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The upshot of this whole thing is of course that our jobless rate is going to evaporate as we are going to need that chunk of the the population to surf the net and flag possible bad content.
Hate replying to myself, particularly when I wanted to just make it funny, but FUCK this is going to be a growth industry in Australia.
Lets just work on youtube, 20 hours of vid uploaded per min (quick google search gave me this number), thats 1200 people required to be constantly watching new youtube vids for potentially bad content.
People can't work 24/7
So, in 8hr shifts, we have 3600 people... wait, holidays...
Lets just make it a round 4000 people employed just for keeping up with the current youtube
Under the current system, which I believe is intended to continue, they don't actually search the internet for RC'd material. Instead they only act on pages to which someone has submitted a complaint about. Only then do they go and check to see if it would be RC'd. If yes, they add to the secret black list.
As of June 2009, 1.67 billion people worldwide use the Internet. http://www.internetworldstats.com/stats.htm [internetworldstats.com]
Even just legitimate submitted complaints (assuming folks bothered) would bury the scheme. Now imagine a small shell script...
Now imagine a small shell script...
submit($blacklistURL, "Michael Atkinson");
Oh I like that idea. But I bet they won't let you submit anything to do with their secret "whitelist" that complements the semi-public blacklist.
Oh god, that could be glorious.
A firefox extension which submits every page you can find to be blocked!
Either bury them in 15 miles of paperwork or blackout the internet for them.
Yeah, a DDoS would work, also you could try strategic poisoning of their database, try and get some government information pages blocked, catholic church pages, etc.
There are 40 work hours a week (and a total of 168 hours), and the free time is about 3 weeks a year. Add one week for other issues (medical leave,
20 hours of content a minute, 525000 minutes a year makes 10 million hours of content a year, against 2000 hours work a year makes 5,000 employees.
Now, what about all the pictures updated to all the picture sites?
No problems, mate, you could outsource to China, they've got a nice headstart on that blacklist there. Oh, you'd need to skip the parts about Tibet and Taiwan and Tiamin Square and Democracy (not sure about this last one) but the porn & games section would probably suit you fine!
The upshot of this whole thing is of course that our jobless rate is going to evaporate as we are going to need that chunk of the the population to surf the net and flag possible bad content.
So, in 8hr shifts, we have 3600 people... wait, holidays...
More likely Australia is going to be funding the outsourcing industries in India and China. Wishful thinking on your part, but not very realistic. There are no silver linings here.
And yeah, I heard prices for Internet service is already sky-high in Australia; expect pricing to get worse while you need to pay for even more exorbitant services which deny you services. It's as sensible as politics gets.
Which would be quite amusing, because it'd basically mean you had half the population looking for content the government doesn't want them to see.
Well, as someone else pointed out, this will mainly work on a submission system, so they are essentially crowd-sourcing it.
Now, as we all know, such systems can be easily dealt with either by DDoS (as pointed out, a firefox plugin that will submit every page you view to their department) or you could start strategically poisoning it, find parts of some of the catholic church pages that are infringing, and seeing if you can get them to ban whole domains
It's really the public sector way, I worked in public sector in the UK for a while, in local government, but I've seen it reaching to the top of British government, and even seen the same pattern from top to bottom in foreign governments.
It never ceases to amaze me how public sector beauracrats consistently manage to come up with schemes that achieve completely the opposite effect to what was intend, but that are also so obviously flawed that even the average layman in the street can tell you why said schem
I encourage every member of Slashdot to donate to Gamers 4 Croydon. Gamers for Croydon is a political party running against atkinson in his home seat in an attempt to raise awareness about the R18+ restriction on games and to oppose mandatory internet filtering. Seriously, go donate and spread the word
http://www.gamers4croydon.org/ [gamers4croydon.org]
Sounds like they have similar goals to the Australian Pirate Party. (also worth joining)
An interview with the president of the Pirate Party here http://www.truthnews.com.au/radio/wordpress/?p=868 [truthnews.com.au]
Why pick names which have connotations of either juvenile behaviour or stealing from copyright musicians and Hollywood?
Because it's a parody on stupid people like you (or people who buy into old-world bullshit like you) who don't get it.
"Pirate" is obviously a fake word, since it stealing shit on the high seas has nothing to do with downloading. We use it as a joke.
And only old people still thing of games an "juvenile". Hell, our grandparents play Wii, our parents play Gameboy since the early 90s. 50 year old people play online shooters.
The very point about those names, is to NOT play tha
death by bureaucracy... department of broadband communication. are you fucking kidding me?
this is the kind of idiocy that was generally historically corrected by violent revolution... sigh.
gg Australia, way to self-immolate in the present tense. it was nice knowing you, I guess. thanks for all the fish, or whatever condolences I'm supposed to offer.
way to self-immolate in the present tense.
You do know that self-immolation refers to suicide by fire, more specifically to a form of extreme protest by Buddhist monks. Monks who have taken vows not to harm other creatures set themselves on fire, it was commonplace in south Vietnam as protest against the war and corrupt South Vietnamese government and is occasionally done in China in protest over China's occupation of Tibet.
Deffo used the wrong word there mate.
way to self-immolate in the present tense.
You do know that self-immolation refers to suicide by fire, more specifically to a form of extreme protest by Buddhist monks. Monks who have taken vows not to harm other creatures set themselves on fire, it was commonplace in south Vietnam as protest against the war and corrupt South Vietnamese government and is occasionally done in China in protest over China's occupation of Tibet. Deffo used the wrong word there mate.
I don't know. If you give him a bit of poetic license, the idea of them dying in a self-induced fire due to intentions not to hurt others isn't too far out there.
gg indeed....
You clearly have forgotten Alston, the World's Biggest Luddite.
But hey, if you believe only ALP pollies can be bad, go nuts. The saner people on
Why can't we simply accept that this is the 21st century, and nothing should be censored? Ever.
Politicians never got that upgrade. The bug in their code that compels them to control various aspects of peoples' lives for whatever reason has not been patched nor is there any real sign that it ever will be.
The problem with your idea is that there are a LOT of people out there (many of whom believe in some kind of non-existent god) who think its their god-given right to dictate what other people can and cannot do.
But that's just what the terrorists want us to think...
Brains? Really?
I guess when you outlaw brains, only outlaws will have brains.
You say i in jest, but this report alone might be already enough. We're talking about RC games here. Is mentioning a "banned" game enough to get hit by the censor bat? Is reporting about a "censored" event, practice or even fad enough to be censored?
If so, it basically means that censoring ANY medium is perfectly possible in Australia now. Fox reported badly about the Aussie Prez? Let's see, did they have something about happy slapping lately? Yes? Great, *POOF*. BBC disagreeing with Australian foreign poli
Those in power are for, those not in power are against governmental influence on public information. Duh.
Independent of their alleged political goals, ambitions or other tidbits, they're all the same.
Bugger, screwed up the html for the link on the previous post. Here's a better post anyway, with the links fixed.
The trials have already been completed. Legislation is coming in the next few months. [smh.com.au] It's not just Conroy in favour of the filter, but a majority of cabinet. The Liberal party are in favour of censorship of the web in principle, however they disagree with some of the technical points of Conroy's proposal.
Conroy has said repeatedly he supports a mandatory filter. He is cabinet's salesman for it,
Australians vote the way the television and talk radio stations tell them to vote.. the week before election day, no matter what the polls say, the party with the most media coverage wins.
Politicians in this country can do anything they like and the sheeple will vote them back into power, so long as they put enough ads on in that last week.
It's not quite a done deal, but has a smooth ride through Parliament. Party discipline in Australia is absolute, and any Labor member who votes against party lines (except during a declared "conscience vote") will be deselected automatically. Kevin Rudd, a self-defined social conservative, supports it. Meanwhile, the Coalition are headed by Tony Abbott, a hardline religious authoritarian culture-warrior often nicknamed the "Mad Monk"; for it to not get through, he would have to not only oppose it but exerci
I was inclined to agree until Tony Abbott rolled Malcolm Turnbull. There's no way Abbott would be saying no to an internet filter given his love for all things Catholic and his inability to separate that with his day-to-day job. Kate Lundy is the person to back now - campaigning for making it opt out (not ideal but more sane than no option) from within the Labor Party.
There's no way Abbott would be saying no to an internet filter given his love for all things Catholic
His hate for all things Labor is stronger then his love for all things Catholic. I doubt this will pass due to that fact alone. Labor will vote yes, Coalition will vote no, Greens and independents will decide it.
Abbott is a polly, his desire for any kind of power is stronger then any religious commitment, for Abbott this means opposing Labor at any opportunity. If he reverses the oppositions position hi
Paraphrased from his own words:
"Stopping child pornography is extremely important to me and the Liberal party and therefore, if we can prove the censorship plan doesn't work, we will oppose it; but only it. We will continue to seek effective means to block 'filth' (his word) from entering our country any way we can. If the filter works, we will support it."
Basically the message I got from his reply is that Tony Abbot believes that the filter will work "well enough" and is too much of a hot potato to oppose politically.
http://yro.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=1550044&cid=31142168 [slashdot.org]
http://www.pirateparty.org.au/join [pirateparty.org.au]
I really don't see a problem with that. Students can go home and search to their hearts content and to my knowledge teachers and administrators act as if their control ends at the school boundary. My son is a grade two student at an Australian primary school. Students have internet access so they can run online educational applications. At home I supervise his internet access. I accept that teachers can't to that every second of the day at school.
Imagine maintaining that blacklist!
Imagine is exactly right, because the blacklist will be secret. The explanation being that having a list of RC material available will encourage people to view it... except they won't be able to...
Incidentally, for the people who think this filter is about blocking child porn, consider this: Child porn is illegal, and is the jurisdiction of the federal police. The blacklist will not be maintained by the police, and any ILLEGAL content is to be submitted to the police. The RC filter list is only for UNDESIRABLE content, content that is NOT illegal.
Senator Conroy has been hugely inconsistent about the content of the blacklist. First it was "child porn", then he added "unwanted content" without clarifying what that actually meant and then he changed tack to "Refused Classification", which he then proceeded to repeatedly mention in conjunction with "child porn" in order to fool the public into thinking that the two were synonymous.
Also worth considering is the security of the blacklist. The Australian Communications & Media Authority's blacklist (up
So first Britain treats 1984 like an instruction manual, and now Australia is treating Equilibrium [wikipedia.org] like a How-To film?
This game has been rated EC-10.
What really strikes me here is that all this "Refused Classification" stuff has been in the media circus for a really long time now, and there's been an instant backlash from those who get it - IT guys, gen Y, etc. But Aussie politicians just don't seem to get it at all - their attitude toward the whole thing, their reactions and replies to all the backlash so far can all be explained with the following assumption:
They think the internet is some sort of extension of traditional media like newspapers and ra
The great firewall of China is the nearest anyone has got to censoring the internet, and they only just manage it by controlling all access to the internet, running everything through their filters, and having draconian penalties for trying to bypass it.... and it still does not work
(points at the Aussies faces)
Of course, ideologues like the limitless possibilities censorship offers when it comes to shaping the thoughts of the population by making inconvenient material unavailable. It also helps them get re-elected. But in this case, censorship has a very clear business aspect: it means that if you as a publisher don't pay up, they have the power to make your product disappear. Not only will your website disappear from view, the censorship filter makes it impossible for people to even talk about your product. So this is about corruption, clear and simple.
It seems australia is "opt-out" of the new technology know has Internet.
I myself would not stop posting comments about any game, even indie games that will never be "validated" by these people. You can't adapt internet to your laws, australia, you must addapt your laws to internet, since Internet is a global thing, and can't be modified by the will a single ( and maybe all ) countrys.
China called. They'd like to compare notes on internet filtering.
Actually, I think our government missed the lecture on Internet 101 and copied China's notes. Our PM can speak Mandarin after all.
"If it's not loud, it doesn't work!" -- Blank Reg, from "Max Headroom"


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Reminding one of Dick Cheney's conduct in the U.S. Senate, and his likewise remark to Vermont U.S. Senator Patrick Leahy, House speaker John Boehner threw away decorum and repeated the obscenity to the majority leader of the upper chamber, Harry Reid, and one may question whether it's some sort of breakdown in Boehner's case. (Or just low or no class.)
John Boehner Told Harry Reid 'Go F--- Yourself'
Outside the Oval Office
By Dashiell Bennett, The Atlantic Wire
Jan. 2, 2013 | http://news.yahoo.com/john-boehner-t...103332376.html
According to "multiple sources," Boehner pointed his finger at Reid and without any other fanfare said, "Go f*** yourself." When Reid asked him what he was talking about, Boehner simply repeated his curse and moved on.

subset: commoncrawl


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My name is John and I am a co-commissioner of a 1st year 5x5 mixed keeper league that is being formed through Sportsline. Currently we have 16 owners and are quickly filling the remaing spots. $50 entry fee, 35-40 man rosters, etc.... ... It's called the Christian Keeper League. You don't have to be a Christian to join, simply know that most of the other owners in the league are. ... If you would like to see a copy of the league charter please email me at mailto:firstname.lastname@example.com. Thanks and have a great 2004 season!
P.S. The first letter of that email address is a 'j' (as in 'jump' - sometimes the computer makes it look like an 'i'!


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Want to remind yourself or a friend about this program? Fill out this simple form and klru will email you a reminder on the day that it will air.
Episode #113
series: Arab American Stories
air date: 2/22/13 5:30 AM
A new generation of Arab Americans are making their mark - actress Alia Shawkat, best known for her role on "Arrested Development," is a rising independent film star, Mariem Masmoudi is a student trying to figure out how to merge her American and Tunisian identities to give back to both cultures, and former serviceman and DJ Ace Montaser is making his name on Detroit's airwaves.
WARNING: Email reminders for this program have already been sent out. Your reminder may not reach the intended address in time for this program's airing.
Back to TV Schedule


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Times have certainly changed since Leon and Grace Merkes homesteaded in Sterling. Ten years ago Grace was the driving force behind bringing a Head Start program to her community and last week they celebrated the grand opening of the new Sterling Community Center with their 10th Annual "Fall-Fest" benefit dinner and auction to benefit the Head Start program. "I feel pretty happy and proud tonight to join with all these folks in celebrating the opening of this community facility tonight," Merkes told the Dispatch in an interview. "Our Community Club worked forever to make this happen, a lot of volunteer hours from our board members and supporters; it's been a long time coming. You see grandkids and great grandkids running around in there tonight, a long time ago my goal was to have a community center for my kids and they're grown now so it's for the grandkids but its here now and we are grateful for it," she said. The Sterling Head Start program has helped over 500 kids and families since it's inception in 2001. The new Community Center will support the Head Start program as well as a myriad of other programs that will be hosted at the facility.
"We went through a lot of up and downs doing it, this is our fifth design that we came up with but it's come together now and we have over 7,000 volunteer hours into this building and over $400,000 of in-kind donations, that let us get it built right at $100 a square foot and we're proud of that and all the people who helped us out," said Bob Oakes, president of the Sterling Community Club. "We had help from the State and the Rasmussen Foundation, but it's the people of the community that really stepped up with the sweat equity to make this happen and get the project completed," added Oakes. According to VISTA volunteer Debbie Harley the new facility will have multiple uses for the community, "When I came here I looked at an empty building with a lot of possibilities and so far we've started exercise programs for a variety of age groups, we have an after school open gym for kids and will soon have arts and craft projects, science learning and training in specific sports. Most of the programs have started because people walked in and said can we do this or that, so through the board we've been able to customize activities for what the community has requested," said Harley. Last weekend the Sterling Community Center hosted the areas first Crafts and Art fair with 40 local vendors some of which were local students and artists selling their wares. For more information about Sterling Community Center activities call Debbie at 262-7224 or log on to www.sterlingcommunityclub.com.
See PHOTOS, page 6


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The Chicago Wolves broke a 1-1 stalemate with four unanswered goals en route to grabbing a 5-1 win over the Rockford IceHogs at the Rockford MetroCentre Sunday night.
Forwards Fredrik Pettersson (G, A), Riley Holzapfel and Ryan Garbutt and defensemen Paul Postma and Arturs Kulda lit the lamp for the Wolves, while goaltender Edward Pasquale (8-6-1) stopped 38 of 39 shots in the win.
Chicago (35-25-3-6) opened scoring with a power-play strike, 5:37 into the game. Postma fired a shot from the right faceoff circle through traffic, beating Rockford goaltender Hannu Toivonen, glove side.
Rockford (27-30-4-5) knotted the score at one when right wing Ben Smith redirected a shot from defenseman Ryan Stanton at the doorstep past Pasquale 6:42 into the first frame.
Pettersson made the score 2-1 in favor of the Wolves, 3:39 into the second period. The forward skated into the slot and ripped a shot past Toivonen, top shelf.
Chicago pulled to 3-1, 7:13 into the middle frame when right wing Spencer Machacek fed the puck to Kulda, allowing the blueliner to one-time a shot into the back of the net.
Holzapfel brought Chicago's lead to 4-1 when he took a pass in the slot and flicked the puck over Toivonen, 1:39 into the final frame.
The Wolves sealed their 5-1 victory 12:39 into the third frame when Garbutt came streaking down the ice and flipped a backhanded shot past Toivonen.
Toivonen (14-14-4) blocked 24 shots for Rockford.
The Wolves return to the Allstate Arena to face the Oklahoma City Barons Sat., March 19 at 7 p.m.
Chicago 1 2 2 — 5
Rockford 1 0 0 — 1
First Period—1, Chicago, Postma 12 (Krog, Haydar), 5:37 pp; 2, Rockford, Smith 15 (Stanton, Klinkhammer), 6:42. Penalties—Garbutt, Chicago (slashing). 3:02; Hagel, Rockford (interference), 5:21; Brennan, Chicago (fighting), 5:43; Brookbank, Rockford (fighting), 5:43; Bench, Chicago (too many men), 13:57; Klinkhammer, Rockford (tripping), 18:31; Deveaux, Chicago (holding), 19:07.
Second Period—3, Chicago, Pettersson 9 (Esposito), 3:39; 4, Chicago, Kulda 5 (Machacek, Pettersson), 7:13. Penalties—Pirri, Rockford, (interference), 5:03; Welch, Chicago (tripping), 8:33.
Third Period—5, Chicago, Holzapfel 9 (Krog, Zubarev), 1:39; 6, Chicago, Garbutt 17 (Miller, Kulda), 12:39. Penalties—Sifers, Chicago (tripping), 10:13; Huxley, Chicago (fighting), 14:29; Hagel, Chicago (fighting), 14:29.
Shots on goal—Chicago: 8-10-11–29. Rockford: 9-15-15–39. Power plays—Chicago: 1-3. Rockford: 0-5. Goalies–Chicago, Pasquale (38-39). Rockford, Toivonen (24-29). A—5,642. Referee—Jarrod Ragusin. Linesmen—Mike Hamilton and Jesse Pletsch.


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Beware Of BYOD Costs
PwC explains that the costs of BYOD may outweigh what hospitals save in hardware costs. A 2012 study conducted by the Aberdeen Group found that BYOD, on average, costs companies 33 percent more than adopting a company-owned device policy. Additional policy concerns and new security controls could drive up the cost. For example, adding a mobile device management platform to add transparency and boost functionality across multiple device platforms will cut into any anticipated BYOD savings.


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Writer Rick Edgerton talks #MHFBeanie Round, the harrowing statistics behind Brain Cancer - and what...
20 hours ago
Undoubtedly the biggest name in rugby league to have Maltese ancestry - Michael Vella, has signed a three-year-deal with the UK Super League?s newest team, Hull Kingston Rovers.
Rovers? Chief Executive Paul Lakin today said ?We are absolutely delighted to sign a player of the calibre of Mick?s undoubted quality. At the age 28 he is in his prime as a prop and is highly regarded as one of the top front row forwards in the NRL?
?Mick had a year of his contract to run at Parramatta and it is a sign of the ambition of Hull KR that we have brought him over here? said the chief executive.
Weighing in at just over 16 stones and standing at six foot three, Vella has been playing rugby league since he was seven years of age, having also represented NSW in State of Origin.
Michael is excited about the move, saying ?I am really excited about coming over to England and playing for a club like Hull KR. They have so much history and tradition...?
Vella will begin his Rovers career as a quota player, but that will change as soon as he gets his Maltese passport, which would in turn allow the Robins to sign another quota player.
Unfortunately, the Maltese aren't known for dealing with such matters in a short space of time.
?I sent off my application about five or six months ago. It's not going too quickly at the moment, and it could take between six months and two years? said Vella.
?As soon as I get it, I will no longer be a quota player. That will be good for the club (Hull KR) in that they will be able to sign another quota player. They are in the process of changing the rules in Malta?
Vella has twice been named the Parramatta Eels Clubman of the Year and has been nominated for Life Membership of the Parramatta District Rugby League Club at December's Annual General Meeting.
For more information, visit www.malteserugbyleague.com


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And, I wondered, how can they keep on keeping' on, at that level, with so many worldwide gigs a year, and at their ages? Only the most motivated overachievers could aspire to that, or keep to that schedule, but then it's nothing new that all the members of Iron Maiden give "overachievers" a good name.
But, I digress …
As the last U.S. show on this leg of the ongoing, marathon Final Frontier tour, it was also one of only two stateside shows this year, with the other occurring the previous night in the Miami area, in Sunrise, Florida, home of band drummer Nicko McBrain (and his new restaurant, Nicko's Rock N Roll Ribs; see http://www.rocknrollribs.org if you are further interested).
And, with my own "spring break" fortuitously aligned, it was a great time to catch what could be the last North American show for at least a another year or more … and it also afforded yet another chance to check out the ever-intriguing variation of Maiden fans in different locales. (I always find it fascinating to observe how the different venues in diverse cities - and the vibe of the unique regional sociology - affect the intensity of Maiden performances and/or the audience feedback and timbre of any given show.)
So, though I've thus far seen Maiden play coast to coast - and even overseas - over the course of 30 years, here are some observations and thoughts that sprang to mind as witnessed this Floridian tour date:
First off, the "Maiden Heads" were definitely in full force around the Forum well before we arrived there more than an hour before the opening band, Black Tide, were due to hit the stage. I found that a bit stunning since Maiden have not played in Tampa in over 20 years, and yet outwardly the fan unity and devotion appeared no less evident than in, say, L.A. or Chicago, or even England.
Then again, the Maiden fan amoeba keeps swelling larger and larger everywhere, to the point that early-days sects like the Chicago Mutants now seem only like the faded, long-ago prototype. Indeed, today's Maiden Head Army is a bonafide, jaw-dropping spectacle and social phenomenon, making reality of the lyric: "Iron Maiden's gonna get you, no matter how far" ….
Anyway, it was clear from the outset that the Maiden lifestyle/subculture is definitely alive and well and growing even amongst the palms and channels of Tampa Bay, albeit with a distinct laid-back, sun=tanned and southern twist to it. (And they were mostly wearing colorful, tropical versions of Maiden shirts - I meant to get one of those, but never did! - which led me to believe quite a few had trekked across alligator alley from the Sunrise gig the night before.)
As it turns out, this night was a gorgeous, perfectly clear night with evening temps in the 70s - a major improvement over the horrid Chicago weather I came in on - but, alas, the show was indoors at the mid-sized Forum, home of the Tampa Bay Lightning hockey team, currently in the throes of the NHL playoffs (and in fact the Lightening faced the Pittsburgh Penguins there the next day).
On a side note, on the way to the venue from the hotel, the shuttle driver had informed us of all the acts that had recently played the Forum, including Lady Gaga the previous night, but little did we know then that she, as a self-declared Maiden fan, was ostensibly working as a free roadie for the band at this very show, clearly indicating that Maiden has, for better or worse, finally achieved a level of "cool" that the likes of Gaga find alluring and useful.
At any rate, temps inside were even more tropical and steamy, despite the floor and pit seating being situated over the hockey ice. Everywhere it was mostly guys at this venue - but an even mix of all ages 15 -55. The Maiden / metal cougars were a sizeable side-dish, too, however, with me and my cousin (the latter hadn't seen a Maiden show in 25 years) probably fitting into that latter category ourselves!
We scanned the arena when we entered about a half hour before the first opening set. It was about half full then - but would fill up almost to capacity later - and the staff and security at the venue were clearly locals who had the geniality of country-band security rather than the toughness of security at metal shows that we're accustomed to in the North. That laid back attitude probably affected the energy of the show in a positive way later, since barely checking the ticket stubs at any time, they would later allow the most enthusiastic of the crowd to rush down into the lower levels about half way through the show.
We, however, lucked out with great seats from the outset, three rows up and immediate stage left, so no Jumbotron was necessary to catch the nuances of show this time, and no tall guys blocking my view for the whole show either. (What a change that was from the last Maiden gig I'd seen, at Knebworth in England, when the stage and Jumbotrons were so far away that the reaction of the huge audience in front of me was the main entertainment and attraction.)
We made sure to catch the opening band, Black Tide, from the get go, too, having caught them for the first time two summers ago in Chicago on a fest bill, where they were most impressive then due to their extreme youth, energy, stage-presence and quirky song-writing (in fact, in some ways reminiscent of early Maiden), and they'd clearly honed their skills even more since then, upping the ante.
Heavy, hooky songs, with distinctive stage personalities and talent, Black Tide - home grown Florida boys - have the intensity, the stage presence, the song-quality, and the whole dang package, and are definitely one of the elite young bands breaking through on the scene right now that has the "right stuff." to take it to the next level.
Before Maiden burst forth onto the stage, though, there was cause for a little worry regarding the crowd. During the part of the pre-show buildup which includes videos and culminates with the biggest and famous anticipatory cue - Doctor, Doctor -- everyone around in front and in back of me were still sitting in their seats … Yes, sitting even throughout the UFO classic signal song! What the Hey?! Didn't these Floridians know that you are supposed to be up and pumping already? But maybe 20 years of neglect had made them forget …
So, I turned around and jokingly spoke to all those guys within earshot: "Hey, don't you know that you stand during Maiden shows?" Sheepishly, a couple of them responded they knew, and said they would, but I don't think that was altogether the case. Since we were in a section close enough to see Bruce in the face, it did cross my mind that he might be irked by seeing all the Americans in my area sitting all the way through the doggone show, eating their popcorn and the proverbial "chicken in a basket."
But, later in the show, the crowd finally revved up - finally seemed to get the drift of the appropriate response to a Maiden show, though it could have had something to do with the amount of alcohol consumed that night. (A worker in the beer concession told me they were raided during the show by excise cops due to the amount of drunken teenagers early on, and therefore could not sell more than one beer per person for the remainder of the gig.)
Yes, it was a bit of a slow warming up as far as the crowd was concerned, but it artfully built up to a crescendo because the show was expertly paced to achieve maximum dynamics, with a balancing of the pacing of the new songs from Final Frontier with vintage songs that were representative of most the important phases of Maiden's career (doubtless getting more and more difficult to do, with so many phases being added on).
While I did catch wind of several verbal protests after the show about this or that song not being played, those complaining about a missing favorite song here or there must become more dedicated to seeing every tour - in my opinion. (A couple of the songs I heard wails about because they ostensibly were not played, actually were played, so there you go on that too; those people must have been in the loo at the time!)
I won't detail the exact set list on this gig, on this leg, and it will undoubtedly change for the European leg this summer anyway, but it did include approximately five songs from Final Frontier, including the Grammy winning "El Dorado" (about time for that), interlaced with songs from various parts of the band's career like "2 Minutes to Midnight, " "The Evil That Men Do" (powerful rendition of an always potent song), "The Wicker Man," and "The Trooper" in the middle of the show.
The song "Dance of Death" was also performed, and definitely rivaled the rendition of it I saw during the stellar Dance of Death tour at the U.S. dates at the Universal Amphitheater in late January of 2004 (a tour that only had two NY and two LA tour dates).
At that time I was justifiably worried that Maiden would never fully tour the U.S. again, due to the stagnant audiences here, and the band's increasing frustration with the American market at that time. (As fate would have it, things have only turned steadily upward from that point, but I still did long to see the tour de force from DOD, "Paschendale," performed live once again this night too, so obviously I'm not any different from the other complainers!)
As the band revved up mid-set to the numbers the audience was most familiar with, the crowd responded with equally cranked up enthusiasm. Guys flooded the area all around the lower reserved seats and aisles and finally put the V8 into full throttle with mass Pogo-ing and sing-along-ing reaching warp Maidonian levels.
Both causing this, and responding to it, the band members closest to our vicinity - Dave, Adrian and Bruce - were as enthusiastic and spot-on musically and vocally as I can recall seeing them in Maiden's entire career. (Perhaps by necessity, due to the increasing complexity of their new music, Maiden has also increased the layered backing vocals on their live shows as well, with impressive effectiveness.) In particular, it was one of the most animated and pumped performances that I've ever seen from Adrian Smith, and the guitars' sound and solos from all three axeslingers was often chill-inspiring, especially in the final third of the show.
The band members may very well have been "knackered" after this gig - after all, it was the final conclusion of a long Asian and South American campaign - but, consummate professionals that they are, no one saw even a hint of waning enthusiasm onstage at the St. Pete Forum this night.
Always their own best cheerleaders, Maiden compelled the initially reserved Tampa audience out of their seats, ultimately whipping them into an appropriate concluding frenzy, and leaving them unlikely to gladly suffer such a long absence by the masters of metal once again.
The question is, whether - or how long - the band will be motivated to continue touring at the level to ever hit there again. I daresay even the band might be hard put to answer that question at this juncture …
Opening band, Black Tide:


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In the context of developing bilateral contractual relations, negotiation has taken a prominent place as a decision-making and regulation process. Also, the challenge of renewed multilateralism is closely linked to the ability of the international community to foster truly productive negotiation processes in a rapidly evolving global context. As the main training arm of the UN, the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) is responding to this eminent challenge with its ground-breaking training initiative "Overcoming Negotiation Deadlocks" intended to serve the entire community of negotiators worldwide.
This course aims to equip participants with practical skills to enhance individual negotiation capacity and lead through situations of deadlock. It will help learners to improve their negotiation performance in order to obtain better outcomes in bilateral and multilateral negotiations, but also to become brokers of agreements when solutions look impossible.
A number of leading academics (Prof. William Zartman, Nick Coburn-Palo, David Koschel) and senior practitioners in the field of international negotiations (President Martti Ahtisaari, numerous senior diplomats) contributed to the development and delivery of this course.
Overall, the course aims to equip participants with the conceptual knowledge and practical tools to efficiently overcome deadlocks in negotiations and successfully negotiate towards beneficial outcomes.
At the end of the course, participants will be able to:
- Distinguish between different approaches to negotiations, incl. distributive and integrative negotiations;
- Detect 'psychological traps' in complex situations and how to avoid them;
- Employ a comprehensive tool box for various negotiation situations and stages, incl. preparation, conduct and closure of negotiation;
- Identify the most effective strategies in specific situations, based on learning experience, case analysis and practitioners' feedback and advice.
This e-Learning course aims to equip participants with practical skills to enhance individual negotiation capacity and lead through situations of deadlock, relevant for various professional and personal contexts.
It will help learners to improve their performance as negotiators in order to obtain better outcomes in intergovernmental, intra-organizational, business, or private negotiations, but also to become brokers of agreements when solutions look impossible. As such, course modules will look at key components of effective negotiations, psychological factors that influence our negotiation behavior, and how to negotiate your way through difficult negotiations (incl. preparing for negotiations, "off-the-table" work, and "at-the-table" moves).
The course will be conducted in English over a period of four weeks, organized in modules on different topics. The course will be delivered via UNITAR's e-Learning platform. This pedagogical tool will help paricipants meet the course's learning objectives through a self-paced study routine supported by multimedia, optional and required readings, discussion forums, assessment quizzes, and a wealth of other information.
Beyond diplomats, government officials and representatives of international organizations, the course will also benefit professionals from the private sector, students, and other interested individuals.
We highly recommend credit card payments
The course participation fee is 600 USD. You will receive an invoice by email after registration.
Participants from Least Developed Countries (LDCs) are eligible to apply for a fellowship. Please click here for more details. Registration will be closed as soon as the course is full and your place will be secured once your payment is confirmed.
General Requirements
- Have a good command of the English language
- Be computer literate
Technical Requirements
UNITAR recommends the following as a minimum in hardware and software to take our e-Learning courses. Please consult your Network Administrator or Systems person to ensure that you have the following:
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UPPER PROVIDENCE — If it's true that the golden age of the Great American Barber Shop is sadly long gone, then Razrbar is on the cusp of what might be called the platinum age.
Stylized to conjure up the leisurely ambience of a Vegas bar lounge, the premier upscale barber shop at Providence Town Center takes the obligatory shave-and-a-haircut of old to indulgent new heights, without sacrificing the masculine edge.
As owner Ed Tell likes to say, the setting is meant to recall a time when men like Steve McQueen were cool without trying to be cool.
McQueen probably would have flatly rejected the idea of an eyebrow waxing, but no matter.
With its monochromatic, early '60s-modern decor, Rzrbar sets a smartly sophisticated tone from the get-go.
"We're being innovative with the design and basically mimic an upscale bar lounge — that's kind of our visual differentiation," he said. "We're getting known for our straight razor shaves and that's where the name came from. It's really about a cool experience, with no gimmicks."
With complimentary beer, wine or non-alcoholic beverages for customers to enjoy with a range of grooming and "manspa" services, attended to by a staff of female stylists and a master barber, Razrbar aims to please the genteel gentleman.
"We cater to men but we're coming at it from a sophisticated angle," said Tell. "We're focused on service and making the client happy. We're in the image business and like having an attractive staff, but not in an exploitative way. We're not the Hooters of haircuts."
Yes, this version of male-oriented luxury will cost you a bit more than the "two bits" of yesteryear, but men regularly tell him it's well worth it, Tell noted.
Men can go from a Precision Haircut for $28 all the way up to a Top Shelf Shave ($50) that pampers them with an energizing facial scrub, the "ultimate shave" and culminates with a post-shave cooling gel treatment — all while they bask in the benefits of stress-releasing aromatherapy.
Tell allowed that men seem far more comfortable getting services beyond a shave and a haircut here, delving into spa services like "hand and foot detailing" (aka manicures and pedicures), "which they might not feel comfortable getting in a traditional female salon."
Tell ditched a lucrative career in pharmaceutical marketing to launch the flagship Razrbar concept, which seems destined for franchising opportunities.
"This is my first crossover into being a business owner," he said. "I came at it from seeing a need as a consumer and as a guy. It really felt like there weren't a lot of great alternatives for a guy. I talked to a lot of my friends and it seemed like I was always hearing the same things: 'We enjoy the old time barber shops but they're really a dying breed and the alternatives out there are female salons, or chains like Supercuts, quick in and out.' It seemed like the male market was emerging and there are a couple of inspirations out there like The Art of Shaving in King of Prussia and Shaving Grace in Exton, and I thought in this area there was a really great opportunity to make a really cool experience for men."
Men will get a chance to sample that cool experience during "Masters of Style," an open house male grooming clinic, Thursday, May 9, from 5:30 to 8 p.m., featuring prizes and a wine tasting.
"It's to celebrate that we've been open since November and to showcase our staff and talent," Tell said. "Shaving really is a lost art, and as an employer I know how lucky I was to find John Simonton, our master barber."
As the owner of one of the few independent businesses at Providence Town Center, Tell said he was thrilled that developer Brandolini Companies wanted him on board.
"It was a little bit of a gamble, but I just saw a lot of growth potential here," Tell said. "Being an independent, centers like this are a little skeptical of a first-time business owner, but they were really impressed with my business plan and we got the deal done. The center was great to work with and offered some great incentives for a small business owner to come in here."
Follow Gary Puleo @Mustangman48.
Providence Town Center
171 Market St.
Sunday and Monday : 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday: 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Friday and Saturday: 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.


text:
Why Investors Care
Individual investors can participate in Treasury auctions either through a securities dealer (brokerage firm) or via the Treasury Direct program, which saves on brokerage commissions. But brokers commissions are often nominal (especially with discount brokers), and using a broker does eliminate a lot of paper work and other administrative hassles. Brokers facilitate the purchases and sales of Treasuries in the secondary market, which is handy for buying Treasuries at times other than scheduled auctions or for maturities other than those offered by standard new issues.Interest rates on Treasury securities are determined in the market; the Federal Reserve does not set them. However, bond investors are sensitive to Federal Reserve policy and thus market rates will mirror policy expectations. Usually, bond market players are forward-looking and this means that interest rates on Treasury securities will move in the direction of Fed policy with a lead. As a result, one is more likely to see rising interest rates on Treasury yields during an expansion (and falling yields during economic slowdowns) in advance of policy changes by the Federal Reserve.TIPS, inflation-indexed securities, are designed to shield investors from inflation-risk. The principal is adjusted for inflation. Instead of getting back your initial investment of $1,000, for instance, you would get $1,000 plus an additional amount tied to the inflation rate. Since there is no inflation premium on the interest rate, interest payments (and yields attached to the TIPS) are lower than for regular Treasury securities. Economists and policymakers consider the differential between yields on 10-year TIPS and regular 10-year notes to be a proxy for investors' estimate of inflation expectations.Primer on TreasuriesTreasury securities, Treasuries, U.S. government bonds, T-bonds, T-notes, and T-bills all refer to the same type of security: debt obligations of the United States. Maturity refers to the length of the loan to the government. TIPS, which were first offered in 1998, have had maturities of 5, 10, 20 or 30 years (the last 30-year offering was in 2001). Treasury notes have maturities from 2 to 10 years (2-, 3-, 5-, 7- and 10-year notes are most common). Since 2008, the Treasury ruled that all securities it issues now have minimum denominations of $100 and must be purchased in increments of $100. How TIPS workThe principal amount of the security is adjusted for inflation and is paid at maturity. Securities are redeemed at the greater of their inflation-adjusted principal or par amount at original issue. Interest payments, which are taxable like other Treasuries, are issued six times a year and are based on the inflation-adjusted principal at the time of payment. The index for measuring the rate of inflation is the non-seasonally adjusted U.S. City Average All Items Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers published each month by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. If this index is materially changed, the Treasury will substitute an alternative index.You pay $1,000 for a TIPS note and receive interest payments every six months based on the inflation-adjusted principal at the time of payment. If the coupon is 3% and the rate of inflation, for instance, stays at 3%, you get $30 every six months for a total of $60 per year. When the note matures in 10 years, you get back the greater of the inflation-adjusted principal or the $1,000 par amount at original issue.Investment ProfileTreasuries offer a measure of security unmatched by other investments - the U.S. government guarantees the initial investment (the principal) and the interest payments. With regular Treasury securities, inflation may erode the value of both the principal and interest payments. But TIPS offer an additional level of security, protecting the investor from an onset of inflation. When TIPS are resold in the secondary market, their price could be substantially more or less than the face value. Price fluctuations in the secondary market are based on the economic environment, inflation expectations, Federal Reserve policy, and simple forces of supply and demand. Opportunity risk refers to what could have been earned had the money been invested elsewhere.Important note: Accrued interest relating to inflation gain is not paid out until maturity, however, the individual is required to pay federal income taxes on this amount. That's why many financial advisors suggest that these securities be purchased for tax-deferred retirement accounts.FrequencySix times a year


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Total Angling has become firmly established as one of the leading fishing tackle retailers in the country. A one stop shop for all your angling requirements.With our friendly, knowledgeable and experienced sales team with many years in the fishing trade plus our next working day delivery, it's easy to see why we have become so popular with our customers.
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There are no zombies?
But there is a huge market for all things zombie, and it doesn't even seem to have peaked yet. Zombies are the new vampires, and to date none of them sparkle in the sun.
Most of the zombie fiction is just a different approach to RPG-style problem solving, and has the same appeal. A zombie outbreak happens near you, and the zombies work this way. What do you do? What do you eat? How do you defend yourself? Do you find others, or avoid others? etc, etc. It's good fun.
and to date none of them sparkle in the sun.
Grills glinting in the sunlight as they shuffle towards you.
It wouldn't be hard to really. Look at the average post-goth teen. They're still in love with death and the macabre. A vampire is just an undead human if you remove the demon aspect. Stephenie Meyer did that *shudder*. I suppose, you could have teen protagonists, one of which dies and comes back, and then they try to make it work. Think about Return of the Living Dead 3 and factor in some of the recent zombie mockumentaries where zombies are vying for civil rights. I think, sadly, a teen zombie romance is a
They made a comedy like that, back in the 90's: My Boyfriend's Back [imdb.com] A couple other low-budget ones I can't remember from the 80's, too.
Can't remember any serious/emo ones, though.
Zombies are the new vampires, and to date none of them sparkle in the sun. Want to know why zombies are so cool? Because Hollywood will never be able to get 14 year old girls interested in crappy zombie romance/emo books and movies....
It's true. My lack of hygiene, tattered clothes and strange grunting noises prevent any 14 year old girls from taking an interest in me.
Vampires are ancient, evil, debauched, blood drinking, monsters who turn to ash in the sun.
Fairies are youthful, amoral (note the difference), sparkly, supernatural beings who turn children away from their families and gain strength from human emotions.
Twilight is about fairies. Really lame fairies.
It all went down hill with Muffy the Vampire Layer IMHO
Actually, while humanity had a ton of imagination when it comes to fearing death, nothing even came close to the modern idea of vampire.
What Europe believed in is better described as "revenants", or what we nowadays think of as "zombies." They weren't supposed to be some clever and scheming count, but mindless bloated corpses of some peasants.
Oh, and generally they'd transmit disease generally by just being there not by bit. Remember it was an era where even an educated medicus knew that diseases are transmitted by smells (no, really, the miasma theory of disease) and everyone else knew that corpses cause disease. A corpse walking around was a health hazard by itself.
And just to drive the "zombie" aspect home, most of these were supposed to be literally brain dead. E.g., the ones from an outbreak in Venice could be prevented from biting anything ever again by just shoving a brick in the corpse's mouth. Your average Dracula or White Wolf kinda vampire would be sentient enough to basically go "oh, i have a brick in my mouth" and spit it out. Heck, even the dumbest animal would. But the version those people believed in would be forever thwarted by that brick because they weren't even able to figure that out.
Other forms of thwarting an undead included the equivalent of the frat prank of tying someone's shoelaces together, except it was more like tying the ends a piece of string to the big toe on each foot. Yep, that would thwart them.
Even when myths gave them a couple of neurons still working, then they'd be riddled with a crippling OCD, so they'd irresistably stop and count the grains in a pile of rice or whatever.
Basically they're not quite the smart and scheming baron kind, nor the kind who'd blend in and maintain a Masquerade. They were mindless rotting corpses.
The modern idea of a Vampire was pretty much used invented by Polidori in "The Vampyre", sort of reused in "Carmilla" (where it got some sexual part added too), but only really became mass known via "Dracula". It's really not about any single "ancient" myth, but a mix of several of those. Including a lot of the witchcraft beliefs, incubus beliefs, and various assorted other bits and ends. And yes, some stuff taken from fairies too.
Basically what Polidori, Le Fanu and Stoker did there was already inventing a new kind of vampire and romanticizing it to appeal to their target audience. That was it, really. And each of them felt free to add a few personal touches and mix some even more unrelated mythical monsters to the definition of a Vampire, to make it even more mass-appeal. Which is basically why you've heard of Dracula over and over again, but most people never even heard of Carmilla or The Vampyre.
Complaining that someone else did the same thing is a bit silly. Yes, Twilight included some stuff from an unrelated mythical beastie. What, unlike Stoker, Anne Rice, White Wolf and everyone else... who added bits from unrelated mythical beasties too?
Most of the zombie fiction is just a different approach to RPG-style problem solving
Do you mean RPG-style like in ruchnoy protivotankoviy granatomyot or RPG-7? It's a good option but you can't really run while carrying it.
Real-life zombies are probably more subtle. They probably live among us, and you don't even realize it!
Read this about parasites that can alter human and other mammal behavior and come back and say it isn't as much of a stretch as you'd think:
http://www.technovelgy.com/ct/Science-Fiction-News.asp?NewsNum=547 [technovelgy.com]
Case in point: cat ladies.
Real-life zombies are probably more subtle
In fact most all of the world has been replaced with Zimboes, and there are very few of us real people left, examples being myself, and Cory Doctorow.
Not to mention they are forgetting why Zombies ended up winning in the Romero flicks...human stupidity. If you remember the original Dawn of the Dead you had people believing it was part of the judgment and actively hiding dead relatives from the police and by the time they would find a "nest" it would have often spread to an entire building and made the entire building a threat.
The problem with any of these "disaster A can't happen" is they always assume humans will band together and act logically which
The problem with any of these "disaster A can't happen" is they always assume humans will band together and act logically which if anything history has taught us in a widespread panic humans are as dangerous and stupid as any other scared animal. To quote MiB "A person is smart, people are dumb, dangerous, panicky animals and you know it.
You know, I love that quote as much as anyone but I'm not convinced it's true. Think of the times when people really HAVE been up against the wall in large numbers, with a cause they believe in, and I think you'll find that in general, we're pretty good in a pinch. Take, for example, the British in WW2. They're having the absolute shit bombed out of them but they stayed organized for the most part and put up a hell of a fight.
But you are missing the fact that they had Churchill to lead them by example and to rally the troops, whereas in a zombie or other mass disease attack most likely the leaders would run for it like everyone else. We simply don't create leaders like Patton and Churchill anymore, instead we get politicians who will save their own ass first and foremost. Can you really picture Obama (or Palin or your choice of politician) standing there to rally folks with the risk of contagion like Churchill was willing to walk through bombed areas with the threat of further bombing looming?
Then of course you have the religious aspect, which would REALLY bite us in the ass. If you remember Dawn of the Dead those that believed in the judgment actively helped the zombies believing that the walking monsters were really their dead relatives being risen by their God. In large cities this would create a quickly escalating situation, where just like in the movies believers would attempt to "care" for their dead relatives, getting infected themselves, and by doing so creating "nests" where whole buildings would become infected.
In the end it would come down to whether or not we have any leaders that are willing to risk their own asses and make the hard choices on the spot. Sadly what we have now is a spoilt ruling class used to be coddled and treated like little kings that would probably abandon us at the first sign of danger to themselves. The days of leaders like Churchill that were willing to risk their lives for their people are long past I'm afraid.
Think about rabies.
Now think what would happen if rabid humans were like rabid dogs.
Weird, raBIES and zomBIES are even spelled alike!
The zompocalypse is just a mutation away.
There are no zombies?
Constructing the Haitian Zombie: An Anthropological Study Beyond Madness [uci.edu]
Persons identified as zombies are to be found among the inhabitants of Haiti, an impoverished and politically unstable Caribbean country with unique cultural characteristics. Using the lens of the anthropologist, an investigation into Haitian zombiism reveals not only a basis for the bizarre phenomenon of zombiism itself, but also the underlying characteristics of Haitian society that have fostered and it. While zombiism may be fundamentally understood in terms of mental illness, particular theories related to madness are useful in further illuminating the subject, including Sigmund Freud's signature theses on melancholia, Frantz Fanon's views on the psychological effects of colonialism, and Emily Martin's ideas about the performance of mental disorders. The resulting analysis will demonstrate that Haitian zombiism constitutes a cultural construct of madness that thoroughly fits within its post-colonial population, where a bereft people have transformed zombiism into a reality.
PASSAGE OF DARKNESS: THE ETHNOBIOLOGY OF THE HAITIAN ZOMBIE [webster.edu]
Are there really zombies in Haiti? Wade Davis devotes two long sections to this question. He first looks at the popular views and then explores cases where there have been some attempts to carefully and more scientifically determine the status of suspected cases. His key candidate for zombiehood is Clairvius Narcisse. In spring, 1962 Narcisse "died" at the Albert Schweitzer Hospital in Deschapelles, Haiti. His death was verified by the hospital staff. 18 years later Narcisse turned up alive and well, and claimed to be an escaped zombie.
No, I did not read through those articles. I just remember watching an interview with some scientist that researched out the sposid myth. So I knew therw was legitimate research into it.
Zombies are real in the Haitian voodoo sense, but we're talking about the classic Romero zombie I assumed, the one upon which most zombie fiction is now based.
His key candidate for zombiehood is Clairvius Narcisse. In spring, 1962 Narcisse "died" at the Albert Schweitzer Hospital in Deschapelles, Haiti. His death was verified by the hospital staff. 18 years later Narcisse turned up alive and well, and claimed to be an escaped zombie.
We don't know if he consumed human flesh when in captivity as a zombie for 18 years or not.
But the links were just to show there is actual research into this, thats all.
lol, I need to stop. It almost lo
That you're not taking this seriously is a reason why the zombie apocalypse will succeed!
Yes, I believe the zombie originated in Haiti. I think the word too comes from Haiti. I can't remember how much influence the Haitian zombie had on those classic zombie movies.. I mean like "white zombie" etc. I do remember that Romero said that he never thought of his ghouls as "zombies", and he never actually used the word to describe the monsters in his Living Dead trilogy.
I've watched some of this genre shows that s
Actually, my neurobiology professor [wikipedia.org] (who has a definite knack for explaining complex ideas in everyday language) gives a great lecture on Haitian zombies from a neurobiological and athropological perspective.
Basically, some Haitian (or more commonly, a bunch of Haitians) gets really pissed off at a person, and hires a witch doctor to "curse" them. The curse turns out to be slipping them some tetrodotoxin (better known in popular culture as "the thing in blowfish/fugu that paralyzes you"), which then... paralyzes them to a state in which they can be mistaken for dead.
Most probably die. It's a pretty good poison. But once in a while one of them, after being taken for dead for up to a couple days, actually "comes back to life". This of course freaks everyone out (and gives the witch doctor some major cred). And now this person was officially cursed by the witch doctor, and came back from the dead. He's a zombie! Everyone in town is now both disgusted and somewhat frightened of him, and he starts to believe the stories (and conform to the stereotypes/myths). A zombie is born!
Keep telling yourself that. You'll be sorry one day when you don't run, and a zombie eats your face.
I think they just eat your brains [youtube.com].
Wait, didn't we visit this subject years ago with a story about dead frozen dogs in Australia being reanimated by having fresh blood pumped into them?
There are no zombies yet.
This article is the reason why idle.slashdot.org exists.
also, please link to the first page of the story:
http://www.cracked.com/article_18683_7-scientific-reasons-zombie-outbreak-would-fail-quickly.html [cracked.com]
I didn't even notice what website it was, I was more interested in the article. (:
I never thought I would see the day that slashdot linked to cracked
At least they didn't do it when the majority of their readers were at work. That site is highly addictive [xkcd.com] and it's likely that no one would have gotten any work done for the rest of the day. Of course, there might be a large chunk of the workforce that goes into work tired tomorrow because they get to sleep late...
No, that article is the reason cracked.com exists.
This response is the reason idle.slashdot.org exists.
7. Natural predators can become zombies, too. Then where will your living natural predators be, hmm?
6. Zombies rose from the dead, some years-dead. Making them deader by drying them out isn't going to affect them.
6. Zombies rose from the dead. Dead is even more inert than frozen. Therefore, frozen isn't going to faze them.
5. Biting works for rattlesnakes, black widow spiders, rabid dogs, and yucky girls with cooties. Zombies are onto a business model here.
3. It's not like we're picking a Zombie President early in the cycle. There are zillions of them. Damage to one leaves another undamaged. You can't beat them in reasonable time with iterative solutions.
2. You can run. You can hide. But death comes to us all. And then you'll be the zombie in the place behind the incorrectly designated zombie-proof barrier.
1. Unless you plan to make bullets out of zombie finger bones, you're going to run out of bullets before you run out of zombies. Zillions, man. Zillions.
Yes, there are two rule sixes, and NOOOOOOO...rule four. Clearly not a Python sketch.
Actually, zombies are the recently dead. As in, still have meat that can be animated. And if you think them freezing won't stop them, you have no business on
8. To survive as a species, each zombie has to kill one person before becoming disabled. A person in an average car should be able to disable a dozen zombies before they succumb to hood damage. The zombie numbers dwindle.
Unless you're talking about Romero's "Dead world" films. Only a bite will infect a living person, true, but anyone who dies and is not disposed of properly rises again for some reason.
That's The Night of the Living Dead's whole thing, where the zombies dig their way out of graves, unbitten, to attack the whole world at once. The following chaos and disruption greatly increases their numbers not only through bites, but through any incidental deaths that occur.
If it's viral, and this is unknow
Oh my!
Would their zombie wings be able to make birds fly? I always figured zombie birds would be harmless, as they'd simply fall to the ground over their rotten flesh.
So, so tired of zombies, pirates, ninjas, and robots. Jesus, Internet, can you please latch on to something else? Anything? I know whatever it is you latch on to will still get annoying, with 18 year old girls running around pretending to be cute and funny, but just being fucking annoying, but for the love of god, let the Zombie bullshit die.
If they let it die, it might rise again. Like. a. zombie. OMG!!!!!
So, so tired of zombies, pirates, ninjas, and robots. Jesus, Internet
Interesting list. So zobmie priate Jesus on the Internet isn't your thing, then?
At least it's not Elves.
"tired of zombies, pirates, ninjas, and robots. Jesus"
Jesus won't help you here for He is Master or Zombies: He turned Lazarus into a zombie and He Himself was a zombie too (while it took him three days for the conversion).
Jesus, Internet, can you please latch on to something else?
Like sex, boobs, sex, pics or it didn't happen, sex, really perverted fucked-up shit that should never exist, sex, and lolcats?
The Internet seems to "latch on" to anything and everything. It's an expression of our collective psyches -- so if humans have latched onto anything, anywhere, the Internet has, too.
You ask to let it die, but what if it REFUSES to die. Like a zombie!
So, so tired of zombies, pirates, ninjas, and robots. Jesus, Internet, can you please latch on to something else? Anything? I know whatever it is you latch on to will still get annoying, with 18 year old girls running around pretending to be cute and funny, but just being fucking annoying, but for the love of god, let the Zombie bullshit die.
The next big craze? ZOMG PONIES!
Having zombies, pirates, ninjas, robots, vampires, and werewolves in an MMORPG would be awesome!
BTW, werewolves rule all
This person is claiming that zombie outbreaks will fail, but where is the evidence? Has there ever been a zombie outbreak that has actually failed for any of these reasons?
It all seems like blind optimism to me.
Has there ever been a zombie outbreak that has actually failed for any of these reasons?
Well, that is a good point, but let me turn that question around for a second. Has there ever been a zombie outbreak that succeeded?
Actually, 100% of all documented zombie outbreaks have failed.
Most Zombie literature holds that large-scale weapons like bombs, machine guns, artillery and explosive weapons are ineffective. Some take the tack that the outbreak happens so quickly that we don't get use them because the Zombie overwhelm the delivery systems (you can't drop a bomb without a plane; no pilots? no air base? no bombing).
I think this undersells military weapons and how effective they might be.
A gattling-type machine gun or minigun would be devastating in massed crowds -- it'd be like using
It is true, zombie outbreaks are pretty much doomed from the start. I mean shit, just jump in a tank and start killing. It isn't like they can hurt you. It isn't hard to devise a shelter that zombies can't get into where you can safely kill hundreds or thousands. The military alone could probably kill a few thousand per soldier. You might think we have more people than bullets, but seriously, we don't.
That said, there is way to get around this and let the zombie apocalypse happen. Imagine if zombies c
There are two pages to the article. Why you link to the second one instead of the main one is beyond me.
Yes I know people complain about the editors and the like, but is it really that much to ask to link to the main page?
You're really going to tell someone with a UID only 530,295 higher than yours that they're "new here"? Your UID is hardly lower than mine either. Also, do you know what the current UIDs being handed out are? I doubt it.
I now bow out for someone with a 5 digit UID to come in and smack you around, to be followed by someone with a 4 digit, then finally a 3-digit. (Much lower than that is an extreme rarity... I mean, there ARE in theory only 90 2-digit UIDs...)
Also, do you know what the current UIDs being handed out are? I doubt it.
The new crop of UIDS is around 1,800,000, I think 1,880,000 even. Well into seven digits basically.
Hopefully you can accept this information from someone whose UID is only 369,864 less than yours.
History has shown that in most awful situations, people don't always act like the panicky idiots in a horror movie. In cities, people would likely congregate in the upper levels of high-rise buildings, where the invasion can be held at bay with simple security doors.
Ahem. I beg to differ.
Some myths to accept as truth BEFORE considering why a Zombie Outbreak would fail:
(1) Zombies are real
(2) The Zombie infection is viral and spread by getting Zombie fluids (blood, saliva, etc) in another body. It also requires an incubation time.
(3) Zombies need no form of sustenance (food, drink, oxygen, etc)
(4) Zombies eat as an instinct... and it's their only instinct.
(5) They can only be killed by destroying their brains (dealing sufficient damage)
(6) Zombie "blood" is thick and gooey, does not evaporat
Doh... forgot:
(12) Zombies don't decay. It has something to do with the gooey blood.
You're pretty much correct. Although I would say #8 is debatable. I believe that as a result of physical limitations placed on a zombies nervous system and joints and muscle due to death, a zombie likely would shamble. Maybe it's a matter of age though. A "new" zombie that turned fairly quickly could quite possibly be one of those new fast-moving zombies. A zombie of something buried many years or a zombie that's existed for a long time probably shambles. Maybe, it's the ultimate fate of every zombie to bec
Just be as dumb as homer simpson and they will pass you over
if the tea party wins a lot legislative seats, then the zombie outbreak will have succeeded
TFA seems to takes only one possible zombie scenario; the dead rising from the grave. Most of the more well thought out zombie scenarios seem to have zombies as a secondary effect of a primary event. Take for example "Omega Man" where most of the population is killed off by the virus, while a large group turns into zombies, and a small group is simply immune. The primary catastrophe is the collapse of modern society due to massive population decreases. The surviving humans, even without the pressure of an u
I especially like the point about the sheer number of armed individuals. Makes me think the only semi-viable zombie outbreak scenario is something like Highschool of The Dead, where an outbreak occurs in urban Japan.
But even in Japan, I don't imagine an outbreak would last very long.
I doubt the zombies have much to worry about from the Japanese police though, they've already had an aversion to using their guns ingrained in them through training. Add to that the stress and sheer 'omgwtfbbq'-ness of the situation, and I think it'd be more likely to see many of them either completely freaking out, or making an ultimately futile effort to use batons and riot shields against the zombies. And even the ones that actually use their firearms against the zombies will quickly go through all the ammunition they have access to and be screwed.
I imagine the JGSDF would fare a lot better, even with the psychological factors. The question is, how badly outnumbered would they be by the time someone thinks to officially mobilize them?
But hey, if all else fails, the US military presence in Japan could probably take care of it themselves. I wonder what kind of legal and bureaucratic messes would be involved in mobilizing the US military for actual combat operations on Japanese soil, even in an emergency...
Who goeth a-borrowing goeth a-sorrowing. -- Thomas Tusser


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I have recently attended 2 home births with a fellow midwife for 2 low risk women in the suburbs of an indian city. I have written an article about the above for a national parenting magazine which will be coming out in October. There is a lot of fear of homebirth in this country, although it wasn't so long ago that homebirth was the norm. The government are "pushing" hospital births and the increase and rate of cesarean sections are alarming, as are medicated births. I have observed and been a "doula" in government hospitals where doctors are being trainined and they just do not see anything close to a natural birth.
I know there will be response to the homebirth issues that are being raised and wondered if you can point me to a good study or 4 on the issue , especially in the context of a busy city life where traffic can be at a standstill for hours! The editor of the magazine is keen to include references to studies that have been done on homebirths because studies and evidence can break through the fear and the myths and make home birth a safe reality for women and families that choose it as an opton.
Also if there are any short clips of natural birth that are available on the net so that people can see it...... most doctors i have spoken to are terrified not to cut an episiotomy because they have neve "not" cut one!!
Thanks a lot


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Raspberry Streusel Coffee Cake Recipe
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- 3-1/2 cups unsweetened raspberries
- 1 cup water
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1-1/4 cups sugar
- 1/3 cup cornstarch
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 cup cold butter, cubed
- 2 eggs, lightly beaten
- 1 cup (8 ounces) sour cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup butter, softened
- 1/2 cup chopped pecans
- 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
- 2 teaspoons 2% milk
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- In a large saucepan, cook raspberries and water over medium heat 5 minutes. Add lemon juice. Combine sugar and cornstarch; stir into fruit mixture. Bring to a boil; cook and stir 2 minutes or until thickened. Cool.
- Preheat oven to 350°. In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder and baking soda. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in eggs, sour cream and vanilla (batter will be stiff).
- Spread half into a greased 13x9-in. baking dish. Spread raspberry filling over batter; spoon remaining batter over filling. Combine topping ingredients; sprinkle over top.
- Bake 40-45 minutes or until golden brown. Combine glaze ingredients; drizzle over warm cake. Yield: 12-16 servings.
Test Kitchen Tips
Reviews forRaspberry Streusel Coffee Cake
My Review
Average Rating
"This cake was okay. Will not make it again. The batter was SO stiff, my hand cramped up trying to stir it. It was VERY hard to spread in the pan and IMPOSSIBLE to spread over the raspberry filling. I had to glob the batter over the filling and try to spread the thick mess. The flavour (other than raspberry) was bland as stated in previous comments. Extremely disappointed."
"Very delicious and great for a special occasion. I did make a few changes. I used plain yogurt instead of sour cream and added a little milk to the batter; it was still difficult to work with but I think it helped. I also added some cinnamon and nutmeg to the topping and did not make the icing. I will make this again with different fruits."
"Wasn't extremely impressed with this cake. Nothing wrong with the flavour but kind of bland. The batter was quite hard to spread and even more so to spread over the filling. I don't think it was worth it!"
"So so good"
"This is delicious! I halved the recipe & made in an 8x8 pan. I patted the first half of dough in pan with spray-oiled fingers, no problem. Just takes patience. Glaze isn't necessary, but might be nice for special occasions. Thanks for sharing :)"
"This cake was excellent! I did add a splash of milk to the batter after reading reviews and my cake was moist and delicious. I also added the cinnamon and nutmeg to the crumb topping since my family can not eat nuts and that did the trick. I also made this with strawberry and rhubarb filling. Same directions as the raspberries just used the strawberries and rhubarb instead. That as well was delicious. My family said it was the best coffee cake ever! They can't wait for more LOL"
"Wonderful! The "batter will be stiff" is an understatement. You can't even describe it as "batter", it is more like clumps of dough. I kept checking the instructions thinking I forgot to add some liquid. I used the correct pan and had to cook it about 52 minutes just like another reader noted. Will make again but will use a food processor to make things easier."
"First time I've made this recipe as I couldn't find the one I usually use. I could tell from the recipe that this was going to be bland. It was with a very dense and dry crumb. Next time, I'll change out the AP flour for cake flour to lighten this one up and also add some cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves to the streusel. The raspberry was too sweet so I suggest cutting down the sugar from 1 cup to perhaps 3/4.All in all though a nice coffee cake with tea or coffee."
"My kids & granddaughter loves, loves, loves anything with raspberries. If I buy a pint from the grocery, its gone the same day! This coffee cake is the same. When I make it, I'm lucky if I get a piece for myself!"
"this is suspiciously close to a recipe of mine that was originally published in a 1990 issue of Country Woman. I've received many honors with my recipe, even years after it was published."


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Uh, spoiler, I guess? Despite a disappointing finale, last season of The Walking Dead, its third, was far and away the show's best. Mostly because of an increase in Daryl and the introduction to Michonne's cat, but also because four episodes in, the writers axed (and shot) their weakest character, Lori Grimes, the worst TV parent outside of the mama meerkat who ate its young on the Nature Channel. Unfortunately, she still showed up in Rick's fits of hysteria, and even more unfortunately, not as a zombie. That scene was cut at the last second, according to EW.
Remember back in episode 10 ("Home") when Rick had himself a tender moment with a vision of his former wife in a white dress out on a bridge past the prison yard? Well, a new deleted scene shows how the scene was originally shot — and it seems that tender moment actually turned quite terrifying. After making out for a bit — because who doesn't love making out with hallucinations from time to time — Rick pulls back to see that his beautiful wife is now a significantly less kissable zombie version of his beautiful wife. (Via)
Tell that to Tina. Watch the scene below.


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Listen to today's episode of StarDate on the web the same day it airs in high-quality streaming audio without any extra ads or announcements. Choose a $8 one-month pass, or listen every day for a year for just $30.
You are here
Pegasus, the flying horse, is beginning its climb into the evening sky. It clears the eastern horizon by about 11 p.m. It's preceded into the sky by another horse, which is to the upper right of Pegasus.
Equuleus is far smaller and less prominent than its famous equine cousin. In fact, of all the constellations passed down from the ancient world, it's by far the smallest — you can cover all of it with your palm held at arm's length.
Unlike most ancient constellations, there's not much of a story associated with Equuleus. And as it's drawn in the sky, it's not even a full horse — only a head, which is outlined by a lopsided rectangle of four meager stars.
The brightest is Alpha Equulei, which is actually a pair of stars locked in a tight orbit around each other. Both stars are about twice as massive as the Sun, with one just slightly heavier than the other.
That difference in heft has made a big difference in the lives of the two stars. The heavier one has already ended its "normal" lifetime, and is entering one of its final stages. That's caused the star to puff up like a balloon.
The smaller star is still in the prime of life. Yet as the bigger star puffs up, the surfaces of the two stars may get so close that the stars begin to swap some of their gas — a process that may alter the evolution of both stars.
Equuleus is in the east at nightfall. It's below Delphinus, the dolphin — another small constellation, but one that's much easier to pick out.
Script by Damond Benningfield, Copyright 2012
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A low pressure system that literally blew into Arizona was still spinning above the state Tuesday morning, continuing a windy and cloudy trend that was expected to continue through the day.
CBS 5 Meteorologist Katie Baker said winds gusts reached 37 mph in Chandler in the southeast Valley and Goodyear to the west Tuesday morning and sustained winds from the west between 15 and 25 mph were expected to last the rest of the day. Baker said gusts as high as 40 mph could be expected in some parts of the Valley.
Visibility across the Valley, as well as other parts of the state, was hampered by lingering dust and some blowing sand and residents could expect that to continue through Tuesday, Baker said.
Some isolated showers and sprinkles were also expected Tuesday, Baker said. Mesa received 0.12 of an inch of rain Monday, and Scottsdale 0.11 of an inch.
The windy weather moved through the Valley Monday, causing dust to blow and a 34-mile stretch of Interstate 40 to close.
I-40, east of Flagstaff, was closed in both directions between Twin Arrows and Winslow due to strong winds and limited visibility, according to the Arizona Department of Transportation.
Arizona Department of Public Safety officials said two semi-trucks jackknifed and two passenger vehicles were involved in the crash on Interstate 10 near Picacho Peak about 2 p.m. Monday.
Four people were taken to Tucson-area hospitals, but Department of Public Safety officials said they are all expected to be OK.
DPS said low visibility from a dust storm likely caused the accident.
There were multiple reports of wind damage across the Valley on Monday. The National Weather Service reported that a large tree fell and knocked down a brick wall near Riggs and Gilbert roads.
Power lines also snapped in half in the parking lot of a church at 18th Street and Missouri in Phoenix. APS workers are taking the power lines out of the trees.
Winds picked up to 50 mph in the Valley Monday afternoon.
A low pressure system started moving across California and Nevada on Monday morning.
The National Weather Service issued a wind advisory for the Valley through 8 p.m. Phoenix was also under a red-flag warning because of those high winds and low humidity.
ADOT officials recommend drivers pull off the road when blowing dust limits visibility and, if possible, avoid driving in the dust.
Meteorologist Jason Kadah said Tuesday will be noticeably cooler and still windy; however, winds will not be as strong Tuesday.
As this system exits the area, a ridge of high pressure will take over, bringing sunshine and temperatures in the 80s by midweek and low 90s by the weekend.
Copyright 2013 CBS 5 (KPHO Broadcasting Corporation). All rights reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.


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Tips for coaches
■ Recovering from mistakes: Establish a ritual allowing athletes to mentally "reset" for the next play after making a mistake. One example is The Flush, a toilet-flushing motion that tells a player to flush away the error and move on.
■ Setting "stretch goals": Encourage players to improve in one specific area over a
period of time. In baseball, it might be consistently hitting the outside pitch to the
opposite field; in soccer, increasing the distance of a goal kick by 10 yards.
■ Creating symbolic rewards: Reward hustle with a symbolic prize. For instance, a Dirty Shirt Award given to the player who showed the most grit but was not necessarily the star.
■ Developing a 2-minute drill: Pick a time in a game or practice when the team's energy normally flags and amp up your positivity level. Keep the communication totally upbeat for a few minutes and save the criticism for later.
■ Practicing a self-control routine: When aggravated, pause and take a deep breath. Turn away from the field to refocus. Count backward from 100.
■ Coaching parents to "honor the game": Where appropriate, appoint one or more parents as "Culture Keeper" responsible for maintaining sideline decorum.
Source: "The Power of Double-Goal Coaching," by PCA founder Jim Thompson


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2009 Volleyball
Bluffton opens 2009 at Dominican in Chicago
Bluffton traveling to Dominican in Chicago to open 2009 campaign
September 3, 2009
Dominican University Star Classic Tournament Webpage
Live video vs. Dominican I Live stats vs. Dominican
|BLUFFTON - The Bluffton University volleyball team hits the road this weekend to travel to Chicago suburb River Forest, to compete in the Star Classic hosted by Dominican University. Bluffton is coming off one of the most successful seasons in the past decade, going 21-10 and making the semifinals in the conference Tournament. The Beavers, led by fifth year head coach Steve Yarnell, have high expectations for the 2009 season.
"We had a very good preseason and were able to accomplish some things faster in preseason than in previous years," said Yarnell. "I am excited for the team to compete against some out-of-region opponents at this weekend's tournament. We will get a chance to test our lineups against some quality opponents and get a feel for what we need to improve on. Practices have been very competitive and our second team pushes our first team each and every day. When you are playing against your teammates each day you learn each person's strengths and weaknesses, so it will be nice to get out and play against outside competition."


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April is National Financial Literacy Month in the United States. This brings attention to the lack of a financial education young people receive in this country, both from their parents and from the education system. I disagree with most people about how to solve this issue. [1] Many call for mandatory high school courses in personal finances [2], but there are many reasons why this has not been and will not be generally successful.
In the spirit of National Financial Literacy Month, I occasionally take some time to focus on some of the financial basics. This is information I would have liked to have had or to have thought about earlier in my life. It's not necessarily the information that's important, but having a role model — someone to emulate — who is proficient with money, to guide a young individual on a path towards financial independence. I've covered the basics of savings accounts [3], checking accounts [4], budgets [5], and interest [6] previously, and today's I'll attempt to tackle the topic of investing.
Investing is a massive topic. It can get quite complicated when you look at the types of investments available, each having their own quirks, rules, and purpose. Investing means different things to different people: you can invest in stocks, invest in an industry, invest in a business, and invest in your future. You can invest your money, your effort, or your time. All of these concepts can be radically different.
There is a general theme to all investing, however. While the purpose of saving is to have a foundation or short-term financial safety, investing is the choice people make when they want to build long-term financial stability or independence. When you create a plan for investing — and it's better to start with a plan in mind even if you don't really know what you want to do in the future — you think about the future. The expectation when you invest is that your wealth will grow. Compare this to savings, where your expectation is that your wealth is safe.
What do people invest in?
The most common investments are stocks. Stocks are shares of a business. When business owners want to raise money to help their businesses grow, they sell to investors pieces of ownership in that business. Most of the time the pieces are very small. For example, if you invest in one share of a company like Google, you'll become an owner of the business — but you'll own only about 0.0000003 percent of the company. And almost always, when you buy stocks, you don't buy them from the company. Once a company decides to sell shares, the stocks are traded on exchanges like the New York Stock Exchange. When you buy stocks, you're buying them from another investor who happens to be selling.
Overall, stocks perform well over long periods of time. If you buy a varied collection of stocks and hold them for several decades, your investments have a great chance of increasing in value. The best way to buy stocks, especially for someone new to investing, is to invest in a pre-determined package of stocks designed to match your investing goals and needs. That's where mutual funds come in. Mutual funds are packages of stocks (or other investments) managed by a professional investor, and these packages often have a goal or style that the manager follows.
With any investment, stocks, mutual funds, or otherwise, there is a chance that you will lose money. This is the risk that's associated with investing. While there's a chance of your investment increasing in value over time, increasing your wealth, the opposite might happen. You could buy shares of a company that fails one month later, losing all your money. Investing in shares, therefore, requires lots of research to protect yourself from bad investments, but even lots of research can't help you accurately predict whether your investment will be successful. That's why mutual funds are more attractive investments. With mutual funds, you can use the same money to spread out among many investments, so if one company fails, it doesn't affect your investment as much.
Besides stocks and mutual funds consisting of stocks, the next most popular investments are bonds. Companies and governments issue bonds to raise money. Sometimes a government is looking to raise money for a specific project, like building a bridge, and will seek investors, promising to pay the investors back their contribution plus interest. Like stocks, bonds are designed to raise money, but for the investor bonds are safer, meaning they're less likely to lose value than stocks.
In exchange for that safety, the possibility of growing your wealth with bonds is less than the possibility for doing the same with stocks or mutual funds consisting of stocks. Bonds have a maturity, though. You can buy and sell most stocks whenever you'd like, but when you buy bonds, you are committing to a relationship. When you buy a five-year bond, you will receive some income from the investment over the course of five years, but you won't get all of your money back until the five year term is complete.
Mutual funds come in handy once again; if you like the relative safety of bonds, you can buy a mutual fund consisting of bonds. These can, with some exceptions, be purchased and sold at any time. Investing is a long-term activity, though, and investors shouldn't be too concerned about frequent buying and selling.
The best type of mutual funds
I mentioned above that mutual funds are managed by a professional investor. This is an individual who makes decisions for you about which stocks or bonds to buy and sell. All of these professional investors cannot consistently pick the best investments, however. Index mutual funds are designed to take some of the human errors out of investing.
When the financial media talk about the Dow being up or the S&P being down, they're talking about an index. Indexes (or indices if you prefer) track the overall progress of a representative sample of investments. Most investors can't pick investments that outperform the indexes, so you're better off just copying the indexes. You can do that easily by investing in an index mutual fund.
An additional benefit of index mutual funds is the low fee. Whenever you invest — whether you buy or sell — you pay fees. People invest with the intent of growing their wealth, and the best investors do that by reducing these fees. The worst investors buy and sell frequently and, for the most part, make the professionals who collect the fees rich rather than building wealth for themselves over the long-term. If you choose wisely, index mutual funds are often the best investments for reaching your long-term goals while saving money. It's a great value.
Other investments
ETFs have increased in popularity in recent years. ETFs are exchange-traded funds. The financial industry loves these investments because they have the appeal of mutual funds with the added benefit of being able to be bought and sold during the day, unlike mutual funds which trade only at the end of the day. Of course the industry loves ETFs; they encourage investors to trade investments frequently, thus increasing fees from trading. There's no need for long-term investors to invest in ETFs. You can avoid these rather than playing into they hype.
The menu of investments is lengthy, particularly once you start looking at derivatives, stock options, and other complicated investments not particularly relevant to a beginning investor. Stick with stocks (broadly invested), bonds, and mutual funds unless you have a large sum of money you don't mind losing. Most people don't.
Retirement-specific investing
The government offers tax benefits for people who invest for the future. Many people working in a career look forward to the day they can leave their jobs behind and relax with the remaining decades of their lives. The government help subsidize people who no longer work, so you can be sure those in political power are interested in encouraging people to fed for themselves.
The 401(k) investment, named for the section of the tax code that contains its definition, is one of the most popular ways to invest for your retirement and receive a tax benefit for doing so. You may be automatically enrolled in a 401(k) when you start a new job, or you may need to sign up for yourself. You can reserve a portion of each paycheck for your retirement. All that you reserve must be left invested in order to receive the tax benefit (and avoid a penalty) except in certain circumstances. As a result, you're putting some money away, untouchable, for many years.
An IRA (Individual Retirement Account or Agreement) is similar to the 401(k) in that respect, but you can also sign up for an IRA as an individual rather than as an employee of a business by contacting a broker directly.
Neither an IRA nor a 401(k) are investment types. They are not like stocks, bonds, or mutual funds. Instead, they are packages that can contain a varied array of investments. Most 401(k) plans contains mutual funds, but you can invest in almost anything within your IRA.
Points to keep in mind
- When you invest, keep in mind that the idea is not to guess which investments will make you rich in a short period of time. Investing is a long-term endeavor, and you need diversity and patience in order to succeed.
- Risk and reward are correlated. The riskier investment types like stocks can grow your wealth more, but they can also devastate your finances. Finding the right balance is a personal decision.
- Studies have shown that the best predictions of long-term performance are the fees. Always research the fees involved with any investment type or activity so you understand completely where your money is going and how much you get to keep.
Photo: Images_of_Money [7]