5 Women Share The Moment They Decided to Pursue Engineering

From Identities.Mic:

The dominant conversation about women in science, technology, engineering and math is an undeniably depressing one. Not only are women currently underrepresented in and discriminated against in these fields, but rates of girls choosing to enter STEM is on the decline, too. While raising awareness about this troubling reality is certainly necessary, framing it as a lost cause does little to actually convince girls and women to pursue these careers.
A crucial element missing from this conversation, therefore, is visibility about the positive experiences that plenty of female scientists, engineers and mathematicians do, in fact, have. These professionals didn’t just enter their fields to contribute to a better overall statistic of representation — they did so for personal reasons, and they are reaping the benefits.
Here are just a few women’s reasons for going into STEM — and their advice for women looking to do the same.

http://mic.com/articles/121418/5-women-share-the-moment-they-decided-to-pursue-engineering

"Their gods are the gods of men, not God. Their golden calf shall be broken to pieces. For they have sown the wind, and will reap the whirlwind. Their standing fields can produce no fruit, and so shall provide no flour. If it were to put forth a yield, then foreigners will consume it. As a people they have been devoured; and among the nations are like an empty shell."
Hosea 8:6-8

Abenomics End Game: Thousands Protest In Downtown Tokyo, Demand Abe's Resignation As PM Disapproval Soars

From Zero Hedge:

Years of growing resentment for the Japanese premier, who panders only to the rich, to the exporting corporations, to the Japanese military-industrial complex, and of course, to the US government and Goldman Sachs (whose idea Abenomics was from the very beginning) thousands of protestors rallied Friday night in downtown Tokyo in a campaign of "Say no to the Abe government," targeting Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's "runaway" policy. The protestors gathered at the Hibiya Park, Diet building and the prime minister's official residence, shouting "Abe step down."

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-07-25/abenomics-end-game-thousands-protest-downtown-tokyo-demand-abes-resignation-pm-disap

Jim Grant On Gold's Liquidation Sale: A "Vexing But Wonderful Opportunity"

From Zero Hedge:

"The important thing to recall is why those of us who own it, bought it. What is it about gold that ought to make it appealing – when it seems to be absolutely the thing you don’t want to have." As ValueWalk reports, Grant warned that gold thrives in the face of monetary turmoil, disorder and uncertainty, noting, "I think we have all three of these things."

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-07-24/jim-grant-gold-mr-market-having-sale-vexing-wonderful-opportunity

With Linux and Creative Commons, The $9 CHIP Computer Reveals Its Open Source Details

From Makezine:

We’ve been wondering exactly how open source CHIP, the $9 computer, is. Turns out, it’s really freaking open!

The initial launch of CHIP from the Oakland, California-based Next Thing Co. made big waves a few months back with its capabilities (1GHz R8 ARM processor, 512MB of RAM, 4GB of eMMC storage, and WiFi and Bluetooth built-in) and crazy-low price (just $9, but international shipping pushes that higher for some). Ultimately, the team raised over $2 million dollars through crowdfunding and got the attention of Makers and mainstream media alike. Yet, much of the excitement surrounding CHIP has stayed focused on the low cost and technical specifications.
Today, Dave Rauchwerk, CEO of Next Thing Co. shared more details on their board, and we’re impressed with what we heard: CHIP is licensed as Creative Commons ShareAlike, the R8 data sheet is available, Next Thing Co. is joining the Linux Foundation, and CHIP is getting even more interesting than just a low cost board.
While inexpensive hardware is nice, and high clock rates move bits and bytes faster, these mean nothing without a robust software stack for Makers to develop in. To those ends, Rauchwerk and his team have partnering with Free Electrons, to add their embedded Linux engineering talents to the mix, and that partnership is beginning to show with today’s announcement of CHIP’s Linux support.

This is noteworthy. As of today, CHIP runs the 4.2 Linux kernel. That’s the absolute most current version of the Linux kernel and comes with all the latest and greatest features. Typically, embedded systems running Linux do not use the latest kernel. Instead, the kernel is downloaded and patched with software which enables the board to boot it.

http://makezine.com/2015/07/22/with-linux-and-creative-commons-the-9-chip-computer-reveals-its-open-source-details/

Forget Recession: According To Caterpillar There Is A Full-Blown Global Depression

From Zero Hedge:

There has now been an unprecedented 31 consecutive months of CAT retail sales declines. This compares to "only" 19 during the near systemic collapse in 2008. In other words, if global demand for heavy industrial machinery, as opposed to unemployed millennials' demands for $0.99 Apple apps, is any indication of the true underlying economy, forget recession: the world is now in a second great depression which is getting worse by the month.

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-07-22/forget-recession-according-caterpillar-there-full-blown-global-depression

Web Design – The First 100 Years

From Adafruit blog:

There’s a William Gibson quote that Tim O’Reilly likes to repeat: “the future is here, it’s just not evenly distributed yet.”
O’Reilly takes this to mean that if we surround ourselves with the right people, it can give us a sneak peek at coming attractions.
I like to interpret this quote differently, as a call to action. Rather than waiting passively for technology to change the world, let’s see how much we can do with what we already have.
Let’s reclaim the web from technologists who tell us that the future they’ve imagined is inevitable, and that our role in it is as consumers.
The Web belongs to us all, and those of us in this room are going to spend the rest of our lives working there. So we need to make it our home.
We live in a world now where not millions but billions of people work in rice fields, textile factories, where children grow up in appalling poverty. Of those billions, how many are the greatest minds of our time? How many deserve better than they get? What if instead of dreaming about changing the world with tomorrow’s technology, we used today’s technology and let the world change us? Why do we need to obsess on artificial intelligence, when we’re wasting so much natural intelligence?

https://blog.adafruit.com/2015/07/21/web-design-the-first-100-years/

China's Record Dumping Of US Treasuries Leaves Goldman Speechless

From Zero Hedge:

Something is very rotten in the state of China, and its crashing, manipulated stock market is merely the tip of the iceberg.

On Friday, alongside China's announcement that it had bought over 600 tons of gold in "one month", the PBOC released another very important data point: its total foreign exchange reserves, which declined by $17.3 billion to $3,694 billion.


We then put China's change in FX reserves alongside the total Treasury holdings of China and its "anonymous" offshore Treasury dealer Euroclear (aka "Belgium") as released by TIC, and found that the dramatic relationship which we first discovered back in May, has persisted - namely virtually the entire delta in Chinese FX reserves come via China's US Treasury holdings. As in they are being aggressively sold, to the tune of $107 billion in Treasury sales so far in 2015.


We explained all of his on Friday in "China Dumps Record $143 Billion In US Treasurys In Three Months Via Belgium", and frankly we have been surprised that this extremely important topic has not gotten broader attention.

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-07-21/chinas-record-dumping-us-treasuries-leaves-goldman-speechless

The Greek Economy Is Finished! A Quarter Of Firms Shifting Abroad

From Zero Hedge:

Capital controls imposed by the Greek government are taking a heavy toll on Greek businesses, according to a new report from Endeavour Greece. With over two-thirds of respondents reporting a "significant drop in revenues," and 1 in 9 firms forced to suspend production due to shortages of raw materials (unable to buy due to capital controls), the problems created by The Greek government's action seem asymmetric as almost a quarter (23%) of firms are now "planning to transfer their headquarters abroad for security, cashflow, and stability reasons."

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-07-20/greek-economy-finished-quarter-firms-shifting-abroad

National Academy of Sciences set to have its first female president

From the Washington Post:

The first female editor in chief of the prestigious journal Science is now set to become the first female president of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences. On Monday the NAS announced the committee’s nomination of Marcia McNutt, a geophysicist by training, to take over when current president Ralph J. Cicerone steps down on July 1, 2016.
Members of the Academy could nominate another prospective candidate to compete with McNutt on her Dec. 15 election, but that’s never happened in the group’s history.
Along with the rest of the scientists of the Academy, McNutt is tasked with providing objective scientific advice to the U.S. government to influence sound policy decisions. McNutt is no stranger to that task: In 2014 McNutt took the controversial stance of supporting the Keystone XL pipeline, which she deemed to be the least of all available evils given the country’s dependence on fossil fuel. And just days ago, McNutt attracted the ire of climate change deniers by writing that “the time for debate has ended” in a Science editorial calling for urgent action.
The nomination is a long time coming for NAS, which was established in an Act of Congress in 1863. Science is still largely unwelcoming to women — especially when it comes to positions of power — and the nomination of a (highly qualified) female scientist is heartening, to say the least.

 http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/speaking-of-science/wp/2015/07/07/national-academy-of-sciences-set-to-have-its-first-female-president/?postshare=8741436420112092

Google Introduces the Eddystone Beacon

From Makezine:

At the beginning of the week Google launched Eddystone, an open source and cross-platform Bluetooth LE beacon standard. At first glance it looks a lot like Apple’s iBeacon, but there’s more going on here than meets the eye.

http://makezine.com/2015/07/20/google-introduces-eddystone-beacon/

WSJ: Diversity in Tech

From the Wall Street Journal:

Last year a number of major tech companies released information on the racial and gender make-up of their employees. As those companies release 2015 ‘diversity reports,’ we’ll be updating this interactive to see how tech companies compare with the previous years and with other companies in terms of gender and race in their custom-defined ‘technology’ and ‘leadership’ positions.

http://graphics.wsj.com/diversity-in-tech-companies/

Japan's Economic Disaster: Real Wages Lowest Since 1990, Record Numbers Describe "Hard" Living Conditions

From Zero Hedge:

With so much attention rightly focused on China at the moment, people aren’t paying enough attention to the budding economic calamity unfolding in Japan. While “Abenomics” has succeeded in boosting the stock market and food prices, it has utterly failed to raise wages. In fact, wages adjusted for inflation have plunged to the lowest since 1990. As such, a record number of households now describe their living conditions as “somewhat hard” or “very hard.”



http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-07-15/japans-economic-disaster-real-wages-lowest-1990-record-numbers-describe-hard-living-

Nearly every job in America, mapped in incredible detail

From The Washington Post:



 These differences form economic identities that shape each city as much as their culture and geography do. And they’re starkly — and beautifully — visible in a new visualization, made by Harvard Ph.D. student Robert Manduca, that maps nearly every job in America, one dot per job. His project, which draws on Census data reported by employers, is modeled off Dustin Cable’s well-known racial dot map that mapped every person in the country.
The result, in metropolitan Washington, looks like this, with manufacturing and trade jobs shown in red; professional services jobs in blue; healthcare, education and government in green; and retail, hospitality and service-sector jobs in yellow.

https://blog.adafruit.com/2015/07/14/where-are-the-jobs-nearly-every-job-in-america-mapped-in-incredible-detail-makerbusiness/

Design Circuits in a Flash with Web-Based Circuit Simulator

From Makezine:

Occasionally, I’ll find myself trying to describe how a circuit works, and pencil and paper just won’t cut it. I need to show them not just how the circuit diagram looks, but how the voltage and current flows through the various components. Rather than take the time to build up a complicated SPICE simulation, there’s one tool that is perfect for quick circuit modeling: Paul Falstad’s Circuit Simulator Applet.
In just a few minutes, you can build complicated circuits, and place probe points for virtual oscilloscopes, resulting in an easy to understand visual diagram that shows voltage and current flow through the circuit. While there are other applications that do the same thing (such as SPICE, Qucs, or TINA), this one runs on Javascript in the browser, and it’s extremely easy to use.

http://makezine.com/2015/07/14/design-circuits-web-based-circuit-simulator/

Greece Just Lost Control Of Its Banks, And Why Deposit Haircuts Are Imminent

From Zero Hedge:

One of the preconditions imposed on Greece for a deal is that it signs into law European rules that would put euro zone authorities at the ECB and in Brussels, rather than Athens, in charge of identifying and closing or breaking up sick banks. This in turn could lead to a shake-up of the sector that could see some banks close, with losses pushed onto bondholders and possibly even large depositors. In such circumstances, there would be little that Athens could do to prevent this.

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-07-13/greece-just-lost-control-its-banks-and-why-deposit-haircuts-are-still-coming

'1984' Comes To Europe - The End Of Freedom Of Speech In Spain

From Zero Hedge:

Spain has shown that it is fully on board with the Brussels authoritarian direction of ending democracy. Those in power have simply convinced themselves that the people do not understand what is good for them so they must impose their will upon the people but raw force. How does this differ in any what from the justification of imposing communism? This is the death of all freedom and it is upon our doorstep.

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-07-13/1984-comes-europe-end-freedom-speech-spain

Varoufakis: Behind Germany’s Refusal to Grant Greece Debt Relief and the Rise of the Will to Power

From Jesse's cafe:

"What is at stake is a rather heroic rebellion by a very beleaguered people against a doctrine which has been destroying their lives — the austerity doctrine and the whole neoliberal project. For the rest of us, what is at stake is whether we have the moral courage in the sense of ethical responsibility to stand up to it."

Jamie Galbraith, Greek Revolt Threatens Entire Neoliberal Project
It is probably less an issue of ethical responsibility and more an act of self-interest for most. Having come out of the Third World and working into the developed nations, why would anyone assume that Greece would be sufficient for the maw of neoliberal greed.

The above interview with Galbraith is worth reading. For one thing it contains the seed of the current spin that Tsipras called the referendum in order to lose it, and to somehow save himself and betray the Greeks. And for another you will be able to read what Jamie Galbraith really thinks, the parts that the friends of the financial establishment have carefully excluded from their versions of the story.

The calling of the referendum was politically brilliant, because it defused the notion of an extremist government standing irrationally against the Troika. This derailed the path towards a scheme to stage a 'color revolution' backed by the oligarchs to take out these mad leftists who were not speaking for the people.

Remember the economic decision involving Europe which provoked the recent coup d'état in the Ukraine? In that case the government did not have the backing of the people, and it took hold, at least in the Western portions of the country. Wash, rinse, repeat.
http://jessescrossroadscafe.blogspot.kr/2015/07/varoufakis-behind-germanys-refusal-to.html

Self-Driving R/C Car Parks Itself Just Like a Lexus

From Makezine:

Here’s an overview of the project.

Layout of the car’s electronics system sans drive system

The electronics layout inside the car should look pretty familiar to anyone who has used Arduino to prototype a project. The Arduino MEGA connects with three ultrasonic sensors, two of which are mounted on the front of the car and one on the rear bumper. Three IR sensors also wire to the MEGA and are deployed in a similar fashion. A gyroscope and 9 degree-of-freedom inertial measurement boards round out the sensor package, but are placed within the chassis of the vehicle.

An Android phone, mounted to the car, handles computation of sensor data passed to it via Bluetooth.

Steering directions are transmitted from an onboard Android phone running vision processing and transmitted over Bluetooth, and the electronic speed control (ESC) and Adafruit motor shield handle the car’s acceleration (not shown).

http://makezine.com/2015/07/10/self-driving-rc-car-parks-just-like-lexus/

G Is for Ground: Adafruit Teaches Electronics to Kids

From Makezine:

Adafruit has delivered another in their fantastic educational electronics series called Circuit Playground. They’re working their way through the alphabet, explaining the principals of electronics in ways that even children can understand. These videos are a great way to introduce kids to the basics (and safety information) involved with electrical components.

http://makezine.com/2015/07/09/ground-adafruit-teaches-electronics-kids/

Microsoft Tallies True Costs of M&A Boom: Layoffs, Write-Offs, Shut-Downs, Economic Decline

From Wolf Street:

As the M&A boom in the US explodes from record to record, with one mega-merger succeeding another, Microsoft clarified on Wednesday just how much all this fun costs down the road, in jobs and dollars: relating mostly to its acquisition of Nokia, it announced a second wave of layoffs, write-offs, and shut-downs.

http://wolfstreet.com/2015/07/09/microsoft-tallies-the-true-costs-of-the-ma-boom-layoffs-write-offs-shut-downs-and-economic-decline/

China Crashes Most Since 2007 Amid "Panic Sentiment"; Over Half Stocks Suspended, PBOC Promises "Liquidity Support"

From Zero Hedge:

*CHINA TRADING HALTS LEAVE 54% OF ENTIRE STOCK MARKET FROZEN, CHINA'S SHANGHAI COMPOSITE INDEX FALLS 8%, MOST SINCE 2007
There's "panic sentiment" currently in our stock market with "unreasonable selling" pressure - China's stock regulator spokesman. PBOC TO KEEP SUPPORTING CHINA SEC. FINANCE FOR STABLE STK MKT

China appears to be trying to manage leverage...

• *CHINA RAISES MARGIN REQUIREMENT FOR CSI 500 INDEX FUTURES
• *SHANGHAI MARGIN DEBT FALLS 8.5%, BIGGEST ONE-DAY DROP ON RECORD

The problem is the collateral value is falling faster than the margin debt leaving "leverage" still at record highs...

While encouraging speculation...

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-07-07/china-futures-plunge-8-over-half-stocks-suspended-margin-debt-crashes-most-record

"The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with the work of the Adversary, displayed in all sort of false miracles, signs and wonders, and in every evil that deceives those who are perishing. They perish because they have refused to love the truth and therein be saved. For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie, and so that all will be condemned who have not believed the truth, but have delighted in wickedness." 
2 Thess 2:9-12

Nomi Prins: In A World Of Artificial Liquidity – Cash Is King

From Zero Hedge:

Global central banks are afraid. Before Greece tried to stand up to the Troika, they were merely worried. Now it’s clear that no matter what they tell themselves and the world about the necessity or even righteousness of their monetary policies, liquidity can still disappear in an instant. Or at least, that’s what they should be thinking. The problem is that central banks have no plan B in the event of a massive liquidity event. In this cauldron of instability and lack of leadership, cash is the one remaining financial possession that Main Street can translate into goods, services and security. That’s why private banks want more control over it.

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-07-04/nomi-prins-world-artificial-liquidity-%E2%80%93-cash-king

Another round of Korea's QE: [정부 추경안 확정] 작년 7월 '46조+α' 이어 또.. 나랏빚 눈덩이

QE won't work.  Period.  Korea's debt level is in the danger zone.

국민일보로부터:

정부는 지난해 7월 ‘46조원+α’ 재정패키지를 시행했다. 그리고 1년이 지나서 또다시 경기 ‘불쏘시개’용 22조원 규모의 재정보강 방안을 마련했다. 이번 안은 전체 액수 면에서 지난해에 비해 절반에도 못 미치지만 실제 정부가 부담하는 재정 수준은 배 정도다. 지난해 재정패키지에는 민간 금융회사의 금융성지원이 대부분이어서 정부 부담 분은 12조원 정도였지만, 이번에는 22조원 전체가 오롯이 정부 몫이기 때문이다. 이 때문에 직접적 재정 효과는 더 클 것으로 기대된다. 하지만 그 이면을 보면 정부의 재정 건전성은 더 악화될 수밖에 없다. 당장 올해 말 기준 국가채무는 569조9000억원에서 579조5000억원으로 9조6000억원 늘어나고 국내총생산(GDP) 대비 국가채무 비중 역시 35.7%에서 37.5%로 증가한다. 당장은 경기가 살아날 수 있지만 장기적으로 미래세대의 부담이 더 커지게 된다.

금융시장도 요동칠 수 있다. 추경 재원의 90%가 넘는 9조6000억원은 국채를 발행해 조달한다. 이로 인해 올해 국고채 발행규모는 102조7000억원에서 112조3000억원으로 늘어났다. 채권시장에서 국채가 한꺼번에 쏟아져 나오면 채권가격은 떨어지고 반대로 금리는 올라가게 된다. 경기활성화를 위한 한국은행의 잇따른 금리인하 효과가 반감될 수 있는 것이다.

http://media.daum.net/economic/all/newsview?newsid=20150704023706694

"There Are Obvious Signs Of Distress" In The Manufacturing Industry

From Zero Hedge:



In April, we noted the NACM's comments that "there are big, big problems" underlying the economy as a surge in unfavorable factors suggested credit conditions were tightening dramatically (only to see that data revised away suddenly). June's data has confirmed this weakness with credit rejections soaring to their highest since 2009 with the biggest spike in 9 years, with NACM CEO Kuehl exclaiming, "There are some obvious signs of distress in the manufacturing community, as the expected wave of consumer demand has yet to manifest... companies that have been awaiting it are getting in trouble with their creditors."

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-07-02/there-are-obvious-signs-distress-manufacturing-industry

Elizabeth Warren: The 14 Trillion Dollar Scam and the Unfinished Business of Financial Reform

From Jesse's Cafe:




http://jessescrossroadscafe.blogspot.kr/2015/07/elizabeth-warren-14-trillion-dollar.html