Stephen Thompson On Return, Cris Cyborg-Angela Magana Brawl – FightLine.com

Posted on by

Former UFC title contender Stephen Thompson appeared on a recent edition of Submission Radio to talk about his future and when he might return to action.

Wonderboy also gave his first-hand experience of the recent incident between Cris Cyborg and Angela Magana, as he was there with Chris Weidman.

On being there when Cyborg and Angela Magana got in an altercation at the UFC Retreat

Oh yeah, man, it was unbelievable. And Chris (Weidman), hes trying to break it up, hes trying to grab Cyborg. And Cyborg looks at him in a deep voice and is like, dont you touch me, and hes like, oh my gosh, Im not going to mess with her, Im backing up. He didnt want to get in the middle of it. We tried, but yeah, it wasnt happening.

How the whole Cyborg/Magana altercation started

We were all actually going to the UFC training facility that they had built and it is awesome. Full training facility, the best of whats in today. You know, cryotherapy machines, I mean, sleep pods, I mean, you got anything you can think of is in this gym. Its really cool. So, from what I understood was, Magana was doing a little bit of trash talking on social media. Now, I understand these two I think are in different weight classes, I believe, but she was doing some trash talking on social media and I guess Cyborg just didnt let it go. I mean, she should have, you know, its trash talk on social media, but be the bigger person, let it all happen. She wasnt gonna let it happen, she wasnt going to let it slide. So I think she went up to her and just told her, dont talk trash about me on social media, and Magana was kind of like taken back for a second, was like, oh my goodness. But then she started to grow some balls I guess, man, and started firing back at Cyborg. And then next thing you know, Cyborg smokes her. I mean, just wobbles her leg, wobbles her legs and everything. Everyone kind of jumped in and stopped it from there, but thank goodness it was only one shot and nothing else happened. But I know Magana wanted to press charges and everything like that, but Im not really sure what happened after, but thats kind of what I saw went down at the retreat.

Knee injury update

You know what, to be honest with you, as soon as I had the surgery I was back up on it the next day walking on it. And it was orthoscopic, so they went in and I ended up tearing the meniscus and ended up tearing my MCL, so thats what is actually the longest to heal they went in, they scoped the knee, took out the meniscus that I had torn, but its the MCL thats actually taken so long to feel better, which is normal. My brother Tony played college football and he ended up tearing both MCLs in both knees and he said it took, man, I mean, for the pain to go away, probably five or six months. But even after that, you can still feel a little bit and I think its mostly scar tissue now. But for my game, Im a kicker. Everyone knows that I like to move, I like to kick.

So its one of those things, I can kick with it, but if it gets hung up on an arm or a hip and I kind of pull down or my foot gets caught in it, I really feel it in my MCL, it hurts and I kind of gotta stop for a little bit and let the pain kind of subside before I can start doing whatever it is Im doing again. So its just the pain. I think that its healed but theres a lot of scar tissue up in there and I gotta kind of break it out a little bit. Thats about it. But its slowly going away. I did some sparring yesterday, very little kicking with it, mostly kicking with my left leg. But its this great opportunity for me to look at the good things about this is, you know, even though I did have a knee surgery, but its great for me to work on my left side a little bit more, work on my left leg a little bit more. And thats the leg that Ive mostly had all my surgeries on. Ive had four knee surgeries on my left and now Ive had two on my right, the most recent one on my right knee. But its getting there, man. Im getting back slowly and hopefully Ill be able to get back in there and help Chris get ready for his fight coming up.

Timeframe for his return to fight again

The goal, to be honest, the goal is to be able to fight in September. Im not really sure what fights they have in September. Late August, early Septembers the plan, but well talk with my management company, the UFC and see if we can get something going.

If Stephen Thompson wants to fight someone in the top five rankings when he returns

You know what, thats my plan. I want to fight someone in the top five, but the question is who? I wanted Robbie Lawler to begin with, but I know hes fighting Donald Cerrone coming up. Demian Maia, I hear he has the next title shot. Not really sure what Carlos Condit is doing. I dont know if hes back in his training, if hes gonna retire. I know there was some talks about him doing that. I would love to fight Carlos Condit. The number five-ranked guy right now is Jorge Masvidal. I would love to fight him. Anybody in that top five I think would be perfect, man.

On Jorge Masvidal as his return opponent

Oh yes, definitely, definitely. Hes willing to fight. I know that he had mentioned something on twitter and I answered back, yeah man, I would love to fight you once this knee heals up, which is the truth. I wanna fight the best guys. He went three fight-minute rounds with one of the best in the division and to be honest with you, I thought he won the fight but it didnt go his way, but I think we would put on a good show. Hes a tough opponent, good striking, good Muay Thai and I think it would just be fireworks.

How Stephen thinks Demian Maia can dethrone Tyron Woodley or if Woodleys takedown defence would be too much for Maia

You know what, I really do. Tyron is a very strong opponent. I mean, hes proven he can go five five-minute rounds. But man, if Demian Maia gets a hold of him, its gonna be a rough night for Tyron. But I do believe that Tyron can send him off of those takedowns. Hes such a powerful guy, great wrestling, good takedown defence. Demian is definitely gonna have a hard time getting Tyron down, and thats where the whole debacle is gonna be. It could be a stand-up fight. I dont know if Demian could get Tyron down or not. Maybe he can control him against the cage, but hes so explosive and so powerful, I think Demian is gonna have a very hard time doing that. And plus, youve seen in the past with Demian in the later rounds he gets tired cause he tries so hard to get his opponents down. And you saw the Demian Maia fight, even when he fought Matt Brown, the last round he was just done, you know, it took one hundred percent of him to try and get him down. But thats a very interesting fight, a very interesting fight and a great fight for both guys. But man, they both have the potential to win, but I dont know. I dont think Demian will take him down.

Who Stephen thinks should be next in line for the title shot

I think Demian Maia should get it. Hes beaten some really good guys, hes been there, hes taken fights, hasnt turned any fights down. He should have had it right after my fight, but you know what, he decided to take the fight with Masvidal. I think give it to him, see what happens, then maybe give Georges the next shot. You know, Georges has been out for a while, why not wait a little longe?. But I think Georges is wanting to fight in like January, I think he was talking about. And I think when he was going to fight Bisping anyway he was talking about fighting in January. Bisping was like, nah man, thats too long to wait, so that never happened. So well see, man. I think Demian should get it.

If Stephen would face GSP for the belt or if hed wait till GSP lost it due to their friendship

You know, Im 34 years old and I dont think I have the time to wait. You know, lets say he does get that title. Question is, is he gonna hold onto it? Is he gonna move somewhere else? I dont know. But my goal, and its something he knows, its always been to have that title, to win that title belt. So he is a very good friend of mine and if that ever does happen, thats something that I would have to talk to him about, call him and say, listen, this is, you know, this is my goal, this is whats happening, do we want to do this or not? Blah blah blah. And mainly I think it would just kind of be up to him. I mean, he knows what my goals are. I dont think he would be like you know what, to be honest, I dont know. Before my last Tyron fight he told me, I have no interest fighting you. Ive known you for a long time, youre a good friend of mine, I have no interest in fighting you, and I was like, alright, sweet, but then he was going up to 185 to fight Bisping. Now that I didnt win, Im still there and still it could be possible for me to get that title shot and fight for it again. But if hes the champion, you know, thats my goal, man, so it may happen (Laughs).

If its nice to be out of the spotlight and have the pressure of title contention off him for now

You know what, to be honest with you, yeah. I mean, my last four fights have just been killers, and you know, constantly in training camp. Even though when they were spread apart, there was no time for me to rest or to kind of relax a little bit and take a second to kind of back off and focus on my buddies that have got fights coming up and kind of help them. I had Jake Ellenberger, next thing you know it was Johny Hendricks and then it was Rory MacDonald and the two fights with Tyron Woodley. I mean, you know, it does, right now it feels great to just kind of sit back and relax, give your body time to heal up. You know, I took some big shots from Tyron in the first and the second fight, and just to know that next time I step out there my body, my head, my brain will be one hundred percent when I get back out there. And to be honest, Im really itching at the bits to get back out there again, but right now Im just focused on making sure that this knee is one hundred percent before I step out there. I know a lot of guys come back from knee surgery, get out there too soon and end up injuring it again, and next thing you know theyre out for a year or two years.

Go here to read the rest:

Stephen Thompson On Return, Cris Cyborg-Angela Magana Brawl - FightLine.com

White shark sightings increase at California beaches – The Mercury News

Posted on by

SANTA CRUZ The frenzy off the California coastline this spring has felt like a long-running loop of Shark Week.

In April, a shark bit a San Diego mom of threewho was swimming off San Onofre State Beach.

Last month, San Clemente officials closed beaches after more than two dozen white sharks were spotted by air.

Then, on Thursday, lifeguards evacuated Capitola sixth graders from the water at New Brighton State Beach when spotting what they believed was a white shark swimming near shore during an end-of-school field trip. Social media posts of shark sightings from the Cement Ship in Aptos to the Santa Cruz Harbor have become a regularity.

As summer heats up, calling thousands of visitors to the Bay Areas world-class shoreline, marine biologists are trying to mitigate irrational fears over increasing sightings of white sharks.

This is the new reality, said Christopher G. Lowe, director of the Cal State Long Beach Shark Lab. People are going to have to learn to share the waves.

Although white sharks tend to inhabit the states most populous areas adults are concentrated around San Francisco whereas juveniles mostly are found from Los Angeles to San Diego relatively few attacks involve humans.

In the past 50 years there have been about 12 fatalities and a little more than 80 recorded interactions in California waters, reported Salvador Jorgensen, a Monterey Bay Aquarium research scientist.

That is one mortality every five years, he said.

But sightings and interactions with the fish have fueled a Jaws-like panic for some beachgoers while attracting morbid interest in a predator with a conical-shaped snout, beady eyes and those infamous serrated, triangular teeth.

The white-bellied descendants of prehistoric creatures have returned to the spotlight 42 summers after Steven Spielberg introduced his sinister and vengeful fish to moviegoers.

Instead of a ghastly picture of shark-infested waters, however, researchers have seen a shift in habitats they attribute to the El Nino weather phenomenon that has pushed warmer currents north. Jorgensen, the author of Sharks: Ancient Predators in a Modern Sea, said smaller white sharks need warmer water until they mature.

So water temperature plays a huge role in where and how many smaller white sharks are seen, he said.

Spotting juvenile white sharks in Monterey Bay might become common if the seas experience El Nino conditions more regularly because of global warming.

Lately, marine biologists and tourists have been drawn to the action around the Cement Ship at Seacliff State Beach in Aptos. In the past three years, researchers have identified juvenile sharks patrolling the waters around the sunken ship, an event that had not been recorded before that.

They sit out there and act like they just had a big turkey dinner and want nothing to do with anything, said Chris Gularte, chief pilot for Watsonville tour operator Specialized Helicopters.

Gularte, 45, has seen no fewer than 20 sharks on any given day that he has flown over the area in the past month.

Gularte and others have reported frequent juvenile sightings at nearby New Brighton as well.

The baby white sharks found in these new locations is part of a larger picture of ecosystem changes attributed to El Nino. Two years ago, Southern Californians discovered venomous sea snakes at their doorsteps for the first time in three decades. Marine scientists said the yellow-bellied sea snake followed warmer ocean currents to the California coast. Those currents also brought pelagic red crabs and hammerhead sharks.

Scientists believe white sharks give birth off Baja California and the pups nurse in the Mexican and Southern California waters.

But over the past 15 years, Lowe has seen a steady increase in juvenile sharks in Southern California. He remains optimistic it is evidence of a population spurt although a parallel increase in adults has not been documented to the north.

You cant have more babies without having more mommies, Lowe said.

White sharks have been protected in California waters since 1994 although they dont have any natural enemies other than humans. According to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, it is believed the states population of adult white sharks numbers fewer than 100.

Researchers such as Jorgensen, who has conducted annual surveys of adult white sharks since 2006, cant confirm a population increase although they are cautiously optimistic for the simple fact the white sharks primary food sources elephant seals, sea lions and harbor seals are thriving.

Lowe speculates there is a habitat shift among mature fish as regular feeding grounds get crowded.

These teenage and adult white sharks havent been able to make a living at the Farallons and Ano Nuevo, he said of two major feeding grounds. They are looking for new places to forage in the fall. I think that place is Southern California.

Such a shift could change the equation when it comes to human-shark encounters.

Most incidents have occurred in a 150-mile zone known by Northern California surfers as the Red Triangle yes, red, as in the color of blood. The sharky region stretches from Monterey to Bodega Bay, out to the Farallon Islands. Put another way, only 17 of the 100 recorded shark attacks on humans in California in the past 63 years occurred south of Point Conception (Santa Barbara County), according to the state Department of Fish and Wildlife.

Such a collection of data helps engender deep-seated anxiety while placing white sharks with grizzly bears and saltwater crocodiles as mythic predators.

The Jaws narrative is just stuck with us, said Jorgensen, who has a doctorate degree in ecology from UC Davis.

But researchers work provides a substantive counterpoint. In a paper published in Frontiers in the Ecology and the Environment, Jorgensen and colleagues found the risk of a white shark attack in California had decreased by 91 percent from 1950 to 2013.

Sean van Sommeran, founder of the Santa Cruz-based Pelagic Shark Research Foundation, downplayed the fears as shark sightings have increased this spring.

Guess what marine animal hospitalizes more people in California than all others combined?

Stingrays, said van Sommeran, a self-described shark field operative without a science degree.

Most documented attacks on humans off the California coast have occurred between August and November. This is the time adults feast on seals and sea lions, often near river mouths where the salmon runs attract other fish.

The beasts can grow to 20 feet in length and as much as 4,600 pounds to present a terrifying portrait. Lowe and other marine biologists realize they shoulder the responsibility to teach the public as much as they can about white sharks in order to help preserve the animal.

It starts with calling the fish a white shark, leaving out the great that often is used in popular culture.

The Cal State Long Beach professor recalled how whales were demonized 100 years ago but now whale-watching tours are a thriving business along the West Coast.

Its harder to imagine that image-makeover for sharks, Lowe said. But its happening.

Link:

White shark sightings increase at California beaches - The Mercury News

Work underway to widen Outer Banks beaches with offshore sand – Charlotte Observer

Posted on by

Charlotte Observer
Work underway to widen Outer Banks beaches with offshore sand
Charlotte Observer
Work is underway to widen more than 11 miles of eroding beaches in Dare County, on the Outer Banks, by pumping offshore sand onto them. Vacationers might encounter bulldozers and pipelines as sand is pumped ashore, but the county says they will have ...

Read more:

Work underway to widen Outer Banks beaches with offshore sand - Charlotte Observer

Johnson says no reason to fear Riverwalk or beaches despite … – Chicago Sun-Times

Posted on by

Weekend shootings along the downtown Riverwalk and at 31st Street beach should not discourage summer tourists and everyday Chicagoans from flocking to two of the citys most enduring attractions, Chicago Police Supt. Eddie Johnson said Monday.

At the beach, two 16-year-old boys were critically wounded in a shooting about 7 p.m. Sunday. On the Riverwalk, about 2 a.m. Sunday, two men, ages 28 and 30, were involved in an argument near Wacker and Dearborn when shots rang out.

The Riverwalk incident occurred when the walkway was officially closed to the public, Johnson noted.

They were somewhere where they werent supposed to be. But as a result of this, were meeting with our business partners in the Riverwalk area just to make sure the security plan is what it should be, the superintendent told the Chicago Sun-Times.

Johnson on Monday blamed both incidents on petty disputes settled with guns.

These were all young folks. One was a dispute about a girl. The other was a dispute about coolers on the beach, Johnson told the Sun-Times. Those disputes dont concern the public at large, he added, and police were close to making arrests.

Johnson emphasized that the Riverwalk shooting occurred after the public is barred from being over there. Chicago Police patrol that area religiously between 6 p.m. and midnight, then do random patrols after midnight, he said.

Those were not random incidents . . . they were targeted at groups of people that knew each other. . . . These werent street robberies or things of that nature, Johnson said.

Overall, on a weekend when temperatures rose into the 90s, six men were killed and at least 37 other people were wounded in shootings across Chicago between Friday evening and Monday morning.

The beach and Riverwalk shootings drew the most attention.

Mayor Rahm Emanuel completed the downtown Riverwalk with help from a $99 million federal construction loan. If random shootings prompt Chicagoans and tourists to stay away from the Riverwalk, the mayor could have a tough time generating the concession revenue he needs to retire that loan.

The citys Department of Fleet and Facilities Management, which manages the Riverwalk, uses unarmed security guards, patrolling on foot, to enforce an 11 p.m. curfew.

Thats why were gonna meet with the business community down there to evaluate it and see what they can pitch in because security is everybodys responsibility, Johnson said. After hours, were obviously not going to be there every minute. But well come up with a plan so that, between CPD and business owners, we have it more secure down there.

The 31st Street shooting occurred in broad daylight on a crowded beach filled with families seeking refuge from the blistering summer heat.

But Johnson nevertheless urged South Siders not to be afraid of taking their children to the beach.

Its still between two groups of folks that knew each other. . . . But again, it was a petty dispute that they settled with a gun, he said.

Police Department spokesman Anthony Guglielmi insisted there is nothing to fear.

We have district [officers] there until midnight and then, every hour, or hour and a half, officers will walk through there. Those folks got in in-between that gap. But the onus of accountability is on the individuals. Clearly, the law states that you cant be there at that time, he said.

Link:

Johnson says no reason to fear Riverwalk or beaches despite ... - Chicago Sun-Times

At Least Six People Pulled From Waters At Tri-State Beaches As Summer Season Hits High Gear – CBS New York

Posted on by

June 12, 2017 11:09 PM

AVON-BY-THE-SEA, N.J. (CBSNewYork) As a startling wake-up call heading into the summer season, a total of six people had to be pulled from the water at Tri-State Area beaches while trying to beat the heat on Monday.

Marcus Swinson witnessed a scary sight at Avon-by-the-Sea Beach Monday afternoon, when at least two women were pulled from the water near Garfield Avenue. He says one of them didnt seem like they were breathing.

All I saw was them getting drug out, the woman was like not breathing, he told CBS2s Valerie Castro. Another had a cardiac arrest or like a seizure and everybody was holding her down and it looked like they did a few rounds of CPR for the one girl.

2 People Rescued From Water Off Beach In Rockaways

Police say three women in all were taken to the hospital in one of several incidents Monday, serving as a reminder that the waves can be a dangerous place heading into the summer.

At Orchard Beach in the Bronx, a seven-year-old was pulled from the water by his own mother and taken to Jacobi Medical Center. The City Parks Department says he was in an area closed off to swimming.

Later in the day, a helicopter had to be called in to help a man and woman at Rockaway Park, where police say they were 100 feet from the shore near 138 Street when they found themselves in danger.

Emergency crews rushed to the beach with fire trucks and a stretcher with a rescue boat not far off-shore.

With beach season almost in full swing, its important to enter the water at your own risk.

The waves werent really strong, so you got to just be careful out there, Swinson said.

Town officials say lifeguards in Avon-by-the-Sea have only been working weekends since Memorial Day. Theyll be on duty seven days a week starting June 17.

CELEBRATING 50 YEARS

Get Our Morning Briefs

Bloomberg WCBS Tri-State Business Index

CBS 2

1010 WINS

WCBS Newsradio 880

WFAN Sportsradio 66/101.9

Contests & Promotions

About Us

Advertise

Business Development

Contact

Mobile

Connect

Only CBS

CBS Radio Jobs

CBS Television Jobs

CBS Television Public File

CBS Radio Public File

See the rest here:

At Least Six People Pulled From Waters At Tri-State Beaches As Summer Season Hits High Gear - CBS New York

10 of the best hidden beaches in Ibiza – The Guardian

Posted on by

Much of the area north-east of Sant Carles de Peralta is bucolic, with smallholdings and farms, people on bikes, dusty roads and sleeping dogs. This is the right beach for the neighbourhood: natural, quiet and accessed (ultimately) along a dirt road through cane and pine forests. A rocky seabed means clear water, with good snorkeling over patches of seagrass. To be honest, the highlight is lunch: book weeks in advance and follow a dip with lunch at El Bigotes, in the miniscule harbour just over the rocks at the far left of the beach. There are tables right on the harbours edge, outdoor cooking over wood, and just one option: fish (offered noon-12.30pm) or bullit de peix (fish stew, offered from 2pm). Its perfect, if in a slightly ramshackle way. Between Punta den Ribes y Cal Roig, around 5km from Sant Carles de Peralta; 10km from Sant Eulalia. Restaurante El Bigotes, +34 650 797 633 (call 11am-1pm only), no website

This rough sandy beach is relatively bustling for the north end of the island but use it as a base for exploring smaller, quieter neighbouring coves, starting with Sa Cova de Xarraca, just around the rocks to the right (100m). Swim or rent a kayak; those who go too far will bob into SIllot des Rencl, which is no bad thing. Cross the headland to the left and go to Es Canaret, a beautiful deep and turquoise bay, dominated by a swanky house of dubious design, and which feels private but is not. It is possible to walk but the more straightforward option is to drive, then walk for about 10 minutes along a signposted trail to Es Canaret. Alternatively, stay at Cala Xarraca; the area of flat rocks to the far left is generally quieter. Kayaks, loungers and umbrellas are available from the eponymous restaurant, along with, unsurprisingly, fish. C-733 Sant Joan to Portinatx, signposted at 17km. Watch out for the steep but short, one car-wide descent to limited parking. Continue past the parking area for Es Canaret, taking the third unpaved road to the right

As with nearby Xarraca, this lovely, small beach with eponymous restaurant mops up most visitors, leaving little inlets to the right virtually untouched. Admittedly, its tempting just to just to stay and eat the famously good paella here, particularly if theres a table free under the pines on the bluff above the sea. Or to paddle out and snorkel round the little island, where the stony seabed gives way to sand, and starfish and various other marine life loiter in the wafting posidonia oceanica (seagrass). But if splendid isolation is the goal, wade and swim around the mini headland with boathouses, or follow the trail that leads off to the right looking at the sea from the first parking area reached after turning in from the road. Overgrown to start with, it widens out and follows a low cliff to a couple of stony but secluded spots, ending up before long at Cala Xuclar. C-733 Sant Joan to Portinatx, signposted at 25.3km

Keep a sharp eye out for the sign in time to make the turn off a fast, swooping coast road, and head down a short, steep, rutted track that descends through pines and junipers to a circular sandy cove with gently lapping water and maize growing around the edges. Through summer, there is a proper chiringuito a wooden shed with hatch, and half a dozen tables set out under a sail shade which also rents out loungers and umbrellas. Despite the top-notch facilities, this remains a hidden gem. Note: the parking space is small and rutted, and while it is possible to tuck in along the track, be warned that turning around on it in a rental car is a tense business. C-733 Sant Joan to Portinatx, signposted at 26.5km

For those jetting in for Ibizan glamour, half a day in a quarry may not be top of the to-do list. But this quarry is half a millennium old, facing Formentera on the southern tip of Ibiza in the Ses Salines natural park, and sploshed by clear sea. And the blocky holes left when rock was removed to make the walls of the Dalt Vila are now shallow, smooth-walled designer pools with warm water and spectacular views. Park at the creamy-sand party beach Ses Salines, with its of loungers, beach clubs, music and people, or at Es Cavallet beach, and follow the wooden walkways south over dunes or through pine forest (about 1.5km). Take water, mosquito repellant and some form of shade. There are many attractions, and even some buildings an interpretation centre (open at weekends), fishermens huts, a splendid tower built to defend Ibiza from Algerian corsairs but a chiringuito selling cold beer isnt among them. Es Cavallet and Ses Salines are both around 8km from Ibiza airport, via PM-802

This is probably the most famous hidden gem on the island. Nevertheless, some confusion regarding exactly how to get there, the walk (albeit short), and perhaps the fact the beach is rather pebbly, keep visitor numbers low. Backed by pine forests, and usually quiet but for the chirruping of cicadas, this still feels like an escape. Inevitably, there are fishermens huts, but slipways and a well-positioned jetty are nice spots for a lie-down while contemplating the return hike. Buy supplies in Es Cubells before heading there. Access by foot (700m) from the point where the road ends in Urbanizaci Es Cubells. A path heads west along the top of the cliff before descending to the beach

There are steps down from a car park roundabout beside the somewhat tawdry Hotel Club Cala Tarida to this west-coast beach. It is popular but also wide (50m) and long, with fabulous rock formations. Head to the rocky areas at the end of the beach and secure a rock platform for an uninterrupted bask with uninterrupted sea view. Better still, theres a second beach a small sandy cove, reached by going back up the steps by the Can Yucas bar, and down a track accessed from the no-entry road beside them. And beyond that, theres a third: the lovely Es Pujolets, with lots of fishermens huts, white sand, the most extraordinary turquoise water and, often, bobbing boats. The easiest, least slippery, way to reach the smaller coves is to park at the Cala Tarida Norte car park (signposted) and to walk back with the sea to the right until Es Pujolets huts come into view below

Leave the car in the big pine-shaded car park at Cala Salada, follow the trail down to the beach and up and over a low rocky headland to its little sister: Cala Saladeta. This is a classic example of the beach beyond the beach and while it may not be the quietest, it is quieter and, protected from wind, with gently shelving sand and a decent restaurant back on the main beach. The restaurant is a good option for families. An even better option is lunch at the legendary and laid-back Restaurante Can Cosmi beside the quietly glorious church in Santa Agns de Corona (go for the tortilla: its almost obligatory). Just under 5km north of Sant Antoni de Portmany

For those who simply must have a beach of their own heres one that involves a hike and potentially some scrambling. Es Portitxol is an easier alternative to others that fit the bill (for example Cala dAlbarca, Ses Balandres and Cala den Sardina) and sufficiently special and spectacular to merit the modicum of effort (most associated with finding the start of the 1.5km trail). The beach is almost circular, and shingly, the water transparent, all green and turquoise over the patches of seagrass. In fact, the place has the stillness of a forgotten world, despite the ubiquitous fishermens huts and the presence of other people seeking somewhere solitary. From the Sant Miquel to Sant Mateu road, take the turning for Urbanizaci Illa Blanca. Once there (under 1km), take the right zigzagging road to a fork then the right downhill track for 350m and park by the stone wall. At this point, there will be an arrow indicating the trail

Its a resort (with a pug-ugly development scar) but the northern Port de Sant Miquel still feels remote, clean, fresh and other-worldly up here at the end of the road and theres plenty of space on the wide sandy beach for all. However, a track from Restaurante Port Balansat leads up and over a second and very different seaside proposition: Cal des Moltons, a long, deep inlet shaped like a dressmakers dart, with flat rocks and pebbles, boathouses, and cool, still water. While it has the feel of a private find, the inlet has its own chiringuito: Utopa a pretty, white-wood and surprisingly upmarket place, with good cocktails and sardine specials. From June to September, rent stand-up paddleboards as its the perfect place to try the sport for the first time: those who cant get onboard here, never will.

See the rest here:

10 of the best hidden beaches in Ibiza - The Guardian

Local ‘Lakefront Cleanup’ group sweeps trash from Kenosha’s beaches – Kenosha News

Posted on by

Walking along the Kenosha lakefront with his daughter, Casey Hudson realized how much trash met them on their walk.

He thought to himself, Next time, well bring a couple garbage bags with us to help clean.

That initial thought morphed into the creation of the Lakefront Cleanup Facebook group, with a mission to clean a different lakefront in the area every Sunday at 1 p.m.

The group quickly garnered several hundred members and raised about $100 for cleaning supplies.

Initially, Hudson had a goal to raise about $50 to buy refreshments, garbage pickers and trash bags for the cleanup events. Two days after he posted the fundraiser online, more funds flowed in.

My reason for getting it out there is to get other people involved, letting them know (cleaning the beach) is not hard.

In 2016, the Ocean Conservancy, an organization which engages people to remove trash from the worlds beaches and waterways, reported 2,658 pounds of trash were picked up along 35 miles of Wisconsins Lake Michigan shore. That data was provided to the group by the Alliance for the Great Lakes.

The first beach cleanup, prior to the creation of the Facebook group, was spread by word of mouth from Hudson. About four people came out to a beach in Racine on June 3 to do their part for the environment, he said.

On Sunday, Hudson and his group took to the beachfront along Kennedy Park for the second beach cleanup.

Hudson finds the usual trash, which includes chip bags, plastic bags and bottles. Sometimes, he finds blunt wrappers and liquor bottles, too.

Cigarette butts were the most common piece of trash picked up along U.S. coasts in 2016, according to the Ocean Conservancy 2017 annual report, which stated 1,030,640 were collected nationwide.

Hudson said anyone going to the beach should bring a trash bag.

Cleaning for an hour out of your day at the beach isnt hard and helps the environment, he said.

One of the main reasons behind Hudsons beach cleaning efforts was the way his 12-year-old daughter, Kaya, reacted when he told her about it.

(It was) the way her eyes lit up and her enthusiasm behind it, he said, adding that he wants to teach environmental responsibility to all four of his kids.

Scott Bringsosin, a lifelong friend of Hudsons, has a similar hope for his own kids, prompting him to join Hudson in his beach cleanup efforts.

Its part of enjoying the outdoors. You dont want to see trash out there, he said.

When he notices trash on any beach, Bringsosin sees it as people abusing the privilege of having free beaches.

Bringsosin said the group could always use more people to help clean.

Lets get together and lets clean these shorelines up, he said.

View original post here:

Local 'Lakefront Cleanup' group sweeps trash from Kenosha's beaches - Kenosha News

Swimmers, beware, many South Jersey beaches remain unguarded … – Press of Atlantic City

Posted on by

Two weeks after Memorial Day weekend, and as South Jersey faces a heat wave that may break Wednesday, many beaches remain unguarded, creating potential risks for ocean swimmers.

On Monday afternoon, three swimmers were ushered out of the ocean in Brigantine by police after going out too far. The local police and fire departments monitored the situation from the beach, while the New Jersey State Police Marine Unit used a patrol boat to reach the swimmers and guide them back to shore.

Brigantine Fire Chief Tige Platt said the swimmers were not in distress, but were about a half-mile from the shoreline and were unable to hear requests from police and firefighters to return to the beach.

According to Platt, Brigantines beaches are currently guarded only on weekends. Daily patrol wont begin until Monday.

Many other shore towns currently have only partially guarded beaches.

Beach Patrol Lt. Ryan Black said all beaches in Avalon have been open since Memorial Day weekend, but with a lower-than-usual turnout for lifeguard applicants, the patrol is stationed at a few select beaches.

Black said about 13 of Avalons 22 beaches were guarded as of Monday. After rookies lifeguards are trained, beginning next Monday, more patrols are expected to begin.

The Atlantic City Beach Patrol stations are open at all 11 districts, but only 17 beaches are guarded.

On Saturday, several shore towns held lifeguard tryouts, including Atlantic City, Ocean City and Ventnor. Those beach patrols expect to be fully staffed and able to guard all beaches by June 24.

For now, beach patrols advise the public to check listings for open and guarded beaches and not to swim without lifeguards present.

Read the rest here:

Swimmers, beware, many South Jersey beaches remain unguarded ... - Press of Atlantic City

North wind deposits treasures on Lake Huron beaches – Port Huron Times Herald

Posted on by

Dennis Kovach holds a piece of beach glass found at Conger Beach.(Photo: Bob Gross, Times Herald)Buy Photo

Brian Martin was working on a personal watercraft lift when he saw something white and shining in the surf of Lake Huron.

"It thought it was either a skull or a fossil," said Martin, of Fort Gratiot.

He said it took him four tries to snatch what turned out tobe a chunkof coral about the size of a softball from the lake's grip.

"I looked like an old woman or a sandpiper running up and down the beach," he said.

That was on Wednesday, when strong north winds piled upthe waves on the Michigan shoreline of the big lake.

Brian Martin found a highly detailed fossil that washed up on a Lake Huron beach.(Photo: Courtesy of Brian Martin)

People were out on Thursday looking for what the water had deposited on the beach.

"Everyone on the beach looks for glass and Petoskey stones and such," said Dennis Kovach, of Port Huron.

He said he's not an avid collector of beach glass and fossils, but he keeps his eyes open during his daily strolls at Conger Beach.

"Everybody that's on the beach here is looking," Kovach said. "It's amazing at how much of the stuff they find."

Beach glass consists of pieces of old bottles and other containers. The pounding surf polishes away the rough and jagged edges, leaving pebble-sized pieces with a frosted surface.

"Some of the people make jewelry out of the glass," Kovach said.

People also find Petoskey stones. The stones are fragments of coral deposited during the Devonian period, which ended about 390 million years ago.

Dennis Kovach looks for beach glass and Petoskey stones at Conger Beach.(Photo: Bob Gross, Times Herald)

Ann Troy also was walking the shoreline at Conger Beach on Thursday.

"It's the best time to find it, after the north wind stops blowing and before the summer people come," she said.

She said she finds beach glass and Petoskey stones.

"Sometimes I put it in jars with candles," she said. "I make jewelry sometimes.

"Sometimes it just sits."

Troy said she walks the beach several times a week.

Pirate gold isn't the only buried treasure. After a north wind, people hit the beaches to see what the waves have deposited. Bob Gross, Times Herald

"It is fun," she said.

Kovach said it's surprising what he and other people find on the beach.

"People that I've met, they have what they identify as the bottom of a Coke bottle," he said.

Beach glass, however, seems to be less common as plastic containers replace glass bottles, he said.

Martin marveled that the coral fossil he found had been formed when Michigan was covered by a shallow sea.

"It just walked itself up out of the lake, and I was lucky enough to find it," he said.

Contact Bob Gross at (810) 989-6263 or rgross@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @RobertGross477.

Read or Share this story: http://bwne.ws/2skJNwa

Follow this link:

North wind deposits treasures on Lake Huron beaches - Port Huron Times Herald

Hubble spies on nearby brown dwarfs – Astronomy Magazine

Posted on by

Sometimes, its our closest neighbors that are the most difficult to spy on. Case in point: The Luhman 16 AB system, which is the third-closest stellar system to our Sun, yet was not discovered until 2013. After three years of subsequent monitoring, a stack of 12 images taken with the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) has confirmed that the system is composed of two brown dwarfs and no third companion, as was originally suspected.

A team of astronomers led by Luigi Bedin watched the two visible stars, Luhman 16 A and Luhman 16 B, over the course of three years between August 22, 2014, and October 4, 2016. During this time, HST has imaged the system 12 times (with a thirteenth proposed visit in August 2018). Using these images, they were able to determine several orbital parameters of the stars, as well as more accurately measure their distance and search for any potential exoplanets in the system. Their results have been accepted for publication in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.

Bedin and his team used their sequence of Hubble images to watch the two brown dwarfs dance across the sky. In particular, they were looking for a third potential body in the system, such as a large exoplanet, which had been indicated by the stars motion in previous observations with the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope. However, according to Bedins group, the new Hubble measurements rule out the presence of a third body in the system, all the way down to planets of Neptunes mass with a period between one and two years. Thus, if the system does harbor exoplanets, they must be smaller than Neptune and take longer than one to two Earth years to circle their sun.

Brown dwarfs are often called failed stars because they are too small to sustain the fusion processes that create energy inside stars. While these bodies can sometimes fuse a hydrogen isotope known as deuterium, even this phase doesnt last very long, relatively speaking, leaving the star to essentially cool off over cosmic time and grow dark.

However, astronomers know that there are many more low-mass objects in the universe than high-mass ones. Thus, because of their increased number, these lower-mass objects are an extremely fertile place to look for exoplanets.

Luhman A and B circle each other once every two to four decades, with a distance between them of about 3 astronomical units (three times the distance between the Sun and Earth). The system itself is located within about 2 parsecs of the Sun, or 6.5 light-years. Only the Alpha Centauri system and Barnard's Star are closer.

Because the Luhman 16 AB system is so close to the Sun, its the perfect place to study brown dwarfs, which are hard to see because theyre both small and dim, up close. Bedins team plans to continue their study of the stars to both improve the precision of their measured orbital parameters and to search for ever-smaller, Earth-sized exoplanets in the system.

Read the rest here:

Hubble spies on nearby brown dwarfs - Astronomy Magazine

Astronomy: Bending light and dead stars – The Sydney Morning Herald

Posted on by

How much does a dead star weigh? That's a question now with at least one solid answer thanks to an experiment first suggested by Albert Einstein a century ago.

How much does a dead star weigh? That's a question now with at least one solid answer thanks to an experiment first suggested by Albert Einstein a century ago.

This month astronomers led by Howard Bond NASA's Space Telescope Science Institute announced they had successfully measured the mass of a type of shrunken dead star called a white dwarf.

They did so using the Hubble space telescope and a test first devised by Einstein as a test of his general theory of relativity.

Einstein theorised that light should be affected by the mass of huge objects, such that light beams should bend around them. The theory was essentially proven during a solar eclipse in 1919 catapulting the physicist to world fame.

Using the same principle, Bond and his colleagues aimed Hubble at a particular white dwarf known as Stein 2051B as it passed in front of another star, taking multiple images in the process.

Relativity predicts that the light emanating from the background star should bend as the dwarf moves in and out of its way. The difference in the bent and straight line light arrival times is the crucial variable that permits the dwarf to be measured.

That difference turned out to be about two milliarcseconds a unit of measurement used in astronomy, and equivalent to 0.0000005555555556 of one degree.

This equates to roughly 68 per cent of the mass of our own sun a measurement, the scientists reported, that accorded well with earlier theoretical estimates based on the dwarf's known radius and other values.

"The agreement of the theoretical prediction with the measurement we were able to make with Hubble was astonishingly good," Bond said.

The research was published in the journal Science.

The team's next project is to make good use of Einstein, Hubble and bending light to measure the mass of the sun's nearest neighbour, the star Proxima Centauri.

Read more from the original source:

Astronomy: Bending light and dead stars - The Sydney Morning Herald

Inquiring minds rewarded – Harvard Gazette

Posted on by

Investigating how languages emerge and evolve. Using climate-change data to predict dust storms and bacterial meningitis outbreaks in Northern Africa. Understanding whether age-related diseases may stem from a common driver. Determining whether the presence of oxygen can be used to predict life on distant exoplanets.

Harvard scientists are known for pushing boundaries, but the projects funded through the 2017 Star Family Challenge for Promising Scientific Research are poised to take that reputation to new heights.

Created through a gift from James A. Star 83, the annual challenge funds high-risk, high-reward research that might not receive funding through other programs.

I want to salute the winners of the 2017 Star Family Challenge, Star said. This is a wonderful set of projects, and I look forward to hearing about them. I also want to thank Professor Randy Buckner and his committee for taking over from [former chairman] Doug Melton and moving the challenge forward.

As part of the program, the faculty members selected for the awards Jesse Snedeker, Elsie Sunderland, Caroline Buckee, Amy Wagers, and Robin Wordsworth made short presentations on their work to a standing-room-only crowd in the Faculty Room of University Hall.

We live in a time in which the funding of science faces threats, said Buckner, a professor of psychology and of neuroscience. It is unlikely the funding of science is going to become more risk-taking, more imaginative, or more centered on the blue-sky projects which excite so many people here today.

The need for the type of funding the Star Family Foundation is providing is going to become ever more critical, he continued. Your support means a very great deal.

Jesse Snedeker

Language is ubiquitous, said Snedeker, a professor of psychology, describing her project. Everywhere in the world you will find people talking to one another. These languages have many properties in common they all use nouns and verbs, they all have grammatical rules, and all languages are acquired by young children over a very short period. But there is also remarkable diversity of language they can vary in their words, in the specific grammatical structures that they allow, and in their sounds.

The basic question Snedeker hopes to address is one that has long been at the center of psychological research: Where does language come from?

Its an extremely difficult problem, she noted, because while the first humans left Africa at least 60,000 years ago, written records of language begin only about 5,000 years ago. What researchers can examine are the languages created by deaf communities.

Working with the deaf community in Nicaragua, Snedeker and colleagues plan to collect data on shared words, grammatical rules, and social networks among students from the 1970s through the 1990s with the goal of understanding how language changed over time.

What other researchers have discovered is that the first cohort those students that came into the schools in the 70s had shared signs for certain words and ordered narratives, but they do not reliably mark which argument is the subject and which is the object with either word order, like English, or case marking, like Russian or Turkish, Snedeker said. But by the time the later cohorts come in, they use verbal inflection about 50 percent of the time, and subject, object, verb word order the rest of the time.

This rapid pattern of evolution of language raises some interesting questions, Snedeker added. The first were going to be asking is: Why havent these older signers picked up on what the younger people around them are doing? Theyre part of a larger community, yet they havent adopted the regularities that the 20- and 30-year-olds are using.

Working with Martin Nowak, a professor of biology and mathematics and director of the Program for Evolutionary Dynamics, and Annemarie Kocab, a Ph.D. candidate in psychology, Snedeker hopes to create computational models that can provide new insight into the social dynamics that drive language.

Amy Wagers

When you consider the greatest risk factor for many diseases, says Wagers, the Forst Family Professor of Stem Cell and Regenerative Biology, it all comes down to one word: aging.

There is growing evidence that diseases such as cancer, cardiac disease, and cognitive decline today viewed as separate medical challenges could be treated by targeting their age-related roots, Wagers said.

The underlying goal of this project is to understand the fundamental physiological processes of the natural process of aging, and then understand how those impact health, Wagers said. [With] that understanding, can we develop therapies or other interventions that allow us to take aim at that root cause, or develop strategies that could be applied across different diseases of aging which have typically been thought of as independent.

The notion that many age-related diseases may share a common driver was inspired in part by the discovery of mutations in circulating blood cells that accumulate with age and lead to clonal hematopoiesis problems in the formation of blood. Wagers and colleagues hope to investigate a new hypothesis that those mutations, and the problems they cause, may be a common driver of age-associated dysfunction across organ systems.

What this project will allow us to do is clarify the relevance of these age-related [mutations], Wagers said. This will allow us to understand whether there is therapeutic value in targeting those clones.

Working with Lee Rubin, a professor of stem cell and regenerative biology, and Richard T. Lee, a professor of stem cell and regenerative biology and of medicine, Wagers plans to use CRISPR technology to introduce specific mutations associated with clonal hematopoiesis in humans into young and middle-aged mice, and monitor the rate of emergence of age-associated pathologies in three different organ systems: skeletal muscle, the brain, and the heart.

Elsie Sunderland

Seasonal change and illness often go hand in hand, but in West Africa, the combination can be deadly.

Every year, dust storms across the region are accompanied by devastating epidemics of bacterial meningitis, which has a mortality rate of 50 percent when left untreated, said Sunderland, the Thomas D. Cabot Associate Professor of Environmental Science and Engineering at the John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences and an associate professor of environmental science and engineering at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

Though its thought that the dust irritates the throat, making people more susceptible to disease, Sunderland plans to test an alternative hypothesis that meningitis bacteria are carried on the winds that drive those dust storms.

Microbes can be transported on aerosols like dust, Sunderland said. And these dust storms are very much a function of global climate so the intensity of these storms has been changing quite a bit over the last number of years. This is a very dynamic phenomenon that we are trying to link to the spread of meningitis in the area.

Sunderlands partner on the project is Buckee, an infectious disease epidemiologist from the Harvard Chan School, who said that while there has long been evidence of correlation between the dust storms and the outbreaks, the mechanism behind the link has been unclear.

Along with Buckee, Sunderland has recruited help from Tovi Lehmann of the National Institutes of Health, who samples insect populations on wind currents in Mali using helium balloons, and Stephen Bentley, a bacterial genomics expert at the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute.

The group plans to use helium balloons and microbial collection devices to sample aerosols transported by winds in Mali, sequence the bacterial genomes that are collected, and assess the risk of atmospheric spread of meningitis and other windborne pathogens.

The idea is to provide some metrics to use for modeling to better understand these outbreaks, and to potentially use for forecasting, Sunderland said. Thats a major benefit for the practice of public health and being able to identify where vulnerable populations are.

Robin Wordsworth

With every discovery of a new exoplanet, interest in the idea that one may hold extraterrestrial life gains momentum. But how will that life be detected if the technology doesnt exist to send probes into deep space?

One possible method, says Wordsworth, an assistant professor of environmental science and engineering at SEAS, may be in detecting oxygen in the atmosphere of other planets.

Whats really fascinating and exciting about this to me is that for the first time on a large scale this question of extraterrestrial life is no longer something which is purely in literature or science fiction, Wordsworth said. Its something we can start to address scientifically.

Though there is wide evidence that oxygen in Earths atmosphere is due to the presence of life, there is debate about whether the gas is a reliable biosignature, because recent research has shown that some planets can produce oxygen-rich atmospheres abiotically.

In an effort to resolve that debate, Wordsworth and collaborators David Charbonneau, a professor of astronomy, and Dimitar Sasselov, Phillips Professor of Astronomy and director of the Harvard Origins of Life Initiative, plan to construct advanced planetary evolution models that incorporate atmospheric, surface, and interior processes to simulate the early years of a planets development the period that most affects a planets oxygen accumulation.

See the article here:

Inquiring minds rewarded - Harvard Gazette

ALMA Observes Massive Protostar in Kleinmann-Low Nebula – Sci-News.com

Posted on by

A team of astronomers has determined how the gas flow from a massive infant star is launched. The researchers used the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) to observe the 10-solar-mass protostar Orion KL Source I in the Kleinmann-Low Nebula and obtained clear evidence of rotation in the outflow.

Artists impression of Orion KL Source I. The massive protostar is surrounded by a disk of gas and dust. The outflow is launched from the surface of the outer disk. Image credit: ALMA / ESO / NAOJ / NRAO.

Stars form from gas and dust floating in interstellar space. But, astronomers do not yet fully understand how it is possible to form the massive stars seen in space.

One key issue is gas rotation. The parent cloud rotates slowly in the initial stage and the rotation becomes faster as the cloud shrinks due to self-gravity.

Stars formed in such a process should have very rapid rotation, but this is not the case. The stars observed in the Universe rotate more slowly.

How is the rotational momentum dissipated? One possible scenario involves that the gas emanating from protostars.

If the gas outflow rotates, it can carry rotational momentum away from the system.

Astronomers have tried to detect the rotation of the outflow to test this scenario and understand its launching mechanism.

In a few cases signatures of rotation have been found, but it has been difficult to resolve clearly, especially around massive protostars.

Orion KL Source I observed with ALMA. The massive protostar is located in the center and surrounded by a gas disk (red). A bipolar gas outflow is ejected from the protostar (blue). Image credit: ALMA / ESO / NAOJ / NRAO / Hirota et al.

Dr. Tomoya Hirota, an astronomer at the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (NAOJ) and SOKENDAI, and colleagues observed a protostar called Orion KL Source I in the Kleinmann-Low Nebula, the most active part of the Orion Nebula complex.

Thanks to its close vicinity and ALMAs advanced capabilities, Dr. Hirota and co-authors were able to reveal the nature of the outflow from Orion KL Source I.

We have clearly imaged the rotation of the outflow. In addition, the result gives us important insight into the launching mechanism of the outflow, Dr. Hirota said.

The new ALMA observations beautifully illustrate the rotation of the outflow: it rotates in the same direction as the gas disk surrounding the star; this strongly supports the idea that the outflow plays an important role in dissipating the rotational energy.

Furthermore, ALMA clearly shows that the outflow is launched not from the vicinity of Orion KL Source I itself, but rather from the outer edge of the disk. This morphology agrees well with the magnetocentrifugal disk wind model.

The findings appear today in the journal Nature Astronomy.

_____

Hirota et al. Disk-Driven Rotating Bipolar Outflow in Orion Source I. Nature Astronomy, published online June 12, 2017

More here:

ALMA Observes Massive Protostar in Kleinmann-Low Nebula - Sci-News.com

OU offers 10-day Certificate Course in Astronomy & Astrophysics – NYOOOZ

Posted on by

Summary: The Department of Astronomy of Osmania University is organizing a 10-Day certificate course Foundation course in Astronomy and Astrophysics from 12th to 22nd July. 3,000 to be paid through DD in favor of Co-Ordinator, Foundation course in A & Ap, OU, Hyd. The payment can be done through online transfer also to Ac/No: 36925752331, informed Department of Astronomy Head Dr. D. Shanti Priya on Monday. The candidates who are pursuing/completed graduation, with Maths, Physics and computers at intermediate (10+2) level are eligible to enroll in the course. The course is aimed to popularize Astronomy in young minds which will help them develop strong foundations in the subject and motivate them to choose it as a career option.

The Department of Astronomy of Osmania University is organizing a 10-Day certificate course Foundation course in Astronomy and Astrophysics from 12th to 22nd July. The course is aimed to popularize Astronomy in young minds which will help them develop strong foundations in the subject and motivate them to choose it as a career option. The candidates who are pursuing/completed graduation, with Maths, Physics and computers at intermediate (10+2) level are eligible to enroll in the course. Those who are interested to enroll can register on or before 5th July by sending their details through mail to coordinator,[email protected].

The registration fee is Rs. 3,000 to be paid through DD in favor of Co-Ordinator, Foundation course in A & Ap, OU, Hyd. The payment can be done through online transfer also to Ac/No: 36925752331, informed Department of Astronomy Head Dr.

Source: http://www.siasat.com/news/ou-offers-10-day-certificate-course-astronomy-astrophysics-1198885/

Link:

OU offers 10-day Certificate Course in Astronomy & Astrophysics - NYOOOZ

The Limits of Artificial Intelligence – Bloomberg

Posted on by

Talking about artificial intelligence is in season for Europes corporate executives. Just dont mention its shortcomings.

The C-suite is eager to tout its abilities in riding the 21st-century wave of automation by using sophisticated machine learning or shop-floor robots. Mentions of the phrase artificial intelligence on earnings calls are surging, as Bloomberg Intelligences Michael McDonough hasnoted.

In a world where CEOs get more credit for cutting costs and buying back shares than opening factories or hiring staff, technology-driven efficiency is a carrot to dangle in front of shareholders. Stock-market valuations are stretched and spending opportunities are rarebut processing power is abundant and data storage cheap.

Thats why executives are conjuring up the promise of lower costs, more revenue or something in between. Deutsche Telekom and Royal Bank of Scotland are turning to chatbotsa digital replacement for call centers that could shave billions off costs in the next five years. Frances BNP Paribas and publisher Wolters Kluwer are trying to boost revenue, and are using machines to screen financial markets or customer databases and trigger automatic alerts.

Siemens computers are having a go at running gas turbines more efficiently than humans. And dont forget the blue-collar world: Logistics firms Deutsche Post and DHL are talking up the idea of using robots alongside workers on the warehouse floor.

But theres remarkably little talk of the limits of automation. What is the acceptable failure rate of these projects? Outside of games like Go or poker, just how suited are machines to the corporate world? Are some algorithms too expensive, as Netflix once found out? Theres a risk that disappointing results lead to an exaggerated corporate pullback, as the Harvard Business Review warned in April.

Machines can fail. Chatbots do so very publicly: Microsoft shut down a bot called Tay after pranksters pushed it to make racist, sexist and pornographic remarks. Earlier this year, Facebook went back to the drawing board after its bots hit a failure rate of 70 percent, according to The Information.

Failure is fine, but the acceptable failure rate of an intelligent vehicle or a computer-controlled turbine is probably different to a bum steer on an electricity bill. That can be the difference between an easy path to cost savings and a complex, long-term investment that doesnt work as intended.

Then theres the question of whether machines are always suitable. Machine learning works best in an environment with rules and huge numbers of data points. That might work with cars driving through heavy traffic governed by laws, or with achieving the best price for selling a big block of shares.

It might not work well in deciding where to invest a hedge funds money, for example, or recommending products to customers without much previous data to go on. The minute things get fuzzyeither due to a lack of rules, an unclear evaluation of success or a lack of dataartificial intelligence performs poorly, according to Pictet strategist Edgar van Tuyll.

These limitations mean its not yet clear that the cost of automation will be offset by savings in human capital. Hiring a data scientist can cost more than $200,000, according to Bloomberg News. Flight-bookings company Amadeus has 40 of them. Siemens says it has more than 200 A.I. specialists running various projects. And even Silicon Valley has its grunt workers: Facebook is hiring 3,000 content moderators, on top of 4,500 existing ones. A.I. cheerleader Amazon has 341,000 employeesthree times the number it had in 2012.

There are good reasons to talk about A.I. and boast of its successes. But opening up about failure will help, too.

This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of Bloomberg LP and its owners.

The rest is here:

The Limits of Artificial Intelligence - Bloomberg

Ethics and Artificial Intelligence With IBM Watson’s Rob High – Forbes

Posted on by

Forbes
Ethics and Artificial Intelligence With IBM Watson's Rob High
Forbes
Listen to The Modern Customer Podcast with Rob High here. Artificial intelligence seems to be popping up everywhere, and it has the potential to change nearly everything we know about data and the customer experience. However, it also brings up new ...

and more »

Read the original:

Ethics and Artificial Intelligence With IBM Watson's Rob High - Forbes

Artificial Intelligence And Its Impact On Legal Technology (Part I) – Above the Law

Posted on by

Artificial intelligence (AI) is just beginning to come into its own in terms of its use by lawyers and within the legal industry. Whats the impact of this technology on the legal profession? Within the next few years, we will find ourselves on the cusp of a revolution in the practice of law led by the adoption of artificial intelligence in particular, by in-house lawyers. Much like email changed the way we do business every day, AI will become ubiquitous an indispensable assistant to practically every lawyer. Those who do not adopt and embrace the change will get left behind. Those who do will ultimately find themselves freed up to do the two things there always seems to be too little time for: thinking and advising.

Like many, you may be wondering about what AI products are out there or on the way, and how you can use them. Welcome to the first installment of a four-part series on artificial intelligence and its impact on the legal industry, specifically how in-house legal departments will be affected by it. Over the course of the series, I will discuss what AI is, how it can be used by legal departments, and what you as an in-house lawyer should be doing next regarding AI.

What Is Artificial Intelligence?

Before we discuss the impact of AI on the legal profession, its important to define it. The term artificial intelligence can be a bit misleading, at least when it comes to application in the legal field. No, were not talking about some type of walking and talking robot from The Terminator with a briefcase and tie (though that would be pretty cool). Perhaps a better description, and one that is catching on, is cognitive computing. This means teaching computers how to learn, reason, communicate, and make decisions. Cognitive tools are trained vs. programmed learning how to complete tasks traditionally done by people, where the focus is looking for patterns in data, testing the data, and finding/providing results. Or, as I like to think about it, a research assistant who can sift through the dreck and tell you what it found. Why is this important? Because, according to IBM, 2.5 quintillion bytes of data are being generated every day. In case youre not up-to-date on a quint, thats 2,500,000,000,000,000,000 bytes. Every day. The ability of any human to review and comprehend that level of data without help is the definition of impossible.

Going Deeper

The recent explosion in AI is due to a fundamental rule of technology: Moores Law. In 1965, Gordon Moore, a scientist at Intel, made a prediction based on his observation that the number of transistors per square inch on integrated circuits had doubled every year since their invention. His law predicts that this trend will continue, and growth in computer power will double roughly every two years while the cost of that computing power will go down. Simply put, more computer for less money. When coupled with the ever-lower cost of storing electronic data, you have the basis for the rapid rise in AI capabilities and availability. In fact, experts predict that spending on AI by companies will grow from $8 billion in 2016 to $47 billion in 2020, up almost 600%.

The reason for the huge increase in AI spending is simple: There are huge productivity gains and cost savings available from freeing humans from routine tasks that computers can handle, allowing people to focus on tasks that truly add value, things that computers really cannot do or do well. As well see in future installments of this series, this goal rationale fits particularly well with the legal industry. More importantly, legal departments will need to be ready for this change and adapt quickly to the use of AI. For example, a number of M.B.A. programs are introducing AI courses. Harvard, MIT, Stanford, and Frances INSEAD School of Business along with several other top-line M.B.A. programs have added courses on AI applications. As CEOs and CFOs become more accustomed to using AI, they will expect the other members of the C-Suite including the general counsel and legal department to follow suit. In-house lawyers who embrace AI, will become more valuable to the next generation of CEOs and CFOs.

For more about the future of AI for in-house counsel, see the full version of this article. Or visit the larger Legal Department 2025 Resource Center from Thomson Reuters.

Sterling Miller spent over 20 years as in-house counsel, including being general counsel for Sabre Corporation and Travelocity. He currently serves as Senior Counsel for Hilgers Graben PLLC focusing on litigation, contracts, data privacy, compliance, and consulting with in-house legal departments. He is CIPP/US certified in data privacy.

Read the rest here:

Artificial Intelligence And Its Impact On Legal Technology (Part I) - Above the Law

The Future Of Growth And Economic Development Powered By Human And Artificial Intelligence – Seeking Alpha

Posted on by

The recent technological advancement within artificial intelligence, the "Internet of Things", and robotics has generated significant impact on traditional businesses, causing decreasing profit margins across several sectors, whereas most of the big winners in the Wall Street IPOs are companies with innovative ideas from Facebook (NASDAQ: FB) and Twitter, (NASDAQ: TWTR) to Snapchat (NYSE: SNAP). There are two common determining factors among those successful IPOs: Ideation and User Generated Content (UGC).

In the era of big data and artificial intelligence, we will soon be able to create the tools to better capture the value from ideation and UGC, as well as spur economic growth by capitalizing on human ingenuity. With the ever-accelerating developments in technology, the world is in the process of moving from a consumer economy to a knowledge-based economy, and from a debt- based system to an equity based system, which will include movement from tangible assets to intangible assets. Hence we envision that our world economic system will operate on a new growth formula.

This growth formula is as follows:

IA > M1 IC + AI = W

which translate into Intangible Assets (IA) is greater than Money Supply ((M1)) - therefore - Intellectual Capital (IC) plus Artificial Intelligence (AI) equals Wealth (W).

With this formula, we are developing a new financial platform - The Artificial Intelligence Economic Development Corporation (AIEDC). This platform will combine artificial intelligence with human intelligence along with big data to spur long term sustainable economic development that will facilitate the discovery, as well as the advancement of ideas - from ideation to monetization, in the area of economic development through the creation of new businesses, land infrastructure projects, environmental projects, scientific research, and technological projects.

At this time, the AI community is very vibrant and open with a lot of open source projects pioneered by the likes of companies such as, Google (NASDAQ: GOOG), Facebook and Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN). These open source projects will be extremely beneficial to the future of growth and economic development of the World.

The high performance computing technology which is quantum leaping at this time, has been fueled by the recent developments in bitcoin mining, as well as the new chips that are being released every month, such as the tensor processing unit (TPU) from Google and Volta architecture from Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) that are taking AI development to the next level.

According to Accenture LLP's report "Why Artificial intelligence is The Future of Growth", research on the impact of AI in 12 developed economies reveals that AI could double annual economic growth rates by 2035, specifically by changing the nature of work and creating a new relationship between Man and Machine. The impact of AI technologies on businesses is projected to increase labor productivity by up to 40 percent and enable people to make more efficient use of their time. This additional allocation of "Time" will further seed the development of ideation and user generated content.

Government organizations around the world have been accumulating vast amounts of data - by forming public private partnerships (P3's), AIEDC's platform will help governments all over the world through strategic partnerships for economic development.

At the center of the company will reside the M.I.N.D - a Machine Intelligence Neural-Network Database. Our neural network database is a clustered computational model with artificial neurons receiving input variables similar to a biological brain in a human being. The database will be the collective sum of all the data being fed into the M.I.N.D at that time.

The M.I.N.D. enabled platform will utilize artificial intelligence to combine the aspects of incubators, venture capital firms, crowdfunding, as well as project financing. It will include, but not be limited to intellectual property registration and protection, blockchain based smart contracts, and initial cryptocurrency offerings.

Finally, the M.I.N.D. will convert the Ideas submitted by users from intellectual capital to intellectual property.

With this platform, people with innovative ideas will be able to have their ideas validated, protected and converted into capital; investors will have a new platform and mechanism to effectively invest in new ideas and or companies; industry practitioners will have more and better ideas to execute on; governments will have additional income through their stake in the platform funded projects; the society will have a long term sustainable growth model.

Here are some thoughts from industry visionaries:

DeepMind's Cofounder Mustafa Suleyman:

The following is from the Business Insider article, 'In many areas, capitalism is currently failing us'

"And yet in many areas, capitalism is currently failing us," he said. "We actually need a new kind of set of incentives to tackle some of most pressing and urgent social problems and we need a new kind of tool, a new kind of intelligence, that is distributed, that is scaled, that is accessible, to try and make sense of some of the complexity that is overwhelming us."

Facebook's Cofounder Eduardo Saverin: stated the following as well:

This quote is taken from a CNBC article title, What I Learned From Watching "The Social Network"

"Entrepreneurship involves mistakes and failures. But ultimately, if you have that intellectual capital and intimate understanding behind your project, you have a chance to succeed. Intellectual capital, and not just monetary capital, will spawn the next great product or idea. Entrepreneurs, especially in the technology sector, will create things tomorrow that we can barely imagine today".

Leonard S. Johnson, The Artificial Intelligence Economic Development Corporation.

Disclosure: I/we have no positions in any stocks mentioned, and no plans to initiate any positions within the next 72 hours.

Business relationship disclosure: I am the CEO of the Artificial Intelligence Economic Development Corporation

Read more:

The Future Of Growth And Economic Development Powered By Human And Artificial Intelligence - Seeking Alpha

Honeywell Shareholders Resist Calls for Aerospace Spinoff, Chairman Says – Bloomberg

Posted on by

Honeywell International Inc. shareholders are resisting calls by activist investor Third Point that the company spin off its aerospace unit, fearing they would lose out on the fruits of recent investments, Executive Chairman David Cote said.

The industrial giants development of aircraft broadband internet service for travelers and providing real-time data on component performance is hitting the market this year. The aerospace unit, which also makes cockpit controls and jet engines for private planes, has been a drag on earnings amid a weak market for helicopters and business jets, and as budget cuts hurt defense sales.

Photographer: Christopher Goodney/Bloomberg

Aerospace is a very long cycle business, Cote said Monday in an interview with Bloomberg Television Canada at the Conference of Montreal. You invest today to help you over the next 20 or 30 years. Even the development cycle is in the five- to six-year range.

Third Point,the investment firm founded by Dan Loeb, said in an April letter to investors that carving out aerospace would increase shareholder value by more than $20 billion and allow the Morris Plains, New Jersey-based company to focus on its automation and productivity businesses. Sales at Honeywell Aerospace fell 3.2 percent last year to $14.8 billion, while the segments profit dropped 7.1 percent to $2.99 billion.

Cote said some investors have told him they wouldnt be able to keep their shares if the unit is spun off.

That is a big part of what were getting on investor reaction. Gee, I helped you invest all this money. Now youre going to split this off. Based on my ownership charter, Im not going to be able to own that company anymore, he said. Cote didnt name the investors.

Honeywell CEO Darius Adamczyk, who took over March 31, is continuing to review the portfolio -- a process that will result in announcements in the fall, Cote said.

Darius and the board have been on an extensive process that actually predated Third Point, the former CEO said. I dont think people should expect that its going to be this business, this business, this business -- but rather more like general principles.

Honeywell is pressing ahead with investments in countries including China even as its economic expansion slows, Cote said.

China has grown at 6 to 7 percent a year for a long time. It looks maybe not that great in the future, but even at 5 percent its a pretty good place to be, he said.

He predicted that the U.S. economy will continue to expand near-term.

Its still continuing along at that 2 percent range, so Im not that worried about a recession or something bad happening, he said. I actually think were OK for the next couple of years.

See the original post here:

Honeywell Shareholders Resist Calls for Aerospace Spinoff, Chairman Says - Bloomberg

Ball Aerospace Completes WFIRST Study for NASA – PR Newswire – PR Newswire (press release)

Posted on by

WFIRST, the top priority of the most recent Decadal Survey in 2010, would bring the ability to capture individual images with the depth and quality of the Hubble Space Telescope, while covering 100 times the area. Among its scientific objectives, WFIRST will enable scientists to answer questions about how galaxies and groups of galaxies form, study the atmospheres and compositions of planets orbiting other stars, and address other general astrophysics questions.

NASA has launched a series of large space telescopes over nearly 30 years, including the Hubble Space Telescope, the Chandra X-ray Observatory, the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory and the Spitzer Space Telescope. Together, these four space telescopes are known as the Great Observatories. Each was recommended by a National Academy of Sciences' Decadal Survey for Astronomy and Astrophysics, and Ball played a crucial role in each of them. For example, Ball built seven science instruments for Hubble, and each of the five science instruments currently operating on the telescope were Ball designed and built. Ball also built the Corrective Optics Space Telescope Axial Replacement (COSTAR) that helped correct Hubble's hazy vision.

Ball worked with Northrop Grumman to design and build the advanced optical components and cryogenic electronics system for NASA's next Decadal mission, the James Webb Space Telescope, which is scheduled to launch in 2018.

Ball has been involved with each Decadal mission since the 1970s, and supports the upcoming 2020 Decadal study by contributing to the Large Mission Concept Studies.

Ball Aerospace pioneers discoveries that enable our customers to perform beyond expectation and protect what matters most. We create innovative space solutions, enable more accurate weather forecasts, drive insightful observations of our planet, deliver actionable data and intelligence, and ensure those who defend our freedom go forward bravely and return home safely. For more information, visit http://www.ball.com/aerospace or connect with us on Facebook or Twitter.

Ball Corporation supplies innovative, sustainable packaging solutions for beverage, food and household products customers, as well as aerospace and other technologies and services primarily for the U.S. government. Ball Corporation and its subsidiaries employ 18,450 people worldwide and 2016 net sales were $9.1 billion. For more information, visit http://www.ball.com, or connect with us on Facebook or Twitter.

Forward-Looking Statements This release contains "forward-looking" statements concerning future events and financial performance. Words such as "expects," "anticipates," "estimates," "believes," "targets," "likely" and similar expressions typically identify forward-looking statements, which are generally any statements other than statements of historical fact. Such statements are based on current expectations or views of the future and are subject to risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results or events to differ materially from those expressed or implied. You should therefore not place undue reliance upon any forward-looking statements and any of such statements should be read in conjunction with, and, qualified in their entirety by, the cautionary statements referenced below. The company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Key factors, risks and uncertainties that could cause actual outcomes and results to be different are summarized in filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including Exhibit 99 in our Form 10-K, which are available on our website and at http://www.sec.gov. Additional factors that might affect: a) our packaging segments include product demand fluctuations; availability/cost of raw materials; competitive packaging, pricing and substitution; changes in climate and weather; competitive activity; failure to achieve synergies, productivity improvements or cost reductions; mandatory deposit or other restrictive packaging laws; customer and supplier consolidation, power and supply chain influence; changes in major customer or supplier contracts or a loss of a major customer or supplier; political instability and sanctions; currency controls; and changes in foreign exchange or tax rates; b) our aerospace segment include funding, authorization, availability and returns of government and commercial contracts; and delays, extensions and technical uncertainties affecting segment contracts; c) the company as a whole include those listed plus: changes in senior management; regulatory action or issues including tax, environmental, health and workplace safety, including U.S. FDA and other actions or public concerns affecting products filled in our containers, or chemicals or substances used in raw materials or in the manufacturing process; technological developments and innovations; litigation; strikes; labor cost changes; rates of return on assets of the company's defined benefit retirement plans; pension changes; uncertainties surrounding geopolitical events and governmental policies both in the U.S. and in other countries, including the U.S. government elections, budget, sequestration and debt limit; reduced cash flow; ability to achieve cost-out initiatives and synergies; interest rates affecting our debt; and successful or unsuccessful acquisitions and divestitures, including with respect to the Rexam PLC acquisition and its integration, or the associated divestiture; the effect of the acquisition or the divestiture on our business relationships, operating results and business generally.

To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/ball-aerospace-completes-wfirst-study-for-nasa-300472488.html

SOURCE Ball Aerospace

http://www.ball.com/aerospace

Here is the original post:

Ball Aerospace Completes WFIRST Study for NASA - PR Newswire - PR Newswire (press release)