Month: July 2016

Thoughts

Friday Evening

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Friday

Yesterday evening couple dozen mobile phone notifications alerted me about Nice attack: At least 84 killed by lorry at Bastille Day celebrations.  Reading the headline causes any person to be shocked. Reason behind the attack is unknown yet people jump to wild conclusions.  Doubt going to be able to understand actions taken or reasons why.  Moral compass changes all the time world is not black and white.  Answers are not always neat simple solutions but questions can be complex unsolvable.

Act should be condemned, tragic loss of life. 

Friday night

Another series of mobile phone notifications alerting me about ‘Turkey: Mass arrests after coup bid quashed, says PM’

Last couple of weeks we had series of shocks hit the world.  Global nature of the world means we hear about events in minutes over hours/days.  Ian Bremmer coined the term G Zero world to describe what happening.  Wiki definition and page can be found here.

The term G-Zero world refers to an emerging vacuum of power in international politics created by a decline of Western influence and the domestic focus of the governments of developing states.

Don’t believe world is has become shaken with instability.  Just the result of this power vacuum, resulting in serious strain on status quo.  Facing many challenges which has me asking questions on leadership.

What is leadership?

What leadership is required?

What traits are required?

Looking for answers when comes to Labour leadership contest.

 

Journal, Politics

David Cameron Legacy Successful Failure

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Successful failure

History won’t view David Cameron kindly nothing short of a successful failure.  Economic terms situation now worse, helping stagnate incomes due to fiscal policy choices.  Stalling economic recovery after 2010 due political economic fiscal reduction.   Making potential growth in the future even lower selling off public assets.  Reducing future tax revenues showing serious poor judgement.   Decision to hold referendum on UK European union membership added further uncertainty.   Future for united Kingdom is not very bright due his policy decisions.  Political front helped stoke up fears and pander to xenopedia.  Caused an economic crisis, political crisis and constitutional crisis.   Historians are going to view him as a very successful failure.  Leaving behind rather negative legacy showing poor judgement.

Wanted to keep united kingdom in European union he failed.   Wanted to preserve the union but failed Scotland may leave due Brexit.  Wanted to heal broken Britain but leaves behind country divided with hate crime rising.  Remarkable that David Cameron unlike some prime minister’s leaves office being rather popular. Popular with general public but unpopular with his own party.  Serious vacuum on political accountability, allowed him to avoid responsibility for his actions.  Big reason for these failures lies in economic policy. Highly unnecessary political austerity likely to have contributed to Brexit based on polling data.  Cameron exploited major political vacuum creating narrative allowing him enter number 10.  Lack of vision allowed his rivals to exploit the same mistakes.  Failure to tackle voter grievances and listen let him down.

Wanted to be Blair’s heir but turned out to be cheap tribute group.  Unlike blair lacked vision what he wanted to do.  Instead appeared that David Cameron was just doing the job due being expected. Obvious he did have some political talent riding the populist wave. Worse still everything done was avoidable.  Serious lack of vision helped diminished his premiership.  Serious lack of judgement helped diminished his premiership.  Incredible David Cameron was able to increase number seats sitting government held.  Last time that happened 1832,  Conservatives in 2015 was able to win 12 seat majority.

David Cameron legacy caretaker lacking vision who became successful failure.  Leaving things in worse shape compared to when he started.  Tony Blair cheap tribute group who lacked vision united behind economic illiterate goal.

Playstation, PS4, Smite, Video Games

Smite how to build every god archetypes

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Smite’s god pool has various gods which share similar traits.  Gods can have different playstyles want various different statistics.  Broken down each class into various archetypes. Far easier to remember compared to remembering builds which change all the time compared to archetypes.  More useful compared situational items builds.

Not going to cover Guardians or hunters due being easier to understand.

Assassins

Bruiser/basic attack

  • Arachne
  • Nemesis

Statistics needed attack speed, protections, health, cooldown and penetration.

All in basic attack

  • Kali
  • Bakasura

Statistics needed attack speed, penetration and super glue.

Ability – Warrior assassins love to use abilities to kill you. 

  • Fenrir
  • Hun Batz – Normally build one critical strike item due his passive.
  • Ratatoskr
  • Susano
  • Thanatos – Given free penetration on scent of death 35 flat penetration.  Total flat penetration is 50.
  • Thor

Statistics needed protections, health, cooldown and penetration.  Cooldown one key core statistic demanded from ability based assassins.  Main statistics priority cooldown plus penetration.  Statistics normally build cooldown, protections/health, penetration.

Hybrid

Awilix wants to be built like ability based assassin and little bit of attack speed.

Single target ability  

Kill one target and leave that pretty much what these gods do.

  • Loki
  • Bastet

Statistics needed power plus penetration love cooldown.

  • Serqet
  • Ne Zha

Statistics needed power plus penetration love cooldown.   Defense items plus one critical strike is good.

  • Mercury

Statistics needed power plus critical strike.

Mages

Traditional – Magical based gods ranged based with powerful abilities.

  • Agni
  • ISIS
  • Janus
  • Kukulkan
  • Nox
  • Poseidon
  • Ra
  • Scylla
  • Vulcan
  • Zeus

Statistics required magical power, penetration main priorities.  Cooldown is useful but gain less magical damage compared to other items.  Health/mana helpful for survivability.

Burst mage  – Want you dead quickly and fast using abilities.

  • Ah Punch
  • Anubis
  • Ao Kuang
  • He Bo
  • Nu Wa
  • Raijin

Statistics required magical power, penetration main priorities.  Cooldown is useful but gain less magical damage compared to other items.  Health/mana helpful for survivability.

 

Basic attack – Powerful abilities with powerful basic attacks.

  • Chronos
  • Freya
  • Sol

Statistics required magical power, penetration main priorities plus attack speed.  Cooldown is useful but gain less magical damage compared to other items.  Health/mana helpful for survivability.

Warrior/healer – Often have short range magical abilities like to be towards the front of any action. Often suffering from poor scaling.  Abilities often have high base damage.

  • Aphrodite
  • Chang’e
  • Hades
  • Hel
  • Zhong Kui

Statistics needed protections, health, cooldown and penetration. Focus should be on cooldown/defense items plus penetration.  Depending on the god certain ones want cooldown sooner over later.  Health/mana with protections can out trade many burst mages helps with survivability.

Warriors

Basic attack – These warriors love to fight with basic attacks.  Following warriors fall into this group.

  • Erlang shen
  • Bellona
  • Hercules
  • Osiris
  • Ravana
  • Vamana

Statistics needed attack speed,  protections, health and power.  Cooldown is always nice to have on any god can be built last.  Main statistics priority protections/health followed by attack speed when playing these gods.

Ability based 

Warriors in this group love to hit you with abilities following fall into this group.

  • Amatresau
  • Chaac
  • Guan Yu
  • Sun wukong
  • Tyr

Statistics needed protections, health, cooldown and penetration.  Cooldown one key core statistic demanded from ability based warriors.  Main statistics priority cooldown plus penetration.  Statistics normally build cooldown, protections/health, penetration.

Hybrid based

Within this group can be built hybrid building ability based or basic attack based.

  • Amatresau
  • Bellona
  • Hercules
  • Ravana
  • Sun wukong
  • Vamana

Statistics want mix of the above picking whatever you feel is required.

 

Thoughts

CSGO Betting scandal

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YouTube has been hit by a scandal recently which has been around disclosure. For some time now YouTubers have started diversifying revenue streams. Key problem here is disclosure many YouTubers are one man operations. Scandal was around small group failing to disclose financial links to promoted content. Any sponsorship on content created must be displayed. YouTubers must disclose any relationships financial or otherwise on content created.

Example:

Game studio pays for your hotel, coverage, even sends you free gifts. Required to disclose that information if impacts any content created.  Review copies are something else required to disclose. Any monetary benefit they have received anything at all which indicates any biases must be disclosed. Often companies send you review copies which you then make content based on that product.

Todays scandal nothing like that…..

Couple YouTubers who had equity in companies went on to promote products from that company. Failed to disclose the relationship they had with that company.  Promoting a company they owned and help run.

Simply put these people have broken the law. Legal standpoint people have to disclose this information and if they have not they have broken the law.  Advertising without making it clear that one big no no.  Another problem is product promoted comes under gambling. Many of these YouTubers claim they done nothing wrong. Demographics of audiences who watch these videos makes it even worse from moral standpoint.  Questionable moral behaviour frankly illegal actions help damage Youtube.

No argument here time come clean about anything you done in the past.  Along with much greater transparency for your audience.  Failure to do so not only breaks the law but also ruin your relationship with the audience.  Moral of the story here is always question people intent when they make content.   Likely more scandals like this are going to happen given the structure of Youtube. Youtube should take action on this problem issuing new guidelines.

 

Journal, Labour, Politics

Hard immigration discussion

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Let’s have a hard discussion on immigration. Voters often say immigration is one of the top concerns this is it complete lie.  Reason why this is a complete lie it’s because most voters. Been informed that immigration is a problem. Historic polling shows the immigration concerns have been a problem for a while now [80 odd years] but only for a small minority . Reality is most grievances have nothing to do with immediate immigration more simply domestic policy. Voters end up discussing economic features or failures in domestic policy.

Bank Of England study into wage impact showed -0.4% on low/unskilled workers.  Current government fiscal policy has had -10% wage impact on almost every worker group.

Hard discussion most people are deeply incorrect on immigration. immigration policy has been good for the country people completely wrong grievances are placed elsewhere. Political establishment have made false promises over tackling these grievances. Turning the immigration system into a complex disaster zone adding more regulation and tape. Voters are fickle bunch changing minds every couple of years. Current immigration debate is while being seen to tackle voter grievances but does not tackle them. Westminster is playing pragmatism and avoiding making rash decisions. Soaking up grievances but not dealing with them Westminster instead made the problem worse. Key problem here is how does Labour tackle this problem voter ignorance. Labour politicians have listen to concerns and give solution to voters. Labour has to champion immigration offering voters solutions to their grievances. Unfortunately telling the truth and facts may not be enough in this case and Labour may have to spin.  Age of information has just allowed misinformation to become the truth. Traditional Labour heartlands may already be lost but Labour can still speak to them.  Party faces two challenges winning over areas which understand immigration benefits and ones which don’t.

Hard discussion on immigration comes down to connecting to voters over immigration.  Strong robust defense of the subject is required we can’t out do other parties.   Instead we could create an even bigger mess which makes things worse.