text:
When I get cross, I get, shall we say extremely angry, (though I'm sure my brother and sister will tell you I get extremely angry). I am not by nature a violent person, I am in fact a pacifist. However a few months a go I was on a camp with the local scout group. Now, 8/10 boys in my camp bullied me openly in front of every one< (except of course the adults..). Now it was the last day of camp. I had made a fire which I was enjoying while mediating the mysteries of life (day dreaming ). All of a sudden these boys came out of there canoes and sat by the fire, this was fine, until they started to ruin it.. (seethe silently to myself). This was okay, I asked them to stop, they said now so I went into a very deep mediation to calm my self down (I do this a lot ,). Suddenly one boy tipped back my chair. This woudn't have been so bad had I not been a green belt in free style karate. In my anger (and I mean extreme anger), I attacked them. (I only have vague memories of from know on), I rolled of the chair and threw the boy who had rolled it into the tent nearest (luckily he went through the open door, un-luckily there were several plastic crates inside the door way). The other three attacked me. I am told I gave them my worth a they certainty did have a few bruises to say the least, but after what must have been a few miunites one of the bigger boys (who plays rugby threatened to puch my face in.He tried to threaten me (didn't work) . I told him, "Now when to stop, In a very harsh, angry, dangerous voice (so i'm told). Thye stopped. I stormed into my tent. Extremely upset at my loss of control. A few minutes later the scout leaders arrived. (which is bad as the biggest bully was her son, even she dosn't like him that much.). i was talked to by the nicest scout leader (called pete, 70 odd.) He was very understanding. I explained to him I knew my actions were wrong. (I am still firgtened by the un-explained burst of vilonce). The boys left before the next scout meeting. As I said I still feel repulsed from myself. Has anyone else got this angry before. It truly does sacre me... As you can tell I very much like to be a thinker, no violnce, no guns type guy. I only do karate for the co-ordination improvement it has given me. I just hate to think in that time i could have killed them, no joke, I know how to kill some one in twelve different ways. Which is why i keep myself under strict mental control, (thunk vulkan here). It is a truly terrifying experience. I apologized to them. And as i said above. I am told I gave far more than I got. Anyone else ever go this angry???. Help!
I am not proud of what I did that day, and was wondering if anyone has any anger managment tips??


text:
UPDATE: This made me laugh.
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Felix Salmon versus Barry Ritholtz on gold is now officially 'a thing'
Salmon is basically baiting Ritholtz with his "ten reasons why Barry is a dumbass about gold" note this weekend (slow news week, Felix?) but aside from the Click Me! Click Me! Business Insider/Buzzfeed philosophy now pervading the high traffic blogstars, it's okay as a note I suppose. He makes a couple of good points, others that are just he-sez-she-sez and then others there to fill out the count of ten, probably.
It's a rare New York financial type indeed that has more than the usual superficial grasp of what gold is, financially speaking at least. Salmon doesn't get the stuff, neither does Ritholtz. Gold mining stocks, now that's another thing entirely and two guys, one with oodles of nous about the bonds market (Salmon) and another who trades equities for a living and by all accounts does it well (Ritholtz) could bring some insight to a debate. But gold bullion, not so much.
Still, might make for a decent slapfight between two well read biz bloggers.
UPDATE: This made me laugh.
UPDATE: This made me laugh.
I don't usually reply to anonymous hatemailers, today I did. And it was quite fun as well (which surprised) so I might just do it again. Anyway, here's the one I just sent back to an IKN 'fan'.
Of course I enjoy myself! And knowing that I'm annoying the scumbags in the business makes it worth every moment. After all, if I weren't making enemies from the people who've been sucking retail shareholders dry for years and lining their nests by doing precisely nothing for the good of anybody except themselves I'd hardly be doing my job right now, would I?
And so brave of you, the anonymous hatemail! Your mother must be proud. Sadly for you, you're hardly unique as my only hatemailer, either. Hey, maybe you're one of those who has the power fantasy of meeting me on some dark night and beating my face to a pulp with a baseball bat, the guys in that subset really make me laugh.
So anyway, your email@example.com mail address is now blocked (well, it will be roughly five seconds after this mail goes out). I forgot to do that last time, so shame on me, hey? With that in mind, I'd really encourage you to reply to this and write a really, really long rant (using the same shitty grammar and spelling that belies your level of intelligence). And the longer the better, because the more time you waste on me the less time the people who have to suffer your physical presence need to interact with you.
Casimir leaves Canada
They dumped all the mining side of their Canada branch mid-last year, now it's time for the full retreat:
The Friday OT: Ry Cooder; Maria Elena
Ry Cooder and his band have been playing this Mexican standard for many years. They make it sound great.
The Pacific Rubiales (PRE.to) oil spill off the coast of Peru
Setty has the information for you over at his place. Oh Serafino...
Amazingly, PRE.to has decided not to inform the market of yet another mess it's made. At least they have a consistent corporate policy on pollution, I suppose.
Here's an interesting date for the Southern Copper (SCCO) Tia Maria project
Hey, remember how the Peru government got all happy when they shoved through the Tia Maria social licence late last year, against the will of the majority of locals and using all the sneaky tricks they could muster to avoid real problems at the meeting? If you don't IKN did a really really wonderful post on the event which you can read here. Afterwards the media was full of the "oh aren't we wonderful" government propaganda, but unfortunately for those who use these pressure tactics (and anyone who swallows them whole) we haven't heard the last of the problems around Tia Maria, not by a long way.
So to that date promised in the title and on January 17th, a big anti-mine meeting is scheduled is the Islay region of Peru (location of Tia Maria) against the project and the guest speaker of honour is likely to cause a big fuss. That's because he's Isaac Humala, father of Ollanta Humala and he's bound to come out against the copper mine project and likely to slam into the bullyboy tactics being used by his son's government in the region. Hilarity will ensue.
You have been warned.
The change in Canadian field geologists' lifestyles, 2012 to 2014
2012: Field geologists meet up at Tim Hortons and discuss rocks and things.
2014: Field geologists meet up at Tim Hortons and discuss rocks and things. Only this time they're all in the kitchen flipping burgers.
UPDATE: Iwnattos mails in to put me straight, which is kind
UPDATE 2: RC wrote in with the link on Tim Horton's centralized donut factory thing. Ewwwww. Oh, thanks btw RC. Still...ewwwwww...
UPDATE: Iwnattos mails in to put me straight, which is kind
stick to what you know, dumbass :-)A central factory for donuts? Seriously? Ewwww.
They don't flip burgers at Tim Horton's. They only have donuts and coffee.
And the donuts are made in a central factory nowadays.
UPDATE 2: RC wrote in with the link on Tim Horton's centralized donut factory thing. Ewwwww. Oh, thanks btw RC. Still...ewwwwww...
Gold's reaction to the U.S. jobs report
It went up by 0.65%, which is hardly a panic attack:
Presumably, those panicking about the imminent death of the US economy are stocking up with guns first, then plenty of canned pork'n'beans. Later comes the bullion shopping. Or something.
Anyway, I'm more interested in seeing how the mining companies react to the news and that will start in 16 minutes' time, when the market opens.
Do not read bullshit on the U.S. jobs report
Read Calculated Risk on the U.S. Jobs report, right here. Leave the quackery to others, keep quality information for your own brain. And check back later to the site for McBride's detailed updates, always good.
Excellon (EXN.to): On the subject of dead miners...
...beats me why Excellon Resources (EXN.to) hasn't told the English speaking world about the two miners it managed to kill at its Platosa mine yesterday Thursday, January 9th. Certainly hope they weren't thinking about delaying any news release to the market until late Friday evening, or not releasing a note at all.
For what it's worth, the event which left two dead (Evaristo Nava Soto and Jorge Carrillo Rivera) and three seriously injured happened due to electrocution while they were servicing a pump underground.
UPDATE: Oh goody, EXN has decided to tell everyone. It took an hour from the appearance of this post to the appearance of corporate responsibility, though absolutely no phone calls to IR departments hurried this NR along, of course. Oh no no no no no.
UPDATE: Oh goody, EXN has decided to tell everyone. It took an hour from the appearance of this post to the appearance of corporate responsibility, though absolutely no phone calls to IR departments hurried this NR along, of course. Oh no no no no no.
Brent Cook on 4q13 earnings for miners and a bunch of other stuff
This is a pretty good 7 minute interview block with Cook. It starts on earnings projections, talks about how 2014 is shaping up for miners and goes on to expand on a couple of Cook's preferred subjects that point to how one can profit from buying into explorecos. Worth your time.
Sulliden (SUE.to) must be very very VERY close to that financing package now
According to President Justin Reid, at least. That's because on November 1st he told the world that the final financing for Shahuindo would be "finished very shortly" and a debt package would be rolled in "over the next couple of months". For evidence, here's an extract from this interview in The Gold Report way back when dates were all 2013:
The Gold Report: Turning to your financing, on Oct. 11 Sulliden successfully closed a $40M bought deal co-led by National Bank Financial and Scotia Capital. Are these funds going toward construction? And how much more money will you need for the completion of construction?
Justin Reid: The deal was very well taken and in the current environment we're very happy that it went so well. We have about $70M in the bank right now. We're looking to bring on contractors in our mine operation, which will save another $25–30M on our capex. What you'll see over the next couple of months is that we will roll in a debt package of between $50M and $60M, which will provide all the capital we need for construction.
We mandated Credit Suisse and Barclays last November for a $125M facility. Because of the optimization that we are doing and our current cash balance, we obviously won't need $125M, but we'll be able to finalize that over the next few months and bring in just enough to cover our development costs and working capital requirements during the construction and ramp-up phases. We are working through the due diligence right now and expect to have that finished very shortly. (continues here)
The last time I looked, "a couple" was a direct synonym of "two" (e.g. I checked whether my wife wanted to bring a third person into our relationship and remain a married couple; she said no). And here we are over two months laster...and counting...with no financing package announced. Having a problem, Mister Tagliamonte? Any hitches over there, Mister Bharti? Spoke a little too soon, perchance Mister Reid? That due dilly session maybe thrown up an issue or two about the project, nice banker people?
And another thing Justin, about that $40m placement being "well taken" comment. I mean, for one it had to close at $40m because it was a bought freakin' deal, Juzz. The other thing is that it had an overallotment facility which meant (and we quote) "the Underwriters have the option to purchase an additional 5,895,000 Common Shares from the Company at the Offering Price for a period of 30 days from the closing of the Offering." Any news on that overallotment being 'well-taken' too, Justy? Strange how we heard nothing on that once the 30 days were up, almost as if you couldn't shift any more paper. And gotta wonder what Scotia, knee deep in $1.02 shares that they can't get rid of, now think of the deal and that maybe they're not so bullish about the future of Shahuindo.
But hey, maybe it's just me being way too cynical and SUE.to come out with news of the closed financing package in the next few days. Time will tell.
Dead miners in Peru (and Chile)
For the first time this milennium, Peru in 2013 managed to keep its official count of people killed while mining to under one per week, which is something I suppose.
We can't go so far as to say good, maybe 'less bad' is the phrase of the day. Data from the official Ministry of Energy and Mining source. We should also point out that these are the registered deaths at known mining operations and that the true total would be much higher if the informal, illegal and artisanal-type mining operations got included, too.
Meanwhile congratulations to Buenaventura (BVN), a company that's already kicked off 2014 by killing two of its operatives in separate accidents (which adds to the four killed at BVN mines in 2013). IKN therefore sends its sincere condolences to the families of Arturo Alberto Huamaní Cordova and Pablo Isidro Mamani Figueroa, whereas Roque Benavides can go fuck himself.
UPDATE: Here's how Peru and Chile mining mortality rates for the last four years compare. Gives a bit more context.
UPDATE: Here's how Peru and Chile mining mortality rates for the last four years compare. Gives a bit more context.
Chilean data also from the official relevant website, here.
In Peru, the trend for more copper and less gold production continues
We have the November 2013 mining production numbers out of Peru, so throw another month on the pile. And when you look at the longer-term fate of the piles, it's clear that Peru is less and less about gold production, more and more about copper. Here are two charts with the monthly country production figures, from 2005 to date:
See what I mean?
Endeavour Silver (EDR.to) (EXK) 4q13 production numbers
Top of the shop: They were pretty good. Now for details and here's the silver chart for the quarters gone, including the latest set of figures for 4q13:
Guanacevi's 861,495 oz silver produced is a mine record and a very decent performance, that figure stands out. The Bolanitos 698.098oz is lowerthan previous quarters as the boost from toll milling from Cubo falls off. Meanwhile Cubo's 372,124 oz shows gradual improvement at the mine, along the lines of the company plan. In total EDR churned out 1,931,717 oz silver, a company record quarter and 700k oz up from this time last year.
Here's the gold chart:
The obvious weak spot is Bolanitos, which was 5,700 oz Au down on the previous quarter. That's around 340k oz AgEq and a substantial drop. though the company is bound to tell you how it was programmed and expected due to the change in mined mineral. Whatever they say, it takes the edge off the above silver production numbers.
Here are the average grades for silver from the top two mines, which shows them recovering from the slump of 2012/early 2013.
That may be the company doing a bit of high-grading in the face of the silver price slump, but they're also grades inside the acceptable historically. It's a set of numbers to monitor in 2014, whatever happens (as as the end year reserves/resources figures, which will be out later).
And while all that above has been going on, the share price has done this:
Which is the acid test. It's one thing to produce more metal, quite another to do it profitably. The 4q13 numbers point to a better quarter but until the rubber hits the road and we have a decent and chunky bottom line dollar profit from EDR, as far as I'm concerned the jury stays out.
Disclosure: No position in EDR.to of any sort.
Praise for Henrique Capriles and Nicolas Maduro
For this (picture source and AP report here):
First and foremost the praise is for Henrique Capriles, for accepting the invitation to the Presidential Palace and attending the crisis meeting along with other regional governors. The meet was to talk about ways to crack down on the spiralling crime and murder rates in Venezuela in the wake of the death of Monica Spear, ex-Miss Venezuela, and her husband who were shot dead by a gang of roadside thieves.
Capriles was invited but nobody would have said anything new or particularly damning if he had decided not to attend, the bad blood between him and Maduro/his government is known to all. But attend he did and that shows a higher level of responsibility than has been on display for basically a year. Good for you Henrique, good for Venezuela too. Yesterday was a real opposition politician on show, let it not be the last time.
Praise also for President Maduro, who first invited Capriles along with all other regional governors and then made for the photo opportunity you see above by going over to his sworn political enemy, thanking him for attending and shaking his hand. The image is more than merely symbolic, it's a chance that something, however small, can come from the Spear murder (see that AP report for an outline on crime figures and associated experts talk). So well done Nicolas for being...well...for being Maduro* for once and setting aside the highly aggressive rhetoric in order to attempt a solution to Venezuela's most serious problem.
I have to say that I'm not particularly optimistic on the chances of seeing a pivot point in the Venezuela crime and violence wave, but I'll take the current ray of hope and cling on hard for the time being.
*Maduro in Spanish means 'Mature'
The Well-timed Analysis Award of the Day...
...goes to Stonecap, for this note released on Carpathian (CPN.to) this morning, praising the company and raising its price target to 20c (from 15c):
Which came just a couple of hours before this:
TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - Jan. 8, 2014) - Carpathian Gold Inc. (TSX:CPN) (the "Corporation" or "Carpathian") has temporarily suspended production at the RDM gold project, Brazil (the "Project"), which is wholly-owned by the Corporation's subsidiary, Mineração Riacho dos Machados Ltda. ("MRDM"). The suspension follows receipt by MRDM of a temporary suspension of the Autorização Provisória de Operação ("APO") which was previously announced on December 13, 2013. The conditions leading to the suspension of the APO are primarily the result of unusual recent heavy rainfall at the site. MRDM is working with SUPRAM to assess the extent of the remediation works required to have the suspension of the APO lifted. The Corporation will provide further updates in this regard as they become available.
Hey Christos Doulis of Stonecap, didn't your mother ever warn you about playing with lighted matches?
More good news! South American Silver management (SAC.to) had a very merry Christmas and would like to thank all you suckers out there for buying their shares
This is very impressive, a pump and dump of shameless proportions. Information garnered from the always useful and highly reco'd site, Canadian Insider
Strange how the members of South American Silver 's (SAC.to) management team who were selling all those shares to the suckers who bought into the bullshit pump scam haven't mentioned a single word about it all yet, innit? It could be due to a massive Dom Perignon induced hangover that's still raging from the festive season, but I'm sure they'll get around to saying thank you eventually.
And here's the whole list, for your deeper reading pleasure: You'll notice how long'n'thin this below image is, because you need to click on it to see all the information in full size and this list, ladies and gentlemen, goes on for quite a while (Edit: After some mails received it's now a slightly shorter, easier to read and more palatable version)
Good to see Candente Copper (DNT.to) shares rallying today...
...and managing to completely ignore the news out of Peru about its Cañariaco project. Here's major national media channel RPP with more:
Locals from Cañaris, in Lambayeque region, have announced that in the next few days they will resume their protests against the Cañariaco mining project, under development by the Candente Copper mining company, after hearing that drilling work will begin again in the zone.
Richard Rinza Lucero, a member of the community, said that the Canadian company had made public the re-start of exploration work in the region and placing under threat the natural resources they the community have always defended.
"We have already scheduled a public meeting in the Cañaris zone for February 17th. Our position continues to be the same, that of outright rejection of any activity that threatens our resources. Tomorrow we will resolve at a meeting what means of protest we will take", he told RPP Noticias.
Equally, Cristobal Barrios, the recently elected regional president of the rural 'rondero' committee, said that the first issue to analyze will be that of mining concessions, particularly those in the Andean zone.
"I believe that locals, and now with even more energy, will re-start this struggle. We will continue to defend that which is ours, the mining problem cannot continue affecting our people", he said.
Both were clear in saying that the round table working groups (last year between government, company and locals) did nothing to help solve the environmental and social conflict that has been generated and had placed under threat the tranquility of Andean communities in the Lambayeque region.
So good for Candente shareholders, managing to ignore the upcoming problems and seeing their shares go higher today! A great day and grand victory for capitalism, for sure. Three cheers for money and copper! Hoo Rah!
Wishbone Gold (WISHY) and fifty words for snow
The Eskimo/Inuit have fifty words for snow. Meanwhile Wishbone Gold (ticker WISHY and my stars how we love that ticker) has one thousand and ninety-two words for "we are a scam gold company and we will rip you off". Seriously, go have a look at this NR from WISHY (!!) today, amazing collection of babble and nonsense, as it impressively manages to hit about a dozen of the classic clichés the scamrunning bullshit merchants of the gold exploreco world use in one swoop (these scumbags usually limit themselves to two or three at a go).
The dregs of the capital markets, on display for your enjoyment and education. Avoid people and companies like these at all costs.
The dregs of the capital markets, on display for your enjoyment and education. Avoid people and companies like these at all costs.
The other thing I'm watching this morning is the US Dollar (USD) strength...
...which looks for all the world as if it will take the currency back to the 81.5 line.
After that your guess is as good as mine. But strong dollar momentum drill should be a central part of your daily playbook today.
Chart of the day is...
...the gold/silver ratio, 12 month:
That red 200 day moving average line is underscoring the continuation of a longer-term trend. Which is another way of telling you that silver sucks even harder than sucky old gold. The good news for the silverbugs is that it's not their fault. It's that there conspiracy what done it, yessir.
Who to believe on Latin America?
Meanwhile, the ex-director of CEPAL criticized the qualification between "good and bad economic development" that is "done by media channels" by separating the governments of right and left.
"This division is false. Among the countries with orthodox economic policies is Mexico, which has a poor development in economic terms and is the least dynamic economy in Latin America along with Venezuela and El Salvador", he said.
On the other side of the coin are countries "on the (political) left with very good development", such as Ecuador and Bolivia, that are "reducing inequality to the lowest levels in Latin America."
You be the judge. But in the meantime will you please stop thinking that The WSJ has anything insightful to day about a whole region that it's called pathetically badly for decades. This whole bullshit spiel about "left bad right good" vomited out by the English language media that fails to do anything close to covering the region is as stupid as it's wrong.
Anti-mining protesters and social media
Here's a decent analysis of the way those two things in the title line go together, out of Reuters today. Plenty of bases covered, including Rosia Montana in Romania, Conga in Peru, Pebble up in the GWN, Centerra's Kumtor mine in a place with very few vowels indeed, plus more. We even get a quote from FireSteve Letwin of I! AM! GOLD!*, who tells us how wonderful his social media friends with camels turn out to be. Which is cute. How 'bout a net profit this quarter as well, FireSteve?
The note is here, go have a read.
*copyright Iwnattos
Quartermain's out of bullets...
...and despite his best pumping efforts for the last six weeks, all the news he's thrown at Pretium (PVG) recently hasn't managed to shift the stock over that difficult $6 hump. What's now left is a stock drifting under $5 because the world and his dog knows the company is out of cash and needs to run a financing soon. If you ask me* it's going back under $4 and that even before the systematic failings of VOK get exposed. And that's why I'm short PVG.
And it's why the short is nicely in the green too, thanks for asking. DYODD,dude.
PS: Full disclosure: Short PVG, because apparently I have to assume that you can't fucking read or something. Jeesh, freakin' anal mailbag this morning.
PS: Full disclosure: Short PVG, because apparently I have to assume that you can't fucking read or something. Jeesh, freakin' anal mailbag this morning.
*assuming you're plug dumb stupid enough to want my dumbass opinion
A Flash update...
...has just been sent to subscribers, mid-morning Tuesday. A little profit taken, nothing special.
PS: Oh yeah, this:
Although it doesn't come up much on the blog these days, your humble scribe still keeps a close eye on what company insiders are doing. So as a slight return here are three examples from this week.
Treasury Metals (TML) has seen buying, most recently from head honcho Henderson. A stock that's been kicked down the valuation scale along with the most of them, but more significantly one of the companies run the right way by industry good guys who aren't trying to rip the market off at the first possible opportunity. TML also has a decent asset or two with real gold intercepts (though deep).
Trevali (TV) insiders are acting the same as all Cardero Group company insiders and selling shares on the pop. Seriously, it's like catnip for these people, can't possibly resist a quick scalp can you dudes? The weird thing about Cardero companies is that the market falls for their soft soap bullshit every single time (for another example, look at the way they've roped in people to the Corvus story....for anyone who remembers how they sold International Tower Hill to the world it's just deja vu all over again).
Similarly, Dynacor Gold (DNG) is playing sold to you suckah! on any chance to turn their paper into dollars, which again shouldn't come as much surprise considering the pumpo set-up and true believer.Mind you, they haven't managed to rope in any market commentator of great worth as yet. Only Lobito.
It's worth keeping an eye on insider activity, leopards and spots and all that.
A gold chart
Yes indeed, it's "The January 2014 Junior Mining Company Buzzword Translator"
IKN steps in to help you wade through the new batch of news releases by translating some of the more popular words and phrases now showing up with impressive regularity. Deep breath, here we go!
"Reorganization" = Failed company
"...Has Stepped Down...We Thank Him For..." = Failed company
"Strategic review" = Failed company
"...Exciting Trenching Results..." = Failed company
"...Seeking a JV Partner..." = Failed company
"...Corporate Reorganization..." = Failed company
"...New Opportunities..." = Failed company
"...Plans to Resume Drilling..." = Failed company
"...Positive Metallurgical Test Results Confirming Potential ..." = Failed company
"...Cost Cutting Measures..." = Failed company
"...Moving Towards Completion Of PEA..." = Failed company
So which ones have we missed?
UPDATE: Thanks to reader CS for:
"...Regains 100% Control Of..."And MP gives us:
"...is designed for the enhancement of shareholder value..."
"...mine plan optimization program..."
Chart of the day is...
...Nicaragua's export mix for the last seven years:
And oh look! See what the number one export was in 2013, for the first time ever?
Chart taken from a longer note in IKN244, out yesterday.
The IKN Weekly, out now
IKN244 has just been sent to subscribers. A year-end review of mistakes made (and hopefully lessons learned), a stock or two for the future, coverage of the region's political scene and the start of a new section to boot. Sure to help those winter evenings fly by.
Labels: otto, the IKN weekly
Belo Sun (BSX.to): Some Portuguese practice for y'all
Here you go people, brush up on your Portuguese by reading through this very interesting interview on Belo Sun (BSX.to) and its Volta Grande gold project (as well as wider issues of gold mining in Brazil), done by Russia's Pravda with one Rogério Almeida, a Brazilian professor qualified in Social Communication and Sustainable Development who teaches at the Technology University of the Amazon. Far more balanced than you're probably expecting too, as it takes a look at both sides of the argument on the project and doesn't try to hide facts, either.
Another quick question (but this time a really good one)
Because this time it's Robert Frost's short poem, 'A question':
A voice said, Look me in the stars
And tell me truly, men of earth,
If all the soul-and-body scars
Were not too much to pay for birth.
I came across it last night while looking for something completely different and read it for the first time in (I think) 20 years. The thing that caught me was the hyphenation of soul-and-body, which struck me as smack on with Buddhist teachings of suffering. That was the new reflection it brought, the ones that came from memory were just how fantastic 'Look me in the stars' is, and how the truly great poets can pack so much punch into just four lines.
Anyway, I enjoyed it again and decided to share it here.
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subset: commoncrawl


text:
These Hollywood/FX® filters were originally designed for the TV and Motion Picture industry, but are now available to all photographers and videographers.
- This popular motion picture effect creates a special "atmosphere" by softening excess sharpness and contrast. It generates a pearlescent halo around highlights. Lighter grades are useful in toning down the excessive sharpness and contrast of contemporary film and lens combinations.
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Warm Pro-Mist®
Combines the benefits of the widely acclaimed Pro-Mist® with the Tiffen exclusive 812® filter. Useful in outdoor open shade situations where there is excessive blue in the image and when total control over lighting may not be possible.
- Great for portraits and scenics
- Adds natural warmth to skin tones, exterior shade and highlight areas
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- Can also help balance contrasting skin tones within one scene
- Neutral colors remain unaffected.


text:
I hear/heard Mr. Steve on 3885 kHz around 2100 Local time here in Houston, TX on my IC-718 with my 75 Meter Inverted V with the Feed Point at 20' AGL.
That Class E Sounds Very Good!
I would have jumped in, but I doubt I would have even been above the Static with my 40 watt carrier
The Audio (I EQ'ed out the High End Static)
http://riley-music.com/BowsStuff/ClassE ... sE3885.mp3
And his audio looks like this (My IC-718 is 6 kHz wide on AM RX):
The Audio sample isn't perfect, the band had quite a bit of noise


text:
- About Linde Engineering
- Executive Leadership Team
- Linde Engineering Dresden
- Linde Engineering Schalchen Plant
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- Linde Engineering Rus, OOO
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- Selas Linde North America
- Linde Engineering North America Inc. - Houston Office
- Hydro-Chem, a division of Linde Engineering North America.
- Linde Engineering India Pvt. Ltd.
- Linde Engineering (Hangzhou) Co., Ltd.
- Linde Engineering (Dalian) Co., Ltd.
- Linde Arabian Contracting Co. Ltd.
- Linde Engineering Middle East LLC
- Linde Engineering Korea Ltd.
- Linde Engineering South Africa (Pty) Ltd.
- Quality, Health, Safety & Environment (QHSE)
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FLACCO FIRING: Quarterback Joe Flacco endured sacks and interceptions (more on those later), but when he has time to read the defense, he puts some mustard on his passes. Flacco zipped passes to wide receivers Anquan Boldin and Tandon Doss and tight end Dennis Pitta when all three were double- or triple-covered.
SEEING YELLOW: The offense committed four penalties, including a pair of false starts on left tackle Michael Oher and right tackle Oniel Cousins. The offense was also guilty of illegal formation (only 10 men on the field) and illegal shift. The defense's only miscue was pass interference on rookie cornerback Josh Victorian.
SAFETY DANCE: Three of the defense's four interceptions came from safeties. Seven-time Pro Bowl free safety Ed Reed and strong safeties Tom Zbikowski and Haruki Nakamura each picked off errant passes.
SPEAKING OF REED: After catching a Flacco ball that sailed over Doss' outstretched arms, Reed raced down the right sideline. WBAL Radio analyst Qadry Ismail pleaded for Reed to lateral the ball to him, but Reed held onto the ball and ran out of the bounds well short of the end zone.
RIDING THE RUSH: The defense continued to flex its muscles on the pass rush. The unit totaled 10 sacks. Four-time Pro Bowl outside linebacker Terrell Suggs led the way with two sacks.
CUNDIFF HITS LONG KICK: The highlight of Billy Cundiff's day occurred when the Pro Bowl kicker converted a 58-yard field goal — with room to spare. For the day, Cundiff went 7-of-8, knocking in attempts from 20 (twice), 37, 38, 48, 51 and 53 yards. His only miss was from 37 yards when he hooked the kick wide left.
INJURIES: Players who are on the physically-unable-to-perform list include wide receiver David Reed (wrist), offensive tackle Ramon Harewood (knees), defensive tackle Brandon McKinney (knee) and long snapper Morgan Cox (knee). Rookie cornerback Jimmy Smith briefly returned after sitting out four consecutive days with a groin injury, but he went back to wearing a hat and watching from the sideline after the first hour of practice. Players who did not practice included wide receivers James Hardy (hamstring) and Rodney Bradley (unspecified), center Matt Birk (left knee), tight end Ed Dickson (unspecified) and running back Matt Lawrence (unspecified).
OVERHEARD: "Yeah, we're going to win the Super Bowl!" – Outside linebacker Terrell Suggs in response to WBAL Radio analyst Stan White's question of whether anything was going to be different this season.
NEXT DAY'S SCHEDULE: There is no practice Sunday. Monday's session is scheduled to begin at 1:30 p.m. and could run as long as three hours. All practices are closed to the public.


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At Yahoo, Fashion Goes Beyond the Hoodie
For some employees at Yahoo's offices in Sunnyvale, New York City and elsewhere, style has graduated from the laid-back look associated with Internet startups to a more polished presentation.
"I did try out the 'Hey, I work at an Internet company' look," said Erin McPherson, VP of Yahoo Video, who wore Chuck Taylors, jeans and a rockabilly plaid shirt when she first joined the company. "That whole day I felt awkward, so I've gone back to what works for me, which is a tailored, structured look."
"That was also the era of the Ping-Pong table and everyone's just playing games all day," said Piper Weiss, who opts for dresses most of the time. At some point, she said, the Internet went from a mere novelty to serious business. "In a reactive way, style has evolved."


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ATV Jules Verne: Mission accomplished
Shortly after 15:30 CEST (13:30 UT) on Monday 29 September, ESA's ATV will begin a controlled destructive re-entry high above an uninhabited area of the Pacific Ocean.
Two de-orbit manoeuvres will lower ESA's Jules Verne Automated Transfer Vehicle. Break up of the satellite is expected at an altitude of 65 km. The crew on board the ISS will attempt to observe the re-entry of the satellite over the Pacific.
Engineers are already working on the following two ATVs. The next one is scheduled for launch in 2010 and proposals to adapt the spaceship to other tasks are ongoing.


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by John Jackson Miller
UPDATED to reflect new information
Diamond Comic Distributors has released the full lists for March 2012, and as reported here last week, while March itself was against a five-week month and slightly off, it nonetheless contributed to the first time in the 21st century the direct market has ordered more than $100 million in the first quarter of the year. The Comics Chronicles estimates retailer orders of $33.7 million for the month; that brings the quarter to $101.9 million. (Click to see the charts for the month.)
Avengers Vs. X-Men #1 just barely topped 200,000 copies ordered, its numbers boosted by various special offers to retailers, about which more further down. It marks a return to the top of the charts for Marvel, after several months of DC leadership during its relaunch. The 300th place title was off by more a thousand copies; that benchmark is very sensitive to fifth weeks for obvious reasons, however, and it's worth noting that the figure is higher than the four-week months on either side of last March.
It was, as mentioned last week, the first month since 1994 that five publishers — Marvel, DC, Image, Dark Horse, and IDW — had dollar market shares higher than 5%. The percentage captured by the Top 20 publishers was the highest in years: just 1.55% of the items and 3.18% of the dollars were sold by publishers outside the Top 20. The list of the Top 300 Comics and the Top 300 Trade Paperback and Graphic Novels included only familiar names, which rarely happens.
There is, in fact, a disconnect this month when it comes to the Top 300 Trade Paperbacks and Graphic Novels. While the comparative sales statistics that Diamond released find graphic novel dollars off by 5.67%, the actual numbers behind the Top 300 show a different picture, up 25%, or more than $1 million, over the same grouping from last year. Now, occasionally strength in the top-sellers is offset by weakness below 300th place — but a 30-point gap requires more explanation.
Updated: I've confirmed with the distributor that the aggregate change figures are correct, and that what I considered to be the most likely explanation for the gap is probably also correct. The Top 300 list contains a large number of trade paperbacks discounted greater than the usual amount, and since Diamond's market shares and percentage-change figures are based on wholesale and not retail dollars, it becomes possible that the retail dollar value of trades stores ordered went up, while the amount of money they paid (the total wholesale dollars) went down.
It is possible to sort the lists Diamond provides by wholesale dollars; the publisher provides a dollar ranking when it lists titles on its site. Looking at the Wholesale Dollar rankings reported by Diamond, we see evident discounting on a lot of Marvel items this month. The Secret Invasion trade paperback, ranked 32nd in unit orders and 7th in full retail dollars, is ranked by Diamond at 136th place in wholesale dollars. So even if we didn't know there was a sale – the numbers contain plenty of evidence of a sale!
There are often special discounts figured into sales of not just graphic novels, but comics themselves; as noted above, Marvel offered a significant promotional discount on Avengers Vs. X-Men #1 this month. Diamond includes these unit sales in its rankings, but, again, because of the wholesale/retail distinction, the publisher doesn't get the same amount of credit in dollar market shares that it would if the titles had been offered at the regular discount.
Promotionally-cover-priced comics do get trimmed off the lists at the Diamond level — nothing below $1 usually appears any more. But it's tough to say what should be done about regularly priced books retailers didn't pay the usual rate for. The Comics Chronicles' interest is how many comics are in circulation, period, so it wouldn't be good to see the numbers of comics actually sold trimmed just for ranking purposes, as happened in the DC returnable situation. (Those unreturned DC copies do end up on the charts eventually — though we may only see them reflected in the aggregate totals until the end-of-year rankings.)
Separate dollar rankings used to be provided by Capital City Distribution in its trade magazine, but the lists were never referred to as much as the unit-sales lists. The reason goes back to the purpose of the lists to begin with in the 1980s: retailers wanted to know how titles sell relative to each other, unit-wise. I suspect today's internet readers still do. The feeling at Comichron is that the item-rankings horserace in 2012 isn't going to matter as much to people looking at the site in 2022 — readers are just going to want to know how many copies of a given book were in circulation.
As always, every figure on Comichron is subject to change as more information comes in. The aggregate figures:
TOP 300 COMICS UNIT SALESMarch 2012: 6.02 million copies
Versus 1 year ago this month: +1%
Versus 5 years ago this month: -14%
Versus 10 years ago this month: +18%
Versus 15 years ago this month: -30%
YEAR TO DATE: 17.89 million copies, +15% vs. 2011, -12% vs. 2007, +11% vs. 2002, -30% vs. 1997
March 2012 versus one year ago this month: -2.45%
TOP 300 COMICS DOLLAR SALESMarch 2011: $20.8 million
Versus 1 year ago this month: +2%
Versus 5 years ago this month: -7%
Versus 10 years ago this month: +48%
Versus 15 years ago this month: +4%
YEAR TO DATE: $61.6 million, +14% vs. 2011, -4% vs. 2007, +34% vs. 2002, +1% vs. 1997
March 2012 versus one year ago this month: -1.18%
TOP 300 TRADE PAPERBACK DOLLAR SALESMarch 2012: $6.44 million
Versus 1 year ago this month: +25%
Versus 5 years ago this month, just the Top 100 vs. the Top 100: -7%
Versus 10 years ago this month, just the Top 50 vs. the Top 50: -10%
YEAR TO DATE: $18.13 million, +22% vs. 2011
March 2012 versus one year ago this month: -5.67%
TOP 300 COMICS + TOP 300 TRADE PAPERBACK DOLLAR SALESMarch 2012: $27.23 million
Versus 1 year ago this month: +7%
Versus 5 years ago this month, counting just the Top 100 TPBs: -7%
Versus 10 years ago this month, counting just the Top 25 TPBs: +39%
YEAR TO DATE: $79.73 million, +16% vs. 2011
March 2012 versus one year ago this month: -2.61%
OVERALL DIAMOND SALES (including all comics, trades, and magazines)March 2012: approximately $33.72 million (subject to revision)
Versus 1 year ago this month: -6%
Versus 5 years ago this month: +1%
YEAR TO DATE: $101.81 million, +13% vs. 2010, +3% vs. 2007
One notable change is that the ten-year comparisons now extend out to the Top 50 trade paperbacks; Diamond moved to reporting the Top 50 in March 2002.
The average comic book in the Top 300 cost $3.48; the average comic book retailers ordered cost $3.46. The median and most common price for comics offered was $2.99.
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The banks of 15 countries in Europe have been put on notice by Moody's: their subordinated debt ratings may be cut by the agency because there is the possibility that government support for that debt will not be forthcoming.
Bloomberg reported Tuesday that the ratings agency said all subordinated, junior-subordinated and Tier 3 debt ratings of 87 banks in countries where the subordinated debt incorporates an assumption of government support have been placed on review for downgrade. Subordinated debt may be reduced by two levels, the agency said in a statement, while the rest may be cut a single level.
Austria, France, Italy and Spain are the countries where lenders have the most ratings on review, according to Moody's, which also said that the whole region is under threat because of "rapid escalation" of the sovereign debt crisis. The agency said, "Systemic support for subordinated debt may no longer be sufficiently predictable or reliable to be a sound basis for incorporating uplift into Moody's ratings."
Among the banks to be placed under review are BNP Paribas and Société Générale of France; UniCredit of Italy; Spain's Banco Santander; Zurich-based Credit Suisse and UBS.
In its statement, Moody's said, "Policy makers are increasingly unwilling and/or constrained in their support for all classes of creditors, in particular for subordinated debt holders." It also said that in some cases, countries have "faced an increasingly stark trade-off between the need to preserve confidence in their banking systems and the need to protect their own balance sheets."
While the euro did not react much to the news, the Bloomberg Europe Banks and Financial Services Index lost 1.7% in midmorning European trading. Chief losers in the morning drop were Dexia, KBC Groep and Raiffeisen Bank International.


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100 things to do in Milwaukee
Podcast: Andy, Dave and Carole take listeners' ideas for "100 things to do in Milwaukee"
Subscribe to OnMilwaukee.com Podcasts
Note: The contents of this guide were checked for accuracy when this article was updated on March 16, 2010 at 1:14 p.m. We continually update the thousands of articles on OnMilwaukee.com, but it's possible some details, specials and offers may have changed. As always, we recommend you call first if you have specific questions for the businesses mentioned in the guide.
Way back in 1999, we published "100 things to do in Milwaukee," and this iconic list became the most popular article in the history of OnMilwaukee.com.
A lot has changed since then, and this guide spawned several other "100 things" lists. Over the years, we've updated the article here and there, but this marks the first complete overhaul in more than a decade.
We've kept a few of the original favorites and added a bunch, too. Now, everything in this article can be accomplished in and around Milwaukee -- nothing is more than a 30-minute drive from Downtown. How much of this list have you tried?
- Cheer on the Brewers at Miller Park ...
- ... and be sure to tailgate before the game
- Check out the lights and live music at the Domes
- Explore Milwaukee's spy bar, The Safe House
- Pull up a boat to a slip at Barnacle Bud's or Water Buffalo
- Eat (and request a song) at Organ Piper Pizza
- Wind your way along Grant Park's Seven Bridges Trail
- Get up early and watch soccer at the Highbury Pub
- Climb Holy Hill in Hubertus
- Close Wolski's and get a bumper sticker to prove it
- Bike the Oak Leaf Trail as far as you can muster
- Buy a wax Samson at the Milwaukee County Zoo and tell the kids about the famous gorilla
- Visit the Milwaukee County Historical Society, where scenes from "Public Enemies" were filmed
- Commiserate with the butterflies at the Milwaukee Public Museum
- Buy a brat at the Usinger's store
- Take the Lakefront, Sprecher and MillerCoors brewery tours in one day
- Experience Jim's Time Out, the Downtown "towny" bar
- Enjoy family-friendly live music at Bayshore Town Center
- Marvel at the beauty of the Milwaukee Art Museum
- Take a Milwaukee Ghosts tour and learn local haunted history
- Smell the flowers at Boerner Botanical Gardens
- Find the Streetza Pizza truck and buy a late-night slice
- Skate a few laps on the Olympic Oval at the Pettit National Ice Center
- Eat a corned beef sandwich at Jake's Delicatessen
- Shop for vintage clothes on Brady Street
- Take a booze cruise
- Catch the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra on Monday nights at Alterra (now Colectivo) on the Lake
- Buy farm-fresh produce all winter long at the State Fair Park's winter farmers market
- Fall in love over a Tiki Love Bowl at At Random
- Have a drink in The Yard at the Iron Horse Hotel
- Eat like a king at 4th Base
- Tour Palermo's Pizza in the Menomonee Valley
- Interact with nature at the Schlitz Audubon Center
- Make a difference at the Volunteer Center
- Pet the animals at the Wisconsin Humane Society
- Tour the Pabst Mansion
- See an indie band at the Cactus Club
- Cheer like a maniac with the Bucks
- Experience intimate theater at Boulevard Theatre
- Bowl a few lines on America's oldest lanes at Holler House
- Tour the Harley-Davidson Museum
- Crack up at ComedySportz
- Say "Ayy" to the Bronze Fonz
- Sunbathe at Bradford Beach or South Shore Beach
- Swim in the Brown Deer Pond
- Wander around the Bong Recreation Area
- Marvel at the Mars Cheese Castle
- Eat a bowl of Real Chili
- See an Admirals game
- Sled down the North Avenue hill
- Watch kids playing soccer at Uihlein Park
- Visit the Beulah Brinton House in Bay View
- Star gaze at UWM's Planetarium on Friday night for $1
- Stroll back in time on the Streets of Old Milwaukee at the Milwaukee Public Museum
- Step back in time at the Wisconsin Automotive Museum in Hartford
- Bask in the beauty of the Basilica of St. Josaphat on 6th & Lincoln
- Buy a kite at Gift of Wings and fly it at the lakefront
- Join the Milwaukee Community Sailing Center
- Get saucy at a Brew City Burlesque show
- Find the city's Frank Lloyd Wright architecture
- Visit the North Point Lighthousexbauatbsxxxwezbteyuxwzczabfaveudzbbuet
- Take the kids to the Betty Brinn Museum
- Hike the Hank Aaron State Trail
- Visit the birthplace of the American League (now a Downtown parking lot)
- Hop aboard the Lake Express ferry
- Grab a meal at Friday's Front Row Grill to enjoy Miller Park in winter
- Experience a real Milwaukee Friday night fish fry at Lakefront Brewery
- Rent a kayak and take a ride down the Milwaukee River
- Enjoy a beer in a smoke-free Von Trier (or have a smoke out on the patio)
- Eat a butter burger at Kopp's
- Have breakfast at the Plaza Hotel on Cass Street
- Order a Brainbuster at Bryant's
- Find Milwaukee's smallest park, Kaszube's Park, on Jones Island
- Visit Professor Stein (Grand Avenue's "tightrope bear") at the Milwaukee Public Market
- Get a doughnut at the National Bakery & Deli
- Watch people play lawn bowling at Lake Park
- Take a picture at the intersection of "Keefe" and "Richards"
- Ride the mechanical chili pepper at La Perla (or have a margarita on the roof)
- See the statues in Doctor's Park
- Bowl with tiny balls at Koz's Mini Bowl
- Shop for a vintage LP at Bull's Eye Records
- Sing along at Lucille's Rockin' Pianos
- Take a Milwaukee Food Tour
- Tour St. Joan of Arc Chapel on Marquette's campus
- Find Gertie the Duck along Wisconsin Avenue Downtown
- Admire the Carl von Marr collection at the Museum of Wisconsin Art in West Bend
- Get hot ham and rolls on a Sunday morning
- Tour the city's longest thoroughfare, 27th Street
- Enjoy outdoor movies in summer at Discovery World, Pere Marquette Park, Miller Park and State Fair
- Buy locally produced food at Outpost Natural Foods
- See if the security guard at the Wisconsin Center is real
- Take a photo of the boat house on Cambridge & Hampshire
- Quickly order a drink at the world's shortest happy hour at The Nomad World Pub
- Window shop the boutiques and the mod furniture at Rubin's in the Historic Third Ward
- Grab a dog from "the hot dog guy" on Water & Wisconsin
- Tour Growing Power, Milwaukee's urban farm
- Tour Bolzano Meats in Riverwest (closed)
- Eat thin crust pizza at Zaffiro's
- Cheer on the all-girl roller derby, the Brew City Bruisers
- Sample Great Lakes Distillery's Milwaukee-made spirits
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barion | Nov. 22, 2011 at 11:07 p.m. (report)
This article gave an insight to some of us here on what we could see and do in Milwaukee. Thanks to the 100 things to do here; I can now go to some of these places for the same thing. And I am definitely going to take a dive in the Brown Deer Pond.
|Rate this:
ajornlin | March 21, 2010 at 11:42 a.m. (report)
Wow, our Milwaukee ghost tours made it on the OnMilwaukee.com list! #20 - What an honor! Our local ghost walks run on Fridays & Saturdays at 7 p.m., May-Nov. Our Third Ward Haunted History Walking Tours officially begin Saturday, May 1st at 7 p.m. You can make your reservations now at http://www.milwaukeeghosts.com or by calling 414-807-7862. We can't wait to celebrate Milwaukee's heritage, folklore, and weirdness! In the meantime, please keep sending us your reports of paranormal activity. We love to help you research the history of local tales and use our network to expedite reputable paranormal investigations. Thanks for your support Milwaukee!
|Rate this:
islandfanatic | March 18, 2010 at 8:20 a.m. (report)
There are bike racks on the city buses?!?!?
|Rate this:
MissingMKE | March 16, 2010 at 4:37 p.m. (report)
Did I miss it, or is this list lacking "have frozen custard at... (I prefer Gille's)???
|Rate this:
Gomez | March 16, 2010 at 2:51 p.m. (report)
101. Be the first person to actually use the bike racks we installed on our buses.
|Rate this:
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Tommy Hill On Beanie Sigel Being A Rat? "He's Broke & Lonely" + Charlie Baltimore Gives The Best Head In The Game + Jay-z Took Young Chris's Whole Life + Tells Peedi Crakk To Stay Off Them Drugs [Audio]
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My popular book on food and health:"Something to chew on: Challenging controversies in food & health"
Today's blog is something of a cheat. It simply lays out the content of the individual chapters of my new book:'Something to chew on – Challenging controversies in food and health'. I wrote this book to help the average person to gain some understanding of the mainstream science of food & health and in so doing to de-bunk many common myths and misperceptions. The book is available at www.ucdpress.ie, at www.amazon.co.uk and http://www.bookdepository.com. If you are so inclined, you can "like" the Facebook page of the book here.
Something to chew on
Challenging controversies in food and health
Mike Gibney
Chapter summaries
Chapter 1: With regard to food
This chapter sets the scene for the book. It describes the evolution of the modern food supply beginning with the era of widespread malnutrition in the most developed economies from the turn of the 20thcentury. The extent of this malnutrition was exacerbated by two world wars either side of a great economic depression. Following the end of World War II, a remarkable period of investment in science and technology emerged as the global economy expanded. Agricultural output and efficiency soared and as more women entered the work force, the demand for more convenience food and the necessary kitchen technology to use these new products was developed. Food companies grew by mergers and acquisition and the great retail giants emerged. The era of cheap and abundant food had arrived. During this post war period the science of human nutrition also evolved from a century of researching what was essential to sustain life to an era of researching what was necessary for optimal health. Nutrition had arrived on the political agenda. And then the Vietnam War started an era of challenge of the military industrial complex and the concept of people power emerged from the hippy and civil rights movements in the US to the student riots of Europe. Now an era of mistrust in science and technology evolved and the green movement began to shape the political agenda. And food now came under the microscope. The public got scared of high tech food with an increasing mistrust of the food industry which was blamed for food scares and an epidemic of obesity. That led to the development of a rapid expansion of interest in organic and ethical food. The advent of the BSE crisis obliterated the reassurances of the government in the safety of the food chain and the arrival of genetically modified foods heightened this mistrust. This book looks at all these challenges to the human food chain and attempts to give a scientific dimension to what are often emotional issues surrounding concerns about food.
Chapter 2: Sugar and spice and all things nasty
Plants abound in natural chemicals which exist for normal plant function including germination, growth, reproduction, repelling pests and attracting the birds and bees. It is these that give plant food their beautiful colours and their delicious tastes and flavours. They also give rise to a wide array of natural plant compounds from pure poisons (hemlock), to the downright dangerous (cocaine, nicotine) and onwards to natural plant compounds which have healthy properties (which lower blood cholesterol or which lower blood pressure). Irrespective of their effects on man, these natural compounds are not regulated. They are after all natural. Man-made chemicals are very strictly regulated and this chapter deals with food additives, pesticides and contaminants as examples of man-made chemicals all of which must prove they are safe to enter the food chain. The toxicity of the natural and man made compounds are compared showing an equal if not a greater burden of risks from natural compounds. It also deals with the practice of adding nutrients to foods through food fortification. Finally, this chapter challenges the myth that organic food is more nutritious, more tasty, more flavoursome and more environmentally friendly than conventionally grown crops.
Chapter 3: Modified foods: genetic or atomic?
The human food chain has been genetically manipulated from the dawn of agriculture and this chapter examines the present scare about genetically modified foods. It first describes conventional plant breeding which is preferred by the environmental groups in their vigorous opposition to GM crops. The common belief is that conventional crop breeding is a loving task of nature carried out by a devoted plant breeder out in the field. This is not so. Conventional plant breeding involves hitting thousands of plants with levels of atomic radiation 100 times stronger than that used in the application of radiation to cancer therapy. The plants genome is rattled to bits and the vast majority of the mutants die. But some survive and go on to exhibit new properties which can then be crossed back with the normal variety in the hope of transmitting the new desirable trait. The UN International Atomic Energy Agency champions the use of atomics radiation to induce mutations and boasts over 2000 crop varieties in existence today developed using this totally unregulated technology. In contrast, for GM technology, the genes to be inserted are known in advance to be linked to some desirable characteristic and only these genes are inserted. The chapter challenges the claims of environmental groups that GM foods are a danger to human health and to the environment.
Chapter 4: The metrics of food and health
We are constantly learning from reports in the media about new findings linking some food or other with this or that disease. How is this done? This chapter looks at the tools available to measure food and nutrient intake and makes the point that they are all fundamentally flawed. All dietary surveys will encounter very significant levels of the under-reporting of the true intake of food. In simple language, it is the norm in large dietary surveys for a very significant proportion of the study population to fail to report (a) ever eating some food, (b) reporting the consumption of the food but under-reporting the frequency of consumption and/or(c) under-reporting the quantity consumed at a given eating occasion. This phenonomen might be explained on the basis that most people have one approach to food intakes on Mondays which reflects a desire to have a truly healthy week ahead and which quite often falls by the wayside later in the week. When asked to record their usual dietary patterns, survey participants frequently report the restrictive Monday type for the whole week. Thus a major problem is that in the measurement of patterns of food consumption, we simply cannot be accurate. Notwithstanding these limitations, we now seek to link dietary patterns with those of various diseases, which is the science of epidemiology. when a positive or negative association is found, it means just that, an association. It cannot prove cause and effect. To do that we need to construct an experiment in which two groups are compared where everything is identical except the test food or nutrient. We examine two contrasting cases of dietary intervention.
Chapter 5: Personalized nutrition – fitting into your genes
When you general practitioner tells you that your cholesterol is high, by high, he or she means above a reference point established in large population studies. Such studies show that on average, individuals with cholesterol values above that point have a higher than average likelihood of going on to develop heart disease. In that last sentence, the word average was used twice. Suppose now the GP could establish in this regard that you were in reality above or below average in the likelihood of developing a heart attack with your level of cholesterol. Then your advice might be a little more personalised than simply average. The mapping of the human genome in 2003 was a major step in making that possible. This chapter explores the concept of personalised nutrition by which is meant a set of nutritional advice which is targeted specifically to you on the basis of our knowledge of your genetic make up and of our developing understanding of how the human responses to changes in nutrient intakes are very mush influenced by known genetic variability. Many companies will sell you a genetic analysis and personalised dietary advice over the internet for about US $500. This chapter casts serious doubt on the reliability of this advice and explains also the great difficulty that the human food chain would have in matching true genetic requirements for nutrients with our present day retail system. However, it does try to foster the hope that in the course of time, we will reach a point where simple dietary advice on diet and conditions such as blood pressure, weight gain, cholesterol or allergy will all have some robust element of genetic analysis to sharpen the tools of preventative nutrition.
Chapter 6: Plastic babies – the phenonomen of epigenetics and nutrition
When a foal is born, it knows immediately to stand up on all fours, to recognise its mother, to run with the herd and to interpret the sight sound and smell of danger. Its brain is hardwired and all switches in the nervous system are fully operational. In contrast, a human baby is born with quite an immature brain and for good reason. Babies born in Belfast, Burundi, Beijing and Baghdad will all have to recognise speech but speech in quite different languages. They will have to learn to behave within a society into which they are born and the social norms vary greatly across cultures around the globe. We inherit DNA from our parents and the sequence we end up with is a random mix of both - Dad's hair, mum's eyes. But the sequence once made is never changed. What distinguishes the foal from the human baby is the extent to which the genetic sequence is managed. Imagine the genetic sequence to be like a complex electronic code to manage a sophisticate lighting system. All the codes and their sequences for the lighting system remain unchanged. But the settings of the switches can be changed - more of this and less of that. From the pre-natal period in the womb through to the first few years of post-natal life, we slowly and methodically make adjustments to the genetic code, not to its sequence but to the extent to which each gene in the sequence is switched up or down. Once finally adjusted, that is it for life. This chapter looks at this phenonomen and the very important role that diet plays in this tweaking of the human genome and in turn how that tweaking made in the early days of life can greatly influence our health four to five decades later. It looks at the uniqueness of human pregnancy which is necessitated by our larger brains and at the need for our genetic development and our brain development to be highly flexible at the onset of life. That is what gives us our evolutionary advantage and we will look at that in the context of man's probable aquatic origin.
Chapter 7: Your insides out: food - the gut and health
In recent years we have begun to appreciate that the gut is an organ which plays a central role in food and health, not just in digestion and absorption of the food we eat but in our immune system, in obesity and in our reflex actions in times of stress. The present chapter explores some of the very exciting science that is emerging from this research with far reaching consequences for food and health. The stress element of our gut is governed by a major nervous system which has evolved quite independently from the brain. It is required to prepare us for "fight-or-flight" circumstances and is responsible for a host of common phrases such as "butterflies in your stomach" or "not having the guts" for some challenge. The bacteria in our gut weigh 1.5 kg and have 100 times more DNA than the human body which hosts them. The two have established a "treaty" in which one gives to the other in a symbiotic way. We gain energy from the fibrous foods they alone can digest and they gain access to fuels we can't use. They actually can cause our genes to be up or down regulated to suit them and they work with us to make sure that rogue bacteria don't break the treaty leading to sickness. In recent times, these bacteria have been shown to play a pivotal role in obesity. Rats raised in totally sterile conditions don't get obese on diets that would normally cause obesity in a non-sterile environment. The gut will be a major focus of food and health in the future
Chapter 8: A tsunami of lard: the global epidemic of obesity
Obesity is seen as a simple problem: people get overweight because they eat more calories than they expand. That's a bit like saying "cancer is simply a cell gone wrong". This chapter begins by briefly explaining the biology of the diabetes associated with obesity and then moves to the biology of the control of food intake. It makes the point that rodent studies of the regulation of food intake are of interest but we have a large part of our brain, the neo-cortex, responsible for higher human functions, which overrides simple biology signals such as hunger. We refuse to eat cat food when hungry whereas a rat will readily do so. We then move to genetics and specifically to twin studies and show how powerful the heritability element of obesity is. A strong case is made in this chapter that much of the research in this area focusing on foods responsible for obesity (fast food, soft drinks, processed foods) is going nowhere largely because of the reasons outlined in chapter 4 on our poor ability to accurately quantify food intakes. The case for a greater focus on linking genetics to food related behaviour is made. Dieting is dealt with as is physical activity and the stigmatization of the obese. Finally this chapter looks at little known data on the rise in obesity pointing out that obesity has been rising in the US in waves dating back to the early 20thcentury. The conventional wisdom that it is simply junk food is challenged and data on inter-generational augmentation of obesity through epigenetics, discussed in chapter 6 is discussed.
Chapter 9: Greying matters – food and the elderly
This chapter outlines the dramatic demographic changes that will occur in the developed countries in the next 30 years. In some countries such as Japan and Sweden, over 1% of the population will be over 100 years by 2050. The chapter outlines the areas of aging which can be influenced by diet. The decline in the regulation of food intake and an obesigenic environment mean that we now have the phenonomen of the frail obese elderly; not enough muscle and too much fat. We look at bone health and its decline from the early part of mid life and deal with the conflicting advice on sunshine from two different camps, those concerned with skin cancer and those concerned with exposure to sunlight to get adequate vitamin D. The chapter deals with sarcopenia, the loss of muscle in the elderly and also the role of diet in declining eye sight. Finally, the chapter deals at length with memory and its decline with aging and reviews the relevant data linking diet and Alzheimer's disease. The link between obesity in mid life and the risk of Alzheimer's disease in the elderly is explored.
Chapter 10: Food and Health – The science, policy and politics
The role of four players in the drama of food politics is explored. First the practice of linking major multinational food companies with the problems of over-nutrition is explored and challenged. Potatoes account for 12% of caloric intake in Ireland and have a zero advertising budget. All chocolate combined accounts for 2% of caloric intake and has a massive advertising budget. Most likely, potatoes are more important in over-nutrition in Ireland than chocolate. We look at 4 classes of scientists which range from the one wired to the laboratory and never gets involved in the regulatory side if things to the "issue advocate scientists" who get involved everywhere and push an a priori agenda. Next we look at the UN agencies and an independent analysis of their style of risk assessment and risk communication and show large shortfalls in proper procedures in the analysis of particular problems. We also look at how they can pre-empt scientific publications they don't like with their own gloss on events. Finally we turn to NGOs who play a powerful role in our participatory democracy and the chapter accuses some NGOs of being dogmatic and anti-science.
Chapter 11: The hazards of food
This chapter explains how society assesses risk in respect of our food supply and explains the detailed process of testing for safety. It introduces the reader to the concept of risk management and looks at the EU's precautionary principle which is being used to block innovation such as GM technology. We then look at risk communication and we show how consumers presented with the same data expressed in different ways (% who will die during treatment or % who will survive) adopt different stances. We explore the concept of "world views", how these are acquired and how these shape the emotional response to perceived danger. The chapter argues that throwing "knowledge" at consumers will not allay their fears since these fears are frequently emotional and thus not readily open to rational argument. It contrasts how regulators (mostly scientists) see risk and how consumers see the same risk. For the consumer the fear increases as they lose control over the avoidance of the risk and as the risk gives rise to effects which are both dreaded unfamiliar (BSE). In contrast, real public health risks such as obesity are seen as controllable ("I can lose weight whenever I want") and are both familiar and not dreaded
Chapter 12: How the other half dies
This chapter looks at the problems of global malnutrition. "Wasting" is the condition of malnutrition seen on TV, gaunt corpse-like children with zero fat beneath their skins. "Stunting " is the condition of malnutrition where a child is too short for their age. The final form of malnutrition is that of "hidden hunger", the blindness of vitamin A deficiency, the anaemia of iron deficiency and the goitre of iodine deficiency. The chapter argues that the global aid agencies, the IMF and the World Bank in the Thatcher-Regan era, adopted a policy in development aid of getting the fiscal system working and leaving it all to the markets. This is only slowly now being abandoned and investment in agriculture and nutrition is now back on the agenda. The chapter looks at recent books which argue that Africa is being starved of science by anti-GM and organic farming NGOs and which look at the basic geo-political reasons for the existence of the world's "bottom billion". The chapter looks at how malaria and HIV/AIDS is wrecking Sub Sahara Africa. The chapter ends with the Alliance for a Green Revolution for Africa led by Kofi Annan which is seeking to sink billions into improving African agriculture. This requires an investment in scientific agriculture including GM crops.
Chapter 13: Mankind and Mother Earth
Previous predictions of doom and gloom (Club of Rome, Y2K and the Ozone layer) are examined in relation to the lingering scepticism on global warming and climate change. We then look at leading climate scientists who believe they have to "sex up" the data to get attention. Thereafter the focus is on scientific facts on two vistas of the environment and the human food chain – how agriculture influences the environment and how environmental changes influences agriculture. We begin by looking at the global population and with a focus on the developing world where the main growth of population will occur. The 50% increase by 2050 in global population (6 to 9 billion) will be mostly in developing countries. Agriculture affects the environment in two ways. It produces large amounts of greenhouse gases primarily through energy demanding livestock production and through deforestation and desertification. Secondly agriculture absorbs over 70% of global water, presently at a rate where extraction from aquifers is 2-5 times the rate of re-charge with rainfall. All of the various solutions mooted are mentioned from no-till farming to drip irrigation. We also look at and refute the importance of "food miles" as quantitatively important in climate change and make the case that this is just part of the repertoire of the anti globalisation, anti-capitalism movement. Finally, we look at how changing temperatures and rainfalls will affect global agriculture. The developing world will fare worst. They will get hotter to the point where crop yields will fall; they will get longer periods of drought and heavier but more intense rainfall. In the developed world with the exception of Australia, there will be higher crop yields from higher levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide and from higher temperatures.
Chapter 14: Reflections and projections
A final chapter with a focus on the two great food tragedies of modern times: obesity and malnutrition


text:
On Friday February 3, 2012, we met at 9 p.m. to celebrate the opening of Richard's Bar at 4400 Forbes Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA. We entered the freezing and badly lighted bar where Swiss artist Tobias Madison taught us the five movements as listed on the backside of the LP Le Monde Fabuleux Des Yamasuki (coll. John Paul MacDuffie Woodburn), an album described by Discdogs as follows: "The 1971 concept album was the brainchild of French pop composers Jean Kluger and Daniel Vangarde, who learnt Japanese before recording began and even enlisted the aid of a renowned black-belt Judo master to introduce the tracks, which were all sung in Japanese by a school choir. The result is theatrical, epic, freaky and exotic pseudo-Japanese pop that absolutely defies categorization."
The performance that followed defied categorization as well. Due to lack of space, we had to go outside onto the bar's vast terrace. There, we followed the movements / indications for a five-part performance as printed on the back of the LP Le Monde Fabuleux Des Yamasuki. Written in French, we translated it into English thanks to an Internet translator (which added some unexpected words and sense to the instructions, producing even more "de-categorization"):
the YAMASUKI is a sequence of attitudes and gestures that express the $ ·
of. Ia life. Is changed. position to each sound.
major themes
clasped hands, ((n in prayer, we look forward slowly year
(photo 1), one recovers, we turn to his right
then left 0 (Jand I are Chmura, begin to sing, it starts
not place a sill). ilar to that Ia ~ e samba. (phot ~ 2)
· and legs spread arms are swinging it right and turn
gauehe emphasizing one of mouvenlent. appears on the legs.
(photo 3)
Rapla arms around the face. (photo 4)
arms perform graceful movements of oriental style.
Preparati9n: legs apart, hands on thighs, jump
Attack: Taking the positions of karate (photo 5) shouting
"C • aa ooh n.
Hara Kiri: you push the cry of the Kwai •
We start with THE SALVATION. JOY. and so on.
Richard's Bar will open again, we will let you know!


text:
- "I got the feds all over me, I got a boss who's a paranoid wreck, and I got a guy above me in the foodchain with a brain like an overcooked artichoke. Things are great."
- ―Ray Boccino
Raymond "Ray" Boccino was a character in the Grand Theft Auto series who appears as a main character in Grand Theft Auto IV and the secondary antagonist of The Lost and Damned. Ray was an Italian-American Capo in the Pegorino Mob. He operated out of his Little Italy Mob-influenced restaurant, Drusilla's. Ray, unlike other Pegorino members, worked in Algonquin than Alderney and gained great respect from Algonquin gangs such as the McReary crime family and Jewish Mob.
Ray Boccino is voiced by Joe Barbara.
Ray was born in 1976 in Westdyke, Alderney. He is of Italian ancestry.
Little is known about Boccino prior to the events of 2008, before which he joined or got into the Pegorino Family and worked his way up the ladder to the position of Capo. He has developed a rivalry to Phil Bell (possibly jealousy at his better reputation), and even accuses him of being a rat. When it comes to Pegorino, he has a negative opinion on Ray due to his inability to complete his operations (including the Diamonds issue) and states in Pegorino's Pride that he doubts he will ever make it to the level he wants to reach due to his greed (possibly trying to become the Underboss or Boss of the Pegorino Crime Family). Ray is often brought up in conversations with Phil and Pegorino, and Niko even mentions he blames Ray for the Diamond issue because of his poor planning and the amount of people he would get involved. Ray's greed, selfishness and corruption would eventually lead to death.
He operates and gives his missions in Drusilla's in Little Italy in Algonquin.
Boccino is first introduced chronologically while speaking to Billy Grey in the Lost MC Clubhouse after selling the biker gang some weapons, specifically grenade launchers. He is introduced to Johnny Klebitz and then takes off.
Later on, during the Lost MC's civil war, Brian Jeremy contacted Ray to ask him for help in defeating Johnny Klebitz and his faction but Ray, considering that Johnny is a much better businessman than Brian (due to the latter's irrational devotion to the imprisoned Billy Grey), betrays Brian's location to Johnny and tells him to do away with Brian so business between him and the Lost can resume as usual, which Johnny eventually does.
Ray gets orders from Jimmy Pegorino to begin cutting business into Algonquin by stealing business from the Ancelotti Family and the Algonquin Triads. In order to do so, he hires the McRearys and Niko Bellic to carry out several jobs for this purpose, such as stealing cloned meds from the triads, stealing an Ancelotti pay-off, sabotaging the Ancelottis alliance with the Albanian mafia and killing Ancelotti capo Frank Garone.
Ray gives Niko his first mission, kill Teddy Benavidez, who hasn't been paying him the money he owes.
Ray eventually gets word of some very valuable diamonds being sold to nightclub empresario Gay Tony in East Hook and, letting his greed take over, plots to steal them. Through his contact with Ashley Butler (with whom he was having an affair), Ray hires Johnny and the Lost to steal the diamonds.
Johnny successfully steals the diamonds, and Ray orders him to put the diamonds in two separate sets of trash bags in two separate alleyways in Algonquin. Immediately after Ray orders Bellic, along with Joe DiLeo, Johnny Barbosa and Luca Silvestri, to pick up the diamonds from the trash bags Johnny had just hid them in. It is later discovered that DiLeo, Barbosa and Silvestri attempted to steal the diamonds for themselves and flee to Las Venturas; Boccino sends Bellic to retrieve them. Niko kills Luca and his crew, and meets up with Ray in Middle Park to give him the diamonds.
He then waits for Niko at Drusilla's, giving him the diamonds and sending him off to the Libertonian to help with the deal, with the promise that Ray will help Niko find a man named Florian Cravic. After finding a buyer, Ray calls up Johnny Klebitz, and tells him to head to the Libertonian to wait for Niko.
Niko and Johnny attempt to sell the diamonds to Jewish Mob associates Issac Roth and Mori Green, however, Anthony "Gay Tony" Prince's best friend and personal bodyguard Luis Fernando Lopez ambushes the deal and takes the diamonds.
In the confusion of the ambush, Klebitz decides to betray Boccino and steals all of the money for himself and the Lost MC, and Niko is left with nothing. Niko calls Boccino to inform him of the ambush, that Johnny has the money, and that he isn't sure who got the diamonds. Immediately after, Ray calls Johnny to confirm he still has the money, but Johnny denies this, having given the money to Jim Fitzgerald for safe keeping.
A short time later Boccino decides that Johnny did take the money, he kidnaps Jim Fitzgerald, has him tied up in the Drusilla's basement, and has a goon torture him with a blow torch, attempting to extract information on the two million. He uses Jim's cellphone to text Johnny and lure him to Drusilla's where he attempts to hold Johnny as well. After a brief argument, Jim cuts his rope loose with a hidden exacto-knife and grabs hold of Boccino's goon, Johnny kicks Rays gun away, Jim slits the goon's throat and the two escape Drusilla's.
Boccino immediately calls up associate Phil Bell for a sit-down and soon after sends Bellic to murder Fitzgerald and orders his crew to find and kill Klebitz. Waves of armed associates each wave in a car in different locations come to chase Johnny (Klebitz may call Terry or Clay to set up an ambush).
Johnny survives the attack, however Jim isn't so lucky. Ashley later tells Johnny that Ray has managed to kill Jim (unbeknownst to Johnny, Niko is the one who killed him). Johnny plans to retaliate (for Jim's death and how he's planning to help Billy arrest Johnny & Angus) but is told not to by Congressman Thomas Stubbs, who tells Klebitz that Boccino and the Pegorino crime family are under surveillance and that half of the organization would be "either dead or arrested within a month."
Later, Isaac Roth begins to blame the ambushed diamond deal on Boccino and threatens to have him killed. In retaliation, Boccino again orders Bellic to murder Roth at Roth's penthouse at the Majestic Hotel. Afterwards, Boccino arranges an apartment in Alderney City for Bellic so he can can "keep a closer eye on him." Niko refuses to do anymore work for Boccino from this point on. Before or after this mission, Ray will give Niko Bellic what he promised him in Museum Piece; the location of Florian Cravic (though Niko ends up sparing him as he realizes he is not the target).
Ray makes a brief cameo in the opening cut scene of Phil Bell & James Pegorino's first missions. He also tells Niko that he made the introduction (though Niko will once again confirm that he is not connected to Ray). He is often brought up in conversations with Pegorino and Phil -- in fact, in Pegorino's first mission, Niko will comment that Ray's poor planning and the amount of people (Johnny, Luca's crew and Issac) he trusted are to blame for his failure to get the diamonds. Ray can also be called after Payback, I'll Take Her & Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend (provided that he hasn't been murdered yet). Interestingly, Boccino will later call Niko, telling him he knows that Gay Tony has the diamonds and tells him to steal them; Niko, avoiding what would have been a huge plot twist in both TBOGT and IV, refuses.
Later in the game, as the Pegorino family's affairs fall further into turmoil, Jimmy Pegorino decides to send a message to any possible informants in the organization and orders Bellic to murder Boccino, believing he is an informant. Niko goes to where Ray is hanging around, and while he and some associates are driving to his auto-shop, he and his associates are murdered by Niko (the player may choose how to go about this).
GTA IV originally called for the player to choose whether to kill Ray or Phil, however it was changed before the game was officially released. Ray became the only one who could be killed. This is likely in part due to the way Ray became the secondary antagonist of The Lost and Damned.
Arguably, the most significant detail about Ray is that he gives you the second most missions in GTA IV, giving you a total of 7 (with Roman Bellic being first with 10). This means that he gives you the third most missions in the era, with Gay Tony being first and Roman being second. Ray is also the character that initiates most of the crossover missions in the games: the first diamond deal, the only time all three protagonists are together at once, how Niko killed Jim and most of the events revolving around the Diamonds.
- "Ray Boccino is a slimy motherfucker, the one thing you can really get from him, is greed."
- ―Patrick McReary
Ray is known to be an extremely greedy person, trying to find deals and jobs that worth a lot of money. He works with many thugs and mobsters, like the Irish Mob, in order to be favoured by Jimmy Pegorino, trying to please him with everyway he know. He is, however, untrusted by his associates due to his greed.
He is also known to have an explosive temper, at some point in his past, he threw a man stealing money from him and his waste management business in a trash compactor, after nearly beating him to death.
Mission appearances
- Harbouring a Grudge
- Waste Not Want Knots (post-mission phone call)
- A Long Way to Fall (Boss)
- Taking in the Trash (Boss)
- Meltdown (Boss)
- Museum Piece (Boss)
- No Way on the Subway (Boss)
- Weekend at Florian's (Voice/Boss)
- Late Checkout (Boss)
- Truck Hustle
- I'll Take Her... (Post-mission phone call)
- Pegorino's Pride
- Payback (Post-mission phone call)
- Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend (Post-mission phone call, only if Pest Control is not completed yet)
- Pest Control (Killed by Niko Bellic)
- The Lost and Damned
- Action/Reaction
- Bad Standing
- Diamonds in the Rough (Boss)
- Collector's Item (Boss)
- Was It Worth It? (Boss/Betrayal)
- Get Lost (Mentioned)
LCPD Database record
Surname: Boccino
First Name: Ray
Age: 32
Place of Birth: Westdyke, Alderney
Affiliations: Pegorino Crime Syndicate
Criminal Record:
- 1990 - Possession of stolen property
- 1991 - Grand larceny
- 1995 - Hijacking
- 1999 - Burglary
- Capo with the Alderney based Pegorino Crime Syndicate.
- Believed to be expanding operations into Algonquin.
- Involved in criminal activities outside the Syndicate.
- Believed to handle Jimmy Pegorino's relationship with smaller gangs such as Gerald McReary's crew in Dukes.
- Often seen at Drusilla's restaurant in Little Italy.
- During Pest Control, If Niko is able to get Ray out of the car, he'll start shooting the player with a Combat Shotgun.
- Ray as a character is similar to Mikey Palmice from The Sopranos; a once popular T.V. show about the New Jersey mafia.
- Thomas Stubbs makes references to Ray's eventual fate in GTA IV. He remarks after Johnny Klebitz considers going after Ray, that he would "either be dead or in jail in the next few months", foreshadowing Niko's killing of him under Jimmy Pegorino's orders.
- During Museum Piece, Ray will state "where the fuck have you been?" This will happen even if the player goes to the mission immediately after finishing his previous mission. Also, in the same cutscene, Niko will say to Ray "I keep doing these favors for you, and you pay shit". However, in consecutive order, the payments Niko recieves for these misssions is 8500$, 9000$ and 9500$. Also, his dialogue with Niko in the same cutscene implicates that he has more-than-sufficient knowledge of Florian Cravic, hinting that he worked for or has associative ties with the Boccino and/or Pegorino crime orginization.
- Ray seems to stand very tall, as when next to Niko he towers over him similarly to Gerry McReary.
- Including those missions he gives Johnny, Ray gives you the third most missions in the GTA IV era, giving you 10 missions. (Gay Tony gives you 12 missions and Roman gives you 11 missions.)
- Ray is the antagonist that gives you the most missions in the GTA IV trinity, giving you ten missions.
- Ray is one of four major characters in GTA IV to have the initials "RB" (the others being Real Badman, Roman Bellic and Ray Bulgarin). It is unknown if this was intentional, as the four have little else in common.
- Ray's last name is wrongly pronounced, as the double C in Boccino makes it Bo-ki-noh.


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The husband of a brain-dead, pregnant Texas woman on Tuesday sued the hospital keeping her on life support, saying doctors are doing so against her and her family's wishes.
The lawsuit filed in state district court asks a judge to order John Peter Smith hospital in Fort Worth to remove life support for Marlise Munoz, a north Texas woman who fell unconscious in November while pregnant.
Erick Munoz has said a doctor told him his wife is considered brain-dead. Munoz says that he and his wife are both paramedics and are very familiar with end-of-life issues. He says his wife had made her wishes clear to him that she would not want life support in this kind of situation. Marlise Munoz's parents agree.
But John Peter Smith hospital in Fort Worth says it can't follow Erick Munoz's directive due to a state law that prohibits life-saving treatment from being denied to pregnant patients. Experts familiar with the Texas law say the hospital is incorrectly applying the statute because Munoz would be considered legally and medically dead.
Munoz found his wife unconscious in the early morning on 26 November. The family says it doesn't know the exact cause of her condition, though a pulmonary embolism is a possibility. Marlise Munoz was 14 weeks pregnant at the time.
The health of the fetus is unknown. Munoz is believed to have been without oxygen for some time before her husband found her.
The hospital has cited a provision of the Texas Advance Directives Act that reads: "A person may not withdraw or withhold life-sustaining treatment under this subchapter from a pregnant patient."
Experts interviewed by the Associated Press, including two who helped draft the legislation, said a brain-dead patient's case wouldn't be covered by the law.
"This patient is neither terminally nor irreversibly ill," said Dr Robert Fine, clinical director of the office of clinical ethics and palliative care for Baylor Health Care System. "Under Texas law, this patient is legally dead."
Tom Mayo, a Southern Methodist University law professor, said he did not believe the law applied in this case. He said the hospital would not have absolute immunity from a civil or criminal case if it went outside the subchapter referenced by the law, but noted "most medical decisions" are made without immunity.
"To me, the subchapter doesn't require what they're doing," Mayo said. "It simply says that if you were to take the life support away, you'd be outside the subchapter. It doesn't have an affirmative command in it that you must keep life support going."
Hospital spokeswoman J R Labbe has said hospital officials stand by their decision: "This is not a difficult decision for us. We are following the law."
Labbe did not immediately return an email message seeking comment on the lawsuit filing Tuesday.