"If I speak in the tongues of men or angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I prophesy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all to the poor and my body to hardship, but do not have love, I gain nothing. Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, or boast, or is proud. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres."
1 Corinthians13
Sunday, May 31, 2015
WSJ: Chinese Firm’s Headquarters Shaped Like ‘Star Trek’s’ Enterprise
From the Wall Street Journal:
With the help of Google Maps, fans of the science fiction franchise “Star Trek” have boldly gone to China to find a new discovery: the USS Enterprise as a work of architecture.
The design of the building has sparked heated discussion online among Trekkies about which ship from the long-running television and movie series it is based on.
Now the mysterious owner has come forward.
The 260-meter long, 100-meter wide, six-floor building was built by Hong Kong-listed Chinese online game developer NetDragon Websoft, whose founder Liu Dejian — a 43-year-old University of Kansas alumni — is a huge fan. Mr. Liu is also a board member of Chinese search engine giant Baidu.
http://blogs.wsj.com/chinarealtime/2015/05/25/chinese-firms-headquarters-shaped-like-star-treks-enterprise/
With the help of Google Maps, fans of the science fiction franchise “Star Trek” have boldly gone to China to find a new discovery: the USS Enterprise as a work of architecture.
The design of the building has sparked heated discussion online among Trekkies about which ship from the long-running television and movie series it is based on.
Now the mysterious owner has come forward.
The 260-meter long, 100-meter wide, six-floor building was built by Hong Kong-listed Chinese online game developer NetDragon Websoft, whose founder Liu Dejian — a 43-year-old University of Kansas alumni — is a huge fan. Mr. Liu is also a board member of Chinese search engine giant Baidu.
http://blogs.wsj.com/chinarealtime/2015/05/25/chinese-firms-headquarters-shaped-like-star-treks-enterprise/
정부, '무인기' 주력 산업 육성…"세계 시장 10% 점유 목표" (Korea poised to foster self-driving industry as national agenda)
I did several posts on self-driving cars in the U.S. and Europe. Korea is now catchinh up with the trend. According to MBC news, the state is going to foster self-driving industry as the next growth engine. This is another example of entrepreneurial state.
Yes, thanks to entrepreneurial state, Korea was able to develop technology-based economic miracle. It did benefit the common people up to the certain point. Then, chaebols have become the benefactor, not the real people. The mobile phone industry is a case in point in the long-run trend.
Again, the current administration is pursuing the state-led growth while trying to nurture SMEs. There are discrepancy and contradiction between their policies (e.g., the on-going financialization vs.creative economy, the boost of SMEs vs. chaebol-centered growth engine). This is what makes this administration disappointing.
MBC 뉴스데스크로부터:
이러한 추세에 맞춰 우리 정부가 무인 이동체 기술을 국가 주력 산업으로 육성해 나간다는 방침을 세웠습니다.
스스로 출발했다가 정지하고, 스스로 방향을 바꾸는 무인운행자동차입니다.
박 대통령은 현대차가 개발한 이 무인차에 직접 탑승했습니다.
[김대성/현대차 전자제어개발 실장]
"이 스위치를 누르시면 출발할 수 있는데 한 번 눌러보시죠." 운전대와 페달에서 손과 발을 뗐는데 차량은 알아서 움직입니다.
[박 대통령]
"스피드는 무엇으로 조절을 하나요?"
무인자동차는 차량에 장착된 센서를 통해 속도를 조절하고 장애물도 피합니다.
국가과학기술자문회를 주재한 박 대통령은 미래 먹거리 산업이 될 무인기와 무인주행차량의 원천기술을 확보하는 ICT 기반에 국가 역량을 집중할 것이라고 밝혔습니다.
[박 대통령]
"(무인기기 산업은) 조만간 전 산업과 사회 분야에서 신상품 신시장 융합 신산업을 창출하는 빅뱅을 일으킬 것으로 전망됩니다."
박 대통령은 이어 오는 2020년까지 자율주행 차량 상용화와 10년 뒤 무인이동체 기업 650여 개를 육성해, 매출 15조원, 세계 시장 10% 점유 목표를 제시했습니다.
http://imnews.imbc.com/replay/2015/nwdesk/article/3707250_14775.html
Yes, thanks to entrepreneurial state, Korea was able to develop technology-based economic miracle. It did benefit the common people up to the certain point. Then, chaebols have become the benefactor, not the real people. The mobile phone industry is a case in point in the long-run trend.
Again, the current administration is pursuing the state-led growth while trying to nurture SMEs. There are discrepancy and contradiction between their policies (e.g., the on-going financialization vs.creative economy, the boost of SMEs vs. chaebol-centered growth engine). This is what makes this administration disappointing.
MBC 뉴스데스크로부터:
이러한 추세에 맞춰 우리 정부가 무인 이동체 기술을 국가 주력 산업으로 육성해 나간다는 방침을 세웠습니다.
스스로 출발했다가 정지하고, 스스로 방향을 바꾸는 무인운행자동차입니다.
박 대통령은 현대차가 개발한 이 무인차에 직접 탑승했습니다.
[김대성/현대차 전자제어개발 실장]
"이 스위치를 누르시면 출발할 수 있는데 한 번 눌러보시죠." 운전대와 페달에서 손과 발을 뗐는데 차량은 알아서 움직입니다.
[박 대통령]
"스피드는 무엇으로 조절을 하나요?"
무인자동차는 차량에 장착된 센서를 통해 속도를 조절하고 장애물도 피합니다.
국가과학기술자문회를 주재한 박 대통령은 미래 먹거리 산업이 될 무인기와 무인주행차량의 원천기술을 확보하는 ICT 기반에 국가 역량을 집중할 것이라고 밝혔습니다.
[박 대통령]
"(무인기기 산업은) 조만간 전 산업과 사회 분야에서 신상품 신시장 융합 신산업을 창출하는 빅뱅을 일으킬 것으로 전망됩니다."
박 대통령은 이어 오는 2020년까지 자율주행 차량 상용화와 10년 뒤 무인이동체 기업 650여 개를 육성해, 매출 15조원, 세계 시장 10% 점유 목표를 제시했습니다.
http://imnews.imbc.com/replay/2015/nwdesk/article/3707250_14775.html
Thursday, May 28, 2015
N Y Times: Prosthetic Limbs, Controlled by Thought
From the NYT:
Engineers at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Lab have developed a next-generation prosthetic: a robotic arm that has 26 joints, can curl up to 45 pounds and is controlled with a person’s mind just like a regular arm.
Researchers think the arm could help people like Les Baugh, who lost both arms at the shoulder after an electrical accident as a teenager. Now 59, Mr. Baugh recently underwent surgery at Johns Hopkins to remap the remaining nerves from his missing arms, allowing brain signals to be sent to the prosthetic.
Mr. Baugh’s custom socket can pick up brain signals to control the arms, known as Modular Prosthetic Limbs, or M.P.L., just by thinking about the movements.
Mike McLoughlin, the chief engineer of research and exploratory development at the lab, said that as the remapped nerves grew deeper, it was possible that Mr. Baugh would feel some sensation in his prostheses. Each arm has over 100 sensors, and other amputees who have had the same surgery reported being able to feel texture through the M.P.L.
Patients of varying disabilities have tested the arm in the lab and helped push the design forward.
The limb is modular, which means it can be broken off or built up to accommodate people with different needs — from a hand amputee to someone missing an entire arm. Quadriplegics or stroke survivors, who have lost the ability to move all or part of their bodies, can also use it as a surrogate arm.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/21/technology/a-bionic-approach-to-prosthetics-controlled-by-thought.html?smid=fb-nytimes&smtyp=cur&bicmp=AD&bicmlukp=WT.mc_&_r=1
Engineers at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Lab have developed a next-generation prosthetic: a robotic arm that has 26 joints, can curl up to 45 pounds and is controlled with a person’s mind just like a regular arm.
Researchers think the arm could help people like Les Baugh, who lost both arms at the shoulder after an electrical accident as a teenager. Now 59, Mr. Baugh recently underwent surgery at Johns Hopkins to remap the remaining nerves from his missing arms, allowing brain signals to be sent to the prosthetic.
Mr. Baugh’s custom socket can pick up brain signals to control the arms, known as Modular Prosthetic Limbs, or M.P.L., just by thinking about the movements.
Mike McLoughlin, the chief engineer of research and exploratory development at the lab, said that as the remapped nerves grew deeper, it was possible that Mr. Baugh would feel some sensation in his prostheses. Each arm has over 100 sensors, and other amputees who have had the same surgery reported being able to feel texture through the M.P.L.
Patients of varying disabilities have tested the arm in the lab and helped push the design forward.
The limb is modular, which means it can be broken off or built up to accommodate people with different needs — from a hand amputee to someone missing an entire arm. Quadriplegics or stroke survivors, who have lost the ability to move all or part of their bodies, can also use it as a surrogate arm.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/21/technology/a-bionic-approach-to-prosthetics-controlled-by-thought.html?smid=fb-nytimes&smtyp=cur&bicmp=AD&bicmlukp=WT.mc_&_r=1
Female Founders On An Upward Trend
From techcrunch
New York City, on the other hand, has produced the largest number of companies with a female founder: 374, or 21% of all startups.
http://techcrunch.com/2015/05/26/female-founders-on-an-upward-trend-according-to-crunchbase/
New York City, on the other hand, has produced the largest number of companies with a female founder: 374, or 21% of all startups.
http://techcrunch.com/2015/05/26/female-founders-on-an-upward-trend-according-to-crunchbase/
Tuesday, May 26, 2015
Forbes: South Korea's Startup Culture Marred By Misguided Ambitions
The tone of this article is reflected in my book I am working on. An entrepreneurial culture is as important as other entrepreneurial infrastructure.
From Forbes Asia:
South Korea’s startup culture has been gaining more attention as of late. According to Korea’s Small and Medium Business Administration, the number of startups in the country soared to roughly 30,000 as of January this year, up from a mere 2,000 some 16 years ago. And among that group, 63 have risen to No. 1 in terms of market share in their respective industries.
From Forbes Asia:
South Korea’s startup culture has been gaining more attention as of late. According to Korea’s Small and Medium Business Administration, the number of startups in the country soared to roughly 30,000 as of January this year, up from a mere 2,000 some 16 years ago. And among that group, 63 have risen to No. 1 in terms of market share in their respective industries.
But in spite of that growth and the government’s ongoing support for building a “creative economy,” one that favors and encourages young entrepreneurship, Korea’s startup culture is not as advantageous or conducive as it might seem. While many have the impression the country’s startup landscape is teeming with opportunity, thereare some who remain skeptical of its true offerings.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/gbcurley/2015/05/25/south-koreas-startup-culture-marred-by-misguided-ambitions/
Sunday, May 24, 2015
"New Silk Road" Could Change Global Economics Forever
From Zero Hedge:
China is building the world’s greatest economic development and construction project ever undertaken: The New Silk Road. The project aims at no less than a revolutionary change in the economic map of the world. It is also seen by many as the first shot in a battle between east and west for dominance in Eurasia. For the world at large, its decisions about the Road are nothing less than momentous. The massive project holds the potential for a new renaissance in commerce, industry, discovery, thought, invention, and culture that could well rival the original Silk Road. It is also becoming clearer by the day that geopolitical conflicts over the project could lead to a new cold war between East and West for dominance in Eurasia.
A look at the first project, currently under development, provides a good example of how China plans to proceed.
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-05-23/new-silk-road-could-change-global-economics-forever-part-1
China is building the world’s greatest economic development and construction project ever undertaken: The New Silk Road. The project aims at no less than a revolutionary change in the economic map of the world. It is also seen by many as the first shot in a battle between east and west for dominance in Eurasia. For the world at large, its decisions about the Road are nothing less than momentous. The massive project holds the potential for a new renaissance in commerce, industry, discovery, thought, invention, and culture that could well rival the original Silk Road. It is also becoming clearer by the day that geopolitical conflicts over the project could lead to a new cold war between East and West for dominance in Eurasia.
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-05-23/new-silk-road-could-change-global-economics-forever-part-1
Thursday, May 21, 2015
Seoul’s Proposed Skygarden
From Designboom:
dutch studio MVRDV has been chosen to transform an abandoned section of highway in korea into an elevated public park. named the ‘seoul skygarden’, the design populates the overpass with 254 different species of trees, shrubs and flowers to create an urban arboretum that can be enjoyed the entire city.
the existing structure was built in the 1970s to provide a vehicular connection to and from the local namdaemun market, one of the region’s largest traditional points of trade. following intensive safety inspections in 2006, the city of seoul deemed the 17-meter high structure unsafe and intended to demolish it, banning heavy vehicles’ access to the elevated roadway in 2009. further consultation with residents and experts lead to the regeneration the overpass – which totals 9,661 square meters in area – into a pedestrian walkway and public space, with a design competition launched in 2015.
http://www.designboom.com/architecture/mvrdv-the-seoul-skygarden-abandoned-highway-korea-05-13-2015/
dutch studio MVRDV has been chosen to transform an abandoned section of highway in korea into an elevated public park. named the ‘seoul skygarden’, the design populates the overpass with 254 different species of trees, shrubs and flowers to create an urban arboretum that can be enjoyed the entire city.
the existing structure was built in the 1970s to provide a vehicular connection to and from the local namdaemun market, one of the region’s largest traditional points of trade. following intensive safety inspections in 2006, the city of seoul deemed the 17-meter high structure unsafe and intended to demolish it, banning heavy vehicles’ access to the elevated roadway in 2009. further consultation with residents and experts lead to the regeneration the overpass – which totals 9,661 square meters in area – into a pedestrian walkway and public space, with a design competition launched in 2015.
http://www.designboom.com/architecture/mvrdv-the-seoul-skygarden-abandoned-highway-korea-05-13-2015/
Wednesday, May 20, 2015
@apple vs @samsung and design patents
From Adafruit blog:
Marty Schwimmer and Jordan Garner have penned an article for Law360, http://goo.gl/t7ZLlW, about the recent decision by the Federal Circuit in Apple, Inc. v. Samsung, which clarified the scope of protection available to a design under trade dress and design patent law. The CAFC found that while Apple’s user interface and industrial designs were too utilitarian for trade dress protection, they were sufficiently ornamental to convey design patent protection. According to Marty and Jordan, this case confirms the notion that design patents are cheap, effective IP solutions for companies seeking to protect a competitive edge born out of effective design, but it also cautions that the closer a design gets to representing the optimal user experience, the harder it becomes to separate form from function.
https://blog.adafruit.com/2015/05/20/apple-vs-samsung-and-design-patents-by-leasonellis-trademarkblog-makerbusiness/
Marty Schwimmer and Jordan Garner have penned an article for Law360, http://goo.gl/t7ZLlW, about the recent decision by the Federal Circuit in Apple, Inc. v. Samsung, which clarified the scope of protection available to a design under trade dress and design patent law. The CAFC found that while Apple’s user interface and industrial designs were too utilitarian for trade dress protection, they were sufficiently ornamental to convey design patent protection. According to Marty and Jordan, this case confirms the notion that design patents are cheap, effective IP solutions for companies seeking to protect a competitive edge born out of effective design, but it also cautions that the closer a design gets to representing the optimal user experience, the harder it becomes to separate form from function.
https://blog.adafruit.com/2015/05/20/apple-vs-samsung-and-design-patents-by-leasonellis-trademarkblog-makerbusiness/
Reich: Restore Balance, Break Up the Big Banks, Financial Transaction Tax
From Jesse's cafe:
Hillary Clinton and her husband Bill are charter founders of the Wall St Wing of the Democratic Party. They removed one of the great counterbalances to the corporatists, and have organized political corruption into a cottage industry like Lansky and Luciano organized crime into a business.
The problem is that neither most Republicans nor many Democrats make any bones about serving Big Money first anymore. It is understood that this is how things are. Soft corruption and the revolving door is the fashion.
Mitch McConnell's new chief is a former lobbyist for Koch, for example. And the Republican presidential field is devoted to Big Money while confounding their constituents with emotional sideshows and manipulative pandering to their worst impulses and scapegoating.
Reich's ideas of reinstating Glass Steagall and a nominal Financial Transactions tax have potential. It was a mistake to repeal Glass-Steagall in the first place. I wonder who presided over that? Oh yes, Bill and Hill. And NAFTA. Everything had a price tag including the Lincoln bedroom and Presidential pardons. Very entrepreneurial.
The emphasis on the Transaction Tax should be very 'nominal' and without exemptions on professionals and institutions and 'market makers' so that the HFT crowd and raw speculation from the Banks' trading desks are the targets, and not the average investor.
I also think the Fed itself, in particular the NY Fed, should be banned from making trades in anything but the official and quasi-official bond markets. And all their public markets activity should be transparent with no more than a quarter lag.
The Congress and their staffers cannot be exempt from 'insider trading' and selling information for favors to the funds and trading desks. I mean, come on. Management of companies and the media get plenty of access to insider information as well, and they are not above the law because 'it is too hard' not to use it.
Given the regulatory capture we have today I am not optimistic about reform until there is another crisis. There are only a handful of genuine reformers, but many flavors of opportunists in sheep's clothing.
So Robert, how can you be so gung ho for reform, but so unqualifiedly endorsing the unreformed Hillary Clinton?
Why don't more Beltway and media progressives and liberals come out for Liz Warren or Bernie Sanders? Because they want reform, but cannot offer their supporters the biggest Washington payoff, which is money and power, which are the mother's milk of the politically corrupt.
http://jessescrossroadscafe.blogspot.kr/2015/05/reich-restore-balance-break-up-big-banks.html
Hillary Clinton and her husband Bill are charter founders of the Wall St Wing of the Democratic Party. They removed one of the great counterbalances to the corporatists, and have organized political corruption into a cottage industry like Lansky and Luciano organized crime into a business.
The problem is that neither most Republicans nor many Democrats make any bones about serving Big Money first anymore. It is understood that this is how things are. Soft corruption and the revolving door is the fashion.
Mitch McConnell's new chief is a former lobbyist for Koch, for example. And the Republican presidential field is devoted to Big Money while confounding their constituents with emotional sideshows and manipulative pandering to their worst impulses and scapegoating.
Reich's ideas of reinstating Glass Steagall and a nominal Financial Transactions tax have potential. It was a mistake to repeal Glass-Steagall in the first place. I wonder who presided over that? Oh yes, Bill and Hill. And NAFTA. Everything had a price tag including the Lincoln bedroom and Presidential pardons. Very entrepreneurial.
The emphasis on the Transaction Tax should be very 'nominal' and without exemptions on professionals and institutions and 'market makers' so that the HFT crowd and raw speculation from the Banks' trading desks are the targets, and not the average investor.
I also think the Fed itself, in particular the NY Fed, should be banned from making trades in anything but the official and quasi-official bond markets. And all their public markets activity should be transparent with no more than a quarter lag.
The Congress and their staffers cannot be exempt from 'insider trading' and selling information for favors to the funds and trading desks. I mean, come on. Management of companies and the media get plenty of access to insider information as well, and they are not above the law because 'it is too hard' not to use it.
Given the regulatory capture we have today I am not optimistic about reform until there is another crisis. There are only a handful of genuine reformers, but many flavors of opportunists in sheep's clothing.
So Robert, how can you be so gung ho for reform, but so unqualifiedly endorsing the unreformed Hillary Clinton?
Why don't more Beltway and media progressives and liberals come out for Liz Warren or Bernie Sanders? Because they want reform, but cannot offer their supporters the biggest Washington payoff, which is money and power, which are the mother's milk of the politically corrupt.
http://jessescrossroadscafe.blogspot.kr/2015/05/reich-restore-balance-break-up-big-banks.html
Tuesday, May 19, 2015
‘We are convinced the machine can do better than human anesthesiologists’
From the Washington Post:
I wrote recently about Sedasys, a machine that automates anesthesia. It’s a first-of-its-kind device in the United States. Only four hospitals use it for now. It's restricted to colonoscopies in healthy patients.
But Sedasys, in development for 15 years, is no longer on the true cutting edge of what’s possible with automated anesthesia.
A machine with the clunky name of iControl-RP is. It's an experimental device that pushes the boundaries of how much responsibility is turned over to technology. It monitors brain wave activity. And it's even been tested on children.
One of the reasons that Sedasys was approved by U.S. health regulators is that it's a conservative leap forward. The device is innovative, but it doesn’t decide alone how much anesthesia to give to a patient.
It’s an open-loop system. The initial dose is pre-determined based on a patient's weight and age. And Sedasys only reduces or stops drug delivery if it detects problems. Only a doctor or nurse can up the dose. That gave regulators a level of comfort.
But the iControl-RP makes its own decisions. It is a closed-loop system.
This new device, being tested by University of British Columbia researchers, monitors a patient’s brain wave activity along with traditional health markers, such as blood oxygen levels, to determine how much anesthesia to deliver.
“We are convinced the machine can do better than human anesthesiologists,” said Mark Ansermino, one of the machine’s co-developers, who works as director of pediatric anesthesia research at the university’s medical school in Vancouver.
Sedasys dips its toes into what’s possible. The iControl-RP dives right in.
Anesthesia is tricky. It’s often compared to flying a plane – keeping a patient hovering in just the right plane of consciousness. It’s called depth of hypnosis. Surgeons don’t want patients writhing on the table. And patients don’t want to be aware of the operation. Of course, no one wants patients to die, a distinct possibility if too much of an anesthesia drug is delivered.
The iControl-RP aims to thread that needle by using an EEG to scan a patient’s brain waves to make sure the sedation is adequate. And it looks at heart and breathing rates and blood oxygen levels to make sure the patient is not slipping too deeply into sleep. The machine’s algorithm makes all the medical decisions that a doctor usually does.
Ansermino said anesthesiologists are not very good at maintaining just the right amount of sedation. This is especially important in children, where studies show that deep sedation can have negative longterm cognitive impacts on infants and toddlers.
The iControl-RP team says it has struggled to find a corporate backer for its project. Ansermino, the anesthesiologist in Vancouver, thinks he knows why.
“Most big companies view this as too risky,” he said.
But, he said, a device like this was inevitable.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-switch/wp/2015/05/15/one-anesthesiology-robot-dips-its-toes-into-whats-possible-this-one-jumps-all-in/?tid=hpModule_88854bf0-8691-11e2-9d71-f0feafdd1394&hpid=z15
I wrote recently about Sedasys, a machine that automates anesthesia. It’s a first-of-its-kind device in the United States. Only four hospitals use it for now. It's restricted to colonoscopies in healthy patients.
But Sedasys, in development for 15 years, is no longer on the true cutting edge of what’s possible with automated anesthesia.
A machine with the clunky name of iControl-RP is. It's an experimental device that pushes the boundaries of how much responsibility is turned over to technology. It monitors brain wave activity. And it's even been tested on children.
One of the reasons that Sedasys was approved by U.S. health regulators is that it's a conservative leap forward. The device is innovative, but it doesn’t decide alone how much anesthesia to give to a patient.
It’s an open-loop system. The initial dose is pre-determined based on a patient's weight and age. And Sedasys only reduces or stops drug delivery if it detects problems. Only a doctor or nurse can up the dose. That gave regulators a level of comfort.
But the iControl-RP makes its own decisions. It is a closed-loop system.
This new device, being tested by University of British Columbia researchers, monitors a patient’s brain wave activity along with traditional health markers, such as blood oxygen levels, to determine how much anesthesia to deliver.
“We are convinced the machine can do better than human anesthesiologists,” said Mark Ansermino, one of the machine’s co-developers, who works as director of pediatric anesthesia research at the university’s medical school in Vancouver.
Sedasys dips its toes into what’s possible. The iControl-RP dives right in.
Anesthesia is tricky. It’s often compared to flying a plane – keeping a patient hovering in just the right plane of consciousness. It’s called depth of hypnosis. Surgeons don’t want patients writhing on the table. And patients don’t want to be aware of the operation. Of course, no one wants patients to die, a distinct possibility if too much of an anesthesia drug is delivered.
The iControl-RP aims to thread that needle by using an EEG to scan a patient’s brain waves to make sure the sedation is adequate. And it looks at heart and breathing rates and blood oxygen levels to make sure the patient is not slipping too deeply into sleep. The machine’s algorithm makes all the medical decisions that a doctor usually does.
Ansermino said anesthesiologists are not very good at maintaining just the right amount of sedation. This is especially important in children, where studies show that deep sedation can have negative longterm cognitive impacts on infants and toddlers.
The iControl-RP team says it has struggled to find a corporate backer for its project. Ansermino, the anesthesiologist in Vancouver, thinks he knows why.
“Most big companies view this as too risky,” he said.
But, he said, a device like this was inevitable.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-switch/wp/2015/05/15/one-anesthesiology-robot-dips-its-toes-into-whats-possible-this-one-jumps-all-in/?tid=hpModule_88854bf0-8691-11e2-9d71-f0feafdd1394&hpid=z15
MIT to Offer Course in Rapid Prototyping
From Makezine:
This summer, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology will begin offering a rapid prototyping continuing education course. During the course, which is suitable for a general audience, students will learn about a number of prototyping techniques, design components in a group setting, and then fabricate those parts during lab time.
“With rapid prototyping you can fail fast, and then try and fail until you succeed,” instructor Martin L. Culpepper told ZDNet of the curriculum. “That’s where the innovation comes in.”
Culpepper’s intensive curriculum will run all day for one week in July, and will cover 3D printing, laser cutting, waterjet cutting, CNC milling, and other popular prototyping technologies. Tuition will be $5,000.
http://makezine.com/2015/05/19/mit-offer-course-rapid-prototyping/
This summer, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology will begin offering a rapid prototyping continuing education course. During the course, which is suitable for a general audience, students will learn about a number of prototyping techniques, design components in a group setting, and then fabricate those parts during lab time.
“With rapid prototyping you can fail fast, and then try and fail until you succeed,” instructor Martin L. Culpepper told ZDNet of the curriculum. “That’s where the innovation comes in.”
Culpepper’s intensive curriculum will run all day for one week in July, and will cover 3D printing, laser cutting, waterjet cutting, CNC milling, and other popular prototyping technologies. Tuition will be $5,000.
http://makezine.com/2015/05/19/mit-offer-course-rapid-prototyping/
취업경험 없는 '2030 청년백수' 12년여 만에 최고치
연합뉴스로부터:
취업 경험이 전혀 없는 20∼30대 청년 실업자 수가 12년여 만에 가장 높은 수준으로 치솟았다.
취업 시장에 진출조차 못해 본 20∼30대가 그만큼 늘어나고 있다는 뜻이다.
19일 통계청에 따르면 20∼30대 취업 무경험 실업자는 지난달 기준 9만5천 명으로 집계됐다. 20대가 8만9천 명, 30대는 6천 명이었다.
합계치로는 카드사태가 있었던 2003년 1월(9만7천명) 이후 12년 3개월 만에 최고치다.
http://media.daum.net/economic/others/newsview?newsid=20150519060511136
취업 경험이 전혀 없는 20∼30대 청년 실업자 수가 12년여 만에 가장 높은 수준으로 치솟았다.
취업 시장에 진출조차 못해 본 20∼30대가 그만큼 늘어나고 있다는 뜻이다.
19일 통계청에 따르면 20∼30대 취업 무경험 실업자는 지난달 기준 9만5천 명으로 집계됐다. 20대가 8만9천 명, 30대는 6천 명이었다.
합계치로는 카드사태가 있었던 2003년 1월(9만7천명) 이후 12년 3개월 만에 최고치다.
http://media.daum.net/economic/others/newsview?newsid=20150519060511136
Sunday, May 17, 2015
A Visually Impaired Mother Sees Her Ultrasound Thanks to 3D Printing
From Makezine:
A Huggies-sponsored clip showing visually impaired mother-to-be Tatiana Guerra as she “sees” her unborn child for the first time with a 3D printed ultrasound has racked up nearly 10 million views on YouTube.
A São Paulo-based digital production outfit known as “The Goodfellas” produced the print. Using a special file extension available on newer ultrasound machines, The Goodfellas transferred the image into a treatment stage. They cleaned out amniotic fluid and other bits of interference, bringing enhanced definition to the baby’s shape. From there, a technician 3D printed the file and added a bonder to the print for increased durability. The result: a Han-Solo-in-carbonite style plaque of baby Murilo.
At least one company, 3D Babies, has made a business out of printing 3D ultrasounds. “For best results, you can schedule your 3D ultrasound during gestation weeks 23-32,” says the company’s website. Prints are offered in full and half sizes, come in light, medium, and dark skin tones, and run $250 to $550. 3D Babies ship in 2-3 weeks and come with closed eyes and no hair, the website explains.
http://makezine.com/2015/05/17/visually-impaired-mother-sees-ultrasound-thanks-3d-printing/
“As the Father loves me, so I also love you. Remain in my love. If you
keep my commandments, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my
Father’s commandments and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my
joy may be in you and your joy might be complete. This is my commandment: love
one another as I have loved you. No one has a greater love than this, to lay
down their life for their friends. You are my friend if you do this that I ask
of you."
John 15:9-12
John 15:9-12
Microsoft Connects to Makers with Community-Driven Projects
From Makezine:
Microsoft came to Maker Faire Bay Area 2015 with an array of projects centered around interactivity and fun. Faire-goers got hands-on time with a human-sized keyboard (á la FAO Shwartz) and a Selfie Curtain that uses a Windows 10 app to capture images and display them on a huge RGB LED wall. And there were tons and tons of robots.
“What brought us to Maker Faire was a realization that there’s this vast array of people that are innovating and doing interesting things in the Maker space, and we wanted to join that community,” said Tony Goodhew, program manager of Microsoft’s IoT team. “It was exciting for us to come here and build a bunch of projects that could appeal to the community, and especially the children when you see them grab hold of some of these things and their faces light up.”
http://makezine.com/2015/05/16/microsoft-connects-to-makers-with-community-driven-projects/
Microsoft came to Maker Faire Bay Area 2015 with an array of projects centered around interactivity and fun. Faire-goers got hands-on time with a human-sized keyboard (á la FAO Shwartz) and a Selfie Curtain that uses a Windows 10 app to capture images and display them on a huge RGB LED wall. And there were tons and tons of robots.
“What brought us to Maker Faire was a realization that there’s this vast array of people that are innovating and doing interesting things in the Maker space, and we wanted to join that community,” said Tony Goodhew, program manager of Microsoft’s IoT team. “It was exciting for us to come here and build a bunch of projects that could appeal to the community, and especially the children when you see them grab hold of some of these things and their faces light up.”
http://makezine.com/2015/05/16/microsoft-connects-to-makers-with-community-driven-projects/
Arduino Announces New Brand, Genuino, Manufacturing Partnership with Adafruit
From Makezine:
Through a U.S. manufacturing partnership with Adafruit and the launch of a new global sister brand called Genuino, Arduino.cc today announces a couple of big moves that address the manufacturing challenges that have emerged for the company over the past few months.
The new manufacturing relationship with Adafruit, announced at Maker Faire Bay Area 2015, solves U.S. access for the organization. It moves production of new boards from Italy to the United States, at Adafruit’s Manhattan location, allowing for quicker access to Arduino products for U.S. distributors. Banzi states that production will begin this July, with the facility creating core Arduino products including the venerable Uno.
http://makezine.com/2015/05/16/arduino-adafruit-manufacturing-genuino/
Through a U.S. manufacturing partnership with Adafruit and the launch of a new global sister brand called Genuino, Arduino.cc today announces a couple of big moves that address the manufacturing challenges that have emerged for the company over the past few months.
The new manufacturing relationship with Adafruit, announced at Maker Faire Bay Area 2015, solves U.S. access for the organization. It moves production of new boards from Italy to the United States, at Adafruit’s Manhattan location, allowing for quicker access to Arduino products for U.S. distributors. Banzi states that production will begin this July, with the facility creating core Arduino products including the venerable Uno.
http://makezine.com/2015/05/16/arduino-adafruit-manufacturing-genuino/
Bill Black: New Labour Leaders Want to Go Back to Blair’s Policies That Blew Up the UK
From Naked Capitalism:
Yves here. Get yourself a cup of coffee. This is a meaty, meaning lengthy but rewarding post. Black focuses on a seminal Tony Blair speech to show how Labor sold radical deregulation, with its now all too well known disastrous results. But Black’s close reading of that speech is also instructive in showing the rhetorical sleight of hand Blair used to legitimate bad policy. That type of dissimulation is why these failed prescriptions keep being revived successfully, with little to no change in substance and messaging.
Given the media effort and the push by the Red Tories to lionize former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair I thought it was a good idea to explain just how destructive his war on financial regulation, supervision, enforcement, and prosecutions was. Blair most famously made public his war on regulation and his embrace of “winning” the regulatory race to the bottom in his May 26, 2005 speech on “Risk and the State.” In a classic example of “be careful what you ask for; for you may receive it,” he called on his Nation to embrace greater risk. He claimed that the public’s excessive aversion to risk produced a regulatory nightmare: “The result is a plethora of rules, guidelines, responses to ‘scandals’ of one nature or another that ends up having utterly perverse consequences.” Blair endorsed the Chicago School (and Tory) analysis of the folly of regulation – claiming that it characteristically produces “utterly perverse consequences.”
Blair then admitted at the beginning of his speech that the existing regulatory system had produced exceptional benefits for the public rather than “utterly perverse consequences.” He admitted that absent regulation the harm to the public would have been extreme.
http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2015/05/bill-black-new-labour-leaders-want-to-go-back-to-blairs-policies-that-blew-up-the-uk.html
Yves here. Get yourself a cup of coffee. This is a meaty, meaning lengthy but rewarding post. Black focuses on a seminal Tony Blair speech to show how Labor sold radical deregulation, with its now all too well known disastrous results. But Black’s close reading of that speech is also instructive in showing the rhetorical sleight of hand Blair used to legitimate bad policy. That type of dissimulation is why these failed prescriptions keep being revived successfully, with little to no change in substance and messaging.
Given the media effort and the push by the Red Tories to lionize former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair I thought it was a good idea to explain just how destructive his war on financial regulation, supervision, enforcement, and prosecutions was. Blair most famously made public his war on regulation and his embrace of “winning” the regulatory race to the bottom in his May 26, 2005 speech on “Risk and the State.” In a classic example of “be careful what you ask for; for you may receive it,” he called on his Nation to embrace greater risk. He claimed that the public’s excessive aversion to risk produced a regulatory nightmare: “The result is a plethora of rules, guidelines, responses to ‘scandals’ of one nature or another that ends up having utterly perverse consequences.” Blair endorsed the Chicago School (and Tory) analysis of the folly of regulation – claiming that it characteristically produces “utterly perverse consequences.”
Blair then admitted at the beginning of his speech that the existing regulatory system had produced exceptional benefits for the public rather than “utterly perverse consequences.” He admitted that absent regulation the harm to the public would have been extreme.
http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2015/05/bill-black-new-labour-leaders-want-to-go-back-to-blairs-policies-that-blew-up-the-uk.html
Wednesday, May 13, 2015
Joseph Stiglitz: Inequality, Wealth, and Growth: Why Capitalism Is Failing
From Jesse's Cafe:
As I had written some time ago in the The Fall of the American Republic: The Quiet Coup:
His basic premise is to ask why capitalism has shown a tendency to stagnation since 1980 in the United States and other parts of the West.
But I can almost guarantee that if this crash had been the result of some sort of despicable act of terrorism for example, the public coffers would already be wide open, flowing with a Niagara of funds for homeland security and the militarization of domestic law enforcement. Millions for the corporatized state, but little or nothing for the people.
As I had written some time ago in the The Fall of the American Republic: The Quiet Coup:
"I am not so optimistic that this reform is possible, because there has in fact been a soft coup d'etat in the US, which now exists in a state of crony corporatism that wields enormous influence over the media and within the government.To be clear about this, the oligarchs are flush with victory, and feel that they are firmly in control, able to subvert and direct any popular movement to the support of their own ends and unslakable will to power.This is the contempt in which they hold the majority of American people and the political process: the common people are easily led fools, and everyone else who is smart enough to know better has their price. And they would beggar every middle class voter in the US before they will voluntarily give up one dime of their ill gotten gains.But my model says that the oligarchs will continue to press their advantages, being flushed with victory, until they provoke a strong reaction that frightens everyone, like a wake up call, and the tide then turns to genuine reform."
The article which I wrote was based on the insightful and largely ignored work by renowned economist Simon Johnson called The Quiet Coup.
This lecture by Stiglitz below is a little 'wonky' and uses some terminology which may be unfamiliar.
Nevertheless if you listen to it and just try to capture the main points of his discussion it will be worthwhile.
His basic premise is to ask why capitalism has shown a tendency to stagnation since 1980 in the United States and other parts of the West.
I am, as you know, an adherent to the belief that there has been a soft coup d'état in the US. One can always quibble about the exact dates, but that is of less importance. I have said it was shortly after Greenspan's 'irrational exuberance' speech, although the stage was certainly set for this during the 1980's with the rise of the efficient markets hypothesis, the assumption of rational wealth optimizers in the markets, and of course, the laughable supply side economics which are the old trickle down canard in drag.
The point, rather, is to understand what has happened, to continue to shine a light on it, and to hope that Simon Johnson is correct, that the overreach of the 'winners' will eventually provoke a reaction.
Quite frankly I had thought it would have come by now. One can rarely go wrong betting on the power of apathy and momentum, and the persistent greed of the sociopaths and their enablers.
After all, in the aftermath of a tragic derailment of the flagship train line in the US from Washington to Boston that could have been prevented by continuing investments in fundamental railroad infrastructure, the House of Republicans have voted to further slash Amtrak funding by $260 million.
They hate anything that benefits the public without putting an abundant stream of income into the pockets of their corporate money masters. This explains their virulent animosity to Social Security, public transportation, public healthcare, public education, public infrastructure, consumer protections, environmental laws, safety regulations, product safety measures, and any sort of financial regulation that inhibits the greed and power of the Banks.
And we should be ashamed for continually standing quiet in the face of such pathological incivility.
I am increasingly concerned that, as has happened so many times in the past, the status quo will greet this eventual reaction for reform, justice, and equality with repression and even draconian measures to maintain what they perceive as their rightful place and power.
Like apathy and momentum, it is also difficult to underestimate the self-delusion and overreach of sociopaths who would be as gods, even if they are gods of the damned.
History is replete with examples.
History is replete with examples.
Why There Has Been No Recovery In One Simple Chart: Median household Income in U.S.
The below chart shows how the U.S. real economy has gone bad.
From Jesse's Cafe:
This is the root of our problem. It is old as Babylon, and evil as sin. If we sow greed to the worst of our desires, we will reap a harvest of corruption.
From Jesse's Cafe:
This is the root of our problem. It is old as Babylon, and evil as sin. If we sow greed to the worst of our desires, we will reap a harvest of corruption.
Samsung Announces Their Entry into the Arduino Family
From Makezine:
When you think about Samsung, the first products that come to mind are probably phones or televisions, not Maker-focused electronics. Today, with their announcement at Internet of Things World, Samsung has entered the Maker world with their ARTIK platform, an Arduino compatible family of devices targeted towards Internet of Things applications.
Currently there are three ARTIK devices: The ARTIK 1, ARTIK 5, and ARTIK 10. All are multi-core ARM processors with built in Bluetooth Low Energy. The ARTIK 5 and 10 also include Wi-Fi, BT, Zigbee, and Thread wireless connections.
Combining this powerful hardware with the ease of use and existing knowledge base of the Arduino platform, Samsung hopes to make development of IoT platforms easy to get off the ground:...
http://makezine.com/2015/05/12/samsung-announces-entry-arduino-family/
When you think about Samsung, the first products that come to mind are probably phones or televisions, not Maker-focused electronics. Today, with their announcement at Internet of Things World, Samsung has entered the Maker world with their ARTIK platform, an Arduino compatible family of devices targeted towards Internet of Things applications.
Currently there are three ARTIK devices: The ARTIK 1, ARTIK 5, and ARTIK 10. All are multi-core ARM processors with built in Bluetooth Low Energy. The ARTIK 5 and 10 also include Wi-Fi, BT, Zigbee, and Thread wireless connections.
Combining this powerful hardware with the ease of use and existing knowledge base of the Arduino platform, Samsung hopes to make development of IoT platforms easy to get off the ground:...
http://makezine.com/2015/05/12/samsung-announces-entry-arduino-family/
Tuesday, May 12, 2015
LA Times: South Korean tech industry finds warm reception in L.A.
From LA Times:
When a South Korean technology entrepreneur wanted to recruit computer programmers working in Seoul, he didn't load up on perks like a masseuse, sleeping pods or beer kegs. The most tantalizing benefit his start-up AKAStudy offered Koreans: a job in Los Angeles.
Populated with the largest Korean-heritage community outside North and South Korea, Los Angeles is a natural U.S. beachhead for Korean companies and entrepreneurs. But until recently, Koreans — like other Asians — preferred to open their outposts in Silicon Valley, close to storied companies such as Google, Intel and Apple.
Now, with support from the South Korean government and venture capitalists on both sides of the Pacific, Los Angeles is emerging as a corner in a tech triangle connecting Seoul to Silicon Valley to Silicon Beach.
The number of U.S.-based investments in Korean companies doubled from 2012 to 2014 and the sum rose from $8 million to nearly $600 million, according to venture capital data tracking firm PitchBook. In part, that's because there are more start-ups in South Korea than the country's venture capital industry is equipped to handle.
http://touch.latimes.com/#section/-1/article/p2p-83499679/
Populated with the largest Korean-heritage community outside North and South Korea, Los Angeles is a natural U.S. beachhead for Korean companies and entrepreneurs. But until recently, Koreans — like other Asians — preferred to open their outposts in Silicon Valley, close to storied companies such as Google, Intel and Apple.
Now, with support from the South Korean government and venture capitalists on both sides of the Pacific, Los Angeles is emerging as a corner in a tech triangle connecting Seoul to Silicon Valley to Silicon Beach.
The number of U.S.-based investments in Korean companies doubled from 2012 to 2014 and the sum rose from $8 million to nearly $600 million, according to venture capital data tracking firm PitchBook. In part, that's because there are more start-ups in South Korea than the country's venture capital industry is equipped to handle.
http://touch.latimes.com/#section/-1/article/p2p-83499679/
Microsoft: Windows 10 will be the last version of Windows
From Extreme Tech:
For the last few decades, Microsoft would sit down and build a new version of Windows every three years or so. This new version would start shipping on new PCs, but by and large, consumers didn’t run out and buy the new version to upgrade their computers. They simply got the new Windows when they got a new computer. With Windows 10, Microsoft isn’t even getting cash from those who do want to buy the latest and greatest version. Following the furor over Windows 8 and it’s tablet-centric design, Microsoft has announced Windows 10 will be a free update for one year from release.
Update has thus far been a hub for security patches and bug fixes, which is a necessary evil when you’re running the most popular desktop operating system in the world. Windows 10 would get “real” updates that add functionality and change the way the OS works over time.
This would be more like the Chrome model for software updates, where new versions are pushed out frequently. Sometimes you open Chrome and it looks a little different or does something new. Almost no one knows what version of Chrome they are running because it changes so frequently. This experience might be the future of Windows. It makes you wonder how long they’ll bother with the “Windows 10″ branding. One day it might simply be “Windows.”
It sounds like making Windows 10 free isn’t just a mea culpa from Redmond. This “final” version of Windows has the core changes necessary to be updated incrementally, so Microsoft wants as many people as possible to be running it. Built-in apps like Xbox and Mail have been designed to be designed in Windows 10 to be updated independently of the OS, and even Office for Windows 10 will get incremental feature updates rather than a big launch every 3-4 years.
Most of Microsoft’s income from Windows is based on new PC sales, so it’s not likely to take a hit from using this ongoing update model. This is Windows as a service, which is something Microsoft has been wanting to do for years. A few years ago Microsoft might have had the clout to charge an additional subscription fee for Windows as a service, but now? It’s not clear if Microsoft will go down that road, or if the new PC license fees will be enough to satiate investors. We’ll see what happens after the free update period for Windows 10 is over.
http://www.extremetech.com/computing/205320-microsoft-windows-10-will-be-the-last-version-of-windows
For the last few decades, Microsoft would sit down and build a new version of Windows every three years or so. This new version would start shipping on new PCs, but by and large, consumers didn’t run out and buy the new version to upgrade their computers. They simply got the new Windows when they got a new computer. With Windows 10, Microsoft isn’t even getting cash from those who do want to buy the latest and greatest version. Following the furor over Windows 8 and it’s tablet-centric design, Microsoft has announced Windows 10 will be a free update for one year from release.
Update has thus far been a hub for security patches and bug fixes, which is a necessary evil when you’re running the most popular desktop operating system in the world. Windows 10 would get “real” updates that add functionality and change the way the OS works over time.
This would be more like the Chrome model for software updates, where new versions are pushed out frequently. Sometimes you open Chrome and it looks a little different or does something new. Almost no one knows what version of Chrome they are running because it changes so frequently. This experience might be the future of Windows. It makes you wonder how long they’ll bother with the “Windows 10″ branding. One day it might simply be “Windows.”
It sounds like making Windows 10 free isn’t just a mea culpa from Redmond. This “final” version of Windows has the core changes necessary to be updated incrementally, so Microsoft wants as many people as possible to be running it. Built-in apps like Xbox and Mail have been designed to be designed in Windows 10 to be updated independently of the OS, and even Office for Windows 10 will get incremental feature updates rather than a big launch every 3-4 years.
Most of Microsoft’s income from Windows is based on new PC sales, so it’s not likely to take a hit from using this ongoing update model. This is Windows as a service, which is something Microsoft has been wanting to do for years. A few years ago Microsoft might have had the clout to charge an additional subscription fee for Windows as a service, but now? It’s not clear if Microsoft will go down that road, or if the new PC license fees will be enough to satiate investors. We’ll see what happens after the free update period for Windows 10 is over.
http://www.extremetech.com/computing/205320-microsoft-windows-10-will-be-the-last-version-of-windows
Sunday, May 10, 2015
They will be ever hearing but never understanding; they will be ever seeing but never perceiving. For this people’s heart has become calloused; they do not hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, and turn to receive understanding with their hearts, and I would heal them.’
Matthew13:14-15
Matthew13:14-15
A Multinational Trojan Horse: The Trans-Pacific Partnership
From Zero Hedge:
Peel back the layers of the TPP and you’ll find what some believe to be a “corporate Trojan horse.” Disguised as “free trade,” the TPP’s provisions and tactics undermine Constitutional safeguards and national sovereignty. But there’s also a silver lining. The TPP exposes who, in the marbled halls of political power, is working for whom. It forces politicians to put their cards on the table, and by their hands you will know them. Packaged as a gift to the American people that will renew industry and make us more competitive, the Trans-Pacific Partnership is a Trojan horse. It’s a coup by multinational corporations who want global subservience to their agenda. Buyer beware. Citizens beware.
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-05-09/multinational-trojan-horse-trans-pacific-partnership
Peel back the layers of the TPP and you’ll find what some believe to be a “corporate Trojan horse.” Disguised as “free trade,” the TPP’s provisions and tactics undermine Constitutional safeguards and national sovereignty. But there’s also a silver lining. The TPP exposes who, in the marbled halls of political power, is working for whom. It forces politicians to put their cards on the table, and by their hands you will know them. Packaged as a gift to the American people that will renew industry and make us more competitive, the Trans-Pacific Partnership is a Trojan horse. It’s a coup by multinational corporations who want global subservience to their agenda. Buyer beware. Citizens beware.
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-05-09/multinational-trojan-horse-trans-pacific-partnership
Nomi Prins: The Clintons and Their Banker Friends
From Naked Capitalism:
By Nomi Prins, a former Wall Street executive, the author of six books, a speaker, and a distinguished senior fellow at the non-partisan public policy institute Demos. Her most recent book, All the Presidents’ Bankers: The Hidden Alliances that Drive American Power (Nation Books) has just been released in paperback and this piece is adapted and updated from it. Originally published at TomDispatch
The past, especially the political past, doesn’t just provide clues to the present. In the realm of the presidency and Wall Street, it provides an ongoing pathway for political-financial relationships and policies that remain a threat to the American economy going forward.
When Hillary Clinton video-announced her bid for the Oval Office, she claimed she wanted to be a “champion” for the American people. Since then, she has attempted to recast herself as a populist and distance herself from some of the policies of her husband. But Bill Clinton did not become president without sharing the friendships, associations, and ideologies of the elite banking sect, nor will Hillary Clinton. Such relationships run too deep and are too longstanding.
To grasp the dangers that the Big Six banks (JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Goldman Sachs, and Morgan Stanley) presently pose to the financial stability of our nation and the world, you need to understand their history in Washington, starting with the Clinton years of the 1990s. Alliances established then (not exclusively with Democrats, since bankers are bipartisan by nature) enabled these firms to become as politically powerful as they are today and to exert that power over an unprecedented amount of capital. Rest assured of one thing: their past and present CEOs will prove as critical in backing a Hillary Clinton presidency as they were in enabling her husband’s years in office.
In return, today’s titans of finance and their hordes of lobbyists, more than half of whom held prior positions in the government, exact certain requirements from Washington. They need to know that a safety net or bailout will always be available in times of emergency and that the regulatory road will be open to whatever practices they deem most profitable.
Whatever her populist pitch may be in the 2016 campaign — and she will have one — note that, in all these years, Hillary Clinton has not publicly condemned Wall Street or any individual Wall Street leader. Though she may, in the heat of that campaign, raise the bad-apples or bad-situation explanation for Wall Street’s role in the financial crisis of 2007-2008, rest assured that she will not point fingers at her friends. She will not chastise the people that pay her hundreds of thousands of dollars a pop to speak or the ones that have long shared the social circles in which she and her husband move. She is an undeniable component of the Clinton political-financial legacy that came to national fruition more than 23 years ago, which is why looking back at the history of the first Clinton presidency is likely to tell you so much about the shape and character of the possible second one.
http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2015/05/nomi-prins-the-clintons-and-their-banker-friends.html
By Nomi Prins, a former Wall Street executive, the author of six books, a speaker, and a distinguished senior fellow at the non-partisan public policy institute Demos. Her most recent book, All the Presidents’ Bankers: The Hidden Alliances that Drive American Power (Nation Books) has just been released in paperback and this piece is adapted and updated from it. Originally published at TomDispatch
The past, especially the political past, doesn’t just provide clues to the present. In the realm of the presidency and Wall Street, it provides an ongoing pathway for political-financial relationships and policies that remain a threat to the American economy going forward.
When Hillary Clinton video-announced her bid for the Oval Office, she claimed she wanted to be a “champion” for the American people. Since then, she has attempted to recast herself as a populist and distance herself from some of the policies of her husband. But Bill Clinton did not become president without sharing the friendships, associations, and ideologies of the elite banking sect, nor will Hillary Clinton. Such relationships run too deep and are too longstanding.
To grasp the dangers that the Big Six banks (JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Goldman Sachs, and Morgan Stanley) presently pose to the financial stability of our nation and the world, you need to understand their history in Washington, starting with the Clinton years of the 1990s. Alliances established then (not exclusively with Democrats, since bankers are bipartisan by nature) enabled these firms to become as politically powerful as they are today and to exert that power over an unprecedented amount of capital. Rest assured of one thing: their past and present CEOs will prove as critical in backing a Hillary Clinton presidency as they were in enabling her husband’s years in office.
In return, today’s titans of finance and their hordes of lobbyists, more than half of whom held prior positions in the government, exact certain requirements from Washington. They need to know that a safety net or bailout will always be available in times of emergency and that the regulatory road will be open to whatever practices they deem most profitable.
Whatever her populist pitch may be in the 2016 campaign — and she will have one — note that, in all these years, Hillary Clinton has not publicly condemned Wall Street or any individual Wall Street leader. Though she may, in the heat of that campaign, raise the bad-apples or bad-situation explanation for Wall Street’s role in the financial crisis of 2007-2008, rest assured that she will not point fingers at her friends. She will not chastise the people that pay her hundreds of thousands of dollars a pop to speak or the ones that have long shared the social circles in which she and her husband move. She is an undeniable component of the Clinton political-financial legacy that came to national fruition more than 23 years ago, which is why looking back at the history of the first Clinton presidency is likely to tell you so much about the shape and character of the possible second one.
http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2015/05/nomi-prins-the-clintons-and-their-banker-friends.html
Friday, May 8, 2015
Smart patient monitoring system using Arduino or raspberry pi
From Instructables:
INTRODUCTION :-
Monitoring vital signs and locations of certain classes of ambulatory patients can be useful in overcrowded emergency departments and at disaster scenes, both on-site and during transportation. To be useful, such monitoring needs to be portable and low cost, and have minimal adverse impact on emergency personnel, e.g., by not raising an excessive number of alarms. The SMART (Scalable Medical Alert Response Technology) system integrates wireless patient monitoring (ECG, SpO2), geo-positioning, signal processing, targeted alerting, and a wireless interface for caregivers. A prototype implementation of SMART was piloted in the waiting area of an emergency department and evaluated with 145 post-triage patients. System deployment aspects were also evaluated during a small-scale disaster-drill exercise.
Step 1: Getting parts
this are components to build this project:-
– e-Health Sensor Shield for Arduino and Raspberry Pi
– Pulse and oxygen in blood sensor (SPO2)
– Airflow sensor (breathing)
– Body temperature sensor
– Electrocardiogram sensor (ECG)
– Glucometer sensor
– Galvanic skin response sensor (GSR – sweating)
– Blood pressure sensor (sphygmomanometer) V2.0 New Sensor
– Patient position sensor (Accelerometer)
– Electromyography Sensor (EMG) New Sensor
– arduino or raspberry pi
– if you are using raspberry pi you need cooking hacks shield
– you need a Bluetooth or xbee shield or wifi shield
– you need app to interface your smart phone like i phone and Android phones
u can get the e-sensor shield and components (GET IT)
use either arduino or raspberry pi
http://www.instructables.com/id/smart-patient-monitoring-system-using-Arduino-or-r/
INTRODUCTION :-
Monitoring vital signs and locations of certain classes of ambulatory patients can be useful in overcrowded emergency departments and at disaster scenes, both on-site and during transportation. To be useful, such monitoring needs to be portable and low cost, and have minimal adverse impact on emergency personnel, e.g., by not raising an excessive number of alarms. The SMART (Scalable Medical Alert Response Technology) system integrates wireless patient monitoring (ECG, SpO2), geo-positioning, signal processing, targeted alerting, and a wireless interface for caregivers. A prototype implementation of SMART was piloted in the waiting area of an emergency department and evaluated with 145 post-triage patients. System deployment aspects were also evaluated during a small-scale disaster-drill exercise.
Step 1: Getting parts
this are components to build this project:-
– e-Health Sensor Shield for Arduino and Raspberry Pi
– Pulse and oxygen in blood sensor (SPO2)
– Airflow sensor (breathing)
– Body temperature sensor
– Electrocardiogram sensor (ECG)
– Glucometer sensor
– Galvanic skin response sensor (GSR – sweating)
– Blood pressure sensor (sphygmomanometer) V2.0 New Sensor
– Patient position sensor (Accelerometer)
– Electromyography Sensor (EMG) New Sensor
– arduino or raspberry pi
– if you are using raspberry pi you need cooking hacks shield
– you need a Bluetooth or xbee shield or wifi shield
– you need app to interface your smart phone like i phone and Android phones
u can get the e-sensor shield and components (GET IT)
use either arduino or raspberry pi
http://www.instructables.com/id/smart-patient-monitoring-system-using-Arduino-or-r/
The Rise of the Maker Movement for Kids
I'd like to start something like this down the road.
From Makezine:
If you’re a Maker Faire veteran, you’ve seen the growing droves of kids engaging in the excitement and promise of the Maker Movement. Watching a child solder that first LED followed by the amazed “ah ha” look that inevitably appears when it lights up is infectious. Maker Faire is teeming with adults who’ve been inspired by possibility and want to share it with kids.
Looking at Make:, Instructables, SparkFun, Servo, Wired, or any one of the many places Makers get their news, one could certainly make an argument that a kids’ Maker Movement is building momentum. Kids’ projects are plentiful online, but not all families have the tools, safety training, or confidence to attempt these cool Maker projects. While adult Makerspaces have topped 2,000 locations worldwide, Makerspaces dedicated to kids have been cropping up with increasing frequency ensuring that no child is left behind in the Maker Movement.
The Parts and Crafts hackerspace opened five years ago for summer camp. Founder Will MacFarlane gradually added after-school programs and Saturday Open Lab. Three years ago he started an alternative school day program for homeschoolers. Kids are empowered to solve real-world problems through hands-on learning. Parts and Crafts has a friendly and collaborative relationship with the famed Artisan’s Asylum close by in Somerville, Massachusetts. The Parts and Crafts model has emphasized access to those of all financial means, even offering a sliding scale for families to choose how much to pay based on their self-reported household income.
MakerKids is a Toronto-based kids’ Makerspace with the benefit of a prestigious advisory board including Massimo Banzi of Arduino. They offer a variety of programs including learning to code Minecraft and making robotic inventions. They even offer 3D printing birthday parties. The CEO of MakerKids, marketing heavy-hitter Jennifer Turliuk, cites a focus on “Process over Product,” and kids’ interest-driven programming as keys to MakerKids’ success. You can read more about the MakerKids’ recipe in this article from Make: Volume 40.
SparkTruck, the master’s thesis project of Stanford’s d.school grad students Eugene Korsunskiy, Aaron Peck, and Prat Ganapathy, was one of the first mobile kids’ Makerspaces. The repurposed food truck outfitted with hand tools, laser cutters, and 3D printers spent summers driving around the country to schools, museums, and the occasional parking lot interacting with kids and modeling the Maker mindset for educators. The SparkTruck team developed simple projects like Lasercut Stamps and Vibrobots that inspired kids to be engaged Makers, rather than mere consumers.
Brian Pichman, of the Evolve Project, helps libraries add Makerspaces using the analogy, “Libraries used to be more like grocery stores. Today, they need to be more like kitchens.” The LA Makerspace is an open access kids’ Makerspace based in LA’s library system. They’ve successfully funded two Kickstarter projects topping $50,000 in contributions. The Maker Movement has found a foothold in libraries around the country as librarians search for ways to remain relevant in a society where technology makes information more readily available than ever before.
http://makezine.com/2015/05/08/rise-kids-maker-movement/
From Makezine:
If you’re a Maker Faire veteran, you’ve seen the growing droves of kids engaging in the excitement and promise of the Maker Movement. Watching a child solder that first LED followed by the amazed “ah ha” look that inevitably appears when it lights up is infectious. Maker Faire is teeming with adults who’ve been inspired by possibility and want to share it with kids.
Looking at Make:, Instructables, SparkFun, Servo, Wired, or any one of the many places Makers get their news, one could certainly make an argument that a kids’ Maker Movement is building momentum. Kids’ projects are plentiful online, but not all families have the tools, safety training, or confidence to attempt these cool Maker projects. While adult Makerspaces have topped 2,000 locations worldwide, Makerspaces dedicated to kids have been cropping up with increasing frequency ensuring that no child is left behind in the Maker Movement.
Photo Credit: MakerKids
MakerKids is a Toronto-based kids’ Makerspace with the benefit of a prestigious advisory board including Massimo Banzi of Arduino. They offer a variety of programs including learning to code Minecraft and making robotic inventions. They even offer 3D printing birthday parties. The CEO of MakerKids, marketing heavy-hitter Jennifer Turliuk, cites a focus on “Process over Product,” and kids’ interest-driven programming as keys to MakerKids’ success. You can read more about the MakerKids’ recipe in this article from Make: Volume 40.
SparkTruck, the master’s thesis project of Stanford’s d.school grad students Eugene Korsunskiy, Aaron Peck, and Prat Ganapathy, was one of the first mobile kids’ Makerspaces. The repurposed food truck outfitted with hand tools, laser cutters, and 3D printers spent summers driving around the country to schools, museums, and the occasional parking lot interacting with kids and modeling the Maker mindset for educators. The SparkTruck team developed simple projects like Lasercut Stamps and Vibrobots that inspired kids to be engaged Makers, rather than mere consumers.
Brian Pichman, of the Evolve Project, helps libraries add Makerspaces using the analogy, “Libraries used to be more like grocery stores. Today, they need to be more like kitchens.” The LA Makerspace is an open access kids’ Makerspace based in LA’s library system. They’ve successfully funded two Kickstarter projects topping $50,000 in contributions. The Maker Movement has found a foothold in libraries around the country as librarians search for ways to remain relevant in a society where technology makes information more readily available than ever before.
http://makezine.com/2015/05/08/rise-kids-maker-movement/
Americans Not In The Labor Force Rise To Record 93,194,000
From Zero Hedge:
In what was an "unambiguously" unpleasant April jobs payrolls report the fact that the number of Americans not in the labor force rose once again, this time to 93,194K from 93,175K, with the result being a participation rate of 69.45 or just above the lowest percentage since 1977, will merely catalyze even more upside to the so called "market" which continues to reflect nothing but central bank liquidity, and thus - the accelerating deterioration of the broader economy.
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-05-08/americans-not-labor-force-rise-record-93194000
In what was an "unambiguously" unpleasant April jobs payrolls report the fact that the number of Americans not in the labor force rose once again, this time to 93,194K from 93,175K, with the result being a participation rate of 69.45 or just above the lowest percentage since 1977, will merely catalyze even more upside to the so called "market" which continues to reflect nothing but central bank liquidity, and thus - the accelerating deterioration of the broader economy.
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-05-08/americans-not-labor-force-rise-record-93194000
Thursday, May 7, 2015
A steep rise in Apple's R&D spending points to a big new project underway
From Business Insider:
Apple is rumored to be working on its own electric vehicle.
Although Apple never confirmed the reports, a steep rise in research & development spending points to some kind of big new project. Independent Apple analyst Neil Cybart thinks something in the auto industry is likely.
Based on Cybart’s data, charted for us by BI Intelligence, Apple is now spending nearly $2 billion per quarter on R&D, a staggering amount considering its lean product lineup. Apple’s quarterly R&D expense went up $500 million from the previous year, higher than the $200-$300 million quarterly increase Apple spent while developing the Watch. Apple’s R&D cost relative to total sales has also bounced back in recent years.
http://www.businessinsider.com/apple-rd-expenditure-increase-2015-5
http://auto.daum.net/review/newsview.daum?page=3&newsid=MD20150507111113095&rMode=list
Apple is rumored to be working on its own electric vehicle.
Although Apple never confirmed the reports, a steep rise in research & development spending points to some kind of big new project. Independent Apple analyst Neil Cybart thinks something in the auto industry is likely.
Based on Cybart’s data, charted for us by BI Intelligence, Apple is now spending nearly $2 billion per quarter on R&D, a staggering amount considering its lean product lineup. Apple’s quarterly R&D expense went up $500 million from the previous year, higher than the $200-$300 million quarterly increase Apple spent while developing the Watch. Apple’s R&D cost relative to total sales has also bounced back in recent years.
http://www.businessinsider.com/apple-rd-expenditure-increase-2015-5
http://auto.daum.net/review/newsview.daum?page=3&newsid=MD20150507111113095&rMode=list
Next Thing Co. Releases “World’s First” $9 Computer
From Makezine:
Snuggly situated in an industrial section of Oakland, CA is Next Thing Co. a team of nine artists and engineers who are pursuing the dream of a lower cost single board computer. Today they’ve unveiled their progress on Kickstarter, offering a $9 development board called Chip.
The board is Open Hardware, runs a flavor of Debain Linux, and boasts a 1Ghz R8 ARM processor, 512MB of RAM, and 4GB of eMMC storage. It is more powerful than a Raspberry Pi B+ and equal to the BeagleBone Black in clock speed, RAM, and storage. Differentiating Chip from Beagle is its built-in WiFi, Bluetooth, and the ease in which it can be made portable, thanks to circuitry that handles battery operation.
http://makezine.com/2015/05/07/next-thing-co-releases-worlds-first-9-computer/
Snuggly situated in an industrial section of Oakland, CA is Next Thing Co. a team of nine artists and engineers who are pursuing the dream of a lower cost single board computer. Today they’ve unveiled their progress on Kickstarter, offering a $9 development board called Chip.
The board is Open Hardware, runs a flavor of Debain Linux, and boasts a 1Ghz R8 ARM processor, 512MB of RAM, and 4GB of eMMC storage. It is more powerful than a Raspberry Pi B+ and equal to the BeagleBone Black in clock speed, RAM, and storage. Differentiating Chip from Beagle is its built-in WiFi, Bluetooth, and the ease in which it can be made portable, thanks to circuitry that handles battery operation.
Meet Chip, the $9 computer
http://makezine.com/2015/05/07/next-thing-co-releases-worlds-first-9-computer/
The world's first self-driving semi-truck hits the road
From Wired:
“AU 010.”License plates are rarely an object of attention, but this one’s special—the funky number is the giveaway. That’s why Daimler bigwig Wolfgang Bernhard and Nevada governor Brian Sandoval are sharing a stage, mugging for the phalanx of cameras, together holding the metal rectangle that will, in just a minute, be slapped onto the world’s first officially recognized self-driving truck.
The truck in question is the Freightliner Inspiration, a teched-up version of the Daimler 18-wheeler sold around the world. And according to Daimler, which owns Mercedes-Benz, it will make long-haul road transportation safer, cheaper, and better for the planet.
A Newish Kind of Semi
The Freightliner Inspiration offers a rather limited version of autonomy: It will take control only on the highway, maintaining a safe distance from other vehicles and staying in its lane. It won’t pass slower vehicles on its own. If the truck encounters a situation it can’t confidently handle, like heavy snow that covers lane lines, it will alert the human that it’s time for him to take over, via beeps and icons in the dashboard. If the driver doesn’t respond within about five seconds, the truck will slow down gradually, then stop.
The Freightliner is still very much a test vehicle. Daimler’s confident it’s safe for public roads, and the Nevada DMV agrees. But the automaker needs a few million more test miles on the books, in a wide variety of locales and conditions (snow, rain, extreme temperatures), before it’s ready to offer even this very limited autonomous capability to any customers. That’ll take a decade.
Humans Don’t Want These Jobs
Another point in favor of giving robots control is the serious and worsening shortage of humans willing to take the wheel. The lack of qualified drivers has created a “capacity crisis,” according to an October 2014 report by the American Transportation Research Institute. The American Trucking Associations predicts the industry could be short 240,000 drivers by 2022. (There are roughly three million full-time drivers in the US.)
That’s partly because long haul trucking is not an especially pleasant job, and because it takes time and money to earn a commercial driver’s license. The shortage will get worse, Perry says, thanks to a suite of regulations set to take effect in the next few years. A national database to collect company-performed drug and alcohol tests will make it harder for drivers who get in trouble at one job to land another. Speed limiters could keep trucks to a pokey 64 mph. Mandated electronic reporting of hours driven will make it harder to skirt rest rules and drive longer than allowed. These are all good changes from a safety perspective, but they’re not great for profits.
Killing the Human Driver
The way to handle that growth isn’t to convince more people to become long haul truckers. It’s to reduce, and eventually eliminate, the role of the human. Let the trucks drive themselves, and you can improve safety, meet increased demand, and save time and fuel.
The safety benefits of autonomous features are obvious. The machine doesn’t get tired, stressed, angry, or distracted. And because trucks spend the vast majority of their time on the highway, the tech doesn’t have to clear the toughest hurdle: handling complex urban environments with pedestrians, cyclists, and the like. If you can prove the vehicles are safer, you could make them bigger, and thus more efficient at transporting all the crap we buy on Amazon.
The end game is eliminating the need for human drivers, at least for highway driving. (An autonomous truck could exit the interstate near the end of its journey, park in a designated lot, and wait for a human to come drive it on surface streets to its destination.)
http://www.wired.com/2015/05/worlds-first-self-driving-semi-truck-hits-road/
“AU 010.”License plates are rarely an object of attention, but this one’s special—the funky number is the giveaway. That’s why Daimler bigwig Wolfgang Bernhard and Nevada governor Brian Sandoval are sharing a stage, mugging for the phalanx of cameras, together holding the metal rectangle that will, in just a minute, be slapped onto the world’s first officially recognized self-driving truck.
The truck in question is the Freightliner Inspiration, a teched-up version of the Daimler 18-wheeler sold around the world. And according to Daimler, which owns Mercedes-Benz, it will make long-haul road transportation safer, cheaper, and better for the planet.
A Newish Kind of Semi
The Freightliner Inspiration offers a rather limited version of autonomy: It will take control only on the highway, maintaining a safe distance from other vehicles and staying in its lane. It won’t pass slower vehicles on its own. If the truck encounters a situation it can’t confidently handle, like heavy snow that covers lane lines, it will alert the human that it’s time for him to take over, via beeps and icons in the dashboard. If the driver doesn’t respond within about five seconds, the truck will slow down gradually, then stop.
The Freightliner is still very much a test vehicle. Daimler’s confident it’s safe for public roads, and the Nevada DMV agrees. But the automaker needs a few million more test miles on the books, in a wide variety of locales and conditions (snow, rain, extreme temperatures), before it’s ready to offer even this very limited autonomous capability to any customers. That’ll take a decade.
Humans Don’t Want These Jobs
Another point in favor of giving robots control is the serious and worsening shortage of humans willing to take the wheel. The lack of qualified drivers has created a “capacity crisis,” according to an October 2014 report by the American Transportation Research Institute. The American Trucking Associations predicts the industry could be short 240,000 drivers by 2022. (There are roughly three million full-time drivers in the US.)
That’s partly because long haul trucking is not an especially pleasant job, and because it takes time and money to earn a commercial driver’s license. The shortage will get worse, Perry says, thanks to a suite of regulations set to take effect in the next few years. A national database to collect company-performed drug and alcohol tests will make it harder for drivers who get in trouble at one job to land another. Speed limiters could keep trucks to a pokey 64 mph. Mandated electronic reporting of hours driven will make it harder to skirt rest rules and drive longer than allowed. These are all good changes from a safety perspective, but they’re not great for profits.
Killing the Human Driver
The way to handle that growth isn’t to convince more people to become long haul truckers. It’s to reduce, and eventually eliminate, the role of the human. Let the trucks drive themselves, and you can improve safety, meet increased demand, and save time and fuel.
The safety benefits of autonomous features are obvious. The machine doesn’t get tired, stressed, angry, or distracted. And because trucks spend the vast majority of their time on the highway, the tech doesn’t have to clear the toughest hurdle: handling complex urban environments with pedestrians, cyclists, and the like. If you can prove the vehicles are safer, you could make them bigger, and thus more efficient at transporting all the crap we buy on Amazon.
The end game is eliminating the need for human drivers, at least for highway driving. (An autonomous truck could exit the interstate near the end of its journey, park in a designated lot, and wait for a human to come drive it on surface streets to its destination.)
http://www.wired.com/2015/05/worlds-first-self-driving-semi-truck-hits-road/
Wednesday, May 6, 2015
Power: The Essence of Corrupt Banking and Politics Is to Grow and Control the Debt
From Jesse's Cafe:
Money is power. And those who control the money, if they have the will for it, can use it as a means to incredible power, to create debt, and to control it, thereby controlling the debtors, both as individuals, as communities, as regions, and whole nations.
This is the story of global trade deals, the Dollar, and the foul marriage between politics, money, and central banking. The more discretion and secrecy that is granted to those who create money and debt, the more vulnerable is the freedom of the people.
This is the story of Cyprus, of Greece, and of the Ukraine.
And there will be more.
This will to power is as old as Babylon, and as evil as hell.
"The powers of financial capitalism had another far-reaching aim, nothing less than to create a world system of financial control in private hands able to dominate the political system of each country and the economy of the world as a whole. This system was to be controlled in a feudalist fashion by the central banks of the world acting in concert, by secret agreements arrived at in frequent private meetings and conferences. The apex of the system was to be the Bank for International Settlements in Basle, Switzerland, a private bank owned and controlled by the world's central banks which were themselves private corporations.
Each central bank, in the hands of men like Montagu Norman of the Bank of England, Benjamin Strong of the New York Federal Reserve Bank, Charles Rist of the Bank of France, and Hjalmar Schacht of the Reichsbank, sought to dominate its government by its ability to control Treasury loans, to manipulate foreign exchanges, to influence the level of economic activity in the country, and to influence cooperative politicians by subsequent economic rewards in the business world."
Professor Carroll Quigley, Tragedy and Hope, 1966http://jessescrossroadscafe.blogspot.kr/2015/05/power-essence-of-banking-is-to-grow-and.html
Money is power. And those who control the money, if they have the will for it, can use it as a means to incredible power, to create debt, and to control it, thereby controlling the debtors, both as individuals, as communities, as regions, and whole nations.
This is the story of global trade deals, the Dollar, and the foul marriage between politics, money, and central banking. The more discretion and secrecy that is granted to those who create money and debt, the more vulnerable is the freedom of the people.
This is the story of Cyprus, of Greece, and of the Ukraine.
And there will be more.
This will to power is as old as Babylon, and as evil as hell.
"The powers of financial capitalism had another far-reaching aim, nothing less than to create a world system of financial control in private hands able to dominate the political system of each country and the economy of the world as a whole. This system was to be controlled in a feudalist fashion by the central banks of the world acting in concert, by secret agreements arrived at in frequent private meetings and conferences. The apex of the system was to be the Bank for International Settlements in Basle, Switzerland, a private bank owned and controlled by the world's central banks which were themselves private corporations.
Each central bank, in the hands of men like Montagu Norman of the Bank of England, Benjamin Strong of the New York Federal Reserve Bank, Charles Rist of the Bank of France, and Hjalmar Schacht of the Reichsbank, sought to dominate its government by its ability to control Treasury loans, to manipulate foreign exchanges, to influence the level of economic activity in the country, and to influence cooperative politicians by subsequent economic rewards in the business world."
Professor Carroll Quigley, Tragedy and Hope, 1966http://jessescrossroadscafe.blogspot.kr/2015/05/power-essence-of-banking-is-to-grow-and.html
Turning EEG Data and a Raspberry Pi into Brainwave Games
From Makezine:
As brainwave-reading technology has become cheaper and easier to use, it’s begun to infiltrate the Maker Movement, enabling interesting new hacks based on brain-computer interfaces. It has even started popping up in games and toys, like NeuroSky’s Mindflex.
Father-daughter team Jeff and Megan Marinchak are hacking a Mindflex headset, tapping into the EEG data and linked it via Bluetooth to a Raspberry Pi that can show users their brainwaves in real time. It’ll primarily describe the wearer’s attention, but that translates nicely into a game, in which two players compete to focus their attention and achieve a goal.
http://makezine.com/2015/05/05/turning-eeg-data-raspberry-pi-brainwave-games/
As brainwave-reading technology has become cheaper and easier to use, it’s begun to infiltrate the Maker Movement, enabling interesting new hacks based on brain-computer interfaces. It has even started popping up in games and toys, like NeuroSky’s Mindflex.
Father-daughter team Jeff and Megan Marinchak are hacking a Mindflex headset, tapping into the EEG data and linked it via Bluetooth to a Raspberry Pi that can show users their brainwaves in real time. It’ll primarily describe the wearer’s attention, but that translates nicely into a game, in which two players compete to focus their attention and achieve a goal.
http://makezine.com/2015/05/05/turning-eeg-data-raspberry-pi-brainwave-games/
The Atlantic: The Future of College?
From The Atlantic:
Bonabeau led the class like a benevolent dictator, subjecting us to pop quizzes, cold calls, and pedagogical tactics that during an in-the-flesh seminar would have taken precious minutes of class time to arrange. He split us into groups to defend opposite propositions—that the cod had disappeared because of overfishing, or that other factors were to blame. No one needed to shuffle seats; Bonabeau just pushed a button, and the students in the other group vanished from my screen, leaving my three fellow debaters and me to plan, using a shared bulletin board on which we could record our ideas. Bonabeau bounced between the two groups to offer advice as we worked. After a representative from each group gave a brief presentation, Bonabeau ended by showing a short video about the evils of overfishing. (“Propaganda,” he snorted, adding that we’d talk about logical fallacies in the next session.) The computer screen blinked off after 45 minutes of class.
The system had bugs—it crashed once, and some of the video lagged—but overall it worked well, and felt decidedly unlike a normal classroom. For one thing, it was exhausting: a continuous period of forced engagement, with no relief in the form of time when my attention could flag or I could doodle in a notebook undetected. Instead, my focus was directed relentlessly by the platform, and because it looked like my professor and fellow edu-nauts were staring at me, I was reluctant to ever let my gaze stray from the screen. Even in moments when I wanted to think about aspects of the material that weren’t currently under discussion—to me these seemed like moments of creative space, but perhaps they were just daydreams—I felt my attention snapped back to the narrow issue at hand, because I had to answer a quiz question or articulate a position. I was forced, in effect, to learn. If this was the education of the future, it seemed vaguely fascistic. Good, but fascistic.
http://www.theatlantic.com/features/archive/2014/08/the-future-of-college/375071/
Bonabeau led the class like a benevolent dictator, subjecting us to pop quizzes, cold calls, and pedagogical tactics that during an in-the-flesh seminar would have taken precious minutes of class time to arrange. He split us into groups to defend opposite propositions—that the cod had disappeared because of overfishing, or that other factors were to blame. No one needed to shuffle seats; Bonabeau just pushed a button, and the students in the other group vanished from my screen, leaving my three fellow debaters and me to plan, using a shared bulletin board on which we could record our ideas. Bonabeau bounced between the two groups to offer advice as we worked. After a representative from each group gave a brief presentation, Bonabeau ended by showing a short video about the evils of overfishing. (“Propaganda,” he snorted, adding that we’d talk about logical fallacies in the next session.) The computer screen blinked off after 45 minutes of class.
The system had bugs—it crashed once, and some of the video lagged—but overall it worked well, and felt decidedly unlike a normal classroom. For one thing, it was exhausting: a continuous period of forced engagement, with no relief in the form of time when my attention could flag or I could doodle in a notebook undetected. Instead, my focus was directed relentlessly by the platform, and because it looked like my professor and fellow edu-nauts were staring at me, I was reluctant to ever let my gaze stray from the screen. Even in moments when I wanted to think about aspects of the material that weren’t currently under discussion—to me these seemed like moments of creative space, but perhaps they were just daydreams—I felt my attention snapped back to the narrow issue at hand, because I had to answer a quiz question or articulate a position. I was forced, in effect, to learn. If this was the education of the future, it seemed vaguely fascistic. Good, but fascistic.
http://www.theatlantic.com/features/archive/2014/08/the-future-of-college/375071/
Tuesday, May 5, 2015
The Diplomat: South Korea's Generation Gap
Among things unfloding, Korea's youth unemploment is high. This is one of the reasons why I started a high-tech venture business.
From the diplomat:
Values and attitudes are changing in South Korea.
Huge structural changes accompanying South Korea’s “compressed modernity” or “hyper modernization” have led to stark value and attitude changes across generations. Such changes include everything from attitudes toward the LGBT community, levels of support for unification, and thoughts on income inequality. Because of the historical timing, nature of its development, and the security environment, value change in South Korea has, unsurprisingly, moved along a trajectory different from other industrialized societies.
Direction and pattern of the changes aside, value and attitude changes are afoot. As Christopher Green recently tweeted: “Shifting #attitudes in #ROK; more evidentiary grist for the mill.” The short Joongang Ilbo article cited in Green’s tweet reports (in Korean) some of the latest data presented by Statistics Korea and the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family Affairs regarding youth attitudes toward important social issues, such as taking care of aging parents and co-habitation.
http://thediplomat.com/2015/05/south-koreas-generation-gap/
From the diplomat:
Values and attitudes are changing in South Korea.
Huge structural changes accompanying South Korea’s “compressed modernity” or “hyper modernization” have led to stark value and attitude changes across generations. Such changes include everything from attitudes toward the LGBT community, levels of support for unification, and thoughts on income inequality. Because of the historical timing, nature of its development, and the security environment, value change in South Korea has, unsurprisingly, moved along a trajectory different from other industrialized societies.
Direction and pattern of the changes aside, value and attitude changes are afoot. As Christopher Green recently tweeted: “Shifting #attitudes in #ROK; more evidentiary grist for the mill.” The short Joongang Ilbo article cited in Green’s tweet reports (in Korean) some of the latest data presented by Statistics Korea and the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family Affairs regarding youth attitudes toward important social issues, such as taking care of aging parents and co-habitation.
http://thediplomat.com/2015/05/south-koreas-generation-gap/
Monday, May 4, 2015
Major U.S. Retailers Are Closing More Than 6,000 Stores
From Zero Hedge:
If the U.S. economy really is improving, then why are big U.S. retailers permanently shutting down thousands of stores?
The list below comes from information compiled by About.com, but I have only included major retailers that have announced plans to close at least 10 stores. Most of these closures will take place this year, but in some instances the closures are scheduled to be phased in over a number of years. As you can see, the number of stores that are being permanently shut down is absolutely staggering…
180 Abercrombie & Fitch (by 2015)
75 Aeropostale (through January 2015)
150 American Eagle Outfitters (through 2017)
223 Barnes & Noble (through 2023)
265 Body Central / Body Shop
66 Bottom Dollar Food
25 Build-A-Bear (through 2015)
32 C. Wonder
21 Cache
120 Chico’s (through 2017)
200 Children’s Place (through 2017)
17 Christopher & Banks
70 Coach (fiscal 2015)
70 Coco’s /Carrows
300 Deb Shops
92 Delia’s
340 Dollar Tree/Family Dollar
39 Einstein Bros. Bagels
50 Express (through 2015)
31 Frederick’s of Hollywood
50 Fresh & Easy Grocey Stores
14 Friendly’s
65 Future Shop (Best Buy Canada)
54 Golf Galaxy (by 2016)
50 Guess (through 2015)
26 Gymboree
40 JCPenney
127 Jones New York Outlet
10 Just Baked
28 Kate Spade Saturday & Jack Spade
14 Macy’s
400 Office Depot/Office Max (by 2016)
63 Pep Boys (“in the coming years”)
100 Pier One (by 2017)
20 Pick ’n Save (by 2017)
1,784 Radio Shack
13 Ruby Tuesday
77 Sears
10 SpartanNash Grocery Stores
55 Staples (2015)
133 Target, Canada (bankruptcy)
31 Tiger Direct
200 Walgreens (by 2017)
10 West Marine
338 Wet Seal
80 Wolverine World Wide (2015 – Stride Rite & Keds)
So why is this happening?
Without a doubt, Internet retailing is taking a huge toll on brick and mortar stores, and this is a trend that is not going to end any time soon.
But as Thad Beversdorf has pointed out, we have also seen a stunning decline in true discretionary consumer spending over the past six months…
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-05-02/major-us-retailers-are-closing-more-6000-stores
If the U.S. economy really is improving, then why are big U.S. retailers permanently shutting down thousands of stores?
The list below comes from information compiled by About.com, but I have only included major retailers that have announced plans to close at least 10 stores. Most of these closures will take place this year, but in some instances the closures are scheduled to be phased in over a number of years. As you can see, the number of stores that are being permanently shut down is absolutely staggering…
180 Abercrombie & Fitch (by 2015)
75 Aeropostale (through January 2015)
150 American Eagle Outfitters (through 2017)
223 Barnes & Noble (through 2023)
265 Body Central / Body Shop
66 Bottom Dollar Food
25 Build-A-Bear (through 2015)
32 C. Wonder
21 Cache
120 Chico’s (through 2017)
200 Children’s Place (through 2017)
17 Christopher & Banks
70 Coach (fiscal 2015)
70 Coco’s /Carrows
300 Deb Shops
92 Delia’s
340 Dollar Tree/Family Dollar
39 Einstein Bros. Bagels
50 Express (through 2015)
31 Frederick’s of Hollywood
50 Fresh & Easy Grocey Stores
14 Friendly’s
65 Future Shop (Best Buy Canada)
54 Golf Galaxy (by 2016)
50 Guess (through 2015)
26 Gymboree
40 JCPenney
127 Jones New York Outlet
10 Just Baked
28 Kate Spade Saturday & Jack Spade
14 Macy’s
400 Office Depot/Office Max (by 2016)
63 Pep Boys (“in the coming years”)
100 Pier One (by 2017)
20 Pick ’n Save (by 2017)
1,784 Radio Shack
13 Ruby Tuesday
77 Sears
10 SpartanNash Grocery Stores
55 Staples (2015)
133 Target, Canada (bankruptcy)
31 Tiger Direct
200 Walgreens (by 2017)
10 West Marine
338 Wet Seal
80 Wolverine World Wide (2015 – Stride Rite & Keds)
So why is this happening?
Without a doubt, Internet retailing is taking a huge toll on brick and mortar stores, and this is a trend that is not going to end any time soon.
But as Thad Beversdorf has pointed out, we have also seen a stunning decline in true discretionary consumer spending over the past six months…
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-05-02/major-us-retailers-are-closing-more-6000-stores
Sunday, May 3, 2015
“I am the good shepherd. A good shepherd lays down his life for his sheep. A hired man sees a wolf and runs away, and the wolf scatters the flock. He works for pay and does not care for the sheep. I am the good shepherd. I know mine and mine know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I will lay down my life for my sheep. I have other sheep not of this fold. These also I will lead, and they will hear my voice. And there will be one flock, one shepherd."
John 10:11-16
John 10:11-16
Friday, May 1, 2015
Iain Marlow: South Korea’s chaebol problem (한국의 재벌 문제)
A good analysis of the chaebol problem. In order for Korea to move on to the next phase of development, the chaebol issue is critical.
What this article doesn't address is the underlying factors of the chaebol system. Chaebols have been a part of Korea Inc. in order to tackle the chaebol problem, the state has to correct the problem of Korea Inc., which is extremely hard for the Korean power elite. Politics has overriden economics either in teh West or in the East.
In my view, the core idea of the so-called creative economy by the current Park Geun-hye regime is solid and promising for the next phase of Korea's development, economically, socially, and politically. What concerns us is that her administration doesn't seem to grasp where lies the problems deterring Korean SMEs from growing and thriving. They are complex and embedded in the old system. Once they do, thereby making some progress toward genuine infrastructure building for SMEs' prosperity, President Park Keun-hye would be remembered as a good president, beyond his father's (President Park Chung-hee) legacy (both desirable and undesirable).
Meanwhile, the Park regime should stop propping up any unproductive businesses (i.e., destructive force of financialization). Otherwise, she would be remembered as another failed president in the political history of Korea.
From the globe and mail:
What this article doesn't address is the underlying factors of the chaebol system. Chaebols have been a part of Korea Inc. in order to tackle the chaebol problem, the state has to correct the problem of Korea Inc., which is extremely hard for the Korean power elite. Politics has overriden economics either in teh West or in the East.
In my view, the core idea of the so-called creative economy by the current Park Geun-hye regime is solid and promising for the next phase of Korea's development, economically, socially, and politically. What concerns us is that her administration doesn't seem to grasp where lies the problems deterring Korean SMEs from growing and thriving. They are complex and embedded in the old system. Once they do, thereby making some progress toward genuine infrastructure building for SMEs' prosperity, President Park Keun-hye would be remembered as a good president, beyond his father's (President Park Chung-hee) legacy (both desirable and undesirable).
Meanwhile, the Park regime should stop propping up any unproductive businesses (i.e., destructive force of financialization). Otherwise, she would be remembered as another failed president in the political history of Korea.
From the globe and mail:
In the war’s aftermath, though, and particularly after a military coup in 1961, something remarkable happened. Family-owned, South Korean firms – recognizable companies such as Samsung and Hyundai – struck an unlikely alliance with South Korea’s authoritarian government. Protected from competition, showered with cheap loans and encouraged to sprawl into new, strategic industries without fear of failing, these companies grew into global behemoths and built South Korea into a wealthy, export-oriented powerhouse in less than a generation.
But like many in South Korea, Mr. Eom, 66, has lost respect for the so-called chaebol – a term that combines the Korean words chae (wealth) and bol (clan). He works for a small manufacturing firm that sells to the chaebol, and he says the large firms often pay late, arbitrarily refuse shipments and use their huge market dominance to bully smaller firms. He and others have become increasingly frustrated with the chaebol’s growing power and influence in South Korean society, as well as what many perceive to be the arrogance of the children now taking control of the family-run firms as a widely-respected, older generation passes on control.
“Things are not the same,” Mr. Eom says. “The problem with the chaebol is that what they earn, they don’t give back to society – they simply spread out with more tentacles.”
The chaebol may deserve much of the credit for South Korea’s rapid economic development, but many now fear the country’s massive conglomerates have become far too powerful. Samsung Group alone now accounts for roughly 20 per cent of South Korea’s gross domestic product.
South Korea’s economy has slowed sharply in recent quarters, and is pushing up against the limits of its export-led growth. Economic observers say the chaebol’s dominance is now suffocating the country’s attempt to shift gears and foster a more innovative services-oriented economy powered by small businesses.
Powerful South Korean exporters are being hit at the low end by expanding Chinese manufacturers and at the high end by Japanese players who have benefited from a deliberately-weakened yen. Exporters are creating fewer jobs in South Korea as the chaebol move production offshore.
That has left large firms profitable, but the domestic economy hurting: South Korea’s household debt is now rising fast, small and medium-sized businesses are still unproductive and failing to grow larger, and the high-value services sector is lagging well behind other countries.
“This has raised concerns about Korea’s traditional catch-up strategy led by exports produced by large chaebol companies,” the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development said in a report last year.
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