Author: Serkadis

npr

Thanks to Tony Marson for the above link.

A 3,000-year-old stolen sarcophagus is returning home to Egypt after a trip around the world.

At a ceremony Wednesday at the National Geographic Society in Washington, D.C., U.S. authorities returned the sarcophagus, which was confiscated by customs officials at Miami International Airport in 2008.

“We don’t know anything about this coffin,” Zahi Hawass, the secretary-general of the Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities, told NPR’s Michele Norris. “It left Egypt illegally, but we don’t have really any list of the stolen artifacts that left Egypt.”

The coffin belonged to someone called Imesy who lived almost 3,000 years ago; it is believed to have been taken in 1970 from Egypt to Spain.

My Fox

With video news report

Herbert Kercado, an agricultural specialist for U.S. Customs and Border Protection in Miami, came across a rather interesting shipment a couple of years ago.

It came in a wooden crate which he closely inspected for the presence of beetles and other insect pests which could threaten trees and crops in the U.S. The crate was apparently clean, but its listed contents seemed peculiar: a wooden sarcophagus.

Kercado, a history buff who watches documentaries on TV, did some quick research, he says, “…through the internet. And [I] found out that some items were stolen from Egypt in the past.” The ag specialist notified his superior, and an investigation was launched.

Special agent Vince Menditto, with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) caught the case. He was suspicious right away because of the casual way the supposedly-ancient artifact was packed.

And a video at Scientific American.

Egyptology News Blog, Andie Byrnes

Al Masry Al Youm (Andrew Bossone)

Thousands of artifacts are now returning to Egypt from abroad, but one piece continues to elude decades of government calls for its return: the famous bust of Nefertiti.

The bust has become such a contentious symbol that a copy of it is now part of an exhibition at the Ruhr Museum in Germany dubbed “The Great Game: Archaeology and Politics in the Colonial Period,” open until 13 June.

The original, unfinished sculpture from Thutmose’s workshop in Tel Amarna is internationally recognized for its artistic quality and aesthetic beauty.

The Egyptian government says it was illegally smuggled out of the country some time around 1924. The German government has always refused to repatriate the queen, which remains the centerpiece of the Neues Museum in Berlin.

The Ruhr exhibition also displays the contract between the Egyptian government and the sponsor of the Thutmose’s workshop exhibition, James Simon, who was also the founder of the German Oriental Society.

Egyptology News Blog, Andie Byrnes

Google / AFP

Egypt will shoulder the costs of restoring the country’s Jewish houses of worship said the culture minister Tuesday, two days after a historic synagogue in Cairo’s ancient Jewish quarter was rededicated in a private ceremony.

Farouk Hosny said in a statement that his ministry views Jewish sites as much a part of Egypt’s culture as Muslim mosques or Coptic churches and the restorations would not require any foreign funding.

On Sunday, the Ben Maimon synagogue, named after the 12th century rabbi and intellectual Maimonides, was rededicated in a ceremony that included half a dozen Egyptian Jewish families that long ago fled the country.

Hosny committed his ministry to restoring all 11 synagogues across Egypt, three of which have already been renovated.

Egyptology News Blog, Andie Byrnes

Article Tags: Benny Peiser, ClimateGate, Headline Story

When asked for the data behind one study ‘proving’ global warming, CRU scientists instead planned to sue. Following the release of the Climategate emails from East Anglia University`s Climatic Research Unit (CRU), the U.K.’s House of Commons Science and Technology Committee decided to investigate its implications “for the integrity of scientific research.” Benny Peiser of the Faculty of Science at Liverpool John Moores University submitted a memorandum, which appears below in edited form.

I am the editor of CCNet and the co-editor of the journal Energy & Environment (E&E).

I will outline the chronology of the CRU-Keenan affair as documented in the published CRU emails and according to unpublished email correspondence between me and Dr. Jones. [at CRU].

On Aug. 29, 2007, I received an email from Doug Keenan with his paper titled “The Fraud Allegations against Wei-Chyung Wang.” In this paper, Keenan accused Wei-Chyung Wang (State University of Albany, SUNY, New York) of scientific fraud. In his paper, Keenan documented evidence that Wang had fabricated information about Chinese meteorological weather stations. His allegations concern two publications, one by Jones et al (1990) that has been a cornerstone in multiple IPCC reports about the allegedly minimal role of the effect of urban heat islands on the global temperature record. One of the key papers to underpin this conclusion is the study by Jones et al. To refute Keenan’s claims of scientific fraud would have only required the release of documentary information about the Chinese weather stations in question which Wang has long claimed to possess.

In the afternoon of the same day (Aug. 29) I sent Phil Jones [then-director of the CRU] an email with a copy of Keenan’s paper attached. In my email, I asked Jones whether he would be prepared to comment on the content and factual accuracy of the Keenan paper.

Source: network.nationalpost.com

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Article Tags: You could not make it up

Here is the best argument against global warming:

Deniers don’t like the idea of climate change, they don’t believe it is possible for humans to change the climate, they don’t like the implications of climate change, they don’t like the things we might have to do to address it, or they just don’t like government or science. But they have no alternative scientific explanation that works.

Click source to read the irony. Incredibly, THIS is how Alarmists feel, that THEY are the ones being pressured and intimidated to change their views. Bullies feeling sorry for themselves, sorry that their well-funded tactics are failing… that’s a new one on us.

Source: sfgate.com

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Gamingnewslink.com’s self-help guide for Dawn of War 2 Chaos Rising’s Crashing, Freezing, Save problems, and Windows Parental Control service-related errors
Spread the link to this page if you find this post useful ^_^

IMPORTANT NOTE! If you encounter errors or issues with Chaos Rising 2 that are not included in the list below, issues which the solutions […]

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Heritage Key (Fran Wilde)

Heritage Key’s Valley of the Kings is much easier to reach than the real-world Valley – simply register for a Heritage Key account, follow a few easy steps, and you’ll find yourself shortly in the Travel Hub, where you can select the teleporter to the Valley of the Kings from among a range of choices.

Experienced travelers may want to extend their visit to the Collections Gallery to see the treasures of Tutankhamun up close. You will enjoy the convenience of traveling virtually to the Valley, without the dust and expense of actual travel!

On entering the Valley of the Kings from the Heritage Key Virtual visitors are greeted immediately by a friendly Egyptologist, who is taking a break from excavating, documenting, and cataloguing the stunning artefacts from the tomb of Tutankhamun in order to help visitors find their way to the activities available. Tapping the Egyptologist’s shoulder elicits more information, as well as a map of the area, and a display behind him offers detailed descriptions of the main activities for all in the Valley.

Egyptology News Blog, Andie Byrnes

Brad Hubbard writes “I regularly read a blog called “Knock Off Wood” — a site where a woman teaches readers how to build various designer-looking pieces of furniture at home for a lot less. It’s the best kind of “maker” site – someone who is passionate about crafting, freely sharing their passion with a community of readers and everyone learns a little something. So when Williams Sonoma, Inc (owner of Pottery Barn and West Elm among others) sent them a legal nastygram, the owner of the site was entertained more than anything.”

The company is alleging both trademark and copyright violations — though it’s difficult to see either one holding up. Unfortunately the woman who runs the site decided it was easier to just cave in, but that’s unfortunate. Doing so encourages more bullying. The trademark claims are ridiculous. They say that by mentioning specific product names, she’s implying that “the website is somehow affiliated” with WSI. But, of course, any moron in a hurry knows that’s not true. The whole site clearly states it’s about making knock-off furniture. No one is going to go to this site and think it’s actually affiliated with WSI, or any of the other brand name furniture companies.

The copyright claim is equally questionable. At issue is that she’s using the copyrighted images of WSI’s furniture as part of the blog posts about how to make that type of furniture. But that seems like it should be a clear cut case of fair use. If you run through the four factors of fair use, it’s hard to see how this is infringement:

1. the purpose and character of your use

   The question here is if the use is somehow transformative or being used to build something new. But one of the questions usually asked in judging this factor is: “Was value added to the original by creating new information, new aesthetics, new insights and understandings?” It seems like an entire blog post around how to build that kind of furniture certainly qualifies. This one is in favor of fair use.
   
   
   

2. the nature of the copyrighted work

   Well, they’re photographs, but they were used in catalogs and such, not for sale. So that would seem to, again, lend to a fair use ruling. The original purpose of the photos was that they were to be seen widely.

3. 
   the amount and substantiality of the portion taken

   Indeed, it sounds like the “entire” photo was used, so you might be able to weigh this factor against fair use, but not necessarily. As we’ve seen in multiple lawsuits, even if you’re using the entirety of the work, it can be considered fair use if the purpose is so completely different from the original — which, in this case, is definitely true.

4. the effect of the use upon the potential market.

   Now, some might argue that the use here might harm the market for WSI furniture since it’s teaching people how to build their own, but that shouldn’t apply here. The test is for the potential market of the copyrighted work. That is, this factor should not take into account the impact on the market for the furniture itself, but just on the market for the photographs. And it’s difficult to see any harm done here at all.

So going through all of that, it’s difficult to see how this isn’t a clear cut fair use case. Unfortunately, as mentioned, the woman didn’t want to fight the legal battle and agreed to just take down the images and mentions of WSI. However, she is amused that a housewife in Alaska has brought out the legal attack dogs of a giant retailer.

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We’ve discussed in the past how copyright isn’t really “property” at all, and trying to compare it to regular property leads to all sorts of confusing problems. Take, for example, this lawsuit, found via Michael Scott, over who owns the rights to thousands of songs. The actual mess is a bit complex, but as you read through it, you realize that we’re dealing with the emperor’s new clothes in the form of copyrights. A bunch of different people are arguing over who owns a totally made up thing, with different people simply claiming to own it, and leaving it for the courts to figure out. Here’s just a snippet of the mess (which gets more complex if you read the whole article):

Carbert Music is publisher of more than 150,000 songs from all music genres, including “Back in Black” by AC/DC, “I Got You (I Feel Good)” by James Brown and “What a Wonderful World,” according to the complaint.

Carbert claims Don Great, who is not a party to this lawsuit, fraudulently registered “thousands” of the Carlin Library’s songs in his own name, or in the name of his companies, Don Great Music and Tinseltown Music, or in the name of defendant May-Loo Music….

Five years later, May-Loo sued Great, claiming he had brokered secret business deals on behalf of May-Loo and had mishandled revenue. Great countersued, but a federal jury found awarded Loose and May-Loo $1.9 million in 2004, according to Carbert’s complaint.

Carbert says it bought a catalogue of music called the GRH Catalogue from Harrose Music Co. in 2005. Soon afterward, Carlin says, it discovered that Great had falsely registered “many” of the GRH songs to himself, his companies or May-Loo. Great’s actions “muddied the chain of title” and kept Carbert from licensing the songs, Carbert says.

With real property, even if there are ownership disputes, they don’t get as ridiculously complicated as this. They don’t go on for years with multiple people all believing they own the property only to find out later they might not. They don’t involve people just declaring they own a piece of property with no one realizing they might not. These are all arguments over “imaginary” property, which isn’t property at all. At what point do people realize just how ridiculous this whole structure is?

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To Our Clients, Colleagues and Friends,

• We made reference last week to Marion Berry snorting crack, and you wouldn’t believe how many people wrote us that you smoke it and don’t snort it.  One who wrote us is a major name in warehouse lending, another one a top secondary marketing executive, and one is a bank President. How do they know this sort of stuff?
• With all the moving and shifting, here are the most recent numbers on the largest banks ranked by size:

A few others you know are #12 U.S. Bancorp ($265 billion), #17 BB&T ($165 billion), #23 Fifth Third ($110 billion), #33 Comerica ($59 billion), #82 Sterling Financial, Spokane ($11.9 billion).

• A good example of how much access banks have to non-deposits funding sources is the Bank of America.  Although they have $2.52 trillion in assets, they have only $976 billion in deposits.
• The Wednesday Wall Street Journal was chockfull of items meant to assist those involved in business and finance. On page D-3 we learned that breast augmentation beat out liposuction, 311,957 to 283,735 as the most popular surgical procedure for the second year in row. Interestingly, buttock augmentations beat out buttocks lifts, 4,996 to 3,024. And no, we don’t have any idea what a buttock augmentation is or why someone would want one.
• Between the Marion Berry crack item and everything-you-never-wanted to know about buttocks augmentation, we have only one question:  Why do you read this trashy newsletter?
• Top bank research firm Keefe, Bruyette has identified 21 distinct periods of bank performance starting in the early 1960s.  Outperformance periods averaged 34 months in length, during which bank stocks outperformed the market by an average of 20.8% annualized. The under-performance cycles averaged 23 months, during which bank stocks lagged the market by 20% per year, on average. Our view is that an outperformance for small cps banks is just around the corner.
• We just looked at the schedule for the Cal football team in the Fall.   They open September 9^th against UC Davis, and all we can say is, uh oh. We predict that Cal will win by more than 50 points.

• The Mandatory/Best Efforts Spread in February averaged 38 bps with a peak of 48 bps and a low of 33 bps.  We also tracked it the last 11 days, and it was 41 bps. There are many, many companies that should stick to best efforts delivery, maybe most companies, but for those capable of hedging, tracking and of being disciplined, this pick-up can be a big contributor to earnings.
• We were looking at a Private Placement Memorandum for up-and-coming Seacoast Commercial Bank in San Diego .  One interesting piece of this turnaround situation is that they’ve sold $9.1 million of the guaranteed portion of some SBA loans and realized a gain of $780,000. That’s a nice, round 8.5 point gain. And by the way, there’s no such nonsense as giving SBA loan officers a 60-40 split like in residential. SBA lending can turbo-charge a bank’s earning faster than anything else we can think of.
  
• From 1961 through 2010 year-to-date, bank stocks rose slightly less than the S&P 500, 5.6% versus 6.2% per year based purely on stock price appreciation. Once we consider dividends, on a total return basis, large-cap bank stocks have returned 9.9% annually versus 9.6% for the S&P since 1961.
• Let’s pretend you’re a bank and you’re funding mortgages today with Fed Funds.  Fed Funds will cost you 16 bps, and let’s say you’re closing 5% loans.  Your spread while you hold them in warehouse is 4.84%, and let’s assume you’ll hold these loans for 15 days before they’re purchased.  On a $250,000 loan, that comes to $33.15 per day, which comes to $497 in net interest income for the 15 days. That’s an extra 20 bps, just from the cheaper funds. If you do $50 million a month in volume, you’ll make an extra $100,000 that month. Realistically, you’re not going to fund all your loans with Fed Funds, but you get the point.
• Let’s instead look at the same numbers above and assume you fund your mortgages with deposits costing 1.25%.  You’re picking up 15 bps during those 15 days, and on the $50 million that funds that month, you’d make an extra $77,000 by holding them 15 days.  Want to make an extra $5,000 to put to the Christmas Party?  Just ship your loans on the 16^th day instead of the 15^th day.
• We know we sound like a broken record, but don’t be fooled by how many dollars your company made last year.  Look at your pre-tax earnings and divide that by your total volume.  If you made less than 65 bps, you were below average.  If you’re okay with being average, God bless you.  If you want to do better, we can probably help.
• Have you noticed that the music on TV ads isn’t what it used to be?  We can remember the 1812 Overture for Quaker Oats Puffed Rice (the part where the cannons explode).  The Loan Ranger had The William Tell Overture,and Malto Meal had that classical piece, maybe Berlioz, with the words added about how “Winners……. wake up with Malto-Meal.”  Can anyone remember any others?
• Here are some selected prices, today and a year ago.  We don’t know if there is any deep meaning in these numbers, but it sure looks like there may be some inflation heating up.  By the way, we don’t bother to describe all the details of the type or unit of measurement.  For instance, there’s Wheat, hard, Kansas City and there’s Wheat, No. 1 soft white, Portland , Oregon .  We have no idea what this means so we just chose whatever seemed logical.  Notice how, except for wheat, everything’s really gotten more expensive.

• In the last six months we helped nine different banks start up Warehouse Lending operations.  All are extremely small banks lending only in their own back yard, but what’s really pleased us is that five of them are already funding loans and a sixth will start next week. Two are still a month or two away from going live, and one has it hold due to regulatory issues.  We can’t wait to get to see their six month numbers.  The two who’ve been doing it the longest have shown us their metrics, and they’re generating an ROA in excess of 2% so far.
• How about all those new licensing regs?  Probably a good thing to get the sleaze balls out of the industry, but it sure is bitter medicine, isn’t it?
• One of the bad things about living in or near San Francisco is that you don’t get to stay in the hotels here.  The Palace and the Ritz-Carlton are just two of many magical hotels in the City by the Bay.  Anyway, the average daily room price fell from $190.12 two years ago to $160.27.  Come on out, stay in one of the great hotels here, and we’ll take you out for a drink.

*    *

This week’s cartoon is dedicated to all parents whose kids didn’t get into Harvard, or even apply. And doesn’t it seem like only yesterday when we’d stand there and just watch them sleep in their cribs? Crawling amazed us, and walking blew us away.  Remember when they started to talk? And then there was nursery school, elementary school, and middle school, and the start of secret crushes and dance lessons.  High school was real dances, a first date, a driver’s license and proms. And for those whose kinds were born in 1991-92, there are the letters coming in from colleges right about now.  We get excited at the acceptance letters, but we wonder what it will be like when they actually get on a plane and head off to college. They’ll get their degree and get a job, and eventually, they’ll have their own family.  Joni Mitchell called it The Circle Game:

“Sixteen springs and sixteen summers gone now. Cartwheels turn to car wheels thru the town. And they tell him, take your time, it won’t be long now, till you drag your feet to slow the circles down. And the seasons they go round and round, and the painted ponies go up and down.  We’re captive on the carousel of time.  We can’t return, we can only look, behind from where we came, and go round and round and round, in the circle game.”  The complete lyrics are attached.

We’ve also attached a lengthy but fun article for you new-comers to the Garrett, Watts Report. Page 3 has a small blurb about the time Garrett, Watts Partner Joe Garrett (that’s me!) went out with Joni Mitchell once. Sort of.

Garrett, Watts & Co.

Helping lenders increase revenues, control costs, and better manage risk.

• Mike McAuley   ([email protected] )
• Corky Watts      ([email protected])
• Joe Garrett      ([email protected] )

Here’s this week’s PlayStation Video Store update. From award winning movies like The Hurt Locker, Inglourious Bastards and Precious, to some awesome HD TV shows, this weeks line up got you all covered.

Feeding particularly low feed rates when hygiene is a central issue presents challenges of its own during production. This situation mostly arises when cost-intensive products are being handled or when small amounts of ingredients already have a decisive influence on the final product.
The new DIW-PE-GZD200 „Small Scale Feeder“ with its innovative details has been specially designed for the requirements of minor ingredient addition. The modern weighing system ensures highly accurate feeding results in connection with the twin-screw GZD 200 Loss-in-Weight Feeder.
The GZD200 Hygienic Feeder comes with specially polished surfaces, machined sealing grooves and is suitable for quick and easy disassembly and easy cleaning. This device corresponds to the requirements of the food and pharmaceutical industries on account of its modular design.
The feeder is suitable for feed rates ranging from 0.2 l/h – 10 l/h. The mass flow is virtually pulsation free. Conveying of the bulk material into the twin shaft screw is ensured by means of specially devised intromitters. This means that perfect feeding results can still be achieved when dealing with sluggish bulk materials.
The feeder can be equipped with wind protection, special connecting sleeves and vibration absorbers to reduce adverse effects on feeding accuracy on account of external influences. The weighing technology put into practice by Gericke works fast enough in connection with the Gericke Easydos Pro feeder controller to achieve the high demands made on short term accuracy. User programmes and configuration can be downloaded of the computer and programmes and data can be downloaded by means of a memory stick.
Gericke manufactures complete feeding, conveying and mixing systems. Trials with our complete product portfolio can be carried out at our Test Center in a hands-on-like environment.

We look forward to meeting you at the Powtech exhibition 2010 (27.- 29.04.2010, hall 6 stand 311).

High Quality Balance

HQB is the abbreviation for a technology developed by the KOMET GROUP® for adjusting imbalance in flat action slides. This technology has already been used to achieve speeds which, in high-precision and high-speed applications, effectively dou-bles the possible fields of application.

With the new HQB technology, the balancing weights have been placed in front of the slide on a plane close to the overall centre of gravity for tool and slide. Thus, by using balancing weights, it is possi-ble to achieve a multi-plane (dynamic) balance, which can be realised irrespective of the stroke, thanks to its design. In addition, the centrifu-gal forces are converted into reaction forces at coupling points so that the centrifugal forces of the compensator and the slide tool system in the drive chain do not simply add up. The result is a drive torque which is largely separated from the centrifugal force formula. Another not inconsiderable factor for the smooth running of these facing heads is their reduced overall length; approximately 30 to 40 %, depending on the overall size, which in turn means reduced weight.

In practice, the HQB technology in the KomDrive flat action facing heads has already reduced the wobble torque, that is, the circumferen-tial bending moment, by up to 100 %, thus achieving absolutely per-fectly balanced systems. The greatest advantage of this is the im-proved machining parameters. Currently, conventional values are be-ing doubled. At present, the only limiting factor is machine conditions.

KomDrive facing heads with HQB technology are being successfully used in high-speed and high-precision applications such as machining journals or boring con rods. They are at least as good as facing slide tools with eccentric adjustment, and may even be superior.

Bassersdorf (Switzerland), 2nd February 2010 – The HygroGen is a self-contained transportable humidity and temperature calibrator that enables users and calibration engineers to accurately and rapidly calibrate any type of humidity instrument. The launch of the second generation Airchip3000 based calibrator takes transportable humidity calibration to a new level of performance and ease of use.

Rapid and precise
Stabilisation of relative humidity (RH) set-points within the HygroGen’s test chamber is typically achieved within 5 minutes. This means a three point RH calibration can easily be performed within 30 minutes, which is at least 75 % faster than other typical systems. Temperature control of ±0.05 °C and embedded AirChip3000 technology means that extremely precise and stable conditions are assured throughout the calibration test.

Transportable and user-friendly
HygroGen takes the calibration laboratory to the instrument or transmitter so that full system validation may be performed without the need to remove equipment from operation. The touch screen user interface allows rapid set-point change and display of actual conditions in both a numeric and graphic format.

HW4 software and PC functionality as standard
Embedded HW4 software supports real-time display and data acquisition, either on the integrated 8” LCD or using an external monitor through the HygroGen’s standard DVI interface. Nine USB ports allow direct connection of probes without the need for an external power source.

Cost effective and future proof
Thanks to the significant calibration time-saving possibilities, the HygroGen delivers a rapid return on investment. Embedded PC technology means a simple upgrade path for additional functionality and performance enhancements. The standard heated chilled mirror sample loop means that for the very highest standards of performance, state-of-the-art reference instrumentation can be integrated into the HygroGen’s control and reference systems.

Detailed information on the HygroGen2 is available from www.rotronic-humidity.com, [email protected] or by telephone on +41 44 838 11 44.

The new ENESKA 3-2 system for grinding, milling, polishing and deburring is the best ENESKA of all time. With higher performance, more functions and comfort, the system easily surpasses even the already excellent predecessor.

Also new among our motors are the polishing machines OPTI PSM. ­Established “grinding systems” for coarse and fine work, which offer a very attractive price/performance ratio.

Now you have “free choice” with the polishing and grinding discs JOKE® HABRAS. Modern tools, which we now have in all possible varieties and sizes in our range.

The equally new jet brushes make processing from inside and drilling holes of all kinds much easier.

OPTIMA machining center is fully enclosed milling and boring machine tool with bed arrangement into shape T with transversally movable rotary table resp. pallet and longitudinal movable column. The machine is designed as compact assembly, in which is also integrated electric cabinet, chip conveyors and tool coolant management.

Basic configuration of the machine has got 5 controlled axes (X-cross travel of the table, Y-vertical travel of the headstock, Z-longitudinal travel of the column, W-spindle travel and B-rotary table) and NC controlled spindle including spindle orientation feature.

OPTIMA machining center is controlled, as a standard, by Heidenhain iTNC 530 control and AC-digital feed drives and AC-digital spindle drive made by Siemens. Upon customer`s request the machine can be also equipped with other brands of controls (Sinumerik 840 D).

Flowdrill Toolholders use Collets with multiple prongs that totally encompass and clamp the Flowdrill tool. Flowdrill Toolholders are available with a #2 and #3 Morse Taper shank or a 20mm straight cylindrical shank to accommodate your machine specifications.

The Toolholder uses a specially designed aluminum Cooling Disc to dissipate heat that may ascend on the drilling column towards the motor assembly

MC2 is designed to be used with drill diameters 2.0 mm through 16.4 mm
MC3 can be used with drill diameters 2.0 mm through 50.8 mm