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Lending in a Mobile World
The mobile world and mobility in general has opened many doors for small businesses and regular individuals who want to benefit from the P2P trend.
Join this session where we will discuss:
-Understanding individual customers' needs and how to create a product for the user
-The does "going mobile" really mean?
-Discussion of use cases with mobile lending
-Mobile banking adoption rates, APIs, Big Data, Biometrics, security concerns
Apr 13 2016
57 mins
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Presented by
Nadja Schlossel (Figo), Sergio Chalbaud (Fintonic), Joel Perlman (OakNorth)
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Investment Management
2018 ETF Market Trends
May 14 2019
2:00 pm
60 mins
Igor Tsukerman, President & CIO, Passed Pawn Advisors
As ETF market in the US continues to grow, where do the issuers find new niches? Find out what's been attracting investments, where the growth is, what is new and what is coming. We will look at some themes and trends in the markets – economic, demographic, geopolitical, regulatory and technological – and see what ETF issuance can tell us about the next big thing in investing. We'll also focus on smart beta, as well as many factors driving demand and supply, such as ETF costs, regulation, innovation and fintech.
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Monetary Policy Analysis
May 6 2019
3:00 pm
30 mins
After the Federal Open Market Committee meeting and the Bank of England's Monetary Policy meeting, this webinar will discuss the implications of monetary policy and interest rates and how this will affect developed and emerging markets.
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Generating Returns with Stewardship: Investing in Sustainable Development Goals
Apr 17 2019
3:00 pm
60 mins
Bud Sturmak, Martina Macpherson
Stewardship is one of the most direct ways in which investors can engage in long-term investment decision making. An important lesson from the global financial crisis has been that investors do need to play a stewardship role to look at how investee companies are managing the assets entrusted to them by their shareholders. Stewardship in investments means focusing capital management strategies on the long-term. Following developments in Europe and Asia in relation to stewardship codes and investment mandates some of the largest asset managers in the US have now also started requiring companies in their portfolios to adhere to "sustainable, long-term growth" strategies. However, key questions remain: What's the most applicable investment strategy in the context of active stewardship? Are all risks such as cross-ownership being addressed and managed? Is the investee company properly accountable?
With the goal of showing investors how they can focus on stewardship activities within their active and passive investment strategies this ESG webinar will discuss:
- How to define stewardship in the context of sustainable investment and corporate decision-making;
- How investors are focussing their capital on the long term;
- How investment managers and service providers aim to establish, measure and benchmark their stewardship activities within active and passive investment strategies;
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Bud Sturmak, Founder, BlueSky Investment Management
Martina Macpherson, President, Network for Sustainable Financial Markets
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Climate Risk 2019: Global Capital Markets and Public Policy Options
Apr 16 2019
3:00 pm
60 mins
Paul Ellis, Lisa Woll, Jeff Gitterman, Claudine Schneider
During the past 40 years Climate Science has accurately predicted rising sea levels, more rapid temperature rise at the poles and hurricanes and typhoons occuring at higher latitudes.
From 1998 to 2017 the global economic cost of climate-related disasters skyrocketed 151% over the previous 20 year period to $2.25 trillion.
Join our expert panelists for a discussion about future climate risk assessment options for companies, investors, financial advisors and policymakers.
Lisa Woll, CEO, US SIF, The Forum for Sustainable and Responsible Investment
Jeff Gitterman, Co-founding Partner, Gitterman Wealth Management
Claudine Schneider, former U.S. Congresswoman, Founding President of the Solar Alliance
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Clevertouch HANetf BrightTALK Webinar
Apr 11 2019
10:00 am
60 mins
Ryan Ross, BrightTALK |Simon Mott, HANetf | Roz, Clevertouch
Clevertouch HANetf BrightTALK Webinar
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Brexit: Impact on Currencies, Equities & Fixed Income
Apr 2 2019
3:00 pm
60 mins
Ryan Ross, BrightTALK
It is being stated that a Brexit will create revolutionary distress in the market. It is being said that global financial markets will undergo tremendous, disastrous pain if a hard Brexit happens.
But, how can we move forward? What steps are companies and investors taking to stay in business?
This webinar aims to separate the signal from the noise and focus on providing our listeners with a thoughtful understanding of what the currency, fixed income, and equities markets are pricing in, and how companies and investors that operate in these markets are planning for whatever scenario may come.
Topics to be covered:
What a Hard Brexit means?
Can a 2nd referendum happen?
If we do a Hard Brexit, what are the next steps?
Where will investors feel it first, and what are the secondary and tertiary effects of a hard Brexit?
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Post-Brexit Analysis
Apr 1 2019
10:00 am
30 mins
After the dust has settled on Brexit Day, March 29th 2019 - where are we now? What does the future hold for England, Great Britain, and Europe?
This Webinar will bring together some of the most influential thought leaders in the Brexit conversation to discuss the implications.
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Modern Strategies for Investing in Global Emerging Markets
Mar 13 2019
50 mins
Katja Boerger | Navaneeth Satheesan , Envestnet | Ryan Ross, BrightTALK
Emerging markets are in a paradox right now. They are seeing tremendous growth yet have debt denominated In a strong dollar, which threatens to halter their growth and thus ability to pay back their debts. They have more ways than ever to trade, yet are suffering from trade wards. Their economies are not yet developed, but some are on the brink of adopting more technologically advanced currencies than the developed countries.
What are good strategies to take advantage of this situation?
This panel will join leading emerging market participants to discuss:
- Which emerging markets will benefit from the potential political & economic outcomes of the next 18 months
- How to think about where opportunities lie in chaos.
- which securities are seeing the most flows and why?
- Which industries will be most affected by trade wars, a strong US dollar, and elections around the world
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Investing in Emerging Markets: Trade Wars & China
Mar 13 2019
59 mins
Alison Shimada, Wells Fargo | Jeremy Murden, Matthews Asia | Ryan Ross, BrightTALK
At over 12 Trillion Dollars in GDP, China is the world's 2nd largest economy. It is home to 8 of the top 20 tech giants, it is a leader in exports, and is second only to the US in exports.
After years of unprecedented growth, china has begun to slow down. It is easy to point to the trade war with the US as the driver of this slowdown. But we need to look deeper.
This webinar will provide the Institutional investors and financial advisers interested in emerging markets, with:
An overview on China's domestic policy in stimulating trade
An analysis of the 3 veins of the trade war
How to find opportunity in the market
Filtering the signal versus the noise
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Panel Discussion - Global Emerging Markets - Outlook for 2019
Mar 13 2019
42 mins
Ryan Ross | Richard Lightbound | Magdalena Polan | Adrian Lowcock
Growth in developed markets is slowing, which will effect Emerging Markets. But what are the causes of the slowdown, and how do they compare to the past? If the source is oil prices, what does this mean for oil-rich countries like Venezuela, Nigeria, or Saudi Arabia?
If the source is Central Banking policies, either coming from the US Federal Reserve or the European Central Bank – how will relative strength or weakness in currencies affect countries that hold debt?
When headlines abound around trade, trade deficits, and trade surpluses, how can investors hedge their bets?
And as economies emerge alongside technology, labor costs become as much an economic issue as a political issue. What role does automation play in the growth story?
This panel will discuss questions facing emerging markets including:
· Are EMs better equipped to handle growth slowdown than in 2015? What do they have going for them now that they didn't back then?
· Are we in an EM rally? If so, how long will the EM rally last?
· Central Banking policies effect on EM
· Areas to avoid vs. attractive areas?
Panelists include:
Magdalena Polan - Global EM Economist at LGIM
Adrian Lowcock - Head of Personal Investing at Willis Owen
Richard Lightbound, CEO EMEA & Asia at ROBO Global
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Not All Emerging Market Strategies are Created Equal
Mar 13 2019
32 mins
Peter Marber, CIO - Emerging Markets, Aperture Investors
While many organization and individuals are interested in investing in emerging markets, most do not fully understand how various segments and strategies vary in the exposure they provide. Before committing to a strategy, it's vital that investors do their due diligence to understand what their options are, how they differ, and which will deliver the exposure they think they're getting, as well as the optimal results. In this webinar, Peter Marber will clarify what various strategies really mean in order to enable a true risk/reward analysis on the part of EM investors.
Presented by Peter Marber, CIO for Emerging Markets at Aperture Investors
About Peter;
Peter Marber is the Chief Investment Officer for Emerging Markets at Aperture Investors, leading the New World Opportunities strategy. For over 30 years, Peter has professionally invested billions of dollars for many of the world's largest companies at firms including Loomis, Sayles & Company, HSBC, and Wasserstein & Co.
Though a globally-recognized authority on emerging market economies, Peter landed on Wall Street not because of his love for financial markets, but rather due to his fascination with globalization. Peter studies how countries and their markets evolve to develop a deep understanding of emerging market dynamics. He passes along his curiosity, knowledge and passion as a professor at NYU, Johns Hopkins, Harvard, and Columbia, as well as through his writings on globalization, emerging markets, and higher education.
Peter earned his B.A. at Johns Hopkins, his M.I.A. from Columbia, and his Ph.D from The University of Cambridge. He is an avid composer and guitarist and lives in New York City with his family.
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Funds Showcase: Emerging Markets
Mar 12 2019
48 mins
Oren Kaplan | Austen Robilliard | Bobby Cherry
Emerging Markets will be the recipients of the most asset flows of any asset class by Institutional Investors, according to JPMorgan Asset Management.
In Asia, investors are trying to find opportunity not just in china, but in other Asian countries that will benefit from a growing Chinese economy.
Trade and industry developments such as TPP and the Asia Region Funds Passport promise to galvanise investment across all of APAC. In South America, a commonly over-looked area, reforms in currency, pension, education and trade present investment opportunities as well. Africa is heavily invested in by China, and Africa's collective GDP is expanding faster than the world's average, and it is forecast to accelerate over the next five years to become the world's second-fastest-growing region once again.
This webinar will cover:
- What will be the impacts of a strong US dollar on markets?
- How will trade agreements, and disagreements, will shape markets in the next 6 months?
- What industries will see the most and least activity from investors?
- Which emerging markets funds are seeing inflows and outflows, and why?
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Investing in Emerging Markets: Trade Wars & China
Mar 12 2019
59 mins
Alison Shimada, Wells Fargo | Jeremy Murden, Matthews Asia | Ryan Ross, BrightTALK
At over 12 Trillion Dollars in GDP, China is the world's 2nd largest economy. It is home to 8 of the top 20 tech giants, it is a leader in exports, and is second only to the US in exports.
After years of unprecedented growth, china has begun to slow down. It is easy to point to the trade war with the US as the driver of this slowdown. But we need to look deeper.
This webinar will provide the Institutional investors and financial advisers interested in emerging markets, with:
An overview on China's domestic policy in stimulating trade
An analysis of the 3 veins of the trade war
How to find opportunity in the market
Filtering the signal versus the noise
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How to Harness the Power of Financial Inclusion
Mar 12 2019
36 mins
Triodos Investment Management
Finance enables people to secure fundamental needs such as housing, education, energy and healthcare. However, globally, 1.7 billion people are without access to basic financial services, and 65 million micro, small and medium-sized business in emerging economies have unmet financing needs.
This webinar will address the following questions:
- What is Financial Inclusion?
- How does Financial Inclusion impact Emerging Markets?
- How many people are reached?
- What is Triodos IM's approach?
- What are trends and developments in this dynamic sector?
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Smart Beta: Growth, Development, and Sustainability of an Asset Class.
Feb 13 2019
61 mins
Justin Simler | Christopher Peel | Nicolas Rabener | Jean-Maurice Ladure
The adoption rates of smart beta among asset owners rose from 26% in 2015 to 48% in 2018 according to the FTSE Russell survey on smart beta. The growth in assets has been similarly impressive and according to Morningstar smart beta assets under management grew from USD 280bn at the end of 2012 to USD 999bn at the end of 2017. One of the key secondary effects of this significant growth is to put continued pressure on the margins of actively managed products.
The main purpose of the panel discussion will be to understand the reasons behind this runaway growth, how smart beta is developing and whether this growth is sustainable. The panelists will present their views on issues such as:
- whether smart beta is the same as factor investing
- how they decompose this broad universe
- the role of smart beta in new areas such as bond investing and even hedge fund or
- private equity investing
- how ESG can be applied to smart beta investing
- the ability to market time between 'factors'
Justin Simler, Independent Industry Expert
Christopher Peel, Chief Investment Officer, Tavistock Wealth
Nicolas Rabener, CAIA, Managing Director, FactorResearch
Jean-Maurice Ladure, CFA, Head of Applied Research, EMEA, MSCI
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Algo-Chain's 2018 Review and ETF Outlook for 2019
Feb 13 2019
60 mins
Allan Lane | Irene Bauer | James McManus | Hector McNeil
In a year that has seen the $5tr Global ETF industry go from strength to strength, hear the opinion from thought leaders and industry insiders as to what drove that success.
You'll learn which new investment themes were launched in 2018, which ETFs gathered the most assets and returns and where the ETF market is heading in 2019.
With so many products to choose from hear the views of our panel as to what the industry trends will be in the year ahead.
Via our panel of investment professionals you will learn about the different ways that these diversified investment funds can be deployed in both bullish and bearish markets.
Allan Lane - Moderator (Co-Founder of Algo-Chain)
James McManus - Head of ETF Research - Nutmeg
Hector McNeil - Co CEO - HANetf
Irene Bauer - CIO Twenty20 Investments
John Swolfs - CEO Inside ETFs
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China-focused ETF Landscape in Europe
Feb 13 2019
27 mins
Simon Lee Head of Institutional Business at CSOP Asset Management
In 2018, many equity markets suffered setbacks which can be at least partially trace back to the US – China Trade War and how would this generational topic affect us in 2019? And how should one position the portfolio accordingly?
Join us for our upcoming BrightTalk Investment Outlook 2019 webinar, in which we will examine:
• What Remains of the US – China Trade War?
• How did the Trade War Affect China's Economy Thus Far?
• Implication of Further Inclusion of A-shares by MSCI
• China-focused ETF Landscape in Europe
Presented by;
Simon Lee, Head of Institution Business - Internationals & HK, CSOP Asset Management Limited
Simon is currently the Head of Institutional Business at CSOP Asset Management and his team covers investors in both Europe & Hong Kong.
Prior to CSOP, Simon spent 7 years at Bloomberg as an ETF/Mutual Fund Market Specialist & Senior RM covering offshore Chinese financial institutions.
Earlier in his career, Simon worked for Credit Suisse, Mayfair Pacific Financial Group, and Fubon Bank in Hong Kong. Simon started his career at SAFE HK as an Analyst and was subsequently promoted to Portfolio Manager responsible for managing part of China's Foreign Reserves.
Simon earned his BA Degree from UCLA.
Watch now
2019 predictions - Global Macro and Markets Movements to Watch
Feb 12 2019
59 mins
Justin Simler, Chris Watling, Lothar Mentel, Lars Kreckel
This has been a highly extended global economic cycle led by the US. Its longevity has been due to a number of factors including unorthodox monetary policy, fiscal stimulus and an absence of the exuberance that typically precedes a market reversal. The panellists will debate which factors are likely to drive markets over the next 12 months. They will cover key issues such as:
* The underlying strength of the US economy and the timing, and potential causes, of recession
* Evidence of inflationary pressure and the consequent impact on economies and markets of any reduction in liquidity
* Whether the downtrend in labour's share of income is likely to reverse
* The outlook for the US dollar and the emerging markets
The panellists will discuss what the market currently discounts and how their views differ from this consensus. They will give their views on the asset allocation and style, region and sector exposures that are likely to offer the best (and worst) combination of risk and reward in this environment. They will finish by suggesting their own possible surprises for 2019. These are outcomes which the market believes have no better than a one in four chance but which the panellists believe have a probability of 50% or more.
Justin Simler, Industry Expert
Lars Kreckel, Global Equity Strategist, Legal and General Investment Management
Chris Watling, CEO & Chief Market Strategist, Longview Economics
Lothar Mentel, Chief Investment Officer, Tatton Investment Management
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ETFs in 2019: Opportunity Amidst Chaos & Uncertainty
Feb 12 2019
62 mins
Allan Lane, Beverly Chandler, Irene Bauer, James McManus
A lot can happen in a month, particularly if you were working in the investment management industry recently.
In this ETF Summit Webinar, we hear the opinion from thought leaders and industry insiders the increasing amount of investor money flooding into Fixed Income ETFs, and how the ETF Industry has been coping with the big news events that show no sign of abating - China, Brexit, and Trump.
You'll learn about:
- The selection criteria to consider when selecting Bond ETFs and other Fixed Income ETFs.
- Which ETFs have gathered the most assets since the start of the 2019
- Whether there is a consensus of opinion as to which categories of ETFs offer the best opportunities in the months ahead.
Moderator - Allan Lane, Founder, Algo-Chain
Beverly Chandler, Managing Editor, ETF Express
Irene Bauer - Chief Investment Officer, Twenty20 investments
James McManus - Head of ETF Research - Nutmeg
Watch now
What will be affecting Global Markets in 2019?
Feb 12 2019
31 mins
Terry Farrow, ACIB, APFS, CFP, Chartered MCSI, Chartered Financial Planner, European Financial Planner (EFP)
Boutique Investment Management firm Charteris bring forward one of their experienced financial professionals to discuss current topics affecting markets from a global macro perspective. We will look at the themes, issues and outline predictions in the commodity space for the coming year.
Presented by
Terry Farrow, ACIB, APFS, CFP, Chartered MCSI, Chartered Financial Planner, European Financial Planner (EFP)
Watch now
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Title: Lending in a Mobile World
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Apr 13 2016 9:00 am
Presented by: Nadja Schlossel (Figo), Sergio Chalbaud (Fintonic), Joel Perlman (OakNorth)
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Lending in a Mobile World
Nadja Schlossel (Figo), Sergio Chalbaud (Fintonic), Joel Perlman (OakNorth)
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RIPLEY - Ripley High School head football coach Jimmy Frashier will likely resign his position as the Viking's leader on the gridiron to accept an administrative position within Jackson County.
The Jackson County Board of Education voted last week to grant Frashier the position that is likely to transition over the next several weeks.
Frashier, 44 applied for an assistant principal position at Ravenswood High School that has recently been filled on a temporary basis.
The Jackson County Board of Education implemented a rule in July of 2012 that prevents administrators from holding coaching positions.
The only hurdle left in the process is the confirmation of federal grant money related to the position, which will be ironed out in the coming weeks.
Frashier reportedly held a meeting with his football team last week concerning the matter.
Frashier has held the coaching position for a decade after he took over for legendary skipper Frank Marino, who had held the post for 26 years.
Frashier led the team to a victory in the 2009 post-season and would be stepping down at a time when many believe Ripley Football is on the upswing. The Vikings finished 5-5 last season but it is widely believed that the squad will take a big step forward this fall.
"It has never been just about wins and losses for me. I care about the kids and their future and I have enjoyed every single minute as Ripley's Football Coach," said Frashier.
Frashier, a 1986 RHS graduate and Glenville State alumnus, was apprehensive when speaking directly about the administrative position he applied for. He currently serves as a graduation coach for Ripley High.
"There really is nothing for me to say right now. I am patiently waiting."
Ripley High principal Will Hosaflook was very careful with words regarding the potential opening in the school's most popular sport.
"All I will say right now is that we have not received a (coaching) resignation from Jimmy Frashier. If we do, I have no doubts that we will receive many quality applicants for the position."
Frashier likely to resign as coach to accept administrative position
RIPLEY - Ripley High School head football coach Jimmy Frashier will likely resign his position as the Viking's leader on the gridiron to accept an administrative position within Jackson County.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Tuesday, February 5, 2013
Let the piling on commence
Wrist surgery (2009)
Sprained shoulder (2010)
Nerve damage in shoulder (2010)
Mononucleosis (2011)
Sprained right ankle (2012)
Peroneal nerve damage (2012)
In addition to this 28-year old shortstop who, in five seasons, has played in a total of 353 games, the Astros traded a 28-year old reliever who was 2-10 in 2012 with a 5.37 ERA/1.45 WHIP, and a 4.22 FIP who walked 4.35 batters per nine innings, and had a 7.31 ERA on the road. From June to August 2012, this reliever - who can throw it hard, but not accurately - had a 6.94 ERA and blew four saves.
In return for a 28-year old injury prone shortstop, and a 28-year old shaky reliever, the Astros received:
25-year old RHP Brad Peacock, the A's #4 prospect by John Sickels, and Baseball America's #2 A's prospect.
26-year old 1B/DH Chris Carter, their #9 prospect, who hit 16 homers in 260 PAs for the A's in 2012.
21-year old catcher Max Stassi, who is coming off of 2011 shoulder surgery, but signed with the A's for a 1st Round bonus.
But, given the reaction, you would think that the Astros just traded Jeff Bagwell to the Red Sox for Larry Andersen.
Ken Rosenthal spilled his turnip blood yet again last night, wringing his hands over the Astros' payroll. Rosenthal:
And as the Astros continue their teardown, it's certainly fair to ask how low can they go, how many games can they lose before they become an embarrassment to Major League Baseball.
(As an aside, last night's column looks an awful lot like Rosenthal's November column on the Astros' payroll - right down to the rhetorical question about surviving the AL West.)
Yahoo's Jeff Passan - who by all accounts is a very stand-up guy - took to Twitter last night, doing a pretty good Darren Rovell impression about the Astros payroll (minus the Twitter Polls and random instances of ALL CAPS). Even Buster Olney got in on it, blabbering about combined executive salaries totaling more than the Astros' payroll (or something like that). He also pointed out that Bud Norris, who is Chief Rainmaker now, will make as much in 2013 as Zack Greinke will in three weeks.
What would The Media say if the Astros had signed Josh Hamilton? Or Zack Greinke? "What are they DOING? Why won't they rebuild?" Oh, but that's just what Rosenthal has been pushing for going on four years now.
Rosenthal, who might very well wear a bow-tie on television this season to benefit the Astros, is now making a pretty severe about-face in regards to the Astros and their rebuilding plans. On June 4, 2012, Rosenthal thought the Astros should explore trading Jose Altuve.
Or how about this Rosenthal nugget, from June 2011, on trading Hunter Pence: They would save money. They would increase their inventory of young talent. They would kick-start a rebuilding process that is long overdue.
How about May 2010, when Rosenthal said the Astros were creatively bankrupt for not dealing Berkman and Oswalt, and asked "How many games must the Astros be behind for owner Drayton McLane to concede?"
Or September 2009, when Rosenthal said: "Frankly, it doesn't matter who the next manager is until the Astros realize they need to tear down and build back up again."
Or another September 2009 column, when Rosenthal wrote: "The Astros' next manager must navigate a tricky balance — the team is starting to infuse youth but also includes a number of declining veterans. McLane refuses to permit a complete overhaul, limiting his franchise's upside."
June 2009: "Trading players such as right-hander Roy Oswalt, shortstop Miguel Tejada and closer Jose Valverde could bring the team desperately needed young talent. Yet, McLane has passed on such opportunities numerous times before."
May 2009: Much as owner Drayton McLane hates to concede, he needs to understand that A) his team is going nowhere and B) his farm system ranks last in the majors, according to Baseball America...Trading closer Jose Valverde, shortstop Miguel Tejada and catcher Ivan Rodriguez would be a start. But Oswalt — even a declining Oswalt — could bring the most significant return.
So for almost four years, Rosenthal has been hammering the Astros about rebuilding. And when they finally do rebuild, he hammers them for being "an embarrassment."
I mentioned one of the above quotes to Rosenthal on Twitter, and he responded with:
There is a difference between what I suggested and completely gutting the team. You can thread the needle, too.
GOOD GOD I FEEL LIKE I'M TAKING CRAZY PILLS. No, you can't thread the needle. The Astros tried to thread the needle from 2006-2010 and look where it got them. One season where they almost made the playoffs, and a cumulative record 27 games under .500. Not bad enough to get a Top-Five draft pick. Not good enough to keep Phil Garner, Cecil Cooper, Brad Mills, Tim Purpura, or Ed Wade.
Let's take three teams, shall we? Let's pick three teams and decide which is the embarrassment to baseball:
Team A: Being investigated by the SEC for fraud thanks to its' horrific stadium deal, and roster malpractice. Spent $107m on 2012 payroll, only to finish 24 games under .500, last in their division.
Team B: Can't decide if they actually want to rebuild, and as a result, have a beautiful ballpark to go along with 20 straight seasons under .500.
Team C: Slashed payroll
This is rhetorical, but Team A is obviously the Marlins; Team B is the Pirates; and Team C is, of course, the Astros.
The Astros are looking for a Baseball Operations Analyst. Click the link, and look at the preferred requirements: MBA, experience in economic modeling, investment banking.
I do not regularly look at baseball jobs. I'm happy in my own job (even if I'm going to have to work an extra two hours today to make up for this rant.) But I'm guessing "Baseball Operations" and "Investment Banking" backgrounds do not typically collide.
This has become a mantra about the Astros, but for what will likely not be the last time: This front office does not care what anybody else thinks. They would prefer it if their front office did not think like anybody else.
This is going to be a rough season for the Astros. There are so many Unknowns that the only Knowns are that:
1) Attendance will be down.
2) Losses will abound.
3) 2013 will see a $20m investment in the farm system and another #1 pick.
4) The rebuilding will continue.
Luhnow, quoted by Rosenthal:
"I know it's frustrating for fans that want immediate results at the big-league level. But this is the best chance we have to accomplish our result as soon as possible. We have to be consistent about that message."
I'll take a few horrific seasons to return to the days when the Astros were a force in baseball. I'll accept it if it means that the National Media doesn't mail in a column about "OH THEY'RE GONNA BE BAD WHAT ARE THEY GONNA DO?" every six weeks. I will not stand by 81 wins to be The Goal, or twenty seasons of half-assing a rebuild.
Would you?
12 comments:
- John Martin said...
I don't care about sportswriters. In Luhnow I trust.
- February 5, 2013 at 10:35 AM
The Astros --- Re-Creating The Definition Of Hosed.
- February 5, 2013 at 11:09 AM
- Deputy Jason said...
Truth, some guys just love to complain.
I can't wait to see the 25 man roster come 2015. Through FA, trades and drafting, this team will look totally different and hopefully kinda scary.
- February 5, 2013 at 11:20 AM
Perfect. Great read.
- February 5, 2013 at 11:31 AM
Its really clear, they have a problem with a team throwing the season. Which is what the Astros are doing. They are not using all of their resources to build a quality team. 14M for a salary is embarrassing. The constant argument of adding talent won't matter much, well guess what those prospects won't impact the team much either in the near term. The Astros are not a small market team. They need to give the fans something to watch.
- February 5, 2013 at 12:21 PM
Agree totally. I stopped listening to these guys years ago.....media hacks. If they knew what they were doing, they would be running their own team instead bashing guys much more qualified than themselves.
Throwing money does not solve all baseball problems (if it did, we would have been "Champions" with Drayton years ago!).
- February 5, 2013 at 1:15 PM
I have been a fan for 28 years. I love the Astros as much as oxygen, women, and nachos. However, I feel like they forgot to apply the lube after the crap we've had stuck to us since Gerry Hunsicker left.
I'm tired of waiting. And until these so-called prospects (which no one has superstar potential, according to the so called experts) produce at the big league level, then I'm not holding my breath that this is going to improve anytime soon.
- February 5, 2013 at 1:43 PM
- Juvenile Court Clerk - Bryan Trostel said...
Not sure which experts you've been reading, because the Astros have 4-5 prospects listed on every top 100 ranking I've seen lately.
- February 5, 2013 at 2:53 PM
Excellent article. I would, however, feel sorry for Ken Rosenthal. He has to bang out lots of articles a week, and he doesn't have Investment Banking to take his mind off baseball. Poor guy.
Keep up the good work, AC
- February 5, 2013 at 5:21 PM
I love what the Astros are doing. I completely tuned out the Ed Wade era because I knew there was no hope of getting better.
Luhnow has returned hope for the future. I am engaged in these Astros and the farm system.
- February 5, 2013 at 7:01 PM
Little bit uneasy about the trade, because with a new manager and front office now completely in place the 55 wins a year crap has to stop, and Lowrie was probably our best player at the major league level....but with his continuing injury history, this is definitely selling high. The return was pretty good and we'll just have to suffer through Greene, Gonzalez or some other nondescript SS until one of the kids breaks through....another Lowrie injury this year and his value would have plummeted significantly,
- February 5, 2013 at 8:37 PM
- Nick said...
Great read, thanks for going deep into Rosenthal's comments from the past. The analysis of the Astros that has been coming out of the national media after the Lowrie trade has been grating. Most of the 2013 predictions assume it will be the 2012 Astros on the field. While I am not expecting a great season, to assume the FO is "throwing the season" is to be willfully ignorant of the moves that they have made, both in players traded and released, and players signed and traded for. As much potential as Lowrie has, he played in 97 games. That is not a corner stone of a franchise. I expect increased scoring and an improved record from last seasons totals.
I would like to as a Team D. Hasn't had a winning record in 4 years. Trades most of their top ML talent for prospects. Has a (at best) AAAA outfield. Extends contract with top pos. player and considering signing top FA to an expensive contract. Neither player will peak when their top prospects are seasoned enough to contend in the most competitive division in their league.
This is the Mets, but could have been the Astros if they had 1) kept Lowrie and continued to avoid arbitration and 2) signed Berkman for 11 mil.
I think the Mets will be good again at roughly the same time that the Astros will contend, maybe a little sooner. But which organization will be able to maintain depth? And who will be regretting a massive 192 mil contract for a 38 year old?
- February 10, 2013 at 11:49 AM


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LONGWOOD, Fla. - Florida Fish and Wildlife officers have set up three traps in hopes of catching a bear that attacked a Longwood woman on Monday night.
[LISTEN: 911 call reporting bear | MORE: 'Breastaurant' servers file peephole lawsuit | Christmas tree sparks school fire]
Susan Chalfant, 54, was injured in the attack, classified by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission as the first of its kind by a Florida black bear. Chalfant was taken to Orlando Regional Medical Center with serious facial injuries and she remained hospitalized on Tuesday.
"The dogs got agitated, and she turned around to go back to her house, and the bear knocked her to the ground," said Fish and Wildlife spokeswoman Karen Parker.
According to officials, Chalfant was walking two small dogs around 8 p.m. in the 2600 block of English Ivy Court near Markham Woods Road when the bear attacked her before running away.
Chalfant was helped by neighbors and 911 was called, officials said.
"A woman has been mauled by a bear," the neighbor said on the call, which was released Tuesday. "She's so bloody, though, I can't tell."
The caller also told dispatchers that the woman was bleeding from her head.
According to the FWC, the neighbor said Chalfant was walking two small dogs, which became agitated and began to bark. The bear then attacked the woman, the neighbor told officials.
"We believe she was bitten," said FWC spokeswoman Karen Parker, who added that they only have preliminary information about the incident.
The dogs were not harmed, officials said.
There were no witnesses to the attack, according to wildlife officials, who said at a news conference Tuesday afternoon that they haven't been able to speak to Chalfant.
Wildlife officers set a trap for the bear as they continue to search for the animal.
FWC said if they catch the bear they will do DNA testing to determine if it was the bear that attacked Chalfant.
"We want to make sure we get the right bear," Parker said. "If we get the right bear, higher-ups will decide what to do (with the animal)."
FWC officers patrolled the neighborhood on Tuesday, speaking with residents about preventative measures and what to do if a bear is spotted.
Several bear sightings have been reported in the area.
The FWC said last year it fielded 707 bear reports for the Ocala region, which includes Seminole County.
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For more information about Florida black bears and how to deal with them, visit the FWC website.
Watch Local 6 News and stay with ClickOrlando.com for more on this story.20255894
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by Tom Utescher
Even in the storied field hockey careers of Mount St. Joseph Academy graduates Katie ('08) and Julia Reinprecht ('09), 2012 will stand out as a banner year.
In August, the sisters played on the U.S. Olympic Team at the Summer Games in London, and this month they participated in the NCAA Division I tournament along with their Princeton University teammates.
After skipping the 2011 collegiate season to train with other Olympic Team candidates, the Reinprechts endured a disappointing experience in England, as the U.S. finished with an overall record of 1-5.
Returning to Princeton for the 2012 NCAA campaign, the sibling sticksters began another quest for gold, and this time they got everything they'd been hoping for.
Coming from behind twice, the second-seeded Tigers defeated number one North Carolina 3-2 in the national championship game in Norfolk, Va. on November 18.
In regular season play, Princeton won its eighth consecutive Ivy League title (determined by team records), finishing 7-0. Katie Reinprecht, now a senior, was unanimously selected Ivy League Defensive Player of the Year, while also leading the team in assists. Her junior sister Julia, who is also a midfielder and is the primary flyer on defensive penalty corners, won First Team honors in the Ivy for the third time.
A few days after the Tigers captured the NCAA crown, Katie Reinprecht received the highest individual honor in the college game, being named the Longstreth/National Field Hockey Coaches Assoc. Player of the Year.
"I'm incredibly honored by it," the senor said. "I'm not sure if I'm the most deserving – there are so many incredible athletes I've played with, and played against. It's extremely humbling, and it makes me even more thankful for the support I've had at Princeton and my relationship with my teammates and my coaches."
Back during Katie Reinprecht's junior year, Tigers head coach Kristen Holmes-Winn made the following comments about her, and it's highly unlikely the Princeton skipper feels any differently now:
"She's a competitor to the core. When you watch a game, her work rate is unparalleled. I don't think I've ever really seen a player be able to sustain and keep the quality as high as she's able to do. That's just amazing, and then you couple that with her mentality. She's just got this steely demeanor – she's so determined and focused. Thirdly, you have the skill, so she's absolutely the complete package. She's unreal."
Both Katie and Julia were All-Americans in high school, and during their tenure at Mount St. Joe's they helped the Magic roll up four straight Catholic Academies championships and back-to-back PIAA District 1 titles. The Mount was the state runner-up in 2006 and a semifinalist in 2007.
In Katie's freshman year at Princeton, the team advanced to the NCAA quarterfinal round. Julia joined the program the next year, helping the Tigers finish up in the semifinals in 2009, and then the quarterfinals in 2010.
Going into residency to train with other Olympic Team hopefuls, both sisters left college for the 2011-2012 academic year, as did Princeton forwards Kat Sharkey ('13) and Michelle Cesan ('14). The two Mount grads were picked for the Olympic squad and Cesan was named as an alternate, but in London the U.S. only managed a single victory, beating the eventual silver medalist, Argentina.
Katie Reinprecht related that she's often been asked if she viewed her one remaining season of eligibility at Princeton as some kind of opportunity for redemption.
"I didn't really look at it that way, but I was glad that I had a plan after the Games, something to look forward to," she said. "I was very excited to get back to the Princeton team and have that family feeling that I remembered from my three previous seasons."
During the 2012 collegiate campaign, the only blemish on the record for the Reinprechts and their Princeton squad would be a 2-0 loss to Syracuse in late September.
During the many months she'd spent practicing with the U.S. Team, Reinprecht said, "I learned a lot more about training and what works best for me. I think the four girls who trained in California brought a high level of expectation when we came back to Princeton. You realize how powerful chemistry is, and how every single player contributes to that."
For the start of the NCAA tournament, the Tigers took a 17-1 record south to the University of Virginia, where the first two rounds would be played.
Dispatching Drexel in the first round, 5-0, the Tigers moved into the quarterfinals against UVA's Lady Cavaliers and the Reinprechts' Olympic teammate, Paige Selinski (from near Wilkes Barre, Pa.). Katie Reinprecht recorded a goal as Princeton downed number seven UVA, 5-2.
For the Final Four, the action shifted across the state to the Norfolk campus of Old Dominion University.
In regulation play during Princeton's November 16 semifinal match, defending national champion Maryland rallied twice to tie the Tigers, the second time on a penalty stroke. In overtime, the Tigers had their own turn at the stroke line, and Ivy Freshman of the Year Teresa Benvenuti converted for a 3-2 victory that put Princeton in the championship game. In the other semifinal, number five Syracuse collapsed as North Carolina avenged its lone loss of the regular season, romping 6-1.
In the 2011 title bout, UNC had been leading Maryland 2-0 with four minutes remaining, but Terrapins freshman Katie Gerzabek, a Girls Inter-Ac League product from the Academy of Notre Dame, started a late rally and the Terps prevailed 3-2 in overtime.
This year UNC struck first once again, with the Tar Heels' big gun, Britain's Charlotte Craddock (a sophomore), scoring on a direct drive off a penalty corner a little under a dozen minutes in. Almost midway through the first period, both Reinprecht sisters were credited with assists as Princeton knotted it up, 1-1, on a strike by the nation's leading scorer, senior Kat Sharkey (38 goals, nine assists, total).
When Katie Reinprecht was a Mount St. Joe senior and Julia was a junior, the Magic ventured up to Wilkes Barre for a match against scoring ace Sharkey and her Wyoming Seminary squad. After Sharkey rang up a hat trick in Sem's 3-2 victory, the MSJ sisters were happy that they'd been playing alongside her, rather than opposite her, in college.
"It was tough enough having to go against her in practice," Katie Reinprecht revealed. "She just has crazy joints; she can twist her wrists and turn you in ways you're not used to at all. She took it to an even higher level this year and she was a great leader for our forward line."
After Sharkey tied the score for Princeton in the NCAA championship game, Julia Reinprecht almost moved the Tigers ahead with three minutes to go in the half, but her shot from close range in the right side of the circle was saved at the near post by UNC's German goalie, Sassi Ammer.
A player that North Carolina acquired much closer to home, Charlotte native Julie Plyler, had the Heels ahead once more, 2-1, as she got the tip-in off a whack by Craddock 11 minutes into the second period.
"We've been in that situation before, and it's definitely hard to have to come back against a team like North Carolina," Reinprecht said. "There's a lot of composure on our team, though, and we believe that if we can stay with our plan and execute, we will win."
About 10 minutes later, Princeton pulled even on a goal that sophomore Allison Evans (Emmaus, Pa.) stuffed in off of a rebound.
For the second game in a row, the Tigers got their game-winning goal on a penalty stroke. A Canadian import, junior Amanda Bird, cashed in on the foul against the Heels, putting the final score on the board with 10:08 remaining. After two more minutes, the UNC called a time-out and sent an extra field player onto the pitch in place of its keeper, Ammer.
With six-and-a-half minutes to go, North Carolina restarted on a corner and got the ball up top to the dangerous Craddock, but Julia Reinprect arrived in time to block the shot. The Heels sent the ball back down near to the right post, but Katie Reinprecht cleared it out along the endline. This was perhaps UNC's last best chance to tie, and after a long empty-cage Princeton shot drifted wide to the left, the 3-2 count became the final score.
Her college playing career now over, the elder Reinprecht sister will put field hockey on the back burner, at least for now.
Katie will be graduating with a degree in Sociology, and she revealed, "Before I go back to full-time residency [with USA Field Hockey] I'd like to get some job experience under my belt. I don't have very much due to all the time I've dedicated to field hockey."
Before actually playing in London last summer, she said, "I thought the Olympics this year might be my last hurrah. But having been there and having that experience, I realized it's something I'd like to do again. I'll take some time away from it now, but I think eventually I want to get back into the program and see if I can make it to Rio in 2016."


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The Philly chapter of the National Parkinson Foundation sponsors a benefit at a Phillies game along with other programs to support research at area hospitals.
Parkinson's Disease, a progressive neurodegenerative condition, is non-discriminatory: You can be Michael J. Fox, just turning 30 and at the peak of a brilliant acting career; or you can be in your 70s and retired, male or female.
While scientists are researching a genetic link, you may carry the gene without developing the disease — or develop the disease without any family history.
As Parkinson's progresses, patients typically develop such symptoms as tremors on one side of the body, slowness of movement, balance problems and stiffness. At first, these may be mistaken for the wear and tear of stress or aging, rather than be specifically associated with Parkinson's.
Further complicating the diagnosis is the fact that there is currently no blood test to determine whether one has the disease. And there is currently no cure.
Yet there is hope.
Just ask Ronald Robbins. Diagnosed six years ago, Robbins retired from a high-power job in the fields of venture capital and private equity, but became active as a volunteer and board member for the Parkinson Council, the Philadelphia-area chapter of the National Parkinson Foundation. Funds raised by the local council stay in the Philadelphia area to support programs and research at area hospitals.
Is his path easy? Hardly. A "mover and shaker" before retiring, and seen by his family as "Mr. Fix-it," he has had to adjust to the reduced mobility caused by Parkinson's. Yet he perseveres. While he is not able to perform all the repairs his family had once relied on him to do, he continues to do those that he can.
"It's important to stay active," he says, "and focus on what you can still do."
Certainly staying in touch with what is around you helps. To that end, the local council is sponsoring "Parkinson's Night at the Ballpark," a benefit, on Wednesday, July 10, when the Phillies square off against the Washington Nationals.
Robbins says exercise is important, and he cites as a good example "Dance for P.D.," started by the Brooklyn Parkinson Group, in collaboration with the Mark Morris Dance Group. The program involves dance instruction for patients as a way of fostering both emotional and physical balance.
This program, now international in scope, offers classes in the Philadelphia area (danceforparkinsons.org).
But, Robbins cautions, "not everyone can do all of these things," and patients need to consider their own needs and limitations when deciding which activities best suit them. The balance, perhaps, lies in this tightrope walk between what once was possible and what is still possible — and finding the best fit.
He and his daughter, Debra Finger, agree that family members can be crucial in helping to maintain that balance. He credits his daughter with helping to keep his spirits up, not letting him stay down. And the two cite the value of family members living close by, allowing family to gather for dinners and other events.
Robbins has also remained active and received support at Har Zion Temple, where he has been a member since age 6. He now serves on its board of directors and is a trustee.
Robbins not only receives support but also seeks to give it to others. He is involved with a mentoring program the Parkinson Council started and values the opportunity to assist newly diagnosed patients on a one-on-one basis.
For example, having undergone a surgical procedure known as Deep Brain Stimulation, which involves the implantation of a "neurostimulator" (which he compared to a heart pacemaker) into the brain to activate areas that control movement and block impulses that cause tremors, Robbins was able to explain the procedure to a fellow patient and assuage some of her fears.
Finding a cure is the longer-term hope for Robbins and others who work with the Parkinson's Council, although some promising work is now being done in the area of earlier diagnosis, according to neurologist, Dr. Matthew Stern, director of the Parkinson's Disease and Movement Disorders Center at the University of Pennsylvania Health System, located at Pennsylvania Hospital.
Also a professor of neurology at Penn, Stern is looking at genetic risk factors, especially related to mutations in the LRRK2 gene.
Yet he advises family members not to rush out and get genetic testing just yet, since the presence of genetic factors does not necessarily result in the disease. Work is still being done in this area.
For more information, visit the National Parkinson Foundation website at: www.parkinson.org; the Parkinson Council site at: www.theparkinsoncouncil.org; or the Michael J. Fox Foundation at: www.michaeljfox.org.


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Resources >> Browse Articles >> Salary Guides
Nursing Salary Projections for 2011
Are you earning what you deserve?
Jose Fermoso | NursingLink
We keep hearing the demand for nurses is expected to grow, but how much can we expect to earn in the coming year?
Look no further! Whether you're a nursing aide in Delaware or a registered nurse in California, we've rounded up salary projections for 2011 you don't want to miss.
Find out what you could be earning.
Nursing Aides, Orderlies, and Attendants
Nursing aides, orderlies, and attendants all provide basic patient care, such as feeding, bathing, dressing, grooming, and moving patients between rooms. Employment for each is expected to grow 19% over the next eight years, a faster-than-average rate compared to the national average. The number of jobs is expected to grow by 2% in 2011 to total 1,552,600, with an annual median wage growth increase to $24,641.
Raise your salary by getting an advanced nursing degree today!
According to the U.S. Institutes of Labor, the main reason for the growth is because the U.S. population that is moving into elderly homes is growing to record levels and is in greater need of physical and long-term care. In addition, the bad economy is forcing hospitals to discharge patients sooner than normal to less urgent patient care facilities where orderlies can take care of them.
Number of Nursing Aides, Orderlies, and Attendants Jobs: 1,469,800 (2008), 1,552,600 (2011), 1,745,800 (2018)
Median Hourly Wages: $11.56
Median Annual Wages: $24,040
Mean Annual Wage for 2011: $24,641
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|New Hampshire


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Definition: A Horn clause is a clause with at most one positive literal.
Any Horn clause therefore belongs to one of four categories:
Now, if resolution is restricted to Horn clauses, some interesting properties appear. Some of these are evident; others I will just state and you can take on faith.
I. If you resolve Horn clauses A and B to get clause C, then the positive literal of A will resolve against a negative literal in B, so the only positive literal left in C is the one from B (if any). Thus, the resolvent of two Horn clauses is a Horn clause.
II. If you resolve a negated goal G against a fact or rule A to get clause C, the positive literal in A resolves against a negative literal in G. Thus C has no positive literal, and thus is either a negated goal or the null clause.
III. Therefore: Suppose you are trying to prove Phi from Gamma, where ~Phi is a negated goal, and Gamma is a knowledge base of facts and rules. Suppose you use the set of support strategy, in which no resolution ever involves resolving two clauses from Gamma together. Then, inductively, every resolution combines a negated goal with a fact or rule from Gamma and generates a new negated goal. Moreover, if you take a resolution proof, and trace your way back from the null clause at the end to ~Phi at the beginning, since every resolution involves combining one negated goal with one clause from Gamma, it is clear that the sequence of negated goals involved can be linearly ordered. That is, the final proof, ignoring dead ends has the form
~Phi resolves with C1 from Gamma, generating negated goal P2 P2 resolves with C2 from Gamma, generating negated goal P3 ... Pk resolves with C2 from Gamma, generating the null clause.
IV. Therefore, the process of generating the null clause can be viewed as a state space search where:
V. Moreover, it turns out that it doesn't really matter which literal in P you choose to resolve. All the literals in P will have to be resolved away eventually, and the order doesn't really matter. (This takes a little work to prove or even to state precisely, but if you work through a few examples, it becomes reasonably evident.)
Putting all the above together, we formulate the following non-deterministic algorithm for resolution in Horn theories. This is known as backward chaining.
bc(in P0 : negated goal; GAMMA : set of facts and rules;) { if P0 = null then succeed; pick a literal L in P0; choose a clause C in GAMMA whose head resolves with L; P := resolve(P0,GAMMA); bc(P,GAMMA) }
If bc(~Phi,Gamma) succeeds, then Phi is a consequence of Gamma; if it fails, then Phi is not a consequence of Gamma.
Moreover: Suppose that Phi contains existentially quantified variables. As remarked above, when ~Phi is Skolemized, these become free variables. If you keep track of the successive bindings through the successful path of resolution, then the final bindings of these variables gives you a value for these variables; all proofs in Horn theories are constructive (assuming that function symbols in Gamma are constructive.) Thus the attempt to prove a statement like "exists(X,Y) p(X,Y)^q(X,Y)" can be interpreted as " Find X and Y such that p(X,Y) and q(X,Y)."
The succcessive negated goals Pi can be viewed as negations of subgoals of Phi. Thus, the operation of resolving ~P against C to get ~Q can be interpreted, "One way to prove P would be to prove Q and then use C to infer P". For instance, suppose P is "mortal(socrates)," C is "man(X) => mortal(X)" and Q is "man(socrates)." Then the step of resolving ~P against C to get ~Q can be viewed as, "One way to prove mortal(socrates) would to prove man(socrates) and then combine that with C."
Propositional Horn theories can be decided in polynomial time. First-order Horn theories are only semi-decidable, but in practice, resolution over Horn theories runs much more efficiently than resolution over general first-order theories, because of the much restricted search space used in the above algorithm.
Backward chaining is complete for Horn clauses. If Phi is a consequence of Gamma, then there is a backward-chaining proof of Phi from Gamma.
A Prolog "program" is a knowledge base Gamma. The program is invoked by posing a query Phi. The value returned is the bindings of the variables in Phi, if the query succeeds, or failure. The interpreter returns one answer at a time; the user has the option to request it to continue and to return further answers.
(Actual Prolog differs from pure Prolog in three major respects:
Notation: The clause "~p V ~q V r" is written in Prolog in the form "r :- p,q."
Example: Let Gamma be the following knowledge base:
1. ancestor(X,X). 2. ancestor(X,Z) :- parent(X,Y), ancestor(Y,Z). 3. parent(george,sam). 4. parent(george,andy). 5. parent(andy,mary). 6. male(george). 7. male(sam). 8. male(andy). 9. female(mary).
Let Phi be the query "exists(Q) ancestor(george,Q) ^ female(Q)." (i.e. find a female descendant of george.) Then the Skolemization of Phi is "~ancestor(george,Q) V ~female(Q)." A Prolog search proceeds as follows: (The indentation indicates the subgoal structure. Note that the variables in clauses in Gamma are renamed each time.)
G0: ~ancestor(george,Q) V ~female(Q). Resolve with 1: Q=X1=george. G1: ~female(george) Fail. Return to G0. G0: ~ancestor(george,Q) V ~female(Q). Resolve with 2: X2=george. Z2=Q. G2: ~parent(george,Y2) V ~ancestor(Y2,Q) V ~female(Q). Resolve with 3: Y2=sam. G3: ~ancestor(sam,Q) V ~female(Q). Resolve with 1: Q=X3=sam. G4: ~female(sam). Fail. Return to G3. G3: ~ancestor(sam,Q) V ~female(Q). Resolve with 2: X4=sam, Z4=Q G5: ~parent(sam,Y2) V ~ancestor(Y2,Q) V ~female(Q). Fail. Return to G3. G3: ~ancestor(sam,Q) V ~female(Q). Fail. Return to G2. G2: ~parent(george,Y2) V ~ancestor(Y2,Q) V ~female(Q). Resolve with 4: Y2=andy. G6: ~ancestor(andy,Q) V ~female(Q). Resolve with 1: X5=Q=andy G7: ~female(andy). Fail. Return to G6. G6: ~parent(andy,Y6) V ~ancestor(Y6,Q) V ~female(Q). Resolve with 5: Y6=mary. G8: ~ancestor(mary,Q) V ~female(mary). Resolve with 1: X7=Q=mary. G9: ~female(mary) Resolve with 9. Null.Return the binding Q=mary.
Forward chaining is generally thought of as taking place in a dynamic knowledge base, where facts are gradually added to the knowledge base Gamma. In that case, forward chaining can be implemented in the following routines.
procedure add_fact(in F; in out GAMMA) /* adds fact F to knowledge base GAMMA and forward chains */ if F is not in GAMMA then { GAMMA := GAMMA union {F}; for each rule R in GAMMA do { let ~L be the first negative literal in R; if L unifies with F then then { resolve R with F to get C; if C is a fact then add_fact(C,GAMMA) else /* C is a rule */ add_rule(C,GAMMA) } } } end add_fact. procedure add_rule(in R; in out GAMMA) /* adds rule R to knowledge base GAMMA and forward chains */ if R is not in GAMMA then { GAMMA := GAMMA union {R}; let ~L be the first negative literal in R; for each fact F in GAMMA do if L unifies with F then { resolve R with F to get C; if C is a fact then add_fact(C,GAMMA) else /* C is a rule */ add_rule(C,GAMMA) } } end add_fact. procedure answer_query(in Q, GAMMA) return boolean /* Success or failure */ { QQ := {Q} /* A queue of queries while QQ is non-empty do { Q1 := pop(QQ); L1 := the first literal in Q1; for each fact F in GAMMA do if F unifies with L then { resolve F with Q1 to get Q2; if Q2=null then return(true) else add Q2 to QQ; } } return(false)
The forward chaining algorithm may not terminate if GAMMA contains recursive rules.
Forward chaining is complete for Horn clauses; if Phi is a consequence of Gamma, then there is a forward chaining proof of Phi from Gamma. To be sure of finding it if Gamma contains recursive rules, you have to modify the above routines to use an exhaustive search technique, such as a breadth-first search.
animal(X) :- sponge(X). animal(X) :- arthopod(X). animal(X) :- vertebrate(X). ... vertebrate(X) :- fish(X). vertebrate(X) :- mammal(X) ... mammal(X) :- carnivore(X) ... carnivore(X) :- dog(X). carnivore(X) :- cat(X). ...(I have skipped family and genus in the hierarchy.)
Now, suppose we have such a knowledge base of rules, we add the fact "dog(fido)" and we query whether "animal(fido)". In forward chaining, we will successively add "carnivore(fido)", "mammal(fido)", "vertebrate(fido)", and "animal(fido)". The query will then succeed immediately. The total work is proportional to the height of the hierarchy. By contast, if you use backward chaining, the query "~animal(fido)" will unify with the first rule above, and generate the subquery "~sponge(fido)", which will initiate a search for Fido through all the subdivisions of sponges, and so on. Ultimately, it searches the entire taxonomy of animals looking for Fido.
In some cases, it is desirable to combine forward and backward chaining. For example, suppose we augment the above animal with features of these various categories:
breathes(X) :- animal(X). ... backbone(X) :- vertebrate(X). has(X,brain) :- vertebrate(X). ... furry(X) :- mammal(X). warm_blooded(X) :- mammal(X). ...If all these rules are implemented as forward chaining, then as soon as we state that Fido is a dog, we have to add all his known properties to Gamma; that he breathes, is warm-blooded, has a liver and kidney, and so on. The solution is to mark these property rules as backward chaining and mark the hierarchy rules as forward chaining. You then implement the knowledge base with both the forward chaining algorithm, restricted to rules marked as forward chaining, and backward chaining rules, restricted to rules marked as backward chaining. However, it is hard to guarantee that such a mixed inference system will be complete.


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There can be no two opinions that Indian elections have become prohibitively expensive. Also, there is widespread apprehension that money is used to unduly influence voters.
Despite reams lamenting these threats to democracy, and a constant flow of anecdotal reports in the media, it is really surprising that there is little hard evidence to support such fears. Let us look at some of the evidence and arguments that are used to support the view that money is corrupting the election process.
Currently, the election expenditure on each candidate is limited by law to R25 lakh in a Lok Sabha constituency, and R10 lakh in a Vidhan Sabha constituency in large states. Candidates are to maintain daily accounts, and also to submit a final statement within 30 days of the election.
The Election Commission has made rigorous efforts to monitor election expenditures during the two weeks of campaigning. Expenditure observers are sent out, armed with a 165-page document on how to keep track of election expenses, including videography. There is another 10-page document on the ECI website that lists various provisions of laws relating to offenses and corrupt practices in connection with elections.
With such a proactive role, one would expect that the ECI has been successful in prosecuting and punishing the guilty. Over the years, there have been barely a handful of instances when ECI has been able to disqualify a winning candidate for violating the election rules. In all these years, not one candidate has filed an election account above the permissible limit, and no one has been prosecuted for exceeding the expenditure limit.
In one case, a person was disqualified because of his failure to submit the account within the time limit. Last year, an MLA from UP, who had won the assembly election in 2007, was disqualified because of complaints lodged by another candidate. The charge was of placing misleading advertisements in local newspapers, which could be mistaken as positive news coverage. The ECI found the person guilty of not reporting an amount of around R21,000 paid towards these advertisements, and barred her from contesting elections for the next three years. A more celebrated case, against the former Maharashtra chief minister Ashok Chavan, for using "paid news" in the 2009 state assembly election, has been pending before the EC.
These few instances would suggest that either the ECI has been spectacularly successful in enforcing the election expenditure limits, or that the ECI has miserably failed in this regard.
However, the ECI admits that there is a problem. They point to the R75 crore seized during assembly elections in 2011. In the current election season so far, the EC has seized about R45 crore of cash.
While these figures are large, they pale in comparison to what is commonly believed to circulate at election times. It is thought that to mount a serious election campaign in an assembly constituency today, at least R1 crore is needed. With about 700 constituencies going to polls in this round, spread over 5 states, that would total up to around R1,400 crore, if one conservatively assumes that only two serious contenders are present in each constituency. Recently, officers of the Income Department had been quoted in the media saying that they expect about R2,400 crore of black money to be spent in the ongoing UP assembly election alone. Clearly, there is a huge gulf between the legally permissible expenditure, the ECI's capacity to monitor and enforce the law, and the wider perception.
After a prolonged campaign by citizens' groups, 10 years ago, the Supreme Court had ordered that all candidates had to file an affidavit before the election authorities, containing information about their assets and liabilities, their educational qualifications, and to make public their criminal records.
A summary analysis of the average assets of MLAs of major political parties from all the states suggest that there is no evidence to suggest that rich candidates can help their parties win the election in any significant way (see table). Punjab is going to poll this time. In 2007, the average asset of Congress MLAs in Punjab was significantly higher than that of the Akali Dal and BJP. Yet, the former lost that election. This time, the average assets of Akali candidates has almost doubled from R4 crore to R7.5 crore, while that of the Congress candidates has increased from R5.3 crore to R8.2 crore. Yet, no party is sure of winning the election, although in the past 40 years, Punjab has never reelected the governing party.
In another crucial state, Uttar Pradesh, in 2007, the average assets of BSP's MLAs was R70 lakh, while that of the Congress and the SP was R2.9 crore and R1.4 crore, respectively. Yet, BSP surprised most people by winning a majority of its own in the state for the first time.
Another state where money is believed to play a significant role in elections is Tamil Nadu. In 2006, the average assets of DMK and Congress MLAs was R95 lakh and R2.4 crore, respectively. The DMK alliance had defeated the ruling AIADMK alliance, whose MLAs could only average about R89 lakh. However, in 2011 election, the tables turned. While the DMK and Congress MLAs have average assets of R9.2 crore and R6.2 crore, respectively, a significant increase from five years ago, they lost the election to AIADMK whose MLAs had an average asset base of R3.4 crore.
In Gujarat, after the 2007 election, the average assets of Congress MLA were more than that of BJP, although the latter won the election handsomely for the third time in a row. On the other hand, in Rajasthan, the average assets of BJP MLAs after the 2008 election stood at R2.8 crore, but it lost the closely fought election to Congress whose MLAs' averaged R1.8 crore in assets.
Money is important in an election, but even more important is the message that resonates among citizens. The historic Lok Sabha election of 1977 showed the importance of the message, and the capacity of the ordinary voter to choose. For the first time, the Congress lost power at the national level despite its total political dominance at the time, and unlimited access to money and power. The debate over the role of money in elections has fatally damaged the credibility of the political leaders, all of whom support election expenditure limits. They have made a law, which can neither be obeyed nor enforced. This has made the politicians look highly hypocritical, and inevitably raised questions over their own legitimacy. This has also led to undermining the credibility of elections, the most critical element in a democracy.
Also, the focus on election funding has diverted attention from the more basic reasons for corruption in public life, such as discretionary powers that provide lucrative opportunities for rent seeking by public servants.
The limit on election expenditure could also be considered to be a limit of freedom of expression. How and why should a supporter of a particular candidate be stopped from doing do? This was an argument that was successfully presented before the US Supreme Court in the 1970s, which had ruled campaign finance limits to be unconstitutional.
The focus on money power actually is an insult to the capacity of the ordinary voters in the country, who regularly participate and repeatedly demonstrated the legitimacy of the electoral process. If the voters are willing to sell their votes for a few rupees, then the country may not be worth saving.
Rather than election expenditure limits, it is time to rethink the idea itself. An open election expense law, with complete disclosure, and a severe penalty for non-compliance would not only be politically desirable, but also legally enforceable. Such a change in our law would go a long way in cleaning up our election system.


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Common Uses
- Capacity: 3 gallon
- Size: 15"H, 12.5"D
- Suited for: adults
- Number of birds: 35
- Can it hang: yes
- Waterfowl: yes
- Nipples prevent litter from fouling the water
- Includes adjustable cord for hanging
- Nipples are recessed for easy refilling of the waterer
It's common for a bead of water to hang off the nipple and occasionally drip. This is common with all types of poultry nipples. When testing this waterer, the drips were not bothersome to neither our birds nor us.
Waterers and Accessories
Water ProtectorItem #540352 -
Use this all natural additive to keep your poultry and livestock waterer systems clean.$10.25
Waterers and Accessories
Nutri-Drench for Poultry, 1 qtItem #620501 -
A natural source of energy and nutrients. Produces healthier, more productive chickens, turkeys, ducks and guineas.$32.00
Buckets and Troughs
Round Bucket with Lid, 1 galItem #564300 -
Easily feed and water individual sheep, goats or chickens. They stack without sticking and are easy to clean.$4.80
Handling Equipment
Snap Clip, Zinc PlatedItem #965405 -
Use to connect wire panels and hang poultry waterers and feeders.$2.68
Handling Equipment
Snap Clip, Stainless SteelItem #965406 -
Use to connect wire panels and hang poultry waterers and feeders.$7.00
Wire Panels and Accessories
Braided Cord, 8 ftItem #965410 -
Useful length of cord for having around the farm. Hang poultry waterers and feeders. Attach wire panels and gates.$1.25
Waterers and Accessories
Plastic Slider for Cord AdjustmentItem #54001803 -
Use to adjust the height of poultry waterers and feeders.$0.32
Write a Review
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Staci W from Louisiana
I have replaced all of my waterers with this one. I did drill a very small hole in the lids due to suction being made as the chickens drink water and no air getting into the bucket. Small little hole fixes the issue. Easy to clean also. I love being able to sit the bucket on a flat surface to fill.
Valérie C from Québec Canada
Valérie from Québec
So far my chicks do not love it but I do! I have various size of chikens so must put a rock under for the smalest ones. Easy to fill and much more pleasant for me
Fevzi K from California
Simply perfect! This is how it should be made. All the pieces down to the rope to hang it up is designed very well. Just started using this outdoors under the shade of an oak tree. I will keep eye on algae growth but I am hoping due to the thicker walls and lid it should not be a major problem. I will be ordering more of these as I replace all my waterers.
Chris W from Ohio
I bought two of these waterers for my girls early last summer - one for inside the coop and the other for their run. These waterer are really an excellent product. They are well made, hold quite a bit of water, the water stays clean, the waterer itself is easy to clean, and it was really easy to teach my pullets to drink from it. My only complaint is that I can't use them during the winter season. Although there is a heated nipple waterer offered by Premier1, my girls haven't taken to it like they did with these waterers. I think I am going to buy a couple more to hang from some trees around the property; the hens have a fenced-in, 2-acre free-range area so they can stray pretty far from the coop where the waterers are located. I highly recommend this product!
William B from Kentucky
I bought one of these hanging nipple waterers last summer for my flock of 18 chickens, and then I bought another right away when I saw how much easier it made my life. Keeping clean fresh water available is not a chore anymore. The chicks caught on right away when one of them watched me flicking a nipple with my finger a couple times, and drops of water were dropping to the ground. So now I bought 2 more to use for the next batch of chicks as they grow to maturity. It is just so easy to keep plenty of clean, fresh water with these high-quality waterers! The nipples work very well, and the buckets are also very easy to clean periodically. Truly worth every penny; I will never go back to using hanging bell waterers again!


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U.S. agricultural exports are forecast to reach a record $101 billion for fiscal 2008, up $10 billion from USDA's November's forecast and an unprecedented $19 billion above 2007, said Agriculture Secretary Ed Schafer at the department's Agricultural Outlook Forum.
This latest forecast builds off of unprecedented consecutive year-to-year record exports since 2004. Higher wheat, coarse grain, and soybean prices account for just over half of the revision since November.
"Based on current market conditions, bulk grains, oilseeds, and cotton exports should rise $13.2 billion and account for 70 percent of the overall increase in export value for 2008. Higher prices account for most of this increase, but export volumes are also generally higher," Schafer said.
"Coarse grains are forecast to rise 10.9 million tons to 70 million tons and wheat should rise 2.3 million tons.
"We also see further increases in high-value product exports such as fresh and processed fruits and vegetables, tree nuts, pork, beef, poultry meat, and many grocery products. Exports of animal and horticultural products are forecast to rise a combined $3.5 billion in 2008 to record levels. With U.S. agricultural imports forecast at $76.5 billion, we expect a $24.5 billion trade surplus," said Schafer.
Foreign economic growth continues to support gains in consumer incomes and growth in the size of the middle class, particularly in the emerging markets. These consumers tend to spend more on food as their incomes rise, including food imported from the United States.
Tighter competitor stocks further raise demand for U.S. wheat and corn.
"Trade agreements have a significant impact on our ability to compete and sell our agricultural commodities in world markets," said Schafer. "If Congress ratifies the pending free trade agreements with Colombia, Panama, and Korea, the increased access will boost our producers' exports even higher."
USDA's Foreign Agricultural Service, Economic Research Service, and World Agricultural Outlook Board release agricultural trade forecasts quarterly. The summary and full report of USDA's "Outlook for U.S. Agricultural Trade" may be accessed from the FAS Web site at http://www.fas.usda.gov or the ERS Web site at http://www.ers.usda.gov.
The next quarterly report will be issued on May 31.


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6:00 pm
PBS NewsHour NULL
7:00 pm
Nature "Siberian Tiger Quest" Conservation ecologist Chris Morgan ("Bears of the Last Frontier") is seeking to fulfill a longtime dream - to find and film a Siberian tiger in Russia's far eastern forests. The film features the work of Korean cameraman Sooyong Park, the first to film Siberian tigers in the wild.G
8:00 pm
NOVA "3D Spies of WWII" Alarmed by rumors of advanced rockets and missiles, Allied intelligence recruit a team from British universities and Hollywood studios to an English country house. Team members use 3D stereoscopes to view millions of air photos of German territory, and are able to spot telltale clues that reveal hidden rocket bases. With 3D graphics NOVA recreates what WWII photo spies saw, and tells the suspenseful, previously untold story.G
9:00 pm
Nazi Mega Weapons "U-Boat Base" To create a haven in port for their lethal U-boat submarines, the Nazis built massive, impenetrable concrete submarine pens. Too immense to be hidden, they were constructed to withstand direct hits from even the biggest Allied bombs. These pens survive today as a testament to their engineering. Part 2 of 3G
10:00 pm
Wild Africa "Lakes and Rivers" Just as Africa constantly throws up mountains that intercept moisture-laden clouds from the oceans, so the changing landscape also creates grooves and basins that channel and gather the precious moisture that falls on the high ground. Fresh water, light and warmth are the three fundamental elements that engender life. Rarely in Africa do these three come together, but when they do the continent explodes with life. Part 6 of 6G
11:00 pm
Charlie Rose NULL


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Allen Shepherd, 69, North Webster, passed away at 2:12 p.m. on Thursday, April 11, at Lutheran Hospital, Fort Wayne.
He was born on Jan. 4, 1944 in Floyd County, Ky. to Henry & Roxie (Slone) Shepherd. He grew up in Kentucky and attended public school there. He was married on May 22, 1962 to Ruth A. Barton, who survives and moved to Indiana in 1963. He was formerly employed as a foreman at Syracuse Rubber Company for many years, worked on the North Webster Police Dept, managed the Crystal Flash Service Station in North Webster, was owner / operator of the Union 76 and Shell Service Stations in North Webster, and formerly served as a volunteer fireman on the North Webster Fire Dept. He formerly attended the Church of the Brethren in North Webster.
He is survived by his wife, Ruth Shepherd, North Webster; two sons, Ricky Shepherd, North Webster, and David Shepherd, Bradenton, Fla.; a sister, Jearlean (Hugh) Hutchins, Pierceton; and a brother. Edward (Elsie) Shepherd, Urbana.
He was preceded in death by his parents, a son, Allen Shepherd Jr.; three sisters, Virginia Ousley, Elsie Robinson, and Sally Shepherd; and four brothers, Earl, Elmus, Mitchell and Thomas Shepherd.
Visitation was held on April 13, at Owen Family Funeral Home, North Webster. Graveside services were held April 14, at the Hillcrest Cemetery, with Pastor Bob Wyman of the church officiating.
Memorial bequest may be given to the Allen Shepherd Funeral Fund, c/o Owen Family Funeral Home, P.O. Box 72, North Webster, IN 46555. Envelopes will be available at the funeral home.
To send condolences to the family in Allen Shepherd's memory please visit www.owenfamilyfuneralhome.com.


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In 'n' Out
after Martin Gardner
A simple closed curve that is very twisty is
hidden under a piece of paper with the square hole in it so that a
part of the curve is visible - as shown in the illustration. Now if it
is told that region A is inside the curve, is region B inside or
outside it?
Step Through:


text:
this is a recipe given to me by my dear friend, april. it is not only easy peasy, but super tasty. i made one change from her original. i used a white cake mix instead of yellow. here ya go! enjoy!
upside down strawberry cake
preheat your oven to 350 degrees
in the bottom of a 9x13 pan, cut up a quart of fresh strawberries. i simply sliced mine. sprinkle over the berries a 3oz package strawberry gelatin. now, sprinkle over the gelatin three cups of mini marshmallows. make your cake mix according to the directions and pour it over it all. bake about 30 minutes till done. i watch for my cake to pull away from the sides of the pan. cool about 15 minutes then invert onto a serving platter. this is good with vanilla ice cream, whipped cream or just a plain ol'fork!


text:
The middle class is growing – just not in the United States or Europe – but in the far reaches of the globe, a change that very likely will move power away from the world's current centers of prosperity, a United Nations study released Thursday concludes.
The middle class in developing countries is rising "at an unprecedented speed and scale" and will require "an epochal global rebalancing," the study says.
By 2025, 1 billion households will be earning more than $20,000 a year, and three-fifths of those will be in countries that today are better known for their poverty than their wealth, among them Rwanda, Brazil, Chile, Tunisia, Turkey, Ghana, Mauritius and some 30 similar nations.
"History has never seen something like this," said Khalid Malik, lead author of the United Nations Development Program report titled "The Rise of the South."
"You are witnessing a very large phenomenon," he said.
"A very significant number of developing countries have transitioned themselves into dynamic, emerging economies with growing geopolitical influence," said Helen Clark, a former prime minister of New Zealand who is the administrator of the U.N. Development Program and was in Mexico to unveil the report. "Mexico is one of these dynamic nations."
While Europe and North America have been stuck in outright recession or tepid growth, many developing countries have been trading heavily with one another, investing in education and social services and watching their middle class expand, Malik said.
Both the scale and the speed of the changes surpass what happened during the Industrial Revolution, which began in Britain in the late 18th entury and spread over the next decades to Western Europe and the United States, he said.
In 1990, Malik said, the global middle class – defined as earning from $10 to $100 a day – comprised 1.8 billion people, and a clear majority lived in Europe and North America. By 2020, projections say the global middle class will have expanded to 3.2 billion people, with more than half living in the Asia and Pacific region.
By 2030, the U.N. report says, the middle class is likely to comprise 4.9 billion people, with two-thirds in Asia, not only in populous India and China but also in Mongolia, Laos and Bangladesh, among others. At that point, 80 percent of the world's middle class will live in what is now considered the developing world.
Not only are citizens there growing better off, but their governments have amassed ever-greater financial reserves, Malik said. Some $6.8 trillion in reserves are now in the hands of developing nations, compared with $3.5 trillion in the central banks of developed countries.
Social policies that empower women, provide more equitable health care and better education are key factors in the expansion of the middle class, the study found. But technology also has been a huge contributor to the expansion of wealth.
"Farmers in India or in Africa can use their telephones, get prices for their crops but also know what happens in the U.S. elections," he said.
In Ghana, 61 percent of cocoa farmers now own mobile phones, the report says.
By the end of the decade, the combined output of three leading developing-world countries – Brazil, China and India – will surpass the combined economic output of the United States, Germany, the United Kingdom, France, Italy and Canada, the report says.
Once-poor countries are now trading with each other at a quickening pace, climbing from less than 10 percent of all global trade in 1980 to more than a quarter of its trade 30 years later, the report says.
The continued expansion of the middle class is far from assured, and in some places it may encounter reverses if further reforms are not undertaken or if countries don't deal concretely with problems associated with an aging population, the report says.
The population of Africa is projected to grow from 1 billion today to 2 billion in 2050, and the poverty numbers there "could go up by half a billion people," Malik said.
Another challenge is to rebalance global institutions to better reflect the reality of the economic shift, he said, noting that China, the world's No. 2 economy, has only a 3.3 percent share in the World Bank, while France has a 4.3 percent share. India, which may surpass China as the world's most populous country, does not have a permanent seat at the U.N. Security Council.
The emerging middle class may not enjoy all the luxuries of the current holders of that status. For one, they may not be able to own a personal vehicle, as middle-class people do now.
"It's physically not possible, either for the Earth's atmosphere or just to find parking lots," Malik said. "So something has to change."


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More on Burroughs' Color Walks from Michael Taussig
May 25, 2011 § 1 Comment
Michael Taussig on Burroughs' color walks:
"That was in 1964. Brion Gysin was his painter pal in those days and when you look over Gysin's work, playing with color in relation to written words, let alone Burroughs's own color work, as in the 1960s scrapbooks and the 1980s paintings, it suddenly hits you that there is a tight connection between the mad desire to cut out, on the one hand, and this fascination with color, on the other.
As when, in his homage to Gysin, Burroughs invokes the idea of going on "color walks"—which are a good deal more than color-coded walkways through Tangier or New York or Paris: red on Wednesdays, blue on Fridays, or whatever. A delightful idea, to be sure. But that is only the beginning because the idea here is that the very notion of a code is to be cut out, meaning that color is invoked so as to loosen the restraint of coding and that there is something about color that facilitates this, as if colors love to betray themselves like yellow means gold, awesome and holy, but also treason and cowardice, and it has a long history in the Christian West of marking adulterous women, Jews, Muslims, prostitutes, heretics, witches, and executioners.
Could we not say, therefore, that with the color walk we are alerted to the singular and beautiful fact that color itself walks?
This would make color even more of a flâneur than Burroughs,who liked to call himself el hombre invisible in his walks through the market in Tangier in the late 1950s. What was invisible in Tangier became color in Paris, thanks to Gysin's paintings painted in Tangier. Maybe people have to lose themselves first and become invisible as long-term residents in a third world country before being readied for the color walk? But then Burroughs was continuously marginal in utterly realistic as well as in utterly romantic ways. He was queer. He was a heroin addict. He loathed America. And he had weird ideas about most everything, especially writing. Being marginal can mean you switch on and you switch off because you are either too conspicuous or invisible. Too invisible, that's the point, at which point you emerge as color, walking color at that.
And, remember, the original insight for the color walk lay in Gysin's playing with letters, letters that form words. Here color and the decomposition of written language signs go hand in hand. What also happens when Smoker comes in from the cold is that the old writer in the boxcar by the junkyard is once again able to write. As colors pour from tar, he unblocks. He pours. The cat purrs. And guess what? All his stories are animal stories. ("Of course," adds Burroughs.) The old writer finds them in an illustrated book. There is the Flying Fox with his long black fingers and sad black face, just like Smoker. There is a Fishing Bat peering from under its shell. There is the Black Lemur with round red eyes and its little red tongue, the beautiful Ring-Tailed Lemur hopping through the forest as if on a pogo stick. "So many creatures, and he loves them all" (WL, p. 248).
The old writer caresses these pictures.
After all, "I have been a cut up for years," the writer told us. "I think of
words as being alive like animals. They don't like to be kept in pages. Cut the pages and let the words out." Now the words and the animals become united in the stories the old writer found welling up inside himself as colors pour from tar."
Michael Taussig, What Color is the Sacred
See also Taussig's "Getting High with Burroughs and Benjamin" in Cabinet Magazine.
Image: Bryon Gysin Dream Machine iPhone app created by the New Museum as part of their Brion Gysin Dream Machine show this past spring.
More here: Color: William Burroughs Walking on Color
Color: William Burroughs Walking on Color
May 19, 2011 § 5 Comments
William Burroughs' Color Walks
"Another exercise that is very effective is walking on colors. Pick out all the reds on a street, focusing only on red objects–brick, lights, sweaters, signs. Shift to green, blue, orange, yellow. Notice how the colors begin to stand out more sharply of their own accord. I was walking on yellow when I saw a yellow amphibious jeep near the corner of 94th Street and Central Park West. It was called the Thing. This reminded me of the Thing I knew in Mexico. He was nearly seven feet tall and had played the Thing in a horror movie of the same name, and everybody called him the Thing, though his name was James Arness. I hadn't thought about the Thing in twenty years, and would not have thought about him except walking on yellow at that particular moment."
(From "Ten Years and a Billion Dollars" William S. Burroughs in The Adding Machine: Selected Essays, Arcade Publishing, New York, 1985)
"For example, I was taking a color walk around Paris the other day…doing something I picked up from your pictures in which the colors shoot out all through the canvas like they do in the street. I was walking town the boulevard when I suddenly felt this cool wind on a warm day and when I looked out all through the canvas like they do in the street. I was walking down the boulevard when I looked out I was seeing all the blues in the street in front of me, blue on a foulard…blue on a young workman's ass…his blue jeans…a girl's blue sweater…blue neon…the sky…all the blues. When I looked again I saw nothing but all the reds of traffic lights…car lights…a café sign…a man's nose. Your paintings make me see the streets of Paris in a different way. And then there are all the deserts and the Mayan masks and the fantastic aerial architecture of your bridges and catwalks and Ferris wheels."
(Burroughs, from an interview with Brion Gysin in 1960)


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Israel News - Stay Informed, Pray Informed
Israeli Economic and Trade Minister Naftali Bennett was in Indonesia last week and took the opportunity to light Hanukkah candles in the world's largest Muslim nation.
Bennett was in Indonesia to attend a gathering of the World Trade Organization (WTO). It was the first ever visit to Indonesia by an Israeli trade minister, and the first in over a decade by any Israeli government official.
Bennett's stay overlapped with the last night of Hanukkah, so, naturally, the religious, yarmulke-wearing minister did not hesitate to light the Hanukkah menorah, despite the fact that he was in a Muslim nation that has no diplomatic relations with Israel.
"I was very excited to light the candles in a Muslim country," said Bennett.
Bennett had already turned the heads of organizers of the WTO conference with his distinctly Jewish head covering. There was speculation that Indonesia would not provide visas to Bennett and his entourage, but the hosting nation ultimately decided in favor of welcoming the Israelis for fear of losing the conference.
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text:
Fanless MintBox PC Receives Price Cut, Makes It More-Competitive Intel NUC Alternative
Subject: Systems | February 3, 2013 - 09:32 AM | Tim Verry
Tagged: mintbox, mint, linux, fitpc3, compulab
The MintBox is a small form factor, fanless computer released in summer 2012. It was developed in collaboration between CompuLab and the Linux Mint project. At launch, the base model retailed for $476, but CompuLab has cut the price by almost $100 to kick off 2013.
The MintBox basic is powered by a dual core AMD G-T40N APU clocked at 1.0 GHz, 4GB of RAM, an APU-integrated Radeon G290 GPU, and 250GB hard drive. The system has a aluminum chassis that acts as a heatsink. It is essentially CompuLab's fitPC3 case with a few custom tweaks to add the Linux Mint logo. Further, it comes pre-loaded with the Linux Mint 13 operating system. Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 3.0 radios are included as well as two mini-PCIe cards and one mSATA connector (for an SSD).
The front of the MintBox has four USB 2.0 ports surrounding the Mint logo. The rear of the MintBox includes the following connectivity options:
- 1 x HDMI
- 1 x DisplayPort
- 1 x S/PDIF
- 2 x USB 3.0
- 2 x USB 2.0
- 2 x eSATA
- 1 x RS232 serial port
- 2 x external Wi-Fi antennas .
In many respects, the MintBox resembles a typical home wireless router, but it is actually a full PC. Before shipping and any applicatable taxes, the MintBox Basic is $379. Reportedly, 10% of the proceeds will go towards the Linux Mint project to assist with development of the open source operating system. While the hardware itself is not new, Mint and CompuLab are offering up a healthy discount which may bring it more in line with Intel's NUC systems. It may not be as fast, but it will cost less and is pre-configured unlike the DIY NUC.
Have you been looking to get a small form factor system? What do you think about a fanless box running Linux Mint for your next PC?
Video News
Unfortunately, no I will not get one or use linux mint. Per request of the Anti-sematic pro-Hamas leader of Linux Mint. He has asked that anyone who believes Israel has the right to defend itself to not support his project or use Linux Mint.
That said... That is one slick box.
Show a link to prove what you say from a reliable source or it didnt happen
Really dude?
If you still can't find anything...
Plenty of people in Israel do not support their government in all things. I don't see why anyone else should be expected to. From what I can see Clem once (and only once) said he didn't support Israel. Big deal. Neither do I.
I've been using a small form factor PC for a year now in the form of a Zotac Zbox Nano AD10. Which is basically the design Intel copied with the NUC. It's been great and everything works flawlessly except for two things:
-The wireless has shitty range and I had to run ethernet cables to stream Full HD video without stutters.
-Full HD video streaming on the internet (like on Youtube or Netflix) doesn't work well at all, since you have to use GPU acceleration to play back 1080p content. Flash and Silverlight have flaky or broken GPU acceleration support, at least for the AMD e350/450.
But I'm guessing that last issue is even worse on the NUC, which has a stronger CPU but a worse GPU.
These boxes are great as secondary PC's though, or as HTPC's. They'll never be powerful enough to replace a gaming desktop, but they have "just enough" performance for browsing and playing back video.
The reduced price of $376.00 dls. is still remains over priced.
Very good box though.
I can't see Clem saying anything like that after working with him on and off for the past three years.
The hardware of the computer is definately plenty for running Mint on, I was running it on a netbook with worse hardware for AMD for three years. The LM 13 version is one of the most solid versions of the OS for a long time, so I wouldn't be at all worried on that front.
@Patriot: I believe there is no point in bringing politics of Israel and Hamas in here. We are talking about LinuxMint and not Israeli atrocities committed against mankind in Palestine. It is therefore, not a good argument to make to say you will not use Linux Mint because of politics. Very sad to see such stupid reviews posted here.