Trading Floors

(via Dailyspeculations) Conde Nast Porfolio has some great pictures of trading floors around the world.

How To Hug A Tree

Ann Landi writes about teaching performance art + the impact (s) + unique ways of looking at cultural history + other viewpoints @ http://artnews.com/issues/article.asp?art_id=1295

Symmetry Is Really Sexy

(via Telegraph) The article was interesting, it was actually on 'beauty spots' + the link by the experts of the 'turn on' effects of symmetrical face/body, whatever your culture.

In the Proceedings of the Royal Society, Biological Sciences, research by Dr Anthony Little of the University of Stirling, working with colleagues Coren Apicella at Harvard University and Frank Marlowe Florida State University, shows that symmetry transcends racial and national boundaries: a lopsided face is less attractive to both Hadza (one of the last hunter gatherer cultures) and Britons, so that the age-old idea that beauty is in the eye of the beholder is a romantic myth + the mounting evidence that our appreciation of beauty has a deep-seated biological explanation: the attraction of a face gives a profound insight into whether our intended will efficiently pass our genes on to future generations + symmetry has been shown to be important in mate-choice in many animals.

In my view, the experts should have worked with diamonds and colored stones, to evaluate the beauty of well-proportioned, symmetrical, polished, both standard and fancy cuts, to understand the visual effect (s) + the impact (s) on human. In fact they are sexy too. They are like human. They evoke passion, and you may go crazy when you see a beautiful stone screaming at you.

Useful link:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/main.jhtml;jsessionid=MOVHSQGV5HNRRQFIQMGCFFWAVCBQUIV0?view=DETAILS&grid=&xml=/earth/2007/10/10/scisym110.xml

Moonlight Spurs Corals To Spawn

(via Sciencemag) Researchers led by Oren Levy of the Center for Marine Studies at the University of Queensland, Australia report that corals (Australia's Great Barrier Reef) are able to sense changes in light — especially blue light — and respond to them. The experts think they may have found out how reef-building corals manage to coordinate their sex lives in moonlight bay.

According to the experts corals contain ancient proteins called cryptochromes which react to light. Cryptochromes have also been found in mammals and insects where they effect the circadian clock that regulates the daily rhythms of life.

Useful link:
http://www.sciencemag.org

A ‘Bloody’ Court Case In Switzerland

Chaim Even-Zohar writes about the controversy surrounding Swiss and Belgium authorities over two Belgians accused of dealing in questionable/uncertified rough diamonds + other viewpoints @ http://www.idexonline.com/portal_FullEditorial.asp

Burmese Ruby Grade And Size Classification Terms

1. Top quality stones of deep rich crimson color
- Anyun: 2 carat and above
- Lethi: 1.75 carat average weight
- The-bauk: (haibauk) Average weight 0.75 carat
- Saga-the: Average weight 0.50 carat
- Ame-the: 0.20 carat average weight, or 5 stones to the carat

2. Second quality: stones of a bright crimson hue
- Ani-gyi: 2 – 6 carat in weight

3. Third quality stones
- Ani-te or Bombaing: As they were favored in Bombay, India
- Ante-te: 2 – 6 carat in weight

4. Fourth quality
- Ahte-Kya: Literally meaning fallen from the top. Mixed stones of the better grades, but of slightly defective clarity, color or shape.

Also included in this grade are:
Kyak-me: Very dark stones sold mainly to the Indian market in Madras.

There are many grades of inferior quality stones based on clarity, cut and color. Other terms of interest are:
Pingoo-cho: First quality star rubies; literally ‘spiders thread’.
Pingoo-sa: Silky rubies with or without a star.
Apya: Flat stones of fine quality.

Radiohead

New Business Models: It was a real surprise when Radiohead, the British rock band, announced that it would release its latest album online, without a record label, and let fans pay whatever they wanted to for it, including nothing at all. No one knows for sure the long-term implications, but it's a real eye-opener + the question is whether the concept could be tested in other businesses + expert's reaction (s) to Radiohead's new concept @ http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article/1821.cfm

Teaching The New Carbon Math

Energy: (via WRI Digest) Earth Council Geneva (ECG) + GHG Experts Network (GEN) + ClimateCHECK have combined to form GHG Management Institute + the network will use WRI's Greenhouse Gas Protocol to train pros on measuring and managing GHG emissions, blending e-learning and interaction with expert instructors.

Useful links:
GHG Management Institute
GHG Protocol