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Via Insty, did the Singularity just happen on Jeopardy? Good question, but here's the bit that caught my eye:
Great story from CNN. The human champion describes Watson as a Terminator. It never gets tired, bored, has stage fright, gets cocky, or intimidated. It just keeps coming… answering general knowledge questions better than the best Jeopardy players on the planet. Scary right?
I thought back immediately to 1997, and a column Charles Krauthammer wrote on the occasion of chess grand master Garry Kasparov's loss to IBM's Deep Blue:
You might think it is a little early for fear. Well, Garry Kasparov doesn't think so. "I'm not afraid to admit that I'm afraid", said perhaps the most fearless player in the history of chess when asked about his tentative play. When it was all over, he confessed why: "I'm a human being, you know. When I see something thing that is well beyond my understanding, I'm scared."
OK, I understand that one really shouldn't draw conclusions from two data points. But we can certainly speculate!
In both cases, the computer seemed …unhuman… to its human opponent. That much we can attribute to the persons, and not the machine. But — Kasparov didn't actually use the word "Terminator," but you could slip it into his statement above and it would fit just fine. The machine just keeps… coming… at you.
The machine is remorseless, it seeks to win. And then it does win. That's something we need to keep in mind, because right now, the cold science facts look eerily like the dystopian science fiction.
Listen, and understand. That terminator is out there. It can't be bargained with. It can't be reasoned with. It doesn't feel pity, or remorse, or fear. And it absolutely will not stop, ever, until you lose on Jeopardy.
24 Comments, 19 Threads
1. DavidC
So, the question becomes now, does Weird Al update his song for this? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BvUZijEuNDQ
February 16, 2011 - 1:13 pm Link to this Comment | Reply-
Heck, he didn't update it for Alex Trebek, why should he do it for IBM's tin can?
February 16, 2011 - 7:41 pm Link to this Comment | Reply
2. fss
Yes – I remember how smug my "Speak N Spell" sounded back in the early 80s when I misspelled a word. Metal (well, mostly plastic) bastards!
February 16, 2011 - 1:30 pm Link to this Comment | Reply -
There's actually a group dedicated to making sure that the first greater-than-human intelligence is friendly, and not a terminator: http://singinst.org.
February 16, 2011 - 1:30 pm Link to this Comment | Reply -
Kasparov has been less afraid more recently.
How soon will we see Advanced Jeopardy analogous to Advanced Chess?
February 16, 2011 - 1:41 pm Link to this Comment | Reply -
5. bob sykes
The Terminator has been among us for some time, in the disguise of industrial robots. Over the last 20 to 30 years, industrial output has doubled, but so-called worker productivity (more robots) has tripled. This has lead to substantial job losses in manufacturing. The jobs didn't go to Mexico or China, both of which are also losing manufacturing jobs. The robots took them.
Where is Summer Glau when you need her?
February 16, 2011 - 2:37 pm Link to this Comment | Reply-
She's off fighting the genetically-engineered zombie horde.
February 16, 2011 - 3:43 pm Link to this Comment | Reply
6. Doug Winship
No one seems to address what I think is a pretty major point in Watson's success, the buzzer.
Every Jeopardy contestant says that much of the win/lose in the game comes from how good your buzzer timing is. Whatever Watson's knowledge skills, I'm sure it can model EXACTLY when to buzz in, which if you are bad, makes you good, and if you are good, makes you great.
Especially if your opponents are nervous over playing a machine.
February 16, 2011 - 2:44 pm Link to this Comment | Reply-
Pretty much this. It's all about the buzzer. Clearly the two humans know the answer just as well, they're just not as quick.
February 16, 2011 - 3:44 pm Link to this Comment | Reply
7. fiftyville
If I was a law student, I'd be shaking in my Nikes because what Watson does for trivia can easily be applied to a large percentage of what low-level lawyers do for those oh-so-expensive large legal partnerships.
February 16, 2011 - 3:26 pm Link to this Comment | Reply -
8. Tom Hennigan
I was on Jeopardy in the mid-1990′s and Doug is right: it's all about the timing. I'd been practicing at home clicking in with a pen and timing off of Alex's voice. In the studio there are two lights that come on when it's clear to buzz in and at first I tried to adjust my timing to react to those — too late. When I switched back to cuing off Alex, I started running categories like mad.
My stint (I won two games and then lost in Final Jeopardy) was when the show was shot at Sony Pictures Television in Culver City, the old Columbia lot. One of the goals was to last through the morning shoot and so get to have lunch at the commissary. I managed to do so. Besides the fun of being on the lot and seeing how the pros did it (I produced videos for education at that time), it was fun to find out how much I had in common with my fellow contestants and how similarly our minds worked.
Watson can have "his" wins. He'll never have the human Jeopardy experience.
February 16, 2011 - 3:55 pm Link to this Comment | Reply -
And John Henry was a steel drivin' man.
Yes, AI is relentless and man is weak.
But recall that we evolved as an approximating solution to the "iterated prisoners' dilemma." Simply put, that means there is no analytic solution about when to cooperate, when to cheat. We learned to read the "other" only after great culling by the hand of Darwin.
AI will act tirelessly towards the goals with which it was programmed. But then what? Like an agile matador, step aside, let the AI get there, and watch it turn itself off.
( Interesting if flawed and pessimistic treatment at http://www.acceleratingfuture.com/michael/blog/2011/01/yes-the-singularity-is-the-biggest-threat-to-humanity/ )
February 16, 2011 - 4:04 pm Link to this Comment | Reply-
Robert Arvanitis;
Since I'm the guy who wrote this critical response to the Michael Anissimov blog post you link, I think it only fair to point out that, while I concur with your general judgement, Michael actually said that once AI can improve their own design capabilities faster than humans can evolve their performance (intellectually or otherwise), then AI/AGI entities become an existential threat to humans if they should come to regard humans as competition rather than companion. Given the fundamental competitive nature of current human existence, precisely how we go about avoiding the former is, in Michaels opinion, a matter of extreme importance in this early stage of AI development.
I disagree with him largely because I think this is a worry better addressed as part of the developmental process rather than preemptively via conditioning or foundational software structure. Opinion's differ obviously, but I do think the concern rates better than casual dismissal.
February 16, 2011 - 6:59 pm Link to this Comment | Reply-
Will Brown
Yes. Take your point about self-improving AI as the challenge posited by Anissimov. In fact, your piece is how I first found Anssimov.
This being the comment section of the often-lighthearted Vodka Pundit (and thanks to our host for even making this dialogue possible!), I'd note that one man's "casual dismissal" is another's sprezzatura.
In a more fulsome mode, perhaps I can expand on the rather succinct initial post:
"John Henry…" Luddites fear change. The proper view is that technology is enabling, not threatening. Few actually manufacture today, even fewer farm. Indeed, the very nature of work is changing radically. See for example today's Wall Street Journal //http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703439504576116340050218236.html?mod=djemEditorialPage_h
"Relentless…" Like a thermostat. The furnace runs until the room temperature rises. Even if the windows are open…
"…approximating solution to the iterated prisoners' dilemma…" For believers, we have a purpose beyond the engineering.
For non-believers, the engineering solution is a simple model. Imagine a table top with an assortment of marbles and dice. Tilt the table just a little. The marbles roll off and the dice remain. Shall we say the dice "survived?" Or perhaps that the marbles "escaped?" Either way there is a selection process independent of any interpretation that may be imposed. That said, we in present version are here and other versions are not.For a putative self-improving AI, I note that the verb "improve" begs the question – improvement along what dimension? By what metric? Indeed, to what end?!
"…agile matador…" Once we infer on what such an AI may be optimizing, simply agree. And God forbid we EVER ask such an AI to care about humans. Therein lies all the mischief. In all our iterations of forethought known as science fiction, the disaster arises when (Forbin, Skynet, HAL, you name it) decides to protect us from ourselves.
Come to think of it, isn't that the liberal agenda?
February 17, 2011 - 6:03 pm Link to this Comment | Reply
10. Barry Dauphin
Whether Watson has a buzzer advantage or not (that is simply about winning the game), it is a great engineering accomplishment that a computer can even answer many of the questions. We will continue to knock on the door of the Singularity. Computers will do more and more, and we will continue to be pleased with how much better they can make our lives and moan about how much stress the technology also creates for us.
I think basic optimism about these technological developments is warranted. However, I don't think unbridled cheerleading is. If the proponents of the Singularity are correct about the emergence of computing power, then we are certainly not smart enough to understand the consequences of the advancement of computers that have emergent properties of independent thought with far greater processing power than humans can ever posses.
February 16, 2011 - 5:45 pm Link to this Comment | Reply -
11. mikee
When the category becomes "The Full Monty" I wonder if Watson will still be able to answer correctly.
Unless of course his database includes all the Monty Python episodes and movies.
I see the $100 answer, "Blue. No yel– Auuuuuuuugh!!" and wonder if the humans could answer "What is your favorite color?" while laughing.
February 16, 2011 - 7:20 pm Link to this Comment | Reply -
12. comatus
The buzzer is a red herring. Watson was spoon-fed the "answers" in easy [for it] data packets. No cueing off, or being misled by, Alex's nuance, no reading the boxes, no audio or video clips to disambiguate. They didn't make him read. Sure, a computer can do that, but for some reason they chose not to. Nanoseconds were at stake, and IBM wasn't going to take that chance on the front end.
Is there a way to make Watson understand where Deep Blue is now? No? Thought not.
Some singularity.February 16, 2011 - 7:43 pm Link to this Comment | Reply -
13. el polacko
go ahead and laugh but i'm joining the second-place winner in welcoming our new computer overlords.
February 17, 2011 - 3:37 am Link to this Comment | Reply -
I want to see Watson take on Sid Meier in a game of Civilization V.
February 17, 2011 - 3:42 am Link to this Comment | Reply -
15. Casey
Watson is nothing but a data-mining program combined with syntax analysis. It parses the host's statement, then uses that parsed information to search its database. Others have called it a web search engine on steroids. Zork did the same thing (albeit at a much less complex level) twenty-five years ago. On a 4.77Mz PC.
In either case, it is in no way intelligent, nor was Deep Blue. The latter was just a computer optimized for branch analysis. It could do that like gangbusters, but couldn't balance a checkbook worth a darn; the code wasn't there.
February 17, 2011 - 9:25 am Link to this Comment | Reply -
16. McGehee
I'll be worried when a computer can tell me who put the "bop" in the "bop-be-bop-be-bop." I'll be scared when it can also tell me who put the "ram" in the "ramma lamma ding dong."
February 17, 2011 - 9:42 am Link to this Comment | Reply -
Just in case, don't automate the pod bay doors.
February 17, 2011 - 12:17 pm Link to this Comment | Reply -
18. Steve Harris
For now I think the first worry is bots that can accomplish actions *without* having features of higher intelligence.
What happens when criminals are able to instruct their bots to go out and collect money for them and leave the money at a predetermined, hidden spot – using any means necessary including violence (or perhaps purposefully committing violence)? Or are we going to license bot makers, forbid hacking them for our purposes, so no do-it-yourselfs would be allowed with robotics and only large licensed companies could participate? Will I need to have protective bots with me at all times, a sort of arms race?
February 18, 2011 - 11:49 am Link to this Comment | Reply -
19. Marcobarco
Easy to forget in all the technobabble that both Kasparov and the Jeopardy champs were playing against several people simultaneously in "digital" form. No matter whether standing shoulder to shoulder or embodied in a computer – the sum of the group intelligence (memory or recognition) will be quicker to a solution than a single person ie. "brainstorming"
February 21, 2011 - 7:21 pm Link to this Comment | Reply
Comments are closed.


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subset: commoncrawl


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Update : Mar. 04, 2013
[Tokyo Stock Exchange, Inc.]
Today, Tokyo Stock Exchange, Inc. (TSE) approved the listing of a new ETF managed by "Nikko Asset Management Co., Ltd.". The ETF will be listed on Monday, March 25, 2013.
Code | 1578 (ISIN JP3047570001) |
Name | Listed Index Fund Nikkei 225 (Mini) |
Fund Administrator | Nikko Asset Management Co., Ltd. |
Listing Date | Mar. 25, 2013(Scheduled) |
Trading Unit | 1 unit |
Underlying Index | Nikkei Stock Average |
With this listing, there will be a total of 131 ETFs and ETNs listed on the Tokyo market. TSE will continue working to diversify the ETF and ETN market, and improve the convenience of our market for all investors.
Please refer to the page below for information on ETFs listed on the TSE.
Tokyo Stock Exchange, Inc.
Product Development Group, New Listings Department
Tel: +81-3-3666-0141


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Allow yourself something special!
Speyer and its old town as well as the immediate surrounding offer you numerous opportunities to spend your holidays. Take your time to visit all our sightseeing spots, stroll through our old city and the 'Maximilianstraße', visit the museums of Speyer or explore the surrounding by bicycle. Here you can find a collection of activities for your varied short holidays:
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A 3-day stay with visit of the historical museum and guided tour through Speyer.
Throughout the year from Fridays to Sundays, for groups of 10 persons or more.
First day
Welcome aperitif
Dinner (3-course menu)
Second day
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Dinner (3-course menu)
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Visit of the historical museum of Speyer
Speyerer protestation in 1529
On this arrangement go back in time to the world of the protestation in 1529.
- Welcome drink (Domhof-beer) and pretzles
- Dinner (3-course menu)
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- Dinner (3-course menu) in our brew-house
- Breakfast
For groups of 10 or more persons.
Brewery Weekend
Throughout the year from Fridays to Sundays for groups of 10 or more persons. A weekend full of history of Speyer and masterly brewing.
2 overnight stays with breakfast.
Dinner 'The beer experience' a 4-course beer-menu:
- White cheese with freshly baked 'Kornspitzstangen' (a german pastry)
- 1 homemade DOMHOF-light-beer (0,3 l)
- Cream of potato soup with basil croûtons
- 1 homemade DOMHOF-dark-beer (0,3 l)
- Pork medaillons with Sauce Bercy (bacon, pearl onion, mushrooms) and potato croquettes
- 1 homemade DOMHOF-wheat-beer (0,3 l)
- Warm apple strudel with vanilla sauce
- Breakfast
- Guided sightseeing tour through Speyer '2000 years of Speyer - living history'
- We serve you bavarian veal sausages with freshly baked pretzles
- Breakfast
Arrangement including 2 overnight stays | |
per person in a Standart Double Room |
165,00 €
per person in a Comfort Double Room |
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in a Single Room |
208,00 €


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Honourable Delegates,
It is my distinct pleasure to invite you to Warsaw Model United Nations 2014. I will have the privilege to be your humble host in October, and as such, I would be exceptionally honoured by your arrival in Warsaw. Our conference, organized by Batory Secondary School, grew to become one of the most recognizable Model United Nations in Poland and with your engagement this year's conference will surely be an remarkable event.
Since 2006, WawMUN has brought together the most brilliant delegates from dozens of countries to debate together the most significant topics of the international politics. At each conference, students have had a chance to investigate issues that alarm the international community, to negotiate the drafts to satisfy the wishes of their delegation's country government, and finally to proceed debating their resolutions at the General Assembly, where their work has been presented to all delegates. Such form of discussion results not only in raises the awareness about subjects debated, but also helps build teamwork and mutual understanding between different cultures. It is our aim to help broad-minded students learn how to concisely communicate their intentions in order to deepen international cooperation. For years, delegates coming to WawMUN have proved to be not only passionate representatives of their countries , but also talented young people that created tremendous policies. We are sure that meeting of such talented individuals will result in an incredible cooperation.
This year's conference is going to be extremely exciting, we have already started preparations that will make it as unforgettable of an experience for all delegates as we can. The Secretariat, the team behind WawMUN, is working ceaselessly to organize the conference perfectly and are one of the most exceptional and marvelous people I ever had a pleasure to work with. The chairs are chose carefully from awesome young people that are going to eagerly do everything that is necessary to provide the highest level of discussion attainable. Thanks to new partnerships and connections, we are able to make sure that this year's conference is going to be remarkable not only thanks to the substantive matter, but also because of the surprises awaiting you in October. We are determined to simulate the United Nations to the greatest extent, and by choosing the topic "The Role of the Internet and technology in modern society" we are able to follow the current issues that buffle the international community. Drones, bitcoin, Anonymous, free education and almost instant acess to world knowledge- these factors connected with the Internet influence the world we know in a way not seen before. Stimulating topics strongly connected with reality show that UN conferences can stay up –to-date with current trends
We are incredibly delighted to invite you to visit Warsaw, the capital of Poland and discover this amazing city of a perfect symbiosis of old history and modern culture. It would be our highest pleasure if we could see you in our city.
Łukasz Bartoszcze
Secretary General of WawMUN 2014


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This scorpion, five-centimeters long, stung a woman in Okinawa, Japan as she tried on jeans in a store. Apparently the Chinese bark scorpion hitched a ride in the pair of jeans that were imported from China. From the Mainichi Daily News:
The woman came to the store in Nago on Oct. 26, and tried on a pair of jeans. She suddenly felt pain in her right knee and rubbed it with her right hand. The scorpion then stung her right index finger, officials said.Link (Thanks, Paul Saffo!)
Store clerks called an ambulance and she was taken to hospital, where she stayed for five days...
(Employees) added that during the process of drying and pressing jeans, workers use chlorine agents so they don't believe the scorpion crawled inside the jeans at that stage. "We will investigate how it crawled inside the jeans and try to prevent a recurrence," one employee at the store said.


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Kimminau, FHSU prepare for weekend slate
By CONOR NICHOLL
Junior Kelsey Kimminau opened her career at NCAA Division I University of Minnesota. Kimminau, from Arvada, Colo., delivered a 5.32 earned-run average in 23.2 innings as a freshman and a 5.44 ERA in 36 innings last season. Then, she transferred to Fort Hays State University, and, along with sophomore Paxton Duran, are the Tigers' two starting pitchers.
Kimminau enjoys Hays, coach Erin Kinberger and three-year starting senior catcher Callie Wright. Especially early, Kimminau pitched very well and even started some Game 1s of doubleheaders, usually reserved for the team's ace.
"They know how to work hard for it," Kimminau said of the differences between Hays and Minnesota. "Instead of just hoping that it's given to them. Everybody wants it out here. Everybody is out here, and they are having fun and playing a game they have played since they were little kids instead of just showing up at the ball field. It's nice, everybody works hard."
Kimminau has been up-and-down recently, one of the reasons why Fort Hays is 8-8 in its last 16 games. FHSU, still receiving votes in the latest NCAA Division II poll, stands at 22-13, 11-5 MIAA, good for third place in the league standings.
This weekend, Fort Hays has two key road doubleheaders on Friday and Saturday at Missouri Western State University (22-14, 7-7 MIAA) and Northwest Missouri State University (14-18, 7-7 MIAA). Start time is 4 p.m. Friday and 11 a.m. Saturday.
"I have been trying to do too much lately, and I just need to keep it simple," Kimminau said. "My teammates helped me realize that."
Last Saturday, Kimminau, a hard throwing right-hander, worked a 7-0 complete game home shutout against Lincoln (Mo.) University.
"We all knew that Kelsey had all that power in her," sophomore third baseman Jenna Lang said. "We have seen it practice all the time, so it was good for it to come out in a game."
Kimminau mixed several pitches, including a fastball, changeup, drop and screwball. Her favorite pitch is the changeup, which caught several Blue Tigers off-guard.
"She kept her ball down and inside was throwing us off," Lincoln coach Nicole Stacy added. "We are not one to swing at the inside."
Kimminau, allowed five hits and struck out six against zero walks.
"I still don't think you have seen Kelsey's 'A' game," Kinberger said. "I think that she has got even more to offer in the circle for us. I am proud of the way that she came out (Saturday)."
On Sunday, though, Kimminau struggled in a 10-3 loss against Lindenwood (Mo.) University, a sub-.500 team. She allowed seven hits and four runs (none earned) in 1.2 innings.
Overall, Kimminau stands at 8-6 with a 3.01 ERA. Tiger sophomore ace right-hander Paxton Duran is 13-5 with a 2.48 ERA.
In 16 starts, Kimminau has allowed zero earned runs four times - same as Duran.
The difference comes in consistency. Duran has allowed more than three runs four times; Kimminau has done in seven times.
Duran has moved into the league's elite pitchers with a 5-0 mark and 0.99 ERA in her last six appearances with five complete games in five starts.
In her last eight starts, Kimminau has two shutouts - but pitched less than five innings five times.
"If she can keep the teams to five hits or less, then we are going to find a way to win for her," Kinberger said.
Kimminau's performance is likely key for the Tigers staying among the top three in the conference as the regular season enters its final full month. Emporia State is 16-0 and ranked No. 7 nationally, while defending national champion University of Central Oklahoma sits at 15-1 and is receiving votes.
Teams three through eight are all .500 or better in league play and sit with five, six or seven losses, including the Tigers, Missouri Western and Northwest Missouri.
Missouri Western has senior right-hander Jackie Bishop, a former All-American, MIAA Pitcher of the Year and two-time first team all-league pitcher. Bishop stands at 14-6 with a 0.92 ERA with three no-hitters this season.
Last year, Bishop and FHSU All-American ace Maddie Holub dueled in a classic, a 2-1, 12-inning Tiger victory in Hays. All three runs scored by the international tiebreaker. Holub threw 195 pitches, Bishop 155. Then, FHSU defeated Bishop again, 3-0, in the MIAA tournament on a three-run seventh-inning homer by center fielder Amanda Vaupel.
Tiffany Gillaspy paces the Griffons in hitting and batted .615 last week en route to MIAA Player of the Week honors. FHSU sophomore second baseman Courtney Dobson leads the Tigers with a .387 average.
Bishop, UCO ace Kalynn Shrock and Duran stand 1-2-3 in the league in opponents' batting average, strikeouts and rank 2-3-4 in wins. FHSU is 5-3 in the last four doubleheaders with all three losses coming in Kimminau's starts.
On March 25, Kimminau was knocked out early in a non-conference loss to Metropolitan State College of Denver. Afterward, Kinberger said Kimminau needed to improve "her mental toughness," also a theme for the team.
Wright has also helped better Kimminau's mindset. Four days later, Kimminau bounced back with the big performance against Lincoln - followed by the struggles versus Lindenwood.
"I have learned how to keep my head," Kimminau said. "Coach K is a very strong mentally coach. She has got it together, and she is trying to teach us how to be strong, and it's a process, and I think that's what I am learning from her. ... I definitely trust her, she knows what she is doing."


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Randy's Journal: Archives
01 February 2007
Gaining altitude
Almost exactly a year ago I was musing about some very encouraging financial results for Boeing Commercial Airplanes, and about the guidance for strong growth - and optimism - in the years ahead.
Well, here we are, having just released our performance report for the fourth quarter and full-year 2006, and I'd say a lot of the "measures for success" we talked about last year have borne fruit.
Speaking of "gaining altitude," 787 Dreamliner major assembly is well underway as we work toward rollout and first flight later this year. Here, section 43, built by our partner KHI, waits to be shipped to Global Aeronautica in Charleston, South Carolina. The first shipment arrived in Charleston on January 15.
And 2007 promises to be another exciting year. But I'm getting ahead of myself.
We've already talked here a bit about the many accomplishments of 2006. As CEO Jim McNerney put it very succinctly yesterday, "2006 was a very good year for Boeing." Indeed the company set records in revenue, cash flow and backlog. We also overcame some meaningful challenges.
Some of the highlights:
- BCA deliveries rose 37% to 398 airplanes
- BCA revenue rose 33% to $28.5 billion
- Net orders for 2006 were a record 1,044 airplanes
- The 737 program achieved a another record tally - 729 net orders
- 787 Dreamliner now has 452 firm orders from 36 customers
And thanks to a second straight year of record commercial airplane orders, BCA's contractual backlog rose to a record $174 billion. So obviously things are looking up.
Last January I noted that 2005 was a "great ride." And as I've said before, who knew at that time that 2006 would be an even greater ride?
But as each year becomes an even tougher act to follow, it just means we have to concentrate all the more on developing and providing the products and services that our customers and the market demand.
Good results don't let us off the hook for our obligations for tomorrow. We all have to continue to work hard - and meet our commitments to our customers, and also to our employees, investors, and communities.
And as you might expect, we've set the bar high for 2007 and 2008. BCA's 2007 delivery guidance remains 440 - 445 airplanes and is completely sold out. Airplane deliveries in 2008 are expected to rise to between 515 and 520 airplanes and are essentially sold out. And we foresee deliveries to be higher still in 2009.
What else is ahead? The first deliveries for the 737-700ER and 737-900ER later this year; continued orders and deliveries of the 767; the 787 rollout and first flight - leading up to first delivery in 2008; four customers taking their first 777 deliveries this year; firm configuration of the 747-8 Intercontinental; and of course the Air Force tanker competition.
Yes, it's going to be very busy. A lot to accomplish. It's all about keeping our focus as we continue gaining altitude.


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Sunny27-I buy the Dave and Busters reloadable gift card. That way whenever I go back with my kids, I just give them the card and they add in the amount that I want.
If you don't have the card then they charge a few dollars extra for it. I usually try to go on Wednesdays during the summer because they offer double ticket days and my kids can play twice as much. I know Game Works does the thing.


text:
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- Verifikator (VERIF) : S1 Medical (General / Dentistry), Pharmacy, Public Health
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- Special for CS position : Good looking, energetic and friendly, min height 160 cm and weight ideal and must bring their own files his application.
Official Source


text:
Manuel Valle Execution Draws Florida Supreme Court Petition From Irish Neurologist
Florida Department of Corrections |
Manuel Valle, sheduled to die tomorrow at 4 p.m. |
The petition was filed by Dr. David Nicholl, just two days before Valle's scheduled execution, which is slated for 4 p.m. tomorrow.
The Florida Supreme Court has already ruled against Valle in a protest of the use of the new sedative drug pentobarbital, and a pair of letters from the president of Lundbeck -- the company that manufactures the drug -- to Gov. Rick Scott have gone ignored.
Now, Nicholl wants to halt Valle's execution, again claiming the Florida Department of Corrections' use of the drug is unlawful.
"The Controlled Substances Act prohibits the dispensing of pentobarbital except for legitimate medical purposes, and the purpose of execution is not medical," the petition states. "It is incontrovertibly penological."
The first challenge to the use of the drug delayed Valle's original execution date of August 2, after the Florida Supreme Court remanded the case to Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Jacqueline Hogan Scola for a hearing on the constitutionality of pentobarbital.
Scola ruled that Valle's defense "failed to present any credible evidence of any risk of needless suffering," and the Florida Supreme Court unanimously agreed with the lower court's ruling, declaring the new drug constitutional for inmate executions in the state.
At the circuit court hearing, the defense's main witness -- an anesthesiologist -- gave anecdotal evidence about the pain suffered by inmates from other states who have been subject to lethal injections involving pentobarbital, but Scola ruled that without some sort of data, "there is no way to know" exactly how it affects inmates.
Nicholl's petition is a bit different.
Nicholl asserts that Floridians have an interest in preventing the Department of Corrections from undermining the law -- again referring to the Controlled Substances Act -- saying the state must "either operate under the law, or demean its authority in the eyes of Florida's citizens."
A neurologist from Belfast, Northern Ireland, and an honorary senior lecturer at City Hospital in Birmingham, England, Nicholl says he has a "direct interest" in Lundbeck, the Danish drugmaker of pentobarbital.
Aside from using Lundbeck drugs in clinical practice and having a financial interest in the company, Nicholl says he also has an ethical interest in the matter.
Petitioner has been directly involved in the movement to prevent the misuse of pentobarbital in executions. Petitioner led a campaign backed by a committee of over 100 neurologists from all over the world against the use of Lundbeck drugs in executions. Petitioner engaged with leading medical journal, the Lancet, exposing the misuse of the drug and calling for distribution changes to be put in place.
Nicholl also argues against the negative consequences for Lundbeck due to the use of the drug "in the barbaric and reprehensible practice of U.S. executions," thus claiming that the company as well as Florida citizens are the losers if Valle gets the juice.
A response has not yet been filed, and Valle's execution is still scheduled for tomorrow afternoon.
Valle, 61, was convicted of killing a Coral Gables cop in 1978. He's been locked up at the Florida State Prison in Raiford since May 16, 1978, and on death row for just over 30 years now since being sentenced to death on August 4, 1981.
You can read Nicholl's petition by clicking here.
Follow The Pulp on Facebook and on Twitter: @ThePulpBPB. Follow Matthew Hendley on Facebook and on Twitter: @MatthewHendley.
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What is a redneck? Comedian Jeff Foxworthy defines a "redneck" as someone with "a glorious lack of sophistication," stating "that we are all guilty of [it] at one time or another." I would say from my life's experiences that there are probably quite a few of us who are rednecks with an extremely thin veneer of culture or refinement.
I read several different ideas of where the term "redneck" originated, but it was first applied to poor or working class white people from Appalachia, then later to people in that group in the whole southern part of the United States. Eventually the usage has widened to refer to people as rednecks throughout the United States and Canada. I found that the term "bogan" is used in Australia and New Zealand, and I learned in France that the French frequently use the term "paysan" (peasant). Can any of you from other countries tell us your term for rednecks?
It seems to me that at least one aspect of redneckery is being a packrat – if you throw something away, you will immediately need it and wish you had held on to it. Most rednecks are probably just making do and getting by with what they have – something everyone may all end up having to do if our economy continues to decline. Many of the abundant redneck jokes poke fun at old cars in the yard, old appliances on the porch, etc. Snobs might not prefer to think of it this way, but could rednecks just be practicing a different form of the modern virtue of recycling?
My wife and I enjoy watching the Red Green Show, Saturday evenings on PBS. Red and his friends could easily be among those Canadian rednecks. Their inventive use of unlikely objects that had been packratted away along with their heavy use of duct tape shows great redneck ingenuity. Here's a picture from the show's website:
The use of large quantities of duct tape by Red Green and the others in the Possum Lodge is a practice is not restricted to just Canadian rednecks.
Here's a redneck moving van in the USA.
Here's a rear view of that "moving van" heading down the highway.
This past week someone sent me the following comic strip along this theme.
A redneck snowplow....
Some redneck body work...
A redneck doghouse...
A redneck mailbox...
Some redneck planters (American Standard?)...
A redneck fire alarm...
Rednecks do other amazing things with food as well. Here's some redneck seafood....
And the "pièce de résistance" – a redneck wedding cake...
I'll post more redneck pictures in the future.
"Every time you change something, something has to change." - Becka Loach
=^..^= =^..^=
Q: What's the most popular redneck pick up line?
A: Hey, nice tooth!
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This application note describes the fully integrated, targeted sequencing and analysis service, which incorporates primary analysis with advanced variant detection and annotation, which is offered by Oxford Gene Technology. The next generation sequencing (NGS) data analysis pipeline provides complete sequence data processing, including annotation, filtering and ranking of single nucleotide variants (SNVs) and insertions and deletions (indels). The results are presented in an easy-to-navigate and interactive web-based report.
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As you know, I'm doing a series on the Sabbath. Coming up soon (but not next) will be a chapter on how others get turned off to Sabbath keeping because of the example of actual Sabbath keepers.
Of course, hypocrisy has been around since Adam and Eve. Not only does it turn off potential Sabbath keepers, but it turns some people off to Christianity altogether. It's especially onerous when someone claims to be a religious leader and displays such obviously obnoxious behavior as to incite justifiable ridicule from nonreligious sources.
I don't often link to The Consumerist, as the language there can be somewhat off the scale. However, the following picture comes from their article "Waitress Who Posted No-Tip Receipt From 'Pastor' Customer Fired From Job".
It should be noted that this was at Applebee's, and it was a party of about 10. Applebee's makes no bones about its policy of automatically tacking on a gratuity on large parties.
Well, a waitress, not the one who waited on the "pastor", took a picture of it and posted it as a joke. Unfortunately for her, it went viral as people tried to guess who the "pastor" is. It seems that someone figured it out, as the "pastor" called Applebee's, demanding the entire staff be fired.
Comparing a mandatory gratuity to tithing is a little odd, to say the least. It's apples and oranges. Some services charge 30% for commission. Are they sinning by doing so? Actually, if anything was comparable, it should be taxes. Maybe the "pastor" should try this with the IRS.
As for the customer's claim that they "give God 10%," Chelsea says she's "utterly baffled" at why someone would try to make a connection between tithing to one's church and tipping at a restaurant.
"I've been stiffed on tips before," she says, "but this is the first time I've seen the Big Man has been used as reasoning."
Chelsea says that the customer told her manager that their reputation had been ruined by having the receipt posted on Reddit.
I would be less worried about "reputation" and more about Judgment Day. Of course, any "pastor" that would do this probably doesn't really believe in one anyhow.
There is a video on the story, and the "pastor" makes out like she is contrite and sorry, but I don't buy it. If she were truly sorry, she would not have contacted Applebee's in the second place, which is what got the waitress fired. It is obvious that she cares more about what people think than what God thinks.
24 For the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles through you, as it is written.
~ Ro 2:24


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This is getting harder to track, and that seems a bit high. Waiting on Amazon's results, which might not say anything, but I'll try to follow, there's been little action on Celestine for some time.
A genius of sorts, is reporting 200 a day to keep his spot in the top 5 at the Kindle store.
I really don't expect Amazon to officially double sales from last quarter until the IDPF meeting, and they probably won't outsell Fictionwise or whoever by a factor of 30 until mid-summer, depending on supply, of course.


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Sonic Adventure DX Director's Cut Questions, Answers, Hints, Cheats. (PC)
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In addition to the interventions described above, PEPFAR is supporting the development of a number of new prevention technologies, such as microbicides (female-controlled chemical barriers to prevent transmission of HIV). The U.S. Global AIDS Initiative, through the National Institutes of Health, supports scaling up for clinical trials of three microbicide candidates as well as the HIV Prevention Trials Network, a worldwide collaborative that develops and tests the safety and efficacy of nonvaccine interventions designed to prevent HIV transmission (OGAC, 2005b).
A variety of other prevention activities are funded under the condoms and other prevention subcategory. For example, PEPFAR is supporting studies of risk reduction associated with male circumcision and of alcohol consumption as a risk factor for HIV transmission in a few of the focus countries. PEPFAR is also supporting the training of clinicians and peer counselors in how to communicate comprehensive ABC-based prevention messages. Workplace prevention programs funded by PEPFAR are focused on the development of workplace strategies and training for how to deal with the personal and potential commercial impacts of HIV/AIDS in the workplace.
Comprehensive and integrated approaches drawing on all components of ABC and targeting specific populations have been shown to be effective in increasing healthy behaviors and decreasing transmission of HIV, especially when integrated with other HIV services, such as counseling and testing, treatment of other sexually transmitted infections, and antiretroviral therapy (ART) (Stanton et al., 1998; Furguson et al., 2004; Bunnell et al., 2006; Riedner et al., 2006). There is, however, little evidence to show that ABC when separated out into its components is as effective as the comprehensive approach (Bollinger et al., 2004).
Examples of condoms and other prevention activities in selected focus countries are presented in Box 4-2.
Overall, OGAC has reported reaching more than 140 million people in the 15 focus countries with messages intended to prevent the sexual transmission of HIV, a number that represents over one-fourth of the combined population of more than half a billion people in the focus countries. Of this total, roughly two-thirds of people received abstinence-until-marriage/be faithful messages and roughly one-third received condoms and other prevention messages. PEPFAR has supported the training or retraining of more than 864,000 people for prevention programs related to preventing sexual transmission of HIV. Roughly two-thirds of those trained were trained for abstinence-until-marriage/be faithful programs (OGAC, 2005b, 2006a,b, 2007).


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Join us for the exciting online Q&A Webinar where Paul Hammerman, Vice President and Principal Analyst at Forrester Research, gives his insight into the tech trends that manufacturers and distributors can expect over the next 5 years.
Complete Form to View Webinar
If you are a manufacturer or distributor looking for ERP software, this is a "not to be missed" discussion. The latest technologies including mobile and cloud will also be addressed in this exciting webinar.
Featuring guest speak Paul D. Hamerman, VP and Principal Analyst at Forrester Research, Inc.


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If any of the happy passengers now boarding the cruise ship Island Adventure expect to be greeted at the gangway by a mellow incarnation of Gavin McLeod in captain's garb, they're in for a disappointment. At the moment, Captain Georgiy Zolotarev has a frown on his face and a surliness in his demeanor. With furrowed brow he's busily scribbling numbers in a small pocket notebook, calculating the all-important passenger count for the past month.
Finally he gets to the bottom line, which must be good news, because suddenly he's filled with high Cossack spirits. Lifting an arm toward Hackett, who has has been quietly roaming the wheelhouse, checking the equipment, and greeting the bridge crew, Zolotarev raises his voice and offers a bellowing toast, "The kings! To the kings of the port!"
Hackett shakes his head and walks away with a sour look on his face. He likes Zolotarev and gets along well with him, but this isn't the sort of metaphor he wants to see in print.
For good reason. Last year, when the pilots applied to the state Pilotage Rate Review Board (PRRB) for a rate increase, the cruise and cargo industries saw the request as an opening to fight not only the request itself, but also to take the issue away from the board and get it before a judge.
A big part of the pilots' defense in this fight has been the contention that, as pilot Keith Hoye puts it, "Hey, we're running as lean an operation as we can."
You can see why images of royalty are not welcome. Still, rumors of pilot wealth are so pervasive that the subject often pops up in casual conversation. At the first mention of the pilots, Frank Herhold, executive director of the Marine Industries Association, pipes right up with the question, "So tell me, how much do they make?"
Herhold is joking, but Patrick Donohugh isn't. Donohugh, the assistant chief pilot of the Los Angeles Port Pilots, says everybody has heard the rumor of the sweet deal in Port Everglades. "Aw, geez... it's terrible what they make over there." Donohugh, for one, is jealous. But even he doesn't know precisely how much they make.
The pilots have responded to attacks on their income in a couple ways. Jim Ryan, for example, has a simple answer to anyone who wants to know how much money he and his fellow pilots make: "It's none of your business."
Of course, because the pilots carry a state license, can affect public safety, and have their rates set by a state agency, Ryan's salary is public knowledge. But that doesn't mean they have to like it in the pilothouse. "I don't know anybody else who has to pull their pants down in public," says Hackett.
For the record, in 1996 the pilots pulled in an average of $330,000 apiece. Not counting such excellent benefits as a retirement plan that paid each retired pilot more than $140,000 that year. That's $25,000 more per year than Donohugh makes right now as a working Los Angeles pilot. No wonder the man's jealous.
Ryan doesn't think the money he makes should be a valid public concern. The pilots earn their money by charging ship owners a fixed rate per ship, and it is this -- the rate structure -- that the public should be concerned about.
The rate is set not by the pilots but by a state agency, the PRRB. The rates are based on a ship's draft (how deep the ship sits in the water when empty) and gross tonnage (an imprecise measurement of a ship's overall size). The rate schedule per ship for Port Everglades is the third-lowest of the 12 state-regulated ports in Florida.
The reason the pay is so good is that the Port Everglades channel is so short that a small number of pilots can handle a large number of ships. The average time aboard each ship is only about an hour and a half, which is the lowest average in the state.
Of course, along with the money comes enormous responsibilities and risks.
By Florida law a ship cannot come into port without a licensed pilot on board, and, with very few exceptions, this pilot must belong to the Port Everglades association. The only exceptions are ships that have licensed federal pilots on board, fly the U.S. flag, and are carrying what is known as "coastwise" trade, that is, cargo or passengers coming directly from another U.S. port.
As Shelton explains the law, "This means that we can't turn anyone away." As the port traffic has grown, it has increased the chances of an accident in the port. In 1987, the pilots conducted fewer than 5000 "handles," a term for any movement of a ship with a pilot on board. In 1997, they conducted 10,385 handles.
Much of this increase in trade has focused on small cargo ships that ply to and fro between Port Everglades and various Caribbean ports. Some of these ships may be less than ideal in terms of seaworthiness and seamanship. Deregulation of the maritime industry has meant fewer unionized crew members and officers aboard ships and thus a loss of professionalism and quality, according to the pilots.


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Butcher & the Boar Chef, Jack Riebel.
Tom Wallace, Star Tribune
When: Noon-10 p.m. Sun.
Where: Butcher & the Boar, 1121 Hennepin Av. S., Mpls.
Cost: Free.
Contact: 612-238-8888, or www.butcherandtheboar.com.
Nightlife: Al fresco all winter
- Article by: TOM HORGEN
- Star Tribune
- October 4, 2012 - 4:50 PM
The Twin Cities' top patios will be tested this weekend when low temps dip into the 30s. Butcher & the Boar will be ready: The meat palace recently equipped its outdoor patio with a heated all-weather German-style tent. And they plan to keep it open year-round.
Chef Jack Riebel is calling it a "Bavarian winter beer garden." Sounds tough.
Check it out Sunday during the restaurant's first annual Boarfest. The all-day Oktoberfest-ish celebration will feature all of Butcher & the Boar's favorite things: bourbon, beer, brats and bands. Performers include Tim Mahoney, City on the Make, Jack Brass Band and more. Oktoberfest beers will be flowing, and Riebel himself will be grilling the boar brats and shucking oysters.
SPEAKING OF OKTOBERFESTThere's still time to check out some of the original Oktoberfest shindigs.
The Black Forest Inn closes out its 10 Days of Oktoberfest celebration this weekend with themed nights that include music and bier specials: Berliner Night (Fri.), Freudian Slip Night (Sat.) and Drain the Keg Night (Sun.). (1 E. 26th St., Mpls., 612-872-0812, www.blackforestinnmpls.com)
Over at Gasthof in northeast Minneapolis, the bar has erected not one but two giant tents in the parking lot. As always, there's polka, brats, sauerkraut and beer. Gasthof won't shut them down until Oct. 13. (2300 University Av. NE., Mpls., 612-781-3860, www.gasthofzg.com.)
BUFFET O' COMEDYFresh on the heels of Louis C.K.'s sold-out shows this week, the next few days are shaping up to be a busy time for touring acts coming to the Twin Cities.
Steve Byrne: The Korean/Irish comedian is riding high after TBS recently ordered a second season of his sitcom "Sullivan & Son," in which he plays a half Korean/half Irish bar owner. He's bringing his physical brand of comedy to the Mall of America. (8 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. Fri. and Sat., 8 p.m. Sun., House of Comedy, $18.95-$22.95.)
Anjelah Johnson and Jo Koy: Together, these two are gonna be trouble on the "BFF Tour." Johnson is known as the MADtv alum who went viral with her obnoxious Bon Qui Qui fast-food character. Koy's flippant humor owes a lot to his Filipino mother (he does a hilarious impersonation of dear old Mom). These two are masters of ethnic stereotypes, for good and for worse. (8 p.m. Fri., State Theatre, $33.50.)
Frank Caliendo: These days the rotund comedian is most famous for his so-so impressions during NFL games (though he does do a great one of Charles Barkley). His TV time means he's probably big enough to do a theater, but the comic will return for one night only to Acme Comedy Company. (7 and 9:30 p.m. Thu., Acme, $28.)
- Tom Horgen
- 612-673-7909
- Twitter: @tomhorgen
© 2015 Star Tribune


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The Coaching Development Committee of Speed Skating Canada is pleased to offer the "Coaches Recognition Pin Program," recognizing contributions and efforts made by our coaches over the years. The coaches recognition pin recognizes the volunteer efforts of our coaches. Clubs and associations may request pins by filling out the order form that can be found below. Pins available are:
Please complete the pin order form and email it to Janice Dawson at email@example.com. Your pins will be distributed upon receiving this request.


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Transfer Pricing Breakfast Seminar: Indian Advance Pricing Agreement program
Registration/breakfast will start from 8:00 a.m.
This Transfer Pricing Breakfast Seminar focuses on a key development in India, which relates to the new India Advance Pricing Agreement (APA) program. With the introduction of APAs in India by the Finance Act, 2012, an alternative channel of resolving transfer pricing disputes in advance is now available to taxpayers.
With a high-level of interest shown by taxpayers in the Indian APA program in the 'first wave', this month's seminar will have a special focus on the Indian APA program. The seminar will cover the following:
- Fundamental concepts around intra-group services such as:
- An overview of the Indian transfer pricing landscape, including an outline of current and emerging controversies
- Key features, benefits and challenges of India's APA program
- Why and when should taxpayers consider an APA in India and how to design a winning APA strategy
- Using APA as a tool for implementing transfer pricing planning options
The presenters will be as follows:
- Rajendra Nayak, Partner – International Tax Services & Transfer Pricing from EY India
- Vijay Iyer, India Transfer Pricing Leader from EY India
Both Rajendra and Vijay have significant experience in the area of international tax and transfer pricing. They also have substantial experience in advising companies on cross-border transactions, transfer pricing planning, documentation and controversy management and assisting companies in international tax planning. Further, they have been actively involved in the APA program since its launch and are hand holding several tax payers through the process.
Seminar fee
Clients and alumni: S$75 per person |
Public: S$90 per person |
Includes GST, breakfast and seminar materials
Private meetings
Private meetings with Rajendra and Vijay are also available. Access to private meeting request form here.
EY will contact you to discuss and confirm available timeslots for the private client meetings two weeks in advance of the private meetings (subject to receipt of the time this response is submitted).
Cherie SY Chan
Tel: +65 6309 8297
When confirming your attendance, we encourage you to submit questions on transfer pricing issues you would like us to address in this breakfast seminar.
Ernst & Young Solutions LLP reserves the right to cancel the seminar or amend the schedule, venue and speaker(s) due to circumstances beyond our control. Registration is on a first-come-first-served basis. We regret that we cannot give fee refunds, but changes in the personnel attending can be accommodated.