International Talk Like a Pirate Day
Ahoy, matey, don't forget today is
International
Talk Like a Pirate Day.
Who was the most successful pirate that ever lived? Not Edward Teach, aka
Blackbeard, nor
Captain Kidd nor
Calico Jack, nor
perhaps any other male pirate. That honor could arguably be given to
Ching Shih,
also known as Cheng I Sao, a female
pirate. Whereas Blackbeard was decapitated after losing a battle with
anti-pirate forces led by
Robert Maynard and Captain Kidd and Calico Jack, who gave us the
emblematic Jolly Roger
pirate flag, were hanged, Ching Shih died in
comfort of natural causes after a very successful career as a pirate.
In her heyday as a pirate, Ching Shih's Red Flag fleet numbered more than
1,500 ships and she controlled upwards of 80,000 sailors. She was able to
repel numerous attack by the Chinese navy as well as the many Portuguese and
British bounty hunters brought in to help capture her. Finally, in 1810, the
Chinese government tried a different tactic and offerred her amnesty if she
would give up the life of a pirate. She accepted and opened a gambling house.
She died of natural causes in 1844 at the age of 69, a successful
businesswoman and grandmother.
References:
-
Ching Shih
Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
-
Most successful pirate was beautiful and tough
Date: August 27, 2007
Features Articles from CNN
-
Blackbeard
Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
-
Robert Maynard
Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
-
William Kidd
Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
-
Calico Jack
Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
-
Jolly Roger
Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Circuit City Closing
If you visit
Ciruit City's
website today, you will find the homepage has been replaced by a
notice that the company is closing its stores in the U.S. The homepage
states that 34,000 employees will be losing their jobs as a result of
this action. The webpage states "Due to challenges to our business
and the continued bleak economic environment, Circuit City is going
out of business and the company's assets will be liquidated to pay
off creditors."
The company provides a brief history for itself on the page stating
"Founded in 1949 as the Wards Company, Circuit City is headquartered in
Richmond, Virginia. At the time of the liquidation announcement (January
16, 2009), the company operated 567 stores in 153 media markets in the
U.S. and approximately 765 retail stores and dealer outlets in Canada."
The webpage states that a liquidator will be selling off the remaining
inventory in the U.S. stores and that liquidator will be setting prices
for items in the stores.
Circuit City made the announcement that they are going out of business on
January 16 and stated that closing sales will start as early as January 17,
2009 with the expectation that they will conclude by the end of March.
The stores will be closed when the liquidation sales are completed.
The announcement also states that associates at the company's headquarters
have been asked to return today, Monday, January 19 to find out more
about their status and to retrieve their personal belongings.
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NSA and the Army Seek Quantum Physics Answers
The NSA and the US Army Research Office are seeking answers to quantum physics
questions. They have 3 broad goals:
- develop new quantum computing algorithms for hard computational problems
- characterize the efficiency of candidate quantum algorithms
- develop insights into the power of quantum computation and consider issues
of quantum complexity and computability.
The agencies expect to make one to three awards of less than two hundred
thousand per year in 2009.
The agencies stipulate that "Investigators should presuppose the
existence of a fully functional quantum computer and consider what
algorithmic tasks are particularly well suited to such a machine."
References:
-
NSA and Army on quest for quantum physics jackpot
Date: October 28, 2008
Network World
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