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Difference between revisions of "Three Body Problem"
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{{cite|Q: What is the three body problem?
{{cite|Q: What is the three body problem?
The three body problem is to exactly solve for the motions of three (or more) bodies interacting through an inverse square force (which includes gravitational and electrical attraction).
'''The problem with the 3-body problem is that it can't be done, except in a very small set of frankly goofy scenarios (like identical planets following identical orbits).'''}}
'''The problem with the 3-body problem is that it can't be done, except in a very small set of frankly goofy scenarios (like identical planets following identical orbits).'''}}
Revision as of 04:28, 4 April 2019
The Three Body Problem is a four hundred year old problem of mathematics which has its roots in the attempts to simulate a heliocentric Sun-Earth-Moon system.
From an article titled The Physics Problem that Isaac Newton Couldn't Solve by cosmologist Robert Scherrer we read:
" There's a physics problem so difficult, so intractable, that even Isaac Newton, undoubtedly the greatest physicist who ever lived, couldn't solve it. And it's defied everyone else's attempts ever since then.
This is the famous three-body problem. When Newton invented his theory of gravity, he immediately set to work applying it to the motions of the planets in the solar system. If you have a planet orbiting a much larger body, like the sun, and the orbit is circular, then the problem is easy to solve -- it's something that's done in a high school physics class.
But a circular orbit isn't the most general possibility, and sometimes one body isn't much smaller than the object it orbits (think of the Moon going around the Earth). This more complicated case can still be solved -- Newton showed that the two bodies orbit their common center of mass in elliptical orbits. In fact, this prediction of elliptical orbits really cemented the case for Newton's theory of gravity. The calculation is a lot trickier than for circular orbits, but we still throw it at undergraduate physics majors in their second or third year.
Now add a third body, and everything falls apart. The problem goes from one that a smart undergraduate can tackle to one that has defied solution for 400 years. "
Issac Newton
Issac Newton is an authority who is credited to have "brought the laws of physics to the solar system."1 In regards to the multi-body problems of his system, Newton famously invoked divine intervention as his solution:
" At the beginning of the 18th century, Newton famously wrote that the solar system needed occasional divine intervention (presumably a nudge here and there from the hand of God) in order to remain stable.11 This was interpreted to mean that Newton believed his mathematical model of the solar system—the n body problem—did not have stable solutions. Thus was the gauntlet laid down, and a proof of the stability of the n body problem became one of the great mathematical challenges of the age.
11Newton's remarks about divine intervention appear in Query 23 of the 1706 (Latin) edition of Opticks, which became Query 31 of the 1717 (2nd Edition) edition see Quote Q[New] in Appendix E). Similar 'theological' remarks are found in scholia of the 2nd and 3rd editions of Principia, and in at least one of Newton's letters. In a 1715 letter to Caroline, Princess of Wales, Leibniz observed sarcastically that Newton had not only cast the Creator as a clock-maker, and a faulty one, but now as a clock-repairman (see [Klo73], Part XXXIV, pp. 54-55). "
1The University of California San Diego credits Newton as providing the laws of physics for the Solar System:
" Then came Isaac Newton (1642-1727) who brought the laws of physics to the solar system. Isaac Newton explained why the planets move the way they do, by applying his laws of motion, and the force of gravitation between any two bodies, letting the force decrease with the square of the distance between the two bodies. "
Henri Poincaré
" 9.2.1 History
In 1885, Poincaré entered a contest formulated by the King Oscar II of Sweden in honor of his 60th birthday. One of the questions was to show the solar system, as modeled by Newton's equations, is dynamically stable. The question was nothing more than a generalization of the famous three body problem, which was considered one of the most difficult problems in mathematical physics. In essence, the three body problem consists of nine simultaneous differential equations. The difficulty was in showing that a solution in terms of invariants converges (This isn't likely to happen today - that the birthday of any contemporary world leader is celebrated by a mathematical competition!). Henri Poincare was a favorite to win the prize, and he submitted an essay that demonstrated the stability of planetary motions in the three-body problem (actually the restricted problem, in which one test body moves in the gravitational field generated by two others). In other words, without knowing the exact solutions, we could at least be confident that the orbits wouldn't go crazy; more technically, solutions starting with very similar initial conditions would give very similar orbits. Poincaré's work was hailed as brilliant and he was awarded the prize.
But as his essay was being prepared for publication in Acta Mathematica, a couple of tiny problems were pointed out by Edvard Phragmn, a Swedish mathematician who was an assistant editor at the journal. Gsta Mittag-Leffler, chief editor, forwarded Phragmn's questions to Poincaré, asking him to fix up these nagging issues before the prize essay appeared in print. Poincaré went to work, but discovered to his consternation that one of the tiny problems was in fact a profoundly devastating possibility that he hadn't really taken seriously. What he ended up proving was the opposite of his original claim. Three-body orbits were not stable at all. Not only were the orbits none periodic, they didn't even approach some sort of asymptotic fixed points. Now that we have computers to run simulations, this kind of behavior is less surprising, but at the time it came as an utter shock. In his attempt to prove the stability of planetary orbits, Poincaré ended up inventing chaos theory. "
Ask A Mathematician
" Q: What is the three body problem?
The three body problem is to exactly solve for the motions of three (or more) bodies interacting through an inverse square force (which includes gravitational and electrical attraction).
The problem with the 3-body problem is that it can't be done, except in a very small set of frankly goofy scenarios (like identical planets following identical orbits). "
New Scientist Article
Infamous three-body problem has over a thousand new solutions:
" The new solutions were found when researchers at Shanghai Jiaotong University in China tested 16 million different orbits using a supercomputer.
Perhaps the most important application of the three-body problem is in astronomy, for helping researchers figure out how three stars, a star with a planet that has a moon, or any other set of three celestial objects can maintain a stable orbit.
But these new orbits rely on conditions that are somewhere between unlikely and impossible for a real system to satisfy. In all of them, for example, two of the three bodies have exactly the same mass and they all remain in the same plane.
Knot-like paths
In addition, the researchers did not test the orbits' stability. It's possible that the tiniest disturbance in space or rounding error in the equations could rip the objects away from one another.
"These orbits have nothing to do with astronomy, but you're solving these equations and you're getting something beautiful," says Vanderbei.
Aside from giving us a thousand pretty pictures of knot-like orbital paths, the new three-body solutions also mark a starting point for finding even more possible orbits, and eventually figuring out the whole range of winding paths that three objects can follow around one another.
"This is kind of the zeroth step. Then the question becomes, how is the space of all possible positions and velocities filled up by solutions?" says Richard Montgomery at the University of California, Santa Cruz. "These simple orbits are kind of like a skeleton to build the whole system up from." "


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Sundance Blog: Celebrity Sightings
Sundance is now in full swing and I havent been able to to blog about the experience as much as I would like to. We've got a tremendous response to the video blogs, probably more so than anything else we've ever put up on the site. It probably speaks to why America is so obsessed with reality television. And the response has not only been online but also on location in Park City. I've met a bunch of cool readers and even had some run ins with celebrities, some of which even read the site (which I always find very shocking and extremely cool).Yesterday morning Scott Sanders, the writer/director of Black Dynamite and Jon Steingart, the film's producer, came up to me while I was leaving a screening and asked if I ran /Film. Apparently they've been watching the video blogs and have since requested via our friend Scott at WeAreMovies, that we have more arguments in our future video blogs (you can watch the original fight video here). While I can't make this happen, I'm sure something will go down in the next seven days of the festival. We're seeing the midnight show of Dynamite on Sunday and we might be partying with the guys later in the week.
And earlier today at the 500 Days of Summer screening an actress came up to me and introduced herself, asking if I was the /Film guy. She explained that she reads the site and that she had a film playing at the festival called The Immaculate Conception of Little Dizzle, a film I have had marked on my must see list. (I'm waiting on a publicist request, and hopefully I can get tickets to the Monday premiere.) She was extremely nice and we chatted for a moment before I thanked her for reading and wished her luck with the film. I sat back down and pulled up her name on IMDb. Sundance has a lot of first time filmmakers and films with unknown actresses, and for all I knew this could have been her first big break.
I'm not good with names, and the name Tania Raymonde didn't ring any bells. But it turns out that it should have, as Raymonde played Ben's daughter Alex on LOST. And those of you who regularly read the site know that LOST is my favorite television series of the moment. I loved her character on the show. She also looks so much different in person. Suffice to say I geeked out for a few minutes before I gathered the guts to turn around (she was seated behind me) and explain my error and profess my LOST fandom before the film started. Tania, if you're reading this, please shoot me an email.
And my third celebrity run-in happened while I was entering the Library for the Mystery Team screening. Jason Reitman totally cut in front of me (kinda, sorta, but not really). He apologized, as it turns out he was just trying to get to the concession stand in the room with the ticket que. Not too exciting.
I once made a complete fool out of myself talking to Reitman while I was drunk at a party at the Toronto Film Festival. I doubt he remembers. If you're interested, you can find the story on one of the /FilmCast AfterDark episodes from September 2008.
More video blogs on the way...

subset: commoncrawl


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Things to do in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal
Our Newest Profiles


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It Is What It Is: And just like that, college is half over
She's home. She's finally home. After 8months, a crap ton of care packages, and more daily reminders than I care to admit to check her bank account balance, our oldest daughter is back under our roof. And that means one beautiful and long-awaited thing … I can finally sleep without my ringer on and my phone's volume on max. (Eight months is a long time to be sleep-deprived.)
Just like that, the stage of life that has one of the biggest, most highly anticipated buildups and fear factors, that we spend so much time and effort preparing ourselves and our kids for, is half over. Like, bam, she's a junior in college now and I really don't know what the hell just happened.
I mean, we spend so much time and effort preparing our kids just to be ready to start thinking about college. Then even more time and energy guiding them through the actual process of looking for one. Then we invest our heart and soul and life savings in the school they ultimately choose. And then we emotionally prepare ourselves to send our kids off for another 4 years. But no one actually tells us that those 4 years of college will whiz by like dog years.
It's just a little surreal right now, that's all I'm saying. After all the acclimating and the stressed-out phone calls and the Find My iPhone searches to make sure she was still in one piece, my daughter and all her crap is scattered all over her room, as well as an abnormally large section of our basement. (Thankfully, that part of the basement has a door.)
And I think even she was a little taken aback by the reality that she's a junior now. Because on the drive home from school, with the entire car jammed with halogen lamps, awkwardly large plastic storage bins, and more actual crap than I've accumulated over the course of my entire life, it hit her very suddenly and kind of powerfully that she was exactly at the halfway mark of her college career. And in that moment, I'm not sure if that knowledge was more sobering to her or to us.
That's because, even though we're sending our kids out into the world when they go off to college, we do it with the caveat that they're coming back -- at least for most major holidays and summer vacation. They know it and we know it. So although we get emotional at the thought of them living away, they don't actually leave for good when they go away to college. That happens later … four absurdly quick years later.
And although there's a lot for everyone to come to terms with when our kids make the jump to college life, it's not a permanent arrangement. There are still safety mechanisms in place -- like our kid's bedroom at home remaining fully intact and their name still being on our health insurance plan -- that allows everyone to ease into the scary world of college slowly, without being too traumatized by the sudden change in, well, everything.
In most cases, our college kids know, at least subconsciously, that they're not paying rent or utilities or big car payments or grocery bills as long as they're in school. And on some level that's got to be pretty reassuring because they're still being taken care of even though the clock is most definitely ticking. Quickly.
But the reality does eventually hit them that they're ultimately going to have to get their grown-up on and starting taking total care of themselves. That's why I think this midpoint was an especially nostalgic and bizarre place to be, because it signifies that we're past the halfway mark. It's an unmistakable marker that we've/they've got only 2 years left to go, and those 2 years are going to fly by at least as fast as the first two did. And that before too long, we'll be packing up the dorm room or the skanky apartment for the last time and they'll be going off on their own for good.
For now, though, I'm going to secretly roll around in the piles of heavy duty garbage bags filled with all her stanky clothes and relish in the fact that we've got exactly 4 months to unpack, wash, and sort everything before we repack it all for the fall. I'm going to quietly celebrate the fact that my baby is tucked safely under her covers across the hall until September.
Because in only two short years, when she graduates from college and starts wearing her big-girl panties for real, out in the real world, I'm gonna be using that Find My iPhone app 24/7/365 and probably never sleep a full night ever again.
Til then, I prefer to think of it like, OMG, I can't believe she still has two whole years to go! (There's nothing like playing mind games with yourself to help keep you sane.)
-- Lisa Sugarman lives just north of Boston, Massachusetts. Read and discuss all her columns at www.lisasugarman.com. Or, find them on LittleThings.com, BeingaMom.life, GrownandFlown.com and Care.com. She is also the author of LIFE: It Is What It Is and Untying Parent Anxiety: 18 Myths That Have You in Knots -- And How to Get Free available on Amazon.com and at select bookstores.


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We told you last year about a Detroit-area high school that rubbed Boise State the wrong way after installing a $400,000 football field of blue artificial turf. Boise State said everything would be fine as long as they didn't refer to it as "blue turf."
Turns out Oxford High School can't actually afford the turf to begin with, though that didn't stop them from installing it. Having only raised a quarter of the money necessary to pay the installation off, the AstroTurf company is due to come calling and may repossess the homes of five community members who put their houses up as collateral for the loan. One of those community members? Detroit Lions Senior VP for Communications Bill Keenist (who also serves on the Oxford school board). From the Oakland Press:
If the money is not repaid by Sept. 1, five Oxford community members who put their houses up as collateral for the loan face foreclosure by AstroTurf LLC, the Georgia-based company that built and installed the state-of-the-art field, one of only three like it in the United States.
The community members put their homes up after the school district was unable to pass a bond issue for the improvement. They also don't appear to have considered the most obvious route of recouping the cost, sponsorship, until recently:
The turf committee has openly admitted that they might have to consider selling naming rights to the field as another means of helping repay the loan.
Yes, perhaps they should consider having a name on the field before allowing some generous people's homes to be foreclosed upon (as stupid as those people may be for signing their houses over for a loan to install fake blue grass). You really should read the whole story, because it's a classic example of people who get a pie-in-the-sky idea, are met with numerous legitimate reasons not to go forward with it, and yet do so anyway. Oxford has until Sept. 1 to come up with the $300,000.


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Old-school Tide shows glimpse of hurry-up offense against West Virginia
ATLANTA | Looking for a way to calm a jittery first-time starting quarterback, No. 2 Alabama broke out the no-huddle offense for a while against West Virginia.
The move helped recalibrate Blake Sims, and the Tide went on to roll to victory.
Up-tempo Alabama? And with the shifty Sims, guiding the offense could the zone-read and spread be next?
Not happening.
Nick Saban is fine with the Tide's old-school ways. In fact, being the "dinosaur" in this age of high-tech offenses is now to Alabama's advantage, Saban said after a 33-23 victory against West Virginia.
The Tide's no-huddle tweak against the Mountaineers came in the second quarter, a suggestion Saban made to new offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin, who is calling plays from the sideline instead of from the coach's box above the field as so many coordinators do.
Going no-huddle helped simplify things for a few moments for Sims, but it's not as if Alabama was suddenly playing at a pace befitting Oregon or Auburn.
The Tide went back to the huddle for most of the game and held the ball for more than 37 minutes. And while Sims' mobility is a new weapon for Saban's offense after years of Greg McElroy and AJ McCarron tucked contentedly in the pocket, don't expect the Tide to stray too far from its traditional sets.
"We're one of the few teams in the world that still play regular people," said Saban, referring to a tight end, two backs and two wide outs. "That's like when I played, that was like getting an empty (backfield). And now we're like the dinosaur age when it comes to that. We also play two tight ends and two wide outs and one back.
"But one thing that I found out about all that is because everybody else is spread and no-huddle, people really have a tough time defending what we do because nobody does it. And it allows us to be more physical and it does allow us to play more players."
It certainly worked fine at the Georgia Dome.
Alabama gained 538 yards and at a very solid clip of 6.6 per play. Last season, Alabama averaged 7.15 per play, tied for fifth in the nation with Ohio State, a spread team, and just a bit behind hurry-up, no-huddle juggernauts Oregon, Baylor and Texas A&M.
No. 1 in the country was Florida State at 7.67 per play - another team that plays dinosaur football, and further proof that it's more about the players you line up than how you line them up.
Kiffin was brought in to replace Doug Nussmeier after last season because he is a believer in a more traditional approach to offense, too.
Saban said having Kiffin on the sideline helped Sims.
"That's why we put him there because that's what we thought he could do to affect the game. Told (Sims) a lot about what we were going to do next so he could anticipate what he had to do," Saban said. "I thought (Kiffin) did a fantastic job."
Kiffin, the former Southern California coach who was fired five games into last season, doesn't have to deal with the media anymore - Saban's assistants are off limits.
Answering questions from reporters was an assignment that often didn't show Kiffin's best side whether it was at USC, Tennessee or as head coach of the Oakland Raiders.
As Alabama's players and coaches cleared out of the Georgia Dome, Kiffin leisurely made his way toward the exit and past dozens of reporters who were finishing up interviews with players outside the Tide locker room.
He stepped to the side for moment to fiddle with his phone and headphones. The only question he had to field was from someone who asked him how he was settling into Tuscaloosa and then wished him luck.
"We're 1-0," he said and smiled.


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Sidney Crosby waited along with everyone else for an agreement to send NHL players to the 2014 Winter Olympics. It had been almost three years and five months since he scored the gold-medal-winning goal for Canada in Vancouver.
When a deal was finally reached Friday between the league, NHL Players' Association, International Ice Hockey Federation and International Olympic Committee, Crosby and the rest of hockey could begin to make plans for what's next.
"I think like everyone thought (that) it was just kind of a matter of time, working out logistics," the Pittsburgh Penguins' captain said. "With it being a little further in Russia I'm sure there was a little bit more work to do. I'm glad that we're going and obviously excited to kind of start the process."
Sochi, Russia will be the fifth Olympics with NHL participation, which began in Nagano, Japan, in 1998. Canada won gold at the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver, when Crosby scored to beat the United States in overtime.
"It's gone by really fast," Crosby said on a conference call with reporters. "Obviously with injuries and stuff like that, it wasn't like there was three full hockey seasons to kind of look back on. It's definitely gone by quick, but it's exciting."
Overall it's been an up-and-down experience for Canada at the Olympics. Canada finished seventh in Turn in 2006, won gold in Salt Lake City in 2002 and finished fourth in Nagano in 1998.
Canada will be in Group B along with Austria, Finland and Norway. Group A is made up of the United States, Russia, Slovakia and Slovenia, while Group C is made up of the Czech Republic, Sweden, Switzerland and Latvia. Canada opens the Olympic tournament Feb. 13 against Norway.
Naturally, the expectation for Canada is the same as it was in 2010.
"Just being Canadian you realize pretty quickly that people come together that time of year, especially, and when it's hockey even more so," Crosby said. "I think that you want to go there and find a way to win gold."
Preparations for Sochi were ongoing well before it was official that NHL players could represent their countries in the Games.
"(General manager) Steve Yzerman and the management group have been evaluating players all year," Hockey Canada president and CEO Bob Nicholson said in a phone interview. "We're in good shape. We're right on schedule for our planning purposes."
Nicholson said he expects an announcement of the coaching staff in the coming days. It will reportedly include head coach Mike Babcock and assistants Claude Julien, Ken Hitchcock and Lindy Ruff.
Canada's Olympic orientation camp could begin Aug. 25 in Calgary, though it's not certain whether players will be able to skate. Individual federations must insure NHL contracts for camps, and USA Hockey will not have an on-ice component to its camp in Arlington, Va.
"Insurance is a big issue," Nicholson said. "We got some quotes yesterday that it would be over a million dollars to skate. So if it's that type of dollars, it'd be very difficult for us to do that. But we're just starting to look into that now with the agreement being done."
The agreement being done meant the NHL could release its 2013-14 schedule after a substantial delay. The Olympic break will take place from Feb. 9-26, while the tournament in Sochi is set for Feb. 12-23.
IIHF president Rene Fasel said there was "never any doubt" in his mind that NHL players would go to Sochi. NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly said on Sirius XM NHL Network Radio that the original goal was to have a deal done by March, a target that was missed by four months.
"The decision to participate in the XXII Olympic Winter Games in Sochi was in many ways a difficult one, but one that we know will be well received by our players and, most importantly, by the vast majority of our fans and sports fans everywhere," commissioner Gary Bettman said in a statement.
As part of the agreement, seven NHL referees and six linesmen will go to Sochi, joining the IIHF's on ice officiating crew.
Some Russian stars, including Alex Ovechkin, have said they would go to Sochi regardless of NHL permission. Washington Capitals owner Ted Leonsis even said he would allow Ovechkin to go with or without the league's blessing. That is no longer an issue the league or players' association needs to worry about.
"The players are very pleased that an agreement has been reached that will allow the world's best hockey players to compete at the Winter Games in February," NHLPA executive director Don Fehr said in a statement. "Having the opportunity to wear their nation's sweater in Sochi is something the players look forward to."
This won't be Crosby's first time representing Canada, but that doesn't make it any less special for the native of Cole Harbour, N.S.
"I think anybody who gets a chance to do that, there's a lot of pride that comes with that," he said. "Being Canadian and playing hockey, that's a dream come true, so I think that's a big part of it."
Crosby has never been to Russia and is looking forward to taking part in another chapter of the decades-old rivalry.
"Obviously everybody knows the history with Canada/Russia, '72 and '87 and the list goes on and on," he said. "I think that right there, having the opportunity to play hockey in Russia is pretty special."


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Kalmar RTG cranes have been working flawlessly since delivery. SAMUEL HELU KPA AND TRADEMARK EAST AFRICA
Kalmar E-One2 Hybrid RTG cranes help Port of Mombasa save time and energy.
Port of Mombasa
Kenya coastline
Kenya Port Authority (KPA)
1.1 Million TEUS
Kalmar fleet:
RTGs and terminal tractors
The Kenya Port Authority and The Port of Mombasa serve a vast area of East and Central Africa, playing an influential role in commerce and in the lives of 200 million people. It is the biggest and most important port in the area – together with the Port of Dar es Salaam, they are vital to job creation in the region. For many years, The Port needed improvement in three sectors: efficiency, sufficient capacity and a green policy. Kenya's economy is booming, seeing close to 6 percent growth annually, which has put pressure on The Port's capacity, particularly in container cargo handling. At the same time, the environmental state of The Port was steadily deteriorating. Now, thanks to KPA's and TradeMark East Africa's ongoing development of Kalmar's hybrid RTG crane technology, the situation is definitely looking up with strides being made in higher performance in all three critical sectors.
The Kenyan government, KPA, TradeMark East Africa and international donors have started multiple projects that are tackling earlier problems at The Port of Mombasa. These include an ongoing 500 million US dollar project to upgrade berths 11–14, improve connecting roads and other logistics of the port, and to create a Mombasa Port Performance – real time database, a Fixed Berth Window, a Green Port Policy, and the construction of container terminal number two. Plans also include expanding the oil terminal which is now too small to meet capacity. KPA has also been replacing old and inefficient RTG's with Kalmar's high-tech E-One2 RTG's, which are reliable, fast and more energy efficient than traditional diesel RTG's. Kalmar E-One2 RTGs also bring down customer costs as modern hybrid crane technology reduces fuel consumption significantly compared to conventional RTGs.
The Port of Mombasa has increased its capacity from 770,000 TEUS to 1.32 million TEUS between 2010 and 2016. Ship waiting time has gone down from 11.2 days in 2010 to 6.6 days in 2015. The overall capacity of The Port has risen from 17 million metric tons in 2007 to 27.36 million metric tons in 2016.
"We strongly believe exports and oil exports will grow rapidly by 2020," says Samuel Helu, from KPA and TradeMark East Africa. Helu is very pleased with the improvements in every sector, including the big progress in the Green Port Policy, for which Helu credits especially the 12 new Kalmar's RTG's. "Kalmar RTG cranes have been working flawlessly since delivery, and the increase in The Port's capacity reflects just how much our operations have accelerated in the past five years," Helu says.


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Hi all – yes, it's that time of year again. We are all busy, whether we want to be or not. It can be so at work or just with family and friends. Whatever the cause (usually associated with the silly season of course), it impacts on what we normally do. It is, of course, the case with Blog posting also. I'll still be posting, however, I can't be sure just how often I'll be able to do so. So the 'moral' of the story – there may not be as many posts over the next couple of week, until at least the 4th of January 2016. I'm also hoping to take a short break or two – so that will also impact on posting.
Anyway all the best to you all at this time of year and may it be safe, healthy and fun.


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It's no secret anymore that Nintendo is in some dire business straits. After decades of profitability it has just recorded its third straight fiscal year loss, dragged down by dismal sales for the Wii U and mobile-dampened enthusiasm for the 3DS.
Luckily, a few select members of Ars Technica's editorial team have magically been named to Nintendo's board of directors and have been given free rein to do whatever we please to turn the company around. Our sure-fire, can't-miss ideas for staving off financial ruin are laid out below, and they will be put into effect just as soon as the necessary arrangements can be made.
OK, that last paragraph is obviously false. But we still think our ideas for turning Nintendo around are pretty good. See for yourselves!
Idea 1: Exploit established franchises even more
Activision published 21 games in the Guitar/Band/DJ Hero franchise in a four-year span. It released 15 distinct games with the "Tony Hawk" name on them in 13 years. And, it has cranked out a new Call of Duty game every year since 2006. This has earned Activision a reputation as a soulless corporate machine that squeezes every drop out of its popular franchises as quickly and mercilessly as possible. It has also made Activision the biggest video game publisher in the world.
Nintendo, on the other hand, takes its time between marquee releases in many of its major franchises. Legend of Zelda, Mario Kart, Animal Crossing, and Super Smash Bros. games tend to be once-a-console-generation affairs, rather than Activision-style, once-a-year releases. There have only been ten main Metroid titles since the series started in 1986 (not counting re-releases), and popular second-tier franchises like Star Fox, F-Zero, and Punch-Out barely managed a dozen titles between them decades after their debuts.
This has earned Nintendo a reputation as a company with a devotion to quality and a willingness to take the time necessary to develop revolutionary games. As we noted above, it has also made Nintendo a company on the brink of financial catastrophe.
With third-party developers giving Nintendo systems middling to nonexistent support since the days of the Nintendo 64, the company has always relied on its amazingly deep bench of popular first-party franchises to keep it afloat. These games are the reason people buy Nintendo systems, and pretty much the only reason the company wasn't relegated to the dust bin of history as a console manufacturer years ago. And there just aren't enough of them on the Wii U.
Roughly 19 months after the Wii U's launch, you can still count the marquee franchise releases on the system with one hand: two Mario games, one Pikmin game, and a Donkey Kong Country title (I am not counting tepid re-releases like Wii Sports Club, Wii Fit U, or Zelda: Wind Waker HD). Those are all good games, but apparently they don't form the critical mass of first-party exclusives needed to get hoards of people to buy a Nintendo console. Mario Kart and Super Smash Bros. are coming relatively soon, but perhaps too late to really make a long-term difference.
But imagine if Nintendo had taken a page from Activision's playbook and simply thrown together the development resources to get all of its major franchises out in time for the Wii U's second holiday season. Imagine a world where the Wii U currently had not only all the games listed above during Christmas 2013, but also a new Zelda, Metroid, Star Fox, Punch-Out, Kirby, and (why not?) a Pilotwings game to boot. Imagine if Nintendo promised that most if not all of these series would have follow-ups in the next year or two as well. Is that starting to look more like a system that more people would be interested in buying?
Of course, making all these games isn't just a matter of snapping your fingers; it would take a significant investment of resources to speed up Nintendo's usually plodding development cycle. But the company is currently sitting on over $3 billion in cash that it could use to hire new talent and/or spend recruiting second- and third-party developers to do some contract work with its characters. Better to spend that money now trying to revive your console business than watch it slowly bleed away through annual losses, right?
Sure, rushing so many big-name titles at once could lead to a lower overall quality of the games released; some titles might see incremental improvements rather than revolutionary changes from their predecessors, for instance. That would be a shame from a critical perspective, but maybe not a huge problem from a business perspective. Even if the "rushed" Nintendo titles would have gameplay that simply provided more-of-the-same franchise familiarity, the established name recognition and baseline of quality from previous titles would likely attract plenty of happy customers. The increased volume of titles could also have important network effects, leading to more sales for the Wii U hardware and therefore more interest from currently reluctant third-party developers.
Don't get me wrong, I love the fact that Nintendo is willing to make sure most of its big-name releases have the development time they need to be memorable, high-quality releases. But from a purely business perspective, this strategy just isn't cutting it anymore. Nintendo needs to exploit its bevy of franchises as quickly as possible while it still can to have a chance of surviving in its current form.
—Gaming Editor Kyle Orland
Idea 2: Find five more Shigeru Miyamotos
When Shigeru Miyamoto joined the game-design teams at Nintendo, he had no programming experience to speak of. His training and experience were all in toy design and art, and he failed with his debut game, arcade flop Radar Scope, before striking gold with Donkey Kong. That's good context at this point, because Nintendo's best modern franchises are far from modern. Zelda, Mario, and Pokemon still print money, but not as much as they used to. Even the stellar, semi-recent Super Smash Bros. series is getting little more than a fresh coat of paint later this year.
If you gave me the keys to Nintendo, I'd use the company's Scrooge McDuck-sized safe of cash to find the next Shigeru Miyamoto. As Chief Overspending Officer, I'd start by doubling down on R&D: resurrect the vitality sensor project; develop a tiny Game Boy-branded attachment for smartphones; have a team focus on wearable tech that could open a new world of gaming potential. In short, I'd try all kinds of silly crap.
But I'd put more of my hopes into a "five points of light" initiative, meant to dig Nintendo out of its game-design rut and its reliance on classic series. I'd hire roughly 60 to 80 greenhorns from varied disciplines—engineering, toy design, cartooning, etc.—and split them into five incubation labs with hopes of discovering another out-of-nowhere Shigeru Miyamoto or Gunpei Yokoi. No old IP or sequels could come out of these labs—just a magical, five-office effort full of experimentation and failure until a golden game emerges.
There's no guarantee that a thousand novices on a thousand typewriters will develop a Shakespeare-worthy game, but Nintendo is in an economic position to give it a shot, as opposed to resting on its sequel-loaded laurels.
—Technology Reporter Sam Machkovech
Idea 3: Embrace mobile platforms and the Internet
Nintendo suffers from the same obsessive fixation on total vertical integration and control that it's always suffered. It was an attitude that served the company well in the 1980s, but it was showing cracks even as early as 1996 when the cartridge-based Nintendo 64 debuted next to its disc-based competitors. The company needs to firmly flush its outmoded ideas of end-to-end control of hardware and software down the toilet of history.
A big part of this would be conceding that Nintendo's stake in the mobile gaming world is trending toward total irrelevance, and then loosening the licensing reins on flagship properties. An officially sanctioned Mario title on iOS would be the next best thing to actually owning a money printing press, and that's just the tip of the potential iceberg. There are a huge variety of ludicrously lucrative cross-licensing deals waiting in the wings (Angry Birds Pokémon, anyone?).
But it's a virtual certainty that Nintendo won't do this, even in the face of worsening quarterly results. It won't because the executives will point to decades of success on the back of a totally siloed, totally integrated strategy, and they will insist that what once was, will be again. In doing so, Nintendo's leadership continue to exhibit a traditionally eastern management style that fails to mesh with an increasingly globalized gaming market. Nintendo's executives appear to believe the company has an almost Nihonjinron-esque inherent superiority: they don't need anyone else to be successful because Nintendo is Nintendo.
However, just because the company sold infinity bajillion DS and Wii systems in the past doesn't mean that the gravy train ride gets to continue indefinitely. Rather than dismissing third party partners, the company would be better served by embracing new ways to pull in money. Concerns about brand dilution are easily dismissed—ambassador properties like Mario are strong enough to easily withstand a little platform porting (everyone knows Mario equals Nintendo, even if you're controlling him on an iPad), and other flagships like Pokémon are already so ridiculously diverse and diluted that they've practically become commodities.
Another aspect of this decoupling of Nintendo hardware from Nintendo software would be a full embrace of the Internet, not just as a basic content delivery mechanism for purchases, but as a full-on major revenue source. In fact, Nintendo wouldn't have to be terribly innovative at all in order to pull in more money from online—just emulate what companies like Microsoft and Sony have already done.
Say these four words with me: Massively multiplayer online Pokémon. You know what those words sound like? They sound like infinite money. If only Nintendo would see it.
—Senior Reviews Editor Lee Hutchinson


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Oliver Emberton, who writes about "understanding and getting the most from life," has penned a clever, illustrated strategy guide for this hot new RPG you may have heard about. It's called "Real Life" – and literally everyone is playing it.
Here's Emberton on "The Basics":
You might not realise, but real life is a game of strategy. There are some fun mini-games — like dancing, driving, running, and sex — but the key to winning is simply managing your resources.
Most importantly, successful players put their time into the right things. Later in the game money comes into play, but your top priority should always be mastering where your time goes.
On "How to Obey Your Own Commands":
Many players find that when they choose to do something – say "go to the gym" – their body ignores them completely.
This is not a bug... If your state gets too low in one area, your body will disobey your own instructions until your needs are met. Try studying when you're exhausted and hungry, and watch your concentration switch to Twitter.
Your willpower level is especially important. Willpower fades throughout the day, and is replenished slightly by eating, and completely by a good night's sleep. When your willpower is low, you are only able to do things you really want to.
On "Finding a Partner":
Attraction is a complex mini-game in itself, but mostly a byproduct of how you're already playing. If you have excellent state and high skills, you're far more attractive already. A tired, irritable, unskilled player is not appealing, and probably shouldn't be looking for a relationship.
The rest of the guide is equally fantastic. Check it out at Emberton's website.


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Steve Ballmer has been bigging up Project Natal tech on a current tour of South America, telling execs that it is "the most exciting product" that Microsoft will bring to market this year.
Ballmer also indicated the longer-term plans for Microsoft's motion-sensing system, noting that the tech will move beyond gaming into the rest of our lives very soon.
Ballmer told execs in Bogota, Columbia this week: "Perhaps for me the most exciting product we'll bring to market this year, and it really fits in this context, actually comes out of our videogaming group.
Natal set to control our lives
"You might say, why would I talk to a group of CEOs about videogames? Because the technology actually is very general purpose, and we'll see come into the rest of our lives pretty soon.
"It's a technology that we call Natal. It's a little camera and microphone that sits on top of your TV set. And if you want to control the TV, you don't go get some remote control or big fat gaming thing. If you want to look through TV channels, you just gesture, and the computer recognises your voice, it recognises your gestures.
"And if you think about that in a lot of settings, why am I carrying this thing? I've already forgotten three times where I set it down. I should just be able to go like this, and the camera should recognize that gesture and control the slides for me, and let these kinds of things freely happen."
Microsoft is planning a dedicated Natal press event for E3 prior to the company's main 360 conference.
Via ZDNet.


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Juneau County sheriff's deputies are looking for information on three sexual assault incidents in the Lyndon Station area that may be connected.
On Sept. 24 around 4:45 p.m. a 17-year-old girl was jogging on Koval Road between 65th Street and Highway N when a man stopped and asked if she needed a ride, according to a release.
Deputies said when the girl told the man she did not need a ride, he got out of his vehicle, grabbed her and forced her into the back seat of his vehicle.
The man told her if she screamed or ran he would harm her, according to the release. Then he got into the vehicle and drove to an unknown wooded location.
Deputies said the man then jumped into the back seat of the vehicle and sexually assaulted the girl. Then he drove her back to where he picked her up on Koval Road and let her out.
The attacker is described as a white man in his 30s to 50s, 5 feet 10 inches to 6 feet tall and weighs between 180 and 200 pounds. His vehicle is described as a silver or tan smaller SUV.
Another female reported a similar incident to the Juneau County Sheriff's Office last week.
She told deputies a Sport SUV crossover-type vehicle followed her home to her residence in the village of Lyndon Station Thursday night.
The vehicle eventually left and drove east on Highway 12/16, deputies said.
Another incident was reported to the Sauk County Sheriff's Office in early September on Highway 33 east of Manmound Road, according to the release. The alleged victim refuses to cooperate with law enforcement.
Officials ask anyone with information about any of the incidents to contact the Juneau County Sheriff's Office at 608-847-5649 or Crime Stoppers at 608-847-9123.


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Suggestions for next year's programs are being solicited from membership. The following list was compiled from suggestions taken at the fall show and September club meeting. Keep the ideas coming.
Suggested Topics:
- Displaying your bonsai
- Fertilizer Cakes
- Repotting
- Tropical workshop/repotting
- Wiring
- Kusamono Pots with Adriano
- Field Trip to Nick Lenz's place
Possible Speakers:
- Suthin
- Ted Matson
- Michele Phaneuf
- David Easterbrook
- Jim Doyle


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Great Great Grandma Celebrates Turning 100 By Hiring a Stripper
Doris Deahardie just turned 100, but that doesn't mean she's done living it up. In fact, to celebrate her centennial, the great great grandma did something new: She hired a stripper to give her a lap dance.
Doris, of Saundby, England, ordered the stripogram herself and even put in a special request for a "full monty."
"I told the lad he might have to be careful with her because of her age," recalled Doris's daughter-in-law Sharon, "but then she told me she wanted the whole lot!"
Doris came fully prepared with her own bottle of baby oil and even a can of whipped cream which she had the stripper lick off her face.
"She's in great health for her age," said her son, Barry. Which is a good thing, because Doris plans on being around for many strippers to come.


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THE BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL, is the first in a series of historic DocuDramas from Light a Candle Films, and Producer/Director Tony Malanowski. This first installment in the series AMERICA: HER PEOPLE, HER STORIES, is designed to teach the History of the United States in a positive, traditional and family-friendly way, while also highlighting the Christian Faith of America's Founding Fathers. Perfect for homeschoolers, children from private schools and independent study. THE BATTLE OF BUNKER HILL is presented on DVD with a 5.1 Dolby Surround Stereo mix and a full symphonic score. Shot on motion picture film for a sharper, crisper picture, this production features epic battle scenes utilizing several American Revolutionary War Reenactor Units and gives the full story of what happened in the hills surrounding Boston Harbor on June 17, 1775.
© Light a Candle Films, L.L.C.


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A farm chemical with an infamous history – causing the worst known outbreak of pesticide poisoning in North America – is being phased out under an agreement announced Tuesday by the Environmental Protection Agency.
Manufacturer Bayer CropScience agreed to stop producing aldicarb, a highly toxic insecticide used to kill pests on cotton and several food crops, by 2015 in all world markets. Use on citrus and potatoes will be prohibited after next year.
Tuesday's announcement comes 25 years after a highly publicized outbreak of aldicarb poisoning sickened more than 2,000 people who had eaten California watermelons.
New EPA documents show that babies and children under five can ingest levels of the insecticide through food and water that exceed levels the agency considers safe.
"Aldicarb no longer meets our rigorous food safety standards and may pose unacceptable dietary risks, especially to infants and young children," the EPA said in announcing the agreement.
For infants, consumption of aldicarb residue – mostly in potatoes, citrus and water – can reach 800 percent higher than the EPA's level of concern for health effects, while children between the ages of one and five can ingest 300 percent more than the level of concern, according to an Aug. 4 EPA memo.
In a statement, Bayer CropScience said Tuesday that its decision to agree to phase out aldicarb came after EPA's new report calculated the health risks to children.
The company said it "respects the oversight authority of the EPA and is cooperating with them" even though it "does not fully agree" with the agency's new assessment. Bayer CropScience stressed that the analysis "does not mean that aldicarb poses an actual risk" to consumers.
One of the most acutely hazardous pesticides still used in the United States, aldicarb is a carbamate insecticide that is taken up by roots and carried into the fruit of a plant. High levels of aldicarb can have neurotoxic effects; it inhibits an enzyme that controls the transmission of messages to nerves.
"After thousands of poisonings, it is mind-boggling that aldicarb is still in use," said Steve Scholl-Buckwald, managing director of the environmental group Pesticide Action Network North America. "The wheels just grind so, so slowly. It never should have been registered in the first place back in 1970 and by the mid-1980s there was sufficient data to suggest it should have been taken off the market."
On the Fourth of July in 1985, three people who had eaten watermelon in Oakland, Calif., rapidly became ill with symptoms that included vomiting, diarrhea, muscle twitches and abnormally slow heart rates. At the same time, people in Oregon were falling ill, too, and tests of watermelons found extremely high levels of aldicarb, which was illegal to use on all melons.
California ordered an immediate ban on watermelon sales, which meant huge quantities had to be destroyed in fields and at stores at the height of the season. How aldicarb got into watermelons remains unknown, but experts suspected that some melon farmers used low levels of it intentionally and illegally and that some also might have flowed off nearby cotton fields.That summer, a total of 1,350 cases of aldicarb poisoning from watermelon were reported in California, plus another 692 cases in eight other states and Canada, according to a report by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Seventeen people were hospitalized. Six deaths and two stillbirths were reported in people who fell ill, but the pesticide was not listed as the cause of death in coroner reports.
To date, it remains the largest case of pesticide food poisoning documented in North America.
Richard Jackson, who was a top official in California's health department at the time of the watermelon poisonings, testified at a U.S. Senate hearing back in 1991 that aldicarb posed a health risk to children and that regulations offered an inadequate margin of safety.
"It is good the revocation is happening; it is a shame it took 20 years," said Jackson, now chair of environmental health sciences at UCLA.
Dr. Lynn Goldman, an environmental health professor at Johns Hopkins University's Bloomberg School of Public Health, also welcomed the agreement, noting that aldicarb has been under special review at the EPA for more than 25 years.
"It is good to see that EPA and Bayer have now reached an agreement to phase out the remaining uses," Goldman said Tuesday.
Goldman was an epidemiologist with California's health department when the outbreak occurred.
"As a state health official, I wanted to see stronger action on aldicarb," she said, adding that she and Jackson "recommended that aldicarb be banned in California, because of its potency and what seemed to be a large temptation for misuse. We obviously did not prevail."
Aldicarb was the first of the so-called "dirty dozen" pesticides that an environmental group, Pesticide Action Network North America, targeted in 1985 for worldwide ban. At the time, it was found in bananas and in well water on Long Island, NY.
Scholl-Buckwald said that the EPA relies mostly on voluntary agreements, instead of bans, to avoid lawsuits from manufacturers.
"The system is designed to leave things like this on the market as long as possible. It's innocent until proven guilty. It's really unconscionable that it takes literally decades to do this," he said.
Goldman in 1993 was named EPA assistant administrator overseeing pesticide programs, but she said Tuesday that even then, her efforts to restrict aldicarb were hamstrung by insufficient scientific evidence at the time and a weak pesticide law. She said she faced "the need to exercise due process in making sure that the company producing the chemical had a fair hearing."Years later, in 2007, the EPA concluded that there were "potential human health risks" from drinking-water contamination, as well as risks to birds and other wildlife. But the agency approved its continued use with added precautions, such as increased setbacks between fields and water wells and reduced amounts applied to crops.
Then, this month, the EPA revised its analysis using new toxicity data and determined that current uses meant babies and young children were at risk of being exposed to levels in water and food that exceeded the agency's level of concern.
Aldicarb residues are found in grapefruit, oranges, orange juice, potatoes, frozen French fries and sweet potatoes. It already has been banned in bananas because of the potential for high exposure in children.
In the new analysis, children's exposure from drinking water was estimated based on aldicarb use at cotton and peanut farms in Georgia.
"Potatoes, citrus and water are the greatest contributors to the aldicarb exposure," the EPA document says.
Bayer researchers recently reported that water contamination has been minimal. They analyzed 1,673 drinking-water wells that were within 300 meters of fields treated with aldicarb, which has the trade name Temik, and found that none violated the EPA's health advisory limit.
"For nearly 40 years, Temik has provided farmers with unsurpassed control of destructive pests, without compromising human health or environmental safety," Bill Buckner, president and CEO of Bayer CropScience, said in a statement Tuesday.
While it is known that high exposure can cause vomiting, diarrhea and neurotoxic effects, the potential for chronic health effects from low exposure remains poorly understood. It is not carcinogenic, although researchers found a high rate of colon cancer in pesticide applicators exposed to high levels.
Its use has steeply declined in the U.S. over the past couple of decades, particularly on food crops. It is currently legal to use only on citrus, potatoes, dry beans, peanuts, soybeans, sweet potatoes, sugar beets and cotton. Its main use is to kill mites and nematodes on cotton, potatoes and citrus.
In 2008, about 75,000 pounds were applied to California crops – almost entirely cotton - compared with more than half a million pounds in 1998, according to state Department of Pesticide Regulation data.
Union Carbide was the sole manufacturer of aldicarb until 1987. Its plant in Bhopal, India, was making aldicarb when a pesticide called methyl isocyanate leaked, killing several thousand people in 1984.
Aldicarb already has been banned in Europe, although it is still used, and perhaps manufactured, in other countries.
Under the new agreement, Bayer, the sole U.S. manufacturer, said its distribution will end by 2017. Use on citrus and potatoes will be banned beginning in 2012, and all remaining uses will end in 2018. In the meantime, new requirements will go into effect to change labeling and to protect ground water near cotton, soybean and peanut farms.
"We recognize the significant impact this decision will have on growers and the food industry, and will do everything possible to address their concerns during this transition," Buckner said. He added, "We recognize the loss of this tool to growers and will seek innovative solutions to fill this void."
But Scholl-Buckwald said he was disappointed that the agreement didn't have earlier deadlines.
"After 40 years, the question is why should there be a phaseout period at all," he said.
This article originally ran at Environmental Health News, a news source published by Environmental Health Sciences, a nonprofit media company.


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Carolyn Hax: New parents are out of line for boycotting kid-free wedding
Dear Carolyn: After some discussion, my fiancé and I decided we did not want kids at our wedding — several of our friends are newish parents and we are JUST SO TIRED of having their kids be the center of the universe, disrupt plans all the time, and so on. We just wanted one time when we could enjoy our friends' company in an adults-only way.
We indicated as much on our save-the-dates, and have since gotten responses from a few people close to us that they do not plan to come since they can't bring their kids. Many of them are friends who live in town and could probably get sitters if they wanted to. That makes me think they have perceived my feelings about the heavy kid focus that's taken over our group.
Fiancé thinks we should stay the course, but I'm now wondering whether we should backpedal and include kids. … I'd rather cave on this than not have loved ones at our wedding. What do you think? — Allow Kids?
Dear Allow: A couple of thoughts.
I would never boycott a no-kids wedding because my kids were excluded. I mean really — I'm nuts about my kids but a night of just adults? Sure. Plus, I can simultaneously find joy in children and grasp that not everyone blisses out around a bunch of squirmy people with volume-control issues. Who am I to scold them and say they "should" enjoy having kids around, or that weddings "should" include kids, or whatever else?
Even if I had a pro-kid view of weddings, it's your wedding — your tablet to write upon, not mine and not your friends' to write their pro-kid righteousness.
The one exception I might make is if I were nursing and tethered to Baby — but I'd talk to you about it without judging.
Anyway, this is all background for my answer: Sure, you can cave, but these friends are out of line.
That's no surprise, though, right? Plenty of parents don't expect "their kids to be the center of the universe, disrupt plans all the time, and so on" — but your friends apparently do. So they're just being themselves, and will surely stay that way at and after your wedding.
It's your call how you want to handle both the wedding and the long-term implications of friends with me-ist tendencies. Just be forewarned: The more of a stand you take, the more closely people will watch if you ever have kids.
Re: Kids: It is easy for some people with kids to get a sitter — I do know some who have a regular one — but for others it can be hard. — Anonymous
Dear Anonymous: Of course no parents who try and fail to find a sitter should be harrumphed for saying no, but that's so not what's happening here. These are responses to save-the-date cards — months in advance. In the event of extenuating circumstances (a special-needs child, say), surely the couple would know and understand, but otherwise the local refusals, at this stage, are statements of principle, and it's a principle I find self-aggrandizing.
Read CAROLYN HAX every day in the Free Press. Write to her care of the Washington Post, Style Plus,1150 15th St., NW, Washington, D.C. 20071 or e-mail


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Profit Web System is a work at home opportunity currently being promoted by Katie Smith and Angela Bussio, and described on their website as "the biggest money making secret of 2012."
Katie Smith and Angela Bussio are previously responsible for Home Profit Masters and the Profit Masters Academy, two other work at home opportunities that focused on link posting and affiliate marketing just like Profit Web System.
It is not uncommon for internet marketing training courses to repackage their information under a new title and through a new website; these courses tend to accumulate large numbers of negative reviews by customers who were unsuccessful with their training, which leads to the company needing a fresh start to keep up their sales.
The question that new customers must ask themselves is whether the negative reviews are due to the failings of the users, who are now simply venting their frustration, or are they due to the failings of the company?
What Profit Web System Promises
According to their website, anyone of any age and background can do this job from home with "no over head," they can learn to do it in one afternoon, and they can begin earning money immediately with "no training."
In addition, the website says that users can expect to earn an average of $15 per link they post which, coupled with the fast pace at which links can be posted, means that you can easily earn $375 per day.
Finally, if there is some reason you are unhappy with this system or are unable to make money with it, the sales page states there is a 2 month "Make Money or It's Free" guarantee, meaning that if you cannot earn money in the first 60 days you can request a refund of the $97 cost of Profit Web System.
The Problems
Internet marketing is a legitimate way of earning money online and in some cases has led to people earning large sums of money, which is why it is such a popular opportunity.
Unfortunately, internet training programs tend to grossly misrepresent the difficulty of this business, in order to convince people to buy their product. And Profit Web System – just like Home Profit Masters and Profit Masters Academy – is guilty of severely misleading their customers.
First, no one is "paid to post links," they are given a commission when their link results in a sale. Because of this, it is almost deceptive to tell their customers to expect a specific commission per link and to tell them that they can begin making money immediately.
Secondly, it is almost certainly untrue when they say their link posting opportunity has "no over head." Overhead refers to the operating costs of a business, and internet marketing certainly has costs. Even if you are provided with a free website, which is often the case, there is the cost of hosting and maintenance, and often advertising costs.
Finally, even though the sales page of Profit Web System says they have a Money Back Guarantee, their Terms & Conditions doesn't list any refund policy or any details on this guarantee. This means that there is no real policy, and therefore no real way for you to claim a refund if you should need one.
Update: This program is now being marketed under a new name, Web Fortune Masters by Angela Bussio.


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Of all varieties of fopperies, the vanity of high birth is the greatest. True nobility is derived from virtue, not from birth. Title, indeed, may be purchased, but virtue is the only coin that makes the bargain valid.
– Robert Burton
Did you know I have a tattoo on my arm with the saying "Virtus sola nobilitas." on it? It's part of my family crest. As cool as that is, what's more important is what the words mean. Essentially, it means that virtue is the only coin that makes the bargain valid.
Why do I bring this up? Because the words mean a lot to me. They resonate. I like people who carry themselves without pretentiousness. Especially when they so easily could. I think it's an amazing quality to possess. Humility. Especially in today's personal branding, all about me world.
At Social South I was amongst the most unpretentious, unassuming, group of high profile social media thought leaders assembled in one place at one time. Sure, I could have gone to a half dozen "larger" more visible cities and had just as many social media thought leaders assembled. And I have. But I would have gotten the attitude thing along with the assumptive title of social media thinker, high brow, I'm better than you, thing.
There would be none of this at Social South.
Beyond a list that included the incredibly down to earth Beth Harte, the humble Mack Collier, the classy Toby Bloomberg, the social media handyman Paul Chaney who has a book coming out, the incredibly smart Jason Falls, the genuine Christina Kerley, the effusive Kellye Crane, the solid Tom Martin, the refreshing An Bui, and of course the giving Lionel and talented Richard from Dell, There were a host of "other" people that deserve recognition in their own right.
From Andrew Keen, Dave Barger, Mitch Canter, Robert French, David Griner, Tammy Hart, to Dana Lewis, Andre Natta, Phyllis Neill, Will Scott, Jeff Vreeland, Stacey Hood and of course Ike Pigott all of them brought value, humility, a sense of community and a sense of "leave the ego at the door and lets learn from each other." You don't get that at 95% of the conferences that you attend. That's why Social South worked.
Of course I would be remiss to not bring up 2 more people. The first is as finest an individual that I've met from practically meeting for the first time. This person essentially pulled Social South together and shaped it into the conference that it was and did it in a way that it was seamless and looked effortless. Scott Schablow you rock.
Esra'a Al Shafei
What can I say. This person gave one of the most riveting non-keynote keynotes I have ever heard. And it was via Skype. The night before Scott Schablow mentioned that every time he heard her speak, it gave him goose bumps. I had no idea what he was talking about. Yet, this was no exception. Not only did it give me and everyone else goose bumps, it also reduced more than half the audience to tears and the rest were giving her a standing ovation.
Esra is the founder and Executive Director of MideastYouth.com, and what she did was she showed the crowd gathered at Social South the true power of crowdsourcing people for the cause of freedom and human rights via social media, via video, via the internet and really any other means possible. She showed what's possible. What is possible.
In short, it was the perfect keynote for a group of people who were so into what they were doing. People who were so genuine, that it made perfect sense for them. As I said, you don't get that at other conferences. You hope to, but you generally don't. And That's why Social South worked. Thank you #Soso!
I could go on, but it might take days to highlite everything! But one more thing before I go, here is that tattoo and remember,"Virtus sola nobilitas." 🙂
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