Author Archives: Bernie MacRos

Study Says Comedians Have Psychotic Personality Traits—Here’s What Some Comedians Have To Say About That

Mother Jones

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If you’ve ever seen footage of comedian Bill Hicks taking on a heckler, you might have thought to yourself, “Wow, that was pretty psychotic.”

Well, according to a recent study published in the British Journal of Psychiatry, you weren’t that far off. For the study, which is titled, “Psychotic traits in comedians,” researchers recruited 523 comedians (404 male and 119 female, most of whom were amateurs) from the United States, Australia, and the United Kingdom. The researchers determined that comedians scored significantly higher on four types of psychotic personality traits compared to a control group of individuals who had non-artistic jobs. The study focuses on two major categories of psychosis—bipolar disorder and schizophrenia—and examines impulsive non-conformity.

“The results of this study substantially confirmed our expectation that comedians would behave like other creative groups in showing a high level of psychotic personality traits,” the authors wrote. “They did so across all the domains sampled by the questionnaire we used, from schizoid and schizophrenic-like characteristics through to manic-depressive features.”

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Study Says Comedians Have Psychotic Personality Traits—Here’s What Some Comedians Have To Say About That

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An Ill-Timed Legal Squabble Among MLK Jr.’s Children

Mother Jones

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The children of Martin Luther King Jr. joined thousands of people, including Barack Obama, Jimmy Carter, and Bill Clinton, in the nation’s capital on August 28 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington, the landmark civil rights rally. On the very day, the King estate, run by King’s sons Martin III and Dexter, sued the King Center, the family’s Atlanta nonprofit run by King’s surviving daughter, Bernice.

The reason for the complaint? Following an audit, the King estate decided the King Center has been careless with King’s intellectual property—for which the estate had granted the center a royalty-free license—including recordings, papers, and even King’s corpse. The filing asks that a judge order the center to stop using King’s image and works.

The King estate is well known for being litigious over intellectual property. (Case in point: King’s “I Have a Dream” speech, which was celebrated on the mall last week.) And this isn’t the first time the King siblings have battled in court. In 2008, Martin III and Bernice sued Dexter, accusing him of excluding them from the estate’s operations. The three settled out of court and were said to be mending their relationship. The familial peace didn’t last long. From the Associated Press:

The estate supports the center’s work and has been its largest financial contributor for the past decade, but the relationship between the two “has recently become strained, resulting in a total breakdown in communication and transparency,” the complaint says.

An audit and review of the center’s practices and procedures conducted by the estate in April revealed that the care and storage of the physical property is unacceptable as it could be damaged by fire, water, mold, mildew or theft, the complaint says. After failed meetings and communications, the estate sent a letter to the center on Aug. 10 saying it would terminate the license at the end of a 30-day notice period…

Unless, that letter noted, Bernice was put on administrative leave and former Atlanta mayor Andrew Young and King’s niece Alveda, whom the estate claims impeded its audit, were booted from the board of directors.

In reply, Bernice King’s lawyer, Stephen Ryan, wrote to the center’s counsel that the brothers are trying to seize control and that their actions are “totally inconsistent with their duties to the King Center, and the spirit of their father and mother, the founder of the King Center.”

And yet, their actions are not totally inconsistent with the way the siblings have always behaved when it comes to their father’s estate. In this case, however, their timing was particularly unfortunate.

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An Ill-Timed Legal Squabble Among MLK Jr.’s Children

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Kochs must move their massive piles of tar-sands waste, Detroit mayor says

Kochs must move their massive piles of tar-sands waste, Detroit mayor says

What do you do when monstrous piles of dusty black carbon move into your city?

If you’re Detroit Mayor Dave Bing, you issue an order demanding that they be removed. And after that’s ignored, you issue another.

Petroleum Coke Awareness Detroit

What could be lovelier than a sunset over petcoke piles?

The city’s riverfront has been blighted by huge, uncovered piles of petroleum coke since a local refinery began processing Canadian tar-sands oil in November. Just take a look at this video of a black wall of dust being kicked up from the piles:

The petcoke can be burned for fuel, but it’s so dirty that doing so in America would violate clean air laws, so the proud owners of the revolting waste — the Koch brothers, of course — have been trying to sell it elsewhere. In June, a Canadian power plant started taking some of it, but the pile still remains. From a press release issued Tuesday by Bing’s office:

“Today, my administration informed Detroit Bulk Storage that all of the stored petroleum coke material must be moved off site by August 27,” said Mayor Bing. “DBS personnel have assured us that no new materials are being brought onto the site, and all of their activity is concentrated on offsite removal of the pet coke.” …

This move comes after Detroit Bulk Storage (DBS) failed to remove all of the material by August 9 as directed by a Correction Order issued by the City’s Buildings, Safety Engineering and Environmental Department (BSEED) last week. At that time, BSEED cited the company for being in violation of the Detroit Property Maintenance Code and/or Official Zoning Ordinance.

The Detroit Free Press reports that the Kochs had already intended to remove the mess this month:

The piles are owned by Koch Carbon and come from the Marathon Detroit Refinery. Detroit Bulk Storage is storing the pet coke on property owned by billionaire and Ambassador Bridge owner Manuel (Matty) Moroun and leased to Norfolk Southern railroad.

Koch Carbon announced last month that it is moving the piles to Ohio “to meet our shipment needs.”

Our sympathies go out to Ohioans.

John Upton is a science fan and green news boffin who tweets, posts articles to Facebook, and blogs about ecology. He welcomes reader questions, tips, and incoherent rants: johnupton@gmail.com.

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Kochs must move their massive piles of tar-sands waste, Detroit mayor says

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Obama Should Commit to a Trillion-Dollar Infrastructure Plan

Mother Jones

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Barry Ritholtz passes along the chart on the right from the McKinsey Global Institute. It shows how much various countries spend on infrastructure compared to future demand. On the far right, Japan is spending a lot more than it needs. On the far left, the United States is spending a lot less.

McKinsey figures our shortfall at about 1 percent of GDP. That’s $160 billion. So a five-year project to build out our decaying infrastructure would cost roughly a trillion dollars. It would create jobs now; it would be ultra-cheap at current interest rates; and it would promote growth in the future.

That would be for roads, bridges, airports, rail lines, local transit, electrical grids, gas pipelines, internet backbones, water projects, and much more. A trillion dollars for infrastructure. That’s what he should be fighting for.

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Obama Should Commit to a Trillion-Dollar Infrastructure Plan

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What To Consider When You Need A Solar Panel Contractor

For regular work on ongoing projects, you need to find someone skilled and dependable who can promise long-term availability. There are some intelligent ways to go about finding the kind of solar panel installation contractor who can commit to an extended timeline. Here are some things to keep in mind as you start looking.

If you wish to more about documents for lien release, the solar panel installation contractor cannot refuse to give them. You will need these to protect yourself from and lien in case any issues occur in future. If a contractor does not give you the requested documents, it is illegal and proves that he is trying to hide something.

It is important to request multiple bids from solar panel installation contractors before hiring in order to ensure that you are receiving the best price. This will help you to make an informed decision on choosing which contractor to hire.

Try to avoid hourly or daily rates. While some projects require these, it is best to base pay on deliverables rather than time rates. If time rates are required, ask for a breakdown of all of their work.

Don’t rely solely on references when finalizing your decision on a solar panel installation contractor, they should be more than happy to give you a tour of a completed job.

When the economy is in a downward trend and created a slump in the real estate market, many solar panel installation contractors find themselves unable to pay their own bills. When you interview a potential contractor, be sure to find out about any other commitments they may have such as a full time job with contracting as a side job. These individuals may not be ready to devote the time and energy to your project it deserves.

Building codes vary from state to state and city to city. Are you sure your solar panel installation contractor knows all the laws and regulations applying to your particular area’s building codes? There are codes, for improvement, plumbing, electrical work and much, much more. If your contractor doesn’t know all the details, you could be in for a lot of headaches down the road.

For large items installed on your job you should request a warranty, you don’t want to be stuck with a broken item that is not covered before you have even used it. Each guarantee should give a certain amount of time where replacement is offered.

Do not start an argument with the solar panel installation contractor while standing at the work place. Instead, take a step back to get composure and perspective. After you have both had a while, organize a meeting for yourself to gently discuss the issues and achieve a solution.

If you are looking for more tips created by professionals, please go to your best browser and type in westsun solar. You’ll find some interesting solutions related to solar panels perth.

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Good Solar Panel Contractors – How You Could Hunt Them Down Easily

One important attribute you may want to consider in a good solar panel installation contractor is their ability to tolerate your mood changes. A home or office renovation can be an emotional process, and as such can sometimes come with substantial amounts or tears and laughter, sometimes at the same time! Keep on reading to discover more information about what to consider in hiring a great contractor.

Be tolerable. Though this is a work you are paying someone else for, often issues arise. Expect some delays and the chance that the day will not always start and end the minute you want it to, but only within reason. If the solar panel installation contractor agreed to your terms they should make all attempts to conform to them.

A good solar panel installation contractor will always carry along good sub contractors. This means that the quality of workers that a contractor hires should give you a whiff of what if cooking. Request the contractor to furnish you with a detailed list of his co workers with their experience trendlines to ascertain the solar panel installation contractor you are working with.

You could start your solar panel installation contractor search by asking your friends and family. Word of mouth is effective advertising for business, but effective at helping consumers look the right direction too. Call the numbers you get from others and research the companies provided. Make sure to hire a contractor with a solid reputation and lengthy work history.

Sometimes a work requires more than two people to complete. When using more than one solar panel installation contractor on the same contract, it is important that the responsibilities of both contractors are outlined in the contract.

After receiving references from a solar panel installation contractor, contacting those references will let you know if any discounts may have been offered by the contractor in the past. This may lead to discounts for your case or discounts on future projects. Entice contractors to complete the job in a timely manner with high standards by offering incentives. Remember that the contractor hired should work only within their specialization.

It is not possible to avoid all scams but the Better Business Bureau can certainly help you by directing you to a solar panel installation contractor that has no pending complaints against them.

Ask the solar panel installation contractor for daily progress reports by having them drop in at your office every day. This ensures that you are strict on quality and timings. If they provide you with mockup samples, go through them with a critical eye and impress upon them that you will not compromise on aesthetics.

Never work with a solar panel installation contractor who doesn’t have the appropriate insurance – and the right amount of coverage. Any work they do on your project should be adequately covered against damages. Even if they do have a top-rate insurance plan, it doesn’t hurt to visit the site regularly and ensure that their work is being done cautiously and safely.

If you are looking for more ideas written by professionals, please open your favorite browser and search for westsun solar solar panel installers perth. You’ll find some useful ideas related to solar panels perth.

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