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Interview with Olle Hakansson of 'SteamWorld Dig'
A "metroidvania" adventure, SteamWorld Dig's release was trumpeted with numerous "Game of the Year" nominations when it came out for Nintendo 3DS, PC/Mac/Linux via Steam and PlayStation 4/Vita. And with the game soon out on Nintendo's Wii U platform (28 August), it seemed timely that Olle Hakannson (Lead Programmer of 'Image & Form') would be seen at this year's GDC Europe.
Sporting a t-shirt emblazoned with the SteamWorld Dig logo, Olle Hakannson came across as someone who was immensely proud of his creation. And although not the sole creator, he was still a leading light in bringing SteamWorld Dig to market, and was one of the principle designers on the title. And so as to tell me a little bit more about his game, Olle Hakannson was immensely kind in letting me interview him on how SteamWorld Dig came about.
What was the inspiration for Steamworld Dig?
The main inspiration was a game called Miner Dig Deep, which is an Xbox indie game. I don't know if you've played any XBox indie games, most of them are shit, but this one is pretty good…
Yeah, that's one reason why I haven't played any of them…
Yeah, but there's quite a few really good ones too. I really liked this one
[Miner Dig Deep], so I played it. It's a super simple game. It doesn't cost much, and it's very basic. I played it and thought "hey, we can make this better". So we dreamed up a crazy game, me and my brother. Then we went with it up to my boss, and got him to make it, or rather, to pay for it.
So, you received external funding to make the game?
No, we paid it ourselves.
SteamWorld Dig is primarily known for it's association with Nintendo platforms – i.e. the Wii U and the 3DS, is that correct?
Primarily the 3DS. We're releasing for the Wii U in a few weeks, two weeks I think on August 28th. We also released it for Steam on PC, Mac and Linux, and also on the PS4 and PS Vita.
But it's ultimately still associated with a Nintendo product…
How many people worked on SteamWorld Dig?
I think we were on average about 10 to 12 people, we had a few interns that came and left and so on. About that size. So, you could call it a medium sized team maybe.
Would you still regard yourself as being an indie studio?
I think we still do because, I know there's a whole war about the definition of indie studios but for me it's mostly about what kind of games you make, and about making the games you want to see to be made. So that's my definition, and I think we're an indie studio, even though we're growing pretty big right now. I think we're 17 people now.
Even though it's come out on a number of other platforms, SteamWorld Dig's still associated primarily with Nintendo products. A lot of these indie studios tend to shy away from actively releasing their own games and products on Nintendo platforms – whether that be the 3DS or the even the Wii U. They just find themselves to not be very successful in targeting that demographic. What made you decide to target the 3DS first?
Yeah, exactly. It was a bit of a crazy bet I think, because we had made a game for iOS mobile called Anthill and it was a really good game, and I'm really very proud of it. It sold OK, we made back the money we spent on it and a little more, but not very much. We felt that the mobile space was more and more going toward a kind of game that we didn't really enjoy playing or making, and today it's practically impossible to charge anything for a mobile game. We felt that we needed to try some alternatives, and 3DS came to mind because I had worked on the DS and even the Gameboy Advance earlier on. So I had experience with those platforms, and I felt a little close to home with Nintendo and also, I think it was about the time the 3DS was taking off because it had a really slow start… Actually we had some luck because I think it was a few weeks before we released SteamWorld Dig that Nintendo released Animal Crossing: New Leaf, and that really made the platform. We really noticed that it started to take off…
The user base you mean?
Yeah, the user base. So now it's pretty [big], I think there's like 40+ million units out there. There's obviously customers who want to buy games. Because they know that they get quality games on that machine. It fits us perfectly, but we didn't know that the 3DS would be successful when we started development on SteamWorld Dig. That was the risky part of it, but it worked out.
A lot of developers have difficulty working with Nintendo, whether that be indie or established studios. How easy was Nintendo to work with?
They've become much better over the years I think. They still have their problems. This isn't absolutely specific for Nintendo because all of the major studios have problems with a lot of bureaucracy and all the processes you have to go through to release a game. I mean, Apple… it's really great how they've streamlined the process of getting a game through to the players and none of the others do that. I think Nintendo is pretty straight forward, they have the best developer support that I know of.
Is that for the Wii U or is that for the 3DS? In fact having said that, what is your is experience on working on the 3DS and Wii U from the perspective of Nintendo?
How it was to work with those platforms you mean?
Yeah, how flexible was Nintendo, not only in allowing you to be able to develop for the 3DS platform, but also the Wii U?
Yeah, they were great. Actually they helped us especially after we released SteamWorld Dig, but before [that] they had also been really helpful to us because they have good support for developers and so on. Like tech questions and so on.. You can actually get hold of someone. You can ask something with that company, and that's great because that's not the case with Apple for example.
They [Nintendo] helped us out with lending us dev-kits and so on, so yeah… I can't complain at all about Nintendo's support when it comes to these things. They also have been very gracious when it comes to showing off our game. I don't know if you saw it, but they make 'Nintendo Direct', which is a series of videos where they show new games for the platform. We actually had the CEO of Nintendo Europe, Mr. Shibata, show our game and this was before… I mean they just tried it and they thought it was good and he actually presented the game and that was a great moment for us. I think it really helped us to get the game to go off on the platform.
How would you describe SteamWorld Dig to people who haven't played it?
SteamWorld Dig is a mining platform adventure. It's a game about digging, and I know how that sounds… what's so fun about digging? But actually it's more like exploring the underground. You have a storyline on the side where you play as a robot called 'Rusty', who has come to a town called Tumbletown and gotten hold of a deed to a mine. The goal is for you have to dig to get minerals, and buy upgrades and so on. There's a storyline about finding dark and scary things underground.
Would you argue that one reason why Nintendo probably picked up your game, as opposed to say any of the other developers out there who've released games in the past, is partly because of the fact that your game – considering it's 2D platform heritage, closely resonates with Nintendo's own design philosophy?
Hmm… maybe.
Because one of the things that Shigeru Miyamoto states, or has stated recently, is that one of his pet peeves as far as developers are concerned, from what he saw at E3 is that there were far too many shooters on the market. And for him that's almost indicative of the fact that people, even though they have all this power at their fingertips, from a creative standpoint the industry is still very immature. I just wanted to know if SteamWorld Dig was picked up by Nintendo only because of the fact that it was still very much a 2D game? And irrespective of the quality, if it was say a Call of Duty style shooter, would they [Nintendo] have had the same level of enthusiasm for your product?
Actually I don't think Nintendo… you may have a point that they prefer this kind of game. I mean Nintendo knows their audience, it's a bit younger and so on. They have a thing against too much violence, too much blood…
But you know what I mean. If it was something that appealed more to say a conventional modern player…
Well, I don't think they're so shallow when it comes to selecting games. I think they just played our game and thought it was good. I think it's that simple, because the thing with Image & Form games is… we generally make very good games but we're not great yet at getting people to take it [our games] in their hands and start playing [the game]. Because as soon as they start playing everyone loves our games most of time. So, getting that and improving and making people want to play the games, that's what we're working on very hard on our next game and so on.
Would Nintendo have so proudly have allied themselves with SteamWorld Dig if it wasn't a 2D platformer?
SteamWorld Dig is obviously a game that a lot of people have said is a great game. But as somebody who has made a great product and is obviously capable of making a product that even Nintendo admire, who themselves are regarded as being almost the taste makers of what is considered to be "greatness", what would you describe as being a great game?
You mean in general?
In general.
Oh dear. OK.
It's like let's just say if you did a talk, and said "how to make a great game" – using SteamWorld Dig as an example…
I think it's just about having a vision with what the game should be about. Should it be entertaining, should it make you cry, should it make you feel angry or something? Then using all your skills to make as much of that, whatever you're aiming for as possible, and really respecting the players time. Respecting the player in general. I think that makes for a good game, or for a great game even.
So a game shouldn't have too much bloat?
I generally don't like bloat. I know it probably would have been better for us if we had a little bloat in SteamWorld Dig because we removed a lot of it. I mean, the game is a digging game, we could just make digging sections twice as long without increasing the number of content. Just adding a number, and it would have taken twice as long to dig through. But that's just bloat so we tried to reduce that, but I think a little bloat just to get up to 10 hours of game play or something to make people happy. That might be a good idea, I'm not sure actually.
I mean that's the problem that games designers, and game makers have as well. There's always that fine line to draw between, as you said yourself, respecting the players time but also offering them a product that is worthy of the amount of time that they've spent in earning the money that they need to be able to buy your product. For example, Metal Gear Solid: Revengeance – 8 hours long or maybe 10 hours… I don't know. A lot of people thought that was really short, whereas I personally get really bored of a game after about 8 hours. For me the cutoff point is anywhere from 6 to 8 hours, and anything after that and it's got to be a really good game in order for me to carry on and persevere. A lot of people argued that MGS: Revengeance game was really short, whereas I found that to be the perfect length. In fact I found it to be too long for my liking.
Now obviously you've said about how you could possibly have incorporated a little bit more bloat, made the game maybe twice as long or whatever it is, a little bit longer. But when you consider the amount of people that do complain about a game being too short or too long… Too short mostly – that's what they complain about. But then you also consider the amount of people that get through all that content, which is very miniscule. I think it's like 10% or something stupid like that. How do you temper that fine line between being able to give someone value for money, but also ensuring that you don't waste your own time creating assets and levels and that bloat (as it were), which (ultimately) in the grand scheme of things wouldn't be picked up on and savored by the vast majority of players out there?
That's actually funny because you nailed the problem really, because as you say there's not much value for a lot of players if we had increased and added like 5 hours of quality content, and we [would have] had to increase the price of the game – like £10 pounds more. That might not have been a better game, because most people maybe don't want that kind of length.. So, can you repeat the question?
How do you temper player expectations, especially considering the amount of money they've paid, the length of the game, etc… Versus say your own time, and your own resources, where you have to generate content and when you have to ensure that you're not ultimately wasting your own time [on content] that in the grand scheme of things isn't going to be savored or appreciated by the vast number of players out there?
Exactly, I actually think you can be clever about these things and we'll probably try to be more clever next time around. For example, the Castlevania series, Symphony of the Night and so on, they had a thing that, I'm not sure if Symphony of the Night had this but if you complete the game there is a special mode where you can play the entire game where the entire castle is turned upside down. That's a really clever way of getting a lot more gameplay for the people who really want it, the people who really play to the end and so on. I think we have to do something like that to make the equation work for us, because making quality content all the way just doesn't work. We can't do it that way. I mean, if we had millions of fans, and we knew they were there who waited for our next game, we could put more money in it and still charge [very] little because we know the amount of players would make it go around anyway. But we don't, so we have to be clever instead.
Symphony of the Night allowed players to double their game length upon completion of the main quest.
SteamWorld Dig has obviously done incredibly well from a critical perspective, but how has it done commercially?
It's done pretty good actually. I think it's definitely the most successful commercial game we've made so far. This is one of the questions I really would have to have my boss answer because I'm not sure how much I'm allowed to say. But, without saying any numbers we're really very pleased with it. Especially going from one platform to another, which was kind of an experimentation for us, we were really happy about the sales results. The 3DS has sold by far the most… The other platforms are really good for us too. Kind of interestingly, Steam has been one of the worst ones.
Yeah, but I think it's because it's a platforming game. I don't think those are really that…
How has it done on Vita?
I think it's done pretty well, I'm not too familiar. The thing is that I think we have this system where if you buy it for the PS4, you get it for the Vita as well, and vice versa. Cross platform, I think we have that. So, I don't think we can distinguish the two numbers, but on those two combined we're very happy with the sales.
What about user metrics between PS4 and Vita? Even though the PS4 has done phenomenally well in the market, the Vita itself – given it's length of time – has also sold pretty much the same amount of units, hasn't it?
I think it's in the same area at least, yeah.
Yeah, same ballpark figure. Do you have a rough indication of where players spend most of their time playing SteamWorld Dig? Is it the PS4? or is it the Vita?
I don't think we have any numbers on that. I don't think we get those kind of numbers. I might be wrong, I wasn't too involved in the ports.
How easy was it for you to be able to port the game across other platforms? Having said that, given the fact that SteamWorld Dig is available on a number of platforms, which platform would argue is the lead platform? Basically which platform represents the true vision of what SteamWorld Dig is about?
OK… That's a tricky question because we knew from the start that we wanted to make a game that worked very well on a number of platforms. With that said, I have to give a little wishy-washy answer I'm afraid. I think the 3DS is great because it makes it look really good with the 3D effect and so on, but it's lower resolution. It looks really, really good on the Vita with the higher resolution, nice OLED screen and all. I think the different platforms have different things going for them. I definitely would say this is more of a game you would play on a handheld than on a PS4 or on a console, but of course you can play it anyway you want. It's more of that kind of [handheld] game I think.
So, given that it's a handheld game, even though it's available for every single platform out there… In terms of the kind of platforms it's been "designed" for, you've argued that it's a game that one would probably get the most value out of on handheld device. Would you argue that it's better with a lower resolution 3D handheld, or better on a higher resolution 2D handheld?
Again I have to be wishy-washy about it because when I'm sitting there with the HD graphics, I'm thinking "oh, this is nice but I'm missing the 3D effects", because they're not doing anything like it's just a special effects scene that flares in the game, and the caves. I'm personally a 3DS player who likes to turn up the 3D effect. I really like the depth feeling and so on. I really like the feel of it, and I miss that when I don't have that. So, sorry that's my answer (laughs).
A lot of people have had difficulty in doing 3D projects in the past. You get that with the film industry and you also get that with the gaming industry. How easy was it for you to be able to incorporate 3D into your 3DS game?
The game, I mean we have the 3D camera so like two cameras and so on. But that's just technical stuff, it wasn't that difficult actually. We make all our games in 2D, so we use the 3D effects by having 2D layers in depth and that's our thing so it wasn't really a problem for us. Quite easy actually.
In contrast to the common consensus, Olle Hakansson didn't find 3D to be all that difficult to implement in his game.
What other projects do you have in mind after SteamWorld Dig?
We have a new game in the series coming up.
A sequel to SteamWorld Dig?
It's not a sequel. It's not called "Dig", but it's a SteamWorld game. I think we're about maybe a month or something from announcing it. I'm not sure exactly of the date.
What platforms?
We are actually here in GDC and Gamescom and [trying to] determine the details on which platforms [the game] comes first and so on. So it's not finalized yet. Our goal is to release it on all the platforms we released SteamWorld Dig on, and a few more.
What advantages do you think… Because I know some developers are "platform agnostic", they just like to have the game on every single platform. But then you get developers/publishers out there, where they're very loyal to a specific platform. It used to be the case with SquareSoft and Nintendo, and I guess it's still Squaresoft (Square Enix) now with Sony to an extent. What advantages do you think releasing a game on multiple platforms has for you as opposed to being completely loyal to a specific developer/publisher? Well, maybe not so much in that but just a hardware vendor?
Actually, I think the biggest… It's basically about increasing your potential market like Free Fall or even more if you release a multi-platform so that's always a no-brainer to release it on as many platforms as possible if there's no other thing in effect so-to-speak. What usually happens with these games that are released on one platform, I'm almost 100% sure they have a deal with the platform holder.
Speaking of which, has Nintendo ever come to you with regards to a deal to maybe retain some sort of platform exclusivity for your SteamWorld Dig game or future SteamWorld games in general?
Yeah, we're talking with all the platform holders including Nintendo about things like this.
Given that SteamWorld Dig is primarily associated with a Nintendo product, whether that be the 3DS… well, it is the 3DS because that's what it came out on first and that's where it kind of garnered the biggest name. Has Nintendo approached you with trying to maybe keep SteamWorld (the franchise) in-house? Almost like what they've done with the Sonic series?
Not to my knowledge actually, but that's more on my boss's table. Ironing out deals and so on… But I don't think they've approached us with such a thing as far as I know, and quite frankly, I'm not sure if we would have taken it either way because we have a really nice multi-platform thing going on. We have good tech guys who can handle releasing the game on a number of different platforms, so we really don't have much to gain from it.
The next SteamWorld game that you have in production, is it going to be a 2D platformer?
I can't tell, sorry. Not yet.
What other kind of games do you have in the pipeline apart from SteamWorld?
Uh, let's see. We have a lot of games actually aside from the SteamWorld series. We kind of like making the SteamWorld [games] because we can expand that universe, but I think we have at least one game for every platform, like a specific game for each platform. Then we have some things for more platforms and so on. We have plenty of good ideas. I think they're good.
How do you come up with game ideas?
Mostly by playing games, and talking about games. From all the newer games, including the game we're working on now – the new SteamWorld game… It came from sitting with the entire company at a lunch table, and just having fun speaking about games and "oh, wouldn't it be cool if… blah, blah, blah", and so I think that will be more and more our source for coming up with new games from now on. Some games come from me and my brother, like SteamWorld Dig was one of those. We sat at home playing games and, yeah I told you about this earlier I think. And my boss comes with a few solutions. The old game Anthill that we made for iOS – that was actually me and my boss speaking about, I think it was Flight Control, do you know it?
I've heard of it.
Yeah, OK. So it's a game where you pull [direct] planes by drawing lines and so on. We thought maybe if we make that but in another setting, and combine it with some tower defense mechanics, and so we made that game. Where you draw, you have your Anthill and you draw pheromone trails instead and have ants patrolling and enemies coming from all over the place. That was actually me and my boss speaking… Actually it's very mundane with the sources of all [the game ideas]. I think we've never come up with a game where we're like "oh, we have to come up with a game. Let's sit in this meeting group and speak about it". It doesn't happen like that. It's more like in the shower and so on.
How long did SteamWorld Dig take you to make?
I think it was about 6 or 7 months or something.
Full-time?
Yeah, pretty much. We always have a few side projects and so on, so if you talk about continuous time it's a bit more complicated. People going on parental leave and so on. But pretty much 6 to 7 months or so.
Why do you think, given that SteamWorld Dig was so successful (at least critically)… Why do you think we aren't getting more games that are say bite-sized that do happen to.. you know.. be…
By this, you mean like shorter?
No, no… SteamWorld Dig obviously harks back to the Super Nintendo era where it was always about the 2D platformer in one guise or another. I've asked this before, where if it's [the game's] 2D design philosphy, given that it resonates so much with Nintendo's own games as to why Nintendo didn't have a problem in releasing SteamWorld Dig…
Given that SteamWorld Dig has done so well from a critical perspective and you've said that it did well enough commercially… Given it's turnaround time of only about 8 months, maybe even less if people weren't doing their own little projects, why do you think we aren't getting more indie games by major studios? Because the risk factor is pretty small…
Yeah, I understand. That's actually a very good question. I think bigger studios are always more focused on following the recipe of making a game. You talked earlier about first person shooters being manufactured. I wouldn't say that SteamWorld Dig, or most of our games follow any recipe. Sure, we have inspiration from a number of games, but we always have to like "OK, so we make this game for a while and then we have to sit down and [decide] well is this fun? No this isn't fun, what do we have to do to make it fun"?
It's not really a deterministic process. I think that is what bigger publishers want, where they are able to schedule the whole thing and say "OK, we have 53% of the code done". Because it's a big company, and they can't afford to have it run overtime.
Ubisoft views 2D 'UbiArt' games as "the indie side of our company" – Ubisoft Montreal CEO Yannis Mallat
Well the thing is, you've said it yourself that your studio happens to be about 16-17 people and a AAA game takes many, many hundreds of people. I don't know how many people worked on Assassin's Creed, but I think the gestation period for that is anywhere from 2 to 3 years. You have, say 600 people working on that across many, many studios. So, 600 divided by say 18 (people) equals how many games over how many years? You just think "well, surely there's enough profit to be made by a major publisher such as Electronic Arts or Activision or Ubisoft"? I know Ubisoft have obviously taken steps because they've released Child of Light, and they also released Rayman Legends which was still a AAA product. Michel Ancel has now formed his own studio and it's his own little indie studio. He's still keeping everything in-house. You've got Valiant Hearts as well which Ubisoft have done. They've obviously taken the steps, and they've got the Ubi-Art framework – which does all the hard work for them, and therefore manages to ensure that the tool makes their work-processes a lot more efficient. Why do you think AAA publishers are so against the notion of having small bite-sized games that aren't made by that many people? That ultimately don't take a lot of time to make and can still be profitable?
I think the main reason is inertia, because they're stuck at doing what they're used to doing. As you said yourself, many are changing and trying something new and so on. But it takes time to for them to switch gears. It's kind of interesting how many studios, instead of making this big giant AAA game, they cut-down and split up their teams into 4 or 5 parts and make a lot of smaller teams. The main company that comes to mind is Tim Schafer's company…
Double Fine?
Double Fine, thank you. They did exactly this, and I think it's working for them.
A lot of their [Double Fine's] recent projects have been KickStarted though, so they've got external funding from (basically) public support. It's not quite the same thing…
No, perhaps not. I mean wherever the money comes from, it's the same process of having… Instead of one giant pyramid of team members where you have to have a smaller pyramids and it becomes more complicated to manage all those simultaneously. I think it's a difficult thing for a company to adjust to. Actually we've tried it ourselves, Image & Form, trying to split us up in two and make two smaller games. But, it didn't really work because, ironically, we have to grow a little before we can do that, before we can split it into complete teams that have all the people we need for each of the teams.
Let's just say you made a great product, you know… One of those 9-out-of-10's (from Edge). How much effort do you need to spend on marketing, despite the fact that it's a great product?
I personally think that a really, really good game is the best marketing tool you can have. I'm not saying that it will sell itself, but it will be much more effective than any other means available to us at least. We can't put posters all over the town or something like that. So in SteamWorld Dig's case, it's been more like guerrilla marketing as it's called. My boss has been talking with people (for 4 or 5 months after release) and so on. It's mostly about getting hold of people, and getting them to try the game, throwing out codes and so on. It's continuous work you have to do but we haven't spent a million dollars on marketing or something. We haven't spent a lot of money at all… More like time.
By prankster101|2019-04-22T12:21:25+01:00August 25th, 2014|ARTICLES|0 Comments
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2017 may be the year the US starts a nuclear war because someone tweets something mean about Donald Trump, but at least we're getting some weird selfie apps before we go.
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
ACCEPTED

#### According to
International Plant Names Index

#### Published in
S. African J. Bot. 56:565. 1990

#### Original name
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### Remarks
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


For a 10-month-old girl known as "Stormie," those parents are Samantha Tomasini, 20, and Patrick Fousek, 38.
The Salinas couple are accused of trying to sell their daughter to strangers for $25 on June 22. They were found with the baby later that night in their squalid apartment, allegedly high on methamphetamine.
The highly controlled process is required under state law, which mandates the preferred placement for a child, if possible, is with its parent or a relative. The process is overseen by a judge who sets benchmarks and a case plan for the parents, Robinson said.
A team of professionals that includes social workers and psychologists works with the parents to meet their goals. The process is managed through a nationally acclaimed program at Door to Hope called MCSTART, Monterey County Screening Team for Assessment, Referral and Treatment.
Parents are allowed visitation, but have limited time to show they are making progress. If they fail, reunification will be denied and the child will placed in a legal guardianship or adoption.
In the case of an infant, Robinson said, parents have six months, possibly 12, to show they are worthy.
So the law says that they can get their kid back if they get off the drugs, and satisfy the social workers that they are making progress over the next 6 months.
By contrast, armed cops seized my kids at our home in 2007. No one ever worked with me to meet my goals or measure my progress. No one has ever even been able to identify anything that I have done wrong. No one ever recommended counseling, as no one has ever even said that it is possible to do better than I have done.
And yet I have lost legal and physical custody of my kids.
Fousek was arrested again Aug. 6 after neighbors reported a domestic dispute at the East Romie Lane apartment he shares with Tomasini. Police have intervened in similar disturbances at the apartment many times.
According to Salinas police, Fousek did not respond to officers' repeated knocking and when they tried to use a manager's key to enter, he continued to relock the door. Police eventually broke down the door and found Fousek alone. They said Tomasini fled during the delay.
Fousek was arrested on suspicion of resisting or delaying a peace officer. He was arraigned Aug. 13 and pleaded not guilty.
Outside the courthouse after the hearing, a deputy had to intervene in another loud argument between the pair. Fousek, who told the deputy he "broke up" with Tomasini, was angrily demanding the keys to his car. The distraught Tomasini was refusing, saying she was "miserable." The pair eventually left together.
And yet they will get a better chance to get their kid back than I ever got.


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Artie Ann Holliday was born 19 Jun 1894 in Menard County, TX, and died 18 Mar 1969 in Brady, McCulloch County, TX. She was the daughter of Francis Ayres Holliday and Jennetta Catherine Page. She married Jesse James Slaughter abt 1911 in McCulloch County, TX. He was born 23 Apr 1891 in Texas and died 18 Dec 1969 in Brady, McCulloch County, TX.
Jesse Conway Slaughter b. 24 Jan 1913, Menard County, TX. d. Sep 15, 1984 Brady, McCulloch County, TX; m. Camilla Georgia Crump, 02 Oct 1916, d. 19 Feb 1983. Burial Ft. McKavett Cemetery, Schleicher Co. TX.


text:
Home MLB Miami Marlins John Fisher's Oakland Stadium-Village Project Gets A Big Boost
John Fisher's Oakland Stadium-Village Project Gets A Big Boost
Evan Weiner
Alameda County is seemingly on board.
Major League Baseball's Oakland Athletics owner John Fisher is one step close to getting his ballpark-village built on the Oakland, California waterfront. Alameda County supervisors in a four-to-one vote approved a non-binding resolution to help Fisher pay for the parks, affordable housing, and other infrastructure he wants for his project. Alameda County is sort of on board with the ballpark-village concept and that means a clear path has been established for Fisher to plan ahead. There will be a number of obstacles in his way but the road has gotten easier with the Alameda supervisors supporting the construction of a ballpark-village. But it does not mean that Las Vegas is out of the picture for Fisher. It would be foolish for him and Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred to abandon Las Vegas as a possible destination for Fisher's business even though Oakland and the San Francisco Bay Area market that includes Oakland, San Francisco and San Jose in the immediate area and Sacramento as a secondary market is a much wealthier business market than Las Vegas.
There are many question marks about Las Vegas which remains a tourist industry town about the viability of the area as a baseball market. Las Vegas has a National Hockey League franchise and a National Football League team. Those two entities are getting as much corporate money out of the market as possible. How much money is left for baseball? The television market is small. Oakland has a large population base, Las Vegas does not. But Las Vegas officials want to remain in the game to get an MLB franchise which is why they probably don't mind seeing the city being used as leverage in the Fisher-Oakland talks. Leave a good impression and MLB might eventually come. Alameda County is on board, Fisher and MLB are happy.
Evan Weiner's books are available at iTunes – https://books.apple.com/us/author/evan-weiner/id595575191
FILE – This rendering provided by the Oakland Athletics and BIG – Bjarke Ingels Group shows an elevated view of the baseball club's proposed new at Howard Terminal in Oakland, Calif. . (Courtesy of BIG – Bjarke Ingels Group/Oakland Athletics via AP, File)
Modesto Nuts Owners Want A New Stadium
New Yorker Files A Civil Suit And Demands Giants And Jets To Move Back To New York
Is The End At Hand For The Washington Football Team Brand Name?
TOPPS Baseball Cards Gets A New Life


Still, all small-group ministries need consistent coaching for the lay leaders. The group leaders need ministers and pastors to train and encourage them. A small-group ministry will raise all sorts of issues for leaders to deal with as people become honest about their lives in a trusting community.
For example, a group leader may need guidance about how to respond to a group member who shares that he has been having an e-mail "affair" and has not told his wife. Another may feel discouraged when group members drop out. Still another may wonder how to deal with two group members who are consistently angry with each other. It's important to provide support to those who take the risk to develop such an authentic environment for growth.


With long and rich history behind, Opera and Ballet Theater is heading to an even brighter future. And as in any theater, its success heavily depends on its stars. Here are some of the brightest opera singers and ballet dancers one can meet on stage in Yerevan.
Honored Artist of Armenia. Pirumyan has been the leading ballet dancer at the Opera and Ballet National Academic Theatre after A. Spendiaryan since 2001.
In 2012 at the "Evening of Young Choreographers" Syuzanna Pirumyan presented contemporary ballet pieces –"Still Loving You" and "Moon Sonata". Throughout her artistic activity she has collaborated with the choreographers Maxim Martirosyan (People's Artist of Russia), Yuri Grigorovich (People's Artist of Russia), Roudolf Kharatyan (People's Artist of Armenia), Vilen Galstyan (People's Artist of Armenia), Hovhannes Divanyan (People's Artist of Armenia) and Armen Grigoryan (Honored Artist of Armenia). Pirumyan performed in Moscow, Saint Petersburg, Egypt, Turkey, Dubai, Syria, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, etc.
Honored Artist of Armenia, entered A. Spendiarian Opera and Ballet National Academic Theatre in 2003 as a soloist and danced the main role-1st violin in the ballet "Eternity" based on the music of "Concert for the Violin" by A.Khachaturian. After graduating the college has been a leading soloist at the Opera and Ballet National Academic Theatre after A. Spendiaryan. Performed in Russia, Egypt, Turkey, Syria, Bahrain, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, etc.
Since his 2010 stage Debut, Hovhannes Ayvazyan has frequently performed at various venues including Opera Belcanto of South Simcoe in Toronto, Mariinsky Theatre in St Petersburg, Mariinsky Concert Hall, Tatar State Opera in Kazan, Big Hall of the Moscow State Conservatoire, Musikverein Vienna, Novaya Opera and Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow, etc.
He has often performed under the baton of Maestro Valery Gergiev, and had the pleasure to work frequently with such legends as Maria Guleghina, Anna Netrebko, Olga Borodina, Lyudmila Monastirskaya, Ekaterina Semenchuk, Tatyana Serjan, and many others.
Most recent successes included a performance of Mozart's Requiem at the Musikverein in Vienna, a concert at the Geneva's Victoria Hall, performances at the Yerevan Opera House as Canio, Turiddu, Don Jose, Radames and Pinkerton, as well as many title roles at the Mariinsky Theatre including Don Carlo, Manrico and Cavaradossi. He was on tour with the Berliner Symphoniker under Maestro Lior Shambadal for which he received outstanding reviews.
Honored Artist of Armenia, became a ballet dancer at the Opera and Ballet National Academic Theatre after A. Spendiaryan in 2004. Since 2005 is a leading dancer.
In 2008 in Sochi, he participated in the 2nd International festival after Yu. Grigorovich and received 2nd prize along with the status of laureate. In 2012 received Movses Khorenatsi medal.
Honored Artist of Armenia. Since 2004 has been the leading ballet dancer at the Opera and Ballet National Academic Theatre after A. Spendiaryan. He was invited to the United States with Moscow's "Great Theatre" where he played the role of Spartak in "Spartacus". He has also toured in Spain, Italy, France. In 2013 he has cooperated with Tbilisi's Z. Pavliashvili National Academic Theatre.
In 2007 participated at Brazil's Joinville city's competition where he gained 3rd place and was awarded a bronze medal. In 2008 participated in the 2nd international competition named after Y. Grigorovich in Sochi where he gained first place and a gold medal. In 2010 he was awarded with the "Movses Khorenatsi" medal of the Republic of Armenia.
Hayk Tigranyan became a singer at the Opera and Ballet National Academic Theatre after A. Spendiaryan in 2004.
From 2008 Hayk is the principal soloist of Armenian National Academic Opera and Ballet Theater after A.Spendiaryan. Hayk won numerous awards: In 2015 he won the 4th International Competition Jazeps Vitols at the Latvian National Opera theater. In 2013 he was awarded with a diploma by the International Association of Lawyers and psychologists as a devotee of Armenian Music Art. He was honored with a certificate of appreciation from the Minister of Youth and Culture of Nagorno Karabakh N. Aghabalyan, as the best singer in the role of Avo in the opera Artsvaberd. In 2012 he won the 28th world competition called "Spring of April" in the Democratic Republic of South Korea. In 2012 he was honored on national radio for the great record of Korean national music.
Hayk Tigranyan recently performs in Estonia, Libanon, Austria, Italy, Latvia, Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, South Korea, Russia with different concert projects.
In 2010 received a golden medal and a special prize in the competition of young singers "Darclee" in Romania. In 2011 became a laureate and took the first prize in the classic vocal competition after Tetevik Sazandaryan. Participated in Glinka International Competition (2011) and "Queen Elizabeth" international competition in Belgium (2014).
In 2009-2010 participated in several concerts with the State Youth Orchestra of Armenia headed by Sergey Smbatyan. In 2010 participated in the festival "Rising Stars in Kremlin" in Russia. The performance was accompanied by the "Moscow Virtuosi" orchestra headed by conductor Vladimir Spivakov. In 2011 participated in the festival "Moscow meets friends" and received a certificate from the international charity fund after Vladimir Spivakov. Same year took part in the concert for young singers of Armenia in St. John Smith Hall in London.
Born in Yerevan in 1990, from 2008 to 2011, Avetisyan studied with B. Kudryavtsev at the Tchaikovsky Moscow State Conservatory, later transferring to the Komitas State Conservatory of Yerevan to study with R. Hakobyants. During his studies, Avetisyan won Second Prize in both the Maria Biesu International Singing Competition and the III Muslim Magomaev International Vocalists Contest. At the Armenian National Academic Opera, he has sung Alfredo, Don Jose, and the young Gypsy in Aleko. Avetisyan sang his first performances of Rodolfo, the Duke in Rigoletto, and the Verdi and Mozart Requiems with the Armenian National Philharmonic Orchestra.
Tenor parts in the Requiems of Mozart, Verdi and Dvorjak, "Song of the Land" by G. Mahler, "Christmas Oratorio" by Saint-Saens, "Magnificat" by Bach, operas "La Boheme" by G. Puccini and "Rigoletto" by G. Verdi.
Graduated from the Romanos Melikyan Musical College in 2004 and, later in 2010 the Komitas State Conservatory. Hasmik won several competitions in 2004 and 2006 including Special Prizes in the Republican Competitions after T. Shahnazaryan and T. Sazandaryan. In 2008 she won the First Prize and the Gold Medal in the Republican Competition after G. Gasparyan. In 2009 she won the President's Prize for Young Singers of Armenia, in 2010 the First Prize in the "Bella Voce" International Music Competition in Moscow, Russia and became the finalist of the 6th Seoul International Music Competition in Seoul, South Korea (2010). In 2011 Hasmik won the First Prize in the "Musica Sacra" International Music Competition in Rome, Italy.
Hasmik Torosyan recently performs in France, Germany, Belgium, Austria, Finland, Grate Britain, USA, Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, Czech Republic, Switzerland, Italy, South Korea, Russia, Lebanon, Turkey with different concert projects. From 2011 Hasmik is the principal soloist of Armenian National Academic Opera and Ballet Theater A.Spendiaryan.
Honored Artist of Armenia, baritone Gevorg Hakobyan studied at the Komitas State Conservatory in Yerevan with Maestro Sergey Danielyan. In 2008 he was awarded both the Gold Medal and First Prize at the prestigious First International Pavel Lisitsian Baritone Competition in Moscow, and in 2011 was recognised as a Merited Artist of the Republic of Armenia.
Since 2003, Gevorg has been a soloist with the Yerevan Opera Theater, where he has performed in several productions including "Aleko," "Arshak II" and "Yolanta," to name a few.
Gevorg begins the 2017/18 season by performing Tomsky in Pique Dame at Stuttgart Opera before returning to Teatro dell'Opera di Roma as Scarpia in "Tosca." In November 2017 he appeared as Grigory Gryaznoy ("The Tsar's Bride") at the Bolshoi theater.


text:
Jennifer Lopez Named Face For L'Oréal Paris
The red-carpet stunner takes on yet another role
Caitlin Kenny December 3, 2010
Photo by PR Photos
The latest bit of beauty news is both surprising and unsurprising at the same time: Jennifer Lopez has signed on as a global ambassador with L'Oréal Paris. While it's no shock that the beauty megabrand would want a stunner like J.Lo to be their face, the remarkable part is that it took this long for a hair and makeup company to snag the star. Another unexpected twist: Though her beauty claim to fame is dewy skin and a nude lip, Lopez's first ad (due out in January) will actually be for the brand's new EverSleek hair-care products.
Also on Lopez's calendar for 2011 is the release of a new CD called Love. Looks like a busy year ahead for the singer/dancer/actor/fragrance queen/fashion designer/wife/mother of twins and now beauty ambassador. But even with her powerpacked résumé, we can't forget, she's still Jenny from the block.
FILED UNDER: Beauty Hair Jennifer Lopez L'Oreal Paris makeup


text:
Суперлига Узбекистана 2020 (узб. Oʻzbekiston Superligasi 2020), официальное спонсорское название Coca-Cola Суперлига Узбекистана (узб. Coca-Cola Oʻzbekiston Superligasi) — 30-й по счёту розыгрыш высшей по уровню лиги чемпионата Узбекистана по футболу. Проходил под эгидой Профессиональной футбольной лиги Узбекистана.

В этом сезоне участвовало 14 клубов. Турнир традиционно проходил по системе «весна — осень» (1-й тур стартовал 27 февраля 2020 года, а последний, 26-й, состоялся 3 декабря 2020 года). В июле в лиге был летний перерыв между первым и вторым кругами. Чемпионат проходил в 2 круга (26 туров). Матчи проводились в вечернее время в последние дни недели (пятница, суббота и воскресенье). В Суперлигу будут допущены лишь те команды, которые полностью выполнят все требуемые условия лицензирования клубов.

Лимит легионеров в Суперлиге-2020 составлял 4+1. Все матчи Суперлиги Узбекистана 2020  транслировались (большинство в прямом эфире) на государственном спортивном телеканале MTRK Sport.

Участники

Турнирная таблица

- Насаф не прошел лицензирование Лиги Чемпионов АФК

Результаты матчей

Бомбардиры

Стыковой матч
Стыковой матч за место в Суперлиге между 2-м клубом Про-Лиги и 13-м клубом Суперлиги.

Примечания

2020
Узбекистан
Спорт в Узбекистане в 2020 году
Футбол в Азии в 2020 году

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
Type: Senior
Brittany Stanchik
Brittany Stanchik is in her eighth year coaching Congressional Debate at Desert Vista High School in Phoenix, AZ and is the new Director of Forensics at DV. Over the course of her coaching career, she has coached numerous TOC qualifiers, including 7 finalists, 18 NSDA National Finalists, and 7 National Semifinalists. In 2014 alone, Brittany coached five students to the Final Round of Congressional Debate at NSDA Nationals.
Brittany understands the need to preserve the tradition and educational aspects of Congressional Debate but has learned the progression that naturally comes with the event; she teaches students how to adapt in a quickly changing environment by having them focus equally on three pillars: argumentation, presentation, and refutation.
During her personal career, Ms. Stanchik was in the 2009 NSDA National Congress Final and the 2010 NSDA National Quarter finals for Public Forum Debate. She graduated from Arizona State University where she majored in Communication and Justice Studies. She can't wait to spend another summer with her ISD Family!
Rhonda coached speech and debate for 21 years in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex, spending the last ten years of her career at Plano West Senior High School. She coached students at the local, state and national levels in LD debate, Public Forum Debate, Congressional Debate and Extemporaneous Speaking. In Extemporaneous Speaking, she coached multiple champions at the Montgomery Bell Academy Extemp Round Robin, the Capital City Extemp Round Robin, The Harvard High School Tournament, The University of Kentucky TOC, and the ETOC at Northwestern University, as well as multiple finalists and champions at the NSDA National Tournament.
She is proud of the accomplishments of her team including multiple state awards and achieving the School of Outstanding Distinction Award for 5 straight years at the NSDA national tournament.
Rhonda retired from coaching but continues consulting with students who are competitive on the state and national extemp circuit. She is excited to join the ISD faculty in 2022 in both Florida and Carolina.
In her spare time, Rhonda enjoys spending time on her ranch in Texas with her husband of 30 years, where she raises goats and Red Angus cattle.
Yatesh Singh
Yatesh Singh is the Co-head coach for Speech at Lakeville North High School in Minnesota. With more than a decade of coaching experience in various debate and speech events, his students have won or reached late elimination rounds of a variety of national tournaments including Blake, Bronx Science, the Extemp TOC, Glenbrooks, Harvard, MBA, NIETOC, & NSDA Nationals. He was the recipient of the 2017 Community Service award at the Extemp Tournament of Champions, and he credits his better half and fellow coach, Liz Vieira Singh, with continuously inspiring him to provide his students the most rewarding forensics experience possible. Yatesh is very excited to share the #ISDDifference with students this summer!
Jay Rye
Jay Rye first became involved with Speech & Debate as a high school competitor in 1985, and has served as the Director of Speech & Debate at The Montgomery Academy in Montgomery, Alabama, since 1991. As a competitor for and graduate of the University of Alabama, Jay was the recipient of the 2006 Distinguished Alumni Award from Delta Sigma RhoTau Kappa Alpha, the collegiate honor society for speech education. As a five-diamond coach, he served as the District Chair of the Deep South District from 1999 – 2017 having received the Bronze, Silver, and Gold Awards for District Chair Service as well as being named District Chair of the Year in 2009. In 2007 he was elected a Key Coach of the Barkley Forum at Emory University in Georgia and in 2009 was the recipient of the Bronx Achievement Award by the Bronx High School of Science in New York. In 2013, Jay was the recipient of the Brother Polowy Coaching Award by Holy Cross in Louisiana and in 2014 was named the Jenny Cook Mentorship Award by the University School in Florida.
Jay has coached 142 individual state champions along with 134 National Speech & Debate Association qualifiers in all events, including the 2006 National Champion in Dramatic Interpretation. Jay served as the Chair of the Host Committee for the National Tournament of the National Speech & Debate Association in 2009, 2013, and 2017. He is an inducted member in the Alabama Speech & Debate Coaches Hall of Fame and the National Speech & Debate Coaches Hall of Fame. In 2014, Jay was elected to the Board of Directors for the NSDA and served in that capacity until his term concluded in June, 2018.
Gabe Rusk
Gabe Rusk is currently the Director of Debate at the Fairmont Preparatory Academy in Anaheim, California. In his first year as director Fairmont Prep became the national TOC gold bid leader in PF. Fairmont qualified eight teams to the TOC in 2018 alone. Gabe has been a coach in Public Forum Debate for close to a decade and has taught over a thousand students in that time. Gabe has been the director or senior instructor at over a dozen camps and institutes. During high school Gabe was a PF competitor himself winning the 2010 Tournament of Champions in Public Forum Debate. After taking a debate scholarship to attend college he was awarded 4th place at the 2014 national university parli competition. Gabe then attended the University of Oxford as a graduate student with a focus on religion and the law. He graduated in 2016 where his dissertation focused on the history of the First Amendment and pluralism in the United States. At Oxford he was offered a place on the competitive traveling team, won best floor speech at the Oxford Debate Union, and was appointed the LGBTQIA+ Officer for the world's oldest debating society. Gabe was also elected as the international students officer representing over 7,000 students during his time at Oxford. He cannot wait to join the ISD Faculty and spend another summer working with students!
Tanya Roundy
Tanya Roundy is starting her 15 year of teaching. She competed in speech and debate in high school and over the last 14 years has coached at North Sanpete HS in Utah, Mission San Jose HS in California, Alta HS in Utah, and currently coaches at Summit Academy HS in Utah. She has had students qualify to the NSDA National Tournament in Lincoln-Douglas, Public Forum, POI, Original Oratory, Congressional Debate, Dramatic Interp, and Informative Speaking. She currently sits on the NSDA Public Forum Topic Wording Committee and recently presented at the NSDA National Education Conference. When she isn't coaching or running debate tournaments, she is directing theatre productions and writing.
Angelique Ronald
After 15 years of coaching, Angelique Ronald has refocused her attention to advocating for matters of equity and inclusion in the world of speech and debate. Through publications (including Rostrum winter 2017 article "Women In Competitive Forensics"), national conference presentations (2018: "Fostering Inclusivity and Safe Spaces at Tournaments: Best Practices" and 2019: "Gender Inequity in Speech and Debate: A Solutions-Focused Discussion"), and advocacy in California and beyond, Angelique promotes solutions-based, culture-wide changes to make forensics a more accessible, open, and safe space for all.
Angelique currently serves as the State Tournament Director / Vice President of Activities of the California High School Speech Association, the co-President of the Southern Valley Forensic League, and a member of the Sierra District Committee for the National Speech and Debate Association.
Crawford Leavoy
Crawford Leavoy is the Director of Speech & Debate at Durham Academy in Durham, NC. Throughout his years coaching throughout the Southeast, Crawford has coached multiple TOC Qualifiers, NCFL Qualifiers and NSDA Qualifiers. His students have gone on to be the Runner-Ups & 3rd Place in Public Forum in NSDA, 9th Place in Lincoln Douglas, 9th Place in International Extemporaneous Speaking and multiple Semifinalists in Congressional Debate. At the 2020 NSDA National Tournament, Durham Academy was recognized as a School of Outstanding Distinction (Top-10 school).
Crawford focuses into creating a diverse team with well-rounded students. He works closely with students in Lincoln-Douglas, Congressional Debate and Interpretation.
Crawford serves on the NSDA's Lincoln-Douglas Wording Committee, NSDA Tarheel East District Chair and the Director of Debate for the Dogwood Speech and Debate League.
Amy Lattimore, RN BSN
Amy Lattimore is a school nurse for Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools. Before working at CMS, Amy worked in a variety of nursing roles including in Pediatrics and the PICU in hospitals in the Charlotte and Chicago areas. At ISD, Amy lives in the dorms and is available 24/7 for any health concern that may arise for our students. She handles all medication distribution and ensures that students receive the care and attention that they need while away from home.
2022 will be Amy's 7th summer with ISD and she cannot wait to return for another summer with her ISD Family!
Jennifer Jerome
Jennifer Jerome is currently coaching at Millard West High School in Omaha, Nebraska. She has been coaching since 1989 and a member coach since 1996. She is a member of the NSDA Board of Directors. She has served on the Nebraska District Committee since 2002, serving as chair multiple times. In 2010, she was the local director for the NCFL Grand National Tournament held in Omaha and has served at the Archdiocese of Omaha League Director since 2006. Jennifer was awarded the James Thurber Distinguished Teacher award by the Nebraska Speech Communication and Theater Association in 2010. She also sits on the Board of Directors for Guided by Kids, a non-profit in Omaha, NE that gets students involved with their community by teaching critical thinking skills through speech and debate. She was the NSDA Nebraska State Educator of the Year in 2018. She has been awarded the NSDA Nebraska District Coach of the Year in 2015 and 2018. Along with numerous state champions and state finalists, Jennifer has coached students to out rounds, including finals, at all levels of national competition, including the 2018 NIETOC Expository Champion. In 2019, Jennifer was the coach of the NSDA Student of the Year. Jennifer is a four-diamond coach.


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World's Ultra-wealthy Go For Gold Amid Stimulus Bonanza
As stock markets roar back from the coronavirus-led rout, advisers to the world's wealthy are urging them to hold more gold, questioning the strength of the rally and the long-term impact of global central banks' cash splurge.
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, most private banks recommended their clients hold none or just a tiny amount of gold.
Now some are channeling up to 10% of their clients' portfolios into the yellow metal as the massive central bank stimulus reduces bond yields - making non-yielding gold more attractive - and raises the risk of inflation that would devalue other assets and currencies.
While gold prices have already risen 14% since the start of the year to $1,730 an ounce, many private bankers bet that gold - a hedge for both inflation and deflation - has further to run.
"Our view is that the weight of monetary supply, expansion, is going to ultimately be debasing to the dollar, and the Fed commitments, which (are) anchoring real rates, make the case for gold pretty sturdy," said Lisa Shalett, Chief Investment Officer, Wealth Management at Morgan Stanley (MS.N).
Nine private banks spoken to by Reuters, which collectively oversee around $6 trillion in assets for the world's ultra-rich, said they had advised clients to increase their allocation to gold. Of them, four provided forecasts and all saw prices ending the year higher than they are now.
Gold could hit $1,800 by year-end in its base-case scenario
UBS (UBSG.S), the world's biggest wealth manager, said gold could hit $1,800 by year-end in its base-case scenario, driven by ultra-low interest rates and investors seeking gold to hedge their portfolios, or even touch a record high of $2,000 in the event of a second wave of novel coronavirus infections.
"With the recent equity rally, people have become more nervous. People are actively seeking out portfolio hedges that might perform well in a range of scenarios," said Kiran Ganesh from UBS's chief investment office.
Morgan Stanley added a 5% position to commodities including gold in all its models at the end of March.
While the bank was unlikely to advise a position above 10% in commodities like gold, Shalett said it could get there, especially if inflation picks up materially.
The boost in demand could be a self-fulfilling prophecy for the metal's price, as any shift in allocation from bond and equity markets, estimated at up to a combined $200 trillion, has a much larger impact on the smaller gold market, estimated at less than $5 trillion.
While queries about gold have increased, very few clients had demanded a wholesale move into gold - something they would have been advised against - the bankers said, adding older clients tended to be the most concerned about inflation risks.
"That cohort is very concerned about wealth preservation. And in many ways they have a longer historic lens than some of our other clients, so they do worry about inflation," Morgan Stanley's Shalett said.
John LaForge, head of real asset strategy at Wells Fargo Investment Institute, said from two calls a week on gold last year, he is now at two calls a day, spiking to 10 calls when the metal has a good day.
I'm now getting as many questions on gold as I do on oil
"I'm now getting as many questions on gold as I do on oil, which says a lot from my perspective. Most people are interested in renewables and oil and so on, and gold was often considered a relic," Forge said.
Despite the fact that holding gold pays no income, Oliver Gregson, head of the United Kingdom and Ireland at JPMorgan Private Bank said inquiries had gone up as clients increasingly viewed it as "a port in a storm". He forecast a $1,750 year-end price target.
For those looking to hedge their bets with a shift to gold, the choices can be split into four: gold mining companies, index funds which represent shares in real gold or track the price of gold, derivatives such as options and futures, and gold itself, in the form of bars or coins.
For hedging purposes, the first three are fine. If worries run deeper, investors normally opt for physical.
Most of the larger banks offer a gold bar storage service and eight of those questioned by Reuters said they had seen an uptick in demand, particularly in locations such as Switzerland and Singapore.
Andre Portelli, co-head of investments at Barclays Private Bank, said while some clients had begun adding physical gold in early 2020 as COVID-19 spread, the trend had continued.
"A supply disruption of physical gold in March and April due to the closure of major gold bar manufacturers and lack of international shipping capacity fuelled also additional client interest."
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Large whole organic walnuts and organic sunflower seeds are activated with an overnight soak in filtered water, mixed with organic bananas, organic dates, organic coconut, organic raw vanilla and organic cinnamon; then low-temperature dehydrated to create our popular Banana Date & Walnut Chunk.
Large whole organic walnuts and organic sunflower seeds are activated with an overnight soak in filtered water, mixed with organic bananas, organic dates, organic coconut, organic raw vanilla and organic cinnamon; then low-temperature dehydrated to create our popular Banana Date & Walnut Chunk. Who can resist the classic combination of bananas, dates and walnuts? This chunk is reminiscent of a home baked treat, without the added sugar or bad stuff. Mmm-mmm. A medium-textured chunk with pieces of whole seeds and nuts nestled in warm banana-date goodness. Multiple servings, in a convenient re-sealable bag.
No salt or grains. Free from: gluten, wheat, dairy, yeast, eggs, soy, peanuts, sesame, fish, shellfish or cane sugar.
Kitz Chunks are our range of raw snack bars, economically packaged in earth-friendly re-sealable, compostable bags. Our Chunks are sweet enough to appeal to kids, but healthy enough to get the parents' seal of approval. With flavours ranging from the traditional to the pleasantly surprising, there is a Chunk here for everyone. Try them all and find your favourite. Totally raw and totally delicious.
This product is sold in 150g re-sealable, compostable bags.
Organic sunflower seeds, organic dates, organic bananas, organic walnuts, organic coconut, organic raw vanilla, organic cinnamon.


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MoviesNews
Kyary Pamyu Pamyu finds out she's a robot in new movie
Last month it was announced that a new film starring Kyary Pamyu Pamyu based on her TV program will be released to 70 Aeon theaters nationwide on June 12th.
The upcoming film 'Kyary Pamyu Pamyu Cinema JOHN' was shot with a small crew in Japan, Germany and France in April of this year. It reshoots popular scenes from her show 'Kyary Pamyu Pamyu TV JOHN!' and arranges it into a crazy storyline that you would expect from the Harajuku singer. Kyary herself describes it as "a fantasy film with a good message and ASOBI (her management) sensibilities." Her show has been broadcast on MeTV since 2011 so she definitely has tons of source material to work with.
In the film, a shocking yet believable rumor is spread while on her 'NANDA COLLECTION WORLD TOUR 2014' that Kyary is not a human, but actually a robot. When she returns to her home in Japan, she's shocked by her newly realized identity and does some surreal soul searching to find herself. Do robots even have souls?
The one-minute trailer reveals small portions of the movie, showing KPP in despair, a group of little girls that are following her, a secret society and an extremely uncomfortable Caucasian man who calls the singer "KPP129."
A toy robot has been developed in celebration of the film. It uses the softest materials available to embody Kyary and features external intestines. I don't know…just look at it and be a little disgusted.
More information is available on the film's official website.
Posted by ARAMA! JAPAN
Jin Akanishi releases teaser for Good Time + Single information Music Station performances for July 11


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Kids' No Fly Zone Lightweight Hiking Socks
Available only in U.S.
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Keep the bugs away on any adventure with these bug-repellent kids' hiking socks.
Our kids' hiking socks are treated with permethrin, a synthetic form of a naturally occurring bug repellent (that you can't feel or smell), to protect kids from biting insects – including ticks, black flies and mosquitoes – effectively and easily.
40% merino wool, 40% recycled polyester, 19% nylon, 1% spandex.
Treated with permethrin, a synthetic version of a chemical produced naturally by chrysanthemums.
Effective for up to 70 washes
Made in USA of imported materials.
Tell Biting Insects to Take a Hike
No Fly Zone repels biting insects like ticks, black flies and mosquitoes. It's odorless and lasts for 70 washings for years of effectiveness.


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Q: Chinese hand-writing recognition program for IPhone I would like to start on Chinese hand-writing recognition program for IPhone...but I couldn't find any library or API that can help me to do so. It's hard for me to write the algorithm myself because of my time span.
Some of suggestion recommended that I should make use of a back-end server to do the recognition work. But I don't know how to set up that kind of server.
So any suggestion or basic steps that can help me to achieve this personal project?

A: You might want to check out Zinnia.  Tegaki relies on other APIs (Zinnia is one of them) to do the actual character recognition.
I haven't looked at the code, but I gather it's written in C or C++, so should suit your needs better than Tegaki.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


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Wednesday, May 13, 2009 at 11:08 a.m.
That's a phrase I keep coming back to during this year's gubernatorial race. And last night's televised debate between Chris Christie and Steve Lonegan – who are vying for the Republican nomination for New Jersey Governor – only increased my sense that at least one candidate is not giving voters a hook to hang their hats on.
It's clear from every poll in the past year, that most voters in New Jersey are disinclined to give Governor Jon Corzine another four years on the job. In the Republican field, Chris Christie has been positioning himself as the most electable contender in a state that trends solidly Democratic. Based on his campaign rhetoric, his main qualification appears to be that he showed how "tough" he can be as U.S. Attorney and he will be equally "tough" as governor.
Unfortunately, that's not enough to make many voters – even Republican primary voters who are desperate for a general election win – feel comfortable enough to support him. He needs to give them a commitment on at least one salient issue – with salient being the key word – so they can say to their friends, "I'm voting for Christie because he's going to fix X." In other words, he needs to give voters a hook to hang their hats on.
The first question in last night's debate offered the perfect opportunity. It was about property taxes, which is New Jersey voters' #1 concern by far. Unfortunately, both candidates avoided offering specifics on how they would bring down property taxes. Basically, they said would do all sorts of other things right, e.g. cut spending, etc. This, we are led to believe, would somehow lead school districts and local governments to lower their tax rates. That may be so, but you've got to connect the dots to convince voters.
In other areas, Steve Lonegan did offer a number of specific ideas. Obviously, the flat tax is his central platform issue. And when asked what he would cut in state government, Lonegan named five departments he would eliminate or consolidate. Now, you can argue how much money that will actually save, but at least he made a specific commitment.
Christie did a good job hammering Lonegan's flat tax proposal – basically that it would actually raise income taxes on most New Jersey families – thus undermining the credibility of Lonegan's "hook" a bit. However, when asked to describe his own plans, Christie was less compelling.
Christie said he would use zero-based budgeting and the line-item veto, but did not specify which budget lines he would strike out. His hallmark tax reduction plan is to require a legislative super-majority for future tax increases. Not exactly the kind of stuff that'll make voters to sit up and take notice.
It's like walking into a Baskin-Robbins and finding the only flavors they've got are Pistachio Almond, Cotton Candy, and Rum Raisin. Sure, some people may really like those flavors. But for most people, the choices are nothing to get excited about.
The candidates did agree on some other policy areas. They support school vouchers, although there were some differences in how they would be applied. Neither would re-appoint any of the sitting Supreme Court justices up for tenure during the next four years (although a question about re-appointing Chief Justice Stu Rabner, a former Christie protege, made for an interesting moment).
Of course, the bottom line is whether any of their core proposals can get passed by a Democratically controlled legislature (and that's not going to change next year, regardless of who wins at the top of the ticket). On that score, Christie is probably more realistic. Lonegan's flat tax proposal will go nowhere in Trenton, whereas the line-item veto may be a Republican governor's only real power.
Still, you should be able to specify which lines you will veto so the voters who are inclined to support you have some hook to hang their hats on.
That being said, the winner of this debate was Lonegan on points.


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Greatest feats: Gary Trotter
Gary Trotter, co-founder of Ocucon and Hadrian Technology, shares the acts he's been most inspired by
What do you consider to be the greatest feat in business and why?
Being in business is a journey, so I'm always drawn to examples of perseverance, of businesses being open to collaboration or innovation. A number of years ago, Hadrian Technology, the CCTV installation company I co-founded with Stuart Ferguson, was going through a really challenging time and the easiest option would have certainly been to give up.
But we were determined and driven by the idea that we had something different to offer to the market. Thanks to a lot of hard work, we grew the business to become one of the fastest-growing in Europe and since then we have gone on to be recognised by the likes of the Sunday Times Fast Track and Financial Times. It is out of that success and the business relationships we have built along the way that we have been able to launch Ocucon and bring together our talented team, as well as industry partners, like Google and HPE, to help make it happen.
Our technology is the first-of-its kind, offering unlimited cloud storage for surveillance technology. We're revolutionising the way businesses use CCTV to defend against crime and utilise video analytics for loss prevention and business insights.
So, to have been named the Most Innovative Retail Technology Asset Protection Business by the Retail Industry Leaders Association in the US and scooped the FSB Digital Innovation Award in the space of just a few weeks, is something I'm particularly proud of as it demonstrates the journey we've been on.
What is the greatest physical feat you've witnessed by an individual and why?
It's not so much one physical feat, but more the physical impressiveness of the person, and that would have to be All Blacks rugby union player Jonah Lomu. The sheer physicality of the man was just on a different level. He could power through opposing players time and again and keep going.
For a man with such physical might to be taken too soon by illness is incredibly sad. He transformed the game of rugby.
What about by a group or team?
It's another sports one, I'm afraid. It would have to be the 2003-2004 Arsenal football team. In a league recognised as the best in the world, they ended that season as champions without a single defeat.
It's not only a great physical feat, but the mental strength it takes to keep winning for a whole year is also incredible. No team has ever repeated it and I think it's still underestimated what they achieved.
Which demonstration of intelligence/mental strength has most impressed you?
Perhaps not an obvious one, but the mental strength displayed by Terry Waite was remarkable. He was held captive for nearly five years, mostly in solitary confinement – just take a moment to think about that.
Most of us can barely manage a few hours without conversation. But to spend five years alone and to come out of that without being completely broken and to be capable of forgiveness is impressive.
Which act of generosity has inspired you the most and why?
I think any act of generosity that is anonymous is particularly inspiring. They're the unseen or selfless acts. I suppose you could argue no act is selfless, as often the person themselves takes a lot from it, but I think anyone that gives generously, whether time or money, and doesn't expect any recognition in return, should be commended.
Ocucon
www.ocucon.com
@OcuconTech
Business Lunch: Blackfriars


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