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Memes could be the key to predicting the future – Digit

Posted on April 8, 2017 by Danzig

A meme is more than just the humorous images that you share online, and in fact, encapsulates any cultural idea or trend that is passed on from person to person. And in case, we got you thinking if there is some underlying phenomenon deeper than what is observable with a cursory glance - hats off to us *cue self back pats*

But the real task lies ahead. There is something deeper and more organic underlying the entire meme culture and internet behavior in general, something that distinguishes what a meme is and at the same time connects all the memes into a single, giant, amalgamate that does way more than offer you your daily dose of humor. To truly grasp this idea, we have to go down the proverbial rabbit hole.

While the analogy between memes and genes is surely one that makes it easier to grasp the definition of the meme as given by Richard Dawkins, it is not entirely true, or rather, it is not the entire truth. What comes in handy, though, is an alternative line of thought in memetics one that perceives the meme as a virus.

Dont reach out for your hand sanitizers and air purifiers just yet; this isnt a typical virus we are talking about. This isnt biological or computerised, at least not in itself. So why do we need to think about it this way? First of all, subscribing to the gene theory is prone to a couple of misconceptions. First, genes dont spread only through replication. In fact, it is the repeated errors that introduce mutation - a key factor in evolution, the reason you and I exist. A simple exercise in observation and thought tells us that a meme actually exists because of transformation or manipulation of a base idea before it is spread - even if the manipulation is nothing more than the addition of ones opinion to the idea (Case in point - almost no two meme images that you see online are the same, even if they are based on the exact same meme). Genes mostly replicate unaltered, with a modification or mutation creeping in as a rarity. Memes mutate more frequently. It makes more sense to understand that like the process of evolution with genes, memes actually mutate in majority, and in this mutation lies the key to an evolved, persistent fit meme that survives.

Will there be a time when ideas no longer need humans to spread and persist?

While showing why a meme is mostly like a gene is a step in the right direction, it doesnt get you all the way. A similarity between memes and viruses lies in the way that it behaves with you the individual, the consumer, the reader. A typical parasite needs a conductive medium to spread you usually do not catch a cold in the middle of the summer or contract a deadly virus in a squeaky clean locality. And never before has there been a more suitable environment for the spread of ideas than the internet. But even before that, ideas always had their own ways of getting spread around be it through libraries, public gatherings, entertainment media and more.

A typical virus enters your body, reacts with it, attacks it or alters it, and either gets rejected and quarantined or accepted and forwarded. Just like that, an idea, once it reaches the end point of your mind, either persists there or gets dismissed. In the case of the former, you become the host to that idea, comprehending and interpreting it, in turn changing your own understanding of it. In the end, it is you, the host, that is affected by the idea while the idea still lies out there in its initial unaffected-by-you form and also in your own variation of it, in either case looking at being spread further as Daniel Dennett wonderfully said, a scholar is a librarys way of making another library.

We cannot get away with establishing that a meme is like a virus and then not explaining how it can behave. Since, undoubtedly, there are specific, underlying rules that govern it and, in turn, you. While not exhaustive, there are some maxims that have been identified which shed some light on this collectively sometimes referred to as the rules of the internet. Memes create stereotypes, stereotypes create the memes and so on it goes. Just like genes, it is not possible to comprehend the characteristics of a meme in isolation. Genes usually have phenotypic effects in the presence of other genes. Similarly, memes spread in the presence of certain favorable behaviour patterns. And to understand these patterns, one needs to look at the underlying rules mentioned earlier. Keep in mind though, that these rules represent a small part of a much larger system of maxims constantly being modified and updated to reach absolute ideas, so what appears funny to you today, might be a grave and serious truth tomorrow. But for today, these memes inform you of numerous stereotypes and go on to point out how they ideally behave. For instance:

Dont get us wrong stereotypes have always existed. But things work a bit differently when they are spread on the internet. Urban legends have always been a meme, but they are now spread to way more people with access to the internet and receive much more credibility thanks to technology aiding false evidence. For example, Slenderman was a fictional creature created for an online contest in 2009, the mythos of which was further expanded in the years to come. After reading a creepypasta (which itself is simply creepy stories copied and pasted all over the internet) about him, two 12 year olds in Waukesha, Wisconsin stabbed a third one 19 times to appease the fictional creature and keep their families safe from him. The girl barely survived and the trial is still ongoing. And this was a faceless man who had tentacles coming out of his back.

Urban legends are memes that have been taken a bit too seriously

If youre pondering on why they would do that, the 1% rule of the internet in combination with Poes law (both being part of the maxims that were referred to earlier, mentioned in separate box) makes it much easier to understand that a fake idea, no matter how outrageous it might be, if presented well on the internet (i.e without the obvious disclaimers that Poes law specifies) might just be perceived as gospel truth. If you use a meme to describe a person repeatedly, at one point of time there will be people who would have formed that opinion about that very person, without verification. But you dont have to reach out to a lesser known case to see this in action.

Weve all heard the statement Dont feed the trolls, or one of its modifications (once again, a meme) and have generally accepted it as the right course of action against the spreading of obvious misinformation or plainly stupid arguments - for example, comparison to Nazis as outlined in Godwins law. But this has led to a very interesting phenomenon that has impacted one of the most important events in recent times - the 2016 Presidential Election.

Without memes, there might have been a completely different person in the oval office right now

The general consensus (online) about the alt-right (or conservatives or whatever you might call the side that won) was that their arguments are silly, baseless and easily seen through A.K.A trolling. Hence the widespread reaction to those very arguments was outright dismissal. But not doing anything about that eventually led to the general populace of the country into believing the satire-laden trolling to be genuine facts in most cases. Just like how Facebooks fake news problem, triggered by switching trending topics to a purely algorithmic process from human curation, was unable to distinguish baseless trends from genuine news and ended up influencing a lot of people. If this does not instate the validity of Poes law, we dont know what will.

On the other hand, outright denial or declaration of your victory online also loses you any argument that you might be involved in because of the exact same reasons. Danths law (see box) comes into action more often than you think it does, and if you stay behind to check whether your declaration has been accepted by others in the argument or not, even after youve declared youre leaving, youd be fulfilling Shakers law. Still believe that there isnt an unseen set of rules that govern the memes, and your, behaviour?

While some of the maxims that apply to the internet have been mentioned in the article, here is an expanded list of what we believe to be the governing rules of online behavior:

Badgers Law Websites with the word Truth in the URL have none in the posted content.

Danths Law If you have to insist that youve won an Internet argument, youve probably lost badly.

Godwins law As an online discussion grows longer, the probability of a comparison involving Hitler approaches 1

Poes Law Without a clear indication of the authors intent, it is difficult or impossible to tell the difference between an expression of sincere extremism and a parody of extremism.

Rule 34 If it exists, theres porn of it

Skitts law Any post correcting an error in another post will contain at least one error itself

Law of Exclamation The more exclamation points used in an email (or other postings), the more likely it is a complete lie. This is also true for excessive capital letters.

Cohens Law Whoever resorts to the argument whoever resorts to the argument that... has automatically lost the debate has automatically lost the debate.

Shakers Law Those who egregiously announce their imminent departure from an Internet discussion forum almost never actually leave.

Skarkas Law On internet messageboards, there is no subject so vile or indefensible that someone wont post positively/in defence of it.

Shanks Law The imaginative powers of the human mind have yet to rise to the challenge of concocting a conspiracy theory so batshit insane that one cannot find at least one PhD holding scientist to support it.

Wiios Law Communication usually fails, except by accident

Sturgeons Law 90% of everything is crap

The 1% Rule The 1% rule states that the number of people who create content on the Internet represents approximately 1% of the people actually viewing that content.

Cunninghams Law The best way to get the right answer on the Internet is not to ask a question, its to post the wrong answer.

While most of our mental schema is wired to keep us focussed and occupied with whats at hand, memes, with their inherent imageability and repetitive nature, help us process abstractions faster. While this is beneficial, abstraction also leads to an unavoidable problem: we begin to view memes as concrete units, where they are not. This is what lets us be able to wage an actual war against an abstract idea (terrorism) or a particular class of chemical compounds (drugs). This leads to belief systems that are not entirely robust against questioning or dire situations, in which we unconsciously propagate those very memes. And generally, these are simple, catchy, easy-to-grasp ideas - just because they are easier to retain and rehearse.

Acknowledging the meme in its true form as a connected pseudo-organism that influences individual, and in turn, social behaviour can be more beneficial than you think. As an analogy, the first step you take against a virus outbreak is acknowledge that there is an outbreak. Its just that in this case, the outbreak can be controlled to influence certain people in certain ways. And these unseen rules, which perhaps now youll be more perceptive tobenefit the understanding, hence predictability, of how memes behave. This underlying system, this blueprint to the organism that now lies on the fringes of awareness when it comes to the general populace, will someday be viewed as what shaped the world as we will know it.

This article was first published in March 2017 issue of Digit magazine. To read Digit's articles first,subscribe hereor download the Digit e-magazine app for Android and iOS. You could also buy Digit's previous issueshere.

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Why the Grand National is the holy grail and sporting immortality the prize – Telegraph.co.uk

Posted on April 8, 2017 by Danzig

The jockeys riding in Saturdays Randox Health Grand National at Aintree may face slightly different challenges to those faced by my generation in the 1990s - just as we faced very different challenges from those riders who tackled the upright gorse obstacles of the 1950s in cork helmets.

But even while the course continues to evolve, the Grand National remains a race like no other. Reg Green, the Grand National historian, even called one of his books A Race Apart'.

It still holds a place close to the countrys heart and though it may not be quite the family occasion when we drew the curtains and all gathered round a television set in the sitting room to watch it undisturbed, a good percentage of the nation will nevertheless see it one way or another - as will some 600 million around the world.

Form goes out of the window. The safest bet is that every Arthur in the country will have a small wager on One For Arthur, that Katie Walsh on Wonderful Charm will be this years housewives choice and, in China where red is a lucky colour, Definitly Red and Vieux Lion Rouge will be popular.

Click here for your guide to the best odds, free bets and offers >>

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Why the Grand National is the holy grail and sporting immortality the prize - Telegraph.co.uk

The baseball immortality of Beaver County’s James Madison Toy – Tribune-Review

Posted on April 8, 2017 by Danzig

James Madison Toy was an average, 19th century major league baseball player and average might be generous.

In two unremarkable seasons, he batted .211. He finished his career with one home run. And he played on awful teams, which combined to win 65 games and lose 165.

When he died in 1919, the newspapers did not pay special attention.

Yet, Toy managed to achieve something few ballplayers do: baseball immortality.

Not because he was the first Beaver Countian to play in the big leagues, though he was. Not because he suffered a particularly gruesome career-ending injury, which he did.

Rather, Toy achieved baseball immortality more than four decades after his death because of a distant relative's baseless and apparently false claim about his heritage and a well-respected baseball historian's failure to investigate that claim.

"I'm not sure where it got started, but there were parts of the family that insisted he was part Sioux Indian," said Toy's great-great-nephew, Jim Toy, 57, of West Mayfield, Beaver County. "No one had any documentation to prove it.

"My dad always kind of questioned the claim."

Others did not.

And so James Madison Toy, an average, white major league baseball player from Beaver County, became known, incorrectly, as the first Native American to play in the big leagues.

That didn't sit well with some.

Real life

James Madison Toy's pro baseball career began in 1884 in the short-lived Iron and Oil Association, a minor league that included teams from Western Pennsylvania and Ohio. His New Brighton team disbanded before the season ended, and the league went under a few days after.

Over the next two seasons, Toy played for three minor league teams in New York and one in Georgia.

In 1887, Toy got his big break. He landed a spot on the newly created Cleveland Blues in the American Association, then a major league. In announcing the signing, Sporting Life described the 5-foot-6, 160-pound Toy as "a tall, athletic young fellow, a splendid back-stop and very fine thrower."

He batted .222 in 109 games and slugged one of the team's 14 home runs. The numbers weren't eye-popping, but it was the dead-ball era.

The Blues were awful. They won just 39 of their 131 games and finished last in the American Association. After the season, owners let go of 16 of the team's 25 players, including Toy. He spent the next two years toiling in the minor leagues for the Rochester (N.Y.) Jingoes.

Toy returned to the majors in 1890 with the American Association's Brooklyn Gladiators. They were even worse than the 1887 Blues. The Gladiators won 26 of 99 games and folded before the season ended. Toy batted .181 and suffered a career-ending injury when a baseball struck him in the groin.

The injury pained Toy for the rest of his life, according to his great-great-nephew from West Mayfield.

Toy returned to Beaver County and took up work as a stove molder for the former Howard Stove Co. The 1900 Census showed him living in Beaver Falls with his wife of 14 years, Ida, and their three children: Pearl, 13; Gertrude, 12; and George, 10.

Toy died in Cresson Sanatorium, where tuberculosis patients were treated, in 1919. He was buried in an unmarked grave in Beaver, family members said.

'First of the natives'

In 1963, an ambitious project by baseball historian Lee Allen to obtain biographical information about every major leaguer who played brought more notoriety to the late Toy than he enjoyed in life.

"There have been approximately 10,000 players and we have heard from 4,198. We would be most proud to have a record of Mr. Toy and anything you can do to aid us will be greatly appreciated," Allen, the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum's chief historian, wrote in a letter to Hannah Toy of Beaver Falls.

Copies of letters exchanged between Allen and Toy's relatives are included in a file in the National Baseball Hall of Fame's archives.

James M. Toy, Hannah Toy's son, filled out the questionnaire. On a line asking for the player's nationality, Toy typed: "SIOUX INDIAN."

Allen replied immediately, writing: "I think he must have been the first Indian in major-league history, which gives him another distinction. There were quite a few after him, but none before that I know of, and I have questionnaires now from 4,321 players."

Allen went public with the claim in his Sporting News column, "Cooperstown Corner."

"It has often been printed that the first American Indian to appear in the majors was Louis Sockalexis, that folk hero out of the Penobscot country of Maine," Allen wrote in the 1963 column. "But now it develops that Sockalexis was not the first of the natives, that the honor should go to James Madison Toy of Beaver Falls, Pa."

It's unknown what, if any, independent research he did to try to confirm the claim.

Allen died in 1969.

Imposter

Journalist and author Ed Rice spent decades disputing the claim, starting in the 1980s as he began researching Louis Sockalexis for a biography on the Penobscot legend.

"What Lee Allen was trying to do was laudable," said Rice, 69, of New Brunswick, Canada. "But to strip Sockalexis of being recognized as the first American Indian to play major league baseball, that was an injustice."

Rice, who formerly lived in Maine where the Penobscot Nation is based, contends that Toy didn't deserve the distinction even if he was Native American because he was not listed in a Census as an Indian or registered with a tribe. Furthermore, there are no accounts identifying Toy as being an American Indian or being identified by others as such. Rice applies the same criteria to other players whose names emerged as being the first American Indian to play in the majors.

But Rice reserves particular disdain for Toy, who never claimed to be Native American during his lifetime. In a 2015 op-ed in the Bangor Daily News, Rice refers to Toy as an "imposter."

Rice was so determined to prove Toy wasn't Native American that, in 2006, he said he lied to Cambria County officials in an attempt to obtain a copy of Toy's death certificate. He told them over the phone that he was a family member, and they mailed it.

The certificate listed Toy's race as white.

Rice has urged Cooperstown to weigh in on the debate. But its library director, James L. Gates Jr., told the Tribune-Review: "The Hall of Fame is not a sanctioning body for ethnic backgrounds. (Lee Allen) was writing for himself when he made that claim. We don't stipulate anybody as being the first in terms of ethnic background."

0.0 percent

Genealogical research and DNA analysis appears to show that Toy wasn't Native American.

While numerous accounts suggest that the ballplayer's father was a Sioux Indian, records stored at the Beaver County Genealogy and History Center list the ballplayer's parents as James and Caroline (Caler) Toy. Toy's father was the son of Henry and Mary Toy, both of whom were born in Ireland.

And results of a DNA test added recently to Toy's file in Cooperstown show that the ancestral composition of another one of Toy's relatives, James Woods, who couldn't be reached, amounted to 0.0 percent Native American. Woods' great-great-grandfather John Wesley Toy was the ballplayer's brother.

Woods said in an email accompanying the DNA results that he took the test "not to discredit any family lore, but to accurately document my family history."

What matters

West Mayfield's Jim Toy, the ballplayer's great-great-nephew, can't believe the issue has generated as much debate as it has. While family members respected the significance of James Madison Toy's distinction, questions about its authenticity weighed on some of them.

"My grandmother (Hannah Toy) and her sister Kate insisted that Caroline Caler married an Indian," Jim Toy said. "They knew James Madison Toy when he was alive, and they were very adamant about it. My father (who filled out the questionnaire in 1963 and died in 2014) felt like, who was he to say yes or no? He didn't have proof one way or another.

"My dad was more interested in the fact that James Madison Toy played baseball."

A relative of Sockalexis, who began his career in 1897 with the Cleveland Spiders, didn't appear to be concerned with the debate.

"We've always thought that Louis Sockalexis was the first," Chris Sockalexis, chief historic preservation officer for the Penobscot Nation, said of his distant relative. "I think he set the standard for all minorities in the game."

He added: "This is the first time I've ever heard of Jim Toy."

Tom Fontaine is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at 412-320-7847 or tfontaine@tribweb.com.

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The baseball immortality of Beaver County's James Madison Toy - Tribune-Review

How two trades pushed Patrik Elias into Devils immortality | New … – New York Post

Posted on April 8, 2017 by Danzig

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Atlassian aims for corporate immortality in the cloud – The Australian Financial Review

Posted on April 8, 2017 by Danzig

Atlassian co-CEO Scott Farquhar speaking at the AWS Sydney Summit.

Atlassian co-CEO Scott Farquhar has shed light on a major challenge facing the $8.7 billion Australian-born software giant, as its customers shift to the cloud, and played down the chances the company will imminently pursue more acquisitions.

Speaking before an audience of technology industry executives in Sydney on Wednesday, Mr Farquhar outlined his ambitions for Atlassian to "survive for 100 years" and not succumb to the traps that many dominant, brand name corporations fell into in recent decades.

"It's actually easier to build a big company than it is to build a long-term company," he said at the annual Amazon Web Services (AWS) Summit in Sydney on Wednesday.

"Companies today are optimised for the current environment they live in, and when change happens, as it inevitably does, companies can't adapt.

"It's not the largest company, it's not the most successful company, it's not the strongest company, it's the most adaptable companies that are going to survive".

To that end, he said Atlassian was already taking steps to transform its business.

For example, the company is in the process of moving its global operations from being hosted on its own servers, to being hosted in the cloud by AWS, the outsourcing vendor famously used by Netflix and a string of other giant corporations.

This comes as Atlassian expects many of its customers to shift from using its software products hosted on company-owned servers to versions hosted remotely in the cloud over the next decade.

"About a third of our revenue, give or take, comes from the cloud," he later told journalists in a briefing.

"There are many companies that haven't yet adopted the cloud and want to choose to run something internally for various reasons.

"We have invested heavily so we have leading cloud versions of our products ... we see the future. In 10years time I would think 90 per cent of our customers will be in the cloud."

Atlassian in January paid $US425 million ($561 million) to acquire Trello, a collaboration and project management tool, the biggest of the 18 acquisitions it has made in its history. Trello is used in creative industries, as distinct from the company's flagship JIRA software, which is typically used by technical teams of software developers and IT help desks.

"For us,it fits in our portfolio really well," Mr Farquhar said of the acquisition. "The integration is going really well.

"At the moment we wouldn't do any more acquisitions, but we could do in the future. We want to make sure any acquisition we do is really successful, so we don't do big ones back to back."

Research house Gartner estimated last year that up to $US1 trillion in IT spending by companies could be affected by the shift to the cloud by 2020. It has also estimated that 80 per cent of software vendors will have shifted to cloud-based, subscription-based selling models by that point.

However, there can be a short-term margin impact for software companies making this shift. This is because installed software typically involves higher upfront fees than subscription-based products.

Referencing fallen corporate giants such as the airline Ansett and grocery chain Franklins, Mr Farquhar added: "When things changed they didn't adapt to the changing environment. And as a result they are no longer the large companies they once were."

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Atlassian aims for corporate immortality in the cloud - The Australian Financial Review

Medical cannabis expert discusses treatment options – Herald-Whig

Posted on April 8, 2017 by Danzig

Posted: Apr. 6, 2017 12:01 am Updated: Apr. 7, 2017 10:05 am

QUINCY -- Well-known medical cannabis advocate Dr. Alan Shackelford gave doctors, nurses and other medical professionals a firsthand look Thursday night at what marijuana can do for chronic conditions.

The Denver doctor and cannabis researcher opened his presentation with a brief biography and a video of 5-year-old Charlotte Figi, the youngest patient he has treated with medical cannabis.

In the video, Charlotte was enduring a seizure. Shackelford said she had more than 300 grand mal seizures a week before he "very reluctantly agreed" to begin treating her with cannabis. Charlotte was treated with a high-concentration cannabidiol oil and now has two to three seizures a month.

"That was stunning," Shackelford said. "I didn't understand exactly why it was working or how best to approach her treatment."

After informing the crowd of the significant drop in Charlotte's seizures, Shackelford cut to a second video of Charlotte standing upright and appearing healthy.

In late 2012, Shackelford made his first trip to Israel -- the only country to embrace medical cannabis research -- to "meet with authorities and professors and others to discuss doing research that would clarify those questions."

"I think the most important thing a physician can do is read and educate himself or herself on why cannabis might be a legitimate treatment option for a patient," Shackelford said. "I think biases have no place in medicine, particularly personal biases."

A Harvard-trained physician, Shackelford hoped to dispel myths and answer questions about medical cannabis during his appearance Thursday.

"The main thing I would like for them to go away thinking about is that this isn't something we discovered in the Amazon last month," he said. "This has been a mainstay of Western medical practice for many, many years. Every doctor prescribing medications in the United States between about 1850 and 1940 prescribed cannabis. This is nothing new."

Shackelford was invited to speak by Chris Wildrick, chief operating officer of Herbal Remedies Dispensary in Quincy.

"It was very important to me we bring in someone that is credible," Wildrick said. "For Dr. Shackelford to agree to come to Quincy and be a part of educating our medical community is huge. He's world-renowned."

Wildrick and partner Bob Lansing entered the medical cannabis field after researching it as a possible alternative medicine for a family member with a seizure disorder.

"We didn't plan it," she said, "but it didn't take us long in our research to recognize there is certain medicinal value to it."

Illinois' Compassionate Use of Medical Cannabis Pilot Program Act was signed into law on Aug. 1, 2013. The couple opened Herbal Remedies on Nov. 9, 2015, the day Illinois' eight approved dispensaries opened. Herbal Remedies started with 60 patients and now serves 238.

"It's been a slow growth," Wildrick said. "There's a number of people in Illinois that do qualify to be in the program, but they're met with resistance from their doctors. That's what drove us to this event tonight."

The event was Wildrick's first. Fifty-four people registered early, most of whom are in the medical field, she said.

"That tells me there is interest," she said. "They recognize the need to learn more and know more about cannabis use. My goal is for everyone to walk away better informed, which could mean more acceptance and clear some of the confusion."

Illinois' pilot medical marijuana program expires Dec. 31, 2018, unless legislators choose to extend it.

Medical cannabis expert discusses treatment options - Herald-Whig

How a Sports Dietitian Recommends Dietary Supplements – Nutritional Outlook

Posted on April 8, 2017 by Danzig

We often talk about how a growing number of weekend warriors and everyday athletes are increasingly embracing sports nutrition supplements. But what about the professional athletes for whom supplementation involves more than just a hobby, but a career? How are these athletes now being advised to incorporate sports supplements in their training regimens?

We spoke to Erika Whitman, RD, CSSD, team sports dietitian at The Madison Square Garden Company in New York, about the role supplementation plays in professional sports today. Whitman is the team dietitian for all Madison Square Garden sports teams, including the New York Rangers, New York Knicks, New York Liberty, Westchester Knicks, and Hartford Wolf Pack.

Nutritional Outlook: As a sports dietitian, what do you believe are the biggest benefits of supplementation for athletes?

Whitman: Supplementation can assist with specific nutrient needs that an athlete might not be getting in adequate levels through the diet alone. It may be as a result of food choices or preferences, which we will always address and discuss but may not be something they are able and/or willing to adjust in diet alone. Supplementation provides another avenue of getting necessary nutrients an athlete might need. They may also have increased needs for certain nutrients at certain times to aid in recovery or certain training regimens that might benefit from assuring there is no insufficiency or deficiency in a nutrient that might be critical for the bodys optimal performance levels to be achieved.

What kinds of gains have you seen athletes experience as a result of supplementation?

I have seen athletes increase blood values from deficient or insufficient levels to adequate levels through supplementation. There is also a lot of anecdotal feedback. An athlete might state it help[s] with energy levels and feeling like they can perform better and/or longer. I have also seen electrolyte supplementation significantly decrease cramping and signs of dehydration.

How do you typically recommend that athletes incorporate dietary supplements in their health and wellness regimen?

When discussing supplements with any athlete, the approach is consistency and timing, depending on the training schedule as well as individual nutrient needs.

How often do players ask you, if at all, whether or not they should take a dietary supplement?

The question isnt usually Should I take this or not? but Hey, Erika, what do you think of this? They then hand me something or pull up a picture of something on their phone they want me to check. That happens on a somewhat regular basis, but I am also in a situation where we provide the supplements that we believe are necessary and will benefit the athlete, so that helps limit their need or desire to look elsewhere for various supplements.

How closely do you work with an athletes physician or trainer, if at all, when designing a supplement regimen?

I have great relationships with physicians and trainers, and we always work together on recommendations and implementation of supplement regimens.

What steps do you and the athletes you work with take to ensure that supplements are free of banned substances?

We primarily provide only NSF Certified for Sport products, as we know they have specifically been tested to assure they are free of banned substances as well as true to the ingredient label. It is important that products have gone through third-party testing to provide a sense of security of knowing what you are getting in the product, as supplements can hit the shelves without any label guarantee of knowing what is really in the container. It is a risky business and something we have to constantly remind our athletes about, as many believe supplements have the same requirements as food, which is simply not true. Supplements in food is then a whole other conversation which will continue to be monitored.

In addition to banned substances, are there any other primary safety concerns athletes have when taking supplements?

There are always concerns when taking a supplement that you have to consider, such as quality and source of the supplement (as well as manufacturing conditions); dosage amounts for effectiveness and safety; interactions with other supplements, medications, and/or foods; and, just as stated before, knowing that what they say on the label is really what it is.

Does personalized nutrition often play a role in the supplement recommendations you make?

Absolutely, I dont provide supplementation recommendations without considering the specific individuals diet, training, and markers that may indicate any specific nutrient needs as well as timing.

Your Questions About Silicon Valley’s Quest to Live Forever, Answered – The New Yorker

Posted on April 8, 2017 by Danzig

Earlier this month, The New Yorker explored the tech industrys obsession with solving death.CreditPHOTOGRAPH BY GRANT CORNETT FOR THE NEW YORKER

Earlier this month,The New Yorkerpublished Silicon Valleys Quest to Live Forever, which explored the tech industrys obsession with solving death. On Facebook and Twitter, we asked readers to submit questions they had after reading the article. (Questions have been edited for clarity.)

Do you think wealth will determine access to super-long lifespans? @smsBigBear

At first, yes.Poor people usuallyhave more immediate concerns than worrying about where to get the best, most invigorating fractionated blood plasma. But wealth also determined access to the first personal computers (fifty-five thousand dollars in 1948), the first cellphones (thirty-nine hundred and ninety-five dollars in 1993)and the first Teslas (a hundred and nine thousand dollars in 2008).It may seem fundamentally unfair that billionaires will get the first fruits of Silicon Valleys longevity research. Another way to look at it, however, is that theyre subsidizing treatments that, if they succeed, will rapidly get much cheaper and become widely available.

I was wondering why some of the very intelligent people you interviewed have so much faith that the human body and/or mind can persist for hundreds of years, or even forever. I found it hard to identify anything humans have ever made or tinkered with that has lasted much longer than a few decades. Isnt creating some hardware or software that lasts for hundreds of years a precondition to achieving eternal manmade existence?Neelroop Parikshak

Great point. It does seemlikely that the first android body your consciousness gets transferred to might turn out to bethe eight-track tape of consciousness repositories: buggy, cumbersome, and doomed to rapid replacement. If we cant figure outanenduring, unhackable storage mechanism for data, how can we hope to find a permanent resting place for the vastly more complex and multifarious connectome wiring our brains?

Whats the most complex organism that has successfully been cryogenically frozen and reanimated (e.g., using methods like those of Alcor Life Extension Foundation)? Peter W. Knox

Scientists havereanimated a tardigrade (a hardy .02-inch-long micro-animal known as a water bear or a pudgy wudgy) after thirty years in the deep freeze. But the tardigrade wasnt dead to begin with. Last year, the researchers who successfully froze a rabbit brain, preserving its synapses intact, won the prestigious Small Mammal Brain Preservation Prize. Just kidding. (I mean, there really is such a prize,worth$26,735,and they really did win it, but I wouldnt say that its all that prestigious outside of the fiercely competitive small-mammal-brain-preservation community.) Also, to prove that the brains connectivity had been preserved intact, the team had to slice the brain open to check. Bottom line:cryogenicfreezingis not a surefire Plan B.

In your opinion, what is driving this need among billionaires and celebrities to live forever? Is it narcissism? Something else? Anonymous

There may be a little narcissism in there, as well as somedenial that lifewhich is pretty good if youre a Silicon Valley billionairehas a terminus. But the main driver, I think, and the one that interested me most, was the deeply human impulse to ram through any boundary. Obviously, the ultimate boundary to our hopes and ambitionsand to everything else in the human experienceis death. A phrase I heard a lot was, If we solve this problem, we can solve all the other problems later.

The rest is here:

Your Questions About Silicon Valley's Quest to Live Forever, Answered - The New Yorker

Z-DAY (Zeitgeist Day) 2017 – Scoop.co.nz (press release)

Posted on April 8, 2017 by Danzig

Z-DAY (Zeitgeist Day) 2017

NEW ZEALAND EVENT

________________________________________

Event - https://www.facebook.com/events/1654894774813489/

The Zeitgeist Movement Presents

Z-Day 2017

9TH ANNUAL EDUCATIONAL SYMPOSIUM TOWARDS GLOBAL UNITY AND ABUNDANCE

On Sunday the 9th of April The Zeitgeist Movement in association with RBENZ present Z-Day, the 9th annual educational symposium towards global unity and abundance.

Z-Day (short for Zeitgeist Day) occurs annually with hundreds of parallel events across 60 countries. Z-Day aims to bring a focus to our current social and economic problems by advocating a new economic paradigm called Resource Based Economics.

This year the New Zealand event will take place on:

Sunday April 9th, 2017, Grey Lynn Community Hall, 510 Richmond Road, Auckland.

Doors open 2pm to 6pm. Koha or free entry.

We stand at the edge of a new era, in the last year we have seen major shifts in the collective social atmosphere, from Brexit to Trump to increased terrorism. What is going on? How do we prepare for the future and what can be done now?

Join us as we discuss these structural issues, ways to self organize and prepare New Zealand for the new paradigms taking place.

Z-day 2017 will host exciting presentations by the thought-leaders and change-makers from around Australasia.

Our speakers will look at solutions towards a sustainable and equitable future, whilst questioning the roles of politics, social organization, science & technology.

This year's Educational Symposium will host the following speakers:

Michael Kubler - The Price of Zero Transition (TZM Australia)

South Australian TZM chapter founder, Michael, describes himself as 'an innovative geek' who wants to change the world of education, energy and economics. An avid ZM member and renewable energy activist, Michael will share some interesting thoughts on the transition to a Resource-Based Economy.

Geoff Simmons (The Opportunities Party)

Right hand man to Gareth Morgan, The Opportunities Party (TOP) has had somewhat of a controversial debut onto the political floor in New Zealand. Suggestions of stopping the tax loophole cowboys of the land have put them on the front line of the media. Now TOP are saying a Universal Basic Income is needed to help bridge our growing poverty gap.

Hear Geof Simmons speak about their solutions.

Marina Bloom (Moving Stuff / In-Joy)

Marina Bloom is a mother, singer-songwriter, activist, analyst and a lawyer. An advocate for equality she is passionate about the Venus Project and bringing balance into the world. She will speak on the topic of evolution of humanity and what could a life be in the future of the Resource Based Economy.

Richard Osmaston (Money Free Party)

Richard has gone down the political trail with an unprecedented about of success, based in the Nelson region, Osmaston not only advocates RBE hes pushing it into parliament through the Money Free Party.

Wiri Te Moni (TZM New Zealand)

Wiri Te Moni Co-founder of the TZM Movement NZ, Organiser of the Venus Project tour in NZ in 2009, independent alternative news documentor, researcher, vlogger, and activist for a better society and planet. He will be speaking about his experience on advocating a Resource Based Economy while also giving us a brief overview on what it actually is.

Sam Mentink (RBENZ)

Industrial designer, musician, activist and co-founder of RBENZ.

Sam Mentink will be hosting the event, speaking in between our other guests and sparking discussion during question time.

The Farmers Market will be running prior to Z-Day

Light refreshments will be available during the event

We look forward to meeting you on our journey towards global unity and abundance.

Tickets & Info

Entry Is Koha (Donation), https://www.eventbrite.co.nz/e/z-day-annual-educational-symposium-towards-global-unity-abundance-tickets-32788200390

https://www.eventfinda.co.nz/2017/z-day-2017/auckland/grey-lynn

Links

Zeitgeist movement world HQ - http://www.thezeitgeistmovement.com/

RBENZ - rbe.org.nz

WE MUST BECOME THE CHANGE WE WISH TO SEE IN THE WORLD ~ GANDHI

Resource Based Economics What is it?

It is a socio-economic system in which all goods and services are available without the use of money, credits, barter or any other system of debt or servitude.

RBE utilizes technology to its fullest to provide the most efficient, ecologically safe solution. From products to distribution of resource to transport and housing.

Further Info:

What is the Zeitgeist Movement: http://www.thezeitgeistmovement.com/faq#faq1

Scoop Media

Pepsi Just Showed Us Why Authenticity Isn’t Just A Buzzword – Forbes

Posted on April 8, 2017 by Danzig

Forbes

Pepsi Just Showed Us Why Authenticity Isn't Just A Buzzword
Forbes
The ad drew criticism almost immediately for being disingenuous and trivializing the Black Lives Matter movement. ... When done well, celebrity endorsements can catapult a brand into the zeitgeist and create infinite consumer loyalty, notes Rieckhoff.

Read the original:

Pepsi Just Showed Us Why Authenticity Isn't Just A Buzzword - Forbes

The Second-Generation Soul Of Zeshan Bagewadi : NPR – NPR

Posted on April 8, 2017 by Danzig

Zeshan Bagewadi's new album combines American funk and soul with Punjabi lyrics. Courtesy of the artist hide caption

Zeshan Bagewadi's new album combines American funk and soul with Punjabi lyrics.

Zeshan Bagewadi's new album, Vetted, sounds a lot like classic American funk and soul from the 1960s and '70s. The difference? He sometimes sings in Punjabi. Bagewadi was born in Chicago to parents who were Indian Muslim immigrants, and he learned about soul, funk and blues from his father's music collection.

"Through his work as a journalist, [my father] covered concerts," Bagewadi explains to NPR's Scott Simon. "He also did profiles on certain movements here in America literary movements, and did some work on the civil rights movement as well. And that very much informed his taste in music and aesthetics and style.

"My father was enamored of the music that he grew up around in 1960s, 1970s India, and the music of Pakistan. But in addition to that, through his work as a journalist he was given insight into soul music here in America, and he had a collection of records of Otis Redding, of James Brown, Marvin Gaye. ... And I guess the byproduct of that is me," he says.

For Bagewadi, soul isn't just a specific genre it's a feeling that pervades American and Indo-Pakistani music alike.

"There is soul music of India-Pakistan; it speaks of urban despair, of poverty, of unrequited love, of being down and out," he says. "And that was the plight of my parents, that was the plight of my grandparents. That's why they've decided to come here in search of something better. That zeitgeist is present in the music. And we know how to get down, we've got soul. We've got soul it's in our food, it's in our music and I feel very lucky to be a part of that."

Hear the rest of Bagewadi's conversation with NPR's Scott Simon at the audio link.

Web intern Jake Witz and web editor Rachel Horn contributed to this story.

See the original post here:

The Second-Generation Soul Of Zeshan Bagewadi : NPR - NPR

2017 MLB Preview: Baseball’s Youth Movement Takes Center Stage – RollingStone.com

Posted on April 8, 2017 by Danzig

Dansby Swanson opened his Major League Baseball debut with a bang last August. In a game against the Minnesota Twins, the Atlanta Braves shortstop swatted two singles, going 2-for-4 at the plate. He would later finish out 2016 on fire too, grinding out 39 hits in his rst 37 career games, while batting .302 for the season.

Selected in the 2015 draft by the Arizona Diamondbacks, a trade eventually sent the Georgia-born player back home.

"What I remember as a kid growing up, was the culture of winning", Swanson says by phone to Rolling Stone. "When you put on an Atlanta Braves cap or the uniform it meant that you were going to win the division every year."

Going into his what will be his first full season as a starter with the Braves, Swanson is no less adamant about playing his part to build the club back to its success in the 1990s when Greg Maddux andTom Glavine were at the top of the rotation.

"I have an extreme passion for this place, Atlanta and everything it stands for," Swanson says. He mentions that even though he was a year and a half old when the Braves won the 1995 World Series, "watching Braves baseball was a family ritual almost every single night."

With that big, big moment of Opening Day here, Swanson is one marquee name in an impressive bumper crop of exciting twenty-something players. He's also one of nine young players featured in a commercial for an initiative called #CapsOn, in which Major League Baseball and its 30 clubs are partnering with New Era, to get fans to wear their team's cap as proudly as Swanson wears his own Braves lid. Regarding 2017, Swanson says he hopes to make his contributions early to Atlanta's momentum.

"People don't realize how hard of a mental sport it is," Swanson says. "But when you've got a locker room full of guys who want to win, anything is possible. Being part of that motivates me."

After placing last in the NL East in 2016, the Braves are in the midst of a new beginning. They kick off their season in New York, returning April 14th to their home opener in new digs at Atlanta's new 41,500-seat SunTrust Park. Swanson is the youngest buck in a Braves' starting lineup made up mostly of journeyed thirty-something players that also just added old stallions Bartolo Coln and knuckleballer R. A. Dickey, who are both in their 40s, to their pitching rotation.

"The most telling stat in my mind is consistency night in, night out," Swanson adds. "We have a bunch of guys up and down the lineup who can do that on the mound, or out in the field. It's extremely cool to be able to witness guys who can take care of that business, to get ready for this season."

The Braves' situation probably doesn't constitute a hard rebuild as much as that of the Chicago White Sox, who cleaned house, trading star lefty pitcher Chris Sale and outfielder Adam Eaton for Yoan Moncada and six other young players this winter. To their advantage, Atlanta does currently have the best pool of new prospects in their farm system, according to Baseball America. Elsewhere across baseball, 2017 features a new order of talent that the Braves and others will have to wrestle with.

Since the retirement of legends like Yankee Derek Jeter and more recently Red Sox hit machine David Ortiz, baseball's new youth movement hasn't hesitated to fill in and make an impact. Chicago Cubs MVP Kris Bryant, 25, and Cleveland Indians shortstop wunderkind Francisco Lindor, 23, lit up the boards all season in 2016. And in 2015, young Mets arms Noah Syndergaard and Jacob deGrom together pitched the Mets to their first Series since 2000.

Another place where the future of the game can be seen is in Houston. The Astros have made the postseason just once since they lost World Series in 2005, but in the last two seasons their younger stars have changed infield play into an artform. Shortstop and 2015 AL Rookie of the Year Carlos Correa couples well with the power arms of pint-sized second baseman Jos Altuve and third baseman Alex Bregman. The three are crafting Houston to be a huge part baseball's resurgence and point to the AL West being all Astros for now.

Over in Washington, D.C., the new President may not be throwing out the season's first pitch, but baseball still looks tremendous in the nation's turbulent capital. The Nationals have placed first in the NL East and made playoffs three times in the last five seasons, principally on the strength of world class pitching that includes 2016 Cy Young winner Max Scherzer. Plus their field looks impressive with Eaton joining four-time All-Star Bryce Harper and 23 year old Trea Turner. Last season Turner slugged .567 while stealing 33 bases in just 73 games. If 2017 isn't the year for this 48 year old franchise to win its first Series, who knows when.

AL East-bound and downJust outside the Nats' domain, the Baltimore Orioles have found themselves in a similar circling pattern, with solid season performances, and yet an inability to get deeper into October. With third base ace Manny Machado and their underrated second baseman Jonathan Schoop, the O's future looks bright. But it will be interesting to see if and when Baltimore can wrest away second place from rivals in the AL East anytime soon.

Meanwhile, the New York Yankees, like Atlanta, are also retooling with younger players. Catcher Gary Sanchez and first baseman Greg Bird, both great hitters, are one centerpiece of the Yankees' reboot. Yet both AL East teams have their work cut out with 2017's Boston Red Sox.

A popular favorite for the World Series, Boston is as stacked as the Cubs were last season. Like Swanson, left fielder Andrew Benintendi, 22, stands out as another potential superstar of baseball's newest generation. He'll play across the park from Mookie Betts in right, another future perennial MVP candidate who demonstrated power and consistency with 31 homers, 113 RBIs, and .534 slugging in his first full season. Betts also has speed and finesse enough to bag 26 stolen bases in 2016 and provides a spark in a lineup rounded out by shortstop Xander Bogaerts, second baseman Dustin Pedroia, and centerfielder Jackie Bradley. On top of position players, the Red Sox have an enviable pitching rotation, with Sale joining CY Young winner Rick Porcello, fellow left-hander David Price, as well as Drew Pomeranz and Steven Wright.

Sure, the Red Sox might bleed excitement. But last year their postseason fire was quickly extinguished in by an injury-wracked Cleveland Indians team. A bonus for Cleveland is that two of their best starters, Carlos Currasco and Danny Salazar, seem fit and ready for the mound again, alongside Corey Kluber, who was excellent from April deep into November, not to mention Andrew Miller, arguably the best middle reliever in the game.

Cleveland's elder players, like Jason Kipnis (2B) and Carlos Santana (1B), outperformed at-bat last season in the absence of Michael Brantley, and could do so again for 2017, should Kipnis shake off a reported preseason shoulder injury. Even better, Jose Ramrez and Lindor provide more reliable bats for a city savoring one more championship to match the Cavs' first NBA title.

Can the Cubs repeat, Dodgers rematch?Certainly the defending world champion Chicago Cubs remain strong in their batting lineup and at every field position. Their infield especially boasts much more of that young, exciting stuff that makes for sports dynasties. Bryant, along with Addison Russell, Javy Baez, and Willson Contreras excel as a unit with Anthony Rizzo at first. It's likely that sometime catcher and outfielder Kyle Schwarber will figure in at both positions, depending how manager Joe Maddon chooses to deploy him and 36 year old utility man Ben Zobrist each game. Zobrist, the World Series MVP, is listed for Opening Day at 2B, yet spent much of the postseason comfortably in left field.

Chicago's depth doesn't mean, however, that the Cubs are done churning out top-caliber new talent. Anyone who's kept a close eye on 22 year old Albert Almora this preseason especially last Sunday when he blasted two homers and a double in a 22-4 win over the Reds sees another game changer developing.

Addison Russell tellsRolling Stone that his team's combination of raw talent, postseason experience, and chemistry under Maddon is a great starting point, but the Cubs won't be resting on their shiny new rings.

"Experiencing it all, (the World Series) was good for us moving into the future," Russell says. "We're all good, but only with more hard work are we going to get better at the end of the day."

Aiming to topple the Cubs' long-term imperial aspirations, the Los Angeles Dodgers are also another team to get excited about. During winter they re-upped maestro closer Kenley Jansen with a five year, $80 million contract, a no-brainer move. L.A. also brings back rotation man Rich Hill, along with 31 year old third baseman Justin Turner and Adrin Gonzlez at first, who will be 35 in May. Few baseball pundits have talked about whether age equals depreciation at Dodger Stadium, or how much that creates a sense of urgency to win a World Seriesnow.

But the Dodgers' arsenal also looks dangerous with the '16 NL Rookie of the Year Corey Seager, and 20-year-old left hander Julio Uras in the same rotation as three-time Cy Young winner Clayton Kershaw. Each season Kershaw's speed seems to capture baseball's new zeitgeist in his every single pitch.

If 2017 is indeed the Dodgers' year to bring back the Commissioner's Trophy for the first time since 1988, all roads run through the Dodgers' pitching rotation, with the 29 year old Kershaw as the perfect lynchpin.

Kendall Jenner and Skip Marley Want You to Drink Pepsi and Love Cops – SPIN

Posted on April 8, 2017 by Danzig

Over the past three years, people have taken to the streets to demonstrate against police brutality, to stand up for immigration and womens rights, and callfor Donald Trumps removal from office. The revitalized civil rights movement hasnt impeached Trump just yet, but its become a catchy enough trend in the eyes of advertisers to sell us Pepsi by the truckload.

Today, Americas favorite empty-calorie beverage has released an expensively produced ad that features Kendall Jenner, and takes place at a protest. According to the videos YouTube description, which also calls it a short film, the clip centers around capturing the spirit and actions of those people that jump in to every moment and featuring multiple lives, stories and emotional connections that show passion, joy, unbound and uninhibited moments.

The commerciala simulacrum of the revolutionis just as inane as that description. Theres a frustrated Muslim artist marking up photographs with, of course, a can of Pepsi on the table. Theres a brown-skinned celloistwhose burning intensity is only quenched by some Pepsi. How inclusive! Theres protest in the streets,and poor Kendall Jenner in a blonde wig, her routine interrupted by the energy. Theres even the presence of Lions, a misguided wannabeanthemic song from Bob Marleys grandson Skip, of Chained to the Rhythm fame.

Although the scenes arent explicitly anti-Trumpwhich makes sense because PepsiCo CEOIndra Nooyi is a member of his business councilits clearly aware that human rights are part of the zeitgeist and the zeitgeist sells. The whole sequence climaxes when the procession of protestersgrab Kendalls attention. Suddenly, she rips off her blonde wig, and struts with the protesters to lead them to liberty. She even gets the sought-afteraffirmative fist bump from a dude in cornrows.

After all that, the model-turned-activist kindly gives a police officer a Pepsi can. The message is clear:struggle against the powers that be, but make damn sure you remember to buy soda. Watch and be inspired below.

Original post:

Kendall Jenner and Skip Marley Want You to Drink Pepsi and Love Cops - SPIN

Califonria Lawmakers approve billion dollar gas tax | KBAK – Bakersfield Now

Posted on April 8, 2017 by Danzig

This November, California drivers can expect to see an increase at the pump.

The gas tax bill SB-1, will raise the gas tax by 12 cents.

Increased gas and diesel tax will increase the cost to transport foods, meaning you can expect t pay more at the grocery store.

Beatriz Sanders with the Kern County Farm Bureau tells me the Ag Industry will feel the hit.

"This tax is a direct target to middle-income earners, low-income earners, because they spend more of their income at the grocery store," says Sanders.

While grocery shoppers will also be paying more for their food, Nick Ortez with the Bakersfield Chamber of Commerce says consumers will also see an increase across several industries.

"For an economy like Kern County that is a resource-based economy, where you have Ag, oil, logistics, and call centers, these places are not always next to where people live," says Ortez.

Brent Woods is a full-time student at Bakersfield College who travels daily. He says knowing he will be paying more at the pump is terrifying.

"I do way too much driving, and I am not looking forward to 12 cents a gallon being added on to my gasoline," explains Woods.

Fees will act to fund road repairs across the state by raising an estimated $52 billion.

Several democrats voted for the bill but many lawmakers, including senator Jean Fuller, disagreed with the plan.

"Kern is a rural county and driving is an essential part in my county, and it is not a luxury but a necessity," says Senator Fuller.

The gas tax is set to take affect starting November 1st.

You can read the bill below.

Visit link:

Califonria Lawmakers approve billion dollar gas tax | KBAK - Bakersfield Now

‘Explore Nature’ sets Cape Lookout hike – Tillamook Headlight-Herald

Posted on April 8, 2017 by Danzig

The following is a press release from Friends of Netarts Bay WEBS:

Lush forest, distant waterfalls and outstanding vistas are all part of this trek to the end of Cape Lookout. This free hike is hosted by the Friends of Netarts Bay WEBS and is part of the Explore Nature series of hikes, walks, paddles and outdoor adventures. Explore Nature partners include volunteer community and non-profit organizations, offering meaningful nature-based experiences highlight the unique beauty of Tillamook County and the work being done to preserve and conserve the areas natural resources and natural resource-based economy.

This moderate to difficult five-mile journey takes you to the Cape Lookout headland, which extends more than a mile out into the ocean. Towering over 800 feet above sea level, the cape offers sweeping views of Sandlake watershed, seasonal glimpses of migrating whales, and confirms the amazing beauty of Tillamook County.

Although this hike has a stunning backdrop, the trail itself can be muddy and slick. Also, expect to navigate over stair stepping tree roots. Portions of the trail parallel the cliffs edge and do not have guardrails.

Friends of Netarts Bay WEBS is a non-profit organization dedicated to sustaining the Netarts Bay area through education and stewardship. Find out more at http://www.netartsbaytoday.org.

Famous fish the focus of ‘steelhead ecology’ hike – Tillamook Headlight-Herald

Posted on April 8, 2017 by Danzig

The following is a press release from Tillamook Bay Watershed Council and Tillamook Estuaries Partnership:

Have you ever wondered what makes a rainbow trout become a "steelhead? Have you ever caught a glimpse of steelhead swimming and spawning in the wild? These incredible ocean-going trout are among the most revered game fish in the world, and they attract thousands of anglers to Tillamook Countys rivers every year. Steelhead are also one of the most beautiful and interesting inhabitants of our rainforest environment. This coming weekend offers a rare chance to learn about these fascinating fish on a special steelhead ecology hike along Tillamook's spectacular Kilchis River. Join naturalists from the Tillamook Bay Watershed Council (TBWC) and Tillamook Estuaries Partnership (TEP) as they lead hikers along sections of the Kilchis, looking for spawning pairs of steelhead, and discussing aspects of steelhead biology and behavior. Registration is free and required for this event, and will be limited to 20 people.

"Explore Nature" is a series of hikes, walks, paddles and outdoor adventures hosted throughout Tillamook County by a coalition of conservation organizations. These meaningful, nature-based experiences highlight the unique beauty of Tillamook County and the work being done to preserve and conserve the areas natural resources and natural resource-based economy. Explore Nature is partially funded by the Economic Development Council of Tillamook County and Visit Tillamook Coast.

See the article here:

Famous fish the focus of 'steelhead ecology' hike - Tillamook Headlight-Herald

Week in Film: Endless LOLs, an Acid Western, and Great Advice … – Bedford + Bowery

Posted on April 8, 2017 by Danzig

i hate myself Friday April 7 through Thursday April 13 at Anthology Film Archives: $11

Joanna ArnowsBad at Dancinghighly personal, and highly awkward documentaryappropriately titled i hate myself :)makesWelcome to the Dollhouselook like a film about a well-adjusted family. Arnow sums up her motivation in the form of a question at the films outset: Is James a good person to be dating? Prepare to laugh your sphincter right out of your butt when the BF climaxes following a reluctant hump and tells Arnow sweetly: Feels good, babe. Thanks for just lying there. What a hero.

Anthology has dubbed the film one of the most unflinchingly, sometimes shockingly candid personal documentaries to emerge in recent years now you know why theyve devoted an entire week of screenings to it. Arnow will be on hand too, so dont miss it. The Term() Thursday April 6, Tuesday April 18, Monday April 24, and Sunday April 30 at Spectacle: $5

Throughout the month of April, Spectacle is hostingRule #1: Believe the Autocrat, aseries spotlighting films from Marxfilm. As an ex-Russianist (admittedly not a very accomplished one lets just say Im a lot like that dude inDon DeLillos White Noise,the professor and Nazi historian who cant speak German), this series comes highly recommended for my fellow Russophile dorks out there.

And hey, given that our current president seems to model himself after Vladimir Putin, its probably a pretty good idea for us all to take a good, hard look at whats happened in Russia since thecollapse of the CCCP, when a fledgling democracy was quietly/not-so-quietly overthrown by a former KGB officer with an autocratic streak. Theres been stagnation, brain drain, cultural flattening, censorship, a volatile resource-based economy heavily dependent on oil, and a violent war on the press (just to name a few).

In fact, the series title was inspired by Masha Gessens post-election op-ed for the Times, which advises Americans to pay careful attention to the authoritarian tendencies of our own new regime, and take lessons from the Russians, who are in so deep that it will likely take another revolution to get them out. And hey, given that were just a few short months from the Russian Revolutions Centennial theres no time like October.

The Termis a good place to start, since its focus is the short-lived protest movement following Vladimir Putins 2012 reelection, which was led by people who Russians like to say live inside the garden ring aka the tiny less-than-1-percent class of uber-rich people and their educated liberal children, who the vast majority of Russians have next to nothing in common with. Therein lies the problem well, one of them.

South of Heaven: Supernatural Westerns Now through Saturday April 29 at Spectacle: $5 per screening

If any of you are familiar with so-called Acid Westerns (think: Holy Mountainand JarmuschsDead Man), then youre sure to love this Spectacle series focused on Supernatural Westerns. The four films cover everything from witches to werewolves, from the devil to Dracula, but all are throwbacks on horseback from down Mexico way. Which, if youre anything like me, is great becausesome of us round these parts have seen nearly every American-made Western worth watching, and its high noon-time we soak up some desert tales from south of the border. And, hey, youll learn cool stuff like this a film called Ghost Townup here translates to El Pueblo Fantasma(which is just a much better sounding title, to be perfectly honest).

Original post:

Week in Film: Endless LOLs, an Acid Western, and Great Advice ... - Bedford + Bowery

Saskatchewan gender, immigrant wage gaps among widest in Canada – Saskatoon StarPhoenix

Posted on April 8, 2017 by Danzig

Saskatoon StarPhoenix

Saskatchewan gender, immigrant wage gaps among widest in Canada
Saskatoon StarPhoenix
I think it comes back to the resource-based economy, said Sheila Rao, a principal research associate with the Conference Board of Canada. We have, probably, more men in the higher-paying professions and that will make a difference. Closing the ...

Saskatchewan gender, immigrant wage gaps among widest in Canada - Saskatoon StarPhoenix

Tesla’s new ‘Advanced Automation’ group will drop all other clients to focus on Model 3 production – Electrek

Posted on April 8, 2017 by Danzig

Last year, Tesla made the acquisition of the German engineering group Grohmann Engineering in order to createTesla Advanced Automation Germany. The transaction closed in January, but we now learn that things havent been going smoothly since then.

Tesla co-founder and Chief Technology Officer JB Straubel visited the headquarters earlier this month to announce that the companys founder left just a few weeks after the deal was made official.

Furthermore, the company announced this week that it will drop all other clients, among them are several major automakers, in order to focus on Teslas needs for the Model 3, which is apparently worrying the workforce.

Grohmann Engineering is an engineering firm headquartered in Prm, Germany, where they serve important manufacturing clients, especially major German automakers like BMW and Daimler.

During a press call following the announcement of theacquisition, Grohmann described the companys client base:

We have practically all the big automotive manufacturers as our clients.We also have the semiconductor producers as clients, as well as significantly large companies in the field of bio-automation and life science.

At the time, Tesla CEO Elon Musk hinted that he would be open to continuing working with Grohmanns clients, but he only committedto completing the current contracts:

There are a number of existing automotive clients for Grohmannand we will, of course, honor those contracts and try to be as useful as we can to the industry as a whole in transitioning to clean energy mobility. [] If you apply Teslas philosophy to help the whole automotive industry in moving to e-mobility as you may know, Tesla made all of its patents freely available just to be helpful to the rest of the industry and as a gesture of goodwill. And thats something we expect to continue.

Now we learn via local news outlet Sudwestrundfunk(German) that Tesla is in the process of ending all relationships between Tesla Advanced Automation Germany and itsoutside clients. Tesla confirmed the news and the head of the companys workers council even said that they are canceling existing orders.

The reason given for the sudden change is to focus on the production of the Model 3 somethingGrohmann Engineering has been involved in even before its acquisitionby Tesla.

Before this weeks announcement, CTO JB Straubel was present at an employee assembly with about half of the 680 employees, mostly engineers and techniciansspecialized in manufacturing, on April 1st, according to local news outlet Volksfreund (German):

During this meeting, the company announcedthat its 74-year-old founder Klaus Grohmann decided to retire.

When he announced the deal to acquire the company last year, Musk said of Grohmann, the founder of the engineering firm, that he was one of the world leaders in highly automated methods of manufacturing.

The company is still full of skilled engineers, but some of them are apparently worried about dropping other clients to focus only on Tesla. The head of the workers council said that they are excited about the prospect of working for an innovative company like Tesla, but they also liked the security of having a broad range of clients. Though the company is currently growing and Tesla currently lists a dozen engineering jobs in Prm. The concerns appear to be more long-term.

In the past few weeks, over 100 workers decided to unionize bringing the total to about half of the ~680 employeesatGrohmann, nowTesla Advanced Automation Germany.

They are seeking a labor agreement for a compensation increase of 150 euros per month. The move comes amid Tesla being in the middle of another union push at its Fremont factory in California.

This is all happening while Tesla is trying to bring the Model 3, its $35,000 all-electric sedan, to production in July. The vehicle will be assembled at the Fremont factory, while the powertrain will be manufactured at the Gigafactory 1 in Nevada, and the engineering group is working on the production processes or the machines building the machines as Musk likes to say.

Tesla's new 'Advanced Automation' group will drop all other clients to focus on Model 3 production - Electrek

Vehicular automation – Wikipedia

Posted on April 8, 2017 by Danzig

Vehicular automation involves the use of mechatronics, artificial intelligence, and multi-agent system to assist a vehicle's operator. These features and the vehicles employing them may be labeled as intelligent or smart. A vehicle using automation for difficult tasks, especially navigation, may be referred to as semi-autonomous. A vehicle relying solely on automation is consequently referred to as robotic or autonomous. After the invention of the integrated circuit, the sophistication of automation technology increased. Manufacturers and researchers subsequently added a variety of automated functions to automobiles and other vehicles.

Ground vehicles employing automation and teleoperation include shipyard gantries, mining trucks, bomb-disposal robots, robotic insects, and driverless tractors.

There are a lot of autonomous and semi-autonomous ground vehicles being made for the purpose of transporting passengers. One such example is the free-ranging on grid (FROG) technology which consists of autonomous vehicles, a magnetic track and a supervisory system. The FROG system is deployed for industrial purposes in factory sites and has been in used since 1999 on the ParkShuttle,[2] a PRT-style public transport system in the city of Capelle aan den IJssel to connect the Rivium business park with the neighboring city of Rotterdam (where the route terminates at the Kralingse Zoom metro station). The system experienced a crash in 2005[3] that proved to be caused by a human error.[4]

Applications for automation in ground vehicles include the following:

Research is ongoing and prototypes of autonomous ground vehicles exist.

Extensive automation for cars focuses on either introducing robotic cars or modifying modern car designs to be semi-autonomous. Semi-autonomous designs could be implemented sooner as they rely less on technology that is still at the forefront of research. An example is the Dual mode monorail. Groups such as RUF (Denmark), BiWay (UK), ATN (New Zealand) and TriTrack (USA) are working on projects consisting of private cars that dock onto monorail tracks and are driven autonomously. As a method of automating cars without extensively modifying the cars as much as a robotic car, Automated highway systems (AHS) aims to construct lanes on highways that would be equipped with, for example, magnets to guide the vehicles. Automation vehicles have auto-brakes named as Auto Vehicles Braking System (AVBS). Highway computers would manage the traffic and direct the cars to avoid crashes.

The European Commission has established a smart car development program called the Intelligent Car Flagship Initiative.[5] The goals of that program include:

There are plenty of further uses for automation in relation to cars. These include:

The concept for autonomous vehicles has also been applied for commercial uses, like for autonomous or nearly autonomous trucks. As recorded in June 1995 in Popular Science Magazine, self-driving trucks were being developed for combat convoys, whereby only the lead truck would be driven by a human and the following trucks would rely on satellite, an inertial guidance system and ground-speed sensors.[8]Caterpillar Inc. made early developments in 2013 with the Robotics Institute at Carnegie Mellon University to improve efficiency and reduce cost at various mining and construction sites.[9] Companies such as Suncor Energy, a Canadian energy company, and Rio Tinto Group were among the first to replace human-operated trucks with driverless commercial trucks run by computers.[10] In April 2016, trucks from major manufacturers including Volvo and the Daimler Company completed a week of autonomous driving across Europe, organized by the Dutch, in an effort to get self-driving trucks on the road. With developments in self-driving trucks progressing, U.S. self-driving truck sales is forecasted to reach 60,000 by 2035 according to a report released by IHS Inc. Automotive in June 2016.[11]

An automated guided vehicle or automatic guided vehicle (AGV) is a mobile robot that follows markers or wires in the floor, or uses vision, magnets, or lasers for navigation. They are most often used in industrial applications to move materials around a manufacturing facility or warehouse. Application of the automatic guided vehicle has broadened during the late 20th century.

Aircraft has received much attention for automation, especially for navigation. A system capable of autonomously navigating a vehicle (especially aircraft) is known as autopilot.

Autonomous boats can provide security, do research, or perform hazardous or repetitive tasks (such as guiding a large ship into a harbor or transporting cargo).

Underwater vehicles have been a focus for automation for tasks such as pipeline inspection and underwater mapping. See Autonomous underwater vehicle.

An example of an automated train is the Docklands Light Railway in London.

One of the current limitations for vehicular automation is the electrical power required to run the processors.[12]

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Vehicular automation - Wikipedia

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