Few artists have resonated across generations like Neil Diamond has, with over 130 million records sold worldwide. He's not just an American icon, but a global phenomenon. From Cracklin' Rosie to the Boston Red Sox's Anthem, Sweet Caroline, Diamond's melodies have been a fixture in the musical landscape for decades. While Diamond's illustrious career boasts 10 number one singles in the US Billboard Hot 100, his recognition isn't just from the charts. He's a member of the songwriter's Hall of Fame since 1984, a rock and roll Hall of Fame inductee as of 2011, and a recipient of the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2018. Even as he stepped back from touring in 2018 after a Parkinson's disease diagnosis, Diamond's passion for music remained undimmed. He promised to continue writing, recording, and nurturing new projects. Given his storied career and influence, it's fitting that Diamond chose a home that's as timeless as his music. Founded in the Plush Precincts of Incinal Bluffs Malibu, Diamond bought a magnificent beachside home back in 2017 for $7.25 million. Overlooking a private cove in the small community of Bluewell Estates just off Pacific Coast Highway, the five-bedroom, seven-bath estate was originally priced at $7.495 million. This area is no stranger to celebrities having attracted names from Daryl Hanna to Nicholas Keech. Built in 1996, the 4,692-square-foot residence embodies the quintessential California indoor outdoor aesthetic. Its design celebrates the state's natural beauty with walls of glass ensuring that the radiant Malibu sunlight illuminates every corner. As one steps into Neil Diamond's Malibu home, one can feel the opulence and true warmth of home at once. The entrance, bathed in the radiant California sun, provides a taste of the design marvels that await inside. Serving as the heart of the home, the great room embodies open, spaced luxury. Perfect for hosting, it's easy to imagine Diamond entertaining guests in here, with its timeless tracks playing in the background. The spaciousness allows for both intimate corners and grand gatherings. Neil's gourmet kitchen, from whipping up quick snacks to preparing elaborate feasts, this space marries functionality with aesthetic elegance. Adjacent to the kitchen is the formal dining room. Overlooking the azure waters of Malibu, meals here are transformed into memorable experiences. The backdrop of the ocean combined with Neil's probable choice of ambient music would make every supper feel like a special event. The master suite, well, this room offers more than just a place to rest. The dramatic ocean views from the sanctuary ensure the waking up feels like a daily rendezvous with paradise. On the master suite, four additional bedrooms, each come with their own ensuite baths. Each room is a personal haven, offering guests both comfort and luxury with views that compete with the world's finest resorts. The home's exterior spaces are equally impressive. This spacious patio is versatile, suitable for a tranquil morning coffee or a bustling evening soiree. Adjacent is the barbecue area, ensuring that gatherings have a touch of grilled perfection. The infinity pool, blending seamlessly with the ocean beyond, is a testament to architectural ingenuity. Next to it, the spa provides a cozy corner for relaxation all against the backdrop of Malibu's amazing sunsets. The ultimate luxury for any beachside property, direct access to the sand, means the diamond has an ever accessible escape route to serenity. Morning jog, sunbathing, or twilight walks, the beach is his private playground. Neil Diamond's Malibu home isn't just a residence. It's a masterpiece that stands as a testament to a life lived grandly, much like his music career. Every room, every amenity sings a song of luxury, making this house a gem on the Malibu coast. While that brings us to the end of today's house tour, answer this question for me before we go. While lounging at an impressive beach mansion like this one, which Neil Diamond tune would you want to play in the background? Let me know down in the comments and don't forget to like and subscribe to this channel. My name is Curie the Vampire Slayer, follow me on Instagram to chat and if you want to see more celeb homes before you go then stay tuned for our look into the properties of Priscilla Presley. Bye! At the end of 2020, Priscilla Presley sold off her Beverly Hills mansion where she lived for decades for $13 million. The actress, businesswoman and former wife of the late Elvis Presley then relocated to her current abode. As stylish penthouse in a multi-million dollar condo complex in Century City, Los Angeles. Way back when Priscilla first met Elvis, he already owned Graceland, the famous Tennessee property he bought in 1957. During their 6 year marriage, the couple did buy some homes in California too, including an estate in the upskill neighborhood of Homeby Hills. In these videos, we don't reveal any addresses and even though I've done a house tour of my own place, please do not show up at any private residences because it's not safe for anyone. At the end of 2020, Priscilla Presley made some changes to her living situation, selling her long-time Beverly Hills abode which we'll check out in just a moment and downsizing to a stunning penthouse in the Century City neighborhood of Los Angeles. Priscilla paid $4.8 million for her stylish and femininely decorated new home and it looks like it's almost European in style or simply like you're stepping into a romantic Paris flop. The penthouse which spans just over 3200 square feet of space was built in 1979 but at a full scale interior renovation done in recent years by K. M. N. Nelson Design. The European contemporary penthouse as it was described in the listing is located in La Park which is a gated complex of multi-million dollar condos. While the former wife of Elvis Presley has lived in some stunning homes over her lifetime, this one is no different and it looks like the ideal space for a woman with class like Priscilla. The romantic and girly design throughout the condo includes pale pink walls, pink vulva couches and other colors like blues, lilacs and pretty wallpaper. There are also three bedrooms and 3.5 bathrooms. The common rooms at Priscilla's pad have white oak hardwood underfoot and there's also a front foyer that connects to the main living room. This pink walled room is dreamy to say the least and there are features here like a white stone fireplace and a tucked away and chic wet bar in one corner. Nearby rooms include the formal dining room which opens up to a balcony and a casual styled den with entertainment features like an upgraded sound system. There's also a fresh looking open playing kitchen that's done up in all white with marble finishing and top of the line, wolf and sub-zero appliances, making her kitchen look pretty glamorous. There's one powder room in the condo while all three of the bedrooms have their own ensuite baths too. Priscilla's master suite is definitely the nicest of all featuring a crystal chandelier in the bedroom as well as a luxury attached bath covered in marble. There's also dual vanities here, a makeup station, a steam shower and skylights overhead. Considering this isn't your average condo complex, residents of Le Park including Miss Presley have to pay about $2,900 per month in condo fees. This price provides Priscilla with access to all the amenities here, including two private parking spots, 24-7 guard-gated security, a swimming pool, tennis courts and a clubhouse. On top of her penthouse, there's also a rooftop terrace with pool and garden views. In December 2020, Priscilla Presley sold her long time estate in Beverly Hills where she had lived for decades, an Italian-style villa she purchased a few years after her divorce from Elvis. The ex-couple had an amicable relationship after their split and they wanted to live close to each other to make it easier for him to visit their daughter, the late Lisa Marie Presley. Elvis lived close by in Homeby Hills at the time. Priscilla listed the sprawling private one-acre estate for $16 million initially but after a price drop she sold it a few months later for $13 million which was still a great profit. The opulent abode span nearly 9,000 square feet of space inside along with seven bedrooms, nine bathrooms and a handful of amazing amenities. According to the listing description, nearly every room opens out to lush gardens, terraces and rolling lawns. And sitting on prime real estate in the 90210 area, the property sure is a treat. Priscilla's former home was built back in 1951 and updated since while being meticulously cared for over the years. Past the exterior of the home which is draped in vines, there are common rooms featuring high vaulted ceilings with exposed wood beams and dark hardwood floors underneath. A formal living room features an elegant fireplace front and center as well as front doors out to the yard. There's also a formal dining room with an old world charm and a crystal chandelier above while a more casual dining nook is set nearby. Another sitting room features wood paneled walls, a massive fireplace and cozy furnishings while the mansion's main staircase seems to wind up high towards the upper level. Also offering double height ceilings and another chandelier. I love the charming and glam interiors of this home so I can imagine it was so hard for Priscilla to let it go. Other grand features throughout the home included the master suite which boasted yet another chandelier in the bedroom, more beam ceilings, a fireplace and a private balcony. There was also an attached bath with an oversized sunken tub, sitting area, shower stall and vanity. Outside, the residence was decked out with multiple gardens and lush greenery as well as terraces and patios to relax on in stone walkways, all adding to the beauty. There were even fountains and other romantic touches outside licking outdoor fireplace and covered seating.  In September 2020, a home where Priscilla and Elvis once lived together ended up selling for just over $29 million, located in the exclusive Platinum Triangle area of Los Angeles on the border of Beverly Hills and Homeby Hills. After Priscilla and Elvis split in their early 70s, she continued to live in this home for three years with Lisa Marie. The recent sale, which went for $29.3 million, included the main house, a 144 Monneville Drive and this is the 1.6 acre parcel of land where the Priscilla's lived as well as the neighboring 120 Monneville Drive, a .75 acre parcel of land. Since the Priscilla's lived here, the home has underwent several renovations. The seven-bedroom main house now boasts a Tudor style facade with leaded glass windows, archways and a high-pitched roof. The property also boasts a dual tennis basketball court, plus a pool, two guest houses and a garage. At the end of 2022, Elvis and Priscilla Presley's one-time honeymoon home popped back up on the market for $5.6 million. Back in 1967, the king of rock and roll enjoyed married life with his new bride Priscilla in this Palm Springs, California home. The Priscilla's couldn't help falling in love with this unique mid-century modern spread which was dubbed The House of Tomorrow by Look Magazine in 1962. Elvis and Priscilla honeymooned at this 4,695-square-foot property for a year after their wedding, costing them a total of $21,000. Inside this futuristic-looking house boasts four bedrooms, three full bathrooms and other bonuses like an at-home spa. The William Crissel-designed home has a spaceship-like interior and was considered ahead of its time when it was built in 1960. Its interesting amenities include an indoor kitchen grill, vacuum ports and wall-mounted radios. Four circular stones lead to the textured front doors, and inside the main living room features a stone wall lined with built-in seating, facing directly towards the fireplace and floating earth. The dining room of the home sits on an elevated platform overlooking the living area, while views of the mountains and palm trees can be taken in through the floor-to-ceiling glass walls. The kitchen includes a massive hood over the oval-shaped center island that offers a five built-in burners and a second living space with a fireplace sits next to the kitchen. Upstairs, the master bedroom reveals endless windows along a curved wall, showing off the mountains and landscape. Then, the primary bath has double sinks aligning the walls as well as a generously sized bathtub. Outside of Priscilla's former honeymoon home, the irregularly shaped pool is equipped with a hot tub and surrounded by a patio with plenty of room for lounging. While we've looked at a few of Priscilla Presley's properties for a look at Graceland where she also lived for many years, be sure to check out our Lisa Marie Presley house tour or our Elvis house tour. For now, that's going to wrap up today's video, but before we go, answer this question. Would you be down to live in that futuristic honeymoon house Priscilla and Elvis once called home? Why or why not? Let's hear if you like that unique property or had another opinion and be sure to leave your condolences for the Presley family in the comments below. Otherwise, like, subscribe and turn on your notifications to never miss an episode. Thanks for tuning in. My name is Cara the Vampire Slayer and I'll see you all in another video. Bye!


Hi everyone and welcome to the Big Data Deep Dive with the Cube on EMC TV. I'm Richard Schlesinger and I'm here with Tech Industry Entrepreneur and Wikibon Analyst Dave Vellante and Silicon Angle CEO and Editor-in-Chief John Furrier. For this last segment in our show we're talking about the future of Big Data and there aren't two better guys to talk about that than you and I'm glad that you guys are here. Let me sort of tee up this conversation a little bit with a video that we did because the results of Big Data Leveraging are only as good as the data itself. There has to be the trust that the data is true and accurate and as unbiased as possible. So EMC TV addressed that issue and we're just trying to sort of keep the dialogue going with this spot. We live in a world that is in a constant state of transformation, political, natural, transformation that has many faces, many consequences, a world overflowing with information with the potential to improve the lives of millions, the prospects of nations, with generations in the balance. We are awakening to the power of Big Data. We trust and together transform our future. So gentlemen, trust. Without that, where are we and how big of an issue is that in the in the world of Big Data? Well you know the old saying garbage in garbage out in the old days the single version of the truth was what you were after with data warehousing and people say that we're a further away from a single version of the truth now with all this data but the reality is with Big Data and these new algorithms you can algorithmically weed out the false positives, get rid of the bad data and mathematically get to the good data a lot faster than you could before without a lot of processes around it the machines can do it for you. So John while we were watching that video you murmured something about how this is the biggest issue this is cutting-edge stuff this is what's important. I mean trust issues and trust the trust equation right now is still unknown it's evolving fast you see it with social networks see things go viral on the internet and and we live in a system now with mobility and cloud things are scaling infinitely you know these days and so good data scales big and bad data scales big so whether it's a rumor on the you here and this is viral or other data data trust is the most important issue and sometimes big data can be creepy so a this is a really really important area people are watching it and trust is the most important thing. But you know you have to earn trust and we're still sort of at the beginning of this thing so what has to happen to make sure that you know you don't get the garbage in so you get the garbage out. It's iterative and and we're seeing a lot of pilot projects and then those pilot projects get reworked and then they spawn into new projects and so it's an evolution and as I've said many many times it's very early we've talked about we're just barely scratching the surface here. It's evolving too and the nature of the data is needs to be questioned as well so what kind of data for instance if you don't authorize your data to be viewed there's all kinds of technical issues around that's one side of it but the other side of it I mean they're bad people out there who would try to influence you know whatever conclusions were being drawn by big data programs. Especially when you think about big data sources so companies start with their internal data and they know that pretty well they know what the warts are they know how to manipulate it it's when they start bringing in outside data that this gets a lot fuzzier. Yeah it's a problem and security. I talked to a guy not long ago who thought that big data could be used to protect big data that you could use big data techniques to detect anomalies and in data that's coming into the system which you know is poetic if nothing else. That's totally happening by the way. It's a good solution. I want to move on because we really want to talk about how this stuff is going to be used assuming that these trust issues can be solved and you know the best minds in the world are working on this issue to try to figure out how to best you know leverage the data we all produce which has been measured at five X of bytes every two days and you know somebody made an analogy with like something if a byte was a paper clip and you stretched five X of bytes worth of paper clips they would go to the moon or whatever anyway it's a lot of bytes. It's a lot of stuff. Actually I think it's a lot of paper clips. Well many many times. I don't know. I lost track of my paper clips. But anyway the the best minds are trying to figure out you know how to you know maximize that that the value of that data and they're doing that not far from here where we where we sit at MIT at a place called CSAIL which was just recently set up. CSAIL stands for the Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Lab. So we went there not long ago. It's just you know down the mass pike. It was an easy trip and this is what we found. It's fascinating. Everybody is obviously talking about big data all the time and you hear it gets used to mean all different types of things. So one of the things we're trying to do in the big data at CSAIL program is to understand what are the different types of big data that exists in the world and how do we help people to understand what different problems sort of fall under the overall umbrella of big data. CSAIL is the largest interdepartmental laboratory at MIT. So there's about a hundred principal investigators. So that's faculty and sort of senior research scientists. About 900 students who are involved. Basically with big data almost anything you do that has to be a much larger scale than we're used to. And the way it changes that equation is you have to have the hardware and the software to do the things you're used to doing. You have to make them accommodate a larger size. A much larger size. A lot of times when people talk about big data they mean not so much the volume of the data but that the data for example is too complex for their existing data processing system to be able to deal with it. So as I've got information from a social network, from Twitter, I've got information from a person's mobile phone. Maybe I've got information about retail records, transactions, a whole very diverse set of things that need to be combined together. What this query says is this says if you added this predicate to your query it would remove the dots that you selected. That's part of what we're trying to do here in big data at CSAIL and our big data effort in general at MIT is to build a set of software tools that allow people to take all these different data sets, combine them together, ask questions and run algorithms on top of them that allow them to extract insight. I'm working with a data set that was derived by NASA but the purpose of my work right now is to take data sets within databases and instead of querying them for table results you querying them to get visualizations. So instead of looking at large sets of numbers and text and whatnot you get a picture and the motivation behind that is that humans are really good at interpreting pictures they're not so good at interpreting huge tables and with big data that's a really big issue. So this will allow scientists to visualize their data sets more quickly so they can start exploring and I guess looking at it faster because with big data it's it's a challenge to be able to visualize and explore your data. I'm here just to proclaim what you already know which is that the hour of big data has arrived in Massachusetts and it's a very very exciting time. So Governor Patrick was here just a few weeks ago to announce the Mass Big Data Initiative and really I think what he recognizes and is partly what we recognize here is that there's an expertise in the state of Massachusetts in areas that are related to big data partly because of companies like EMC as well as a number of other companies in the sort of database analytics space. EMC is a partner in our Big Data at CCL initiative and Big Data at CCL is an industry focused initiative that brings companies together to work with MIT to think about big data problems help to understand what big data means for the companies and also to allow the companies to give feedback to us about what are the most important problems for them to be working on and potentially expose our students and give access to these companies to our students. I think the future will tell us and it's hard to say right now because we haven't done a lot of I think analyzing interpreting of big data we haven't reached our potential yet and I just there are just so many things that we can't see right now. So one of the things that people tell us that are involved in big data is they have trouble finding the skill sets the data science capability and capacity and so seeing videos like this one at MIT there's a new breed of students coming out there they're growing up in this big data world and that's critical to keep the big data pipeline flowing and John you and I have spent a lot of time in the East Coast looking at some of the big data companies it's almost a renaissance for Massachusetts and Cambridge and it's very exciting to see obviously there's a lot going on on the West Coast as well. Yeah I mean obviously I'm impressed with MIT and around MIT in Cambridge is exploding with young young new guns coming out of there the new rock stars if you will but in California where we're headquartered in Palo Alto you know we had a chance that we go up close to Google Facebook and Jeff Hammerbacker who will show a video in a second that I interviewed with him at Hadoop Summit he was the first guy at Facebook to build a data platform which now has completely changed Facebook and made it what it is he's also the co-founder of Cloudera the leader in Hadoop which we've talked about and he's the poster child in my opinion of a data scientist he's a math geek but he understands the world problems it's not just a tech thing it's a bigger picture. I think that's key I mean he knows he knows that you have to apply this stuff so and and and the passion that he has this video from Jeff Hammerbacker co-founder of Cloudera watch this video but and and the thing walk away is that big data is for everyone and it's about having the passion. Hammerbacker data scientist from Cloudera co-founder hacking data Twitter handle welcome to the Cube. Thank you. So you're known in the industry everyone knows you on Twitter, you're on Quora heavily follow you there at Facebook you built the data platform for Facebook one of the guys main guys they're hacking the data over at Facebook look what happened right I mean yeah tsunami that Facebook has is amazing. Co-founder of Cloudera you saw the vision Amarawadala always quotes on the Cube we've seen the future no one knows it yet that was a year and a half ago now everyone knows it so yeah how do you feel about that as the co-founder of Cloudera 40 million thousand funding validation again more validation how do you feel yeah I know sure it's exciting I think you know as data volumes have grown and as the complexity of data that is collected and analyzed has increased you know novel software architectures have emerged and I think what I'm most excited about is the fact that that software is open-source and we're playing a key role in driving where that software is going and I'm you know I think what I'm most excited about on top of that is the commodification of that software you know I'm tired of talking about the container in which you put your data I think a lot of the creativity is happening in the data collection integration and preparation stage so I think you know there was a tremendous focus over the past several decades on the modeling aspect of data so we we really increase the sophistication of our understanding you know classification and regression and optimization and all of the the hardcore modeling that gets done and now we're seeing okay we've got these great tools to use at the end of the pipe so now how do we get more data pushed through those those modeling algorithms so there's a lot of innovative work so we are thinking at the time how you make money at this or did you say well let's just go solve the problem and good things will happen it was it was a lot more of the latter you know I didn't leave Facebook to start a company I just left Facebook because I was ready to do something new and I knew this was a huge movement and I felt that you know it was very nation and and unfinished as a software infrastructure so when the opportunity with Cloudera came along I really jumped on it and I've been absolutely blown away by the commercial success we've had so I didn't I certainly didn't set out with a master plan about how to extract value from this my master plan has always been to really drive Hadoop into the background of enterprise infrastructure I really want it to be as obvious of a choice as Linux and you see what you're we've talked a lot at this conference and others about you know Hadoop moving from the fringe to the mainstream commercial enterprises and all those guys are looking at I heard JP Morgan J today where we're building competitive advantage we're saving money those guys do have a master plan to make money does that change the dynamic of what you do on a day-to-day basis or is that really exciting to you as an entrepreneur oh yeah for sure it's exciting and what we're trying to do is facilitate their master plan right like we want to we want to identify the commonalities and everyone's master plan and then commoditize it so that they can avoid the undifferentiated heavy lifting that Jeff Bezos points out you know where you know no one should be required to to invest tremendous amounts of money in their container anymore right they should really be identifying novel data sources new algorithms to manipulate that data the smartest people for using that data and that's where they should be building their competitive advantage and we really feel that you know we know where the market's going and we're very confident in our product strategy and I think over the next few years you know you guys are going to be pretty excited about the stuff we're building because I know that I'm personally very excited and yeah we're very excited about the competition because number one more people building open-source software has never made me angry yeah so so you know that's kind of the marketplace so you know we're talking about data science you're building a data science team so first tell us where Gerald drill into data science talk about that what you're doing at Cloudera around data science your team and your goals and what is a data scientist I mean this is now a new you know is it the DBA for Hadoop or you know what you know sure sure so what's going on yeah so you know to kind of reflect on the genesis of the term you know when we were building out the data team at Facebook we kind of had two classes of analysts we had data analysts who were more traditional business intelligence you know building can reports performing data retrieval queries doing you know lightweight analytics and then we had research scientists who were often PhDs and things like sociology or economics or psychology and they were doing much more of the deep dive longitudinal complex modeling exercises and I really wanted to combine those two things I didn't want to have those two folks be separate in the same way that we combined engineering and operations on our data infrastructure group so I literally just took data analysts and research scientists and put them together and called it data scientist so that's kind of the the origin of the title and then how that's translated and what we do at Cloudera so I've recently hired two folks into a a burgeoning data science group at Cloudera so what the way we see the market evolving is that you know the infrastructure is going to be commoditized. So what's the mindset to really be a data scientist and you know what is we should be thinking about I mean there's no real manual most people are bored with math skills, economics and these kinds of disciplines you mentioned what should someone prepare themselves how do they approach it how does someone say hey I want to hire a data scientist how do I fold the rec form yeah these kinds of things. Well I tend to you know I played a lot of sports growing up and there's this phrase you know of being a gym rat which is someone who's always in the gym just practicing whatever sport it is that they love and I find that most data scientists are sort of data rats they're always they're always going out grabbing new data so you're there's a genuine curiosity about seeing what's happening in data that you really can't teach but in terms of the skills that you that are required I didn't really find any one background to be perfect so I actually put together a course at University of California Berkeley and taught it this spring called introduction to data science and I'm teaching it in teaching it again this coming spring and they're actually going to put it into the core curriculum in the fall of next year for computer science. All right Jeff Hammerbocker thanks so much for that insight great epic talk here on the Cube another another epic conversation shared with the world live congratulations on the on the funding another 40 millions great validation and congratulations for essentially being part of the data science and finding that whole movement Facebook and and now with Amaral Adala and the team at Cloudera you did a great job so congratulations on all the competition keeping your capitalism right okay it's great isn't it that with all these great minds working in this industry they still can't we're so early in this that they still can't really define what a data scientist is I mean what is talk about an industry in its infancy that's what's so exciting everyone has a different definition of what it is and that what that means is is that it's everyone I think data science represents the new everybody it could be housewife it could be a homemaker to an eighth grader it doesn't matter if you see an insight and you see something that can be solved data is out there and I think that's the future. And Jeff Hammerbocker talked about spending all this time in technology with undifferentiated heavy lifting and I'm excited that we are moving beyond that into you know essentially the human part of big data and it's going to have a huge impact as we talked about before on the productivity of organizations and potentially productivity of lives I mean look at what we've talked about this afternoon we've talked about predicting volcanoes we've talked about you know medical issues we've talked about pretty much every aspect of life and I guess that's really the message of this industry now is that the folks who are managing big data are looking to change pretty much every aspect of life. This is the biggest inflection point in history of technology that I've ever seen in the sense that it truly affects everything and the data that's generated and the data that machines generate the data that humans generate the data that forest generate things like everything is generating data so this is a time where we can actually instrument it so this is why there's massive disruption in this area. And disruption we should say the uninitiated is a good thing in this business. Well creation, entrepreneurship, copies of being founded it's a great opportunity. Well I appreciate your time I unfortunately I think that's going to wrap it up for our big data deep dive. John and Dave the Cube guys have been great I really appreciate you showing up here and you know just lending your insights and expertise and all that and I want to thank you the audience for joining us so you should stay tuned for the ongoing conversation on the Cube and to EMC-TV to be informed inspired and hopefully engaged. I'm Richard Schlesinger thank you very much for joining us.


My name is Debbie Laskar, and I am the author of The Atlas of Reds and Blues, seen here. This is a book about an unnamed Indian American woman in the South who encounters police violence and gun violence, but really the book is about racism and misogyny and being invisible in America in contemporary life, and it kind of tackles some hard issues but hopefully with compassion and a little humor. The book has won a couple of things. I'm very pleased to say it was the winner of the Crooks Corner Book Prize for Best Debut Novel Set in the South, and it also won the Asian Pacific American Award for Literature. I hope that you'll read this book and it will start some really much needed conversations about race and racism in this country and that is why I wrote this book so that we could really start to have a dialogue so we can enact a little bit of change, and thank you for your time and attention.


QuickBooks Pro Plus Desktop 2022, one note presentation, company preferences, bills, calendar and checking. Let's get into it within two of its QuickBooks Pro Plus Desktop 2022. If you have access to one note, would like to follow along icon left hand side, topic introductions, 6100 company preferences, bills, calendar and checking. Also take a look at the immersive reader tool, topic introductions also in the text area, same name, same number, but with transcripts, transcripts that can be translated into multiple languages, either listened to or read in them, same name and number as presentation as well. Topic introductions designed to give an introduction to the topic, provide screenshots, links where applicable, give a counting background to compliment the presentations. They can also be used to follow along with the presentations, if you don't have access to the software at that point in time. Closing the icon left hand side, we're looking at the company preferences. So we got first.


This is a virtual head-on view of the Big Island of Hawaii that should give you an idea of the vertical grandeur of the mountains on the island. The volcanic summits of Manaloa and Manakea both exceed 13,000 feet, which means that elevation must change from sea level to these lofty altitudes over a relatively short distance. The black contours on our virtual island here are contours of constant elevation, so they connect points with equal elevations. Now we'll flip to a top-down view and observe how the tightly packed contours of constant elevation make a bullseye around the summit of each mountain. The contours are tightly packed, which means that elevation changes rapidly over short distances, indicating a steep grade, as you might expect near the summit of a mountain, nearly 14,000 feet high. If we change back to the head-on view, you can confirm that areas with tightly packed contours are those where the slope of the terrain is steep. Now what about other parts of the island away from the peaks of the mountains? Let's focus over here where the terrain is flatter. Switching back to a top-down view shows a looser packing of contours, which means that elevation changes are much smaller over a fixed distance compared to the mountain sides. So the packing of these contours of constant elevation tells us a lot about how steep the grade is. Areas where elevation changes very rapidly over a short distance have a tight packing of contours, while areas with smaller elevation changes have a looser packing of contours. Hopefully our virtual look at Hawaii's topography has shown you how we can analyze three-dimensional topography on a two-dimensional map.


We're glad to know you're still there. This is the break fast on PLOS TV Africa today where our first topic is the fact that INAG is raising concerns ahead of Bielsa, IMO, Kogi elections. Remember that they are going to be off elections or off season elections in November this year. So they're raising concerns ahead of these elections, holding in Bielsa, IMO and Kogi, different geopolitical zones as it is. We're glad to be joined this morning by the Executive Director Center for Public Accountability in the person of Mr. Olufemi Lawson. Welcome to the program. Good morning. Okay. What are these concerns? Let's begin with that, that INAG is raising because now every time we hear concerns, federal government is raising concerns that there are cool plotters trying to topple it. Before the election in February, they were raising concerns that people were trying to disrupt the election. Concerns, concerns, concerns that we've never caught any culprit raising concerns. What are these concerns by INAG? Well, these are legitimate concerns especially when you look at our political process and what happens mostly when elections like this get closer and of course from the report we have been getting from the media, you realize that there are real reasons to be concerned if you are a keen follower of the events from Kogi to IMO and Bielsa. There have been issues of crisis between opposing political parties. There have been attacks on supporters of political parties. The other time in Kogi state, there were accusation and counteracquisition by the two major political parties contesting the election, going to one attack on party secretariat, convoy of candidates and the like.  It keeps reoccurring because when this election comes, politicians out of the expression will sponsor violence, then get whatever result they get from the outcome of the election. Then we wait for the next four years before starting this, but if as a society we have made a criminal offense for anyone, it's just like somebody picking up a gun this morning, going to face a bank wanting to rob, it knows the consequences even if it will be successful or not. But in the case of electoral violence, it looks so much like we are a place, people come after every cycle of election, they repeat it because nobody is being dealt with. Just like you said, the society is not dealing with perpetrators of electoral violence and they are sponsors and that is why these kind of concerns keep emanating just like INEC is raising their other stakeholders, civil society, the media are also raising issues because if you look at developments that are unfolding, you come to agree that there have to be enough concerns to be raised. And this time around, we are hoping that it will not just be another four years of lamentation, but that this would be an opportunity for the government to listen to what INEC is saying, to listen to what stakeholders are saying, to listen to what communities are saying ahead of these elections so that we don't just turn elections into war in Nigeria. But are you really, are you confident that it's because it's not being criminalized or because people who should prosecute these people just don't do anything? Because if you raise a gun against someone, it's a criminal offence. If you if you fight someone, if you kill someone, there are laws for these things.  It's a criminal offence. And these people are not prosecuted. Are you saying it's because there are no laws or there's no political will to do this? Yes, you're very correct. There's no political will. And in most circumstances, you know, issues of election are peculiar. There have been people who have been arrested for being involved in violence during elections, even in the larger elections. But the idea is that when such persons are made to go through the conventional judicial process, you realize that a lot of them will end up being on trial or to the next election cycle then because they are on bail, in most circumstances, they get involved again in such conduct. But if we have a special tribunal, just like we have advocated for the trial of cases of corruption and the like, that this, you know, with issues around elections, you understand, I think it would be easier and quicker to deal with perpetrators of violence than waiting on the normal courts, like we are currently experiencing. But I think the most important thing to be done is not to wait on government, particularly our security agencies. We must begin to take our destiny to our aunts and our citizens by first and foremost, avoiding any situation that will lead to crisis during elections. But first and foremost, also demanding action. We a lot of times when we don't demand action, you know, deliberately, we are spending from government and security agencies because sometimes, security agencies try to pretend they are not aware of some of these things that are happening. Let me use Biasa as a class case at this time around. Historically, whenever election is coming in Biasa, there has always been tendency for politicians from one side or the other to intimidate voters because these are very unique people when it comes to election because of the pattern they have always voted. Let me give you three instances. In 2015, we went by and said to monitor the governorship election, and the state was practically turned into war because of the desperation of a particular candidate to win that election. In actual fact, in a cut to suspend election in southern Nijor-Lukugome, the largest, in a way, constituency in the state, because the Lukugome was practically able to stage. In a, if I security apparatus, election observers, election officials were able because somebody wants to be governor at all costs. In 2019, we also observed the election in the same state, and there were less tension possibly because of the quality of candidates who were major candidates in that election. But this time around, that same candidate from 2015, who's tendency reviewed that there would naturally be crisis when it comes, is in the race, and that is why, as I speak with you, that same events that we witness in 2015 is going to emerge. If you will follow report from Biasa, I say that the invasion of communities, people have been chased out of their communities, all ahead of this election. We've worked vigorous with watch interviews by citizens in those part of the state who are not being intimidated. A lot of people, families have been separated. There have been people who have been killed. And it is because we don't speak out enough to impress it on government, just like we are doing now. Particularly, these groups say that you cannot just sit back and make statements. When issues like this happen, you must name perpetrators. You must begin to shame perpetrators, and you must begin to make arrest and prosecute. Not just arresting or calling people for interrogation, just like you alluded to. So those are the steps that have to be taken out, which a lot of media and civil society organizations are already, because this has been predicted. If you look at what Eneke is saying, it is not what Eneke just woke up to say yesterday. There have been developments that have necessitated a statement. There have been other research groups, like Cell Orb and the likes, that have engaged the people by answer that are interacting with the people. And the people have expressed their fear on the likelihood of violence based on the conduct of these desperate politicians. So we must now, as we move ahead, begin to let people know that no election is more important than the life of our citizens. No election is more important. And this is what they call on the bias against the government. They say government in bias against the state. And I believe the government will not sit down and allow its citizens to be displaced, to be killed, or injured because of the desperation of politicians. The state must also decisively deal with whoever. The state have the power to prosecute. The state have the power to order arrest. Whoever is found to be involved, irrespective of who you are, involved in issues of violence in that state, the government was no longer waiting on Abuja, or the Inspector General Police, before the safety of its citizens could be guaranteed. What if the violence is in favor of the state? Because, for instance, if you go to Imu State, the governor, when he sat there, a lot of people were grumbling. He came from like the full position or so and became governor. People didn't really like it for a very long time and there was so much violence. And some people have said it is because of him that a lot of the things that are happening in Imu are happening. We go to Kogi State, for instance. We have the tatata syndrome, you know, and we see people dying every day. So it's not a biases thing. It's a Nigerian thing. It's a Nigerian thing. But these three states are particularly very volatile. Now, when you're talking to the government and you know that sometimes the government's hands may be soiled as well. What are you saying to the people? Because this is a matter of advocacy. This is a matter of enlightenment. What are the steps, the strategic steps that you're taking to enlighten the people so much that they will come to understand that human life is more important than any election or any government? Just like I've consistently said, the ultimate power is in the hand of the people. And in this case, even if supporters of the incumbent government are involved, I believe the government must have the way to deal with whoever gets himself involved in any form of violence. Why I am particular about calling out governments, particularly in those states, to ask ahead of whatever the federal government would do. It's like, for instance, in Biasa, you see the last three and a half years or thereabout. If you follow the history of the state, you understand that that is one of the most peaceful era in the history of that state because of possibly the leadership currently. So if the government has been able to ensure peace for three years, does that mean that crimes were not perpetrated? Does that mean that there were no tendencies for violence? The government must have been doing something to curtail excesses of those who have tendencies to perpetrate violence. So the government must use the same approach in dealing with whoever, irrespective of what political party. If as a governor, you are popular enough and there is somebody within your party trying to truncate your opportunity because of violence, I know such state should be sincere enough to prosecute such. And if it's also whoever coming from whatever camp or political party, it may not necessarily have to be from in the larger political party. Such places must be made to know that this is a principle of our state. This state has told the part of peace and tranquility and will not allow you to come and destroy the peace of the state. And just like you said, the bigger responsibility is in the hand of the people. The people must be fed in demanding from their government what is this utmost responsibility of the state, their security and welfare. So we cannot sit back and expect government to wake up with that sometimes without to come and address issues that affect us as citizens. I know that if the citizens in unison come and continually condemn this culture of violence that is being reenacted and across the states where elections are coming. I know that the government will be forced because these are the same electorate you are going back to to seek their vote. But intimidation has been going on for so long. Sometimes some people are outspoken and you wake up one day you don't see them again. Nothing about them is known. No news is what other avenues can we explore because people are afraid. For instance, the last the last election came and some people went to court and said, we're not satisfied with what happened. And even lawyers were found like find like 20 million like so much money. And they were warned strictly never to bring what they termed frivolous. Someone comes to court and says I'm not happy about this thing. And all you say is it's frivolous and you slam a fine on the person.  And maybe some people may not even want to go out and vote. The people that really have the interest of the state at heart. No, sitting back. So what what are what other avenues can be explored apart from just maybe coming to television and talk? Every avenue that will be explored must be legitimate. Yeah. And most usually the court is always a resort for us as citizens. And I don't want to believe and I don't want to agree with the opinion that the court will intimidate any citizen. Courts reserve the right to give judgment on this on the positive side or the negative side, depending on where you belong. But the truth is that we cannot have the right or they have the power. The power, the power, the power. So we cannot advocate any other option. Outside the legally available options. What we are doing is legitimate using the media as we speak. There are communities across the state that we are engaging traditional rulers. There are communities that are engaging faith-based organizations. We are some people that when they tell them so so so in church, they tend to listen more than even what they hear on the TV. So we are engaging in that. So we will use every legitimate avenue to educate the people and to mobilize the people. But we will not encourage any form of action that is illegal, that promotes violence, that can create more tension in the process. So what the media is doing is fantastic. We've seen a lot of advocacy from the media. We are seeing a lot from the society, from even some of the secret agencies and government. But I think we must as citizens put more pressure to the extent that we explore every legitimate option, including going to court, irrespective of what they have come to be. Okay, it's only so much one can do if the National Orientation Agency, for instance, is no longer functional because we don't hear much from them. And these are the people who gave us the Andrews Advait of those days, who gave us the good Nigeria, good people Advait of not so long ago and all that. But it doesn't seem as if the National Orientation is working. How do we get to change the psyche of the people of Nigeria, to think positively, to think national, to think about the welfare of... Petroticism is no longer there. I don't know if they teach them in school anymore. I remember when we used to gather around the flag to sing the national anthem and it was a thing of pride. I don't know if they still do it in schools because every school has their own anthem nowadays. So I don't know how patriotism can creep back into our society. What else are you doing to change the psyche of the people, not just for election, but for patriotism, for instance? Thank you. Fundamentally, we've lost a lot, as far as our past is concerned, as Nigerians and not as a people. But we cannot just lose hope. Especially when you look at those institutions of government that have failed, just like you mentioned, NOA. But I think technology and our advancement as a society has also provided other viable options to engage citizens, to educate them. In the days of NOA, MAMSA, there were no social media, the number of television stations in the whole of the country was limited, probably to NTA and few other states running television stations. So now we have an avalanche of TV, radio stations, social media, where we can engage citizens. So the job has gone more from the hand of government to the hand of the citizens, including media organizations, civil society groups, who are not doing the job of educating the citizens. We are doing that and I think with continued engagements like this, and interactions with community organizations, faith-based organizations, religious groups, as the case may be, we'll get Nigerians, getting themselves, getting to know where they're coming from, and of course, redirecting to the part of patriotism, which is very important in this country. Very, very important. So what have the challenges been like? Most of the, when you go out to do this kind of things, what do you experience? Things that other people who might want to also engage in, these might learn from? What are their challenges? Basically, it could be challenging, especially when you are involved in advocacies that have to do with elections, because politicians have tendency to justify whatever they do. So for us, we have more role to play engaging the citizens than engaging the political class, because for every A, you tell the citizens, politicians have the tendency to come and tell them, it's BCD, promises, and of course, just to get the vote. And the moment these votes are gotten, it is the next four years again that you find them on the big board, that you know they exist. So we are beginning to let Nigerians know that it is not just about elections, it must be continuous. After voting someone, you must be interested in other persons, governments in society, other persons spend their money. So it's a continuous process, and we don't wait for elections any longer. We want to consistently provide data that will encourage the citizens to follow up on their leaders, that will also encourage government to also know the needs of the people. So we are doing all that, a lot of data mining and analysis to know the real problem of our people, to know the real challenges facing our people, and to provide solutions by advising government, and also at the same time, advising the citizens. Okay, so you see a new Nigeria if possible, right? I'm very optimistic. You are? Yes. You are. I'm very optimistic. Okay, it's good to see someone who is optimistic. Please pass that optimism to the Nigerian people. Just talk to the people as a closing. Well, I want to encourage Nigerians to continue to demand for transparency and accountability. Nigerians belong to Nigerians. Nigerians belong to Nigerians, and not to government. So whoever is in government today will be there temporarily, as a governor president, your maximum is eight years. As a legislator, you can decide to go and see them for one day. But as a Nigerian, you will never see being a Nigerian. And that is why you must continue to see the country as yours, and continue to demand for good governance. And most importantly, ahead of these elections, the people must avoid politicians that are preaching violence, that are known for violence, in taking decisions when elections come in November. Okay, Nigeria is ours.  When you go to America, even if you become a citizen, there is always... It's Nigerian America. Yes, you're in Nigerian America and all that. Anyway, it's been a pleasure having you, Mr. Olufemi Lawson. Thank you so much for coming on the program. In case you're just joining us, Mr. Olufemi Lawson is the Executive Director Center for Public Accountability. And he was talking with us about the elections coming up in Emo, Kogi, and Bayelsa. And the need for us to take the bull by the horns as citizens and make sure the concerns expressed by INAG and whatever authority is nipped in the board and we don't have violence. We'll take a short break and when we return, we'll still be talking INAG, but in another direction. Stay with us.


Today I have the pleasure of speaking with Alex Romanov of iSign Media. How are you today? I'm great, Tracy. Thank you for asking. Alex, you've had numerous news releases recently and of course you did a signed an agency sales agreement with the Mobile Experience Company. Can you tell us more about this deal? Yes. We go back quite a few years with Mobile Exco. They come from a company called Skipton, which was a distributor for IBM. They were an IBM partner. We were an IBM partner. We cohabitated together. We worked together on kiosks and other solutions for IBM and four years later they completed their particular solution and we got together to represent them as an agency. And of course you also just signed a deal with Mackie Research Capital Corporation for a convertible debenture. Can you tell us a little bit more about that deal? Yes. It's a good time for us to raise some money. We've decided to avoid some dilution and go for a convertible debenture, three and a half million dollars at twenty cents. To stay in line with this particular effort we've acquired two technologies that we'd like to talk about and start launching and this should make us quite a front runner in the mobile space. Speaking of being a front runner in the mobile space, not everybody out there may understand or know about iSign Media and you have an exciting technology. Can you give us kind of a ten story overview of iSign Media? Absolutely. First of all we're patented. We're one of the very very few mobile technologies that is patented. We filed the patent in 2007 and received it in 2014 so you know how crowded the space really is. So we have a patent for our solution which is simply an ability to recognize mobile devices within proximity and be able to message them and capture their response. And this does not require downloads or apps so we're the only solution that requires no apps or downloads to do what we do. And for the investor intel audience that may be trying to understand what this actually is here are the numbers I remember. You have like a 20% success rate for advertising versus many other mediums that are currently out there. Absolutely. 20 is really the old number now. It's getting better because people are a little more used to receiving messages on their mobile devices. So we've recently cracked the 30, 33, 35% mark. Well I think this is a great opportunity to remind those who are following iSign Media about the deal you made with the rich multimedia technologies with the kiosks. Can you give us a bit of an overview on that particular deal? Yes. That's continuing. We've licensed rich media technologies to produce 5,000 of their kiosks which includes our smart antenna. These are being placed firstly in government buildings, airports, and transportation in Mexico, Mexico City. And the idea there is to roll out what they now call and refer to as smart cities. So we have the same effort happening in three airports in the United States, which is Denver Airport, John Wayne Airport, and Palm Springs Airport. And most recently it's now expanded to the Houston Airport. Well I tell you I'm very impressed and if I understand properly I'm in a room your antenna can send out a message to me. For instance, go to Investor Intel. Is that correct? Absolutely. It would continually message whatever type of couponing or messaging you put in there. And it takes all rich media. So we can send out video, we can send out SMS text or just thumbprint ads. And these are sent directly to somebody's mobile device without impugning their privacy. That was my next question. Can you explain to us how you do not impugn our privacy by being able to do this? Absolutely. Because we don't require a download or an app, therefore you're not surrendering anything personal. We simply identify the MAC address of your Bluetooth device or send you the message via Wi-Fi which is open to everyone. And neither of those efforts require any of your personal information. Well of course, iSign Media is moving very quickly. You've managed to put out a number of news releases just in this last month. Can you tell us what we should anticipate as shareholders in the next quarter or two quarters? I'm hoping the share price will increase of course. But I think you'll find that the whole smart city network will continue to expand. This is something that's been going on in Europe for a few years, been going on in Asia for a few years. I've seen it three years ago. And now President Obama did offer the cities and the states the opportunity to network. And our solution happens to be perfect for that kind of an application. Alex, thank you so much for joining us again today. Thank you. It was my pleasure too.