4 Steps to Solving Life’s Everyday Problems… Like a Lawyer

Alex J. Battick HBA, LLB

4 Steps to Solving Life’s Everyday Problems… Like a Lawyer
Precedent is what our legal system is based on; it is the idea that similar issues should be
treated similarly. But it is also an acknowledgement that human behaviour can be predictable and repetitive. For this reason, subsequent problems with similar facts can be dealt with certainty.

Lawyers are trained to use precedent to solve legal problems. Our day to day problems can be tackled in a similar manner with the premise that someone, somewhere, at some time, is likely to have experienced something similar to you. This is reassuring since whatever challenge, obstacle or barrier you face, you can be fairly confident that you are not the first, you are not the only, and you certainly are not the last person who will be able to overcome it.

I believe the methodology we use in law school to navigate hypotheticals, transcends mere legal practice — it could be viewed more broadly as a template to solving many of the challenges that creep into our lives.

1. You may be experiencing a problem, but what is the issue?
Solving a worry starts by identifying what the real problem is. You may be surprised to learn how difficult this can actually be. We are taught to look for all the possible issues within a given set of facts. However, when clustered among irrelevant pieces of information, answering the overall question becomes increasingly difficult.

Similarly, life has a way of clustering irrelevant things around our real issues as well. The problems we face may at times, only be precipitates of underlying issues. Working with the facts of our day to day lives becomes a game of reading in between the lines.

Moments of self-reflection and introspection is a starting point when trying to identify the issues. Emotional intelligence is useful, as we may feel that something is not ideal. In
fact, these feelings are a significant component of the critical thinking process. Scientists
suggest that emotions can guide us to make sound decisions in times of uncertainty, and so should not be dismissed.

Think of these feelings as a trail of breadcrumbs leading to the issues that need to be
addressed.

2. Find the rules that best work to get you out of the problem.
What are the parameters you have to work in when addressing the intricacies of your
problems? Lawyers, after identifying the type of issue, must apply the relevant laws and rules to that circumstance. These eventually become guidelines, used to draw conclusions. But does life have its own set of rules we can use to navigate our personal problems?

There is nothing new under the sun.

It shouldn’t be a surprise to us that this is the case. Whether it is love or war, or anything in between, people at some point approached the topic with contemplation. Thus, your life issue is likely to have been experienced by a large number of people before you, many who derived meaning, philosophies or solutions from their experience.
But, where does one find these “rules” to life? Something akin to this may be the advice that is available in books, TV shows, research, documentaries, the news or experience from friends and family. If you still aren’t convinced, check out a random episode of Friends, and notice you are able to extract an overarching lesson applicable to the average person.

Avoid the belief that your situation is so unique that you aren’t able to find reference points to help you through the challenge. You will be hard pressed to find something out there that doesn’t give you a new perspective, at the least. And this is the key — a new perspective.

I am not suggesting that these reference points are answers to your problems. Joey or
Chandler wind up in the most unlikely of circumstances. But the ways in which they have navigated their challenge is of interest to you. Lawyers use case law and legislation as tools to finding an appropriate solution. Use the lessons learned from others to build a series of helpful guidelines for resolving the issues presented to you.

3. Apply the framework you’ve learned, to the issues you have identified.
The crux of being a lawyer is being able to take the rules you are given and apply them to the problem at hand. Conversely, using the experiences and lessons learned by others, we have a firm foundation to stand on when reacting to most of the problems life throws our way.

Of course, TV shows aren’t necessarily the most accurate depictions of reality, and many of these sources you are referencing are not going to be exact templates to your problem. But that is beside the point; these sources do tell you something about the human condition. You have a reference point that allows you to begin finding real solutions to a problem you momentarily couldn’t navigate on your own. Use the resources to differentiate the “rules” from your situation and realize what may and may not be applicable.

4. What can you do next?
People go to lawyers because they want answers; solutions to a problem that they may not have the technical knowledge to navigate on their own. While the process is significant, it is the conclusions that can be drawn that are truly important to clients. Likewise, it is this understanding of what must be done next that is so fruitful.
If you have a problem, but you can’t do something about it… then don’t worry. If you have a problem, and you can do something about it… then don’t worry.

It seems to me that there will be many instances where fear and anxiousness derived from problems, are able to manifest because we lose a sense of control. When you are able to identify what your issues are, and sift through the options available to you, your anxiety and fear may not disappear; but a newfound sense of hope may be enough to offset negative feelings. So, ask yourself:

What is in your control?
What is out of your control?
What is the most important thing you can do, right now?

This final stage is all about having a growth mindset; it’s about having confidence in yourself and your choices while taking responsibility for your actions and decisions. Like lawyers who posit their conclusions, act in a way that reflects an understanding of the circumstance holistically.

Precedent Experience is the idea that knowledge or skill can be acquired over a period of time. But experience is only translatable when one can relate to it. You don’t really know how being stung by a bee feels until you experience being stung by a bee. Yet, wisdom isn’t always acquired by personal experience; we can rely on others to guide our decisions.
Using the resources around you, you can solve the next problem life serves… you just need to start thinking like a lawyer.

Recap:
1.Identify the issues.
2.Find a reference point that you can develop a new perspective about your issue from.
3.How does the reference point compare to your problem?
4.Make a move.

https://giphy.com/embed/TvGzSb70uoMEMvia GIPHY

 

Read more @: http://www.alexbattick.com/

 

Dinosaur brain tissue discovered for first time in 130m-year-old fossil

Thought to belong to a relative of the Iguanodon, the thin layer of mineralised matter is the first fossilised brain tissue found for any land-living vertebrate

An animation of the cast and veneer of mineralised tissue.

A brown, pebble-sized object found in a rock pool on a beach near Bexhill, Sussex bears the first evidence of fossilised dinosaur brain tissue, scientists say.

Found in 2004 by an amateur fossil collector, the object is the cast of a dinosaur’s brain cavity, and appears to show a thin veneer of mineralised tissues on its surface.

Scientists say the find is most likely from a relative of the Iguanodon, which lived around 125 million years ago. Large, hefty herbivores, Iguanodons reached up around eight metres in length, could walk on either two legs or all fours and boasted sharp spikes on their thumbs – a feature initially thought to be a horn on the nose and immortalised as such in the Victorian dinosaur sculptures of Crystal Palace Park.

While casts of the inside of dinosaur brain cases have been found before, it is the first time fossilised brain soft tissue has been discovered for any land-living vertebrate.

“The most striking thing is that something as delicate as brain tissue, and which you wouldn’t expect to ever see, has been preserved,” said Alex Liu, co-author of the research from the University of Cambridge. “It just speaks volumes [about] the spectacular preservational quality that can be obtained in the fossil record even 130 million years after this dinosaur is alive.”

Writing in a special publication from the Geological Society of London to commemorate the work of the late co-author Martin Brasier, an international team of researchers describe how the cast was discovered near other dinosaur remains, including ribs and leg bones. “We can’t say it is from the same organism, but it is from a fairly large dinosaur,” said Liu.

 The brain cast measures around 10cm by 5cm and is thought to have belonged to a relative of the Iguanodon. Photograph: Jamie Hiscocks/PA

The cast is a lumpy object measuring around 10cm by 5cm, thought to be about a third of the size of the brain cavity, and is believed to belong to a relative of the Iguanodon. But the age of rocks near where the cast was found, at 133 million years old, suggests that the dinosaur might have roamed the land several million years earlier than the Iguanodon, said Liu.

Using x-ray techniques, the team produced a virtual, 3D model of the fossil, allowing them to explore its structure and how it formed.

The dinosaur, they say, probably toppled into a lake or swamp, with the head coming to rest upside down. Under acidic, oxygen-poor conditions, some of the brain tissues were quickly mineralised while the rest of tissues decayed, and the brain cavity was filled with silt, bits of broken bone and other material.

An approach known as scanning tunnelling microscopy shed light on the structure of the thin layers of mineralised tissue.

“What we found were very fine detailed bundles of what seemed to be collagenous fibres, which you’d expect in the outer protective tissues of the brain,” said Liu. “And these are interspersed with open tubes that branch and run around the edges of the specimen, and these seem to be the capillaries, which again you’d expect in that position on the surface.”

The discovery, said Liu, sheds light on the question of what dinosaur brains might have been like.

“Previously, anything we have known about dinosaur brains has had to be inferred from either comparison with what we think are modern relatives – so reptiles and birds – or just guessed from the shape of the structure on the impression of the brain on the brain case itself,” he said.

Comparisons with modern reptiles, the authors write, have previously led to suggestions that some dinosaurs, including Iguanodons, might have had brains surrounded by a thick membrane, with the brain proper potentially taking up just half of the brain cavity.

But, the authors note, analysis of the fossilised tissues revealed only a thin, millimetre-thick layer of protective tissue, known as the meninges, covering tissue resembling that of the brain proper beneath.

“That would suggest that the brain of the dinosaur did fill most of the volume of that brain case and therefore it might have had a larger brain that we previously gave it credit for,” said Liu, although the authors note that the features may be a result of the upside down burial of the skull that could have led to the brain being pushed against the brain cavity.

Even if the brain was bigger than expected, Liu added, “whether that tells us anything about its intelligence, or its ability to communicate, or its behavioural capacity is very, very sketchy”.

Amy Balanoff of Johns Hopkins University, who was not involved in the study, said that more needs to be done to confirm that the find does indeed show preservation of soft tissues of the brain, but “because of the rarity of the claims in this paper, it can be certain that it will receive a lot of scrutiny”. Nevertheless, she added, “If correct, this discovery would provide important insights into our understanding of the evolution of the dinosaur brain, and consequently the evolution of the avian brain.”

Fabien Knoll, a researcher at the Agencia Aragonesa para la Investigación y el Desarrollo in Spain and the University of Manchester, said that the implications of the discovery are far-reaching.

“We usually assume that the brain cannot fossilise because it rapidly decays after the death of an animal,” he said. But the new findings, he said, add to the evidence that neural tissues can be fossilised, and suggests that brain cases merit deeper scrutiny as the casts inside might bear mineralised soft tissues. “The next step would be to find a dinosaur brain fossilised ‘en masse’. Who knows what is still to be discovered?” he said.

 

 

Article and Photos taken from : “https://www.theguardian.com/science/2016/oct/27/scientists-discover-first-fossilised-dinosaur-brain-tissue”

Boko Haram Attacks Signal Resilience of ISIS and Its Branches

DIFFA, Niger — The military convoy was rumbling across a river near the border last month when soldiers suddenly realized they were surrounded. More than 100 Boko Haram fighters, some of them on horseback, had encircled the vehicles, ready to strike.

The 300 soldiers from Niger and the handful of American Special Operations forces accompanying them called for help. Soldiers from Chad rushed to the area, and fighter planes from Niger buzzed overhead, bombing the militants, killing some and sending others fleeing. This time, at least, the quick international teamwork averted what could have been a deadly militant ambush.

Defeating Boko Haram was a flagship campaign promise of President Muhammadu Buhari of Nigeria, the former general who took office a year and a half ago. Since then, the Nigerian military, aided by neighboring countries — along with training from the United States, Britain and France — has made huge advances. Mr. Buhari has claimed for months that Boko Haram has been defeated, and this month he reveled in the release of 21 of the nearly 300 girls kidnapped from a school by Boko Haram more than two years ago.

Yet a troubling new series of attacks in Nigeria and the neighboring country of Niger, including one that killed dozens of soldiers, highlights how Boko Haram is far from eliminated. With the rainy season ending and roads becoming passable again, officials are bracing for more ambushes like the one at the river crossing.

Boko Haram has pledged allegiance to the Islamic State, and Western intelligence officials believe the recent strikes were carried out by a group that splintered off with the Islamic State’s blessing to focus on Western and strategic military targets. Now, the group is unleashing the kinds of military attacks that had been on the wane in past months, restoring a deadly urgency to the conflict just as it seemed the militants were finally losing traction.

The splinter group has stated its intent to focus its attacks “away from local Sunni civilians and towards military and Western targets,” said Cmdr. William J. Marks, a spokesman for the Defense Intelligence Agency in Washington.

The renewed violence offers insight into the reach of the Islamic State. As it loses ground in Iraq and Syria, the group is relying on affiliates like this Boko Haram faction to hold their ground. Other affiliates are also trying to keep up the fight, even under increasing pressure from the West. The Libya faction, for instance, has taken a pounding in Surt, but many of its fighters have simply scattered to the south and other places, where American counterterrorism officials fear they will regroup to fight another day.

The recent Boko Haram developments illustrate the very adaptive and resilient nature of the Islamic State, often called ISIS or ISIL, and its branches.

“Both ISIL and its regional affiliates are under increasing pressure, and both sides have increasing incentive to deepen the center-affiliate bond,” said Jennifer G. Cooke, director of the Africa program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.

Boko Haram has ravaged Nigeria and other sub-Saharan nations along Lake Chad, killing civilians, kidnapping people and seizing entire villages. At its peak, the group pummeled major military targets and even controlled large swaths of territory.

But in the past year or so, as Nigeria’s president launched a renewed military offensive against the group, Boko Haram’s operations became less organized and more opportunistic. Led by Abubakar Shekau, notorious for his wild YouTube rants with a Kalashnikov slung across his chest, Boko Haram’s battleground strategy often consisted of sending men, women and children strapped with explosives into markets and mosques to blow up everyday citizens.

Evidence of a weakened Boko Haram had begun to emerge. Fighters retreated into the Sambisa Forest as Nigerian forces aided by a multinational military coalition gained traction and squeezed the group’s supply lines.

Some of the newly released schoolgirls offered reports that demonstrate the group’s weakened status. When the girls were first brought to the forest by their captors more than two years ago, the fighters had a surplus of cars and motorcycles, according to Yakubu Nkeki, chairman of the Abducted Chibok Girls Parents Movement for Rescue, who has spent time with the girls. Now, fighters have no vehicles and use bicycles and donkeys to get around, the girls told him.

In the beginning, the militants routinely slaughtered cows for feasts. They had so much food, the girls told Mr. Nkeki, that sometimes they used sacks of rice to fill potholes or control erosion.

Weapons that had been in the hands of Boko Haram were gathered and transported by the Chadian Army in 2015. CreditTyler Hicks/The New York Times 

More recently, the Nigerian military has been reporting that captured fighters are scrawny from hunger. The newly released girls appear gaunt, their bony shoulders poking out of colorful dresses.

Throughout the region, word of divisions within Boko Haram and defections has spread. Some fighters have even been turning themselves in to the Nigerian military, which has offered amnesty if they agree to take part in a “deradicalization” program. Some officials also think the release of the schoolgirls from Nigeria is a sign of defections in Mr. Shekau’s group.

The biggest sign of trouble in Mr. Shekau’s ranks came in August when news of a factional split was announced in an online newsletter for the Islamic State. Boko Haram appeared to be divided along theological lines, with a new faction disavowing the random killing of Muslims that had taken place under Mr. Shekau’s leadership. Instead, this new wing has pledged to focus on Western and strategic military targets.

Led by Abu Musab al-Barnawi, thought to be the son of the founder of Boko Haram, the new faction appears to be concentrated along the northern edge of Nigeria and into Niger. The new attacks suggest that the splinter group has found new ground to operate in and a new sense of purpose, emboldened by its Islamic State endorsement.

In June, the Barnawi-led faction swarmed a military post in Bosso, Niger, killing 32 soldiers and wounding more than 60 others. Militants made off with weapons and ammunition as soldiers fled the post.

Then this month, fighters attempted a jailbreak in Niger at a facility where Boko Haram militants were being held. Officials suspect the perpetrators of the attack, which was thwarted, were members of Boko Haram, but their allegiance has yet to be confirmed.

Fighters believed to be Boko Haram members also raided two medical facilities in Niger this month, making off with medicine and equipment.

And then again this month along the Niger-Nigeria border, soldiers were ambushed, leaving 13 of their ranks wounded. Some are still missing in action, according to a news release from the Nigerian military.

Western intelligence officials believe the new attacks are energizing a multinational effort to battle Boko Haram that, until now, has had mixed success.

A Multinational Joint Task Force made up of soldiers from Nigeria, Niger, Chad and Cameroon has slowly made headway in sharing intelligence and launching attacks together. During the rainy season, a group of Chadian soldiers moving toward Lake Chad near Bosso, Niger, became bogged down along mud-clogged roads. Instead of turning back, the soldiers set up camp for weeks to wait for drier weather so they could push forward.

But operations against Boko Haram have also suffered setbacks. The most recent was several weeks ago when soldiers from Nigeria launched an attack across the border that erroneously killed several soldiers from Niger, according to Western intelligence officials and security operators in Niger.

The multinational forces have struggled with communications. Language is a barrier — English is the main language in Nigeria, but French is spoken in Niger, in Chad and by many in the Cameroonian military. Top-secret information sometimes flows slowly and is passed along on mobile phones across unreliable cell networks. Radio gear is incompatible in some cases — Nigerians use American radios, but in Niger soldiers use French-made devices. The militaries are about to receive technology that will help make the radios work together.

“We have good cooperation between all our forces,” said Col. Mahamane Laminou Sani, director of documentation and military intelligence of Niger’s armed forces.

For the moment, in the homeland of Boko Haram, Nigeria, celebrations were still underway over the release of some of the schoolgirls.

“We are happy for seeing this wonderful day,” said one of the freed girls, Rebecca Mallum, speaking at a meeting with Mr. Buhari. “The grace of the Lord show us now we are together.”

By Dionne Searcey and Eric Schmitt

Article & Photos taken from : “http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/28/world/africa/boko-haram-isis-nigeria-niger.html?_r=0”

The world has lost more than half its wildlife since 1970

Worldwide populations of mammals, birds, fish, amphibians and reptiles have plunged by almost 60 per cent since 1970 as human activities overwhelm the environment, the WWF conservation group said on Thursday.

An index compiled with data from the Zoological Society of London to measure the abundance of biodiversity was down 58 per cent from 1970 to 2012 and would fall 67 per cent by 2020 on current trends, the WWF said in a report.

• Is the world running out of wilderness?

The decline is yet another sign that people have become the driving force for change on Earth, ushering in the epoch of the Anthropocene, a term derived from “anthropos,” the Greek for “human” and “-cene” denoting a geological period.

Conservation efforts appear to be having scant impact as the index is showing a steeper plunge in wildlife populations than two years ago, when the WWF estimated there had been a 52 per cent decline between 1970 and 2010.

“Wildlife is disappearing within our lifetimes at an unprecedented rate,” Marco Lambertini, director general of WWF International, said in a statement of the group’s Living Planet Report, published every two years.

“Biodiversity forms the foundation of healthy forests, rivers and oceans,” he said.

“We are entering a new era in Earth’s history: the Anthropocene.”

The index tracks about 14,200 populations of 3,700 species of vertebrates — creatures ranging from pea-sized frogs to 30-metre long whales.

The rising human population is threatening wildlife by clearing land for farms and cities, the report said. Other factors include pollution, invasive species, hunting and climate change. But there are still chances to reverse the trends, it said.

Biscuit, left, a baby male snow leopard, lives with his mother Shikari at the Bronx Zoo in New York City. Snow leopards live in the high mountains of Central Asia and the wild population is estimated to number in the low thousands. (Mario Tama/Getty)

 

“Importantly… these are declines, they are not yet extinctions,” said Prof. Ken Norris, the society’s director of science.

Deon Nel, WWF global conservation director, also told Reuters it wasn’t all bad news.

“I don’t speak at all about doom and gloom — we do see a lot of positive signs,” Nel said.

A global agreement signed by almost 200 nations last year to curb climate change could, for instance, help protect tropical forests, slow a spread of deserts and curb an acidification of the seas caused by a build-up of carbon dioxide. And a 2015 UN plan for sustainable development by 2030, seeking to end poverty with policies that safeguard the environment, would also help if properly implemented.

Some species are recovering. Last month, the giant panda was taken off an endangered list after a recovery in China.

 

Article taken from : “http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/wild-animals-disappear-wwf-1.3823662”

Photo taken from : “https://www.wikipedia.org”

The Auston Matthews factor: The power of first impressions

Expectations were high for Auston Matthews, and that was before the Toronto Maple Leafs rookie scored four goals in his first NHL game.

Even casual hockey fans had heard stories about the talent and potential of the American-born Matthews before the Leafs made him the first overall pick in the 2016 National Hockey League draft. The last time the Leafs picked first over all, they selected the legendary Wendel Clark, so to say that fans are pinning their hopes for a long-awaited turnaround on the 19-year-old Matthews would be something of an understatement.

In Leafland, there is plenty of reason for optimism. Over the past few years, management has brought in Hall of Famers Brendan Shanahan and Lou Lamoriello to run the team, and hired star free-agent coach Mike Babcock to begin to shape a roster that is long on young talent and potential.

For the Leafs, a team celebrating its centennial season this year, Matthews et al couldn’t have arrived at a better time, as the organization looks to repair a brand that has faced its difficulties over the course of a 50-year Stanley Cup drought.

Without question, Matthews was the Leafs’ most anticipated prospect. On the night of his record-setting first game, Matthews became the No. 1 trending topic worldwide on Twitter, with fans and fellow NHL players expressing their awe and excitement at the rookie’s outstanding performance. And not only did Matthews make NHL history, he lifted the spirits of an entire organization.

Brands were quick to jump in on the action. Tim Hortons congratulated the newest Leaf superstar by posting a photo on Instagram featuring four donuts piled high on a hockey stick that read: “Here’s hoping for another unFOURgettable performance from the Maple Leafs star rookie tonight.”The need to refresh a brand and create renewed excitement is a challenge that many companies face. New companies enter the market, often bringing fresh talent and an entirely new approach to the industry. They shake things up and customer attention starts to shift away from your brand.

So what can companies do to regain momentum?

Create excitement for the future

At just 19 years of age, Auston Matthews is set to play a large role for the Leafs, both on and off the ice. It could be argued the Leafs have never had a prospect that comes with this much built-in excitement.

Excitement for your brand comes with customers believing in the future of your company, and strong new additions play a huge role in making that happen.

The marketplace and competition are constantly changing. In order to stay at the forefront brands need to make strategic decisions and sometimes – like the Toronto Maple Leafs – they need to pull the ripcord and orchestrate a complete reinvention.

Take Canadian retailer Chapters Indigo, a company that built its brand around selling books. When online content and e-readers like Amazon’s Kindle rose to popularity, the company saw sales plummet. The brand knew it had to reinvent itself and so management set out on a mission to create a retailer for the digital age. And the strategy is paying off.

After working tirelessly, it acquired the right products to round out its new lifestyle retail shop, bringing people merchandise, exclusive product lines, and of course, books. The result? Lengthy lineups outside of its flagship locations for product launches, reflective in its 11 per cent revenue increase in 2016. Though people doubted whether Indigo could move beyond selling books, its cultural department store strategy is proving effective.

First impressions count

Expectations for a first-overall draft pick are always high. And with Toronto being the hockey-crazed city it is, millions of viewers are tuning in to see how Matthews will perform. So far, he’s living up to the hype. While Leafs’ management is taking every opportunity to develop Matthews properly, they were ready to throw him into the deep end, lining him up against veteran centremen to see what the NHL is really like.

I always tell my clients that they only have one chance to make a strong first impression.

For brands undergoing a refresh, whether to reach a new target market or combat slumping sales, it’s imperative your first debut is a success.

Continue the momentum

Given the historic debut of Matthews, the Leafs have a massive opportunity to keep the momentum going and look for creative ways to sustain fan engagement and brand equity for the entire season.

Once you’ve made your splash in the marketplace, brands need to continuously find ways to innovate and disrupt. When you get too comfortable resting on the laurels of your previous success is when you start to fall behind.

In the end, the Leafs’ brand will depend on the team’s on-ice performance. But while Matthews and his young teammates develop, the Leafs brand will enjoy a boost from a fan base that is hopeful, optimistic, and looking forward to a bright future.

Article taken from : “http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/small-business/sb-marketing/the-auston-matthews-factor-the-power-of-first-impressions/article32498166/”

Photo taken from : “https://nhl.bamcontent.com/images/photos/281046884/1024×576/cut.jpg”

Joel Embiid was worth the wait for the 76ers

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76ers fans waited two full seasons before they got to see Joel Embiid play his first official game. Their patience was certainly rewarded by the rookie center, who finished his debut with a line of 20 points, seven rebounds, and two blocks in just 22 minutes in a loss to the Thunder.

It was a terrific performance that ratified the potential the 22-year-old center showcased during preseason. He clearly is a special prospect, someone who can be the focal point of a contender on both ends down the line.

Like with any rookie, however, there is work to do, especially since Embiid hadn’t played a competitive game in two years. The good has outweighed the bad by a significant margin, which is encouraging. But there’s still room for improvement.

Embiid is a deadly scorer with advanced moves

First, the good. Embiid has been impressing on offense since preseason, but whether he could hurt elite defensive talent in a game that counted remained to be seen.

On Wednesday, he did just that by getting the best of Steven Adams. Embiid went just 6 of 16 from the floor but got to the line eight times. He also did damage from inside and out, something that not a lot of seven-footers can do.

“He’s hard to guard,” Thunder coach Billy Donovan said, according to Philly.com’s Keith Pompey. “He’s herky-jerky. He’s got a lot of [Hakeem] Olajuwon in him.”

That’s not the type of praise that gets tossed around often, but it fits Embiid. The body control and the moves he has at such a young age are hard to find even in veterans. Embiid has the tools to become the focal point of a good NBA offense sooner rather than later.

His biggest weakness on offense is his tunnel vision

There’s a downside to his confidence in his own scoring ability: it often leads to tunnel vision. When Embiid gets the ball, it seems like he has already decided to shoot it. He has not logged an assist either in preseason or in his debut. That makes him predictable, despite having such a wide array of weapons to score.

Having his blinders on came back to haunt him late in a close game against the Thunder. He got the ball with 10 seconds to go in the fourth quarter and never really looked to pass, even though he was at the three-point line. He drove and both Adams and Victor Oladipo were there to meet him at the rim. Instead of passing to an open Gerald Henderson in the corner, he tried to go all the way to the rim and was called for a charge.

https://streamable.com/e/fkb8

Embiid doesn’t know his teammates yet. He’s been out two years and probably is a little too eager to show off his scoring. He’s also a rookie, so the game might be moving too fast for him at the moment.

There are explanations for his lack of vision, but he needs to improve in that area to be a truly great offensive player.

Embiid could be a great defensive player if he showed more restraint

It’s rare to see someone as big as Embiid display this sort of mobility. A clip from preseason of him staying in front of John Wall, one of the fastest players in the league, went viral for good reason.

https://vine.co/v/5XQVz1ZP0e9/card

He can guard in space on the perimeter but also protect the rim. The Thunder went 7 of 15 on shots within five feet of the basket in which Embiid was the closest defender. That includes two blocked shots, one coming when he flew in as a help defender and one in transition.

He can cover a lot of ground and he has good timing. Those are fantastic tools. The problem is that it might take him a while to learn the nuances of defense to put them to good use consistently and for a full game.

Against the Thunder, Embiid got caught a couple of times trying to crowd or double-team Russell Westbrook, leaving Adams completely open. He also lost track of Enes Kanter, arguably the league’s best offensive rebounder, on one play because he was ball-watching instead of boxing out.

https://streamable.com/e/3dc2

The entire 76ers defense is to blame for those first two plays, as there was clearly a mandate to help on Westbrook and no one picked up Adams. But Embiid telegraphed where the help was coming and never recovered. As for the offensive board, Kanter does that to everyone, so it’s not a huge issue.

The little things add up, though. The true defensive anchors not only make highlight plays, but also focus on the details. Embiid understandably isn’t there yet.

* * *

The good news for Embiid and 76ers fans is that it’s incredibly hard to teach his strengths. The touch he has on offense and the tools he’s displayed on defense are elite. His weaknesses, on the other hand, are fixable with experience.

The 76ers clearly have a special player on their hands. With a little time, some refinement, and (crosses fingers) a clean bill of health, Joel Embiid could become the franchise star they have yearned to land since The Process began.

Article,Photos and Videos taken from: “http://www.sbnation.com/2016/10/27/13434352/joel-embiid-highlights-video-76ers-progress”

– by Jesus Gomez

Elon Musk Says Every New Tesla Can Drive Itself

ELON MUSK WANTS you to take your hands off the wheel, foot off the gas, and let him do the driving. Rather, let his cars take over. Tonight, at a press conference, he announced that every new Tesla will be fully capable of driving itself. After being upgraded with a suite of cameras and sensors, Musk says this means his cars will have level 5 autonomy—the highest level, which requires zero interaction from the driver.

The current generation of Tesla’s Autopilot is really just advanced cruise control. It can keep the car in its own lane, and avoid driving into the vehicle in front. But try to get off the freeway, let alone navigate down a honking commercial boulevard, and the autopilot is back in driver’s ed.

Tesla hopes its ghost in the machine will be fully ready by the end of next year, and the proof will be a cross country road trip. Musk said he could have a Tesla pick someone up from their home in LA and drop them off in the bright lights of Times Square, New York—then park itself. “It will do this without the need for a single touch, including the charger,” says Musk.

TESLA

But not for free. As with Tesla’s current “Autopilot convenience features,” turning on that functionality comes at a cost—$8000, up from $3000—even though the hardware upgrades will come standard.

Tesla has been criticized for rolling out autonomous features before the technology is proven. Consumer Reports said Tesla’s autopilot upgrades were “too much, too soon“. Just this week, the German government asked the company to stop using the term autopilot, saying that it gives drivers too much confidence, and makes them think the car is more capable than it really is.

Musk ain’t hearing all that. Instead of taking a step back, these upgrades are him taking a tire-squealing lurch forward. Full autonomy has always been his end goal, because he asserts it will save lives. This despite the highly publicized death of a Tesla autopilot passenger in Florida earlier this year. Musk says that is nothing compared to the over 1.2 million people die annually in car accidents when humans are in control. Musk chastised reporters on a press call, saying that if their reporting dissuades people from using autonomous vehicles “then you are killing people.”

As always, Elon Musk is incredibly bullish about his timeframes. Tesla’s fully autonomous cars will have to be able to avoid pedestrians, deal with busses pulling out, recognize construction workers holding signs, avoid kids running into the street, find parking, swerve to avoid that cyclist that just appeared out of nowhere, and solve every other—practically infinite—complicated driving scenario, to be considered truly level 5. Google has been working towards that same goal since 2009, and is still refining and reworking its the software that pilots its cars around certain cities. That company’s robo-cars recently hit a cumulative 2 million miles, and it is still pretty cagey about a full roll out.

Not that Tesla is going from zero to 60 on this; the company learns a bunch from its full fleet of vehicles. Every car, even those in customers’ hands, collects data and sends it back to the company’s headquarters, where engineers analyze and refine the system. Still, the major automakers like Ford, Mercedes, and others are giving a 2020 to 2025 timeframe for their cars to become self-driving.

Musk admits his roll-out will be slow. Cars with the new tech will actually have fewer features than current Teslas. Active cruise control and lane holding (which make up the current Autopilot) won’t work until the cars have collectively racked up millions of miles of real-world driving.

Then, Tesla will update those features with over-the-air updates. The newer vehicles should be as capable as the existing ones by December, Musk says. Stand by: Musk has a track record of missing his own deadlines—even those that are self-imposed, and self-assessed to be lenient.

Then, if you believe it, comes the truly tricky part: Advanced self-driving. But not all at once. The cars will start small, perhaps by recognizing traffic lights first, and then graduating to four-way stops. Each feature will enter alpha road trials—which include on Musk’s own car—only after meeting standards set by Tesla’s engineers.

Only then will the updates be pushed to a wider group of cars. But still, the features will run in the background—so-called “shadow mode”—where the computer compares the actions it would have taken to what the driver does. Eventually, once Tesla engineers deem the software is safer than a human driver, the computer will have the power to take full control.

Automotive engineers agree that self driving cars will come sooner or later. Musk just wants to make it sooner. Much sooner.

 

Article and Photos taken from:(https://www.wired.com/2016/10/elon-musk-says-every-new-tesla-can-drive/)

Duterte Don’t Care

 

https://www.bloomberg.com/api/embed/iframe?id=9ffad34e-882b-4a45-9945-7d219df57ca8

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has garnered the attention of the mainstream media due to the hard line stance he takes on….well everything.

Last May Duterte won office touting an intense anti crime campaign that would specifically target the narcotic syndicates in the Philippines as well as the drug addicts. The major problem however is his support and use of indiscriminate killings in order to achieve the means to his cause. Although crime rates have decreased, instances of extrajudicial killings have inversely done the same.

Recently however Duterte has been embroiled in the South China Sea conflict. The South China Sea conflict is a dispute between several Asian Pacific nations states over the ownership of the Spratly Islands. This area holds importance as it is the transit point for all commercial trade between the America’s and Asia.

“I’m not at peace “…Kid Cudi Checks Himself Into Rehab

Kid Cudi revealed in an emotional letter to fans Tuesday that he checked himself into rehab after battling “depression and suicidal urges.”

“It’s been difficult for me to find the words to what I’m about to share with you because I feel ashamed,” the rapper wrote on Facebook. “Ashamed to be a leader and hero to so many while admitting I’ve been living a lie. It took me a while to get to this place of commitment, but it is something I have to do for myself, my family, my best friend/daughter and all of you, my fans.”

Cudi continued, “I am not at peace. I haven’t been since you’ve known me. If I didn’t come here, I would’ve done something to myself. I simply am a damaged human swimming in a pool of emotions everyday of my life. There’s a ragin’ violent storm inside of my heart at all times. Idk what peace feels like. Idk how to relax.”

The rapper’s decision to enter a rehab facility comes a month after Cudi engaged in a brief but very public war of words with Kanye West, with the collaborators beefing on social media and onstage. Addressing the “clowns” in the music industry, Cudi tweeted, “Everyone thinks they’re soooo great. Talkin top 5 and be having 30 people write songs for them. My tweets apply to who they apply. Ye, Drake, whoever. These niggas dont give a fuck about me.”

West responded the following night at Saint Pablo concert in Tampa, cutting a song short to admonish Cudi from the stage. “Kid Cudi, don’t ever mention ‘Ye name,” West said. “I birthed you! Kid Cudi, we’re two black men in a racist world. I wore skinny jeans first. I got called names before you, bruh. Why y’all got to come at me? Don’t never mention my name in a bad manner. None of y’all! I’m so hurt. I feel so disrespected.”

A week later in Houston, West again discussed Cudi from the stage. However, perhaps knowing that Cudi was dealing with personal issues, West told the crowd, “I just wanted to take time out to say Kid Cudi is my brother and I hope he’s doing well.”

“My anxiety and depression have ruled my life for as long as I can remember and I never leave the house because of it,” Cudi continued in his letter to fans. “I can’t make new friends because of it. I don’t trust anyone because of it and I’m tired of being held back in my life. I deserve to have peace. I deserve to be happy and smiling. Why not me? I guess I give so much of myself to others I forgot that I need to show myself some love too. I think I never really knew how. I’m scared, im sad, I feel like I let a lot of people down and again, I’m sorry. It’s time I fix me. I’m nervous but ima get through this.”

The rapper added that his upcoming album Passion, Pain & Demon Slayin’ would still arrive soon, although he won’t take part in the promotion for it. “I wanted to square away all the business before I got here so I could focus on my recovery,” he wrote.

Article taken from: “http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/kid-cudi-checks-into-rehab-for-depression-suicidal-urges-w443470”

Photo taken from: “http://typicalbs.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/aaaa-kid-cudi.png”

I-Phone 7 also explodes

A recent Reddit post revealed that Apple is now copying Samsung instead of vice versa. Reddit user “Kroopthesnoop” posted a picture of the iPhone 7 he ordered which appeared to have blown up in transit.

although this does seem to be an isolated event, it will be interesting to see if any similar events occur in the coming months.