In doing some research for a speech I am giving on Tuesday, I stumbled across two informative sites: Predators & Editors and Absolute Write, check out the forum water cooler there.
Between these two sites you can probably get the skinny on just about every agent, editor, and publisher you have ever heard of. Before you sign that contract, do your research.
Source: http://maryrussel.blogspot.com/2010/08/looking-for-information-on-publisher.html
Manifesto
If I am a lab rat, I will be a free-range lab rat.
There. I feel better already.
To recap from last week:
You Have to Weigh The Costs and Benefits
That is what the doctor says.
Last week I promised I would develop a way to do that. So this week we play math games. For the next few weeks, actually.
Now, don't freak out. I am not going to ask you to do math. I am going to make up some rules. You are along for the ride. Though do feel free to suggest better rules. Plus, I promise lots of pictures. And a musical interlude.
I am a rat. I live in a laboratory, where I participate in the Chemistry Experiment. Along with other scientists, I am trying to find the chemicals that will make a dent in my mood disorder. Not theirs. Mine. Which is how I got the rat end of this job. But because I am a free-range rat, I get to decide which experiments I am willing to try.
I now insist that I contribute more to this enterprise than my body.
I have decided my contribution will be to develop the missing algorithm that lab rats of the species homo sapiens need to weigh our costs and benefits. Something more scientific than our gut and desperation.
I call it an algorithm because that is what we scientists call it.
Algorithm: A logical set of rules for solving a specific problem, which assumes that all of the data is objective, that there are a finite number of solutions to the problem, and that there are logical steps that must be performed to arrive at each of these solutions.
Remember the goal: logical rules applied to objective data to solve a problem.
The problem we want to solve is this:
Do I Want To Put These Chemicals Inside My Body?
Figuring out the rules is turning out to be quite a job, which might explain why nobody has done it so far, not even the FDA, who is supposed to decide whether a drug works well enough to warrant putting people through the consequences of taking it. They don't have a formula. They seem to decide on the basis of their own gut, just like us lab rats, plus lots of advice from the companies that want to sell the drugs, just like our doctors. As it turns out, the FDA's standards are lower for meds used to treat mental illness than for meds used to treat other conditions.
But never mind.
I begin by defining the terms, the factors that I will use in my algorithm. Factors is the scientific word for things you have to take into account, usually numbers. There are a lot of factors. The doctor will tell you, if you ask, 40% efficacy rate, 15% risk of insomnia, 15% mortality rate unless you take the meds for the rest of your life.
Now weigh your costs and benefits.
But there are lots and lots of these costs and benefits to weigh. The numbers you get in your fifteen minute med check are abbreviated and oversimplified to the point of useless. That is why this series will run over several weeks, so that I can weigh the costs and benefits that your fifteen minute med check skipped.
But remember, there will be a musical interlude. Maybe two.
I have started several posts this week, and keep discovering I need to back up, start at an earlier point. But for you, dear readers, I press on. And for me. And for science! Not that I am expecting a Nobel Prize or anything. I am not manic, after all. Just excited.
Okay, so the best I can do this week is to list the factors. Before you decide this is a measly week's work, wait until you read my list of factors. 40% efficacy, 15% insomnia, 15% mortality rate? HAH!
Below are lists of the benefits, costs and considerations that will influence the odds. Remember, it's all about the odds. When you buy a Powerball ticket, the cost is $1. The benefit is $97,000,000. Now, weigh your costs and benefits. It's a no-brainer. Until you look at the odds.
A consideration in the case of Powerball might be whether you have enough money in your pocket for both the ticket and the milk. Another consideration might be who is waiting at home for the milk.
BENEFITS OF THE CHEMICALS IN QUESTION:
Efficacy
(LOTS of considerations to be factored here)
Shorter time to recovery or remission
(I will explain the difference later)
Longer time to relapse
(one number for recovery, another for remission)
Long term brain health
(this may be indicated by time to relapse)
Lower mortality risk
(needs to be weighted by other factors)
COSTS OF THE CHEMICALS IN QUESTION:
Side effects
(tolerability is a consideration)
Down stream side effects
(e.g., heart disease, liver disease, gum disease)
$$$$, both for medication and for med management
Risk of wrong diagnosis and inappropriate medication
(may accelerate the course of real condition)
CONSIDERATIONS THAT INFLUENCE THE COSTS AND BENEFITS AND HENCE, YOUR DECISION
Severity of present condition
Number of previous trials
Spontaneous remission rate
Family health history
Factors specific to your own mortality risk
Family/job issues
What is your time frame?
See why this is going to take a while? Are there other benefits, costs and considerations I have missed? Ones that could be quantified, that is. Not your favorite rant. How about you put your favorite rant into you own blog and then link to mine?
Wish me luck.
Source: http://prozacmonologues.blogspot.com/2010/08/weighing-costs-and-benefits-what-counts.html
Social network advertising is getting renewed attention in 2010. The US’s gradual economic recovery, combined with marketers’ incessant focus on reaching consumers in social media, has led companies to make big increases in social network ad spending in the first half of 2010.
eMarketer estimates US advertisers will spend $1.68 billion on social networking sites this year, a more than 20% increase over 2009. Spending will rise even further by 2011 to more than $2 billion.
In December 2009, eMarketer forecast $1.3 billion in social network ad spending for 2010. Strong performance from online ad spending in general, and Facebook in particular, has resulted in the increased forecast.
Facebook will receive half of all social network ad spending in the US while MySpace continues to diminish in importance. Twitter, which finally launched its ad business earlier this year, is incorporated into eMarketer’s forecast for the first time. While spending on the microblogging service will be low in 2010, the potential for 2011 and beyond could be dramatic if it proves that its “resonance” model of measuring advertising effectiveness works.
Spending on social network advertising will grow even more quickly elsewhere in the world. In 2010, eMarketer estimates just over half of social network ad spending worldwide will come from the US, but 2011 will bring a reversal in that proportion.
Another important development in the social network space is the role of online social games and applications. Advertising is not a primary revenue stream for game companies such as Zynga or Playdom, but their large audiences are drawing the interest of marketers. eMarketer expects such companies will attract $293 million in spending worldwide in 2011, up from $220 million in 2010.
Before we could head back to Travis' house and start putting this thing together, we had one more shoot to do back at the office... we head back, work out some continuity issues and additional story line that at the time seemed very necessary... sleep deprivation can truly skew priorities. So final office shots done... equipment packed up... we head to Travis' house for the long haul...
We have a few additional scenes to shoot at Trav's house so I start prepping for those while the guys start uploading foley sound and some early editing...Bill tells me his eyes aren't seeing straight (I believe everything was wavy with some sort of hand gesture), says he's going to sleep for just 15 minutes and asks me to wake him... ok... one down... head up stairs to check on Travis..he's rocking.. I'm impressed.. so I head to the restroom to start hair and make-up for the scenes we need to shoot with me in them... suddenly Trav calls my name.. I head back to the dining room where he's set up... he suggests a 2 hour nap, turns out he just fell asleep at the computer! So I let him know that Bill is already asleep and had asked me to wake him in about 5 minutes.. Travis and I set every alarm we can think of for 6:00AM and head off for a much needed nap... well as much as one can nap on a nicely carpeted basement floor.
Its 6:30 Sunday morning... after 3 failed attempts to wake Travis, a shout from Bill does the trick! A little coffee and we get the lights set for our last scene... we ended up not using the scene, but again sleep deprivation makes you think you need such things!
Post production is in full force... Travis is at one Mac editing the footage together... Bill at another is working on after effects... I am at the 3rd marking foley sound bites... we would take breaks to help with edit choices or simply watch what we had together. One last bit of foley sounds recorded for the fight scene... who knew that a towel on carpet could make the perfect whoosh of a punch!
After effects done, Bill has to go be Dad the rest of the day... its 2:30...Travis wants to be rendering by 5:00... we can do this! I'm bringing Travis foley as quick as I can get it ready for him... Chris is sending us music to lay over the film and it is all really starting to come together. We call Chris probably 10 times for little tweaks and changes here and there for timing or mood... it's incredible! Travis gives Chris a mood he wants to set in a certain scene and in 10 minutes we have the perfect music!! What a rush!! My blood has never pumped so fast!
Its down to the wire... a few last sounds in here and there... sound for the virus uploading... foley Trav's "What a bitch!" line cause it's too awesome not to keep in... its 6:00.. an hour behind our ideal but still doable... rendering... rendering.. rendering... transfer to DVD ... OMG!!! it's taking forever!!! I donate my jump drive... yes the one carrying the virus in the movie... just get the digital file on it and we can run... its going..we're gonna make it!! Quick check it before we go... ooooo small glitch right at the front.. no biggie... keep going.. keep going.. news cast...
it freezes
Even now, there aren't words to describe the air in the room at that moment
the end of the movie is missing!!! WTF!!!.. hard drive crashed is the diagnosis.....UUUUUGGGGGHHHHHHH!!!!!!
Quick..plan B... try to recover the end and send it to Bill online... Eric is already on his way to Bill's for music release forms... If Bill can burn it to DVD... he lives blocks from the Skylark where we have to turn everything in... E-man will bring the DVD and meet me with the rest of the paperwork... I rush out the door, with the paperwork and the jump drive with the movie that has no ending... it is 6:54... the deadline is 7:30... I am 30 minutes away...thank god it's Sunday and traffic is light!
I'm driving as fast as I can and not kill myself or the borrowed car I am in... a call from Travis -- doesn't look like he's gonna get anything to Bill in time, just turn in the version I have with me... a text from Bill... Eman is running he's a couple of blocks away... I'm almost there... another text from Bill... Eman is there, where are you?! call him!... I'm almost there, and I don't have Eman's phone number... Skylark! park...7:29, text to Bill "here" ... head in, Eman is right there.. we head up the stairs to the table... I am told we're good, we have 5 minutes, but to hang out and they will call our group to go over all the paperwork and make sure we have everything...should I get a drink? ... dazed, I wander to the bar... "Times Up!" Cheers from everyone... they start to call team names... first team..."Lupher Arts"... everything is in order...
A drink (or 2, maybe 3) at Bill's and tears of exhaustion from both of us and we wait for Travis... Bill still had not seen the finished film... not only did he not have any idea how much was missing or what was actually wrong with the film, but he had no idea how amazing the movie turned out! So we drank... and waited... 9:00 and Travis arrives with 2 copies of the movie complete. We watch... tears again... the movie is unbelievable!
We discuss our options with the contest and with the proper nudge we're out the door to the Skylark to see if the 48 hour crew is still there... they said they would be there late so everyone could turn their films in even if not on time... we get there at 9:54 and the 48 hr crew is gone... so ... another drink...
After long discussions with all of the team it was decided to disqualify ourselves from the competition so that the film we created... this beautiful work of art that we are all so very proud of.... could be viewed as it was intended. Monday morning Travis drove a copy of the completed film to the 48 hr folks... the following Sunday... Time Changes Everything was debuted in one of the classic movie houses in Denver, in its entirety
Based on my previous post, I think that most of the people is looking forward to this. The Free program which can easily available in download.com or their own website itself. There is limited functions that is being access compared to the purchased ones. But the most important thing is that it able to protect your computer from viruses. Thats what people wanted to see.
This research is also based on the previous post, from PassMark Team. They test for the same things stated in the previous post:
1. Boot time
2. Scan Time
3. Scan Time for SSD
4. User interface launch time
5. Browse Time
6. Memory Usage during Idle
7. IE launch time
8. Installation Time
9. Installation Size
10. Registry Key Count
11. File Copy, Move and Delete
12. Installing Third Party Applications
13. Network Throughput
14. File Format Conversion
15. File Compression and Decompression
16. File Write, Open and Close
As usual, some of the requirement is not really needed. The test requirement needed are:
Boot Time - When opening the Operating System
Browse Time - Scan Virus surfing the web
Memory Usage when IDLE - The consumption of RAM during Idle
Registry Key Count - The larger the registry, the higher the impact on the performance
Network Throughput - The time to download from web
File Write, Open and Close - The amount of time to do that
The others is not really important. Some of the requirement is taken off from the previous post because the free version do not expect too much on it. Things like Scan time is taken off as the time is needed to sacrifice in order for the free program. This is the same as the launching time for the program. The other one is the installation size is irrelevant as the program is relatively small as this is the limited function it able to use.
These are the program that used:
Avira AntiVir Personal
Avast! Anti-Virus
Microsoft Security Essentials
AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition
So, based on my criteria, the result from 1st to last(in order) are:
Boot Time - Avira, Microsoft, Avast, AVG
Browse Time - Avira, Microsoft, Avast, AVG
Memory Usage when IDLE - AVG, Avira, Avast, Microsoft
Registry Key Count - Avast, Avira, AVG, Microsoft
Network Throughput - Avast, Microsoft, AVG, Avira
File Write, Open and Close - Avast, Microsoft, AVG, Avira
Thus, based on the results, the ranking in order are Avast, Avira, Microsoft, AVG.
But for my opinion, the best free version should be:
Avira :
Best to scan, but they have the stupid indication that is very annoying. they can delete the virus if you wants. But they have slow response to IE launching. this is the same goes to Chrome and Mozilla. But overall of this is good.
Avast :
They have the least registry fix for your computer but the function is limited and the scanning is not that good as it does not have in dept scanning for the computer.
AVG :
They actually have high memory usage but I don't know why its ranked 1st. Really but other features are totally opposite what PassMark Team is doing. But the most important is whether it is reliable? From all of this free version, I would rank AVG 3rd but just below Avast a bit cause the features are quite competitive between them.
Microsoft :
You can permanent delete this if you able to. this is incorporated in the windows itself so normally you install Windows OS, this is included. But naturally this is useless.
This is not real depends how you use it. This may be from my perspective but this may defer from other user. All the anti-virus has pros and cons that you need to exploit it based on your needs. But naturally this is the overall of it. If you ask about other free anti-virus, please name some. but this is the famous ones.
