text:
I can be grudgingly convinced to accept auto-trading, after all it only takes a small portion from me since I make longer term trades,
Or it may give you a small portion. By providing liquidity, the price might have been 1 cent cheaper for you to buy than you otherwise could have paid.
And 1% cheaper to sell, so no difference there, except you will probably find it easier to find a buyer for your stocks.
It seems amazing that the people who are actively manipulating the market with thousands of automatic trades every minute are being protected, while the little guy who figured out how to win over the machines gets convicted.
Not really. It's just nobility closing their ranks and watching each other's backs, least a peon would become their equal.
You didn't really think that the law was same to all, now did you?
>>So these guys figured out how to second-guess somebody's trading algorithm. How in hell is that a crime?
Not quite.
If they had figured out how to predict where somebody else's algorithm was trading, and trade against it for profit, they would not be in trouble.
What they did was figure out how somebody else's algorithm would react to stimulus, then entered created that stimulus, then traded against the result.
They entered orders that had no intention of getting a trade (and indeed would have been unhappy to have traded because they were unnaturally high bids or low offers). These orders gave the impression to both people and software that the market had changed for real. The algorithm followed the "fake" data and made too high of a bid or too low of an offer. They then cancelled their "fake" orders and instantly entered real orders on the opposite side to hit the algorithm.
This has been going in (sans computers) for decades, and is illegal in most regulated markets.
It is similar to the idea of leaking fake news and trading against the move and then making a profit when people figured out it was fake.
"The pair have gotten some sympathetic reactions from around the world, and promise to appeal."
A single blog entry from a seeming lunatic does not 'reactions from around the world' make.
I didn't RTFA (of course), but how is what they did different from guess what real people would respond to certain trade and engineer to profit from that? Isn't that what every speculator is trying to do? If someone used a program to trade and other people guessed (without foul play) how the program responds and profited from it, why is that a crime?
As for "manipulating prices", well, every investment firm is manipulating prices when they release analyst reports recommending "buy" or "sell" for stocks they own, I would like to see them prosecuted too!
I know the guys at Timber Hill from before IB bought them. They are what one would calls pros. It is hard to think of them as victims. They have all the money hardware and brains a company could want. Actually, I would call Timber Hill fairly predatory. These guys were printing big money through high speed algo trading before anyone knew what that was back in 2000.
Knowing them, I doubt they are happy that their name is in the news. Years ago, they truly didn't want any attention. The less the outside world knew, the better.
The big issue is: this is essentially what all the high speed traders are doing. The line here is fuzzy. However, I fear these Norwegian fellows are being held to a higher standard than people who are more powerful and more established.
Does anyone have a link to a human translated version of the Norwegian court doccument so we can get a more impartial view of the facts of this case? On the one hand we have a sensationalist news article without many facts and a blogget response with no facts and all rhetoric that claims to not be political yet says that they would be considered a liberal for making such an observation in the same sentance. I for one would like to see the facts of the case without all the opinions getting in the way from th
"It startled him even more when just after he was awarded the Galactic Institute's Prize for Extreme Cleverness he got lynched by a rampaging mob of respectable physicists who had finally realized that the one thing they really couldn't stand was a smartass."
In soviet Russia, YOU control market.
How did you know I was really Vladimir Putin?
[whispers to henchman: kill him!]
Norwegians convicted for outwitting trading system
By Andrew Ward in Stockholm
Published: October 13 2010 19:17 | Last updated: October 13 2010 19:17
Two Norwegian day traders have been handed suspended prison sentences for market manipulation after outwitting the automated trading system of a big US broker.
The two men worked out how the computerised system would react to certain trading patterns - allowing them to influence the price of low-volume stocks.
The case, involving Timber Hill, a unit of US-based Interactive Brokers, comes amid growing scrutiny of automated trading systems after the so-called "flash crash" in May, when a single algorithm triggered a plunge in US stocks.
Svend Egil Larsen and Peder Veiby had won admiration from many Norwegians ahead of the court case for their apparent victory for man over machine.
Prosecutors said Mr Larsen and Mr Veiby "gave false and misleading signals about supply, demand and prices" by manipulating several Norwegian stocks through Timber Hill's online trading platform.
Anders Brosveet, lawyer for Mr Veiby, acknowledged that his client had learnt how Timber Hill's trading algorithm would behave in response to certain trades but denied this amounted to market manipulation. "They had an idea of how the computer would change the prices but that does not make them responsible for what the computer did," he told the Financial Times. Both men have vowed to appeal against their convictions.
Messages posted on Norwegian internet forums on Wednesday indicated widespread sympathy for the defendants. "It is the trading robots that should be brought to justice when it is them that cause so much wild volatility in the markets," said one post.
Mr Veiby, who made the most trades, was sentenced to 120 days in prison, suspended for two years, and fined NKr165,000 ($28,500). Mr Larsen received a 90-day suspended sentence and a fine of NKr105,000.
The fines were about equal to the profits made by each man from the illegal trades.
Christian Stenberg, the Norwegian police attorney responsible for the case, said any admiration for the men was misplaced. "This is a new kind of manipulation but it is still at the expense of other investors in the market," he said.
Interactive Brokers declined to comment.
Irregular trading patterns were first spotted by the Oslo stock exchange and referred to Norway's financial regulator.
All of this is a symptom of how far the stock market has branched from its purposes - it's not just a way people have involved distributed judgement of the worthiness of societal ventures anymore, now we have huge parasites in the system, feeding on each other. When the boot comes down, I don't think we should cry. Only a few of these people make an honest living that benefits society.
All of this is a symptom of how far the stock market has branched from its purposes - it's not just a way people have involved distributed judgement of the worthiness of societal ventures anymore,
It hasn't been that for at least 50 years. Speculation has been the dominant market force for a very, very long time. It just never made as much headlines until recently.
now we have huge parasites in the system, feeding on each other.
We've had that since the first investment companies came into existence. It took what, three weeks at best?, until someone realized that investing in the future of a company is slow and risky, while cashing in on the expectations of those who are still dumb enough to do that is faster and safer - there are few things as certain as the stupidity of a large group of people.
And I still don't understand what drives it.
Take Apple stock. What's the actual value in buying Apple stock? The only value seems to be from selling it again to someone else who wants to buy it so that they can sell it again to someone at a higher price.
Is that really it, or is there something that I'm missing?
> A: Apple does not currently pay dividends on its common stock. Apple paid dividends from June 15, 1987 to December 15, 1995.
(Also see http://www.tuaw.com/2010/03/25/on-apples-40-billion-and-whether-they-should-pay-dividends-or/ [tuaw.com] )
If I get this right, someone is convicted for cleverly working out how a system works that cleverly works out how other systems in the market work (which is what an Algo in principle is). If I pare this down to the essentials, it seems this person is convicted of focusing on one particular trader instead of the whole market.
That's going to be interesting from a legal perspective, because there's nothing illegal in what he has done as far as I can see, unless he had insider knowledge. It's a bit like learn
Doing any action with the primary purpose of manipulating share prices is illegal, and that's what it sounds like was going on here. They sold stocks with the intent of making that system behave stupidly.
Whether it should be illegal is another matter...
Although you are probably not aware of it, most trading arms of the banks are at war against each other, trying to determine the trading algorythms each of them use, and deploy trading engines that take advantage of any weaknesses. It's one of the reasons you see an immense amount of mathmatical talent recruited by the Banks.
The problem I find with this, is that, unless the t&cs they signed to indicated that they should report any flaws in the bank's trading system, then this is actually a failure on the bank's part to test their systems.
Exactly. They're all second guessing each other, and that's OK.
What these guys did was to third-guess them. Apparently that's cheating.
Rumour has it that these guys realised that there was a flawed algorithm (which turns out to have been operated by Timber Hill) making a market in illiquid shares, which set its quotes based either on the prices at which recent trades in those shares had been done, or on the algorithm's own position in the stock.
To give some background: if you are making a market in a stock, that means you are prepared to buy from people who want to sell and sell to people who want to buy. Unless you're feeling particularly generous, you want to buy at a "low" price and sell at a "high" price. In liquid markets (i.e. where there are lots of people buying and selling), you can typically rely on the market mid price (i.e. the best bid plus the best offer, divided by two) and "spread" off that (e.g. add a cent to it to get your ask, subtract a cent from it to get your bid). As the market (i.e. the mid price) moves up and down, you can adjust your bid/ask to follow it and, if you end up buying or selling stock, you can adjust your bid/ask to make it more likely that your quotes get hit/lifted to flatten out your position (e.g. if someone hit your bid and sold you shares, you would probably lower both your bid and your offer, in relation to the market, to make it more likely that someone will buy the shares off you and less likely that you'll buy more shares).
However, in illiquid markets and, in particular, in markets where you are the only market-maker, you may not be able to rely on a market mid, because you are the market, so it's up to you to set the price.
So, let's say you start off with a quote of 99.99/100.01 and a quantity of 10,000 on each side. I come in and lift your ask (i.e. I submit an order to buy at 100.01, which matches against your ask) to the tune of 1,000 shares (i.e. I buy 1,000 shares from you). You are now "short" 1,000 shares, so you might adjust your price to make your bid more attractive to potential sellers - i.e. you change your quote to 100.00/100.02 - and you keep quoting with a 10,000 quantity on either side.
I buy another 1000 shares from you. You shift your quote to 100.01/100.03
I buy another 1000 shares from you. You shift your quote to 100.02/100.04
I buy another 1000 shares from you. You shift your quote to 100.03/100.05
I now own a total of 4000 shares, for which I paid a total of [(1000*100.01)+(1000*100.02)+(1000*100.03)+(1000*100.04)=] 400,100
I now hit your bid and sell you back all 4000 shares at 100.03 for a total of 400,120
I just made myself $20. Thanks very much. Rinse, lather, repeat.
Now, you can see how some people might claim that I'm manipulating the market because I'm issuing orders into the market with the intent/expecation that the price will move as a result. But it's all a bit of a grey area.
However, I might argue that I'm merely taking advantage of bids and offers that are already in the market. If the market-maker on the other side wants to quote prices that allow me to make a profit (or, more accurately, if he's been stupid enough to roll out a market-making algorithm that does that), then why shouldn't I take advantage of it?
If this is what happened, then I'm surprised that Timber Hill decided to make an issue of it. If I'd been that stupid, I probably wouldn't want to draw everyone's attention to it. I would put the loss (which is this case appears to have been kless than $70k) down to experience, fix my algorithm and move on.
People/banks/brokerages/traders/hedge funds do make mistakes like this. A long, long time ago, when I was younger and far more stupid than I am now, I once gave a trader a market-making algorithm that used the market
Maybe a silly or naive question, but why would any one person want to simultaneously buy and sell the same stock? If I want more of it, I will put in a bid to buy and if I want less of it then I will offer for sale. Which I do at any one time might change with the price that other people are offering or asking, but at any one time I would be either bidding to buy or offering for sale - not both at the same time.
Well, in an ideal world, you profit from the spread - e.g. you buy at 99.99 and sell at 100.01, thereby making a profit of $0.02 on each share. That's what happens in liquid markets, where there are plenty of buyers and sellers putting in market orders.
It's not really all that different to what Asda does with cans of beans - buy 'em from one person and sell 'em to another for a higher price.
There are "official" market makers on the NYSE and (I think still) on the London Stock Exchange.
AFAIK this was a criminal case, and Timber Hill aren't involved beyond acting as a naive market maker.
Haha, I'll bet they're embarrassed!
I'm not a lawyer and I don't speak Norwegian so I can't read the court document to find out exactly what happened.
I am, however, an electronic trading specialist and I've also been a trader at a big American investment bank (one that didn't go bust, by the way, despite my best efforts).
Thanks very much. Rinse, lather, repeat.
I am not an electronic trading specialist, and I've never been a trader at a big American investment bank (but we're equal in that I've not made one go bust, by the way, but I managed it by giving it no effort at all).
I have, however, found a bug in one of your algorithms. Lathering after rinsing doesn't work so well.
> I have, however, found a bug in one of your algorithms. Lathering after rinsing doesn't work so well.
Fuck! That explains why my hair is so manky!
Rumour has it that these guys realised that there was a flawed algorithm
No, you just pointed out how wrong it is to use an algorithm at all. That is the flaw.
Here's an industry related question, how does high frequency trading benefit the general public? The push towards regnms, the push towards faster and faster executions---how does all this benefit Joe Investor? What is SEC thinking?
I doubt Joe Investor cares if his trade executes within a microsecond or in a few minutes. I even doubt he cares that much about the 1% price difference he may enjoy (or regret) from his investment within a week.
So why is everyone in the industry assuming Joe Investor is a day-trader with an algorithm at his desk? Even the active investors I've met keep stocks for sometime---the only "day-traders" I've met aren't in the investment business---they're there to benefit from minute-by-minute price fluctuation---leaching (by tiny amounts) the profits of long term participants.
I guess what I'm saying is, if high frequency trading is a billion dollar industry---those billions of dollars, in small amounts, were directly taken out of pockets of long-term investors---they're the inefficiency in the market.
I think the main argument is that Joe Investor benefits from having more liquidity. He can buy/sell a larger amount of shares than he would otherwise. Remember many people invest via huge pension funds, which have to shift pretty large amounts of shares.
The prominence of HFT does two things. Firstly, it makes the market liquid and more efficient - the difference between the prices at which Joe Investor can buy or sell a stock is probably down to fractions of a penny. Which you don't notice on the individual scale, but it improves the functioning of t
If this is what happened, then I'm surprised that Timber Hill decided to make an issue of it. If I'd been that stupid, I probably wouldn't want to draw everyone's attention to it. I would put the loss (which is this case appears to have been kless than $70k) down to experience, fix my algorithm and move on.
It must be noted that TMB did not react or care at all. It was Oslo Stock Exchange (OSE) who made an issue of this and made The National Authority for Investigation and Prosecution of Economic and Environmental Crime in Norway (ØKOKRIM) take it to court. Timber Hill has made no comment, refused to appear in court and generally appear to want this to quietly go away.
Well, that actually makes more sense than TMB deciding to air their stupidity in public.
Sorry, what? They manipulated the market by buying and selling stock? How could they be convicted for trading? How can a buy or a sale constitute a "misleading signal"? Misleading whom? In relation to what fundamental truth?
So when is this "Norwegian Day" ? My calendar only has american holidays on it (Oh yeah theres a few from Canada
Nobody has said anything about it around here, and you'd think they would being there is a lot of people with Scandinavian heritage.
"I shall expect a chemical cure for psychopathic behavior by 10 A.M. tomorrow, or I'll have your guts for spaghetti." -- a comic panel by Cotham


text:
New business coming to Conover
Two new businesses will soon find homes in downtown Conover.
Owner John Cline hopes to open a side-by-side real estate business and restaurant, located at the intersection of West First Street and First Avenue North in downtown Conover.
"Downtown is a great place," Cline said. "We're really hoping to bring people to downtown."
The space was previously Pappy's Five Point Café.
"We're very excited and very thrilled when anybody decides to reinvest in any property downtown," said Lance Hight, Conover planning director. "It's a great thing for the city of Conover and a great thing for its citizens."
Part of the property will be used for a realty office and the other side will be a deli. The eatery will sell sandwiches, smoothies and other pub-style food.
"It won't compete with Jennifer's (Café), because they're more of homestyle cooking," Cline said.
He wants to call the eatery The Flying Daschund.
"It's a pretty funny name," Cline said. "My son came up with it. We think we can come up with a really good logo."
Cline felt there was a need for a family-friendly, fun restaurant in the area, and he hopes The Flying Daschund will fill that void in Catawba County.
"It's going to be a fun thing for everybody," Cline said. "We loved going to the Wild Coyote, but it almost had too much of a bar feel."
Cline's 15-year-old son plays football and basketball, and Cline said he wants a place for his son and his friends to hangout after sporting events. "There's no place for them to go now," he said. "This will be a good atmosphere for them."
Cline wants the restaurant to open for business in October, just in time for fall sports.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
TM and © 2018 Pretty Ugly, LLC, David Horvath and Sun-Min Kim.
All Rights Reserved.
- Uglydoll cookie jar: Get your own!
- Uglydoll mug: everyone loves your ugly mug!
- Uglydoll cup: Holds water and other drinks! (Sold separately)
- Coin bank: save it pal!
- Dishwasher Safe
- Microwave Safe
- Plate Measures: 9 3/4" H x 7 1/4" W
© Copyright 2000-2018, Kibo Software, Inc. and Uglydoll - Official Online Store.
Aspects of the Kibo network are patented, patent-pending, or patent-applied-for.All Rights Reserved.


text:
A close neighbour has the local garage in the village, and some few years ago, after using windows for a while, he became interested in Linux. So I put him onto Ubuntu 8.
He has stuck to it since for his home use, but he is still running an old Windows based Garage Management programme for his business on an elderly MS box.
He told me a few days ago that he feared the computer he uses for the business is getting to the end of its career and will need replacement sometime before long..... "Do you know of any Linux based garage management programmes?"
So I have looked....without a lot of success. I found a couple that claim to run on linux through WINE, but I have not found one that will run "straight out of the box".
Can any kind soul please shed some light on this state of affairs?
Many thanks for your anticipated enthusiasm


text:
I have switched to Xubuntu a few months ago coming from Kubuntu. I liked there the (already available) option of setting up a list of image files and have them randomly displayed. This was one of the things I have missed so far in Xfce.
As former Windows user I have aquired quite a large number of wallpapers (thx goes to HTTrack for downloading over 18k wallpapers...) and I like to have them displayed on the background. That's more or the less the only major change I do on a theme (if you can call that a change...)
Anyway, thx to TheSheep from the #xubuntu channel on irc.freenode.org (he's a really helpful guy and has helped me countless time) I can provide you with this small howto.
(1) Build your list of images
- Right-click on your desktop
- Select "Desktop settings"
- Make sure that "Allow Xfce to manage the desktop" and "Show Image" boxes are checked (they are by default)
- Click then on "New list"
- Add the image files by clicking on the "+"
- Once you are done, save the list
- You are back in the previous screen and your newly created list should be selected in the "File" input box
- Then close that interface
(2) Creating Cronjob for Wallpaper Changer functionality
- Open a terminal
- If you already have a "cron-command" file for your user, open that one in a text editor if not execute this command: nano cron.txt
- Enter the following two lines to the cron file:
This will change the image every 5 minutes. You can also change the behaviour. Please refer here: Cron HowTo# Reload Background Image
0,5,10,15,20,25,30,35,40,45,50,55 * * * * killall -USR1 xfdesktop
- Exit nano by pressing ctrl-x
- Press [y] to save the file
(3) Adding the Cronjob for Wallpapcher Changer
- Before you overwrite any existing user cronjobs please execute this command:
If nothing is returned then it's fine to add you wallpaper changer script!crontab -l
- Add the cron.txt file that we created under section (2) by issuing the following command in the shell:
- Enter now again crontab -l and you should have this output:crontab cron.txt
(4) That's ithyper@xubi:~$ crontab -l
# Reload Background Image
0,5,10,15,20,25,30,35,40,45,50,55 * * * * killall -USR1 xfdesktop
- Get some coffee or whatever and enjoy your desktop bakground wallpaper changer


text:
|Wrath of the Gods, the Greek mythology adventure game from the makers of Mythweb, is available for individual use and for teachers too.
|And now the Complete Guide to Wrath of the Gods is available from Amazon.com or Mythweb.
Gods · Heroes · Today · Encyclopedia
|Welcome to Mythweb. This site is devoted to the heroes, gods and monsters of Greek mythology.
Please note that Mythweb does not pretend to cover all the characters of Greek mythology. If you can't find what you are searching for, we suggest you try these links to other sites:
If you have arrived here in the interface of some other website or software company and would prefer to travel here directly, our address is http://www.mythweb.com. (By the way, if you see some banner or logo other than "Mythweb" on this page, it is not with our permission.)
All text and images on this site are copyright 1993-2018 Mythweb.
Real world location: San Francisco, California, USA.
Author: Joel Skidmore
Advisor: William Saturno
Mythweb is guaranteed kidsafe. Click here for our privacy policy.


text:
Handmade Holidays...
I am doing kinder church on fathers day. i need some craft ideas to do with the kids on fathers day. they are between the ages of 3-5. Any ideas?
i have one but seems to be kind of expencive.
May 27, 2010 at 2:23 PM
You could do their handprints using a salt dough recipe or
The child's painted footprint is placed on a paper with this
following poem...
Walk A Little Slower
"Walk a little slower, Daddy",
Said a little child so small.
"I'm following in your footsteps,
And I don't want to fall.
Sometimes your steps are very fast,
Sometimes they're hard to see;
So walk a little slower, Daddy,
For you are leading me.
Someday when I'm all grown up,
You're what I want to be;
Then I will have a little child
Who'll want to follow me.
And I would want to lead just right,
And know that I was true;
So, walk a little slower, Daddy,
For I must follow you."
(author unknown)
----the child signs it when dry. It's mounted and laminated, 2 holes
punch in the top edge, and either a length of twine or leather
by AliedaMay 27, 2010 at 2:31 PM
If someone has a instant camara you can take pictures and then use Popsicles sticks to make a frame the kids and decorated the frame.
May 28, 2010 at 2:00 AM
try this. take dad's hand and trace it. then put son's hand inside that handprint and trace his. somewhere on the pic of thier hands write something like "a father holds your hand for a second but he holds your heart forever." or "Daddy's Hands" by that 80's country group whose name i can't remember. it was like "there was always love in Daddy's hands." and let them use like yarn or glitter to outline the hands. and then frame them.
by keargo806May 31, 2010 at 8:48 PM
Thanks for the ideas!
My idea was to get thyme plants and put them in decorated cups or flower pots (that the kids decorated). then glue a picture of a sun, to a popsicle stick that has a poem about dad and how important dads time "thyme" with them is.
i thought it would be a great gift, because its not a "flower" but it has an alternate use and they can keep it growing. They wont have to throw it away or stash it.
Thyme is sort of expencive to buy 20 of them. so maybe if i get started now i can grow them myself. If that doesn't work then i have these great ideas to fall back on! Thank you all, if any more ideas please share!
June 6, 2010 at 5:33 PM
June 17, 2010 at 10:18 PM
my daughter came home from daycare today with the cutestt fathers day craft. shes only 2, but it could definitely be used for older kids too.
You take a apple and cut it in half... dip it in red paint and make a stamp of the apple on the paper. paint on a stim. then take their pointer finger, and make four little dots to make a caterpillar. (add a smile and googley eyes)
then write...
'Daddy, you're the apple of my eye and I love you to the core!!'
I thought it was so cute. Cant wait for her to give it to dh on sunday. :]
by juspeachyJune 18, 2010 at 12:19 PM
This is what my husband's ss class is making...http://babybunkins.blogspot.com/2010/06/fathers-day-craft.html
Send me a msg if you would like for me to send you the dad image.


text: Shade is offered in three flavors: Designer LE, Standard, and Professional editions, developed for everything from architectural design to 3D animation. Thanks to Shade's intuitive tools and real-time operation, designs quickly come to life. The new version is easy to master, affordable, and rich in professional features. A comprehensive design, modeling, and rendering tool set, Shade 7 includes basic to advanced modeling, lighting, and rendering tools.


text:
READING, Pa. (AP) — The city of Reading has agreed to settle a lawsuit filed by a man who had his skull fractured when he was beaten by a police officer with a flashlight.
The Reading Eagle reports (http://bit.ly/WRzzYs ) the city has agreed to settle with Francis Nunez for $250,000.
Nunez was beaten in May 2009 in what he says was a case of mistaken identity. The officer, Mark Groff, had been looking for a suspect and thought Nunez matched the description. Police say he ordered him to stop, but Nunez took off.
Authorities say Groff hit him three times with a flashlight. Groff was fired a month later for other reasons; he says Nunez reached for an object in his waistband that he thought was a knife.
City solicitor Charles Younger declined comment on the settlement.
Information from: Reading Eagle, http://www.readingeagle.com/


text:
Student-Logan City Interaction Increasing
Thursday, Apr. 17, 2014
The Student Life section of Utah State Today highlights work written by the talented student journalists at Utah State University. Each week, the editor selects a story that has been published in The Utah Statesman or the Hard News Café or both for inclusion in Utah State Today.
Student-Logan City Interaction Increasing
By Danielle Manley, assistant news editor, The Utah Statesman, Thursday, April 17, 2014
Students were invited Monday [April 14, 2014] outside the Taggart Student Center Auditorium to locate areas of concern on maps of Logan and describe the problem to Logan city officials.
Large zoomed-in maps with an aerial satellite view of neighborhoods surrounding USU were laid on three tables with several post-it notes stuck in various locations.
Sponsored by the USU Government Relations Council and Logan city, a USU neighborhood meeting was held where students had the opportunity to interact with officials involved in community development.
"We want them to trust us," said James Olson, Community Development Block Grant coordinator at Logan city and a liaison to the Neighborhood Council. "We want opportunities to have the students and the other residents to work together. We want to support you guys in educational pursuits, too."
Winter parking, noise ordinances, the number of occupants allowed in a home and dangerous intersections were all student concerns voiced to the city on Monday.
Previously, USU had a student representative on the Neighborhood Council, a group consisting of one person representing each neighborhood in Logan. The council meets monthly and holds neighborhood meetings several times a year. Because of poor attendance at monthly meetings and lack of communication, the position was taken away.
The city replaced the position with a staff member instead — Dennis Kohler, director of the Academic Resource Center. Kohler is part of a team including him and two students, newly elected Student Advocate Vice President Casey Saxton and GRC member Andy Pierucci.
"All I know is that through the Neighborhood Council and Dennis and Andy and Casey, we're far more interested in getting out and talking to the students," Olson said. "Kind of working on the ground level and saying, 'OK, what's your concerns? Let us know what's going on, because then we can make everyone's experience better in Logan.'"
Olson is excited about the increased communication and attendance of meetings. He said he can't be aware of what students care about unless they voice concerns.
"We're not really aware at City Hall what's going on up the hill," Olson said. "I don't know what four-way stop is a hassle and you've almost been hit on your bike 12 times. We don't know that."
He probed students to share their thoughts about the winter parking ordinance restricting parking on city streets between the hours of 1-6 a.m.
"In the Neighborhood Council, this has been a topic of discussion where they've got together and said, 'Well, is this ordinance fulfilling the purposes that we hope it is?'" Olson said. "And the answer is, some people say 'yes,' some people say 'no.' And we're really interested in finding out what Utah State students think ... Your neighborhoods are the ones most affected by it."
Saxton said the apartment complex he lives at provides a parking space for each student, but sometimes they're filled up by other cars. Several other students spoke up to agree with his comment.
"I think it's a really good idea where you rotate every other day," Saxton said. "Park on one side of the road so at least every other day the snow is being cleared on the side of the road."
A representative from Logan City Police also asked students about concerns they had.
Before Olson spoke to students, Capt. Curtis Hooley from the Logan City Police Department identified a few areas of interest in student neighborhoods — house parties, underage consumption of alcohol, burglaries, peeping toms and sexual offenses.
"It's the responsibility of each one of us to do what we can to help, at least, reduce the chances of being a victim of a crime," he said.
He mentioned house parties always having the potential to be a nuisance and reminded students to be good neighbors, but put more emphasis on burglaries and sex crimes.
He said auto burglaries are common in Logan, and most of the time, it's when a vehicle is left unlocked. He warned students to lock up cars and houses and hide valuable items like laptops, cell phones, game consoles and expensive calculators.
Having worked on sex crime cases for five years with Logan city, Hooley said alcohol is almost always involved in a sexual offense case.
"One of the things that I always try to say is that if you're going to go a party and you're going to consume alcohol, providing at least hopefully that you're 21, make sure you have somebody that's watching over you that you trust," he said. "Not somebody that's going to go to the party with you and then leave and leave you vulnerable."
He said students who have ground-floor apartments are more susceptible to peeping toms. He suggested looking inside apartment windows to observe what's visible when blinds are turned up or down.
"If it was a perfect world, you could do all those things and never have to worry about becoming a victim," Hooley said. "But we don't live in a perfect world."
Neighborhood Council meetings with all the representatives are held at 5:30 p.m. the third Thursday of almost every month at City Hall, 290 S. 100 West. Olson encouraged students to attend.
"I always tell students, 'You've got a friend at City Hall,'" he said.
– email@example.com
Twitter: @daniellekmanley


text:
My adult tama has an exclamation mark and is opening her mouth whilst the forth menu option along is highlighted (the one with the games etc is highlighted.
I have no idea what to do, whenever I try to select that option she shakes her head, i've tried praising, time-outing, her stress, hunger and happiness levels are fine.
Can anyone let me know whats happening/what she wants me to do?


text:
ROCKVILLE, Md. (AP) — Montgomery County school officials say they are looking into why more than half of students failed some of their final exams in math.
Figures released by the school system show 62 percent of high school students failed their final exams in geometry and 57 percent failed Algebra 2. Among honors level students, about a third failed those exams.
That has prompted officials in the school system to look into whether students are being adequately prepared for the tests. Schools Superintendent Joshua P. Starr says a work group will meet this summer. Teaching, student support and alignment between the curriculum and the exams are among the issues that will be looked at.
(Copyright 2013 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)


text:
Mississippi Valley junior transfer Davon Usher scored a game-leading 35 points to almost single-handedly keep the Delta Devils in the game, but Northwestern got key late baskets from sophomore guard Dave Sobolewski to pull out 81-68 win on Thursday night.
Sobolewski scored his first field goal of the season on a layup to break a 58-58 tie midway through the second half moments after Usher had hit a 3-point shot from the right corner to knot the score.
Sobolewski scored all 13 of his points, including two-3 point baskets, down the stretch to give Northwestern (2-0) the victory.
Reggie Hearn had 23 points and Jared Swopshire added 22 for the Wildcats, who needed a 23-10 spurt in the final 8:54 to win.
Usher, a forward who transferred from Polk State College in Florida, seemed to zone in as the game progressed, going 7 of 8 on three-point attempts. He had scored 32 points in his first two games with Mississippi Valley (0-3).
Northwestern had rolled to a 79-49 win over Texas Southern in its opener on Tuesday. Mississippi Valley had been outscored in its first two games 195-117.
On Thursday, Mississippi Valley also got 14 points from Matt Smith and 10 from Julius Francis. The Delta Devils, who had shot just 33 percent from the floor in their first two contests, connected at 47.1 percent against Northwestern, but Usher was 12 of 18 from the floor and hit all four of his free-throw attempts.
Northwestern shot hot-and-cold but ended up connecting at 50 percent. Senior forward Drew Crawford, who scored 20 points in the Wildcat's opening win Tuesday, was held to just 4 points. But Northwestern wound up 12 of 23 from 3-point range Thursday, with Swopshire going 5 of 6 and Hearn going 4 of 6.
Thursday's game didn't figure to be a nail-biter. And it didn't start that way.
Northwestern jumped ahead quickly for the second straight time, grabbing a 17-8 lead at 5:27 in when Swopshire hit a3-point shot. The game seemed to be tilting toward a second straight Wildcat blowout win, and a third consecutive lopsided loss for Mississippi Valley.
But the Delta Devils picked up the slack to create an up-tempo and, at times physical, contest. Northwestern led only 40-38 at the half.
Usher led the charge with 19 points in the first half, and sunk his fifth 3-pointer with 16 seconds left to bring the Delta Devils to within two points for the first time since the opening two minutes of the game.
Usher then tied the game 40-all at 1:08 into the second half when he drove and connected on a layup.
Northwestern went on a 16-5 run following Usher's basket to open a little breathing room, but the Delta Devils didn't back down. Usher leaped high to fire in a 3-pointer from the right corner to tie it at 58 with 9:30 left.\
Sobolewski drove through traffic 45 seconds later to lift his first field goal of the season and put Northwestern back in front for good, 60-58.
Earlier on Thursday, Northwestern announced it had signed Jaren Sina and Nathan Taphorn to national letters of intent.
Sina is a 6-foot-2 guard from Jefferson Township, N.J. He averaged 20.1 points and 8.4 assists as a prep junior at Gill St. Bernard's. The 6-foot-7 Taphorn averaged 13.3 points and 5.8 rebounds as a junior at Pekin High School in Illinois.


text:
Sears Posts Another Double-Double As Yale Wins Second Straight
WEST HARTFORD, Conn. – By going back to what it does best, the Yale men's basketball team earned an impressive 54-49 victory at Hartford on Saturday at Chase Family Arena.
Trailing by three at halftime, the Bulldogs outrebounded the Hawks 19-10 and got to the free throw line 19 times in the second half.
"We attacked the basket, and our identity is rebounding," said Justin Sears, who led Yale with 16 points and 10 rebounds.
Still, the Bulldogs were down by seven with 13 minutes left. That's when Sears began to really assert himself. He scored six straight points, including a pair of powerful dunks, to ignite a 15-5 Yale run over the next seven-and-a-half minutes.
Hartford (2-6) managed to regain the lead, 47-46, on Wes Cole's baseline three-pointer with 2:19 left, but Yale again responded. Nick Victor's short jumper in the lane gave the Bulldogs the lead for good, and Armani Cotton followed with three free throws.
The Hawks pulled back within one on another Cole three-pointer, but Javier Duren answered with two more free throws with 21 seconds left.
The Hawks elected to go for a quick two on the ensuing possession, but Sears blocked Yolonzo Moore's shot. The ball eventually found its way to Mark Nwakamma, but he was called for travelling before he could get off a three-pointer.
Jesse Pritchard made two three throws with four seconds left to seal the victory.
"Every day in practice, we work on situations," said Sears of Yale's solid execution down the stretch.
Duren was the only other Yale player to reach double figures in scoring. He finished with 10 points. Pritchard and Cotton both had eight and Victor contributed five.
In the first half, the Bulldogs took an uncharacteristic 12 three-pointers, had nine turnovers and were outrebounded 23-17.
"In the second half, we did a better job rebounding and we took care of the ball," said James Jones, The Joel E. Smilow, Class of 1954 Head Coach of Men's Basketball.
The game was a defensive struggle throughout. Yale shot just 32.7 percent from the field, while the Hawks were only slightly better at 33.3 percent.
The Bulldogs did a good job defending Nwakamma, Hartford's leading scorer, who finished with 15 points.
"We tried to isolate, put a body on him and make what he got tough," Jones said. "He was 5-of-13 [from the field] so I thought we did a pretty good job defensively."
The Bulldogs (4-3) have now won two straight, both away from home.
"Our last two games have been like [Ivy] League road games," Jones said of the wins over Lafayette and now Hartford. "When we prepare the schedule, we want those opportunities."
Yale now gets to play two straight games in the friendly confines of Lee Amphitheater, starting with Bryant on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m.
Report filed by Tim Bennett, Yale Sports Publicity


text:
Adobe & Careers
What's your personal brand?
June 8, 2011
Every one of us personifies a brand i.e. the values and perceptions associated with us as individuals. Just like how we automatically think of safety and Volvo; the perfect cup of coffee anywhere in the world and Starbucks; or sportsmanship with Nike, we carry our personal brands on our shoulders. It's our reputation. It's what we are known for.
Last week, we spent some time discussing the importance of creating a personal brand with John Travis, VP of Brand Marketing, who lives and breathes brand on a daily basis, and Jeff Vijungco, VP of Talent Acquisition, who is—for the most part—on the receiving end of experiencing personal brands from candidates who interview with Adobe.
Here's a recap of the session:
Question: How do you define a brand?
Answer: A brand is not a logo. At the most basic level, a brand is a set of perceptions, thoughts, feelings, images tied to a product or service. It is what people say or think of when you're in the room and when you're not. At the very core, there are five dimensions that make up a brand and these dimensions can be applied to your career:
1. Authenticity – Be true to yourself. Know your strengths and accept your weaknesses.
2. Understanding – Realize how people perceive you and your skillsets.
3. Differentiation – Know what sets you apart from another. What's your unique value? How do you stand out?
4. Relevance – Get a firm understanding of how relevant your skills are to your company and your team.
5. Presence – Ask yourself if you are visible enough. Be present at the table.
Q: What career coaching or advice have your received along the way
A: 1. The importance of presence and how you show up because 80% of communication is non-verbal. People form perceptions of what you're like to work with and if you're good at what you do by the impression you leave behind.
2. The need to have incredible self-awareness. You need to ask for feedback from people who will tell you nothing but the truth so you can improve. Feedback in the moment is critical and you must be willing to accept the good and the bad.
3. To continually evolve and stay relevant. I believe that if you focus on developing yourself, the rest will come.
Q: How does your brand impact your career?
A: There are two levels of a brand:
1. Entry level – the brand exudes high quality and efficiency at minimum. This can be equated to you and your career. It's what's expected of you.
2. What makes the brand unique? – the brand offers distinction and uniqueness. Think about what makes you and your skills unique. It's what makes you stand out from your peers.
Q: How do you describe the brand of "leaders" at Adobe?
A: People think of Adobe as a company full of experts and people who are genuinely nice and collaborative. Our leaders are experts in their field and this translates to the people who work with them and ultimately, how Adobe is perceived externally. As a leader, your brand will always be associated with how you treat people and how good are you at your craft. A good leader needs to embody thought leadership, results leadership, people leadership and personal leadership.
Q: How can you rebrand yourself and move your brand in a new direction?
A: It starts with having a good track record. Do you have a winning trend? Are you willing to do the hard work? Having a good track record will give you brand permission to stretch outside the box. It's important to continue being a "student" and have "passionate curiosity". Keep re-inventing yourself and ensure that you're constantly "stretching" from a career perspective. Don't fall into the trap of being in the comfort zone and ask for what you want.
Key takeaways:
• The foundation of your brand begins with understanding your career aspirations, your values (personal and work), strengths and what you're passionate about.
• Define your brand statement by answering these simple questions:
– I am all about…(your promise of what you will deliver) OR
– I'm known for…(your top strengths/attributes) and my expertise is…(your unique skills/experience)
• Share your brand statement with people you trust and ask them if that's an accurate reflection of how they view you
• Keep re-inventing and stretching yourself
We realize that defining your brand is probably easy. Living up to that promise is harder. Feel free to share your comments or perspectives. We'd like to hear from you.


text:
First Pair of Horseshoe Armchairs
Looking at these chairs, it is easy to see how they came by the name "horseshoe" These chairs are about 150 years old, and most probably originated in Shanxi province. What's not to like about them? There is a traditional design carved into the back splat, a well executed 3 piece apron between the seat and the footrest and stretchers connecting the legs. This style chair goes back to the 16th and 17th centuries (Ming Dynasty). The magnificent proportions, and simple grace of the chairs enables them to be right at home in a traditional Chinese home, or a modern western home.The seat height is 19".
Wood: Elm
Province: Shanxi
Dimensions: 36" x 25" x 18"
Price: $1,850 pair


text:
ORCHARD PARK, NY -- It was a nail-bitter, especially after the Bills scored a fourth-quarter TD, but the Dolphins held on today for a 15-10 victory in the regular-season opener.
As masterpieces go, this one was painted in crayons.
But the NFL doesn't judge beauty. Wins and losses are judged by points, be they accumulated in ugly fashion or not.
The Dolphins defense was ugly today. It was a good ugly. They snarled, they spit, they fought, they dominated for the entire game except Buffalo's 81-yard drive in the fourth quarter.
Karlos Dansby, Koa Misi, and Cameron Wake had sacks. Dansby was all over the field.
Jason Allen was unscathed in his starting debut as he shadowed Lee Evans throughout the game.
The Miami offense?
It needs work. Lots of work.
Chad Henne was not sharp. He was 21 of 34 for 182 yards with no touchdowns and no interceptions. He held the ball too long at times. He and Brandon Marshall are still not quite in synch.
Henne underthrew Marshall on what should have been an easy, long TD pass. Forced to come back to the ball, Marshall then dropped it. Incomplete.


text:
It's national Native American Heritage Month, so for week 48 of our Kansas sesquicentennial video series we're featuring our rare, 3-volume set of History of the Indian Tribes of North America by Thomas McKenney & James Hall.
This tremendous 19th-century collection of lithographs was really one of the first and best records of what Native Americans looked like, what their costumes were like, what they brought with them to Washington to negotiate the treaties.
About 52 for 150
Every object has a story, and stories build history. To celebrate 150 years of Kansas statehood we're featuring 52 objects (or collections of related objects)—something new each week throughout the year—from the Topeka & Shawnee County Public Library's 130-year-old special, and permanent collections, that represent our collective state history and cultural diversity.
Our collections are available for teachers, students, researchers and general interest, and we hope this online video program will provide insight into what's so "special" about Special Collections. Your library's commitment to collecting art and preserving local history makes it possible for users today and in the future to have immediate access to invaluable research material and cultural artifacts.
To make an appointment to see this book, either the original set or our smaller reproduction, or get help finding other books or videos related to this topic, call or stop by the Topeka Room (785-580-4510) on the Library's second floor. We're located at the top of the stairs on your left.


text:
Likely cooks in Ontario will want to serve this with a hearty and substantial dish, such as Chickpea Paneer Kofta in a Creamy Cashew Tomato Sauce or Greek Macaroni and Cheese, to combat the ridiculously cold temperatures we are experiencing right now. Spring can't come soon enough for me.
Mixed Green and Radicchio Salad with Balsamic Rosemary DressingOther salad ideas from Lisa's Vegetarian Kitchen you are sure to enjoy:
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh rosemary leaves
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
fresh ground black pepper to taste
1 tablespoon walnut oil
1/4 cup olive oil
4 cups salad greens
1 small radicchio, cored and chopped
1 yellow bell pepper, seeded and cut into thin strips
1 red onion, sliced
Whisk together the balsamic vinegar, Dijon mustard, rosemary, salt and pepper in a small bowl. Drizzle the oil into the dressing while whisking. Set aside at room temperature for 10 minutes or longer to let the rosemary soften and its flavour infuse the dressing.
Meanwhile, toss the salad ingredients until combined. Give the dressing a quick whisk, then drizzle over the salad.
Serves 6 to 8.
Mustard & Herb Dressing
Creamy Sesame Miso Salad Dressing
Lemon Mint Dressing
Cucumber Dill Dressing
On the top of the reading stack: The National Post
Audio Accompaniment: Harold Budd


text: This really pisses me off. How many chances is she going to get? At any rate, she'll be dead soon. From TMZ: Lindsay Lohan will be charged with the crime of lying to police after her car accident in June on Pacific Coast Highway … TMZ has learned. We broke the story … Lohan told cops she was NOT behind the wheel of her Porsche when it slammed into the back of an 18-wheeler. Fact is she was — according to multiple witnesses. Law enforcement sources tell us … the case will be filed as a misdemeanor by the Santa Monica City Attorney … possibly this week. The charge could spell huge trouble for Lindsay, because she's currently on probation for the jewelry heist. The criminal filing could trigger a probation violation, and Judge Stephanie Sautner — the jewelry judge — could send her to the slammer for a long, long time. And law enforcement sources tell us … cops found prescription pills in her purse after the crash. Witnesses tell us pills were also scattered in her trunk. Our sources say authorities were prepared to charge LiLo with drug crimes, but Lindsay's lawyer, Shawn Holley, gave cops documentations from Lindsay's doctor, saying the pills were properly prescribed. Authorities then backed off that charge. As for the charge of lying to cops, Lindsay almost dodged that bullet. You may recall, after the accident, Lindsay went to the hospital where she was interviewed by cops, and that's when she told them she wasn't behind the wheel. Her lawyer, Shawn Holley, made a mad dash for the hospital to muzzle her client (see video), but she was a few minutes too late. Comedy and crime — it's all about timing.


text:
GENEVA – Doug Whitley doesn't expect pension reform to come to Illinois anytime soon unless lawmakers get serious about making some tough decisions.
Whitley, president and CEO of the Illinois Chamber of Commerce, spoke to members from the Geneva, St. Charles and Elgin chambers of commerce Thursday at a state chamber update breakfast at Eagle Brook Country Club in Geneva.
Pension reform took up a large portion of his keynote speech about how to make Illinois a better place for business. He said the state has almost $100 billion in unfunded pension promises and is taking in only $30 billion in revenues to offset it.
Whitley said early retirements, cost-of-living increases and a broader scope of pension recipients has stressed the pension system over the years.
He praised lawmakers for making tough decisions a few years ago when they amended pension contributions for new pension-eligible employees. He said while those workers were entitled to pension deals that became more lucrative throughout the years, the state simply can't afford it.
"As a taxpayer, all of us are going to be paying a lot more than that person paid [into a pension]," he said, reminding the crowd of about 90 people that state workers don't get Social Security. "We have the worst public employee pension system in the country by a long shot."
Whitley predicts that the pension issue will continue to downgrade the state's bond rating, which he said has already been downgraded 10 to 12 times in the last three years.
He said for business owners to make a difference, they need to reach out to both local and statewide lawmakers.
"Continue to go to fundraisers for our local officials, but consider supporting those in other parts of the state," he said, noting that this part of the state is not the problem.
He challenged employers to ask lawmakers how the Illinois business community can be prosperous and why it's so hard to do business in Illinois.
Whitley said he believes Gov. Pat Quinn is being proactive in solving the pension issue, but said some of Quinn's tactics just haven't worked. He said he expects the state's deficit and unfunded spending will be just as bad in two years as it is now, which will probably be an issue in the next gubernatorial election.
As far as what local chambers of commerce can do to make the state more business friendly, Whitley suggested that chambers identify their roles in their respective business communities and also urged chambers to get involved with public policy.
"From my perspective, I want local chambers to be a part of of the political process," he said.
Business owners urged to reach out to state lawmakers
GENEVA – Doug Whitley doesn't expect pension reform to come to Illinois anytime soon unless lawmakers get serious about making some tough decisions.


text:
Mall name:
495 Premium Outlets Blvd., Hagerstown, Maryland - MD 21740
Phone number to Hagerstown Premium Outlets mall
301 790 0300
Hours (mall)
Monday – Saturday 10:00 am – 9:00 pm, Sunday 10:00 am – 7:00 pm.
Driving directions
Other stores in Hagerstown Premium Outlets:
Looking for another location of New Balance store?
Go to New Balance store locator to see all New Balance stores


text:
Projects/GLD Demo/Members
This article lists information about members that have volunteered to participate and collaborate on the W3C eGov Interest Group Project 3: Government Linked Data Demonstration. The members of the eGov IG responded to a survey indicating the level of effort they can provide the project - see 'Engagement Commitment' definition for each level below and corresponding members.
Level 5 Members
Engagement Commitment: "This project is a major part of my professional life. I will devote several hours per day or days per week to this project."
- Daniela Silva, Esfera <danielabsilva at gmail dot com>
- Brand Niemann, US EPA <niemann.brand at epa dot gov>
- Boubacar FOUMEKOYE <foumekoye at gmail dot com>
- Cory Casanave <cory-c at modeldriven.com>
Level 4 Members
Engagement Commitment: "I'll put significant time into this project. I can attend extra phone meetings, read and respond to e-mail nearly every day, and can write text for documents."
- Ed Summers, Library of Congress <edsu>
- Brian Ahierr, Mid-Columbia Medical Center <brianahier at gmail dot com>
- Vassilios Peristeras, DERI <vperiste>
- Manos Batsis, Abiss.gr <manos at abiss dot gr>
- John Sheridan <john dot sheridan at nationalarchives dot gov dot uk>
- Michael Hausenblas <michael dot hausenblas at deri dot org>
- Thomas Bandholtz
- Sandro Hawke
- Jose Manuel Alonso
- Li Ding <dingl at cs dot rpi dot edu>
Level 3 Members
Engagement Commitment: "I'll read a few emails a week, talk about this project in meetings, and review some drafts."
- Steven Clift, E-Democracy.org <clift at e-democracy dot org>
- Brad Cox, Rividium <brad dot cox at rividium dot com>
- Quiroz Sergio , School of Economy and Business - University of Chile <squiroz at fen dot uchile dot cl>
- Roy Graham, Hybrid Medical Analytics <hybridmedicalanalytics at gmail dot com>
- Brian Gryth, Colorado Department of State <briangryth at gmail dot com>
- Vincent Todd, WTVIII, Inc. <Todd dot Vincent at xmllegal dot org>
- Ken Fischer, GovCollab.org <ken at govcollab dot org>
- Daniel Dietrich, Opendata Network Germany <ddie at me dot com>
- Rana SK, Canbase <srana at canbase dot com>
- Taofeeq Olatinwo, Harmony Worldwide Inc. <tkolatinwo at yahoo dot com>
- Jonathan Gray, Open Knowledge Foundation <jonathan dot gray at okfn dot org>
- John Flynn, BBN <jflynn at bbn dot com>
- Aldo Gangemi <a dot gangemi at istc dot cnr dot it>
- Danny Ayers <danny dot ayers at talis dot com>
- Rinke Hoekstra <hoekstra at uva dot nl>
- Sergey Lizin <sergey dot lizin at gmail dot com>
- Daniel Bennett
- Chris Beer
- Luigi Selmi
- Javier de la Cueva <jdelacueva at derecho-internet.org>


text:
Contact the Host
Cleveland State University Professional Development Center
The Professional Development Center at the Monte Ahuja College of Business is your resource for relevant, industry driven training– for yourself and every employee in your organization.
The Professional Development Center is your partner in creating a strategic advantage over the competition. Open enrollment sessions are now available with easy online registration.
Group discounts, on-site training, and customized courses are also available. For more information, please contact Marie Herlevi at 216-523-7278 or firstname.lastname@example.com.


text:
Texas A&M football is off to another great start in 2013. The Ags are 4-1 and ranked 9th in the country. If you had told me two years ago that we would be on our way to a second Top 10 season and have a reigning Heisman Trophy quarterback winner at quarterback, I would have told you to go back to the loony bin you just came from.
The offense has been everything it was expected to be, and more, averaging 49.2 points and over 586 yards of total offense a game. Manziel has bounced back from his off-season troubles and picked up right where he left off in 2012, averaging 62.8 yards rushing and 360.6 yds passing per game. Many expected the receiving core would take a big hit with the departures of Ryan Swope and Uzoma Nwachukwu, but stud receiver Mike Evans has made up the difference, hauling in 28 passes for a whopping 691 yds and 5 touchdowns. The ground game has been as shored up as ever, with senior running back Ban Malena leading the pack with 303 yards and 7 touchdowns. The only reason his stats aren't more impressive is due in large part to the great play of Tra Carson, Brandon Williams, and Trey Williams behind him.
As you can see, the offense is running just fine. Clarence McKinney's "score at all costs" mentality has paid off dividends for the Ags, hence why they're second in the SEC in points scored.
But the big question has been, and will be, the Aggies' defense.
A&M lost junior All-American DaMontre Moore early to the 2013 NFL draft, and defensive tackle Spencer Neely and linebackers Sean Porter and Johnathan Stewart graduated. That's a lot for a defense to bounce back from, and a lot of leadership roles left vacant.
Looking to lead in the middle was linebacker Steven Jenkins, who came on strong at the end of last season. However, an in-house suspension found him on the sideline for the first two games, along with starting defensive back De'Vante Harris and defensive end Gavin Stansbury. Add all of that to cornerback Deshazor Everett and safety Floyd Raven's half-game and one game suspensions, as well as defensive tackle Kirby Ennis' season-opener suspension for gun charges, and you've got more than half of your starting D riding pine.
Their absence was more than evident in the first two games, when the Aggies turned in lackluster performances by giving up 31 and 28 points to Rice and Sam Houston State respectively.
Luckily, all of the starters were back in time for 'Bama (whew, cut that one close), but it takes time for a defense to gel, and that happens best in games, not practice. By the time the Aggies were at full strength for the Crimson Tide it was too late, as they gave up 568 total yards and 49 points in a shoot-out loss. As someone outside looking in, you can't help but think that if the starters had been together from the start, we might have edged out the Tide.
Facing SMU the next week, the defense looked much better, surrendering only 13 points in a lop-sided 42-13 win. But that personal victory was short-lived, as the Ags gave up 483 yards to a struggling Arkansas team and just did edge out the Razorbacks in Fayetteville, 45-33. As if to add insult to injury, Ennis went down with a torn ACL and will be out for the rest of the season, opening up a huge hole on the defensive line.
You win games with offense, but you win championships with defense. Unless one of the young players steps in to a big-time role, like true freshman linebacker Darian Claiborne, (11 tackles vs. Rice, 8 vs. Arkansas), Texas A&M won't become an elite team (at least not this year). But I'm a big believer in Mark Snyder, as is most of the 12th Man, and if anybody can turn this team around, it's him. Granted, I'm looking at it through Maroon & White glasses, but I truly believe that if the Ags can get capable leaders on defense, they can win out and be at a BCS bowl in January.
Well, that was…interesting. That's the about the only thing that can describe my feelings on the Texas Rangers' season. A year that started out with a lot of promise, but one that saw the club miss the postseason for the first time in four years.
After an abysmal end to 2012, the Rangers were looking for a fresh start. Slugger Josh Hamilton, whose sloppy play down the stretch drew the ire of many Texas fans, signed with the division rival Angels over the off-season, freeing up GM Jon Daniels and the front office to sign other big free agents. Opting for a smaller fish, the Rangers signed brash backstop A.J. Pierzynski, shoring up a veteran presence on the field and in the lineup. They also made sure to keep their returning playmakers, signing hurler Matt Harrison and short stop Elvis Andrus to big contract extensions. It was a new look to a familiar team, one that would hopefully make a long run in the postseason.
However, baseball is a tricky game, and a lot can happen over 162 games. Harrison, an 18-game winner a year ago, was sidelined with an injury after just two starts, and Andrus found himself mired in a slump for most of the season. Pierzynski was able to fulfill his role quite well though, and the solid play of Adrian Beltre, Nelson Cruz and Yu Darvish kept the Rangers in it for most of the season.
But when July rolled around, reports surfaced that All-Star Cruz had received performance enhancing drugs from the now dismantled Biogenesis Clinic in Miami. The slugger confessed to taking the PED's in late 2011-early 2012, and was hit with a 50-game suspension by the league. Suddenly, the Rangers were without their top home run hitter and leading RBI man.
But credit Daniels for picking up outfielder Alex Rios off of waivers from the White Sox. He proved to be a valuable player down the stretch, and I don't think the Rangers would have even gotten a whiff of the postseason if it weren't for him. That being said, he's no Nelson Cruz, and the scoreboard showed it. The Rangers were missing their biggest power threat and dropped 15 of their first 20 games in September.
It was the same song, different verse; a promising start, only to see the team deflate and collapse in the end. But, unlike last season's squad, this year's Rangers were determined not to repeat history, rolling on to seven straight wins at the end of the season (four of those courtesy of Josh Hamilton and the Angels) to force a one game tie-breaker with the Rays. They lost that one 5-2, but you can't help but admire the fight at the end of the season. However, if the Rangers had just taken care of business earlier in the season, they wouldn't have had to worry about losing it in the 163rd game.
The starting 2013 rotation was a tough-luck story as well. Yu Darvish would have made a case for the Cy Young if it were not for awful run support, a problem that undoubtedly would have been helped with Cruz's bat. The same goes for Derek Holland. While the lefty had an up-and-down season, his performance warranted a much better record than 10-9.
I think the number of headhunters calling for Ron Washington to be burned at the stake has dwindled, but Rangers fans are still hurting from the let-down of another under-achieving season. Hopefully, they can find the right pieces in the off-season to win a World Series Championship in 2014.
While skill is the first and foremost requirement for professional athletes, size is always a plus. You may be able to run like a jackrabbit, but if you're only 5'5'' and 120 lbs., then your NFL future looks pretty bleak. For some, they're able to combine powerful size with top-notch skill to become the best athletes in the world. Here's a list of the 20 biggest, brawniest and beefiest professional athletes, taken from bleachrreport.com's Amber Lee article. The "Net Size" is based on a mathematical formula that takes into account the athlete's height and weight.
20. Dwight Howard, Houston Rockets
Height: 6'11"
Weight: 265
Net Size: 87.5
Rockets center Dwight Howard may not be one of the more intimidating personalities in the NBA, but he is certainly imposing by his physical presence alone. That being said, he's got five inches and 50 pounds on former Lakers teammate Kobe Bryant, yet he looks like a little boy standing next to him.
19. Glen Davis, Orlando Magic
Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images
Height: 6'9"
Weight: 289
Net Size: 89.5
Magic power forward Glen Davis' nickname is "Big Baby," emphasis on the "big." He was named the SEC Player of the Year in 2006 and selected by the SuperSonics in the second round of the NBA draft in 2007.
18. Al Jefferson, Charlotte Bobcats
Streeter Lecka/Getty Images
Height: 6'10"
Weight: 289
Net Size: 94.5
Quite conspicuously holding the coveted title of "NBA Big Man," center Al Jefferson signed a three-year deal with the struggling Bobcats in July.
17. Shaun Rogers, New York Giants
Height: 6'4"
Weight: 350
Net Size: 95
The best NFL defensive tackles pair big, nearly immovable bodies with athletic ability belying the mass they're asked to move around a football field—Giants defensive tackle Shaun Rodgers has spent 13 years doing just that.
16. Marcus Cannon, New England Patriots
Rich Schultz/Getty Images
Height: 6'5"
Weight: 340
Net Size: 95
It's a good thing Marcus Cannon is such a beast, because the Patriots are going to need all the help they can get in this season of transition. A few more injuries and this guy might be catching passes from Tom Brady.
15. Marc Gasol, Memphis Grizzlies
Ronald Martinez/Getty Images
Height: 7'1"
Weight: 265
Net Size: 97.5
Grizzlies center Marc Gasol is just a shade bigger than older brother Pau, who plays for the Lakers. Must be something in those Gasol genes…apparently their boys only come in sizes "Large" and "Larger."
14. Kellen Heard, NFL Free Agent
Rick Stewart/Getty Images
Height: 6'6"
Weight: 341
Net Size: 100.5
Free-agent nose tackle Kellen Heard has struggled to stay on an NFL roster since first being signed as an undrafted free agent out of Memphis by the Raiders in 2010. He has since had stints with the Bills, Rams and Colts.
13. Andrew Bynum, Cleveland Cavaliers
Height: 7'0"
Weight: 285
Net Size: 102.5
Newly signed Cavaliers big man Andrew Bynum is so lanky looking and has such fragile knees that I was actually surprised to learn he tips the scales at nearly 300 pounds. He certainly carries it well. As far as I could tell, this makes Bynum the third-largest active player in the NBA…or darn near.
12. Hasheem Thabeet, Oklahoma City Thunder
Height: 7'3"
Weight: 263
Net Size: 106.5
Hasheem Thabeet is one of countless players in the NBA chosen ridiculously high in the draft because he is ridiculously tall. Assuming someone is going to be great professional basketball player because he's tall is a stereotype costing NBA teams millions of dollars each year. Thabeet lasted less than two seasons with the Grizzlies before being traded to the Rockets…and then the Trail Blazers…and then he signed with the Thunder in 2012.
11. Michael Jasper, NFL Free Agent
Height: 6'4"
Weight: 375
Net Size: 107.5
Free-agent lineman Michael Jasper was drafted by the Bills out of Bethel in the seventh round of the 2011 NFL draft. If there's anything such as too big in the league, this guy is it. Jasper spent most of his rookie season on the practice squad before being activated in late December. He was released by the Bills the following summer and has since been dumped by the Titans, Omaha Nighthawks and Giants.
10. Eddy Curry, Zhejiang Golden Bulls
Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images
Height: 7'0"
Weight: 295
Net Size: 107.5
Believe it or not, before Eddy Curry's epic 100-pound weight loss in 2011, his overall size (157 net size) would've put him somewhere between the second and third athletes on this list. Which will be pretty freaking epic once you see who those guys are. Curry's current size is much better for his career—not to mention his health.
9. Leonard Davis, NFL Free Agent
NFL Photos/Getty Images
Height: 6'6"
Weight: 355
Net Size: 107.5
For a man of his impressive girth, free-agent guard Leonard Davis had a very impressive career in the NFL. Drafted by the Cardinals No. 2 overall in 2001, the three-time Pro Bowler played last season with the Super Bowl runner-up 49ers. An even more positive spin would be calling the Niners the "NFC Champions," which Davis' Wikipedia page does.
8. Roy Hibbert, Indiana Pacers
Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images
Height: 7'2"
Weight: 280
Net Size: 110
Roy Hibbert, the 26-year-old Pacers center, has always been a sizable presence on the court. But look for him to be even more sizable this upcoming season, having spent the offseason training with ageless (giant) wonder Tim Duncan.
7. King Dunlap, San Diego Chargers
Height: 6'9"
Weight: 330
Net Size: 110
King Dunlap is the rather giant offensive tackle currently tasked with protecting the blind side of Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers. Having played his first five years with the Eagles, Dunlap became an unrestricted free agent in 2013 and signed a two-year deal with San Diego.
6. Phil Loadholt, Minnesota Vikings
Jim McIsaac/Getty Images
Height: 6'8"
Weight: 343
Net Size: 111.5
Vikings offensive tackle Phil Loadholt is positively massive, exactly the kind of guy you want blocking for MVP running back Adrian Peterson. An unrestricted free agent this past offseason, Peterson's public support had to have played a significant role in the decision to re-sign him.
5. Bryant McKinnie, Baltimore Ravens
Height: 6'8"
Weight: 352
Net Size: 116
Ravens offensive tackle Bryant McKinnie may be one of the largest players in the NFL, but that doesn't mean he's "fat or sloppy." So says McKinnie, who recently expressed his displeasure with the constant barrage of criticism he faces for how much he weighs.
4. T.J. Barnes, Jacksonville Jaguars
Height: 6'7"
Weight: 364
Net Size: 117
Former Georgia Tech defensive tackle T.J. Barnes is a rookie who struggled a bit through training camp but ultimately made the final roster for the Jaguars.
3. Terrell Brown, NFL Free Agent
Height: 6'10"
Weight: 403
Net Size: 151.5
During this past offseason the Rams signed undrafted free agent Terrell Brown out of Ole Miss because coach Jeff Fisher said they were trying to "add size" to their offensive line. Well the added size was short-lived, as Brown was waived following an injury in July.
2. The Big Show, WWE
Ethan Miller/Getty Images
Height: 7'0"
Weight: 425
Net Size: 172.5
They don't call him the Big Show for nothing. The WWE superstar's name isn't an ironic nickname like "Little Kevin" (God rest his soul) from The Wire, who was called little but was actually quite large. The Big Show is, in fact, quite big.
1. Emanuel "Little" Yarbrough, Sumo Wrestler
Height: 6'8"
Weight: 600
Net Size: 240
Obviously this whole list would've been occupied by sumo wrestlers if we'd gone that direction—thankfully we didn't. One is enough when you've got Emmanuel Yarborough, the Guinness World Record holder for the largest athlete. Keep in mind—this is him after losing 100 pounds.
It seemed like everyone and their mother came to College Station last weekend for the big game against 'Bama. Thousands upon thousands of fans (and non-fans) invaded Aggieland to attend what they believed was going to be the college football party of the year. And it was.
If you were one of those who braved the masses to tailgate or go to the game, then you witnessed one of the biggest events in Texas A&M history. If you weren't, then you missed out on something truly historic. If the latter was you, then allow me to give you a little photographical insight into how Gameday went, both as a sports reporter and as a member of the 12th Man.
My first stop was at the Zone 1150 broadcast tent near the Former Student Association Center. Louie and the gang were doing their usual thing, shooting the "good bull" and chatting about the up-coming match-up. Hard to believe they get paid to do this.
Next, I took a nice little stroll down Houston Street. And by stroll, I mean I pushed, poked and prodded my way through a mass of maroon and white. Tailgates and people surrounded me on all sides. To the right, Spence Park, where white tent tops and banners stretched as far as the eye could see, and to the left, Lot 48, where tailgaters had set up shop on the sidewalk.
After managing to awkwardly rub up against only a few dozen people, I made the turn around the ruins of what used to be G. Rollie White and headed through the MSC to Simpson Drill Field, where I came upon this.
Keep in mind, this was 9 O'clock in the morning, more than 5.5 hours away from kick-off. Many in the crowd had camped out all night in hopes of getting caught on the ESPN Gameday camera.
Once I got my super-duper secret ESPN credentials, I snuck back stage (which is really front stage) to the camera perch in front of the Gameday set. I had gotten to stand in that spot for last year's game against Florida, but this time it felt different, probably because of the magnitude of the game. Watching Corso, Fowler, Herbstreit and Howard haggle over the picks for the day is something great to witness in person.
Even better were the Gameday signs. I saw everything from "Nick Saban listens to Nickelback," to a lovely picture of Paul Finebaum dressed as a clown.
Gameday wrapped up around 11, and then I trudged across the field to our hospitality tent on Joe Routt behind The Zone. On the way, I ran into some flamboyant Aggie and Tide fans; some attractive...
...and some not so attractive.
By the time I got to the tent, it was a bustling city, with street teamers and employees running around, making sure all the guests had refreshments and food; especially Congressman Bill Flores.
In the midst of it all, I still somehow managed to call in to the West Virginia Radio Network for a couple of pre-game updates. Even though the game didn't start for another 2.5 hours, there were still plenty of things to talk about. I could tell just by the tone of their voices that the folks in West Virginia were jealous of my seat at the game, especially since tickets were going for the cost of a house payment.
After milling around the tent and snapping a few pictures, it was time for me to make my way to the press box. Kevin O'Connor, a.k.a. "Boss Hogg", and I walked over to the alumni side of the stadium where the elevators were waiting take us up. As we made the turn, I saw the line and stopped me dead in my tracks. It snaked all the way down the sidewalk, almost to the gate, and men and women stood crowded together, melting in the sweltering heat. Luckily, the working press gets a few privileges at the game, and we were able to sneak up to the front of the line. I could feel the eyes burning into the back of my head, but luckily, the crowd's average age was around 72, so all I had to worry about was a stray cane wacking me in the calf.
Once we got into the press box, I started to set up my stuff. Lap-top; stat sheet; everything was in place. I tried to contain my excitement, because you're supposed to be "strictly professional" when working the game, but it was difficult to do.
A few minutes passed and then the band started cranking up the Aggie War Hymn. Now, one thing I had heard of, but never actually experienced before this season, was the top level of Kyle Field moving when we "saw varsity's horns off". I've been to plenty of games, both as a student and on the alumni side, but I've always been moving with the crowd, so I've never been able to feel the effects of it while sitting still. Needless to say, if you're not expecting it, it's something that would make you soil your shorts.
The starting line-ups were announced, the players made their way onto the field and we were ready to start. I tried to contain myself throughout the game, but I might have let a few cheers and groans slip out. Thankfully, we were allowed to go down to the field for the last 6 minutes of the game, and I was finally able to yell.
The rest, as you know, is history, but the game and the time leading up to it was something very special for me and every Aggie. If you weren't able to make it, I hope this helped you get a little bit of the feel of last Saturday. Granted, the experience of actually being there could never be duplicated in writing.


text:
|2009-07-18, 09:25
|Link #1
Join Date: Mar 2009
Shin Koihime Musou
Shin Koihime Musou is a Koihime Musou sipn-off base on eroge with a new character.
Shin KoihimeMusou
Expected release date:
October 2009
Official site for TV anime:
Official site for eroge(NSFW):
Eroge cover.
Spoiler for save space:
Spoiler for NSFW:
Mai Goto as Ryuubi Gentoku (Touka)
Nami Kurokawa as Kan'u Unchou (Aisha)
Hiroka Nishizawa as Chouhi Yokutoku (Rinrin)
Erika Narumi as Shokatsuryou Koumei (Shuri)
Emi Motoi as Chouun Shiryuu (Sei)
Maki Kobayashi as Bachou Mouki (Sui)
Yū Amamiya as Kouchuu Kanshou (Shion)
They still hasn't revealed yet either Hongo Kazuto will make his debut in this show or not since he didnt in Koihime Musou. If he do, then this series obviously would turned to be harem and possibly romance. Yuri are obvious.
|2009-07-18, 10:08
|Link #4
Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: In line to confess his sins.
Age: 30
I enjoyed this a lot. I'm very happy to see a second season is in the making. Sure, it's all silly comedy and hot chicks, but it's great at what it does. Fun, mindless entertainment.
And I sort of have a thing for Kanu.
|2009-07-18, 10:39
|Link #6
Tenshi's Defense Squadron
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: Fighting against those who oppress the system
|2009-07-18, 11:26
|Link #9
100% silver voltage
Join Date: Dec 2007
|2009-07-18, 12:45
|Link #10
At the end of this world
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: Hungary, Europe
Age: 33
To be accurate it's not sequel, AFAIK it's more like an alternative version of the earlier VN. Even the VN Database relates them as "alternative versions", and that's the information I gathered from the discussion article there: "Shin Koihime has no content from the first game, completely different. Even the battle system was changed". So I personally don't think there's going to be too many repetitions between the animes.
Additionally Micchi explained the relation between the two VNs a few weeks ago here:
On a side note, it is possible that a company called Mangagamer is going to localize the Shin Koihime Visual Novel, if they can overcome the difficulties with the game-engine ("We managed to approach tororo-danchou afterwards for some questions. When asked about plans for Shin Koihime Musou, he notes that this game has a different engine and may might be hard to localise" from here), but they are rumored to have the license for the VN already, and they were selling merchandise for it at AX.
If they indeed have it, and the new anime is going to prove popular, IMO it's possible they might put some effort to localize the Shin Koihime VN (I certainly hope so, as it looks intriguing, and I probably gonna follow the new anime too).
Here's the Visual Novel's HQ OP for reference:
Spoiler for VN OP on youtube. (please click on the HQ icon):
Last edited by izmosmolnar; 2009-07-18 at 13:12. Reason: added some more stff
|2009-07-18, 15:03
|Link #11
Join Date: Mar 2009
yup, this is not a sequel... that why they added 'Shin' (new) infront...
Koihime Musou(1st anime adaptation) was indeed entertaining but if compare to VN version, it was like heaven and earth... Shin only great at the battle system while more focus on those three kingdom conflict for each routes...
btw, the title of VN OP song is HE∀ting Sφul(Heating Soul) by Rekka Katakiri...
|2009-07-28, 16:40
|Link #15
Join Date: Oct 2004
Age: 38
So which storyline are they goining to animate ?
Shu's path is a wacky comedy due to Liu Bei being a dizt. Wei's road is basically a tragic romance with the Tsundere Cao Cao. And finally, Wu is a journey toward tragedy with both Sun Ce and Zhou Yu taking the lead.
|2009-07-29, 08:16
|Link #19
Tenshi's Defense Squadron
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: Fighting against those who oppress the system
|comedy, eroge, seinen, yuri
|Thread Tools


text:
A U.S. student studying abroad has been arrested for attempted murder for allegedly stabbing his friend 25 times after a drug-fueled night out in Rome on Halloween.
At an apartment around the corner from Rome's famous Coliseum, 20-year-old Reid Alexander Schepis, a first-year student at John Cabot University, a private U.S. liberal arts college, allegedly stabbed his longtime friend Fabio Malpeso.
Schepis and 19-year-old Malpeso, friends from New Jersey, were partying late Halloween at a Rome night club. Schepis told authorities he'd used drugs for the first time that night, mixing ecstasy and alcohol.
Schepis told police that he has no memory of what happened after the two headed to the apartment Malpeso shared with his sister to sleep off the wild night, and he allegedly went into his sleeping friend's room at dawn and repeatedly stabbed him.
Malpeso's sister and her boyfriend heard the screams and ran to help. Malpeso survived the stab wounds and is now recovering in a Rome hospital.
Former FBI agent and ABC News consultant Brad Garret says the evidence suggests drugs were a factor in the crime.
"The story on the surface certainly sounds like some sort of drug-induced, either psychosis or hallucination, or something, [for] this one student to stab this other student in excess of 25 times, as has been described," he said. "That is somebody that is in a frenzy. That isn't someone accidentally, or in a rage, [stabbing] someone."
Schepis' attorney Vincenzo Comi said his client is distraught.
"Every time that his friend was named, Reid became profoundly upset and cried while apologizing for what he had done," he said.
The stabbing occurred five years to the day that British student Meredith Kercher was found brutally stabbed to death in the apartment she shared with Amanda Knox, the U.S. student studying in Perugia, Italy, who made headlines for years as she fought murder charges.
Knox and her then-boyfriend, Raffaele Sollecito, had also allegedly been taking drugs the night of Kercher's death, smoking marijuana. The two were accused and convicted of the killing in 2009, but the decision was overturned last October and both set free.
Today, Malpeso is still recovering in a hospital here after having surgery for stab wounds to his lungs. Schepis is under house arrest at an undisclosed location.


text:
Artificial Ethics 210
|Artificial Ethics: Moral Conscience, Awareness and Consciencousness
|Jacques Pitrat
|Basile Starynkevitch
|Provides original ideas which are not shared by most of the artificial intelligence or software research communities
J.Pitrat claims that strong AI is an incredibly difficult, but still possible goal and task. He advocates the use of some bootstrapping techniques common for software developers. He contends that without a conscious, reflective, meta-knowledge based system AI would be virtually impossible to create. Only an AI systems could build a true Star Trek style AI.
The meanings of Conscience and Consciousness is discussed in chapter 2. The author explains why it is useful for human and for artificial beings. Pitrat explains what 'Itself' means for an artificial being and discusses some aspects and some limitations of consciousness. Later chapters address why auto-observation is useful, and how to observer oneself. Conscience for humans, artificial beings or robots, including Asimov's laws, is then discussed, how to implement it, and enhance or change it. The final chapter discuss the future of CAIA (J.PItrat's system) and two appendixes give more scientific or technical details, both from a mathematical point of view, and from the software implementation point of view.
J.Pitrat is not a native english speaker (and neither am I), so the language of the book might be unnatural to native English speakers but the ideas are clear enough.
For software developers, this book give some interesting and original insights about how a big software system might attain consciousness, and continuously improve itself by experimentation and introspection. J.Pitrat's CAIA system actually had several long life's (months of CPU time) during which it explored new ideas, experimented new strategies, evaluated and improved its own performance, all this autonomously. This is done by a large amount of declarative knowledge and meta-knowledge. The declarative word is used by J.Pitrat in a much broader way than it is usually used in programming. A knowledge is declarative if it can be used in many different ways, and has to be transformed to many procedural chunks to be used. Meta-knowledge is knowledge about knowledge, and the transformation from declarative knowledge to procedural chunks is given declaratively by some meta-knowledge (a bit similar to the expertise of a software developer), and translated by itself into code chunks.
For people interested in robotics, ethics or science fiction, J.Pitrat's book give interesting food for thought by explaining how indeed artificial systems can be conscious, and why they should be, and what that would mean in the future.
This book gives very provocative and original ideas which are not shared by most of the artificial intelligence or software research communities. What makes this book stand out is that it explains an actual software system, the implementation meaning of consciousness, and the bootstrapping approach used to build such a system.
Disclaimer: I know Jacques Pitrat, and I actually proofread-ed the draft of this book. I even had access, some years ago, to some of J.Pitrat's not yet published software.
You can purchase Artificial Ethics: Moral Conscience, Awareness and Consciencousness from amazon.com. Slashdot welcomes readers' book reviews -- to see your own review here, read the book review guidelines, then visit the submission page.


text:
I found it quit interesting that on this day of FamilySearch Indexing I got to index a whole batch of Smiths in the 1871 Canadian Census. Two full pages of Smiths in fact. I tried to download a second batch but the project said no more where available. Could be the projects done or they just finished indexing all the images loaded up for us to index. I guess by next week I will see if the projects gone and finished by then.
I still wanted to do some indexing so I did a batch of the 1850 U.S. Federal Census for the state of Kentucky. No Smiths there but the project went by quick enough. I could of done more but time wise 2 batches for the day where enough. To date I have indexed 2,136 individuals.
I spent the remainder of my time snooping around on the FamilySearch Labs site. This past Friday the site was down while they finished some maintenance and added some new features to the site. If you haven't visited them it is worth the try at http://www.familysearchlabs.org/
On the FamilySearch Labs site you can see some of the results of our FamilySearch Indexing. It is located in the Records Search portion of the website. It has been totally redesigned and there are more records available for searching. I like the new way they have listed the records. You can see clearly which records are indexed and which are just digitized images.
In the past it was hard for me to find the New York 1900 Census, you had to look under so many links. Now I could just go right to them. I had some trouble moving around the site because I kept hitting the back arrow in the browser to go to the previous page and it would bump me right out to the FamilySearch Labs page. I need to spend more time with the site and give them some of my feedbacks. Right now it appears to need help with the back button and the ability to modify your search and not wipe out everything you put in before.
There is a FamilySearch Labs Blog and here is what they said about the new release.
Record Search Update - Now Available
21 Dec 2007 by Tim Crabb
FamilySearch is continuing to enhance and update Record Search. This latest release continues to provide quick and easy access to find information on your ancestors. Below are the highlights and changes to this release.
- Search with Events: In previous releases you were able to search on "All Events". To better scope results that patrons are looking for, you can now search on specific events (birth, marriage, and death). The results when searching on these specific events significantly improve the ranking of results – you are now able to more quickly select correct ancestors. "All Events" has now been changed to "Any Event" and provides the same functionality.
- Search Results Layout: Results are more detailed with specific information relating to the individual featured more prominently – birth, death, and relationships are more evident. Scanning and comparing for selecting the correct ancestor is quicker and easier.
- Filtering: Several new filters are now available allowing you to quickly narrow the results set to select your ancestor. These include Role, Birth Date and Place, Death Date and Place, Marriage Date and Place, Record Type (formerly Collection Type), and Image.
- Individual Collections: These collections allow you to browse down to specific research. Key features that have been added to enhance that experience include:
- Separate Search and Browse Views: Rather than providing a single list of individual collections with icons denoting the features of each collection there are now two lists – search and browse. Search provides the ability to scope a search to an individual collection where browse provides the ability to view images of historical records.
- Browse interface: When you browse collections, you can now navigate different levels of documents. The interface provides levels of hierarchy with guides and information as you navigate through the collection.
- Collection Status: Collections show their last update. For collections that are being added, an "Early Access" status is displayed. This provides a gauge of how complete the collection is and a status as to when it was last updated.
- New or Updated Status: On the Home Page any collection that is new or was updated in the last 30 days, is denoted by a red asterisk. You can use this to easily determine what is new or has been updated since your last visit to Record Search.
- Registration and Activation: Users new to Record Search can quickly request access by completing the registration form. This form requires and validates the users email address. The user is then sent a response within 24 hours with their activation key. This key is good for 7 days and once used provides access to Record Search using the validated email address.
- Search tips on the Home Page: To help improve your search experience we have included several tips next to the search fields.
- Updated Look and Feel: We have refreshed and updated the entire site. Let us know what you think through FEEDBACK.
See ya tomorrow, for tomorrow is always another genealogy day!


text:
Friday, June 3, there will be a meeting of the Lone Star Chapter of the Association of Professional Genealogists from 7-9 p.m in Houston. You can find the details here.
Everyone is welcome! You do not have to be a member of APG, the Lone Star Chapter, or even a professional genealogist. If you don't feel comfortable crashing such an event, let me know and we'll form an entourage and make an entrance together.
I'm speaking at this event about my experience at RootsTech. I'll be talking about the RootsTech event in general, it's differences from other genealogy conferences and how it can benefit genealogists from a professional perspective.
Though I have a list of points I want to make, I hope to make this a group discussion more than a lecture. I want people to ask questions and learn as we go. Sort of like in the spirit of RootsTech.
If you're in the Houston area on Friday night, please come say hi! There will be cookies.


text:
Fu Manchu: "We will make the drops on his head, one by one, maddening, each exquisite in agony and anticipation, until he tells us what we want to know."Interested Bystander: "But don't you already know everything he knows?"Fun Manchu: "Ah, so. Yes, but we must pretend that we don't so you will hang around and vote for Fu Manchu and his underlings in the next election."Uninterested Bystander: "I'm leaving."
Late last night Sipsey Street received a copy of an Issa Committee Memorandum titled "Main Justice: Extensive Involvement in Operation Fast and Furious." The 22 page briefing paper was provided to other media outlets as well but was embargoed until this hour. In keeping with the Chinese water torture pace of this investigation so far, there is no obvious smoking gun here for Eric Holder and the rest of the Gunwalker Conspirators. Indeed, when I forwarded it to another analyst, he replied:
Just pathetic...If this is all they have, it's a farce to even call Holder...That's my take... Pls tell what I've missed and where the IED's are buried in this 22 pages of "oh, there's gross incompetence running amok"Well... it is the f--king ATF... what do you expect???
However, if there is no obvious smoking gun, the accent is on "obvious." There is one hidden "IED" as my friend puts it, but the Committee is apparently too shy to make much of it.
Shockingly, though, other federal law enforcement components of the Department of Justice were already aware of the two cartel associates that ATF had finally identified. Their names appeared frequently in DEA call logs provided to ATF – in December 2009.11 Inexplicably, ATF failed to review all the materials DEA had provided, missing these prime investigative targets.Additionally, DEA and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) had jointly opened a separate investigation specifically targeting these two cartel associates.12 As early as mid-January 2010, both agencies had collected a wealth of information on these associates.13 Yet, ATF spent the next year engaging in the reckless tactics of Fast and Furious in attempting to identify them.During the course of this separate investigation, the FBI designated these two cartel associates as national security assets.14 In exchange for one individual's guilty plea to a minor count of "Alien in Possession of a Firearm," both became FBI informants and are now considered to be unindictable.15 This means that the entire goal of Fast and Furious – to target these two individuals and bring them to justice – was a failure. ATF's discovery that the primary targets of their investigation were not indictable was "a major disappointment."
Say what?!? Compare the text above with the footnotes:
12 Meeting with Federal Bureau of Investigation, Drug Enforcement Administration, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, and Congressional Staff at Robert F. Kennedy Building, Justice Command Center, Oct. 5, 2011 10:00 AM [hereinafter FBI Meeting]. See also Head Shot, Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces [hereinafter Head Shot]. This reaction and lack of follow-through typify the serious management failures that occurred throughout all levels of the Department during Fast and Furious.13 FBI Meeting, supra note 7. See also FD-302 supra note 8.14 FBI Meeting, supra note 7.15 Head Shot, supra note 12.16 Transcribed Interview of James Needles, at 30 (Nov. 4, 2011) (going on to describe it as "very" frustrating)
So, since October the committee staff have been aware of the FBI sanitized version of the "one-armed man" and his brother who were their confidential informants, who provided the money to the straw buyers and whom the FBI have been protecting ever since Brian Terry was murdered. But does the Committee draw the obvious conclusion? Have they aggressively probed the FBI on Operation Head Shot? If this pathetic entry is any indication, no, they haven't. The FBI, it seems, is off limits.
Yet, they mention it as if we are supposed to guess. Too cute by half. They remind me of the old one about the society matron who is having a garden party and a naked man sporting a huge erection walks in. She motions the butler over and whispers in his ear, "Does he have an invitation?" When assured that the naked man and his tumescence did in fact have the proper credentials, the matron says, "Oh, it must be alright then," and goes back to talking about orchids.
I hope this report is not indicative how timid this hearing is going to be.