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Friday, February 29, 2008
Student Loans
Free Money + Students = Massive Debt.
But it got Labour elected, so who cares.
Is Poneke about to undertake a journey of discovery like I did?
Now, "Our Friends the Saudis", is a regular series of articles featured on Little Green Footballs, typically detailing some outrage committed by the Islamic kingdom. A few days ago, 57 Saudi men were arrested for 'flirting' at women in a shopping mall.
smoking ads that might work
The government's decision to force cigarette producers to put gruesome pictures on packets has led to some debate on the effectiveness of such campaigns.
Over at The Briefing Room, the view seems to be that the move will create a new market for cigarette cases.
Thus, a much more effective streategy is needed.
Yes, smokers are free to smoke, as long as they do it outside and only harm themselves.
But as the former partner of a heavy smoker I can only vouch what an expensive habit smoking is and what a turn off it is too. Smoking can strain a relationship.
Perhaps stronger campaigns such as these I found on You Tube might help some people give up their habit: Debi Austin from the US and a dead guy from Britain.
I also think seeing Michael Cullen paying tribute to the country's smokers by paying all that tax and dying early to save on superannuation, thus boosting the government surplus, would also be an effective anti-smoking advertisement.
The Clean Out Starts
The next shot might well be a warning to 'communications managers' that their tenure will be limited.
Then, Adolf recommends that every six months all public servants should be required to sign a declaration that they will work to implement the policies of the government of the day and that failure to do so and/or evidence of obstruction will result in dismissal.
A Hive of treachery
Now the hard times come!
Ha! Ha!
Irresistable Conclusion
The headline should have been:
He's Taken Off
Pre Mortem Examination
If You Love the Democratic Party, You'll Like the New York Times
Scott Rasmussen polled the New York Times, and the results are grim:
Just 24% of American voters have a favorable opinion of the New York Times. Forty-four percent (44%) have an unfavorable opinion and 31% are not sure.
Worse yet:
The paper's ratings are much like a candidate's and divide sharply along partisan and ideological lines. By a 50% to 18% margin, liberal voters have a favorable opinion of the paper. By a 69% to 9%, conservative voters offer an unfavorable view. The newspaper earns favorable reviews from 44% of Democrats, 9% of Republicans, and 17% of those not affiliated with either major political party.
There is a lesson here: if a newspaper devotes its resources and its inherited goodwill with the public over a period of decades to advance the interests of one of our political parties, sooner or later people will notice.
Pinch Sulzburger has frittered away his inheritance, as is evident from these numbers on the Times' recent attack on John McCain:
Of those who followed the story, 66% believe it was an attempt by the paper to hurt the McCain campaign. Just 22% believe the Times was simply reporting the news.
New York Times, RIP.
Time for a United States of Europe
Congratulations, all those bozo nationalists working to keep Europe divided - you're doing a great job.
Meanwhile, the countries of the European Union have been at sixes and sevens in their relations with Moscow. It's a general rule that if you want to see the EU at its most divided, supine and implausible, you should look at it from the vantage point of a rich, large, powerful country, be it Russia, China or the United States. Policymakers in Beijing, Moscow and Washington share views of the EU ranging from the sceptical to the contemptuous, for they see each national government privately coming, cap in hand, to make its own deal. Small wonder that Putin's Russia feels it can pursue its own national interests better by dealing with individual European powers. Europe, as it currently behaves towards Russia, China and the US, is a standing invitation to "divide and rule".
The kow-towing is personal as well as national. The former German chancellor Gerhard Schröder, having smoothed the way for Russia's Nord Stream gas pipeline under the Baltic sea while in office, is now chairman of the pipeline consortium. In an interview less than 18 months ago, he was still publicly sticking by his claim that Putin is a "flawless democrat". Oh yes, and black is white.
A recent report by the European Council on Foreign Relations, a pan-European thinktank (full disclosure: on whose board I sit), documents this pathetic disarray. It also points out that if you treat the EU as a unit, it is potentially far more powerful than Russia. Its total economy is 15 times the size of Russia's, which barely outstrips that of Belgium and the Netherlands combined. About half Russia's trade is with the EU, while Russian gas supplies only 25% of current EU gas needs. As for "soft power" - the power to attract - Russia does not begin to compete. It's only because Europe is so divided that the tail wags the dog.
The Cunliffe Gambit - Updated
A few minutes ago at 0500, RLW led with the news that four of the five local bodies in the region have voted to challenge the decision in the courts with the fifth council meeting this afternoon to consider the issue.
Mr Cunliffe is not regarded as a complete idiot but in this instance it is difficult to see his decision as anything other than political voluntary euthanasia.
It is even more difficult to avoid concluding Cunliffe is under orders to protect Annette King's arse, or more precisely her husband, from embarrassing revelations of conflict of interest.
Two reasons given for sacking the board were (a) alleged conflict between the board and the CEO and (b) a dysfunctional relationship between the board and the minister himself. Adolf can't help but wonder why the board did not simply sack the CEO and why Cunliffe didn't just wait for a couple of short months for the voters to sack the minister.
Simple people must be asking "Why do we have surpluses while people are dying of cancer?"
Caption Competition
The Cunliffe Gambit
A few minutes ago at 0500, RLW led with the news that four of the five local bodies in the region have voted to challenge the decision in the courts with the fifth council meeting this afternoon to consider the issue.
Mr Cunliffe is not regarded as a complete idiot but in this instance it is difficult to see his decision as anything other than political voluntary euthanasia.
It is even more difficult to avoid concluding Cunliffe is under orders to protect Annette King's arse, or more precisely her husband, from embarrassing revelations of conflict of interest.
Two reasons given for sacking the board were (a) alleged conflict between the board and the CEO and (b) a dysfunctional relationship between the board and the minister himself. Adolf can't help but wonder why the board did not simply sack the CEO and why Cunliffe didn't just wait for a couple of short months for the voters to sack the minister.
Update: One wonders when the minister will deal to Waitemata and Capital & Coast?
Simple people must be asking "Why do we have surpluses while people are dying of cancer?"
Major Development: Annette King and her mates have obtained a court order preventing the DomPost from publishing details of the inquiry into her husband's shenanigans.
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Parore on Ryder
What were his predictions again?
"I take no pleasure out of getting something like this right," Parore told RadioSport today.
"It does point to a history of self-destructive type behaviour and it's really sad because as we all know now, the kid can play."
1. Couldn't play. Result - Ryder scored 196 runs @ 49 in his maiden one-day series. Nice 1 Adam.
2. Too unfit. Result - see above and vital wickets and catches he took.
3. Loose cannon. Result - well maybe he is right on that one. But it was hardly a prediction of Nostradamus proportions was it and Parore was hardly the right person to make it.
After all, he was hardly a saint when playing for the Black Caps was he Cairnsy?
William F Buckley - RIP
Tim Murphy Goes Into Hiding
So today's headline sends a clear message.
'No-one's talking about deporting Herald editor' - Clark
Helen's Lucky and selfish generation!
These are the generations who graduated without student loans into good jobs when a home loan cost less than 40% of after-tax pay to service. They bought houses before 2003 and are now sitting on massive capital gains. Many have become semi-professional landlords with fancy Loss Attributing Qualifying Companies that allow them to offset operational losses on their rental properties against their salaries to reduce their tax bills. They have become addicted to the tax free capital gains on these properties. They've started consuming some of those gains in the form of holidays, electronics, cars and boats financed through their mortgages.
Preserving the existing environment is preferred at all costs to development. The Resource Management Act and the bureaucratic minefield it has become achieved this subliminal aim brilliantly. The construction of impenetrable green belts delivered the coup de grace. It is now virtually impossible to build large-scale housing developments in New Zealand. Dwelling consents have dropped a third since 2003 when the boom started.
Feminism is just so last century!
Poneke's worthy read says New Zealand has just gone through a 'Golden Age' with women in top positions such as Prime Minister, Speaker, chief of the judiciary, etc, etc.
And he laments what role models might remain for his two daughters in the near future, a time what I will call the 'Post-Clark era'.
Well, I would hardly call Dear Leader and the Sisterhood 'role models' but I find Poneke's neo-feminism so last century.
I am sure as a fellow journalist, Poneke has come across many, many women in top jobs in newsrooms, as much as men.
In fact, at present, I answer to as many women editors as men.
For me, women in power is nothing special.
I grew up in Britain when Margaret Thatcher was Prime Minister, so having a woman in charge hardly seems novel.
Thus, when I arrived in New Zealand permanently, having Jenny Shipley in office, followed by Dear Leader was no big deal either.
Ditto with Theresa Gattung as the boss of Telecom, one of New Zealand's largest corporates.
I think Poneke is right in seeing a 'Golden Age' for such career women, truth that equality has arrived, with other countries quickly coming up the rear.
I am sure over the Tasman, Julia Gillard will be doing her bit to depose Kevin Rudd, as others on the right sometimes claim/ fear. The US could well be led by Hillary Clinton.
But he need not fear its end. I doubt there are glass ceilings anymore. They have been well and truly shattered.
But what caused this?
Cactus Kate, in response, sees economic necessity as the big driver in women entering the workforce and Dear Leader as a money-grabbing socialist, a poor role model.
Cactus credits Sir Roger Douglas as the Godfather of New Zealand feminism.
H2 and the Slug Slithering Out?
All of these entertaining predictions from Vernon Small in today's DomPost. Unfortunately, there's no link and I can't find anything in the online version.
Is it peculiar irony that Small is reporting on Little?
Best Coment This Week
- Right of way is Way of Right +1 Says:
February 28th, 2008 at 5:36 am
Well, now it seems the rats are not only leaving the sinking ship, they are refusing to board!"
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Thank God Dick Hubbard Didn't Try This...
Can you imagine Dick Hubbard, stripped to his jocks with a couple of baubles dangling from his belly button?
Libberwals are nutters: Official!!
Apparantly, a scientist with no connections to the Vast Right Wing Conspiracy has concluded that liberals are nutty.
They are just like children who expect the state to do things their parents did for them as a child.
They haven't grown up.
Now, how this analysis would brand their more extreme socialist form, such as Dear Leader pictured here, remains to be seen.
Hat Tip TBR and Whale Oil.
Greedy Investers Get The PIP
I heard about them (the PIPs) the day they were launched and recognized them for what they were. A desperate bid by a cash strapped company to buy itself some time as it looked for new Peters to rob in order to pay Paul.
Having said that, in the interests of balance, I hope the SFO manages do nail the oleaginous Bryerlcream and send him off for a long holiday.
Update: Adolf's educated guess has something like $15 mil to $20 mil worth of PIPs land mines exploding around the country during coming days
Confused Commentary?
The broad tenor of her piece is that National should get on board with the thrust of Labour's policy in this regard.
It seems to me that she, along with most other commentators, has confused housing 'affordability' with housing 'cost.' Among other things she says:-
An overnight tax cut will solve the problem without recourse to hallucinogens.
Then the far more difficult problem of excessive housing cost can be dealt with over time.
Clark's Latest Blunder - Her Husband
Rumours of Davis's alleged homosexuality abound but hitherto have been off limits due to his non-involvement in front line politicking. He got away with his foolish letter to The Herald on the day of the Auckland EFB march but his attack today on the media, and in particular The Herald, render him fair game. You can see the first hint in the papers description of them as our 'first couple.' How American!
Peter Davis weighs in on the Owen Glenn fiasco:-
"Earlier, her husband, Peter Davis, wrote a letter to the editor over coverage of the Owen Glenn loan to Labour.
"The Herald has had great fun at the expense of a wealthy donor and a political party," he says."Expect serious questions to be raised about Peter Davis' activities at Los Angeles airport.
The irony of it all is that the PM who, more than anyone else has accused others of Americanising NZ politics, during her administration has brought about the politicization of the Public Service and the dirt digging mud slinging US presidential style of election campaign. Mallard and Williams have been her surrogates.
Labour has dropped their neutron bomb, on themselves.
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Here's some Nicaraguan coffee more to my taste
When I was at University in Britian during the late 80s, the lefties were gaga over the Marxist Sandinista terrorist government. There was barely a student cafe that did not sell Nicaraguan coffee, even if it was inferior to that from Brazil.Anyway, UK blogger Guido Fawkes has found something much more to our tastes-
Contra Cafe. I wonder if it is available in New Zealand?
Fair Trade Coffee from Freedom Fighters
Today, the farmers live in peace side by side with former Sandinista fighters. They cultivate coffee on their small mountain plots. In caring for their coffee, they aim to produce a quality bean, to maintain the environment on which they depend, and to provide for their families. Unfortunately, they often struggle to meet the needs of their families on the small and volatile profits from their farms. Contra Café aims to make their earnings larger and more consistent.
Rest assured that this is a premium, tasty coffee that also pays producers more than the Fair Trade price, but unlike Fair Trade, isn't a handout, it is paying what this outstanding coffee merits.
There is also the pleasing ideological angle for those of us who supported their struggle for freedom when we serve it to our dinner party guests.
You can, as you pour for them, say that at the height of the Cold War, the Contra rebels bravely fought for political and economic freedom in Nicaragua against a Cuban-backed dictatorship. Their heroic efforts forced democratic elections and led to the fall of the Marxist Sandinista regime. Today, the cooperative of former Contras grows an exceptional coffee high in the mountains of northern Nicaragua. Contra Café roasts this outstanding coffee and delivers it fresh to your home. In addition a portion of Contra Café revenues are donated to Ollie North's Freedom Alliance charity which provides scholarships for the children of active duty service members killed or disabled in the line of duty in Iraq.
Of course you should really drink it out of a Free Trade Coffee Mug, in the Fawkes household we won't drink it any other way. So order the coffee online and help third world farmers who fought for freedom.
at 2/23/2008 10:42:00 AM 37 comments
Winston's Got His Answer Ready
"Mr Peters, where did you get the hundred grand?"
"I won it on the slots at Vegas.... Nyaa Nyaa Na Na Nyaa!"
And he'll expect everyone to believe him
It's Obama Bin Laden!
What Dubbya Should Have Done To Keller
Commodore Frankie doesn't muck around. Bloody cheeky Australian reporter got chucked out for being too clever by far.
"We also have the recent case of an opinion columnist in the Fiji Sun masquerading as a regular correspondent's writing front page stories. So blatant has been the Fiji Sun's disregard for ethics that these lead stories have explicit opinions contained within the article.
"These little tricks are getting out of hand and that is the reason why we have called everyone here to explain to you in detail once and for all the truth that continues to be misconstrued and disregarded by most sections of the media."Now that's the way to deal with duplicitous journos and their hangers on.
Happy Birthday Helen!
Your party is 20-odd points behind in the polls.
Eat Yourself Fitter
I offer our readers a momentary respite from the otherwise-constant barrage of National Party propaganda. Fuck I hate election years.
The disastrous pseudoscience of Nutrition continues to stagger from one prize example of foolishness to the next. Today's fine effort is the Nutrition column of the Listener of February 23 2008, in which a reader asks for dietary advice that would help avoid Type 2 diabetes, and is prescribed a diet guaranteed to increase their chances of getting it. The article is currently only in print, but will be online here from 15 March.
The (abridged) question:
Recent blood tests revealed I have blood sugar level problems. I was told this could lead to early onset Type 2 diabetes… Can you offer any specific dietary advice that would help?
The specific dietary advice (also abridged):
…six-plus servings of wholegrain breads and cereals to increase fibre intake.
…5+ servings of fruit and vegetables
Choose high-fibre and low-fat foods.
I don't want to write a big long treatise on this all over the front page of our blog, but I'm happy to argue the case in comments.
Our Gilbertian Treasurer
Take this example from The Mikado:-
Do you know the tune? - a brisk, lilting waltz.
A wandering minstrel I —
A thing of shreds and patches,
Of ballads, songs and snatches,
And dreamy lullaby!
My catalogue is long,
Through every passion ranging,
And to your humours changing
I tune my supple song!
I tune my supple song!
How might they have handled the comic opera which is today's New Zealand Labour government?
A squandering wastrel I —
A thing of bribes and taxes,
Of socialistic spending,
And scheming double lies!
My surpluses are large,
Through every sector gouging,
And for my next election,
I give a subtle gong!
I give a subtle gong!
Warmenisers In Retreat
The journal laments the lack of media coverage of the hundreds of eminent scientists who defy the crowds of warmenists by holding a conference in New York to refute, rebut and generally debunk the nonsense propounded by Gore and the world's dedicated socialists. You can almost hear the protesters outside screaming 'Crucify them! Crucify them!'
Our very own Hive documents some remarkable and rare common sense emanating from Europe where carbon trading has been rejected on the grounds of damage to people's standard of living.
Adolf has seen no evidence to justify the foundational tenet of the warmenist faith, namely that rising CO2 levels lead to global warming. In point of fact, all the hard reliable data appears to confirm that there is no such link and that climate change is influenced in the main by solar activity. There is little doubt that human activity contributes to rising CO2 levels but that's about as far as common sense gets. Then the religious zealots take over and demand that we give up our three square meals a day and turn our country into a wilderness where we eat locusts while dressing in sack cloth.
Meanwhile, the NZ Labour Party and its intellectually handicapped sibling The Green Party have been diagnosed terminally ill, suffering from acute polloidal opinionitis and have determined their last living act will be to crush what economic life in our little country they have not already destroyed by inflicting on it a carbon trading regime guaranteed to plunge us back into the dark ages.
For this we can blame the once was witty economyst Michael Cullen for whom simple mathematics is a mystery - as evinced by the magical conversion of his Kyoto bonus into a Kyoto bill. He subscribes to the economyth that if we cut our throats first and then hand the knife to India and China they will do the same unto themselves.
The first thing John Key's government must do is put a hold on any commitment to Kyoto or any other carbon trading scheme while a proper independent inquiry into the evidence for and against climate change theory is held and a a careful cost benefit analysis of carbon trading is prepared and publicised.
Monday, February 25, 2008
Haemorrhoides Terminalus
Tracy Watkins described the last week for Helen Clark as:-
PM's hebdomas horrendaTracy didn't get it quite right. This pain in the arse Prime Minister finally has reached the end of everyone else's tether. She has become:-
Madame Haemorrhoides Terminalus
It must be only a matter of time before the weak kneed support parties break ranks and bring to an end this disgracefully corrupt and inept administration.
Will the next opinion poll be the tipping point?
The knives are out for Dear Leader- it's just so 1990!!
Issues for Captain Baubles
*It wasn't a donation, it was an interest free loan!
*The donation was actually the term deposit maturing, and Jones got them confused (but it was maturing in December we were told)
*The money is actually aid money for North Korea from Condi, which Winston is meant to pass on.
As David adds, perhaps Dail Jones could release a copy of the bank statement to clear things up.
The people are NOT listening to Dear Leader
Fairfax follows-up its Saturday poll which shows Dear Leader and Liarbour "Poll-Axed" with a breakdown on the issues.
Liarbour is increasingly out of touch as the polls show voters taking a more National approach to crime, education and tax cuts.
And today, Dear Leader has been on the radio promising "a tonne of ideas."
"We have to keep governing, we have to work on being a government of substance, a government of vision, a government which has got the big ideas," she said.
Trouble is, it is Liarbour's ideas, Liarbour's vision that frightens us. New Zealand does not want it any more. We can see the damage they cause in terms of education, our pockets, the economy, health, etc, etc.
Not only that, we see a corrupt, hypocritical regime that relies on "rich pricks" for funding, who are bought off with baubles; we see a party silencing the opposition, whose competence is so awful its mates like the EPMU are now hamstrung from campaigning; we see a government that doesn't listen over issues like smacking and crime.
And our increasingly shaky economy, slipping in the league tables, shows how Liarbour has frittered away the best economic weather in a generation.
The sooner Liarbour goes the better. But the longer they stick around, the greater their defeat will be. All John Boy has to do is smile and not frighten the horses. A policy that seems to be working very nicely thank you, even if some on the right have their reservations.
UPDATE: Tracey Watkins of the DomPost reviews the political week here, noting Liarbour's dilemma.
Gosh! Another Rat Deserts The Ship
Mark Goshe joins the ranks of those who don't need another nine months to get the message.
Is he / was he a cabinet minister? If so, I can't recall any evidence of him.
Good riddance.
Sunday, February 24, 2008
You Might As Well Sack All The Managers
Only a week after the discovery of cricket's next great talent, the man's minders allow him to punch out a plate glass window and injure himself sufficiently that he won't be available for three months.
Well done , chaps. Have another Gin and tonic.
The great global gay mafia
Heath's death a couple of years back renewed the speculation about his sexuality and whether a country like Britain could have a gay prime minister now. Indeed, could New Zealand?
Liarbour's Sugar Daddy
Owen Glenn, Labour's 2005 electioneering sugar daddy, couldn't keep his mouth shut when it really mattered. He "kissed and told", so to speak, about his $500,000 donation and $100,000 loan, and Clark and party president Mike Williams now smell as sweet as the dead rabbits we hang on the fence to attract the hawks.
This is not just a scandalette, as one commentator said, but a stinky, hypocritical farce: Labour passes the Electoral Finance Act saying it makes political party funding transparent, and is caught hiding a donation of around $10,000 (10 per cent of an interest-free loan) - and from a "rich prick", no less.
Dear Leader: " A tired Hillary Clinton!"
After Fairfax burnt their bridges yesterday with this delightful shot of Dear Leader in reporting Liarbour's latest poll disater yesterday, we now see Peter Don't making some more unfavourable comparisons.
I am sure I heard him attacking Liarbour over economic/tax policy the other week on Newztalk ZB, and in today's Sunday Star-Times, the Man with the Mr Whippy Haircut compares Helen to Hillary Clinton!
"Hillary Clinton oozes policy and experience and all of that, and you could say she is like Helen Clark. John Key is fresh and relatively unknown, and doesn't that sound like Barack Obama?
"If you've got a country that's feeling good about itself, and things aren't going too badly, the fresh face looks appealing. People are willing to take a punt," said Dunne, minister of revenue and leader of United Future.
To me that sounds somewhat unflattering and Don't appears to be burning his bridges with Clark and moving towards National in hope of guaranteeing his political survival. But with the polls showing National can government alone, Peter might be wasting his time.
In the meantime, David Farrar, the clever lad at Kiwiblog points out other similarities between Clarkie of Hillary. Politeness prevents me from pointing out another but I think Chuck Bird was thinking what I'm thinking. But rumour and gossip can be so cruel.
Inherent Ingrained Dishonesty
But look at the little give away. The irresistible throw away lines.
".....National Party, which cynically arranged secret trusts into which big donations could be funneled."
and later
"But anyone in politics knows that there is no such thing as an anonymous donation of this size."
So all-pervasive is the inherent, ingrained dishonesty of the left that it is inconceivable (a) that the establishment of a trust is not cynical and (b) that National party politicians might NOT actually know the identity of major donors.
The difference between National and Labour is that National has a firewall between the party wing and the political wing while Labour does not.
It's a matter of governance. National good - Labour bad,
Going Bact To ACT
Here's his last comment:-
"Adolf… You really are a mindless party stooge aren't you? And accusing me of being an ACToid is silly. I'm a current financial member of the National Party. I want to see National do well. But I caution the folks in charge that they are not going to get there by offering the same policies as Labour. Do you really think that Labour are just going to lie down and take it? Did they do that last time? No, and no.
The point of being involved in politics, as I repeat ad nauseum, is to CHANGE THINGS. I really really want to know what Key would change. Please. Pretty please. With sugar on top. What would they change Adolf? Do tell us. I can't figure it out."
I get tired of hearing this mindless claim and I'm surprised to hear it from Blair, who people who know him tell me is a pretty bright spark. (It's almost as silly as the claim that president Bush lied about WMD in Iraq.)
So, here are just a few differences of which I'm aware - and I'm not active or known in party circles.
1 Less taxation along with reduced government spending. You can count on a reduction in the number of 'managers' in the health system and the number of PR flacks in the public service.
2 A more aggressive approach to dealing with young crims. (recently announced)
3 A far more innovative approach to underachieving school leavers. (recently announced)
4 The repeal of the Electoral Finance Act.
5 The repeal of the Anti-smacking Act
That's just for starters with nine months of campaigning to go before the election.
Blair does not seem to realise that I and many other people are more interested in the character and moral fibre of the government than we are in individual policies. I'm voting National because I think they are better quality people in all respects than the scurrilous gang of shysters which is Labour, Dunne and NZ First. I trust them to produce good policy for all New Zealanders, all the time, not just in the heat of an election campaign.
Rodney Hide was right when he called for the return of those ACT members who flocked to National chasing after Dr Brash. Well Blair, Dr Brash is gone so I reckon the best way you can advocate for the 'different' policies you want is to go back and help rejuvenate ACT. You've got nine months to do it.
Then you can campaign as a coalition partner on specific policies and tell the voters which of those are bottom line policies for a coalition deal with National.
I really don't see how you will help National currently by asking them to prematurely reveal their policies for Labour to steal.


text:
Reducing the gain in the circuit will reduce risk of instability/oscillation BTW.
Filtering out any RF on inputs is always a good idea for sensitive DC circuits like this - 1nF ceramic across all the load-cell input leadsshould kill any RF pickup without affecting the frequencies of interest. Ferrite toroid on the whole lead close to the breadboard isalso another possibility.Definitely keep all the wiring on the breadboard short and neat and supply decoupling capacitors are _obligatory_ for a high-gain amplifier, otherwise it is very likely to oscillate via supply-rail feedback. A ground-plane would be nice, though obvious difficult on a breadboard. One can add a grid of ground wires across the whole breadboard toimprove matters.Reducing the gain in the circuit will reduce risk of instability/oscillation BTW.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
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text:
Although a commanding and powerful speaker, Harding was notorious for his verbal gaffes. His errors were compounded by his insistence on writing his own speeches. Although it might not have been a mispronunciation as some thought, Harding's most famous "mistake" was his use of the word "normalcy" when the more correct word to use at the time would have been "normality." Harding decided he liked the sound of the word and made "Return to Normalcy" a recurring theme.
Critic H.L. Mencken disagreed, saying of Harding, "He writes the worst English that I have ever encountered. It reminds me of a string of wet sponges; it reminds me of tattered washing on the line; it reminds me of stale bean soup, of college yells, of dogs barking idiotically through endless nights. It is so bad that a sort of grandeur creeps into it. It drags itself out of the dark abysm of pish, and crawls insanely up the topmost pinnacle of posh. It is rumble and bumble. It is flap and doodle. It is balder and dash."
There are some audio books at archive.org if anyone is interested and a ton of print editions floating around."An idealist is one who, on noticing that a rose smells better than a cabbage, concludes that it will also make better soup."
- H. L. Mencken
"The older I grow the more I distrust the familiar doctrine that age brings wisdom."
- H. L. Mencken


text:
Candy J. Strout
Custodian Specialist
Office: PPD Shops [ campus map ]
Box 4950
Phone: 207-859-5024
Fax: 207-859-5005
E-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com
Mailing Address:
4950 Mayflower Hill
Waterville, Maine 04901-8849
4950 Mayflower Hill
Waterville, Maine 04901-8849
The directory information is for individual use only, it may not be retransmitted or published for any reason. It is not to be used for mass solicitations by email, mail, phone, or other means. Sale or other distribution of this document is prohibited by College policy.


text:
What small furry rodent do scientists turn to when they need to study the effects of alcohol abuse on humans? That would be the prairie vole: nature's frat boy.
Rats and mice just aren't social enough. Monkeys are too expensive (believe me, I know). There's only one animal researchers at Oregon Health & Science University and the Portland Veterans Affairs Medical Center can turn to in order to discovery new ways to treat alcoholism?
This guy, right here.
It turns out that the prairie vole, native to central North America, is the perfect animal to get drunk in the name of science. Not only does this furry little bastard fulfill the social requirements for testing, mating for life and sharing strong familiar bonds, they also love alcohol.
Seriously, they've done taste tests.
"They not only drink alcohol, they prefer it over water," says Allison Anacker, a neuroscience graduate student at OHSU. Taste tests show they prefer drinks with 6 percent alcohol – about the same as beer, notes Andrey Ryabinin, a professor of behavioral neuroscience at OHSU.
Not only are prairie voles drinkers, they're social drinkers. Like college students, these tiny rodents tend to drink more when their friends and family are around.
A study published in the Addiction Biology journal discovered that prairie voles drank more alcohol when caged with their siblings. Given two bottles, one with normal water and one spiked with alcohol, isolated voles drank equally from both bottles. When paired with a family member, the alcohol-spiked bottle accounted for 4/5 of the critters' fluid intake.
I also drink more when my family is around, though I suspect that's for entirely different reasons.
What's more interesting still is the fact that two related voles, each with their own separate set of water bottles, match each other drink-for-drink.
"They get a buzz and somehow they are getting the other vole to match their level of intoxication. At least that's the idea we have," Ryabinin says. The researchers don't yet know how the voles coordinate their drinking. Only alcohol prompts the behavior. In a parallel experiment using water spiked with saccharine, a non-caloric sweetener loved by voles, the paired animals drank more of the sweet drink but didn't match each other's intake.
Rodent drinking contests!
Of course getting voles drink is more than just a good time. Researchers believe they could use the animals to test the effect of social interaction on drugs like naltrexone, used to keep alcoholics from drinking.
As for the drinking contest, researchers suspect part of the brain's reward system - dopamine signaling - may be enhanced by the closeness of family members, leading to a greater feeling of reward from alcohol consumption.
So the next time so0meone catches you bottle feeding voles malt liquor, just put on your best intelligent face and proudly proclaim that you're getting that rodent ripped FOR SCIENCE!
A real party animal helps scientists study alcohol abuse [Oregon Live]


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How will a possible walkout affect classrooms, building access and after-school activities across the city?
Brigid Kosgei of Kenya won the Chicago Marathon on Sunday in 2 hours, 14 minutes, 4 seconds to break the world record in the event.
Fiona Hill, a former top National Security Council expert on Russia, was testifying to Congress behind closed doors Monday, the latest former Trump administration official to be subpoenaed as part of the House impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump.
The image and story of Christopher Columbus, the 15th century navigator who began European incursions into the Americas, have changed in the U.S. over the decades.
The man who allegedly gunned down five neighbors in a rampage inside a Dunning condo building Saturday had planned out his attack, according to letters found inside his home in which he said he would have "no mercy" for the victims.
The station will be off the air for two to three hours starting at 12 a.m. Tuesday as the station puts in a new transmitter and changes frequencies. If you watch WTTW stations over the air, you'll need to rescan your TV.
Boeing announced that it has stripped CEO Dennis Muilenburg of his title as chairman of the board, a move the company says will allow him to focus more on fixing its troubled 737 Max jets.
A report from the Active Transportation Alliance says Chicago should develop a long-term e-scooter program across the entire city.
In "Jane Eyre," Cathy Marston said she creates movement based on quotes taken directly from Charlotte Bronte's 19th century novel.
Former speechwriters for Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush discuss the current state of presidential messaging.
President Donald Trump's decision to immediately withdraw all U.S. troops from northern Syria has prompted criticism from politicians, military leaders and others.
In the wake of criticism directed at Columbus and his treatment of indigenous people, a movement to supplant Columbus Day with another holiday – Indigenous Peoples Day – has emerged.
Negotiators took a break from the bargaining table Monday as thousands of teachers and school staff rallied in hopes of securing what they called a "fair contract."
Watch the Oct. 14, 2019 full episode of "Chicago Tonight."


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SIRI up in pm!!
SIRI up in pm!!
Has SIRI announced when it's Q4 ER/CC will be? I mean a FIRM date, not a range of dates.
No....Meyer is still trying to do his best to suppress TheDog for his puppet master.....
So what's the next step? THAT board says YEP ITS A DEAL or NOPE WE NEED ATLEAST $3.85!
I'll tell you what...I will NOT be holding past the next CC if this is not squared away. You know the results or more importantly the guidance will be shotty to suppress even more.
Scottrade says Feb. 4
Looks like Liberty stopped buying. No volume at all.
So, I have some old SIRI shares, is the company officially being bought out or what? If so, what's the date and conditions.
Charles LaRocca
SiriusBuzz Founder


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Orthodoxy in Ireland
The history of Orthodoxy in Ireland begins with the foundation of Medieval Christian practice that developed in the Roman province of Britannia.
In the first century after Christ's death, there was little Roman and Greek knowledge of Ireland. Irish raiders frequently attacked the Roman provinces of Britannia and Gaul, and it was believed by Strabo that the land was inhabited by savaged who feasted on the flesh of their ancestors. By the second century, knowledge of Ireland had significantly increased and Roman influenced increased in the Southeast.
By the third century Christianity had reached Britannia and was spread by Celtic-speaking peoples to Caledonia and Hibernia, primarily by trade contact through the Irish sea.
By 431, the Latin and Greek alphabets were both in use.
Palladius, considered a saint by Roman Catholics, arrived from the island of Sicily to preach in modern Leinster. He is the best known of those whom preceeded Saint Patrick in Ireland, and his accounts are often confused with those of the later. When he passed away in 461, he reportedly left behind a writing tablet and various relics of Peter and Paul.
Saint Patrick, also considered to be a saint by Roman Catholics, is venerated in the Orthodox Church.
Today, the Antiochian Orthodox Church and the Russian Orthodox Church have a presence in Ireland. There are also Irish converts to the Orthodox Church, many of whom were previously Catholic.


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The Rose Parade, formally known as The Tournament of Roses Parade, is an annual parade held every New Year's Day (January 1st) in Pasadena, California since 1890. Beginning in 1902, the parade has been traditionally followed by the Rose Bowl college football game.
Chrysler Corporation's Sesame Street float in the 1971 parade was dubbed "Thru the Eyes of a Child" and built from suggestions sent in from all over the United States and Canada. The float was 55 feet long, 20 feet wide, and 17 feet high (the maximum dimensions allowed at the time), and made from 25,000 roses.
In 1982 the theme of the parade was "Friends and Neighbors". An elaborate float featuring Miss Piggy and Kermit the Frog was featured. Piggy was reclining on a chaise while Kermit, decked out in a top hat and bow tie, serenaded her on his banjo. Sweetums and Timmy Monster rode on the float, alongside several children.
The float was sponsored by America's Credit Unions (CUNA) and was the first float in the parade, introducing the theme for the parade. The float was created with Chamois carnations for Miss Piggy's complexion, while Kermit was constructed from chopped chartreuse lichen moss over a foundation of sheet moss. The float included over 30,000 roses, including Royalty red and Bridal pink. The float itself was constructed by Fiesta Floats.
The front of the float featured a Fozzie Bear walk-around positioning his movie camera, hovering over the theme of "Friends and Neighbors."
Among other noteworthy floats were Dr. Pepper's "Neighborhood Drive-In", Montebello California's "Good Ol' Fashioned Friendship" float featuring The Flintstones and Bank of America's "It's a Small World." The CBS broadcast was co-hosted by Jamie Farr.
In the 1990 parade, Miss Piggy and Kermit were featured once more; this time as the Transamerica Life Company's entry "Lassoed by Love". The 55-foot-long float was festooned with roses, daisies, mums and orchids, and featured a 34-foot-tall Miss Piggy made of carnations and roses, swinging her lasso at a moss-covered Kermit on a hobby horse.
On January 1, 1996, Kermit the Frog was the Grand Marshal for the 107th Tournament of Roses Parade. He became the first non-human to host the event solo. The parade also featured a float based on Muppet Treasure Island.
With a theme of "Kids' Laughter & Dreams" chosen that year, Steve Whitmire performed Kermit as he drove through the parade in the Grand Marshal's car. At MuppetFest in 2001, Whitmire said that day was the most difficult job he'd had with the Muppets; as he had to keep his arm up over his head for almost three hours. At San Diego Comic-Con in 2015, he noted that Brian Henson gave him a plaque afterwards.
The Treasure Island float featured Kermit, Fozzie Bear, Gonzo, Statler and Waldorf, all in their Treasure Island personas. The float itself won the Humor Award for the most comical and amusing entry. The float itself was sponsored by Kodak.
Other Grand Marshalls have included Shirley Temple (1939), Edgar Bergen & Charlie McCarthy (1940), Bob Hope (1947 & 1969), Richard M. Nixon (1953 & 1960), Walt Disney (1966), Charles M. Schulz (1974), Roy Rogers & Dale Evans (1977), Gerald R. Ford (1978), Frank Sinatra (1980) Danny Kaye (1984), Bob Newhart (1991), William Shatner (1994), Carol Burnett (1998), Buzz Aldrin (1999), Regis Philbin (2002), Bill Cosby (2003), Fred Rogers (2003), John Williams (2004), Mickey Mouse (2005), George Lucas (2007), Emeril Lagasse (2008), and Cloris Leachman (2009).
The 1999 parade also featured a Sesame Street float celebrating the show's 30th anniversary, sponsored by Reser's Fine Foods. The float, called "Friends for Life", won the event's Humor Trophy.[1] The float was designed by Studio Concepts.
In 2004, the theme was "Music, Music, Music". NAMM, The Int'l Music Products Assoc. sponsored a Sesame Street float. The design was a toy school bus, with two pull toy wagons following it. Elmo playing a drum rode in the bus, while Big Bird (playing a trumpet), and Abelardo (from Plaza Sésamo) played the guitar in the second wagon. Riding on the float were many walk-around characters, including Zoe and Cookie Monster. Human cast members also appeared, including Bob and Gordon.
Big Bird was made of individual feathers cut from pampas grass and colored with yellow cut strawflower. Abelardo was decorated with golden Juniper tips, and Elmo featured red carnations, sweet rice and amaranthis seeds. The float was designed by Studio Concepts, who also created the 1999 Sesame float.[2]
The 2005 theme was "Celebrate Family". Once again NAMM sponsored a float titled "Music Makes Us a Family", featuring the Sesame Street characters. Big Bird is playing a piano, while Elmo is playing the drums and Oscar the Grouch is playing the Maracas.
The float won the Bob Hope Humor Trophy for most comical and amusing entry. Also appearing on the float were walk-around versions of Bert, Ernie, and Zoe.
In 2008, the parade included a Sesame Street float sponsored by NAMM. It featured floral sculptures of Oscar shaking maracas, Elmo playing a drum, Big Bird, Count von Count standing with his arms wide open, Googly of Galli Galli Sim Sim playing the flute, Halum the Bengal Tiger from Sisimpur, and Lola, a pink monster from Plaza Sésamo.
The NAMM float with the Music For All organization in 2009 is to feature one large float with Big Bird as a bandleader and the Sesame Street lamp post, followed by smaller floats with Elmo, Abby Cadabby, and Oscar the Grouch. Bob McGrath was on the float.[3] A collection of 300 high school band members from across the country will play in the parade. The Music for All Honor Band, created for the event, played a melody of Sesame Street songs arranged by Michael Klesch and Thom Hannum.[4]
- In the Elmo's World episode "Noses," Elmo appoints himself Grand Marshal of "The Tournament of Noses Parade".
- In Big Bird's Red Book, a float spoofing many of the the Queen's Floats from the parade is seen going down the street.
- In The Muppets episode "Because... Love", Uncle Deadly says Pepe the King Prawn's grand gesture looks like the Rose Parade.
- ↑ "Rose Parade Shows 1900s in Full Bloom", January 2, 1999. Los Angeles Times.
- ↑ "NAMM/Sesame Street Float Wins Isabella Coleman Award at 115th Annual Rose Parade ", January 1, 2004. NAMM.com.
- ↑ [1]
- ↑ Yamaha Instruments to Shine At The 2009 Tournament of Roses Parade
External links
- Tournament of Roses Parade
- Flickr photos of the float: Photo


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Montgomery Bell State Park
Montgomery Bell State Park is seven miles east of Dickson in Dickson County. The park was once the center of the iron industry in Middle Tennessee. The park's namesake, Montgomery Bell, formed one of the largest iron industries in Tennessee. Iron was once thought to be more valuable than gold and was a very lucrative industry at the time.
Montgomery Bell State Park is equipped with a conference center that can host up to 500 people. The onsite restaurant is open every day and available to cater events. Within the center, the inn offers 120 rooms and five suites. The park also has eight environmentally-friendly modern cabins available for rent.
The park's campground can accommodate campers up to 60 feet on most electrical sites. The campground has on-site sewer at 40 sites and can accommodate small pop-up campers and large RVs. There are 94 campsites available at the park.
Group Camp One was built in the 1930s by the Civilian Conservation Corps and is considered a historic landmark. The buildings are constructed of hand-hewn stone. The 47 rustic cabins, which do not have air conditioning or heating, sleep 120 people.
The site of the first Cumberland Presbyterian Church is also located at Montgomery Bell State Park. The church was founded in 1810 in the log cabin home of Reverend Samuel McAdow. A replica of the cabin and a church are within the park.
There are many activities to try at the park. Most notably, they are hiking, biking, golf, and fishing. There are nearly 19 miles of trails throughout the park with one that follows the circumference of the park. The Par 72, 18-hole golf course is a local treasure. The clubhouse, with a snack bar and pro shop, also has a furnished patio that can be reserved for events. There are three lakes within Montgomery Bell State Park for fishing and boating. Paddleboats and kayaks are available for rent at the park through PaddleEZ.
To view a Story Map about the park, click here.
Park Trail Maps
Looking for a trail map? Click the link below to see a list of the maps available at this park. The page includes all the trail maps we have available, organized by park. We have free and paid options that provide you the details you need to have your next great adventure in Tennessee.


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Re: The French exception, by Antoine Audouard, Jan. 5.
Antoine Audouard, a French citizen, in a plea to Americans "to like us," is quite right to deplore"a general expression of contempt, or even hatred, for a society, its history, its culture and its people."
But hasn't that been the consistent attitude of French political leaders toward the United States for much of the past 50 years, beginning with that exemplar of Gallic arrogance, Charles de Gaulle, and continuing with Jacques Chirac?
If the French people view Americans in the rosy glow of liberty, equality and fraternity, they needed, long ago, to tell their leaders to stop the "proliferation" of America-bashing. It's never too late, M. Audouard.
Joseph H. Francis, St. Petersburg
Don't underestimate the French
Re: The French exception, by Antoine Audouard.
What a thoughtful and interesting contribution to the ongoing debate about our country's relationship with France and the French.
France, its culture, arts, architecture, cooking and even military organization are all part and parcel of our society, whether we want to admit it or not. While their cars may not sell well over here, they're apparently capable of designing airplanes that can effectively compete with Boeing on the world market, and few world travelers would forgo a visit to Paris, perhaps the most beautiful city in the world.
Let's not write off, shortchange or underestimate this great nation with which we have had a positive relationship for so many years.
Walter G. Smyth, St. Petersburg
Rude treatment for a tourist in France
Re: The French exception, by Antoine Audouard.
As a recent tourist in France I was subjected to overt rudeness and crass anti-Americanism from French citizens on the street and from French policemen. Pedestrians on a city street ignored my request for information, walking away without even recognizing my presence. French policemen at a toll booth gave us, purposely, inaccurate directions. A guard in a casino kept speaking French to one of our traveling companions who couldn't understand what he wanted. Finally the guard spoke in English, "In my country you need to speak my language or I will not speak to you."
Little wonder Americans feel unhappy with the French people. I will never go back to France, avoid buying French products and advise anyone I know traveling to Europe to avoid France.
I suggest Antoine Audouard try to educate his countrymen on manners and politeness.
Aristides Miliotes, Dunedin
Nominees deserve full Senate vote
Re: Mandate to renominate, editorial, Dec. 31.
Your very slanted article regarding President Bush's reappointing his previous judicial appointments failed to mention an important fact. Most, if not all, of those he appointed would have been confirmed if they had been allowed to come before the full Senate for a vote.
Another fact you failed to mention is that Tom Daschle, Democrat minority leader in the Senate, used very questionable tactics to keep those nominees from coming to the floor of the Senate for a vote by all senators. That stonewalling cost Daschle his re-election bid.
There is no reason whatsoever that a sitting president should have his nominees blocked by a handful of liberal left-wingers, without allowing the full Senate to vote them up or down. For your paper to take the side of Daschle and his tactics, instead of recommending a full Senate vote, demonstrates your bias toward the radical left-wing portion of the Democratic Party.
Max Risner, Hudson
Democrats need to face the truth
After reading your Dec. 31 editorial Mandate to renominate, it is perfectly clear that liberal Democrats like you did not learn a thing from the November elections. Democrats have been trying to figure out what they have to do in order to win in the next election, and the advice you are giving them will surely sink their boats again.
When morals and values were considered important factors in the election, why would you want to urge another filibuster against President Bush's nominees? Democrats will be following the same path that defeated them before. Democrats are taking up the valuable time of Congress trying to block these judicial nominees, using filibusters, and I would expect Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist to expose them to the American people as he previously did using the TV protest. Religious conservatives have a strong voice in this country and have shown strong support for leaders who value the life of the unborn.
Don't you think it is about time the Democrats face the truth that the majority in this country is leaning toward the GOP and prolife Republicans?
Betty Dobson, Brooksville
A generation that's not so great
Re: Hip-hop generation hardly the "greatest' in black history, Jan. 3.
I found the article by Gregory Kane to be "right on!"
As an employee of the Pinellas County School Board, I have witnessed firsthand the "lack of respect" shown by this generation, not only to each other, but toward everyone in general.
I ask parents of high school students to attend one of the daily lunch sessions and see for themselves the behavior of "tomorrow's leaders" in the lunch line or cafeteria. Yes, you'll be shocked at what you observe!
You might even wonder, "How do they get away with that kind of behavior?" Those of us who work there often wonder the same thing, yet it goes on day after day.
This generation is anything but "the greatest."
Frank Barry, Seminole
Mahaffey is St. Petersburg's problem
Re: Mahaffey's fate in question, Jan. 6.
The first sentence in the second paragraph ("Now the fate of the aging facility is in the hands of the Pinellas Board of County Commissioners") is wrong. The fate of the Mahaffey Theater is in the hands of its owners: the city of St. Petersburg and its residents. Any renovations are the responsibility of its owners and not of the county taxpayers who will have to pick up the lost tax revenue that this theft will generate by paying more.
Second, if the city fathers refuse to pick up the cost of renovation, then let the Mahaffey be torn down. Within 20 miles of the Mahaffey we have the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center in Tampa, Ruth Eckerd Hall in Clearwater and the Asolo Theatre in Sarasota. All are better facilities than the Mahaffey. I know because I attend performances at them frequently.
Commissioner Susan Latvala should let us, the citizens, see what she and the rest of the commission are made of. Will they protect all county citizens or cave into special interest?
Attilio Corbo, Palm Harbor


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Director U.S. ITER Project
Dr. Ned Sauthoff is a plasma physicist and project manager of the U.S. Contributions to ITER Project, the U.S. portion of an international partnership aimed at demonstrating the scientific and technological feasibility of fusion energy using magnetic confinement of plasmas. ITER is a large toroidal magnetic confinement device of the tokamak configuration that is being built by China, the European Union, India, Japan, South Korea, the Russian Federation, and the United States. It will be sited in Cadarache, France.
Prior to establishment of the U.S. ITER Project Office, Ned was head of the Off-Site Research Department at the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL), where he managed research on leading facilities around the United States and the world to address key fusion physics and technology questions. Dr. Sauthoff received his bachelor's degree in physics and master's degree in nuclear engineering from MIT in 1972 and his Ph.D. in astrophysical sciences from Princeton University in 1975. He developed x-ray instrumentation and performed research on tokamak plasmas at PPPL from 1975 to 1980. He managed design of the control and data system for the Tokamak Fusion Test Reactor (TFTR) until 1985 and headed the PPPL Computer Division until 1988, the Princeton Beta Experiment until 1990, the Experimental Projects Department until 1992, the Physics Department until 1994, and the Plasma Science and Technology Department until 1997. Dr. Sauthoff was the president of IEEE-USA in 2001 and was IEEE-USA's Vice-President for Technology Policy from 1998 to 1999. He is a fellow of the American Physical Society (APS), the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. (IEEE).


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The NSX may be older than the Czech Republic and have
a fraction of the horsepower of a whopping 945 hp compared to the Ring's latest darling, the 1,200-horsepower Koenigsegg Agera R, but here's what it can do in capable hands and under capable feet: a 7:56 lap.
That's a seriously quick time, faster than late '60s Formula One, and until the meandering supercar design process at Honda produces a worthy successor, it's still the greatest Honda ever built. On four wheels, that is.


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Is Talent Underrated? Making Sense of a Recent Attack on PracticeDecember 2nd, 2011 · 45 comments
Bad New for Strivers?
Two psychology professors, David Hambrick and Elizabeth Meinz, recently wrote a New York Times op-ed with a typically snarky title: Sorry, Strivers: Talent Matters. Many helpful readers were quick to forward me the link.
The authors of this piece start by asking a simple question: "How do people acquire high levels of skill?"
They note that research in recent decades — pioneered by Anders Ericsson, among others — has emphasized the importance of practice, and that these findings have been "enthussiastically championed" by popular writers like Malcolm Gladwell and David Brooks, perhaps due to their "meritocratic appeal."
They then trip their intellectual trap: "This isn't quite the story science tells. Research has shown that intellectual ability matters."
To support this view, they cite their own research, recently summarized in a paper appearing in the journal Psychological Science, which shows that people with larger working memory capacity end up better piano players.
I'm mentioning this article because we've been exploring what I call the deliberate practice hypothesis — the idea that applying deliberate practice techniques to a knowledge work environment can lead to huge gains in ability and value. The question at hand is whether this New York Times piece should give us reason to pause.
I read their paper, and my conclusion is that it's not yet time to abandon deliberate practice to start searching for your innate talent.
Here's why…
Forget About the Final 7 Percent Until After You Maximize the First 93
What struck me about Hambrick and Meinz's paper is that it emphasized the necessity of deliberate practice for high achievement.
Consider, for example, the graph at the top of this post, which was pulled from their study. Both lines in the plot show how performance on a piano sight reading task improves with increases in working memory capacity, a trait that the authors argue is innate.
The red line shows this improvement for players with lots of deliberate practice and the blue line shows the improvement for players with less practice.
The key take away is that the impact of deliberate practice dominates the impact of memory capacity. Practicing more makes you over twice as good. Going from low to high working memory capacity, on the other hand, yields only a minor improvement for an already well-practiced player.
When they finished crunching the numbers, and doing the proper controls for practice quantity, the authors found that this memory capacity accounts for less than 7% of a player's ability at this task.
From a scientific point of view, this result is important as it clearly identifies a separation between innate and acquired skill.
But from a practical perspective, it's essentially irrelevant. The fact that these findings are so rare, and that these authors are so excited about such a small effect size, only emphasizes just how small a role innate ability seems to play in achievement.
In other words, unless you are trying to become the world's top piano sight reader, the 7% advantage of having been born with a vast working memory capacity is not going to play a major role in your achievement.
Now let's return to the setting that concerns us here at Study Hacks: knowledge work. The deliberate practice hypothesis assumes that almost no one in this setting is working in a way that approximates deliberate practice. In the context of the Hambrick and Meinz study, most of your coworkers are therefore on the blue line from the graph above.
This, of course, only reinforces the idea that embracing deliberate practice can have a profound effect on your ability in this work setting, as this embrace will vault you to the red line. From this lofty perch, minor differences in innate talent won't matter. Your overwhelming value has already been definitively established.
This post is part of my series on the deliberate practice hypothesis, which claims that applying the principles of deliberate practice to the world of knowledge work is a key strategy for building a remarkable working life.
Previous posts:
- Perfectionism as Practice: Steve Jobs and the Art of Getting Good
- Complicate the Formula: John McPhee's Deliberate Practice Strategy
- If You're Busy, You're Doing Something Wrong: The Surprisingly Relaxed Lives of Elite Achievers
(Figure from Psychological Science)
45 thoughts on "Is Talent Underrated? Making Sense of a Recent Attack on Practice"
I think the story gets even better for deliberate practice. One implicit assumption made in the 'talent' argument is that working memory is a fixed, innate ability. However, there is evidence emerging that this might not be the case. For instance, a recent controlled trial by Jeaggi et. al. (https://www.gwern.net/docs/jaeggi2010.pdf) found that an n-back training exercise can improve working memory capacity.
Furthermore, anecdotal evidence from those who actively train their memories is that it leads to general improvements in fluid intelligence (e.g., I've recently seen the claim in this book https://goo.gl/KcWbp). Of course, the argument could be made that those selling memory improvement books have a certain barrow to push! Yet, competitors at memory championship events frequently remember *hundreds* of random numbers within an hour (random number memory was the working memory test employed by the researchers in the NYT op-ed). And even rudimentary chunking techniques have been shown to extend people's ability to hold more than the standard 7 (plus or minus 2) items in working memory.
So, deliberate practice of techiques targeted at improving working memory would likely move people on the left hand side of the graph above over toward the right.
I wonder if "working memory capacity" is something one can improve as well?
Take muscle-building. For the average gym-goer, the protein powders, supplements etc are a 3% edge enhancement effect that can't replace the 97% consistent deliberate technique and effort. Genetic talent counts too but the work is very necessary.
This article reminds of the debate about marathon runners ruining their feet with all this running. When they tested the feet of marathon runners, they found very few problems with the feet. So they started to believe that running would help bad feet. Yet another Doctor theorize that that people with bad feet wouldn't run marathon so all marathon runners were people with superior feet.
So I figure people who use their memory would be one that can use it. The ones who won't, don't try.
You actually can improve working memory capacity using a series of "N-back" brain exercises. This summer, I used one software and improved my working memory capacity 60% with 20 days of training for 30 mins/day.
Seems like a better title for the article would be: Sorry, Strivers, Talent Matters (A Tiny Bit).
Of course, it wouldn't have gotten into the NYT by telling the whole truth, so it's a good thing (for the authors, not their readers) that they didn't.
I've read the article, but not the paper, and I think that there's an important distinction that is missed.
The authors of the NYT article seem to equate working memory directly with talent, which seems more than a little artificial. In my personal experiences with those concerned with 'talent', it seems that the term is really just used to cover the amorphous element of the factors that provide a person with a particular skill set.
For example, if we were to take two young chess players, who had practiced for exactly the same amount of time, had the same measurable intelligence, etc., if one of the players demonstrates a higher level of proficiency then people are quick to put that down to 'talent'. In reality, I believe that most or all of these differences are down to factors that are just as real, but harder to quantify. Both players may have the same number of hours of deliberate practice, but there is no way of knowing if one player's practice had been more 'deliberate' or efficient than the other's. Likewise, one player may find that he has been distracted during the games used for measuring their abilities, while the other wasn't, or perhaps one player had seen a movie involving two people playng chess, and this gave him an idea that he used during the games.
Does this mean the the supposedly talented chess player instead has a talent for learning, not becoming distracted, or creating connections? Unlikely, as there will no doubt be similar factors to these abilitites as well, and so we can keep chasing the notion of 'talent' forever. Because of this, I think the primary use for the idea of 'talent' is that it simply stands in for all of these factors in a simple-to-understand way, but is by no means innate or unique (the argument for my idea here can get very complex, so I'll not go into any more detail here).
The other element of 'talent', as understood by the general public, is that having talent necessarily means being discovered at some point. To use another chess example, the young Norwegian chess player Magnus Carlsen, who became a Grandmaster at the age of 13 and the world's number one at the age of 20, must have been discovered for his abilities at some early stage, so what hope is there for the rest of us? Well, imagine if Carlsen has been born in some remote location, where he did not even get to see a chess board until his 20s. If you subscribe to the notion of innate talent, then he would have the same amount of potential to become a great chess player. Simply put not being a discovered talent does not mean you do not have enormous amounts of talent for something.
If you put these two ideas together, you come up with the following dilemma: If talent does not exist in a pure form, then all you need to become great is a lot of practice, and if it does exist, then it is quite possible you have some anyway.
Cal, your links aren't working. I tried the one about the Chess GMs and the John McPhee one and both return 404s.
Isaaha Crowell, the underachieving yet highly recruited Tailback for our Georgia football team would love this article. Better known for his "dogging it" rather than working through the pain…sounds like this study was done by the "occupiers".
Although, of course, assuming that there is a talent factor of 7% or so that might pan out to be extremely important in the end. Especially in extremely competitive fields.
Let's take the example of tennis. If the few percent of talent would make the difference between someone who becomes a top-1000 tennis player (still a great player, but not exactly a good career) and a top-10 tennis player, you might want to take that into account when you decide on career paths as a teenager…Of course, this matters less in less competitive fields…
Anyway, I would be really interested in your views on how to apply deliberate practice to knowledge skill acquisition. Let's say become a good writer, as an example. Maybe an idea for a future post?
"Sorry, Strivers: Talent Matters" Okay… so what the hell is talent, if not something learned by… practice. So, .. ok, show me a 9 year old Kobe Bryant, and remind me again what part of his 'talent' was inherited from his parents genetically? What percentage would that be? 5%? 10%? I mean, really? What we even talking about at this point? DNA? His height? Agility?
That's not talent! I'm not really sure what the heck 'talent' is if it's not something you can learn by rigorous practice.
To bestow upon someone the talented label harkens back to the 17th century (or so) when people actually meant God had bestowed talents upon someone at birth. Ugh!! Drivel. Absolute jibberish.
Hint: For anyone who didn't pick up on it, no I don't think Kobe was an excellent basketball player at 9 years old, though he certainly was playing alot in those days. It would take another 10 years or so, before his talent reached the level of NBA greatness, and even then, it would take ANOTHER 5 years before he was hitting big shots in big games. Whatever was innate or inherent about his abilities, they certainly took their sweet ass time 'revealing' themselves to the world.
Or maybe Kobe just busted his ass in practice. I'm putting my money on the latter.
Cal, what do you think about the study by the Vanderbilt University researchers David Lubinski and Camilla Benbow that was mentioned in the article?
Fantastic series Cal, keep them coming!
I agree with Dave that treating working memory as if it's the same thing as talent is off-target. And on the point that talent is most often a catch-all term for unseen influences.
My education is in architecture and visual design. In that environment, the strongest students were certainly engaging in deliberate practice. Beyond that, however, there was another common thread which, to me, is the closest thing I can name to talent: enjoyment.
Designers who enjoy their work are more confident, driven, and curious. Lesser students may put in similar quantities and types of practice, but the students who truly enjoy the work consistently turn out superior projects.
In my mind, your capacity to enjoy your work effects the same results talent would. But I suppose if we insist talent is set at birth, unchangeable, then my definition is still off. Enjoyment can certainly be increased.
There are so many other factors besides talent anyway. Furthermore we may not necessarily know what all these factors are. It wouldn't make sense for a person to wait and see if he has everything before he starts to embark on something.
Interestingly, deliberate practice itself can help with working memory. The more familiar one is with a certain subject or field, the easier it is to remember things which are related to it. You might like to check out "How People Learn" by the National Research Council. It may be a bit dated but it mentions many fascinating findings.
I remember that in one study a group of chess players and a group of people who didn't know how to play chess were given a chess board with pieces to remember. The chess players were able to recollect the positions of the pieces better. Another study (or was it the same one?) placed the pieces in random positions rather than giving the subjects a board where the pieces were in positions that were a result of a gameplay. Interestingly, the memory of the chess players were poorer than when the pieces were in positions resulting from a gameplay.
There was another study on memory with a grimer conclusion. A college student was tested on his memory of strings of numbers. Thereafter he went through practice for some time and he managed to increase the number of digits recalled quite significantly. He was then tested on a string of alphabets. Guess what? The number of alphabets recalled was similar to the number of digits recalled at the very start of the study. It shows that training of memory in one area may not transfer to another. However this is not to say that if a person was taught general memory techniques such as chunking or the peg system it would not benefit him. These techniques can be applied to many different situations. However if a person is already using these techniques or are not using them, then it is likely that his memory would be better in something that he had practised a lot in.
I'd agree that things like working memory are not innate and can be improved through practice. (If anyone would like to test this out, cognitivefun.net is a great place to start.)
Sorry, here's the proper link.
Not sure about the research results. There have been papers which conclude that even working memory can be increased over time with deliberate practice. Remember the 'n back' game. Even if the results apply to extreme cases, the assumption it rests on is not valid.
In my opinion, talent is the only thing that separates the very good from the very best, something I picked up by reading your article on the Superstar Effect. Deliberate practice as you say, will get you a very, very long way.
Like Jordan, I also thought of your Superstar Effect article, too.
I think practice is the thing that sets apart the good from the very good. But we all have ingrained "talents" or personality or things we're naturally better at/come better to us. I think when we discover those things, combine them with practice, thats when we can become the best, like the Superstar Effect.
(Although I should point out that article was both very helpful and had more of a subjective, create your own project to kick ass at as opposed to a "do this and become #1 in basketball" mindset)
Sport and music are useful for studies because individuals compete directly for the same goals so comparison is easy. I don't think that perfect competition like this exists in most knowledge work because the goals and constraints aren't as well defined. In knowledge work competition with a more 'talented' party easily is avoided by focusing on points of difference instead of commonality.
Talent abundance or lack there of cannot be an excuse not to practice.
Hi Carl,
Thanks for this article. Today, I have written a post entitled: "Do recent publications prove Anders Ericsson and colleages wrong about the importance of deliberate practice? No." It mentions your argument and a few additional arguments. You can fiind it here: https://bit.ly/sK5mgO.
Hope you'll like it.
Here's a video today from the Wall Street Journal – "Why A Stimulating Job Can Improve Your IQ."
Over the course of four years the IQ scores of students who took on complex work moved in some cases from the 68th to the 97th percentiles.
Come on people. Stop linking genius with piano playing like the report. We might as well call most women geniuses since they're so good at secretary work. Have you seen them at work. Nearly flawless.
Piano is nothing more than a device. The reason it is arranged in black and white was to save space. It is nothing more than using a cash register.
One could hypothetically write a software that allow the computer keyboard to play musical notes. Then would you say person playing music on a piano is better than and person playing music on a computer's keyboard? Absolutely not.
Heck, I could go further and say one could write a web application that if you click on a notes on the screen it'll place the note on the scale. Afterwards, you could push the play button and your music script is played to you.
Now, think of that. Who is better? The person creating the music script or the playing back a music script?
This is the kind of stupidity that causes asian parents to have their kids play musical instruments. They think Mozart, etc.. and think piano equal genius.
This discussion is terrific. But I read a blog post today that fits brilliantly into one of your other categories, "Relaxed Superstar." It's a law professor's report on how he structures his prolific writing schedule and still gets to quit at 5pm and take week-ends off.
Oops. Here's the URL. https://prawfsblawg.blogs.com/prawfsblawg/2011/12/how-i-write.html
@ Mark "We might as well call most women geniuses since they're so good at secretary work." Nice.
By that logic, you're a genius too, since you're so good at being a d-bag.
@Gerbera, it is how you interpret what I said that makes me sound like a d-bag.
I was comparing the secretary's nearly flawless typing to a pianist hitting the correct keys. I find both amazing. But I can see those devices are nothing more than mechanical devices. Somehow, the beauty of a device = smarter user? That makes no sense.
Researchers that allows their feeling toward a subject matter adulterate the result of their experiments. The nostalgic feelings are that music is somehow linked to the musical geniuses such as Mozart and Bach. Then people jump to the conclusion that playing a musical instrument = smarter. Sure, you must know what you're doing (need a brain) if you're playing a musical instrument. Same is true if you're working a cash register or any other devices.
Forgive me if what I said sound like an insult to women. It was more of a praise even though it didn't come out like what I intended. I was furious at the researcher who went from A to C with magic.
@Mark: Ah but I suppose the speed and rhythm one presses the keys plays a more important part in piano.. but I get your point..
Oddly, the last two links 404 if you are reading from the RSS feed, as they are missing the /blog portion of the URL.
There is a lot of really good discussion on this topic, and a lot of hard evidence that is directly related. After reading everything here, I wanted to add an additional perspective that has not been put in overtly yet.
"Talent" as unfortunately subjective and unquantifiable as it is, has a point. I'm reminded of Tim Ferriss when he talked about trying to push through and analyze/practice through certain kinds of dancing and sport, only to find it enormously difficult compared to other things, and instead of looking at the task itself as impossible (obviously not when other people can excel at it), he looked at his own body and his own genetic makleup. On reflection, he realized that his body was built to do certain things really well, and was not optimized for certain other things, then he started playing to those strengths.
I think there are a lot of factors that we are only now starting to understand (dna may be our parts, but it is not a limit and how deeply ingrained it can be for kids to be exposed to patterns of learning and growth as two examples), but there is definitely enough call for us to pause during our journeys of life-long learning and really ask what's right /for us/.
People with certain advantages (aka one meaning of a talent) will gravitate more towards the things they excel at, meaning that quantifying a sport or activity based on the people at the top is very hazardous when it comes to explaining to "everyone" how it works.
In short; innate ability and differences in the nature or nurture of individuals may not mean much in terms of excelling, but are certainly worth listening to in order to lead a remarkable life (and, in my opinion, the best way to grow as a planet – we need all different kinds of people, and it would be remarkable in itself to witness every one of those people as passionate. "Be the best you").
also, just because I think this might help a smaller debate:
@Mark: It's not the flawless execution that makes a piano player or any musician known as a genius, it's how they subtly interpret the notation and infuse it with emotion through timing of the space between notes, how they choose to hit each key; with how much speed and pressure, how long they hold it down, and many other ways they can affect the tone of the strings as well as the music itself.
There are instruments built on one string that can be as emotionally expressive as any other – I don't think a keyboard with a single key would even come close (though in certain extreme cases of artistic perseverance, there might be an argument to be made – people are capable of stunning things)
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Cal, you misunderstood the deliberate practice model.
Ericsson didn't say "deliberate practice is important". They said it's SUFFICIENT for world class performance:
Actually Ericsson did very definitively say that talent doesn't matter at all:
Our theoretical framework can also provide a sufficient account of the major facts about the nature and scarcity of exceptional performance. Our account does not depend on scarcity of innate ability (talent)…. We attribute the dramatic differences in performance between experts and amateurs–novices to similarly large differences in the recorded amounts of deliberate practice (p. 392, emphasis added).


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Sitting here trying to find some motivation to work, and whats better than reliving last christmas and looking forward to this years christmas break. Because going home for christmas is really the best award I can get for finishing my work. Looking at it that way I feel I HAVE to work hard to finish.
Oh last christmas was so amazing~! But I am realizing how little pictures I took, and how little I edited. This year I a going to take loads of photo, post like crazy and memorize everything tight into my bone. This year is extra special because I am further away than normally. I am in a situation where I'm not only looking forward to go home, I am also looking forward to get back to Norway. I am also missing a lot of people this year, usually it's just a few. And I miss someone really really dear to me, M. It makes the going-home-for-christmas-feeling extra strong.
So here's some pictures from last year christmas and new year~!
Lights in Trondheim, so beautiful~
Snow on the mountains, just barely~! (I hope there will be loads of snow this year!)
Making gingerbread Gardvik style! There is no little christmas eve without :)
Decorated gingerbread :)
Kitten curious on the presents ~
Lovely Christmas decoration.
There's no Christmas break without visiting LeLe!
New years eve, decoration has gone white :)
Team Gardvik making circles :)
Best family (Me, Mum, Dad & little brother, but my sister is missing, she was in France)
XXXXX ([]u[])y~


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After Mark Zuckerberg and Bill Gates dropped out of Harvard, they both went on to launch companies that employed thousands of people, created billions of dollars of economic value, and generated whole technological ecosystems around them. It's that dropout part that has kept a lot of people from thinking of Harvard in the same way they think of Silicon Valley–as the center of technological innovation and venture capital.
But perceptions may be changing. (Even famously pro-dropout Peter Thiel has gone back to school.) There's a growing respect for what young entrepreneurs can create very early in their lives and a renewed thinking about how to give them the resources needed to stay in school, help them build their businesses, and retain the connection to them once they've graduated.
Take the Experiment Fund (also known as the Xfund), a seed venture fund launched by 28-year-old Hugo Van Vuuren (who just completed graduate work at Harvard), with the backing of one of the world's top venture funds, NEA. Two NEA partners, Patrick Chung and Harry Weller, are cofounders of the Xfund. Both Chung and Weller have personal connections to Harvard–Chung holds a JD/MBA from Harvard Law and was an editor of the Harvard Law Review, as well as getting his undergraduate degree from Harvard; Weller holds a Harvard MBA.
As a senior at Harvard, Van Vuuren raised money for an online photo editor startup and in that capacity participated in Y Combinator. More recently, during graduate studies at Harvard, Van Vuuren worked on several products and startup projects with his professor David Edwards, who is now an advisor to the Xfund. Seeing the potential for both the venture community and the growing ecosystem of startups at Harvard to come together, the idea for the Xfund was hatched. "We're positioning ourselves between great research universities like Harvard and storied venture funds like NEA," Van Vuuren says. "These are two communities that should talk more … right now they don't."
The Experiment Fund launched in January and is designed to make seed stage investments in potentially transformational companies started by students at Harvard and other colleges. "Whether through the scientific method, artistic discovery, or lean optimization, we help tomorrow's technology leaders build and realize their visions today," the Xfund's team declared in announcing itself. The Xfund is focused on companies with big ideas. Van Vuuren adds, "Harvard, like many schools, has people who want to change the world, but recently, I think more people are realizing that starting a company can be a real vehicle for change." Although a lofty and seemingly ambitious mission, that very mission embodies the thinking of many college startup founders.
While many campuses have venture funds directly associated with the university, the Xfund is among the first independent, professional funds to be headquartered on a university campus. The initiative also gives NEA exposure to great startup ideas and entrepreneurs coming out of Harvard, MIT, and other schools in the area, and all over the country. "The design of the fund is to improve the local innovation ecosystem. To become a top innovation hub, you need to have a robust venture component," Van Vuuren says. "That's where we come in as trusted community members who can help the Harvard community take their technologies to the next level and impact the world."
The Xfund plans to make 4-6 investments a year (typically between $100,000 and $250,000 for each company), and they have already made three: Rock Health and Omada (both of which are health care ventures), and Tivli, which seeks to "reinvent television." All three have founders who are recent Harvard graduates.
Hugo Van Vuuren knows that the next Mark Zuckerberg will have opportunities for funding from many sources. But the Xfund can offer student entrepreneurs funding from NEA–one of the most successful venture capital firms in history–as well as support, advice, and a hyperlocal community.
At Harvard, the Xfund team works closely with faculty throughout the university. The Xfund has been able to create connections between entrepreneurial students and advisors from Harvard programs and schools including: the Harvard Business School, the Harvard Innovation Lab (i-Lab), and the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS), whose Dean chairs the Xfund's Advisory Board. Faculty members have even allowed the Xfund team to visit classes and talk with students. In a somewhat poetic nod to Bill Gates, the Experiment Fund is headquartered in the Maxwell Dworkin building, which houses the computer science program and was a gift of Gates and his Harvard-era buddy and longtime Microsoft CEO, Steve Ballmer. The building is named for their mothers, Mary Maxwell Gates and Beatrice Dworkin Ballmer.
While physically anchored at Harvard, the Xfund is just three miles from MIT's front door, and is within an easy commute of all of the Boston area's startup-prone colleges. But Van Vuuren notes that talent can come from anywhere in the country and ultimately companies may move their physical locations. "We don't want to make companies stay at Harvard, if they need to be in New York or San Francisco that's fine. We recognize that Boston, Cambridge, and the East Coast in general have been an underserved market. Some of the larger venture funds have left Boston entirely," says Van Vuuren. "That's bizarre. Boston and New York are both young cities and a lot of great companies are born here." Referring to the zip codes for Cambridge, Mass., Van Vuuren says, "We think that 02138 and 02139 are the zipcodes where new industries will be birthed."
David D. Burstein is a young entrepreneur, having completed his first documentary 18 in '08. He is also the founder & executive director of the youth voter engagement not for profit Generation18. His book about the millennial generation will be published by Beacon Press in early 2013.
[Image: Flickr user Kristin Mckee]


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Oct. 11 Bob Melvin postgame interview
Q. Obviously Justin Verlander was about as good as anybody sees him, that was your assessment, as well?
BOB MELVIN: Pretty much. We felt like Parker was really good, too. They nicked him up, got a couple of pitches up, scored a couple of runs off him early. But when Verlander gets on a roll like he was today, especially once he gets into his rhythm, you get into the middle innings and he's rolling along pretty good, it's tough to stop him. It's like a locomotive going at a high speed. He was tough to deal with.
Unfortunately he had really good stuff tonight and carried it all the way through tonight.
Q. When you saw Jim Leyland walk over to you at the dugout, what did he say to you?
BOB MELVIN: He said congratulations, you've had a heck of a year, it was the start of something good for you. I appreciated that. I go way back with Jim Leyland, and there's nobody in the game I have more respect for. We congratulate them and wish them luck. A very classy thing to do.
Q. Just tell me what it means, I know it's hard because it happened in the last few minutes, your team obviously had this great run and talk about what the season meant to you and your teammates.
BOB MELVIN: I think you'll reflect on it a little later. We didn't think it was going to end today, not for a second. We knew we were going up against a good pitcher; that didn't mean we didn't think we were going to win. We've gone up against good pitchers this year. And it's a bit of a shock when it finally does end. It was a heck of a story. It was a heck of a run for us.
But it doesn't feel any better at the end of the day when you end up going home. It's a pretty empty feeling, but, you know, hopefully we can go farther next year.
Q. Verlander was rolling early, really took the crowd out of the game. Did that have an effect on you guys?
BOB MELVIN: I don't think so. I tell you what, our crowd was looking for just about anything, a walk, a three‑ball count. They were looking for anything to pick us up and try to help us out, which we've seen here for the better part of the last couple of weeks, and certainly at the end of the season in the postseason. We really appreciate it. They stayed out there and kind of gave us a curtain call. We really appreciate that. It was truly the 10th man for us.


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