financial independence – Good Financial Cents

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If you havent realized this yet, Im kind of a goal setting freak.

Some people do New Years resolutions. Thats great, but I think you need to revisit your goals on a more consistent basis. For me, thats every 90 days.

Other people dont bother to set goals. They choose unconsciously at least to rely on luck.

The best luck of all is the luck you make for yourself.

Douglas MacArthur

Lets establish up front that goals are something more substantial than dreams or wishes.

They can start with dreams or wishes, but they have an action plan behind them something that spells out how we convert a desire into something real.

Thats especially important when it comes to financial goals. Since they require regular investments ofmoney and effort over a long period of time, you need to have workable plan to bring them to reality.

Start by setting some financial goals. If youve never thought much about this, here are 10 good financial goals that everyone should have especially for 2016.

The great thing about this goal is that anyone can do it, regardless of income or wealth level. And if you want to get the most out of your finances, its virtually a requirement that you get out of debt.

For the moment, lets ignore the good-debt-versus-bad-debt debate. At some point in your life, all debt is bad debt and needs to be paid off. That includes the mortgage on your home. Although the purpose of that debt may be noble at the beginning, its no less a drag on your income than any other debt as time goes on.

There are more reasons to get out of debt than I can list here, but here are just a few of them:

Before starting my career, I fell into the debt trap. I had accumulated over $20,000 of student loan and credit card debt and I wasnt slowing down anytime soon. Thankfully, my girlfriend (now wife) helped me to see debt for what is really is EVIL. After we were married, it became both of our goals to become debt free and never carry a credit card balance. Im proud to say that after over 10 years of marriage, thats a goal that weve stuck to. Take that, Debt!

You can set all of the good financial goals that you want, but it will be difficult to achieve any of if you are carrying a significant amount of debt for the rest of your life.

If you have high interest credit card debt or several different credit card bills to pay every month, it can make a lot of sense to take advantage of a 0% APR balance transfer offer as well.

TheChase Slatecard, for example, gives you a 0% APR for a full 15 months, and all without a balance transfer fee of any kind. With this offer, you could transfer several high interest debts and save hundreds or even thousands of dollars over the introductory APR period.

When I started as a financial advisor and finally grasped the concept of compound interest, I was determined to put myself in situation where I could retire by the age of 50 if I wanted to. I dont know if Ill ever really retire, because I absolutely love what I do.

Even if you absolutely love what it is you do for a living, planning for early retirement is one of those top rated good financial goals.

Heres why:

Theres one other advantage to planning to retire early, and its a big one. By working toward early retirement, you will be front-loading your retirement investment portfolio. That will give you a larger portfolio early, which will mean that you wont have to work so hard saving for retirement later in life when doing so may be more complicated.

For me that was opening a Roth IRA and maxing it out. My wife, too. In addition I was putting as much money into my 401k that I could. Trust me. As a brand new financial advisor I wasnt making much but I still manage to prioritize my spending and save a significant amount. Early in my career I had witnessed too many couples in their 60s that hadnt save enough to retire at all, yet retire early. I made it a goal (and a mission) that I wouldnt let that happen to me.

We normally think of having an emergency fund as being a short-term financial goal. And from a mechanical standpoint, thats true. However, an emergency fund has important long-term benefits, which is why its one of the good financial goals that you should plan to achieve.

Here are just some of the benefits that a well-stocked emergency fund can provide you with throughout your life:

For us, having an adequate emergency fund has offered reassurance in many life situations. Most notably was having our first son, building our dream home and starting my own investment firm.

When you consider all that comes from having a strong emergency fund, it should move it up the priority ladder a few rungs. Here are some the top savings account options for your emergency fund.

Even if you love your job, creating multiple income streams is a form of income insurance. For that reason alone, it needs to be on your list of good financial goals.

But here are even more reasons:

Reading Rich Dad, Poor Dad was a defining moment for me. Before then I was oblivious to the concept of having multiple streams of income. Over the years, I dabbled in many side hustles looking for it. That included a few multi-level marketing companies that proved to be a flop.

I eventually took a stab at real estate and also failed miserable. Many would perceive these as failures, but I view them more as valuable life lessons that eventually led me to starting this blog. Now I have more than a few sites that yield over 6 figures per year. Not too shabby for a guy that had no web marketing experience before I started.

Give this goal some serious thought, even if youve never considered it before. Its a goal that could open the door to a lot of other goals.

Insurance is something of a tough call. A lot of people dont have nearly enough coverage, while many others are paying too much for the coverage that they have. Striking a balance between the two is another of thosegood financial goals.

Here are some strategies in striking that balance:

Part of your goal should be to work with a knowledgeable insurance agent on a regular basis to make sure that you have just enough but never too much insurance coverage. Oh by the way, did I mention that Im also a co-founder of an independent insurance agency?

Ive covered this topic in other articles, but it is well worth repeating here since it is one of the mostnecessary of all good financial goals. By learning to live on less than you earn no matter what you will always have plenty of income. That means that youll have plenty of income for savings, investments, and for paying off debt.

Its important to always be on the hunt to increase your income. But that strategy will only be effective to the degree that you are able to live on less than you earn, so that you can put the difference to better use to improve your life.

This may not be a financial goal in and of itself, but it is an obstacle that will stand in the way of all good financial goals, no matter what they are.

An addiction to stuff can be like a financial parasite. A disproportionate amount of your income and financial reserves will go to pay for your need for stuff.

This will present several problems:

I love this quote from Joshua Becker, author ofSimplify: 7 Guiding Principles to Help Anyone Declutter Their Home and Life,

Removing possessions begins to turn back our desire for more as we find freedom, happiness, and abundance in owning less. And removing ourselves from the all-consuming desire to own more creates opportunity for significant life change to take place.

If you even suspect that you may have an addiction to stuff, then makeit a financial goal to end that addiction once and for all. Your life will go better if you do.

Ultimately, the purpose of improving your finances should be to provide you with independence in your life. That means that it should afford you the ability to do what you want, when you want. If that isnt one of the good financial goals, then I dont know what is.

Getting out of debt, preparing for early retirement, developing multiple income streams, and ending your addiction to stuff, should clear the way for you to be able to do the kind of work that you really love. That should be true even if that work doesnt pay nearly as much as youre being paid now.

But that will be possible only if you have no debts to pay, if you can live on less than you earn, and if you have a large investment portfolio to back you up.

Why is doing work that you love a worthy financial goal? Very few people will actually be retiring to the beach for a life of blissful nothing, no matter what you see on TV. If nothing else, its likely that you will work just as a matter of personal satisfaction or an attempt to avoid boredom.

Since you will be working all of your life one way or another the work that you do shouldnt just be about earning money. It should be something that makes you feel good about your life, and good about the person you are.

If you cant get comfortable sharing your good fortune with peoplewho areless fortunate perhaps out of fear that you will end up broke as a result then money has complete control over your life. It doesnt matter how much money you amass inyour life, itshould never control you.

There are numerous reasons why giving to others will be good for you:

Is giving one of those good financial goals? I think that if you look at many of the most famous wealthy people the world, you will see a distinct pattern of giving to others along the way.

However you live your life, it should be a goal to make sure that your loved ones are left at least a little bit better off as a result of your life. That means not only making adequate provisions for those who are dependent upon your financial resources, but also making sure that you dont leave them with a financial mess to clean up.

Here are some steps you can take to leave your financial house in order upon your death:

Reaching a point of financial independence in life has nothing to do with luck or magic. Its simply a matter of setting good financial goals, and having a concrete plan as to how you will achieve them. Once that plan is established, and working toward those goals becomes part of the habits that make your life what it is, achieving financial independence can almost seem as if its happening on automatic pilot.

But only if you make it happen.

Whens the last time you wrote down your goals? More importantly, whens the last time youve revisited them?

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financial independence - Good Financial Cents

Nations of Nineteen Eighty-Four – Wikipedia

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Oceania, Eurasia and Eastasia are the three fictional superstates in George Orwell's futuristic dystopian novel Nineteen Eighty-Four.

The history of how the world evolved into these three states is vague. They appear to have emerged from nuclear warfare and civil dissolution over 20 years between 1945 (the end of World War II) and 1965. Eurasia was likely formed first, followed closely afterwards by Oceania, with Eastasia emerging a decade later, possibly in the 1960s.

Oceania is the superstate where protagonist Winston Smith dwells. It is believed to be composed of the Americas, the British Isles (called "Airstrip One" in the novel), Iceland, Australia, New Zealand, and southern Africa below the River Congo. It also controlsto different degrees and at various times during the course of its perpetual war with either Eurasia or Eastasiathe polar regions, India, Indonesia and the islands of the Pacific. Oceania lacks a single capital city, although London and apparently New York City may be regional capitals. In the novel, Emmanuel Goldstein, Oceania's declared public enemy number one, describes it in the fictional book The Theory and Practice of Oligarchical Collectivism as a result of the United States having absorbed the British Empire. Goldstein's book also states that Oceania's primary natural defence is the sea surrounding it.

The ruling doctrine of Oceania is Ingsoc, the Newspeak neologism for English Socialism. Its nominal leader is Big Brother, believed by the masses to have been the leader of the revolution and still used as an icon by the party. The personality cult is maintained through Big Brother's function as a focal point for love, fear, and reverence, more easily felt towards an individual than towards an organization.

The unofficial language of Oceania is English (officially called Oldspeak), and the official language is Newspeak. The restructuring of the language is intended to eliminate unorthodox political and social thought, by eliminating the words needed to express it.

The society of Oceania is sharply stratified into three groups: the small ruling Inner Party, the more numerous and highly indoctrinated Outer Party, and the large body of politically meaningless Proles. Except for certain rare exceptions like Hate Week, the proles remain essentially outside Oceania's political control and are placated by trivial sports and other entertainment; the Thought Police easily manage any Prole socially aware enough to be a problem.

Oceania's national anthem is Oceania, Tis For Thee which, in one of the three film versions of the book, takes the form of a crescendo of organ music along with operatic lyrics. The lyrics are sung in English, and the song is reminiscent of God Save the Queen and My Country 'Tis of Thee.

Even the names of countries, and their shapes on the map, had been different. Airstrip One, for instance, had not been so called in those days: it had been called England, or Britain, though London, he felt fairly certain, had always been called London.[1]

Like Europe as a whole, Britain was hit by atomic weapons in the conflicts before the revolutions in Oceania and then elsewhere. One British town, Colchester, is referenced specifically as having been destroyed; flashbacks to Smith's childhood also include scenes of Londoners taking refuge in the city's underground transit tunnels in the midst of the bombing.

It is stated that Eurasia was formed when the Soviet Union annexed the rest of continental Europe, creating a single Polity stretching from Portugal to the Bering Strait. Orwell frequently describes the face of the standard Eurasian as "mongolic" in the novel. The only soldiers other than Oceanians that appear in the novel are the Eurasians. When a large number of captured soldiers are executed in Victory Square, some Slavs are mentioned, but the stereotype of the Eurasian maintained by the Party is Mongoloid, like O'Brien's servant, Martin. This implies that the Party uses racism to avert sympathy toward an enemy.

According to Goldstein's book, Eurasia's main natural defence is its vast territorial extent, while the ruling ideology of Eurasia is identified as "Neo-Bolshevism", a variation of the Oceanian "Ingsoc".

Eastasia's borders are not as clearly defined as those of the other two superstates, but it is known that they encompass most of modern-day China, Japan, Taiwan and Korea. Eastasia repeatedly captures and loses Indonesia, New Guinea, and the various Pacific archipelagos. Its political ideology is, according to the novel, "called by a Chinese name usually translated as Death-worship, but perhaps better rendered as "Obliteration of the Self". Orwell does not appear to have based this on any existing Chinese word or phrase.[2]

Not much information about Eastasia is given in the book. It is known that it is the newest and smallest of the three superstates. According to Goldstein's book, it emerged a decade after the establishment of the other two superstates, placing it somewhere in the 1960s, after years of "confused fighting" among its predecessor nations. (At the time of writing, the victory of Mao Zedong's Communists in the Chinese Civil War was not yet taken as a foregone conclusion. The Korean War had also not yet occurred, but Korea was already being administered by two competing governments. Japan was still under military occupation and, at least until shortly before Orwell completed the book, by several different powers. Power in the real life nations that make up the fictional Eastasia was, therefore, very much in flux). It is also said in the book that the industriousness and fecundity of the people of Eastasia allows them to overcome their territorial inadequacy in comparison to the other two powers. At the time Orwell wrote the book, East Asians, including the Japanese, all had birth rates higher than those of Europeans.[citation needed]

The "disputed area", which lies "between the frontiers of the super-states", is "a rough quadrilateral with its corners at Tangier, Brazzaville, Darwin, and Hong Kong".[3] This area is fought over during the perpetual war among the three great powers, with one power sometimes exerting control over vast swathes of the disputed territory, only to lose it again. The reason three super-countries seek to control this area is to harness the large population and vast resources within the region. Control of the islands in the Pacific and the polar regions is also constantly shifting, though none of the three superpowers ever gains a lasting hold on these regions. The inhabitants of the area, having no allegiance to any nation, live in constant slavery under whichever power controls them at that time.

Eastasia and Eurasia fight over "a large but fluctuating portion of Manchuria, Mongolia, and Tibet".

At one point during the novel, Julia procures tea to share with Winston, and remarks that she thinks Oceania recently captured India (or perhaps parts of India) but such "control" is usually transient.

The world of Nineteen Eighty-Four exists in a state of perpetual war among the three major powers. At any given time, two of the three states are aligned against the third; for example Oceania and Eurasia against Eastasia or Eurasia and Eastasia against Oceania. However, as Goldstein's book points out, each Superstate is so powerful that even an alliance of the other two cannot destroy it, resulting in a continuing stalemate. From time to time, one of the states betrays its ally and sides with its former enemy. In Oceania, when this occurs, the Ministry of Truth rewrites history to make it appear that the current state of affairs is the way it has always been, and documents with contradictory information are destroyed in the memory hole.

Goldstein's book states that the war is not a war in the traditional sense, but simply exists to use up resources and keep the population in line. Victory for any side is not attainable or even desirable, but the Inner Party, through an act of doublethink, believes that such victory is in fact possible. Although the war began with the limited use of atomic weapons in a limited atomic war in the 1950s, none of the combatants use them any longer for fear of upsetting the balance of power. Relatively few technological advances have been made (the only two mentioned are the replacement of bombers with "rocket bombs" and of traditional capital ships with the immense "floating fortresses").

Almost all of the information about the world beyond London is given to the reader through government or Party sources, which by the very premise of the novel are unreliable. Specifically, in one page Julia brings up the idea that the war is fictional and that the rocket bombs falling from time to time on London are fired by the government of Oceania itself, in order to maintain the war atmosphere among the population (known in the States by the contemporary phrase, as being a 'false flag' operation). The protagonists have no means of proving or disproving this theory. However, during preparations for Hate Week, rocket bombs fell at an increasing rate, hitting places such as playgrounds and crowded theatres, causing mass casualties and increased hysteria and hatred for the party's enemies. War is also a convenient pretext for maintaining a huge militaryindustrial complex in which the state is committed to developing and acquiring large and expensive weapons systems which almost immediately become obsolete and require replacement. Finally, according to Goldstein's book, war makes handing over power to a small caste easier, and gives pretext to do so.

Because of this ambiguity, it is entirely possible that the geopolitical situation described in Goldstein's book is entirely fictitious; perhaps The Party controls the whole world, or possibly its power is limited to just Great Britain as a lone and desperate rogue nation using fanaticism and hatred of the outside world to compensate for political impotence. It's also possible that a genuine and large-scale resistance movement exists, or that Oceania is indeed under a large-scale attack by outside forces.

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Nations of Nineteen Eighty-Four - Wikipedia

Oceania resort – Prestige Vacations Aruba

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Oceania Deluxe Beachfront Condominium Resort On behalf of all the condo owners that we represent, we welcome you to stay at this luxurious condo resort and have the most wonderful vacation experience in Aruba! The Oceania Deluxe Beachfront Condominium Resort (also known as Oceania Residences) is a new, and currently the only BEACHFRONT residential condominium resort in Aruba. ALL OUR CONDOS HAVE OCEAN VIEW, even though ground floor units may have ocean views through property landscaping, whereas storey floor units have unobstructed ocean views. It is located along the Eagle Beach within the high-activity resort and hotel strip of the island. The surrounding areas are all timeshare and/or hotel resorts, which are much more crowded and with much less spacious rooms.

View Condos at the Oceania Deluxe Beachfront Condominium Resort

The Alhambra Casinois within 5 minutes walk from the Oceania Deluxe Beachfront Condominium Resort. The Links Golf courseis another 5 minutes walk. Many exquisite restaurants are within a short walk distance (Las Ramblas, Chalet Suisse, Screaming Eagle, The French Steakhouse, etc.). All other major hotels, casinos as well as many other restaurants are about 5-10 minutes drive away, including the Tierra del Sol Golf community and the downtown shopping areas. The amenities of the complex include e.g.three large swimming pools (beautiful at night, too), a kiddy pool, two gyms, men's and women's saunas, a business center, a kid's play center, a racquetball court, a squash courtand two tennis courts. Click here to view a site plan of the resort.

If you are looking for an upscale, private and relaxing condo with spectacular ocean view and just a few steps from the beach, but still close to all main activities and with all the benefits from adjoining hotels and resorts; look no further! We have wonderful and luxurious condos of all sizes and at reasonable seasonal rates. The Mid-season runs from mid April to about mid December; the High-season runs from early January to about mid April; whereasthe Super high-season are theweeks aroundX-mas and New Years, from mid Decemberto early January. Please refer to the Rate section of your chosen unit for the exact seasonal periods of each year. Weekly rates are already discounted by about 10%, so take advantage ofthe lower nightly rates by staying a week or more!Click here for condos

We have the largest portfolio of units at Oceania Residences, of varying sizes, sleeping capacity, design, furnitureand in-room facilities. And since the Oceania Deluxe Beachfront Condominium Resort is still the only beachfront residential condo resort on the island and ALL UNITS HAVE AN OCEAN VIEW, there is thus no comparable offering of luxury beachfront accommodation in Aruba! You can choose between the most economic studio condos to the largest and majestic three-bedroom condos, from groundfloor units withprivate gardens, deck, hot tub and full-size gas BBQ grill, to the most luxurious penthousetop floor units with roof terraces also with same outdoor facilities. Accommodation is adequate for singles or couples in our studio units, up to the maximum sleeping capacity for a group of 12 in one large unit! For groups that require more individual privacy, there is also the option to stay in adjacent units so that the group members are still close to each other, yet are able to enjoy their so needed moments of privacy. No matter what your accommodation requirements are, subject to availability (book early and make use of our easy payment schedule!) we are sure toprovide you with a luxury condo or combination of condos that will enjoy your utmost level of satisfaction!

This is Google Maps' most recent satellite image of Oceania Deluxe Beachfront Condominium Resort along the white-sandy Eagle Beach of Aruba, and we assure you, the white sand is not photoshopped!

1-866-940-7453 (Toll Free)

Note: Please be aware that all condominium units are privately owned and all units are very different. The interior design and the rates of each unit are at the owner's descretion.

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Oceania resort - Prestige Vacations Aruba

What is UNICUM? (Mi van az Unicum?) – Yak

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by strick What is UNICUM? (Mi van az Unicum?) Also called the "Hungarian National Accelerator", Unicum is a bitter herbal liquer drunk mostly in Hungary and by Hungarians, although expats and tourists can (and often do) aquire a taste for it. It's a secret recipe of (i've heard) 23 or maybe (below it says) 40 herbal ingredients.

The "Time Out" guide to Budapest describes it as something like (i'm typing this from memory) smells like a hospital corridor, and as bitter as cold winter's night.

It doesn't go over well in the states, where Jaegermeister is about as adventuresome as people get. (To me, Jaegermeister tastes like green kool-aid with extra sugar.)

Drink it in shots, with a glass of soda water nearby, in case you need it.

One Hungarian T-Shirt calls it "The best stomach-strengthening liquor"! It's also considered a tonic, and it is theraputic for a great many ailments. Personally, I strengthen my stomach with it:)

Here's what some other web pages say about it:

And what is Unicum? Its exact composition cannot be revealed because the recipe is a secret... What may be disclosed, however, is that Unicum is a skilful blend of more than 40 carefully selected herbs and spices. The lengthy ageing process which takes place over 6 months in oak casks gives Unicum its inimitable bitter-sweet flavour and exotic bouquet. Unicum makes a perfect aperitif or dessert drink due to its beneficial and soothing effect on the stomach.

441. What is Conware? [jake/2006-12-22] 412. Interested in using Java in Debian? [jake/2004-08-28] 391. Is E.B. White of Strunk and White fame the same one who wrote Charlotte's Web? [overcode/2003-11-03] 339. R. U. ready to Impeach the Entire Political Mainstream and Dramatically Decrease the Threat of International Terrorism? [strick/2002-12-06] 319. why do i get an error "make: don't know how to make /usr/share/tmac/tmac.andoc. Stop" when building a pkg on netbsd? [jesse/2002-08-10] 314. How can you talk to deaf people on the phone? (Thanks Mr. Jeff Young) [jake/2002-05-11] 244. Does Jeffrey read too many web comics each day? [strick/2001-06-06] 221. Where can I find information about odd places in San Francisco? [rupe/2001-06-04] 184. Just how many people are their, anyway? [les/2001-02-22] 168. What's the Official Fag Razor of the YAK? [strick/2001-01-29] 74. How many roads must a man walk down? [vonguard/2000-04-04] 73. How many Zelda games are there? [vonguard/2001-06-25] ( combee/2001-07-10 mennonite/2001-03-27 ) 64. Where are other sites about YAKS (the animals)? [strick/2000-02-20] 23. What is an extropian? [strick/2000-01-19] 16. Where are the SF Bay Area Cypherpunk physical meetings? [strick/2001-04-08]

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What is UNICUM? (Mi van az Unicum?) - Yak

Jillian Michaels – Scary Mommy

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I remember being tired before I had kids. It sucked. I was so tired!

Then I had a baby, and I got even more tired. I mean, I dont know how much more tired Iwaswith a kidthan I used to be, or if I was moretired than my childfree friends have ever or will ever be, but I definitely feltmore tired most days than Iremember feelingback then. To make matters worse,I had to keep my kid alive while being this insane new level of tired.

The tiredness just kept growing, exponentially. I just had my second baby. The tiredness hasnt stopped. It never will.

But I shouldnt say that out loud. And I definitely shouldnt say it online. Fitness guru and mom Jillian Michaels found that out the hard way when she posted what she probably thought was a harmless parenting meme about being exhausted. Unfortunately, in todays landscape of instant outrage, nothing is harmless anymore.

It doesnt matter that shes right (COME AT ME!) All that matters is that the childfree somehow felt victimized by the meme, because if theres anything worth getting upset about, its Facebook memes.

Some well-balanced people feel differently, leaving comments on the post like, Thats YOUR story, but then you obviously werent suffering with long term illness, looking after sick relatives, working 80 hours a week, working 24 hour shifts, looking after sick animals, working three jobs to make ends meet or any of the other tons of reasons there are to be tired!!!!!

Nope. Just one reason to be tired, as the meme CLEARLY states.

Jillian is a new parent and a famous fitness guru, so she knows from exertion, but she is not a scientist, so she should just shut it, according to this kind soul: Hey, genius. Its called being human. Everyone gets tired, whether they have kids or not. Thats what the human body does. Try studying science harder next time.

No one said anything about childfree people not being tired. Again, I was childfree. I was plenty tired. Im sure there are EMTs and medical students and people with insomnia and people with no eyelids who are just as tired as parents, and congratulations, we all tied in the Tired Contest.

Except newsflash:there is no Tired Contest! I was pulling your leg!

Tiredness is not something that can be measured, and neitherMichaels nor I nor those kids staying awake for days on end just to avoid Freddy Kruger can prove theyre more tired than anyone else, but honestly? WHO GIVES A SHIT. Were all tired.

But those of us with more responsibility are probably maybe? a little more tired than those without much? I dont know how much responsibility you have, and neither does Jillian Michaels, unless she has a personal relationship with all 3,035,511 people who like her Facebook page,(If she does, she definitelywins the Tired Contest!), but I know that kids are a lot of responsibility.

You cant sleep through your kids. Once you have a baby, your sleep starts suffering, and you never get it back, at least not until theyre teenagers. And so parents have very limited opportunities to catch up on sleep theyve missed. Maybe youre childfree and you cant catch up on sleep either I dont know your life but if so FUCK YOU FOR OFFENDING ME except not really because getting upset about a humorous (YMMV) meme meant to appeal to other parents is a tremendous waste of time and energy.

In fact, if youre one of the people who went online to scream about this, like this guy?

You may have been cute back then, but you grew up to be a c***. Why arent people allowed to be tired if they dont have sprogs? You chose to have the little c*** goblins, yet all parents seem to do is complain about everything, and try to bring everyone down to their misery. We get it youre tired. Know who else has a better reason for being tired? People who work 40+ hours a week. They arent allowed to be tired? When did moms become so selfish and entitled? Youre making yourselves look like Bitches.

Wow. If youre leaving a psychotic rant like that on a celebritys harmless Facebook post, you clearly have a lot more energy than me.

BOOM! I win.

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Jillian Michaels - Scary Mommy

Department of Medicine | Department of Medicine

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The Department of Medicine of the NYU Langone Medical Center is among the longest established in the U.S. and is the largest academic department in the NYU School of Medicine. It supports and oversees 10 subspecialty divisions and numerous programs and centers in its three-pronged mission of education, research and clinical care. We train medical students, residents and fellows in Internal Medicine and its subspecialties, with emphasis on the care of patients and on clinical investigation. The Department is recognized for its high standards of education, pioneering research, and superior clinical care, as well as its grounding in the humanities. We welcome your exploration of our web site, which represents who we are, what we do, and what we hold dear.

Each week the Department of Medicine presents a distinguished speakerrepresenting one of the sub-specialty divisions of the department. Please see the Medicine Grand Rounds Calendar for additional details.

Lecture may be viewable live online with speaker's permission.

When:Wednesdays, from 7:45am to 8:45am Where: Schwartz Lecture Hall E

For more information contact: Jennifer Mulliken, MD

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Department of Medicine | Department of Medicine

The University of Chicago Department of Medicine

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Robert Grossman,PhD, Professor of Medicine and Co-Chief Section of Computational Biomedicine and Biomedical Data Science has been named the Frederick H. Rawson Professor effective January 1, 2017. Dr. Grossman is an expert in data intensive computing and its applications to biology, medicine and healthcare. His research focuses on bioinformatics, data science, and data intensive computing. Dr. Grossman currently serves as Co- PI of the NCI Genomics Data Commons.

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After nearly two decades of unsuccessful attempts, researchers from the University of Chicago Medicine and the Cincinnati Childrens Hospital Medical Center have created the first mouse model for the most common form of infant leukemia. Their discovery, published in the Nov. 14, 2016, issue of Cancer Cell, could hasten development and testing of new drug therapies.

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This year Kovler Diabetes Center celebrates its 10th anniversary, capping a decade of cutting edge treatment and research that has made the University of Chicago Medicine a world leader in diabetes care.

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Although many cancer patients respond favorably to immunotherapies such as nivolumab and pembrolizumab, most patients do not. Blame for treatment failures is usually attributed to so-called cold tumors, those that do not attract T-cell infiltration and may lack key T-cell targetsthe mutated proteins known as neoantigens.

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I know that we can save many more women from dying from breast cancer, oncologist Olufunmilayo Olopade says, leaning forward in her chair. Olopade, who goes by Funmi, is sitting in her office at the end of a long day, surrounded by stacks of paper on her desk and shopping bags on the floor, but she sounds like she could be addressing the World Health Organization. The drugs are there, the women are out there, she says. Whats missing, in her view, is a will to diagnose and treat people, wherever they live.

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The number of deaths from breast cancer have declined significantly over the last several decades. However, many populations within the U.S. and across the globe have not benefited from these improvements in mortality as much as other groups have. This unequal burden of cancer felt by specific population groups, also known as disparities, is a major healthcare challenge and one that hits home. In Chicago, the most recent figures show the breast cancer death rate among black women is 40 percent higher than that of white women.

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The role of the gut microbiome in human health keeps expanding, but some microbes are slow to reveal their secrets.

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The University of Chicago Medicines Successful Aging and Frailty Evaluation (SAFE) Clinic, located in the nearby South Shore community on the South Side, cares for some of the most vulnerable patients throughout the city..

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Dr. Everett Vokes recently announced the creation of the new Section of Computational Biomedicine and Biomedical Data Science , making it the 15th subspecialty section within the Department of Medicine. The new Section will provide an intellectual home for faculty whose research interests encompass computational biomedicine; biomedical data science (data science and its applications to biology, medicine and healthcare), and biomedical informatics (bioinformatics, translational informatics, and clinical/medical informatics) and will be co-led by Robert L. Grossman, PhD and Andrey Rzhetsky, PhD.

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Matthew Sorrentino, MD, Professor of Medicine in the Section of Cardiology, has been appointed as Vice Chair for Clinical Operations effective immediately. In this new role, Dr. Sorrentino will assist in leading the Department of Medicines clinical programs and serve as the key departmental representative with the UCM and BSD on issues relating to the Departments outpatient, inpatient and offsite practices.

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Type 2 diabetes is an insidious disease because its most damaging effects dont show up for years. A patient may have her ups and downs from day to day, but the risk of heart disease, kidney disease, damage to the retinas and other circulatory problems builds over years with the accumulated stress of high blood sugar levels.

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Obstructive sleep apnea a disorder that affects nearly one out of four people between the ages of 30 and 70 is a common cause of high blood pressure. In the Aug. 17, 2016, issue of the journal Science Signaling, researchers based primarily at the University of Chicago describe the signaling cascade that leads to this form of hypertension and suggest ways to disrupt those signals and prevent elevated blood pressures.

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By probing the differences between two farming communitiesthe Amish of Indiana and the Hutterites of South Dakotaan interdisciplinary team of researchers found that specific aspects of the Amish environment are associated with changes to immune cells that appear to protect children from developing asthma.

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UConn School of Medicine

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The Lowell P. Weicker, Jr. Clinical Research Center (CRC) Seminar Series On Methods in Clinical Research

Provided by University of Connecticut School of Medicine Office of Community and Continuing Medical Education and the Clinical Research Center

Intergenerational Effects of Maternal Trauma Exposure: Implications for Prevention

Damion Grasso, Ph.D Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Pediatrics Department of Psychiatry University of Connecticut School of Medicine UConn Health

Date: Tuesday, January 10, 2017 Time: 12:00 Noon 1:00 P.M. Location: Low Learning Center UConn Health, Farmington, CT

WEB CAST: http://mediasite.uchc.edu/mediasite41/Play/9e64736be23c4f8baf50e2c8afe7fdbb1d (Note: No CMEs given for Web Cast viewing)

Light lunch and beverage provided from 11:30 AM-12:00 noon

Target Audience: Faculty, staff, residents, and students interested in clinical research

Learning Objectives: Participants will be able to: a) Identify developmental and psychosocial risk associated with maternal exposure to trauma and violence in offspring; b) Describe possible psychosocial and biological mechanisms through which trauma-related risk may be conferred from trauma exposed mothers to their offspring; c) Identify potential strategies for identifying risk and implementing preventive interventions in vulnerable populations

Accreditation: The University of Connecticut School of Medicine is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) to provide continuing medical education for physicians.

The University of Connecticut School of Medicine designates this live activity for a maximum of 1 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s). Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

Conflict of Interest Policy: All faculty members participating in CME activities provided by the University of Connecticut School of Medicine are required to disclose to the program audience any actual or apparent conflict of interest related to the content of their presentations. Program planners have an obligation to resolve any actual conflicts of interest and share with the audience any safeguards put in place to prevent commercial bias from influencing the content.

The activity director, planning committee members, nor the speaker, Dr. Damion Grasso, has a financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organizations that could be perceived as a real or apparent conflict of interest in the context of the subject of this presentation. Dr. Grasso will not be discussing the off-label use of any product.

This CME activity has no commercial support associated with it. Food and refreshments provided by the CRC.

Evaluations: Participants are required to complete an electronic evaluation in order to obtain CME Credits. An email from http://MyEvaluation.com with instructions will be sent to participants. Please complete the

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UConn School of Medicine

Golden ratio – Wikipedia

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In mathematics, two quantities are in the golden ratio if their ratio is the same as the ratio of their sum to the larger of the two quantities. The figure on the right illustrates the geometric relationship. Expressed algebraically, for quantities a and b with a>b>0,

where the Greek letter phi ( {displaystyle varphi } or {displaystyle phi } ) represents the golden ratio. Its value is:

The golden ratio is also called the golden mean or golden section (Latin: sectio aurea).[1][2][3] Other names include extreme and mean ratio,[4]medial section, divine proportion, divine section (Latin: sectio divina), golden proportion, golden cut,[5] and golden number.[6][7][8]

Some twentieth-century artists and architects, including Le Corbusier and Dal, have proportioned their works to approximate the golden ratioespecially in the form of the golden rectangle, in which the ratio of the longer side to the shorter is the golden ratiobelieving this proportion to be aesthetically pleasing. The golden ratio appears in some patterns in nature, including the spiral arrangement of leaves and other plant parts.

Mathematicians since Euclid have studied the properties of the golden ratio, including its appearance in the dimensions of a regular pentagon and in a golden rectangle, which may be cut into a square and a smaller rectangle with the same aspect ratio. The golden ratio has also been used to analyze the proportions of natural objects as well as man-made systems such as financial markets, in some cases based on dubious fits to data.[9]

Two quantities a and b are said to be in the golden ratio if

One method for finding the value of is to start with the left fraction. Through simplifying the fraction and substituting in b/a = 1/,

Therefore,

Multiplying by gives

which can be rearranged to

Using the quadratic formula, two solutions are obtained:

and

Because is the ratio between positive quantities is necessarily positive:

This derivation can also be found with a compass-and-straightedge construction:

The golden ratio has been claimed to have held a special fascination for at least 2,400 years, though without reliable evidence.[11] According to Mario Livio:

Some of the greatest mathematical minds of all ages, from Pythagoras and Euclid in ancient Greece, through the medieval Italian mathematician Leonardo of Pisa and the Renaissance astronomer Johannes Kepler, to present-day scientific figures such as Oxford physicist Roger Penrose, have spent endless hours over this simple ratio and its properties. But the fascination with the Golden Ratio is not confined just to mathematicians. Biologists, artists, musicians, historians, architects, psychologists, and even mystics have pondered and debated the basis of its ubiquity and appeal. In fact, it is probably fair to say that the Golden Ratio has inspired thinkers of all disciplines like no other number in the history of mathematics.[12]

Ancient Greek mathematicians first studied what we now call the golden ratio because of its frequent appearance in geometry. The division of a line into "extreme and mean ratio" (the golden section) is important in the geometry of regular pentagrams and pentagons. Euclid's Elements (Greek: ) provides the first known written definition of what is now called the golden ratio: "A straight line is said to have been cut in extreme and mean ratio when, as the whole line is to the greater segment, so is the greater to the lesser."[13] Euclid explains a construction for cutting (sectioning) a line "in extreme and mean ratio", i.e., the golden ratio.[14] Throughout the Elements, several propositions (theorems in modern terminology) and their proofs employ the golden ratio.[15]

The golden ratio is explored in Luca Pacioli's book De divina proportione of 1509.

The first known approximation of the (inverse) golden ratio by a decimal fraction, stated as "about 0.6180340", was written in 1597 by Michael Maestlin of the University of Tbingen in a letter to his former student Johannes Kepler.[16]

Since the 20th century, the golden ratio has been represented by the Greek letter (phi, after Phidias, a sculptor who is said to have employed it) or less commonly by (tau, the first letter of the ancient Greek root meaning cut).[1][17]

Timeline according to Priya Hemenway:[18]

De Divina Proportione, a three-volume work by Luca Pacioli, was published in 1509. Pacioli, a Franciscan friar, was known mostly as a mathematician, but he was also trained and keenly interested in art. De Divina Proportione explored the mathematics of the golden ratio. Though it is often said that Pacioli advocated the golden ratio's application to yield pleasing, harmonious proportions, Livio points out that the interpretation has been traced to an error in 1799, and that Pacioli actually advocated the Vitruvian system of rational proportions.[1] Pacioli also saw Catholic religious significance in the ratio, which led to his work's title. De Divina Proportione contains illustrations of regular solids by Leonardo da Vinci, Pacioli's longtime friend and collaborator.

The Parthenon's faade as well as elements of its faade and elsewhere are said by some to be circumscribed by golden rectangles.[25] Other scholars deny that the Greeks had any aesthetic association with golden ratio. For example, Midhat J. Gazal says, "It was not until Euclid, however, that the golden ratio's mathematical properties were studied. In the Elements (308 BC) the Greek mathematician merely regarded that number as an interesting irrational number, in connection with the middle and extreme ratios. Its occurrence in regular pentagons and decagons was duly observed, as well as in the dodecahedron (a regular polyhedron whose twelve faces are regular pentagons). It is indeed exemplary that the great Euclid, contrary to generations of mystics who followed, would soberly treat that number for what it is, without attaching to it other than its factual properties."[26] And Keith Devlin says, "Certainly, the oft repeated assertion that the Parthenon in Athens is based on the golden ratio is not supported by actual measurements. In fact, the entire story about the Greeks and golden ratio seems to be without foundation. The one thing we know for sure is that Euclid, in his famous textbook Elements, written around 300 BC, showed how to calculate its value."[27] Later sources like Vitruvius exclusively discuss proportions that can be expressed in whole numbers, i.e. commensurate as opposed to irrational proportions.

A 2004 geometrical analysis of earlier research into the Great Mosque of Kairouan reveals a consistent application of the golden ratio throughout the design, according to Boussora and Mazouz.[28] They found ratios close to the golden ratio in the overall proportion of the plan and in the dimensioning of the prayer space, the court, and the minaret. The authors note, however, that the areas where ratios close to the golden ratio were found are not part of the original construction, and theorize that these elements were added in a reconstruction.

The Swiss architect Le Corbusier, famous for his contributions to the modern international style, centered his design philosophy on systems of harmony and proportion. Le Corbusier's faith in the mathematical order of the universe was closely bound to the golden ratio and the Fibonacci series, which he described as "rhythms apparent to the eye and clear in their relations with one another. And these rhythms are at the very root of human activities. They resound in man by an organic inevitability, the same fine inevitability which causes the tracing out of the Golden Section by children, old men, savages and the learned."[29]

Le Corbusier explicitly used the golden ratio in his Modulor system for the scale of architectural proportion. He saw this system as a continuation of the long tradition of Vitruvius, Leonardo da Vinci's "Vitruvian Man", the work of Leon Battista Alberti, and others who used the proportions of the human body to improve the appearance and function of architecture. In addition to the golden ratio, Le Corbusier based the system on human measurements, Fibonacci numbers, and the double unit. He took suggestion of the golden ratio in human proportions to an extreme: he sectioned his model human body's height at the navel with the two sections in golden ratio, then subdivided those sections in golden ratio at the knees and throat; he used these golden ratio proportions in the Modulor system. Le Corbusier's 1927 Villa Stein in Garches exemplified the Modulor system's application. The villa's rectangular ground plan, elevation, and inner structure closely approximate golden rectangles.[30]

Another Swiss architect, Mario Botta, bases many of his designs on geometric figures. Several private houses he designed in Switzerland are composed of squares and circles, cubes and cylinders. In a house he designed in Origlio, the golden ratio is the proportion between the central section and the side sections of the house.[31]

In a recent book, author Jason Elliot speculated that the golden ratio was used by the designers of the Naqsh-e Jahan Square and the adjacent Lotfollah mosque.[32]

Patrice Foutakis examined the measurements of 15 temples, 18 monumental tombs, 8 sarcophagi and 58 grave stelae from the fifth century BC to the second century AD. The temples were the main place for communication between the humans and Gods, while the tombs, sarcophagi and grave stelae were connected with the mortals' passage from the material life to the eternal one. Should the golden ratio imply any divine, mystical or aesthetic property, then, according to the author, most of these constructions would be characterized by a golden-section rule. The result of this original research is that the golden ratio was totally absent from Greek architecture of the classical fifth century BC, and almost absent during the following six centuries. Four extremely rare and therefore valuable examples of golden-mean proportions were identified in an ancient tower in Modon (Peloponnese, Greece), in the Great Altar of Pergamon (Pergamon Museum, Berlin), in a grave stele from Edessa (Greece), and in a monumental tomb at Pella (Greece). Although these cases Foutakis claims to be evidence about a golden-section application in constructions of ancient Greece, he concludes that it was a marginal application indicating that the ancient Greeks did not pay any particular attention to the golden ratio as far as their architecture was concerned.[33]

The 16th-century philosopher Heinrich Agrippa drew a man over a pentagram inside a circle, implying a relationship to the golden ratio.[2]

Leonardo da Vinci's illustrations of polyhedra in De divina proportione (On the Divine Proportion) and his views that some bodily proportions exhibit the golden ratio have led some scholars to speculate that he incorporated the golden ratio in his paintings.[34] But the suggestion that his Mona Lisa, for example, employs golden ratio proportions, is not supported by anything in Leonardo's own writings.[35] Similarly, although the Vitruvian Man is often[36] shown in connection with the golden ratio, the proportions of the figure do not actually match it, and the text only mentions whole number ratios.[37]

Salvador Dal, influenced by the works of Matila Ghyka,[38] explicitly used the golden ratio in his masterpiece, The Sacrament of the Last Supper. The dimensions of the canvas are a golden rectangle. A huge dodecahedron, in perspective so that edges appear in golden ratio to one another, is suspended above and behind Jesus and dominates the composition.[1][39]

Mondrian has been said to have used the golden section extensively in his geometrical paintings,[40] though other experts (including critic Yve-Alain Bois) have disputed this claim.[1]

A statistical study on 565 works of art of different great painters, performed in 1999, found that these artists had not used the golden ratio in the size of their canvases. The study concluded that the average ratio of the two sides of the paintings studied is 1.34, with averages for individual artists ranging from 1.04 (Goya) to 1.46 (Bellini).[41] On the other hand, Pablo Tosto listed over 350 works by well-known artists, including more than 100 which have canvasses with golden rectangle and root-5 proportions, and others with proportions like root-2, 3, 4, and 6.[42]

According to Jan Tschichold,[44]

There was a time when deviations from the truly beautiful page proportions 2:3, 1:3, and the Golden Section were rare. Many books produced between 1550 and 1770 show these proportions exactly, to within half a millimeter.

Some sources claim that the golden ratio is commonly used in everyday design, for example in the shapes of postcards, playing cards, posters, wide-screen televisions, photographs, light switch plates and cars.[45][46][47][48][49]

Ern Lendvai analyzes Bla Bartk's works as being based on two opposing systems, that of the golden ratio and the acoustic scale,[50] though other music scholars reject that analysis.[1] French composer Erik Satie used the golden ratio in several of his pieces, including Sonneries de la Rose+Croix. The golden ratio is also apparent in the organization of the sections in the music of Debussy's Reflets dans l'eau (Reflections in Water), from Images (1st series, 1905), in which "the sequence of keys is marked out by the intervals 34, 21, 13 and 8, and the main climax sits at the phi position."[51]

The musicologist Roy Howat has observed that the formal boundaries of La Mer correspond exactly to the golden section.[52] Trezise finds the intrinsic evidence "remarkable," but cautions that no written or reported evidence suggests that Debussy consciously sought such proportions.[53]

Pearl Drums positions the air vents on its Masters Premium models based on the golden ratio. The company claims that this arrangement improves bass response and has applied for a patent on this innovation.[54]

Though Heinz Bohlen proposed the non-octave-repeating 833 cents scale based on combination tones, the tuning features relations based on the golden ratio. As a musical interval the ratio 1.618... is 833.090... cents (Play(helpinfo)).[55]

Adolf Zeising, whose main interests were mathematics and philosophy, found the golden ratio expressed in the arrangement of parts such as leaves and branches along the stems of plants and of veins in leaves. He extended his research to the skeletons of animals and the branchings of their veins and nerves, to the proportions of chemical compounds and the geometry of crystals, even to the use of proportion in artistic endeavors. In these patterns in nature he saw the golden ratio operating as a universal law.[56][57] In connection with his scheme for golden-ratio-based human body proportions, Zeising wrote in 1854 of a universal law "in which is contained the ground-principle of all formative striving for beauty and completeness in the realms of both nature and art, and which permeates, as a paramount spiritual ideal, all structures, forms and proportions, whether cosmic or individual, organic or inorganic, acoustic or optical; which finds its fullest realization, however, in the human form."[58]

In 2010, the journal Science reported that the golden ratio is present at the atomic scale in the magnetic resonance of spins in cobalt niobate crystals.[59]

Since 1991, several researchers have proposed connections between the golden ratio and human genome DNA.[60][61][62]

However, some have argued that many apparent manifestations of the golden ratio in nature, especially in regard to animal dimensions, are fictitious.[63]

The golden ratio is key to the golden section search.

Studies by psychologists, starting with Fechner, have been devised to test the idea that the golden ratio plays a role in human perception of beauty. While Fechner found a preference for rectangle ratios centered on the golden ratio, later attempts to carefully test such a hypothesis have been, at best, inconclusive.[1][64]

The golden ratio is an irrational number. Below are two short proofs of irrationality:

Recall that:

If we call the whole n and the longer part m, then the second statement above becomes

or, algebraically

To say that is rational means that is a fraction n/m where n and m are integers. We may take n/m to be in lowest terms and n and m to be positive. But if n/m is in lowest terms, then the identity labeled (*) above says m/(nm) is in still lower terms. That is a contradiction that follows from the assumption that is rational.

Another short proofperhaps more commonly knownof the irrationality of the golden ratio makes use of the closure of rational numbers under addition and multiplication. If 1 + 5 2 {displaystyle textstyle {frac {1+{sqrt {5}}}{2}}} is rational, then 2 ( 1 + 5 2 ) 1 = 5 {displaystyle textstyle 2left({frac {1+{sqrt {5}}}{2}}right)-1={sqrt {5}}} is also rational, which is a contradiction if it is already known that the square root of a non-square natural number is irrational.

The golden ratio is also an algebraic number and even an algebraic integer. It has minimal polynomial

Having degree 2, this polynomial actually has two roots, the other being the golden ratio conjugate.

The conjugate root to the minimal polynomial x2 - x - 1 is

The absolute value of this quantity ( 0.618) corresponds to the length ratio taken in reverse order (shorter segment length over longer segment length, b/a), and is sometimes referred to as the golden ratio conjugate.[10] It is denoted here by the capital Phi ( {displaystyle Phi } ):

Alternatively, {displaystyle Phi } can be expressed as

This illustrates the unique property of the golden ratio among positive numbers, that

or its inverse:

This means 0.61803...:1 = 1:1.61803....

The formula = 1 + 1/ can be expanded recursively to obtain a continued fraction for the golden ratio:[65]

and its reciprocal:

The convergents of these continued fractions (1/1, 2/1, 3/2, 5/3, 8/5, 13/8, ..., or 1/1, 1/2, 2/3, 3/5, 5/8, 8/13, ...) are ratios of successive Fibonacci numbers.

The equation 2 = 1 + likewise produces the continued square root, or infinite surd, form:

An infinite series can be derived to express phi:[66]

Also:

These correspond to the fact that the length of the diagonal of a regular pentagon is times the length of its side, and similar relations in a pentagram.

The number turns up frequently in geometry, particularly in figures with pentagonal symmetry. The length of a regular pentagon's diagonal is times its side. The vertices of a regular icosahedron are those of three mutually orthogonal golden rectangles.

There is no known general algorithm to arrange a given number of nodes evenly on a sphere, for any of several definitions of even distribution (see, for example, Thomson problem). However, a useful approximation results from dividing the sphere into parallel bands of equal surface area and placing one node in each band at longitudes spaced by a golden section of the circle, i.e. 360/ 222.5. This method was used to arrange the 1500 mirrors of the student-participatory satellite Starshine-3.[67]

Application examples you can see in the articles Pentagon with a given side length, Decagon with given circumcircle and Decagon with a given side length.

The both above displayed different algorithms produce geometric constructions that divides a line segment into two line segments where the ratio of the longer to the shorter line segment is the golden ratio.

The golden triangle can be characterized as an isosceles triangle ABC with the property that bisecting the angle C produces a new triangle CXB which is a similar triangle to the original.

If angle BCX = , then XCA = because of the bisection, and CAB = because of the similar triangles; ABC = 2 from the original isosceles symmetry, and BXC = 2 by similarity. The angles in a triangle add up to 180, so 5 = 180, giving = 36. So the angles of the golden triangle are thus 36-72-72. The angles of the remaining obtuse isosceles triangle AXC (sometimes called the golden gnomon) are 36-36-108.

Suppose XB has length 1, and we call BC length . Because of the isosceles triangles XC=XA and BC=XC, so these are also length. Length AC=AB, therefore equals +1. But triangle ABC is similar to triangle CXB, so AC/BC=BC/BX, AC/=/1, and so AC also equals 2. Thus 2 =+1, confirming that is indeed the golden ratio.

Similarly, the ratio of the area of the larger triangle AXC to the smaller CXB is equal to , while the inverse ratio is1.

In a regular pentagon the ratio between a side and a diagonal is {displaystyle Phi } (i.e. 1/), while intersecting diagonals section each other in the golden ratio.[8]

George Odom has given a remarkably simple construction for involving an equilateral triangle: if an equilateral triangle is inscribed in a circle and the line segment joining the midpoints of two sides is produced to intersect the circle in either of two points, then these three points are in golden proportion. This result is a straightforward consequence of the intersecting chords theorem and can be used to construct a regular pentagon, a construction that attracted the attention of the noted Canadian geometer H. S. M. Coxeter who published it in Odom's name as a diagram in the American Mathematical Monthly accompanied by the single word "Behold!" [68]

The golden ratio plays an important role in the geometry of pentagrams. Each intersection of edges sections other edges in the golden ratio. Also, the ratio of the length of the shorter segment to the segment bounded by the two intersecting edges (a side of the pentagon in the pentagram's center) is , as the four-color illustration shows.

The pentagram includes ten isosceles triangles: five acute and five obtuse isosceles triangles. In all of them, the ratio of the longer side to the shorter side is . The acute triangles are golden triangles. The obtuse isosceles triangles are golden gnomons.

The golden ratio properties of a regular pentagon can be confirmed by applying Ptolemy's theorem to the quadrilateral formed by removing one of its vertices. If the quadrilateral's long edge and diagonals are b, and short edges are a, then Ptolemy's theorem gives b2=a2+ab which yields

Consider a triangle with sides of lengths a, b, and c in decreasing order. Define the "scalenity" of the triangle to be the smaller of the two ratios a/b and b/c. The scalenity is always less than and can be made as close as desired to .[69]

If the side lengths of a triangle form a geometric progression and are in the ratio 1: r: r2, where r is the common ratio, then r must lie in the range 1 < r < , which is a consequence of the triangle inequality (the sum of any two sides of a triangle must be strictly bigger than the length of the third side). If r = then the shorter two sides are 1 and but their sum is 2, thus r < . A similar calculation shows that r > 1. A triangle whose sides are in the ratio 1: : is a right triangle (because 1 + = 2) known as a Kepler triangle.[70]

A golden rhombus is a rhombus whose diagonals are in the golden ratio. The rhombic triacontahedron is a convex polytope that has a very special property: all of its faces are golden rhombi. In the rhombic triacontahedron the dihedral angle between any two adjacent rhombi is 144, which is twice the isosceles angle of a golden triangle and four times its most acute angle.[71]

The mathematics of the golden ratio and of the Fibonacci sequence are intimately interconnected. The Fibonacci sequence is:

The closed-form expression for the Fibonacci sequence involves the golden ratio:

The golden ratio is the limit of the ratios of successive terms of the Fibonacci sequence (or any Fibonacci-like sequence), as originally shown by Kepler:[20]

Therefore, if a Fibonacci number is divided by its immediate predecessor in the sequence, the quotient approximates ; e.g., 987/6101.6180327868852. These approximations are alternately lower and higher than , and converge on as the Fibonacci numbers increase, and:

More generally:

where above, the ratios of consecutive terms of the Fibonacci sequence, is a case when a = 1 {displaystyle a=1} .

Furthermore, the successive powers of obey the Fibonacci recurrence:

This identity allows any polynomial in to be reduced to a linear expression. For example:

The reduction to a linear expression can be accomplished in one step by using the relationship

where F k {displaystyle F_{k}} is the kth Fibonacci number.

However, this is no special property of , because polynomials in any solution x to a quadratic equation can be reduced in an analogous manner, by applying:

for given coefficients a, b such that x satisfies the equation. Even more generally, any rational function (with rational coefficients) of the root of an irreducible nth-degree polynomial over the rationals can be reduced to a polynomial of degree n 1. Phrased in terms of field theory, if is a root of an irreducible nth-degree polynomial, then Q ( ) {displaystyle mathbb {Q} (alpha )} has degree n over Q {displaystyle mathbb {Q} } , with basis { 1 , , , n 1 } {displaystyle {1,alpha ,dots ,alpha ^{n-1}}} .

The golden ratio and inverse golden ratio = ( 1 5 ) / 2 {displaystyle varphi _{pm }=(1pm {sqrt {5}})/2} have a set of symmetries that preserve and interrelate them. They are both preserved by the fractional linear transformations x , 1 / ( 1 x ) , ( x 1 ) / x , {displaystyle x,1/(1-x),(x-1)/x,} this fact corresponds to the identity and the definition quadratic equation. Further, they are interchanged by the three maps 1 / x , 1 x , x / ( x 1 ) {displaystyle 1/x,1-x,x/(x-1)} they are reciprocals, symmetric about 1 / 2 {displaystyle 1/2} , and (projectively) symmetric about 2.

More deeply, these maps form a subgroup of the modular group PSL ( 2 , Z ) {displaystyle operatorname {PSL} (2,mathbf {Z} )} isomorphic to the symmetric group on 3 letters, S 3 , {displaystyle S_{3},} corresponding to the stabilizer of the set { 0 , 1 , } {displaystyle {0,1,infty }} of 3 standard points on the projective line, and the symmetries correspond to the quotient map S 3 S 2 {displaystyle S_{3}to S_{2}} the subgroup C 3 < S 3 {displaystyle C_{3}

The golden ratio has the simplest expression (and slowest convergence) as a continued fraction expansion of any irrational number (see Alternate forms above). It is, for that reason, one of the worst cases of Lagrange's approximation theorem and it is an extremal case of the Hurwitz inequality for Diophantine approximations. This may be why angles close to the golden ratio often show up in phyllotaxis (the growth of plants).[72]

The defining quadratic polynomial and the conjugate relationship lead to decimal values that have their fractional part in common with :

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Golden ratio - Wikipedia

Fiscal Freedom and Financial Literacy Campaign :: City of …

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{ Live, work, play in York. }

As promised in our 2012 State of the City Address, this is an initiative by the Bracey Administration to stabilize property taxes by making adjustments in all city departments that will create savings to reduce the burden on tax paying citizens. We are also urging our county delegation and General Assembly to advance and approve recommendations focusing on reform of outdated binding arbitration and pension laws that exacerbate fiscal distress in Pennsylvanias cities. These uncontrolled costs lead to layoffs, service cuts and tax increasesand they harm the very works, residents and businesses that are needed to sustain and grow a community. Our state legislators must step forward and support legislation to correct inequities so the municipalities have the freedom to create more tax fairness and stabilize the future of our municipalities and cities, especially our county seat the City of York.

As your Mayor and a lifelong resident of the City of York, I share your deep concern about stabilizing property taxes and keeping city residents in their homes. Doing so is the responsible thing to do and I take this challenge very seriously. Please familiarize yourself with the background information provided and take action today.

As a concerned citizen, you have the ability to share your concerns with our delegation of state elected representatives and senators. Use your voice and your vote to tell them they need to hear our cries for help. We are depending on our local legislators to understand the challenges of those who live in and pay taxes to the City. They need to hear from you and your neighbors about the seriousness of this dilemma. Our tax structure needs reform before more drastic measures fall upon the place we call "home." The state government has the ability to enact such reform.

Please take action by using this simple form to communicate with the elected officials. Tell your friends and others who live and work here to do the same. It will take a few minutes, but if you take action, youve helped yourself and others.

Thank you once again for your comments, concerns and action. If my team or I can be of further assistance, please let us know, and please keep in touch.

SEND YOUR LETTER TODAY!

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Fiscal Freedom and Financial Literacy Campaign :: City of ...

Offshore installation manager – Wikipedia

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The Offshore Installation Manager (OIM) is the most senior manager of an offshore platform operating on the UKCS.

Many offshore operators have adopted this UK offshore management model and title and applied it to their operations in all global regions irrespective of the local regulations in force.

In the UK the individual must be officially registered as an OIM with the Offshore Safety Division of the Health and Safety Executive and the OIM is responsible for the health, welfare and safety of the personnel on board the installation, whether a drilling rig, production platform or a support vessel (e.g. a flotel).

The OIM position had arisen in part from the Inquiry into the 1965 Sea Gem disaster, in which the Sea Gem drilling rig collapsed and sank in the southern sector of the North Sea with a loss of 13 lives. The Inquiry recommended that " ... there ought to be a 'master' or unquestioned authority on these rigs" and that " ... there ought to be the equivalent of a shipmaster's daily round when the 'master' could question those responsible for different aspects of the day-to-day management of the whole."[1] The recommendations from the Sea Gem Inquiry were formalised in the Mineral Workings (Offshore Installations) Act 1971 which requires a registered OIM to be in charge of each installation.

Training and selection of OIMs has been the subject of research projects[2] and specialist training.[3]

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Offshore installation manager - Wikipedia

Easy Cooked Dog Food Recipe – Homemade Dog Food

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Dog food recipe that is designed to be simple to make and healthy for your dog.

NOTE:In an effort to simplify the dog food recipe I have incorporated the use of supplements. Without the supplements the dog food recipe would need an additional 10 to 20 ingredients. Unfortunately, our current agricultural practices yield foods with a fraction of the nutrient content of wild counterparts.

That said; this dog food recipe is deficient without the two supplements that are essential to the recipe:Dinovitesupplement andLickOchopsomega fatty acid supplement. Feeding this recipe without the supplements will result in multiple nutritional deficiency diseases.

Approximately 40 cups of dog food.

This dog food recipe can be halved or doubled to accommodate the size of your dog or for multi-dog households. Do not feed this dog food recipe without theDinoviteandLickOchopsdog supplements as it will cause this dog food recipe to be deficient.

Place 2-3 days worth of the dog food recipe in zip lock bags or plastic freezer containers. Store them in your freezer.

I personally prefer the freezer containers because they are easy to fill, thaw and serve. There is never any mess. I take one out and let it thaw on my counter. Feed my dogs and store the unused portion in my refrigerator. When its empty I wash it and it is ready for the next batch. Mix up some more of the easy cooked dog food recipe and Im ready to go. It works well.

NOTE:Remember you are handling raw meat so use common sense when making this dog food recipe. Use the same precautions you would use when handling raw meat for your family.

*Special note: These are general guidelines, we are not trying to land a man on Mars. If your dog is losing a little weight and this is not desired, increase the amount you are feeding. If your dog is gaining weight on the serving size then cut back a little. In short, adjust the serving size depending on your dogs age, weight and activity level.

*Special Note: If you add the supplements to the whole batch when making the dog food recipe it is not necessary to add them with each serving. Use whichever method you find easier.

Click here to watch the video.

Please follow this introductory method, your dog will be fine. Your dog will not starve or hate you. Rapid diet changes can cause vomiting and diarrhea. A horrendous mess all over your house!

***Important Note:Do not mix kibble and the Easy Cooked Dog Food together! Doing so will GREATLY increase the chances of digestive upset for your dog!

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Easy Cooked Dog Food Recipe - Homemade Dog Food

Molecular Biology and Evolution – Oxford Journals

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Molecular Biology and Evolution publishes research at the interface of molecular (including genomics) and evolutionary biology. We consider manuscripts containing patterns, processes, and predictions at all levels of population, taxonomic, functional, and phenotypic organizations. In addition to fundamental discoveries of broader scope and impact, we are interested in publishing new and improved methods, resources, technologies, and theories that will significantly advance evolutionary research. We also publish balanced reviews of recent developments in genome evolution and forward-looking perspectives suggesting future directions in a field or application of molecular evolution.

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Cloning – Science Daily

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Cloning is the process of creating an identical copy of an original organism or thing.

A cloning in the biological sense, therefore, is a molecule, single cell (like bacteria, lymphocytes etc.) or multi-cellular organism that has been directly copied from and is therefore genetically identical to another living organism.

Sometimes this term can refer to "natural" clones made either when an organism is asexually reproduced by chance (as with identical twins), but in common parlance, a clone is an identical copy created intentionally.

Molecular cloning refers to the procedure of isolating a DNA sequence of interest and obtaining multiple copies of it in an organism.

Cloning is frequently employed to amplify DNA fragments containing genes, an essential step in their subsequent analysis.

Frequently, the term cloning is misleadingly used to refer to the identification of the chromosomal location of a gene associated with a particular phenotype of interest.

In practice, localisation of the gene does not always enable one to amplify the relevant genomic sequence.

Cloning of any DNA sequence involves the following four steps: amplification, ligation, transfection, and screening / selection.

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Twenty-fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution …

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The Twenty-fourth Amendment (Amendment XXIV) of the United States Constitution prohibits both Congress and the states from conditioning the right to vote in federal elections on payment of a poll tax or other types of tax. The amendment was proposed by Congress to the states on August 27, 1962, and was ratified by the states on January 23, 1964.

Southern states of the former Confederate States of America adopted poll taxes in laws of the late 19th century and new constitutions from 1890 to 1908, after the Democratic Party had generally regained control of state legislatures decades after the end of Reconstruction, as a measure to prevent African Americans and often poor whites from voting. Use of the poll taxes by states was held to be constitutional by the Supreme Court of the United States in the 1937 decision Breedlove v. Suttles.

When the 24th Amendment was ratified in 1964, five states still retained a poll tax: Virginia, Alabama, Texas, Arkansas, and Mississippi. The amendment prohibited requiring a poll tax for voters in federal elections. But it was not until 1966 that the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 63 in Harper v. Virginia Board of Elections that poll taxes for any level of elections were unconstitutional. It said these violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. Subsequent litigation related to potential discriminatory effects of voter registration requirements has generally been based on application of this clause.

Poll tax

Cumulative poll tax (missed poll taxes from prior years must also be paid to vote)

No poll tax

Southern states adopted the poll tax as a requirement for voting as part of a series of laws intended to marginalize black Americans from politics so far as practicable without violating the Fifteenth Amendment. This required that voting not be limited by "race, color, or previous condition of servitude." All voters were required to pay the poll tax, but in practice it most affected the poor. Notably this impacted both African Americans and poor white voters, some of whom had voted with Populist and Fusionist candidates in the late 19th century, temporarily disturbing Democratic rule. Proponents of the poll tax downplayed this aspect and assured white voters they would not be affected. Passage of poll taxes began in earnest in the 1890s, as Democrats wanted to prevent another Populist-Republican coalition. Despite election violence and fraud, African Americans were still winning numerous local seats. By 1902, all eleven states of the former Confederacy had enacted a poll tax, many within new constitutions that contained other provisions to reduce voter lists, such as literacy or comprehension tests. The poll tax was used together with grandfather clauses and the "white primary", and threats of violence. For example, potential voters had to be "assessed" in Arkansas, and blacks were utterly ignored in the assessment.

From 1900 to 1937, such use of the poll tax was nearly ignored by the federal government. Some state-level initiatives repealed it. The poll tax survived a legal challenge in the 1937 Supreme Court case Breedlove v. Suttles, which ruled that "[The] privilege of voting is not derived from the United States, but is conferred by the state and, save as restrained by the Fifteenth and Nineteenth Amendments and other provisions of the Federal Constitution, the state may condition suffrage as it deems appropriate."[3]

The issue remained prominent, as most African Americans in the South were disenfranchised. President Franklin D. Roosevelt spoke out against the tax. He publicly called it "a remnant of the Revolutionary period" that the country had moved past. However, Roosevelt's favored liberal Democrats lost in the 1938 primaries to the reigning conservative Southern Democrats, and he backed off the issue. He felt that he needed Southern Democratic votes to pass New Deal programs and did not want to further antagonize them. Still, efforts at the Congressional level to abolish the poll tax continued. A 1939 bill to abolish the poll tax in federal elections was tied up by the Southern Block, lawmakers whose long tenure in office from a one-party region gave them seniority and command of numerous important committee chairmanships. A discharge petition was able to force the bill to be considered, and the House passed the bill 25484. However, the bill was unable to defeat a filibuster in the Senate by Southern senators and a few Northern allies who valued the support of the powerful and senior Southern seats. This bill would be re-proposed in the next several Congresses. It came closest to passage during World War II, when opponents framed abolition as a means to help overseas soldiers vote. However, after learning that the US Supreme Court decision Smith v. Allwright (1944) banned use of the "white primary," the Southern block refused to approve abolition of the poll tax.

In 1946, the Senate came close to passing the bill. 24 Democrats and 15 Republicans approved an end to debate, while 7 non-southern Democrats and 7 Republicans joined with the 19 Southern Democrats in opposition. The result was a 3933 vote in favor of the bill, but the filibuster required a two-thirds supermajority to break at the time; a 4824 vote was required to pass the bill.[clarification needed] Those in favor of abolition of the poll tax considered a constitutional amendment after the 1946 defeat, but that idea did not advance either.

The tenor of the debate changed in the 1940s. Southern politicians tried to shift the debate to Constitutional issue, but private correspondence indicates that black disenfranchisement was still the true concern. For instance, Mississippi Senator Theodore Bilbo declared, "If the poll tax bill passes, the next step will be an effort to remove the registration qualification, the educational qualification of Negroes. If that is done we will have no way of preventing the Negroes from voting." This fear explains why even Southern Senators from states that had abolished the poll tax still opposed the bill; they did not want to set a precedent that the federal government could interfere in state elections.

President Harry S. Truman established the President's Committee on Civil Rights, which among other issues investigated the poll tax. Considering that opposition to federal poll tax regulation in 1948 was claimed as based on the Constitution, the Committee noted that a constitutional amendment might be the best way to proceed. Still, little occurred during the 1950s. Members of the anti-poll tax movement laid low during the anti-Communist frenzy of the period; some of the main proponents of poll tax abolition, such as Joseph Gelders and Vito Marcantonio, had been committed Marxists.

President John F. Kennedy returned to this issue. His administration urged Congress to adopt and send such an amendment to the states for ratification. He considered the constitutional amendment the best way to avoid a filibuster, as the claim that federal abolition of the poll tax was unconstitutional would be moot. Still, some liberals opposed Kennedy's action, feeling that an amendment would be too slow compared to legislation.Spessard Holland, a conservative Democrat from Florida, introduced the amendment to the Senate. Holland opposed most civil rights legislation during his career,[11] and Kennedy's gaining of his support helped splinter monolithic Southern opposition to the Amendment. Ratification of the amendment was relatively quick, taking slightly more than a year; it was rapidly ratified by state legislatures across the country from August 1962 to January 1964.

President Lyndon B. Johnson called the amendment a "triumph of liberty over restriction" and "a verification of people's rights."[12] States that maintained the poll tax were more reserved. Mississippi's Attorney General, Joe Patterson, complained about the complexity of two sets of voters those who paid their poll tax and could vote in all elections, and those who had not and could only vote in federal elections.[12] Additionally, non-payers of the poll tax could still be deterred by requirements that they register far in advance of the election and retain records of such registration.[13] States such as Alabama also exercised discrimination in the application of literacy tests.

Ratified amendment, 196264

Ratified amendment post-enactment, 1977, 1989, 2002, 2009

Rejected amendment

Didn't ratify amendment

Congress proposed the Twenty-fourth Amendment on August 27, 1962.[14][15] The amendment was submitted to the states on September 24, 1962, after it passed with the requisite two-thirds majorities in the House and Senate.[12] The following states ratified the amendment:

Ratification was completed on January 23, 1964. The Georgia legislature did make a last-second attempt to be the 38th state to ratify. This was a surprise as "no Southern help could be expected"[13] for the amendment. The Georgia Senate quickly and unanimously passed it, but the House did not act in time.[12] Georgia's ratification was apparently dropped after South Dakota's ratification.

The amendment was subsequently ratified by the following states:

The following states have not ratified the amendment:

Arkansas effectively repealed its poll tax for all elections with Amendment 51 to the Arkansas Constitution at the November 1964 general election, several months after this amendment was ratified. The poll-tax language was not completely stricken from its Constitution until Amendment 85 in 2008.[16] Of the five states originally affected by this amendment, Arkansas was the only one to repeal its poll tax; the other four retained their taxes until they were struck down in 1966 by the US Supreme Court decision in Harper v. Virginia Board of Elections (1966), which ruled poll taxes unconstitutional even for state elections. Federal district courts in Alabama and Texas, respectively, struck down their poll taxes less than two months before the Harper ruling was issued.

The state of Virginia accommodated the amendment by providing an "escape clause" to the poll tax. In lieu of paying the poll tax, a prospective voter could file paperwork to gain a certificate establishing a place of residence in Virginia. The papers would have to be filed six months in advance of voting and the voter had to provide a copy of certificate at the time of voting. This measure was expected to decrease the number of legal voters.[17] In the 1965 Supreme Court decision Harman v. Forssenius, the Court unanimously found such measures unconstitutional. It declared that for federal elections, "the poll tax is abolished absolutely as a prerequisite to voting, and no equivalent or milder substitute may be imposed."[18]

While not directly related to the Twenty-fourth Amendment, the Supreme Court case Harper v. Virginia Board of Elections (1966) ruled that the poll tax was unconstitutional at every level, not just for federal elections. The Harper decision relied upon the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, rather than the Twenty-Fourth Amendment. As such, issues related to whether burdens on voting are equivalent to poll taxes in discriminatory effect have usually been litigated on Equal Protection grounds since.

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Twenty-fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution ...

Schedules – SeaLand

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ACX SOUTHBOUND KINGSTON (JM) - CARTAGENA (CO) - MANZANILLO (PA) - MANAUS (BR) - VITORIA (BR) - SANTOS (BR) - NAVEGANTES (BR) - PARANAGUA (BR) - SANTOS (BR) - RIO DE JANEIRO (BR) - SALVADOR (BR) View Map ACX NORTHBOUND NAVEGANTES (BR) - PARANAGUA (BR) - SANTOS (BR) - RIO DE JANEIRO (BR) - SALVADOR (BR) - KINGSTON (JM) - CARTAGENA (CO) - MANZANILLO (PA) View Map CALYPSO EASTBOUND MANZANILLO (PA) - BARRANQUILLA (CO) - CARTAGENA (CO) - SANTA MARTA (CO) - POINT LISAS (TT) - GEORGETOWN (GY) - PARAMARIBO (SR) View Map CALYPSO WESTBOUND GEORGETOWN (GY) - PARAMARIBO (SR) - POINT LISAS (TT) - BARRANQUILLA (CO) - SANTA MARTA (CO) - MANZANILLO (PA) View Map CARIBBEAN WESTBOUND RIO HAINA (DO) - SAN JUAN (PR) - CAUCEDO (DO) - MANZANILLO (PA) View Map CARIBBEAN EASTBOUND MANZANILLO (PA) - CAUCEDO (DO) - RIO HAINA (DO) - SAN JUAN (PR) View Map CARNAVAL SOUTHBOUND ORANJESTAD (AW) - WILLEMSTAD (CW) - MANZANILLO (PA) - PORT-AU-PRINCE (HT) - KINGSTON (JM) View Map CARNAVAL NORTHBOUND MANZANILLO (PA) - PORT-AU-PRINCE (HT) - KINGSTON (JM) - ORANJESTAD (AW) - WILLEMSTAD (CW) View Map CURACAO WESTBOUND WILLEMSTAD (CW) - MANZANILLO (PA) View Map CURACAO EASTBOUND MANZANILLO (PA) - WILLEMSTAD (CW) View Map ECUBEX SOUTHBOUND MANZANILLO (PA) - BALBOA (PA) - GUAYAQUIL (EC) View Map ECUBEX NORTHBOUND GUAYAQUIL (EC) - BALBOA (PA) - MANZANILLO (PA) - SANTA MARTA (CO) View Map ECUMED SOUTHBOUND CAUCEDO (DO) - MANZANILLO (PA) - BUENAVENTURA (CO) - GUAYAQUIL (EC) View Map ECUMED NORTHBOUND GUAYAQUIL (EC) - BALBOA (PA) - MANZANILLO (PA) View Map GUANTA EASTBOUND KINGSTON (JM) - MANZANILLO (PA) - GUANTA (VE) View Map GUANTA WESTBOUND GUANTA (VE) - KINGSTON (JM) - MANZANILLO (PA) View Map GULFEX NORTHBOUND RIO GRANDE (BR) - NAVEGANTES (BR) - SANTOS (BR) - RIO DE JANEIRO (BR) - CARTAGENA (CO) - VERACRUZ (MX) - ALTAMIRA (MX) - HOUSTON (US) - NEW ORLEANS (US) View Map GULFEX SOUTHBOUND VERACRUZ (MX) - ALTAMIRA (MX) - HOUSTON (US) - NEW ORLEANS (US) - CAUCEDO (DO) - SUAPE (BR) - SANTOS (BR) - RIO GRANDE (BR) - NAVEGANTES (BR) View Map MAE SOUTHBOUND HOUSTON (US) - ALTAMIRA (MX) - VERACRUZ (MX) - SANTO TOMAS (GT) - PUERTO CORTES (HN) - PUERTO LIMON (CR) - MANZANILLO (PA) - CARTAGENA (CO) - CAUCEDO (DO) - SAN JUAN (PR) View Map MAE NORTHBOUND CAUCEDO (DO) - SAN JUAN (PR) - CARTAGENA (CO) - MANZANILLO (PA) - PUERTO LIMON (CR) - SANTO TOMAS (GT) - PUERTO CORTES (HN) - HOUSTON (US) - ALTAMIRA (MX) - VERACRUZ (MX) View Map MARACAIBO WESTBOUND GUARANAO (VE) - MARACAIBO (VE) - MANZANILLO (PA) View Map MARACAIBO EASTBOUND MANZANILLO (PA) - GUARANAO (VE) - MARACAIBO (VE) View Map NAE NORTHBOUND CARTAGENA (CO) - TURBO (CO) - MANZANILLO (PA) - PUERTO MOIN (CR) - PHILADELPHIA (US) - NEW YORK (US) - SAVANNAH (US) View Map NAE SOUTHBOUND PHILADELPHIA (US) - NEW YORK (US) - SAVANNAH (US) - PORT EVERGLADES (US) - CARTAGENA (CO) - TURBO (CO) - MANZANILLO (PA) - PUERTO MOIN (CR) View Map OCEANIA SOUTHBOUND PHILADELPHIA (US) - CHARLESTON (US) - CARTAGENA (CO) - BALBOA (PA) View Map OCEANIA NORTHBOUND CRISTOBAL (PA) - MANZANILLO (PA) - CARTAGENA (CO) - PHILADELPHIA (US) - CHARLESTON (US) View Map PLATA FEEDER NORTHBOUND MONTEVIDEO (UY) - BUENOS AIRES (AR) - RIO GRANDE (BR) - NAVEGANTES (BR) View Map PLATA FEEDER SOUTHBOUND NAVEGANTES (BR) - MONTEVIDEO (UY) - BUENOS AIRES (AR) - RIO GRANDE (BR) View Map SAE NORTHBOUND MANZANILLO (PA) - PUERTO CORTES (HN) - SANTO TOMAS (GT) - FREEPORT (BS) - WILMINGTON (US) - NORFOLK (US) - PHILADELPHIA (US) - SAVANNAH (US) View Map SAE SOUTHBOUND NORFOLK (US) - PHILADELPHIA (US) - WILMINGTON (US) - SAVANNAH (US) - SANTO TOMAS (GT) - PUERTO CORTES (HN) - PUERTO MOIN (CR) - MANZANILLO (PA) View Map SL CUMBIA SOUTHBOUND VERACRUZ (MX) - ALTAMIRA (MX) - HOUSTON (US) - NEW ORLEANS (US) - KINGSTON (JM) - CARTAGENA (CO) - MANZANILLO (PA) View Map VENEZUELA WESTBOUND (LAG) LA GUAIRA (VE) - MANZANILLO (PA) - CARTAGENA (CO) View Map VENEZUELA EASTBOUND (LAG) MANZANILLO (PA) - CARTAGENA (CO) - LA GUAIRA (VE) View Map VENEZUELA EASTBOUND (PBL) MANZANILLO (PA) - CARTAGENA (CO) - PUERTO CABELLO (VE) View Map VENEZUELA WESTBOUND (PBL) PUERTO CABELLO (VE) - MANZANILLO (PA) - CARTAGENA (CO) View Map XCL NORTHBOUND MANZANILLO (PA) - KINGSTON (JM) - PORT-AU-PRINCE (HT) View Map XCL SOUTHBOUND PORT-AU-PRINCE (HT) - KINGSTON (JM) - MANZANILLO (PA) View Map

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Schedules - SeaLand

Cyberpunk – High Tech, Low Life. /r/Cyberpunk – reddit

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What is cyberpunk?

A genre of science fiction and a lawless subculture in an oppressive society dominated by computer technology and big corporations. Hmmm...It feels like the world we live in today.

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Personal attacks, name calling, bigotry and extreme negativity are subject to removal and or banning, If you spot this use the report button or mod message to alert moderators.

If it's cyberpunk, you can post it, no matter the year or the style of the content, city pics, political articles, social discussions, latest novels, you name it, you can post it, if it's NSFW tag it and if it has gore use NSFL on the title.

No SPAM, if you want to promote your cyberpunk website, blog or forum, please contact the moderators, we will say yes more likely than not, this does not apply to our wiki tumblr section, you can add your own as long it's cyberpunk related.

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Virtual reality, one year out: What went right, what didn’t …

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After years of teases, tantalizing promises, and Kickstarter campaigns, virtual reality finally became actual reality in 2016, with VRs mere existence thrusting the entire PC industry into glorious, wonderful turmoil. Despite being around for just a handful of months, virtual reality has already inspired totally new genres of computers, wormed its way deep into Windows, and sent the price of graphics cards plummeting.

Not too shabby for VRs first real year on the streets, though the implementations could still use some fine-tuning. Lets look back at howthis wild new frontier blossomed in 2016.

From the very start of 2016 it was clear that the dawn of proper PC-powered VR had arrived. You could see evidence of this fact all overCES 2016 in January, where EVGA introduced a specialized graphics card designed to fit VR headset ergonomics; Nvidia rolled out a VR certification program;and seemingly every booth boasted some sort of virtual-reality hook, from VR treadmills toVR pornandVR Everest climbs(the latter two being mind-blowing in their own ways).

The PC world was ready. But virtual reality itself wasnt, at least until the Oculus Rifts big consumer launch later that spring.

The Oculus Rift.

Well, big in theory. While PCWorld praisedthe Oculus Rift in its reviewvirtual reality was here, and it was magical!the launch was far from perfect. The rumbling began in the run-up to the headsets release, with Rifts $600 launch price far exceeding the $250 to $500 range that Oculus higher-ups had teased repeatedly. Once it actually launched, the headset was plagued by hardware shortages and significant shipment delays, which didnt go over well at all.

But the biggest problem for the Rift was that even at launch its days already felt numberednot a vibe you want from $600 hardware. The Rift was designed primarily as a seated VR experience, with a controller in your hands. By the time it launched on March 28, enthusiasts and industry press had already spent time playing with the SteamVR-powered HTC Vive, which used made-for-VR controllers and dedicated tracking stations to enable room-scale VR experiences that let you wander around and actually touch things. After trying Vive, going back to the Rifts sedentary experience felt far less satisfying.

The HTC Vive.

And the HTC/Valve duo didnt waste any time capitalizing on its advantage. The HTC Vive launched on April 5, roughly a week after the Oculus Rift, and immediately seized the crown as PCWorlds preferred VR solution.

Despite that, we recommendpassing on the Rift and the Vive, and for very good reason. While VR can be nothing short of awe-inspiring, these first-gen products also have some obvious flaws.

Man, virtual-reality headsets are expensive.

Oculus Rift with its Touch controllers.

Thats to be expected with bleeding-edge hardware, but $600 for the Oculus Rift or $800 for the HTC Vive puts them firmly in the one percent category. The recent release of Oculuss $200 Touch controllers drove the cost of a full Rift setup to the Vives level, or even more if you want kinda-sorta room-scale experiences and need an extra sensor. VR experiences tend to be high-priced and relatively short-lived compared to traditional PC games. This is not a cheap hobby.

That priciness was exacerbated by the need to connect these headsets to a pretty powerful PCthat cost of which was roughly $1,000 to $1,500 at the time of the headsets' launch. Fortunately, while the Vive and Rift themselves have stayed at the same lofty prices, the cost of a computer to run them absolutely plunged as the year carried on.

The plunge began with the launch of AMDs Radeon RX 480, which revolutionized whats possible with a $200 graphics card. Before its release, VR-capable graphics cards cost nearly twice that amount. (Nvidia quickly followed suit with the $250 GeForce GTX 1060.) Jumping forward two full technological generations paid major dividends for graphics cards.

The AMD Radeon RX 480.

Software tricks helped democratize VR just as much. At the Oculus Connect conference in October, the company revealed a new feature dubbed Asynchronous Spacewarp that used technical tricks to drive the barrier to entry for Rift VR way, way downall the way to an AMD AM4 or Intel Core i3-6100 processor, and a GeForce GTX 960 graphics card. In March, a Rift-ready PC cost at least $1,000; after Oculus Connect, Rift-ready PCs started at $500, and as I write this theres a Best Buy promotion offering a full PC and the Rift itself for $999.

Hot damn, prices plunged fast. And another pesky PC VR problem is already in everybodys sights.

The HTC Vive and Oculus Rift both drive very high-fidelity gaming experiences, and headsets need to be physically tethered to your PC in order to work. That kind of sucks. Its all too easy to trip over the thick cables while youre wandering around the room ensconced in a virtual world, or to twist and turn so much that the cord eventually jerks your head back.

HPs Omen X VR PC.

That (sometimes literal) headache inspired the birth of a whole new class of gaming PCsones that you wear on your back. Youre still wired up, sure, but those wires travel with you instead of getting tangled between your feet. Zotac, MSI, Alienware, and HP have all revealed backpack PCs of various designs, though none have actually hit the street yet.

The standalone Oculus Santa Cruz prototype.

As nifty as they are, however, backpack PCs feel like a stopgap solutiona fix to a problem that will disappear when more robust wireless display technologies or more potent mobile graphics arrive. And you can already see that wireless future on the horizon, with Oculus testing a fully self-contained mobile Rift prototype pictured above and HTC backing a $220 add-on kit that makes the Vive wireless.

While powerful PC-based VR experiences may be tethered, the more modest world of phone-driven mobile VR has already left cords far behind.

Googles Daydream View.

Samsungs Gear VR headset (which only works with Samsung Galaxy phones) blazed the Android VR trail, while Googles low-cost Cardboard brought it to the masses. In late 2016 Google stomped into the Gear VRs turf with Daydream VR, an Android-centric initiative that brings premium mobile VR to the entire ecosystem rather than Samsungs phones alone.

Daydream centers on a trio of pillars: powerful phones, Daydream VR headsets, and Android Nougats new VR features. While Googles own Daydream View headset and Pixel phone kicked off the program, Daydream isnt its alone. HTC, LG, Xiaomi, Huawei, ZTE, Asus, Alcatel, Lenovo, and yes, even Samsung have pledged to create Daydream mobile devices.

A Microsoft rendering shows simulated HoloLens apps.

Microsofts HoloLens is kind of a mix of PC and mobile VR, while also a different beast entirely. Its a portable, fully self-contained system that doesnt need to connect to a PC, but HoloLens utilizes augmented reality, not virtual reality. Virtual reality plops you in fully realized virtual worlds; augmented reality, as the name implies, augments the real world with overlaid objects, such as a Minecraft world sprouting from your coffee table or a Skype video chat appearing on your wall.

Microsoft still hasnt revealed details about when (or if) HoloLens will be available to consumer users, or how much it would cost, but deep-pocketed developers and enterprise users can already pick up the headset for a cool $3,000.

Pricey HoloLens headset arent Microsofts only foray into VR. The massive Windows 10 Creators Update next spring will bake augmented reality features much, much more deeply into the flagship PC operating system, and itll be accompanied by an army of new Windows 10 VR headsets at launchheadsets that will start at just $300 and run on surprisingly modest PCs. Meanwhile, Intel and Microsofts Project Evo partnership aims to change how computers think, see, and hear, with a specific goal of driving mixed reality forward.

Players enjoy a VR experience at HTCs Viveland arcade in Taiwan.

If 2016 was birth of a virtual-reality revolution, look for 2017 to be a year of VR refinement. Witness the new, Oculus Touch-esque Vive controllers that Valve already began to tease, and bookmark the holiday 2017 launch of Microsofts powerful Xbox Scorpio consolewhich could very possibly leverage the Windows 10 Creators Update to run the Oculus Rift or Windows 10 VR headsets as a counter to Sonys surprisingly okay PlayStation VR.

Next year, VR games should only get better as developers gain more experience... if they can navigate the complicated world of consumer expectationsand discover what people really want from the medium, that is. The cost of VR-capable PCs will only keep going down. Expect augmented reality to continue making inroads in car tech. The Vive and Rift may even get price cuts! Heck, with enough advances, 2017 may be the year PCWorld officially recommends you buy a VR headset.

Or it could all come crashing down like previous virtual-reality attempts. (Remember Sega VR?) Living on the bleeding edge may be expensive and exciting, but its not always a sure betthough with so many of techs biggest names spending billions on virtual reality, its hard to imagine this latest push fizzling completely. Time will tell.

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NBA broadcasts games in virtual reality with NextVR …

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The NBA is upping its game, giving fans a whole new perspective. Thanks to virtual reality technology, fans who might never have a chance to get to an NBA game can now feel like theyre in the stands, or even courtside.

All you need is a subscription to the NBA League Pass, a virtual reality headset, and the free app NextVR on your smartphone.

CBS News correspondent Dana Jacobson gave the technology a try.

I mean, the players are like, there. I should be touching them but Im not, Jacobson said. Its so clear. I dont know how to describe it. Its just unreal.

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Traditionally, sport has been watched on a flat screen and now for the first time in history, we take you inside the screen in a way that youve never been able to stream content, said Danny Keens, vice president of content at NextVR -- NBA Digitals partner in a weekly virtual reality broadcast.

We cant just be different from traditional television; we have be better than television and we cant just be different from being at the game, Keens said. We have to be better than being at the game.

What was it like the first time you watched that full broadcast with the NextVR technology? Jacobson asked Jeff Marsilio, who heads the venture for the NBA.

I was nervous and then I was really excited as I saw it really come together, said Marsilio. We sat the camera at a courtside table and just you know, filmed -- no real production, nothing more than just filming and capturing. But when we watched the experience, we were blown away.

But to broadcast a game each week, the league realized it needed to do more.

Its not enough to simply put the camera down and walk away, Marsilio said. What weve discovered is you really do need the context that you get from some of the more traditional things that we see in television.

That means an entire broadcast crew -- up to eight unmanned cameras with 180-degree views -- are set up throughout the arena, including one on the stanchion of each basket and one center court on the scorers table.

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And this is actually your right eye, and this is your left eye, Keens explained.

Does it combine in my brain? Jacobson asked about the headset.

Yeah it combines actually in the VR Headset. And so that gives you the depth of 3D because each one is slightly off, and in the headset, it puts it back together and it gives you this sense of a 3D world, Keens said.

One camera is also positioned at a stanchion underneath a basket. Tickets are not available for the seats there.

Theres no ticket for that on the basket position. Just in last weeks game, there was a moment when LeBron [James] was running down the court right at you and you feel like, Oh man, hes coming at me. And the hair raises on your arms. Its pretty exciting, Marsilio said.

From a designated announce team, to the way a game is cut and even the graphics you see, once the headset goes on, its all designed to keep fans engaged.

There is no multi-tasking, there is no Facebook, no Twitter, theres no checking emails, theres no sending a text message, Keens said. So you become fully engaged in the content in a way that youve never been engaged. So youre 100 percent committed to watching the game.

The league is not releasing specific numbers, but told CBS News people are watching the VR games. As for whats next, both the NBA and NextVR said the technology is rapidly improving so they expect the quality of games and the number of broadcasts to grow.

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Virtual Reality | Future | Fandom powered by Wikia

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Virtual reality is, the projection upon the five senses artificial stimuli. This can be used to create illusions (imaginary worlds) that can be simulated on a computer. Various technologies, especially computer games that utilize VR will incrementally reshape how we view society.

"The ultimate dream is to merge the real world and the virtual world into a totally seamless experience" -- PhotoSynth project

Development of simulation, rendering, VR input and output technologies will have wider implications than just better virtual environments. We can define three main modes of combining reality with virtual reality:

The Mirror World video (30Mb, Quicktime) provides an interesting glimpse into the future connections between virtual and real world. Another demo Toshiba shows how our selves can be transferred into the VR as avatars.

Virtual reality started with single-player worlds simulated on a local machine (first 3D games and research projects before that). That is, computer games. The next step (late 1990s) was to have multiplayer worlds, where several participants could interact with limited realism. Another important development were persistent worlds - various MMORPGs and "general-purpose" virtual worlds such as ActiveWorlds, Second Life, and There. These persistent worlds are running on clusters of servers (sometimes distributed) and usually allow creation of custom content and programming by users. More than ten million people play MMORPGs as of 2005 and about 100 thousand "play" in general purpose worlds. Overall more than 100 million people play 3D computer and video games online (45 million in 2002 [2]).

The next step (2010-2015) is going to be development of more open systems, where content can be moved across platforms and where separate worlds can be linked (for example a room in a virtual building can be simulated on a private server using different simulation software, but would still be accessible for the people walking in the virtual city). [3] Open source may play a role there. [4] Eventually virtual reality worlds will integrate into a global Metaverse running on a distributed grid.

The step after that will be the integration of these worlds with input/output technologies, such as VR goggles and brain-computer interfaces. By then most of the people will spend a significant part of their lives in virtual reality (playing, communicating, working, having sex). Eventually, uploading will make feasible a full migration into virtual reality, while robotic bodies will make the reverse possible.

Acquisition of data from aerial photos

Acquisition from street level photos

Manual content creation

Create 3D models from photo collections

3D city models in interactive maps, MS Virtual Earth 3D

To bridge the gap between reality and virtual reality we need methods to quickly (not slowly and manually [5]) convert objects from physical reality into digital models and back. This will have much wider implications than just more realistic games, this is going to gradually change what we consider reality.

Some technologies already exist: laser scanners and 3d printers for small objects. Some crude methods already exist to quickly generate 3d models of larger real world scenes (using image processing and LIDAR) - urban landscapes [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] and indoor environments [11].

It is already feasible and cost-effective to acquire photographic data for Yellow Pages [12] [13] using the "drive and shoot" model. Hi-resolution satellite images of urban areas are being incorporated into MSN Virtual Earth [14]. Google is quietly doing similar stuff [15], and may do much more in the future [16] [17] [18]

Using a combination of these approaches 3D models of cities will soon (est. 2007-2009) be built cheaply and quickly. To create a realistic virtual environment one would only need to clean up the raw data a bit, combine the air photos for rooftops and large buildings with ground level images for details, add virtual pedestrians and traffic on streets.

Photosynth is an upcoming technology from Microsoft [19] (videos, live demo, etc.) to recreate 3D environments from unstructured collections of photographs. In essense, it can take hundreds of photos of the Eiffel Tower from Flickr and automatically create a detailed 3D model.

CryENGINE2

As of 2007 we are on the threshold of realism in computer games. It is finally possible to simulate certain aspects of reality in real time and with sufficient precision to declare it an accurate simulation overall.

For example, the Forza Motorsport racing simulation for Xbox is physically realistic. It is mostly on par with reality, even though it's not indistinguishable yet. To achieve this, programmers from Microsoft Game Studios take into account between 3000 and 10000 variables and simulate all aspects of driving, running the simulation at 240 ticks per second. For Race Against Reality Popular Science asked a veteran gamer and a professional race driver to extensively test drive both real cars and their virtual prototypes. The conclusion was that the game simulation is accurate.

Similar level of realism is available for the flight simulators, again from Microsoft [20]. Some simulators are so realistic that pilots are allowed to log the virtual hours just like the real ones.

However, these simulations are not completely realistic yet. There are still things that can be improved though before we have perfect VR.

The shader model (introduced in 2002-2005) made possible to move graphics a step up from poligonal textured environments to much more realistic worlds. Games introduced in 2005 simulate realistically such superfluous details as raindrop splashes, smoke clouds (Call of Duty 2), etc. Water shaders and 3D textures further enhance the realism.

Still, we have already entered the realm of virtual reality. In some aspects, although not in all, virtual environments are already as good as real ones.

As of 2009 vision is the only area that is completely realistic in terms that it is indistinguishable from real life on a limited scale.

Currently most games (or professional simulations) take into account only a few aspects of reality. A car racing game has a detailed simulation of the engine, tires, tracktion, drag, etc., but "pedestrians" are glued to the ground, all other objects, e.g. planes, are moving on a predetermined path, etc. A real time strategy or tycoon game simulates the social dynamics and resource processing to some extent, but ignores the the physics of individual characters moving around.

But the big trend is that the engines all games use become more and more similar. Nowadays a strategy and a shooter game can use the same graphics engine, the same physics engine (such as Havoc 2) and look and feel rather similar (compare it with Dune 2 vs. Doom 2). John Carmack believes that universal engines will emerge around 2010-2015 and he will probably program only two more generations of custom game engines.

Of course, as long as content creation and programming are expensive, the games will avoid simulating parts unnecessary for the core gameplay. But the inevitable emergence of a common engine base will make it possible to integrate different games in one world and eventually it will be done. A crude example of that is the Second Life game where the complexity is not limited, at least in principle. There are also more and more games that use completeness as a selling point, such as GTA series and upcoming Spore from Will Wright.

The increased completeness will eventually make the virtual world real. In that virtual reality a "player" will be able to race, shoot, socialise, control armies, play with "physically real" objects and do a very large subset of what is possible in reality.

IBM CEO, Sam Palmisano delivers a strategic announcement in Beijing and in Second Life (shown above), in the Forbidden City, a virtual space created by IBM with the Chinese government

Reuters, Sun, IBM, Toyota, Sony BMG, CNet, Adidas, American Apparel and Starwood Hotels are among the companies that (as of 2006) operate in the Second Life virtual reality.

Computer and video games are relatively non-controversial (bar some violent games). Virtual reality hardware, while clumsy and awkward, is accepted too. While full-scale VR a la Matrix, if implemented today, would be scary to most people, gradual development will probably be accepted easily. For example, Sony has discussed future neural interfaces several times.

In the long run, VR may lead to Marriage obsolescence.

The NISTEP report [26] lists the following predictions related to virtual reality:

The use of VR in the period covered by NISTEP forecast (2010-2015) will probably include video-realistic virtual worlds with limited physical and AI realism delivered through light, comfortable high-quality VR goggles and possibly some primitive neural interfaces (may be for motor control or mood enhancement). BTW, this will be the PlayStation 5 era providing that a Gaming Depression doesn't occur within the next five or ten years.

By 2025-2030 both the simulation and interface technologies will likely advance to a stage sufficient for a perfect Matrix-like simulation indistinguishable from reality, but the virtual avatar will still be controlled by the actual human brain. While the Matrix scenario of naked immobile humans immersed in a nutrient medium and immersed in a virtual reality permanently is possible, it is likely that most people will still spend much of their time in physical reality.

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