New Post (210) : Want a boy child ?
Try and crack this problem. {the official answer is 50/50} ha ha ha
Math Question : “In a country in which people only want boys every family continues to have children until they have a boy. If they have a girl, they have another child. If they have a boy, they stop. What is the proportion of boys to girls in the country?”
Try and crack this problem. {the official answer is 50/50} ha ha ha
So - why all this fuss about it being bad to want a boy child. It’s exactly the same as wanting to have a girl child.
As long as no girl child is killed………. (and) if the math is to be believed……..nature tips the balance back to 50:50.
That’s something to think about !
Charlie Brown
Friday, December 9, 2011
Thursday, December 8, 2011
A world without in-the-face advertising.
New Post (209) : A world without in-the-face advertising.
Imagine … a billboard with only a giant brand logo featured on it.
A bar code or dot matrix code embedded in it. [A QR code (abbreviated from Quick Response code) is a type of matrix bar code (or two-dimensional code)]
Use your smart phone to click a picture of it.
The smart phone reads the code and opens up a choice of print and videos for the brand.
Watch the advertising portfolio of the brand at your leisure on your smart phone.
Then order what you like. (also from your smart phone)
Eventually the billboards will shrink to a (near) size zero.
This change will un-clutter our urban environs………..so we will “see more” of our surroundings.
He who will usher in this change and lead it ? …………………will make a fortune.
Are the telecom companies listening ??? Are the brand owning advertiser's listening ???
To my mind - The name tag "smart phone" will have to be changed - to something more appropriate.
This is applicable to not just street media (OOH).........same holds for TV & print media too. WOW. That (sure) would be a game changer !
Charlie Brown
Imagine … a billboard with only a giant brand logo featured on it.
A bar code or dot matrix code embedded in it. [A QR code (abbreviated from Quick Response code) is a type of matrix bar code (or two-dimensional code)]
Use your smart phone to click a picture of it.
The smart phone reads the code and opens up a choice of print and videos for the brand.
Watch the advertising portfolio of the brand at your leisure on your smart phone.
Then order what you like. (also from your smart phone)
Eventually the billboards will shrink to a (near) size zero.
This change will un-clutter our urban environs………..so we will “see more” of our surroundings.
He who will usher in this change and lead it ? …………………will make a fortune.
Are the telecom companies listening ??? Are the brand owning advertiser's listening ???
To my mind - The name tag "smart phone" will have to be changed - to something more appropriate.
This is applicable to not just street media (OOH).........same holds for TV & print media too. WOW. That (sure) would be a game changer !
Charlie Brown
Thursday, December 1, 2011
Global information cannot grow any faster than our ability to absorb or monitor it.
New Post (208} : Global information cannot grow any faster than our ability to absorb or monitor it.
Quote (open)
Evidence has emerged that the brain's capacity to absorb information is limiting the amount of data humanity can produce
In the early 19th century, the German physiologist Ernst Weber gave a blindfolded man a mass to hold and gradually increased its weight, asking the subject to indicate when he first became aware of the change. Weber discovered that the smallest increase in weight a human can perceive is proportional to the initial mass.
This is now known as the Weber-Fichner law and shows that the relationship between the stimulus and perception is logarithmic.
It's straightforward to apply this rule to modern media. Take images for example. An increase in resolution of a low resolution picture is more easily perceived than the same increase to a higher resolution picture.
When two parameters are involved, the relationship between the stimuli and perception is the square of the logarithm. An example would be video in which images change with time.
This way of thinking about stimulus and perception clearly indicates that the Weber-Fichner law ought to have a profound effect on the rate at which we absorb information.
Today, Claudius Gros and a couple of pals at Goethe University Frankfurt in Germany look for signs of the Weber-Fichner law in the size distribution of files on the internet. And they say they've found them.
These guys measured the type and size of files pointed to by every outward link from Wikipedia and the open directory project, dmoz.org. That's a total of more than 600 million files. Some 58 per cent of these pointed to image files, 32 per cent to application files, 5 per cent to text files, 3 per cent to audio and 1 per cent to video files.
Gros and co then plotted the size of each of these files types against the number of files to get the file size distribution.
Sure enough, they discovered that the audio and video file distribution followed a log-normal curve, which is compatible with a logarithmic squared-type relationship. By contrast, image files follow a power law distribution, which is compatible with a logarithmic relationship. That's exactly as the Weber-Fichner law predicts
"[This] strongly indicates that [the distributions] are determined by the underlying neurophysiological limitations of the producing agents," say Gros and co. In other words 'us'.
Further evidence comes from a closer look at the tails of these curves. If the size of files were determined by some kind of economic factor, like the cost of producing a file, then the distribution ought to have an exponential tail. But that's not the case. The absence of this feature suggests some other origin for the file size distribution.
Gros and co put it like this: "The neuropsychological capacity of the human brain to process and record information may constitute the dominant limiting factor for the overall growth of globally stored information, with real-world economic constraints having only a negligible influence."
Quite! In other words, global information cannot grow any faster than our ability to absorb or monitor it.
That makes sense and raises some interesting avenues for future research too. For example, it'll be interesting to see how machine intelligence might change this equation. It may be that machines can be designed to distort our relationship with information.
If so, then a careful measure of file size distribution could reveal the first signs that intelligent machines are among us!
Quote (close)
To my mind this explains - The dumbing down of the global news media !
Charlie Brown
Quote (open)
Evidence has emerged that the brain's capacity to absorb information is limiting the amount of data humanity can produce
In the early 19th century, the German physiologist Ernst Weber gave a blindfolded man a mass to hold and gradually increased its weight, asking the subject to indicate when he first became aware of the change. Weber discovered that the smallest increase in weight a human can perceive is proportional to the initial mass.
This is now known as the Weber-Fichner law and shows that the relationship between the stimulus and perception is logarithmic.
It's straightforward to apply this rule to modern media. Take images for example. An increase in resolution of a low resolution picture is more easily perceived than the same increase to a higher resolution picture.
When two parameters are involved, the relationship between the stimuli and perception is the square of the logarithm. An example would be video in which images change with time.
This way of thinking about stimulus and perception clearly indicates that the Weber-Fichner law ought to have a profound effect on the rate at which we absorb information.
Today, Claudius Gros and a couple of pals at Goethe University Frankfurt in Germany look for signs of the Weber-Fichner law in the size distribution of files on the internet. And they say they've found them.
These guys measured the type and size of files pointed to by every outward link from Wikipedia and the open directory project, dmoz.org. That's a total of more than 600 million files. Some 58 per cent of these pointed to image files, 32 per cent to application files, 5 per cent to text files, 3 per cent to audio and 1 per cent to video files.
Gros and co then plotted the size of each of these files types against the number of files to get the file size distribution.
Sure enough, they discovered that the audio and video file distribution followed a log-normal curve, which is compatible with a logarithmic squared-type relationship. By contrast, image files follow a power law distribution, which is compatible with a logarithmic relationship. That's exactly as the Weber-Fichner law predicts
"[This] strongly indicates that [the distributions] are determined by the underlying neurophysiological limitations of the producing agents," say Gros and co. In other words 'us'.
Further evidence comes from a closer look at the tails of these curves. If the size of files were determined by some kind of economic factor, like the cost of producing a file, then the distribution ought to have an exponential tail. But that's not the case. The absence of this feature suggests some other origin for the file size distribution.
Gros and co put it like this: "The neuropsychological capacity of the human brain to process and record information may constitute the dominant limiting factor for the overall growth of globally stored information, with real-world economic constraints having only a negligible influence."
Quite! In other words, global information cannot grow any faster than our ability to absorb or monitor it.
That makes sense and raises some interesting avenues for future research too. For example, it'll be interesting to see how machine intelligence might change this equation. It may be that machines can be designed to distort our relationship with information.
If so, then a careful measure of file size distribution could reveal the first signs that intelligent machines are among us!
Quote (close)
To my mind this explains - The dumbing down of the global news media !
Charlie Brown
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
Wanting WW – 3.
New Post (207) : Wanting WW – 3.
These three seemingly separate wars have the potential to roller ball into one mega all out war.
The flash points are building up:
1. The USD wants the Euro marginalized.
> A trans-Atlantic conflict.
The Chinese could not be too happy about this.
2. An Israel with the assistance of USA wants Iran’s nuclear capability development stopped.
> A middle-eastern conflict.
The Russians could not be too happy about this.
1 & 2 may cause 3.
3. A North Korea waiting on China’s trigger wants to move in on a South Korea that depends on the USA.
Also, China wants Taiwan back as its own.
> A pacific area conflict.
The USA could not be too happy about this.
All this “wanting” will likely bring about the WW - 3.
This will happen if all 3 conflicts hit flash point “simultaneously”.
Every nation will unwittingly get sucked in…… ( without any notable exceptions )
This is a time to muster up - sense and sensibility.
Else, ……… the clock will be put back by a couple of centuries.
Charlie Brown
These three seemingly separate wars have the potential to roller ball into one mega all out war.
The flash points are building up:
1. The USD wants the Euro marginalized.
> A trans-Atlantic conflict.
The Chinese could not be too happy about this.
2. An Israel with the assistance of USA wants Iran’s nuclear capability development stopped.
> A middle-eastern conflict.
The Russians could not be too happy about this.
1 & 2 may cause 3.
3. A North Korea waiting on China’s trigger wants to move in on a South Korea that depends on the USA.
Also, China wants Taiwan back as its own.
> A pacific area conflict.
The USA could not be too happy about this.
All this “wanting” will likely bring about the WW - 3.
This will happen if all 3 conflicts hit flash point “simultaneously”.
Every nation will unwittingly get sucked in…… ( without any notable exceptions )
This is a time to muster up - sense and sensibility.
Else, ……… the clock will be put back by a couple of centuries.
Charlie Brown
Monday, October 31, 2011
The famed Bolshoi theater “reopens” after a 6-year restoration !
New Post (206) : The famed Bolshoi theater “reopens” after a 6-year restoration !
From what my friends tell me. it’s surely been a wait worth waiting for………. The Bolshoi Theater built in 1825, closed for reconstruction in 2005.
The Bolshoi Theater, one of the main landmarks of the Russian capital and a symbol of Russian culture, reopened after six years of reconstruction with a gala concert attended by members of the Russian and international beau monde.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev were among the guests for the performance at Russia’s main ballet and opera house.
The Russian government spent 21 billion rubles ($681 million) on the restoration, which involved more than 3,600 designers, builders and engineers.
The gala concert began with a performance reproducing the restoration work. Artists dressed in builders’ uniforms and helmets performed the final scene from Mikhail Glinka’s A Life for the Tsar opera.
The acoustics have been improved significantly. The renovated theater has a back stage, extra foyers and cafeterias, and underground premises for storing stage decorations. ………The work has created an extra 50,000 sq meters of space in the building
PS: Now that the Bolshoi is back to its former glory & grandeur, the Mariinsky Theatre in St.Petes, Russia will have to settle once again for a close second position on the culture map.
I have great memories of both.
Charlie Brown
From what my friends tell me. it’s surely been a wait worth waiting for………. The Bolshoi Theater built in 1825, closed for reconstruction in 2005.
The Bolshoi Theater, one of the main landmarks of the Russian capital and a symbol of Russian culture, reopened after six years of reconstruction with a gala concert attended by members of the Russian and international beau monde.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev were among the guests for the performance at Russia’s main ballet and opera house.
The Russian government spent 21 billion rubles ($681 million) on the restoration, which involved more than 3,600 designers, builders and engineers.
The gala concert began with a performance reproducing the restoration work. Artists dressed in builders’ uniforms and helmets performed the final scene from Mikhail Glinka’s A Life for the Tsar opera.
The acoustics have been improved significantly. The renovated theater has a back stage, extra foyers and cafeterias, and underground premises for storing stage decorations. ………The work has created an extra 50,000 sq meters of space in the building
PS: Now that the Bolshoi is back to its former glory & grandeur, the Mariinsky Theatre in St.Petes, Russia will have to settle once again for a close second position on the culture map.
I have great memories of both.
Charlie Brown
Saturday, October 22, 2011
The next fighter aircraft for the Indian Air Force.
New Post (205) : The next fighter aircraft for the Indian Air Force.
Impressive…………….aha...........…
India will choose the winner of the project to supply 126 fighters for country's air forces this month, Times of India said on Saturday quoting sources in country's Defense Ministry. All eyes are on Eurofighter Typhoon and Dassault Rafale as to who would get go-ahead for the mega-deal. Both the short-listed companies are lobbying hard for the $10.4 billion deal.
The Defence Acquisitions Council, chaired by defence minister A K Antony, on Friday approved the offsets evaluation reports of the Eurofighter Typhoon (backed by UK, Germany, Spain and Italy) and the French Rafale Dassault jets. The other contenders, the American, Russian and Swedish jets, were earlier ejected out of the race after long-drawn technical evaluation and field trials.
"All the spade work for opening of the commercial bids of Eurofighter and Rafale has now been completed. It will be done towards the end of this month,'' said an official.
It will, however, take at least two-three weeks to determine the lowest bidder (L-1) after the bids are opened. "Huge amounts of mathematical and data verification of the lifecycle costs of operating the jets over a 40-year period, with 6,000 hours of flying, as well as cost of ToT (transfer of technology) will have to be done,'' he added. Final commercial negotiations with the L-1 vendor will then begin before the contract is ready for signing by early-2012.
Under terms of the tender the winner is to invest 50 percent of the contract in jets production in India. The first 18 fighters will be imported, while another 108 will be manufactured by Hindustan Aeronautics, the paper said.
aha........…How will the Indian people keep the usual suspects – i.e. foreign agents-&-Indian politico scamsters out of this “BIG” purchase ! ...............This is one Pandora’s box waiting to be pried open.
***I am betting on the French coming out up ahead solo on this huge bid. Lets see.
Charlie Brown
Impressive…………….aha...........…
India will choose the winner of the project to supply 126 fighters for country's air forces this month, Times of India said on Saturday quoting sources in country's Defense Ministry. All eyes are on Eurofighter Typhoon and Dassault Rafale as to who would get go-ahead for the mega-deal. Both the short-listed companies are lobbying hard for the $10.4 billion deal.
The Defence Acquisitions Council, chaired by defence minister A K Antony, on Friday approved the offsets evaluation reports of the Eurofighter Typhoon (backed by UK, Germany, Spain and Italy) and the French Rafale Dassault jets. The other contenders, the American, Russian and Swedish jets, were earlier ejected out of the race after long-drawn technical evaluation and field trials.
"All the spade work for opening of the commercial bids of Eurofighter and Rafale has now been completed. It will be done towards the end of this month,'' said an official.
It will, however, take at least two-three weeks to determine the lowest bidder (L-1) after the bids are opened. "Huge amounts of mathematical and data verification of the lifecycle costs of operating the jets over a 40-year period, with 6,000 hours of flying, as well as cost of ToT (transfer of technology) will have to be done,'' he added. Final commercial negotiations with the L-1 vendor will then begin before the contract is ready for signing by early-2012.
Under terms of the tender the winner is to invest 50 percent of the contract in jets production in India. The first 18 fighters will be imported, while another 108 will be manufactured by Hindustan Aeronautics, the paper said.
aha........…How will the Indian people keep the usual suspects – i.e. foreign agents-&-Indian politico scamsters out of this “BIG” purchase ! ...............This is one Pandora’s box waiting to be pried open.
***I am betting on the French coming out up ahead solo on this huge bid. Lets see.
Charlie Brown
Sunday, October 9, 2011
Mongolia’s pot full of 46 million ounces of gold.
New Post (204) : Mongolia’s pot full of 46 million ounces of gold.
The gold rush is ON. For the Mongolian pot of gold.
Oyu Tolgoi is the world's largest undeveloped copper-gold project and is located in the South Gobi region of Mongolia, approximately 550 km south of the capital, Ulaanbaatar, and 80 km north of the Mongolia-China border.
The comprehensive Oyu Tolgoi Investment Agreement took effect March 31, 2010, following confirmation by the Government of Mongolia that procedural and administrative conditions contained in the Investment Agreement had been satisfied within the allocated six-month period that has followed the agreement's official signing in October 2009. The comprehensive Investment Agreement now has taken full legal effect.
On October 6, 2009, Ivanhoe Mines and Rio Tinto signed a long-term, comprehensive Investment Agreement with the Government of Mongolia for the construction and operation of the Oyu Tolgoi copper-gold mining complex. The agreement creates a partnership between the Mongolian Government -- which acquired a 34% interest in the project -- and Ivanhoe Mines, which retained a controlling 66% interest in Oyu Tolgoi. Global miner Rio Tinto, which joined Ivanhoe Mines as a strategic partner three years ago, presently holds a 49% interest in Ivanhoe Mines.
Based on Ivanhoe Mines' discoveries at Oyu Tolgoi during the past nine years, independently verified estimates indicate that Oyu Tolgoi contains approximately 81 billion pounds of copper and …46 million ounces of gold in measured, indicated and inferred resources.
The gold rush is ON. For the Mongolian pot of gold.
Charlie Brown
The gold rush is ON. For the Mongolian pot of gold.
Oyu Tolgoi is the world's largest undeveloped copper-gold project and is located in the South Gobi region of Mongolia, approximately 550 km south of the capital, Ulaanbaatar, and 80 km north of the Mongolia-China border.
The comprehensive Oyu Tolgoi Investment Agreement took effect March 31, 2010, following confirmation by the Government of Mongolia that procedural and administrative conditions contained in the Investment Agreement had been satisfied within the allocated six-month period that has followed the agreement's official signing in October 2009. The comprehensive Investment Agreement now has taken full legal effect.
On October 6, 2009, Ivanhoe Mines and Rio Tinto signed a long-term, comprehensive Investment Agreement with the Government of Mongolia for the construction and operation of the Oyu Tolgoi copper-gold mining complex. The agreement creates a partnership between the Mongolian Government -- which acquired a 34% interest in the project -- and Ivanhoe Mines, which retained a controlling 66% interest in Oyu Tolgoi. Global miner Rio Tinto, which joined Ivanhoe Mines as a strategic partner three years ago, presently holds a 49% interest in Ivanhoe Mines.
Based on Ivanhoe Mines' discoveries at Oyu Tolgoi during the past nine years, independently verified estimates indicate that Oyu Tolgoi contains approximately 81 billion pounds of copper and …46 million ounces of gold in measured, indicated and inferred resources.
The gold rush is ON. For the Mongolian pot of gold.
Charlie Brown
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