan I -- I think, Richard, is going to get bad snow because of this system here that doesn't want to move away. And it's bringing a lot of sea effect snow. So there are some snow showers still affecting many, many densely populated areas over Asia.
Are you beautiful?
Well, wait until we talk about that, when we come back.
QUEST: There's someone out there for everyone, so it's been said and your mother always certainly made it clear that there would be somebody who could love a face like this. These days, millions of people are using dating Web sites to find that special person. If you describe yourself as curvy, cuddly and even voluptuous, there's one site where you are most definitely not welcome.
Jenny Wivell has been finding out more.
JENNY WIVELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Big is not beautiful, as far as this Web site and its members are concerned. BeautifulPeople.com markets itself as an elite online dating community where image is everything. You can only become a member by being voted in by other members.
But 5,000 members who piled on the pounds over Christmas and posted new photos on the Web site were shocked when BeautifulPeople and their fellow members voted them out. The Web site is so proud of what happened, they put out a press release about it.
MIKI HAINES-SANGER, BEAUTIFULPEOPLE.COM: It's all about keeping true to the profile that you create. So if you've joined as a size six or a size eight or with really ripped abs, then the other members expect you to maintain that look, because it is a site where beauty is at a very high standard. They aren't interested in hippos and wart hogs. They want the gazelles and the panthers.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How can you say they're not beautiful?
WIVELL: The owner of Europe's longest standing plus size model agency believes encouraging communities to diet is irresponsible.
CHERYL HUGHES, HUGHES MODELS: They're encouraging entirely the wrong concept, because what they're doing is encouraging these impressionable women, whether they be young girls or older women, irrespective, to be dieting, to be keeping themselves skinny because they think it's beautiful.
WIVELL: BeautifulPeople.com doesn't actually exclude you if you're over a certain weight, but it says if you let things slide, so will your membership.
(on camera): To join the existing 550,000 members online, you just have to tap a few vital stats into the computer, including your name and your age. You also have to submit a photo, which, in this instance, clearly carries a lot of weight.
The voting process takes no prisoners -- you're either hurt or you're not. But in a cyber world where beauty is in the eye of the beholder, there's no telling who will make the grade.
Jenny Wivell, CNN, London.
QUEST: Hippos and wart hogs has to be the line of the night.
And when I come back, I'll have a Profitable Moment which, of course, will turn our attention back to Iceland and the sorry state of those frozen assets.
QUEST: Tonight's Profitable Moment.
The people of Iceland have rebelled against the government and their president says it's now for the voters to decide whether to repay British and Dutch creditors. The whole Icesave debacle has been a miserable business and the issue is complicated.
For instance, questions involved relate to why did Britain and the Netherlands let Icesave make such generous and, in hindsight, ruinous offers in the first place?
Ordinary savers knew they were getting a better than average deal. In good times, they got rewards. Maybe they should be obliged to bear the risks, too.
There's plenty of blame to spread about, which is why this latest decision to let the people of Iceland decide whether to pay the bill is unlikely to be the last word. The Iceland banking debacle is a sorry saga, indeed.
I'm Richard Quest in London on holiday for the next week.
So, whatever you're up to in the days ahead, I hope it's profitable.
Christiane is after the headlines from the I Desk. | [] |
2 definitions by Jmoney4376800
The spanish term used to describe ganja.
donde esta le motas? que?.....
by Jmoney4376800 May 15, 2006
When a man takes his dick and rolls it up backwards to the base, then holds it over a girl's face and smacks her square in the nose with it. It obviously requires some skill and inherited wealth to properly do, but if equipped have at it.
Guy 1: Yo man, did you hear that Tony gave that slutty chick an awesome blossom?
Guy 2: Yeah dude, he knocked her square the fuck out and then wouldn't pay for her hospital bill.
Guy 1: NIce.
by Jmoney4376800 May 15, 2006
Free Daily Email
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1 definition by dane and michael
1. used to pick up girls, but only under intoxiacation.
2. pretty much the same as yaddidamean... just a more hyphy version.
1. "what up beezy? YADDIDAHOLLA?"
2. "im tryin to get really fucked up and do a lot of fucked up shit yaddidaholla?"
by dane and michael December 03, 2006
Free Daily Email
| [] |
HOME > Chowhound > Food Media & News >
Masterchef U.S. season 2014 spoilers
So Masterchef U.S. started again Monday night. Compared to the N.Z. version that I watched on youtube over the spring, it is of course, a let down.
However, not to be totally negative, at least this year they did away with all the contestants in a herd like cows and rolling in their "signature dish" to cook before the judges in 5 minutes. Just started with 30 finalists, then knocked it down to 22 with 2 contests.
I must say Graham Elliott is completely unrecognizable. He's clearly made the most of his gastric surgery with exercise and diet, he looks great.
I was surprised at the first person they knocked out of the competition as he seemed pretty competent. Maybe just a plant. Don't really like or hate anyone yet, altho the plump pie baker could be a little less weepy.
1. Click to Upload a photo (10 MB limit)
1. You didn't hate the one who tossed all her scraps to the floor?
6 Replies
1. re: chefhound
Okay, forgot about her. I was surprised they didn't kick her out the door right then and there. How disrespectful.
1. re: Firegoat
I really wanted them to boot her for that. The comment about "I thought they had people to clean up" was the nail in the coffin.
2. re: chefhound
She was a PIG. Mumble something about... don't they have "people" to clean up!?!
1. re: kseiverd
Keep in mind, it is a set not someone's home kitchen. Don't forget about how much crew is behind the camera.
If she was in the weeds so to speak and really thought there was a person on set to deal with that kind of thing she was doing it for times sake. Yes It's a no no no but perhaps she really did think they had someone on set to clean up.
I'm going to give her that pass. If she does it again that is inexcusable.
1. re: Sandwich_Sister
Of course there are people who clean up - that's how all these competitions work (Top Chef, Chopped, etc.) but that does not excuse the bad work ethic.
Who throws scraps on the ground? What kind of person does that? Whether it's in your home, a restaurant kitchen or wherever, it's unacceptable. If you don't have time to put your scraps in the garbage, just push the scraps off your cutting board on to the counter. There's no excuse for flinging the scraps to the floor.
And I don't think she'll do that again. Not after the warning Joe gave her.
1. re: chefhound
right but people who have never been on a large set in a sound stage surrounded by at least 100 crew members or more might make that mistake.
It's a reality show not real life.
3. Man I had sworn off this show for the artificial drama last time around, but now I have to stick around at least long enough to see the Richard Branson of Malibu booted off.
But I do like this new introduction better than the cattle calls. No stunt dishes to suffer through and everyone in the cast so far seems kind of normal. The downside is that I'm realizing how much fun the play between the judges was during that.
4 Replies
1. re: ennuisans
Was Richard the guy with the long flowing silvery locks?
1. re: Firegoat
Yes, the comfortably wealthy househusband. Looks like he'll be our trash talker for this flight.
1. re: ennuisans
That shot of him on the boat was vomit inducing. Way to flaunt your wealth.
2. re: ennuisans
I was thinking to myself "I thought they did that wheely thing to get picked". Glad to skip that part. Love the reference to "Richard Branson of Malibu"!
3. I just saw this last night. A few thoughts.
Richard Branson House Hubby is going to wear on me I think. I see him sticking around a bit for the possible drama and perhaps, maybe he'll learn something. He needs a good piece of humble pie.
Astrid - the woman who was throwing things on the floor, I think she was doing it to save some time. but still disrespectful and I was surprised they let her through.
Pie Baker is going to be the possible sweetheart possible crier of the bunch.
Music Video MG guy is interesting to say the least. At first I thought I was going to hate him but after his explanation of his run away shrimp I quite enjoyed his quirkiness. I'm just not sure he has a big handle on MG like he thinks he does.
Graham looks great. I'm so happy for him.
1. Plump pie baker is also an actress, which perhaps explains the easily flowing tears. (http://elisemayfield.com/resume)
13 Replies
1. re: Sandwich_Sister
We're all suckers! I haven't done any research on this crop. I know last year many including quirky girl with crooked glasses were actresses.
Someone go find the wonderful Asian lady from The Taste that came in 2nd but should have won and plop her in the middle of this pile of dreck and let her sort them out.
1. re: Firegoat
I wasn't terribly impressed with most of them. Malibu Ken with those four little piles of carrots artfully placed at the four corners of the circle?
1. re: DGresh
Hahahah at first I thought they were little sausages. LOL
2. re: sockii
And she has a small food blog:
The first two recipes are hand pies. :-P
1. re: LindaWhit
It sounded like Gordon thought the pies were just okay. If hand pies are your specialty they should be fabulous.
I'm guessing her point of view is southern baking? I don't see much on her site really. I'm disappointed.
1. re: Sandwich_Sister
No, her blog was *just* started in mid-April 2014. Pehaps in anticipation of people Googling her and trying to establish her cooking cred?
1. re: LindaWhit
She's my early pick for the season winner (not that I think she's the best by a long shot.) Just a lot of early clues in how they played up the drama surrounding her, the focus early on, and yeah, the blog that suddenly appears about food AFTER the show is done filming.
1. re: sockii
I think she might get the "Most Improved" edit. She could get far enough though.
1. re: sockii
Oh god - if SHE wins? Fix is in.
2. re: LindaWhit
Actually her website has been around since 2012 (I checked via whois) but if you look at a capture of the site from 2013, there is NOTHING about food there -- just her acting and arts resume. The food blog part was only added starting April of this year.
I really would be ready to place heavy bets on her as the winner. My Spidey-sense (or is that Editing Gremlins-sense?) is tingling.
1. re: sockii
unfortunately, i think you're right. I don't think I can take weeks of seeing her weep.
1. re: DGresh
No No No NO NO NO NO NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!
2. Hah - I was wondering when I didn't see anything posted yesterday morning if anyone was going to chit-chat about MC-US 2014. I got a chance to watch it last night. My take (without reading anyone else):
1. I liked that they just brought in 30 possibles and had them cook vs. having 100 there to go through the 2-3 weeks of winnowing them down.
2. There are definite plants. I think the woman wearing the mega-high-heels who was one of the last to be picked is one. She just seems too actress-y to me - AND I think I recall seeing that they just had her name (Elizabeth?), her age, and her Twitter handle. No mention of her city/state where she lived, which they did with every other contestant.
3. Miss Toss-My-Scraps on the floor who challenged Chef Ramsay to join the group that initially didn't get aprons is also a plant. For her to mouth the comment "I thought they had people to clean!" as well as the scrap-throwing is a cannable offense in any real kitchen. I do believe she's there for draaaahmahhhh.
4. Miss "I Make Pies" from the south also has to be a plant. Or is there for the tears.
5. Househusband Malibu Ken is irritating. That's all about him - he can go sooner than later, thankyouverymuch.
6. Mr. Molecular Gastronomy will irritate.
7. The guy who made the amazing looking soup should last.
8. Graham Elliott looks great.
There's a list of names here of the original 30 contestants - so that Elizabeth is an "ad exec"?
25 Replies
1. re: LindaWhit
Thank you Linda.
I know there were several that we didn't even get names of yet. They will last longer I'm sure as the first quarter of the season focuses more on personalities and drama over the cooking.
let's see how this turns out.
1. re: Sandwich_Sister
I thought they would keep Astrid for the drama but I guess Cutter? was better than raw lemon tarts.
1. re: melpy
I wasn't sure how far they would take her. Masterchef judges usually do not forgive raw, or undercooked as much as they forgive over cooked or other technicalities./
2. re: LindaWhit
I've put together my main "hub" for this season (I do recaps and polls) and pulled together the links that I could find for all the contestants. http://sockii.squidoo.com/masterchef-...
Looks like Malibu Ken is a film producer and married to Melissa John Hart's mom. http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0319128/
Astrid (the one with the messy floor) had a restaurant in New Orleans, seems it closed and there was a lawsuit involving ownership. http://louisianarecord.com/news/25534...
Courtney Lapresi I definitely think is a plant. She's an "aerial dancer" (besides Gentlemen's Club entertainer), seems to be most noteable for some Fringe Festival performances in Philly (done largely in the nude) and oh yeah--her "friend" Christina Williams, winner of Hells Kitchen Season 10, has already come out to cheer her on. https://www.facebook.com/chefchristin...
If I had to place early bets, I think we're going to be seeing Elise, Courtney, and Elizabeth in it for the long haul. I'm kind of hoping Tyler (the hunter) and Dan (quiet but darn that ramen looked good) are the real deal and make it far.
Sorry, I spend waaaaaaaaay too much time thinking about this darn show!
1. re: LindaWhit
Thanks, Linda! MC is sort of my obsession every summer. I've done recaps for a few years and always get a ton of traffic for it, so I guess I'm hooked for another year ;)
BTW, I also just wanted to say I bought Luca Manfe's cookbook today and it actually DOES look very good. Very authentic and interesting Italian with a heavy Venetian influence which I love. (I am looking forward to putting his sarde en saor up against some of the other recipes I have which I haven't been fully satisfied with, for instance.)
I was so disappointed in Christine's cookbook after season three that I wasn't going to buy another MC cookbook without previewing it first. But there are actually a lot of recipes in Luca's book I can't wait to try and it looks to be nicely written. So I am pleased he won last year.
1. re: sockii
Your obsession about MC is like mine about Top Chef. :D
1. re: sockii
Interesting, I will have to check out his book.
1. re: melpy
I really like it! I've made about 6-7 dishes from it now, including 2 risottos (dinner tonight was the beet & goat cheese risotto with pistachios, and roasted pepper crostini with gorgonzola and balsamic glaze). It's a nice collection of recipes to step up home cooking Italian with some restaurant-quality ideas that aren't difficult to implement.
2. re: sockii
sockii, I found your ageism blog post interesting, and I think it's been brought up in the past here on CH. Leslie (Malibu Ken) is probably the oldest in this season's MC group, but the others are all in their 20s and 30s - or so it seems.
1. re: LindaWhit
Astrid is just past 40, but yeah. I really just take issue with the show being promoted as "the best home cooks in America" when really they are looking for someone young to market. When I've gone to open calls twice now, a large majority of the people there were older--as you'd expect for people who have years of experience cooking at home and developing a love for food! But those are not the people getting picked to be on screen. Leslie, I would lay any money bet, is there just as a plant and because of his Hollywood connections. He certainly wasn't showing any serious finesse in the kitchen.
1. re: sockii
Of all the versions of MC that I have seen (UK, US, Italy, Australia, NZ, Sweden, Ireland, Canada, Spain, Romania, Greece), the UK version seems to be the closest one to a 'pure' meritocracy, i.e., food-based. (In a past season, I recall, some of the audition process was shown and it was done with the judges blind-tasting the audition dishes.)
So just out of curiosity, I compiled some statistics similar to what sockii did in the referenced article, from the latest MC-UK season which just finished.
Total number of contestants = 60 (but ages were shown for only 57, so sample size is 57)
Avg age = 33.7
Age range = 20 - 53
Age distr: (20s = 33%, 30s = 46%, 40s = 12%, 50s = 9%)
Final 8 contestants avg age = 33.6.
Winner was 32.
1. re: jimonyc
My favorite is Master Chef Korea CELEBRITY!
2. re: sockii
Victoria Scroggins ... "bartender" or Chopped production assistant and caterer?
Kira Novak ... "medical recruiter" or personal chef?
1. re: sockii
I just (in the last 15 minutes) found out about Dan being on the show. We went to the same high school, but he was two grades ahead of me. Really nice, really funny guy.
Never watched this show, but I will start tonight.
1. re: sockii
Does Courtney have to pee? She stands with her legs crossed in front of her everyone the camera pans to her. I hope some of these peeps take a note from last year's winner Luka. He was humble and nice to his fellow contestants. When you act nasty it comes out on your cooking.
This guy from Malibu is a hater and elitist.
I like Big Willie and the little baking assistant from Queens. She's an underdog, but the come behind kid.
1. re: ToriTulip
I thought big Willie showed a lot in terms of good nature, likability, lovablity, and food.
That meatloaf dish he made would be my Nana's last meal, it was everything she loves. and now I wan't the recipe. ASAP.
1. re: ToriTulip
"Does Courtney have to pee? She stands with her legs crossed in front of her "
Pretty feet- it is a pageant girl thing or a performer thing... ...finish pretty.. pull your body to a finished position... I noticed it too
1. re: girloftheworld
It's the third or fourth position ballet pose that I believe she used this past episode, but obviously not with her arm above her head. ;-)
2. re: sockii
Leslie Gilliams was listed as a 'producer' for one of Melissa Joan Hart's films. His wife is apparently, legitimately, a TV and film producer.
Leslie and Paula have two chidren together, so he might be a legitimate house husband. I think he was listed as a producer to feed his ego. I also think he might be a decent home cook who auditioned for this show to feed his ego.
1. re: LindaWhit
yes,, he has five kids.... he has trained to adoooore him I am sure. IHe is out of his comfort zone. Staying at home being the be all and end all of your little minions existences gives you an artificial sense of your own grandness
1. re: girloftheworld
Nothing wrong with adoring your dad. If they adore him, he's probably earned it because you can't sustain it otherwise into their teenage years.
I, on the other hand, do not adore him. I don't hate him. I just think he's hard to watch. But his cupcakes were beautiful!
1. re: sockii
Courtney Lapresi the Philly hoe, I must say. Good cooking skills, but can see some intense $h1t going on between Courtnry and Ahran. Funny how they never show Ahran until episode 4.
1. re: WrinkleKrinkles
They needed time to coach her on how to create and sustain drama | [] |
BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:1.0 BEGIN:VEVENT CATEGORIES: SPECIAL OCCASION;TRAVEL;APPOINTMENT STATUS:NEEDS ACTION DTSTART:20110602T000000 DTEND:20110602T000000 SUMMARY:Movie: La Rafle DESCRIPTION;ENCODING=QUOTED-PRINTABLE:Event Name: Movie: La Rafle=0D=0AEvent Url: Date Begin: 2011-06-02=0D=0AEvent Date End: 2011-06-02=0D=0A=0D=0AJune 1942. Joseph, 11, must go to school with a yellow star stitched to his clothing. Joseph, his Jewish friends and their families make a fresh start to their lives in occupied Paris where they have found refuge or so they think. One month later, their fragile happiness is shattered. The Round-Up (La Rafle), a big hit in France, is based on a key event in France's Holocaust history. Starring Mélanie Laurent (Inglorious Basterds) and Jean Reno (The DaVinci Code, Pink Panther 2). Massachusetts premiere. In French with subtitles. Presented by the Museum of Fine Arts and the Boston Jewish Film Festival.=0D=0A=0D=0AStart time:7:30 p.m. CLASS:PRIVATE PRIORITY:3 END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR | [] |
A man with enemies in high places
· Tycoon said foes in Tbilisi were plotting to kill him
· Activities also investigated in Russia and Brazil
The death of Badri Patarkatsishvili, a Georgian billionaire businessman who collapsed at his mansion in Surrey, was referred to a serious crimes unit last night amid fears that he may have been murdered.
While police stressed there was no evidence of foul play, the tycoon's recent claims that he was the target of an assassination plot, and some of the details of his long and controversial business career, led police to decide upon a painstaking investigation.
After making millions during the wild days of 1990s privatisation in Russia, he began to dabble in the volatile, and sometimes violent, politics of his native country. Along the way he made friends and enemies, probably in equal measure, of KGB officers, Chechen warlords, political fixers and shadowy tycoons.
He had spent the hours before his death in meetings with his advisers and business associates, including the Russian multimillionaire Boris Berezovsky, the former attorney general Lord Goldsmith and the former Tory PR guru Lord Bell. At the top of the agenda at some of those meetings was discussion about the distinct possibility that the authorities in the Georgian capital, Tbilisi, would soon be requesting his extradition, accusing him of plotting a violent coup.
Shortly before Christmas, Patarkatsishvili had claimed that his enemies in Tbilisi were planning to murder him in Britain. He produced what he said was a tape recording of a conversation between an interior ministry official and a Chechen gangster in which a plot was discussed. "We'll be able to deal with him - that's not a problem," said the man identified as a government official. "Even if he has a hundred people guarding him, well that's not a problem. Our issue is such that we'll destroy these guards."
The day after the allegation first surfaced in a British newspaper, it became apparent that the Georgian government already had a secretly made recording of its own, this time a video that appears to show Patarkatsishvili offering an enormous bribe to a government official in return for orchestrating a coup.
The official, who now appears to have been sent to entrap the billionaire, can be heard asking whether they should murder a minister or persuade police to shoot into a crowd of peaceful demonstrators. "Would it be worth a hundred million to you?" the official asks, and Patarkatsishvili replies: "The freedom of the Georgian people is certainly worth a hundred million."
Patarkatsishvili was promptly named as a suspect in an official investigation into a conspiracy to murder and conspiracy to commit a terrorist act and his Georgian bank accounts were frozen. A few days later he withdrew his own bid to run for president in last month's elections, although he later changed his mind again and won 7% of the vote.
In Leatherhead, neighbours said the businessman had recently increased the height of the fencing around his property and installed security cameras and new gates. Residents said he never went anywhere without his security team and would often be shadowed by a second vehicle containing bodyguards.
Although he continued to travel between his homes in London, Surrey and the Israeli Red Sea resort of Eilat, he announced last month that he would not be travelling to Georgia for some time.
He was running out of places where he was welcome, having fled Russia in 2000, around the same time Berezovsky left. He had also fallen out with President Vladimir Putin, and was later charged in his absence with fraud and attempting to organise the escape from prison of another Russian oligarch - an enterprise that saw the arrest of one of his bodyguards, Andrei Lugovoi, the man since named as prime suspect in the polonium-210 poisoning of Alexander Litvinenko.
Patarkatsishvili appears never to have lost his anger that he had been driven from Russia by Putin, a man whom he claimed to have helped into the Kremlin. Last week a Georgian newspaper, Alia, quoted him as saying: "You probably do not know that but it was me who brought Putin into politics. He worked in St Petersburg as mayor Anatoli Sobchak's deputy and provided a 'roof' for my businesses there.
"Then, he had only one dirty greenish coloured suit. When Sobchak lost in elections ... he resigned. Then he was calling me twice a day, begging: 'Badri, take me to Moscow, I do not want to stay here.' Later it was to be decided who should be new prime minister. We realised the premier is the future president - and he became our candidate. So it was us who made him."
Unwanted in Russia and at risk of arrest in Georgia, Patarkatsishvili was also under investigation in Brazil over his interest in the Sao Paulo football team Corinthians, amid suspicion that the club was being used as a vehicle for money laundering. As federal prosecutors moved in 18 months ago, two of the team's top players, Carlos Tevez and Javier Mascherano, were swiftly moved to the east London club West Ham, and Patarkatsishvili was later linked to an attempted takeover of the club.
While there is no evidence that Patarkatsishvili was murdered, the police response indicates that they accept he may have been. If that evidence emerges, there will be no shortage of places where the police could look for suspects.
Possible police leads
Patarkatsishvili had claimed last December that he had been warned that officials inside the Georgian interior ministry had been plotting his murder in Britain. "They are doing everything to stop me from running for president," he said.
Vladimir Putin and Patarkatsishvili were sworn enemies, and he was wanted in Russia to face trial on criminal charges. The murder of Alexander Litvinenko in November 2006, with polonium, suggests that figures within the Russian state are capable of committing murder in Britain.
According to Patarkatsishvili, his Georgian enemies were planning to hire members of a notorious Chechen gang that kidnapped and beheaded three British telecommunications engineers and a New Zealander in 1998. | [] |
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CNBC Worldwide Exchange News/Business. Ross Westgate, Kelly Evans. Ross Westgate and
Kelly Evans consider the business stories that have global...
February 4, 2013
4:00 - 6:00am EST
welcome to today's "worldwide exchange." i'm kelly evans and these are your headlines from around the world. george osborne is set to make plans to break up banks. we'll bring you live coverage of that highly anticipated speech.
a corruption scandal weigh owes mario rajoy's party as he prepares to step down. we should assume that might win this discussion. it will completely break down. >> and the other side of the story from bumi's co-founder. >> and it's extraordinary comment for the chairman of a british company to make. that seems to be the main thrust of his argument to win this. and it's wrong. >> announcer: you're watching "worldwide exchange," bringing you business news from around
the globe. >> an extraordinary back and forth there on this monday morning. welcome to today's "worldwide exchange." ross westgate is away but we'll do our best without him. we have michael brown to help us through things. coming up on the program, we'll head out to hong kong where china is requiring a reinstruct during of the economy. after that, of course, the super bowl wasn't just one of the on biggest sporting events of the year, it was one of the biggest days of the year for madison avenue. we'll take a look at which ads were touchdowns and were ads were fumbles. >> mariana rajoy meets angela merkel. plus, upcoming elections that sylvia berlusconi has called his last great electoral and political battle. the power to split up uk banks if they fail to -- activity. george osborne is expected to
we should have capital in both parts. but the problem is, there isn't enough capital to go around and, therefore, you don't want to spook the financial markets by saying, by the way, yes, you do need to have this. how do we get to where we want to be, i.e. enough to be able to be separate businesses, without actually undermining the whole market pre-september about the banking stocks. it's incredibly narrow bridge to be walking over. what osbourn is trying to do is satisfy the political aim but actually not completely over the banks at the same time. will he achieve it? the devil will be in the detail and it won't be in today's speech. it will be in the bill that we get to see. my sense is that the time horizon will be so great -- >> so much regulation. >> well, no, that's accelerated, hasn't it? last month, we've seen a number of pieces of regulation pushed out further and further and
further. you could argue that bank management should not take it on board. they said, no, we're going to do this now because once that's done, i can go back to running my own business the way i want to. i still think that pressure is on individual managers. but the regulators and particularly last week backing off. >> this comes at a time when there are certain types of proposals in the u.s. this is not just a uk issue. it seems around the world, there is no appetite. but practically speaking, what will be the impact of this? >> i think of two elements. retailers have pretty much moved to very high margines and this product. those products are not necessarily totally restricted, but it's nothing like what is available in the early part of the season. you've got high margins, retail banking creating a lot of cash flow, but it's a very, very low
growth business. you can't grow the business so far, your return will be 7%, 8%, 9% yield as an investor. the trick side is, how do you get from where you are to where you should be or where you're being told to be? i think in rbs's case, there's a better chance of getting there quicker. >> we'll leave it there. spanish prime minister march anna rajoy is meeting with angela merkel today in berlin. this ahead of parliament talks. this comes amid a corruption scandal at home that has called widespread calls for his resignation. he came out on saturday and vehemently denied receiving any payments. have you been following this story? >> how can i not? >> what does it mean for the political instability now?
>> the question is, what's the truth? we'll see rajoy's tax documents come out later this week. there is clearly a problem here. we have one senior member of the party and the significant investigation. if rajoy is removed, what is the alternative? would we go into a general election and would that alter the economic positions that spain finds itself in? some will argue it would because they don't -- take it on board, introduce the external controls and if you like wrap up the situation. so there's a bull argument within the bear argument. >> where do you fall on that spectrum? >> i think it's going to be business as usual from a political point of view. >> and do you like your investments here? >> yes, i do. >> at what point do you start to take profit? >> i think the credit markets are telling you that. i think it's beginning to say a run for the spanish bull market which could go further, but it's not the same in the last three
or four months. >> there's a ten year, 5.31%. are you sticking with it until it goes below five? >> technically, if you hold rates where they are and germany around 2% at 4%, 4.5%, but that's not the move from 7 that we've seen in the last month. >> missed the easy money. stay tuned. in just under half an hour, we'll be live with that meeting on merkel and rajoy. silvia wadhwa will join us for that. first, let's get the latest from asia. sixuan joins us for that. what are markets doing today? >> it's a mixed day of asian bourses. the nikkei ended at a 33-month high. finally the yen split is still a priority. even as dollar/yen trades near the 93 level. panasonic shares jumped at 17% after turning to a quarterly
profit in q3. the shanghai composite ended higher by 0.4%. official services pmi data confirmed a mild recovery. coal miners soared on higher demand and a new policy to improve mining efficiency. liquormakers took another beating after the public sector was urged to stop posing boozy banquets in the upcoming lunar new year. ping an insurance slipped nearly 3% today despite hsbc repeating the okay from beijing to sell its remaining stake. investors are afraid that hsbc might have sold its -- given how much market has value since the deal was first announced on december 5th. elsewhere, technologymakers brought the south korea kosty poundy by about 0.25%.
meanwhile, australian shares ended lower ahead of the rba meeting down by housing data and job advertisement. india's sensex now trading lower by about 0.1%. back to you, kelly. >> sixuan, thank you so much for that. we'll see more for you in just a bit. bankia, they're leading the market up about 6% after we saw last week's bain allowing the short selling ban go away. not necessarily putting appreciate pressure on those shares today. we've been on extended runs for a lot of these indexes. cac 40 giving up some ground this morning. ibex 35 down about 0.3%. the ftse lower down, as well. the bottom space is where we've been focusing lately and even today, the ten-year in spain,
5.3%. we'll see what happens with the latest round of political instability. italy, though, 4.4% just about. so it is holding below the 4.5% levels. for ex, this is the one to focus on. look at this. 93, a 2 1/2 year high for the dollar against the yen. another 0. % this morning. but, again, that 93 level we've just been crossing so this is the highlight of trade this morning. talk about the impact that's having on the nikkei. quick look at commodities, over in the u.s., gas is trading at its highest price in february ever. the rally in stocks has lifted oil prices. there are some talking about nymex here which is concernedly just under $100 going to $105. that's going to put a lot of pressure on the u.s. consume perpendicular copper, giving
about 0.3% today. now we'll take a quick break. when we come back, china's biggest search engine reports earnings today in the fierce competition. we'll discuss the battle for search in china when we come back. [singing] hoveround takes me where i wanna go... where will it send me... one call to hoveround and you'll be singing too! pick up the phone and call hoveround, the premier power chair. hoveround makes it easier than any other power chair. hoveround is more maneuverable to get you through the tightest doors and hallways. more reliable. hoveround employees build your chair, deliver your chair, and will service your chair for as long as you own your chair. most importantly, 9 out of 10 people got their hoveround for little or no cost. call now for your free dvd and information kit. you don't really have to give up living, because you don't have your legs. hoveround replaced the legs. and now every hoveround comes with this handy tote
welcome back to the program. bumi's cofounder is being called to return his shares. it comes as the battle to control bumi is set to play out during an extraordinary shareholder meeting on february 21st. in an interview earlier, bumi's chairman stepped up calls for shareholders to vote against the rothschild proposal. >> we should assume if nat rothschild comes to bumi, the separation will completely break down and as a result, buckley will compete on the shoulders in what i can tell was just months and months if not years and years of litigation among the
various parties. and this is just a destruction of blc. you have a very whiting party to try to separate. i believe if this board wins, the relationship with buckley will be such that we can manage the assets. >> now, rothschild, though, joined cnbc shortly after those comments to defend his position. >> it's an extraordinary comment for a chairman of a british public company to make. that seems to be his main -- the main thrust of his argument to win this egm. and it's wrong. because, first of all, there is a takeover panel ruling. that says that the counter party, of which he is a paid up member has to sell down to 29.9% of the economics of the business. that is the first point.
the second point is that the bacrie family, put bluntly, owe $550 million against the pl shares, therefore, they are not in a position to pursue a scorch surge strategy against minority shareholders. and the third point is, why should the backrie family be interested in what happens after they leave? if there is no side deal between samitan and the backrie family, why is the backrie family so interested in what happens after their exit from this company? >> extraordinary back and forth there. >> and on camera. unheard of. >> what do you think about this as an investor? >> look, these are some of the situations as an investor you can't get involved in. as an outsider looking in, it's so complex, it's so detailed. and how on earth can you really
get full information in situations like this? so not just a situation like this would i avoid, but situations where politicians are getting involved in companies and redefining companies because i can't predict what they will do. >> do you think they generally destroy value for shareholders, these kinds of situations? >> i think you have to look at each one individually. and i'm not an m&a man. i'm sure the m&a guys are all over it. this is exactly their meat and drink. >> they live for it. >> but i'm just a poor old fundamentalist. >> and there's a lot of shareholders caught in the middle of this. we want to ask you what you think about the back examine forth. do you jump in on one side or the other, steer clear altogether? you know how to reach us, cnbc.com or tweet us, @cnbcwex.
julius baer's profits came in better than expected, but shares are trading lower, down by about 2.4%. doesn't sound like investors or shareholders are all that thrilled with julius baer this morning, though. >> certainly not. julius baer is the biggest loser on the smi at this point. it could be a bit of profit taking because this share or this stock like all the other stocks have had a really good run in the month of january. but you mentioned that .7.billion swiss francs, that still translates into 577% annualized growth. kelly, this is still at the upper end of julius baer target, 4% to 6% growth. this is not too worried. the fact that growth margins were under pressure in 2020 12.
they came in at 96 basis points. when i talked to the ceo this morning, he said, look, activities has been picking up in terms of equityivety, but whether that growth margin can exceed 100 basis points, that remain toes be seen. timely, the ceo said that the integration of merrill lynch's wealth management business internationally, that was well on track and this year it will have a neutral to slightly negative impact on group results. keep in mind, ubs earnings are out tomorrow and credit suisse reports fourth quarter earnings on wednesday. >> sounds like it will be a busy week for you. in other news, merrill lynch says it's expecting a revenue range of 1.7 billion to $2 billion in revenue and that would leave sales flat at best in the second quarter. htc now says it will concentrate
more on emerging markets. now, china's largest search end baidu reports fourth quarter results today. analysts said expect a jump to around $1 billion. the nasdaq listed company is facing new competition from up-saturday kihu, i think that's right, to capture more eyeballs and ad revenue. baidu expects costs to rise as it spends on the cloud and data centers. shares up about 0.3% on friday. jin yu, thanks for joining us. let's start by talking about baidu earnings. what do you expect from the company? do you like, generally speaking, its prospects here? >>. >> i think heading into tomorrow's print, i think expectations are pretty low.
obviously, baidu has been doing well this year. however, given the fact that the fourth quarter numbers, the guidance is a bit of a kitchen sink number where we think in q1, the guidance should be better than expectations. we think that the first quarter guidance, when they report tomorrow, should be better than expectations. so we would be owners into the print tomorrow. >> can you talk about how this transition from a peace to a mobile world is affecting baidu? >> yeah. you know what? we think that mobile is an opportunity rather than a threat because if you look at kind of google, who is three or four, five years ahead of baidu in terms of mobile platform and mobile search, we noticed that google, for example, has seen click come down, but you're seeing more click because a lot of the mobile has been
significant market share. >> we've seen their shares up. i'm just looking here at a price chart over the last couple of years. they've outperformed google, outperformed the nasdaq. so what do you think baidu needs to say here to investors to convince them that there is potential? >> well, you know, i mean, baidu's biggest risk is not necessarily the transition to mobile. it's not necessarily competition from chihu because chihu doesn't generate a lot of revenues on the search side. market shares in terms of page view is less than 10%. the biggest risk for baidu is frankly baidu. how are you going to grow? the only way you grow is if the pie gets bigger. but the pie, obviously, because of the base effect is growing at a rate. baidu needs to invest in peripheral products, including mail, video, mobile and so forth. and i think baidu gets there,
but it may take some time for a lot of these investments to be fruitful. i think it will remain in the nearly term range bound trade. but certainly as these guys continue to press forward in terms of mobile, now they consolidat consolidated. we think there's more up side in the near term, in the future. >> perfect. we'll leave it there. jin yoon, appreciate your time. those baidu results will be out a little bit later. the dow jones industrial average, in the meantime, has a relatively smooth ride until the end of december. with the light week ahead and the first major week of the earnings season coming up, could there be trip wires for the bulls stock market? head over to our website. see what analysts are saying at cnbc.com. and as the stock market continues to post gains, apple shares continue to decline. hear what analysts have to say about that. plenty of stuff to keep you busy
over on the website. when we come back, following workers protests, riots and strikes, boscon is planning a chinese union vote for the very first time. is this a sign of genuine change? stay tuned.
welcome back to "worldwide exchange." we'll brick you live coverage of george osborne's speech. >> mariana rajoy faces opposition demands to step down as more spaniards take to the streets. in corporate news, bumi says rothschild should return shares from creating the company. bumi's chairman spoke with cnbc just a little while ago. >> in discussions about the separation between barclay's and bumi would completely breakdown. >> and we also heard the other side of the story from bumi's co-founder, nat rothschild. >> it's an extraordinary comment
for a chairman of a british public company to mag. that seems to be his main -- the main thrust of his argument to win this egm. and it's wrong. not a strong month for construction in the uk. the construction pmi for january remained at its lowest level since june at a level of 48.7. that is below the 50 divided line between contraction and expansion in the sector. that did match the december reading, but it was below the reuter's forecast of 49.1. so in markets hoping for a rebound in construction, not getting it. not too much of a reaction in markets. sterling up by about 0.2% against the dollar. now, let's take a look at european markets. check on some of these trading levels. we are generally speaking in the red this morning. the ftse down now by 0.25%. just a little lower for some of the other major indexes.
the ibex, cac, xetra dax and ftse 100. the bond walls, in terms of yields, they're all up across the board. interesting, too, we're seeing all of the equity markets close off with all the major bonds yields doing the same thing. forex, the yen in focus this morning. 93 there, up 0.4%. weaker again against the dollar, in fact, 2 1/2 year low owes that level. michael brown, is this a game changer for the yen? >> it's currency wars. >> to some extent, i guess the question is, there are plenty who are saying actually 2010 was a red herring. we are really in currency war mode now. are we in your view or does it matter?
>> if would matter if we moved significantly. i think at this particular point in time from a european perspective, and that after all is the currency that is in focus on the up side, then it's clearly not a huge issue. i think the vast majority of companies with big international trade are pushing fully hedged. it's rather odd that this should be happening at this moment in time. and clearly, should that continue to happen and if you like clip at the wings of the german exports, you would expect to see mormon tear stimulus down the line. there's an actual reaction. >> you almost hope the german weakens from that point of view. >> i keep thing about europe over and over and over again. people really don't realize it's an incredibly closed economy. we don't trade with the rest of the world as much as the united states trades with the rest of the world. it's not surprising the currency
stocks are sitting around on the influence of other things. because guess what? europe trades 95% of the time, 93% of the time with europe. >> again, a great point that we'll get into in just a second. i want to swing around ask talk about this story. spanish prime minister mariano rajoy is meeting with dpermny chancellor angela merkel. on saturday, the spanish prime minister came out and vehemently denied he and his party have received an illegal payment. sylvia, with all this political pressure growing on the prime minister at home, how does this change the discussion? >> it doesn't change discussions with angela merkel, but needless to say, everyone will probably be rolling their eyes just when we are at a stage in this eurozone debt crisis when the collective fingers of the panic
button for the market and the politicians, as well, after things are easing off after this statement from the ecb, etcetera, then we might be heading fast into a government crisis in spain of all maces. another country that is in trouble enough where things seem to be down a little bit. so that is a cloud over these discussions. but, obviously, there's nothing angela merkel can do about that. she just hopes quietly like everybody else that this crisis will boil over and they can return to the business at hand. these talks, of course, as you prepare the budget summit, but what we've heard out of paris already from the meeting with monte and hollande were don't expect in the results from this next budget summit.
the bottom line is, there's not a lot of news coming out of these talks we nowadays have ahead of summits. let's book it on the business as usual but not business as usual for mariano rajoy. >> i want to bring alberto into this conversation. michael brown is also still with us around the table. alberto, we just heard sylvia reference a potential government crisis in spain. how likely is that, in your view? >> good morning. i think there is some likelihood of rajoy losing consensus that has been put in on a decreasing consensus. but the key in spain is since the omd declaration in q4 last year, rajoy has been hiding spain's economic problems. so instead of really dealing with the banks and dealing with the regional deficit overhang, he just created a circle of loop
of help. so the government has been giving money to the regions, the banks to the regions and the government to the banks. but there's no real solution. the problems we main in spain. >> well, this is interesting. so, actually, michael brown was just talking about europe being somewhat of a closed economy. what you're talking about here in spain is this closed loop between the money that is getting in and borrowing. explain a little bit about this crazy looking chart here, flow chart, we should say, and this point that what happens in spain is staying in spain. >> this is a simplified chart of what has been going on. all the rectangular things are off balance. fade is the fund for utility financing. they're funded by the government. rajoy on the 31st of december increased the limit of these funds. frob and the bad bank are funding the banking system, the weak banks, including bankia.
and the ffpp is a fund where banks have lent 30 billion to the region. on top of this, there is the fla and the ico which is the state-owned banks which lend money to the region. and the iss is the pension fund for the social security which is now 90% invested in spanish debt. so just as -- >> social security and pension funds are 90% invested in their own debt. >> from 50% five years ago. >> that should be the case. i mean, don't forget, if you're holding domestic assetes and your sovereign goes back and change to a different currency, you as a pension fund will be paying out in that local currency. so it should be the case that you old that particular asset. indeed, one would argue a pension fund should continue to expand if that threat happens to -- >> it should be the case, but the problem is, a lot of the dry pods are available because the fund has moved from 50% to 90%. and spain doesn't have a primary surplus.
i mean, it has a primary deficit. so the problem is, if you don't save enough, if you're saving enough, you can be like japan. you can fund yourself. but if you don't save enough, you're using all the dry powder. you're using your banks and the social security fund to buy your own debt. this can only last for a certain amount of time. >> there is an interesting question, though, as to whether -- you mentioned this whole cycle and which this whole loop. some of what we've seen for european debt crisis is this vulcanzation to some extent. is it better or worse than spain's problems are less exposure or are sort of in this -- in this internal cycle as opposed to there being more exposure for investors outside the country. >> it's better for europe as a whole and in 2013, we are positive on the european market, on credit markets as a whole. we don't think the same domino effect is arising from, for example, economic, political issues in spain or political issues with alternative action.
but for spain itself, it puts the country in a loop. and recently, rajoy has been actually spending even -- wanting to spend more money. he wants to -- the people have lost private savings for the bankia in berlin, for example. i think we're looking at a denial situation which can last until there's market pressure. market pressure can arise from external events, as well. at that stage, you could see still a downgrade. we'll have the numbers in february. and you could see more political tensions in the region, as well. >> i just wonder, with this ecb bid in place, with whatever it takes the draghi approach, if we get bad news on that front, what is it going to take to dislodge? you say you're still exposed to spanish debt. >> at the end of the day, if it all goes completely wrong, something happens to rajoy or something happens to any of those elements that you mentioned, at the end of the day, you have to go to european
authorities and you have to go to the esm and ask the cat. that's what is backstopping the market because the markets have confidence now in that the actions of the troika could involve the imf, as well, will start to turn the spanish situation around. i.e., you have some certainty. i'm amazed sitting here now that spain has been able to get this far in terms of time without having to go record through a third party. >> i agree with you. the view on the market has to be positive. you have to be pro risk, especially on periphery. but, you know, spain is one of the exceptions, one of the few exceptions we see. but generally, this year we have more structural steps from policymaker toes fix the crisis, including the banking union which is only a few months ago. in june, the ecb will become the bank regulator for all the large banks and all of these are shifts from the liquidity measures we saw last year. generally, it's a positive 2013 for markets in my view. but the spanish situation itself
looks not very sustainable. so this is one of the open questions we have together with italian elections. the two biggest risks we've seen in the first half. >> it's all political. it sounds like politics driven 2013 as opposed to one that has much to do with fundamentals. as you rightly point out, you know, fisd may be deteriorating, but this -- >> there's a backstop. that's the point. the lesson of 2012, ignore the noise, ignore the politics, concentrate on the nitty-gritty stuff on day by day and the rest of it is okay. all the signals i get out for 2013 is exactly the same. have patience. this is noise. get down to the corporate level because it's much more interesting there. >> this all comes ahead of 2017, 2020. hopefully alberto will stay with us and come back at that point. thank you for joining us, head of macro and european credit research. just a couple more earnings bits to bring you, pepco has reported and the report shows a wide
operating loss of 275 billion yen of the current fiscal year. they expect this fiscal year another net loss of 120 billion yen. the nine-month group revenue came in, it looks like, above market -- or at least above the prior quarter. probably above the prior period, that is. the point, though, being that tepco expects a wider net loss for the current fiscal year. this compares with a -- i'm sorry, they expect a wider net loss of 120 billion for the current fiscal year. we'll leave it at that. down 1% as investors digest that news. staying in japan, the priority of japan's leadership remains ending its long running uptrend. nozomu kitadai has the details. >> hi, kelly.
japan's finance minister reported that he's still unsatisfied with the yen's recent levels. asso said the most important task for this cabinet is not overcome deflation and the yen's protracted and bring back a strong japanese economy. asso's remarks show the government's determination to lower the value further for japan's struggling exporters. that he hopes will lead to better profit margin or capital investment in waging those firms. since december's general election, the yen has fallen roughly 10% against the dollar. the yen keeps weakening. the market's focus is beginning to shift to the g-20 finance minister's meeting in moscow on february 15th and 16th. eyes will be watching to see if criticism about currency manipulation by japan's leadership will intensify at the gathering. back to you, kelly. >> now zummy kitadai. here is a look at what is on the
agenda for tomorrow. we'll be watching for trade figures for the month of december. in japan, we'll get key earnings out of toyota and mitts bu see and india releases its pmi numbers for january. japan airlines set net profits fall, but the carrier raised its forecasts by nearly %. jal said its plans to discuss groundings with boeing, and a u.s. probe over fires on the boeing dreamliner is reportedly set to meet with a french group. we've gone from looking at u.s. supply issues, maybe japanese
batterymakers now to this french company. wa can you tell us? >> we knew french companies were part of this dreamliner, the 787. it's a plane that contains the greatest parts of units made by a french company. in france, sellis is the manufacturer of the cables to the battery that's caught fire. the u.s. transport and safety board is going to send an investigation team to france to study this electrical cable made by thales. it's part of a wider investigation that has led to all 787 aircraft being grounded by the aviation authorities. meanwhile, in the same sector, the nomination committee this weekend shortly for the french representatives at eads, you know, that part of the new tractor, it will be 12 at the board. four of them will be for french representatives. according to the mission table,
the former chairman of the bnp paribas and the former president of sellis have been suggested by the elimination committee. and the former president of the ecb and also the choice will be made by the shareholders in march. >> another role there potentially for mr. jean-claude trichet. when we come back, foxconn workers are plan ago union vote in a historic first. we'll tell you what this means for the company and the chinese labor force when we come back.
welcome back. foxconn will be holding union votes at its plant in china. major concerns will chinese workers and concerns among major companies like apple. until now, unions have been
dominated by management. the rise of organized labor is one change affecting chinese industry. the shrinking workforce, yet another. as eunice eun tells us from this report, there are upcoming policies to deal with workforce issues in china nap. >> this is a rare view in china. a law professor, he and his wife were pressured to abort their second daughter because of the country's one-child policy. he refused and lost his job. >> there is no fairness with this policy, he says. it is cruel and inhumane. he is one of a growing number of voices pushing to reform china's notorious policy which limits his family to one child. the policy was put in place over three decades ago to help the economy develop while controlling social problems that could arise from unchecked population growth. but there is a cost to the control. china is aging much more rapidly
than other developing countries. last year, the workforce shrank for the first time by 3.5 million people, shocking officials. and the asian development bank thinks that over the next 20 years, the declining workforce will knock the growth rate of china's per capital ya gdp by 0.8% every year. even every day, this apparel company on the outskirts of beijing is struggling to find workers. now, despite raising wages by up to 30% per year, she can't find workers. and with the labor force waning, it will only get harder for china to stay in this industry that china is famous for. we are not competitive any more. i think in about 20 years, the china market salary is going to be so high that no mass
production manufacture would be possible here. >> authorities are hinting they might loosen the policy, though officials are weary. a population explosion could further strain the environment and resources of the already 1.3 billion people who live here. still swb some want to change the policy entirely abandon. after leaving his job, yung protested in the streets, calling for anyone to help him pay the nearly $40,000 fine to keep his second child. he raised the money, but still isn't sure about her future. sooner or later, everyone joins the labor force, he says. cooper will definitely generate more wealth when they consume, ensuring economic growth for future generations. cnbc, beijing. >> knew for more, let's bring in andrew lung of appeared rue lung international consultants. michael curry.
andrew, let's go to you, though, on this story. so foxconn potentially seeing its workers form unions. how likely is it in your view? what's the implication of this move? >> well, this is certainly a paradigm shift with a lot of implicati implications, sociopolitical and economic. for example, the chinese government, the leadership would not have allowed this kind of election if not for a deliberate decision. the change, how china's economy is going and to manage its shrinking labor force. now, on the economic side, we're seeing what economists call a curve trending point whereby the supply of cheap labor force is being exhausted as wages are rising and particularly a more educated labor force. so the margins for cheap labor production have shrunk so much
that it's no longer plausible and the country has got to be geared towards an upgraded kind of production system in order to stay viable. and, of course, the introduction explains that china's one-child policy and the impact on the labor force, but i think it's not just the quantity of the labor force, it's the quality. china has now become the top filer of patrons, according to the world incident ur national organization. so the china's manufacturing is changing all the time. >> michael, i just want you to make this point, which is to say that, as you said, this is already an issue, which if they change policy now, makes no difference. >> no. the cohort that's coming through now is going to be about 30%, 35% less than theco hort that is 45 and 50. that cohort is too old. it's not going to have any more
children. it's over, it's done. >> what are the practical implications, though? >> at the end of the day, it's all about that. a huge number of people are economically active who have their one child so they don't have a huge amount of costs. they're looking forward to their retirement. china does not have a huge system for looking after you in your environment. so they're going to say, first savings you see are going to go on and on. if anything, get bigger the. >> andrew, agree? >> yes, perfectly. it's not just economic, it's social and political, as well. with the labor forces becoming more and more educated, china is turning out something like 7 million university graduates. by 2030, china will have 200 million university graduates, bigger than the entire workforce than the united states. and so the kind of labor relations, the kind of workers
rights have got to change. the leadership is fully aware of this. that is why this has to happen. >> this is a great demographic debate. china now goes into a period of shrinkage and india is exactly the opposite place. and it is growing and at some stage if the numbers are correct, india will overtake china over the next 30 years by a demographic point of view. therein lie tess region why china at the moment is up to try and improve the activity, to try and maintain the competitive edge. obviously, we're going to see that swing happen over the next 30 years. however, i expect to be on the beach hopefully by that time. >> we're going to drag you off that beach to come in and let us know that it's happening. we should thank michael for coming by. thank you for your time this morning. what do washington, d.c. and the bermuda triangle have in common? stay here as we find out. we'll be joined by tina fortin
welcome back to "worldwide exchange." i'm kelly evans. these are your headlines from around the world. the baltimore ravens are crowned super bowl champs in a game marked by pomp and circumstance, tragedy and a lengthy power outage. mariana rajoy faces calls in opposition to step down and
people take to the streets. and uk chancellor george as born is set to unveil plans that could see banks broken up. separating retail and is investment activities. we'll bring you live coverage of that highly anticipated speech. >> you're watching "worldwide exchange." bringing you business news from around the world. >> i don't know why i have so much trouble saying george osborne. i seem to twist that one up every time. in any case, we will have that speech coming up in just a bit. first, a quick look at futures. not much movement. the s&p is pointed down a couple of points. the nasdaq is sitting out the benchmark park. the dow jones industrial average was looking at that 14,000 level, now giving up about 5 points.
13,935 is the numbers there. european numbers are mostly in the red. the ibex numbers down about 0.5%. the ftse 1100 down about 0.3%. pretty quiet, otherwise, though. let's take a look next. the bond space, uk gilt over here, up 2.16% selling offer after weaker than expected data on construction. but not necessarily respond to go that so much as just generally the tone of markets overnight. the italian and spanish 10-year bonds looking at about 4.4% and 5.3% respectively here. it's interesting to see these arrows across the board. one of the main levels of today's session, weakening by about 0.4 had%. 2 1/2 year lows for the yen against the u.s. dollar, again, punching through that 93 level as it continues to march higher. quick check on commodities, too. we wanted to bring your attention to what's been
happening with gasoline, the strength here of the gas price off the back of what we've seen in oil threatens potentially to rob a lot of u.s. consumers of their spending power is perhaps one reason for caution about the macro picture there today. but giving up some of the recent gains that we've seen, down about 0.6%. still above $3 for that contract. copper, gold, all weaker overnight, too. still, just what's been happening in asian trade. let's bring li sixuan back in from singapore to update us on this. we just talked about the weakening of the yen. 93 to a 2 1/2 year low. what's that doing for the nikkei? >> the nikkei is still up for the fifth straight session to close higher by about 0.6%. that's to end at a 33-month high. the finance minister is overcoming the yen is still a priority. and panasonic shares, rallied about 17% today because on positive earnings, the company
was back in the black at q3. the shanghai composite ended higher by about 0.4% after official services pmi confirmed a mild recovery. coal miners soared on new demand. liquormakers took another beating after the public sectors were urged to stop hosting boozing banquets for the upcoming new year. pang an insurance slipped 3% today despite hsbc receiving approval to sell its stake in the insurer. elsewhere, losses from automakers and technologymakers sent south korea's kospi lower by 0.2%. meanwhile, australian shares ended weaker ahead of the rba's
position tomorrow. india's sensex closed down by about 0.25%. back to you, kelly. >> okay. sixuan, thank you very much for that. super bowl xlvii featured something for just about everyone, pageantry, beyonce bringing the house down with her halftime show and, oh, yeah, the football show, too. baltimore ravens won big over the san francisco 49ers when the lights went out in the new orleans superdome. you can see the reaction from people there on the field until you can't. it led to a 34-minute delay. extraordinary. officials say an abnormalities caused the power system to automatically shut down. when play resumed, the 49ers had a chance to take the lead late, but failed to score a fourth and goal. baltimore holds on winning, 34-31 for the second super bowl title in its team's history. we'll have more about the other part of the game. the super bowl ads, just who are the winners and losers in the next half hour. but first, sorry to do this, we
quarter. maybe some positive news there. tina, from citi, she's been taking a look at what the president has to do, i guess, in his second term or what he's expected to do. what i loved was your point, how did you put it? fiscal deals or compromise tend to disappear in washington like -- >> the bermuda triangle. >> you don't have high hopes for compromise here? >> no. most politicians in the developed world, and the u.s. very much within this, it's not going to see -- i'm not going to provide fertile ground for grand bargains. politicians like to talk about it. this is their way of saying, we're ready to do a deal, but it's those guys, they won't compromise. we think we'll see more of this piecemeal last minute compromises. >> and we're fating critical issues in the u.s. people might be aware of the fiscal cliff, but there's the continuing resolution, there's the sequester that goes into effect march 1st. should we hold our breath for compromise here?
and, again, the issue is being forced because these are situations in which if there's no action, something still happens. >> that's right. that's why we think it's really important that house republicans made the move for a short-term compromise on the debt ceiling. that's good news for markets because it shows politicians are not going to play chicken with the one thing that could really make a difference to the u.s. economy. it does suggest, though, that both the sequester and the continuing resolution might be places where opposition republicans take the opportunity to try to extract some containment trt white house. >> and what's your -- as you've priced that in, what do you expect, actually, the to be the outcome as we head into march towards the end of the month? is there more fiscal drag related tr these talks? >> we still see economic up sides for the u.s. citi economists have improved their growth forecast overall, but this isn't helping and it's not necessarily helping business confidence. what we think markets may not be prepared for is the fact that ee
quest ragz is now likely to kick in. these are comments from both parties suggested that they be willing to allow this to happen. it may be the lesser of the evils. >> what are we talking about with sequestration? how much of a hit to the u.s. economy? >> well, again, the headline, sequestration may hit could be somewhat destabilizing. but the fact is, again, this might be a temporary measure, allowing sequestration, particularly to hit defense because, of course, federal health care programs are exempted, which is one reason why democrats are allowing it to happen. a few months of sequestration wouldn't allow a hit to the u.s. economy. >> is this the risk, too, that all of these things, as debilitating as they might be in the near term, as frustrating for those following them that they don't necessarily upset the apple cart so, therefore, nothing gets done about them. they become a series of crises. >> and you see that the street is increasingly tuning out washington's rhetoric. they're prepared for this
last-minute compromise, heart attack. >> which would be a sign of progress, frankly. >> it means the worst outcome doesn't happen. it means muddling through with a lot of on noise. >> muddling through, a lot of noise. it's not just the u.s. in that situation. we'll get to that in a second, though. more with tina to come up. first, the ravens may have won the super bowl, but budweis budweiser's sentiment ad took home the price prize. who do you think got the most bang for their buck? tweet us, @cnbcwex and i did ask michael brown earlier who did stay up here in london what his favorite ad was but, of course, he said broadcast cnbc, so they don't get to see the ads. can you imagine? >> no, even though i'm from san francisco. >> oh, look at that. >> right. >> still devastated by the
outcome, then, i would imagine. >> a little bit. >> my sister is in baltimore. she's pretty happy this morning i would imagine, maybe hurting a little bit, too. regulators are to be given the power so split up uk banks. this is one of the new laws to be outlined by the uk chancellor in a speech coming up shortly. again, we'll carry that speech live here on cnbc, 11:30 central european time, that's about 20 minutes time for those of you in the uk. and we will follow the entire speech plus the question and answer segment. so stay with us for that. meanwhile, there are more changes at the top over at barclay's tonight. chris lucas and general counsel mark harding both announced their retirement, saying it was the appropriate time. mr. lucas is one of four people being investigated over allegations the bank made loans
to qatar bought into the company at the height of the financial crisis. next week, george osborne will present his long awaited plans for transforming the banks. and a number of stories about rbs in the weekend press, too. the sunday times reports the bank will announce a 500 million pound settlement with u.s. and uk regulators this week. the ft says rbs will cover the fine from staff bonus tools after a warning from the government the taxpayer shouldn't foot the bill. the sunday telegraph says rbs is planning to float branch of of san tappeder it has so far failed to use. so lots going on, as we said, in financial services world today. and stick around, we're going to take a quick break. coming up next, we'll be live in berlin where the spanish prime minister meets chancellor angela merkel today amid a scandal that has prompted protests at home and is called for his
welcome back to "worldwide exchange".. baltimore rarchbs were crowned super bowl champions in new
orleans. amid power outages. and uk finance minister osbourn is set to unveil plans that could see banks broken up. spanish prime minister mariano rajoy is meeting an la merkel today in berlin. rajoy's trip comes amid an escalating corruption scandal at home that has prompted calls for hiss ig nation. on saturday, the spanish prime minister came out and vehemently denied he and his party have received any illegal payments. silvia wadhwa is following this for us out of berlin. sylvia, how important are these talks today? >> of course, there are these clouds of the pestering scandal that could turn into fully pledged government prices. that's the last thing angela merkel needs, that's the last thing the eu or the eurozone needs right now. just when we get the signal of the panic button in the eurozone
more cautious because of the aforementioned festering crisis in spain. obviously, what we've seen at the moment is we live on the principal hope that the eurozone might grow itself or stabilize itself out of the crisis, a far cry yet for spain, but the latest refinancing operation in the various eurozone countries, including at the short end of the range for spain looks like a bit of relief. no relief in terms of the actual solving of the problems, but we'll hear none of that tonight. >> as we've learned, that's often the case with these situations. sylvia, thanks very much for that. tina fordham is still with us. from your point of view, how important is today's meeting? how important broadly speaking is this corruption scandal at home for rajoy and for investor necessary europe? >> i think this scandal is just a reminder that politics can intervene at any time. and it's unwelcome for today's meeting this berlin for rajoy and merkel.
they were protests over the weekend, a lot of media attention on the scandal. rajoy has announced an internal investigation. but what i think is really important is the fact that a trust in political parties in spain, all political parties was already weak. popularity was in decline. of course, we had the pro independence development. all of these are putting pressure on rajoy. this creates more noise, it reduces his room for maneuver. but what we need to remember is that this government has a majority in parliament. it's unlikely to collapse. and the next elections aren't due until november 2015. >> wow. and there's no prospect they be brought forward? >> in principal, you could imagine a situation where the prime minister could resign. but i am not inclined, based on what we know today, to see this scandal escalating to those proporti proportions. the important thing is that in an environment where trust and support are deteriorating, the public is likely to react. >> okay.
tina will stay with us. we're going to have a little bit more, actually, on what's happening in europe and some politics in italy in particular to focus pop we'll ask if sylvia berlusconi has a chance for a comeback in italy because it appears increasely that he does. , impact wool exports from new zealand, textile production in spain, and the use of medical technology in the u.s.? at t. rowe price, we understand the connections of a complex, global economy. it's just one reason over 75% of our mutual funds beat their 10-year lipper average. t. rowe price. invest with confidence. request a prospectus or summary prospectus with investment information, risks, fees and expenses to read and consider carefully before investing.
here is what's on the agenda today in the u.s. reports on the trade deficit, consumer credit and productivity are due. today, we'll get december factory orders at 10:00 a.m. eastern. the stream of earnings will start to slow. we hear from clorox, gannett, humana, simon properties, anadarko, hartford financial, yum brands. u.s. futures, we can take a look at how they're positioned. slight declines, i believe, or the morning. yep, about 15 points off the dow. a couple off the s&p and nasdaq. but it's those levels we're watching as much as anything and the dow jones has ridden a relatively smooth path to 14,000, but can the rally continue? there's plenty of debate and analysis at cnbc.com. check that one out. thou, sylvia berlusconi has called it, quote, his last
political rally. the prime minister promised to abolish an unpopular property tax and refund the payments in cash. mr. berlusconi promised not to increase the at or impose a wealth on high earners. italian magistrate these week will questionmo mont depaschi' executives. on saturday, a rome court ruled the plan by italy's central bank to use bonds to bail out monte paschi can go ahead. tina is still with us. you've said it it's italy that is the most important thing to watch as we continue to assess whether europe's rolling debt crisis is truly behind pus. >> that's right. not ohm is italy a major economy in the eurozone having elections this year, but there are a lot of moving pieces in this
election. >> and berlusconi, it's a bird, a plane, a superman? it's teflon. >> he has the remarkable ability to re inveinvent himself and he colorful character. however, looking at the data, it is highly unlikely that he'll be able to win a majority. >> what does that mean? what are the prospects, first of all, of him coming back to power in any capacity and, secondly, from a government that needs a mandate? >> two different points. when we look at the totally of the preelection data, you see a very mixed bag. you have a new party list from mario monti hovering between 10% and 15%. then we have a new political party. we've talked a lot about what we call meats in the eurozone parties led by grillo. that's getting around 50%. this is fragmenting the vote. now, again, beryl skonny's party is gaining some steam with these remarks. don't forget, he also brought
mario ballotelli to ac milan. will it be enough? it does come down to electoral dynamics. it's still likely in our base case scenario that you get a central left coalition, but the risk is that as beryl skonny's support picks up, that you could have a hung parliament. >> leaving it quite vulnerable and renewed market pressure. you have to do like balando lik find a way to net one. coming up, george osborne is expected to warn banks to shake up risks or face a break-up. we'll stay with the full speech coming up straight after the break.
welcome back to "worldwide exchange." the baltimore ravens win the super bowl amid major power outages. and uk chancellor george osborne
is set to unveil plans that could see bank broken up. we'll bring you live coverage of that highly anticipated speech. well, the dow has closed above 14,000 for the first time since 2007, but we're looking at a decline of about 15 points for that index when we open later this morning. 3,927 is the level to watch. the nasdaq and the s&p 500 also poised to open lower. quick look at what's been happening overnight, the cnbc ftse global 300 is down. we're down about 0.2%. the nikkei, an outperformer as the japanese yen 2.5% below the dollar. now also 0.9% off the ibex. we have seen a weakening here in
just the last half an hour or so. how do you make money in these markets? here is what some of our guests have been telling us all morning. >> the safe haven trade that the sterling had been participating in is now fading with stability in europe. we'll continue to see that flow from the uk into europe and we'll continue to see a higher euro/sterling. >> to the middle of this year, i think equity markets will be higher. are we going up in a straight line? no. we've had a very strong rally in skrarn. i think there's a real risk that we could see some consolidation, some minor setbacks. and i just worry whether markets are ignoring the risk factor. >> when the euro equity markets go up, the euro goes up at the same time. that does not make fundamental sense because that stronger euro
is a de facto tightening of monetary policy. that's going to squeeze economics growth. that is the thing that's fundamentally going to take these markets back down. >> and the uk chancellor george as born is due to speak about the future of banking. he's expected to outline plans to give british regulator tess power to break up banks, splitting retail and investment activities. he's due to step up to the podium any second now. we'll bring you live coverage of that the moment it happens. the super bowl, yes, it's about more than just the game on the field. it's also where advertiseders can capture millions of eyeballs in hopes of turning them on to the latest and greatest products. companies she would out an average $3.8 million for a 30-second ad for this year's game. yesterday's super bowl ad meter let viewers rate commercials. this year's winner?
budweiser's super bowl baby clued daily@. ad. ♪ ♪ and if you see any reflection ♪ ♪ >> snow covered hills. where the land slide bring you down ♪ >> i think i'm going to need a moment. charles taylor is marketing professor at villanova school of business. charles, good morning. thank you so much for joining us. what did you think about the clydesdale ad? >> good morning. >> good morning. it looks like they went for the emotional route. sometimes we see these humerus ads come out. this one, a little more of a pull on the heart strings. >> i think it's a great ad.
and they drew on the tradition of the brand, but more importantly, it's an emotional ad and a lot of -- a lot of viewers on twitter reported getting choked up because of the relationship between the trainer and the foal. budweiser is also doing a neat thing that they're having a contest to name the foal who was born january 15th, i believe. and it looks like the foal's name is going to be buddy. so, really, a wonderful ad, in my opinion. a comeback for budweiser, which has had a couple of tough super bowls. >> and we are just raising the question, who gets the most bang for the buck out of these ads? is it just a talking point for a can happen couple of days? or are there companies who you think get a real long-term benefit from this publicity? >> i've actually been doing some research on this with a german professor from munich school of management where we're looking at the impact of super bowl ads on firms and you really have to
look at first the buzz, which you would say today's ad meter does a good job of measurering that. but the buzz only lasts about one day. it's super bowl ads appear to give a bump on the brand level we've been analyzing yougov's index. we're finding that brands that run good ads can get a significant bump that lasts a full month, which is really very significant in terms of advertising. and i actually think we're going to see several brands. i think you hit on a big theme of this year's super bowl which more feel-good stories as opposed to try to not necessarily so true gimmicks any more. seem to be effective this year. >> and to take sort of the contrasting examples, an ad that apparently got a lot of buzz but not necessarily positive buzz, godaddy's buzz. do you think this back fires for them, or is any publicity good
publicity? >> i don't see how that ad can we viewed as a positive. a lot of the social media on it where people were saying they were, you know, to use a vernacular, grossed out. i will say godaddy's other ad that focused on -- was a departure for them and was pretty effective in educating people. but bar rafeli ad i think was -- it's kind of hard to mess up an ad that she's in, but they seem to do it. >> i'm sort of cringing there as i see it. over here, the game was so so late, i didn't catch it myself. and if you watch it on the bbc, you don't see these advertisements. even though a lot of people around the world watched the event, it seems to be a very u.s.-driven market. >> yeah. there's no question, the super bowl is -- ads are very based in
u.s. popular culture. we really haven't reached the point where a lot of these ads are based on global campaigns. there's a rare exception. coke had an ad in the first half where the idea for the creative came from latin america. and it was a pretty decent ad. but we don't see too much of that. the super bowl is an american pop culture event. we'll see, that could change over time, but it's not the case now. >> quickly, charles, with the power outage, how did that affect the advertisement? did people get to run ads repeatedly? how did they handle that event from a marketing point of view? >> this is going to be much talked about. cbs did not run ads during the power outage. they waited until the game came back on. i think the only thing that is saving cbs from a major controversy over this is the fact that it was a close game and san francisco made a comeback and almost won. i still -- if i were an
advertiser post blackout, i don't -- i wouldn't be entirely happy about it, but given that the game was close, i don't think it was a disaster by any means and i don't think that this will be something we'll hear about for a long time. >> well, and i would never -- >> although -- >> go ahead. >> oh, i will say that i was a little disappointed with coca-cola's ad where they had people choose the ending of the ad online. i think, really, it was something that was very clever and worked well in social media, but tending of the ad was just shown in a brief commercial that appeared right after the end of the game. and i do think that in that case, a 35-minute delay was something that didn't help. i mean, people were kind of anticipating that ad, but it's unfortunate that it ran over. >> especially the end result wasn't quite what people were
hoping for. charles taylor, thank you so much for your time on that this morning. as you said, something to see how people reacted to cbs's handling of that power outage event. we've been asking who you thought got the most bang for their buck out of the super bowl advertisement dollars spent $3.8 million. e-mail us, tweet us. we'll be right back. ow prices,
welcome back to "worldwide exchange." the uk collapse lore george osborne is due to speak about the future of banking any second now. he's expected to outline plan toes give british regulator tess power to break up banks, splitting retail and is investment activities and is he's due to step up to the podium shortly with that speech. we'll bring you live coverage as it happens. there's apparently going to be a question and is answer period so it could be very revealing and an important gauge broadly of where powers are headed. if you're just joining us on the program today, these are your headlines. baltimore ravens are crowned super bowl champions in new orleans. shape's prime minister rajoy facing widespread programs and calls to step down as scandal escalates at home. and uk prime minister osbourn could see big banks broken up.
a little bit of news out of commerce bank, which is reporting a net loss of approximately $720 million euros in the fourth quarter of 2012. this extraordinary depreciation on deferred tax accruals and the amount of 655 million euros in the fourth quarter. the company's statement, these are preliminary unaudited figures suggesting, again, quite a wide loss for the fourth quarter period resulting in 185 million euros of charges from a certain sale and depreciation on tax accruals, deferred tax accrualaces on half or more than half a billion euros. keep an eye on shares for reaction. look at that popping up about a quarter of 1% now. here is a quick look at today's other top stories. there's been lots of earnings.
boeing's 737 jet may have other issues. companies blame outsourcing as poor parts operating outside of boeing's control. one engineer said unlike other boeing jets, the power distribution jets are like radio shack with parts that are cheap and broken to failure. boeing denies its supply of 787 suppliers was insufficient. a pair u.s. pension funds are suing plaquerock alleging blackrock and etf intended to take a percentage of investments for themselves as disproportionate. blackrock shares apparently responding in suit, up 1.75% and
doing quite well over a three-month period up almost 20%. the long shoreman's union and workers have agreed to a deal. a walkout would have halted cargo shipments making the first work stoppage in 35 years. and the u.s. government and mexican growers have reached a tentative deal to avert a possible trade war. the tradeoff stems from a decision last year by the u.s. to withdraw a bylat rack packet over tomatoes. and from blackrock to blackstone, blackstone has received a underwritings license expanded to investment banking. the financial times says blackstone will use the license for now to serve clients on corporate structuring and workers. it doesn't rely on a team of salesmen and analysts. shares up about 1% on the news, also doing quite well over the
last quarter. now twitter says hackers attacked its site last week and may have gained access to passwords and other information for from as many as 250,000 users. the attacks were sophisticated and involving the "new york times" and "wall street journal." twitter says the has ae set passwords as a precautionary measure. others were told to change their passwords just as a precaution. we know a little bit about twitter here on "worldwide exchange." in fact, we love getting your tweets, so keep them coming. hopefully you weren't affected by the incidents. let's get a check off european markets, though, and see what's happening today. we're seeing for the most part red arrows. now, the ibex, look at that. just crossing a 1% decline for the day. the ftse 100, down 0.5%. as well as the xetra dax and the cac 40. these indices had their best
january on record. that was also the case in the u.s. here is a look at what's on the agenda today in the u.s. it's a lighter week for economic data after that heavy week the last time around brought the jobs report and gdp. this week, though, it will be the trade deficit and consumer credit in focus. also, productivity. today we'll get december factory orders at 10:00 p.m. eastern. the stream of earnings slows a business, but well here from color yox, g annett, humana, simon properties, anadarko, hartford financial and yum brands. i mentioned some of the benchmark levels. we're giving up gains a little bit on the dow, pointed lower at the open if things stand where they are currently. the nasdaq and s&p declining, but 1504 on the s&p 500. so still trying to hang on to those key levels. can they stay up there? we'll talk strategy when we come back.
the uk chance lore george osborne is due to speak about the future of banking and giving british regulators the power to split up banks. he is due to step up to the podium any second now. we'll carry this speech live as it happens. question and answer period is expected. we'll have more coverage here for the viewers in the uk and across europe as that develops. meantime, let's get michael gurka's take on markets. michael, it was great to see you here in london last week. you're back in the u.s., back in chicago. what do you think about holding on to some of these key market levels where we closed friday? >> well, you know what, kelly?
it's all about the upside. we're seeing it in the s&p. targets are still break away towards that 1562 level, so any pullbacks, i think, will be met with more buying. but the run away euro here above 135 and, of course wrb crude oil does take a bearing here at 100 in the wti. the last breakout we're looking for is gold at 1684 and we're only about 20 u.s. away tr that. but, again, it's all about the upside here. and i'm not surprised you're going to see small profit taking in at least the middle or or beginning of this week. >> sure. longer term, explain to me ohio gold does well when risk assets are doing well. >> it should not. and i think i understand just where that's going. for those reasons, i think it gets sluggish at these levels. a lot of it might be attributed to just the weakness in the dollar right now. it seems as though there's a coordinated effort to watch the dollar continue to lose value and along global equity markets i think you're seeing the premise that maybe that helps the exporting nature of the currency. >> how is the dollar trading at this point, michael? is it generally benefiting as a
risk on trade? because we saw a little bit of that happening in january where on those days of stronger data, stronger markets, it will be a stronger dollar, too. do you expect that pattern to hold? >> i think i do for the near term. there's some forecast up at 1.38. they're realistic at this point. the problem is will it become problematic for some of the foreign markets to watch this occurrence happen? you know, eventually what's going to happen is this is going to start trickling into some of the fundamental releases we see. on the economic front, i think that would be hitting around march. that's where we want to take a queue, at least to see how that works on. >> because you were talking about the euro there which we've seen on this, the teflon euro tear you might call it. i was wondering generally speaking what the trading pattern is for the dollar. how do you trade the dollar at this point? >> well, the dollar index has absolutely had a stealth bid to start last year, and is all of a
sudden we saw all that erosion. so right now that's probably a great way to trade the basket because you've seen such a different way the yen, the euro and the british pound have trade against the dollar. i think a lot of the emphasis here in chicago, or at least on the u.s. front, has been watching the dollar index at some of these levels. but, again, attributed to the euro has probably been the most forefront way of looking at that because, technically, it's been an absolute bullish indicator going forward. ask, again, right now i think it looks steady at that nature. >> and right now, we're showing here at dollar/yen. 2 1/2 year lows for the yen against the dollar. can it continue here in this current range? again, sitting in chicago, how important has this new trading pattern been, this weaker yen supporting sentiment across japan, but how is it affecting markets more broadly? >> i think more broadly what you're looking for is probably the entire interest rate environment kind of coordinating
those levels. it seems as though japan, at least from a fundamental standpoint, is starting to implement some of these procedures from a monetary standpoint. and that's showing up in the currency cross. that being said, from a broad measure here in chicago, you're really not seeing any emphasis coming into the markets that way. you know what? we're watching more ten-year yields, how the dollar, you know, reacts off some of those levels. and like i said, the emblemation of where the crude markets are believing the dollar is going to look. i'm a little surprised at least that you're seeing the bullish nature on the crude. >> what do you think about the ten year's reaction to the jobs report friday? it seems as though a report where the payroll was affected might see some sell-off in that contract. we saw the rally in the ten year, back below 2%. what is going on and do you expect that to continue? >> i'm not surprised. i don't think there's enough fundamentally to see that. it goes ten years out.
it's a three-month contract. what you're looking at right now, some of the premise that we might see higher rates down the curve or down the road, but nothing that's definitively coming into the market yet. that's why i'm not surprised at that rejection in the ten-year. rather than that euphoric that takes it out to the technical levels. and as long as we're above it, i would see us ease back in yields or see the rally in the ten-year future at least continue tr these areas. >> let's go back to oil. it's almost the other side of the coin here if you're continuing to see this risk rally you're talking about, we're going to see oil headed potentially for triple digit levels again. we've seen gasoline prices at the pump in january, at their highest level in january ever for the start to the month. that's going to potentially be a problem here for the u.s. consumer. is it not? >> it is. and that's the quandary because you're not seeing the fundamental demand from the product, you know, as underlying the contract that shows why it's at these elevated levels.
right now, at least, some of the emphasis like we just said in the ten year, some of these resistance level is being sold off in the crude market. that we haven't is a little bit surprising. again, i think as you start siegel excavated prices, the consumer is going to show that. i think demand starts to lower itself. that's why we're implementing, at least looking at some of these markets right now. believing at least that you start seeing more of a necessary level target around 92, 93 in the wti. >> michael gurka, bright eyed this morning. michael, did you not stay up late watching the super bowl? >> i couldn't miss that. seriously, how do you not throw into the end zone on second and third down? shame on you, jim harbaugh. what are you thinking? >> i wish i could pretend to know what you're talking about. maybe i'll watch it tonight. michael gurka, thank you so much. uk viewers stay with us. george osborne will speak right when we get back from the break. for u.s. and european viewers,
it's a good-bye for now. following this one, you don't want to miss what the chancellor had to say about breaking up big banks. thank you for joining us here on "worldwide exchange." if you can, stay with us. great, everybody made it. we all work remotely so this is a big deal, our first full team gathering! i wanted to call on a few people. ashley, ashley marshall... here. since we're often all on the move, ashley suggested we use fedex office to hold packages for us. great job. [ applause ] thank you. and on a protocol note, i'd like to talk to tim hill about his tendency to use all caps in emails. [ shouting ] oh i'm sorry guys. ah sometimes the caps lock gets stuck on my keyboard. hey do you wanna get a drink later? [ male announcer ] hold packages at any fedex office location.
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In Ubuntu SDK QML tutorial a simple currency converter is build. The complete QML source code can be found here. When working through the example I found the following snippet somewhat confusing, particularly line 92 where the index field is assigned to caller.currencyIndex.
ListView {
clip: true
width: parent.width
height: parent.height - header.height
model: currencies
delegate: Standard {
objectName: "popoverCurrencySelector"
text: currency
onClicked: {
caller.currencyIndex = index // where does index come from?
I couldn't find any clue in the documentation where index is defined. What it should contain is absolutely obvious, but where does it come from? If it is a property of the Standard list view item it is nowhere documented.
share|improve this question
1 Answer 1
up vote 3 down vote accepted
index is a property of the ListView delegate, not necessarily a ListItem. It represents the number of the currentItem. From the docs:
The index is exposed as an accessible index property. Properties of the model are also available depending upon the type of Data Model.
share|improve this answer
That was exactly the piece of documentation I was looking for! Would've never expected this to be a property of the delegate. – ubuntudroid Mar 3 at 8:32
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Chief superintendent
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Chief superintendent is a senior rank in police forces organised on the British model.
United Kingdom[edit]
Modern British rank insignia
In the British police, a chief superintendent (Ch Supt; or colloquially "chief super") is senior to a superintendent and junior to an assistant chief constable (or a commander in the Metropolitan Police or City of London Police).
The highest rank below Chief Officer level, chief superintendents were first introduced into the Metropolitan Police in 1949, when superintendents were regraded to the new rank, and have since been adopted in all British police forces. However, the rank had been used previously to this in some forces in certain circumstances. For example, in 1920 the deputy head of Shropshire Constabulary bore the official title of "chief superintendent and deputy chief constable"[1] and in 1927 Lancashire Constabulary had two chief superintendents who were junior to the assistant chief constable.[2]
Between 1949 and 1968, chief superintendent was junior to deputy commander in the Metropolitan Police, and between 1953 and 1974 it was immediately senior to superintendent grade I.
Traditionally, chief superintendents have commanded divisions, but since widespread reorganisation in the 1990s many forces have abandoned divisions for different forms of organisation and the areas commanded by chief superintendents vary widely from force to force. In most forces, however, they still command the largest territorial subdivisions, often known generally as Basic Command Units (BCUs). The rank of chief superintendent was abolished on 1 April 1995 following recommendations made in the Sheehy Report, later confirmed by the Police Act 1996, although officers already holding the rank could continue to hold it. The Home Office officially reintroduced the rank of chief superintendent on 1 January 2002 under the terms of the Criminal Justice and Police Act 2001.
The senior detective and commander of the Criminal Investigation Department in most forces is a detective chief superintendent (DCS) (although in the Metropolitan Police, a DCS may only command a branch of the CID and the head of CID in each district was formerly also a DCS) and the rank of chief superintendent may also be used by the commanders of other headquarters departments.
The rank badge, worn on the epaulettes, is a bath star ("pip") below a crown, the same rank badge worn by a lieutenant-colonel in the British Army. Metropolitan Police chief superintendents wore a crown over two stars until the abolition of the rank of superintendent grade I in 1974, when they changed to the latter's rank badge, which was already worn by chief superintendents elsewhere in the country.
A chief superintendent's annual salary starts at £74,394 and rises to £78,636 (as of September 2010).[3]
In the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, a chief superintendent wears two stars below a crown, equivalent to a Colonel.
In the Garda Síochána, the Republic of Ireland's national police force, the rank of chief superintendent is between superintendent and assistant commissioner. Chief superintendents usually command divisions, while detective chief superintendents head the various investigative branches.
The rank marking is two red / gold pips over a red / gold bar
Hong Kong[edit]
In the Hong Kong Police Force, a chief superintendent of police (CSP) ranks between a senior superintendent (SSP) and an assistant commissioner of police (ACP). A CSP is usually a district commander (DC) or a branch/bureau commander (e.g. Narcotics Bureau). The commandant of the police tactical unit is also a CSP.
In Australia, a chief superintendent is senior to the rank of superintendent in all the Australian police forces excepting the Western Australia Police, where the rank of assistant commissioner is used in the place of chief superintendent; it is junior to the rank of commander (Victoria Police, South Australia Police) and the rank of assistant commissioner (New South Wales Police, Queensland Police). Officers wear the insignia of a crown over two Bath Stars (or in the case of the New South Wales Police, a crown over two stars) the same as a Colonel in the army.
1. ^ Civilian War Honours, The Times, 31 March 1920
2. ^ Wilfred Trubshaw, "The Lancashire Constabulary: Eighty Years ago and To-day", Police Journal, 1:3, 1928
3. ^ | [] |
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Classicly, for a spin Riemannian manifold $M$, the $\hat{A}(M)$ genus will be $0$, if the scalar curvature is positive.
The proof is to use the Lichnerowicz formula. we have the index of the Dirac operator will be $0$, i.e., $$Ind(D_+)=0.$$ On the other hand, by the index theorem of Atiyah and Singer, we have $$Ind(D_+)=\hat{A}(M).$$ So we get $$\hat{A}(M)=0.$$
My question is "Can we have a different method to proof this result? without using the Lichnerowicz formula or without using the index theorem" Maybe a formal proof or explanation.
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Do you mean without use of the Lichnerowicz formula and without use of the index theorem? Or do you mean without use of the Lichnerowicz formula but with use of the index theorem? – Kelly Davis Sep 28 '11 at 12:05
Schoen and Yau dealt with positive scalar curvature obstructions using variational methods, but I don't think they identified the $\hat{A}$-genus explicitly. The problem is, as far as I know, the $\hat{A}$-genus doesn't have a geometric interpretation other than that it is the index class for the Dirac operator. – Paul Siegel Sep 28 '11 at 13:34
Hi, Kelly Davis. I want to say "without using of the Lichnerowicz formula or without using of the index theorem". – shu Sep 28 '11 at 14:07
I'm agree with Paul Siegel. One of the motivation to pose this question is that I want to understand the $\hat{A}$ genus by some geometric methods – shu Sep 28 '11 at 14:11
I would guess the answer would go something like: write the $\hat{A}$ genus in terms of the curvature two-form, then use a diagonalization of the curvature two-form, positivity of the scalar curvature, and the fact that $\hat{A}$ is an integer, i.e. $M$ is spin, to prove that the only integer $\hat{A}(M)$ can be is $0$. Admittedly, I have not thought about the last steps in detail, but with all the factors of 1/24 and 1/5760 and...in the $\hat{A}$ genus I'd guess it'll work. – Kelly Davis Sep 28 '11 at 15:26
1 Answer 1
up vote 16 down vote accepted
After thinking about this question for two hours, my belief is strengthened that there cannot be a proof of the vanishing of the A-genus for spin manifolds with positive scalar curvature without using both the index theorem for the Dirac operator and the Lichnerowicz formula (or other analytic techniques). In the comments to the question, a proof using the integrality of the $\hat{A}$-genus and Chern-Weil theory has been suggested. I wish to argue that there is absolute no reason to believe such a proof might work out.
\textbf{Objections to the use of the integrality theorem.} The manifold $CP^2$ has positive scalar curvature and $\hat{A}$-genus $1 /16$. It is of course not spin. Take the connected sum of 16 copies of $CP^2$ and call it $M$. The $\hat{A}$-genus of $M$ is $1$; $M$ is still not spin. The famous surgery lemma by Gromov and Lawson implies that $M$ has a metric of positive scalar curvature, because $M$ is obtained from the manifold $\coprod_{16} CP^2$ by a sequence of surgeries of codimension $4 \geq 3$. So there are connected pscm manifolds with integral but nonzero $\hat{A}$-genus. More generally, it can be shown that any simply connected, high-dimensional, oriented and non-spin manifold admits a metric of positive scalar curvature. This also goes back to Gromov and Lawson, and Sven F\"uhring worked out the details in his thesis:
This result shows that the integrality of the $\hat{A}$-genus has nothing to do with positive scalar curvature and that the spin hypothesis has to be used in a more subtle way.
\textbf{Objections to the use of Chern-Weil theory:} At a first glance, it seems tempting to use Chern-Weil theory for such questions, because it expresses characteristic classes in terms of curvature. Moreover, a conceptual proof of the Gauss-Bonnet theorem can be given with help of this theory. But an examination of the argument quickly shows that this is a lucky accident. The first accident is that the Euler class has a direct geometric-topological meaning, which allows to relate it to another topological invariant (the Euler number), while the complicated rational polynomial in the Pontrjagin classes has no such meaning (Paul Siegel alluded to this point in his comment).
The second accident is that the integrand of the Gauss-Bonnet-Chern theorem only depends on the curvature tensor and not on the metric itself (though to define the integrand, one needs to know that the connection preserves \emph{some} metric).
The problem with scalar curvature is that it depends on both, the connection and the metric, while the Chern-Weil forms only depend on the connection and not on the metric.
Of course there is a universal formula for the $\hat{A}$-form of any Riemann manifold $(M,g)$ of the form $\hat{A} = f(jet^2 g) \cdot vol_g$, where $f$ is an algebraic function of the $2$-jet of the metric. I have not worked out the concrete formula for $f$; for $4$-dimensional manifolds, this should not be too complicated and might be a worthy exercise. I predict that you won't find a formula for $f$ that depends on the scalar curvature in a controllable way. Another remark is that if such a formula gives a result for positive scalar curvature, it should give a result for negative scalar curvature as well. On the other hand, any manifold of large dimension has a metric of negative scalar curvature (Lohkamp).
The conclusion I draw is that Chern-Weil theory is insensitive to the sign of scalar curvature. The next problem is that Chern-Weil theory is insensitive to the spin condition as well: the map $Sym^{\ast} (\mathfrak{so}_n)^{SO(n)}\to Sym^{\ast} (\mathfrak{spin}_n)^{Spin(n)}$ on the space of invariant polynomials is an isomorphism. In other words, the spin condition does not yield any relation between Chern-Weil classes. The integrality of the $\hat{A}$-genus cannot be obtained by a local consideration; this would equate it to another manifestly integral class, which is not the case.
The view that positivity should enter the proof in a more global way is furthermore supported by Gromov's h-principle, a special case of which states that any open manifold (no compact component) has a metric of positive scalar curvature. This implies that any obstruction to positive scalar curvature has to arise in an essential global way.
My conclusion of the above discussion is that the integrality result forgets the relevant information from the spin condition and that Chern-Weil theory is not the correct recipient for the information coming from the positivity of the curvature. Philosophically, integrality is too global to capture the spin condition and Chern-Weil theory is too local to capture the sign of the curvature.
It is a pity that Misha Gromov is not active on this site.....
EDIT: here is an example which shows that any hope to use Chern-Weil theory to obtain information on scalar curvature is in vain.
Fact 1: Let $\nabla_g$ be the Levi-civita connection of the Riemann manifold $(M,g)$, then for all $c>0$, $\nabla_{cg} = \nabla_g$. Fact 2: the scalar curvature of $(M,cg)$ is $c^{-1} scal_g$. Fact 3: the scalar curvature of a product is the sum of the scalar curvature.
Now take $S^2$, $g_0$ the standard metric with $scal_{g_0}=1$; $F$ a genus $\geq 2$ surface with metric $g_1$ and $scal_{g_1}=-1$. Then the product $M=S^2 \times F$ with product metric $(c_0 g_0 )\times (c_1 g_1)$ has scalar curvature $c_{0}^{-1} - c_{1}^{-1}$. Suitable choices of $c_i$ yield any real value for the scalar curvature. But by fact 1, the Levi-Civitta connection and hence the Chern-Weil invariants do not depend on $c_i$.
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There are even more dramatic statements which demonstrate that the vanishing of the $\hat{A}$ genus due to positive scalar curvature could not possibly be explained locally. Suppose that $M$ is a manifold which is quasi-isometric to $\mathbb{R}^n$ and that $M$ has an open set $U$ quasi-isometric to a half-space on which the scalar curvature is uniformly positive. Then the $\hat{A}$ genus still vanishes. (In fact $U$ can be quite a bit smaller, though not too small.) – Paul Siegel Sep 29 '11 at 1:48
Do you mean that the universal cover of $M$ is quasiisometric to euclidean space? – Johannes Ebert Sep 29 '11 at 7:04
@Johannes Cool. In the 5min I thought about the problem I didn't try to think at all about counter examples, just wrote the first thing that popped into my head in the way of a proof sketch. The problem is more difficult than I expected – Kelly Davis Sep 29 '11 at 8:30
Thank you Johannes Ebert! I like this answer! – shu Sep 29 '11 at 18:58
Oops - I did indeed mean the universal cover of $M$. – Paul Siegel Oct 3 '11 at 14:41
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Study: Alcohol Worse than Cocaine; Should Marijuana be Legalized?; Test May Predict Alzheimer's
Aired November 6, 2010 - 07:30 ET
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, HOST: Good morning. I'm Dr. Sanjay Gupta. Welcome to the show. Lots to talk about today.
First up, a question. What do you think? Could it be alcohol is worse than cocaine, heroin or LSD? A new study out there is getting lot of buzz. We're going to dive into it.
And speaking of drugs -- this week, California voted down recreational use of marijuana. And now, Colorado is going to hold a similar vote. You know, we are going to try to figure out what these types of drugs do to your brain.
And genetic testing, it may soon predict your chances of developing terrible diseases like Alzheimer's. The science is ongoing. But if there's no effective treatment, would you really want to know?
Some of that voice. It's amazing. She fell in love with opera at the age of 4 and went on to follow her dream of performing in them all over the world. But her lungs started to fail. And soon, she was in need of a double lung transplant.
It's a remarkable story. We've got it for you here on SGMD.
Let's get started.
GUPTA: First up this morning, though, it was a big election week as I'm sure you know. And health care continued to be a hot topic.
Take a look at some exit polls number that we thought were interesting. Fifty-three percent of senior citizens, specifically want health care repealed. Take a look. More than half. Twenty- three percent want expanded, 14 percent left as it is.
Also, take a look at how the vote changed between 94 and 16 years later, 2010. Senior citizens back in '94, 51 percent voted Republican, 48 percent Democrat. And now, 59 percent Republican, 38 percent Democrat.
So, the question for a lot of people: what does it mean? Who knows is probably the answer. But Republicans made a campaign issue about Democrats cutting spending. You saw it on a lot of campaign ads and seniors in this election appear to have listened, at least according to some of those numbers.
Another hot topic on the ballot: recreational marijuana. After a lot of speculation, a lot of debate, Californians, they decided to reject it this past week. Reject the recreational use of marijuana. But it hasn't stopped a new campaign already developing in Colorado to put legalization on the state ballot there in 2012.
And there is a new study in the "British Journal" that concludes that alcohol is more dangerous than heroin, LSD or even cocaine. So, we wanted to dig a little deeper on that specific issue on a second.
But, you know, my specialty is the brain. So, I found these stories together very interesting and wanted to talk about how these things might affect the brain. First of all, the human brain, you know, is the command center of your body. You know that. It controls everything you do and say.
And drugs and chemicals work in the brain by tapping, you know, the communication system, sort of interfering with the way that nerve cells normally send, receive and process information. We had various neurotransmitters, specifically in the brain. They are sort of the chemical messengers.
And drugs like nicotine, cocaine, marijuana -- well, they target these messengers. They also affect the brain's reward system and that reward system responds to pleasure by releasing the neurotransmitter such as dopamine and that those neurotransmitters regulate movement, emotion, the process of thought, motivation and pleasure.
So, you get an idea of what happens specifically. Drugs tend to hijack that system, causing large amounts of dopamine to overflow it. The large amounts of dopamine are what causes the sort of euphoria that you experience sometimes and also some of the crashes afterward.
Marijuana, for example, interferes with normal functions of the brain, like coordination, attention, altering time and space, and also reducing short term memory.
Today, we have Dr. Marvin Seppala, an addiction specialist from Hazelden Addiction Treatment Center to clarify some of these facts for us.
Good morning to you, sir. Thanks so much for joining us.
GUPTA: First of all, this study -- a lot of people have been talking about it, the British study talking about alcohol and comparing it to a lot of these other drugs -- cocaine, LSD, heroin. What do you make of that study?
SEPPALA: You know, it's an interesting and worthwhile study, and that it was primarily designed to inform the government about how to use their money to address the ills associated with drugs and abuse and with alcohol. And they really took an objective examination and defined the significant ills associated with alcohol use compared to other drugs. They looked at harm to self versus harm to others and kind of added this up. And the harm to others, social ills associated with drug abuse and alcohol abuse revealed a mayor problem associated with alcohol.
GUPTA: And what -- for the average person out there who hears this. I mean, is this -- is this -- what does it take away from them? And is this more reflection to the fact that just more people use alcohol versus these other drugs?
SEPPALA: That's a major aspect of it. Tremendously more people use alcohol than other drugs, but also, people that use alcohol are more likely to engage in high-risk activities, driving while intoxicated, domestic violence and the like. Where people who use the other drugs in some respects, let's compare to heroin are often going to be tired and not very active.
GUPTA: Interesting. Interesting.
It's a good transition to what happened in California this week, Proposition 19, recreational marijuana use being legalized. That was on the ballot. It did not pass, as you know.
GUPTA: Does it surprise, first of all, that it did not pass?
SEPPALA: It does surprise me. I thought in California it might pass and certainly, people were preparing for that.
GUPTA: What -- so, this is something that comes up a lot. And we do a lot of reporting on this particular issue, but this is your field of expertise. So, marijuana, how bad is it -- I guess, for lack of a better way of putting that -- how much of a harm does this drug cause? And do you think maybe it should be legalized then?
SEPPALA: You know, the harms are relatively minimum. And some of it isn't fully studied, unlike alcohol. I mean, if you compare it to alcohol, alcohol is remarkably more harmful from a medical and a societal perspective.
But marijuana causes, an acute use, you know, while you're intoxicated, and shortly afterwards, a memory problems, concentration problems, slower reaction time, a little incoordination. Long term problems include some minor hormonal changers, primary sexual hormones for men and women. And -- but, there's no evidence of long-term problems with memory or concentration.
There are problems associated -- I'm sorry. There are problems associated with long-term use in adolescence, though. That's where the real difficulty lies. And one of the major tasks of adolescence is learning -- learning in school and the like and because of these short-term memory and concentration problems, it alters lives significantly.
GUPTA: Did you have a memory lapse right on all that answer? SEPPALA: I did.
GUPTA: Just kidding, don't answer that.
Real quick, though, just legal -- sorry about that -- legalization of marijuana. This is your world again. What are your thoughts? I mean, do you think it should be legalized ultimately for recreational use?
SEPPALA: You know, we're in the recovery business. However, if you look at legalization, you really have to say, it's the least problematic of the options that exist. And there's just so many difficulties with jailing our use because of, you know, use of marijuana because they have been caught with marijuana.
SEPPALA: And we get an opportunity to actually treat them medically, if we don't put them into the legal system.
GUPTA: Fascinating discussion. Dr. Seppala, thanks so much. Stay tuned, though. I have a feeling we'll be talking about this, again. Appreciate your time.
SEPPALA: Appreciate it as well. Thank you.
GUPTA: And next on SGMD: she returned to an opera career just a year after undergoing -- get this -- a double lung transplant. How did she do it?
CHARITY TILLEMANN-DICK, RECEIVED DOUBLE LUNG TRANSPLANT: I remember trying to E and nothing would come out.
GUPTA: Welcome back to the program. You know, opera singer Charity Tillemann-Dick. She's one of 11 children, the granddaughter of Holocaust survivors. She was raised to believe, in her own words, that fear is not an option. That was put to the test for her when she diagnosed with an illness that threatened to steal her voice, her career and really her life.
GUPTA (voice-over): That soaring voice belongs to Charity Tilleman-Dick, a voice that almost went silent. Six years ago, she was diagnosed with a rare lung disease. Without treatment, doctors said, she'd be dead within five years.
TILLEMANN-DICK: And it just -- it didn't seem real. GUPTA: For awhile, medication was enough. But by last summer, her only option was a double lung transplant at the Cleveland Clinic.
Her family, 10 brothers and sisters, have always been at her side. But when she rushed to surgery, she was alone. She pleaded with her doctor.
TILLEMANN-DICK: Please, please keep me alive so I can say good- bye to my mother. And I told him that if he could do anything to save my voice, to do it.
GUPTA: She was in a coma for a month. It was another month before she could speak a word.
TILLEMANN-DICK: They took me off of the trach. And they told me to say E and nothing would come out. And I could stop. And, finally, finally, you could hear E, E. It started coming out and tears streaming down my face. I remember thinking to myself, I am so deeply grateful. I can make sound.
When I got home, the first song that I sang, I had a real connection to was "Smile" by Charlie Chaplin. You know, smile when your heart is breaking, even though it's aching.
When I sing, I feel like I'm taken to another place and it's this place of pure sound and transcendent beauty.
GUPTA: Beauty saved by the grace of an organ donor.
GUPTA: You know, we did ask Charity as well if it feels different to sing with another person's lungs. And Charity said, look, I used to have a terrible lung disease, now I don't. So, it does feel different to sing, but it feels better, she said.
Incidentally, she and her sisters are on a company to increase awareness about organ donation.
Good luck, Charity. An amazing woman.
On to a sad story, though, that we learned about this week. Remember 11-year-old Shannon Tavarez? She was the young actress starring in the Broadway version of "The Lion King."
The beautiful voice, you really just can't forget it. She needed a bone morrow transplant to fight her battle with acute myelogenous leukemia. Well, we received the very sad news this week that, unfortunately, Shannon did not beat the odds.
You know, minorities have the hardest time finding a match. And we urge everyone who's watching to get on the list. I signed up myself a while back inspired in part by Shannon. And if you are interested in getting on the list yourself, you can find out how online by checking out BeTheMatch.org. Shannon inspired 10,000 people to register as potentially life-saving donors. To find out more, you can also logon to www.getswabbed.org. You can continue Shannon's mission there. It's really important to get this word out.
Condolences to her family.
We'll be right back with more SGMD.
GUPTA: You know, so much in medicine these days comes with a "but." There's a pill that can keep your cancer from growing, but insurance won't cover it. There's surgery to fix a rare disorder, but they come with serious side effects. And increasingly, there's this: genetic testing that can predict your chances of developing terrible diseases that don't yet have any effective treatments Huntington's disease, Alzheimer's.
So, the question is: just because you can know, would you want to know? Would you want to know how you might die? It's an important.
And with us now to discuss it, Dr. Maria Carrillo of the Alzheimer's Association, Susan Peterson-Hazan, who's a clinical social worker at Emory University, and CBS newsman, Barry Petersen. He's written a love story about his wife's struggle with Alzheimer's disease. The book is called "Jan's Story: Love Lost to the Long Goodbye of Alzheimer's."
And, Dr. Carrillo, let me start with you. There's been some news recently about Alzheimer's disease specifically regarding a test that can better predict your chances of developing it. What can you tell us about this?
MARIA CARRILLO, DIR., MED. & SCIENCE RELATIONS, ALZHEIMER'S ASSN.: That was called a cerebral spinal fluid test and it -- essentially, you get it by performing a lumbar puncture and taking some spinal fluid out. It has been thought to be able to predict Alzheimer's disease by measuring some proteins.
But we're a long way off from having that available in the clinic. It's really only an experimental form. It's going to be quite a few years before that test or any other is really ready.
GUPTA: What can we say about the test now?
CARRILLO: We are moving towards a future in which we should be able to predict who will go on to get Alzheimer's disease based on pathology, based on the biology of what's happening in the brain and being able to measure that in a person, a living person who hasn't yet developed Alzheimer's.
GUPTA: Barry, Jan was diagnosed when she was just 55 years old. And there are so many questions about how she's doing and how she was at the time. But you provided some footage of her playing the piano. Let's take a second and listen to that.
GUPTA: Barry, can you describe what was happening there in that particular footage?
BARRY PETERSEN, AUTHOR, "JAN'S STORY": I'm visiting her at the assisted living facility where she stays and, Jan, a once articulate foreign correspondent who actually worked at one point for CNN, now can no longer make a sentence. She's upbeat. She smiles. You know, she laughs a lot. And I think that's terrific.
She doesn't know who I am. But I, of course, know who she is. And when I go to see her, I have to confess, it's bittersweet. You know, there she is. There's the laughter. There's the girl. There's the smile.
But on the same token, you know, Jan is not there. Even though, on the outside, it just seems like it ought to be her.
GUPTA: I know you are listening to Dr. Carrillo and you probably heard about this test, what do you think about that test, Barry? I mean, if a test like that had been available, widely available, is this something that you would have wanted to know for Jan?
PETERSEN: No, I don't think so. And I'll tell you why for a couple of reasons. First, because I think if you have a test like this -- especially if there's any question about it or even let's say it's 100 percent accurate, how does that affect the ability for someone to get long-term care insurance, which can be critical for taking care of somebody in the latter stages of Alzheimer's? Once it's on your medical record, they're not going to touch you.
The second thing -- and I think you would understand this, Sanjay, because you're in a business where people would trust your skills and your knowledge. What happens if someone finds out that we might be prone to Alzheimer's?
GUPTA: Right.
PETERSEN: Would they still trust us?
GUPTA: You counsel patients who are confronting this, Susan. I mean, first of all, what do you think about what Barry just said?
SUSAN PETERSON-HAZAN, CLIN. SOCIAL WORKER, EMORY UNIVERSITY: Well, I think he has the views of many of the people that we have talked to that they say they don't want to know.
Last Friday, I have an early memory loss group of people who have mild cognitive impairment and early Alzheimer's disease. And I posed the question, if you could have known, would you have wanted to? And two said "yes," they would like to know. But the others said "no," unless there was something we could do to alter the course.
(END VIDEOTAPE) GUPTA: Up next, I asked Barry if he would've changed anything if he would've known. His answer when we get back.
And later in the show, why is San Francisco cracking down on fast food Happy Meals? We'll tell you.
Stay with SGMD.
GUPTA: Is there any virtue, Barry, given all that you said and all that you've heard now, any virtue in knowing? Would you have changed anything if you would have known? And could that have been a virtue?
PETERSEN: I'm embarrassed to say that I would have. And when I talk to people I say it's the biggest mistake I ever made with Jan was we didn't sit down. We didn't do an advance directive. We didn't have this conversation.
I didn't want to sit down with her and have this conversation after she'd been diagnosed because I felt it would zap her own will to fight the disease, even though there are no medications that are effective. But if I had known in advance, that is definitely something I would have done. But, you know, this is a great conversation to say to people you really ought to be talking to the person you love --
GUPTA: Right.
PETERSEN: -- about how the life that we live is going to end by our choice and not let it just fritter away and lose the chance to have that control.
GUPTA: And I think it's difficult. Even among my own family with my parents, it's a difficult topic. Families need to have these conversations, but very few do. When we reported on these tests, it was amazing the number of responses we got on the blogs and literally hundreds of thousands of responses.
And I want to read an e-mail to you quickly if I can. A concern raised by one of our viewers, wrote this: "Once more of these tests become available and reliable, insurers will try and require them, arguing they qualify as pre-existing conditions, and employers could use them to screen out employees. This is very dangerous territory."
And there are supposed to be laws to protect individuals against that. Are those laws good laws? Are they enforceable? Do they work?
CARRILLO: They absolutely do exist. The GINA Act was passed about two years ago now and protects us from genetic information up to I think six generations removed. That is important.
However, it's not been tested yet and certainly not been tested in Alzheimer's disease in terms of genetic information. I would not recommend that the Alzheimer's Association does not recommend genetic testing be in our medical record because that law does not protect you against some types of insurance. So, we need to be very cautious.
GUPTA: Susan, have you ever had anyone regret knowing? Finding out some information like this and then regret that they had learned it?
PETERSON-HAZAN: Many times, they do dread the diagnosis, but they also many times are relieved, because they've known something was wrong. And so, actually having the diagnosis, learning that something -- they have a disease in some cases actually relieve people. It wasn't their marriage that was going bad. It wasn't all of these other things.
PETERSON-HAZAN: So, in a sense, having the diagnosis helped them.
GUPTA: Dr. Maria Carrillo, Susan Peterson-Hazan, and, Barry Petersen, thanks so much -- Barry as well, for sharing your story and Jan's story. Appreciate it.
CARRILLO: Thank you.
GUPTA: And we are back with SGMD.
You know, being a dad, my ears really perked up when I heard about the story this week -- San Francisco is trying to stop the distribution of toys with unhealthy meals. What does that mean for the average person?
Well, this week, there's a board of supervisors that voted by a large margin specifically to not have toys in any meals with high levels of calories, sodium, or fat. And they also said the food must contain a serving of fruits and vegetables.
We dug a little deeper specifically into this and what they said is there's going to be a 600-calorie cap on each meal and the meals must have less than 35 percent of the calories coming from fat.
Also, one more thing: no item -- no specific item within the meal can have more than 200 calories.
Now, you know, this is a big topic. We talk about it a lot. And supporters of this particular bill say they are trying to improve the nutritional value of kids' meals and also try to attack childhood obesity.
The final vote on this is next week. If it passes, it's going to go into effect next year. Parents say, hey, it may make it a little easier to say no. I think agree with that, as well, as a father of three.
Thanks for watching, everybody. I'm Dr. Sanjay Gupta.
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Old July 22 2012, 11:42 AM #14
Ugly Sweater
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Location: Kansas City
Re: Death(s) of Robin
Not sidekicks in general but Batman's having a child sidekick!
He's going out there and fighting armed thugs, murderous maniacs and people bent on destroying Gotham and as an aide Batman brings a twelve year old boy in hot pants to help?
It doesn't really fit or make sense.
Robin as a sidekick is very, very different than Holmes having with him an intellectual near-equal, adult, doctor.
As for other child or child-like sidekicks, I don't think they fit well either. Jimmy Olson was a tool and probably more annoying to Superman than as a helpful "sidekick." And the idea of putting a child into a movie to give child-readers someone to connect with is the type of stupid thinking that gets us Short Round and a young child Darth Vader.
When kids read these stories or watch these movies they don't want to be a child hanging out with the superhero or the hero they want to BE the hero. It wasn't "Gosh! I wish I could hang out with Batman in a pair of pantyhose and help him kick the ass of murderous thugs while mostly being ineffectual and end up getting caught to give Batman more of motive to do his self-appointed job!" it was "Man! I wish I could be Batman and an unstoppable bad ass kicking the ass of murderous thugs!"
A late teens or 20-something Robin would make a touch more sense and being more acceptable, but a child is just an idea that I think has gotten harder and harder to swallow over time.
Just because it's futuristic doesn't mean it's practical.
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Umpires overturn homer after fan interference
Umpires overturn homer after fan interference
CINCINNNATI -- It wasn't exactly a Jeffrey Maier moment, but the spectator interference rule came into play at Great American Ball Park on Sunday.
Batting with one out in the second inning and the Reds already leading, 2-0, Cincinnati second baseman Ramon Santiago hit a Yovani Gallardo pitch to deep right field, where Milwaukee's Logan Schafer timed his leap. At the same time, a red-shirted fan reached his own glove over the wall and attempted a catch.
As the baseball fell to the ground, Schafer turned his gaze upward to see who had interfered. At the same time, Santiago circled the bases for what initially was ruled an inside-the-park home run. Not so fast. Brewers manager Ron Roenicke asked the umpires to confer, and crew chief Jerry Meals eventually initiated a review. After 3 minutes and 46 seconds, the call was overturned and Santiago was called out.
"It was the first time in my life I was truly confused in the outfield," said Schafer, who started because Ryan Braun had back spasms. "I literally was timing it the whole way, I knew I had it, I knew where the fence was and where I was and where my glove was going to be. I jumped up, waiting for it to come into my glove, and I just never felt anything.
"So I was like, 'Hmm.' That's why, when I came down, I was a little confused. I saw the ball come down, I looked up at the fans and was like, 'What just happened?' He was still running and [center fielder Carlos Gomez] was yelling at me to throw it in. … In retrospect, I probably should have just grabbed it and thrown it in anyway, just because I didn't know what was going on. I knew I had it off the bat. If it was playable, I knew I was going to catch it."
The rule in question was 3.16, which says:
When there is spectator interference with any thrown or batted ball, the ball shall be dead at the moment of interference and the umpire shall impose such penalties as in his opinion will nullify the act of interference.
APPROVED RULING: If spectator interference clearly prevents a fielder from catching a fly ball, the umpire shall declare the batter out.
A comment to the rule provides further clarification, stating that, "No interference shall be allowed when a fielder reaches over a fence, railing, rope or into a stand to catch a ball. He does so at his own risk. However, should a spectator reach out on the playing field side of such fence, railing or rope, and plainly prevent the fielder from catching the ball, then the batsman should be called out for the spectator's interference."
After the play, Schafer said the man put a hand over his heart in a conciliatory gesture, "and kind of said, 'My bad, my bad,'" Schafer said. "I'm surprised he was still there the rest of the game. Not to say I like fans getting kicked out. I don't think he did it with any negativity. I think he just was like, 'Here's the ball, I'll try and catch it.' Usually they kick people out, but he sat there and enjoyed the rest of the game. Good for him."
The stakes were higher when Maier, then 12, deflected a Derek Jeter fly ball into the seats during Game 1 of the 1996 American League Championship Series. In that instance, umpires ruled the play a home run, and the Yankees went on to win the game and the series.
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Israel and the Palestinian territories
Last Updated: Friday August 21 2009 08:27 GMT
How was Israel created?
A map showing Israel, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip
Before World War I, Palestine was a district ruled by the Turkish Ottoman Empire.
The Ottomans were defeated by Britain and her allies in the war.
After WWI, Britain took control of Palestine, but there was much trouble between the Arabs who lived there and Jews who wanted to live there too.
Jews have long historical and religious ties to the land dating back thousands of years. They believe it was promised to them by God.
In the early part of the 20th century thousands of Jews moved to the area before it became Israel to start new lives and set up new communities.
Many were escaping Europe and Russia as they were where they were being persecuted for being Jewish. Many more moved to Israel after the Holocaust, including from Arab countries.
After World War II, Britain decided to let the United Nations decide what to do with Palestine.
Intense fighting
The United Nations suggested dividing Palestine into two countries, one Arab and one Jewish.
The Arab leaders said no to the plan, but the Jewish leaders accepted it and declared the state of Israel. The American President gave his support to the new state.
Israel and the occupied territories
The neighbouring Arab states declared war on the new country.
After months of intense fighting, Israel and her Arab neighbours agreed to stop the war.
Israeli forces captured what is now recognised as the state of Israel by the international community. However relations between them were still tense and more wars followed. | [] |
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A review of another pending book idea. A small island holding the worlds most acclaimed assassins, the D.E.A.D team, has been beaten by a ferocious storm for over 2 weeks, the inhabitants, hiding in the islands vast system of caverns and passages, are running out of food. More rumbles are being heard, but Madikus the leader insists that it is the storm moving away, but is he holding something back, is he telling the truth. When eople start to dissapear, a group of assassins attempt to find out the truth, right before a big awakening, that will finally decide their fate.
Submitted:Dec 21, 2012 Reads: 9 Comments: 0 Likes: 0
The storm outside was reaching its arms into the inhabitants of Sede, a small island, but a special island. Though small, it ran deep. Ancient tunnels and gigantic caverns ran through the core of the Island. Even though small it held many secrets. The Island was a perfect site for the D.E.A.D training grounds, no-one really knows what the letters stand for, but what is well known is that if you are a part of the team, you are a force to be reckoned with. D.E.A.D is the world's most famous assassin recruit station, even though it was well known, no one knew where they were, they were invisible to the world, but not to the people's mind. So on this Island filled with killers a storm was raging, and it had been for two weeks. The Island was susceptible to storms, but none had ever lasted this long, but the inhabitants were fine, they just ran around in the tunnels and caverns, that were once inhabited with strange creatures. Of course, they did not know this. No-one knew about the history of the islands, nor the sea that surrounded it, otherwise they might have thought differently about going there.
"Dinners up!" shouted the stocky ginger chef, wearing his dirty apron flailing around an axe as if it was a fork. All at once 100 cloaked figures appeared in the cafeteria, a large cavern on the western side of the island,they sat down on the rows of tables and chairs, there were six overall. Some jut gazed at the surroundings and came to the conclusion that they were in a metal box with a door on one side that lead to a rough rocky passage the intruders were expected. They were after all the assassins. They all wore the same clothing, a dark leather cloak with a hood, with belt buckle fasteners and metal chains on the left arm of the outfit, they were like warriors of the shadows. All sat down and waited as the food was being served, tuna in a can again, they were running out of food supplies so they had to make do until the storm was over. Grumbles rose as the meal was placed before them. "Hey stop complaining, has anyone died this week? No, so the storm has helped in some ways. Think of this like camping, and when camping, there usually isn't good food, now stop complaining and eat up," Exclaimed the chef when he heard a sly remark about his cooking. A silence settled, but not because of the chef's speech, but because Madikus had entered. Madikus was the founder of D.E.A.D, he wasn't a supernatural killer, he was a scientist, and he wore the same style clothing as all the other assassins, but in red, not in black. He sported scraggly black hair, a six foot tall body, and a skinny frame. Madikus did not look like a leader, he looked more like a mascot. He stood at the center of the cafeteria, on the table top of the third table, and spoke," Now I'm sure you have all heard, and felt for that matter, the recent rumbles we've been having. Now some have joked that it's our stomachs from these crap grub we're eating," a small laughter complimented his joke, " Yes well I'm sure Chef is doing the best he can, anyway, there have been silly rumors about the island splitting in half and other nonsense, well no need to worry, it is only the last few hits of this storm we've been having, so these rumbles signify the end, soon we'll all be having steak and fries!" With this came a loud roar of applause, finally they wouldn't be stuck here under in these dreadful caverns, and they will be able to go back onto work.
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We have reached a crucial stage in the IDF's operation against Hamas in the Gaza Strip. If we are not careful, we may have defeat staring us in the face - another defeat, after the fiasco of the Second Lebanon War. This time at the hands of Hamas, a terrorist organization even smaller and weaker than Hezbollah.
Insistent calls are being heard for a cease-fire. Some of these calls come from outside Israel and others come from within our midst. If the IDF does not complete the mission it has been assigned, of suppressing the launching of rockets from the Gaza Strip against the cities, towns and villages of southern Israel, and if the final act before a cease-fire goes into effect ends up being an avalanche of rockets fired by Hamas against Israel, not only Hamas and the Arab states, but most of the world, will consider Hamas as having succeeded in defeating Israel.
This would be a repetition of what happened during the Second Lebanon War. Aside from the danger that Hamas, during a cease-fire, would equip itself with a new supply of rockets, some of even greater range than the ones currently in its arsenal, and that the civilian population in the south will continue to live under the threat of renewed rocket fire by Hamas, such a second defeat would do irreparable damage to the general security of Israel, serving as an invitation to further provocations and aggression by Israel's enemies in the years to come. All of Israel's citizens, not only those living in the south, would bear the burden of such a development.
It was Henry Kissinger who said that "the conventional army loses if it does not win - the guerilla wins if he does not lose." Any terrorist group that manages to face up to the might of the IDF and survive while continuing its attacks against Israel will invariably be seen as the victor. In the present fighting in the Gaza Strip, the IDF will lose if it does not win, and Hamas will emerge as the victor. No amount of wordage in a UN Security Council resolution calling for a cease-fire, or promises offered Israel by the international community, are going to change the face of the end result. That is what happened when UN Security Council Resolution 1701 brought about the cease-fire that ended the Second Lebanon War and the deployment of UNIFIL forces in southern Lebanon. You only need to take a look at what has happened to Hezbollah, its stockpile of rockets and its position in Lebanon since the cease-fire to see what is likely to occur in the Gaza Strip in the wake of a similar cease-fire there. For some reason, it is Israel that has difficulty learning that a cease-fire with terrorists is only to the advantage of the terrorists. Terrorism has to be destroyed.
Unlike the traditional Israeli position in the days of Ben-Gurion and Begin, which put Israel's security interests first, in recent years some of our politicians have become obsessed with the notion that any Israeli military activity is bound to be limited by pressure from the international community, pressure to which we presumably will have to accede even if it puts our national security at risk.
In fact, the understanding in much of the world, and especially in the United States, for Israel's security, and especially for its battle against terrorism, has grown considerably in recent years. The idea that Israel may face unbearable international pressure that would limit its response against terrorist forces has little basis in fact. During the Second Lebanon War, the IDF could have had all the time it needed if it had taken effective action against Hezbollah, and such action would have been applauded in many places abroad. The same is true in the present battle against Hamas - if we are seen as being successful, we will have nothing to fear from any quarter. If there are any doubts in our midst they can be laid to rest by recalling the statements made by Mayor Michael Bloomberg, of New York, during his recent visit to Ashkelon, and those made by senior Democratic and Republican senators and by President Bush. Most of those Israeli politicians who speak of the need to stop our military activity before international pressure forces us to stop have precious little experience with the American political establishment.
Our job now is to keep our eye on the ball, and not be diverted from the task at hand. The IDF must continue to pursue the mission it has been assigned and put an end to the firing of rockets from the Gaza Strip. We have the ability to do so and it must be done. The consequences of failure, regardless of the explanations offered by Israeli politicians and the wording of the relevant UN Security Council Resolution, would bode very ill for Israel. | [] |
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Like when you drag a file on top of another one and change the order, like that.
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Can you clarify what you're asking? Like, sorting files in Windows Explorer? – Anthony Apr 24 '09 at 2:51
what order are you referring to? – warren Apr 24 '09 at 2:52
3 Answers 3
I'm going to assume you're asking about how to rearrange the order in which files are displayed in a folder. I'm not exactly sure how to do it, but you'll want to use the various functions from the Windows shell to accomplish this. See the Shell Developer's Guide.
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There is no way to do this (except maybe by hacking the directory structures on the disk using raw, sector-based APIs). The order of files on the disk is managed by the file system according to it's design and needs.
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I think he's talking in terms of Windows Explorer, how it retains the order and position of files in folders, on the Desktop etc. – dreamlax Apr 24 '09 at 4:02
Oh, I thought he meant something like so that FindNextFile() would return them in a particular order. – Michael Burr Apr 24 '09 at 4:08
Which can only be done on FAT, and not on NTFS which keeps directory entries in some flavor of tree structure and so the only order is the natural order of that tree. There used to be shareware tools that would sort the FAT directory entries, back in the day. – RBerteig Apr 24 '09 at 8:07
For what its worth, FAT directory entries are stored in the order in which they are added. NTFS actually indexes its directory entries, but I thought creation order still played some role in which order they're retrieved. Maybe not. Nearly every UI that does file listings does some type of sorting on display, though, usually alphabetical.
Bottom line-- if its not application-sorted and its not creation time, then there's nothing you can do.
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US economy in a self-made vise
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Photo illustration/Newscom/File
(Read caption) The US put the economy into a vise by borrowing to fund bailouts. Now, it has to stop.
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Stocks rallied Tuesday. The Dow rose 213 points. Gold went up too – plus $9. So many people are buying gold coins that the storage vaults are getting crowded, says a Bloomberg report.
But since we don’t trust the numbers anyway…let’s return to words.
Vise is a funny word. It looks like it should be pronounced like ‘vies’…but it is actually pronounced like ‘vice.’
Whatever. The New York Times says it has a grip on Congress.
On the one side, the pols are pressured to cut deficits. On the other, they are pushed to create jobs.
Of course, the TIMES misses the point. It makes it sound as though Congressmen were just innocent, well-meaning schmucks, trying to do their best to resolve conflicting pressures.
Not at all. They’re the ones who built the vise. On the one hand, they passed hugely expensive programs. They didn’t have the money to pay for all the boondoggles and bailouts, so they had to borrow. The deficits, in other words, are a problem they brought on themselves. The pressure to cut deficit spending is merely reality raising a boot with which to kick them in the derriere.
On the other side of the vise is the pressure to create jobs. The idea is preposterous flattery. Congress never actually created a single additional job in all its history. Jobs come from productive effort. From making things or providing services – at a profit. One person pays another to cut his lawn. Another pays a person to fix his teeth. Both the lawn mower and the dentist have jobs. The government, on the other hand, is a job destroyer. It takes away resources that might have been used to hire a dentist or buy a lawnmower. It can put people to work…but only by taking away resources, and real jobs, from the wealth-producing economy.
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If it wanted to, government could force everyone to work digging holes or counting each other. It could increase salaries and report ‘full employment.’ But no one would have a real job. And we’d all go broke.
American politicians are facing up to the phony challenge in a phony way. That is, they are pretending to create jobs. The Europeans, on the other hand, say they are cutting deficits. They have to; lenders said they wouldn’t give them any more money. As Nouriel Roubini put it, in the Old World, “austerity is not optional.”
Here at The Daily Reckoning, we’re with the Germans. The euro feds are beginning to correct a mistake, albeit dishonestly. Americans are just adding on a new one.
Neither Americans nor Europeans are happy with each other’s response. US Treasury Secretary accused the Europeans of threatening the ‘recovery’ by withdrawing demand at a critical juncture. He insinuated that if there were another Great Depression, it would be the Europeans’ fault. Claude Trichet, meanwhile, head of the European Central Bank, says it’s the American who are to blame. It was they who came up with subprime mortgages and it was they who permitted Wall Street’s reckless and greedy speculations.
At this point, most responsible journalists and economists would say something such as: “both sides should put aside their differences, work together and put the economy back in order.” But you won’t get that kind of earnest drivel from us! It’s just mealy-mouthy nonsense. The Europeans should stop bailing out French and German banks (by guaranteeing the debts of Greece and the other PIGS). The Americans should stop trying to bail out everyone. Both should stop bailing and merely get out of the way so the economy can collapse if it wants to.
Dear readers may find our opinions too radical. Everyone else does. But the evidence shows that collapse is actually a good thing. Free market economies are remarkably robust. They don’t require the genius of politicians and bureaucrats in order to operate. And when they occasionally stumble and fall, it’s actually healthy for them. It’s how they shake off parasites. Bloomberg reports:
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WHEN lawyers for a group of Burmese villagers used an obscure American law in 1996 to sue Unocal, an oil company, for using forced labour and other abuses while constructing a pipeline in Myanmar, human-rights campaigners saw a new way of attacking companies (as opposed to their executives in person) for misdeeds abroad. A flurry of headline-grabbing suits followed. Nine Nigerians, including relatives of Ken Saro-Wiwa, a playwright, accused Shell of complicity in human-rights abuses. Vietnamese villagers sued Dow Chemical and others for injuries caused by the Agent Orange herbicide.
This avenue was abruptly closed recently when the second circuit Court of Appeals in New York ruled on September 17th that corporations could not be held liable under the Alien Tort Claims Act for breaches of international law abroad. Businesses had long argued this, but no American court had ruled clearly on the issue before. Both companies and their accusers reckoned that the courts treated the principle of liability as a given.
The decision, if upheld, will bring new clarity and an end to such lawsuits. But until all avenues of appeal are exhausted, the precedent will not be firmly set. The Supreme Court declined on October 4th to rule immediately on the specific question of whether corporations could be held liable under international law. It had been asked to do so by Talisman Energy of Canada, which won a case brought by Sudanese plaintiffs who accused it of conspiring with their government to commit genocide.
The Alien Tort statute was always a thin lever for those who want to get national courts to use international human-rights law against multinational companies. In some 60 cases so far, the plaintiffs have gained plenty of publicity, but won no outright victories. (Shell settled out of court, as did Unocal.) Adopted in 1789, possibly to target pirates, the statute allows for civil actions by aliens for wrongful acts “committed in violation of the law of nations or a treaty of the United States”. Its cloudy origins make room for creative interpretation by human-rights campaigners and companies alike and have caused much confusion in the courts.
That can be seen in the strongly worded dissent written by Judge Pierre Leval in the New York case on the central question of whether corporations are covered by international laws that explicitly mention only states and natural persons. He decried the absurdity of allowing individuals to escape civil liability for slave-trading or piracy as long as they are incorporated.
Businesses will welcome an end to these cases. But the respite may be short-lived. Courts in other countries, such as the Netherlands and Britain, have recently become more active in punishing firms for misdeeds abroad and human-rights campaigners have taken note. John Ruggie, the special representative for the United Nations secretary-general on business and human rights, will wind up his six-year study with a report next year that could also lead to new restraints on corporations. Even if America drops the baton, another country may well pick it up. | [] |
J-Zone's 'Peter Pan Syndrome': The Grumpy-Old-Man Rap You Need in Your Life
Brandon Soderberg WRITTEN BY
Brandon Soderberg
In 2011, cult rapper J-Zone put out a nervy memoir called Root for the Villain: Rap, Bullshit, and a Celebration of Failure. The refreshing, rant-like book arrived four years after his last album, To Love a Hooker, and brought him back into the conversation after what was, for all intents and purposes, a rap retirement — not of the Jay Z hype-building kind, but the nail-in-the-coffin sort, because that shit just wasn't working for him anymore. Hip-hop had changed, and he isn't interested in changing. But over the past few years, hip-hop has gotten real weird, and, well, in a way it's full of J-Zone types these days: truly strange, grumpy, hilarious, out-there eccentrics, curmudgeons, and gangsta mystics.
Root for the Villain, which arrived in the middle of an Internet-rap renaissance, had a kind of Marc Maron WTF podcast effect on J-Zone's career: It raised his profile in a different medium than the one he'd mined for decades, and as a result, reinvigorated his artistry. His working-class-rapper rhetoric and cynical vision of the industry permeated "new underground" hip-hop at the time, and so, it struck a chord. And now he's back. Last week, J-Zone released his sixth album, Peter Pan Syndrome, which tells the story of J-Zone entering the real world, only to realize that a 9-to-5 job is pretty unstable, too. Everyone in the surrounding cubicles, it seemed, was scrapping and hustling like an independent rapper, so why not just become an independent rapper again?
Peter Pan Syndrome is an hour-long burst of middle-aged anxiety. On "Gadget Ho," he bemoans the reality that everybody uses cell phones now, and admits that he feels pretty absurd sending goofy-ass text messages as a grown-ass man. "Crib Issues" is about how he doesn't like staying at other people's homes, which prevents him from maintaining a "real" relationship, but it might help if these ladies cleaned their houses a little bit. "Trespasser" is a clever riff on gentrification in New York, reminding everybody that the young professional jerks who are supposedly saving the city are the outsiders. Viciously, he suggests that the city should "bring back wildin' for a day."
And what with rap right now being nothing but a series of co-signs and circle jerks, J-Zone, whose passion for the artform is apparent, zings rap's foibles with glee, and we need that. "Jackin' for Basquiats" laughs off rap's half-hearted modern-art obsession, presenting a scene where he wanders into a museum and tells the curator, "I'd like to rap about more adult things, like paintings." Then he decides to steal a few, sell them, and give the money to the poor people forced to listen to Jay Z tell you about the expensive-ass paintings he bought. "Rap Baby Boomers" mocks aging MCs (like himself), while also doling out sympathy for them. What are dudes who've spent their whole lives rapping supposed to do? Get a real job at 40? Opener "It's a Trap" already explained how futile that endeavor was. "Mo' Pork," meanwhile, is a parody of a trap rap, though in typical J-Zone style, the track bends over into a kind of early-'90s Three 6 style and sounds pretty great. Maybe Juicy J can hop on a remix?
Also exciting here is J-Zone's live percussion. On "Molotov Cocktail," he furiously drums over an artfully stitched bed of samples: One moment it's a clunky Dennis Wilsom stomp, the next a Clyde-Stubblefield-on-chronic display of hard-edged finesse. It sounds like freedom, though. An artist taking further control of his music. Now he's making his own breaks. There's no way J-Zone shouldn't be producing for the strange rappers he helped birth, whether they know it or not. His production on Peter Pan Syndrome — broken-sounding, aggressive boom-bap that sneaks away from sounding too nostalgic — should put him on the level of a Harry Fraud. Though presumably, that would entail him standing in the same room as an Eeyore like French Montana and not laughing his ass off. J-Zone is an outsider who could be an insider if he could keep his mouth shut or just calm down a little. But who wants that?
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I am using ExtJS framework for a widget. I have written a embedd.js script, that asynchronously loads ext-all.js (combined with other javascript). Finally, it attaches a function to be called for Ext.onReady
However, it does not get called at all using this mechanism. If however, I load the all.js and the css in the element of the page, remaining all things being equal, it works.
How do I solve this?
The code can be seen on:
(Not that I am trying to load extjs code itself asynchronously here, so it loads after rest of the page).
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You are throwing a JS error in your not working example
Line 78: Ext.onReady()
If you are loading ExtJS async, then you can only do something like Ext.onReady() after the library has loaded.
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How do I call Ext.onReady() after the library has loaded? appendChild I think will just modify the DOM, whats the event for the library actually getting loaded? Thanks – workwise Dec 8 '12 at 7:55
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Res publica christiana
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Res publica christiana is a Latin phrase combining the idea of res publica and christiana to describe the worldwide community of Christianity and its well-being. A single English word with somewhat comparable meaning is "Christendom".
This phrase is notably found in the encyclical Christianae Republicae Salus, a Roman Catholic Church document which condemns Voltairian and masonic indifferentism in matters of religion.
Further reading[edit]
• João Marques de Almeida, The Peace of Westphalia and the Idea of Respublica Christiana [1][dead link] | [] |
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2009-13 Toyota Corolla
2009 • 2010 • 2011 • 2012 • 2013
This article is an overview of your vehicle's audio system and its upgrade options. If you're looking for step-by-step instructions on how to install a car stereo or speakers in your Corolla, there's nothing better than our exclusive Crutchfield MasterSheet™. This detailed, well-illustrated document is free with your Crutchfield order, or you can purchase one separately for $9.99.
Toyota Corolla
Toyota Corolla (Crutchfield Research Photo)
Toyota Corollas don't just blend into the background, they are the background. And that's not a bad thing. Corollas have long been known as smart, solid cars that start every morning, go where they're pointed, and don't add drama to your busy day. If 2009-up Corollas sometimes seem to be everywhere, that's mostly because they're good cars. If people liked bad cars, we'd all be as tired of looking at Yugos as we are of seeing lame old references to how bad Yugos were. Corollas work; which is why people – lots and lots of people – buy them.
The tenth-generation Corolla's enormous popularity means there are plenty of good used models out there waiting for good new owners. It's not the flashiest car you can drive, but if you're looking for a reliable ride that's easy on gas, easy on the eyes, and easy to own, a 2009-13 Corolla is a solid choice. If you're looking to make your driving experience a little more interesting, upgrading the factory stereo is a great place to start.
Factory system
The Corolla's base stereo was an AM/FM in-dash single CD player with CD MP3/WMA playback and an aux audio input, with four speakers. Speed sensitive volume control was also standard. A mid-line upgrade added two more speakers, and an optional 8-speaker JBL stereo was available from 2009-2011. Later models (the next Corolla is slated for a 2014 debut) added more features, including optional touchscreen navigation and Toyota's Entune multimedia entertainment and information system, which appeared in 2012 Corollas.
Replacing the factory radio is relatively easy in the Corolla, regardless of the factory system. Single- or double-DIN receivers will fit nicely, so whether you're going CD-free with a digital media receiver or looking for a fully-loaded DVD/Nav receiver, you'll have plenty of possibilities to choose from.
The Corolla's factory radio
The Corolla's factory radio (Crutchfield Research Photo)
Replacing your factory radio
You'll notice a seam in the center stack, just below the radio and above the heating/air controls. Starting at that seam, pry the lower trim panel straight out to release the retaining clips. Remove the strips on either side, then repeat the process on the upper side trim strips. If you work slowly and carefully, the trim should come off just fine. Trust us, patience is a virtue when you're dealing with plastic retaining clips.
Next, place a towel on top of the dash to protect the finish from possible scratches. Pull the upper vent assembly toward the rear of vehicle to release it, then place the assembly on top of the dash. The factory radio is secured by four 10mm screws. Remove them, and pull out the radio to release the retaining clips, disconnect the harness and set the old radio aside.
To install your new stereo, you'll start by securing it to the mounting bracket that's included free with most Crutchfield receiver purchases. Next, you'll make the necessary wiring connections following the instructions supplied with the Crutchfield wiring adapter that's also included with your purchase. Once that's done, hold the receiver assembly near the dash, connect the receiver wiring adapter to the Corolla's wiring harness and plug the antenna lead into the rear of receiver. Slide the entire assembly into the dash and secure it with the 10mm screws you removed earlier. Give the receiver a quick test. If it works, you're ready to reassemble the dash.
Replacing the factory radio will result in the loss of your factory aux input connection, the factory navigation system, and, if you have a subscription, your factory XM satellite radio. Those features are easy to replace (and improve, really) if you purchase the right aftermarket receiver.
Note: Make sure the wiring harnesses associated with the airbag are connected before turning on the ignition switch to test your new receiver. If it isn't connected, the airbag light will come on. Resetting it will require a trip to the dealership, so save yourself some money and time by double-checking this connection.
Steering wheel controls: If you want your steering wheel audio controls to work with a new receiver, you'll need to install an adapter. The best time to do this is when you're installing the new stereo, so purchase the adapter at the same time. We recommend the Axxess ASWC-1 interface, along with the Metra 70-8114 control harness. By adding the control harness, you'll enjoy a simpler installation with less splicing, so you'll have your dash back together a lot sooner.
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Replacing your factory speakers
Toyota Corolla front door
The Corolla's front door (Crutchfield Research Photo)
Front door woofers: The Corolla's front doors contain a pair of 6-3/4" speakers. The 4-ohm non-JBL swap is pretty straightforward, but for the 2-ohm JBL speakers, it's important to note that replacing them with higher-impedance speakers will result in lower volume levels. Getting to them requires removing the door panel, which is relatively simple. It also involves a bit of drilling, which can be challenging. Your Crutchfield MasterSheet™ (free with your purchase) contains detailed, illustrated instructions.
A variety of 5-1/4" or 6-1/2" speakers will fit using an adapter bracket, as will select 6-3/4" speakers that, quite frankly, are more like 6-1/2" speakers, anyway.
Starting at the top, gently pry off the sail panel and release the clips that hold it in place. Next, pry out the screw cover behind the door release and remove one exposed Phillips screw. You'll also find a screw cover inside the door pull. Pry it up and remove the Phillips screw you find lurking below.
Starting at the rear edge, pry up the power options switch panel to release the retaining clips. Disconnect the wiring harness and remove the panel. Now, you're ready to remove the door panel. Pry out the sides and bottom of the door panel to release nine clips. Disconnect the door lock cable and the door release cable, and set the panel aside. Now that the speaker is exposed, you'll notice that it's held in place by three rivets. It really doesn't look like it, but the speaker and bracket are a one-piece assembly, so you'll have to drill the rivets out of the sheet metal. Using a power drill (or a screwdriver drill, depending on your available tools and experience level) with an 11/64" bit, remove the rivets, pull out the speaker, and disconnect it.
Secure your new speaker to the adapter bracket that's free with your Crutchfield purchase. Next, place the speaker/bracket assembly in the speaker cavity and mark the location of the new mounting holes. Remove the assembly and drill the new mounting holes with a 1/8" bit.
Once the holes have been drilled, connect the speaker wiring adaptor of your new speaker to the Corolla's speaker harness. Secure the speaker/bracket assembly to the location with self-tapping screws. Your new speakers might not come with screws, so it's wise to check and, if necessary, make a trip to the hardware store before you start working.
After everything's hooked up, give your speakers a quick test and, if everything's working, re-install the door panel. Before you hit the road, check that the speaker wires don't interfere with window or door lock operation.
Note: This is an obvious point, but it's one worth making: Always, always be careful when drilling in a vehicle. Be very aware of things like wiring, windows, fuel lines, and safety devices. And, of course, check drilling depth and location to avoid damaging your vehicle. If you're not comfortable with the idea of drilling into your car, you might want to consult a car audio installation professional.
Tools needed: Panel tool, small flat blade screwdriver, Phillips screwdriver, drill, 11/64" and 1/8" bits
Toyota Corolla front tweeter
A close-up of the Corolla's front door tweeter (Crutchfield Research Photo)
Front door tweeters: Corollas equipped with either the 6-speaker Toyota package or the JBL package feature tweeters mounted in the front door sail panels. If you're thinking about installing a set of component speakers, the convenient location of the factory tweeters might help you make your decision. On the other hand, a wiring adapter is not available, so you'll have to splice into the factory wiring. You'll also have to fabricate a way to hold the tweeters in place, but our universal backstrap makes that much easier than it sounds.
Accessing the tweeters is actually step one of getting to the woofers (above), which is another argument in favor of component speakers. As long as you're in there, you might as well give yourself the gift of great sound. A quality component system will let you hear things in your music that the factory speakers only hinted at. That, by the way, is actually the best reason to install component speakers.
Do keep in mind that, in the non-JBL cars, the front tweeters and the door woofers are wired together at each tweeter location. If you remove or replace the tweeters, you'll have to splice the input and output wires together to keep the woofers working. When replacing the JBL speakers, remember that replacing the 2-ohm JBL speaker with a higher-impedance speaker will often result in lower volume levels.
Detailed instructions on installing your new tweeters can be found in your Crutchfield MasterSheet.
Tools needed: Panel tool, small flat blade screwdriver, Phillips screwdriver, socket wrench and extension, 1/4" socket
Toyota Corolla rear deck speakers
The Corolla's rear deck speakers (Crutchfield Research Photo)
Rear speakers: All Corollas, JBL-equipped or not, have 6"x9" top-mounted speakers in the rear deck. Reaching, removing, and replacing them is somewhat labor-intensive, since you do have to remove the back seat and a fair amount of the surrounding trim before you can actually get to the speakers. Once you're there, you can replace them with a variety of 6"x9", 5-1/4", or 6-1/2" speakers. Getting there, while it might involve half an afternoon, is probably not half the fun.
As with the front speakers, if you have the 2-ohm JBL speakers, remember that replacing them with higher-impedance speakers will result in lower volume levels. Additionally, the factory amp sends bass and treble to these speakers through separate sets of wires, so getting full-range sound to your replacements means either splicing into the factory wiring to bypass the JBL amp (located under the right front seat) or replacing it altogether. You'll have to splice into the factory wiring anyway, because a wiring harness isn't available for this location.
None of this is hard, but it can be intimidating to beginners. Even for experienced installers, a project like this can take some time. And that's okay. Whether you're doing it yourself or hiring a pro, we heartily encourage patience and care during car audio installations. It's not about the speed, it's about the sound. Detailed instructions (and there are lots of details) on installing your Corolla's rear speakers can be found in your Crutchfield MasterSheet.
Shop for speakers that fit your Toyota Corolla
Bass in your Corolla
JL Audio Stealthbox
JL Audio Stealthbox
The Corolla's trunk offers a healthy amount of space for a compact car, but it isn't huge by any means. There's room for a 15" H x 42" W x 26"/28" D sub box in there, but you'll lose a lot of luggage space. If you're interested in improving your sound without turning the rear of your car into a speaker stand, there are other options.
If you're looking for a compact sub that really brings the bass, a powered subwoofer is a great choice. A powered sub gives you outstanding performance without compromising your everyday cargo-carrying needs.
For an even more subtle, space-saving solution, there's the JL Audio Stealthbox. This molded enclosure sub is custom-designed to fit neatly into the driver's side rear corner of the Corolla's trunk. It includes one 12" 2-ohm subwoofer from JL Audio. A steel-mesh grille protects the sub from flying groceries and tools, but you'll lose the factory cargo tray and cargo net when you install a Stealthbox. You'll still need to add an amplifier and the sub is rated for 100-500 watts RMS.
Shop for vehicle-specific subwoofers for your Toyota Corolla
Other options
Security: It’s relatively easy to add security or remote start to your Corolla. All connections are made under the driver’s side dash, and in the driver’s side kick panel area. The FLCAN FlashLogic module connects to your vehicle's databus interface, enabling communication with a wide variety of security systems. A Crutchfield Advisor can assist you in ordering all the equipment you need. If you don't have car audio installation experience, you should consider having this job done by a professional.
Dynamat: The Dynamat Xtreme Door Kit is the perfect way to seal in sound. This heavy-duty insulating material is easy to install, and it really makes a difference. One kit will take care of your Corolla's front doors. If you install a big sub or a Stealthbox, you might want to line the trunk lid as well.
Good, better, best
Good: If your Corolla is equipped with the 8-speaker JBL system, start by upgrading the factory radio. A better receiver will help you get the most out of the JBL speakers, which aren’t all that bad to begin with.
Better: Installing a set of component speakers up front improves your sound and lets you take advantage of the Corolla's built-in tweeter opening on the front door sail panel. For even fuller sound, install a set of full-range speakers in the rear deck. You can also replace the factory amplifier, which is located under the right front seat.
Best: Install a JL Audio Stealthbox in your Corolla's trunk and give your music the rock-solid bottom end it needs.
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• The installation hardware you’ll get free with your order
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A showcase ranging from customer systems to serious show cars
Crutchfield Writer Biography
Jon Paulette
Jon Paulette
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The Case for Taxing Frequent Flier Miles
Why aren't all frequent flier miles earned a form of taxable in-kind income?
By and SHARE
Robert Hahn is director of economics at Oxford's Smith School, chief economist at the Legatum Institute, and a senior fellow at the Georgetown Center for Business and Public Policy. Peter Passell is a senior fellow at the Milken Institute in Santa Monica and the editor of its quarterly economic policy journal, The Milken Institute Review. They cofounded, a web portal on economic regulation.
Road warriors arise! You have nothing to lose but the tax deductibility of your frequent flier miles.
Or something like that … When the airlines started doling out benefits linked to miles flown, in the late 1970s, the Internal Revenue Service took its cue from public opinion and chose not to define them as taxable, in-kind income. But as reports, the issue isn't quite dead. Nor, frankly, should it be. (No hate mail please; we already hate ourselves for being honest.)
Miles given as prizes in sweepstakes are definitely taxable—get lucky, and you'll get a Form 1099 in the mail along with the chance to fly business class to Tahiti free (or, more realistically, to Cleveland at the back of the Airbus). But a recent piece in the Los Angeles Times suggests that other mileage awards may also be taxable. Citicorp, it seems, has been sending out 1099s to customers who earn miles for opening bank accounts. And if those miles are taxable, why aren't miles for granted for opening credit card accounts—or, for that matter, for traveling on airplanes?
[Read Thomas C. Lawton: What to Expect of the American Airlines Bankruptcy]
Why not, indeed? When pressed (and pressed and pressed) by a dogged Los Angeles Times reporter, an IRS spokesperson reluctantly acknowledged that all miles awarded as new-account bonuses are, indeed, taxable—but didn't say anything about the responsibility of the vendors to report the transactions.
End of story? Not quite. Like Eve (and most economists), curiosity got the better of us. Why aren't all miles earned a form of taxable in-kind income?
The IRS has a pretty good answer: miles granted for flying or using credit cards are really just consumer rebates. Seen from this perspective, it's none of the IRS's business whether you got a $90 rebate in the mail after you bought that $900 PC, or simply paid $810 in the first place.
Well, it isn't quite that simple. If you bought the computer for business purposes and deducted the cost from your taxable income, you're supposed to report the net cost—here, $810—however you paid for it. And an awful lot of airline tickets (especially the expensive ones) are bought for business use.
[See a collection of political cartoons on the economy.]
Don't worry; nobody—certainly nobody in a position to change the IRS rules—listens to us. But set aside self-interest for a moment: Might not the world (or at least the air travel market) be a slightly better place if business-earned miles were, in fact, taxed?
To see why, consider the reasons mileage programs were invented. The very first program was set up in 1979 by little Texas International, just after air travel was deregulated; the idea was to give travelers a reason to switch from the brand name incumbents to a carrier derisively nicknamed "Tree Top Airlines." But more than one could play the game. And, ironically, in matching Texas International Airline's initiative with its own program, American found it could exploit economies of scale unavailable to the little guys.
The big airlines soon discovered that their own programs were worth more to travelers because they flew more places and could thus offer free travel to neater destinations. Who wants free seats to Philadelphia on NoNameExpress, when United and Delta were giving away first-class to Paris? Probably more important, the biggies also discovered that the programs could also help sustain brand loyalty by offering upgrades to the most frequent customers.
The consequence: frequent flier programs tended to increase concentration in the airline market and to make it more difficult for new carriers to enter the fray. Start-ups can still stay aloft—think Spirit, Sun Country, and Allegiant—but typically by exploiting a niche too small to interest the megacarriers. Jet Blue is an exception, a little carrier that lived to reach middle size. But it managed that feat by using some very clever marketing techniques, including adding then-unprecedented amenities to coach class, and staying under the radar screens of the large carriers until it had achieved viable scale.
[Read Rick Newman: 11 Business Leaders Who Profited After Failure]
So the failure to tax miles earned through business travel delivers a double whammy. First, it reduces tax revenues at a time when we can ill-afford it. And it reduces taxes in a regressive way: The biggest beneficiaries, after all, are frequent business travelers on the high end of the income spectrum. Second, it subsidizes a marketing strategy that has increased concentration in the air travel market.
Not the biggest problem confronting modern capitalism. But the next time you find yourself grumbling about the high cost of flying on a route dominated by a single airline, remember those frequent flier programs you treasure helped make the display of market power possible. Yes (once again) we have met the enemy—and he is us.
• Read the U.S. News debate on the flat tax.
• See a collection of political cartoons on the budget and deficit
• Washington Whispers: Government is Taxing Your Valentine | [] |
I started watching The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya and i now love KyonHaruhi. Anyway. It's my first Melancholy fic... kinda fluffy. underlined flashbacks, italics thoughts.
Kyon came home that night to find her asleep on the couch. She was wearing a far too big and long strapless black dress. Though the dress was more like a blanket on her, and the room kind of cold, she slept quite well. Her chestnut hair was put up in a messy bun with a little tiara placed chop center.
The site made him smile.
I almost forget how cute you are when you sleep, He thought, before wondering who did her makeup that evening. Then, he thought about why she was wearing what she wore. It was true that, he did leave her to go to the dance with someone else, even when she begged him not toHowever, he didn't know she'd make that big of a deal about it. Well, at least I can do one thing for you this evening. He thought as he gently put his arms under her body, and thinking about before he left...
"Please don't go!!" She said, well, half sobbed.
"I'm sorry, but I have to." He replied.
"Do you love her more than me now?" She asked, pleadingly, hoping to rise some guilt in him. He instead, went to her and gently placed his hands on her shoulders. "What about mmme?"
"You know I love you more than anyone or anything in this world. " He said, somewhat reducing the tears in her eyes, but a still sad look stayed.
"Are you gonna come back for me?" She said, playing the dress she was wearing.
"Of course I'm going to come back silly." He said playfully, "How could I not come back to you." He looked at his watch. "I love you." He said, kissing her forehead and then leaving.
As he carried her, he was wondering how much she meant to him. She was the one who made him , "Kyon" She was also the one who made little notes all over his homework and the one who picked up the phone and called someone, revealing how much he really liked her. But, she was always there for him. They'd known eachother, yet never really understood what eachother was thinking. I wonder when she fell asleep. He wondered, slowly reaching up to her room, and taking off her dress.
He had dressed her in her pajamas and tucked her in, knowing that she'd probably be a little explosion come morning. But he didn't care because, it was these moments that made him truely appreciate her. Then, since what he thought was forever, he kissed her on the cheeck and placed her bear next to her. "I said I'd come back for you, hime"
"You never call me that, Kyon." He turned around to find the other girl in his life standing in the doorway.
"How long have you been standing there? " He whispered. And how did you get in my house?
"Long enough." She came into the room and snaked her arms slightly around his waist. "She really is a sight to see when she sleeps." She said sweetly, before grabbing something out of her jacket pocket and taking pictures
"What the-WHat are you doing?" He almost broke his whisper barrier by trying to take away her camera. "She's asleep! It's not right!"
"You didn't mind Mikuru taking your picture in your sleep." She taunted.
"But that was a long time ago." He said with the same amount of taunt, then they saw that the reigning sleeping beauty, wasn't asleep anymore.
"What's going on?" the newly awake girl asked still sleeply. She yawned and fell back asleep as they were trying to contemplate an answer.
"Well, I better walk you back home." He said.
"Why do you have to walk me?" She asked.
"Because I can" He answered.
"Okay, but we better not leave your princess waiting." She pouted. Kyon almost laughed.
"Haruhi, are you jealous?" He asked mockingly. "Because, she might be my princess, but " He snuck up in her ear, "But you're my queen."
"Don't make me throw up" She mock threatened, then joined their lips. They stayed like that until about maybe eight to ten seconds. Then the clock struck midnight. "Well, let's go then."
"Whatever...Cinderella." He said, making her pout again.
"Hey, I'm no damsel in distress."
"No need to disagree there." They left for the door.
"Well, I guess I can share my prince..." She agreed. Then paused and sighed in somewhat defeat
"Even if it is with his sister."
Yay! R&R please. plus, my reasoning for this was cuz, there arent' enough stories with Kyon's little sister in it, and she's so CUTE!!!!!!!!!!! | [] |
Team Natsu
Team Natsu is a anime/manga concept
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Natsu and Happy got along with Lucy they decided to keep the team together. Later Gray and Erza join the team to stop a Dark Guild from killing the guild masters. In the end, after the events of Phanthom they all decided to remain together as a team. Sometimes they are called the "strongest team" in Fairy Tail, seeing as how all the members are very strong and have great teamwork. The formation of this team causes great fear for Makarov, seeing as how all the members are very strong in their own right, both the council and Makarov fear that they might actually destroy an entire city.
General Information Edit
Concept Name Team Natsu
Japanese Name: チーム夏
Romaji Name: Chīmu natsu
1st manga book: Fairy Tail #2
1st anime episode: Fairy Tail #5
1st anime movie:
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Comment: Re:So a fake pub with drinks and a place to sit (Score 1) 118
by Another, completely (#46283781) Attached to: Fake Pub Studies Drinking Habits
I'm guessing it depends on the nature of the interaction.
Anyone can listen to nearby conversations and form opinions, but that's not the same as conducting a study. If someone associated with a university tries to publish results from a study without signed permission from all participants, the university ethics board will not just frown. Tenure might save you, but students and assistant professors are in trouble. This is taken very seriously.
Comment: Re:What about the windows only software? and offic (Score 3, Interesting) 116
And you think Word does that? If you are going to write a doctoral thesis in Word, then you have my pity starting out. With LaTeX, you have a formatting area at the front, your references in a nice separate bibliography file, and most of your document is just the text you have written. Setting up a master document that includes separate documents for each chapter, allowing cross-referencing, a single bibliography, and a table of contents is possible in Word, but it's dead simple in LaTeX.
Setting it up in the first place may take a little looking into, but building a master document in Word isn't intuitive either. If it takes more than a day to get your basic file structure sorted, then you aren't trying. It's three or four years of your life that you will be writing this thing. If the format guidelines change during that time, you can fix it in one place (in fact, some procrastinating student will probably build a fresh style file to share so you don't even need to fix it yourself). How long would it take you in Word to change the margins or line-spacing for a multi-chapter document? What about copying formatted text from a research paper you just finished, keeping all the figure references and citations, but in your university format instead of the journal publisher's?
I'm in business now, and use Word and Excel regularly because that's the de facto standard. Every time I need to re-format anything in Word I wish I just had to edit LaTeX instead. It's just simpler. In the long run, it will save you time and agony.
Comment: Re:Cloning sucks. (Score 1) 156
by Another, completely (#45957183) Attached to: Chinese Firm Can Now Produce 500 Cloned Pigs Per Year
In other news, cloning is fun to know how to do, but totally worthless because it has no valid applications.
You left out the cloning to eliminate most variables when you give an experimental medical treatment to one animal but not to another. I'm surprised you thought about cloning sex slaves before getting to that one.
Comment: Maybe the line is moving (Score 4, Insightful) 304
Could this be because it's easier to get diagnosed with diabetes, COPD, or other non-healthy conditions than it was in 2002? I've heard enough anecdotal evidence to make me ask the question, but it would be nice to see a study. How many people who were considered healthy in 2002 could visit a doctor in 2013 and be declared unhealthy, and how does that fraction vary by country? Unless an article can control for that variable, the other numbers don't really mean much.
Comment: Re: Whatever (Score 1) 95
by Another, completely (#45376385) Attached to: Physicists Smash Record For Wave-Particle Duality
The equation is irrelevant. The Chelonian Uncertainty Principle demonstrates that the more accurately you know the momentum of a turtle, the less accurately you know its position. Since any usefully accurate value for its quantum wavelength would need very high accuracy for its momentum, you would never be able to find the turtle for which you had made your calculations, especially since they can look just like little rocks under the water and are naturally given to hiding.
The Turtle Moves!
Comment: Re:The Type (Score 1) 336
by Another, completely (#45365735) Attached to: Elementary School Bans Students From Touching Each Other
parent who should never have been allowed to have children
I was unaware you needed a license for that. Or did you mean to imply procreation should be regulated - perhaps by you?
Wish I could remember what movie it's from: "There should be a test before people can become parents. Beyond the practical, I mean."
Comment: Re:what about freeze tag? (Score 1) 336
by Another, completely (#45365641) Attached to: Elementary School Bans Students From Touching Each Other
Oh - it is also a big no-no for them to make the "gun sign" (point your finger like a gun). This includes anything that even slightly resembles making the gun sign (like making the "L" for loser sign on your forehead).
Certainly wouldn't want anyone to think you were doing something as dangerous as making a finger-gun sign when you were just engaging in the traditionally constructive stigmatization of school colleagues as losers who deserve an identifying tattoo on their forehead to protect society from accidentally interacting with their feeble selves. Catching a glimpse of a mimed gun might lead to emotional problems later in life, so it's best to clamp down on such foolishness.
by Another, completely (#45347625) Attached to: Why There Shouldn't Be a Chess World Champion
Damn! I've been out of the country for a long time, and haven't followed baseball, but the Expos moved to Washington D.C.?
Why do I need to learn about things this way? Now it really is the "National" league that it always claimed to be, leaving the "American" league the old "North America" excuse.
The amount of beauty required launch 1 ship = 1 Millihelen | [] |
Take the 2-minute tour ×
Using Google Chrome, web pages are opening up in a very small window in the center of the screen (like a cheap do-it-yourself web page)...so small that I can't even see an entire video (the whole right side is cut off). I have accessed Hulu, CNN, and others...same thing. As much as I hate IE, I have been forced to use it instead just to see the web pages accurately. Any help is appreciated.
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Can you provide us a screenshot? – FiveO Jan 23 '13 at 21:17
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2 Answers
If you are having the latest version of Chrome, then you are using the latest version of flash player from Adobe. Check out if your zoom level is set to 100%. Does this happen with every site you visit ?
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You might need to update flash player for chrome. You can do this at adobe's website or an eisier way would be to use ninite.com. Go to www.ninite.com and scroll down until you see "flash player". Check the box and scroll to the bottom and choose get installer. I had a problem like that before and flash update was the key.
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Jeremiah 8:22 HNV/NIV - Online Parallel Bible
Hebrew Names Version (HNV) New International Version (NIV)
22 Is there no balm in Gil`ad? is there no physician there? why then isn't the health of the daughter of my people recovered? 22 Is there no balm in Gilead? Is there no physician there? Why then is there no healing for the wound of my people? | [] |
Domestic Leagues Roundup
Angel McCoughtry (Fenerbahce)
Angel McCoughtry led the way for Fenerbahce with 20 points and nine rebounds
Fenerbahce have the upper hand in their Turkish Finals showdown with Galatasaray after beating their rivals in Game One.
In a battle of sides that competed at the EuroLeague Women Final Eight, Angel McCoughtry had 20 points and grabbed nine rebounds to lead Fener to a 75-69 victory.
Both sides are without key players.
Cappie Pondexter, who wasn't able to play during the Final Eight for Fener because of the limits on foreign players, is able to play in the domestic league and she had 17 points in the victory over Galatasaray.
Birsel Vardarli, Turkey's outstanding national team point guard, poured in 14 points for Fener.
The 2011 FIBA Europe Women's Player of the Year Alba Torrens of Spain was lost earlier this season to a knee injury, and Fener also lost Penny Taylor during the Final Eight to a torn ACL.
Wisla Can-Pack Krakow played at the Final Eight in Istanbul and they have a 2-0 lead against Energa Torun in the Polish League Semi-Finals.
Jose Hernandez's side romped to a 74-69 win in the opener and on Thursday rolled to an 82-54 triumph.
4. Alena Hanusová (Frisco Brno)
Frisco Brno's Czech international Alena Hanusová had 25 points in the last game of the semi-final series with Trutnov
In the second win, Wisla out-rebounded Energa Torun 42-27 and shot 55% (26 of 47) inside the arc.
"It is 2-0 (lead) and we need one more victory, but we still have another tough game because the difference between these teams is not as clear as the results showed," Hernandez said.
CCC Polkowice also have a 2-0 lead in their last-four clash with Lotos Gdynia.
In Thursday's 76-66 triumph, point guard Sharnee Zoll led a balanced scoring attack with 12 points.
EuroLeague Women outfits USK Prague and Frisco Brno will square off for the Czech ZBL title after sweeping their respective Semi-Final series.
Brno completed a 3-0 victory over Trutnov with a 70-57 win.
Czech international Alena Hanusova had 25 points and Sweden's Farhiya Abdi 24 for Brno in that third victory.
Prague, the defending champions, beat their city rivals Prague University 79-65 in Game Three after getting 18 points from the Czech star Katerina Elhotova and 17 from Delisha Milton-Jones.
They also have a Sweden international in Frida Eldebrink, and she contributed 14 points.
UMMC Ekaterinburg Complete Sweep28.04.2012
Dominguez Heads West27.04.2012
Domestic Leagues Roundup27.04.2012
Prague In Command; Italian Upsets19.04.2012
Domestic League Play-Offs Roundup18.04.2012
Fener Closing In On Turkish Title16.04.2012
Roundup: Pondexter Linked With Fener19.12.2011 | [] |
So, vs Elise top, what exactly are you supposed to do aside from roaming early?
#1o__-Posted 4/26/2013 4:06:16 AM
If I build mres, she builds sorc shoes/liandry's/void staff; it's almost entirely wasted since there is no good mres itemization and who else cares about mres, their support?
Building health is basically just investing in my midgame, because it does **** all in lane.
I can't build damage and just trade better than her because then she just builds tanky ap and kills me anyway.
It's like the only counterplay to Elise is to stay out of lane or have your jungler on permanent standby.
#2BlueJonelethPosted 4/26/2013 4:20:21 AM
Elise top is really a pain,
I think the best way is to take a champ with a lot of sustain like Vlad or Yorick.
Or you can play Galio top.
#3ToumeiPosted 4/26/2013 4:24:29 AM
Vlad isn't really much good there either, Elise outranges and out-pokes him.
Plus he's pretty much guaranteed useless post-6 when Elise starts rappelling for your pool/ult.
<br /><br />
#4John_DanePosted 4/26/2013 4:33:30 AM
Yeah, I've never been able to counter Elise. She's kinda OP if you ask me. Those spiders are impossible to avoid, she'll poke you to death, or jump on you. You just have to keep your distance and wait for a gank.
#5Susan0Posted 4/26/2013 4:59:31 AM
Get GP/10?
Last hit under tower?
Or man up and rush her, forcing her out of lane with sheer willpower?!
Akali is mai Waifu desu~
#6VrrrooomPosted 4/26/2013 5:01:58 AM
It's kinda impossible to fight Elise early so I just shove my lane so she's forced to fight minions at her tower instead of killing me. Then I just go and farm golems/wolves, roam mid and just wait for jungler help :o)
#7Doc_MPosted 4/26/2013 5:05:00 AM
I'm pretty sure sustain is the route most people go. Your goal is to make her go OOM before you get low enough for her to all in you for a kill. I think your other real option is someone who can all in very well. I think Renekton might be a good choice. Your Q should keep you high enough and your ult and a red pot will be enough to bait her into an all in that she loses.
"Life is a sexually transmitted disease"
#8Seiten_TaisenPosted 4/26/2013 5:12:38 AM
How does kha zix fare? I have yet to meet an Elise top so far.
#9MizunoRyuuPosted 4/26/2013 5:21:40 AM
Buy Health Regen. I personally find Eleisa's Miracle to be an absolute Godsend when dealing with Elise, but most champs don't really benefit from it. You could also get an early Emblem of Valor if your Support isn't going for Aegis. Otherwise, anyone with a shield can deal with her effectively. Shen has both a shield and good regen, so he's a decent choice against her.
Evelynn is my waifu.
Help... Me...
#10sabeta_samaPosted 4/26/2013 5:49:50 AM
If you're an aggressive laner like Riven; then get Hexdrinker and Sorc Shoes.
The MR+Spellshield will allow you win trades or score a kill.
Official Gardevoir of the Pokemon X Message Boards | [] |
Wounds of Filth
Chapter 10(?): Spin, Hourglass, Spin
By: DeathIsOnlyTheBeginin
DISCLAIMER: I dont own Teen Titans...Though I wishI did...because then, the show would have never been cancled.
Apology: My dear, sweet, loving...wanting to murder me Fans...I'm so very sorry for not updating and for the fact that this chapter is so short. It's just that school is...really tuff right now...and I have to really focus...so yes, life is a trial. I hope to add another chapter very soon though! I just had to throw this up for the moment because people are questioning the pairing in this story...it IS a Raven/Robin. Period. No exceptions. I just, like Red X and he seems misunderstood to me so yea...anyway, on with the story.
(Enjoy! Read and Review Please!)
...An hourglass spun within space, its sand a deep azure brilliance...
An epiphany of horror seized Raven's heart as ebony power laced about her body; it crept across her skin, quickly wrapping about her, consuming her within darkness.
She tossed her head back, plum waves of hair cascading down her back in long strands, her eyes stretched wide and staring; darkness advanced, filling her senses with the stench of death. The black slithered around her tighter, sneaking up to caress her face and weave through her tresses, causing the small hairs on the back of her neck to prickle; it dove past the pupils of her eyes, poured into her mouth, winded through her nostrils until she could sense nothing but bitter oblivion; the echoing thunder of her panicked heart began to sound loudly in her ears.
...Small, lovely grains of the blue sand tumbled through the slim middle and down, into the bottom...
Raven thrived and thrashed, the power rushing into her veins and circling throughout her body, leaving her with nothing more than the hollow pain of hopelessness. She screamed and listened as the sound echoed back to her, ricocheting off the magical walls of her imprisonment. She shook her head, the power submerging her until the only thing visible was herself, trapped within a cocoon of darkness; her heart accelerated, the raging blood flow hammering through her temples.
...The hourglass began to glow softly, more specks of sand trickling down into the bottom...
Her joints hitched and whined, her knuckles cracking as the fingers bent backwards in the wrong direction. Her spine twisted, her toes unhinged, her lungs crippled. Raven cried out once again, tears streaking down her cheeks, the icons of pain quickly devoured by black.
She glanced down at her ruined hands, horrified to find that the ebony of her torture was leaking from her very own palms; the quick, deep, thumping melody of her heart slowly increased in volume, until all she could hear was it's echoed drumming.
...The sand began to pour faster. The glowing began to shine brighter. The owner's life began to drain faster...
Raven's eyes slammed shut as her spine snapped in several places, her torso falling backwards towards the calves of her legs. Her knees bent in a way that defied the laws of physics, her shoulders fell from their sockets, her ankles broke, her jaw pulled away from its hinges; Her rib cage splintered as the power raging within her flesh compressed them with an iron fist, tighter and tighter. The pained pumping, the horrendous pressure, the blood rallying pace, all ceased slowly, forcing Raven into an eerily calm panic; the world around her deafened as quickly as though she had dove under water, her vision growing blurry. She closed her eyes and waited, waited for the end she knew was coming; her heart stopped.
...The final, sad, whisper of sand slowly began its descend to the bottom, its small body desperately attempting to stay within the top; all and all, it failed...
One final, short whine sounded and then, all was quiet.
Brown, bloodshot eyes stared down at a sea of lavender, the tresses framing a beautiful face of unconsciousness. The glaring lights over head drained her fair complexion of even more color than usual, the gray demeanor of the Tower's infirmary emitting a sharp chill to seep from each sterile wall to the other. Robin shivered and lifted the blanket from his lap, unfolded it, and draped it over his sleeping teammate. The others had gone off to bed some time ago and he had volunteered to stay with Raven; he wanted to be around when she woke up.
He glanced at the buzzing machinery surrounding him, losing himself in their harmonious hum. Thoughts of Slade twirled within his mind; Why give her back? Didn't her father need her? It didn't make any sense. Raven stirred in her sleep and Robin's gaze snapped back to her. He remembered thinking about how much guilt would be lifted from his shoulders once they found her; it had only gotten worse.
Raven tossed beneath her covers, whimpering and whining in pain. Her eyelids wrinkled and she groaned, her limbs beginning to thrash about violently. Robin jumped to his feet at instant alert and reached over, locking her wrists in his hands and restraining them against the hospital bed. Raven cried out, tears sneaking past the kohl lashes of her sleeping eyes; one of the machines to Robin's left gave a loud hiss before bursting, smoke recoiling up into the air from its broken machinery.
"Raven." He spoke loudly, attempting to rouse her from sleep.
She sobbed loudly and her head jolted to the right, short violet hair catching in the corners of her mouth. Robin groaned low in his throat as one of her knees shot up and landed him one in the stomach. With ease, he swung one knee over her quickly and set it atop the bed sheets on her far side, his upper strength pulling himself up onto the bed. With a groan, he tugged her away from the bed and shook her.
"Raven, wake up!"
With yet another whine, she pulled her wrists from his grasp and flung her arms around his neck. She unconsciously sobbed into his shirt, clumps of his gaudy costume clasped in her fingers. Robin blankly stared at the door, one knee on each side of Raven's thighs. She hiccupped softly still wrapped within the essence of her dreams.
"...help me...Robin...please..."
His eyebrows peeked in worry and he slowly slid his arms around her waist, "Raven."
She buried her face in the hollow of his neck and sobbed brokenly, "...Robin..."
Robin rubbed her back forcefully in an area without wounds, trying, once again, to wake her from her nightmare. She continued to cry, her muscles tensing as her fingers released his shirt and dug into his back. Robin mentally winced.
"Raven, wake up. I'm alright."
He spoke more loudly than before and her crying hitched, soon halting altogether. She pulled back slightly, her lavender eyes red rimmed, puffy, and searching for something Robin feared he had no answer for. She swallowed and looked down at her arms, noting the bandaging; the work of Robin himself. She looked down and frowned distastefully at her attire forgetting about the shameful wetness upon her cheeks; Raven did not do undersized tank tops or shorts...and she definitely did not do pink. Robin caught the look on her face and chuckled,
"It was the only outfit we could put you that made bandaging easy."
Raven sent him a fake glare but he simply smiled, noting the lack of energy behind her eyes.
"You should sleep."
She nodded her head and immediately regretted doing so, a horrible headache erupting in her temples.
She winced and allowed her arms to fall to her sides; Robin hesitated in the removal of his own for a moment, his eyes questioning her own. Raven's inquired back, silence; he sighed in frustration before pulling her back to his chest. He held her for a long moment, breathing and listening to her breathe. Raven simply stared, wide-eyed at the wall, before lifting her arms and wrapping them loosely back around his shoulders.
"Don't do it again."
"What are yo-"
"Don't fall behind again. Stay where I can see you...from now on."
Raven nodded softly against his shoulder, wondering vaguely about this new, odd display of the Wonder Boy's affections. His hug tightened,
"God, Raven, we were so worried..."
She closed her eyes, "I know."
"No," Robin stated softly, "You don't. We couldn't...I couldn't...I just...Raven, I-"
"Shh, Robin," Raven whispered, her arms tightening as well, "I really do know."
Robin swallowed and nodded, burring his face in her shoulder and breathing her in. He didn't want to tell her, but she had almost bled to death while sleeping. They had almost lost her. He had almost lost her. His eyebrows knitted in grief; why hadn't he realized how much she meant to him until she was stolen? He felt his throat tighten and he sighed into her violet hair.
During those few hours, in which they didn't know if her healing abilities would sustain her life for very much longer, he had nearly killed himself with his own guilt, the two bird's past stirring within the gist of it. He had remembered how they used to bicker about things and yet he had always secretly understood her reasons. He had thought of how she had a way of understanding him at times when he didn't even understand himself; he felt sickened with himself for never thanking her. He recalled the dark times of his life in which she attempted to help him, even when he didn't want it.
In fact, she had always given him her help, asked for or not, refused or not. He had never noticed how much she gave him, not until he had almost lost her...forever; the thought caused his stomach to flip nastily.
Raven sighed softly, stirring him from his reminiscing. Robin slowly released her and pulled back,
"I'm sorry. You should be resting."
Raven shook her head and monotoned, "Don't worry about it."
Robin nodded and climbed back off the bed, "Right...well, rest up. We're going to be needing you back on the team soon."
Raven smiled in reply and he returned the gesture, pressing his palm against the electronic pad and walking through. The door swooshed closed behind him and Raven's face saddened; she couldn't afford...this...whatever this was. She couldn't allow him to get hurt. She shook her head, wincing as her head began to scream at her. With a soft groan, she lifted her white sheets and crawled beneath them. She sighed and closed her eyes, using the last wisps of her power to shut the lights off; the room plunged into instant darkness.
For writers everywhere, I just want to give a heads up to ANYONE who reads any really old story by me and then feels the need to leave a ridiculous, anon review and rant like some child about how dreadful they think it is - I don't care what you think about anything, so don't waste my time. I'm just going to delete your flame anyway, so you might as well not bother to leave it - however, if you must insist upon posting one, I wish you happiness in your futility.
That being said, if you flame - SIGN IN instead of just popping on here like some coward and trying to rip me up over something I wrote AGES ago (ha!). If you flame and then refuse to sign in and offer up your own writing to back your mouth up, keep your mouth closed. I wrote this story 6 years ago. It's an old, amateur, raw piece of work, and I know that. I was only 14 when I started it - but for 14, I did a damn good job.
It's comical that you think you can judge someone's writing capabilities on the shortcomings of their 6-year-old pieces of work - honestly, that just cracks me up. You should know that despite your high opinion of yourself and your obvious belief that I need your "expertise", I'm just laughing at you. I do not need your praise or acknowledgment to validate myself as a writer, and I don't need your dimwitted, ignorant advice. I write very well and I know it. God bless. | [] |
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The "wheat and chessboard" fable describes a geometric problem that is often quoted in stories about the invention of chess. According to Wikipedia, the main theme of the fable is:
When the creator of the game of chess (in some tellings an ancient Indian mathematician, in others a legendary dravida vellalar named Sessa or Sissa) showed his invention to the ruler of the country, the ruler was so pleased that he gave the inventor the right to name his prize for the invention. The man, who was very wise, asked the king this: that for the first square of the chess board, he would receive one grain of wheat (in some tellings, rice), two for the second one, four on the third one, and so forth, doubling the amount each time. The ruler, arithmetically unaware, quickly accepted the inventor's offer, even getting offended by his perceived notion that the inventor was asking for such a low price, and ordered the treasurer to count and hand over the wheat to the inventor. However, when the treasurer took more than a week to calculate the amount of wheat, the ruler asked him for a reason for his tardiness. The treasurer then gave him the result of the calculation, and explained that it would take more than all the assets of the kingdom to give the inventor the reward. The story ends with the inventor becoming the new king. (In other variations of the story the king punishes the inventor.)
In some variations, wheat is replaced by rice.
What are the origins of the fable? More specifically, and since chances are the fable was passed down through oral tradition, what are the earliest recorded instances of it?
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Martin Gardner? :) – DVK Dec 18 '12 at 18:53
What does not convince you in the answer below? – astabada Jan 14 '13 at 13:11
@astabada Your answer is great, and I've already upvoted it, but I generally avoid rushing to accept answers, it severely limits the visibility of the question (and its answers). – Yannis Rizos Jan 14 '13 at 14:21
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2 Answers
up vote 16 down vote accepted
If the following seems too long, you can directly jump at the end for the conclusion ins the TL;DR section.
I'm not an historian and (almost) everything I tell below comes from internet research. More precisely, the whole stuff I tell below finds its source in various articles by the assyriologist Jens Høyrup.
The king and the chess board in Indian and Islamic tradition
This legend is very common and universal, I remember my father telling me this story in Paris the 1980's. Less anecdotally, Stith Thompson gives a place to this motif in his folktales-motif index (Z21.1).
Georges Ifrah tells a variant of it in his Universal history of numbers [3,4], where the king's accountant does not manage to compute the doubling because he uses an abacus, which makes these big numbers impractical. The wise man was then the the only one able to count how many grains of wheat were needed, because he used the 10 digits of what we now call the Hindu-Arabic numeral system. Chess and Hindu-Arabic numerals where both find their origins in India in the middle-ages, and both followed the same Persian route towards the Islamic empire, there association in this mathematically themed legend might point to the origin of this 64 doubling problem.
According to [2], the last chapter Abu'l-Hasan al-Uqlidisi book on arithmetic with Hindu numeral is On Doubling One, Sixty-Four times. This book was probably written in 952. Apparently, Al-Khwārizmī, who died a century earlier, wrote a (lost ?) treaties on the question. Jens Høyrup states in [2] that
[this] tale is found in various Islamic writers from the 9th century onwards; he mentions a text by al Ya'qubi, [2, note 30].
This text should be older than Firdowsi's text mentioned in astabada's answer. Given the association of the number 64 and the chessboard, older versions of this legend might be found in Indian texts between the 6th and the 9th century.
However, as seen below, this story has much older roots.
A variant of an older mathematical folktale: the 30 doubling problem
Something I find interesting, is that popular these doubling problems/riddles/tales appear only in two forms: either one doubles 64 times, or one doubles 30 times. This observation has already be made by al-Uqlidsi in 952:
This is a question many people ask. Some ask about doubling one 30 times, and others ask about doubling it 64 times.
This implies that all these tales are somehow related, and that cannot be interpreted as independent discovery of the exponential progression! Furthermore, the variant with 64 doubling only appears quite late, at a time were the chessboard (and hindu-arabic numerals) existed. Furthermore, the "obvious" relation between 30 and the length of a month seems to only appear lately, so it is probably not the source of the number 30.
And actually, the 30 doubling problems, with other recreational mathematical problems are spread over a vast area, from western Europe to China and [1,2] following [5] attributes it to:
the community of traders and merchants interacting along the Silk Road, the combined caravan and sea route reaching from China to Cadiz.
(I have no access to ref [5] which is long book in German, but I'd like to!)
The narration around these 30 doubling problems is often different than the chessboard tale, except maybe for the earliest. I'll give here some examples in reverse chronological order.
21st century CE: Today's version, still alive!
If you search for "double a penny", you'll find that the modern avatars of the old "community of trader" still propagate the same story. The narrative round these two examples correspond exactly with the proposed context in Høyrup's paper!
8th century: Carolingian Europe's king's problem
The 13th problem Carolingian recreational mathematics treaty Propositiones ad Acuendos Juvenes (en: Problems to Sharpen the Young), maybe due to Alcuin, has a very different tale to this 30 doubling problem :
The Latin version, from Vikifons (i.e. latin wikisource).
Quidam rex iussit famulo suo colligere de XXX uillis exercitum, eo modo, ut ex unaquaque uilla tot homines sumeret, quotquot illuc adduxisset. Ipse tamen ad uillam primam solus uenit; ad secundam cum altero; iam ad tertiam tres uenerunt. Dicat, qui potest, quot homines fuissent collecti de XXX uillis.
• Solutio*
In prima igitur mansione duo fuerunt; in secunda IIII, in tertia VIII, in quarta XVI, in quinta XXXII, in sexta LXIIII, in septima CXXVIII, in octaua CCLVI, in nona DXII, in decima ¬I XXIIII, in undecima ¬I¬I XLVIII, in duodecima ¬I¬I¬I¬I XCVI, in quarta decima ¬X¬V¬I CCCLXXXIIII. In quinta decima ¬X¬X¬X¬I¬I DCCLXVIII, etc.
Its English translation, by J. J. O'Connor and E. F. Robertson, at the MacTutor history of mathematics archive is:
13. Puzzle of the king's army.
A king ordered his servant to collect an army from 30 villages as follows: He should bring back from each successive village as many men as he had taken there. The servant went to the first village alone; he went with one other man to the second village; he went with three other men to the third village. How many men were collected from the 30 villages.
(I don't reproduce their modern solution.)
1st century (CE or BCE): a Ptolemaic papyrus in Egypt
In [6] Jöran Friberg (de.wiki,publications) mentions the Ptolemaic papyrus P. IFAO 88 transcribed here. This manuscript simply corresponds to the calculations (with a mistake !) of 30 doubling of 5 (ε) copper drachma (either a monetary unit (like the modern penny above) or a weight unit.)
Jöran Friberg speculates The presence of this text in Egypt might be connected with with the medieval chess legend, since the Egyptian game of Senet has 30 squares. However, it is only a speculation, and as much as I would like to read about an Egyptian legend involving a Pharaoh, the inventor of the game of Senet, and single grain of wheat doubled at each square, I'm not ready bet a few grains of wheat for the finding of such a papyrus !
As noticed by Jöran Friberg, this text is also parallel to a much older texts, where the smallest weight unit is called a barley-corn (see below).
18th century BCE: an Old Babylonian cuneiform tablet from Mari
The oldest written source of the 30 doubling problem is the cuneiform tablet M 08613, from the first half of the 18th century BCE (according to the middle chronology). This tablet is heavily discussed in [1,2,6]. As the Ptolemaic papyrus, this tablet only contains the computation of 30 successive doubling of a small weight unit (~0.05 g). However, this time, the unit is litterally called a "barley-corn". The text starts this way (translation from [here]((http://www.cdli.ucla.edu/P390441)
A barley-corn: to a single barley-corn I increased, 2 barley-corns in the 1st day; 4 barley-corns in the 2nd day; 8 barley-corns in the 3rd day;
and so on (including the unit changes and various problems and errors linked to Mari's specific centesimal/sexagesimal number system). It ends at the reverse of the tablet with
1 ‘thousand’ 3 ‘hundred’ 48 talents 30 minas 16 1/6 shekels 2 barley-corns in the 29th day; 2 ‘thousand’ 7 ‘hundred’ 37 talents 1/2 mina 2 1/3 shekels 4 barley-corns in the 30th day.
If I understand correctly the comments ‘thousand’ should in fact be read as sexagesimal 600, and ‘hundred’ as sexagesimal 60. Any way, the final weight corresponds to slightly less than 50 tons. It is likely that this computation was linked with a narrative, but the fable has not be found (yet).
Høyrup explains that the position of Mari, as well as the originality in style of this tablet (it's not a standard scribe exercise) makes the connection with a merchant's tradition likely.
TL;DR: The answer to your question
To make long story short. Your questions were:
My (or in fact Høyrup's and Friberg's) answer is:
• The origin of the fable can be traced back to the 18th century BCE in Mesopotamia.
• Computations related to the fable are recorded in the cuneiform tablet M 08613 which is the earliest instance of it.
• This tale was transmitted, along with other mathematical riddles along the silk road on a wide area, ranging from western Europe to China. It was probably transmitted by merchants, and various modern versions are still alive on the internet.
1. Jens Høyrup, Sub-Scientific Mathematics. Observations on a Pre-Modern Phenomenon. History of Science 28 (1990), 63–86. It can be found at page 394 of this big pdf file.
2. The Formation of «Islamic Mathematics». Sources and Conditions. Science in Context 1 (1987), 281–329. pdf
3. George Ifrah, Universal History of Numbers: From Prehistory to the Invention of the Computer. Translated by David Bellos, E.F. Harding, Sophie Wood and Ian Monk. Harville Press, London, 1998 (ISBN 978-1860463242).
4. George Ifrah, Histoire universelle des chiffres, 2nd edition. (Seghers, puis Bouquins, Robert Laffont, 1994)
5. Tropfke, J./Vogel, Kurt, et al, 1980. Geschichte der Elementarmathematik. 4. Auflage. Band 1: Arithmetik und Algebra. Vollständig neu bearbeitet von Kurt Vogel, Karin Reich, Helmuth Gericke. Berlin & New York: W. de Gruyter.
6. Jöran Friberg (2005) Unexpected Links between Egyptian and Babylonian Mathematics, World Scientific, Singapore (Reviewed by José Barrios Garcia, Metascience (2007) 16:295-298) isbn:981-256-328-8, Chapter 1: Two Curious Mathematical Cuneiform Texts from Old Babylonian Mari (830 KB)
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I just found here an unsourced Indian version, but with 30 doublings jwilson.coe.uga.edu/EMT668/EMAT6680.F99/Martin/… – Frédéric Grosshans Jun 7 '13 at 15:41
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The earliest record (I have) found (searching the Internet) is the Persian Book Shahnameh, of which I know nothing more than the Wikipedia entry:
The Shahnameh or Shah-nama (Persian: شاهنامه Šāhnāmeh, "The Book of Kings") is a long epic poem written by the Persian poet Ferdowsi between c. 977 and 1010 AD and is the national epic of Iran and related societies. Consisting of some 60,000 verses, the Shahnameh tells mainly the mythical and to some extent the historical past of (Greater) Iran from the creation of the world until the Islamic conquest of Persia in the 7th century.
Incidentally, it might be interesting to know for western ignorant folk (like me) that this book was "pivotal in reviving Persian language after the Arabic infulence". Back on topic, because I do not have a copy of it at hand, I relied on a random website for the translation of the relevant passage, as reported in Yalom's book [7] (pages 4-5):
The Persian epic Book of Kings (Shah-nameh), written by the great poet Firdausi (c. 935–1020), gives an amusing account of how chess made its way from India to Persia. As the story goes, in the sixth century the raja of India sent the shah a chess set made of ivory and teak, telling him only that the game was "an emblem of the art of war," and challenging the shah's wise men to figure out the moves of the individual pieces. Of course, to the credit of the Persians (this being a Persian story), one of them was able to complete this seemingly impossible assignment. The shah then bettered the raja by rapidly inventing the game of "nard" (a predecessor of backgammon), which he sent back to India with the same challenge. Despite its simplicity relative to chess, the intricacies of nard stumped the raja's men. This intellectual gambling proved to be extremely costly for the raja, who was obliged to pay a heavy toll: two thousand camels carrying "Gold, camphor, ambergris, and aloe-wood,/As well as raiment, silver, pearls, and gems,/With one year's tribute, and dispatched it all/From his court to the portal of the Shah."
Another story in the Shah-nameh tells how chess was originally invented. In this tale, an Indian queen was distraught over the enmity between her two sons, Talhand and Gav, half brothers with respective claims to the throne. When she heard that Talhand had died in warfare, she had every reason to think Gav had killed him. The sages of the kingdom, the tale has it, developed the chessboard to recreate the battle, and show the queen clearly that Talhand had died of battle fatigue, rather than at his brother's hands. The Persian term shah mat, used in this episode, eventually came down to us as "check mate," which literally means "the king was dumbfounded," though it is often translated as "the king died."
The Shah-nameh version of the birth of chess vied with another popular legend in which a man named Sissa ibn Dahir invented the game for an Indian king, who admired it so much that he had chessboards placed in all the Hindu temples. Wishing to reward Sissa, the king told him to ask for anything he desired. Sissa replied, "Then I wish that one grain of wheat shall be put on the first square of the chessboard, two on the second, and that the number of grains shall be doubled until the last square is reached: whatever the quantity this might be, I desire to receive it." When the king realized that all the wheat in the world would not suffice, he commended Sissa for formulating such a wish and pronounced it even more clever than his invention of chess.
Another source [8], also discusses this legend, and the earliest recorded occurence is again in Firdausi. However the author speculates about the earlier development of the theme. According to al-Masudi's early history of India, shatranj, or chess
was inventend under an Indian king, who expressed his preference for this game over backgammon. [...] The Indians, he adds, also calculated an arithmetical progression with the squares of the chessboard. [...] The early fondness of the Indians for enormous calculations [9] is well known to students of their mathematics, and is exemplified in the writings of the great astronomer Āryabaṭha (born 476 A.D.). [10]. [...] An additional argument for the Indian origin of this calculation is supplied by the Arabic name for the square of the chessboard, (بيت, "beit"), 'house'. [...] For this has doubtless a historical connection with its Indian designation koṣṭhāgarā, 'store-house', 'granary' [...].
(emphasis added). Now this is really all I could find.
Hope this can mitigate your thirst, cheerio!
[7]: Birth of the Chess Queen, M. Yalom, HarperCollins Publishers
[8]: Art. XIII.—The Origin and Early History of Chess, A. A. Macdonell, Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, Volume 30, Issue 01, January 1898, pp. 117-141, DOI: 10.1017/S0035869X00146246, Link: http://journals.cambridge.org/abstract_S0035869X00146246
[9]: Indiens Litteratur und Kultur, L. v. Schroeder, pp. 723-4
[10]: Cf. the arithmetical progression attributed to Āryabhaṭa by Sadgurusisya, ed. Macdonell, p. 180
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I'm currently making a 2D Worm-clone in XNA, and have regrets about the way I've made my camera. I declare my camera in my Main class and the camera follows the player. In my draw I then begin my spritebatch using my camera transformations.
The problem is, EVERYTHING needs to be drawn in Main because they need to be drawn under the camera transformations (unless I send the camera to each classes constructor).
My question is, is there a way to make it so the Camera is basically global over my whole program, everything is "by default" affected by it? Or at least so it's not only in Main and I can have things that draw themselves.
I've searched for tutorials, but they all explain how to make the camera and to implement it in one draw function, not over a whole program with many different entities.
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up vote 3 down vote accepted
I'm afraid I have to disagree with Andrew on this one. I do recommend the DrawableGameComponent architecture and I would dispute that this, or the services pattern, are particularly 'heavyweight' - I do have other issues, outside of the scope of this question, but performance generally isn't one of them.
Creating a single camera object to provide a view and projection matrix to your drawables is straightforward and allows you to have your objects draw themselves in their own Draw method. This is, by far, the most common way of structuring an XNA project in my experience. At the end of the day your drawables are only maintaining a reference to a single object, so there is not much overhead.
How you provide this reference is a matter of taste and whether you are bothered about reusing your code in other projects:
• You can offer the camera through the services pattern and get hold of it in your drawable's Initialize method.
• Pass it in during construction (provided it has already been instansiated).
• Use a public Property of your derived game class (which you retrieve by casting the Drawable's game object reference to the derived game type first)
• Use a Static, as Andrew suggests.
Personally I would suggest one of the first 2 options (via an ICamera interface definition) to neatly decouple your actual camera & drawable implementations for later re-use. Personally I don't believe well structured code is 'fancy' - good code is just good code.
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Are there any down sides to making the camera a Public Static? If not it seems that it is a lot simpler to do that than say, pass the camera in every objects constructor. To be honest, I'm quite new at XNA and Game Development in general (I've previously done a lot of Actionscript, but this is quite different), and I'm not really familiar with the services pattern you guys are talking about. If it's the best route to go though I will look it up. – Benixo Mar 30 '11 at 18:46
Hi Ben, when you have time do look at the services pattern - I wrote this a while ago: xna-uk.net/blogs/braindump/archive/2009/08/23/… In your current project the downside of using a Static on the specific game object is that your drawables will always be 'tied' to this object in the future in order to get their camera - a service or passed standard interface will 'decouple' the drawables from any particular game object. To re-use them in the future they just need to be created in a new Game object that offers an object with this interface. – VeraShackle Mar 30 '11 at 21:06
Oooooh, that makes a lot of sense actually. I was even thinking of reusing some objects in later projects. Thank you for the link too, very useful! – Benixo Mar 31 '11 at 0:32
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OK, so when you say "Main" I am imagining you mean the class that you derive from Game?
There is nothing wrong with calling SpriteBatch.Begin() multiple times around your program and passing in your camera matrix to each one.
Presumably each of your gameplay classes has a Draw method? I recommend passing either your camera matrix or a class containing your camera matrix into each Draw function you are calling. So your Draw function in your game class might look like this:
protected override void Draw(GameTime gameTime)
player.Draw(spriteBatch, camera);
foreach(var enemy in enemies)
enemy.Draw(spriteBatch, camera);
If your gameplay classes are DrawableGameComponents, well this is a really good reason not to use game components!
Of course, if you insist on using DGC, then passing a camera class to each constructor, as you mention, will work. But as you've probably discovered, it means you have to figure out how to store it in each class - along with quite a bit of code duplication to do so.
You could also use the Services architecture to allow your components to access the camera. But like DGC, this is a very "heavy" architecture. Why write and manage a service, when you can just make your camera global by making it a public static member of your game class?
(It's gameplay code. It doesn't have to be fancy. DTSTTCPW.)
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You need to create your own Camera "engine". It isn't good to put your camera on Main and force to draw all the entities here. And in the same way, it isn't a good idea to draw everything in the same class. For this reason, you can to create your Camera as an entity or class. This Camera has to be accesible to the rest of the game (static) Draw the object in their own classes (not in main, each object draw itself (or in your render engine class it has)) and when you draw it, call to camera to apply the transformation. Example: public Draw(GameTime gameTime) ... Matrix transform = Game.CameraEngine.Get.... spriteBatch.Begin(...,transform). ....
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Jobless Rate for Poor Black Teen Dropouts? Try 95 Percent
Of the 5.2 million jobs the U.S. economy has created since 2009, none -- in the aggregate -- have gone to teenagers. So which demographic is most adversely affected by the drop off in hiring youth? And what's the strongest predictor of which teens will be working as stable employees when they're adults?
By Paul Solman
Black Youth Unemployment The United States has slid in rankings of industrialized nations putting youth to work. Jobless rates for young black dropouts are especially high. Photo courtesy of Pascal Broze/ONOKY via Getty Images.
Paul Solman: Northeastern University economist Andrew Sum is featured in our youth joblessness story on the NewsHour Friday. His full picture of the crisis is essential reading, however, and so we share more of my interview with him here. For example, if you are a poor African-American high school teenage dropout, your likelihood of having a job is -- 5 percent.
Paul Solman: You have used the term "age twist" to describe today's job market? What do you mean?
Paul Solman: How does that compare to the historical relationship between age and joblessness?
Andrew Sum: Up until 1995, older workers were retiring more from the labor market so their employment rate was actually declining -- from the 1960s -- and then, starting in the 1990s, it began to change. The baby boomers were getting older. They had different work behavior and were more likely to stay in the labor market than their predecessors.
Paul Solman: That's people like us?
Andrew Sum: That's absolutely right. But among the young, we began to observe the problem after 2001. When the boom ended in 2000, the labor market, like it always does, generated lots of job losses for young people. What was different this time was that when the economy recovered, it generated no net new jobs for teenagers. Then along comes the 2007-2009 Great Recession, and the labor market for young people is destroyed.
JUNE UNEMPLOYMENT NUMBERS Boffo BLS Jobs Data! But -- the New Jobs Are Only Part-time
The sad thing is that since the nation began to add jobs in 2009, we've created about 5.2 million additional jobs for America's workers. Teenagers in the aggregate received none of them. Not one.
Paul Solman: So, there are no more jobs for teenagers today than there were when the recovery started in 2009?
Andrew Sum: That's right. Not one.
Paul Solman: How do you explain that?
Andrew Sum: The labor market is still in a depressed state. Employers are telling us, and showing this in their behavior, that they'd rather hire older workers and young adults than teenagers. They find that they can do it. When we were talking to employers and I asked them about customer service, "Why were you hiring younger college grads rather than teenagers?"
They said, "For one reason, because I can." They've got choices about whom to hire and teenagers just unfortunately are at the very back of that queue.
Paul Solman: Is this the story of college grads having to take historically lowly jobs who, in doing so, displace the people who would have taken them?
Andrew Sum: Yes, as well as other 20-to-24-year olds with, say, just a year of college doing the same thing. So when you go to the mall you'll find older people and these younger adults.You seldom find teenagers there anymore. Even at fast food places, all the new jobs in fast food went to older workers and immigrants, not one of them went to a teenager.
Paul Solman: When you say "not one," you mean not one new job compared to the past?
Andrew Sum: That's right. In other words, there was no increase. But what's troublesome is not just that teenage employment is so low, but there are entire sectors -- manufacturing, construction, utilities, transportation, finance, professional services -- where the number of young people, teenagers again, working today has been cut by anywhere from 50 percent to 90 percent of where it was back in 2000. So you just don't find teenagers working there anymore. Finance cut about 80 percent of the teens that they used to hire back in 2000. Eighty percent [are] gone.
Paul Solman: This is not kids who are also going to school?
Andrew Sum: Some are. But kids going to school have been displaced at an unbelievable rate: by more than 50 percent. High school students are working today work at less than a 50 percent rate to what they did back in 2000. Like in our state here in Massachusetts, 45 percent of our high school students worked in 2000. Last year it was 15 percent: 45 to 15 percent.
Paul Solman: Well, is that a case of Americans are just becoming richer and so the kids don't need to work?
Andrew Sum: America's family has not obtained a dollar additional income since 2000, either in our country or in our state. Workers' wages the last six years have been flat to negative. Almost nobody is doing better except high-level CEOs and people at the higher end of the finance sector. So you can't say this is affluence. It's not increased affluence. It's diminished jobs.
Paul Solman: What about the summer? We're heading into the summer now. Isn't that where, historically, there have been lots of programs to hire teenagers?
Andrew Sum: Employers themselves used to hire a lot more young people in the past than they do today.
When I was a young man, I worked a summer in retail and then five years at U.S. Steel. I'd come in at the end of May, stay to Labor Day, had a job every summer. Today, those firms do no summer hiring, and so as a result, teenagers have been cut big.
Paul Solman: And how about kids that are not in school, what percentage of them ages 16 to 19 are not working now?
Andrew Sum: Over half. If you're a high school dropout you're talking about 30 percent working. Among high school grads who graduated from high school in the last three years -- we do a separate survey of them the fall after graduation - 45 percent of them held a job, the lowest in the last 50 years we've been collecting this data. And to make it worse, of that 45 percent, only half of them were able to get a full-time job. Only one in five young high school grads, not in college, [is] working full-time.
Paul Solman: So, you mean, it's effectively an 80 percent underemployment rate?
Paul Solman: Holy smokes. Is there a self-reinforcing trend here in that kids from relatively affluent families, at the top half of the income distribution let's say, get internships, can work their way into the job market even without getting paid, where kids at the bottom can't? Is that a factor?
Andrew Sum: We don't have a really solid database on the numbers of unpaid internships. But the evidence is very clear though that the affluent kids, until you get to the very top of the income distribution, are the most likely to work in the United States with paid jobs and a large part of that is due to the informal brokering of their parents and relatives. The vast majority of our kids still get jobs when mom calls, dad calls, brothers call, friends get you in. And so young middle- and upper-middle- income kids have that brokering network, and they are far more likely to work both during the summer and during the school year.
The other thing that hurts the summer number is that kids working in the school year has fallen so much. In the past, most kids would just continue their school year job into the summer. But now, since there are far fewer kids working in the school year, they have to find a completely new summer job.
Four things that stand out in terms of demographics: Girls are more likely to work than teenage boys. Secondly, race matters a lot. Whites are the most likely to work, followed by Hispanics. Black and Asian youth are at the bottom. The third factor is age. The younger you are, the more likely you are to have been thrown out of the labor market totally. As you reach 19, the likelihood of you getting a job goes up quite a bit. The fourth thing is your family's background: whether your mom and dad are working, and your mom and dad's income.
The best predictor of who works among teenagers is whether your mother and father both work and the income of your family. When mom and dad work, you are much more likely to work. Part of it is that mothers and dads who work believe their kids should work. That's why I say, "the family that works together stays together."
So all those factors, when you combine them and take a young black high school dropout, low-income male, you're talking 5 percent employment.
Paul Solman: 5 percent?
Andrew Sum: Yes.
Paul Solman: 95 percent unemployment rate?
Andrew Sum: Jobless. Not all of them would be classified as [unemployed], but they're not working. In other words, you could just say, "I gave up looking for work," which a lot of them do, but only 5 percent are working. Yes, 5 percent.
Another factor is geography. Last year, in the summer in [Washington,] D.C., only 15 percent of the kids worked; California, only 20 percent; Arizona and large parts of the south, 20 percent. Yet in Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa, Nebraska, you had 50 percent to 55 percent of those kids working.
As a country, our geographic disparities are greater today than at any time before. They're far greater for the young than for anybody else. It's hard to talk about a common U.S. labor market anymore, we're just that uncommon.
Paul Solman: How are we doing versus other countries?
Andrew Sum: Terribly. We used to be a world leader on putting young people to work. In the last 10 years we've moved from the fifth best to the 13th in a pack of 24 OECD [Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, meaning post-industrial] countries. The United States is no longer a leader. There are countries that far surpass us including Canada, Australia, Germany. Kids there not only work, they are much better trained, much more prepared to work. That's why I think we should care, because the more you work as a teenager, the more you're going to work when you're 20-years-old.
These things carry forward. It's not like I had one bad year. No, those bad years will haunt you for many years. If you lose work this year, you not only lost your earnings for 2013, you're going to lose your earnings for the next five to 10 years.
There's a recent study that shows if you spent six months unemployed as a teenager, that's going to carry forward for the next 10 years of your life.
Paul Solman: Why?
Andrew Sum: Because you lose experience, the opportunity to get training on the job. Employers look for stable, consistent work experience. And you're much more likely to be trained by your employer when you come with a solid work record. When you've got a very jittery work record -- unstable, not very consistent -- I don't want to train you.
Plus, young kids who don't work are more likely to engage in criminal behavior. Young woman who don't work are more likely to become pregnant. So that will also haunt you as well -- a criminal record, a delinquency record, and being a young mother today, which puts you at a tremendous disadvantage in the labor market.
And the other thing is, if you didn't work, you're most likely to sit at home in your room playing computer games or hanging out with your friends than to go to school or volunteer. Only one in 10 of those kids either volunteered, watched their brother or sister, or went to school.
Paul Solman: What happens to kids who just haven't worked as teenagers? What's going to happen to them?
Andrew Sum: Kids without degrees will have a much more poorer work record as young adults, work much less, have fewer skills, less income, [will be] less likely to be married, more likely to stay at home. So all of you [reading this], if you want to make sure your children can thrive on their own, have them work as a teenager. The best predictor [of] who is going to be home at 30 is what they did in their late teens and early 20s.
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As a big fan of jazz and blues, I often look for restaurants that accompany their food and drinks with live music. However, in my experience as a consumer, establishments that do both things well are very hard to find.In places known for music, the food often takes a back seat. For many years, I gave up on trying to enjoy both simultaneously.But that was then. Now, I’m happy to report that at least two Chicago restaurants serve up both good live music and great food: Pops for Champagne and ...
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Seeking Alpha
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Hard money man Peter Schiff argues we're in a bubble. The stock market rally is manufactured by the Fed:
We have a completely phoney economy driven 100% by cheap money; the minute you take it away, the whole thing implodes. (emphasis added)
He's hardly alone, and, superficially, this is an attractive line of reasoning. Indeed, interest rates are at rock bottom, yields are at rock bottom, and the Fed is pumping unprecedented amounts of money into the banking system through its purchases of assets. In one thing Schiff is right -- very little of this money is trickling into the real economy.
However, once you correct the record S&P 500 for inflation, as Antonio Fatas and Ilian Mihov have done, it turns out we're not quite at record levels:
And they went on to gauge how expensive the market is with respect to earnings (via the price/earnings ratio). It turns out the market isn't terribly expensive -- it's even below where the market was priced in the previous decade:
So, it's no wonder a much more thoughtful observer like Seeking Alpha contributor James A. Kostohryz is much less definite compared to Schiff. Kostohryz argues that:
U.S. equity valuations are currently not symptomatic of a stock market bubble.
Indeed. But his article goes on to argue that a liquidity driven bubble is forming within 12 months: the intermediate term time frame, which I define as 0-12 months. Specifically, in this essay, I will argue that many of the requirements for the formation of a liquidity-driven stock market bubble are currently falling into place.
He could very well be right, but it's sort of difficult to predict stock market performance 12 months out. So we have little basis to disprove his thesis, the main plank of which is excess "systemic liquidity" -- defined as a sum of eight sources of liquidity for the private sector.
His worry centers on the fact that this is shooting through the roof, while normally:
U.S. systemic liquidity as a percent of GDP behaved in a cyclical and mean-reverting fashion, just as standard economic theory would predict.
While financial innovation has put the need for systemic liquidity on a path of secular decline, Kostohryz shows that this trend was decisively broken during the 2000-03 recession when the Fed flooded the market with liquidity and never really took it away decisively.
We tried to recreate his data with the help of M2 and GDP indices from 2000, and arrive at a somewhat less dramatic picture:
Click to enlarge images.
While this liquidity certainly enabled bubbles to form (in housing and derivatives markets), it's far too strong to argue they caused it. What caused the housing bubble was lax regulation and oversight, which enabled banks to repackage dodgy mortgages and repackage these as triple-A marketable securities. That way, the normal role of banks as an assessor of credit risk was suspended, as they could shove the risks down the throat of unsuspecting others, stamp approved by the rating agencies. It then became a game of volume, or "fund-'em" as Countrywide's Angelo Mozilo's growth strategy was summed up -- whether the people who were funded by subprime mortgages had jobs or income didn't really matter all that much.
Of course, the risk didn't disappear, it became systemic instead. With investment banks having leveraged up to the hilt and the interdependence of the modern financial system, the crisis isn't terribly hard to understand. The Fed reacted to the crisis with new liquidity creation, and this is still ongoing.
To his credit, Kostohryz argues specifically:
I want to be clear: Elevated or 'excess' levels of systemic liquidity will not in and of itself cause stock prices to rise, nor much less cause a stock market bubble. Automatically making this association is a mistake that many people make... It is extremely important to understand that liquidity will not cause the prices of goods (investment and consumer) to rise if it is hoarded by households and businesses rather than spent.
We couldn't agree more. Liquidity is an enabling mechanism, not one that is causing bubbles. For that to happen, liquidity preference of households and businesses must fall in combination with continued high supply according to Kostohryz, who sees a danger of this happening in the near future when:
households and businesses gradually shed their 'bunker mentality,' they will no longer want to hold so much liquidity
Where we differ from Kostohryz is that we don't think this concept of systemic liquidity is the most useful for this context. Unlike Kostohryz, we think that the excess liquidity isn't held by households or businesses, but by banks.
This situation is the resultant of the very nature of the economic conditions, to which we now turn.
Corporate Profits and Wages
There is another side of the story. Shares are claims on corporate profits, and these are at record highs as a percentage of GDP:
So it's no wonder that the stock market is doing well, but there is much more to this. The flip side of this is that wages are not doing so well
And this, in fact, has been part of a trend that began in the 1970s:
As Mishel and Bivens showed:
the top 1 percent of households have secured a very large share of all of the gains in income-59.9 percent of the gains from 1979-2007, while the top 0.1 percent seized an even more disproportionate share: 36 percent. In comparison, only 8.6 percent of income gains have gone to the bottom 90 percent
A good chunk of this is simply a shift from labor to capital. So most households only shared a fraction of the economy wide productivity gains. In order to share in the increasing prosperity, many of these joined in by reducing savings and increase in borrowing. Without that the economy would have grown much slower.
However, this model of growth blew up in the financial crisis when households were hit by the double whammy of seeing their wealth reduced by 40%, to which they responded (or were forced by creditors) by slashing borrowing and spending in order to repair balance sheets. The reduced spending caused the economic downturn (a "balance sheet recession"), only partly arrested by fiscal and monetary policies.
Confronted with the deleveraging, a large output gap, high unemployment, and low inflation, the Fed let rates go to zero -- but this hasn't really had much of an effect. Despite record low interest rates, credit demand has only modestly revived. Hence the Fed sought other measures to revive the economy in the form of QE, the source of the liquidity boom Kostohryz fears will lead to new asset bubbles. And others, like Peter Schiff, are certain it already has. But the Fed can't push money into the economy, it can only push money into banks. But as long as credit demand doesn't revive decisively, this money just sits there in the form of excess reserves as we've seen in the figure above.
And when credit demand revives decisively, the economy will improve further and the Fed will start to take away the excess liquidity and interest rates will return to normal. But we know from previous balance sheet recessions that this is a slow and arduous process; repairing balance sheets simply takes time. In Japan it took two decades after the asset bubbles burst in the early 1990s.
Interest Rates and Margin Debt
Some have argued that interest rates are artificially low and hence stock prices artificially high. However, a balance sheet recession naturally produces low interest rates because private sector savings increase while investment decreases, creating a large private sector financial surplus. Interest rates have to be negative to equate the two under these circumstances. Therefore it's difficult to argue that the low bond yields are a bubble, and in relation to that stocks aren't overvalued either.
There is a little corner that is slightly less neat though, as margin debt is back to the levels of the mid-2000s:
Despite years of liquidity creation, nothing approaching anywhere near a stock market bubble exist, the market isn't expensive by any means as corporate profits and corporate balance sheets are at record highs. However, the flip side of that is that wage earners are not doing well (apart from the tiny top), and they are still smarting from the damage done to their balance sheets as a result of the housing crash.
Until that situation improves, excess liquidity isn't likely to flood the economy. While some of it spills into asset markets, these have a long way to go before we can argue they approach a bubble. So we would argue that investors should rejoice and join in. The biggest danger to the stock market comes from Europe or a U.S. slowdown or some unforeseen risk or disaster, not liquidity.
Source: The Stock Market Can Go Much Higher Before It's A Bubble | [] |
Managing cities
Bogotá's rise and fall
Can Enrique Peñalosa restore a tarnished municipal model?
See article
Readers' comments
This is just one of the problems here in Bogotá, and as sayd by one of the other commenter´s, Transmilenio is far for being good for this gigantic and messy city... It´s the lack of vision of Bogota as a real metropolis, organized and even secure, the conformism, arrogance,etc, etc, including the robery every where, from the ones we see in the street to the big jackpot winners, right from the top... The administrators of this city wich make it bleed to dead. So, it´s every where and not new, unfortunately, for some including me, it still hurts...
Not politicians, just citizens...
It will indeed be strange this ellection with one candidate only. It has to be one only; otherwise a serious publication like The Economist would not publish an article that does not at least mention two or more contenders.
Ricardo Urdaneta
Interesting article. It shows Mr. Peñalosa is very adept at navigating the international news cliques: he's had very positive coverage also in the NYT.
Just to add some context: Transmilenio is NOT Mr. Peñalosa's idea. It had been floating around before he became mayor, and was copied to its every detail from Curitiba's (Brazil) transit system. It is a great system, but it is not enough. Mr. Peñalosa was able to implement it because of his heavy handed, autocratic ways, which may or may not be good for a mayor, but which has generated very strong feelings against him. More importantly, he was able to implement it because his predecessor, Mr. Mokus, left him the city's coffers full.
The most enduring feature of Mr. Peñalosa's implementation of Transmilenio was the very poor quality of the works, which have had to be redone time and again. It would be interesting to see an inflation-adjusted comparison of the cost of the lanes built by Mr. Peñalisa (with repairs) and those being built now. The rebuilding of these lanes, bie-the-by, heavily share responsibility for the present traffic mess.
The most striking feature of your article, however, is that it fails to mention other contenders in the race, some of which are equally capable or technocratic, some of which backed Mr. Peñalosa in his heyday, but who lack his ego, sense of self-righteousness and populist streak. If your newspaper is really interested in the race for mayor of Bogotá, you should take a look at Mrs. Luna and Galán.
Vladimir Carrillo
The transformation of Bogota is a process that started with a special by-law, promoted by a not so popular major: Jaime Castro. Subsequent majors had better chances to make significant changes. Mockus and Peñalosa made notorious public works because the first of them sold part of the local power company. After that, the possibility of achieving heaven fixing roads is a problem of taxes, whose limit is really close. Road's building and manteniance pay politics, because contractors are the main sponsors of succesfull campaigns. That's true for all local politicians (Peñalosa's family has received benefits of many contracts) and is the basis of most of local corruption.
Transmilenio, the high speed bus system, the former major's one hit wonder, is an improvement to transportation system in Bogota but it doesn't work 24 hours, soaks up city's police and has helped to increase the excess of motorcycles, messing the traffic.
This time Peñalosa faces a challenge that he did not face before: that of being associated with corruption. One of the big scandals of the current major Moreno had to do with contracts granted to the Nule brothers, in one of the more expensive and disastrous scandals the city has known. This scandal did not limit itself to the city administration, but also strongly involved the national government led by Alvaro Uribe, whose son Tomás have close ties with the Nule and have allegedly helped them to get some of the polemic contracts. The toxic endorsement by Uribe, summed to some doubts that have been casted on the relations between Peñalosa and other corrupt contractors involved in Transmilenio, will constitute a great obstacle for Peñalosa to mantain his image throughout the campaign for local elections.
Francisco Park
Is that just serendipity? Bogotá's TransMilenio bears a striking resemblance to Seoul's public transportation system. My kudos to Colombia for being a trailblazer in this magnificent and futuristic system. Unfortunately, rampant corruption in Colombia has held back the system from becoming an exemplary model for other countries. Korea's inexorable and relentless march toward betterment and Colombia's chronic scourge of corruption serve to reinforce my belief that any innovative ideas cannot evolve into a full-blown success unless corruption is wiped out once and for all. However, that doesn't show signs of abating in Colombia.
ahmed limam
I just spent a month in Bogota after having visited it a year and a half ago and I must say that traffic is a complete mess. Last time I was in town the El Dorado avenue was being worked on for an extension of the TransMilenio towards the airport. A year and a half later what has changed? Nothing. There has been no noticeable advances in construction but, as The Economist rightly says, more choking points throughout the city. What's the point of adding more construction work when the previous ones haven't be completed?
Add to the dreadful congestion the disgusting fumes that come out from "busetas" along with the city spread out from the Andes in every direction for hundreds of miles (Bogota grew horizontally) and every trip to work or back home or to visit family or friends becomes a true calvary.
I don't know what the solution can be but I wonder why (a) they start construction projects before the previous ones are completed (b) the city doesn't have a mix of low and high rise buildings. With more people living and working in tall buildings the area you have to travel to diminishes (c) why doesn't the Colombian government encourage people to stay in/move to other cities and towns. A big part of the problem in Bogota is the relentless growth of its population. Everybody wants to come to Bogota (I really wonder why, Medellin has a better climate, Cali is more exciting, Cartagena is dazzling beautiful), they should be encouraged to stay where they are from with of course jobs, housing and...transportation investment there.
Ahmed Limam
sorry to say, but this is an idiotic article probably wirtten by some foolish sympathizer. This article says more by what it omits than by what it says, in this sense i recommend it, in the other it aint worth it. As many comments have highlighted, TRANSMILENIO is peñalozas fault, bogotas model is peñalozas fault. I will go even further. Bogota today is peñalozas fault he taught not inly the present mayor how to effectively steal his way to the moon, but all the small town mayor of the country. No they build expensive side walks that rapidly deteriorate, sutpid building for "urbanization" proyects that are nothing but a charade for graft. the difference with peñaloza is that he is a sleaquier grafter than mister moreno how is basically un ashamed and stupider.the bogota of peñaloza would be owned by peñaloza and his cronies, as is private transmilenio. never have I seen a more sistematic grafter. and now some dushbag is propocing that peñaloza can save us from the dump he built f0r us. pray not.
While we talk about corruption in Bogota, which is evident, why don´t we read the article at the link below? At the same time, why don´t we ask economist.com, about when are we going to read of the paramount scandals of the past Colombian administration lead by AUV 2002-2010. I don't know why I'm under the impression that obtectivity is toppled by ultra conservative jurnalistic views in this publication.
I don't think people should make such a scandal over Uribe backing Peñalosa. After all, the U party is a center-right party and the Green party is center-left. It does not surprise me that both parties coincide in some ideas. It is definately not true that the Green party is exclusively an oposition towards Avaro Uribe. They may not like him, but that doesn't have to mean that they disaprove of all of his actions and ideas.
It's going to take a strong Mayor to pull Bogota out of the caos it now faces. I believe the next Mayor needs to put a halt on the Metro until the Transmilenio system is completed. The system works but poor management of the city and the amount of construction allowed to go on at the same time has caused the downfall of Mayor Moreno. The Mayor had the power to regulate the closing of major roads in the city but did not consider the effects it would have on buisnesses and the general public.
Excellent description of Colombian politics and the spaghetti dish it has become since the last presidential election.
One thing is for sure though; the present mayor has been outstandingly incompetent and glaringly corrupt. Corruption has gone far beyond what could be considered as "normal" and froze the advancement of most of the 200 construction projects for most of two years. One thing seems to be a constant though, when a projects starts everything on its path is destroyed and let to sit until investigation begins into where the money has gone.
If construction starts on the carrera septima the city center will be in effect isolated from the rest of the city. It is inconceivable that this project could initiate in May when not a single one of the projects started under Mr. Moreno have been delivered as of today. As mothers often say, "Start what you have finised, dear" but Mr. Moreno is a third generation corrupt politician, maybe he was given a different set of values. Though I am a foreigner living in Bogota I have been here long enough to vote at mayoral elections and will be sure to sanction any candidate connected to Mr. Moreno, have I ever despised a politician as thoroughly? Certainly not.
This is a pretty good article. Peñalosa is going to be the mayor of Bogotá. The Green Party is committed to renew the confidence of the people of the city. Finally, I don't know why you missed Lucho Garzón, he is part of the three "tenores".
Juliette des Esprits
As a true "bogotana", I have always been a fan of Peñalosa the man responsible for completely changing the face of Bogotá during his tenure. A city that had had little or almost no quality of life, into one with bikeways, open spaces, public libraries in low-income neighborhoods (among other achievements) plus a modern transportation system(Transmilenio) now criticized by some people with little or no memory of what public transport has always been in this city: dirty, uncomfortable, crowded,with no regard for the user's comfort or safety, whose drivers are forced to work abusive long hours under the system imposed by the city's transport mafia bosses, called "guerra del centavo" (the more users, the more they get paid which means filling buses and minibuses to full capacity)and so forth and so on. Of course Transmilenio buses (clean, safe, spacious with unheard-of-before features such as reserved spaces for the disabled, special seats for senior citizens,etc.)are now overcrowded. People naturally prefer to ride in them than the horrid "busetas" and the rest of Bogotà's transport contraptions. The city's never ending population growth has meant more and more people in need of public transport which means more and more Transmilenio routes all over the city are needed and which had already been planned but were not built or flagrantly boycotted (as has been the case by the present mayor Samuel Moreno's administration)by Peñalosa's succesors. Indeed, passenger demand for Transmilenio has by far surpassed its present capacity, thus,the now much criticized overcrowding. Like,I suppose most of Peñalosa's voters during the last elections must now be saying: "Don't blame me. I voted for Peñalosa."
Pascual Serrano
This article is unclear. Peñalosa was indeed the “father” of the “TransMilenio” idea like solution to the massive transport in Bogota, obstructing the construction of a subway, in a city that has the population of a Central American country. And it is exactly which has failed with "the TransMilenio bus…horribly overcrowded”. Peñalosa, his family and his social group are part of the local oligarchy profiteers of this business. The later administrations of the assumed "left wing party Pole” followed the same program of Peñalosa.
Sure, Bogotá has problems, but this is a good illustration of the things one has to admire about Colombia. The important thing is that this is a real election. People seem to have a reasonable handle on what the issues are. Relatively few Bogotaños -- and none on these pages -- claim that all their problems are due to, or that all the solutions can be obtained from, some other nation, class, religion, ideology, or leader. From a global perspective, the particular issues are not all that important; but the process seems extraordinary by any standard.
As a student of urban planning I view Mr. Penalosa very favorably. I also tend to admire "technocrats" who do their jobs well and leave the politics out of tough decisions.
Bogota’s situation is the consequence of an awful administration, which awfulness was expected. Peñalosa and others, included Antanas Mokus, green party’s outstanding figure, had foretold what is happening. Unfortunately, people in Bogota voted based on untenable promises rather than on the previous good results already shown by Peñalosa, who sadly might loose the next campaign again to another demagogue because I do not think that voters had learned their lesson.
Andres Pulido
I think this article doesn't contain the hole information and its favoring Peñalosa. Transmilenio has never been an optimal solution for mobility problems in Bogotá. In Peñalosa as Mayor times, We had several transportation options besides transmilenio, thst's why then it wasn't so full, but now is our only choice, and it's impossible to ride on a bus like that with dignity. Peñalosa is corrupted as well, his family is owner of one of de biggest concret companies, wich supplied transmilenio's construction and an infinity of constructions around Bogota; particularly we remember in Bogotá the "Bolardos" wich were small concrete posts built "to keep away cars from public spaces" which most of them (I think over 80%) were replace by other ones, mostly following changes in the transmilenio infrastructure.
Peñalosa is not a hero, neither is Moreno. Colombia is sunk in corruption and crime.
this article is all right!!! samuel moreno alias "torompolo" is a mediocre and corrupt political
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Opinion Blog: The Three Best Christian Rap/Hip-Hop ArtistsAugust 23, 2013 by
Yeah, the title is pretty self-explanatory. So, I'll just jump right in.
3. Manafest
So, Manafest is a Christian rapper, but he is one of the ones where if you didn't know he was Christian, you might not realize it, but if you did know, you would be able to see that he is (sorry for confusing some of you with that sentence!!!). Also, like all of the artists that I will be talking about, his music is amazing!
Note: I will be embedding two songs by each artist. Also, the songs aren't necessarily the most poplar by the artist, just my favorite ones.
2. tobyMac
So, tobyMac is hip-hop/pop mostly (though, he does have some rap, but not all of his songs have it). He used to be part of a band called DC Talk. (Bonus: I have seen him live in concert!!! WOO!!!) Also, in like half of his songs you can tell he is definitely a Christian artist, on the other ones he is just an amazing artist with song that have no swearing or sexual references.
1. Lecrae/116 Clique
Ok, so if it confuses people that I said "Lecrae/116 Clique", let me explain. Lecrae is a Christian rapper/hip-hop artist. Lecrae is an artist, but he is also the head of a rap/hip-hop group known as the 116 (pronounced one-one-six) Clique. Make sense? Ok, good. Now, these songs are ones that you can definitely tell that they are Christian. They tell a good message, but they also have a good rhythm and the words make sense (like, the words aren't just a sermon sung, but a song that has a message within it). The 116 Clique consists of mostly Reach Records artists, the members being: Lecrae, Trip Lee, J’Son, Sho Baraka, Tedashii, Pro, KB and non Reach members Shai Linne, FLAME and Cam. (<BTW all good artists). The people in the 116 Clique feature in each others songs a lot, probaby because they are in the group.
P.S., I had trouble choosing the last two songs, because I like a ton of their songs. So I just chose two of the better ones (IMO, of course).
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Hello, this is OGeniusOne! So, I have gotten 250 followers! I think this is mostly because I am featured on the main page because of the spotlight (BTW, once again, thanks for all who voted for me!). I am trying to follow most of you (except spammers, trolls, and such). Anyway, thanks for following me guys!
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Bellevue to use cameras to capture speeders starting Monday
Starting Monday, speeders caught in Bellevue elementary school zones can expect a $124 fine.
For a month, speeders near Stevenson and Lake Hills elementary schools were given warnings. More than 1,000 were sent in September, according to a city spokesperson.
“Our goal is to increase pedestrian and bicyclist safety near elementary schools, where so many children are present,” Bellevue Police Capt. John Manning said in a statement. “We urge drivers to become aware of their speed and slow down in school zones.”
The automated cameras capture vehicle images, a license plate and also an incident video. The cameras were installed as part of a pilot program approved by the Bellevue City Council. City officials said the areas near Stevenson and Lake Hills elementary schools had a history of speeders.
The Bellevue cameras are managed by American Traffic Solutions, the same company that manages the Seattle red-light cameras. Bellevue police say an officer will review each case before a ticket is issued, and Seattle police review camera cases here.
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I think like many other people here, I work on a meaningless pursuit: I develop high performance algorithmic trading software for an investment company.
Year over the year, I no longer care about what I used to care. I used to care about good software, like a carpenter cares for what he builds. I don't. Anymore. I just write it out. Test it. It ships. People made more money. I travel a bit with my bonus.
What I do is harmful to the world: it just takes money out of the market, put in some pocket. It's just gaming the rules to make it more like pre-SEC trading. Believe me, it sucks.
The question: I don't think there are many softwares or something else out there that helps the world to be a better place or, at least, don't suck that much. How to deal with this? With this lack of meaning?
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find a different job. you are obviously working for the wrong place. we are all carpenters, painters, or plumbers but that doesn't mean any of us would be happy constructing outhouses. – SLoret May 25 '11 at 3:12
@Sloret: outhouses serve a useful purpose; i would be unhappy producing office space for bureaucrats ;-) – Steven A. Lowe May 25 '11 at 3:19
@SLoret, or construct nuclear missile silos... – user1249 May 25 '11 at 8:53
In fact, it was during an interview with a HFT company, at around the 6 hour mark, when I decided I didn't really give a crap anymore. It was during a question on the architectural implications of two's complement and the IEEE representation of floating point numbers. I can't believe so many people waste that incredible brain power skimming pennies. – red-dirt May 25 '11 at 11:23
Because GrandmasterB, AdityaGameProgrammer, Rein Henrichs, vartec, Walter are in the Finance industry ;-) – Pierre May 25 '11 at 12:28
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closed as not a real question by GrandmasterB, Aditya P, Rein Henrichs, vartec, Walter May 25 '11 at 11:58
17 Answers
I solved my burnout by quitting software as a profession (I remain active as an enthusiast hobbyist) and becoming a teacher. Your answer doesn't necessarily involve becoming a teacher, but probably will involve, in some way, a career change.
The key problem I faced was that I loved software. It wasn't a job, it was a calling. The compromises -- often idiotic compromises -- I had to make in a field I loved just so I could have some money weighed down on me to the point I couldn't take it any longer. The key was to unchain the golden handcuffs and step out of the career permanently.
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Thank you, this is a really interesting suggestion. Teaching is not my thing but I think it might be the time to take software only as a hobby. I've been doing it since I was six, I love it but I don't think it's the job for me. – John Doe May 25 '11 at 4:25
Teacher: one of the most wonderful job in the world. – user2567 May 25 '11 at 6:23
Well, with over a decade each in each field, Robusto, I can safely say that the frustrations of teaching pale in comparison to the frustrations of writing software for a living. – JUST MY correct OPINION May 27 '11 at 3:37
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Reading your post, all I could think was - ARE YOU ME SIX MONTHS AGO??? - I also burned out after working the last six years for a trading systems company.
If you check out my profile, you'll see some posts (and my blog) which are exactly about this. I quit in January and have taken this year off as a self-funded sabbatical, and the first four months have already given me some insights (but I still don't feel quite ready to start working again - although I'm teaching myself Ruby on Rails these days and regaining my interest in programming).
If you're suffering from an actual burnout (see: this), then you might need professional help and/or some serious time off. I don't know your situation in terms of responsibilities (wife, kids, etc), but a real burnout - once you're far gone enough - usually can't be cured without some serious time off and long term dedication. Just taking a vacation probably won't do much (and it can actually make things worse).
Post Burnout...
In terms of finding purpose in this field - it's tricky. As you said, most development jobs are essentially working on someone else's random boring business systems, with very little autonomy or intrinsic purpose. Development is for the most part a Craft. Maybe not as creative and free as an outright artistic field, but it's not some sterile mechanical assembly process either. Unfortunately, the typical corporate workplace (and management mindset) treats it as such. Most companies are managed like 19th century factories, instead of like the 21st century knowledge work studios that they should be.
Watch this clip: Think about what Autonomy, Mastery and Purpose mean. A lot of the dissatisfactions you feel about the typical office environment will come down to one of these, in some way.
Personally, I think the biggest struggle is Purpose (the other two can be compensated for more easily by a change in management style, upgrade of tools, etc). For example: I find it very hard to convince myself that working on stockmarket trading systems is a worthwhile Purpose. Rightly or wrongly, I think of most trading instruments as little better than legalized gambling - as something that's overall not a good purpose for the human condition - and no amount of rationalization could change that. Sometimes you just don't have an intrinsic Purpose for working in a given domain, and it's time to move on and find another one.
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I think will seek professional help. I just came back from vacation and couldn't stop crying at the airport when flying back home (ridiculous, isn't it?). – John Doe May 25 '11 at 12:05
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If you don't like the work, move. You have valuable skills proven in a relatively demanding environment, so you could get a job at most startups with no problems.
If you want a meaningful work experience, look for educational startups, or similar companies that actually do want to make a positive difference (non-profits, edu-startups, certain startups in the finance sector aiming to swing the focus to ease for the customers (banksimple is one example), development for the health sector)
There ARE software companies out to make a positive difference. You just need to look a bit harder to find them.
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+1 for being positive! – jv42 May 25 '11 at 11:36
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Amen, brother. In the early '90s, my wife and I wrote software for evaluating derivatives... and then, thanks to derivative speculation (but not our software) Orange County, California went bankrupt, Chile lost a quarter of its GDP one year, and Nick Leeson single-handedly brought down Barings Bank.
There's very little in life as soul-sucking as feeling like you're contributing to evil in the world. So find some other programming work, and give yourself a while to recover. If you look around, you'll be surprised at how much truly useful software needs to be written. It's by no means limited to non-profits, too.
We handed that derivatives code back to our client over fifteen years ago, and programming is still tons of fun. And I keep winding up doing coding "good deeds" by accident. For instance, one of my current clients is the leading purveyor of closed captioning software for TV and movies in the US, and I'm sure there are a lot of hearing-impaired folks whose lives are better for what I do.
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+1 Sound moral evaluation. I refused the headhunting of the banks when I left university, whilst many of my fellow students didn't. Many have gone on to tell me how sick they feel sometimes. I could say to them I told you so, but money calls them louder, or they would quit. – Orbling May 25 '11 at 11:44
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I've really noticed (and I'll be happy to admit this could be just how it is for me), that the times I get bored and burned out with my work is when I'm not longer learning or progressing and becoming better at what I'm doing. Its when I'm learning new things or developing new talents that things become exciting. I'm eager to get to work the next day and see what else I can learn or to continue to analyze or develop on what I learned the day before. But depending on the environment you're in this can only last so long. It sounds like to me the environment you described can't allow for very much flexibility and would be easy to get to the point where you know most of what you're likely to know about the job or problem.
I will end with an analogy... just because the electricity goes out, it wouldn't be wise to throw away any electric device you attempted to use because it didn't function. The real key is to find out why the electricity is out, then suddenly all those devices function properly again. Very likely a change of employment may be needed. But this doesn't necessarily mean you need to abandon programming all together. I would recommend finding a area in the field that will challenge you and require you to learn new things. There's so much to learn that this likely won't be an issue.
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Consider maybe your personal values (ethics) do not align with what you a doing every day. You have survived this for a time, however you have arrived at a state of perpetual unhappiness, as your internal morals clash with your day to day life. This kind of stress is sometimes mistaken for burnout, however is quite different, and really dangerous to you health.
If the above applies to you, the most important thing to do is get out, as no changes will alter the fact you do not believe what you are doing is right. Work out what you are doing that is clashing with your core values. Identify what exactly in the job it is, and look for a job in an organisation that does not have these attributes. Look for a corporate culture revolving around ethics and values (in action, not on paper).
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I once had a job interview for an hospital, to build a system that would help detect viral infections within the hospital and enable them to act on it before it caused any victims. I didn't take the job but it was a breath of fresh air, being able to work on a problem that would help save people, instead of just making someone richer.
Maybe you just need to look for something more fulfilling?
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Exactly what the small comments of your question say. Sounds like you are just burnt out, the passion is gone.
What language do you usually develop in? Maybe look for something in Web Development if you write software or vice versa.
I found myself in the same position, all I was doing was writing network diagnostic software and it just got dull and repetitive. Now I work in a school writing educational tools/software. That sort of thing.
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One option is to go back to university and join a new profession entirely. I took a MEng conversion course in petroleum engineering and am training to be a field engineer for a major oil service company (better pay, travel, excitement). You can do anything you set your mind to - but the sooner the better!
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@Oz123 True - not everyone is OK with working in oil and gas industry. For me I don't mind. The point I tried to make is that a big change of direction is possible – rmx May 25 '11 at 11:37
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There will always be aspects that get repetitive. There will always be corners that are cut because the deadline is too close or it is not worth the effort to do it right. Changing your profession is not going to stop this from existing, it's the nature of business.
What is more important is that you see no value in the work you are doing. Beyond that, you think the work you are doing is hurting more than it helps. This means you need to change jobs. You need to move to something else that at least has a chance to break even on the status quo.
Look to see what else is out there. You put value in helping the world. If you can afford it, see what kind of developement task as needed by non-profits. There are many great charities out there that could be even more powerful with the right technology behind it. They are not going to pay the fat checks you may be used to dealing with stock trading, but money is not everything.
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Having a higher "meaning" of what we do is a key ingredient for happiness so you are correct in questioning your current job if you don't find it fulfilling
I highly recommend you check out Gameful.org and the book "reality is broken" by Jane McGonigal if you want to put your talents to improving the world and having fun at the same time.
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I've been there, am there now and will (approx 3-6months after securing a new gig) be there again. I actually used to be a teacher and switched to a dev career at the end of the 90s. During the heady early years of the web life was exciting and every day felt like we were creatively trailblazing.
Then I worked for a large multinational oil/energy company for several years and felt pretty much as you do re: felt the whole thing to be a pointless exercise, lost my mojo for code and began to regret the decision to quit teaching.
Then I switched to contracting (freelancing) and slowly regained my love for development. I tend to get to do the work that permanent employees shun for one reason or another but its better paid than being a permie and there is always light at the end of the tunnel because contracts are finite. Perhaps you should think about going solo and doing jobs that interest you or are for organisations that are in some way worthwhile.
Hang in there. Coding isnt such a bad choice of career, but the soul-less, corporate world tends to drag everything down to its joyless, money-fixated level.
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I don't think software development is your problem.
From the way I see it, you don't hate software development at all.
Maybe you just just hate the industry you're in.
If that's the case, you can always try software development in other industries.
In Accenture, for example, they have 19 Industry groups, grouped as:
(1) Communications & High Tech
(2) Financial Services
(3) Products
(4) Resources
(5) Health & Public Service
Try to explore other areas, and see where your skills can find value or meaning.
More Info on Accenture's industries:
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I'm not a former employee but I know a lot of former and current employees. Accenture, or at least it's subsidiary in my country, is a slave ship and I wouldn't even come close to it in my life. Unfair working hours for little money. If I have to be a slave I at least try to be highly payed slave. – John Doe May 25 '11 at 4:24
@John Doe: I am not actually suggesting that people go to Accenture. In fact, I am disappointed in Accenture myself, but that's another story. The point of my post is show that there are plenty of options for software development, aside from the variety of technologies that are available to developers. – geff_chang May 25 '11 at 4:36
+1 for the slave-ship tag. There are so many many many such IT services companies. – Nav May 25 '11 at 5:33
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With this lack of meaning? To paraphrase Mahatma Gandhi, "Everything that we do is insignificant, but it is important that you do it."
As for the suggestions:
• Go to a B school, if you have the time, money and inclination
• Start a new company that does something meaningful.
• Take a 3-4 month leave and work with a charity.
• Switch to a different company in a different domain.
Any job can get boring/repetitive after a period of time. Irrespective of what you decide to, try to cultivate a hobby (music, painting, whatever) and/or try to spend some time every week with a charity/ngo that helps people in some way.
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achievement is biggest motivator while working.
At your current job, it seems the sense of achievement is way far from your current work.
Most successful people would not be led by others but lead themselves out of trouble.
• Think what you want to do, keep in mind you capabilities, skills and interests, list down what matters most to you in a job.
• Once you know what matters most, start searching for the right job. It may come as programming for another company or even starting a new career in a new field, all depandant on what you feel capable of and interested in.
• Leaving your current job without any serious plan might not be the best option but staying there is also a very bad option.
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It may be as simple as switching jobs. I was in a similar situation 3 years ago, and had been fairly unmotivated for some time by then. Then I did the "impossible" - I switched jobs. Same profession, but different country and employer. It worked wonderfully for me, as it became the new adventure.
I think you should try switching employer at least. If that doesn't work out, then switch profession, or get a(nother) college degree, if you can afford it. You'd be amazed how much a change of environments can do for you.
Hang in there!
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This is exactly the thing I'm thinking about: computer sciences are so great, why don't we use them to just improve the world ?
I'm in a game programming school, and honestly I feel like shit...
My guess is that since everything is possible in computer sciences, you have to constantly invent stuff that could make people's life easier, but that's not the only way computers can make the world a better place.
Think about lack of information sharing, or sparse offer/demand that never meet. It happens.
Imagine 2 person doing the same car run, alone in their car: don't you think they could save money by both learning that they actually do the same route ? Why isn't there an app for that ?
Also, imagine you want to play ping pong in your city, but you have no idea where to play or who to play with.
Now imagine all those opportunities which are missed because we don't have any tool that specifically does this type of task: where is there offer, and where is the demand, and especially: where ? What stuff could you share to people, or for a small price ?
I have already stated that even with all the technologies we have, we are unable to properly communicate so we could be go out of our usual social bubble. This is not featured in facebook, but is featured by hundreds of sites, who won't shared they databases for business matters: you have to make something completely decentralized in order to make it work.
I find it nearly impossible to develop or to design, but I already have some clues, and to me even if it takes 10 or 20 years I would be very proud of bringing this service to people. People living in their bubbles are hurt not meeting other people or having new opportunities, and more importantly, it hurt the whole economy.
The internet is ready to be usable to a scale where it could serve us all, it just lacks good programmers like you who were just fatly paid by trading companies.
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NZ marathon man will tackle 250km through the Sahara Desert
The MdS covers 250km over six days with the exact route not released until day one. Photo / Thinkstock
"I find if I run over 30 kilometres it hurts.''
That's probably not a line you'd expect to hear from a man who is about to tackle the most gruelling footrace on Earth.
But Jonathan Goslin, 26, isn't your typical ultra-marathon runner.
The London-based New Zealander only entered Morocco's Marathon des Sables (MdS) after some tough talking in the pub.
Goslin and his Scottish mate Mark Croxford both said they'd be up for it - and pride wouldn't allow either to back down.
Now, two years later, the pair are about to run the equivalent of six marathons in as many days - in the Sahara desert.
Nevertheless Goslin isn't going too deep in training.
"I don't want to push myself,'' he says from a London cafe.
"I find if I run over 30 kilometres it hurts so I don't want to run anything further than 30 kilometres at a time in training.
''(Instead) I want to do lots of half marathons back to back.''
Goslin's logic makes sense - kind of.
He argues no amount of training is enough so he's banking on something else.
"The majority of it is mental toughness,'' he says.
"And that's something both Mark and I are pretty good at.
"We're pretty dogged in our determination to finish things.''
Goslin is also honest when assessing his ability to deal with the heat that could reach 50 degrees Celsius during the race in early April.
The average daytime temperature in Morocco at that time of year is 30C.
"This is probably the funnier bit - I'm a winter person,'' the keen skier says.
"I can adapt easier to the cold than the heat.
"With anything over 35 degrees I slow down.''
Goslin plans to acclimatise in the week before the event by donning lots of gear and running on a treadmill. He'll also sweat it up in a sauna.
The MdS covers 250km over six days with the exact route not released until day one. Stages vary from 20km to the longest day at 85km.
It began in 1986 with just 23 runners. This year 1000 competitors will take part. The fastest guys do it in under 20 hours.
"That's just a joke,'' Goslin says.
"They are running 3.5 or 4 hour marathons through the desert. Madness.''
The 26-year-old isn't setting a time goal but is simply aiming to finish.
But that doesn't mean he's not a serious runner.
He completed the 2010 Berlin marathon in just over 3.5 hours.
In the MdS runners carry everything they need except water and the tarp they sleep under.
Goslin's clothing, food and electrolytes will be packed into a 30-litre running pack on his back.
A 5-litre front-pack will hold his water and on-the-run snacks.
The investment researcher hopes to keep his load under 10kg.
Compulsory equipment includes a signalling mirror and anti-venom pump.
Back in 1994 Italian Mauro Prosperi lost his way and was found 12 days later some 400km away in Algeria.
He reportedly survived by eating snakes and drinking his urine.
On the food front rules stipulate competitors carry 2000 calories for each day.
Breakfast for Goslin, from Pleasant Point near Timaru in the South Island, will be porridge and dried strawberries. Dinner will be dehydrated meals.
Lunch is the "tricky one'' with many runners using power bars and gels.
But Goslin knows if you have too many you can end up with stomach cramps.
In 2011 Australian Stuart Gibson came 11th in 35.5 hours. He lost 14kg during the race - 18 per cent of his body weight.
Goslin says he can't afford to lose that much as he only weighs 63kg to begin with.
"Jesus there'd be nothing left,'' he says.
Apart from dehydration and heat exhaustion the biggest danger is blisters.
There are 50 doctors and support staff at the event - all apparently infamous for cutting competitors feet open.
"If you've got blisters they'll literally cut it off, (apply) iodine and tape it up and off you go,'' Goslin says.
He'll be wearing special neoprene gaiters to stop sand getting in his runners. Goslin will also wear socks with individual toes to reduce rubbing.
At the moment his London training regime involves a half marathon two or three times a week - about 50km to 75km.
There's also some cross-training gym work and cycling thrown in.
In mid-February he did a marathon along the Devon coastline.
The cross-country event included 1800m of climbing and descending, which took Goslin almost seven hours with 5kg on his back.
He happily admits he did "nothing'' training-wise in 2011.
In the first six months of 2012 he and Croxford started talking about training but they only really ramped up preparations in October.
"Which is woefully inadequate, probably,'' Goslin says.
But nevertheless he's extremely confident he'll finish.
"I just like running,'' he says.
"I'm actually enjoying more the long slow runs rather than the fast short ones.''
* Goslin will be raising money for Christchurch's Ronald McDonald House which looked after his younger sister when she was ill. Donations can be made here.
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October 25, 2001
Distant Touch
What purpose does a fish's lateral line serve? and how does it work?
Q: When I tag fish, I know that I'm supposed to avoid the lateral line. But what does the lateral line do? I've heard that fish use it to hear, or to sense temperature or pressure. Which is it and how does
it work? - Matthew Stickney, Jacksonville, Florida
A: Fish use their lateral lines to feel low-frequency vibrations or pulsing movements in the water. The sense is somewhere between our senses of hearing and touch. Some researchers have called it the sense of "distant touch."
The lateral line is composed of many tiny organs called neuromasts, set in a line of pits along each side of the fish. From each neuromast, a capsule containing sensory hairs sticks out of the fish's skin. When a pulse of moving water - created, for example, when another fish swims by - passes over a fish's lateral line, each capsule bends slightly, triggering the hairs inside to send a nerve signal to the fish's brain.
The lateral line helps fish avoid bumping into things they can't see because it detects pulses of water bouncing off solid objects. It is this sense that allows fish to school, swim together and change directions simultaneously. It also gives fish the ability to sense a predator approaching, and predators the ability to detect the abnormal swimming patterns of an injured fish.
Fish can use this sense because they live in water, which is much denser than air, and low-frequency vibrations can trigger a physical response in the lateral-line organs. Fish have a separate sense called the labyrinthine system (comparable to our inner ears) for detecting the high-frequency vibrations that we call sound. | [] |
Police pair poisoned by colleagues
Six people were killed when an officer and a cook attacked their police colleagues in southern Afghanistan
An Afghan police officer and cook poisoned their colleagues at a checkpoint in an assault co-ordinated with rebel fighters which left six dead in the country's south, officials say.
It was the latest in a string of attacks from inside the Afghan army and police that are threatening to undermine both the partnership with international troops - which have been the target of many attacks - and the morale of Afghan forces, who have suffered equally heavy casualties from such strikes.
The police officer and the cook worked with outside insurgents in the assault, which hit police manning a checkpoint in the Gereskh district of Helmand province, the governor's office said in a statement.
They poisoned two of the officers and then the militants attacked from outside, killing the remaining four officers, provincial spokesman Ahmad Zirak said. He did not say how the officers were poisoned.
The police officer was captured as he fled, but the cook escaped and remains at large, Mr Zirak added.
The insurgent gunmen escaped by motorcycle with weapons and ammunition, the governor's statement said.
A recent upsurge in the number of insider attacks on coalition troops by Afghan soldiers or police - or insurgents disguised in their uniforms - has further undermined public support for the war in the West. So far this year, at least 52 foreign troops - about half of them Americans - have been killed in insider attacks.
The Afghan government has not provided statistics on the number of its forces killed in insider attacks. However, US military statistics show at least 53 members of the Afghan security forces had been killed by the end of August.
Meanwhile, a Taliban attack elsewhere in Helmand killed two district community council members, while Taliban-fired rocket-propelled grenades destroyed a warehouse full of food destined for the main US base in Afghanistan.
Insurgents ambushed the council members while they were driving to a tribal meeting in the volatile Sangin district, the governor's office said in its statement, adding that the attackers escaped and police are pursuing them.
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Cara and Kate team up for Burberry
Cara and Kate
Cara Delevingne teams up with Kate Moss for Burberry campaign | [] |
September 5, 2006
The Big Cat Speaks - The Menace From Dennis
The prosecution rests. If there was any question as to whether or not the Idaho Vandal football program has been reborn under former coach Dennis Erickson, who has been highly successful in virtually every collegiate venue he has coached - the Vandals' first game, a close 27-17 loss to Michigan State in East Lansing last week, should be enough to answer most questions. If there are remaining questions, allow WSU head coach Bill Doba answer them for you.
"Idaho is much improved. They just played hard [against the Spartans] and Michigan State's offensive line was huge. Their guys stay on their blocks on special teams, they're very physical. They're a lot better than they were a few years ago," says Doba, who attributes part of the improvement to the arrival of Erickson. "I think he brought instant credibility. It's an attitude change."
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Take the 2-minute tour ×
I want to use this pattern.
I make a WS call in my Actor which returns a F.Promise. Now I want to pipe this promise to another actor. Patterns.pipe works with Akka future. How can I achieve this pattern using F.Promise?
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What is F in F.Promise? You'd need to wrap that in an Akka Future. – Roland Kuhn Nov 1 '12 at 7:45
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You can use the "sender" command if you are traversing in 3 layer of actor system. it will send back a data to the actor who is using the future and by this you can pipe it to another actor you want.
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In Akka 2.0.2 a Promise IS-A Future, so just: promise pipeTo actor
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HI all,
I would like to call from my C# code, unamanaged library functions like presented below. There are two options and the both works. In this moment "Beep" function is simple and have no input/output parameters, pointers, references... I am wondering in more complex cases what would be adventages and disadvantage of both approches ?
Thanks, Milan.
public void TestBeep()
Beep(300, 3000);
internal delegate bool DelegBeep(uint iFreq, uint iDuration);
internal static extern IntPtr LoadLibrary(String dllname);
public void BeepIt()
IntPtr kernel32 = LoadLibrary("Kernel32.dll");
IntPtr procBeep = GetProcAddress(kernel32, "Beep");
delegBeep(50, 1000);//Hz,ms
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up vote 3 down vote accepted
Your second one is much more complicated than the first but achieves the same thing in this case.
If the name of the DLL and the name of the function are known at compile time, then stick with the first approach. If you don't know the name of the DLL and/or function until run time then the LoadLibary/GetProcAddress approach is your only option.
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The name of dll I have to know in both cases right ? Otherwise LoadLibrary will return error, or maybe I can give full part to LoadLibrary function ? – milan Jul 2 '10 at 16:27
Right, but with [DllImport] you have to pass a constant string, whereas a call to LoadLibrary lets you determine the DLL name at runtime. – Tim Robinson Jul 2 '10 at 16:38
I try to comment out [DllImport("kernel32.dll")] in the second example but then I get exception that LoadLibray have no implementation. How I should call then LoadLibrary ? – milan Jul 2 '10 at 17:53
I don't follow... why are you commenting out the [DllImport("kernel32.dll")] next to LoadLibrary? – Tim Robinson Jul 2 '10 at 18:25
Yes I commented out all [DllImport("kernel32.dll")] because I thougt your idea is to use just LoadLibrary with correct library path, or I got it wrong ? – milan Jul 2 '10 at 18:28
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The P/Invoke marshaller finds an entrypoint in a DLL by using LoadLibrary() and GetProcAddress(). And knows how to convert a C# declaration to the equivalent of a delegate declaration.
Doing this yourself has no advantage beyond maybe a wee bit of efficiency. Which you'd better measure, it is no slamdunk.
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I have just started using AJAX and Javascript and created a web page that loads a div from a text file. Here is the page http://www.1000give100.org/landing-page.html I have a div that gets filled with a text file of names that I need to auto scroll, then stop when user cursors over div. I have tried using JScrollpane but it doesn't really do what I need and I couldn't get it to work. I also tried something called slider but couldn't get it to work either. Can somebody point me to a Jquery scrolling program or something similar.
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If these plugins "doesn't really do what [you] need", please tell us which behavior you expect. And if you want to use them but didn't succeed, please post the code you tried and tell us where you are stuck. – JMax Dec 7 '11 at 9:14
Sorry I did figure this out autodivscroll.js worked great. – user1084383 Dec 16 '11 at 3:27
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Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question. | [] |
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Here's the code I have which takes a string and reverse it
name = "I CAN REVERSE THIS"
def reverse_string(name_string)
string_arr = []
string_arr = name_string.split('')
for i in 1..(string_arr.length)
new_string = "#{new_string}#{string_arr[-i]}"
#return new_string
new_name = reverse_string(name)
puts new_name
Why does my reverse_string function returns "1..18" if no return actions is called inside the function, but returns expected results if return action is called?
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Are you trying to rewrite reverse method?? – bjhaid Feb 26 '12 at 12:56
New to Ruby; was just exploring; seems like best way to learn is to rewrite simple methods. – ZeTradr Feb 27 '12 at 15:52
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up vote 1 down vote accepted
In Ruby, a method's implicit return value (if no explicit call to return is being made) is the return value of the last statement in that method. In this case that is the for, which apparently returns what it iterated over.
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make sense; Thanks ! – ZeTradr Feb 26 '12 at 8:29
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A Year In Winter: Part IV. - 90%
Perplexed_Sjel, November 17th, 2010
Immortal have always been a mixed bag for me. When they get it wrong, it goes horribly wrong but when they hit the nail of the head, surely they’re the forefathers of cold, icy atmospheric black metal? I first discovered Immortal, like a lot of people, within the first few months of my expedition into the black metal minefield. Unfortunately, I discovered them through the notorious ANUS website at the age of fifteen or so. The ANUS site has a well documented list, which has remained unchanged ever since I first saw it, detailing the “best ever” black metal albums. Immortal’s ‘Pure Holocaust’ comes second on that list and therefore I decided I’d check it out since, surprisingly at the time, Immortal’s discography was readily available at my local music store, one that normally sells lots of commercial junk. ‘Pure Holocaust’ was really what got me started on black metal, alongside some other notorious albums from the second wave, but it was Immortal’s ‘At the Heart of Winter’ which really stuck with me over all these years and how better to break the winter months in than with this old school classic? The thing about albums like this is that, yes, whilst they’re cold in certain aspects, I find that some of the melodic riffs, despite their distorted textures, emit a really warm feel, like sitting beside a log fire during a harsh wintry blizzard. Whilst your vital organs remain warm, your hands and feet are as cold as ice. So, whilst the backbone to this album is cold as hell, the riffs are deceptively warm to me.
‘At the Heart of Winter’ is an album which can be set apart from the others in Immortal’s discography. Although ‘Pure Holocaust’ is still good for the occasional session when I’m feeling aggravated, ‘At the Heart of Winter’ is an album which is far more accessible than their other albums simply due to its infectious, intoxicating melodies. There are many reasons why I probably should have hated this album from the very first moment I laid eyes on it but that only reiterates the point that this album is deserving of the “timeless classic” status that so many are unjustly given. As far as Immortal’s discography goes, or even the entire second wave movement, I’ve always felt this album was, and probably still is, rather underrated in terms of the entire genre back then. Back when I first discovered black metal, I had an odd aversion to anything overly melodic and am still not quite schooled in the ways of early thrash metal. Despite all this, ‘At the Heart of Winter’ stuck with me and no matter how many times you play it in a single day, it never grates on my nerves and never ceases to amaze me. Take the main riff on the self-titled song, for example. It never fails to send shivers down my spine as its cold, harsh ways set into skin. This, accompanied with the underlying bass and the flawless drumming, songs like this, which are perfectly conceived and crafted, force me to hold the band in high esteem regardless of whatever faults they’ve had since then.
As I touched upon, a lot of the material here is rather thrash orientated, like a lot of early black metal. The tempo changes, the chord progressions, the amount of diversity on offer on this album is incredible, even today, a whole eleven years after its initial release. To me, this period of Immortal’s discography is a bit of a sore point. I wasn’t keen on ‘Blizzard Beasts’, despite loving the wintry essence and vibe of the content. I could never get into those short songs and the riffs didn’t feel anywhere near as memorable. So much so I really couldn’t pinpoint what I dislike about it because every time I hear the album, I repress it. It doesn’t click with me. Neither does ‘Damned in Black’, though I do tend to enjoy that album more so than ‘Blizzard Beasts’, possibly because it touches upon some of the ideas used here - such as the heavily melodic content of the riffs - albeit not to the same extent. This era of Immortal highlights exactly what has made me view the Norway legends are hit-or-miss. With ‘Blizzard Beasts’ coming soon after the enigmatic ‘Pure Holocaust’, an album which really set the tone for Abbath, in particular, it did nothing to ignite the flame of my passion for the band and instead extinguished it.
So, as you can imagine, coming into this album, I was more than a little apprehensive but it delivers spectacularly and in ways I didn’t even imagine were possible for Immortal at that time. The imagery, the conjuration of wintry landscapes, icy kingdoms and cold weather is superb. It’s one of the major themes of this album which made it such a treasure over the years. Abbath’s typically charismatic vocal approach is brilliant, despite the comical reputation he has since garnered for his over-the-top performance in Immortal’s iconic videos in the woods. It’s easy to forget what he achieved with this album which was almost entirely his doing. Aside from Horgh providing the drumming, which he does magnificently, Abbath controls the bass, guitars, vocals and the synthesizer, which is used exceptionally well on songs like the self-titled, a particular hit on the album, alongside ‘Solarfall’. I often like to listen to the introduction of the self-titled song for the first two minutes whilst glancing over the wonderful artwork. They go hand-in-hand ever so well. The spectacular kingdom amidst the icy landscape whilst the music itself is portraying the same thing, simultaneously, is marvellous. The samples of subtle howling winds may seem clichéd today but they’re ever so affective on this particular album. Especially alongside that symphonic synthesizer, an aspect of the album which is probably unfairly overlooked due to its sparse inclusion. Regardless of that, this album will always be regarded by myself as an old school classic. One that is truly deserving of that acclaim. | [] |
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Old June 25 2009, 09:42 PM #1
Da'an's Avatar
Location: Shibuya UG
"Mirror Universe" Borg
There should be some.
They can be like a galactic "think tank" and becoming a Borg would be like training to being joined to a Symbiont on Trill, where the honor of becoming Borg is a very special privilege reserved only for those who prove they would have something to offer the collective.
That way, the Borg can be as powerful as logic suggests they really should be given the technology and applications of that technology that is canon in the Star Trek universe, (continuity has a lot to answer for) but to make them not be generic "deus ex machina" aliens (which they probably could be) they would have no interest in dealing with societies as primitive as the Alpha Quadrant races. The Prime Directive works both ways.
There may even be some Voth Borg.
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Take the 2-minute tour ×
The C++1x standard has deprecated the old STL binder functions in favor of the more universal std::bind. However, it seems that std::not1 and std::not2 are not deprecated in favor of a universal std::not_ or something. The reality is that the <functional> part of the STL, prior to C++1x, was really cumbersome to work with due to 1) the lack of lambdas, 2) the fact that the binders and negation functors required a nested typedef argument_type, meaning they couldn't work with ordinary functions, and 3) the lack of variadic templates necessitated separate binder and negation functions depending on the number of arguments.
C++1x changed all of this, dramatically improving the usefulness of <functional>. But for some reason, C++1x seems to have improved everything except std::not1 and std::not2. Really, it would be nice to have a standard universal negate function, like:
template <class F>
class negation
negation(F f) : m_functor(f) { }
template <class... Args>
bool operator() (Args&&... args) const
return (!m_functor(args...));
F m_functor;
template <class F>
inline negation<F> not_(F f)
return negation<F>(f);
This would of course deprecate std::not1 and std::not2 in the same way the old binders were deprecated.
Question(s): 1) I've looked through the C++1x draft, and don't see any mention of a universal negate function. Did I miss it? 2) Is there some compelling reason why they added a universal bind and deprecated the old binders, but failed to do the same for the negation functions?
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Is <functional> even useful, now that we have lambdas? – Marcelo Cantos Apr 6 '11 at 13:49
@Marcelo, sure it is. std::bind is very useful. – Channel72 Apr 6 '11 at 13:51
How so? @Howard's comment to DeadMG's answer links to another answer that argues for bind, because lambdas don't do type inference. Frankly, however it convinces me of exactly the opposite. Using explicit types — auto f = [](const char* a, float b) { cout << a << ' ' << b; }; — annoying as it is, is vastly better than the bind solution presented in that answer. How often do you think bind offers a superior solution? – Marcelo Cantos Apr 7 '11 at 3:04
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2 Answers
up vote 6 down vote accepted
1. You didn't miss it.
2. Compelling reason? It depends on who you ask. The lack of this functionality was discussed, but not until very late in the process. Hmm... I can't find the paperwork on that at the moment, there may not be any.
The best solution for this (imho) is to add operator!() to bind. But by the time this came up, the committee was in no mood to add new features to C++11. Perhaps it will come in a technical report.
Oh, here's the paperwork:
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Interesting. I can't believe the proposition to overload ! for bind was rejected. – Channel72 Apr 6 '11 at 14:56
The "at this time" in the response is committee-speak for "we would like to consider this again after C++0x". Creating a good standard is very time consuming. Creating a perfect one literally takes forever. <sigh> – Howard Hinnant Apr 6 '11 at 15:15
Still faster than fixing a broken one! – Potatoswatter Apr 6 '11 at 15:52
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Effectively, if not officially, all of the old function object binding system is deprecated, since lambdas are a much superior solution. I find it more curious that they bothered to update bind and any of the rest of it at all.
Most likely, you will find that this is because the original boost::bind did not provide such a negate function, and all of the new TR1/C++0x binding mechanism is based on that, and nobody noticed that not was missing.
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The committee does not consider bind to be obsolete. Here's a good SO answer as to why: stackoverflow.com/questions/1930903/bind-vs-lambda/… – Howard Hinnant Apr 6 '11 at 14:16
@Howard: I said "not officially", as in, I recognize that they are not deprecated by the committee. – DeadMG Apr 6 '11 at 14:29
@Dead: Read that answer… – Potatoswatter Apr 6 '11 at 15:00
Yes, you said it was effectively deprecated and that answer is a counterexample. Sometimes I'll write a reusable functor and want to negate it in one case. Either way, not_() performs type deduction which lambdas cannot do. – Potatoswatter Apr 6 '11 at 15:19
@DeadMG: I chose my words carefully in my comment. Anyone who can read the standard (and you obviously have the skills to do so) can clearly see bind isn't deprecated. The information I'm giving is that there are no proposals to deprecate bind, and no one on the committee is talking about doing so. I personally asked one of the authors of lambda if we needed to deprecate or remove bind. The response was remarkably similar to the SO answer I linked to above. All that being said, we have very little experience with the combination of bind and lambda. Your view might prevail, or might not. – Howard Hinnant Apr 6 '11 at 15:39
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