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Sarah Palin (not really) and the Blood Libel,

You don’t hear much about blood libels any more. And Sarah Palin’s use of the term to describe how the media treated her (based on some provocative statements she had made) after the shooting of Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Gifford, and the violent reaction accorded her over the use of that term in certain quarters, you may hear about it less and less.

The term is typically used in circumstances where there has been a murder, often of a Christian child, and a Jew is accused of performing the criminal act as a religious jjimperative, typically to obtain Christian blood to usein the baking of Passover matzohs. More generically, I guess it is not inaccurate to use the term to refer to an opinion that someone has blood on their hands as a result of improper activities to gain political advantage, but it is a stretch.

But criticizing or approving Palin’s use of the term is not my purpose here. I spent this extremely hot weekend reading Maurice Samuel’s 1966 book, “Blood Accusation: the Strange History of the Beiliss Case”.

Although there were several instances of blood libel accusations during the 19th century, they took place in isolated and somewhat unworldly communities (an exception perhaps being Damascus in the1840s). No one expected what happened in Kiev in 1912, when Mendel Beiliss was accused of murder for ritual purposes.

The Beiliss case, which reached the courtroom in 1913, gained the type of notoriety that the Leo Frank, Lindbergh kidnapping, O. J. Simpson, and Casey Anthony cases gained in the 20th and 21st centuries. A 13 year old Ukrainian boy went to visit a friend and was brutally murdered. All evidence pointed to the mother of his friend (a notorious woman involved in theft and fencing stolen property) and three of her associates. But a young Kievan who was bitterly anti-Semitic and a supporter of right wing groups afraid of the liberalization and worse threatening Russia convinced the Kiev authorities and eventually those in St.Petersburg, including Tsar Nicholas II, that the murder was committed by an employee of a Jewish owned brickyard, Menachem Mendel Beiliss.

The trick for the authorities was to prove the case – difficult since there was absolutely no evident e implementing Beillis. This did not stop the prosecutors, and Samuel’s book follows the compilation of evidence, the use of secret agents and double agents, witness coaching and witness bribery, firing of prosecutors when they reached their limits and sometimes sending them to exile in Siberia, the engagement of fraudulent experts, and very careful jury selection to ensure that the 12 person jury was dominated by illiterate peasants, those most likely to agree that ritual murder was possible.

The world watched with horror and the courtroom was filled each day for the five week trial with journalists from all over Europe and the USA. More than that, each day saw 300 spectators I. The room.

After several days of closing speeches, the judge (Samuel calls him part of the prosecution team) instructed the jury to answer two questions: was the boy murdered on the grounds of the Jewish brickyard, and did Beillis commit the crime? No one was surprised when the foreman answered the first question “yes”, even though the evidence pointed to the crime being committed elsewhere. But shock registered across the room when Beiliss was pronounced “not guilty”.

The split verdict made no sense. The answer to the first question made no sense. In fact, the first question itself made no sense.

At any rate, this ended the trial. Beillis was released, left the country, went to Palestine and then to the United States, but struggled financially the rest of his life.

The book is interesting not only because of it’s specifics, but because of its description of the tsarist criminal court system in action. If you followed Casey Anthony, you would certainly find the saga of Menachem Beillis to be of interest.

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Attention Veterans – New Ruling Effective July 29, 2013 on your access to Department of Veterans Affairs Records

Federal Register, Volume 78 Issue 145 (Monday, July 29, 2013).

Note from:  Administrator

Effective Monday, July 29, 2013, Veterans will be able to access VA records previously withheld.  Until now, VA personnel have had the final say on whether or not you, the patient, had access to certain VA medical files.

The problem with withholding access from these files is the fact that if there is an error in your file, you have absolutely no way of correcting due to the fact that you were unable to view the records.

Those days are over.  Your records are now an open book to YOU!

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TOS Dismissing Unprofessional Behavior

If someone has "no refunds" in their TOS, how does that come into play if the artist is unprofessional?

Say a client pays an artist and the artist is nothing but rude to the client as the commission continues. If the client wants to cancel due to this behavior, does the artist still have the right to keep the money and refuse a refund? (In this situation we're assuming that the commissioner is /not/ at fault.)

Disclaimer: I'm not currently having this issue, but I am curious about what you think about the scenario.
Before commenting, please read our Community Rules.
Do not go after persons posted about here, by leaving comments on their art pages.
If you have been posted about, please read I've Been Posted on Artists_Beware, Now What?

( 14 comments — Leave a comment )
May. 6th, 2017 02:29 pm (UTC)
I do believe that the last time this came up we had someone who is versed in actual contract law come out and say that it isn't illegal. The client agreed to the terms and such.

However, given that simply having one's money stolen for no work done is completely obscene this is where it's good to use your credit card if you have one.

Credit card chargebacks do not go through Paypal. Even if Paypal has already sided in the seller's favor, the CC company will do more to get your money back. Additionally there are penalties for sellers who continue to rack up CC chargebacks, and if memory serves me right, Paypal will drop a seller that has received too many. (Though someone correct me if I'm wrong?) The fees associated with chargebacks increase as a person racks up more.

But the best way to avoid all this is simply to avoid artists with "no refunds ever" clauses. The only time you are not entitled to a full refund is when work has started, and if the work is completed. If the artist is taking ages, hasn't started, and is difficult to work with you should be able to take your money somewhere else.
May. 6th, 2017 05:56 pm (UTC)
Yep, the last line pretty much sums everything up as far as my thoughts on this go. I absolutely refuse to commission any artist with a "no refund" policy, and there's really no reason to commission them when there are so many other options.

In my mind, "no refunds ever" is basically a red flag factory exploding in my face.
May. 6th, 2017 06:26 pm (UTC)
This. If I see it I refuse to work with them.
May. 16th, 2017 08:44 pm (UTC)
Just out of curiosity, is it generally unprofessional to have a partial refund policy? I am not currently open for commissions as I'm reworking my TOS and pricing, but I was thinking of only refunding for uncompleted work. For example, if someone commissioned a shaded piece but needed to cancel after I had finished the sketch, I would refund them minus the price of a sketch. The client would get a full res version of whatever was completed at that point, of course. I was also thinking of offering a type of stream commission with same-day delivery, but without the option of refunds. Reason being that by the time someone changes their mind, I would probably already have the work done. Is that a bad idea? I've never had to give a refund before ; ;
May. 16th, 2017 09:41 pm (UTC)
Refunds for "work not done" if it's the client canceling is about standard.

If the artist is canceling it's generally considered good manners to issue a full refund.
May. 17th, 2017 02:11 pm (UTC)
What I meant here was if the artist has "no refunds at all" clause in their TOS.
I do partial refunds, mine are based on a 50% nonrefundable down-payment with the rest based on how far I am on the commission.
If I cancel the client gets a full refund.
May. 6th, 2017 02:43 pm (UTC)
Without implying that it is alright for artists to be rude to clients, I believe that the client should have a careful approach when doing business with an artist: Study them, see how they handle their business all around.

For example, if the artist has a "no refunds" TOS, but has good reviews and happy clients, you're pretty safe to assume they are just covering their bases against rude clients and not the other way around. However, if you see the artist IS rude to their clients, why would you do business with that artist to begin with? Bring your money to a similar quality artist who is doing things right, there are hundreds of great artists out there.

Now if you already got yourself in the murky water and your artist is being rude, best is to swallow your pride and go through with the commission as smoothly as possible, letting them be as rude as they want, and you get your artwork and never return to that artist again.

Instead of resorting to credit cards for more protection, just be more careful with picking your artist. Talk to other of their clients, buy something cheap first instead of going for something long term of very costy right away... so you get to know the artist.
May. 17th, 2017 02:14 pm (UTC)
"Now if you already got yourself in the murky water and your artist is being rude, best is to swallow your pride and go through with the commission as smoothly as possible, letting them be as rude as they want, and you get your artwork and never return to that artist again."

I think I'd still want to opt for a refund through alternative measures. If the artist is really rude, I wouldn't even have good association with the work, so it would be akin to wasting the money, to be honest. I feel like paypal would certainly side with someone if they had proof of the artist's abuse. I'd hate for it to come to that with any commission though!
May. 6th, 2017 05:03 pm (UTC)
As far as I know, (besides the fact that it's not my favorite policy ever) a "No Refunds" policy can only be attacked when the artist refuses to work on the piece, keeps pushing back the promised finish date, or produces something that is of different quality/style/etc than what they advertised.

For a rude artist, the best someone can do (if they've already been denied a refund and accepted the TOS) is avoid them in the first place or make a beware about their experiences with the artist's poor communication skills (being that they're rude enough to warrant a beware in the first place, doing things such as personally attacking, using offensive slurs, trashing the requests made in the commission, and other mildly serious behaviours above something that does more than put a bad taste in your mouth).
Maybe not a beware on A_B (I think this livejournal is more about scamming/theft than hurt feelings, correct me if I'm wrong)? But definitely at least a journal on DA.
May. 6th, 2017 05:07 pm (UTC)
Every case is reviewed by the team individually. If someone paid and was being subjected to verbal abuse we absolutely would consider that grounds for a beware.

Customer service is just as important!
May. 6th, 2017 08:08 pm (UTC)
Thanks for the clarification!
May. 6th, 2017 06:48 pm (UTC)

I give very little weight to reviews from happy customers. Starfinder started a testimonial page when she wanted to get back onto Fur Affinity, and awhile later, the admins on the other site ended suspended her for not delivering commissions.

What I like to do is note an artist if they have a clause in their TOS that makes me wary and ask them if they can clarify it for me. If they don't answer or give a snappy reply, then I take my business elsewhere.

Edited at 2017-05-06 06:48 pm (UTC)
May. 17th, 2017 02:23 pm (UTC)
I thought Starfinder found her way back on FA, but it looks like that account was suspended too. Several of my old posts on Artist_beware seem to have vanished, I can't seem to find my beware about her either.
May. 17th, 2017 07:09 pm (UTC)
I would cancel if a artist was being very rude.
If they had not done any work and they want to try and keep all the money I would just do a charge back. But I also would not commission someone who says they do not give refunds as that screams scammer.
( 14 comments — Leave a comment )

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I have commenced another drawing of rocks, this time I’m featuring some of the ‘star’ rocks from my collection.

The problem that I faced, as do indeed all artists, was one of composition and especially determining the focal point.

Stay tuned for updates!

About artkleko

artist, art curator, art teacher, art judge, art critic
This entry was posted in Uncategorized and tagged , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

2 Responses to ROCKING ON

  1. wind says:

    Super rocks ! Have inspiration and a nice and creative weekend!
    Best regards from Romania!

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Over the next few days I will be reviewing one painting from each of the three artists who are currently on show at the Mezzanine Gallery, Country Club Tasmania, in Launceston.

Today’s featured painting is by Jenny Sayer.

Wake, is a huge oil painting, some 2 metres high. It hangs at the end of a long corridor and looks spectacular.

This is a very moving painting. Its serenity is quite ‘magnetic’. One is ‘drawn’ towards the painting from a distance.

There is a delightful ‘silence’ about this work, an air of expectation.

The ‘intrusion’ (foreground) will soon disappear and the stillness will return …

Tomorrow I will feature a painting by Louise Skabo.

About artkleko

artist, art curator, art teacher, art judge, art critic
This entry was posted in Uncategorized and tagged , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

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The Disney Gallery Artists in Disneyland, Ca. Share Their Visions Of Castles

Who doesn’t love a castle?  Especially a Disney Castle!  The artists of The Disney Gallery, in Disneyland, Ca. have created a series that are sure to delight you.  When you enter the gallery you will be reminded of perfect memories and childhood dreams.  The Disney Gallery is a must see and with all the wonderment, you just might find yourself lost in an enchanted world of your own.

Inspired New Views of the Disney Castles

Castles have inspired the work of artists around the world for centuries, portrayed in everything from painting and sculpture to television and film. Similarly, Walt Disney was inspired to create unforgettable storybook castles in his motion pictures and build them in his parks. Since most notable castles existed outside of the United States, Walt introduced many Americans to their first castle experiences.  Just as Walt found inspiration in the storybook castles of France’s Loire Valley and Bavaria’s Black Forest, his own castles sparked the imaginations of his countless film audiences and guests to his parks.
Disney castles continue to inspire today’s artists, including 12 gifted women and men whose works The Disney Gallery is now proud to feature. They each have created captivating pieces of art that reveal the immeasurable influence of Walt and the landmark icons he created and inspired.

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Wonderful parenting experience

Our Constant Prayer As Parents Should Be For Our Children to Come to Know God As He Is As Much As We Did

If God wills it, so be it.

When my son Nathaniel was walking toward the direction of a priest for a blessing after a holy mass celebration two years ago, he (the priest) was telling my son to try becoming a priest like him when he grows up. Then the priest looked me straight in the eyes as we traded smiles. “If God wills it,” I told him.

I once considered priesthood when I was a lot younger. I took up the entrance exam at the nearest College seminary from where I lived and was interviewed, of course, by a priest who was also the school director.

“What made you consider priesthood?” asked the director priest.

“Because I want to serve God by turning people towards him,” I answered.

“Not only a priest can do that, but everyone can serve God in his own little way,” he said.

“Listen, I want you to think hard about it. I’m sending you home and think hard about it. Come back when you have finally decided to become a priest.”

I didn’t come back. He was right, each one of us can serve God in our own little ways. It has become so clear to me now. God wants me to build a family and to make a domestic church out of it.

I know that if I was in the seminary, I would receive wonderful human and spiritual formation and academic education. I would be taught by dedicated priests who inspire by example as I’m going to share my life with fellow seminarians who are also a source of grace, fellowship, and wisdom.

But while I was considering the priesthood, God knew best than what I should be doing with my life. He made me a family man. I was still called “padre,” but of the family. While the priest is called “padre de Iglesia,” I, on the other hand, was the “padre de Familia.”

If my son is going to ask me about considering the priesthood when he grows up, this I have to say: “If God wills it.” Because I know that while I am my son’s biological father, his creator and spiritual father is the Almighty God. I’m confident that God knows what his vocation should be.

Our constant prayer as parents should be for our children to come to know God as He is as much as we did. God would lead our children if we prepare and encourage them to respond to His call.

If God wills it, so be it.

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Harry Who?

Unless you have been in the deepest darkest jungles of the world you know that Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows was released OFFICIALLY Saturday, July 21, 2007. To celebrate the release of the final book Mad Dog’s and my stores held Midnight Magic Parties. Some how we managed to live through the evening, coming out on the other side a little weathered, but in one piece. I’m now fighting a cold and a sore throat from all my yelling Friday night, but I’ll be okay.

I wish Little Man was older to have been apart of it. I doubt there will be anything like this every again. Regardless we have the memories.

~ by Cute Fan Girl on July 21, 2007.

One Response to “Harry Who?”

  1. Dare I say that if I work in book retail for the next 20 years, I’ll most likely never see an event this big again. This was it, and now it’s over. It’s like that feeling you get after Christmas except that this time you know that it won’t be back next year. What’s left to do? It’s gonna take me a few months at least to kick this feeling that something is missing.

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Tag Archives: How Do Librarians Decide Which Books to Throw Away?

How Do Librarians Decide Which Books to Throw Away?

atkins-bookshelf-booksUnlike Jorge Luis Borges’ Library of Babel, all libraries do not have infinite space on their bookshelves. Consider that each year in the U.S., more than 300,000 different titles are published. In order to create a collection that is current and relevant, librarians have to balance acquisitions with deaccession, the official term for culling, weeding or more precisely, throwing away books. (Even weeding is not an apt metaphor, because if you discard a book, one doesn’t grow back; the book is lost forever.) Understandably, since librarians serve a community of readers (many who are bibliophiles), librarians speak of deaccession in hushed tones, as if discussing that creepy, old relative that no one wants to invite to family gatherings. One can imagine walking up to a librarian and asking him or her to reveal their dirty, little trade secret. “I can tell you,” the librarian would whisper, “but I would have to kill you.” Poppycock! — in the Bookshelf community no topic about books — even something as horrifying as dumping books into landfills — is off limits. So let’s get to it: how exactly does a library staff decide what books to get rid of?

Librarians, like government employees, are quite fond of acronyms (a legacy of the inscrutable Dewey Decimal system perhaps). They use CREW to weed their collections. CREW is an industry-wide practice that stands for Continuous Review Evaluation and Weeding. Librarians refer to CREW: A Weeding Manual for Modern Libraries (2008) by Jeanett Larson, the bible of book weeding, which could easily be retitled How to Discard Books and Still Be Able to Sleep at Night. In order to decide whether a book should be “crewed,” a librarian considers three factors: 1. the number of years since the book’s last copyright date; 2. the number of years that have passed since the book was last checked out; and 3. the book’s uselessness is based on several objective and subjective factors, using yet another acronym — MUSTIE.

MUSTIE refers to six factors for the librarian to determine if a title merits crewing. The first is Misleading: is the book’s information misleading because it is outdated or inaccurate? The second is Ugly: is the book worn out and cannot be repaired? The third is Superseded: has the book been replaced with a new edition? The fourth is Trivial: is the book lack scientific or literary merit? The fifth is Irrelevant: is the book irrelevant to the community’s interests or needs? Finally, the sixth is Elsewhere: can the book be easily found at another library, or is the information available on the internet?

Despite all these specific factors to evaluate about a book, CREW is simply a guideline. In the CREW manuel, Larson notes: “It is important to remember that guidelines are not intended to act as a substitute for professional judgment calls and common sense… Retain works of durable demand and/or high literary merit.” Some bibliophiles with a library of several hundred books can barely part with a single volume, so one can imagine the challenge a library faces when it needs to create substantial space, weeding out 50,000 to 250,000 titles at a time. The horror! The horror!

Read related posts: A Tale of Two Donkeys and a Mobile Library
Lacuna: The Library Made Out of Books
 I Am What Libraries Have Made Me
If You Love a Book, Set it Free
The Library without Books
The Library is the DNA of Our Civilization

Types of Book Readers
Weird Things Customers Say in Bookstores
The Sections of a Bookstore
The Power of Literature
Why Study Literature?
Why Read Dickens?
The Power of Literature
The Benefits of Reading

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Clarification of Our Millage Rate Adoption Process and Call for Reasonable Stop Gap for Your Property Taxes

Wow! We’ve been seeing quite a lot of incorrect and misleading information about Atlanta Public Schools’ millage rate related to Fulton County tax assessments.

First, Fulton County has made it clear that recent increases in the assessment of property values are due to under-assessments over the past several years. Second, APS and our Board have absolutely no involvement in the assessment of property values.

tabletphotoHere’s what the public school system and the Board actually does in relation to this issue:

When Atlanta Public Schools develops its general operating budget each year, a major source of revenue – about 70 percent – comes from local resources, mostly property taxes. Each year, the Atlanta Board of Education considers and sets a millage rate, which currently stands at 21.74, for ad valorem taxes due to the city school district.

Even when the millage rate stays constant, the value of the tax can rise or fall due to inflation or to changes in assessed value of property. State law requires our district each year to publish assessed taxable value of all property and also calculate a “rollback” millage rate when assessed values of property leads to a significant rise in property tax revenue.

When the Board approved the FY2018 General Fund Budget on Monday, June 5, it did so based primarily on information provided by the interim Fulton County Chief Appraiser to the APS Board Budget Commission at its March 16 meeting. He projected growth of between 5% and 7%. The adopted budget made the assumption of 6% growth in the overall tax digest with NO – I repeat, NO – increase to our millage rate.

Typically, we receive the preliminary tax digest numbers by late May or early June. To date, we still don’t have the official tax digest.

To go further, here’s how the District and the Atlanta Board of Education considers and sets the millage rate each fiscal year.

  1. District receives estimated consolidated tax digest from the Fulton County Tax Commissioner’s Office. Again, we do not have the actual tax digest in hand at this time.
  2. Our CFO and the APS Budget Department then calculate the rollback rate, which is equal to the previous year’s millage rate minus the millage equivalent of the total net assessed value added by reassessments.
  3. APS, under state law, provides certain disclosures to taxpayers prior to the establishment of the annual millage rate for ad valorem tax purposes. The first disclosure – which must be published – shows the assessed taxable value of all properties in the City of Atlanta, the proposed millage rate for the current calendar year, and the assessed taxable values and millage rates for each of the immediately preceding five calendar years. The second disclosure requires APS to compute a “rollback” millage rate, and if the proposed millage rate exceeds the “rollback” rate, the district must advertise a tax increase including the rate and hold public hearings before adopting a final millage rate.

The challenge with the FY2018 general fund budget was that our CFO and our budget team have no way to determine what share of the increase is related to new property assessments (which is not included in the rollback rate) and what is due to reassessments.

Additionally, this year’s tax digest will represent Fulton County’s effort to correct and right-size its previous assessments. While other counties have seen gradual increases over the years, Fulton County has not kept up. And that has nothing to do with APS.

This has meant, however, that APS, Fulton County Schools and municipalities in the county have struggled to balance budgets with increased costs and undervalued assessments. While the Board could have increased the millage rate to fund these rising costs, it hasn’t. What has happened: The Board has recommended to hold the rate constant.

The FY2018 budget includes yet another year of austerity planning (totaling $20 million over three years) including central office budget cuts to keep up with mandatory cost increases. These include: an $8 million increase in contributions to the Teacher Retirement System; a $1.5 million increase for unfunded pension obligations; a $1.3 million increase in health rates; and $6 million in support of a state-mandated cost-of-living adjustment for teachers and other employees.

Such costs are expected to go even higher for subsequent budgets. For example, we have already been notified that for FY2019 the APS contribution for TRS will increase an additional 4% or $16 million.

Regardless of all of these pressures, APS remains committed to children and schools, all the while working to redirect existing resources to pay for our Strategic Plan priorities, which include $32 million for the Turnaround Strategy and $21.8 million in cluster, flex and signature funds in support of the charter system model. With no rollback of the millage rate, the district may also be able to implement the remaining unfunded components of transformation for the upcoming year, meet unanticipated challenges (including additional growth in the charter school calculation), and offset the use of fund balance currently recommended to balance the FY2018 budget.

Again, APS has not set a millage rate yet and does not plan to increase it.

Finally, it is still as reasonable today as it was in March when the Interim Chief Appraiser advised the district on the projected growth rate of between 5 and 7 percent.

Freezing property assessments at tax year 2016 values – as the Board of Assessors is considering at its next regular meeting on Thursday, June 15 – will only exacerbate the need to correct and right-size across the city in the out years. Public agencies have mandatory costs that must be covered, and in a city like Atlanta that is seeing growth, there should be at least some corresponding new revenue to cover these costs.

Without it, it will lead to further decline in public services that a growing city like Atlanta needs, especially while it works through gross inequities and disparities for some of its residents.

It is our hope that our leaders and officials sort out a more balanced, more measured and more reasonable stop gap until all of this can be sorted out for all of our stakeholders.

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Market Monitor Machines France 2017

Market Monitor

  • France
  • Machines/Engineering

31st October 2017

Profit margins have increased over the last 12 months due to the benign business environment, however, a slight decline cannot be ruled out in the future.

  •  Growth in most segments continues
  • Machinery businesses related to farming equipment still face troubles
  • Strain on production capacity should encourage investments

2017 Franche Machines overview

In 2016 the French machinery sector recorded sales growth in most segments, driven by increased domestic demand (from the metals and construction industries) and rising exports. Machine tool sales increased 6.9%, while the lifting and handling materials segment even recorded an increase of 18%. This was triggered by rising exports and a turnaround after several years of subdued domestic business investments, mainly in the construction sector.

2017 France machines performance

However, as in 2015, machinery businesses related to agriculture/farming equipment continued to face a very competitive environment and decreasing sales and margins, mainly affecting smaller wholesalers. Sales continued to decrease in 2016 (down 2.6%) as farming equipment buyers reduced their investments further due to lower revenues. At the same time, the boiling equipment machinery segment recorded a decrease of 2.9% in sales, still impacted by low investments from the oil and gas industry.

French machinery sales growth increased about 3% in H1 of 2017, mainly driven by overseas demand, especially from Asia and South America, and exports are expected to increase further in the coming months. At the same time, domestic demand remains robust, with an upbeat business climate and more French companies are willing to increase their investment in equipment and machinery. Real fixed investment in France is expected to grow above 2% annually in 2017 and 2018.

In this capital intensive industry, financing needs are high. As a result, businesses in this sector can incur large debts that weaken their financial structure and overall solvency, putting undue stress on liquidity. However, in many cases advance payments can improve suppliers’ cash situations, while banks are willing to lend to the machinery sector. Profit margins have increased over the last 12 months due to the benign business environment and support by fiscal measures. However, in the coming 12 months a slight margin decline cannot be ruled out due to increased energy spending.

2017 France machines SW

On average, payments in the French machinery sector take 70-80 days. The level of protracted payments has been low over the past two years. In H1 of 2017 non-payments decreased and are expected to level off in the coming six months. Despite a forecast decrease of 7% in French business insolvencies , in 2017 business failures in the machinery sector are expected to level off. This can be explained by the fact that the level of machinery insolvencies is already low compared to other industries.

In view of the positive outlook, our underwriting stance remains open for most segments, however, we are still more cautious with machinery businesses related to the agriculture/farming segment due to the issues mentioned above. The same accounts for machinery businesses dependent on the oil and gas sector (like piping machinery).

Related Documents

The statements made herein are provided solely for general informational purposes and should not be relied upon for any purpose. Please refer to the actual policy or the relevant product or services agreement for the governing terms. Nothing herein should be construed to create any right, obligation, advice or responsibility on the part of Atradius, including any obligation to conduct due diligence of buyers or on your behalf. If Atradius does conduct due diligence on any buyer it is for its own underwriting purposes and not for the benefit of the insured or any other person. Additionally, in no event shall Atradius and its related, affiliated and subsidiary companies be liable for any direct, indirect, special, incidental, or consequential damages arising out of the use of the statements made information herein.


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Ministry of Visitation

Ministry of Visitation

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Each Attic Journal is a unique piece of the past that can hold important bits of your present. Using hard-bound vintage school books & library books that were destined for dumpsters, but given new life in our production studio, each journal is made to last with approximately 75 pages of blank 22 or 24# paper & a sturdy wire binding.

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Songs from the Slums

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Saturday, November 21, 2009

Happy Weekend '¨✿

"OMG! It's the 50 Weekend Fever!" [Laughs] That's the least I can describe my above photos. So anyway, it's the weekend and I got these random NC's from different groups about the 50 weekend fever.

Then I brag at my hubby to come with me shopping. "Aubrey, Oh noooes! Not again!" He complains hehe. So I said, C'mon hun. Just a quick tp here and tp there LOL. He hates the thought.

And so again as usual, I didn't get myself much. Instead we end up dating on the outdoor sceneries of each stores.  Now he is staring at me badly for tp-ing him here and there. I pretend to look innocent while singing lalala on my mind. [Grins.]

Finally, to console him I decided to carry his butt and take photos haha! What a story LMAO. I know, I know I sucks at telling stories. Yeah I know XD.

 My hubby nods with his tongue out LOL.

Aubrey's Style Tips:

Top: Vintage Basics :: Edie :: Camel & Heather both from Ingenue
Bottom: WoE GRJ-F7T Ellee Twain Jeans - Autumn from Woe
Skin: Millage Valenti Female Skin - SPA-004 by Millage Valenti
Shape: Aubrey Shape from Shiki Shapes by Jeckie
Hair: [Uw.7R]  Hinata-Hair  Gold ocean
Shoes: .:Periquita Funny Girl Flats Brown
Accessories: The Butterfly and Dragon Charm is from Eolande and the Black Forest Suite - Black Pearl is from Kunstkammer

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Package Details: pixz-git r206.8d318b9-1

Git Clone URL: (read-only)
Package Base: pixz-git
Description: parallel, indexed xz compressor
Upstream URL:
Licenses: custom
Conflicts: pixz
Provides: pixz
Submitter: Synthead
Maintainer: wookietreiber
Last Packager: wookietreiber
Votes: 13
Popularity: 0.000002
First Submitted: 2011-05-17 16:29
Last Updated: 2015-09-18 18:58

Dependencies (3)

Required by (1)

Sources (1)

Latest Comments

arielp commented on 2013-05-03 18:55

Here is a PKGBUILD that uses the new pacman 4.1 features.

wookietreiber commented on 2013-04-06 10:42

please also put in a conflicts to pixz since I just created that package:

wookietreiber commented on 2013-04-06 09:55

This build misses a dependency, detected by namcap:

pixz-git E: Dependency libarchive detected and not included (libraries ['usr/lib/'] needed in files ['usr/bin/pixz'])

hepha commented on 2012-05-07 15:37

Issue #4: linux build fixes · vasi/pixz · GitHub


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Economy on the Deathbed, Good Riddance

Writes Barrons:

Standard & Poor’s reported Thursday that the average corporate credit rating is double-B, two notches below investment grade. That’s near a 15-year low.

More ominous — S&P sees this as a sign that defaults could spike and the corporate credit cycle has peaked.

Given  easier lending conditions since the financial crisis, companies with weaker credit ratings have been able to borrow more — the main reason the average has fallen.

Signs of a looming recession are everywhere. Durable goods orders plunged and the Atlanta Fed’s GDP estimate was lowered to 1.4% from 1.9%.  0806c600-ef72-11e5-9098-8750fd27e61d_Screen-Shot-2016-03-21-at-10-32-03-AMMeanwhile, existing home sales “tumbled” in February and the difference between pro forma and GAAP corporate earnings numbers are at the highest since the previous financial crisis.

The earnings especially are a sign of things to come. After years of cheap credit-fueled capital misallocation, which inevitably, as the Austrian Business Cycle Theory teaches, gave the impression that prosperity was here and that we were living in a great economy, the debt saturated phony economy is beginning to unveil itself. After all, you can only binge borrow for so long until you have to actually have something sustainable to show for it. But as the economy gets poorer due to the central bank-driven mismatch between consumer time preferences and “investment” in longer-oriented production processes, eventually, the economy is left with bad debts, overpriced assets, and goods and services that few have the (economic) demand for. Of course, for years central bankers have tried with every doltish “idea” imaginable, to drum up the demand without considering the fact that central planners cannot fake their way into a sound economy.

And yet, with earnings threatening to expose the true economic conditions, these markets have continued to bet on the sustainability of the casino. That is to say, the distance between forward earnings estimations and the price of the stock of these corporations is expanding still.

IMG_0582 2
Asset prices shooting up, earnings expectations trickling down. Insane!

There is no “fundamental” justification for this; no, it is merely a grand bet on the absurdity and clownish actions of our Beloved Central Bankers. After all, if earnings are down, GDP is slipping, and the economy threatens to contract, this means that Janet Yellen will keep the spigot of easy money going on into perpetuity! Bad news for the economy is good news for the gambling house!

Unfortunately for the gamblers and fortunately (perhaps) for a future of a truly strong economy, the monetary central planners can’t keep things up forever. We are quickly approaching a fork in the road, so to speak. Banks are soon going to see the impossibility of the long term “strength” of their loans and, just like during the housing crisis of 2008, their losses will threaten the entire credit structure across the global economy. And indeed, just this week, Moody’s has placed Deutsche Bank on credit downgrade review.

Moody’s Investors Service said it had placed Deutsche Bank‘s ratings on review for possible downgrade, citing rising execution hurdles as the bank tries to stabilize profits over the next three years.

Moody’s move comes days after the German bank warned that volatile financial markets in the first quarter, normally a strong season for banks, posed a challenge for the entire sector.

The entire sector indeed.

In fact, in an overview of the debt levels in the so-called “Emerging Markets” (a propaganda phrase by the Wall Street debt wholesalers if there ever was one!), the Financial Times late last year wrote:

By some estimates, $7tn of QE dollars have flowed into emerging markets since the Fed began buying bonds in 2008. Now, a year after the Fed brought QE to an end, companies in emerging markets from Brazil to China are finding it increasingly hard to repay their debts.

The excess capacity these companies created became apparent just as China’s slowing economy triggered a collapse in global commodity prices, hurting companies across the emerging world and sending Brazil’s economy into deep recession. Some experts say QE policies by the Fed and other central banks have left a legacy of oversupply from which it will take years to recover.

They also warn that the leveraging of QE money has resulted in piles of debt around the emerging world that are very hard to measure or even detect. As Carmen Reinhart, a Harvard University economist, said recently, it is often only after things go wrong that the size and destructive power of hidden debts become apparent.

Exactly right: the destructive power of these trillion dollar debts will no doubt reverberate throughout the entire financial world. The banks– the ones offloading their positions into the hapless retirement funds of millions of people– have tremendous exposure. In David Stockman’s words, this “casino is going to blow.” Don’t be stuck holding the cards.

However, let’s consider John Hussman’s words as we conclude on the bright side.

Screen Shot 2016-03-24 at 2.31.04 PM.png

Absolutely! The pessimism is not in the idea that there is a recession ahead, that the stock markets must (sooner or later) plunge downward. No, this is the good news! For we might once again have the opportunity to start fresh, for asset valuations to reflect prosperous future returns, for the market to build itself on a foundation of savings and capital and productivity, not consumption and debt and bubbles.

Rain is good.

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Thule Vea Backpack 25L - Black

Thule Vea Backpack 25L - Black

Will this hold what I want it to? Click here to find out.

  • Protect a laptop (15" MacBook®/15.6" PC) and 10" tablet in dedicated, padded slip pockets
  • Keep work belongings safe in separate compartment with storage for laptop, tablet, files, pens, passport, USB, small cords and accessories
  • Discretely store dirty clothes in expandable interior pocket
  • Store shoes in separate, expandable pocket, accessible from the outside of pack. Cinch pocket down to make more space when not in use
  • Quickly access your phone in the plush-lined, exterior stash pocket
  • Securely store all gym accessories from a lock, keys and access card to a hairbrush and toiletries in the interior mesh pockets
  • Commute safely with reflective elements on both front of bag and shoulder straps
  • Tuck and secure a yoga mat or jacket beneath the rucksack flap opening
  • Secure belongings in main compartment thanks to zipper and flap closure system
  • Comfortably carry all your gear due to padded shoulder straps and backpanel with air flow channel

Technical specifications

Dimensions 30 x 24 x 48 cm
Laptop compartment dimensions 38.5 x 26.5 x 3.1 cm
Weight 1.18 kg
Volume 25 l
Color Black
Material Polyester melange, 800D nylon
Model name TVIR-116
Model number 3203512


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Chrysler showed its new hybrid conceptcar: ecoVoyager !

21 01 2008

Every family’s car is driving everything. Big trunk, opportunities transformation salon, individual holder, gloves and spectacle case for each passenger… one word – everything. But sometimes the car very difficult to bear the burden of family, and the on-board computer shows is not that fuel consumption, which promised manufacturers.

And modern petrol and diesel engines very economical albeit little, but spent fuel. That’s the car world is trying to solve this problem by reducing spending. And each car – their way. For example, Chrysler made mix of electricity and hydrogen.

The length of the wheel base concept is equal to 2.9 meters, while the total length of the machine – 4.85 meters.

Being driven force for all the latest features companies like the principle of building the engine chosen for the prototype ecoVoyager – driving future. Fuel cell thing at a total capacity of 60 power charges kit lithium-ion batteries. But recent enough energy to provide meals electric. He, in turn, gives nothing less than 268 forces.

And that was sufficient to “shoot” from place to “hundreds” in less than nine seconds, and reach a maximum speed equal to 185 kilometer per hour. Main not forget that the reserve is not limitless. At full petrol tank ecoVoyager can wind 483 kilometre run.
Developers not only futuristichen, but still looks quite expensive. “Wine” Volume shiny leather and wood inserts.

What’s interesting, the creators of a prototype not only thought about the practicality of the machine, but also tried to conform to the manufacturer’s status expensive cars. This is especially noticeable on the interior decoration and design. If not compare with the yacht or private aircraft, the exact decent living room anymore.
Using only electricity, Chrysler ecoVoyager can travel 64 kilometres.

With a full order of practicality. In the car fit not only handbags, but also a whole bicycle. And from the comfort of passengers do not lose, everyone – individual headphones, the ability to heat or cool their drinks and even whole heap.
The driver will not be too boring. Using cameras, it gets kind of rear image on the display, located in the central console. But for all the joy Chrysler provided their offspring transparent roof. EcoVoyager already formally presented at the Detroit Motor Show opens in, embarked on the podium side by side with the same “green” Dodge ZEO. So, despite all the problems that concern the American looks to the future with confidence.

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Home / Features / Opinions / Stop Preaching the Politics of Hate: Liberia Needs Reconciliation!

Stop Preaching the Politics of Hate: Liberia Needs Reconciliation!

By Abraham M. Keita | April 24, 2017

Abraham M. Keita
Reconciliation is a paramount and germane tool for development. When people are reconciled, change comes in. Not just any change, but unanimous change. This is, especially, true for a country once ripped apart by years of chaos. We are told of untold facts that thousands were victims of despotic executions and unwanted dehumanization; 250,000 people are estimated to have died and many properties destroyed. Liberia’s fourteen (14) years mayhem birthed some of the most heinous offenses man has perpetrated against man. There were even those who thought Liberia would go to the dusk and never rise of the pool of destruction. Soon, their thought-process became a delusion as Liberia, kowtowed to the diktats of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, signed on August 18, 2003, in Accra, Ghana. The famous slogan, “We want peace, no more war”, then became a solemn oath and sacred phrase.

War-torn Liberia returned to the days of peaceful coexistence. Then came the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, a recipe for justice and reconciliation. Created by an Act of the Legislature on May 12, 2005, this commission was mandated to give a detailed, unbiased and vivid account of the goings-on during the civil war. It filed a final report on July 1, 2009, summed into nearly 400 pages. The TRC made several recommendations amongst which was the banning of warlords and individuals who sponsored or affiliated with any of the warring cliques from participation in political processes for some time, possibly, lifetime. Sadly, these recommendations were quickly thrown into the museum of historical fantasy, as there are still people, banned, in public offices, both elected and appointed. (Well, this piece’s resolve is not to speak to this particular subject). The TRC also had an obligation to unite a fractured, divided nation atmospherized with the aroma of Native-Congau segregation, marred by rampant corruption at the disadvantage of the poor and huddled masses, and many other factors. This is what we ought to and must speak about – Reconciliation!

Liberia’s riposte to a “somehow” era of peace would soon mark the beginning of bitterness. It must not be lost on us therefore that the factors which instigated the civil war are as glittering as gold today. In fact, they are in gigantic proportions. When one tunes to the radio or reads the newspapers, one only hears and sees messages of hate; politicians and supporters scolding each other, watering down each other. This is the Liberia, which now exists. Loyalty to state has been thrown into the wilderness. Political godfatherism has taken roots, roots so grounded that we no longer prioritize our country but rather glued devotion to individuals (politicians) thus exhibiting hatred amongst ourselves, even when the words and actions of some are in the best interest of our motherland. We must always remember that while each of us may strive to pursue our individual goals and beliefs, but we must never forget that we will either rise together from the depths of desolation to the heights of success or fall together as one nation and as one people.

I am not unaware that we are in a political season, and everyone will choose their path. But as we campaign in our slums and ghettos, towns and villages, stores and shops, the message must be clear – “let’s reconcile and then progress”. Stop preaching the politics of hate: Liberia needs reconciliation. Genuine development is only assured when people come together in unison and with unanimity. When people come together, they get out of their problems together. Each of us has a duty to rail against the preachers of hate and messengers of conflict. We must do so by maintaining peace and teaching reconciliation.

We Must Forgive and Never Forget

Wartime scars are ones that live on forever. They are not just parts of our memories but they inwardly ache us to the core. Some of us even develop mental defects while others thread with grief and a few breed animosity.

Liberia’s horrible past can be neither disremembered nor scrubbed from the memory of history; thousands were killed, women and girls were raped, and children were made soldiers. The events of 1989 – 2003 demonstrate “man’s inhumanity to man”.

In October this year, Liberia will be a battleground between the forces of good and forces of evil; those who believe in going forward and those who believe in going backward. Liberia’s nursing democracy will be trialed, again. There will be campaigns, fueled by barrage of words. Certainly, that is the constant rule of politics. It must also be reminisced, political campaigns are used as means of unifying people, and this is what we must to do in Liberia.

Many, particularly affiliates of the Liberian civil war, are being derided for their roles in the Liberian civil war. Some are holding public offices while others are celebrated messiahs in their ethnic groups. These individuals still have the naked courage to live in our society and make vaunted boasts about their involvement in the crisis, claiming it was justified. When justice is handicapped, this is what one should expect.

Since recommendations from the TRC report were never carried out, it becomes expedient at this moment to pardon war culprits. We cannot continue to live in a society where the same warlords are decorated and sanctified saints by few in some quarters while many people grieve inside. Growth and development will never be realized in such a situation. Therefore, it is time we forgive the warlords and associates. But as we forgive, we must never forget. History has revealed to us over time that those who forgive and forget are most likely to repeat the same mistakes.

To forgive is sometimes a tough task, but it takes the strong to do it. Mohandas K. Gandhi “Mahatma” once said, “Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong. The weak can never forgive”. I know Liberians are strong. We can forgive each other! The Rwandans’ experience is one we must learn from. After the Rwandan genocide, they realized that it is true that human can visit pain upon another human, but it is equally true that human is capable of bringing back great joy. The Rwandans forgave each other but they have never forgotten. The build their genocide museum so they can be reminded of their awful 100 days. Let us emulate the Rwandans.

We can do it, and we must do it! “In union strong, success is sure. We cannot fail! I do not think we will fail!”

Abraham M. Keita is a global child rights advocate and high school graduate. He fights for justice for child victims of violence, especially sexual violence and speaks for quality education. Keita envisions a world free of violence against children and the rule of law is upheld. He can be reached at info@abrahamkeita.com.

About Efo Korsi Senyo

Efo Korsi Senyo has over 4 years experience working as investigative journalist with Awake Africa. He is the Head of Awake Investigates. Connect with him via senyo@awakeafrica.com or WhatsApp: +233249155003

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Kwesi Nyantekyi is out of touch with the reality of Ghana football.

When you listen to Ghana’s FA President talking about our league, you will be forgiven …

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Architecting a PMIS for the Cloud

Let’s face it.  On premises system architectures have long been an enabler for both lazy and amateur enterprise architects.  Need to move some data around?  Simply add a couple of fields to store it.  Need to add some integration just so we can see all of the data in a single place?  Build some batch jobs to push data hither and yon – and replicate it in multiple places just to make it easy to get at.

Nowhere is this more evident than in a Project Management Information System (PMIS) that has grown organically to the needs of the enterprise.  Invariably, a PMIS has grown as a collection of disparate systems and silos, all oriented to the needs of a specific functional group that may be involved in the execution of a project.

The integration eventually evolves into a veritable spaghetti diagram of lines moving data from one system to another.  Often, the data schema for the scheduling tool is expanded or repurposed to collect all of the data into a single, convenient data repository.  Generally speaking, this sort of works for many organizations.  They still manage to get their work done, albeit with a fair bit of grumbling around project managers having to access multiple tools to get their jobs done.

The main challenge with this tool architecture is that it doesn’t support a nimble process framework.  As PM processes mature (pro-tip: they will) or adopt to the changing organization, the organization needs to maintain a strict focus on a capabilities infrastructure.  As the capabilities develop in maturity, the underlying tools must also adopt, and this is where the traditional organic PMIS fails… a large extent due to the technical debt incurred in the evolution of the overall system.

Traditionally, with on-premises systems, this tendency towards entropy is addressed every couple of years in the form of an upgrade.  The vendor releases new versions of the software, and as part of the inevitable upgrade process, the organization performs a subbotnik to reassess and simplify the overall system.  This cycle naturally prevents the overall system from getting too complex.

Today’s subbotnik is not your father’s subbotnik however.  Today, most of the discussions we have around upgrades involve a consideration of moving to the cloud.  Often times, this is driven by the desire to take advantage of the cost savings that enterprise cloud offerings now bring to the table.  Twice in a week, I’ve been in conversations with clients about how they could save significant infrastructure overhead costs through moving to the cloud – but have been prevented from doing so by the architecture of their existing PMIS.  This means that they’ve been stuck with expensive on-premises environments with feature sets that grow increasingly outdated with each day.

Furthermore, additional care must be taken when moving to the cloud as we will lose that convenient safety valve of reassessing the entire thing from the ground up as part of an upgrade within the next several years.  Whatever we design today, we will have to live with tomorrow – and the day after tomorrow.

Over the course of multiple discussions, the architecture I see evolving around the PMIS looks a lot like this:

Instead of pulling data backwards and forwards, we are consolidating it.  The data is either consolidated in real time with any number of reporting tools such as Microsoft Excel, PowerBI, Tableau or Spotfire…..or it’s being pulled into a data warehouse such as SQL or HANA using an ETL tool.  Doing so greatly reduces the complexity of the overall system and allows each part to feed data in such a way that the company can rapidly mature in a specific capability as needed.

Hence, for those organizations with a significant existing investment in on-premises PMIS and the associated integration that this usually entails, a cloud discussion almost always needs to start from the process discussion.  What is your process?  How do the tools you currently have enable this process?  How do the tools we currently have block the process?  Does the process truly support the project management needs of the enterprise?  It’s only after having this discussion, that a new system architecture may be designed… which enables the nimble enterprise.

Here, we run into some of the typical challenges of a cloud discussion.  Typically, the cloud agenda is part of the IT agenda – as a means of reducing operational costs associated with maintaining rooms full of big iron.  The processes we are supporting are owned almost always by a PMO or PMOs.  To have this discussion effectively, i.e. of how to move to the cloud, the PMOs must be engaged by IT to reassess process and ensure that the results can be moved to the cloud effectively and efficiently.

Prior postings on architecting a PMIS (here and here)…..and a couple of posts on mapping EPM tools to process architecture (here and here)

Architecting a PMIS for the Cloud

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Microsoft obtains new cloud-centric ISO 27017 certification

Posted on August 3, 2016

Senior Director, Microsoft Azure

ISO27017We are happy to announce Microsoft Azure obtained the ISO/IEC 27017:2015 certification, an international standard that aligns with and complements the ISO/IEC 27002:2013 with an emphasis on cloud-specific threats and risks.

This certification provides guidance on 37 controls in ISO/IEC 27002 and features seven new controls not addressed in ISO/IEC 27002. Both cloud service providers and cloud service customers can leverage this guidance to effectively design and implement cloud computing information security controls. Customers can download the ISO/IEC 27017 certificate which demonstrates Microsoft’s continuous commitment to providing a secure and compliant cloud environment for our customers.

Microsoft Azure helps customers meet their compliance requirements across a broad range of regulated industries and markets including financial services, healthcare, life sciences, media and entertainment, worldwide public sector, and US federal, state and local government.

For more information on Microsoft Azure’s unmatched compliance portfolio, visit the Trust Center.


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Follow the sun

Bogle Architects design international school in Vietnam

Posted by Stephanie Broad | February 03, 2016 | International

The International School Ho Chi Minh City (ISHCMC) is a new secondary school designed by Bogle Architects, providing teaching facilities for over 900 students, with an internationally renowned education programme.

The 1.15-hectare site, located adjacent to the River Saigon, stands amongst a varied townscape of traditional residential units and new 25-storey residential blocks.

The school building will provide over 25,000 square metres (sqm) of accommodation. The design is notable for its clarity - all the main facilities are arranged along an internal central spine or ‘high street’. Each zone is located in order to optimise environmental conditions. The main teaching zone is situated to the east of the spine, with classrooms arranged in groups around pocket light wells, allowing daylight to enter from the north and south facades in direct response to the sun’s high trajectory throughout the year.

Pocket gardens sit at the base of the light wells on the lower levels, and bring greenery into the building to enhance the students’ wellbeing.

Large classrooms for specialist subjects, such as science, art and technology, are located at the spine’s northern and southern extremities. In between these satellite classrooms, larger spaces contain the dining room, gymnasium, swimming pool, theatre, library and innovation centre.

To maximise the potential of the site, the roof is crowned with a football pitch and surrounded by a sculptural steel fence.

The western façade of the building faces the river, and is shaded by a 100-metre long louvred screen. The louvres are arranged in sections that straddle each floor. The entire building is elevated to provide natural ventilation to the ground floor where the students can dine outside and make use of an open-air swimming pool.

Drop-off and collection zones are also located at ground level along with bus stops and car parking spaces.

The design’s open central plaza emphasises the school’s core values of collaboration and connectivity.

Project architect, Luigi Simione, said: 'The building has been designed in direct relation to the sun's path: north/south windows allow in natural light, west-facing louvred screens reduce heat gain, and roof gardens provide insulation.'

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Tag Archives: Intellectual Giftedness

Haters Hate, Creators Create

Haters, haters, haters: they will always keep on hating,
So, give exactly zero fucks to what they say, and keep creating.
Dream so big and weird, that everyone will think you’re “nuts,”
Then, laugh until it makes you cry, while counting up your bucks.

Enjoy what you have earned… After all, you do deserve it,
But don’t forget the little guy who’s thinking he’s not worth it.
For some reason, he didn’t walk the “recommended” path,
Plus, Life’s a ‘number’s game;’ he just got left out in the math.

A day, not long ago, that lonely lunatic was you!
Remember how it felt thinking there’s nothing you could do?
You’ve finally made it to the promised land, why ever leave?
The goal was never wealth, but getting hopeless to believe.

  • Not Chris Hoeller

Cliff Notes Genius

Wikipedia is great.

I take everything with a grain of salt, whether it be a wiki page or a well-respected book by a so-called “expert.”

I have learned so much from Wikipedia, that I don’t mind if a couple of the fine details are off. It’s opened up my mind to subject matters that I otherwise never would have touched.

For me, as a polymath / aspiring polymath, it’s all about breadth of knowledge, not depth. My “Cliff Notes knowledge” of a million subjects wins out over a specialist’s extreme details, any day.

Connecting the Dots

This is because my strength is not being super-detailed or specialized, but in being able to make out-of-this world connections between unrelated subjects. This ability allows me to walk into a room of experts and see solutions to problems that they never would have dreamed of. They still get to do the detail work that makes it actually function, but I produce the idea that enables them to get started (or the solution that allows them to get unstuck).

I’ve personally learned psychology, accounting, graphic design, advanced marketing, modern business methods, philosophy, basic pharmacology, and many other things from self-teaching myself online.

I have a double major in marketing and consumer science, as well as a minor in sociology from a legit college. I can honestly say that I’ve learned more about those subjects, too, from self-learning online.

College was a complete waste of time, not to mention that it screwed me over financially, due to student loans. I had to have that “piece of paper” that was supposed to land me jobs: I want to set fire to it.

Your Experience May Vary

Not to brag, but to be fair to readers of this post: I have an IQ of 170, and my personality type is an ENTP (“The Creative Inventor”). This means that not only am I technically a genius (in the 99.9998467663 percentile), but my personality type means I am primarily driven by curiosity. So, not everyone is built to be a generalist. Specialists are needed and serve an important function in society. However, there will continue to be a rise of generalists, due to technological evolution.

Dr. House is 100% an ENTP, and Most Definitely Not an INTJ

Backwards Time Machine

Dr. House is portrayed as the kind of genius that gets to be a jerk and buck the system because he’s just that good. He uses deductive reasoning of the Sherlock Holmes type to solve complicated medical cases.

Though he seems to value as the most important thing in life, he frequently (and, very occasionally, admittedly) uses it to manipulate himself and others more than to create a truly consistent logical system for everything.

His somewhat random and energetic behavior is not really indicative of a IJ temperament in any sense.

Though highly confrontational, he is decidedly manipulative, rather than physical. His aggression seems intellectual in nature, and his aim is to be recognized as smart and correct, rather than powerful and in control.

His best friend Wilson appears to be an SEI and SLI who compulsively befriends “needy” individuals.

o Extremely calculating and logical; absence of empathy.

o Disdainful…

View original post 531 more words

Gifted Individuals Make a Significant Contribution to Innovation in Organizations

With their creative talents, gifted individuals can make a useful contribution to innovations within organizations. Highly gifted individuals possess many more creative possibilities than the average gifted person.

To make use of their innovative ideas and to implement them, however, an effective interaction between gifted individuals and their work environment is essential.

How do gifted individuals contribute to innovation?

  • The gifted individual can easily identify the relationships between goals, missions, and assignments.
  • The gifted individual has the ability to focus intensely on the content.
  • Arguments based on content are key.
  • Habits, traditions and social pressure are quickly spotted. If these seem to be in conflict with the content, they are discarded as being irrelevant.
  • Thinking ‘outside of the box’ is second nature to them.
  • Switching between one’s own professional area and other disciplines is no problem at all.
  • The opinion of a formal authority does not weigh any heavier than the opinion of another party.
  • Information from others is checked against one’s own experience or against other information.
  • The gifted individual has a high degree of commitment and passion.
  • Existing protocols, structures and approaches are only followed if they seem to be effective and are well-founded.
  • A customized solution is sought for each individual situation, often when this has not been requested. ‘Standard problems’ are also approached in this way.

Favorable environmental factors required for making use of these contributions are listed below. The favorable characteristics listed correspond strongly with the ‘task culture’ and ‘person culture,’ while the unfavorable characteristics correspond with the ‘role culture’ or ‘power culture’ from “Harrison’s typologies of organizational culture.

Favorable and Unfavorable Organizational Characteristics for the Gifted

Favorable organizational characteristics:

  • Flexibility.
  • Little hierarchy.
  • Few procedures (only if they are useful).
  • The development and needs of employees are of importance.
  • Room for productive conflicts.
  • Power and influence can be acquired through expertise, dedication and success (or, at most, through personality, ability and outstanding performances).

Unfavorable organizational characteristics:

  • Procedures determine the work.
  • Power and influence are predominantly dependent upon your position.
  • The development and needs of the employee are of little importance.
  • Conflicts are often avoided.

How can giftedness be recognized?

If an employee arrives at your consulting room, how do you recognize the above-mentioned characteristics of giftedness?

  • Wide interest in all kinds of fields (curious and passionate).
  • Sensitive to, such as, noise at work (highly sensitive).
  • Can speak passionately about a subject that interests him or her, starts speaking more quickly, the eyes light up, makes agitated gestures (passionate).
  • Quick analyses of the work situation: ‘that’s how it works’ (highly intelligent).
  • Focussed primarily on the content of the work (highly intelligent).
  • Wants to work in his/her own way (autonomous).
  • Wants to see a lot of variety in the work (creation-directed).
  • Produces unorthodox solutions that are not generally accepted (sparkling original).

Focus points for the problem analysis

  • Gifted individuals suffer relatively often from stress and burnout. Factors that can be of influence here are the nature of the work (sufficient challenge), the degree of autonomy and the defining of borders. Gifted employees are especially passionate and have the tendency to insufficiently specify their own limits.
  • Bullying, or other forms of aggression: because a gifted individual does not fit the requirements of the ‘average’ employee. As a result, fear/anxiety disorders may arise.
  • Depressive feelings often start at an early age. Gifted individuals can therefore more easily feel lonely and isolated.
  • Fear of failure as a result of setting the bar high and the tendency to perfectionism.
  • The gifted individual can come across as having ADHD. The combination of giftedness and ADHD is not uncommon.
  • Gifted individuals have a high sensitivity for odors and sounds.
  • They more quickly experience certain circumstances as being a hindrance.

Gifted, Talented, and Creative Problems

It’s well known among researchers of the gifted, talented, and creative that these individuals exhibit greater intensity and increased levels of emotional, imaginational, intellectual, sensual, and psychomotor excitability and that this is a normal pattern of development. It is because these gifted children and adults have a finely tuned psychological structure and an organized awareness that they experience all of life differently and more Intensely than those around them.

These characteristics, however, are frequently perceived by psychotherapists and others as evidence of a mental disturbance, because most of the population lacks accurate information about
the special characteristics of gifted individuals, couples and families. Most people don’t know that what is considered normal for the gifted is most often labeled as neurosis in the general population and as a result, the gifted are personally and emotionally vulnerable to a variety of unique relationship difficulties at home, work, school and in the community.

Since the gifted function with relatively high levels of intensity and sensitivity, when they seek therapy they are frequently misdiagnosed, because therapists receive no specialized training in the identification and treatment of persons who have advanced and complex patterns of development.

Therapeutic assessment of gifted persons with asynchronous development, heightened levels of awareness, energy and emotional response, and an intense level of inner turmoil often results in their developmental transition being mislabeled as a personality or attention disorder.

Histrionic, dysthymic, cyclothymic, borderline, narcissistic, ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) or ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder) are a few of the diagnostic labels mistakenly used to describe normative stages of positive disintegration. The results of this type of misdiagnosis can range from benign neglect to misguided counseling strategies that invalidate and attempt to ‘normalize’ the complex inner process of the gifted. When misdiagnosed gifted clients are prescribed medication to suppress the “symptoms of giftedness” there is the danger that the wonderful inner fury of the gifted process will be neutralized, thus minimizing the potential for a life of accomplishment and fulfillment.

As a result, those who have the most to offer society are the least likely to get their therapeutic needs met.

For the gifted, inner conflict is a developmental rather than a degenerative sign, because it drives the gifted person forward to replace current ways of thinking and being with those of higher level development. This type of positive disintegration is characterized by an intensified inner tension between what one is and what one could be. This dynamic tension is what fuels the creative person’s complex inner life and provides the impetus for growth and development. Any therapist who works with a gifted population must be familiar with these internal processes, which are utilized to develop advanced potential – otherwise, the therapist risks inflicting further psychological damage.

When working with the gifted, a therapist must address the following interpersonal issues: the internal stress of being gifted; the emotional trauma of rapid development; the effects of introversion, intensity, perfectionism and extraordinary sensitivity on self and others; the recognition of the symptoms of insufficient mental engagement; the importance of interacting with other gifted persons, and channeling and focusing an abundance of physical, sensual, intellectual and emotional energy.

Unique interpersonal challenges that gifted individuals, couples and families encounter during their life span include learning to interact in the mainstream world; manage expectations and pressures to fit the norm; defuse unconscious hostility, resentment, antagonism and sabotage directed at them because they are perceived as intellectually, creatively or personally advantaged; set appropriate boundaries for the utilization of their abilities; collaborate with others, and manage the daily dilemmas of giftedness involving relatives, bosses, co-workers, neighbors, counselors, teachers and other members of the community.

Traits of Highly Creative People:

• sensitive
• not motivated by money
• sense of destiny
• adaptable
• tolerant of ambiguity
• observant
• perceive world differently
• see possibilities
• question asker
• can synthesize correctly, often intuitively
• able to fantasize
• flexible
• fluent
• imaginative
• intuitive
• original
• ingenious
• energetic
• sense of humor
• self-actualizing
• self-disciplined
• self-knowledgeable
• specific interests
• divergent thinker
• curious
• open-ended
• independent
• severely critical
• non-conforming
• confident
• risk taker
• persistent

Ways and Problems in Which Giftedness Complicates Things:

• Tolerance for ambiguity & complexity leads to difficulty making decisions, difficulty with career path.

• Intensity: too needy, too sensitive, too friendly, too excited, too driven, too disorganized, too fast, too competitive, too arrogant, work too hard anti-procrastination disease.

• Desire for high stimulus situations: mischief, smug, bored, know-it-all; or procrastination, risk taking, need to make life difficult in order to feel like a hero.

• Thinking too much, can’t turn it off, obsessional style.

• Not having goals or never being satisfied; perfectionism; confusing exhaustion for accomplishment.

Chris Hoeller – What’s Your Story?

To be blunt, I’m a creative genius that took a “unique” path in life. I had a kid in high school and so didn’t go to Harvard as I had planned (not that I really hold any traditional education up with high regard, anyways). I got a job at a local restaurant, simply because I needed a source of income.

I moved up the ladder ridiculously quick. I was recruited to run a start-up restaurant, which I opened with massive success (designing every process, hiring every employee, developing managers, creating the marketing, watching the accounting). I had a falling out with the owner, as he no longer needed someone to design the systems that had already been designed (he replaced me with himself).

I stumbled for a while as I finished a degree, not knowing what I wanted to do with my life. I got a job as a marketing manager, but most of my work was truly of a strategic, behind-the-scenes nature. I innovated entire departments using creative solutions. I was able to use my cross-functional, multi-industry experience to see things from a fresh perspective.

As I looked for work, I became reattached to my roots as a creative problem solver. I was reminded of the work I did as a child and the large-scale of impact I could have.

I became limitless, again, but I didn’t know exactly where to fully use this potential or how to prove what I was capable of. So, I network with people I see potential in, and I post what I’m thinking about. I await for someone with means to see in me what I see in others: their true potential.

It’s not ideal, sitting and waiting, and it’s rather frustrating, so I apply for certain jobs. But, from the bottom of my heart, I believe that my greatest potential will be noticed by someone looking at a wider portrait than merely a resume or CV. It’s how I would recruit for someone like me.

My Mind: From Chaos to Solution

I automatically see connections between all elements of an issue:

  • The problem.
  • The people involved.
  • The circumstances leading up to the situation.
  • The environmental factors.
  • The outside influences.
  • The potential reasons for misunderstanding.
  • The manner in which the individual elements affect each other.
  • All of possible solutions.

All of these thought processes occur in my mind, simultaneously.

Sparking rapidly in complete chaos.

Bouncing off of one another, crossing paths, combining, and creating new sparks.

An uncontrollable storm of pattern spotting, analogous connections, contradictions, divergence, and convergence.

I can’t help it.
I can’t explain it.
I can’t turn it off.

Destruction and Healing

Different parts of my mind go to battle with each other, and then they construct new bridges to mend the dissonance they created.

As a result, a new layer of understanding emerges that didn’t previously exist.

Sitting atop this new layer, radiant and obvious, is the solution.

The more complex and challenging the issue, the more useful having this ability is:

Watching me tie my shoes or get ready to go out for the evening is amusing. I come across as a clumsy, scattered-brained moron.

Being in the right environment is crucial.

Now, take a room filled with the most talented people in the world, trying to solve an impossible problem or create an entirely new way of doing things.

They may be completely stuck in a deadlock. They may be ready to give up entirely. Put me in that same room for a little while, and it’s like witnessing magic.

Groups and a Diversity of Opinions

Other people, especially with a diverse set of opinions, to bounce ideas off of, only multiplies what already happens in my mind.

In a group situation, it may take some time to process and readjust the patterns of thought, based on the input of others. However, what it really provides is more elements to play with and more dots to connect: a bigger playground.

Out of Nowhere

Despite being the person with perhaps the least topic-oriented experience, I will typically see that one connection hidden in everyone’s blind spot.

Somewhere in that same general area, the solution to their problem will present itself.

It’s quite a powerful ability, but it’s something I only can direct or shape, not something I have complete control over.

It’s not a matter of how it’s chosen to be utilized, but where it’s placed.


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Fishing Triathlon—Maine Surf Casting for Striped Bass

The text came in, “Fish are here!” “Where?”, I replied. The response was accompanied by a picture of what looked like a 40-inch striped bass, “Where else can you get fish like this?” I knew immediately it was The Spot. I’ll let you know right now, good reader, that you will not be told where The Spot is. I was let in on The Spot a year ago by the same fishing buddy who texted me, who previously had been told by another friend. Fishing etiquette dictates you never reveal a spot you did not find yourself. If someone else has been so generous to turn you on to some hot fishing, then it would be incredibly bad form to tell the world where it is. Let’s just say it’s in Maine.

The problem with The Spot is that it requires some work to get to. That’s why we call it a Fishing Triathlon. After a lengthy drive, a two mile—and somewhat illegal—bike ride on a trail is required to get to the beach. From there it’s a 15 minute walk in waders on soft sand. I suppose we could run to make it more triathlon-like but I think that would be taking it a bit too far. The water part of the triathlon comes into play next. This beach faces the full brunt of the Atlantic Ocean, so the surf is usually rocking and rolling pretty hard. Reaching the fish requires standing as far into the surf as you dare in order to cast your offering as far into the strike zone as possible. Getting wet is inevitable. The goal is to not get knocked over by a big wave and rolled in the wash. Paying attention is essential. Oh, did I mention this all takes place at night?

Typical fish from The Spot

Surf fishing at night is one of the purest types of angling. It’s you against the magnificent power of the ocean. There’s no boat, usually no other people except your buddies and very few visual references. You fish by feel. With experience, you can discern an offshore sand bar from current, detect when your bait has slipped into a deeper hole, and just make out subtle changes in the water’s surface that indicate changes in depth.

On this particular night the surf was very large. So large I left my fly rod at home and just brought one spinning rod. I am a fly fishing snob, so I prefer to catch all my fish with this ancient technique. But fly casting into big waves at night is about the most difficult type of fishing I can imagine. I may be a snob, but I also like to catch fish. A seven-foot medium/heavy spinning rod loaded with 17-pound test monofilament was the ticket for these conditions. I also prefer artificial lures to bait, but on this night we used bait in the form of the American eel. There is no more deadly bait for striped bass than the eel. Problem is they are slimy, nasty and just downright ugly. But I was able to put my snobbery aside because I knew what kind of fish tend to inhabit The Spot in late August and early September.

Soon after arriving we started to hook up. The action wasn’t as hot and heavy as a year ago but the fish were nice, all in the 35 to 40 inch range, and at one point all three of us were onto fish. The surf was pounding and care had to be taken to stay attentive. More than once I was watching my buddy land a fish when a big wave rolled in and nailed me. Luckily, I didn’t go down but I came close.

Nice Maine striped bass

After an hour or so things quieted down and we went a long stretch without a hit. The tide was coming in and with it a building surf that was getting more and more threatening. It was after midnight and I was starting to get drowsy, but no one wants to be the guy who says “maybe we should call it a night.” I know we were all thinking it, especially since we all had to go to work the next day. I was working a little trough I had noticed earlier while wading into the beach, the perfect kind of place for striped bass to ambush prey on an incoming tide. Sure enough, a solid strike confirmed my feeling that a fish had to be hanging in there. After a bruising battle, a solid 40-inch bass was beached.

The big one that didn't get away
The big one that didn’t get away

This was enough for everyone to agree to end it on a high note and call it a night. Now it was time to reverse the triathlon and start the journey back to the car. We had each  stashed a cold beer in our packs for the first leg of our return journey. Even though it was now warm, the setting and the shared adventure with my two friends made that beer one of the best I’ve had all summer.

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text:
Nature is the first mother for any human who is living on earth. Humans don’t see her as their mother instead they destroy it. People who destroy mother nature is higher when compared to people who are saving them. This Biomimicry concept is not based on the people who saved mother nature, it’s all about how they learned from it.

By 1948 all the zipper manufacturers were crying around since it’s market share was taken by a product called hook and loop fastener (Generic Brand name – Velcro). Velcro was developed by George D Mestrel, when he went on a hunting to Alps with his dog. He found many burrs or burdocks sticking on his clothes and on the hairs of his dog. He looked the burr under a microscope and found tiny hooks. Those hundreds of tiny hooks were helping the seed to spread across by hanging on animals, clothes or hair. After this, George worked on to imitate the same and which lead to the invention of velcro.

Burr (left) and Velcro (left)

With this example it’s evident that Biomimicry is looking deeply into the natures models, structures, and other things to benefit humans (or solving problems). When Wright brothers saw birds flying around and they thought why can’t we make a vehicle which will help people to fly around the globe. This is not the first seed of Biomimicry, there are many things happened even in the neolithic age when people built homes after looking into birds nest and beehives. We have drawn inspiration from natures color, texture, designs and applied that in our business to satisfy human needs. Many architect companies gets designs only from nature because designs arise in brains after perceiving images from nature. Look into the picture given below, the design is an inspiration drawn from Beehive or from insects eye (ommatidia)

Biomimicry in Architecture

Daimler chrysler under Mercedes group developed a Bionic car which imitates the color and shape of Yellow box fish.

Mercedes Benz – Bionic Car

There are many things developed with the help of nature it was captured clearly by Author Janine M Benyus in her book named “Biomimicry: Innovation inspired by Nature”. Also Janine has delivered a TED talk which will give you clear information about biomimicry. Also I would like to suggest you two link that can help you to understand about application of biomimicry. Click here: Link 1 & Link 2.

Instead of destroying nature try to adopt natures principle in life and make the complex ones simple.

Go to home page


text:
segunda-feira, setembro 04, 2017

Fast fashion: resposta rápida + design + clientes

"Firms in the fashion apparel industry—such as Zara, H&M, and Benetton—have increasingly embraced the philosophy of “fast fashion” retailing. Generally speaking, a fast fashion system combines at least two components:
  1. short production and distribution lead times, enabling a close matching of supply with uncertain demand (which we refer to as quick response techniques);
  1. highly fashionable (“trendy”) product design (which we refer to as enhanced design techniques).
Short lead times are enabled through a combination of localized production, sophisticated information systems that facilitate frequent inventory monitoring and replenishment, and expedited distribution methods.
The second component (trendy product design) is made possible by carefully monitoring consumer and industry tastes for unexpected fads and reducing design lead times.
the second component of fast fashion systems— creating trendy, highly fashionable products — received far less attention. ... some firms are attempting to focus on design and develop trendier products without reducing their production lead times because of the difficulties (both logistical and cultural) that can accompany drastically redesigning the supply network.
We postulate that, all else being equal, enhanced design capabilities result in products that are of greater value to consumers and hence elicit a greater willingness to pay. Consequently, firms may exploit this greater willingness to pay by charging higher prices on “trendy” products than on more conservative products. [Moi ici: De onde virão os markups, perguntam os autores?] Enhanced design capabilities are costly, however: there are typically fixed costs (a large design staff, trend spotters, rapid prototyping capabilities, etc.), and there may be greater variable costs (e.g., because of more labor-intensive production processes or costly local labor). Thus, as with any operational strategy, firms considering enhanced design must trade off the benefits of the strategy (greater consumer willingness to pay) with the costs (fixed and variable).[Moi ici: A tríade assume que o motor é a redução de custos. Pois!]
Quick response reduces the chance that inventory will remain to be sold at the clearance price. Enhanced product design, on the other hand, gives customers a trendier product that they value more, making them less willing to risk waiting for a sale if there is any chance that the item will stock out.
Thus, whereas quick response decreases the expected future utility of waiting for a price reduction, enhanced design increases the immediate utility of buying the product at the full price. By decreasing consumer incentives to wait for the clearance sale, both enhanced design and quick response allow the firm to set a higher selling price while still inducing consumers to pay the full price.
We develop a model of such a system and compare its performance to three alternative systems: quick-response-only systems, enhanced-design-only systems, and traditional systems (which lack both enhanced design and quick response capabilities). In particular, we focus on the impact of each of the four systems on “strategic” or forward-looking consumer purchasing behavior, i.e., the intentional delay in purchasing an item at the full price to obtain it during an end-of-season clearance. We find that enhanced design helps to mitigate strategic behavior by offering consumers a product they value more, making them less willing to risk waiting for a clearance sale and possibly experiencing a stockout. Quick response mitigates strategic behavior through a different mechanism: by better matching supply to demand, it reduces the chance of a clearance sale. Most importantly, we find that although it is possible for quick response and enhanced design to be either complements or substitutes, the complementarity effect tends to dominate. Hence, when both quick response and enhanced design are combined in a fast fashion system, the firm typically enjoys a greater incremental increase in profit than the sum of the increases resulting from employing either system in isolation. Furthermore, complementarity is strongest when customers are very strategic. We conclude that fast fashion systems can be of significant value, particularly when consumers exhibit strategic behavior."

Trechos retirados de "The Value of Fast Fashion: Quick Response, Enhanced Design, and Strategic Consumer Behavior", de Gérard P. Cachon e Robert Swinney, publicado por Management Science, Vol. 57, No. 4, April 2011, pp. 778–795

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