Category Archives: Evolution

Were all already cyborgs, says Elon Musk. You have more power than the president of the United States had 20 years ago, he says, and he couldnt be more right. The things we invent today push our abilities in ways that would make our ancestors think were gods. That smartphone has you talking with people hundreds of miles away, it can find you the answer to pretty much any question you have on your mind, if you think from the perspective of someone from a century back, weve come a long way into hacking human capabilities.

Thats what Dani Clodes Third Thumb project aims at doing Exploring and expanding the possibilities of what we can do with additional powers in this case, an extra thumb. With the aim of adding to humans possibilities, rather than replacing whats lost, the prosthetic has the potential rapidly alter the way we live our lives. The thumb, 3D printed from a variant of Thermoplastic Polyurethane (TPU) called Ninjaflex, sits right beside your little finger. Its connected to a smart-bracelet that receives its commands via bluetooth from the wearers foot. Pressure sensors are placed on the soles of the feet and any force you apply with your foot is perceived as a signal by the bracelet i.e., if you press down with one foot, the thumb flexes inwards, grasping whatever youre holding. Clode says that the learning curve is rather minimal and people get used to the controls pretty quick. Watch the video to see one rather confident candidate shred away at a guitar with a Third Thumb!

The third thumb could just be one of those products that dramatically change the world as we know it, making us grip better, text better, work better, and probably evolving communications to a massive extent, from gestures to sign language. Me, Im just happy if I can grip my smartphone and text in bed without having it slip and smack me flat on my face. *dumb smile*

Designer: Dani Clode

Go here to see the original:

Bio-hacking our way up the evolution ladder - Yanko Design - Form Beyond Function

This delicate, deeply affecting piece is an introduction to the life and work of the Palestinian poet Taha Muhammad Ali (1931-2011), written and performed by Amer Hlehel. It's staged with a charged simplicity by Amir Nizar Zuabi who has translated this English-language version of the one-man show. For 75 minutes, with no props other than a bench and a briefcase, Hlehel stumbles round a dimly lit yellow rectangle and pulls us into the story of how this humble, engaging man evolved into one of the most celebrated Palestinian writers of the past half-century against all the odds.It's a tale of loss, borne with resilience, hope and humour.

Taha was born in the Galilean village of Saffuriyya, near Nazareth. His father, a powerful personality with a talent for presiding over salons, suffered from polio and Taha left school after just four years to support the struggling family with his precocious business schemes such as selling eggs in Haifa and opening a kiosk for cigarettes and chocolate.At the age of seventeen, he was forced to flee to Lebanon with his family after their village came under heavy bombardment during the Arab-Israeli War of 1948.

After nine months, they slipped back through the forests across the disputed border and there is a quietly devastating moment in this piece when Taha asks the smuggler when they will arrive in Palestine. We already did an hour ago is the reply.Hlelel beautifully communicates Taha's dazed recognition that even the air now smells different in this land where everything has gone the village bulldozed along with his grandfather's bakery with its perfume of fresh olive oil, thyme and bread.There is no going home.

He wound up operating a souvenir shop near the Church of the Annunciation in Nazareth, describing himself with characteristic playfulness as a Muslim selling Christian memorabilia to Jews.By night, he fed his autodidact's voracious hunger, schooling himself in classical Arabic poetry and learning how to read English.He was 52 by the time his first book was published.

The narrative is interspersed with extracts from the poems, performed in Arabic with English surtitles projected onto a screen at the back.Some of these are addressed to Amira, the cousin to whom he was betrothed when he was fourand to whom he remained heartbreakingly devoted for decades after they were separated in the turmoil of 1948.

Taha likened his poetic method to billiards (You aim over here... to strike over there) and when he approaches politics, it tends to be from the oblique angle of personal experience rendered with wry, unflinching candour. Hlehel's moving performance conjures up a man who doesn't seem to have a dishonest bone in his body. It's as though Taha's felt duty to preserve the bygone world in sensory evocation and to trace the emotional lineaments of loss have left him no room for hatred and histrionics.

The impact of the poetry is all the more powerful for the wiliness and self-deprecation of the treatment. The boy who had always thought that he was a disappointment to his father grows into the person who eventually appreciates why it was admiring rather than hurtful of himto refuse to dispense death-bed advice: Taha, your dream is bigger than any last words I can give you.

The final sequence here finds Taha on stage at a poetry festival in London.The audience, rocking with laughter because of a farcical mishap with his briefcase, is silenced by the rendition of his poem 'Revenge', which (climactically departing from the norm) is delivered in Arabic with English surtitles. It's a poem whose twists exemplify the author's admirable determination to follow a feeling all the way through, however awkward the outcome.At first the speaker dreams of fighting a duel with the man who killed my father and razed our home, expelling me into a narrow country. Then he imagines that his rival might himself have a network of loved ones, including a father who worriedly puts his hand over his heart when his son is even a quarter of an hour late and so resolves not to kill him, even if he could. Instead of a reversal at this point and a killer blow, the piece ends with the poet trying to convince himself that ignoring his enemy and leaving him with the pain of aloneness would in itself be a kind of revenge. Yes and no.

An inspiring piece that will play at Summerhall in Edinburgh in August and is warmly recommended.

Go here to see the original:

Taha, Young Vic, London, review: the evolution of a Palestinian poet ... - The Independent

Evolution Midstream, which is backed by EnCap Flatrock Midstream, has closed its previously announced acquisition of Wyoming-based Rowdy Gas Gathering System, which serves oil and gas producers in the Campbell, Converse and Johnson counties. No financial terms were disclosed.

PRESS RELEASE

DENVER(BUSINESS WIRE)Evolution Midstream, LLC (Evolution) announced today that the company has closed on acquisition of the Rowdy Gas Gathering System (Rowdy System) (view system map). The Rowdy System is strategically located in the heart of Wyomings Powder River Basin and serves oil and gas producers in Campbell, Converse and Johnson counties.

As a result of closing this transaction, Evolution now operates approximately 1,000 miles of gas gathering lines and 43,700 horsespower of compression, Evolution CEO Raj Basi said. We are excited to begin working with Rowdys customers and other producers in the Powder River Basin. Our goal is to leverage our experience to expand the system with infrastructure that meets producer needs and offers maximum optionality and the highest possible netbacks. Given our teams deep midstream experience, capabilities in project management and track record of success, ownership of these high-quality assets is a significant milestone as we start developing our vision for a comprehensive gas gathering, treating and processing solution set in the area. We also will explore development of a crude oil gathering system.

About Evolution Midstream, LLC Based in Denver and founded in 2015, Evolution Midstream is an independent midstream company serving oil and gas producers operating in unconventional shale plays in the Rocky Mountain region. Evolutions vision of success is built on fostering strong, long-term relationships with all constituents and finding creative ways to improve producer netbacks. Evolution cultivates these relationships based on trust, accountability and fairness to ensure that all stakeholders are heard, valued and served. Capabilities include in-field natural gas gathering, compression, treating and processing services; innovative NGL solutions; and crude oil gathering, transportation and storage. Evolution is backed by venture capital commitments from EnCap Flatrock Midstream. For more information please visit http://www.evolutionmidstream.com.

About EnCap Flatrock Midstream EnCap Flatrock Midstream provides value-added growth capital to proven management teams focused on midstream infrastructure opportunities across North America. The firm was formed in 2008 by a partnership between EnCap Investments L.P. and Flatrock Energy Advisors. EnCap Flatrock is based in San Antonio with offices in Oklahoma City and Houston. The firm manages investment commitments of nearly $6 billion from a broad group of institutional investors. EnCap Flatrock currently is making commitments to new management teams from EFM Fund III, a $3 billion fund. Please visit http://www.efmidstream.com for more information.

Continue reading here:

EnCap Flatrock-backed Evolution completes buy of Rowdy Gas Gathering System - PE Hub (subscription) (blog)

Salisbury, MD Now Available internationally, for the first time ever, Evolution Craft Brewing Company has partnered with Five Good Inc. to distribute in Tokyo, Japan and then to the broader markets of Japan.

Its always been a dream of ours to have our product distributed internationally. Our partnership with Five Good Inc. was a logical fit, as they are industry pioneers in the Japanese craft beer market bringing beer from the US East Coast to Japan. John Knorr, co-founder of Evolution Craft Brewing.

The import craft beer market in Japan has grown 26% in the last five years, as the demand for better beer has grown exponentially. Currently the majority of American exports in the Japanese market are from west coast breweries. Five Good Inc.s choice to collaborate with Evolution came after sampling craft beers from all over the east coast. Evolution is one of the first four chosen breweries from Five Good Inc. to distribute in Japan.In the near future, Evolution anticipates expanding its domestic and international footprint and continuing concentrated growth in existing markets of Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, West Virginia, Virginia and Washington, D.C.

ABOUT EVOLUTION BREWERY

Evolution Craft Brewing Co., the leader of the Culinary Craft Beer movement, was founded by Tom and John Knorr in 2009. The brewery started in Delmar, Delaware and moved to Salisbury, Maryland in 2012 to meet growing demand. Evolutions inspiration was born out of the Knorr brothers passion for pairing the great food at their restaurants with great craft beers.

Now, Evolution craft beers are available for consumers at both retail and restaurants to enjoy ever-better beer with ever-better food. Evolution has nine mainline beers: Primal Pale Ale, Lot #3 IPA, Exile Red Ale, Lucky 7 Porter, Lot #6 Double IPA, Delmarva Pure Pils, Rise Up Stout, Pinehople IPA and Hops Limon IPA and a full lineup of seasonal specialities in both bottle and draft. In addition, Evolution also has big bottle barrel aged beers released throughout the year: the Migration Series,Menagerie Series and Nouveau Rouge Project. For more information, please visithttp://www.evolutioncraftbrewing.com/.

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Evolution Craft Brewing Adds Distribution in Japan - Brewbound.com

Welcome Evolution 2017 is the joint conference of the American Society of Naturalists, theSociety for the Study of Evolution, and theSociety of Systematic Biologiststhat will be held inPortland, OR from June 23-27.

The meeting will be the premier opportunity for sharing research on evolutionary biology in 2017. Portland is an incredible destination with a terrific convention center, great restaurants, and several famous entertainment districts. We anticipate 1800-2000 attendees, 1,000+ talks, and 400+ posters. The annual iEvoBio satellite conference will also occur.

Social activities will include an opening reception andSSE Public outreachlecture, mixers during each of three evening poster sessions, and a Super Social with open bar at the newly expanded Oregon Zoo on the final night (no speeches). With the exception of only a small additional charge for the Super Social, all of this is included with your registration.

See talks and posters from the meeting. Links to our talk and poster archive for Evolution 2017 (and earlier meetings) can be found here.

Twitter Keep up to date with the latest news #evol2017

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2017 - Evolution Meetings

See Noevo is a ubiquitous commenter here. Some of you will be so very frustrated that I have not banned him or curtailed his nonsense. You will probably know that I am not one for often doing that. As offensive as some positions might be, I do believe in the freedom of expressing them for the benefit of others, because they either hoist themselves by their own petard, or force myself and other commenters to adapt and change ourpositions accordingly. We shouldnt deny ugly views on account of them being distasteful, but on account of the arguments or evidence not showing those arguments to be warranted in being held. For someone like See Noevo, it is always the former.

Let us see the typical response and demand of See Noevo:

Ill show you how flatly dumb you are. Show me your very favorite scientific paper on ear evolution (or any other particular body part/system). ONE paper on ONE specific topic. Please provide the url so everyone else can read along.

Make it your very best shot, because youll only get one, dummy.

Anri responded and correctly and stated that you cannot pick a single brick in a scientific discipline that is a result of hundreds of years of cumulative data and research. In other words, Sees question is just wrong.

Why only one?

Science is not developed by single papers written by single science teams, but by years-long, painstaking testing and re0testing and re-testing of theories by multiple research teams. People who think that by finding fault with a single scientific paper they somehow invalidate the entire discipline of study are deeply confused as to how science works.

Im assuming thats what youre planning on doing, yes? Finding fault with the SINGLE THE ONLY CHANCE THE SINGLE THREADS BY WHICH EVOLUTION HANGS PAPER and thus somehow demonstrate the whole field is incorrect? Thats silly. And I suspect you know that.

(checks something)

Hah, thats why this conversation sounded familiar. I just poked through my previous comments because I knew I had called out another theist on this same thing, and asked them to provide their best fisking of a scientific paper. I was half-right. Ihaddone it before. But not withanothertheist. Withyou.

So Ill ask you the same thing I asked you then, when you claimed to have asked some armor-piercing questions the scientists were just helpless to answer:

Please explain to me why DNA-based paternity testing doesnt work, then. Ill find some citations explaining that they do, if youd like.

The last time, you scurried out of the thread without being able to demonstrate scientists ignorance of DNA testing. Very much like the way you scurried out of an earlier thread when presented with the bacterial resistance-increasing experiments. I am predicting that the result will be the same here that you will bluster a bit, and then evaporate from yet another thread with your tail lodged firmly between your hind legs. Prove me wrong. If you can.

And the irony of all of this is that See has been banned from a number of othersimilar sites (on Patheos, too?) for his trollish behaviour. I have put up with him in the interests of freedom of expression, but will not put up with repeated behaviour that shows no reaction to previous experiences or any signs of learning from prior mistakes. The above exchange is an exampleof this. But the irony, as hinted, is that See has decried being banned before, and yet he bans anyone from speaking to him who corners him. The cognitive dissonance in him is so strong that he cannot deal with people who show he might be wrong, so he buries his head in the sand, or wears his no fly list headphones La la la, Im not listening! It is quite amusing to watch, but when he gets pwned in an argument, he devolves to the following, which he soon did here with Anri:

Fine. Then find your very favorite scientific paper on ear evolution (or any other particular body part/system) THAT RESULTED FROM years-long, painstaking testing and re0testing and re-testing of theories by multiple research teams. Provide the current capper of the consensus. (By definition, there is only ONE capper.)

Hit me with it. .

So Ill ask you the same thing I asked you then, when you claimed to have asked some armor-piercing questions the scientists were just helpless to answer: Please explain to me why DNA-based paternity testing doesnt work, then.

You mean why theyre not 100% conclusive? Maybe because scientists dont understand DNA as well as theyd like to.

More on this response later. Anri responded:

(By definition, there is only ONE capper.)

Here we go with this again. A brick wall isnt made up of one brick. I listed a topic youd have to utterly dismantle to get anywhere close to falsifying evolutionary theory: tracking familial relationships through DNA. To disprove this, youd have to either wipe out a very large number of scientific papers, all done at different times, by different labs and different scientists, or show that the fundamental concept is flawed. If you can show why the tracking of familial relationships through DNA is flawed, get on with it. If you cant, admit it.

Oh, and you never did get around to answering the basic question: what did you ask when you did this before? You claimed to have dismantled scientific papers before, and when pressed, suddenly couldnt remember what the paper was, or what you asked, or anything about the incident at all. Which makes you sound like not only a liar, but an incompetent one.

You mean why theyre not 100% conclusive?

If you cant show me where someone claims they should be, or should be expected to be 100% conclusive, then you know this is a straw man. Which means bringing it up it just dishonest. More Lying for Jesus. Please stop doing that.

In fact, the fact that they are not 100% conclusive is an important part of their understanding of the process, and the results which is why the folks giving the results can not only tell you that they are not 100% conclusive, but how conclusive they are, and why.

And, again from Anri:

The problem was that when I went to the evolution wall and investigated any one brick, brick after brick, I found they werent solid things at all.

Sorry, I just dont believe you. I think youre lying. Again. I simply dont believe you cant produce a single example of all of these super-duper ways youve wiped the floor with the work of these various career scientists. If you had managed something anything vaguely like that, youd just simply show us. You cant show us anything of the sort, so I have to assume youre just still Lying for Jesus. Just like you did when you quote-mined me. Just like you did when you straw-manned relational DNA testing. Its a pattern with you, and its not hard to follow.

But, ok, you want an article to debunk, heres one example:

https://www.nature.com/natu

Give it a shot. Should be easy for you.

And the irony meter explodes in Sees banning of Anri:

Holy shi ite, what a one trick pony you are! The Lenski crap! AGAIN!?

Well, youre not going to try it again with me.

You tried to shoot that ONE silver bullet before, months ago. (As I recall, you may have even tried it twice.)

And it was a dud.

Youre done. Or at least WE are done.

Why do I bother writing this post? Well, to once and for all clear up fourthings, because he will no doubt repeat this errant behaviour as he has done time and time again:

Make it your very best shot, because youll only get one, dummy.

On the final point, he seems blissfully unaware of his rather precarious approach as it can just as easily be used against him

On the thirdpoint there, it is worth reminding you and him of this image:

And also some of the other posts I have done that were written partly in response to his lack of understanding about evolution:

Just for starters.

Go here to see the original:

Crunch Time for See Noevo on Evolution - Patheos (blog)

KANSAS CITY, MO - JUNE 25: A young Kansas City Royals' fan cheers for his team during a game against the Toronto Blue Jays in the eighth inning at Kauffman Stadium on June 25, 2017 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Ed Zurga/Getty Images)

Miscues harm Kansas City Royals in Saturdays contest in LA by Colby Wilson

Most people like to focus on the Kansas City Royals World Series runs in 2014 and 2015. Why not, they were incredible. The truth is though things began to change the second half of 2013.

I was at the last Friday night home game of the season. Ervin Santana was on the bump. The Royals were still mathematically in the playoffs. Kauffman Stadium was rocking like I had never seen it. Amidst all the screaming and ruckus I did my best to soak it all in. At that point my obsession with Kansas City baseball was well grounded.

Over the past four seasons I have struggled with bandwagon fans. I had rooted year in and year out for what was some terrible teams. These new fans just rubbed me the wrong way. You know who I am talking about. Brand new clean and crisp t-shirts that scream This is my team, but when you ask them who their favorite player of the Allard Baird era was you get a blank stare.

I have come to understand that these fans have a place in every fan base. The young people who have become excited about this franchise are a good thing. Many will support the team into the future and eventually replace my generation. After all witnessing championships is exciting.

The question that my wife tries to understand is how did I end up this way? She knows how rough most years had been (100 losses in a season can be that way) and yet I kept buying merchandise of a team that was often the laughing stock of baseball. The drive behind that is the same reason it is 5 am and I am typing away at a keyboard.

Without going into too much detail, this has been a very difficult week. My brother had extremely unexpected heart surgery. It was sprinkled with complications, but he seems to be on the right side of things. When I first went to the hospital to see him on Monday, before knowing that around 15 hours of surgery would be in the very near future, I sat next to him and we talked baseball.

That is what this game does. It takes away the hardships, if only for a moment. I have been on autopilot most of the week. You know what though? A Royals sweep in Seattle helped to distract from the very serious reality that was going on.

As I was having trouble sleeping I began to think about the question that my wife has asked many times. Why did I become a Kansas City Royals fan?

I believe that when you truly commit yourself to something such as a sports franchise it is often not a conscience choice. It just sort of happens. My parents and some very dear family friends who live in the KC area took my brother and me to games since we were young.

I dont really remember my first game. I couldnt tell you who the Royals opponent was. What I can remember is that it was a night game. We sat in the upper deck. At the end of the game I did not want to walk down the steps, followed by the corridors, and eventually to wherever our vehicle was parked. So instead I pretended to be asleep. My dad picked me up and carried me the whole way. As we turned to go through the tunnel I cant tell you want was going on down on the field, but I can remember the lights.

My story is made up of several moments like this. Some may have become a bit exaggerated over the years, but for me it will always be how theyhappened. Like when it was the top of the ninth and it was clear that the Royals would beat the Chicago White Sox. We walked to the top of the old General Admission section to watch the end of the game. We did so to try and get a head start on the crowd who would soon exit. As we stood there what would happen? Frank Thomas hit a foul ball that, in this version, landed right in the seats we had vacated. I threw my glove down in frustration, life went on.

There was the time that George Brett hit an in the park homerun. Some of the details may not be correct, but I know for a fact we could see him in the dugout, after chugging around the bases, sucking on oxygen.

It was a rainy weeknight with perhaps a few thousand people in attendance as Felix Hernandez took the mound for the Mariners. Somehow yet again by the top of the ninth the Royals seemed sure of victory. With two outs Mike Sweeney stood on deck to pinch hit for Seattle. I hoped with everything in me that whoever it was at the plate would get on base so that I could see one of my favorite all time players step into the batters box another time. As Mike dug in there were several boos that I just couldnt understand.

Countless memories led me to this point. Watching Jim Abbott warming up in the bullpen; Luke Hochevar striking out 13 Texas Rangers to set a career high; Meeting Brian McRae as a rookie and again long after he retired.

Being able to talk candidly with Zack Grienke during a Royals Caravan stop at a YMCA on a Thursday afternoon where barely anyone showed up. There was the time I asked Billy Butler for a loan at another caravan. This was after he had signed a contract extension and he simply replied yeah like I havent heard that already. Getting to hear why John Buck changed his number to honor his brother.

True fandom is the random players who endear themselves to you. Thinking Tony Pena Jr. just might be able to be the next Ozzie Smith. Convincing yourself that Mike Wood has the ability to be in the front of a rotation. Ken Harvey was an All Star player! (Even though you knew he was the teams one required representative.)

Fair weather fans may come and go. That is alright. The diehards should still embrace them. They are part of the journey. They become an important character in the greatest of theater. While it is important to remember that the players are human beings, it is also okay to make them larger than life. When people tell you that it is just a game, especially in the face of tragedy, there is no reason you are required to believe them.

Want your voice heard? Join the Kings of Kauffman team!

After all why else would we name fantasy teams after these players, scream that info to Mark Teahen as he stood in right field, and watch him smile and shake his head? Long live the T-bags!

See the original post here:

Kansas City Royals: An Evolution in Fandom, My Journey - Kings of Kauffman

Welcome to the IoT Evolution Week in Review, my friends. This week, weve been talking about Smart City deals, IoT development deals, the Big Deal IoT Evolution Expo and more. Lets get into it, shall we?

In our lead story, I wrote about a new Internet of Things (IoT) research study from Inmarsat, a major provider of global mobile satellite communications, in which the company reportedly has found that agritech businesses are helping many food producers to meet increasingly stringent import requirements by monitoring production, food hygiene, and sustainability through the use of IoT technology. This will accelerate the globalization of food production by enabling developing country food producers to export to developed economies, where these regulations originate from.

We are continuing our special series of Q&A interviews with the speaking faculty at the IoT Evolution Expo, coming up in Las Vegas July 17 to 20. This week, we spoke to James Turino, Phil Attfield, and Hiep Pham.

In a great guest post this week, our Special Correspondent Cynthia Artin gave us a look at the Future of IoT and how the industry will move into true real-time and data harnessing thanks to fine tuning of every element in the architecture, from the devices at the edge to gateways and networks, clouds and applications, all which must be programmed and secured, and made economically feasible, relative to the value "real time" delivers.

And now, the news: Cyient has announced that it has signed a business alliance agreement with Kii Corporation to invest in Smart City deployments.

Mouser Electronics is teaming up with celebrity engineer and former Mythbuster Grant Imahara for the Shaping Smarter Cities project, the newest series in the successful Empowering Innovation Together program.

Observables Inc. has created a connected service platform that connects, manages, monitors and controls new and legacy infrastructure devices on the network. These devices include alarm systems, computer networks, access control, smart home, and phone and video surveillance into a singular cloud and mobile dashboard for dealers, OEMs, makers, and end-users alike.

Telit, a global enabler of the Internet of Things (IoT), and OT-Morpho, a digital security & identification technology developer, will join forces and partner up to solve the challenges facing the mass adoption of IoT via todays traditional deployment methodology.

Over the last few years, I have seen some major trends forming across nearly every vertical in the consumer and industrial spaces, and these trends looked like they were pointing toward a future where the IoT would indeed be improving the lives and living conditions of people all over the world, and so I decided to begin writing a book in order to look for patterns in those trends. That book, published recently, is called IoT Time: Evolving Trends in the Internet of Things. In a new weekly series, well be previewing chapters for you to read in the hopes that youll like enough to read the whole thing.

On the IoT Time Podcast, I sat down with Christian Legare, Chairman, IPSO Alliance to talk about interoperability standards for IoT, defining network identity and the IoT Evolution Expo.

Theres plenty more to read, listen to and watch, so visit us on IoT Evolution World for all the IoT news, my friends. Now is the time to put into your calendar the next IoT Evolution Expo, to be held in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Also, please get in touch with us when you have stories. As always, if you have questions, comments, complaints or compliments, please send them to me, editorial director Ken Briodagh at kbriodagh@tmcnet.com or on Twitter @KenBriodagh.

More:

IoT Evolution World Week in Review: Inmarsat, Mouser, Telit - IoT Evolution World (blog)

The restructuring of McLaren into McLaren Group combining the technology group and automotive arm is a good example of long-term strategic thinking. Furthermore, it reasserts Arab leadership and management of their sovereign assets abroad. The McLaren Group is part-owned by sovereign wealth fund Bahrain Mumtalakat Holding Co. and TAG Group, which are set to remain majority shareholders. Sheikh Mohammed bin Essa Al-Khalifa of Bahrain will become executive chairman of the new group, valued at $3.1 billion, and pledged to follow a policy of evolution, not revolution. He succeeds Ron Dennis, the veteran chairman of 37 years who sold his holdings to the group and resigned. This move ensures stability and managed growth for McLaren after a period of uncertainty and speculation. Until recently, it was rumored that McLaren was heading to float on the stock exchange, following in the footsteps of Ferrari. This was followed by news of a possible takeover by Apple or Chinese companies. Dennis, 70, said after losing the CEO role at McLaren Technology that the grounds for his removal were entirely spurious and came after clashes with Mumtalakat and TAG over his views on outside investment and the future of the business. It seems that Dennis wanted revolution through a public offering of McLaren stock, of which he had about $350 million worth of shares (which he sold to Mumtalakat). However, the conservative sovereign fund and the TAG Group prefer caution and evolution. As majority holders in the new McLaren Group, they have asserted their authority and forged their calm way forward. McLaren has been successful with its car production arm and has achieved profits in the past few years. They have ambitious plans for the future and they have the talent, tools and technology to further their success. Adel Murad is a senior motoring and business journalist based in London.

The restructuring of McLaren into McLaren Group combining the technology group and automotive arm is a good example of long-term strategic thinking. Furthermore, it reasserts Arab leadership and management of their sovereign assets abroad. The McLaren Group is part-owned by sovereign wealth fund Bahrain Mumtalakat Holding Co. and TAG Group, which are set to remain majority shareholders. Sheikh Mohammed bin Essa Al-Khalifa of Bahrain will become executive chairman of the new group, valued at $3.1 billion, and pledged to follow a policy of evolution, not revolution. He succeeds Ron Dennis, the veteran chairman of 37 years who sold his holdings to the group and resigned. This move ensures stability and managed growth for McLaren after a period of uncertainty and speculation. Until recently, it was rumored that McLaren was heading to float on the stock exchange, following in the footsteps of Ferrari. This was followed by news of a possible takeover by Apple or Chinese companies. Dennis, 70, said after losing the CEO role at McLaren Technology that the grounds for his removal were entirely spurious and came after clashes with Mumtalakat and TAG over his views on outside investment and the future of the business. It seems that Dennis wanted revolution through a public offering of McLaren stock, of which he had about $350 million worth of shares (which he sold to Mumtalakat). However, the conservative sovereign fund and the TAG Group prefer caution and evolution. As majority holders in the new McLaren Group, they have asserted their authority and forged their calm way forward. McLaren has been successful with its car production arm and has achieved profits in the past few years. They have ambitious plans for the future and they have the talent, tools and technology to further their success. Adel Murad is a senior motoring and business journalist based in London.

Read more here:

Evolution, not revolution at McLaren - Arab News

The Turkish Education Ministry has decided to remove evolution from biology textbooks and the curriculum of 9th graders. This backwards move has been received very poorly by many, and it is an example of a world that seems increasingly hostile to science and facts.

The Head of the Ministrys curriculum board, Alpaslan Durmu, announced last Wednesday that Evolution will be removed from the biology books of 14 and 15 year old student in Turkey. He claimed that these students were too young to understand controversial topics.

Labeling the foundation for the development of more complex life on Earth over time as a controversial topic is an example of science deniers latest strategy to ignore facts and spread ignorance. Claiming that it is controversial makes facts vulnerable to opinion. We see this same move with climate skeptics, who can overlook overwhelming factual evidence disproving their opinion. They then have the gall to saythat facts are subjective and are even given podiums to speak from to infect otherwise sane minds.

I want to be perfectly clear, facts are not subjective or relative to anyones opinions. This is why I, and many others, are outraged by the Turkish governments decision to pull one of the most enlightening theories -Evolution- from biology books. To call it controversial is just salt in the wound, but also fuel to the fire.

This comes as Turkey is working on embedding more religious rhetoric and policy in their government. Most classes will see an overhaul to reflect more religious undertones. The President of Turkey is also consolidating much of his power. Both of these things are out of the norm for Turkey, which has been a historically secular and modern state.

Denial of facts and science are the quickest way send a nation back in time, for the worst. However, many are not taking this without a fight. They are just as upset with this as I am, and have even more reason to be since it is their nation. Many of the points I have already made are echoed in the comments sections of news reports and on the forums of popular websites.

While the deed appears to already have been done, it is important that critics of this move remain vocal and outspoken. Democracy, science, and knowledge only die when we allow them to do so. It is the duty of every human to resist when governments, businesses, and anyone else tells you that facts are opinions or that science is controversial.

I am pleased to see so many standing up against this and making their voices heard. Science and facts will always be more important to humanity as a whole than the opinions of misinformed and powerful people. Never let anyone make you question scientific Truth. There are many things that are relative and culturally constructed, but the only place where Truth -with a capital T- lives is in sciences and math. Known Truth should never be considered an opinion and learning it should never be seen as controversial.

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Turkey To Remove Evolution from Biology Textbooks - The Merkle