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Oral History Transcript — Dr. Alan Guth
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Interview with Dr. Alan Guth
Alan Guth; September 21, 1987
ABSTRACT: Reasons why the inflationary universe has been so influential; history of the development of the inflationary universe model; high school interest in science and preference for oscillating universe model; early career in particle physics; change in career to cosmology; influence of Steven Weinberg; question of legitimacy of work on early universe; mental pictures of the beginning of the universe; first introduction to the flatness problem; visualization of cosmological models; what types of questions can be asked in science; quantum effects in the creation of the universe; different views of quantum mechanics; meaning of time in the early universe; anthropic principle; multitude of universes; questions of purposeful versus accidental nature of our universe.
TranscriptSession I | Session II
Lightman:Ive got your notes here from the time I talked to you in 1983. You mentioned that a lecture by [Robert] Dicke at Cornell[1] was influential [in motivating your discovery of the inflationary universe model]. Anyway, we dont need to go through all of that history now. I wanted to talk to you about some more general questions. One thing I wanted to get your opinion about is why you feel the inflationary universe model has caught on so well.
Guth:Yes. Its a good question and I think it has caught on better than I would have expected. To some extent it was just an overdue idea. It really is a rather short step beyond what had been done previously in particle physics, and it answered a lot of questions that people had already realized. It also, I guess, is really the only theory thats around right now that makes real predictions about what the early universe should look like. The other ideas that people have — most ideas that people have make no predictions.
Lightman:Dont you think people could have used the standard [big bang] model without the inflationary epoch to make predictions? I guess the initial conditions would have played a larger role.
Guth:The initial conditions would have played a much larger role. And for anything that goes beyond the basic issues, like the density fluctuations, the standard model really makes no predictions. You just have to put those in by hand. So people could have just been resistant to the idea. Actually I am a little surprised that inflation has caught on so well. But if you want to think about the broader questions inflation answers, right now it seems to be the only theory around that answers those questions. Its also a fact that I had some lucky breaks as far as public relations, as far as the speed at which [the theory] traveled. When I first came up with the idea I was at SLAC [Stanford Linear Accelerator Center]. That year, Sidney Coleman was at SLAC and Lenny Susskind was at Stanford, spending a good deal of time at SLAC. When I gave the seminar, when I first talked about inflation, Coleman and Susskind were in the audience. Both of them got very excited about it and felt right away that it was a good idea. At least initially, as far as the spread of information, I. think they were both instrumental. Both of them went around and talked about it a lot. I was just a lowly postdoc. If I had gone around talking about [the inflationary universe model] no one would have listened for quite some time.
Lightman:I remember youre saying you were well aware of Colemans work[2] on the false vacuum.
Lightman:Was that influential in your thinking?
Guth:[Long pause] It was an essential piece of background. It doesnt tell you that much new about the problem [of cosmology].
Lightman:But he hadnt discussed the fact that the false vacuum would then give you an equivalent energy density which would then give exponential expansion?
Guth:Thats right. He had not done that.
Lightman:Which is a very critical step. Had he been talking about the false vacuum in the context of cosmology?
Guth:He made one cosmological statement in his paper, I guess, about the decay of the false vacuum. The paper was mainly a particle physics paper — the questions of figuring out if you have a false vacuum, how does it decay, which is a very interesting particle physics question. In other words, it was pretty mysterious to people before Colemans paper. It was a Russian paper[3] that [first] had it approximately right.
Lightman:Was that [Andrei] Linde?
Guth:No. Coleman cites them. We can look it up. Its not Linde. Linde had papers about phase transitions in the early universe, but he didnt talk at all about the mechanism of the phase transition, which certainly would be different in different cases. In Colemans paper, after doing this calculation with the WKB formula, he ends by saying — he always words things in very cute ways — he says that numerically the answer is sensitive to a lot of parameters. If it [the age of the universe when the phase transition occurs] turns out to be 10100 years, then youd never see it and its possible that our own vacuum is still unstable. If the lifetime turns out to be a fraction of a second, then there would be a secondary bang [after the primary big bang]. If the lifetime turns out to be 1010 years, then wed have cause for anxiety.
Lightman:Yes, I see. So thats really pretty far from taking it [the phase transition] seriously as an instigator of a new phase of the early universe. One thing that Im interested in is the way that you visualize the geometry of space and the way that you visualize the beginning of the universe, if you do think about the beginning. But before getting to what your current views are on that, do you have any memories whatsoever of how you thought about cosmology before you became a scientist?
Guth:As a child?
Lightman:As a child, or anytime growing up until you became a scientist. You started out as a particle physicist.
Guth:I was an amateur cosmologist.
Lightman:An amateur cosmologist for a long time. But do you remember any of your earlier views about the universe?
Guth:I guess when I was in high school I read at least one book on cosmology. I dont remember what it was. I remember learning about the possibilities of open and closed universes. Also, whatever book I read talked about an oscillating universe as one possibility, and I think thats the one I liked the best. It seemed natural.
Lightman:That [the oscillating universe model] was in fashion for a while there. It doesnt seem to be too much in fashion right now.
Guth:Yes, thats right.
Lightman:And you liked the oscillating universe the best?
Guth:Yes, from what I remember.
Lightman:Do you remember why you liked it the best, why it would appeal more?
Guth:I guess it had the appeal that you seemingly didnt have to explain the beginning. And if you cant explain the beginning, its nice not to have to explain the beginning [laughs].
Lightman:Yes. Because you could imagine that the oscillations occurred for an infinite period of time.
Guth:Yes, that is certainly [the way I thought about it.] I didnt know about the increase of entropy at that time, and all the problems [that brings.]
Lightman:But thats only a recent thing that people have been talking about.
Lightman:So one attraction about an oscillating universe was that you didnt have to think about the beginning. Did you think about the beginning?
Guth:[long pause] I was aware that if you didnt have an oscillating universe, youd either need a beginning or a steady state cosmology. I dont remember what I learned at that time about the steady state cosmology, but I think it was already somewhat on the way out.
Lightman:You said you read about some of these ideas in cosmology. Was that in high school?
Guth:I would guess high school.
Lightman:Thats amazing. Was it a standard physics textbook, or was it Scientific American, or what?
Guth:No, Im sure it wasnt a textbook. It was more at the popular level.
Lightman:So you were reading some of the popular scientific literature?
Lightman:Its very possible that it could have been an article in Scientific American. I remember reading articles in Scientific American when I was in high school.
Guth:Yes. It could be. I certainly did read Scientific American when I was in high school. In fact, much more thoroughly then than now [laughs].
Lightman:Yes, I understood much more of it [Scientific American] then than I do now. I guess you could find out what popular magazines were around at that time, whenever it was — the middle 1960s, the early 1960s — and see what it could have been. At that time, did you ever try to imagine how far space extends, or whether the universe was finite or infinite, or any of those kinds of questions?
Guth:Yes. That also was a question that came up in some of my popular reading. I did learn about closed universes. I think I had a reasonable, vague understanding of what a closed universe was — I knew about the usual analogy of the two-dimensional surface of a balloon, increasing it by one dimension. Its hard to know now how much sense I was really able to make out of that idea. But I bought it. I thought it made sense. I doubt if I could have calculated the volume of a closed universe. Probably not.
Lightman:Its a little tricky
Guth:Its a little tricky.
Lightman:I remember theres a factor of two there thats a little tricky.
Guth:Yes, if you use the Robertson-Walker coordinates theres a factor of two. If you use the coordinates appropriate to a sphere that factor of two is not a problem.
Lightman:Do you have any sense of how your cosmological views evolved [after] this high school memory, as you became a practicing cosmologist? Do you recollect any big changes that your views went through? I guess you jettisoned the oscillating universe idea at some point.
Guth:Yes. I really did have a rather long vacation from cosmology. It was from the time I was in college or in graduate school. Up until 1979 or so I really did very little thinking about cosmology. Particle physics certainly is a handful in itself. And there was nothing I was doing in particle physics that brought me towards cosmology.
Lightman:So when you did start thinking about it [cosmology] again in 1979 do you remember how you thought about, lets say, the beginning of the universe?
Guth:Well, OK. One thing I certainly felt was that the universe was a frighteningly open problem, and it was very different from what I had worked on previously in particle physics. Particle physics is a much cleaner subject than astrophysics and cosmology to begin with. And even within particle physics, I had always sought out the cleanest, most mathematically well-formed problems to work on. So there really was a big change for me to start working on something as messy as cosmology. As I may have told you last time, I really got my arm twisted into it by a friend of mine at Cornell, Henry Tye. I certainly wasnt involved [previously]. Another influence on me at the time was Steve Weinberg, who was a person I respected very much from particle physics.
Lightman:He was already working on cosmology.
Guth:He was already working on cosmology. He was working on exactly this sort of thing, actually — grand-unified theories and cosmology. So if he could work on it, it must make sense.
Lightman:I see. You felt he gave certain legitimacy to the subject.
Guth:Thats right. And for me that was a problem.
Lightman:Let me ask you about that. When you say it [cosmology] didnt seem legitimate, do you mean that in practice it was too messy to pin down, but in principle it might have had answers? Or even in principle it was hard to pin down? What do you mean by legitimacy?
Guth:Yes, its a fair question. I doubt that I would have ever said its impossible in principle to pin down cosmology. I think its a question of what I thought we were ready to understand at the time.
Lightman:Did it bother you any to be making theories about the beginning [of the universe]?
Guth:You mean in a kind of a religious way?
Lightman:Just in any kind of way.
Guth:It bothered me in the sense that it was so remote; you didnt know how to test it. To some extent thats still true. Even if inflation is right, its certainly hard to prove its right. But once I started working in it, I did gradually come to the [view] that, even though there are a lot of things we dont know, it is still possible to make reasonable calculations. What impressed me when I started working on cosmology was the way in which order of magnitude estimates work in cosmology — the fact that if something is wrong, its typically not wrong by a factor of 2 but by a factor of 1020. So there were things you could learn — from it, and it made sense to study cosmology at this time, even though its not nearly as precise obviously as other physics.
Lightman:So you felt this [property of huge numbers in cosmology] would allow you to weed out wrong theories more quickly and, if not to find the right theory, at least to know what the wrong theories were.
Lightman:Did you begin taking more seriously a theory for the beginning of the universe when you started working in cosmology?
Guth:When I started working, I accepted the standard big bang model quite seriously, which is what everybody else was doing at the time.
Lightman:Everybody who thinks about that model has their own picture of the beginning. Do you remember any kind of picture that you had or have now?
Guth:The big bang theory of the universe?
Lightman:[Picture] of the beginning. What it really means.
Guth:The view that I might have had, although its hard to tell over what time period this view emerged, was that it was practically impossible to take the standard big bang model of the universe seriously back to time zero. Certainly, one reason is that you just know that when the temperature gets to be of the order of the Planck [quantum mechanical] scale, theres got to be physics going on that you know nothing about. Also, the fact that the universe is so unstable at very early times. The actual mass density must have been incredibly close to the critical density, or else the behavior of the universe would have been very different from the way it was. Im not sure when I realized it, but [Robert] Dicke and [James] Peebles, in the same article[4] they talk about that [the very close balance between actual mass density and critical mass density, or the flatness problem], also talk about the fact that its more than just one number that has to be fixed. Its really a local density and a local expansion rate of the universe; its not just the mean values. Every Fourier component basically has to be started out with incredibly small amplitude. In other words, you can look at the density fluctuations in the early universe; they grow linearly with t, so that every Fourier component has to be fine-tuned to incredibly small amplitude at the start, very early, near time zero.
Lightman:So that made you think that it was very hard to understand what was going on then?
Guth:Right. I think initially I believed that the Planck mass must be the cut off, or close to Planck. So initially I think I was going under the assumption that the standard cosmology could go back to the Planck time, and before that it was just too far beyond our present understanding of physics.
Lightman:Did you have any picture of what it was like at that time?
Guth:I rather quickly became indoctrinated with the picture that the universe was smooth and in thermal equilibrium, homogeneous.
Lightman:When you sit down to solve some equations for the expansion radius — which physically says something — do you have a visual picture in your head? Sometimes I think of a little ball thats expanding or something. Do you have any kind of picture like that in your head? Maybe you dont think that way.
Guth:I guess sometimes I do. I agree that the ball is about the only picture you can use for the early universe even though its not all that accurate. It doesnt have the same boundaries as the universe. I certainly was not terribly aware of the actual numerical values in cosmology when I started to work on it. I remember a few nights before I gave my first talk [at SLAC] I had to review some material so I would have some idea about what I was talking about. I remember reading Steve Weinbergs popular book[5] on cosmology.
Lightman:How do you picture the creation of the universe? Now we think there were quantum mechanical effects. We could have said that a long time ago just on the basis [of] dimensional analysis. Do you have any ideas of how the universe came into being?
Guth:When I started working on cosmology, and before I [discovered] inflation,[6] I think I would not have asked that question.
Lightman:You wouldnt have asked the question?
Guth:Right. You only ask questions that you can get some idea of how to answer.
Lightman:Oh really.
Lightman:As a scientist thats true, but what about just as a person? What were you thinking about, not necessarily [for] posing to other scientists?
Guth:I was not thinking about how the universe was created. I do to some extent try to focus my thoughts on questions that I have some tools for approaching. Its not just that Im a scientist. How long can you spend thinking about something for which you have no idea what to think? At that time I was not at all aware that it was possible to make a universe from nothing. I would have thought at that time that conservation of energy would make that impossible.
Lightman:[But] if the universe has zero energy, then conservation of energy doesnt prevent you from [creating the universe from nothing].
Guth:Thats right. But I was not aware at that time that it was a possibility.
Lightman:How do you think about it now?
Guth:Now, I do think that its a question that science is beginning to ask. And I think its very plausible that the universe is a quantum fluctuation starting from absolutely nothing. Those [calculations] still involve questions that need answering. But all that is very plausible. I have not been following in any great detail the work on the quantum creation of the universe by [Alex] Vilenkin and [Stephen] Hawking et al. I understand there is a disagreement of signs [between the calculations of Vilenkin and Hawking] which I have never tried to understand. I guess I feel that even though were beginning to answer those questions, my guess is that without a real theory of quantum gravity, the sign disagreement between Vilenkin and Hawking may be one of those things that is not resolvable unless you have a real theory. My emotional feeling is that we dont quite yet have the scientific machinery to pin these questions down. But I think were certainly working on it and I also think that qualitatively the idea of the creation of the universe out of quantum fluctuations is so simple that it has a very good chance of being right.
Lightman:Let me ask a question about that. If the universe began as a quantum fluctuation, what was there before the fluctuation? How do you think about that?
Guth:OK, I can tell you the image I use for that, although Im not sure it will hold up in time. What I think now is that in the hypothetical theory of quantum gravity, which doesnt quite exist, there will be a Hubert space of all the possible states of the universe and the different states of the universe will clearly have different possible geometries for the universe, and among all of those states and those possible geometries I assume that one of the possibilities is a universe with zero points — [in other words], a closed universe with its radius equal to zero or something like that. Thats what I sort of take as the definition of nothing, and thats what I take as the starting point, a universe with no points. Im assuming that the theory of quantum gravity will supply a mechanism for calculating the transition amplitude [probability] from that state to other states.
Lightman:How do you visualize all of these different possible universes before this particular universe [came into being]? Would these amplitudes be changing in time? I know the whole idea of time is difficult to talk about.
Guth:Right. Ill buy your last statement that we cant really talk about time in this quantum universe. What I would guess is correct is that the only thing that exists in the theory is this: given a description of a space like slice, theres a recipe for calculating the amplitude for that space like slice to exist. The notion of time in this description arises in a very peculiar way. The wave function doesnt depend on time; its just a function of the slices. The idea [is] that even if you had a whole history of the universe, it would just look like so many [space like] slices lying out on the table, rather than [having] a particular order [in time].
Lightman:Each one [spacelike slice] would have some amplitude.
Guth:Each one would have some amplitude. Right. And the sense of continuity [time] that we perceive in nature is really just a correlation that is, if you have a slice of the whole universe there will be devices in that slice that you can think of as clocks, including clocks themselves, and the flow of time is just a strong correlation between what a clock is reading and something else that is going on.
Lightman:So you think that even in the current universe, which is in some sense in the classical [non-quantum mechanical] domain, the concept of time is artificial. Maybe artificial is not the word.
Guth:Well, a classical approximation. [The concept of time] is certainly a good approximation. But as I understand it, in a full quantum gravity description of the universe, the concept of time would arise simply as a correlation...
Lightman:Between different slices...
Guth:In the amplitudes.
Lightman:So if you had two slices that were very similar [in spatial structure], then you would associate them as being close together in time.
Guth:Thats right.
Lightman:Thats how you would define time, thats how you would experience it.
Guth:Thats right.
Lightman:In this quantum era, how do you picture these different possible universes?
Guth:The view of quantum mechanics that has always made the most sense to me — although I. admit that there are some features that dont make sense to me — is the Everett-Wheeler view,[7] the many-worlds interpretation, where you think of all the components of the wave function as representing reality, and our reality is just a branch that we happen to be on. But its hard to know what words to use. One could at least imagine that there are people on other branches of the wave function — who could be sitting [somewhere] having a conversation just like the one were having now.
Lightman:So all of these possible universes in some way exist.
Lightman:Then what meaning do you give to the words the universe came into being? Does that just mean that a particular universe changed from having zero points, from having zero radius, to having a finite radius?
Guth:Actually it probably has no precise meaning. I know Hawking tries to avoid talking about [the beginning] for that reason. I think it has meaning to the extent that this classical interpretation of quantum mechanics gives a sense that time flows. But my understanding of quantum gravity, which is certainly not perfect, seems to indicate that theres a level of quantum gravity [in which time cannot] be described. If you follow the universe backwards in time toward the origin of the universe, you dont need quantum gravity while time is evolving, but I think that once you get down toward the beginning of the universe, where you really need quantum gravity, my guess is that Hawking is right, that you really should not talk about the universe beginning at a time. The boundary conditions determine the wave function of the universe.
Lightman:But in that picture I take it that you would also imagine that there is other universes simultaneously existing.
Guth:Yes, thats right. In my view, there are other universes that are simultaneously existing. And there are two levels of other universes that are simultaneously existing. If inflation is right, even in our component of the wave function, the universe is so huge that there are parts that are totally disconnected from us.
Lightman:Yes, I understand that.
Guth:But in addition, there would be other components of the wave function superimposed on our part. And in the many-worlds interpretation these other components would also be interpreted as real universes, although its hard to define in what sense they would be real. I think if really pressed to defend what it is that Im saying, then Id step back and say as little as possible, and just say what the quantum theory would predict and thats all there is to it. But then I would add that if one wants to have a picture of quantum mechanical [reality] to make sense out of, the picture that makes the most sense to me is that these other universes are also real, and the people living there are as real as you and me.
Lightman:What do you think about the anthropic principle? I know there are many versions of it, from something relatively mild to Wheelers Observership idea,[8] which is the most extreme form. Where do you put yourself in that discussion?
Guth:Emotionally, [the anthropic principle] kind of rubs me the wrong way. Im even resistant to listening to it. Obviously, there are some anthropic statements you can make that are true. If we werent here then we wouldnt be here. Some of what people talk about follows from that. As far as the anthropic principle as a way of approaching things, I find it hard to believe that anybody would ever use the anthropic principle if he had a better explanation for something. Ive yet, for example, to hear an anthropic principle of world history. Historians dont talk in those terms. They have more concrete things to say. I tend to feel that the [physical constants] are determined by physical laws that we cant understand [now], and once we understand those physical laws we can make predictions which are a lot more precise.
Lightman:So you would argue that intelligence, or life, doesnt have any special role in the universe.
Guth:Thats right. I dont think that intelligence or life has any special role. The fact that intelligence or life has evolved may tell us something [about the universe]. But I dont think the laws were contrived in order to allow life to exist. I also think that we dont understand life that well. So it is a rather poor way to try to determine the laws using the fact that life exists. The anthropic principle is something that people do if they cant think of anything better to do.
Lightman:One of the ideas of the anthropic principle, which doesnt necessarily have to be associated with life, is whether the universe is accidental or not. In your view of the quantum mechanical origins of the universe, [would you] say that these other universes might have different dimensions of space or different values of the fundamental constants?
Guth:Yes. Certainly in my grand wave function, there are many different things going on, so any one branch might be accidental, although [they all have] the same physical laws. So this same picture of the universe could be considered accidental.
Lightman:When you look at the whole wave function, you would say thats not accidental?
Guth:Thats right. The whole wave function is not.
Lightman:So our particular branch is just one that we happen to be on; there are other people, other creatures possibly living on other branches.
Guth:Right. And one of the questions people worry about is what it is that determines the laws of physics. Of course, there are a few coincidences. If the neutron lifetime werent what it is, the universe would be either all helium or else it would contain almost no helium. Things like that. My emotional feeling is that the general [laws] are really very restrictive, including how the neutron lifetime comes out and my guess is that there really is only one consistent theory of nature that has no free parameters at all.
Lightman:Why are the laws of physics so restrictive?
Guth:That I dont claim to know. The things I mean [by the laws of physics] are the general notions of quantum theory and relativity. It is very difficult to combine these two sets of ideas, and there may be only one consistent way of doing it.
Lightman:Do you think theres a possibility that some intelligence created the laws of physics, and then let things evolve from there?
Guth:It is certainly a hard question you ask. We really dont know where this wave function sits. It could be on somebodys Cray [computer] [laughs]. Im not sure whether creatures living inside some numerical simulation on a Cray are [real], although some people tend to think in those terms.
Lightman:One of the overtones of the anthropic principle is that the universe has some kind of a purpose.
Guth:Yes. Right.
Lightman:And if you thought that the laws of physics were so restrictive that they could not have been accidental, then that would suggest a purpose to the universe.
Guth:I dont know. I would say that another way if there were ziffions of possible universes, and our universe happened to have a neutron lifetime in the range to allow life to form — that I think would suggest a purpose. The alternative point of view is that there is only one consistent way the universe could have evolved.
Lightman:Maybe I misunderstood what you said earlier, but I understood you to say that in this sort of pre-existence, this Hilbert space which was the soil from which emerged our universe, that there were other universes with finite amplitudes [probabilities] which had very different properties from our universe. Now when you think of those different properties, are you talking about little details, or are you talking about the number of dimensions of space, or the speed of light?
Guth:Im not sure I know. My instinct is that the laws of physics at the most fundamental level are universal and apply to all branches of the wave function. Yet its hard to determine what that level is from the apparent level. Years ago people tended to see the laws of physics just being as God made them. But in the current climate, its much easier to believe that what we see is to some extent just a particular state that our universe happens to be in. So that the details might be different [in other possible states or branches].
Lightman:Would [such details] include the number of dimensions of space, for example?
Guth:Very likely. In some sense, the absolute number of dimensions could be fixed [the same in all branches of the wave function]; it may be 26 or something like that. But the apparent number could be much smaller due to compactification. It [the number of dimensions of space] could then be different in different universes. On the other hand, it could be that only four dimensions are stable. Im not saying that I believe that other dimensions are possible; Im just saying that it is conceivable to me.
Lightman:On the question of the lifetime of the neutron — which we agree might have some relationship to the ability of life to emerge, although we dont know how restrictive that is — do you think that other universes that have the same laws of physics but might have different details, [such as the] lifetime of the neutron? Of course it [the neutron lifetime] would have to be relative to something else. [The significance of] an absolute number like that must be [considered] relative to something else.
Guth:Yes, it would have to be relative to something else; somebodys watch [laughs]. Usually when you have spontaneous symmetry breaking, you have very different types of vacuums of the universe. So I would think it unlikely that there would be other universes that would be just like ours, except that the [fundamental] constants would be slightly different.
Lightman:So to that extent, our universe would be just accidental.
Lightman:Because a minute ago you were turning around the anthropic argument. I cant remember exactly what you said, but you said that the anthropic argument would have some significance if we could imagine [a situation in which there were] lots of different universes, but only this one would permit life. But if the laws of physics greatly restricted the kind of universe to be a universe very much like ours, then this is the only universe we could have so it doesnt make any sense to talk about how improbable this one is. How do you reconcile that [argument] with what you just said? Im not trying to pin you down; I just want to understand what youre saying.
Guth:Right. One of the things Ive been thinking is that if the laws of physics do appear to be different in other places [or universes] with different [forms] of spontaneous symmetry breaking, then they will be very different. Its not just a question of a small difference. Thats important in terms of the anthropic principle. Because, for example, if the value of alpha [the fine structure constant] were continuously variable, then the anthropic people would come along and say that it has the value it has because otherwise life wouldnt have formed. So there may be only one universe that would allow life to form. I just dont think that alpha has continuous values. There may be universes where it has the value 1/137 [like in our universe] and other universes where it has the value 2. Its still true; I guess that the anthropic principle might make some sense in terms of selecting certain types of spontaneous symmetry breaking. In some cases, spontaneous symmetry breaking may lead to physics that does not lead to life. I dont know. I dont think much about that. That is a question for the future. At the moment, I dont think we are at all prepared to even say what the laws of physics would be in these other branches [parts of the overall wave function]. When we do get to the point where we can talk about that, I think it will have to be in terms of some fundamental theory like the superstring theory. And again, it probably wont be the anthropic principle that tells us what the vacuua look like.
Lightman:Why do you call [states of the universe] vacuua?
Guth:Good question. I call them vacuua because in the theory of spontaneous symmetry breaking we believe that even if there are phase transitions, the phase that were in is a phase of zero energy or a minimum energy state.
Lightman:And you call that the vacuum.
Guth:I call that the vacuum. It may be a false vacuum.
Lightman:So that vacuum is a minimum energy state.
Guth:Yes, at least a local minimum.
Maybe thats a good place to stop.
[1] November, 1978
[2] S. Coleman Fate of the False Vacuum: Semiclassical Theory, Physical Review D, vol. 15, pg. 2929 (1977)
[3] M.B. Voloshin, I. Yu Kobzarev, and L.B. Okun, vol. 20, pg. 1229 (1974); trans in Soviet Journal of Nuclear Physics, vol. 20, pg. 644 (1975)
[4] R. H. Dicke and P.J.E. Peebles, Enigmas and Nostrums in Cosmology, in General Relativity: An Einstein Centenary Survey, ed. S.W. Hawking and W. Israel (London: Cambridge University Press, 1979)
[5] The First Three Minutes (New York: Basic Books, 1977)
[6] A.H. Guth, Inflationary Universe: A Possible Solution to the Horizon and Flatness Problems," Physical Review D, vol. 23, pg. 347 (1981)
[7] H. Everett III, Reviews of Modern Physics, vol. 29, pg. 454 (1957); J.A. Wheeler, Review of Modern Physics, vol. 29, pg. 463 (1957)
[8] C.W. Misner, K.S. Thorne, and J.A. Wheeler Gravitation (San Francisco: Freeman, 1973), chapt. 44; J.A. Wheeler Genesis and Observership, in Foundational Problems in The Physical Sciences, eds. Butts and Hontikka (Dordrecht: Boston, 1977)


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Buffalo Wild Wings
Casual EateryMore Info
|Ricardo Williams Profile
Courtesy: Hurricanesports.com
Release: 07/25/2012
2012 (Redshirt Freshman): Played in one game ... Made Miami debut against North Carolina, did not record any stats.
2011 (True Freshman): Did not see any action, redshirted to retain eligibility.
High School: Three-star defensive end according to ESPNU and Rivals.com ... Ranked 26th-best weakside defensive end by Rivals.com ... "High-energy" player ... Also capable of playing outside linebacker ... All-time sack leader at Homestead ... Also played tight end and wide receiver freshman and sophomore years ... High school coach was Bobby McCray ... Considered North Carolina, Marshall and Texas Tech among other schools, earning more than 20 scholarship offers.
|No Events in the Near Future

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Here are 10 things you should know for Friday, Nov. 15:
1.-- U.S. stock futures were rising Friday, getting a second-day boost from comments by Janet Yellen, the incoming Federal Reserve chief, who said the U.S. economy still needs the central bank's support.
European stocks were lower in early trading Friday on continued growth concerns for the region.
Asian shares finished the session with gains. Japan's Nikkei 225 rose 2% while Hong Kong's Hang Seng jumoed 1.7%.
2.-- The economic calendar in the U.S. Friday includes the Empire State Manufacturing Survey for November at 8:30 a.m. EST, and industrial production and capacity utilization for October at 9:15 a.m.
3.--U.S. stocks on Thursday rose as Yellen, who is likely to win confirmation for the top post at the Fed, said the economy continues to need monetary support, bolstering expectations for prolonged stimulus measures.
The S&P 500 rose 0.5% to close at 1,790.62 while the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.4% to 15,876.22. The Nasdaq reversed earlier losses, adding 0.2% to 3,997.74.
5.-- Carl Icahn disclosed Thursday in a regulatory filing that he owned close to 3.9 million shares of Apple (AAPL - Get Report), the iPod and iPad maker, at the end of September, a regulatory filing showed. Icahn's holdings in Apple are valued at more than $2 billion based on Apple's closing price Thursday of $528.16.
Internal emails in July between officials at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, including HealthCare.gov project manager Henry Chao, describe struggles with contractors, staff shortages and software problems before the federal health care Web site crashed on its Oct. 1 launch, Reuters reported. 8.-- Kimberly-Clark (KMB) shares rose 5% in after-hours trading on Thursday after the maker of Kleenex tissues and Huggies diapers said it plans to spin off its health care business into a separate publicly traded company. 9.-- The National Retail Federation said its Thanksgiving weekend shopping survey revealed that up to 140 million people plan to shop over the Thursday to Sunday period, lower than the 147 million who planned to do so last year. 10.-- Sony's (SNE) PlayStation 4 game console goes on sale Friday. The Japanese electronics giant said it expects to sell 5 million units of the PlayStation 4 by the end of its fiscal year in March.


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The Caves of Steel is a novel by Isaac Asimov. It is essentially a detective story, and illustrates an idea Asimov advocated, that science fiction is a flavor that can be applied to any literary genre, rather than a limited genre itself. Specifically, in the book Asimov's Mysteries, he claims that he wrote the novel in response to the claim by editor John W. Campbell that mystery and science fiction were incompatible genres.
Campbell had claimed that the science fiction writer could invent "facts" in his imaginary future that the reader would not know. Asimov countered that there were rules implicit in the art of writing mysteries, and that the clues would be in the plot, even if they were not obvious, or were deliberately obfuscated.
He went on to write several mysteries in both novel and short-story form, as well as more mainstream mysteries such as The Death Dealers and Murder at the ABA which had elements of science, but were not science fiction.
Caves of Steel was first published as a serial in Galaxy Magazine, October to December 1953. A Doubleday hardcover followed in 1954.
A television adaptation was made by the BBC and shown in 1964: only a few short excerpts still exist. In June 1989, the book was adapted by Bert Coules as a radio play for the BBC, with Ed Bishop as Elijah Baley and Sam Dastor as R. Daneel Olivaw.


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January 9, 2013
LIMA — Lima police have released the name of the man wounded following a shooting on Lima's east side that left one man dead in December. Now they say they believe the incident may have been connected with a robbery.
Lima police originally responded to the 700 block of Dingledine Avenue at 11:58 p.m. Dec. 19, where they found Taveres Meeks, 29, who died from his injuries.
The other man that police hope to locate is J. Lee Grant, 29, of Lima. He is the man who was shot around the same time that Meeks was. Detectives believe his shooting was in connection with Meeks' death.
Lima detectives look to interview Grant, who said he did not want to speak with them while he was recovering at Lima Memorial Health System but agreed to speak with them when he was released, according to Lima police. Police reported that since his release, Grant failed to cooperate with the investigation.
"He was an active part of what happened. He was shot, and he hasn't told us what happened, who shot him or what the circumstances were when he was shot," said Lima Police Det. Timothy Clark. "So we're actively searching for him as best as we can."
Detectives now believe the shooting may be a result of a robbery, but they are still continuing to investigate the incident.
"I will just say that our investigation is leading us to believe that this shooting did happen during the course of a robbery," Clark said.
Police reported last week Grant had been released from the hospital, but he was not participating in the investigation.
"Not only is he not cooperating, but family members of his aren't really either," Clark said. "All of the sudden, they don't know where he lives or where he's at."
Meeks' autopsy, performed in Lucas County, revealed he died of a single gunshot wound to the torso area, Lt. Jim Baker said following the shooting.
If anyone has any information surrounding the events of that night, to call Clark at 419-221-5293, Det. Sean Neidemire at 419-221-5295, or Crime Stoppers at 419-229-7867.


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A. Rangarajan
We need a functioning world governance structure that is not only participatory but trustworthy and effective at the same time, saysAmin Maalouf
Amin Maalouf is many things rolled into one — novelist, historian and essayist. And, understandably, there is a unifying theme that he explores across all these genres. His The Crusades Through Arab Eyes is a scholarly work of history reconstructing the tumultuous events exclusively from the Arab chroniclers of the time. It is the only version we have from the 'other side'. Hence Arabs consider him to be their historian.
His novels have predominantly historical themes and are set in the Middle East and Mediterranean lands of the 11th, 13th or 17th centuries. In Samarkand (1988), he writes about Omar Khayyam and the ornately illustrated manuscript of the Rubayyiat that goes from one place to another after the death of Omar, passing through the hands of macabre fanatics, incurable romantics, and so on. Accompanying passionate lovers it ends up at the bottom of the Atlantic while making a passage on the Titanic — even as the Persian princess who comes to possess it and her American paramour find solace in reading those magical quatrains aboard the 'star crossed' vessel. In Balthasar's Odyssey (2000), Amin writes about a Genoese dealer of antiques living in 17th century Levant, journeying across the seas trying to regain a mysterious book he had just sold, hoping it could save him from the end of the world in the year of the devil. When he finally catches up with it in London, just before the Great Fire gutted the city, his vision mysteriously fails him every time he opens the book to read it. His characters, often rich in identities, criss-cross various frontiers of belief, faith and cultures, weaving a tapestry of human emotions and interplay of relationship paradigms even as history and fiction tantalisingly blend and merge in the sensitive narrations. While the master storyteller spins the finest of yarns in his novels, his essays on identity are serious reflections on how we coexist with our multiple identities and cope in an increasingly difficult world.
Born in 1949 in a Christian Arab family of Lebanon, Amin Maalouf worked for the Beirut daily an-Nahar as a young man. In 1975, when war engulfed his country and his world, unable to take sides he migrated to France. In Paris he worked for Jeune Afrique, of which he was for a while editor-in-chief, before becoming a full-time writer of his chosen subjects. He won the French literary prize, Prix de Goncourt, in 1993 for his novel The Rock of Tanios. Living in Paris and writing mostly in French now, he has been widely translated and read.After the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have come to dominate the world scene, is there a renewed interest in your writings that is adding to their popularity?
Well, I do not know if there is a renewed interest in my books in the aftermath of these events…, but I am sure there is an interest in the themes I usually speak about. There is quite obviously a problem in the relations between the West and the Arab-Islamic world. After the fall of the Soviet Union we are left with one super power, which has in some sense taken on the role of the de facto World Government or International Arbiter. Despite all the criticisms against it, had a credible solution of peace been delivered in the region under its leadership, most people would have gone along and may have accepted the reality and settled for something amicable and lasting. But the Iraq war has proved one thing: that this new world order has completely failed to deliver not so much for lack of means or material as for lack of moral credibility.
This is doubly sad because with the advent of globalisation and with mankind facing such insurmountable problems as climate change, we need a functioning world governance structure that is not only participatory but trustworthy and effective at the same time. The need for this is now more than ever.Turning to your novels and creative writing, I am inclined to ask if you are reconstructing the past with perspectives from the present. Is that not a double-edged sword, pregnant with certain risks?
In my view, history can best be approached this way. People who lived 200 years ago looked at the happenings of the 13th century Middle East quite differently from the way we do today. Only through the eyes of the present can we see meanings in the past. There is no absolute construction of history, nor is there a universal direction for it. I do agree, however, that history can be used or misused to justify any chosen point of view. But then I see myself as a weaver of positive myths. I am trying to look for signposts of hope in the past for our troubled present. I can assure you that there are plenty of them to sustain optimism.If that be the case, and keeping the current conflicts in mind, is it fair to suggest that Islam in its engagement with the West over the last several centuries has shown great potential for coexistence and multiculturalism than is commonly understood and acknowledged? Some kind of a better ranking on the relative scorecard of tolerance?
If you look at history closely, that observation may not be entirely off the mark. Look at my own family and our antecedents. We have been Christians and our forefathers have been practising their faith with all liberty, in a region completely dominated by Muslims for the last 1400 years. Christians from all kinds of denominations have been in Lebanon from around the 3rd century A.D. I can cite similar instances form Granada, Toledo and so on. And in contrast, when I look at the plight faced by Muslims in Spain or Sicily when Christianity came to dominate in the Middle Ages, I am saddened by the unfortunate turn of events that led to their elimination. Despite this I want to highlight two things. One, the present bears heavily on the situation. To dwell on the past ignoring current tensions is not of much value. Secondly, it is not wise to look at the religion of a people as if it were the cause for them becoming either tolerant and democratic or intolerant and despotic on the see-saw of identity politics. History clearly warns us against such simplistic conclusions.Then, is the predominant direction that politics has taken in the latter part of the previous century and through the current century, one of a shift from the engagement of ideologies to the engagement of identities?
I am afraid we have faced this downslide largely since the fall of the Berlin wall. It is indeed unfortunate because when it comes to these two kinds of politics, within the engagement of ideologies there can be some discussions at least. There can be none whatsoever when it comes to identities. That is why the situation is getting mired in greater and greater difficulties.When asked in the past why you keep writing about the 11th, 13th or the 17th centuries, you have replied by saying, "That is because I am unable to live in the present century!" Why is that so? What is it that you find so disagreeable about the present? Or does it spring from some universal human nostalgia?
It actually stems from a very specific nostalgia. You know, in 1975 I left the country of my birth leaving behind my land and the mountains I roamed in my youth, making it a very painful experience for me. It is just that in those centuries my part of the world had greater amity, peace and a paradigm of harmony that I most certainly miss.Despite the historic canvas that separates your principal characters from the present, be it Balthasar in …Odyssey or Omar in Samarkand, they portray essential human vulnerabilities and frailties that actually transcend temporal and cultural contexts.
No matter what our cultural, ethnic and religious backgrounds are, there is an essential fibre of humanness that runs though us all and circumstances can produce great elasticity in our make-up and responses. When we resort to stereotyping and when we pigeonhole people we are being very insensitive and are exhibiting great potential for mischief. Stereotyping is a form of mental laziness, where you don't want to find out anything yourself beyond the opinion given to you. All of us, you and I, can fall into this trap sometimes. I want to be always cautioning on this score.In Balthasar's Odyssey you write that the Great Fire of London started on September 11, 1666. Were you trying to get the past and the present entangled in a strange foreboding of date patterns and thus elevate the underlying drama?
When you take the Orthodox [Christian] calendar as your reference — which you know is very relevant for the storyline of this novel — and apply the necessary correction, the starting date of the Great Fire of London would be September 11. As for the second and more recent September 11 you are referring to, you know I finished the novel one full year earlier, in 2000… There are some interesting coincidences here, I agree.You interviewed Indira Gandhi for an-Nahar. Could you recall that experience?
It was a marvellous and unforgettable experience for me. I was a young man of 26. In April 1975 I decided to go to Saigon to see for myself the events that were taking shape there. Before my departure from Beirut I placed a request with the Indian Embassy there asking for an appointment to interview Mrs. Gandhi. I did not have a firm answer and I went to Vietnam as journalists and others in Vietnam felt that the fall of South Vietnam was imminent and U.S. foreign policy would be suffering a serious setback… By April 30, Saigon fell. Some days before that…, I received an invitation to come to Delhi and speak to Mrs. Gandhi. I left Saigon for Delhi. …I was led into the longish office of the Prime Minister. … Mrs. Gandhi asked me to first tell her as to what I saw in Saigon. She told me it was difficult to get reliable information after most of the staff had left the embassy there. When I told her all that I saw and heard, she took detailed notes. And at one point she put the pen down and said: "Ask me your questions now." Her answers were not only well informed they carried plenty of sophistication. I found her to be a very gentle person.


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Elsten Torres
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- Two-time Grammy Nominated ELSTEN TORRES is releasing his new album "IF YOU SAY SO".
FREE DOWNLOAD... beginning on April 7, 2008, Elsten will be promoted as a featured artist on Bebo... Beboers will be able to stream and get a FREE DOWNLOAD of the Elvis Costello-meets-Rob Thomas rocker "Mercy".
Born in Havana, Cuba and raised in New York City, the quintessential singer-songwriter is influenced by artists from Elvis Costello to Beny Moré to the Beatles, ELSTEN is admired by his peers for his rock-solid commitment to artistry.
IF YOU SAY SO includes 12 pop-rock songs full of emotion, vulnerability and realism, including "Heaven Help Us," mixed by the renowned producer Sebastián Krys, winner of eight Grammys. In addition to the 12 cuts, the title song is reprised as a bonus track with vocals.
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MIAMI, FL. March 31, 2008 – His songs are perceptive and to the point. Already one of the most acclaimed songwriters in Latin pop, ELSTEN TORRES is releasing his English-language debut, IF YOU SAY SO, in April 2008 on UNO ENTERTAINMENT.
IF YOU SAY SO includes 12 pop-rock songs full of emotion, vulnerability and realism, including "Heaven Help Us," mixed by the renowned producer Sebastián Krys, winner of eight Grammys. In addition to the 12 cuts, the title song is reprised as a bonus track with vocals.
Beginning on April 7, 2008, Elsten will also be promoted as a featured artist on Bebo, the #1 social networking site in the U.K., Australia and New Zealand with over 40 million members. Customers throughout the Anglosphere will be able to digitally download the full album or individual tracks.
For over a decade, Elsten has been a bilingual pop-rock frontman while writing smash hits on the Latin pop and tropical charts for other artists. A quintessential singer-songwriter who's proud of his Cuban descent (his father was a political prisoner in Cuba) and is influenced by artists from Beny Moré to Elvis Costello to the Beatles, Elsten is admired by his peers for his rock-solid commitment to artistry.
Word of Elsten's vivid, organic songwriting gifts spread quickly, and during the 2000s he wrote hits for such artists as Obie Bermúdez (the Grammy-nominated "Todo el Año" that was No. 1 on the Billboard charts for 4 weeks), Luis Fonsi, and Michael Stuart.
In 2006, he released Individual that was nominated for a Best Latin Pop Album Grammy in 2007.
During the last several months he's found himself writing prolifically and bouncing ideas off his longtime collaborators, including top touring musicians Brendan Buckley and Adam Zimmon.
He's also having a productive time working in Nashville. Though the city's forever associated with country music, its official nickname, "Music City USA," is really more appropriate, as it's a magnet for creative talents of all stripes.
While many artists would play it safe on the heels of a Grammy nomination, Elsten and UNO ENTERTAINMENT believe that change is something to be embraced. Elsten's moving forward and is excited about what's coming.
Find downloads and up-to-the-minute details of Elsten Torres' musical creations at: http://www.myspace.com/elstentorres.
About UNO:
UNO ENTERTAINMENT, LLC, is a Miami-based multimedia entertainment company that develops, manages, produces, promotes and distributes music artists worldwide. UNO ENTERTAINMENT also owns and operates music publishing company UNOworks (ASCAP) and online dance music distributor UNOtracks.
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Born 1979, Melbourne, Victoria; lives and works in Melbourne. Nick Selenitsch received a Bachelor of Fine Art in Painting (Honours) from the Victorian College of the Arts in 2003, and is currently undertaking a Master of Fine Art at Monash University. Recent solo exhibitions include Felt, 2012, and Relief, 2013, both at Sutton Gallery, Melbourne, and Timing (or: What is the Secret to Good Comedy?, with Arlo Mountford, West Space, Melbourne, 2013. Recent group exhibitions include Third/ Fourth Melbourne Artist Facilitated Biennial, Margaret Lawrence Gallery, Melbourne; Collage: The Heide Collection, Heide Museum of Modern Art, Melbourne; and Like Mike, Linden Centre for Contemporary Arts, Melbourne, all 2013.
The NGV's biggest ever exhibition fits in your pocket. Download the Melbourne Now app now. Available for Android and iOS.Download the app


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"Put-in-Bay is my new favorite place" Top 5 Page for this destination Put-in-Bay by juldga
Put-in-Bay Travel Guide: 64 reviews and 99 photos
So I was debating between the Miller Ferry and the Jet Express. I chose the Miller Ferry because of the price. It was such an easy drive from where I live. They have free parking, and a ferry leaves every half hour in the summer. The ferry ride was short around 15 minutes. My friend went back to Port Clinton for a day and took the Jet Express. She said it was awesome. If you are staying off the island that would be the ferry to take because it brings you right into downtown and the last ferry on the weekends leaves at midnight. You can only brings cars on the Miller Ferry, though cars are not necessary on the island.
I was worried about the hotel due to some bad reviews on the internet. The hotel however was better than expected. We stayed in the old section on the Commodore Hotel. The rooms were small however they were clean. The shower was big which was nice. There was a refrigerator in the room and that was unexpected. The beds and pillows were very comfortable. It was LOUD but it is Put-in-Bay and the hotel has no control over rude people who yell until 5AM. There was no clock in the room which was weird but they did provide shampoo, soap, and makeup remover (I loved the makeup remover wipes don't see that too often) The pool was small but there was a swim up bar next door you could use if you wanted.
I love this island. Everything about it was awesome! We ate at the boardwalk which had awesome lobster bisque (5.99 a bowl or 9.99 in a breadbowl) and the best clams I have ever had. We ate at the chicken patio - everyone needs to go there - $10.25 a plate and you get half a chicken, corn on the cob, potato salad, and a roll. We ate at Pasquale's (italian-american) thier appetizers were awesome and so was thier pizza. We had the BLT pizza. We went back for dinner and dinner was good too. We were going to go to Axle and Harry's (the prices are very very expensive I'm talking $50 a plate) but they told us to wait 30 minutes and 90 minutes later we walked out. We went to the roundhouse to catch Mike "mad dog" Adams he was so funny. One night we hung out on the rooftop bar which was nice because it was not too crowded and we were at Mr. Ed's for a while. Mr Ed's is more a young party crowd. Alot of our time was spent in the Berr Barrel Saloon it is big not jam packed and had good entertainment plus there was no cover on Sat night. Be warned on Fri & Sat most places have a $5 cover. The shops were awesome and so were the activities. Be sure to go to the top of Perry's monument for spectacular views. A golf cart is worth the money. It is not necessary because you can walk everywhere, but it was fun. Be sure to get a gas powered one because the electric ones are so slow!
- Pros:Lots to do and lots to see
- Cons:food and drinks are a bit pricey
- In a nutshell:I love Put-in-Bay and will go back frequently
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If you are into gemstones or rock collecting this is a must see. Some think it is boring but in itself it is a wonder!... more travel advice
If you go down to the beach not pebble beach but the beach covered in shells you will find a trail that leads to another... more travel advice
It costs 3 dollars to go to the top of perry monument and the wait is around 45 minutes, but it is so worth it! The... more travel advice
I liked this place a lot. It was huge and there was no cover charge. It is the world's longest bar. They have no top... more travel advice
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Put In Bay is an awful lot of fun. I think you just got a bum electric cart, most of them are plenty fast.
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Median pay for Visual Merchandising Managers in the United States is around $58K annually. Experience level is the biggest factor affecting pay for this group, followed by geography. The majority of workers are highly satisfied with their job. Most enjoy medical while a large number get dental coverage. Vision coverage is also available to the larger part. Female Visual Merchandising Managers are more common than men among those who completed the survey; more than half (68 percent) are women. This report is based on responses to the PayScale salary survey.
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Visual merchandising managers are in charge of managing all aspects of the merchandising visuals for their organization. They are responsible for developing and implementing effective strategies to retain brand identity, as well as increase brand loyalty and generate revenue by using attractive displays. They research market and industry trends, using the results to create impressive visuals for use with their company's offerings. Visual merchandising managers also actively participate in the design and review process, assessing tester models or units based on specific business requirements.Read More...
They interact with internal and external partners to form consistent messaging through merchandising displays, work with colleagues to identify possible merchandising placement, prepare and execute public relations events, and report their progress to the merchandising supervisor or director in their department. Visual merchandising managers use a personal computer to review visual files and respond to correspondence from executives. They also participate in negotiation and budget processes and assist with display installations; they may also supervise visual merchandising staff.
A bachelor's degree in merchandising, industrial design, business management, or a related field is required for this position. Previous managerial experience and experience in a similar position is necessary as well. Visual merchandising managers should be able to multitask and work independently with minimal supervision. They must possess excellent communication skills to work efficiently with other managers and be able to reach organizational objectives within strict deadlines.
Visual Merchandising Managers usually report a few specific skills. Most notably, skills in Project Management, Merchandising, People Management, and Design are correlated to pay that is above average. Skills that are correlated to lower pay, on the other hand, include Design and People Management. Those educated in Merchandising tend to be well versed in Design.
Median of all compensation (including tips, bonus, and overtime) by years of experience.
Visual Merchandising Managers who reported more years of relevant experience also reported higher earnings. Relatively untried employees who have less than five years' experience make $41K, but folks with five to 10 years under their belts enjoy an appreciably larger median of $53K. Visual Merchandising Managers with one to two decades of relevant experience report an average salary of approximately $62K. Visual Merchandising Managers who have stuck around for more than two decades see earnings that are only slightly higher than those of folks who have worked for 10 to 20 years; the more senior group makes around $65K on average.
For those looking to make money, Visual Merchandising Managers in San Francisco enjoy an exceptional pay rate, 30 percent above the national average. Visual Merchandising Managers can also look forward to large paychecks in cities like New York (+13 percent), Los Angeles (+9 percent), Dallas (+6 percent), and Boston (+6 percent). Falling short of the national average by 7 percent, the area with the worst salaries is Chicago. Workers in Miami and Seattle earn salaries that trail the national average for those in this profession (7 percent less and 4 percent less, respectively).
|Extremely satisfied
Rated 5 out of 5
based on 54 votes.
68 %
32 %
|Medical: 88%
|Dental: 82%
|Vision: 67%
|None: 10%


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Price is very reasonable.
The shoes are at a reasonable price and affordable for many woman.
(Posted on 6/11/2014)
These shoes are really cute and best of all comfy! It is true to size so I ordered them a 1/2 size bigger.


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Originally written on Fox Sports | Last updated 11/1/14
Why was Miami rookie Jose Fernandez embarrassed? Fernandez just concluded a phenomenal rookie season, beating the Atlanta Braves 5-2 with seven innings of five-hit, one-run ball in Miami on Wednesday night. But Fernandez said he was embarrassed? Wait. It gets better. The 21-year-old Fernandez (12-6, 2.19 ERA), one of the top candidates for the NL Rookie of the Year award, not only beat the first-place Braves, he hit his first major league home run in the win. Yet, he was embarrassed? This is why -- from admiring his long drive (watch the replay) to spitting at third base during his home run trot to what occurs when he reaches home plate. Your browser does not support iframes. Fernandez, second to Clayton Kershaw's 1.92 in NL ERA, was making his final start of the season as the Marlins opted to shut down the 2011 first-round pick after he reached 170 innings. He entered Wednesday's start with 165 2/3 innings. Before homering, Fernandez was cruising against the Braves. But t...
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guides you to the best local dishes & drinks in
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EYW wants your food photos!
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It's that time of the year again! There is a slight nip in the air and the smells of autumn fill up mornings. Diwali has just gone by but that really hasn't put a stop to all the festivities. The... Read more
A tribute to New York City's culinary traditions, fine dining when it counts, and 10-plus years of loving food—and each other. Eleven...
<< back to foods in Sierra LeoneFry fry
What: Fry fry is a catchall term for a variety of (usually fried) foods—plus spaghetti, randomly—that is served on the street with bread. You order, and pay, à la carte: Offerings might include fried plantains, akara (fried black-eyed-bean fritters), gari (shredded cassava) cake, bongo (smoked herring, served whole), french fries, fried chicken, a bowl of spaghetti, hard-boiled eggs, perhaps some binch (black-eyed beans), and always nice loaves of fluffy Fula bread and spicy pepper sauce (a.k.a. fry stew). Look for a vendor who keeps her foods covered with plastic, and who uses a spoon to dish everything out. And then be creative with your sandwich—you can make something really delicious here.
Where: On the street in just about any Salone city! Pictured is the fry fry we sampled in John Obey on the Freetown Peninsula, along the highway to Bureh (at the top of the road that leads down to the beach, and Tribewanted).
When: Fry fry seems to be all day, all night kind of fare.
Order: You decide! The smoky, meaty bongo was the best thing at this stand, with some egg or cassava and pepper sauce in a loaf of bread. Plantains and eggs also pair up well, although the locals always seem to go for the spaghetti…
Alternatively: We had another memorable fry fry on the street in Kenema, in front of the Capitol Hotel (51 Hangha Rd., map), where a favorite combo was plantain, beans, gari cake, and fry stew, for approximately Le3,000.
Going somewhere and wish you could take all of a city's Eat Your World info with you? With EYW's Kindle and City Guides, you can! Don't miss out on any local foods or drinks during your next trip.
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STARmeterSEE RANK
Down 14,044 this week
Rona Anderson (I) (1926–2013)
Rona Anderson was born on August 3, 1926 in Edinburgh, Scotland. She was an actress, known for A Christmas Carol (1951), The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (1969) and Evidence for Hire (1952). She was married to Gordon Jackson. She died on July 23, 2013 in Hampstead, London, England. See full bio »
Born:in Edinburgh, Scotland, UK
Died:(age 86) in Hampstead, London, England, UK


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From Barnes & Noble
Mark Rubio is Florida's junior U.S. Senator, the man nicknamed "the crown prince of the Tea Party movement," and a much-touted possible Republican candidate for the Vice Presidency. Yet this son of Cuban refugees is still little known outside of his state and his constituency. In this memoir, he writes about his family, his heritage, his devotion to American values, and his commitment to the American future.


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Feel free to go there and follow me if you'd like to know when I'm online as it will be the easiest place to get answers for questions related to builds and such.
Yet another full elemental build from myself because hey, aurasOP. This time we have a crit version inspired by the new unique Windripper imperial bow. Let me just say this is not a noob friendly build as the bow itself costs quite a bit and takes a bit of skill/ability to play correctly. For a more beginner/all round bow build I recommend my Phys crit tornado/puncture.
Videos of funstuff are at the bottom.
Holy balls look at that almost 10 crit. This bow is definitely not op. I repeat, not op.
Now, if you're unfamiliar with tornado shot builds, over 35k with GMP is quite insane especially for such a fast attack speed and Vaal Pact. To reach my dps numbers (and higher) you'll need a 6L in either your Voll's or Windripper. Keep in mind you only need one 5 or 6 link as Tornado Shot is the master race and does all of your dps.
Everything I did for this spec was a rather quick slap together so the gear isn't too amazing or strict in what you use. Likewise with the spec. I felt this was the most efficient use of points to get the best clearing speed/feel and dps numbers whilst still managing to stay alive.
Even though my defenses are absolutely shite I rarely die these days due to killing everything faster than it has a chance to hit me. You can opt to build it more defensively and lose quite a lot of dps because even at 15k+ tornado you're annihilating endgame maps.
108 point Scion start build
107 point Ranger start build
A bit about the spec: Vaal pact is completely essential at high dps levels (20k+) and most of the crit passives are highly recommended. The aura passives are also essential to be able to run anger/wrath/herald of ice/herald of thunder and as they are the source of most of your damage buffing them is a good idea. You can always trade some damage passives and grab Acrobatics or extra evasion, life, whatever else. I'm happy with my 3700 life and 1 shot killing abilities atm so I haven't felt the need to.
My gear:
My gear is pretty decent at this stage and with the master system getting similar gear isn't too much of a challenge. Alpha's Howl is essential to running all 4 of our buffs and helps boost the damage of Anger/Wrath. Accuracy on gear is hardly needed but I recommend a high amount on 1 piece, though not essential since you get a lot from the passives/dext.
The Voll's was a recent addition and I love it. I was wearing a tabula up until about 86 so I didn't feel a loss of defense, only a gain of 25% crit. You can of course choose to wear a sturdy rare chest to up your defenses, entirely up to you. Getting the right colours for Tornado Shot on a 6L is way easier on a Voll's though which is something to note. Atziri flask is recommended since it gives a nice dps boost and helps kill ele resistant mobs quite a lot.
Try to get high WED everywhere you can as well as crit. So crit rings with WED/life are ideal but make sure you're getting sufficient resists too. Your quiver should have attack speed, WED and hopefully be crit based with crit on it too. Life & crit multi are good bonuses here.
You can easily wear a large amount of mf and turn this into a MF spec. You'll probably sacrifice a few thousand dps but not much else. My crit and dps for the most part is from the passives and the bow. I clear virtually every map level and mod quite comfortably as you will see in the videos so this spec with reduced dps can still melt through lower level maps or lunaris farming.
Gems:For your Tornado Shot the essentials are Tornado Shot, Blood Magic, Life Leech or Life on Hit (if you don't have over 15-20k dps), GMP. After which you will get Weapon Elemental Damage and then Critical Damage. That said I don't recommend playing it without at least a 5L. Both WED and Crit damage are such a large dps gain that to not use them is very brutal.
Bandits: Passive point, Kraityn (8 AS), Alira (Power charge).
Leveling:Leveling was quite comfortable, especially if you use some of the rings/amulets with reduced mana cost from Elreon. Grab a Stormcloud unique bow at lvl 12 and use it with Wrath or Anger up until you can get Herald of Ice/Thunder and then use 1 of those as well. Aim to get to the aura nodes early on to start using more auras/heralds and linking a reduced mana. Once you swap into Blood Magic it's a good idea to use either Thief's Torment ring while leveling or Life Gain on Hit gem with quality.
I used LoH up until I was breaking maybe 15k dps with tornado shot and it's perfectly fine up to that point. Once you start hitting higher dps numbers you'll want to move to Vaal Pact with Life Leech.
Once I reached enough crit levels from passives I swapped to a Death's Harp ( around lvl 40 ) and used it up to 70ish when I put on Windripper. Death's Harp is an amazing bow for a budget version of the build.
For maps I was doing levels 80-89 within an hour each. It was completely absurd as I was clearing 75-78 maps in 5 minutes a piece on average.
Reflect:Get your light/fire res up to respectable levels and you'll be fine with vaal pact/life leech. A light/fire flask help when you shoot into it but isn't necessary when you're capped/near capped. An Atziri flask helps greatly as well since it adds an extra source of damage and leech which doesn't reflect during its duration.
Grouping: With the 2 dps auras you provide some damage support for those you group with. That said, who cares because you're going to be completely carrying your friends on your mighty muscly back with this spec. At my dps I can comfortably carry 1-2 people without noticing much or any difference in clear speed. From level 80+ I often opened a public party and let a person tag along in my 75+ maps because it's not any slower and they could tank for me, or something, it was just for fun.
1.2 Videos
First Atziri Run
Double Palace Dominus fast and easy
Using Death's Harp in place of Windripper for a map
77 Shrine with fast clear and discussion of build.
Videos below here are from before 1.2 and using Split Arrow.
Double courtyard boss 78 map, elemental equil, fire res, -max, etc
Typical fast map clear, a 77 shipyard
Insane 78 map noone has any business even entering but why not
Death and Taxes unique 75 map
Will add more videos as I play/can be bothered thinking of something. Can take request too possibly.


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Monday, December 28, 2009
Quilt Shop Tours
4 comments:
Thanks Kathy for sharing your shop hop. It is always neat to see the store displays and samples that are made up. It reminds of the displays in the Quilt Sampler. I see some really neat small quilts that inspire me. How fun! Thanks again, DarlaReplyDelete
So glad that I found your blog Kathy! I just adore your first two books ~ they are my favorite quilting books of all! And to discover that you have a third ... well I am just tickled pink!ReplyDelete
Wishing you a happy new Year!
Blessings, Lea
I enjoy peeking in once and while and love reading your blog. This is a great post. I like the 3/50 project. We have seven quilt shops in our area and they all offer something different. It's great fun to pop in and see what's new.ReplyDelete
Oh, by the way, I love your books and have every one so far. I look forward to the new one coming out in 2010.
Thanks for the local shop tour. I've visited the first two, but not the Pieceful Gathering...yet. It's on my list now, though!ReplyDelete
Wishing you a happy new year!


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NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COMThree and out
Rutgers needs to stop the runThat's easier said than done. Cincinnati running back Isaiah Pead leads the Big East with 6.0 yards per carry and 10 touchdowns while running for 934 yards. And he'll likely get more touches with quarterback Zach Collaros out for the season. Plus, the Scarlet Knights defense has been putrid as of late. After giving up 94.2 rushing yards per game through the first five games, Rutgers has given up 201.6 rushing yards per game in the last five. Not to mention allowing a 100-yard rusher in all five of their conference games.
Can Rutgers run the ball effectively?Probably not. The Bearcats have the best rushing defense in the conference and the second best in the country holding teams to 81.4 yards per game. Rutgers anemic rushing offense is last in the Big East and 118th (out of 120) in the country with 90.4 yards per game. Don't expect this to be a game where the Knights have success running the football.
How will the team react to a defacto Big East Championship game?
With a win, Rutgers would hold a share of first place in the Big East. (There's too many scenarios for who can win the Big East and how). While Rutgers head coach Greg Schiano's mantra is "every game is a Big East Championship game" because the eight-team league doesn't have a title game, this one truly is. How a team full of guys who've never played in a game of this much importance this late in the season reacts will be key.
This game's key guy is…
Greg Schiano
As of late, Schiano has struggled against the Bearcats. Since beating them in 2005 to become bowl eligible for the first time in his tenure, Schiano hasn't beaten Cincinnati. And the last two outings have been embarrassments for the defense (116 points and 1,125 yards). As the defensive play-caller who revamped the unit to have more speed to stop spread offenses like Cincinnati's, Schiano's preparation and in-game decisions are a major factor.
The sophisticated fan will be watching…
Munchie Legaux
Ok, so you always watch the quarterback considering they touch the ball every play. But the 6-5, 203 pound sophomore is now the starter for the remainder of the season with Collaros out with a broken ankle. Despite his inexperience, Legaux led Cincinnati back form a 10-point deficit in the second half last week to take the lead against West Virginia. With not much film available, he's a threat the Knights know little about.
Fourth and short
Rutgers 16 seniors will be honored prior to kickoff for senior day. As Schiano notes, there's no time for nostalgia until after the season, because nothing ruins a special day more than a loss.
Quote of the week
"As I told them [the seniors], we'll play a touch game in Rutgers Stadium in January if you'd like. We can have a whole festivity." – Greg Schiano on senior day
For more Rutgers football coverage follow Matt Sugam on Twitter @MattSugam and on Facebook


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J&J Joins Pharmasset for Hepatitis Study
Arlene Weintraub7/6/11
Follow @arleneweintraub
Princeton, NJ-based Pharmasset (NASDAQ: VRUS) is teaming up with Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) unit Tibotec to study a drug cocktail for the treatment of hepatitis C virus (HCV), according to a press release. The program will investigate the potential of combining PSI-7977, Pharmasset's investigational nucleotide polymerase inhibitor, and TMC435, Tibotec's investigational protease inhibitor. The financial details of the deal were not released, but Pharmasset's stock—which has more than quintupled in price over the last year—gained an additional 5 percent and was trading around $123 after the announcement.


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Created: 06/20/2014 9:19 AM
By: APNewsNow, Associated Press
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) - Albuquerque firefighters were able to save a man and his dog from a burning apartment building.
Fire Capt. Jason Garcia says crews were called to a two-story apartment building early Friday morning on Alvarado Dr.
Garcia says smoke was spotted coming from a second-floor unit.
Crews found a man, who was sleeping, and the dog.
The man has been hospitalized in stable condition after being treated for smoke inhalation. The dog was uninjured and will temporarily remain the care of animal control.
Two other apartments sustained minor smoke damage.
Garcia says the cause of the fire is still under investigation.
(Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
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DMV to Internet-less New Yorkers: Get in Line
By Jared Chausow
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City Hid Facts From Feds About Rikers
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TAURUS (April 20May 20): All of us have a dark sidea part of our psyches that is unripe, a bit crazed, and out of sync with our highest values. If you try to suppress it or deny its existence, it controls you surreptitiously. If you acknowledge its presence and cultivate a relationship with it, you may be able to harness some of its raw power for good causes. You've got to love it without overindulging it; give it voice without allowing it to possess you. I mention all of this, Taurus, because 2005 should be the year you dramatically upgrade and refine the role that your dark side plays in your life.
GEMINI (May 21June 20): To guide your journey in 2005, I've selected two quotes. I suggest you write them out and keep them in your wallet or under your pillow for the next 10 months. The first is from mythologist Joseph Campbell: "The goal of life is to make your heartbeat match the beat of the universe, to match your nature with Nature." Your second keynote comes from the ancient Chinese sage Lao-tzu: "Stop leaving and you will arrive. Stop searching and you will see. Stop running away and you will be found." Now here's your homework, Gemini: Meditate on how these themes articulate two angles of approach to the same joyful work.
CANCER (June 21July 22): Since 1991, my Cancerian friend Jared has donated blood to a local blood bank 105 times. He volunteers as a big brother to fatherless kids and donates 20 percent of his salary to charity. Yet I've never once heard him ask anyone for help. Vanessa, another Cancerian friend, compulsively takes care of all her friends, bringing them home-cooked meals and thoughtful gifts whenever they're down. I know she sometimes suffers bouts of depression herself, but as far as I'm aware, no one brings her treats. Jared and Vanessa are going to be the poster children for my crusade to bring balance to your life in 2005. You simply must stop giving more than you receive; you've got to expand your capacity to accept assistance and blessings from other people.
LEO (July 23Aug. 22): This should be the year you devote yourself to maddening and glorious details, Leo. I encourage you to dive into the mysteries of intricacy as you master the thousand and one practical matters that will ultimately make your dreams come true. You might want to memorize the following quote from philosopher William James: "I am done with great things and big plans, great institutions and big success. I am for those tiny, invisible, loving human forces that work from individual to individual, creeping through the crannies of the world like so many rootlets, or like the capillaries."
VIRGO (Aug. 23Sept. 22): I'm not given to extravagant tastes, but I do allow myself one unreasonable habit: a craving for organic grapes in the wintertime. If they're available in the stores at all, two bunches of pesticide-free Concords can set me back as much as a three-course meal at my favorite Thai restaurant. But they're good for me, and I'm pretty self-controlled the rest of the time, so I regard my appetite for the grapes as an acceptable form of self-indulgence. I mention this, Virgo, because I believe you have cosmic permission in 2005 to raise your quota of healthy greed. In fact, I suggest you brainstorm right now about the salubrious pleasures you plan to demand more of in the coming months.
LIBRA (Sept. 23Oct. 22): "Curiosity did not kill the cat," reports John Olson in Free Stream Velocity, his book of prose poems. "Boredom killed the cat." Let that be your rallying cry in 2005, Libra. In the coming months you will have a sacred duty to elude all situations that make your eyes glaze over. To meet your dates with destiny, you must not tolerate blah or ho-hum in any form. "Curiosity was born with the universe," Olson reminds you. "It redeems and is erotic."
SCORPIO (Oct. 23Nov. 21): Srinivasa Ramanujan was one of India's greatest mathematical geniuses. He lacked formal training and his work was thought peculiar by his fellow mathematicians, but he made dramatic breakthroughs that are highly regarded. He attributed his success to the Hindu goddess Namakkal. She appeared regularly in his dreams, where she revealed innovative formulas he had only to verify when he awoke. I hereby appoint Ramanujan to be your official role model for 2005. May he inspire you in your quest to establish a practical alliance with a benevolent deity, imaginary friend, or guardian angel. If I'm reading the astrological omens correctly, this ally will provide you with a steady stream of useful clues about how to fulfill the mission you came to earth to carry out.
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