An anonymous reader writes "Investment firm Knight Capital made headlines in 2012 for losing over $400 million on the New York Stock Exchange because of problems with their algorithmic trading software. Now, the owner of a Python programming blog noticed the release of a detailed SEC report into exactly what went wrong (PDF). It shows how a botched update rollout combined with useless or nonexistent process guidelines cost the company over $172,000 a second for over 45 minutes. From the report: 'When Knight used the Power Peg code previously, as child orders were executed, a cumulative quantity function counted the number of shares of the parent order that had been executed. This feature instructed the code to stop routing child orders after the parent order had been filled completely. In 2003, Knight ceased using the Power Peg functionality. In 2005, Knight moved the tracking of cumulative shares function in the Power Peg code to an earlier point in the SMARS code sequence. Knight did not retest the Power Peg code after moving the cumulative quantity function to determine whether Power Peg would still function correctly if called. ... During the deployment of the new code, however, one of Knight's technicians did not copy the new code to one of the eight SMARS computer servers. Knight did not have a second technician review this deployment and no one at Knight realized that the Power Peg code had not been removed from the eighth server, nor the new RLP code added. Knight had no written procedures that required such a review.'"
Journeyman Pictures' short documentary "Naked Citizens" is an absolutely terrifying and amazing must-see glimpse of the modern security state, and the ways in which it automatically ascribes guilt to people based on algorithmic inferences, and, having done so, conducts such far-reaching surveillance into its victims' lives that the lack of anything incriminating is treated of proof of being a criminal mastermind:
"I woke up to pounding on my door", says Andrej Holm, a sociologist from the Humboldt University. In what felt like a scene from a movie, he was taken from his Berlin home by armed men after a systematic monitoring of his academic research deemed him the probable leader of a militant group. After 30 days in solitary confinement, he was released without charges. Across Western Europe and the USA, surveillance of civilians has become a major business. With one camera for every 14 people in London and drones being used by police to track individuals, the threat of living in a Big Brother state is becoming a reality. At an annual conference of hackers, keynote speaker Jacob Appelbaum asserts, "to be free of suspicion is the most important right to be truly free". But with most people having a limited understanding of this world of cyber surveillance and how to protect ourselves, are our basic freedoms already being lost?
World - Naked Citizens (Thanks, Dan!)
- Andrej Holm
- authoritarianism
- Berlin
- big data
- Boston
- BP
- BP
- Catholic Church
- cellular telephone
- civil society
- Congress
- corruption
- digital video
- Documentaries
- Eli Lilly
- European Union
- Exxon
- food stamps
- Francis
- gif
- Goldman Sachs
- Greece
- Halliburton
- humble web surfer
- Humboldt University
- Jacob Appelbaum
- JP Morgan
- KBR
- Logic
- London
- Mathematical logic
- Mathematics
- Modal logic
- Monsanto
- Negation
- Non-classical logic
- Orwell
- Pakistan
- Parashah
- Philosophical logic
- police
- Privacy
- Projection
- Security
- Spain
- Stable roommates problem
- surveillance
- the golden calf
- United Kingdom
- United States
- user-hostile cutesy web-page
- video
- Videos
- web-page
- Western Europe
- WikiLeaks Party in Australia
- XTR
- youtube
Timothy Egan's new book "Short Nights of the Shadow Catcher: The Epic Life and Immortal Photographs of Edward Curtis," recalls a photographer who gave up glamour to create a comprehensive document of Native American life.
- America
- Americas
- Curtis
- Edward Curtis
- Edward S. Curtis
- Edward S. Curtis
- Edward S. Curtis
- flash
- George Catlin
- JP Morgan
- Mathew Brady
- Native American culture
- Native American history
- Native Americans
- Native Americans in the United States
- Scotland
- Short Nights of the Shadow Catcher
- showcase
- the New York Times
- the National Book Award
- The New York Herald
- The New York Herald
- the New York Times
- Timonthy Egan
- Timothy Egan
- United States
Based in Nantes, France, the street theatre company Royal de Luxe performs around the world, primarily using gigantic, elaborate marionettes to tell stories that take place over several days and wind through entire cities. Puppeteers maneuver the huge marionettes -- some as tall as 12 meters (40 ft) -- through streets, parks, and waterways, performing their story along the way. Gathered here are images of several recent Royal de Luxe performances, from Belgium, Mexico, Germany, Chile, and England. [38 photos]
A giant marionette, operated by performers, walks in Berlin, Germany, on October 2, 2009. The French marionette street theatre company Royal de Luxe gave open air performances around the Day of German Unity in Berlin. The artists used the giant puppets to tell the story of separation and recovery to commemorate the fall of Berlin Wall 20 years earlier. (Carsten Koall/Getty Images)
- Alejandro Acosta
- Alice G. Walton
- ANDREW YATES
- Antwerp
- Azita Ranjbar
- Belgium
- Ben W. Heineman Jr.
- Berlin
- big giant
- Brian Resnick
- Carsten Koall
- Chile
- Christopher Furlong
- David Gannon
- David Rohde
- David Samuels
- Day of German Unity
- De Luxe
- Derek Thompson
- Diego Rivera
- Dirk Waem
- Egypt
- Eli Epstein
- France
- Frank Deford
- Gay Marriage
- Gayle Tzemach Lemmon
- Germany
- Germany's Unification Day
- Getty Images
- Getty Images
- Guadalajara
- Ivan Alvarado
- Jean-Sebastien Evrard
- Jennie Rothenberg Gritz
- Jim Cooper
- Jim Dyson
- John Meroney
- Jorge Sanchez
- JP Morgan
- Kanye West
- Kasia Cieplak-Mayr von Baldegg
- Kevin Fallon
- laser
- Leap of Faith
- Liverpool
- Liverpool
- London
- Marionette
- Matthew Shelley
- Max Fisher
- Maya Hitij
- Meet Jesus
- Mexico
- Michael Sohn
- Nantes
- Neil Wagner
- Paul Ellis
- Performance art
- Puppet
- Puppetry
- R. Jeffrey Smith
- Rebecca J. Rosen
- Reuters
- River Mersey
- river Spree
- Ronald Brownstein
- Royal de Luxe
- Royal de Luxe
- Royal de Luxe
- Sang Tan
- Santiago
- Sarah Huisenga
- Sea Odyssey
- Sean Gallup
- Stanley Park
- Stephen Hird
- Stephen Marche
- Street theatre
- Taylor Clark
- The Sultan's Elephant
- Tiger Woods
- Tobias Schwarz
- United Kingdom
- Wall 20
It's time once more for a look into the animal kingdom and our interactions with the countless other species that share our planet. Today's photos include researchers dressed in panda costumes, a massage given by an African snail, a 39-pound cat named Meow, a Japanese macaque with hay fever, and orangutans having a playdate using FaceTime on an iPad. These images and many others are part of this roundup of animals in the news from recent weeks, seen from the perspectives of their human observers, companions, captors, and caretakers, part of an ongoing series on animals in the news. [41 photos]
Polar bear cub Anori explores the outdoor enclosure at the zoo in Wuppertal, Germany, on Monday, April 23, 2012. Anori was born on January 4 and is becoming a visitor's highlight. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein)
- airline
- Alice G. Walton
- Alyona Zlotnikova
- Angola
- Animal Hospital
- Animal welfare
- Anori
- AP Photo/Chicago Zoological Society
- Assam
- Attila Balazs
- Australia
- Awajishima Monkey Center
- Azita Ranjbar
- Bangkok
- Barb Maynes
- Ben Curtis
- Ben Swan
- Ben W. Heineman Jr.
- Benedict XVI
- Birds Island
- Brian Resnick
- Brookfield
- Brookfield Zoo's Animal Hospital
- Budapest
- California
- Cao Cao
- CARL DE SOUZA
- Chad
- China
- China Daily
- Chongqing
- Chongqing
- Clementine
- Colorado
- Commerce City
- Craig Ruttle
- CT technology
- Czech Republic
- Dala
- David Rohde
- David Samuels
- Delfgauw
- Dennis Wiist
- Derek Thompson
- Dubbo
- Dunstable
- Ecuador
- Egypt
- El Salvador
- Eli Epstein
- Elizabeth II
- Elwha River
- enrichment tools
- Enrique Calvo
- food
- food odors
- Frank Augstein
- Frank Deford
- Gabriel Quijandria
- Gay Marriage
- Gayle Tzemach Lemmon
- Gelsenkirchen
- Germany
- Getty Images
- Getty Images
- Giant Panda
- Guanajuato
- Hamburg
- Hartsdale
- Hetaoping Research and Conservation Center for the Giant Panda
- Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment
- Hungary
- Hyogo
- Il Messaggero
- Illinois
- Ilya Naymushin
- iPads
- Jana Asenbrennerova
- Japan
- Jennie Rothenberg Gritz
- Jennifer Steketee
- Jim Cooper
- Jim Schulz
- John Meroney
- John Moore
- Jose Cabezas
- JP Morgan
- Kanye West
- Kasia Cieplak-Mayr von Baldegg
- Kenya
- Kenzo Tribouillard
- Kerstin Joensson
- Kevin Fallon
- Kevin P. Casey
- Krasnoyarsk
- La Puente
- Laguna
- Lake Oloidien
- laser
- Leap of Faith
- Lima
- Local media
- London
- Los Angeles County Department of Animal Care and Control
- Los Angeles Department
- Los Angeles Department of Animal Care and Control
- Louisiana
- Maggie
- Mahal
- Manila
- Mark Kolbe
- Martin Meissner
- Matthew Shelley
- Max Fisher
- Max Rossi
- Meet Jesus
- Meghan Caffery
- Meow
- Mexico
- Mira Oberman
- MOHAMMED HUWAIS
- MTI
- Naivasha
- Nando
- National Park Service
- Natural History
- Nebraska
- Neil Wagner
- New Mexico
- New York
- New York
- New York City
- North America
- Omaha
- Paris
- Peru
- Peter Macdiarmid
- Petr David Josek
- Philipp Guelland
- Philippine Animal Welfare Society
- Philippines
- poker chip
- poker chip
- Port Angeles
- Prague
- R. Jeffrey Smith
- Rebecca J. Rosen
- Richard Amaro
- Rick Bowmer
- Rick Wilking
- Robert Schieritz
- Ronald Brownstein
- Russia
- rusty old steel drum
- Salvador
- Salzburg
- San Salvador
- Sanaa
- Santa Fe
- Sarah Huisenga
- Seattle
- Sergei Karpukhin
- She Ping
- Sichuan
- Silvia Oshiro
- Spencer Platt
- Stephen Marche
- Suchitlan lake
- Suchitoto
- Suzanne Aquarium
- Tao Tao
- Taylor Clark
- Thailand
- The Netherlands
- Tiger Woods
- transportation
- Tumbes
- Tyrone Siu
- United Kingdom
- United States
- video applications
- Vienna
- Walter Scott Aquarium
- Washington
- Wuppertal
- Yacolt
- Yamal Peninsula
- YURI CORTEZ
- Zoo
- Zoology
gManZboy writes "JPMorgan Chase and other companies at this year's Hadoop World conference came begging for job applicants: They say they can't find enough IT pros with certain skills, including Hadoop MapReduce. That spells high pay. As for Hadoop's staying power as a career path (a la SQL 30 years ago), IBM, Microsoft and Oracle have all embraced Hadoop this year. Maybe the best news of all: 'Intelligent technologists will pick up Hadoop very quickly.'"
Read more of this story at Slashdot.