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Value of the value of a bond, part 5
Sunday pre-game
Hard Assets
One of the concepts central to FO/FO/A treatise is the difference between currency and a store of value. Fiat money attempts to perform all roles at once which leads to anomalies, expressed by 'FOFOA's dilemma'. FOFOA explains it [better] than me but the premise is easy to understand – a saver who saves in the same notes which a money printer prints, is the loser in that arrangement.
The problems go deeper when you consider the 'unit of account' function of money, where here in the western world we are hardwired to price the value of things nominally and leads to all kinds of misconceptions that an item has increased in value when in fact it is the supply of currency which has changed (this by the way, is one of the reasons I'm bullish on Silver and Gold – specifically after studying the historical increases of the supply of currency in Australia alone).
But this article is not a FOFOA exposition. Today I want to borrow just one additional concept from his work as my premise. It is the concept that all money is actually just a claim on the goods or productivity belonging to another member of society. Obviously the global economy is more complex than just a single paragraph but I want to try and simplify the model to make some points. That has currently been one of the best aspects about being involved in Louis Cypher's soapbox, which has attracted the intelligent discussion I've needed to get the full picture in my head.
This seems to be the history of money as much as I have studied it: the currency thing is there because it's convenient to swap and trade for goods and services we actually need, without needing to swap 4000 eggs for an entire cow (or whatever the egg:cow ratio is). The store of wealth thing is about being able to hold those surplus claims until you actually need them. And that doesn't have to be gold, as Brian points out
"Successful people can go their entire lives during boom, bust, deflation or inflation owning not an ounce of gold ..." [link]and at the same time, different wealth assets achieve this task in different capacities over different time frames, as Louis exemplifies:
"Kid, I would be happier holding onto just property but some jackass from the IRS will show up once a year looking for rent. I would be happier with food but it rots. My seashell collection and beads are no longer considered much use even by the native Americans around here ..." [link]I want to expand on the 'claims on productivity of another person' because I think it articulates many of the fiat anomalies that we experience, and even sheds some light on some of the precious metals culture.
Let's say we have a typical utopian village. In our very simplistic model we have a few categories of folk, but as a community they have to function together or else they all starve. As a community some specialization is enabled but technology is simple and generally everyone is happy – the blacksmith makes horseshoes for the farmer and the farmer makes grain and the butcher raises pigs … and all that crap. Any 'surplus' of productivity can be stored in whatever means, but with the assumption the village operates as a closed loop system, that surplus can only be used to claim productivity within the village. Regardless of how that surplus is stored (for this chart we don't care about their currency) and ignoring the time factor then at some point that surplus (productivity) will be consumed. This process can take many forms. Suppose the blacksmith has made so many horseshoes that he can have a 6 month holiday where he puts his feet up and does nothing. But during that time he must still eat bread, so he simply uses his stored wealth for that purpose – to keep him and his family warm and provisioned during that time. Once he runs out of surplus stored wealth, he has to go back to making horseshoes again (presuming there is still a need for horseshoes, maybe it is something different). Even in this simple village there is plenty of room for variations in the productivity picture – maybe the blacksmith has a child who was crippled by polio and must be supported – so the blacksmith works an extra hour a day or introduces efficiencies to his forge process to help him create more horseshoes per day. The main point here is that there is no free lunch – if someone is consuming (energy) and not producing (a benefit to society), the price tag has to be paid by someone. And so we get our basic graph. Some individuals have a higher work output than other individuals. The height of the column represents an individual's total productive contribution, the white area is what they get to keep, and the yellow is any surplus. Boring, yes, but it might look something like this:
The same kind of graph could be used to work out where the productive value goes in a traditional slave plantation. The workers certainly work hard all day every day but they don't get to keep the fruits of their labour – the owner is very happy because he keeps all the profits. For their efforts, the slaves at least get clothed, fed, and protected but that's about all. They are not necessarily happy about it but there is not much they can do about it due to the culture imposed on them.
Our modern global village is no way as simple as these examples. Modern technology has allowed multipliers of productivity, and incredible degrees of specialization are enabled on a scale never seen before in the history of civilization. But for all the benefits and multipliers, the overall model is still the same in the above two charts – any excess wealth represents a claim on the existing pool of productivity (goods and services) and nothing else. On a modern global scale we have lots of ways to get access to people's productivity. My primary point is that through various means, and on a regular basis, value is stolen from the hands of the producers and ends up in the hands of those who have not truly earned it. All these effects act like a giant fan to push value from end of the population to the other.
Take George Soros with his 1992 British Pound shorting as a great example of this – he didn't create any value — he just lined his own pockets at the expense of the British taxpayer, enabled by the structures which exist. Blow that fan. Then you have HFT perfect trading days – effectively just dredging value from the market. Blow that fan. A Chinese man works in a sweatshop for 20 cents an hour. A Warlord in Africa pillages a local village, and so on. It would be easy to just lay the blame on FIAT (as most pundits on zero hedge do), but actually electronic fiat is damn handy, it's just been abused chronically.
I have always wondered why the massive amounts printed by the fed never really blasted the dollar price of gold higher than it has. I suppose that during the credit contraction, that dollars were evaporating and then they just created new dollars to replace them. That's what scares me … deflationary, inflationary, whatever – because for all the theatrics and heated debate, the picture doesn't seem to ever change – in this standing wave form its business as normal, with most of the world in a form of modern slavery, their productive value sapped by the folk with control of the levers. As the savers and producers (like mtbbuck) decide to shift their wealth out of the dollar and into hard assets (and increase their purchasing power), hopefully they don't just become like the current generation of exploiters, otherwise it's the same tired game all over again.
Hiding in the Sand By Martin Armstrong
Full article is in the link above.
Bill Downey update
The big question really comes down to one thing. Was the drop in gold a manipulated event to bail out the option writers and is it now ready to move forward without haste? And that is the problem with manipulation -- one is not sure when they will strike again.
The situation in Europe has stock markets selling off hard again today as the rumors and evidence of real liquidity concerns in the system. Then take Warren Buffett buying Bank of America yesterday. What a coincidence as the discussions of insolvency were rampant this week. Along comes Buffet and buys the bank ? Is it me or are we reaching different levels of incredible manipulation. Now the pundits are issuing buy signals on it on bloomberg ? I mean how crazy can it get.
The big Bernanke speech begins now and over the next hour will probably the most anticipated speech that will say as little as possible.
Going to the chart (see goldtrends.net for charts)
The hourly chart shows the triple test of 1700 yesterday and the subsequent bounce back up. So far the bounce is 38% of what was lost --- a typical retracment number. Even a run to the 50% would not be out of context after such a fast drop.
Deciding as to whether the trend has turned down we have the weaker cycles due to come into full force next week.
In addition price has not even pulled back to the 34 day average and today's bounce is still within the confines of a bounce. The only thing we can say that provides evidence is the July channel line held yesterday on the 8 hour chart. Besides that, there is really no other evidence that the correction has ended. And that is the problem with manipulation. It brings into question whether the whold gold and silver thing was to bail out the option writers. All global stock markets are selling off very hard --- so the question is this --- Do we really want to enter in a market like this where everything is all over the place? Gold has already experienced two 30 dollar drops this morning, the latest just during this update. Is it that important that we have to have a position coming into Monday? I don't think so. And if your worrying about the market getting away from you on the upside --- I would ask --- were you worrying about that on Monday night before this selloff ?
From a long term perspective -- buying at the 34 week moving average is usually the best play. In the past few years, it hits it twice a year. From a shorter term perspective --- i try to find trades that last longer than a day -- as it is difficult to get the info out to everyone not knowing if they are at the email at the moment. Had I bought yesterday --- i would be selling and getting out at this area. So I don't think its a good idea to get either long or short from a trading perspective today. At least not for me.
If trade you must --- support is the 1750-1760 area and resistance is 1783-1790 and the 1805-1810 area. In summary -- due to options expiration -- it is possible that this whole thing was a set up and higher prices are coming. I want to see at least one pullback and see how the pattern looks. That should give some clues as to whether we moving higher next week. My best take is that prices usually are higher the last few days of the month --- and the first few days of a new month so that has a slight favored status at the moment.
Bottom line --- I favor higher prices into early next week. The 1750-1760 area is first support.
Gold Trends Intra Day Silver Update - Aug 26th
Silver looks very strong --- and the longs have not been liquidating they are holding and buying up everything the shorts are throwing at them. A close above 41.50 would put the bulls back in charge. We'll look at the situation over the weekend -- and try to isolate a good point of entry. Right now --- the 38.60-40.20 area is first support today -- and resistance is the 41.20-41.50 area.
In Summary -- the shorts look like things got worse, not better.
Roubini on the Anti-Gold Warpath
New 2012 Coins From Perth Mint (Updated x 2)
The appeal and legend of the dragon as a powerful mythical creature hoarding gold is enough for me to really want as many of these as I can get my grubby mitts on.
2012 Australian Gold and Silver Bullion Coin Program Unveiled
- The production run for the dragon coin in the 1oz mintage are limited. Not the other coin sizes. The limits are gold 1 oz Lunar Gold Dragons: 30,000 and 1oz Lunar Silver Dragons: 300,000, and this is keeping with their standard production runs. This is stated in the blog post, but on first read it's easy to miss because I find myself looking at the coins and not really reading the words :)
- The mint knows that the coins will be in high demand, so they have said no more than five x 1 oz gold dragons per customer, and 20 silver 1 oz lunar dragons per customer. Not sure how they are going to enforce that with their various resellers, but I'm going to talk to my local bullion dealer about it.
- On the same blog at Perth Mint Bullion, on the 1st of August, they did talk about the offer for the entire mintage of 1oz gold lunar dragons. They also categorically state they rejected the offer. Here is the link, but I've also highlighted the important points.
To his credit, SGS qualifies his rumour circulation with a capital 'IF'. It's still sensationalism though, and it's lazy if he didn't do any basic research out there - to post it as an 'exclusive'. Here is his post:
If you view the comments in SilverGoldSilver, he keeps running with the idea, wanting it to be true, saying he is waiting for his person in Australia to confirm. I just want to say that if this is an indicator of his levels of basic research then you should take his 'info' with a very large grain of salt folks.
I just wonder if he will be man enough to pony up to his mistake and make a note that the rumour is false.
Gold forecast by Martin Armstrong
The GOLD Market
The markets followed through after Friday's closing but gold failed to close ABOVE 1900 last week and bounced off the projected resistance for this week 1910-1960 for this week topping at 1917. The sharp decline suggests a temporary high is coming as of this week, just four days early although the price target was achieved. The closing support remains at 1730 and a daily close beneath that area would warn of a nearby correction and we have a temporary high. A mere closing BELOW 1780 today will keep gold BEARISH for now. This is the correction that seems to be due for this period, but we need a weekly closing BELOW 1617 to confirm that. A further weekly closing BELOW 1583 would warn of a serious correction to flush-out a lot of people before any uptrend could resume.
Volatility will rise in November and should remain fairly high for the first quarter next year. A month-end closing BELOW 1630 would signal a serious correction is likely back to retest 1350.
This is the ideal QUARTER for the high being 43 such quarters from the 1999 low (5 x 8.6). At the very least, we should get one quarter correction with a max up to three taking us into the second quarter next year. That outcome would be indicated by a year-end closing BELOW 1427.
The bull market I not over long-term. The market will reveal its intent based upon the closings laid out. We did NOT get through the NORMAL projected resistance at 1910-1960, so that is good news in that we avoided a PHASE TRANSITION up to 2500 that would have warned we are in VERY serious trouble until the ECM turns in 2015.75
A detailed update will follow shortly.
Updated charts
Hello folks, back from a little vacation. Did I miss anything?
Everyone and his mother was waiting for a sell-off and we finally got one today, but weird that the DC earthquake served as a catalyst for much of the carnage. Immediately after the quake, equities shot up (wtf?) while metals fell (wtf?) even though the dollar also fell (wtf?), and mining stocks were absolutely destroyed (ok, no surprise there). Fair is foul and foul is fair these days. Incidentally, in this late stage of our fraudulent fiat currency regime, it's looking like some serious external shock is needed (along with the bullion bank raids, of course) to cause gold & silver to sell off once they really start picking up steam. The last three times that the metals had an RSI greater than 70, the RSI has stubbornly stayed over 70 until the day of some exogenous event: Fukishima, Osama bin Laden capture, and now the Gaddafi theater/DC earthquake.
OK let's start with the old stand by daily gold chart. We appear to have found support at the top purple dotted line. If we really do bounce off of it, then that might signify a game-changer and a flight to the moon (btw I was surprised to see both Ben Davies and Jim Rickards make a big deal of the Venezuela news). More likely, IMO, the top purple line fails as support, but the next purple trend line doesn't, at the $1725 area. If that too breaks, a drop to the 144-day MA would seem to be in the cards, which might then be in the mid- $1500 range.
If you recall, in early June, I brought up how the 144-day MA was moving in a straight line (or more precisely, coiling tightly around its regression line), such that, if that pattern were to continue, you could get a very good idea of what's going to happen based on what happened 144-days ago. Interestingly, today's $70 drop is exactly 144 days after the low point of the January 2011correction (of course I refer to trading days).
The 144-day MA (orange) is still tracking the brown regression line, which is good news (because if we assume the rate of ascent will continue its 3-year pattern, the further we are from the regression line, the more imminent the correction). The 200-day MA (green) also moves linearly, and that pattern also hasn't changed yet despite the huge jump in gold's price. Note 200-day intervals are also significant: I've circled two peaks exactly 200 days apart, and the November peak was exactly 200 days ago today.
Here's my updated monthly chart from June 2. Back then it very much looked like a breakout was impending, either up or down. Well, I'm gonna go ahead and call this one for up. Does it not look like we'll hit the purple line by the end of the year? That would be anywhere from $2100 to $2400 depending on how long it takes to get there.
Now silver. If you recall, I've been focusing on the blue trend line connecting the low points since silver's breakout of a year ago. Well, that line now seems to be really significant, as silver has bounced off of it 4 more times since I noted it back in July. If that line is broken, I'd hate to be short.
And here is the old stand by weekly chart. That trend channel looks like a real good one. The 34-week MA also seemed important even before silver bounced off of it in late June. It's now well over 36, so Wynter Benton is probably licking her chops. Or someone's chops, as I hear she is something of a free spirit.
The Rise and Fall of the Euro ... Martin Martin Armstrong
This will take more than one reading but it is well worth the time. If you can grasp what he is saying you will understand what he means about Macro and Micro being as different as Quantum physics V Classical Physics.
Are the ravens leaving the Tower?
Dear CNBC
Please don't take these words as insulting. They are not meant that way. I think you are simply doing your part to prop up the foundation stones. The problem is markets can't be managed and moved by words as they have in the past. This generation is a lot more cynical and have a much shorter attention span. They use multiple sources (not necessarily sound sources). If the politicians are relying on what I like to call Hopium then they don't understand this generation any more than Economics. The problem will only get worse as time passes.
This generation won't read anything more than a page and generally skip to the bottom of the page to get the final analysis and make their decisions from there. For example; the Pro's will wait for Jackson Hole and parse every word but this new generation will move swiftly on a sentence of 140 characters. Those 140 characters will move a generation. They like sound bites and will repeat them in lieu of reasoned arguments. It's a generation that won't invent much other than toys and get rich quick schemes. They don't have big ideas and they are complete narcissists. They want everything now and they expect information to be free. They expect everything digital available immediately and have no hang ups about stealing it either.
They are moved by quick blasts of information. They are connected as never before by tweeting, texting and social networks. Twitter has become a super organism that swiftly changes opinion and mood at a rapid pace. Here is the super organism based fund at work and it's going to put the Elliot Wavers out to pasture:
A super organism can be infected but until the market makers figure this out it will be a reasonably honest expression of what the world is thinking. When the World decides the Dollar is junk it won't matter what anyone trading a trillion dollars thinks.
10% is the tipping point for an idea if those 10% are really committed to the idea. Once it hits 10% then those committed 10% will start to take over until the next idea takes root.
What I am also suggesting here is this generation could infect older generations to the point Hopium will not work.
BTW I am not a Gold Bug in the sense that I think a Gold Standard is the answer to the worlds ills. I am a gold bug in the sense that I see it as portable insurance against those who would continue to devalue my earned labor in paper money. I may not be part of the new generation but I understand their mentality. They will be passive until they see an opportunity to take something for nothing just like the recent riots in the UK. They will be passive until the 10% takes an idea and infects the rest with that idea. Consider this CNBC ... currently the Kitco price feed is used by a little over 3000 sites. Just imagine what will happen when it is is 30,000 sites all singing the same mantra.
As one liar said to another ....
Martin Armstrong has a new article and it sounds like he is giving up on the notion of Europe ever agreeing to fix the problem. http://www.martinarmstrong.org/files/US%20Treasuries%20and%20Gold%2008-18-2011.pdf
New trading strategy yields some interesting results.
Here is the super organism at work. Using Twitter rather than 150,000 Elliot wave / Prechter rules to figure out what emotional state the market is in and will be in seems more likely to achieve results.
GLD ETF Mechanics 101 (Updated x2)
We have an automated download for the GLD Serial Bar list as part of the database project, and when today's file didn't get processed I went to see what the reason was. Somehow, the normal bar list was replaced with an internal fax. For the last 30 hours, it has been sitting at the following location:
[Update November 2012 - to anyone using this link from Scissorspaperockstar's post on TFMetalsReport, please be aware that this fax (in my opinion) does not prove Andrew Maquire's interpretation of GLD+SLV mechanics, and this article does not attempt to address that particular area. regards, Warren]
[Update x 2 November 2012 - recommended read is THIS PIECE by Bron Suchecki of the Perth Mint, which addresses Andrew Maquire's argument head-on !!!
plus, additional personal perspective post-analysis:
[ my archived location of the fax is here: ]
** according to my industry contact.
Big Money and Economic Depression By Martin Armstrong
It's a 5 page PDF and can be downloaded here;
Here is a quick snip;
"There appears to be a gross misunderstanding about how money moves and whether we face DEFLATION or HYPERINFLATION. In Physics, we are searching for the illusive Grand Unified Theory where the behavioral laws of Physics and Quantum Mechanics will be unified. The laws that govern our world at our level do not apply in the micro world at the atomic structure. The same division exists in Economics and unless you understand that there are two worlds that operate differently, don't worry, you will never gravitate to an institutional advisor and you will probably lose your shirt expecting that all money will move the same. This appears to have been elevated to the point of extreme nonsense surrounding this S&P Downgrade. Those who keep betting on the collapse of the United States are impatient and fail to realize that even on a Debt to GDP ratio, the USA is by no means at the top of that list but is only #38."
Eric's Delivery (updated x 2)
Then there's the forklifting involved. In my research I found a picture of the vault of the ZKB Silver ETF, which shows an example of silver stacking which should make us all envious. This isn't an article about ZKB, I just wanted to show a photo of what silver bars typically look like when they are stacked on a pallet (e.g. for transport).
"a 1000oz silver bar is approx 12cm x 9cm x 33cm (width x height x length) and they pack 1t per pallet in two layers of 2 bars wide by 8 bars deep = 32 bars, so excluding the height of the pallet, 1t would take up approx 96cm x 18cm x 66cm."
Let's say we have 1 tonne per pallet in rough figures, that means that Eric's delivery required lifting and shifting approximately 632 of these babies – and requires pack and unpack. Here is another visualization of what that looks like (click for large version). The bulk of these are stacked 5 pallets high (each stack weighs 5 tonnes), except for the row at the end (32). Please note this is a visualization only - it is not likely that the silver was ever in a big pile until it was all stacked inside the vault (still on pallets inside?)
And the same view, different angle (click for larger versions of image)
Bron said .."Having trouble posting this comment to your post, could you put it up for me:--------------------
Precious metal vaults are not like distribution warehouses with space for 20 trucks to load up a one time. Most would have one dock or two.
And yes it isn't just unload, thanks mate, see you later. You are checking off each bar against the supplier's bar list.
So even if the metal was across the road it would take some time.
As to the purchase, I think what Victor and Kid guess is probably how it was done. You would certainly buy in smaller lots over a few days so no one in the market knows you are a large buyer. My guess is he bought it loco USA, not London.
However, it did not need to be done as forwards. Each lot could have been done as spot unallocated and on t+2 requesting immediate conversion to allocated (held in London). Then you take 3 months to get it shipped from London to Canada. This means you have no counterparty risk as it is off balance sheet allocated and all at the cost of about 3 cents per ounce for shipment.
Contrast to the forwards, where if the counterparty fails, you now have price exposure. Yes you still have your cash, but have issued shares at a price based on the forward deals which you now have to scramble to buy at current spot prices. If Sprott did forwards, then as Victor says he was backing PSLV with "paper" temporarily and exposing PSLV holders to counterparty exposure to bullion banks.
There are a few possible reasons why it was done this way:
1. Kid's reasons - it allows Sprott to talk about the 3 months delivery time and let the bugs misinterpret that.
2. He relied on his bullion bank counterparts to structure the deal and got played. They would have recommended forwards as they can make more margin on the forward points and it takes pressure off their physical books as they just sub contract with refineries to deliver over 3 months ex-US as and when the refinery has the physical.
The best thing Sprott could do for the silver bugs would be to open a London metals account with a bullion bank. Buy silver in lots from different counterparties, with settlement to his London account. When all done call up the bullion bank and ask for a 600t allocation - shouldn't be a problem as SLV has done numbers like that on a number of days. That way he finds out if the daily huge movements in SLV are real. My guess is he'll never do it this way because they will deliver it. Then he has no story to tell.
Alternatively, Sprott's organisation is just not that cluey on the PM markets and just take their banker's advice. With the size Sprott is dealing in, he could just contact refineries directly and cut the bankers out. Better still, just do a deal with a miner to buy the next 600t of their output. Thinking creatively there are many ways to structure this and minimise or eliminate exposure to banks."
Updated 29th April 2012 - Over at the Chris Martenson blog there has been some great discussion about the bullion markets, with contributions from Eric Townsend, Bron Suchecki, Victor the Cleaner and Jeff Christian. It's quality stuff and worth a read (just the comments section) in it's entirety. However relevant to my own research, I spotted this quote from Jeff, which basically vidicates Bron's theory in the paragraph above. For the comment itself, one must take Mr Christian at his word but it's so beautiful it made my eyes water. This is just one paragraph of a larger comment about silver:
"... Regarding Sprott: They got hosed. We spoke with Sprott people about their delivery problems, as well as with bankers. They handled it dreadfully, and did not require the banks to behave in standard market operating procedures. Why, we don't know, but they did everything wrong the way many rank amateurs do. Sprott is an eminent salesman, however: He turned lemons to lemonade, saying not that he was an amateur in buying all that silver, over-paid, and was messed over in delivery. Instead, he said it was because there was a problem getting the physical silver. There was no problem with the silver; he just did not negotiate and handle the bank properly. No surprise there to anyone who has watched his funds over the years. ..."
My comments on this are: (1) Bron's interpretation appears to be correct :). (2) Sprott, however resourceful and clever, still presented a deceitful story about what occurred. If this were about a delayed BRIE delivery then I suppose it's fine but it's not - common people are searching for ways to protect their wealth from financial armageddon and many good people have been hoodwinked by Sprotts story. Perhaps at the time they bought an overpriced PSLV which later had its premium collapse. A transfer of wealth from your pocket to someone else's courtesy of hype and spin. Or as Kid Dynamite would say, 'sold to you, Sucka'.
Addition 30th April 2012 - Kid Dynamite in the comments section added a good point, which is worth highlighting in the main article body.
"Warren - I just want to re-emphasize the point that Sprott's counterparty: ie, whomever was responsible for delivering PSLV's silver to PSLV - did NOT default on their side of the trade. this is important, as an uncareful reading of JC's explanation could conclude "just as we thought - the banks didn't give him what they owed him" which is false... "And just remember, the primary issue is here is not whether Sprott is a great marketer (he is) or whether buying silver is good (it can be), or any kind of character judgment (irrelevant). My focus is purely that the story about the delivery taking a long time because of silver shortages, as popularly portrayed during the initial PSLV offering, is false. And consequently, whether newbie investors were influenced into a particular investment because of a false portrayal. And that it's okay to explore the human element of being duped and feeling poorly about it. Bear in mind that the PSLV 'delayed delivery' story was one of the underpinning 'shortage of silver' proofs.
Be sure to read the rest of the Martenson comments thread, which is still ongoing.
40 Year Anniversary By Martin Armstrong
Floating exchange rate system and
The Week From Hell
these 40 years, it remains an enigma wrapped up in a paradox.
It is vital to separate the long-term from the short-term. The Sovereign Debt Crisis is alive and well, but that is the long-term where the financial system turns to dust - not just yet! Some people will take offense to that and expect everything to collapse immediately. That attitude has prevailed ever since 1971 and the birth of the floating exchange rate system. Those who stood tall proclaiming such
end-of-the-world scenarios in the '70s, are dead and gone and the dollar kept on going rising to record highs in 1985 under a floating exchange rate system. There was no backing and that was not supposed to happen. Yet, the historic high for the dollar became 1985 AFTER the gold standard was abandoned.
We have a rising choir who propose a return to the gold standard as if this will magically restore stability. If it was so great, then why did it collapse? What these people FAIL to understand is that MONEY is nothing more than a MEDIUM OF ECHANGE no different than a language. It is NOT the alpha and omega – that is plain old barter. Mankind engages in commerce exchange one product for another. MONEY is nothing more than a DERIVATIVE object upon which people agree to accept in exchange to broaden commerce. The problem with barter is that two people have something they want to exchange, but each may want what the other person does not have. So, MONEY becomes a DERIVATIVE reflecting VALUE only by the fact it is acceptable by others as the MEDIUM OF EXCHANGE. Cattle and bronze served as MONEY far longer than gold and cattle is still used in Africa among privative tribes.
The collapse of the gold standard on August 15th, 1971 was intended to be temporary. It collapsed because politicians had spent like a drunken sailor increasing the supply of money while failing to revise the fixed exchange rate of $35 to a troy ounce of gold. Those who claim a return to the gold standard will solve the problems failed to realize that NO standard has ever survived because you simply cannot fix the value of anything be it commodities, labor, or money. Europe is tearing itself apart because it failed to create a unified system of one currency and one debt. The gold standard collapsed because they FIXED the price of gold while wages rose, spending rose, and gold became undervalued. When capital began to realize that, dollars were being exchange for gold and that caused the system to collapse.
Capital is confused right now and all this talk of the gold standard is not helping. It doesn't know which way to turn. Many are captives of their biases. The Marxists insist this is the collapse of "capitalism" and get angry that anyone who has more money they should not be allowed to keep it. They refuse to look at the fact that it is socialism that is collapsing because it was never based upon assets, but just promises. If you enter into a contract and then refuse to honor that contract trying to change the terms, they call that FRAUD. Yet, this is how government functions. The Republicans refuse to raise taxes and insist upon cutting the social spending. Yet we were all promised social security in the US, our pay checks were disgorged accordingly and now the Republicans don't want to pay. The Democrats insist upon taxing the rich as if this will solve the problem for more than 6 months. Either we end up with civil war under the
Republicans who will cheat the worker who has paid into all this stuff or we will create a de facto new state of Communism with rising unemployment and declining economic growth. Neither party will address the serious issue of structural reform. The gold standard collapsed because politicians refused to change the price of gold since that would confirm that they screwed up the entire fiscal management of the country.
Today the crisis lies in Europe. The European Central Bank revealed Monday that it purchased €22 billion euro ($32 billion) last week, which was more than it has ever done before in a desperate measure to prop up the bond markets of Italy and Spain. The ONLY solution to save the euro is to consolidate all the debts into a single euro bond. The next step will be to introduce economic reform. As long as the ECB continues to buy the debt of the weaker states, they will eventually blow themselves up because they cannot support such a market in the face of a Sovereign Debt Crisis. Once the euro goes, capital will then turn to look at the dollar and then we will see the presumption that the USA will be next. That's the time to hold on to your socks and stay low.
We held the 11114 level for the weekly closing in the Dow Jones Industrials. This suggested that we may have a temporary low building into the end of the month. But after Labor Day (September 5th), we are likely to see a return to higher volatility. If the market makes a high at the end of the month, we could see another sharp decline thereafter. This may be driven by the euro once again. We need a daily closing back ABOVE 18895 to suggest we may see a rally into the end of the month.
The political will to consolidate the debt of Europe into a Eurobond does not seem hopeful as yet. This is like two bums tied together by a rope and one has fallen off the train. How long can the one remaining on the train hold on against fate? Do we cut the rope? Do we have the strength to pull him back on the train? Europe wanted a single currency without the responsibility and they got it. The system they created was as if all 50 states in the USA had the authority to print dollars. Can you image the chaos!
This week the overhead resistance in the Dow stands at 12000 and only a weekly closing above that area will signal a reversal of fortune. A daily closing in gold in New York below 1740 will signal a possible decline into the end of the month. There is a possibility of official sale of gold to reduce the debt in Europe. That would be long-term bullish since the less they have, the higher the price will rise.
So as we ponder this 40 year anniversary of the Floating Exchange Rate System, we must keep in mind that it has proven to be the best monetary system possible. Yes there is volatility. However, there is also freedom. Those who believe in gold are free to buy it rather than look at it in a museum. Capital is able to vote against the politicians and that is ultimately the ONLY voice they hear.
I am not finish working on the timing. I will complete this project this week.
(I had to do it this way so that I wouldn't jump ahead of Warrens post above. I am in no way trying to compare myself to M.A. or ride his coat tails)
Hate to jump in on top of two great posts but there are restless Bond holders and Banker's looking for some money.
Edit: Looks like things are falling into place and fast. http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/08/15/us-eurozone-idUSL6E7JD02L20110815


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The Battle of the Blues: Could North Carolina's Basketball Rivalry Backfire?
March 13, 2012
by Doug Glanville
Rivalries are fun, but often obscure the reality that rivals may have the same nemesis.
The Florida State Seminole men's basketball team knocked off not one, but two of the colleges that claim they are the only true blue in the Carolinas. I live in the "Triangle" in North Carolina, and the region was shell-shocked to witness FSU beating Duke in the semi-finals of the ACC tournament, then UNC-Chapel Hill in the finals. This accomplishment is almost like Hailey's Comet, apparently.
It also became clear that despite the neighborly possibility of support for all teams local, it is against protocol to turn around after your team's defeat and root for the other blue team in the next round. It is therefore better that the out-of-state Florida State Seminoles take the title before your down-the-block arch-rival wins.
As a newly minted resident, my lukewarm passion for blue is not acceptable. In fact, apparently, there is no such state as "lukewarm" when it comes to your college sports loyalty in this part of the country. It matters not that you didn't attend any of these schools. If you set foot in this neck of the woods, be prepared to stick your neck out and choose.
Given that I live in Raleigh and not Chapel Hill or Durham, it would make sense that I would follow the team blocks away, the red-colored NC State Wolf Pack. When I first arrived, I figured proximity is an acceptable reason to be loyal.
But not so fast. Carolinians dispel that concept as pure myth. Despite completely different city cultures in Chapel Hill, Durham, and Raleigh, you are essentially living in the same sovereign region where sports lines blur into hard and fast commitments. There are no voting districts, there are no borders. The Carolina map is color-coded by fandom and each party would be happy to have it all be in their color by sports war, if necessary.
One would think this is color hairsplitting. Both Duke and UNC-Chapel Hill wear blue but entirely different shades of blue. Carolina has that baby blue, Duke has a richer blue reserved for royalty. Infant baby boys better watch their back when swaddled in baby blue around Duke loyalists. It is that serious.
This kind of tribalism means that you arrive at the strange place that if your team does not win in the early part of the tournament, you still cannot root for the other team in the area. And yet, as we saw with Duke and UNC's losses to FSU, this can backfire. It, in effect, allows the state enemy (like a team from Florida) to have bragging rights over the complete area instead of just your blue municipality.
I have been a part of numerous rivalries over the years. I saw a city divided in my heyday in Chicago where a line separates the Northside Cubs fans from the Southside Sox fans. It was and has always been a sports town that clearly lets you know that there is a Civil War going on and you need to pick a uniform.
Certainly rivalries have a fun side. It can feel purposeful, and put you in a timeline of history as the players in such contests become an indelible part of rival lore, whether it was NC State's magic season with coach Jimmy Valvano's 1983 won by the buzzer beating clean-up shot by the late Lorenzo Charles, Duke's miraculous last second shot by Christian Laettner in 1992 or Michael Jordan's '82 jumper in the corner for the Tar Heels.
But rivalries often obscure the reality that rivals may have the same nemesis, and often need each other. As we enter into March Madness, Duke and UNC can avenge those losses to their common foe, FSU, under a single banner for the state. Then, when bragging rights are needed, a head-to-head match up could happen, which is the only true way to say that you are the best blue on a given day.
Republished by TIME Ideas

subset: commoncrawl


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Read more on the project's website here.
The BBC ran a story here.
(Thanks to Stephen Nadler)
One more exhibition for Ronald Searle's 90th birthday year!
Searle fans living in Devon will get a chance to see a reduced version of the retrospective held at the Cartoon Museum in London this summer. It's on at the Burton Art Gallery in Bideford in Devon from the 25th September to November 1st.


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'Our Choice' of Gorgeous Women at the People's Choice Awards — Morning Eyegasm [PICTURES]
The People's Choice awards have something to do with who the average fan likes the most on TV, in movies and blah blah blah awards blah blah. It's just another awards show, so who cares about anything but the hot women that show up to try and 'out hot' each other. 'Out hot' is actually a medical term. We just added it to WebMd.
Check out the ladies walking the red carpet at the People's Choice Awards.


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A Comparison of What Is Part of Usability Testing in Three Countries
The cultural diversity of users of technology challenges our methods for usability evaluation. In this paper we report and compare three ethnographic interview studies of what is a part of a standard (typical) usability test in a company in Mumbai, Beijing and Copenhagen. At each of these three locations, we use structural and contrast questions do a taxonomic and paradigm analysis of a how a company performs a usability test. We find similar parts across the three locations. We also find different results for each location. In Mumbai, most parts of the usability test are not related to the interactive application that is tested, but to differences in user characteristics, test preparation, method, and location. In Copenhagen, considerations about the client's needs are part of a usability test. In Beijing, the only varying factor is the communication pattern and relation to the user. These results are then contrasted in a cross cultural matrix to identify cultural themes that can help interpret results from existing laboratory research in usability test methods.
Fichier principal08-HWID_2009_t_book_final.pdf (135.51 Ko) Télécharger le fichier
Origin : Files produced by the author(s)


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>> We've just posted a new video blog I did on the crises in Egypt and Jordan at www.joshuafund.net.
>> MONDAY: I'm scheduled to be interviewed today on Fox News Channel with Neil Cavuto around 4:20pm eastern re: Egypt. Also, Janet Parshall has asked me to be on her radio show at 6:30pm eastern to discuss Egypt. Subject to change. Please check back for updates.
>> MONDAY: National Review Online posted a new article of mine (an adaptation of this blog), "In Egypt, Radicals and Reformers Battle for Control of a Movement"
>> SUNDAY EVENING UPDATE: Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood eyes unity gov't without Mubarak
In the past several days, the dynamic of the protests in Egypt has changed rapidly, and not for the better. What started out as a genuine and positive pro-freedom movement is being steadily coopted by the Muslim Brotherhood and other violent and extremist forces. There is now a growing risk that the overthrow of the Mubarak regime could lead either to an authoritarian military regime, or a Radical Islamist regime. We must pray neither scenario comes to pass. The people of Egypt would be further oppressed. The U.S., Israel and the West would be endangered. Bottom line: This is a very complex and fast-moving crisis, and it could get much worse.
Let me explain and put the situation in some context.
In my 2009 non-fiction book Inside The Revolution: Why the followers of Jihad, Jefferson and Jesus are battling to dominate the Middle East and take over the world, I outlined a range of players in the region, who they are and what they want:
- The Radicals are extremist Muslims who want to overthrow every regime from North Africa to the Middle East to Central Asia and replace them with Islamist dictatorships who believe that "Islam is the answer and jihad is the way." These include groups such as al Qaeda, Iranian Twelvers, Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas, Hezbollah, and the like.
- The Reformers are moderate Muslims who say, "Islam is the answer, but jihad is not the way; we need more freedom, more openness, more protection of human rights and civil rights, free elections, free markets, and the creation of full-blown Jeffersonian democracies, if at all possible." In this group historically have been Kemal Mustafa Ataturk (the founder of modern, democratic Turkey; though sadly Turkey is now moving away from his model); Egyptian President Anwar Sadat (who made peace with Israel but was then assassinated by Radicals); Jordanian Kings Hussein (the father, who made peace with Israel and initiated a democratically elected parliament while retaining his authority as monarch) and Abdullah II (the son and current monarch who has been advancing his father's reforms incrementally); Morrocan King Mohammed VI; the current leaders of Iraq such as President Jalal Talabani and Nouri al-Maliki; and the popular pro-democracy movement in Iran that we saw take to the streets by the millions last summer)
- The Revivalists are former Muslims who say, "Islam is not the answer, jihad is not the way, Jesus is the way — and the only way for our part of the world to move forward and make real and lasting social, economic and spiritual progress is to skip back in our history before Islam and revive what we once had: first century, New Testament, Biblical Christianity." These followers of Jesus Christ in the Islamic world tend to be apolitical and are focused on evangelism, discipleship, church planting, pastor training and spiritual renewal. By using dual strategies of an air war (satellite TV, radio and the Internet) and a ground war (especially the house church movement), their numbers have swelled into the millions since 1979, despite widespread (and recently intensifying) persecution. I profile a number of their leaders in the book, though few of them are known by name in the West.
These first three are the revolutionary forces in the region, people and movements who advocate and push for dramatic, sweeping change.
Then there is another set of important players:
- The Resisters tend to be secular Arab nationalist leaders who oppose significant change of almost any kind. They may be Muslims but they certainly aren't revolutionaries. They don't want to build an Islamic empire. They want to build their own empires. They want to hold onto the power, wealth and prestige that they currently have, and gain more if they can. They strongly oppose revolutionary movements of all kinds. Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak is a classic Resister. So are leaders like Syrian President Bashar Assad, Libyan leader Moammar Ghadaffi, the leaders of Saudi Arabia, and so forth. Previously, Saddam Hussein fell into this camp.
- The Reticent tend to be weak-willed Arab leaders who seem constantly pulled in opposite directions. They don't have strong convictions. At times they seem to want peace with Israel, for example, and even a modicum of political or social reform, but then other forces push back at them and they waffle or change their tune. At the moment, Palestinian Chairman Mahmoud Abbas is the best example of a Reticent leader. He has been offered historic deals by recent Israeli Prime Ministers to make peace and create a Palestinian state and have dramatic economic change and growth. He has occassionally shown real interest in positive change, but has never had the courage to say "yes."
- Finally, and most importantly, are the Rank-and-File — these are the billion-plus everyday Muslims citizens who work hard, play by the rules, are trying to find decent jobs to feed and educate their families. They aren't revolutionaries. They long for more freedom and opportunity, but mainly they keep their heads down and try not to be noticed and not be interfered with. They are the audience to which the revolutionaries are playing. They are watching the battle between the Radicals and the Reformers, and they are increasingly curious about the message of the Revivalists. And some of them are making their move and joining one of the revolutionary movements.
That said, let's focus again on the crisis at hand. What we are witnessing in Egypt is an historic clash between true Reformer Muslims who want free elections and free markets, and Radical Muslims who want to use the protests to overthrow the Mubarak regime and install a violent, extremist Islamist government. The Revivalists in Egypt are, for the most part, staying underground. True to their nature, they are remaining apolitical and are devoting themselves to much prayer for the future of their country and the souls of their friends and neighbors.
For the first first few days of last week, most of the initial protestors on the streets of Egypt were peaceful, respectful, somewhat educated, and poor to middle class. I believe they were genuinely calling for an end to the Mubarak regime's corruption and authoritarian rule in order to achieve more freedom, more opportunity, a better economy, more and better jobs, and a democratic government that would respect and protect their human rights and civil rights and set them free from the stagnant, stultified, oppressive Egyptian system they have suffered under for so long.
However, beginning on Thursday and accelerating throughout the day on Friday, the situation began to change dramatically.
The leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood (which began in Egypt in the 1920) had initially been caught off guard by sudden and intense rise of the protests and had not been involved in planning or developing these protests. But sensing an opportunity, they decided to move decisively and try to coopt the movement for their own purposes. They mobilized their followers throughout the country and told them to take to the streets. That's when the complexion of the protests took a turn for the worse, characterized by:
- Violent attacks directed at the police — Agence France Presse reported on Saturday that an estimated 60 percent of Egyptian police stations have been set on fire
- Rioting, instead of mere protesting
- The emergence of gangs on the streets wielding machetes and knives
- Government office buildings being set on fire
- Cars being set on fire
- The looting of the Egyptian Museum, with vandals ripping the heads off of two ancient mummies
- Looting of shops, businesses and homes
- Muslim Brotherhood members escaping from prison –[see this article as well]
- UPDATE: Some 8,000 prisoners escaped from a prison in the east of the country and one report said "prison guards have joined the protests allowing dozens of Muslim Brotherhood members to walk out of jail."
- A rising civilian death toll as the police have been forced to defend themselves and protect other citizens — as of Sunday, there were more than 100 people dead, and more than 2,000 wounded
These are not the actions of a true pro-freedom movement. Almost none of this happened last summer when millions of Iranians took to the streets to protest the fraudulent re-election of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. To the contrary, the Iranian people, to their great credit, initiated what was overwhelming a classic non-violent, principled protest movement against the Radical regime.
President Mubarak's response to the protests has been badly overdone and typically authoritarian — shutting down the Internet, blocking social media like Facebook and Twitter, and now blocking even the Al Jazeera satellite TV network. What's more, the police and army at times have been thuggish and brutal (though not always; their have been fascinating reports of policemen and soldiers embracing the protestors, encouraging them even).
So I find myself in a quandary. I strongly support the right of the Egyptian people to have free elections and free markets and true opportunity in the 21st century. What's more, I want the Church to be free to share the gospel and win Muslims to faith in Jesus Christ, make disciples and plant new congregations without government oppression and without violent attacks by Radical Muslims. I do believe Mubarak has stayed too long. He has not responded to the yearning of the Egyptian people to be free. His day is coming to an end.
That said, however, I don't want to see the Muslim Brotherhood win. For all of Mubarak's sins, he is not a Radical. He doesn't want to launch a jihad against the U.S., Israel or the West. He has maintained the peace treaty with Israel. He has worked to counter the Hamas movement in Gaza. He is strongly opposed to the Iranian nuclear weapons program and has worked closely with the West to counter it. The Obama administration needs to be careful to support positive change in Egypt and support human rights there, without cutting the legs out from underneath Mubarak precipitously, the way President Carter did to the Shah of Iran in 1979. The Shah had his many flaws, no question about it. But Carter's actions helped trigger the Islamic Revolution and led to the rise of the Ayatollah Khomeini, the loss of an American ally, and the rise of a terror-exporting country that has gained in lethality ever since. We dare not make the same mistakes with Egypt.
I am praying, therefore, that the Lord would be merciful to the people of Egypt, and that He would give wisdom to Mr. Mubarak and his senior advisors. My ideal at this point is that Mubarak would hand the keys to the kingdom to a group of Reformers, men truly committed to steadily expanding hope, growth and opportunity for all their people, and doing so in a way that creates order and stability, not an opening for the Muslim Brotherhood to seize control. This will not be easy. I am not convinced Egypt spymaster-turned-new-Vice President Omar Suleiman is the man to accomplish this. But I know that ultimately the Lord is in charge, and this — and nothing else — is what should give us all hope.
As the Hebrew Prophet Daniel once said while living under a brutal Middle Eastern dictator:
"Let the name of God be blessed forever and ever,
For wisdom and power belong to Him.
It is He who changes the times and the epochs;
He removes kings and establishes kings;
He gives wisdom to wise men
And knowledge to men of understanding." (Daniel 2:20-21)
- Come to Israel with The Joshua Fund in May 2011, walk where Jesus walked, pray for the peace of Jerusalem, visit our warehouse, participate in a humanitarian relief project, worship with fellow believers, study the Word of God, and be a blessing to the nation of Israel at this critical time!
- Sign up for Joel's free email updates, "Flash Traffic"
- Join the "Epicenter Team" on Facebook
- Purchase a copy of The Twelfth Imam, the New York Times best-selling thriller about a CIA operative sent into Iran to stop Iran's nuclear weapons program
- Visit The Joshua Fund's new website — www.joshuafund.net – and make a contribution to help us educate Christians about God's love for Israel and help us bless the poor and needy in the epicenter in the name of Jesus.


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Gus Ovast – Space River Ep [Deepsessions Digital]
Gus Ovast Is a music producer from evia island, Greece.
He is 23 years old and music has been his passion from early age. He started as a guitar player in a local band for 2 years.After the band was disolved he got involved in electronic music production. He was more interested in Ambient and dark techno thus he experimented with this type of music. His music is characterized from dark atmospheric sounds & rhythmic grooves. Facebook
#dsd137 #gus_ovast #space_river #ep #deepsessions_digital
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15 February 2018 Athan Uncategorized Deepsessions Digital, Releases, Techno
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Nielsen's new "iPhone vs. Android" report offers up the latest numbers in the big mobile battle: Both platforms have loyal users, but Apple's still on top by a long shot.
They don't come as much of a surprise, but with all the talk of Android's surging popularity and explosive app growth, Nielsen's numbers do serve as a reminder that Apple still has a comfortable lead. Versus Android, that is—nationally, the iPhone's still in second place, with a 28% market share compared to RIM's 35% (Android has 9%; Windows Mobile has 19%).
But it will be interesting to see how things shake out over the course of the year. With the new iPhone dropping in a matter of weeks, prospective smart phone buyers (23% of U.S. mobile customers now have them) will be faced with the choice of hopping on the Apple wagon or exploring the multitude of Android options. As Matt noted in his Froyo review, Android is as polished as it's ever been and is likely to improve even more in coming months. And while it's hard to top the iPhone hype machine, reception to early versions of iPhone OS 4 hasn't exactly been rapturous.
Another Nielsen graph shows that both platforms enjoy loyal users—80% of iPhone users want another iPhone; 70% of Android users want another Android phone—with Android's group slightly more curious about the iPhone than the other way around. But in my experience, it seems like things are trending to the opposite. With Android's app offerings increasingly matching up with the iPhone's, I'm seeing more and more people considering Android a viable option for themselves, as well as one they can recommend to others.
Though still on top, Blackberry's loyalty is only 47%, and as current Bold owner, I'm definitely of the 53% that's planning on jumping ship when it comes time to buy my next phone. I'm just not sure what ship I want to jump into. [Nielsen via CNET]


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Elena Gallegos Open Space
Visitors to Elena Gallegos Picnic Area and Albert G. Simms Park enjoy many activities below the backdrop of the Sandia Mountains, which were named for their pink colors at sunset - "Sandia" is Spanish for "watermelon."
The 640-acre park is a gem in the Open Space system. At an elevation of about 6,500 feet, visitors can view Mt. Taylor to the west, the Jemez Mountains to the north and the vast Tijeras Arroyo to the south.
The landscape supports a piñon-juniper habitat that includes chamisa, Apache plume, scrub oak, cane cholla cactus, blue grama grass, bear grass, and soapweed yucca. If visitors use their observation skills pack rat nests can be seen under juniper trees, coyote and bear scat can be identified along the trail, and the elusive cougar may be spotted traveling through a natural drainage.
Area Studies
Use & Restrictions of Grills
- Elena Gallegos/Foothills: 505-206-0115; [email protected]
- Other areas: Call 311
Hours of Operation
- Winter Hours (In effect starting Nov. 1): 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
- Summer Hours (In effect starting April 1): 7 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Seven covered picnic areas and two reservation areas with barbecue grills provide magnificent views to the east and the west. A network of multi-use trails offer challenges to hikers, bikers and equestrians. Hikers also enjoy two trails for foot traffic only and access to the Sandia Mountain Wilderness area. On the north boundary of the picnic area is the Cottonwood Springs Trail, a self-guiding trail accessible to all people, leading to a pond and wildlife blind. A special feature of the Cottonwood Springs Trail are the shaded rest stops with original art work by Margie O'Brien interpreting the surrounding environment. A map of the Elena Gallegos Picnic Area trails is available. Refer to the facility chart and the facility map for more information.
School programs and family-based activities are offered throughout the year. Visit the Elena Gallegos Information Center, located at the entrance of the park, to learn more about the natural and cultural environment of this area.
Reservation Areas
The following two areas are available for group reservations:
Monday to Friday: $1 per vehicle
Saturday to Sunday: $2 per vehicle
To access the park from Interstate 40, exit on to Tramway north. After the Academy Road traffic light turn right onto Simms Park Road and travel east to the Information Center.


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Robots increasingly have to interact with ordinary (that is to say, human-focused) objects and environments, and part of that is imitating the extremely delicate and complex human grip. A new type of electronic skin allows a robot to feel not just the pressure from its grip, but whether and in what direction an object is sliding or slipping.
It may sound like that's just something that happens when it's about to drop something, but the data is actually extremely useful. Telling when and how an object is moving within your grip (it's called shear force) lets you reposition utensils, feel how far your finger has gone along a surface and how fast, and of course alert you when your grip isn't ideal.
In order to make a sensor that detects this type of movement, University of Washington researchers took human fingers for inspiration. When you slide your finger along something (or vice versa), the friction causes one side of that finger to become a bit more taut, while the other bulges out a bit. That's not really how we experience shear force, but it is a good phenomenon to take advantage of for robotic purposes.
The team created a silicone skin that can sit over an ordinary robotic appendage and not interfere with its pressure sensors or the like. On each side of the "finger" are tiny channels cut into the material and filled with a conductive liquid metal. As the finger moves and the skin deforms, it causes the channels to change shape, compressing or stretching out. This changes their electrical properties, which are constantly tracked.
"It's really following the cues of human biology," said Jianzhu Lin, the lead author of the study describing the system. "Our electronic skin bulges to one side just like the human finger does and the sensors that measure the shear forces are physically located where the nailbed would be, which results in a sensor that performs with similar performance to human fingers."
The way one side is stretched and the other compressed indicates movement in a certain direction and with a certain force. Thus, the robot knows that either its hand is slipping, or the object it's gripping is.
It's only one part of the incredibly complex system of touch feedback and other senses that we use every day for a thousand different things, but those parts are starting to add up. Before long a robot's touch may be a very passable imitation of a human one.


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I can't wait to try this simple yet beautiful Modern Botanical Bloom Print from Posed Perfection.
This Loaded Baked Potato Salad from Hot Eats and Cool Reads will be finding its way onto my table soon.
Checkerboard Cookies from Winnish will make a great new treat for my family.
Grill Themed Party from Fill My Cup for these cute cupcakes.
DIY Coasters from Ephesians Wife.
Congrats to you all. Feel free to grab a "Featured" button at the bottom of my blog.
New features will be posted next Thursday!!
**If you "like" my Facebook page, you will see some of your links featured over the next week.
**I will also be pinning some of my favorites each week after the party is over.


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People in Ohio, Michigan and several other states found themselves unable to use their food stamp debit cards on Saturday, after a routine check by vendor Xerox Corp. resulted in a system failure. Shoppers from Maine to Oklahoma had to abandon baskets of groceries because they couldn't access their benefits.
Ohio's cash and food assistance card payment systems went down at 11 a.m., said Benjamin Johnson, a spokesman for the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services. Ohio's cash system has been fixed, however its electronic benefits transfer card system is still down. All states that use Xerox systems are affected by the outage.
Xerox spokeswoman Karen Arena confirmed via email Saturday afternoon that some EBT systems are experiencing temporary connectivity issues. She said technical staff is addressing the issue and expects the system to be restored soon.


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Another great afternoon in Caldas Da Rainha full of sweat and passion!
I Am the Ghost Of Mars opened the event with their more stoner fuzzy sound, followed by Treehouses with their post hardcore experimental sound, locals Nasty World filled the room with great energy and their mix of hardcore punk, throwing in an awesome cover of Dead Kennedys "California Über Alles". Next Americans Direct Effect presented their mix of punk/experimental/rock tunes,Swain closed the evening, returning after 2 years to Portugal with new EP "Heavy Dancing" and new name (previously they were know by This Routine Is Hell). In their short but intense performance they showed great energy, communication with the crowed and really interesting and sincere speeches from the frontman. Thumbs up to the Dirty Crown Booking for the event! A Sunday well spent.
Jaka Čurlič
One man D.I.Y. multimedia machine kicking it with help of friends since 2008!
PHOTO & VIDEO services for festivals & bands. Based in Slovenia, available worldwide & for touring! Info: jzacrew[at]gmail.com
April 2022


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Newspaper and Magazine Articles and Images
- "Scenes on Board an Australian Emigrant Ship" and "Australian Hut" (1849)
- Emigrants on Deck
- Tea Water!
- Soup Time
- Dinner in the Forecastle
- Night. — Tracing the Vessel's Progress
- Interior of Settler's Hut in Australia
- The Emigration Agents' Office (1851)
- Departure of the "Nimrod" and "Athlone" steamers with emigrants on board, for Liverpool
- Emigration Vessel. — Between Deck
- Irish Emigrants Leaving Home. — The Priest's Blessing.
- Irish Emigrants Arrival at Cork. — . . . on the Quay
- The Depopulation of Ireland (The Illustrated London News)
- The Parliamentary Report on Transportation (1838)
- A Transcription of Charles Dickens's "A Bundle of Emigrants' Letters" (30 March 1850)
- Wreck of the "Floridian," Emigrant Ship, on the Long Sands, off Harwich
Emigration in Victorian Literature
- Great Expectations. Magwitch, and Australia: A Bibliography
- Charles Dickens's David Copperfield
- Charles Dickens's Bleak House
- Thomas Carlyle
Emigration in Victorian Art
- The Emigrants by Phiz (for David Copperfild)
- The Emigrant's Last Sight of Home
- Departure Plafform, Victoria Station
- The Last of England
Last modified 7 July 2010


text: The US and its allies currently deploy several ballistic missile defence systems that would be used in the event North Korea actually launched an attack. Reuters/KCNA July 6, 2017 Explainer: what is ballistic missile defence – and would it stop a missile from North Korea? James Dwyer, University of Tasmania Intercontinental ballistic missiles, such as the one tested by North Korea this week, fly far too high and fast for current missile defence systems to engage with.


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Basic and Applied Ecological Research
The Savannah River Ecology Laboratory, a research unit of the University of Georgia, pursues basic and applied research at multiple levels of ecological organization, from atoms to ecosystems.
SREL is located near Aiken, S.C., on the Savannah River Site, a Department of Energy facility, and the first national environmental research park. The lab's research extends beyond the site to regional and global projects. To date, the lab has more than 3,000 peer-reviewed publications.


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TV – The Flaw Of Attraction And Being In High Vibration ~ Carly Gossard
Stand As 1 With Carly Gossard
What if you really can still be in high vibration and still have all your feelings?
Join in the Live Chat Room too!!! https://inspiredchoicesnetwork.com/chatroom
~ More About Stand As 1 With Carly Gossard ~
Carly Gossard is an explore of consciousness, often taking the road less traveled, discovering new possibilities and ideas to share with the world. She has a degree in behavioral science as well as studied plant medicines and knows the ends and outs of how they can be helpful or harmful for our psyche. She has worked in media for eight years on many TV shows and commercials that have been aired on HBO, BYU TV, HGTV, Fox and ABC as well as many others. Learning the hidden strategies behind a reality no one even knows exists.
She's worked as a body facilitator using the techniques of Access Consciousness, Quantum Healing Touch with Deepak Chopra and is a Reiki Master. Carly is well educated and uses frequency and sound healing techniques to remove trauma from the body. She is an advocate for child sex trafficking and regularly practices her ministry with the Sophia Code. Knowing that we all come from the same one light connection, her true desire is to be able to remind you of the sovereign divinity we all came here to be.
To get more of Stand As 1 With Carly Gossard, be sure to visit the podcast page for replays of all her shows here: https://www.inspiredchoicesnetwork.com/podcast/stand-as-1-with-carly-gossard/


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Essential Oils and Cancer –
How To Confuse And Kill Cancer Cells
Essential Oils And Cancer:
How To Effectively Use The Right Essential Oils To Confuse And Kill Cancer Cells (Book 1)
by Nancy Dennett Ducharme
Get Your Copy Now
Essential oils have been used for centuries to help support the immune system and bring the body back to health. This first book in the Essential Oils And Cancer series shows step by step exactly how to use essential oils to fight cancer. Learn how to prepare and use the compounds in two specific plant species to attack and destroy abnormal cells and cell mutations that have grown out of control.
Learn which combinations of essential oils to use with breast cancer, bone cancer, lung cancer, skin cancer, prostate cancer, according to latest scientific research.


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Nanotechnology is one of the latest research fields that rely on manipulation of matter on an atomic and molecular scale. Innovation resulting from nanostructure breakthroughs have brought numerous technological advances in both research and industry, contributing to the progress of other research fields as well. These days, using nanostructure fabrication methods in various ways has become standard research in improving product performance irrespective of industry.
To fabricate and characterize nanoscale structures, researchers have been utilizing AFM to find practical solutions since the development of the first commercial AFM from Park Systems. Park Systems' advanced AFM know-how and a self-developed and especially accurate feedback control system in their AFM products allow their customers to both image and manipulate nanostructures with increased accuracy and with higher productivity.
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Upgrade your materials research capabilities with Park AFM
The fabrication and manipulation of nanostructures has always been a technically difficult challenge for researchers and requires instrumentation with the versatility to match ever-changing application needs. Park Systems offers a high quality AFM product line replete with corresponding accessories and software to tackle a wide range of nanoscale research demands.
Park NX10
Park NX10 provides researchers excellent AFM capabilities in nanofabrication and -manipulation. These capabilities, in conjunction with Park NX10's proficiency in general materials and device characterization, enable researchers to seamlessly transition between various nanomaterials research fundamentals as needed. Starting with Nanolithography enabled through our stand-alone XEL program, Park NX10 offers dedicated software and various modes and options to enable other specialized applications such as nanopatterning, scratching, and even electrical field oxidation.


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Lei Chic presents Love & Monsters at Honolulu Night Market
Monster Mashup
Don't you just hate it when you want something you can't have?
A billion dollars (like that'll happen) or Ryan Reynolds (hey, that could've happened… if Blake Lively hadn't gotten to him first).
Or Love & Monsters' new keiki clothing line, which made its public debut earlier this month at Children and Youth Day but never technically went on sale. Until now. Or rather, until this Saturday when Love & Monsters appears at Honolulu Night Market as Lei Chic's featured designer.
When we last checked in with Kalihi designer Richie Calizar, she was stitching adorable booties from vintage fabrics and hand-woven, yarn-based textiles, along with equally adorable monster dolls. Both are still true, by the way.
It's just that now, she's throwing in tot-ally cute clothes with that same mixed-media feel: patterned onesies with matching "lollipop flowers," monster tanks embellished with vintage scraps – think ties for boys, hearts for girls – and flowy, girly tanks accented with hand-woven or vintage hearts and ruffles.
Now, onto the savings. Stop by Calizar's booth on Saturday and you'll automatically score 20 percent off her booties and beginning walker shoes. Mention Lei Chic and you'll also get 10 percent off everything else. Which means you have no excuse not to take home anything your (child at) heart desires.
Of course, this wouldn't be a Lei Chic booth without a giveaway, so fill out a form – no purchase necessary – and you'll be entered to win a personalized monster doll for the keiki of your choosing.
Yes. Even if that "keiki" is you.
$35-$50 booties and shoes, $25 dolls, $28-$35 apparel. Look for Love & Monsters in Honolulu Night Market's Pinch of Salt warehouse this Saturday, 6-11 p.m. Main photos: April Jessee Photography. Product photos: Richie Calizar via Instagram.


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Anti Scratch Screen Guard for iPhone X
This high quality Screenguard will fully protect your iPhone X LCD screen from scratches and dust. It is a crystal-clear film that is not noticeable once applied to your LCD screen.
A scratch-free phone can be achieved through different ways. You can use a high quality case, for example. You may even be simply extra careful. You can also use a screen guard. A screen guard is a thin sheet of transparent film that can be placed on top of your iPhone's screen to protect it from both scratches and dust. So, basically you get a choice as to what method of protection you prefer. You can even combine all three.
If you have to choose just one method, what will you pick? The case will just guard the back of the phone. Being careful all the time is hard to sustain. Accidents do happen. Your phone may be placed in a bag full of other stuff, some of them sharp. A scratch on the screen is very much possible, if not inevitable, in such cases.
The best thing to do is use a Screenguard Anti-Scratch Screen Protection that is made especially for the iPhone. This thin sheet of transparent film can be easily placed on top of your iPhone's screen. It is also not much of an additional expense. Even at a cheap price, the product protects your phone from scratches and dust. You can combine the protection it provides with the protection that some cases can provide for the back surface of the iPhone.
- Compatible with new Apple iPhone X
- Premium crystal clear screen protector
- Bonus MiniSuit microfiber screen cleaner cloth
- Easy access to all buttons, port and camera
Case Buddy offers the same iPhone cases found at most retail stores for a fraction of the cost! Order today and we'll ship it to your home or business within 3-9 business days or even faster!
Payment & Security
Your payment information is processed securely. We do not store credit card details nor have access to your credit card information.


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To help herself study, biology student Biol Jerk draws sweet little comics explaining the differences between the various cells that make up the epidermis, the distinctions between schwann cells and oligodendrocytes, and what the Ran cycle has in common with clubbing.
Biol Jerk has been posting these comics all fall, and they're wonderful in how they explain biological concepts with simple visuals. Proteoglycans, glycoproteins, and glycosaminoglycans are like different configurations of guys and gals at a party. Osteocytes are bricklayers while osteoclasts are brick-eaters. Color-coded comics help you remember what hematoxylin and eosin bind to. I'm a sucker for Larry Gonick's cartoon guides and No Starch Press's manga guides, and Biol Jerk's comics are perfect for anyone who has trouble telling their Stratum Spinosum from their Stratum Basale.
Biol Jerk Comics [via It's Okay to be Smart]


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City Council Speaker Christine Quinn accused her opponents Tuesday of pandering to please voters when it comes to trash, policing and circumcision.
During a stop on WOR's John Gambling show this morning, Ms. Quinn was asked again about her high-profile spat with former Comptroller Bill Thompson over the controversial Upper East Side waste transfer station. Ms. Quinn, who supports the project, drew attention when she used the words "environmental racism" in slamming Mr. Thompson, an opponent of the plan and the only African-American candidate in the mayor's race.
Ms. Quinn used the opportunity today to pile on Mr. Thompson and her other opponents on various issues–a sign the race to replace Mayor Michael Bloomberg is now in full-gear.
"You know what else is wrong, John? Going into communities and pandering and telling them what they want to hear just so you can get their vote," she said. "That's not leadership and that's not being a mayor."
Mr. Gambling cautioned his guest. "Careful, Madame Speaker. Because there's a lot of that going on right now," he warned.
But Mr. Quinn continued the lecture and ticked off other controversial issues she is unafraid to state her position on.
"You gotta say, 'fair's fair,'" she said. "And it won't make people happy, and I get that. But whether it's the Upper East Side transfer station or going into a synagogue–as I did last week–and saying that practices around circumcision that are done in particular ways that are unhealthy for children aren't gonna continue without proper notification. You just have to stand up sometimes, even if gets you booed, as supporting Ray Kelly has done for me in some places and as has supporting the Inspector General bill has done for me in other places–'cause you have to lead, not seek votes."
Ms. Quinn went on to elaborate on her enthusiastic support for Police Commissioner Ray Kelly, known to draw more than a few of his own critics, after a weekend of shootings rocked neighborhoods across Brooklyn and The Bronx.
"I've said whoever the next mayor is would be lucky to have Ray Kelly stay on," she said, crediting him with helping to drive down crime. "And, not just traditional crime—I don't mean to minimize it that way, but also look what he's done in the fight against terror. He thwarted at least a dozen attempts against the city–most of them without average citizens even knowing him and his men and women are out there doing the work."
Ms. Quinn noted she isn't able to hire Mr. Kelly for additional years of service just yet, however.
"I haven't offered him the job, 'cause I don't have any jobs to offer," she added, "but I've long said whoever the next mayor is would be lucky if he stayed on and I would absolutely make that offer."


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Calls to numbers on a specific treatment center listing will be routed to that treatment center. Additional calls will also be forwarded and returned by a quality treatment center within the USA.
Calls to any general helpline (non-facility specific 1-8XX numbers) for your visit will be answered by a licensed drug and alcohol rehab facility, a paid advertiser on Opiate.com.
All calls are private and confidential.


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There are three product ranges within the product area for the small controllers PNOZmulti:
- The latest generation - the configurable control systems PNOZmulti 2 - contains several base units (e.g. PNOZ m B1 and PNOZ m B0) in a compact width (45 mm) and include a display. A constantly growing number of expansion modules enables its use to be adapted to the respective application.
- The compact controllers PNOZmulti Mini consist of 3 base units in a compact width (45 mm) and include a display. The base unit PNOZ mm0p is not modular and expandable. There is also a version of the device for an extended temperature range, without display. The two other base units are modular and expandable with communication and fieldbus modules. Modules from the PNOZsigma product group are available for contact expansion. The product range does not have its own input and output modules.
- The safety system PNOZmulti was launched on the market in 2002 and is used in hundreds and thousands of applications. It comprises a large range of base units (135 mm width) and expansion modules.
The convenient software tool PNOZmulti Configurator is common to all three small controllers. It is used to configure the hardware and to create the safety circuit simply on the PC.