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Take the 2-minute tour ×
I have been using with success, grand central dispatch in my apps, but I was wondering what is the real advantage of using something like this:
dispatch_async(dispatch_get_main_queue(), ^{ ... do stuff
or even
dispatch_sync(dispatch_get_main_queue(), ^{ ... do stuff
I mean, in both cases you are firing a block to be executed on the main thread, exactly where the app runs and this will not help to reduce the load. In the first case you don't have any control when the block will run. I have seen cases of blocks being executed half a second after you fire them. The second case, it is similar to
[self doStuff];
I wonder what do you guys think.
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By the way, throwing a main queue into a dispatch_sync will result in a deadlock. – Brooks Hanes Dec 12 '13 at 17:01
why???????????? – RubberDuck Dec 13 '13 at 3:39
Just read it in docs: "Unlike dispatch_async, [dispatch_sync] does not return until the block has finished. Calling this function and targeting the current queue results in deadlock."... But perhaps I'm reading this wrong... (the current queue does not mean main thread). Please correct if I am wrong. – Brooks Hanes Dec 13 '13 at 16:38
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3 Answers
up vote 126 down vote accepted
Dispatching a block to the main queue is usually done from a background queue to signal that some background processing has finished e.g.
- (void)doCalculation
//you can use any string instead "com.mycompany.myqueue"
dispatch_queue_t backgroundQueue = dispatch_queue_create("com.mycompany.myqueue", 0);
dispatch_async(backgroundQueue, ^{
int result = <some really long calculation that takes seconds to complete>;
dispatch_async(dispatch_get_main_queue(), ^{
[self updateMyUIWithResult:result];
In this case, we are doing a lengthy calculation on a background queue and need to update our UI when the calculation is complete. Updating UI normally has to be done from the main queue so we 'signal' back to the main queue using a second nested dispatch_async.
There are probably other examples where you might want to dispatch back to the main queue but it is generally done in this way i.e. nested from within a block dispatched to a background queue.
• background processing finished -> update UI
• chunk of data processed on background queue -> signal main queue to start next chunk
• incoming network data on background queue -> signal main queue that message has arrived
• etc etc
As to why you might want to dispatch to the main queue from the main queue... Well, you generally wouldn't although conceivably you might do it to schedule some work to do the next time around the run loop.
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Ah, I see. So, I am right. There's no advantage in doing that if you are already on the main queue, just if you are on another queue and want to update the UI. Thanks. – RubberDuck Oct 26 '11 at 17:04
Just edited my answer to talk about why it's not very useful to do this from the main queue. – Robin Summerhill Oct 26 '11 at 17:06
Also, I think there's a bug in iOS 4 (might have gone in iOS 5), where dispatch_sync to the main queue from the main thread just causes a hang, so I would avoid doing that entirely. – joerick Oct 26 '11 at 22:09
That's not a bug, that's the expected behaviour. Not very useful behaviour admittedly but you always need to be aware of deadlocks when using dispatch_sync. You can't expect the system to protect you from programmer error all the time. – Robin Summerhill Oct 26 '11 at 22:14
What is backgroundQueue here? How do I create backgroundQueue object – Nilesh Tupe Aug 11 '12 at 8:13
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Dispatching blocks to the main queue from the main thread can be useful. It gives the main queue a chance to handle other blocks that have been queued so that you're not simply blocking everything else from executing.
For example you could write an essentially single threaded server that nonetheless handles many concurrent connections. As long as no individual block in the queue takes too long the server stays responsive to new requests.
If your program does nothing but spend its whole life responding to events then this can be quite natural. You just set up your event handlers to run on the main queue and then call dispatch_main(), and you may not need to worry about thread safety at all.
Maybe one way to put it is that asynchrony (dispatch_async) is orthogonal to concurrency (multithreading).
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Hopefully I'm understanding your question correctly in that you are wondering about the differences between dispatch_async and dispatch_sync?
will dispatch the block to a queue asynchronously. Meaning it will send the block to the queue and not wait for it to return before continuing on the execution of the remaining code in your method.
will dispatch the block to a queue synchronously. This will prevent any more execution of remaining code in the method until the block has finished executing.
I've mostly used a dispatch_async to a background queue to get work off the main queue and take advantage of any extra cores that the device may have. Then dispatch_async to the main thread if I need to update the UI.
Good luck
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thanks, but I am asking about the advantages from sending something to the main queue, being on the main queue. – RubberDuck Oct 26 '11 at 17:03
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| dclm-gs1-001100000 |
Thread: Swapping BOs
View Single Post
Lt. Commander
Join Date: Dec 2007
Posts: 120
# 1 Swapping BOs
11-14-2010, 06:31 PM
The interface could use a lot of work for switching BOs. First and foremost, when you are selecting a BO for a station (or ground crew member) all of the BOs should be sort first by specialization, and then by name, to make them easier to find and select. Don't make competitive PvPers name their BOs "science 1" "science 2" etc.
Secondly, when a new BO is put into a station, all of their powers should go into the same spots as the previous BO's powers instead of needing to drag everything back onto the power bar again. Even better would be having the power bar remembering how you set up each BO combination and defaulting to that. | dclm-gs1-001110000 |
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Career Officer
Join Date: Jun 2012
Posts: 1,263
Because def/acc/crit is poorly balanced and allocated to begin with. And so they should go bye bye! Poof! Gone!
We don't even need to consider how nonsensical it is that the enemy using crippling fire to destroy your ship is somehow invisible!
Placate on landing a Crit. Why is this garbage? Well it's garbage because it favors ships that do two things well. Hit, and crit! If you have a ship that can do those things often, you're in! It is particularly useful against targets that are easy to hit and crit!
It is not very useful against targets that are hard to hit and crit. Poopy!
Placate on being hit. Why is this garbage? Well its garbage because it indiscriminately activates regardless of the source of the damage. Sci abilities were never balanced on having to 'hit' the target. Not that many tac abilites are, but lets not visit that just yet. So you have a long duration low damage but very useful hold being broken due to this. Because it happens to pulse a small bit of damage. Or your turret plink plink plink set off the placate. It just doesn't make sense. On the one hand, this is VERY nice for those larger type of ships. They could use some sort of avoidance. NOT a great way to put it in the game though. Giving this to small fast wittle ships is almost criminal. Yah. Cause they NEEDED more defense, they were running out.
I'd like to say, that if this placate could be tweaked to only proc off of incoming energy weapons damage it would be better. And then if we could limit it to cruisers and sci's.....
but I digress.
It is similar to defense in that it ignores facets of the incoming damage. If any damage can cause a placate...well....ok. But not all damage was required to hit before....sooo.
Jam sensors, ams, ss, are boff abilites or console. Yah I know we all love ams. Still they are a little bit higher on the cost scale, and they have a bit of a CD and an immunity that sorta works.
And yes, as has been pointed out, only firing once to kill someone works, but I don't see that becoming a universally adopted strategy.
Cheers happy flying!!
Last edited by thissler; 01-22-2013 at 06:47 AM. | dclm-gs1-001120000 |
What does this mean....X-Fit for over- or under-ear fit options?
This is in the product description, but I don't know what it means. Can you provide a photo of the 2 different fits?
X-Fit for over- or under-ear fit options
JayBird's patent pending X-Fit design lets you use the headphones either in the traditional under-ear wearing style for music and calls or over-ear—completely free of any cord on your neck—so it feels like you don't have any headphones on.
JayBird BlueBuds X Premium Wireless Headphones
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• Answer
It allows you to run the headphone cable that connects the two buds over the top of your ear and behind your head or under your ear lobe and behind your head.
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Related Questions | dclm-gs1-001130000 |
Why We Need To Increase The Minimum Wage
With rising gas prices and American workers losing their jobs to illegal aliens it's imperative we do all we can to fight for the American worker and ensure them a fair minimum wage. That's why I was pleased to vote this week to instruct House conferees to include language in Senate bill S250 to increase the minimum wage to no less than $7.25 an hour. I'm also proud to be the co-sponsor of House bill, H.R. 3413, which would increase the minimum wage from $5.15 to $7.15 by 2007. I know increasing the minimum wage will be a fight, but it's one worth fighting for. Congress has not raised the federal minimum wage in almost ten years and every day the minimum wage is not increased, it loses value to inflation. I encourage the Senate and House conferees to quickly come to a consensus on SR250 and include in it an increase in the federal minimum wage. | dclm-gs1-001140000 |
In response to:
Palestine Officially Recognized by the UN
American_in_Europe Wrote: Dec 02, 2012 7:31 AM
Not only that.. but has advantages for those pursuing both the one-state (apartheid) and two-state solutions (ethnic cleansing).
Why do we still support the UN?
| dclm-gs1-001150000 |
Take the 2-minute tour ×
Next year I'm going to the UK. Shortly after that my passport expires. Is this a problem? I know that for some countries, the passport has to be valid for at least 1 year more. How is it in the UK?
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1 Answer
up vote 10 down vote accepted
source: The Schengen Office
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it also depends on your nationality and point of origin. For EU citizens, I don't think there's any requirements except that it's valid for the duration of their stay for example. – jwenting Dec 12 '11 at 12:59
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| dclm-gs1-001160000 |
A pregnancy that goes from conception to birth in at an extremely fast rate, often caused by an external (possibly supernatural) factor.
In ScienceFiction, this is often because of some other hugely advanced race knocks up a different one, possibly a human, and the hybrid offspring gestates at an enormously fast rate, either normal for the other species, and grows to term in a matter of days. Or, if it's created like a robot, the creation is sudden and wasn't announced in previous episodes, and the whole process takes a very short time.
This is sometimes just when WritersCannotDoMath or they are using ComicBookTime or WebcomicTime and lose track of what the hell is supposed to be happening.
Tends to go hand in hand with {{Fetus Terrible}}. Contrast with LongestPregnancyEver. Not to be confused with InstantBirthJustAddWater, which is where the woman's pregnancy takes the usual forty weeks but her labor and (especially) delivery are implausibly quick. Also, please do not confuse this with InstantHomeDelivery, which has nothing to do with birth.
[[folder:Anime and Manga]]
* In ''DeadLeaves'', Retro and Pandy have sex, and she is visibly pregnant roughly ten minutes later; Not long after that, the baby just kind of... comes out of its own volition, but ages super fast and dies in short order.
* {{Fetus Terrible}} Yuca Collabel from ''ImmortalRain'' resurrects himself in a pregnancy that lasts little more than two months...and is already in the form of a prepubescent boy when he bursts out of his mother's stomach ala ''Aliens.''
[[folder:Comic Books]]
* Happened to MsMarvel in a fairly {{Squick}} inducing storyline in ''ComicBook/TheAvengers'' in the MarvelUniverse.[[note]]Squick for her and for the audience, but originally a occasion of mirth and rejoicing for the rest of the Avengers -- including Beast offering to sit in as a living teddy bear for the resulting child -- until Carol explains what happened to her and gives the Avengers an epic WhatTheHellHero speech.[[/note]]
* In the DCComics, one member of the China's Great Ten is Mother of Champions, whose entire super power is her ability to go from conception to birth in three days. She also gives birth to [[ExplosiveBreeder litters]] of kids with SuperStrength and who [[YoungerThanTheyLook age ten years for every day they're alive]].
** If she mates with one of her teammates, the offspring have other superpowers, as well - though in the case of the radioactive Socialist Red Guardsman's children, the birth was painful unlike any she'd had before.
* In the aftermath of {{Marvel}}'s ''Comicbook/CivilWar'', Tigra discovered she was pregnant by the Skrull impersonating Hank Pym. She disappears shortly after Norman Osborn takes power without so much as a baby bump, reappearing in time to take part in the Siege of Asgard. Afterwards she reveals that she'd already given birth to a son, William, in the time between her escape from Osborn and her joining the battle there. Handwaved with a throw away line about her race of cat people having two month gestational periods.
* When Rahne from ''{{Comicbook/X-Factor}}'' reappears at the team's hq she looks about seven months pregnant [[spoiler: leading poor Rictor to believe it's actually his child]] while she's actually only been pregnant for several weeks. This is explained in a throwaway line by her child being a wolf-god/wolf-mutant hybrid with wolves having an average gestation period of two months.
* The Dark Destroyer in the second ''AtariForce'' comic book series pulls this on a backwater planet creature that he enters into to become born in the form of Martin Champion, speeding up the process to the point where it ends up killing the mother.
* Linda Park-West gave birth to [[ComicBook/TheFlash Barry West's]] twins in the span of a couple of minutes after becoming pregnant at the end of the Rogue Wars story arc. It had to do with one part their father's SuperSpeed and one part their conception being based on using time-travel to avert her originally miscarrying them months earlier.
* [[MrSeahorse Dib's pregancy]] in [[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/2133003/1/Where_Do_Smeets_Come_From this Invader Zim fanfiction]][[spoiler:which depending on the ending you choose to believe, may or may not be an actual pregnancy]] borders on LongestPregnancyEver. In-universe, the pregnancy lasts only a week, yet due to, WebcomicTime, the pregnancy would have appeared much longer if you were reading it while it was being updated.
* ''Film/AbraxasGuardianOfTheUniverse'' has the evil alien Secundus impregnating a woman, who not only gives birth in a matter of seconds, but ''doesn't even get her pants off''.
* It is natural for alien hybrids in ''Film/{{Species}}'' to mature inhumanly fast. In the second film, they do it so quickly, they quite literally go out with a bang.
* In the RobinWilliams film ''Film/{{Jack|1996}}'', the title character is born rather improbably, and quite unexpectedly, at 10 weeks' gestation; this reflects his 'four times normal speed' growth rate.
* In ''Film/TheIcePirates'', Karina is revealed to be pregnant just as the spaceship enters the time-warping zone. She gives birth to and ''raises'' her son in just a few minutes of screen time.
* In ''Film/{{Prometheus}}'', Dr. Shaw, abiding the LawOfInverseFertility, gives birth within hours of getting pregnant. In that case, her partner was [[spoiler:under the influence of AppliedPhlebotinum, and the result was a ''giant'' proto-facehugger]].
* The new Warlock in ''[[Film/{{Warlock}} Warlock: The Armageddon]]'' is born when a Satanist preaches to the Devil. To her horror she becomes massively pregnant within minutes and gives birth to a black, slimy ''thing'' which quickly morphs into Satan's new minion and kills his "mother".
* ''TheLordsOfSalem'': Due to the whole MindScrew GainaxEnding nature of the whole film it's unclear if what is seen actually took place. During the gathering and visions in the theatre at the end, [[spoiler: Heidi becomes pregnant, comes to full term, and gives birth to the Anti Christ in, from our perspective, a few minutes.]]
* Either an extreme version of this trope this happened in ''[[Film/TheAddamsFamily Addams Family Values]]'', or Morticia decided not to tell Gomez until the last second and didn't show at all.
-->'''Morticia:''' Marvelous news: I'm going to have a baby...right now.
** Well, the end of the first film did shoe her knitting a baby onesie with three legs, so it's implied they were aware. Still, she doesn't look at all pregnant in the five minutes of film before the baby is born.
* Diana's pregnancy in ''Literature/{{Gone}}'' develops at an accelerated pace, probably because the baby in question is a mutant.
* [[spoiler: Bella's]] pregnancy in ''Literature/{{Twilight}}'', due to [[spoiler: the baby's father (Edward) being a vampire]]
* From ''{{Dune}} Messiah'', Chani's twins come to term superfast [[spoiler:as a side effect of the Spice. [[DeathByChildbirth She dies afterwards]].]]
* In the'' WomenOfTheOtherworld'' universe, [[spoiler: Elena's pregnancy only lasts five months, due to her being a [[OurWerewolvesAreDifferent werewolf]]. Somewhat unusual in that neither Elena nor her mate suspect anything unusual about her being as large as a fullterm pregnancy at only five months--Elena complains frequently about the inconvenience. Their cluelessness is justified since she's the first known female werewolf and thus she's having the first werewolf pregnancy. The ExpressDelivery is explained as splitting the difference between the duration of a typical human pregnancy and a typical wolf pregnancy.]]
* Occurs in two Creator/ChristopherPike novels - ''The Grave'' and ''Literature/TheLastVampire 4: Phantom.''
* Done artificially to heroine [[BrokenBird Morn Hyland]] in ''Forbidden Knowledge'' from ''The Gap Sequence.'' The pirate who was holding her prisoner was irritated that her pregnancy was making it hard for him to rape her. ([[TakeThat Why yes, it is a Stephen Donaldson novel. How could you tell]]?)
* [[spoiler: BJ]] gives birth to her daughter Laurel in Nick O'Donohoe's ''The Healing of Crossroads'' after a three-month gestation. [[spoiler: This is because Laurel's father is a [[FaunsAndSatyrs faun]]; they [[YoungerThanTheyLook mature quickly]].]]
* In ''[[Literature/DreamPark The California Voodoo Game]]'', a loa-spirit in the tournament adventure impregnates [[spoiler: Mary-Martha]] and its offspring grows to full term over the course of a few dozen hours. Subverted in that the semi-divine fetus changes its mind at the last minute and decides to stay put, inverting this trope into the LongestPregnancyEver (possibly permanent).
* In AnneRice's ''Literature/{{Taltos}}'', the Taltos grow faster if the woman in question is aware of her pregnancy and sings to them while being pregnant; this happens within a few minutes at one point. They also age superfast once actually born, becoming adults and able to have their own children within minutes. This leads to a very squicky scene in which a newborn Taltos [[spoiler: is forced to impregnate its own mother before it is promptly burnt alive]].
* [[Literature/{{Dragons}} The Last Dragon Chronicles]]: [[spoiler: It does not take long for the quickened bronze egg to turn into a baby. Too bad Gwilanna turned him from a perfectly normal (well, for a Pennykettle) boy into a dragon.)]]
[[folder:Live Action TV]]
* Deanna Troi has an express-lane pregnancy courtesy of a passing energy being on ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration''.
* "The Alpha Child" in ''{{Space 1999}}''.
* Taken to extremes in ''Series/GarthMarenghisDarkplace'', when a man is raped by the mutated eye-ball of a sex offender and then [[MPreg immediately gives birth]].
* On ''Series/XenaWarriorPrincess'', Gabrielle carried and gave birth to her FetusTerrible in one day.
* In the second episode of ''Series/{{Fringe}}'', Our Intrepid Heroes were called in to investigate the case of a woman who got pregnant, reached full term, and gave birth in around fifteen minutes. The offspring died of old age in a half hour. The father was part of a government experiment and would also age very rapidly [[spoiler:and ultimately did]] without regular doses of pituitary hormone. Oh, and the woman? She died.
** This case gets called back in season 3, when [[spoiler:Alt-Olivia's pregnancy is accelerated to delivery in a few days as part of Walternate's master plan.]]
* Aeryn Sun does this in the ''Series/{{Farscape}}: Peacekeeper Wars'' miniseries. {{Handwave}}d by her saying that soldiers of her species are genetically designed to become pregnant and come to term in a matter of a week or so and give birth in minutes (not to mention the part where a pregnancy can be in stasis without growing for up to ''seven years''--my, but that military is efficient). It being a [[HalfHumanHybrid crossbreed]] between herself and the human John Crichton, labor to birth takes an incredibly long time--about half an hour at most.
* Combined with MisterSeahorse in the ''RoundTheTwist'' episode "The Big Burp". Pete becomes pregnant by holding hands with a dryad after peeing on her tree. After an accelerated pregnancy, he gives birth through his mouth while [[ChainedHeat handcuffed to his worst enemy]].
* In ''TheYoungOnes'' episode "Cash", Vyvyan [[MisterSeahorse (male)]] appeared to go from conception to term in less than 24 hours. [[spoiler:The [[SubvertedTrope "baby"]] turned out to be just a lot, ''a lot'', A LOT of [[{{Fartillery}} trapped gas.]]]] [[MakesJustAsMuchSenseInContext It's just that kind of show.]]
* Happens to Cordelia (and several other women) in the season one ''Series/{{Angel}}'' episode "Expecting."
** And again when [[spoiler:possessed!Cordelia is pregnant with [[PhysicalGod Jasmine]]]], though this one lasts at least a few weeks or possibly months in-story.
* Sort of invoked in ''Series/{{Torchwood}}'', when [[spoiler:Gwen is implanted with an alien's egg the night before her wedding and looks about eight months pregnant by morning. The egg is removed before it hatches, however]].
* Tess in ''Series/{{Roswell}}'' after sleeping with [[spoiler:fellow E.T. Max, which leads her to push the alien quatuor to leave the Earth, whose atmosphere is (supposedly?) suffocating the fetus.]]
* [[MyHero "So an Altron pregnancy lasts only six weeks?"]]
* In both ''Series/BeingHuman'' and ''Series/BeingHumanRemake'' Nina and her American counterpart Nora experience accelerated pregnancies of about twice the human rate of fetal development due to the fetus being a werewolf/half werewolf respectively.
* In season one of ''Series/{{Riget}}'', Dr. Petersen's pregancy develops at a frighteningly fast rate. In the finale, she gives birth, [[spoiler:to a fully-grown man.]]
* ''{{Soap}}'': Corinne has only been married a month but her doctor says she's five months pregnant. She swears she didn't have sex with anyone else during the four month mystery period but her husband doesn't believe her. She gives birth just a few weeks later; turns out the baby is a devil-child.
* In an episode of ''Series/{{Charmed}}'', Phoebe has a nightmare that this happens, but it was AllJustADream.
* In the ''Series/{{Haven}}'' episode "Ball and Chain", Beatrice Mitchell would involuntarily transform into a beautiful woman named Helena. Helena would seduce and sleep with a random man, then change back to Beatrice. Beatrice would then get pregnant and give birth in a day of two, while the father suffers RapidAging. Beatrice's grandmother did something similar, but suffered DeathByChildbirth bearing Beatrice's mother.
* When Tucker in ''RedVsBlue'' gets turned into a MisterSeahorse by an alien, he gives birth to "Junior" in a very short amount of time.
* In the ''Abigail'' album by Music/KingDiamond, Miriam becomes pregnant and gives birth to the FetusTerrible Abigail in the same day.
* This happens repeatedly in the music video for Chromeo's "When The Night Falls" via DistractedByTheSexy. However, it becomes FanDisservice/possible horror in a hurry, but turns out to be [[spoiler: AllJustADream]].
[[folder:Truth In Television]]
* [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marsupial Marsupials.]] They have a placenta, just like eutherians (placental mammals), but it's formed differently, so that its connection is weaker. Birth therefore happens in about 2-4 weeks, and the baby is still very small and embryonic. It makes its way up to the mother's pouch and continues its development there.
* Aphids (the little white insects you sometimes see eating your rose bushes) are literally born pregnant.
[[folder:Video Games]]
* The hack of ''DigDug'' called ''Baby Maker'' involves a naked man having sex with naked women underground. The sexual experience makes the woman plump up really quickly. At the end, a baby explodes out of the stomach. [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1lnWhcW2Mr8&feature=channel Dude sure is fertile.]]
* The DS-only sequel to ''{{Okami}}'', ''Okamiden'', stars Chibiterasu, Ammy's son, and Susano and Kushi's son. Not so remarkable? The second game takes place ''nine months'' after the end of the first.
** [[spoiler: Kuni is adopted, this is made explicit after the end of chapter one, and Chibi is a demigod, same rules don't apply.]]
** The game hints that Ammy shifting the BalanceBetweenGoodAndEvil by defeating Yami is the cause of Ammy and all the other brush gods having children.
* ''VideoGame/DragonQuestV'' sees your hero's wife going through this: depending on how quickly you play through the plot, she can go from marrying you, to confirmed pregnant with your children, to having said children, in a matter of hours... or only a few in-game days.
* Normally, a pregnancy in ''TheSims'' takes 3 Sim Days (3 hours of normal gameplay.) There exists, however, a cheat that allows you to reduce the pregnancy to less than 1 Sim Day.
** In fact, there are mods that allow a female sim to give birth ''right after she gets pregnant''
** Justified, considering the length of an actual pregnancy would be impossible
* Most ''HarvestMoon'' games have you wait 60 in-game days (two in-game seasons) from the announcement of the pregnancy until the birth of the child. Not ''Animal Parade''. Exactly seventeen days after your spouse remarks, "If we're going to have kids, we've [[GettingCrapPastTheRadar got our work cut out for us]]", the child is born. And the second one only takes ''fourteen days''. Even in Harvest Moon time [[note]]1 month = 1 season[[/note]], that's equivalent to a month and a half. [[RuleOfFun But who wants to wait two months to see their kid, anyway?]]
* ''RuneFactory 2'' and ''3'' have 15-day pregnancies. ''1'' and ''Frontier'' make you wait a reasonable amount of time.
* In ''BaldursGate II: [[ExpansionPack Throne of Bhaal]]'', a romance with Aerie leads to a pregnancy that is rushed through within the storyline of the expansion, which is unlikely to take more than a few weeks of game time. Even slightly more absurd than by real-life terms, because she's an elf, and the pregnancy should take a whole year. There's no in-story reason for this, nor is it acknowledged. (Some have suspected [[AlternateCharacterInterpretation Aerie of lying about not having been with any man before the]] PlayerCharacter, but that would make just as little sense simply for the reason that then she would have been very visibly pregnant already for a long time.) It is possible to play through the whole plot before the baby is born, hiding the timeline absurdity from view. | dclm-gs1-001170000 |
League Cup - Chelsea to explain Leeds rivalry to foreign players
Chelsea interim manager Rafael Benitez will explain to his contingent of foreign players what playing against bitter rivals Leeds United means to the club ahead of their League Cup quarter-final on Wednesday.
The two clubs have been sworn enemies since the infamous 1970 FA Cup final replay, won by the London club, was marred by nasty tackles and ill-feeling.
That match and fractious games since have ensured plenty of spite between both sets of supporters.
Leeds, now mid-table in the Championship, are chasing their third Premier League scalp of the competition having knocked out Everton and Southampton.
This is the first time the pair have met since Chelsea's 1-0 win in the 2003-04 season and Benitez will explain to his players what the fixture means.
"We will talk with them and we will explain how important is every game, how important is the competition for us and how important the game will be for all the fans and for the club," the Spaniard said.
"We will have some research about the history, I think that it is quite interesting."
Benitez's side have just returned from the Club World Cup in Japan, where they lost in the final to South American champions Corinthians.
Given the holders are already out of the Champions League and have slipped behind in the Premier League title race, the League Cup has taken on more importance as Benitez tries to convince Chelsea he should be kept on past May.
The match also has extra spice because of animosity between Benitez and Leeds manager Neil Warnock, which stems from 2007 when the Spaniard played a weakened side for Liverpool against Fulham ahead of the Champions League final.
Fulham won, a result that contributed to Warnock's Sheffield United side being relegated.
Warnock has said he is unsure if he will shake Benitez's hand before the match, although the Chelsea boss has no such issue.
"I'm professional so I will do my job. I'm professional, I will behave," he said.
Another link between the two clubs is Ken Bates, who sold Chelsea to owner Roman Abramovich in 2003 and has recently relinquished control of Leeds but stays as club president.
Chelsea will still be without the injured John Terry and striker Daniel Sturridge is doubtful.
John Obi Mikel, Gary Cahill and Ramires are suspended.
The match will be Chelsea's eighth in 24 days, but Benitez said fatigue was something they would just have to deal with.
"That's the situation and we have to manage the situation." | dclm-gs1-001180000 |
A Swiftly Tilting Planet
Madeleine L'Engle
Square Fish
In this fateful hour
The big kitchen of the Murrys’ house was bright and warm, curtains drawn against the dark outside, against the rain driving past the house from the northeast. Meg Murry O’Keefe had made an arrangement of chrysanthemums for the dining table, and the yellow, bronze, and pale-gold blossoms seemed to add light to the room. A delectable smell of roasting turkey came from the oven, and her mother stood by the stove, stirring the giblet gravy.
It was good to be home for Thanksgiving, she thought, to be with the reunited family, catching up on what each one had been doing. The twins, Sandy and Dennys, home from law and medical schools, were eager to hear about Calvin, her husband, and the conference he was attending in London, where he was—perhaps at this very minute—giving a paper on the immunological system of chordates.
"It’s a tremendous honor for him, isn’t it, Sis?" Sandy asked.
"And how about you, Mrs. O’Keefe?" Dennys smiled at her. "Still seems strange to call you Mrs. O’Keefe."
"Strange to me, too." Meg looked over at the rocker by the fireplace, where her mother-in-law was sitting, staring into the flames; she was the one who was Mrs. O’Keefe to Meg. "I’m fine," she replied to Sandy. "Absolutely fine."
Dennys, already very much the doctor, had taken his stethoscope, of which he was enormously proud, and put it against Meg’s burgeoning belly, beaming with pleasure as he heard the strong heartbeat of the baby within. "You are fine, indeed."
She returned the smile, then looked across the room to her youngest brother, Charles Wallace, and to their father, who were deep in concentration, bent over the model they were building of a tesseract: the square squared, and squared again: a construction of the dimension of time. It was a beautiful and complicated creation of steel wires and ball bearings and Lucite, parts of it revolving, parts swinging like pendulums.
Charles Wallace was small for his fifteen years; a stranger might have guessed him to be no more than twelve; but the expression in his light blue eyes as he watched his father alter one small rod on the model was mature and highly intelligent. He had been silent all day, she thought. He seldom talked much, but his silence on this Thanksgiving day, as the approaching storm moaned around the house and clapped the shingles on the roof, was different from his usual lack of chatter.
Meg’s mother-in-law was also silent, but that was not surprising. What was surprising was that she had agreed to come to them for Thanksgiving dinner. Mrs. O’Keefe must have been no more than a few years older than Mrs. Murry, but she looked like an old woman. She had lost most of her teeth, and her hair was yellowish and unkempt, and looked as if it had been cut with a blunt knife. Her habitual expression was one of resentment. Life had not been kind to her, and she was angry with the world, especially with the Murrys. They had not expected her to accept the invitation, particularly with Calvin in London. None of Calvin’s family responded to the Murrys’ friendly overtures. Calvin was, as he had explained to Meg at their first meeting, a biological sport, totally different from the rest of his family, and when he received his M.D./Ph.D. they took that as a sign that he had joined the ranks of the enemy. And Mrs. O’Keefe shared the attitude of many of the villagers that Mrs. Murry’s two earned Ph.D.s, and her experiments in the stone lab which adjoined the kitchen, did not constitute proper work. Because she had achieved considerable recognition, her puttering was tolerated, but it was not work, in the sense that keeping a clean house was work, or having a nine-to-five job in a factory or office was work.
—How could that woman have produced my husband? Meg wondered for the hundredth time, and imaged Calvin’s alert expression and open smile.—Mother says there’s more to her than meets the eye, but I haven’t seen it yet. All I know is that she doesn’t like me, or any of the family. I don’t know why she came for dinner. I wish she hadn’t.
The twins had automatically taken over their old job of setting the table. Sandy paused, a handful of forks in his hand, to grin at their mother. "Thanksgiving dinner is practically the only meal Mother cooks in the kitchen—"
"—instead of out in the lab on her Bunsen burner," Dennys concluded.
Sandy patted her shoulder affectionately. "Not that we’re criticizing, Mother."
"After all, those Bunsen-burner stews did lead directly to the Nobel Prize. We’re really very proud of you, Mother, although you and Father give us a heck of a lot to live up to."
"Keeps our standards high." Sandy took a pile of plates from the kitchen dresser, counted them, and set them in front of the big platter which would hold the turkey.
—Home, Meg thought comfortably, and regarded her parents and brothers with affectionate gratitude. They had put up with her all through her prickly adolescence, and she still did not feel very grown up. It seemed only a few months ago that she had had braces on her teeth, crooked spectacles that constantly slipped down her nose, unruly mouse-brown hair, and a wistful certainty that she would never grow up to be a beautiful and self-confident woman like her mother. Her inner vision of herself was still more the adolescent Meg than the attractive young woman she had become. The braces were gone, the spectacles replaced by contact lenses, and though her chestnut hair might not quite rival her mother’s rich auburn, it was thick and lustrous and became her perfectly, pulled softly back from her face into a knot at the nape of her slender neck. When she looked at herself objectively in the mirror she knew that she was lovely, but she was not yet accustomed to the fact. It was hard to believe that her mother had once gone through the same transition.
She wondered if Charles Wallace would change physically as much as she had. All his outward development had been slow. Their parents thought he might make a sudden spurt in growth.
She missed Charles Wallace more than she missed the twins or her parents. The eldest and the youngest in the family, their rapport had always been deep, and Charles Wallace had an intuitive sense of Meg’s needs which could not be accounted for logically; if something in Meg’s world was wrong, he knew, and was there to be with her, to help her if only by assuring her of his love and trust. She felt a deep sense of comfort in being with him for this Thanksgiving weekend, in being home. Her parents’ house was still home, because she and Calvin spent many weekends there, and their apartment near Calvin’s hospital was a small, furnished one, with a large sign saying NO PETS, and an aura that indicated that children would not be welcomed, either. They hoped to be able to look for a place of their own soon. Meanwhile, she was home for Thanksgiving, and it was good to see the gathered family and to be surrounded by their love, which helped ease her loneliness at being separated from Calvin for the first time since their marriage.
"I miss Fortinbras," she said suddenly.
Her mother turned from the stove. "Yes. The house feels empty without a dog. But Fort died of honorable old age."
"Aren’t you going to get another dog?"
"Eventually. The right one hasn’t turned up yet."
"Couldn’t you go look for a dog?"
Mr. Murry looked up from the tesseract. "Our dogs usually come to us. If one doesn’t, in good time, then we’ll do something about it."
"Meg," her mother suggested, "how about making the hard sauce for the plum pudding?"
"Oh—of course." She opened the refrigerator and got out half a pound of butter.
The phone rang.
"I’ll get it." Dropping the butter into a small mixing bowl en route, she went to the telephone. "Father, it’s for you. I think it’s the White House."
Mr. Murry went quickly to the phone. "Mr. President, hello!" He was smiling, and Meg watched as the smile was wiped from his face and replaced with an expression of—what? Nothingness, she thought.
The twins stopped talking. Mrs. Murry stood, her wooden spoon resting against the lip of the saucepan. Mrs. O’Keefe continued to stare morosely into the fire. Charles Wallace appeared to be concentrating on the tesseract.
—Father is just listening, Meg thought.—The president is doing the talking.
She gave an involuntary shudder. One minute the room had been noisy with eager conversation, and suddenly they were all silent, their movements arrested. She listened, intently, while her father continued to hold the phone to his ear. His face looked grim, all the laughter lines deepening to sternness. Rain lashed against the windows.—It ought to snow at this time of year, Meg thought.—There’s something wrong with the weather. There’s something wrong.
Mr. Murry continued to listen silently, and his silence spread across the room. Sandy had been opening the oven door to baste the turkey and snitch a spoonful of stuffing, and he stood still, partly bent over, looking at his father. Mrs. Murry turned slightly from the stove and brushed one hand across her hair, which was beginning to be touched with silver at the temples. Meg had opened the drawer for the beater, which she held tightly.
It was not unusual for Mr. Murry to receive a call from the president. Over the years he had been consulted by the White House on matters of physics and space travel; other conversations had been serious, many disturbing, but this, Meg felt, was different, was causing the warm room to feel colder, look less bright.
"Yes, Mr. President, I understand," Mr. Murry said at last. "Thank you for calling." He put the receiver down slowly, as though it were heavy.
Dennys, his hands still full of silver for the table, asked, "What did he say?"
Their father shook his head. He did not speak.
Sandy closed the oven door. "Father?"
Meg cried, "Father, we know something’s happened. You have to tell us—please."
His voice was cold and distant. "War."
Meg put her hand protectively over her belly. "Do you mean nuclear war?"
The family seemed to draw together, and Mrs. Murry reached out a hand to include Calvin’s mother. But Mrs. O’Keefe closed her eyes and excluded herself.
"Is it Mad Dog Branzillo?" asked Meg.
"Yes. The president feels that this time Branzillo is going to carry out his threat, and then we’ll have no choice but to use our antiballistic missiles."
"How would a country that small get a missile?" Sandy asked.
"Vespugia is no smaller than Israel, and Branzillo has powerful friends."
"He really can carry out this threat?"
Mr. Murry assented.
"Is there a red alert?" Sandy asked.
"Yes. The president says we have twenty-four hours in which to try to avert tragedy, but I have never heard him sound so hopeless. And he does not give up easily."
The blood drained from Meg’s face. "That means the end of everything, the end of the world." She looked toward Charles Wallace, but he appeared almost as withdrawn as Mrs. O’Keefe. Charles Wallace, who was always there for her, was not there now. And Calvin was an ocean away. With a feeling of terror she turned back to her father.
He did not deny her words.
The old woman by the fireplace opened her eyes and twisted her thin lips scornfully. "What’s all this? Why would the president of the United States call here? You playing some kind of joke on me?" The fear in her eyes belied her words.
"It’s no joke, Mrs. O’Keefe," Mrs. Murry explained. "For a number of years the White House has been in the habit of consulting my husband."
"I didn’t know he"—Mrs. O’Keefe darted a dark glance at Mr. Murry—"was a politician."
"He’s not. He’s a physicist. But the president needs scientific information and needs it from someone he can trust, someone who has no pet projects to fund or political positions to support. My husband has become especially close to the new president." She stirred the gravy, then stretched her hands out to her husband in supplication. "But why? Why? When we all know that no one can win a nuclear war."
Charles Wallace turned from the tesseract. "El Rabioso. That’s his nickname. Mad Dog Branzillo."
"El Rabioso seems singularly appropriate for a man who overthrew the democratic government with a wild and bloody coup d’état. He is mad, indeed, and there is no reason in him."
"One madman in Vespugia," Dennys said bitterly, "can push a button and it will destroy civilization, and everything Mother and Father have worked for will go up in a mushroom cloud. Why couldn’t the president make him see reason?"
Excerpted from A Swiftly Tilting Planet by Madeleine L'Engle.
Copyright © 1978 by Crosswicks, Ltd.
Published in May 2007 by Farrar, Straus and Giroux. | dclm-gs1-001190000 |
Topics: Barack Obama
John Boehner calls on Obama to 'make the case' to Congress, public for Syrian strike
By |
Congress,Susan Ferrechio,Barack Obama,John Boehner,Syria
House Speaker John Boehner on Wednesday wrote to President Obama calling on him to “personally make the case to the American people and Congress” for why the United States should engage intervene militarily in Syria after its government used chemical weapons on its own citizens.
Obama has not announced how he intends to intervene after chemical weapons were used to kill and injure thousands of Syrians, but a military strike of some kind appears imminent.
Dozens of members of Congress, meanwhile, are demanding that any military action be approved by lawmakers first and are circulating a letter with a growing number of signatures that calls on Obama to seek congressional authorization before he acts.
Boehner, R-Ohio, is not making the same demand, but his letter calls for more in-depth consultation with Congress and asks for answers to a comprehensive list of questions about the potential upcoming military strikes, including how Obama justifies military action without first seeking constitutionally mandated congressional authorization.
Boehner’s letter poses 14 questions to Obama, including why the use of force is needed and how Obama would respond if the Syrian government retaliated with an attack on U.S. allies in the region. Boehner also asked, “What is the intended effect of the potential military strikes?”
Boehner signaled in the letter that the Obama administration has not conferred thoroughly with Congress over the matter, despite Obama aides making calls to the top lawmakers on committees that oversee the military. Boehner also received a brief call from an Obama administration official.
“While the outreach has been appreciated, it … has, to date, not reached the level of substantive consultation,” Boehner wrote.
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A. No. When the Failover Clustering feature is enabled, a MAC from the machine is used for the fault tolerant (NetFT) network. If you used Sysprep to create an image of a machine after the Failover Cluster feature is enabled, all nodes created from this image would have the same MAC for the NetFT virtual adapter. This would break communications, and cluster validation would fail when this duplicate MAC for NetFT was detected—clustering won't work.
The solution is to use Sysprep before you enable the Failover Cluster feature, and enable the Failover Cluster feature after cloning through an unattended script.
As a best practice, you should have a minimal number of OS images and then customize them using unattended scripts and processes such as System Center Configuration Manager's task sequences. This is another reason you should have a Windows Server image and then automate the node joining a cluster through scripting, rather than having a specific "cluster node" image.
Related Reading:
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Tables used for layout (3 posts)
1. zdislaw
Posted 4 years ago #
I know that 90% or more users of this theme will never have a problem with the use of tables for layout (either practical or "theological"), but I would love to see the tables defining the sidebar layout go away in favor of divs. My reason is on the practical side (though theologically I dislike the use of tables for layout as well).
Basically, I don't want to be limited to only vertical sidebars, but be able to position divs that could make up more complex layouts.
For example:
| header |
| left | inner left |
| MAIN |
| right |
| inner rt |
| footer |
This would enable me to make a more graphically complex homepage design using this template and not custom code myself out of being able to upgrade in the future.
Any ideas?
2. I'm not sure what you are talking about. I've never seen tables in any themes.
I've also been able to code graphically complex sites using existing themes and the sidebar.php being how it is.
3. bytesforall
Posted 4 years ago #
The people using Atahualpa are actually very smart, because their site will not fall into thousand pieces in IE6 while providing a fluid layout with min and max width, auto image resizing and wrapping long strings.
Atahualpa is like it is on purpose, not because the developer didn't know CSS well enough. Version 2 was a "Holy Grail" CSS only layout, in version 3 it evolved beyond that. If you look closely you'll see that it's not just "using a table". It's a whole new technique. If you can find something better on the internet I'll happily implement.
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Take the 2-minute tour ×
I created a multisite and my question is as followed:
Im trying to display a default static page for each new site. So when they create a new site, they automatically get a default page I made. This is the only page they need and have controle over. This page has only widgetized area's in it so that the site-admin can add content by adding widgets into the widget area's. They dont have access to create a post or page themselves.
By adding a piece of code into wp-admin/includes/upgrade.php the page will be automatically made by WP whenever a new site is made. However, the page isnt connected to the template with the html/php code in it to display the widgets they add. Normally in WP you can create a page and on the right side you can select a template.
Is it clear this far? (even I get confused lol)
So what Im asking is.. is there a way to create a static frontpage for all newly created sites (like test.example.com and test2.example.com) with a template connected to it?
Thanks in advance!!! It would make my day!
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2 Answers
I would recommend waiting until WordPress 3.4 is released. Among other features, it is slated to include the ability to allow Themes to define/declare a static front page. I believe this functionality should suit your needs.
(Note: as of today, WordPress 3.4 just hit Beta 1, and is scheduled for final release in May.)
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You can hook into the creation of a new multisite blog like this:
add_action('wpmu_new_blog', 'default_settings', 100, 2);
function default_settings($blog_id, $user_id){
// setup your page here
In that function you would use wp_insert_post to create your page, and then you would set the option used to determine the homepage to the ID of the newly created post
share|improve this answer
Somthing like: $pages_to_create = array_diff($default_pages,$temp); foreach($pages_to_create as $new_page_title){ // Create post object $my_post = array(); $my_post['post_title'] = $new_page_title; $my_post['post_content'] = 'This is my '.$new_page_title.' page.'; $my_post['post_status'] = 'publish'; $my_post['post_type'] = 'page'; ?? – Furzery Apr 4 '12 at 9:34
yeah, though with the insertion call and the closing of the loop etc – Tom J Nowell Apr 4 '12 at 9:51
Note that you could also use a home.php template – Tom J Nowell Apr 4 '12 at 9:51
how would that work? (the home.php) I know how to create a custom template-page but I guess thats not what you meanth – Furzery Apr 4 '12 at 11:17
refer to the template heirarchy, you have index.php front-page.php and home.php home.php is always the homepage unless you choose a page to be the homepage, front-page.php is the frontpage, aka page 1 of an archive shown by index.php, and index.php is the file used if a file isn't found – Tom J Nowell Apr 4 '12 at 13:37
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Glossary of Internet Terms
Last Updated: Tue, 25 Feb 2014 > Related Articles
8 rated this
Learn the meaning of common Internet terminology.
The following is a list of terms you may see while surfing the Web and particularly in using Cox.net services. If you have any suggestions for adding terms, please leave a comment at the bottom of the page.
ASCII - (American Standard Code for Information Interchange) is a computer code used to represent all Latin letters, numbers, punctuation and symbols. Each of the 128 standard codes can be represented by a 7-digit binary number. ASCII is also used to describe files displayed in plain text form.
Bandwidth - Measurement of amount of information that can be transmitted over an Internet connection. The more bandwidth you have the more information that can be moved from one computer to another.
Bookmarks - A feature on your browser that allows you to save a website address to your favorite list, or bookmarks list) so you can quickly access it later. When a site is added to your bookmarks you can give the site any name you choose and then return to it later.
Browser - A software application, such as Internet Explorer, or Safari, that lets you search for and browse information on the World Wide Web.
Cable Modem - An electronic adapter that permits a personal computer to receive Internet data from the high-speed information resources of a cable television system. Cable modems permit personal computers to receive Internet information at rates of up to hundreds of times faster than typical, consumer market telephone modems. A cable modem attaches to a personal computer through a network interface card (NIC) installed inside the computer. The cable television system's cable brings the information into the cable modem and then the cable modem sends the information into the computer through the NIC. An eMTA is a form of cable modem that also connects a digital phone line to your cable service.
CGI - Common Gateway Interface. A programming function used on Web servers that gives Web pages the ability to interact with Web visitors.
Client / Server - Computer technology that separates network-connected computers and their users into two categories: clients and servers. When you access information from a computer on a network, you are a client. The computer that delivers the information is the server. A server stores information and makes it available to any authorized client upon request.
Cloud - Also known as, The Cloud, is simply the ability to access applications on the Internet from any location. Your Google or Yahoo email messages are, in the cloud, in the sense that you can check your email from a variety of devices and from anywhere there is a connection.
Dial-in - The process of accessing the Internet by dialing in to it from a phone line. Dial-in access is much slower than wireless or cable access.
Domain Name - A registered name that identifies a website and is hosted on a server or servers. The domain name is the first name of the website, such as cox.com, or msn.com. Domain names have many extensions such as .net, .TV, or .org.
Download - The act of transferring computer information from a remote computer into your own local computer. Downloading allows you to acquire documents, images, and files from the Internet.
Email - (Electronic mail) Messages transmitted over the Internet from user to user. Email can contain text, but also can carry with it files of any type as attachments.
FAQs - (Frequently Asked Questions) are simply questions and answers on the Internet or elsewhere used to assist users in finding information about a particular subject.
Favorites Folder - An Internet Explorer feature that lets you store the location of favorite Web pages for quick access. This is a powerful and important feature because many Web addresses are difficult to remember. When you store a Web site in your Favorites folder, you can give it any name you choose, and then return to it by clicking on that name.See Bookmarks.
Firewall - A combination of hardware and software that protects a single computer or local area network (LAN) from Internet hackers, putting up a virtual wall that prevents intruders from stealing information online. It separates the network into two or more parts and restricts outsiders to the area outside the firewall. Private or sensitive information is kept inside the firewall.
Flames - Insulting, enraged Internet messages—the equivalent of schoolyard brawls but online --that are found most often on social media sites and in newsgroups.
Forums - Communities provided by a group or company that encourages users to ask questions of the provider or to assist each other. Forums can be divided a number of ways such as by topic or question asked.
FQDN - (Fully Qualified Domain Name) The official name assigned to a computer. Organizations register names, such as ibm.com, or utulsa.edu. They then assign unique names to their computers, such as watson5,.ibm.com, or hurricane.cs.utulsa.edu.
FTP - (File Transfer Protocol) The basic Internet function that enables files to be transferred between computers. You can use it to download files from a remote, host computer, as well as to upload files from your computer to a remote, host computer. FTP is often permitted on large systems that share files with outside users who otherwise would not be able to login for security reasons.
Gateway - A host computer that connects a network to other networks. For example, a gateway connects an individual or company's local area network computers to the Internet.
GIF - (Graphics Interchange Format) A graphics file format that is commonly used on the Internet to provide graphics images in Web pages. A gif is typically smaller than a jpeg because it uses less color in the image.
Hacker - Anyone who tries to gain unauthorized access into remote computers, or a computer system. Though many hackers work simply for the challenge of cracking a difficult security system, many hackers tap into remote systems for malicious purposes, such as theft of secure information, destruction of information, to disable a computer system, or to infect it with a computer virus. See Virus
Host - A system that includes TCP / IP and runs applications that provide files, or services or that shares the system's resources.
HTML - (Hypertext Markup Language) The basic language that is used to build documents on the World Wide Web. It is written with ASCII-text documents. Those documents are interpreted by Web browsers to display formatted text, color, fonts, graphic images, sound, video clips, to run programs, perform special effects, and to link to other Internet sites.
HTML5 - An advanced version of HTML that does provides more formatting capability than original HTML. It basically adds new tags for video and audio which older versions of HTML did not contain. Older versions had to link to another website, or use plug-ins to access video and audio files.
HTTP - (Hypertext Transfer Protocol) The protocol (rules) computers use to transfer hypertext documents.
Hypertext - Text in a document that contains a link to other text. You can click on hypertext to jump to the text designated in the link. Hypertext is used in Windows help programs and CD encyclopedias to jump to related references elsewhere within the same document. Using HTTP, hypertext can link to any Web document in the world.
Icon - A small, graphic image on a computer that is used to represent a computer application, data, or a feature of the operating system. Icons are also used as visual references to identify a section of a website.
IP - (Internet Protocol) The rules that support basic Internet data delivery functions. See TCP/IP.
IP Address - An Internet address that is a unique number consisting of four parts separated by dots, sometimes called a dotted quad. For example, Every Internet computer has an IP address. Server computers also are assigned one or more Domain Names that are easier to remember than the dotted quad.
IPv6 - Is another iteration of IP that makes more addresses available, providing more space on the Internet. It offers 128-bits compared to 32 bits with IPv4.
IRC - (Internet Relay Chat) An Internet tool that lets users join a chat channel and exchange messages. IRC is soon going to permit the full-color, live-action video required for video-conferencing.
ISP - (Internet Service Provider) A company, such as Cox High Speed Internet, that is connected directly to the Internet, and which sells connection services to individuals and businesses who want to tap into the Internet.
Java - A programming language that permits Internet sites on the World Wide Web to include computer applications that run on the computers of people who visit the sites. Java programs only work on computers that have Java-capable Web browsers, such as the one we have provided to you. Java is nonspecific as to operating system, which means that one program can run on either Windows or Macintosh computers. Java programs can run games, create animation effects, drive database searches, and many other functions.
JavaScript - A simplified subset of Java that enables Web authors to use Java without needing to know how to program in the full Java language.
JPEG - (Joint Photographic Experts Group) The name of the committee that designed the photographic image-compression standard. JPEG is optimized for compressing full-color or gray-scale photographic-type, digital images. It doesn’t work well on drawn images such as line drawings, and it does not handle black-and-white images, or video images.
kbps - (kilobits per second) A speed rating for computer modems that measures, in units of 1,024 bits, the maximum number of bits the device can transfer in one second under ideal conditions.
kBps - (kilobytes per second) Remember, one byte is eight bits.
Latency - The amount of time it takes data to travel from source to destination.
Listserv - An Internet application that automatically serves mailing lists by sending electronic newsletters to a stored database of Internet user addresses. Most lists let users subscribe and unsubscribe automatically, not requiring anyone at the server location to personally handle the transaction. But for a reflector mailing list, the request to join goes to a real person's mailbox who must manually perform the subscribe, or unsubscribe transaction.
Mailing List - An email-based discussion group. Sending one message to the mailing list server sends mail to all other members of the group. Users join a mailing list by subscribing. Subscribers to a mailing list receive messages from all other members. Users have to unsubscribe from a mailing list to stop receiving messages forwarded from the group members.
MIME - (Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions) An Internet standard that lets computer files be attached to email and tells computers how to interpret downloaded files. Files sent by MIME arrive as exact copies of the original so that you can send word processing files, spreadsheets, graphics images and software applications to other users, provided the recipient has a MIME-capable email application—most today are MIME-capable, including the one we provided to you.
Modem - An electronic device that lets computers communicate electronically using regular phone lines. The name is derived from modulator-demodulator because of its function in processing data over analog phone lines.
Netiquette - Internet etiquette, good netiquette will keep you out of trouble in newsgroups.
Network Interface Card (NIC) - A card that is installed inside a personal computer that permits a personal computer to transfer data via a computer network. Commonly used in computers that are linked to office local area networks (LANs), a network interface card is required to connect to a cable modem. Some Macintosh computers and even some Windows computers have the functions of a network interface card built into the basic circuitry of the computer.
Newsgroup - An electronic, community bulletin board that enables Internet users all over the world to post and read messages that are public to other users of the group. There are more than 30,000 public newsgroups and thousands of private newsgroups collecting tens of gigabytes of data daily. No one knows the actual count of current newsgroups because it changes so rapidly as new ones are added and older ones are dropped.
NNTP - (Network News Transfer Protocol) An Internet protocol that handles the transfer of Usenet newsgroups between news servers.
NINRP - (Network News Reading Protocol) An Internet protocol that handles the transfer of Usenet articles, and information between a news server and news clients—like your news reader.
Open source - Software that is readily available to developers rather than proprietary, meaning the code can be accessed by just about anyone, and used by them if they agree to certain conditions outlined by the manufacturer.
PNG - (Portable Network Graphics) A new standard for Internet graphic images that is planned as a replacement for the GTE format. PNG has similar characteristics to GTE, with improved network performance.
POP - (Post Office Protocol) An Internet protocol that enables a single user to read email from a mail server. A POP address is needed in order to receive incoming email messages.
Port - Physical network ports are basically in points on a computer that accept connecting cables. For example, a USB cable plugs into a computer port. Virtual ports are part of TCP / IP networking. These ports allow software applications to share hardware resources without interfering with each other.
Post - An article in a newsgroup. Posting is the act of sending a post to the newsgroup so that other subscribers can read the article.
Protocols - Computer rules that provide uniform specifications so that computer hardware and operating systems can communicate. It's similar to the way that mail, in countries around the world, is addressed in the same basic format so that postal workers know where to find the recipient's address, the sender's return address and the postage stamp. Regardless of the underlying language, the basic protocols remain the same.
Router - A network device that enables the network to reroute data it receives that are intended for other networks. The network with the router receives data and sends it on its way exactly as received.
Search Engine - A Web service that permits access to and searching of a computer-generated index of Web pages. A search engine lets you enter keywords and then finds and displays a list of all pages that contain the keywords that you entered.
Server - A computer that stores information and then sends its stored information across a network. Servers deliver information upon request from a client, see client / server entry, who is attached to the network.
Signature File - A customizable ASCII text file, maintained within email programs, that contains a few lines of text for your signature. The programs automatically attach the file to your messages so you don’t have to repeatedly type a closing.
SMTP - (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) The simple, classic protocol used to handle Internet email functions.An SMTP address is needed to send email messages to others. An SMTP address is needed to send email messages to others.
Social Media - Describes the varied types of participatory services one can use to communicate with others. Examples include Facebook, Twitter, blogs and forums.
Spam - Any email message that is unwanted.
SSL - (Secure Sockets Layer) The Web-based security technology that encrypts computer data to maintain privacy. SSL protects computer users from theft when sending, or receiving personal data online. SSL also enables Web merchants to accept credit card numbers without risk that your card number will be picked up by a computer hacker.
TCP / IP - (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol) The basic protocols that enable computer communications around the globe via the Internet.
Telnet - An Internet protocol that lets you connect your PC as a remote workstation to a host computer anywhere in the world and to use that computer as if you were logged on locally.
UDP - Stands for User Datagram Protocol. It is part of the Internet Protocol group such as TCP / IP. This protocol is typically preferred for its speed rather than its reliability, particularly when short, time-sensitive messages need to be sent in a hurry between computers.
UNIX - The computer operating system that was used to write most of the programs and protocols that built the Internet. The name was created by the language programmers to indicate that UNIX was one of the Multics, an experimental MIT operating system.
Upload - The act of transferring computer information from one computer to another, such as putting a file on the remote server of your website hosting company.
URL - (Uniform Resource Locator) This is the equivalent of having the phone number of a place you want to call. You will constantly use URLs with your Internet software to identify the protocol, host name and file name of Internet resources you want—such as www.cox.com.
Usenet - Another name for Internet newsgroups. A distributed bulletin board system running on news servers.
Video Sharing - The act of sharing a video with someone else or a group through the Internet.
Virus - A computer program that can automatically jump from one computer to install itself on another computer. Viruses are harmful because they generally damage any computer on which they're installed. The damage can be anything from simply displaying a message, to deleting files, to totally wiping out all data on the computer. There are many computer programs on the market that will monitor your computer for the presence of a computer virus and either alert you when a virus is detected or eliminate the virus from your system.
VoIP - Voiceover Internet Protocol is the means by which users can use telephone service over the Internet.
World Wide Web - (WWW) (W3) (the Web) An Internet client-server distributed information and retrieval system based upon the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) that transfers hypertext documents across a varied array of computer systems.
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Albany falls to Fitzgerald, now 1-7 all-time vs. Purple Hurricanes
Despite Thursday’s loss to Fitzgerald, Albany High running back Calvin Jackson rushed for 94 yards on 11 carries and scored on a 19-yard TD run.
ALBANY -- Did you hear about the one that got away?
No, this is no fish tale, but the more you tell it the bigger it gets.
Just like the score did Thursday at Hugh Mills Stadium.
At least that's how it felt to Albany High's Indians, who went head-to-head with No. 8-ranked Fitzgerald Thursday night before the floodgates opened in the second half and Fitzgerald turned a 21-21 classic into a 56-21 rout.
That's right, it was 21-21 at halftime. Albany went toe-to-toe with the powerhouse from Fitzgerald, and for a while it looked like both punters could take the night off.
Then Fitzgerald got a fumble, two long runs -- and a horrible call by an official -- and suddenly it was a 42-21 game in the third quarter as the Purple Hurricanes seized control and kept it.
"Sometimes that happens,'' said Fitzgerald coach Robby Pruitt, whose team is a state power year-in and year-out. "You find yourself in a dogfight, and then somebody makes a mistake ... We were fortunate to capitalize on it.''
Pruitt was pretty fortunate to start Scottie Griffin at fullback.
Griffin, who starts at noseguard, had to play fullback because of recent injuries. So what happens? Griffin, who is solid as a rock and just as tough to tackle, rushed for five touchdowns, including four in the second half, and finished the game with 256 yards on 14 carries.
Not bad for a noseguard, who obviously has a nose for the end zone.
He broke the game open in the third quarter with two big-time runs. He busted free for a 51-yarder to the 3-yard line on the third play of the second half to set up Fitzgerald's go-ahead touchdown.
Then the break everyone was looking for happened. Albany was driving again to match Fitzgerald as the Indians were inside the 30, but they fumbled the ball away. It was the first turnover of the game. Two plays later, Griffin ran for a 64-yard TD to make it 35-21.
Then an official blew a call on the ensuing kickoff, ruling that Albany's Elliott Martin picked up the kickoff and went out of bounds at the 4-yard line. But the ball was clearly on the line when Martin picked it up, and should have been ruled out of bounds.
Fitzgerald forced the first punt of the game, and Purple Hurricane QB Kaleb Nobles hit his first pass of the night -- a 34-yarder to Kevin Coney, who was tackled at the 1-yard line. Griffin scored on the next play and with 5:29 left in the third, it was a 42-21 game.
"If we do some tackling, it's not even close,'' said Albany High coach Felton Williams, whose team stopped Fitzgerald only once all night. "We just missed assignments. Even when it was 42-21 I still felt like we had a chance.
"We couldn't stop them, and they couldn't stop us (in the first half),'' he said. 'Then they got the fumble (in the third quarter). If we would have gotten a fumble, it could have gone the other way. The pendulum could have swung our way.''
Both teams scored the first three times they had the ball in the first half, and Albany was moving again, ready to take a 28-21 lead when the Indians just ran out of time as they drove inside the Fitzgerald 40 when the clock expired in the first half after an interception.
Then the world turned upside down for Albany.
"They are a good team. They are disciplined, and you just can't make a mistake against them,'' said Albany High quarterback Emmanul Byrd, who completed 9 of 18 passes for 120 yards. "You can't give them the ball. They run it down your throat.
"But we just have to go back to work and get better,'' he said. "We have to keep our heads up and go back to work.''
Byrd threw a 7-yard TD pass to Rantiez Williams to open the scoring and then ran for a 1-yard TD to lift Albany to a 21-14 lead. Calvin Jackson, who gained 94 yards on 11 carries, scored Albany's other TD, a 19-yard run.
Fitzgerald has a 7-1 all-time record against Albany High, but walked away from this game with a lot of respect for the Indians, who had to face the defending champs and the favorites to win Region the 1-AA race in their first region game.
"Albany has a good football team,'' Pruitt said. "I look for them to be one of the four teams in our region (to advance to the playoffs). Their coach has done a great job with them, and he has done it in a short time.''
The Indians (0-1 in the region and 3-2 for the season) feel the same way. The top four teams advance to the playoffs.
"We have a lot more football to play,'' Williams said. "I feel we are a playoff team. We have to go to work and win out. We're capable of doing that.''
coachjohnson42 2 years, 5 months ago
That picture is incorrect. Albany played Fitzgerald, NOT MONROE!!!! SMH....
dannyaller 2 years, 5 months ago
Sorry for the mistake, folks. Correct picture with Thursday's game is now attached.
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(Permalink) Posted: June 21 2006,07:01
Quote (Glen Davidson @ June 21 2006,10:56)
I’m an autodidact...
He writes and thinks like one.
Yes, it explains a lot. There's nothing wrong with being self-taught, but declaring one's knowledge to be superior when it's never been tested in an academic or peer-review environment is beyond presumptuous.
There's a world of difference between working one's way through a science curriculum and reading Scientific American. I think a semester in an advanced physics course would provide Dave with some much-needed humility. Maybe I'll dig up an old textbook and let him try his hand at solving some problems.
Oh, wait, I already posed a problem back in March:
Given a 700 nm photon, assuming it came from a black body, what is the probability that the temperature of the black body is between 4139 K and 4141 K?
How you coming on that, Dave?
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Does anyone have specific knowledge of a Windows virus that modifies/eliminates the association of image files on Windows?
I am helping in the administration of a Windows network and I am getting many complaints from a certain group of users claiming that they are not able to open .JPG files anymore (they all use to be able to open them without problems). Their Windows system (Win95) does not recognize the format and does not associate it with any programs. If I take the file to another PC on the same network (but in another group of users) it opens without problems.
Since the complaints are coming from one group of users I was thinking that maybe they have been infected, through an email message addressed to the group, by some virus that got away from our antivirus software (NAV).
By the way, I have tried to force file associations on these Windows PCs, and I still can not open these image files. | dclm-gs1-001280000 |
Another vote for the Heiland TRD2 - a remarkable easy-to-use device that, like Ralph, has never been necessary to re-calibrate. I've been using mine in conjunction with a Stouffer 31-step wedge for determining the characteristic curves of expansions/contractions for my chosen film/dev combinations. The 21-step wedge would also work, but I opted to pay the extra $ to get more data points along each curve (just part of my analytical nature). | dclm-gs1-001290000 |
If you get a chance to see how Ilfords plate coating line works you'd understand why it's expensive and I'd guess the Belgian facility's not far different.
Production volumes are so low these are small lines, in Ilford's case taking up the same sort of floor space as their test/pilot coating line which is used for test coatings of film and paper and also things like filters. All emulsions are test coated and checked before final coating on the main coating line. A short glass plate run is relatively labour intensive needing two people one loading the plates the other almost catching at the end of the line. However when glass plates were the norm different coating lines were in use and plates were cut to size after coating in many cases.
Commercial plates are now used because of their high dimensionable stability, their major use is in nuclear research facilities. It's actually slightly ironic that in fact Governments have propped up and helped many emulsion manufactureers, from Ferrania in Italy, Agfa in Germany etc. | dclm-gs1-001300000 |
Quote Originally Posted by TheFlyingCamera View Post
If you're chasing it as some kind of silver bullet, then you're more likely a gear whore or a dilettante.
I'm not sure I agree here. If the equipment you use doesn't produce the result in your brain then of course you're going to think about some other equipment. You're not going to get screaming facemelter guitar solos out of a bajo sexto, even though technically they're still guitars any more than you'd get 15fps sports shots from an 8x10 setup.
But if you want that Sally Mann/Alec Soth/Paul Graham sort of look you're just not going to get it from your dad's hand-me-down OM-10 no matter how good your concept and execution are.
Maybe, just maybe, there's someone who started off saying "Ok, to get that awesome color palate and detail, I have to start off using 4x5/8x10." I've never met one of them, though.
And that's to say nothing of people who rotate through different gear because they're looking for a 35mm/6x6/whatever setup that feels invisible in their hands. People talk about Leicas that way. Could/Should/Would people just accept whatever gear is in their hands and make great photos? Engh. Anyone who's met me knows that I'm not going to be comfortable in a size 36 jeans or size 7 shoes. Why not find something that fits?
Now if/when someone gets to the point where casting about for gear takes the place of making photos? That's another issue, a pathological one that should be remedied with a prescription of one full day off, five rolls of film, and $15 for beers or coffee to be had throughout the day while making photos. | dclm-gs1-001320000 |
I bought a RB-Pro S for $450 in awesome mechanical condition and relatively good aesthetic condition. Only issue it's ever had is that the back occasionally does't recognize that an exposure has been made, and I have to stop, put the darkslide in, release the shutter, and it usually rights itself. This has led to maybe 1 accidental blank frame every 3-4 rolls. I realize I might have paid a little much, but I immediately fell in love with it. | dclm-gs1-001330000 |
Things Couples Can Do Together?
There are many things couples can do together. Couples can plan a day at the beach, play kids games together, have a dance contest, play adult games together, go to a fair or amusement park, have a sleepover in the living room, or a pillow fight.
1 Additional Answer Answer for: things couples can do together
Things Couples Can Do Together
Couples often have different interests and partake in separate hobbies. Although this is perfectly fine, it's also important for them to spend time together bonding over a shared experience. There are a wide variety of things a couple can do together,... More »
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Some couples want to try living together to see how they get on together before committing to marriage. Other times, they simply don't have the option to get married. For example,
Things you could do with your partner include: going to the
According to wikipedia a couple is Two items of a type. Can only be used for two or more items. A couple certainly includes two. For example, you and your wife are a couple. Personally
both lay on their side, facing the same way E.g. both looking at the wall, so her backside is on the males front side.
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Coupling is the joining together of two ends of something that fit together. This enables two or more things to work together. The best example I can think of ...
Some things to talk about to your girlfriend include things that you two want do together during the next couple of weeks. It is always a good idea to talk to ...
The answer differs for all couples. A couple should move in together when they both feel they are ready and that it is the right thing to do. ... | dclm-gs1-001340000 |
Human Backbone?
Human back bone is a column consisting of 24 vertebrae and nine fused vertebrae in the sacrum and the coccyx. It is separated by intervertebral discs and is located in the torso. It protects and houses the spinal cord in its spinal canal.
1 Additional Answer Answer for: what is a human backbone
Vertebral Column
The spinal cord links the brain to the body. Without it, the brain would not be able to receive sensory data or communicate commands to the body. More »
Q&A Related to "Human Backbone?"
It depends on how tall the person is. The spinal column varies widely depending on a person's height (specifically how long the person's torso is)
The vertebral column consists of 24 vertebrae. Regions of the column
Education. In other words, doing whatever is possible to provide large numbers of individuals with the tools to discover the truth about the world for themselves, thereby promoting
The spine is divided into four parts (going from the head to the low back) Cervical: 7 vertebrae Thoracic: 12 vertebrae Lumbar: 5 vertebrae Sacrum: 5 vertebrae, fused There are newer
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There are 33 vertebrae in the human backbone. These vertebrae are irregularly shaped bones. There are five categories of vertebrae in the backbone, divided by ...
The human spine, also known as backbone, is made up of components called vertebrae. The spine contains 33 of these components and is used as a messaging system ...
The human back bone, which is also known as the spine is strong as well as flexible, and it plays a major role as part of the human skeleton that protects the ... | dclm-gs1-001350000 |
Auto News
AutoGuide News Blog
| Aug 17, 8:00 PM
While technically illegal, the 760Li was wearing German license plates, meaning it’s not registered in Canada. If the owner (or driver, in this case) held a drivers license in Germany, then the car would likely be legal, as it’s merely being driven on Canadian roads by a foreign national, rather than legally imported and registered.
Alternately, it could be owned by BMW Canada (and with the Munich license plates, that’s a real possibility) and the whole thing is just a lot of fuss over nothing. Either way, it’s a cool car, and if they had this back in 1996, Tupac Shakur might have survived his untimely death.
[Source: Autoblog Canada] | dclm-gs1-001360000 |
Preparedness Begins At Home
Jamie Kitman
Tim Marrs
Driving around the other day, I kept forgetting that my car had electrical power even though it had gobs of the stuff. That made it quite unlike my home, which, thanks to Hurricane Sandy, was dark as night even during the day. As an unexpected ancillary drawback to the many others that beset one's microenvironment when extreme weather events come calling, I suddenly found myself forgetting to employ useful things like directional signals, windshield wipers, and headlights, my failure to switch them on based possibly on a subconscious suspicion that there would be no point, since they wouldn't work anyway, like the rest of my electrical universe.
Fortunately, I soon recovered my ability to indicate turns, and over the course of several really surprisingly lousy days, no one was injured on my account. In my defense, how could I not -- in the aftermath of a natural disaster -- forget everything, even essential accessories?
We were spared all but inconvenience, and yet everything was out of order. I was, for instance, running out of gasoline, which is almost as terrifying to most Americans as starving. Like the rest of East Coast humanity, I was already scared enough by pictures of the devastation in New Jersey and New York (before I lost cable and Internet service) and the even more astounding images I'd later see of New Jersey Governor Chris Christie vibing amiably with President Obama. Wow. The hurricane had hit hard.
I was one of the true fortunates, unlike people less than a quarter of a mile away from me whose homes and businesses flooded badly or the dozens of souls whose lives abruptly ceased thanks to Sandy. But trees, live electrical wires, and vast quantities of debris were strewn everywhere, as if there'd been a wild Tailgate Party of the Gods staged in the parking lot at Giants Stadium, with all the crud divinely swept up to be sprinkled over hundreds of square miles. Along with countless fallen trees and utility poles, it made driving a little more interesting than I'd like.
Meanwhile, sewage levels were rising, drinking water was becoming suspect, and most gas stations were closed indefinitely due to no power, no gasoline, or both. Long lines -- sometimes five or six hours -- greeted panicky motorists who found open stations. Meanwhile, my cell phone was dying and the tank in a delightful Porsche Boxster S I'd borrowed was running low.
And that, my friends, is when I remembered the old cars in my life. Ordinarily, they are a net negative, far more hassle than just having an extra car or two and a lot more difficult to explain. Like, in my case, approximately thirty times more difficult. They are particularly burdensome when Mother Nature gets crabby, ocean levels rise, and stuff starts getting destroyed. At times like these, responsibility for multiple large, heavy, physical objects of not inconsiderable value just isn't something you want to have to deal with. You know, real "O, Lord, my 1959 Morris Minor pickup is so small and your sea is so large" kind of stuff.
In the event, we only lost power. But we still had to get around, especially if we were going to decamp and move base operations to my parents' home, which had managed to escape with all of its modern amenities up and running and from which I'd need to commute. And that's when old cars saved my bacon. For I'd long ago learned the hard way that you want to always try to make sure your old cars have full or mostly full tanks of gas when parked. It's the finest, simplest-to-organize preventive against gas-tank rust (read: leaky tanks plus clogged fuel lines, pumps, filters, and carburetors/injectors).
So, when my neighbors struggled to keep their cars rolling, I was able to access what amounted to dozens of tankfuls of gas. Sure, a 1958 Lancia Aurelia might not seem like optimal postapocalyptic transport, but one's points of reference change in an emergency. When the gas lines are a mile long, I don't care how bad the roads are, a 1967 Triumph TR4A IRS with a full tank looks a lot better than a brand-new Ford F-350 Super Duty in need of a fill-up. If its electrical system works and I remember to use it, that's a bonus.
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2011 Mazda RX-8 R3
Matt Tierney
Let's not mess about, mince words, or try to be coy about it: the RX-8 is fantastic.
The RX-8 is fantastic because everything that is wrong with it is also everything that is right with it. Let's start with the engine: it's got less displacement than two bottles of San Pellegrino water, sounds like a spinning hard drive, and burns both premium gasoline and motor oil at a rate that would make a Prius blush. Then there are the doors -- there are four of them, two of which are fiddly suicide numbers that open backwards. The stereo head unit has a circular design theme, which is chintzy, and when you lift off the gas in first going through a parking lot, the engine makes a horrific sloshing noise -- no, it's not broken, that's how the engine is supposed to work.
But all those little niggles mean nothing. That engine is magic: it spins to 9000 rpm as effortlessly as a piston motor reaches 4000 rpm, and it pulls with a heft that masks its lopsided power/torque figure (it makes 230 hp but only 170 lb-ft of torque). Conversely, it's good everywhere: back roads, the highway, traffic, parking garages -- everywhere. The transmission is exquisite, with a hefty but ultra-precise clutch and the best shifter I've used, ever. The suicide doors make the car a true 2+2, and the stereo is very good, as are the seats.
Then there's the handling -- it's hilarious. I drove the RX-8 shortly after driving an Evo and, for once, I felt like the car's prodigious amount of grip and controllability weren't thanks to a mass of processors and sensors. Skidpad-ing around a traffic circle in second gear was a relatively drama free experience, save for the guffawing lunatic behind the well-weighted, pinpoint-accurate steering wheel.
The RX-8 isn't long for this world, with reason: unlike its older brother, the MX-5, it's probably not very livable -- the RENESIS engine drinks oil and isn't easy to fix, and the gas mileage isn't very good. The RX-8 doesn't command supercar levels of compromise -- it's surprisingly comfortable and not all that expensive -- but it requires more compromise than some competitors. The fact that the RX-8 is leaving is too bad: for those drivers willing to accept the facts of life with an RX-8, the amount of driving joy they'll receive in return is...immense.
Ben Timmins, Associate Web Editor
I've never been more infuriated by or more in love with a car in my life. I've been the not-so-proud owner of a Mazda RX-8 for more than four years, and I can attest to this car's ability to seduce you one day and crush your spirit the next.
It has absolutely no torque, low horsepower, and hit-or-miss styling, inside and out. Stop-and-go highway traffic is a nightmare, as it is very difficult to get the rev-happy Wankel and its six-speed tranny to calm down and go into second gear at low speeds without bogging down and dying.
But once the RX-8 has room to run, it does just that. The engine is smooth, responsive, and peppy with a wide-open throttle, a lovely buzz fills the cabin with exotic noise, and the trans is as quick as it is crisp. But the best part about the Rotary Xperimental is its chassis. After spirited street driving and track day flogging, I have no problem saying that the suspension and body feel of the RX-8 is superior to that of its kin, the MX-5 Miata. It's that good.
Deciding to be the owner of an RX-8 is like deciding to be the owner of a very energetic dog with separation anxiety. You need to give it a lot attention, you need to know what you're getting into, and you need to know that, sometimes, it will piss you off. But on the days you need a smile, you can find solace in the fact it will be waiting for you at home.
Christopher Nelson, Road Test Editor
Mazda has announced that it won't sell the RX-8 for the 2012 model year, so this could be our last chance to drive the only rotary-engine-powered car in the United States. This particular RX-8 is the R3 model, which means it has a more aggressively tuned suspension, nineteen-inch wheels, Recaro sport seats, a body kit, and HID headlights.
Like the Miata, the RX-8 proves that a sports car doesn't need to have astronomical amounts of horsepower to be fun to drive. And the RX-8 really is fun to drive. It's quite entertaining to run the rotary engine up into the high reaches of its rev range (it doesn't hit peak power until 8500 rpm) as you drive a curvy road or even as you're entering the freeway on-ramp. The manual transmission on this car is a must, and it's a good one, with short throws and positive clutch engagement.
I'll be sad to see this car go, but the downsides of the rotary engine - poor fuel economy, thirst for oil - mean we're not likely to see one here again in the near future. That's too bad.
Amy Skogstrom, Managing Editor
I was a guest of Mazda at the Monterey Historic Automobile Races in August at the Mazda Raceway at Laguna Seca, and I was provided an RX-8 identical to this tester for my California weekend, so my comments reflect my RX-8 driving in California. From the moment I got behind the wheel in downtown San Francisco, the RX-8 felt like an old friend, and I was dismayed to think about the fact that this would probably be one of the last times I would ever drive one. On the freeway, the RX-8 is relaxed and refined enough to not get tedious, but it really comes into its own on a challenging road. We left Interstate 280 and hopped onto Skyline Boulevard, California Highway 35, which runs along the top of the mountain ridge and connects to CA 9 down to Ben Lomond and into Santa Cruz. This is classic California driving, all dips and bends through soaring pines, the sun probing the dark woods and illuminating patches of asphalt, and it was an absolute joy to be piloting the RX-8 through it. Brilliant body control, fabulous steering feel and accuracy, and an engine that just wanted to be revved and a symbiotic gearshifter and clutch relationship. It was one of my best driving days of 2011.
Joe DeMatio, Deputy Editor
Given the right circumstances, like Joe's drive in California, the RX-8 has the ability to enthrall its driver with its perfect steering, excellent clutch feel, a rewarding short-throw shifter, and superb chassis dynamics. Then again, it also can be frustrating, finicky, and annoying in equal measure. My feelings about the RX-8 have run the gamut between love and indifference but, after driving this R3 version -- in essence the model's swan song -- I know that years from now thoughts of the quirky little RX-8 will bring a smile to my face.
Jennifer Misaros, Managing Editor, Digital Platforms
The various LM20 badges and tri-tone striping may have been unique to our test car, but it's not as if the RX-8 needed any help being special. It's always been the odd-man out in the sports car world. Four seats and doors in lieu of two; two rotors instead of pistons; a engine that revs as if there's no tomorrow; et cetera.
But perhaps the most endearing quality of the RX-8 is its physical demeanor on the road. Simply put, there isn't another offering -- especially at this price point -- that holds a candle to the RX-8. This car offers surgically-precise steering, virtually no body roll, incredible grip, and considerable feedback to the driver. Better yet, it somehow manages to never batter or bruise the passengers seated within. This delectable package proved endlessly entertaining over a weekend, as a wedding routed me through the curvaceous roads of northwestern Ohio -- and unlike my last stint with an RX-8, I wasn't urgently prompted to inspect the dipstick 20 miles into my journey.
Would I buy an RX-8? Perhaps. Would I buy an R3? I'm not so sure. To be honest, the base RX-8 I drove earlier this year left me just as thrilled each time I exited the cockpit, yet cost a whole $5500 less. Unless you plan on regularly entering your RX-8 in gymkhanas or track days, a Sport or Grand Touring model would prove just as entertaining.
While some bemoan the RX-8's death as the loss of an unusual engine, I instead mourn the loss of a semi-affordable, tractable, and surprisingly usable sports car from our market. Here's hoping Mazda finds a way to revive it in the years to come.
Evan McCausland, Associate Web Editor
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Posts by 5mark
I completely agree with this reasoning. I would also add that 1080p lets you comfortably sit much closer than 1.5x SW (in fact most think it's necessary to take full advantage of the resolution/detail). That makes 1080p and CIH an ideal combination.
It would be tougher to appreciate Rob's excellent dry humor (oops...probably shouldn't encourage him!)
LOL!! (But of course I AM on the pre-order list...)
Anyone who already has a projector and is thinking of getting a 2.35:1 screen and using the zoom method should try this experiment: First calculate the height of the screen you are considering and then project a 2.35:1 image on your current screen (or a wall) at that height. I'd recommend aligning the bottom edge of the image with the bottom of the screen so at least one black bar disappears. Obviously it won't fit correctly, but it will show you exactly what the...
I completely agree with Thunder as far as the most important reason to do CIH (if the room will allow it). I'm not afraid to admit that I'll be using the "uncool" zoom method with the RS1. I'm actually limited to using around minimum throw in a small room, so I don't really have a choice. However, I'm anticipating fantastic results, as my Panny 900 already looks very good on my 8ft wide 2.35:1 screen.
Using the zoom method definitely requires having light absorbing material on the screen wall (and frame). I personally have Duvetyne on mine. Using my current Panny 900, on the VERY darkest scenes(think The Descent), I can detect a slight brightening on the wall due to the black bars. Otherwise it looks perfect. I'm almost positive that the blacker blacks of the RS1 will completely eliminate this minor problem. The zoom method does demand some sacrifices. It's highly...
I agree that 1080p should make using a lens less necessary from almost all reasonable seating distances (as long as brightness is adequate on the given screen size). At the very least it should be even more important to use a quality lens and set it up correctly. It seems to me that since 1080p projectors inherently have very high quality lenses to fully resolve all the resolution, it's even more likely that adding a low to mid-level lens would do more harm than good.
It's simply like watching a 16:9 screen that is the same height as, and centered on your 2.35:1 screen. Should be easy to calculate. I find that the side bars distract very little as they are more in the peripheral and almost "feel" like curtains (which I might add someday).
Here's a real-world example that convinced me to go CIH. When I decided to upgrade to 1080p I started experimenting and realized that 2.35 movies would likely look amazing at around 1.0 SW. From experience, however, I knew that 1.0 SW was WAY too big for most 16:9 material (too much height). I now have a 2.35:1 screen viewed from about 1 SW which effectively gives me a 16:9 screen viewed from just under 1.4 SW. It feels like the best of both worlds and so far the "black...
I'm right there with you. My excitement over the recent shootout isn't diminished at all.
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Now I'm obsessed. I know there was an Avon fragrance that I liked when I was a kid in the '70's that is not in the basenotes listing. I think I had a cologne and a talc of it at some point and I seem to remember red in the packaging. I know this isn't much to go on, but does this ring any bells with anyone? | dclm-gs1-001400000 |
Close-up of a yellow-bellied glider at night
Yellow-bellied glider
Yellow-bellied gliders are marsupials found only in eastern Australia. They are able to glide from tree to tree over distances of more than 100 metres at a time. Yellow-bellied gliders depend on eucalyptus trees for food and bite into the trunks to extract the sap. Being nocturnal, they sleep in leaf-lined dens in hollow trees during the day.
Scientific name: Petaurus australis
Rank: Species
Common names:
Fluffy glider
Watch video clips from past programmes (1 clip)
Map showing the distribution of the Yellow-bellied glider taxa
Species range provided by WWF's Wildfinder.
The Yellow-bellied glider can be found in a number of locations including: Australia. Find out more about these places and what else lives there.
The following habitats are found across the Yellow-bellied glider distribution range. Find out more about these environments, what it takes to live there and what else inhabits them.
Additional data source: Animal Diversity Web
Conservation Status
Least Concern
1. EX - Extinct
2. EW
3. CR - Threatened
4. EN - Threatened
5. VU - Threatened
6. NT
7. LC - Least concern
Population trend: Decreasing
Year assessed: 2008
Classified by: IUCN 3.1
1. Life
2. Animals
3. Vertebrates
4. Mammals
5. Kangaroos, possums and wallabies
6. Petauridae
7. Petaurus
8. Yellow-bellied glider
| dclm-gs1-001410000 |
Philpotts guilty of six children's deaths in house fire
Mick and Mariead Philpott, parents of six children who died after a house fire in Derby, have been convicted of their manslaughter, along with their friend.
Mick Philpott and friend Paul Mosley were found guilty by unanimous verdicts, while Mairead Philpott was found guilty by majority verdicts.
Five of the children died on the morning of the fire in Victory Road, and the sixth died three days later in hospital.
Jeremy Cooke reports.
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Train arrives late to stations
July 31, 2013
Twenty years ago today, MetroLink trains began rolling in the area. We've seen the system grow out to Scott Air Force Base, to the Galleria and Shrewsbury. We've seen it grow in popularity, blasting past the 3 million rider prediction by 2000 to 14 million that year and now 17 million riders a year. We've seen an elaborate bike trail grow next to it.
But for all the fares paid, all the tax dollars raised and spent, what we haven't seen is enough of a pay-off.
We see crime, from the foul-mouthed drunk to a woman being raped after she left the train. We see trains that are slow -- nearly double the time from Belleville to the airport that it takes to drive. We see inconveniences that include 20-minute intervals on the weekend and off-peak times, train routes that don't go to enough of the places we want to go, plus the oddities of needing an extra quarter for fare and punching the ticket you just bought.
Most disappointing is that we don't see enough of the development that was touted and promised along the light rail line.
Emerson Park is the exception, and a solid example of the light rail's promise in what was a blighted crack- and hooker-infested area of East St. Louis. Those problems are still nearby, but families with well-kept yards and children on bikes are now the sights that greet people to the area.
But what about Fairview Heights? What about the Memorial and Scheel Street stations in Belleville? If East St. Louis can parlay their station into an urban renewal story, then what about these well-heeled communities with tax increment financing and other development tools at their disposal?
So there's the challenge: Taxpayers invested heavily in this system for 20 years. Another 20 should not pass before some savvy leaders and developers parlay the system, plus $4-a-gallon gas, plus a desire for greener, more connected lifestyles into successful communities built around MetroLink.
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1 Oh my god, I left the water running at the house. If my dad wasn't dead, he would kill me! Taylor McCoy 06/17/2013
1 Only a few left know the mandalorians wore tarten to battle.. N/A
1 Damn..the jedi...damn them and their stupid super glue tricks!! N/A
1 I'll hide here... N/A
1 Can you hear me now? GOOD. N/A
1 Oh great, now my head is superglued to the helmet. N/A
1 Shakes and Turns over....OUTLOOK NOT SO GOOD. N/A
1 Wow... I never realised how interesting the ground was... I'll just lean on Dad... Wait... Where's Dad's body? Isn't it supposed to be in attatched to the head in there?? ultra-violet-catastrophy N/A
1 ow... ow... ow... ow... ow... ultra-violet-catastrophy N/A
1 How DOES he see in this thing? N/A
1 Boba was not amused when he found someone had put glue on his dad's helmet. Edward N/A
1 And on a clear day the reception would come in great..... Infamous N/A
1 Damn bird I missed again. N/A
1 I can see my face in this! N/A
1 I had a feeling this was going to happen. N/A
1 That animal back sure does stink. Hmmm... Also i wander if I need a haircut? Myles N/A
1 Ok...Batter's up, bases are loaded...Damn I hate Helmetball. Brakiss N/A
1 Hmmm...I can save a lot of money on speeder insurance if I switch to Geico... N/A
1 Dad? Is your head in there? N/A
1 so sad..... N/A
1 Alex N/A
1 Wow, i can see right inside! N/A
1 Dad, that reek's butt has been looking me with an smelly face. N/A
1 Hey Dad, guess what? I found your body! N/A
1 What did you say?? Jango Fett N/A
1 Am I putting it on right, Daddy Jango? Jackson N/A
1 Boba!!!Never mind.It fell out. N/A
1 Boba!!!No. Wait. Why isn't there any blood?!?!?!?! N/A
1 That's the last time I superglue a Mandalorian helmet to my forehead. Dash N/A
1 They say two heads are better then one. N/A
1 WOW! That Mace Windu guy sure is freindly. N/A
1 Man, that Skywalker guy better give Mace Windu a whooping for this... Maxwell N/A
1 Artoo you've shrunk! Devstar N/A
1 Dang you Boba, stop playing by that Sarlacc, I swear youll fall in someday! Taylor N/A
1 Boba, I wish you wouldn't pick my decapitated head up and cry. Taylor N/A
1 Must...clean...helmet... N/A
1 Dang I got a headach. N/A
1 Saddest. Moment. Ever. :( N/A
1 PULL! James N/A
1 Aaaaaah, nothing makes a headache feel better then a cold helment against your forehead. Cecilia N/A
1 It can be assumed that the power derived from his wicked fart came from that helmet... N/A
1 Got Dad? MiloCold N/A
1 Maybe if I shake hard enough, the head will fall out... N/A
1 Wow! Dad was right, this is really heavy. Dash N/A
1 Now where is the rest of that armour? Wedge N/A
1 ...This is supposed to be funny? lk666 N/A
1 Hmmm... I think I'll be a bounty hunter. Dash N/A
1 *Plop!* Head falls out. N/A
1 Now I've done it! Dented Dad's helmet!! Jorgen N/A
1 How do I put this thing on??? N/A
| dclm-gs1-001450000 |
05:47AM | 02/22/01
Member Since: 02/21/01
6 lifetime posts
OK you guys .. I've been reading you for a while now and you all seem pretty sharp. Let's see what you think of this one:
I have a 40-yr-old brick house with a brick fireplace in the kitchen. When we bought the house, rain would drip into the fireplace. We re-roofed (needed to be done anyway), and the drip continued. New chimney cap (also needed anyway), still drips. I've climbed around in the attic during downpours and there isn't one drop of water around the fireplace, but my casserole dish in the fireplace fills up every time!
What should I try? This one has me scratching my head alot. I haven't tried spending a weekend spraying areas of the chimney with a hose to track the leak. But I see many of you talking about porous mortar. How common is that?
Thanks for your help in advance.
-- Sarah/knit
07:55AM | 02/22/01
Member Since: 03/13/00
1678 lifetime posts
Testing with a water hose is good. Some thoughts:
Is this a 2 (or more) story house? Can you look up close at all the exposed parts of the chimney to verify there are no cracks in it? Are there any water marks anywhere else in the house, like a ceiling? Once it starts raining, how long does it take to start dripping in the chimney - is it immediate? And how long does it continue to drip after the rain stops? Does wind or wind direction have any effect? Is the rain water that comes in discolored? If so, with what? Finally, how far can you see up the chimney by sticking your head in and using a flashlight?
[This message has been edited by rpxlpx (edited February 22, 2001).]
02:49AM | 02/23/01
Member Since: 02/21/01
6 lifetime posts
Wow .. I have some research to do! I'll get up there and look around this weekend. It's been raining this week, so the hose and ladder have had to wait.
I can answer some of those questions:
The house is a one-story ranch, but the chimney extends to the basement where there is a second fireplace. I haven't found any water in the basement fireplace. The house has settled, and there is a prominent crack but that's on the inside of the house (at ground level, below the leak). I'll look for more this weekend.
The only water marks I've seen are from water that I don't catch in the fireplace running onto the floor, and subsequently into the basement. That hasn't happened very often. The ceilings are all dry.
The leak will start within a few minutes of a storm. The intensity of rain and wind seem to affect the volume of water. I haven't been able to determine what the preferred wind direction is. The leak will stop within a few minutes of rain ending.
The water that comes in is like dirty lake water ... translucent, but brown. It also has soot-like sediment. I have stuck my head into the flue, and the previous owners packed some kind of black foam/goo into the flue to, I assume, stop the leak. The water is coming in around the goo.
What is the significance of the water color? That's an interesting question!
Thanks again ..
03:20AM | 02/23/01
Member Since: 03/13/00
1678 lifetime posts
I was thinking that if the water has something in it, besides soot, that might give a clue to where it's been.
The fact that it starts dripping soon after rain begins, and stops quickly, suggests that it is getting directly into the chimney, and not taking an indirect path or building up a "puddle" before it overflows into another area. My suspicion is a crack somewhere on the outside.
05:34AM | 03/19/01
Member Since: 02/21/01
6 lifetime posts
For the curious:
I finally got a chance to climb up on the roof with a hose and my spouse in the kitchen waiting for the leak. For 30 minutes I doused 2' X 2' sections of the chimney to no avail. Then I hit one part and my husband comes running outside "Stop!! Stop!! Water's pouring in!!"
Sure enough, after some more testing, it's this one 2' X 2', vertical, seemingly normal section of brick that's syphoning in all that water. We both stood on the roof with our noses to the brick trying to see where the water comes in (I'm sure the neighbors loved this) but there really are no visual clues. How bizarre!!
We've covered this part of the chimney and will consult some masonry folks about sealing the area. Any advice on a clear masonry sealer would be appreciated ... we also decided to get bids for a cricket after seeing how the water pooled on the flashing .. that has disaster written all over it!
We are very fortunate that this section of the chimney is not viewable from any point in the yard. The gods were smiling!!
Thanks for your help rplsjaksxz!!
[This message has been edited by knit1purl2 (edited March 19, 2001).]
04:51AM | 10/24/13
I'm broke, and have to fix things myself. I rented a house and the fireplace is dry, but when it rains, the water will trickle in between the blocks (of the back wall of fire place). One can see the slow water come inside, but it doesn't appear to be coming from the roof; or through top of the chimney. The home is older, but has a large beautiful top on the roof for the chimney. Guessing, it is about 3-4 feet in width, height, and about 18 inches in width? It appears to have a concrete top upon it, and openings on the sides. So; difficult to buy modern caps. When probably unnecessary. However, the openings on the side was large enough for a huge raccoon to get inside, and scare me half to death. Presently old and handicapped, and can't get on the roof. Thought of hiring someone to place chicken wire around the openings, to prevent animals from coming inside? Don't want it to appear tacky. But, glad the damper was closed and the huge raccoon got scared and climbed out. Water appears to seep inside between blocks on the backside of fireplace in living room when it rains heavy; didn't know if it needed caulked? It presently uses an artificial gas logs, which I have never used. Used to enjoy a lot of repairing, now an old lady and can't do squat. Can you help me out? Thanks, and God bless!
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Thomas Bulfinch
and, having governed the isle twenty-four years, died, leaving three sons, Locrine, Albanact and Camber. Locrine had the middle part, Camber the west, called Cambria from him, and Albanact Albania, now Scotland. Locrine was married to Guendolen, the daughter of Corineus, but having seen a fair maid named Estrildis, who had been brought captive from Germany, he became enamoured of her, and had by her a daughter, whose name was Sabra. This matter was kept secret while Corineus lived, but after his death Locrine divorced Guendolen, and made Estrildis his queen. Guendolen, all in rage, departed to Cornwall, where Madan, her son, lived, who had been brought up by Corineus, his grandfather. Gathering an army of her father’s friends and subjects, she gave battle to her husband’s forces and Locrine was slain. Guendolen caused her rival, Estrildis, with her daughter Sabra, to be thrown into the river, from which cause the river thenceforth bore the maiden’s name, which by length of time is now changed into Sabrina or Severn. Milton alludes to this in his address to the rivers,—
“Severn swift, guilty of maiden’s death";—
and in his “Comus” tells the story with a slight variation, thus:
“There is a gentle nymph not far from hence,
That with moist curb sways the smooth Severn stream;
Sabrina is her name, a virgin pure:
Whilom she was the daughter of Locrine,
That had the sceptre from his father, Brute,
She, guiltless damsel, flying the mad pursuit
Of her enraged step-dame, Guendolen,
Commended her fair innocence to the flood,
That stayed her night with his cross-flowing course
The water-nymphs that in the bottom played,
Held up their pearled wrists and took her in,
Bearing her straight to aged Nereus’ hall,
Who, piteous of her woes, reared her lank head,
And gave her to his daughters to imbathe
In nectared lavers strewed with asphodel,
And through the porch and inlet of each sense
Dropped in ambrosial oils till she revived,
And underwent a quick, immortal change,
Made goddess of the river,” etc.
If our readers ask when all this took place, we must answer, in the first place, that mythology is not careful of dates; and next, that, as Brutus was the great-grandson of Aeneas, it must have been not far from a century subsequent to the Trojan war, or about eleven hundred years before the invasion of the island by Julius Caesar. This long interval is filled with the names of princes whose chief occupation was in warring with one another. Some few, whose names remain connected with places, or embalmed in literature, we will mention.
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The brouhaha surrounding “Blue Is the Warmest Color”—the epic drama of a young woman’s coming of age that won the top prize at this year’s Cannes Film Festival—has to do with three lengthy and explicit sex scenes between the young heroine (Adèle Exarchopoulos) and her older art-student girlfriend Emma (Léa Seydoux).
Despite the scandale, Abdellatif Kechiche’s movie is more properly about our appetites—for love, connection, life fully and vibrantly lived—and how, at the end of the day, we still end up hungry. The early sequences swooningly convey the pleasures of new love, but the sex scenes are problematic, not because they’re “shocking” (which they’re not, really) or overlong (which they are) but because they’re an aestheticized male fantasy. Full story for subscribers.
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News your connection to The Boston Globe
The Most Authentic Restaurants
Indian, Greek, Mexican, Thai, Italian, and more
(Globe Staff Photo / Wendy Maeda)
With the city awash in ethnic eateries, we set out to discover who really cooks it up right - whose shepherd's pie tastes straight from an Irish farmhouse kitchen, whose shredded pork in garlic sauce captures the genuine flavors of Shanghai, whose salmon tagine mimics true Moroccan cooking, whose tomato sauce is spot-on Sardinian, whose brown bread and baked beans would make longtime New Englanders proud. Hit these 29 restaurants, and take a virtual trip around the world.
Italian, Northern and Southern
Purists argue there is no true northern or southern Italian cuisine, only regional cuisine. Still, some generalizations can be made: Fare from the north favors rich cream sauces; the south tends to tomato-based toppings. Mamma Maria in the North End eschews red sauce, so we're calling it our northern Italian pick. It excels in offering traditional dishes. The elegantly decorated dining rooms, including one with space for just one table, cover two floors of a brick row house. Standouts include a perfect plate of salumi (cured meats) topped with delicious bread salad, a traditionally Tuscan dish of rabbit and hand-cut pappardelle, and osso buco with Milanese-style saffron risotto. The chocolate torte with mint gelato is a transcendent finish. Don't shy away from the schlocky name; Mamma Maria is as close as you'll get to northern Italian cooking the way it's meant to be done.
A wonderful example of southern Italian cooking (really, southwestern, specifically Sardinian) can be found at Maurizio's, a North End restaurant with dining on two floors. You'll find ingredients native to Sardinia, like the pecorino Sardo, a sheep's milk cheese. Tilapia is served the Sardinian way, baked with Parmesan cheese on top. A pasta dish features a delicious combination of ground beef, lamb, and veal in a red-wine-and-tomato sauce with malloreddus - a small gnocchilike shell-shaped pasta made here with a saffron flavoring; the wonderful osso buco is served with lentils (saffron and lentils both are compliments of Sardinia's Arab invaders). The dolci list is short and honey-sweet, as it would be back on the sensible little island that inspired it.
Mamma Maria, 3 North Square, Boston, 617-523-0077,; Maurizio's, 364 Hanover Street, Boston, 617-367-1123
Indian, Northern and Southern
Indian cooking differs radically from region to region: Northern India is famous for its tandoori dishes, tomatoey curries, and flat-breads like nan and paratha; southern Indian food is mostly vegetarian, with creamy, often coconut-based sauces and condiments, and is usually served with some form of rice. Almost all of the Indian restaurants in the Boston area offer northern Indian food, with a few regional dishes thrown in. A great choice is Cafe of India in Harvard Square, where the tandoori chicken is succulent and done to a turn - no easy feat. Its saucy, mostly northern Indian curries are also quite good: the chicken tikka masala is tangy and complex, and the lamb dishes, like the rogan josh, are meltingly tender and flavorful.
In Billerica, Masalaa Boston offers vegetarian dishes from the entire subcontinent but has plenty of south Indian options. Everything we've tried at this unassuming eatery has been fabulous, and the banana leaf-lined plates are a charming touch. The south Indian fare includes silky vegetable chetti-nadu curry, masala dosas (crispy crepes made of rice and lentil flour, stuffed with chunks of spicy potatoes), and fried idly (steamed rice patties sauteed with onions and spices). Other clear winners are the palak paneer (verdant, smoky with cumin, and studded with chunks of farmers' cheese) and malai kofta curry (tender vegetable dumplings bathed in a rich cream-and-cashew sauce).
Cafe of India, 52A Brattle Street, Cambridge, 617-661-0683,; Masalaa Boston, 786 Boston Road/Route 3A, Billerica, 978-667-3443
New England
To qualify as offering the area's most authentic New England cuisine, a restaurant must use typical regional ingredients - cranberries, squash, maple syrup, corn - prepared in ways instantly recognizable as ours. The Fireplace, with owner and Brooklyn native Jim Solomon tending the hearth, is such a place. True, it's not a bastion of history like those other restaurants whose names are part of the city's culinary lore, but its menu is rife with New England classics. Here you can find squash bisque with leeks, grilled-chicken-and-corn chowder, roast turkey with mushroom bread pudding, maple-glazed pork ribs, and apple-cranberry crisp. Add a wood-burning fireplace in the dining room, with fire-roasted meats to boot, and that's good enough for us.
The Fireplace, 1634 Beacon Street, Brookline, 617-975-1900,
Tu y Yo outside Somerville's Davis Square is where transplants from Mexico come to get their fix. This colorful family-style restaurant, called a fonda in Mexico, is where you'll find such delicacies as cuitlacoche, the addictively earthy corn fungus sometimes described as a Mexican truffle. It's where you'll find a deep, rich, complex mole verde, proving that in true Mexican cooking, mole doesn't necessarily include chocolate. This is not where you'll find a burrito, a strictly-for-the-gringos invention. The entrees fall under the heading "Mom's Cuisine," and next to each dish is the name of the recipe author and year. The presence of cuitlacoche depends on the owners' sources in Mexico, so it's not always available, but when it is, a must-try is the pollo Yunkaax (the Aztec god of maize), chicken stuffed with the corn fungus and covered in spinach sauce.
Tu y Yo, 858 Broadway, Somerville, 617-623-5411,
As soon as you enter Tangierino, you feel transported. Gauzy curtains divide the restaurant into sections, with seating available on couches and chairs, lighting provided by candles and decidedly dim (which makes menu reading a challenge), and Moroccan music playing in the background (and sometimes the foreground). Complimentary homemade Moroccan bread - chewy and soft-crusted, seasoned with fennel seeds - whets your appetite, along with light, lemony hummus and an olive puree. Authentic appetizers include harira, a chickpea-and-lentil soup tangy with lemon, tomatoes, parsley, and cilantro; it's served with a carved wooden spoon "like my grandmother had," claims a Moroccan native who once dined with us. A characteristic of Moroccan food is a combination of sweet with savory, as in the b'stila, flaky phyllo pastry filled with ground chicken and almonds, spiced with cinnamon, and sprinkled with powdered sugar. There is a wide choice of tagines, named for the domed clay pots in which they're cooked. A salmon tagine is redolent of cilantro, preserved lemon, and olives. For dessert, the authentic option is limited to a pastry tray of three: a fig turnover, a biscot-tilike cookie called fekkas, and a rose-water-scented baklava (the best of the bunch).
Tangierino, 83 Main Street, Charlestown, 617-242-6009,
Agni Charalambous Thurner, our Greek Cypriot friend, was skeptical the first time we took her to Ithaki Mediterranean Cuisine. Many Greek restaurants adapt their specialties for an American audience. But this Ipswich eatery, housed in a low white building and decorated with sunny Mediterranean colors and grand floral arrangements, doesn't veer when it comes to the classics. The dolmadakia, rolled grape leaves stuffed with savory ground beef and rice, are served with an intense avgo-lemono, the traditional egg-lemon sauce. "This is thickened just with eggs," says Thurner, "and it isn't heavy." The cinnamon-scented moussaka, layered eggplant slices and ground lamb (miraculously not oily), with a rich bechamel topping, is crusty in its terra-cotta dish. A dessert called galaktoboureko, an eggy custard in phyllo pastry that is all air and richness, is hard to find well-made anywhere. Alas, about a third of the menu is centered on other Mediterranean cultures. Authenticity reigns at Ithaki if you decide to eat like Homer.
Ithaki Mediterranean Cuisine, 25 Hammatt Street, Ipswich, 978-356-0099,
Boston has a particularly egregious dearth of authentic Spanish restaurants, though that may soon change, as the new BarLola recently started serving tapas in the Back Bay and Ken Oringer's take on the cuisine, Toro, is set to open this fall in the South End. For now, Taberna de Haro in Brookline is as close as it gets. The airy little yellow-walled place radiates a Spanish spirit of conviviality and an infectiously energetic approach to food and wine that puts to shame what passes for tapas at other faux-Mediterranean restaurants. At Taberna de Haro, the menu draws a distinction between raciones, meant to serve three or four diners a bite or two each, and pinchos, traditionally a finger-sized portion for one but here a little bigger. The glory is in the flavors, from the fiery sauce draping the patatas bravas (potatoes), to the smoky-sweet chorizo braised in hard cider, to the tender pulpo a la gallega (octopus) with potatoes, olive oil, and pimenton. While the best-known Spanish restaurants in the area have barely changed their menus in years, Taberna de Haro introduces new items and specials regularly. That's perhaps the truest Spanish quality of all.
Taberna de Haro, 999 Beacon Street, Brookline, 617-277-8272
Sit at one of the well-worn tables (perhaps the one with an Emerald Isle expletive carved in it) at Matt Murphy's Pub in Brookline Village and just wait for one of the brisk waitresses to call you "luv." Have a midday meal of hearty oxtail soup or a plowman's lunch of spiced beef with pickles and brown soda bread. At dinner- time, consider one of these favorites: The shepherd's pie boasts tender lamb and a crisp potato crust, and the rabbit potpie is served with a crunchy rabbit leg and fruit chutney. It's food you would find in Irish farmhouse kitchens.
Matt Murphy's Pub, 14 Harvard Street, Brookline, 617-232-0188,
When we think of authentic food, we think of dishes made the same way for generations. But cuisine changes with the times. The monthly specials at Oga's Japanese Cuisine in Natick, one of the few sushi spots around that is actually Japanese-owned, showcase the ways that food is evolving in modern Japan. Sushi master Toru Oga creates miniature tableaus on the plate - one month it may be a checkerboard design of maguro (deep red tuna), yam, and seaweed dolloped with mullet roe. Kobe beef may show up as delicate and delectable carpaccio topped with pine nuts or as a hefty steak topped with amazingly fragrant Japanese mushrooms. Mushrooms might also pop up on skewers with scallops, shrimp, and zucchini, to be cooked by the diner on a hot stone. If only traditional sushi will do, Oga and his chefs do a stellar job of that, too, spinning out fantasies of sparkling fresh sashimi and elaborate maki rolls. Though the rest of the seating is comfortable, the best treat comes if you successfully angle for a spot along the bar to watch the chefs work. You could almost be in Toyko.
Oga's Japanese Cuisine, 915 Worcester Road, Natick, 508-653-4338,
If you're looking for something on the lighter side, keep right on walking past this Dorchester institution. But if it's stick-to-the-ribs braised or fried foods you crave, Chef Lee's II Soul Food is where it's at. The food is served with a generous hand and a warm smile, from smothered chicken livers to fried pork chops, from pig's feet to oxtails. The sides are what you'd expect for classic Southern fare - collards, black-eyed peas, beans and rice, candied yams, and more. Expect a long line at lunch, when the regulars patiently wait their turn at this cafeteria-style joint. (But while you're waiting, check out the impressive photo gallery of African-American luminaries like Nelson Mandela, Desmond Tutu, and Martin Luther King Jr.) Then grab a seat at one of the tables by the window, or get your grub to go. Either way, be prepared to have little room left for dessert but plenty of cash left in your wallet. It's good eats - and cheap.
Chef Lee's II Soul Food, 554 Columbia Road, Dorchester, 617-282-2243
Wonderfully authentic food can be found at Fasika Ethiopian Restaurant. Don't let the seen-better-days exterior deter you from entering. Inside, you can choose from two seating areas: The front of the restaurant offers standard tables and chairs, while the back features low-backed chairs and mesobs, woven wicker tables less than 2 feet in diameter. On the mesob, your server will place a platter of injera, a huge spongy pancake, atop of which sits the entrees your table has ordered. You'll also receive a side of more injera. Tear off a bit and use it to scoop up your dinner. Fasika makes its injera the authentic way with teff, a tiny grain in the millet family that is high in protein and has a slightly sourdough flavor. The pancake is a perfect foil to the spicy meat, bean, or vegetable stews, such as misir wet, red lentils seasoned with a chili mixture called berbere. An appetizer salad, timatim fitfit, is an Ethiopian version of a bread salad - torn bits of injera are tossed with tomato and lemon juice. If you're up for it, end your meal the traditional way: with coffee and kitfo, a spiced beef tartare.
Fasika Ethiopian Restaurant, 23 South Huntington Avenue, Jamaica Plain, 617-731-3833
Thailand-born Dan Tanabat - co-owner with three other Thais of Patou Thai in Belmont - spent years at a Texas country club (where he learned the customer was never wrong) while training in hospitality at a local college there, finished his schooling at Johnson & Wales University in Providence, and then opened this elegant restaurant. At first glance of the menu, you see all the curries you might find at any of a number of Thai places and, of course, pad Thai. But look closer. There is nothing ordinary here, and it's all wonderfully authentic. (The furthest Patou ventures from his country's classic cuisine is a pan-seared halibut in red curry sauce, made with typical ingredients but presented in a more stylish fashion than Tanabat sees at home.) Our favorites include a vinegary salad with shrimp topped with slender strands of crunchy green papaya that are addictively good. Garden rolls have such thin skins that you can see through them to the big flat leaves of Thai basil rolled up with rice vermicelli, chicken, and crunchy vegetables. The cooks in the kitchen make a wonderful creation for themselves - tiny pieces of halibut skin dropped into the deep-fat fryer until they curl and crunch - that Tanabat sends out to regular diners. This is a dish that fishermen's families ate, because after they sold the fish, the skin was all that remained. You can't get closer to authentic than that.
Patou Thai, 69 Leonard Street, Belmont, 617-489-6999
Kosher, Ashkenazic and Sephardic
In the world of kosher cuisine, two traditions have evolved: Ashkenazic, that is, European-style cooking, and Sephardic, the cuisine of Jews from primarily Middle Eastern and North African countries. For classic Ashkenazic food, head to Rubin's Kosher Restaurant Delicatessen in Brookline. The ambience is nothing special - with Formica tables and vinyl booths - but the menu is overwhelming. All the traditional items are offered, from chopped liver to chicken soup with kreplach (a dumpling filled with ground beef) to slow-cooked brisket. Best are the New York deli-style sandwiches (on rye or pumpernickel, of course) stuffed with lean corned beef, hot pastrami, tongue, or smoked turkey breast. And the nondairy "cheese" cake is surprisingly good.
Rami's, just a few blocks down the street from Rubin's, serves up terrific Sephardic Israeli kosher cuisine. The menu is small, but what the restaurant does it does very well: hummus, falafel, baba ganoush, and Israeli salad made with chopped tomatoes, cucumbers, and pickled cabbage. The house specialty is shawarma, meat - in this case, marinated turkey - layered onto a spit and slow cooked with spices; it's sliced to order and finished on the grill. There's also kebab, oblongs of ground beef seasoned with garlic and parsley. Enjoy with a can of mango juice for a true kosher Israeli experience. You order at the counter, and there are a handful of tables.
Rubin's Kosher Restaurant Delicatessen, 500 Harvard Street, Brookline, 617-731- 8787,; Rami's, 324 Harvard Street, Brookline, 617-738-3577
No local place re-creates a little slice of France better than Craigie Street Bistrot, in a residential area just outside of Harvard Square. Perhaps it's the warm, restful, efficient atmosphere. It could be the friendly staff, which really know its French cuisine. It certainly is the fine wines and the food - from the ethereal green garlic nage in a coquillage of mussels, crab, and Maine shrimp to the velvety braised pig tails over Puy lentils to the succulent veal sweet-breads with black truffle shavings. Chef-owner Tony Maws exhibits exacting French cooking techniques and dedication to his fresh ingredients. The menu changes daily and reflects the best of the market. Maws's perfectionism recalls the legendary and exacting 17th-century French chef Vatel - and you almost shudder to think what might happen should the fish delivery not arrive.
Craigie Street Bistrot, 5 Craigie Circle, Cambridge, 617-497-5511,
The Monzer family from Beirut opened Reef Cafe almost two years ago, offering the cooking of Lebanon prepared by mother Mariam. The small restaurant boasts a large television turned to an Arabic station. The food, says son Salam, "is very homemade." Mariam makes the laban, a thick yogurtlike cream, from scratch, along with the traditional white garlic sauce, a potent mixture whipped from lots of garlic and oil. Her chicken-and-potato stew, barely seasoned so you reach for the garlicky sauce, is served with rice, slender spears of pink turnip pickles, and chopped salad. One of the most unusual items on the menu is a grassy bowl of soup made with lentils simmered in water with potatoes, onions, and celery and flecked with chopped hearty greens. You can imagine centuries of women stirring this simple, flavorful pot.
In a strip mall across from Randolph High School, Tony and Tammy Do run the year-old Pho So 1 Boston. He makes the soups (the famous Vietnamese pho) while she serves the customers or makes dishes like the crisp salads topped with shrimp or poultry and grilled meats served on glassy vermicelli or steamed rice. The sour ground-pork spring rolls have a gutsy and piquant filling of vinegary salad with a sausagey pork nugget. Like the rolls, other dishes have touches not often found at Vietnamese eateries. Chicken noodle pho is aromatic with gingerbread spices and deep brown from beef stock. Besides the traditional bun, a mound of rice noodles topped with shredded lettuce, bean sprouts, and grilled meats, Pho So 1 Boston offers "rice on a plate," a dozen variations of grilled succulent meats - such as honey-coated chicken thighs - on rice with crisp vegetables. Tony Do's parents, Huong and Thu, own a restaurant by the same name in Dorchester; when the family moved to Randolph and saw the large Asian community there, they decided to open another one. The only variation from the cooking of their homeland are a few Chinese dishes, which Tammy says they make for some customers who don't want to try real Vietnamese food.
Pho So 1 Boston, 51 Memorial Parkway, Randolph, 781-961-6500
Bacalhau, or salt cod, is the definitive food of Portugal, so much of a staple that it's sometimes referred to as "o fiel amigo," the faithful friend. At O'Cantinho in Cambridge, bacalhau is on the menu, to be sure. It appears baked with caramelized onions, fried as little cakes, and stuffed into sandwiches. But it's just the beginning of the definitively Portuguese dishes served here. Fava beans are stewed to tenderness and laced with slices of the garlicky sausage linguica. Soft white cheese is drizzled with a tangy red vinaigrette and set beside slices of spicy ham. And almost all of the entrees showcase the country's abundant seafood, like stews of shellfish or pork loin with clams. But what really makes it feel as if you're in Portugal is the warm atmosphere. The saffron-colored room is cozily small and decorated with blue-and-white pottery, the owner's children hang out here during the day, and the waitress won't let you take your leftover arroz de mariscos (seafood-studded saffron rice) home unless you promise to refrigerate it promptly. One of O'Cantinho's sister restaurants, Atasca on Broad- way, recently closed; to fill the void, O'Cantinho has added a wider-ranging dinner menu and a short but sweet selection of beer and Portuguese wines. What a faithful friend.
O'Cantinho, 1128 Cambridge Street, Cambridge, 617-354-3443
You know you're in Turkish heaven when the cooks prepare eggplant in dozens of ways, each more inventive and delicious than the next. At Family Restaurant Brookline, the purple-skinned fruits can be ordered, for example, pureed and creamy (for spreading on the homemade bread), cooked with tomatoes to make a cold salad, or stuffed with ground meat for a striking entree - all dishes with roots firmly in the Ottoman Empire. This modest Brookline Village eatery for many years was a dinerlike restaurant where hearty breakfasts and ordinary American fare reigned (hence the name). When Turkish owners took over, they kept the name and the breakfast and lunch menus, but added their kebabs and other specialties. So you don't know where you've landed until you taste the eggplant and Turkish dishes. The famous adana kebab, delectable ground lamb pressed onto skewers, comes with a pool of yogurt sauce mixed with croutons. Warm cheese pitas are housemade, spread with feta cheese and shaped into ovals so they look like golden boats with creamy tops. A peasant dish of green beans, simmered with tomatoes and lamb until the beans have practically melted, could only be served at a place without any pretense. The kind waitresses struggle with English, but they're patient and happy to explain their cuisine. Many dishes are garnished with a single hot pepper and whole tomato, both lightly charred. Turkish food is a delightful mixture of aromatics, rich meats, crisp salads, long-cooked vegetables, mild heat, and intense flavors. Sip a cold Turkish beer and huddle over the aromas as they're sent from the kitchen, and you could mistake this place for Istanbul.
Family Restaurant Brookline, 305 Washington Street, Brookline, 617-277-4466
In a Korean restaurant, one authenticity test is the panchan, or little side dishes that come with the meal. New Jang Su, in a nondescript strip mall in Burlington, passes this test, and others, beautifully. On a recent visit, the waitress set out six panchan, including fish cakes, pickled radishes, and two fiery kimchis (one cucumber, one cabbage). And then the barbecue bonanza began. She unrolled a thin strip of meat connected to a short rib, snipped it off, and placed it on the table's built-in grill, where it sizzled next to shaved beef. One noteworthy dish is the chap jae, with glassy noodles just sticky enough and brimming with bright vegetables. The restaurant is divided in two, one side with the built-in barbecue grills at the tables, and one without. The barbecue side is always packed, and with precious few exceptions, always with Koreans.
New Jang Su, 260 Cambridge Street, Burlington, 781-272-3787
Chinese, Shanghai and Sichuan
Restaurant lore may dictate that only grungy holes in the wall offer "real" ethnic food. So it must follow that CK Shanghai - with crisp white tablecloths, a decent wine list, and a handsomely appointed room, and in Wellesley to boot - could never qualify. Wrong. C.K. Sau, who owned New Shanghai in Chinatown for more than a decade, moved to the suburbs, and with him came the most delicate and delicious dishes possible from his native region in China. Cold appetizers like crisp, sweet, tangy cucumbers or vegetarian goose - tofu crisped to resemble the skin of the bird and then stuffed with a filling of crunchy bamboo shoots and mushrooms - tease the palate. Sea scallops in a startlingly addictive black pepper sauce, lobster in a winy sauce with tomatoes, shredded pork in a sweet-hot garlic sauce, a whole fish studded with pine nuts in a brightly flavored sweet-and-sour sauce - the dishes go on and on like a gourmet's hit parade.
Interested in Chinese fare from the Sichuan Province? Head to Medford. Zheng Hu, the proprietor of Chilli Garden, insists on importing her peppercorns from Sichuan, where she grew up. Not only that, they must be last year's crop. The chili powder is imported, too, and ground by hand. Spices such as star anise, cloves, cassia bark, and dried sand ginger are all shipped from China, and all are part of what makes her restaurant the most authentic Sichuan experience to be had in these parts. Bacon is smoked in the kitchen of the little restaurant, in a slice of shops off of Medford Center. The payoff is in eating Chilli Garden's food. Cold noodles look pale and modest until the fiery red chili sauce is twirled into them; then they take on a yin-yang quality, hot-bright against the tongue, cushioned by the gentle texture of the noodles. Whole fish in spicy sauce tingles at the back of the mouth as the fish melts on your palate. Wild boletus mushrooms with bits of green pepper are earthy, a taste of autumn. And for those who seek the exotic - at least to Western tastes - there are many dishes like pork tripe with garlic and cucumber, beef tongue with napa cabbage and chili powder, and duck feet with spicy soy sauce. Although the menu includes many Mandarin dishes, Hu and her staff try to steer the diner toward the Sichuan specialties. After all, what good is Chilli Garden's obsession with authenticity unless others can taste the results?
CK Shanghai, 15-17 Washington Street, Wellesley, 781-237-7500; Chilli Garden, 41 Riverside Avenue, Medford, 781-396-8488
Churrascarias, the buffet-style restaurants where skewers of meat are brought to you tableside, are all the rage in local Brazilian dining, but for an equally authentic (and cheaper) experience, check out Padaria Brasil Bakery. This no-frills store, with locations in Allston, Milford, and Framingham, lets you sample traditional fare that you won't find in most Brazilian restaurants. For a filling breakfast, a hearty slab of dense yucca-coconut bread hits the spot, but skip the coffee and wash it down with tangy caldo de cana (sugar-cane juice). Flaky chicken potpies and cheese rolls are tasty afternoon snacks, and you can take home a loaf of fresh bread for your dinner table. The selection can be overwhelming, but luckily the staff is happy to make recommendations.
Padaria Brasil Bakery, 125 Harvard Avenue, Allston, 617-202-6783; 173 Main Street, Milford, 508-422-9840; 165 Concord Street, Framingham, 508-872-8698; 63 Hollis Street, Framingham, 508-872-2677
In a Class by Themselves
A few gems stand alone - literally. Either they are the only game in town, or what little competition they have doesn't come close. Competition may make you stronger, but these four don't need to be pushed. They are superb all by themselves.
The Helmand has a unique edge on the few other restaurants serving Afghan fare: The owner is the older brother of Afghanistan's president, Hamid Karzai. But long before Karzai became president, the cozy spot in East Cambridge was renowned for its succulent kebabs, fragrant rices, and bread made in a wood-burning stove. Try the aushak, ravioli filled with leeks, on a sauce of yogurt, mint and garlic, and topped with ground beef.
The Helmand, 143 First Street, Cambridge, 617-492-4646
Born in Cambodia, Longteine de Monteiro, along with her family, brought her country's wide variety of culinary flavors to the area in 1991, and The Elephant Walk has been a local favorite ever since, spawning two more locations. Perennial favorites include s'gnao mouan, a wonderfully tangy chicken soup with lemongrass, lime juice, and Asian basil, and the deeply flavorful Alaskan black cod in a soy-garlic marinade, drizzled with ginger- coconut sauce.
The Elephant Walk, 900 Beacon Street, Boston, 617-247-1500; 2067 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, 617-492-6900; 663 Main Street, Waltham, 781-899-2244;
Chez Henri is making some of the best French- Cuban food around, using ingredients such as plantains, yucca, chayote, and mango. The food, while an inspired take on island cuisine, can't really be called authentic, but the Cuban sandwich on the bar menu is the tastiest this side of Miami. It's filled with rum-and-molasses marinated pork, ham, Gruyere cheese, and pickles and served with plantain chips.
Chez Henri, 1 Shepard Street, Cambridge, 617-354-8980,
At La Casa De Pedro, chef-owner Pedro Alarcon serves the food of his native Venezuela in a cheerful dining room decorated with paintings of tropical birds and flowers. He gives his late mother, Leda Rios, a lot of credit for his food, from the sopa de Mama (Mom's chicken soup) to Leda's pargo, a succulent, lightly fried whole red snapper tossed with onions and balsamic vinegar. For a real Latin experience, sit in the secluded back courtyard and sip sangria.
La Casa De Pedro, 51 Main Street, Watertown, 617-923-8025,
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This Weekend Steve Martin Also Apologized For A Racist Tweet
This weekend, the world was out to get Justine Sacco fired for her ignorant tweet and failed to notice what Steve Martin was up to.
Martin was having some fun on his Twitter page, discussing the merits of grammar. Fans of his would ask him questions about wording and he'd fire back a funny comment until one particular comment struck people the wrong way. @BethanyWedel wrote: "Is this how you spell lasonia?" And Martin wrote back...
Moments later, unlike Sacco, Steve Martin had the wherewithal to delete the comment but it was too late. People started calling Martin out for his remark, which honestly I don't even understand. Is he making a joke about how an African American would say lasagna? Or is he commenting about how they wouldn't know how to spell it if it were written in a menu. I have no idea.
After many of his fans started calling him out, he wrote:
Many of you like to compare Justine Sacco to the scenario of "What if Chris Rock or Sarah Silverman said that!". Well here is a similar scenario presented to you from the same exact weekend starring Steve Martin, an extremely accomplished comedian. And yes, he too had to apologize. Unfortunately for Sacco, she's not a comedian for hire, and her bosses had the right to remove her for her grossly inappropriate comment.
In 2004 Gilbert Gottfried made comments about the Tsnumi victims while hired to be the recurring voice of the Aflac duck. He tweeted 12 jokes, one of which was "Japan called me. They said "maybe those jokes are a hit in the US, but over here, they're all sinking." He was then fired from his job. That's right. A comedian was fired...from his job.
But the question is was Steve Martin's tweet harsh enough in your eyes to warrant an apology or should he just quit spending so much time on Twitter and write a sequel to The Jerk already. (I love this movie)
- Todd Spence (twitter)
Um_ok User
Just to see, I asked my black friend to repeat Steve Martin's words and I play the part of the stupid person and everyone around us laughed. Then I switched it up and I said it to my black friend around a new group of people and suddenly I was told that was rude and insensitive. Sorry people but the day you all play stupid and start seeing that black neighborhoods tend to have lower IQ levels and the inhabitants have a lesser grasp of the english language then other areas. This isn't me being racist, its simple fact. Go ahead and "axe" somebody. Ebonics came about through laziness just like the Southern Drawl has existed...but we just called it dumb rednecks. Steve made a factual comment that italians would likely know how to spell a dish they have been served all their lives and black families might not. Don't like it? easy, every time you hear another black person speak with terrible english, correct them and tell them they perpetuate a bad stereotype and should learn to use proper english to set better examples for their community. Or, just live with the fact that so many black neighborhoods are just lower on the IQ scale and will never learn...just like so many other poor ethnicities have equally low IQs. Honestly, race makes no difference because we could be speaking about poor white, mexican, or any race for that matter and they all tend to se english as a second language with their primary being their own version of slang.Â
Trey-Evitt-16 User
I think we're overly sensitive. I am white-as my Saxon Sutton Hoo helmet avatar might be a clue-and from South Carolina. I have joked about pronunciation of certain words with black friends since....ever. "Ask/Axe" being the most common. Where I'm from, near the Geechee/Gullah regions, the "Str" consonant blend is pronounced "scr", so, "Straight" is pronounced "Scraight". I once said, "Depending on your neighborhood, 'indiscreet' is either an adjective or a preposition"and friends both black and white cracked up. And...get this. We were in jail. Yes it was low-security, classified among minor misdemeanor offenders from traffic violations to small amounts of marijuana, but if you've been locked up, you know jail is no place for a whiteboy to be perceived as "racist", even among non-violent offenders.
The real quandary is, "Is my intelligence being questioned, or are we joking around about colloquialisms and pronunciation".Â
"1bigfatcat" 's point is well-taken, that, on a serious level, anti-white hate/discrimination goes challenged for the most part; it is rare for an act of black-on-white violence to be classified as a "hate crime". And it awakens my "inner skinhead" that neither Nelson Mandela's memorial services, nor First Lady Obama's previous trip to South Africa, afforded a dialog about white victims the Boer Genocide.Â
Black comedians seem to get more leeway;Â
"Gynecologist" is correct Cris Rock would never feel the need to apologize for the same remark Steve Martin made.Â
Any idiot thinking Steve Martin is racist would have to read this tweet, Google his image and see him with "a banjo on his knee"Â His agnostic free-thought, his description of himself as "born a poor black child" in "The Jerk", and his beginnings as a Second-City/SNL comic in the subversive counterculture of the 60s and 70s should speak volumes. Racist atheists are few and far between.
joedoaks User
Oookay.... I'd only give that a 3. That's for both comedy and racism. You ever READ how horrifically some supposedly educated people can spell nowadays?
TacoLoco User
that was probably the funniest thing steve martin has said in 20 years, i guess only black people can make race based jokes in america
LMNT115 User
I don't get it....why is it a black comedian can stand on stage and tear into ' Whitey ' and everyone laughs...but a white comedian throws down something like what Steve Martin's unacceptable ?
Xzelick User
Todd Spence thinks that Japanese Tsunami happened in 2004, what an idiot. Â Gilbert Gottfried was fired after the Tohoku earthquake/tsunami in 2011!
Would have been funny if Chris Rock said it.
BigBlueMouse User
" he commenting about how they wouldn't know how to spell it if it were written in a menu. I have no idea."
That's not surprising, since you've used the word "reocurring", which doesn't even exist.
It's an obvious joke, dummy. Lasonia sounds like a black woman's name.
1bigfatcat User
I'm a white male and therefore it's legal to hate on me and discriminate against me.
Every day, people treat me with prejudice because I am a white male. Â
How about this:Â Instead of taking offence, take "tolerance!"
Comedy is comedy.....unless you don't like it, then it's "racist."
Either black, islamic, Japanese, american, etc., comedians ALL tell jokes on each other, or NO one tells jokes on each other.
Be fair, and tolerant!
Matt-Kim-806 User
it's not a double standard you just think the cases are the same because you're stupid
Needles_Malloy User
@1bigfatcat Since you admitted you are white, you are hereby immediately (at birth) guilty of white privilege. Every word you have ever spoken, is literally, the most racist statement uttered since a Hitler speech. The only way to assuage your much-deserved guilt is to vote for Obama, twice, and then tell all of your other white-guilted Obamadrone friends that you have begun step 1 of your 123,698 step journey to make amends to the blacks. | dclm-gs1-001500000 |
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Valueclick ValueClick, one of the sole remaining public ad network plays, is understandably desperate to cash in on the online ad buyout frenzy. So when a Wall Street analyst called one of the company's business unit sleazy and downgraded the stock on client defection concerns, the company had to act fast, lest the resulting stock-collapse spook potential buyers.
This seems the only plausible explanation for why ValueClick would suddenly move its results call up by nine days, to this morning. The company will no doubt report blowout earnings and lay waste to RBC analyst Jordan Rohan and the "advertiser defection" concerns he cited in last Friday's downgrade (details from MediaPost's Laurie Petersen). The stock will likely pop briefly on the news, as the market temporarily dismisses Rohan as an idiot, and then fall again when it remembers that last quarter's results are old news.
Valueclick and Rohan have been at each other's throats since April, when Rohan suggested the FTC would likely start investigating aggressive marketing tactics at the company's WebClients unit. Now, it seems, their pissing match has hit a new level.
UPDATE: Turns out there was another explanation: The quarter was awful Kudos to Mr. Rohan. More soon... | dclm-gs1-001520000 |
Markets & Finance
Are Vice Stocks Losing Their Allure?
Shares of alcohol, tobacco, gambling, and other vice vendors have gained during recessions. But the sinful strategy hasn't paid off lately
Companies that make money from sin and vice may be naughty, but that rarely prevents investors from trying to profit from them. Such stocks—especially alcohol, tobacco, and gambling companies—are often touted as great investments during economic downturns. Other vice stocks include weapon makers, defense contractors, and sex businesses.
Bad times may force people to cut back spending, the argument goes, but they will set aside cash for their vices and addictions. "Consumers do not kick their habits in tough times," Merrill Lynch (MER) strategist Brian Belski wrote in November. When Merrill Lynch examined the performance of alcohol, tobacco, and casino stocks in all recessions since 1970, it found that while the broader S&P 500-stock index fell 1.5% on average, those addictive stocks rose an average 11%.
In the current downturn, however, the naughty are still waiting for their reward. Though the recession—which started December 2007—is still underway, sinful stocks so far haven't matched their past performance. In 2008, the S&P 500 fell 39%; some vice stocks have barely kept pace while others have plunged deeply into the gutter.
Casinos Took A Dive
Tobacco makers are often cash-rich—an important attribute in tough times—and they cater to customers who can't shut off their nicotine cravings in a recession. Yet Altria Group (MO) dropped 35% in 2008, Lorillard (LO) lost 34% and Reynolds American (RAI) fell 39%. One stock that wasn't hit so hard is Philip Morris International (PM), which fell 11% since its spin-off from Altria in March.
The casino industry has seen the most damage. Take the stock performance of the five largest U.S. public casino and gaming operators in 2008: Wynn Resorts (WYNN) fell 62%, Las Vegas Sands plummeted 94%, MGM Mirage (MGM) is down 84%, International Game Technology (IGT) fell 74%, and Penn National Gaming (PENN) lost 64%. All bad bets.
In the sex industry, adult nightclub operator Rick's Cabaret (RICK) dropped 85% in 2008. Defense contractors generally did better than the market, though Boeing (BA) shares lost half their value last year.
Meanwhile, some alcohol stocks have managed to beat the market. Molson Coors (TAP) slipped 5.7% and SABMiller (SAB.L) fell 18% for the year. However, InBev (INTB.BR) has tumbled 33% just since the November merger of InBev and Anheuser-Busch, while Diageo (DEO), the British maker of Smirnoff vodka, Captain Morgan rum, and other spirits, moved down almost 34% in 2008.
"unprecedented" Consumer weakening
There are several theories as to why sinful stocks haven't held up. Many companies were hurt by high debt levels while investors worried about exposure by others to troubled emerging markets.
A key concern is the suspicion that consumers are cutting spending far more than in past slowdowns. "The recession itself is different in its nature," says Keith Hembre, chief economist at First American Funds. Consumers are permanently altering spending patterns amid job shrinkage and vast losses in the markets for stocks and residential real estate. "We've had an unprecedented weakening in the household balance sheet," he says.
In fact, consumers are even cutting back small purchases like lottery tickets, notes Morningstar (MORN) fund analyst David Kathman. "This recession is pretty different from the last couple that we've had," he says.
The fundamentals of Vice: Ignored?
The effect on casino revenues has been striking. In October, gaming revenue at Las Vegas Strip casinos dropped a record 26% from the year before, according to the Nevada Gaming Control Board. In addition to the weak economy, an aggravating factor was the high price of gas, which discouraged drives from California to Sin City.
The USA Mutuals Vice Fund (VICEX) is one of the few mutual funds that specialize in the more disreputable part of the stock market. It focuses on tobacco, beverages, gaming, and aerospace and defense. In the past year, the fund is down almost 42%, about three percentage points worse than the S&P 500 benchmark. Charles Norton, Vice Fund manager, admits gambling operators have not performed well. However, he argues that the stock market is missing the resilience of fundamentals at tobacco, beverage, and defense companies. "The fundamentals don't really matter in this current market," Norton laments.
Some investors might be worried that alcohol and tobacco makers will see a slowdown in a key growth area: emerging markets. But despite the global recession, newly affluent consumers continue to upgrade to premium cigarette or alcohol brands, Norton says. "Even though these are premium brands, they're still highly affordable compared to other consumer products," he says.
Is this recession more "moral?"
In the beverage industry, consumer tastes may shift a bit, but sales and balance sheets will remain strong, Norton says. Last month, UBS (UBS) analyst Kaumil Gajrawala named Molson Coors a top pick, noting that the company is benefiting from a shift away from more expensive wine and spirits. "In tough economic times, we expect consumers to shift alcoholic consumption to the 'tried and true,' or what we would refer to as premium or sub-premium American beers like Coors Light, Miller Lite and Bud Light," Gajrawala wrote.
It's wise to bear in mind that, on average, alcohol, tobacco, and gambling earnings have held up in recessions. During downturns since 1970, as the Merrill Lynch study recently found, earnings growth for the group was 25% greater than for the market as a whole.
Because of the shocks to the global economy in the last few months of 2008, investors are still waiting to learn their impact on end-of-the-year results. Looking ahead, few economists foresee much improvement until at least the middle of 2009, with Hembre predicting "a fairly meager pace" of growth in the second half of the year.
So it remains to be seen if alcohol, tobacco, and other vices continue to prosper as affordable luxuries for many people. Or if, desperate to cut costs, consumers decide to clean up their act.
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The Secret to Small Business Tech Support
Ever get that sinking feeling? That pit-of-the-stomach sensation when you know something's gone wrong. Business owners know what I'm talking about. We get it when that customer calls to complain about a job. Or when a supplier's key shipment doesn't arrive on time.
You're a business owner. You know this feeling. When is it the absolute worst? When it's a technology support issue. You come to work and your computer screen is not the way you left it the night before. When you arrive at your office this morning, you're not greeted by the typical desktop. Instead, the screen is frozen at "Windows is starting up." An update that automatically downloaded last night screwed something up. Your screen is black. And now so is your mood.
You watch the screen for a few minutes, waiting for something to happen, but you know nothing will. Finally you restart the computer. Twice. Same result. Now you have that sinking feeling. You see your morning slipping away: This computer isn't going to start. And neither is your day. Until you get some help. You will have to call technical support. But halt your hyperventilation—there's no need to worry at all. As a fellow business owner, I'm going to help you. Because I've learned how to handle technical support with a few rules for people like us.
Rule One: Don't Get Angry
You can get angry if you live in a city where it snows half the year and your team starts the season 0-4. You can get angry every time you hear that Jennifer Lopez is paid $12 million to be a judge on American Idol. But this time, getting angry won't help anyone. And it won't help you get your issue resolved any quicker. If you're running your own business, the last thing you want is for your employees to see you storming around your office, wildly swinging a golf club over your head like a tomahawk while you kick over your chair and repeatedly yell "Why, why, why!" It's enough that your family's seen this behavior. You must give employees the impression that everything is in control. That YOU are in control. You are a businessman. You are Don Draper. So do what he would do at 8 a.m.—have a bourbon and a smoke. Microsoft (MSFT) Windows never rattled Don Draper, right? So be calm.
Rule Two: Be Nice to the Technician
Of course it's annoying that you have to wait on hold. And we all realize how aggravating it can be when you have to punch in your "customer ID," ZIP code, mother's maiden name, favorite vacation spot, and social security number into the automated system three times, only to be asked for that same information again the minute a live person comes on the phone. It's not his fault. The technician is just doing his job. He's going to be nice. You need to be nice, too. You're a business owner. How would you like it if some customer was being a jerk to one of your employees? You're not going to get on his good side by being a jerk to him. At best, you'll earn the right to be put on hold five more times than necessary or be forced to sit and wait in silence for many extra minutes, wondering what he's actually doing as he's clicking away on his keyboard.
Rule Three: Be Patient
You know from running your own business that sometimes the answers can't be delivered immediately. Don't you wish your customers would also be a little more patient when they call with a problem? Of course you do. So take a deep breath. Don't worry about those long silences on the line when you think you've been disconnected. He's there. He's probably just mulling things over. Or talking about the issue with his colleagues. Whatever. Be patient. Answer the questions. Take this time to rearrange your schedule. This problem will ultimately get resolved. It's going to just take a little time, that's all. Don't even consider grabbing the golf club again and knocking that picture of your wife and kids at Disney (DIS) off your desk.
Rule Four: Cede Control
As a business owner, you are probably a control freak. Like me, you hate other people doing things you don't understand. That's why you don't work for anyone anymore. But to get your problem fixed, you're going to need to relinquish that control … at least for a few minutes. When the technician asks to remotely take over your system to do his troubleshooting, just let him. Don't worry about security. Try not to think of anything malicious he could be doing. Don't fret that he's going to search the websites you recently visited. Remember, he doesn't care about all that. He has others in your situation he needs to help, too. Let him take over your computer and run all those complicated scripts and programs that only the technical support guys know how to run. Don't ask what he's doing. In fact, don't even watch what he's doing. Look over some paperwork instead. Try to look busy. Walk around the office as if you're lost in your thoughts, conjuring up some brilliant plan to take your business to new heights. The tech guy will soon finish.
Rule Five: The Most Important Rule … Delegate
Haven't you learned anything over the past 20 years running your own business? You're the boss. So act like one! You know by now that you'll only screw things up by doing the service yourself, so you have someone else do it. You know by now that you'll lose that customer if you call him and scream about his overdue invoice, so you have someone else do it. And you should know by now that you'll never be the technical wizard that you once thought you could be when you bought your first Windows 3.1 computer—so you need to delegate this, too. The minute you see something is wrong, have another guy in your office, or your tech guy, deal with the problem. And instead, pick up the phone and call a customer. Check on an order. Walk around the warehouse. Order lunch for the staff. Just do something else more useful. And more appropriate for the owner of a company.
See? It was just a simple fix. Your computer is up and running. Life can return to normal—just in time for lunch.
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Oh bollocks. You walk into your local for a quiet pint or two to dull the pain of your recent break-up, and there she is: your ex, all tits and teeth in the corner with the new bloke. And they've spotted you.
This disagreeable scenario is interchangeable with having to review the new ad for Weetabix, a brand WCRS spent many happy years with, sharing life's ups and downs, before a gradual decline and a failed attempt to reignite the magic presaged the ignominious booting out.
So, there she sits in the Red Lion, Weetabix, with her new ad and what can you say? He seems OK; nothing special; goes on a bit; but pleasant enough. What rankles is that he's clearly wearing one of your old shirts: that endline, "fuel for big days", doesn't just look familiar, it was the strategic foundation for WCRS's pitch, penned by our planning goddess, Giselle. How did he come by that, you wonder? She must have hidden it in the laundry basket when you went round to clear out your stuff. Crafty cow.
Right, time to move on. Unfortunately, there's not a lot to sweeten the bitter cup. I'd be freakishly overgenerous if I described what ensues as motley.
No-one wants to belittle efforts to raise money for Cancer Research UK, but these stories of human suffering are diminished by attempts to "craft" them into the formulaic shape of a vox pop TV commercial. Too many of us know the truth of the final message that there is still work to be done. I'm just not sure this advertising shines any new light on to the issue.
Depending on your view, Elton John is either a tireless toiler for good causes or a tiresome tinker who will do anything to keep his face in public view. What is undeniable is that he is the foremost musical vampire in history, swiftly latching on to fresh talent as it emerges, from George Michael and Eminem to Lady Gaga and Plan B, among oh so many. His latest bit of piggybacking is persuading artistes to record quick films to be played at their gigs asking the crowd to send texts pledging £3 to the Elton John Aids Foundation. The dubious incentive is the chance of a "shout out" from the band during their performance. But, be warned, you will also receive a pre-recorded thank you from Reg himself, looking like a partially melted candle.
Sony Music is also chasing gig-goers. Upload your pictures of muddy feet and pissed-up mates and it will stick a load of them together to form a video for The Vaccines' song Wetsuit. I'm not sure how this benefits Sony. Or us, come to think of it. Nice song, though.
Honda has made some documentaries in association with Channel 4. They are beautiful and engaging. The question they beg is: where's the brand? The most recent film featuring a night fisherman contains barely an apologetic glimpse of a Honda logo.
If you pursue matters online, you can find out how to set up your fishing rod and cook Ben the fisherman's favourite fish supper, but Honda is keeping its head down. There's almost a sense that it would be uncool to assert any brand ownership of it all. Sure, you can click through to find some nice motorbikes somewhere, and send in your own Honda stories, but it's hardly harnessing the magic of the documentaries.
VO5 redresses the balance with some old-school hokum about treating every head of hair as unique. Strangely, it chooses to support this claim by shampooing identical dolls coming off a production line with identical nylon manes. No matter. Connoisseurs of the compulsory "science" bit will not be disappointed by the glowing, golden globules moment and the breathless jargon of "adaptive haircare". Phew! They really do make them like that ever more.
My good friend Barack Obama celebrated his 50th birthday a fortnight ago. And as the two of us cruised the bars of Washington DC, slamming tequilas and wearing traffic cones on our heads, I took the opportunity to run this batch of ads by him. After all, there are only so many times you can read Private View from the perspective of the columnist's mum, dog or personal trainer before you yearn for some genuine leadership on the serious issues that face our industry.
First up is VO5. Against my expectations, I quite like this idea. There's a strong product story that doesn't require a degree in chemistry to understand: a new formula that adapts to individual hair types. The creative idea then amplifies this thought using a rebellious doll who creates her own look on a factory assembly line. It's not rocket science but it's certainly better than the usual pseudo-science that plagues this category. Barack agrees, although he's sceptical about whether the product would cope with a hairstyle as unique as Donald Trump's.
Next is an idea for Sony Music and The Vaccines. The idea is to get fans to upload "Instagrams" of themselves, which will then be used to create the band's next video. Now, normally, I hate creative crowdsourcing: all too often, it's a lazy option that grossly overestimates consumers' desire to participate with brands. But, in this case, the fact that we're talking about genuine enthusiasts makes the strategy much more plausible. Barack quibbles that only 1,411 people seem to have tagged their photos so far, but given that he's been signing off his Tweets as "BO", you could argue that his digital judgment is a bit whiffy anyway.
Talking of whiffy stuff, it's on to Honda's mini-documentary: not because the idea stinks but because it's all about fish. The film tells the story of some anglers who go out to sea in the dead of night and rely on their Honda engine to get them home. It's actually quite nice, in a gentle way, but I miss the opinion and provocation that has characterised "the power of dreams" to date. Barack's equally nonplussed, saying that killing animals by moonlight is more Sarah Palin's thing.
On a more serious note, we now have a couple of charity campaigns, for Cancer Research UK and the Elton John Aids Foundation. They're both great causes but, then, so are all the 160,000 registered charities in the UK. Cancer Research makes a strong competitive pitch by weaving sadness and hope expertly together into a seamless narrative. In contrast, the EJAF work feels a bit assumptive: it doesn't make any attempt to address the misinformation and prejudice that still surrounds Aids and instead goes straight for the money. As a result, it feels rather shallow. Having said that, the idea of charging festival-goers for a "shout out" on stage is a novel call to action, for which credit is due. Not that Barack wants to talk about credit these days, so moving quickly on ...
Our final campaign involves Weetabix, which is now repositioning itself as "fuel for big days". OK, so this precise phrase might be a bit clunky (it feels more like a proposition than a consumer-facing line), but the sentiment is bang-on-brand and provides a springboard for some really engaging, populist work. The toddler steals the show in the TV commercial but I'm sure this idea will work brilliantly in other media too - not least on a tactical basis.
Of course, Barack has a big day every day and he kindly offers himself up as a frontman for the campaign (tough times and all that). But, personally, I feel this would be a disastrous mistake for Weetabix. After all, if you've genuinely got something that's worth saying, why invent some spurious connection with a celebrity to help you make your case?
Elton John Aids Foundation 'shout out' by Superglue Credits
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The Joys of Stock Ownership
I happen to own shares in Bank of America, so I’ve just received a proxy statement for the upcoming annual meeting. The Board of Directors recommends that I authorize them to vote my shares FOR an uncontested slate of candidates for the board. Usually I go along with such proxy requests.
But this time I thought: Why should these people get something like $250,000 a year to take orders from President Obama and Secretary Geithner? It’s become pretty clear that the Obama administration intends to use the bailout money to control private companies. He intends to tell companies what cars to make, how much to lend, how much to charge for credit cards, what to pay their executives, what kinds of bonuses are acceptable, and other crucial management decisions.
So I decided to write in “Barack Obama” for all 18 positions on the Board of Directors. However, neither the paper ballot nor the online ballot allowed for write-ins. I guess the official slate will win. But make no mistake. Obama’s the boss. | dclm-gs1-001580000 |
Reports | June 06, 2012 13:09
Another (lengthy) interview with Andrei Filatov
Andrei Filatov
Here's another lengthy interview with Andrei Filatov, the main sponsor of the Anand-Gelfand World Championship match. We received it from the organizers of the match. It is a translation from an interview which appeared in RBC Daily on May 14th. (See also our own video interview.)
“In my youth I was planning to become a chess arbiter”
Interview with co-owner of N-Trans Group Andrey Filatov
Last week saw the start of the world chess championship match hosted by Moscow for the first time in 27 years. The initiator of the match in the Russian capital is Andrey Filatov, co-owner of major private transport holding company N-Trans and number 74 in Forbes’ Russian rankings. In the interview below, ANDREY FILATOV tells RBC Daily special correspondent YEVGENIA GAVRILIUK about the role of chess in his life, the development of Russia’s transport infrastructure and his plans for the future.
Mr Filatov, how was the idea to hold a world chess title match in Moscow conceived?
It was a confluence of circumstances. My university classmate Boris Gelfand won the candidates’ tournament in Kazan. When I asked him where the championship match would take place and whether Moscow was among the bidders, he said, “No.” I said, “You must be kidding. We have the FIFA World Cup, the Sochi Olympics, why not the World Chess Championship?” That was how the idea was born.
Why did you insist that the match be held at the Tretyakov Gallery?
It may be a new tool for the economic development of both museums and chess. We are not yet fully aware of the magnitude of modern players, their popularity and the number of people watching, for example, when Anand plays. Through online broadcasts from the Tretyakov Gallery, users will not only analyse the games, but learn about our paintings, our artists and our art.
The world will get to know artists who have been underrated from cultural, ideological and economic standpoints. That is why a Cezanne costs $250 million and a Konchalovsky only $500,000. This is not right.
How would you assess the popularity of chess in Russia? Would it be fair to say that interest in chess in Russia has diminished?
Interest in chess has not diminished. But investment in chess definitely has. That it is growing year in and year out is also a fact.
What should be done to that end? What would you suggest?
We are doing it. We are hosting the World Championship. Chess fans will see what a great thing it is. The state will see how important and promising it is. Perhaps something will change in state support for chess.
I think the synergy between chess and art holds great promise. Nobody sees chess as a propaganda tool, and yet it is a very convenient instrument for that.
Interest in chess begins in childhood. What can you say about children’s chess in Russia?
It is being revived. Children’s sports are reviving and so is children’s chess.
Do you play chess yourself, and do you teach your children to play?
My daughter plays with tutors.
And you? Do you find time for it?
Unfortunately, no.
Is chess a sport or an art to you?
In my youth it was my life, so it was hard for me to answer that question. But I think it is a sport.
How did you move from chess into business?
In my youth I was planning to become a chess arbiter. I entered the Minsk Institute of Physical Culture. But then perestroika happened and my scholarship shrank to $3 overnight. There was an international tournament in Katowice, Poland. I went there with my chess set, analyses, and books, only to discover that my older and more experienced mates were bringing coffee grinders, cameras and fans… It turned out to be good business: buy for roubles and sell in Poland for dollars. The result was a good addition to the stipend. You might say that is how it all started.
How did you get the idea of going into transport?
In the early 1990s everybody was trying to do something to make money. My future partners and I could only go into services because we had no capital. It could be transport or a recruitment office or something else. But it so happened that we were asked to organise transportation.
I found it very interesting. When I was selling my coffee-grinders in Minsk I was thinking about how trade is organised. I was carrying something in my backpack while other people were bringing containers – this was incredible. Later we learned how enterprises do it. They said: “We have a disaster, the foreign trade agencies have collapsed, there is no marketing, no logistics, no transport. We don’t know how to organise it.” We were learning along with the industry. When we were establishing services for them, crazy things would happen. A big ship would come to a port to collect metal cargo, but it could not leave because there were no fastening materials. We were never bored.
What did you start with?
We began by forwarding small batches, then went on to organise services for metallurgical plants and their customers.
Can you tell me how the N-Trans Holding was created?
My future partners – Nikita Mishin and Konstantin Nikolaev – and I were moonlighting as managers at a freight forwarding company while we were students, and we decided to set up our own. It was a transport forwarding company. We worked for many manufacturers. In due course we decided to propose to a major client setting up a joint venture on an entirely different scale and offer comprehensive logistical solutions to consignors. We put this idea to Alexei Mordashov. In 1996 we registered Severstaltrans, we had development capital and gradually built up a clientele. Exports picked up after the 1998 default. This was a time when demand for logistics was high and there were not many players. The reform of the Ministry of Railways got under way and the rolling stock component was isolated from the tariff so that it became profitable to buy railway vehicles. We invested the profits: we went into transport machine building, the production of locomotives, purchasing carriages, ports. We modernised, expanded, invested, left assets where there were no growth prospects and bought new ones. Within six years Severstaltrans transformed from a forwarding company into a group with a strong port and railway operation.
In 2007 we bought out Alexei Mordashov’s share to create N-Trans. In 2008 we held an IPO of the group’s railway assets, Globaltrans company, and in 2011 our port operator, Global Ports. It’s simple really.
What are your plans for the development of your holding? How do you see the future of your company?
Both Globaltrans and Global Ports are public companies that have their own management and boards of directors that make decisions on how to develop.
Does N-Trans plan any acquisitions in the near future?
Globaltrans is growing quite rapidly. The purchase of 10,000 wagons in three months and the purchase of Metalloinvesttrans under a three-year contract indicate considerable ambitions. So I hope that the momentum will not be lost. As for Global Ports, it is in the process of a modernisation involving a lot of construction and each terminal has a long-term investment program.
Is infrastructure development in Russia a promising business? Does private infrastructure have a future in Russia?
About a third of all proven mineral resources are in the Russian Federation, that is obvious. As global demand grows, these deposits can only be accessed through the development of infrastructure. The country does not have enough gold and currency reserves to develop infrastructure. So, conditions will be created for the arrival of investors. The infrastructure has to be built in order to gain access to the subsoil resources. To build infrastructure, infrastructure companies are needed.
For example, Total came to Yamal, a major project to develop a gas field in harsh conditions. Development of infrastructure in Yamal to allow gas to be transported without gas tanks and special vessels costs more than $30 billion. Japan is currently short of coking coal. To reach the deposits in Tuva, Japanese or Australian companies (who would like to be there) need infrastructure, they need a railway.
The whole world is coming after our subsoil resources. They cannot be had without infrastructure. Without it, you cannot take them out and process them. So, infrastructure companies are needed. Of course, there will be private railway concessions, road and port concessions. The capacity of the infrastructure market is more than $1 trillion, according to former Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin.
Infrastructure companies are above all access to capital. These companies must be honest, public, transparent and trustworthy. That’s it.
Is this a global trend?
Not quite. Gazprom and metallurgical companies are present in our infrastructure market because they have to spend part of their profits to develop infrastructure. Instead of extracting, exploring and drilling, they have to build gas terminals. And yet there are companies that specialise in the development of such terminals. We will also come to that some day. Neither oil nor gas companies can meet that challenge single-handedly. We have been there before. The first concession was set up for the Tsarskoye Selo railway and there was American, European and private Russian capital. It’s the same here. We will get there.
The first concessions, including international capital, have already appeared. Major world companies are showing great interest in Russian infrastructure projects. The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development already has a stake in Globaltrans. It was the time of the crisis, and we made an SPO and a lot of investors from across the world put in money so that we would buy rolling stock with that money. It’s a direct link.
What prompted your decision to take part in the North-West Concession Company (that is building the first stretch of the high-speed Moscow-St. Petersburg motorway)?
NWCC was the first instance of international partnership in road concessions. My personal ambition is to show that this market exists and is developing, that we have passed some unique legislation on concessions and that we are gaining experience in this field. Even the road infrastructure projects that have been announced will cost an estimated $100 billion. Moscow-St. Petersburg, Central Ring Road, M1, M3, M4, M7, Europe-Western China – a huge number of projects with different forms of participation (bonds, infrastructure funds, direct investments through PPP). Therefore, the first small $2 billion project in this segment is an important first step.
What is your experience of this work? What is to be learned from this project?
The first conclusion is, of course, that the state is not ready for such projects.
How has that manifested?
The concessionary comes to work and invest. Why should it occur to him to think about whether there is a forest preserve or not, whether or not there are supply lines and stuff? We have an agreement with the state: the state must prepare the site so that construction can begin. In the first project, it turned out that the site had not been prepared. That, of course, gives rise to many questions. So the state has its work cut out if it wants to solve issues through the institution of concessions. And we cannot solve the problem of water treatment, waste incinerators, parking lots or toll roads without that tool. We do not have that much capital.
Is there still an interest in such projects?
Yes, of course. I am personally interested in any infrastructure project.
Are you planning to take part in some specific tenders?
We take part in all tenders. So far, as for the future, time will tell.
Last autumn Gennady Timchenko bought 13% of Transoil shares from your partners, Konstantin Nikolaev and Nikita Mishin. Why are you staying with the company when your partners have pulled out?
We all have personal investments. I prefer to invest in infrastructure transport projects.
So you believe transportation services have a future?
I think the railway sector is one of the best sectors in the infrastructure market in Russia and the world. Russia is a great railway infrastructure power. Transoil is a railway company that is fairly important in our economic space. It is an interesting sector.
How do you assess the progress in railway transport reform?
All that has happened so far is the structural reform that opened up the wagon market. The locomotive, service and railway track markets lie ahead. Of course, there are many problems because investments fall short of requirements. The liberalisation of the rolling stock market in 2001 was a forced measure because it was necessary to raise capital for building new railway vehicles. Otherwise the industry would have ground to a halt.
Before the sale of Freight One there were 500,000 private wagons in the network. The average price was $60,000. So, $30 billion of private money has been invested in the sector. Show me at least one other sector that could modernise so quickly and attract $30 billion.
So, we should move forward. Look, you can judge by the speed of cargo delivery, which is three times less than required. Can you imagine the amount of goods, raw materials and frozen capital that is in the process of being transported today? So much money goes down the drain because of inefficiency.
Inefficiency in what?
What is the reason for such slow cargo delivery? First of all, the underdevelopment of railway tracks and the locomotive fleet. Why are the railway tracks and the locomotive fleet underdeveloped? Because they are starved for investments. Because there are no laws and no conditions for launching the institution of concessions, for example, in railways. Capital, including world capital, has not come to build new railway lines towards new fields. Conditions are lacking for capital to come to the infrastructure market. It would have liked to come. Globaltrans and Global Ports show that capital would be glad to come to our market.
Can you say that you have found a niche for your activities, or are you planning to do something other than infrastructure?
No, I do not yet see myself in any other niche. In principle, I have decided to concentrate on infrastructure and to be in that sector.
Do you have any ideas or projects for art, apart from chess and the Tretyakov Gallery?
I do, but they will be announced later.
How much time does business take? Do you have time left for your family? Can a successful businessman be a good family man?
You should pose that question to my wife.
Editors's picture
Author: Editors
Anonymous's picture
A lot about Filatov's business interests, but not much chess.
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Carbon hard-on.
It's kind of insane to think what Easton's done here. The Haven Carbon Handlebar is a full 100g lighter than their alloy Haven Handlebar. However, it's just as wide, at 711mm, making it perfect for lift-served terrain or shuttles, just like the alloy Haven. But this bar is so light, it'd be at home on any marathon race bike, and in fact if you want an ultra-durable bar for wide open trail riding, you'd be hard pressed to one better than this.
Ultra-durable? Yep. Easton set out to make sure that this Haven product is consistent with the entire Haven mission: make it all-mountain tough. So the Haven Carbon Handlebar is actually made to be tougher than many alloy bars, since Easton uses computer-controlled TaperWall material application. This means that not only is the bar designed digitally, but that the layup itself is computer-controlled, to avoid any flaws or voids that can be created during construction and lead to later weaknesses. TaperWall also works systemically: a handlebar is laid up to work as a single piece, so stress forces move along its entire length rather than over-loading any single portion of the bar.
Full-on DH'ers may want to go even wider (look at the Havoc Carbon instead), but for everyone else, this is a no compromises bar du jour.
The Easton Haven Carbon Handlebar is made of uni-directional carbon fiber and has a Matte Carbon finish with white and champagne Haven logos. The 711mm wide bar has a 20mm rise, 9-degree backsweep, and 5-degree upsweep. It mates to a 31.8mm oversize stem clamp.
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Description:Carved leaves, ferns and strawberries were pressed into the butter to produce decorative patties.
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CRN's Data Center 100: Part 1: Page 48 of 51
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Comment: Playing games with unintended consequences.
(See in situ)
In reply to comment: We have a tough enough time (see in situ)
Playing games with unintended consequences.
The Democrats want to open the borders because they think the new immigrants (or newly legalized immigrants) will vote Democrat. Their purpose will be to expand the welfare state, not to promote freedom either here or abroad.
Liberty Republicans don't need to influence this debate at all -- it's something the Democrats already want. And I think we ought to let them have it, good and hard.
They look forward to having more Democrat voters, to cement their hold on power and to build a bigger welfare state. Let's assume they get what they want. We're already broke. When you find yourself in a hole, the smart thing to do is to stop digging. They are not smart. Digging deeper, they will soon hit rock bottom as the world ditches the dollar for sounder currencies. They will not be able to continue funding the welfare state, and will be forced to curtail benefits. This is already happening.
Now look at those new immigrants. Mostly NOT folks looking for handouts. They're looking for work, and absent legal barriers to their obtaining legal employment, they will find it. That will make our country MORE prosperous, not less. Will they vote to keep the welfare state rolling along? If they're smart enough to vote with their feet, I'm going to guess they're smart enough not to elect the kind of people who forced them to do so.
But wait, there's more! As the law of unintended consequences pushes the USA closer to freedom (kicking and screaming against it every step of the way), the brightest, most ambitious and most productive people from other countries are going to want a piece of our action. That's what made this country great, once upon a time. The opposite of a "brain drain."
Will foreign governments be smart enough to emulate our deregulation and liberalization, when they see their best and brightest heading our way? If they do, the world will become a better place; if they don't, only our country will. Works for me, either way. That's the only way we can or should "influence debate in other countries."
Recommended reading: The Most Dangerous Superstition, | dclm-gs1-001670000 |
IPCC's chairman under pressure to step down after embarrassing retraction
Comments Threshold
RE: Why stop?
By reader1 on 1/26/2010 12:41:37 PM , Rating: -1
We are going with actual science. The scientific thing to do in this situation is to reduce C02 emissions and measure the effect. That's why the so-called, "Climategate" e-mails had no effect on the discussions at the Climate Conference in Copenhagen.
RE: Why stop?
By SPOOFE on 1/26/2010 2:09:57 PM , Rating: 3
Really? We should enact the trillion-dollar legislation and THEN try to find out if we should? That's like saying we should launch astronauts into space without suits so we can measure how painfully they died from vacuum exposure.
RE: Why stop?
By Ticholo on 1/26/2010 2:36:24 PM , Rating: 5
You didn't get the point of his post.
He was being scientific about it.
He posted to see if it was the right opinion to have.
Hopefully now he knows better.
RE: Why stop?
By SPOOFE on 1/26/2010 2:52:52 PM , Rating: 3
It sure looks like he was ASSERTING that it's the right opinion to have, and he's absolutely incorrect that it is scientific: You don't conduct an experiment to make observations if your hypothesis isn't complete.
RE: Why stop?
By reader1 on 1/26/10, Rating: -1
RE: Why stop?
By porkpie on 1/26/2010 3:31:49 PM , Rating: 3
Actually, since reducing emissions won't reduce atmospheric CO2 (but raising emissions will raise them), the best way to test the hypothesis is to burn all the gas and oil we can.
Cool. Glad you agree with us.
RE: Why stop?
By SPOOFE on 1/26/2010 3:33:42 PM , Rating: 3
Reducing C02 emissions is the best way to test it.
Best how? In terms of practicability? According to the UN's own reports, we'd need to drop CO2 emissions more than 80% (actually, 80% was the number they cited just to significantly SLOW DOWN the alleged warming). You think it's practical to just nix 80%+ of the plant's CO2 emissions?
The BEST way to test it is to compare historical CO2 levels - on geological time scales, which means a handful of centuries will NOT give you the proper sample size - to historically estimated temperatures. Oh, wait, they did that and found that CO2 and temperature changes were not always correlated.
RE: Why stop?
RE: Why stop?
By FITCamaro on 1/26/2010 11:14:37 PM , Rating: 2
The only thing you win is a big bag o fail.
To reach the IPCCs goals we'd have to find a way to stop volcanoes from erupting, forest fires from starting, cows from farting and taking a dump, etc.
But since you're so adamant about it, get off your damn computer. You're using energy likely coming from a coal power plant. Move into to the woods and become a tree person. Walk the walk or shut the f*ck up.
I bet you don't wish for your own standard of living to go down. But then the way you talk you just might be that stupid.
RE: Why stop?
By Seemonkeyscanfly on 1/27/2010 9:27:46 AM , Rating: 2
Checkmate I win???
Dude you are not even on the board to start playing. Do you know what the biggest producer of CO2 is? Answer Volcanoes... and supposedly more are going off now then 100 years ago, so should be plug them up, since in one year they do more damage then 100 years of human "damage"? Next question, do you know what creature produces the most CO2 (many times more than all humans)? Answer the termites in South American rain forest. So, should be chop down all the rain forest just the kill or stop these creatures from putting out so much CO2? Now the third question, Do you know the largest consumer of CO2? Answer, Plants... The increase in CO2 should be increasing plant life which will increase Oxygen levels... if we let the planet take care of itself and we do not screw it up... After all it's been doing a pretty good job for how many years now?? If you want to talk about not cutting down large forest, rain forest or to limit the cutting and replanting two trees for every one cut... then you would have a strong provable point. CO2 is something we need, getting rid of it (controlling it) is just stupid.
RE: Why stop?
By XIAOYI on 1/26/10, Rating: -1
RE: Why stop?
By porkpie on 1/26/2010 2:35:39 PM , Rating: 5
" That's why "Climategate" had no effect on the discussions at the Climate Conference in Copenhagen. "
Haha, what? Even the strongest supporters of the conference admit it failed. Not one single binding agreement came out of it, and several nations attending openly mocked calls for future emission cuts.
In any case, the conference is nothing but an excuse to push socialist agendas. The speaker there who got the most cheers (and a standing ovation, no less) was Hugo Chavez, a man who is rapidly leading his own country into economic and civil ruin.
RE: Why stop?
By Guyver on 1/26/2010 2:51:12 PM , Rating: 5
Science has yet to prove:
1. CO2 causes global warming
2. Man-made CO2 is the primary catalyst for warming on this planet.
If science proves CO2 causes global warming (outside of computer simulations based on the assumption that CO2 is the cause), then what other green house gases should be regulated? What about water vapor?
RE: Why stop?
what other green house gases should be regulated?
RE: Why stop?
By UNCjigga on 1/26/10, Rating: 0
RE: Why stop?
By kattanna on 1/26/2010 5:30:27 PM , Rating: 4
CO2 has a measurable greenhouse effect and this has been well-documented for over 30 years
whats missing from that phrase is "within a controlled laboratory environment".
placing CO2 within a sealed and static container and then applying a "sun" source, while effective at directly measuring the heat trapping effect of CO2, is NOT a real world environment, and therefore cannot be used as an accurate model of how it works within our atmosphere.
RE: Why stop?
By Seemonkeyscanfly on 1/27/2010 9:43:43 AM , Rating: 2
Umm, I'm pretty sure you're wrong on #1. CO2 has a measurable greenhouse effect and this has been well-documented for over 30 years. Perhaps you meant to phrase that as:
that's comical, no he has it correct... they have yet to prove it... well-documented for over 30 years. That is so very little data to go off of it is not even fun. The planet has been around for billions of years, there are billions of people on this planet. So for fun lets say 1 year = 1 person. By your "Well-documented" data you have asked 30 people questions and plan to implement a plan that will effect all the billion of people from this tiny amount of data.
RE: Why stop?
| dclm-gs1-001680000 |
LimeWire founder allegedly moving assets to avoid paying settlement
Comments Threshold
RE: Crazy Consumers
By cerx on 6/9/2010 5:04:05 PM , Rating: 2
Well congrats, you are a thief. And btw, cds were sold without DRM before. And they were pirated. By people like you. So what incentive does the music industry have to go back to that?
RE: Crazy Consumers
By Sonikku13 on 6/9/2010 9:48:30 PM , Rating: 3
Theres one reason - Stardock's game Sins of a Solar Empire. Created on a budget of less than $1,000,000, it became IGN's Best PC Game of the Year in 2008, and it sold 200,000 in it's first month of availability. It has no DRM whatsoever. The reason why it sold 200,000 copies in it's first month was due to low system requirements - appealing to the masses, and the quality of the game itself. Lets put it in perspective - Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare had sales of 383,000 within the first couple of months of release, despite massive media coverage and having DRM. This clearly shows DRM results in a reduction of value in the consumer's eye. If Stardock, an independent developer, can succeed without DRM, why can't the RIAA succeed without DRM?
RE: Crazy Consumers
By The Raven on 6/10/2010 4:50:55 PM , Rating: 2
If your gonna treat me like a thief I may as well be one.
He's pleading guilty here. But he states why he's not ashamed.
CDs were sold w/o DRM before and they were not pirated because piracy is something that "didn't exist" (emphasis:yes, those are quotes) until P2P clients arrived. There weren't any bust of college students sharing CDs, creating mix tapes, or the sort. There was software that allowed you to rip the discs no prob, and the RIAA didn't sue those programmers.
A long time ago in Japan when MD was king, there were CD rental stores (like Blockbuster, except with CDs) and kids would just rent a disc and then make a digital copy on MD. There was no legal action taken. Is that piracy? Well the RIAA didn't seem to think so since no legal action was taken.
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| dclm-gs1-001690000 |
(Source: Go Solar Energy For Life)
(Source: Wordpress)
BP oil spill directs country's viewpoint toward renewable energy
Comments Threshold
At least part of this is really not that hard
By klstay on 6/22/2010 9:38:13 AM , Rating: 2
Can you say CNG?
Practically zero emissions. Cradle to grave NO other cars create less overall. In fact nothing else is even close.
100% US domestic with a HUGE reserve given the recent field discoveries.
Half of all US homes today have natural gas already. If this alternative got 1/10 the support of the far less viable options getting billions low pressure home pumps would cost only hundreds of dollars.
By Dr of crap on 6/22/2010 10:15:21 AM , Rating: 2
You, my friend are soooo right.
Why have they not put any funds towards CNG?????
It's the better solution right now.
No food has to be used to make it,
No big cost is needed to make it,
It's not going to polute oceans,
We mine it and deliver it right now,
It's not $$$ over what cars cost now - Honda makes one right now, and yes the cost of it is higher right now, but if they sold over 100,000 cars, the cost would be that same as a gas burning car.
Where is the down side, really!
By IcePickFreak on 6/22/2010 1:29:54 PM , Rating: 1
Check out the wells (unmanned) that are strewn across the southwest. Some of the local areas have smog worse than LA (by several fold), the drinking water coming out of the faucet is flammable, etc. Ask the people who live around all these wells feel about switching to CNG. Heck, look at the smog that blankets downtown Dallas.
I'm not saying CNG couldn't work, but the current state of natural gas well operations doesn't make me want to support it in the slightest. Each site is it's own entity so to speak so they slip by regulation for pollution. Add up the thousands of them just around the Dallas/Ft. Worth area though and the collective is anything but 'green'. Then don't forget to figure the thousand or so truck loads of stuff taken to the site, and taken from each of these sites (chemical wastes etc) which are burning diesel anyway.
By ZachDontScare on 6/22/2010 2:29:48 PM , Rating: 2
Can you say CNG?
So go build or buy one. Its not like they dont exist. All the buses in my area run on natural gas.
Oh, you may end up paying $10,000 more for it... but thats the price for being a leader, right?
By Solandri on 6/22/2010 3:51:19 PM , Rating: 2
CNG is notoriously difficult to package and ship due to its gaseous nature. The pressures are enormous (over 10k psi), and volumes are huge compared to gasoline. The CNG Civic, which gets about the same range as a gasoline Civic, uses a CNG tank which fills up pretty much all of the trunk except enough space for a couple grocery bags near the edge. Its so difficult and unwieldly to work with and transport that even though significant quantities of it come out as a byproduct of drilling for oil, most oil companies simply flare it (burn it off).
Remember, for transportation applications, it isn't enough for the energy source to be cheap. It also has to be portable, safe, and easy to handle. Gasoline and especially diesel are the best match for those specifications. Nothing except biodiesel and alcohols (for hydrogen fuel cells) comes close.
By FreeTard on 6/22/2010 11:34:44 PM , Rating: 2
I'm all for CNG. However that doesn't get us off the foreign teet. Right now due to the low market value of natural gas, it's more cost effective to import it from India in liquid form than it is to drill for it.
Many of the companies that were drilling during the downturn, and continue to drill now, are doing so because they hedged the price back when it was at it's peak. As the hedged prices run out drilling slows down again. $3/unit on a 1-2mcf well isn't a very good investment.
I agree with the reserves though. We've got trillions of units of gas in NA, and I'm all for switching that way.
| dclm-gs1-001700000 |
Comments Threshold
By dgingeri on 1/18/2011 4:13:47 PM , Rating: 2
a while back, I saw a show on History that detailed what they think happened when the moon formed. They showed computer modeling that had a smaller earth and a larger planet collide, the heavier elements, including the iron cores, settle to the center of the new Earth and the lighter elements settle on what became the moon. There could be a lot to the theory of elements rare here that would be plentiful on the moon.
We know that Iridium is even more rare on the earth than in space, and with the whole solar system made from the same dust cloud, there should be pretty much equal distributions of iridium throughout the inner solar system. so the iridium must have ended up on the moon after the collision. There's likely to be more elements like that. The moon could be a huge cash cow.
| dclm-gs1-001710000 |
You're doing it wrong.
Turbos are on 75% of new cars sold in Europe
Source: Reuters
Comments Threshold
RE: Yes, we need them.
By FreeTard on 10/17/2011 8:56:44 PM , Rating: 2
I agree with that. One thing that will keep me from EV is the lack of range. I want to drive to work and be able to run errands without having to worry about charging it. Or what happens if I drive my 40mi to work and then have to rush to an emergency while it's charging... I want to be able to get into my car and go if I want to.
Keep going on the R&D and when the tech has been perfected to something stable that I don't have to keep charging constantly then I'll jump on board. If you can turbo a vehicle and get me 50-80mpg, I'll jump on that.
Top Gear did a good (if over the top) episode in this past season on EVs. I'd recommend finding it because it brings up the current concerns with full electric vehicles.
RE: Yes, we need them.
By Mint on 10/25/2011 9:36:03 AM , Rating: 2
PHEV is the solution.
We have the gasoline infrastructure in place, so no need for new stations for charging, battery swapping, hydrogen, etc. You get 80% of the benefits and the only downside is that you lose a little interior room compared to EV-only or ICE-only cars.
Related Articles
| dclm-gs1-001720000 |
Sales, profits, fall short of analyst expectations and early forecasts
EU flags
Source: HTC
Comments Threshold
RE: Reap what you saw
By sprockkets on 7/8/2012 1:08:22 AM , Rating: 2
They don't? Sense 3 and 3.6 on the HTC Sensation can control the music app without unlocking, and their notification shade had easy access to recently used apps before ICS. They had the unlock ring before ICS. Further, their phone app has the usual HTC touches like speakerphone on flipping the phone over (been on HTC products since around 2007), or play the ringtone louder if in a pocket, then quiet it down when you pick up the phone toward your face.
All of that is not in stock ICS. And if they don't exist in the SG3, I'm not interested. I know though Samsung did put some other nice touches on their SG3 though.
RE: Reap what you saw
By bug77 on 7/8/2012 6:28:16 AM , Rating: 2
I didn't mean to say Sense is completely useless. But it's not a reason to delay an update for 9 months. I'm pretty sure all the nifty stuff you mention can be sold separately through the Play Store. And by that, I mean those could be made into normal applications rather than integrating them with the OS to the point that makes an upgrade unfeasible.
RE: Reap what you saw
By sprockkets on 7/8/2012 6:03:41 PM , Rating: 2
When you actually watch development of the RUU's, you find out it has more to do with writing drivers for all the hardware to work with the new Linux kernel, not because of "skins". They had a working ICS rom but stuff like wifi sharing and such just didn't work yet.
But even if it did delay it, HTC at least made sense work very well with the new ICS guidelines (and bleeping apple added to the delay of the US launch by their stupid patent lawsuit).
RE: Reap what you saw
By bug77 on 7/9/2012 4:49:10 AM , Rating: 2
Come on, it's not like they have to rewrite the drivers with each release. Android works on Nexus phones from the start, so at least some drivers are ok. Linus releases several kernels a year and these are working on a much larger hardware selection.
Bottom line, put enough resources on the job to get it done quickly or stop doing it at all.
| dclm-gs1-001730000 |
The Windows Mobile era took a heavy toll on Microsoft's mobile efforts
Steve Ballmer
[Image Source: SFGate]
Comments Threshold
RE: Windows 8 Phone is great
By Tony Swash on 2/18/2013 7:51:47 PM , Rating: -1
A quick factual correction, Mac OS X was not released in the late 90s (other than public beta previews) MacOSX Version 10.0 wasn't released until 2001.
Macs in the 1990s, certainly compared to Macs post Jobs and post MacOSX, may have been garbage in the 1990s but they were always less awful and less garbage like than the contemporaneous versions of Windows. The old pre-MacOSX systems were always better, and significantly better, than the version of Windows they competed against and the story of Windows has always been the same: striving to catch up in performance, features and design to the Mac OS, but finding that by the time it does the Mac OS had moved on again and is still out in front. MacOSX was the big step change because it was only with Windows 7, years after MacOSX got on the road, did Microsoft come close to MacOSX and but even Windows 7 only really matched MacOSX 10.3. Windows 8 is of course a massive step back.
But none of that mattered because it's not the innate qualities of the OS that determines platform success or failure, what determines which platform succeeds is actually pretty complex, and what determines platform success in the PC market is different to what determines platform success in the mobile device market. One illustration of that is how market share was a very good proxy measurement of platform performance in the PC markets and it's a poor proxy measurement of platform performance in the mobile device markets (hence iOS with a smaller market share out performs Android as a platform so easily and by so much).
| dclm-gs1-001740000 |
A new decontented Prius becomes America's cheapest hybrid
Comments Threshold
Yay for America...
By Aprime on 7/31/2007 9:59:11 AM , Rating: 2
Fact is that it will still cost 40% or so more in Canada even if the difference between our two currencies is of 1/8 of that percentage.
It would cost a total of CDN 18K to buy a base Prius taxes not included) with the Provincial and Federal incentives, but since all the companies are putting the extra profits they're making because of the exchange crap in their pockets there is basically little to no advantage to having a strong dollar for regular Canadian citizens (manufacturing jobs tend to go away because of the strength of the currency, too). There used to be a time when the advantages were shared with the consumers... I guess that time is over.
By the way, the car I bought was an exception to this rule.
RE: Yay for America...
By indianpunk on 7/31/2007 10:08:29 AM , Rating: 2
And what car was that
By the way still no hybrids in india yet though CNG and LPG hybrids with petrol and diesel are running pretty cool
RE: Yay for America...
By Aprime on 7/31/2007 11:03:10 AM , Rating: 2
A Pontiac G3/Wave, which is basically a rebadged Aveo (sedan).
With the same equipment, nevermind taxes and such, it's price more competitively here than in the US.
RE: Yay for America...
By Ringold on 7/31/07, Rating: -1
RE: Yay for America...
By Aprime on 8/1/2007 8:43:11 AM , Rating: 2
There was actually an advantage for us when the dollar was at 65 or so cents.
Now there is none, prices aren't going down and exporting isn't as profitable as it used to be, leading to job cuts in first-tier sectors.
I'd understand a 10-15% difference because that's would be safe considering the dollar has been navigating in those waters (as in: it hasn't gone below that point, yet) for quite some time, but the thing is, things have barely changed for Canadian consumers since the days of the 65 cent dollar.
And you know nothing about Canada.
RE: Yay for America...
By Chris Peredun on 8/1/2007 9:46:25 AM , Rating: 3
Purchase the vehicle stateside, pay the $200 import/inspection fee, and bring it into Canada then. All you'd have to deal with would be an odometer/speedometer in miles instead of KM, as the Prius isn't on any exclusion lists or asterisked to death with "modifications required."
Visit for more information.
RE: Yay for America...
Related Articles
| dclm-gs1-001750000 |
New all aluminum iMac (Source: Apple)
New aluminum Apple keyboard (Source: Apple)
Apple aluminum wireless keyboard (Source: Apple)
Everything is clad in aluminum when it comes to Apple's new iMac
Comments Threshold
RE: Awesome looking stuff!
By DragonMaster0 on 8/8/2007 1:34:51 PM , Rating: 2
Your initial allegations that the iMac has lower overall performance because of its use of laptop components is unsubstantiated,
That wasn't the same person though.
As far as I can recall C2D is more affected by memory speed than latency unlike K8 which performs better with lower latency.
But still, the price I calculated for an equivalent PC was about only $100 more. This time maybe the price isn't so bad tho, since every parts are current at the moment.
The problem is, Intel and AMD are releasing new CPUs in a few months. Seagate 7200.11 HDDs are almost there. AMD-ATI is going with better GPUs in a few months, etc. I know that the PC is always being upgraded, but the Mac doesn't upgrade that often and in a year it will still cost the same price and have the same parts. The iMac is about the same price on release, but as time advances, you get a much better PC for the price until the next generation Mac is there. PC enthusiasts upgrade their computers, which is pretty much impossible on the Mac apart from a few parts.
I forgot that the cards smaller than the 2900 are 65nm and heat less. They are perfectly suited for a small space, but are pretty slow performers when talking about 3D. If something doesn't work on Mac OS, yes, you can run Parallels or Boot Camp, but you have to buy them and a Windows license, which increases the price of the computer.
There's the 10.x to 10.y Mac OS X upgrades that increase the price of the computer as well if you want to keep the latest versions of most software out there. OS X becomes obsolete fast, a bit like the hardware. Mac OS X 10.3, that was coming on an iMac bought in the beginning of 2005 and upgraded with the latest updates doesn't run Adobe Reader 8.0, nor will it run Firefox 3. Take the 2001-old Windows XP, it still works with every new Windows software except DirectX 10-only games. To run the latest software on the 2005 iMac, the OS will have to be bought twice. To do the same thing with a 2001 PC, once. (And the person can reuse the license when the computer is upgraded)
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| dclm-gs1-001760000 |
Nov 262008
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You can simply download .deb package using the following command
Now you need to install .deb package
dpkg -i ttm_20070725-1_i386.deb
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Posted by at 12:07 am | dclm-gs1-001770000 |
Derek Wolfe looks like he's carved out of granite. He's not simply a huge man, he's rock solid. Little wonder the National Strength and Conditioning Association recognized Wolfe as its 2011 athlete of the year when he was a senior at the University of Cincinnati.
Wolfe's work ethic stems from his teenage years toiling on a farm in Negley, Ohio, a tiny hamlet only a mile from the Pennsylvania border.
"There was a lot of stuff we had to do," Wolfe said. "The farm I lived on had probably about 110 head of cattle and there were always chores. We had 70 acres to maintain. There was big stuff and little stuff, general maintenance. Anything from getting the cows fed to using a weed whacker to keep the place in shape."
Blog: First-and-Orange
Wolfe grew up in football country, but he was no fan of the powerful Pittsburgh Steelers. That made his 9-yard sack of Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger in the Broncos' season opener that much sweeter.
Q: Did life on a farm help prepare you for the rigors of college and pro football?
A: I think so. Things that need to be done, you might not always want to do them, but you have to do them. So that becomes part of your life, part of who you are. Still, you find a way to put some fun in it. I mean, nobody really likes to bale hay, but when you've got a bunch of guys out there pitching in and doing it together, it becomes kind of fun."
Q: You've made a name for yourself because of your fitness level. Is that because you wanted to be a better athlete? Or because you enjoy the pain and agony of working out?
A: You love to hate it. You love certain things about it, but not all of it. Nobody likes to get sore and beat up by working the weights, but if you think about how much better you're going to be when it's over, you realize it's going to pay off. It's worth it.
Q: You also got involved in martial arts. What prompted that?
A: I do a little jiujitsu and some boxing. I was a wrestler in high school too. I still do martial arts now, at least every once in a while, because it keeps me flexible.
Q: Your diet is pretty strict, but you must like to splurge now and then.
A: I end up gorging sometimes. I like pizza. Plain old pizza. Thin-crust pizza with pepperoni. If I have a cheat meal, that's going to be my cheat meal.
Q: When you signed your NFL contract, did you reward yourself with anything?
A: I bought a truck. It's a Ford Raptor F-150. It's slick race-ready. It's cool, it's a lot of fun. I haven't really splurged on anything since then. With the season and everything, and being a rookie and everything, I really haven't had much time for anything except football. There is something new every day.
Q: You came from an area where people live and die with their football. What was it like on Friday nights when you played for the Beaver High School Beavers in Lisbon, Ohio?
A: That's what you dreamed about growing up — playing under those lights. You didn't dream about the NFL or even college, you dreamed about those Friday nights. Then when you started playing on Fridays, you started thinking about playing on Saturdays. Then when you start playing on Saturdays, you start dreaming about playing on Sundays. There is always a goal.
Derek Wolfe file
Defensive end
Height: 6-foot-5
Weight: 300 pounds
Hometown: Negley, Ohio
College: Cincinnati
Draft: Second round, 2012, by the Broncos
Career stats: 12 games, 12 starts, 32 total tackles (20 unassisted), three sacks for 21 yards, one pass defended | dclm-gs1-001780000 |
The Lieberman-Warner Conundrum
Wed, 2008-02-20 14:00Chris Mooney
Chris Mooney's picture
The Lieberman-Warner Conundrum
So instead, groups like Friends of the Earth want to see stronger emissions cuts, on the order of 80 percent by 2050--which is what Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama are calling for--and they want a 100 percent public auction of the initial allowances, with the funds raised then used for a variety of investments in clean energy.
But here the debate takes another turn, because the environmentalists who don't want to see anything happen this year seem to be banking on the idea that the U.S. Congress we'll have in 2009--to say nothing of the new president--will be more inclined towards strong climate action. So why strive to pass a bill right now, in an election year?
3. However, I do think the political "climate" will be better for a climate bill in 2009, especially in light of the way things are shaping up politically right now. We're going to have a presidential race between John McCain and either Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama. Any of them would be better on global warming than George W. Bush; and any of them would be more likely to sign a serious climate bill into law. And as for changes in Congress--given the current momentum for global warming action, it is hard for me to see how we would get a new set of reps who are less inclined towards action than the current ones. In fact, congressional climate bad guy number one--Oklahoma Senator James Inhofe--may even be gone in 2009.
By going forward this year and seeing what happens, Congressional Democrats will gain valuable political knowledge about how (or how not to) get a greenhouse gas bill passed--who will vote for it, who won't, and what kind of compromises will be necessary to get legislation enacted. And, as long as they really won't settle for something too weak, where's the harm in that?
Thanks for your post. You make a lot of good points. You're right that Congress may not be so different in 2009, and if we can pass a strong bill now we should. Moreover, the longer we wait, the more costly it will be to do what we all know we need to do. Waiting just two years doubles the annual cuts in emissions we'd have to make to get to the same place by 2020. We posted a detailed analysis of the price of delay on the Environmental Defense blog Climate 411:
Sheryl Canter
Environmental Defense
It's unfortunate, but government tends to work in increments. It would be best if government did what was needed immediately, but it just isn't a reality. Therefore, better to pass this bill now and make improvements to it in the near future. It's better than getting nothing done at all.
"...better to pass this bill now and make improvements to it in the near future."
Exactly. As Chris says, we'll have four decades to make improvements. An important strength of the CSA bill is its short-term targets, which are more aggressive than any other bill before Congress. That's crucial - we must start as quickly and aggressively as possible.
Sheryl Canter
Environmental Defense
Three or four years of delay in getting a stronger bill passed will far outweigh the difference between this year and next year. Remember that the present bill will confer economic rights that the recipients will then act on. I find it hard to take seriously the idea that it wouldn't be at least very difficult to partially or completely retract those rights just one year after they were conferred.
Indeed, political considerations aside, would not taking away those rights (to emit CO2, remember) amount to a taking? I can't see why not.
What Chris said about the Environmental Defense position is correct. We need to get started now - we cannot wait - and our immediate cuts need to be as aggressive as possible. That's the "prime directive", as they say in Star Trek. If we stall waiting for the perfect bill, we'll be much worse off.
Sheryl Canter
Environmental Defense
The message seems to be that you'll approve of pretty much any bill. IMHO that's a pretty bad mistake in this case. If the Dems put forward a clear minimim standard for what they find acceptable in a bill, hopefully ED won't press them to compromise even more (since of course their opening position will already be a substantial compromise relative to the need).
I've read various press accounts that the big emitters want a deal this year because they'll ger a worse one (from their POV) next year. ED's position seems especially blindered in light of those. Of course the emitters will also be looking for a bill that is as much of a poison pill as possible with regard to future stronger legislation. Is ED effectively assisting them in achieving that goal?
Everytime I hear the phrase Stop Global Climate Change I ask the speaker if possible the following question: How will we know when we've stopped it?. It rarely gets answered with any rational words.
Thanks for your post.
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Who is 'Rocket Scientist' David Evans?
Tue, 2008-07-22 14:27Kevin Grandia
Kevin Grandia's picture
Who is 'Rocket Scientist' David Evans?
So we decided to compile a backgrounder on 'The Top Rocket Scientist."
Here's the research database entry on David Evans:
No peer-reviewed articles on climate change
Evans also published a "background briefing" (pdf) document for the Australian chapter of the Lavoisier Group, a global warming "skeptic" organization with close ties to the mining industry.
"I am not a climate modeler"
From 1999 to 2006 Evans worked for the Australian Greenhouse Office designing a carbon accounting system that is used by the Australian Government to calculate its land-use carbon accounts for the Kyoto Protocol. While Evans says (pdf) that "[he] know[s] a heck of a lot about modeling and computers," he states clearly that he is "not a climate modeler."
David Evans lives in Australia and gained media attention after an article he wrote titled, No Smoking Hot Spot was published in The Australian in June, 2008.The article claims that climate change is not caused by C02 emissions because there is no evidence of "a hot spot about 10km up in the atmosphere over the tropics." Evan's claim has been thoroughly debunked by Tim Lambert, a computer scientist at the University of New South Wales.
In US academic and industry parlance, "rocket scientist" means anyone who has completed a PhD in one of the hard sciences at one of the top US institutions. The term arose for people who *could* do rocket science, not those who literally build rockets.Thus the term "rocket scientist" means someone with a PhD in physics, electrical engineering, or mathematics (or perhaps a couple of other closely related disciplines), from MIT, Stanford, Caltech, and maybe a few other institutions.
The definition provided by Evans would appear to be at odds with the conventional use of the term 'rocket scientist' which according to various sources is "One specializing in the science or study of rockets and their design." For example, here's an entry on Answers.com about Hermann Oberth a famous Rocket Scientist who published a book about rocket travel into outer space in 1932 and is considered one of 3 founding fathers of modern rocketry and astronautics.
Evans also claims to be "building a word processor for Windows." DeSmogBlog contacted Microsoft Corp. and they have confirmed that he does not work for Microsoft Corporation.
The original discussion on the real AGW "signature" (tropospheric warming and stratospheric cooling) is at Real Climate.
By the way, the mistaken claim about the missing AGW "signature" tropical hotspot is one of the last refuges of the skeptics. See for example the SourceWatch critique of the Fraser Intitute ISPM:
Tim Lambert has and good for him.
Desmog is a smear site. It all they do.
Desperation is now clear at the house of cards collapses.
Get used to it.
And where is the smear here?
Evans has provided us with his definition of a 'rocket scientist' and I have added it to the article.
Looks like Evans' main contribution has been to write scientifically clueless editorials.
1) David Evans' background is clearly written in:
Looking at that description, I'd call him a mathematician and software engineer, in which case labeling him a "top rocket scientist" is really weird, both for "top" and "rocket scientist".
Maybe he is a "top Fourier analysis expert". It's hard to assess the impact of a book he's been writing since 1990, so he might be an author. Maybe if it's ever published people can evaluate that.
2) His use of the term "rocket scientist" is ludicrous. I don't understand why he just doesn't say "consultant and software engineer" or whatever. There's nothing wrong with that.
a) There are people who really can be called rocket scientists. I've worked with some [i.e., like NASA, which really does employ people legitimately called rocket scientists, although they more likely call themselves aerospace engineers, or other titles.]
b) A certain set of computational folks on Wall Street have sometimes been called "rocket scientists". Some came from my old employer, Bell Labs. No one in Bell Labs called anyone else there rocket scientists - at least, in 10 years there, I never heard that even once. Actually, we never called anyone "Doctor", because that gets old. I rather doubt anyone on Wall Street would have put "rocket scientist" as their job description.
c) Used colloquially, somebody smart and technical (but not a)) might be referred to by the term "rocket scientist", but rarely by other people who are equally smart and technical.
I've lived within 5 miles of Stanford for 25 years,
Real top people use business cards that say things like:
VP Engineering
Chief Scientist
or maybe just Consultant (usually after retiring from the above)
"Rocket scientist".
Re: Rocket scientists
Poor humorless warmists. I suppose that your dour outlook is fitting for those whose raison d'etre is preaching cataclysm and catastrophe. You should get a life, Kevin.
All the following scientific organizations presented a joint statement, called the Joint Science Academies' Statement, to each head of government who attended, and to the host Prime Minister of Japan, at the G8 recently:
National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America,
Science Council of Japan,
Deutshe Akademie der Naturforscher Leopoldina Germany,
Royal Society of the United Kingdom,
Chinese Academy of Sciences,
Russian Academy of Sciences,
Indian National Science Academy India,
Academie des Sciences France,
Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei Italy,
Royal Society of Canada,
Academia Mexicana de Ciencias Mexico,
Academia Brasileira de Ciéncias, Brazil, and the
Academy of Science of South Africa
The statement called out to all world leaders that they "limit the threat of climate change" by taking "prompt action", which was stated as limiting emissions of "greenhouse gases" "to the net absorption capacity of the earth" It is here:
Your comments to the effect that the Mises Institute is a right-wing think tank are deceitful. It is a Libertarian website with unabashed support for what unarguably works: free-markets. Furthermore, have you given consideration to better qualified doubters of the so-called global warming hysteria rather than Evans? Finally, I don't see you countering Evans' arguments but rather sidestepping them by trying to discredit his credentials in the field. What's next, a critique of Julian Simon's succesful attacks against past "scientific" blunders because he was an economist?
We'd behappy to see your list.
Amazing isn't it how David Evans' credentials were never dissected when he was in the climate alarmist camp. But let him utter a heresy and the warmies sets the hounds on him. Have Desmoggers ever considered issuing fatwas?
Evans was not part of the debate before he burst onto the scene as a "rocket scientist". If anyone truly believes he was ever in the so-called "alarmist camp", could they please please supply evidence of it - a blog entry, a letter to the editor, anything? No? Nothing? Oh well. I thought so.
The moral of this story is that if you don't have the expertise or the experience, don't pretend you do, because you'll look like a goose when it's pointed out.
It shouldn't matter if the guy was a burger flipper if he has a good argument, you troll.
This is not a case of Kevin trying to undermine an argument by attacking its proponent. Evans doesn't have an argument - at least, he is not making a case based on evidence.
If he really was a burger flipper (and weren't we all, at some point?) and he came up with an important and compelling evidence-based point, that would be peachy. But Evans is asking that we accept his judgment on climate change on the basis of his authority - on the credibility that we might accord to "rocket scientists."
So he says, "You should listen to me because I am a top rocket scientist." And Kevin reads the guy's unimpressive resume and says, "Ah, no you're not. And if you're lying about the rocket scientist thing, why should we listen to any other thing that you're saying?"
That's a fair question.
That is one of the funniest, in the "guffaw-and-spit-coffee-on-the-screen" sense definitions that I have ever seen in science or engineering:
how writing a word processing program contributes to one's status as a "top rocket scientist," or in any way qualifies one to claim authority in the field of climate science. It's a legitimate question, n'est-ce pas?
Fern Mackenzie
Among the sites I'd recommend for such analysis, at least for those with some scientific literacy are a small sample:
Tim Lambert is Australian, and hence watches the Oz scene closer than most here in US or Canada. Here is a week-ago debunk of Evans' latest, including a pointer to a June 2007 piece at Lavoisier Group:
John Cook is also Australian, and his site is different:
- explains the argument
- explains why it's wrong
- gives references to peer-reviewed articles in credible journals
- gives examples of people using the argument
Hence, it is a nice reference, as opposed to an immediate specific response, but it doesn't get updated quite so often, and it doesn't every *every* new argument ... although most dumb arguments get repeated endlessly, even if the science was known 20 years ago.
In 5 minutes there, I found most of Evans' comments covered:
#32 empirical
#30 troposphere
#19 uhi
#10 co2lag
Remember, that's a blog, but each article references real science articles, unlike Evans. His Lavoisier piece has similar stuff.
- Go off into fervent belief in pseudoscience
- Pontificate in OpEds, letters to editors, white papers , websites, E&E ... but not peer-reviewed science journals
- but have reasonable technical backgrounds
- and so should be able to study and learn the science
- and ought to know better
- and isn't one of those scientists at end of career going off the rails into a field outside their own
- and in this case, a reference to Stanford EE degree
That is, if someone poorly-educated believes silly things, it's no surprise, but I have psychologist friends that help me understand odd behavior patterns :-), who long ago pointed me at the Dunning-Kruger Effect as a useful explanation.
Rob...if you shake your head do loose parts roll out your ears?
How is not working for Microsoft relevant? Lots of people write Windows software who don't work for Microsoft. You know, like everyone who isn't developing *nix or Mac software.
The commenters are right...when data contradicts models, trust the top scientists who say the models must be right and that any other scientists in their field who disagree are merely engaging in pseudo-science.
Science, welcome to the postmodern age. It was nice knowin' ya.
Even if his background is legit then where is his proof to support his opinions. Everybody has an opinion. nothing wrong with that. I just want to see peer reviewed articles on his work that has been accepted by the science community. Being a consultant doesn't mean $hit. Idiot think tanks in washington DC are consultants and look at the mess they've turned this country into.
I'm all for hard facts, and I certainly believe that to get the US economy moving again banks, corporation and the gov't will push a green agenda to create the next economic bubble.
Although the idea of Global warming and Climate change seems to make sense , I'm a little concerned about a theory being put forth as fact. If it is a fact, then why are there so many who disagree?
I think we could all benefit from a televised open debate on this topic. Line up the experts on both sides and let them go at it. Let us, the public, make up our own minds based on how convincing either side makes it's case. The debate must remain on-topic, focusing on scientific fact, and intellectual thought, and not on demonizing the other's belief.
I think we could all learn something.
"The debate must remain on-topic, focusing on scientific fact, and intellectual thought"
If that's what you want then here it is: http://www.ipcc.ch/ipccreports/ar4-syr.htm
See Naomi Oreskes' "The American Denial of Global Warming":
Real science isn't done in debates, among other things because it's too easy to throw up masses of plausible-sounding wrong things, and it takes way more time to explain why they are wrong.
As a good analogy, regarding cigarettes, in 1964 "The Surgeon General has determined ...", but cigarettes are still legally sold.
Many people over 30 only smoke because they got addicted when they were 12-18, because that's when brain development makes it easiest to "write" for addiction:
Nevertheless, the exact biochemical mechanisms by which tobacco smoke (very complex chemically) causes illness are often far less well understood ... than the physics and chemistry of AGW.
The evidence is compelling in both cases, just different. That for AGW was already good enough in 1989, and it's better now.
Debating AGW science now is like debating cigarette goodness. Policy is still fair game, but the science is certainly good enough to know action is needed, even if scientists don't know everything ... just like they don't know everything about cigarette smoke.
sometimes you just gotta laugh at the irony.
A moment ago I read a posting that said "Line up the experts on both sides and let them go at it." They already have! Have you been sleeping for the last three or four decades?
The time for debate is long past. As potent as fossil fuels are (and they rightfully will never be completely out of the picture), the time for shifting from a fossil fuel-based economy (as we did from a "hay and coal" based economy) HAS come.
David Evans was selected by Lavoisier intentionally because he had been active (on some level) with the scientific community in the scientific explorations of global warming in Australia. Illegitimate "Authority by Association" you might call it.
Let's all divert our personal energies BACK to what matters (helping develop the coming green economies, reducing our eco-footprints, and living healthier lives), AWAY from the guys/gals who want to continue "hitching their team" to oil and burying their heads in the oil sands when they get home.
Tom Neff, KC, MO, USA
Okay you yanks, listen up.
Education time from an Aussie.
In other words IT WAS A JOKE !!!
So either grow a sense of humour or stop writing critiques about literature in a language you obviously don't understand.
You lot are hilarious.
Good onya mate
And Tim Lambert of UNSW should have a talk with Prof Tim Lambert of Uni of Sydney who I'm sure has the skill and training to sort him out.
In other words IT WAS A JOKE !!!"
Pull the other one, mate. He wanted everyone to believe he's better-credentialled than he really is.
Your comment makes us Aussies look even sillier than Rudd's weak carbon policy does.
If Evans had said he'd worked as a computer programmer and had no experience or expertise as a climate scientist, and was never actually an "alarmist", he would have been ignored.
As he should have been.
No... its believing everything you are told and contemplating shooting camels because of it that makes you look like an idiot!
Ding! Thank you for playing.
wow, this article is a joke and does nothing to refute what Evans is saying. First Keynesianism and then global warming, the house of cards is indeed on it's way down and revealing that there are a lot of suckers out there that just don't want to let go of their past beliefs-despite mountains of evidence. It is sad that their egos won't let them see the truth.
You really should delete the last sentence:
And if one is disqualfied from criticizing the climate change orthodoxy for the lack of being an experienced "climate modeler", then why doesnt this same lack of experience disqualify someone from being an expert on the subject of climate change (e.g. Al Gore)?
There is nothing "right-wing" about The Mises Institute. Do some research please. Free market does not equal right wing. The right-wing nutz would not know a free market from a hole in the ground.
Kevin Grandia spends a lot of time saying that Evans is not a rocket scientist and that his degrees are not relative to the climate change discussion and he is not a "climate modeler". He then uses a COMPUTER SCIENCE person to debunk Evan's claims. So you used a person with no climate credentials to debunk someone else you say has no climate credentials?!?!?!?!
and you people wonder why there are still skeptics out there!
| dclm-gs1-001800000 |
Off-leash freedom!
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1 2
Im just a little- guy
Barked: Mon Feb 18, '13 6:51pm PST
'm a big believer in the power of free running. Lets the dog go at their own pace, really stretch out and use their muscles, stop and sniff whenever they want, and most dogs just love it. For me, watching my dogs running full speed in a huge open space is a beautiful sight. They also seem to get a lot more mental stimulation out of an off lead hike than with something like running next to a bike.
I enjoy watching my dog do this too. I let him off leash on the walk today. He was sniffing and running. It was funny watching my short little dog get stuck in a snow drift from his sprinting.
It would be sad not to have these nearby trails were my dog can be free.
It ain't over- till the fat- kitty sings
Barked: Mon Feb 18, '13 9:21pm PST
Leashed and off leash is like night and day with Sophie. We live in a highly populated urban area so driving to the nature reserves are really the only safe with no cars, off leash areas we have. But we both just LOOOOVVVE the time Soph has off leash. She runs through the woods like a deer...sometimes chasing a deer...and leaping, spinning, complete freedom...so great to watch.
She has perfect recall when we're alone out there but I wouldn't risk any streets with her off leash. If she saw another dog or squirrel she'd race right through trafficshock I wish we lived more out in the woods sometimes...
Im just a little- guy
Barked: Tue Feb 19, '13 11:01pm PST
I will not let my dog off-leash were there are cars nearby or businesses. I did let him off leash in a ski village (no cars) for a while. He was doing great until he began to enter the ski shops. He is a people dog and likes to go where there are people to pet him. I started leashing him after he ran into a bar. He went throughout the entire establishment while people ooed and awed at him. He got lots of reinforcement to do this again. No more off-leash at the ski village.
Where I live off-leash dogs are normal and common. Even in towns there are off-leash dogs chilling outside shops. In towns like the OP described with lots of dogs there are probably less reactive dogs because most of them have been socialized by their environment. I noticed in Breckenridge the townie dogs were very mellow and plentiful. There are dogs in shops, dogs tied out in front of shops, dogs on sidewalks, dogs being walks and many off leash dogs following their handlers perfectly. I can bring my dog into almost all the retail shops there.
Woo-woo- whineybutt
Barked: Wed Feb 20, '13 1:14am PST
Just wondering, but when you walk your dogs off-leash what do you allow them to do ?
If I walk Nare off-leash down my road he goes onto peoples property.. like maybe 5 feet in, only to sniff. Sometimes will mark a bush or mailbox.
I don't feel comfortable letting him do this. I don't want someone to get mad at us. But I don't know how the majority of people feel about it. Then at the same time it feels that.. that is the freedom of no leash. Letting them sniff and stuff. If I limited Nare to just walking on the road then it would be like leashed walks.. I love it when Nare is off-leash. He loves the freedom, checking in on me, investigating, etc. I'm just a very anxious person I guess. People get kinda mad cause I'm the only person who walks my dog, and when we walk past their house their dogs bark and go wild at us. Then there are people who worship my feet for walking him..
Trixie Bean!
none so blind as- those that will- not see
Barked: Wed Feb 20, '13 2:56am PST
Like Tyler, I am in the UK and Trix spends a LOT of time offleash. We walk in one of the biggest parks in the country and whilst there are a lot of dogs in there, there are also a lot of places where she can be offleash without a problem. She isn't great with other dogs, so I do leash up when I see another dog BUT for the most part the majority of dogs are offleash and problems rarely happen. Even the dogs WITH issues usually have a VERY good recall.. I know I can call Trix away from other dogs even within a 15ft radius and ive seen others do similar, or simply get their offleash dog in a heel and explain to others that they don't like other dogs. People are pretty respectful here anyway- if they see me put Trix on the leash, they leash their own dogs.
I think when dogs are brought up in a culture where being off-leash is the norm, not the exception, there tends to be fewer issuey dogs, for whatever reason.
Mischief is my- middle name
Barked: Wed Feb 20, '13 6:20am PST
My dogs are awe-inspiring beautiful to watch running, but only if it's within a fenced area. Otherwise it's panic inducing laugh out loud
Giving them the freedom to run and chase and explore in an area bigger than our backyard is why I risk the dog park.
Barked: Wed Feb 20, '13 7:09am PST
Nare, when walking Lupi leashed or unleashed, I don't let her investigate people's yards. Some people really don't want dog pee ruining their grass, and I respect that. I don't care if we cause their dogs to bark. They can walk past our house without Lupi going ballistic, so it's not really our problem.
Lupi doesn't have any interest in approaching people, so I didn't have to worry about that. Even when she saw a dog she wanted to meet, she just wagged her tail, inviting them over.
If walking on a sidewalk with shops etc, I keep her in a heel. But when we're hiking in the woods, I tell her to "go run!" She tears off after every squeaky noise she hears, but always returns when I call her.
Even if she's staying right by my side, I still love the feeling of no leash. It seems like she's walking with me simply because she wants to, instead of being forced to. Not that I yank her leash or anything-you know what I mean!
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810,000 customers flee Netflix after price hikes and DVD split
Poor Netflix. Things were going so well, until it decided to increase prices, anger the Internets by spinning its DVD-by-mail service into Qwikster and then changing its mind on the split a month later. Of course, 810,000 subscribers would leave.
Netflix CEO Reed Hastings understands that we're all pissed. He says he let arrogance take over, and thought that we'd all get adjusted to the price hikes and DVD-by-mail split.
Hasting knows that after all the confusion, the Netflix brand lost a lot of credibility, that's why he's focusing on winning us back and it starts with "listening."
"Qwikster became the symbol of Netflix not listening. We quickly changed course on that, and we're going to stick with DVDs as part of the Netflix brand."
810,000 subscribers canceling their Netflix might seem like a lot, but as Netflix reported in its fourth quarter shareholder report, the loss is "relatively minor." Compared to Netflix's 21.4 million streaming subscriptions and 13.9 million DVD subscribers, Netflix isn't exactly looking unhealthy (and maybe that price hike will make up for the deserters), but there's definitely an issue of consumer confidence that needs to be addressed here.
Hopefully Netflix can turn things around and regain the 800,000+ customers it lost or at least hire someone to do a little research before trying to create a new brand *snicker*.
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Spring Integration
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A SCANDAL including a love affair, the abuse of secret services and alleged corruption swept away Petr Nečas, the Czech Republic's prime minister, and his centre-right cabinet nearly a year before elections were scheduled. The outgoing ruling coalition now hopes to cling to power under a new leader as details of the scandal continue to emerge.
Mr Nečas stepped down yesterday after his chief of staff (and allegedly his mistress) Jana Nagyová (pictured) was charged in two criminal probes. Documents that appear to be her indictments were leaked to the media and a court decided to keep her in custody pending trial. He also gave up leadership of his party, the Civic Democrats, and said that he will not run in future elections.
This was an abrupt turn of events. When news of the scandal first broke, the prime minister as well as his coalition partners looked determined to weather the storm. Before the weekend, Karel Schwarzenberg, the foreign minister and the head of the junior ruling TOP 09 party, nonchalantly told Lidové Noviny, a daily, that the cabinet "will survive this; it has been mild tea so far”. But, as the scope of the affair grew, TOP 09 changed its mind, a politician close to weekend talks with the embattled prime minister said.
The resignation offered the MPs a slightly more convenient way out of the crisis. Coalition lawmakers would not be forced to back the discredited premier in a no-confidence vote planned for today. And the initiative on Mr Nečas's part would give the ruling parties a better chance to hold on to power until the end of their term in spring next year.
It is up to the leftist president, Miloš Zeman, a fierce critic of the collapsed cabinet, to pick the next prime minister. Mr Zeman said yesterday that he plans to start meeting with parliamentary party leaders on June 21st. The outgoing coalition hopes that Mr Zeman will accept its plan to bring in a new prime minister from the Civic Democratic party.
The proposal has two drawbacks. The Civic Democrats have to come up with a candidate acceptable to both the coalition partners and the president. It has to be someone untainted by scandal neither past nor present. "It will be hard because it is necessary to find a person who is clean, as they say," said a coalition lawmaker. "Someone who is not at risk of being ensnared in the current investigation." And this new, clean leader must be capable of mustering a majority in parliament's tightly-divided 200-seat lower house to pass a vote of confidence.
While the Civic Democrats have yet to announce their pick, several names already circulate in the media. Martin Kuba, the industry and trade minister and the party's interim leader, said he is ready to take over but he is unacceptable for TOP 09 over his alleged ties with a disreputable businessman. Potential candidates also include Zbyněk Stanjura, the transport minister, Pavel Blažek, the justice minister, his predecessor in office, Jiří Pospíšil, and Miroslava Němcová, the speaker of the parliament's lower house. If the ruling parties fail to strike a viable deal, lawmakers are expected to force a snap election. In the least likely option, Mr Zeman could also appoint a caretaker cabinet.
Meanwhile, new details about the scandal continue to surface. E15.cz, a business news website, published what appear to be the indictments in both criminal cases involving Ms Nagyová and seven other suspects, who include two military intelligence chiefs, their subordinate, a former deputy minister and three former lawmakers. They were detained as a by-product of an investigation that originally aimed to pin down powerful businessmen and lobbyists suspected of scheming to gain control of state-owned firms.
Ms Nagyová is accused of asking military intelligence to snoop on three civilians, including the premier's estranged wife, Radka Nečasová. Outlining her motive, the prosecutors write that Ms Nagyová was persuading Mr Nečas to divorce his wife, whom she suspected of having an affair. The document also says that she had "highly negative attitude" towards Ms Nečasová.
Ms Nagyová's lawyer, however, told Právo, a daily, that his client meant no harm. He said that she tried to protect the premier and his children from a potential scandal as she suspected Ms Nečasová of being under influence of Jehovah's Witnesses. (Many Czechs, who are largely secular, consider the Christian movement to be a sect.) He said that Ms Nagyová was hurt by the fact that police tapped her private conversations with the outgoing premier and knew of their "intimate relationship". Mr Nečas, who initially stood by his aide, claimed he had no knowledge of her actions and apologised to the victims.
In the second case, Ms Nagyová allegedly bribed last year three Civic Democratic lawmakers with lucrative posts in state-controlled firms in exchange for their support of the government. Mr Nečas, who was involved in the deal-making, according to one of the leaked documents, is a suspect in the case, a state attorney told Czech Television.
In a revealing detail of the muddy depths to which the Czech political culture has plunged, a heated public debate has raged in the media and on the internet about whether the ugly deal even constituted corruption. "This is not an act of corruption," Marek Benda, a long-time Civic Democratic lawmaker, told a press conference. "It's so absurd. We would have to abolish politics as such, or let them distribute hundreds, perhaps hundreds of thousands of these criminal complaints over the past twenty years, if I count in municipalities and regions." | dclm-gs1-001850000 |
The world economy
Mountains to climb
August was a nerve-racking month for the world economy. September and October will be no better
See article
Readers' comments
To climb mountains needs collective leadership of world as large it is otherwise some steps lead no where and ultimately bound to fall more than today's standing of developed world along with some down steps of developing world.
Regarding what I just said and using the USA as an example, household wealth was over 54 trillion dollars in the USA in 2009, of which about 47 trillion was owned by the richest 25%. Hypothetically, if the tax was levied at 1% on the richest 25% it would generate around 470bn per year. That would provide a potentially massive stimulus, equivalent to nearly 1% of global GDP.
QE3, and the Quantitative easing that has already been done is likely to result in very substantial inflation down the track as it greatly expands the money supply. It is in effect a politically viable wealth tax.
I have a better solution. Why doesn't the USA and the Governments of the highly indebted nations of Europe implement an actual wealth tax like France does, an adjustable annual tax levied on say, the wealthiest 10% at perhaps between 0.1% and 2% of total wealth depending on the needs of the Government at any given time. Anyone seeking to leave the country would still be subjected to the tax.
This tax could greatly increase taxation revenue, which could help to stimulate aggregate demand, reduce unemployment, improve the overall economic outlook and ease the worries of banks (allowing them to lend more liberally). When the economy is in a healthier position, the wealth tax could be removed, but implemented again if needed. The option to do so would greatly improve consumer and business confidence in the worst of times.
Sure, the rich would lose some money because of a wealth tax, but if extreme measures aren't taken to put the economies of the USA and Europe in sustainable positions, they stand to lose a LOT more - stocks, commodities and the property market might crash profoundly in a double dip recession. I think it's gotten to the point where the idea should be seriously entertained, as hard as that would be to do for a country that values individual liberty as much as the USA.
"Dusting off America’s crisis-management ideas makes sense: they were effective."
I beg to differ; Bernanke the Printer just kicked the can down the road. Potential side effects of such strong medication are unknown. Hyperinflation is a massive danger.
I have great trouble understanding why, in recent years, my opinion differs so much and so strongly, to the views being posted here and elsewhere. Because this is IMHO the only outlet that truly deserves respect, I still take time to comment, and sometimes to go back a read other commentaries and responses.
From my angle, Bernanke the Printer, and central banks in general, have proven quite definitely to be disastrous in centrally planning an economy, and leading it to an "era of great moderation". I believe the great historical moment of debt-credit may has fueled the realm of finance to those giant disparities in wealth creation. But that was just a moment of economic history. It's over now. Times change.
What's coming up (to me at least) is the great unwinding of this mess. Check out the usdebtclock (google it) and ask yourself if it is sustainable. To me it's not. The time has come for giant financial conglomerates to die; the US has decided to inflate its way out of it. The ensuing inflation would not be a giant problem for any other country--but for the USA it is, because their currency is the world's standard. Once the real panic starts (this historical moment has just begun in the last ten years, with the complete collapse of the US political system, now overtaken by hysteria, lobbies, and most crucially overconfidence bordering on delirium tremens).
To look at economists finding easy solutions that are not really solutions in the serious sense of the word (print more; "ease it up"), I stand flabbergasted. They completely miss the historical moment. Finance is returning to the mean; it's going to be a much smaller sector than it has been these last decades.
There are so many instabilities lying around right now that one quickly becomes dizzy when trying to believe in a "solution". The USPS is dead (and holds 500.000 US jobs). If the BOFA leak comes up and if it's dirty as Assange said it was, hell will brake lose. A serious spike in the price of oil can halt supply chains. The US didn't get out of any war and costs continue going their way. Any middle sized country that starts dumping the dollar will create a panic--and all of them have started, in tiny steps. This is just of the top of my mind, if consulting a few sites I could give a list larger than the Titanic we're all in.
When "Rich Dad Poor Dad Guru" starts advising to buy gold, ak47s, and a year's stock of food, either that eternal optimist has gone mad or something deep has changed.
When the secret (but fortunately leaked to the WSJ) Goldman Sachs report from Mr Brazil expects things to go down, and GS has all the info one can possibly have, expect things to go down.
Times change. The financial sector is never going to be as large as it is. Hyperinflation is a menacing threat. There will not be growth in the US to sustain Bernanke the Printer's shenanigans for much longer.
I never quite bought the implicit analogy with high-tech, in which banks had "talent" and "innovation" among other soothing words.
The era of fake prosperity is no more. We were witnesses to it.
May we witness in safety (if not prosperity) what will come after it.
Yukon Dave
It is embarrassing that foolish people think the economist is crying “the sky is falling”, or that as Mr Audacious states “grim as TheEconomist depicts is often debatable”. Its like people that play roulette with a loaded revolver because they have not been shot yet. We are not safe and the danger is real.
It took 5 years for the great depression to go to 25% unemployment and it lasted over 10 years. It caused the rise to power of leaders that led to the death of over 60 million people in the Second World War, the single largest loss of life in the history of mankind.
World War Two is how it fixed itself last time and that was a terrible solution. Get to know the facts and hold your leaders accountable.
For the last 3 years that I've been reading TheEconomist, I have come across countless weekly articles that discuss the large threats that face our advanced economies, the unfavorable political and economic situations in which they find themselves in, unable to agree on a solution to solve their messes.
Whether or not things are truly as grim as TheEconomist depicts is often debatable and subjective - but such reporting is expected from the publication, TheEconomist, is afterall, an economic-centric magazine.
However, the constant pessismism and ominous projections have began to tire and wear me down. Its gotten to the point where I've taken my perspective back to basics and stopped overanalyzing the politics.
All of which entails this - Economies experience 'boom' and 'bust' cycles, this is well known, the US recovered from the Great Depression in the 30's, a hole much deeper than this. If TheEconomist is right and political gridlock in the US and half-hearted efforts by an German-led EU can't seem to find a solution - then perhaps there will not be a man-made one.
We may just have to let the economy play its role, to return to a 'boom' period. We may not be able to pick ourselves up, perhaps then, we'll have to wait for the economic cycle to do it for us.
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Products & events | dclm-gs1-001860000 |
DESPITE a torrent of lurid detail emerging from the FBI investigation that led to the fall of the director of the Central Intelligence Agency, David Petraeus, and attempts to attach significance to the delay in informing the president of his chief spy’s plight, the political consequences are likely to disappoint Barack Obama’s enemies.
Conspiracy theorists see a connection between the resignation of the nation’s most famous soldier on November 9th over an extramarital affair with his biographer, Paula Broadwell, and congressional investigations that were ongoing this week into the deaths in Benghazi last September of Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other Americans. But while the CIA over-relied on the security supposedly provided by Libyan militias, there is no evidence that rescue attempts were deliberately delayed by the agency’s leadership or the White House.
The shock-wave caused by the departure of General Petraeus might indeed have been an unwelcome distraction from an election campaign that was going Mr Obama’s way, but he was above all a hero to Republicans. He had even been seen as a possible vice-presidential pick before his appointment to the CIA job 17 months ago.
From war hero to zero
As its director, General Petraeus was an enthusiastic advocate for the increasingly paramilitary CIA that has evolved over the past decade. He recently asked for a further ten aircraft to be added to the agency’s fleet of 40 or so Predator/Reaper drones. But concerns have grown, even within the administration, over the perceived lack of accountability underpinning the CIA’s remote killing of terrorist suspects. Whoever succeeds General Petraeus, possibly the current acting director, Michael Morell, or possibly John Brennan, Mr Obama’s counterterrorism adviser, may want to do things differently, perhaps handing over the main responsibility for drone attacks to the Pentagon’s Joint Special Operations Command and re-emphasising the agency’s traditional intelligence-gathering role.
For all his great public service, his intellectual dazzle and his uncanny ability to win over both hard-bitten reporters and sceptical lawmakers, General Petraeus may not actually be much missed. | dclm-gs1-001870000 |
War and peace in Syria
Where are the good guys?
See article
Readers' comments
Alzheimer's disease starts off with a loss of short-term term memory.
And the Economist seems to suffering from Alzheimer's; it seems to have forgotten its series of warmongering articles of a few months ago exhorting military intervention in Syria.
Stavros Saripanidis
I wonder where all those agencies that hire and employ international mercenaries are hiding.
Are they too afraid to offer military contracts for time served fighting in Syria?
Are they capable only to offer military protection to rich environmentalists in Africa?
Sirs, some months you published a cover with Assad's head demanding "hit him hard", claiming that he bears sole responsibility for the horrible gas attacks. It reminded me of your coverage of Gulf War I and II. At the time I was wondering on which intelligence and facts your conclusion was based on to demand swift war....in the meantime many insights including those presented by Seymour Heish emerged that are undermining the credibility of your sources.
The new claim that a war would have prevented the rise of the Islamists is for me also not very credible . Based on events in Afghanistan, Iraq or Libya, Islamists tend not to turn away when the West rages war against a Muslim country... I wish that such an outstanding paper as The Economist would be more humble in their assessments.
No Way,
Best thing Putin ever did is make it difficult for the US to get involved with Syria. Now the USA is ecstatic they did not get involved in Syria and have oodles of reasons to back away further.
The Middle East is responsible for developing, implementing and maintaining a solution. NOT the USA. Like you said, if the Middle Eastern plan is to support the selected 'bad guys' - so be it!
Another article that vindicates those who opposed military intervention.
U.S. FP needs to refocus on diplomacy, instead of seeing every problem as a military problem.
PIIGS can´t fly
Syria is not in Hollywood
Life can be so disappointing! Wouldn´t it be nice if for every bad guy there was also a good guy, and a beautiful maiden, and a happy ending, like in Hollywood movies.
Okay, Assad is a bad guy. But that does not mean that whoever is fighting him must be a good guy. Hitler´s Germany was defeated by Russia more than any other country, which does not prove that Stalin was any better than Hitler.
Recently TE has been arguing for military involvement in Syria, just like some American politicians. You don´t learn from experience: Fools rush in ... and can make a bad situation worse. Remember Iraq?
neillwa . in reply to Abdussamad
Yes. Let him go back to Aleppo and fight with the Jihadists. Perhaps he will be martyred and end up in heaven with all those virgins.
I have been to Damascus and seen a LOT of support for President Assad. I'm sure not all Syrians like him, but he does have many many people who back him.
It's way too late to support the good guys. We should've done something immediately after Assad fired on peaceful protesters. That was our window and we blew it. There are no good options left.
Syria would become another Afghanistan (pre-war) if the Islamists win; Salafists are hardline fundamentalists and they are usually sympathetic to al Qaeda (who are also Salafist) if they're not openly supporting them. After the jihadists are done in Syria they'll move on to toppling the Iraqi government too (they kind of are already starting on that) and they will have been hardened by the Syrian conflict.
This can't be allowed to happen because they will have a safe base of operations to train more jihadists and to carry out attacks on Israel, Lebanon, the U.S., etc.. It will throw the whole region out of whack and would probably warrant military action from the Western powers at some point.
As horrible as it is, we probably need to back Assad at this point. The Free Syrian Army isn't an effective fighting force and there is no one else we should be supporting amongst the rebels. A jihadist government is just not going to be better than a ruthless dictator in terms of the threat posed to the West. They are equally ruthless, perhaps moreso. Those people need to lose this war.
But if Assad wins, he's going to murder the moderate and civilian elements of the resistance too and we don't want that either. So I think part of an agreement would be to allow those people to leave the country (if they want) and go to, I don't know, somewhere. Or divide the country between them (though that might not solve the conflict). These options suck.
The other option is to lean on Turkey and the Saudis to stop supporting Al-Qaeda elements in Syria. Why is that okay again? We should probably do that either way.
The Metaphysician
The UK is a disgrace as a sovereign state. The FCO has been led by the nose by US foreign policy idiots. Assad, like it or not, has been the best bet in Syria since the beginning of this tragic conflict. Why would any country follow the US's appalling ignorance-leadership? It's not as if the West - and I mean the US and its toady states - has made even one seriously good foreign policy decision since 9/11. The worst thing is that it was all foreseeable.
Amid Yousef
Saudi Arabian Bandar and his brother Sleiman are financing the attack on Syria. The SULTAN BROTHERS are a 2 man crime wave across the planet and somehow they avoid arrest and prosecution by BLACKMAIL with Saudi flow of Oil.
BANDAR is the real leader of AlQeda and mastermind behind 9/11 attack.
This makes Saudi Governemnt liable to USA for war reparations...
and now we know he may have been the main support of every major regional war since 1971.
l I urge all to call their Senator (USA) demanding arrest of these 2 international thugs *Call Senate 202-224-3121*!
Saudis have financed EVERY war and conflict since 1971...
Because we (USA) had cut a deal with the DEVIL in 1971 and here is how:
(Source: Thomas L. Friedman's book, Hot Flat & Crowded) Here is my summation, including personal observation:
1- 1971 Nixon lost of confidence of the world so they started pulling out the GOLD from USA.
2- France asked for its GOLD BACK, Nixon refused to give it and gave them PAPER instead.
3- To back the paper he cut a deal with Saudis King Faisal to sell Oil for dollars only, making Oil & dollars = Gold in value. In return USA pledged to protect SAUDI ARABIA. The Deal With The DEVIL!
USA told Saudis, do whatever you want, you will be protected
4- This arrangement was clever and created 2 countries with ability to print unlimited money. This WAS a mistake and a FRAUD on all nations and USA has been paying the price for it because the Monstrous Saudi Kings proved to be an ugly bunch... Real Ugly.
5- 1973, Saudi Kings led the Oil Embargo of 1973 to test America's sincerity. USA was brought down to its knees with long GAS lines.
6- 1979 internal strife bring a young man Named Usama Bin Laden to Grand Mosque where he demand the King steps down. They settle with Usama by promising him UNLIMITED money to go JIHAD so long as hee keeps it OUTSIDE Saudi Arabia.
7- 1982 1st country the Islamic Brotherhood (AlQaeda was just starting) attacked was Syria1st and soon Assad had Hama put down. (The world never let him live down the Hama Experience, but it seems he was suffering a Saudi Arabian Bin Laden just cutting his teeth on TERROR.
8- 1982-1989 after getting chased out of Syria, Afghanistan was next.
Bin Laden was funded by Hit-men of Saudi Arabian Monarchy and went to fight Russia in Afghanistan... Not for the Americans but for the SAUDIS.
9- 1992 Saudi Monarchy had its sight higher and soon Bin Laden's Ahmad Yousef (No Relation - Yousef is like Smith in USA, Jews, Christians and Muslims use that name) Ahmad tried to bring down the World Trade Center.
10- 2001- on 9-11 that day, 15 Saudis committed the worst TERROR attack in history on USA and to date. To make the insult bigger Bandar Bin Kharah(Now Hold important position in that thuggish country) was in the Whitehouse while the planes were on their way to hit the Pentagon…
11- Today (literally today) AlQuaeda Saudi Thugs under direction of Saudi Arabian Monarchy Bandar (Baboon) are shooting Missiles into Unarmed Christian Village called Malula, here LIVE VIDEO:
معلولا تحرقها نار الارهاب
********Saudi Arabian Monarchs Are Monsters, who've paid and financed every regional war, Saudi Kings are theTRUE OBSTACLE TO PEACE*****
Connect The Dots
Give free one way tickets to Syria for all Radical Muslim Jihadists and then cut them off.
Syria may prove to be the solution to world terror: Gladiator-Style Guerilla fight-to-the-death.
It is the World's Biggest Graveyard for Jihad.
***By the way, have you noticed Worldwide Terror outside of Islam is dramatically down?
Syria has solved world terror.
The "West" botched this beyond belief. They thought they could topple Assad, the same way they did in Libya. DIFFERENCE, Assad was one of the more pro-west leaders. He is highly intelligent (not a despot). The West and it's cronies turned Syria into the mess it is today and if Assad manages to survive, do you think he will forget what was done to his country?
Fahim Carim
Of course there are no good guys. There never are good guys. Only national interests. Right now for the US the national interest is to aid Israel an ally by keeping Syria in a civil war for 2-3 more years. This will probably cause the deaths of another 100,000 Syrians.
The war is not because Muslims enjoy fighting or Shites and Sunnis just don't get along or any other wild oversimplification that washes everybodies hands. It isn't because Bashar brutally suppressed pro-democracy protestors (nobody there wants western democracy). The wars is in the US and their allies national interest for Syria and it's allies (Iran/Hezbollah) to be occupied with a war.
It is not in the US interest for an outright victory by al-Qaeda. The US perfect solution is a long brutal war 2-5 more yrs with about 250-400k casualties 5mil displaced. Then a coalition gov with a weak "moderate" Hamid Karazai type Sunni leader in about 2 yr. this will neutralize Syria as a threat to Israel for 20 to 30yrs and Iran will lose a vital Arab ally.
Are there good guys in the Arab World?
Of course there are! The terrified millions of secular Arabs who cower under the authoritarianism of Islam or the authoritarianism of the military regimes. Those millions who would have willingly made peace with Israel so that the Middle East might have prospered in secular democratic states. But Islam and the Generals would NEVER prosper under these conditions so they made Israel the devil and the reason for all the Arab woes.
But things have got out of control and the Arab World is imploding from all its lies and viciousness.
Could you imagine if they had the atomic bomb as well?
Slow down cowboy! WE didn't foment these uprisings let alone choose their direction … as if WE controlled everything!
You said: "Muslim's are just as good as us if not better." AND
You said: "Like most countries their citizens are for the most part …"
YOU are either a Muslim apologist or a 'weak-minded' lefty liberal … the jury is still OUT!
No amount of coddling their miscreants will make them anything except what they are … you sound like you're singing the 'Coca-Cola Song' … LOL
You said: "How many more displaced Syrians in refugee camps do you want?"
That's entirely up to the 'thugs' on both sides … the vile genocidal Assad backed by HEZBOLLAH, RUSSIA, AND IRAN or the vile jihadi Islamists backed by QATAR/SAUDI ARABIA/TURKEY … wash your hands after you've picked … the stench will REFUSE TO GO AWAY!
Bluhorizon in reply to guest-wslmojs
Your comment makes me envision the marines storming ashore to Save Syria from itself. Maybe President Obama knew more than the general public at that time and was advised early-on that this was a sectarian war.
It's easy to look back with perfect hindsight and make excellent decisions. Blaming stuff on the president seems to be something with which certain people are obsessed.
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Products & events | dclm-gs1-001900000 |
Decomposition Rates of Biodegradable Materials
based on 11 ratings
Author: Sarah Benton
Although we cannot help but create some trash living in modern society, we do have some choice in what we purchase and how we dispose of this trash. In most areas, at least some sort of recycling is available. Biodegradable waste such as vegetable and fruit skins, peels, and some food scraps can be composted.
There are many benefits to composting: it's a great way to keep excess waste from heading to the landfill and perpetuating nutrient cycling. Once organic waste has decomposed, the compost can be used to add nutrients to gardens, flower beds and house plants.
When we can’t recycle or reuse items, they ultimately end up in a landfill. One of the main concerns of landfill use is keeping groundwater supplies clean. When it rains, water leaches through the layers of garbage, picking up toxins. These toxins include heavy metals and harmful chemicals that, unless collected or blocked from reaching the groundwater, can have negative effects on the drinking water supply. This runoff from the landfill is called leachate. Another cause for concern in landfill use is the build up of methane gas. Methane gas can be explosive when it accumulates. In order to limit what goes into our landfills it is important for students to learn how a composting system works and how a landfill works.
How can one show the decomposition rates of biodegradable materials?
• 2 2-liter soda bottles
• Spray bottle
• 1 apple
• Black trash bag
• Twist-tie
• 2 coffee filters
• Rubber gloves
• Knife
• Scissors
• Soil (from the ground, garden or compost, not potting soil)
• Leaves/grass clippings
• Gravel
• Cardboard, paper, plastic from recycling bin
• Camera (optional)
1. You will begin by building your compost model. You will need the 2-liter bottle and the knife or scissors to start.
2. Cut the top half off of the bottle and invert inside the bottom half. See figure 1.
3. Take one coffee filter and cut about an inch off the perimeter of the filter.
4. Place the filter down in the neck of the bottle so that it will filter any liquids that might come out of your model.
5. Repeat steps 2-3 to build the outside of your landfill model.
6. Cut the apple in half. You will use one half in the compost model, and one half in the landfill model. Measure the apple and write down observations of how it looks. You may wish to photograph it at this time.
7. Pour an equal amount of gravel into both models to make a shallow first layer.
8. Pour an equal amount of soil into both models to make a bigger second layer.
9. Add leaves and grass clippings into the compost model.
10. Put the ½ apple into the compost model. You might want to place it somewhere where you will be able to see it from the outside of the bottle.
11. Layer cut up pieces of paper, plastic, etc. from the recycling bin in the landfill model.
12. Cut the corner off of the black trash bag to make a mini trash bag. Put the second half of the apple inside the bag and close with a twist-tie.
13. Put the mini trash bag into the landfill model. Layer soil on top of the layer of “trash”.
14. Fill the spray bottle with water and give each model the same number of sprays of water.
15. Put both models on a windowsill where they will get equal light.
16. Throughout the month, observe the models on a regular basis. Do not move the models or take anything out of them. You should spray them with water on a regular basis. Keep track of your observations and watering schedule in a science notebook. You may want to organize it like the table below. (Table 1)
17. Optional) You may wish to take a photo of each of your models on a regular basis. You can use the pictures to illustrate the changes in your project.
18. When your models have been decomposing for one month, take them apart. Find the apple in each. Carefully write down what the apple looks like. Measure the apple. If you have been taking photographs you will want to take a picture of each apple.
19. Also look at any liquid that has come out of the landfill or compost. This is the leachate. Write down some observations of the leachate (you could also take a picture). Does it look clean or dirty? Does it smell?
20. Compare the two models. What was realistic or not realistic about your models? Which is a better method for decomposing the apple? Why do you think this is important?
Figure 1
Table 1
Compost Model
Landfill Model
Watering Schedule
# of Sprays
Compost Model
Landfill Model
Add your own comment | dclm-gs1-001920000 |
Printed from
Mosaid sues ASUS, Dell, RIM, more; 'all' owe Wi-Fi royalties
updated 03:35 pm EDT, Thu March 17, 2011
Mosaid sues Dell, RIM, many over Wi-Fi patents
Mosaid late Wednesday sued as many technology firms as possible in hopes of profiting off the success of Wi-Fi. The Ottawa-based company's complaint targeted major device makers such as ASUS, Canon, Dell, Intel, and RIM as well as those building chipsets, such as Atheros and Marvell, for allegedly infringing six patents covering Wi-Fi, including network finding and the orthogonal multiplexing used for the faster speeds in the newer 802.11n spec. CEO John Lindgren insisted that "all" devices using Wi-Fi were dependent on the patents and had to pay royalties.
The lawsuit asks all the companies to pay damages. It would further ban them from selling virtually any of the chipsets, notebooks, and phones they make or else would require a mandatory royalty from them to keep using what's allegedly Mosaid's technology.
Unlike its fellow litigious Ottawa firm WiLAN, Mosaid makes its own products and is currently focusing on flash memory module technology. In recent years, however, it has focused increasingly on its patent portfolio and has sued heavyweight firms such as Cisco and IBM while also pressing for deals with LG, Samsung, Sony and other large companies. Its lawsuit was filed in the Marshall Division of the Eastern District of Texas, a region with courts known to often side with the plaintiff in a patent lawsuit.
The lawsuit could have deep ramifications for most of the technology industry, including companies like Apple, HTC, and others that use Wi-Fi but haven't been sued. Price increases in electronics often come from mounting royalty rates as both legitimate and patent troll companies claim to own technology that they have usually ignored for years.
Mosaid Wi-Fi lawsuit
By Electronista Staff
1. climacs
Junior Member
Joined: Sep 2001
what do you call 1000 patent attorneys at the bott
a good start
1. prl99
Forum Regular
Joined: Mar 2009
Isn't WiFi based on a published standard so any products following that standard are not "owned" by any one company? If not, what good are standards if someone follows them and is sued for it?
"cover products that operate in compliance with IEEE 802.11 standards"
79. On July 14, 1992, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) duly an legally issued the ’006 Patent entitled “Carrier Detection For A Wireless Local AreaNetwork”
I wonder who their proofreader was. I was always taught to use the word "and" instead of "an" in this instance.
There's very little in this suit that actually talks about what was supposedly infringed upon. The vast majority is boilerplate defining all the companies. They are claiming patents going back to 1992. I'm trying to remember if I even heard of wireless devices back then. Why hasn't this been brought up sooner and why is there a IEEE standard that covers these things if MOSAID feels they own all the patents to wireless?
1. ggirton
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Nov 1999
the price differential between WiFi and phone might reduce & we still all have our cat 5 cables. boo doggone hoo
1. Makosuke
Junior Member
Joined: Aug 2001
On The Ball
Well, it's good to know that they didn't get around to suing over this purported patent infringement for, what, nineteen years? Obviously totally on top of things that you wouldn't notice such an important patent was being infringed by THE ENTIRE WORLD for the entirety of the previous decade.
Oh, wait, the patent probably expires after 20 years. Why sue half the world in 2007 when you can sue everybody in 2011?
These patent troll cases are the one situation in which I'd really love to see big, rich companies bring their massive legal departments to bear in every attempt to obliterate the "company" in question--invalidate every patent they own and bleed them dry with lawyer fees in as many extended court cases as you can come up with. Usually the big dogs are the bad guys, but in these cases we all lose a little bit.
1. UmarOMC
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Aug 2001
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AACS has already been compromised in at least two widely known ways, after DRM hackers posted on the Doom9 forums methods to retrieve and utilize volume, and later, processing keys to copy every Blu-ray and HD DVD movie released so far. Today a third method has appeared, as poster ATARI Vampire reports they were able to find the "sub device key" of the WinDVD 8 playback software. That key identifies the player and allows it to decode AACS protected titles. You might remember the software was also the victim of a simple "print screen" attack several months ago that was quickly patched. The method used to find it was based on arnezami's previous approach of watching memory dumps and finding it through a "bottom up" approach. Coming on the heels of the cracks already widely available, this doesn't really affect the current state of easily copied high def movies, but could make disabling the vulnerable player from playing future releases, finding the hole and preventing it from being hacked again, that much more difficult.
[Via Slashdot]
AACS cracked again: WinDVD key found | dclm-gs1-001940000 |
Escapist Podcast: 071: Jumping the Cougar-Shark
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Susan Arendt:
As for your comment about disqualifying people based on such characteristics being're right. But when you have one open position and literally hundreds of qualified applicants, you will look for any reason to thin the herd.
I was also making the point that it's utterly naive to think that certain life choices will have no impact on your hireability - or, perhaps more accurately, advertising those choices.
Naive perhaps, but I cannot fault the lady in question for being indignant. Anger is the correct emotional response to injustice, it fueled the sixties, punk & rock and roll, and drives each new generation to drag their elders kicking and screaming along the ratchet of progress. You go, girl.
This case is somewhat unique in that posing in a magazine is a public thing to do, unlike many of the other personal preferences we're talking about.
Since the internet generally, and facebook in particular, a lot of personal details have become effectively public. This crop of twentysomethings don't really have an expectation of privacy, or any practical way to step back into the closet if they wanted to.
I don't see a qualitative difference between being publicly sexual and/or being publicly gay.
But people are people, biased and predjudiced. As an employer, it makes sense to try and minimize friction inasmuch as possible and practical.
Which depending on the company, could be best achieved by not employing people of certain religions, enacting don't-ask-don't-tell, or exclusively employing faithful Fox News disciples. I doubt you'd defend those solutions. As you say, any company will inevitably employ people who find each other personally offensive, it's the employees' duty to keep their prejudices out of the office, and management's job to knock heads together when they don't.
To deny someone employment opportunities because their personal background could be controversial is injustice, as a manager you'd be doing this purely to make your own job easier. Should the goal not be to minimize friction inasmuch as *ethical* and practical? We tried making people hide who they were to fit into polite society back in the fifties, it was shit.
An addendum in closing: Tasha Yar - Never Forget. <3
Susan Arendt:
Again, let's be clear - this isn't about should you hire this particular person, it's should you hire this particular person when you can hire someone else who will do it just as well?
So my particular take on this is that the opposite of this might also be true, no? Instead of looking for a reason to thin the herd, you're looking for a distinguishing feature to take interest in. A woman who is able to pose nude in Playboy and then be willing to apply for a job in a different field, knowing full well the virality of the internet, seems to indicate a confidence in herself. If you're considering other team members, perhaps the ability to not be easily cowed would be rather important.
In terms of the way that other people are interpreting your question, let us take for a example a team of people who are mostly Jewish. Would you then limit the "herd" by removing all Muslim applicants because you predict that there will be friction? What if the current team is all male? Would you remove all female applicants and gay applicants because it could cause discomfort and problems?
In the end, I would say, no, an applicant shouldn't be removed due to something like this. If you're still considering in the numbers that you're posing, then another arbitrary measure would be better in culling down to numbers that you deem are manageable. Removing a single brick from a wall still won't get you into the keep.
If, however, she is at the level where only small cuts can only be made, then her work is good enough to be more important than something like this.
One of my better employers used to thin the herd by shuffling the applications and binning half the stack unseen, on the basis that he didn't employ unlucky people. That seemed bizarrely fair.
So I know I'm coming to this a week late, but I only just got to the episode and had to see if anyone drew the cougar-shark. Since it looked like no one had I wanted to see if it had ever popped up. Lo and behold, one image search later, an entry to a photo editing contest mixing land and sea animals produced this gem, remarkably tailored to the topic at hand. image
Granted, it's a different use of jumping than the source, but I can't find it in me to fault the picture for that.
To me, "Little from colum A little from colum B" is a Simpsons reference, when Grampa was distracting the feds.
Susan Arendt:
Susan Arendt's argument in the hypothetical hiring question is problematic because people can have problems with a wide range of personal characteristics, including but not limited to gender, race, sexual preference, religion, political affiliation, the kind of car they drive, their sense of humour, you name it. As such disqualifying people on such characteristics is arbitrary at best, and can be outright malicious at worst.
Ultimately the only thing that really puts the workplace dynamic at risk in these cases is someone with such convictions not being professional enough to put them aside in the workplace. It's a problem with them, not with the people that they are offended by.
Never said it was a problem with the "offender," as it were. But whereas you can't choose your gender, race, sexual preference, you can choose whether or not you appear nude in a magazine.
You can, however, choose to be open about it, or actively hide it or lie about things like your sexual preference or religion, or even race if it's not apparent your grandmother was black or something, or that you're a transsexual.
This is pretty commonly discussed on discussion-boards and other forums where non-heterosexual people gather.
A lot of gays feel they need to hide their sexual orientation to get promoted, or not sacked.
This happens. Not too long ago here in Finland there was a case where a woman (Johanna Korhonen) lost her job because her boss found out she was a lesbian.
I was bullied in school, and the way the school chose to deal with it was to tell me it was me who was the problem because I wasn't 'normal'. This is the same kind of thinking.
That whole segment in your podcast just left a bad taste in my mouth. Mainly because I've had to deal with stuff like that.
If a straight woman mentions her husband, no one thinks anything of it.
If a lesbian mentions her wife, everyone takes note of it, and how she is 'bringing her sexuality into the workplace'.
It is a very common complaint gays face, if they are open about their sexuality, it's 'rubbing it into people's faces'.
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Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Double Agent Review
Whose side is he on?
Version tested: PlayStation 3
Not every game looks amazingly realistic. Not every game has fancy menus. Not every game has the official licence, name or tits. Not every game has Mark Hamill doing voice acting. Alright, every game does have Mark Hamill doing voice acting, but not every game has Mark Hamill doing voice acting on a Tuesday. What we can rely on though - what holds the world to order - is the understanding that if someone shoots Mark Hamill, or indeed anyone, to death, they will fall down on cue.
So it'd be pretty rubbish if you heard gunshots after somebody had fallen over, and indeed it is pretty rubbish when this happens in Splinter Cell: Double Agent on the PlayStation 3. It happens on level one, when your little agency cohort gets a bit ahead of himself and finds himself captured by Islamic extremists. It's a pitiful sight (and, eventually, sound), and it's symptomatic of a port that's at best loveless and sometimes rather hateful - something made all the more annoying given how brilliant Double Agent was on the Xbox 360.
Splinter Cell has always built tension effectively, but Double Agent took things further, putting you in the hands of opposing masters; your ultimate goal was to infiltrate and undermine a terrorist organisation, but to do that you'd have to appease them while you kept your NSA bosses happy, by snipping wires and drawing on terrorist faces while they slept. All sorts of things affected the trust your superiors had for you, and some decisions were genuinely troubling: told to kill a helicopter pilot, would you pull the trigger in his face, knowing that he's dead anyway, or risk pissing off your terrorist boss by refusing? With multiple objectives competing for your time and competing with one another, staying undercover was just as important as finding cover had ever been.
Some of the best missions take place at the terrorist HQ, but you get to tour the world too.
Double Agent on PS3 is ostensibly the same game - with the same training levels, the same single-player campaign, the same nonsense story you probably won't care about, and a couple of new multiplayer levels that will be released on Xbox 360 before long anyway - but in making the transition to Sony's new console, something's gone wrong. Things are rubbish even before you start, as once-smooth load-screen cinematics shudder and crackle distractingly. In-game, your first task is to infiltrate a geothermal plant in Iceland: on Xbox 360, there's barely a frame missing; on PS3, the frame rate's dipping below the surface of acceptability before you've even climbed out of the water. Were this because the game was trying for 1080p it might be understandable, but Double Agent runs in the same 720p resolution on both consoles. Glitches, like the aforementioned gunshot mentalism, do little to convince you of the game's composure.
Fortunately, it's a problem that seems to lessen once the game gets going, and the rest of the package is much the same as it is on Xbox 360. The campaign mode is an agreeable selection of levels that involve all the requisite sneaking around, and trying to avoid discovery by keeping an eye on guards, grabbing them by the neck and dropping silently onto their heads when the need takes you, and everything you need is at your disposal.
And now you can be a girl visually, as well as sounding like one.
The controls are much as they were, allowing you to manoeuvre Sam Fisher around with the left stick and rotate the camera with the right, while shoulder and face buttons swap between inventory items and perform stealthy take-downs. The main change is that you're given the option to pick locks using the Sixaxis' tilt sensor. Instead of rotating the analogue stick until you feel a buzz, you now tilt the controller left and right until the tumblers in the lock start to jiggle visibly. If you're not taken with this, you can switch it off and simply rotate and watch for movement, but there's nothing massively wrong with the new system, even if it is a bit throwaway.
Turning in the direction of the Internet (hello), Double Agent distinguishes itself with a pair of new multiplayer maps and a new skin - the female spy. The latter is what it is (a character model with ladybumps), while the former are more likely to appeal to people who've already played the initial missions extensively, and so may be welcome, but will no doubt attract more interest when they arrive on Xbox Live along with the girlie spy. Otherwise, the multiplayer side of the game is set up in much the same way. The menus are laid out slightly differently, but you can still set up squads, look at global leaderboards for challenges and versus levels, and view your friends list. And that means you get the same excellent, balanced game of cat-and-mouse, as mercenaries try and stop the nimble spies reaching and hacking their data, with the same system of bonuses, unlockables and upgrades to add further incentive to return, which you will, time and again. There are six more expert co-op challenges here, too.
It was a lousy job, but balancing a lamp on his back was all that Sam could do with that haircut.
Overall, if you've got the option to choose between the two, the Xbox 360 version is definitely preferable. What more the PS3 has will be added via downloads, and in technical terms there's no debate. Taken alone though, Double Agent on the PS3 is still a fine game, and its clunkiness is excusable when taken in the context of its achievements, dragging fans out of their comfort zone in commendable fashion, and arguably providing enough content between its separate single- and multiplayer components that each could stand alone. It's not the easiest game for newcomers to approach (the tutorial's dreadful), but even stealth virgins will see the light after an hour or so in the dark, and probably ought to add another mark to the score. Make ours a double.
8 / 10
Read the scoring policy
Comments (138)
| dclm-gs1-001960000 |
TV Review: 'Death Valley' Episode 104 - 'Two Girls, One Cop'
Death Valley Episode 104
"Two Girls, One Cop"
Written By: David Weinstein
Directed By: Drew Daywalt
Original Airdate: 19 September 2011
In This Episode...
The UTF answer a call about a werewolf on the loose. When they arrive, John-John and Carla discover the werewolf is an actor on a porn shoot, and he changed in the middle of a scene. Stubeck and Billy, meanwhile, are looking for the werewolf in the neighborhood. When the makeup girl from the shoot ends up at their feet, dead, they realize the werewolf is in the house. The werewolf attacks through a wall, and the cops tranquilize him. When he sobers up, he apologizes, and the cops are stunned to learn that he knew he had the virus before the shoot. He never works on a full moon but his nutritionist told him it could be controlled so he could make a little extra cash. Not only did he kill the makeup girl, he turned one of his co-stars.
Meanwhile, Kirsten is on lockdown duty. She makes house to house calls to make sure registered werewolves are properly secured before the full moon. One house she visits, the wife is cagey. She finally admits her husband escaped a half hour ago. Kirsten gives chase, and beats the crap out of him.
Dig It or Bury It?
This was a surprisingly lackluster episode. It wasn't nearly as funny as a porn-based episode should be, nor was it particularly sexy. There was virtually no gore at all in this episode. The action sequence with Kirsten kicking that werewolf's ass was pretty cool. Interestingly, the Captain was nowhere to be found. I love that the title of the episode - and the name of the porn they were shooting - was "Two Girls, One Cop."
Undead Tee-Hee Force
The porn director talking about Mara, the makeup woman: "She can make a vagina look like a pair of Swedish baby thumbs."
Zombies pull a Dawn of the Dead and invade the local mall. | dclm-gs1-001970000 |
Core Memory
Newer Older
Core Memory Board overlay
Here is the CDC 6600 computer from that era that I saw in the Computer History Museum...
And a wonderful overview of the CDC memory system.
NihonGoose, asol, Tomi Tapio, and 5 other people added this photo to their favorites.
1. Sam Scholes 110 months ago | reply
Is that photograph really on the chip? If so, why?
2. jurvetson 107 months ago | reply
just a ghost in the machine.... =)
3. jurvetson 98 months ago | reply
it's a great book.
| dclm-gs1-001980000 |
Dump Cake
By lthrgirl03 on May 12, 2005
25 Characters Max
Enter Time:
You can create up to five timers
1. 1 (18 ounce) boxes white cake mix
2. 12 ounces frozen raspberries
3. 12 ounces frozen blueberries
4. 2 cups diet 7-Up
1. Put fruit in sprayed 9x13 baking pan and cover with dry cake mix (DO NOT STIR!).
2. Pour 7Up over whole pan (again, do not stir).
3. Cover and bake for 20 minutes at 350°F, then uncover and bake for another 20-30 minutes.
4. Makes 12 servings.
5. Can also be cut in half.
6. I used a 9x9 in pan and a box of Jiffy cake mix, small skinny blue and white box, and one cup of diet 7-up. | dclm-gs1-001990000 |
Felix the cat needs to land on his feet against Bayern
There is always a degree of fascination in watching old footage of football players who have gone on to become top coaches. Take Felix Magath. It was his magnificent strike in the 1983 European Cup Final that proved decisive in Hamburg's victory over Juventus. The young Felix is full of life, grinning from ear to ear like the proverbial Cheshire cat.
Who knows what ambitions he had at that age, but it's fair to say that the last thing on his mind would be to look ahead to the distant future and a critical club board meeting in the industrial town of Gelsenkirchen with his job on the line after having presided over a humiliating 5-0 defeat to a newly promoted side.
Magath's career as a coach has not been a complete success. However, after shortish early spells at Hamburg, Nuremberg, Werder Bremen and Eintracht Frankfurt, a decent showing at Stuttgart gave him the chance to take the biggest job in Germany at Bayern Munich.
Despite delivering a domestic double twice, his apparent lack of progress on the continental stage was deemed insufficient for a club of FC Bayern's stature. Magath's reputation for being a strict disciplinarian has not made him the most popular individual in some quarters.
He moved to Wolfsburg, where he led the rather anonymous Volkswagen-owned club to an incredible title win. This earned him a shot at the one of the toughest jobs in the Bundesliga but potentially the most rewarding: coaching FC Schalke 04.
The announcement of Magath's appointment sent shockwaves through German football, not because of the appointment itself but the timing of the announcement, before the end of the 2008/09 season, while still at Wolfsburg and with the title race in the balance. The powers that be at Die Wolfe were not happy about the way the transition was handled and chose to announce Magath's departure before it had actually happened.
The controversy didn't affect the team's path to the Bundesliga title, inspired by the goals of Grafite and Dzeko. Amidst a shower of Wolfsburg's official beer, Magath was sent to the industrial heartland and to that huge stadium that looks down on the city of Gelsenkirchen like a giant cathedral.
Grafite soaks Magath, but the gaffer was on his way
Once he arrived and presumably had a chance to look at the books, Magath began to play down Schalke's chances of winning the Bundesliga anytime soon. The club has spent great deal of money supporting a succession of coaches and had accumulated a large squad and a massive wage bill. Club debts were on the verge of crippling the club. Cutbacks would have to be made and the transition may not be a smooth one.
However, last season, with the squad he had inherited, Magath orchestrated a title challenge that saw the club lose out to Bayern and finish as runners-up. With Marcelo Bordon and Heiko Westermann at the back and a revitalised Kevin Kuranyi up front, Schalke played an unspectacular but extremely effective brand of football.
The unexpected outcome fuelled expectations but unfortunately, for the Gelsenkirchen club, Magath was compelled to ship out many of his high earners and radically reshape the first team. Out went Kuranyi, Westermann, Bordon and Rafinha plus mainstay squad members such as Gerard Asamoah and Carlos Zambrano.
While the squad (and presumably the wage bill) was trimmed, Magath did not shirk from spending big in the transfer market â to the tune of about ã24m. Attacking midfielder Jose Manuel Jurado was brought in from Europa League winners Atletico Madrid along with Klaas-Jan Huntelaar from Atleti's neighbours Real.
Then, of course, there was Raul who arrived having finished his spell at Real Madrid. Excitement at the arrival of the Spanish legend had reached fever pitch, but the outcome has made for a disastrous first half of the Bundesliga season â culminating in the aforementioned 5-0 defeat to newly promoted Kaiserslautern.
Let's work together: Jurado, Raul, Huntelaar (and an arm)
With half of their Bundesliga games consigned to the defeat column and a baying crowd of fanatical supporters literally turning their back on the team, a weary Magath was brought before the board this week to explain himself. Whatever he said, it worked: the board voted to keep him at the club, presumably on the basis that he got them into this mess so he can bloody well get them out of it.
It's not all bad though. Two wins in the last five (albeit to the struggling St Pauli and abject Werder Bremen) suggested that before the last weekend at least, a corner had been turned. And the club have successfully negotiated their way into the Second Round if the Champions League.
The triad of Jurado, Raul and Huntelaar are showing signs of improvement, with the latter taking to the Bundesliga like a duck to water. Jefferson Farfan is having a good season too.
But Magath still has it all to do if Schalke are to meet the expectations of their vociferous support at the Veltins Arena. Already the winter break has been shortened and the players will have to return early after Christmas in the hope that they can reboot their season and pull away from the bottom four. The Bundesliga is sufficiently fluid that a rise up the table to a Europa League spot is not completely out of the question.
Tomorrow they have to return to their home crowd and face not only their disgruntled fans but a resurgent Bayern Munich. If ever a response was required, it will be this weekend. | dclm-gs1-002000000 |
Lyon players fined for deliberate bookings
NYON, Switzerland - UEFA fined Olympique Lyon players Cris and Juninho 15,000 euros ($19,790) and 10,000 euros ($13,190) respectively on Thursday for getting deliberately booked during a Champions League match last month.
UEFA's disciplinary panel decided that the pair had committed deliberate fouls during the November 25 Group F match against Fiorentina in order to serve a one-match suspension during their team's meaningless final group stage match against Bayern Munich.
Aside from the fine, the tactic appears to have paid off for the two Brazilians who can now compete in the tournament's first knockout round with their disciplinary record wiped clean.
Cris and Juninho had each picked up two yellow cards in early Champions League matches going into the Fiorentina match and would have been ruled out of the first knockout round game if their third booking had come during the Bayern match.
UEFA said the two players would have three days in which to appeal against Thursday's decision. | dclm-gs1-002010000 |
Imagine being unemployed and still being able to build a lakefront home, all you need is a little taxpayer money. Private investigator Bernie "The Bug" Soldate says he's seen that, and worse, while trailing fraudsters who are making false unemployment claims.
"This guy, who was collecting in Connecticut, built a home on a lake-- it was a palace," Soldate says. "He wasn't looking for work, he was just building his home."
Soldate tells the story of another claimant that had files of accomplices in human resources departments who was in an arrangements with to bilk the system. This fraudster was on his second round of unemployment and had notes to "call Ted, and remind him that if the [government] calls to say I went to him looking for work and was wonderful, but wasn't a good fit for the job.”
"People in HR departments would sign him off as looking for work when he wasn't because they were his friends," he says. "This is just the tip of the iceberg-- people get more and more creative."
According to a recent study, unemployment fraudsters are costing the government billions of dollars. The St. Louis Federal Reserve reports $3.3 billion out of a total $108 billion was paid out in fraudulent unemployment claims in 2011. What's more, $2.2 billion went to people who are actually still working.
Current unemployment insurance is provided for up to 26 weeks, but can be collected for longer if state unemployment rates are higher-- for an additional 13 weeks. During the recession lawmakers extended benefits for up to 99 weeks, however this ended in September 2012.
James Sherk, senior policy analyst at the Heritage Foundation, says pre-recession, unemployment benefits were being paid out at around $40 billion a year. Post- recession the program has nearly tripled to more than $100 billion, making the opportunity for fraud to occur even greater.
"The aggregate amount of fraud has gotten worse, because the program is bigger," Sherk says. "These [fraudulent claims] are being paid out at higher rates than the $1.6 billion we are paying for the Job Core training program for at-risk youth."
Sherk does point out, that while $3.3 billion is still a huge number, its roughly just 3% of the total amount being paid out.
"It's still an enormous amount of money," he says.
Who is Benefitting and How?
The St. Louis Fed reports those earning the lowest, at $300 a week and less, were paid out $210 million of these fraudulent claims. Half a billion went to those earning $900 a week or more.
Soldate says many of these claims come from people working in manual labor, mainly construction, who can easily find work that pays under the table.
"They collect unemployment and continue to do side jobs on their own," he says. "They're easy to watch [for investigators] because we can see them easily."
What's more, these fraudsters will actually give their employers bogus social security numbers. So it appears to payroll department that they are legitimate, but when push comes to shove, they aren't who they claim to be.
"They will collect their paycheck, and when all is said and done, they are not who they say they are," he says.
And convicted felons? They're cashing in too. Sherk says those behind bars will have their family or friends file claims, and then collect while actually serving time.
"Being a convicted felon doesn't make you eligible for this," he says. "The focus [from the government] over the past few years has been to get the money out the door and to the people."
Finally those who have actually found work will ride out their 26 weeks or more of unemployment and just not alert the government that they have a new job, Sherk says.
"They were people who legitimately qualified for benefits, but then wait awhile to tell the government that they have a job in the first place," he says.
How Can the Government Fix It?
The Labor Department, which declined to comment for this story, directed to its recent efforts in providing grants to states to bolster their Unemployment Insurance Program integrity. In September 2012, $169.9 million was awarded to 30 states to enhance their programs
To cut down on the amount of wasteful spending, Soldate says the government needs to follow up on received tips. He says,many times disgruntled exes will report their former flames to companies or the government for this type of fraud, but it isn't always followed up on.
"The government [may] realize enough of them are doing it, but don't have the manpower or means to come out and investigate a claim of that nature."
Sherk says having a greater vetting process is also essential to curbing this type of fraud.
"What needs to be done to fix this are more intensive requirements," he says. " By definition, this shouldn't be happening."
Follow Kate Rogers on Twitter at @KateRogersNews | dclm-gs1-002020000 |
Medical giant Stryker cuts 1,170 jobs, citing ObamaCare
Stryker Corp. heir Jon StrykerAP
Medical supply giant Stryker is the latest company to announce job cuts in anticipation of coming costs associated with ObamaCare, even though the man who inherited a fortune from the company's founder is a fan.
Positions within the company were eliminated altogether after the announcement and have since contracted out many of their current roster of employees to keep costs down, an employee with Stryker, who spoke to under the condition of anonymity, said.
“They really trimmed the fat with the last layoffs in 2009 and the year after which is probably why we are finally on budget for the first time since 1999,” the employee added.
Jon Stryker has been active in politics before the recent election; he contributing millions to help Democratic candidates in his home state of Michigan. He also has given nearly $250 million of his personal wealth to groups supporting gay rights and the conservation of apes, which led to a newly found species being named after him. In 2010, the discovered Myanmar Snub-nosed monkey was named Rhinopithecus strykeri by the research teams that were funded by Stryker’s Arcus Foundation.
The Associated Press contributed to this story. | dclm-gs1-002030000 |
Welcome to Gaia! ::
Black Death Goddess's avatar
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Sooooo, no answer on the Halloween items in the gold shops then?
Daranigan's avatar
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When are you gonna put up some new games that don't rely so much on facebook? Seriously. I don't want to have to go to facebook to play a game on gaia.
Thinking about it.
Thinking about what? Adding the games? Making new games that don't rely on facebook? An actual answer? What is going on with this?
Aria T-Loak's avatar
Invisible Elder
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What would be your weapon of choice during the zombie apocalypse?
They would use Zero in that time >_>;; I think..
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Fedelta Hellbond
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I know that feel bro. ;~;
; x; I've been begging for the black hair similar to gogh reed zero hair for weeks. not even a maybe. Sometimes I wonder why I bother buying gaia cash or even try to do anything on here anymore. Mods don't really care either. I have a friend who was scammed and all they do is ask for screenie shot screenie shot proof more proof even after she gives it to them. Who the hell takes screenies of a gifting anyway!!
D'aww don't say that I'm sure everyone on the Gaia staff truly cares for the members of Gaia. 3nodding
About the hacking I'm sure there are a lot of fraud claims of being hacked so they just want to make sure she is telling the truth. As for the hair maybe in the future they might make a black version of it. c:
Uncle Kenny
We've broken all ties with the store as they basically took all of our inventory, kept it, and just stopped paying us. The store itself is not accessible from our site anymore and any links should no longer lead anywhere but pages that are down. So long story short, we're not in the business of RL merch anymore. The artists do have a RedBubble account that they're selling a few items through though.
I don't know Cali law, but ain't that illegal?
@ Gaia Staff : Will Gaia Consider adding an opt out check box for flying giftboxes and the like??
@Gaians : Click to see petition.
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That's the first time I've heard of such a request, any reason as to why?
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I have a serious question. What are people like myself supposed to do on gaia? I joined a long time ago. I started in 2005 and I grew with gaia and I am sorry but gaia is refusing to grow with me. I am now over 18 years old and I know a lot of people that have also grown past the childhood years. I have dumped money into this site and I feel like gaia is saying, "oh your 18 now. well since you crossed that line we no longer care if you go or stay." I''m not saying I want to be able to c-y-b-e-r on the site or anything, but I am tired of watching my back because I am having a more mature conversation with my friends. There are many topics that do not involve any sexuallity that can go above a PG-13 level. I am mature. I am an adult. Is gaia ever gonna do anything to make the site more usable for it's members that grew up on gaia? Or are we just expected to quit something that has been such a big part of our lives for so long?
You do realize that Gaia is not PG-13 right?
"Ph’nglui mglw’nafh Cthulhu R’lyeh wagh’nagl fhtagn."
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What happened to Waffles?
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Aaaaaaand its over..thanks again of gaia admins for absolutely nothing..[whimpers and goes away giving up on all hope of gaia]
Pfffffft, you haven't given up all hope and you know it! KNOW IT! :0
If you have something pressing, feel free to pm me with the question/info biggrin
Sisky, I sent you a PM :3
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I have some questions that are sort of plot related, but I don't know if they're spoilers...
How exactly do vampires reproduce on Gaia? Is it just through sex? Can a person be embraced? Are both possible? Also, is embrace strictly a bite on the neck? Or is there some form of blood exchange between vampire and victim?
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Black Death Goddess
Would any EI and REI ideas be accepted by the artists?
pleeeeease if you have ideas make one with flowing long straight black hair? ;x; [whimper]
Oh I have a Question biggrin
How do you feel about the pace of our Gaia-verse plot?
And do you care if people are invested in the story?
Recently, I've seen plenty of people bashing the storyline as a whole.
It's slightly saddening to think that these individuals don''t give two sh*ts about the "backstory" (I guess we can call it that) ,
to a site they seem pretty invested in monetarily and otherwise.
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In the playplus - Gaia relationship, does playplus do any of the development or is that pretty much a gaia thing? What is playplus in that respect. I.e does all development come from the gaia side of things?
Any clues on whats happening in soul crash dev world atm?
Any chance of getting a achievement granted to the top 10 pirates?
What happened to Waffles?
He got syrup'd.
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Hallowed Rogue
I dont know where i read this. BUT are you guys still takeing ideas for new Gaia games???
How bout a side scroller type game? ala Super mario bros? Where two players can compete against each other at once?
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Old 03-01-2009, 02:53 AM #1
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Please rate this review: Star Wars-The Force Unleashed
To me, the Star Wars franchise has been dead for some time now. Since the end of the original trilogy to be precise.
After the release of episode 1, LucasArts made a barrage of star wars games, most of which were absolutely dreadful, with the exception of the battlefront and knights of the old republic series, even though Bioware and Pandemic were the driving force behind why those games were good. However, The Force Unleashed had been riding a bullet train of hype for some time, and being the fanboy that I am, I decided to check it out.
First things first, this game's story is meant to tie the prequel trilogy to the original, and any game that can support the garbage of the prequels should most likely be bad, and bad it is.
The game suffers from clunky, and often sluggish controls that don't even work properly. Half the time, you could aiming a force power at one enemy, only have your force lightning zap the nearest butterfly instead. Some larger enemies will usually require a short quick time event mini game, sort of, to kill them, and there are even some enemies that are resistant to most or all force powers. It seems that the "developers" made a game allows the player to be the most powerful jedi ever with the strongest force abilities, only to have to fight force resistant enemies that are spread in most parts of a level just for the sake of keeping the game challenging. Why even give the player so many abilities that they can't use the whole time?
The story doesen't help anything either. As mentioned before, this game is used to tie the two trilogies together, and my question is this: Why would someone, or anyone for that matter want to commit such a terrible crime against humanity? The prequel trilogy was several hours of torture, that made my eyes want to vomit. If only I had that option. So Darth Vader goes through a phase of stealing children, and forcing them to kill for him. You, as the protagonist become his secret apprentice, and with your help Vader will kill the Emperor. Or so it should have been. For supposedly being a sith, the apprentice is never really evil, a pansy really, or at least personality wise.
Also the game is criminally short, clocking in at about five to six hours. So if you are planning on getting it, don't pay full price for it, because there are'nt any aspects of it thar are worth the money.
Last edited by thevoice560; 03-01-2009 at 02:56 AM.
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Is there a option to turn the physx on low?
#11LordPonchoPosted 9/17/2012 12:00:57 AM
Did you guys listen to the commentary?
Good god. If you're going to post a video, don't provide false information. Low and medium enables physics, but not physx. High id the only setting with physx enabled. | dclm-gs1-002060000 |
GameFreak tells you that you get to pick an existing Pokemon to get an evolution
#71strightedgeemoPosted 6/24/2013 1:39:14 AM
lets see where they go with this
#72SilverSockPosted 6/24/2013 1:58:37 AM
Farfetch'd, no question
Help Wanted: New Sig
Post something funny, and be (temporarily) immortalized here!
#73YukimuraCrimsonPosted 6/24/2013 2:01:28 AM
Jynx, Skarmory and Bannette
#74Chaos_MissilePosted 6/24/2013 2:25:12 AM
Missingno_Mastr posted...
Luvdisc. I even have an idea in mind- a Water/Flying-type based on the arrows Cupid shoots to make people fall in love. Cupidisc, as it would be called, would have good Attack and Speed, and would learn moves like Drill Peck, Drill Run, Aqua Jet, Quick Attack, Aqua Tail, and Extremespeed.
They kinda did. GF just decided to troll:
Let's put a smile on that face - The Joker, 2008
#75Paulo123Posted 6/24/2013 2:42:30 AM
Seviper or more Eevee evolutions.
#76JarickoPosted 6/24/2013 3:58:07 AM
dineme81 posted...
Can't believe nobody's said this yet.. Aerodactyl
That is because aerodactyl is plenty powerful as is. Its the fastest rock type. Its defenses are less then stellar but that is what it gives up for its speed. And in first gen i believe it had the highest crit chance besides electrode which in that gen was incredible.
#77EmeraldRangePosted 6/24/2013 4:25:27 AM
Dragonair gets a split evo that has is basically a dragonite that looks better
Gamefreak better add a feature that can topple this fairy type.
#78nightblade_hawkPosted 6/24/2013 4:57:55 AM
Psychic/Dark scary and mean looking Mr.Mime Evolution.
#79patsfan2312Posted 6/24/2013 7:04:48 AM
#80deevo117Posted 6/24/2013 8:03:32 AM
Qwilfish God Dammit.
Official Manectric of the Pokemon X/Y Boards | dclm-gs1-002070000 |
Fun online shooters that aren't TF2?
#1refmonPosted 9/29/2013 4:28:25 PM
I only know of planetside
#2ajko000Posted 9/29/2013 4:36:35 PM
Planetside is not fun.
Sorry, that's it. I mean, maybe Quake Online, but yeah, that specific area has been pretty dry lately.
#3DragonRaizenPosted 9/29/2013 4:46:40 PM
Natural Selection 2 is always worth a look.
Loadout is fun, but might be too TF2ish for you, depending on why you're avoiding TF2.
-I'm a robot, not your refrigerator.
#4Maiken100Posted 9/29/2013 4:53:04 PM
Even tho it's hated on Black ops 2 is fun.
Left 4 Dead 2 is still awesome.
Battlefield 3, not a big fan but I enjoy CQC from time to time.
Counter Strike 1.6, steep learning curve but still fun to go back to.
Next Gen:
#5DerPancakePosted 9/29/2013 4:55:58 PM
Black Ops 2 for fast paced military close quarters combat.
Steam/Origin: DerPancake
#6eragonman9Posted 9/29/2013 5:01:05 PM
Counterstrike, BF3, Garry's Mod (Trouble in Terrorist Town, misc. game modes).
*poke* *jiggle*
#7mycousinvinniePosted 9/29/2013 6:21:41 PM
hawken, it's a bit unbalanced right now, but once you get used to it, it's pretty fun
3ds FC 3969-3839-5643
#8Ultimate_UmbreoPosted 9/29/2013 6:31:40 PM
Call of Duty isn't so bad, but you might get bored quick due to the low skill ceiling. My personal favourite shooter is Tribes: Ascend. Fast paced and takes skill.
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#9KeyeszxPosted 9/29/2013 6:39:57 PM
Sorry but you have to choose between fun or aren't tf2 in that question. Take out one or the other, can't have 'em both.
PSN/Gamertag:Keyeszx (Don't send blank friend invite)
#10TheSchrefPosted 9/29/2013 7:11:47 PM
CoDs are fun if you just want to mindlessly shoot people. CS:GO if you want a high skillcap shooter. | dclm-gs1-002080000 |
The next XBOX is going to sell really badly
#41Vipa1985Posted 10/2/2012 9:25:08 AM
Seksii_Girl_3 posted...
BrutalBrocken posted...
I dont think its Microsofts fault that Rare flopped or if rejoining Nintendo would change that. Kameo, PDZ, and the few other games they made were not huge hits. But Rare does make the Avatars and the Wii Sports series which were much bigger hits. So who knows maybe RARE is making the greatest game ever made right now
I think Kameo is great and PDZ was decent which just shows they can make quality titles but are shoveled with crap Microsoft wants to push. Hopefully they make Killer Instinct 3.
KI3 and Timesplitters 4 would make me buy a XBOX 720.
Prepare to sadface i'm afraid...
This was posted earlier today:
I think Rare & Crytek have both missed out on a huge oppourtunity this gen, fighting games & FPS' have been the biggest selling genres & yet no new Timesplitters, no new Killer Instinct & no new Perfect Dark.... shame
I suppose there may be a ray of light in that Crytek may decide to release that HD version of TS2 & with Micro$oft renewing the KI license recently & making a point of announcing it had there may be something happning but i guess we've gotta wait & see..
#42NavexPosted 10/2/2012 9:29:00 AM
Ads are crap but I've tolerated them for years so I won't care as long as they don't get bigger or more widespread than they are now. As for the exclusives who the **** cares. Sony has lost many of theirs years ago and they're still going. Exclusives don't sell the system and keep an entire system going in case you didn't know that.
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#43degen2011Posted 10/2/2012 9:32:06 AM
I only game on 360, and have since 2008.
In the past 2 years the console has taken a massive dive in quality and content. Right now the only reason I haven't jumped to PS3 is friends and party chat.
I'll hold out hope for the '720' though, but Microsoft have a lot to fix.
#44_OujiDoza_Posted 10/2/2012 9:35:59 AM
The ads are annoying and if you pay for the gold option you should be given the option to turn them off, they are intrusive and it's not all that simple to just "ignore" the ****ing things.
If you aren't going to jump right into a game, you have to jump past 3-4 sections just to even see any other game options now with all the ads and apps...I'm kinda tired of it.
I'd like to think the nextBOX will improve somehow but I'm not that blind not to see that sometimes a build-up of little annoyances can become a big problem.
As for RARE, meh, but I kinda understand the sentiment.
GT: PrinceDoZeR
#45DakhanavarXPosted 10/2/2012 9:39:20 AM
gabrius posted...
The 360 had, by far, the best library of games this gen.
Don't get me wrong, there are several MUST HAVE titles for all 3 systems, but most of my game time goes to the 360.
Pretty much this for me as well. It's the go-to console for most multiplatform games, shmups, and downloadable titles this gen. Exclusives are a matter of preference, but I've thoroughly enjoy many of the "lesser" retail exclusives like EDF, Chromehounds, Culdcept Saga, Crackdown, Kameo, Viva Pinata, etc. (Along with enjoying the bigger exclusives as well)
Most of the best games this gen have been multiplatform anyway, so I'm not quite sure why people think if an exclusive hasn't come out in the last 48 hours then there hasn't been anything worth playing in the last 6 months. (I should say a retail, non-Kinect, non-PC exclusive, otherwise many people won't count it)
Well actually I do know, it's so people have something to whine about constantly. It's amazing that something like playing video games causes so much rage & stress for people. Play games, have fun, lighten up...or maybe find a different hobby? If you don't like a game or console, don't play it. There's not exactly a shortage of great games out there.
Member of the 8-Bit Playas:
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#46CGB_SpenderPosted 10/2/2012 9:47:04 AM
I laugh at people who say 360 only gets Halo, Gears and Forza. XBLA games should count and be a huge factor when purchasing a new system since they are consistently better than most exclusive retail games for all systems right now.
#47656stoogePosted 10/2/2012 9:48:18 AM
I agree with TC. I loved my 360 for the first few years, but if it wasn't for the first few years of exclusives then I'd probably sell it.
If Sony decides to keep PSN free next gen that will mean 3 free options (Wii U, PC or PS3) for online play. And if the next Xbox is going to have 99% of the same games as those three platforms then the choice seems pretty simple to me.
Just remember that the PS2 destroyed the Xbox last gen it and due to a bunch of stupid decisions on Sony's part the PS3 had an awful start this gen, so anyone that thinks the 360 will be in top spot next gen just because it did well this gen might be in for a surprise.
#48bossk5Posted 10/2/2012 9:51:37 AM
"I'm not trolling, i own a 360."
The fact that you felt the need to include this means you almost certainly are.
Welcome to Gamefaqs, where for some reason it's ok to bash Americans continually without penalty. I buy used games.Pacers 42-24
#49656stoogePosted 10/2/2012 9:56:20 AM
CGB_Spender posted...
While I agree that a lot of XBLA games are great, can you honestly justify buying a brand new console next gen for some arcade game when they could just as easily be made for the 360?
Arcade games don't exactly push the 360 to the limit at the moment. Do these indie devs really need all that extra RAM and processing power that next gen consoles will offer?
#50SythisTaruPosted 10/2/2012 9:57:02 AM
I'm thinking Steam will win the next generation of games/consoles. | dclm-gs1-002090000 |
Review by Mr_Yooj
"Those Pikmin aren't just cute, they're deadly!"
Pikmin 2 for the Nintendo Gamecube. This game is one of the best games I have blessed myself to play on the Gamecube. It's perfect in almost every aspect. Let's start off on something basic.
If you've played the first Pikmin game(which I also recommend) then you should be familiar with the controls, as they have not changed. They have solid controls that work with the game. The “L”, “R” and “Z” button control the camera, so you can six different views on how to experience the game! “B” will blow your whistle, which calls the Pikmin in the area to you. And “A” will do many things, such as pluck Pikmin, throw Pikmin, or even punch!
Now the story of Pikmin 2 is actually pretty good. Olimar returns from his last trip and finds the company in debt! So he and a new character named Louie head back to Pikmin Planet to collect all the treasures and save the company!
What's good about this game that was an improvement from the last is that there is no time limit. Did you ever needed to increase the number of Pikmin in the first game but never had time? Not a problem in this game! Take a whole day, no, take a week to increase you Pikmin mass! You can take as long as you want in this game! Another good thing is that you now have two captains. Did you ever need two things done at once but could never do it because your Pikmin would be alone and could die in the first game? Not anymore! Now you can have a captain for two groups of Pikmin doing two things at once! Another this is the addition of Sprays. The Ultra-Spicy Spray will enhance your Pimin. Their leaf/bud/flower will become a red light, and they will all move so fast they will always be able to keep up with you and their strength is increase. The Ultra-Bitter Spray is used to petrify enemies. They will turn to stone and you can freely attack them. If they are defeated while petrified, they will drop either nectar(common) or one of the sprays(uncommon).
Now for the Pikmin themselves. Everyone knows the Red, Yellow, and Blue Pikmin, they are still around. But in this game, they have added two new Pikmin! Purple Pikmin, which are super strong Pikmin that have the strength of 10 Pikmin! They can really help you out when you are low on Pikmin. They do balance out though by making them really slow, even when Flowers. The other new type is White Pikmin! These Pikmin are immune to poison. So they are ideal when you reach a poison gate. A cool feature is that when White Pikmin are eaten, the enemy will take damage! White Pikmin are also the fastest kind, being able to keep up with the Captain no matter what. It's just too bad these two Pikmin can only be found in caves.
This game also has a new aspect of gameplay added: Caves. Caves are just what they sound like, a cave. You enter one and you keep going underground until you get to the end. Almost all the caves have a boos at the end, which hold an item that will help you on the quest. Time doesn't pass in the caves, meaning you can take as long as you want in here. But be warned, you cannot produce Pikmin in here, so you are stuck with whatever you take in, so make sure you have enough. There are fourteen caves in total, so there will be plenty to explore in this game.
There are a total of four levels in this game, each one representing a season. The levels are fairly big and hold plenty of treasure for you to get. Half the fun of this game is just going around the levels and exploring.
And that is just the Story Mode. This game also has a Challenge Mode!
The Challenge Mode is unlocked after getting a certain treasure. Once unlocked, it is selectable from the main menu. In Challenge Mode, you are given a set number of Pikmin and a set number of Sprays. All the challenges will take place in a cave, so you cannot get any Pikmin you lose back. Your goal is to find an object and bring it back to the ship, so you can go farther down the cave. You have a time limit, though, so you have to hurry. There are 30 levels in all, and each are harder then the last one. That is not the only challenge though. If you just beat the level you will get a white flower, but if you can beat the level losing no Pikmin, you will be given a purple flower. This adds to the challenge so that you will want to get perfect on the levels. You can also try and beat your high score! The score is determined by the time you have left, the number of Pikmin you have, and the amount you earned from treasures.
Another fun mode is 2-Player Mode!
2-Player Mode is when one person is Olimar, with Red Pikmin, and Louie, with Blue Pikmin. In this mode, you have four ways to win. One way is if the other captain is knocked out, you will automatically win. Another way is if all of the other person's Pikmin have died. And the last two ways, it by collecting marbles. There are many yellow marbles scattered throughout the map, and if you can bring four of them back to your base, then you will win. The last way, is to bring your opponent's marble(either red or blue) to your base. There are ten levels to choose from and many different options to set up, making it fun and not repetitive.
Another fun thing in 2-Player Mode is, when you return a cherry to your base, you will get to spin a Roulette Wheel. Many things can happen when this happens such as gaining new Pikmin, or having an enemy appear by your opponent. This makes this mode crazy because you never know when a Blowhog will just appear at you and kill all your Pikmin!
This game has so much in it, it won't get boring. If story mode is gets old, play some challenge mode or 2-player mode! And if you are absolutely bored(and have no heart) you can find all sorts of way to just kill your Pikmin off! (Just make sure not to save)
This game does have problems though. The lack of time limit does make this game less challenging, seeing as you can do this in 90 days or whenever instead of being forced to do it in a certain time. And the lack of being able to produce Purple and White Pikmin outside of caves would have been nice, but I guess I'll just have to live with taking longer to build my army of 100 Pikmin each!
If you're a big Pikmin fan, or are just trying out the series, I would recommend this game. It's very enjoyable and will last you a long time. You should defiantly get this game, and never sell it. If you do, you'll regret it!
Game Release: Pikmin 2 (US, 08/30/04)
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Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon Review
• Game release: April 30, 2013
• Reviewed: April 30, 2013
• X360
Aaron Sampson on Google+
Great 1980s movie montages featured plucky underdogs, perhaps played by Sylvester Stallone, or maybe Ralph Macchio, demonstrating their determination to triumph over the forces of communism, bullying, or stodgy adults who don't believe in the power of young love. They were accompanied by properly cheesy pop hits, possibly performed by Joe Esposito, or maybe Deniece Williams, creating a wonderful audiovisual time capsule that could have only originated in that fabulous decade. Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon understands the power of the '80s. When its inevitable montage comes, you probably won't know the music, but you'll know the type. It's the kind that would have been sung by Michael Sembello, or Kenny Loggins, or Foreigner. If you're a child of the decade, you'll be glad that Blood Dragon knows you so well.
Don't worry, though: if the 1980s are before your time, or if you don't retain any nostalgia for the decade of parachute pants and the Brat Pack, Blood Dragon stands on its own without relying on references, though it packs in plenty of them. This downloadable spin-off of 2012's Far Cry 3 is a fantastically entertaining first-person shooter with more clever dialogue and action-packed hours than most full-priced games. At $15, it's a better deal than every Cabbage Patch Kid you ever loved, every Tears for Fears record you ever spun, and every Muppet Babies episode you ever viewed. Combined.
Well, perhaps Blood Dragon isn't quite that valuable. Nevertheless, it's hard not to be charmed from the moment it begins. Low-resolution cutscenes introduce you to Rex Colt, cybercommando. Rex is voiced by '80s mainstay Michael Biehn, better known for appearing in films like The Terminator (as Kyle Reese) and Aliens (as Dwayne Hicks). Biehn's forced rasp is the perfect complement to Rex's nationalist badassery, and his sincere line delivery makes several scenes all the more hysterical. Consider this dialogue: "I swore an oath to a special lady. Lady Liberty. She taught me that winners don't use drugs." It's a corny line right out of a War on Drugs-era public service announcement, but in the context of an offer to have dragon blood injected into Rex's veins. Meanwhile, you "rent" (that is, collect) VHS tapes of movies with titles like Bourne to Dance; this particular film features a special teacher showing his student "the kind of love he's never known before…the love of dance."
Given how it can fire lasers from its eyes, a blood dragon will always win this staring contest.
You don't need to know the '80s to get Rex's repeated oral sex gags, of which there are far too many. Nor do you need to know the past to understand that calls of "no" during a consensual sex scene would have been inappropriate in any decade. Luckily, most of the jokes aren't so juvenile, including video game cracks that make fun of red exploding barrels, game-violence controversies, and even Ubisoft's own games, like Far Cry 3 and Assassin's Creed. (Listen for bits of throwaway dialogue about girls with tribal tattoos and feather collecting.) The tutorial sets the tone straight away, telling you to press a button "to demonstrate your ability to read," and loading screens helpfully inform you that if you need a hint, perhaps the next loading screen will have one for you. Not every joke is so obvious--you may not notice or get nods to erotic artists and prison documentaries--but the gags are there, making Blood Dragon one of the funniest games in recent memory.
Of course, an '80s-focused game wouldn't be complete if it didn't look the part, and Blood Dragon certainly makes proper homage to its inspiration. Cutscenes look as if they could have been ripped right out of the original Metal Gear, or Shadow of the Beast, complete with the muddy reds, purples, and blues that characterized them. The same color scheme, in turn, infuses the first-person gameplay, as if you're traversing the game's medium-size island while wearing dark magenta sunglasses. Small audiovisual touches, such as the way Rex sometimes takes a blowtorch to his cybernetic arm when healing, and buzzing sounds to indicate Rex's part-mechanical nature, enthusiastically sell the roboapocalyptic setting. And by the final hour, which lends a sly twist to common action-game power trips, you'll appreciate how Blood Dragon uses nostalgia and humor to say something about the state of modern shooters.
Where base capture is concerned, green is good.
Blood Dragon isn't just an homage to great memories, however, but a terrific game in its own right. If you played Far Cry 3, you will recognize the structure. Enemy bases are strewn about the island you explore, and by annihilating all of the enemies that patrol them, either silently or forcefully, you convert them to your cybernetic cause. Meanwhile, you move from mission to mission, infiltrating dams and rescuing endangered trash-talking scientists, using semi-futuristic variants of familiar weapons--a sniper rifle, an assault rifle, a bow, and so forth--that handle like their standard Far Cry 3 counterparts. In time, you upgrade most of these weapons; your sniper rifle's bullets gain an explosive charge, your shotgun gets a flaming kick, and so on. You earn access to weapon upgrades by finding collectibles and performing side missions, and you earn other enhancements, such as the ability to perform silent takedowns on heavies wielding flamethrowers, by leveling up. There is no skill tree or anything like that: when you cross the necessary level threshold, you gain new skills automatically.
You'll be glad of those enhancements, too, particularly when coming face-to-face with one of the game's titular blood dragons. These beasts are dinosaurs that shoot laser beams from their eyes, and they're a wonder to behold in action. As it turns out, it's not as difficult as you might think to take one down, but the first time you learn of the dragons, you sneak by a trio of them and then witness one zap a bunch of enemy combatants into dust. You might be engulfed by terror the first time you go head-to-head with one, but dragons are only major threats on hard difficulty.
Too many wasted bullets. On this occasion, a well-tossed grenade is the better option.
They're still fun to face as you roam the open-air island, though, even on medium difficulty. They charge toward you when you make your presence known and give you a powerful swat, and then they rear up before firing their eye-lasers at you, giving you a chance to sprint out of the way. Several story missions have you facing one or two of them in closer quarters than usual, which ramps up the tension. The only downside to facing a blood dragon is the actual act of defeating it: the dragon simply disappears into thin air and an explosion of goo follows, but without any animations or effects tying the two events together. It's an anticlimactic end to a hectic battle.
Such battles are made more hectic when you simultaneously confront gunners and snipers, but in this case, you can toss the gooey hearts you collect from downed foes to direct the dragon's attention toward your enemies. It's a distinct pleasure to watch dragons scoop up adversaries with their mouths and chomp away, and in the case of a facility takeover, you might get a dragon to do all the legwork for you. You're just as likely to charge into battle yourself, however, if for no other reason than to enjoy the solid shooting, or to take an entirely stealthy approach. Just like its forebears, Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon makes any approach viable and fun.
In fact, getting all sneaky is more satisfying here than in the original Far Cry 3, in part because you can perform chained takedowns from the very beginning. It's a gruesome delight to stab multiple enemies in a row, and then finish off one final soldier with the throw of a shuriken. Blood Dragon's multilevel bases are larger than Far Cry 3's outposts, and enemies are spaced out in sensible ways, allowing you to move in for the silent kill using a number of different approaches. In a few levels, enemy animations can go missing, or a hulking soldier might unnaturally zoom into a different location, which can trip up your plans. Thankfully, such instances are rare, and aren't likely to dilute the stealthy satisfaction.
Nice bionic eye, Rex!
You could charge through Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon in four hours or so if you are determined, but why rush such a great thing? There's joy in the discovery. Finding all those videotapes isn't busywork for busywork's sake, after all: there's a hysterical film description in it for you, and maybe a weapon upgrade to boot. You could easily double those hours if you go in search of every collectible, perform every side mission, and take down a few dozen dragons along the way. You don't have to love the decade of Rubik's Cubes and Pac-Man Fever to get a kick out of Blood Dragon. But if you do, then all the better: this action-packed shooter will strike all the right synth-pop power chords.
The Good
Hysterical dialogue and collectibles
Lots of smart references to 1980s pop culture
Taking on blood dragons is always a delight
Smart levels and missions make for rewarding stealth
A lot of terrific open-ended action for a great value
The Bad
A few enemy behavior quirks
Some crass jokes land with a thud
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Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon
• Xbox 360
• PlayStation 3
• PC
All Platforms
Blood, Nudity, Sexual Content, Strong Language, Violence
Check out even more info at the Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon Wiki on | dclm-gs1-002110000 |
View Full Version : Swarm Shaman - Pathfinder Druid Archetype
05-21-2012, 11:44 AM
Hey everyone. I made a topic recently (here (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=243584)) asking if it was possible to play as a swarm of butterflies in Pathfinder, not as a race, but as a character concept where the character turns into butterflies but can still contribute.
There were a couple of ideas tossed around. The spherewalker (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/prestige-classes/other-paizo/s-z/spherewalker) was the winner, but unfortunately the spherewalker's ability lasts for a maximum of 5 minutes per day, whereas I wanted the ability to last for... well longer than that. A couple of other ideas floated around, such as the Master of Flies from Savage Species which, while mechanically does fit the bill somewhat (aside from the evil requirement), wasn't really what I was looking for. There was also some confusion whether a druid can just normally assume the form of a swarm, since swarms have the animal type, just with the "swarm" subtype. However, I felt like that would be stretching the abilities listed by beast shape I (at least until I hear differently), so I didn't want to assume that that was possible if in fact it wasn't supposed to be. No other spells, class abilities, or anything else really fit what I wanted.
Originally, what I was planning to do was created my own Master of Flies prestige class, but I realized that, for what I wanted, an entire prestige class was unnecessary. That's what the Pathfinder archetypes are for after all. Basically, all I wanted was the ability to turn into a swarm, an entire prestige class doesn't need to be dedicated to that when the druid's shtick is already turning into other creatures. So I made this archetype, modeled off of the various "Animal Shaman" archetypes. So if you don't mind too much, read through it and let me know what you think? Are swarm abilities just too powerful (being immune to weapon damage), even without the +2 to druid level for assuming the shape of a swarm (that other "shaman" druids receive for turning into their totem animal)? Keep in mind that an enemy spellcaster could really mess up the day of a druid in swarm shape.
So anyway, thanks in advance!
Swarm Shaman
A shaman with this focus calls upon the energy and freedom of the vermin swarm, from beetles and spiders to butterflies and ladybugs. Vermin swarms share their intelligence and spirit and guard their homes with tenacity and grace.
Nature Bond
A swarm shaman who chooses an animal companion must select from the following list: giant ant, giant butterfly, giant centipede, giant ladybug, giant mantis, giant scorpion, giant spider, or giant wasp. If choosing a domain, the swarm shaman must choose from the Animal, Luck, Madness, and Protection domains.
Wild Empathy
A swarm shaman can use wild empathy with any vermin swarm as a full-round action with a +4 bonus.
Totem Transformation (Su)
At 2nd level, a swarm shaman may adopt an aspect of the swarm while retaining her normal form. She gains one of the following bonuses:
- movement (move at normal speed while prone without penalty)
- senses (low-light vision, darkvision 60 ft.)
- armor (+2 dodge bonus to AC)
While using totem transformation, the swarm shaman may speak normally and can cast speak with animals (vermin only) at will. Using this ability is a standard aciton at 2nd level, a move action at 7th level, and a swift action at 12th level. The swarm shaman can use this ability for a number of minutes per day equal to her druid level. These minutes do not need to be consecutive, but they must be used in 1-minute increments. This is a polymorph effect and cannot be used while the druid is using another polymorph effect, such as wild shape.
Totemic Summons (Su)
At 5th level, a swarm shaman can "lose" a prepared spell of 2nd level or higher in order to cast summon swarm, and summoned swarms gain temporary hit points equal to her druid level. The swarm will attack fleeing creatures normally, but the druid can direct their movement as a move action. At 11th level, the druid can lose any prepared spell of 5th level or higher to cast insect plague. Each swarm summoned by this spell gains temporary hit points equal to the druid's level, and the druid can direct the insect plague as a move action each round, so long as each swarm is adjacent to at least one other swarm, up to the swarm's maximum movement speed. At 17th level, the druid can lose any prepared spell of 7th level or higher to cast creeping doom, and each swarm summoned gains temporary hit points equal to the druid's level.
This ability replaces a thousand faces.
Wild Shape (Su)
A swarm shaman gains the ability to become a swarm of vermin. This is a polymorph effect. The swarm of vermin must all be the same kind of animal. At 6th level, a swarm shaman's wild shape ability functions at her druid level -2. If she takes on the form of a swarm of vermin, she instead uses her normal druid level. The type of swarm a swarm shaman can become is tied to her druid level. At 6th level, a swarm shaman can become a swarm of Tiny animals, which grants her a +2 bonus to Dexterity but a -2 penalty to Strength. At 10th level, she can become a swarm of Diminuitive animals, which grants her a +4 bonus to Dexterity but a -4 penalty to Strength. At 14th level, she can become a swarm of Fine animals, which grants a +6 bonus to Dexterity but a -6 penalty Strength. If the animal the swarm shaman becomes a swarm of has any of the following abilities, the shaman gains the listed ability: climb 30 feet, fly 60 feet (good), darkvision 60 feet, and low-light vision. If the animal the swarm shaman wishes to become a swarm of does not have listed statistics, it gains a climb speed of 20 feet, a fly speed of 30 feet (good) if the animal can fly, and low-light vision.
In addition, as she levels up a swarm shaman can become more than one swarm to affect more space. A swarm shaman can assume the form of multiple swarms by becoming animals larger than her minimum size. So a 10th level swarm shaman that could normally become a swarm of Diminiuitive creatures could instead become two swarms of Tiny creatures. A 14th level swarm shaman could become two swarms of Diminuitive creatures or three swarms of Tiny creatures. Every three levels after 14th, a swarm shaman can assume the form of an additional swarm for free.
In swarm form, a swarm shaman gains many of the traits and advantages of swarms, but also its disadvantages. A swarm shaman in swarm form must always remain in continguous squares while in swarm form. A swarm shaman assuming the form of multiple swarms that are not in adjacent squares cannot reassume her normal form, and cannot perform any other abilities (including spellcasting, directing an animal companion, and so on) except those specifically granted by the swarm shape. If a separated swarm is killed, the swarm shaman's consciousness snaps back to the living swarm and she can act normally. A single swarm occupies a square (if made of nonflyng creatures) or a cube (of flying creatures) 10 feet on a side, but its reach is 0 feet, like its component creatures. In order to attack, it moves into an opponent's space, which provokes an attack of opportnuity. A swarm can occupy the same space as a creature of any size, since it crawls all over its prey. A swarm can move through squares occupied by enemies and vice versa without impediment, although the swarm provokes an attack of opportunity if it does so. A swarm can move through cracks or holes large enough for its component creatuers.
In swarm form, the swarm shaman gains swarm traits. As a swarm of vermin, she has no clear front or back and no discernable anatomy, and so is not subject to critical hits or flanking. Swarms made of Tiny creatures take half damage from slashing and piercing weapons. Swarms made of Fine or Diminuitive creatures are immune to all weapon damage. Reducing a swarm to 0 hit points or less causes the swarm shaman to immediately reassume her natural shape and begin dying as normal. Swarms cannot be tripped, grappled, or bull rushed, and they cannot grapple an opponent.
Swarms are immune to any spell or effect that targets a specific number of creatures (including single-target spells such as disintegrate), with the exception of mind-affecting effects (charms, compulsions, morale effects, patterns, and phantasms). A swarm takes half-again as much damage (+50%) from spell or effects that affect an area, such as splash weapons and many evocation spells.
Swarms made up of Diminuitive or Fine creatures are susceptible to high winds, such as those created by a gust of wind spell. For purposes of determining the effects of wind on a swarm, treat the swarm as a creature of the same size as its constituent creatures. A swarm shaman rendered unconscious by means of nonlethal damage cannot reform until her hit points exceed her nonlethal damage.
In most swarm forms (but not all, see distraction abilities below), a swarm shaman also gains a swarm attack. A swarm of vermin don't make standard melee attacks. Instead, they deal automatic damage to any creature whose space they occupy at the end of their move, with no attack roll needed. Swarm attacks are not subject to a miss chance for concealment or cover. The amount of damage a swarm of vermin deals is based on its Hit Dice, as shown below.
Swarm Shaman's HD ........... Swarm Base Damage
Damage reduction sufficient to reduce a swarm's attack's damage to 0, being incorporeal, or other Special Abilities usually give a creature immunity (or at least resistance) to damage from a swarm. If the base creature has an acid, blood drain, poison, or other special attack, the swarm shaman gains it while in swarm form. These special attacks are only used once per swarm, regardless of the number of creatures that make it up.
Swarms do not threaten creatures, and do not make attacks of opportunity with their swarm attack. However, they distract foes whose squares they occupy, as described below.
Swarms possess the distraction ability. Spellcasting or concentrating on spells within the area of a swarm requires a caster level check (DC 20 + spell level). Using skills that involve patience and concentration requires a DC 20 Will save. If the swarm that the shaman assumes is made up of animals that do not have an attack or that it would not make sense for that type of animal to have a natural attack (such as butterflies), the DC for any distracting abilities is instead raised by 2.
I realize the "wild shape" entry is quite long, but all the information there I felt was necessary for building your own swarm.
Questions? Comments? Opinions? I think this would be a fun archetype to play. My main design philosophy was to make the ability to turn into a swarm of creatures without requiring it to be eeeviiiiiiil, as other other vermin- or swarm-related abilities I've found are. What if you want to be butterflies??
05-23-2012, 11:57 AM
I know it's not as exciting as a new base class or something, but I am honestly wondering whether something like this is balanced, or anything that could be changed or fixed? Really hoping to get some help with this.
zegram 33
05-24-2012, 08:17 AM
looks good.
if your using butterflies or some such: can they attack as normal when surrounding a target? howis this reasoned?
im not a fan of having an animal companion as normal, in the middle of a massive swarm of wasps or butterlies theres a random rat/preying mantis?
what about instead gaining a seperate SWARM as an animal companion, with increasing stats?
or you could have a "favoured" swarm type, and your animal companion is either one of them, or a swarm of them if smaller than "tiny"?
what happens if your totally seperated apart, ie if you get hit by a whirlwind or something?
on the whole though, nice class, i love the idea of a load of butterflies/ravens/whatever just coalescing out of nowhere into an angry druid | dclm-gs1-002120000 |
G-Braves' pitching coach thrilled about late travel changes
LAWRENCEVILLE - It's not the vacation Derek Botelho planned, but St. Louis is closer to his home in Iowa than Georgia.
The Gwinnett Braves' pitching coach had just booked a flight home for his three-day All-Star break vacation when word came that he had more work to do.
"I had just finished booking a plane ticket to go home and I was talking to (hitting coach) Jaime (Dismuke) and (manager) Dave (Brundage) about, 'Hey I just got my flight planned all booked and everything,'" Botelho said. "That afternoon about 5-5:30 p.m. we got done with BP and that is when it came out on the media. Brundage said, 'Bo, where did you say you were going for the All-Star break?' and I said, 'I am going home to Iowa.' and he said, 'No, you aren't you are going to St. Louis for the Futures Game.'"
Botelho will be the pitching coach for the U.S. Team in the now annual game of prospects from across baseball's minor league system. There are players from Class A to Class AAA on the roster. Class AA Mississippi's Jayson Heyward and G-Braves' Barbaro Canizares are also set to play in today's game. Canizares is a late addition to the World team, but has been the pitching coach from the start.
"It is really (messing) up my three days off the for the All-Star break," Botelho joked. "How Major League Baseball did it, I really don't know. I am honored and I am grateful and I am pretty excited about getting the opportunity to do it.
"I don't think it hurt any by having (Tommy) Hanson and (Charlie) Morton and (Kris) Medlen and (James) Parr and Jo-Jo Reyes and Boone Logan and Manny Acosta and those other guys on my staff though either."
Everyone one of those pitchers made the jump, at least for a time this season, to the major league.
Botelho had to leave the G-Braves on Saturday to get to St. Louis to prepare for tonight's game. Not that the long-time pitching coach planned to dole out much advice.
"I don't say a word, I just don't try to (mess) them up," Botelho said. "I don't say another thing. I am not going to do a thing. I don't want to (mess) them up. I am just going to let them go out there and tell them when they are coming out of the shoot, the guy that is starting the ball game and who is pitching is the ninth inning."
Botelho softens his Midwestern honesty with a self deprecating, coarse sense of humor making him a likable yet effective coach. As quickly as he criticize a pitcher he doles out praise. Botelho spent major league seasons pitching for the Kansas City Royals and Chicago Cubs and won more than 100 minor league games in his 12-year career. He knows both sides of the big-league barrier facing pitchers. He knows what earns the call-up and what keeps someone pitching in the minors.
"When those guys get the call to the big leagues you feel like you had some hand in getting them there," Botelho said. "Whether it be minor or not, I know in my heart and in my head that these guys had the ability and the arm to get to the big leagues. So you had some small hand in developing or getting them developed ... to getting them to the big leagues."
But even after 19 years as a coach in the Braves' and Cincinnati Reds' organizations, Botelho keeps trying to grow as a coach.
"I learned something about pitching everyday," he said. "I have learned a lot and I am still learning."
And this weekend is as much about learning as it is about the honor of being chosen. Botelho is in the same position as the players he coaches. All of them are trying to get to the big leagues and this game, this honor, is a step in that direction.
"I don't want to be greedy or anything like that, but my ambition is to be a pitching coach in the big leagues," he said. "I pitched in the big leagues and what I am doing now is to try to get me to the big leagues as a pitching coach. If this helps because of the exposure and everything then that is great. I feel honored to be there."
His family switched their plans as quickly at Botelho and will join him in St. Louis for today's game and this week's festivities. He'll make it home eventually, but the indirect route is worth the time.
"I have been getting some calls from other managers that I know (in Class AAA) and some of the other coaches in the big leagues and they all are calling in their congratulations," Botelho said.
"They are saying, 'It's great you got chosen. They could have gone out and picked 60-80 other guys and they picked you.' It's good." | dclm-gs1-002130000 |
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30 October 2012, 11:26
EFF calls Ubuntu Shopping Lens a "major privacy problem"
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The EFF has criticised Canonical's implementation of the Shopping Lens in the latest version of Ubuntu as "a major privacy problem", and has published a list of changes it believes the company should implement to alleviate the issues raised. Canonical, which sponsors the popular Linux distribution, had included a new feature in its Unity desktop in Ubuntu 12.10 which automatically queries several online shopping resources when users search for applications in the Dash user interface.
The EFF complains that image data sent back from Amazon to the user's PC is not encrypted, that users have no control over the data stored on Canonical's servers and that the company is vague in its description of what the accumulated data is used for. While outgoing queries to Canonical and online shopping providers such as Amazon are sent over HTTPS, the returned product images are sent in clear text, which enables bad actors listening in on the user's network traffic to reconstruct what the user was searching for. Additionally, Canonical's privacy policy does not clearly state what the company and its partners are doing with the data it aggregates and instead refers users to the specific privacy policies of the third party companies.
While the EFF does praise Canonical for listening to customer feedback, the organisation says that the provided ability to only switch all online searches off at once is insufficient and that the Ubuntu developers should include separate options for each lens. The organisation also strongly suggests that the developers should disable all online searches by default and let users opt into these features.
In the absence of Canonical changing the behaviour of Unity in these regards, the EFF suggests that concerned users try installing an alternative desktop such as GNOME 3, KDE or Cinnamon.
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This recipe is from Haaretz's archives.
1 whole chicken cut into 8 parts
1 carrot cut into cubes
1 onion cut into cubes
1 celery cut into cubes
1 head of parsley chopped finely
500 grams of thin egg noodles
2 tablespoons of chicken soup mix
2 liters of water
1. Fill a wide-bottomed pot with the 2 liters of water and add all the ingredients except the egg noodles.
2. Bring the liquid to a boil and skim off the fat from the top of the soup. Let the soup cook on a low heat for another 40 minutes.
3. After 40 minutes have passed, add egg noodles and let cook for another 7 minutes.
4. Adjust seasoning and serve. | dclm-gs1-002150000 |
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Open Doors by girly1393
Chapter 9 : Avoiding James At All Possible Costs
Rating: MatureChapter Reviews: 1
Background: Font color:
I'm sorry I haven't updated in a long time. I've had the series finished for a while, all the way through the final part of this trilogy, but I've just forgotten it's a work in progress. I'll get up the final chapter tomorrow, after this goes through the queue, but I've also got challenges to get up.
Happy reading.
Lily knew she could not face James after this revelation, not if she had to spend all of Christmas with him. She did the only logical thing.
She hid from him.
When dawn peaked through her curtains, she pulled them tighter closed and pretended so be sleeping. Her friends didn't disturb her because she had claimed to be exhausted the night before when she had rushed into the dormitory. If she was still sleeping, they assumed she had been desperately tired.
Truth was, she had hardly slept at all. She could not get James Potter's face out of her head.
It was stuck behind her eyelids, making her blush as various scenarios played across her mind.
She realized she finally understood how he had felt all those years, and the difference was she could change it, she could eliminate these feelings. Lily felt that, maybe just a little bit, she deserved it, and she should have at least a few days of this feeling before destroying it. James deserved that much courtesy from her.
When the last giggling roommate had finally fled the dormitory, Lily opened her curtains. She sat in bed for a long while, wondering what she could do to stay out of his way. It would revolve around spending a lot of time in places he didn't go.
She pulled herself out of her bed and wandered slowly to her trunk. It dawned on her today was a Hogsmeade weekend. She had no reason to go, however, seeing as she had all of her gifts bought and wrapped. She could avoid James, because he would go with his friends. In fact, she would be able to spend plenty of time in the empty Common Room, enjoying the solitude.
She showered slowly, savoring the hot water as it pounded out the knots in her back. She wished everything could be simple, so she wouldn't have to hide from James.
In the end, she knew hiding would be fruitless. She was going to his house for the holidays and it hardly seemed likely she would be far from him during that time. In fact, he'd even mentioned a party his parents would be throwing that she'd need her newly-bought dress robes for.
Lily sighed as the steam around her became insufferable. She turned off the water and wrapped herself in a towel. The room above hers and her own were quiet, so she knew she'd been long enough that the students would be off to the village already.
"This isn't so bad," she said to herself. "I can avoid James for the weekend."
Lily dressed slowly, taking time to make sure she had on matching socks. Her sweater was warm and comforting, but also shaped her fairly well. If she'd woken up early enough to go the village with everyone else, she wouldn't have even bothered to pay attention to what shoes she was putting on, let alone if the sweater fit. Those things hardly bothered her, but if she was going to take extra time, every detail counted.
Lily flung her wet hair into a ponytail before remembering, as she did every morning, that she could do magic and didn't have to endure wet hair. She pulled out the scrunchie and pointed her wand at her head, focusing on the non-verbal spell.
Lily pulled out a book without looking at it and wandered shamelessly into the Common Room. Like she had anticipated, only a few of the First and Second Years were sitting around listlessly, probably longing for their adventures in Hogsmeade.
"It's really not all that exciting," she wanted to say to them. "I think it holds more heartbreak than anything else." But she knew they wouldn't understand and would probably just resent her. So she curled up in a chair by the fire and started to read. It was a book she'd purchased at Flourish and Blotts on a whim when she'd gone school shopping, one of about seven. It was a book her Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher would appreciate, because it was extremely descriptive and helpful.
Lily read away the hours and soon she was the only one in the Common Room. She stretched and realized it had to be dinner and soon everyone would be on their way back. With some quick thinking, she deduced the kitchens would be a safer bet. Sneaking back into the Common Room would be really hard, but she could perform a great Disillusionment Charm. Besides, she was hungry.
"Can Hixy help Miss?" a House-Elf asked as Lily walked into the kitchens.
"A cup of soup would be wonderful, Hixy," Lily said gently, sitting down quietly.
"Right away, Miss!"
Lily ate her soup in silence, watching as the House-Elves prepared for dinner. She glanced at her watch and realized she had a narrow window in which to make it back to the Common Room in order to pretend she'd had an early dinner.
She strode through the halls, glancing around at every turn. No one was about yet, and when she reached the Common Room, no one had arrived. She tucked her book under her arm and was headed back to her dormitory when a voice called to her.
"Hey, Emily," Lily said, smiling amiably to her as she stood on the third stair.
"Where are you going? We didn't see you at dinner."
"I ate early. I'm still really tired, so I was just going to go read it bed," Lily lied, coming up with her feigned tiredness on the spot.
"Are you okay?" Emily inquired, her brow furrowing in concern.
"I'm fine, Em," Lily said nonchalantly. "Too many late nights studying, I guess. They've caught up with me."
Emily paused, looking as if she shouldn't let Lily go, but after a moment, she reluctantly admitted, "You will need your sleep if we're spending the holidays with the Marauders."
"I knew you'd understand, Em. Night," Lily said, trying to remain calm and friendly. If she slipped up now, Emily would figure it out, and suddenly it would be all over.
"Night, Lily," Emily said, turning back around. Lily slowly trotted up the stairs to her dormitory. She changed into her pajamas and climbed into bed, propping open her book. She sat there for a moment before accepting how much of a lie it was. She untucked herself and made her way to the window sill. It had just enough room for one person to sit quietly alone, and that's just what Lily did.
Tomorrow, they were all leaving for the holidays. She would head to James Potter's house, and the game would be up. So for now, she stared across the grounds, thankful she could hide away for a little while longer.
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Six Degrees ...
by Montague
by AbbyLoves... | dclm-gs1-002160000 |
upgrading GHC
Henning Thielemann lemming at henning-thielemann.de
Thu Feb 21 02:12:19 EST 2008
I did now spend some days(!) on making only some of my packages
compatible to both GHC-6.4.1 and GHC-6.8.2. The amount of adaption work
increased with every GHC update for me, also because the number of
installed packages constantly grew. I'm hardly able to manage this work
for GHC-6.10, many packages will then go 'outdated', maybe only weeks
after their release. Some people wonder, why not simply upgrade. There are
many reasons: This way you can easily fall into a gap between dependent
packages that are still not updated to GHC-6.8.2 and others that are
already updated, but not backwards compatible. Compiler versions are
different in usability, bugs and annoyances. Namely, GHC-6.4.1 introduced
wrong warnings on apparently superfluous imports and a bug that let one of
my modules become uncompileable because of the compiler running out of
memory, GHC-6.6 replaced working filename completion by only partially
working identifier completion (it was certainly not a good idea, to remove
the old behaviour completely, before the new one worked reliably, but it
happened and we have to cope with), GHC-6.8.1 had a bug in compilation.
So after investing much time in upgrading you might encounter that your
programs don't work anymore or usability decreased considerably and you
have the choice to wait for the next compiler release, try to compile the
HEAD version from repository yourself (good luck!) or turn everything back
to the old version. Even if the compiler does only get better with respect
to features, you might decide not to upgrade, because the newer version
consumes more memory or is slower due to more features that the compiler
must handle.
Every GHC update so far forced me to recompile my packages, broke some
code, either by new class instances, modules being replaced by newer ones,
shifting modules between packages. Sometimes the update helped improving
the code, either when the compiler emitted new warnings or when internal
functions were changed, and I became aware, that I was using internal
functions. But it is very hard to get a library compiled on different
compiler versions, not to mention different compilers. This is especially
nasty if you are working in an institute (like the universities I worked
at in the past) with different machines with very different software
installations. We have some Solaris machines here with GHC-5, which I do
not administer, Linux machines with GHC-6.4.1, GHC-6.6.1 and so on. I
cannot simply push around patches with darcs because every machine needs
separate package adaption.
from the compiler to be used for the package.
which has even more dependencies, and thus I canceled this installation
which merely duplicates the globally known information that former
old modules in the known way. This would allow the usage of packages that
for package maintainers considerably. I also predict that the switch on
different package arrangements in the Cabal file will grow in future,
eventually becoming error-prone and unmaintainable. How many GHC versions
do you have installed simultaneously in order to test them all?
it in a more compatible manner. Deprecated packages do not need to be
replaced by Data.Map. Why is it necessary to make working libraries
obsolete so quickly? I thought using standard modules is more reliable
their own modules.
More information about the Libraries mailing list | dclm-gs1-002170000 |
Live Blogging the Grammys: Who takes home the big prize? Lady GaGa, Beyonce or Taylor?
Watch along with us
<p>Lady GaGa poses with two new Grammy Awards</p>
Lady GaGa poses with two new Grammy Awards
Credit: AP Photo
11:30: The awards show ends right on time. Nice. You'd think it was a Dick Clark Production... anyway, lots of highs (the performances in the first hour) and lows (Taylor Swift and Stevie Nicks as well as the Michael Jackson tribute). There were no major gaffes or embarassments for the most part. But man, is rock out of vogue right now. This was a very straight up pop awards show for the most part with Beyonce as the big winner with six trophies. In the past, the Grammys have paid lip service to jazz and classical, but not tonight. It's all about ratings, baby. I'm just thankful Snooki didn't present an award. Grade: B
11:28: Album of the year award: OMG, what is Lady GaGa wearing? She looks like the Empire State building. The winner is Taylor Swift for "Fearless." Gulp. I think I'll go back to my original prediction now that she wins. This time she really does look surprised. I'm sure she is after losing record and song of the year. If you still consider Swift to be country, it's the first country win in the big category since The Dixie Chicks won in 2007. ( I went to Wikipedia to confirm and someone has hacked into the album of the year page and put in Lady GaGa's "The Fame" as the winner for every year... clearly an LG fan is pissed!)
11:14: Quentin Tarantino, in sunglasses looking like an idiot, introduces Drake, Eminem and Lil Wayne (with Travis Barker on drums). What's with Tarantino's accent? Is this Lil Wayne's last appearance before he's off to the pokey? The sound keeps going out on my feed. Can't tell if they're bleeping half of Lil Wayne's rap or if there are audio problems. Three minutes into his own performance, Drake shows up. Autotune lives. "Pants on the Ground" was clearly written with Lil Wayne in mind. He's about to totally drop trou. Energetic but disjointed performance.
11:05: Tribute to Les Paul by Jeff Beck playing "How High the Moon." See, that's what they should have done for Michael Jackson. Something tasteful. I'm still watching the east coast feed on the computer, while the TV is on the west coast feed since the show has just started here. Its a little schizophrenic... I'm definitely experienced deja vu.
10:59: Maxwell, who's already won a few Grammys tonight, takes us into the third hour with "Pretty Wings." The song may be pretty, but it's not half as pretty as Maxwell. He just brought on Roberta Flack. Anyone under 30 just went "Who?" Her voice sounds great, but is it me or does her face no longer move? They're singing "Where is the Love." The love is probably the same place her facial expressions have been shipped off to: Botoxville.
10:49: Female pop vocal performance goes to Beyonce for "Halo," presented by Lea Michelle and Ricky Martin, who obviously got the memo to wear leather. Beyonce gives a very short acceptance speech. Pink just tweeted how much fun she's having tonight and how happy she was to get her standing ovation. What a good sport.
10:44: Adam Sandler clearly didn't show up for rehearsal. I believe he just said "this band goes by one man." Missing some words there, bud. And he mispronounced LeRoi Moore's name. Anyway, DMB is doing the sweet "You & Me." More and more people keep coming on stage. A string section, then a horn section and now a choir. Somehow, all I can really hear is Dave's voice. Now it's all kicked in. Very cool. Not sure about Dave's spastic dance, but at least he seems to be having fun. I'm hoping it's a dance and not a seizure of some sort. Oh, he's singing again, so he must be okay.
10:39: Did NARAS head Neil Portnow really just get played on to "Bolero?" The Grammys are in to honoring their own. They've presented awards to both their director, Walter Miller, and co-executive producer, Ken Erlich. I think Pierre Cossette, who passed away last year, deserved a little more than that small mention. Portnow bangs the usual drum for arts education in the schools and for artists/musicians to get paid for downloads.
10:27: Wyclef introduces that tribute to Haiti. Mary J. Blige and Andrea Bocelli performing "Bridge Over Troubled Water" with an orchestra. Bocelli is, appropriately, singing in Italian and I'm welling up.i'm not a Bocelli fan, but I can't listen to this song without crying. Simply one of the most beautiful melodies ever written and he's doing a gorgeous job, but I know Mary J. Blige is going to really bring it home. She's taking us to church. Not crazy about David Foster's arangement, but Blige's voice is astonishing. I know she's a superstar, but I don't understand why she isn't even bigger than she is.She's the heir to Aretha Franklin, as far as I'm concerned.
10:20: Mos Def and Placido Domingo awkwardly chitchatting before announcing that Rihanna, Jay-Z and Kanye West just won best Rap collaboration for "Run This Town." What? Kayne actually wins a Grammy and isn't there to accept an award that he actually won? Rihanna and Jay-Z brought the world's cutest kid up on stage with them, although I have no idea who he is, other than his name is Jules. Even at six, he has more sense than West. When Rihanna asks if he wants to say anything, he says, "No thanks." That kid has a future. Thank God The Lonely Island didn't win, although I know lots of folks were rooting for them.
10:12: Confession time: I have a soft spot for Bon Jovi, but "We Weren't Born to Follow" is one of their weakest songs ever. Good God Jennifer Nettles looks hot! She just came out to sing "Who Says You Can't Go Home," which won Bon Jovi its first ever Grammy a few years ago. Love the harmonies on this song. Richie and Jon are now forming a Jennifer sandwich. Take it easy, girl. Told you the fan choice would be "Livin' on a Prayer." Or the national anthem, as Jon humbly introduces it in concert. Yes, I have seen Bon Jovi in concert...more than once.
10:03: They just trotted out Jackson's two oldest childern, Prince Michael and Paris. Shameless. I want to turn the show off. Prince Michael is having a tough time reading the telepromter, but he shouldn't even be up there. Oddly, Prince Michael has the same speech pattern as his dad. Paris just said that her daddy was supposed to perform at the Grammys this year. Really? Can the exploitation over Jackson's death now officially end and can we let him rest in peace. Wow. The show goes straight into a commercial for "This is It." What a surprise. I'm disgusted.
9:56: Time for the Michael Jackson tribute. But first Lionel Richie is going to remind us that he co-wrote "We are the World" with Jackson. Thanks, LJ. You can go back to dancing on the ceiling now. I didn't get my 3D glasses from Target, so this looks pretty trippy. Celine Dion and Usher are singing together now. Every now and then Michael chirps in, but it's mainly a mess. Carrie Underwood is now bouncing up and down, as if that's going to make this more bearable. This is just terrible. OK, shot of Beyonce wearing her 3D glasses and she seems to be the only one in her section doing so. A $1000 Target gift certificate is on its way to her. Cut to Rihanna, whose surrounded by folks wearing 3D glasses, as is she, but she looks really, really bored. Jennifer Hudson sounds great, but between Stevie Nicks and this big old commercial for "This is It," I'm really sad now. Michael deserved way better than this. This is not a "very special Grammy moment" and no one can convince me it is, despite the standing O. Celine does look fabulous though.
9:50: I can't pretend that Taylor Swift can remotely sing on key anymore. She's singing "Today was a Fairy Tale," from her forthcoming movie, "Valentine's Day" and every other note is off key. Jesus. She's now brought on Stevie Nicks to sing "Rihannon." It's interesting that she seems to love artists whose heyday was long before she was born-- like Nicks or Def Leppard. Oh my God, Nicks is now playing tambourine and singing back up on a countrified version of "You Belong With Me." Oh Stevie.... And I even like this song. This is just making me really, really sad, but I'm going to bet/hope that Stevie has a niece or goddaughter that loves Swift and that's why she's doing this. That only makes me feel a teeny bit better.
9:39: Leon Russell performing with Zac Brown Band. Man, he's having a major resurgence. He performed with Elton John, Sheryl Crow, Neko Case and T Bone Burnett at Friday night's MusiCare's dinner honoring Neil Young (who won his first Grammy earlier tonight). Plus, he and Elton are wrapping up an album produced by T Bone. There's also a movement to have him inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. He should be in for writing "Superstar," if nothing else. And for not having any idea of what the words are to "Chicken Fried."
9:35: Alice Cooper and Katy Perry presenting best rock album. Katy: look at Alice closely, that's how you're going to look in 35 years if you're not careful. Katy's dressed really sedately. Is Russell clamping down on her personal style? Green Day just won, beating U2, among others. Billie Joe is the only one of the three bandmembers that actually talks. It's like watching Larry, Darryl and Darryl from "Newhart." It's really sad that the lifetime achievement winners and trustees just get thrown in as part of an introduction to a performance by someone else or an award. That just doesn't seem right. Show a little respect. Can you imagine how awesome it would have been if we'd heard Leonard Cohen perform?
9:27: Jamie Foxx is doing "Blame It." He's joined by T Pain, Slash, and the cast of Glee. Just kidding about the last part. Man, that was over the top in a jarring, kind of disconcerting way. Maybe that explains why Justin Bieber completely flubbed his lines when he came up next to announce that folks could still vote for their favorite Bon Jovi song (he brought up Beyonce instead and then apologized to Jay Z, whom I'm sure is worried about that moppet taking his women). He is either still really tiny or Ke$ha is really tall. And by the way, according to someone who was at rehearsals yesterday, Bon Jovi was rehearsing "Livin' on a Prayer" and "Who Says You Can't Go Home.' They may have rehearsed the others possible choices as well, but I'd look for a mashup of those two. One of my FB friends just asked if it's past Justin's bed time! LOL. His parents must have given him permission to stay up late.
9:21: Record of the year: "Use Somebody" from Kings of Leon. First rock winner in the general categories tonight. One of the Followill brothers admits they're a little drunk. The producer went to say something and the mike was already turned off. Sweet... However that means there's only major category left for the next 1:40 minutes: album of the year. Looks like Taylor won her awards in the pre-telecast. I would say that losing both song and record of the year doesn't bode well for her winning album of the year.
9:13: Why is best comedy album being presented on air? Shouldn't that slot have gone to an alternative catgory or some other real music category? Although, to be fair, Steven Colbert's Christmas album, which has a fair amount of music on it--including Adam Schlesinger from Fountains of Wayne- won. He just thanked Jesus Christ-- take a drink if you're following the Hitfix Grammy drinking game.
9:11: I love me some Lady Antebellum, but that performance was a big slow. Was it meant to be so dark that I felt like I was watching them all in silhouette? Still, they sounded great.
9:07: The Jonas Bros. are introducing Lady Angebellum. What's up with the Poindexter glasses, Joe?
8:58: Miley Cyrus just announced that Black Eyed Peas were about to do "I Gotta Feeling," but it's "Imma Be." Will.I.Am is wearing a mask. Between their costumes and robots on stage, the soldiers surrounding Beyonce and Lady GaGa's Fame Factory, the show has felt very futuristic. No "You're so 2000 and late" here tonight. Now they're doing a fun "I Gotta Feeling." I guess it would have been too cliched to open the show with that song, despite the obvious, "tonight's gonna be a good night" line. We're an hour in and there hasn't been a cringe-worthy moment yet, but there's still two hours to go. There's still hope.
8:50: Best new artist: As I predicted, the winner is Zac Brown Band. After Lady GaGa was declared ineligible, they were the frontrunners. Well, they certainly didn't dress up for the occasion. They look like they could be part of the crew. Back to work moving that lighting rig, boys.
8:44: A sedate Pink, dressed like a designer monk in all white, is performing "Glitter in the Air." I keep thinking that robe is coming off at some point. Yup. Good God, she's basically wearing a few well placed, assymetrical pieces of masking tape. Now she's doing her Cirque du Soliel impression from her tour, swinging from some rope. Jeez, now she's been dipping in water. Baptism by Grammy. I have no idea if she's singing live, but if she is, she sounds awesome. She gets a well-deserved standing O. The performances tonight so far are great. Who's going to be the first to bomb?
8:33: Beyonce is singing "If I Were a Boy" surrounded by costumed rejects from "Tranformers" or maybe that's her security detail. Beyonce just went into Alanis Morrisette's "You Oughtta Know." Awesome! Even if she is skipping the really dirty words. The Grammys are three for three on performances so far.
8:29: Taylor Swift feigns shock as she wins the Grammy for best country album. Really? You were such the frontrunner that you probably already have a place picked out on your mantel for it. As usual, she gives a humbling, sweet acceptance speech.
8:19: Green Day is performing "21 Guns" with the cast of "American Idiot," which opens on Broadway later this year. It's very cool, but I'd rather see a performance of just the band playing the song, but I'm old school like that. I expect there to be a number scrolling across the bottom of the screen for me to call to order tickets. Don't laugh. I bet within a few years smart managers will be demanding that in return for their artists' performance. I feel like I'm watching a revival of "Rent" or, of course, "Glee."
8:15: Song of the year: I predicted Taylor Swift's "You Belong With Me," but the Grammy goes to "Single Ladies (Put a Ring On It.") What was I just saying about wanting to change all my predictions to Beyonce? Interestingly, Beyonce is not on stage to accept her own award because she's getting ready for her performance. I'm calling it now because I wasn't smart enough to call it in my predictions: Beyonce gets record of the year and album of the year too and will be the night's big winner.
8:13: Stephen Colbert in a lame monologue that involves his mortified teenage daughter just reminded us that the music industry was "saved by a 48-year old lady in sensible shoes." True that.
8: 00: Brilliant: GaGa singing "Poker Face" to the tune of "Bohemian Rhapsody." She's got on a relatively tame green outfit, but it's a rather dark industrial set about the Fame Factory that satarizes fame. After being tossed in the reject pile, she's back, smudged with ash, as is Elton John, who's know duetting with her on "Speechless" and "Your Song" on face-to-face grand pianos. I run hot and cold on GaGa, but I am running very hot on her right now, if nothing else for the starstruck, loving looks she's giving John. They're perfect soulmates in a beautiful misfit way.
7:55 p.m.: Five minutes before the Grammys start. Looks like Beyonce is off to an early start with four wins. As you know, 99 awards have already been presented. B has four, the Black Eyed Peas have three, Taylor Swift and Lady GaGa have two each. I'm seriously rethinking my album of the year choice: I now think it's going to be "I Am... Sasha Fierce" over "Fearless." Hmmm. Anyway, I'm going to sit back and enjoy the opening number with Lady GaGa and Elton John
HitFix Poll
Who deserved the 2010 Grammy Award for Album of the Year?
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