text:
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Miguel Cabrera sat in front of his locker in the corner of the visiting clubhouse at Kauffman Stadium on Tuesday, slinging some Spanish banter at a table full of teammates.
There were no television cameras hovering over him. No microphones stuck in his face. None of the commotion that could be reasonably expected as the soft-spoken Detroit Tigers slugger closes in on baseball's first Triple Crown in 45 years.
"The entire baseball world should be here right now," said Justin Verlander, the reigning AL MVP and Cy Young Award winner. "We've got, sorry to say, the regular guys.
"I think he's been relatively under the radar for what he's done, for what he's doing. It hasn't happened in 40-some years," Verlander continued, his voice rising. "It kind of annoys me. I don't know about anybody else. I don't know about him. It probably doesn't annoy him."
It certainly doesn't annoy Cabrera, who will politely answer just about any question posed to him, but would just as soon spend his time hanging out with his buddies.
The perfect example came Monday night, shortly after Cabrera had four hits and a home run in a 6-3 victory over the Royals that clinched the AL Central. He was asked about contributing so much to another division title, and Cabrera deflected the attention back on his teammates.
"We got it done with the first one," he said quietly. "That was our goal."
Now, though, the spotlight shifts squarely to the broad shoulders of Cabrera, who entered Tuesday night's game in Kansas City leading the American League in batting average (.329), homers (44) and RBIs (137) — the Triple Crown, last achieved by Boston's Carl Yastrzemski in 1967.
Angels rookie Mike Trout and Twins catcher Joe Mauer are giving chase for the batting title, which Cabrera won last year, while Rangers slugger Josh Hamilton trails him by a single home run.
Maybe the home run mark is why Cabrera was in the starting lineup Tuesday night.
Rather than sit on the bench and watch things play out — by doing so, likely locking up the batting title — Cabrera told manager Jim Leyland that he wanted to play. And he didn't want to be the designated hitter, either. He wanted to play just as he has all season.
"It's a big thing," Leyland said, "and it should be a big thing, and it really hasn't gotten away from what we're trying to accomplish, and now you feel more at ease talking about it."
There are plenty of other people in baseball willing to contribute to the conversation, even if Leyland and Verlander believe there should be more. Old-timers who never thought they'd see another Triple Crown winner have piped in, as have those who remain close to the game.
"It's just extremely difficult to do, to be the complete hitter, to be a run-producer in terms of RBIs, to be a power hitter in terms of home runs, and then lead the league in average," Royals manager Ned Yost said. "I don't know when the next time is we'll see it happen."
Tigers general manager Dave Dombrowski called Cabrera a "once-in-a-lifetime player," and then recalled a conversation he had before Monday night's game, when the seven-time All-Star admitted "the Triple Crown is important, but it's not the most important thing."
Cabrera wanted to win a championship, something Detroit has the chance to chase.
The same can't be said of Trout, his primary competition for AL MVP. Los Angeles was knocked out of playoff contention Monday night when Oakland beat Texas 4-3.
The MVP debate has slowly started to boil.
On one hand, Cabrera is on the footstep of history, poised to join a club that counts just 13 members, among them Mickey Mantle, Ted Williams, Lou Gehrig and Ty Cobb. He's dominated the statistical categories favored by traditionalists, the ones that count toward the Triple Crown.
On the other hand, Trout is being championed by new-school baseball thought, number crunchers who rely on more obscure measures such as WAR (Wins Above Replacement), a figure derived from several other statistics designed to judge a player's overall contribution to a team.
"For whatever reason and I don't understand it, this WAR and sabermetric stuff seems to not focus much on RBIs. That blows my mind," said Leyland, most certainly part of the old guard.
"That's why (Cabrera) is the MVP. He plates the runners. He scores them. That's what the game's about, score some runs. You can't win unless you score some runs. Here's a guy who knocks them in, one right after another."
As for Cabrera's relatively quiet pursuit of baseball history? Well, Leyland is content to sit on the bench and take it all in, right beside Verlander and the rest of the Tigers.
"They all want him to win it. They want it bad, and you can tell that, and certainly he's no exception," Leyland said. "They're pulling so hard for him, you know? Hopefully we'll have some fun with it the next couple days and hopefully he'll get it done."


text:
DeLay conviction overturned; DA promises appeal
Prosecutors say they will appeal reversal of money-laundering verdict
Former U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay's prayers were answered Thursday when an Austin Court of Appeals voted 2 to 1 to throw out his conviction for illegally laundering corporate money in political campaigns, but prosecutors immediately said they would appeal the latest development in the 11-year-old case.
Attending a Washington, D.C., prayer group Thursday morning when his attorney called with the news, DeLay said he found vindication in the reversal of a jury verdict sentencing him to three years in prison for violating state campaign laws.
"We were all, basically, on our knees praying and my lawyer calls and says, 'You're a free man,' " DeLay told a group of reporters at the Capitol. "I just thank the Lord for carrying me through all of this … it really drove my detractors crazy because I had the joy of Jesus in me and they didn't understand it."
The former lawmaker, whose hard-driving political style inspired his nickname, "the Hammer," called the indictment "an outrageous criminalization of politics."
Jury's verdict defended
The Travis County District Attorney's Office released a statement "strongly disagreeing" with the appeals court ruling. Prosecutors said they plan to appeal the decision to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals.
"We are concerned and disappointed that two judges substituted their assessment of the facts for that of 12 jurors who personally heard the testimony of over 40 witnesses over the course of several weeks and found that the evidence was sufficient and proved DeLay's guilt beyond a reasonable doubt," the statement read.
The vote by the 3rd Court of Appeals was 2-1. DeLay's prison sentence has been on hold during the appellate process.
Houston attorney Brian Wice said his client was elated at the news. "We're just gratified that two justices in the majority had the courage and the intellectual honesty to do what was not just fair, right and just, but what the law required."
'Checks' vs. 'cash'
DeLay was convicted in 2010 of illegally channeling $190,000 in corporate donations to Republicans running for the Texas Legislature. State law prohibits corporate campaign contributions to local races. A jury in Austin found that DeLay violated state law by sending $190,000 in corporate money to the Republican National Committee, and then directed the same amount to be sent to GOP candidates for the Texas Legislature.
"Because we conclude that the evidence was legally insufficient to sustain DeLay's convictions, we reverse the judgments of the trial court and render judgments of acquittal," the majority opinion by Justice Melissa Goodwin states. "The fundamental problem with the state's case was its failure to prove proceeds of criminal activity." Justice David Gaultney concurred.
Wice seized on that language in the decision because the money DeLay was handling was transferred by checks.
"In 2002, when this persecution began, the penal code defined 'criminal proceeds' not to include checks," Wice said. "It's an argument that is sometimes so simple, it evades detection. It's hiding in plain sight."
Although the law against money laundering now includes "checks," the original intent was to make it a criminal act to hide or secretly transfer cash, which is harder to trace, Wice said. Under the earlier law, Wice said, DeLay was not guilty.
Political influence
Chief Justice J. Woodfin Jones dissented, writing, "I disagree with the majority's opinion that there was legally insufficient evidence to support a jury finding that the corporate contributions at issue here were the proceeds of criminal activity."
DeLay, 66, a conservative Republican from Sugar Land, ran an exterminating business before being elected to the Texas House of Representatives in 1978 and winning a seat in Congress in 1984. He rose rapidly through the House leadership and was elected majority leader in 2002.
In 2005, a grand jury indicted DeLay on charges that he had conspired to violate campaign finance laws. DeLay reportedly sought donations to his political action committee from Enron and other corporations to help bankroll the redistricting of Texas to favor the election of more Republicans. He denied the charges, but resigned as majority leader.
The executive director of Texans for Public Justice, the group that filed the complaint that led to DeLay's indictment, suggested the Republican judges who issued Thursday's ruling were influenced by politics.
"He (DeLay) was wrong on the law and wrong on the facts, but politics bailed him out," Craig McDonald said. He said he hoped the Travis County district attorney's office would appeal the ruling to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals.
Two co-defendants in the case pleaded guilty and paid fines. John Colyandro, who ran Texans for a Republican Majority, pleaded guilty in 2012 to a misdemeanor charge of accepting illegal political contributions and received deferred adjudication, which means there will be no final conviction if he completes probation. He also was fined $8,000.
Jim Ellis, a DeLay staff member, pleaded guilty to a felony charge of making an illegal campaign contribution. He received four years' probation and a $10,000 fine.
Their efforts helped produce a Republican majority in the Texas House, paving the way for a controversial mid-decade redistricting that helped win more congressional seats for the Republican Party from Texas.
Lampson disappointed
Former U.S. Rep. Nick Lampson, who lost his office due to the redistricting plan, reacted with disappointment.
"When people don't follow the rules, there needs to be some kind of recourse. There are any number of instances in which DeLay didn't follow the rules with regard to the politics of our country," said Lampson, who ended up winning the seat left open by DeLay's resignation in 2006. He was defeated two years later.
"He brought significant change in the politics of our state and our country that has brought us to greater polarization and a crisis period with our Congress," said Lampson.
The decision brought a chorus of praise from U.S. representatives who said it was the right result.
"Tom Delay's conviction was based on a politically motivated prosecution for an alleged crime that did not exist," said Ted Poe, R-Humble. "It is unfortunate that it took the appellate courts years to reach the verdict of acquittal."
Reporter Stewart Powell in Washington, D.C., contributed to this report.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
The home of WSOP Europe 2020
Welcome to King's Rozvadov
realtime info
King's Prague Cash Game - Live Info
King's Rozvadov Cash Game - Live Info
Tournaments Live
Latest News from King's
Top Stories
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Don't miss
Upcoming Events at King's
The Players Paradise
King's Casino
King's Casino
American Roulette, Blackjack, 5-Card Poker, Russian Poker, King's Hold'em, Craps, Punto Banco & lots of Slot Machines
What is special about King's
Our Philosophy
Warm Welcome
Variety of Games
The Heart of Poker in Europe
First Class Service & Accommodation
How to get to King's Casino?
By air: There are direct flights from just about every European capital to Prague (Czech Republic), Nuremberg airport (Germany) and Munich airport (Germany) - all around two hours' drive from Rozvadov. Many budget airlines also operate regularly on these routes. US airlines commonly connect to Prague and Munich.
By car from Prague: Simply drive via D5/E50.
By car from Munich: Get on to A9, A93 and then A6 to D5/E50.
King's Casino has several parking areas under camera surveillance 24/7, and patrolled by a dedicated security team.
By train: The closest train stations are Nuremberg, Weiden, Wernberg, Regensburg or Amberg. Call or email King's Casino and they will arrange a shuttle service: +420 777 281 804 or email@example.com.
Transportation Service
If customers have trouble getting to King's Casino directly, there is a special transportation service available.
If you are travelling by plane they can pick you up at Prague, Nuremburg or Munich Airport.
Call +420 777 281 804 or
email email@example.com
for more information.


text:
Renowned US intellectual Noam Chomsky says Barack Obama did not comment on Israel's war on Gaza, as it was part of the "premeditated" plan.
We have been informed by an Israeli source that the recent invasion of the Gaza Strip was completely premeditated, Chomsky said in an interview with the French Al-Ahram daily.
The plan was to deliver the maximum blow to Gaza before the new US president took office, so that he could put these matters behind him added the famous intellectual, referring to Obama's pledge to resolve the Israeli Palestinian conflict.
According to Chomsky, while Israel was pounding the Gaza Strip — during which over 1300 Palestinians were killed –, Obama excused his silence by saying that "There's only one president at a time."
This, however, did not prevent the then president-elect from commenting on other leading issues of US domestic and foreign policy, Chomsky argued.
The recognized political analyst also criticized Obama for repeating the notion that defending Israel is a US priority. He predicted that during the Obama presidency US will hold the same policy on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.


text:
Avoidable Contact: the watery Big Bang, the 32-step power steering fluid check, disposable faux-ury.
In a former life as an occasional participant on the fringes of the ol' illegal street racing, I was a member of an "underground message board" where matches were set up, smack was talked, grammar was tortured, you know the deal, right? The board was well-known for being completely cop/narc-free, largely because the cops didn't care about two community-college dropouts racing 15-second Hondas behind a grocery store in the sticks at two in the morning and then creating twenty-eight-page forum threads detailing their particular excuses for losing. In fact, until some GTO-driving halfwit managed to kill himself and cripple an innocent woman traveling the other way on the freeway, it was pretty much open season for 40-rolls on the freeways of Columbus, Ohio. (Read More…)


text: Buster Keaton reached the height of his fame in about 1927, but Ford's 1966 marketers must have figured that nostalgia for the allegedly wholesome silent-film era would be big, what with all the not-so-wholesome madness heating up in the United States at that time. How about we put Buster Keaton in the Econoline? (Read More…)


text:
Asset Publisher
Sharif University of Technology - Weekly Cosmology Seminar ( Sunday- 15 January 2017 - 26 Day 1395)
دانشکده فیزیک دانشگاه صنعتی شریف
سمینار هفتگی گروه کیهان شناسی
Time delay analysis of strongly lensed systems
Amir Aghamousa
Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute, South Korea
Strong gravitational lensing systems contain a wealth of information that can be used to estimate the expansion history of the universe. The light rays from different images of a source quasar experience different gravitational potentials and optical paths which result a time delay in the associated light curves. A reliable estimation of the time delay has crucial role in the process of expansion history estimation. In this talk we describe our proposed algorithm for time delay estimation which shows outstanding results in the Time Delay Challenge (TDC). This algorithm consists of the smoothing and cross-correlation methodologies as well as a quick way for error estimation. In continue we explain the modified version of this algorithm which recently we have developed. In this version we introduce a new time delay estimator which includes weighted cross-correlation and some other changes in the procedure of estimation. The modified algorithm shows more precise results on TDC simulated data. At the end we discuss the estimation of time delay related to the light curves of the lensed quasar SDSS J1001+5027 system and compare our results with the time delays obtained by different group of researchers for the same system.
یکشنبه 26 دی ماه 1395، ساعت 15:00
دانشکده فیزیک، تالار پرتوی


text:
No not me, but you thought I did didn't you?
I had the opportunity to try it from a co-worker today. He also has the same Windows phone as me that he now wants to sell for 30,000 yen if anyone's interested.
Looks like there was a bit of a queue here in Japan for the impatient and easily excited Japanese today. Just another day for these guys. If you have to wait, the Japanese have nailed it down to a fine art.
It did make me want one. The operating system makes Windows seem slow and pokey. It's also not as sexy as this baby.
I will try to hold off for a bit longer. Like maybe when I need a new phone, AND a new iPod. The audio sounds pretty good to me through headphones too.
Anything not to like? Well, it doesn't do video recording which surprised me (yet). The pictures are only 2 megapixel, but don't look too bad for that resolution.
The lack of a removable battery is a concern, but I can't think of a mobile phone I've had that I ever replaced the battery.
Today I went to my secret shop and picked up another DOA boob mug.
Weird, it looks like she has carrots aiming for her ass, but I think these are some kind of "rocket carrots" attached to her waist. Oh, it also has a carrot bulge instead of boobs. Mouse over the picture for the back of it. Nice. Did I mention it's red?
If you're interested you can read more about this anime character here. Apparently Mina's quite a popular figure in otaku circles.
By the way, my skeleton watch with a fair bit of winding lasts at least a whole day which suits me fine.
Day off tomorrow. Just what I need.


text:
Africa GFS CAPE +48 hour Chart
- location
- Africa
- Asia
- Europe
- New Zealand
- North America
- South America
- model
- BoM 10-day
- US 8-day
- CMC 6-day
About GFS
Global Forecast System. The operational numerical weather forecasting model run by NCEP. The GFS superceded the AVN and MRF models, on which it is largely based. Forecast data from the GFS is available out to 180 hours at full resolution and 16 days at a reduced resolution.
Weather News
Festival of lightning across inland QLD and NSW, and it's not over yet
A broad low pressure trough lingering over eastern inland Australia has led to widespread thunderstorms on Saturday, bringing the wettest September day in years for several places.
Cloud cover causes cosy morning in Victoria
Extensive cloud from a low pressure system has blanketed much of the southeast bringing about the warmest morning for some places in Victoria since earlier in the year.


text:
Thank you, Jonathan and Janice.
JONATHAN MABERRY: WANTED UNDEAD OR ALIVE covers a lot of territory. What do you love most about the book?
JANICE GABLE BASHMAN: There's something in it for everybody. If you're into vampires, we cover it. Ghosts—we cover that too. Heroes, villains, zombies, monsters, werewolves, vampire hunters, serial killers, FBI profilers, charms, talismans, comics, film, literature, television, etc. It's a super fun read with tons of interviews and original art. It's all about the struggle of good vs evil, which is fascinating, isn't it?
MABERRY: Absolutely. The good vs evil thing is not only fundamental to our human experience, it's reflected in so many ways in our daily lives. It influences acceptance and prejudice, likes and dislikes, trust and distrust. It's the core of 'right and wrong' and 'good and bad', which are wildly subjective concepts.
We're an adversarial and predatory species, so we tend to demonize anyone who is either different or on what we perceive as the opposing side. We see this in religious wars all the way down to community team sports.
Analyzing the concept of good and evil at all these different frequencies opens a lot of windows into who we are. It's always enlightening but not always a happy view.
BASHMAN: I really enjoyed talking with the many people we interviewed to get their take on the subjects. It's so interesting to hear what they had to say about the struggle between good and evil. It doesn't seem to matter if the fight occurs in fiction, on film, in comics, or in real life—it's definitely a hard fight, and one in which both the good and bad guys are determined to win. These monsters are really evil—they're demons and vampires, werewolves and nasty ghosts, villains and serial killers; and it takes a strong hero to kick evil's butt.
MABERRY: Without a clear grasp of the nature and scope of villainy we can't appreciate the nature and scope of heroes. And we love heroes. That harkens back to the days when the first 'heroes' were those members of primitive tribes who provided food, found shelter, defeated enemies, and taught others how to be strong.
Over time we expanded our view of heroism in a lot of different ways. We now regard champions of civil rights as heroes, and people who dedicate their lives to worthy causes. People who are out on the leading edge of medical and scientific research. The word 'pioneer' is often replaced by hero if the thing they discover is deemed to be of great social value.
But strangely we also slap that label on people who aren't actually doing anything heroic. Sports figures for example. Okay, there may be a degree of physical courage involved in facing the defensive line-up of a pro football team, but that isn't heroism. Going into the World Trade Center while it was burning to try and rescue people…that's heroism. And don't get me started on 'guitar heroes'.
We love to tell stories about our heroes, so if a reporter isn't covering a police beat or a war, he tends to amplify the feats of sports figures into heroes. It's another part of who we are, and it underscores our need to hear that the age of heroes hasn't passed.
BASHMAN: Really, if you look at any form of storytelling from the beginning of time to the present, there's always a struggle between a hero and a villain. It's the story of our lives; storytelling just takes that concept and expands on it, often exaggerating the circumstances to entertain. No one wants to be caught on the wrong side of the fight, that's for sure, so we root for heroes to win and the villains to lose.
MABERRY: The clash of good vs evil is on every page of history, and we've tried to capture that in WANTED UNDEAD OR ALIVE. It gets a little tricky because the further back in time you look, the harder it is to separate fanciful or allegorical stories from real events. I mean, we can accept that Samson may have lived and been a true hero and great warrior, but slaughtering a whole army with the jawbone of an ass seems a bit of a stretch. Just as we can look at the story of the Trojan War and see how it suggests that good and evil are entirely based on which side of the walls of Troy you were; but the wooden horse story may be fiction, and Ulysses' encounters with sirens and the Cyclops are fairytales. Or, perhaps fables…wild, but with a point.
The clash between men and monsters—vampires, werewolves and the like—appear in every culture around the world, and many of the stories have very similar structures. Take vampires…in most legends the vampire is a ghostly creature who preys on the living (often friends and family) and takes from them some essential thing. Sometimes it's blood, sometimes it's health, or life essence, or sexual essence. The natural reaction is to defend against such monsters—and indeed to label them as monsters.
However when you step back and look at this from a big picture perspective, you can see that the labeling process is actually an attempt by people to make sense of the seemingly inexplicable. Prior to the late 19th century religion was far more common and personal belief virtually universal. Given that, we can postulate that people believed in some version of God, and that God was the good guy. Now, throw into the mix an unseen force that kills people. To accept that this is part of God's plan doesn't fit. It throws the universe out of balance. However, to accept the possibility that some unseen force whose nature and intent is antithetical to God makes more sense. People understand conflict. So, it becomes easier to believe that a monster of some kind did the dirty deed. The result? Balance is restored and the people move closer to their faith. Many churches in many lands fostered this belief, and it's likely that many clerics also believed this. After all…in the 10th century, who really understood that improperly buried bodies could spread microscopic things like bacteria? Who understood about viruses?
We delve into a lot of that, but at the same time we respect everyone's beliefs. After all…we're theorizing, too. Even writers need to balance their universe.
BASHMAN: It was definitely a lot of fun writing this book; and I learned so much during the process, including the many ways to kill a vampire, how to fight various mythic monsters, and what FBI profilers do in addition to profiling serial killers. What about you?
MABERRY: Hey, I got to interview Stan Lee, so I'm happy as a clam.
Seriously, writing this book—and the others I've done in the past—is a rich and wonderful learning experience. Like most writers I'm a knowledge junkie, and having real experts share their insights, insider information, and wisdom is amazing. No matter how much I know about a subject I always learn more.
That's why I believe that people are really going to dig WANTED UNDEAD OR ALIVE. No matter how much they know about vampires, ghost hunting, serial killers, werewolves or the other things that hunt us in the dark, there's always more to know. Some of it's fun, some of it's scary as hell, but all of it's fascinating.
Thank you so much, Jonathan and Janice. As soon as I get back to the library, I'm ordering Wanted Undead or Alive for the collection. I think I'll have a number of fans for this book.
Jonathan Maberry is a NY Times bestseller, multiple Bram Stoker Award-winner and a writer for Marvel Comics. He has written a number of award-winning nonfiction books and novels on the paranormal and supernatural, including THE CRYPTOPEDIA, VAMPIRE UNIVERSE, THEY BITE, ZOMBIE CSU and PATIENT ZERO. Visit Jonathan's website at http://www.jonathanmaberry.com/.
Janice Gable Bashman has written for THE BIG THRILL, NOVEL & SHORT STORY WRITER'S MARKET, THE WRITER, WILD RIVER REVIEW, and many others. Visit Janice's website at http://www.janicegablebashman.com/.


text:
"I try to write the books I would love to come upon, that are honest, concerned with real lives, human hearts, spiritual transformation, families, secrets, wonder, craziness—and that can make me laugh. When I am reading a book like this, I feel rich and profoundly relieved to be in the presence of someone who will share the truth with me, and throw the lights on a little, and I try to write these kinds of books. Books, for me, are medicine."
Over the years I've read many of this author's books. She has written both fiction and non-fiction. She is a progressive political activist, public speaker, and writing teacher. Lamott lives in California and much of her writing includes stuff from her own life. With self-deprecating humour she tackles tough subjects such as alcoholism, single parenting, motherhood, depression, and Christianity–all of which she has experienced first hand. She is not your run-of-the-mill Christian. Her 'come-to-Jesus' prayer was in a public toilet cubicle and included the 'f' word. She also refers to God as mother, not father. She is real and sometimes asks more questions than provides answers, but her musings make her relatable and communicate a quirky wisdom about life and how to navigate hard times.
There was a great article about her in the New York Times at the end of last year entitled: Anne Lamott, Lefty Guru of Optimism. Most recently I read this slim little volume about prayer called Help, Thanks, Wow. And her book about the writing process called Bird by Bird, which has helpful hints about writing, but also about life in general. In these books, as with her others, I appreciate her honest, simple insights, and how in her funny, gentle way she brings perspective to life, love, and despair. Life is messy and her message is one of comfort, hope, and motivation.
Here is Anne in a TED Talk called "12 truths I learned from life and writing." It's hilarious and wonderful.


text:
This is the first message that the Lord Jesus Christ gave to Segatashya to share with the world while he was still a young boy in his native Rwanda in Africa:
"Jesus Christ sent me here today to tell you,
and all men to renew your hearts.
The day is coming
when things will really get hard for humanity.
You must change your heart while there is still time.
Soon those who have refused to repent
will not be able to do so.
Let those who know that I set foot on earth,
know that I am on my way back
to take those who have worked well for Me
to heaven for their eternal reward."
Neither Segatashya nor his parents had ever been in a school or a church. While not yet approved by the Catholic Church, I am a firm believer in the veracity of Emmanuel Segatashya and all that he said and did in his too short life.
|Emmanuel Segatashya


text:
Green Flash and more
I'm still battling with Mathematica too much to write much, though we've had some more great lectures. Nima Arkani-Hamed has given us a great crash-course on LHC physics, which may be available from another school online, so I'll try and dig that out if I can.
In the meantime we've been having some stunning evenings here and so I took the opportunity to take a couple of rather surreal dusk shots, including this 30 second exposure:
The real excitement for me, however, came when I caught this image (Warning, very very large). It's my first ever capture of the Green Flash, and though it's perhaps the weakest green flash ever caught on camera, it's definitely there. This green flash came from a mock mirage sunset which is created when the temperature as a function of the height in the atmosphere becomes non-monotonic and develops a turning point. See an explanation here. Just before the green flash I caught an image of the separation which is somewhat easier to see, here:
Click for a larger size!


text: Jeremy Oldfield is an oatmeal painter of light. He takes the blank canvas—a canvas of whole-oat groats lovingly ground and soaked overnight—and breathes life into it; the kind of life that lives in tahini and miso paste, or coconut milk and caramelized bananas. He's bold. He's got vision. He's an inspiration to oatmeal-lovers worldwide. (Click here for a loose recipe based on Jeremy's YDIAW video.)


text:
Everyone's got a workout of their own—your "go-to" routine. But is your routine good enough? We asked our Men's Fitness Facebook friends if they had a killer routine to share and subject to the scrutiny of our readers. The big catch? Our team of training experts also review it, critique it and tweak it if necessary.
Workout Submission
|Jason Hewitt Men's Fitness Facebook Friend
"I'm a personal trainer and amateur bodybuilder. This is the workout I use to pack on mass. It's an upper/lower split based around compound movements and performed four days a week."
Days 1 and 3:
Deadlifts: 5 sets x 5-8 reps SLDL (Stiff Leg Deadlift): 5 sets x 5-8 reps Squats: 5 sets x 5-8 reps Jefferson Squats: 3 sets x 10 reps Calf Raise: 3 sets x 10 reps
Days 2 and 4
Flat Bench: 5 sets x 5 reps Incline Bench: 5 sets x 5 reps Bent Row: 5 sets x 5 reps Pull-ups: 3 sets x 10 reps Push Press: 5 sets x 5 reps Barbell Curl: 3 sets x 10 reps Skull Crushers: 3 sets x 10 reps
Expert Assessment #1
|Rob Sulaver C.S.C.S. is the owner and founder of BandanaTraining.com Follow Sulaver on Twitter @BandanaTraining
Pros: Love that you're lifting heavy. Love that you're doing old school, sweet-ass lifts like deadlifts, squats, and pull ups. Love that you've divied it into an upper/lower split. Love that you're trying to get jacked. All very commendable. Cons: Are you on roids? Be honest. The total volume here—5 x 5-8—is a lot, let alone for three different compound lifts. Start by cleaning up your rep ranges. I'd recommend sticking with 5 x 5 (not 5 x 8) across the board—reps and sets are inversely proportionate so the more reps you do, the less sets you do (you could do a 3 x 10 block for some auxiliary lifts later in the workout.) As a general guideline, I like to heavy-load the spine once in a session, which would mean splitting up your deadlifts and squats into two different workouts. You might also break up your upper body push and upper body pull into two different workouts to keep your lifts reasonable. Comments: You've got a solid foundation to work from, but your workouts don't need to be quite so massive in order for your body to be the same. Break up this routine into more manageable workouts, then be sure to call a Vet…'cause your pythons are gonna be sick!
Expert Assessment #2
|Dan Trink C.S.C.S., CPT is the Director of Personal Training Operations at Peak Performance NYC and the trainer in our 8-Week Fitness Transformassacre Follow Trink on Twitter @TrinkFitness
Pros: You're training four days a week, which gives you plenty of stimulus to grow while giving you enough rest to recover. I also like upper body/lower body splits for building size. Your rep ranges include those that will get you stronger (5×5) as well as those that will get you bigger (3×10) which is inline with your goals. Finally, you're using a lot of the great 'bang for your buck' lifts such as the squat, deadlift, push press and pull ups. Cons: I'm not a huge fan of programming squats and deadlifts in the same day. Plus you're performing them for five sets of fairly low reps. Plus your doing them twice per week. Plus you have additional squat and deadlift variations in there as well. I'm no mathematician, but that seems like it would add up to a ton of lower back pain. Your program also seems a bit disogranized as you go from 5×5 to 3×10 back to 5×5. You have some pretty heavy duty movements (squats, push press) fairly late in your program. Not a great idea trying to pull those off when you're already fatigued. Comments: I think you'd be better off breaking this program into four separate days. One lower body day could focus around squats and other knee-dominant movements. The other could be designed around the deadlift and other hip-dominant moves. The upper body days could be divided as well with pulls such as chin-ups, rows and curls being the main focus one day and pushes such as the push press, bench press variations and triceps working being the focus of the other day. A four-day split would allow you to get additional volume for each muscle group and give you ample time to recover. And volume plus recovery equals some serious mass building. Hey, maybe I'm a mathematician after all.
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Posts Tagged personal
Market or Investment Portfolio, Investors, Securities, Time Value of Money Concepts
Posted by Awais Ahmad in ACADEMIC on October 19, 2012
Author: Awais Ahmad (email@example.com)
Investment/Market Portfolio:
When an investor invests in multiple
stocks/securities, it is called Investment Portfolio. Maintaining a Portfolio
is a very important step taken by investors. By maintaining a Portfolio, Risk
can be mitigated / minimized by maintaining a portfolio and higher margins of
profits can be earned. In this case, if one stock/security defaults, it does
not necessarily mean Investor is also in loss. Instead, investor can compensate
the loss of one stock from other stocks/securities. Fig. 5 shows how
maintaining a Portfolio minimizes the Portfolio Risk. Fig shows that Portfolio
size is taken on x-axis and portfolio risk on y-axis, which results a curved
Classification of Investors:
Investors can be classified on the basis of their risk-taking/bearing capacity. How much risk an investor bears, depends on investor's personal capacity, attitude, interest and behavior. For example:
- 1. Risk Seekers
Risk seekers seek for riskier investment. They are capable of assuming a higher risk and have strong and healthy financial position.
- 2. Risk Avoiders
They avoid riskier investments, because they have not strong and healthy financial position. They choose those instruments, which have less variation in returns.
- 3. Risk Bearers
Risk bearers fall in between the above categories. They choose moderate levels of risk they can bear according to their capacity.
Risk reduction is known as Hedging. They do it by using Derivative Instruments.
A Security refers to a publicly traded financial instrument, as opposed to a privately placed instrument. Securities have greater liquidity than otherwise similar instruments, which are not traded in Open Market. Security is considered to be an insurance against an emergency, according to banking definitions.
Classification of Securities:
The securities have been classified according to the functional operation aspects as under:
- 1. Intangible Securities
These are personal exclusive undertakings by a party to pay the amount of advances outstanding against a borrower. Examples of such securities are Demand Promissory Note, bill of exchange or a Bond, Guarantee and Indemnity etc.
- 2. Tangible Securities
These are the securities which can be realized from sale or transfer. Examples of such securities are Shares, Stock, Land, Building and Goods.
- 3. Prime Securities
These are also called Primary Securities. Such securities are main covers for an advance and are deposited by the borrower himself. When a depositor of term deposits offers his Term Deposit Receipt to cover and advance, it is the Primary Security according to banking term.
- 4. Collateral Securities
These are the securities provided as an additional cover for an advance, where either he security is not very stable in value, or where the realization of the security to cover the outstanding amount of balance is difficult. In case of the default by borrower, bank has the authority to sell these shares of security and adjust the advance.
- 5. Movable Securities
These are the securities, which are legally and physically both in possession of the lending bank. Examples are Term Deposit Receipts, Goods, Vehicles and Merchandise etc.
- 6. Immovable Securities
These are the securities, where the legal possession or right to takeover is entrusted to the lending bank, but the physical possession remains with borrowers.
- 7. Government Securities
These are the long-term securities issued by the government for financing social programs. They are perceived as Risk-free, are highly liquid and carry attractive coupon rates. Like T-bills (Treasury Bills), government securities are sold through auctions and are actively traded in secondary markets.
Time Value of Money:
The theory of Time Value of Money states that the value of money decreases with the passage of time. This concept can be described as "A Dollar in hand today is more worth of a Dollar tomorrow". This happens because of Inflation. Inflation is a situation, where the prices as a whole are increasing. The rate at which the prices are increase is known as Inflation Rate. Two terms are necessary to explain while discussing Inflation and theory of Time Value of Money:
- 1. Nominal Interest Rate/Quoted Interest Rate:
Nominal Interest Rate is a rate at which money invested grows. Banks generally offer Nominal Rate of Interest to the depositors.
- 2. Real Interest Rate
Real Interest is a rate, at which the purchasing power of an investment increases. Market Interest Rates are Nominal Interest Rates.
Relationship of Inflation, Nominal and Real Interest Rates:
Real Interest Rates, Nominal Interested Rates and Inflation Rates have strong relationship with each other, which can be expressed in the form of an equation:
The above equation shows that if Inflation Rate increases, then Real Interest Rate decreases and vice versa.
Another approximate relationship also exists between the three rates:
It means, by subtracting Inflation Rate from Nominal Interest Rate, the approximate Real Interest Rate can be calculated.
Financial Management – Theory & Practice by Eugene F. Brigham, Michael C. Ehrhardt
Management of Banking and Financial Services by Padmalatha Suresh & Justin Paul
Handouts Investment Analysis and Portfolio Management
Lectures on Financial Investment and Portfolio


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We work with a broad range of high net worth individuals with complex financial affairs, who often have little time to spare. Here are just some of the specialist areas we work within.
Understanding the unique income profiles of private equity and venture capital professionals
Our experts work to invest your assets in the right way to help you achieve your financial goals.
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Within his role he is responsible for managing clients' overall financial planning matters, consulting with them on issues of strategy, technical matters and the construction of investment portfolios.
Nick particularly enjoys the interaction with clients and helping to guide them through the various different phases of their careers and into financial independence, meaning that they no longer have to worry about their finances.
Nick also specialises in long-term cash flow forecasting, enabling clients to (amongst other things) assess the level of risk they need to take to achieve their financial goals or even to decide when they can afford to retire.
Outside of work, Nick enjoys travelling and both playing and watching sports.


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For an introduction and background to this series, please refer to my first post on the topic: New Series: iPhone 4S Used by a Windows Phone User.
After looking at the setup experience, the first thing I wanted to look at is the much talked about Retina display of the iPhone 4S. I had heard a lot about how fantastic it is, and read a lot about the technical stuff like pixel density on that screen, but hadn't experienced it outside of using my friends' phones for a few minutes. The few minutes I spent with my friends' phones did not impress me much but I attributed it to the fact that I had spent so little time with the display.
So, having used it constantly for a few days, what was the verdict? Frankly, I don't see what the big deal is. Yes, it is clear and crisp. It is very, very clear and crisp. However, the Super AMOLED screen of my Focus and the ClearBlack AMOLED on my Lumia are both equally clear and crisp. In fact, I love the deeper colors on the base Lumia screen much more than what the iPhone 4S produces. It could be a result of bigger tiles on my Lumia compared to the many folders (with tinier icons) on my iPhone, but in "real world" use, the Lumia comes off as being as clear and crisp as the iPhone and the colors richer/deeper than the iPhone.
Yes, I could zoom into a specific icon and see how there is virtually no pixelation, but I never zoom to that level with my normal eyesight. Under normal circumstances, I look at the Lumia screen (with the dark theme enabled), and I look at the iPhone 4S with the normal brightness, and I must say, the Lumia screen comes out looking better.
(Please excuse my screenshots – I tried to make sure the brightness levels on both the phones were similar, and also, it looks like screenshot tools on *both* the phones seem to be just average?)
The other area where the Retina display is supposed to do better is reading. The claim — web pages, books, etc. are much better to read on that display compared to the Lumia? Here too, I did not see a tremendous difference.
Perhaps my expectations were raised really high? Maybe. Perhaps I should have tested it with long periods of reading? Maybe, but I don't read pages and pages of books on the phone. The most I read is a multi-page web article, some part of books/magazines, and of course emails. I have provided some samples of the same above, and the Retina does not come off as being vastly different from the Lumia.
I would like to state emphatically, the iPhone screen is fantastic. However, in comparison to the Lumia, it does not seem to be dramatically superior. The Lumia holds its own despite "lower specs" across the board. The ClearBlack AMOLED on the Lumia "pops" the colors very well and the text renders quite well too. Oh, and a completely personal takeaway: when I turn on the Lumia, there is an immediate "wow" factor; maybe because of the colors, the brightness, the curved glass screen, or a combination of these and other factors that I can't really pinpoint. Whatever it is, it makes the Lumia screen feel better than the iPhone screen, to me. Some friends on Twitter said that I need to give the Retina display some time and I will realize the beauty of it. I have seen it is a good screen, but after 4-5 days of extensive use, I really don't see a huge upside in that screen.
Also, since I promised to talk about size as well, let me say that strictly speaking, the Lumia 800 that I am using now and the iPhone are not too different in size. However, my previous phone, the Samsung Focus, was 4″ diagonally and I really, really like that size. When I started using the Lumia after the Focus, I felt that the Lumia itself was a bit small (it is 3.7″ diagonally) and the iPhone is even smaller. So, compared to my ideal screen size of 4″, the iPhone seems smaller. However, for this experiment, I will not bring it up since the Lumia 800 and the iPhone are comparable in size.
Do you have any feedback on this comparison? Have you seen something I did not? I would love to hear from you!


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Boy returns home after Coraopolis explosion
Channel 4 Action News Special Report
A 12-year-old boy is out of the hospital and on the road to recovery after suffering second and third degree burns in a backyard explosion.
On November 26, 2012, Payton Brown was with his friends in the backyard of his Coraopolis home when they decided to start a bonfire. Payton said he put gasoline on the fire, and that's where their idea almost turned deadly.
Investigators say the gas can exploded, knocking three of the four boys unconscious. Payton remembers everything. "It made me fly back like five to 10 feet, knocked me and my friend out of our shoes. I got up, because I seen (sic) a 15 foot fire, I didn't even know I was on fire yet. Then when I was running away from it I started feeling real hot, looked down, saw I was on fire and I tried to put myself out. People always ask why didn't you stop drop and roll, well you're not thinking that when you're on fire."
Payton has second and third degree burns covering 40% of his body. He suffered a stress fracture on his left foot in the explosion, though his mother said doctors didn't realize this for six weeks.
His daily routine consists of applying lotion to prevent scarring and doing physical therapy. Payton said he can no longer wear jeans because it's too rough on his skin. "So I have to wear sweat pants and pajama pants," he said.
While talking about what happened that day, Payton told reporter Kelly Brennan he felt so bad for causing pain to his friends. But he remains grateful, stating "God gave me a second chance."
His second chance welcomed a new friendship with the man who helped save him, Larry Jones. Jones was working for Columbia Gas in the same neighborhood that day and heard the explosion. He ran to help Payton and his friends. "Larry stayed with me and told me I'd be ok, that everything would be alright. He kept telling me to stay down, holding my hand to keep me calm and not freaking out."
The road to recovery is long and painful.
Pressure garments are most important to his recovery. His mom, Georgette Brown, said the insurance company won't pay the $750.00 needed for the garments. Payton will need two of these, and they'll need replaced every three months.
Family and friends have organized a benefit dance to raise money for medical costs. The "Payton Brown Recovery Fund Adult Benefit Dance" will be Saturday, February 9 at the Coraopolis VFW. Doors open at 7:00 p.m. and the benefit dance is from 8:00 p.m. – midnight. There will be music, a Chinese auctions, 50/50 raffle and a silent auction.


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by sylvia
Can I bring a new puppy into our home with a female great Pyrenees? Is it putting the puppy in danger? Or will it be overly protective with it? Does the puppy need to be a male since my Pyrenees is female? The puppy is a black lab....will they coexist well together?
Comments for New puppy
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Join in and write your own page! It's easy to do. How? Simply click here to return to Great Pyrenees Questions.
Sep 13, 20 06:12 PM
My Great Pyr 8 month old recently started doggy daycare. Does he need timeouts from the other dogs or will he rest when overheating. Thanks
Aug 29, 20 08:37 AM
I have a 12 year old, 125 pound, Male, Great Pyrenees. He is having trouble walking on back legs, gasping for breath frequently, whining and barking
Aug 28, 20 03:33 PM
I am hoping that assistance with some behavioral advice and/or resources for recent issues that have occurred in the past month with our Great Pyrenees
Aug 28, 20 10:04 AM
Milo, He alerted at midnite that on the the porch there was someone there. This was Fourth of July 2020. They were peeking thru the curtain on the front
Aug 27, 20 07:24 PM
We have a 12 week old Pryenees female and she won't get on our sleeping schedule. We play several times during the day and into the early evening but
Aug 27, 20 07:16 PM
Aug 21, 20 06:31 AM
im deeply concerned for my my 9 month old pyrenees yuki. shes currently sheeding an here lately it looks like shes lost a good mount of weight i feed her
Aug 20, 20 11:59 AM
Can a pyrenees have more than one master?


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Sarasota had fun. (the band)
The February issue of GQ Magazine features photos of the Grammy Award-winning band fun. taken during a two-day fashion shoot in Sarasota. A new local business, SRQ Locations, provided sites at Harbor Acres and the Founders Golf Club.
Fun., an indie rock band, won Best New Artist and Best Song, for "We Are Young," at this year's Grammys.
Five fashion-forward photos from the shoot can be seen at gqm.ag/16chjB2
Mullet's reaps industry awards
Mullet's Aluminum Products Inc. is celebrating its 35th anniversary with a bounty of industry awards.
For the sixth consecutive year, Mullet's received the Aluminum Association of Florida's 2012 Award of Excellence in four categories:
Railings -- Fully welded aluminum and glass railings fabricated and installed at a private residence on Lido Shores.
Miscellaneous Metals -- Fully welded aluminum railings and decorative aluminum grating fabricated and installed at the Manatee County Area Transit Bus Depot.
Carports, Canopies and Walkways -- Aluminum walkway canopies fabricated and installed at Manatee Elementary School, Lake Worth.
Aluminum Awning and Shutters -- Fully welded aluminum balcony railing fabricated and installed with integrated roll-down shutters at Club Brittany Condominium in Naples.
Mullet's also received PGT Industries Platinum Dealer status for the ninth consecutive year.
Sarasota firm sells to U.S. Army
The Army has awarded a five-figure contract to Sarasota's Contract Furnishings International Inc. for 80 pieces of pool furniture. The contract was awarded by Army NAF Contracting Pacific-Japan Branch.
Contract Furnishings also recently sold two large orders of pool furniture to the Army at Fort Campbell, Ky., and additional orders are pending.
Contract Furnishings is a service-disabled, veteran-owned small business enterprise.
Business buzz: fun. photo shoot; Mullet's awards; Army contract
Sarasota had fun. (the band)


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Small Business Success Stories
Working Relationships are Important to Us
We, at the Small Business Development Center, realize that a good working relationship must be built over time. Kathy Standridge of Smokin Friday BBQ will explain how this relationship of trust is not built in a day. With patience and understanding, we help our clients to realize how our approach can play into their business success.
There is More to Business than What Meets the Eye
Not all things in business are straightforward. Tim Allen of Roseburg Rental shares how the Small Business Development Center can point out details that you may not have thought of. This is one way that shows how the SBDC helps businesses. And that is what good business advice is all about. In addition, we provide networking opportunities that can be valuable to your business. Please stop by the SBDC in Roseburg and find out more about how we can help you to take your business to the next level.