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AMD surges because bitcoin ‘miners’ need its graphics cards

Posted on July 22, 2017 by Danzig

AMD shares rose as much as 7 percent Tuesday after the company revealed the dramatic jump in digital currency prices is driving demand for its graphics cards. The stock was the top performer in the S&P 500 on the day.

"The gaming market remains our priority. We are seeing solid demand for our Polaris-based offerings in the gaming and newly resurgent cryptocurrency mining markets based on the strong performance we are delivering," an AMD spokesperson wrote in an email to CNBC late Monday.

Ethereum cryptocurrency is up over 2,900 percent year to date through Tuesday morning, while bitcoin is up nearly 200 percent this year, according to data from industry website CoinDesk.

The digital currency jumped more than 8 percent at one point Tuesday to a record nearing $3,000.

AMD is one of the market's best performing stocks in the past year with its shares up nearly 170 percent in the past 12 months through Tuesday morning compared with the S&P 500's 15 percent return. AMD one-year chart

Source: FactSet Cryptocurrency miners use graphics cards from AMD and Nvidia to "mine" new coins, which can then be sold or held for future appreciation. AMD traditionally has a better reputation for mining cryptocurrencies.

Computer hardware retailers are sold out of most AMD RX 570 and RX 580 graphics card models, according to NowInStock. AMD launched the RX 500 series of graphics cards on April 18.

The strong demand is spreading to older graphics cards as well. Used AMD RX 470 graphics cards are selling for well over $100 list price on eBay.

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AMD surges because bitcoin 'miners' need its graphics cards

What’s Next for Bitcoin After Digital Currency Split Is Averted – Bloomberg

Posted on July 22, 2017 by Danzig

With the bitcoin development community embracing a software upgrade known as SegWit2x that aims to increase the networks transaction capacity, a split of the cryptocurrency appears to be avoided. As proponents of the change celebrate, heres what some have to say about what may be next.

Were going to see greater utility of the network. Now people can use bitcoin as a way to transit value more easily, more quickly, more cheaply. And that tends to attract in new users to the network."

Going forward, there will probably be open-blockchains like bitcoin, which tends to move more slowly or conservatively, but there will be other blockchains like ethereum that may move more quickly and introduce a larger surface area for developers to build on top of. I think both of those things complement each other, not compete with each other."

Its a great step for bitcoin. There were a lot of question marks, obviously this has been in contention for quite some time now, but reaching consensus for how to scale bitcoin further is a huge step, clearly. SegWit activating and allowing things like Lightning Network is going to be huge for allowing more activity with existing user base, and down the line once we start to expand the blocksize, well be able to expand the number of users on the network."

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The fact BIP91 came through is a good signal that everyone wants to be growing this network further. And theres a lot of ways that its accomplished, but the fact there is way forward is encouraging. Youll never know what happens between now and a few months down the line, in the cryptocurrency space especially, but Im encouraged everything we saw in the past few weeks. A lot of question marks are starting to get answers."

The BIP91 lock-in would be extremely significant for bitcoin and one of the first steps towards scaling the network. Work and discussion around scaling bitcoin has been ongoing for years - with the first dedicated conference around the topic beginning in 2015."

After BIP91 locks in, approximately two weeks later SegWit should go live. Beyond that, there is still risk that bitcoin could split into different chains supporting different maximum block sizes (like a SegWit 1MB chain and a SegWit 2MB chain)."

Read more about how bitcoin and blockchain work.

Bitcoin doesnt have a Turing-complete language like ethereum, but there are some new interesting things that will enable to do be done once SegWit is implemented."

She gave a few examples:

With assistance by Lulu Yilun Chen

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What's Next for Bitcoin After Digital Currency Split Is Averted - Bloomberg

Bitcoin Averts Split Into Two Currencies – Fortune

Posted on July 22, 2017 by Danzig

Photograph by Getty Images

Digital currency bitcoin on Friday averted a split into two currencies after its network supported an upgrade to its software that would enhance its ability to process an increasing number of transactions.

Bitcoin's miners have signaled their support for the so-called Bitcoin Improvement Proposal (BIP) 91, avoiding a split of bitcoin into two blockchains. The miners represent a network of computer operators who secure the blockchain or a public ledger of all bitcoin transactions

BIP 91 is the first step toward a larger effort to upgrade bitcoin through a software called SegWit2x. On Friday, the support for BIP 91 reached nearly 100%, exceeding the required threshold of 80%, according to analysts and market participants.

Some investors have warmed to bitcoin, wooed by its explosive performance and potential to compete with gold and government-issued money as a means to store value. Demand for bitcoin has grown in eight years to a market capitalization of more than $40 billion.

But fears about the bitcoin split dampened demand for bitcoin in recent weeks. After hitting record high near $3,000, bitcoin dropped as low $1,830 on the Bitstamp platform. On Friday, it traded at $2,647.

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The software upgrade attempts to address the bitcoin network's limitations in processing millions of daily transactions. Bitcoin's network has not kept pace with its growth and is unable to process all the transactions fast enough.

"BIP 91 unleashes the next wave of innovation because it has been a little bit stagnant of late for bitcoin," said Rob Viglione, co-founder of ZenCash, a digital coin focused on privacy and security.

Before BIP 91's endorsement, some bitcoin investors feared it could split into two independent currencies because core developers of the network and the miners each wanted different ways to increase bitcoin's scale.

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A compromise between the two groups has been reached through SegWit2x.

"Bitcoin now has a clear run to add features that allow for faster transactions with lower costs," said Charles Hayter, chief executive officer of digital currency analytics firm Cryptocompare.

The upgrade to bitcoin's network will not occur until autumn, said Viglione, because several things need to happen before the new software is activated.

Market participants have complained about the delay in transactions. Analysts say a single bitcoin transaction costs on average 83 U.S. cents to execute, which means micropayments are not feasible on the network.

The network is also limited to roughly seven transactions per second. In comparison, Visa on average handles 2,000 transactions per second.

Bitcoin Averts Split Into Two Currencies - Fortune

Bitcoin price nears record high after scaling debate ‘milestone’ – CNBC

Posted on July 22, 2017 by Danzig

The new code update called BIP 91 has been locked in with 93.8 percent of miners showing support for the proposal in the last 24 hours, according to Coin Dance, a site which tracks bitcoin blocks.

It is essentially a software update that miners need to run. So 93.8 percent of miners are signaling their intention to run it.

There will now be a two-day grace period for miners to prepare for the activation of BIP 91. Following that, there will be an adjustment period which could take two weeks. The actual increase of the block size might not take place until November.

And there could be some potential issues. For example, one bitcoin developer Bryan Bishop, said that miners might not upgrade their software, even though they are signaling that they will.

And there is still a bit of caution in the market.

"It's premature to say the worst is over. But we have reached one important milestone down the road in bitcoin scaling. And there are a few more milestones coming up," Bobby Lee, CEO of BTCC, a bitcoin exchange told CNBC by phone on Friday.

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Bitcoin price nears record high after scaling debate 'milestone' - CNBC

Workington Comets slip to 51-39 loss at in-form Sheffield – News & Star

Posted on July 22, 2017 by Danzig

Sheffield Tigers 51 Workington Comets 39

Workington Comets failed to tame the Tigers as they went down 51-39 at Owlerton to leave Sheffield empty-handed.

Comets almost got off to a dream start as Craig Cook and Mason Campton gated on a 5-1, only for Josh Grajczonek and Todd Kurtz to drive up the inside of the captain to share the points.

Tigers debutant Jan Graversen won heat two with ease ahead of the visitors guest Tom Perry, while Rob Shuttleworth was last behind Georgie Wood, another making his first appearance for the hosts.

It was the home side who gated on a 5-1 in heat three and Ty Proctor seemed too eager to impress on his old track, wiping out Ryan Douglas and being excluded as the race was awarded to put Sheffield six points up.

Heat four had to be rerun after Thomas Jorgensen and Lasse Bjerre made a mess of the tapes before the Tigers made it 16-8 with a 4-2 thanks to Bjerre and Wood as Jorgensen let the lead slip.

Comets seemed to wake up in heat five as Cook and Campton combined for a 5-1 to halve the deficit, only for Grajczonek to rocket round in front of Jorgensen and Kurtz to stretch it back to six points.

Proctor had no problems impressing in heat six as he led from gate to flag, but Bjerre and Graversen chased for a draw, then Campton continued his fine form with a superb win in heat seven, closely followed by Perry for yet another away 5-1.

Jorgensen got in on the act by beating former Workington No.1 Grajczonek in heat eight, but Shuttleworth was last so the Tigers held on.

A 5-1 for the home side threatened to drain Comets momentum in heat nine, Grajczonek and Kurtz making light work of Matt Williamson and Proctor.

Bjerre got the better of Cook and Campton to make it 36-30 after 11 heats, before Douglas gave Comets an opening as he crashed out and was excluded in heat 12.

Proctor capitalised the win but Graversen got his nose ahead of Perry for a Comets 4-2 to make things interesting with three heats left.

The usually dependable Cook continued to have something of an off night by his own high standards, trailing Grajczonek while Bjerre beat Jorgensen to put the home side six points up with two heats to go and leave Comets hopes of a point in trouble.

Those chances looked very slim after the Tigers secured a 4-2 in heat 14, with Williamson splitting Douglas and Graversen, and the hosts condemned Comets to a long journey home disappointed with a 5-1 in the final heat.

Comets co-promoter Steve Whitehead, who was team manager for the night, said he was disappointed with the result but not the performance.

He said: "Sheffield Tigers were relieved.

"I'm not taking anything away from them, they're a good side.

"Craig Cook was pretty poorly so that didn't help us and to even score seven points was good.

"He'd probably have scored 13 fully fit and that would have made it something like 46-44.

"Mason Campton was the star and a few people might wonder why I didn't put him in heat 15 but when we got the three lads together Ty and Thomas were keen and Mason thought maybe it was best to go with the heat-leaders."

Sheffield Tigers 51

1. Josh Grajczonek 2, 3, 2, 3, 3, 2* = 15+1

2. Todd Kurtz 1*, 3, 1, 1, 2* = 8+2

3. Ryan Douglas 2*, 0, 1*, Fx, 3 = 6+2

4. Kyle Howarth R/R

5. Lasse Bjerre 3, 1, 2, 3, 1, 3 = 13

6. Jan Graversen 3, 1, 0, 2, 1 = 7

7. Georgie Wood 1, 1, 0 = 2

Workington Comets 39

1. Craig Cook 0, 3, 2, 2 = 7

2. Mason Campton 3, 2*, 3, 1* = 9+2

3. Ty Proctor X, 3, 0, 3, 1 = 7

4. Matt Williamson 1, 0, 1, 2 = 4

5. Thomas Jorgensen 2, 2, 3, 0, 0 = 7

6. Tom Perry 2, 0, 2*, 1, 0 = 5+1

7. Rob Shuttleworth 0, 0, 0 = 0

HEAT BY HEAT

HEAT 1 Campton, Grajczonek, Kurtz, Cook 62.2, 3-3

HEAT 2 Graversen, Perry, Wood, Shuttleworth 62.6, 4-2, 7-5

HEAT 3 Kurtz, Douglas, Williamson, Proctor (Excluded) Nt, 5-1, 12-6

HEAT 4 Bjerre, Jorgensen, Wood, Shuttleworth 62, 4-2, 16-8

HEAT 5 Cook, Campton, Bjerre, Douglas 61.3, 1-5, 17-13

HEAT 6 Grajczonek, Jorgensen, Kurtz, Perry 61.9, 4-2, 21-15

HEAT 7 Proctor, Bjerre, Graversen, Williamson 62.4, 3-3, 24-18

HEAT 8 Campton, Perry, Kurtz, Graversen 63.7, 1-5, 25-23

HEAT 9 Jorgensen, Grajczonek, Douglas, Shuttleworth 63, 3-3, 28-26

HEAT 10 Grajczonek, Kurtz, Williamson, Proctor 62.2, 5-1, 33-27

HEAT 11 Bjerre, Cook, Campton, Wood 62.6, 3-3, 36-30

HEAT 12 Proctor, Graversen, Perry, Douglas (fell excluded) 63.6, 2-4, 38-34

HEAT 13 Grajczonek, Cook, Bjerre, Jorgensen 62.4, 4-2, 42-36

HEAT 14 Douglas, Williamson, Graversen, Perry 63.4, 4-2, 46-38

HEAT 15 Bjerre, Grajczonek, Proctor, Jorgensen 63.4, 5-1, 51-39

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Workington Comets slip to 51-39 loss at in-form Sheffield - News & Star

Cyndi Lauper showcases backstage psoriasis woes in Novartis’ new … – FiercePharma

Posted on July 22, 2017 by Danzig

Cyndi Lauper is back to star in another round of Novartis psoriasis marketing.

The '80s pop music icon, who in 2015 partnered with the Swiss pharma giant and the National Psoriasis Foundation on a disease-awareness push, appears with two other real-life patients in Novartis latest Cosentyx spot.

RELATED:Novartis goes '80s with Cyndi Lauper-led psoriasis campaign

It was tough getting out there on stage, she narrates, as the camera shows her in her dressing room, trying to disguise her psoriasis with spray makeupand failing. The commercial weaves Laupers story with those of two other patients, shown struggling withunwanted attention aspeople around them stare at the red, flaky skin patches caused by the disease.

But the video spot takes a triumphant turn after Lauper declares that I found something that worked and keeps on working.

Never give up, she urges viewers, adding, clear skin can last as she rocks out on stage and then walks into a crowd of adoring fans.

RELATED:Novartis bolsters its home-turf advantage in psoriasis with Cosentyx DTC push

The new work is part of Novartis See Me campaign, which the company launched last year to play well with this patient base and further grow the brand, as then-pharma chief David Epstein told investors on an early 2016 conference call.

The new spot comes in the face of some new competition. Since the Basel-based drugmaker rolled out its first DTC effort in psoriasis, Eli Lillys Taltz, Valeants Siliq and, most recently, Johnson & Johnsons Tremfya have arrived on the next-gen psoriasis scene. Those rivals didn't stop Cosentyx from cracking the blockbuster barrier, though; it racked up $1.13 billion worldwide in 2016.

And asJohnson & Johnson execs recently reassured their own investors, theres still plenty of market share to go around. We believe it's only about 25% to 30% of the patients in that category [who] are actually on some of the newer agents, CEO Alex Gorsky said. So that in and of itselfrepresents a significant opportunity.

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Cyndi Lauper showcases backstage psoriasis woes in Novartis' new ... - FiercePharma

10 Private Jets Details of World Leaders and Influencers – Entrepreneur

Posted on July 22, 2017 by Danzig

You're reading Entrepreneur India, an international franchise of Entrepreneur Media.

Its no surprise that top world leaders and tycoons of the world travel by private jet and luxurious aircraft. Most of them have an entire fleet of aircraft at their disposal and the cost of the fleet may go as high as 1 billion dollars.

Here, we have put forward a summary of a study recently developed by Air Charter Service, the aviation specialist who arrange everything from government, to cargo and private jet charters. The report depicts the entire story of the private jets, owned by influential world leaders across the globe.

The study reveals the inside story on the air fleets that leaders across the globe travel with, their estimated value, interior modifications and security features.

This is the original source for the list of the private jets of the worlds top leaders, read more for highlights from the global report.

Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani

Considered to be one of the wealthiest people in the world, the Emir of Qatar, Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani has a fleet to the value of around 1.3 billion dollars. His official trips are of such a lavish nature that he is often accompanied by around 1000 people, including family members, delegation members, and service staff to attend to, both his and his travel partys needs.

Often the families limousines and vehicles are transported along with the rest of the items selected to travel with, to be used to transport the royal family in the destination country. Also, reports state that most of his trips are completed with multiple airlines (Once his delegation arrived in Japan using 10 aircraft).

Donald Trump

The US President, Mr. Donald Trump features, among the top world leaders reviewed with private jets and the value of the carrier in his use is estimated at 786 million dollars. As is commonly known any aircraft carrying the US President is called the Air Force One. The fleet at the disposal of President Trump features two identical Boeing 747 200B aircraft, which are customized accordingly. Furthermore, a smaller Boeing C-32 is also at his disposal and only used when the airport the president lands at cannot accommodate his standard Boeing 747 200B.

Since the age of these Boeing aircraft is over 25 years, Trump ironically is in possession of the oldest presidential aircraft in comparison to other world leaders referenced in the original report.

Vladimir Putin

The Russian President, Vladimir Putin has the Russian made flagship aircraft, IL-96-300PU, which is valued at around 360 million dollars. This IL-96-300PU is a wide bodied, long-haul airliner, and for the purpose of security, the Russian President has not one, but in fact four such aircraft.

All 4 aircraft are prepared for boarding, and the one in which he will travel remains unknown till the last moment, and thus the remaining three are left behind.

Xi Jinping

The leader of the Peoples Republic of China, Xi Jinping uses two Boeings 747-400, which belong to Air China Airlines and is valued at 250 million Dollars each. As the president makes use of the local airlines and the planes are primarily used for carrying passengers, once a foreign visit is scheduled, the chosen aircraft for his official trip are then examined carefully and prepared accordingly for the visit.

Alisher Usmanov

One of the wealthiest people in Russia, Alisher Usmanov owns the biggest business jet in the entire Russian Confederation, named A340-300. The value of his fleet is estimated at 270 million dollars, as per the report created by Air Charter Service.

Roman Abramovich

Another Russian making it into the list, the Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich has a number of airplanes in his fleet, with the total value being estimated at around 235 million dollars. The fleet includes a Boeing 767-33AER.

Interior modifications of the Boeing were quite extensive including the addition of a Banquet Hall and a facility to accommodate around 30 people along with several other features.

Angela Merkel

German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, whose Airbus A340-313X VIP is famously known as Konrad Adenauer, is valued at 235 million dollars. Besides this aircraft, she has several other planes at her disposal which are managed by the German armed forces.

Francois Hollande

Former French President, Francois Hollande also made it into the list, and the flagship aircraft he made use of for official trips Airbus A330-220 is valued at around 210 million dollars. With multiple special features including secure connection channels to share encrypted top secret messages, the former French Presidents fleet also has enough designated space to accommodate journalists and members of the delegation.

Theresa May

The British Prime Minister, Theresa May has an aircraft to the value of 200 million dollars at her disposal and the jet is considered to have the highest volume for passenger capacity of all world leaders compared. The Airbus A330 is primarily used for carrying the British Prime Minister on official government trips.

Queen Elizabeth II

Queen Elizabeth II is said to have private jets to the value of 100 million dollars at her disposal. The Queen of England relies upon the 32nd squadron of the UK to roam across the globe. Including two helicopters for traveling to distances of under 1000 km, the fleet also features six BAE 125 airplanes, which can travel to a distance of up to 3000 km; while, other four mid-sized BAE 146 Airplanes also form the part of the fleet. The queen also has a personal helicopter and Sikorsky S 76 Spirit.

There are several world leaders and top businessmen who either have access to, or own their own fleet for traveling purposes. While some leaders may have more modest tastes than others, for the most part, their air fleets are fitted out with only the best special security features and interior modifications - ensuring official trips are as comfortable and secure as possible.

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10 Private Jets Details of World Leaders and Influencers - Entrepreneur

World Travel ‘Buzz Topics’ Report 2017 – Future-Proofing … – Business Wire (press release)

Posted on July 22, 2017 by Danzig

DUBLIN--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The "Future-Proofing Destinations and Travel Brands against Shocks" report has been added to Research and Markets' offering.

The travel industry is highly susceptible to external events such as Brexit and Trump, so it is critical for destinations and travel brands to stress-test existing or new markets before they invest, and mitigate risk. This briefing looks at how to apply long-term forecasts for travel flows and spending to future-proof strategies, using the latest econometric techniques and a range of macro and industry-specific scenarios.

The Future-Proofing Destinations and Travel Brands against Shocks global briefing offers an insight into to the size and shape of the Travel market, highlights buzz topics, emerging geographies, categories and trends as well as pressing industry issues. It identifies the leading companies and brands, offers strategic analysis of key factors influencing the market from innovation, pricing, channel distribution to economic/lifestyle influences. Forecasts illustrate how the market is set to change and outlines the criteria for success.

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/hzwkmr/futureproofing

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World Travel 'Buzz Topics' Report 2017 - Future-Proofing ... - Business Wire (press release)

IBM Watson: why isn’t the supercomputer making money? | WIRED UK – Wired.co.uk

Posted on July 22, 2017 by Danzig

IBM Watson, the supercomputer

Ben Hider / Stringer / Getty

IBMs Watson supercomputer is one of the worlds best-known artificial intelligence systems. But fame, it turns out, doesnt mean fortune. According to one analyst, Watson isnt making any money.

A scathing report from investment bank Jefferies claims that from an earnings per share perspective "it seems unlikely to us under almost any scenario that Watson will generate meaningful earnings results over the next few years".

IBM Watson made its debut as a research project in 2006 and later gained fame after beating two human champions on classic US quiz show Jeopardy!. IBM has since spent a lot of time and money promoting its flagship product, posting more than 200 press releases on Watson, according to Jefferies. The supercomputer has been involved in a range of projects from changing the way doctors diagnose patients to powering friendly service robot Pepper.

IBM has struggled to grow revenue over the last five years and results released this week revealed a $19.3bn (14.8bn) drop since the previous year. While exact figures for Watson arent given, Jefferies pulled together a range of information, including market research data and public filings, to build financial models predicting Watsons future prospects. The news wasnt good.

According to the report, Watson is simply too pricey. While the report by Jefferies equity analyst James Kisner admits that Watson remains "one of the most complete off-the-shelf [AI] platforms available", it concludes that IBM is considered a "Cadillac" option in an increasingly crowded marketplace.

However, IBM maintains that Watson is still accessible for all. "Watson services are offered on either a subscription or a pay-per-use basis and everyone can get started for free," an IBM spokesperson told WIRED.

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The supercomputer is also very "picky" about the data thats fed into it, with a large amount of preparation and human hand-holding needed. The report cites the case of University of Texas cancer research centre MD Anderson which began working with Watson to assist matching cancer patients to clinical trials. Though initial results were positive, a scathing report from university auditors later explained that the project had been put on hold after it blazed though more than $62 million (47.6 million) without reaching its goals. There was no suggestion that IBMs software was at fault, it highlighted the potential pitfalls and immense costs of actually using it.

"Watson is clearly part of IBM's Strategic Imperatives, whose figures are reported," an IBM spokesperson told WIRED when quizzed on whether the supercomputer is making any money. While it's true that the Strategic Imperatives has performed well, with a 5 per cent on the previous year, this area also includes cloud, analytics, and security, with no specific figures on Watson's performance.

"I don't think it makes sense to compare Watson directly with what the report describes as 'Machine and Deep Learning for speech and image recognition applications' because Watson was at the outset (when playing Jeopardy) aimed at solving problems using a mixture of several AI-based methods, and in that sense it seems aimed at a completely different market," Dr Sean Holden from the University of Cambridge computer lab told WIRED.

"Image recognition, for example, is something that deep learning methods have turned out to be very good at; but Watson seems aimed at a completely different and arguably much harder class of problems.

"The fact that preparation of data might be difficult isn't surprising it's often the case even for more basic machine learning applications.

"From a technical perspective, it doesn't surprise me that applying such a technology might at present be a challenge for many. But I would certainly hesitate in writing it off."

The report also claims that IBM is being "outgunned" in the battle for AI talent by the likes of Amazon and Apple, based on the number of AI-related job postings from each company.

While IBM may have had the AI world pretty much to itself in the past, Gartner predicted this week that AI will feature in almost every new software product by 2020. Other companies are already beginning to catch up, making large investments in AI that could knock Watson off its pedestal.

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IBM Watson: why isn't the supercomputer making money? | WIRED UK - Wired.co.uk

What a photoshoot can teach you about spirituality – HuffPost

Posted on July 22, 2017 by Danzig

Some people love being photographed and others run away the minute they see a camera pointing at them. Which one are you? Last week I had a photoshoot for my new yoga and creative writing website and, believe me, it was a plain spiritual experience (which didnt actually start as a blissful one).

Esther Oromi, http://www.bookactorbarcelona.com

We have never been so photographed, never so captured, broadcasted, exposed. We are in the era of selfie sticks and social media craziness. For some, our digital world has produced the perfect breeding ground for vanity and falseness; for others a global marketplace like no other; for some a genuine means of self-expression. Like a blurry-edged parallel universe, there is our life and then our social media life. Who is who? Are pictures just authenticity barriers or true images of ourselves?

Social Media is indeed a complicated environment to navigate, which in my opinion, only reflects how complicated any human environment is with or without technological aid. Even if you show up in life with integrity and genuineness, you may be heavily criticised, no matter what environment you choose, digital or otherwise. Thats the way it works. We are caught up in a voyeuristic game, an unsure hide and seek exercise, an overwhelming riddle for anyone in search of authenticity. We are in love and in war with visibility.

If you are on any kind of spiritual path, you might find yourself secretly debating between virtuously rejecting being part of the vanity stigma attached to social media and reticently desiring you were more visible, especially if you have a business. At the end of the day, we can only love what we know and we all want to be loved at some level or other. And, of course, we want to serve (or do we always?). What do we really want? Human psyche is a maze.

Back to the point of being photographed and spiritual experiences, when it comes to social media spirituality we have also created a hierarchy, according to the type of images we show on our wall or websites. From more to less enlightened online persona (1 being more and 6 less), the list goes like this:

2. Attending events that reinforce the image we want to portray

4. Ruminations or own deep philosophical thoughts

5. Pictures of us taken by somebody else

I can see above a gradual progression which takes two parallel paths. The first goes from what others think about the world, passes by what I think about the world, ending in what I experience about the world, which includes the perception of my body. The second, from the collective mind, to the personal mind and to the body.

We human beings are multi-layered and I do not condemned the use of wisdom quotes or sharing of interesting events. It is fun, it can be so truthful and deep, I do it all the time. I love when my friends do it. But what I do condemn is the strong criticism that we all get or provide (and never appears on the comments) when what we show is our bodies, rather than our minds. Here we are again, getting caught up in the same old mind-body debate, injected over millennia by politics, religion and science, in summary, force-fed to us and tangled into our DNA by power and status quo. Navigating through the above list feels like a stripping act.

I have bought this bullshit for years. That my mind was better than my body. That identifying with my thoughts made me clever and interesting and showing my body made me vain and unworthy of appreciation. If you are a woman and you want to run away from becoming objectified, the first thing you do is running away from your body and any image of it. This running away made me literally ill.

And when I thought I was free of the above preconceptions about my body, after all those years of yoga, meditation and inner work, all came back last week in my photography session when, paralysed in front of the poor photographer, my mind started shooting in all directions all the contradictory poison that we have all been fed for generations.

But I dont, really. I dont want to hide. Luckily there is a yogini inside of me that I have been feeding for years. I do want to be seen for who I am, for how I can contribute to the world. What others see in me and my body is entirely their business and not mine. Their criticism is their journey. We are all mirrors of each other. My inner yogini, confronted by the bright light from the ceiling, gently smiled in front of the camera, gently pushed the bullshit away, tenderly took over my body and said YES to be me. The stiffness left, I softened (and the photographer sighed with relief!).

Esther Oromi, http://www.bookactorbarcelona.com

My body expresses itself in ways that my mind cant even imagine. It connects me to deep wisdom. My body is wisdom. Generations of concentrated evolution in each one of my cells.

My body is raw nature, and it remembers. It is star dust which roots to Life with the strength of trees, it flows in time and space with the power of rivers, it expresses itself with the freedom of four-direction winds, every second it feeds the Earth with breath as the Earth feeds it in return. An act of love. My body creates life, is part of it. What inside, outside; what outside, inside; what above, bellow and so on, we know the ancient song. I am so proud. I am here. I am in my body. I am. And in this body I can be of service, never otherwise.

If you ever question who you are to be seen, well, it might look this way, but this issue is not really just about you. Its about all of us, its about the world and how we create it every day.

If you need to be reminded, heres who you are:

You are the embodiment of The Great Goddess, Nature, (yes, men too), your body is scientifically a miracle, you are a dream of consciousness, which energy was so strong that manifested into matter and inhabited time and space. There is nothing in your body that is not sacred and beautiful and when we look at each other, and when we show up as spirit-infused bodies, we help each other remember.

Its our primordial duty and our privilege to deeply admire our body, whatever the mind, society, culture, economy thinks we look like (or we are supposed to look like). It is our duty to thank Her, to honour Her, to take care of Her, to respect Her rhythms, to celebrate Her, and to give the rest of the world permission to stop hiding behind empty words and ideas, and start showing up in full bodies, serving each other with what we are right now: feet to move forward, legs to sustain us, arms to embrace and love, hands to help, lips to kiss and communicate, ears to profoundly listen, eyes to see the beauty of being alive, breath to connect and inspire and yes, maybe a crazy hairstyle one day, or special make up, or yoga in heals, or simply a smile in a mobile photo can remind us of not taking everything, especially ourselves, too seriously. And thats what a photoshoot taught me. Who would have thought?

Esther Oromi, http://www.bookactorbarcelona.com

Have you ever had a similar experience with having pictures taken? Have you ever received a profound insight during a mundane activity? Please, share your stories in the comments. I cant wait to read them and connect.

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What a photoshoot can teach you about spirituality - HuffPost

Canada: Carmelites open Mount Carmel Spirituality Centre in Edmonton – Daijiworld.com

Posted on July 22, 2017 by Danzig

Report By Jerry Moras

Canada, Jul 22: The carmelites inaugurated the Karnataka Goa province spirituality centre in Edmonton, in Alberta on Thursday, July 20.

Archbishop of Edmonton, Alberta, inaugurated the Mount Carmel Spirituality Centre.

Auxiliary Bishop of Edmonton, Gregory J Bittman, celebrated the Mass at 1225 Township Road 535, Parkland County, Alberta. The solemn eucharistic was celebrated in the presence of regional superior, Fr Rudolf DSouza, OCD, superior, Fr Mario Fernandes, OCD and many other OCD and other priests from Canada.

A grand reception followed the Eucharistic celebration. Over 300 people attended the programme.

Regional superior, Fr Rudy, OCD promised fidelity and obedience to the Archbishop and Auxiliary Bishop of Edmonton. Further, he promised Mount Carmel Spirituality would run under Christian and Carmelite spirituality that would build help to build Christian values.

The 'Mount Carmel Spirituality' formally known as 'Ephphatha House' was run by Fr Raymond F Gulmond, co-founder of Ephphatha House, and spiritual director of the house, several prayer groups and numerous individuals.

The Ephphatha House is a prayer and retreat centre, devoted to the Divine Mercy and consecrated to Our Lady. The house started 28 years ago as a project of the Community of the Presentationand has come to be known primarily for its promotion of the truths of the Catholic faith. It is a house of prayer, a retreat house, a gathering place for groups of all types seeking faith-centered activities and an atmosphere of devotion to the Lord.

About Discalced Carmelite Friars

Also known as OCDs, the congregation headed by provincial superior Fr Charles Serrao is setup under the patronaged of the great St Teresa of Jesus of Avila in many states in India and abroad. Their presence is seen in the dioceses of Karnataka, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Goa and overseas Tanzania, Middle East, Europe and Canada.

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Canada: Carmelites open Mount Carmel Spirituality Centre in Edmonton - Daijiworld.com

Volunteer Work with Syrian Refugees Deepens Understanding of Sufi Spirituality – Duke Today

Posted on July 22, 2017 by Danzig

To strengthen his dissertation research on the Sufi spiritual movement, History doctoral student Daanish Faruqi traveled to Jordan and Turkey to help Syrian refugee communities through relief foundations operated by Sufi networks.

He was among 19 Duke students who received Graduate Student Training Enhancement Grants (GSTEG) in 2016-17 for training beyond their core disciplines. His faculty mentor was Engseng Ho. Recently he shared some reflections on his experience:

Both in Jordan (June and July 2016) and in shorter trips to Turkey (July 2016, and again in December 2016), I did considerable work with the Syrian refugee community under the auspices of SKT Welfare, a charitable organization founded and run by the Sufi spiritual movement that is the subject of my academic research.

During my summer in Amman I worked in SKTs office as a volunteer teacher, tutoring Syrian refugee students in English and offering administrative support to SKT leadership. The key outcome of this experience was the centrality of the spiritual dimensions of Islam in service of social justice, as an animating dictum behind the organizations charitable arm. This came full circle in my trips to Turkey, where I participated directly in food aid deployments in Reyhanli, near the Syrian/Turkish border.

What we offered was merely a drop in the bucket of the full needs of these communities, but offering even nominal aidand realizing the remarkable sophistication of SKT leaders and volunteers that culminated in putting together their aid apparatus, and in vetting and surveying entire communities to establish aid delivery quotasproved deeply edifying. Again, it made painstakingly clear the intimate connection between this groups spirituality and commitment to worldly service.

All of this will be central as I pursue my dissertation research. This experience will be crucial in helping better piece together the social and humanitarian dimensions of Islamic spirituality more broadly, and in understanding this movement that forms the basis of my dissertation in particular.

This internal funding mechanism from the Office of the Vice Provost for Interdisciplinary Studies encourages graduate students to step away from their core research and training to acquire skills, knowledge or co-curricular experiences that will give them new perspectives on their research agendas. Graduate Student Training Enhancement Grants are intended to deepen preparation for academic positions and other career trajectories.

See who received these grants for 2017-18, and read about other 2016-17 recipients experiences:

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Volunteer Work with Syrian Refugees Deepens Understanding of Sufi Spirituality - Duke Today

Inner Peace: Characteristics of an Enlightened Soul – Ashland Daily Tidings

Posted on July 22, 2017 by Danzig

By Jim Hatton

"The Enlightened Soul is not one to whom the Truth has been revealed, but one who has summoned it; and not just when theyve been driven by pain, but when lifes seas were as calm as glass."

Notes from the Universe

I like to refer to an Enlightened Soul as a Spiritual Master. To become an Enlightened Soul or Spiritual Master has nothing to do with what type of clothes you wear, where you live, what you eat, what particular mantra you recite, what religion or guru you follow or who you hang out with. A Spiritual Master is one who has done the work to examine their own consciousness and thought structures extensively, and has let go of what limits or no long serves them.

Spiritual philosophies, spiritual teachers, meditation, mantras, etc. can play a large role to assist you on your path to become a Spiritual Master (which, by the way, the becoming never ends), but all these wonderful teachings and teachers are not the journey itself. It is the inner work that sets us free from the limitation of the mind and of the physical. As Joel Goldsmith states, it is a Conscious courting of the Divine.

There are those to whom Truth or Enlightenment has been revealed in a single experience or series of intense spiritual experiences. It seems as it was given to them by some sort of favoritism or religious bias. That is impossible, as the Divines nature is unconditional love and favoritism implies conditional love; this is simply not the case. Those with a seemingly sudden enlightenment are at some level open and ready to receive and sometimes have trouble dealing with it in the socially structured ego consciousness.

Truth is revealed to those who are ready to receive and embody it. Truth is revealed to most of us in steps or small awakenings or what is called Satori(s). What is revealed is in exact proportion as to what we are ready to receive in consciousness.

We are not open and ready to receive when our mind is blocked with false beliefs such as superstition, fear, religiosity, social conditioning, dogma, a sense of separation, etc. It is our spiritual task to consciously endeavor to examine and release all of the limitations in our mind and be open to receive. The stream of awareness cannot flow through a clogged vessel.

It is a common understanding that pain, sorrow and suffering is the doorway to an enlightened soul and many speak of a broken-open heart that leads to love. This is a common experience. It is true that pain and suffering can be a catalyst to experience something greater. It is in this desperation of ones Dark Night of the Soul that can we finally start to release the constraining thoughts and beliefs that have been limiting us.

The good news is that we do not have to experience and walk through the Dark Night of the Soul over and over again to expand our consciousness. Sudden awakenings or Satori are common when we allow ourselves to have a calm peaceful mind or when we are deeply inspired by beauty, music, or nature. A spiritual experience happens when our conscious limitations are set aside, even temporarily by an intense focus on inspirational ideas and events.

We can ready ourselves with inspirational readings, enlightened teachers and spiritual practices. It is the application of these understandings in the self-examination of our own consciousness that leads us to a greater awareness-and a sense of inner peace. This is what has been called The Great Work.

Enjoy your Journey .

Jim Hatton is author (under the pen name James Apollonius Alan) of A Spiritual Masters Guide to Life, available on Amazon. Email him at RevFatherJim@outlook.com. Send 600- to 700-word Inner Peace articles to Sally McKirgan at innerpeaceforyou@outlook.com.

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Inner Peace: Characteristics of an Enlightened Soul - Ashland Daily Tidings

Matty J. Moose’s Gathering of the Juggalos Survival Guide – Phoenix New Times

Posted on July 22, 2017 by Danzig

Ask Juggalos when they first heard Insane Clown Posse, and chances are good they will recount the moment like it was a predestined experience that led to some kind of spiritual enlightenment.

Thats one way Juggalos are no different than any other obsessed music fan face paint, hatchet man, and Faygo aside.

Juggalo culture and events like the annual music festival called Gathering of the Juggalos provide fans with a voice and sense of community.

WhenMatty J. "Moose" Rzemykdiscovered ICP at 14, it was about gaining an identity for the first time.

"Im just a clown; Ive always been a clown," he says. "So when I found this music that, the music itself had the element of that piece of myself already in it.It was very easy to identify and say, No, this is what I am. Im not a metal head, Im not a rocker, Im not a punk, Im not a thug, Im not a nerd, Im not a jock, Im not a prep, Im a Juggalo.'"

Now,Rzemykis thebassist of Arizona comedy metal band Psychostickand its only Juggalo member.He's attended 11 of the 18 Gatherings.

The band will perform at the 18th annual Gathering of the Juggalos, scheduled for July 26 through 29 in Oklahoma City.

Psychostick isn't a Juggalo band, since they're not signed to ICP's Psychopathic Records, but they are Juggalo-friendly.

We have kind of a shared familiarity between Juggalos and Psychostick fans: Were kind of nerdy, were not necessarily the cool kids, were not trying to be cool, we like making fun of ourselves, we dont take this shit too seriously,Rzemyksays.

Historically, the Gathering of the Juggalos doesn't have the best reputation. Originally, it was held at a convention center (now it's held outdoors). The first five years saw riots. There have been questionable beauty pageants hosted by Ron Jeremy. None of which helped boost Juggalo culture's image.

Juggalos are very condescended by society," Rzemyk says. "Were considered low-lifes, trailer trash, white trash, dropouts, that kind of thing. Which isnt completely unfounded

Even though Rzemykno longer shows off his Juggalo status by how he dresses, he does know more than most people about the Gathering. So New Timesmet up with him to get a few tips for first-timers and those looking to make the most of their experience at the Gathering of the Juggalos. Here's his advice.

Don't try this at home.

Nate "Igor" Smith

Festival Camping 101 Set up your tents where there is shade in the mornings (when youll be in them sleeping) not the afternoon. The sun comes up in the east, so shadows will cast to the west. Familiarize yourself with the map of the area, he advises, and read the program beforehand and to make a plan. Your cellphone will probably fail you at some point, so wear a good old-fashioned watch. Bring a mattress pad and a pillow, because you never know what the ground situation is going to be like. Dont sleep in your car. Dont bring anything you would miss if you didnt come home with it. Bring sandals for the showers.

BYO Everything If you feel like drinking or partying in other ways, bring it with you, because the prices are insane at The Gathering, he says. There are quality food and beverage vendors at the festival, he says, but prices might seem steep to some. If youre ballin on a budget, pack everything you will need to nourish yourself. Unlike a lot of festivals, you can bring a lot of things into this festival except glass.

Drive To The Gathering In An Unmarked Car Its very common to get pulled over and searched," he says. "A lot of Juggalos have stickers on their car. Theyre playing a lot of really loud music, and we all kind of look weird. If you go to rural Oklahoma, thats going to be weird. The cops are going to be like what the fuck and theyre going to profile the shit out out you.Rzemyk says herents a car to avoid this altogether.

Understand The Value Of Good Face Paint, And Make-Up Remover When it comes to face paint, you get what you pay for," he says. "If you go to the Dollar Store and you see that cute little picture of a clown, something that youd paint your 5-year-old's face with, its going to be water-based. Youre going to sweat it right off If youre really into the face paint, the oil-based paint that [ICP] actually use will stay on through the Faygo showers and everything else. I actually use eyeliner. Its a pencil and it takes a bit longer to put on, but you can do crazier designs with it. Its kind of shitty to have to take off at the end of the night.

Which is why you might want to invest in makeup remover. It sounds a little bit funny, but it will pay off at the end of the night when youre drunk and high and you want to go to sleep and not get face paint all over your bed.

Know the Basics of the Lingo "Down": the period of time when you considered and self-identified as a Juggalo Neden: slang for vagina Ninja: similar to a homie or brother Cotton Candy: another term for female pubic hair Whoop Whoop: a common greeting, a farewell, celebration, a cheer of approval Honk for Sugar: fandom saying from an ICP feature film where someone shouts it as they're driving and everyone honks their horn

Move in Packs Its very common to see people move in packs and groups of people," he says. "Its very common to see groups of three to 10 people sticking together and walking round. Everybody has their crew, everybody has who they came with.

He notes that while many people come in crews based on geographical origin, the Gathering has many open camps for people not traveling with large groups.

Be Prepared to See Some Shit Be ready for anything," he says. "Youre going to see shit at The Gathering that you never thought you would see. Theres going to be some weird crazy shit and every year, almost every day I say to myself, if I see something I say 'only at The Gathering.'

Ladies, People Are Going to Ask to See Your Boobs Juggalo newbies and younger kids may ask you to show your tits, kind of a lot. "If you dont want to show your shit, thats your choice,"Rzemykadvises. "Be yourself No one can really fuck with you for that.

Read on for more tips for attending the Gathering of the Juggalos.

Be Prepared to Get Sprayed with Faygo, Possibly Other Items at the Main Stage If youre going to watch ICP [in the pit], theyre going to throw soda. Theyre going to throw the Faygo all over the place. So if you dont feel like getting wet. Which I dont recommend I recommend you get wet, I recommend you get in the Faygo shower because its quite an experience.

He also notes that you may see other things flying around the crowd in the bit, too. One year one of the bands said, Okay everybody reach down and grab a piece of trash and throw it ... and it was just a cloud of shit hovering over the crowd, it was pretty unbelievable.

Stop By Big Silva, and Leave Your Mark They started a ball of duct tape, and they just kept wrapping duct tape around this ball. They named him Big Silva, and its grown, and grown and grown and this thing is a goddamn boulder at this point. You cant even lift it. If you see Big Silva its kind of a tradition, if you have duct tape, to add to Big Silva.

People will get customized duct tape to add their special mark too. One year, my friends and I all wore purple, so I got a role of purple duct tape to add to it Its just this weird, pointless thing we have in our culture for no reason.

Hitch a Ride in a Customized Juggalo Golf-Cart Limo or Grocery Cart Some people will customize golf carts and drive these custom Juggalo golf-carts around. Theyre almost like a limo. A couple of years ago somebody brought a customized hot rod shopping cart from a grocery store. They beefed it up, they put giant tires on it. They spray painted the whole thing neon orange, they had LEDs on it. It was in the pit, people were climbing on it

Jeff Hardy backstage after his match at Bloodymania 10.

Nate "Igor" Smith

Check Out a Juggalo ChampionshipWrestling (JCW) Match Thats grown with the ICP for years and years and years. Theres definitely a big cross in that Venn diagram between wrestling fans and Juggalos. Theres a lot of wrestling fans in the Juggalo community, so JCW gets pretty popular, especially at night. They have tryouts during the day and fun little games like get in the ring and beat your buddy up for a couple of minutes.

When the show starts at night,Rzemykincludes it as a must to at least attend once. Even if you dont like wrestling, if its not your style and youve never watched wrestling in your life, its kind accepted there that you dont have to know whats going on.

Dont Miss the Main Stage Performances Anyone on the main stage is worth checking out.

Fuck Yo Sleep Is a Reality You Must Accept You will be woken up by megaphones in the middle of the night. Theres an old and tried and true mantra in the middle of the night that people shout fuck yo sleep. It kind of came off of the Dave Chappelle, Rick James fuck your couch, Charlie Murphy.

But seriously, if you want to sleep, bring ear plugs.

Try at Least One Late-Night Party Even if you dont want to stay. If theres a foam party, go get foamed-up for five minutes and walk out if you dont like it. But at least give it a shot.

Make Sure You Drink Water Between All the Faygo and Booze I think its easy to forget how much water the body actually needs, especially when youre surrounded by beer, whiskey, and Faygo the Juggalo drink of choice.

Always have a crate of water bottles in the car. You never know what's going to happen, you might need to wash your hands, or put out a fire as much beer as youre getting, make sure youre getting that much water.

Most importantly, he says, "just fucking do it."

Original post:

Matty J. Moose's Gathering of the Juggalos Survival Guide - Phoenix New Times

‘Nashville’ Recap: Scarlett Faces Heartbreak, Maddie and Juliette Clash – RollingStone.com

Posted on July 22, 2017 by Danzig

As always, if you have yet to watch this week's Nashville, proceed with caution, spoilers below.

Country songs, especially those of the classic, traditional variety, are rife with heartache, tears and, sometimes, tragedy. This week's episode of Nashville combined all of those elements quite beautifully in Scarlett's heartbreaking miscarriage after she and Gunnar were mugged. Kudos to Clare Bowen for conveying the entire emotional spectrum of such a loss. As Gunnar, Sam Palladio returned to the angry young man we saw early in the show's history. Enraged and hopelessly lost, even the doctor's assurance that the mugging wasn't the reason she lost her baby couldn't quell his anger and need for revenge.

As Scarlett just wants to be left alone to grieve, Gunnar tells Will he should have done more to protect her. He drives around in East Nashville and finds him, proceeding to beat the living daylights out of the guy, but stopping before he goes too far. Nothing will bring the baby back and nothing he does seems to comfort Scarlett, who decides that she should let him go because she doesn't want him to wait around for her to figure herself out. Avery calls him to talk and invites him out on the road. He tells Scarlett he needs to figure out who he is, too, and takes off for Texas.

Prior to visiting Scarlett and Gunnar in the hospital, Deacon had received a call from manager Hank Morris about Jessie Caine. Deacon informs Jessie he'll be calling to invite Hank to her Bluebird show. Later, she's at the Bluebird and Deacon calls to tell her that because of being at the hospital with Scarlett, he never had a chance to call Hank again. Although Scarlett had told Deacon and Gunnar that she didn't want anyone to know about the miscarriage, Jessie goes to Scarlett's and leaves a gift. Scarlett invites her in to talk and Jessie tells her she had been through the experience twice. She brings her raspberry leaf tea, calcium tablets and the new Ghostbusters DVD because she figures she needs something as a distraction probably better than giving her a box set of Friday Night Lights, which has an actress who looks an awful lot like Rayna Jaymes. They talk about their shared experience and Jessie tells Scarlett that she had to forgive herself before she could even start grieving. Then they start laughing about incompetent cervixes and Scarlett envisions a poor little cervix sitting in the corner wearing a dunce cap. Deacon shows up, however, putting an end to the laughter and curious to know why Jessie showed up there. When she tells him about her two miscarriages, that puts an end to that discussion. So much about Jessie Caine remains a mystery and we have a hunch she will figure prominently in the upcoming season finale.

Juliette has a hit single with "Water Rising" but her guilty conscience about stealing the song from Maddie is not letting her enjoy it much. Zach suggests Juliette drop by the Wildhorse during Maddie's show, but as if that's not enough awkwardness, Zach suggests that she sing with Maddie during her show. He also invites Travis Stroud, the song's writer, to the promo party to celebrate the song and invites Maddie, too. Juliette gets flowers from Travis and tells him she can get him into a Beck show at the Ryman, which just happens to be the same night as the party, which she assures him will be boring. The spiritual enlightenment she went through after the plane crash is in serious need of a tune-up.

Maddie welcomes Juliette to the stage but Juliette is uncomfortable and distant throughout their performance, barely making eye contact with Maddie. It's like a country-music version of Edgar Allan Poe's "TheTell-Tale Heart." Later, Juliette tries to convince her everything's fine, but once Travis shows up, all hell breaks loose. Juliette convinces Maddie that she's sick and needs to go home, but first Maddie spots Travis and introduces herself, immediately confusing the both of them when he says something about Maddie passing on the recording. Maddie storms back into the party and goes off, soaking Juliette with a face full of a Watermelon Rising cocktail. Not exactly a Joan Collins-Linda Evans-on-Dynasty-style catfight but the cost of Juliette's actions is starting to come back to haunt her.

Glenn encourages Juliette to bury the hatchet with Maddie before the details of their splashy encounter hits the headlines. She goes to visit Maddie, who doesn't want to see her, but when Deacon asks her about it she says she wants to handle it on her own, which is a very Rayna thing to do. "I know how Juliette can get," Deacon says. We do, too, and frankly the show could probably use a little more of it at this point.

At the fundraiser, Jessie tells Deacon she doesn't want to sign with Highway 65, and Scarlett lets Daphne and Maddie know about her miscarriage. She then takes the stage where she tells everyone in the crowd about it before a performance that ranks among Bowen's best in the show's history. The entire storyline is an important one, nicely written (a trademark of so many of the classic series' from Marshall Herskovitz and Ed Zwick) and beautifully realized in Bowen's devastating performance.

'Nashville' Recap: Scarlett Faces Heartbreak, Maddie and Juliette Clash - RollingStone.com

In ‘Valerian,’ International Space Station Evolves into Interstellar Metropolis – Space.com

Posted on July 22, 2017 by Danzig

The city of Alpha in Luc Besson's latest fantasy film, "Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets," shares a few similarities to the existing International Space Station, which is highlighted in the opening scene of the movie.

In the new adventure movie "Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets," directed by Luc Besson, the title city of Alpha has a present-day origin: the International Space Station.

The opening of "Valerian" a film inspired by the popular French comic series "'Valrian et Laureline," created by Pierre Christin and Jean-Claude Mzires has a scene that showcases the International Space Station (ISS) as it grows into a galactic United Nations, hosting meet-and-greets with representatives from Earth and, later, aliens. It grows physically, too, until it is large enough that it needs to be moved out of low-Earth orbit. [Read our full "Valerian" review!]

The fictional metropolis Alpha was inspired by Point City, which was first written about in the sixth volume of the "Valerian and Laureline" graphic novel series, entitled "Ambassador of the Shadows."

The ISS' evolution is a plausible one: The station has a history of bringing cultures together to build itself and to exchange ideas. In "Valerian," the first greeting in the montage takes place in the not-too-distant year 2020, where two human astronauts are shown embracing, and as we advance in time, we see increasingly strange aliens introduce themselves to humans on board the station.

Certainly, the international crews that have continuously occupied the existing ISS since 2000 would have milder reactions to meeting foreign astronauts than hypothetically meeting alien life-forms. However, the ISS was nevertheless groundbreaking in its ability to unite five space agencies to expand scientific research possibilities and to mend older nationalistic divisions. Many of the space programs involved with the station NASA (United States), Roscosmos (Russia), CSA (Canada), JAXA (Japan), ESA (Europe) include countries that have warred with one another in the last century.

This image is a side-by-side view of early space station concepts in fact and fiction. In the decade following these illustrations, the "Valerian and Laureline" comic was written, later inspiring director Luc Besson to create the 2017 "Valerian" film.

Early concepts for the ISS had the space station taking the shape of a giant wheel. Wernher von Braun developed an ISS station concept in 1952 that was round in order to provide simulated gravity through rotation, with a capacity to house dozens of scientists, accordingthis Space.com infographic.

Science-fiction storytellers were clearly inspired by these concepts, and a few years later, in 1968, Stanley Kubrick's film "2001: A Space Odyssey" developed a model for a space station that was in a similar wheel shape. The year before, 1967, the first issue of "Valerian and Laureline" was published by Dargaud, according to "Valerian" film representatives. Point Central, a vast space station that lies at the crossroads of space that inspired Alpha in the film adaptation, appeared a few years later, in the 1975 comic "Valerian Vol 6: Ambassador of the Shadows."

Right now, NASA and U.S. officials have only promised to fund the ISS through 2024, so it's uncertain what the future will hold for the orbiting lab. But as crews from around the world work together to research and live in space, science-fiction writers have inspiration to continue writing tales of the ISS expanding someday into that kind of vibrant metropolis.

Mission specialists Lopez-Alegria and Herrington working on a newly installed Port One (P1) truss on the International Space Station in 2002.

Follow Doris Elin Salazar on Twitter @salazar_elin.Follow us@Spacedotcom,FacebookandGoogle+. Original article onSpace.com.

In 'Valerian,' International Space Station Evolves into Interstellar Metropolis - Space.com

Google Street View’s latest destination: The International Space Station – Washington Post

Posted on July 22, 2017 by Danzig

Youve used Google Street View to check out a new apartment, map traffic before you hit the road and search for haunting slices of the everyday world.

Now, the comprehensive terrestrial mapping system has gone extraterrestrial, allowing users to peer inside the International Space Stationfrom their computer 248 miles below with 360-degree, panoramic views.

The Street View imagery was captured by Thomas Pesquet, an astronaut with the European Space Agency, who spent six months aboard the ISS before returning to earth in June.

Google Street View, which is featured in Google Maps and Google World, was launched in 2007 and quickly expanded locations around the globe, including places as remote as Mount Everest base campand as offbeat as Scotlands Loch Ness. The vast majority of Street Views photography is shot by a vehicle, whose movement is available to fans online.

[The search for the Loch Ness monster has moved online, thanks to Google]

Googles foray into space is the first time StreetView imagery was captured beyond planet Earth.

In a blog post about his experience, Pesquet wrote that it was difficult to find the words or take a picture that accurately describes the feeling of being in space.

Working with Google on my latest mission, I captured Street View imagery to show what the ISS looks like from the inside, and share what its like to look down on Earth from space, he added.

The virtual tour allows users to peek into areas where astronauts eat, exercise, work and even bathe.

Pesquets imagery reveal an environment that may look a bit cramped and chaotic if not altogether dizzying to humans anchored on earth, but some of the scenes from inside the ISS are downright mesmerizing.

The images were captured using DSLR cameras and then stitched together back on earth to create panoramic views.

Pesquet noted that the ISS is a busy place with six crew members working and researching 12 hours a day.

There are a lot of obstacles up there, and we had limited time to capture the imagery, so we had to be confident that our approach would work. Oh, and theres that whole zero gravity thing, he wrote.

Floating through the ISS online, youll notice clickable dots with detailed descriptions of the space and its objects to help viewers understand what theyre looking at. Pesquet noted that this is the first time annotations helpful little notes that pop up as you explore the ISS have been added to Street View imagery.

The ISS is a large spacecraft that orbits around Earth at more than 17,500 miles per hour and is home for astronauts from around the world, according to NASA. The ISS is made up of many pieces that were constructed by astronauts beginning in 1998. By 2000, as more pieces of the station were added, the station was ready for people, according to NASA. Portions of the station are connected via modules known as nodes, according to NASA.

The first crew arrived on November 2, 2000, NASA wrote. People have lived on the space station ever since. Over time more pieces have been added. NASA and its partners around the world finished the space station in 2011.

NASA compares the inside of the station to the inside of a house, noting that the structure which weighs almost one million pounds and covers an area the side of a football field has five bedrooms, two bathrooms, a gymnasium and a big bay window.

The station houses labs from the United States, Russia, Japan and Europe.

We can collect data on the Earths oceans, atmosphere, and land surface, Pesquet wrote. We can conduct experiments and studies that we wouldnt be able to do from Earth, like monitoring how the human body reacts to microgravity, solving mysteries of the immune system, studying cyclones to alert populations and governments when a storm is approaching, or monitoring marine litter the rapidly increasing amount waste found in our oceans.

Several times a week, Mission Control at NASAs Johnson Space Center in Houston determines where Earthlings can spot the station from the ground below from thousands of locations all over the globe. To find out the best time to see the station from your town, click here.

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Google Street View's latest destination: The International Space Station - Washington Post

You can now navigate through the International Space Station and get a view of the Earth from outer space on Google … – Economic Times

Posted on July 22, 2017 by Danzig

NEW DELHI: Ever wondered what the inside of a spaceship looks like? Google will now let people navigate through the International Space Station (ISS) on Google Maps through Street View.

Thomas Pesquet, an astronaut at the European Space Agency (ESA), spent six months at the ISS and captured the Street View imagery in zero gravity, Google said in a statement.

The images will now be available to public to help them discover and explore the experience of being in a spaceship.

The first-of-its-kind initiative by Google and ESA showcases images of the interiors of the ISS and allows users to experience how looking down on Earth from outer space would feel like.

The Street View imagery is also supported with handy little dots. When users click on these, a small note pops up with additional information or fun facts.

"I am very enthusiastic about bringing street view aboard ISS. It will be a fantastic opportunity for everyone to experience the incredible feeling of being in space," Pesquet said.

He added that he hoped that the ISS on Google Maps Street View would change viewers' perspective of the world.

The Street View team worked with NASA at the Johnson Space Centre in Houston, US and Marshall Space Flight Centre in Alabama to design a gravity-free method of collecting the imagery using DSLR cameras and equipment already on the ISS.

The still photos collected from the ISS were then sent down to Earth where they were stitched together to create panoramic 360 degree imagery of the ISS, Google said.

For over 16 years, astronauts have been working and living on the ISS, a structure which is made up of 15 connected modules and floats 250 miles above the Earth.

It acts as a base for space explorations -- possible future missions to the Moon, Mars and asteroids.

ISS also acts as a reservoir that collects data on the Earth's oceans, atmosphere, and land surface. It can be used to conduct experiments and studies that would not be able to do from Earth, like monitoring how the human body reacts to microgravity and studying cyclones in order to alert the population and governments.

Summer program aims to send students’ coding projects to space – The Mercury News

Posted on July 22, 2017 by Danzig

Fly me to the moon, let me play among the stars, students sang in a large Campbell Middle School classroom as they tucked away their workbooks and laptops.

They werent rehearsing to form a Frank Sinatra tribute band. Crooning the tune is the celestial motivation for a group of roughly a dozen students hoping to get their lines of code to the International Space Station this summer.

The Zero Robotics program at Campbell Middle aims to take students work to the moon and beyond, all while teaching students about space exploration, computer science and coding.

The five-week summer program is an offshoot of a national high school program and competition provided through a partnership between MIT Space Systems Lab, the Innovation learning Center and Aurora Flight Sciences. It is sponsored by NASA, the Center for the Advancement of Science in Space and the Northrup Grumman Foundation.

The program sees students learn about efficient use of fuel and how to write specific lines of code. Once theyve had enough practice on and off the computer, students write and send the best line of code to the competition in their respective state. There are nine other teams in California competing.

Students must complete objectives, such as navigating around obstacles, docking to other satellites or going in a particular direction, all while conserving the most amount of fuel possible.

Winning teams will get their code uploaded to the International Space Station and watch via a live feed as small robots aboard the space station follow their program. The robots are similar to the ones students work with in the program back on Earth.

Students participate in a game to program movements for synchronized, position, hold, engage, reorient, experimental satellites, or SPHERES for short.

I thought the SPHERES would be shaped like the Earth, but they are shaped like a 3D octagon, said sixth-grade student Tamba Bangurah.

This is the first year students from the Campbell Union School District have participated. Summer camp program coordinator Tanner Marcoida said he had been planting the seed among some students toward the end of the school year to generate interest in participating.

If we have the best code out of our region, then our code will be uploaded to the space station and we will get to see the SPHERES, the actual robots that are on the space station in zero gravity, he said. We actually get to see them play out the game that they have been coding this entire time. Thats quite the treat for hard work.

Documenting the middle school students feat is a film crew from National Geographic.

Marcoida and his students have had Thomas Verrettes film crew follow their daily lessons and games and it will stick around until the final winner is announced.

I didnt know what school I would be in at the time, what students Id be following and the educators, Verrette said. I used the orientation as that resource. I watched how all the educators responded to the program and interviewed quite a few of them and then decided on Campbell.

After deciding Marcoida and his students would be an interesting group to film, he showed up the second day of camp with cameras to get the students used to the crew and having cameras in the room.

The kids are great, Verrette said. Every once in awhile theyll smile and laugh because they forget that were there. In some ways they are a lot easier to deal with than adults when youre trying to document something.

Verrette said he hopes when the documentary is complete and released, people have a newfound respect for science.

As for a release date, Verrette said that is to be determined.

For more information about Zero Robotics, visit zerorobotics.mit.edu.

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Summer program aims to send students' coding projects to space - The Mercury News

Study teams comb through NASA’s wish list for new telescope – Spaceflight Now

Posted on July 22, 2017 by Danzig

This artists rendition shows a possible design of a potential successor to the Hubble Space Telescope. This conceptual mission, called the Advanced Telescope Large-Aperture Space Telescope (ATLAST), is similar in approach to one of several observatories currently under study by astronomers. Credit: NASA

Scientists outlining four concepts for a powerful new space telescope that could launch in the 2030s this week said improvements in optics, detectors and access to huge new rockets like NASAs Space Launch System could revolutionize the way astronomers observe potentially habitable planets, black holes, and the earliest galaxies in the universe.

It is likely NASA will only be able to afford one of the four proposed flagship observatories, and the space agency will take the advice of an independent review by the National Research Council in 2020 on which type of telescope should receive highest priority.

NASA launched studies last year to look into the scientific benefits, costs and technical challenges of four astronomy missions:

Four teams will produce interim reports on the four mission concepts by the end of this year, then publish their final reports in 2019 as a resource for scientists on the next astrophysics decadal survey panel in 2020, which will rank priorities for future NASA astronomy missions.

The studies will offer only a roadmap for NASAs next leap in astronomy, and officials say any telescope that does reach the launch pad in the 2030s will likely look much different from the concepts currently under investigation. Tough decisions on engineering constraints and cost caps remain ahead, but NASA it needs to start preparing now given the long life cycles of such missions.

The space agency typically follows the decadal surveys advice.

The two last decadal surveys prioritized infrared astronomy. A report from the National Research Council in 2001 led to the approval of the James Webb Space Telescope, which is due for launch next year, and the 2010 decadal survey recommended NASA pursue a mission which became the Wide-Field Infrared Survey Telescope, or WFIRST, scheduled for liftoff in the mid-2020s.

NASA expects to have funding for another advanced flagship-class, multibillion-dollar great observatory to launch some time in the 2030s, once the agency puts behind major spending on JWST and WFIRST.

Astronomers expect breakthroughs with any route prioritized in the next decadal survey.Cost estimates on each of the four mission concepts will come later to help inform the decadal surveys decisions.

The LUVOIR mission concept would be a true successor to Hubble, covering much the same range of wavelengths as NASAs most famous long-lived orbiting telescope. The mission outline is similar in capability to the High Definition Space Telescope, a super-Hubble proposed by astronomers in 2015, and the Advanced Technology Large-Aperture Space Telescope, known by the apt acronym ATLAST.

With LUVOIR, we would be able to study in much greater detail how galaxies assemble their stars, said Debra Fischer, a professor of astronomy at Yale University who co-chairs the LUVOIR study team. The killer app for LUVOIR is actually being able to coronagraph and image pale blue dots around some of the nearest stars, and then once we have those images, to be able to take spectra of them.

Instruments on a mission like LUVOIR could look for signs of water vapor, oxygen, methane and other gases in alien atmospheres that might be habitable, Fischer said in a presentation Thursday to NASAs Astrophysics Advisory Committee.

The size of an observatory like LUVOIR hinges on the volume of launchers that might be available in the 2030s. A primary mirror with multiple segments, similar to the design of JWST, would be folded up for liftoff.

Commercial rockets like United Launch Alliances Delta 4-Heavy and SpaceXs Falcon Heavy come with standard fairings around 5 meters (16 feet) in diameter, while NASAs more costly but more powerful Space Launch System could accommodate payloads as wide as 8.4 meters (28 feet) by the late 2020s.

The dimensions of a telescope like LUVOIR are bracketed by the capabilities of the Delta, Falcon and SLS rocket options, although the Delta 4 rocket is likely to be retired in favor of ULAs next-generation Vulcan booster by the time such a mission is ready for liftoff.

Another rocket that might give future telescopes rides into space is the New Glenn, a methane-powered booster in development by Blue Origin, the space company founded by Amazon.coms Jeff Bezos. The privately-operated New Glenn could make its debut launch by 2020, and it can loft payloads as wide as 7 meters (23 feet).

A rule-of-thumb for deployable telescopes is that a 9 or 10-meter (30-33 foot) primary mirror could tuck inside standard Delta 4-Heavy or Falcon Heavy fairings. The Space Launch Systems nose cone could fit a 16-meter (52-foot) multi-segment mirror folded up origami-style.

None of the proposals under study would need in-space assembly by astronauts, but Fischer said robotic or human servicing might be possible for a mission like LUVOIR.

Fischer identified launch vehicle limitations as one of the top technological risks for the LUVOIR concept, which would likely be sent to an observation post at the L2 Lagrange point a million miles (1.5 million kilometers) from Earth in the direction away from the sun. Other question marks include the readiness of ultraviolet mirror coatings, infrared detector technology, and ultra-stable opto-mechanical systems, Fischer said.

While LUVOIR would be a general purpose observatory best geared for large-scale galactic, dark matter and statistical exoplanet surveys, the smaller HabEx concept would emphasize exoplanet research, focusing on a few nearby stars known to host potentially habitable worlds.

Rather than statistical-based as LUVOIR is, were more exploration-based, said Scott Gaudi, a professor of astronomy at Ohio State University who co-chairs the HabEx study. We want to study nearby planetary systems and just figure out what theyre like.

HabEx could probe up to a dozen potentially Earth-like planets around stars in the suns neighborhood, Gaudi said Thursday.

Our goal is to detect and characterize a handful of potentially habitable planets, and then search for signs of habitability and biosignatures on those planets, he said.

A mission based on the HabEx concept could perhaps distinguish between analogs of Venus, Earth and Mars, which all lie within the suns habitable zone, a region where liquid water could persist on a planets surface under the right conditions. But only Earth has an environment ripe for life.

Gaudi said his team will present at least two HabEx mission concepts to the decadal survey panel, one with a single-piece 4-meter (13-meter) primary mirror with nearly twice the collecting area of Hubble, and another with a 6.5-meter (21-foot) segmented mirror comparable to JWSTs.

HabEx will need help resolving the faint light coming from exoplanets, which can be more than a billion times dimmer than the light coming from their host stars.

One option is to launch a separate starshade, a petal-shaped spacecraft tens of meters (up to 100 feet) wide that would keep formation via laser navigation tens of thousands of miles from a telescope such as HabEx. The idea is to block bright starlight, revealing planets lurking nearby.

A tiny coronagraph embedded inside the telescope could also help detectors register exoplanets, allowing instruments to break up the light into spectra like a prism, telling scientists about the chemicals and gases in their atmospheres.

No space telescope has ever flown with a starshade, and coronagraphs aboard current-era observatories like Hubble and JWST are unable to see planets close to their stars, where temperatures might be favorable for life. The WFIRST mission might carry a coronagraph that works in concert with deformable mirrors and ultra-low-noise cameras, yielding views of potentially habitable worlds, but HabEx would have much better sensitivity thanks to a bigger mirror.

Two other concepts under scrutiny would scan the infrared and X-ray universe.

The Origins Space Telescope will probe the births of stars and planets in the Milky Way galaxy, trace the evolution of galaxies throughout cosmic history, seeing through thick envelopes of dust to study regions invisible to other telescopes.

Building on discoveries expected from JWST and WFIRST both infrared observatories the Origins Space Telescope would be sensitive to lower-energy far-infrared light, a part of the spectrum that reveals some of the coldest parts of the universe.

Beyond JWST, we will still have questions, said Asantha Cooray, a professor at the University of California, Irvine, and co-chair of the Origins Space Telescope study. We will not how those stars came to be. We want to know and we want to understand what mechanics produce what stars.

The far-infrared telescope could be as big as 9 meters (30 feet) in diameter, Cooray said Thursday, a size limit set by the volumes of Delta and Falcon rocket fairings.

The Origins Space Telescope could image pockets of tenuous gas and dust in the interstellar medium, the area between stars. Clumps of cold matter glow in far-infrared light.

We still do not have a probe for the interstellar medium, and thats where the Origins Space Telescope comes in, Cooray said.

He said the infrared observatory would also make observations of exoplanets like LUVOIR and HabEx, and potentially detect biosignatures.

Our science case is broad and covers a wide range of topics, Cooray said. Our aim is to provide a factor of maybe between 5,000 and 10,000 improvement in sensitivity relative to the best we had with (ESAs) Herschel. Thats a large number.

Cooray said a mission based on the Origins Space Telescope approach would have have a factor of 30 better sensitivity than JWST, not just because of its size but because mechanical coolers would chill the observatorys detectors below 5 Kelvin (minus 450 degrees Fahrenheit), just above absolute zero. That will make the future telescope capable of seeing frigid parts of the universe.

We are not trying to take images and improve a little bit, he said. We are really talking about revolutionary astronomy with the Origins Space Telescope.

Astronomers scoping the next potential X-ray telescope are working on the Lynx mission concept.

Billed as a machine for looking back in time to the first billion years after the Big Bang, the Lynx observatory would seek to find the universes first black holes and galaxies. Theories currently govern astronomers understanding of this era, when light from the first stars could escape through an absorbing haze of hydrogen left over from the Big Bang, but Lynx could add hard data to the equation.

We have decided what kind of observatory Lynx should be, how big that observatory should be, said Alexey Vikhlinin, astrophysicist at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center of Astrophysics and co-chair of the Lynx study. We have identified plans for the X-ray optics. We are in the process of making a decision on the (proposed) instrument suite.

Vikhlinin said Thursday the Lynx team has identified the drivers of galaxy formation and the dawn of black holes as two key pillars of the would-be mission.

Lynx would also map the distribution of matter in the cosmic web, the voids, clusters and filaments that tie together the universe. Another target would be the halos of material surrounding galaxies brightest star-filled regions, which astronomers believe plays an important role in a galaxys birth.

Scientists say the Lynx mission would offer a leap in sensitivity two orders of magnitude over Chandra, which launched in 1999, and the planned European-led Athena X-ray telescope due for liftoff in 2028.

But big advances in technology are required to make a mission like Lynx a reality.Vikhlinin said high-resolution lightweight X-ray optics is the area of most concern for us.

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Study teams comb through NASA's wish list for new telescope - Spaceflight Now

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