By Samuel Phineas Upham

Hollywood film studios spend billions of dollars each year producing and promoting their films, so it’s important that they develop projects that have the greatest chance of making money. According to Intelligent Life, one way they are doing this is by relying on predictive research to compare potential scripts with past box office results to attempt to determine the likelihood of a film’s success before it’s made.

One company helping Hollywood studios do this work is Epagogix. The London company uses algorithms to analyze hundreds of elements of a script — such as having clear villains or a sidekick — against other films. By finding similarities, Epagogix’s researchers are often able to determine how much money a film will make at the box office to within $10 million.

Read the story at: http://moreintelligentlife.com/content/features/anonymous/slaves-algorithm?page=full

---

Samuel Phineas Uphamis an investor from NYC and SF. You may contact Phin on his Samual Phineas Upham website or LinkedIn.

By Samuel Phineas Upham

Anyone looking for easy answers to life’s big mysteries might want to avoid reading Daniel Dennett’s latest work, “Intuition Pumps and Other Tools for Thinking.” As profiled in the New York Times, Dennett uses a science-based approach to reach deep philosophical conclusions about some vexing questions. But these conclusions aren’t always what people want to hear.

According to Dennett, consciousness is simply a construct of the workings of the mind and not tied to any other spiritual level. Dennett believes that a computer could theoretically be programmed to mimic all of the workings of the mind, including creating a sense of consciousness. This analytic and blunt approach to philosophy has earned Dennett a reputation as one of the leading philosophers of his era but has also put him at odds with many of his contemporaries who see philosophy as a pursuit less grounded in scientific facts.

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com

---

About the Author: Samuel Phineas Upham is an investor at a family office/ hedgefund, where he focuses on special situation illiquid investing. Before this position, Phin Upham was working at Morgan Stanley in the Media & Technology group. You may contact Phin on his Samuel Phineas Upham website or Twitter.

Motor boats are just like every high performance vehicle. In getting your car repaired, you wouldn’t want to trust your life to cheap or shoddy automotive parts. And in the essential care and maintenance of outboard motors, the proper marine parts makes the difference between having confidence in the job getting done or the headache of fixing problems which could have been avoided.

From a leisurely cruise across a lake to a commercial enterprise, a well maintained motor makes all the difference. And just as our cars need regularly scheduled services, so do marine engines. And having name brand tried and true accessories, such as Mercury marine parts, can add to our well ease, especially when one is out in the middle of a lake or on sea. Just imagine the scenario.

You’ve grabbed your favorite fishing pole, plus a few friends, hopped in your boat and set course for remote destinations to enjoy the fine, summer’s day. The journey to your coveted fishing spot was uneventful. No hiccups, no problems. And after shutting off your engine, you and your buddies have settled in for a nice, relaxing afternoon with poles in the water and filled good conversations.

However, all good days must come to an end and the eventual trek home is next on the agenda. Yet in attempting to turn over your engine, it refuses to start. And no matter what you try, it simply will not work. So here you find yourself, in the middle of a remote lake with no means of making it back to shore. And it’s starting to get dark.

Obviously this is a worst case scenario. However, this is an attempt to illustrate what can possibly happen without the proper care and maintenance. As they say, an ounce of prevention can go a long way towards having a fully functioning marine engine. When heading out on the water, we want the knowledge that our motor will be completely dependable and will work as expected when we need or want it.

When it comes to boats, especially leisure vehicles that aren’t in constant use, the idea of a simple oil change or tune up may slip our minds. And yet, if we wish to use these vehicles responsibly and get the most out of our investment, the idea of scheduled maintenance must be followed. It’s your boat. Therefore, it’s up to you to take care of it.
————————————————————————
This content had been provided by Performance Product Technologies, retailers of Mercruiser parts and services for both work and leisure.

Article submitted by: Sweepstakes Machines

Want to do something fun and different this summer but don’t have the budget for an island escape or a European vacation? Don’t sweat it. There are plenty of ways to give your mind a break from the daily grind without leaving the city or emptying your bank account.

This summer, you can join thousands of other people and hit up your local internet sweepstakes café. Yup! You read that correctly. A new class of game cafés, called internet sweepstakes cafés, is popping up all over the country offering local residents a safe and air-conditioned place to play sweepstakes games.

Designed to encourage consumers to purchase products, sweepstakes games also offer consumers the chance to win money and prizes. There are even internet café games that mimic slot machines.  

Although most people have computers at home, many visit internet sweepstakes cafés to get out of the house and play games with their friends. In fact, one of the most attractive features of an internet café franchise is the social aspect. These cafés allow people to play games online without being isolated at home. So what are you waiting for? Visit an internet sweepstakes café near you!