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Monday, April 22, 2019

Struggling Professional Golfers, Becoming a Better Golfer 2, and More

- I guess the following is a continuation of the following post:
- the following post is about struggling tour pros. Those who may be good enough but don't have the financial backing to pursue a professional tour golf, those who are on the cusp and currently lack the finishing touches to make it out on tour, etc... If you're interested in golf you'll soon realise that these stories are probably more interesting then better known, world class players. There are a bunch of players online who are documenting their progress if you're interested in life as a professional tour golfer. Luke Kwon seems to have the game but not the money. Andrew Jensen can sporadically play well but has some mental issues to sort out. If he can deal with it he should be fine
MY STORY IN 2 MINUTES _ Channel Trailer
Luke Kwon
Luke Kwon Golf
KC Creations
My Playing Career... In About 8 Mins
Andrew Jensen
Andrew Jensen
VICE Sports
pro golf site:patreon.com
The Happy Golfer
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCujXyJSA6bwOSzHoQJT4jcg/videos
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=golf+qualifying+school
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=golf+monday+qualifiers
https://www.youtube.com/user/PureSwingTV/videos
https://www.youtube.com/user/BryanBrosGolf/videos
https://www.youtube.com/user/WiltshFitness/videos
PGTI
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClF_5EU2nLVL12S5yNipoEg/videos
https://www.youtube.com/user/webdotcomtour/videos
AADIL BEDI
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5ZcQtaaW-t-mnjZDsJ7bKQ/videos
https://www.youtube.com/user/blairegolf1/videos
HOOA Golf
https://www.youtube.com/user/28MRobles/videos
https://www.youtube.com/user/knniti1/videos
https://www.youtube.com/user/AsianTourTV/videos
https://www.youtube.com/user/HarryFlowerGolf/videos
https://www.youtube.com/user/GrahamBensinger/videos
- if you don't know already professional golf is expensive. Crowdsource, sponsorship, family/friends, job, teaching, strange investment structures (in the future of the player in question), etc... are ways of funding it. Side jobs are common with sub-elite level professional level golf. Teaching golf, video editing, ad-hoc golf games for money, menial jobs, etc... Most need a various methods to pay for their golfing career (if you don't already know playing professional golf doesn't mean you'll make money. You need to play well and make cuts/win to make enough money to make living from it). Mini Tours can basically involve entrants people pooling their own money and playing for it
Turning Pro - Mini Tours or Monday Qualifiers
Does YouTube Get In The Way
What Professional Golf Costs
WHAT Mini Tour Golf COSTS - PART 1
WHAT Mini Tour Golf COSTS - PART 2
Pro Golf Sponsorship - 3 things you didn't know
I'm Giving Away My Tournament Winnings _ Recap
- despite what is said there are actually lots of options out there for players out there who want to have a go at professional golf. There's the major tours (US PGA, European, Asia One, China, Latin America, etc...). Then there are secondary tours and mini tours
The Florida Elite Golf Tour Experience
Q School - What Happened (Unedited)
http://www.ccptgolf.ca/en/
Turning Pro - Mini Tours or Monday Qualifiers
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-sKV0ts3UI
- the genuine tough luck made good stories are rare in golf. They've normally had an ounce of luck somewhere
Bubba Watson _ Home Again
Ian Poulter _ It's Complicated
- when you break things down you realise proper tour players are better across the board when compared with elite amateurs (scratch to +2). According to this guy it's across the board that tour players are stronger. +3 is the mark to make money, +5 is the mark to support a family and live a comfortable life. Be prepared to learn fast while on tour or be prepared when you turn pro or else it's just a waste of time and money. In general, you'll know if you're good enough or have the potential if you're honest with yourself
Scratch Golfer VS PGA Tour Pro, pt 1
Harsh Reality's Of Qualifying For Q School 339
- if you intend to invest in a player do your homework no matter what player you're dealing with. There have been some really odd transitions from amateur to professional golf level. Former amateurs who were in the best or top 5 of the world as an amateur who weren't able to make the transition into professional golf, guys who muddled their way through professional golf, guys who made it who you didn't think would, etc...
17-Year-Old Golf PHENOM On PGA Tour | Akshay Bhatia
Harsh Reality's Of Qualifying For Q School 339
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=duEq8NF_H9Q
BRYDEN MACPHERSON
DANNY LEE
DANIEL POPOVIC
http://www.owgr.com/en/Ranking/PlayerProfile.aspx?playerID=11824
MICHAEL SIM
http://www.owgr.com/en/Ranking/PlayerProfile.aspx?playerID=7681
https://www.australiangolfdigest.com.au/michael-sims-burning-question/
MATTHEW GILES
http://www.owgr.com/en/Ranking/PlayerProfile.aspx?playerID=9783
MATTHEW GRIFFIN
http://www.owgr.com/en/Ranking/PlayerProfile.aspx?playerID=9780
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matthew_Griffin
ANDREW TAMPION
http://origin-www.owgr.com/en/Ranking/PlayerProfile.aspx?playerID=7707&year=2002
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Tampion
JOSH YOUNGER
http://www.owgr.com/en/Ranking/PlayerProfile.aspx?playerID=11828
JASON DAY
http://www.owgr.com/Ranking/PlayerProfile.aspx?playerID=9771
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jason_Day
RORY MCILROY
http://www.owgr.com/Ranking/PlayerProfile.aspx?playerID=10091
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rory_McIlroy
BUBBA WATSON
http://www.owgr.com/Ranking/PlayerProfile.aspx?playerID=7334
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bubba_Watson
- one thing I didn't realise is that there have been many mid handicappers who tried to go pro in a short time frame. Obviously, they semi-made it. They were able to shoot the type of scores (in the mid to high 60's) required semi-consistently or were on the verge of being able to make it but didn't. I suspect that they would be able to make it on secondary or mini tours but they didn't seem to try or they could have possibly made it but gave up too early? How difficult is it to become pro? Very difficult, verging on impossible because so many things have to line up. You need the work ethic, knowledge, financial resources, some luck, basic talent, etc... to make it work
How Much Practice Is Required To Become A Pro
Are YOU good enough for College Golf
john richardson pro golf
How to Become a Professional Golf Player -- How to Become a Pro in Under a Year
Elite Golf
Brodie Smith
- there's a hierarchy in equipment. Obviously, better players have more of a say in club design. There is a quid pro quo for many sponsors. Nike wants their logo only, Titleist wants their ball being played, Ping preferes people to play their putter, Taylormade prefers people play their woods, etc...
Pro Golf Sponsorship - 3 things you didn't know
EQUIPMENT SPONSORSHIP ... How Does It Work _ October Q&A
- you need distance. Unless you're extremely accurate it's unrealistic for most players to be able to able to play and/or compete. The best way to simulate this is to image a 2-4 club headwind or not having any woods in your bag. That's the problem that you'll face. Even if you can the Greens in Regulation (GIR) it's likely that you'll be further from the hole which makes scoring more difficult
- elite golf coaching is much more structured/balanced across the board. They track and understand at all times
Q School - What Score It Takes To Qualify
Step Inside My Mind (On The Practice Tee)
GOLF PRACTICE SCHEDULE USED BY COLLEGE GOLFERS
- despite what is out there there are funny haha golf swings that are functional. Things that you can smile and marvel at the same time. The following guys have won on professional tour
Funniest Pro Golf Swings
川村昌弘のドライバー解析(スロー)
Jim Furyk SwingVision on Sunday at The Heritage
Ho Sung Choi
HOSUNG CHOI - CRAZIEST SWING IN GOLF
Michael Jordan Ribs Charles Barkley for His Golf Swing | The Oprah Winfrey Show | OWN
- examine the guys at the upper end of things and it's obvious that these guys use every advantage at their disposal
how much lower does dynamic gold s400 vs x100
putter fitting
- this is the pattern of a player of someone who struggled but is adapting to professional golf. Basically, they're ranking is getting steadily better and they know where to improve to become more competitive
DANIEL NISBET
- those players who may struggle with professional golf can be spotted relatively early. Some players can't do with all coaches around them, those who can't live independently, those who can't gain enough funding for tour life, those who lack drive/motivation, those who don't know where or how to improve, sometimes they change everything to break through a particular plateau but end up going backwards, etc...
"One of the things I don't want is a player to be on the other side of the world and hit a couple of bad shots, turn around, I'm not there and they think, I'm not going to be able to play well this week.

"I want them to have that self-reliance and presence of mind to objectively step back from what they're doing. 

"In my experience, when they drop off it's not because they've invented some new poor movement. It's because they've regressed into an old pattern. It's a matter of helping them understand that and going through a process where they make that correction." 
In my mind it seems like he views the swing as a puzzle. He says everyone has their own swing with different parts and so while nothing is "wrong" with each individual component it might not fit the rest of the swing or, in the case of my metaphor, a puzzle piece that doesn't fit right. That idea just struck me as a very positive and simple way to look at a swing.

That's basically all I know about him. I know he works with Matt Every and is based out of Florida... I was really posting here to try and learn more about him though.
RYAN RUFFELS
- if you want to become better watch lots and lots of quality level golf. Even at elite amateur level sometimes you have no idea what you're going to end up with. Moreover, since there is no money on the line a lot of players are more inclined to give up early, not be able to fix their technique mid round, etc... It gives you an idea of what you're dealing with
Stories of Golf
BE BETTER GOLF
The Happy Golfer
Golfholics
- I have no doubt that there would be some interest in a "guaranteed pay golf tour". Part salary with the rest performance based. How to fund something like that? Crowdsourced mini tours? A lot of players without tours? Blockchain based tour?
Returning to Scratch golf, how to play off scratch
CNN Living Golf - China Golf Documentary

- just because it's the most popular thing on tour doesn't mean it'll work for you. PGA accreditation isn't the end all and be all. There are many good golf coaches without PGA accreditation
most popular golf coach pga tour
Butch Harmon - $1,500 per hour. ...
Hank Haney - $15,000 per day. ...
Dave Pelz - $20,000 per day. ...
David Leadbetter - $3,500 for three hours. ...
Sean Foley - $1,000 per hour. ...
Chris Como - $3,000 per half day. ...
Dave Stockton - $600 per hour. ...
Peter Kostis - $500 per hour.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golf_instruction
Hidden Lower Body Energy Powers Golf Shots
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MYcTSOE-xsA
Why It’s Almost Impossible to Drive a Golf Ball 450 Yards (ft. Dustin Johnson) | WIRED
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=INKvTuLn65I
- matching players to equipment isn't as easy as you think. It's as much art as much science especially if the player in question adapts to their clubs. In this case, their equipment will dictate their style of swing and play much like in the early days when players switched from hickory to steel shafts which had little or no torque and significantly less flex
THE TRUE COST OF GOLF
- a lot of golf information is pure gibberish. Think about the swing speed issue. A lot of strange theories out there such as those about gaining swing speed like X-Factor theory. X-Factor theory tells you to increase difference between shoulder turn and hip turn for increased swing speed. In reality, data finds that this is mostly untrue. Women on LPGA tour have lower differentiation then men but have increased swing speed for their body mass ratio. Listen to the same person/channel for long enough and you'll even end up with contradictory information. You need to be able to filter out what works for you and what doesn't
Buzza Golf
HOOA Golf
Buzza Golf
BE BETTER GOLF
Dan Whittaker Golf
- there are some odd bans from in golf sometimes. If you think about it the upcoming ban of particular forms of grooves for professionals is really wierd because it isn't that likely to make that much of a difference. Sometimes you think these rule changes are purely for commercial reasons?
"metal spikes" golf
Golf industry takes steps to soften effects of cleats
Metal Spikes vs. Soft Spikes
Default for the golfers
- there are a lot of online golf scams. These include those related equipment (if equipment were really that much better amateur scores should be progressively be getting much lower but they aren't), tour school (most tour schools know that most players don't have the ability to genuinely make it on tour but take their money anyhow), funding your professional golfing career (classic scams such as pyramid and Multi-Level Marketing are easy to see through), certification (some forms of certification double as a means of selling something else, aren't worth what you're paying for them etc...), etc... Do your research. Most scams become apparent very quickly or if you think it through
Finance Professional Golf on the Mini Tours
ds domination review
golf coaching certification online
A Former Mini-Tour Player's Incredible Improvement With TPT Golf
TPT Golf
golf coaching certification online
VISION54
golf coach aws file:pdf
golf course aws file:pdf
golf teach certification free
free golf coach certification
- I'm a fan of training aides as well as drills but you need to figure out a way to live without them eventually on and off the golf course
Q School - Am I Ready
- there is some free golf swing analysis software out there. Most of the time the free versions have a tendency to be general sports video analysis type software
free golf swing analyser software
- there are some golf relatively cheap swing analysers out there. Reviews about them vary a lot though. Build as much of your own stuff as possible. Training aides are really expensive in particular even though (in relative terms) they don't really do all that much. I managed to build a ball collector/shag tube out of PVC pipe and sticky tape
screenshot zepp golf
DIY Golf ball retriever for under $5 and free golf tee's
diy golf swing analyser
infra red sensors?
diy golf shag tube
DIY Golf ball retriever for under $5 and free golf tee's - YouTube
arduino radar speed sensor
radar speed jaycar
bluetooth motion sensor mobile
- understand how and why equipment changes make a difference
https://golftips.golfweek.com/pro-golfer-iron-types-20671.html
40 YEAR OLD DRIVER TAKES ON A MODERN METAL HEADED DRIVER
Cheap v Expensive Golf Balls Test!! Golf Monthly
Golf Monthly
new ball vs old ball golf distance
- don't be afraid to experiment to learn. Always keep notes though to ensure you don't regress
IMPROVE YOUR CHIPPING WITH LOFT OR LESS LOFT
- understand why certain metrics don't make sense to use as a baseline. Carry distances don't make sense if a player chooses to go with a deliberately high or low ball flight or if they adapt to their clubs. The notion of club fitting goes out the window for players who are like this
- if you can't get to a driving range or golf course on a regular basis whiffle/composite foam/rubber balls can help. Kevin Kisner supposedly learned this way. That said, certain things you can only learn on the course or driving range. Once you've learnt them it's perfectly fine to recalibrate with what you do at home
- maximise your personal assets. Some people generate speed through height, reach, sheer strength, etc... Focus in on exploiting your strengths and minimising your weaknesses
How to Start the Golf Downswing Correctly
ben hogan swing speed
Use the legs properly for more distance in the Single / One Plane Golf swing.
- there are some "golf systems" around. Beware of learning from particular systems though. Certain ways of golf necessitate other compromises. For instance, a strong grip or flatter swing plane requires certain other comprises. For instance, I used to have a persistent draw which became a dangerous hook from time to time. I dealt with it through a more neutral grip and by becoming more stacked and balanced. That way I could turn/pivot as fast as I could without having to worry about going left. This was further aided by going with heavier and more stiff shafts. My experience tells me that basically the stiffer you go the straighter it will go but it will be more difficult to get the ball into the air. You'll need to swing harder
- people make a lot of Ben Hogan and Moe Norman in their prime with their accuracy. In reality, I think the main differentiation point was pure practice and the fact that they genuinely understood how their swings worked. It didn't matter that no one else understood what they were doing as long as they did
The golf ball that made golfers too good
- watch out for online reviewers. Some of them aren't consistent enough to be able to make a proper review. Heaps of bias on some channels as well. You should always try things yourselves before making a decision
Does Iron Shaft Flex Make A Difference  Extra Stiff vs Stiff - X100 vs S300
Extra Stiff Shaft vs Stiff Shaft - Blind Test !!! What Shaft Should You Use 
- a lot of younger players want the best memberships possible. However, there's a cost to this. Many courses test certain/specific abilities. Some are very short but penal on misses which forces your skill set in a particular direction, some use distance as it's primary defence which forces you to build a swing based on gaining distance and pitching/putting, others use sand and water which forces you to become a better bunker player, etc... You're better off with multiple cheap memberships as opposed to one good membership if you genuinely want to improve across the board. It will save you heaps of money as well (there are many courses which offer memberships for hundreds of dollars a year if you look around)! The more data you collect the quicker you can learn from your flaws and deal with them
Breaking Through A Plateau
https://thejgatour.com/Tournament/Pairings
- sometimes you wonder if the transition between amateur and professional golf is because things are too easy at the amateur level? There isn't much of a cost to bad play? Karl Vilips is an accomplished amateur. The one thing which sticks out for me is that he's always pressing for lower scores even if there is a high level of risk involved and he's not having a fantastic day out (I know of others who have turned professional who have this exact same issue). This can easily cost you shots and can lead to higher overall scores. I'm guessing this is the reason why you see so many mid-60 scores and not as many low-60 scores on tour?
https://www.youtube.com/user/KarlGolf/videos
http://www.karlgolf.info
- there are some basic core swing types that a lot of coaches have theorised about but they don't really cover everything. Thankfully, there's a lot of online reviews now which makes determining whether something is good for you easier
the plane truth youtube
Plane Truth Golf - YouTube
rotary golf swing book pdf
Manuel de la Torre pdf
Body-focused instruction is problematic because:
no two golfers' bodies are exactly alike,
it asks golfers to consciously control body motions that are by their nature unconsciously controlled,
it asks the golfer to address too many things during the 2.5 seconds required for a golf swing, and
demands that all body motions be correct in order to achieve the desired result.

By contrast, club-focused instruction teaches:
how the club moves for an effective swing,
the club's movement is universal for every player and every club, and
a lesson simple enough to accomplish during those same 2.5 seconds.

The club-focused instruction long advocated by de la Torre and Jones prior to him has now been validated by new research performed by Dr. Gabrieale Wulf at the University of Las Vegas and by Dr. Bob Christina at the University of North Carolina. In their studies players of all skill levels improved faster when given club-focused instruction.
natural golf pdf
- a combination of good swing thoughts and good equipment (if they are the type of player who adapts to equipment) forces players to play well?
project x drop wedge spin
- self taught players have a tendency to have steeper swings. It's a more natural way of swinging and getting the ball to straight to the target. Examples of such players include Seve Ballesteros, Bubba Waton, etc... 
- this takes me to my next point. Someone said they wanted to have a 'tour trajectory'. It's useless having a 'tour trajectory' (lower trajectory that rises up and then drops suddenly like a cruise missile) if you don't have the launch conditions to match up (ball speed, spin rate, angle of attack, etc...). If you can't match up, then you're better off hitting the ball higher then lower because you won't be able to stop the ball on greens with a lower angle of attack
- good equipment often ages well (and retain sales value) then bad copies
15 Year Old Driver – Taylormade R510TP vs. M3
1998 Golf Ball Vs 2018 Golf Ball (20 Year Test)
rory mcilroy shaft lean impact
APEX HEIGHT
- my guess it that commercialisation/mass production in golf has made many golfers worse? Swingers will prefer heavier stuff and go faster/more accurate with heavier equipment? Those who re-route/loop their swings require lighter equipment for that very reason?
most popular golf shaft pga tour
cpm difference regular stiff xstiff golf
faster swing heavier clubs
jim furyk golf shaft
- golf is still big but is the industry in decline/cyclic? Local reduction in total number of golf stores. Chain stores such as House of Golf, Drummond Golf, Drummond Golf Partners, etc... have significantly reduced their numbers over the last decade. Trade-in programs no longer exist. eBay has likely made it no longer viable? Canadian Golf Tour was about to go bust before US PGA tour bought it out. American Golf went into administration
golf tradein stockists melbourne site:au
- what you do on the driving range and golf course are completely different. Better players groove their swing on the driving range and then narrow their focus on the golf course. They can pull off the shots they need on demand when they want to. The funny thing is how some players practice though. Bubba Watson doesn't really have a routine and basically does what is interesting to him to maintain interest
Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods on the Range
- if you trust your swing then you can go anywhere and basically score on demand
- most injuries are caused by some sort speed mismatch between body parts, lack of warm up/down, pure speed, general wear and tear, etc?
- leverage technology
TIGER WOODS: “When I first turned pro, it was hosel, no adjustable weights. It was just glued hosels and go ahead and hit it. It was a different era, it was a different time, but now TrackMan allows us to cut down on our testing, cut down on our practice sessions, and we're not beating ourselves into the ground that way. For me, it validated feel, and so when I would feel something and then look at the numbers, it would validate it. Sometimes engineers may not always believe what I'm feeling or what a player is feeling and saying, but then the numbers can definitely validate it.”
- the game of golf is about figuring out what your peak is and knowing how to reach it. Determining your potential is reasonably easy. Basically, be honest with yourself and figure out what the maximum quality of your play can be on a sustained level
CLOSEST TO THE PIN WINS
- human can't reproduce same movements over and over again. That's why tour level golf is so difficult and why so many of them require so much practice to maintain or reach a particular level of golf?
- tempo is important but up until a certain point. Like Dave Pelz's clock based system it helps keeps things in check
How to Get Tour Tempo _ Easy Drill For Smooth Swing
- note, that even in instructional materials there are often mistakes. The following document has no apostrophes, missing hyperlinks, etc... It can be un-nerving at times but you get used to it
- much of golf and golf instruction is just gibberish. You need to filter out what you need and don't need. Some players (including naturally gifted golfers or cavemen style golfers such as Fred Couples) can get worse with more coaching or if they try to adapt incompatible systems with their approach. Be aware that there are heaps of ways to fix a single problem. A golf swing is a series of compromises designed to achieve maximum speed and targeting accuracy of a golf ball using a golf club using your body towards a target
Putting - The Four Secret Body Locks
FRANCESCO FANTASTICO FOUND MORE POWER! SWING ANALYSIS
How Golf Lessons Kill Your Distance

Random Stuff:
- as usual thanks to all of the individuals and groups who purchase and use my goods and services
- the funny thing is that the market for an 5th-gen fighter jet alternative may be bigger then some think. The actual number of countries who can genuinely afford the F-35 JSF is quite limited which means that opportunities abound particularly for former Soviet Union partners who don't really have an alternative aside from updated Russian gear which is mainly composed of 4++ gen fighters, the Russian Su-57E, Chinese FC-31 (which hasn't completed development work yet), Turkish T-FX (not sure of export potential), South Korean K-FX (not sure of export potential), etc...
- there are heaps of people doing the online lead generation thing now...
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Sound School added an event.
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Random Quotes:
- (CNN)Health officials issue public warnings about spikes in everything from the flu to the measles. But there is one contagion authorities are ignoring:

Hard stepping is simply placing a 4 iron shaft (untrimmed) into a 3 iron head. Soft stepping is putting the same 4 iron shaft (untrimmed) into a 5 iron head. The step patterns are changed a bit by doing it this way, and the flex will change roughly 1/3 flex. So, by hardstepping the shaft once, you get a shaft that plays 1/3 flex stiffer than normal. This, in my opinion, has a really nice effect on ballflight if you're trying to lower it, without as big an effect on directional accuracy. I think, with that 6 iron speed, a hard stepped x100 would really be a good choice for you. If you're planning on ordering a new set of irons this way, be careful, not all OEM's will hard step at the factory. I played a set of MP67's with X100 hard stepped once about 2 years back, and went to the same set without the shafts being hardstepped, and saw a noticeably higher ballflight with the standard setup, compared to the hardstepped setup. My apex lowered, the flight was flatter, and the spin was reduced quite a bit. For me, the ballflight with the standard setup in X100 allowed me to score better.
- ...If Erdogan accepts delivery of the S-400, “Turkey will be sanctioned as required by United States law under the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act. Sanctions will hit Turkey’s economy hard — rattling international markets, scaring away foreign direct investment and crippling Turkey’s aerospace and defense industry,” the lawmakers warn.

Among the “severe consequences” if Turkey abandons (or is forced to abandon) the F-35 program, its $1.25 billion-plus investment “will be squandered” and “it will not receive the more than 100 F-35s it planned to purchase, and it will be forced to settle for a less-capable fighter aircraft that will not arrive for many years,” according to the senators.

“Turkish companies that produce parts for the F-35 will see their orders dry up completely. Its F-35 engine maintenance, repair, overhaul, and upgrade facility will see all its work go to other facilities in Europe,” they wrote. “President Erdogan’s hope to make the Turkish defense industry a key pillar of economic growth for the future will be dashed.”

They commit to “do all we can to assist Turkey” if Erdogan walks away from the S-400 and if Russian President Vladimir Putin retaliates in economic sectors where Ankara relies on Moscow. Putin, they say, “is trying to divide Turkey from the West with the S-400s." “Mr. Putin fears and respects a Turkey strategically anchored in the West and committed to NATO,” they wrote. “We hope President Erdogan will choose that future for Turkey by rejecting Mr. Putin’s divisive S-400 ploy, meeting its air defense requirement with the Patriot system and moving forward as a critical partner in the F-35 program.”"
- European lawmakers voted overwhelmingly Wednesday for an EU-wide ban on single-use plastic products such as the straws, cutlery and cotton buds that are clogging the world's oceans.

The text had already been approved in negotiations with member states and EU officials and it will now be rapidly approved into law. The ban comes into effect from 2021.

EU Commission Vice-President Frans Timmermans said Europe was not the worst source of plastic pollution, but that the pioneering measure could serve as an example to the world.

"Asian countries are very much interested in what we're doing. Latin American countries too," he said.

"Even though our share of the pollution is relatively limited, our change of the economic model has a global impact."

The law passed by 560 votes to 35 in the Strasbourg assembly.

Aside from the ban on a dozen kinds of disposable products for which alternatives exist, the EU will encourage member states to reduce the use of plastic packaging and introduce stricter labelling rules.

The law sets a target that 90 percent of plastic bottles will be gathered for recycling by 2029 and that they should be produced with 25 percent recycled material by 2025, 30 percent by 2030.

Rules insisting that polluters pay the costs of a clean-up are strengthened, particularly for cigarette manufacturers, who will have to support the recycling of discarded filters.

According to the EU Commission, the products prohibited under the law represent 70 percent of the waste that pours into the world's oceans, posing a threat to wildlife and fisheries.
- Many people in every society have strong likes and dislikes. But we practise tolerance to maintain cohesion. We keep our feelings in check for the greater good. Else, there would be anarchy on the streets.
- Dobbins added: "While not malicious in nature, such events can prove disruptive on a widespread basis. It is very important that all network operators implement BGP peering best current practices, including prefix-lists, max-prefixes, ‘peer-locking’ via AS-PATH filters, RPKI Origin Validation (RFC6811), and other techniques incorporated into the industry Mutually Agreed Norms for Routing Security."
- An analysis of CoreLogic data shows Mr Frydenberg's seat of Kooyong has seen the steepest price falls in Melbourne at 14 per cent since February last year, with Prime Minister Scott Morrison's seat of Cook in Sydney down by 13 per cent. Sydney house prices climbed by 75 per cent between 2011 and the middle of 2017 while in Melbourne they increased by 70 per cent over a similar period.

Shadow Treasurer Chris Bowen said the sharper-than-expected falls, triggered by a crackdown on investor loans to local and foreign buyers by the banking regulator meant the Coalition had lost the right to label the intervention.

"It used to be we’ve got a scalpel the other side have got a sledgehammer," said Mr Bowen. "They don't say that anymore. They can't."

Speaking from his office in his western Sydney electorate of McMahon, where prices have fallen by 9 per cent, Mr Bowen said when the market was rising he was regularly confronted by constituents worried about "the crazy prices" but few offered the same level of concern now that they had begun falling.

Mr Frydenberg said "there was definitley too much heat in the market" and that the regulator's intervention had led to a decline in investors and a growth in owner-occupiers and first-home buyers. "That is welcome," he said.

A panel of eight Sun-Herald and Sunday Age economists has forecast extra falls on top of the 11.5 per cent drop in Sydney and Melbourne in 2018. They expect Sydney to fall by another 8.7 per cent and Melbourne by 9.7 per cent this year.

Mr Frydenberg said he believed if Labor was elected in May then the threat of housing to the broader economy would increase.

"I’m worried that if the Labor Party get their chance to abolish negative gearing as we know it and increase capital gains tax by 50 per cent, then that will drive housing prices down with a spillover into the real economy and household consumption," he said.
- In August, a report in the American magazine Vanity Fair  said that the conditions laid down for the contract appeared to be sharply skewed to favour Amazon.

WikiLeaks said that a few of the data centres were publicly associated with Amazon but this was the exception. In most cases, the company was said to operate out of data centres owned by other companies and with no indication that it had a presence in these centres.

The data centres are located in Northern Virginia, Seattle, California Bay Area, Northeastern Oregon, Dublin, Luxembourg, Frankfurt, Beijing, Ningxia, Tokyo, Osaka, Singapore, Sydney, Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro.

Additionally, WikiLeaks said, Amazon sometimes ran its data centres under lesser known subsidiaries such as VaData. At its IAD77 data centre, the leaked document says that “Amazon is known as ‘Vandalay Industries’ on badges and all correspondence with building manager”.

The name Vandalay Industries was made famous by the Seinfeld character George Costanza who made it up when asked by an US dole official about the names of places where he had interviewed for a job.

WikiLeaks pointed out that in 2017, Amazon had announced the AWS Secret Region, which was storing data classified up to the Secret level by a range of government agencies and companies. Amazon won a US$600 million contract with the CIA in 2013.
- The Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction recently reported that $15.5 billion has been wasted on fraud, faulty programs and other failures since the start of the war, in addition to the $4.7 billion spent on “stabilization efforts and programs” that have failed to achieve any stabilization. Meanwhile, opium production, which had been dramatically reduced before the US invasion, is at record highs, increasing by 63 percent last year alone.
- An anomaly board is studying the problem, including ways to address the problem using ground systems. The agency didn’t give a schedule for the board to perform that work.

That analysis is important since Hubble normally operates with three gyros. The spacecraft is equipped with six, which were replaced on the final shuttle servicing mission in 2009. Three of those six have now failed, including the one that failed last week.

With one of the three remaining ones not performing as expected, Hubble can’t be operated in its usual three-gyro mode. It is possible, though, to operate the spacecraft with just a singly gyro, and NASA said it will do so if the malfunctioning gyro can’t be fixed.

Shifting to one-gyro operations will “still provide excellent science well into the 2020s,” NASA said, but acknowledged that it would operate at “slightly lower efficiency” in that mode. Some astronomers are concerned that the reduced-gyro mode could adversely affect some types of observations, like solar system objects, that require the precision of three-gyro operations.
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Saving Money (without Sacrificing), Random Stuff, and More

- use price matching when you can to get an extra discount. Note, a lot of companies advertise low prices just to get you through the door. ...